Search results for " Monitoring"
showing 10 items of 3129 documents
A Comparative Analysis of the Social Performance of Global and Local Berry Supply Chains
2016
The goal of this paper is twofold: to comparatively analyze the social performance of global and local berry supply chains and to explore the ways in which the social dimension is embedded in the overall performance of food supply chains. To achieve this goal, the social performance of five global and local food supply chains in two countries are analyzed: wild blueberry supply chains in Latvia and cultivated raspberry supply chains in Serbia. The study addresses two research questions: (1) What is the social performance of the local and global supply chains? (2) How can references to context help improve understanding of the social dimension and social performance of food supply chains? To…
Willingness to Adopt Biochar in Agriculture: The Producer’s Perspective
2017
Most research on biochar has focused either on the mechanistic or the biophysical aspects, and there has been relatively little research into the social applicability and acceptance of biochar as a soil enhancer in agriculture. However, whether to adopt biochar in their practice is ultimately the farmers’ decision, and their willingness to do so is crucial. Here, we show the producer’s perspective on adopting biochar, using Polish farmers as a case study. Poland is an interesting case study because biochar has only recently attracted the attention of researchers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders there. We performed standardized, semi-structured interviews with 161 Polish farmers to eva…
Tree invasions in Italian forests
2022
Many forest tree species have been moved outside their native range to provide goods and services elsewhere, but some of them have become invasive, causing negative impacts on biodiversity and human activities. The assessment and knowledge on the degree and scale to which forest ecosystems are invaded by non-native trees is of paramount importance for tailored policies and strategies aiming at forest conservation. By analyzing main databases and literature and applying a four-level scale of invasion (not currently invaded and with low invasibility; potentially invasible; moderately invaded; massively invaded), we assessed the current and potential occurrence of twenty-five invasive non-nati…
Mìkrobnij biom rìznih gruntìv j gruntovo-klìmatičnih zon Poltavsʹkoï oblastì
2014
Researches of microbiological diversity of soil on natural grassland and farmland in conditions of soil- climatic zones of Poltava oblast were conducted. General microbiological activities of soil (intensity of linen decomposition, %), numerosity of the main ecological-trophic groups of soil microorganisms, numerosity of fungi were detected. Coefficients of mineralization-mobilization, pedotroficity, oligotrophicity were calculated in accordance with correlation of the main ecological-trophic groups of soil microorganisms. Results of soil microbiological monitoring are analyzed and generalized. Was determined that soil of natural ecosystem (natural grassland and virgin land) has highest int…
BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND NEPHROTOXIC SUBSTANCES
2004
A long latent period elapses between the exposure to toxic substances, injuring the kidney and the development of advanced stages of kidney failure. As regards the biological monitoring of people exposed to nephrotoxic substances, we need precocious indicators of renal damages, able to avoid the onset of nephropathies. The aim of this study has been underlining these biological markers. We have considered two groups of workers: the first one made up of people exposed to aromatic poly cyclic hydrocarbons (APH). The second one was made up of people exposed to welding smokes. We have examined 240 male subjects. The entire sample has been subjected to the dosing of the following biological indi…
Phytotoxic effects of commercial essential oils on selected vegetable crops: Cucumber and tomato
2020
Abstract Essential oils of Origanum vulgare L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Thymus mastichina L., Ocimum basilicum L., Melaleuca alternifolia Maiden & Betche ex Cheel, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., Gaultheria procumbens L. and Origanum majorana L., with herbicidal effects at different doses (0.125, 0.250, 0.50 and 1 μL/mL) were tested against Cucumis sativus L. and Solanum lycopersicum L., in order to ensure their harmlessness against these Mediterranean food crops. Oregano (carvacrol 60.42%) was the most damaging essential oil, exhibiting a dose-dependent phytotoxic activity against the seed germination and seedling growth of cucumber and tomato, whereas rosemary (1,8-cineole 24.95%, camphor…
Behavioural responses of voles to simulated risk of predation by a native and an alien mustelid: an odour manipulation experiment
2010
Context. Potential mammalian prey commonly use the odours of their co-evolved predators to manage their risks of predation. But when the risk comes from an unknown source of predation, odours might not be perceived as dangerous, and anti-predator responses may fail, except possibly if the alien predator is of the same archetype as a native predator. Aims. In the present study we examined anti-predator behavioural responses of voles from the outer archipelagos of the Baltic Sea, south-western Finland, where they have had no resident mammalian predators in recent history. Methods. We investigated responses of field voles (Microtus agrestis) to odours of native least weasels (Mustela nivalis)…
Influence of wood harvest on tree-ring time-series of Picea abies in a temperate forest
2012
Tree-ring width data are the prime source of high-resolution climate reconstructions covering recent mil- lennia. Their variations, from year-to-year, are calibrated against regional instrumental data to evaluate the strength of associations with temperature and precipitation records, though the level of variance explained by climatic variables is frequently less than 50%. Among the remaining factors affecting tree growth, the influence of forest management for tree-ring width time-series used to resolve annual climate reconstructions remains relatively unexplored. We here evaluate the impact of conventional single-tree harvesting on tree-ring data using a compilation of circumstantially ma…
Otter Lutra lutra predation on farmed and free‐living salmonids in boreal freshwater habitats
2002
In this paper we aim to define whether fish farms or stocked trout streams substantially contribute to the diet of otters Lutra lutra living in freshwater habitats of Mid-Finland. Diet was assessed using spraint analysis. We especially focused on areas with fish farms and stocked trout Salmo trutta streams (salmonid-rich habitat) and used ‘normal’ (salmonid-poor) habitats as control. Frequency of salmonid remains in spraints was significantly higher in salmonid-rich habitats than elsewhere in all seasons, the difference increasing from summer to winter. In salmonid-rich habitats, however, salmonid consumption was not strongly seasonal. Data from spraint collection indicated a shift in activ…
Saproxylic beetle assemblages in the Mediterranean region:Impact of forest management on richness and structure
2010
Forests cover almost 30% of the Mediterranean region today, yet forest management activities have influenced structure and composition of both natural and planted forests. To date no study has been conducted to evaluate the impact of forest management on saproxylic beetle assemblages, although it is known that the Mediterranean is a biodiversity hotspot with a long-lasting human pressure on natural habitats. We provide an overview of saproxylic beetle assemblages of three forest types (mature Pinus halepensis forests, mature Pinus brutia forests, young Quercus calliprinos forests) in the East Mediterranean region using a one-year sample from 12 forest plots located in the north of Israel. T…