Insectivorous birds as ‘non-traditional’ flagship species in vineyards: Applying a neglected conservation paradigm to agricultural systems

In intensive farmland, it is often difficult to find charismatic and evocative species to serve as a flagship to inspire conservation actions and awareness. Here, ‘non-traditional' flagship species may play a fundamental role in promoting more sustainable and biodiversity-friendly agriculture and achieving conservation targets in this strongly artificial habitat.We investigated the abundance (measured in number of territories) of two insectivorous avian species, spotted flycatcher and common redstart, in response to environmental characteristics and agricultural management practices in Italian vineyards at landscape and field scales. We evaluated whether these species could be used as ‘non-traditional’ flagships in this agroecosystem.We found that both species were positively affected by vineyard cover, but not all typologies of vineyards are equally suitable for them. The traditional pergola trellising system was favoured by both species, whereas spalliera vineyards exerted negative effects. The spotted flycatcher commonly occurred in intensive vineyards on valley floors where its abundance was negatively affected by young plantations, which provide limited nesting opportunities, and by the cover of organic vineyards. Conversely, the common redstart was positively affected by traditional elements interspersed in the vineyard matrix (i.e. hedges, tree rows, and isolated rural buildings), which were more abundant in the less intensively cultivated valley sides. At the field scale, common redstarts selected for grass sward shorter than 20 cm, which highlights the importance of active sward management for this ground-feeding species.Based on our results, we proposed using the spotted flycatcher as a ‘non-traditional’ flagship species for intensive vineyards and the common redstart for the less intensive vineyards.     

Intensification of biodiesel synthesis using zigzag micro-channel reactors

Zigzag micro-channel reactors have been fabricated and used for continuous alkali-catalyzed biodiesel synthesis. The influences of the main geometric parameters on the performance of the micro-channel reactors were experimentally studied. It has been found that the zigzag micro-channel reactor with smaller channel size and more turns produces smaller droplets which result in higher efficiency of biodiesel synthesis. Compared to conventional stirred reactors, the time for high methyl ester conversion can be shortened significantly with the methyl ester yield of 99.5% at the residence time of only 28 s by using the optimized zigzag micro-channel reactor, which also exhibits less energy consumption for the same amount of biodiesel during biodiesel synthesis. The results indicate that zigzag micro-channel reactors can be designed as compact and mini-fuel processing plant for distributive applications.     

Plant biodiversity and vegetation structure in traditional cocoa forest gardens in southern Cameroon under different management

Floristic surveys were performed in 17 traditional cocoa forest gardens under different management regimes in the humid forest area of southern Cameroon, to assess the impact of intensification on plant biodiversity. This impact was evaluated by analyzing species richness, vegetation structure, carbon sequestration and above ground biomass. We hypothesize that: (a) plant (tree and herbs) species richness is negatively correlated to management intensity and (b) vegetational density predictably change with management intensity. Our results show that management as practiced in traditional cocoa forest gardens in southern Cameroon following a gradient of intensification from extensive cocoa forest gardens with high floristic diversity to intensive ones strongly impacts plant diversity, plant biomass and to some extend carbon storage with possible negative consequences on biodiversity. Great differences in species richness, species composition, and, for trees, diameter at breast height and basal area were evident among the five types of traditional cocoa forest garden systems investigated. In terms of plant species richness, we found a decreasing gradient of plant species numbers from extensive forest gardens to intensive ones. This study also highlights the importance of the Management Index for quantifying differences in the management; this index could be used to standardize certification procedures and assess conservation progress and success. Our findings support the idea that traditional cocoa forest gardens can help to protect many forest species, sustains smallholder production and offer more scope for conservation of biodiversity, at both species-level and landscape-level. Moreover, diverse traditional cocoa forest gardens may help in regulating pests and diseases and allow for efficient adaptation to changing socioeconomic conditions.     

