172 research outputs found
Effects of mowing regime on diversity of Mediterranean roadside vegetation – implications for management
Shrub development on road outside verges can provide alternative wildlife habitat. However, management of inside verges should keep vegetation at a height consistent with proper road visibility and safety. The influence of management on vegetation was analyzed on the inside verge of two Portuguese roads, one mown once and another twice a year. Specifically, the effect
of mowing frequency on shrub abundance and the combined effect of management and shrubs on floristic diversity were addressed. One stretch of each road was surveyed for shrub abundance and for herbaceous species diversity and cover. The effect of mowing frequency on shrub growing
and biomass production and allocation was also evaluated along two years. Results indicate that vegetation mowing yearly in spring is enough to keep the inside verge free from most shrubs. However, summer growing shrubs like Dittrichia viscosa can persist, decreasing both floristic diversity
and cover, particularly of meadow species. Moreover, in response to spring mowing, shrubs grew fast and were able to disperse efficiently. An additional autumn mowing significantly decreased
not only shrub height and canopy area, but specially seed production and dispersal. Thus, the inside verge management should be based on two mowing periods. The first in spring to control
winter and spring growing species, and an additional autumn mowing to control growth and dispersal of summer growing shrubs and trees, or even tall grasses. This management regime will combine safety with improvement of the amenity and habitat value of the road verges
Primary Production and Nutrient Content in Two Salt Marsh
Seasonal variation patterns of aboveground and belowground biomass, net primary production, and nutrient
accumulation were assessed in Atriplex portulacoides L. and Limoniastrum monopetalum (L.) Boiss. in Castro Marim salt marsh,
Portugal. Sampling was conducted for five periods during 2001–2002 (autumn, winter, spring, summer, and autumn). This
study indicates that both species have a clear seasonal variation pattern for both aboveground and belowground biomass.
Mean live biomass was 2516 g m22 yr21 for L. monopetalum and 598 g m22 yr21 for A. portulacoides. Peak living biomass, in
spring for both species, was three times greater in the former, 3502 g m22 yr21, than in the latter, 1077 g m22 yr21. For both
the Smalley (Groenendijk 1984) and Weigert and Evans (1964) methods, productivity of L. monopetalum (2917 and
3635 g m22 yr21, respectively) was greater than that of A. portulacoides (1002 and 1615 g m22 yr21, respectively). Belowground
biomass of L. monopetalum was 1.7 times greater than that of A. portulacoides. In spite of this, the root:shoot ratio for A.
portulacoides was greater throughout the year. This shows that A. portulacoides allocates more biomass to roots and L.
monopetalum to aerial components. Leaf area index was similar for both species, but specific leaf area of A. portulacoides was
twice that of L. monopetalum. The greatest nutrient contents were found in leaves. Leaf nitrogen content was maximum in
summer for both species (14.6 mg g21 for A. portulacoides and 15.5 mg g21 for L. monopetalum). Leaf phosphorus
concentration was minimum in summer (1.1 mg g21 in A. portulacoides and 1.2 mg g21 in L. monopetalum). Leaf potassium
contents in A. portulacoides were around three times greater than in L. monopetalum. Leaf calcium contents in L. monopetalum
were three times greater than in A. portulacoides. There was a pronounced seasonal variation of calcium content in the former,
while in the latter no clear variation was registered. Both species exhibited a decrease in magnesium leaf contents in the
summer period. Manganese content in L. monopetalum leaves was tenfold that in A. portulacoides. Seasonal patterns of nutrient
contents in A. portulacoides and L. monopetalum suggest that availability of these elements was not a limiting factor to biomass production
A Wormian Bone, Mimicking an Entry Gunshot Wound of the Skull, in an Anthropological Specimen
Wormian bones (WB) are irregular small cranial ossicles found along suture lines and fontanels. In Brazil, gunshot wounds to the skull are quite common in young individuals. Nevertheless, as far as we know, this is the first report of a WB giving an erroneous aspect of gunshot entrance due to its displacement position. The present manuscript describes the case of a Brazilian young man who died due to ballistic trauma, where a gaping bony defect on the right side of the skull was thought to be the exit wound of an injury related to the destruction found on the left side, highly suggestive of firearm injury. Thus, this case study has brought to light similarities between a traumatic lesion and an orifice of a WB, with emphasis on differential diagnosis during routine anthropological examinations
Effect of the carbon nanotube surface characteristics on the conductivity and dielectric constant of carbon nanotube/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites
Commercial multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) were functionalized by oxidation with HNO3, to introduce oxygen-containing surface groups, and by thermal treatments at different temperatures for their selective removal. The obtained samples were characterized by adsorption of N2 at -196°C, temperature-programmed desorption and determination of pH at the point of zero charge. CNT/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites were prepared using the above CNT samples, with different filler fractions up to 1 wt%. It was found that oxidation reduced composite conductivity for a given concentration, shifted the percolation threshold to higher concentrations, and had no significant effect in the dielectric response
