Fanshawe Gate Farm Vegetation Monitoring Strategy Essay

Fanshawe Gate Farm Vegetation Monitoring Strategy - Essay Example A phase one survey has been undertaken and information obtained from this will be useful to understand the current conditions of fields 2 and 6 and provide a context to carry out a phase 2 survey and a National Vegetation Classification (NVC). To successfully survey the two fields, technical and scientific approaches should be used to achieve all the needed objectives (JNCC 2010). The process starts by defining the objectives, devising a strategy o help achieve the set objectives. Once the strategy is put together, it should be tested by implementing it. The final step is to review and finalize the strategy. Legal requirements should also be maintained throughout the process to ensure the analysis and strategy is standard and as should be. Monitoring Strategy Objectives of the survey To know what type of vegetation is found in the fields. To establish the type of soil in the fields and what vegetation would do best in the given fields. To have a clear picture of the situation in the fields: climate and all To come up with ways to help improve the fields. Increase the diversity of grassland Have more unimproved grassland Analysis or Survey of fields 2 and 6 The fields have areas with tall ruderal vegetation with certain areas characterized by thistles (cirsium ssp). The vegetation in the fields also includes nettles (Urtica dioica). Generally, the fields have semi-improved grassland. This vegetations tends to change across the two fields (some patches have tall grass while others have short grass, others are bare while others have grass, especially under trees). Besides the grass, the waxcap fungi, (Hygrocybe spp) was formed part of the vegetation in the fields. The fungi is an indicator of unimproved grassland in both fields. However, some slight differences were found in field 6. In field 6, marshy grassland was evidenced around the area where a small stream ran. This changed and the vegetation became a bit scarce where the ground rose above the water table. I n areas where the land was sloping, the vegetation cover was constituted by acid grassland, some scrub and Hygrobe calyptiformis. Monitoring Strategy A) Field 2 According to the survey, field 2 was established to have a sloping topography 2 with semi improved grassland and some species of unimproved grassland (Hydrocybe caliptiformis). The unimproved grassland was found in the lower down part of the slope in the field. To attest this, samples would be taken from across the whole field. The samples would help determine if the grassland was becoming more unimproved as one moves further down the slope. To measure the variation in plant species along the sloppy part of the field, quadrants could be studied in two parallel belt transects. The field would be split into quadrants on both belts, from where samples would be taken. To have reliable results, the belts will be divided into 25 quadrants where each will be 0.5 by o.5 m. This is highly recommended so as to get a reliable frequency of the unimproved indicator species of vegetation. All quadrants will be studied. The study would help prove right or wrong the hypothesis for the analysis that towards the bottom of the slope, the species of unimproved grassland increased. Some changes will be carried in the way the field was managed. The expected result of this is a gradual increase

The Tale of the Greatest Divine King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Tale of the Greatest Divine King - Essay Example Charlemagne journeyed to Rome and at Easter time he accompanied Pope Hadrian I to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they avowed mutual oaths, hence validating the union of Charles’ father with the papacy. The implication of the alliance was revealed by Charlemagne in a correspondence to Pope Leo III in 796,â€Å"It is our part with the help of divine holiness to defend by armed strength the holy church of Christ everywhere from the outward onslaughts of the pagans and the ravages of the infidels and to strengthen within the knowledge of the Catholic faith. It is your part, most Holy Father, to help our armies with your hands lifted up to Gold like Moses, so that, by your intercession and by the leadership and gift of God, the Christian people may everywhere   and always have victory over the enemies of his holy name and that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified throughout the world† (Logan, 2002, 73). Through this letter, written by Charlemagne himself, it is logical to assume about his motive in forging the alliance and good relationship with the church. Here is an idea of a perfect Christian society, to whose security and prosperity both king and pope were tied together in a joint effort.Four years following the letter of Charlemagne, at Christmas in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo anointed and crowned Charlemagne as the new Roman emperor. Charlemagne, a king whose roots are barbaric, received the title of emperor on an occasion whose entire implication still mystifies modern scholarship. Since 487, there had been no Roman emperor in the West; the lone emperor was the woman named Irene, ruling the vestiges of the ancient Roman Empire from Constantinople.

