Leaf decomposition of cork oak under three different land uses within a montado of southern Portugal

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Maria Luísa Arosa ◽  
Sofia R. Costa ◽  
Helena Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Cork Oak ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Leaf Fall ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Southern Portugal

This study compared litter decomposition dynamics of cork oak at three sites under different land-uses (grassland, shrubland and woodland), in a montado ecosystem in Southern Portugal. The montado is a protected habitat within the EU Habitats Directive, but the long-term persistence of cork oak is endangered in these ecosystems, with health of poor cork oak and low natural regeneration rates being the main causes of degradation. Moreover, human management has resulted in the conversion of woodlands to grasslands and may have long-term effects on soil nutrient availability, eventually modifying soil nutrient budgets. Knowledge of the ecological processes is therefore relevant for ecosystem management and species conservation. In the study, the estimated amount of leaf fall from cork oak showed no significant differences between land uses, despite the positive influence of tree crown size on leaf fall. Decomposition was affected by season, vegetation cover, leaf thickness and litter quality. Differences in land use that exposed soil to harsh climate conditions negatively affected soil microbial dynamics, resulting in lower decomposition rates in the more disturbed sites with lower canopy cover.

Long-Term Effects of Grazing and Haying on Soil Nutrient Dynamics in Forage-Based Beef Cattle Operations

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert C. Sigua ◽  
Mary J. Williams ◽  
Samuel W. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Long Term Effects

scholarly journals Simple Soil Tests for On-Site Evaluation of Soil Health in Orchards

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 6009
Author(s):  
Esther O. Thomsen ◽  
Jennifer R. Reeve ◽  
Catherine M. Culumber ◽  
Diane G. Alston ◽  
Robert Newhall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Site Evaluation ◽  
Positive Correlations

Standard commercial soil tests typically quantify nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, and salinity. These factors alone are not sufficient to predict the long-term effects of management on soil health. The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness and use of simple physical, biological, and chemical soil health indicator tests that can be completed on-site. Analyses were conducted on soil samples collected from three experimental peach orchards located on the Utah State Horticultural Research Farm in Kaysville, Utah. All simple tests were correlated to comparable lab analyses using Pearson’s correlation. The highest positive correlations were found between Solvita® respiration, and microbial biomass (R = 0.88), followed by our modified slake test and microbial biomass (R = 0.83). Both Berlese funnel and pit count methods of estimating soil macro-organism diversity were fairly predictive of soil health. Overall, simple commercially available chemical tests were weak indicators of soil nutrient concentrations compared to laboratory tests. Modified slake tests, Solvita® respiration and soil organism biodiversity counts may be efficient and cost-effective tools for monitoring soil health on-site.

scholarly journals Long-term demographic consequences of a seed dispersal disruption

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1741) ◽  
pp. 3298-3303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Traveset ◽  
Juan P. González-Varo ◽  
Alfredo Valido
Keyword(s):  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Island Populations ◽  
Mutualistic Interaction ◽  
Entire Plant ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Induced Changes

The loss or decline of vertebrate frugivores can limit the regeneration of plants that depend on them. However, empirical evidence is showing that this is still very scarce, as functionally equivalent species may contribute to maintain the mutualistic interaction. Here, we investigated the long-term consequences of the extinction of frugivorous lizards on the population persistence of a Mediterranean relict shrub Cneorum tricoccon (Cneoraceae). We examined the demographic parameters among 26 insular and mainland populations, which encompass the entire plant distributional range, comparing populations with lizards with those in which these are extinct, but in which alien mammals currently act as seed dispersers. Plant recruitment was found to be higher on island populations with lizards than on those with mammals, and the long-term effects of the native disperser's loss were found in all vital phases of plant regeneration. The study thus gives evidence of the cascading effects of human-induced changes in ecosystems, showing how the disruption of native ecological processes can lead to species regression and, in the long term, even to local extinctions.

scholarly journals Long-term Yield and Harvest Time Fruit Quality Attributes in Various Fuji Apple Strains

HortScience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmaeil Fallahi ◽  
Bahar Fallahi ◽  
Bahman Shafii ◽  
Zabihollah Zamani
Keyword(s):  
Quality Attributes ◽  
Soluble Solids ◽  
Starch Degradation ◽  
Harvest Time ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Solids Concentration ◽  
Peel Color ◽  
Fuji Apple

