Search results for " CONSERVATION"
showing 10 items of 1644 documents
The ‘killer shrimp’Dikerogammarus villosus(Crustacea, Amphipoda) invading Alpine lakes: overland transport by recreational boats and scuba-diving gea…
2013
The alien freshwater amphipod of Ponto-Caspian origin, Dikerogammarus villosus, also known as the killer shrimp, is recognized as being one of the worst invasive alien species in Europe, representing a major conservation problem. Recently, the species has been reported to invade lakes in the Alps in putative association with overland transport linked with recreational activities. This study provided a method to assess risk associated with this overland transport and an opportunity to set up a rationale for effective preventive conservation management. A field survey of 60 lakes encompassing all the Alpine area has revealed the presence of killer shrimp in 12 lakes. Subsequent multivariate d…
Predicting maximum annual values of event soil loss by USLE-type models
2017
Abstract Previous experimental investigations showed that a large proportion of total plot soil erosion over a long time period is generally due to relatively few, large storms. Consequently, erosion models able to accurately predict the highest plot soil loss values have practical importance since they could allow to improve the design of soil conservation practices in an area of interest. At present USLE-based models are attractive from a practical point of view, since the input data are generally easy to obtain. The USLE was developed with specific reference to the mean annual temporal scale but it was also applied at the event scale. Other models, such as the USLE-M and the USLE-MM, app…
The effects of forest management on wood-inhabiting fungi occupying dead wood of different diameter fractions
2014
Forest management has caused severe ecological degradation throughout the Globe. One of its most prominent consequences is the drastic change in dead wood profile and consequently in the dead wood dependent biota. Wood-inhabiting fungi are, considering ecosystem functions, the most important species group utilizing dead wood, because they take care of majority of the decaying process. The earlier research focusing on the effects of forest management on wood-inhabiting fungi has strongly focused on large dead wood pieces (i.e. coarse woody debris, CWD), even though it has been shown that a major part of fungal diversity utilizes (also) small dead wood pieces (i.e. [very] fine woody debris, […
Diversity in the genus Hieracium Linnaeus s.str. (Asteraceae) in Sicily
2015
The present taxonomic and floristic knowledges on Hieracium L. s. str. in Sicily are commented. In total, 11 taxa occur in this island, 10 of which are endemic and 1 has a wider range. For each of these taxa, biological form, phenology, distribution, ecology, chromosome number, conservation, and taxonomy are taken in consideration. A key to the taxa is also provided.
Reducing Mortality of Shrews in Rodent Live Trapping — a Method Increasing Live-Trap Selectivity with Shrew Exits
2013
Shrews have very high metabolic rates and are often unintentionally starved in rodent live-traps during capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies. Here, we suggest a shrew exit as a modification to rodent traps. To test whether this modification is (1) saving shrews and (2) not jeopardizing results of rodent captures, we compared captures in Ugglan traps with and without shrew exits, studying bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in a spruce forest in central Finland. Numbers of captured bank voles and body size of smallest juvenile bank voles were not affected by the shrew exit, while the number of captured common shrews (Sorex araneus) was reduced from 31 to 0 individuals per 100 trap nights. However,…
Transitions in Herd Management of Semi-Domesticated Reindeer in Northern Finland
2008
In northern Finland, reindeer-herd management has experienced two major transitions: extensification of intensive herding, and development of supplementary/corral feeding in winter. The transitions were studied in six herding associations in different parts of the Finnish reindeer management area. It was suggested that intensive herding turns into more extensive forms as the reasons for intensive herding (predation, reindeer disappearing to foreign areas, protection of agricultural fields) gradually ceased to exist. The results of the study, based on interviews of elderly reindeer herders, were variable. In the three southern areas intensive herding changed to the free ranging system at the…
Factors influencing the distribution, abundance and nest-site selection of an endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) population in Sicily
2003
Egyptian vulture (Neophrom percnopterus) breeds in Sicily and, in 22 years of monitoring, has shown a decline followed by a slight recovery. We used Generalised Linear Models to predict: (1) the distribution range, (2) the habitat selection within the range, (3) the quality (i.e., occupation rate, breeding success) of breeding sites. Some 60% of Sicily proved to be unsuitable, being either too densely forested and without cliffs for nesting, or too densely populated, along with intensive agriculture. The models converged, indicating that the pairs select a precise upland habitat where low cliffs, distant from urban areas, are surrounded by arboreal crops and Mediterranean vegetation. The va…
Recovering bronze metallurgy from archaeological artefacts for the production of reference materials in conservation science
2007
The production of reference Cu-based alloys is the first step of an original experimental protocol to be used in the field of conservation and restoration of metal artefacts. The production of these synthetic alloys has a double value. They can be used both as suitable substitutes of unique archaeological pieces for testing new materials and methods for conservation, and as guidelines for contemporary metal production. We report on a research activity focused on the recovery of the ancient production techniques from the investigation of archaeological copper-based artefacts. The chemical, physical and metallurgical characterization of several Cu-based artefacts, found in different Italian a…
Interventi di conservazione e restauro: il recupero, il restauro e la conservazione
2019
Durante uno scavo archeologico, molto spesso sorge la necessità della messa in sicurezza, tramite una serie di interventi puntuali mirati alla stabilizzazione dell’integrità strutturale, dei reperti rinvenuti; come nel caso della Casa III M del quartiere Ellenistico Romano di Agrigento, un contesto di crollo in cui sono stati rinvenuti reperti ad intonaco. Contestualmente a tali ritrovamenti sono stati condotti numerosi pronto-interventi ed in un caso, su un particolare frammento di intonaco proveniente da una mensola, è stato eseguito un intervento di restauro che ha permesso di ripristinare le condizioni di integrità del frammento. During an archaeological excavation, very often the need …
Conflicting needs of the thermal indoor environment of museums: In search of a practical compromise
2008
Thermal indoor microclimate conditions in museum buildings refer to two important requirements: the preservation of works of art and the comfort of visitors to these buildings and/or those working inside them. Unfortunately, different works of art have different internal parameters which render the management and control of the indoor thermal microclimate difficult. In this work the values proposed by various standards for the thermal environment of museum buildings have been revised. Moreover, the indoor microclimatic conditions relating to people's comfort have been described, with the aim of singling out possible common ranges for these parameters. With this aim, a useful simultaneousnes…