Agricultural science and practice

Agricultural science and practice REVIEW OF LITERATURE INTERCROPPING Intercropping of cereals and grain legumes is a neglected theme in agricultural science and practice in both conventional and organic farming systems (Dahlmann, and Von Fragstein2006). The fast rising population in many tropical countries is one of the reasons for enormous growing demand for food. The increasing urbanization due to world growing population has affected food production leading to irrevocable loss of arable land. Opening up new land for cultivation can enhance the decrease of agriculture. Farmers and researchers should be conscious that cost-benefit ratio bringing new land under cultivation is smaller than that of increasing production of already cultivated land, which may lead to increase in production per unit area. Intercropping tenders farmers the opportunity to engage natures principle of diversity on their farms. Spatial arrangements of plants, planting rates, and maturity dates must be considered when planning intercrops. Intercrops can be more fruitful than growing monocropping. Many different intercrop systems have been studied, including mixed intercropping, strip cropping, and customary intercropping provisions. Pest management benefits can also be realized from intercropping due to augmented diversity. Harvesting options for intercrops include hand harvest, machine harvest for on-farm feed, and animal harvest of the standing crop. Most grain-crop mixtures with similar ripening times cannot be machine-harvested to produce a marketable commodity since few buyers purchase mixed grains. Dispite its advantages intercropping is neglected due to complex nature of intercropping systems. In intercropping systems an LER measures 1.0, it tells us that the amount of land required for crops grown together is the same as that for these grown in pure stand (i.e., neither loss nor loss due to intercropping over pure stands). LERs above 1.0 demonstrate an advantage to intercropping, while numbers below 1.0 diplay a disadvantage to intercropping. For example, an LER of 1.25 tells us that the yield produced in the total intercrop system would have required 25% more land if planted in pure stands. If the LER was 0.75, we know the intercrop yield was only 75% of that of the same amount of land that grew pure stands. Pakistan is a subtropical country having sufficient resources with high intensity of sunlight required for plant growth. Therefore, possibility of intercropping of different crops on the same piece of land in a year needs to be explored for effective and efficient utilization of these natural resources. Intercropping is being looked as an efficient utilization of these natural resources and economical production system as it increases the production per unit area and time. Presently, interest in intercropping is increasing among the small growers because of their diversified needs and meagre farm returns from the monocropping system. Planning of cropping system should be done yearly on entire catchment basis. The type of planning should lead to a proper balance between food, fiber and fodder crops. When the rainfall is between 500-700 mm with a distinct period of moisture surplus, intercropping system should be adopted for improved crop production. Even in higher rainfall areas (750- 1100 mm) intercropping facilitates growing either cereal-legume or legume-legume system of different maturity patterns. Intercropping minimize risk of crop failure in drylands. Mixed cropping (mixing seeds of two or more crops and broad casting the mixture) should be avoided as it hinders post-sowing operations. Choice of varieties with in the crops is very important to harness total intercropping advantage. Cereal-legume intercropping systems should be advocated to minimize fertilizer use,.? reduce pest and disease incidence, produce balance foods, ?provide protein rich legume fodder for cattle,? take full advantage of growing seaso n. Cereal-legume intercropping plays an important role in subsistence food production in both developed and developing countries, especially in situations of inadequate water resources (Tsubo et al., 2005). Intercropping cereals and grain legumes can be very potential for both organic and conservative farmers. The use of land equivalent ratio (LER) as a measure for calculating the cropping advantage of intercrops over sole crops is simple, ignoring weed inhibition, yield reliability, grain quality, and minimum advantageous yield are all relevant factors for farmers perspective (Prins and de Wit 2005). Intercropped legumes secure most of their nitrogen from the atmosphere and not compete with maize nitrogen resources (Adu-Gyamfi et al. ,2007). Increased diversity of the physical structure of plants and increased leaf cover in an intercropping system facilitates to reduce weed infestations once crop are established (Beet1990). Having a variety of root system in the soil reduces water loss, enhances water uptake and reduce transpiration. The increased transpiration may make the microclimate cooler, which cools the soil and decrease evaporation (Innis 1997). In this way during times of water stress, intercropped plants utilize a larger percentage of available water from the field than monocropped plants. Creating windbreaks may also modify the microclimate. Rows of maize in a field with a short stature crop would reduce wind speed above the shorter crop and thus deceasechance of desiccation (Beet1990). Intercropped legumes fix most of their nitrogen from the atmosphere and not compete with maize for nitrogen resources (Adu-Gyamfi et al. ,2007; Vesterager et al.,2008). Diversification of cropping systems, i.e. smaller fields and mixtures of crop species (intercropping) was much more in vouge Pre World War II. Intercropping, the simultaneously cultivation of more than one species in the same field, is a cropping method, which often result in a more efficient use of resources, cause more stable yields in problematic environments and a method to reduce problems with weeds, plant pathogens and nitrogen losses post grain legume harvest.In this context a greater introduction of longterm rotations, intercrops and grain legumes play an important role (Jensen 1997; Karlen1994). Intercropping of cereal and legume crops facilitates to maintain and improve soil fertility (Andrew, 1979). Intercropping of legumes with cereals has been popular in tropics (Hauggaard-Nielsen et al.,, 2001; Tsubo et al.,,2005) and rain-fed tracts of the globe (Banik et al.,, 2000; Ghosh, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,,2007) due to its benefits for soil conservation (Anil et al., 1998), weed control (Poggio, 2005; Banik et