Modeling waterbird diversity in irrigation ponds of Taoyuan, Taiwan using an artificial neural network approach

The study develops an approach adopted by artificial neural networks (ANN) to model the relationship between pondscape and waterbird diversity. Study areas with thousands of irrigation ponds are unique geographic features from the original functions of irrigation converted to waterbird refuges. The model considers pond shape and size, neighboring farmlands, and constructed areas in calculating parameters pertaining to the interactive influences on avian diversity, among them the Shannon–Wiener diversity index. Results indicate that irrigation ponds adjacent to farmland benefited waterbird diversity. On the other hand, urban development leads to the reduction of pond numbers, which reduces waterbird diversity. By running the ANN model, the resulting index shows a good-fit prediction of bird diversity against pond size, shape, neighboring farmlands, and neighboring developed areas with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.72, in contrast to the results from a linear regression model (r < 0.28).     

Farm-level land diversity of smallholders with limited input resources during urbanization in Taiwan

During urbanization in Taiwan, the input resources of farmland are always compressed by other land uses; the landscape diversity of small farms is emphasized in rural areas. To determine the extent to which diversity in farmland use corresponds with urbanization, a goal programming study was established. This was analysed by investigating several assumed options of diversification that are available to the smallholder. The results revealed that the existing pattern of land use among members of the Taoyuan Irrigation Association (TIA) is constrained mainly by the basic requirement for paddy fields. The value of the gross benefit of farmer could be reduced by 20 %, and that of landscape diversity could increase by 67 % in cases of which the paddy field is reduced for other land use through the optimal allocation of the studied land use was implemented. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the existing pattern of land use can survive the potential shortage of input resources to adapt urbanization through the diversified land use. Among the options for diversified land use, a varied landscape can be created that will both enrich the recreational space, and enhance the reasonable consumption of limited input resources in small farm.     

Environmental drivers of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ixodes ricinus</Emphasis> abundance in forest fragments of rural European landscapes

Background

The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) transmits infectious diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, which constitutes an important ecosystem disservice. Despite many local studies, a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers of tick abundance at the continental scale is still lacking. We analyze a large set of environmental factors as potential drivers of I. ricinus abundance. Our multi-scale study was carried out in deciduous forest fragments dispersed within two contrasting rural landscapes of eight regions, along a macroclimatic gradient stretching from southern France to central Sweden and Estonia. We surveyed the abundance of I. ricinus, plant community composition, forest structure and soil properties and compiled data on landscape structure, macroclimate and habitat properties. We used linear mixed models to analyze patterns and derived the relative importance of the significant drivers.

Results

Many drivers had, on their own, either a moderate or small explanatory value for the abundance of I. ricinus, but combined they explained a substantial part of variation. This emphasizes the complex ecology of I. ricinus and the relevance of environmental factors for tick abundance. Macroclimate only explained a small fraction of variation, while properties of macro- and microhabitat, which buffer macroclimate, had a considerable impact on tick abundance. The amount of forest and the composition of the surrounding rural landscape were additionally important drivers of tick abundance. Functional (dispersules) and structural (density of tree and shrub layers) properties of the habitat patch played an important role. Various diversity metrics had only a small relative importance. Ontogenetic tick stages showed pronounced differences in their response. The abundance of nymphs and adults is explained by the preceding stage with a positive relationship, indicating a cumulative effect of drivers.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the ecosystem disservices of tick-borne diseases, via the abundance of ticks, strongly depends on habitat properties and thus on how humans manage ecosystems from the scale of the microhabitat to the landscape. This study stresses the need to further evaluate the interaction between climate change and ecosystem management on I. ricinus abundance.

