Effects of thinning, burning, seeding, and slash arrangements on understory communities in pinyon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona

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Maria Irwin

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Pinyon-juniper woodlands are a dominant ecosystem in the American Southwest that have been increasing in density over the last century, generating concerns about the effects on wildlife habitat, livestock forage, and wildfire risk. We tested 16 treatment combinations designed to restore stands to historic conditions by examining the impact on understory plant richness and abundance. We thinned three sites comprised of different parent soil materials: limestone, sandstone, and basalt. Each site had one of four slash arrangements: piled, broadcast, clustered, or no thinning. Each of these arrangements received a different burning/seeding treatment: prescribed fire, seeding, prescribed fire and seeding, or none. This study corresponded with the driest period in the last 55 years, and plant species richness decreased by an average of 40% from the previous year in the control plots. Richness was significantly different due to slash arrangement at the basalt site only. Burning or seeding did not affect richness at any of the sites. Plant species abundance was generally low and not influenced by treatment or site. This study demonstrates that extensive ecosystem manipulation in the pinyon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona did not affect understory richness or abundance the first year after treatment during a drought.

Effects of thinning, burning, seeding, and slash arrangements on understory communities in pinyon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria R. Irwin

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Pinyon-juniper woodlands are a dominant ecosystem in the American Southwest that have been increasing in density over the last century, generating concerns about the effects on wildlife habitat, livestock forage, and wildfire risk. We tested 16 treatment combinations designed to restore stands to historic conditions by examining the impact on understory plant richness and abundance. We thinned three sites comprised of different parent soil materials: limestone, sandstone, and basalt. Each site had one of four slash arrangements: piled, broadcast, clustered, or no thinning. Each of these arrangements received a different burning/seeding treatment: prescribed fire, seeding, prescribed fire and seeding, or none. This study corresponded with the driest period in the last 55 years, and plant species richness decreased by an average of 40% from the previous year in the control plots. Richness was significantly different due to slash arrangement at the basalt site only. Burning or seeding did not affect richness at any of the sites. Plant species abundance was generally low and not influenced by treatment or site. This study demonstrates that extensive ecosystem manipulation in the pinyon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona did not affect understory richness or abundance the first year after treatment during a drought.

Roça-de-toco: uso de recursos florestais e dinâmica da paisagem rural no litoral de Santa Catarina Slash-and-burn agriculture: use of forest resources and dynamics of rural landscape in Santa Catarina State, Brazil

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Alexandre Siminski

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Os fragmentos florestais nas pequenas propriedades agrícolas de Santa Catarina fazem parte de um ciclo de cultivo de espécies anuais, através da agricultura de pousio (roça-de-toco. Neste estudo, procurou-se analisar o sistema de cultivo praticado pelos agricultores do município de São Pedro de Alcântara, litoral de Santa Catarina, utilizando a abordagem qualitativa. Como resultados, observou-se que em 65% das propriedades houve redução da área de cultivo nos últimos 10 anos, o tempo de repouso foi reduzido e as roças passaram a ser menos itinerantes. As restrições ao uso dos recursos florestais têm promovido alterações na composição da paisagem das propriedades agrícolas da região de estudo, onde se constata uma diminuição das áreas destinadas à agricultura de pousio e um aumento crescente das áreas com formações florestais secundárias, além do aumento da proporção de formações mais avançadas no processo de sucessão natural. Entretanto, uma simulação do uso da terra revelou que é possível, do ponto de vista da disponibilidade de áreas ao longo do tempo, a continuidade do sistema de pousio, principalmente quando este destina-se à subsistência.The secondary forests in the small farms of Santa Catarina State are traditionally used as a component of the slash-and-burn agriculture. The purpose of this study was to analyze the agricultural system in the municipality of São Pedro de Alcântara, on the coast zone of the State, using the qualitative research approach. The results showed that there was a reduction of the cultivated area in 65% of the farms in the last 10 years, the fallow period was reduced, and the rotation time of each field plot was shortened. The restrictions imposed by regulations on forest resources use have contributed to a change in the composition of the landscape of the study area, where a shrinkage of the area used for traditional agriculture in favor of a larger area of with

Aerial sampling of emissions from biomass pile burns in ...

Science.gov (United States)

Emissions from burning piles of post-harvest timber slash in Grande Ronde, Oregon were sampled using an instrument platform lofted into the plume using a tether-controlled aerostat or balloon. Emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, particulate matter (PM2.5 µm), black carbon, ultraviolet absorbing PM, elemental/organic carbon, semi-volatile organics (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/dibenzofurans), filter-based metals, and volatile organics were sampled for determination of emission factors. The effect on emissions from covering or not covering piles with polyethylene sheets to prevent fuel wetting was determined. Results showed that the uncovered (“wet”) piles burned with lower combustion efficiency and higher emissions of volatile organic compounds. Results for other pollutants will also be discussed. This work determined the emissions from open burning of forest slash wood, with and without plastic sheeting. The foresters advocate the use of plastic to keep the slash wood dry and aid in the controlled combustion of the slash to reduce fuel loading. Concerns about the emissions from the burning plastic prompted this work which conducted an extensive characterization of dry, wet, and dry with plastic slash pile emissions.

Rill erosion in burned and salvage logged western montane forests: Effects of logging equipment type, traffic level, and slash treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Wagenbrenner, J. W.; Robichaud, P. R.; Brown, R. E.

2016-10-01

Following wildfires, forest managers often consider salvage logging burned trees to recover monetary value of timber, reduce fuel loads, or to meet other objectives. Relatively little is known about the cumulative hydrologic effects of wildfire and subsequent timber harvest using logging equipment. We used controlled rill experiments in logged and unlogged (control) forests burned at high severity in northern Montana, eastern Washington, and southern British Columbia to quantify rill overland flow and sediment production rates (fluxes) after ground-based salvage logging. We tested different types of logging equipment-feller-bunchers, tracked and wheeled skidders, and wheeled forwarders-as well as traffic levels and the addition of slash to skid trails as a best management practice. Rill experiments were done at each location in the first year after the fire and repeated in subsequent years. Logging was completed in the first or second post-fire year. We found that ground-based logging using heavy equipment compacted soil, reduced soil water repellency, and reduced vegetation cover. Vegetation recovery rates were slower in most logged areas than the controls. Runoff rates were higher in the skidder and forwarder plots than their respective controls in the Montana and Washington sites in the year that logging occurred, and the difference in runoff between the skidder and control plots at the British Columbia site was nearly significant (p = 0.089). Most of the significant increases in runoff in the logged plots persisted for subsequent years. The type of skidder, the addition of slash, and the amount of forwarder traffic did not significantly affect the runoff rates. Across the three sites, rill sediment fluxes were 5-1900% greater in logged plots than the controls in the year of logging, and the increases were significant for all logging treatments except the low use forwarder trails. There was no difference in the first-year sediment fluxes between the feller

Tests of an experimental slash ignition unit

Science.gov (United States)

James L. Murphy; Harry E. Schimke

1965-01-01

A prototype ignition package containing an incendiary powder and designed for slash and brush burning jobs showed some promise, but the unit tested was not superior to such conventional devices as fusees, diesel backpack type flamethrowers, Very pistols, and drip torches.

Domination and Composition Structure Change at Hemic Peat Natural Regeneration Following Burning; A Case Study in Pelalawan, Riau Province

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BAMBANG HERO SAHARJO

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Biomass burning is the burning of the world’s living and dead vegetation, including grasslands, forests and agricultural lands following the harvest for land clearing and land-use change. One of the important information needed following this biomass burning is how long the burnt forest or land can be recovered, and how worst the changing occurred. Repeated burning occurred at the same place trend to clean the vegetation which leads to have the land with lower number and quality of species left. The research objective is to understand the vegetation changing following peat fires in the sapric peat type at the land preparation using belong to the local community located in the Pelalawan district, Riau province, Indonesia during the dry season in the year 2001. Before burning, logging, slashing, drying and burning the site was dominated by Uncaria glabrata at seedling stage, Ficus sundaica at sapling stage, Ficus sundaica at pole stage and Stenochlaena palustris at understorey. After logging, slashing and followed by 4 weeks drying then continued by burning with high flame temperature range from 900-1100oC, it had been found that 3-months following burning the site was dominated by Uncaria glabrata at seedling stage and Nephrolepis flaccigera at understorey while 6-months following burning the site was dominated by Parastemon uruphyllus at seedling stage and Erechites valeriantifolia at understorey stage.

Particulate matter characteristics during agricultural waste burning in Taichung City, Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Man-Ting; Horng, Chuen-Liang; Su, Yi-Ru; Lin, Li-Kai; Lin, Yu-Chi; Chou, Charles C-K

2009-06-15

Agricultural waste burning is performed after harvest periods in June and November in Taiwan. Typically, farmers use open burning to dispose of excess rice straw. PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) measurements were conducted at National Chung Hsing University in Taichung City using a dichotomous sampler. The sampling times were during straw burning periods after rice harvest during 2002-2005. Ionic species including SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), NH(4)(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Cl(-) and Na(+) and carbonaceous species (EC and OC) in PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) were analyzed. The results showed that the average PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) concentrations were 123.6 and 31.5 microg m(-3) during agricultural waste burning periods and 32.6 and 21.4 microg m(-3) during non-waste burning periods, respectively. The fine aerosol ionic species including Cl(-), K(+) and NO(3)(-) increased 11.0, 6.7 and 5.5 times during agricultural burning periods compared with periods when agricultural waste burning is not performed. K(+) was found mainly in the fine mode during agricultural burning. High nitrogen oxidation ratio was found during agricultural waste burning periods which might be caused by the conversion of Nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) to NO(3)(-). It is concluded that agricultural waste burning with low dispersion often causes high PM(2.5) and gases pollutant events.

Vegetation recovery in slash-pile scars following conifer removal in a grassland-restoration experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Charles B. Halpern; Joseph A. Antos; Liam M. Beckman

2014-01-01

A principal challenge to restoring tree-invaded grasslands is the removal of woody biomass. Burning of slash piles to reduce woody residues from forest restoration practices generates intense, prolonged heating, with adverse effects on soils and vegetation. In this study, we examined vegetation responses to pile burning following tree removal from conifer-invaded...

Soil response to skidder trafficking and slash application

Science.gov (United States)

Brian M. Parkhurst; W. Michael Aust; M. Chad Bolding; Scott M. Barrett; Emily A. Carter

2018-01-01

Ground-based timber harvesting systems are common in the United States. Harvesting machinery can negatively influence soils by increasing erosion and decreasing site productivity. Skid trails can become compacted and erosive. Slash applications to skid trails are effective for erosion control, yet few investigations have examined effects of slash on soil physical...

Recovery of small pile burn scars in conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range

Science.gov (United States)

Charles C. Rhoades; Paula J. Fornwalt; Mark W. Paschke; Amber Shanklin; Jayne L. Jonas

2015-01-01

The ecological consequences of slash pile burning are a concern for land managers charged with maintaining forest soil productivity and native plant diversity. Fuel reduction and forest health management projects have created nearly 150,000 slash piles scheduled for burning on US Forest Service land in northern Colorado. The vast majority of these are small piles (

Influences on Prescribed Burning Activity and Costs in the National Forest System

Science.gov (United States)

David A. Cleaves; Jorge Martinez; Terry K. Haines

2000-01-01

The results of a survey concerning National Forest System prescribed burning activity and costs from 1985 to 1995 are examined. Ninety-five of one hundred and fourteen national forests responded. Acreage burned and costs for conducting burns are reported for four types of prescribed fires slash reduction; management-ignited fires; prescribed natural fires; and brush,...

Dinâmica de populações e fitossociologia de plantas daninhas no cultivo do feijão-caupi e mandioca no sistema corte e queima com o uso de arado Phytosociology of weeds in cowpea and cassava crops under the slash-and-burn with plow

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L.J.P Marques

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Este estudo investigou a composição florística das plantas daninhas em área queimada durante três anos agrícolas. A pesquisa foi conduzida no município de Zé Doca, Maranhão. O preparo da área no primeiro ano agrícola (2006/2007 foi realizado com corte e queima da vegetação para o cultivo de milho seguido do feijão-caupi. No segundo e no terceiro ano agrícola, o preparo da área consistiu de aração para o cultivo do milho seguido de mandioca (2007/2008 e depois para o feijão-caupi em sucessão à cultura de mandioca (2008/2009. A coleta das plantas daninhas ocorreu nas culturas de feijão-caupi e mandioca aos 30 e 60 dias após a semeadura (DAS, no primeiro e no segundo ano agrícola, respectivamente, e no feijão-caupi aos 30 DAS do terceiro ano agrícola, com retângulo (0,5 x 0,3 m lançado 10 vezes ao acaso na área cultivada. A cada lançamento, as plantas daninhas foram colhidas, para contagem, identificação, secagem e, assim, obter os índices fitossociológicos. O fogo reduziu a diversidade e o número das plantas daninhas. As espécies com maior valor de IVI foram Imperata brasiliensis, Sida glomerata e Corchorus argutus, após o fogo na cultura do feijãocaupi; e Juncus sp., Spermacoce verticillata, Aeschynomene americana e Cyperus sp., após preparo da área com aração nas culturas de mandioca e feijão-caupi. As plantas de capoeira ocorreram depois da queima, porém sua importância foi reduzida com o passar do tempo.This study investigated the floristic composition of weeds in a burnt area in Zé Doca, Maranhão, during three agricultural years. The preparation of the area at the first crop year (2006/ 2007 was by slash-and-burn for maize cultivation, followed by cowpea. In the second and third crop years, the preparation of the area consisted of plowing for maize cultivation, followed by cassava (2007/2008 and later, by cowpea in rotation with cassava (2008/2009. Weed collection in the cowpea and cassava crops

Biomass and nutrient dynamics associated with slash fires in neotropical dry forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kauffman, J.B.; Cummings, D.L.; Sanford, R.L. Jr.; Salcedo, I.H.; Sampaio, E.V.S.B.

1993-01-01

Unprecedented rates of deforestation and biomass burning in tropical dry forests are dramatically influencing biogeochemical cycles, resulting in resource depletion, declines in biodiversity, and atmospheric pollution. We quantified the effects of deforestation and varying levels of slash-fire severity on nutrient losses and redistribution in a second-growth tropical dry forest (open-quotes Caatingaclose quotes) near Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Brazil. Total aboveground biomass prior to burning was ∼74 Mg/ha. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were highest in litter, leaves attached to slash, and fine wood debris (< O.64 cm diameter). While these components comprised only 30% of the prefire aboveground biomass, they accounted for ∼60% of the aboveground pools of N and P. Three experimental fires were conducted during the 1989 burning season. Consumption was 78, 88, and 95% of the total aboveground biomass. As much as 96% of the prefire aboveground N and C pools and 56% of the prefire aboveground P pool was lost. Nitrogen losses exceeded 500 kg/ha and P losses exceeded 20 kg/ha in the fires of the greatest severity. With increasing fire severity, the concentrations of N and P in ash decreased while the concentration of Ca increased. Greater ecosystem losses of these nutrients occurred with increasing fire severity. Following fire, up to 47% of the residual aboveground N and 84% of the residual aboveground P were in the form of ash, quickly lost from the site via wind erosion. Fires appeared to have a minor immediate effect on total N, C, or P in the soils. However, soils in forests with no history of cultivation had significantly higher concentrations of C and P than second-growth forests. It would likely require a century or more of fallow for reaccumulation to occur. However, current fallow periods in this region are 15 yr or less. 38 refs., 2 figs., 7 tabs

Slash Fandom, Sociability, and Sexual Politics in Putin's Russia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rajagopalan, S.

2015-01-01

Russian slash practices are much more than a protest subculture—a reductionist term that implies an unchanging isolation from other public realms. The political significance of slash practices on the Russian-language Internet, Runet, is more effectively understood by examining how slash and slashers

Queer as Folk and the trouble with slash

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Kyra Hunting

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The Showtime TV series Queer as Folk (2000–2005 brought same-sex relationships and sex scenes to prime-time television, putting the stuff of slash up on the small screen. Despite incorporating many slash tropes into the canonical text, Queer as Folk troubles many of the traditional assumptions about how fan fiction and slash operate, particularly the association of slash with subversion. The intertextual relationship between canonically queer texts and their attendant fandoms requires new frameworks for exploring traditional fan fiction subgenres such as slash. When the canonical text itself is queer, gestures and genres that have generally been considered subversive can in fact be more conservative than the canonical text itself. When the political stakes of a canonical series are clear and explicitly progressive, the intertextual relationship between canon and fandom can be particularly important and uniquely problematic, as this case study of Queer as Folk demonstrates in its assessment of the complexities that arise when the canon itself is queer.

Uncertainty analysis of moderate- versus coarse-scale satellite fire products for quantifying agricultural burning: Implications for Air Quality in European Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, J. L.; Krylov, A.; Prishchepov, A. V.; Banach, D. M.; Potapov, P.; Tyukavina, A.; Rukhovitch, D.; Koroleva, P.; Turubanova, S.; Romanenkov, V.

2015-12-01

Cropland and pasture burning are common agricultural management practices that negatively impact air quality at a local and regional scale, including contributing to short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). This research focuses on both cropland and pasture burning in European Russia, Lithuania, and Belarus. Burned area and fire detections were derived from 500 m and 1 km Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), 30 m Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. Carbon, particulate matter, volatile organic carbon (VOCs), and harmful air pollutants (HAPs) emissions were then calculated using MODIS and Landsat-based estimates of fire and land-cover and land-use. Agricultural burning in Belarus, Lithuania, and European Russia showed a strong and consistent seasonal geographic pattern from 2002 to 2012, with the majority of fire detections occurring in March - June and smaller peak in July and August. Over this 11-year period, there was a decrease in both cropland and pasture burning throughout this region. For Smolensk Oblast, a Russian administrative region with comparable agro-environmental conditions to Belarus and Lithuania, a detailed analysis of Landsat-based burned area estimations for croplands and pastures and field data collected in summer 2014 showed that the agricultural burning area can be up to 10 times higher than the 1 km MODIS active fire estimates. In general, European Russia is the main source of agricultural burning emissions compared to Lithuania and Belarus. On average, all cropland burning in European Russia as detected by the MCD45A1 MODIS Burned Area Product emitted 17.66 Gg of PM10 while annual burning of pasture in Smolensk Oblast, Russia as detected by Landsat burn scars emitted 494.85 Gg of PM10, a 96% difference. This highlights that quantifying the contribution of pasture burning and burned area versus cropland burning in agricultural regions is important for accurately

Effect of the Agricultural Biomass Burning on the Ambient Air Quality of Lumbini

Science.gov (United States)

Mehra, M.; Panday, A. K.; Praveen, P. S.; Bhujel, A.; Pokhrel, S.; Ram, K.

2017-12-01

The emissions from increasing anthropogenic activities has led to degradation in ambient air quality of Lumbini (UNESCO world heritage site) and its surrounding environments. The presence of high concentrations of air pollutants is of concern because of its implications for public health, atmospheric visibility, chemistry, crop yield, weather and climate on a local to regional scale. The study region experiences wide-spread on-field agricultural residue burning, particularly in the months of November (paddy residue burning) and April (wheat residue burning). In an attempt to study the impact of emissions from post-harvest burning of paddy and wheat residue in Nepal, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, in collaboration with the Government of Nepal's Department of Environment and the Lumbini International Research Institute, established the Lumbini Air Quality Observatory (LAQO) in May 2016 for continuous measurement of Black carbon (BC), particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5 & PM1), as well as concentration of gaseous pollutant and meteorological parameters. Here we present results of the surface observations from LAQO for the months with intensified paddy and wheat open biomass burning during November 2016 and April 2017, respectively. The average concentrations of BC, PM2.5 and PM10 were 11.3±6.2 µg m-3, 96.7±48.9 µg m-3 and 132.3±59.1 µg m-3 respectively during the month of November 2016. On the other hand, the surface concentrations of BC, PM2.5 and PM10 were found to be 11.0±8.3 µg m-3, 45.0±35.0 µg m-3 and 114.0±96.1 µg m-3 during April 2017. A significant increase in the primary pollutant concentration was observed during both types of open agricultural burning periods. However, BC/PM2.5 ratio was almost higher by factor of two during paddy burning as compared to wheat residue burning. Source characteristics and the relative contribution of agricultural burning to PM concentrations at Lumbini are being computed based on

A Fuzzy Neural Network Based on Non-Euclidean Distance Clustering for Quality Index Model in Slashing Process

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Yuxian Zhang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The quality index model in slashing process is difficult to build by reason of the outliers and noise data from original data. To the above problem, a fuzzy neural network based on non-Euclidean distance clustering is proposed in which the input space is partitioned into many local regions by the fuzzy clustering based on non-Euclidean distance so that the computation complexity is decreased, and fuzzy rule number is determined by validity function based on both the separation and the compactness among clusterings. Then, the premise parameters and consequent parameters are trained by hybrid learning algorithm. The parameters identification is realized; meanwhile the convergence condition of consequent parameters is obtained by Lyapunov function. Finally, the proposed method is applied to build the quality index model in slashing process in which the experimental data come from the actual slashing process. The experiment results show that the proposed fuzzy neural network for quality index model has lower computation complexity and faster convergence time, comparing with GP-FNN, BPNN, and RBFNN.

Vegetation and Lepidoptera in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests. Community structure along climate zones, forest succession and seasonality in the Southern Yucatán, Mexico

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Essens, T.; Leyequien, E.; Pozo, C.

2010-01-01

Seasonally dry tropical forests are worldwide recognized as important ecosystems for biodiversity conservation. Increasing agricultural activities (e.g., slash-and-burn agriculture) leads to a heterogeneous landscape matrix; and as ecological succession takes over in abandoned fields, plant and

Slash fandom, sociability, and sexual politics in Putin's Russia

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Sudha Rajagopalan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Russian slash practices are much more than a protest subculture—a reductionist term that implies an unchanging isolation from other public realms. The political significance of slash practices on the Russian-language Internet, Runet, is more effectively understood by examining how slash and slashers travel from fannish to other public spaces to shape everyday political conversations about sexual politics in Russia.

Effect of slash on forwarder soil compaction

Science.gov (United States)

Timothy P. McDonald; Fernando Seixas

1997-01-01

A study of the effect of slash on forwarder soil compaction was carried out. The level of soil compaction at two soil moisture contents, three slash densities (0, 10, and 20 kg/m2), and two levels of traffic (one and five passes) were measured. Results indicated that, on dry, loamy sand soils, the presence of slash did not decrease soil compaction after one forwarder...

MODIS derived fire characteristics and aerosol optical depth variations during the agricultural residue burning season, north India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Ellicott, Evan; Badarinath, K.V.S.; Vermote, Eric

2011-01-01

Agricultural residue burning is one of the major causes of greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols in the Indo-Ganges region. In this study, we characterize the fire intensity, seasonality, variability, fire radiative energy (FRE) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) variations during the agricultural residue burning season using MODIS data. Fire counts exhibited significant bi-modal activity, with peak occurrences during April-May and October-November corresponding to wheat and rice residue burning episodes. The FRE variations coincided with the amount of residues burnt. The mean AOD (2003-2008) was 0.60 with 0.87 (+1σ) and 0.32 (-1σ). The increased AOD during the winter coincided well with the fire counts during rice residue burning season. In contrast, the AOD-fire signal was weak during the summer wheat residue burning and attributed to dust and fossil fuel combustion. Our results highlight the need for 'full accounting of GHG's and aerosols', for addressing the air quality in the study area. - Highlights: → MODIS data could capture rice and wheat residue burning events. → The total FRP was high during the rice burning season than the wheat. → MODIS AOD variations coincided well with rice burning events than wheat. → AOD values exceeding one suggested intense air pollution. - This research work highlights the satellite derived fire products and their potential in characterizing the agricultural residue burning events and air pollution.

Impact of agriculture crop residue burning on atmospheric aerosol loading – a study over Punjab State, India

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Darshan Singh

2010-02-01

Full Text Available The present study deals with the impact of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties during October 2006 and 2007 over Punjab State, India using ground based measurements and multi-satellite data. Spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD and Ångström exponent (α values exhibited larger day to day variation during crop residue burning period. The monthly mean Ångström exponent "α" and turbidity parameter "β" values during October 2007 were 1.31±0.31 and 0.36±0.21, respectively. The higher values of "α" and "β" suggest turbid atmospheric conditions with increase in fine mode aerosols over the region during crop residue burning period. AURA-OMI derived Aerosol Index (AI and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 showed higher values over the study region during October 2007 compared to October 2006 suggesting enhanced atmospheric pollution associated with agriculture crop residue burning.

Emissions from Open burning of Used Agricultural Pesticide Containers

Science.gov (United States)

Emissions from simulated open burning of used agricultural pesticide containers were sampled for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAHs), and particle matter (PM10 and PM2.5). Clean high density polyethyl...

Mercury release from deforested soils triggered by base cation enrichment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farella, N.; Lucotte, M.; Davidson, R.; Daigle, S.

2006-01-01

The Brazilian Amazon has experienced considerable colonization in the last few decades. Family agriculture based on slash-and-burn enables millions of people to live in that region. However, the poor nutrient content of most Amazonian soils requires cation-rich ashes from the burning of the vegetation biomass for cultivation to be successful, which leads to forest ecosystem degradation, soil erosion and mercury contamination. While recent studies have suggested that mercury present in soils was transferred towards rivers upon deforestation, little is known about the dynamics between agricultural land-use and mercury leaching. In this context, the present study proposes an explanation that illustrates how agricultural land-use triggers mercury loss from soils. This explanation lies in the competition between base cations and mercury in soils which are characterized by a low adsorption capacity. Since these soils are naturally very poor in base cations, the burning of the forest biomass suddenly brings high quantities of base cations to soils, destabilizing the previous equilibrium amongst cations. Base cation enrichment triggers mobility in soil cations, rapidly dislocating mercury atoms. This conclusion comes from principal component analyses illustrating that agricultural land-use was associated with base cation enrichment and mercury depletion. The overall conclusions highlight a pernicious cycle: while soil nutrient enrichment actually occurs through biomass burning, although on a temporary basis, there is a loss in Hg content, which is leached to rivers, entering the aquatic chain, and posing a potential health threat to local populations. Data presented here reflects three decades of deforestation activities, but little is known about the long-term impact of such a disequilibrium. These findings may have repercussions on our understanding of the complex dynamics of deforestation and agriculture worldwide

A broadcast burn in secondgrowth clearcuttings in the north central Sierra Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Philip M. McDonald; Harry E. Schimke

1966-01-01

At the Challenge Experimental Forest, 29 acres of slash were broadcast burned on five small clearcut plots (2 to 10 acres) at a cost of $57.00 per acre. Fuel-weight measurements showed reductions of 68 to 84 percent after the burn. Modifications to plot size, shape, and orientation could reduce this cost.

Homophobia, heteronormativity, and slash fan fiction

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April S. Callis

2016-09-01

Full Text Available I analyze the relationship between homophobia/heteronormativity and slash fan fiction. Through reading and coding almost 6,000 pages of Kirk/Spock fan fiction written from 1978 to 2014, I illuminate shifts in how normative gender and sexuality are portrayed by K/S authors. Writers of K/S, while ostensibly writing about the 23rd century, consciously or unconsciously include cultural norms from the 20th and 21st centuries. Thus, slash becomes a lens through which readers can view a decrease in both homophobia and heteronormativity in US culture over the past several decades.

Emissions from Combustion of Open Area Sources: Prescribed Forest and Agricultural Burns

Science.gov (United States)

Emissions from wildfires and prescribed forest and agricultural burns generate a variety of emissions that can cause adverse health effects for humans, contribute to climate change, and decrease visibility. Only limited pollutant data are available for these sources, particularly...

Aerial Sampling of Emissions from Biomass Pile Burns in Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Emissions from burning piles of post-harvest timber slash in Grande Ronde, Oregon were sampled using an instrument platform lofted into the plume using a tether-controlled aerostat or balloon. Emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, particulate matter (PM2.5 µm), ...

An assessment of biofuel use and burning of agricultural waste in the developing world

Science.gov (United States)

Yevich, Rosemarie; Logan, Jennifer A.

2003-12-01

We present an assessment of biofuel use and agricultural field burning in the developing world. We used information from government statistics, energy assessments from the World Bank, and many technical reports, as well as from discussions with experts in agronomy, forestry, and agro-industries. We estimate that 2060 Tg biomass fuel was used in the developing world in 1985; of this, 66% was burned in Asia, and 21% and 13% in Africa and Latin America, respectively. Agricultural waste supplies about 33% of total biofuel use, providing 39%, 29%, and 13% of biofuel use in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, and 41% and 51% of the biofuel use in India and China. We find that 400 Tg of crop residues are burned in the fields, with the fraction of available residue burned in 1985 ranging from 1% in China, 16-30% in the Middle East and India, to about 70% in Indonesia; in Africa about 1% residue is burned in the fields of the northern drylands, but up to 50% in the humid tropics. We distributed this biomass burning on a spatial grid with resolution of 1° × 1°, and applied emission factors to the amount of dry matter burned to give maps of trace gas emissions in the developing world. The emissions of CO from biofuel use in the developing world, 156 Tg, are about 50% of the estimated global CO emissions from fossil fuel use and industry. The emission of 0.9 Pg C (as CO2) from burning of biofuels and field residues together is small, but nonnegligible when compared with the emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel use and industry, 5.3 Pg C. The biomass burning source of 10 Tg/yr for CH4 and 2.2 Tg N/yr of NOx are relatively small when compared with total CH4 and NOx sources; this source of NOx may be important on a regional basis.

VB merch-slash: A growth-and-yield prediction system with a merchandising optimizer for planted slash pine in the west Gulf region

Science.gov (United States)

S.J. Chang; Rodney L. Busby; P.R. Pasala; Jeffrey C. Goelz

2005-01-01

A Visual Basic computer model that can be used to estimate the harvestvalue of slash pine plantations in the west gulf region is presented. Themodel uses a dynamic programming algorithm to convert stand tablespredicted by COMPUTE_P-SLASH into a listing of seven products thatmaximizes the harvested value of the stand.

Amazonia: Burning and global climate impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molion, L.C.B.

1991-01-01

In recent years, humans have been playing a major role in reducing the natural forest cover in the tropics through different forms of slash and burn. The most serious destruction, it is said, is occurring in the Amazon, which is the largest expanse of tropical forest remaining on the planet. This chapter reviews briefly the causes and the extent of Amazonian deforestation and focuses on its global and local climate impacts. In addition, the effects of loss of diversity and need to preserve Indian cultures and societies are briefly discussed

Regeneration of forest phytocoenoses after various agricultural land use practices in the conditions of middle taiga subzone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Karpin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The process of forest cover regeneration after the cessation of human impact was considered. The study area was situated in the southern part of the Kenozersky National Park, Arkhangelsk Oblast. This area has 500 years of agricultural land use history. The territory features a complete spectrum of land at some point used for agricultural production: from sites currently in active use to fully recovered tree stands aged 120–140 years. The reforestation process was considered separately for each of the following land uses: slash-and-burn, multipurpose small-patch, and arable-grassland types, which differ considerably in impact intensity, duration, and degree of disturbance of the forest environment. The course of forest regeneration successions was found to depend on the type of preceding land use. The time required for the forest communities in slash-and-burn sites to recover to their original state is 120–140 years, and the succession involves the deciduous stage. Multipurpose small-patch use left the forest environment more profoundly modified. Eventually, a majority of these sites are now occupied by more productive, although undistinguishable from the original, coniferous-deciduous stands. Some factors have been detected that may lead to the formation in such sites of low-productivity self-regenerating plant communities dominated by deciduous species, which can persist there for an indefinitely long time unless relevant actions are taken. Arable-grassland land use considerably inhibits the regeneration of the forest cover typical of middle taiga, because there forms a thick sod layer. It was only in some grassland patches, where the impact stopped 5–10 years ago, that coniferous species, namely pine, were successfully regenerating.

Effects of slash removal in an experimental nitrogen gradient. Final report for the project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nohrstedt, H.Oe.; Ring, Eva; Sikstroem, Ulf; Hoegbom, Lars; Nordlund, Sten

2000-04-01

During four years after clear-felling, the effects of slash removal, including needles, were studied on a productive spruce site (site index G30) in the province of Vaermland, western Sweden. The study was made in an old fertilization experiment, in which at the most 2400 kg N/ha had been added during a twenty-year period. Despite the fact that the site is rich in nitrogen and that much slash was removed (100 ton d. m./ha), there were only very minor effects of the slash removal on the variables under study. These were the composition of soil water, the content of inorganic nitrogen in soil, the biomass of the field layer and the development of the planted spruce seedlings. The only statistically significant effect was that the content of nitrate was reduced in the humus layer. No data supported the idea that the previous fertilization influenced the effect of the slash removal, even though the fertilization had increased the content of total nitrogen in soil and the nitrogen leaching. Thus, we have not been able to repeat the observation from another Swedish study that slash removal reduces leaching of nitrogen and accompanying base cations, e. g. potassium. The effect of slash removal seems to depend on site conditions. Research is needed to reveal the variation in response and decisive factors. Our results, that the survival of spruce seedlings tends to be favoured by slash removal and that the early height growth is unaffected, are in accordance with results from previous studies. Our result, that the biomass of the total field layer is unaffected by slash removal, is not possible to compare with results from other studies, since these were mainly of a qualitative nature

A multi-sensor burned area algorithm for crop residue burning in northwestern India: validation and sources of error

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, T.; Marlier, M. E.; Karambelas, A. N.; Jain, M.; DeFries, R. S.

2017-12-01

A leading source of outdoor emissions in northwestern India comes from crop residue burning after the annual monsoon (kharif) and winter (rabi) crop harvests. Agricultural burned area, from which agricultural fire emissions are often derived, can be poorly quantified due to the mismatch between moderate-resolution satellite sensors and the relatively small size and short burn period of the fires. Many previous studies use the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED), which is based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product MCD64A1, as an outdoor fires emissions dataset. Correction factors with MODIS active fire detections have previously attempted to account for small fires. We present a new burned area classification algorithm that leverages more frequent MODIS observations (500 m x 500 m) with higher spatial resolution Landsat (30 m x 30 m) observations. Our approach is based on two-tailed Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) thresholds, abbreviated as ModL2T NBR, and results in an estimated 104 ± 55% higher burned area than GFEDv4.1s (version 4, MCD64A1 + small fires correction) in northwestern India during the 2003-2014 winter (October to November) burning seasons. Regional transport of winter fire emissions affect approximately 63 million people downwind. The general increase in burned area (+37% from 2003-2007 to 2008-2014) over the study period also correlates with increased mechanization (+58% in combine harvester usage from 2001-2002 to 2011-2012). Further, we find strong correlation between ModL2T NBR-derived burned area and results of an independent survey (r = 0.68) and previous studies (r = 0.92). Sources of error arise from small median landholding sizes (1-3 ha), heterogeneous spatial distribution of two dominant burning practices (partial and whole field), coarse spatio-temporal satellite resolution, cloud and haze cover, and limited Landsat scene availability. The burned area estimates of this study can be used to build

What could have caused pre-industrial biomass burning emissions to exceed current rates?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. R. van der Werf

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Recent studies based on trace gas mixing ratios in ice cores and charcoal data indicate that biomass burning emissions over the past millennium exceeded contemporary emissions by up to a factor of 4 for certain time periods. This is surprising because various sources of biomass burning are linked with population density, which has increased over the past centuries. We have analysed how emissions from several landscape biomass burning sources could have fluctuated to yield emissions that are in correspondence with recent results based on ice core mixing ratios of carbon monoxide (CO and its isotopic signature measured at South Pole station (SPO. Based on estimates of contemporary landscape fire emissions and the TM5 chemical transport model driven by present-day atmospheric transport and OH concentrations, we found that CO mixing ratios at SPO are more sensitive to emissions from South America and Australia than from Africa, and are relatively insensitive to emissions from the Northern Hemisphere. We then explored how various landscape biomass burning sources may have varied over the past centuries and what the resulting emissions and corresponding CO mixing ratio at SPO would be, using population density variations to reconstruct sources driven by humans (e.g., fuelwood burning and a new model to relate savanna emissions to changes in fire return times. We found that to match the observed ice core CO data, all savannas in the Southern Hemisphere had to burn annually, or bi-annually in combination with deforestation and slash and burn agriculture exceeding current levels, despite much lower population densities and lack of machinery to aid the deforestation process. While possible, these scenarios are unlikely and in conflict with current literature. However, we do show the large potential for increased emissions from savannas in a pre-industrial world. This is mainly because in the past, fuel beds were probably less fragmented compared to the

Changes in soil physical and chemical properties in long term improved natural and traditional agroforestry management systems of cacao genotypes in Peruvian Amazon

Science.gov (United States)

Traditional slash and burn agriculture practiced in the Peruvian Amazon region is leading to soil degradation and deforestation of native forest flora. The only way to stop such destructive processes is through the adoptation of sustainable alternatives such as growing crops in agroforestry systems....

