Houda Rzigui^1,2

Meriem Dahmouni¹

Georg Hörmann³

Wolfgang Bogacki⁴

Mohamed Hachicha¹

¹Carthage University, National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Waters and Forestry, 16INRGREF02, LR Valorization of Non-Conventional waters, 2080 BP 10 Ariana, Tunisia.

²National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Carthage University, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia;

³Dep. Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Institute of Natural Resource Conservation, Kiel University, Germany.

⁴Department of Civil Engineering, Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, Koblenz, Germany.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09006

Abstract - The delta areas throughout the world are highly vulnerable to climate change. In arid regions, the delta landscapes and hydrologic balance have greatly changed. The irrigated areas from these regions will be more affected by runoff changes, and anthropogenic impacts. In the present study, the irrigated and drained area of Cebala-Borj Touil (Cebala) from the Low Valley of the Medjerda delta was selected to investigate the impact of climate change on soil salinization using the SaltMod model. A plot from the Cebala area with an area of 0.243 ha was simulated in order to predict the impact of climate change on soil salinity. Four climatic scenarios were run involving precipitation decrease, drought condition, evapotranspiration increase and a decline in the quality of irrigation water. The simulations showed a significant influence of precipitation and evaporation on the root zone salinity. Indeed, the application of irrigation water of 8 dS.m^-1 would cause a rise of around 1.0 and 1.5 dS.m^-1 in soil salinity during the wet and the dry season, respectively. The combination of the climatic change scenarios contributes to an acceleration of the soil salinization process: the projected mean salinities in 2050 will almost double. The present results indicate that the perimeter is highly vulnerable to soil degradation under climate change scenarios.

Key words: Soil Salinization, Irrigation, Drainage, Climate change, SaltMod, Tunisia

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Effet de la température et de la lumière sur la germination des graines de fenouil Foeniculum vulgare Mill

Marwa khammassi¹

Awatef Slama¹

Ismail Amri²

Bassem Jammoussi³

Abdelhamid Khaldi¹

¹Laboratory of Management and Valorization of Forest Resources. National Institute of Researches on Rural Engineering, Water and Forests, BP.10 Ariana 2080, Tunisia

²Laboratory of Nuclear biotechnology, National Center for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies, BP 72, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Ariana, Tunisia

³ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09005

Abstract - The Apiaceae family is one of the largest flowering plant families and includes thousands of species used for food, aromatic and medicinal purposes. The cultivation of certain species such as Foeniculum vulgare was limited to archaic and family agriculture given the limited knowledge of germination techniques. Our study aims to study the effect of temperature and light on the germination of fennel seeds from sixteen Tunisian populations. The results showed that the germination of the species Foeniculum vulgare depends on temperature and light. Optimal germination was recorded at 20°C in the dark for all provenances with germination capacities varying from 20.33 (from Beny ayech) to 90.8% (from Oued Zarga). The Beny Ayech provenance was the exception in terms of its thermal optimum of germination revealed at 25°C. The light led to a decrease in germination rates and even an inhibition of germination for certain populations compared to the results recorded in the dark.

Key words: Foeniculum vulgare, germination, seeds, variability, light, temperature

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Hamdi Aouinti¹

Issam Touhami¹

Mariem Khouja²

Chokri Messaoud²

Abdelhamid Khaldi¹

¹University of Carthage. National Research Institute of Rural Engineering, Water, and Forestry. INRGREF. Laboratory of Management and Valorisation of Forest Resources. BP 10 Ariana 2080. Tunisia.

²University of Carthage. National Institute of Applied Science and Technology. Department of Biology, Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology and Valorisation of Medicinal Phytoresources, BP 676 - 1080 Tunis Cedex, Tunisia.

 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09004 

Abstract - Maple genus is one of the highly distributed genera in the northern hemisphere. Maple species are known for their ecological, economical, and medicinal values. Some of them were mentioned for their seed oil yield and composition. One of the maple species native to the Mediterranean and West Asian regions is the Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulanum L.). This species is considered a rare one in Tunisia with only three localities mentioned in the Tunisian flora. As far as we know, the species seed oil wasn’t investigated previously anywhere. In this study, Montpellier maple seed oil was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor. Seed oil composition was analysed using Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and differences between the seed’s provenances were investigated. Oil content ranged from 4.96 % for Bargou Mountain seeds to 10.56 for Serj Mountain seeds. A total of 7 fatty acids were detected in the seed oil, 5 of them are unsaturated fatty acids. The seed oil composition was predominated by Oleic acid 38.71±2.29 %, followed by Linoleic acid 28.88±2.09, Erucic acid 11.75±0.62, Palmitic acid 8.39±0.74, and cis-11-eicosenoic acid 7.43±0.28. Also, Stearic acid and gamma-Linolenic acid were present at a rate lower than 5 % of the total seed oil composition. This study shows great potential for the Montpellier maple seed oil and represents a significant contribution to the study of this rare species in Tunisia.