     

Effects of Pomegranate Juice on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: a Double-Blinded,Randomized Crossover Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to investigate the simultaneous effect of pomegranate juice on components of the metabolic syndrome, including high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as an inflammatory index and glycemic and lipid profile indices in patients with metabolic syndrome. In a double- blind 2*2 crossover study, 30 individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome received a daily dose of 500 mL pomegranate juice for a period of one week. After one week of wash out period, they received a placebo for one week. Lipid profile, blood glucose control indices including fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and hs-CRP were measured at the beginning and end of the study. To analyze the data, a repeated measure analysis of variance and a t-test were performed. The results indicated that in comparison to the placebo, pomegranate juice was more effective in reducing the systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.00) and hs-CRP (p = 0.018). The level of triglyceride (p = 0.030) and very low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (VLDL-C) (p = 0.014) were increased after the consumption of pomegranate juice, as opposed to the baseline condition. The rest of lipid profile, fasting blood glucose (FBS), insulin, and HOMA-IR of the participants did not show any significant difference. Natural pomegranate juice supplementation lowered the level of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with metabolic syndrome as well as their blood hs-CRP. However, it also increased their triglyceride and VLDL-C.     

Surface drainage nitrate loading estimate from agriculture fields and its relationship with landscape metrics in Tajan watershed

Pasture, forest, and farmland are the dominant land covers in the Tajan River watershed and this landscape status has a direct connection with nitrate pollution. Understanding the correlations between landscape variables and nitrate pollutant is a priority in order to assess pollutants loading and predicting the impact on surface water quality. The soil and water assessment tool was used to simulate nitrate loads in different land cover types in different years. The landscape pattern was calculated by FRAGSTATS. The contributing share of each land use/land cover shows nitrate pollutant produced by grassland (5.7%) and forest (29%) are less than those produced by agricultural land (64.2%). Agricultural land was identified as the main source of nitrate pollution. Paddy fields and orchards had the most intensive soluble nitrate loss especially in spring and summer. Statistical analysis indicated that nitrate was positively associated with patch density, edge density, patch number, total edge, effective mesh size, largest patch index, and landscape shape index (p ≤ 0.01). We then analyzed how nitrate was related to landscape attributes in six different sites. Also the regression analysis results suggested that landscape metrics could account for more than 94% of the variance of nitrate in the whole catchment. The regression models confirmed the great importance of the agriculture metrics and forest metric in predicting nitrate in watershed. Defining the generation and extent of pollution in this particular watershed which discharges into the Caspian Sea can constitute an important step toward protecting this ecosystem.     

Effects of agri-environmental and organic rice farming on yield and macrophyte community in Mediterranean paddy fields

The Ebro Delta (Catalonia, Spain) is one of the largest wetland areas in the Mediterranean with 65% of its area occupied by rice fields. Because of the crucial role of rice fields in biodiversity and the regional economy, it is essential to find an optimum equilibrium between wetland conservation and rice productivity. The environmental and agronomic effects of three cropping systems with different degrees of farming intensity (organic, agri-environmental scheme and conventional) were assessed. The three cropping systems mainly differed in the use of agrochemicals, type of fertilizer and winter flooding. A 3-year field study was conducted in which agronomic performance and diversity and dynamics of macrophyte community in rice fields were assessed. Agri-environmental system yielded the same as the conventional one, whereas organic system significantly reduced grain yield. Biomass of weeds and macrophytes was the main contributor to yield decline. Both organic and agri-environmental systems, through winter flooding, promote the ecological succession and temporal heterogeneity of the macrophyte community in rice fields, whereas less impact on macrophyte diversity was observed. Filamentous algae were the most abundant group irrespective of the cropping system, followed by Chara vulgaris, Najas minor and Lemna minor in conventional, organic and agri-environmental systems, respectively. The environmental and agronomic benefits of winter flooding are discussed along with the current limitations of organic farming and suggested measures to make it agronomically feasible. This discussion is done under an integrative approach in which the agri-environmental legislation for the last 20 years is examined.     

