Search Results (111)

Combining landscape studies with historical studies and archeology is a scientific challenge: through the skills of historians, archeologists, agronomists, and computer scientists, an integrated and interdisciplinary methodology was adopted. The aim was to backtrack historical landscape changes and permanences in the rural landscape around Staffarda Abbey (Piedmont, Northwest Italy), a medieval monastery founded in the XII century on a surface of 1356 ha and its farms. Surveys, field observations, landscape observations, and historical and archival analyses (XII–XX century) were performed. Several document types, such as historical cartography, iconographies, cadastral maps, notes, descriptions, topographic maps, inventories, and photographs, were deeply analyzed. These documents referred to different historic periods (XII–XXI century) and provided qualitative and quantitative data. Using a fixed-wing drone, the aerial photographs were reworked and georeferenced. QGIS was used to perform diachronic analyses at the landscape level. The advanced land analysis methodologies were compared with the post-medieval cartographic data that were collected. The landscape dynamics and land-use changes were quantified over time, and routes, tree lines, hedgerows, and canals were recognized as qualifying elements. In this study, qualitative and quantitative data were collected, processed, systematized, and analyzed using a digital platform. Using different scales, readings, and interpretations, the landscape dynamics of a rural medieval site were reconstructed. Full article

The field production of tomato faces challenges regarding abiotic stress factors, which unfavorably impact fruit quality traits. Hedgerows, a form of agroforestry, offer a climate-resilient strategy to buffer temperatures and reduce the impact of direct wind stress on crop production. This study assessed the impact of hedgerow microclimate modulation effects on open-field tomato fruit quality, employing three genotypes (Roma, Ace55, and Szentlőrinckáta). Key quality traits (Total Soluble Solids (TSS), Titratable Acidity (TA), Sugar–Acid Ratio (SAR), Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Chroma (C*), and Hue (h^o)) were measured over two harvests per season, in two consecutive years (2023–2024). Plots were positioned at five distances (3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 m from the hedge) on both windy and protected sides (W1–W5 and P1–P5, respectively, with 1 showing the closest position). We observed that the microclimate of the protected side was consistently warmer, with an average deviation from the reference temperature of +3.54 °C at mid-distances and +0.38 °C higher overall across both growing seasons. Results show that mid-distance zones (P3–P4, W3–W4) consistently exhibited the highest C* (up to 39.44) at W4 and TSS values at W1 (7.00 °Bx). Protected sides favored higher TA at P3 (0.70%) and Hue (h^o) values at P3 with (53.06 ± 0.30) with Ace55 and SAR at P3 (16.35) with Szentlőrinckáta. Windy sides significantly enhanced FRAP and TPC, with the Szentlőrinckáta genotype exhibiting the highest antioxidant capacity at W1 (23.67 mg AAE 100 g⁻¹, FRAP) and TPC (244.17 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹). At W4, Roma showed a 9.4% increase in TPC in the second harvest, while Ace55 showed the highest FRAP values during late-season sampling, highlighting genotype-specific antioxidant resilience under contrasting microclimates. These findings suggest that mid-distance zones and microclimatic variation between windy and protected sides remarkably influence fruit quality traits and antioxidant profiles. Full article

