ABSTRACT
This article presents data designed by European researchers who performed a literature review and interpreted the results to determine impact factors of many agroecological practices on a wide variety of sustainability indicators. The impact factors are represented in a matrix that connects practices to indicators. The indicators are related to environmental, economic and social sustainability of a typical European integrated crop-livestock farm. The data are included in the serious game SEGAE to learn agroecology, as described in "SEGAE: a serious game to learn agroecology" [1]. The data can be modified to adapt the game to other agricultural systems. Finally, the data can be re-used in research projects as a basis to assess impacts of agroecological practices.
ABSTRACT
This study set out to examine associations among echotextural, physicochemical and sensory attributes of the pectoralis major muscles in 17-week-old organic turkeys (B.U.T. Big-6) varying in the amount of wheat and oat grain in daily feed rations (Group C: complete feed only; Group Exp1: 5-30% of wheat and 0-20% of oat; and Group Exp2: 5-50% of wheat and 0-50% of oat; n = 15 turkeys/group). Digital ultrasonograms of the left pectoral muscle in four different planes (longitudinal-L, transverse-T, and two oblique planes-O1 and O2) were obtained with a 5.0-MHz linear-array transducer just before slaughter. Mean numerical pixel intensity (MPI) and pixel heterogeneity (MPH) of the muscle parenchyma were computed using the ImageProPlus® analytical software. Ten significant correlations between echotextural attributes and various meat characteristics were recorded in Group C, one in Group Exp1, and eight in Group Exp2. When data were pooled for all birds studied, there were twelve significant correlations (p < 0.05); all but one correlation (between MPH and moisture) were for physical and sensory characteristics of meat samples. Computer-assisted analysis is a potential method to determine moisture as well as physical (e.g., coloration) and sensory (e.g., aroma) characteristics of pectoralis major muscles in organic turkeys.
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to determine the biodiversity of flies (Diptera) occurring in livestock buildings and in their direct proximity, in various systems of ruminants rearing. Flies were collected by net sweeping during the summer, in two cowsheds (one large-scale, and one traditional farm), and one specialist sheepfold, located in the Lesser Poland region of Poland. The insects were captured both inside and outside the premises three times (at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00) on selected warm and sunny days of June, July and September, when animals were assumed to be the most harassed. A total of 18365 flies belonging to 13 families were obtained. The largest relative abundance of Diptera were from the Drosophilidae family (61.4%), and dominating Muscidae species Musca domestica L., 1758 (19.2%) and Stomoxys calcitrans (L., 1758) (5.7%). More than half (55.5%) of all flies were captured in the morning, and their vast majority not inside a livestock building (28.2%), but in its close proximity (71.8%). This was particularly true of the large-scale cattle farm. The smallest number of insects, although with the highest biodiversity, were collected at the sheepfold. Regardless of their particular animal preferences, the insect species found were commonly occurring in different livestock sectors.