121 research outputs found
Improving rainwater-use in Cabo Verde drylands by reducing runoff
Dryland agriculture in Cabo Verde copes with steep slopes, inadequate practices, irregular intense rain, recurrent
droughts, high runoff rates, severe soil erosion and declining fertility, leading to the inefficient use of rainwater.
Maize and beans occupy N80% of the arable land in low-input, low-yielding subsistence farming. Three collaborative
field trialswere conducted in different agroecological zones to evaluate the effects ofwater-conservation techniques
(mulching of crop residue, a soil surfactant and pigeon-pea hedges) combinedwith organic amendments (compost
and animal or green manure) on runoff and soil loss. During the 2011 and 2012 rainy seasons, three treatments and
one control (traditional practice) were applied to 44- and 24-m2 field plots. A local maize variety and two types of
beanswere planted. Runoff and suspended sedimentswere collected and quantified after each daily erosive rainfall.
Runoff occurred for rainfalls≥50mm(slope b10%, loamy Kastanozem),≥60mm(slope≤23%, silt–clay–loam Regosol)
and≥40mm(slope≤37%, sandy loam Cambisol). Runoffwas significantly reduced only with themulch treatment
on the slope N10% and in the treatment of surfactant with organic amendment on the slope b10%. Soil loss
reached 16.6, 5.1, 6.6 and 0.4 Mg ha−1 on the Regosol (≤23% slope) for the control, surfactant, pigeon-pea and
mulch/pigeon-pea (with organic amendment) treatments, respectively; 3.2, 0.9, 1.3 and 0.1 Mg ha−1 on the
Cambisol (≤37% slope) and b0. 2Mg ha−1 for all treatments and control on the Kastanozem(b10% slope). Erosion
was highly positively correlated with runoff. Mulch with pigeon-pea combinedwith an organic amendment significantly
reduced runoff and erosion fromagricultural fields on steep slopes, contributing to improved use of rainwater
at the plot level. Sustainable land management techniques, such as mulching with pigeon-pea hedges and an
organic amendment, should be advocated and promoted for the semiarid hillsides of Cabo Verde prone to erosion
to increase rainwater-use and to prevent further soil degradation
Optimizing rainwater-use in Cape Verde through alternative land management technologies: Preliminary research results from “Ribeira Seca” watershed, Cape Verde
Soil and water conservation strategies and impact on sustainable livelihood in Cape Verde – Case study of Ribeira Seca watershed
Cape Verde, located off the coast of Senegal in western Africa, is a volcanic archipelago where a combination of
human, climatic, geomorphologic and pedologic factors has led to extensive degradation of the soils. Like other
Sahelian countries, Cape Verde has suffered the effects of desertification through the years, threatening the livelihood
of the islands population and its fragile environment. In fact, the steep slopes in the ore agricultural islands,
together with semi-arid and arid environments, characterized by an irregular and poorly distributed rainy season,
with high intensity rainfall events, make dryland production a challenge. To survive in these fragile conditions,
the stabilization of the farming systems and the maintenance of sustainable yields have become absolute priorities,
making the islands an erosion control laboratory. Soil and water conservation strategies have been a centerpiece of
the government0s agricultural policies for the last half century. Aiming to maintain the soil in place and the water
inside the soil, the successive governments of Cape Verde have implemented a number of soil and water conservation
techniques, the most common ones being terraces, half moons, live barriers, contour rock walls, contour
furrows and microcatchments, check dams and reforestation with drought resistant species. The soil and water
conservation techniques implemented have contributed to the improvement of the economical and environmental
conditions of the treated landscape, making crop production possible, consequently, improving the livelihood
of the people living on the islands. In this paper, we survey the existing soil and water conservation techniques,
analyze their impact on the livelihood condition of the population through a thorough literature review and field
monitoring using a semi-quantitative methodology and evaluate their effectiveness and impact on crop yield in
the Ribeira Seca watershed. A brief discussion is given on the cost and effectiveness of the techniques to reduce
soil erosion and to promote rainfall infiltration. Finally, we discuss the critical governance factors that lead to the
successful implementation of such strategy in a country with scarce natural resources
Comparisons of Production Costs and Profit of Three Different Technology Levels of Papaya Production in Tabasco, Mexico
The survey was carried out from September 2006 to January 2007 in three papaya production sites located in main papaya production zones in Tabasco; SE Mexico. There are differences in size of the cultivated area, in the yield of the papaya as well as in production costs and profit, according to the different technology levels in the farming systems: low, medium and high technology cultivation level. The financial evaluations were carried out in three sites with different productive technologies. The comparison of the agronomic and economic traits results for low technology level in: V AN of 2359.00 USD, BCR in 1.9 and an equilibrium point of 3750.00 USD, TIR of 0.25. In order to avoid loses, a quantity of 10714 kg papaya should be sold. In medium technology VAN is 1605.10 USD, BCR is 1.7, TIR 0.20 and the equilibrium point is 12800.00 USD. 36571 kg of papaya should be yearly sold. In high technology level VAN is 11749.40, BCR is 2.73, TIR 0.43 and the equilibrium point is 12187.50 USD, 34821 kg papaya should be sold yearly. The indicators showed that all three levels are profitable and economically viable
