Commonness and rarity in plants with special reference to the Sheffield flora part IV: A European context with particular reference to endemism

With respect to reasons for commonness and rarity, an attempt is made to compare the flora of the Sheffield region with that of Europe as a whole. Land use appears to exert a critical effect on species abundance in both floras. However, European endemics, a grouping poorly represented in the Sheffield region and indeed in N Europe, form a very different class of rare species. Unlike the rare species of the Sheffield region, which are particularly associated with primitive families (sensu Sporne, 1980), European endemics tend to be found in advanced families, the very families with the greatest proportion of common species. Thus, while the main factors controlling abundance in N Europe appear to be essentially similar to those operating in the Sheffield region, additional processes related to endemism must be taken into account in S Europe. Implications of these results for conservation policy are reviewed.     

A scheme for soil classification of paddy fields in Japan with special reference to mineral paddy soils

Introduction

Paddy (irrigated) rice is the most important single crop in Japan. Nearly half of the total arable lands covering approximately 6.5 million hectares, are devoted to the growing of the rice plant. It is grown mainly on the alluvial plains which are intensively cultivated, and are the most productive soils of the country. Since the idea of modern pedology was introduced into Japan, some work has been done by some Japanese investigators to classify paddy soils on the basis of their morphological characteristics. A brief historical review on the soil survey work in Japan has been given by Kamoshita⁸⁾. In 1936 Kawamura described methods of soil survey in Korea through a careful study of the work developed by Stremme and his colleagues in Danzig. In those days Kamoshita⁹⁾,¹⁰⁾ devised a scheme of paddy soil classification by applying the concept of the wet soil types (mineralische Nassböden) proposed by Stremme, and he established five predominant soil types as follows: Bog soils (Moorböden), Half-bog soils (anmoorige Böden), Meadow soils (Wiesenböden), Gray lowland soils (graue Auenböden), and Brown lowland soils (braune Auenböden). The names in parentheses represent the wet soil types proposed by Stremme. These soil types are subdivided into soil kinds (Bodenarten) on the basis of differences in texture, rusty mottling, and humus content. The soil kinds were used as both categorical and cartographical units for detailed soil surveys.     

Beyond parks and reserves: The ethics and politics of conservation with a case study from Perú

This paper elaborates, analyzes, and partly defends the normative and empirical foundations of a “social ecology” model for natural habitat and resource management. This model treats human societies as being irreducibly integrated with the natural systems in which they are embedded. It argues that any concept of biodiversity necessarily embodies cultural values for it to be operationalized for conservation decisions. It accepts the legitimacy of tradeoffs between biodiversity conservation and other values including human resource development. It prioritizes local control of decisions in regions which are often targeted by Northern conservationists: areas of the South, where cultural choices have led to the persistence of high biodiversity. This model is used to analyze an ongoing dispute over biodiversity conservation and natural resource control in Perú: the conflict over Kandozi territory in the Abanico del Pastaza. What the Kandozi want is more than just a rejection of what has been criticized as the national park/fortress model of conservation. It consists of an assertion of local institutionalized control over traditional lands which goes well beyond the purview of the usual alternative of the fortress model: the biosphere reserve model of external and internal joint control of natural resources. To the remarkable extent that Kandozi resource management practices have succeeded in maintaining biotic richness and variety in spite of multiple encroachments, the empirical evidence demands that today’s conservationists pay adequate attention to these practices and the social institutions in which they are embedded. But, beyond such prudential concerns, the social ecology model of habitat conservation accepts the normative claims that resident communities should have control over their lands and livelihoods and that they should be allowed to maintain their habitats as cultural landscapes of their choice.     

Studies on microbial population in the rhizosphere of higher plants with special reference to the method of study

Introduction

Many previous investigations, beginning with the observations of Hiltner¹⁹, have established the fact that soil in the rhizosphere contains a higher quantity of microorganisms than soil which is not within the influence of the plant root. It has been shown also that the balance between certain physiological groups^4,21,43,45, as well as that between morphological types of bacteria or fungi^30,50 is changed in the rhizosphere. In addition, Canadian investigators^23,34,62) have reported a change in the balance of certain nutritional groups of soil bacteria in the rhizosphere. Two excellent reviews^6,22) covering these papers have recently appeared. Since then a number of papers^{2,7,9,11,13,15-18,25,26,33,36,38-40,48,54,57-60,63)} concerning various aspects of the microbial population of the rhizosphere have been published.     

Methods of assessing boron availability in potting media with special reference to toxicity

Abstract

Hot water, water and 2M DTPA (room temperature), all at 1:1.5 volume ratio, and saturation extracts with and without added DTPA, were compared for their ability to assess the availability of B in pottting media. In three experiments, B concentrations in the extractants were highly linearly correlated with one another, although medium components and pH affected the slopes of the relationships. Hot water extracted between 38 and 77% of the B in Pinus radiata‐based media and 58 to 97% of that in peat. The proportion was little affected by the pH of the medium. The solutions at room temperature extracted considerably less B than did hot water and the proportion extracted decreased with increasing pH. B in extracts at room temperature was more highly correlated ( r² = 0.90–0.97) with B uptake by a range of plants with widely differing tolerance of high concentrations of B than was hot water soluble B (r² = 0.79–0.94). No symptoms typical of B deficiency were observed at the lowest concentrations of extractable B attained in these experiments, which were 0.08 and 0.27 mg/L B in 2 mM DTPA (1:1.5 by volume) and saturation extracts containing DTPA respectively. Other evidence suggests that concentrations at the detection limit (about 0.03 mg/L) of the analytical technique used are adequate for normal flowering of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Yellow Mandalay. For absence of foliar toxicity symptoms in horticultural plants sensitive to B, 2 mM DTPA (1:1.5 by volume) and saturation extracts containing DTPA should not contain more than about 0.6 and 1 mg B/L, respectively. Tolerant species can remain symptom‐free in media giving up to about 5 and 8.3 mg B/L in the two extracts, respectively. These results will be particularly useful for checking for potential B toxicity in potting media containing composted waste materials.     

Development of a new method for the complete extraction of carotenoids from cereals with special reference to durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)

Due to the growing interest in the role of carotenoids in human health, their qualitative and quantitative analysis in foods is becoming more and more important. High-performance liquid chromatography has become the method of choice for the determination of these phytochemicals. A crucial step prior to the chromatographic separation is the quantitative extraction from the food matrix which was proven to be impeded in durum wheat. To optimize the extraction procedure, several factors with influence on extractability of carotenoids were investigated. Finally, it was shown that soaking of samples in water for 5 min prior to extraction with organic solvents had the strongest impact on extraction yield and led to the most rapid and gentle method. Contents of carotenoids in the extracts of several durum wheat and corn samples were doubled by soaking in water before extracting with methanol/tetrahydrofuran (1/1, v/v). In light of these findings, literature data on contents of carotenoids in cereal grains have to be viewed critically regarding the extraction procedures employed.     

Integrity and isolation of Costa Rica's national parks and biological reserves: examining the dynamics of land-cover change

The transformation and degradation of tropical forest is thought to be the primary driving force in the loss of biodiversity worldwide. Developing countries are trying to counter act this massive lost of biodiversity by implementing national parks and biological reserves. Costa Rica is no exception to this rule. National development strategies in Costa Rica, since the early 1970s, have involved the creation of several National Parks and Biological Reserves. This has led to monitoring the integrity of and interactions between these protected areas. Key questions include: “Are these areas' boundaries respected?”; “Do they create a functioning network?”; and “Are they effective conservation tools?”. This paper quantifies deforestation and secondary growth trends within and around protected areas between 1960 and 1997. We find that inside of national parks and biological reserves, deforestation rates were negligible. For areas outside of National Parks and Biological reserves we report that for 1-km buffer zones around such protected areas, there is a net forest gain for the 1987/1997 time period. Thus, it appears that to this point the boundaries of protected areas are respected. However, in the 10-km buffer zones we find significant forest loss for all study periods. This suggests that increasing isolation of protected areas may prevent them from functioning as an effective network.     

An approach to soil testing with special reference to the zinc requirement of rice paddy soils

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to seek a better basis for soil testing of rice paddy soils. Soils were incubated under variable conditions of simulated flooding, and then extracted with DTPA⁵ . The amounts of Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe extracted were sensitive to the imposed soil conditions. Good correlations between Zn extracted from simulated flooded soils and Zn uptakes by rice from flooded soils in pots, suggest that this approach to soil testing may be more useful for paddy soils than existing tests on air dried soils.     

Trends in tillage practices in relation to sustainable crop production with special reference to temperate climates

The concept and some definitions of sustainable agriculture are reviewed. Most of these definitions include economic, environmental and sociological aspects. The finite area of land emphasizes the need for consideration of soil conservation and of soil quality in relation to sustainability. An important element of soil quality is rooting depth. Therefore loss of soil by erosion is a dominant factor in long-term sustainability. The effects of tillage on soil parameters in minimum data sets that have been proposed to describe soil quality are reviewed. Soil organic matter may be one of the most important soil quality characteristics in relation to tillage because of its influence on other soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Conservation tillage practices can increase the organic matter content, aggregate stability and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the topsoil. However, bulk density and penetrometer resistance are also increased, especially with zero tillage. Although such soil quality parameters may form a basis for describing some of the consequences of particular tillage practices, they do not provide a basis for predicting the outcome in terms of crop growth and yield. This is both because critical values of soil quality parameters have not been defined and because in some soils biopore formation in zero or minimally tilled land can modify the soil for water movement and for root growth and function.

The effects of tillage on crop growth and yield in long-term experiments are reviewed. The review only includes experiments in North America, Europe and New Zealand that have lasted 10 years or more to allow for seasonal variation in weather, possible progressive changes in soil conditions and the learning phase often experienced when new tillage methods are used. While there is a good deal of variation in the results of these tillage experiments some patterns have emerged. In long-term experiments, yields of maize in Europe and the US and soybeans in the US have been similar after ploughing and no-tillage, especially on well-drained soils. In Europe, yields of winter cereals have also been similar after traditional and simplified tillage but yields of spring cereals have sometimes been less after direct drilling than ploughing.

Trends in tillage practices are reviewed. Conservation tillage in the US is increasing and is used on about 30% of cropland, including no-till on about 10% of cropland. This increase in use of conservation tillage is mainly attributed to the legal requirement for farmers who are in government price support programs to adopt conservation plans which may involve conservation tillage. However, the allowable rates of erosion in these plans are likely to be in excess of rates of erosion for long-term sustainability. Survey information on tillage practices needs to be considered in relation to predictions on suitability of conservation tillage based on experimental results. In the semi-arid prairies of Canada there is a trend toward fewer cultivation operations, but in eastern Canada the mouldboard plough is still the dominant tillage method. In Europe although erosion is less obvious it is believed to be increasing, but minimum tillage is not widely used. This is because of the need to remove at least some straw for successful minimum tillage in sequential winter wheat and barley crops, but there are few economic uses for straw, and burning is illegal in many countries. In the more moist cooler conditions of Europe grass weed proliferation is another constraint, at least with present technology. So far, the overall success of conservation tillage has not been limited by the growing problem of genetic resistance of weeds to herbicides. Societal attitudes to the continued use of herbicides may pose longer-term problems for some conservation tillage practices.     

Aphanomyces pea root rot disease and control with special reference to impact of Brassicaceae cover crops

Abstract

Pea root rot disease caused by the pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches deserves increased attention, since peas are an important cash crop and also improve the N balance in temperate agriculture. However, due to pea root rot it is difficult to cultivate peas as frequently and successfully as desired. In the search for biological measures to overcome this problem, attention has been drawn to the use of Brassicaceae plants as cover crops between main crops, since these can be effective catch crops for nutrients and also exert allelopathic effects. Many species within the Brassicaceae contain glucosinolates (GSLs). Their hydrolysis products, the volatile isothiocyanates (ITCs), have been shown to suppress soil-borne plant pathogens such as A. euteiches. In addition, Brassicaceae biomass releases water-soluble toxic substances such as oxazolidine-2-thione and supplies nutrients and organic matter. Overall, this influences the soil microbial community and the final suppression of pathogens. Due to the unpredictability of the control effect of Brassicaceae biomass incorporation into soil on the pathogen, there is a need to define the mechanisms behind suppression in the field situation. This review focuses on how incorporation of Brassicaceae biomass suppresses A. euteiches under field conditions and the effect on the emerging pea. Different factors influencing the severity of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) root rot disease are also discussed. One conclusion is that suppression of pea root rot depends on the quality and quantity of incorporated Brassicaceae biomass.     

Correlation between fragipans and permafrost with special reference to silty Weichselian deposits in Belgium and northern France

A comparison is made between the properties of permafrost and those of fragipans. The permafrost characteristics are summarized from published data on active permafrost and from personal observations on fossil permafrost. The study of the fragipans mainly concerns the silty sediments of Weichselian age which occur in Belgium and northern France.The distribution and the physical, macromorphological and micromorphological properties of fragipans can all satisfactorely be explained by the growth of segregated ice during permafrost aggradation. Particularly striking is the relationship of both permafrost and fragipans, to drainage conditions: the quantity of segregated ice is highest in moist or poorly drained soil and it is at such places that the best developed fragipans are observed.Certain arguments that can be stated against the hypothesis of fragipan genesis by permafrost are discussed: (1) the development of a platy structure by freeze-thaw or by wet-dry cycles, (2) the discontinuous distribution of the fragipan, (3) the development of the fragipan by pedogenetic weathering and migration processes. It is concluded that only the permafrost hypothesis can explain the complete set of properties of the fragipan.     

The introduced fishes of Papua New Guinea with special reference to Tilapia mossambica

Twenty-one species of freshwater fishes in 19 genera (Salmo, Salvelinus, Retropinna, Barbus, Ctenopharyngodon, Cyprinus, Hypophthalmichthys, Puntius, Tandanus, Gambusia, Poecilia, Percolates, Plectroplites, Bidyanus, Tilapia, Trachystoma, Hypseleotris, Osphronemus and Trichogaster) representing 11 families and all six continental regions have been introduced into Papua New Guinea. A list of species, date of first introduction, distribution and comments are presented. The dispersal of Tilapia mossambica on Bougainville Island from a single introduction followed by floods and human transport is discussed.     

Mineralogy of some Italian andosols with special reference to the origin of the clay fraction

The mineralogy of four Italian Andosols - derived from volcanic material either oversaturated or undersaturated with respect to silica - has been investigated by XRD, EM and IR. The crystalline clay minerals in all four profiles are essentially similar, consisting of abundant halloysite with moderate illite and 14A intergrade material, minor kaolinite and occasional gibbsite. The soils also contain large amounts of imogolite and proto-imogolite allophane. With the exception of illite all these clay minerals are believed to be of pedogenic origin. Halloysite occurs in the dehydrated form in the surface horizons but becomes progressively more hydrated with depth. At depths of > 1.4 m the clay fraction consists almost entirely of fully hydrated halloysite, supporting the suggestion that halloysite forms best in a stagnant moisture regime where there is a depositional overburden acting as a silica source. EM observations show that the halloysite may have spherical morphology and may be intimately associated with gas vesicles in pumice grains where it probably forms by the transformation of allophanic material. It seems likely that dehydrated halloysite slowly converts to poorly crystallized kaolinite in the upper horizons of these profiles. The origin of the 2/1 minerals is more problematical. Illite is probably inherited from mica in the parent material but the 14A intergrade material is so poorly ordered that a pedogenic origin seems more likely than formation by inheritance or by transformation of pre-existing 2/1 silicates.     

Studies on the nitrification in soil,with special reference to the population of nitrifier

A number of papers have been published on nitrification in soil. The problem of the nitrification has become increasingly important because of the appearance of new forms of nitrogenous fertilizers such as ammonium chloride or urea, etc.     

A new method to estimate species and biodiversity intactness using empirically derived reference conditions

Critical to the conservation of biodiversity is knowledge of status and trends of species. To that end, monitoring programmes have reported on the state of biodiversity using reference conditions as comparison. Little consensus exists on how reference conditions are defined and how such information is used to index intactness. Most use protected areas or an arbitrary year as reference. This is problematic since protected areas are often spatially biased, while arbitrarily defined reference years are often not sufficiently distant in time. We propose an alternative that relies on empirical estimates of reference conditions. Statistical ranges of reference are estimated and compared with observed occurrence and abundance to index status of individual species. When averaged among species, overall intactness is estimated. We demonstrate the approach using 202-winter mammal tracking sites from the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada. Intactness was estimated at 89 out of 100 with the southern boreal having lowest intactness and greatest human footprint. We suggest empirical predictions of reference conditions be used as baselines for comparing changes in the state of species and biodiversity. Reporting can occur at any spatial (e.g., ecosystem) or hierarchical (e.g., species, guilds, taxonomic group, or overall biodiversity) scale and is easily interpreted (scaled from 0-degraded to 100-intact). When used in a long-term monitoring framework, statistical trends in biodiversity intactness can be estimated, individual status of species assessed, and relevant policy evaluated.     

Micromorphology of two soils from Turkey,with special reference to in-situ formation of clay cutans

Two soil profiles (Alfisols) developed in the Neogene terrace of the Kücük Menderes Valley, Izmir, Turkey, were studied micromorphologically. Both profiles developed in limestone with admixtures of schists. They were fully decarbonated in the beginning. They are both truncated.     

Mercury content of soils in Western Britain with special reference to contamination from base metal mining

Mercury was determined in 51 soil samples from historic base metal mining areas of England and Wales, together with cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, pH and organic content. Background mercury was calculated as 0.093 ppm whence 51% of the samples were judged to be contaminated. A very strong statistical correlation between mercury and lead and weaker but significant correlations between mercury and copper and zinc were found. Highest levels of mercury (maximum, 1.78 ppm Hg) and other metals occurred in soils derived from the floodplain of a river which was at one time badly polluted by mine waste. In a profile pit near a lead mine in the west of England both mercury and lead were enriched in surface horizons. It is concluded that land contaminated by heavy metals, especially lead, in the historic metal mining areas of England and Wales is also likely to be contaminated by mercury.