A comparison between organic and integrated apple production: First results after 5 years of observation

Organic apple production is of increasing commercial importance throughout Europe, but especially in South Tyrol where about 25% of the whole European organic apple crop is produced. In organic apple production, producers face the challenge of choosing varieties that are both in demand and also resistant to the main pests and diseases. Every now and then, the question arises, if yields, losses and profitability are different in integrated and organic orchards and in how great are the differences between single apple varieties. In 1999 the Laimburg Research Centre started a field trial to observe the effects of different cultivation methods on 18 apple varieties in a randomised block design. In the first four years of production, significant differences in the yield potential between the varieties as well as between integrated and organic production were observed. In organic farming, yields were lower and organic fruits were of smaller size. In organic production the leaves contained less nitrogen in spring. In summer there were no more significant differences concerning nitrogen

Zielgruppenspezifische Nachrichten am Beispiel des "neuen" ORF

Die Arbeit untersucht, ob sich jüngere Nachrichtenseher anders gestaltete Nachrichten wünschen als ältere (ab 50 Jahren), dabei geht es vor allem um die Aufmachung und Präsentation, als Beispiel werden die ZIB1 und ZIB20 herangezoge

Significance of current weather conditions for foliar traits of old-growth sessile oak (Quercus petraea Liebl) trees

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the significance of current weather conditions for foliar traits of adult sessile oak (Quercus petraea), one of the most valuable forest tree species in Central Europe. For this purpose, structural and functional traits were analysed in fully expanded, sun exposed leaves collected in south-west Germany from five old-growth forest stands, representing the meteorological and pedospheric conditions in the growing region, but differing in aridity during the 12 days before harvest in two consecutive years. Across the forest stands, most foliar traits differed significantly between wet and dry weather conditions before harvest as indicated by partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). These traits included fresh weight/dry weight ratio, leaf hydration, leaf-C content, leaf-C/N ratio, structural N, soluble protein-N, total amino acid-N, cell wall composition, numerous specific amino acids as well as soluble sugar content. Structural biomass, δ13C signature, total N and total C as well as H2O2 contents were not affected by the weather before harvest. These results indicate a high plasticity of the foliar metabolism of drought-tolerant sessile oak to current weather conditions. They also suggest that sessile oak is characterized by a high potential to cope with the growth conditions expected as a consequence of future climate change

Human-Machine-Interaction in Innovative Work Environment 4.0 – A Human-Centered Approach

The working environment is constantly changing and companies face the challenge of adapting to new and constantly changing customer requirements. Employees are faced with the challenge of identifying and learning new, helpful technologies and using them in order to achieve efficiency gains and increase productivity. This article addresses the three technologies Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation and Virtual Reality, which will play an important role in the future of work and will influence the Work Environment 4.0. Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation relieve employees of repetitive and manual tasks which thus accelerate and simplify business processes. Virtual Reality offers employees new opportunities to collaborate in virtual environments. Instead of performing routine tasks, employees will increasingly promote the use of such technologies in future and orchestrate their application. In addition, it is important for employees to continuously look for new use cases within their own organization and to collaborate with external partners. The article aims to describe the opportunities that arise from the application of the technologies and to explain their effects on the Work Environment 4.0 and the employee

Transpiration directly regulates the emissions of water-soluble short-chained OVOCs

Most plant-based emissions of volatile organic compounds are considered mainly temperature dependent. However, certain oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) have high water solubility; thus, also stomatal conductance could regulate their emissions from shoots. Due to their water solubility and sources in stem and roots, it has also been suggested that their emissions could be affected by transport in the xylem sap. Yet further understanding on the role of transport has been lacking until present. We used shoot-scale long-term dynamic flux data from Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) to analyse the effects of transpiration and transport in xylem sap flow on emissions of 3 water-soluble OVOCs: methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde. We found a direct effect of transpiration on the shoot emissions of the 3 OVOCs. The emissions were best explained by a regression model that combined linear transpiration and exponential temperature effects. In addition, a structural equation model indicated that stomatal conductance affects emissions mainly indirectly, by regulating transpiration. A part of the temperature's effect is also indirect. The tight coupling of shoot emissions to transpiration clearly evidences that these OVOCs are transported in the xylem sap from their sources in roots and stem to leaves and to ambient air.Peer reviewe

