Search Results (462)

The islet of Vaixell, off the west coast of Ibiza (Balearic Islands, Spain), is home to a native population of the Pityusic wall lizard, Podarcis pityusensis, with the largest body size recorded for the species. These lizards live in extreme environmental conditions on an islet with a small surface area covered by very sparse vegetation. The sex ratio is balanced, and a very high incidence of missing toes and autotomized tails is observed, indicating strong intraspecific competition involving both males and females. The body growth rate, adjusted using the Gompertz model, is intense and, apparently, juvenile lizards quickly reach relatively large body sizes. This fast body growth is probably a strategy against predation pressure from conspecifics. In P. pityusensis from Vaixell, the peak growth acceleration is prenatal and practically coincides with the moment of hatching. The diet consists mainly of aggregated prey, such as ants, with the inclusion of marine subsidies, such as halophyllous and littoral isopods, and a lower consumption of plant matter compared to other insular populations of lizards from the Balearic Islands. The lizards of Vaixell are an excellent example of the adaptive response of a lacertid lizard to the extreme conditions on the small coastal islets of the Mediterranean, with very small available areas, high population density, but a small population size, of about 50 to 100 lizards, which also reach a remarkable longevity. Full article

The unchecked expansion of tea plantations onto steep, forest-adjacent slopes in subtropical mountains engenders a conflict between agricultural productivity and ecosystem integrity, particularly by exacerbating habitat fragmentation and soil erosion. While precise monitoring is essential to navigate this trade-off for sustainable management, accurate inventorying remains a challenge due to the plantations’ strong phenological variability, heterogeneous canopy structures, and high spectral confusion with surrounding vegetation. This study proposes a feature-optimized deep learning framework for mapping and characterizing tea plantations in complex landscapes, using Xinyang City, China, as a study area. The framework integrates multi-temporal Sentinel-1/2 observations with a sequential Jeffries-Matusita (JM)-Pearson feature filtering strategy. This approach effectively condenses a 132-variable high-dimensional pool (including optical spectra, vegetation indices, textures, and SAR polarimetry) into a compact 28-feature subset (a 78.8% reduction), preserving critical phenological and structural cues while minimizing redundancy. These optimized predictors drive a hybrid VGG16–UNet++ segmentation network, which couples transfer-learning-based semantic encoding with detail-preserving dense skip fusion. Extensive experiments across 18 model–feature configurations demonstrate that the optimal setting achieves an Overall Accuracy of 97.82%, an F1-score of 0.9093, and a mean IoU of 0.7968. Notably, the method significantly reduces misclassification in rugged, cloud-prone terrain, yielding a User’s Accuracy of 91.14% for tea. Based on the generated wall-to-wall map, we derived two decision-support indicators: multi-threshold steep-slope exposure and a normalized tea–forest interface density. This framework provides actionable, high-precision spatial products to support slope-based zoning, ecological restoration, and sustainable management in fragile mountain agroforestry systems. Full article

This paper studies the dynamics of a low-density gas directly injected onto a flat wall, focusing on the influence of different pressure ratios (PRs) and plate position. Due to safety reasons, Helium (He) was employed as substitute to reproduce the mixing characteristics of hydrogen. A Nd:YAG laser has been used to generate the luminous background in the constant volume chamber (CVC) and vegetable oil particles as trackers to identify the induced flow-field. Two configurations were investigated: the first, with a flat wall perpendicularly positioned at an axial distance of 10 mm from the injector tip, and the second with the same plate at 30 mm downstream of the injector, inclined at 30°. The pressure of injection was swept from 20 to 50 bar, while the backpressure inside the CVC ranged from 2 to 6 bar to enable the reproduction of five different values of PRs: 3, 4, 7, 10 and 17. The comparison of the results in the two configurations has highlighted the role of the plate at short distance in decelerating the jet speed (230 m/s to 160 m/s) while improving the vorticity intensity (+10%). In addition, a stagnation region was observed to form on the flat wall, downstream of the injector axis for 10 mm configuration. In this area the velocity ranged from 50% to 60% compared to the average jet speed. This phenomenon was noted to be less pronounced with the 30 mm, 30° configuration that led to a more contained speed reduction to 150–160%. Full article

