Sacred sites as habitats of culturally important plant species in an Indian megacity

Cultural ecosystem services related to urban green spaces contribute significantly to liveable cities. While previous studies highlight the intersection of cultural ecosystem services with societal values, spiritual or religious values associated with urban nature have received less attention. In India, as in other parts of the world, sacred sites are known for their biological richness, but analyses from urban sacred sites are largely missing. Based on a stratified random sampling approach, we analysed the cultivated and wild plant species assemblages of 69 sacred sites in the megacity of Bengaluru, India, in relation to biological and cultural features, and parameters related to the urban matrix and type of sacred sites (temple vs. katte). Unlike other urban studies, we found a dominance of native species in the cultivated and spontaneous species pools (121 species in total), with Ficus religiosa and Azadirachta indica as most frequently planted species. Culturally relevant species prevailed in the species pool (89%), with overlaps between religious (36%), medicinal (50%) and ornamental (62%) plants; only 11% of species were weeds. Urban matrix parameters (age of development, housing density) and size and type of sacred sites were related to differences in species assemblages. We identified key species for different classes of age and housing density, and for types of sacred sites. Our study demonstrates that urban sacred sites have an important potential in harbouring both native and culturally significant species that can support urban livelihoods in developing countries by a range of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services, including medicinal uses. As such sites are conserved by communities for spiritual or cultural beliefs, local biodiversity can be enhanced, e.g. by adapting management practices through community participation. This would strengthen the important contribution of sacred sites within the green infrastructure of rapidly growing megacities.     

Memory and resilience: A two-pronged approach to natural spaces in Colombia’s transition to a peaceful society

The analysis of spontaneous environmental initiatives undertaken by individuals and communities in cases of conflicts has led to a growing research field in social science, according to which the community-based stewardship of nature seems to conduce to the resilience of co-evolved social-ecological systems. In Colombia, where no such research exists so far, the conflict which officially ended in November 2016 has led to massive internal migration due to forced displacement, as well as to widespread degradation of the environment. Based on evidence provided by case studies of top-down and bottom-up living memorials and urban agriculture initiatives, the article explores the potential of urban greening in the process of memorialisation and in generating new social cohesion, as well as better living conditions in urban areas. It analyses cases both where the conflict has taken place and in the cities where refugees have settled, in order to explore avenues for public policies in post conflict Colombia. The author concludes that greening initiatives offer manifold, so far overlooked, opportunities to restoring social and ecological resilience in urban areas and thus contribute to a lasting peace in Colombia.     

Soil quality assessments in integrated crop–livestock–forest systems: A review

Integrated crop–livestock–forest is a promising strategy to improve soil quality. It comprises four different integrated farming systems: crop–livestock, crop–forest, forest–livestock and crop–livestock–forest. This work systematically reviewed studies about integrated crop–livestock–forest systems and soil quality. A total of 92 papers were retrieved from the Web of Science—Clarivate Analytics platform, and the following information was analysed: publication year, institution, region of the studied site, type of integrated system, soil type, tillage system, maximum soil depth and the soil quality indicators assessed. Most studies were published in the second half of the 2010s. Brazil is a prominent focus of research about soil quality and integrated crop–livestock–forest systems, with significant contribution from its central and southern regions. The Embrapa was the main publishing institution, present in over one‐third of the studies. Crop–livestock was the most common integrated system, Ferralsols was the most common soil group, and most of the studied soils were clayey. No tillage was the main tillage system. Most studies focused on the topsoil, assessing physical and/or chemical soil quality indicators. More emphasis on biological indicators of soil quality is required, as well as assessments integrating biological, physical and chemical indicators of soil quality. Future works should compare different integrated systems, including assessments deeper in the soil profile, especially in systems with the forest component, and also in sandy and silty soils. Soil quality indicators that have been rarely used should be further tested. Novel indicators should be added to better understand the promotion of soil quality by integrated crop–livestock–forest systems.     