The adoption of photovoltaic (PV) energy in irrigation is rapidly increasing, supported by a range of available technologies. However, an agronomic perspective that could help overcome inherent limitations of PV systems remains absent. In fact, current irrigation design methods do not explicitly take into account the dynamic nature of PV power generation. While irrigation engineering conceptualises soil as a reservoir for plant-available water, it can also function as an energy reservoir, storing solar-derived energy in the form of soil moisture for subsequent crop use. Building on this concept, this study proposes an integrated framework for designing off-grid PV irrigation systems based on asymmetric irrigation sectors. The framework couples hydrological, agronomic, and energy components to synchronise solar energy generation with crop water requirements, thereby eliminating the need for intermediate energy storage. The methodology was applied to two case studies: a hedgerow olive orchard and an almond orchard in southern Portugal, both with drip irrigation. Results demonstrate that the asymmetric-sector design provides a technically feasible and low-complexity solution for integrating photovoltaic energy into irrigation systems. The conventional irrigation system required 1.42 kW of minimum pumping power for olive orchards and 1.32 kW for almond orchards. The dimensions of the main lines ranged from 97.8 mm for olive and 75 mm for almond orchards, while the flow rate of the emitter was 2.3 L h⁻¹ for olive and 3 L h⁻¹ for almond orchards. Although PV-compatible operation required hydraulic adjustments including increases in design flow rate (226–255%), pump power demand (87.5–241%), and pipe diameters (up to 120% in olive and 75% in almond), these adaptations enable irrigation systems to operate under the variability inherent to solar-based energy supply. This hydraulic oversizing leads to higher initial investment costs; however, this can be mitigated to a certain extent by diminished operating costs and complete energy autonomy from the electricity grid. Full article

Ulex europaeus L. has been introduced into many countries as an ornamental and hedgerow plant, and it often escapes its intended location, establishing dense, feral thickets. These thickets threaten the structure and function of native flora and fauna in areas where the plant has been introduced. Because of its invasive nature, U. europaeus is considered one of the world’s 100 worst alien invasive species. It exhibits rapid growth, and high biomass accumulation with a high nitrogen fixation ability. Its flowering phenology depends on local conditions and population. It produces a large number of viable seeds and establishes extensive seed banks. These seeds remain viable for a long time due to physical dormancy. Ulex europaeus produces elaiosomes on the seed surface that are likely used solely for seed dispersal by ants. Ulex europaeus has a high level of genetic diversity due to its allohexaploid chromosome sets. This allows the plant to adapt to different habitats and tolerate various climate conditions. It can survive in areas with limited sunlight beneath tall plant canopies. Its shade tolerance surpasses that of other shrub species. Ulex europaeus produces several compounds, including quinolizidine alkaloids, monoterpenes, flavonoids, and cinnamic acid derivatives. These compounds play a role in defensive responses to biotic stressors, including pathogen infections, herbivorous insects, and neighboring plants competing for resources. These life history traits and defensive abilities may contribute to the expansion of U. europaeus populations into new habitats, enabling the plant to thrive as an invasive species. This is the first study to examine the invasiveness of U. europaeus in terms of its growth, reproduction, ability to adapt to different conditions, and defensive responses to biotic stressors. Full article

Row crops are regarded as a transitional type between continuous and discrete vegetation. Previous studies idealized row crops as periodic hedgerows with rectangular cross-sections. However, these models relied on oversimplified assumptions, failing to capture the intrinsic heterogeneity of canopy or its dynamic evolution over the life cycle. In 2020, we proposed a row crop model with a gradual decrease in leaf area volume density (LAVD) from the center of the row to the edge, partially overcoming these limitations. Building on this previous model, this paper introduces the leaf shape factor proposed by Mõttus et al. into the model. Three control parameters, a leaf width control parameter (β), leaf length control parameter (ψ), and leaf azimuth control parameter (e), are proposed to regulate the spatial distribution of LAVD. Additionally, an empirical exponential function from Watanabe et al. is adopted to describe the leaf zenith angle distribution, enabling the realistic calculation of the G-function and Γ-function in conjunction with leaf azimuth distribution. The LAVD is formulated at three hierarchical scales: individual scale, row scale, and scene scale. The model delivers two key advancements: enabling pronounced spatial heterogeneity and high tunability of the LAVD, and accurately simulating row crops throughout the life cycle, which bridges the row structure and continuous stages of row crops. Radiative transfer simulations are conducted to derive the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), which is validated against the discrete anisotropic radiative transfer (DART) model. Comparisons across three growth stages demonstrated good consistency. Furthermore, this paper investigates the sensitivity of the BRDF to three control parameters (β, ψ, and e). The results indicate that changes in three parameters significantly affect the reflectance in the darkspot direction, leading to a maximum error of 22.6%. In carrying out remote sensing applications such as parameter inversion and yield estimation for row crops, the new model is recommended for more accurate BRDF simulations. Full article

