Temporal and spatial differences in human activities performed in Urban Green Spaces of Vilnius(Lithuania)

Urban green spaces(UGS)are relevant to city well-being,as recognized by the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).However,few studies have studied the temporal use of UGS.This work assessed the seasonal,weekly,and daily use of three urban green spaces(Vingis Park,Bernardino Garden,and Jomantas Park)in Vilnius(Lithuania).The study is based on an on-site observation-based survey,which recorded users’characteristics,activities,and weather conditions during summer and winter.The results showed that UGS’s seasonal,weekly,and daily use differed according to park and users’characteristics.Parks with a higher diversity of facilities had a high seasonal difference in the number of observed activities.User numbers were higher in the summer for activities with children,social activities,sports,and water activities than in the winter.Jomantas Park had the lowest variability in user characteristics.Weather variables were linked to changes in users’activities.Higher precipitation and lower temperature were associated with reducing the number of users and the diversity of registered activities.Most of the stationary activities were observed during summer.The diversity of the observed activities was associated with the available facilities rather than the park size.The distribution of stationary activities was spatially correlated with facility/equipment(benches,playgrounds,sports,and fitness equipment)and proximity to water features.The results of this study are relevant for UGS design,planning,and management.

Groundwater quality in the vicinity of a dumpsite in Lagos metropolis,Nigeria

Inappropriate management of municipal solid waste dumpsites is a major cause of groundwater contamination in developing countries,but the extent of the problem is not known.This study investigated groundwater quality in the vicinity of Olusosun dumpsite in Lagos,Nigeria,the most populous city in sub-Saharan Africa.During 2020,monthly groundwater samples were collected in 17 wells and boreholes used as drinking water sources,and analysed for 20 physico-chemical parameters.Differences between sites and seasons were statistically assessed,together with changes in water quality index(WQI).The results indicated that heavy metals(Pb^(2+),Ni^(+),Mn^(2+),Fe^(2+),Cr^(6+)),cations(Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+),K^(+)),total hardness and pH were the main parameters impairing water quality.Drinking water quality standards from both the World Health Organization and Nigeria government were exceeded more often in the wet season than in the dry season.Some groundwater properties were negatively correlated with distance to dumpsite(e.g.,Fe^(2+),Pb^(2+),NO_(3)^(−)).Significant differences between sites were identified,but with no clear spatial trend.WQI varied from excellent(6%-24%of the sites over the study period)to unsuitable for drinking water purposes(12%-18%),with good quality prevailing at most sites(35%-47%).Although groundwater quality declined at 24%of the sites over 2020,the results indicated improvements compared with previous decades.Remediation strategies must be implemented to safeguard public health and the sustainability of water resources.

Analysis of genetic relationship among Arbutus unedo L. genotypes using RAPD and SSR markers

The strawberry tree （Arbutus unedo L.） is an underutilized, drought tolerant, fire resistant species with a south western distribution in Europe, and with ecological and putative socio-economical impact in Portugal and Mediterranean countries. Our aim was to develop an appropriate set of molecular markers to enable genetic diversity to be assessed and to fingerprint Arbutus unedo genotypes for breeding and conservation purposes in Portugal. Twenty-seven trees from a broad geographic range were screened with 20 random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD primers） and 11 microsatellite markers （SSR）. The RAPDs generated 124 bands, 57.3% of which were polymorphic, with an expected heterozygosity of 27%. We cross-amplified 11 SSR primers developed for Vaccinium spp., and 5 were found to be polymorphic in A. unedo, with 75% of expected heterozygosity, a number of alleles of 11.6, a null allele frequency of 7.6% and a polymorphic information content of 71%. Although the SSRs were more polymorphic and informative than the RAPDs, both markers displayed high genetic variability with the gathered data. No geographic pattern was observed in the genetic variation distribution based on both marker systems, and the lack of correlation between genetic and geographical matrices was confirmed by Mantel tests. Likely, no correlation was found between pairwise SSR and RAPD band-sharing matrices. These results and their implications on A. unedo breeding and conservation programs are discussed.

Urban green spaces accessibility in two European cities:Vilnius(Lithuania)and Coimbra(Portugal)

Urban green spaces(UGS)are essential for human well-being,contributing towards quality of life and promoting social interactions and inclusion.Accessibility to recreational UGS is key to human well-being in urban areas.However,there is a lack of works focused on recreational UGS accessibility in cities from different countries,using different types of transport.In this work,we studied the accessibility to recreational UGS in Vilnius(Lithuania)and Coimbra(Portugal)through four transport modes(foot,bike,bus and car)within 5-and 10-minute distance.The results showed important differences between cities.Vilnius had higher accessibility to recreational UGS than Coimbra in all transport modes.In both cities,the accessibility was highest by car and lowest by bus.Also,the percentage of population covered by 5-and 10-minute distance UGS accessibility in Vilnius is higher than in Coimbra,despite the lower population density in Vilnius.A large number of recreational UGS,their geographic distribution,the dispersed population pattern,and the location of several urbanizations near recreational UGS increased the inhabitant’s accessibility to recreational UGS in Vilnius.The differences in accessibility between cities were mainly attributed to the large number of recreational UGS and higher road network density,cycleways and footways density,and bus lines in Vilnius,compared to Coimbra.This work identified the areas where recreational UGS accessibility is difficult in using different transport modes and need to be improved in study areas.This is essential to support urban planners and increase cities’well-being.The findings of this work will be important for the management of the studied urban areas.