古籍咨询工作中的新视角

本文讨论古籍咨询的服务创新问题,提出了内容咨询这一新概念。认为根据个人自身条件,有些咨询人员不妨可以对古籍的内容进行研究,这有利于与读者进行深入的交流,可以提高咨询水平的深度。     

复合图书馆的信息服务探讨

复合图书馆作为图书馆的一种发展形态，有其自身的特点和要求，有许多值得研究的内容。复合图书馆的读者服务工作是图书馆工作的出发点和各项业务工作的最终价值体现。文章分析了目前图书馆读者服务工作面临的形势，探讨了我们应采取的措施。     

深化馆系资料室共建-扬馆系所长

本文分析了系部资料室在服务教学科研工作中的特殊地位与优势，同时分析了系部资料室建设存在的一些问题，提出系部资料室信息深化服务的建议。     

大白菜软腐病菌游动性突变体在大白菜体内增殖扩展研究

 用培养皿滤纸吸附测定法和不伤根土壤拌菌处理及针刺接种法,测定了大白菜软腐病菌游动性突变体进入大白菜体内、并在其中侵染定殖和扩展的特性。结果表明,游动性丧失和增强的突变体都可以通过种子萌发和主动接触进入大白菜体内、并可以在体内有短期的繁殖,但菌量远低于野生菌。大白菜叶片接种实验说明,这两种突变体也都可以进行短距离扩展,但扩展距离和菌的繁殖量低于野生菌。     

Organic farming fosters agroecosystem functioning in Argentinian temperate soils: Evidence from litter decomposition and soil fauna

Benefits of organic farming on soil fauna have been widely observed and this has led to consider organic farming as a potential approach to reduce the environmental impact of conventional agriculture. However, there is still little evidence from field conditions about direct benefits of organic agriculture on soil ecosystem functioning. Hence, the aims of this study were to compare the effect of organic farming versus conventional farming on litter decomposition and to study how this process is affected by soil meso- and macrofauna abundances. Systems studied were: (1) organic farming with conventional tillage (ORG), (2) conventional farming with conventional tillage (CT), (3) conventional farming under no-tillage (NT), and (4) natural grassland as control system (GR). Decomposition was determined under field conditions by measuring weight loss in litterbags. Soil meso- and macrofauna contribution on decomposition was evaluated both by different mesh sizes and by assessing their abundances in the soil. Litter decomposition was always significantly higher after 9 and 12 months in ORG than in CT and NT (from 2 to 5 times in average), regardless decomposer community composition and litter type. Besides, mesofauna, macrofauna and earthworm abundances were significantly higher in ORG than in NT and CT (from 1.6 to 3.8, 1.7 to 2.3 and 16 to 25 times in average, respectively for each group). These results are especially relevant firstly because the positive effect of ORG in a key soil process has been proved under field conditions, being the first direct evidence that organic farming enhances the decomposition process. And secondly because the extensive organic system analyzed here did not include several practices which have been recognized as particularly positive for soil biota (e.g. manure use, low tillage intensity and high crop diversity). So, this research suggests that even when those practices are not applied, the non-use of agrochemicals is enough to produce positive changes in soil fauna and so in decomposition dynamics. Therefore, the adoption of organic system in an extensive way can also be suggested to farmers in order to improve ecosystem functioning and consequently to achieve better soil conditions for crop production.     

安徽省农民合作社金融服务需求分析与对策

基于安徽省120家农民合作社金融服务需求的问卷调查,分析了安徽省农民合作社金融产品与服务的需求状况。结果表明,随着农民合作社的迅速发展,金融产品与服务需求强烈,呈现阶段化、多样化特征,供求也表现出显著的不匹配现象,成为制约农民合作社成长壮大的重要现实问题。基于需求分析,提出了强化需求导向、政策引导、财政支持、教育支撑等对策建议。     

福建省基层农技推广体系现状与发展对策

阐述了福建省农业科技推广服务体系建设基本现状、近年来农技推广情况及成效和农业科技推广机制与主要模式，总结了农技推广中存在的问题，并提出了今后福建省农业科技推广的相关对策和建议，以供福建省农技推广体系建设参考。