Search

Cover crops are gaining traction in many agricultural regions, partly driven by increased public subsidies and by private markets for ecosystem services. These payments are motivated by environmental benefits, including improved soil health, reduced erosion, and increased soil organic carbon. However, previous work based on experimental plots or crop modeling indicates cover crops may reduce crop yields. It remains unclear, though, how recent cover crop adoption has affected productivity in commercial agricultural systems. Here we perform the first large-scale, field-level analysis of observed yield impacts from cover cropping as implemented across the US Corn Belt. We use validated satellite data products at sub-field scales to analyze maize and soybean yield outcomes for over 90,000 fields in 2019-2020. Because we lack data on cover crop species or timing, we seek to quantify the yield impacts of cover cropping as currently practiced in aggregate. Using causal forests analysis, we estimate an average maize yield loss of 5.5% on fields where cover crops were used for 3 or more years, compared with fields that did not adopt cover cropping. Maize yield losses were larger on fields with better soil ratings, cooler mid-season temperatures, and lower spring rainfall. For soybeans, average yield losses were 3.5%, with larger impacts on fields with warmer June temperatures, lower spring and late-season rainfall, and, to a lesser extent, better soils. Estimated impacts are consistent with multiple mechanisms indicated by experimental and simulation-based studies, including the effects of cover crops on nitrogen dynamics, water consumption, and soil oxygen depletion. Our results suggest a need to improve cover crop management to reduce yield penalties, and a potential need to target subsidies based on likely yield impacts. Ultimately, avoiding substantial yield penalties is important for realizing widespread adoption and associated benefits for water quality, erosion, soil carbon, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Nell’ambito di ricerche biosistematiche condotte sulla flora endemica della Sicilia, viene esaminata sotto il profilo morfologico Arabis madonia C.Presl, una specie ancora poco nota e critica sotto il profilo tassonomico.

The results of the excursion of the “Gruppo di Floristica” of the Italian Botanical Society held in the Sicani Mountains (CW-Sicily) on May 3-6, 2012, are here presented. During the research a total of 532 taxa was recorded. Three of them, the native Rosa squarrosa and the alien Phyllostachys aurea and Vitis ×koberi are new to Sicily, and 14 are new to the Sicani Mts. On the other side, we confirm the exclusion of Erica manipuliflora from the flora of the region.

I paesaggi agricoli tradizionali sono l’espressione più significativa del rapporto tra attività umane e processi naturali. Essi sono il luogo dove, attraverso una gestione consapevole delle risorse, si è conservata nel tempo la biodiversità così come oggi la conosciamo. Nel presente contributo si riportano i risultati di uno studio condotto in un’area rurale dei Monti Sicani settentrionali compresa tra Corleone e Campofiorito (Palermo) di proprietà della società Bona Furtuna LLC che, a partire dall’autunno 2014, ha sostenuto lo studio della flora e della vegetazione finalizzato alla valorizzazione di “piante autoctone” di potenziale interesse aromatico e medicinale.

La carte delle serie di vegetazione rappresentano un utile strumento applicativo per la pianificazione ambientale e la conservazione della biodiversità. La loro elaborazione a grande/grandissima scala può fornire una dettagliata cbiave di lettura del paesaggio vegetale, della sua eterogeneità ambientale e può consentire di delinearne con estrema precisione le dinamiche evolutive. Sulla scorta delle metodologie esistenti in letteratura, nel presente contributo viene applicato in ambiente GIS un criterio deduttivo che consiste nella predisposizione di tematismi di base a grande scala (carta della vegetazione reale, carta geologica, carta delle pendenze, carta delle esposizioni) e nella compilazione di un algoritmo propedeutico all'interrogazione del database "query" per l'ottenimento della carta delle serie. Per testare il metodo è stato fatto riferimento alla ZSC Monte Conca (ITA050006) sita nella Sicilia centrale: si tratta di una piccola area omogenea per macroclima ricca di espressioni prative dei substrati argillosi e della serie gessoso-solfifera.

Ethnopharmacobotanical traditions in some rural communities of Trapani Mountains (West-Sicily). – The results refer an ethnopharmacobotanical study carried out in the territories of Valderice, Busto Palizzolo, Custonaci and San Vito Lo Capo, in the Trapani Mountains. There are 155 plants used in etno-medicine. The etnofarmacobotanical use of spontaneous and cultivated taxa represents an ecosystem services provided by biodiversity in the traditional agricultural systems of this area.

During field investigations in the Mountains around Palermo, an unusual population of Monotropa sp. was found. After revision of the taxonomic literature and herbarium specimens, it was referred to Monotropa hypophegea Wallr. This species is closely related to M. hypopytis L., and in the past was considered only a variety (Pignatti 1982) or a subspecies (Křisa 1972) ) of it. More recently this entity has been considered an independent taxon deserving the rank of species (Conti et al. 2005). The most important morphological differences between the two taxa are the number of flowers in the raceme and the hairiness of sepals, petals and capsule. The individuals of the observed population have short racemes, with less than 8 flowers, are glabrous in all parts, including the sepals and inside petals and have glabrous, spherical capsules. On the contrary M. hypopytis has denser racemes (generally with 8-11 flowers), flowers hairy in the inner part of petals and in the sepals, and ovoid capsules. According to the literature (Pignatti 1982) M. hyphophegea is typical of deciduous forests, especially beech woods, while M. hypopitys prefers coniferous forests. However, in Sicily M. hipopytis is known only in the beech forests of the Madonie and the Nebrodi Mountains, with the alone exception of one locality in a black pine forest of the Etna Mountain (Giardina et al. 2007). M. hyphophagea, that was unknown in the island (Giardina et al. 2007, Raimondo et al. 2010), was found in an artificial Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinea and Cupressus sempervirens plantation. In particular, the locality where the species was found is in the Casaboli Wood at 790 m a.s.l., in the municipality of Monreale, near Palermo. It is an old reforestation with an high degree of dynamism to the return of natural vegetation, represented by Quercus ilex L. in the form of dense shrubs that constitute a undergrowth below the conifers. This discovery represents a further enrichment for the flora of Sicily. In particular the Mountains around Palermo are one of the richest areas in terms of plant biodiversity in Sicily. This is underlined by the recent description of punctual endemic species such as Silene kemoniana, Brassica trichocarpa, Hieracium busambarense and Sorbus busambarensis (C. Brullo et al. 2012, C. Brullo et al. 2013, Caldarella 2014, Castellano 2012).

536 patients from 60 to 84 years old, operated on for neurosurgical lesions, are evaluated with reference to post-operative mortality rate related to the type of pathology. 83 deaths (15.6%) occurred in this series. Mortality rate increases progressively with advancing age. It is outlined that the aged patients have lesser chances of surgical success, but the present data induce to consider with greater favour the outcome of these patients.