Marine Sediments Remotely Unveil Long-Term Climatic Variability Over Northern Italy

No real improvement in the technological quality of beet has been recorded over the last 15 years in Northern Italy. Among the possible explanations for the quality stagnation is that the traditional formulae cannot correctly differentiate between sugarbeet varieties which produce thick juice of very high purity. This seems to be connected with the role of potassium. The use of a standard purification procedure gives reliable and accurate data which is immediately comparable with the factory data. Research projects on medium/long term storage are currently being performed by Co.Pro.B., Italy, in cooperation with Syngenta and Beta. Up to now the results have shown that storage of sugarbeet in autumn time in northern Italy is possible provided that suitable varieties and proper handling of the roots are employed. Results obtained in the storage trials are reported. Correlations have been found between quality parameters (purity, color and lime salts) of the purified juice with the glucose content of the raw juice. An interesting correlation is reported between purified juice purity and raw juice purity.

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Effect of ecological and conventional managements on soil enzymatic activities in coffee agroecosystems

Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical ◽

10.1590/1983-40632018v4852373 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 420-428

Author(s):

Johana Juliet Caballero Vanegas ◽

Karen Bibiana Mejía Zambrano ◽

Lizeth Manuela Avellaneda-Torres

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Management ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Enzymatic Activities ◽

Acid And Alkaline Phosphatase ◽

Dry Seasons ◽

Synthetic Fertilizers ◽

Coffee Agroecosystems ◽

Alkaline And Acid Phosphatase

ABSTRACT Understanding the impacts of agricultural practices on soil quality indicators, such as enzymatic activities, is of great importance, in order to advance in their diagnosis and sustainable management. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ecological and conventional agricultural managements on enzymatic activities of a soil under coffee agroecosystems. The enzymatic activities were associated with the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen (urease and protease), phosphorus (acid and alkaline phosphatase) and carbon (β-glucosidase), during the rainy and dry seasons. Physical-chemical soil proprieties were also assessed and related to resilience scores linked to the climatic variability reported for the areas under study. The activities of urease, alkaline and acid phosphatase and ß-glucosidase were statistically higher in ecological agroecosystems than in conventional ones. This may be attributed to the greater application of organic waste in the ecological environment, as well as to the absence of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which allow better conditions for the microbial activity. The resilience scores to the climate variability that showed the highest correlations with the assessed enzymatic activities were: the farmers' knowledge on soil microorganisms, non-use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and non-dependence on external supplies. It was concluded that the enzymatic activities are modified by the management systems, being specifically favored by the ecological management. This agroecosystem, in the long term, ensures an efficient use of the soil resources, with a lower degradation and contamination.

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Green manure: Alternative to carbon sequestration in a Typic Ustipsamment under semiarid conditions

Spanish Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.3232/sjss.2018.v8.n3.01 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Nelson Virgilio Piraneque Gambasica ◽

Sonia Esperanza Aguirre Forero ◽

Adriano Reis Lucheta

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Green Manure ◽

Block Design ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Full Potential ◽

Semiarid Conditions

Vegetative soil cover mitigates climatic variability and enhances the balance between mineralization and humification processes. Under aerobic conditions, most of the carbon that enters the soil is labile, but a small fraction (1%) is humified and stable, contributing to the soil carbon reserve; therefore, it is important to assess the carbon content captured after green manure cultivation and decomposition. During two consecutive semesters, July to December 2016 and January to June 2017, green manure plots (Zea mays L., Andropogon sorghum subsp. sudanensis and Crotalaria longirostrata) were cultivated individually, in a consortium or amended with palm oil agro-industrial biosolids in a randomized complete block design with 12 treatments. Once decomposed, the different carbon fractions (organic, oxidizable, non-oxidizable, removable and total) were determined. The results showed high total and organic carbon contents under the sorghum treatment, at 30 and 28 Mg ha-1, respectively, followed by those under the fallow + biosolid treatment, at 29.8 Mg ha-1 and 27.5 Mg ha-1, respectively. Despite the short experiment duration and the possible contributions of previous management on recalcitrant carbon soil stocks, these findings suggest the importance of maintaining plant cover and utilizing green manure in the Colombian Caribbean region. Long-term experiments may be conducted to confirm the full potential of cover crops on carbon sequestration under tropical semiarid conditions.

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Abstract P355: Predicting the 20-year Risk of First Coronary or Ischemic Stroke Event in Northern Italy: The CAMUNI Absolute Risk Equation

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.127.suppl_12.ap355 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 127 (suppl_12) ◽

Author(s):

Giovanni Veronesi ◽

Lloyd E Chambless ◽

Francesco Gianfagna ◽

Giuseppe Mancia ◽

Giancarlo Cesana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Family History ◽

