Clinical neosporosis in a 4-week-old Hereford calf.

Most reports of neosporosis associated with abortion in cattle are in dairy cattle and infected calves do not survive beyond 7 days of age. This paper reports neosporosis in a 4-week-old Hereford calf. The calf was full term and appeared clinically normal at birth. At 2 weeks of age, the calf had weakened and was unable to nurse unassisted. The calf was killed at 4 weeks because of paralysis. The primary lesions were in the brain and were associated with Neospora caninum tachyzoites. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining with anti-Neospora rabbit serum.     

Agricultural suitability of degraded Acrisols and Lixisols of former tea lands in Sri Lanka

Physical and chemical soil degradation hinder the introduction of mixed cropping systems on former tea lands in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. For instance on two typical soil catenas soil properties such as texture, pH, acidity parameters, pedogenic oxides and available plant nutrients indicating fertility are presented. Obviously Al³⁺ occupies a larger part of the exchange complex and accounts for more soil acidity than H⁺. Al toxicity is hence a major restricting factor for plant growth in the area. The investigated data also permit an evaluation of soil erodibility and a soil fertility assessment according to the Fertility Capability Classification System (Sanchez et al., 1982). Agricultural measures to reduce soil acidity and cover the lime requirements of the soils are advised. Additional soil conservation measures should diminish soil erosion in order to improve the sustainability of the cropping systems.     

Hydrological parameterization of piping in loess‐rich soils in the Bergisches Land,Nordrhein‐Westfalen,Germany

Pedohydrological properties were investigated on a piped slope in the Bergisches Land in the Rhenish Slate Mountains (Nordrhein‐Westfalen, Germany). The study confirmed that genesis and development of pipes decisively depend on hydrological conditions in the soils. Vertical water permeability of saturated samples was very high. This promoted fast seepage. Many macropores produced by earthworms also caused high transport capacity for soil water. Even more efficient were the burrows of moles and mice, enabling immediate infiltration and direct vertical and lateral water movement. On the contrary, the horizontal saturated permeability was low indicating no correlation with piping. Porosity of piped soils was not different to that of other soils of the region without pipes.     

Follow-up study of owner attitudes toward home care of paraplegic dogs.

A questionnaire was mailed to 30 owners of paraplegic dogs who had been caring for their dogs at home for 3 to 72 months. It was designed to collect information on demographic variables, duration of ownership and paralysis, age of the pet, pet/owner relationship, owner expectations and perceptions of the pet's quality of life, problems the pet experienced, effect that maintaining a paralyzed pet had on the owners' quality of life, and whether use of a cart was beneficial. Significant correlation was found between prior expectations that the pet would lead a high-quality life and perception that the pet, in fact, had a high quality of life during paralysis (r2 = 0.61, P = 0.01). Owners who had anticipated that extra work would be necessary to care for their paraplegic dog had a more positive attitude toward home care (r2 = 0.55, P = 0.03). Overall, owners involved in the study were satisfied with all aspects of maintaining paraplegic dogs at home. Our findings support the feasibility of dedicated owners successfully maintaining small (average body weight, 9 kg) paraplegic dogs at home for extended periods.     

The Forgotten Rural Landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe

Interactions between nature and man – the underlying forces in landscape – have over time caused diversity. Usually, geographers and landscape ecologists deal with spatial diversity; in this paper, we would like to also consider temporal diversity. We argue that Central and Eastern European landscapes (using the examples of Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia) are much more diverse in time (layers) than Western European ones. This difference requires the use of different indicators in order to measure and study landscapes and special problems, threats, and possibilities of management and future development – but most important is the consideration of different perceptions. We also show that this diversity reduces the readability of landscapes, creating miscommunication and a transformation of meanings. We further argue that the link between humans and landscape is lost in Central and Eastern European countries due to temporal diversity, and that this link will be created anew in a globalizing world. To overcome alienation, we need slightly different classifications/typologies for each country in this region, with the aim of a sound future management of cultural landscapes.     

