Modelling the impact of soil processes on the N and O isotope signatures of nitrate in groundwater

<p>Stable isotope fingerprinting is widely applied to plant-soil-groundwater systems in an aim to identify and even quantify the sources of nitrates found in groundwater. Frequently, in such studies, the <em>δ</em><sup>15</sup>N and <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O values of nitrogen sources, such as inorganic fertilizers and manure, are directly compared to the isotope signatures of nitrate encountered in groundwater bodies below agricultural watersheds. We submit that the underlying assumptions (conservative behavior of isotope composition, rapid transfer from surface to groundwater) may only be realistic under very specific conditions whereas, in most cases, significant isotope effects exerted by the soil-microbial-plant system on the <em>δ</em><sup>15</sup>N and <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O values of nitrate need to be taken into account when attempting a quantitative apportionment of sources of groundwater nitrate.</p><p>We hypothesise that the isotopic signature of nitrate exported from below the root zone and migrating towards the groundwater will reflect the nitrogen isotope composition of the soil organic N pool, rather than the isotope composition of source fertilizer or organic amendments, due to processes that reset source isotope compositions within soil N pools. We test this hypothesis using empirical observations from a diversity of settings, in France, Spain and Canada with a relatively constant historic anthropogenic N source or a simple and well constrained landuse history. Furthermore, through the use of a process-based model (SIMSONIC, Billy et al., 2010) we estimate to what extent the isotopic composition of the predominant N input to the soil-microbial-plant system and the soil N pool has been modified in an attempt to consider these changes in source apportionment studies elucidating the sources of groundwater nitrate.</p><p>This research was supported through the Consortium award MUTUAL, by the LE STUDIUM® Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies via its SMART LOIRE VALLEY (SLV) fellowship programme, co-funded by the H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme, Contract No. 665790.</p><p> </p><p>Billy C., Billen G., Sebilo M., Birgand F., Tournebize J. (2010) Nitrogen isotopic composition of leached nitrate and soil organic matter as an indicator of denitrification in a sloping drained agricultural plot and adjacent uncultivated riparian buffer strips. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42, 108-117.</p>

A DNA barcode-based survey of wild urban bees in the Loire Valley, France

The current decline of wild bees puts important ecosystem services such as pollination at risk. Both inventory and monitoring programs are needed to understand the causes of wild bee decline. Effective insect monitoring relies on both mass-trapping methods coupled with rapid and accurate identifications. Identifying wild bees using only morphology can be challenging, in particular, specimens from mass-trapped samples which are often in poor condition. We generated DNA barcodes for 2931 specimens representing 157 species (156 named and one unnamed species) and 28 genera. Automated cluster delineation reveals 172 BINs (Barcodes Index Numbers). A total of 36 species (22.93%) were found in highly urbanized areas. The majority of specimens, representing 96.17% of the species barcoded form reciprocally exclusive groups, allowing their unambiguous identification. This includes several closely related species notoriously difficult to identify. A total of 137 species (87.26%) show a “one-to-one” match between a named species and the BIN assignment. Fourteen species (8.92%) show deep conspecific lineages with no apparent morphological differentiation. Only two species pairs shared the same BIN making their identification with DNA barcodes alone uncertain. Therefore, our DNA barcoding reference library allows reliable identification by non-experts for the vast majority of wild bee species in the Loire Valley.

ENSINO, PESQUISA E EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA SOBRE A OTICA DO DESIGN PARA INOVAÇÃO SOCIAL

O artigo apresenta o relatório da pesquisa: Ensino, pesquisa e extensão universitária sob a ótica do Design para inovação social, durante o período de seu desenvolvimento no ÉCOLAB/ÉSAD, Le Studium Loire Valley, Institute for Advanced Studies, em Orléans, França.

The «Chateau of the Loire Valley» piano fresco as a representation of the artistic thinking of Lesia Dychko

The purpose of this represented scientific article is to reveal the specificity of piano thinking of L. Dychko as exemplified in the «Chateau of the Loire Valley» piano fresco. Methods. The methodological background of the study includes the integration of general scientific (historical, system-related, dialectic, culturological, comparative) and special artistic, in particular, music study methods and approaches of the scientific study. The application of the series of special methods of the music study research, characteristic to the historical, theoretical and performance musicology promoted the solution of the problems brought up in the article. Scintific novelty. The scintific novelty of the undertaken study is the revealing of the conceptual bases and intonational-stylistic specificity of the «Chаteau of the Loire Valley» piano fresco as the representation of the universality of L. Dychko’s creative thinking. Conclusion. The article reveals the form-forming and textural principles of the music mirroring of the masterpieces of French architecture in the text of the «Chаteau of the Loire Valley» piano cycle. The performed analysis enabled the distinguishing of L. Dychko’s piano piece as a model of the interspecific artistic communication and a manifestation of the artistic dialogue within «music - architecture» system, which is revealed on the graphically-associational, intonational and semantic, structural, texture and stylistic levels. The article proves that the «Chаteau of the Loire Valley» fresco of Lesia Dychko is distinguished by the immensity of the artist's intention, concert performance and stylistic direction and the high level of the pianistic technique, which is evidenced by the diversity of the piano texture, wide register coverage of the fingerboard, the predominance of the elements of octaval-chordal technique, the diversity of masterly performed passages and figured approaches, which are indued with formal and meaningful properties and acquire the value of the stylistic and graphically-semantic factors. There has been proved in the work the composer’s appeal to the music thesaurus of contemporary pianism, the established in the piano practice texture and expressive means and general types of movements, as well as the individualized performance approaches, endued in the context of the cycle with different functionally-semantic loads (coloristic background, representation of the sonic flow dynamics, graphical and emotional tension, disconcentrated figurative thematic invention, concert-virtuous style).

Tourism development at World Heritage Site: The case of Loire Valley in France

In 2000, UNESCO included a linear cultural landscape along a 200 kilometre stretch in the middle reaches of the Loire Valley, between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes-sur-Loire. The management of this extensive cultural landscape is exemplary, innovative but also complicated. The aim of this article is to explore the challenges faced and strategies adopted by the Loire Valley as a World Heritage Site in the development of tourism. Quantitative and qualitative data were both used to enhance the depth and breadth of analysis. The work presented refers to three sources of data. The findings reveal that tourism development in the Loire Valley has some challengers, such as short stays of tourists, slow growth in tourist numbers, uneven visitor numbers between castles, and the blurred role of World Heritage status in destination image. However, three different aspects of strategies have been applied by the authorities to enhance tourism development, including governance and marketing, attraction development and activation, as well as synergies of local communities.

“Die van de religie”: protestanten op Grand Tour in Frankrijk in de zeventiende eeuw

The French Loire valley was one of the main attractions on the Dutch Grand Tour in the 17th century. It had prestigious academies, private tutors of aristocratic skills such as fencing and formal dancing, and religious communities of Huguenots. This article examines how Protestant Dutch elite travellers expressed their interest, empathy, and connection to these groups of like-minded individuals. Travellers reflected both on past events of the 16th-century French Wars of Religion and on current difficulties. Focusing on the years leading up to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which drastically changed France’s religious situation in 1685, this article discusses how travellers presented the Huguenots’ troubles.