Determination of pesticide residues in Turkey��s table grapes: the effect of integrated pest management, organic farming, and conventional farming

Turkey is one of the world??s largest producers and exporters of table grapes. Growing social concerns over excessive pesticide use have led to farming to move from conventional to organic practices. Table grapes were collected from 99 different farms in three Aegean regions. Pesticide residues were only detected in farms using conventional agriculture practices while no pesticides were detected in grapes from farms using organic or integrated pest management. A risk assessment model indicated that lambda-cyhalothrin posed the most significant risk at conventional farms.     

Temporal and spatial trends in water quality of Lake Taihu,China: analysis from a north to mid-lake transect, 1991–2011

Interpretations of state and trends in lake water quality are generally based on measurements from one or more stations that are considered representative of the response of the lake ecosystem. The objective of this study is to examine how these interpretations may be influenced by station location in a large lake. We addressed this by analyzing trends in water quality variables collected monthly from eight monitoring stations along a transect from the central lake to the north in Lake Taihu (area about 2,338 km²), China, from October 1991 to December 2011. The parameters examined included chlorophyll a (Chl a), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, and Secchi disk depth (SD). The individual variables were increasingly poorly correlated among stations along the transect from the central lake to the north, particularly for Chl a and TP. The timing of peaks in individual variables was also dependent on station location, with spectral analysis revealing a peak at annual frequency for the central lake station but absence of, or much reduced signal, at this frequency for the near-shore northern station. Percentage annual change values for each of the four variables also varied with station and indicated general improvement in water quality at northern stations, particularly for TN, but little change or decline at central lake stations. Sediment resuspension and tributary nutrient loads were considered to be responsible for some of the variability among stations. Our results indicate that temporal trends in water quality may be station specific in large lakes and that calculated whole-lake trophic status trends or responses to management actions may be specific to the station(s) selected for monitoring and analysis. These results have important implications for efficient design of monitoring programs that are intended to integrate the natural spatial variability of large lakes.     

Plants as bioindicators for archaeological prospection: a case of study from Domitian’s Stadium in the Palatine (Rome, Italy)

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between buried archaeological remains (masonries, pavements, and ancient ruins) and spontaneous vegetation growing above them. We carried out several vegetation surveys in the Domitian’s Stadium at the archaeological site of the Palatine (Rome). Vegetation data were collected using the Braun-Blanquet approach and elaborated using statistical analyses (cluster analysis) to assess the similarity among surveys. Structural, chorological, and ecological features of the plant communities were analyzed. Results showed that the vegetation responds significantly to the presence of sub-emerging ancient remains. The plant bioindication of this phenomenon occurs through the following floristic-vegetation variations: phenological alterations in single individuals (reduction in height, displacement of flowering/fruiting period), increase of annual species and decrease of perennial ones, decrease of total plant coverage, reduction of maturity level of the vegetation which remains blocked at a pioneer evolutive stage. The presence of sub-surfacing ruins manifests itself through the dominant occurrence of xerophilous and not-nitrophilous species (e.g., Hypochaeris achyrophorus L., Aira elegantissima Schur, Trifolium scabrum L. ssp. scabrum, Trifolium stellatum L., Plantago lagopus L., Medicago minima (L.) L., and Catapodium rigidum (L.) C.E. Hubb. ex Dony ssp. rigidum) and in a rarefaction of more mesophilous and nitrophilous species (e.g., Plantago lanceolata L., Trifolium pratense L. ssp. pratense, Trifolium repens L. ssp. repens, and Poa trivialis L.). Therefore, the vegetation can be used as bioindicator for the detection of buried ruins, contributing in the archaeological prospection for a general, fast, and inexpensive interpretation of the underground.