In recent years, the impact of short-rotation coppice (SRC) on biodiversity has been a regular subject of research and ecological guidelines have been developed to make biomass cultivation on SRC ...more compatible with biodiversity concerns. However, since these guidelines are only implemented voluntarily by farmers, there are barely any SRC that are managed according to ecological guidelines. Consequently, knowledge about their importance for farmland biodiversity and about the impact of different measures for increasing biodiversity remains scarce. Therefore, three experimental SRC, which are managed according to ecological guidelines and thus include stands of different tree species (varieties of poplar (Populus) and willow (Salix), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), silver birch (Betula pendula)) and different growth-stages within the same site, were investigated with regard to their importance as habitat for vascular plants. Species numbers and species composition were compared with the following habitat types: afforestations (AFO), young (HE-Y) and old hedges (HE-O), field margins (FM) and arable land (AL). Furthermore, different stand types (i.e., stands with different tree species and growth-stages, headlands, clearings) within these SRC were surveyed and compared. Species numbers of SRC were similar to HE-Y, AFO and FM and significantly higher than in AL and HE-O. The composition of plant communities in SRC differed considerably from the other farmland habitats, especially from AL, HE-O and FM. Within the SRC, most stand types had similar species numbers. Only the non-harvested poplar stands were particularly species-poor. Harvesting led to increased species numbers. This increase was significant for the poplar stands but only moderate for the willow stands. With regard to their species composition, the different stand types differed considerably in many cases. We conclude that SRC, which are managed according to ecological guidelines, can be an additional measure to promote phytodiversity in agricultural landscapes as they contain relatively high species numbers (of mainly common and adaptable species) and support distinct plant communities that differ from other farmland habitats. Therefore, measures such as the cultivation of different tree species or sectional harvesting could be offered as agri-environmental schemes to further increase the ecological sustainability of biomass production on SRC.
The pathophysiology of arterial stiffness is not completely understood. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an established marker for arterial stiffness. We compare genetics of three PWV modes, namely ...carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV), brachial-ankle (baPWV) and brachial-femoral (bfPWV), reflecting different vascular segments to analyse association with genetic variants, heritability and genetic correlation with other biological traits. Furthermore we searched for shared genetic architecture concerning PWV, blood pressure (BP) and coronary artery disease (CAD) and examined the causal relationship between PWV and BP. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for cfPWV, baPWV and bfPWV in LIFE-Adult (N = 3,643-6,734). We analysed the overlap of detected genetic loci with those of BP and CAD and performed genetic correlation analyses. By bidirectional Mendelian Randomization, we assessed the causal relationships between PWV and BP. For cfPWV we identified a new locus with genome-wide significance near SLC4A7 on cytoband 3p24.1 (lead SNP rs939834: p = 2.05x10.sup.-8). We replicated a known PWV locus on cytoband 14q32.2 near RP11-61O1.1 (lead SNPs: rs17773233, p = 1.38x10.sup.-4 ; rs1381289, p = 1.91x10.sup.-4) For baPWV we estimated a heritability of 28% and significant genetic correlation with hypertension (rg = 0.27, p = 6.65x10.sup.-8). We showed a positive causal effect of systolic blood pressure on PWV modes (cfPWV: p = 1.51x10.sup.-4 ; bfPWV: p = 1.45x10.sup.-3 ; baPWV: p = 6.82x10.sup.-15). We identified a new locus for arterial stiffness and successfully replicated an earlier proposed locus. PWV shares common genetic architecture with BP and CAD. BP causally affects PWV. Larger studies are required to further unravel the genetic determinants and effects of PWV.
Study region: In this study, we compiled and analyzed the results of previous sediment fingerprinting research that examined the riverbank as one of the sediment sources, representing 118 catchments ...across the globe, most of which were located in the UK (n = 84), the USA (n = 14), and Brazil (n = 10). Gathered studies included catchments ranging from 0.31 to 15,000 km2 and which were predominately agricultural. Study focus: It is essential to understand how riverbanks contribute to total sediment load at the catchment scale if we wish to develop better strategies for managing soil loss. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess different fingerprinting tracers quantitatively and analyze the influence of catchment size on riverbank erosion. New hydrological insights: We found that radionuclide tracers show the most consistent relative sources contributions. The share of riverbanks to total sediment loss was in the range of 1–25%. At the same time, the relative contributions of riverbanks and surface sources for many catchments exceeded 25% and 90%, respectively. This variability emphasizes the number of factors affecting riverbank erosion. However, despite this, there was a clear shift in contributions from surface sources to riverbanks with increasing catchment size. We suggest that, in nested catchments, there is a need for long-term longitudinal monitoring of sediment loads, including downstream changes of riverbank erosion.
