1,720,966 research outputs found
Ecological and Biological Studies of Some Species of Scarabaeidae and Life Cycle of Phyllognathus excavatus Forster in Damascus Countryside, Syria
No full textThis study was conducted in 2008 and 2009 in two areas of Damascus countryside to investigate the flight activity of Scarabaeidae adults, and life cycle of Phyllognathus excavates. Differences were found in adults emergence among the subfamilies, species which overwinter as adults in the pupal mud cell emerged in spring and early summer, as Cetoniinae, Aphodiinae, Scarabaeinae and Dynastinae (March to May and June), species which overwinters as matured larvae emerged late in summer as Melolonthinae (first June to first August). The life cycle of Ph. excavatus lasted for two years. Adults flight was recorded from April to early August with a peak in May. This species overwinters as third instar larvae in the first year and as adults in the pupal cell in the second year. Adults lay their eggs in the dung piles
The role of public mass catering in local foodshed governance toward self-reliance of Metropolitan regions
No full textEuropean Union policy promotes the redesigning of food systems, with special focus on peri-urban agriculture and the metropolitan regions food self-sufficiency. In this context, the study has evaluated the feasibility of “urban food procurement model” (URP-model); which is prepared based on the institutional mass catering fed by local and short supply chains, considering Milan metropolitan region a case study. A methodology was proposed to assess the potential food-self-reliance, and data-driven and geographical mapping approaches were used to define the foodshed’ borders, on the basis of spatial information about local supply and demand. The URP-Model was evaluated via SWOT analysis with the main actors having a key role in the local food policy and public mass catering management. Results indicated the local supply chains that could be involved into the URP-model and their potential contribution to the public institutions food self-reliance. The related opportunity maps show the extension of foodshed for different foodstuff categories. An overview about the barriers for the URP-model development and about its potential as tool to going toward food smart governance of metropolitan areas, is provided. The results can be effective for the planning of food system by the authorities involved with the public mass catering
How Organic Rice Farming Impacts the Biodiversity: A Case Study of the Rice Paddies in North Italy
Full text linkdepartmental bulletin pape
Participatory Approach for Developing Knowledge on Organic Rice Farming in Italy
Full text linkdepartmental bulletin pape
The environmental impacts of different organic rice management in Italy considering different productive scenarios
Full text linkRice cultivation has a key role in food security worldwide; on the other hand, it has a high potential impact on the environment and human health, mainly due to the extensive pesticides use and greenhouse gas emissions caused by flooded cultivation. In Italy, the rice sector based mainly on high-input monoculture. The transition toward organic agriculture can improve the environmental performance of rice farming according to the actual European sustainable food production strategy. Through LCA methodology, the study aims to evaluate the variability of the environmental impacts and the mitigation potential of four management strategies suitable for organic rice production in North Italy and two production potential levels observed during three-year monitoring on 10 farms in the study area. The LCA analysis includes the wide range of agronomic realities that characterise this farming system, assessing the variation in environmental performance by exploring eight plausible and possible scenarios for organic rice. Results suggest a considerable potential of organic rice production to mitigate its impact on natural resources, depending on the chosen agricultural practices. In particular, six LCA indicators showed a potential of reduction over 40 %, shifting from the worst-performing management to the better one. Finally, the large variability of climate change impacts assessed, both in this study and in literature, is due to the corresponding existing large variability in terms of yield and available patterns of agricultural practices. Today the farmers could reach acceptable yield values thanks to more efficient management than in the past. The acknowledgement for that performances relates to the development of the farmers' know-how and to the productive improvement connected to the long-term processes which characterise the organic systems (e.g. generation of soil fertility based on biological fertility and stable humus components; lowering of weeds pressure through the gradual introduction of other crops in rotation)
Factors affecting soil invertebrate biodiversity in agroecosystems of the Po Plain area (Italy)
Full text linkSoil is a fundamental component of the biosphere, whose properties and quality are affected by human activities, such as agriculture. Soil health is fundamental for different ecosystem services and soil biota has a crucial role in maintaining it. Elucidating how different crops and agricultural practices affect soil invertebrates communities is of relevance. In the present study, a DNA metabarcoding approach was adopted to evaluate the effects of different biotic and abiotic factors, including agricultural practices, on the composition and diversity of soil invertebrate communities of different agro-ecosystems (Po Plain-Italy). At this aim, the DNA markers and the more effective primers in retrieving soil metazoan communities were established. Bulk soil samples from different agro-ecosystems (i.e., cornfield, alfalfa, paddy fields, vineyard, stable meadow, woodland) were collected and, processed for obtaining 18S rRNA and coi sequences (raw reads analyzed using QIIME2 and R). Soil physical and chemical parameters were measured for each soil sample (e.g., pH, carbon-nitrogen ratio, texture, porosity) and metadata on farms management were retrieved. The most efficient primer pairs in recovering soil metazoans were M620F/M1260R for 18S rRNA, and mlCOIintF/jgHCO2198R for coi gene. Soil communities resulted dominated by Nematoda, Arthropoda, Annelida, Rotifera and Tardigrada. The most diverse invertebrate communities have been found in the soil of stable meadows and woodlands, while cornfields showed the lowest level of diversity. The diversity of soil invertebrate communities (Hill numbers) was positively correlated with the level of porosity and carbon-nitrogen ratio, while it was negatively correlated with the phosphate abundance. This pattern probably reflects the negative effect of excessive fertilization with phosphates on soil fauna, while the abundance of organic matter and microhabitats were found to enhance the presence of more complex communities. Other soil properties were correlated only with specific taxa (e.g., pH was negatively correlated with the diversity of Annelida and Rotifera)
Different phytotoxic effect of Lolium multiflorum Lam. leaves against Echinochloa oryzoides (Ard.) Fritsch and Oriza sativa L.
No full textRice cultivation, particularly prone to weed issues, requires practices able to effectively control them, however reducing the use
of herbicides, responsible for damage to human health and ecosystem sustainability. Alternative strategies for weed management
can be based on plant-plant interaction phenomena. In this context, a group of organic farmers has developed a pragmatic
approach for weed containment using Lolium multiflorum Lam. as a cover crop before rice. The present study aimed to confirm
the farmer field observations reporting a preferential inhibitory effect of L. multiflorum on Echinochloa oryzoides (Ard.) Fritsch,
one of the most yield-damaging rice weed, compared with Oryza sativa L. The study showed that L. multiflorum was able to
significantly reduce the seed germination of E. oryzoides. It was found to be more susceptible than O. sativa both to the effect of
the aqueous extract and powder of L. multiflorum leaves (23 – 79% vs. 3 – 57% and 26 – 100% vs. 23 – 31%, respectively). In
addition, the leaf extract was able to affect E. oryzoides growth starting from 20% concentration both in relation to the root
and shoot length while O. sativa exhibited differences compared with the control only under the influence of extract 50%. The
L. multiflorum leaf characterization by NMR and UPLC-HR-MS analyses led to the identification of 35 compounds including
several polyphenols, glycosyl flavonoids and glycosyl terpenoids, as well as different amino acids and organic acids. Some of
them (e.g. protocatechuic and gallic acids) are already known as allelochemicals confirming that L. multiflorum is a source of
plant growth inhibitors
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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