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The use of mulching in agriculture suppresses the weeds around crop plants, enhances the nutrients status of soil, controls the soil structure and temperature, and reduces soil water evaporation. Excessive use of low-density polyethylene mulches is contributing to the accumulation of high amounts of plastic wastes, an environmental problem for agricultural ecosystems. Fragments of plastic from such wastes can be found in soils, in water resources, and in organisms, including humans. The objective of this work was to study the economic viability of the use of different hydromulches in an artichoke crop. Three blends were prepared by mixing paper pulp (recycled from used paper) and cardboard (from paper mills) with different additives: wheat straw (WS), rice hulls (RH), and substrate used for mushroom cultivation (MS). These were compared with low-density polyethylene (Pe), a treatment without mulching on bare soil where hand weeding was performed (HW), and a treatment without mulching on bare soil where herbicide was applied (H). The results indicate that the use of hydromulch in an artichoke crop represents a good alternative for reducing plastic waste in agriculture. The net profits of the hydromulch treatments (MS, WS, RH) were higher than for HW and H, and slightly lower than for Pe. The most profitable treatment was Pe (€0.69 m−3), followed by RH (€0.59 m−3), WS (€0.58 m−3), MS (€0.47 m−3), HW (€0.36 m−3), and H (€0.32 m−3). A sensitivity analysis showed a probability of negative results of 0.04 in Pe, 0.13 in SM, 0.08 in WS, and 0.07 in RH, so the probability that the grower will make a profit is greater than 0.9 with the use of mulch (except mushroom substrate) or polyethylene.

to habitat disturbance. Crops, forest, grass, herbs, length of stream, length of roads, change in elevation between wetland and nearest drainage channel, and length of flowpath from wetland to stream are landscape characteristics considered because they are assumed to affect wetland habitat for amphibians. A commercial geographic information system (GIS) ArcGIS 9.2 was used to quantify the landscape characteristics. Two types of wetlands were identified: non-pairs and pairs. Nonpair wetlands were defined as those wetlands in which the 600 m buffer zone and beyond did not overlap with the buffer zones of other wetlands. A pair wetland was defined as one in which the concentric rings of the buffer zones overlapped with the concentric rings of another wetland. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed, at different spatial scales, to test the relationship between wetland health and landscape variables. It was found that proximity to roads negatively affect wetland health up to a distance of 900 meters, while crops can have a negative effect up to a distance up to 2100 meters.

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