scholarly journals Bioclimatic Suitability of Actual and Potential Cultivation Areas for Jacaranda mimosifolia in Chinese Cities

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 951
Author(s):  
Chunping Xie ◽  
Guowu Zhang ◽  
Chiyung Jim ◽  
Xuefeng Liu ◽  
Peijian Zhang ◽  
...  

Jacaranda mimosifolia is regarded as a prized ornamental tree in the urban landscape with attractive, abundant and long-lasting violet-colored flowers and graceful tree form. It has been widely cultivated in recent years in many Chinese cities. However, the lack of scientific and practical guidance to cultivate the exotic species has brought about planting failures in some areas, incurring substantial economic losses and landscape decline. A comprehensive understanding of the current spatial pattern and climatic conditions of J. mimosifolia in China can inform species choice, planting and management. We collected data on the geographical coordinates of 257 planting cities and acquired additional information from the literature and field surveys. The limiting factors for cultivation were investigated using principal component analysis (PCA) of 19 bioclimatic parameters of the sampled sites. The potentially suitable habitats were predicted by BIOCLIM modeling using eight selected ecological-important climatic parameters. We found that the present cultivated areas were focused in the low-altitude parts of the subtropical zone, mainly covering the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian. The PCA results indicated that temperature was the clinching determinant of the current cultivation patterns, especially annual mean temperature, the minimum temperature of the coldest month and the mean temperature of the warmest quarter. Moisture was a necessary but not critical secondary factor. The predicting model for potential habitats was graded as “excellent” by objective validation measures. The findings can provide science-based evidence to plan the expansion of the biogeographical range of cultivation into hitherto unplanted cities and rationalize urban tree introduction and management practices.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 2403-2426
Author(s):  
Antonio Gebson Pinheiro ◽  
Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza ◽  
Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim ◽  
George do Nascimento Araújo Júnior ◽  
Cleber Pereira Alves ◽  
...  

Livestock farming is a fundamental economic activity for the semi-arid region, but it is directly influenced by factors such as soil characteristics, forage quality and rainfall seasonality. The irregularity of these factors reduces productivity levels, making them dependent on climatic conditions. In this sense, the knowledge of the main causes that reduce productivity and the adoption of resilient agricultural practices are essential in reducing the seasonal effects of the climate, increasing the supply of forage in the period of water scarcity. The use of adapted forage crops and with productive potential constitutes an efficient agricultural resilience practice, among which stands out the forage cactus, sorghum, millet, pigeon pea and sunflower. These are constituted with a high capacity for water conversion into dry matter, nutritional complementation and increased production. In addition, the implementation of practices (e.g. intercropping, irrigation, densification, mulch, etc.) contribute to the optimization of natural resources and provide better results in the continuous subsidy of forage production. With this, the present study aimed to present the environmental characteristics of the Brazilian semiarid region, to expose concepts about the levels of productivity and the main factors of the production gaps, in addition to disseminating mitigation strategies of forage production. After compiling this information, it highlights the importance of adapted forage crops and the adoption of agricultural management practices as strategies to mitigate the seasonal effects of the climate, contributing to the continuous subsidy of forage production. At the same time, the Yield Gap analysis allows for a broader knowledge of the limiting factors of production, directing agricultural planning more efficiently.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sabri Embi ◽  
Zurina Shafii

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Shariah governance and corporate governance (CG) on the risk management practices (RMPs) of local Islamic banks and foreign Islamic banks operating in Malaysia. The Shariah governance comprises the Shariah review (SR) and Shariah audit (SA) variables. The study also evaluates the level of RMPs, CG, SR, and SA between these two type of banks. With the aid of SPSS version 20, the items for RMPs, CG, SR, and SA were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA). From the PCA, one component or factor was extracted each for the CG, SR, and RMPs while another two factors were extracted for the SA. Primary data was collected using a self-administered survey questionnaire. The questionnaire covers four aspects ; CG, SR, SA, and RMPs. The data received from the 300 usable questionnaires were subjected to correlation and regression analyses as well as an independent t-test. The result of correlation analysis shows that all the four variables have large positive correlations with each other indicating a strong and significant relationship between them. From the regression analysis undertaken, CG, SR, and SA together explained 52.3 percent of the RMPs and CG emerged as the most influential variable that impacts the RMPs. The independent t-test carried out shows that there were significant differences in the CG and SA between the local and foreign Islamic banks. However, there were no significant differences between the two types of the bank in relation to SR and RMPs. The study has contributed to the body of knowledge and is beneficial to academicians, industry players, regulators, and other stakeholders.


