0000000000562379
AUTHOR
Rafael Silveira Bueno
The role of sustainable agroforestry practices and food consumption to prevent tropical deforestation and increase ecosystem services
Tropical forests harbor most of global terrestrial biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services, although they have been largely replaced by agricultural activities. Amazon is the largest tropical forest remaining, and cattle ranching and soybean cultivation are by far the greater drivers of deforestation, that together with other few commodities constitutes the main products responsible for the imported deforestation caused by European countries. Agroforestry systems and sustainable intensification are pointed out as solutions to conciliate food production with environmental conservation, thus reviewing the results of studies comparing these practices against conventional ones are…
The naturalization of the almond Prunus dulcis in different ecological contexts in the Mediterranean: An underestimated process?
Although Prunus dulcis has been frequently listed in non-native floras all around the world, its naturalization has been rarely studied in the field. Probably, because this species has generally invaded synanthropic habitats. We assessed the density of natural regeneration of almond, biometric parameters (height and basal stem diameter), and the distribution in life stage classes in three different ecological contexts in Sicily (Mediterranean Italy): one natural habitat (maquis), one pine afforestation and two prickly pear orchards. We recorded 236 naturally regenerating almond individuals, with density ranging from 140 individuals per hectare (prickly pear orchard 1) up to 2,400 individual…
Soil microbial biomass and bacterial diversity in southern European regions vulnerable to desertification
Abstract Soil functionality is strongly dependent on the soil microbiota, which in turn is affected by soil quality and climate. Among global change factors, desertification is the most threatening ecosystem change affecting southern Europe, but the effects on the soil microbiota are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated soil microbial biomass and bacterial diversity in regions of southern European countries (Spain, Portugal and Italy), most under desertification risk, and related to key soil chemical-physical indicators and land use. Soil microbial biomass was positively related, to soil organic carbon (SOC) but bacterial diversity was negatively correlated with it. pH was the mo…