Traditional horticultural knowledge change in a rural population of the Patagonian steppe

We investigated traditional horticultural knowledge related to plant species cultivated in homegardens in an arid rural population of North-western Patagonia, Argentina. By means of semi-structured interviews and field visits to the cultivated areas we analyzed floristic composition and structure of: vegetable-gardens, greenhouses and gardens. We evaluated species richness, cover and biogeographical origin in each cultivated area and analyzed the influence of socio-cultural factors, such as age and gender, on informants’ cultivation practice. A total of 124 species was found: 75 species in vegetable-gardens, 63 in greenhouses and 68 in gardens. In all cultivated areas, most plant species (91%) were exotic and mainly used for edible purposes. Plant richness in homegardens increased with informants’ age and both men and women play a relevant role in the maintenance of cultivated areas. Traditional knowledge in this community has been suffering an erosion process, which is in part influenced by the intervention of extension agents. However, their presence creates the possibility of integrating new and ancestral practices, favoring development of knowledge of a hybrid, syncretic nature. Alongside these changes, Pilcaniyeu inhabitants still maintain traditional homegardens cultivation, through which we can appreciate the intricate relationship between people and their physical, historical, cultural and spiritual contexts.     

Photosynthetic response to different light intensities, water status and leaf age of two Berberis species (Berberidaceae) of Patagonian steppe, Argentina

Net photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (gs) from leaves of Berberis buxifolia and Berberis heterophylla saplings were measured under different conditions of radiation and water availability and for leaves of different ages. Comparative studies of basic physiological performance would give insight how these shrubs survive and grow under this austral extreme ecosystem. B. buxifolia had higher A values than B. heterophylla for all light intensities measured. Values of gs for both Berberis species also declined as light intensity decreased. There was a negative relationship between A and water stress expressed as pre-dawn leaf water potential (ψ_lp) where the reduction in gs was the main factor that reduced A in both species. Also, A and gs of Berberis plants increased rapidly during the first days after leaf unfolding, reached a maximum value when the leaf was completely expanded, and then declined. These results could be used to estimate the responses of saplings to environmental conditions under the dynamic of natural stands in this austral extreme ecosystem and for restoration plans.     

Water relations and hydraulic architecture of two Patagonian steppe shrubs: Effect of slope orientation and microclimate

On a local scale, topography influences microclimate, vegetation structure and the morpho-physiological attributes of plants. We studied the effects of microclimatic differences between NE- and SW-facing slopes on the water relations and hydraulic properties of two dominant shrubs of the Patagonian steppe in Argentina (Retanilla patagonica and Colliguaja integerrima). The NE-facing slope had higher irradiance and air saturation deficits and lower soil water availability and wind speed than the SW-facing slope. Predawn and midday Ψ_L and osmotic potentials were significantly lower in shrubs on the NE-facing slope. Osmotic adjustment and more elastic cell walls helped the plants to cope with a more xeric environment on NE-facing slope. Higher water deficits on NE-facing slope were partially compensated by a higher leaf and stem water storage. While stem hydraulic efficiency did not vary between slopes, leaf hydraulic conductance was between 40% and 300% higher on the NE-facing slope. Changes observed in leaf size and in SLA were consistent with responses to mechanical forces of wind (smaller and scleromorphic leaves on SW-facing slope). Morpho-physiological adjustments observed at a short spatial scale allow maintenance of midday Ψ_L above the turgor loss point and demonstrate that leaves are more responsive to microclimatic selective pressures than stems.     

Short-term effects of shrub control on two different plant communities in Argentina

The aim of this work was to study the effect of controlling jarilla (Larreaspp.), nonforage shrubs for livestock, on two plant communities with different forage production in the arid mid-west of Argentina. Total vegetation cover, forage species cover and carrying capacity were determined during three growing seasons, for cleared and uncleared plots. At the end of the study, significant differences were found in theLarrea cuneifoliacommunity, where average forage species cover increased by 156% over the control, and greater carrying capacity (129%) was also obtained from the cleared treatment. No significant differences were found in theLarrea divaricatacommunity. Data lead us to recommend shrub control as an improvement practice only in areas with low forage species cover and poor carrying capacity.     

