Search results for "GRO"
showing 10 items of 31405 documents
Modeling of Dead Wood Potential Based on Tree Stand Data
2020
Here we present a framework for identifying areas with high dead wood potential (DWP) for conservation planning needs. The amount and quality of dead wood and dying trees are some of the most important factors for biodiversity in forests. As they are easy to recognize on site, it is widely used as a surrogate marker for ecological quality of forests. However, wall-to-wall information on dead wood is rarely available on a large scale as field data collection is expensive and local dead wood conditions change rapidly. Our method is based on the forest growth models in the Motti forest simulator, taking into account 168 combinations of tree species, site types, and vegetation zones as well as …
Seed oils as additives: penetration of triolein, methyloleate and diclofop-methyl in maize leaves
1992
Summary: Resume: Zusammenfassung Methyl ester derivatives of seed oils have a greater effect on graminicide efficacy than the parent oils. To explain this difference, we investigated the penetration of the radiolabelled oils, triolein (TRI) and methyl oleate (MEO), in maize leaves, and their influence on diclofop-methyl penetration. Over a period of 3 h 30% of applied TRI penetrated maize leaves, but no further penetration was observed. In contrast, MEO entry proceeded regularly to 72% over a period of 27 h. The amount of oil found in epicuticular wax (chloroform wash) was generally less than 4% of the recovered label, and was even lower (<1%) in ‘glossy 1’ hybrids which have no crystalline…
Can the large ecological amplitude of Ambrosia artemisiifolia explain its invasive success in France?
2008
International audience; In order to understand the successful spread of Ambrosia artemisiifolia in France, the variability of colonised habitat by this species was studied at 48 locations, from its central to peripheral area of distribution. Each site was characterised by a vegetation survey, a description of the A. artemisiifolia population and a soil analysis. Differences in the number of species, Shannon diversity index, evenness index and plant life form spectra were compared among the sites. A total of 276 species occurring along with A. artemisiifolia was observed. Therophytes and hemicryptophytes represented more than 80% of all the species. The two most frequent species occurring al…
Looking for Hidden Enemies of Metabarcoding: Species Composition, Habitat and Management Can Strongly Influence DNA Extraction while Examining Grassl…
2021
Despite the raising preoccupation, the critical question of how the plant community is composed belowground still remains unresolved, particularly for the conservation priority types of vegetation. The usefulness of metabarcoding analysis of the belowground parts of the plant community is subjected to a considerable bias, that often impedes detection of all species in a sample due to insufficient DNA quality or quantity. In the presented study we have attempted to find environmental factors that determine the amount and quality of DNA extracted from total plant tissue from above- and belowground samples (1,000 and 10,000 cm2). We analyzed the influence of land use intensity, soil properties…
Phytochemical profiles, phototoxic and antioxidant properties of eleven Hypericum species - A comparative study
2018
Hypericum is one out of the nine genera belonging to the botanical family Clusiaceae Lindl (syn. Hypericaceae Juss.; APG III, 2009). The genus contains 484 species spread worldwide, one of which, Hypericum perforatum, is largely used in folk medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, along with the antioxidant and phototoxic activity, of 11 Hypericum species grown in Sicily (H. perforatum L., H. aegypticum L., H. androsaemum L., H. calycinum L., H. hircinum L., H. hirsutum L., H. montanum L., H. patulum Thunb., H. perfoliatum L., H. pubescens Boiss., H. tetrapterum Fr.). Samples of flowering tops collected from these Hypericum species were extracted and analys…
The effect of buffer strip width and selective logging on riparian forest microclimate
2019
Riparian forests have cool and humid microclimates, and one aim of leaving forested buffer strips between clear-cut areas and streams is to conserve these microclimatic conditions. We used an experimental study set up of 35 streamside sites to study the impacts of buffer strip width (15 or 30 m) and selective logging within the buffer strips on summer-time air temperature, relative air humidity and canopy openness 12 years after logging. The buffer strip treatments were compared to unlogged control sites. We found that 15-meter buffer strips with or without selective logging and 30-meter buffer strips with selective logging were insufficient in maintaining temperature, relative humidity and…
Tropical Fruits as an Opportunity for Sustainable Development in Rural Areas: The Case of Mango in Small-Sized Sicilian Farms
2018
Over the last decades, in many rural areas in Southern Europe, farmers have abandoned agricultural activity, especially on small-sized farms, leading to an exodus from rural areas towards urbanized ones. In this context, in the early 1980s, some Sicilian farmers introduced mango on their small-sized farms, as certain areas of Sicily are well suited to tropical and subtropical crops, but also to meet increasing consumer interest for these fruits, as they are perceived as functional foods. This paper aimed to evaluate the economic sustainability of mango and to determine whether its introduction could be considered as an alternative to traditional crops. In particular, an economic-financial a…
Anthocyanins: Biosynthesis, Distribution, Ecological Role, and Use of Biostimulants to Increase Their Content in Plant Foods—A Review
2021
In the past century, plant biostimulants have been increasingly used in agriculture as innovative and sustainable practice. Plant biostimulants have been mainly investigated as potential agents able to mitigate abiotic stress. However, few information is available about their ability to influence fruit quality or change fruit phytochemical composition. In particular, very little is known about their effects on anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation. Due to the increasing demand of consumers for healthier foods with high nutraceutical values, this review tries to fill the gap between anthocyanin content and biostimulant application. Here, we elucidate the chemical structure, biosynthetic pat…
Disturbance-grazer-vegetation interactions maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands
2017
Low-intensity livestock grazing is a widespread management tool in order to maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands for nature conservation purposes. Historical photographs indicate that forest disturbance significantly contributed to forest-grassland mosaic pattern formation. Disturbance grazer interactions are however poorly understood and the effects of logging or windthrow are rarely considered in management plans. Moreover, disturbance-grazer interactions are crucial for the maintenance of open habitats in the upcoming "rewilding" approach of nature conservation. We aimed to understand the effects of forest gap creation by the breakdown of senile trees or by single-tre…
Water recycling in leaves of Lithops (Aizoaceae)
2016
Lithops plants consist of a pair of succulent leaves inserted on a short stem; each growing season young leaves develop in a cavity formed between the older pair. Young leaves can take up water from the older pair allowing the plant to maintain growth and leaf expansion even without external supply of water. Recycling water between vegetative organs is one of the possible adaptation strategies of plants under drought stress, but it had never been demonstrated experimentally in Lithops. The methodology used to verify the existence of water redistribution from old leaves to young leaves was fluorescence microscopy, using two dyes to follow the water pathway inside the plant: Sulforhodamine G …