Search results for "agroforestry"

Role of Natural Essential Oils in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Preservation

2014

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 …

Plant-frugivore networks are less specialized and more robust at forest-farmland edges than in the interior of a tropical forest

2012

Forest fragmentation and local disturbance are prevailing threats to tropical forest ecosystems and affect frugivore communities and animal seed dispersal in different ways. However, very little is known about the effects of anthropogenic forest edges and of local disturbance on the structure and robustness of plant–frugivore networks. We carried out focal tree observations to record the frugivore species feeding on eight canopy tree species in the forest interior and at forest–farmland edges in a little and a highly disturbed part of a Kenyan rain forest. For each frugivore species, we recorded its body mass and its forest dependence. We examined how forest edge and local disturbance affec…

Past and Contemporary Changes in Forest Cover and Forest Continuity in Relation to Soils (Southern Latvia)

2014

A set of medium-scale historical maps was used to reconstruct changes in spatial patterns of forest area during the last 220 years in an agricultural matrix of northeastern Europe (Zemgale region, Latvia). Changes in total forest area by soils were determined, as well as the time period of continuous forest cover. Proportion of protected area for each soil trophic group was also calculated. Patterns of recent forest development differed between soil trophic groups. Afforestation occurred mainly on wet and poor soils in the 19th and 20th centuries, while the proportion of woodland area on fertile soils typical for nemoral forests was fairly stable. Only 1% of the fertile soil area has been c…

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…

Linking woodland key habitat inventory and forest inventory data to prioritize districts needing conservation efforts

2012

Woodland key habitat (WKH) inventories have been conducted in northern European countries, with the aim to create networks of minimally disturbed forest stands for protection. The goal of national forest inventory is to provide information relevant to forest management, such as on forest types, trees species composition, age structure and wood volume. The aim of this study was to link these two inventory databases to identify districts of Latvia most deficient in connectivity and habitat quality, in order to prioritize districts needing conservation effort. As an example, the area of deciduous forest with nemoral tree species (oak, ash, lime, maple and elm) and aspen was chosen. These fores…

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…

Fragmentation and local disturbance of forests reduce frugivore diversity and fruit removal in Ficus thonningii trees

2008

Clearance, fragmentation, and degradation of tropical forests have resulted in declines of biodiversity. This loss of biodiversity is endangering important ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal. If anthropogenic disturbances affect seed dispersal of keystone plants, effects on tropical ecosystems might be especially pronounced. We studied frugivore assemblages and fruit removal from 25 Ficus thonningii trees in the heavily fragmented and disturbed Kakamega Forest, western Kenya. During 400 observation hours we recorded 36 frugivores visiting F. thonningii trees. We recorded significantly fewer frugivorous species in fragments compared to the main forest and in highly, compared to littl…

THE ROLE OF MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT TREE ORCHARDS AND VINEYARDS IN MAINTAINING THE TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE

2012

The Mediterranean area represents one of the most suitable and diversified environments for horticultural crops, being this propriety well expressed in the commonly accepted definition of “Mediterranean cultivated garden”. In Italy, fruit crops have been in the past introduced and expanded in different environments depending on the species and adaptability to the physiographic characteristics of the regions. The climate and the diversity of environmental contexts, the specificity of soils, the plasticity of the cultivated genotypes, have allowed a tight and typical relationship among land and farmers. Since the past centuries olive and fruit orchards, vineyards and Citrus plantations have r…

Resistant management of Bt corn and sustainability in Italy

2006

The Resistant Management (RM) of Bt corn in US requires 20% refuge area planted with non transgenic maize to preserve susceptible individuals of the pest. In Europe, especially in Italy, different considerations are necessary when RM plans are to be applied. In fact, when determining the size of the refuge areas other aspects around the transgenic corn, such as the surface of co-existing plans and other crops, must be considered. ECB is a polyphagous insect and its biology must be taken into account in the RM, especially in Italy where several crops and natural areas exist close to each other, and where field surfaces are clearly smaller than in the US. An important aspect of RM is the dete…