Aim of study: This paper presents a novel index, the Riparian Forest Evaluation (RFV) index, for assessing the ecological condition of riparian forests. The status of riparian ecosystems has global importance due to the ecological and social benefits and services they provide. The initiation of the European Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) requires the assessment of the hydromorphological quality of natural channels. The Directive describes riparian forests as one of the fundamental components that determine the structure of riverine areas. The RFV index was developed to meet the aim of the Directive and to complement the existing methodologies for the evaluation of riparian forests.Area of study: The RFV index was applied to a wide range of streams and rivers (170 water bodies) in Spain. Material and methods:The calculation of the RFV index is based on the assessment of both the spatial continuity of the forest (in its three core dimensions: longitudinal, transversal and vertical) and the regeneration capacity of the forest, in a sampling area related to the river hydromorphological pattern. This index enables an evaluation of the quality and degree of alteration of riparian forests. In addition, it helps to determine the scenarios that are necessary to improve the status of riparian forests and to develop processes for restoring their structure and composition.Main results: The results were compared with some previous tools for the assessment of riparian vegetation. The RFV index got the highest average scores in the basins of northern Spain, which suffer lower human influence. The forests in central and southern rivers got worse scores. The bigger differences with other tools were found in complex and partially altered streams and rivers.Research highlights: The study showed the index's applicability under diverse hydromorphological and ecological conditions and the main advantages of its application. The utilization of the index allows a better understanding of the status of riparian forests, and enhances improvements in the conservation and management of riparian areas.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this work was to verify the efficiency of the anticipated selection of superior plants in intrapopulation breeding of passion fruit. The experiment was conducted at the Mato Grosso State University experimental area. Eight populations were evaluated. Planting was carried out in August 2010 following the randomized blocks experimental design, with ten repeats and ten plants per plot. The production characteristics of mass and number of fruits were evaluated from data obtained from two cultivation periods, the first year and the full two-year cycle of culture. Estimates of genetic parameters indicate the possibility of selection gains. The accuracies of fruit production, fruit number and fruit mass characteristics had high magnitude, independent of the selection cycle. Coincidence index estimates were high for all characteristics. Based on the results, early selection (first year) was efficient and reduced the time of selection for the best plants and can be used for passion fruit breeding.Keywords: selection gain, Passiflora edulis Sims, productivity.Seleção antecipada no melhoramento intrapopulacional do maracujazeiro azedo RESUMO. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar a eficiência da seleção antecipada de plantas superiores no melhoramento intrapopulacional do maracujazeiro azedo. O experimento foi conduzido na área experimental da Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso. Foram avaliadas oito populações e o plantio foi realizado em agosto de 2010, com delineamento experimental em blocos ao acaso, dez repetições e dez plantas por parcela. As características de produção, massa e número de frutos foram avaliadas a partir de dados obtidos em dois períodos de cultivo, sendo no primeiro ano e no ciclo completo da cultura, que nesse caso foi de dois anos. As estimativas dos parâmetros genéticos indicam a possibilidade de ganhos com a seleção. Os valores de acurácia para as características de produção de frutos, número de frutos e massa de frutos foram de alta magnitude, independente do ciclo de seleção. As estimativas do índice de coincidência foram altas para todas as características. Baseado nos resultados, a seleção antecipada (primeiro ano) se mostrou eficiente por reduzir o tempo de seleção das melhores plantas, podendo ser utilizada no melhoramento do maracujazeiro azedo.Palavras-chave: ganho de seleção, Passiflora edulis Sims, produtividade.

Among the agricultural production factors, the water deficit is one of the main reasons that limits soy production in Brazil. In order to mitigate losses due to water stress in the plants, hydrogels appear as soil water conditioners. They are polymers capable of absorbing large amounts of water and are being used as a viable alternative to improve the storage of water in areas of scarcity. Hydrogen concentrations between 14 and 18 kg ha-1 resulted in higher plant height, number of pods, one hundred grain mass and grain yield.

No abstract