Accurately identifying medium- and low-yield farmlands (MLYF) and diagnosing their constraints are essential for targeted improvement of productivity and national food security. However, traditional evaluation is usually limited by coarse spatial resolution and high labor costs, and a methodological gap remains between large-scale MLYF classification and system constraints diagnosis. To address the current methodological gaps, this study developed a comprehensive framework to determine the spatial distribution of MLYF in northern China and clarify their key constraints. The framework combined the Spatio-Temporal Random Forest (STRF) algorithm with vegetation indices (VIs), climate, and soil data to delineate MLYF and uses interpretable machine learning to diagnose major constraints. The model showed high explanatory power and ensured the reliability of attribution results. The results showed that MLYF exhibited obvious spatial heterogeneity, accounting for 48.66% of the total cultivated land in the study area. These MLYF are primarily concentrated in the northwestern Loess Plateau (LP), the central Along the Great Wall (ATGW) region, and the peripheries of the Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) Plain. In addition to spatial classification, our analysis revealed significant differences in constraint mechanisms: soil structural, nutrient, and salinization constraints predominantly restrict productivity in the HHH Plain, whereas water stress and soil erosion are the primary drivers of yield gaps in the LP and ATGW regions. These findings provide new data and insights for understanding the spatial heterogeneity of farmland quality in typical dryland agricultural regions in northern China, and offer a scientific basis for targeted land improvement and regional agricultural sustainability. Full article

Pitch canker caused by the fungus Fusarium circinatum is a destructive disease that affects pines in Europe, South Africa, and North America, particularly along the southeastern and western coasts of the United States. This study systematically elucidated the function of the Leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein FcLRR1 in the pine pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum. A total of 13 LRR proteins were identified via bioinformatic analysis. Using a gene knockout system, we demonstrated that deletion of FcLRR1 significantly impaired vegetative growth, conidiation, and conidium germination; led to a complete loss of macroconidia production; and drastically reduced abiotic stress tolerance and virulence. Transcriptome profiling revealed 612 downregulated genes, which were significantly enriched in pathways such as starch and sucrose metabolism, indicating that FcLRR1 modulated energy supply and pathogenicity through carbon source utilization. Through genome-wide protein structure modeling and yeast two-hybrid assays, we identified and validated the interaction between FcLRR1 and ALG-11, among other candidate proteins, further supporting its involvement in carbon metabolism, cell wall integrity, and pathogenesis. This study represents the first functional characterization of an LRR-containing protein in a forest pathogenic fungus and provides a foundational basis for developing targeted disease control strategies. Full article

As an emerging oilseed crop in China, peony seed oils account for 0.41% of the annual production of Chinese edible vegetable oils, and the oil-type peony seed is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Moisture content and temperature are key factors in the storage of oilseeds. In this study, the adsorption and desorption isotherms of ten species of peony seeds and one species of cake were determined in the range of 20–30 °C and 10–90% equilibrium relative humidity (ERH). The adsorption and desorption isotherms of peony seeds and cake were type II (sigmoidal) or type III curves. Nine equilibrium moisture content (EMC) equations were used to fit the isotherms of peony samples, with the optimal equations being our developed 7-parameter polynomial (Poly), modified Halsey equation (MHAE), and modified Oswin equation (MOE). For Poly, the fitting parameter determination coefficient (R²) was 0.9816–0.9986, and the mean relative error (MRE) was 0.83–6.52%; for MHAE, R² was 0.7815–0.9973, and MRE was 4.18–17.84%. Poly contains the terms of temperature and ERH interaction; therefore, Poly could analyze the safe moisture content of peony seeds and cake during storage and transportation, and the three-parameter reversible MHAE could be used for calculating the sorption isosteric heats. The adsorption monolayer moisture content (M₀) in peony seeds and cake estimated by MGAB were 3.64 ± 0.42% and 4.28%, respectively, while their desorption M₀ values, respectively, were 6.21 ± 0.47% and 4.83%. At ERH ≤ 65%, for preventing the growth of storage pests and fungi, the absolutely safe storage moisture content (MC) predicted by Poly at 25 °C and 65% ERH was 12.48% wet basis (w.b.) for seeds and 11.92% for cake. The heat of sorption of peony seeds and cake approached that of pure water at about 11% and 15% w.b. MC estimated by the MHAE model, respectively. Microstructure analysis showed that the rich liposomes in peony seeds were attached to the inner surface of the cell wall and the outer surface of the protein storage vacuole, and the rich protein bodies and hydrophilic polysaccharides explained why the safe storage moisture for yellow peony seeds was higher than for Ziyan Feishuang seeds. This study provides the basic data for drying simulation, and the safe storage and transportation of peony seed and cake products. Full article