Differential utilization of a shallow-water pulse by six shrub species in the Patagonian steppe

A field experiment was performed to improve understanding of the functional diversity of western Patagonian shrubs. Anarthrophyllum rigidum, Adesmia volckmanni, Berberis heterophylla, Mulinum spinosum, Schinus poligamus and Senecio filaginoides were compared in their capacity to absorb water from a 10-mm pulse enriched in deuterium and applied at the beginning of the dry summer. Xylem-water enrichment 14 days after watering was rather subtle, but the upper-soil signal was clear enough to distinguish shallow from deeper absorption. According to a linear mixing model, the proportion of surface-pulse water relative to total water uptake was maximum for Senecio (29-38%) and Mulinum (22-32%), both relatively shallow-rooted species, intermediate for Berberis (16-17%) and Schinus (6-9%), and negligible for the two N-fixing Fabaceae: Adesmia (<1%) and Anarthrophyllum (<3%), despite this last one having a dimorphic (tap + shallow) root system. It is hypothesized that shallow-water pulses may be more profitable in terms of nitrogen than of water, and thus constitute a higher-quality resource for those species only able to use N from soil sources.     

Sustainability,development and rural aboriginal communities

Aborigines, because of their population numbers and increasing control over land and resources, are crucial to the sustainable development of rural Australia. However, appropriate Aboriginal development requires the replacement of the ‘top‐down’ approaches generally adopted by government agencies by ‘bottom‐up’ approaches reflecting the needs and aspirations of rural Aboriginal people. Past experience demonstrates that Aborigines have faced many frustrations in reconciling these concepts. But some approaches now being adopted in the use and management of Australia's rangelands provide interesting alternatives which may be more generally applicable in enhancing rangeland sustainability. Examples include land‐use practices conducted by Aborigines living in remote homeland centres on their own freehold land, and the diversity of land uses introduced on pastoral stations now under Aboriginal ownership. Broader recognition of the value of these approaches will depend on widespread acknowledgment of the overall worth of Aboriginal land management knowledge in rural restructuring     

Plant phenology as affected by land degradation in the arid Patagonian Monte,Argentina: A multivariate approach

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the study of climate change effects on plant phenology. However, the effects of other more localized components of global change such as land degradation have been almost completely ignored. In this paper we evaluate the phenological patterns of 10 plant species at three sites with contrasting levels of land degradation due to overgrazing in the Patagonian Monte, Argentina, and their relationship with plant morphology, browsing intensity, and plant competition.Plant phenology differed among sites in eight species, but plant responses were species-specific. In six species the dormancy and senescence periods were shorter indicating longer growing cycles at high degradation than at low degradation site. Generally, plants growing at high degradation site present longer and frequently incomplete vegetative periods and shorter and less dominant reproductive periods than those at low degradation site. However, in some species the duration of reproductive periods was greater in the high degradation site. Plant size (i.e. height, area, and/or internal cover) affected plant phenology in seven species. In contrast, browsing and neighbor's cover were rarely related to plant phenology. Our results suggest that other global change components such as land degradation may affect plant phenology.     

西北贫困地区乡村类型识别与振兴途径研究

乡村振兴战略是新时期我国推进城乡融合发展的重要举措。贫困地区既是脱贫攻坚的主战场,又是乡村振兴的重点区域。如何科学识别村落类型,分类推进典型区域乡村振兴发展,对于破解农村发展不平衡不充分问题具有重要的现实意义。本文解析了乡村地域系统发展理论,阐释了城乡融合发展理论,剖析了村域空间结构格局演变和城乡要素结构功能优化重组;构建了西北干旱贫困地区乡村振兴村落类型识别体系,从乡村主体、产业发展、人居环境、资源禀赋4个子系统进行逐级分类判断,识别乡村主导类型,结合专家征询分析与村落特征,将乡村振兴村落类型识别为集聚提升类、三产融合类、城郊融合类、特色保护类、搬迁撤并类,结合不同乡村振兴模式提出了相应地发展路径,以期为乡村振兴提供理论依据与决策参考。     

Temporal and spatial patterns of tenebrionid beetle diversity in NW Patagonia, Argentina

Spatial and temporal variation in abundance, richness and composition of Tenebrionidae beetle assemblages were described for north-western Patagonia. Beetles were collected using 450 pitfall traps arranged in 50 plots across an area of about 22,500 km² representative of the Subantarctic-Patagonian transition of Argentina. The study area included three different habitats: forest, scrub, and steppe. Beetles were trapped at five, eight day sampling periods in spring-summer between November 2004 and March 2006. A total of 30 species and 938 individuals were collected. Total abundance was higher in November and January than in March, and species richness did not change among samplings. Species richness was greater in the steppe than scrub. Assemblages differed between the northern and southern transects. There was little correlation between the measured environmental variables and species composition. Historical factors might explain the observed patterns, but other environmental variables such as soil characteristics may be more informative in explaining the present distribution of tenebrionid species.     