Development of the ClearSky smoke dispersion forecast system for agricultural field burning in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Rahul; Vaughan, Joseph; Heitkamp, Kyle; Ramos, Charleston; Claiborn, Candis; Schreuder, Maarten; Schaaf, Mark; Lamb, Brian

The post-harvest burning of agricultural fields is commonly used to dispose of crop residue and provide other desired services such as pest control. Despite careful regulation of burning, smoke plumes from field burning in the Pacific Northwest commonly degrade air quality, particularly for rural populations. In this paper, ClearSky, a numerical smoke dispersion forecast system for agricultural field burning that was developed to support smoke management in the Inland Pacific Northwest, is described. ClearSky began operation during the summer through fall burn season of 2002 and continues to the present. ClearSky utilizes Mesoscale Meteorological Model version 5 (MM5v3) forecasts from the University of Washington, data on agricultural fields, a web-based user interface for defining burn scenarios, the Lagrangian CALPUFF dispersion model and web-served animations of plume forecasts. The ClearSky system employs a unique hybrid source configuration, which treats the flaming portion of a field as a buoyant line source and the smoldering portion of the field as a buoyant area source. Limited field observations show that this hybrid approach yields reasonable plume rise estimates using source parameters derived from recent field burning emission field studies. The performance of this modeling system was evaluated for 2003 by comparing forecast meteorology against meteorological observations, and comparing model-predicted hourly averaged PM 2.5 concentrations against observations. Examples from this evaluation illustrate that while the ClearSky system can accurately predict PM 2.5 surface concentrations due to field burning, the overall model performance depends strongly on meteorological forecast error. Statistical evaluation of the meteorological forecast at seven surface stations indicates a strong relationship between topographical complexity near the station and absolute wind direction error with wind direction errors increasing from approximately 20° for sites in

The role of fire-return interval and season of burn in snag dynamics in a south Florida slash pine forest

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, John D.; Slater, Gary L.; Snyder, James R.

2012-01-01

Standing dead trees, or snags, are an important habitat element for many animal species. In many ecosystems, fire is a primary driver of snag population dynamics because it can both create and consume snags. The objective of this study was to examine how variation in two key components of the fire regime—fire-return interval and season of burn—affected population dynamics of snags. Using a factorial design, we exposed 1 ha plots, located within larger burn units in a south Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa Little and Dorman) forest, to prescribed fire applied at two intervals (approximately 3-year intervals vs. approximately 6-year intervals) and during two seasons (wet season vs. dry season) over a 12- to 13-year period. We found no consistent effect of fire season or frequency on the density of lightly to moderately decayed or heavily decayed snags, suggesting that variation in these elements of the fire regime at the scale we considered is relatively unimportant in the dynamics of snag populations. However, our confidence in these findings is limited by small sample sizes, potentially confounding effects of unmeasured variation in fire behavior and effects (e.g., intensity, severity, synergy with drought cycles) and wide variation in responses within a treatment level. The generalizing of our findings is also limited by the narrow range of treatment levels considered. Future experiments incorporating a wider range of fire regimes and directly quantifying fire intensity would prove useful in identifying more clearly the role of fire in shaping the dynamics of snag populations.

Agriculture: Agriculture and Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Information on air emissions from agricultural practices, types of agricultural burning, air programs that may apply to agriculture, reporting requirements, and links to state and other federal air-quality information.

Evolutionary relationships of Slash Pine ( Pinus elliottii ) with its ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

llozymes in bud tissue and monoterpene contents in xylem oleoresin of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) were analyzed from populations across the natural distribution, as well as those from other species in the AUSTRALES pines. Allozyme diversity measures of slash pine were similar to those found in other southern pines.

La roza tumba y quema en el contexto de REDD+

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salinas Melgoza, Miguel Angel; Skutsch, Margaret; Lovett, Jonathan Cranidge; Paz Pellat, F.; Wong Gonzalez, J.C.; Torres Alamilla, R.

2015-01-01

Slash and burn (RTQ) is an agricultural system that in the context of climate change has been seen as one of those responsible for deforestation and intensive agriculture (AP) has been proposed to replace it in order to decrease gas greenhouse issued. We evaluated the impact of the RTQ in carbon

The role of remnant trees in carbon sequestration, vegetation structure and tree diversity of early succession regrowing fallows in eastern Sierra Leone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cuni Sanchez, Aida; Lindsell, Jeremy A.

2017-01-01

Remnant tree presence affects forest recovery after slash-and-burn agriculture. However, little is known about its effect on above-ground carbon stocks, especially in Africa. We focused our study on Sierra Leone, part of the Upper Guinean forests, an important centre of endemism threatened...

Chemical and biological characterization of products of incomplete combustion from the simulated field burning of agricultural plastic.

Science.gov (United States)

Linak, W P; Ryan, J V; Perry, E; Williams, R W; DeMarini, D M

1989-06-01

Chemical and biological analyses were performed to characterize products of incomplete combustion emitted during the simulated open field burning of agricultural plastic. A small utility shed equipped with an air delivery system was used to simulate pile burning and forced-air-curtain incineration of a nonhalogenated agricultural plastic that reportedly consisted of polyethylene and carbon black. Emissions were analyzed for combustion gases; volatile, semi-volatile, and particulate organics; and toxic and mutagenic properties. Emission samples, as well as samples of the used (possibly pesticide-contaminated) plastic, were analyzed for the presence of several pesticides to which the plastic may have been exposed. Although a variety of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds were identified in the volatile, semi-volatile, and particulate fractions of these emissions, a substantial fraction of higher molecular weight organic material was not identified. No pesticides were identified in either combustion emission samples or dichloromethane washes of the used plastic. When mutagenicity was evaluated by exposing Salmonella bacteria (Ames assay) to whole vapor and vapor/particulate emissions, no toxic or mutagenic effects were observed. However, organic extracts of the particulate samples were moderately mutagenic. This mutagenicity compares approximately to that measured from residential wood heating on a revertant per unit heat release basis. Compared to pile burning, forced air slightly decreased the time necessary to burn a charge of plastic. There was not a substantial difference, however, in the variety or concentrations of organic compounds identified in samples from these two burn conditions. This study highlights the benefits of a combined chemical/biological approach to the characterization of complex, multi-component combustion emissions. These results may not reflect those of other types of plastic that may be used

Global biomass burning. Atmospheric, climatic, and biospheric implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levine, J.S.

1991-01-01

Biomass burning is a significant source of atmospheric gases and, as such, may contribute to global climate changes. Biomass burning includes burning forests and savanna grasslands for land clearing, burning agricultural stubble and waste after harvesting, and burning biomass fuels. The chapters in this volume include the following topics: remote sensing of biomass burning from space;geographical distribution of burning; combustion products of burning in tropical, temperate and boreal ecosystems; burning as a global source of atmospheric gases and particulates; impacts of biomass burning gases and particulates on global climate; and the role of biomass burning on biodiversity and past global extinctions. A total of 1428 references are cited for the 63 chapters. Individual chapters are indexed separately for the data bases

Logging slash from regeneration cuttings as a source of fuel; Paeaetehakkuualojen hakkuutaehde polttoainelaehteenae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hakkila, P [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Vantaa (Finland); Asikainen, A [Joensuu Univ. (Finland); Korpilahti, A [Metsaeteho, Helsinki (Finland); Nurmi, J [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Kannus (Finland)

1997-12-31

Logging slash from regeneration areas is the major reserve of forest biomass for the production of renewable energy in Finland. Typically, about 52 m{sup 3} of unmerchantable stemwood and crown mass per hectare is left in a clear-cutting area of Scots pine, and 116 m{sup 3} per hectare in a clear-cutting area of Norway spruce. These figures correspond to 9,6 and 22,4 tons of oil equivalent per hectare. In addition to the abundant availability, logging slash is made attractive from the utilization point of view by moderate costs of recovery. This paper reviews the studies carried out by Project 114 of the national Bioenergy Research Program in 1995. The following aspects were included: The effect of the recovery of logging slash for fuel on the work techniques and productivity of one-grip harvesters in clear-cutting of Norway spruce; off-road transport of logging slash with a forwarder equipped with an enlarged load space; chipping of logging slash; and outside storage of fuel crushed from fresh logging slash. The participating research organizations are the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metsaeteho and University of Joensuu

Logging slash from regeneration cuttings as a source of fuel; Paeaetehakkuualojen hakkuutaehde polttoainelaehteenae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hakkila, P. [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Vantaa (Finland); Asikainen, A. [Joensuu Univ. (Finland); Korpilahti, A. [Metsaeteho, Helsinki (Finland); Nurmi, J. [Finnish Forest Research Inst., Kannus (Finland)

1996-12-31

Logging slash from regeneration areas is the major reserve of forest biomass for the production of renewable energy in Finland. Typically, about 52 m{sup 3} of unmerchantable stemwood and crown mass per hectare is left in a clear-cutting area of Scots pine, and 116 m{sup 3} per hectare in a clear-cutting area of Norway spruce. These figures correspond to 9,6 and 22,4 tons of oil equivalent per hectare. In addition to the abundant availability, logging slash is made attractive from the utilization point of view by moderate costs of recovery. This paper reviews the studies carried out by Project 114 of the national Bioenergy Research Program in 1995. The following aspects were included: The effect of the recovery of logging slash for fuel on the work techniques and productivity of one-grip harvesters in clear-cutting of Norway spruce; off-road transport of logging slash with a forwarder equipped with an enlarged load space; chipping of logging slash; and outside storage of fuel crushed from fresh logging slash. The participating research organizations are the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metsaeteho and University of Joensuu

Modeling soil heating and moisture transport under extreme conditions: Forest fires and slash pile burns

Science.gov (United States)

W. J. Massman

2012-01-01

Heating any soil during a sufficiently intense wildfire or prescribed burn can alter it irreversibly, causing many significant, long-term biological, chemical, and hydrological effects. Given the climate-change-driven increasing probability of wildfires and the increasing use of prescribed burns by land managers, it is important to better understand the dynamics of the...

A fire model with distinct crop, pasture, and non-agricultural burning: use of new data and a model-fitting algorithm for FINAL.1

Science.gov (United States)

Rabin, Sam S.; Ward, Daniel S.; Malyshev, Sergey L.; Magi, Brian I.; Shevliakova, Elena; Pacala, Stephen W.

2018-03-01

This study describes and evaluates the Fire Including Natural & Agricultural Lands model (FINAL) which, for the first time, explicitly simulates cropland and pasture management fires separately from non-agricultural fires. The non-agricultural fire module uses empirical relationships to simulate burned area in a quasi-mechanistic framework, similar to past fire modeling efforts, but with a novel optimization method that improves the fidelity of simulated fire patterns to new observational estimates of non-agricultural burning. The agricultural fire components are forced with estimates of cropland and pasture fire seasonality and frequency derived from observational land cover and satellite fire datasets. FINAL accurately simulates the amount, distribution, and seasonal timing of burned cropland and pasture over 2001-2009 (global totals: 0.434×106 and 2.02×106 km2 yr-1 modeled, 0.454×106 and 2.04×106 km2 yr-1 observed), but carbon emissions for cropland and pasture fire are overestimated (global totals: 0.295 and 0.706 PgC yr-1 modeled, 0.194 and 0.538 PgC yr-1 observed). The non-agricultural fire module underestimates global burned area (1.91×106 km2 yr-1 modeled, 2.44×106 km2 yr-1 observed) and carbon emissions (1.14 PgC yr-1 modeled, 1.84 PgC yr-1 observed). The spatial pattern of total burned area and carbon emissions is generally well reproduced across much of sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, Central Asia, and Australia, whereas the boreal zone sees underestimates. FINAL represents an important step in the development of global fire models, and offers a strategy for fire models to consider human-driven fire regimes on cultivated lands. At the regional scale, simulations would benefit from refinements in the parameterizations and improved optimization datasets. We include an in-depth discussion of the lessons learned from using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm in an interactive optimization for a dynamic global vegetation model.

Reproduction losses from slash disposal at the Challenge Experimental Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Dale O. Hall; Robert L. Neal

1963-01-01

Ponderosa pine, the preferred species, accounted for only 15 percent of the residual coniferous reproduction in seed-tree cuttings. Logging slash was machine-piled to encourage pine regeneration. Slash piling reduced the percentage of plots stocked with conifers from 38 to 12 percent. It destroyed 90 percent of the youngest seedlings but only 27 percent of the saplings...

Biodiversity loss in Ghana: The human factor | Bennett-Lartey ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The country loses a great proportion of its biodiversity, due mainly to unacceptable practices like slash and burn agriculture, surface mining, construction activities and bushfires. Various conservation measures practiced in Ghana have been discussed. These include forest reserves, botanical gardens, arboreta, gene banks, ...

Effects of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties and long-range transport over northern India: A study using satellite data and model simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayakumar, K.; Safai, P. D.; Devara, P. C. S.; Rao, S. Vijaya Bhaskara; Jayasankar, C. K.

2016-09-01

Agriculture crop residue burning in the tropics is a major source of the global atmospheric aerosols and monitoring their long-range transport is an important element in climate change studies. In this paper, we study the effects of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties and long-range transport over northern India during a smoke event that occurred between 09 and 17 November 2013, with the help of satellite measurements and model simulation data. Satellite data observations on aerosol properties suggested transport of particles from agriculture crop residue burning in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) over large regions. Additionally, ECMWF winds at 850 hPa have been used to trace the source, path and spatial extent of smoke events. Most of the smoke aerosols, during the study period, travel from a west-to-east pathway from the source-to-sink region. Furthermore, aerosol vertical profiles from CALIPSO show a layer of thick smoke extending from surface to an altitude of about 3 km. Smoke aerosols emitted from biomass burning activity from Punjab have been found to be a major contributor to the deterioration of local air quality over the NE Indian region due to their long range transport.

Development of sampling methods for the slash pine flower thrips Gnophothrips fuscus (Morgan), (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Carl W. Fatzinger; Wayne N. Dixen

1991-01-01

Slash pine flower thrips typically destroy about 24% of the flowers (cones) present in slash pine seed orchards. The seasonal distribution and abundance of slash pine flower thrips are being investigated and methods for sampling field populations of the insect are being evaluated for potential use in integrated pest management strategies. The efficacies of several...

Chemical characterisation of fine particles from biomass burning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saarnio, K.

2013-10-15

Biomass burning has lately started to attract attention because there is a need to decrease the carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Biomass is considered as CO{sub 2} neutral fuel. However, the burning of biomass is one of the major sources of fine particles both at the local and global scale. In addition to the use of biomass as a fuel for heat energy production, biomass burning emissions can be caused, e.g. by slash-and-burn agriculture and wild open-land fires. Indeed, the emissions from biomass burning are crucially important for the assessment of the potential impacts on global climate and local air quality and hence on human health. The chemical composition of fine particles has a notable influence on these impacts. The overall object of this thesis was to gain knowledge on the chemistry of fine particles that originate from biomass burning as well as on the contribution of biomass burning emissions to the ambient fine particle concentrations. For this purpose novel analytical methods were developed and tested in this thesis. Moreover, the thesis is based on ambient aerosol measurements that were carried out in six European countries at 12 measurement sites during 2002-2011. Additionally, wood combustion experiments were conducted in a laboratory. The measurements included a wide range of techniques: filter and impactor samplings, offline chemical analyses (chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques, thermal-optical method), and online measurements of particles' physical properties and chemical composition (incl. particle number and mass concentrations and size distributions, concentrations of carbonaceous components, water-soluble ions, and tracer compounds). This thesis presents main results of different studies aimed towards chemical characterisation of fine particle emissions from biomass burning. It was found that wood combustion had a significant influence on atmospheric fine particle concentrations in

7 CFR 29.6004 - Burn.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Burn. 29.6004 Section 29.6004 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing... INSPECTION Standards Definitions § 29.6004 Burn. The duration of combustion or length of time that a tobacco...

The relationship between length of fallow and crop yields in shifting cultivation: A re-thinking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mertz, Ole

2002-01-01

farming systems modelling, government policies, land use intensification, local forest management, slash-and-burn, swidden productivity......farming systems modelling, government policies, land use intensification, local forest management, slash-and-burn, swidden productivity...

Carbon trading as incentive for conversion to organic agriculture. Case study. Organic peanuts in Tanzania

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bodnar, F.

2005-12-15

In this pilot project, the climate effects of the conversion from conventional to organic cultivation of peanuts are evaluated. We could aim at voluntary carbon credits that do not comply with the CDM (Clean Development Mechanisms) rules, but we try to meet the CDM rules by combining it with a agroforestry component. However, in the example of Tanzania meeting the CDM rules was a problem. The agricultural system in Tanzania consists of a rotation of several years cultivation and several years fallow. This fallow of grass, shrubs and trees could be considered as 'forest'. Taking fallow land into cultivation would then be deforestation, which would make the planting of trees no longer eligible under CDM. This is a shame because the traditional 'slash and burn' system emits a lot of greenhouse gases.

Climate effects of electricity production fuelled by coal, forest slash and municipal solid waste with and without carbon capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sathre, Roger; Gustavsson, Leif; Truong, Nguyen Le

2017-01-01

We analyse the climate implications of producing electricity in large-scale conversion plants using coal, forest slash and municipal solid waste with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS). We calculate the primary energy, carbon dioxide (CO_2) and methane (CH_4) emission profiles, and the cumulative radiative forcing (CRF) of different systems that produce the same amount of electricity. We find that using slash or waste for electricity production instead of coal somewhat increases the instantaneous CO_2 emission from the power plant, but avoids significant subsequent emissions from decaying slash in forests or waste in landfills. For slash used instead of coal, we find robust near- and long-term reductions in total emissions and CRF. Climate effects of using waste instead of coal are more ambiguous: CRF is reduced when CCS is used, but without CCS there is little or no climate benefits of using waste directly for energy, assuming that landfill gas is recovered and used for electricity production. The application of CCS requires more fuel, but strongly reduces the CO_2 emissions. The use of slash or waste together with CCS results in negative net emissions and CRF, i.e. global cooling. - Highlights: • Using slash or waste for energy emits CO_2 from power plants, but avoids CO_2 and CH_4 emissions from forests or landfills. • Using forest slash for energy instead of coal gives robust short- and long-term climate benefits. • Using waste instead of coal gives questionable climate benefits, if the waste would otherwise be landfilled properly.

Relationship between trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning in Southeast Asia using satellite and emission data

Science.gov (United States)

Azuma, Yoshimi; Nakamura, Maya; Kuji, Makoto

2012-11-01

Southeast Asia is one of the biggest regions of biomass burning with forest fires and slash-and-burn farming. From the fire events, a large amount of air pollutants are emitted such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and aerosol (black carbon; BC). Biomass burning generally causes not only local, but also transboundary air pollution, and influences the atmospheric environment in the world accordingly. However, impact of air pollutants' emissions from large-scale fire in Southeast Asia is not well investigated compared to other regions such as South America and Africa. In this study, characteristics of the atmospheric environment were investigated with correlative analyses among several satellite data (MOPITT, OMI, and MODIS) and emission inventory (GFEDv3) in Southeast Asia from October 2004 to June 2008 on a monthly basis. As a result, it is suggested that the transboundary air pollution from the biomass burning regions occurred over Southeast Asia, which caused specifically higher air pollutants' concentration at Hanoi, Vietnam in spring dry season.

Effects of ecosystem-based management treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Michael G. Harrington; Carl E. Fiedler; Stephen F. Arno; Ward W. McCaughey; Leon J. Theroux; Clinton E. Carlson; Kristin L. Zouhar; Thomas H. DeLuca; Donald J. Bedunah; Dayna M. Ayers; Elizabeth A. Beringer; Sallie J. Hejl; Lynn Bacon; Robert E. Benson; Jane Kapler Smith; Rick Floch

1999-01-01

The prescribed burn treatments were applied to reduce pre-existing and new slash fuel loadings, reduce understory tree density to lower crown fire potential, stimulate vigor of decadent understory vegetation, produce mineral seedbeds for seral species establishment, and increase availability of mineral nutrients. To test the feasibility of prescribed burning under a...

Enhanced levels of atmospheric low-molecular weight monocarboxylic acids in gas and particulates over Mt. Tai, North China, during field burning of agricultural wastes

Science.gov (United States)

Mochizuki, Tomoki; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Nakamura, Shinnosuke; Kanaya, Yugo; Wang, Zifa

2017-12-01

To understand the source and atmospheric behaviour of low molecular weight monocarboxylic acids (monoacids), gaseous (G) and particulate (P) organic acids were collected at the summit of Mt. Tai in the North China Plain (NCP) during field burning of agricultural waste (wheat straw). Particulate organic acids were collected with neutral quartz filter whereas gaseous organic acids were collected with KOH-impregnated quartz filter. Normal (C1-C10), branched (iC4-iC6), hydroxy (lactic and glycolic), and aromatic (benzoic) monoacids were determined with a capillary gas chromatography employing p-bromophenacyl esters. We found acetic acid as the most abundant gas-phase species whereas formic acid is the dominant particle-phase species. Concentrations of formic (G/P 1 570/1 410 ng m-3) and acetic (3 960/1 120 ng m-3) acids significantly increased during the enhanced field burning of agricultural wastes. Concentrations of formic and acetic acids in daytime were found to increase in both G and P phases with those of K+, a field-burning tracer (r = 0.32-0.64). Primary emission and secondary formation of acetic acid is linked with field burning of agricultural wastes. In addition, we found that particle-phase fractions (Fp = P/(G + P)) of formic (0.50) and acetic (0.31) acids are significantly high, indicating that semi-volatile organic acids largely exist as particles. Field burning of agricultural wastes may play an important role in the formation of particulate monoacids in the NCP. High levels (917 ng m-3) of particle-phase lactic acid, which is characteristic of microorganisms, suggest that microbial activity associated with terrestrial ecosystem significantly contributes to the formation of organic aerosols.

Economic Sustainability of Payments for Water Yield in Slash Pine Plantations in Florida

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andres Susaeta

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Forests play an important role with respect to water resources, and can be managed to increase surface- and groundwater recharge. With the creation of a forest water yield payment system, privately-owned forests, which comprise the majority of forest area in the Southeastern US, could become an important potential source of additional water supply. The economic tradeoffs between timber revenues and water yield are not well understood. To address this, we use the example case of slash pine production in Florida, and employ a forest stand-level optimal rotation model that incorporates forest management, and assessed a range of feasible water yield prices on forest profitability. Our analysis was limited to a range of water yield prices ($0.03, $0.07, and $0.30 kL−1 that would make water yield from slash pine economically competitive with water supply alternatives (e.g., reservoir construction. Even at relatively low water prices, we found that managing slash pine forests for both timber and water yield was preferred to managing just for timber when assuming an initial tree density less than 2200 trees·ha−1. However, with higher levels of initial tree planting density and low water prices, managing slash pine for timber production alone was more profitable unless stands are heavily-thinned, suggesting that even mid-rotation stands could be included in a forest water yield payments program. Compared to low-tree planting density and lightly thinned slash pine forests, an intensive approach of planting a lot of trees and then heavily thinning them generated 8% to 33% higher profits, and 11% more ($192 ha−1 on average. We conclude that payments for water yield are economically feasible for slash pine stands in Florida, and would benefit forest landowners, particularly with higher prices for water yield.

Global biomass burning: Atmospheric, climatic, and biospheric implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levine, J.S.

1991-01-01

As a significant source of atmospheric gases, biomass burning must be addressed as a major environmental problem. Biomass burning includes burning forests and savanna grasslands for land clearing and conversion, burning agricultural stubble and waste after harvesting, and burning biomass fuels. The editor discusses the history of biomass burning and provides an overview of the individual chapters

Mass production of shortleaf x slash pine hybrids by pollinating unbagged female flowers

Science.gov (United States)

Philip C. Wakeley; O.O. Wells; T.E. Campbell

1966-01-01

A simple method of mass-producing shortleaf x slash pine hybrids was attempted. Large quantities of slash pine pollen were spread on unbagged shortleaf flowers in the hope of recovering a high percentage of hybrid progeny and thus materially reducing the cost of producing such hybrids by conventional controlled pollination. The hybrid is very promising, but, as Snyder...

Adjusting slash pine growth and yield for silvicultural treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen R. Logan; Barry D. Shiver

2006-01-01

With intensive silvicultural treatments such as fertilization and competition control now commonplace in today's slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) plantations, a method to adjust current growth and yield models is required to accurately account for yield increases due to these practices. Some commonly used ad-hoc methods, such as raising site...

Genetic recombinational and physical linkage analyses on slash pine

Science.gov (United States)

Rob Doudrick

1996-01-01

Slash pine is native to the southeastern USA, but is commercially valuable world-wide as a timber-,fiber- and resin-producing species. Breeding objectives emphasize selection for fusiform rust disease resistance. Identification of markers linked to genetic factors conditioning specificity should expand our knowledge of disease development. Towards this end, random...

Slash Incorporation for Amelioration of Site, Soil and Hydrologic Properties on Pocosins and Wet Flats in North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

William A. Lakel; W. Michael Aust; Emily A. Carter; Bryce J. Stokes; Felipe G. Sanchez

1999-01-01

It was hypothesized that mulching and incorporation of slash as part of site preparation treatments could affect soil water characteristics. Two forested wetland sites, an organic pocosin and a mineral wet flat. located in the lower coastal plain of North Carolina, were selected for treatments. Treatments consisted of slash mulching and incorporation in comoinations...

Producing high-quality slash pine seeds

Science.gov (United States)

James Barnett; Sue Varela

2003-01-01

Slash pine is a desirable species. It serves many purposes and is well adapted to poorly drained flatwoods and seasonally flooded areas along the lower Coastal Plain of the Southeastern US. The use of high-quality seeds has been shown to produce uniform seedlings for outplanting, which is key to silvicultural success along the Coastal Plain and elsewhere. We present...

The importance of an alternative for sustainability of agriculture around the periphery of the Amazon rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Moura, Emanoel G; Sena, Virley G L; Corrêa, Mariana S; Aguiar, Alana das C F

2013-04-01

The unsustainable use of the soil of the deforested area at the Amazonian border is one of the greatest threats to the rainforest, because it is the predominant cause of shifting cultivation in the region. The sustainable management of soils with low natural fertility is a major challenge for smallholder agriculture in the humid tropics. In the periphery of Brazilian Amazonia, agricultural practices that are recommended for the Brazilian savannah, such as saturating soils with soluble nutrients do not ensure the sustainability of agroecosystems. Improvements in the tilled topsoil cannot be maintained if deterioration of the porous soil structure is not prevented and nutrient losses in the root zone are not curtailed. The information gleaned from experiments affirms that in the management of humid tropical agrosystems, the processes resulting from the interaction between climatic factors and indicators of soil quality must be taken into consideration. It must be remembered that these interactions manifest themselves in ways that cannot be predicted from the paradigm established in the other region like the southeast of Brazil, which is based only on improving the chemical indicators of soil quality. The physical indicators play important role in the sustainable management of the agrosystems of the region and for these reasons must be considered. Therefore, alley cropping is a potential substitute for slash and burn agriculture in the humid tropics with both environmental and agronomic advantages, due to its ability to produce a large amount of residues on the soil surface and its effect on the increase of economic crop productivity in the long term. The article presents some promising patents on the importance of an alternative for sustainability of agriculture.

Polar and non-polar organic aerosols from large-scale agricultural-waste burning emissions in Northern India: Implications to organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajput, Prashant; Sarin, M M

2014-05-01

This study focuses on characteristics of organic aerosols (polar and non-polar) and total organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio (OM/OC) from post-harvest agricultural-waste (paddy- and wheat-residue) burning emissions in Northern India. Aerosol samples from an upwind location (Patiala: 30.2°N, 76.3°E) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain were analyzed for non-polar and polar fractions of organic carbon (OC1 and OC2) and their respective mass (OM1 and OM2). On average, polar organic aerosols (OM2) contribute nearly 85% of the total organic mass (OM) from the paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. The water-soluble-OC (WSOC) to OC2 ratio, within the analytical uncertainty, is close to 1 from both paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. However, temporal variability and relatively low WSOC/OC2 ratio (Av: 0.67±0.06) is attributed to high moisture content and poor combustion efficiency during paddy-residue burning, indicating significant contribution (∼30%) of aromatic carbon to OC2. The OM/OC ratio for non-polar (OM1/OC1∼1.2) and polar organic aerosols (OM2/OC2∼2.2), hitherto unknown for open agricultural-waste burning emissions, is documented in this study. The total OM/OC ratio is nearly identical, 1.9±0.2 and 1.8±0.2, from paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impacts of post-harvest slash and live-tree retention on biomass and nutrient stocks in Populus tremuloides Michx.-dominated forests, northern Minnesota, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Klockow, Paul A.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Bradford, John B.

2013-01-01

Globally, there is widespread interest in using forest-derived biomass as a source of bioenergy. While conventional timber harvesting generally removes only merchantable tree boles, harvesting biomass feedstock can remove all forms of woody biomass (i.e., live and dead standing woody vegetation, downed woody debris, and stumps) resulting in a greater loss of biomass and nutrients as well as more severe habitat alteration. To investigate the potential impacts of this practice, this study examined the initial impacts (pre- and post-harvest) of various levels of slash and live-tree retention on biomass and nutrient stocks, including carbon (C), nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), and phosphorus (P), in Populus tremuloides Michx.-dominated forests of northern Minnesota, USA. Treatments examined included three levels of slash retention, whole-tree harvest (WTH), 20% slash retention (20SR), and stem-only harvest (SOH), factored with three levels of green-tree retention, no trees retained (NONE), dispersed retention (DISP), and aggregate retention (AGR). Slash retention was the primary factor affecting post-harvest biomass and nutrient stocks, including woody debris pools. Compared to the unharvested control, stocks of biomass, carbon, and nutrients, including N, Ca, K, and P, in woody debris were higher in all treatments. Stem-only harvests typically contained greater biomass and nutrient stocks than WTH, although biomass and nutrients within 20SR, a level recommended by biomass harvesting guidelines in the US and worldwide, generally did not differ from WTH or SOH. Biomass in smaller-diameter slash material (typically 2.5-22.5 cm in diameter) dominated the woody debris pool following harvest regardless of slash retention level. Trends among treatments in this diameter range were generally similar to those in the total woody debris pool. Specifically, SOH contained significantly greater amounts of biomass than WTH while 20SR was not different from either WTH or

The creation of football slash fan fiction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abby Waysdorf

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Although sports fandom and fan fiction are often thought of as different worlds, in the contemporary media environment, this is not the case. Sport is a popular source text for fan fiction, and high-level European football, one of the world's most watched sports, has long had an online fan fiction presence. In a study of the LiveJournal community Footballslash over the 2011–12 European football season, I investigate what makes football a suitable source text for fan fiction, especially slash fan fiction; what fan fiction authors are doing with football; and what this suggests about how football and fan fiction are used in the present day. I present a new understanding of football as a media text to be transformed as well as provide an in-depth look into how this type of real person slash is developed and thought of by its practitioners. In doing so, I show what happens when fandoms and fan practices converge in the 21st century.

Reagan's budget slashes geophysics R&D

Science.gov (United States)

Richman, Barbara T.

When President Ronald Reagan outlined to a joint session of Congress his proposed revisions to the Carter fiscal 1982 budget (Eos, February 10, p. 49), Congress responded with 13 bursts of applause and one standing ovation. Geophysicists, however, may not greet the budget pruning with equal fanfare. Reagan's across-the-board cuts include proposals for slashing research and development funds. Among those hardest hit are NASA, NOAA, and NSF.

Heritability and Seasonal Changes in Viscosity of Slash Pine Oleoresin

Science.gov (United States)

Robert D. McReynolds

1971-01-01

Oleoresin viscosity was measured in slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii) trees of known genetic origin over a 1-year period. A strong broad-sense heritability of this trait was found. Seasonal variation followed a definite pattern, with the highest viscosities occurring in early spring and a gradual decline occurring in...

Patents on periphery of the Amazon rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

de Moura, Emanoel G; Araújo, José R G; Monroe, Paulo H M; de O Nascimento, Ivaneide; Aguiar, Alana C F

2009-06-01

In the humid tropics, on the edges of the Amazon forest, the technological challenges to establishing and maintaining productive and sustainable agricultural systems have yet to be overcome. The groups involved in agriculture in the north of Brazil still engage in the practice of slash and burn in order to prepare and fertilize the soil. This produces negative effects for the local and global environment, without the counter-effect of providing social benefits to rural communities. Whether this process continues is of fundamental importance to many countries because it means that slash and burn agriculture is advancing on the Amazon rainforest, with a negative effect on every dimension of national policy. Beyond social political problems the biggest challenge for researchers in the field of tropical agriculture is to offer technological alternatives that can sustain agriculture in soils derived from sedimentary rocks that have been subjected to a high degree of weathering. In this article patented information is also discussed. Experiments undertaken in this region recommend taking advantage of the rapid growth of plants in the tropics. We aimed at proposing a suitable alternative system for a sustainable soil management in the particular conditions of humid tropics, named as "no-till in alley cropping using tree leguminous mulch." This system offers the advantages of: bringing together, in the same space and at the same time, the processes of cultivation and the regeneration of soil fertility.

Mechanized row-thinning systems in slash pine plantations

Science.gov (United States)

Walter C. Anderson; James E. Granskog

1974-01-01

Over the next decade or two, most of the 15 to 20 million acres of pine plantations in the South will become ready for a first commercial thinning. The magnitude and nature of the job is illustrated by the situation in slash pine-the most extensively planted of the southern pines.

Physical and chemical properties of slash pine tree parts

Science.gov (United States)

E. T. Howard

1973-01-01

In three 22-year-old slash pines from an unthinned plantation in central Louisiana, stemwood comprised 58.5 percent of total ovendry tree weight. Stumps and main roots made up 16.5 percent, bark 12.5, top of bole 5.0, needles 4.0, and branches 3.5. This material now is largely wasted when a tree is harvested; methods of utilizing it would extend fiber supplies by 70...

