Flower visitors in legume-intercrops

Data were assessed in 2021 on three experimental fields (white lupin intercropped with oats, Andean lupin intercropped with maize and common sainfoin intercropped with maize). In each field legumes were grown in pure and intercropped stands. In addition, different varieties of lupins were grown. Data on shading (LAI) were assessed in maize-intercropped plots on two occasions with a SunScan Canopy Analysis System (‘SS1’, Delta-T devices, Cambridge, UK). For each date, the average LAI was calculated out of eight different measurements per plot. Data on inflorescences were collected by counting the number of inflorescences in one central square meter of a plot after every observation. Data on visitation frequency and visit duration were obtained by flower-visitor observations in 1 m² per plot. Intercropped and pure stands of respective experiments were observed consecutively. For the number of visits all insect flower visitors to inflorescences of legumes within 6 min and 1 m² were recorded. Flower visitors were grouped into bumble bees (Bombus sp.), honey bees (Apis mellifera), non-Bombus wild bees and syrphid flies. Because of low numbers of visits by non-Bombus wild bees and syrphid flies, only bumble bees and honey bees could be analyzed. The number of inflorescences per m² and the number of visits per taxon were summed over the number of observation rounds per plot (n). For the visit durations of flower visitors on inflorescences single individuals of bumble bees and honey bees within 1 m² were observed for 10 or 15 minutes and the time spent on each inflorescence was recorded and later averaged. Data are aggregated on plot level with n = number of total observed individuals

Duration of immunity following infection with moderately virulent ASFV

African swine fever virus (ASFV) poses a significant threat to pork production and wild pig populations worldwide. The study assessed the long-term fate and immunity of animals recovering from a moderately virulent ASFV infection, following the principles of a duration of immunity study for live vaccines. Pigs inoculated with the moderately virulent ASFV strain Estonia14 largely developed mild clinical signs and only transient viremia. Six months after the initial inoculation and once fully recovered, all the animals were challenged with highly virulent ASFV Armenia08. Only one of the previously exposed pigs exhibited mild clinical signs, while all control animals showed typical signs of acute, lethal ASF. Moreover, only a subset of pigs inoculated with the ASF strain Estonia14 displayed temporary detectability of ASFV genomes following challenge infection. Virus isolation corroborated these findings, with low levels of infectious virus in organs of previously inoculated pigs (28 days post challenge). Furthermore, monitoring of ASFV-specific IgM and IgG kinetics enabled the analysis of humoral responses. IgG levels were sustained over the study period and increased slightly upon challenge infection. Lastly, plasma analysis revealed elevated complement factor C3a levels post inoculation and challenge in the recovered pigs, directly correlating with challenge virus presence. In contrast, both C3a and C5a levels were increased in the control group. It could be shown that complement system activation was mediated by the lectin pathway, possibly by interaction of mannose-binding lectins and ASFV particles. This study suggests that protective immunity following recovery can last at least six months. No cases of persistent or chronic disease were observed in convalescent pigs. These findings have implications for both vaccine development and assessment, as well as for disease control strategies including surveillance actions

Greater trophic diversity of soil animal communities under agricultural land use and tropical climate

Soil fauna contributes to a wide range of ecosystem functions via their trophic activities. Here we investigate how trophic diversity of soil animals varies across functional groups and major biomes. We use stable isotope analysis (13C/12C and 15N/14N ratios) of 17,306 samples of 28 high-rank taxa from 456 sites across 19 countries to inspect the variability in trophic diversity across climate regions and land-use types. Trophic diversity of soil animal communities is higher for microbial feeders than for detritivores and predators, in agricultural ecosystems compared with woodlands (+32%) and in tropical compared with temperate climates (+40%). Higher trophic diversity is related to more diverse basal resources and longer trophic chains, which could reflect greater niche partitioning in resource-limited environments. Our findings suggest that soil animals could broaden their trophic niches under agricultural land use and possibly in response to warming, but whether such foraging flexibility may offset the loss of trophic specialists remains to be investigated

Opportunities for maintaining and rejuvenating strain collections of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus

The ash dieback pathogen (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) is a major threat to ash populations across Europe. This study examined how strain handling can affect in vitro growth and in planta virulence of H. fraxineus, with implications for maintaining culture collections for laboratory and greenhouse studies. Ten H. fraxineus strains were selected: seven from a strain collection and three newly isolated individuals. Growth characteristics of the strains were evaluated in vitro on malt extract agar (MEA) and ash-amended malt extract agar (AMEA). Virulence was also investigated in planta following artificial inoculations into Fraxinus excelsior saplings. In vitro growth rate did not correlate with virulence in planta. The strains were subsequently reisolated to investigate changes in in vitro growth and in planta virulence due to reintroduction to the host. Reintroduction to the host led to increased virulence of strains in planta, including a significant increase in necrosis growth rate following two reintroductions. There was a significant increase in necrosis growth rate following two reintroductions to the host. These observations were more distinct in newly isolated strains previously cultured on AMEA. Moreover, more strains were virulent when previously cultured on AMEA, compared with MEA. These results indicate not only that strains of H. fraxineus from collections can be rejuvenated, but also that the virulence of newly isolated strains can be increased. Overall, these results provide insights into the impacts of laboratory protocols on in vitro growth characteristics and in planta virulence of H. fraxineus strains. Furthermore, these results provide methodological opportunities for maintaining growth characteristics in strains intended for long-term use and storage in collections, as well as a possible method for rejuvenating strain virulence

TiMBA Charts

This package can be used as a toolkit for analysing TiMBA results after simulation. The package provides a dashboard which let the user interact with the main TiMBA results. This includes the development of prices, production, consumption, and trade of forest products as well as forest stock development. It also gives information about historic developments as reported by the FAOSTAT. In principle, the toolkit can be easily adapted and used for the analysis of any forest sector model as long as the data resembles the format of the TiMBA output