Search results for "Nature"
showing 10 items of 1564 documents
Forms of Animality: The Dog
2018
Animals are not the object of zoosemiotics as discussed here, neither is their language nor any other system of signs that affects them directly as living creatures that communicate, but the forms of animality, forms through which the concept of animal itself is socially constructed and transformed over time. Now, if there is one place in which such forms are plain to see, it is in those areas that focus on their nutrition. Looking at feeding animals as a semiotic activity, this paper wants to focus on what I call a nutritional pact, an implicit agreement that binds humans and animals, and that is being continuously negotiated by cultures. A relationship that advertising deeply contributes …
A genome‐wide comparison between selected and unselected Valle del Belice sheep reveals differences in population structure and footprints of recent …
2023
About three decades of breeding and selection in the Valle del Belìce sheep are expected to have left several genomic footprints related to milk production traits. In this study, we have assembled a dataset with 451 individuals of the Valle del Belìce sheep breed: 184 animals that underwent directional selection for milk production and 267 unselected animals, genotyped for 40,660 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Three different statistical approaches, both within (iHS and ROH) and between (Rsb) groups, were used to identify genomic regions potentially under selection. Population structure analyses separated all individuals according to their belonging to the two groups. A total of fo…
Sensitivity of soil processes in northern forest soils: are management practices a threat?
2000
Abstract There is evidence that forest management practices influence soil-decomposer communities. It is also established that changes in the trophic structure and composition of these communities can induce changes in soil-nutrient dynamics, thereby affecting plant growth. Whether forest productivity is affected by management-induced changes in, e.g. soil faunal structure, is, however, yet to be shown. The aim of this study was (1) to determine the resolution of the ecological hierarchy (e.g. species, functional groups, trophic levels) at which a change in soil fauna would alter biotically-controlled processes in soils, and (2) to examine the sensitivity of soil fauna of the boreal forest …
Short-term responses of soil decomposer and vegetation communities to stump harvesting in boreal forests
2011
Recently, in addition to logging residues, stumps have become an important component in energy production since there is growing global interest in the use of renewable energy sources in order to decrease anthropogenic carbon emissions. Harvesting of stumps influences the forest floor by changing vegetation and soil organic layers and exposing mineral soil across large areas. We studied whether stump harvesting after clear felling poses further short-term changes in boreal forest soil decomposer community (microbes and mesofauna) and vegetation when compared to the traditional site preparation practice (mounding). In general, stump harvesting caused decline in enchytraeid abundance but did …
Spot mounding and granulated wood ash increase inorganic N availability and alter key components of the soil food web in clear-cut Norway spruce fore…
2012
Abstract The interactive effects of site preparation (spot mounding) and fertilization (granulated wood ash) on soil properties, soil micro- and mesofauna and ground vegetation were studied in two Norway spruce plantations established in clear-cut forests in Central Finland. Half of the seedlings were planted on mounds created by the planting machine, and the rest on intact forest floor. Half of the seedlings on mounded and intact forest floor were fertilized by adding granulated wood ash to circular plots surrounding the seedlings. Initial samples were taken from mounded and intact soil immediately after planting in June. Samples were taken from all treated plots in the autumn in the first…
The implications of stand composition, age and spatial patterns of forest regions with different ownership type for management optimisation in northe…
2015
Abstract Forests with different ownership type often form complex mosaics of stands, thus adding new challenges to the spatial planning of sustainable management in forested landscapes. This study attempted to analyse the spatial patterns and age structures of forest regions with different ownership type and to formulate suggestions for the optimisation of tactical planning of forest management planning by addressing ecological functionality at the landscape level. We hypothesised that structure of forests of various ownership groups differs significantly. National forest inventory data from 2011 was used in this study to compare spatial patterns of forest stands and clearcuts, as well as f…
The role of traditional Erica arborea L. management practices in maintaining northeastern Sicily’s cultural landscape
2007
The tree heath (Erica arborea L.), a small evergreen tree found in the Mediterranean region and parts of Eastern and Central Africa, produces lignotubers that are highly valued for making smoking pipes. The Peloritani Mountains of northeastern Sicily are historically one of the most important areas in Italy for the production of these high quality lignotubers, known as briar root wood. In the past, tree heath shrublands were also an important source of charcoal. Erica arborea utilisation has declined dramatically during the past century, mostly due to the decreasing demand for smoking pipes, as well as the increasing frequency of wildfires and large-scale afforestation activities in this re…
Building and evaluating predictive occupancy models for the Siberian flying squirrel using forest planning data
2005
Abstract We analyzed the applicability of forest planning data in predicting the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) in managed northern boreal forests, in northeast Finland. Forest planning data is a source of information about forest characteristics for forest managers that may be used in estimating the availability of certain habitats for species conservation. Flying squirrel populations have declined in Finland, most probably due to habitat change and loss and maintenance of suitable habitats can be seen as a fundamental task in species conservation. First, we surveyed 715 ha of older spruce-dominated forest consisting of 91 stands, of which 35 were found occupi…
The perception of abandoned farmland by local people and experts: Landscape value and perspectives on future land use
2013
Abstract Abandonment of agricultural land is a common feature of areas undergoing a range of urbanisation and marginalisation processes across Europe and beyond. This is also the case in Latvia, particularly in the period since 1990, when after regaining independence from the Soviet Union land was restored to its previous owners or their descendants. Many of these people have moved to cities and lack the interest in or the necessary capital for starting farming enterprises. As a result, large areas of land were abandoned, leading to spontaneous afforestation and with associated changes in landscape structure, ecological function and aesthetic value. While there has been an increase in resea…
WiWeHAR: Multimodal Human Activity Recognition Using Wi-Fi and Wearable Sensing Modalities
2020
Robust and accurate human activity recognition (HAR) systems are essential to many human-centric services within active assisted living and healthcare facilities. Traditional HAR systems mostly leverage a single sensing modality (e.g., either wearable, vision, or radio frequency sensing) combined with machine learning techniques to recognize human activities. Such unimodal HAR systems do not cope well with real-time changes in the environment. To overcome this limitation, new HAR systems that incorporate multiple sensing modalities are needed. Multiple diverse sensors can provide more accurate and complete information resulting in better recognition of the performed activities. This article…