Biochars in soils : towards the required level of scientific understanding

Key priorities in biochar research for future guidance of sustainable policy development have been identified by expert assessment within the COST Action TD1107. The current level of scientific understanding (LOSU) regarding the consequences of biochar application to soil were explored. Five broad thematic areas of biochar research were addressed: soil biodiversity and ecotoxicology, soil organic matter and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil physical properties, nutrient cycles and crop production, and soil remediation. The highest future research priorities regarding biochar's effects in soils were: functional redundancy within soil microbial communities, bioavailability of biochar's contaminants to soil biota, soil organic matter stability, GHG emissions, soil formation, soil hydrology, nutrient cycling due to microbial priming as well as altered rhizosphere ecology, and soil pH buffering capacity. Methodological and other constraints to achieve the required LOSU are discussed and options for efficient progress of biochar research and sustainable application to soil are presented.Peer reviewe

An explanatory model of temperature influence on flowering through whole-plant accumulation of <i>FT<b> </b></i>in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i><i> </i>

We assessed mechanistic temperature influence on flowering by incorporating temperature-responsive flowering mechanisms across developmental age into an existing model. Temperature influences the leaf production rate as well as expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), a photoperiodic flowering regulator that is expressed in leaves. The Arabidopsis Framework Model incorporated temperature influence on leaf growth but ignored the consequences of leaf growth on and direct temperature influence of FT expression. We measured FT production in differently aged leaves and modified the model, adding mechanistic temperature influence on FT transcription, and causing whole-plant FT to accumulate with leaf growth. Our simulations suggest that in long days, the developmental stage (leaf number) at which the reproductive transition occurs is influenced by day length and temperature through FT, while temperature influences the rate of leaf production and the time (in days) the transition occurs. Further, we demonstrate that FT is mainly produced in the first 10 leaves in the Columbia (Col-0) accession, and that FT accumulation alone cannot explain flowering in conditions in which flowering is delayed. Our simulations supported our hypotheses that: (i) temperature regulation of FT, accumulated with leaf growth, is a component of thermal time, and (ii) incorporating mechanistic temperature regulation of FT can improve model predictions when temperatures change over time

THE ROLE OF MINERAL NUTRITION ON YIELDS AND FRUIT QUALITY IN GRAPEVINE, PEAR AND APPLE

ABSTRACT Fertilization of temperate fruit trees, such as grapevine ( Vitis spp.), apple ( Malus domestica), and pear ( Pyrus communis) is an important tool to achive maximum yield and fruit quality. Fertilizers are provided when soil fertility does not allow trees to express their genetic potential, and time and rate of application should be scheduled to promote fruit quality. Grapevine berries, must and wine quality are affected principally by N, that regulate the synthesis of some important compounds, such as anthocyanins, which are responsible for coloring of the must and the wine. Fermenation of the must may stop in grapes with low concentration of N because N is requested in high amount by yeasts. An N excess may increase the pulp to peel ratio, diluting the concentration of anthocyanins and promoting the migration of anthocyanins from berries to the growing plant organs; a decrease of grape juice soluble solid concentration is also expected because of an increase in vegetative growth. Potassium is also important for wine quality contributing to adequate berry maturation, concentration of sugars, synthesis of phenols and the regulation of pH and acidity. In apple and pear, Ca and K are important for fruit quality and storage. Potassium is the most important component of fruit, however, any excess should be avoided and an adequate K:Ca balance should be achieved. Adequate concentration of Ca in the fruit prevents pre- and post-harvest fruit disorders and, at the same time, increases tolerance to pathogens. Although N promotes adequate growth soil N availability should be monitored to avoid excessive N uptake that may decrease fruit skin color and storability

A socioeconomic impact assessment of three Italian national parks

The expansion of protected areas (PAs) is feared to negatively affect the local economy, as every PA, albeit to different degrees, entails restriction to the economic activities. The literature on the topic has started assessing what is the socioeconomic impact of PAs, mostly focusing on the Global South. The objective of this article is the analysis of the socioeconomic impact of three Italian national parks (NPs), established in the 2000s, using a counterfactual approach based on both the outcome regression diff-in-diff and the doubly robust diff-in-diff combined with different propensity score-based and Mahalanobis distance matching procedures. We find that the three Italian NPs have a robust and statistically significant impact on average income of residents in municipalities hosting them. Conversely, there is weak evidence that population and local establishments are positively affected, and touristic local establishments and employment are negatively affected by the three NPs. All together the results indicate that the three NPs have no negative effect on the socioeconomic dynamics of the territories impacted, although additional investigations are required to shed lights to the impact mechanisms

Teoria ego-ecológica e o estudo da identidade social : aplicabilidade em pesquisas de enfermagem Teoría egoecológica y el estudio de la identidad social : aplicabilidad en la investigación en enfermería The ego-ecological theory and the study of the social identity applied to nursing research

