Search results for " Mediterranean area."
showing 10 items of 41 documents
The nutritional and medicinal value of Pleurotus species from Italy
2015
The genus Pleurotus is a cosmopolitan group of fungi which comprises ca. 30 species and subspecific taxa. The genus Pleurotus also represents the second main group of cultivated edible mushrooms in the world. The Pleurotus species are efficient colonizers and bioconverters of lignocellulosic agro‐industrial residues into palatable human food with medicinal properties. Besides Pleurotus species demonstrates significant nutritional and their bioactive compounds (mainly polysaccharides) possess antibacterial, antibiotic, antitumor, hypocholesterolemic and immunomodulation properties. Extracts of the Mediterranean culinary‐medicinal Oyster mushrooms P. eryngii var. eryngii, P. eryngii var. feru…
Influence of the rainfall measurement interval on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean area
2006
Summary The single-storm erosion index, EI, of the USLE and RUSLE models may vary appreciably with the rainfall measurement interval, Δ t . However, the effect of Δ t on EI has not been investigated in the Mediterranean area. Approximately 700 erosive events and 1.5 years of rainfall energies measured by a rainfall impact measurement device were used to evaluate the effect of the rainfall measurement interval (5 min ⩽ Δ t ⩽ 60 min) on the erosivity determinations in the Mediterranean semi-arid area of Sicily. According to both literature and practical considerations, a reference time interval equal to 15 min was used in this investigation. Hourly rainfall data led to an appreciable underes…
Proposal for a parametrization of site conditions in the Mitrakos' indices.
2001
The influence of slope gradient and exposure, of altitude and of distance from the sea on the winter and summer stresses sustained by the Mediterranean vegetation have been parametrized. An example of vegetation changes driven by the variation of any of such environmental factors is reported, and a mathematical formula is proposed to determine a monthly value to add to or subtract from the drought stress and cold stress values, estimated by the Mitrakos' index, in order to better approximate reality. Values obtained in such way can be used in synecology and phytosociology to express in a synthetic-correlative way the ecological valence of plant communities with respect to the main physiogno…
A Two-Year Bio-Agronomic and Chemotaxonomic Evaluation of Wild Sicilian Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) Berries and Leaves.
2019
A collection of nine Myrtus communis samples from different localities of Sicily was evaluated. Morphological traits and production characteristics have been chosen as parameters to arrange the samples into homogeneous groups and to identify the best biotypes for possible future agro-industrial exploitation. The plant material has been subjected to taxonomic characterization from biometric and phytochemical perspectives. Myrtle berries and leaves have been analyzed for their content in metabolites, applying a cascade extraction protocol for M. communis leaves and a single hydroalcoholic extraction for berries, whereas hydrodistillation procedures have been applied to obtain the essential oi…
Combining a data-driven approach with seasonal forecast data to predict reservoir water volume in the Mediterranean area
2023
Prolonged droughts and water scarcity have become more frequent in recent years, exacerbating the problem of the artificial reservoirs management in the Mediterranean area. This study proposes a methodology which combines a Nonlinear AutoRegressive network with eXogenous input (NARX) data-driven model with Seasonal Forecasts (SFs) data, with the aim to predict the water volume stored in reservoirs at a mid-term scale, as requested by the local authority. The methodology is applied to four Sicilian reservoirs that experienced water scarcity in the recent past. SFs produced at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting are used to force the NARX models. Also, the reservoirs are …
The OPTIMA (Organization for the Phyto‐Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area) Commission on Fungi
2015
A list of proposed activities/objectives by the members of OPTIMA Commission on Fungi is here reported: Prepare a list of local names related to wild edible mushrooms (WEM); Define a provisional catalogue of macrofungi that could be characterized as typical‐representatives of the Mediterranean region (MR); Publish a Checklist of all macrofungi occurring in the MR; Setup of a literature database on fungi occurring in the MR; Promote studies on Mediterranean fungi to be used as food and medicine, and examine their potential in other biotechnological applications (e.g. mushroom cultivation, treatment and detoxification of wastes etc.), incl. large‐scale (commercial) use; Document ethnomycologi…
La diffusione del culto della Madonna del Pilar in ambito mediterraneo: un capezzale trapanese in corallo a Malta
2019
The article deals with the spread of the devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar in Our Lady of the Pillar, particularly in Sicily and Malta. Initially the birth and the affirmation of this cult in Spain are investigated, starting from the tradition of her appearance in 40 AD. to the Apostle James the Great near the shores of the Ebro river, near today's Zaragoza. From the Iberian peninsula the cult has spread to all the territories historically linked to the Spanish crown.
Ecological role and exploitation of Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean area
2018
The paleoendemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile (Posidoniaceae) represents a key species of the most important and productive ecosystem in subtidal habitats of the Mediterranean Sea. This species is the most common seagrass in Sicily where it forms dense and extensive beds, which are characterized by high coverage and primary production values, along the Western coasts. According to phenological processes, the beaching of P. oceanica residues (banquette) represents a great environmental, economic, social and, hygienic problem, conflicting with a number of activities (tourism, bathing establishments, etc.). Even though seagrasses play a fundamental ecological role in limiting coasta…
First results on the phenotypic analysis of wild and cultivated species of Pyrus in Sicily
2013
Phenotypic analysis of Pyrus in Sicily using a set of 19 characters on 71 accessions belonging to 7 species is here reported. Results show a high level of morphological variation in this genus. Cluster analysis of the morphological characters allows to identify two groups: the first closely related to wild pears and the latter related to P. communis s. l. and P. sicanorum. It is likely to think that many Ethno-Varieties, usually attributed to P. communis, on the contrary are attributable to wild Sicilian pears and belong to indigenous germplasm.
CURRENT ROOTSTOCK USE AND ROOTSTOCK NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE: SOUTHERN ITALY, SICILY AND ARID MEDITERRANEAN AREAS
2013
Grapevine rootstocks have been an essential component of grape growing for over 150 years as rootstocks can impart desirable characteristics for grapevine growth. This review examined Italian and Sicilian literature on rootstocks, focusing on key issues including updates on needs for the future. Other related issues include the performance of major selection traits associated with salinity, drought, potassium uptake, vegetative growth, grape and wine quality and the propagation of grafted vines. Research on rootstocks started in Italy, and of course in other European Countries, once phylloxera was imported. In Italy, phylloxera was detected in Agrate (north Italy) in August 1879, but it may…