Organic agricultural practice enhances arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in correspondence to soil warming and altered precipitation patterns

Climate and agricultural practice interact to influence both crop production and soil microbes in agroecosystems. Here, we carried out a unique experiment in Central Germany to simultaneously investigate the effects of climates (ambient climate vs. future climate expected in 50–70 years), agricultural practices (conventional vs. organic farming), and their interaction on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inside wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots. AMF communities were characterized using Illumina sequencing of 18S rRNA gene amplicons. We showed that climatic conditions and agricultural practices significantly altered total AMF community composition. Conventional farming significantly affected the AMF community and caused a decline in AMF richness. Factors shaping AMF community composition and richness at family level differed greatly among Glomeraceae, Gigasporaceae and Diversisporaceae. An interactive impact of climate and agricultural practices was detected in the community composition of Diversisporaceae. Organic farming mitigated the negative effect of future climate and promoted total AMF and Gigasporaceae richness. AMF richness was significantly linked with nutrient content of wheat grains under both agricultural practices

Silicic volcanism on Mars evidenced by tridymite in high-SiO2 sedimentary rock at Gale crater

Tridymite, a SiO2 mineral that crystallizes at low pressures and high temperatures (>870 °C) from high-SiO2 materials, was detected at high concentrations in a sedimentary mudstone in Gale crater, Mars. Mineralogy and abundance were determined by X-ray diffraction using the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity. Terrestrial tridymite is commonly associated with silicic volcanism where high temperatures and high-silica magmas prevail, so this occurrence is the first in situ mineralogical evidence for martian silicic volcanism. Multistep processes, including high-temperature alteration of silica-rich residues of acid sulfate leaching, are alternate formation pathways for martian tridymite but are less likely. The unexpected discovery of tridymite is further evidence of the complexity of igneous petrogenesis on Mars, with igneous evolution to high-SiO2 compositions

Energy-specific solar radiation data from MSG: The Heliosat-3 Project

Solar energy technologies such as photovoltaics, solar thermal power plants, passive solar heating/cooling systems and day lighting in buildings are expected to continue their very rapid growth. In this context the availability of reliable solar radiation data is of high economic value both for planning and operating these systems. HELIOSAT-3 aims the quantification of surface solar irradiance in cloud free and cloudy situations and additional energy-specific parameters as direct normal and diffuse irradiance over Europe and Africa using the enhanced capabilities of MSG. Emphasis is laid on clouds, water vapor, aerosols and ozone and their influence on surface solar irradiance. Several projects as e.g. the HELIOSAT-3 and PVSAT-2 European Commission FP5 and the ENVISOLAR (ESA Earth Observation Market Development Program) projects made profit from the data access and additional MSG product information obtained through the RAO program. The paper focuses on results obtained during the RAO project based on funding in HELIOSAT-3, PVSAT-2 and ENVISOLAR projects

AERO25 -PREPARATIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A SATELLITE-BASED AEROSOL COMPONENT CLIMATOLOGY OVER 25 YEARS

ABSTRACT It is the goal of this project to conduct a case study to prepare producing a 25 year satellite-based aerosol component climatology outside deserts ranging from mid-1995 to 2020 based on the lifetime of ERS-2, ENVISAT, and the MetOp system. In clean areas only the total aerosol optical depth and no composition will be retrieved. This paper will summarize the available results of the predecessor PI projects PAGODA (ERS-2 AO), SENECA (ENVISAT AO), and PROMOTE (GSE) as well as briefly summarize the work plan of AERO25

Short Range Direct and Diffuse Irradiance Forecasts for Solar Energy Applications Based on Aerosol Chemical Transport and Numerical Weather Modeling

This study deals with solar irradiance forecasts of the next two to three days with respect to their application in solar energy industries, such as yield prediction for the integration of the strongly fluctuating solar energy into the electricity grid. During cloud free situations, which are predominant in regions and time periods focused on by the solar energy industry, aerosols are the main atmospheric parameter which determines ground level direct and global irradiance. Therefore, for an episode of five months in Europe the accuracy of forecasts of the aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD550) based on particle forecasts of a chemistry transport model (EURAD-CTM) is analyzed in a first step. It is shown that these aerosol forecast underestimate ground-based AOD550 measurements by a mean of -0.11 (RMSE 0.20). Using these aerosol forecasts together with other remote sensing data (ground albedo, ozone) and numerical weather prediction parameters (water vapor, clouds) a prototype for an irradiance forecasting system (AFSOL) is set up. Based on the five-month aerosol dataset its results are then compared to forecasts of the ECMWF and the MM5 model, to Meteosat-7 satellite data and to ground measurements. It is demonstrated that for clear sky situations the AFSOL system significantly improves global irradiance and especially direct irradiance forecasts compared to ECMWF forecasts (bias reduction from -26% to +11%, RMSE reduction from 31% to 19% for direct irradiance). On the other hand, the study shows that for cloudy conditions the AFSOL forecasts can lead to significantly larger forecast errors. This also justifies an increased research effort on cloud parameterization schemes, which is known as ongoing research. One practical solution for solar energy power plant operators in the meanwhile is to combine the different irradiance models depending on the forecasted cloud cover, which leads to significant reductions in bias for the overall period

Reducing the need for antibiotics: The contribution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the aims and results of the JPIAMR (Joint Programming Initiative on AntiMicrobial Resistance) project “Appropriate use of antibiotics: the role of CAM treatment strategies”. An additional aim is to raise some key questions and challenges with respect to the way forward. On June 6, 2018 the international conference “Reducing the need for antibiotics - The contribution of CAM treatment strategies” was held at the Regione Toscana - Representation of the Tuscany region in Brussels, Belgium. During this conference the results of the JPIAMR 4th call project “Appropriate use of antibiotics: the role of CAM treatment strategies” were presented and discussed with a broad group of invited stakeholders. The main objectives of the JPIAMR project were: • To provide an overview of expert and scientific knowledge on CAM / IM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine / Integrative Medicine) treatment of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs); • To develop a CAM / IM guidance document and a first concept expertise- and evidence-based decision-making tool (DMT) for (conventional) doctors at a European level. • To provide a communication platform on the CAM / IM contribution