Development of ecoregion-based merchantable volume systems for Pinus brutia Ten. and Pinus nigra Arnold. in southern Turkey

Estimating individual tree volume is one of the essential building blocks in forest growth and yield models. Ecologically based taper equations provide accurate vol- ume predictions and allow classification by mer- chantable sizes, assisting in sustainable forest management. In the present study, ecoregion-based compatible volume systems for brutian pine and black pine in the three ecoregions of southern Turkey were developed. Several well-known taper functions were evaluated. A second- order continuous-time autoregressive error structure was used to correct the inherent autocorrelation in the hierar- chical data, allowing the model to be applied to irregularly spaced and unbalanced data. The compatible segmented model of Fang et al. （For Sci 46：1-12, 2000） best described the experimental data. It is therefore recommended for estimating diameter at a specific height, height to a specific diameter, merchantable volume, and total volume for the three ecoregions and two species analyzed. The nonlinearextra sum of squares method indicated differences in ecoregion and tree-specific taper functions. A different taper function should therefore be used for each pine spe- cies and ecoregion in southern Turkey. Using ecoregion- specific taper equations allows making more robust esti- mations and, therefore, will enhance the accuracy of diameter at different heights and volume predictions.

Mycorrhizal synthesis between Pisolithus arhizus and adult clones of Arbutus unedo in vitro and in nursery

Arbutoid mycorrhizae were synthesized between adult se- lected clones of Arbutus unedo L. and Pisolithus arhizus. Two micro- propagated clones were tested： ALl, in vitro and C1 （acclimatized plants） in nursery and later in a field trial. In vitro, rooted shoots were trans- ferred to test tubes containing the substrate previously inoculated with mycelium cultured on agar. In the nursery, two inoculation treatments were tested （vegetative inocula or dry sporocarps） and compared to con- trol plants. In the field trial, plants from nursery inoculation treatments were compared and an additional control treatment using seedlings was implemented. Plant height was evaluated 4 months later in the nursery and 20 months later in the field trial.

Fertilisation with Compost: Effects on Soil Phosphorus Sorption and on Phosphorus Availability in Acid Soils

Phosphate mineral fertilisers are manufactured from non-renewable resources. Soil fertilisation with composts is considered a good source of reuse nutrients such as phosphorus (P). The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of compost fertilisation on soil P sorption and consequently on P availability. It was done an incubation experiment followed by a sorption experiment in a low-P acid soil fertilised with compost (CP) or single superphosphate (SSP). The P application rates were: 0, 6.5, 13, 26 and 52 (kg•P•ha−1). In CP treatments, the rates 26 and 52 kg•P•ha−1 were achieved by adding SSP to CP since it was not allowed to incorporate into soil more than 170 kg•N•ha−1?from organic amendments. Although SSP has a higher proportion of easily available P than CP (86% vs 50%), the results showed that after 140 days of soil incubation, the available P was higher in CP treatments compared with SSP at the same rate of P application. The sorption experiment showed that after incubation of the fertilised soils, the P sorption maximum had lower values in treatments with CP in combination with SSP compared with only SSP fertilisation and the bonding energy had a deeper decrease in the same treatments. Also, the Standard Phosphate Requirement decreased in the CP in combination with SSP treatments. The reduction of soil P sorption capacity after compost addition to soil highlights the need of reducing P fertilisation rates to achieve similar levels of available P compared with only SSP fertilisation.

Assessment of Fertilising Properties of a Solid Digestate in Comparison with Undigested Cattle Slurry Applied to an Acidic Soil

The use of digestates or cattle slurries as fertilisers could contribute to the recycling of nutrients and organic matter, thus meeting the goals of the circular economy in agriculture. This work aims at evaluating the fertilising properties of a solid digestate (DG) in comparison with undigested cattle slurry (CS) and mineral fertilisation (MF). The experiment was performed in pots with ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) grown in an acidic soil during a 163 days crop cycle. The results showed that throughout the crop cycle neither DG nor CS increased soil organic matter. DG significantly increased (P < 0.001) the sum of the soil exchangeable bases and soil P availability compared with CS or MF. Also, DG significantly increased (P < 0.05) the apparent P recovery of ryegrass (43%) compared with MF (27%). In the first cut, the ryegrass yield was higher in DG and CS than in MF, decreasing in the second and third cuts as a consequence of a decrease in N availability. Nevertheless, the fertilisation with DG or CS could replace the half amount of mineral N fertilisation, without a significant decrease in the ryegrass forage production. In addition, DG enables greater efficiency in the use of P than CS or MF.

Effect of radiative loss mechanisms on FIR thermometric parameters of Nd^(3+)-doped lithium tellurite glasses

Nd^(3+)-doped tellurite glasses are promising materials for thermometers based on the fluorescence intensity ratio(FIR)technique.Nevertheless,at high Nd^(3+)concentrations,energy transfer(ET)processes such as optical reabsorption and cross-relaxation can affect the Nd^(3+)emission,which has been little explored in the literature.Therefore,the present work investigated the use of Nd^(3+)-doped tellurite glass(samples doped with Nd^(3+)at 0.2 mol%,0.5 mol%,2.0 mol%,and 4.0 mol%)in fluorescence thermometers,in the temperature range from 299 to 371 K.The results indicate a strong dependence of the FIR parameters on the Nd^(3+)concentration,due to changes in the emission band profiles caused by optical reabsorption of the Nd^(3+)emissions and cross-relaxation processes.A decrease of the relative sensitivity of the ratio^(4)F_(5/2)→^(4)I_(9/2)/^(4)F_(3/2)→^(4)I_(9/2)is observed for samples doped with higher amounts of Nd^(3+).The maximum relative sensitivity at 299 K is 3.00%/K,which is the highest value among the reported Nd^(3+)ions.