scholarly journals The Analysis of Italian Plant Agrobiodiversity Databases Reveals That Hilly and Sub-Mountain Areas Are Hotspots of Herbaceous Landraces

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Luca Giupponi ◽  
Davide Pedrali ◽  
Valeria Leoni ◽  
Alessia Rodari ◽  
Annamaria Giorgi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
European Guidelines ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Taking Action

Landraces are an agri-food and historical-cultural heritage but are undergoing losses worldwide. Italy is taking action to counteract this problem by following European guidelines. One of the most important measures is the Agrobiodiversity National Register (ANR), but 12 Italian regions currently appear without any landraces and around 80% of the landraces listed are trees, with less detailed data on herbaceous species. The aim of this study is to investigate the situation for Italian herbaceous landraces preserved on farms (in situ) by merging and analyzing data contained in the main databases on plant agrobiodiversity in Italy. Data were georeferenced, organized by botanic families and Italian regions, and analyzed by GIS and R. A total of 1615 herbaceous landraces were found (versus the 416 recorded in the ANR). Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae together comprise 70% of all herbaceous landraces and are mostly preserved/grown in areas between 150 and 800 m a.s.l. Some hilly and sub-mountain areas of the Apennines and the Alps are hotspots of herbaceous landraces due to anthropic and environmental factors. The results of this research will be useful to enrich the ANR and trigger actions of characterization, conservation, and promotion of these plant resources.

Piemonte. Tra stasi e sperimentazioni, un quadro chiaroscurale / Piedmont. Between stasis and experimentations, a «chiaroscuro» framework

ARCHALP ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 66-75
Author(s):  
Antonio De Rossi ◽  
Roberto Dini
Keyword(s):  
Physical Space ◽  
The Other ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Architectural Production ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Contemporary Situation

The contemporary architectural production in the Alps of Piedmont has to be studied taking into consideration the contrasting phenomena of depopulation and tourism that have involved the mountain areas of the region during last century. In the fifties and sixties the percentage of abandonment of the high valleys reaches even 80-90%. Entire communities move to industrial urban centers in the cities on the plain. On the other side we witness to a strong polarization of the winter stations that become real “banlieues blanches” for the free time of the citizens and where the architecture of alpine modernism, with various forms, shapes. The paradox nowadays is that the rarefaction of abandoned and depopulated territories is necessary to force to start and choose new innovative paths. We witness a contemporary situation with different shades: on one side the well-established touristic territories that need projects to promote the redevelopment and diversification, on the other side the marginal places where are rising new visions are practices of reactivation of the territory in which architecture is fundamental. The topic of quality of the construction of the physical space intersects with the regeneration of places on a cultural basis, new agriculture and green economy, innovative development of the patrimony, sustainable tourism, with inclusive and participative paths of nature, by giving new meanings to places and building new economies and identities.

In vitro studies on the induction of sporogenous tissue on leaves of cinnamon fern. I. Environmental factors

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 2673-2682 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Harvey ◽  
James D. Caponetti
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Light Intensity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Light Phase ◽  
Sporogenous Tissue ◽  
Light Darkness

Intact, set III, cinnamon fern cataphyll and frond primordia, which were shown to have no predisposition to fertility in situ, produced sporangia when excised and cultured under sterile conditions in Knudson's medium supplemented with various levels of sucrose and maintained on 11 different regimens of light, darkness, and temperature for 10 weeks. Increasing levels of sucrose resulted in increased fertility under all environmental conditions, but the highest percentage of fertility was obtained under conditions of continuous dark at 26 °C. As the length of the light phase of the photoperiods decreased, a progressive increase in induction of fertile leaves was observed, suggesting that periods of long light exposure are inhibitory to the initiation of sporangia. Conversely, as the light intensity was increased, an inhibition of sporophyll differentiation occurred. Sporangia excised from dark-induced sporophylls and cultured in the light produced viable spores which germinated yielding haploid gametophytes that ultimately produced sporophytes.

scholarly journals <sup>10</sup>Be depth profiles in glacial sediments on the Swiss Plateau: deposition age, denudation and (pseudo-) inheritance

