Is aridity restricting deforestation and land uses in the South American Dry Chaco?

In this paper, we explored how aridity influences the regional deforestation and land-use patterns (i.e. crops/pastures) in South American Dry Chaco. To do this, we contrasted land use during last decade (2001–2012) with a spatially explicit aridity index, which we complemented with a crop water balance model. Land-use classifications were performed by considering the temporal variability of NDVI from MODIS satellites, showing that 40 and 60% of deforested land was assigned to crops and pastures, respectively. Results indicate that although the regional deforestation pattern was not associated with the aridity gradient, with drier areas similarly deforested as wetter areas, contrasting differences were observed in the use of this land, with crops mostly located (90%) in wetter areas and pastures evenly distributed across the whole aridity gradient. This research highlighted the strong effect of water limitations on the land-use option after deforestation and may help to set the basis for future land-use planning policies.     

Translating land-use science to a museum exhibit

For land-use science to engage the general public it must successfully translate its concepts and conclusions and make them public outside of traditional scientific venues. Here we explore science-art exhibits, which blend artistic presentations with specific scientific data or themes, as a possible effective way of communicating scientific information and disrupting misconceptions. We describe the process of producing a science-art exhibit on remote sensing and Puerto Rican landscape history from 1937 to the present, sited at a rural Puerto Rican community museum, and examine the visitor experience and educational outcomes of the museum exhibit through analysis of survey data. The exhibit project engaged undergraduate students from a variety of academic backgrounds, introduced land-use science concepts to the public in an engaging format, and was effective at reshaping visitors’ misconceptions of Puerto Rico’s landscape change history.     

An unforgettable event: a qualitative study of the 1997–98 El Niño in northern Peru

During the 1997–98 El Niño, Tumbes, Peru received 16 times the annual average rainfall. This study explores how Tumbes residents perceived the impact of the El Niño event on basic necessities, transport, health care, jobs and migration. Forty‐five individuals from five rural communities, some of which were isolated from the rest of Tumbes during the event, participated in five focus groups; six of these individuals constructed nutrition diaries. When asked about events in the past 20 years, participants identified the 1997–98 El Niño as a major negative event. The El Niño disaster situation induced a decrease in access to transport and health care and the rise in infectious diseases was swiftly contained. Residents needed more time to rebuild housing; recover agriculture, livestock and income stability; and return to eating sufficient animal protein. Although large‐scale assistance minimized effects of the disaster, residents needed more support. Residents' perspectives on their risk of flooding should be considered in generating effective assistance policies and programmes.     

Assessment of the in vivo genotoxicity of a new formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis SH-14

Biological control agents have become a useful alternative for the reduction of the use of chemical insecticides. LABIOFAM (Cuba) is developing a new formulation of a biolarvicide that possesses as active biological agent Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis serotype H14. In order to evaluate the genotoxicity of this new formulation, an in vivo battery test was used: micronucleus (MN), chromosome aberrations (CAs), and sperm morphology (SM) assays. A dose of 6.45?×?10⁸ spores was administered per animal via oral administration. Bone marrow cells were collected 24?h after a two day treatment for the MN assay, and 24?h after a unique treatment for the CA assay, using cyclophosphamide as the positive control. Sperm cells were collected at 5 weeks from the first of five administrations for the SM test, using acrylamide as positive control. Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis serotype H14 failed to show either a significative increase of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes, chromosomal aberrations, or sperm abnormalities. Acute oral administration of a high dose of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis serotype H14 did not produce mutagenic effects in bone marrow or sperm cells.     

Mitigation of glyphosate-based herbicide toxicity in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings by ascorbic acid

Abstract

The toxicity of glyphosate at 3.6?mg L^?1 to maize seedlings raised from un-treated seeds and the effectiveness of seed pretreatment by soaking in 0.25?mmol L^?1 ascorbic acid (AsA) solution for mitigation of toxicity were evaluated in hydroponic culture. Glyphosate dramatically reduced the growth of roots and photosynthetic pigments in the leaves but increased protein content in the leaves. Superoxide dismutase activity and AsA concentration in the roots were increased, and guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX) activity was unaffected. Pretreatment with AsA improved the dry mass of the roots and shoots, increased the protein content in roots and leaves, and significantly decreased the activity of GPOX in roots. The positive effect of AsA treatment was not associated with more efficient functioning of the antioxidative system.     

Trends in precipitation chemistry in Alaska, 1980–1998

Nineteen years (1980–1998) of precipitation chemistry data from a site in Alaska are examined for trends using a least squares general linear model. The annual concentrations of SO^2– ₄ show a significant decreasing trend at 0.001 level and the annual change in concentration is —0.012mg 1^–1 yr^–1. The annual concentrations of NO ^– ₃ show an increasing tendency non‐significant. The annual base cation concentrations show a clear significant decreasing trend at 0.001 level and the decrease is —0.009mg 1^–1 yr^–1. Ca²⁺ concentrations exhibit a significant decreasing trend at 0.001 level and the annual change of concentration is —0.003 mg 1^–1 yr^–1. Mg²⁺ and Na⁺ concentrations show a significant decreasing trend at 0.01 level and the annual change is —0.001 mg1^–1 yr^–1 for Mg²⁺ and —0.004 mg1^–1 yr^–1 for Na⁺. K⁺ concentrations are characterised by a decreasing trend, significant at 0.05 level. K⁺ concentrations have decreased —0.002mg1^–1 yr^–1. The strongest rates of concentration decline for base cations, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺ and Na⁺ occurred in fall and winter season. The annual values of pH show a decreasing trend non‐significant. The values of pH oscillate between 5.1 and 5.6 during the period considered.     

Analysis of the ph in Europe during the period 1986–1997

The annual averages (1986–1997) of pH are analysed for the most important European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme stations in Europe. The first objective is to discover the different temporal patterns and trends for the pH. To do this, a cluster analysis is developed. The trends are analysed by linear regression for the annual averages. In general, the pH shows an increasing trend significant at 0.05 level and the annual change ranging from +0.01 to +0.05 pH‐units per year for the different clusters obtained. The second objective is to examine the spatial variability of pH in precipitation through the use of principal component analysis. Six statistically significant modes of variability are obtained for the pH which represent the 84.5% of the total variance.     

An approach to simulate wind fields around an urban environment for wind energy application

This work proposes an approach to simulate wind flow fields around an urban environment with the aim of evaluating the potential impact of buildings on the general wind patterns and power production using the current generation of commercial wind turbines. The simulation process was performed with the aid of accessible computational tools that can potentially render the proposed procedure applicable in other cases of interest. The roughness of the urban environment was defined as the association of roughness map, topography, and an alternative process for obtaining the volumetry of buildings. A case study was conducted in a region located at the district of Boa Viagem (Recife-PE) for assessing the applicability of the approach. Scenarios were designed in order to simulate wind flow patterns and pre-identify sites that have suitable wind energy potential for electric power production by investigating the combination of wind speed magnitude and turbulence intensity. From the results obtained, it was possible to identify zones of potential wind sources that are not detected in classical wind atlas probably due to the influence of the built environment on local wind flow patterns.