Drought forecasting using ANFIS- a case study in drought prone area of Vietnam

Drought occurs throughout the world, affecting people more than any other major natural hazards. An important requirement for mitigating the impact of drought is an effective method of forecasting future drought events. This study investigated the applicability of Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for drought forecasting and quantitative value of drought indices, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Khanhhoa Province Vietnam with three meteorological stations was selected as the study area. The sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) events at NinoW and Nino4 zones were selected as input variables to forecast drought. Fifteen ANFIS forecasting models for SPI/SPEI (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) were trained and tested. The results show the performance of the ANFIS forecasting models for SPI/SPEI of all stations is equivalent and most ANFIS forecasting models for SPEI are better than SPI; the performance of the ANFIS forecasting models for SPI/SPEI-12 is better than other ANFIS models for SPI/SPEI-1 to SPI/SPEI-6; the models with high performance are M10–M13; model with the highest performance is M12 model. The results of this research showed that ANFIS forecasting models with SSTAs events as input variables can forecast longer term than SPI and precipitation as input variables. The ANFIS forecasting model with SSTA events as input variables can be successfully applied and provide high accuracy and reliability for drought forecasting.     

Effects of streamline complexity on the relationships between urban land use and ecological communities in streams

Urban land use can adversely affect the water quality of adjacent streams through interactions at the edges of the two ecosystems. From a landscape ecological perspective, edges control the flow rate of materials between two adjacent systems. Based on the rationale that the streamline complexity formed between land uses and water bodies may function in this manner, we investigated the potential role of streamline complexity in the relationship between stream ecological communities and urban land use in Korea. Various indices of biological indicators including the diatom assemblage index for organic pollution, the trophic diatom index, the Korean saprobic index, and the index of biotic integrity were applied at 80 sampling sites in the Nakdong River system. We computed the fractal dimensions of the streamlines within 1-km buffers and the proportion of urban land use in the watershed within 5-km buffers around the sampling sites. A moderation model was adopted to investigate the role of streamline complexity in the relationship between urban land use and the biological indices of ecological communities. A comparison between a simple geometry regression model and complex geometry models indicated that streamline complexity may moderate the adverse impacts of urban land use on ecological communities in streams. The moderating effect of streamline complexity was particularly significant for assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fishes. Therefore, to enhance the ecological integrity of streams, we strongly recommend considering streamline complexity when restoring channelized streams in developed areas.     

Prevalence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in an endangered population of northern leopard frogs, Rana pipiens

Background

Emerging infectious diseases threaten naïve host populations with extinction. Chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease of amphibians, is caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and has been linked to global declines in amphibians.

Results

We monitored the prevalence of Bd for four years in the Northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, which is critically imperiled in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The prevalence of Bd initially increased and then remained constant over the last three years of the study. Young of the year emerging from breeding ponds in summer were rarely infected with Bd. Some individuals cleared their Bd infections and the return rate between infected and uninfected individuals was not significantly different.

Conclusions

The BC population of R. pipiens appears to have evolved a level of resistance that allows it to co-exist with Bd. However, this small population of R. pipiens remains vulnerable to extinction.

     

The Effect of Alfalfa Residue Incorporation on Soil Bacterial Communities and the Quantity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Verticillium dahliae</Emphasis> Microsclerotia in Potato Fields in the Columbia Basin of Washington State,USA

Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae, is one of the most important diseases of potato in North America. Soil incorporation of alfalfa residues prior to planting potato could be a nonchemical Verticillium wilt management tactic by reducing the number of viable microsclerotia in field soil. Verticillium dahliae microsclerotia were quantified in field soils where organic material from alfalfa was incorporated, and numbers of microsclerotia were compared to fields where alfalfa residue was not incorporated. In addition, bacterial metagenomics was utilized to characterize soils where organic material from alfalfa was or was not incorporated to determine if alfalfa residue incorporation facilitates the formation of soils that suppress or kill V. dahliae microsclerotia. The number of V. dahliae microsclerotia in soil was greater (P = 0.0003) in fields where crop residue was incorporated than fields without incorporation when chloropicrin was used as a fumigant. Conversely, the number of V. dahliae microsclerotia observed in potato plants did not differ (P = 0.4020) between fields where residues were or were not incorporated if chloropicrin was used. Alfalfa residue incorporation did not significantly alter the soil bacterial metagenome compared to fields not subject to residue incorporation in both years of study. Despite these conclusions, the method can be employed to analyze the effect of grower practices with the intent of linking a field practice to increasing soil bacterial diversity and decreasing Verticillium wilt severity on potato.     

