Abstract: Plant species diversity is an important index reflecting the functional complexity and stability of ecosystems. Human activity can completely alter plant species diversity and cause serious degradation of ecosystems but its impact on bamboo forest still lacks of systematic evaluation. In this study, we performed a field investigation to reveal the influences of human disturbances on the plant diversity and stability of Moso bamboo forests at... More

Abstract: Slow release fertilizers are designed to enhance crop yield and minimizing the loss of nitrogen (N) to environment. However, N release in leaching and loss in ammonia emission from bag controlled release fertilizers have not been previously evaluated under the standardized conditions in soil. Accordingly, a laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of N release from a bag controlled fertilizer with 1, 3, 5 and 7 rows of hole... More

Abstract: This work presents the main biodiversity hotspots existing in the Paraguayan Chaco and is an update of the results obtained in the first Ecoregional Assessment of the Great American Chaco. These are the results of a series of workshops that included scientific and technical discussions carried out by local experts in zoology, botany, forestry, soil science, and hydrogeology applying a biodiversity vision of 25-30 years for the territory, after... More

Abstract: Soil erosion associated with land cultivation exerts a great impact on ecological environment. Such an impact is specific of land, crop, tillage, management and so on. This study aimed to investigate the effects of crop cultivation on water quality by comparing nutrient distribution in the sediment at Southern China. Two sedimentation sites adjacent to the uncultivated (S1) and cultivated upland (S2) were selected and samples were analyzed.... More

Abstract: Piscicidal effects of several solvent extarcts (distilled water, 50% ethanol, absolute ethanol and 80% methanol) of Terminalia arjuna leaves, barks and fruits were studied against a common fresh water predatory fish, Heteropneustes fossilis under laboratory conditions in terms of Behavior and mortality of fishes after 24 h. Fishes exposed to plant extracts showed agitating movement with quick surfacing, loss of balance, mucus secretion, and... More

Abstract: The globalization of the planet allowed plant species to emerge from their traditional habitats and spread to other territories. This dispersion, sometimes occasional, sometimes by the influence of man, reaches proportions today that, in some cases, affect the development of natural ecosystems and their sustainability. Thus, becomes imperative to know seeds dispersion occur, since only after can be taken measures to mitigate these processes. In... More