Correction to: Assessment of cable tensile forces in active winch-assist harvesting using an anchor machine configuration

European Journal of Forest Research - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-021-01385-w     

Structural diversity and height growth models in urban forest plantations: A case-study in northern Italy

Current knowledge on the growth models of urban forest plantations several years after their establishment still remains poor and fragmentary. Furthermore few studies have assessed the growth of urban plantations on reclaimed land, such as brownfield sites.This paper assesses urban forest plantations in terms of tree height growth, crown width and vertical structural using as a case study tree inventory-data collected in an urban forest plantation (Parco Nord Milano, PNM northern Italy). In this research tree inventory-data was used to achieve the following objectives: (i) to develop a series of tree height-growth models and tree crown-width models for the main taxonomic units in the study-area; (ii) to analyse the temporal pattern of current increments of tree height; (iii) to assess the vertical stratification of tree crowns using a method developed by Latham et al. (1998).The results suggest that during the earlier stage after planting, trees reach high levels of growth (tree height and crown width) regardless of the taxonomic unit. Evidence is found to support a high level of spatial competition between individual trees of different taxonomic units in as little as 15–18 years. Competition between trees appears to be mainly affected by diametrical differentiation rather than hypsometric variation: trees grow more in diameter than in height. Furthermore a decrease in longitudinal growth was observed for most tree species while the radial growth tends to be constant over time. The research at PNM shows that in temperate climates this can be achieved in less than 30 years. We believe that these analyses could provide important data supporting the planning of new urban forest plantations on reclaimed land and inter alia provide some answers to the questions around plantations growth evaluation and management.     

Evaluation of a new natural adjuvant obtained from locust bean gum to reduce the amount of copper necessary to control downy mildew of grapevine

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Two field trials in integrated cultivation (2014 and 2016) were carried out with the aim to evaluate the efficacy and the persistence of copper...     

Feasibility of pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei culture in southern Brazil: effects of stocking density and a single or a double CROP management strategy in earthen ponds

Marine shrimp culture at southern Brazil is restricted to the warmer season (November to April). Therefore, farmers must consider culture strategies and competition with shrimp landings from artisanal fishery. The fishing season starts every 1 February; in order to obtain higher prices, farmers may consider shrimp culture in two crops, with a first harvest before the start of the fishing season, and a second harvest after the end of the landings. The present study evaluated the performance and feasibility of Litopenaeus vannamei reared at 10, 25 and 40 shrimp m⁻² either in two short consecutive culture cycles or one longer cycle (LC). The experimental design consisted of two sets of nine pens installed in a 3.8 ha earthen pond. In one set of pens, shrimp were harvested after 75 days and pens were restocked for another 75-day-long rearing period. In the second set of pens, shrimp were cultured for 150 days. Shrimp survival and final weight ranged from 79% to 91% and 6.67 to 14.53 g respectively. Feasibility analysis pointed towards culture at higher densities (25 and 40 shrimp m⁻²) in a LC as productivity (2274–4227 kg ha⁻¹) and shrimp final weight (13.05–13.21 g) resulted in higher profitability (US$7761–12 379).     

The importance of lactic acid bacteria for phytate degradation during cereal dough fermentation

Lactic acid fermentation of cereal flours resulted in a 100 (rye), 95-100 (wheat), and 39-47% (oat) reduction in phytate content within 24 h. The extent of phytate degradation was shown to be independent from the lactic acid bacteria strain used for fermentation. However, phytate degradation during cereal dough fermentation was positively correlated with endogenous plant phytase activity (rye, 6750 mU g(-1); wheat, 2930 mU g(-1); and oat, 23 mU g(-1)), and heat inactivation of the endogenous cereal phytases prior to lactic acid fermentation resulted in a complete loss of phytate degradation. Phytate degradation was restored after addition of a purified phytase to the liquid dough. Incubation of the cereal flours in buffered solutions resulted in a pH-dependent phytate degradation. The optimum of phytate degradation was shown to be around pH 5.5. Studies on phytase production of 50 lactic acid bacteria strains, previously isolated from sourdoughs, did not result in a significant production of intra- as well as extracellular phytase activity. Therefore, lactic acid bacteria do not participate directly in phytate degradation but provide favorable conditions for the endogenous cereal phytase activity by lowering the pH value.     

Lactobacillus rhamnosus as additive for maize and sorghum ensiling

The effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus AT195, a potential probiotic microorganism cultured in buffalo "scotta" whey, on chemical and microbiological composition in maize and sorghum ensiling were evaluated. Both crops were harvested, chopped, and treated or not with the selected strain prior to ensiling in fiberglass vertical silos; 90 days after ensiling, silages were sensorially evaluated and sampled. Different chemical components were evaluated both on fresh crops and silages: in particular, the water-soluble carbohydrates content was investigated by high-field NMR spectroscopy and the carbohydrate fermentation profile was performed by GC. Besides phenotypic identification and typing, microbiological studies included Lb. rhamnosus genotype typing by RAPD-PCR. All silages, inoculated or not, were well preserved, as their chemical and microbiological data along with the fermentation profiles showed. The selected strain used as inoculum influenced the lactic acid population of silages and evidenced a good survival performance during the ensiling process of both maize and sorghum. Moreover, the use of Lb. rhamnosus strain efficiently improved the quality of the multifactorial ensiling process by significantly reducing the ammonia nitrogen content of both maize and sorghum silages.     

Maturation performance, offspring quality and lipidcomposition of Macrobrachium rosenbergii femalesfed increasing levels of dietary phospholipids

The effects of increasing levels of dietaryphospholipids (PL) on the reproductive performance,egg and larval quality, and lipid composition offemales of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachiumrosenbergii were investigated. Three isolipidic dietscontaining similar amounts of highly unsaturated fattyacids but varying levels of PL (0.8, 2.4 and 4.6%)were fed during 180 days to three groups of eightfemales originating from Thai ponds. No significantdifferences were observed for fecundity, egg size andhatchability, starved larvae size, and size, survivaland tolerance to stress of 8 day-old larvae.Similarly, no major differences in the lipidcomposition of the midgut gland, ovaries and muscletissue of females could be detected. Results indicatethe lack of need of dietary supplementation of PL forM. rosenbergii broodstock, as previouslyreported for earlier life stages. It is suggested thatthe basal level of 0.8% dietary PL was sufficient tomeet the dietary demands of the prawn broodstock. ThePL requirements of M. rosenbergii broodstock, ifany, may be satisfied in commercial feeds through theinclusion of ingredients containing some phospholipidsendogenously.