scholarly journals Nitrogen Deposition Effects on Soil Properties, Microbial Abundance, and Litter Decomposition Across Three Shrublands Ecosystems From the Mediterranean Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Lo Cascio ◽  
Lourdes Morillas ◽  
Raúl Ochoa-Hueso ◽  
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo ◽  
Silvana Munzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
N Addition ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs in the Mediterranean Basin are projected to increase due to fossil fuel combustion, fertilizer use, and the exacerbation of agricultural production processes. Although increasing N deposition is recognized as a major threat to ecosystem functioning, little is known about how local environmental conditions modulate ecosystem function response to N addition, particularly in the context of Mediterranean-Basin ecosystems. Here, we assess how N addition affects important ecosystem properties associated with litter decomposition, soil physical-chemical properties, soil extracellular enzymatic activity and microbial abundance across three long-term N addition experimental sites in the Mediterranean Basin. Sites were located in El Regajal (Madrid, Spain), Capo Caccia (Alghero, Italy), and Arrábida (Lisbon, Portugal) and are all representative of Mediterranean shrublands. No common pattern for litter decomposition process or other studied variables emerged among the control plots of the studied sites. Nitrogen supply only affected soil pH, a major driver of decomposition, in two out of three experimental sites. Moreover, when we explored the role of N addition and soil pH in controlling litter decay, we found that the effects of these factors were site-dependent. Our results point out to local ecosystem features modulating N addition effects in controlling litter decomposition rates in Mediterranean ecosystems, suggesting that the responses of soil functioning to N deposition are site-dependent. These findings provide further knowledge to understand contrasting ecosystem responses to N additions based on a single field experiments.

scholarly journals Proposed Research for Innovative Solutions for Chickpeas and Beans in a Climate Change Scenario: The Mediterranean Basin

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1315
Author(s):  
Federico Martinelli ◽  
Francisco Javier Ollero ◽  
Antonio Giovino ◽  
Anna Perrone ◽  
Abdelkader Bekki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Molecular Networks ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Environmental Constraint ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Near Future ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

In order to gain insight into the complex molecular networks driving legume adaptation caused by climate change, it is necessary to deeply characterize the existing germplasm in response to the environmental constraint predicted to worsen in the near future: drought. In this study, we propose to perform a three-year deep agronomic characterization of local genotypes of selected legumes in abiotic stressing conditions through controlled and field experiments conducted in several countries of the Mediterranean basin (Italy, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, and Croatia). These phenotypic analyses will be integrated with a multi-omic approach aiming at identifying the key players involved in the modulation of the analyzed traits that includes the analysis of the plant methylome, transcriptome, and proteome. Following this approach, we propose to deliver epigenomic markers linked with rapid adaptation mechanisms in response to drought. Besides, new genetic variability by breeding could be created in stressing conditions and produce the basis for the obtainment of more productive cultivars in worsening environments. The epigenetic marks identified in “omic” activities will be validated in molecular marker-assisted selection in F2–F4 populations. Finally, specific rhizobia strains for the best evaluated genotypes will be identified in order to enhance symbiotic nitrogen fixation in drought stress conditions with selected cultivars.

Thermo-chemical properties of biomass from Posidonia oceanica

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Plis ◽  
Janusz Lasek ◽  
Agnieszka Skawińska ◽  
Marcin Kopczyński
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Oxidative Degradation ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Posidonia Oceanica ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Infrared Spectrometer ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Diffuse Reflectance Infrared ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Thermo Oxidative Degradation

AbstractPosidonia oceanica (PO) is a marine plant endemic to the Mediterranean basin, forming extensive grasslands. Onshore residues represent a major environmental, economic, social and hygienic problem in all coastal zones of the Mediterranean basin due to the great disturbance they cause to bathers and beachfront populations. This work sought to evaluate the thermo-chemical properties of PO in pyrolysis and thermo-oxidative degradation processes. The investigations were carried out using a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) and an infrared spectrometer (FTIR). In addition, proximate, ultimate, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and biodegradability analyses were carried out on PO. The biodegradability analysis confirmed that residues of PO were a biodegradable material. Accordingly, the application of PO as a feedstock for combustion/co-combustion or biorefining is recommended.

Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. White
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Comprehensive Examination ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eastern Half ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

This book offers a comprehensive examination of the shape and impact of piracy in the eastern half of the Mediterranean and the Ottoman Empire’s administrative, legal, and diplomatic response. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, piracy had a tremendous effect on the formation of international law, the conduct of diplomacy, the articulation of Ottoman imperial and Islamic law, and their application in Ottoman courts. Piracy and Law draws on research in archives and libraries in Istanbul, Venice, Crete, London, and Paris to bring the Ottoman state and Ottoman victims into the story for the first time. It explains why piracy exploded after the 1570s and why the Ottoman state was largely unable to marshal an effective military solution even as it responded dynamically in the spheres of law and diplomacy. By focusing on the Ottoman victims, jurists, and officials who had to contend most with the consequences of piracy, Piracy and Law reveals a broader range of piratical practitioners than the Muslim and Catholic corsairs who have typically been the focus of study and considers their consequences for the Ottoman state and those who traveled through Ottoman waters. This book argues that what made the eastern half of the Mediterranean basin the Ottoman Mediterranean, more than sovereignty or naval supremacy—which was ephemeral—was that it was a legal space. The challenge of piracy helped to define its contours.

Unfinished and Less Authored Texts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. C. Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Written Texts ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Jewish Writers

The concept of textual unfinishedness played a role in a wide variety of cultures and contexts across the Mediterranean basin in antiquity and late antiquity. Chapter 2 documents examples of Greek, Roman, and Jewish writers reflecting explicitly in their own words about unfinished texts. Many writers claimed to have written unfinished texts on purpose for specific cultural reasons, while others claimed to have written texts that slipped out of their hands somehow with their permission.

The Alphabet and its Legacy

2019 ◽  
pp. 240-255
Author(s):  
Madadh Richey
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Greek Language ◽  
Writing Systems ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Generative Power ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Alphabetic Writing ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The alphabet employed by the Phoenicians was the inheritor of a long tradition of alphabetic writing and was itself adapted for use throughout the Mediterranean basin by numerous populations speaking many languages. The present contribution traces the origins of the alphabet in Sinai and the Levant before discussing different alphabetic standardizations in Ugarit and Phoenician Tyre. The complex adaptation of the latter for representation of the Greek language is described in detail, then some brief attention is given to likely—Etruscan and other Italic alphabets—and possible (Iberian and Berber) descendants of the Phoenician alphabet. Finally, it is stressed that current research does not view the Phoenician and other alphabets as inherently simpler, more easily learned, or more democratic than other writing systems. The Phoenician alphabet remains, nevertheless, an impressive technological development worthy, especially by virtue of its generative power, of detailed study ranging from paleographic and orthographic specifications to social and political contextualization.

Effects of nitrogen deposition on litter decomposition and nutrient release mediated by litter types and seasonal change in a temperate forest

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoyong Yan ◽  
Xiongde Dong ◽  
Binbin Huang ◽  
Honglin Wang ◽  
Ziming Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Pinus Koraiensis ◽  
N Addition ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Mixed Litter ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Four Levels

We conducted a field experiment with four levels of simulated nitrogen (N) deposition (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 g N m−2 yr−1, respectively) to investigate the response of litter decomposition of Pinus koraiensis (PK), Tilia amurensis (TA), and their mixture to N deposition during winter and growing seasons. Results showed that N addition significantly increased the mass loss of PK litter and significantly decreased the mass loss of TA litter throughout the 2 yr decomposition processes, which indicated that the different responses in the decomposition of different litters to N addition can be species specific, potentially attributed to different litter chemistry. The faster decomposition of PK litter with N addition occurred mainly in the winter, whereas the slower decomposition of TA litter with N addition occurred during the growing season. Moreover, N addition had a positive effect on the release of phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese for PK litter and had a negative effect on the release of carbon, iron, and lignin for TA litter. Decomposition and nutrient release from mixed litter with N addition showed a non-additive effect. The mass loss from litter in the first winter and over the entire study correlated positively with the initial concentration of cellulose, lignin, and certain nutrients in the litter, demonstrating the potential influence of different tissue chemistries.

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