al.,,2006), lodging resistance (Anil et al.,, 1998), yield enhancemnent (Anil et al.,, 1998; Chen et al.,, 2004), hay curing, forage preservation over pure legumes, more crude protein percentage and protein yield (Qamar et al.,, 1999; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004), and contols legume root parasite infections (Fenandez-Aparicio et al.,,2007). Different seeding ratios or planting patterns for cereal-legume intercropping have been accomplished by many researchers (Tsubo et al.,, 2001; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). Competition among mixtures is thought to be the major characteristic affecting yield as compared with monocropping of cereals. Species or cultivar selections, seeding ratios, and inter and intra specific competition among mixtures may influence the growth of the species grown in intercropping systems in rain-fed areas (Santalla et al.,, 2001; Karadag and Buyukburc, 2004; Carr et al.,, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). Various competition indices such as land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding coefficient (RCC), competitive ratio (CR), actual yield loss (AYL), monetary advantage(MI) and intercropping advantage(IA) have been anticipated to portray competition within and economic advantages of intercropping systems (Banik et al.,, 2000; Ghosh, 2004; Agegnehu et al.,, 2006; Banik et al.,, 2006; Dhima et al.,, 2007). However, such indices have not been used for maize and common bean intercropping to determine the competition among species and also economic advantages of each intercropping system in the East Mediterranean region. Higher monetary returns were obtained compared to sole cropping when bush beans intercropped with sweet maize (Santalla et al.,, 2001). Higher seed yield and net income under planting pattern with changing mix-proportions may be explained in higher total productivity under intercropping with relatively less input investment (Banik et al.,, 2006). Tsubo et al., (2005) formed a simulation model to find out the best planting methods for maize and bean intercrops in sub-arid South Africa. Based on 52 years of weather data, they compared the best planting time, optimal water saturation at planting, maize plant density, and bean plant density to receive the highest LER, energy value (EV), and monetary value (MV) from the intercropped field. For every combination of factors, a LER greater than 1.0 was found, indicating that intercropping of maize and beans increases total yield. The simulations show that initial soil water content has the greatest influence on intercropping productivity. Bean plant density had no influence on maize or bean yields, indicating that maize yield is not affected by bean intercropping, although bean yields were decreased in the intercropped system (Tsubo et al., 2005). High densities of maize maximized maize yield and calorie production, but high densities of beans maximized financial return. Decline of e xternal inputs and increases of homegrown feed together with a more efficient nutrient use from leguminous symbiotic dinitrogen (N2) fixation (SNF) can result in a decrease of nitrogen and mineral losses. Maize-legume intercropping systems are able to lessen amount of nutrients taken from the soil in comparasion to a maize monocrop. Organizing the complication of exchanges that are possible due to the physical constraints of diversity are present in the farm system is vital part of reducing the need for external inputs and moving toward sustainability (Herrera, 1974). Increasing diversity often allows better resources use efficiency in agro ecosystem because with higher diversity, there is larger microhabitat differentiation, allowing the components species and varieties of the system to grow in an environment ideally fitting to its unique requirements (Mazaheri and Oveysi, 2004; Willey and Reddy1981; and Yancey, 1994). A key and straight way of rising diversity of an agro ecosystem is intercropping system that allows interaction between the individuals of the different crops and varieties (Mazaheri, 2004; Willey, 1981 and Venkatswarlu1981). Intercropping can add temporal diversity through the sequential planting of different crops during the same season (Yancey, 1994). Importance of multiple cropping is increasing world food supplies. An LER value of 1.0, indicating no difference in yield between the intercrop and the collection of monocultures (Mazaheri and Oveysi, 2004 and Kurata 1986). Any Value greater than 1.0 indicates a yield advantage for intercrop. A LER of 1.2 for example, indicates that the area planted to monocultures would need to be 20% greater than the area planted to intercrop for the two to produce the same combined yields (Laster and Furr,1972). Intercropping in cassava was beneficial in increasing the biological yield, tuber equivalent yield and land use efficiency. Cassava tuber equivalent yield, LER, ATER and AHER were higher in cassava + cowpea combinations.(Amanullah et al., 2006). Mixed culture (or intercropping) of legumes and cereals is an old practice in tropical agriculture that dates back to ancient civilization. The main objective of intercropping has been to maximum utilization of resources such as space, light and nutrients (Willey, 1990; Morris and Garrity, 1993; Li et al.,, 2003b), as well as to improve crop quality and quantity (Nel, 1975; Izaurralde et al.,, 1990; Mpairwe et al.,, 2002). Other benefits include water quality control through least use of inorganic nitrogen fertilisers that pollute the environment (Crew and Peoples, 2004). The contemporary drift in global agriculture is to search for highly productive, sustainable and environmentally safe cropping systems (Crew and Peoples, 2004). This has resulted into renewed interest in cropping systems research (Vandermeer, 1989). When two crops are grown in association, interspecific competition or facilitation between plants may take place (Vandermeer, 1989; Zhang et al.,, 2003).Different studies have shown that mixtures of cereals and legumes produce higher grain yields than either crop grown unaccompanied (Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1984; Tariah and Wahua, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1987a; Lawson and Kang, 1990; Watiki et al.,, 1993; Peter and Runge-Metzger, 1994; Skovgard and Pats, 1999; Rao and Mathuva, 2000; Olufemi et al.,, 2001; Mpairwe et al.,, 2002; Dapaah et al.,, 2003). In such crop mixtures, the yield increases were not only due to enhanced nitrogen nourishment of the cereal component, but also to other unexplored causes (Nel, 1975; Connolly et al.,, 2001). Many of the unknown and less research processes occur in the rhizosphere of mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003, 2004). The rhizosphere soil is the narrow zone of soil neighboring the roots where soil, micro-organisms and roots jointly play key roles in the soil ecosystem. Compared with the bulk soil, the rhizosphere has diverse biological, physical and chemical soil properties. It is rich in root exudates, and, therefore, play a major role in nutrient mobilisation and microbial activities (Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Dakora, 2003). So far however, little attention has been paid to rhizosphere effects on crops grown in mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003; 2004), where interaction between different organisms is high. The major management practices employed in mixed cultures to attain good yield includes the enhancement of microclimatic conditions, improved utilisation and recycling of soil nutrients, improved soil quality, provision of favourable hab itats for plants and stabilisation of soil, among others (Juma et al.,, 1997). Most of intercropping systems are intentionally made and manipulated to optimise the use of spatial, temporal, and physical resources both above-and belowground, by maximising positive interactions (facilitation) and minimizing negative ones (competition) among the components (Willey and Osiru, 1972; Willey, 1979; Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1986, 1987a, b; Jose et al.,, 2000; Silwana and Lucas, 2002). An understanding of the biological and chemical processes and mechanisms involved in the distribution of resources in such systems is indispensable. The complex interactions in legume/cereal cropping systems such as those used by traditional farmers have received little research attention (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2004) because quantitative rhizosphere studies in the field involving complex mixtures are notoriously complex and cumbersome. These conditions are achieved by manipulating management practices such as planting patterns of the mixtures with the selection of appropriate cropping systems. Interactions will occur in the growth process, especially when the component species are exploiting the resources above-and below-ground (Vandermer, 1989; Willey, 1990; Ong et al.,, 1996) from the same niche or at the same time. In crop mixtures, any species utilizing the same combination of resources will be in direct competition. However, based on differences in phenological characteristics of species in asocition, the interaction among them may lead to an increased capture of a limiting growth resource (Willey and Osiru, 1972; Willey, 1979; Mead and Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1986, 1987a,b; Silwana and Lucas, 2002) and then amassing larger total yield than the collective production of those species if they were grown separately on an equivalent land area (Mead and Ndakidemi 2527 Willey, 1980; Horwith, 1984; Tariah and Wahua, 1985; Ofori and Stern, 1987a; Lawson and Kang, 1990; Watiki et al.,, 1993; Peter and Runge-Metzger, 1994; Myaka, 1995; Asafu-Agyei et al.,, 1997; Skovgard and Pats, 1999; Rao and Mathuva, 2000; Olufemi et al.,, 2001; Dapaah et al.,, 2003). Thus, mixed cropping systems between cereals and legumes may face a complex series of inter- and intra-specific interaction (Izaurralde et al.,, 1990; Giller and Cadisch, 1995; Evans et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 2003c) geared by modifications and utilisation of light, water, nutrients and enzymes. Most annual crop mixtures such as those involving cereals and legumes are grown almost at the same time, and develop root systems that acquire the same soil zone for resources (Horwith, 1984; Chang and Shibles, 1985a,b; Reddy et al.,, 1994; Jensen et al.,, 2003). Under such circumstances, below-ground competition for resources such as nutrients is most likely to take place. For example, research has shown that activities in maize + cowpea intercropping take place between the top 30-45 cm of soil, and their intensity decreased with depth (Maurya and Lal, 1981; McIntyre et al.,, 1997). Because of these interactions, cowpea yields can be reduced significantly in relationto that of maize (Watiki et al.,, 1993). In contrast to some negative effects on yield, root systems in mixtures may provide some of the major favorable effects on soil and plants. These include, amongst others, carbon enrichment through higher carbon return (Ridder et al.,, 1990; Vanlauwe et al.,, 1997), discharge of phenolics, phytosiderophores and carboxylic acids as root exudates by companion plants (Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Dakora, 2003). These compounds play a major role in the mineral nutrition of plants. For instance, some studies have displayed that, in P-deficient soils, pigeon pea roots utilize piscidic, malonic, and oxalic acids to solubilise Fe-, Ca- and Al-bound P (Ae et al.,, 1990). Once mobilised, P and Fe then become available for uptake by the pigeon pea plant as well as by plant species grown in association and micro flora in the cropping system.This is due to the fact that, thus far, research efforts on mixed cultures has centered on the intra- and inter-specific competition for light and water, and re search reports on competition for nutrients in legumes and cereal mixtures (Connolly et al.,, 2001; Zhang et al.,, 2003, 2004). It is, therefore, imperative to discover how the rhizosphere systems of the associated plant species in mixtures interact under different legume-cereal cropping systems. Rhizospheric pH changes in different management systems in legume/cereal mixtures Many plants have the ability to alter the pH of their rhizosphere (Hoffland et al.,, 1989, 1992; Raven et al.,, 1990; Degenhardt et al.,, 1998; Muofhe and Dakora, 2000; Dakora and Phillips, 2002) and improve nutrient availability such as P, K, Ca, and Mg, which are otherwise fixed and not available to plants (Vandermeer, 1989; Hauggaard- Nielson and Jensen, 2005). For instance, legumes induce numerous reactions that modify the rhizosphere pH (Jarvis and Robson, 1983; McLay et al.,, 1997; Tang et al.,, 1998, 2001) and influence nutrient uptake (Brady, 1990; Vizzatto et al.,, 1999). For example, Dakora et al., (2000) have shown that due to pH changes in the rhizosphere, Cyclopia genistoides, a tea-producing legume native to South Africa, increased nutrient availability in its rhizosphere by 45 120% for P, 108 161% for K, 120 148% for Ca, 127 225% for Mg and 117 250% for boron (B) compared to bulk non-rhizosphere soil. Hence, legumes may take up higher amounts of base cations, and in the process of balancing internal charge, release H+ ions into the rhizosphere that results in soil acidification (Jarvis and Robson, 1983; McLay