Dinámica poblacional de arvenses en el cultivo de maiz (Zea mays L.) variedad NB-6 bajo los sistemas orgánico y convencional en la finca El Plantel, Tipitapa, Masaya, 2009

Las arvenses, tanto anuales como perennes, son un problema mundial en el cultivo del maíz. El crecimiento descontrolado de las malezas puede provocar grandes pérdidas de rendimiento de este cultivo. El estudio se realizó en finca experimental El Plantel de la Universidad Nacional Agraria, ubicada en el kilómetro 43 ½ carretera Tipitapa – Masaya, municipio de Masaya, de marzo a agosto 2009. Se evaluó el comportamiento de las arvenses en el cultivo de maíz, variedad NB-6, manejado bajo dos sistemas de producción: orgánico y convencional, se consideraron como dos tratamientos, establecidos en cuatro pseudorrepeticiones. El área experimental fue de 672 m2. La distancia entre pseudorrepeticiones 1 m. Las variables evaluadas fueron: diversidad, abundancia, biomasa y cobertura de arvenses y en el cultivo rendimiento en kg/ha. El predominio de las arvenses en el cultivo bajo los dos tratamientos fue similar. Se identificaron 11familias representadas por 21 especies. De éstas, 19 en el sistema orgánico y 17 en el sistema convencional. De las 21 especies, 15 pertenecen a la clase dicotiledóneas, éstas predominaron en el sistema orgánico: Cleome viscosa L. (Frijolillo de playa), Sida acuta Burn. F (Escoba lisa) y Portulaca oleracea L. (Verdolaga) de las familias Cappari daceae, Malvaceae y Portulacaceae. Las monocotiledóneas fueron Poaceae y Cyperaceae, predominando la especie: Ixophorus unicetus Presl. ( Zacate dulce). En el sistema convencional las familia Cyperaceae y Capparidaceae, en ellas predominaron las especies Cyperus rotundus L. (Coyolillo) y Cleome viscosa (L) respectivamente. La cobertura decreció en ambos sistemas a medida que el cultivo cerraba su ciclo, mostrando comportamiento similar en ambos tratamientos. La biomasa fue mayor el sistema orgánico (6,368 g/m2) con respecto a la biomasa en el sistema convencional (5,011.1 g/m2). La familia Poaceae obtuvo mayor biomasa (3205.5 g/m2) en el sistema orgánico, a diferencia del sistema convencional. (1765.4 g/m2). En el rendimiento no hubo diferencias estadísticas significativas en ambos sistemas de manejo donde (P=0.97).

Palynological record and radiocarbon dates for sediment core T89-16, Congo River mouth

We present a high-resolution reconstruction of tropical palaeoenvironmental changes for the last deglacial transition (18 to 9 cal. kyr BP) based on integrated oceanic and terrestrial proxies from a Congo fan core. Pollen, grass cuticle, Pediastrum and dinoflagellate cyst fluxes, sedimentation rates and planktonic foraminiferal d18O ratios, uK37 sea-surface temperature and alkane/alkenone ratio data highlight a series of abrupt changes in Congo River palaeodischarge. A major discharge pulse is registered at around 13.0 cal. kyr BP which we attribute to latitudinal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during deglaciation. The data indicate abrupt and short-lived changes in the equatorial precipitation regime within a system of monsoonal dynamics forced by precessional cycles. The phases of enhanced Congo discharge stimulated river-induced upwelling and enhanced productivity in the adjacent ocean.

XRF scanning, pollen and spores of ODP Site 108-659

Pliocene vegetation dynamics and climate variability in West Africa have been investigated through pollen and XRF-scanning records obtained from sediment cores of ODP Site 659 (18°N, 21°W). The comparison between total pollen accumulation rates and Ti/Ca ratios, which is strongly correlated with the dust input at the site, showed elevated aeolian transport of pollen during dusty periods. Comparison of the pollen records of ODP Site 659 and the nearby Site 658 resulted in a robust reconstruction of West African vegetation change since the Late Pliocene. Between 3.6 and 3.0 Ma the savannah in West Africa differed in composition from its modern counterpart and was richer in Asteraceae, in particular of the Tribus Cichorieae. Between 3.24 and 3.20 Ma a stable wet period is inferred from the Fe/K ratios, which could stand for a narrower and better specified mid-Pliocene (mid-Piacenzian) warm time slice. The northward extension of woodland and savannah, albeit fluctuating, was generally greater in the Pliocene. NE trade wind vigour increased intermittently around 2.7 and 2.6 Ma, and more or less permanently since 2.5 Ma, as inferred from increased pollen concentrations of trade wind indicators (Ephedra, Artemisia, Pinus). Our findings link the NE trade wind development with the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere glaciations (iNHG). Prior to the iNHG, little or no systematic relation could be found between sea surface temperatures of the North Atlantic with aridity and dust in West Africa.

Palynology of ODP Site 108-658

Ocean Drilling Program Site 658 at 21°N off northwest Africa has a high sedimentation rate and a high concentration of pollen grains and is thus very suitable for detailed pollen analysis. The time scale for the upper 100 m (the last 670 k.y.) of Site 658 is based on biostratigraphic data and isotope stratigraphy. The pollen record has been divided into 34 zones. These are classified into 7 zone types covering a range from very arid to rather humid conditions. The sequence shows a long-term climatic decline: strong glacial stages were found only after 480 k.y. and strong interglacial stages only before 280 k.y. The Site 658 record correlates well with a terrestrial sequence from northern Greece, although both records differ in their response to global climatic change. Spectral analysis shows a 100- and a 42-k.y. period in the curves of pollen brought in by the northwest trade winds and only a 42-k.y. period in the curves of pollen mostly transported by the African Easterly Jet. A 31-k.y. period is found in the curves for Ephedra and Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae. In addition, Ephedra shows a 54-k.y. period.

Isopollen maps for 18,000 years B.P. of the offshore of Northwest Africa: Evidence for paleowind circulation

Distribution patterns of the most important pollen types from southern European and northwest African source areas for the 18,000 years B.P. time slice are reconstructed from pollen records of 14 well-dated deep-sea cores located between 37° and 9°N and compared with the modern pollen distribution in this area. It is concluded that the belt with maximum African Easterly Jet transport did not shift latitudinally during the last glacial-interglacial transition but remained at about 20°N. Furthermore, it is substantiated that the trade winds did not shift latitudinally during the last glacial-interglacial transition. This evidence is not compatible with an atmospheric circulation model that assumes a zone of surface westerlies in the northern part of northwest Africa. Trade winds during glacial episodes did, however, intensify, especially from about 36° to 24° N.