Harvester ant (Messor barbarus (L.)) density as related to soil properties, topography and management in semi-arid cereals

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bàrbara Baraibar ◽  
Joel Torra ◽  
Paula R. Westerman
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Messor Barbarus ◽  
Harvester Ant ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Effect of Organic Amendment Addition on Soil Properties, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Grape Yield in Semi-Arid Vineyard Agroecosystems

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1477
Author(s):  
Antonio Marín-Martínez ◽  
Alberto Sanz-Cobeña ◽  
Mª Angeles Bustamante ◽  
Enrique Agulló ◽  
Concepción Paredes
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Organic N ◽  
N2o Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Grape Yield

In semi-arid vineyard agroecosystems, highly vulnerable in the context of climate change, the soil organic matter (OM) content is crucial to the improvement of soil fertility and grape productivity. The impact of OM, from compost and animal manure, on soil properties (e.g., pH, oxidisable organic C, organic N, NH4+-N and NO3−-N), grape yield and direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in vineyards was assessed. For this purpose, two wine grape varieties were chosen and managed differently: with a rain-fed non-trellising vineyard of Monastrell, a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Monastrell and a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon. The studied fertiliser treatments were without organic amendments (C), sheep/goat manure (SGM) and distillery organic waste compost (DC). The SGM and DC treatments were applied at a rate of 4600 kg ha−1 (fresh weight, FW) and 5000 kg ha−1 FW, respectively. The use of organic amendments improved soil fertility and grape yield, especially in the drip-irrigated trellising vineyards. Increased CO2 emissions were coincident with higher grape yields and manure application (maximum CO2 emissions = 1518 mg C-CO2 m−2 d−1). In contrast, N2O emissions, mainly produced through nitrification, were decreased in the plots showing higher grape production (minimum N2O emissions = −0.090 mg N2O-N m−2 d−1). In all plots, the CH4 fluxes were negative during most of the experiment (−1.073−0.403 mg CH4-C m−2 d−1), indicating that these ecosystems can represent a significant sink for atmospheric CH4. According to our results, the optimal vineyard management, considering soil properties, yield and GHG mitigation together, was the use of compost in a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard with the grape variety Monastrell.

scholarly journals Climatic Zone and Soil Properties Determine the Biodiversity of the Soil Bacterial Communities Associated to Native Plants from Desert Areas of North-Central Algeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1359
Author(s):  
Elisa Bona ◽  
Nadia Massa ◽  
Omrane Toumatia ◽  
Giorgia Novello ◽  
Patrizia Cesaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Arid Environment ◽  
Climatic Zone ◽  
Indigenous Plants ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Desert Areas ◽  
Plant Microbiota ◽  
Semi Arid

Algeria is the largest country in Africa characterized by semi-arid and arid sites, located in the North, and hypersaline zones in the center and South of the country. Several autochthonous plants are well known as medicinal plants, having in common tolerance to aridity, drought and salinity. In their natural environment, they live with a great amount of microbial species that altogether are indicated as plant microbiota, while the plants are now viewed as a “holobiont”. In this work, the microbiota of the soil associated to the roots of fourteen economically relevant autochthonous plants from Algeria have been characterized by an innovative metagenomic approach with a dual purpose: (i) to deepen the knowledge of the arid and semi-arid environment and (ii) to characterize the composition of bacterial communities associated with indigenous plants with a strong economic/commercial interest, in order to make possible the improvement of their cultivation. The results presented in this work highlighted specific signatures which are mainly determined by climatic zone and soil properties more than by the plant species.

scholarly journals Cryptic lineages hybridize for worker production in the harvester ant Messor barbarus

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 20160542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Norman ◽  
Hugo Darras ◽  
Christopher Tranter ◽  
Serge Aron ◽  
William O. H. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive System ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Insect Larvae ◽  
Messor Barbarus ◽  
Harvester Ant ◽  
Mitochondrial Data ◽  
Genetic Caste Determination ◽  
Worker Castes ◽  
Genetically Determined ◽  
Reproductive Division

The reproductive division of labour between queen and worker castes in social insects is a defining characteristic of eusociality and a classic example of phenotypic plasticity. Whether social insect larvae develop into queens or workers has long been thought to be determined by environmental cues, i.e. larvae are developmentally totipotent. Contrary to this paradigm, several recent studies have revealed that caste is determined by genotype in some ant species, but whether this is restricted to just a few exceptional species is still unclear. Here, we show that the Mediterranean harvester ant Messor barbarus possesses an unusual reproductive system, in which the female castes are genetically determined. Using both nuclear and mitochondrial data, we show that Iberian populations have two distinct, cryptic lineages. Workers are always inter-lineage hybrids whereas queens are always produced from pure-lineage matings. The results suggest that genetic caste determination may be more widespread in ants than previously thought, and that further investigation in other species is needed to understand the frequency and evolution of this remarkable reproductive system.

Continuous cropping under elevated CO2: Differential effects on C4 and C3 crops, soil properties and carbon dynamics in semi-arid alfisols

2016 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ch. Srinivasarao ◽  
Sumanta Kundu ◽  
Arun K. Shanker ◽  
R. Prakash Naik ◽  
M. Vanaja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Semi Arid

Topographic influences on soil properties and aboveground biomass in lucerne-rich vegetation in a semi-arid environment

Geoderma ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 344 ◽  
pp. 137-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-Qiang Yuan ◽  
Chao Fang ◽  
Rong Zhang ◽  
Feng-Min Li ◽  
Muhammad Mansoor Javaid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Arid Environment ◽  
Semi Arid

Impact of biochar addition on soil properties and water-fertilizer productivity of tomato in semi-arid region of Inner Mongolia, China

Geoderma ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 331 ◽  
pp. 100-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changjian Li ◽  
Yunwu Xiong ◽  
Zhongyi Qu ◽  
Xu Xu ◽  
Quanzhong Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Inner Mongolia ◽  
Arid Region ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Semi Arid
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