et al.,, 1997; Tang et al.,, 1998, 2001; Sas et al.,, 2001; Dakora and Phillips, 2002; Cheng et al.,, 2004). Other legumes such as alfalfa, chickpea, lupines, and cowpea can release considerable amounts of organic anions and lower their rhizospere pH (Liptone et al.,, 1987; Dinkelaker et al.,, 1989, 1995; Braum and Helmke, 1995; Gilbert et al.,, 1999; Neumann et al.,, 1999; Rao et al.,, 2002; Li et al.,, 2004b), a condition favorable for the hydrolysis of organic P and hence improving P2O5 nutrition for plants and micro organism in the soil. In the same context, white lupine (Lupinus albus) exuded organic acids anions and protons that lowered rhizosphere pH and recovered substantial amount of P2O5 from the soil and made them more available to wheat than when it was grown in solitary cropping system (Horst and Waschkies, 1987; Kamh et al.,, 1999). Similarly, pigeon pea increased P2O5 uptake of the intercropped sorghum by exuding piscidic acid anions that chelated Fe3+ and subsequently released P2O5 from FePO4 (Ae et al.,, 1990). In a field trial, faba bean facilitated P2O5 uptake by maize (Z hang et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 1999, 2003b; Zhang and Li, 2003). In another comparative study, the ability of chickpea to mobilise organic P2O5 was shown to be greater than that of maize due to greater exudation of protons and organic acids by chickpea in relation to maize (Li et al.,, 2004a). Thus, in mixed cultures, plants such as cereals, which do not have strong rhizosphere acidification capacity can benefit directly from nutrients solubilised by legume root exudates. What is, however, not clearly known is the extent of rhizosphere pH changes in mixed cultures involving nodulated legumes and cereals and their influence on other biological and chemical processes in the soil. N2 FIXATION IN LEGUMES AND THE ASSOCIATED BENEFITS TO THE CEREAL COMPONENT Biological nitrogen fixation by grain legume crops has received a lot of attention (Eaglesham et al.,, 1981; Giller et al.,, 1991; Izaurralde et al.,, 1992; Giller and Cadisch, 1995; Peoples et al.,, 2002) because it is a considerable N source in agricultural ecosystems (Heichel, 1987; Dakora and Keya, 1997). However, studies on N2 fixation in complex cereal-legume mixtures are few (Stern, 1993; Peoples et al.,, 2002). Intercropping usually includes a legume which fixes N2 that benefits the system, and a cereal component that depends heavily on nitrogen for higher yield (Ofori and Stern, 1986; Cochran and Schlentner, 1995). Controlled studies have shown a significant direct transfer of fixed-N to the associated non-legume species (Eaglesham et al.,, 1981; Giller et al.,, 1991; Frey and Schà ¼epp, 1993; Stern, 1993; Elgersma et al.,, 2000; Hà ¸gh-Jensen and Schjoerring, 2000; Chu et al.,, 2004). There was evidence that the mineralisation of decomposing legume roots in the soil can b oost N availability to the allied crop (Dubach and Russelle, 1994; Schroth et al.,, 1995; Evans et al.,, 2001). In mixed cultures, where row arrangements and the distance of the legume from the cereal are far, nitrogen transfer could decrease. Research has shown that competition between cereals and legumes for nitrogen may in turn kindle N2 fixation activity in the legumes (Fujita et al.,, 1990; Hardarson and Atkins, 2003). The cereal component effectively drains the soil of N, forcing the legume to fix more N2. Therefore it is important to manipulate and establish how the management practice in legume-cereal mixtures may influence N2 fixation and nutrition in cropping systems. The microbial biomass is influenced by biological, chemical, and physical properties of the plant-soil system. Generally, soil and plant management practices may have greater impact on the level of soil microbial C (Gupta and Germida, 1988; Dick et al.,, 1994; Dick, 1997; Alvey et al.,, 2003). For instance, soil microbial C tend to show the highest values in cropland and grassland soils and the lowest in bare cultivated soils (Brookes et al.,, 1984; Gupta and Germida, 1988).Monoculture systems are expected to contain less amounts of microbial biomass and activities in comparison to those in mixed cultures (Moore et al.,, 2000). Studies have indicated that legumes accumulated larger amounts of soil microbial C in the soil than cereals (Walker et al.,, 2003). This is attributed to lower C : N ratio of legume than that of cereal (Uriyo et al.,, 1979; Brady, 1990). Microbial biomass activities could increase after the addition of an energy source. The stimulation of soil microbial biomas s activity by organic amendments is elevated than that induced by organic fertilisers (Bolton et al.,, 1985; Goyal et al.,, 1993; Hà ¶flich et al.,, 2000). Soil organic matter content and soil microbial activities, vital for the nutrient turnover and long term productivity of soil, are enhanced by the balanced application of nutrient and/or organic matter/manure (Bolton et al.,, 1985; Guan, 1989; Goyal et al.,, 1993; Hà ¶flich et al.,, 2000; Kanchikerimath and Singh, 2001). Under conditions of adequate nutrient supply such as P2O5, the microbial biomass C will be increased due to improved plant growth and increased turnover of organic matter in the soil (Bolton et al.,, 1985). Whether the management practices in mixed cultures involving legumes and cereals may favour the stimulation of biological soil activity and, thus, result in a higher turnover of organic substrates in the soil that are utilized by micro-organisms is a good subject to be investigated. Although there is a lot o f information that show the relationship between soil management and soil microbial activity, little is known about these effects under mixed cropping systems as practised by farmers in the tropical/ subtropical environments (Dick, 1984; Dick et al.,, 1988; Deng and Tabatabai, 1996). In this context, the measurement of their activities could provide useful information concerning soil health, and also serve as a good index of biological status in different crop production systems. PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY IN LEGUME/CEREAL MIXTURES Plants have evolved many morphological and enzymatic adaptations to bear low phosphate availability. This includes transcription activity of acid phosphatases, which tends to increase under P2O5 starvation (Tarafdar and Jungk, 1987; Goldstein, 1992; Duff et al.,, 1994; del Pozo et al.,, 1999; Haran et al.,, 2000; Baldwin et al.,, 2001; Miller et al.,, 2001; Li et al.,, 2002). Phosphatase enzymes in the soil serve several important functions, and are good indicators of soil fertility (Dick and Tabatai, 1992; Eivazi and Tabatabai, 1997; Dick et al.,, 2000). Under conditions of P2O5 deficiency, acid phosphatase secreted