Increasing Cultivar Diversity of Processing Tomato under Large Scale Organic Production in California

At an organic farm in California, higher plant diversity was hypothesized to enhance ecosystem functions and services. Plant diversity was manipulated temporally and spatially: mustard cover crop vs. no cover crop (fallow) in winter, and mixtures with one (farmer’s best choice), three, or five processing tomato cultivars in summer. Soil N, soil microbial biomass, crop nutrient uptake, canopy light interception, disease, GHG emissions and biomass were measured. Results show that the mustard cover crop reduced soil nitrate (NO3-) in winter and also during the tomato crop, which was associated with decreased growth and canopy development. All cultivar mixtures had fairly similar yield and shoot biomass. The ‘choice cultivar’ (i.e. farmer’s best choice) showed plasticity depending on the mixture, tending to have higher biomass production in mixtures. This study shows the complexity of cultivar-mixture interactions. To achieve the greatest benefit for ecosystem functions in organic farming, mixtures require greater understanding of cultivar plasticity and phenological and physiological trait diversity

Evaluation of vegetation and stream health within sites supported by the Hamilton City Council Plants for Gullies Programme

Between August 2012 and March 2013, the Environmental Research Institute, University of Waikato, conducted a survey of randomly selected Hamilton gully sites which had received plants from the Hamilton City Council’s Plants for Gullies Programme. This survey assessed recent plantings, existing gully vegetation and stream health, along with property owner awareness and engagement with the key restoration principles. The Plants for Gullies Programme has been extremely well received by the Hamilton community and gully owners. Survey participants were actively restoring their gully sites with the most common goal (c. 40%) being the establishment of native plant dominance within 10 years. Gully owners have a good understanding of restoration theory and practise; on average, plant placement in the gullies scored 15.7 out of 20 with consideration of plant environmental requirements and the concept of ecosourcing was understood by c. 76% of landowners surveyed. Also, most of the interviewed participants (c. 80%) were active in seeking guidance from other gullies, often through organised tours. Current stream health was qualitatively assessed and characterised at each of the gully sites. Results provide baseline data for future monitoring. The majority of surveyed sites (c. 50%) had sand or silt substrate and the Bankwood gully had the best features for fauna habitat (e.g. debris and areas of low flow). At the time of visit, c. 60% of surveyed streams had clear water clarity. The poorest water clarity scores were in the Waitawhiriwhiri gully. When assessed on width, length and density, the average riparian buffer score was 12.8 out of 20 while the average stream shading score was 12.7 out of 20. The average bank stability score was 13.1 out of 20, reflecting an erosion problem that many gully owners talked about. Surveyed gullies were diverse in terms of native and exotic vegetation structure and composition; native species contributed between c. 30% to 100% of surveyed trees and shrubs, whereas groundcovers were predominantly exotic. This assessment of gully sites has shown that the Plants for Gullies Programme improves native species diversity through the re-introduction of species that are not naturally regenerating. The Plants for Gullies programme is a powerful tool for engaging private landowners and making cost-effective change to Hamilton City’s native biodiversity. There is now a community of willing gully owners who will continue to restore their gullies with the support of a programme or network. It is our recommendation that the Plants for Gullies Programme is reinstated before this community loses momentum

Opportunities and Obstacles in Adoption of Biodiversity-Enhancing Features on California Farms

The USDA National Organic Program requires the conservation of biodiversity and the maintenance or improvement of natural resources on organic farms. On-farm biodiversity-enhancing features such as border plantings can provide many of these ecosystem services. However, which practices farmers currently use to manage non-cropped edges, why and how they use these practices, and how subsidies and technical assistance affect farmers’ ability and willingness to manage farm edges for biodiversity are little studied topics. Our study set out to identify the range of practices currently used to manage non-cropped field edges, roadsides, pond edges, and banks of permanent watercourses (sloughs, canals, ditches) in a case study area in California. Secondary objectives were to gauge local farmers’ awareness of planted hedgerows and vegetated waterways and to gather preliminary information about the range of incentives and constraints to installing such features

Importance of seagrass beds as a habitat for fishery species around Jersey

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Anne Logan, Feminism and Criminal Justice. A Historical Perspective

Far from emerging in academic departments in the 1970s/80s, Anne Logan’s book demonstrates extremely convincingly that what can be termed a feminist criminological critique was alive, kicking and increasingly influential in England from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. It was located in women’s associational culture and its social significance lay in the real successes achieved by its campaigns for criminal justice reform. The origins of this movement are of course well-charted; Logan’s in..

