Search results for "ECOSYSTEMS"

Nitrogen cycling microbial communities: from diversity to interactions and functions

2019

Soil microorganisms form one of the largest biodiversity reservoirs on earth. They also play essential roles in ecosystem functions such as biogeochemical cycling. However, the importance of microbial community diversity and composition for ecosystem functioning is still debated. A sound understanding of the ecological processes governing the assembly of these communities in the environment is also missing. In this talk, I will give examples of how we addressed these knowledge gaps using nitrogen cycling microorganisms as model functional guilds. Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient for crop production in agriculture. The nitrogen cycle is also one which was pushed by human activities out…

Mitigation of N2O emissions in agroecosystems: the role of N2O-reducers

2016

CT3 ; EnjS4 ; Département EA; Mitigation of N2O emissions in agroecosystems: the role of N2O-reducers. 16. International Symposium on Microbial Ecology - ISME16

Harnessing the biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland

2015

A large proportion of European biodiversity today depends on habitat provided by low‐intensity farming practices, yet this resource is declining as European agriculture intensifies. Within the European Union, particularly the central and eastern new member states have retained relatively large areas of species‐rich farmland, but despite increased investment in nature conservation here in recent years, farmland biodiversity trends appear to be worsening. Although the high biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland has long been reported, the amount of research in the international literature focused on farmland biodiversity in this region remains comparatively ti…

An integrated modelling and remote sensing approach for hydrological study in arid and semi-arid regions: the SUDMED Program

2008

International audience; Recent efforts have been concentrated in the development of models to understand and predict the impact of environmental changes on hydrological cycle and water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. In this context, remote sensing data have been widely used to initialize, to force, or to control the simulations of these models. However, for several reasons, including the difficulty in establishing relationships between observational and model variables, the potential offered by satellite data has not been fully used. As a matter of fact, a few hydrological studies that use remote sensing data emanating from different sources (sensors, platforms) have been performe…

Multifunctional areas as a tool to enhance biodiversity and promote conservation in alfalfa fields.

2021

The present study analyses the effects of multifunctional areas (MA) for three years (2013–2015) on an intensive multi-crop farm in Portugal. The implementation of MA resulted in a wide range of enhancements in the insect community, such as significant effects as a reservoir, allowing an increase of 102.47% in the number of species and 97.64% of individuals. MA play an important role in conservation strategies and help increase the population of rare and threatened arthropod species.

Managing biotic interactions for ecological intensification of agroecosystems.

2014

9 pages; International audience; Agriculture faces the challenge of increasing food production while simultaneously reducing the use of inputs and delivering other ecosystem services. Ecological intensification of agriculture is a paradigm shift, which has recently been proposed to meet such challenges through the manipulation of biotic interactions. While this approach opens up new possibilities, there are many constraints related to the complexity of agroecosystems that make it difficult to implement. Future advances, which are essential to guide agricultural policy, require an eco-evolutionary framework to ensure that ecological intensification is beneficial in the long term.

CAROLS: A New Airborne L-Band Radiometer for Ocean Surface and Land Observations

2011

The "Cooperative Airborne Radiometer for Ocean and Land Studies" (CAROLS) L-Band radiometer was designed and built as a copy of the EMIRAD II radiometer constructed by the Technical University of Denmark team. It is a fully polarimetric and direct sampling correlation radiometer. It is installed on board a dedicated French ATR42 research aircraft, in conjunction with other airborne instruments (C-Band scatterometer--STORM, the GOLD-RTR GPS system, the infrared CIMEL radiometer and a visible wavelength camera). Following initial laboratory qualifications, three airborne campaigns involving 21 flights were carried out over South West France, the Valencia site and the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic O…

Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) colonizes next alpine lake – Lac du Bourget, France.

2007

4 pages; Dikerogammarus villosus has been recorded for the first time in the alpine lake – Lac du Bourget, French Alps. Low abundance of the alien species in gathered samples suggests that the colonization is just in its initial stage. Two native gammarid species: Gammarus fossarum (Koch, 1835) and G. pulex (Linnaeus, 1758) are still present in the lake. The invader has most probably reached the lake through the Canal de Savières joining the lake to the Rhone River in which it has been already present since late 1990s.

A comparison of the impacts of introduced signal crayfish and native noble crayfish in boreal lake ecosystems

2014

Alternatives to the present global development pattern : ecovillages – a model for sustainable living?

2016

Master thesis development management - University of Agder 2016 The current way of development is exhausting the planets limitations, the continues increase in consumption are degrading the nature that is relied on for human existence. Thus, it is necessary to define an alternative way of developing. The aim is to achieve happiness for all, sustaining the resources of the planet. Ecovillages are recognized as a sustainable alternative which encompasses a holistic approach to the term sustainability. Through qualitative research in the form of participatory observations, interviews and a survey performed in Gambhira, an ecovillage in rural Colombia, the sustainability, educational mission as…