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Leaf trichome diversity, acylsugar concentration, and their relationships to leaf area in Solanum galapagense
Get PDFGlandular trichomes are physical and chemical barriers used by some tomato wild relatives to confer resistance against insect pests and diseases transmitted by them. Solanum galapagense has been identified as one of the potential sources of insect pest resistance. The present study aimed to examine the trichome diversity and acylsugar concentration of 26 accessions of S. galapagense along with one cultivated tomato (S. lycopersicum) and one cherry tomato (S. l. cerasiforme) cultivar. The results revealed large phenotypic variation among S. galapagense accessions for all studied traits. The S. galapagense accessions had significantly higher trichome types IV density on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the leaf and greater acylsugar concentration but a smaller leaflet area than the cultivated tomato. The selected cherry tomato line represents greater trichome type IV density and acylsugar concentration than other groups. The acylsugar concentration was positively associated with trichome type IV but negatively associated with trichome type V on both leaf surfaces. DNA markers revealed the presence of two previously identified whitefly-resistance alleles in S. galapagense accessions. This study will support breeding programmes aiming to improve insect pest resistance in tomato cultivars using crop wild relatives.202
Forest landscape shield models for assessing audio-visual disturbances of wind turbines
Get PDFWind power is one of the fastest growing renewable energy sectors and plays a focal role in the transition to a fossil fuel free society in Europe. Technological developments have enabled the construction of turbines within forested areas, which has raised concerns regarding the audio-visual impact on these landscapes. However, there is a paucity of research with regard to the role that forests may play in mitigating the negative impacts of wind farms. In this study, we created a simplified model for noise attenuation based on the ISO 9613-2 and Nord2000 noise models and a visibility model which both relates the audio-visual effect to forest stand structure and applied them in the GIS environment. Our findings suggest that forests can act as effective noise barriers, with the sound attenuation level dependent on the distance that sound travels through the forest, as well as the size and density of the trees. However, in the case of a high elevation sound source (such as wind turbines), the forest begins to act as a noise shield from a distance of between 500 and 1500 m, depending on the height of the forest and the land topography. While current noise models do not consider the impact of tree species, our visibility model accounts for tree size, density and species, as well as understorey and thinning. Our results indicate that spruce trees provide a better visual constraint whereas visibility distances within mature Calluna-type pine forests tend to be more extensive. Both models include variables that can be adjusted by forest management, thereby allowing integration with forest planning software. Overall, this study presents indicative methods for the evaluation of potential forest landscape shields, a concept that could have broad applications, including Landscape Value Trading.202
Root injury detection by impedance loss factor and hydraulic conductance of apple (Malus domestica), blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) nursery plants
Get PDFIn order to avoid winter damage, freezer storage has become a common practice in production of nursery plants in boreal zones. Previously, winter storage temperature of −3 °C was appropriate for the aboveground parts of apple, blueberry and blackcurrant nursery plants but it remained unknown whether it is optimal for root systems too. Therefore, we examined the effect of different treatment temperatures of 3, −3, −7, −10 °C for five to six weeks on root damage of two cultivars of apple (Malus domestica), three cultivars of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum), and three cultivars of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). Root damage was assessed by the impedance loss factor (δ) and the reverse-flow hydraulic conductance (Kr) of the roots. In apple, the proper storage temperature for roots during winter storage is −3 °C. However, the appropriate storage temperature for root systems of blueberry and blackcurrant depends on the cultivar. In addition, our results demonstrate the potential of the classification analysis of impedance spectra in identifying the appropriate storage conditions for different species. This approach can provide a rapid way to assess the root damage caused by low temperature and help to optimize the storage conditions for different species and cultivars. Further research is needed to investigate mechanisms underlying the observed effects and to develop practical applications based on these findings.202
Behavioural flexibility in Lumbricus terrestris burrowing
Get PDFLumbricus terrestris is an epi-anecic earthworm, normally occupying a 1–2 m deep, vertical burrow. Some observations suggest that population persistence in much shallower burrows could be possible in a mild and humid climate. This was further investigated at an ex-industrial site in NW England, with a topsoil less than 0.15 m deep, above inert subsoil formed from semi-weathered Leblanc waste. L. terrestris were collected from an adjacent woodland soil and introduced into unoccupied areas. After four days, settlement and survival were studied by targeted sampling of half of the individuals, and depth of burrows were measured by resin casting. After 14 months, the second half of inoculated areas were studied and after another four years a further general survey occurred. After four days, 41 % of targeted worms were recovered, with 0.11 m mean burrow depth and burrows ending at the subsoil interface. After 14 months, all age classes of L. terrestris were present and burrow depth had not changed. After five years, adult, juvenile and hatchling L. terrestris were present, demonstrating establishment of a breeding population. In a parallel laboratory experiment, with site topsoil and subsoil in Evans’ boxes, L. terrestris avoided subsoil and constructed U-shaped burrows. The results show that through flexible burrow construction, L. terrestris can survive above highly constraining subsoil conditions. This is likely to be only possible where severe droughts are uncommon, and topsoil does not freeze in winter.202
Natural regeneration and early development of Scots pine seedlings after gap cutting in northern Finland
Get PDFIn the northern boreal region, tree growth, timber yields and economic returns are low, meaning low regeneration costs are the basis of profitable forestry. If natural regeneration is successful, it may be favoured over expensive planting or seeding. We studied the regeneration success and early growth of Scots pine in gaps in terms of seedling density and height 10 years after gap cuttings in central Finnish Lapland. Three gap sizes (diameters of 20, 40, and 80 m) were studied on patch scarified xeric and sub-xeric sites in six random blocks and a total of 18 replicates of each. The number of pine seedlings was high across the gap sizes. The proportion of empty regeneration plots (size 5 m2) was ∼ 2%. Site preparation substantially increased the number of seedlings. The growth of seedlings was faster in larger gaps, but a high proportion of exposed mineral soil decreased it. The results suggest that all studied gap sizes regenerated naturally well, and that soil scarification exposing 10–20% of the surface area or even less can be enough to achieve regeneration goals. Gaps of a diameter of 40 m or more are required to achieve an optimal balance between seedling density and growth.202
Suomen villisikakanta tammikuussa 2024
Get PDFSuomessa oli tammikuun 2024 alussa keskimäärin (mediaani) 2 011 villisikaa. Kanta-arvion todennäköisyysväli (90 %) on 1 576–2 660 yksilöä. Arvion perusteella villisikakannan kasvutrendi on edelleen laskeva Suomessa. Villisikojen alueellinen levinneisyys on pysynyt samana viime vuosina ja villisikoja on edelleen eniten itäisen Uudenmaan ja Kaakkois-Suomen alueilla.