Key words: Acer monspessulanum L.; seed oil; fatty acids; GC/MS; Tunisia

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Habituation des chamelles laitières (Camelus dromedarius) à la traite mécanique en salle en épi

Marwa Brahmi^1,2

Moufida Atigui³

Pierre-Guy Marnet⁴

Fathia Saafi³

Houcine Khedhiri¹

Wiem Ben Salem⁵

Mohamed Hammadi^1*

¹ Laboratoire d’Elevage et de Faune Sauvage, Institut des Régions Arides, Médenine-Tunisie

² Institut Supérieur Agronomique de Chott Mariem, Sousse – Tunisie

³ Ecole Supérieur d’Agriculture Mateur, Université de Carthage – Tunisie

⁴ Département Productions animales, agroalimentaire, nutrition,

AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Rennes – France

⁵ Office d’Elevage et de Pâturage, 30 Avenue Alain Savary, Tunis – Tunisie

 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09003

Abstract - Introducing machine milking involves physical, physiological and psychological stress for the animal. An experiment was performed in early lactating dairy camels (n=12) to examine their reactivity to machine milking in a herringbone milking parlor for the first time, and the correlations between measures of behavior, milk ejection and productivity. Before starting machine milking, camels were milked by hand for a week (twice a day in the presence of calves), in order to habituate them to the novel environment and to human contact.Stress-related behaviors (step-kick behaviors, jumping, vocalization, trembling, vigilance ...) decreased as the camels habituated to the new environment. At the same time, well-being responses (rumination, spontaneous milk ejection, etc.) were gradually improved. Habituation index (HI) increased significantly during the five weeks (P <0.05). It increased from 0.78 ± 0.15 during the first week to 0.97 ± 0.06 during the 5^th week. Furthermore, total milking duration decreased (7.51 ± 2.41 min to 4.38 ± 1.13 min) and milk yield increased (2.38 kg / d / camel to 5.3 kg / d / camel) progressively from the first to the fifth week of milking in parlor. This study revealed that she-camel could habituate to the novel environment and practices of machine milking in 5 weeks and could subsequently be milked easily.

Key words: Machine milking, Habituation, Behavior, Stress, Welfare, She-camel

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Khaled Hamden

Laboratory of Bioresources: Integrative Biology and Exploiting, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, University of Monastir, Tunisia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09002 

Abstract - This study was designed to examine the effect of the administration of essential oil (CEO) and aqueous extract (CE) of cinnamon on key enzymes related to diabetes, obesity and hypertension and kidney-liver and metabolic disorders indices in diabetic rats. Results of this study showed that the administration of CEO or CE to surviving diabetic rats inhibited α-amylase rate in small intestine by 48 and 42% for diabetic rats. Moreover, CEO or CE protect pancreas β-cells from death and damage and increase insulin sensibility by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which leads to decrease of blood glucose level by 59.9 and 402% respectively as compared to untreated diabetic rats. In addition, this study demonstrated that administration of CEO or CE to diabetic rats ameliorated the glycogen rate in liver and muscle. In addition, the administration of CEO or CE reverted back the activity of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) respectively in kidney and plasma. Interestingly, the CEO or CE inhibited lipase activity in small intestine by 48 and 42% which leads to the regulation of lipid profile. Moreover, the CEO or CE protected liver-kidney function evidenced by blood indices toxicity. In conclusion, our finding demonstrates that the administration of CEO or CE to diabetic rats can make it a potential strong candidate for industrial application as a pharmacological agent for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia, obesity and hypertension.

Key words: Cinnamon, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, essential oil

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Ridha Slaimi^{1, 2}

Mejda Abassi¹

Ines Laamari¹

Zoubeir Béjaoui^{1, 3}

¹ Laboratory of Ecology Forestry (LR11INRGREF03), National Institute of Research in Rural Engineering, Water and Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Ariana 2080 Tunis, Tunisia

²University El Manar, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, 1060 Tunis, Tunisia

³University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Jarzouna 7021, Bizerte, Tunisia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55416/sunb.jns01.2211.09001 

Abstract - Waste water recycling is a strategy used to preserve fresh water resources, which are becoming increasingly scarce, particularly in Tunisia. Long-term reuse of treated waste water may have negative effects on plant growth and the environment, but short-term reuse may boost crop growth due to their high organic and mineral content. Irrigation of tree species by these unconventional waters during higher evapotranspiration periods for reforestation and biomass production could be a critical alternative for the recovery of these waters. The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of treated waste water (TWW) on the morpho-physiological behavior of Casuarina glauca over a period of 90 days. One-year-old seedlings were split into two groups, the first with drinking water (controls) and the second with treated wastewater (TWW). TWW had a positive effect on C. glauca plant growth, , dry mass production, gas exchange, and the synthesis of total chlorophyll and primary and secondary metabolites. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that this species has the ability to phytostabilize heavy metals, specifically Cu, Cd, and Pb .

Key words: Casuarina glauca, treated wastewater, gas exchanges, growth, heavy metals

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