Search results for "forest"

Economic and Financial Comparison between Organic and Conventional Farming in Sicilian Lemon Orchards

2015

Sicily has a long tradition in citrus fruit cultivations that with vineyard and olive tree represent the main Mediterranean tree crops. In this paper we have evaluated the economic and financial sustainability of lemon production, both in organic farming and in conventional farming

Chemical composition of essential oils from Pantelleria Island autochthonous and naturalized spices and evaluation of their individual and combined a…

2019

In this study, the antimicrobial activity of the essential oils (EOs) from Origanum majorana L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. growing in Pantelleria (Sicily, Italy) were tested alone and in combination against some prokaryotic and eukaryotic food-borne pathogens. The chemical composition of the EOs as well as the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against the most sensitive strains were also determined. Both EOs showed interesting antimicrobial effects against all bacteria and yeasts tested. MIC was in the range 1.25–2.50 µl/ml. Interestingly, O. majorana was particularly rich in thymol acetate, while carvacrol was present at very low percentages. Also R. officinalis EOs composition wa…

Ostrya carpinifolia Scop. (fam. Betulaceae) a Ficuzza (Monti Sicani, provincia di Palermo): note ecologiche e demografiche

2015

Small changes, big impacts: Geographic expansion in small-scale fisheries

2020

Abstract Small-scale fisheries are an important, yet neglected, millenarian activity that has been undergoing significant changes that threaten its future. Understanding how this activity is spatially distributed and the factors that drive its use of the marine space over time can shed some light on how fishing efforts and their impacts have moved over different parts of coastal marine ecosystems. This study investigated changes to the spatial distribution of small-scale fisheries along the Brazilian equatorial region between 1994 and 2014 and the factors, from ecological to socioeconomic, that influenced this shift. Bayesian hierarchical spatial models were used together with environmental…

Functional ecological patterns and the effect of anthropogenic disturbances on a recently restored Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Needs for a sustaina…

2012

Abstract We present here a detailed case study on the lessons learned after a restoration process of a natural ecosystem, which can be considered as an ecological experiment. Senillar de Moraira is a brackish water small coastal lagoon located in the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It is separated from the sea by a sand bar and a beach, and is regularly fed by groundwater. Mostly due to the strong anthropogenic pressure this lagoon was degraded, and a restoration process, consisting mostly on the rebuilt of hydrogeomorphological features, was accomplished about a decade ago. After the restoration project, ecological monitoring was performed to reveal the recovery of the ecological integrity of…

Morphological characterisation of soil structure in tilled fields: from a diagnosis method to the modelling of structural changes over time

2004

Characterisation of soit structure within the tilled layer of cultivated fields is crucial because the importance of this soil characteristic on the biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil and its repercussions on water cycle, root growth and functioning. We present in this paper a method for field characterisation of soil structure. This method, practised since the 1970s, was designed for field diagnosis of the effects of cropping systems on soil structure. It is based on a stratification of the observation face of a pit dug perpendicular to the direction of tillage and traffic: spatial compartments are distinguished, according to the nature of the mechanical stresses they…

LE SPECIE E LE FITOCENOSI FORESTALI NEL PAESAGGIO VEGETALE DEI MONTI SICANI (Entroterra della Sicilia centro-occidentale)

2012

Research strategies for the improvement of cactuspear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit quality and production

1995

Abstract Cactus pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is cultivated worldwide for fruit production either in the subsistence agriculture of dryland areas or as a cash crop. However, little horticultural research has been devoted to this species so far. Research needs related to reproductive biology as well as productivity and orchard management are outlined. A better knowledge of the environmental influence on reproductive biology and fruit quality, the control of fluctuations in plant cropping, as well as the reduction of seed number and size, are the major challenges for future research. Cactus pear will transcend the ethnical markets only if adequate marketing strategies can be promoted and fr…

Costs, revenues and incomes of Sicilian farms that cultivate cactus pear

2015

Sicily, placed at the center of the Mediterranean, for its favorable soil and climatic conditions, represents the main production area of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) in Italy. In this context, the paper aims to estimate production costs, revenues and incomes of the Sicilian farms that cultivate cactus pear. The economic analysis has been carried out in the area of Santa Margherita Belice (AG), where the cultivation of cactus pear assumes a significant importance for the economy of the territory and where in last years many farmers have implanted specialized plantations also for the support granted by the EU agricultural policy. Economic analysis has involved 20 farms specia…

Fragmentation-related patterns of genetic differentiation in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) at two hierarchical scales

2016

Populations at species' range margins are expected to show lower genetic diversity than populations at the core of the range. Yet, long-lived, widespread tree species are expected to be resistant to genetic impoverishment, thus showing comparatively high genetic diversity within populations and low differentiation among populations. Here, we study the distribution of genetic variation in the pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) at its range margin in Finland at two hierarchical scales using 15 microsatellite loci. At a regional scale, we compared variation within versus among three oak populations. At a landscape scale, we examined genetic structuring within one of these populations, growing …