from roots is greater than before (Nakas et al.,, 1987; Chrost, 1991;Hayes et al.,, 1999; Li et al.,, 1997). Gilbert et al., (1999) found that white lupin roots from P-deficient plants had significantly superior acid phosphatase activity in both the root extracts and the root exudates than comparable samples from P-sufficient plants. At various starvation levels, these e nzymes release phosphate from both cellular (Bariola et al.,, 1994) and extra cellular (Duff et al.,, Ndakidemi 2529 1994) organic compounds. The transcripts and activity of phosphate transporters are increased to optimise uptake and remobilisation of phosphate in P-deficient plants (Muchhal et al.,, 1996; Daram et al.,, 1999; Kai et al.,, 2002; Karthikeyan et al.,, 2002; Mudge et al.,, 2002; Versaw and Harrison, 2002). It is thought that these morphological and enzymatic responses to P starvation are coordinated by both general stress-related and P-specific signaling systems. The amount of acid phosphatase secreted by plants is genetically controlled, and differs with crop species and varieties (Izaguirre-Mayoral and Carballo, 2002) as well as crop management practices (Patra et al.,, 1990; Staddon et al.,, 1998; Wright and Reddy, 2001). Some studies have shown that the amount of enzymes secreted by legumes were 72 % higher than those from cereals (Yadav and Tarafdar, 2001). Li et al., (2004a) found that, chickpea roots were also able to secrete greater amounts of acid phosphatase than maize. The activity of acid phosphatases is expected to be higher in biologically managed systems because of higher quantity of organic C content found in those systems. In fact, the activity of acid and alkaline phosphatase was found to correlate with organic matter in various studies (Guan, 1989; Jordan and Kremer, 1994; Aon and Colaneri, 2001). It is, therefore, anticipated that management practices in mixed cultures that induce P stress in the rhizosphere, may also affect the secretion of these enzymes. To date, there have been few studies examining the influence of cropping system on the phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere of most legumes and cereals grown in Pakistan. Understanding the dynamics of enzyme activities in these systems is crucial for their assessment their interactions as in turn their activities may regulate nutrient uptake and plant growth in the ecosystem. EFFECT OF ORGANIC, BIOLOGICAL ANDCHEIMCAL FERTLIZERS ON CROPS AND SOIL Application of organic manures has various advantages such as increasing soil physical properties, water holding capacity, and organic carbon content apart from supplying good quality of nutrients. The addition of organic sources could increase the yield through improving soil productivity and higher fertilizer use efficiency (Santhi, and Selvakumari, 2000). High and sustained yield could be obtained with judicious and balanced fertilization combined with organic manures (Kang, B.T. and V. Balasubramanian, 1990). Protecting long-term soil fertility by maintaining soil organic matter levels to certain extent, sustaining soil biological activity and careful mechanical intervention, providing crop nutrient directly by using relatively insoluble nutrient sources which are made available to the plants by the action of soil micro-organisms, nitrogen self sufficiency through the biological nitrogen fixation (Hossain et al.,,2004) as well as effective recycling of organic materials including livestock wastes organic manuring (Safdar, 2002).Soil degradation which is brought about by loss of organic matter accompanying continuous cropping becomes aggravated when inorganic fertilizers are applied repeatedly. This is because crop response to applied fertilizer depends on soil organic matter (Agboola and Omueti, 1982). Among differnret manues poultry manure is highly nutrient enriched organic manure since solid and liquid excreta are excreted simultaneously resulting in no urine loss. In fresh poultry excreta uric acid or urate is the most plentiful nitrogen compound (40-70 % of total N) while urea and ammonium are present in petite amounts (Krogdahl, and Dahlsgard. 1981). Cooperband et al., (2002) assessed phosphorus value of different- age poultry litter composts and raw poultry litter. Available soil P was the highest in plots amended with 15-month old compost, followed by raw poultry litter amended plots. Poultry manure is an excellent organic fertilizer, as it contains high nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other essential nutrients. In contrast to mineral fertilizer, it adds organic matter to soil which improves soil structures, nutrient retention, aeration, soil moisture holding capacity, and water infiltration (Deksissa et al.,, 2008). It was also indicated that poultry manure more readil y supplies P to plants than other organic manure sources (Garg and Bahla, 2008). As the use of poultry manure becomes an integral part of sustainable agriculture, demand for poultry products increases and pasturelands as well as croplands become nutrient saturated, which has ultimately increased water quality and public health concerns. In addition to high N and P content, raw poultry manure has a potential source of pathogen or E .coli (Jamieson et al.,, 2002; Bustamante et al.,, 2007) and endocrine disruptors (Deksissa et al.,, 2007). High and sustained crop yield can be obtained with judicious and balanced NPK fertilization combined with organic matter amendment (Kang and Balasubramanian, 1990).The benefits

Essays --

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a psychological disorder that is described in the DSM-5 as a specifier to describe subpopulations of patients with recurrent depressive disorders and bipolar disorder. It is unique because unlike depression symptoms, seasonal affective disorder has variations in onset, intensity and remission following a temporal pattern (American Psychiatric, 2013). Seasonality is seasonal variation in behavior and mood and seasonal affective disorder describes the extreme end of seasonality. The most common form of this disorder is Winter SAD in which the depressive symptoms begin in the fall and winter and go into remission in the spring in summer but the opposite, Summer SAD where depressive symptoms begin in the spring and summer and go into remission in the fall and winter is also sometimes observed. In recent years, there has been more of a push to advocate getting help for seasonal affective disorder for those that need it. The treatment that is most often provided is bright light therapy. The cause of this disorder is generally considered to be lack of exposure to sunlight but there are many factors that have been found to contribute to the susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder, such as the latitudinal position, the activity level, gender and age, and the personality of a person. One of the most widely known and tested factors that affects susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder is latitudinal position. This factor was one of the first used in explaining seasonal affective disorder. As a person moves higher in latitude which means goes north, the amount of sunlight per day is significantly reduced, which can cause seasonal affective disorder to begin to arise. This lack of sunlight can c... ...light-latitude hypothesis of seasonal depression needs to be looked at again or more focus added to another possible factor that could contribute to SAD (Haggarty et al., 2001). In conclusion, though often looked over, seasonal affective disorder is a very serious disorder that is shown to be as severe as non-seasonal major depression. Both Winter SAD and Summer SAD can be debilitating for the patient who has them. The latitudinal position, the activity level, gender and age, and the personality of a person are all factors that can contribute to susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder or can help us in understanding and possibly even treating it. Aside from these factors, there is research going on even now looking into other possible factors that could contribute to the susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder as well as new treatments for the disorder.

The School to Works Program in America

In writing her article â€Å"An Avenue to High Academic Standards,† Lynn Olson confronts the tempestuous side of the education system: a recently added component of the curriculum. Olson claims that this new argument would further enhance the quality and practicality of the educational system. The school to works program was introduced in state and federal law in 1994 but its validity and utility is still being disputed over by various concerned parties. Being the senior editor of the national newspaper â€Å"Education Week,† Olson would seem to be well qualified to provide her readers with a persuasive and realistic analysis to an issue that is being widely debated. Olson†s article gives one the impression that this scheme would be a highly beneficial one to our high school students. However, though Olson†s article deals with most of the issues relevant to this scheme, a few areas have not been covered by her. On the whole, it would seem that this scheme should be brought into vogue as soon as possible as suggested by her. Olson has written a very sound article in which she persuades her reader through the means of sound logic well substantiated with real life examples to further strengthen her claims. She makes use of a simple and well-organized diction to enable her wide readership to understand the article. Also Olson†s sources seem to be well founded and used in a logical manner. Olson has written a convincing article because she substantiates her claims with real life examples of different school to work programs. She embarks on this path by giving the examples of a young high school student and that student†s positive and enriching experience with the school to work program. In this particular case, Olson writes that the school to work program helps this rudderless student to find her vocation in life and thus make a valuable contribution to society. She further adds that this student†s experience is not an isolated one and that numerous students have benefited from this program Olson also writes â€Å"Studies suggest that school-to-work programs can help address one of the greatest problems in education: motivation†. However, she writes that this program solves this problem and she substantiates this by giving the example of the 1994 evaluation of Pro-Tech, a Boston school- to work program. In this evaluation it was found that students who participated in these programs decided to take more rigorous math and physics courses than their peers. Thus, she proves that this scheme gives the students a clear indication about the direct link that exists between a good quality education and a good job. Therefore, these examples in her article enable her to provide her readers with a logical and realistic argument that seems to make sense. However, by providing real life examples to prove her point, Olson is justified in writing that the school to work program provides a self-explanatory answer to the question â€Å"Why do I have to learn this? † Olson further strengthens her case by elaborating some valid reasons that make this program a beneficial one to the students. Olson writes that the school-to-work program â€Å"engage students in active, hands-on-learning rather than teaching solely from textbooks†. She states that the primary aim of this program is to inculcate theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge, thus enabling the student to practice the theory learned in school in daily life. However, Olson does admit that there is still a slight confusion on whether this scheme actually encourages students to pursue higher degrees after they have graduated from high school. She counterbalances this by stating that it does help students who intend to go to college on deciding which major they would want to pursue in college. Furthermore, she also writes that these schemes provide students with the added incentive of acquiring extra credit hours. Olson also pads her argument by stating that this program provides society with an educated and skilled workforce urgently required by firms. The argument put forth by Phyllis Schlafly, in her article â€Å"School to Work will train, not Educate†, that these programs are the cause of economic requirements of society and are not due to educational upliftment is oversimplistic and lacks in logical coherency. Schlafly may have some substance in her theme that these programs would â€Å"cause a person or animal to be efficient in the performance of tasks by responding to discipline, instruction and repeated practice†. However, her entire article uses negative emotion to pursuade her readers to follow her line of thinking. Furthermore, her argument that this program will deprive a child of a sound education is countermanded by Olson†s claim that this program will motivate students to get a better education. Also George Willett†s statement in his e-mail message that â€Å"greater learning occurred where the practical was aligned with the academic†. However, one of the legitimate shortcomings of Olson†s article is that it does not provide her readers with all the information relevant to this topic. Her article has used only the positive sources that strengthen her case but overlooks all negative aspects