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenz Wüthrich ◽  
Claudio Brändli ◽  
Régis Braucher ◽  
Heinz Veit ◽  
Negar Haghipour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Decay ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Depth Profiles ◽  
Denudation Rates ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Swiss Plateau ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Cosmogenic 10Be

Abstract. During the Pleistocene, glaciers advanced repeatedly from the Alps onto the Swiss Plateau. Numeric age control for the last glaciation is good and thus the area is well suited to test a method which has so far not been applied to till in Switzerland. In this study, we apply in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be depth profile dating to several till deposits. Three sites lie inside the assumed Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) extent of the Rhône and Aare glaciers (Bern, Deisswil, Steinhof) and two lie outside (Niederbuchsiten, St. Urban). All sites are strongly affected by denudation, and all sites have reached steady state, i.e., the 10Be production is in equilibrium with radioactive decay and denudational losses. Deposition ages can therefore not be well constrained. Assuming constant denudation rates of 5 cm kyr−1, total denudation on the order of 100 cm for sites within the extent of the LGM and up to tens of meters for older moraines are calculated. Denudation events, for example related to periglacial conditions during the LGM, mitigate the need to invoke such massive denudation and could help to explain high 10Be concentrations at great depths, which we here dub pseudo-inheritance. This term should be used to distinguish conceptionally from true inheritance, i.e., high concentrations derived from the catchment.

Comprehensive effects of oceanic pressure and temperature on in-situ LIBS signals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Li ◽  
Jinjia Guo ◽  
Jiaojian Song ◽  
Wangquan Ye ◽  
Yuan Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Chemical Sensor ◽  
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy ◽  
Breakdown Spectroscopy ◽  
Laser Induced Breakdown ◽  
Marine Environmental

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been successfully developed into the oceanic chemical sensor for deep-sea exploration. However, the LIBS signals will be affected by marine environmental factors, and this effect...

scholarly journals The mobility of Atlantic baric depressions leading to intense precipitation over Italy: a preliminary statistical analysis

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Tartaglione ◽  
A. Speranza ◽  
F. Dalan ◽  
T. Nanni ◽  
M. Brunetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Rain Gauge Data ◽  
Intense Precipitation ◽  
Western Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Autumn And Winter

Abstract. The speed of Atlantic surface depressions, occurred during the autumn and winter seasons and that lead to intense precipitation over Italy from 1951 to 2000, was investigated. Italy was divided into 5 regions as documented in previous climatological studies (based on Principal Component Analysis). Intense precipitation events were selected on the basis of in situ rain gauge data and clustered according to the region that they hit. For each intense precipitation event we tried to identify an associated surface depression and we tracked it, within a large domain covering the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions, from its formation to cyclolysis in order to estimate its speed. "Depression speeds" were estimated with 6-h resolution and clustered into slow and non-slow classes by means of a threshold, coinciding with the first quartile of speed distribution and depression centre speeds were associated with their positions. Slow speeds occurring over an area including Italy and the western Mediterranean basin showed frequencies higher than 25%, for all the Italian regions but one. The probability of obtaining by chance the observed more than 25% success rate was estimated by means of a binomial distribution. The statistical reliability of the result is confirmed for only one region. For Italy as a whole, results were confirmed at 95% confidence level. Stability of the statistical inference, with respect to errors in estimating depression speed and changes in the threshold of slow depressions, was analysed and essentially confirmed the previous results.

scholarly journals Eighty Years of Data Collected for the Determination of Rainfall Threshold Triggering Shallow Landslides and Mud-Debris Flows in the Alps

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Luino ◽  
Jerome De Graff ◽  
Anna Roccati ◽  
Marcella Biddoccu ◽  
Chiara Giorgia Cirio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flows ◽  
Rainfall Threshold ◽  
Shallow Landslides ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Landslide Risk ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Knowledge Framework ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
The Alps

