Search results for "Success"
showing 10 items of 983 documents
The necessary skills in higher education: Validation of competences
2012
This paper tries to show which competences have an impact on the success of students in higher education and especially in the first academic year. This situation also requires finding a way to acquire the competences which are necessary in this new experience that is the first year. A student is considered to be a person who has the basic competences required. Our role is to show how this person in higher education can acquire the other new competences that help him/her attain the positive results that we name ''success''. Normally, the higher education is a new experience because he/she has never been in these situations before. To reach this goal we will first demonstrate a method to con…
Trying to link vegetation units with biomass data: the case study of Italian shrublands
2014
Although their carbon stock is relevant in assessing the baseline for the negotiation of future agreements with respect to carbon balance, there still are few available studies concerning the biomass and the net ecosystem exchange capacity of Mediterranean shrublands. In this chapter a preliminary overview on the biomass values concerning Italian shrubland communities and/or their dominant/ characteristic woody species is provided. Many useful data on above- and belowground biomass issued from investigations carried out in other Mediterranean countries and concerning plant communities, which share the same ecological, floristic and structural traits of Italian shrublands. A preliminary find…
The impact of Pinus halepensis mill. afforestation on mediterranean spontaneous vegetation: do soil treatment and canopy cover matter?
2012
We investigated central Mediterranean Pinus halepensis plantations under semi-arid climate in order to evaluate the combined effect of soil treatment and afforestation practices on spontaneous plant species composition, richness and evenness, and on the trend and speed of vegetation dynamics. Phytosociological releves of three different plot typologies, i.e. (1) soil-treatment and plantation, (2) only soil-treatment, (3) no soil-treatment and no plantation, were compared by (a) multivariate analysis and (b) with reference to species richness and evenness. Moreover, in order to compare vegetation dynamics within the plantations with those ones ongoing in semi-natural garrigue communities, we…
Effects of salt stress on the reproductive biology of the halophyte Plantago crassifolia
2005
Floral phenology, pollen quality and seed set of Plantago crassifolia plants, grown in the presence of increasing NaCl concentrations, were studied to test how this Mediterranean halophyte responded to salt stress during the reproductive phase of its life cycle. "Reproductive success" was maximal in plants grown in non-saline conditions, or in the presence of 100 mM NaCl, but it was negatively affected by higher salinities, due to a progressive reduction of pollen fertility, seed set, and seed viability.
Olive agroforestry systems in Sicily: Cultivated typologies and secondary succession processes after abandonment
2011
The first part of this study provides an overview on Sicilian olive systems. Subsequently, the study describes the different typologies of cultivated agroforestry systems present in South-Eastern Sicily employing olive trees in association with other Mediterranean tree species, in particular for the production of firewood, coal and animal food (downy or pubescent oak, holm oak, cork oak), but also in association with forage or grazing species (oat, barley, vetch, etc.) or cereals. The study shows that Sicilian agroforestry systems are much more diversified than it was known so far. In the second part, the study describes the spontaneous colonization processes by plants, observed in abandone…
Structural analysis of woody species in Mediterranean old fields.
2008
The first part of this study provides an overview on Sicilian olive systems. Subsequently, the study describes the different typologies of cultivated agroforestry systems present in South-Eastern Sicily employing olive trees in association with other Mediterranean tree species, in particular for the production of firewood, coal and animal food (downy or pubescent oak, holm oak, cork oak), but also in association with forage or grazing species (oat, barley, vetch, etc.) or cereals. The study shows that Sicilian agroforestry systems are much more diversified than it was known so far. In the second part, the study describes the spontaneous colonization processes by plants, observed in abandone…
Fire disturbance disrupts co-occurrence patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Mediterranean woodlands
2006
Aim This paper uses null model analysis to explore the pattern of species co-occurrence of terrestrial vertebrate fauna in fire-prone, mixed evergreen oak woodlands. Location The Erico–Quercion ilicis of the Mediterranean belt (50–800 m a.s.l.) in the Madonie mountain range, a regional park in northern Sicily (37°50′ N, 14°05′ E), Italy. Methods The stratified sampling of vertebrates in a secondary succession of recent burned areas (BA, 1–2 years old), intermediate burned areas (INT, 4–10 years old) and ancient burned areas (CNB, > 50 years old), plus forest fragments left within burned areas (FF, 1–2 years old) permitted the comparison of patterns of species co-occurrence using a set of…
Integrating Extensive Livestock and Soil Conservation Policies in Mediterranean Mountain Areas for Recovery of Abandoned Lands in the Central Spanish…
2016
Land abandonment is a global issue with important implications in Mediterranean mountain areas. Abandoned Mediterranean croplands start a process of secondary succession that is initially colonized by grasslands, shrubs and forest. In Mediterranean mountain areas, the process is very slow, so the shrubs remain for decades, preventing livestock from accessing pastureland. Therefore, farmers have to burn or clear the shrubs in order to provide pasture, a practice that has recently been encouraged by several regional governments in Spain. Data from experimental plots of the Aisa Valley Experimental Station in the Spanish Pyrenees allow to evaluate the effects of burning and clearing shrubs on …
An empirical test of neighbourhood effect and safe-site effect in abandoned Mediterranean vineyards
2011
The importance of both neighbourhood effect and safe-site effect for the colonization of Mediterranean old fields by woody plants was investigated. Using a transect approach, we recorded colonization of 21 species of woody plants on abandoned, terraced vineyards on Pantelleria Island (Sicily) in dependence from neighbouring terraces in older succession stages (Maquis) and available safe sites for seedling establishment (former crop plant, terrace wall). With a paired design of four treatments, including presence/absence of adjacent older successional stages, and North-/South-facing slopes, a neighbourhood effect could be shown for both expositions if the transect started from an adjacent fi…
Effects of nutraceuticals of Mediterranean diet on aging and longevity
2020
Abstract Among the many existing dietary interventions, Mediterranean diet has received much attention because of its beneficial influence on healthy aging and longevity. Mediterranean dietary pattern, characterized by low glycemic index and low-animal protein intake, is rich in nutraceuticals and functional foods, and bioactive compounds able to reduce the signaling of molecular pathways, such as nutrient-sensing ones, affecting aging process. Therefore a close adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet allows avoiding cardiovascular disorders and other age-related diseases, and it is responsible for the high rate of long-living individuals scattered throughout the Mediterranean basin. For th…