Functional traits help to understand plant ecological strategies and play a determinant role in restoration. This study evaluated interspecific variability among 38 timber species of bioeconomic importance associated with natural forests and forest trials in the northern Colombian Amazon, identifying Plant Functional Types (PFTs) and their implications for productive restoration. Soft and hard traits were integrated, including tree morphological characteristics (diameter at breast height, total height, and crown cover) and wood functional traits (wood basic specific gravity, SG; maximum moisture content; fiber diameter and wall thickness; and vessel diameter and density). Correlations among these traits were also assessed. Five PFTs were identified. PFTs 1 and 2 grouped species with acquisitive strategies and high hydraulic efficiency, making them suitable for rapid vegetation cover recovery. In contrast, PFT 5 included conservative and hydraulically safe species, appropriate for enrichment processes once vegetation cover has been established. PFTs 3 and 4 represented intermediate strategies. Additionally, tree size was found to directly influence stem hydraulic architecture, and distinct anatomical configurations may occur within similar SG ranges, highlighting the need to integrate multi-trait approaches, as this trait alone does not fully capture the hydraulic and mechanical strategies of species. Full article

With non-rainfall water (NRW), principally dew and fog, serving as an important water source, especially in arid and semiarid regions, factors that may increase the NRW yield may have important hydrological and ecological consequences. On the other hand, dew and fog may also have hazardous effect on inorganic and human-made materials that may undergo corrosion and/or degradation. It has long been noted that dew and fog are affected by neighboring objects, the effect of which was, however, only barely explored. Hypothesizing that it may principally be linked to the sky view factor (SVF) (determining, in turn, substrate temperature and heat flow) and, therefore, to the angle that is formed between the collecting substrate and the height of the neighboring objects, a set of square boxes (30 × 30 or 60 × 60 cm) was constructed. The boxes had variable heights, forming angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75° between 6 × 6 × 0.1 cm cloth attached to a substratum (10 × 10 × 0.2 cm glass plate overlying 10 × 10 × 0.5 cm plywood) at the center of each box and the top walls of the box. NRW that accumulated at the cloths was compared with cloths placed in the open, serving as control. Another set served to measure the plate temperatures. A clear decrease in NRW, with an angle corresponding to a third-degree polynomial equation, was found (r² = 0.998). Taking 0.1 mm as the threshold for vapor condensation (dew), and taking the average maximal NRW as measured for two years in the Negev (0.20 mm), angles of ≥45° will suffice to impair condensation. However, with the projected decrease in NRW with global warming, even angles of ≥30° may impair condensation in 1–2 decades. While it may decrease the dew amounts and subsequently negatively affect the vegetation in forest clearings and wadis or canyons, it may decrease the exposure of construction materials to corrosion and/or degradation, thus exerting a positive effect on construction materials in urban settings. Full article

Green façades are acknowledged as passive strategies that reduce heat accumulation, enhance biodiversity, improve particulate matter absorption and provide psycho-physiological benefits for users. However, evaluations of their thermal performance—accounting for seasonality, vegetation density, and leaf characteristics—remain incomplete. This study addresses this gap by assessing two green façade typologies on a sample building located in Northern Italy (Cfa climate). ENVI-met microclimate simulations compared a bare wall with vegetated façades featuring Hedera helix (evergreen) and Parthenocissus tricuspidata (deciduous) across four orientations and seasonal conditions, considering the sample building and the immediate surrounding outdoor space. Both species reduced wall-surface temperatures (T₀) and improved outdoor thermal comfort perception (PET), influenced by LAI dynamics, foliage persistence, and façade orientation. Results indicate that Parthenocissus tricuspidata achieved the greatest cooling effect during hot periods due to higher LAI, with absolute T₀ reductions of up to 22.1 °C on southern façades and 30.0 °C on western façades. In these orientations, PET improvements reached up to 3.0 °C (south) and 8.0 °C (west). Conversely, Hedera helix ensured stable year-round performance and performed better on northern façades during colder periods. The results stress the need for integrated design that aligns plant choice with orientation and seasonal growth to optimize thermal performance, cut cooling demands, and improve outdoor comfort. Full article

