Separating the effects of habitat amount and fragmentation on invertebrate abundance using a multi-scale framework

Context

Herbicide treatments in viticulture can generate highly contrasting mosaics of vegetated and bare vineyards, of which vegetated fields often provide better conditions for biodiversity. In southern Switzerland, where herbicides are applied at large scales, vegetated vineyards are limited in extent and isolated from one another, potentially limiting the distribution and dispersal ability of organisms.

Objectives

We tested the separate and interactive effects of habitat amount and fragmentation on invertebrate abundance using a multi-scale framework, along with additional environmental factors. We identified which variables at which scales were most important in predicting patterns of invertebrate abundance.

Methods

We used a factorial design to sample across a gradient of habitat amount (area of vegetated vineyards, measured as percentage of landscape PLAND) and fragmentation (number of vegetated patches, measured as patch density PD). Using 10 different spatial scales, we identified the factors and scales that most strongly predicted invertebrate abundance and tested potential interactions between habitat amount and fragmentation.

Results

Habitat amount (PLAND index) was most important in predicting invertebrate numbers at a field scale (50 m radius). In contrast, we found a negative effect of fragmentation (PD) at a broad scale of 450 m radius, but no interactive effect between the two.

Conclusions

The spatial scales at which habitat amount and fragmentation affect invertebrates differ, underpinning the importance of spatially explicit study designs in disentangling the effects between habitat amount and configuration. We showed that the amount of vegetated vineyards has more influence on invertebrate abundance, but that fragmentation also contributed substantially. This suggests that efforts for augmenting the area of vegetated vineyards is more beneficial for invertebrate numbers than attempts to connect them.

     

我国农业机械化现状及发展趋势

农业发展问题是中国经济增长的根本问题,在经济发展过程中,农业对国民经济具有不可替代的贡献作用.农业机械是现代农业的基础装备,对提高农业劳动生产率、增加农产品供给、保证农业稳步发展起了到至关重要的作用.为此,文章论述了中国农业机械化的现状,探讨了今后中国现代农业机械化的发展趋势,以期为我国农业机械行业的发展提供一定的参考.     

A bayesian model for the analysis of lactation curves of dairy goats

This article aims to determine the effect of certain covariates, such as season of kidding, parity, and time of kidding on the characteristics of the lactation curve of Saanen dairy goats. Characteristics investigated are peak milk yield, time of peak milk yield, total milk production, persistency, and the relationship between fat and protein in milk composition, as well as between lactation curves of the same animal in successive years. The analysis is carried out using a hierarchical Bayesian approach, together with Wood’s model, to model lactation. Posterior distributions of quantities of interest are obtained by means of the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. These clearly illustrate the significant effect of especially parity, but also season and time of kidding on the characteristics of the lactation curve. Total and peak milk yield increase with increasing parity up to about the third or fourth parity, while peak yield is later for first than for later parities. The analysis also enables estimation of lactation characteristics of untested animals, prediction of future characteristics and identification of exceptional animals.     

Recovery of cover-crop-N in the soil-plant system in the Guinea savannah zone of Ghana

In order to understand the efficiency of residue-N use and to estimate the minimum input required to obtain a reasonable level of crop response, it is important to quantify the fate of the applied organic-N. The recovery of N from ¹⁵N-labelled Crotalaria juncea was followed in the soil and the succeeding maize crop. Apparent N recovery (ANR) by maize from unlabelled Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria retusa, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mucuna pruriens and mineral fertilizer at three locations were also evaluated. The maize crop recovered 4.7% and 7.3% of the ¹⁵N-labelled C. juncea-N at 42 days after sowing (DAS) and at final harvest, respectively. The corresponding ¹⁵N recovery from the soil was 92.4% and 58.5%. The highest mean ANR of 57.4% was with mineral fertilizer, whereas the mean ANR of 14.3% from C. retusa was the lowest. A large pool substitution and added-N interaction effect was observed when comparing N recovery from the labelled and unlabelled C. juncea. The amount of residue-N accounted for by the isotope dilution method at 42 DAS was 97.1% and at final harvest 65.8%. The large residue-N recovery in the soil organic-N pool explains the residual effect usually observed with organic residue application.     

Nitrogen and carbon mineralisation of leather meal in soil as affected by particle size of fertiliser and microbiological activity of soil

Carbon and nitrogen mineralisation of leather meal fertilisers were studied in two soils characterised by different respiration activity. Both C and N mineralisation were highest in the most active soil, and when leather meal was added as a powder rather than as 2- to 4- and 4- to 6-mm particles. Fast and slow soluble N pools were determined after extraction with cold water and with hot buffer, respectively. The N remaining after the second extraction with hot buffer was named slow-release N. The percentage of slow-release N rose as the size of the applied leather meal particles increased, whereas fast soluble N was highest in the coarsest (4-6 mm) fertiliser.     

