0000000000792234
AUTHOR
L Canfora
Soils, Past Landscapes and Cultural Heritage: Phytoliths as Indicators of Ancient Crops
Soils, Past Landscapes and Cultural Heritage: Phytoliths as Indicators of Ancient Crops
Distribution patterns of fungi and bacteria in saline soils
Saline soils are environments characterized by uneven temporal and spatial water distribution and localized high concentrations of salts. Spatial distribution patterns of fungi and bacteria in saline soils, and the link between microbial community dynamics and salts accumulation are critical issues throughout the world (Ettema, Wardle 2002). This study was focused on spatial distribution patterns of soil fungi and bacteria in a saline soil located in Piana del Signore (Gela, Italy) where some ecological variables acted as shaping factors in aboveground and belowground communities distribution. Bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities diversity and distribution in ten soil sites (A horizo…
«IL GRANDE PAN (NON) È MORTO». LA LEGGENDA DELLA MORTE DI PAN DA PLUTARCO A D’ANNUNZIO
In Plutarch’s De defectu oraculorum a mysterious voice announces to a ship’s helmsman that «the Great Pan is dead». This enigmatic legend gave rise to two different interpretations crossing the history of European literatures. The first, concerning ritualism and folklore, connects this episode to the death of vegetations’s God (Tammuz, Adonis) or of another demonic entity. According to the second, common in Christian authors, Pan is the same crucifix Jesus or, on the contrary, the paganism defeated by his death. Gabriele D’Annunzio overturns announcement’s meaning and proclaims that «the Great Pan is not dead».
A natural saline soil as a model for understanding to what extent the concentration of salt affects the distribution of microorganisms
Soils preserve and sustain life. Their health and functioning are crucial for crop production and for the maintenance of major ecosystem services. Human induced salinity is one of the main soil threats that reduces soil fertility and affect crop yields. In recent times, great attention has been paid to the general shortage of arable land and to the increasing demand for ecological restoration of areas affected by salinization processes. Despite the diffuse interest on the effects of salinization on plants’ growth, and all the derived socioeconomic issues, very few studies analyzed the ecology of the microbial species in naturally saline soils and the resilience of biological fertility in th…
Education in Soil Science: the Italian approach
The Italian Society of Soil Science (SISS) was founded in Florence on February 18th, 1952. It is an association legally acknowledged by Decree of the President of the Italian Republic in February 1957. The Society is member of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS) and collaborates with several companies, institutions and organizations having similar objectives or policy aspects. SISS promotes progress, coordination and dissemination of soil science and its applications encouraging relationships and collaborations among soil lovers. Within the SISS there are Working Groups and Technical Committees for specific issues o…
Microscopic findings and soil genetic “indicators” in support of pedoarchaeological studies
Archaeologists use historical artefacts and archaeological records to reconstruct the communities that produced them and the environment in which they lived. Soil protects our buried or damaged heritage of archaeological and historic remains from depletion, damage, and any disturbance. Here are presented some preliminary results obtained in the framework of the FP7 Project "MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural Heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA)" where ancient soils horizons are themselves archaeological records. In order to implement the MEMOLA archaeological study and to identify soil genetic "indicators", two integrated approaches were us…