Author(s):  
Martina Caruso ◽  
Rui Pinho ◽  
Federica Bianchi ◽  
Francesco Cavalieri ◽  
Maria Teresa Lemmo

AbstractA life cycle framework for a new integrated classification system for buildings and the identification of renovation strategies that lead to an optimal balance between reduction of seismic vulnerability and increase of energy efficiency, considering both economic losses and environmental impacts, is discussed through a parametric application to an exemplificative case-study building. Such framework accounts for the economic and environmental contributions of initial construction, operational energy consumption, earthquake-induced damage repair activities, retrofitting interventions, and demolition. One-off and annual monetary expenses and environmental impacts through the building life cycle are suggested as meaningful performance metrics to develop an integrated classification system for buildings and to identify the optimal renovation strategy leading to a combined reduction of economic and environmental impacts, depending on the climatic conditions and the seismic hazard at the site of interest. The illustrative application of the framework to an existing school building is then carried out, investigating alternative retrofitting solutions, including either sole structural retrofitting options or sole energy refurbishments, as well as integrated strategies that target both objectives, with a view to demonstrate its practicality and to explore its ensuing results. The influence of seismic hazard and climatic conditions is quantitatively investigated, by assuming the building to be located into different geographic locations.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 334
Author(s):  
Norbert Szymański ◽  
Sławomir Wilczyński

The present study identified the similarities and differences in the radial growth responses of 20 provenances of 51-year-old European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) trees from Poland to the climatic conditions at three provenance trials situated in the Polish lowlands (Siemianice), uplands (Bliżyn) and mountains (Krynica). A chronology of radial growth indices was developed for each of 60 European larch populations, which highlighted the interannual variations in the climate-mediated radial growth of their trees. With the aid of principal component, correlation and multiple regression analysis, supra-regional climatic elements were identified to which all the larch provenances reacted similarly at all three provenance trials. They increased the radial growth in years with a short, warm and precipitation-rich winter; a cool and humid summer and when high precipitation in late autumn of the previous year was noted. Moreover, other climatic elements were identified to which two groups of the larch provenances reacted differently at each provenance trial. In the lowland climate, the provenances reacted differently to temperature in November to December of the previous year and July and to precipitation in September. In the upland climate, the provenances differed in growth sensitivity to precipitation in October of the previous year and June–September. In the mountain climate, the provenances responded differently to temperature and precipitation in September of the previous year and to precipitation in February, June and September of the year of tree ring formation. The results imply that both climatic factors and origin (genotype), i.e., the genetic factor, mediate the climate–growth relationships of larch provenances.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
Gabriele Rocchetti ◽  
Federico Ferrari ◽  
Marco Trevisan ◽  
Luigi Bavaresco

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of meteorological conditions on resveratrol concentration of red wines produced in Piacenza viticultural region (Italy). In this regard, six representative estates producing Colli Piacentini Gutturnio DOC (a blend of V. vinifera L. cvs. Barbera and Croatina) vintage wines were analysed for trans- and cis-resveratrol over an 8-year period (1998–2005). Grapes were taken from the same vineyard in each estate by using the same enological practices over the entire investigated period. The meteorological conditions corresponding to the production areas were recorded, and bioclimatic indices were calculated as well. Overall, cis-resveratrol concentration was negatively correlated to Huglin index and August mean temperature, whilst positive correlation coefficients were found when considering the Selianinov index and the rainfall of September.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Luiza Tymińska-Czabańska ◽  
Jarosław Socha ◽  
Marek Maj ◽  
Dominika Cywicka ◽  
Xo Viet Hoang Duong

Site productivity provides critical information for forest management practices and is a fundamental measure in forestry. It is determined using site index (SI) models, which are developed using two primary groups of methods, namely, phytocentric (plant-based) or geocentric (earth-based). Geocentric methods allow for direct site growth modelling, in which the SI is predicted using multiple environmental indicators. However, changes in non-static site factors—particularly nitrogen deposition and rising CO2 concentration—lead to an increase in site productivity, which may be visible as an age trend in the SI. In this study, we developed a geocentric SI model for oak. For the development of the SI model, we used data from 150 sample plots, representing a wide range of local topographic and site conditions. A generalized additive model was used to model site productivity. We found that the oak SI depended predominantly on physicochemical soil properties—mainly nitrogen, carbon, sand, and clay content. Additionally, the oak SI value was found to be slightly shaped by the topography, especially by altitude above sea level, and topographic position. We also detected a significant relationship between the SI and the age of oak stands, indicating the long-term increasing site productivity for oak, most likely caused by nitrogen deposition and changes in climatic conditions. The developed geocentric site productivity model for oak explained 77.2% of the SI variation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Santibañez ◽  
Luz María de la Fuente ◽  
Elena Bustamante ◽  
Sergio Silva ◽  
Pedro León-Lobos ◽  
...  

The study evaluated the efficacy of organic- and hard-rock mine waste type materials on aided phytostabilization of Cu mine tailings under semiarid Mediterranean conditions in order to promote integrated waste management practices at local levels and to rehabilitate large-scale (from 300 to 3,000 ha) postoperative tailings storage facilities (TSFs). A field trial with 13 treatments was established on a TSF to test the efficacy of six waste-type locally available amendments (grape and olive residues, biosolids, goat manure, sediments from irrigation canals, and rubble from Cu-oxide lixiviation piles) during early phases of site rehabilitation. Results showed that, even though an interesting range of waste-type materials were tested, biosolids (100 t ha-1dry weight, d.w.) and grape residues (200 t ha-1d.w.), either alone or mixed, were the most suitable organic amendments when incorporated into tailings to a depth of 20 cm. Incorporation of both rubble from Cu-oxide lixiviation piles and goat manure into upper tailings also had effective results. All these treatments improved chemical and microbiological properties of tailings and lead to a significant increase in plant yield after three years from trial establishment. Longer-term evaluations are, however required to evaluate self sustainability of created systems without further incorporation of amendments.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 913
Author(s):  
Serajis Salekin ◽  
Cristian Higuera Catalán ◽  
Daniel Boczniewicz ◽  
Darius Phiri ◽  
Justin Morgenroth ◽  
...  

