Chukars (Alectoris chukar) and Sand Partridges (Ammoperdix heyi), two ground—dwelling phasianids, are permanent residents of the Negev desert and are sympatric over much of their ranges. Sand Partridges (body mass = 150—250 g), however, inhabit only arid and very arid areas, whereas Chukars (mb = 350—600 g) are widely distributed and inhabit deserts only at the margins of their ranges. We compared some of the desert adaptations of these phasianids by measuring the seasonal field metabolic rates (FMR) and water influxes (using doubly labelled water), diet selection, and food requirements of free—living Chukars and Sand Partridges at a site where both species occurred. Both species showed adaptation in the form of low energy metabolism, which ranged from 43 to 81% of that expected for birds of similar body mass. During summer, Sand Partridges had lower energy expenditures (5.47 kJ°g— ⁰ . ⁶ ¹°d— ¹) and water influxes 72.3 mL°kg— ⁰.⁷ ⁵°d— ¹) than did Chukars (6.42 kJ°g— ⁰ . ⁶ ¹°d— ¹ and 93.5 mL°kg— ⁰ . ⁷ ⁵°d— ¹, respectively), indicating more pronounced adjustments to arid conditions in the desert specialist. However, both species obtained more than half of their water influx in summer by drinking. Their summer diet was relatively dry, consisting mainly of seeds (80%) along with some green vegetation (18%) and, in Chukars, occasional arthropods. This situation changed abruptly after winter rains, which induced germination and reduced the availability of seeds. Chukars were unable to maintain energy balance in the face of low ambient temperatures and a diet (90% green vegetation) that contained much water but comparatively little energy, and they mobilized fat reserves to meet energy requirements. Most Sand Partridges left the study area after winter rains, apparently migrating to the lower elevation, warmer, and drier Arava (part of the Rift Valley). The winter rainy season appears to be the most stressful time of the year for both species. The adaptations to hot, dry conditions possessed by Sand Partridges may be accompanied by constraints on their abilities to cope with cool, wet conditions, and this may restrict them to arid and very arid habitats.

Food composition of Abramis brama was studied in the shallow, meso-eutrophic Hamry reservoir (Czech Republic). Fish were sampled during the daytime in the pre-spawning period (April), the post-spawning (June), summer (July) and autumn (October) in 2011. The bream sampled comprised two main size groups: small (124-186 mm) and large (210-315 mm) standard length. Twenty specimens of each size group (except April - 40 large fish) were taken for analysis on each sampling occasion. Food composition was evaluated using gravimetric methods. Over the whole season, detritus and aquatic vegetation were the dominant dietary items taken. During summer, the diet of large bream comprised mainly aquatic vegetation. Benthic macroinvertebrates and zooplankton formed a minor part of bream diet over the whole season. Specific food habits of bream could be explained by specific conditions within the reservoir and available food resources.

Green roofs are strategic tools that can play a significant role in the creation of sustainable and resilient cities. They have been largely investigated thanks to their high retention capacity, which can be a valid support to mitigate the pluvial flood risk and to increase the building thermal insulation, ensuring energy saving. Moreover, green roofs contribute to restoring vegetation in the urban environment, increasing the biodiversity and adding aesthetic value to the city. The new generation of multilayer green roofs present an additional layer with respect to traditional ones, which allows rainwater to be stored, which, if properly treated, can be reused for different purposes. This paper offers a review of benefits and limitations of green roofs, with a focus on multilayer ones, within a Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem nexus context. This approach enables the potential impact of green roofs on the different sectors to be highlighted, investigating also the interactions and interconnections among the fields. Moreover, the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem nexus approach highlights how the installation of traditional and multilayer green roofs in urban areas contributes to the Development Goals defined by the 2030 Sustainable Agenda.

Food security and water sustainability in arid and semiarid regions are threatened by rapid population growth, declining natural resources, and global climate change. Countries in the arid regions compensate meat import by raising domestic livestock with cultivated green fodder, which diminishes lands for other crops and depletes precious water resources. This study presents for the first time an in-depth integrated food water ecosystem (FWEco) nexus modeling on the feasibility of restoring 10% of Kuwait's desert as grazing rangeland to alleviate water consumption from fodder production. Our results showed that revegetating 10% of the country's land with native species could support up to 23% of domestic livestock through natural grazing at optimal coverage (70%) and high productivity, and decrease water consumption by up to 90%. However, depending solely on natural rainfall is unlikely to achieve the optimal coverage. Strategic supplemental irrigation in the fall season (e.g., October and November) is required to maximize vegetation coverage and enhance food security and water sustainability. Significantly, strategic irrigation results in much lower net water consumption because irrigating native species requires much less water than green fodder cultivation. Therefore, revegetating desert lands with native species to restore their natural grazing service can be a sustainable approach to simultaneously improve food security and water sustainability in arid landscapes.

