Search results for "40"
showing 10 items of 17345 documents
Downscaling rice yield simulation at sub-field scale using remotely sensed LAI data
2019
Abstract Crop modeling and remote sensing are key tools to gain deeper understanding on cropping system dynamics and, ultimately, to increase the sustainability of agricultural productions. This study presents a system to estimate rice yields at sub-field scale based on the integration of a biophysical model and remotely sensed products. Leaf area index (LAI) data derived from decametric optical imageries (i.e., Landsat-8, Landsat-7 and Sentinel–2A) were assimilated into the WARM rice model via automatic recalibration of crop parameters at a fine spatial resolution (30 m × 30 m), targeting the lowest error between simulated and remotely sensed LAI. The performance of the system was evaluate…
Role of Soil Organisms in the Maintenance of Species-Rich Seminatural Grasslands through Mowing
2009
To preserve species-rich grasslands, management practices such as mowing are often required. Mowing is known to promote aboveground conditions that help to maintain plant species richness, but whether belowground effects are important as well is not known. We hypothesized that if mowing decreases belowground carbon transfer by reducing root mass, this will reduce the abundance and activity of soil decomposers and lead to diminished nutrient availability in soil. In grasslands, this would provide a means to mitigate the negative effects of nitrogen enrichment on plant species richness. We established experimental plots on grassland with one-third of plots growing untouched, one-third mowed o…
Alleviating Soil Acidity: Optimization of Lime and Zinc Use in Maize (Zea mays L.) Grown on Alfisols
2019
ABSTRACTSoil acidity, one of the causes of soil degradation, adversely affects phytoavailability of soil nutrients and crop growth in 50% of arable land of the world. There is a persistent need for...
Root growth and soil carbon turnover in Opuntia ficus-indica as affected by soil volume availability
2019
Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of soil volume restriction, i.e. root confinement, on below-and-above ground growth of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill) as well as the effect on root architecture and turnover, and soil carbon turnover. In May 2014, 1- year-old cladodes were planted in five different pots size (50, 33, 18, 9 and 5 L). Soil samples were collected from each pot and dried before SOC and δ13C determination. Roots of each plant were divided visually into three groups depending on their diameter, and then measured and weighed. Results indicated a significant effect of soil volume and sampling dates on total root length, root dry mass and δ13…
Modelling the effects of more selective trawl nets on the productivity of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) and deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenae…
2018
Single-species Gadget models were used to assess the effects of using a sorting grid mounted on the traditional trawl net used by Sicilian trawlers to exploit the deep-water rose shrimp in the Strait of Sicily. The main commercial by-catch species of this fleet is the European hake (Merluccius merluccius), often caught at sizes well below the minimum conservation reference size. Selectivity curves based on the results of an experimental survey carried out in the area using a commercial trawler equipped with an ad hoc-designed sorting grid were incorporated into single-species Gadget models to forecast the effects of changing fishery selectivity on the performance of the two stocks in terms …
Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association
2019
International audience; Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study, we investigated the association of the ants' CHC profiles with genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation betwee…
Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC.: An invaluable and constantly dwindling resource of the Himalayas
2020
International audience; The use of medicinal plant species for different therapeutic effects is well recognized around the globe. Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC. (Family: Caprifoliaceae Juss.), commonly known as Indian spikenard is a critically endangered medicinal plant which grows at high altitudes in the alpine and sub-alpine regions of the Himalayas. Its medicinal use is well-recognized in the Bhutanese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Nepalese and Tibetan medicine. Moreover, its medicinal properties are well established in traditional medicines including Ayurveda, Ben-Cao- Shi-Yi, Homer's Iliad, the Old Testament, as in conventional systems. The increasing national and international dema…
NMR structure determination of (11E)-trinervita-1(14),2,11-triene, a new diterpene from sexual glands of termites
2005
Graphical Abstract Full-size image; International audience; Female alates of Nasutitermes ephratae termites from Guadeloupe and Nasutitermes sp. from Brazil produce a diterpene hydrocarbon of the molecular formula C20H30 as the main component of their tergal gland secretion. Analysis of NMR, IR, and mass spectra of the diterpene led to a structure of (11E)-trinervita-1(14),2,11-triene. Based on a comparison with the published oxygenated trinervitane skeleton from termites we prefer the enantiomer with absolute configurations (4R,7S,8R,15S,16S). The suggested structure is supported by ab initio quantum chemical calculation of 1H and 13C chemical shifts for the optimized geometry of the molec…
New Acyclic Cytotoxic Jasplakinolide Derivative from the Marine Sponge Jaspis splendens
2019
A new acylic jasplakinolide congener (2), another acyclic derivative requiring revision (4), together with two jasplakinolide derivatives including the parent compound jasplakinolide (1) were isolated from the Indonesian marine sponge Jaspis splendens. The chemical structures of the new and known compounds were unambiguously elucidated based on HRESIMS and exhaustive 1D and 2D NMR spectral analysis as well as a comparison of their NMR data with those of jasplakinolide (1). The isolated jasplakinolides inhibited the growth of mouse lymphoma (L5178Y) cells in vitro with IC50 values in the low micromolar to nanomolar range.
Five centuries of cod catches in Eastern Canada
2021
Abstract The fishery for Northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) off Newfoundland and Labrador, Eastern Canada, presents the most spectacular case of an exploited stock crashed in a few decades by an industrial bottom trawl fishery under a seemingly sophisticated management regime after half a millennium of sustainable fishing. The fishery, which had generated annual catches of 100000 to 200000 tonnes from the beginning of the 16th century to the 1950s, peaked in 1968 at 810000 tonnes, followed by a devastating collapse and closure 24 years later. Since then, stock recovery may have been hindered by premature openings, with vessels targeting the remains of the cod population. Previous researc…