An investigation into depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and external locus of control in children referred to a child and family mental health service

Emotional and behavioural problem s in childhood em brace an array o f disorders ranging from depression, anxiety and chronic shyness to non-com pliance, im pulsiveness, stealing and aggression. A chenbach (1991) proposed a dim ensional approach to conceptualising children’s problems. The first dim ension, consisting o f emotional behaviours such as crying, w orrying and w ithdraw al has been given the broad label o f internalising behaviour problems. These disorders are m ost acutely troublesome for the child rather than their parents, carers or teachers. The second dimension, which targets dysregulated behaviours, such as aggressive and delinquent conduct problem s has been term ed externalising behaviour problem s and often reflects a greater cost and challenge for society at large.Psychological problem s in children rarely occur in isolation; for exam ple, a child with externalising behavioural problems may also suffer from depression and low self-esteem, another, who refuses to go to school, may display sym ptom s o f anxiety and depression. In clinic studies about 25 per cent o f referrals have a m ajor depression (Carr, 1999). In a review o f the most im portant epidem iological studies, Anderson (1994) concluded that the overall prevalence for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents is 2 to 9 per cent. Research also suggests that 50 per cent o f children diagnosed as depressed are also anxious and that 25 per cent o f children diagnosed with anxiety disorders are also depressed (Smith, 1999).The expression and presentation o f psychological difficulties in childhood can be varied and assessm ent does not always uncover the underlying features o f psychological problem s in children. Nevertheless, standardised m easures o f selfreport can be useful and valid tools for assessing a child’s own psychological experience. By tapping into specific areas o f concern or difficulty for the child and offering the clinician an improved understanding o f the child’s inner em otional world these tools can make a valuable contribution to the overall therapeutic process.The study aimed to investigate the incidence o f anxiety and depression am ongst children referred to one team o f a Child and Fam ily M ental Flealth Service in Edinburgh. Participants were children aged between 8 to 11-years. Self-report measures o f anxiety, depression, self-esteem and locus o f control were taken to determ ine whether a link could be found between these psychological constructs and internalising and externalising disorders and to determ ine the presence o f comorbidity. In addition, a measure o f parental stress was taken. The relationships between these factors will be explored, results will be given and conclusions reached

The historical basis of Romain Rolland's Le Jeu de L'Amour et de la Mort

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Kansas, Romance Language and Literature, 1932

Historical child sexual abuse in England and Wales: the role of historians

This article reflects on methodological and ethical issues that have shaped a collaborative project which aims to chart social, legal and political responses to child sexual abuse in England and Wales across the twentieth century. The etymological problem of searching for child sexual abuse in the historical archive is discussed, given that the term itself is a relatively recent one. Acknowledging that research tools will always be partial, it then focuses on the gaps and silences in the archive, most problematically in relation to the voices and experiences of victims and survivors themselves. Finally it discusses ethical issues relating to the naming or anonymising of those accused and convicted (as well as victims and survivors) in the writing up of research findings. The discussion focuses on two key periods – the 1920s and 1950s – and on education policy, including regulatory procedures for teachers in state and fee-paying schools.ESRCThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0046760X.2016.117712

Ecological Units and Spatial Pattern in River Ecosystems.

Rivers are advective, largely unidirectional ecological networks whose spatial patterning reflects both catchment and network structural characteristics. I used a headwaters-to-mouth, longitudinal, high-frequency-spatial sampling design to facilitate analyses of the extent and variability of spatial patterning in Midwestern river systems and to test alternate hypotheses about the underlying causes of biological spatial autocorrelation. These analyses establish the conceptual validity of channel segment based classifications used in management settings, and provide guidance for appropriate survey sampling design and statistical analyses in river systems. In the first study I tested the theoretical assumptions underlying the mapping and practical application of riverine ecological units (EUs) within a river mainstem. EUs require concordance between fish and invertebrate assemblage composition and between biological assemblages and environmental variables. Along the Lower Muskegon River mainstem, fish/invertebrate concordances and many environment/biology concordances were strong, resulting in distinct, homogeneous biological assemblages that persisted through time. In the second study I tested the same theoretical assumptions of EUs in a variety of disjunct river tributary systems in Michigan and Ohio. Although fish/invertebrate and environment/biology concordances were very strong in all of the tributaries, downstream tributary channels with substantial stream flow were the only contiguous stream segments with similar environmental and biological character. This suggests a better understanding of spatial pattern and processes in headwater streams is needed to guide effective EU delineation in tributaries. In the third study I explored a common feature of spatial patterning, positive spatial autocorrelation (SAC). SAC was common in both environmental variables and fish assemblage composition, although the magnitude of SAC varied by measure and spatial extent. Strong environment/biology associations accounted for most or all of the SAC in biological assemblages, offering strong support for niche processes as the origin of biotic SAC in these river systems. Likewise, proximity effects on biological assemblages were largely mediated through similarity in the environment. My work here suggests that EUs do provide realistic units to map, inventory, and classify river segments for practical management, and provide a way to abstract and communicate the complex ecological processes and patterns that are characteristic of river ecosystems.PHDNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111519/1/sparksb_1.pd