Search results for " biodiversity."
showing 10 items of 313 documents
Mulching practices for reducing soil water erosion: A review
2016
Abstract Among the soil conservation practices that are used, mulching has been successfully applied to reduce soil and water losses in different contexts, such as agricultural lands, fire-affected areas, rangelands and anthropic sites. In these contexts, soil erosion by water is a serious problem, especially in semi-arid and semi-humid areas of the world. Although the beneficial effects of mulching are known, further research is needed to quantify them, especially in areas where soil erosion by water represents a severe threat. In the literature, there are still some uncertainties about how to maximize the effectiveness of mulching to reduce the soil and water loss rates. Given the serious…
Valutazione bioagronomica e stabilità produttiva in genotipi di veccia comune (Vicia sativa L.).
2013
La Veccia (Vicia sativa L.) rappresenta per le regioni caldo-aride del bacino del Mediterraneo una specie di notevole interesse sia per la produzione di biomassa utile per l’alimentazione dei ruminanti, sia per la produzione di granella e sia per il posto che occupa all’interno degli avvicendamenti colturali asciutti. In Italia nonostante la produzione di seme certificato è abbastanza diffusa in quasi tutte le regioni del centro-sud, annualmente una quantità significativa di granella per uso zootecnico viene importata da Paesi europei ed extra-europei e poi utilizzata anche come seme non certificato. Per questo motivo si è ritenuto opportuno avviare uno studio del comportamento bio-agronomi…
Effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow in sandy soil
2015
The effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow were assessed in sandy soil at 3 experimental sites near Sekule village (southwest Slovakia). Site S1 was a pioneer site dominated by mosses, site S2 was an early successional stage with a thin stand of grasses, and site S3 was an early successional stage (more advanced compared to the previous), richer in species, with a denser stand of grasses. It was found that vegetation at different succession stages affected soil properties and water flow in sandy soil, but the order of changes in some soil properties and water penetration depths were different from the order of succession stages.
Intraspecific biodiversity and 'spoilage potential' of Brettanomyces bruxellensis in Apulian wines
2015
Abstract The yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis, generally considered the main oenological spoilage microbe, is able to survive during the winemaking process and it confers off-odors to wine, in reason of its ability to produce considerable amounts of volatile phenols. Forty-eight isolates of B. bruxellensis, obtained from several wines collected in Apulia (Southern Italy), were genetically characterized using an integrated approach, including a strain biodiversity analysis by Sau-PCR. Furthermore, the production of volatile phenols was assessed in wine and in synthetic medium, confirming the oenological spoilage potential of the analysed strains. Our findings indicate a remarkable genetic va…
Soil as a Support of Biodiversity and Functions
2014
The soil is a major reservoir of biological diversity on our planet. It also shelters numerous biological and ecological processes and therefore contributes to the production of a considerable number of ecosystem services. Among the ecological, social and economic services identified, the role of soil as a reservoir of diversity has now been well established, along with its role in nutrient cycling, supporting primary productivity, pollution removal and storing carbon. Since the development of industrialization, urbanization and agriculture, soils have been subjected to numerous variations in environmental conditions, which have resulted in modifications of the diversity of the indigenous m…
A tale of two stories from the underground: soil microbial diversity and N cycling
2016
International audience; Dr. Laurent Philippot is Director of Research at the French Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and is leading a research group at the department of Agroecology in Dijon. He did a sabbatical at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU) in Uppsala in 2000 and 2009, respectively. His research focuses on bridging microbial community ecology, microbial processes and ecosystem functioning using microbial guilds involved in nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas. He is serving as Senior Editor of The ISME Journal and as editorial board member for FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Frontiers in…
Biogeographical patterns of soil bacterial communities.
2009
International audience; This study provides the first maps of variations in bacterial community structure on a broad scale based on genotyping of DNA extracts from 593 soils from four different regions of France (North, Brittany, South-East and Landes). Soils were obtained from the soil library of RMQS (Réseau de Mesures de la Qualité des Sols = French soil quality monitoring network). The relevance of a biogeographic approach for studying bacterial communities was demonstrated by the great variability in community structure and specific geographical patterns within and between the four regions. The data indicated that the distribution of bacterial community composition might be more relate…
Intérêt d'aménagements paysagers pour la biodiversité : exemple d'ingénierie agroécologique sur le domaine expérimental d'Epoisses (Inra Dijon)
2013
The biodiversity conservation is one of the major agricultural issues of the XXIst century. The intensification of agriculture and the redesign of the agricultural landscape (grouping of fields, …) lead to huge decreases or damages of semi-naturals habitats, known to promote biodiversity at the farm and the landscape scale, and now recognised as “topographic surface equivalence” in France.In the experimental site of Epoisses (INRA of Dijon), a study to design the landscape elements in favour of the biodiversity has been initiated. Improving the management of existing habitats (woods, hedges, ditches, sown grass margin strips), establishing hedges, flower strips, redesigning the field organi…
Biogeography of soil microbial communities: a review and a description of the ongoing french national initiative
2010
International audience; Microbial biogeography is the study of the distribution of microbial diversity on large scales of space and time. This science aims at understanding biodiversity regulation and its link with ecosystem biological functioning, goods and services such as maintenance of productivity, of soil and atmospheric quality, and of soil health. Although the initial concept dates from the early 20th century (Beijerinck (1913) De infusies en de ontdekking der backterien, in: Jaarboek van de Knoniklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, Muller, Amsterdam), only recently have an increasing number of studies have investigated the biogeographical patterns of soil microbial diversity. A such …
Avian biodiversity: impacts of pest management strategies and landscape in South-Eastern French apple orchards
2008
National audience; In French apple orchards, the predominant conventional management strategy has resulted insecticide resistance in major pests like codling moth and an increased frequency of environmentally harmful insecticide applications. Organic agriculture as well as IPM represent alternatives to this situation. Impacts on the avifauna of three different management strategies (organic, conventional and integrated) were studied during three years in 15 commercial apple orchards. These orchards were situated around Avignon and had similar contexts in terms of local and landscape features. Our results show that the avifauna differ significantly among the three management strategies with …