that could have been assessed and resolved by her. Thus, as pointed out by Schlafly, one of the realistic drawbacks of the scheme is that it may be made a compulsory program with the students having no choice in the matter. In that case, the system would lose all the advantages of encouraging students to learn and would just evolve into modern child slavery, where the student may be forced to work whether or not he or she may want to. Also, she has not looked into the fact that the students would not be able choose their own programs. It would be allotted to them based on their grades and other factors by an appointed body called â€Å"The Workforce Development Board†, which is a very disturbing thought, placing the very ideals of a democracy at risk. This is one of the realistic fears put forth in Schlafly†s article. Also, as pointed out by Brian Faranell in his e-mail message that â€Å"asking a freshman in high school to declare his major is way to early†. This too is a legitimate fear that Schlafly has not confronted in her article. Therefore, it is recommended that the school to work program be an optional program wherein the only requirement is motivated students. Thus, no student should be forced to enroll in this program, as this would be counterproductive to the child†s welfare and make the very reason for its creation obsolete. Also, there should be sufficient choice in the different types of school to work programs, so as to enable students to choose among the various programs, so that they might be able to choose something that corresponds to their courses and which will help them in the future. Presently, there are certain countries that have already inculcated this scheme to their education system. Thus, it would be judicious to study their system for a period of time before going head long into one of our own. This would help in looking at all the shortcomings in their system and avoid them in our own. However, we must keep in mind that our basic society and education system may be different and that what works in those countries may not necessarily work in ours. It may also be a good idea to schedule a convention of teachers and professors and other educators to use their ideas. It should be always remembered that they are an integral part of the system, and the government should always take their opinion into account before enacting any bill. Thus, if all these shortfalls are removed the school to work program seems to be a viable addition to our educative system. Olson has covered none of these areas, in her article, which leads one to believe that she may not have researched the topic well enough or else she may not want to provide any negative aspects to her argument. Though her not confronting these issues may show that these are really serious problems that have no real short term solutions. Hence, her argument might have actually been strengthened if she had confronted these areas and tried to provide some sort of solution to them. However, on the whole her article seems to be well written. She has based her ideas on sound logic, which enables her to provide a coherent and well-organized thesis. She has well developed and organized her use of sources and has analyzed them well. Therefore, it would seem that her article would merit a good reception from the public. Therefore, it would seem that Olson succeeds in her purpose of providing a strong argument for the implementation of this program. However, as said earlier it would have been stronger if it had been comprehensive: tackling the harder issues as well.

Car Manufacturer

Toyota is one of the company car manufacturer. Cars like Vios, Hilux, Sienna, Prius, Avanza, Fortuner and many more are the product that has being produce by Toyota to identify and target a market segment. Based on our analysis, the segment that has being targeted by Toyota is the Geographical, Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral segmentation. On Geographical segmentation, Toyota has target different car in different country. Like American, Toyota has conquered the market by introduced the car Prius that is green environmental because the company know the American needs oil saving cars.On Demographic segmentation, Toyota has also target the market by gender, family size, family life cycle, income and occupation. Toyota has mostly target the women for several of their models like the Toyota Prius because women influence more on purchase decision. Other than that, Toyota has also target on family market by introducing cars like Avanza that can fit a person or a big family inside. Besides that, Toyota has also target the market that is lowered and middle income by introduced cars like Vios.It has make every people can afford a car that is high quality and economic with low price. Toyota has also targeted the industrial market by produce the cars like van and trucks that can be use in different section of occupation. Vans like Toyota Hiace are usually use in delivering goods and worker. Truck like Toyota Hilux are usually use in estate because can travelling obstacle and load goods. On psychographic segmentation, Toyota has targeted the market by lifestyle, social class and personality traits.Toyota has manufacture cars that is higher status by upgraded the design and also the engine of the car. Those car has being named Toyota Racing Development (TRD). The company has manufacture these cars so that the person that has higher lifestyle, social class and personality traits can have more choices instead of the normal types of the cars. Cars like Celica and Supr a are also the types of car that has higher lifestyle, social class and personality traits.Besides that, Toyota has also manufacture cars like Prius that is friendly environment and value conscious. On behavioral segmentation, Toyota has targeted the market by the occasions, benefits sought, user status and user rates. The company has manufacture luxury cars like Estima that can be use in different occasions like wedding. Besides that, the company has also manufactures cars like Prius that is friendly environment based on the benefits sought that the customer can enjoy the free environmental and also can reduce cost of buying fuel.Cars like Toyota Super Kings is manufacture to targeted the user status market. People that is using the cars can be categorized as high status people because of the price of the car and hard to affordable. Toyota has also targeted the market by the user rates when the people are more preferred on cars. So the company has designed more cars like Vios, Camr y, Corolla Passo and many more. These are the market segmentation that we have analyzed and the also the variables that the Toyota has being targeted.