Taper functions are important tools for forest description, modelling, assessment, and management. A large number of studies have been conducted to develop and improve taper functions; however, few review studies have been dedicated to addressing their development and parameters. This review summarises the development of taper functions by considering their parameterisation, geographic and species-specific limitations, and applications. This study showed that there has been an increase in the number of studies of taper function and contemporary methods have been developed for the establishment of these functions. The reviewed studies also show that taper functions have been developed from simple equations in the early 1900s to complex functions in modern times. Early taper functions included polynomial, sigmoid, principal component analysis (PCA), and linear mixed functions, while contemporary machine learning (ML) approaches include artificial neural network (ANN) and random forest (RF). Further analysis of the published literature also shows that most of the studies of taper functions have been carried out in Europe and the Americas, meaning most taper equations are not specifically applicable to tropical tree species. Developing well-conditioned taper functions requires reducing the variation due to species, measurement techniques, and climatic conditions, among other factors. The information presented in this study is important for understanding and developing taper functions. Future studies can focus on developing better taper functions by incorporating emerging remote sensing and geospatial datasets, and using contemporary statistical approaches such as ANN and RF.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1931-1939 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. T. Dale ◽  
A. G. Thomas ◽  
E. A. John

The relationship between the weed communities and environmental variables such as soil, crop, and management was investigated in two provinces of Canada. The frequencies of weed species were recorded in cereal and oilseed fields in Saskatchewan (2244 fields over 4 years) and Manitoba (864 fields over 3 years), Canada. Information on some of the physical characteristics of the fields and on the management practices imposed on them was also collected, in part by questionnaire. The two kinds of data were ordinated together using canonical correspondence analysis to assess the relationships between the species and the environmental variables. In the Saskatchewan data, there was a clear and consistent separation of the species into groups along an axis correlated with soil zone and the associated climatic gradient. In the Manitoba data, the same groups of species did not separate as clearly or as consistently, although geographic region was a major determinant of the weed communities. The greater variability may be due to the fact that the gradient of soil types is much more restricted in Manitoba and not as closely correlated with climatic conditions. In both provinces, culture practices were less important as correlates of the weed community composition than soil type or, to a certain extent, the previous crop. Key words: canonical correspondence analysis, cereal crops, oil seed crops.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5Supl2) ◽  
pp. 3625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willian Vilela Rocha ◽  
Valéria De Sá Jayme ◽  
Ana Lourdes Arrais de Alencar Mota ◽  
Wilia Marta Elsner Diederichsen de Brito ◽  
Glauciane Ribeiro de Castro Pires ◽  
...  

Bovine tuberculosis results in economic losses in livestock production and poses a risk to public health. This study aimed to characterize the epidemiological status of bovine tuberculosis in adult cows in the state of Goiás, Brazil. The state was divided into three sampling strata, corresponding to different livestock production circuits. A total of 18,659 animals were tested with the comparative cervical tuberculin test (CCT), in 300 randomly sampled bovine herds per stratum. An epidemiological questionnaire was used to identify health and management practices that may be associated with the presence of tuberculosis infection in the herd. In Stratum 1, dominated by beef cattle, no animals reacted to the CCT. In Stratum 2, which covers the main dairy regions of the state, the prevalence was estimated at 8.67% [5.73 to 12.74%] for herds and at 0.9% [0.21 to 1.58%] for animals. In Stratum 3, characterized by a mix of dairy, beef and dual-purpose herds, the prevalence was estimated at 1.00% [0.21 to 2.89] for herds and 0.30% [0.10 to 0.49 %] for animals. The overall prevalence in the state of Goiás was 3.43% [2.20 to 4.67%] for herds and 0.30% [0.10 to 0.49%] for animals. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that herd-level risk factors associated with the presence of the bovine tuberculosis are: the location of the herd in Stratum 2 (OR = 12.05 [3.52 to 41.28]) and the number of times a cow is milked per day (OR = 6.27 [2.72 to 14.44]). Regular veterinary care was identified as a protective factor (OR = 0.38 [0.15-0.94]). These results indicate that bovine tuberculosis is endemic in the state; its spatial distribution is heterogeneous with a strong concentration in dairy regions. The most intensive dairy farms are those with the highest risk, which is consistent with what other authors’ found elsewhere in Brazil. The epidemiological information generated by this study provides information for planning of risk-based surveillance actions, and justifies the adoption of free-herd certification programs for bovine tuberculosis in the main dairy regions of Goiás.


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