Salinity is a major constraint on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) production and is known to inhibit seed germination. However, the physiological and biochemical processes underlying this sensitivity remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how salinity affects seed germination in two lettuce cultivars, ‘Susan’ (a highly salt-sensitive cultivar) and ‘Yafa’ (a low salt-sensitive cultivar), with particular emphasis on the roles of catalase and endo-β-mannanase enzyme activities. Seeds were subjected to both low salinity (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 mM NaCl) and high salinity (0, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, and 320 mM NaCl) under standard germination conditions to evaluate germination percentage, mean germination time, and enzyme activity. Seedling emergence was also assessed in different growing media, including perlite, sand, peatmoss, and cocopeat. The results showed that salinity significantly reduced germination percentage and seedling length and increased mean germination time, with inhibition occurring at ≥0.1 mM NaCl in ‘Susan’ and ≥40 mM NaCl in ‘Yafa’; both cultivars failed to germinate at 320 mM. The ’Yafa’ had a high seedling emergence in all growing media, but ’Susan‘ seeds only emerged in perlite, which had the lowest salinity. Catalase activity increased markedly under salt stress, particularly in ‘Susan,’ indicating elevated oxidative burden, while endo-β-mannanase activity declined with increasing salinity, especially in the highly salt-sensitive cultivar of ‘Susan’. Correlation analysis showed that germination percentage had a significant and positive correlation with endo-β-mannanase activity and had a significant and negative correlation with catalase activity across salinity levels. In conclusion, salinity-induced inhibition of lettuce seed germination appears to be associated with changes in antioxidant enzyme activity and reduced endosperm weakening capacity, as reflected by altered catalase and endo-β-mannanase activities, thereby contributing to cultivar-dependent differences in salt sensitivity. Full article

Living Wall Systems (LWS) are vertical vegetated building façade systems that offer environmental and social benefits; however, their adoption in South Africa, particularly within the Western Cape (WC), remains limited due to high capital and maintenance costs and the absence of regionally adapted design and cost models. This study investigates the viability and design development of LWS in the WC from a Quantity Surveying (QS) perspective, with the aim of developing a context-specific system utilising indigenous plant species and assessing its economic feasibility over the building life cycle. This study employed a mixed method research approach comprising a literature review, semi-structured interviews with industry professionals, thematic analysis, cost modelling, and the preparation of a detailed Bill of Quantities (BOQ). Life cycle costing (LCC) techniques were applied to evaluate long-term cost implications. The study resulted in the development of a criteria-led, context-adapted LWS model, termed Viridis 5045, which satisfies environmental, technical, and contextual requirements for the WC. The BOQ and LCC analyses provide projected capital and operational cost benchmarks for the proposed system. This study demonstrates that the Viridis 5045 model is technically feasible and contextually appropriate for application within the WC, supporting its consideration in sustainable construction practice when evaluated beyond conventional life cycle financial indicators. Future research should focus on the monetisation of long-term benefits, greywater integration, and Whole Life Costing. Full article

Biological cardiovascular vulnerability is defined as an imaging-derived construct integrating myocardial functional impairment, coronary microvascular dysfunction, and modeled hemodynamic burden, including global longitudinal strain, coronary flow reserve, and derived vascular indices. To evaluate whether advanced echocardiographic and coronary Doppler imaging parameters identify biological cardiovascular vulnerability associated with the severity and complications of infective endocarditis beyond conventional structural findings. In this retrospective single-center cohort study, we analyzed consecutive patients with definite infective endocarditis who underwent advanced echocardiographic and coronary Doppler imaging. Comprehensive transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography assessed vegetation characteristics, left ventricular function, global longitudinal strain (GLS), diastolic indices, right ventricular function, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure. Coronary microvascular function was evaluated noninvasively using transthoracic Doppler-derived coronary flow reserve (CFR) of the left anterior descending artery. Associations with disease severity and perivalvular complications were evaluated using multivariable regression analysis. Reduced coronary flow reserve was independently associated with the composite severe infective endocarditis phenotype, as defined by perivalvular complications, severe valvular dysfunction, or endocarditis team-guided urgent surgical indication. Coronary flow reserve correlated inversely with vegetation size (r = −0.39; p = 0.002) and regurgitation severity (r = −0.36; p = 0.004). Notably, the inverse association between coronary flow reserve and vegetation size showed substantial interindividual variability, particularly among patients with similar vegetation dimensions, suggesting heterogeneity in microvascular vulnerability beyond structural lesion burden. Despite relatively preserved mean arterial pressure across age groups, advanced imaging revealed progressive increases in systemic vascular resistance, declining wall shear stress, impaired microvascular flow, and reduced myocardial reserve. Imaging-derived cardiovascular vulnerability profiles frequently diverged from chronological age, highlighting heterogeneity in cardiovascular reserve despite apparently stable conventional hemodynamic parameters. Advanced echocardiographic and coronary Doppler imaging characterize a spectrum of biological cardiovascular vulnerability that is associated with clinically adjudicated severity in infective endocarditis, rather than serving as independent prognostic predictors. Full article