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•Riverbank erosion data was assimilated from fingerprinting studies across the globe.•Fallout radionuclide tracers show consistent subsurface source contribution.•Riverbank erosion contributes in the range of 1–25% to total soil loss.•Riverbank erosion contribution to total soil loss increases with catchment size.•Long-term monitoring and downstream assessment of riverbank sourcing is needed.
Fine sediment inputs into river systems can be a major source of nutrients and heavy metals and have a strong impact on water quality and ecosystem functions of rivers and lakes, including those in ...semiarid regions. However, little is known to date about the spatial distribution of sediment sources in most large scale river basins in Central Asia. Accordingly, a sediment source fingerprinting technique was used to assess the spatial sources of fine-grained (<10μm) sediment in the 15 000km2 Kharaa River basin in northern Mongolia. Variation in geochemical composition (e.g. in Ti, Sn, Mo, Mn, As, Sr, B, U, Ca and Sb) was used for sediment source discrimination with geochemical composite fingerprints based on Genetic Algorithm (GA)-driven Discriminant Function Analysis, the Kruskal–Wallis H-test and Principal Component Analysis. All composite fingerprints yielded a satisfactory GOF (>0.97) and were subsequently used for numerical mass balance modelling with uncertainty analysis. The contributions of the individual sub-catchment spatial sediment sources varied from 6.4% (the headwater sub-catchment of Sugnugur Gol) to 36.2% (the Kharaa II sub-catchment in the middle reaches of the study basin), generally showing higher contributions from the sub-catchments in the middle, rather than the upstream, portions of the study area. The importance of river bank erosion is shown to increase from upstream to midstream tributaries. The source tracing procedure provides results in reasonable accordance with previous findings in the study region and demonstrates the applicability and associated uncertainties of the approach for fine-grained sediment source investigation in large scale semi-arid catchments.
•Applied statistical approach for selecting composite fingerprints in Mongolia.•Geochemical fingerprinting for the definition of source areas in semiarid catchment.•Test of applicability of sediment sourcing in large scale semi-arid catchments.•Combined geochemical and fallout radionuclide fingerprint for management advice.
For many drugs, mechanisms of action with regard to desired effects and/or unwanted side effects are only incompletely understood. To investigate possible pleiotropic effects and respective molecular ...mechanisms, we describe here a catalogue of commonly used drugs and their impact on the blood transcriptome.
From a population-based cohort in Germany (LIFE-Adult), we collected genome-wide gene-expression data in whole blood using in Illumina HT12v4 micro-arrays (n = 3,378; 19,974 gene expression probes per individual). Expression profiles were correlated with the intake of active substances as assessed by participants' medication. This resulted in a catalogue of fourteen substances that were identified as associated with differential gene expression for a total of 534 genes. As an independent replication cohort, an observational study of patients with suspected or confirmed stable coronary artery disease (CAD) or myocardial infarction (LIFE-Heart, n = 3,008, 19,966 gene expression probes per individual) was employed. Notably, we were able to replicate differential gene expression for three active substances affecting 80 genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (carvedilol: 25; prednisolone: 17; timolol: 38). Additionally, using gene ontology enrichment analysis, we demonstrated for timolol a significant enrichment in 23 pathways, 19 of them including either GPER1 or PDE4B. In the case of carvedilol, we showed that, beside genes with well-established association with hypertension (GPER1, PDE4B and TNFAIP3), the drug also affects genes that are only indirectly linked to hypertension due to their effects on artery walls or their role in lipid biosynthesis.
Our developed catalogue of blood gene expressions profiles affected by medication can be used to support both, drug repurposing and the identification of possible off-target effects.
In this paper, we outline several recent insights for the priorities and challenges for future research for reducing phosphorus (P) based water eutrophication in the agricultural landscapes of ...Northwest Europe. We highlight that new research efforts best be focused on headwater catchments as they are a key influence on the initial chemistry of the larger river catchments, and here many management interventions are most effectively made. We emphasize the lack of understanding on how climate change will impact on P losses from agricultural landscapes. Particularly, the capability to disentangle current and future trends in P fluxes, due to climate change itself, from climate driven changes in agricultural management practices and P inputs. Knowing that, future climatic change trajectories for Western Europe will accelerate the release of the most bioavailable soil P. We stress the ambiguities created by the large varieties of sources and storage/transfer processes involved in P emissions in landscapes and the need to develop specific data treatment methods or tracers able to circumvent them, thereby helping catchment managers to identify the ultimate P sources that most contribute to diffuse P emissions. We point out that soil and aqueous P exist not only in various chemical forms, but also in range of less considered physical forms e.g. dissolved, nanoparticulate, colloidal and other particulates, all affected differently by climate as well as other environmental factors, and require bespoke mitigation measures. We support increased high resolution monitoring of headwater catchments, to help verify not only the effectiveness of catchments mitigation strategies, but add research data to develop new water quality models (e.g. those include Fe-P interactions) and can deal with climate and land use change effects within an uncertainty framework. We finally conclude that there is a crucial need for more integrative research efforts to deal with our incomplete understanding of the mechanisms and processes associated with the identification of critical source areas, P mobilization, delivery and biogeochemical processing, as otherwise even high-intensity and high-resolution research efforts will only reveal an incomplete picture of the full global impact of the terrestrial derived P on downstream aquatic and marine ecosystems.