Visual Basic Growth-and-Yield Models With A Merchandising Optimizer For Planted Slash and Loblolly Pine in the West Gulf Region

Science.gov (United States)

R.L. Busby; S.J. Chang; P.R. Pasala; J.C.G. Goelz

2004-01-01

We developed two growth-and-yield models for thinned and unthinned plantations of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var elliottii) and loblolly pine (P. taeda L.). The models, VB Merch-Slash and VB Merch-Lob, can be used to forecast product volumes and stand values for stands partitioned into 1-inch diameter-at...

Impact of managed moorland burning on peat nutrient and base cation status

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Sheila; Gilpin, Martin; Wearing, Catherine; Johnston, Kerrylyn; Holden, Joseph; Brown, Lee

2013-04-01

Controlled 'patch' burning of moorland vegetation has been used for decades in the UK to stimulate growth of heather (Calluna vulgaris) for game bird habitat and livestock grazing. Typically small patches (300-900 m2) are burned in rotations of 8-25 years. However, our understanding of the short-to-medium term environmental impacts of the practice on these sensitive upland areas has so far been limited by a lack of scientific data. In particular the effect of burning on concentrations of base cations and acid-base status of these highly organic soils has implications both for ecosystem nutrient status and for buffering of acidic waters. As part of the EMBER project peat chemistry data were collected in ten upland blanket peat catchments in the UK. Five catchments were subject to a history of prescribed rotational patch burning. The other five catchments acted as controls which were not subject to burning, nor confounded by other detrimental activities such as drainage or forestry. Soil solution chemistry was also monitored at two intensively studied sites (one regularly burned and one control). Fifty-centimetre soil cores, sectioned into 5-cm intervals, were collected from triplicate patches of four burn ages at each burned site, and from twelve locations at similar hillslope positions at each control site. At the two intensively monitored sites, soil solution chemistry was monitored at four depths in each patch. Across all sites, burned plots had significantly smaller cation exchange capacities, lower concentrations of exchangeable base cations and increased concentrations of exchangeable H+ and Al3+ in near-surface soil. C/N ratios were also lower in burned compared to unburned surface soils. There was no consistent trend between burn age and peat chemistry across all burned sites, possibly reflecting local controls on post-burn recovery rates or external influences on burn management decisions. At the intensively monitored site, plots burned less than two years

Rural emptiness and its influence on subsistence farming in contemporary Gabon : a case study in Loango National Park.

OpenAIRE

Fairet, E.; Bell, S.; Remanda, K.; Setchell, J.M.

2014-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, rural exodus leads to increasing unemployment in urban centres and to the disorganisation of farming practice in rural areas. This article draws on data from participant observation and interviews to analyse how rural exodus, combined with a population density that was already low, led to what we refer to as rural emptiness in Gabon, and how this affects farmers’ livelihoods. Farming in Gabon is largely slash and burn agriculture with a gender division of...

Biomass burning in Africa: As assessment of annually burned biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delmas, R.A.; Loudjani, P.; Podaire, A.; Menaut, J.C.

1991-01-01

It is now established that biomass burning is the dominant phenomenon that controls the atmospheric chemistry in the tropics. Africa is certainly the continent where biomass burning under various aspects and processes is the greatest. Three different types of burnings have to be considered-bush fires in savanna zones which mainly affect herbaceous flora, forest fires due to forestation for shifting agriculture or colonization of new lands, and the use of wood as fuel. The net release of carbon resulting from deforestation is assumed to be responsible for about 20% of the CO 2 increase in the atmosphere because the burning of forests corresponds to a destorage of carbon from the biospheric reservoir. The amount of reactive of greenhouse gases emitted by biomass burning is directly proportional, through individual emission factors, to the biomass actually burned. This chapter evaluates the biomass annually burned on the African continent as a result of the three main burning processes previously mentioned

Evaluation of the FEERv1.0 Global Top-Down Biomass Burning Emissions Inventory over Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, L.; Ichoku, C. M.

2014-12-01

With the advent of the Fire Energetics and Emissions Research (FEER) global top-down biomass burning emissions product from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a subsequent effort is going on to analyze and evaluate some of the main (particulate and gaseous) constituents of this emissions inventory against other inventories of biomass burning emissions over the African continent. There is consistent and continual burning during the dry season in NSSA of many small slash-and-burn fires that, though may be relatively small fires individually, collectively contribute 20-25% of the global total carbon emissions from biomass burning. As a top-down method of estimating biomass-burning emissions, FEERv1.0 is able to yield higher and more realistic emissions than previously obtainable using bottom-up methods. Results of such comparisons performed in detail over Africa will be discussed in this presentation. This effort is carried out in conjunction with a NASA-funded interdisciplinary research project investigating the effects of biomass burning on the regional climate system in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (NSSA). Essentially, that project aims to determine how fires may have affected the severe droughts that plagued the NSSA region in recent history. Therefore, it is imperative that the biomass burning emissions input data over Africa be as accurate as possible in order to obtain a confident understanding of their interactions and feedbacks with the hydrological cycle in NSSA.

The Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand: progressing the evidence base for burn care.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleland, Heather; Greenwood, John E; Wood, Fiona M; Read, David J; Wong She, Richard; Maitz, Peter; Castley, Andrew; Vandervord, John G; Simcock, Jeremy; Adams, Christopher D; Gabbe, Belinda J

2016-03-21

Analysis of data from the Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand (BRANZ) to determine the extent of variation between participating units in treatment and in specific outcomes during the first 4 years of its operation. BRANZ, an initiative of the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association, is a clinical quality registry developed in accordance with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare national operating principles. Patients with burn injury who fulfil pre-defined criteria are transferred to and managed in designated burn units. There are 17 adult and paediatric units in Australia and New Zealand that manage almost all patients with significant burn injury. Twelve of these units treat adult patients. Data on 7184 adult cases were contributed by ten acute adult burn units to the registry between July 2010 and June 2014.Major outcomes: In-hospital mortality, hospital length of stay, skin grafting rates, and rates of admission to intensive care units. Considerable variations in unit profiles (including numbers of patients treated), in treatment and in outcomes were identified. Despite the highly centralised delivery of care to patients with severe or complex burn injury, and the relatively small number of specialist burn units, we found significant variation between units in clinical management and in outcomes. BRANZ data from its first 4 years of operation support its feasibility and the value of further development of the registry. Based on these results, the focus of ongoing research is to improve understanding of the reasons for variations in practice and of their effect on outcomes for patients, and to develop evidence-informed clinical guidelines for burn management in Australia and New Zealand.

Phenotypic analysis of first-year traits in a pseudo-backcross {(slash x loblolly) x slash} and the ope-pollinated families of the pure-species progenitors

Science.gov (United States)

Patricio R. Munoz Del Valle; Dudley A. Huber; John R. Butnor

2011-01-01

A single test, including one pseudo-backcross (Pinus elliottii x Pinus taeda) x P. elliottii and openpollinated families of the pure species progenitors, was established in North Central Florida in December 2007 to study the transfer of the fast-growing characteristics from a P. taeda L. (loblolly pine) parent into the P. elliottii Engelm. (slash pine) background....

Satellite versus ground-based estimates of burned area: A comparison between MODIS based burned area and fire agency reports over North America in 2007

Science.gov (United States)

Stephane Mangeon; Robert Field; Michael Fromm; Charles McHugh; Apostolos Voulgarakis

2015-01-01

North American wildfire management teams routinely assess burned area on site during firefighting campaigns; meanwhile, satellite observations provide systematic and global burned-area data. Here we compare satellite and ground-based daily burned area for wildfire events for selected large fires across North America in 2007 on daily timescales. In a sample of 26 fires...

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ASSESSMENT (TNA FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR: CRITERIA, PRIORITIZING AND BARRIERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kasdi Subagyono

2010-11-01

greenhouse gas emission, yet technologies need for have not been assessed. The technology needs assessment for the agriculture sector cover paddy field, perennial crops, peat soil, and livestock. The concern of the assessment is categorized into technology options, priority/key technology, barriers, and modalities. Selected technologies are based on criteria and priority options of technology needs. Data and information have been collected from related agencies, center, institutes and other relevant sources as well as through a workshop. Technology selection process for mitigation considered general criteria of reducing GHG emissions from crops and livestock, promoting resource conservation, promoting sustainable biodiversity, promoting green energy, sustaining food security, and promoting energy alternative; and specific criteria of promoting local technology for mitigation, sustaining site-specific germ plasms, promoting simple and cheap technology for poor farmers, promoting less emission crop varieties, substituting chemical with organic fertilizers/compost, and reduce CH4 emissions. Those criteria are scored into 4 classes, i.e. high value/high relevant/high impact (score: 5, Medium value/relevant/med impact (score: 3; Low value/less relevant/less impact (score: 1; nil – not relevant/no impact (score: 0. The assessment has come up with the results that priority technologies needed for mitigation are (a low methane emitter crops varieties, appropriate fertilizing, no tillage, and intermittent irrigation for paddy fields, (b appropriate slash and burn and bio-fuel for perennial crops, (c composting manure and biogas production for livestock, and (d overcoming slash and burn, avoiding over drain and maintaining soil moisture for peat soils.

Emissions from Prescribed Burning of Agricultural Fields in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Prescribed burns of winter wheat stubble and Kentucky bluegrass fields in northern Idaho and eastern Washington states (U.S.A.) were sampled using ground-, aerostat-, airplane-, and laboratory-based measurement platforms to determine emission factors, compare methods, and provide...

Agriculture. Sector 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

In Lebanon, emissions of greenhouse gases from agricultural activities occur through the following processes: -enteric fermentation and manure management of the domestic livestock emits methane and nitrous oxide. -agricultural burning of crop residues is of minor importance since field burning of crop residue is not a common practice in Lebanon -agricultural soils are a source of nitrous oxide directly from the soils and from animal production, and indirectly from the nitrogen added to the soils. The following results were obtained for the inventory year 1994: 7.60955 Gg of methane, 3.01478 Gg of nitrous oxide, 0.00146 Gg of nitrogen oxides and 0.04306 Gg of carbon monoxide

Effectiveness of mechanical thinning and prescribed burning on fire behavior in Pinus nigra forests in NE Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Piqué, Míriam; Domènech, Rut

2018-03-15

Fuel treatments can mitigate present and future impacts of climate change by reducing fire intensity and severity. In recent years, Pinus nigra forests in the Mediterranean basin have been dramatically affected by the new risk of highly intense and extreme fires and its distribution area has been reduced. New tools are necessary for assessing the management of these forests so they can adapt to the challenges to come. Our main goal was to evaluate the effects of different fuel treatments on Mediterranean Pinus nigra forests. We assessed the forest response, in terms of forest structure and fire behavior, to different intensities of low thinning treatments followed by different slash prescriptions (resulting in: light thinning and lop and scatter; light thinning and burn; heavy thinning and lop and scatter; heavy thinning and burn; and, untreated control). Treatments that used fire to decrease the resulting slash were the most effective for reducing active crown fires decreasing the rate of spread and flame length more than 89%. Low thinning had an effect on torching potential, but there was no difference between intensities of thinning. Only an outcoming crown fire could spread actively if it was sustained by a high-enough constant wind speed and enough surface fuel load. Overall, treatments reduce fire intensity and treated areas have a more homogenous fire behavior response than untreated areas. This provides opportunities to extinguish the fire and reduce the probability of trees dying from the fire. It would be helpful to include ecological principles and fire behavior criteria in silvicultural treatment guidelines in order to perform more efficient management techniques in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Occupational PAH Exposures during Prescribed Pile Burns

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, M. S.; Anthony, T. R.; Littau, S. R.; Herckes, P.; Nelson, X.; Poplin, G. S.; Burgess, J. L.

2008-01-01

Wildland firefighters are exposed to particulate matter and gases containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are known carcinogens. Our objective was to evaluate the extent of firefighter exposure to particulate and PAHs during prescribed pile burns of mainly ponderosa pine slash and determine whether these exposures were correlated with changes in urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP), a PAH metabolite. Personal and area sampling for particulate and PAH exposures were conducted on the White Mountain Apache Tribe reservation, working with 21 Bureau of Indian Affairs/Fort Apache Agency wildland firefighters during the fall of 2006. Urine samples were collected pre- and post-exposure and pulmonary function was measured. Personal PAH exposures were detectable for only 3 of 16 PAHs analyzed: naphthalene, phenanthrene, and fluorene, all of which were identified only in vapor-phase samples. Condensed-phase PAHs were detected in PM2.5 area samples (20 of 21 PAHs analyzed were detected, all but naphthalene) at concentrations below 1 μg m−3. The total PAH/PM2.5 mass fractions were roughly a factor of two higher during smoldering (1.06 ± 0.15) than ignition (0.55 ± 0.04 μg mg−1). There were no significant changes in urinary 1-HP or pulmonary function following exposure to pile burning. In summary, PAH exposures were low in pile burns, and urinary testing for a PAH metabolite failed to show a significant difference between baseline and post-exposure measurements. PMID:18515848

Specific gravity responses of slash and loblolly pine following mid-rotation fertilization

Science.gov (United States)

Kimberly R. Love-Myers; Alexander Clark III; Laurence R. Schimleck; Eric J. Jokela; Richard F. Daniels

2009-01-01

Wood quality attributes were examined in six stands of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) and loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) in the lower Coastal Plain of Georgia and Florida. Several plots comprised each stand, and each plot was divided so that it received three fertilizer treatments: a control treatment with herbaceous weed control at planting...

Soil carbon and soil physical properties response to incorporating mulched forest slash

Science.gov (United States)

Felipe G. Sanchez; Emily A. Carter; John. F. Klepac

2000-01-01

A study was installed in the Lower Coastal Plain near Washington, NC, to test the hypothesis that incorporating organic matter in the form of comminuted forest slash would increase soil carbon and nutrient pools, and alter soil physical properties to favor pine growth. Two sites were selected, an organic and a mineral site, to compare the treatment effects on...

Bedding and Fertilization Influence on Slash Pine Development in the Florida Sandhills

Science.gov (United States)

James B. Baker

1973-01-01

A field study on the infertile and droughty Lakeland sands of west Florida indicated that bedding or fertilization (134 kg P /ha as ordinary superphosphate and 90 kg N/ha as ammonium nitrate) or both increased early growth of planted slash pine ( Engelm.). Throughout the 6-year study, best growth was obtained when the treatments were...

Spatial relationships between nitrogen status and pitch canker disease in slash pine planted adjacent to a poultry operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Zamora, Isabel; Bliss, Christine; Jokela, Eric J.; Comerford, N.B.; Grunwald, Sabine; Barnard, E.; Vasquez, G.M.

2007-01-01

Pitch canker disease (Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O'Donnell) causes serious shoot dieback, reduced growth and mortality in pines found in the southern and western USA, and has been linked to nutrient imbalances. Poultry houses with forced-air ventilation systems produce nitrogen (N) emissions. This study analyzed spatial correlations between pitch canker disease and foliar, forest floor, soil, and throughfall N in a slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.) plantation adjacent to a poultry operation in north Florida, USA. Tissue and throughfall N concentrations were highest near the poultry houses and remained elevated for 400 m. Disease incidence ranged from 57-71% near the poultry houses and was spatially correlated with N levels. Similarly, stem mortality ranged from 41-53% in the most heavily impacted area, and declined to 0-9% at distances greater than 400 m. These results suggest that nutritional processes exacerbate changes in disease susceptibility and expression in slash pine. - Local emissions from poultry production appear to significantly contribute to the spatial distribution of N and pitch canker disease in managed slash pine ecosystems

Precommercial thinning of naturally seeded slash pine increases volume and monetary returns

Science.gov (United States)

Earle P. Jones

1977-01-01

A naturally seeded slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) stand, having up to 50,000 stems per acre, was precommercially thinned at age 3. Two thinning methods left single trees spaced 10 by 10 feet, and clumps of 6 to 8 trees spaced 10 by 10 feet, compared with the unthinned original stand. At age 23, the single-...

Global biomass burning - Atmospheric, climatic, and biospheric implicati ons [Introduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Zhiliang; Teuber, K.B.

1991-01-01

On a global scale, the total biomass consumed by annual burning is about 8680 million tons of dry material; the estimated total biomass consumed by the burning of savanna grasslands, at 3690 million tons/year, exceeds all other biomass burning (BMB) components. These components encompass agricultural wastes burning, forest burning, and fuel wood burning. BMB is not restricted to the tropics, and is largely anthropogenic. Satellite measurements indicate significantly increased tropospheric concentrations of CO and ozone associated with BMB. BMB significantly enhances the microbial production and emission of NO(x) from soils, and of methane from wetlands

Where There's Smoke: Using Satellites to Monitor Impact of Human Activities on Agriculture and Glaciers in the Andes and Himalayas

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, J. L.; Banach, D. M.

2017-12-01

Burning of agricultural fields are important sources of black carbon deposition on mountain glaciers in the Andes and Himalayas. Fire is commonly used to support agricultural and pasture management, specifically to remove excess crop residue and other agricultural waste, but these fires can spread into wildland areas during the dry season. Occasionally, agricultural burning causes extreme air pollution events, like occurred in New Delhi, India in October 2016. Satellite data provides a monitoring method of human-caused fire near glaciers that is open-source, easily replicable, and free- to low-cost. We will be able to determine if the climate-smart intervention strategies have reduced or eliminated open burning in these glacier-adjacent agricultural regions. Historic fire and fire emission records have been constructed for the Andean and Himalayan regions, with finer-scale assessments of the regions where farm-level training for conservation agriculture and no-burn techniques are taking place, going back to 2003. Present-day and future (2017-2020) fires and emissions will be mapped and recorded to compare to the historical record, providing an independent assessment and monitoring of how effective the no-burn climate-smart agriculture intervention strategies are at the farm-, village-, region-, and country-level. We can then compare this with our ground-based observations from regional partners for further verification. Using geospatial and geoscience data and methods is important for the success of this project and allows for full transparency of the effectiveness of climate-smart agricultural interventions to improve crop yields for farmers in South America and South Asia while also slowing the melt of the Third Pole.

Machine to harvest slash, brush, and thinnings for fuel and fiber- a concept

Science.gov (United States)

P. Koch; D.W. McKenzie

1976-01-01

It is proposed that biomass from noncommercial thinnings, and from logging slash residual after harvest, be hogged and recovered for fuel and fiber. Such a procedure might yield two dividends of biomass totalling as much as 90,000 kg per ha (40 tons per acre, green weight basis) from each rotation of southern pine. For sites deficient in organic matter, it is...

Air Quality and Health Impacts of an Aviation Biofuel Supply Chain Using Forest Residue in the Northwestern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravi, Vikram; Gao, Allan H; Martinkus, Natalie B; Wolcott, Michael P; Lamb, Brian K

2018-04-03

Forest residue is a major potential feedstock for second-generation biofuel; however, little knowledge exists about the environmental impacts of the development and production of biofuel from such a feedstock. Using a high-resolution regional air quality model, we estimate the air quality impacts of a forest residue based aviation biofuel supply chain scenario in the Pacific Northwestern United States. Using two potential supply chain regions, we find that biomass and biofuel hauling activities will add simulation. Using BenMAP, a health impact assessment tool, we show that avoiding slash pile burning results in a decrease in premature mortality as well as several other nonfatal and minor health effects. In general, we show that most air quality and health benefits result primarily from avoided slash pile burning emissions.

INTEGRATION OF MECHANICAL AND CULTURAL CONTROL TREATMENTS TO MANAGE INVASIVE SHRUB Chromolaena odorata AND OTHER WEEDS UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN PASTURE AREA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Rusdy

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A field experiment was conducted on Chromolaena odorata dominated pasture with the objectives of evaluating efficacy of integrated of mechanical and cultural control on weed suppression and determining botanical composition of plant species after treatment started. The treatments were, T1 slashing of Chromolaena every month, T2 digging up of Chromolanea, and exposed to dry (mulching, T3 digging up of Chromolaena followed by burning, T4 digging up of Chromolaena followed by burning and sowing with Centrosema pubescens and T5 digging up of Chromolaena followed by burning and planting with Brachiaria decumbens. Results of experiment showed that under drought conditions, digging up Chromolaena was very effective in suppressing regrowth of Chromolaena but it was not effective to other weeds. Among treatments, digging out of Chromolaena followed by burning and planting with Brachiaria decumbens was the most effective and slashing of Chromolaena every month was the least effective in suppressing weeds. Botanical composition was shifted with treatments. Stachytarpheta jamaicensis and Chromolaena were the dominant species in monthly slashed Chromolaena plots, Stachytarpheta and Calopogonium muconoides were the dominant species in mulched plots while Mimosa pudica, Brachiaria and Centrosema were the dominant species in burnt plots.

Spatial and temporal distribution of tropical biomass burning

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Wei Min; Liu, Mei-Huey

1994-12-01

A database for the spatial and temporal distribution of the amount of biomass burned in tropical America, Africa, and Asia during the late 1970s is presented with a resolution of 5° latitude × 5° longitude. The sources of burning in each grid cell have been quantified. Savanna fires, shifting cultivation, deforestation, fuel wood use, and burning of agricultural residues contribute about 50, 24, 10, 11, and 5%, respectively, of total biomass burned in the tropics. Savanna fires dominate in tropical Africa, and forest fires dominate in tropical Asia. A similar amount of biomass is burned from forest and savanna fires in tropical America. The distribution of biomass burned monthly during the dry season has been derived for each grid cell using the seasonal cycles of surface ozone concentrations. Land use changes during the last decade could have a profound impact on the amount of biomass burned and the amount of trace gases and aerosol particles emitted.

Vegetation fires, absorbing aerosols and smoke plume characteristics in diverse biomass burning regions of Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Lasko, Kristofer; Giglio, Louis; Justice, Chris

2015-01-01

In this study, we explored the relationships between the satellite-retrieved fire counts (FC), fire radiative power (FRP) and aerosol indices using multi-satellite datasets at a daily time-step covering ten different biomass burning regions in Asia. We first assessed the variations in MODIS-retrieved aerosol optical depths (AOD’s) in agriculture, forests, plantation and peat land burning regions and then used MODIS FC and FRP (hereafter FC/FRP) to explain the variations in AOD characteristics. Results suggest that tropical broadleaf forests in Laos burn more intensively than the other vegetation fires. FC/FRP-AOD correlations in different agricultural residue burning regions did not exceed 20% whereas in forest regions they reached 40%. To specifically account for absorbing aerosols, we used Ozone Monitoring Instrument-derived aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) and UV aerosol index (UVAI). Results suggest relatively high AAOD and UVAI values in forest fires compared with peat and agriculture fires. Further, FC/FRP could explain a maximum of 29% and 53% of AAOD variations, whereas FC/FRP could explain at most 33% and 51% of the variation in agricultural and forest biomass burning regions, respectively. Relatively, UVAI was found to be a better indicator than AOD and AAOD in both agriculture and forest biomass burning plumes. Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations data showed vertically elevated aerosol profiles greater than 3.2–5.3 km altitude in the forest fire plumes compared to 2.2–3.9 km and less than 1 km in agriculture and peat-land fires, respectively. We infer the need to assimilate smoke plume height information for effective characterization of pollutants from different sources. (letter)

Regional biomass burning trends in India: Analysis of satellite fire data

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

humans have dramatically influenced biomass burn- ing for agricultural needs ... implications for climatic change as a result of land- scape change ... Comprehensive modelling-based emission esti- mates of .... Cloud coverage could be also a ...

When the shifting agriculture is gone: functionality of Atlantic Coastal Forest in abandoned farming sites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogério Ribeiro de Oliveira

Full Text Available Slash-and-burn agriculture has been practiced for a very long time by the traditional populations (caiçaras on Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. After a few years of use the plots are abandoned to fallow. We examined the processes of litter production and decomposition and the relationships between forest lands used by caiçara populations and landscape functionality. Five and 25-year-old forests growing on areas once used for subsistence agriculture were compared to a near-climax forest site. No significant differences between the three areas were noted in terms of litter production over a 2-yr period; the average litter productions were 9,927, 8,707 and 10,031 kg/ha/yr for the 5-year, 25-year and climax forests respectively. N and K nutrient input through litter was greatest in the climax forest; P and Mg input was greatest in the 5-yr forest; and Na greatest in the 25-yr forest. Ground litter accumulation (3,040-3,730 kg/ha/yr was not significantly different in the three areas. Litter turnover times (1/K were 0.33, 0.42 and 0.38 for the 5-yr, 25-yr and climax forests respectively. These secondary forests cover almost all of Ilha Grande and demonstrate low species diversity, but they have production and decomposition systems similar to those of mature forests.

L'agriculture périurbaine à Yaoundé: ses rapports avec le réduction de la pauvreté, le développement économique, la conservation de la biodiversité et de l'environnement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Awono, LDK.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Peri-urban Agriculture in Yaounde: Its Relation to Poverty Alleviation, Economic Development, Biodiversity Conservation and the Environment. Rapid urbanization coupled with economic stagnation and the underdevelopment of transportation and food marketing systems have increased the importance of peri-urban agriculture production for employment and food security in Yaounde. Peri-urban agriculture is particularly important in terms of urban food supply for highly perishable products like traditional leaf vegetables and lettuce, and products that are bulky and costly to transport over long distances like fresh cassava and certain fruits. Intensive and semi-intensive peri-urban poultry and pig production is significant in terms of urban supply. Marketing of traditional leafy vegetables and fresh cassava offers employment to over four thousand women. The production of poultry and pigs is also a source of employment and revenue for a great part of urban population. Intensive production systems using organic manure and agrochemicals have been developed for traditional leafy vegetables and lettuce in inland valleys during the dry season. The abundance of labor relative to land availability in conjunction with nearly immediate access to agricultural markets for outputs and inputs have engendered these intensification processes. By concentrating intensification within the urban periphery of Yaounde, indirect environmental benefits include the reduced pressure on forest margins and thereby the slowing of deforestation due to slash and burn agriculture. Major constraints peri-urban agriculture in Yaounde is facing include pests and diseases, a lack of producer credit and inadequate extension services.

Burning characteristics of ammonium nitrate-based composite propellants supplemented with ammonium dichromate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kohga, Makoto; Nishino, Saeko [Department of Applied Chemistry, National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686 (Japan)

2009-08-15

Ammonium nitrate (AN)-based composite propellants have attracted much attention, primarily because of the clean burning nature of AN as an oxidizer. However, such propellants have some disadvantages such as poor ignition and low burning rate. Ammonium dichromate (ADC) is used as a burning catalyst for AN-based propellants; however, the effect of ADC on the burning characteristics has yet to be sufficiently delineated. The burning characteristics of AN/ADC propellants prepared with various contents of AN and ADC have been investigated in this study. The theoretical performance of an AN-based propellant is improved by the addition of ADC. The increase in the burning rate is enhanced and the pressure deflagration limit (PDL) becomes lower with increasing amount of ADC added. The increasing ratio of the burning rate with respect to the amount of ADC is independent of the AN content and the combustion pressure. The optimal amount of ADC for improving the burning characteristics has been determined. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in traditional agricultural and agroforestry systems in the semiarid region of Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Augusto Amorim Silva do Sacramento

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the semiarid region of Brazil, inadequate management of cropping systems and low plant biomass production can contribute to reduce soil carbon (C and nitrogen (N stocks; therefore, management systems that preserve C and N must be adopted. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in soil C and N stocks that were promoted by agroforestry (agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral and traditional agricultural systems (slash-and-burn clearing and cultivation for two and three years and to compare these systems with the natural Caatinga vegetation after 13 years of cultivation. The experiment was carried out on a typical Ortic Chromic Luvisol in the municipality of Sobral, Ceará, Brazil. Soil samples were collected (layers 0-6, 6-12, 12-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm with four replications. The plain, convex and concave landforms in each study situation were analyzed, and the total organic C, total N and densities of the soil samples were assessed. The silvopastoral system promoted the greatest long-term reductions in C and N stocks, while the agrosilvopastoral system promoted the smallest losses and therefore represents a sustainable alternative for soil C and N sequestration in these semiarid conditions. The traditional agricultural system produced reductions of 58.87 and 9.57 Mg ha-1 in the organic C and total N stocks, respectively, which suggests that this system is inadequate for these semiarid conditions. The organic C stocks were largest in the concave landform in the agrosilvopastoral system and in the plain landform in the silvopastoral system, while the total N values were highest in the concave landform in the native, agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems.

Carbon outcomes of major land-cover transitions in SE Asia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ziegler, Alan D.; Phelps, Jacob; Yuen, Jia Qi

2012-01-01

Policy makers across the tropics propose that carbon finance could provide incentives for forest frontier communities to transition away from swidden agriculture (slash-and-burn or shifting cultivation) to other systems that potentially reduce emissions and/or increase carbon sequestration. However......-use regimes optimize or increase carbon sequestration. As some transitions may negatively impact other ecosystem services, food security, and local livelihoods, the entire carbon and noncarbon benefit stream should also be taken into account before prescribing transitions with ambiguous carbon benefits...

KANDUNGAN EMISI GAS RUMAH KACA PADA KEBAKARAN HUTAN RAWA GAMBUT DI PELALAWAN RIAU

OpenAIRE

Ati Dwi Nurhayati; Ervina Aryanti; Bambang Hero Saharjo

2010-01-01

Peat land in the east coast of Sumatera (Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera) and Kalimantan (South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan) has being used for agricultural crops such as rice field, palm oil and coffee plantation. Land preparation practiced is slash and burn method. Smoke haze that produce from peat fires were caused by these method. To determine the impact of such practice to atmospheric quality, a study was conducted at Pelalawan Province Riau. Four plots on peat land we...

A five-century sedimentary geochronology of biomass burning in Nicaragua and Central America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suman, D.O.

1991-01-01

In spite of the extensive use of fire as an agricultural agent in Central America today, little is known of its history of biomass burning or agriculture. As an indicator of the burning practices on the adjacent land, a sedimentary record of carbonized particles sheds light on the trends in frequency and areal extent of biomass burning. This research focuses on a sediment core recovered from an anoxic site in the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Central American Isthmus and reports a five-century record of charcoal deposition. The research illustrates that biomass burning has been an important ecological factor in the Pacific watershed of Central America at least during the past five centuries. Fluxes of charcoal have generally decreased toward the present suggesting a reduction in the charcoal source function. Perhaps, five centuries ago, the frequency of biomass burning was greater than it is today, larger areas were burned, or biomass per unit area of burned grassland was greater. The major type of biomass burned throughout this five-century period has been grass, as opposed to woods, indicating that any major deforestation of the Pacific watershed of Central America occurred prior to the Conquest

Regenerating mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) from seed in Quintana Roo, Mexico: the effects of sowing method and clearing treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Patricia Negreros-Castilloa; Laura K. Snookb; Carl W. Mize

2003-01-01

Honduras or bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) is the most commercially important timber species in the Neotropics, but it often does not regenerate successfully after harvesting. Effective methods are needed to sustain or increase mahogany yields by increasing regeneration. This study evaluates the effects of three treatments (slash, fell and burn; slash,...

Season for Direct Seeding Slash Pine in the Middle and Upper Coastal Plains of Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Earle P. Jones

1971-01-01

Repellent-treated seed of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) were sown at eight monthly dates from November to June for 5 years in Dooly County, Georgia. Observations of seedlings indicated that germination, survival, and first-year establishment were superior on plots planted in November through April. Slow...

Risk assessment with current deployment strategies for fusiform rust-resistant loblolly and slash pines

Science.gov (United States)

Floyd Bridgwater; Tom Kubisiak; Tom Byram; Steve Mckeand

2004-01-01

In the southeastern USA, fusiform rust resistant loblolly and slash pines may be deployed as 1) ulked seed orchard mixes. 2) half-sibling (sib) family mixtures. 3) single half-sib families. 4) full-sib cross seeds or as 6) clones of individual genotypes. These deployment types are respectively greater genetic gains from higher selection intensity. Currently, bulked...

Formation of iron oxides in soils developed under natural fires and slash-and-burn based agriculture in a monsoonal climate (Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bender Koch, C.; Borggaard, O. K.; Gafur, A.

2005-01-01

Fire-induced mineral transformations have been investigated in composite mineral grains separated from the coarse sand fractions (400-2,000 μm) from Ultisols developed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh). Magnetic and colour based separation (into light brown, dark red, and magnetic, dark red classes) were used to select the grains that were studied by Moessbauer spectroscopy. Aluminium substituted goethite (α-FeOOH) dominates the light brown particles. Fire transform the goethite into a poorly crystalline hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) dominating in the dark red particles. In the dark red, magnetic grains a recrystallized hematite dominates, but small amounts of maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ) are also present. The latter is indicated by comparing the line intensities in spectra measurement with and without an external magnetic field.

Methyl halide emission estimates from domestic biomass burning in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Mead, M. I.; Khan, M. A. H.; White, I. R.; Nickless, G.; Shallcross, D. E.

Inventories of methyl halide emissions from domestic burning of biomass in Africa, from 1950 to the present day and projected to 2030, have been constructed. By combining emission factors from Andreae and Merlet [2001. Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15, 955-966], the biomass burning estimates from Yevich and Logan [2003. An assessment of biofuel use and burning of agricultural waste in the developing world. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17(4), 1095, doi:10.1029/2002GB001952] and the population data from the UN population division, the emission of methyl halides from domestic biomass usage in Africa has been estimated. Data from this study suggest that methyl halide emissions from domestic biomass burning have increased by a factor of 4-5 from 1950 to 2005 and based on the expected population growth could double over the next 25 years. This estimated change has a non-negligible impact on the atmospheric budgets of methyl halides.

Temporal variability in aerosol characteristics and its radiative properties over Patiala, northwestern part of India: Impact of agricultural biomass burning emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, D.; Srivastava, A.K.; Ram, K.; Singh, A.; Singh, D.

2017-01-01

A comprehensive measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD), particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) mass concentrations have been carried out over Patiala, a semi-urban site in northwest India during October 2008 to September 2010. The measured aerosol data was incorporated in an aerosol optical model to estimate various aerosol optical parameters, which were subsequently used for radiative forcing estimation. The measured AOD at 500 nm (AOD 500 ) shows a significant seasonal variability, with maximum value of 0.81 during post-monsoon (PoM) and minimum of 0.56 during winter season. The Ångström exponent (α) has higher values (i.e. more fine-mode fraction) during the PoM/winter periods, and lower (i.e. more coarse-mode fraction) during pre-monsoon (PrM). In contrast, turbidity coefficient (β) exhibits an opposite trend to α during the study period. BC mass concentration varies from 2.8 to 13.9 μg m −3 (mean: 6.5 ± 3.2 μg m −3 ) during the entire study period, with higher concentrations during PoM/winter and lower during PrM/monsoon seasons. The average single scattering albedo (SSA at 500 nm) values are 0.70, 0.72, 0.82 and 0.75 during PoM, winter, PrM and monsoon seasons, respectively. However, inter-seasonal and inter-annual variability in measured aerosol parameters are statistically insignificant at Patiala. These results suggest strong changes in emission sources, aerosol composition, meteorological parameters as well as transport of aerosols over the station. Higher values of AOD, α and BC, along with lower SSA during PoM season are attributed to agriculture biomass burning emissions over and around the station. The estimated aerosol radiative forcing within the atmosphere is positive (i.e. warming) during all the seasons with higher values (∼60 Wm −2 ) during PoM–08/PoM–09 and lower (∼40 Wm −2 ) during winter–09/PrM–10. The present study highlights the role of BC aerosols from agricultural biomass burning

Pine growth and plant community response to chemical vs. mechanical site preparation for establishing loblolly and slash pine

Science.gov (United States)

James H. Miller; Zhijuan Qiu

1995-01-01

Chemical and mechanical site preparation methods were studied for establishing loblolly (Pinus taeda L) and slash (P. elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.) pine following both integrated fuelwood-pulpwood harvesting and conventional whole-tree harvesting of pines and hardwoods in southem Alabama's Middle Coastal...