Management for pheasant shooting is a widespread land use in the UK, with potential implications for forest and hedgerow habitats. This study evaluates whether sites managed for pheasant shooting differ ecologically from similar sites not used for shooting. A systematic evidence evaluation of comparative studies was combined with a spatial analysis using remote sensing data (2010–2024). The literature review identified only 32 studies meeting strict criteria for comparability, revealing inconsistent and often weak evidence, with few studies reporting detailed forest management or statistically robust outcomes. While some studies noted increased or decreased biodiversity associated with pheasant shooting, the evidence base was generally of low quality. Remote sensing assessed forest structural and spectral diversity, intactness, and hedgerow density across 1131 pheasant-managed and 1131 matched control sites. Biodiversity data for birds, plants, and butterflies were sourced from GBIF records. Structural diversity and hedgerow density were significantly higher on pheasant-managed sites, while no significant differences were found in forest spectral diversity, intactness, or biodiversity indicators. Pheasant management may shape certain habitat features but has limited demonstrable effects on overall biodiversity. Further field-based, controlled studies are required to understand causal mechanisms and inform ecologically sustainable shooting practices. Full article

Olive trees are generally considered a species well-adapted to drought, but the impact of water shortage is of critical importance on olive production. For this reason, developing tolerant cultivars could be an effective strategy to mitigate the impact of drought in the future. Characterizing drought stress tolerance in olive is a complex task due to the numerous traits involved in this response. In this study, plant growth, pressure–volume curves, gas-exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence traits, and stomata characteristics were monitored in nine cultivars to assess the effects of mild and severe drought stress conditions induced by withholding water for 7 and 21 days, respectively, and were compared to a well-watered control treatment. The plant materials evaluated included traditional cultivars, as well as new developed cultivars suited for high-density hedgerow olive orchards or resistant to verticillium wilt. Significant differences between cultivars were observed for most evaluated traits, with more pronounced differences under severe drought conditions. A multivariate analysis of the complete dataset recorded throughout the evaluation period allowed for the identification of promising cultivars under stress conditions (‘Sikitita’, ‘Sikitita-2’, and ‘Martina’) as well as highly discriminative traits that could serve as key selection parameters in future breeding programs. Full article

Small landscape elements are critical in ecological systems, encompassing vegetated and non-vegetated features. As vegetated elements, hedgerows contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation, erosion protection, and wind speed reduction within agroecosystems. This study focuses on the semi-automatic extraction of hedgerows by applying the Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) approach to two multispectral satellite datasets. Multitemporal image data from PlanetScope and Copernicus Sentinel-2 have been used to test the applicability of the proposed approach for detailed land cover mapping, with an emphasis on extracting Small Woody Elements. This study demonstrates significant results in classifying and extracting hedgerows, a smaller landscape element, from both Sentinel-2 and PlanetScope images. A good overall accuracy (OA) was obtained using PlanetScope data (OA = 95%) and Sentinel-2 data (OA = 85%), despite the coarser resolution of the latter. This will undoubtedly demonstrate the effectiveness of the OBIA approach in leveraging freely available image data for detailed land cover mapping, particularly in identifying and classifying hedgerows, thus supporting biodiversity conservation and ecological infrastructure enhancement. Full article

The Oxidative Stability Index (OSI) is crucial for evaluating the commercial, nutritional, and sensory properties of extra virgin olive oils (EVOO). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) offers a rapid and cost-effective alternative to evaluate OSI with respect to traditional methods like Rancimat. This study aimed to develop a robust global NIRS model for predicting OSI in EVOO and compare it with specific models for key Spanish cultivars such as ‘Picual’, ‘Arbequina’, and ‘Sikitita’ (a new, recently released cultivar for commercial hedgerow planting systems). Using NIRS spectra from 1100 to 2500 nm, we analyzed 939 samples globally and developed cultivar-specific models based on 59 ‘Picual’, 84 ‘Arbequina’, and 48 ‘Sikitita’ samples. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression models demonstrated promising results in all sample sets tested, with the global model outperforming individual yearly models, highlighting the importance of incorporating variability to enhance predictive performance. Log-transformed OSI data improved accuracy across all models. Additionally, discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed on NIRS spectra from five cultivars (‘Arbequina,’ ‘Picual,’ ‘Koroneiki,’ ‘Sikitita,’ and ‘Arbosana’), a total of 254 samples, achieving 96% accuracy in differentiating monovarietal EVOO samples. These findings demonstrate the versatility of NIRS for OSI modeling and cultivar discrimination, making it a valuable tool for breeding programs and quality assessment. Full article

