Search results for "ECOSYSTEM"
showing 10 items of 1752 documents
The predictability of helminth community structure in space: a comparison of fish populations from adjacent lakes
2002
Patterns in helminth community structure can suggest that various processes are acting to shape parasite communities into organised, non-random assemblages of species. It is not clear, however, whether a pattern observed in one host population at one time would be observed again at another time, or at the same time in a different but comparable host population. Here, we test the repeatability of parasite community structure in space, and to a lesser extent time, with data on helminth parasites of two fish species, perch Perca fluviatilis and roach Rutilus rutilus, collected in different seasons from four adjacent lakes in Central Finland. Since populations of the same fish species harbour t…
A geo-statistical predictive approach to the Habitat mapping of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems along the northern Sicily inner continental shelf (south…
2016
The main aim of this work is to statistically predict the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) along the continental shelf regions of the northern Sicilian margin (southern Mediterranean). The considered habitats, already mapped in the area on a qualitative base, are the Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa seagrasses and the Coralligenous biocenosis. Posidonia oceanica and Coralligenous are considered as VMEs owing to their value as environmental indicators and biodiversity hotspots in coastal marine areas. For this reason, several actions were aimed in recent years to their complete characterization and mapping. The study area is located in the continental shelf of the n…
Bayesian calibration of the nitrous oxide emission module of an agro-ecosystem model
2008
1. NitroEurope Open Science Conference on Reactive Nitrogen and the European Greenhouse Gas Balance ; Ghent (Belgique) - (2008-02-20 - 2008-02-21) / Conférence; Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main biogenic greenhouse gas contributing to the global warming potential (GWP) of agro-ecosystems. Evaluating the impact of agriculture on climate therefore requires a capacity to predict N2O emissions in relation to environmental conditions and crop management. Biophysical models simulating the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in agro-ecosystems have a unique potential to explore these relationships, but are fraught with high uncertainties in their parameters due to their variations over time and space. H…
The Influence of Business Ecosystems on Innovation-Based Industries: A Research on the Mechanical Sector in Italy
2018
The business ecosystem perspective can be considered as a more advanced point of view for interpreting the development of local economic systems, if compared to more traditional concepts such as clusters, industrial districts, local or regional systems, and local networks. The business ecosystem perspective allows to better highlight the adaptive and evolutionary nature of local systems in front of the changing external environment and dynamics on national and international markets. The aim of the research was to analyze the key characteristics of firms belonging to a local business ecosystem specialized on an innovation-driven industry – the mechanical sector – in order to verify which kin…
Ecosystem responses to land abandonment in Western Mediterranean Mountains
2017
Agricultural expansion in the Mediterranean resulted in plant and soil degradation due to the intensive use, climate conditions, and rugged terrain. After abandonment, the recovery of vegetation contributed to improvement in soil quality from a hydrological, pedological and geomorphological point of view. This paper shows three examples of ecosystem evolution in abandoned fields in Valencia, Murcia and Andalucia and the application of different methodological approaches that resulted in similar findings. In Valencia, the main responses were the recovery of vegetation after land abandonment and an increase in organic matter and infiltration capacity of soils. In Murcia, with the exception of…
Aridity index, soil erosion and climate drive no-till ecosystem services trade-off in Mediterranean arable land
2021
Abstract Despite the relevant literature on the advantages of no-till (NT) management, the world area under NT is only 10% of the arable land, probably due to several limiting factors as climate, soil types, farming systems and yield. Soil conservation practices and particularly NT soil management are able to provide many ecosystem services (ESs). This paper suggests a framework to determine the area distribution of soil erosion control and food security ESs trade-offs furnished by NT, starting from the potential soil erosion and aridity index maps. The interaction between the potential soil erosion and the aridity index showed that different trade-offs and synergies of multiple ESs may occ…
Ecological Analysis of the Helminth Community of the Wood Mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, along an 18-Year Post-Fire Regeneration Period in a Mediterrane…
2021
The role of helminths of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, as biological indicators of the post-fire regeneration process in Serra Calderona Natural Park, a Mediterranean forest ecosystem located between the provinces of València and Castelló (Valencian Country, Spain), has been analysed for almost twenty years. The helminth ecological analysis of 917 A. sylvaticus (675 originating from the burned area and 242 originating from the control area) has been carried out between the 2nd and 18th post-fire years. The influence of intrinsic (host population density, sex and age) and extrinsic (site, period and year of capture, climate variables) factors on the post-fire evolution of the helminth…
Ostracod palaeolimnological analysis reveals drastic historical changes in salinity, eutrophication and biodiversity loss in a coastal Mediterranean …
2013
The Albufera of Valencia, one of the largest oligohaline coastal lagoons of the Iberian Peninsula, has suffered hydrological and landscape modifications since medieval times. This paleolimnological study clears up the controversy about the factors, which drove the lake to its present state. Lithological descriptions, ostracod paleoassemblages and Cyprideis torosa (Jones, 1850) shell morphological variations and geochemistry (δ18O, δ13C and Sr/Ca) have been used to reconstruct the lake ecosystem evolution during the last two centuries. The sandy sediments at the bottom of L’Antina core (63 cm) presented a typical assemblage of brackish water ostracods, with shell-derived δ18O values, inferre…
Experimental drought induces short-term changes in soil functionality and microbial community structure after fire in a Mediterranean shrubland
2014
Abstract. Fire is a major ecosystem driver, causing significant changes in soil nutrients and microbial community structure and functionality. Post-fire soil dynamics can vary depending on rainfall patterns, although variations in response to drought are poorly known. This is particularly important in areas with poor soils and limited rainfall, like arid and semiarid ones. Furthermore, climate change projections in many such areas anticipate reduced precipitation and longer drought, together with an increase in fire severity. The effects of experimental drought and fire were studied on soils in a Mediterranean Cistus-Erica shrubland in Central Spain. A replicated (n = 4) field experiment wa…
Annual and monthly carbon balance in an intensively managed Mediterranean olive orchard
2013
At present, research activities on the role of orchard systems in sequestering atmospheric CO2 remain scarce. This paper aimed to contribute to assessing the carbon balance of a Mediterranean olive (Olea europea) orchard. The net ecosystem exchange, the ecosystem respiration and the gross primary production were computed for two consecutive years through eddy covariance, and the different biomass accumulation terms were also inferred in the same period through an inventorial method. The net carbon exchange ranged from 13. 45 t(C) ha-1 year-1 to 11. 60 t(C) ha-1 year-1. Very similar values [12. 2 and 11. 5 t(C) ha-1 year-1] were found with the direct carbon accumulation inventory. The intens…