Identifying the minimum rainfall thresholds necessary for landslides triggering is essential to landslide risk assessment. The Italian Alps have always been affected by shallow landslides and mud-debris flows, which caused considerable damage to property and, sometimes, casualties. We analysed information provided from different sources carrying on the most thorough research conducted for this alpine area. Thousands of documents and reports of rainfall values recorded over 80 years by rain gauges distributed in Sondrio and Brescia Provinces define the mean annual precipitation (MAP)-normalized intensity–duration thresholds for the initiation of shallow landslides and mud-debris flows. The established curves are generally lower compared to those proposed in literature for similar mountain areas in Italy and worldwide. Furthermore, we found that landslides occurred primarily at the same time or within 3 h from the maximum peak of rainfall intensity in summer events and in a period from 0 to 5 h or later in spring-autumn events. The paper provides a further contribution to the knowledge framework on the rainfall conditions required for the initiation of surficial landslides and mud-debris flows and their expected timing of occurrence. This knowledge is crucial to develop better warning strategies to mitigate geo-hydrological risk and reduce the socio-economic damage.

scholarly journals Agritourism Initiatives in the Context of Continuous Out-Migration: Comparative Perspectives for the Alps and Chinese Mountain Regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dax ◽  
Dachang Zhang ◽  
Yanying Chen
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Core Element ◽  
The Alps

After World War II, the economic recovery of Western Europe implied a swift economic transition for all regions, including the area of the Alps, although affecting various parts at different paces and stages. The resulting out-migration led to population decline in some mountain valleys and regions since the 1950s. Such negative population development trends are widespread across mountain areas of the world, including China, where out-migration started after its rural reform in the 1970s. The effect was in some cases even more significant than in the Alps, with the first villages being deserted in the 1980s. Current estimations report about 380,000 rural villages in China being abandoned between 2000–2016, particularly in its mountain regions. While lower population densities might alleviate the pressures on ecology and contribute to environmental benefits, these movements aggravate a spiraling-down process of local economies and culture. In the Alps, many regions that were facing challenges of out-migration and economic weaknesses focused on local initiatives, including agritourism schemes that provided both economic incentives and stability to involved mountain farmers, and the continuation of local land management systems. However, China’s interest for promoting rural action and tourism-oriented farm diversification only started more recently, with a range of rural tourism and agricultural tourism initiatives emerging. This paper focuses on lessons from successful initiatives in the Alps that might induce and strengthen China’s search for elaborating agritourism activities in mountain areas. In consequence, agritourism might be assessed as a contribution to mitigate out-migration from mountain regions and a core element of the future sustainable development of the Alps and the Chinese countryside.

Diversity, spatiotemporal distribution, abundance, species composition and habitat preferences of Ostracoda in Akbük and Akdeniz coastal mesosaline lagoons (Muğla, the South Aegean Region, Turkey)

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Selçuk Altınsaçlı ◽  
Ferda Perçin-Paçal ◽  
Songül Altınsaçlı
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Aegean Region ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Ordination Techniques ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ostracod Species

AbstractAkdeniz and Akbuk lagoons are part of a shallow coastal ecosystem of great aesthetic and ecological importance, located in Muğla Province in the southern Aegean region of Turkey. In the present study, four expeditions to collect ostracods from these lagoons were conducted in May, July, October, and November of 2008. Benthic samples were obtained monthly and several environmental factors were recorded simultaneously in situ. The ecological preferences of the ostracods were monitored, and qualitative and quantitative samples were collected from three sites in Akdeniz lagoon and two sites in Akbuk lagoon. Three ostracod taxa (Cyprideis torosa, Loxoconcha elliptica and Cytherois fischeri) were identified from the Akdeniz lagoon sampling sites and one species (Cyprideis torosa) from the Akbuk lagoon sampling sites. We present and analyze the dominance and distribution of ostracod assemblages and their relationships to environmental factors: temperature, dissolved oxygen, percentage oxygen saturation, pH, redox potential, salinity, and electrical conductivity) using classification and ordination techniques. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) is used to characterize the relationship between ostracods and the environmental variables. Approximately 82% of the correlation between the community composition and environmental variables was explained by the first axis of the CCA ordination for the Akdeniz lagoon. The study revealed that the distribution and population density of ostracod species depends on the physicochemical properties of the environment. The reason for this is that Cyprideis torosa and Loxoconcha elliptica are euryhaline species.

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