北方草原区主要群落类型表土花粉分析

建立花粉与现代植被的关系是利用地层沉积物中的花粉记录恢复古植被、古气候研究的基础工作之一。中国北方草原区39个表土花粉研究表明,蒿属、藜科是草原区花粉组合的主要成分,以禾本科为建群种的草原群落花粉组合以蒿属花粉为主,禾本科花粉多低于10%。禾本科花粉的低代表性可能与其分蘖繁殖、花粉产量低有关。草原区表土花粉浓度与植被盖度相关不明显。典型草原与荒漠草原花粉组合存在着明显的区别,典型草原区藜科花粉百分比一般低于25%,荒漠草原区一般高于25%。DCA分析表明,草原区针叶树、莎草科、石竹科花粉代表较湿润的环境,蒿、藜科、锦鸡儿、柽柳、白刺花粉代表较干燥的环境,阔叶树、禾本科、菊科、毛茛科、蓼科、豆科、唇形科(百里香)、虎榛子+榛、蔷薇科花粉代表的环境介于前两组之间。DCA分析用于草原区花粉组合研究具有较好的环境指示意义。     

基于乡村弹性的乡村振兴理论认知与路径研究

在人类社会发展转型过程中出现的乡村衰退问题已成为全球性趋势,亟需实施乡村振兴。科学、系统把握乡村地域系统的演化规律,深入揭示乡村系统与外界发展环境的交互作用模式,提升乡村自身抵御、适应外界环境变化的弹性,是实现乡村振兴与可持续发展的必由之路。本文从乡村弹性视角理论解析了乡村地域系统演化与乡村振兴。研究发现：① 乡村弹性包含乡村系统对外界扰动冲击的抵御能力、适应能力与实现全新发展的转型能力。② 乡村演化分异是乡村地域系统与外界发展主导因素交互作用的结果。在此过程中,乡村弹性决定着不同发展阶段乡村地域系统的演化方式和结果。③ 打造多功能乡村、实施乡村整治工程、培育乡村社会资本对构建弹性乡村起着重要的推动作用。文章强调应科学识别乡村地域系统,差异化制定培育与提升乡村弹性的实施方案,实现乡村系统功能、结构及运行达到均衡状态。     

Change and adaptation in four rural communities in New England,NSW

The negative image created by a preoccupation with population losses in some rural areas and the decline in some economic and service functions in many small country towns has masked the considerable improvements which have occurred there. Insufficient attention has been given to the raised level of living in many rural locations which has increased the attraction of a rural lifestyle. Local shire councils have played an important role in enhancing the quality of local life through investment in new town facilities, and residents record a high level of community satisfaction. Although past social and economic roles are changing in rural locations, new functions are emerging in four settlements in New England, NSW, and this is facilitating their adaptation to a changing rural environment.     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy,sedimentology and geochemistry of an underfilled lake basin in the Puna plateau (northwest Argentina)

Depositional models of ancient lakes in thin‐skinned retroarc foreland basins rarely benefit from appropriate Quaternary analogues. To address this, we present new stratigraphic, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of four radiocarbon‐dated sediment cores from the Pozuelos Basin (PB; northwest Argentina) that capture the evolution of this low‐accommodation Puna basin over the past ca. 43 cal kyr. Strata from the PB are interpreted as accumulations of a highly variable, underfilled lake system represented by lake‐plain/littoral, profundal, palustrine, saline lake and playa facies associations. The vertical stacking of facies is asymmetric, with transgressive and thin organic‐rich highstand deposits underlying thicker, organic‐poor regressive deposits. The major controls on depositional architecture and basin palaeogeography are tectonics and climate. Accommodation space was derived from piggyback basin‐forming flexural subsidence and Miocene‐Quaternary normal faulting associated with incorporation of the basin into the Andean hinterland. Sediment and water supply was modulated by variability in the South American summer monsoon, and perennial lake deposits correlate in time with several well‐known late Pleistocene wet periods on the Altiplano/Puna plateau. Our results shed new light on lake expansion–contraction dynamics in the PB in particular and provide a deeper understanding of Puna basin lakes in general.     

Underground ecology in a Patagonian steppe: Root traits permit identification of graminoid species and classification into functional types

There is limited knowledge about root morphological differences at the species level. Consequently, plant ecological groups are largely defined on aboveground traits. Our hypothesis was that roots of graminoid species differ in morphological and functional attributes. In field and greenhouse studies, we measured morphological and functional root traits of eight dominant graminoids. Multivariate analyses of root traits arranged species into two groups. Species were unequivocally classified by either discriminant analysis or a taxonomic key. Traits that contributed most to identification were diameter, colour, and branching. Species from one group had large root diameters, more branching, and lower tensile strength, specific length, rate of new root generation, and RGR than the other group. The grouping by root traits matched previous classifications: one group had been described as more xerophytic, less preferred by livestock, and more delayed in phenology than the second group. Our study shows that (1) a set of root morphological traits may be reliably used to recognize species, and (2) root traits reflect the major ecological grouping of species, even when they all belong to the same growth form. For Patagonia and similar sites, our work will open the way to more detailed, specific-level studies on community underground organization.     