Net ecosystem fluxes and composition of biogenic volatile organic compounds over a maize field-interaction of meteorology and phenological stages

Bioenergy crop production is rapidly expanding in Europe, and the potential emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) might change the chemical composition of the atmosphere, influencing in turn air quality and regional climate. The environmental impacts of bioenergy crops on air chemistry are difficult to assess due to a lack of accurate field observations. Therefore, we studied BVOC fluxes from a bioenergy maize field in North-Eastern Germany throughout the entire reproductive growth stage of the plants. Combining automated large chambers and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), we successfully measured fluxes of the highly reactive hydrocarbons monoterpenes (MTs) and sesquiterpenes (SQTs), together with several other BVOCs, including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, benzenoids, and fatty acid derivatives. Emissions of MTs and SQTs were relatively high (17.0% and 3.6% of total mean molar BVOC emission, respectively) compared to methanol emissions (17.6%). Seasonal MT and SQT fluxes were clearly associated with the flowering phase, originating mainly from the flowering tissues as shown in additional laboratory experiments. From the observations of CO₂ net ecosystem exchange and evapotranspiration rates, we could exclude heat and drought stress-induced BVOC emissions. Standard emission factors calculated for all compounds, chemical groups, and growth stages, showed that the temperature dependency of volatile terpenoid fluxes decreased distinctively with proceeding development stage. The results indicate that emissions from large-scale bioenergy maize fields should be better differentiated and considered in regional estimates of aerosol formation. For the implementation of such relation into biogeochemical modelling, it should be considered that not only seasonal weather development but also phenological growth stages are determining the BVOC patterns and emission potentials

Detecting early signs of heat and drought stress in Phoenix dactylifera (date palm)

Plants adapt to the environment by either long-term genome evolution or by acclimatization processes where the cellular processes and metabolism of the plant are adjusted within the existing potential in the genome. Here we studied the adaptation strategies in date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, under mild heat, drought and combined heat and drought by transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling. In transcriptomics data, combined heat and drought resembled heat response, whereas in metabolomics data it was more similar to drought. In both conditions, soluble carbohydrates, such as fucose, and glucose derivatives, were increased, suggesting a switch to carbohydrate metabolism and cell wall biogenesis. This result is consistent with the evidence from transcriptomics and cis-motif analysis. In addition, transcriptomics data showed transcriptional activation of genes related to reactive oxygen species in all three conditions (drought, heat, and combined heat and drought), suggesting increased activity of enzymatic antioxidant systems in cytosol, chloroplast and peroxisome. Finally, the genes that were differentially expressed in heat and combined heat and drought stresses were significantly enriched for circadian and diurnal rhythm motifs, suggesting new stress avoidance strategies.Peer reviewe

Chiral monoterpenes reveal forest emission mechanisms and drought responses

Monoterpenes (C10H16) are emitted in large quantities by vegetation to the atmosphere (>100 TgC year−1), where they readily react with hydroxyl radicals and ozone to form new particles and, hence, clouds, affecting the Earth’s radiative budget and, thereby, climate change1,2,3. Although most monoterpenes exist in two chiral mirror-image forms termed enantiomers, these (+) and (−) forms are rarely distinguished in measurement or modelling studies4,5,6. Therefore, the individual formation pathways of monoterpene enantiomers in plants and their ecological functions are poorly understood. Here we present enantiomerically separated atmospheric monoterpene and isoprene data from an enclosed tropical rainforest ecosystem in the absence of ultraviolet light and atmospheric oxidation chemistry, during a four-month controlled drought and rewetting experiment7. Surprisingly, the emitted enantiomers showed distinct diel emission peaks, which responded differently to progressive drying. Isotopic labelling established that vegetation emitted mainly de novo-synthesized (−)-α-pinene, whereas (+)-α-pinene was emitted from storage pools. As drought progressed, the source of (−)-α-pinene emissions shifted to storage pools, favouring cloud formation. Pre-drought mixing ratios of both α-pinene enantiomers correlated better with other monoterpenes than with each other, indicating different enzymatic controls. These results show that enantiomeric distribution is key to understanding the underlying processes driving monoterpene emissions from forest ecosystems and predicting atmospheric feedbacks in response to climate change