1,721,145 research outputs found
Recensione - Converting home spaces into an urban vegetable garden at the time of Covid-19 quarantine: all the benefits of plants in this difficult and unattended period
No full textCOST Action PROCLIAS (CA19139 - Process-based models for climate impact attribution across sectors)
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Converting urban spaces into food gardens during the Covid-19 pandemic
No full textPeople are facing uncertain and difficult times in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. If many of us have to self-isolate in urban or suburban environments, we need something to do to keep our bodies and minds active and fed. In such a challenging scenario, a garden in urban spaces can bring recreational, health, economic and environmental benefits. Regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is untapped potential for this kind of garden to impact environmental outcomes, public awareness, and market trends. Urban vegetable gardens could provide a small-scale approach to the sustainable use of natural resources, leading towards self-sufficiency, self-regulation, sustainability, and environmental protection. Here I present a work on my experience, focusing on the benefits of plants (psychological, health, economic, productive) in this k of better work than setting up a home vegetable garden. I know that the idea seems, at a first glance, strange and inappropriate - considering the number of current and future problems - but, as a scientist, I felt I had to do it. A vegetable garden in home spaces can provide recreation, enhance physical and mental health, and provide economic and environmental benefits. There are no greenhouse gas emissions, no use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, no leaching losses. Regardless of practical challenges and the existential difficulties we face, there is untapped potential for It is time to think about a new way of living that starts from daily activities, with a small-scale and bottomup approach, based on sustainable use of natural resources and promotion of a subsistence economy and bartering, aimed at lasting well-being in generations both in material terms (food and energy) and psychological terms, able to integrate various disciplines (such as agriculture and animal husbandry, forestry, biology, architecture, engineering, but also economics, sociology, philosophy, and psychology). Covid-19 could be one the last warning that gives us time to reconsider human behavior - from global warming to the ever-increasing intensity and speed of activities, all of which are related to the principle of the capitalistic system. This pause can help us deliberate how all this can be transformed into a sustainable system; maybe it can be considered as a big chance
UV-C rays to simulate the exposition of photosynthetic organisms to solar radiation in space environments
Full text linkUltraviolet (UV) is a component of the solar radiation with a wavelength in the range of 100 ≤ λ ≤ 390 nm that is almost entirely shielded by the terrestrial atmosphere but not in space. The effects of UV-C (100 ≤ λ ≤ 280 nm) on plants mainly depend on a) the applied UV-C radiation dose and quality, b) the different plant species and varieties used, and c) the phenological phase of irradiated plants. UV-C radiation can be extremely dangerous also at low exposition times. On the other side, considering that terrestrial plants under sunlight are naturally exposed to low doses of UV-C, the question is how much UV-C could be beneficial for plants cultivated in space, in relation to a) protection of plants from pathogens, b) increase of the concentration of important dietary supplements, and c) regulation of some physiological processes. The research on UV-C should be more addressed to better evaluate the damages and benefits in UV-C-exposed photosynthetic organisms, involving plants useful for bioregenerative life support systems (BLSSs)
Tea bag index (TBI) for a field trial (olive orchard) in Ferrandina (Basilicata, Italy)
No full text<p>The file contains mean k and S value per GPS location, with as meta-data the starting date, duration and biome of the study.</p>
The effect of polyethylene glycol-induced oxidative stress on photosynthesis, carbohydrates and cell membrane in Stevia rebaudiana grown in greenhouse
Full text linkDrought stress is one of the major environmental stresses that limit crop production in arid regions. A greenhouse culture experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of an agronomically and economically important sweet medical herb (Stevia rebaudiana) to polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000)-induced drought stress (5, 10, and 15% (w/v) PEG, equivalent to leaf water potentials of − 0.49, − 1.40 and − 2.93 MPa, respectively) for 1 month. Plant mass, a major determinant of Stevia yield, showed a reduction after PEG treatments. PEG-reduced photosynthesis traits included the maximal quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), efficiency of photosystems I and II (PIabs), intercellular CO2, net photosynthesis, chlorophylls, carotenoids and water use efficiency, followed by the reduction of carbohydrates. Under PEG treatment, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation occurred and plants exhibited an increase in H2O2 generation. Consequently, an increase in malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage was evident in PEG treatment, indicating membrane lipid peroxidation. In PEG-treated plants, the ROS accumulation was accompanied by an increase in activity of some enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Leaf extracts of PEG-treated plants showed lower superoxide anion, hydroxyl and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity than control plants. Drought stress also caused the accumulation of the compatible solutes proline and glycine betaine. Collectively, the results demonstrated that PEG-induced oxidative stress, due to insufficient antioxidant mechanisms, provoked damages to cell membrane and photosynthetic apparatus, with consequently reduced carbohydrates and plant growth. These results are of basic importance as vegetative growth is the major determining criterion for Stevia crops and adequate irrigation is crucial for obtaining higher yield
Soil macrofauna regulates organic matter turnover in a Mediterranean olive grove COST Indian Horticulture Summit 2020 - “Mitigating Climatic Changes and Doubling Farmers’ Income through Diversification”
No full textThe study was carried out to characterize and compare C/N dynamics and other soil physicochemical parameters, soil macrofauna abundance, bioturbation and litter/SOM decomposition indices in a Mediterranean olive (Olea europaea L.) orchard subjected to two different soil management systems (namely sustainable, Smng, and conventional, Cmng) for 18 years. The adoption of Smng system significantly increased almost three times the abundance of earthworms and two times that of other macrofauna. Bioturbation due to soil fauna and roots was significantly higher in the Smng system, and this caused a significantly faster SOM decomposition measured both in local litter bags and in tea bags. The results highlighted that a great part of the soil quality and fertility of the Smng system could be due to the bioturbation activity of soil fauna, together with its interaction with decomposing microorganisms. It emerged that the role of soil fauna should be seriously taken into account in future land management strategies not exclusively focused on fruit yield and quality
Updated Sections and Scope of the International Journal of Plant Biology (IJPB)
Full text linkThe International Journal of Plant Biology is embarking on an exciting new journey as we expand our horizons and delve deeper into the multifaceted world of plant science [...
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