Studies of community assembly have emphasized snapshot comparisons of spatially replicated samples from "natural" assemblages. Agro-ecosystems are characterized by relatively little habitat heterogeneity and no dispersal barriers for actively flying insects. Therefore, dynamic patterns of species segregation and aggregation are more likely to reflect the direct or indirect effects of species in...

Due to the important role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in ecosystem functioning, determination of the effect of management practices on the AMF diversity in agricultural soils is essential for the sustainability of these agro-ecosystems. The objective of this study was to compare the AMF diversity in Prunus persica roots under two types of fertilisation (inorganic, with or without manu...

Agro-ecoregionalization is categorization of landscapes for use in crop suitability analysis, strategic agroeconomic development, risk analysis, and other purposes. Past agro-ecoregionalizations have been subjective, expert opinion driven, crop specific, and unsuitable for statistical extrapolation. Use of quantitative analytical methods provides an opportunity for delineation of agro-ecoregion...

SUMMARY. Daisy is a Soil-Plant-Atmosphere system model designed to simulate water balance, heat balance, solute balance and crop production in agro-ecosystems subjected to various management strategies. The water balance model comprises a surface water balance and a soil water balance. The surface water includes a model for snow accumulation and melting, a model for interception, through-fall, ...