Effects of burn location and investigator on burn depth in a porcine model.

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Adam J; Toussaint, Jimmy; Chung, Won Taek; Thode, Henry C; McClain, Steve; Raut, Vivek

2016-02-01

In order to be useful, animal models should be reproducible and consistent regardless of sampling bias, investigator creating burn, and burn location. We determined the variability in burn depth based on biopsy location, burn location and investigator in a porcine model of partial thickness burns. 24 partial thickness burns (2.5 cm by 2.5 cm each) were created on the backs of 2 anesthetized pigs by 2 investigators (one experienced, one inexperienced) using a previously validated model. In one of the pigs, the necrotic epidermis covering each burn was removed. Five full thickness 4mm punch biopsies were obtained 1h after injury from the four corners and center of the burns and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin and Masson's trichrome for determination of burn depth by a board certified dermatopathologist blinded to burn location and investigator. Comparisons of burn depth by biopsy location, burn location and investigator were performed with t-tests and ANOVA as appropriate. The mean (SD) depth of injury to blood vessels (the main determinant of burn progression) in debrided and non-debrided pigs pooled together was 1.8 (0.3)mm, which included 75% of the dermal depth. Non-debrided burns were 0.24 mm deeper than debrided burns (Plocations, in debrided burns. Additionally, there were also no statistical differences in burn depths from midline to lateral in either of these burn types. Burn depth was similar for both investigators and among biopsy locations. Burn depth was greater for caudal locations in non-debrided burns and overall non-debrided burns were deeper than debrided burns. However, burn depth did not differ based on investigator, biopsy site, and medial-lateral location. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Paraquat Induced Changes in Reserve Carbohydrates, Fatty Acids and Oleoresin Content of Young Slash Pines

Science.gov (United States)

Claud L. Brown; Terry R. Clason; Jerry L. Michael

1976-01-01

Paraquat was fed into the terminal leaders of five-year-old slash pine trees and collected at weekly intervals for 4 weeks.Cytological observations showed a decrease in starch levels and a corresponding increase in content of oleoresin. Quantitative analysis indicated a decrease in starch accompanying increases in fatty acids, monoterpenes, and resin acids.

Spatiotemporal variation of domestic biomass burning emissions in rural China based on a new estimation of fuel consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Xiaofan; Zhou, Ying; Lang, Jianlei; Chen, Dongsheng; Cheng, Shuiyuan; Han, Lihui; Huang, Dawei; Zhang, Yanyun

2018-06-01

Domestic biomass burning (DBB) influences both indoor and outdoor air quality due to the multiple pollutants released during incomplete and inefficient combustion. The emissions are not well quantified because of insufficient information, which were the key parameters related to fuel consumption estimation, such as province- and year-specific percentage of domestic straw burning (P straw ) and firewood consumption (Fc). In this study, we established the quantitative relationship between rural-related socioeconomic parameters (e.g., rural per-capita income and rural Engel's coefficient) and P straw /Fc. DBB emissions, including 12 crop straw types and firewood for 12 kinds of pollutants in China during the period 1995-2014, were estimated based on fuel-specific emission factors and detailed fuel consumption data. The results revealed that the national emissions generally increased initially and then decreased with the turning point around 2007-2008. Firewood burning was the major source of the NH 3 and BC emissions; straw burning contributed more to SO 2 , NMVOC, CO, OC, and CH 4 emissions; while the major contributor changed from firewood to domestic straw burning for NOx, PM 10 , PM 2.5 , CO 2 , and Hg emissions. The emission trends varied among the 31 provinces. The major agricultural regions of north-eastern, central, and south-western China were always characterized by high emissions. The spatial variation mainly occurred in the northeast and north China (increase), and central-south and coastal regions of China (decrease). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mineralogia e reserva de K de Cambissolos submetidos a diferentes manejos após derrubada e queima da floresta na Amazônia Meridional Mineralogy and K reserve of Cambisols submitted to different managements after slashing and burning of the forest in the Meridional Amazon, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Góis Orrutéa

2012-01-01

after slashing and burning of a native forest in the Southern Amazon, Cacoal, Rondônia State, Brazil. An area of ombrophilous dense native forest with homogeneous pedologic features was divided into four parts, being three of them submitted to slash and burn and then cropped. In each area, soil profile was described and the A, AB, B1, 2B2 and 2BC horizons were sampled. Mineralogical analyses of clay, silt and sand fractions were performed by X ray diffraction. Clay fraction was also submitted to selective solvent with citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD and ammonium oxalate (AO. The soil contents of non-exchangeable K was extracted by boiling with 1 mol L-1 HNO3. Soil mineralogical analysis indicated that kaolinite was the predominant mineral in the clay fraction. There was also evidence of a large reserve K, associated to the occurrence of mica in clay, silt and sand fractions. Chemical analysis indicated that land use did not change the concentration of Fe2O3CBD and Fe2O3AO. However, the highest goethite/hematite ratio [Gt(Gt+Hm] calculated for the A horizon of the forest soil suggests that the burning favored the partial transformation of goethite in hematite into those areas where it was carried out.

Life cycle assessment of residual lignocellulosic biomass-based jet fuel with activated carbon and lignosulfonate as co-products.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierobon, Francesca; Eastin, Ivan L; Ganguly, Indroneil

2018-01-01

Bio-jet fuels are emerging as a valuable alternative to petroleum-based fuels for their potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel dependence. In this study, residual woody biomass from slash piles in the U.S. Pacific Northwest is used as a feedstock to produce iso-paraffinic kerosene, through the production of sugar and subsequent patented proprietary fermentation and upgrading. To enhance the economic viability and reduce the environmental impacts of iso-paraffinic kerosene, two co-products, activated carbon and lignosulfonate, are simultaneously produced within the same bio-refinery. A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed for the residual woody biomass-based bio-jet fuel and compared against the cradle-to-grave LCA of petroleum-based jet fuel. This paper also discusses the differences in the environmental impacts of the residual biomass-based bio-jet fuel using two different approaches, mass allocation and system expansion, to partition the impacts between the bio-fuel and the co-products, which are produced in the bio-refinery. The environmental assessment of biomass-based bio-jet fuel reveals an improvement along most critical environmental criteria, as compared to its petroleum-based counterpart. However, the results present significant differences in the environmental impact of biomass-based bio-jet fuel, based on the partitioning method adopted. The mass allocation approach shows a greater improvement along most of the environmental criteria, as compared to the system expansion approach. However, independent of the partitioning approach, the results of this study reveal that more than the EISA mandated 60% reduction in the global warming potential could be achieved by substituting petroleum-based jet fuel with residual woody biomass-based jet fuel. Converting residual woody biomass from slash piles into bio-jet fuel presents the additional benefit of avoiding the impacts of slash pile burning in the forest, which

Development and evaluation of a novel smart device-based application for burn assessment and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Godwin, Zachary; Tan, James; Bockhold, Jennifer; Ma, Jason; Tran, Nam K

2015-06-01

We have developed a novel software application that provides a simple and interactive Lund-Browder diagram for automatic calculation of total body surface area (TBSA) burned, fluid formula recommendations, and serial wound photography on a smart device platform. The software was developed for the iPad (Apple, Cupertino, CA) smart device platforms. Ten burns ranging from 5 to 95% TBSA were computer generated on a patient care simulator using Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Adobe, San Jose, CA). Burn clinicians calculated the TBSA first using a paper-based Lund-Browder diagram. Following a one-week "washout period", the same clinicians calculated TBSA using the smart device application. Simulated burns were presented in a random fashion and clinicians were timed. Percent TBSA burned calculated by Peregrine vs. the paper-based Lund-Browder were similar (29.53 [25.57] vs. 28.99 [25.01], p=0.22, n=7). On average, Peregrine allowed users to calculate burn size significantly faster than the paper form (58.18 [31.46] vs. 90.22 [60.60]s, p<0.001, n=7). The smart device application also provided 5 megapixel photography capabilities, and acute burn resuscitation fluid calculator. We developed an innovative smart device application that enables accurate and rapid burn size assessment to be cost-effective and widely accessible. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Relative Fusiform Rust Resistance of Loblolly and Slash Pine Sources and Families in Georgia and South Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

E. George Kuhlman; Harry R. Powers; William D. Pepper

1995-01-01

Loblolly and slash pine seedlings from the fusiform rust resistant orchards developed cooperatively by the USDA Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission had significantly less rust 7 to 8 years after planting on four of five sites in the Southeastern United States than seedlings of the same species from orchard sources developed primarily for silvicultural...

Patterns of burns and scalds in Mongolian children: a hospital-based prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerelmaa, Gunsmaa; Tumen-Ulzii, Badarch; Nakahara, Shinji; Ichikawa, Masao

2018-03-01

To describe the circumstances of burn injury occurrence among Mongolian children and the products involved. Study participants were children aged 15 years and younger who were admitted to the Burn Unit of the National Trauma Orthopedic Research Center from August 2015 to July 2016. We collected data on participant demographics and the aetiology and clinical features of their burn injuries, and we analysed the data based on the NOMESCO Classification model. Of 906 children, 83% were aged 0-3 years, 66% were injured around the cooking area in the traditional tent-like dwelling called a ger or a detached house where no specified kitchen exists, and 28% were injured in a kitchen. Burn injuries resulted mostly from exposure to overflowing hot liquids (93%). Electric pots and electric kettles were the products most frequently involved in causing burn injuries (41% and 14%, respectively). Of 601 major burn injuries, 52% were due to electric pots. Moreover, burn injuries inflicted by electric pots were most likely to be major burn injuries (83%). Children typically fell into electric pots, while electric kettles were often pulled down by children. Burn injuries among Mongolian children mainly occurred in cooking area of a ger involving electric pots. The current practice of cooking on the floor should be reconsidered for child burn prevention. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of the outcome of burn patients using acute-phase plasma base deficit.

Science.gov (United States)

Salehi, S H; As'adi, K; Mousavi, J

2011-12-31

Background. In recent years, plasma base deficit has been used as a marker to determine the status of tissue perfusion in trauma patients and also to predict the outcome of these patients. This study was performed to investigate the effect of plasma base deficit in predicting burn patient outcome. Methods. This prospective cohort study was performed from October 2009 to October 2010 in the acute phase of burn patients who were admitted within 6 h post-injury to Motahari Burn Hospital in Iran. The patients were divided into two groups based on the plasma base deficit in the first 24 h post-injury: group A, in which the mean plasma base deficit was less than or equal to -6 (more negative), and group B, in which the mean plasma base deficit greater than -6. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.16 software. Results. Thirty-eight patients were enrolled in each group. The mean plasma base deficit in group A (-7.76 ± 2.18 mmol) was significantly less than that in group B (-1.19 ± 2.82) mmol (p 0.05) and despite removal of interfering factors, there were significant differences between the systemic inflammatory response syndrome and the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome score and the percentage of sepsis between the two groups (p 0.05). Conclusion. The plasma base deficit can be used as a valuable marker in the resuscitation of burn patients, along with clinical criteria. Physiological indicators (burn percentage, age, and mucosal burns) are not sufficient to predict mortality and morbidity in burn patients, and it is necessary to investigate the role of biochemical markers such as base deficit in determining the final outcome of burn patients.

Biomass burning in the tropics: Impact on atmospheric chemistry and biogeochemical cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crutzen, P.J.; Andreae, M.O.

1990-01-01

Biomass burning is widespread, especially in the tropics. It serves to clear land for shifting cultivation, to convert forests to agricultural and pastoral lands, and to remove dry vegetation in order to promote agricultural productivity and the growth of higher yield grasses. Furthermore, much agricultural waste and fuel wood is being combusted, particularly in developing countries. Biomass containing 2 to 5 petagrams of carbon is burned annually (1 petagram = 10 15 grams), producing large amounts of trace gases and aerosol particles that play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and climate. Emissions of carbon monoxide and methane by biomass burning affect the oxidation efficiency of the atmosphere by reacting with hydroxyl radicals, and emissions of nitric oxide and hydrocarbons lead to high ozone concentrations in the tropics during the dry season. Large quantities of smoke particles are produced as well, and these can serve as cloud condensation nuclei. These particles may thus substantially influence cloud microphysical and optical properties, an effect that could have repercussions for the radiation budget and the hydrological cycle in the tropics. Widespread burning may also disturb biogeochemical cycles, especially that of nitrogen. About 50% of the nitrogen in the biomass fuel can be released as molecular nitrogen. This pyrodenitrification process causes a sizable loss of fixed nitrogen in tropical ecosystems, in the range of 10 to 20 teragrams per year (1 teragram = 10 12 grams)

Danish emission inventories for agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Mette Hjorth; Albrektsen, Rikke; Gyldenkærne, Steen

. This report contains a description of the emissions from the agricultural sector from 1985 to 2009. Furthermore, the report includes a detailed description of methods and data used to calculate the emissions, which is based on national methodologies as well as international guidelines. For the Danish...... emissions calculations and data management an Integrated Database model for Agricultural emissions (IDA) is used. The emission from the agricultural sector includes emission of the greenhouse gases methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ammonia (NH3), particulate matter (PM), non-methane volatile organic...... compounds (NMVOC) and other pollutants related to the field burning of agricultural residue such as NOx, CO2, CO, SO2, heavy metals, dioxin and PAH. The ammonia emission from 1985 to 2009 has decreased from 119 300 tonnes of NH3 to 73 800 tonnes NH3, corresponding to a 38 % reduction. The emission...

Rill erosion in burned and salvage logged western montane forests: Effects of logging equipment type, traffic level, and slash treatment

Science.gov (United States)

J. W. Wagenbrenner; P. R. Robichaud; R. E. Brown

2016-01-01

Following wildfires, forest managers often consider salvage logging burned trees to recover monetary value of timber, reduce fuel loads, or to meet other objectives. Relatively little is known about the cumulative hydrologic effects of wildfire and subsequent timber harvest using logging equipment. We used controlled rill experiments in logged and unlogged (control)...

Impact Assessment of Biomass Burning on Air Quality in Southeast and East Asia During BASE-ASIA

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Kan; Fu, Joshua S.; Hsu, N. Christina; Gao, Yang; Dong, Xinyi; Tsay, Si-Chee; Lam, Yun Fat

2013-01-01

A synergy of numerical simulation, ground-based measurement and satellite observation was applied to evaluate the impact of biomass burning originating from Southeast Asia (SE Asia) within the framework of NASA's 2006 Biomass burning Aerosols in Southeast Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment (BASE-ASIA). Biomass burning emissions in the spring of 2006 peaked in MarcheApril when most intense biomass burning occurred in Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos, and parts of Vietnam and Cambodia. Model performances were reasonably validated by comparing to both satellite and ground-based observations despite overestimation or underestimation occurring in specific regions due to high uncertainties of biomass burning emission. Chemical tracers of particulate K(+), OC concentrations, and OC/EC ratios showed distinct regional characteristics, suggesting biomass burning and local emission dominated the aerosol chemistry. CMAQ modeled aerosol chemical components were underestimated at most circumstances and the converted AOD values from CMAQ were biased low at about a factor of 2, probably due to the underestimation of biomass emissions. Scenario simulation indicated that the impact of biomass burning to the downwind regions spread over a large area via the Asian spring monsoon, which included Southern China, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait. Comparison of AERONET aerosol optical properties with simulation at multi-sites clearly demonstrated the biomass burning impact via longrange transport. In the source region, the contribution from biomass burning to AOD was estimated to be over 56%. While in the downwind regions, the contribution was still significant within the range of 26%-62%.

Thermal Decomposition Behaviors and Burning Characteristics of AN/Nitramine-Based Composite Propellant

Science.gov (United States)

Naya, Tomoki; Kohga, Makoto

2015-04-01

Ammonium nitrate (AN) has attracted much attention due to its clean burning nature as an oxidizer. However, an AN-based composite propellant has the disadvantages of low burning rate and poor ignitability. In this study, we added nitramine of cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) or cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) as a high-energy material to AN propellants to overcome these disadvantages. The thermal decomposition and burning rate characteristics of the prepared propellants were examined as the ratio of AN and nitramine was varied. In the thermal decomposition process, AN/RDX propellants showed unique mass loss peaks in the lower temperature range that were not observed for AN or RDX propellants alone. AN and RDX decomposed continuously as an almost single oxidizer in the AN/RDX propellant. In contrast, AN/HMX propellants exhibited thermal decomposition characteristics similar to those of AN and HMX, which decomposed almost separately in the thermal decomposition of the AN/HMX propellant. The ignitability was improved and the burning rate increased by the addition of nitramine for both AN/RDX and AN/HMX propellants. The increased burning rates of AN/RDX propellants were greater than those of AN/HMX. The difference in the thermal decomposition and burning characteristics was caused by the interaction between AN and RDX.

Status of fusiform rust incidence in slash and loblolly pine plantations in the southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

KaDonna C. Randolph

2016-01-01

Southern pine tree improvement programs have been in operation in the southeastern United States since the 1950s. Their goal has been to improve volume growth, tree form, disease resistance, and wood quality in southern pines, particularly slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and loblolly pine (P. taeda). The disease of focus has been...

Influence of agricultural activities, forest fires and agro-industries on air quality in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Phairuang, Worradorn; Hata, Mitsuhiko; Furuuchi, Masami

2017-02-01

Annual and monthly-based emission inventories in northern, central and north-eastern provinces in Thailand, where agriculture and related agro-industries are very intensive, were estimated to evaluate the contribution of agricultural activity, including crop residue burning, forest fires and related agro-industries on air quality monitored in corresponding provinces. The monthly-based emission inventories of air pollutants, or, particulate matter (PM), NOx and SO 2 , for various agricultural crops were estimated based on information on the level of production of typical crops: rice, corn, sugarcane, cassava, soybeans and potatoes using emission factors and other parameters related to country-specific values taking into account crop type and the local residue burning period. The estimated monthly emission inventory was compared with air monitoring data obtained at monitoring stations operated by the Pollution Control Department, Thailand (PCD) for validating the estimated emission inventory. The agro-industry that has the greatest impact on the regions being evaluated, is the sugar processing industry, which uses sugarcane as a raw material and its residue as fuel for the boiler. The backward trajectory analysis of the air mass arriving at the PCD station was calculated to confirm this influence. For the provinces being evaluated which are located in the upper northern, lower northern and northeast in Thailand, agricultural activities and forest fires were shown to be closely correlated to the ambient PM concentration while their contribution to the production of gaseous pollutants is much less. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Prescreening slash pine and Cronartium pedigrees for evaluation of complementary gene action in fusiform rust disease.

Science.gov (United States)

H.E. Stelzer; Robert L. Doudrick; Thomas L. Kubisiak; C. Dana Nelson

1999-01-01

Single-urediniospore cultures of the fusiform rust fungus were used to inoculate seedlings from 10 full-sib families of a five-parent slash pine diallel at two different times in 1994. The presence or absence of fusiform rust galls was recorded for each inoculated seedling at 9 months postinoculation, and percent infection levels for each family-inoculum-time...

Perceptions of environmental change and use of traditional knowledge to plan riparian forest restoration with relocated communities in Alcântara, Eastern Amazon.

Science.gov (United States)

Celentano, Danielle; Rousseau, Guillaume Xavier; Engel, Vera Lex; Façanha, Cristiane Lima; Oliveira, Elivaldo Moreira de; Moura, Emanoel Gomes de

2014-01-27

Riparian forests provide ecosystem services that are essential for human well-being. The Pepital River is the main water supply for Alcântara (Brazil) and its forests are disappearing. This is affecting water volume and distribution in the region. Promoting forest restoration is imperative. In deprived regions, restoration success depends on the integration of ecology, livelihoods and traditional knowledge (TEK). In this study, an interdisciplinary research framework is proposed to design riparian forest restoration strategies based on ecological data, TEK and social needs. This study takes place in a region presenting a complex history of human relocation and land tenure. Local populations from seven villages were surveyed to document livelihood (including 'free-listing' of agricultural crops and homegarden tree species). Additionally, their perceptions toward environmental changes were explored through semi-structured interviews (n = 79). Ethnobotanical information on forest species and their uses were assessed by local-specialists (n = 19). Remnants of conserved forests were surveyed to access ecological information on tree species (three plots of 1,000 m2). Results included descriptive statistics, frequency and Smith’s index of salience of the free-list results. The local population depends primarily on slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture to meet their needs. Interviewees showed a strong empirical knowledge about the environmental problems of the river, and of their causes, consequences and potential solutions. Twenty-four tree species (dbh > 10 cm) were found at the reference sites. Tree density averaged 510 individuals per hectare (stdv = 91.6); and 12 species were considered the most abundant (density > 10ind/ha). There was a strong consensus among plant-specialists about the most important trees. The species lists from reference sites and plant-specialists presented an important convergence. Slash-and-burn agriculture is the main source of livelihood

Emissions of organic air toxics from open burning: a comprehensive review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemieux, P M [United States Environmental Protection Agency, NC (United States). Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory; Lutes, C C; Santoianni, D A [ARCADIS G and M, Durham, NC (United States)

2004-07-01

Emissions from open burning, on a mass pollutant per mass fuel (emission factor) basis, are greater than those from well-controlled combustion sources. Some types of open burning (e.g. biomass) are large sources on a global scale in comparison to other broad classes of sources (e.g. mobile and industrial sources). A detailed literature search was performed to collect and collate available data reporting emissions of organic air toxics from open burning sources. The sources that were included in this paper are: Accidental Fires, Agricultural Burning of Crop Residue, Agricultural Plastic Film, Animal Carcasses, Automobile Shredder Fluff Fires, Camp Fires, Car-Boat-Train (the vehicle not cargo) Fires, Construction Debris Fires, Copper Wire Reclamation, Crude Oil and Oil Spill Fires, Electronics Waste, Fiberglass, Fireworks, Grain Silo Fires, Household Waste, Land Clearing Debris (biomass), Landfills/Dumps, Prescribed Burning and Savanna/Forest Fires, Structural Fires, Tire Fires, and Yard Waste Fires. Availability of data varied according to the source and the class of air toxics of interest. Volatile organic compound (VOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) data were available for many of the sources. Non-PAH semi-volatile organic compound (SVOC) data were available for several sources. Carbonyl and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) data were available for only a few sources. There were several known sources for which no emissions data were available at all. It is desirable that emissions from those sources be tested so that the relative degree of hazard they pose can be assessed. Several observations were made including: Biomass open burning sources typically emitted less VOCs than open burning sources with anthropogenic fuels on a mass emitted per mass burned basis, particularly those where polymers were concerned. Biomass open burning sources typically emitted less SVOCs and PAHs than anthropogenic sources on a mass

Combinations of fungicide and cultural practices influence the incidence and impact of fusiform rust in slash pine plantations

Science.gov (United States)

James D. Haywood; Allan E. Tiarks

1994-01-01

Slash pine was grown in central Louisiana under four levels of culture with or without repeated sprayings of the systematic fungicide triadimefon for protection against fusiform rust. The eight treatment combinations were: (1)no fungicide, weed control, or fertilizer; (2)weeded; (3)weeded, applied inorganic fertilizer, and bedded before planting; (4)weeded, bedded,...

Estratégias de valorização dos produtos da agricultura tradicional em Biguaçu, SC: perspectivas de mercado e conservação ambiental

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reney Dorow

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Brazilian agriculture develops between extremes: on one side, systems portrayed as of high productivity and efficiency and, on the other, traditional systems of subsistence, often stigmatized as inefficient and environmentally degrading. In this article we present a discussion of the revaluation of the traditional production system called slash-and-burn, within the municipality of Biguaçu, Santa Catarina. We also discuss the strategies of access to different markets that have taken place due to the innovation and collective organization of farmers. This transformation originated from the knowledge of the real concerns and wishes of farmers who practice the system. They, allied to the participatory planning process, resulted in organizational, product and management innovations. Through interinstitutional cooperation, there was a reinterpretation and valorization of the slash-and-burn, which is expressed by the environmental regularization of the system, in addition to the creation of a collective brand called "Valor da Roça". The use of the brand has helped in the reduction of informational asymmetry and has increased the farmers’ income. In summary, it changed from a contested and socially devalued system into an environmentally responsible production system and recognized for its differential in markets with higher added value.

Implementation and outcomes of an evidence-based precepting program for burn nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Johnnie R; Valdez-Delgado, Krystal K; Caldwell, Nicole W; Yoder, Linda H; Hayes, Elizabeth J; Barba, Michaèl G; Greeley, Hope L; Mitchell, Colleen; Mann-Salinas, Elizabeth A

2017-11-01

There is significant nationwide interest in transitioning new and new-to-specialty nurses into practice, especially in burn care. Lack of a structured transition program in our Burn Center was recognized as a contributing factor for nursing dissatisfaction and increased turnover compared to other hospital units. Employee evaluations exposed a need for more didactic instruction, hands-on learning, and preceptor support. The goal of this project was to implement an evidence-based transition to practice program specific to the burn specialty. The Iowa Model of Evidence-based Practice served as the model for this project. A working group was formed consisting of nurse scientists, clinical nurse leaders, clinical nurse specialists, lead preceptors, staff nurse preceptors and wound care coordinators. A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on nurse transition; preceptor development and transitioning nurse training programs with competency assessment, ongoing multifaceted evaluation and retention strategies were created. The evidence-based Vermont Nurses in Partnership (VNIP) Clinical Transition Framework was selected and subsequent education was provided to all Burn Center leaders and staff. Benchmarks for basic knowledge assessment (BKAT) and burn wound care were established among current staff by work site and education level to help evaluate transitioning nurses. Policies were modified to count each preceptor/transitioning nurse dyad as half an employee on the schedule. Multiple high-fidelity simulation scenarios were created to expand hands-on opportunities. From September 2012-December 2013, 110 (57% acute care nursing) Burn Center staff attended the VNIP Clinical Coaching Course, to include 34 interdisciplinary staff (rehabilitation, education, respiratory therapy, and outpatient clinic staff) and 100% of identified preceptors (n=33). A total of 30 new nurses participated in the transition program: 26 (87%) completed, 3 (10%) did not complete

A human-driven decline in global burned area

Science.gov (United States)

Andela, N.

2017-12-01

Fire regimes are changing rapidly across the globe, driven by human land management and climate. We assessed long-term trends in fire activity using multiple satellite data sets and developed a new global data set on individual fire dynamics to understand the implications of changing fire regimes. Despite warming climate, burned area declined across most of the tropics, contributing to a global decline in burned area of 24.3 ± 8.8% over the past 18 years. The estimated decrease in burned area was largest in savannas and grasslands, where agricultural expansion and intensification were primary drivers of declining fire activity. In tropical forests, frequent fires for deforestation and agricultural management yield a sharp rise in fire activity with the expansion of settled land uses, but the use of fire decreases with increasing investment in agricultural areas in both savanna and forested landscapes. Disparate patterns of recent socieconomic development resulted in contrasting fire trends between southern Africa (increase) and South America (decrease). A strong inverse relationship between burned area and economic development in savannas and grasslands suggests that despite potential increasing fire risk from climate change, ongoing socioeconomic development will likely sustain observed declines in fire in these ecosystems during coming decades. Fewer and smaller fires reduced aerosol concentrations, modified vegetation structure, and increased the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink. The spatiotemporal distribution of fire size, duration, speed and direction of spread provided new insights in continental scale differences in fire regimes driven by human and climatic factors. Understanding these dynamics over larger scales is critical to achieve a balance between conservation of fire-dependent ecosystems and increasing agricultural production to support growing populations that will require careful management of fire activity in human-dominated landscapes.

Biomass Burning: Major Uncertainties, Advances, and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Yokelson, R. J.; Stockwell, C.; Veres, P. R.; Hatch, L. E.; Barsanti, K. C.; Liu, X.; Huey, L. G.; Ryerson, T. B.; Dibb, J. E.; Wisthaler, A.; Müller, M.; Alvarado, M. J.; Kreidenweis, S. M.; Robinson, A. L.; Toon, O. B.; Peischl, J.; Pollack, I. B.

2014-12-01

Domestic and open biomass burning are poorly-understood, major influences on Earth's atmosphere composed of countless individual fires that (along with their products) are difficult to quantify spatially and temporally. Each fire is a minimally-controlled complex phenomenon producing a diverse suite of gases and aerosols that experience many different atmospheric processing scenarios. New lab, airborne, and space-based observations along with model and algorithm development are significantly improving our knowledge of biomass burning. Several campaigns provided new detailed emissions profiles for previously undersampled fire types; including wildfires, cooking fires, peat fires, and agricultural burning; which may increase in importance with climate change and rising population. Multiple campaigns have better characterized black and brown carbon and used new instruments such as high resolution PTR-TOF-MS and 2D-GC/TOF-MS to improve quantification of semi-volatile precursors to aerosol and ozone. The aerosol evolution and formation of PAN and ozone, within hours after emission, have now been measured extensively. The NASA DC-8 sampled smoke before and after cloud-processing in two campaigns. The DC-8 performed continuous intensive sampling of a wildfire plume from the source in California to Canada probing multi-day aerosol and trace gas aging. Night-time plume chemistry has now been measured in detail. Fire inventories are being compared and improved, as is modeling of mass transfer between phases and sub-grid photochemistry for global models.

Pontoscolex corethrurus (Annelida: Oligochaeta indicador de la calidad del suelo en sitios de Eucalyptus grandis (Myrtacea con manejo tumba y quema Pontoscolex corethrurus (Annelidae: Oligochaeta soil quality indicator in Eucalyptus grandis (Myrtacea sites with slash and burn management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila Uribe

2012-12-01

Full Text Available La presencia de oligoquetos en los ecosistemas puede indicar fertilidad del suelo, ya que estos organismos transportan, mezclan y entierran los residuos vegetales de la superficie al interior del suelo. Se caracterizó la comunidad de oligoquetos bajo sitios con diferentes periodos de establecimiento y manejo de plantaciones de Eucalyptus grandis, sin vegetación (SV, con cinco años en producción (Euc y vegetación secundaria con 15 años (Acah que han pasado por el proceso de tumba y quema en suelos de Acrisol en Huimanguillo, Tabasco; y se analizaron las propiedades físico-químicas del suelo (D.A., humedad, textura, pH, Ntot, MO, P, K, CIC. La recolecta de lombrices se realizó al finalizar las lluvias (agosto-octubre 2007. Se muestreó en tres parcelas con seis réplicas en cada una. Se encontró que los suelos tenían pH de 3.0-4.5 en los primeros 30cm de profundidad. Los contenidos de materia orgánica (MO y nitrógeno total (Ntot fueron significativamente menores en los sitios SV (6-8% y 0.19-0.22% respectivamente que en Euc y Acah (MO=9-11%; el Ntot=0.27-0.33%. La especie Pontoscolex corethrurus domino en toda el área, presentando mayores densidades y biomasas en Euc (164.4ind/m² y 36.8g/m² respectivamente y Acah (138.7ind/m² y 19.1g/m² respectivamente, mientras que en SV sus poblaciones fueron reducidas en un 80%. Se encontró que el sistema Acah sigue presentando rasgos de un sistema perturbado, al no recuperar fácilmente la diversidad de oligoquetos y las concentraciones de nutrientes disponibles en el sueloSoil burning has been used in agricultural and forestry systems as a fundamental technique to clean the land and add some nutrients to the soil. In addition, earthworms are known to promote various soil functions since they contribute to aeration and organic matter and nutrients availability to other soil organisms. This study evaluated the effects of tropical forest crops management with presence-absence of Eucalyptus

Lean-driven improvements slash wait times, drive up patient satisfaction scores.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-01

Administrators at LifePoint Hospitals, based in Brentwood, TN, used lean manufacturing techniques to slash wait times by as much as 30 minutes and achieve double-digit increases in patient satisfaction scores in the EDs at three hospitals. In each case, front-line workers took the lead on identifying opportunities for improvement and redesigning the patient-flow process. As a result of the new efficiencies, patient volume is up by about 25% at all three hospitals. At each hospital, the improvement process began with Kaizen, a lean process that involves bringing personnel together to flow-chart the current system, identify problem areas, and redesign the process. Improvement teams found big opportunities for improvement at the front end of the flow process. Key to the approach was having a plan up front to deal with non-compliance. To sustain improvements, administrators gather and disseminate key metrics on a daily basis.

Assessment of burn-specific health-related quality of life and patient scar status following burn.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Hyunjin; Boo, Sunjoo

2017-11-01

This study assessed patient-perceived levels of scar assessment and burn-specific quality of life (QOL) in Korean burn patients admitted to burn care centers and identified differences in scar assessment and QOL based on various patient characteristics. A cross-sectional descriptive study using anonymous paper-based survey methods was conducted with 100 burn patients from three burn centers specializing in burn care in South Korea. Mean subject age was 44.5 years old, and 69% of the subjects were men. The overall mean QOL was 2.91 out of 5. QOL was lowest for the work subdomain (2.25±1.45) followed by the treatment regimen subdomain (2.32±1.16). The subjects' mean total scar assessment score was 35.51 out of 60, and subjects were most unsatisfied with scar color. Subjects with low income, flame-source burns, severe burns, visible scars, and scars on face or hand reported significantly lower QOL. Subjects with severe burn degree and burn range perceived their burn scar condition to be worse than that of others. The results show that burn subjects experience the most difficulties with their work and the treatment regimen. Subjects with severe burn and visible scarring have a reduced QOL and a poor scar status. Scar management intervention may improve QOL of burn patients especially those with severe burn and visible scars. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the relationship between scar assessment and QOL. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Existing agricultural ecosystem in China leads to environmental pollution: an econometric approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongdou, Lei; Shiping, Li; Hao, Li

2018-06-17

Sustainable agriculture ensures food security and prevents starvation. However, the need to meet the increasing food demands of the growing population has led to poor and unsustainable agricultural practices, which promote environmental degradation. Given the contributions of agricultural ecosystems to environmental pollution, we investigated the impact of the agricultural ecosystem on environmental pollution in China using time series data from 1960 to 2014. We employed several methods for econometric analysis including the unit root test, Johansen test of cointegration, Granger causality test, and vector error correction model. Evidence based on the long-run elasticity indicates that a 1% increase in the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) equivalent to nitrous oxide from synthetic fertilizers will increase the emissions of CO 2 by 1.52% in the long run. Similarly, a 1% increase in the area of harvested rice paddy, cereal production, biomass of burned crop residues, and agricultural GDP will increase the carbon dioxide emissions by 0.85, 0.63, 0.37, and 0.22%, respectively. The estimated results indicate that there are long-term equilibrium relationships among the selected variables considered for the agricultural ecosystem and carbon dioxide emissions. In particular, we identified bidirectional causal associations between CO 2 emissions, biomass of burned crop residues, and cereal production. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Epidemiology of operative burns at Kijabe Hospital from 2006 to 2010: pilot study of a web-based tool for creation of the Kenya Burn Repository.

