Dynamics of soil exploration by fine roots down to a depth of 10 m throughout the entire rotation in Eucalyptus grandis plantations

Although highly weathered soils cover considerable areas in tropical regions, little is known about exploration by roots in deep soil layers. Intensively managed Eucalyptus plantations are simple forest ecosystems that can provide an insight into the belowground growth strategy of fast-growing tropical trees. Fast exploration of deep soil layers by eucalypt fine roots may contribute to achieving a gross primary production that is among the highest in the world for forests. Soil exploration by fine roots down to a depth of 10 m was studied throughout the complete cycle in Eucalyptus grandis plantations managed in short rotation. Intersects of fine roots, less than 1 mm in diameter, and medium-sized roots, 1-3 mm in diameter, were counted on trench walls in a chronosequence of 1-, 2-, 3.5-, and 6-year-old plantations on a sandy soil, as well as in an adjacent 6-year-old stand growing in a clayey soil. Two soil profiles were studied down to a depth of 10 m in each stand (down to 6 m at ages 1 and 2 years) and 4 soil profiles down to 1.5-3.0 m deep. The root intersects were counted on 224 m(2) of trench walls in 15 pits. Monitoring the soil water content showed that, after clear cutting, almost all the available water stored down to a depth of 7 m was taken up by tree roots within 1.1 year of planting. The soil space was explored intensively by fine roots down to a depth of 3 m from 1 year after planting, with an increase in anisotropy in the upper layers throughout the rotation. About 60% of fine root intersects were found at a depth of more than 1 m, irrespective of stand age. The root distribution was isotropic in deep soil layers and kriged maps showed fine root clumping. A considerable volume of soil was explored by fine roots in eucalypt plantations on deep tropical soils, which might prevent water and nutrient losses by deep drainage after canopy closure and contribute to maximizing resource uses.

Assessing antixenosis of soybean entries against Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Plant iononne diagnosis using sound balances: case study with mango (Mangifera Indica)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Predição de ganho genético utilizando índices de seleção em linhagens de milho

P��s-graduação em Agronomia (Produção Vegetal) - FCAV

Linkage disequilibrium levels in Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle using medium and high density SNP chip data and different minor allele frequency distributions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Genetic parameter estimates for feed efficiency and dry matter intake and their association with growth and carcass traits in Nellore cattle

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Size-Dependent Selective Mechanisms on Males and Females and the Evolution of Sexual Size Dimorphism in Frogs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sexual Precocity of Nellore Bulls that are Offspring of Super Precocious, Precocious and Normal Cows in Extensive Farming Conditions

Contents The objective of this work was to verify that mothers classified as super precocious (M1) and precocious (M2) produce more precocious bulls than females classified as normal (M3). This study included 21186 animals with an average age of 21.29 +/- 1.77months that underwent a breeding soundness evaluation from 1999 to 2008. Of these animals, 2019, 6059 and 13108 were offspring of M1, M2 and M3 females, respectively. In the breeding soundness examination, the animals were classified as sound for reproduction, sound under a natural mating regime, unsound for reproduction and discarded. To compare the averages obtained for each category of mother within the individual breeding soundness classes, a chi-square test with a 5% error probability was used, considering the effects of year and month of birth and farm. For the three classes of mothers (M1, M2 and M3), 67.26, 67.22 and 64.16% of bull calves were considered sound for reproduction and 19.71, 19.46 and 21.90% were considered unsound for reproduction, respectively. There was no difference in the frequency of animals that were sound for reproduction under the natural breeding regime between the three classes of mothers (8.87, 9.31 and 9.19%, respectively). There was a difference between the numbers of precocious and normal females that were discarded, with frequencies of 4.01 and 4.75%, respectively (p<0.05). There were differences in year and month of birth and farm between super precocious and precocious cows in relation to the breeding soundness classification of the animals. It was concluded that the bull offspring of super precocious and precocious cows presented a higher percentage of approval in the breeding soundness examination than the bull offspring of normal cows, demonstrating that the selection for precocity of females has contributed to an increase in the sexual precocity of the herd in relation to the sexual maturity of bulls.

Diverse urban plantings managed with sufficient resource availability can increase plant productivity and arthropod diversity

Buildings structures and surfaces are explicitly being used to grow plants, and these "urban plantings" are generally designed for aesthetic value. Urban plantings also have the potential to contribute significant "ecological values" by increasing urban habitat for animals such as arthropods and by increasing plant productivity. In this study, we evaluated how the provision of these additional ecological values is affected by plant species richness; the availability of essential resources for plants, such as water, light, space; and soil characteristics. We sampled 33 plantings located on the exterior of three buildings in the urban center of Brisbane, Australia (subtropical climatic region) over 2, 6 week sampling periods characterized by different temperature and rainfall conditions. Plant cover was estimated as a surrogate for productivity as destructive sampling of biomass was not possible. We measured weekly light levels (photosynthetically active radiation), plant CO2 assimilation, soil CO2 efflux, and arthropod diversity. Differences in plant cover were best explained by a three-way interaction of plant species richness, management water regime and sampling period. As the richness of plant species increased in a planter, productivity and total arthropod richness also increased significantly likely due to greater habitat heterogeneity and quality. Overall we found urban plantings can provide additional ecological values if essential resources are maintained within a planter such as water, light and soil temperature. Diverse urban plantings that are managed with these principles in mind can contribute to the attraction of diverse arthropod communities, and lead to increased plant productivity within a dense urban context.

