Maria Carmela Caria

Identifying key environmental factors related to plant and crustacean assemblages in Mediterranean temporary ponds

The current interest in Mediterranean temporary wet habitats, considered to be habitats of European Community Interest, is mainly due to their characteristic flora and fauna. Several contributions characterize each of these two components separately, but considering them simultaneously could reveal possible interactions and a more complete view of the habitat that would be useful to improve conservation measures. This paper investigates crustacean and plant assemblages in six Mediterranean temporary ponds and their relationship with several environmental variables. Significant positive relationships were found between species richness and Shannon diversity index of plant and crustacean assemblages. Crustaceans had a higher similarity among ponds than plants and, consequently, each pond had a more characteristic assemblage of plants than of crustaceans. The two groups showed a different sensitivity to environmental factors and only two factors affected both: altitude and surface area of the wet system. Disturbances (e.g. grazing by cattle) and pond size were very important for plants, whereas they were irrelevant for crustaceans. On the other hand, distance to the nearest pond, hydroperiod length, and water nitrogen were only important for crustaceans. Although similar trends on richness and diversity were observed for both biotic groups, the use of only one of them for conservation programs would not be sufficient. Our results suggest that simultaneously taking into account several community components would result in a better understanding of ecosystem functionality.

Diversity and ecological characteristics of vascular flora in Mediterranean temporary pools

Vascular flora of Mediterranean temporary pools has been studied with the aims to define its diversity and to individuate the ecological characteristics of the different plant groups associated with this relevant and endangered habitat type. Overall, 246 species were found of which 108 were terrestrial, 57 generalist of aquatic or wet habitats and 81 typical of temporary water and strongly linked to temporary pools. The results suggest that: (i) vascular flora associated with Sardinian Mediterranean temporary pools is rich and diversified; (ii) rare ferns are better represented than previously reported; (iii) plant species are generally heliophilous and acidophilous, specialized temporary pool species mainly differing from the unspecialized ones in relationship to their soil moisture requirements; (iv) these habitats are particularly important for maintaining regional freshwater biodiversity.

Effects of long-term management practices on grassland plant assemblages in Mediterranean cork oak silvo-pastoral systems

The assessment of the effects of long-term management practices is relevant in understanding the current patterns of plant assemblages in semi-natural ecosystems. We hypothesized that the variety of management practices across different farming systems under the same ecological conditions directly and indirectly shapes these patterns via the long-term changes induced in soil features. The aims of this paper were to evaluate the influence of two sets of variables describing long-term management practices and soil features on plant assemblages and their importance in the context of Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems. The analysis of variance revealed that richness and grazing value were not affected at all by grazing livestock species and soil tillage frequency and that they both showed relatively high absolute values for the specific context under study. Trifolium subterraneum was a key species in contributing to grassland grazing value and habitat biodiversity. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis highlighted the influence of management practices and soil features on plant assemblage composition, which was significantly affected by grazing livestock species and stocking rate and by soil pH and K content. The Redundancy Analysis showed that soil pH and related features were in turn affected by stocking rate, supporting our hypothesis that management practices influenced plant assemblage composition directly and indirectly via their long-term effects on soil features. The results also highlighted that a systemic analytical perspective applied at a grazing system scale can be effective in addressing sustainable grassland management issues in Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems.

Effects of the working vacuum level on mechanical milking of buffalo.

Mechanized milking has become widely used for buffaloes in Italy in recent years, thus improving the management and the productivity of farms. The apparent similarities between buffalo and cattle have often resulted in applying the same milking systems and techniques currently used for dairy cows. Considering the effect of mechanical milking on animal health, productivity, and welfare in intensive livestock farming, this study compares the effects of milking at low vacuum (36 kPa) and medium vacuum (42 kPa) on milk emission characteristics and milking system performance. Individual milk flow curves were registered to analyze milk yield, average flow rate, and milking time, and milking operations were recorded to evaluate the system performances. When using 36 kPa vacuum, a significant increase in milking time and in the lag time before milk ejection occurred, as well as a decrease in average flow rate and residual milk. However, the vacuum level did not influence both milk yield and milk ejection time. As a consequence of decreasing the vacuum level to 36 kPa, the milking system throughput was decreased at most by 5 buffalo/h.

Contrasting land uses in Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral systems generated patchy diversity patterns of vascular plants and below-ground microorganisms

The aims of this paper were (i) to define how contrasting land uses affected plant biodiversity in Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral-systems across a gradient of disturbance regimes: cork oak forests, secondary grasslands, hay crops, grass covered vineyards, tilled vineyards; (ii) to determine whether these patterns mirrored those of below-ground microorganisms and whether the components of γ-diversity followed a similar model. The disturbance regimes affected plant assemblage composition. Species richness decreased with increasing land use intensity, the Shannon index showed the highest values in grasslands and hay crops. Plant assemblage composition patterns mirrored those of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota. Richness in Basidiomycota, denitrifying bacteria and microbial biomass showed the same trend as that observed for vascular plant richness. The Shannon index pattern of below-ground microorganisms was different from that of plants. The plant γ-diversity component model weakly mirrored those of Ascomycota. Patchy diversity patterns suggest that the maintenance of contrasting land uses associated with different productions typical of agro-silvo-pastoral-systems can guarantee the conservation of biodiversity.

