Assessing the use of erosion modeling to support payment for environmental services programs

Purpose

Payment for environmental services (PES) has assumed increasing importance in discussions about sustainable development strategies. Many of the PES programs are based on water erosion control and the corresponding environmental and economic benefits generated in the basins where they are implemented. The main objective of this study was to show how erosion susceptibility models can support PES programs.

Materials and methods

The application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) in the Sarandi Experimental River Basin (32.7 km²), located in the Federal District, Brazil, was used as a study case. Then a scheme for organizing knowledge about ecosystem services related to erosion control and water resources was performed. Considering the generated scheme, the USLE results, the land use map, and the water use in the region, we evaluated how erosion modeling could support PES programs.

Results and discussion

The results show that a large part of the study basin (90%) presents “low” susceptibility to erosion, which is significant in terms of the use and conservation of ecosystem services, as well as being a limitation regarding the need for the implantation of PES programs for erosion control. Incentives for maintaining the natural vegetation in areas with higher erosion susceptibility have the greatest potential to justify PES programs in the study basin, and the sanitation company is the potential payer for erosion control in the Sarandi River Basin.

Conclusions

The application of the USLE in a spatially distributed form proved to be an important support tool for land management and the implementation of PES policies.     

Principles and practices of the photo-thermal adaptability improvement in soybean

As a short-day(SD) and thermophilic plant, soybean(Glycine max(L.) Merr.) is sensitive to photo-thermal conditions. This characteristic severely limits the cultivation range of a given soybean cultivar and affects the performances of agronomic traits such as yield, plant architectures, and seed quality. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of photo-thermal sensitivity will provide a theoretical basis for soybean improvement. In this review, we introduce the advances in physiological, genetic, and molecular researches in photoperiodism of soybean, and progress in the improvement of the photo-thermal adaptability. We also summarize the photo-thermal conditions and characteristics of widely-planted soybean cultivars of major production regions in China. Furthermore, we proposed a novel concept of ‘ecotyping' and the strategies for widely-adapted soybean cultivar breeding. This review provides an important guide for improving the adaptability of soybean.     

The influence of light intensity,temperature and carbon dioxide concentration on anthocyanin content and blueing of ‘Baccara’ roses

The effect of light intensity, temperature and CO₂ concentration on anthocyanin content, blueing of flowers and size of flower buds was examined in ‘Baccara’ roses. Reflectance percentage at 425 nm was found to be an accurate measure of petal blueing. Reflectance was higher as the degree of blueing (determined by subjective estimation) increased and pigmentation decreased. During the first stage of development of the flower branch (elongation stage) temperature and light intensity had no effect on blueing. During Stage 2 of development (main stage of bud development), high temperatures and low light intensities caused blueing, whereas low temperatures during this stage, even at low light intensities, prevented blueing. Blueing was associated with low concentrations of CO₂ (0–100 vpm) as well as darkness. High concentrations of CO₂ (1500–3000 vpm) prevented blueing and increased pigmentation and flower size. The effectiveness of CO₂ in preventing blueing is related to high light intensities.     

Current knowledge on Amaranthus spp.: research avenues for improved nutritional value and yield in leafy amaranths in sub-Saharan Africa

In the past 20 years, very little progress has been achieved in reducing food insecurity, child malnutrition and hunger in Africa. Under-nutrition and micronutrients deficiencies are widespread and affect mainly women and children. To address these problems, increased consumption of African leafy vegetables is promoted as sources of both micronutrients and bio-active compounds. Widely promoted African leafy vegetables include Amaranthus spp., a taxonomic group cultivated worldwide. Species of this genus are used as pseudo-cereals in Europe and America, and are mostly planted as vegetables in Africa. Amaranthus has been rediscovered as a promising food crop mainly due to its resistance to heat, drought, diseases and pests, and the high nutritional value of both seeds and leaves. Leaves are rich in proteins and micronutrients such as iron, calcium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin A. All parts of the plant are used as medicine to heal many diseases in African communities. This paper focuses on leafy amaranths traditionally utilized on the continent. It briefly reviews the current knowledge on taxonomy, ecology, nutritional and nutraceutical value, production and cultivation systems, reproductive biology, genetic resources and breeding of amaranths. Species of interest include: A. blitum, A. caudatus, A. cruentus, A. dubius, A. hypochondriacus, A. spinosus, A. thunbergii, A. tricolor, and A. viridis. Research and development opportunities on nutritive and nutraceutical properties, production and commercialization, taxonomic evaluation and breeding perspectives were explored.     

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Comparative study of milk compositions of cattle,sheep and goats in Nigeria

Variations in the milk composition of Nigerian cattle, sheep and goats (Bunaji, Yankasa and Red Sokoto breeds, respectively), as well as residual phenotypic correlations between the milk constituents, were investigated. Results indicated that sheep and goats differed significantly (P < 0.05) from cattle in all constituents except protein percentage, which averaged 5.43%, 5.43% and 5.49%, respectively. Caprine milk contained the highest percentages of fat (5.80%), total solids (15.37%) and ash (0.77%), and bovine milk contained the least percentages of fat (0.68%) and lactose (1.84%). Overall, the milk compositions of sheep and goats were very similar as they were not statistically different from each other (P > 0.05). Residual phenotypic correlations between the milk constituents revealed highly significant (P < 0.01) and positive relationships between total solids and solids‐not‐fat (0.97 and 0.98 in cattle and sheep, respectively). All other correlations were positive in cattle (ranging from 0.12 to 0.77), except between protein and total solids (?0.44) and protein and solids‐not‐fat (?0.64). Multiple linear regression equations were fitted to predict the percentages of protein and fat. It was demonstrated that the protein percentage could be predicted from total solids and solids‐not‐fat with the highest accuracy of 94%, 86% and 82% in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. On the other hand, the accuracy of prediction of fat percentage was very low in all the species (R² = 0.01, 0.3 and 0.37 in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively).     

Mapping the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for body shape and conformation measurements on BTA1 in Japanese Black cattle

The detection and mapping of segregating quantitative trait loci (QTL) that influence withers height, hip height, hip width, body length, chest width, chest depth, shoulder width, lumbar width, thurl width, pin bone width, rump length, cannon circumference, chest girth, abdominal width and abdominal girth at weaning was conducted on chromosomal regions of bovine chromosome one. The QTL analysis was performed by genotyping half‐sib progeny of five Japanese Black sires using microsatellite DNA markers. Probability coefficients of inheriting allele 1 or 2 from the sire at specific chromosomal locations were computed. The phenotypic data of progeny were regressed on these probability coefficients in a within‐common‐parent regression analysis using a linear model that included fixed effects of sex, parity and season of birth, as well as age as a covariate. F‐statistics were calculated every 1 cM on a linkage map. Permutation tests of 10 000 iterations were conducted to obtain chromosome‐wide significance thresholds. A significant QTL for chest width was detected at 91 cM in family 3. The detection of this QTL boosts the prospects of implementing marker‐assisted selection for body conformation traits in Japanese Black beef cattle.