Search results for "ecosystem"
showing 10 items of 1752 documents
SEA WATER TEMPERATURE RECORDS GATHERED DURING EXPERIMENTAL BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEYS IN THE STRAIT OF SICILY (MEDITERRANEAN SEA)
2009
Depth and sea water temperature values recorded by a Minilog system during several bottom trawl surveys carried out in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) in spring (MEDITS) and late summer (GRUND), were analyzed by using an ad hoc developed software (MiSeAT). Depth and temperature profiles were analyzed for each haul. Three sea water temperature (t°C) values were considered: the upper and lower water layers temperature, and the difference between them. Mean values by depth stratum and the corresponding standard deviations were estimated for the three parameters, then compared between the two seasons. Haul parameters recorded during the more heterogeneous GRUND surveys (due to …
Distribution and characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes isolates from surface waters of the South Nation River Watershed, Ontario, Canada
2007
ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen thought to be widely distributed in the environment. We investigated the prevalence and characteristics of L. monocytogenes isolates from surface waters derived from catchments within the South Nation River watershed (Ontario, Canada). This watershed is dominated by urban and rural development, livestock and crop production, and wildlife habitats. From June to November 2005, a total of 314 surface water samples were collected biweekly from 22 discrete sampling sites characterized by various upstream land uses. Presumptive Listeria spp. were isolated using a selective enrichment and isolation procedure, and 75 L. monocyt…
A Community-based Approach for Service-based Application Composition in an Ecosystem
2010
The design of composite applications by combining existing services with known semantics is an ongoing topic in current research. Several studies are aimed at providing service description models and standards, service discovery and matching etc. However, service composition in distributed dynamic environments such as P2P ecosystems has received little attention from research communities. In this paper we present a design framework for composing services, taking in particular into account different ways of building peercommunities based on network or services characteristics.
International Symposium on Greener Cities for More Efficient Ecosystem Services in a Climate Changing World
2018
The idea of garden is expressed, for the first time in history, by the Mesopotamian civilization as early as the IV millennium BCE as drawings and poetry texts showing a wall fencing one single tree. This is the first representation of the idea of sheltering/protecting a tree by human artifacts and, in its simplest form, brings the idea of the tight relationship between horticulture and urban environment. The "jardinu" of Pantelleria, a drystone wall shaped into an open-top tower encircling a single citrus tree, fully matches both in its founding idea and its physical implementation the elemental idea of the Mesopotamian garden. Such traditional growing system, developed in Pantelleria to c…
Towards More Efficient Incentives for Agri-environment Measures in Degraded and Eroded Vineyards
2015
Evaluating the economic damage caused by soil erosion is important. In addition to increasing the awareness of the problem among farmers and policy makers, evaluation of the economic damage caused by erosion can promote the implementation of more sustainable soil management practices. In the present study, we describe a new approach to evaluate incentives for the adoption of agri-environment measure (AEM) in degraded and eroded vineyards. To estimate this incentive, the replacement cost (RC) and the loss of income are calculated when the vineyard is managed with conventional tillage versus a cover crop (AEM). Our findings show that the incentive could range from the loss of income due to AE…
IoT monitoring of urban tree ecosystem services: Possibilities and challenges
2020
Urban green infrastructure plays an increasingly significant role in sustainable urban development planning as it provides important regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Monitoring of such dynamic and complex systems requires technological solutions which provide easy data collection, processing, and utilization at affordable costs. To meet these challenges a pilot study was conducted using a network of wireless, low cost, and multiparameter monitoring devices, which operate using Internet of Things (IoT) technology, to provide real-time monitoring of regulatory ecosystem services in the form of meaningful indicators for both human health and environmental policies. The pilot study w…
PLUMBAGO AURICULATA LAM. (Plumbaginaceae) IN SICILIA OCCIDENTALE: NUOVI DATI SULLA SUA DIFFUSIONE COME ESOTICA CASUALE
2017
Plumbago auriculata Lam. (Plumbaginaceae) in western Sicily: new data on its spread as casual alien. In questa nota si fornisce un quadro aggiornato sui casi di naturalizzazione di Plumbago auriculata Lam. (Plumbaginaceae) nella Sicilia occidentale e sul suo status invasivo a livello nazionale ed internazionale. Questa xenofita viene segnalata per la prima volta in diverse aree delle province di Agrigento, Palermo e Trapani, dopo essere stata segnalata per la prima volta presso l'isola di Linosa, nell'arcipelago delle Pelagie.
The ancient irrigation system of the Palermo Plain (Sicily, Italy) as a substitute ecosystem: preliminary investigations on its aquatic flora
2022
Many cities around the world are expanding, including in their perimeters green and blues spaces that could be crucial for the maintaining of biodiversity. Urban waterbodies are generally created to provide other services, but correctly managed they can provide also relevant ecosystem services. The Palermo Plain was characterized, in the past centuries, by several wetlands that were progressively destroyed (or “reclaimed”). The ancient irrigation system, probably set during the Arab domination (IX-XI century A.D.), became a substitute ecosystem able to host a significant biodiversity. Our research focused on the remains of this system, scattered in the relictual green areas of the Plain, an…
Agricoltura di qualità e rete natura 2000: “laboratori” del cambiamento
2011
Through the centuries, rural communities have managed their environment creating a rich landscape diversity. This represents an historical heritage both for the region and for humanity because the "world" itself represents the sum of widespread fragmentation processes following specific laws. The intense socio-economic changes of the last century, the rise of the "global" markets, in particular, have radically changed the landscape configuration and its natural quality across Europe. Natura 2000 network and the network of protected areas are currently the "open laboratories" to test a model of development that is compatible with the priceless treasure such as: species, habitats, landscape a…
The duality of ocean acidification as a resource and a stressor
2018
Ecologically dominant species often define ecosystem states, but as human disturbances intensify, their subordinate counterparts increasingly displace them. We consider the duality of disturbance by examining how environmental drivers can simultaneously act as a stressor to dominant species and as a resource to subordinates. Using a model ecosystem, we demonstrate that CO2-driven interactions between species can account for such reversals in dominance; i.e., the displacement of dominants (kelp forests) by subordinates (turf algae). We established that CO2 enrichment had a direct positive effect on productivity of turfs, but a negligible effect on kelp. CO2 enrichment further suppressed the …