Application of gypsum and lime to increase cation adsorption of a Geric Ferralsol in the Brazilian Amazon region

A Brazil-nut plantation 140 km east of Manaus was the site of a 3-month field trial, in which a by-product gypsum and a lime were compared. The soil properties in the plantation, 23 years after slash-and-burn, are not basically different from the remaining primary forest. The comparison is impeded by a distinct spatial variability of the soil nutrient content within the plantation. A linkage between Effective Cation Exchange Capacity (ECEC) and sulfate content of the soil is presumed. Gypsum-application increases the exchangeable Ca considerably, which is not an effect of Al-exchange, but of newly created adsorption sites. The potential of gypsum to increase the ECEC corresponds on a 1:1 basis with the potential for sulfate adsorption in the soil. Mg and nitrate are strongly leached after gypsum application. The applied, extremely fine ground lime has almost no effects below 5—10 cm depth. Ca, Mg and, to a lesser extent, K exhibit a much enhanced adsorption when applied as sulfate instead of chloride. All three cations are preferentially adsorbed in the subsoil, where the ECEC is only half the value of the upper soil. For fertilization concepts of those soils, the subsoil deserves much greater attention. The infiltration pattern of an organic dye gives evidence of a strong influence of bypass water flow through macropores in the soil.     

Piping and erodibility of loessic soils in Bergisches Land,Nordrhein‐Westfalen

In soils derived from loess on a range land site in the Rhenish Slate Mountains pipes were found at 120—190 cm depth above denser solifluction material. The pipes were 5—30 cm wide and 15—30 cm high. Various soil physical and chemical properties were determined and checked for their suitability as piping indicators. Silt contents reached 808 g kg^—1 in the piped soil sections where bulk densities were low to medium in comparison with clay rich and denser horizons beneath. Aggregate stabilities indicated by dispersion features, percolation rates, and dispersion ratios were suitable parameters to indicate piping vulnerability. Organic carbon contents tended to be low in the piped horizons, but there was no relationship between base saturation, ESP or EC values, and piping in the investigated soils.     

Erosion processes and erodibility of cultivated soils in North Rhine‐Westphalia under artificial rain. II. Results of field experiments and comparison with laboratory trials

In the densely populated state of North Rhine‐Westphalia, soil erosion by water causes substantial on‐site degradation and off‐site damages. The implementation of soil‐conservation measures is improved, if soil erodibilities and erosion processes are known. In a state‐wide investigation, we aimed to representatively assess soil‐erosion processes and erodibilities of cultivated soils. For this purpose, we measured surface runoff and soil‐loss rates of 28 cultivated soils with field plots under artificial rain. In the field experiments, surface runoff and soil loss indicated high sealing susceptibilities and high erodibilities on soils of quite different textures including a clay silt, a loam silt, a loam sand, a sand loam, and two standard loams. Rill formation causing high soil‐loss rates was observed on a clay silt (soil BM) and on a loam silt (soil RB), the latter yielding an empirical K‐factor of 1.66 t ha^–1 h N^–1. K‐factors of other silty soils ranged from 0.04 to 0.48, whereas sandy soils and clayey soils had K‐factors ranging from 0.00 to 0.32, and 0.00 to 0.12, respectively. Comparatively high erodibilities of two silt clays were due to saturation overland flow. Erosion processes and erodibilities of soils with similar texture varied to a large extent, possibly caused in part by seasonal differences in the timing of erosion tests. Surface runoff was different in field experiments compared with laboratory experiments (companion paper) conducted with topsoil material taken from the field plots. In addition, higher concentrations of suspended sediment were recorded on average in the field than in the laboratory. These differences might reflect the influence of the subsoil and are due to higher transport capacities on longer plots in the field. Thus, laboratory experiments can complement but not replace costly field trials for K‐factor determination. Empirical K‐factors derived from field and laboratory experiments are in general lower than K‐factors of other soils in Germany or calculated K‐factors derived from pedotransfer functions, which might be attributed to a more maritime‐type climate in North Rhine‐Westphalia. Since the temporal variability of erodibility was not assessed, the reported K‐factors should be regarded as preliminary.