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, Elizabeth L; Mueller, Melissa A; Wang, Li; Fogerty, Mary D; Guy, Jeffrey S; Nthumba, Peter M

2013-06-01

In order to implement effective burn prevention strategies, the WHO has called for improved data collection to better characterize burn injuries in low and middle income countries (LMIC). This study was designed to gather information on burn injury in Kenya and to test a model for such data collection. The study was designed as a retrospective case series study utilizing an electronic data collection tool to assess the scope of burn injuries requiring operation at Kijabe Hospital from January 2006 to May 2010. Data were entered into a web-based tool to test its utility as the potential Kenya Burn Repository (KBR). 174 patients were included. The median age was 10 years. There was a male predominance (59% vs. 41%). Findings included that timing of presentation was associated with burn etiology (p=0.009). Length of stay (LOS) was associated with burn etiology (pBurn injuries in Kenya show similarities with other LMIC in etiology and pediatric predominance. Late presentation for care and prolonged LOS are areas for further investigation. The web-based database is an effective tool for data collection and international collaboration. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Radiocarbon-based impact assessment of open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in North China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zong, Zheng [Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003 (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Chen, Yingjun, E-mail: yjchen@yic.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003 (China); Tian, Chongguo, E-mail: cgtian@yic.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003 (China); Fang, Yin [Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003 (China); Wang, Xiaoping [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Huang, Guopei; Zhang, Fan [Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003 (China); Li, Jun; Zhang, Gan [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640 (China)

2015-06-15

Samples of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and fine particulate matter (PM{sub 2.5}) were collected from 29th May to 1st July, 2013 at a regional background site in Bohai Rim, North China. Mass concentrations of particulate matter and carbonaceous species showed a total of 50% and 97% of the measured TSP and PM{sub 2.5} levels exceeded the first grade national standard of China, respectively. Daily concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were detected 7.3 and 2.5 μg m{sup −3} in TSP and 5.2 and 2.0 μg m{sup −3} in PM{sub 2.5}, which accounted 5.8% and 2.0% of TSP while 5.6% and 2.2% for PM{sub 2.5}, respectively. The concentrations of OC, EC, TSP and PM{sub 2.5} were observed higher in the day time than those in the night time. The observations were associated with the emission variations from anthropogenic activities. Two merged samples representing from south and north source areas were selected for radiocarbon analysis. The radiocarbon measurements showed 74% of water-insoluble OC (WINSOC) and 59% of EC in PM{sub 2.5} derived from biomass burning and biogenic sources when the air masses were from south region, and 63% and 48% for the air masses from north, respectively. Combined with backward trajectories and daily burned area, open burning of agricultural wastes was found to be predominating, which was confirmed by the potential source contribution function (PSCF). - Highlights: • PM{sub 2.5} and TSP samples collected at Yellow River Delta were analyzed for OC and EC. • OC, EC, TSP and PM{sub 2.5} concentrations were higher in daytime than in nighttime. • Radiocarbon ({sup 14}C) tracer, backward trajectories, and fire counts were used for the analysis. • Agricultural waste open burning was a main contributor to summer PM{sub 2.5}, OC and EC.

Results of Propellant Mixing Variable Study Using Precise Pressure-Based Burn Rate Calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanski, Philip L.

2014-01-01

A designed experiment was conducted in which three mix processing variables (pre-curative addition mix temperature, pre-curative addition mixing time, and mixer speed) were varied to estimate their effects on within-mix propellant burn rate variability. The chosen discriminator for the experiment was the 2-inch diameter by 4-inch long (2x4) Center-Perforated (CP) ballistic evaluation motor. Motor nozzle throat diameters were sized to produce a common targeted chamber pressure. Initial data analysis did not show a statistically significant effect. Because propellant burn rate must be directly related to chamber pressure, a method was developed that showed statistically significant effects on chamber pressure (either maximum or average) by adjustments to the process settings. Burn rates were calculated from chamber pressures and these were then normalized to a common pressure for comparative purposes. The pressure-based method of burn rate determination showed significant reduction in error when compared to results obtained from the Brooks' modification of the propellant web-bisector burn rate determination method. Analysis of effects using burn rates calculated by the pressure-based method showed a significant correlation of within-mix burn rate dispersion to mixing duration and the quadratic of mixing duration. The findings were confirmed in a series of mixes that examined the effects of mixing time on burn rate variation, which yielded the same results.

Verrucomicrobial community structure and abundance as indicators for changes in chemical factors linked to soil fertility.

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Navarrete, Acacio Aparecido; Soares, Tielle; Rossetto, Raffaella; van Veen, Johannes Antonie; Tsai, Siu Mui; Kuramae, Eiko Eurya

2015-09-01

Here we show that verrucomicrobial community structure and abundance are extremely sensitive to changes in chemical factors linked to soil fertility. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprint and real-time quantitative PCR assay were used to analyze changes in verrucomicrobial communities associated with contrasting soil nutrient conditions in tropical regions. In case study Model I ("Slash-and-burn deforestation") the verrucomicrobial community structures revealed disparate patterns in nutrient-enriched soils after slash-and-burn deforestation and natural nutrient-poor soils under an adjacent primary forest in the Amazonia (R = 0.819, P = 0.002). The relative proportion of Verrucomicrobia declined in response to increased soil fertility after slash-and-burn deforestation, accounting on average, for 4 and 2 % of the total bacterial signal, in natural nutrient-poor forest soils and nutrient-enriched deforested soils, respectively. In case study Model II ("Management practices for sugarcane") disparate patterns were revealed in sugarcane rhizosphere sampled on optimal and deficient soil fertility for sugarcane (R = 0.786, P = 0.002). Verrucomicrobial community abundance in sugarcane rhizosphere was negatively correlated with soil fertility, accounting for 2 and 5 % of the total bacterial signal, under optimal and deficient soil fertility conditions for sugarcane, respectively. In nutrient-enriched soils, verrucomicrobial community structures were related to soil factors linked to soil fertility, such as total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sum of bases, i.e., the sum of calcium, magnesium and potassium contents. We conclude that community structure and abundance represent important ecological aspects in soil verrucomicrobial communities for tracking the changes in chemical factors linked to soil fertility under tropical environmental conditions.

Goal-Directed Fluid Resuscitation Protocol Based on Arterial Waveform Analysis of Major Burn Patients in a Mass Burn Casualty.

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Chiao, Hao-Yu; Chou, Chang-Yi; Tzeng, Yuan-Sheng; Wang, Chih-Hsin; Chen, Shyi-Gen; Dai, Niann-Tzyy

2018-02-01

Adequate fluid titration during the initial resuscitation period of major burn patients is crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a goal-directed fluid resuscitation protocol that used hourly urine output plus the arterial waveform analysis FloTrac (Edwards LifeSciences, Irvine, Calif) system for major burns to avoid fluid overload. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 43 major burn patients at the Tri-Service General Hospital after the Formosa Fun Coast Dust Explosion on June 27, 2015. Because of the limited capacity of intensive care units (ICUs), 23 intubated patients were transferred from the burn wards or emergency department to the ICU within 24 hours. Fluid administration was adjusted to achieve a urine output of 30 to 50 mL/h, cardiac index greater than 2.5 L/min/m, and stroke volume variation (SVV) less than 12%. The hourly crystalloid fluid infusion rate was titrated based on SVV and hourly urine output. Of the 23 critically burned patients admitted to the ICU, 13 patients who followed the goal-directed fluid resuscitation protocol within 12 hours postburn were included in the analysis. The mean age (years) was 21.8, and the mean total body surface area (TBSA) burned (%) was 68.0. The mean Revised Baux score was 106.8. All patients sustained inhalation injury. The fluid volumes administered to patients in the first 24 hours and the second 24 hours (mL/kg/% total body surface area) were 3.62 ± 1.23 and 2.89 ± 0.79, respectively. The urine outputs in the first 24 hours and the second 24 hours (mL/kg/h) were 1.13 ± 0.66 and 1.53 ± 0.87, respectively. All patients achieved the established goals within 32 hours postburn. In-hospital mortality rate was 0%. The SVV-based goal-directed fluid resuscitation protocol leads to less unnecessary fluid administration during the early resuscitation phase. Clinicians can efficaciously manage the dynamic body fluid changes in major burn patients under the guidance of the protocol.

Evaluation of electrical test conditions in MIL-M-38510 slash sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Sandgren, K.

1980-08-01

Adequacy of MIL-M-38510 slash sheet requirements for electrical test conditions in an automated test environment were evaluated. Military temperature range commercial devices of 13 types from 6 manufacturers were purchased. Software for testing these devices and for varying the test conditions was written for the Tektronix S-3260 test system. The devices were tested to evaluate the effects of pin-condition settling time, measurement sequence of the same and different D-C parameters, temperature sequence, differently defined temperature ambients, variable measurement conditions, sequence of time measurements, pin-application sequence, and undesignated pin condition ambiguity. An alternative to current tri-state enable and disable time measurements is proposed; S-3260 'open' and 'ground' conditions are characterized; and suggestions for changes in MIL-M-38510 slash sheet specifications and MIL-STD-883 test methods are proposed, both to correct errors and ambiguities and to facilitate the gathering of repeatable data on automated test equipment. Data obtained showed no sensitivity to measurement or temperature sequence nor to temperature ambient, provided that test times were not excessive. V sub ICP tests and some low current measurements required allowance for a pin condition settling time because of the test system speed. Some pin condition application sequences yielded incorrect measurements. Undefined terminal conditions of output pins were found to affect I sub OS and propagation delay time measurements. Truth table test results varied with test frequency and V sub IL for low-power Schottky devices.

Improving burn care and preventing burns by establishing a burn database in Ukraine.

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Fuzaylov, Gennadiy; Murthy, Sushila; Dunaev, Alexander; Savchyn, Vasyl; Knittel, Justin; Zabolotina, Olga; Dylewski, Maggie L; Driscoll, Daniel N

2014-08-01

Burns are a challenge for trauma care and a contribution to the surgical burden. The former Soviet republic of Ukraine has a foundation for burn care; however data concerning burns in Ukraine has historically been scant. The objective of this paper was to compare a new burn database to identify problems and implement improvements in burn care and prevention in this country. Retrospective analyses of demographic and clinical data of burn patients including Tukey's post hoc test, analysis of variance, and chi square analyses, and Fisher's exact test were used. Data were compared to the American Burn Association (ABA) burn repository. This study included 1752 thermally injured patients treated in 20 hospitals including Specialized Burn Unit in Municipal Hospital #8 Lviv, Lviv province in Ukraine. Scald burns were the primary etiology of burns injuries (70%) and burns were more common among children less than five years of age (34%). Length of stay, mechanical ventilation use, infection rates, and morbidity increased with greater burn size. Mortality was significantly related to burn size, inhalation injury, age, and length of stay. Wound infections were associated with burn size and older age. Compared to ABA data, Ukrainian patients had double the length of stay and a higher rate of wound infections (16% vs. 2.4%). We created one of the first burn databases from a region of the former Soviet Union in an effort to bring attention to burn injury and improve burn care. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Burning and radiance properties of red phosphorus in Magnesium/PTFE/Viton (MTV)-based compositions

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jie; Chen, Xian; Wang, Yanli; Shi, Yuanliang; Shang, Junteng

2017-09-01

Red phosphorus (RP) a highly efficient smoke-producing agent. In this study different contents of RP are added into the Magnesium/PTFE/Viton (MTV)-based composition, with the aim of investigating the influence of RP on the burning and radiance properties of MTV-based composition by using a high-temperature differential thermobalance method, a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) remote-sensing spectrometer, a FTIR Spectrometer and a far-infrared thermal imager. The results show that RP improves the initial reaction temperature and reduces the mass burning rate by 0.1-0.17 g·s-1 (34-59%). The addition of RP has no obvious effect on the burning temperature and far-infrared radiation brightness, but the radiating area raises substantially (by 141%), and thus improves the radiation intensity (by 155%).

Energy budgets in slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations at Dehra Dun

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaul, O.N.; Srivastava, V.K.

1985-01-01

Sample trees were felled in 1978 in 10-, 20- and 40-year-old plantations and dry weight determined for wood, slash and roots. Litter was collected every month for one year. Solar radiation was measured in an adjacent open area. Calculations indicated that the plantations fixed 17.5 x 10/sup 8/ Kcal/ha in 10 year, 24.9 x 10/sup 8/ in 20 year and 57.5 x 10/sup 8/ in 40 year representing 3.3, 2.3 and 2.7% of photosynthetically active radiation respectively.

Evidence-based first aid advice for paediatric burns in the United Kingdom.

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Varley, Alice; Sarginson, Julia; Young, Amber

2016-05-01

Burn and scald injuries are common in children. First aid advice for paediatric burns is offered by a range of health organisations and charities in the UK. Despite this, children still present to emergency departments and burn services having received little or inadequate first aid. A survey was undertaken regarding the content and consistency of the advice given by a cross-section of UK health organisations involved in first aid prevention and education. The advice was subsequently examined to determine if it was evidence-based. Our study has demonstrated inconsistencies in the content of the first aid advice provided by the 21 organisations included in the study. Seventy-one percent of the information was only available online. The temperature, method and duration of cooling varied substantially, as did the advice recommended for the removal of clothing and jewellery and methods for covering the burn immediately after injury. Results from the literature review concluded the following based on available evidence; cool the burn with running tap water for 20min, remove clothing and jewellery and cover the burn with cling film or a clean non-adhesive dressing. This study highlights the lack of consistency between first aid guidance provided by health organisations and charities in the UK. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Achieving Conservation and Equity amidst Extreme Poverty and Climate Risk: The Makira REDD+ Project in Madagascar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Brimont

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Achieving forest conservation together with poverty alleviation and equity is an unending challenge in the tropics. The Makira REDD+ pilot project located in northeastern Madagascar is a well-suited case to explore this challenge in conditions of extreme poverty and climatic vulnerability. We assessed the potential effect of project siting on the livelihoods of the local population and which households would be the most strongly impacted by conservation measures. Farmers living in hilly areas must resort to slash-and-burn agriculture (tavy since a combination of topographic and climatic constraints, such as cyclones, makes permanent rice cultivation very difficult. These are the people who suffer most from conservation-related restriction measures. For practical reasons the project, unfortunately, did not target these farmers. The main focus was on communities with a lower cyclonic risk that are able to practice permanent rice agriculture in the lowlands. To reduce deforestation without violating the principles of equity, REDD+ projects in Madagascar need to better target populations facing high climatic risks and invest in efforts to improve the farmers’ agricultural systems.

Modelling and prediction of air pollutant transport during the 2014 biomass burning and forest fires in peninsular Southeast Asia.

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Duc, Hiep Nguyen; Bang, Ho Quoc; Quang, Ngo Xuan

2016-02-01

During the dry season, from November to April, agricultural biomass burning and forest fires especially from March to late April in mainland Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam frequently cause severe particulate pollution not only in the local areas but also across the whole region and beyond due to the prevailing meteorological conditions. Recently, the BASE-ASIA (Biomass-burning Aerosols in South East Asia: Smoke Impact Assessment) and 7-SEAS (7-South-East Asian Studies) studies have provided detailed analysis and important understandings of the transport of pollutants, in particular, the aerosols and their characteristics across the region due to biomass burning in Southeast Asia (SEA). Following these studies, in this paper, we study the transport of particulate air pollution across the peninsular region of SEA and beyond during the March 2014 burning period using meteorological modelling approach and available ground-based and satellite measurements to ascertain the extent of the aerosol pollution and transport in the region of this particular event. The results show that the air pollutants from SEA biomass burning in March 2014 were transported at high altitude to southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and beyond as has been highlighted in the BASE-ASIA and 7-SEAS studies. There are strong evidences that the biomass burning in SEA especially in mid-March 2014 has not only caused widespread high particle pollution in Thailand (especially the northern region where most of the fires occurred) but also impacted on the air quality in Hong Kong as measured at the ground-based stations and in LulinC (Taiwan) where a remote background monitoring station is located.

Producing remote sensing-based emission estimates of prescribed burning in the contiguous United States for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2011 National Emissions Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, J. L.; Pouliot, G. A.; Soja, A. J.; Miller, M. E.; Rao, T.

2013-12-01

Prescribed fires in agricultural landscapes generally produce smaller burned areas than wildland fires but are important contributors to emissions impacting air quality and human health. Currently, there are a variety of available satellite-based estimates of crop residue burning, including the NOAA/NESDIS Hazard Mapping System (HMS) the Satellite Mapping Automated Reanalysis Tool for Fire Incident Reconciliation (SMARTFIRE 2), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Official Burned Area Product (MCD45A1)), the MODIS Direct Broadcast Burned Area Product (MCD64A1) the MODIS Active Fire Product (MCD14ML), and a regionally-tuned 8-day cropland differenced Normalized Burn Ratio product for the contiguous U.S. The purpose of this NASA-funded research was to refine the regionally-tuned product utilizing higher spatial resolution crop type data from the USDA NASS Cropland Data Layer and burned area training data from field work and high resolution commercial satellite data to improve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The final product delivered to the EPA included a detailed database of 25 different atmospheric emissions at the county level, emission distributions by crop type and seasonality, and GIS data. The resulting emission databases were shared with the U.S. EPA and regional offices, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWGC) Smoke Committee, and all 48 states in the contiguous U.S., with detailed error estimations for Wyoming and Indiana and detailed analyses of results for Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Oregon. This work also provided opportunities in discovering the different needs of federal and state partners, including the various geospatial abilities and platforms across the many users and how to incorporate expert air quality, policy, and land management knowledge into quantitative earth observation-based estimations of prescribed fire emissions. Finally, this work

Burns and military clothing.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, A D

2001-02-01

high heat loads in the laboratory, combat clothing can ignite, but there is little evidence that clothing ignition is a common occurrence in military burn casualties. Thermoplastic materials have many benefits in civil and military clothing. There is little objective evidence that they exacerbate burns, or complicate burn management. Their use in military clothing must be based on objective evidence, not hearsay.

Burned area detection based on Landsat time series in savannas of southern Burkina Faso

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jinxiu; Heiskanen, Janne; Maeda, Eduardo Eiji; Pellikka, Petri K. E.

2018-02-01

West African savannas are subject to regular fires, which have impacts on vegetation structure, biodiversity and carbon balance. An efficient and accurate mapping of burned area associated with seasonal fires can greatly benefit decision making in land management. Since coarse resolution burned area products cannot meet the accuracy needed for fire management and climate modelling at local scales, the medium resolution Landsat data is a promising alternative for local scale studies. In this study, we developed an algorithm for continuous monitoring of annual burned areas using Landsat time series. The algorithm is based on burned pixel detection using harmonic model fitting with Landsat time series and breakpoint identification in the time series data. This approach was tested in a savanna area in southern Burkina Faso using 281 images acquired between October 2000 and April 2016. An overall accuracy of 79.2% was obtained with balanced omission and commission errors. This represents a significant improvement in comparison with MODIS burned area product (67.6%), which had more omission errors than commission errors, indicating underestimation of the total burned area. By observing the spatial distribution of burned areas, we found that the Landsat based method misclassified cropland and cloud shadows as burned areas due to the similar spectral response, and MODIS burned area product omitted small and fragmented burned areas. The proposed algorithm is flexible and robust against decreased data availability caused by clouds and Landsat 7 missing lines, therefore having a high potential for being applied in other landscapes in future studies.

Assessment of biomass burning emissions and their impacts on urban and regional PM2.5: a Georgia case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Di; Hu, Yongtao; Wang, Yuhang; Boylan, James W; Zheng, Mei; Russell, Armistead G

2009-01-15

Biomass burning is a major and growing contributor to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5). Such impacts (especially individual impacts from each burning source) are quantified using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model, a chemical transport model (CTM). Given the sensitivity of CTM results to uncertain emission inputs, simulations were conducted using three biomass burning inventories. Shortcomings in the burning emissions were also evaluated by comparing simulations with observations and results from a receptor model. Model performance improved significantly with the updated emissions and speciation profiles based on recent measurements for biomass burning: mean fractional bias is reduced from 22% to 4% for elemental carbon and from 18% to 12% for organic matter; mean fractional error is reduced from 59% to 50% for elemental carbon and from 55% to 49% for organic matter. Quantified impacts of biomass burning on PM2.5 during January, March, May, and July 2002 are 3.0, 5.1, 0.8, and 0.3 microg m(-3) domainwide on average, with more than 80% of such impacts being from primary emissions. Impacts of prescribed burning dominate biomass burning impacts, contributing about 55% and 80% of PM2.5 in January and March, respectively, followed by land clearing and agriculture field burning. Significant impacts of wildfires in May and residential wood combustion in fireplaces and woodstoves in January are also found.

Focus on agricultural residues: Microstructure of almond hull (abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Agricultural residues have historically been used as animal feed or burned for disposal. These residues, therefore, have little economic value and may end up becoming disposal problems because tighter air quality control measures may limit burning of the residues. Therefore, value-added products mad...

Targeting burn prevention in Ukraine: evaluation of base knowledge in burn prevention and first aid treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamelli, Liza; Mykychack, Iryna; Kushnir, Antin; Driscoll, Daniel N; Fuzaylov, Gennadiy

2015-01-01

Burn prevention has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a topic in need of further investigation and education throughout the world, with an increased need in low-income countries. It has been noted that implementing educational programs for prevention in high income countries has aided in lowering the rate of burn injuries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current education level of knowledge of prevention and first aid treatment of scald burns. A prevention campaign will target these educational needs as a part of an outreach program to improve burn care in Ukraine. The research team evaluated the current health structure in Ukraine and how it could benefit from the increased knowledge of burn prevention and first aid. A test was designed to assess the baseline level of knowledge with regard to first aid and scald prevention in parents, pregnant woman, and healthcare and daycare providers. A total of 14,456 tests were sent to pediatric clinics, obstetrician clinics, and daycare facilities to test respondents. A total of 6,120 completed tests were returned. Doctors presented with the highest level of knowledge averaging 77.0% on prevention and 67.5% on first aid while daycare workers presented the largest gap in knowledge at 65.0% in prevention and 54.3% in first aid. Interest in further educational materials was reported by 92% of respondents. The results of this study clearly show a lack of knowledge in first aid and prevention of scald burn injury in all the populations tested.

Understorey fire frequency and the fate of burned forests in southern Amazonia.

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Morton, D C; Le Page, Y; DeFries, R; Collatz, G J; Hurtt, G C

2013-06-05

Recent drought events underscore the vulnerability of Amazon forests to understorey fires. The long-term impact of fires on biodiversity and forest carbon stocks depends on the frequency of fire damages and deforestation rates of burned forests. Here, we characterized the spatial and temporal dynamics of understorey fires (1999-2010) and deforestation (2001-2010) in southern Amazonia using new satellite-based estimates of annual fire activity (greater than 50 ha) and deforestation (greater than 10 ha). Understorey forest fires burned more than 85 500 km(2) between 1999 and 2010 (2.8% of all forests). Forests that burned more than once accounted for 16 per cent of all understorey fires. Repeated fire activity was concentrated in Mato Grosso and eastern Pará, whereas single fires were widespread across the arc of deforestation. Routine fire activity in Mato Grosso coincided with annual periods of low night-time relative humidity, suggesting a strong climate control on both single and repeated fires. Understorey fires occurred in regions with active deforestation, yet the interannual variability of fire and deforestation were uncorrelated, and only 2.6 per cent of forests that burned between 1999 and 2008 were deforested for agricultural use by 2010. Evidence from the past decade suggests that future projections of frontier landscapes in Amazonia should separately consider economic drivers to project future deforestation and climate to project fire risk.

Epidemiology of burns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dokter, Jan

2016-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to understand the epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of specialized burn care in The Netherlands. This thesis is mainly based on historical data of the burn centre in Rotterdam from 1986, combined with historical data from the burn centres in Groningen and Beverwijk from

Vegetation Response to Western Juniper Slash Treatments

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Casey; Miller, Rick; Bates, Jonathan D.

2013-09-01

The expansion of piñon-juniper woodlands the past 100 years in the western United States has resulted in large scale efforts to kill trees and recover sagebrush steppe rangelands. It is important to evaluate vegetation recovery following woodland control to develop best management practices. In this study, we compared two fuel reduction treatments and a cut-and-leave (CUT) treatment used to control western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis Hook.) of the northwestern United States. Treatments were; CUT, cut-and-broadcast burn (BURN), and cut-pile-and-burn the pile (PILE). A randomized complete block design was used with five replicates of each treatment located in a curl leaf mahogany ( Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray)/mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle)/Idaho fescue ( Festuca idahoensis Elmer) association. In 2010, 4 years after tree control the cover of perennial grasses (PG) [Sandberg's bluegrass ( Poa secunda J. Pres) and large bunchgrasses] were about 4 and 5 % less, respectively, in the BURN (7.1 ± 0.6 %) than the PILE (11.4 ± 2.3 %) and CUT (12.4 ± 1.7 %) treatments ( P < 0.0015). In 2010, cover of invasive cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum L.) was greater in the BURN (6.3 ± 1.0 %) and was 50 and 100 % greater than PILE and CUT treatments, respectively. However, the increase in perennial bunchgrass density and cover, despite cheatgrass in the BURN treatment, mean it unlikely that cheatgrass will persist as a major understory component. In the CUT treatment mahogany cover increased 12.5 % and density increased in from 172 ± 25 to 404 ± 123 trees/ha. Burning, killed most or all of the adult mahogany, and mahogany recovery consisted of 100 and 67 % seedlings in the PILE and BURN treatments, respectively. After treatment, juniper presence from untreated small trees (<1 m tall; PILE and CUT treatments) and seedling emergence (all treatments) represented 25-33 % of pre-treatment tree

OH reactivity and potential SOA yields from volatile organic compounds and other trace gases measured in controlled laboratory biomass burns

Science.gov (United States)

J. B. Gilman; C. Warneke; W. C. Kuster; P. D. Goldan; P. R. Veres; J. M. Roberts; J. A. de Gouw; I. R. Burling; R. J. Yokelson

2010-01-01

A comprehensive suite of instruments were used to characterize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other trace gases (e.g., CO, CH4, NO2, etc.) emitted from controlled burns of various fuel types common to the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. These laboratory-based measurements were conducted in February 2009 at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fire...

Influence of rice straw burning on the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in agricultural county of Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Chia-Hsiang; Chen, Kang-Shin; Wang, Hsin-Kai

2009-01-01

Atmospheric particulate and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) size distribution were measured at Jhu-Shan (a rural site) and Sin-Gang (a town site) in central Taiwan during the rice straw burning and non-burning periods. The concentrations of total PAHs accounting for a roughly 58% (34%) increment in the concentrations of total PAHs due to rice-straw burning. Combustion-related PAHs during burning periods were 1.54-2.57 times higher than those during non-burning periods. The mass median diameter (MMD) of 0.88-1.21 microm in the particulate phase suggested that rice-straw burning generated the increase in coarse particle number. Chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model analyses showed that the primary pollution sources at the two sites were similar. However, rice-straw burning emission was specifically identified as a significant source of PAH during burning periods at the two sites. Open burning of rice straws was estimated to contribute approximately 6.3%-24.6% to total atmospheric PAHs at the two sites.

Organic aerosols and inorganic species from post-harvest agricultural-waste burning emissions over northern India: impact on mass absorption efficiency of elemental carbon.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajput, Prashant; Sarin, M M; Sharma, Deepti; Singh, Darshan

2014-01-01

Atmospheric PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 2.5 μm), collected from a source region [Patiala: 30.2 °N; 76.3 °E; 250 m above mean sea level] of emissions from post-harvest agricultural-waste (paddy-residue) burning in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), North India, has been studied for its chemical composition and impact on regional atmospheric radiative forcing. On average, organic aerosol mass accounts for 63% of PM2.5, whereas the contribution of elemental carbon (EC) is ∼3.5%. Sulphate, nitrate and ammonium contribute up to ∼85% of the total water-soluble inorganic species (WSIS), which constitutes ∼23% of PM2.5. The potassium-to-organic carbon ratio from paddy-residue burning emissions (KBB(+)/OC: 0.05 ± 0.01) is quite similar to that reported from Amazonian and Savanna forest-fires; whereas non-sea-salt-sulphate-to-OC ratio (nss-SO4(2-)/OC: 0.21) and nss-SO4(2-)/EC ratio of 2.6 are significantly higher (by factor of 5 to 8). The mass absorption efficiency of EC (3.8 ± 1.3 m(2) g(-1)) shows significant decrease with a parallel increase in the concentrations of organic aerosols and scattering species (sulphate and nitrate). A cross plot of OC/EC and nss-SO4(2-)/EC ratios show distinct differences for post-harvest burning emissions from paddy-residue as compared to those from fossil-fuel combustion sources in south-east Asia.

Burn-in Free Nonfullerene-Based Organic Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Gasparini, Nicola; Salvador, Michael; Strohm, Sebastian; Heumueller, Thomas; Levchuk, Ievgen; Wadsworth, Andrew; Bannock, James H.; de Mello, John C.; Egelhaaf, Hans-Joachim; Baran, Derya; McCulloch, Iain; Brabec, Christoph J.

2017-01-01

Organic solar cells that are free of burn-in, the commonly observed rapid performance loss under light, are presented. The solar cells are based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with varying molecular weights and a nonfullerene acceptor (rhodanine-benzothiadiazole-coupled indacenodithiophene, IDTBR) and are fabricated in air. P3HT:IDTBR solar cells light-soaked over the course of 2000 h lose about 5% of power conversion efficiency (PCE), in stark contrast to [6,6]-Phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)-based solar cells whose PCE shows a burn-in that extends over several hundreds of hours and levels off at a loss of ≈34%. Replacing PCBM with IDTBR prevents short-circuit current losses due to fullerene dimerization and inhibits disorder-induced open-circuit voltage losses, indicating a very robust device operation that is insensitive to defect states. Small losses in fill factor over time are proposed to originate from polymer or interface defects. Finally, the combination of enhanced efficiency and stability in P3HT:IDTBR increases the lifetime energy yield by more than a factor of 10 when compared with the same type of devices using a fullerene-based acceptor instead.

Burn-in Free Nonfullerene-Based Organic Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Gasparini, Nicola

2017-07-03

Organic solar cells that are free of burn-in, the commonly observed rapid performance loss under light, are presented. The solar cells are based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with varying molecular weights and a nonfullerene acceptor (rhodanine-benzothiadiazole-coupled indacenodithiophene, IDTBR) and are fabricated in air. P3HT:IDTBR solar cells light-soaked over the course of 2000 h lose about 5% of power conversion efficiency (PCE), in stark contrast to [6,6]-Phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)-based solar cells whose PCE shows a burn-in that extends over several hundreds of hours and levels off at a loss of ≈34%. Replacing PCBM with IDTBR prevents short-circuit current losses due to fullerene dimerization and inhibits disorder-induced open-circuit voltage losses, indicating a very robust device operation that is insensitive to defect states. Small losses in fill factor over time are proposed to originate from polymer or interface defects. Finally, the combination of enhanced efficiency and stability in P3HT:IDTBR increases the lifetime energy yield by more than a factor of 10 when compared with the same type of devices using a fullerene-based acceptor instead.

Louisiana Air Quality - Using ASTER, Landsat 5, and MODIS to Assess the Impact of Sugar Cane and Marsh Burning Practices on Local Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Robert; Reahard, Ross; Robin, Chad; Zeringue, Jared

2010-01-01

Biomass burning is an event that occurs globally and encompasses both human-initiated and naturally-occurring fires. It is estimated that 3 billion metric tons of biomass are burned every year worldwide (Curtis 2002). Societies have used these burning techniques for cooking and heating, clearing land for agricultural use, and removing excess biomass from grazing and croplands (Levine 1991). Our study focuses on the state of Louisiana and its commonly occurring methods of sugarcane and marsh biomass burning (LSU Ag.Center 2000; Nyman and Chabreck 1995). Over the centuries, the sugarcane industry in this state has steadily grown to surpass all other agriculture commodities. To promote efficiency within this large industry, burning excess biomass takes place throughout the harvesting period (LSU Ag.Center 2000). In addition to sugarcane, Louisiana contains 30% of the total coastal marsh of the United States (LSU Ag.Center 2000). The periodic burning of such marshes is an ecologically important management tool that is practiced throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts (Nyman and Chabreck 1995). In most biomass burning instances, the leading by-product is particulate matter that is less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10). Through past research, this fine material has been shown to have negative health effects on surrounding populations (Boopathy2001). While burning guidelines have been set into place by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) to reduce health effects, the guidelines are voluntary (LDAF 2000). To help quantify emission estimates, we will focus on Iberia Parish for sugarcane burning and Cameron Parish for marsh burning. Through analysis of ASTER, Landsat 5 TM, and MODIS data, our goal is to determine the amount and location of land area burned for the years 2008 and 2009 due to these practices. With emissions algorithms from Seiler and Crutzen, 1980, total acreage burned can be used to estimate emissions. This information will help to

Mapping eco-environmental vulnerability patterns: An assessment framework based on remote sensing, GIS, and AHP

Science.gov (United States)

Anh, N. K.; Liou, Y. A.; Li, M. H.

2016-12-01

The motivation for this study is assessment of the eco-environment vulnerability based on four independent determinants: hydro-meteorology, topography, land resources, and human activities. An assessment framework is proposed to assess the vulnerable eco-environment by using 16 variables with 6 of them constructed from Landsat 8 satellite images. The remaining variables were extracted from digital maps. Each variable was evaluated and spatially mapped with the aid of an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). The Thua Thien - Hue Province that has been experiencing natural disasters and urbanization in the recent decades is selected as our study area. An eco-environmental vulnerability map is assorted into six vulnerable levels consisting of potential, slight, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy vulnerabilities, representing 14%, 27%, 17%, 26%, 13%, 3% of the study area, respectively. It is found that heavy and very heavy vulnerable areas appear mainly in the low and medium lands with high intensification of social-economic activities and often suffer from flooding. Tiny percentages of medium and heavy vulnerable levels occur in high land areas probably caused by agricultural practices in highlands, slash and burn cultivation and removal of natural forests with new plantation forests and these regions are usually influenced by landslides, flash flooding. Based on our results, three ecological zones requiring different development and protection solutions are proposed to restore local eco-environment toward sustainable development. Our findings support the idea that eco-environmental vulnerability is driven by anthropogenic processes and enhanced by natural disaster in the Thua Thien-Hue Province.

Effects of Apollo 12 lunar material on lipid levels of tobacco tissue and slash pine cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Weete, J. D.

1972-01-01

Investigations of the lipid components of pine tissues (Pinus elloitii) are discussed, emphasizing fatty acids and steroids. The response by slash pine tissue cultures to growth in contact with Apollo lunar soil, earth basalt, and Iowa soil is studied. Tissue cultures of tobacco grown for 12 weeks in contact with lunar material from Apollo 12 flight contained 21 to 35 percent more total pigment than control tissues. No differences were noted in the fresh or dry weight of the experimental and control samples.

Incidence and characteristics of chemical burns.

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Dong-Hee; Lee, Sang-Gil; Kim, Hwan-Cheol

2017-05-01

Chemical burns can lead to serious health outcomes. Previous studies about chemical burns have been performed based on burn center data so these studies have provided limited information about the incidence of chemical burns at the national level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of chemical burns using nationwide databases. A cohort representing the Korean population, which was established using a national health insurance database, and a nationwide workers' compensation database were used to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of chemical burns. Characteristics of the affected body region, depth of burns, industry, task, and causative agents were analyzed from two databases. The incidence of chemical burns was calculated according to employment status. The most common regions involving chemical burns with hospital visits were the skin followed by the eyes. For skin lesions, the hands and wrists were the most commonly affected regions. Second degree burns were the most common in terms of depth of skin lesions. The hospital visit incidence was 1.96 per 10,000 person-year in the general population. The compensated chemical burns incidence was 0.17 per 10,000 person-year. Employees and the self-employed showed a significantly increased risk of chemical burns undergoing hospital visits compared to their dependents. Chemical burns on the skin and eyes are almost equally prevalent. The working environment was associated with increased risk of chemical burns. Our results may aid in estimating the size of the problem and prioritizing prevention of chemical burns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Burning Characteristics of Ammonium-Nitrate-Based Composite Propellants with a Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene/Polytetrahydrofuran Blend Binder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makoto Kohga

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Ammonium-nitrate-(AN- based composite propellants prepared with a hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB/polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF blend binder have unique thermal decomposition characteristics. In this study, the burning characteristics of AN/HTPB/PTHF propellants are investigated. The specific impulse and adiabatic flame temperature of an AN-based propellant theoretically increases with an increase in the proportion of PTHF in the HTPB/PTHF blend. With an AN/HTPB propellant, a solid residue is left on the burning surface of the propellant, and the shape of this residue is similar to that of the propellant. On the other hand, an AN/HTPB/PTHF propellant does not leave a solid residue. The burning rates of the AN/HTPB/PTHF propellant are not markedly different from those of the AN/HTPB propellant because some of the liquefied HTPB/PTHF binder cover the burning surface and impede decomposition and combustion. The burning rates of an AN/HTPB/PTHF propellant with a burning catalyst are higher than those of an AN/HTPB propellant supplemented with a catalyst. The beneficial effect of the blend binder on the burning characteristics is clarified upon the addition of a catalyst. The catalyst suppresses the negative influence of the liquefied binder that covers the burning surface. Thus, HTPB/PTHF blend binders are useful in improving the performance of AN-based propellants.

