On the occurrence,distribution and taxonomy of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Momordica subangulata</Emphasis> Blume subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">renigera</Emphasis> (G. Don) de Wilde in India

Different authors in India and South East Asia treat dioecious species in the genus Momordica differently. The cultivated ‘bhat karela’ of East and North East India is referred to as Momordica dioica Roxb. by botanists and herbarium curators whereas agricultural scientists, in general, designate it as Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng. A critical study of 266 herbarium sheets housed at CAL and BSISH and in situ field studies at specific pockets in the North East India followed by preliminary characterization revealed its correct identity as Momordica subangulata Blume subsp. renigera (G. Don) de Wilde. First hand information on its occurrence, taxonomy and distribution in India is given. The species was found in wild as well as in homestead cultivation in North Eastern India and exemplify direct utilization of biodiversity by indigenous people.

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ziziphus </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">spina-christi</Emphasis> (L.) Willd.: a multipurpose fruit tree

Neglected and underutilized species often play a vital role in securing food and livestock feed, income generation and energy needs of rural populations. In spite of their great potential little attention has been given to these species. This increases the possibility of genetic erosion which would further restrict the survival strategies of people in rural areas. Ziziphus spina-christi is a plant species that has edible fruits and a number of other beneficial applications that include the use of leaves as fodder, branches for fencing, wood as fuel, for construction and furniture making, and the utilization of different parts e.g. Fruits, leaves, roots and bark in folk medicine. Moreover, the plant is adapted to dry and hot climates which make it suitable for cultivation in an environment characterized by increasing degradation of land and water resources. Lack of research in Z. spina-christi hinders its successful improvement and promotion. Therefore, studies are needed to fully exploit this species. This article aims at summarizing information on different aspects of Z. spina-christi to stimulate interest in this crop which is of importance in Sudan and other countries of the semi-arid tropics.

Foxtail millet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Setaria italica</Emphasis> (L.) P. Beauv.) in Mazandaran/Northern Iran

Foxtail millet, Setaria italica is still cultivated in Mazandaran (N-Iran). It is used for the preparation of local food and for feeding cage-birds. The cultivated race is convar. moharia, formerly widely grown from Europe to SW Asia. The newly found material allows conclusion with respect to evolution and distribution of this old crop.

Meeting the challenge of scaling up processes in the plant–soil–microbe system

The scaling up of processes in the plant–soil–microbe system represents one of the greatest challenges facing environmental scientists and yet is essential for sustainable land management worldwide. The latter encompasses, for example, the mitigation of and adaptation to anthropogenic climate change, the bioremediation of industrially contaminated sites, catchment management of human pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157 and integrated crop management on the farm. Scaling up is also essential for the regional and global biogeochemical modelling that will inform policy-makers of the critical environmental factors driving climate change. Despite increasing understanding of the links between gene expression and process on a microscale, there is still much progress to be made when relating this to processes at the macroscale. In this paper, we explore the challenges this poses and examine key case studies of successful up-scaling.

The sunflower (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helianthus annuus</Emphasis>) in Mexico: further evidence for a North American domestication

I have concluded that my initial verification of a specimen recovered from the San Andrés archaeological site in Mexico as domesticated sunflower was incorrect. The specimen in question is most likely the seed of a bottle gourd. As yet there is no compelling evidence that the sunflower was grown as a food crop in Mexico prior to European contact. In addition, the complete absence of any early historical record for the sunflower in Mexico argues against its presence in pre-Columbian times. Although no dates or boundaries can be set, the wild sunflower may have grown in northernmost Mexico in early times. A southward range expansion for the species is probably very recent, perhaps in the last few hundred years with the development of a modern road system. The widely used common names of the sunflower in Mexico are in Spanish or with Spanish words in them, which suggests that the sunflower is a post-contact arrival.

Current status of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) genetic resources in Ethiopia: implications for conservation

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current situation of coffee genetic resources that are dwindling at an alarming rate in Ethiopia, the centre of diversity of Coffea arabica. Firstly, we describe the coffee growing systems (forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee) and recent research on the genetic diversity of the coffee planting material associated with those systems. Whilst the maximum genetic diversity revealed by DNA-based markers is found in the forest coffees of the south-western highlands, the natural habitat of C. arabica, the taxonomy of coffee landraces is particularly rich in garden coffee systems located in ancient growing zones such as Harerge in eastern Ethiopia. After reviewing the factors involved in the genetic erosion of the Ethiopian genepool, we give an update on the status of coffee genetic resources conserved ex situ in the field genebank of the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre, with 4,780 accessions spread over 10 research stations located in the main production areas, and in the main genebank of the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation located in Choche (Limu) with 5,196 accessions conserved. Lastly, we mention the in situ conservation operations currently being implemented in Ethiopia. Improving our knowledge of the genetic structure of Ethiopian forest and garden coffee tree populations as well as genetic resources conserved ex situ will help to plan the future conservation strategy for that country. To this end, modern tools as DNA-based markers should be used to increase our understanding of coffee genetic diversity and it is proposed, with the support of the international scientific community and donor organizations, to undertake a concerted effort to rescue highly threatened Arabica coffee genetic resources in Ethiopia.

