<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">An innovative approach for the automation of operational monitoring activities in agricultural and forestry tasks is described and discussed in this article. This approach can be considered as a solution for Precision Agriculture and Precision Forestry applications and can be used as an information and communication technology (ICT) tool for the management aims by a variety of agricultural and forestry companies. The aim of the proposed concept is to develop a system, composed of both hardware and software units, with the ability to collect and manage operative raw data and then to translate them into operational information that will be used in decision-making processes. All the procedures will be carried out automatically, in order to ensure an objective compilation of the field activity register. Thus, the entrepreneur will have all the operative information automatically updated in a dedicated database system. All the obtained documents can then be used for certification and traceability processes, if required by the procedural guideline, as well as to satisfy any other management tasks, including the estimation of the actual operative costs of the farm.</abstract>

Solutions for the automation of operational monitoring activities for agricultural and forestry tasks

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Dwindling natural resources, growing population pressure, climate change, and degraded soils threaten agricultural production. In order to feed the growing world population, we have to develop strategies to sustainably intensify current agricultural production while reducing the adverse effects of agriculture. Currently, a number of amendments have come into focus for improving structure and fertility of soils. Zeolites, biochar (BC), lime, and nitrification inhibitors (NIs) are reviewed for their properties. Zeolites and BC share many characteristics, such as a high cation exchange capacity (CEC), high specific surface area, and high porosity. Lime, on the other hand, works above all through its buffering capacity and can improve aggregate stability. Although the latter amendments change soil physicochemical characteristics, NIs do not act on soil properties but constrain a chemical/enzymatic reaction directly. These amendments are potential strategies to mitigate ongoing soil degradation and to secure soil fertility, under the global challenges. While the ecological effects of these soil amendments are studied intensively, the extent to which they can contribute to sustainable intensification is not fully explored. We want to contribute to the debate by providing an overview that seeks to integrate ecological evidence with the agronomic perspective.</abstract>

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria

Nachhaltige Intensivierung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion: ein Überblick vier verschiedener Bodenzusätze

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can cause adverse effects in individuals and their offspring. In 2017 and 2018, we performed a survey on representative samples of Austrian drinking water (n = 20), groundwater (n = 22), and surface water (n = 12), the latter including bathing water (n = 5) and rivers (n = 7). We analyzed 54 samples for 28 parameters, including estrogens, polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), phthalates, perfluoroalkyl substances, alkylphenols, bisphenol A and triclosan, correlating to 1512 measurements. In 39 of the 54 samples (72.2%), at least one endocrine disrupting or potentially disrupting chemical was found at or above the limit of quantification. None of the samples yielded estrogens or triclosan in detectable levels. Bisphenol A (BPA) was detected in 4 (20.0%) samples of drinking water, in 1 (4.5%) groundwater sample, and in 1 (20%) bathing water sample, with a maximum concentration of 0.021 μg/l found in one drinking water. Two drinking water samples yielded BPA in concentrations above the limit value of 0.01 μg/l, recently proposed by the European Commission for drinking water. Therefore, the ultimate public health goal must be to further reduce and restrict the production of EDCs and therewith decrease and eventually eliminate the contamination of drinking water resources.</abstract>

Occurrence of chemicals with known or suspected endocrine disrupting activity in drinking water, groundwater and surface water, Austria 2017/2018

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The safe and cost-efficient management of our built infrastructure is a challenging task considering the expected service life of at least 50 years. In spite of time-dependent changes in material properties, deterioration processes and changing demand by society, the structures need to satisfy many technical requirements related to serviceability, durability, sustainability and bearing capacity. This review paper summarizes the challenges associated with the safe design and maintenance of aging concrete structures and gives an overview of some concepts and approaches that are being developed to address these challenges.</abstract>

Department of Civil Engineering and Natural Hazards

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)

Ghent University, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 904

Aging concrete structures: a review of mechanics and concepts

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The high number of secondary plant compounds accounts for its variability. Cyanogenic glucosides are derived from aminoacids and are stored as hydrocyanic acid (HCN) in plants. Cyanogenic glucosides are not toxic as long as the glycoside is not split by the respective enzyme. Their function in plants is controversially discussed and for a range of plant species cyanogenic glucosides are supposed to be involved in the defense mechanism of the plants. <italic>Sorghum</italic> is substituting corn in cropland areas in Europe, the summer drought and crop rotation being the most important reasons. White clover contains variable amounts of cyanogenic glucosides. Two genes (<italic>Ac</italic> and <italic>Li</italic>) are involved in the formation of cyanogenic glucosides, resulting in white clover cultivars with low content of cyanogenic glucosides. Due to higher pH-values in the rumen, ruminants consuming cyanogenic glucosides may react sensitive. White clover is normally limited to 20–30 % in grassland botanical composition to avoid high crude protein content in autumn. Using <italic>Sorghum</italic> as forage or seeds (as constituents of concentrates) is nowadays acceptable due to breeding progress using hybrids. Farmers, who are conscious about the problem with cyanogenic glucosides, pay attention to use cultivars with low contents.</trans-abstract>

Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU)

Cyanogenesis in forage plants and influences in ruminant nutrition

Buchbesprechung: River Ecosystem Management: Science for Governing Towards a Sustainable Future

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Die Bodenkultur: Journal of Land Management, Food and Environment

“Die Bodenkultur: Journal of Land Management, Food and Environment” is an interdisciplinary forum dedicated to all aspects of research in the rural area. Our aim is to provide an international outlet for new results in all disciplines of land management, food, environment and related sciences.  The journal publishes in an open access model.  Rejection Rate   10 % (2014)   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.  Copyright Policy  The work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.  Peer Review process  The journal uses a double-blind reviewing process, thus authors remain anonymous to referees and referees remain anonymous to authors. 

Die Bodenkultur: Journal of Land Management, Food and Environment

Volume 69 (2018): Issue 3 (September 2018)

Research Article

Solutions for the automation of operational monitoring activities for agricultural and forestry tasks

Nachhaltige Intensivierung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion: ein Überblick vier verschiedener Bodenzusätze

Occurrence of chemicals with known or suspected endocrine disrupting activity in drinking water, groundwater and surface water, Austria 2017/2018

Aging concrete structures: a review of mechanics and concepts

Cyanogenesis in forage plants and influences in ruminant nutrition

Book Reviews

Buchbesprechung: River Ecosystem Management: Science for Governing Towards a Sustainable Future

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