Search results for "ANTHROPOGENIC"

Parameterisation of bivalve functional traits for mechanistic eco-physiological dynamic energy budget (DEB) models

2013

Mechanistic models such as those based on dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory are emergent ecomechanics tools to investigate the extent of fitness in organisms through changes in life history traits as explained by bioenergetic principles. The rapid growth in interest around this approach originates from the mechanistic characteristics of DEB, which are based on a number of rules dictating the use of mass and energy flow through organisms. One apparent bottleneck in DEB applications comes from the estimations of DEB parameters which are based on mathematical and statistical methods (covariation method). The parameterisation process begins with the knowledge of some functional traits of a tar…

THE ROLE OF VOLCANIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES IN CONTROLLING THE EROSION PROCESSES AT VULCANO ISLAND (ITALY)

2011

The paper describes the erosion processes acting at La Fossa cone (Vulcano Island, Italy). La Fossa cone is a stratovolcano made up of pyroclastic deposits and lavas covered by tuffs from the last eruption, dated 1888-90. Its flanks are affected by intense water erosion phenomena leading to the formation of denudation surfaces due to sheet erosion, rills, gullies and small canyons. As a consequence of very intense rainfalls, episodic debris flows occur along main gullies and canyons. Fumarolic activity plays an important role in the control of erosion processes, being both an obstacle for the growth of vegetation and a weathering factor. The GIS analysis and comparison of geo-referenced map…

The “Soil Genetic Erosion”: a new threat for soils?

2015

During the 1990’s the concept of pedodiversity started to be diffused in the scientific literature and the decrement of the soil diversity in space and time - particularly due to human activity - has been seen as a sort of underhand problem affecting soil ecosystems, considering that different soil types face gradual or drastic reduction or complete loss of their unique “genetic features”. Pedodiversity has received considerable recent interest, especially as peculiar aspect of biodiversity and has been assessed by several authors by applying diversity indices used in ecology. This paper takes into consideration the influence of human activities on the loss of pedodiversity in a Mediterrane…

Soil profile dismantlement by land levelling and deep tillage damages soil functioning but not quality

2016

We investigated the effects of land levelling followed by deep tillage, thus inducing a drastic dismantlement of soil profile, on both soil functioning and quality by monitoring various bioindicators (microbial biomass and community structure, basal respiration, enzyme activities) expressed on either whole soil and TOC mass units, respectively. As expected, in disturbed soils all measured properties had much higher coefficients of variation (CVs), regardless of either whole soil or TOC mass basis, due to the induced spatial variability. The amount of total organic C in the first cubic meter of soil profile was of one order of magnitude greater in undisturbed soils compared to disturbed ones…

La percezione del suolo tra anthropedogenesi e technopedogenesi

2010

On the origin and systematics of the northern African wood mouse (<i>Apodemus sylvaticus</i>) populations: a comparative study of mtDNA r…

2001

Conflicting hypotheses have been formulated regarding the origin of wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) populations in northern Africa. In this study, the mtDNA restriction patterns of mice (n = 28) collected in Tunisia and Morocco are compared with those of representatives from southern Europe (n = 102). The neighbour-joining tree confirms the existence of the three lineages previously found in the Mediterranean area: western, Tyrrhenian–Balkan, and Sicilian. The western group is isolated from the two others, with bootstrap values of 89 and 95%. Northern African patterns are included in the western group. Their variability is low, the same pattern being shared by five Tunisian and all Morocca…

The contribution of volcanoes to the atmospheric trace metals budget in the Mediterranean basin

2009

Volcanic emissions represent one of the major natural source for several trace metals (Cd, Cu, As, Pb, Hg and Zn) into the atmosphere both as gaseous and aerosol forms. The Mediterranean Sea can be considered a large geochemical sink for these elements whose source are the huge amounts of aerosols of different origin. The industrialised areas located in the northern part of the basin represent a nearly constant source of the anthropogenic-dominated aerosol. By contrast, the arid and desert regions located at the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean, are the sources of frequent dust “pulses” perturbing the “steady-state” conditions of the local atmosphere through the input of seve…

Sicilian transitional waters: Current status and future development

2010

To appraise the current knowledge of Sicilian transitional waters (TWs), a review was undertaken of the information available on these ecosystems. In detail, a synthesis of the current status is reported, highlighting for each area the ecological features and status, historical data, conservation regime, environmental emergencies and anthropic pressures to which they are subject. The Sicilian TWs reviewed include coastal ponds and lakes, mires and areas with active and nonactive saltworks. Almost all of these ecosystems are affected by several protection regimes because of their high naturalistic value, although current knowledge is limited and fragmented. A few areas have received more att…

Regional climate model simulations for Europe at 6 and 0.2 k BP: sensitivity to changes in anthropogenic deforestation

2014

International audience; This study aims to evaluate the direct effects of anthropogenic deforestation on simulated climate at two contrasting periods in the Holocene, ∼ 6 and ∼ 0.2 k BP in Eu-rope. We apply the Rossby Centre regional climate model RCA3, a regional climate model with 50 km spatial resolution, for both time periods, considering three alternative descriptions of the past vegetation: (i) potential natural vegetation (V) simulated by the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS, (ii) potential vegetation with anthro-pogenic land use (deforestation) from the HYDE3.1 (History Database of the Global Environment) scenario (V + H3.1), and (iii) potential vegetation with anthropogenic land …

Archéophytes et néophytes.Pour une nouvelle détermination des marqueurs polliniques de l'anthropisation. Le cas des milieux cultivés et rudéraux de F…

2007

297p. de synthèse, annexes p.299-414, 15 articles en soumission Diplôme : Dr. d'Universite