Phenols are plant metabolites characterised by several interesting bioactive properties such as antioxidant and bactericidal activities. In this study the application of a phenols concentrate (PC) from olive vegetation water to two different fresh products – gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata) and chicken breast – was described. Products were treated in a bath of PC (22 g/L; chicken breast) or sprayed with two different solutions (L1:0.75 and L2:1.5 mg/mL; seabream) and then stored under refrigeration conditions. The shelf life was monitored through microbiological analyses – quality index method for seabream and a specific sensory index for raw breast. The secondary products of lipid-peroxidation of the chicken breast were determined using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) test on cooked samples. Multivariate statistical techniques were adopted to investigate the impact of phenols and microbiological data were fitted by DMfit software. In seabream, the levels of PC did not highlight any significant difference on microbiological and sensory features. DMfit models suggested an effect only on H₂S producing bacteria with an increased lag phase compared to the control samples (C: 87 h vs L2: 136 h). The results on chicken breast showed that the PC bath clearly modified the growth of Pseudomonas and Enterobacteriaceae. The phenol dipping was effective in limiting lipid-peroxidation (TBARs) after cooking. Treated samples disclosed an increase of shelf life of 2 days. These could be considered as preliminary findings suggesting the use of this concentrate as preservative in some fresh products.

Earthworks, such as embankments or excavations, because of their transient nature, usually do not play any important role in biodiversity protection and promotion in urban areas. However, the results of this study show that pits playing the role of infiltration basins, which are filled with water only in some periods, can provide bees with food resources and nesting sites. They are particularly important in habitats with simplified vegetation structures, e.g., in monoculture habitats. The attractiveness of infiltration basins and ditches as habitats for bees was assessed by comparing species richness and abundance of bee communities found there with those of coniferous forests—pine monocultures (where the reservoirs were created) and clearings. The species richness and abundance of bees in clearings, infiltration ditches, and basins were higher than in forests. Simultaneously, we found that an increase in woody vegetation coverage and the level of shading in the daytime had a negative effect on bee abundance. In contrast, it was positively affected by increasing the mean radius of a belt of predominantly open habitats around sampling sites (herbaceous plants and seedlings of woody plants <60%). In this case, food resources were not a limiting factor of bee occurrence in the study area.

Ecosystem restoration projects (ERPs) are effective for achieving sustainable development goals. However, a nexus perspective has not yet been effectively used to examine the regimes and interconnections between the sectors of agricultural production, ecosystem restoration, and the livelihoods of farmers, which may have constrained the efficacy of ERPs. In this study, the evolution of these different sectors in ecosystem restoration hotspot cases was investigated using a novel nexus perspective, and their interconnections and implications for ecosystem management were determined. Rapid urbanisation, reclamation, and ERPs have profoundly altered landscape patterns and caused significant ecological changes. Prior to 1999, extensive reclamation proved unsustainable because deforestation activities and cultivation on sloping cropland resulted in severe soil loss and ecosystem deterioration, despite providing significant increases in grain productivity and economic profits. Although revegetation practices after 1999 accelerated vegetation regeneration and enhanced soil retention and carbon sequestration, they also resulted in a decline in grain productivity and economic profits during the initial period of implementing ERPs (1999–2008). However, subsequent policy adjustments and the construction of terraced fields have mitigated cropland loss and maintained the grain supply. The nexus perspective was effective in identifying and coordinating relationships among the sectors, and timely policy interventions have transformed the relationships from trade-offs to synergies and provided win–win outcomes. However, the ongoing urbanisation continues to be a challenge for conserving ecosystems and ensuring food security; therefore, further optimised, and targeted strategies are required to balance contrasting goals and maximise co-benefits according to the environmental and socio-economic conditions.

A simple and reliable method for rapid and selective extraction and determination of trace levels of Cd²⁺ was developed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) detection. The main factors affecting the DLLME, such as concentration of DPTH, pH, extraction and disperser solvent type and their volume, were optimized for the best extract efficiency. Under the optimum conditions, i.e., pH 5.4, [DPTH] = 6 × 10⁻³%, a preconcentration factor of 55 was reached. The lower limit of detection (LOD) obtained under the optimal conditions was 0.4 μg L⁻¹. The precision for 14 replicate determinations at 30 and 100 μg L⁻¹ of Cd was 2.7% and 1.9% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), respectively. The calibration graph using the preconcentration method was linear from 5 to 100 μg L⁻¹, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9898. The proposed method was successfully applied to the preconcentration and determination of cadmium in food, vegetation, and water samples and in a BCR-176 standard reference material.

The urban food garden is an interesting natural solution to the need to develop sponge cities structured and designed to absorb and capture rain water for reducing flooding, worldwide. This study applied a storm water management model and field experiments to investigate properties of the garden substrates. Taipei City was taken as a case study as the Taiwan government has promoted urban food garden projects since 2015. The urban food garden in Taipei has established a cultivable area of 197,168 m², 64,026 m² (32.5%) of which is designated as green-roof gardens and the rest as domestic gardens. Four substrate mixtures were found to have infiltration rates positively related to their soil water content. Substrate 1 had the highest infiltration rate (6.47 × 10⁻⁵ m/s) and soil water content (281%) when vegetation grows in limited containers. In 2019, the total water retention capacity of the urban food garden in Taipei City was 50,550.7 m³. This means that 1 m² of the urban food garden in Taipei retained 256.4 kg of water. Considering climatic conditions, the water retention capacity of the green-roof gardens in Taipei ranges from 28.2% to 41.0%. During short-term high-density rainfall events, the green-roof gardens were found to be more efficient in reducing the runoff volume, whereas during long-term high-density rainfall events, they were found to be more efficient in reducing the runoff peak flow duration (~20 mins) compared with concrete surfaces. This study proved that establishing the urban food garden contributes to increasing the water retention capacity and reducing the volume of surface runoff and the duration of runoff peak flow in prevention of flood disasters.