Incorporation of Buriti Endocarp Flour in Gluten-free Whole Cookies as Potential Source of Dietary Fiber

Cookies were prepared by replacing a mixture of brown rice flour (70 %) and corn starch (30 %) (BRFCS) by buriti endocarp flour (BEF) (0, 5, 10, 15 or 20 %). BEF figured as a potential source of dietary fiber (70.53 g 100 g^?1), especially of insoluble fiber (67.50 g 100 g^?1), and gluten-free whole cookies showed increased dietary fiber content by adding 5, 10, 15 and 20 % BEF (8.58 to 20.02 g 100 g^?1) when compared to control cookie (6.91 g 100 g^?1). The addition of BEF affected diameter, spread ratio, color and texture of cookies. All cookies added with BEF were darker, harder and presented smaller diameter and smaller spread ratio than the control cookie. These difference increased proportionally to level of substitution of BRFSC by BEF. Gluten-free whole cookies with up to 15 % BEF were well accepted by consumers. Therefore, the use of BEF in cookies may increase the availability of functional ingredients source of dietary fiber for celiac consumers, add economic value to buriti processing by-products and decrease environmental impacts due to the high amounts of waste generated by buriti processing industries.     

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.     

Phosphorus pools in soil after land conversion from silvopasture to arable and grassland use

Differences in soil P among silvopasture, grassland, and arable lands have been well established. Nevertheless, most of the reports compare soil properties under long‐term sites. Thus, there exists little information on the effect of the conversion of silvopasture to arable or grassland use on soil P pools. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of converting silvopasture system (SP) into arable cropping and grassland system on the distribution of P pools and potential P bioavailability. We compared the following systems: SP system, SP converted to arable cropland (SP‐AL), SP converted to grassland (SP‐GL), and for comparative purposes, a long‐term arable cropland (AL). The P fractionation was performed by a sequential extraction scheme, using acid and alkaline extractants on samples collected from the 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil layers. It was assumed that the large variations in soil‐P fractionations are caused by the different management practices associated with land conversion. The results of P fractionation showed a dominance of calcium‐bound P, HCl‐extractable Pi constituted up to 36% of the soil total P (TP). However, the type of land use did not affect this P fraction. On the other hand, the reduction in labile‐P_i and NaOH‐P_i fractions observed at the SP‐AL site may have led to the decline in readily available P. The soil total organic P (TP_o) content was 8% and 17% lower at SP‐AL compared to SP and SP‐GL site, respectively. Labile organic‐P (labile‐P_o) content was markedly higher at SP site compared to arable soils, and was ≈ 10% of TP_o. The NaOH‐P_o constituted the highest fraction of the organic‐P pool (55%–79% of TP_o) across all the study systems, and was positively correlated with TP_o (p < 0.01). The study indicates that conversion of SP system in temperate regions to arable cropping with conventional tillage seems to result in the reduction of P availability compared to SP, indicating SP as an important land‐use practice.     

Simulating the effects of using different types of species distribution data in reserve selection

In a perfect world, systematic conservation planning would use complete information on the distribution of biodiversity. However, information on most species is grossly incomplete. Two main types of distribution data are frequently used in conservation planning: observed and predicted distribution data. A fundamental question that planners face is - which kind of data is better under what circumstances? We used simulation procedures to analyse the effects of using different types of distribution data on the performance of reserve selection algorithms in scenarios using different reserve selection problems, amounts of species distribution known, conservation targets and costs. To compare these scenarios we used occurrence data from 25 amphibian and 41 reptile species of the Iberian Peninsula and assumed the available data represented the whole truth. We then sampled fractions of these data and either used them as they were, or converted them to modelled predicted distributions. This enabled us to build three other types of species distribution data sets commonly used in conservation planning: “predicted”, “transformed predicted” and “mixed”. Our results suggest that reserve selection performance is sensitive to the type of species distribution data used and that the most cost-efficient decision depends most on the reserve selection problem and on how much we have of the species distribution data. Choosing the most appropriate type of distribution data should start by evaluating the scenario circumstances. While there is no one best approach for every scenario, we discovered that using a mixed approach usually provides an acceptable compromise between species representation and cost.     

Control of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haemonchus contortus</Emphasis> in sheep using basidiocarps of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agaricus blazei</Emphasis> Murril

Objective

This study evaluated the effects in vitro and in vivo of Agaricus blazei against Haemonchus contortus in sheep.

Methods

The in vitro efficacy of aqueous extract on egg hatching inhibition (EHI) was investigated and after 72 h incubation with varying concentrations the effects on, blastomeres, embryonated eggs, and first stage larvae (L1) were evaluated. Larval development inhibition (LDI) for dry powder and the aqueous extract were evaluated in fecal cultures of sheep infected with H. contortus. In vivo efficacy was determined by reduction in fecal egg count (FEC). Lambs were treated with powder A. blazei (11.4 g/kg pc) or trichlorfon, or were untreated and the possible toxicity of this fungus was monitored by plasmatic enzyme analysis.

Results

Concentrations equal to and higher than 3.62 mg/mL and of aqueous extract were 100% effective in the EHI test. In the LDI test, LC90 was estimated for 5.66 and 106.0 mg/g fecal culture for aqueous extract and powder, respectively. The mean FEC in lambs 14 days post-treatment with A. blazei powder was significantly lower than observed for the negative control, and the serum levels of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were normal.

Conclusion

The fungi supplementation promotes, respectively, high and moderate anthelmintic efficacy with in vitro and in vivo tests, respectively, suggesting it as an alternative or complementary treatment for haemonchosis in sheep.

