Search results for "Life on Land"
showing 10 items of 1478 documents
Denitrifying microbial communities along a boreal stream with varying land-use
2019
Streams have an important role in regulating nitrogen (N) transportation from terrestrial ecosystems to downstream waters. Here, we examined how catchment land-use affects potential denitrification rates and the function and composition of denitrifier communities in boreal stream sediments, using stable isotope incubations and qPCR and 454-pyrosequencing targeted on nirS, nirK and nosZ genes. Although land-use influenced the water chemistry as higher nitrite + nitrate (NO x − ) concentration at the agriculture-affected sampling point, sediment organic matter content was found to be the key factor in regulating potential denitrification rates. However, the abundance as well as the diversity …
Microbial Community Response on Wastewater Discharge in Boreal Lake Sediments
2017
Despite high performance, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) still discharge significant amounts of organic material and nitrogen and even microbes into the receiving water bodies, altering physico-chemical conditions and microbial functions. In this study, we examined how nitrified wastewater affects the microbiology of boreal lake sediments. Microbial community compositions were assessed with next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, and a more detailed view on nitrogen transformation processes was gained with qPCR targeting on functional genes (nirS, nirK, nosZI, nosZII, amoAarchaea, and amoAbacteria). In both of the two studied lake sites, the microbial community compo…
Environmental control on granular clinoforms of ancient carbonate shelves
2006
The purpose of this paper is to document the influence of depositional environments on shallow-water, low-relief clinoforms from the description of five ancient carbonate platforms: the Neoproterozoic (Namibia), Middle Jurassic (France), Lower Cretaceous (France), Upper Cretaceous (Oman) and Miocene (Turkey). These examples have been investigated on the basis of field observations. The clinoforms are described with reference to geometric and compositional attributes: declivity, shape, height, sedimentary structures, sediment fabric and components. The results show great variability in stratal geometry, declivity and facies distribution: (1) depositional profiles vary from exponential, to si…
Nonlinear Time-Series Adaptation for Land Cover Classification
2017
Automatic land cover classification from satellite image time series is of paramount relevance to assess vegetation and crop status, with important implications in agriculture, biofuels, and food. However, due to the high cost and human resources needed to characterize and classify land cover through field campaigns, a recurrent limiting factor is the lack of available labeled data. On top of this, the biophysical–geophysical variables exhibit particular temporal structures that need to be exploited. Land cover classification based on image time series is very complex because of the data manifold distortions through time. We propose the use of the kernel manifold alignment (KEMA) method for…
Environmental Aspects of Implementation of Micro Hydro Power Plants – A Short Review
2015
Abstract The economic importance of micro hydro power plants is obvious around the world and the development trend will continue well into the future. Unfortunately the effects on the local lotic systems habitats and biocoenosis are not studied, and in some cases or are known only to a small degree. A variety of taxa were identified in the study case areas as being significantly affected by the micro hydro power plants: macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish.
A review of the world's soil museums and exhibitions
2021
The soil science community needs to communicate about soils and the use of soil information to various audiences, especially to the general public and public authorities. In this global review article, we synthesis information pertaining to museums solely dedicated to soils or which contain a permanent exhibition on soils. We identified 38 soil museums specifically dedicated to soils, 34 permanent soil exhibitions, and 32 collections about soils that are accessible by appointment. We evaluate the growth of the number of museums since the early 1900s, their geographical distribution, their contents, and their attendance. The number of museums has been continuously growing since the early 190…
Climate-driven changes in winter abundance of a migratory waterbird in relation to EU protected areas
2015
AimSpecies are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and distribution of the Smew Mergellus albellus, a migratory waterbird species listed on Annex I (EU Birds Directive) that overwinters exclusively in European wetlands, changed during 1990-2011, the role of global warming in driving distributional changes and the effectiveness of the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs, EU Birds Directive) in the context of climate change. LocationEurope. MethodsWe used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countr…
Responses in metabolic rate to changes in temperature in diapausing Colorado potato beetleLeptinotarsa decemlineatafrom three European populations
2015
Many insects survive adverse periods in seasonal environments by entering diapause, a deep resting stage, during which energy consumption is typically low and gas exchange is in the form of a discontinuous gas exchange cycle (DGC). Because insects in high-latitude environments are severely time constrained during summer, an effective diapause termination with careful regulation of metabolic rate is important. The present study examines whether diapausing Colorado potato beetles Leptinotarsa decemlineataSay originating from three latitudinally different regions in Europe differ in their quantitative or qualitative gas exchange patterns in response to an increasing temperature. Overall produc…
Comparative environmental analysis of soil sampling methods in precision agriculture for lime application in Paraná State, Brazil
2020
Precision agriculture (PA) provides techniques that favour the localized application of inputs allowing their rational use. This makes the PA a potential indicator of reduced operational costs, input volume, and environmental impacts. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the environmental effects of three different sampling methods used in PA for the lime application. The first sampling method evaluated was the grid sampling (GS). It was performed at a density of one sample per hectare in a 100×100 m georeferenced grid. The second method was the directed sampling, that was performed after defining the management zones by soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) using a…
The use of barley straw residues to avoid high erosion and runoff rates on persimmon plantations in Eastern Spain under low frequency-high magnitude …
2016
[EN] Soil and water losses due to agricultural mismanagement are high and non-sustainable in many orchards. An experiment was set up with rainfall simulation at 78 mm h(-1) over 1 hour on 20 paired plots of 2 m(2) (bare and straw covered) in new persimmon plantations in Eastern Spain. Effects of straw cover on the control of soil and water losses were assessed. An addition of 60% straw cover (75 gm(-2)) resulted in delayed ponding and runoff generation and consequently reduced water losses from 60% to 13% of total rainfall. The straw cover reduced raindrop impact and thus sediment detachment from 1014 to 47 g plot(-1) h(-1). The erosion rate was reduced from 5.1 to 0.2 Mg ha-(1) h(-1). The …