New Strategies to Increase the Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Woody Ornamental Plants in Mediterranean Climate

The native flora of different Mediterranean countries, often woody species, was widely recognized for its ornamental potential. The shrubs, in particular, are a typology of plants very widespread in the Mediterranean environment and constituent the 'Macchia', the typical vegetation of this ecosystem. The use of native shrubs for the realization of ornamental green areas has been recently examined for their adaptability to abiotic stress. Abiotic stresses, in fact, are the major limiting growth factor in urban and peri-urban areas. The identification and use of tolerant ornamental species allow the reduction of management costs and preserve the aesthetical value of green areas. Tolerance to drought stress, for instance, in the Mediterranean climate can improve the ecosystem services of these plants in the urban environment. In this review, the possibility to early individuate different plant species' mechanisms to tolerate or avoid the stresses is analysed, as well as the possibility to increase abiotic stress tolerance through genetic and agronomic strategies. The exploration of wild or spontaneous species can be a good source for selecting tolerant plants to be used as ornamental plants in urban areas. Among agronomic strategies, biostimulants, mulching, and plant combination can provide a useful solution to counteract abiotic stress in the urban environment.

Plant-Based Solutions for Non-Productive Sites Useful in the Management of Dry Land

The article presents an overview of research conducted in recent years, i.e., from 2004 until now. The study has been prompted by the threat of drought over large land areas which, as a result of current climate change, may lead to desertification in dry and hot regions of the world. For the same reason, large areas of farmland are affected by drought stress. At the same time, rising air temperatures result in a significant intensification of evaporation and a gradual increase in soil salinity. This applies in particular to acres of farmland, forested areas, and green areas of cities, as well as degraded land or brownfields. As the crop stability is threatened, the food base of the world's population is at risk and, additionally, in areas of industrial districts, people's health is in decline. Due to these multistress conditions for plant growth, we propose a review of the current literature which addresses the possibility of counteracting these unfavorable phenomena through the appropriate selection of plant species and, when only applicable, also through specific agroecological treatments. A selection of herbaceous and woody plants useful for cultivation on saline marginal lands was proposed.

Effects of immune challenge on the oviposition strategy of a noctuid moth

Infections can have detrimental effects on the fitness of an animal. Reproducing females may therefore be sensitive to cues of infection and be able to adaptively change their oviposition strategy in the face of infection. As one possibility, females could make a terminal investment and shift reproductive effort from future to current reproduction as life expectancy decreases. We hypothesized that females of the noctuid moth Heliothis virescens make a terminal investment and adapt their oviposition timing as well as their oviposition site selectivity in response to an immune challenge. We indeed found that females that were challenged with the bacterial entomopathogen Serratia entomophila laid more eggs than control females one night after the challenge. Additionally, bacteria-challenged females were less discriminating between oviposition sites than control females. Whereas control females preferred undamaged over damaged plants, immune-challenged females did not differentiate between the two. These results indicate that terminal investment is part of the life history of H. virescens females. Moreover, our results suggest that the strategy of terminal investment in H. virescens oviposition represents a fitness trade-off for females: in the face of infection, an increase in oviposition rate enhances female fitness, whereas low oviposition site selectivity reduces female fitness.