ABSTRACT
The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females) with collars containing GPS and accelerometer loggers (E-obs 1A) and collected data from fall to early summer. All animals moved within a mosaic of lowland agricultural fields, woodland patches, riparian forests and wetlands near the banks of a lake. The trapping rate was the highest reported for the species. The home range sizes, estimated using Brownian bridge movement models, ranged from 0.94 to 3.08 km2 for females and from 1.22 to 4.43 km2 for males. Based on overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) values estimated from the accelerometer data, the diel activity of male wildcats followed the species' typical nocturnal pattern with crepuscular peaks. Female activity varied seasonally, at times being cathemeral. We found only weak effects of environmental variables on wildcat activity, and no significant difference in the activity in open versus forested areas. Our findings suggest that human modified landscapes can play a significant role in the conservation of this typically forest-associated species.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, interest has surged in the development of plant extracts into botanical nematicides as ecofriendly plant protection products. Aromatic plants are maybe the most studied category of botanicals used in this direction and the yielding essential oils are obtained on a commodity scale by hydro distillation. Nevertheless, can the bioactivity of aromatic plants always be attributed to the terpenes content? What would it mean for soil microcosms to bear the treatment of an essential oil to cure against Meloidogyne sp.? Are there other extraction procedures to prepare more ecofriendly botanical products starting from an aromatic material? Lemon thyme is studied herein for the first time for its nematicidal potential. We compare the efficacy of lemon thyme powder, macerate, water extract and essential oil to control Meloidogyne incognita (Chitwood) and Meloidogyne javanica (Chitwood), and we additionally study the secondary effects on soil microbes and free-living nematodes, as well as on tomato plant growth. According to our results lemon thyme powder enhances tomato plants' growth in a dose-response manner and when it is incorporated in soil at 1 g kg-1, it exhibits nematicidal activity at a 95% level on M. incognita. The water extract yielding from the same dose is nematicidal only if it is left unfiltered; otherwise only a paralysis effect is demonstrated but inside the soil the biological cycle of the pest is not arrested. The essential oil is good both in performing paralysis and biological cycle arrest, but it detrimentally lowers abundances of bacterial and fungal feeding nematodes. On the contrary, lemon thyme powder and unfiltered water extract augments the bacterial biomass, while the latter also increases the bacterivorous nematodes. Overall, the bio fertilizing lemon thyme powder and its unfiltered water extract successfully control root knot nematodes and are beneficial to soil microbes and saprophytic nematodes.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal development of the physicochemical (pH, organic C, organic N, extractable P, Ca(2+), Mg(2+)) and biological soil properties (microbial biomass, activities of urease, dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase) of the topsoil of mine deposition sites that differed based on the material used exclusively for their creation: (a) marlstones, (b) red-grey formations (RGF), and (c) fly ash (FA), during the first year after their creation. Our hypothesis was that all deposition sites, regardless the material they consist of, present equal opportunities for the establishment of spontaneous vegetation. All macronutrients concentrations (P, Ca(2+), and Mg(2+)) remained constant with time and were found to be higher in the FA sites. Organic C, organic N, all enzyme activities, and microbial biomass were higher in the RGF and marl depositions, with marl sites presenting the highest values. All values of biological variables, with the exception of alkaline phosphatase, increased with time. The alkaline environment along with the slow improvement in soil biological properties of the FA sites seemed to present the most unfavorable conditions for spontaneous vegetation growth. On the contrary, the other two spoil materials presented significant improvement in the initial stages of soil formation in terms of soil functionality.
