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Changes in land use have drastically reduced the Dry Chaco forests in central Argentina. In particular, conversion to crops has generated significant losses in soil organic carbon (SOC) and associated ecosystem services. On the other hand, less drastic changes in use, such as the conversion of forests to shrublands as a result of logging and grazing intensification, can also considerably affect the dynamics of the SOC. In this work, we evaluate total SOC, SOC in particulate organic matter (C-POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (C-MAOM), and potential microbial respiration from 0-10 cm of soil in four vegetal physiognomies resulting from logging and intensification of grazing. Total SOC content decreased by 73% in the most intensively used physiognomy (open shrubland) compared to the preserved forest. This was reflected in a decrease in C-POM (-85%), considered more sensitive to management, as well as in a decrease in C-MAOM (-54%), considered more stable. Land use intensification also decreased microbial activity by up to 62%. However, carbon losses from microbial respiration could be amplified due to reduced physical protection in intensively used vegetal physiognomies. Our results suggest that logging and grazing in Dry Chaco forests can generate significant alterations in SOC storage and stabilization, leading to soil degradation and loss of key ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In relation to language learning, memory is a very important feature of the human brain. Mnemonic processes are fundamental prerequisites for encoding, storing and retrieving new vocabulary and language structures, and in this process of language acquisition new semantic structures are created that are relevant both on a cultural and personal level. An examination of the functions of short-term memory and long-term memory, as well as of the major theories of memory loss and its specific role in the retention and retrieval of information, and specifically, of the role of memory in relation to stress, to a playful language learning approach and to global and contextual language learning, leads to the introduction of the most effective teaching methods for vocabulary retention and the most common mnemonics techniques.

This paper analyses in a comparative perspective the degree of convergence in migrant families' access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) and work/family policies in two different welfare state regimes: Italy and in Australia. Using a framework based on the concept of conditionality-or the notion that access to support is conditional and based on an individual's personal and familial characteristics, circumstances or behaviors--the analysis examines the extent to which policies designed to support families with young children are accessible to migrant families. It argues that access to ECEC and family policies is restricted in both Italy and Australia according to a series of conditions, but that these conditions apply differently to people of different migrant statuses. In doing so the paper aims to improve our understanding of how welfare states respond to needs associated with migration for children and families and the extent to which they tend to converge., (Copyright © 2022 Naldini, Adamson and Hamilton.)