Composting of olive leaves and pomace from a three-phase olive mill plant

The composting of olive leaves and olive pomace from a three-phase olive mill was tested as a method for solid waste reuse. The process was carried out using a compost windrow and mixing olive leaves and pomace at a ratio of 1:2. Compost was retained in the windrow for 60 days during which thermophilic temperatures developed for the first 40 days. The compost was then placed into a closed area to mature for another 60 days. The final product proved to be high quality amendment with C/N 27.1 and high nutrient concentrations (N, 1.79%; P, 0.17%; K, 4.97%; Na, 2.8%). Mature compost presented the highest germination index (198%) reported to date, as the germination index in the majority of previous studies is under 80%. Furthermore, tests revealed that addition of 31.5 tons of compost per ha, could increase lettuce yield by 145%.     

Amendment of Articles 8, 9, 10, 21 and 78 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature to expand and refine methods of publication

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has voted in favour of a revised version of the amendment to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature that was proposed in 2008. The purpose of the amendment is to expand and refine the methods of publication allowed by the Code, particularly in relation to electronic publication. The amendment establishes an Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (with ZooBank as its online version), allows electronic publication after 2011 under certain conditions, and disallows publication on optical discs after 2012. The requirements for electronic publications are that the work be registered in ZooBank before it is published, that the work itself state the date of publication and contain evidence that registration has occurred, and that the ZooBank registration state both the name of an electronic archive intended to preserve the work and the ISSN or ISBN associated with the work. Registration of new scientific names and nomenclatural acts is not required. The Commission has confirmed that ZooBank is ready to handle the requirements of the amendment.     

Quantitative Evidence for Increasing Forest Fire Severity in the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascade Mountains, California and Nevada, USA

Recent research has concluded that forest wildfires in the western United States are becoming larger and more frequent. A more significant question may be whether the ecosystem impacts of wildfire are also increasing. We show that a large area (approximately 120000 km²) of California and western Nevada experienced a notable increase in the extent of forest stand-replacing (“high severity”) fire between 1984 and 2006. High severity forest fire is closely linked to forest fragmentation, wildlife habitat availability, erosion rates and sedimentation, post-fire seedling recruitment, carbon sequestration, and various other ecosystem properties and processes. Mean and maximum fire size, and the area burned annually have also all risen substantially since the beginning of the 1980s, and are now at or above values from the decades preceding the 1940s, when fire suppression became national policy. These trends are occurring in concert with a regional rise in temperature and a long-term increase in annual precipitation. A close examination of the climate–fire relationship and other evidence suggests that forest fuels are no longer limiting fire occurrence and behavior across much of the study region. We conclude that current trends in forest fire severity necessitate a re-examination of the implications of all-out fire suppression and its ecological impacts. Author Contributions: Jay Miller designed the study, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the article. Hugh Safford performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the article. Michael Crimmins performed research and analyzed data. Andi Thode designed the study and performed research.     

大熊猫生命表及相关数据指标的修订

１９８９年魏辅文等根据野外获得的大熊猫头骨标本及其牙齿切片的年龄鉴定,编制出大熊猫的生命表。该生命表编制的局限性引起了争议（Ｈａｒｒｉｓ等,１９９３）。因此,根据岷山和邛崃两大山系野生大熊猫年龄结构观察值,结合所获大熊猫头骨标本的年龄结构,在分析论证岷山、邛崃两大山系的大熊猫有稳定的年龄结构的基础上,运用动物种群年龄颁密度函数关系式ｆ（ｘ）＝βｅ＾－βｘ（侯万儒等,１９９８）计算出各年龄大熊猫在种     

Evaluation of neem seed powder for Fusarium wilt and Meloidogyne control on tomato

Fusarium wilt and root-knot are important diseases of tomato. The use of chemical is becoming less appealing because of the health implications. Also, the chemicals required are often not within the reach of farmers in most of the developing part of the world. This research is aimed at finding an alternative mode of control. Tomato variety Roma VF inoculated with Meloidogyne and Fusarium were treated with 2 g/kg soil neem seed powder in the screenhouse and 2 Mg ha ^{? 1} in the field. An untreated and Furadan treated plot in the field served as control. Neem seed powder significantly reduced the disease severity of Fusarium and root-knot in both screenhouse and field. Results suggest the possible use of neem seed powder for control of the root-knot nematodes - Fusarium wilt disease complex.     

Effect of soil amendement with root extract ofhibiscus cannabinus L. on its rhizosphere mycoflora

Summary Rhizosphere mycoflora ofH. cannabinus was studied in potted condition after its root extract obtained from two month old plants. Isolations of fungi from the root regions were done at the interval of 15 days by dilution plate method. Estimation of fungi/g dry soil showed a negative rhizosphere effect. A higher number of fungal species was recorded in the treated non-rhizosphere as compared to their number in the rhizosphere. Qalitative analysis of the fungal flora was done and the variation was recorded. Root extract was analysed by paper chromatography. Altogether 7 amino acids and 3 sugars were detected.     

Temperature Dependence of Methane Production in Tropical Rice Soils

Although CH 4 production is sensitive to temperature, it is not clear how temperature controls CH 4 production directly versus the production of organic substrates that methanogens convert into CH 4 . Therefore, this study was done to better understand how CH 4 production in rice paddy soil responded to temperature when the process was not limited by the availability of substrates. In a laboratory-incubation study using three Indian rice soils under flooded conditions, the effect of temperature on CH 4 production was examined. CH 4 production in acid sulphate, laterite, and alluvial soil samples under flooded conditions distinctly increased with increase in temperature from 15°C to 35°C. Laterite and acid sulphate soils produced distinctly less CH 4 than alluvial soils. CO 2 production increased with increase in temperature in all the soils. The readily mineralizable carbon C and Fe 2+ contents in soils were least at 15°C and highest at 35°C, irrespective of soil type. Likewise, a significant correlation existed between microbial population (methanogens and sulphate reducers) and CH 4 production. Comparing the temperature coefficients ( Q 10 ) for methane production within each soil type at low (15°C-25°C) and medium (25°C-35°C) temperature intervals revealed that these values were not uniform for both alluvial and laterite soils. But acid sulphate soil had Q 10 values that were near 2 at both temperature intervals. When these soil samples were amended with substrates (acetate, H 2 -CO 2 , and rice straw), there were stimulatory effects on methane production rates and consequently on the Q 10 values. The pattern of temperature coefficients was characteristic of the soil type and the nature of substrates used for amendment.     

Overcoming Obstacles to Evolution Education: The OOPSIE Compromise—A Big Mistake

Opt-out policies are typically invoked to excuse students from activities to which they or their parents may have religious objections, such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, dissecting animals in a laboratory, or attending sex education classes. Occasionally, however, a school or school district allows students to opt out of academic topics, including, sometimes, evolution. Opt-out policies specifically including evolution are a big mistake—for the students who opt out, for their classmates whose studies are disrupted, and especially for their teachers, who cannot fulfill their duty to instruct their charges about biology without emphasizing evolution.