‘Fuji’ apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh) has gained popularity in the past decades, but poor color of this apple mandates introduction of new strains. To pursue this objective, long-term effects of five ‘Fuji’ apple strains, consisting of ‘Autumn Rose’, ‘Desert Rose’, ‘Myra’, ‘September Wonder’, and ‘Top Export’ on RN 29 rootstock on fruit yield (in 7 years) and harvest time quality attributes (in 6 years) under climate conditions of southwest Idaho were studied during 2004–10. Fruit of ‘September Wonder Fuji’ trees were larger than those of other strains in 5 of 6 years. The type or pattern of peel color among the “low-coloring” and “high-coloring” strains varied widely. Fruits of ‘Autumn Rose Fuji’, ‘Myra Fuji’, and ‘Top Export Fuji’ always had less but ‘September Wonder Fuji’ and ‘Desert Rose Fuji’ had more red color. Fruit of ‘September Wonder Fuji’ had lower firmness but higher starch degradation pattern (SDP) than those of other strains every year as a result of the earlier maturity of this strain. Fruit of ‘Top Export Fuji’ had the lowest SDP among all strains. Fruit of ‘Autumn Rose Fuji’ tended to have lower soluble solids concentration in 3 of 6 years of this study. Considering all yield and quality attributes at harvest, ‘September Wonder’ was a great choice for an early-maturing and ‘Desert Rose’ was suitable for a late-maturing ‘Fuji’ strain. ‘Myra Fuji’ was particularly desirable for its attractive pink color that resembles bagged ‘Fuji’ without the expensive cost of labor associated with bagging.

Forest Restoration and Fuels Reduction: Convergent or Divergent?

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L Stephens ◽  
Mike A Battaglia ◽  
Derek J Churchill ◽  
Brandon M Collins ◽  
Michelle Coppoletta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Fuel Reduction ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Fuels Reduction ◽  
Design Flexibility ◽  
Western Us ◽  
Restoration Strategies ◽  
Vital Element

Abstract For over 20 years, forest fuel reduction has been the dominant management action in western US forests. These same actions have also been associated with the restoration of highly altered frequent-fire forests. Perhaps the vital element in the compatibility of these treatments is that both need to incorporate the salient characteristics that frequent fire produced—variability in vegetation structure and composition across landscapes and the inability to support large patches of high-severity fire. These characteristics can be achieved with both fire and mechanical treatments. The possible key to convergence of fuel reduction and forest restoration strategies is integrated planning that permits treatment design flexibility and a longer-term focus on fire reintroduction for maintenance. With changing climate conditions, long-term forest conservation will probably need to be focused on keeping tree density low enough (i.e., in the lower range of historic variation) for forest conditions to adapt to emerging disturbance patterns and novel ecological processes.

scholarly journals Age of enlightenment: long-term effects of outdoor aesthetic lights on bats in churches

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 161077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Rydell ◽  
Johan Eklöf ◽  
Sonia Sánchez-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Visual Inspection ◽  
Habitats Directive ◽  
Historical Buildings ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Eu Habitats Directive ◽  
The Eu

We surveyed 110 country churches in south-western Sweden for presence of brown long-eared bats Plecotus auritus in summer 2016 by visual inspection and/or evening emergence counts. Each church was also classified according to the presence and amount of aesthetic directional lights (flood-lights) aimed on its walls and tower from the outside. Sixty-one of the churches had previously been surveyed by one of us (J.R.) between 1980 and 1990, before lights were installed on Swedish churches, using the same methods. Churches with bat colonies had decreased significantly in frequency from 61% in 1980s to 38% by 2016. All abandoned churches had been fitted with flood-lights in the period between the two surveys. The loss of bat colonies from lit churches was highly significant and most obvious when lights were applied from all directions, leaving no dark corridor for the bats to leave and return to the roost. In contrast, in churches that were not lit, all of 13 bat colonies remained after 25+ years between the surveys. Lighting of churches and other historical buildings is a serious threat to the long-term survival and reproduction of light-averse bats such as Plecotus spp. and other slow-flying species. Bat roosts are strictly protected according to the EU Habitats Directive and the EUROBATS agreement. Lighting of buildings for aesthetic purposes is becoming a serious environmental issue, because important bat roosts are destroyed in large numbers, and the problem should be handled accordingly. As a start, installation of flood-lights on historical buildings should at least require an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

scholarly journals Succession Effects on Mammal and Inverterbrate Communities 26 Years After the 1988 huckleberry Mountain Fire

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Hayley Lanier ◽  
Andy Kulikowski ◽  
R. Seville ◽  
Zachary Roehrs ◽  
Meredith Roehrs
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Long Term Study

Fires are an important and increasingly common driver of habitat structure in the intermountain West. Through an ongoing study of burned and adjacent unburned areas along the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, we examine the long-term effects of the 1988 fire season on community assembly, succession, and ecological processes. We collected mark/recapture data on rodents, removal data for insectivorous mammals and invertebrates, and habitat measurements on four grids in 2014 and combined these results with previous survey data. In 2014, 4,800 trap nights yielded 13 species of small mammals, comprising 618 individuals. Macroarthropod abundance was higher on burned grids, but diversity was higher on unburned grids. In contrast, springtail (Collembola) diversity was higher on burned grids, but abundance was highest in unburned grids. Since the beginning of this long-term study, the total number of mammal species has increased across all sites, and relative abundance in burned areas has shifted from early successional species (Peromyscus maniculatus) to those more associated with old growth forests (such as Myodes gapperi). Other than in 1991, the burned grids have harbored more diverse small mammal communities than the unburned control grids. Significant, long-term differences in vegetation based upon burn history were observed, including different ground cover, less canopy cover, and more coarse woody debris in burned sites. This work provides a unique long-term picture of the interrelationships of small mammal and invertebrate communities and correlated habitat variables as these ecosystems undergo post-fire succession.

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