Bird assemblages in fragmented agricultural landscapes: the role of small brigalow remnants and adjoining land uses

Agricultural intensification typically leads to changes in bird diversity and community composition, with fewer species and foraging guilds present in more intensively managed parts of the landscape. In this study, we compare bird communities in small (2–32 ha) brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) remnants with those in adjacent uncultivated grassland, previously cultivated grassland and current cropland, to determine the contribution of different land uses to bird diversity in the agricultural landscape. Twenty remnant brigalow patches and adjacent agricultural (‘matrix’) areas in southern inland Queensland, Australia were sampled for bird composition and habitat characteristics. The richness, abundance and diversity of birds were all significantly higher in brigalow remnants than in the adjacent matrix of cropping and grassland. Within the matrix, species richness and diversity were higher in uncultivated grasslands than in current cultivation or previously cultivated grasslands. Forty-four percent of bird species were recorded only in brigalow remnants and 78% of species were recorded in brigalow and at least one other land management category. Despite high levels of landscape fragmentation and modification, small patches of remnant brigalow vegetation provide important habitat for a unique and diverse assemblage of native birds. The less intensively managed components of the agricultural matrix also support diverse bird assemblages and thus, may be important for local and regional biodiversity conservation.     

Biotechnological intensification of biogas production

The importance of syntrophic relationships among microorganisms participating in biogas formation has been emphasized, and the regulatory role of in situ hydrogen production has been recognized. It was assumed that the availability of hydrogen may be a limiting factor for hydrogenotrophic methanogens. This hypothesis was tested under laboratory and field conditions by adding a mesophilic (Enterobacter cloacae) or thermophilic hydrogen-producing (Caldicellulosyruptor saccharolyticus) strain to natural biogas-producing consortia. The substrates were waste water sludge, dried plant biomass from Jerusalem artichoke, and pig manure. In all cases, a significant intensification of biogas production was observed. The composition of the generated biogas did not noticeably change. In addition to being a good hydrogen producer, C. saccharolyticus has cellulolytic activity; hence, it is particularly suitable when cellulose-containing biomass is fermented. The process was tested in a 5-m³ thermophilic biogas digester using pig manure slurry as a substrate. Biogas formation increased at least 160–170% upon addition of the hydrogen-producing bacteria as compared to the biogas production of the spontaneously formed microbial consortium. Using the hydrogenase-minus control strain provided evidence that the observed enhancement was due to interspecies hydrogen transfer. The on-going presence of C. saccharolyticus was demonstrated after several months of semicontinuous operation.     

A palaeodemographic model of late holocene central murray Aboriginal society,Australia

A recent palaeopathological study has indicated that prehistoric Aboriginal society in some parts of southeastern Australia was sedentary and supported large populations. This conclusion generally supports archaeological evidence that a period of socio-enconomic intensification took place over the last 2–3,000 years. Also, concurrent research has focused attention on the possibility of extensive reductions among Aboriginal populations of the area through the introduction of smallpox. This process took place at a very early stage of European colonisation and in regions yet to be explored. As a result, smallpox probably killed large numbers of Aborigens before Europeans knew what the size of indigenous populations were. With these factors in mind, this paper uses both empirically derived data and hypothetical reconstruction to formulate a model for the growth of the Aboriginal population of the central Murray in the late Holocene.     

Process intensification in peptide manufacturing: Recombinant lethal toxin neutralizing factor (rLTNF) as a case study

Process intensification is necessary to create economical processes. Cleavage reaction is one of the critical unit operations in peptide manufacturing processes as it involves cutting of concatemer expressed to obtain monomer. In this paper, solubilization and cleavage reaction have been merged into a single unit operation so as to allow for simultaneous solubilization and cleavage. Critical variables such as urea concentration, calcium chloride concentration, pH, and enzyme loading were optimized using quality by design (QbD) principles. The subsequent RP-HPLC unit operation was also intensified with respect to elution gradient and product stability in elution buffer so as to facilitate direct freeze-drying and storage. The proposed three-step process was analysed for its economics and compared with the previous generation process, showing significant improvements including a 21% reduction in batch time, 27% increase in productivity, and 30% reduction in manufacturing cost. The work illustrates the effectiveness of applying QbD principles and process intensification for creation of a more efficient manufacturing bioprocess.