Influence of simulated rainfall on physical properties of a conventionally tilled loess soil

Rainfall simulations were conducted on a loess derived silt loam soil (Henan province, P.R. China) under conventional tillage. This tillage practice is widespread and involves the turning of the plough layer and the wheat stubble in July (primary tillage), followed by a secondary tillage operation in October. Soil samples were collected and in situ measurements were done before each rainfall simulation in order to analyse soil physical properties after successive simulated rainfall events. The purpose of this study was to determine rainfall induced changes in saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, penetration resistance, water retention and soil erodibility. The results only showed significant differences in soil bulk density and erodibility when applying successive rainfall events. Penetration resistance and water retention (at matric potentials ≤ − 3 kPa) were not significantly affected and soil surface sealing was not observed. This was also confirmed by the infiltration measurements, where no significant differences in saturated hydraulic conductivity were found. From a soil conservation point of view, this study indicated that the primary tillage operation (i.e. ploughing at the beginning of July) is rather disadvantageous: the saturated hydraulic conductivity is not significantly affected, but the soil erodibility is considerably higher in comparison to a consolidated soil. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of the wheat stubble on soil and water conservation are lost by the tillage operation.     

Activity and concentration of polyphenolic antioxidants in apple juice. 2. Effect of novel production methods

There is a great interest in food components that possess possible health-protecting properties, as is the case with flavonoids. Previous research showed that conventional apple juice processing resulted in juices poor in flavonoids and with a low antioxidant activity. This paper shows that it is possible to improve flavonoid content in juice and its antioxidant activity by applying an alcoholic extraction either on the pulp or on the pomace. The levels of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in enriched juice were between 1.4 (chlorogenic acid) and 9 (quercetin glycosides) times higher than in conventional apple juice. In enriched juice the antioxidant activity was 5 times higher than in conventional apple juice, with 52% of the antioxidant activity of the originating fruits present. The novel processing method had similar effects for three apple cultivars tested (Elstar, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold). The taste and color of enriched juice were different from those of conventional juice.     

An Integrative Approach to Value‐Added Planning: From Community Needs to Local Authority Revenue

The concept of value‐added planning (as part of the Valuing Attractive Landscapes in the Urban Economy, INTERREG IVB North West Europe Project) is introduced in this paper to facilitate integrative planning, focusing on the benefits that use and non‐use green spaces can provide to an urban area. The aim is to stress the need to plan for, and protect, green spaces in urban areas by determining the economic values connected to the green spaces and relate that values to community benefit and local authority revenue. The paper identifies tools that can be used to determine the economic value of green spaces based on the environmental, social, and economic benefits. The first section (value) refers to the social value of green spaces as determined from the public perspective and introduces the workbench method as a tool to assist with participatory planning and capturing of the social benefits of green spaces. The second section (added) refers to the environmental benefits of green spaces and, by means of the Green Credit Tool, introduces ways to ensure the protection of the green resources in an area. The final section (planning) refers to the economic benefit of green space, bringing use values and non‐use values of green spaces together. The paper concludes with an integrative framework for value‐added planning, incorporating all the tools presented in the paper, capturing the social, environmental, and economic benefits of green spaces and relating it to community benefit and local authority revenue.     

Challenges and prospects for consumer acceptance of cultured meat

Consumer acceptance of cultured meat is expected to depend on a wide diversity of determinants ranging from technology-related perceptions to product-speciifc expectations, and including wider contextu...     

Genetic diversity of rhizobia associated with indigenous legumes in different regions of Flanders (Belgium)

We investigated the diversity of rhizobia isolated from different indigenous legumes in Flanders (Belgium). A total of 3810 bacterial strains were analysed originating from 43 plant species. Based on rep-PCR clustering, 16S rRNA gene and recA gene sequence analysis, these isolates belonged to Bradyrhizobium, Ensifer (Sinorhizobium), Mesorhizobium and Rhizobium. Of the genera encountered, Rhizobium was the most abundant (62%) and especially the species Rhizobiumleguminosarum, followed by Ensifer (19%), Bradyrhizobium (14%) and finally Mesorhizobium (5%). For two rep-clusters only low similarity values with other genera were found for both the 16S rRNA and recA genes, suggesting that these may represent a new genus with close relationship to Rhodopseudomonas and Bradyrhizobium. Primers for the symbiotic genes nodC and nifH were optimized and a phylogenetic sequence analysis revealed the presence of different symbiovars including genistearum, glycinearum, loti, meliloti, officinalis, trifolii and viciae. Moreover, three new nodC types were assigned to strains originating from Ononis, Robinia and Wisteria, respectively. Discriminant and MANOVA analysis confirmed the correlation of symbiosis genes with certain bacterial genera and less with the host plant. Multiple symbiovars can be present within the same host plant, suggesting the promiscuity of these plants. Moreover, the ecoregion did not contribute to the separation of the bacterial endosymbionts. Our results reveal a large diversity of rhizobia associated with indigenous legumes in Flanders. Most of the legumes harboured more than one rhizobial endosymbiont in their root nodules indicating the importance of including sufficient isolates per plant in diversity studies.