Mechanical pruning in narrow olive hedgerows is essential for managing alternate bearing and facilitating mechanical harvesting by influencing the number of fruit load points. In olive cv. Arbequina hedgerows (2000 trees ha⁻¹), two pruning times (winter and spring) and two pruning types (unilateral and bilateral) were applied under contrasting bearing conditions (ON and OFF seasons) over four consecutive seasons in La Rioja, Argentina. A strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event during the final season had a profound impact, increasing winter temperatures by 2 °C and reducing the average chill accumulation by 23%, significantly reducing productivity and exacerbating alternate bearing. The results demonstrated that pruning timing alone was ineffective in controlling alternate bearing, while bilateral pruning during ON seasons showed promise in regularizing fruit and oil yields and enhancing water use efficiency. However, the severe effects of the ENSO, which disrupted the winter dormancy break of fruiting buds, could not be mitigated by the evaluated pruning strategies. Full article

Many strategies and directives are starting to address the importance of an appropriate landscape for agricultural biodiversity, such as pollinators and auxiliary fauna. Therefore, it is necessary to identify which landscape features are more important for agricultural biodiversity conservation and the ecosystem services they offer, like pollination and pest control. Thus, the main objective of this study was to assess the effect of landscape composition, configuration, connectivity, and crop border vegetation on arthropod diversity. The arthropod community was sampled in eight legume crops located across a gradient of landscape complexity. Additionally, the border vegetation of each plot was characterized, and the surrounding landscape was analyzed at a small and a large scale. For the statistical analysis, Generalized Linear Mix Models and redundancy analyses were applied. Pollinators were positively affected mainly by landscape connectivity. Pest control agents were less influenced by the landscape and only before harvest were they positively affected by riparian forests. Finally, phytophagous arthropod richness increased with border vegetation diversity and cropland in the surroundings. In conclusion, in the leguminous crops of Araba landscape connectivity together with cropland extension in the surroundings should be considered to promote ES-offering fauna diversity. Full article

Conservation agriculture practices (CAs) are important under the increasingly serious soil quality degradation of sloping farmlands worldwide. However, little is known about how the long-term application of CAs influences soil quality at different slope positions. We conducted field experiments for a watershed sloping farmland’s mainstream planting systems in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of China. Orchard plots were treated with a conventional citrus planting pattern (C-CK), citrus intercropped with white clover (WC), citrus orchard soil mulched with straw (SM) and citrus intercropped with Hemerocallis flava contour hedgerows (HF). Crop field plots were treated with a conventional wheat–peanut rotation (W-CK), a wheat–peanut rotation intercropped with Toona sinensis contour hedgerows (TS), a wheat–peanut rotation intercropped with alfalfa contour hedgerows (AF) and a ryegrass–sesame rotation (RS). We collected soil samples from the plots at the upper, middle and lower slope positions and measured their soil properties after a nine-year experiment. We found that (1) CAs improved the soil properties at the three slope positions; (2) the effect of the CAs on the soil properties was more significant than that on the slope position; and (3) the soil quality index at the upper, middle and lower slope positions increased by 29.9%, 45.8% and 33.3%, respectively, for WC; 48.7%, 39.5% and 27.1%, respectively, for SM; and 21.7%, 25.5% and 21.6%, respectively, for HF compared to C-CK; as well as 18.7%, 23.7% and 20.4%, respectively, for TS; 16.9%, 18.6% and 16.5%, respectively, for AF; and 16.1%, 13.0% and 13.9%, respectively, for RS compared to W-CK. These findings suggest that long-term CA application enhances the soil quality of the slope position, of which SM and TS applied to orchards and crop fields, respectively, are the most effective. Full article