Characterization of odor-active volatiles in apples: influence of cultivars and maturity stage

The aroma and texture of three different apple cultivars, harvested at three maturity stages, were analyzed by sensory and instrumental analysis. The emphasis was on the identification of the most potent odorant volatiles, and the challenge was to separate the few most important flavor compounds, which may be trace chemicals, from the vast number of nonodorant compounds present in apple aroma extracts. Thirty-six odorant compounds were detected, 24 of which were common to all extracts. A significant correlation coefficient was found between the aroma intensity scores and overall quantity of the odorant volatiles, which shows that the development of sensory aroma is similar to that of odorant volatiles. This study also showed that the parameters measured by penetrometry and compression were highly correlated with sensory textural attributes. The determination of the optimal maturity stage for different apple cultivars by the usual parameters, such as color, diameter, total soluble solids, and titrable acidity, may not be sufficient to determine the optimal sensory quality for consumers. Moreover, the sensory quality of fruits changes during maturation in a different way from one cultivar to another, and this should be taken into account.     

Effect of bensulfuron-methyl (a sulfonylurea herbicide) on the soil bacterial community of a paddy soil microcosm

The effect of bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) on a soil microbial community in a model paddy microcosm was studied. Total bacterial numbers in the overlying water and surface soil were monitored for 2 months after the application of BSM at the field rate and a ten-fold field rate. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) was used for comparison. Neither chemical affected the total bacterial numbers remarkably, either in the overlying water or in the surface soil. In contrast, the nitrification potential was significantly suppressed by the BSM application. The bacterial community structure, as evaluated by the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR amplification products from bacterial 16S rDNA, was unaffected by the BSM treatments over 8 weeks in the surface soil, compared with the control (no pesticide). In contrast, the surface soil exposed to PCP at a ten-fold field rate showed different patterns from the controls at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after application. The DGGE patterns of the overlying water were much more variable than those of the surface soil in any treatments. Cluster analysis showed that the BSM plots were classified within the same group as the control at 1 week after application and that the BSM and PCP plots from 2 weeks onward after application were grouped differently from the control. Of 22 clones excised from the DGGE gels, 20 clones belonged to the Proteobacteria and two belonged to the Verrucomicrobia. It was considered that the impact of BSM on the overall microbial community (total numbers, community structure of soil) was negligible, although BSM had an impact on some specific functions of the soil microbial community (nitrification) and a part of the community (overlying water).     

冬播麦区Glu-1和Glu-3位点变异及1B/1R易位与小麦加工品质性状的关系

 贮藏蛋白组成是决定小麦加工品质的重要因素。本文调查了我国冬播麦区251份主栽品种和高代品系的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基（HMW-GS）、低分子量麦谷蛋白亚基（LMW-GS）和1B/1R易位的分布状况，研究了它们与加工品质性状的关系。结果表明，品质较差的HMW-GS N、7+9、2+12和LMW-GS Glu-A3a与Glu-B3j（1B/1R易位）在冬播麦区分布较广，频率分别为39.4%、45.0%、59.8%、37.1%和44.6%。HMW-GS和LMW-GS等位变异对籽粒蛋白质含量影响较小，对SDS沉降值、和面时间与耐揉性的加性和互作效应达1%的显著水平。按位点对加工品质性状的贡献大小，Glu-D1>Glu-B3>Glu-B1>Glu-A3>Glu-A1；就单个亚基而言，Glu-A1位点，1>2*>N；Glu-B1位点，7+8>14+15>7+9；Glu-D1位点，5+10>4+12>2+12；Glu-A3位点，Glu-A3d>Glu-A3a>Glu-A3c>Glu-A3e，Glu-B3位点； Glu-B3d>Glu-B3b>Glu-B3f >Glu-B3j。1B/1R易位对SDS沉降值、和面时间和耐揉性等加工品质性状有显著负面效应。通过选择优质高低分子量麦谷蛋白亚基和淘汰1B/1R易位系，将有助于提高我国小麦的面筋质量。     

Management of yellow dwarf disease in Europe in a post‐neonicotinoid agriculture

Barley/cereal yellow dwarf viruses (YDVs) cause yellow dwarf disease (YDD), which is a continuous risk to cereals production worldwide. These viruses cause leaf yellowing and stunting, resulting in yield reductions of up to 80%. YDVs have been a consistent but low‐level problem in European cereal cultivation for the last three decades, mostly due to the availability of several effective insecticides (largely pyrethroids and more recently neonicotinoids) against aphid vectors. However, this has changed recently, with many insecticides being lost, culminating in a recent European Union (EU) regulation prohibiting outdoor use of the neonicotinoid‐insecticide compounds. This change is coupled with the growing challenge of insecticide‐resistant aphids, the lack of genetic resources against YDVs, and a knowledge deficit around the parameters responsible for the emergence and spread of YDD. This means that economic sustainability of cereal cultivation in several European countries including France and United Kingdom is now again threatened by this aphid‐vectored viral disease. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the YDV pathosystem, describe management options against YDD, analyse the impacts of the neonicotinoid ban in Europe, and consider future strategies to control YDV. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Replacing Wheat Flour with Debittered and Fermented Lupin: Effects on Bread’s Physical and Nutritional Features

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - In this study the breadmaking potential of lupin flour from L. mutabilis after being debittered (DLF) and solid state fermented (FLF) was evaluated in lupin-wheat...