Fruit development in artificially self- and cross-pollinated strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) and raspberries (Rubus idaeus)

Tunnel cultivation of berries is increasing on a global basis, and suitable management techniques are being studied for growing berry crops in a protected environment. Soil mulching and irrigation are among the techniques that significantly affect plant growth and yield. Tunnel cultivation is often limited to growing single cultivars, and little attention has been paid to the effects of growing several cultivars in the same tunnel. There are indications that crop yield and quality might benefit from cross-pollination. In this study, the effects of artificial self- and cross-pollination were studied in 15 strawberry and 6 red raspberry cultivars grown in a protected environment in a greenhouse. Four strawberry cultivars benefited from cross-pollination and one required it. In the case of raspberries, self- and cross-pollination had no effect on yield and fruit quality. In conclusion, particular berry cultivars are better suited to tunnel cultivation.     

Malt hydrolysates for gluten-free applications: Autolytic and proline endopeptidase assisted removal of prolamins from wheat,barley and rye

Cereal based products intended for gluten sensitive individuals, particularly to celiac disease patients, tend to have poor organoleptic qualities and they contain low levels of healthy whole grain compounds. Adding whole grain ingredients, such as malt hydrolysates, could compensate these defects provided that the ingredients are adequately free from toxic prolamin epitopes. Here we demonstrate that the level of toxic prolamin epitopes in the malt autolysates (wheat, barley, rye) were substantially lower than in the native malts but too high to allow “very low in gluten” labelling. To further eliminate the residual levels of toxic prolamin epitopes, a proline-specific endoprotease from Aspergillus niger was added to the malt autolysates. In the resulting malt hydrolysates (of wheat and rye but not barley), the prolamins were indeed greatly reduced and were below the very low gluten limit of 100 mg/kg. Malt hydrolysates with adequately low gluten levels may potentially be used as novel ingredients within gluten-free foods.     

Effects of grazing exclusion and environmental conditions on the soil seed bank of a Mediterranean grazed oak wood pasture

Large seed banks in the soils of Mediterranean wood pastures can allow the composition of the understorey vegetation to adapt to changing conditions such as under-grazing, grazing exclusion and climate change. This three year study investigated the effect of grazing exclusion on the transient and persistent seed banks of 23 areas of a Mediterranean wood pasture of Quercus suber L., Q. ilex L. and Q. pubescens Willd. A canonical correspondence analysis was used to determine the effect of topo-climatic (elevation, aspect, slope, rainfall, temperature, tree coverage), soil (pH, soil texture, and soil nitrogen, phosphorus, lime and organic carbon content) and biodiversity (Shannon index, species richness index, and Pastoral Value) variables on the soil seed bank under grazed and ungrazed conditions. The size of the persistent seed bank increased with rainfall, grazing, and the available phosphorus content of the soil. Specific site by site grazing regimes could increase the abundance of legumes in the soil seed bank and the species richness and diversity of the understorey vegetation. These results can help guide the conservation management of this silvopastoral area.     

Exploitation of Annual and Perennial Herbaceous Species for the Rehabilitation of a Sand Quarry in a Mediterranean Environment

Commercial seeds are widely used for re‐vegetation interventions in Mediterranean areas. These seeds mostly consist of species and varieties of non‐local provenance. The current practice relies mainly on forage or turf and fast growing species, even if it is often inefficient. Twenty‐two local populations or commercial varieties of annual and perennial species belonging to the botanical families Leguminosae, Graminaceae and Compositae were evaluated in a 4‐year field experiment in order to investigate their potential in terms of establishment and persistence in the re‐vegetation of an inactive sand quarry. Native species showed better performances than commercial varieties and encouraged further actions for the valorisation of local plant biodiversity. Among legumes, the best adapted species was the perennial Lotus cytisoides that showed high persistence in combination with other positive traits. A few annual species, that is, Melilotus indica, Trifolium subterraneum and Ornithopus sativus performed well and persisted until the end of the experiment. Among perennial grasses, Cynodon dactylon survived to drought and low soil nutrients. Both native annual grasses Lolium rigidum and Aegilops geniculata performed very well during the first 2 years of experiments. Both forbs, the perennial Cichorium intybus and the annual Chrysanthemum coronarium did not guarantee a satisfactory persistence. Some native species were evidenced, which may play an important role in the re‐vegetation of sand quarries and have good potential to be further characterized before introduction in the seed market. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of Chlamydophila abortus in ovine and caprine abortion in Sardinia,Italy