Impact of early prehistoric farming on chironomid communities in northwest Ireland

This study explored the utility and performance of chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) autecology in the investigation of prehistoric farming impacts on freshwater lake systems. Chironomid subfossils, lake sediment geochemistry (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C:N), pollen and macroscopic charcoal analyses were used in a comparative limnological assessment of three archaeologically rich study sites in northwest Ireland. At all three study sites, pastoral farming and its associated nutrient inputs, as represented by non-arboreal pollen indicative of grassland/pasture (NAPp) and lake sediment geochemistry, are concomitant with increases in eutrophic chironomid taxa. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and partial RDAs established that δ¹⁵N and NAPp were controlling factors of chironomid community compositional change during the Neolithic (4000–2500 BC) and Bronze Age (2500–600 BC). Bronze Age farming had a considerably greater impact on the lake systems than Neolithic farming, as indicated by a higher proportion of eutrophic taxa and increases in δ¹⁵N, C:N and δ¹³C values, consistent with increased erosion and agricultural inputs. Findings emphasise the importance of identifying the natural, pre-impacted state of a lake system to determine the extent of agricultural impact accurately. The timing and magnitude of change show that Neolithic and Bronze Age farming exhibited a strong control over chironomid communities at all three sites.     

Poverty,development and patterns of rural male outmigration in Uttar Pradesh

This paper indexes rural male out-migration and explains changing intensity patterns in Uttar Pradesh, India, since 1961. The sex ratio among non-migrants serves as an indicator of regional variations in rural out-migration. The paper highlights 2 population divergence zones in the underdeveloped Northern hilly and Eastern plain regions. The process of infrastructural development combined with cultural factors and inadequate employment opportunities seem to stimulate rural outmigration. Regional imbalance in economic development seems to be working as a suction economic system. The developed regions in India are utilizing the labor force of backward areas. The number of districts of high and moderately high rural male outmigration has increased, reflecting a wider gap between individual income and regional inequality. Unless the process is reversed in favor of rural areas, strategies for development will only work in capitalistic frameworks which serve the interests of developed regions.     

Comparison of traditional wild plant knowledge between aboriginal communities inhabiting arid and forest environments in Patagonia, Argentina

The Mapuche people have a deeply rooted tradition of wild plant use for their subsistence. In this study we evaluated whether plant selection by the Mapuche is influenced by environmental constraints. Selection patterns of wild plant richness were compared in two Mapuche communities sharing the same traditions and beliefs but inhabiting different environments. Similarities and differences in the use patterns of wild medicinal and edible plants were quantitatively analyzed by using concepts derived from ecological theory. The Cayulef community is settled in the NW Patagonian (herbaceous) steppe while the Curruhuinca community is established near the Andean temperate forest, 100 km away from each other. Free-listing and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 families in Cayulef and 39 in Curruhuinca corresponding to 80% and 40% of each population, respectively. Data were analyzed by means of the Jaccard similarity index and statistical tests. The main results of this study showed that the home environment is a determinant factor that influences which plant species are utilized, as is the anthropic environment (with its high exotic species richness) in each community. However, similar patterns were found with respect to plant families, ways of utilization, plant parts and life forms utilized irrespective of where the communities are settled. In addition, in both populations, wild plant richness was significantly higher for medicinal than for edible species. Our results showed that the use of wild plants is primarily based on the utilization of species belonging to the nearest ecological environments that have both therapeutic and dietary functions.     

Macroinvertebrate communities in two salt affected tributaries of the Hopkins Rives,Victoria

Macroinvertebrate communities were studied in two saline tributaries of the Hopkins River, western Victoria. Monthly sampling from May to August, 1990, showed the mean salinity of Bushy Creek was 5 g L⁻¹ while in Back Creek mean salinity varied from 9 to 20 g L⁻¹ between sites. Macroinvertebrate species richness and relative abundance were measured on each sampling occasion. Cluster analysis showed that community composition varied between creeks and between sites within a creek. Bushy Creek sites were more similar to each other than to Back Creek sites. A negative relationship was found between site salinity and species richness over the range 4 to 26 g L⁻¹, although there was a wide range of salinity (up to 12 g L⁻¹) over which the relationship of species richness to salinity was not clear cut. The effects of salinity on species richness in stream communities appear to be similar to that described elsewhere in salt lakes.