Biomass burning contributions to urban aerosols in a coastal Mediterranean city.

Science.gov (United States)

Reche, C; Viana, M; Amato, F; Alastuey, A; Moreno, T; Hillamo, R; Teinilä, K; Saarnio, K; Seco, R; Peñuelas, J; Mohr, C; Prévôt, A S H; Querol, X

2012-06-15

Mean annual biomass burning contributions to the bulk particulate matter (PM(X)) load were quantified in a southern-European urban environment (Barcelona, Spain) with special attention to typical Mediterranean winter and summer conditions. In spite of the complexity of the local air pollution cocktail and the expected low contribution of biomass burning emissions to PM levels in Southern Europe, the impact of these emissions was detected at an urban background site by means of tracers such as levoglucosan, K(+) and organic carbon (OC). The significant correlation between levoglucosan and OC (r(2)=0.77) and K(+) (r(2)=0.65), as well as a marked day/night variability of the levoglucosan levels and levoglucosan/OC ratios was indicative of the contribution from regional scale biomass burning emissions during night-time transported by land breezes. In addition, on specific days (21-22 March), the contribution from long-range transported biomass burning aerosols was detected. Quantification of the contribution of biomass burning aerosols to PM levels on an annual basis was possible by means of the Multilinear Engine (ME). Biomass burning emissions accounted for 3% of PM(10) and PM(2.5) (annual mean), while this percentage increased up to 5% of PM(1). During the winter period, regional-scale biomass burning emissions (agricultural waste burning) were estimated to contribute with 7±4% of PM(2.5) aerosols during night-time (period when emissions were clearly detected). Long-range transported biomass burning aerosols (possibly from forest fires and/or agricultural waste burning) accounted for 5±2% of PM(2.5) during specific episodes. Annually, biomass burning emissions accounted for 19%-21% of OC levels in PM(10), PM(2.5) and PM(1). The contribution of this source to K(+) ranged between 48% for PM(10) and 97% for PM(1) (annual mean). Results for K(+) from biomass burning evidenced that this tracer is mostly emitted in the fine fraction, and thus coarse K(+) could not be

Development of continuous energy Monte Carlo burn-up calculation code MVP-BURN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okumura, Keisuke; Nakagawa, Masayuki; Sasaki, Makoto

2001-01-01

Burn-up calculations based on the continuous energy Monte Carlo method became possible by development of MVP-BURN. To confirm the reliably of MVP-BURN, it was applied to the two numerical benchmark problems; cell burn-up calculations for High Conversion LWR lattice and BWR lattice with burnable poison rods. Major burn-up parameters have shown good agreements with the results obtained by a deterministic code (SRAC95). Furthermore, spent fuel composition calculated by MVP-BURN was compared with measured one. Atomic number densities of major actinides at 34 GWd/t could be predicted within 10% accuracy. (author)

Feasibility of an Exoskeleton-Based Interactive Video Game System for Upper Extremity Burn Contractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Jeffrey C; Ozsecen, Muzaffer Y; Muraoka, Nicholas K; Mancinelli, Chiara; Della Croce, Ugo; Ryan, Colleen M; Bonato, Paolo

2016-05-01

Burn contractures are common and difficult to treat. Measuring continuous joint motion would inform the assessment of contracture interventions; however, it is not standard clinical practice. This study examines use of an interactive gaming system to measure continuous joint motion data. To assess the usability of an exoskeleton-based interactive gaming system in the rehabilitation of upper extremity burn contractures. Feasibility study. Eight subjects with a history of burn injury and upper extremity contractures were recruited from the outpatient clinic of a regional inpatient rehabilitation facility. Subjects used an exoskeleton-based interactive gaming system to play 4 different video games. Continuous joint motion data were collected at the shoulder and elbow during game play. Visual analog scale for engagement, difficulty and comfort. Angular range of motion by subject, joint, and game. The study population had an age of 43 ± 16 (mean ± standard deviation) years and total body surface area burned range of 10%-90%. Subjects reported satisfactory levels of enjoyment, comfort, and difficulty. Continuous joint motion data demonstrated variable characteristics by subject, plane of motion, and game. This study demonstrates the feasibility of use of an exoskeleton-based interactive gaming system in the burn population. Future studies are needed that examine the efficacy of tailoring interactive video games to the specific joint impairments of burn survivors. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical mass balance source apportionment of TSP in a lignite-burning area of Western Macedonia, Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Samara, Constantini

Total suspended particle mass concentrations (TSP) were determined in the Kozani-Ptolemais-Florina basin (western Macedonia, Greece), an area with intensive lignite burning for power generation. The study was conducted over a 1-year period (November 2000-November 2001) at 10 receptor sites located at variable distances from the power plants. Ambient TSP samples were analyzed for 27 major, minor and trace elements. Particulate emissions were also collected from a variety of sources including fly ash, lignite dust, automobile traffic, domestic heating, and open-air burning of agricultural biomass and refuse, and analyzed for the same chemical components. Ambient and source chemical profiles were used for source identification and apportionment of TSP by employing a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model. Diesel burning in vehicular traffic and in the power plants for generator start up was found to be the major contributor to ambient TSP levels at all 10 sites. Other sources with significant contributions were domestic coal burning, vegetative burning (wood combustion and agricultural burns) and refuse open-air burning. Fly ash escaping the electrostatic precipitators of the power plants was a minor contributor to ambient TSP.

Evaluation of burn injuries related to liquefied petroleum gas.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarim, Mehmet Akin

2014-01-01

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a fuel that is widely used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. LPG is also commonly used in restaurants, industries, and cars; however, the home continues to be the main site for accidents. In Turkey, the increased usage of LPG as a cooking or heating fuel has resulted in many burn injuries from LPG mishaps. Between January 2000 and June 2011, 56 LPG-burned patients were compared with 112 flame-burned patients. There were no significant differences with respect to the mean age, sex, hospitalization time, and mortality in both groups. In the LPG-caused burn cases, 41 burns (73.2%) occurred at home, seven (12.5) were work-related mishaps, and eight (14.3) were associated with car accidents. The majority of the LPG burns (82%, 46 patients) resulted from a gas leak, and 18% of them were related to the failure to close LPG tubes in the patients' kitchens (10 patients). Burns to the face and neck (82 vs 67%, P = .039) and upper (62 vs 23%, P = .000) and lower (70 vs 45%, P = .002) extremities were significantly higher in LPG-caused burn cases than flame-burned cases. General awareness regarding the risk of LPG and first aid for burns appears to be lacking. The LPG delivery system should be standardized throughout countries that widely use LPG.

Sensitivity of molecular marker-based CMB models to biomass burning source profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Sheesley, Rebecca J.; Schauer, James J.; Zheng, Mei; Wang, Bo

To assess the contribution of sources to fine particulate organic carbon (OC) at four sites in North Carolina, USA, a molecular marker chemical mass balance model (MM-CMB) was used to quantify seasonal contributions for 2 years. The biomass burning contribution at these sites was found to be 30-50% of the annual OC concentration. In order to provide a better understanding of the uncertainty in MM-CMB model results, a biomass burning profile sensitivity test was performed on the 18 seasonal composites. The results using reconstructed emission profiles based on published profiles compared well, while model results using a single source test profile resulted in biomass burning contributions that were more variable. The biomass burning contribution calculated using an average regional profile of fireplace emissions from five southeastern tree species also compared well with an average profile of open burning of pine-dominated forest from Georgia. The standard deviation of the results using different source profiles was a little over 30% of the annual average biomass contributions. Because the biomass burning contribution accounted for 30-50% of the OC at these sites, the choice of profile also impacted the motor vehicle source attribution due to the common emission of elemental carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The total mobile organic carbon contribution was less effected by the biomass burning profile than the relative contributions from gasoline and diesel engines.

Knowledge of childhood burn risks and burn first aid: Cool Runnings.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgess, Jacqueline D; Watt, Kerrianne A; Kimble, Roy M; Cameron, Cate M

2018-01-31

The high incidence of hot beverage scalds among young children has not changed in the past 15 years, but preventive campaigns have been scarce. A novel approach was used to engage mothers of young children in an app-based hot beverage scald prevention campaign 'Cool Runnings'. This paper provides baseline data for this randomised controlled trial (RCT). Queensland-based mothers aged 18+ years with at least one child aged 5-12 months were recruited via social media to Cool Runnings, which is a two-group, parallel, single-blinded RCT. In total, 498 participants from across Queensland completed the baseline questionnaire. The most common source of burn first aid information was the internet (79%). One-third (33%) correctly identified hot beverage scalds as the leading cause of childhood burns, 43% knew the age group most at risk. While 94% reported they would cool a burn with water, only 10% reported the recommended 20min duration. After adjusting for all relevant variables, there were two independent predictors of adequate burn first aid knowledge: first aid training in the past year (OR=3.32; 95% CI 1.8 to 6.1) and smoking status (OR=0.17; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.7). In this study, mothers of young children were largely unaware how frequently hot beverage scalds occur and the age group most susceptible to them. Inadequate burn first aid knowledge is prevalent across mothers of young children; there is an urgent and compelling need to improve burn first aid knowledge in this group. Given the high incidence of hot beverages scalds in children aged 6-24 months, it is important to target future burn prevention/first aid campaigns at parents of young children. ACTRN12616000019404; Pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Analyses of biomass burning contribution to aerosol in Zhengzhou during wheat harvest season in 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hongyang; Yin, Shasha; Li, Xiao; Wang, Jia; Zhang, Ruiqin

2018-07-01

Ambient PM2.5 samples were collected in suburban area of Zhengzhou, China to investigate the impact of straw open burning on local aerosol during wheat harvest season in 2015. Secondary formation and accumulation processes were found under unfavorable meteorological conditions through the chemical composition analysis in PM2.5. And spatial and temporal variation of the agricultural activities were observed through MODIS fire spots data combined with back trajectory analysis. Results showed elevated levoglucosan was affected directly during biomass burning episodes and transportation periods. In order to estimate the contribution, levoglucosan/K+ combined with levoglucosan/mannosan were analyzed to identify biomass burning sources. And the results showed that levoglucosan were emitted from straw burning mixing with softwood combustion during the study period, emphasizing that wood combustion for households was non-negligible which consists part of the levoglucosan background in Zhengzhou aerosol. Based on emission factors (levoglucosan/OC or levoglucosan/PM2.5) summarized by laboratory simulation experiments, the study period was divided into 7 depending on the former characteristics to estimate the contribution of biomass burning to aerosol, and the average contributions of biomass burning emission to OC and PM2.5 were 46% and 13% relatively, indicating biomass burning have a significant impact on ambient aerosol levels during harvest season.

A pragmatic evidence-based clinical management algorithm for burning mouth syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yohanan; Yoo, Timothy; Han, Peter; Liu, Yuan; Inman, Jared C

2018-04-01

Burning mouth syndrome is a poorly understood disease process with no current standard of treatment. The goal of this article is to provide an evidence-based, practical, clinical algorithm as a guideline for the treatment of burning mouth syndrome. Using available evidence and clinical experience, a multi-step management algorithm was developed. A retrospective cohort study was then performed, following STROBE statement guidelines, comparing outcomes of patients who were managed using the algorithm and those who were managed without. Forty-seven patients were included in the study, with 21 (45%) managed using the algorithm and 26 (55%) managed without. The mean age overall was 60.4 ±16.5 years, and most patients (39, 83%) were female. Cohorts showed no statistical difference in age, sex, overall follow-up time, dysgeusia, geographic tongue, or psychiatric disorder; xerostomia, however, was significantly different, skewed toward the algorithm group. Significantly more non-algorithm patients did not continue care (69% vs. 29%, p =0.001). The odds ratio of not continuing care for the non-algorithm group compared to the algorithm group was 5.6 [1.6, 19.8]. Improvement in pain was significantly more likely in the algorithm group ( p =0.001), with an odds ratio of 27.5 [3.1, 242.0]. We present a basic clinical management algorithm for burning mouth syndrome which may increase the likelihood of pain improvement and patient follow-up. Key words: Burning mouth syndrome, burning tongue, glossodynia, oral pain, oral burning, therapy, treatment.

High-resolution mapping of biomass burning emissions in tropical regions across three continents

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yusheng; Matsunaga, Tsuneo; Saito, Makoto

2015-04-01

Biomass burning emissions from open vegetation fires (forest fires, savanna fires, agricultural waste burning), human waste and biofuel combustion contain large amounts of trace gases (e.g., CO2, CH4, and N2O) and aerosols (BC and OC), which significantly impact ecosystem productivity, global atmospheric chemistry, and climate . With the help of recently released satellite products, biomass density based on satellite and ground-based observation data, and spatial variable combustion factors, this study developed a new high-resolution emissions inventory for biomass burning in tropical regions across three continents in 2010. Emissions of trace gases and aerosols from open vegetation burning are estimated from burned areas, fuel loads, combustion factors, and emission factors. Burned areas were derived from MODIS MCD64A1 burned area product, fuel loads were mapped from biomass density data sets for herbaceous and tree-covered land based on satellite and ground-based observation data. To account for spatial heterogeneity in combustion factors, global fractional tree cover (MOD44B) and vegetation cover maps (MCD12Q1) were introduced to estimate the combustion factors in different regions by using their relationship with tree cover under less than 40%, between 40-60% and above 60% conditions. For emission factors, the average values for each fuel type from field measurements are used. In addition to biomass burning from open vegetation fires, the emissions from human waste (residential and dump) burning and biofuel burning in 2010 were also estimated for 76 countries in tropical regions across the three continents and then allocated into each pixel with 1 km grid based on the population density (Gridded Population of the World v3). Our total estimates for the tropical regions across the three continents in 2010 were 17744.5 Tg CO2, 730.3 Tg CO, 32.0 Tg CH4, 31.6 Tg NOx, 119.2 Tg NMOC, 6.3 Tg SO2, 9.8 NH3 Tg, 81.8 Tg PM2.5, 48.0 Tg OC, and 5.7 Tg BC, respectively. Open

Data base of accident and agricultural statistics for transportation risk assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saricks, C.L.; Williams, R.G.; Hopf, M.R.

1989-11-01

A state-level data base of accident and agricultural statistics has been developed to support risk assessment for transportation of spent nuclear fuels and high-level radioactive wastes. This data base will enhance the modeling capabilities for more route-specific analyses of potential risks associated with transportation of these wastes to a disposal site. The data base and methodology used to develop state-specific accident and agricultural data bases are described, and summaries of accident and agricultural statistics are provided. 27 refs., 9 tabs.

Data base of accident and agricultural statistics for transportation risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saricks, C.L.; Williams, R.G.; Hopf, M.R.

1989-11-01

A state-level data base of accident and agricultural statistics has been developed to support risk assessment for transportation of spent nuclear fuels and high-level radioactive wastes. This data base will enhance the modeling capabilities for more route-specific analyses of potential risks associated with transportation of these wastes to a disposal site. The data base and methodology used to develop state-specific accident and agricultural data bases are described, and summaries of accident and agricultural statistics are provided. 27 refs., 9 tabs

KANDUNGAN EMISI GAS RUMAH KACA PADA KEBAKARAN HUTAN RAWA GAMBUT DI PELALAWAN RIAU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ati Dwi Nurhayati

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Peat land in the east coast of Sumatera (Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera and Kalimantan (South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan has being used for agricultural crops such as rice field, palm oil and coffee plantation. Land preparation practiced is slash and burn method. Smoke haze that produce from peat fires were caused by these method. To determine the impact of such practice to atmospheric quality, a study was conducted at Pelalawan Province Riau. Four plots on peat land were prepared at sapric and hemic, each plot was 20 m x 20 m (0,04 ha. Before burning vegetation was cleared off, then the plots were circularly burned (ring fire and greenhouse gases emitted were measured. The average of greenhouse gases emitted from sapric plot burning were 273 ppm CH4, 10.395 ppm CO2 and 1.223 ppm CO. Greenhouse gasses emitted from hemic plot burning were 306 ppm CH4, 10.678 ppm CO2 and 2176 ppm CO. The high CO emission from peat burning indicate there has been an incomplete burning at the fuel, due to high fuel moisture. The largest single atmospheric emission from peat burning was CO2 and the smallest was CH4. The increase of greenhouse gases emission will contribute to global climate change, especially the global temperature increase through greenhouse effect of the gases

Burning Mouth Syndrome and "Burning Mouth Syndrome".

Science.gov (United States)

Rifkind, Jacob Bernard

2016-03-01

Burning mouth syndrome is distressing to both the patient and practitioner unable to determine the cause of the patient's symptoms. Burning mouth syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion, which is used only after nutritional deficiencies, mucosal disease, fungal infections, hormonal disturbances and contact stomatitis have been ruled out. This article will explore the many causes and treatment of patients who present with a chief complaint of "my mouth burns," including symptomatic treatment for those with burning mouth syndrome.

[Bibliometric analysis of scientific articles on evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China].

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, L Q; Pi, X Q; Fan, X G

2016-07-20

To analyze the current research status of evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China, in order to provide basis for the improvement of scientificity of burn nursing practice. Chinese scientific articles on evidence-based nursing of burn in the mainland of China published from January 1997 to December 2015 were retrieved from Chinese Biology Medicine disc, Chinese Journals Full-text Database, Wanfang Database, and VIP Database. From the results retrieved, date with regard to publication year, region of affiliation of the first author, journal distribution, literature type, literature quality assessment, topic of evidence-based research, fund program support, implementation of evidence-based practice steps, and language and quantity of reference. Data were processed with Microsoft Excel software. A total of 50 articles conforming to the criteria were retrieved. (1) Articles about evidence-based nursing of burn arose in 2004. Compared with that in the previous year, there was no obvious increase in the number of relevant articles in each year from 2004 to 2011. The number of literature in 2012 was obviously increased than that in each year from 2004 to 2011, while the number of literature in each year from 2012 to 2015 was not obviously increased compared with that in the previous year. (2) The regions of affiliation of the first author were distributed in 13 provinces, 3 minority autonomous regions, and 3 municipalities, with the largest distribution in East China, and Northwest China and Southwest China in the follow. (3) The articles were published in 32 domestic journals, with 9 (28.12%) nursing journals, 5 (15.62%) burn medical related journals, and 18 (56.25%) other journals. Twenty (40%) articles were published in Source Journal for Chinese Scientific and Technical Papers. (4) Regarding the literature type, 31 (62%) articles dealt with clinical experiences, 17 (34%) articles dealt with scientific research, and 2 (4%) articles dealt with case report

The Burning Saints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xygalatas, Dimitris

. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. The Burning Saints presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, The Burning Saints traces the historical development and sociocultural context......, The Burning Saints presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour....

Carbon Transfers and Emissions Following Harvest and Pile Burning in Coastal Douglas-fir Forests Determined from Analysis of High-Resolution UAV Imagery and Point Clouds and from Field Surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Trofymow, J. A.; Gougeon, F.; Kelley, J. W.

2017-12-01

Forest carbon (C) models require knowledge on C transfers due to intense disturbances such as fire, harvest, and slash burning. In such events, live trees die and C transferred to detritus or exported as round wood. With burning, live and detrital C is lost as emissions. Burning can be incomplete, leaving wood, charred and scattered or in unburnt rings and piles. For harvests, all round wood volume is routinely measured, while dispersed and piled residue volumes are typically assessed in field surveys, scaled to a block. Recently, geospatial methods have been used to determine, for an entire block, piled residues using LiDAR or image point clouds (PC) and dispersed residues by analysis of high-resolution imagery. Second-growth Douglas-fir forests on eastern Vancouver Island were examined, 4 blocks at Oyster River (OR) and 2 at Northwest Bay (NB). OR blocks were cut winter 2011, piled spring 2011, field survey, aerial RGB imagery and LiDAR PC acquired fall 2011, piles burned, burn residues surveyed, and post-burn aerial RGB imagery acquired 2012. NB blocks were cut fall 2014, piled spring 2015, field survey, UAV RGB imagery and image PC acquired summer 2015, piles burned and burn residues surveyed spring 2016, and post-burn UAV RGB imagery and PC acquired fall 2016. Volume to biomass conversion used survey species proportions and wood density. At OR, round wood was 261.7 SE 13.1, firewood 1.7 SE 0.3, and dispersed residue by survey, 13.8 SE 3.6 tonnes dry mass (t dm) ha-1. Piled residues were 8.2 SE 0.9 from pile surveys vs. 25.0 SE 5.9 t dm ha-1 from LiDAR PC bulk pile volumes and packing ratios. Post-burn, piles lost 5.8 SE 0.5 from survey of burn residues vs. 18.2 SE 4.7 t dm ha-1 from pile volume changes using 2011 LiDAR PC and 2012 imagery. The percentage of initial merchantable biomass exported as round & fire wood, remaining as dispersed & piled residue, and lost to burning was, respectively, 92.5%, 5.5% and 2% using only field methods vs. 87%, 7% and 6% from

Characteristics of fatal and hospital admissions for burns in Fiji: a population-based study (TRIP Project-2).

Science.gov (United States)

Taoi, Mable; Wainiqolo, Iris; Kafoa, Berlin; Kool, Bridget; Naisaki, Asilika; McCaig, Eddie; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2012-08-01

Over 95% of burn deaths are estimated to occur in low-and-middle-income countries. However, the epidemiology of burn-related injuries in Pacific Island Countries is unclear. This study investigated the incidence and demographic characteristics associated with fatal and hospitalised burns in Fiji. This cross-sectional study utilised the Fiji Injury Surveillance in Hospital database to estimate the population-based incidence and contextual characteristics associated with burns resulting in death or hospital admission (≥12h) during a 12-month period commencing 1st October 2005. 116 people were admitted to hospital or died as a result of burns during the study period accounting for an overall annual incidence of 17.8/100,000 population, and mortality rate of 3.4/100,000. Most (92.2%) burns occurred at home, and 85.3% were recorded as unintentional. Burns were disproportionately higher among Fijian children compared with Fijian-Indian children with the converse occurring in adulthood. In adults, Indian women were at particularly high risk of death from self-inflicted burns as a consequence of 'conflict situations'. Burns are a significant public health burden in Fiji requiring prevention and management strategies informed by important differences in the context of these injuries among the major ethic groups of the country. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) Final Campaign Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleinman, LI [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Sedlacek, A. J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2016-01-01

The Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) was conducted to obtain a better understanding of how aerosols generated from biomass fires affect the atmosphere and climate. It is estimated that 40% of carbonaceous aerosol produced originates from biomass burning—enough to affect regional and global climate. Several biomass-burning studies have focused on tropical climates; however, few campaigns have been conducted within the United States, where millions of acres are burned each year, trending to higher values and greater climate impacts because of droughts in the West. Using the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF), the BBOP deployed the Gulfstream-1 (G-1) aircraft over smoke plumes from active wildfire and agricultural burns to help identify the impact of these events and how impacts evolve with time. BBOP was one of very few studies that targeted the near-field time evolution of aerosols and aimed to obtain a process-level understanding of the large changes that occur within a few hours of atmospheric processing.

Integrating ICT in Agriculture for Knowledge-Based Economy

African Journals Online (AJOL)

agriculture –based livelihoods, demands the integration of ICT knowledge with agriculture. .... (CGIAR) shows the vital role of Agricultural development in Rwanda's ... Network, Rwanda National Backbone Project, Regional Communication.

How robust are burn severity indices when applied in a new region? Evaluation of alternate field-based and remote-sensing methods

Science.gov (United States)

C. Alina Cansler; Donald. McKenzie

2012-01-01

Remotely sensed indices of burn severity are now commonly used by researchers and land managers to assess fire effects, but their relationship to field-based assessments of burn severity has been evaluated only in a few ecosystems. This analysis illustrates two cases in which methodological refinements to field-based and remotely sensed indices of burn severity...

Temporal variability in aerosol characteristics and its radiative properties over Patiala, northwestern part of India: Impact of agricultural biomass burning emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, D; Srivastava, A K; Ram, K; Singh, A; Singh, D

2017-12-01

A comprehensive measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD), particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) mass concentrations have been carried out over Patiala, a semi-urban site in northwest India during October 2008 to September 2010. The measured aerosol data was incorporated in an aerosol optical model to estimate various aerosol optical parameters, which were subsequently used for radiative forcing estimation. The measured AOD at 500 nm (AOD 500 ) shows a significant seasonal variability, with maximum value of 0.81 during post-monsoon (PoM) and minimum of 0.56 during winter season. The Ångström exponent (α) has higher values (i.e. more fine-mode fraction) during the PoM/winter periods, and lower (i.e. more coarse-mode fraction) during pre-monsoon (PrM). In contrast, turbidity coefficient (β) exhibits an opposite trend to α during the study period. BC mass concentration varies from 2.8 to 13.9 μg m -3 (mean: 6.5 ± 3.2 μg m -3 ) during the entire study period, with higher concentrations during PoM/winter and lower during PrM/monsoon seasons. The average single scattering albedo (SSA at 500 nm) values are 0.70, 0.72, 0.82 and 0.75 during PoM, winter, PrM and monsoon seasons, respectively. However, inter-seasonal and inter-annual variability in measured aerosol parameters are statistically insignificant at Patiala. These results suggest strong changes in emission sources, aerosol composition, meteorological parameters as well as transport of aerosols over the station. Higher values of AOD, α and BC, along with lower SSA during PoM season are attributed to agriculture biomass burning emissions over and around the station. The estimated aerosol radiative forcing within the atmosphere is positive (i.e. warming) during all the seasons with higher values (∼60 Wm -2 ) during PoM-08/PoM-09 and lower (∼40 Wm -2 ) during winter-09/PrM-10. The present study highlights the role of BC aerosols from agricultural biomass burning emissions during post

A skin burn associated with Ranunculus arvensis (wedding bloom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orak Murat

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Ranunculus arvensis L-a member of Ranunculaceae family- is grown as a wild plant in productive agriculture lands of the altitude between 1 to 1850 m mainly in the Mediterranean Region and Iran-Turan vegetation in Turkey. Skin burn cases associated with Ranunculaceae family is very limited in literature and according to the authors′ knowledge this is the only report in literature from Turkey. In this report, we have presented a case of skin burn associated with Ranunculus arvensis represented to our emergency service.

Effects of olive tree branches burning emissions on PM2.5 concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Papadakis, G. Z.; Megaritis, A. G.; Pandis, S. N.

2015-07-01

An olive tree branches burning emission inventory for Greece is developed based on recently measured emission factors and the spatial distribution of olive trees. A three-dimensional chemical transport model (CTM), PMCAMx, is used to estimate the corresponding impact on PM2.5 concentrations during a typical winter period. Assuming that burning of olive tree branches takes place only during days with low wind speed and without precipitation, the contribution of olive tree branches burning emissions on PM2.5 levels is more significant during the most polluted days. Increases of hourly PM2.5 exceeding 50% and locally reaching up to 150% in Crete are predicted during the most polluted periods. On a monthly-average basis, the corresponding emissions are predicted to increase PM2.5 levels up to 1.5 μg m-3 (20%) in Crete and Peloponnese, where the largest fraction of olive trees is located, and by 0.4 μg m-3 (5%) on average over Greece. OA and EC levels increase by 20% and 13% respectively on average over Greece, and up to 70% in Crete. The magnitude of the effect is quite sensitive to burning practices. Assuming that burning of olive tree branches takes place during all days results in a smaller effect of burning on PM2.5 levels (9% increase instead of 20%). These results suggest that this type of agricultural waste burning is a major source of particulate pollution in the Mediterranean countries where this practice is prevalent during winter.

A comprehensive biomass burning emission inventory with high spatial and temporal resolution in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ying; Xing, Xiaofan; Lang, Jianlei; Chen, Dongsheng; Cheng, Shuiyuan; Wei, Lin; Wei, Xiao; Liu, Chao

2017-02-01

. As for the straw burning emission of various crops, corn straw burning has the largest contribution to all of the pollutants considered, except for CH4; rice straw burning has highest contribution to CH4 and the second largest contribution to other pollutants, except for SO2, OC, and Hg; wheat straw burning is the second largest contributor to SO2, OC, and Hg and the third largest contributor to other pollutants. Heilongjiang, Shandong, and Henan provinces located in the north-eastern and central-southern regions of China have higher emissions compared to other provinces in China. Gridded emissions, which were obtained through spatial allocation based on the gridded rural population and fire point data from emission inventories at county resolution, could better represent the actual situation. High biomass burning emissions are concentrated in the areas with more agricultural and rural activity. The months of April, May, June, and October account for 65 % of emissions from in-field crop residue burning, while, regarding EC, the emissions in January, February, October, November, and December are relatively higher than other months due to biomass domestic burning in heating season. There are regional differences in the monthly variations of emissions due to the diversity of main planted crops and climatic conditions. Furthermore, PM2.5 component results showed that OC, Cl-, EC, K+, NH4+, elemental K, and SO42- are the main PM2.5 species, accounting for 80 % of the total emissions. The species with relatively high contribution to NMVOC emission include ethylene, propylene, toluene, mp-xylene, and ethyl benzene, which are key species for the formation of secondary air pollution. The detailed biomass burning emission inventory developed by this study could provide useful information for air-quality modelling and could support the development of appropriate pollution-control strategies.

Derivation of host and pathogen genotypes in the fusiform rust pathosystem on slash pine using a complimentary genetics model and diallel data

Science.gov (United States)

H.E. Stelzel; Robert L. Doudrick; Thomas L. Kubisiak

1997-01-01

Seedlings from 20, full-sib families five-parent slash pine diallel were inoculated using two, single urediniospore-derived cultures of the fusiform rust fungus on two different dates during the 1994 growing season. Presence or absence of fusiform rust galls was recorded for each inoculated seedling at nine months post-inoculation and percent infection levels for each...

The causal nexus between carbon dioxide emissions and agricultural ecosystem-an econometric approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Asumadu-Sarkodie, Samuel; Owusu, Phebe Asantewaa

2017-01-01

Achieving a long-term food security and preventing hunger include a better nutrition through sustainable systems of production, distribution, and consumption. Nonetheless, the quest for an alternative to increasing global food supply to meet the growing demand has led to the use of poor agricultural practices that promote climate change. Given the contribution of the agricultural ecosystem towards greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this study investigated the causal nexus between carbon dioxide emissions and agricultural ecosystem by employing a data spanning from 1961 to 2012. Evidence from long-run elasticity shows that a 1 % increase in the area of rice paddy harvested will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 1.49 %, a 1 % increase in biomass-burned crop residues will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 1.00 %, a 1 % increase in cereal production will increase carbon dioxide emissions by 1.38 %, and a 1 % increase in agricultural machinery will decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 0.09 % in the long run. There was a bidirectional causality between carbon dioxide emissions, cereal production, and biomass-burned crop residues. The Granger causality shows that the agricultural ecosystem in Ghana is sensitive to climate change vulnerability.

CLINICAL STUDY OF ELECTRICAL BURNS AMONG ALL BURNS CASES- 3 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagabathula Durga Prasad

2017-08-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND With the advances in technology, electrical injuries are becoming more common and are the leading cause of work-related traumatic death. One third of all electrical traumas and most high-voltage injuries are job related and more than 50% of these injuries result from power line contact. The management of the major burn injury represents a significant challenge to every member of the burns team. Most of electrical burns present with gangrene of toes and limbs with eschar over body parts. Their presentation is mostly due to contact with high-voltage electricity at their work places. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study was made to study the clinico-social profile of patients suffering electric burns admitted into Department of General Surgery. RESULTS 92 cases were evaluated and studied. Majority of patients developed gangrene of limbs and toes. Amputations and skin grafting was done. Most patients who suffered electric burns were males of age group 21 to 40 years. All cases are accidental and mostly occurred at work places. Most electric burns are high-voltage based and caused deep burns. Major complications like acute renal failure and septicaemia were encountered. Most of them suffered 16 to 30% burns. Most commonly isolated organism from wounds is pseudomonas. Most of them suffered a hospital stay of 1 to 2 months. CONCLUSION Electric burns are a burden to the society. Prevention is the best way to deal with them. Electricity-based employees have to be trained properly regarding safety measures to be taken. General education of public regarding safety measures can prevent electrical burn injuries.

Control of Insects in Slash Pine Cones with Trunk Implantations of Bidrin® Systemic Insecticide - First-Year Results

Science.gov (United States)

Edward P. Merkel

1969-01-01

Initial experiments with the implantation of the systemic insecticide Bidrin® into the trunks of slash pines in a seed production area resulted in various degrees of control of coneworms, Dioryctria spp., and the pine seed-worm, Laspeyresia anaronjada Miller, depending on dosage rates and time of application. When applied in early...

Photochemistry of the African troposphere: Influence of biomass-burning emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Marufu, L.; Dentener, F.; Lelieveld, J.; Andreae, M. O.; Helas, G.

2000-06-01

The relative importance of biomass-burning (pyrogenic) emissions from savannas, deforestation, agricultural waste burning, and biofuel consumption to tropospheric ozone abundance over Africa has been estimated for the year 1993, on the basis of global model calculations. We also calculated the importance of this emission source to tropospheric ozone in other regions of the world and compared it to different sources on the African regional and global scales. The estimated annual average total tropospheric ozone abundance over Africa for the reference year is 26 Tg. Pyrogenic, industrial, biogenic, and lightning emissions account for 16, 19, 12, and 27%, respectively, while stratospheric ozone input accounts for 26%. In the planetary boundary layer over Africa, the contribution by biomass burning is ˜24%. A large fraction of the African biomass-burning-related ozone is transported away from the continent. On a global scale, biomass burning contributes ˜9% to tropospheric ozone. Our model calculations suggest that Africa is the single most important region for biomass-burning-related tropospheric ozone, accounting for ˜35% of the global annual pyrogenic ozone enhancement of 29 Tg in 1993.