A multidecadal change analysis for irrigation ponds in Taoyuan,Taiwan, using multisource data

Paddy and Water Environment - A multidecadal change analysis of the irrigation ponds in Taoyuan, Taiwan, was conducted by using multisource data including digitized ancient maps, declassified...     

Changes in Gut Microbiota Linked to a Reduction in Systolic Blood Pressure in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Fed an Extra Virgin Olive Oil-Enriched Diet

Fat type in diet is responsible for specific changes in gut microbiota (GM). Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has been shown to be beneficial for blood pressure and to produce effects on GM. To analyze the cause-effect relationship between intestinal microbial changes and blood pressure, we studied the effect of EVOO on fecal microbiota and systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). SHR were fed either an enriched EVOO diet or a standard diet for a period of 12 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the microbial profiles in the feces were studied in both groups by using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Real-time PCR was used to quantify the selected bacterial groups. The results demonstrated significant differences when using Lactobacillus (p<0.05), clostridia XIV (p<0.01) and universal (p<0.05) primers. A significant (r=?0.475; p=0.04) inverse correlation between the abundance of clostridia XIV and SBP, which depends on the type of diet, was also observed. Finally, the results suggested an increase in the microbial diversity of the feces of the animals fed the EVOO diet. These results strongly connect the pattern of GM in SHR fed a diet enriched with EVOO to the lower levels of SBP observed in these animals at the end of the feeding period.     

Study on agricultural benefits by increasing capacity of water ponds: a case study at Taoyuan paddy fields

In Taiwan, agricultural water is frequently reduced or suspended for reallocation of water resources during drought. To cope with such a situation, the irrigation district of the Shihmen Reservoir in the northern Taiwan fully utilizes the functions of water ponds to regulate water resources, so that industrial and domestic water demands can be met. Constructing new water ponds is indeed able to increase water storage for irrigation. However, when it is compared with the method of dredging or excavating the existing water ponds, constructing new water ponds is not easily accepted by the public because of environmental protection and land acquisition. Dredging water ponds is adopted to obtain a larger storage capacity, so that more flexibility may be acquired in water allocation during drought. Furthermore, it is more practical from engineering point of view. This study presents a formulation of the pond-dredging problem for an irrigation system. The formulation is implemented as optimization programs and applied to the area irrigated by the eighth lateral of the Taoyuan Irrigation Association. The irrigation area is a paddy field of 2,283.8 hectares and consists of 32 water ponds storage capacity of which is analyzed as dredging is conducted. Two models are presented; the first minimizes the water extracted from the Reservoir in a cropping season; while the second maximizes agricultural financial net benefits. Various allowable dredging ratios are used in the two models for different case studies. The first model shows that the water supplied by the Reservoir decreases as the ratio increases, and it reaches the minimum (2,520.3?×?10⁴m³) when the ratio is 0.5. The second model displays that the maximum agricultural financial net benefit increases as the ratio increases and it reaches the highest value (NT$ 6,996?×?10⁴) when the ratio is 0.5, a result similar to that of the first model. However, the dredging priorities of 32 water ponds for the two models are different because of the optimization objectives. The simulation results provide references to the performance improvement of water ponds. With such improvement, water ponds can possess an optimal capacity, and an optimal regional water allocation during drought can be achieved.     

