We studied litterfall dynamic of tree plantations in Dez River floodplain, at 14 to 15 years old. The plantations consist of Populus euphratica Oliv., Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., E. microtheca F. Muell, Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd., A. salicina Lindl., A. saligna (Labill.) H. Wendl., A. stenophylla Benth. and Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Litterfall was different between the tree species, and le...

Nitrification plays a central role in the nitrogen cycle by determining the oxidation state of nitrogen and its subsequent bioavailability and cycling. However, relatively little is known about the underlying ecology of the microbial communities that carry out nitrification in freshwater ecosystems--and particularly within high-altitude oligotrophic lakes, where nitrogen is frequently a limitin...

The present study was conducted on buffaloes that were non-cycling (heifers, n=32; lactating, n=13) or cycling (heifers, n=11; lactating, n=27) and in the buffaloes that conceived (heifers; n=11; lactating, n=23)or failed to conceive (heifers, n=32; lactating, n=17) subsequent to artificial insemination. Plasma samples were analyzed for thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroid hormones, glucose, to...

In the sedimental organic matter of eutrophic continental seas, such as the largest dead zone in the world, the Baltic Sea, bacteria may directly participate in nutrient release by mineralizing organic matter or indirectly by altering the sediment's ability to retain nutrients. Here, we present a case study of a hypoxic sea, which receives riverine nutrient loading and in which microbe-mediated...

The evergreen Nothofagus betuloides and deciduous Nothofagus pumilio live close together in Tierra del Fuego. The fact that these two species rarely form mixed forests suggests that the soil factor can contribute to the distribution of two species on a local scale. Most of these forests are undisturbed; therefore, soil characteristics may reflect both the influence of the species and of the dom...