Utilization Potential of Peats – a Study on Peat Biodegradability Determined by Respirometric Method

The biodegradation of different peat types was studied with a manometric respirometric test. Compaction peat and sphagnum peat samples were analysed, and the effect of peat pH on biodegradation behaviour was evaluated. Only minor (BOD/ThOD?<?0.4%) biodegradation was observed with compaction peat samples, and the stable state, in which biodegradation stopped, was achieved during a two month period. As expected, sphagnum peat samples with a lower decomposition rate degraded more than compaction peat samples. Alkalinity (pH between ca. 4–9) of the peat was noticed to reduce the degree of biodegradation and accelerate the achievement of the stable state.     

Planning for the future: identifying conservation priority areas for Iberian birds under climate change

Context

Species are expected to shift their distributions in response to global environmental changes and additional protected areas are needed to encompass the corresponding changes in the distributions of their habitats. Conservation policies are likely to become obsolete unless they integrate the potential impacts of climate and land-use change on biodiversity.

Objectives

We identify conservation priority areas for current and future projected distributions of Iberian bird species. We then investigate the extent to which global change informed priority areas are: (i) covered by existing protected area networks (national protected areas and Natura 2000); (ii) threatened by agricultural or urban land-use changes.

Methods

We use outputs of species distributions models fitted with climatic data as inputs in spatial prioritization tools to identify conservation priority areas for 168 bird species. We use projections of land-use change to then discriminate between threatened and non-threatened priority areas.

Results

19% of the priority areas for birds are covered by national protected areas and 23% are covered by Natura 2000 sites. The spatial mismatch between protected area networks and priority areas for birds is projected to increase with climate change. But there are opportunities to improve the protection of birds under climate change, as half of the priority areas are currently neither protected nor in conflict with urban or agricultural land-uses.

Conclusions

We identify critical areas for bird conservation both under current and climate change conditions, and propose that they could guide the establishment of new conservation areas across the Iberian Peninsula complementing existing protected areas.

     

Sole ulcers in Finnish dairy cattle

The Finnish Healthy Hooves project was set up to determine the frequency of, and risk factors for various hoof lesions in Finnish dairy herds. Data were collected in the years 2003 and 2004. A large dataset of over 74,000 cow-level observations recorded by hoof trimmers was merged with production data from the Finnish Agricultural Data Processing Centre Ltd. Ultimately, data from a single lactation from each of 16,792 cows in 703 herds were used for the analyses in this paper. Three-level hierarchical logistic models with hoof trimmer and farms (within hoof trimmer) as random effects were fit to data sets of tie stall (TS) and loose housing (LH) herds separately. The outcome of interest was the presence or absence of a sole ulcer in one or more legs of a cow during the lactation of interest.Cows examined once had a risk of sole ulcer 5.23% in tie stall herds and 7.58% in LH herds. As the number of examinations increased the odds of a diagnosis of sole ulcer increased substantially (2 and 3+ examinations had odds ratios (ORs) of 1.42 and 3.42 in TS herds and 2.77 and 6.89 in LH herds). Breed had a large effect on the risk of sole ulcer with Holsteins 2.89 times more likely to be affected than Ayrshires in TS herds and 2.94 times in LH herds. In TS herds, the presence of other hoof lesions such as haemorrhages (OR = 2.97), heel-horn erosions (OR = 2.10) and corkscrew claw (OR = 2.83) increased the risk of a sole ulcer developing. In LH herds, only haemorrhages (OR = 1.80) were a significant risk factor when parity was ≥2. In TS herds, use of mats (compared to hard flooring) significantly reduced the risk of sole ulcers (OR = 0.49). The effect of parity on the risk of sole ulcer was greatest when parity ≥4 but this effect was only significant in tie stalls (OR = 1.86).When analyses were restricted to cows with parity ≥2, similar results were obtained for the risk factors identified above. In addition, parity became highly significant in TS and LH (OR 2.31 and 2.23, respectively when parity was 4+). In TS herds, herd average milk production was significantly associated with a decrease risk of sole ulcer (OR = 1.28 per 1000 kg decrease) but there was no effect of production at the cow level (measured as deviation from the herd mean). No significant effects of production were observed in LH herds.     

Treatment of Bovine Ketosis with Invert Sugar,Glucocorticoids, and Propylene Glycol

Four different treatments of bovine ketosis, using 3 different pharmaceutical preparations, were monitored. The main antiketogenic and glucogenic ingredients of the preparations were as follows: invert sugar (Metabol), prednisolone and dexamethasone (Predasen), the former preparations combined (Metabol & Predasen) and propylene glycol and dexamethasone (Dexaprol). Blood samples were drained from the ketotic cows prior to the treatment. The animals were sampled again 2 and 7 days after the first sampling. The whole blood concentrations of acetoacetate (AA concn), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB concn) and glucose (glue concn) were determined. The measures of the antiketogenic and glucogenic efficacy of the various treatments applied were their ability to reduce the AA concn and BHB concn and to elevate the gluc concn.Invert sugar (Metabol) alone had no antiketogenic efficacy, although in some cases it led to a subjective clinical improvement as reported by the owners of the animals. Invert sugar and glucocorticoids (Metabol & Predasen) dexamethasone and prednisolone (Predasen) and dexamethason plus propylene glycol (Dexaprol) were equally effective in bringing the AA, BHB and glue concns to normal range. The mean glue concn of the cows treated with Dexaprol was higher than that of the cows in the other treatment groups at 2 days (P < 0.01). No other differences between the 3 antiketogenic treatments could be shown.     