A enfermagem vem trilhando caminhos teórico-metodológicos mais sensíveis para desenvolver um conhecimento que discuta, analise e fundamente sua prática cotidiana. O objetivo deste texto foi refletir sobre as bases metodológicas e a aplicação da Teoria Ego-ecológica nas pesquisas em enfermagem. Por este caminho, é possível conhecer a identidade do indivíduo, suas peculiaridades e sua realidade, através das representações que ele possui acerca de si mesmo, de seus grupos de pertencimento e da sociedade. A Teoria Ego-ecológica entende a identidade como um modo de construção da realidade, a partir do qual o mundo exterior funde-se ao mundo interior a partir da história de vida do indivíduo. A análise Ego-Ecológica permite compreender o cliente e suas complexidades e paradoxos e as relações que estabelece no contexto da família, do trabalho, do lazer e nas situações sociais no espaço micro ou macrossocial.<br>La enfermería pasa por caminos teóricos y metodológicos más sensibles para desarrollar los conocimientos para discutir, analizar y fundamentar su práctica cotidiana. El objetivo de este texto es reflexionar sobre las bases metodológicas y la aplicación de la Teoría Egoecológica de investigación en enfermería. A través de esta forma, es posible conocer la identidad del individuo, su propia cultura y realidad a través de las representaciones que tiene sobre sí mismo, su pertenencia a grupos y la sociedad. La teoría Ego ecológica comprende la identidad como una forma de construir la realidad, desde que el mundo exterior venga a unirse con el mundo interior de la historia de vida de la persona. El análisis Ego Ecológica permite comprender al cliente y sus complejidades y paradojos y las relaciones que se establecen dentro de la familia, del trabajo, del ocio y las situaciones sociales en el espacio micro o macro social.<br>Nursing has been through theoretical and methodological paths more sensible to the development of a kind of knowledge that is able to discuss, to analyze and provide a basis to its daily practice. This text aims to discuss the methodological basis and the application of the ego-ecological theory in nursing research. According to this theory it is possible to know the individual's identity, its peculiarities and its reality, by means of his/her self-representations and the representations (s)he has about his/her social groups. The ego-ecologic theory sees identity as a reality construct in which the outer world and the inner world merge in face of the individual history. The ego-ecological analysis allows one to understand the client and his/her complexities and paradoxes and the relations established on family, work, leisure and micro-social and macro-social levels

Effect of soil management and Biochar addition on productivity and vegetable quality on a tomato-lettuce rotation

Conventional management practices in horticulture allow obtaining high standard of productivity in terms of quantity and quality although their long-term impacts on the agricultural soils are often negative and responsible for the loss of substantial amounts of soil organic matter. On the other hand sustainable agricultural practices such as minimum tillage promote the conservation of the native soil organic matter improving progressively the soil fertility. The objective of this study was to compare in a tomato-lettuce rotation the effect of 1) management practices (conventional or sustainable) and 2) biochar additions (with or without biochar) on total productivity and quality of tomato and lettuce. The two-year-experiment was conducted in a tunnel on 24 lysimeters (1.44 m2 each), 12 cultivated with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and the other 12 with tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The lysimeters that during the first year were used for tomato in the second year were cultivated with lettuce. Biochar was obtained from pirolysis at 500\ub0C of fruit trees pruning residues and added at a dose of 30 ton ha-1. Total commercial productivity was higher in tomato only in the second year grown with sustainable practices compared to traditional ones. This was mainly due to the less incidence of brown rot on the fruit, probably for the better management of water availability with sustainable practices. Although biochar did not influenced total commercial productivity its addition significantly reduced the amount of brown rot. Differently, lettuce productivity was not influenced by the management practices in the two year. Addition of biochar improved the productivity in the sustainable management practice of 14% and 36% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Also the amount of nitrate in lettuce leaves was significantly reduced in presence of biochar (14% and 10% less in the sustainable and traditional treatment, respectively). The use of biochar in combination with sustainable practices seems to be a promising alternative to improve quality of the commercial product especially in case of leaf vegetable crops like lettuce, spinach and rocket

Farmland abandonment, public goods and the CAP in a marginal area of Italy

Land abandonment is affecting several areas of Europe, and the issue has since some years become a policy objective. The consequences of land abandonment are however difficult to assess as both agriculture and land abandonment are linked to socio-environmental public goods, but the relationship between public good provision and land use, as well as their societal value, are unclear and debated. Policy such as the Common Agricultural Policy affects land abandonment and public good provision in different ways, by providing income support and targeting the provision of environmental public goods.The objective of the paper is to assess the land use, public good levels and welfare deriving from agricultural production and from the provision of three selected PGs, in three alternative scenarios. In a reference scenario land use allocation is driven by the maximization of agricultural income; we then compare these results with a scenario where land use decisions maximize the societal welfare, hence including the value generated by the three, and with a scenario that simulates Measure 13 of the Rural Development Programme (payment for Areas Facing natural or other specific Constraints). The method used is a land allocation model calibrated for the hill and mountain area of the province of Bologna (Italy), in which the public goods societal values are the results of a choice experiments taken in the Emilia-Romagna region. The main results is that the societal optimum is reached through a substantial change in land allocation (e.g. a strong reduction in land abandonment and an increase in forest areas) and in the composition of the welfare (from private agricultural income toward public good benefits) with respect to the private optimum. Moreover, generic income support reduces land abandonment but also total welfare as it has negative effects through the reduction of carbon sequestration and increase in soil erosion. More targeted policies, that more explicitly connect support to public good provision, have better welfare effects

Invasi per accumulo di acqua: investimento fruttuoso.

Studio sulla convenienza economica alla realizzazione di un invaso nei Comuni di Brisighella e Faenza (Ravenna) dimostra esiti positivi sul piano economico e sociale, con tempo di ritorno del capitale di 12 anni e saggio di rendimento interno del 13,2%