scholarly journals Local breeds and pastoral farming on the North Mediterranean shore: a univocal coevolution? An example of dairy sheep farming systems in Corsica (France) and Thessaly (Greece)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Lola Perucho ◽  
Ioannis Hadjigeorgiou ◽  
Anne Lauvie ◽  
Charles-Henri Moulin ◽  
Jean-Christophe Paoli ◽  
...  

Using local resources for ruminant feeding is a way to achieve agroecological production in pastoral farming systems. In North Mediterranean countries, sheep farming systems have evolved towards more intensive systems in lowland and hilly areas, whereas remote and rough pastureland is abandoned and local breeds are rarely maintained; rather, they are progressively replaced by highly productive breeds and their crosses. Using the examples of Corsica (France) and Thessaly (Greece), two dairy sheep farming territories developing intensive farming systems that differ in the livestock breeds they use, we explored the hypothesis that the use of local breeds may not be systematically related to the maintenance of pastoral practices in Mediterranean dairy sheep farming systems. For this purpose, three data sets based on interviews with sheep farmers of local breeds and crossbred flocks were analysed in two study areas. The results demonstrated that local breeds’ adaptive abilities can be used in crossbred flocks or purebred flocks to maintain a feeding system based on pastoral components. However, other drivers also appear to lead into the declining use of local pastoral resources. Apart from the use of local breeds, year-to-year adjustments of replacement and culling rates sometimes have to be applied in order to address the inter-annual variations of the fodder on offer. This paper provides an original approach to studying the link between local breeds and the pastoral components of farming systems by combining synchronic and diachronic analyses of the practices in crossbred and purebred flocks composed of local breeds.

Pedosphere ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue-Feng SHI ◽  
Wen-Liang WU ◽  
Fan-Qiao MENG ◽  
Liang ZHENG ◽  
Da-Peng WANG ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 2651-2660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Samsonov

AbstractThe previously presented Multidimensional Small Baseline Subset (MSBAS-2D) technique computes two-dimensional (2D), east and vertical, ground deformation time series from two or more ascending and descending Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) data sets by assuming that the contribution of the north deformation component is negligible. DInSAR data sets can be acquired with different temporal and spatial resolutions, viewing geometries and wavelengths. The MSBAS-2D technique has previously been used for mapping deformation due to mining, urban development, carbon sequestration, permafrost aggradation and pingo growth, and volcanic activities. In the case of glacier ice flow, the north deformation component is often too large to be negligible. Historically, the surface-parallel flow (SPF) constraint was used to compute the static three-dimensional (3D) velocity field at various glaciers. A novel MSBAS-3D technique has been developed for computing 3D deformation time series where the SPF constraint is utilized. This technique is used for mapping 3D deformation at the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, during January–March 2015, and the MSBAS-2D and MSBAS-3D solutions are compared. The MSBAS-3D technique can be used for studying glacier ice flow at other glaciers and other surface deformation processes with large north deformation component, such as landslides. The software implementation of MSBAS-3D technique can be downloaded from http://insar.ca/.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Macdonald ◽  
Sachiko Yoshida ◽  
Irina Rypina

<p>This investigation uses the tracer information provided by the 2011 direct ocean release of radio-isotopes, (<sup>137</sup>Cs, ~30-year half-life and <sup>134</sup>Cs, ~2-year half-life) from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) together with hydrographic profiles to better understand the origins and pathways of mode waters in the North Pacific Ocean. While using information provided by radionuclide observations taken from across the basin, the main focus is on the eastern basin and results from analyses of two data sets 2015 (GO-SHIP) and 2018 (GEOTRACES) along the 152°W meridian. The study looks at how mode waters formed in the spring of 2011 have spread and mixed, and how they have not. Our radiocesium isotope samples tell a story of a surprisingly confined pathway for these waters and suggest that circulation to the north into the subpolar gyre occurs more quickly than circulation to the south into the subtropical gyre. They indicate that in spite of crossing 6000 km in their journey across the Pacific, the densest 2011 mode waters stayed together spreading by only a few hundred kilometers in the north/south direction, remained subsurface (below ~200 m) for most of the trip, and only saw the atmosphere again as they followed shoaling density surfaces into the boundary of the Alaska Gyre. The more recent data are sparse and do not allow direct measurement of the FDNPP specific <sup>134</sup>Cs, however they do provide some information on mode water evolution in the eastern North Pacific seven years after the accident. </p>


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3126
Author(s):  
Tomasz Daszkiewicz ◽  
Andrzej Gugołek ◽  
Dorota Kubiak ◽  
Krzysztof Kerbaum ◽  
Ewa Burczyk

