Towards a Pan‐European Assessment of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion

Understanding spatial and temporal patterns in land susceptibility to wind erosion is essential to design effective management strategies to control land degradation. The knowledge about the land surface susceptible to wind erosion in European contexts shows significant gaps. The lack of researches, particularly at the landscape to regional scales, prevents national and European institutions from taking actions aimed at an effective mitigating of land degradation. This study provides a preliminary pan‐European assessment that delineates the spatial patterns of land susceptibility to wind erosion and lays the groundwork for future modelling activities. An Index of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion (ILSWE) was created by combining spatiotemporal variations of the most influential wind erosion factors (i.e. climatic erosivity, soil erodibility, vegetation cover and landscape roughness). The sensitivity of each input factor was ranked according to fuzzy logic techniques. State‐of‐the‐art findings within the literature on soil erodibility and land susceptibility were used to evaluate the outcomes of the proposed modelling activity. Results show that the approach is suitable for integrating wind erosion information and environmental factors. Within the 34 European countries under investigation, moderate and high levels of land susceptibility to wind erosion were predicted, ranging from 25·8 to 13·0 M ha, respectively (corresponding to 5·3 and 2·9% of total area). New insights into the geography of wind erosion susceptibility in Europe were obtained and provide a solid basis for further investigations into the spatial variability and susceptibility of land to wind erosion across Europe. © 2014 The Authors. Land Degradation and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nicotine in breast fluid of nonlactating women

Using a combination of gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and selected ion recording techniques, we have identified nicotine and its major metabolite, continine, in the breast fluid of nonlactating women smokers. As little as 25 picograms could be measured by using the deuterated variants, [5',5'-2H]nicotine and [3,3-2H]cotinine, both as internal standards and as carriers in an inverse isotope dilution method.     

Cerumen in American Indians: genetic implications of sticky and dry types

Occurrence of sticky and dry cerumen was determined in 483 Indians from various tribes of the United States. The elevated frequencies of the allele for dry cerumen, found in Indians of pure ancestry, support the theory of the mongoloid origin of the American Indian. Potential application of cerumen quality as a marker for genetic and anthropological studies is discussed.     

Authenticity of the traditional cypriot spirit "zivania" on the basis of metal content using a combination of coupled plasma spectroscopy and statistical analysis

Sixty-eight alcoholic beverages ranging in alcoholic degree between 40 and 55 from different countries were analyzed for their 16 most abundant metal elements using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy. The results were analyzed statistically using two different types of analytical methods: canonical discriminant analysis and classification binary trees. The aim of this study was to investigate which of the metals analyzed constitute diagnostic parameters that establish authenticity of the traditional Cypriot spirit zivania. The two statistical methods revealed that Mg, Zn, and Cu are promising distinctive parameters capable of differentiating zivania from other spirits similar in alcoholic degree. It is believed that this differentiation in metals between the alcoholic beverages examined is related to the unique geological and climatic conditions existing on the island of Cyprus.     

Enteromyxum leei infection in parrotfish,Sparisoma cretense: Histopathological,morphological and molecular study

Enteromyxum leei (Myxozoa) has been identified as the aetiological agent of morbidity and mortality in captive feral parrotfish, Sparisoma cretense held at the facilities of Cretaquarium, the public aquarium of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Crete. The parasite caused substantial mortality to the parrotfish exceeding 60% over a period of 3.5 months. Here we describe the course of disease, the effects of the parasite on the host based on histopathological observations and we provide morphological and molecular data on the parasite.     

Modeling Landscape‐scale Erosion Potential Related to Vehicle Disturbances Along the USA–Mexico Border

Decades of intensive off‐road vehicle use for border security, immigration, smuggling, recreation, and military training along the USA–Mexico border have prompted concerns about long‐term human impacts on sensitive desert ecosystems. To help managers identify areas susceptible to soil erosion from anthropogenic activities, we developed a series of erosion potential models based on factors from the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). To better express the vulnerability of soils to human disturbances, we refined two factors whose categorical and spatial representations limit the application of the USLE for non‐agricultural landscapes: the C‐factor (vegetation cover) and the P‐factor (support practice/management). A soil compaction index (P‐factor) was calculated as the difference in saturated hydrologic conductivity (K_s) between disturbed and undisturbed soils, which was then scaled up to maps of vehicle disturbances digitized from aerial photography. The C‐factor was improved using a satellite‐based vegetation index, which was better correlated with estimated ground cover (r² = 0·77) than data derived from land cover (r² = 0·06). We identified 9,780 km of unauthorized off‐road tracks in the 2,800‐km² study area. Maps of these disturbances, when integrated with soil compaction data using the USLE, provided landscape‐scale information on areas vulnerable to erosion from both natural processes and human activities and are detailed enough for adaptive management and restoration planning. The models revealed erosion potential hotspots adjacent to the border and within areas managed as critical habitat for the threatened flat‐tailed horned lizard and endangered Sonoran pronghorn. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil Conservation in Europe: Wish or Reality?

Nearly all of Europe is affected by soil erosion. A major policy response is required to reverse the impacts of erosion in degraded areas, particularly in light of the current climate change and water crisis. Soil loss occurs not because of any lack of knowledge on how to protect soils, but a lack in policy governance. The average rate of soil loss by sheet and rill erosion in Europe is 2·46 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. To mitigate the impacts of soil erosion, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy has introduced conservation measures which reduce soil loss by water erosion by 20% in arable lands. Further economic and political action should rebrand the value of soil as part of ecosystem services, increase the income of rural land owners, involve young farmers and organize regional services for licensing land use changes. In a changing World of 9 billion people with the challenge of climate change, water scarcity and depletion of soil fertility, the agriculture economy should evolve taking into account environmental and ecological aspects. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Land Degradation & Development Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Introduction and breeding of food and fodder crops in Greece

Summary In 1933 the Government established the Hellenic Agricultural Research Station. Numerous species, varieties and strains from other countries were introduced and evaluated. After screening the material many crosses were made and the derivatives were tested and later distributed to farmers. The new accessions exceeded the old local strains by far and this has stimulated the increase of growing areas. Many figures are mentioned pertaining to this development.     

Antioxidant activity of organic extracts from aqueous infusions of sage

The antioxidant activity of aqueous infusions of sage emerges from specific components present in that herb. In an attempt to investigate the chemical nature and properties of these components, four organic solvent extracts from aqueous infusions of sage were examined. HPLC analyses of these extracts led to the separation of a number of components, of which four were identified and quantified through the use of standard compounds of known chromatographic HPLC profiles. These compounds are the diterpenes carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosmanol and the hydroxycinnamic acid caffeic acid. The antioxidant activity and polyphenol content were determined in the four organic solvent extracts and the left-over aqueous fraction. Both polyphenolic and nonpolyphenolic substances present in the extracts arise as significant contributors to the observed antioxidant activity of the derived extracts and thus sage itself. In this sense, they reflect the antioxidant potential of the aqueous infusions of sage toward reactive oxygen species generated through variable mechanisms of iron-promoted oxidative processes.