1,721,088 research outputs found
The jeweled armor of Tillandsia: multifaceted or elongated trichomes photoprotect leaf blades.
No full textReview of Thomas J.S. Carlson and Luisa Maffi (eds.). Ethnobotany and Conservation of Biocultural Diversity.
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La base funzionale della dinamica di vegetazione: il caso della Vedretta del Pasquale (Val Cedec - SO).
No full textValutazione del ruolo dei Parchi Lombardi ai fini del sequestro di carbonio.
Full text linkEvaluation of the role of Lombardy Parks (Italy) in carbon sequestration - The aim of this work is to evaluate the contribution of Lombardy Parks to carbon sequestration in the region, as reported in articles 3.3 and 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol. Soil and vegetation carbon pools were estimated through models, based on ecological data collected in the field or reported in the literature. Moreover Net Ecosystem carbon Exchange (NEE) was estimated for the principal forest types. Lombardy Parks, covering 21.0% of the area of the region, contribute 21.5% of the regional soil organic carbon pool (239.5 TgC) and 23.6% of the vegetation carbon stock (99.5 TgC). Parks contribute 23.5% of the regional annual ecosystem carbon exchange (-4.6 TgCO2 a-1). Lombardy Parks, essentially established for the conservation of biodiversity, represent an opportunity for increasing and preserving soil and vegetation carbon pools
The use of species diversity and functional diversity as indicators of the environmental and economic value of subalpine herbaceous communities (Foppolo – Orobie Alps).
No full textSpatio-temporal changes in functional spectra of plant communities following deglaciation.
No full textAlthough alpine communities have been extensively described, the mechanisms leading to their diversity are little understood. Growing interest in adaptive gradients acting on plant life evolution is producing working tools for the functional classification of species. This functional approach has been recently applied to glacier foreland (Caccianiga et al. 2006; Erschbamer 2007) and alpine communities (Pierce et al. 2007). Integrating these standardised methods to define functional types and phytosociological data, it is possible to provide a functional explanation of plant communities and of the mechanisms underpinning community processes such as succession.
We analysed the principal communities of the alpine belt of Italian Alps (Sieversio-Oxyrietum digynae, Saxifrago bryoidis-Poetum alpinae, Caricetum curvulae s.l., Festucetum halleri, Salicetum herbaceae). Within each community, CSR strategies (Grime 2001) were determined from seven traits, and the functional spectrum was represented by ordinating species within ternary plots representing CSR space. We found a succession of functional spectra between communities, with the number of species and the number of functional types positively correlated throughout. The least diverse community (Oxyrietum) was characterised by ruderal strategies reflecting general physical disturbance. The most diverse community (Festucetum) was characterised by ruderals and stress-tolerators, probably reflecting a more varied mosaic of niches and selection pressures acting at α (within habitat) scales. There were consistently more species than functional types, as more than one species may occupy any particular niche. Thus functional diversity is more fundamental and informative than solely the number of species in the evaluation of community properties and processes
FIGURE 1 in New record of the smalleye stingray, Dasyatis microps (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), from the western Indian Ocean
No full textFIGURE 1. Smalleye stingray, Dasyatis microps from southern Mozambique: A) dorsal view showing pectoral fin morphology; B) ventral view; C) dorsal view showing tail morphology and colouration; and D) specimen speared off Tofo Beach, Mozambique. Photographs by A.D. Marshall.Published as part of Pierce, Simon J., White, William T. & Marshall, Andrea D., 2008, New record of the smalleye stingray, Dasyatis microps (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), from the western Indian Ocean, pp. 65-68 in Zootaxa 1734 on page 66, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.27421
Sex change in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch.): a developmental framework for the bisexual to unisexual floral transition
No full textThe developmental morphology of male and female kiwifruit flowers is tracked to delimit a framework of events to aid the study of divergence in floral gene expression. The transition from hermaphrodite to unisexual development of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch) flowers has been reported previously, but differences in gene expression controlling sexual development for this species have not been associated with the major developmental changes occurring within pistils. We investigated the key stages in male and female flower development to define the point at which meristematic activities diverge in the two sexes. A combination of scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy was used to investigate pistil development from the earliest stages. We identified seven distinct stages characterized by differences in ovary size and shape, macrosporogenesis, ovule primordium development, anther locule lengthening, microspore wall thickening, and pollen degeneration. Sex differences were evident from the initial stage of development, with a laterally compacted gynoecium in male flowers. However, the key developmental stage, at which tissue differentiation clearly deviated between the two sexes, was stage 3, when flowers were 3.5 to 4.5 mm in length at approximately 10 d from initiation of stamen development. At this stage, male flowers lacked evident carpel meristem development as denoted by a lack of ovule primordium formation. Pollen degeneration in female flowers, probably driven by programmed cell death, occurred at the late stage 6, while the final stage 7 was represented by pollen release. As the seven developmental stages are associated with specific morphological differences, including flower size, the scheme suggested here can provide the required framework for the future study of gene expression during the regulation of flower development in this crop species
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