Transition to large-scale organic vegetable production in the Salinas Valley, California

Studying the management strategies suited to large-scale organic production, particularly during the mandated 3-year transition period from conventional management, is a unique research challenge. Organic production traditionally relies on small, diverse plantings and complex management responses to cope with soil fertility and pest pressures, so research should represent decision-making options of an organic grower at the farm scale. This study analyzes crop, soil, pest and management changes during the organic transition period on two ranches (40 and 47 ha) in the Salinas Valley, California in cooperation with a large conventional vegetable producer, Tanimura and Antle, Inc. Permanent transects were established across the two ranches at the onset of adoption of organic practices, and soil and plants were sampled at harvest of almost all crops, while all management operations were recorded by the co-operator. The 10 ha blocks were divided into many small plantings, and 17 different cash crop and cover crop species were planted during the transition period. Management inputs consisted of a range of organic fertilizers and amendments, sprinkler and drip irrigation, cultivation and hand-hoeing, and several types of organic pesticides. Results from the 3-year period followed these general trends: increase in soil biological indicators (microbial biomass and arbuscular mycorrhizae), low soil nitrate pools, adequate crop nutrients, minor disease and weed problems, and sporadic mild insect damage. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that some crops and cultivars consistently produced higher yields than others, relative to the maximum yield for a given crop. Multi-factor contingency tables showed clear differences in insect and disease damage between crop taxa. Although Tanimura and Antle, Inc. used some of the principles of organic farming (e.g., crop diversity, crop rotation, and organic matter (OM) management), they also relied on substitution-based management, such as fertigation with soluble nutrients, initially heavy applications of organic pesticides, and use of inputs derived from off-farm sources. Their initial production of a large number of crop taxa in small plantings at staggered intervals proved to be an effective strategy for avoiding risks from low yields or crop failure and allowed them to move towards a smaller number of select, successful crops towards the end of the transition. This study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale producers to transition to organic practices in a manner that was conducive to both production goals and environmental quality, i.e., increased soil C pools, low soil nitrate, and absence of synthetic pesticides.     

Naturalistic hotspots along the Itinerarium Rosaliae (CW Sicily,Italy)

The conservation, fruition and management of landscape and natural resources is one of the most important topic of the moment. Here we presented a study on naturalistic hotspots that can be found along the Itinerarium Rosaliae, a naturalistic and religious route in Sicily that crosses three natural reserves and one natural regional park connecting Mount Pellegrino with the Hermitage of Santo Stefano di Quisquina. On the whole 7 semi-natural woods, 13 monumental trees, 8 geosites, and 4 areas of high naturalistic interest were identified. This initiative can be of example for other territories where human and natural heritage can be connected for an organic network of fruition.     

Impact of forest policies on timber production in India: a review

Until the 20th century, forest policies across the globe focused primarily on effective forest utilization for timber production. Subsequent loss of forest land prompted many countries to review and amend such policies, in an attempt to incorporate the principles of conservation and sustainable forest management. One of the countries to implement such changes was India, which introduced new policies, acts and programmes to regulate forest conversion and degradation, beginning in the 1980s. These policies, acts, and programmes included the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the National Forest Policy of 1988 and the Hon. Supreme Court Order of 1996. All of these regulations affected the timber supply from government forest areas, and created a huge gap in timber supply and demand. Currently, this deficit is met through imports and trees outside forests (TOFs). Timber production from government forest areas is abysmally low (3.35% of total demand) compared to potential timber production from TOFs, which fulfil 45% of the total timber demand in India. This implies that TOFs have immense potential in meeting the growing timber demand; however, they have not been fully utilized due to discrepancies in state level TOFs’ policies. The present paper provides a review of different forest policies, acts and guidelines in relation to timber production in India, and provides specific recommendations in order to maximize timber production in the context of increasing demand for timber products.     

Leaf litter leachates have the potential to increase lifespan, body size, and offspring numbers in a clone of Moina macrocopa

Leaf litter processing is one major pathway of the global organic carbon cycle. During this process, a variety of small reactive organic compounds are released and transported to the aquatic environment, and may directly impact aquatic organisms as natural xenobiotics. We hypothesize that different forest stockings produce different leachate qualities, which in turn, stress the aquatic communities and, eventually, separate sensitive from tolerant species. Particularly, leachates from coniferous trees are suspected to have strongly adverse impacts on sensitive species. We exposed individuals of a clone of the model organism, Moina macrocopa, to comparable concentrations (approximately 2 mM) of litter leachates of Norway spruce, Picea abies, Colorado blue spruce, Picea pungens, black poplar, Populus nigra, and sessile oak, Quercus petraea. The animals were fed ad libitum. The following life trait variables were recorded: growth, lifespan, and lifetime offspring. To identify, whether or not exposure to litter leachates provokes an internal oxidative stress in the exposed animals we measured the superoxide anion radical scavenging capacity via photoluminescence. Except of P. abies, exposure to the leachates reduced this antioxidant capacity by approximately 50%. Leachate exposures, except that of Quercus, increased body size and extended lifespan; furthermore, particularly the leachates of both Picea species significantly increased the offspring numbers. This unexpected behavior of exposed Moina may be based on food supplements (e.g., high carbohydrate contents) in the leachates or on yet to be identified regulatory pathways of energy allocation. Overall, our results suggest that the potentially adverse effects of litter leachates can be overruled by either bacterial-growth supporting fractions in the leachates or an internal compensation mechanism in the Moina individuals.     