Use of force sensors to detect and analyse lameness in dairy cows

Force sensors were used to detect lameness in dairy cows in two trials. In the first trial, leg weights were recorded during approximately 12,000 milkings with balances built into the floor of the milking robot. Cows that put less weight on one leg or kicked frequently during milking were checked first with a locomotion scoring system and then with a clinical inspection. A locomotion score of more than 2 was considered lame, and these cows' hooves were examined at hoof trimming to determine the cause and to identify any hoof lesions. In the second trial 315 locomotion scores were recorded and compared with force sensor data. The force sensors proved to be a good method for recognising lameness. Computer curves drawn from force sensor data helped to find differences between leg weights, thus indicating lameness and its duration. Sole ulcers and white line disease were identified more quickly by force sensors than by locomotion scoring, but joint problems were more easily detected by locomotion scoring.     

Phenolics and betacyanins in red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) root: distribution and effect of cold storage on the content of total phenolics and three individual compounds

The distribution of total phenolics and main betacyanins in red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) root was determined. Also, the subsequent effects of cold storage on the content of total phenolics, main betacyanins (betanin and isobetanin), and the main known ferulic acid ester (beta-D-fructofuranosyl-alpha-D-(6-O-(E)-feruloylglucopyranoside) were determined in the peel, which is the root part containing the largest amount of total phenolics. The content of total phenolics in the red beetroot water extracts was determined according to a modification of the Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). The compounds of interest were identified by HPLC-ESI-MS and NMR techniques, and the contents of compounds were determined by HLPC analyses. The total phenolic contents in various root parts were found to decrease in the order peel, crown, flesh. Significant differences in the contents of total phenolics and individual compounds were found when the effect of cold storage (5 degrees C, 0-196 days) on the constituents of the peel from intact roots was examined. In addition to the betacyanins of red beetroot peel found in our earlier study, tentative identifications of betanidin and feruloylamaranthin were made.     

Detecting cow's lameness using force sensors

Our aim is to automatically detect cow's leg problems. The first system is a four-balance system, where each of the legs is weighed when a cow is in a milking robot. Its functionality is limited to milking robot and complications in interpreting results occur, since often not all of the legs are properly in each balance or the cow is leaning the robot. Therefore, we introduce a new system. It is a mat made of electromechanical film, Emfit, which can detect only dynamic forces. Its benefit is that its use is not limited to milking robot, but it can be set up in any corridor along which the cows walk. Preliminary tests with walking cows indicate that it has potentiality to separate lame cows from healthy cows by different force–time behaviour.     

Misleading results from conventional gap analysis – Messages from the warming north

Gap analysis is a widely used method for assessing the representation of species in protected area (PA) networks. However, representation does not imply persistence. Here, we investigated whether gap analysis may result in misleading conservation guidelines by comparing the representation to two indicators of persistence. We ran a gap analysis with Finnish breeding birds and identified conservation priorities based on current distribution patterns. We tested the sensitivity of these results by using two target setting schemes and several thresholds defining the amount of protected area, and found the levels of representation identified by gap analysis to be robust. We then compared the gap analysis results with recent population trends and projected changes in potential suitable climate under different climate change scenarios for the year 2050. We show that although high latitude species are well represented in PAs, they are currently declining and are projected to lose climatic suitability in the near future. In contrast, low latitude species with poor representation in PAs have increasing population trends and are generally expected to expand their ranges into protected areas in the near future. This study demonstrates with empirical data a mismatch between representation in PAs and population trends, resulting in misleading understanding of current PA effectiveness. The mismatch is linked to the latitude of species distributions and corresponds to expected future changes, indicating that the patterns are potentially driven by climate change. We therefore urge practitioners and researchers to include better indicators of persistence in gap-analysis frameworks even for short term assessments.     

Antioxidant activity of plant extracts containing phenolic compounds.

The antioxidative activity of a total of 92 phenolic extracts from edible and nonedible plant materials (berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cereals, tree materials, plant sprouts, and seeds) was examined by autoxidation of methyl linoleate. The content of total phenolics in the extracts was determined spectrometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). Among edible plant materials, remarkable high antioxidant activity and high total phenolic content (GAE > 20 mg/g) were found in berries, especially aronia and crowberry. Apple extracts (two varieties) showed also strong antioxidant activity even though the total phenolic contents were low (GAE < 12.1 mg/g). Among nonedible plant materials, high activities were found in tree materials, especially in willow bark, spruce needles, pine bark and cork, and birch phloem, and in some medicinal plants including heather, bog-rosemary, willow herb, and meadowsweet. In addition, potato peel and beetroot peel extracts showed strong antioxidant effects. To utilize these significant sources of natural antioxidants, further characterization of the phenolic composition is needed.