Estimating evapotranspiration in the Padova Botanical Garden

In 1996, intensive building operations near the botanical garden of Padova, the oldest botanical garden in the world, altered a long-established equilibrium between groundwater and plants and threatened the lives of some of them. To avoid water stress, an advanced irrigation system was installed. For design purposes, better knowledge of the water cycle and the monthly average evapotranspiration (ET) in the area was needed. Due to the complex canopy stand of the site, ET was estimated using the water balance method, integrating mathematical models with the Arc/Info Geographical Information System. The water balance was estimated in 1997 and 1998, and results were used to derive an empirical mean crop coefficient of the botanical garden, to simulate the long-term water requirements using the product of reference ET and the apparent crop coefficient to estimate ET from the garden. Two types of hydrological behaviour were identified: one in the central area of the garden, where reduced ground cover diminishes ET and increases runoff and percolation. In the external area, the ET was higher because of the presence of many trees. The empirical mean monthly crop coefficient ranged between 0.56 and 0.83, indicating that ET in the entire area is always less than grass reference ET.     

Historical spatial baselines in conservation and management of marine resources

Increased knowledge on the spatial distribution of marine resources is crucial for the implementation of a true ecosystem approach to management and the conservation of marine organisms. For exploited fish species characterized by aggregation behaviour during spawning time, the identification and tracking of spawning areas is essential for a correct assessment of their productivity and population abundance. To elucidate this concept, we reconstructed the spatio‐temporal distribution of adult plaice (Pleuronectes platessa, Pleuronectidae) during spawning time along the 20^th century. Historical data reveal that not only the abundance but also the former population richness was much higher than previously estimated and has declined because of protracted over‐exploitation during the last 30 years. We conclude that forecast of stock recovery to former levels of abundance neglecting spatial reorganizations might be over‐optimistic and shaded by a lost memory of the past population richness. These results reinforce the importance of managing exploited marine resources at a greater spatial resolution than has been carried out in the history of fishery management.     

Protective Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Juglans regia</Emphasis> L. Walnut Extract Against Oxidative DNA Damage

Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are relevant components of the Mediterranean diet providing important macronutrients, micronutrients and other bioactive constituents including unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytosterols and polyphenols. Although the walnut beneficial effects in human health are widely recognized by a lot of epidemiologic studies very little is known regarding its effect on damaged DNA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Juglans regia L. ethanolic extract from kernel on the induction of DNA strand breaks by thiol/Fe³⁺/O₂ mixed function oxidase, tert-butyl hydroperoxide or UVC radiations in acellular and cellular models. Plasmid DNA cleavage and fast Halo assay were used to monitor oxidative damage to DNA. Both approaches showed protection of oxidatively injured DNA. These results agree with a lot of scientific proofs which recommend walnut as dietary adjunct in health promotion and prevention as well as in treatment of lifestyle-related oxidative diseases.     

Thermal biology of Tuta absoluta: demographic parameters and facultative diapause

Journal of Pest Science - The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, (SATP) is now a devastating pest worldwide of crops in the family Solanaceae. Most prior studies of SATP’s thermal...     

Biological and Artificial Matrixes as PAH Accumulators: An Experimental Comparative Study

In order to find out a new effective accumulator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) useful for monitoring studies on a large scale and low costs, the accumulation capacity of both biological and artificial matrixes (mosses and polyester fibers, respectively) has been tested. For this purposes, Hypnum cupressiforme and dacron® were exposed to pollution airborne in two sites located nearby an active iron industry and in center of the town of Trieste, where high PAH pollution spots, due to vehicular traffic, are usually detected. The samplers were exposed in six sampling sessions for 21 days. The results obtained were compared with data collected by active PAH samplers, usually employed for official widespread monitoring. The level of correlation between the data sets was calculated. Furthermore, a repeatability study of data was performed. According to the results, both matrixes are good PAH accumulators, though they show different skills.     

Culture as an Engine of Local Development Processes: System‐Wide Cultural Districts I: Theory

Building on the early works of Alfred Marshall, analyses of local economies have emphasized the spatial function of clusters and industrial districts in terms of external economies of localization and agglomeration. Recent literature has emphasized the importance of culture and the complementarities between culture and local tangible and intangible assets. This paper aims to provide an analytical foundation for these processes with a view to developing tools for policy design, analysis and evaluation. By “system‐wide cultural districts,” we refer to a new approach to local development where cultural production and participation present significant strategic complementarities with other production chains. In this view, culture drives the accumulation of intangible assets such as human, social, and cultural/symbolic capital, thereby fostering economic and social growth and environmental sustainability.     

