Search results for "Row"
showing 10 items of 9311 documents
Shrines in Central Italy conserve plant diversity and large trees
2015
Sacred natural sites (SNS) are instances of biocultural landscapes protected for spiritual motives. These sites frequently host important biological values in areas of Asia and Africa, where traditional resource management is still upheld by local communities. In contrast, the biodiversity value of SNS has hardly been quantitatively tested in Western contexts, where customs and traditions have relatively lost importance due to modernization and secularization. To assess whether SNS in Western contexts retain value for biodiversity, we studied plant species composition at 30 SNS in Central Italy and compared them with a paired set of similar but not sacred reference sites. We demonstrate tha…
Searching for solutions to the conflict over Europe’s oldest forest
2019
The Białowieża Forest World Heritage site is one of the last remaining primeval forests in lowland Europe and is a refuge for European Bison (Bison bonasus), the largest land mammal on the continent (Table 1).
Addition of high C:N crop residues to a P-limited substrate constrains the benefits of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis for wheat P and N nutrition
2021
Many aspects concerning the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in plant nutrient uptake from organic sources remain unclear. Here, we investigated the contribution of AM symbiosis to N and P uptake by durum wheat after the addition of a high C:N biomass to a P-limited soil. Plants were grown in pots in the presence or absence of a multispecies AM inoculum, with (Org) or without (Ctr) the addition of 15N-labelled organic matter (OM). A further treatment, in which 15N was applied in mineral form (Ctr+N) in the same amount as that supplied in the Org treatment, was also included. Inoculation with AM had positive effects on plant growth in both control treatments (Ctr and Ctr+N), mainly …
Influence of monoterpenoids on the growth of freshwater cyanobacteria
2021
Abstract Cyanobacteria are characterized by a very high tolerance to environmental factors. They are found in salt water, fresh water, thermal springs, and Antarctic waters. The wide spectrum of habitats suitable for those microorganisms is related to their particularly effective metabolism; resistance to extreme environmental conditions; and the need for only limited environmental resources such as water, carbon dioxide, simple inorganic salts, and light. These metabolic characteristics have led to cyanobacterial blooms and the production of cyanotoxins, justifying research into effective ways to counteract the excessive proliferation of these microorganisms. A new and interesting idea fo…
Effects of temperature on total phenolic compounds in Cystoseira amentacea (C. Agardh) Bory (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) from southern Mediterranean Sea
2015
The aim of this study was to test the effects of temperature on phenolic content of the brown seaweed Cystoseira amentacea. Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites involved in different protection mechanisms as, for example, against grazers, epiphytes and UV radiation. Seasonal variations of phenolic content in C. amentacea were analysed and laboratory experiments, in which C. amentacea was exposed to an increase of temperature (25°C and 30°C), were performed. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined colorimetrically with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. In C. amentacea, a seasonal pattern in TPC was observed, with a maximum value in winter-spring. C. amentacea responded significantly t…
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 …
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…
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 …
Mitochondrial phylogeography of the edible dormouse (Glis glis) in the western Palearctic region
2010
International audience; This study describes in detail the phylogeoraphic pattern Of the edible dormouse (Glis glis) a European rodent With pronounced hibernating behavior We Used sequences of 831 base pairs of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome-b gene from 130 edible dormice collected at 43 localities (throughout Its distribution. Our results reveal presence of 3 main haplogroups: Sicilian, South Italian (restricted to the Calabrian region) (a widespread lineage corresponding to all remaining western, central. and eastern European populations). Examination of paleontological data confirms refugial regions for G,Its in the 3 Mediterranean peninsulas, although overall low genetic diversity is …