Between 1999–2003, 14 321 sera and 646 abortion samples (498 foetuses and 148 placentae) were analysed from 807 sheep and goat farms distributed all over the island of Sardinia. After notification of abortion in a flock, sera collected at random from adult animals were examined to detect antibodies specific to Chlamydophila (C.) abortus by ELISA, whereas foetuses and placenta were analysed by PCR assay. Specific IgG antibodies were detected in 611 (4.8%) sheep and 106 (5.8%) goats. From a total of 2050 ovine and 151 caprine fetal samples including muscle, liver, abomasum, spleen, brain and placenta, 29 (1.4%) ovine and 1 (0.6%) caprine samples were C. abortus PCR-positive. Placenta was the tissue with the highest detection rate. These results indicate that the seroprevalence of C. abortus infection in sheep and goats is very low in Sardinia, and PCR results demonstrate that C. abortus has no significant role in abortion, especially in goats.     

Impact of urbanization on plant diversity: A case study in built-up areas of Beijing

Urbanization is developing rapidly in the world, which seriously changes the habitat of organisms and has clearly a negative effect on biodiversity. Preservation of biodiversity is crucial in urban planning and management, which is also an important symbol for the level of greening. Problems such as scarcity of urban green space and plant species have become obstacles to the establishment of ecological friendly cities. However, coexistence of nature and modernization, as well the coordination of economic development and biodiversity, are goals that people are seeking. We have taken the builtup areas of Beijing as a study case and discussed the impacts of urbanization on plant diversity, with the support of fieldwork and SPOT remote sensing data. The results are as follows： 1） in the process of urbanization, exotic plants have been widely introduced, which has affected species composition and the proportion of native plants; it is clear that artificial green spaces always will have a lower level of plant diversity than natural green spaces; 2） functional differences of green space types partially decide their species abundance, so that plant diversity in greenbelts and streets is generally lower than in parks; 3） the spatial variety of plant diversity contributes much to the imbalance of district de- velopment and the planning of different functional zones; this variation is embodied in different ring-belts and directions; 4） habitat fragmentation also affects plant diversity to a great extent; there is a significant positive correlation between high fragmentation and low plant diversity. According our results, some suggestions are proposed, which would be suitable for the preservation of plant di- versity and ecological improvement during urbanization.     

The shadow of the Balbina dam: A synthesis of over 35 years of downstream impacts on floodplain forests in Central Amazonia

1. The Balbina hydropower dam in the Central Amazon basin, established in the Uatumã River in the 1980s, is emblematic for its socio-environmental disaster. Its environmental impacts go far beyond the reservoir and dam, however, affecting the floodplain forests (igapó) in the downstream area (dam shadow), which have been assessed using a transdisciplinary research approach, synthesized in this review.
2. Floodplain tree species are adapted to a regular and predictable flood pulse, with high- and low-water periods occurring during the year. This was severely affected by the operation of the Balbina dam, which caused the suppression of both the aquatic phase at higher floodplain elevations and the terrestrial phase at lower floodplain elevations (termed the ‘sandwich effect’).
3. During the period of construction and reservoir fill, large-scale mortality already occurred in the floodplains of the dam shadow as a result of reduced stream flow, in synergy with severe drought conditions induced by El Niño events, causing hydraulic failure and making floodplains vulnerable to wildfires.
4. During the operational period of the dam, permanent flooding conditions at low topographical elevations resulted in massive tree mortality. So far, 12% of the igapó forests have died along a downstream river stretch of more than 125 km. As a result of flood suppression at the highest elevations, an encroachment of secondary tree species from upland (terra firme) forests occurred.
5. More than 35 years after the implementation of the Balbina dam, the downstream impacts caused massive losses of macrohabitats, ecosystem services, and diversity of flood-adapted tree species, probably cascading down to the entire food web, which must be considered in conservation management.
6. These findings are discussed critically, emphasizing the urgent need for the Brazilian environmental regulatory agencies to incorporate downstream impacts in the environmental assessments of several dam projects planned for the Amazon region.