Search results for "Bioindicators"

Bryophytes as ecological indicators in the beech woods of sicily

2019

Beech woods, which have in Sicily one of the southernmost places of their distribution area, are localized in the mountain belt of North and North-Eastern Sicily, at an altitude of 1300-1900 m, reaching 900 m on the Peloritani. They are referred to the priority habitat 9210*, according to the Natura 2000 network of the European Union. Beech woods settle on different soils, such as incoherent sandy volcanic (Etna), calcareous or silico-arenaceous (Madonie) and clayey-schistose soils (Nebrodi and Peloritani). Bryophytes are considered important components of forestry ecosystems. Many of these organisms are specific to particular types of microhabitats and sensitive to changes such that specie…

Biomonitoring potential of the native aquatic plant Typha domingensis by predicting trace metals accumulation in the Egyptian Lake Burullus.

2020

The ability of the native emergent macrophytes Typha domingensis for monitoring pollution with trace metals in Egyptian Lake Burullus was investigated through developing regression models for predicting their concentrations in the plant tissues. Plant samples (above-ground shoot and below-ground root and rhizome) as well as sediment samples were collected monthly during one growing season and analyzed. The association of trace metals concentration with several sediment characteristics (pH, organic matter, clay and silt) was also studied using the simple linear correlation coefficient (r). The concentration of some trace metals was significantly proportional to its values in the sediment suc…

Lymnaea schirazensis, an Overlooked Snail Distorting Fascioliasis Data: Genotype, Phenotype, Ecology, Worldwide Spread, Susceptibility, Applicability

2011

BackgroundLymnaeid snails transmit medical and veterinary important trematodiases, mainly fascioliasis. Vector specificity of fasciolid parasites defines disease distribution and characteristics. Different lymnaeid species appear linked to different transmission and epidemiological patterns. Pronounced susceptibility differences to absolute resistance have been described among lymnaeid populations. When assessing disease characteristics in different endemic areas, unexpected results were obtained in studies on lymnaeid susceptibility to Fasciola. We undertook studies to understand this disease transmission heterogeneity.Methodology/principal findingsA ten-year study in Iran, Egypt, Spain, t…

Potentiality of extensive green roofs soils in sustaining Mediterranean annual dry grassland of the EU-Habitat 6220*

2015

Nature-based solutions are defined as living solutions inspired by, continuously supported by and using nature (Final Report of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on 'Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities'). In line with this statement and according to the European research and innovation policy agenda, green roofs (GRs) represent a fundamental requisite for urban sustainable development, being potential stepping stones for plants and animals, including those characterizing habitats of Community interest. In our work, we tested the suitability of green roofs in hosting Mediterranean annual dry grassland of the 92/43 ECC Habitat 6220* (pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-B…

Soil bioindicators and weed emergence as affected by essential oils extracted from leaves of three different Eucalyptus species

2017

The widespread use of synthetic herbicides has resulted in herbicide-resistant weeds, altered ecological balance and negative effects on human health. To overcome these problems, efforts are being made to reduce the reliance on synthetic herbicides and shift to natural products. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from plants have been demonstrated to have potential herbicide activity. EOs, composed by volatile organic compounds and characterized by a strong odor, are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries as they are thought to be safe compounds for humans, animals, and the environment. EOs extracted from Eucalyptus leaves have antimicrobial, antiviral, fungicidal, insecticida…

Bird abundance and richness in ten Mediterranean agroforestry systems

2019

Since the last century agriculture is strongly promoting the simplification of the landscape. The LIFE Desert Adapt project is been developed across 1000 hectares in Italy, Spain, Portu-gal and has the objective of implementing integrative agroforestry-based land use planning and management, and one of the indicators to evaluate the project effectiveness is birds richness and abundance. Here we present the results of the first assessment and explore the relationships with the main vegetation cover types. We established 68 sampling points where we recorded bird abundance and richness. In total we registered 57 bird species, sampling points surrounded by woodlands presented 50 species, while …

Study of benthic foraminifera in the Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Gela (Sicilian Channel) and their possible use as bioindicators

2009

Soil chemical and biochemical properties of a salt-marsh alluvial Spanish area after long-term reclamation

2009

Marisma, one of the largest salt-marsh alluvial areas in SW Spain, has been reclaimed since 1970 by artificial drainage and amendment with phosphogypsum (PG) so as to reduce Na+ saturation. Within the reclaimed area, two 250- × 20-m plots were treated as follows: (1) amendment with 25 Mg/ha of PG every 2 to 3 years between 1979 and 2003 (plot PY); (2) like PY but PG treatment stopped after 1997 (plot DR). A contiguous virgin Marisma salt-marsh plot (MV), neither drained nor amended, was the control. In MV, soil microbial biomass C, most enzyme activities and total organic C content were much greater than in PY and DR soils, despite the salinity stress. The decrease in soil organic matter co…

THE FRENCH NATIONAL SOIL QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK (RMQS) AS A SUPPORT FOR MONITORING SOIL BIODIVERSITY: past, present and future programs

2021

Soil biodiversity would represent about 25% of the species on Earth. It is threatened, and although it is essential for human activities, it remains largely unknown. The French National Soil Quality Monitoring Network (RMQS) has a significant impact in removing the grey areas through its programs on soil microorganisms, soil meso and macrofauna, meadow flora, truffles and more recently enzymatic activities. The first distribution maps of bacterial phyla on a national scale and of soil fauna on a regional scale (in Brittany) have been developed. For the white truffle, three new areas of presence have been identified in France. The habitats of the bacteria were also described for the first ti…

Impact des pratiques agricoles sur l’état biologique des sols: Quelles recommandations et pistes de R&D en matière de pilotage biologique des sols

2018

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