Effects of Interannual Climate Variability on Water Availability and Productivity in Capoeira and Crops Under Traditional and Alternative Shifting Cultivation

Science.gov (United States)

Guild, Liane S.; Sa, Tatiana D. A.; Carvalho, Claudio J. R.; Potter, Christopher S.; Wickel, Albert J.; Brienza, Silvio, Jr.; Kato, Maria doSocorro A.; Kato, Osvaldo; Brass, James (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Regenerating forests play an important role in long-term carbon sequestration and sustainable landuse as they act as potentially important carbon and nutrient sinks during the shifting agriculture fallow period. The long-term functioning of capoeira. is increasingly threatened by a shortening fallow period during shifting cultivation due to demographic pressures and associated increased vulnerability to severe climatic events. Declining productivity and functioning of fallow forests of shifting cultivation combined with progressive loss of nutrients by successive burning and cropping activities has resulted in declining agricultural productivity. In addition to the effects of intense land use practices, droughts associated with El Nino events are becoming more frequent and severe in moist tropical forests and negative effects on capoeira productivity could be considerable. In Igarape-Acu (near Belem, Para), we hypothesize that experimental alternative landuse/clearing practices (mulching and fallow vegetation improvement by planting with fast-growing leguminous tree species) may make capoeira and agriculture more resilient to the effects of agricultural pressures and drought through (1) increased biomass, soil organic matter and associated increase in soil water storage, and nutrient retention and (2) greater rooting depth of trees planted for fallow improvement. This experimental practice (moto mechanized chop-and-mulch with fallow improvement) has resulted increased soil moisture during the cropping phase, reduced loss of nutrients and organic matter, and higher rates of secondary-forest biomass accumulation. We present preliminary data on water relations during the dry season of 2001 in capoeira and crops for both traditional slash-and-burn and alternative chop-and-mulch practices. These data will be used to test IKONOS data for the detection of moisture status differences. The principal goal of the research is to determine the extent to which capoeira and

A Bayesian approach to degradation-based burn-in optimization for display products exhibiting two-phase degradation patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Tao; Bae, Suk Joo; Zhu, Xiaoyan

2016-01-01

Motivated by the two-phase degradation phenomena observed in light displays (e.g., plasma display panels (PDPs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs)), this study proposes a new degradation-based burn-in testing plan for display products exhibiting two-phase degradation patterns. The primary focus of the burn-in test in this study is to eliminate the initial rapid degradation phase, while the major purpose of traditional burn-in tests is to detect and eliminate early failures from weak units. A hierarchical Bayesian bi-exponential model is used to capture two-phase degradation patterns of the burn-in population. Mission reliability and total cost are introduced as planning criteria. The proposed burn-in approach accounts for unit-to-unit variability within the burn-in population, and uncertainty concerning the model parameters, mainly in the hierarchical Bayesian framework. Available pre-burn-in data is conveniently incorporated into the burn-in decision-making procedure. A practical example of PDP degradation data is used to illustrate the proposed methodology. The proposed method is compared to other approaches such as the maximum likelihood method or the change-point regression. - Highlights: • We propose a degradation-based burn-in test for products with two-phase degradation. • Mission reliability and total cost are used as planning criteria. • The proposed burn-in approach is built within the hierarchical Bayesian framework. • A practical example was used to illustrate the proposed methodology.

An Early Historical Examination of the Educational Intent of Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs) and Project-Based Learning in Agricultural Education

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kasee L.; Rayfield, John

2016-01-01

Project-based learning has been a component of agricultural education since its inception. In light of the current call for additional emphasis of the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) component of agricultural education, there is a need to revisit the roots of project-based learning. This early historical research study was conducted to…

Biomass burning aerosols characterization from ground based and profiling measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Marin, Cristina; Vasilescu, Jeni; Marmureanu, Luminita; Ene, Dragos; Preda, Liliana; Mihailescu, Mona

2018-04-01

The study goal is to assess the chemical and optical properties of aerosols present in the lofted layers and at the ground. The biomass burning aerosols were evaluated in low level layers from multi-wavelength lidar measurements, while chemical composition at ground was assessed using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and an Aethalometer. Classification of aerosol type and specific organic markers were used to explore the potential to sense the particles from the same origin at ground base and on profiles.

utilising agricultural waste to enhance food security and conserve

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sabiiti

becoming increasingly critical to the African farmer, in the wake of evolving ... amounts of agricultural wastes, both at farmer, municipality and city levels. The bulk .... result of the rising interest in organic products such as goat and maize production ... waste burning pollution observed in the town of Vitoria (northern Spain).

A process-based agricultural model for the irrigated agriculture sector in Alberta, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Ammar, M. E.; Davies, E. G.

2015-12-01

Connections between land and water, irrigation, agricultural productivity and profitability, policy alternatives, and climate change and variability are complex, poorly understood, and unpredictable. Policy assessment for agriculture presents a large potential for development of broad-based simulation models that can aid assessment and quantification of policy alternatives over longer temporal scales. The Canadian irrigated agriculture sector is concentrated in Alberta, where it represents two thirds of the irrigated land-base in Canada and is the largest consumer of surface water. Despite interest in irrigation expansion, its potential in Alberta is uncertain given a constrained water supply, significant social and economic development and increasing demands for both land and water, and climate change. This paper therefore introduces a system dynamics model as a decision support tool to provide insights into irrigation expansion in Alberta, and into trade-offs and risks associated with that expansion. It is intended to be used by a wide variety of users including researchers, policy analysts and planners, and irrigation managers. A process-based cropping system approach is at the core of the model and uses a water-driven crop growth mechanism described by AquaCrop. The tool goes beyond a representation of crop phenology and cropping systems by permitting assessment and quantification of the broader, long-term consequences of agricultural policies for Alberta's irrigation sector. It also encourages collaboration and provides a degree of transparency that gives confidence in simulation results. The paper focuses on the agricultural component of the systems model, describing the process involved; soil water and nutrients balance, crop growth, and water, temperature, salinity, and nutrients stresses, and how other disciplines can be integrated to account for the effects of interactions and feedbacks in the whole system. In later stages, other components such as

The Role Played by Agricultural Policy-based Finance in New Village Construction

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

The necessity of the agricultural policy-based finance in terms of supporting the new village construction is analyzed: in the first place, the theoretical roots of agricultural policy-based finance supporting new village construction are "market failure" and "government intervention"; in the second place, the continual decline of agriculture and the "rural financial market failure" in recent years have become the objective evidence and historical mission for agricultural policy-based finance to support new village construction; in the third place, the combination of agricultural policy-based finance and new village construction is conducive to solving the "three agriculture" problems and facilitating the reform of new village construction. The feasibility of the support is analyzed: firstly, agricultural policy-based finance boasts the status and position of the "primary drive" in new village construction; secondly, the nation continuously deepens the reform of rural financial system and policy-based banks and strengthens the functions of Agricultural Development Bank, which provides policies for agricultural policy-based finance to support new village construction; thirdly, the 14 years’ reform and development of Agricultural Development Bank and the eleventh five year plan lay sound practical basis for the support of agricultural policy-based finance to new village construction. Based on the necessity and feasibility, the following six aspects are analyzed to fully display the function of the "first engine" of agricultural policy-related finance to new village construction. Firstly, strengthening the credit and loan aid to grain and cotton and some other agricultural products in the circulation domain; secondly, strengthening the credit and loan aid to agricultural industrialization in processing field; thirdly, intensifying the credit and loan aid to agricultural comprehensive development, rural infrastructure construction, application and promotion of

Evaluation of the online-presence (homepage) of burn units/burn centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Selig, H F; Lumenta, D B; König, C; Andel, H; Kamolz, L P

2012-05-01

A successful online presence is an important key factor in the competition among hospitals today. However, little is known about the internet presence and the quality of websites of burn units on the World Wide Web. The aim was to assess the online presence of hospitals provided by specialized burn units in German speaking countries with a focus on the rate and the performance of actively run websites. A multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study was performed over a period of 1.5 month (October-December 2010). Forty-four burn units were assessed by using a previously generated criteria list. The list included 36 criteria with following topics: "research and teaching"; "patient care"; "clinical emphases", "general information"; "information brokerage". Overall, the websites examined offered a good overview about their different online services with many multimedia-based elements included. All websites consisted of hyperlinks, general multimedia-based elements and information on means of communication with the hospital, respectively. In contrast, the quality of specific information for burn patients was relatively poor. With regard to the need of elderly people, the usability and the layout, the different websites offer a lot of options for future improvements. Burn centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland already consider the World Wide Web as an important tool for self-promotion and communication. The potential of burn center websites to function as a knowledge base for first aid as well as preventive measurements should be considered and realized in future web site designs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Building Rural Communities through School-Based Agriculture Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Michael J.; Henry, Anna

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a substantive theory for community development by school-based agriculture programs through grounded theory methodology. Data for the study included in-depth interviews and field observations from three school-based agriculture programs in three non-metropolitan counties across a Midwestern state. The…

Does agricultural ecosystem cause environmental pollution in Pakistan? Promise and menace.

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Arif; Khan, Dilawar; Khan, Imran; Zheng, Shaofeng

2018-05-01

The increasing trend of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is the main cause of harmful anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which may result in environmental pollution, global warming, and climate change. These issues are expected to adversely affect the agricultural ecosystem and well-being of the society. In order to minimize food insecurity and prevent hunger, a timely adaptation is desirable to reduce potential losses and to seek alternatives for promoting a global knowledge system for agricultural sustainability. This paper examines the causal relationship between agricultural ecosystem and CO 2 emissions as an environmental pollution indicator in Pakistan from the period 1972 to 2014 by employing Johansen cointegration, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, and Granger causality approach. The Johansen cointegration results show that there is a significant long-run relationship between the agricultural ecosystem and the CO 2 emissions. The long-run relationship shows that a 1% increase in biomass burned crop residues, emissions of CO 2 equivalent of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from synthetic fertilizers, stock of livestock, agricultural machinery, cereal production, and other crop productions will increase CO 2 emissions by 1.29, 0.05, 0.45, 0.05, 0.03, and 0.65%, respectively. Further, our finding detects that there is a bidirectional causality of CO 2 emissions with rice area paddy harvested, cereal production, and other crop productions. The impulse response function analysis displays that biomass-burned crop residues, stock of livestock, agriculture machinery, cereal production, and other crop productions are significantly contributing to CO 2 emissions in Pakistan.

Bound princes and monogamy warnings: Harry Potter, slash, and queer performance in LiveJournal communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darlene Hampton

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Media fans often refer to their texts, practices, productions, and selves as works in progress—unfinished, in-between, and transformative. This article applies theoretical models of performance to the fannish practice of crafting slash fan fiction within LiveJournal communities. By examining the content and form of the fiction itself, its mode of production, and fannish interactions, this paper discusses fan practices as opportunities for media fans to engage in individual and collective performances that negotiate hegemonic norms of gender and sexuality. These negotiations often illustrate a disconnect between social conditioning and female desire in heteronormative and patriarchal culture, and demonstrate the utility of theories of performance in studying individual and collective fannish engagement with texts as a means of intervening in the world.

Interaction between Rural People’s Basic Needs and Forest Products: A Case Study of the Katha District of Myanmar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zar Chi Hlaing

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The understanding of interaction between rural people and forest products is one of the challenges faced while balancing forest product utilization with forest conservation in Myanmar. This study aims to contribute an effort to such challenges by analyzing the interaction of rural households with forest products in Myanmar. Data were collected using face-to-face questionnaire interviews with 218 households and conducting a rapid tree inventory across 132 circular random plots in selected rural communities around four townships of the Katha District. The empirical results indicate that the 95% of rural households were entirely dependent on forest products. The survey documented 13 main forest products and 54 tree species, which were primarily used for household consumption. Low-income households compared with medium- and high-income households with low educational level (p<0.05 and a small agricultural land area (p<0.05 were found to be more forest-dependent households. Illegal logging, mining, fuel-wood collection, slash-and-burn agriculture, and the establishment of forest plantations were reported as the main causes of forest products depletion. Findings from this study, although at a microlevel, can be used by the Myanmar Forestry Department as baseline information to improve community-based forest management activities.

Soil organic carbon stocks and changes upon forest regeneration in East Kalimantan- Indonesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yassir, I.

2012-01-01

Imperata grassland is a common vegetation type in Kalimantan (Indonesia), and other parts of South-East Asia. It indicates a high degree of degradation of the vegetation, and mostly occurs after slashing and burning of primary forest. Through secondary succession Imperata grassland is converted

Characteristics of Ambient Black Carbon Mass and Size-Resolved Particle Number Concentrations during Corn Straw Open-Field Burning Episode Observations at a Rural Site in Southern Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Yu-Hsiang; Yang, Li-Sing

2016-07-08

Information on the effect of open-field burning of agricultural residues on ambient black carbon (BC) mass and size-resolved particle number concentrations is scarce. In this study, to understand the effect of such open-field burning on short-term air quality, real-time variations of the BC mass and size-resolved particle number concentrations were monitored before and during a corn straw open-field burning episode at a rural site. Correlations between the BC mass and size-resolved particle number concentrations during the episode were investigated. Moreover, the particle number size distribution and absorption Ångström exponent were determined for obtaining the characteristics of aerosol emissions from the corn straw open-field burning. The results can be used to address public health concerns and as a reference for managing similar episodes of open-field burning of agricultural residues.

Telemedicine and burns: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Atiyeh, B; Dibo, S A; Janom, H H

2014-06-30

Access to specialized burn care is becoming more difficult and is being restricted by the decreasing number of specialized burn centers. It is also limited by distance and resources for many patients, particularly those living in poverty or in rural medically underserved communities. Telemedicine is a rapidly evolving technology related to the practice of medicine at a distance through rapid access to remote medical expertise by telecommunication and information technologies. Feasibility of telemedicine in burn care has been demonstrated by various centers. Its use facilitates the delivery of care to patients with burn injuries of all sizes. It allows delivery of acute care and can be appropriately used for a substantial portion of the long-term management of patients after a burn by guiding less-experienced surgeons to treat and follow-up patients more appropriately. Most importantly, it allows better effective triage which reduces unnecessary time and resource demanding referrals that might overwhelm system capacities. However, there are still numerous barriers to the implementation of telemedicine, including technical difficulties, legal uncertainties, limited financial support, reimbursement issues, and an inadequate evidence base of its value and efficiency.

Dissolved organic carbon in rainwater from areas heavily impacted by sugar cane burning

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, C. H.; Francisco, J. G.; Nogueira, R. F. P.; Campos, M. L. A. M.

This work reports on rainwater dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from Ribeirão Preto (RP) and Araraquara over a period of 3 years. The economies of these two cities, located in São Paulo state (Brazil), are based on agriculture and related industries, and the region is strongly impacted by the burning of sugar cane foliage before harvesting. Highest DOC concentrations were obtained when air masses traversed sugar cane fields burned on the same day as the rain event. Significant increases in the DOC volume weighted means (VWM) during the harvest period, for both sites, and a good linear correlation ( r = 0.83) between DOC and K (a biomass burning marker) suggest that regional scale organic carbon emissions prevail over long-range transport. The DOC VWMs and standard deviations were 272 ± 22 μmol L -1 ( n = 193) and 338 ± 40 μmol L -1 ( n = 80) for RP and Araraquara, respectively, values which are at least two times higher than those reported for other regions influenced by biomass burning, such as the Amazon. These high DOC levels are discussed in terms of agricultural activities, particularly the large usage of biogenic fuels in Brazil, as well as the analytical method used in this work, which includes volatile organic carbon when reporting DOC values. Taking into account rainfall volume, estimated annual rainwater DOC fluxes for RP (4.8 g C m -2 yr -1) and Araraquara (5.4 g C m -2 yr -1) were close to that previously found for the Amazon region (4.8 g C m -2 yr -1). This work also discusses whether previous calculations of the global rainwater carbon flux may have been underestimated, since they did not consider large inputs from biomass combustion sources, and suffered from a possible analytical bias.

Dark History of Our Lady of the Slash-Knife

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John C. Dawsey

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In the Garden of Flowers, over the ashes of the old Slash-Knife District, live the daughters – or granddaughters and great-granddaughters – of slaves and native South-American women “lassoed in the woods”. Many consider themselves also to be the daughters of Our Lady. The juxtaposition of maternal lineages may produce a montage-like effect. Do gestures of Indians and slaves flash in the bodily innervations of Our Lady? Signs of “dark histories” of Our Lady are found in subterranean regions of symbols. On this terrain, the study of historical patterns of settlement in Piracicaba, a city of the interior of São Paulo, may require a certain type of archaeology, involving a double dislocation, from bandeirante explorers to Our Lady, and from Our Lady to Indian and slave women “lassoed in the woods”. In these substrata the gesture of a boia-fria woman who “cut a man into pieces” stirs up the shadows of a nation.

Soil heating during wildfires and prescribed burns: a global evaluation based on existing and new data

Science.gov (United States)

Doerr, Stefan; Santin, Cristina; Reardon, James; Mataix-Solera, Jorge; Stoof, Cathelijne; Bryant, Rob; Miesel, Jessica; Badia, David

2017-04-01

Heat transfer from the combustion of ground fuels and soil organic matter during vegetation fires can cause substantial changes to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils. Numerous studies have investigated the effects of wildfires and prescribed burns on soil properties based either on field samples or using laboratory experiments. Critical thresholds for changes in soil properties, however, have been determined largely based on laboratory heating experimentation. These experimental approaches have been criticized for being inadequate for reflecting the actual heating patterns soil experienced in vegetation fires, which remain poorly understood. To address this research gap, this study reviews existing and evaluates new field data on key soil heating parameters determined during wildfires and prescribed burns from a wide range of environments. The results highlight the high spatial and temporal variability in soil heating patters not only between, but also within fires. Most wildfires and prescribed burns are associated with heat pulses that are much shorter than those typically applied in laboratory studies, which can lead to erroneous conclusions when results from laboratory studies are used to predict fire impacts on soils in the field.

77 FR 66578 - San Bernardino National Forest, Mountaintop Ranger District, CA, Santa Ana Watershed Hazardous...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-06

... shrub and herbaceous fuels and down wood in these areas. In some of these areas, dead trees would be cut... treatment and would result in an open forest structure with no standing dead trees, down logs, or other..., direct removal, or through hand or machine piling and burning. Wood slash piles would be burned, once the...

Acute pain management in burn patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gamst-Jensen, Hejdi; Vedel, Pernille Nygaard; Lindberg-Larsen, Viktoria Oline

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Burn patients suffer excruciating pain due to their injuries and procedures related to surgery, wound care, and mobilization. Acute Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, chronic pain and depression are highly prevalent among survivors of severe burns. Evidence-based pain...... patients. The most highly recommended guidelines provided clear and accurate recommendations for the nursing and medical staff on pain management in burn patients. We recommend the use of a validated appraisal tool such as the AGREE instrument to provide more consistent and evidence-based care to burn...

ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WASTE MATERIALS FROM HARD COAL BURNING IN VIEW OF THEIR AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Czech

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Production of electric power in Poland bases on burning brown and hard coal. Currently over 90 % of electricity originates from this source. Generating electric power, like many other human activities, inevitably involves production of wastes. Considering the previous trends of these waste materials utilisation, one should analyse also potential use of biogenic components which they contain as fertilizers. The main objective of conducted investigations was an assessment of potential application of selected waste materials, i.e. fly ashes from production, fly ashes from the landfill site and slag sand from “KRAKÓW S.A.” heat and power plant for agricultural and environmental purposes. The assessment was made on the basis of analyses of the following physical and chemical properties of studied materials: pH, granulometric composition determined by Bouyoucose-Casagrande method in Prószyński’s modification, total alkalinity, total nitrogen content assessed by means of Kjeldahl’s method, organic carbon by Tiurin’s method, total contents of trace elements and the content of available forms of trace elements soluble in 1 mol · dm-3 HCl solution. On the basis of conducted laboratory analyses it should be stated that the amounts of heavy metals determined in the studied materials did not exceed the content allowable for waste materials designed for soil liming. The analysed materials reveal physical and chemical properties which do not exclude their potential application for soil liming. In this respect, fly ash from production seems the best. However, it contains about twice lower amounts of CaO in comparison with other calcium fertilizers available on the market.

Changes in agricultural carbon emissions and factors that influence agricultural carbon emissions based on different stages in Xinjiang, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Chuanhe; Yang, Degang; Xia, Fuqiang; Huo, Jinwei

2016-11-10

Xinjiang's agricultural carbon emissions showed three stages of change, i.e., continued to rise, declined and continued to rise, during 1991-2014. The agriculture belonged to the "low emissions and high efficiency" agriculture category, with a lower agricultural carbon emission intensity. By using the logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition method, agricultural carbon emissions were decomposed into an efficiency factor, a structure factor, an economy factor, and a labour factor. We divided the study period into five stages based on the changes in efficiency factor and economy factor. Xinjiang showed different agricultural carbon emission characteristics at different stages. The degree of impact on agricultural carbon emissions at these stages depended on the combined effect of planting-animal husbandry carbon intensity and agricultural labour productivity. The economy factor was the critical factor to promote the increase in agricultural carbon emissions, while the main inhibiting factor for agricultural carbon emissions was the efficiency factor. The labour factor became more and more obvious in increasing agricultural carbon emissions. Finally, we discuss policy recommendations in terms of the main factors, including the development of agricultural science and technology (S&T), the establishment of three major mechanisms and transfer of rural labour in ethnic areas.

Burning mouth disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anand Bala

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Burning mouth disorder (BMD is a burning or stinging sensation affecting the oral mucosa, lips and/or tongue, in the absence of clinically visible mucosal lesions. There is a strong female predilection, with the age of onset being approximately 50 years. Affected patients often present with multiple oral complaints, including burning, dryness and taste alterations. The causes of BMD are multifactorial and remain poorly understood. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in this disorder with the discovery that the pain of burning mouth syndrome (BMS may be neuropathic in origin and originate both centrally and peripherally. The most common sites of burning are the anterior tongue, anterior hard palate and lower lip, but the distribution of oral sites affected does not appear to affect the natural history of the disorder or the response to treatment BMS may persist for many years. This article provides updated information on BMS and presents a new model, based on taste dysfunction, for its pathogenesis.

Determining the Uncertainties in Prescribed Burn Emissions Through Comparison of Satellite Estimates to Ground-based Estimates and Air Quality Model Evaluations in Southeastern US

Science.gov (United States)

Odman, M. T.; Hu, Y.; Russell, A. G.

2016-12-01

Prescribed burning is practiced throughout the US, and most widely in the Southeast, for the purpose of maintaining and improving the ecosystem, and reducing the wildfire risk. However, prescribed burn emissions contribute significantly to the of trace gas and particulate matter loads in the atmosphere. In places where air quality is already stressed by other anthropogenic emissions, prescribed burns can lead to major health and environmental problems. Air quality modeling efforts are under way to assess the impacts of prescribed burn emissions. Operational forecasts of the impacts are also emerging for use in dynamic management of air quality as well as the burns. Unfortunately, large uncertainties exist in the process of estimating prescribed burn emissions and these uncertainties limit the accuracy of the burn impact predictions. Prescribed burn emissions are estimated by using either ground-based information or satellite observations. When there is sufficient local information about the burn area, the types of fuels, their consumption amounts, and the progression of the fire, ground-based estimates are more accurate. In the absence of such information satellites remain as the only reliable source for emission estimation. To determine the level of uncertainty in prescribed burn emissions, we compared estimates derived from a burn permit database and other ground-based information to the estimates by the Biomass Burning Emissions Product derived from a constellation of NOAA and NASA satellites. Using these emissions estimates we conducted simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and predicted trace gas and particulate matter concentrations throughout the Southeast for two consecutive burn seasons (2015 and 2016). In this presentation, we will compare model predicted concentrations to measurements at monitoring stations and evaluate if the differences are commensurate with our emission uncertainty estimates. We will also investigate if

30 CFR 816.87 - Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste utilization.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste...-SURFACE MINING ACTIVITIES § 816.87 Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste utilization. (a) Coal mine... extinguishing operations. (b) No burning or burned coal mine waste shall be removed from a permitted disposal...

Comparison of global inventories of CO emissions from biomass burning derived from remotely sensed data

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D. Stroppiana

2010-12-01

Full Text Available We compare five global inventories of monthly CO emissions named VGT, ATSR, MODIS, GFED3 and MOPITT based on remotely sensed active fires and/or burned area products for the year 2003. The objective is to highlight similarities and differences by focusing on the geographical and temporal distribution and on the emissions for three broad land cover classes (forest, savanna/grassland and agriculture. Globally, CO emissions for the year 2003 range between 365 Tg CO (GFED3 and 1422 Tg CO (VGT. Despite the large uncertainty in the total amounts, some common spatial patterns typical of biomass burning can be identified in the boreal forests of Siberia, in agricultural areas of Eastern Europe and Russia and in savanna ecosystems of South America, Africa and Australia. Regionally, the largest difference in terms of total amounts (CV > 100% and seasonality is observed at the northernmost latitudes, especially in North America and Siberia where VGT appears to overestimate the area affected by fires. On the contrary, Africa shows the best agreement both in terms of total annual amounts (CV = 31% and of seasonality despite some overestimation of emissions from forest and agriculture observed in the MODIS inventory. In Africa VGT provides the most reliable seasonality. Looking at the broad land cover types, the range of contribution to the global emissions of CO is 64–74%, 23–32% and 3–4% for forest, savanna/grassland and agriculture, respectively. These results suggest that there is still large uncertainty in global estimates of emissions and it increases if the comparison is carried by out taking into account the temporal (month and spatial (0.5° × 0.5° cell dimensions. Besides the area affected by fires, also vegetation characteristics and conditions at the time of burning should also be accurately parameterized since they can greatly influence the global estimates of CO emissions.

Domestic biomass burning in rural and urban Zimbabwe: Pt. A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marufu, Lackson; Ludwig, Joerg; Andreae, M.O.; Meixner, F.X.; Helas, Guenter

1997-01-01

A questionnaire survey, to estimate biofuel consumption rates in rural and urban households in Zimbabwe, was conducted during the months of March and April 1995. The survey formed part of an integrated campaign aimed at establishing the extent to which domestic biofuel burning in Africa contributes to the atmospheric trace gas budget. Five study areas, four rural and one urban, were covered by the survey. The forms of biofuel used in rural areas were found to be wood, agricultural residues and cow dung, with wood being predominant. When available, agricultural residues were the second most popular form of fuel. Cow dung was only used in situations of severe fuel shortages. On average, rural consumption rates of wood, agricultural residues and cow dung for this time of the year were found to be 3.2, 1.5 and 0.2 kg/capita/day respectively. Wood and agricultural residues were the only biofuels used by urban households and were consumed at rates of 1.6 and > 0.1 kg/capitaday respectively. Across the study areas, consumption rates were a function of fuel availability. (author)

A high-resolution open biomass burning emission inventory based on statistical data and MODIS observations in mainland China

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Y.; Fan, M.; Huang, Z.; Zheng, J.; Chen, L.

2017-12-01

Open biomass burning which has adverse effects on air quality and human health is an important source of gas and particulate matter (PM) in China. Current emission estimations of open biomass burning are generally based on single source (alternative to statistical data and satellite-derived data) and thus contain large uncertainty due to the limitation of data. In this study, to quantify the 2015-based amount of open biomass burning, we established a new estimation method for open biomass burning activity levels by combining the bottom-up statistical data and top-down MODIS observations. And three sub-category sources which used different activity data were considered. For open crop residue burning, the "best estimate" of activity data was obtained by averaging the statistical data from China statistical yearbooks and satellite observations from MODIS burned area product MCD64A1 weighted by their uncertainties. For the forest and grassland fires, their activity levels were represented by the combination of statistical data and MODIS active fire product MCD14ML. Using the fire radiative power (FRP) which is considered as a better indicator of active fire level as the spatial allocation surrogate, coarse gridded emissions were reallocated into 3km ×3km grids to get a high-resolution emission inventory. Our results showed that emissions of CO, NOx, SO2, NH3, VOCs, PM2.5, PM10, BC and OC in mainland China were 6607, 427, 84, 79, 1262, 1198, 1222, 159 and 686 Gg/yr, respectively. Among all provinces of China, Henan, Shandong and Heilongjiang were the top three contributors to the total emissions. In this study, the developed open biomass burning emission inventory with a high-resolution could support air quality modeling and policy-making for pollution control.

Agricultural SWOT analysis and wisdom agriculture design of chengdu

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Chen, Xiangyu; Du, Shaoming; Yin, Guowei; Yu, Feng; Liu, Guicai; Gong, Jin; Han, Fujun

2017-08-01

According to the status of agricultural information, this paper analyzed the advantages, opportunities and challenges of developing wisdom agriculture in Chengdu. By analyzed the local characteristics of Chengdu agriculture, the construction program of Chengdu wisdom agriculture was designed, which was based on the existing agricultural informatization. The positioning and development theme of Chengdu agriculture is leisure agriculture, urban agriculture and quality agriculture.

Modeling Emissions and Vertical Plume Transport of Crop Residue Burning Experiments in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, L.; Baker, K. R.; Napelenok, S. L.; Pouliot, G.; Elleman, R. A.; ONeill, S. M.; Urbanski, S. P.; Wong, D. C.

2017-12-01

Crop residue burning has long been a common practice in agriculture with the smoke emissions from the burning linked to negative health impacts. A field study in eastern Washington and northern Idaho in August 2013 consisted of multiple burns of well characterized fuels with nearby surface and aerial measurements including trace species concentrations, plume rise height and boundary layer structure. The chemical transport model CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality Model) was used to assess the fire emissions and subsequent vertical plume transport. The study first compared assumptions made by the 2014 National Emission Inventory approach for crop residue burning with the fuel and emissions information obtained from the field study and then investigated the sensitivity of modeled carbon monoxide (CO) and PM2.5 concentrations to these different emission estimates and plume rise treatment with CMAQ. The study suggests that improvements to the current parameterizations are needed in order for CMAQ to reliably reproduce smoke plumes from burning. In addition, there is enough variability in the smoke emissions, stemming from variable field-specific information such as field size, that attempts to model crop residue burning should use field-specific information whenever possible.

Ammonia emissions from the agriculture sector in Argentina; 2000-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Castesana, Paula S.; Dawidowski, Laura E.; Finster, Laura; Gómez, Darío R.; Taboada, Miguel A.

2018-04-01

Agriculture is one of the key economic sectors in Argentina and, in the last decades, the increase in prices and competitiveness of some grains has imposed important changes. In this process, crop cultivation occupied significant extensions of land areas previously dedicated to livestock farming, which in turn have experienced intensification in terms of production through an increasing share of feedlot systems. The agriculture sector is the main NH3 emitter in Argentina, however no inventory developed locally has been thus far available. We estimated the time series 2000-2012 of NH3 emissions, both at national and spatially disaggregated levels. National NH3 emissions in 2012 amounted to 0.31 ± 0.08 Tg, with the use of mineral fertilizers accounting for 43.0%, manure in pasture 32.5%, manure management 23.0% and agricultural waste burning 1.5%. Urea use was the major source of NH3 emissions and its application on wheat and corn crops dominated the trend. Emissions from open biomass burning were estimated but not included in the national totals because of the difficulties in differentiating between agricultural (i.e., prescribed burning of savannas) and non-agricultural emission sources. Compared to this work, NH3 emissions reported by EDGAR were 83% higher than our estimates. The time series of spatially distributed NH3 emission estimates clearly showed the effect of the expansion of cropland, the displacement of planted areas of N-fertilizes crops by competing soybean cultivation and the relocation and intensification of beef cattle production. This new inventory constitutes a tool for policies concerning the impact of agricultural activities on air quality and contributes with more accurate and updated information useful for atmospheric chemical transport modeling. The accuracy and applicability of the inventory may be improved by local studies aimed at refining the spatial disaggregation by focusing in specific areas of fertilizer application, reflecting

Changes in agricultural carbon emissions and factors that influence agricultural carbon emissions based on different stages in Xinjiang, China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Chuanhe; Yang, Degang; Xia, Fuqiang; Huo, Jinwei

2016-01-01

Xinjiang’s agricultural carbon emissions showed three stages of change, i.e., continued to rise, declined and continued to rise, during 1991–2014. The agriculture belonged to the “low emissions and high efficiency” agriculture category, with a lower agricultural carbon emission intensity. By using the logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition method, agricultural carbon emissions were decomposed into an efficiency factor, a structure factor, an economy factor, and a labour factor. We divided the study period into five stages based on the changes in efficiency factor and economy factor. Xinjiang showed different agricultural carbon emission characteristics at different stages. The degree of impact on agricultural carbon emissions at these stages depended on the combined effect of planting-animal husbandry carbon intensity and agricultural labour productivity. The economy factor was the critical factor to promote the increase in agricultural carbon emissions, while the main inhibiting factor for agricultural carbon emissions was the efficiency factor. The labour factor became more and more obvious in increasing agricultural carbon emissions. Finally, we discuss policy recommendations in terms of the main factors, including the development of agricultural science and technology (S&T), the establishment of three major mechanisms and transfer of rural labour in ethnic areas. PMID:27830739

Improved Rice Residue Burning Emissions Estimates: Accounting for Practice-Specific Emission Factors in Air Pollution Assessments of Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Lasko, Kristofer; Vadrevu, Krishna

2018-01-01

In Southeast Asia and Vietnam, rice residues are routinely burned after the harvest to prepare fields for the next season. Specific to Vietnam, the two prevalent burning practices include: a). piling the residues after hand harvesting; b). burning the residues without piling, after machine harvesting. In this study, we synthesized field and laboratory studies from the literature on rice residue burning emission factors for Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). We found significant differences in the resulting burning-practice specific emission factors, with 16.9 grams per square kilogram (plus or minus 6.9) for pile burning and 8.8 grams per square kilogram (plus or minus 3.5) for non-pile burning. We calculated burning practice specific emissions based on rice area data, region-specific fuel-loading factors, combined emission factors, and estimates of burning from the literature. Our results for year 2015 estimate 180 gigagrams of PM2.5 result from the pile burning method and 130 gigagrams result from non-pile burning method, with the most-likely current emission scenario of 150 gigagrams PM2.5 emissions for Vietnam. For comparison purposes, we calculated emissions using generalized agricultural emission factors employed in global biomass burning studies. These results estimate 80 gigagrams PM2.5, which is only 44 percent of the pile burning-based estimates, suggesting underestimation in previous studies. We compare our emissions to an existing all-combustion sources inventory, results show emissions account for 14-18 percent of Vietnam's total PM2.5 depending on burning practice. Within the highly-urbanized and cloud-covered Hanoi Capital region (HCR), we use rice area from Sentinel-1A to derive spatially-explicit emissions and indirectly estimate residue burning dates. Results from HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) back-trajectory analysis stratified by season show autumn has most emission trajectories originating in

An Algorithm and Implementation Based on an Agricultural EOQ Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Zhineng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available With the improvement of living quality, the agricultural supermarket gradually take the place of the farmers market as the trend. But the agricultural supermarkets’ inappropriate inventory strategies are wasteful and inefficient. So this paper will put forward an inventory strategy for the agricultural supermarkets to lead the conductor decides when and how much to shelve the product. This strategy has significant meaning that it can reduce the loss and get more profit. The research methods are based on the inventory theory and the EOQ model, but the authors add multiple cycles’ theory to them because of the agricultural products’ decreasing characteristics. The research procedures are shown as follows. First, the authors do research in the agricultural supermarket to find their real conduction, and then put forward the new strategy in this paper. Second, the authors found out the model. At last, the authors search the specialty agriculture document to find the data such as the loss rate and the fresh parameters, and solve it out by MATLAB. The numerical result proves that the strategy is better than the real conduction in agricultural supermarket, and it also proves the feasibility.

Laser ignition device and its application to forestry, fire and land management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waterworth, M.D.

1987-01-01

A laser ignition device for controlled burning of forest logging slash has been developed and successfully tested. The device, which uses a kilowatt class carbon dioxide laser, operates at distances of 50 to 1500 meters. Acquisition and focus control are achieved by the use of a laser rangefinder and acquisition telescope. Additional uses for the device include back burning, selected undergrowth removal, safe ignition of oil spills, and deicing. A truck mounted version will be operational by fall 1987 and an airborne version by summer 1988. (author)

Laser ignition device and its application to forestry, fire and land management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waterworth, M. D.