Ferromagnetic supramolecular metal-organic frameworks for active capture and magnetic sensing of emerging drug pollutants
Capture and sensing of emerging pollutants is one of the increasing environmental concerns due to the adverse ecological and human health effects. Here, we report the synthesis of a supramolecular
metal-organic framework (SMOF) [CrCu6(m-H2O)6(m3-OH)6(m-adeninato-kN33:kN9)6](SO4)1.5 which is able to capture anionic drugs and exhibits magnetic properties useful for sensing purposes. The features of the nucleobase decorated CrCu6 building block allow the incorporation of up to 9 drug molecules (i.e., ibuprofen and naproxen in this work) per heptameric entity. In addition, we provide a simple way to quantify the incorporated number of drug molecules through a magnetic sustentation experiment in which the field
required to keep the particles attached to the electromagnet pole is linearly related to the total mass of the anionic counterion. In this way, it also provides an easy way to determine the amount of entrapped drug molecules, making this SMOF a promising candidate for environmental remediation technologies.This work has been funded by the Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (GIU17/50), the Gobierno Vasco/Eusko Jaurlaritza (PIBA18/14; IT1291-19), the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MAT2016-75883-C2-1-P), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2019-108028GB-C21), and FEDER
funds. Technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU, MICINN, GV/EJ, and ESF) is also acknowledged
Assessment of promising agricultural management practices
iSQAPER project - Interactive Soil Quality Assessment in Europe and China for Agricultural Productivity and Environmental
Resilience - aims to develop an app to advise farmers on selecting the best AgricultureManagement Practice
(AMPs) to improve soil quality. For this purpose, a soil quality index has to be developed to account for the
changes in soil quality as impacted by the implementation of the AMPs. Some promising AMPs have been suggested
over the time to prevent soil degradation. These practices have been randomly adopted by farmers but
which practices are most used by farmers and where they are mostly adopted remains unclear.
This study is part of the iSQAPER project with the specific aims: 1) map the current distribution of previously selected
18 promising AMPs in several pedo-climatic regions and farming systems located in ten and four study site
areas (SSA) along Europe and China, respectively; and 2) identify the soil threats occurring in those areas. In each
SSA, farmers using promising AMP'swere identified and questionnaires were used to assess farmer's perception
on soil threats significance in the area.
138 plots/farms using 18 promising AMPs, were identified in Europe (112) and China (26).Results show that
promising AMPs used in Europe are Crop rotation (15%), Manuring & Composting (15%) and Min-till (14%),
whereas in China areManuring & Composting (18%), Residuemaintenance (18%) and Integrated pest and disease
management (12%). In Europe, soil erosion is the main threat in agricultural Mediterranean areas while soilborne
pests and diseases is more frequent in the SSAs from France and The Netherlands. In China, soil erosion,
SOM decline, compaction and poor soil structure are among the most significant. This work provides important
information for policy makers and the development of strategies to support and promote agricultural management
practices with benefits for soil quality.L. Barão and C. Ferreira were supported by the grants SFRH/BPD/115681/2016 and SFRH/BPD/120093/2016, respectively, from the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e TecnologiaiSQAPER is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme for research & innovation under grant agreement no 635750the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (grant nr:2016YFE011270)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant nr:16146KYSB20150001)and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. Contract: 15.0170-1
N-Glycans and Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchor Act on Polarized Sorting of Mouse PrPC in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells
The cellular prion protein (PrPC) plays a fundamental role in prion disease. PrPC is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein with two variably occupied N-glycosylation sites. In general, GPI-anchor and N-glycosylation direct proteins to apical membranes in polarized cells whereas the majority of mouse PrPC is found in basolateral membranes in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. In this study we have mutated the first, the second, and both N-glycosylation sites of PrPC and also replaced the GPI-anchor of PrPC by the Thy-1 GPI-anchor in order to investigate the role of these signals in sorting of PrPC in MDCK cells. Cell surface biotinylation experiments and confocal microscopy showed that lack of one N-linked oligosaccharide leads to loss of polarized sorting of PrPC. Exchange of the PrPC GPI-anchor for the one of Thy-1 redirects PrPC to the apical membrane. In conclusion, both N-glycosylation and GPI-anchor act on polarized sorting of PrPC, with the GPI-anchor being dominant over N-glycans
Status and Trends of Land Degradation and Restoration and Associated Changes in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions
Anle138b: a novel oligomer modulator for disease-modifying therapy of neurodegenerative diseases such as prion and Parkinson’s disease
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