Luke on kehittänyt tilastotieteellistä villisikakanta-arviointia vuodesta 2017 lähtien. Nykyinen malli on Bayes-päättelyyn perustuva state-space malli, joka arvioi kannan koon koko aikasarjan pituudelta, eli vuodesta 2016. Se kykenee hyödyntämään tehokkaasti useita eri tietolähteitä, joista keskeisimpiä ovat suomalaisten metsästäjien tuottama arvio alueensa villisikojen runsaudesta, tieto saalismääristä ja havainnoista, sekä kirjallisuuteen perustuva tieto villisian lisääntyvyydestä ja kuolleisuudesta.202
Livin' on the edge: reducing infanticide risk by maintaining proximity to potentially less infanticidal males
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EU needs more from bioeconomy
Get PDFWe are facing a polycrisis. The EU’s competitiveness has been severely weakened by geopolitical tensions, the COVID pandemic and the faster economic development of our competitors. The EU’s heavy dependence on imported production inputs and feedstock also poses a growing risk to our security of supply. At the same time, globally we need long-term solutions to biodiversity loss and adaptation to climate change. Sustainable bioeconomy can provide solutions to these challenges. Europe needs bioeconomy to transition from niche to norm.202
Assessing the impact of agri-environmental payments on green productivity in Germany
Get PDFThis study offers a novel empirical application for assessing the impact of agri-environment schemes (AES) on the performance of farms. The existing evidence about the impact of these schemes considering environmental and economic aspects equally is still limited. Therefore, our objective is to contribute to the literature on the impact evaluation of AES by considering three important aspects in our empirical analysis. First, the performance of farms is proxied by an indicator that incorporates environmental externalities into production activities. Second, our empirical analysis focuses on a sample of Bavarian dairy farms covering the period 2013–2018, thus, we can evaluate the effectiveness of agri-environmental schemes in one of Germany's leading agricultural and forestry regions during the latest programming period. Finally, in an effort to increase robustness, we employ an improved version of the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index, which enables us to get around some of the shortcomings of the original index. The obtained results suggest that agri-environment payments have a limited effect on improving farm-level green productivity.202
Association between the financial situation of food production establishments and food control inspection grades in Finland
Get PDFThe repeated violation of food safety legislation by food business operators (FBOs) constitutes a health risk for consumers. However, the possibilities for recognizing these FBOs at an early stage are limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between the financial situation of Finnish FBOs and the food control inspection grades that their food production establishments received. Our hypothesis was that a weak financial situation would increase the risk of recurring non-compliance. We used food control inspection reports on meat, fish, and dairy establishments in Finland from 2016 to 2020 (612 establishments) and the publicly available financial statements of these companies. Due to missing financial data and stringent requirements for case-control pairs, 45 case-control pairs and 88 cases were analysed. The cases included food production establishments with non-compliances in recurring years. Randomized matched controls were paired for each case. The analyses showed that the likelihood of belonging to the case group was lower when the food production establishment's operating margin, describing profitability, was in the best-performing tertile (OR = 0.21, p = 0.01) or the middle tertile (OR = 0.22, p = 0.03) compared to the worst-performing tertile. Furthermore, a trend was observed within the cases, showing that the likelihood of non-compliances during a year was lower when the current ratio (ln), describing liquidity, increased (generalized estimating equations, OR = 0.73, p = 0.08). Therefore, the low profitability of a food production establishment implies an elevated risk of recurring non-compliances. Additionally, the low liquidity of a food production establishment indicates a higher risk of non-compliances during the same year. These financial indicators could be used for mapping FBOs that are at a higher risk of repeatedly violating food safety, and inspections could be targeted at them. This could increase the effectiveness of food control.202