Composition and abundance of persistent buoyant litter (plastics, polystyrene and manufactured wood) were investigated at riversides and on adjacent coastal beaches of four rivers flowing into the SE Pacific Ocean. Persistent buoyant litter made up the main share of litter at riversides (36-82%) and on coastal beaches near the river mouths (67-86%). The characteristic litter composition of each...

the objective of the present study was to estimate genetic parameters and genetic trends of growth traits , fleece weight and reproductive traits. data collected from 1993 to 2007 by the kermani breeding station were analyzed .traits were included birth weight (bw, n=2614), 3 months weight (3mw,n=2312), 6 months weight (6mw, n=1890), 9 months weight (9mw,n=1380) and 12 months weight (12mw,n=105...

the aim of this research was to compare the amounts of existing mineral elements in plant aerial parts, litter and soil ofthree range species (bromus tomentellus, psathyrostachys fragilis, agropyron tauri) in order to investigate the litter effectof species on soil properties of taleghan rangeland. the measured mineral elements include carbon, nitrogen,phosphorous and potassium. after selection...

A visual census of marine litter on the seafloor of the Saronikos Gulf (Greece) is presented in the current work. The abundance and qualitative composition of benthic marine litter were investigated in two selected locations of the Saronikos Gulf with a Remote Operated Vehicle, where other sampling strategies couldn't be implemented. The assessment of marine litter was combined with environment...

Economic weights for sow productivity traits in pure-line pig populations were derived from a single profit equation in order to provide flexibility to alternative market requirements or production systems. The profit function method was modified to account for differences in piglet perinatal survival environment imposed by litter size at birth. Both the 100kg finished pig and the feeder pig ma...

Sows (98 first parity and 104 second parity) were used to determine the effects of dietary lysine and valine on lactation performance. Treatments were arranged in a 2 x 3 factorial with two levels of lysine (.80 or 1.20%) and three valine:lysine ratios (80, 100, or 120% of lysine). For all sows, increasing dietary lysine increased litter weaning weight (P < .001) and litter weight gain (P < .00...

[1] Increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and N deposition are expected to affect methane (CH4) production in soils and emission to the atmosphere, directly through increased plant litter production and indirectly through changes in substrate quality. We examined how CH4 emission responded to changes in litter quality under increased N and CO2, beyond differences in CH4 resulting from chan...

In hyperdiverse tropical forests, the key drivers of litter decomposition are poorly understood despite its crucial role in facilitating nutrient availability for plants and microbes. Selective logging is a pressing land use with potential for considerable impacts on plant-soil interactions, litter decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Here, in Borneo's tropical rainforests, we test the hypothes...

Although the importance of stream condition for leaf litter decomposition has been extensively studied, little is known about how processing rates change in response to altered riparian vegetation community composition. We investigated patterns of plant litter input and decomposition across 20 boreal headwater streams that varied in proportions of riparian deciduous and coniferous trees. We mea...

There is increasing attention on the effects of seasonal snowpack on wintertime litter decomposition, as well as the processes following it, in cold biomes. However, little information is available on how litter nitrogen (N) dynamics vary with snowpack variations created by tree crown canopies in alpine forests. Therefore, to understand the effects of seasonal snowpack on litter N dynamics duri...