This study proposes a comprehensive framework, based on an upper-bound approach, for assessing how vegetation enhances wall stability through two primary mechanisms. The two mechanisms are reinforcement from root systems and hydrological reinforcement through transpiration-induced soil suction. Both contributions are integrated as additional internal energy dissipation terms within a logarithmic-spiral failure model. New expressions of earth pressure in unsaturated soil are derived, considering the influence of vegetation. The active earth pressure acting on the retaining wall is obtained using sequential quadratic programming. The proposed method is validated against classical non-vegetated solutions, confirming its accuracy. The results show that vegetation significantly reduces active earth pressure, with the extent of reduction depending on soil type, root distribution, and transpiration rate. In clay soils, both mechanical and hydrological effects are important, while in sandy soils, mechanical root reinforcement plays the dominant role. The effectiveness of vegetation is influenced by root depth, density, and diameter, with practical design insights provided through parametric charts. This work offers a theoretically consistent and design-oriented tool for evaluating vegetated retaining walls, emphasizing the coupled hydro-mechanical interactions between plants and soil. Full article

Mulberry (Morus alba) is an economically important forest tree species, yet cutting propagation is constrained by low adventitious rooting efficiency. Although ABT, a composite rooting promoter, can improve cutting survival, its molecular basis remains unclear. Here, cuttings of the cultivar Qiangsang 1 were treated with ABT, NAA, or IAA (200–1000 mg/L) and subjected to transcriptome profiling to elucidate how ABT enhances rooting. Hormone-related analyses showed that ABT upregulated GH3 (auxin-amido synthetase) at days 0 and 20, implicating auxin homeostasis. ERF1/2 (ethylene response factors) exhibited a temporal oscillation, with induction at day 10 followed by repression from days 20 to 30, consistent with a shift from developmental programs to defense-related processes. In parallel, JAZ (jasmonate ZIM-domain) genes were downregulated at day 0 and subsequently upregulated; together with CYP94C1, these changes may attenuate jasmonate-associated defense signaling. For cell remodeling and defense coordination, ABT reduced the expression of genes associated with cell-wall rigidity while inducing EXPA11 (expansin) at day 20, potentially facilitating root primordium emergence. Meanwhile, PR-1 (pathogenesis-related protein 1) was transiently upregulated at days 0, 20, and 30, and the concomitant modulation of WRKY transcription factors and RPM1 suggests enhanced defense readiness. Integrative network analysis further indicated that a GH3–ERF1/2–PR-1 module links hormonal and defense cues and may activate BAT1 (energy metabolism) and RBOHB (ROS production) to support adventitious root elongation. Collectively, these results suggest that ABT improves rooting efficiency by reshaping hormonal homeostasis and coordinating cell-wall reconstruction with a pre-activated defense state, thereby providing a conceptual framework for balancing root induction and defense responses during vegetative propagation in forest trees. Full article

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a globally invasive pest that inflicts significant damage on economically important vegetable crops such as cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.) and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). To elucidate the interactions between host plants and F. occidentalis and to support the development of sustainable management strategies, this study evaluated the host selectivity and life history parameters of F. occidentalis living on these plant species to assess its adaptability. Transcriptome–metabolome profiles and associated metabolites were analyzed in healthy plants and in those infested by F. occidentalis for 48 h to characterize the defense responses of both host species. The results showed that both plant species are attractive to F. occidentalis, with a stronger preference observed for cowpeas. However, the reproductive output of F. occidentalis was significantly higher on cucumbers (16.99 ± 0.43 eggs/female) than on cowpeas (12.00 ± 0.38 eggs/female) plants, indicating a mismatch between host preference and performance. Feeding by F. occidentalis strongly induced the brassinolide and jasmonic acid signaling pathways, activated the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway, increased the accumulation of the lignin precursor sinapyl alcohol, and promoted lignin biosynthesis, thereby enhancing cell wall rigidity as a physical defense barrier. These findings demonstrate that cucumbers and cowpeas coordinately regulate lignin synthesis through hormone–metabolism crosstalk as a defensive strategy against thrips attack. In response, F. occidentalis adjusts its host selection and reproductive investment to overcome plant defenses, reflecting an adaptive counter-strategy in host–herbivore interactions. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying plant–thrips interactions and supports the development of environmentally friendly pest control approaches. Full article