亚热带不同林地植物光合作用对空气CO_2浓度增高的响应

以桃金娘、荷木及九节和罗伞分别代表生长在密林、中等疏密林和疏林植物 .在较高空气CO2 浓度下 ,随着光强增加 ,疏林的桃金娘光合速率 (An/ μmolm-2 s-1)与光强关系曲线的最初直线部分斜率为 0 .0 5 1,而中等疏密林的荷木和九节则分别为 0 .0 39和 0 .0 34 ,密林的罗伞则较低 ,仅为 0 .0 2 2 .疏林桃金娘的不包括光呼吸的CO2 补偿点为Γ 38.1μLL-1,较荷木和九节分别约高 8.8%和 10 .7% ;较罗伞约高 14.7% .除罗伞有较低光呼吸速率外 ,疏林的桃金娘和中等疏密林荷木及九节的光呼吸速率 (Rd)相似 .光合作用的Rup2 饱和速率 (Vcmax)80 .2 μmolm-2 s-1,较荷木和九节分别高 2 4.8%和 2 2 .9% ,表明生长在疏林的桃金娘有较大羧化作用潜力 .实际电子传递速率与Rup2 再生有关 ,桃金娘的实际电子传递速率为 10 2 .7μmolm-2 s-1,明显较荷木和九节高 .罗伞有低的电子传导率 ,可能罗伞光合速率受Rup2 再生的明显限制 .桃金娘的光能转化效率δ为 0 .47electrons/quan tum .而中等疏密林的荷木和九节则为 0 .2 3和 0 .2 6electrons/quantum .疏林植物生长快 ,光合产物库不受限制时 ,空气CO2 浓度增高 ,有利于促进阳生阔叶树种的光合速率持续增高 ,促进其种群优势 .图 4表 1参 12     

北京地区人工景观生态服务价值估算

以生态系统服务价值定量评价的现有成果为手段,针对北京市的具体问题,对北京市人工草地与人工林木、人工景观水面与人工湿地的生态服务价值进行了估算和对比分析.结果显示北京地区的人工草地和人工景观水面的生态服务价值皆为负值,而人工林木和人工湿地的生态服务价值较高,所以种草不如种树,造水面不如建湿地.     

新《森林法》背景下的补种树木责任承担方式

补种树木是森林生态环境修复的有效途径,而我国立法对补种树木责任承担方式的规定未形成体系,亟待完善.在新《森林法》出台的背景下,运用比较分析法对新旧《森林法》的修订变化进行阐释和探析,可得出:补种树木责任承担方式在执法与司法领域适用的过程中,遇到原地与异地补种的适用顺位不明、补种树木执法主体的确立不明确、缺乏补种树木执法...     

8种乡土树种在铁矿废弃地的定植与生长

应用生态系统演替原理,选取青冈(Cyclobalanopsis glauca)、苦槠(Castanopsis sclerophylla)、白栎(Quercus fabri)、麻栎(Quercus acutissima)、小叶栎(Quercus chenii)、榔榆(Ulmus parvifolia)、紫楠(Phoebe sheareri)和薄叶润楠(Machilus leptophylla)8种乡土树种在安徽省马鞍山市南山铁矿排土场进行定植试验.定植后3 a小叶栎高度达(194.89±2.71) cm(平均值±标准误,下同),比移栽时增加119.89 cm,平均年增高39.96 cm,高度最小的紫楠也达(72.67±2.91) cm,比移栽时增加了62.67 cm,平均年增高20.89 cm;地径最大的榔榆已达(3.87±0.11) cm,最小的紫楠也达(1.27±0.15) cm,说明在人工管理条件下,这些植物生长良好.观测结果表明,落叶阔叶树种比常绿阔叶树种定植成活率高,株高和地径增长速度也较快,是该地自然群落恢复的重要候选树种.     

Moving from trends to benchmarks by using regression tree analysis to find inbreeding thresholds in a critically endangered bird

Understanding how inbreeding affects endangered species in conservation breeding programs is essential for their recovery. The Hawaiian Crow (‘Alalā) (Corvus hawaiiensis) is one of the world's most endangered birds. It went extinct in the wild in 2002, and, until recent release efforts starting in 2016, nearly all of the population remained under human care for conservation breeding. Using pedigree inbreeding coefficients (F), we evaluated the effects of inbreeding on Hawaiian Crow offspring survival and reproductive success. We used regression tree analysis to identify the level of inbreeding (i.e., inbreeding threshold) that explains a substantial decrease in ‘Alalā offspring survival to recruitment. Similar to a previous study of inbreeding in ‘Alalā, we found that inbreeding had a negative impact on offspring survival but that parental (vs. artificial) egg incubation improved offspring survival to recruitment. Furthermore, we found that inbreeding did not substantially affect offspring reproductive success, based on the assumption that offspring that survive to adulthood breed with distantly related mates. Our novel application of regression tree analysis showed that offspring with inbreeding levels exceeding F = 0.098 were 69% less likely to survive to recruitment than more outbred offspring, providing a specific threshold value for ongoing population management. Our results emphasize the importance of assessing inbreeding depression across all life history stages, confirm the importance of prioritizing parental over artificial egg incubation in avian conservation breeding programs, and demonstrate the utility of regression tree analysis as a tool for identifying inbreeding thresholds, if present, in any pedigree-managed population.