Agroecological management improves ecosystem services in almond orchards within one year

There is an increasing body of studies that show that land use intensification and homogenisation in agriculture landscapes, aimed at increasing food provisioning, decline other ecosystem services. Agroecological management has been proposed as an alternative to conventional agricultural management because of its presumed capacity to rehabilitate degraded ecosystem services. In this study we tested whether the agroecological principles of minimum mechanical soil disturbance, maintaining understory cover and application of organic amendments can improve the provisioning of ecosystem services and whether bundles of ecosystem services emerged. We experimentally implemented no-tillage (NT), green manure (GM), compost (CM) and conventional tillage (CT) as a control in five almond orchards in south-eastern Spain and monitored nutrient cycling, carbon stock, habitat provisioning, food provisioning, pest control and pollination after one year. We found that CM and NT had a higher overall ecosystem service performance than CT, and that GM did not differ from CT. The treatments significantly improved ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon stock, habitat provisioning and food provisioning, but not pest control and pollination. CM treatment resulted in higher soil enzyme activity (glucosidase and phosphatase), soil nutrient content (total N and extractable K), leaf nutrient content (P and K concentrations), soil organic carbon (SOC) content and almond kernel weight compared to other treatments. GM treatment resulted in higher phosphatase activity, understory carbon content and more understory cover than CT. NT treatment resulted in higher glucosidase, phosphatase and urease activity, understory plant diversity and more understory cover than CT. We also found an emerging bundle between SOC and soil enzyme activity and between individual almond weight and soil nutrient levels and SOC. This study shows that ecosystem services can rehabilitate rather quickly, given the one-year time frame of the study. Further, each agroecological practice may enhance a specific set of ecosystem services

Agroecological management improves ecosystem services in almond orchards within one year

There is an increasing body of studies that show that land use intensification and homogenisation in agriculture landscapes, aimed at increasing food provisioning, decline other ecosystem services. Agroecological management has been proposed as an alternative to conventional agricultural management because of its presumed capacity to rehabilitate degraded ecosystem services. In this study we tested whether the agroecological principles of minimum mechanical soil disturbance, maintaining understory cover and application of organic amendments can improve the provisioning of ecosystem services and whether bundles of ecosystem services emerged. We experimentally implemented no-tillage (NT), green manure (GM), compost (CM) and conventional tillage (CT) as a control in five almond orchards in south-eastern Spain and monitored nutrient cycling, carbon stock, habitat provisioning, food provisioning, pest control and pollination after one year. We found that CM and NT had a higher overall ecosystem service performance than CT, and that GM did not differ from CT. The treatments significantly improved ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon stock, habitat provisioning and food provisioning, but not pest control and pollination. CM treatment resulted in higher soil enzyme activity (glucosidase and phosphatase), soil nutrient content (total N and extractable K), leaf nutrient content (P and K concentrations), soil organic carbon (SOC) content and almond kernel weight compared to other treatments. GM treatment resulted in higher phosphatase activity, understory carbon content and more understory cover than CT. NT treatment resulted in higher glucosidase, phosphatase and urease activity, understory plant diversity and more understory cover than CT. We also found an emerging bundle between SOC and soil enzyme activity and between individual almond weight and soil nutrient levels and SOC. This study shows that ecosystem services can rehabilitate rather quickly, given the one-year time frame of the study. Further, each agroecological practice may enhance a specific set of ecosystem services

Silica-grafted diethylzinc and a silsesquioxane-based zinc alkyl complex as catalysts for the alternating oxirane-carbon dioxide copolymerization

A novel zinc silsesquioxane complex ([(c-C5H9)(7)Si7O11(OSiMePh2)](2)Zn4Me4 (1)) has been used as a model compound for silica-grafted zinc catalysts in the copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and CO2. Complex 1 exists as a dimer in the solid state and is moderately active in the copolymerization, and polycyclohexene carbonates have been obtained with a carbonate content of 79-98%. Polymerizations with ZnEt2-treated silica particles resulted in polymer particles with (M) over bar (n) and (M) over bar (w) values and carbonate contents comparable to those of the polymers obtained with 1. It was further demonstrated that CO2 consumption can be followed online by monitoring the decrease of system pressure during the reaction. CO2 consumption has been interpreted in relation to both polycarbonate and cyclic carbonate formation. These measurements represent the intrinsic kinetics of this reaction, which appear to be directly related to CO2 pressure

CCDC 670959: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: R.Duchateau, W.J.van Meerendonk, S.Huijser, B.B.P.Staal, M.A.van Schilt, G.Gerritsen, A.Meetsma, C.E.Koning, M.F.Kemmere, J.T.F.Keurentjes|2007|Organometallics|26|4204|doi:10.1021/om700367x,An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

Integrated transcript and genome analyses reveal NKX2-1 and MEF2C as potential oncogenes in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

To identify oncogenic pathways in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), we combined expression profiling of 117 pediatric patient samples and detailed molecular-cytogenetic analyses including the Chromosome Conformation Capture on Chip (4C) method. Two T-ALL subtypes were identified that lacked rearrangements of known oncogenes. One subtype associated with cortical arrest, expression of cell cycle genes, and ectopic NKX2-1 or NKX2-2 expression for which rearrangements were identified. The second subtype associated with immature T cell development and high expression of the MEF2C transcription factor as consequence of rearrangements of MEF2C, transcription factors that target MEF2C, or MEF2C-associated cofactors. We propose NKX2-1, NKX2-2, and MEF2C as T-ALL oncogenes that are activated by various rearrangements

Paternal age and psychiatric disorders: findings from a Dutch population registry.

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