Antibacterial activity and mode of action of selected glucosinolate hydrolysis products against bacterial pathogens
Plants contain numerous components that are important sources of new bioactive molecules with antimicrobial properties. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are plant secondary metabolites found in cruciferous vegetables that are arising as promising antimicrobial agents in food industry. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial activity of two isothiocyanates (ITCs), allylisothiocyanate (AITC) and 2-phenylethylisothiocyanate (PEITC) against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. The antibacterial mode of action was also characterized by the assessment of different physiological indices: membrane integrity, intracellular potassium release, physicochemical surface properties and surface charge. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AITC and PEITC was 100 g/mL for all bacteria. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the ITCs was at least 10 times higher than the MIC. Both AITC and PEITC changed the membrane properties of the bacteria decreasing their surface charge and compromising the integrity of the cytoplasmatic membrane with consequent potassium leakage and propidium iodide uptake. The surface hydrophobicity was also non-specifically altered (E. coli and L. monocytogenes become less hydrophilic; P. aeruginosa and S. aureus become more hydrophilic). This study shows that AITC and PEITC have strong antimicrobial potential against the bacteria tested, through the disruption of the bacterial cell membranes. Moreover, phytochemicals are highlighted as a valuable sustainable source of new bioactive products.This work was supported by the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through Project Phytodisinfectants - PTDC/DTP-SAP/1078/2012 (COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028765), the PhD grant awarded to Ana Abreu (SFRH/BD/84393/2012), and the post-doctoral grants awarded to Anabela Borges (SFRH/BPD/98684/2013) and Lucia C. Simoes (SFRH/BPD/81982/2011). Also, this work was undertaken as part of the European Research Project SUSCLEAN (Contract no FP7-KBBE-2011-5, project number: 287514) and the COST Action FA1202. The authors are solely responsible for this work. It does not represent the opinion of the European Community, and the Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing herein
Conservation of Mediterranean oak woodlands: understorey dynamics under different shrub management
The effect of experimental disturbances
on the dynamics of a shrub community was studied
on a ‘Montado’ ecosystem, in southern Portugal. The
evolution of the community physiognomy, composition
and diversity were monitored after shrub clearing
followed by biomass removal, deposition on soil
surface and incorporation with the soil, over a 9-year
period. Maximum shrub density was recorded in the
first year after the disturbances, excepting in mulched
plots which showed the greatest number of individuals
1 year later. The increment of shrub leaf biomass
was very fast in the first 3 years, whereas wood
production was slower but occurred along the whole
study period. At the end of the study, leaf and wood
biomass was still significantly lower than in the predisturbance
situation. The variation pattern of leaf
area index was similar to that of leaf biomass. The
evolution of total plant cover and diversity was
similar across treatments. The highest species richness
and diversity were recorded 2 years after
cutting, decreasing afterwards with the increasing
dominance of shrubs. Thus it seems likely that,
although a 9 year period is too short for these
communities to reach steady equilibrium, they are
very resistant and resilient to disturbances, as regeneration
was fast and vegetation dynamics was not
influenced by differences among treatments. We can
conclude that shrub clearing promotes biodiversity
and the time of permanence of shrub patches depends
on the particular goal we want to achieve
Conservation of Mediterranean oak woodlands: understorey dynamics under different shrub management
The effect of experimental disturbances
on the dynamics of a shrub community was studied
on a ‘Montado’ ecosystem, in southern Portugal. The
evolution of the community physiognomy, composition
and diversity were monitored after shrub clearing
followed by biomass removal, deposition on soil
surface and incorporation with the soil, over a 9-year
period. Maximum shrub density was recorded in the
first year after the disturbances, excepting in mulched
plots which showed the greatest number of individuals
1 year later. The increment of shrub leaf biomass
was very fast in the first 3 years, whereas wood
production was slower but occurred along the whole
study period. At the end of the study, leaf and wood
biomass was still significantly lower than in the predisturbance
situation. The variation pattern of leaf
area index was similar to that of leaf biomass. The
evolution of total plant cover and diversity was
similar across treatments. The highest species richness
and diversity were recorded 2 years after
cutting, decreasing afterwards with the increasing
dominance of shrubs. Thus it seems likely that,
although a 9 year period is too short for these
communities to reach steady equilibrium, they are
very resistant and resilient to disturbances, as regeneration
was fast and vegetation dynamics was not
influenced by differences among treatments. We can
conclude that shrub clearing promotes biodiversity
and the time of permanence of shrub patches depends
on the particular goal we want to achieve
- …