The aim of this study was to compare the fatty acid (FA) profile of meat from New Zealand White rabbits raised from 30 to 90 days of age under intensive (IPS) and extensive (EPS) production systems. In group IPS, the rabbits were housed in wire mesh cages with a slatted floor (16.7 animals/m2) and were fed a commercial pelleted diet. In group EPS, the rabbits were housed in free-standing cages on straw litter (2.5 animals/m2) and were fed a conventional farm-made diet (green fodder, barley grain, stale bread, hay). The FA profile of intramuscular fat (IMF) was analyzed in samples of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle. The analyzed production systems had no significant effect on the content of most FAs in IMF. However, the differences between group means contributed to more desirable values of the quality indicators of IMF (in particular in the LTL muscle) in group IPS. The study demonstrated that the claim that meat produced under less intensive farming systems is of superior quality could be an oversimplified generalization that should be validated in research.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 13755-13796 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Hegg ◽  
S. G. Warren ◽  
T. C. Grenfell ◽  
S. J. Doherty ◽  
A. D. Clarke

Abstract. Two data sets consisting of measurements of light absorbing aerosols (LAA) in arctic snow together with suites of other corresponding chemical constituents are presented; the first from Siberia, Greenland and near the North Pole obtained in 2008, and the second from the Canadian arctic obtained in 2009. A preliminary differentiation of the LAA into black carbon (BC) and non-BC LAA is done. Source attribution of the light absorbing aerosols was done using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. Four sources were found for each data set (crop and grass burning, boreal biomass burning, pollution and marine). For both data sets, the crops and grass biomass burning was the main source of both LAA species, suggesting the non-BC LAA was brown carbon. Depth profiles at most of the sites allowed assessment of the seasonal variation in the source strengths. The biomass burning sources dominated in the spring but pollution played a more significant (though rarely dominant) role in the fall, winter and, for Greenland, summer. The PMF analysis is consistent with trajectory analysis and satellite fire maps.


Author(s):  
J. Jago ◽  
J. Burke

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of two pastoral farming systems using automatic milking systems (AMS).


2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony R. Magee ◽  
Ben-Erik van Wyk ◽  
Patricia M. Tilney ◽  
Stephen R. Downie

Generic circumscriptions and phylogenetic relationships of the Cape genera Capnophyllum, Dasispermum, and Sonderina are explored through parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses of nrDNA ITS and cpDNA rps16 intron sequences, morphology, and combined molecular and morphological data. The relationship of these genera with the North African genera Krubera and Stoibrax is also assessed. Analyses of both molecular data sets place Capnophyllum, Dasispermum, Sonderina, and the only southern African species of Stoibrax (S. capense) within the newly recognized Lefebvrea clade of tribe Tordylieae. Capnophyllum is strongly supported as monophyletic and is distantly related to Krubera. The monotypic genus Dasispermum and Stoibrax capense are embedded within a paraphyletic Sonderina. This complex is distantly related to the North African species of Stoibrax in tribe Apieae, in which the type species, Stoibrax dichotomum, occurs. Consequently, Dasispermum is expanded to include both Sonderina and Stoibrax capense. New combinations are formalized for Dasispermum capense, D. hispidum, D. humile, and D. tenue. An undescribed species from the Tanqua Karoo in South Africa is also closely related to Capnophyllum and the Dasispermum–Sonderina complex. The genus Scaraboides is described herein to accommodate the new species, S. manningii. This monotypic genus shares the dorsally compressed fruit and involute marginal wings with Capnophyllum, but is easily distinguished by its erect branching habit, green leaves, scabrous umbels, and fruit with indistinct median and lateral ribs, additional solitary vittae in each marginal wing, and parallel, closely spaced commissural vittae. Despite the marked fruit similarities with Capnophyllum, analyses of DNA sequence data place Scaraboides closer to the Dasispermum–Sonderina complex, with which it shares the erect habit, green (nonglaucous) leaves, and scabrous umbels.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110644
Author(s):  
MA Monayem Miah ◽  
Md Enamul Haque ◽  
Richard W Bell ◽  
Md Wakilur Rahman ◽  
Sohela Akhter ◽  
...  

The use of organic fertilisers and soil amendments are almost universally recommended for improving the organic matter levels and maintaining soil health, but few studies documenting the actual availability and quality of such materials on smallholder farms are available. We selected a case study of 300 households from northern and southern Bangladesh to assess the types of waste materials available for recycling and their usage patterns at household level and we applied a novel approach to empirically identify household waste as input inefficiency in a production context. Northern districts have highly intensive farming systems whereas southern districts have low intensity farming. The total amount of agricultural waste produced at household level was estimated at 822 kg per month. Cow dung contributed about 65% of the total waste followed by animal feed refusal waste (11%), garbage (7%) and kitchen waste (6%). Most of the farmers utilised cow dung and wastes as organic fertiliser and lesser amounts as cooking fuel. Econometric analysis shows that the number of cattle and small ruminant per holding, total area of cultivated land and family size were significant factors that influence the amount of waste production at household level. Each household can reduce the chemical fertiliser cost by Tk. 1463 (US$ 17.84) per month by using compost prepared from household waste. There were ample opportunities for compost/vermicomposting and potential markets. The Department of Agricultural Extension from the public sector and private sector agents might motivate farmers to harvest the potential benefits of agricultural waste through effective management and utilisation.


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