Analysis of Petrogenic Hydrocarbons in Plant Tissues: A Simple GC-MS-Based Protocol to Distinguish Biogenic Hydrocarbons from Diesel-Derived Compounds.

Diesel contamination of farming soils is of great concern because hydrocarbons are toxic to all forms of life and can potentially enter the food web through crops or plants used for remediation. Data on plant ability to uptake, translocate and accumulate diesel-derived compounds are controversial not only due to the probable diverse attitude of plant species but also because of the lack of a reliable method with which to distinguish petrogenic from biogenic compounds in plant tissues. The purpose of this study was to set up a GC-MS-based protocol enabling the determination of diesel-derived hydrocarbons in plants grown in contaminated soil for assessing human and ecological risks, predicting phytoremediation effectiveness and biomass disposal.

Does with Its Bacterial Coating Represent a Promising Association for Seawater Phytoremediation of Diesel Hydrocarbons?

Anthropic diesel-derived contamination of Mediterranean coastal waters is of great concern. Nature-based solutions such as phytoremediation are considered promising technologies to remove contaminants from marine environments. The aim of this work was to investigate the tolerance of the Mediterranean autochthonous seaweed (Forsskal) Lamouroux to diesel fuel and its hydrocarbon degradation potential.

High Phenotypic Plasticity in a Prominent Plant Invader along Altitudinal and Temperature Gradients.

Studies on plant growth and trait variation along environmental gradients can provide important information for identifying drivers of plant invasions and for deriving management strategies. We used seeds of the annual plant invader L. (common ragweed) collected from an agricultural site in Northern Italy (226 m.

Allergenicity at component level of sub-pollen particles from different sources obtained by osmolar shock: A molecular approach to thunderstorm-related asthma outbreaks.

Background: The so-called "thunderstorm asthma" (TA) is an uncommon but dramatic outbreak of asthma attacks occurring during a thunderstorm in the pollen and moulds season. Mechanisms which make the pollen able to enter the deeper airways and provoke severe asthma symptoms are still unclear.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that sub-pollen particles (SPPs) originated from the rupture by an osmotic shock of pollen associated with TA contain allergens.

Seeding and Overseeding Native Hayseed Support Plant and Soil Arthropod Communities in Agriculture Areas.

Using native seed mixtures to create or recover grassland habitats in rotation to crops or in strips surrounding fields is considered a cost-effective practice to enhance ecosystem resilience and agro-biodiversity. The aim of this research was to assess the effects of native hayseed mixtures on plant and microarthropod communities in an agricultural area of Northern Italy. Three different experimental treatments were set up.

The interactive effect of herbivory, nutrient enrichment and mucilage on shallow rocky macroalgal communities.

This paper focuses on the interactive short and long-term effect of three different stressors on a macroalgal assemblage. Three stressors are considered: herbivory, nutrients and mucilage. The experiment was conducted in Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area (Mediterranean Sea) during a bloom of the benthic mucilage-producing microalga (); this microalga is recently spreading in the Mediterranean Sea.

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. temperature-responsive traits influencing the prevalence and severity of pollinosis: a study in controlled conditions.

Background: Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is one of the most important sources of allergenic pollen in many regions of the world. Its health impact increased over the last decades and is expected to further increase in consequence of climate change.

Effect of Soil pH on the Growth, Reproductive Investment and Pollen Allergenicity of L.

Despite the importance of soil reaction for alien plant establishment, few and incomplete studies have included this key factor so far. In this study, we investigated the effects of soil pH on the germination, growth (plant height, width, dry weight, etc.) and reproductive investment (inflorescence size and n° of flowers) of (common ragweed), an allergenic species that is highly invasive and alien in Europe, through a replicated experiment in controlled conditions.

Role of commercial harbours and recreational marinas in the spread of non-indigenous fouling species.

The role of commercial harbours as sink and source habitats for non-indigenous species (NIS) and the role of recreational boating for their secondary spread were investigated by analysing the fouling community of five Italian harbours and five marinas in the western Mediterranean Sea. It was first hypothesised that NIS assemblages in the recreational marinas were subsets of those occurring in commercial harbours. However, the data did not consistently support this hypothesis: the NIS pools of some marinas significantly diverged from harbours even belonging to the same coastal stretches, including NIS occurring only in marinas.

The invasive microalga Chrysophaeum taylorii: Interactive stressors regulate cell density and mucilage production.

The benthic mucilage producing microalga Chrysophaeum taylorii Lewis and Bryan (Pelagophyceae) has recently received attention for its rapid spread in the Mediterranean Sea, where its blooms have remarkable detrimental effects. So far no information on C. taylorii response to multiple stressors, especially in terms of mucilage hyperproduction, is available in the literature yet, and a manipulative field experiment in this topic was designed in Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area.

Consumer depletion alters seagrass resistance to an invasive macroalga.

Few field studies have investigated how changes at one trophic level can affect the invasibility of other trophic levels. We examined the hypothesis that the spread of an introduced alga in disturbed seagrass beds with degraded canopies depends on the depletion of large consumers. We mimicked the degradation of seagrass canopies by clipping shoot density and reducing leaf length, simulating natural and anthropogenic stressors such as fish overgrazing and water quality.