Rooting Characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum chacoense</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum in Vitro</Emphasis>

The precise level of environmental control in vitro may aid in identifying genetically superior plant germplasm for rooting characteristics (RC) linked to increased foraging for plant nitrogen (N). The objectives of this research were to determine the phenotypic variation in root morphological responses of 49 Solanum chacoense (chc), 30 Solanum tuberosum Group Phureja – Solanum tuberosum Group Stenotomum (phu-stn), and three Solanum tuberosum (tbr) genotypes to 1.0 and 0.5 N rate in vitro for 28 d, and identify genotypes with superior RC. The 0.5 N significantly increased density of root length, surface area, and tips. All RC were significantly greater in chc than in either phu-stn or tbr. Based upon clustering on root length, surface area, and volume, the cluster with the greatest rooting values consisted of eight chc genotypes that may be utilized to initiate a breeding program to improve RC in potato.     

基于RS和GIS的海口市绿地景观空间结构分析

在GIS技术支持下,运用景观生态学的原理和方法,选取斑块类型水平、景观水平的指数和廊道密度指数对海口市城区绿地的空间结构进行了研究和分析。结果表明研究区绿地景观结构不够合理,附属绿地面积和数量比重最高,缺乏公共绿地和廊道绿地;绿地景观类型较丰富,但空间布局不均衡,绿地斑块破碎度高,绿地廊道密度指数低,造成绿地系统结构失调,不能形成完整的绿色空间网络。针对海口城区绿地景观空间结构存在的问题,提出了优化建议。     

TerraRossa: A Mid-Season Specialty Potato with Red Flesh and Skin and Resistance to Common Scab and Golden Cyst Nematode

TerraRossa (POR01PG20–12) is a mid-season specialty potato, released by Oregon State University, and is a product of the Northwest Potato Variety (Tri-State) Development Program. This cultivar is unique among commercially available potato cultivars in that plants produce small- to medium-sized smooth, oblong- to long-shaped tubers with red skin and red flesh. Total tuber yields of TerraRossa are similar to Dark Red Norland and less than Red La Soda. Average tuber size (136 g) is less than both of the comparison cultivars, reflecting inherent differences in tuber size distribution. TerraRossa tubers have total antioxidant levels higher than traditional white fresh varieties and comparable to the All Blue purple potato, known for its high antioxidant levels. Sensory evaluations of TerraRossa tubers indicated that it has good culinary attributes following boiling, baking, and microwaving. Potato chips made from TerraRossa tubers retained their unique red color, which represents a novelty in the chipping industry. TerraRossa could be a good candidate for the organic sector due to its tolerance to common scab (Streptomyces scabies) and tuber late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and its resistance to golden cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis). Due to its high yields, high chipping quality, good culinary properties, high antioxidant content and disease resistance, TerraRossa is a good candidate for opening new specialty type markets, adding diversity to the marketplace.     

The Race Structure of the Rice Blast Pathogen Across Southern and Northeastern China

Background

Rice blast, caused by the ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae (Mo), imposes a major constraint on rice productivity. Managing the disease through the deployment of host resistance requires a close understanding of race structure of the pathogen population.

Results

The host/pathogen interaction between isolates sampled from four Mo populations collected across the rice-producing regions of China was tested using two established panels of differential cultivars. The clearest picture was obtained from the Chinese cultivar panel, for which the frequency of the various races, the race diversity index, the specific race isolate frequency, and the frequency of the three predominant races gave a consistent result, from which it was concluded that the pathogen population present in the southern production region was more diverse than that in the northeastern region. The four blast resistance genes Pi1, Pik, Pik-m, and Piz all still remain effective in the southern China rice production area, as does Pi1 in the northeastern region. The effectiveness of Pita, Pik-p, Piz, and Pib is restricted to single provinces. The distinctive resistance profile shown by the Chinese differential cultivar set implied the presence of at least five as yet unidentified blast resistance genes.

Conclusions

The Chinese differential cultivar set proved to be more informative than the Japanese one for characterizing the race structure of the rice blast pathogen in China. A number of well characterized host resistance genes, in addition to some as yet uncharacterized ones, remain effective across the major rice production regions in China.

     

Fabrication,Characterization and Antimicrobial property of natural TTOLs/CS composite sponges

The essential oil liposomes, a kind of ecological friendly natural antibacterial agents, have good bactericidal effect. In the present study, tea tree oil liposomes (TTOLs) were prepared by the thin-membrane hydration method with sonication, and then were blended with chitosan (CS) to successfully fabricate novel TTOLs/CS composite sponges by freeze-dried method. Through the scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and performance tests, it was found that the material had good water absorption, water retention and water vapor permeability due to the high porosity. Furthermore, the incorporation of TTOLs in the CS-based sponges significantly improved the microbicidel effect of the sponges against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Candida albicans (C. albicans). Killing log values of TTOLs/CS composite sponges against bacteria and fungi reached over 3. According to the microbial clearance test, propidium iodide (PI) fluorescence test and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation, the results indicated on one hand that TTOLs/CS composite sponges adsorbed and intercepted microbial cells through the internal pore and surface charge, and on the other hand that they could destroy bacterial intercellular substance, disperse cell colony and damage the integrity of cell membrane, finally leading to the death of microbial cells. In summary, TTOLs/CS composite sponges had great potential to be used as antimicrobial materials in the field of food, cosmetics, medicine, biomedical and biochemical engineering.     

Constitutive expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">REL1</Emphasis> confers the rice response to drought stress and abscisic acid

Leaf rolling is one of the most significant symptoms of drought stress in plant. Previously, we identified a dominant negative mutant, termed rolled and erect 1 (hereafter referred to rel1-D), regulating leaf rolling and erectness in rice. However, the role of REL1 in drought response is still poorly understood. Here, our results indicated that rel1-D displayed higher tolerance to drought relative to wild type, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and drought responsive genes were significantly up-regulated in rel1-D. Moreover, our results revealed that rel1-D was hypersensitive to ABA and the expression of ABA associated genes was significantly increased in rel1-D, suggesting that REL1 likely coordinates ABA to regulate drought response. Using the RNA-seq approach, we identified a large group of differentially expressed genes that regulate stimuli and stresses response. Consistently, we also found that constitutive expression of REL1 alters the expression of biotic and abiotic stress responsive genes by the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) analysis. Integrative analysis demonstrated that 8 genes/proteins identified by both RNA-seq and iTRAQ would be the potential targets in term of the REL1-mediated leaf morphology. Together, we proposed that leaf rolling and drought tolerance of rel1-D under normal condition might be caused by the endogenously perturbed homeostasis derived from continuous stressful dynamics.     

Self-made microlysimeters to measure soil evaporation: a test on aerobic rice in northern Italy

Soil water balance researches aimed at improving crop water use efficiency often require the determination of soil evaporation. In this technical note, the performance of simple and cheap self-made microlysimeters for the measurement of soil evaporation was tested in an aerobic rice field managed by intermittent irrigation. Six microlysimeters obtained by cutting commercial PVC pipes and closing the bottom ends with caps were positioned in appropriate PVC outer casings installed into the soil. Three measurement campaigns (for a total of 11 measurement periods) were carried out in different vegetation cover conditions (rice development, rice maturity and after the crop harvest). Evaporation amounts were analysed with respect to climatic data, vegetation cover and soil water status and, finally, compared with the simulated results of a FAO Penman–Monteith “dual crop coefficient” model implemented with site-specific data. Evaporation rates in the three campaigns were closely dependent on the evaporative demand of the atmosphere ETo (R ² = 0.96, 0.98, 0.96), while the slope of the linear regression curve was strongly related to the vegetation cover (b = 0.29, 0.12, 0.94); soil water content, always rather high during the experiments, did not affect the evaporation rate. Measured and simulated evaporation amounts showed a close agreement: the linear regression was characterized by slope and R ² of 0.98 and 0.95, while RMSE and NSE indices were 0.15 and 0.94. From the tests conducted, we can conclude that the self-made microlysimeters presented in this note are affordable instruments for measuring soil evaporation, at least in temperate climate conditions.