Sunlight and the heat it provides are important ecological resources for reptiles especially for those species living in temperate zones that bask extensively to maximize heat uptake. Sun basking has both benefits and costs for reptiles, giving heat that provides the energy to drive physiology but basking in open patches increases risk of predation due to higher visibility. Prime basking sites are believed to increase benefits for reptiles that include, in addition to open sunlit areas, facilitate detection of predators and prey and escape to nearby refuges. However, if such sites are limited, both inter and intra-specific interference may occur and this kind of competition may impact on a reptile’s ability to access prime basking sites, and as a consequence, its capacity to thermoregulate to optimum body temperatures. This may be especially important for juveniles, for whom rapid growth is a key factor in survivorship. We studied communal basking and interaction events at prime basking sites in the European green lizard, Lacerta bilineata, in a hedgerow in western France. We compared basking behaviour of adults and juveniles with sympatric adult wall lizards Podarcis muralis using non-invasive photographic-mark-recapture. Adult L. bilineata were more evenly distributed across basking sights compared to juveniles but significant differences were only detected between males and juveniles. Juvenile L. bilineata abandoned basking sites at the approach of both adult males and females and were aggressively removed by adult male L. bilineata. We found inter-specific communal basking between both adult and juvenile L. bilineata with adult wall lizards P. muralis. Communal basking was observed between male and female L. bilineata but not between adult males or between adult female L. bilineata. Communal basking was in proportionally greater frequency in juveniles compared to adult L. bilineata. Full article

Agriculture is a leading cause of biodiversity loss, making the transition to sustainable agroecological practices crucial. Insectivorous bats play a crucial role as biological controllers in regard to agricultural crops, serving as important insect predators. The purpose of this study is to assess bat communities in three distinct habitats, namely the interior of a vineyard, native vegetation, and the transitional edge between them, by analyzing the echolocation patterns of different species. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the influence of landscape characteristics on bat communities and at the species level, allowing the incorporation of variables at different scales (at 10 m, 100 m, and 1000 m radius) from each sampling site. Our results show that edges enhance bat richness, their general activity, and feeding patterns, and are of particular benefit to certain species: Tadarida brasiliensis, Myotis chiloensis, and Lasiurus varius. Implementing agroecological practices, such as the maintenance of tree hedgerows at the landscape scale, along with native vegetation at the landscape scale, can amplify feeding activity in vineyards, thereby enhancing the provision of ecosystem services in agroecosystems. The edges of vineyards and natural vegetation are crucial for providing habitats for bats and increasing their foraging activity, as well as providing a way to enhance agroecological practices in vineyards to bolster ecosystem services. Full article

Studying historical rural landscapes beyond their archaeological and cultural significance, as has typically been addressed in previous research, is important in the context of current environmental challenges. Some historical rural landscapes, such as Roman land divisions, have persisted for more than 2000 years and may still contribute to sustainability goals. To assess this topic, the hydraulic and vegetation network of the centuriation northeast of Padua were studied, emphasising their multiple benefits. Their length, distribution, and evolution over time (2008–2022) were vectorised and measured using available digital terrain models and orthophotographs in a geographic information system (GIS). The results revealed a significant decline in the length of water ditches and hedgerows across almost all examined areas, despite their preservation being highlighted in regional and local spatial planning documents. These findings indicate the need for a better understanding of the local dynamics driving such trends and highlight the importance of adopting a more tailored approach to their planning. This study discusses the GIS metrics utilised and, in this way, contributes to landscape monitoring and restoration actions. Finally, a multifunctional approach to the sustainable planning of this area is proposed here—one that integrates the cultural archaeological heritage in question with environmental preservation and contemporary climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. Full article