Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Pigments For Improving Plant Health In Organic Systems, Gregory Keith Bartley Jr. Apr 2011

Pigments For Improving Plant Health In Organic Systems, Gregory Keith Bartley Jr.

Gregory Keith Bartley Jr.

Photosynthesis, arguably the most important biological process on earth, solely relies on the ability of pigments to capture, utilize, and convert the sun‟s energy to form life. The adequate conversion of light into harvestable food, fuel, and fiber regulates rates of population and economic growth. In order to meet the expanding needs of humanity with the earth‟s potential for agricultural production, new sustainable techniques for increased photosynthetic efficiency in plants must be implemented. The earth's pattern of light exposure is extremely dynamic, exhibiting constant changes in quantity and quality throughout time and space. For photosynthetic organisms, this meant evolving various …


Geologic Constraints On Rain-Fed Qocha Reservoir Agricultural Infrastructure,Northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru, Nathan Craig, Mark Aldenderfer, Catherine Rigsby, Paul Baker, Luis A. Flores Jan 2011

Geologic Constraints On Rain-Fed Qocha Reservoir Agricultural Infrastructure,Northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru, Nathan Craig, Mark Aldenderfer, Catherine Rigsby, Paul Baker, Luis A. Flores

Luis FLORES

This paper reports new data on qocha ponds from the Rio PucaraeAzángaro interfluvial zone, northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru. Qocha are a little known form of Andean agriculture that developed around 800e500 B.C. and remain in use today. Prior estimates suggested that in the study area, there were more than 25,000 qocha. While most Andean sunken beds are excavated to reach groundwater, qocha are rainfed ponds. How these rain-fed ponds functioned has been an open question, but one that is answered in part by research presented in this paper. We suggest that a thick impermeable stratum of clay that was …