Soil nitrogen distribution and deposition on shortgrass prairie adjacent to a beef cattle feedyard

Cattle feedyards can impact local environments through emission of ammonia and dust deposited on nearby land. Impacts range from beneficial fertilization of cropland to detrimental effects on sensitive ecosystems. Shortgrass prairie downwind from an adjacent feedyard on the southern High Plains of Texas, USA changed from perennial grasses to annual weeds. It was hypothesized that N enrichment from the feedyard initiated the cascade of negative ecological change. Objectives were to determine the distribution of soil nitrogen and estimate N loading to the pasture. Soil samples were collected from 119 locations across the pasture and soil total N (TN), nitrate-N and ammonium-N (AN) determined in the top 30 cm. Soil TN concentration decreased with distance downwind from the feedyard from 1.6 ± 0.2 g kg⁻¹ at 75 m to 1.2 ± 0.05 g kg⁻¹ at 582 m. Nitrate-N concentration decreased within 200 m of the feedyard and changed little at greater distances. Ammonium-N concentration decreased linearly (P < 0.001) with increasing distance from the feedyard from 7.9 ± 1.7 mg kg⁻¹ within 75 m from the feedyard to 5.8 ± 1.5 mg kg⁻¹ at more than 550 m from the feedyard; however, distance only explained 12% of the variability in AN concentration. Maximum nitrogen loading, from 75 to 106 m from the feedyard, was 49 kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ over 34 years and decreased with distance from the feedyard. An estimate of net dry deposition of ammonia indicated that it contributed negligibly to N loading to the pasture. Nitrogen enrichment that potentially shifted vegetation from perennial grasses to annual weeds affected soil N up to 500 m from the feedyard; however, measured organic and inorganic N beyond that returned to typical and expected levels for undisturbed shortgrass prairie.

Spatial variability of enzyme activities in a 100-year old long-term field experiment

We attempted to clarify the importance of obtaining representative soil samples for microbiological purposes by comparing results from composite samples and individual cores taken at a depth of 30 cm from four different treatments at the Static Fertilisation Experiment in Bad Lauchstädt, Germany. As enzyme activities can be related to microbiological activities, we analysed alkaline phosphatase, -glucosidase and protease activities from the composite and individual samples. When comparing both kinds of samples, protease activity was found to be the most and -glucosidase activity the least variable parameter. Comparing just the individual cores, the greatest variation was found for alkaline phosphatase and the lowest variation for -glucosidase activity; however, the latter enzyme activity also showed significantly different values. Thus, care should be taken when sampling in the field for microbial purposes.

Availability of urea to autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria as related to the fate of 14C- and 15N-labeled urea added to soil

Nitrate has been found to accumulate more rapidly in soils fertilized with urea than with inorganic sources of NH₄ ⁺, despite the fact that nitrification must be preceded by hydrolytic decomposition. For acidic conditions, this finding has been attributed to limited uptake of NH₄ ⁺ by ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (also reported herein), suggesting an advantage for direct utilization of a nonionizable N substrate such as urea. If the same advantage applies to urea-C, nitrification of urea-N would also be promoted in neutral or alkaline soils, as reported in numerous studies. To ascertain whether urea-C can be utilized directly by nitrifying organisms, NO₂ ⁻ production was measured for Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosospira sp. NPAV in minimal media with urea as the sole source of either C or C and N. Nitrite accumulated only with the latter organism, in which case nearly quantitative recovery was observed for N added as NH₄ ⁺ and/or urea. In a subsequent study, recovery of ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N in gaseous, extractable, and hydrolyzable forms was determined after incubation with labeled urea for up to 29 days, by using two soils that differed markedly in physiochemical properties affecting nutrient availability. Results obtained in correlating ¹⁴C incorporation in the amino acid fraction with ¹⁵N accumulation as NO₃ ⁻ were consistent with the stoichiometry that would be expected if C fixation were driven by autotrophic nitrification. Our findings demonstrate unequivocally that urea is utilized as a source of C and N by nitrifying microorganisms, which may account for rapid nitrification of urea-N in soils.

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Implementation of bioavailability in standard setting and risk assessment?

Conclusions  On the basis of the discussion of the fact sheets during the workshop, it is advised to:

Biological effects-based sediment quality in ecological risk assessment for European waters

An overview is given of decision making frameworks for Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) used for sediment in a number of European countries. These frameworks fall into two categories:

Transfer of veterinary drugs and pharmacologically-active feed additives into soil with special consideration of tetracyclines – executive summary

Conclusions  

Dynamics of arsenic-containing compounds sorption on sediments

Background  River and lake sediments constitute complex and difficult analytical samples. On the other hand, sediments play a fundamental role in the distribution of toxic compounds in aquatic systems and in the evaluation of the current state and the course of changes taking place in the environment. Among elements present in the environment in trace concentrations, but having well-elaborated toxic properties, one of most dangerous is arsenic. The element occurs in the environment in several chemical forms, predominant are inorganic forms of As(V) and As(III), and methylated forms such as monomethylarsonic acid (MMAA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA). Objectives  Reported herein are experiments, which were undertaken with the aim of examining the dynamics of arsenic sorption in sediments and its dependence on speciation of the element and the pH in the environment. Simultaneously, influence of organic matter content and chemical composition of the sediments on As sorption, were investigated. Methods  Sediment samples (upper 10 cm layer) were collected from three sites located in the vicinity of Cracow:

Influence of cover crops on potential nitrogen availability to succeeding crops in a Southern Piedmont soil

Winter cover crops are essential in conservation tillage systems to protect soils from erosion and for improving soil productivity. Black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb) and oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L.) could be useful cover crops in the southeastern USA, but successful adoption requires understanding their influence on N availability in conservation tillage systems. Black oat and oilseed radish were compared to crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and rye (Secale cereale L.) for biomass production and effects on N mineralization during the summer crop growing season from fall 1998 through summer 2002 near Watkinsville, GA. Rye produced 40 to 60% more biomass, although N contents were less than the other cover crops. Oilseed radish and black oat N contents were similar to crimson clover. Black oat, oilseed radish, and crimson clover C/N ratios were less than 30, whereas rye averaged 39. Amount of N mineralized in 90 days (N _min90) measured with in situ soil cores was 1.3 to 2.2 times greater following black oat, crimson clover, and oilseed radish than following rye. No differences in N _min90 were found between black oats, crimson clover, and oilseed radish in 1999 and 2000. The amount of potentially mineralizable N (N ₀) was not different due to cover crop, but was 1.5 times greater in 2000 and 2002 than in 1999. The rate of N mineralization (k) was 20 to 50% slower following rye than the other three cover crops. Black oat and oilseed radish biomass production and soil N mineralization dynamics were more similar to crimson clover than to rye, which indicates that they could be used as cover crops in the southeast without significant changes in N recommendations for most crops.

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Ionic concentrations in a blanket peat bog in northern England and correlations with deposition and climate variables

Soil solution was collected to identify seasonal trends in its chemistry and to examine relationships between the concentrations of ions and variables that may control them. Samples were collected fortnightly at 10 cm and 50 cm depth in a blanket peat soil at Moor House–Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve in the northern Pennine uplands of England. Dissolved organic carbon at 10 cm peaked each summer and correlated most strongly with temperature. At both depths Na⁺ and Cl^– were the dominant ions, reflecting the oceanic climate. Over the 3‐year sampling period, concentrations of the principal anions and cations at 10 cm varied little except during the autumns of 1994 and 1995 following unusually dry summers. At these times concentrations of SO₄^2–‐S increased from < 3 μmol to a maximum of 430 μmol and were balanced by smaller increases in Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and H⁺. The SO₄^2– concentration at 10 cm was most strongly correlated with depth to the water Table 3 weeks prior to sampling. At 50 cm depth in the peat a small increase in SO₄^2– occurred only during the autumn of 1995, and the concentration of SO₄^2– at this depth correlated most strongly with that at 10 cm. At neither depth were there any strong correlations with deposition. The increase in H⁺ concentration associated with the peak in SO₄^2– at 10 cm depth represents a fall in pH from usual values around 4.2 to 3.5.

Table 3. Deposition flux of ions in bulk precipitation at Moor House from weekly samplings 1994 to 1996 in kg ha^?1 year^?1. The UK flux is derived from 32 sites of the United Kingdom Precipitation Composition Monitoring Network 1992 to 1994 and the standard deviation (SD) relates to the variation between these sites ( Review Group on Acid Rain, 1997 )

Critical loads mapping in Poland: Lessons learned

Since 1990 the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, acting as National Focal Center, is actively involved in an international research programme aimed at the calculation and mapping of critical loads of acidifying compounds. Following the methodological guidelines elaborated under the leadership of UN/ECE Task Force on Mapping and Coordination Center for Effects, national maps of critical loads and their exceedances for acidity, sulphur and nitrogen have been produced. These maps have already been utilized in derivation of European maps of critical loads of acidity and sulphur submitted to the UN/ECE LRTAP Convention as scientific input to the negotiations on the Second Sulphur Protocol. The lessons learned from the critical loads mapping exercise can be summarized as follow:

Gross nitrogen mineralisation rates in pastural soils and their relationships with organic nitrogen fractions, microbial biomass and protease activity under glasshouse conditions

In this study, gross nitrogen (N) mineralisation rates were determined in six pasture soils (Fleming, Kairanga, Karapoti, Lismore, Templeton and Waikoikoi) from three different regions of New Zealand. The soils were kept under controlled soil water potential (–10 to –30 kPa) and temperature (12–20°C) conditions in a glasshouse. The gross N mineralisation rates ranged from 0.76 to 5.87 g N g^–1 soil day^–1 in the six soils and were positively correlated with the amount of amino acid-N (AA-N), ammonia-N (NH₃-N), total hydrolysable-N (TH-N), microbial biomass-carbon (MB-C), microbial biomass-N (MB-N), protease activity and organic C and N. A stepwise regression was used to generate equations that could best describe gross N mineralisation rates. Microbial biomass-carbon and AA-N were included in the equation that best described the gross N mineralisation rate: