Water deficit effects on caraway (Carum carvi L.) growth, essential oil and fatty acid composition

The Mediterranean region suffers of drought which affects plant behaviour regarding biochemical responses. Accordingly, the effects of water deficit on growth, essential oil and fatty acid composition of caraway (Carum carvi L.) seeds were investigated. Plants were treated with different levels of water deficit: control, moderate water deficit and severe water deficit. Plant growth (height, fresh and dry matter weight) was significantly reduced by severe water deficit. This last caused also important reductions of the seed yield and yield components. Drought decreased significantly seed total fatty acid contents and particularly the petroselinic ones whose proportions decreased significantly by 12.17 and 18.47%, in comparison with the control, under moderate water deficit and severe water deficit, respectively. Besides, moderate water deficit increased the essential oil yield (expressed as g/100 g on the basis of dry matter weight). The main essential oil constituents were carvone and limonene which showed an increasing of their contents under water deficit levels. Thus, water deficit induced a significant reduction in growth parameters and fatty acid content, and an increase in the essential oil compounds. These bioactive compounds have been required in many industrial products.     

Hopping on one leg – The challenge of ecosystem disservices for urban green management

The importance of ecosystem services for human well-being has been highlighted by several recent environmental studies and assessments. These assessments provide useful information for urban green management, but they largely exclude various nuisances and losses produced by ecosystem functions. Lack of attention to these ecosystem disservices may seriously hamper environmental management in general and urban green management in particular. Ecological, social and technological changes will affect both what kind of disservices will emerge and how they will be experienced and managed. Especially in urban areas, environmental, social and technological changes spanning from global to local levels are continuously altering urban ecosystems. Our ways of perceiving and valuing ecosystem functions are also undergoing rapid change. Here we discuss the concept of ecosystem disservices from the perspective of northern European urban ecosystems. It is concluded that perceptions about ecosystem disservices have an increasing influence on how urban green areas are experienced, valued, used, managed and developed.     

Diet and movements of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) in a large oligotrophic lake with an exceptionally high pikeperch yield

Through the recent increases in abundance, pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) has not only become a valuable target for recreational and commercial fishing, but also the most important top predator in many lakes. Generally oligotrophic Lake Höytiäinen (283 km²) sustains one of the most economically valuable pikeperch stocks in Finland, and its annual fisheries yield (up to 5.5 kg/ha) is exceptionally high among Finnish lakes. Here, we followed seasonal movements of fish using conventional tagging, and studied short‐term and long‐term diet of pikeperch by stomach content and stable isotope analyses to examine if the movements were motivated by prey availability. A clear seasonal migration pattern was observed: in summer, 80% of the tag recoveries were obtained from the shallow and mesotrophic northern and western areas, whereas in autumn and winter, the deep and oligotrophic southern area dominated in the recaptures. The diet of pikeperch consisted of the most abundant fish species in the lake, perch (Perca fluviatilis) and roach (Rutilus rutilus), as well as insects. Stable isotope analysis indicated a shift from a dominance of pelagic food sources to littoral food sources during the growing season of pikeperch. Our results suggest that the pikeperch migrations facilitate efficient material transfer from the mesotrophic part while the deeper and oligotrophic part offers a favourable overwintering environment.     

Improved control of septoria tritici blotch in durum wheat using cultivar mixtures

Mixtures of cultivars with contrasting levels of resistance can suppress infectious diseases in wheat, as demonstrated in numerous field experiments. Most studies focus on airborne pathogens in bread wheat, while splash-dispersed pathogens have received less attention, and no studies have been conducted in durum wheat. We conducted a 2-year field experiment in Tunisia to evaluate the performance of cultivar mixtures with varying proportions of resistance (0%–100%) in controlling the polycyclic, splash-dispersed disease septoria tritici blotch (STB) in durum wheat. To measure STB severity, we used a high-throughput method based on digital image analysis of 3,074 infected leaves collected from 42 and 40 experimental plots during the first and second years, respectively. This allowed us to quantify pathogen reproduction on wheat leaves and to acquire a large data set that exceeds previous studies with respect to accuracy and precision. Our analyses show that introducing only 25% of a disease-resistant cultivar into a pure stand of a susceptible cultivar provides a substantial reduction of almost 50% in disease severity compared to the susceptible pure stand. However, incorporating two resistant cultivars instead of one did not further improve disease control, contrary to predictions of epidemiological theory. Susceptible cultivars can be agronomically superior to resistant cultivars or be better accepted by growers for other reasons. Hence, if mixtures with only a moderate proportion of the resistant cultivar provide a similar degree of disease control as resistant pure stands, as our analysis indicates, such mixtures are more likely to be accepted by growers.     

Seasonal changes in photosynthesis, nitrogen content and nitrogen partitioning in Lindera umbellata leaves grown in high or low irradiance

Seasonal changes in photosynthetic capacity, leaf nitrogen (N) content and N partitioning were studied from before leaf maturation (spring) until death (autumn) in high- and low-light-exposed leaves of a deciduous shrub, Lindera umbellata var. membranacea (Maxim.) Momiyama growing in a natural forest in northeast Japan. In spring, light-saturated photosynthetic rate (Pmax) was low despite high leaf N and Rubisco contents, indicating that the photosynthetic apparatus was not yet functionally developed. Rubisco seemed to be only partially active. In summer and autumn, Pmax per unit leaf N increased and changes in Pmax were correlated with changes in leaf N and two photosynthetic components, Rubisco and chlorophyll. Changes in these components paralleled the changes in leaf N. During leaf senescence, about 70% of leaf N was resorbed. Metabolic proteins that accounted for the majority of leaf N in summer were highly degradable and more than sufficient to explain the high N-resorption efficiency. Structural proteins represented only a small part of leaf N and were relatively resistant to degradation and thus contributed little to N resorption. Leaf N partitioning between metabolic and structural proteins determined the amount of retranslocatable N, but did not strictly determine the N content of a dead leaf or N-resorption efficiency.     

Consumption of juice fortified with oregano extract markedly increases excretion of phenolic acids but lacks short- and long-term effects on lipid peroxidation in healthy nonsmoking men

Oregano has been shown to possess antioxidant capacity in various in vitro models and has thus been suggested to be potentially beneficial to human health, but studies in humans are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the bioavailability and the effects of Origanum vulgare extract supplementation on serum lipids and lipid peroxidation in healthy nonsmoking men. A four-week double-blinded supplementation trial was concluded in which volunteers (n = 45) were randomized to consume daily mango-orange juice (placebo), mango-orange juice enriched with 300 mg/d total phenolic compounds from oregano extract, or mango-orange juice enriched with 600 mg/d total phenolic compounds from oregano extract. The excretion of phenolic compounds was markedly increased in the higher phenolic group as compared to the placebo group, but no significant changes were observed in the safety parameters, serum lipids, or biomarkers of lipid peroxidation.     

In situ remediation of metal(loid)-contaminated lake sediments with alkali-activated blast furnace slag granule amendment: A field experiment

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Adsorbent amendment to contaminated sediments is one in situ remediation method to decrease the bioaccessibility of pollutants from the sediments. In this work,...     

视频扫描测定油菜饼粕自由基清除活力方法的研究

用视频扫描平板色谱和稳定自由基1，1－二苯基－2－间三硝苯基偕腙肼（DPPH）检测油菜饼粕自由基清除活力的方法，研究抗坏血酸，维生素E，酚酸和类黄酮等17种常见酚类化合物对自由基的清除活力，发现自由基清除面积与样品量的相关系数为0．947－0．996，检测下限为40－690ng，以维生素E指数为清除活力指标，视频扫描法与常规标准比色法的测定结果具有良好的相关性，测定油菜饼粕提取液自由基清除活力发现，68－75％的化合物具有自由基清除能力，Rf值为0．41的化合物清除活力最高，占总活力的38％。     

Organisms,decomposition, and growth of pine seedlings in boreal forest soil affected by sod cutting and trenching

In an experiment with factorial design performed in a mature, mixed Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in central Finland, we studied the effects of sod cutting (exposing the mineral soil simulating mechanical site preparation) and trenching the study plot (excluding root-mycorrhizal connections) on soil organisms, decomposition rate and pine seedling performance. During two growing seasons after sod cutting, the growth of pine seedlings was significantly enhanced compared to plots with the organic layer left intact. Some epiedaphic soil animals, such as ants, spiders and certain entomobryid collembolan, were more active (pitfall sampling) on sod-cut plots. By the end of the second growing season numbers of enchytraeids were greater in the exposed mineral soil than in the mineral soil under the forest floor. Trenching induced changes in microbial phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) pattern and collembolan community structure with decreased numbers of collembolans and biomass of fungi in organic soil of uncut plots. In addition, N content of pine seedlings increased after trenching. Overall, the effects of trenching on the measured variables were similar in sod-cut and uncut plots. We conclude that the effects of mechanical site preparation on decomposers and decomposition processes can be explained partly by exclusion of mycorrhizal-root connections and partly by a decrease in unfavourable conditions created by the organic soil layer and ground vegetation.