135 research outputs found
Longevity and milk production efficiency of Latvian local breeds during last decades
The aim of the study was to analyse the longevity and the amount of energy-corrected
milk (ECM) per day of local dairy cattle breeds Latvian Brown (LB) and Latvian Blue (LZ). The
study was based on the data of LB genetic resources (LB) 1770 and LZ 921 cows, which were
born from January 1st, 2000 till December 31st year 2015. Milk productivity and longevity of the
LB and LZ cows were analysed by birth year periods: 2000â2005, 2006â2010 and 2011â2015.
LZ culled cows lifespan was in average 2,762.8 ± 55.14 days, or 7.6 years and it was significantly
higher than for LB. The average lifespan of LB culling cows was 6.7 years. There are cows which
had closed 7â12 lactations. On average, cowsâ lifespan decreased during analysed period. In
general, LZ cows are characterized by higher length of productive life and milking days. LZ cows
produced more EC milk during their productive life; however, they had the lower milking day
ECM productivity than LB cows
Trends in milk yield productivity and emissions from the dairy sector in Latvia
Received: January 31st, 2023 ; Accepted: May 8th, 2023 ; Published: May 26th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] cow productivity continuously increased in Latvia in recent years. Despite
decreasing numbers of dairy cow population dairy farms have been identified as an important
source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Dairy sector emissions create the largest share of
enteric fermentation emissions as well as emissions from manure in housing facilities, during
long-term storage and field application within agriculture sector total emissions. The main
objective of this study is to present the results of trend analysis in the productivity of the dairy
sector and corresponding emission in Latvia. Research is focused on analysis of dairy cow
productivity and feeding strategies to quantify the effect of increasing milk yield on GHG
emissions. In the framework of this research, emissions were calculated and evaluated for low
and high productivity dairy cows according to the methodology of â2019 Refinement to the 2006
Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventoriesâ. During the last decade dairy cow
productivity in Latvia has increased and the average milk yield in standard lactation was 8,320 kg
per year in 2021. It was observed that 60% of the total number of dairy cows met the requirements
of a high-productivity system, while 40% of the dairy cows belonged to low-productivity systems
in Latvia. Research results show that total GHG emissions for high-productivity system can reach
5.3 kt CO2 eq. per 1,000 cows per year, however, for low-productivity system the total amount
of emissions does not exceed 3.1 kt CO2 eq. per 1,000 cows
Discrimination of leaf diseases affecting faba bean (Vicia faba)
Faba bean is susceptible to several leaf diseases caused by pathogenic fungi. With the increasing importance of faba bean in northern European cropping systems, the importance of its leaf diseases is likely to increase. The aim of this study was to discriminate the diseases and to test agronomic strategies for limiting their spread in a five-year experiment. Chocolate spot disease caused by Botrytis spp. and leaf blotches caused by an Alternaria/Stemphylium complex dominated, the severity of rust was lower, and downy mildew occurred in only one year. The severity of the diseases depended on weather conditions and cultivar, but not on sowing rate. Application of fungicides significantly decreased the severity of chocolate spot, leaf blotch and rust, but not downy mildew, and in no case was the disease progress stopped. None of the cultivars showed strong resistance to disease. The Alternaria/Stemphylium leaf blotch is an emerging disease of faba bean in northern Europe. Work continues on the identification of the responsible species in the chocolate spot and leaf blotch complexes and the determination of their relative importance in causing disease.Peer reviewe
Vacuum treatments for hydrogen removal in 140 ton ladle for big ingots casting
Hydrogen removal can be accomplished via different steelmaking routes (VOD, ASEA, RH). Focus was givenon the first two technologies. As main differences between the systems based on a (multi)-plug equipped ladle,in VOD the vacuum chamber is obtained by coupling a roof with a tank, in ASEA plantâwhere electromagnetic melt stirring is also exploited - coupling occurs directly with the ladle, leading oftento a non perfect sealing. Moreover, VOD plant is able to perform under vacuum steel degassing treatmentat pressure values lower than usually reached in ASEA plant, and is also equipped with a oxygen lanceallowing to produce stainless steels with very low carbon and nitrogen content. The industrial needof achieving very low hydrogen contents for big ingots casting with an acceptable costs/benefits ratio calledfor a comparison between performances of different vacuum treatments strategies. A CSM numericaldegassing model was applied to 140 ton ladle conditions either after ASEA or VOD treatment
First overview on the 4th Annex I Habitats Report in Italy: methods, criticality, results and future prospects
Like all the other EU/28 countries, in 2019 Italy developed the 4th Italian Report
ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status of the Habitats of Annex I to the 92/43/EEC
Directive. Institutional referent of the process, on behalf of the Ministry for
Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), was the Italian Institute for
Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) with the scientific support of the
Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A huge working group composed of thematic and
territorial experts was formed with the task to collect, analyse, validate the data
resulting from Annex I Habitat monitoring in Italy for the period 2013-2018, whose
collection is in charge to the regional administrations. Data on 124 types of terrestrial
and inland water Habitats present in Italy have been processed in order to assess their
overall conservation status in the Biogeographic Regions of occurrence. The carried out
activity led to the compilation of 278 assessment sheets. The work included a critical
analysis of the data and a broad scientific confrontation aimed at finding
methodologically robust solutions to fill the gaps. The work was structured so as to
guarantee the traceability of the information and to allow the collection of "gray"
literature and scientific articles, phytosociological surveys and unpublished material of
the specialists, composing a substantial pool of data useful for starting a long-term
process to support the next reporting cycles. Cartographic outcomes, associated
databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the
ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be
completed. A freely accessible online archive of phytosociological surveys
representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy is being set up within the national
"VegItaly" database, managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, by way of a
dedicated archive named "HAB_IT". Such a long-term vision, oriented to the storage
and enhancement of knowledge, represents an important innovative aspect and a
significant progress towards the construction of an effective monitoring system for the
conservation of Annex I Habitats in Italy
Nuove segnalazioni floristiche italiane 12. Flora vascolare (101â112)
Nuove segnalazioni floristiche italian
Nuove segnalazioni floristiche italiane 12. Flora vascolare (101-112)
Viene segnalata Silene nutans subsp. nutans per lâalta Valle del Sillaro,
Santerno e Senio (Toscana)
An overview of the Italian forest biodiversity and its conservation level, based on the first outcomes of the 4th Habitat Report ex-Art. 17
In 2019 the 4th Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status (CS) of Annex I Habitats of the 92/43/EEC Directive was expected by every EU/28 country, with reference to the period 2013-18. In Italy, the process was in charge to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A large group of thematic and territorial experts elaborated the available data concerning the 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy, 39 of which are represented by Forest Habitats (Group 9),. The main aim of the work was the evaluation of the overall CS of each
Habitat by Biogeographic Region (Mediterranean, Continental and Alpine), for a total amount of 294 assessments. A high proportion of these (92, corresponding to 31% of the total) referred to Forest Habitats, including 20 marginal types for which the CS was not requested.
The analysis was carried out at different scales: a) administrative territory, through the data contained in the ISPRA database, whose compilation was in charge to the Regions and Autonomous Provinces; b) Natura 2000 site, with the latest updates available (Standard Data Forms updated to 2018); c) national scale, implementing the distribution maps for each Habitat based on the European grid ETRS89-LAEA5210 (10x10 km2 mesh); d) Biogeographic Region, scale of the final assessment. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A dedicated archive named "HAB_IT" has been created in the national database "VegItaly" (1), managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, where the phytosociological relevés representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy will be archived and freely accessible. An overview of the results regarding the Forest habitats is here
provided, including a comparison with the outcomes of the former reporting cycle, the 3rd Report ex-Art. 17 (2). In several cases (e.g. 9120, 91L0), the distribution maps have been remarkably improved due to better knowledge and more fitful interpretation. The conservation status resulted as Favourable (FV) for 6,7%,
Inadequate (U1) for 58,7% and Bad (U1) for 32,0% of the 72 assessed forest Habitat types. In no case there was an improvement of the conservation status, while in 6 cases a worsening of the conditions resulted from the data analysis, pointing out the Habitats types with a higher need of action.
Similarly to other projects carried out as a team by the network of Annex I Habitat experts of the Italian Botanical Society and the Italian Society for Vegetation Science (e.g. 3, 4), this is another step in the direction of supporting the implementation of the 92/43/EEC "Habitat" Directive in Italy and Europe. On this ground, the high biodiversity of the Italian forest Habitats could be emphasized, however results pointed out that some rare or endemic types (e.g. Alnus cordata or Betula aetnensis-dominated forests) are still scarcely acknowledged by the most prominent EU conservation tools such as the Annex I to the "Habitat" Directive.
1) F. Landucci et al. (2012) Plant Biosyst., 146(4), 756-763
2) P. Genovesi et al. (2014) ISPRA, Serie Rapporti, 194/2014
3) E. Biondi et al. (2009) SocietĂ Botanica Italiana, MATTM, D.P.N., http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/
4) D. Gigante et al. (2016) Plant Sociology, 53(2), 77-8
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