Search results for "shrublands"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Mapping productivity and essential biophysical parameters of cultivated tropical grasslands from sentinel-2 imagery.
2020
Nitrogen (N) is the main nutrient element that maintains productivity in forages
Bird abundance and richness in ten Mediterranean agroforestry systems
2019
Since the last century agriculture is strongly promoting the simplification of the landscape. The LIFE Desert Adapt project is been developed across 1000 hectares in Italy, Spain, Portu-gal and has the objective of implementing integrative agroforestry-based land use planning and management, and one of the indicators to evaluate the project effectiveness is birds richness and abundance. Here we present the results of the first assessment and explore the relationships with the main vegetation cover types. We established 68 sampling points where we recorded bird abundance and richness. In total we registered 57 bird species, sampling points surrounded by woodlands presented 50 species, while …
A combination of dichogamy and herkogamy mediates reproductive success in the desert shrub Zygophyllum fabago
2020
Abstract Zygophyllum fabago is a species within the arid-adapted family Zygophyllaceae. The species is characterized by the co-occurrence of dichogamy and herkogamy. In order to understand the effect of these two complementary anti-selfing mechanisms in reproductive success, we conducted a detailed study of floral biology in Z. fabago. Our results indicated an incomplete separation of the female and male phases which is referred to as partial dichogamy. We found two floral morphs with distinct stigma position: the Central-morph (C-morph) and the Lateral-morph (L-morph). The stigma-stamen distance in the L-morph was significantly larger than in the C-morph in early, mid, and late male stages…
Carbon stocks in a 50‑year‑oldEucalyptus camaldulensisstand in Sicily, Italy
2015
Eucalyptus stands in semi-arid areas may contribute to enhance carbon (C) stocks in both biomass and soil. However, the limited information available is mainly focused on short-rotation plantations. In this study, the above- and below-ground C pools in five 50-year-old Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. stands planted on Miocenic evaporitic deposits in Sicily, Italy, with a xeric and thermic pedoclimate, were measured. Above-ground biomass was determined by partitioning and weighing branches, stem and leaves. Below-ground C pools included the determination of litter, root biomass, and soil organic and inorganic C. In terms of the above-ground biomass, the E. camaldulensis stand accumulated on …
Assessing soil moisture regimes with traditional and new methods
2002
Soil moisture regime classes are required by U.S. soil taxonomy and other classification systems. Soil moisture regimes are based on long-term daily data of soil water content, which are as a rule estimated by means of models. International Commitee on Soil Moisture and Temperature Regimes (ICOMMOTR) has proposed classifying pedoclimate on the basis of biweekly water potential. This study was conducted to validate the use of the Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model in assessing soil water content of experimental fields placed in different European pedoclimatic conditions, to compare the pedoclimatic classification obtained with EPIC with those produced by the traditional Bill…
Redescription of the rare European harvestman Dicranopalpus brevipes Marcellino, 1970, based on first records from Sardinia (Arachnida: Opiliones)
2020
New records of the small, enigmatic harvestman Dicranopalpus brevipes are presented, the male is redescribed and the female is described for the first time. The species originates from Sicily, while the novel findings are from Sardinia, where it may have been introduced by man. Paedomorphic modifications such as reduced sexual dimorphism in colouration and pedipalpal morphology, regression of genital structures and shortening of the legs, appear to result from its ground-dwelling habits induced by xeric climatic conditions. Avoiding the dry and hot season, D. brevipes matures in autumn and winter and has completed its lifecycle in April. Additional information on phenology, ecology, distrib…
Syntaxonomy and ecology of mesophilous scrub vegetation in Tajikistan (Middle Asia)
2022
Aims: In this paper we propose the first syntaxonomic classification for the mesophilous scrub vegetation in Tajikistan with some remarks on their environmental variability. Methods: Altogether 120 relevés were sampled using the standard, seven-degree cover-abundance scale of Braun-Blanquet, in 2015–2021. They were classified by the modified TWINSPAN method using the four step interval scale with cutoff levels of 0%, 2%, 5% and 10% and total inertia as a measure of cluster heterogeneity. Diagnostic species were identified using the phi coefficient as a fidelity measure. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was used to determine the relationship between the sampled plots, vegetation units…
Distribution, ecological role and symbioses of selected shrubby species in the Mediterranean Basin: a review
2020
Among the Mediterranean ecosystems, shrublands are a characteristic type of vegetation, widespread in different habitats. Owing to different factors such as the physiological, morphological, reproductive, phenological and regenerative properties, as well as the inter-intraspecific interactions, each shrubby species represents an important element within the plant community and plays a specific ecological role. In this review, attention was focused on the ecological functions and type of plant-microsymbiont interactions in respect of selected shrubby species within the Mediterranean Basin: Amelanchier ovalis, Astragalus nebrodensis, Crataegus laciniata, Lycium intricatum, Prunus spinosa and …
Xeric grasslands of the inner-alpine dry valleys of Austria - new insights into syntaxonomy, diversity and ecology
2021
We are grateful to the IAVS for financial support for some of the participants. We would like to give special thanks to Dr. Ernst Partl, director of the Naturpark Kaunergrat for authorizing sampling in the protected areas and for helping with the organization of the field workshop.