Male fertility and cytology of triploid hybrids between tetraploidSolanum commersonii (2n=4x=48, 2EBN) and Phureja-Tuberosum haploid hybrids (2n=2x=24, 2EBN)

Summary Solanum commersonii Dun. is a diploid (2n=2x=24, 1EBN) wild species of potential value for potato breeding. It is a reproductively isolated species and cannot be crossed with Tuberosum haploids (2n=2x=24, 2EBN) or other diploid 2EBNSolanum species. In order to overcome the EBN barriers, triploid hybrids were produced between Phureja-Tuberosum haploid hybrids, which form 2n pollen grains by parallel spindles, and tetraploidS. commersonii. Microsporogenesis analysis of the triploids indicated a trend towards low values of chromosome distribution at Anaphase I; lagging chromosomes were often observed as well. Despite these abnormalities, the percentage of stainable pollen was very high, ranging from 5.0% to 74.3%. A high variation in pollen grain diameter was also evident. Parallel and tripolar orientation of spindles at Metaphase II of microsporogenesis was a common feature of all the triploids analyzed, but dyads and triads were observed at a very low frequency. Therefore, also the frequency of 2n pollen was very low; the different size of stainable pollen appears to represent the ploidy levels which are possible according to the distribution of chromosomes in Anaphase I. The results obtained also suggest thatS. commersonii could have minor genes acting at the end of meiosis in such a way that, despite the presence of parallel/tripolar spindles, dyads/triads are not formed.Contribution no. 124 from the Research Center for Vegetable Breeding.     

Spatial patterns of diversity and genetic erosion of traditional cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz) in the Peruvian Amazon: An evaluation of socio-economic and environmental indicators

This study evaluates quantitatively the suitability of the use of site-specific socio-economic and environmental data as indicators to rapidly assess patterns of diversity and genetic erosion risk in cassava. Socio-economic data as well as farmers’ estimation of genetic erosion were collected in the study area, the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon, through interviews with 285 cassava farmers in 50 communities, while diversity was assessed based on agromorphological characterization of 295 cassava accessions. Using multivariate regression analyses, 50 and 45% of the variation in respectively diversity and genetic erosion estimation could be explained by a selected set of socio-economic and environmental indicators. In both regression models four out of the total of 38 variables proved to contribute significantly (at p < 0.10 level). Additionally, the study revealed that farmers are a good direct source of information on the diversity present at community level, which can contribute to the development of methodologies to assess diversity more rapidly. The results of this study are valuable for the development of models to rapidly assess diversity dynamics in large areas.     

Effect of long term addition of composts and poultry manure on soil quality of citrus orchards in Southern Italy

A 6-year study was conducted in an organically managed orange orchard located in Sicily (Southern Italy) to assess the effect of compost and organic fertiliser utilisation on soil quality. Adopting a randomised-block experimental design with three replicates, four treatments were carried out. In treatments 1 and 2, two different composts (C1 from distillery by-products and C2 from livestock waste) were applied. The plots of treatment 3 were fertilised using dried poultry manure. The control treatment was fertilised by mineral/synthetic fertilisers. In order to verify the hypothesis that composts and organic fertilisers improve soil fertility, soil quality was evaluated by selecting dynamic soil parameters, as indicators linked to C and N cycles. Total organic C, total N, C/N ratio, humified fraction, isoelectric focussing (IEF) of extracted organic matter, microbial biomass C, potentially mineralisable N under anaerobic conditions, potentially mineralisable C, C mineralisation quotient and metabolic quotient were determined for each sample. Moreover, the Community Level Physiological Profile (by Biolog technique) was defined, calculating derived functional biodiversity and versatility indexes. Parameters related to IEF and potentially mineralisable C showed significant differences among the treatments. Moreover, total C, total N and humification parameters tended to increase, while no differences were observed in biodiversity indexes. On these findings, it was concluded that composts and poultry manure only weakly affected soil properties, though they increased soil potentially available nutritive elements to crops.