This study investigates the impacts of climate change on the hydrological response of a Mediterranean mesoscale catchment using a hydrological model. The effect of climate change on the discharge of ...the Alata River Basin in Mersin province (Turkey) was assessed under the worst-case climate change scenario (i.e., RCP8.5), using the semi-distributed, process-based hydrological model Hydrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE). First, the model was evaluated temporally and spatially and has been shown to reproduce the measured discharge consistently. Second, the discharge was predicted under climate projections in three distinct future periods (i.e., 2021–2040, 2046–2065 and 2081–2100, reflecting the beginning, middle and end of the century, respectively). Climate change projections showed that the annual mean temperature in the Alata River Basin rises for the beginning, middle and end of the century, with about 1.35, 2.13 and 4.11 °C, respectively. Besides, the highest discharge timing seems to occur one month earlier (February instead of March) compared to the baseline period (2000–2011) in the beginning and middle of the century. The results show a decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature in all future projections, resulting in more snowmelt and higher discharge generation in the beginning and middle of the century scenarios. However, at the end of the century, the discharge significantly decreased due to increased evapotranspiration and reduced snow depth in the upstream area. The findings of this study can help develop efficient climate change adaptation options in the Levant’s coastal areas.
The objective of this study was to assess the performance and predictive uncertainty of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model on the Bani River Basin, at catchment and subcatchment levels. ...The SWAT model was calibrated using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) approach. Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) and biomass were considered in the verification of model outputs accuracy. Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) was used for identifying important model parameters. Results indicated a good performance of the global model at daily as well as monthly time steps with adequate predictive uncertainty. PET was found to be overestimated but biomass was better predicted in agricultural land and forest. Surface runoff represents the dominant process on streamflow generation in that region. Individual calibration at subcatchment scale yielded better performance than when the global parameter sets were applied. These results are very useful and provide a support to further studies on regionalization to make prediction in ungauged basins.
Interactions between metal ions and amino acids are common both in solution and in the gas phase. Here, the effect of metal ions and water on the structure of glycine is examined. The effect of metal ...ions (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) and water on structures of Gly·M n +(H2O) m and GlyZwitt·M n +(H2O) m (m = 0, 2, 5) complexes have been determined theoretically by employing the hybrid B3LYP exchange-correlation functional and using extended basis sets. Selected calculations were carried out also by means of CBS-QB3 model chemistry. The interaction enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs energies of eight complexes Gly·M n + (M n + = Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) were determined at the B3LYP density functional level of theory. The computed Gibbs energies ΔG° are negative and span a rather broad energy interval (from −90 to −1100 kJ mol-1), meaning that the ions studied form strong complexes. The largest interaction Gibbs energy (−1076 kJ mol-1) was computed for the NiGly2+ complex. Calculations of the molecular structure and relative stability of the Gly·M n +(H2O) m and GlyZwitt·M n +(H2O) m (M n + = Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+; m = 0, 2, and 5) systems indicate that in the complexes with monovalent metal cations the most stable species are the NO coordinated metal cations in non-zwitterionic glycine. Divalent cations Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ prefer coordination via the OO bifurcated bonds of the zwitterionic glycine. Stepwise addition of two and five water molecules leads to considerable changes in the relative stability of the hydrated species. Addition of two water molecules at the metal ion in both Gly·M n + and GlyZwitt·M n + complexes reduces the relative stability of metallic complexes of glycine. For M n + = Li+ or Na+, the addition of five water molecules does not change the relative order of stability. In the Gly·K+ complex, the solvation shell of water molecules around K+ ion has, because of the larger size of the potassium cation, a different structure with a reduced number of hydrogen-bonded contacts. This results in a net preference (by 10.3 kJ mol-1) of the GlyZwitt·K+(H2O)5 system. Addition of five water molecules to the glycine complexes containing divalent cations Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ results in a net preference for non-zwitterionic glycine species. The computed relative Gibbs energies are quite high (−10 to −38 kJ mol-1), and the NO coordination is preferred in the Gly·M n +(H2O)5 (M n + = Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) complexes over the OO coordination.
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