Diastolic Blood Pressure ◽

Cardiovascular Events ◽

Absolute Risk ◽

Northern Italy ◽

Men And Women ◽

Basic Model ◽

History Of

Aims. Recent US guidelines advocate the introduction of lifetime or long-term absolute risk prediction for primary prevention of cardiovascular events, especially for young people and women. Therefore, long-term prediction models might be specially beneficial in population considered at low incidence. We aim to develop a 20-year absolute risk prediction equation in a Northern Italy population. Methods. Four independent population-based cohorts were enrolled between 1986 and 1994 from the Brianza population (Northern Italy), adopting standardized MONICA procedures. The study sample comprises n=2574 men and 2673 women, aged 35 to 69 years and free of CVD at baseline. Participants were followed-up for incidence of first coronary and ischemic stroke events (fatal and non-fatal; all MONICA validated) for a median time of 15 years (IQ range: 12-20) and up to the end of 2008. We compared several gender-specific Cox Proportional Hazards models: the basic one includes age, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, anti-hypertensive treatment, cigarette smoking and diabetes. Candidates to model addition were diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, BMI, family history of CHD, and education. Model calibration was tested using the Grønnesby-Bogan goodness-of-fit statistic. The Area Under the ROC-Curve (AUC) was a measure of discrimination, corrected for over-optimism via bootstrapping. Changes in discrimination (Δ-AUC) and reclassification (Net Reclassification Improvement, NRI) defined the improvement from the basic model due to an additional risk factor. Intermediate risk was defined as 20-year risk between 10% and 40%. Results. We observed n=286 events in men (incidence rate 7.7 per 1000 person-years) and n=108 in women (2.6 per 1000 person-years). All risk factors included in the basic model were predictive of first cardiovascular event in both genders; discrimination was 0.725 and 0.802 in men and women, respectively. Average specificity in the top risk quintile (cut-off value: 23% in men and 8.5% in women) was similar in men and women (85% vs. 83%), while sensitivity was higher in women (63% vs. 46%). All the models were well-calibrated (p-values >0.05). The addition of a positive family history of CHD in men (Hazard Ratio: 1.6; 95%CI 1.2-2.1) and of diastolic blood pressure in women (HR: 1.4 for 11 mmHg increase; 1.1-1.8) significantly improved discrimination (Δ-AUC=0.01; 95%CI 0.002-0.02 [men] and Δ-AUC=0.005; 95%CI 0.0001-0.01 [women]) and reclassification of subjects at intermediate risk (NRI=8.4%;1.7%-19.1% [men]; and NRI=11.7%; -3.2%-33.5% [women]). Conclusions. Traditional risk factors are predictive of cardiovascular events after 20 years, with good discrimination. The addition of family history of CHD may contribute to model improvement, at least among men; the role of diastolic blood pressure in women should be carefully evaluated.

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Testing Farmers’ Perception of Climate Variability: A Case Study from Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley

Hydro Nepal Journal of Water Energy and Environment ◽

10.3126/hn.v11i1.7200 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 30-34

Author(s):

Jiban Mani Poudel

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Global Climate ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Global Perspective ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Climatic Fluctuations ◽

Climate Fluctuations ◽

Global And Local

In the 21st century, global climate change has become a public and political discourse. However, there is still a wide gap between global and local perspectives. The global perspective focuses on climate fluctuations that affect the larger region; and their analysis is based on long-term records over centuries and millennium. By comparison, local peoples’ perspectives vary locally, and local analyses are limited to a few days, years, decades and generations only. This paper examines how farmers in Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, understand climate variability in their surroundings. The researcher has used a cognized model to understand farmers’ perception on weather fluctuations and climate change. The researcher has documented several eyewitness accounts of farmers about weather fluctuations which they have been observing in a lifetime. The researcher has also used rainfall data from 1970-2009 to test the accuracy of perceptions. Unlike meteorological analyses, farmers recall and their understanding of climatic variability by weather-crop interaction, and events associating with climatic fluctuations and perceptions are shaped by both physical visibility and cultural frame or belief system.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7200 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.30-34

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On the effect of short-term climate variability on mountain glaciers: insights from a case study

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2013jog13j080 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (217) ◽

pp. 992-1006 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Daniel Farinotti

Keyword(s):

Climatic Variability ◽

Swiss Alps ◽

Ice Dynamics ◽

Mountain Glaciers ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Glacier Ice ◽

Long Term Trends ◽

Model Set ◽

Set Up

AbstractStudies addressing the response of glaciers to climate change have so far analyzed the effect of long-term trends in a particular set of meteorological variables only, implicitly assuming an unaltered climatic variability. Here a framework for distinguishing between year-to-year, month-to-month and day-to-day variability is proposed. Synthetically generated temperature and precipitation time series following the same long-term trend but with altered variability are then used to force an ice-dynamics model set up for Rhonegletscher, Swiss Alps. In the case of temperature, variations in the day-to-day variability are shown to have a larger effect than changes at the yearly scale, while in the case of precipitation, variability changes are assessed as having negligible impact. A first set of scenarios is used to show that compared to reference, doubling the temperature variability can reduce glacier ice volume by up to 64% within half a decade. A second set derived from the results of the European ENSEMBLES project, however, shows that such changes are expected to remain below 8% even for extreme scenarios. Although the latter results relativize the importance of the effect in the near future, the analyses indicate that at least caution is required when assuming ‘unchanged variability’.

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