Small-scale patterns of plant functional types and soil features within Mediterranean temporary ponds

Temporary ponds (TPs) are shallow water bodies characterized by alternating phases of drought and flooding. They exhibit a small-scale zonation with a central belt (CB), an intermediate belt, and an outer belt (OB). Starting from the hypothesis that plant assemblage composition is affected by the position within TPs, our aims were to define the small-scale patterns of plant functional types, soil evolution, and soil physicochemical properties and to analyze their relationships and how they were affected by pond characteristics (i.e., elevation, substratum, total size, belt size, maximum water depth, and hydroperiod). Our results pointed out that patterns of plant functional types and soil evolution followed the position within the pond, soil physicochemical properties were weakly affected, and there was a relationship between plant functional types, soil small-scale patterns, and pond characteristics. Principal component analysis showed a positive correlation of Alfisols with CB, aquatic and amphibious species, maximum water depth, and hydroperiod, and of Entisols with OB and terrestrial species. A combined microtopography–hydrology effect was the primary factor controlling soil evolution and plant functional type patterns. As a consequence, modification in topographic shape and/or hydrologic parameters could alter TP environments. The results provide information for management strategies as an answer to the concerns surrounding continued worldwide TP decline.

Dairy Energy Prediction (DEP) model

A population of 285 dairy cow farms located in the south of Italy was involved.Linear regression models for predicting diesel and electricity use were developed.A tool (DEP) was developed to predict direct energy related emission and costs.DEP tool is available online at this link: http://bit.ly/DEPTOOL. The need of reducing energy consumption in agriculture through more efficient working methods came first into focus in the 1970s as a consequence of oil crisis and the sharp increase of the energy price. Today, besides the economic issues, other aspects connected to a large use of fossil energies are becoming prominent: the depletion of nonrenewable resources and the pollution of the environment. The consumption of direct energy, as fuels and electricity, in dairy farming is a source of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes significantly to increasing the carbon footprint of milk.The objectives of this study were: (a) to build linear models to estimate the consumption of diesel fuel and electricity in dairy farms; (b) to develop a calculation tool in order to assess efficiency indicators associated to energy consumption, emissions of carbon dioxide and energy costs in dairy farms.Data used in the model development were collected from 285 dairy farms located in southern Italy. Two linear regression models were developed using total fuel (TF, kgyear1) and electricity consumption (TE, kWhyear1) as responses and total number of heads, total number of lactating cows, milk produced, and cultivated land as primary independent variables. Models parameters were then implemented in a spread sheet to develop the Dairy Energy Prediction (DEP) tool. Entering some basic information about dairy farms characteristics, DEP is able to predict diesel fuel and electricity consumptions, to list several Energy Utilization Indices (EUIs), to estimate carbon dioxide emissions from energy uses (kg CO2-eq), to evaluate the costs of energy purchase. DEP may be used by farmers, to evaluate the energy performances of their farms, and by researchers and stakeholders to compare the impact of different energy scenarios (i.e. LCA studies, economic evaluation, environmental assessment, etc.). DEP tool is available online at this link: http://bit.ly/DEPTOOL.

A new species of Portulaca oleracea aggregate from Sardinia, Italy

Abstract A new microspecies of the Portulaca olearacea aggregate was identified in the course of a seed coat morphology analysis of 385 specimens from 55 sites located in Sardinia. This new taxon is here described under the name Portulaca sardoa. Apart from seed coat ornamentation, the new species differs from the others in chromosome number (2n = 48). Furthermore, a simplified key for the identification of the microspecies is provided.

Effect of vacuum level on milk flow traits in Mediterranean Italian buffalo cow

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of six different working vacuum levels (range 37–52 kPa) on the milk production, milk flow rate and milking times of Mediterranean Italian buffalo. A total of 801 milk flow curves of 450 animals of different parity and at different stages of lactation were recorded at random by electronic milk flow meters (Lactocorder®) over a period of 12 weeks. The vacuum level did not significantly affect the individual milk production per milking (average 4.02±0.06 kg). Lower vacuum level resulted in a decrease in average and peak flow rate (P<0.001), and an increase in effective milking time between attaching the teat cup and reaching the value of 0.20 kg/min at the end of milking (P<0.001). Vacuum levels of 37 and 40 kPa provided good milkability conditions, in which the plateau phase was longer than the decline phase while lag time was not affected by vacuum level.

Evaluation of the performance of the first automatic milking system for buffaloes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of buffaloes to automatic milking, examining the relationships between milking interval, milk production, and milking time for this species. A total of 7,550 milking records from an average of 40 buffaloes milked by an automatic milking system (AMS) were analyzed during a 3-mo experimental period at a commercial farm with Italian Mediterranean buffaloes in southern Italy. Date and time of animal identification, milk yield, milking duration, milking interval, and average milk flow rate were determined for each milking. The results were also used to predict the maximum number of milkings per day and the optimal number of buffaloes per AMS for different levels of milk production. The average interval period between 2 consecutive milkings was 10.3 h [standard deviation (SD) 3.3]. Overall, 3.4 and 25.7% of the milkings had an interval of ≤ 6 h or >12 h, respectively. Milking duration averaged 8.3 min per buffalo per milking (SD 2.7). The average milk flow rate was 1.3 kg/min (SD 0.5) at a milk yield of 2.8 kg per milking (SD 1.4). Assuming that the milking station is occupied 80% of the time, the number of milkings ranged from 136 to 152 per day and the optimal number of buffaloes per AMS ranged from 59 to 66 when the production level increased from 2 to 5 kg of milk per milking. Automatic milking systems are suitable for buffalo, opening new options for the management of dairy buffalo farms.