     

Characterization of antixenosis to Dichelops melacanthus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in soybean genotypes

Soybeans are of great importance in the world agricultural landscape, and their productive potential is significantly reduced by attacks from insect pests. Factors such as the expansion of national agricultural regions, together with no-tillage management and “off-season” maize cultivation, have favored the increase of secondary species such as Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), intensifying the damage caused by the soybean stink bug complex. The use of resistant genotypes may be a valuable strategy as an alternative to the excessive use of chemical control in crops. This study evaluated the attractiveness and feeding preferences of the green-belly stink bug in 17 soybean genotypes in different maturity groups (early, semiearly, and late) to characterize the expression of antixenosis resistance. To this end, free-choice tests of attractiveness and food preference were performed under laboratory conditions. The early genotypes PI 171451 and D 75-10169, the semiearly genotypes IAC 78-2318, “IAC 100”, IAC 74-2832, PI 227687, and “IAC 24” and the late genotypes PI 274454, PI 274453, and L 1-1-01 expressed significant levels of antixenosis against adult D. melacanthus. These results will be useful for soybean breeding programs focusing on the stink bug resistance complex.     

Soil water storage appears to compensate for climatic aridity at the xeric margin of European tree species distribution

Based on macroecological data, we test the hypothesis whether European tree species of temperate and boreal distribution maintain their water and nutrient supply in the more arid southern margin of their distribution range by shifting to more fertile soils with higher water storage than in their humid core distribution range (cf. soil compensatory effects). To answer this question, we gathered a large dataset with more than 200,000 plots that we related to summer aridity (SA), derived from WorldClim data, as well as soil available water capacity (AWC) and soil nutrient status, derived from the European soil database. The soil compensatory effects on tree species distribution were tested through generalized additive models. The hypothesis of soil compensatory effects on tree species distribution under limiting aridity was supported in terms of statistical significance and plausibility. Compared to a bioclimatic baseline model, inclusion of soil variables systematically improved the models’ goodness of fit. However, the relevance measured as the gain in predictive performance was small, with largest improvements for P. sylvestris, Q. petraea and A. alba. All studied species, except P. sylvestris, preferred high AWC under high SA. For F. sylvatica, P. abies and Q. petraea, the compensatory effect of soil AWC under high SA was even more pronounced on acidic soils. Soil compensatory effects might have decisive implications for tree species redistribution and forest management strategies under anthropogenic climate change. Therefore, soil compensatory effects deserve more intensive investigation, ideally, in studies combining different spatial scales to reduce the uncertainty associated with the precision of soil information.     

Effects of post-fire management practices and slope-aspect on medium-term Spanish black pine regeneration: implications of using a direct seeding strategy in burnt areas

The natural regeneration of non-serotinous Spanish black pine (Pinus nigra Arn. ssp. salzmannii) is known to be null or limited after severe wildfires. However, it remains challenging to define efficient management strategies within the burnt area, which can help to increase the post-fire resilience of this species. We conducted a direct seeding experiment during 2011–2015 to assess the effect of different post-fire management treatments (control, soil ripping, woodchips, and soil ripping?+?woodchips) performed in opposite slope-aspects (north- and south-facing) on pine emergence, seed predation, survival, growth, and biomass allocation during the early stages of seedling development (1–5 years) after a severe wildfire. Our results showed that the slope-aspect did not have an important effect in both the seedling emergence and seed predation rates. In contrast, the influence of slope-aspect was significant as both survival and growth of pine seedlings were reduced at the south-facing slope-aspect compared to the north-facing slope-aspect due to harsher environmental conditions. A variable and reduced impact on seedling emergence and seed predation rates was induced by both soil ripping and woodchips treatments. Overall, post-fire management treatments helped to enhance survival rates during early growth stages, although this effect was short-lasting. This knowledge can be used to define post-fire seeding management strategies oriented to enhance the resilience of severely burnt pine forest stands; therefore, while both the soil ripping and woodchips treatments might not be practices leading to increase their post-fire regeneration, direct seeding at north-facing slope-aspects could be a more appropriate management strategy.     

Short-term toxicity of insecticides residues to key predators and parasitoids for pest management in cotton

The cotton ecosystem comprises various arthropod pest and natural enemies with simultaneous occurrence irrespective of growing region. The use of insecticides with reduced impact on natural enemies is a major goal to conserve them and, therefore, to reduce populations of arthropod pests. The survival of twelve key natural enemies for cotton pest management exposed to dried residues using the highest and lowest recommended rates representing old and new insecticides recommended to control cotton pests (chlorantraniliprole, chlofernapyr, spinosad, lambda-cyhalotrin, methidathion, pymetrozine, and thiamethoxam) was determined. The study included parasitoids [Aphelinus gossypii Timberlake, Bracon vulgaris Ashmead, Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson), Telenomus podisi (Ashmead), Trichogramma pretiosum (Riley)] and predators [Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, Euborellia annulipes (Lucas), Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas), Solenopsis invicta Buren), Orius insidiosus (Say), Chrysoperla externa Hagen and Eriopis connexa (Germar)], with two different cohorts for these last two species. All natural enemies exposed to methidathion exhibited 100% mortality. Thiamethoxam, lambda-cyhalothrin and chlorfenapyr also caused high mortality of P. nigrispinus, S. invicta, H. convergens, O. insidiosus and all tested parasitoids. Among the natural enemies, E. annulipes exhibited high survival when exposed to all tested insecticides, except methidathion. Chlorantraniliprole and pymetrozine caused overall lower impact on the natural enemies tested followed by spinosad; hence, they are options for cotton pest management. Furthermore, the outcomes highlight the implication of knowing the background susceptibility of the species tested when addressing the impact of insecticides on natural enemies.