Soil is a complex biological system that plays a key role for plants and animals, especially in dry forests such as the Caatinga. Fungi from soils, such as Aspergillus and Penicillium, can be used as bioindica- tors for biodiversity conservation. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify species of Aspergillus and Penicillium in soil, from the municipalities of Tupanatinga and Ibimiri...

Disturbance is one of the most important factors promoting exotic invasion. However, if disturbance per se is sufficient to explain exotic success, then "invasion" abroad should not differ from "colonization" at home. Comparisons of the effects of disturbance on organisms in their native and introduced ranges are crucial to elucidate whether this is the case; however, such comparisons have not ...

The effects of soil disturbance on the nematode community were assessed at 30 sites on the outer coastal plain of Mississippi, representing four ages since soil disturbance plus a control group of six undisturbed sites. Thirty-five taxa were encountered, dominated in abundance and taxonomic richness by plant and bacterial feeders. Nematodes were more abundant and more taxonomically rich in site...

Disturbance is an important component o f many ecosystemg and variations in disturbance regime can affect ecosystem and communi ty structure and functioning. The "'intermediate disturbance hypothesis" suggests that species diversity should be highest at moderate levels o f disturbance. However, disturbance is also known to increase the invasibility o f communities. Disturbance therefore poses a...

Small-scale soil disturbances such as soil mounds produced by gophers are known to influence local plant communities. A variety of mechanisms might account for the influence of gopher disturbances on individual plant success, but understanding of these mechanisms is not well developed. Disturbances are often assumed to affect plants through changing competition or the abiotic environment, but d...

The mechanism of furrow opener-soil interaction plays an important role in analyzing the process no-till planting opener. In order to study disturbance effect opener on loam soil, firstly, three-dimensional model was established by using SolidWorks. Secondly, 3D discrete element EDEM software. Combined with indoor soil bin test bench and high-speed camera technology, micro-disturbance macro-dis...

Beta diversity describes how local communities within an area or region differ in species composition/abundance. There have been attempts to use changes in beta diversity as a biotic indicator of disturbance, but lack of theory and methodological caveats have hampered progress. We here propose that the neutral theory of biodiversity plus the definition of beta diversity as the total variance of...

[Purpose] This study aimed to determine whether or not problems with gait and balance occur when incorrect information is given visually. [Subjects and Methods] Fifty healthy adults wore goggles that caused visual distortion and viewing angle reduction, and their balance and gait velocities were measured in an upright position. The goggles could be set to three different levels of visual distor...

Antarctic ecosystems are often considered nearly pristine because levels of anthropogenic disturbance are extremely low there. Nevertheless, over recent decades there has been a rapid increase in the number of people, researchers and tourists, visiting Antarctica. We evaluated, over 10 years, the direct impact of foot traffic on the abundance of soil animals and soil properties in Taylor Valley...