Karyotype variability in tropical maize sister inbred lines and hybrids compared with KYS standard line

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Development and characterization of 32 microsatellite loci in Genipa americana (Rubiaceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

ASIAN SOYBEAN RUST INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT POTENTIAL: DISEASE SEVERITY, PLANT DEVELOPMENT AND YIELD COMPONENTS, CULTIVAR MG/BR-46 (CONQUISTA)

Soybean rust caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sydow & P. Sydow is one of the major diseases of the soybean crop. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sowing dates, plant populations and reduced doses of fungicides on soybean rust severity and its effects on plant development and yield, cultivar MG/BR46 (Conquista). Field experiments were conducted in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 harvests, under natural rust infestation of soybean rust. As from the appearance of the first disease symptoms, also began the fungicide spraying and the disease severity assessments. To understand the nature and extent of the effects of different treatments, a multivariate analysis of factors was applied. For the majority of the agronomic characters and factors, one-third to two-thirds of their variability can be explained by changes in plant populations or by differences in the fungicide treatments, and the remainder, was explained by sowing date variations. The fungicide treatments and sowing dates are determinants in disease severity and its interference on crop productivity. The characters of plant growth are more dependent on plant population variations. Treatments with azoxystrobina + ciproconazol promoted smaller disease severities, reflecting in productivity increase. The plant populations can be reduced up to 160.000 plants ha(-1) without losses in the disease control and the soybean yield. In general, the earliest sowings provided increase in the plant development, although the rust control was less efficient.

Proposta de criação de área de staging para uma fábrica de sabão em p��

Due to the competitive advantages derived from appropriate logistical operations, and the high costs associated with it, companies began to consider academic studies conducted in this area in order to optimize its processes and satisfy its customers. Logistics, an essential part of supply chain management, is also responsible for all internal movements within a manufacturing facility, ensuring that production lines are properly stocked. This category is called In-Plant Logistics and the target of this case study. It was observed that the following company, which belongs to soap powder manufacturer business, faces numerous stops of its production lines. For that reason, it was proposed to create a staging area, which will ensure greater visibility of the production plan, avoiding replannings, besides relieving the work of overloaded departments

Hematological and biochemical changes in a Phrynops geoffroanus (Schweigger, 1812) population in response to environmental stressors

Turtles are among the most endangered vertebrate groups, and the main threats to populations are environmental pollution and habitat degradation. The species Phrynops geoffroanus, popularly known as “Geoffroy’s side-necked turtle”, has proliferated in polluted environments, where adverse conditions could influence their living habits and physiological condition. Studies that monitor the effects of environmental pollution are key to understanding the species’ biology and designing effective conservation strategies. Thus, the analysis of hematological and biochemical parameters has been shown to be important in assessing the health of wild animals and risks for the animal and ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the environmental influence on the physiology of a P. geoffroanus population through the evaluation of antioxidant status and responses to environmental stressors, compared to specimens from a place under controlled conditions. Blood samples of 60 specimens were collected, 30 from the Felicidade Stream, polluted environment, within the city of São José do Rio Preto, and 30 from the “Reginaldo Uvo Leone” breeding farm, Tabapuã, SP, a place under controlled conditions, whose samples constituted the control group. They were evaluated by hemogram and by determining thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). There was a wide variation in hematological parameters of P. geoffroanus from the urban environment. The red blood cell count and hemoglobin values were significantly less than those observed in animals from the breeding farm (P = 0.0004; P = 0.0371, respectively). There was a significant increase in the number of thrombocytes (P < 0.0001) and leukocytes (P < 0.0001) in the animals from Felicidade Stream. The stress indices were similar between the two groups (P = 0.4077). TBARS levels showed the cytotoxic potential of compounds in the urban environment, whose animals had elevated levels of lipid peroxidation (P < 0.0001), despite showing a response to environmental damages with increase in antioxidant capacity, as demonstrated by the TEAC assay (P = 0.0207). The lower catalase enzyme activity noted in individuals from the urban environment (P = 0.000184) could be due to the presence of inhibitory compounds. On the other hand, G6PDH activity was higher (P = 0.002962), where this enzyme acts in the generation of NADPH, which is used in several detoxification pathways. We conclude that environmental contamination can increase oxidative damages and generate physiological changes in this species. These data are very useful for the conservation of P. geoffroanus and turtles in general, and confirm that these techniques are effective in monitoring natural regions and that P. geoffroanus can serve as an environmental contamination bioindicator.

Spatio-temporal distribution of calling male frogs in Morro do Diabo State Park (Southeastern Brazil): implications for conservation and management in a seasonally dry tropical forest

The aims of this study are to determine how anuran calling males are spatially and temporally distributed in the Morro do Diabo State Park (MDSP), and to test for indicator species in different breeding habitats. We found high species turnover among breeding habitats of different hydroperiods. Our results indicate that spatial partitioning is more important than seasonal occurrence in permitting species coexistence at MDSP. Indicator Species Analysis identified one species associated with a local stream, one species associated with permanent ponds, two species associated with temporary ponds, and three species associated with a semipermanent pond. Guilds of species do not appear to stratify their distributions throughout the year, since most species occur during the rainy and warm months and are thus temporally overlapping. The main conservation implication of our work is the need to protect the different areas of the park where these unique breeding habitats, and their associated anuran assemblages, are found.