Search results for "Ecosystem"

Bird assemblages in isolated Ficus trees in Kenyan farmland

2006

Over the last few decades a rapid and extensive conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land has taken place resulting in mosaics of fragmented forest patches, pastures and farmland. While the effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity have been intensively studied within the remaining forests, relatively little is known about the biodiversity in tropical farmland (Daily et al. 2001, Pimentel et al. 1992). Frugivorous birds are an important group of species in tropical farmland ecosystems. Frugivorous birds are significant seed dispersers and can play a prominent role in transporting seeds into disturbed areas and setting the stage for the regeneration of these systems. Isolated…

A validated bioenergetics model for ruffeGymnocephalus cernuusand its application to a northern lake

2008

A bioenergetics model was constructed for ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, and the model was used to estimate the food consumption of a native G. cernuus stock in Pyhajarvi, a large mesotrophic lake in south-west Finland. The parameters for the bioenergetics model were determined through laboratory experiments conducted at several temperatures between 5 and 22° C for different sized G. cernuus (from 6 to 27 g). The model was verified and validated with independent laboratory growth experiments. The validated model was applied to field data from Pyhajarvi to estimate the food consumption of G. cernuus and its effects on the zoobenthos community during the years 2002–2004. The total annual food c…

The phylogeny of the European high mountain genus Adenostyles (Asteraceae-Senecioneae) reveals that edaphic shifts coincide with dispersal events.

2013

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Heterogeneity of edaphic conditions plays a large role in driving the diversification of many plant groups. In the Alps and other European high mountains, many closely related calcicole and calcifuge plant taxa exist. To better understand patterns and processes of edaphic differentiation, the phylogeny of the edaphically variable genus Adenostyles was studied. The genus contains three species, of which A. alpina has five subspecies. Each species and subspecies is largely confined to either calcareous or noncalcareous substrates. • METHODS We analyzed the phylogeny of Adenostyles using DNA sequences of nrITS, nrETS, nuclear chalcone synthase, and three plastid…

The nutritional composition of selected wild edible mushrooms from Sicily (southern Italy)

2011

The wide consumption of wild fungi by the local population is the basis for an evaluation of the as yet unknown nutritional composition of some selected species. Wild edible mushrooms (Fistulina hepatica, Infundibulicybe geotropa, Laetiporus sulphureus, Macrolepiota procera var. procera and Suillus granulatus) were collected in a number of Sicilian (southern Italian) forest ecosystems and analysed according to standard methodologies of fungal analysis, for their basic composition (ash, water, protein, fat, carbohydrate and vitamin). The results showed that the investigated mushrooms could be suggested as a source of nutritional elements for the human diet.

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

2014

Road verges provide alternative habitats for some, but not all, meadow plants

2021

Questions Agricultural intensification has led to the decline of biodiverse meadows and other semi-natural grasslands. Road verges offer potential alternative habitats for meadow species, but they may not be suitable for all meadow species due to different soil properties, frequent disturbances, pollution or suboptimal management. Are the communities of vascular plants and bryophytes similar or dissimilar to those in mown or grazed meadows? What kind of species are associated with road verges, mown meadows or grazed meadows? How do the habitat types differ in their soil conditions and disturbance intensity? Location The study was conducted on 36 sites in Central Finland. Methods We compared…

Farming Efficiency and the Survival of Valuable Agro-Ecosystems: A Case Study of Rice Farming in European Mediterranean Wetlands

2009

Beyond the conventional role of providing food, rice farming in European Mediterranean wetlands performs a valuable non-marketable function related to the provision of environmental services. Rice and biodiversity are jointly produced, so that provision of flooded-rice-fields based environmental services depends crucially on private profitability of rice farming. Recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and increasing access of third party countries to the domestic European market are challenging the competitiveness of European rice growers. This paper combines conventional competitiveness indicators and non-parametric efficiency analysis to ascertain the economic profitabilit…

Methods for Modeling Ecosystem Services: A Review

2015

Abstract Modeling ecosystem services (ES) is an essential tool for the development of strategies that will ensure their future supply, provision and quantification. Given the rapid development in this area of research, a review of the different approaches used to model ES was performed, using an analytical framework based on five criteria for comparing the existing methodological approaches: the types of ES, availability of data sources, spatial scale, types of models used and the possible outcomes of the models. Regulating services were the most commonly modeled, followed by provisioning, cultural, and supporting services. The most frequently used data for modeling were secondary data (alr…

Integral functions of marine vertebrates in the ocean carbon cycle and climate change mitigation

2021

Summary In the last decade, the ocean has absorbed a quarter of the Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions through the carbon (C) cycle, a naturally occurring process. Aspects of the ocean C cycle are now being incorporated into climate change mitigation and adaptation plans. Currently, too little is known about marine vertebrate C functions for their inclusion in policies. Fortunately, marine vertebrate biology, behavior, and ecology through the lens of C and nutrient cycling and flux is an emerging area of research that is rich in existing data. This review uses literature and trusted data sources to describe marine vertebrate C interactions, provides quantification where possible, and highligh…

Model ecosystem for environmental transport of xenobiotics

1982

A compartmentalized aquatic-terrestrial flow-through model ecosystem was constructed for studying the transport of agricultural chemicals from the soil to the aquatic environment in soil drainage. Factors were investigated on the fate of reference toxicant,14C-DDT, in the subsystems of the model. The behavior of DDT corresponds to its behavior in natural soil/water systems. The soil, acting as a reservoir, retained most of the DDT. The transportation of DDT to the aquatic compartment was negligible, with low availability to the aquatic biota. Because of the dynamic nature of the model, variation was evident between and within model units.