1987-11-15

A laser ignition device for controlled burning of forest logging slash has been developed and successfully tested. The device, which uses a kilowatt class carbon dioxide laser, operates at distances of 50 to 1500 meters. Acquisition and focus control are achieved by the use of a laser rangefinder and acquisition telescope. Additional uses for the device include back burning, selected undergrowth removal, safe ignition of oil spills, and deicing. A truck mounted version will be operational by fall 1987 and an airborne version by summer 1988. (author)

Airborne reduced nitrogen: ammonia emissions from agriculture and other sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Natalie; Strader, Ross; Davidson, Cliff

2003-06-01

Ammonia is a basic gas and one of the most abundant nitrogen-containing compounds in the atmosphere. When emitted, ammonia reacts with oxides of nitrogen and sulfur to form particles, typically in the fine particle size range. Roughly half of the PM(2.5) mass in eastern United States is ammonium sulfate, according to the US EPA. Results from recent studies of PM(2.5) show that these fine particles are typically deposited deep in the lungs and may lead to increased morbidity and/or mortality. Also, these particles are in the size range that will degrade visibility. Ammonia emission inventories are usually constructed by multiplying an activity level by an experimentally determined emission factor for each source category. Typical sources of ammonia include livestock, fertilizer, soils, forest fires and slash burning, industry, vehicles, the oceans, humans, pets, wild animals, and waste disposal and recycling activities. Livestock is the largest source category in the United States, with waste from livestock responsible for about 3x10(9) kg of ammonia in 1995. Volatilization of ammonia from livestock waste is dependent on many parameters, and thus emission factors are difficult to predict. Despite a seasonal variation in these values, the emission factors for general livestock categories are usually annually averaged in current inventories. Activity levels for livestock are from the USDA Census of Agriculture, which does not give information about animal raising practices such as housing types and grazing times, waste handling systems, and approximate animal slurry spreading times or methods. Ammonia emissions in the United States in 1995 from sources other than livestock are much lower; for example, annual emissions are roughly 8x10(8) kg from fertilizer, 7x10(7) kg from industry, 5x10(7) kg from vehicles and 1x10(8) kg from humans. There is considerable uncertainty in the emissions from soil and vegetation, although this category may also be significant

Importance of log size on host selection and reproductive success of Ips pini (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in ponderosa pine slash of northern Arizona and western Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Brytten E. Steed; Michael R. Wagner

2004-01-01

Pine engraver, Ips pini (Say), often use thinning slash, and their populations are known to be influenced by the condition of this material. In our study, we evaluated the importance of three log diameters (5, 10, and 20 cm) and three lengths (60, 120, and 240 cm) on various parameters of bark beetle host attack, development, and emergence....

The Role of Soil Biological Function in Regulating Agroecosystem Services and Sustainability in the Quesungual Agroforestry System

Science.gov (United States)

Fonte, S.; Pauli, N.; Rousseau, L.; SIX, J. W. U. A.; Barrios, E.

2014-12-01

The Quesungual agroforestry system from western Honduras has been increasingly promoted as a promising alternative to traditional slash-and-burn agriculture in tropical dry forest regions of the Americas. Improved residue management and the lack of burning in this system can greatly impact soil biological functioning and a number of key soil-based ecosystem services, yet our understanding of these processes has not been thoroughly integrated to understand system functionality as a whole that can guide improved management. To address this gap, we present a synthesis of various field studies conducted in Central America aimed at: 1) quantifying the influence of the Quesungual agroforestry practices on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity, and 2) understanding how these organisms influence key soil-based ecosystem services that ultimately drive the success of this system. A first set of studies examined the impact of agroecosystem management on soil macrofauna populations, soil fertility and key soil processes. Results suggest that residue inputs (derived from tree biomass pruning), a lack of burning, and high tree densities, lead to conditions that support abundant, diverse soil macrofauna communities under agroforestry, with soil organic carbon content comparable to adjacent forest. Additionally, there is great potential in working with farmers to develop refined soil quality indicators for improved land management. A second line of research explored interactions between residue management and earthworms in the regulation of soil-based ecosystem services. Earthworms are the most prominent ecosystem engineers in these soils. We found that earthworms are key drivers of soil structure maintenance and the stabilization of soil organic matter within soil aggregates, and also had notable impacts on soil nutrient dynamics. However, the impact of earthworms appears to depend on residue management practices, thus indicating the need for an integrated approach for

In-situ burning of heavy oils and Orimulsion : mid-scale burns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingas, M.F.; Fieldhouse, B.; Brown, C.E.; Gamble, L.

2004-01-01

In-situ burning is considered to be a viable means to clean oil spills on water. In-situ burning, when performed under the right conditions, can reduce the volume of spilled oil and eliminate the need to collect, store, transport and dispose of the recovered oil. This paper presented the results of bench-scale in-situ burning tests in which Bunker C, Orimulsion and weathered bitumen were burned outdoors during the winter in burn pans of approximately 1 square metre. Each test was conducted on salt water which caused the separation of the bitumen from the water in the Orimulsion. Small amounts of diesel fuel was used to ignite the heavy oils. Quantitative removal of the fuels was achieved in all cases, but re-ignition was required for the Orimulsion. Maximum efficiency was in the order of 70 per cent. The residue was mostly asphaltenes and resins which cooled to a solid, glass like material that could be readily removed. The study showed that the type of oil burned influences the behaviour of the burns. Bunker C burned quite well and Orimulsion burned efficiently, but re-ignition was necessary. It was concluded that there is potential for burning heavy oils of several types in-situ. 6 refs., 7 tabs., 18 figs

Potential and impacts of renewable energy production from agricultural biomass in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Tingting; McConkey, Brian; Huffman, Ted; Smith, Stephen; MacGregor, Bob; Yemshanov, Denys; Kulshreshtha, Suren

2014-01-01

Highlights: • This study quantifies the bioenergy production potential in the Canadian agricultural sector. • Two presented scenarios included the mix of market and non-market policy targets and the market-only drivers. • The scenario that used mix of market and policy drivers had the largest impact on the production of bioenergy. • The production of biomass-based ethanol and electricity could cause moderate land use changes up to 0.32 Mha. • Overall, agricultural sector has a considerable potential to generate renewable energy from biomass. - Abstract: Agriculture has the potential to supply considerable amounts of biomass for renewable energy production from dedicated energy crops as well as from crop residues of existing production. Bioenergy production can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using ethanol and biodiesel to displace petroleum-based fuels and through direct burning of biomass to offset coal use for generating electricity. We used the Canadian Economic and Emissions Model for Agriculture to estimate the potential for renewable energy production from biomass, the impacts on agricultural production, land use change and greenhouse gas emissions. We explored two scenarios: the first considers a combination of market incentives and policy mandates (crude oil price of $120 bbl −1 ; carbon offset price of $50 Mg −1 CO 2 equivalent and policy targets of a substitution of 20% of gasoline by biomass-based ethanol; 8% of petroleum diesel by biodiesel and 20% of coal-based electricity by direct biomass combustion), and a second scenario considers only carbon offset market incentives priced at $50 Mg −1 CO 2 equivalent. The results show that under the combination of market incentives and policy mandates scenario, the production of biomass-based ethanol and electricity increases considerably and could potentially cause substantial changes in land use practices. Overall, agriculture has considerable potential to

Spatial frequency domain imaging of burn wounds in a preclinical model of graded burn severity

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, John Quan; Crouzet, Christian; Mai, Tuan; Riola, Kathleen; Uchitel, Daniel; Liaw, Lih-Huei; Bernal, Nicole; Ponticorvo, Adrien; Choi, Bernard; Durkin, Anthony J.

2013-06-01

Frequent monitoring of early-stage burns is necessary for deciding optimal treatment and management. Both superficial and full thickness burns are relatively easy to diagnose based on clinical observation. In between these two extremes are superficial-partial thickness and deep-partial thickness burns. These burns, while visually similar, differ dramatically in terms of clinical treatment and are known to progress in severity over time. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) for noninvasively mapping quantitative changes in chromophore and optical properties that may be an indicative of burn wound severity. A controlled protocol of graded burn severity was developed and applied to 17 rats. SFDI data was acquired at multiple near-infrared wavelengths over a course of 3 h. Burn severity was verified using hematoxylin and eosin histology. From this study, we found that changes in water concentration (edema), deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration, and optical scattering (tissue denaturation) to be statistically significant at differentiating superficial partial-thickness burns from deep-partial thickness burns.

The Western Australia Population-based Burn Injury Project: Using record linkage to examine long-term effects of burn injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janine Duke

2017-04-01

Both minor and severe burns were associated with increased long-term cardiovascular and musculoskeletal morbidity and mortality. These results identify treatment needs for burn patients for a prolonged time after discharge. Further research that links primary care and pharmaceutical data is required to facilitate identification of at-risk patients and appropriate treatment pathways to reduce post-burn morbidity.

Fuel burning and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aunan, Kristin

2004-01-01

Emission of soot particles and other air pollution indoors constitutes a considerable health hazard for a major part of the population in many developing countries, one of them being China. In these countries problems relating to poverty are the most important risk factors, undernourishment being the dominating reason. Number four on the list of the most serious health hazards is indoor air pollution caused by burning of coal and biomass in the households. Very high levels of soot particles occur indoors because of incomplete combustion in old-fashioned stoves and by use of low quality fuel such as sticks and twigs and straw and other waste from agriculture. This leads to an increase in a series of acute and chronic respiratory diseases, including lung cancer. It has been pointed out in recent years that emissions due to incomplete combustion of coal and biomass can contribute considerably to climate changes

Carbon dioxide emissions and energy balance closure before, during, and after biomass burning in mid-South rice fields

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, B.; Adviento-Borbe, A.; Reba, M. L.; Runkle, B.; Suvocarev, K.

2017-12-01

Biomass burning or field burning is a crop management practice that removes rice straw, reduces tillage, controls pests and releases nutrients for the next cropping season. Current field burning emissions are not included in agricultural field annual emissions largely because of the lack of studies, especially on the field scale. Field burning measurements are important for greenhouse gas emission inventories and quantifying the annual carbon footprint of rice. Paired eddy covariance systems were used to measure energy balance, CO2 fluxes, and H2O fluxes in mid-South US rice fields (total area of 25 ha) before, during and after biomass burning for 20 days after harvest. During the biomass burning, air temperatures increased 29°C, while ambient CO2 concentration increased from 402 to 16,567 ppm and H2O concentrations increased from 18.73 to 25.62 ppt. For the burning period, 67-86 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1 was emitted calculated by integrating fluxes over the biomass burning event. However, the estimated emission using aboveground biomass and combustion factors was calculated as 11,733 kg CO2 ha-1 period-1. Part of the difference could be attributed to sensor sensitivity decreasing 80% during burning for two minutes due to smoke. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) increased by a factor of two, 1.14 before burning to 2.44 μmol m-2 s-1 possibly due to greater reduction of plant material and photosynthesis following burning. This study highlights the contribution of rice straw burning to total CO2 emissions from rice production.

Regional markets with agricultural workforce based on Labour offices' data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

František Nohel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The changes in Czech agriculture over the past twenty years have had their impact on the agricultural labour market, too. The regional differentiation of the chances of applicants on the labour market as well as the agricultural enterprises’ chances of hiring employees fitting their requirements, are, among others, influenced by the specific conditions of agricultural production. The aim of this paper pertains to two basic problem areas: first, the differentiation of respective regions based on the number of agricultural applicants and job vacancies, and second, the identification of disequilibrium on the agricultural labour market. The latter is based on a theoretical framework defined by approaches in economy dealing with labour market equilibrium. Due to the unavailability of economic data (including wages, economic performance, etc. on the regional level, authors develop their own methodological approach, based on the number of applicants per job vacancy. A database of applicants and vacancies available from the Labour Offices is used as a source for the analysis and interpretation of data, enabling us to study the agricultural labour market not only sector-wise but also region-wise.

Ceruloplasmin and Hypoferremia: Studies in Burn and Non-Burn Trauma Patients

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-06

ceruloplasmin; ferroxidase; iron status; oxidant stress; burn; trauma 1. Introduction Iron is an essential element for life that facilitates...899–906. 45. Shakespeare , P.G. Studies on the serum levels of iron, copper and zinc and the urinary excretion of zinc after burn injury. Burns Incl

Root Disease, Longleaf Pine Mortality, and Prescribed Burning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otrosina, W.J; C.H. Walkinshaw; S.J. Zarnoch; S-J. Sung; B.T. Sullivan

2001-01-01

Study to determine factors involved in decline of longleaf pine associated with prescribed burning. Trees having symptoms were recorded by crown rating system based upon symptom severity-corresponded to tree physiological status-increased in hot burn plots. Root pathogenic fungi widespread throughout the study site. Histological studies show high fine root mortality rate in the hot burn treatment. Decline syndrome is complexed by root pathogens, soil factors, root damage and dysfunction.

Global Burned Area and Biomass Burning Emissions from Small Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Randerson, J. T.; Chen, Y.; vanderWerf, G. R.; Rogers, B. M.; Morton, D. C.

2012-01-01

In several biomes, including croplands, wooded savannas, and tropical forests, many small fires occur each year that are well below the detection limit of the current generation of global burned area products derived from moderate resolution surface reflectance imagery. Although these fires often generate thermal anomalies that can be detected by satellites, their contributions to burned area and carbon fluxes have not been systematically quantified across different regions and continents. Here we developed a preliminary method for combining 1-km thermal anomalies (active fires) and 500 m burned area observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to estimate the influence of these fires. In our approach, we calculated the number of active fires inside and outside of 500 m burn scars derived from reflectance data. We estimated small fire burned area by computing the difference normalized burn ratio (dNBR) for these two sets of active fires and then combining these observations with other information. In a final step, we used the Global Fire Emissions Database version 3 (GFED3) biogeochemical model to estimate the impact of these fires on biomass burning emissions. We found that the spatial distribution of active fires and 500 m burned areas were in close agreement in ecosystems that experience large fires, including savannas across southern Africa and Australia and boreal forests in North America and Eurasia. In other areas, however, we observed many active fires outside of burned area perimeters. Fire radiative power was lower for this class of active fires. Small fires substantially increased burned area in several continental-scale regions, including Equatorial Asia (157%), Central America (143%), and Southeast Asia (90%) during 2001-2010. Globally, accounting for small fires increased total burned area by approximately by 35%, from 345 Mha/yr to 464 Mha/yr. A formal quantification of uncertainties was not possible, but sensitivity

30 CFR 817.87 - Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste utilization.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste...-UNDERGROUND MINING ACTIVITIES § 817.87 Coal mine waste: Burning and burned waste utilization. (a) Coal mine... extinguishing operations. (b) No burning or unburned coal mine waste shall be removed from a permitted disposal...

MODIS 250m burned area mapping based on an algorithm using change point detection and Markov random fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Mota, Bernardo; Pereira, Jose; Campagnolo, Manuel; Killick, Rebeca

2013-04-01

Area burned in tropical savannas of Brazil was mapped using MODIS-AQUA daily 250m resolution imagery by adapting one of the European Space Agency fire_CCI project burned area algorithms, based on change point detection and Markov random fields. The study area covers 1,44 Mkm2 and was performed with data from 2005. The daily 1000 m image quality layer was used for cloud and cloud shadow screening. The algorithm addresses each pixel as a time series and detects changes in the statistical properties of NIR reflectance values, to identify potential burning dates. The first step of the algorithm is robust filtering, to exclude outlier observations, followed by application of the Pruned Exact Linear Time (PELT) change point detection technique. Near-infrared (NIR) spectral reflectance changes between time segments, and post change NIR reflectance values are combined into a fire likelihood score. Change points corresponding to an increase in reflectance are dismissed as potential burn events, as are those occurring outside of a pre-defined fire season. In the last step of the algorithm, monthly burned area probability maps and detection date maps are converted to dichotomous (burned-unburned maps) using Markov random fields, which take into account both spatial and temporal relations in the potential burned area maps. A preliminary assessment of our results is performed by comparison with data from the MODIS 1km active fires and the 500m burned area products, taking into account differences in spatial resolution between the two sensors.

Comparison of pixel and object-based classification for burned area mapping using SPOT-6 images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elif Sertel

2016-07-01

Full Text Available On 30 May 2013, a forest fire occurred in Izmir, Turkey causing damage to both forest and fruit trees within the region. In this research, pre- and post-fire SPOT-6 images obtained on 30 April 2013 and 31 May 2013 were used to identify the extent of forest fire within the region. SPOT-6 images of the study region were orthorectified and classified using pixel and object-based classification (OBC algorithms to accurately delineate the boundaries of burned areas. The present results show that for OBC using only normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI thresholds is not sufficient enough to map the burn scars; however, creating a new and simple rule set that included mean brightness values of near infrared and red channels in addition to mean NDVI values of segments considerably improved the accuracy of classification. According to the accuracy assessment results, the burned area was mapped with a 0.9322 kappa value in OBC, while a 0.7433 kappa value was observed in pixel-based classification. Lastly, classification results were integrated with the forest management map to determine the effected forest types after the fire to be used by the National Forest Directorate for their operational activities to effectively manage the fire, response and recovery processes.

Reactive burn models and ignition & growth concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaw M.S.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Plastic-bonded explosives are heterogeneous materials. Experimentally, shock initiation is sensitive to small amounts of porosity, due to the formation of hot spots (small localized regions of high temperature. This leads to the Ignition & Growth concept, introduced by LeeTarver in 1980, as the basis for reactive burn models. A homo- genized burn rate needs to account for three meso-scale physical effects: (i the density of active hot spots or burn centers; (ii the growth of the burn fronts triggered by the burn centers; (iii a geometric factor that accounts for the overlap of deflagration wavelets from adjacent burn centers. These effects can be combined and the burn model defined by specifying the reaction progress variable λ = g(s as a function of a dimensionless reaction length s(t = rbc/ℓbc, rather than by specifying an explicit burn rate. The length scale ℓbc(Ps = [Nbc(Ps]−1/3 is the average distance between burn centers, where Nbc is the number density of burn centers activated by the lead shock. The reaction length rbc(t = ∫t0 D(P(t′dt′ is the distance the burn front propagates from a single burn center, where D(P is the deflagration speed as a function of the local pressure and t is the time since the shock arrival. A key implementation issue is how to determine the lead shock strength in conjunction with a shock capturing scheme. We have developed a robust algorithm for this purpose based on the Hugoniot jump condition for the energy. The algorithm utilizes the time dependence of density, pressure and energy within each cell. The method is independent of the numerical dissipation used for shock capturing. It is local and can be used in one or more space dimensions. The burn model has a small number of parameters which can be calibrated to fit velocity gauge data from shock initiation experiments.

Chemical speciation, transport and contribution of biomass burning smoke to ambient aerosol in Guangzhou, a mega city of China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhisheng; Engling, Guenter; Lin, Chuan-Yao; Chou, Charles C.-K.; Lung, Shih-Chun C.; Chang, Shih-Yu; Fan, Shaojia; Chan, Chuen-Yu; Zhang, Yuan-Hang

2010-08-01

Intensive measurements of aerosol (PM 10) and associated water-soluble ionic and carbonaceous species were conducted in Guangzhou, a mega city of China, during summer 2006. Elevated levels of most chemical species were observed especially at nighttime during two episodes, characterized by dramatic build-up of the biomass burning tracers levoglucosan and non-sea-salt potassium, when the prevailing wind direction had changed due to two approaching tropical cyclones. High-resolution air mass back trajectories based on the MM5 model revealed that air masses with high concentrations of levoglucosan (43-473 ng m -3) and non-sea-salt potassium (0.83-3.2 μg m -3) had passed over rural regions of the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong Province, where agricultural activities and field burning of crop residues are common practices. The relative contributions of biomass burning smoke to organic carbon in PM 10 were estimated from levoglucosan data to be on average 7.0 and 14% at daytime and nighttime, respectively, with maxima of 9.7 and 32% during the episodic transport events, indicating that biomass and biofuel burning activities in the rural parts of the Pearl River Delta and neighboring regions could have a significant impact on ambient urban aerosol levels.

Making of a burn unit: SOA burn center

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Jayant Kumar Dash

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Each year in India, burn injuries account for more than 6 million hospital emergency department visits; of which many require hospitalization and are referred to specialized burn centers. There are few burn surgeons and very few burn centers in India. In our state, Odisha, there are only two burn centers to cater to more than 5000 burn victims per year. This article is an attempt to share the knowledge that I acquired while setting up a new burn unit in a private medical college of Odisha.

Integrating recycling, renewable energy and agriculture for commercial waste to wealth businesses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gan Khai Chung; Angeline Pang

2010-01-01

Recycling organic material to produce renewable energy and organic fertilizer is an attractive business model in waste to wealth business proposition. Azed Bina Sdn Bhd has developed an integrated recycling facility to recycle solid organic materials into energy and organic fertilizer, a project partially funded by MOSTI TechnoFund in 2008. The novel and innovative aspect is the water disassociation technology which separates the water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas economically using thermal heat from the burning of biomass which is a waste material. This system is modular, scalable, economical and environmental friendly. It has many applications in the field of, Environment and Solid Waste Management - recycling organic waste into energy and organic fertilizer rather than disposal at the landfill, hence preserving our environment. Green technology - economical biogas production consists of 50% hydrogen gas which is a clean and renewable energy source. The biogas has many applications in the food industry, manufacturing industry and agriculture sector. Agro-based industry - production of clean heat energy is useful for the drying of agriculture crops. Agriculture Sector - production of ash can be used to produce organic fertilizer by incorporating effective microbes. Reduce the dependence on chemical fertilizer which is bad for the environment Rural Development - developing rural area by integrating small scale industries, agro based industry, agriculture and rural area. The company commercial applications of recycling organic materials to produce energy for companies such as laundry business, agro based food drying and waste management recycling. The next project is to provide chilled water using organic waste. (author)

Biomass Burning Emissions in the Cerrado of Brazil Computed with Remote Sensing Data and GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Guild, Liane S.; Brass, James A.; Chatfield, Robert B.; Hlavka, Christine A.; Riggan, Philip J.; Setzer, Alberto; Pereira, Joao A. Raposo; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Biomass burnin is a common force in much of the developing tropical world where it has wide-ranging environmental impacts. Fire is a component of tropical deforestation and is 0 p often used to clear broad expanses of land for shifting agriculture and cattle ranching. Frequent burning in the tropical savannas is a distinct problem from that of primary forest. In Brazil, most of the burning occurs in the cerrado which occupies approximately 1,800,000 km2, primarily on the great plateau in central Brazil. Wildland and agricultural fires are dramatic sources of regional air pollution in central Brazil. Biomass burning is an important source of a large number of trace gases including greenhouse gases and other chemically active species. Knowledge of trace gas emissions from biomass burning in Brazil is limited by a number of factors, most notably relative emission factors for gases from specific fire types/fuels and accurate estimates of temporal and spatial distribution and extent of fire activity. Estimates of trace gas emissions during September 1992 will be presented that incorporates a digital map of vegetation classes, pyrogenic emission factors calculated from ground and aircraft missions, and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) fire products derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. The regional emissions calculated from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) AVHRR estimates of fire activity will provide an independent estimate for comparison with results obtained by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry Near the Equator - Atlantic (TRACE-A) experiments.

Open burning of rice, corn and wheat straws: primary emissions, photochemical aging, and secondary organic aerosol formation

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Zheng; Deng, Wei; Zhang, Yanli; Ding, Xiang; Tang, Mingjin; Liu, Tengyu; Hu, Qihou; Zhu, Ming; Wang, Zhaoyi; Yang, Weiqiang; Huang, Zhonghui; Song, Wei; Bi, Xinhui; Chen, Jianmin; Sun, Yele; George, Christian; Wang, Xinming

2017-12-01

Agricultural residues are among the most abundant biomass burned globally, especially in China. However, there is little information on primary emissions and photochemical evolution of agricultural residue burning. In this study, indoor chamber experiments were conducted to investigate primary emissions from open burning of rice, corn and wheat straws and their photochemical aging as well. Emission factors of NOx, NH3, SO2, 67 non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), particulate matter (PM), organic aerosol (OA) and black carbon (BC) under ambient dilution conditions were determined. Olefins accounted for > 50 % of the total speciated NMHCs emission (2.47 to 5.04 g kg-1), indicating high ozone formation potential of straw burning emissions. Emission factors of PM (3.73 to 6.36 g kg-1) and primary organic carbon (POC, 2.05 to 4.11 gC kg-1), measured at dilution ratios of 1300 to 4000, were lower than those reported in previous studies at low dilution ratios, probably due to the evaporation of semi-volatile organic compounds under high dilution conditions. After photochemical aging with an OH exposure range of (1.97-4.97) × 1010 molecule cm-3 s in the chamber, large amounts of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were produced with OA mass enhancement ratios (the mass ratio of total OA to primary OA) of 2.4-7.6. The 20 known precursors could only explain 5.0-27.3 % of the observed SOA mass, suggesting that the major precursors of SOA formed from open straw burning remain unidentified. Aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) signaled that the aged OA contained less hydrocarbons but more oxygen- and nitrogen-containing compounds than primary OA, and carbon oxidation state (OSc) calculated with AMS resolved O / C and H / C ratios increased linearly (p < 0.001) with OH exposure with quite similar slopes.

[Surgical treatment of burns : Special aspects of pediatric burns].

Science.gov (United States)

Bührer, G; Beier, J P; Horch, R E; Arkudas, A

2017-05-01

Treatment of pediatric burn patients is very important because of the sheer frequency of burn wounds and the possible long-term ramifications. Extensive burns need special care and are treated in specialized burn centers. The goal of this work is to present current standards in burn therapy and important innovations in the treatment of burns in children so that the common and small area burn wounds and scalds in pediatric patients in day-to-day dermatological practice can be adequately treated. Analysis of current literature, discussion of reviews, incorporation of current guidelines. Burns in pediatric patients are common. Improvement of survival can be achieved by treatment in burn centers. The assessment of burn depth and area is an important factor for proper treatment. We give an overview for outpatient treatment of partial thickness burns. New methods may result in better long-term outcome. Adequate treatment of burn injuries considering current literature and guidelines improves patient outcome. Rational implementation of new methods is recommended.

A non-destructive surface burn detection method for ferrous metals based on acoustic emission and ensemble empirical mode decomposition: from laser simulation to grinding process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zhensheng; Wu, Haixi; Yu, Zhonghua; Huang, Youfang

2014-01-01

Grinding is usually done in the final finishing of a component. As a result, the surface quality of finished products, e.g., surface roughness, hardness and residual stress, are affected by the grinding procedure. However, the lack of methods for monitoring of grinding makes it difficult to control the quality of the process. This paper focuses on the monitoring approaches for the surface burn phenomenon in grinding. A non-destructive burn detection method based on acoustic emission (AE) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) was proposed for this purpose. To precisely extract the AE features caused by phase transformation during burn formation, artificial burn was produced to mimic grinding burn by means of laser irradiation, since laser-induced burn involves less mechanical and electrical noise. The burn formation process was monitored by an AE sensor. The frequency band ranging from 150 to 400 kHz was believed to be related to surface burn formation in the laser irradiation process. The burn-sensitive frequency band was further used to instruct feature extraction during the grinding process based on EEMD. Linear classification results evidenced a distinct margin between samples with and without surface burn. This work provides a practical means for grinding burn detection. (paper)

Crude oil burning mechanisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Gelderen, Laurens; Malmquist, L.M.V.; Jomaas, Grunde

2015-01-01

In order to improve predictions for the burning efficiency and the residue composition of in-situ burning of crude oil, the burning mechanism of crude oil was studied in relation to the composition of its hydrocarbon mixture, before, during and after the burning. The surface temperature, flame...... height, mass loss rate and residues of three hydrocarbon liquids (n-octane, dodecane and hexadecane), two crude oils (DUC and REBCO) and one hydrocarbon liquid mixture of the aforementioned hydrocarbon liquids were studied using the Crude Oil Flammability Apparatus. The experimental results were compared...... on the highest achievable oil slick temperature. Based on this mechanism, predictions can then be made depending on the hydrocarbon composition of the fuel and the measured surface temperature....

Renewable energy from pyrolysis using crops and agricultural residuals: An economic and environmental evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kung, Chih-Chun; Zhang, Ning

2015-01-01

This study examines pyrolysis-based electricity generation and ethanol production using various crops and agricultural residuals in Taiwan. It analyzes the net economic and environmental effects within the framework of the Extended Taiwanese Agricultural Sector Model by incorporating ongoing and potential gasoline, coal and GHG (greenhouse gas) prices. The study discusses the effects of agricultural shifts, which have several important implications for the Taiwanese bioenergy development. First, the cost of collecting rice straw is much lower than the production cost of other energy crops, implying that the efficient use of agricultural waste may eventually result in positive social effects in terms of farmers' revenue, the renewable energy supply and GHG emissions offset. Second, farmers with idle land usually suffer a lower steady income. Encouraging the development of the renewable energy industry increases the demand of raw feedstocks, which involves converting the idle land into cultivation and increasing farmers' revenue. Third, agricultural waste is usually burned and emits CO_2, which accelerates the global climate shift. Approximately one third of emissions could be offset by rice straw-based bioenergy in certain cases. Turning this waste into bioenergy, which offsets net GHG emissions, has positive effects on the climate change mitigation. - Highlights: • Pyrolyzing rice straw provides considerable energy supply (max 4.68 billion kWh). • High emission offset when combined with rice straw (max 2.73 million tons). • Affordable government subsidy ($204 million a year). • Collection and transportation costs of wastes could impact the result significantly.

Above- and belowground responses to tree thinning depend on the treatment of tree debris

Science.gov (United States)

Suzanne M. Owen; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Catherine A. Gehring; Matthew A. Bowker

2009-01-01

Mechanical mastication is increasingly prescribed for wildfire mitigation, yet little is known about the ecological impacts of this fuels treatment. Mastication shreds trees into woodchips as an alternative to tree thinning and burning the resulting slash, which can create soil disturbances that favor exotic plants. Previous research on mastication has not...

The evidence-based topical therapies for management of minor burns in outpatient clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siphora Dien

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Burns are often seen in clinics or hospitals. Majority of burns are minor burns, which can be managed in outpatient setting with satisfactory result. The healing outcome depends on physician’s knowledge and competencies in burn pathogenesis and basic principles of burn care. Initial treatment of burns consists of emergency evaluation, assessment of depth and severity of burns and considerations for referral. The principles of minor wound therapy include cooling, cleansing, pain management, and topical therapy. Recently, many topical agents are available and indicated for first to second degree burn. Silver sulfadiazine (SSD is the standard treatment; however, it has some limitations. Scientific evidences showed that topical antibiotics do not reduce the incidence of local infection, invasive infection, and mortality of infection. Burns heal faster with hydrogel dressings and some other dressings compared to SSD. There are insufficient evidences to support the use of aloe vera, honey, and negative pressure wound therapy in burns. Moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO® has been demonstrated to have equal efficacy to SSD.

Flight-based chemical characterization of biomass burning aerosols within two prescribed burn smoke plumes

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K. A. Pratt

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Biomass burning represents a major global source of aerosols impacting direct radiative forcing and cloud properties. Thus, the goal of a number of current studies involves developing a better understanding of how the chemical composition and mixing state of biomass burning aerosols evolve during atmospheric aging processes. During the Ice in Clouds Experiment-Layer Clouds (ICE-L in the fall of 2007, smoke plumes from two small Wyoming Bureau of Land Management prescribed burns were measured by on-line aerosol instrumentation aboard a C-130 aircraft, providing a detailed chemical characterization of the particles. After ~2–4 min of aging, submicron smoke particles, produced primarily from sagebrush combustion, consisted predominantly of organics by mass, but were comprised primarily of internal mixtures of organic carbon, elemental carbon, potassium chloride, and potassium sulfate. Significantly, the fresh biomass burning particles contained minor mass fractions of nitrate and sulfate, suggesting that hygroscopic material is incorporated very near or at the point of emission. The mass fractions of ammonium, sulfate, and nitrate increased with aging up to ~81–88 min and resulted in acidic particles. Decreasing black carbon mass concentrations occurred due to dilution of the plume. Increases in the fraction of oxygenated organic carbon and the presence of dicarboxylic acids, in particular, were observed with aging. Cloud condensation nuclei measurements suggested all particles >100 nm were active at 0.5% water supersaturation in the smoke plumes, confirming the relatively high hygroscopicity of the freshly emitted particles. For immersion/condensation freezing, ice nuclei measurements at −32 °C suggested activation of ~0.03–0.07% of the particles with diameters greater than 500 nm.

Sustainability Assessment of the Agricultural and Energy Systems of Senegal

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Kyrke Gaudreau

2015-04-01

Full Text Available To improve decision-making, sustainability-based approaches to assessment of options and undertakings demand that we move beyond narrowly defined considerations to address the full suite of requirements for progress towards sustainability. This paper reports on a sustainability assessment exercise that originally focused on burning agricultural residues, primarily peanut shells, for cooking applications in Senegal. The scope of assessment had to be expanded to address the agricultural and energy systems of Senegal, when closer examination revealed a complex set of energy and agricultural system interactions that could undermine the anticipated positive effects of initiatives centred primarily on peanut residue cookstoves. The case highlights the need to be open to expanding the scope of assessment to address underlying and/or unexpected issues that cannot be addressed appropriately at the project scale. In particular, the case illustrates how the assessment of an energy system may serve as an entry point into a deeper exploration of the context in which the energy system is embedded. The analysis also illustrates a situation in which different paths that may be followed, each with its own degree of uncertainty, path dependence, feasibility, fairness, cultural sensitivity, trade-off acceptability and possibilities for public judgement of overall desirability.

Demographic and circumstantial accounts of burn mortality in Cape Town, South Africa, 2001-2004: An observational register based study

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Laflamme L

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Burns are a persisting public health problem in low- and middle-income countries; however, epidemiologic data for these settings is scarce. South Africa is no exception although there is an emerging knowledge base, especially for paediatric burns. The current study describes the epidemiology of burn mortality across the lifespan in Cape Town (2.9 million inhabitants in 2001, one of the six South African metropolitan centres. Methods The distribution of burn mortality across socio-demographic groups and also their circumstances of occurrence were investigated using four year (2001 to 2004 surveillance data from the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (n = 1024 cases. Results Burn mortality occurred at a rate of 7.9 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI: 7.3-8.3. Males sustained fatal rates 2.2 times more than that for females (p Conclusion Besides paediatric burns, the high prevalence and circumstances of occurrence of burns among middle age men are a source of concern. There are reasons to believe that this over-representation is a reflection of detrimental living conditions, life-style and poor socio-economic status. It is recommended that there be greater prioritisation of prevention activities that involve the control or management of kerosene heat sources, the provision of alternatives to flammable housing materials, and the implementation of strategies to reduce harmful drinking practices.

Particle sizes in slash fire smoke.

Science.gov (United States)

David V. Sandberg; Robert E. Martin

1975-01-01

Particulate emissions are the most objectionable atmospheric contaminant from forest burning. Little is known of the particulate sizes, and this research was done under laboratory conditions to obtain particle size information. Comments are made concerning techniques for future work in this field.

Nanomedicine and advanced technologies for burns: Preventing infection and facilitating wound healing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mofazzal Jahromi, Mirza Ali; Sahandi Zangabad, Parham; Moosavi Basri, Seyed Masoud; Sahandi Zangabad, Keyvan; Ghamarypour, Ameneh; Aref, Amir R; Karimi, Mahdi; Hamblin, Michael R

2018-01-01

According to the latest report from the World Health Organization, an estimated 265,000 deaths still occur every year as a direct result of burn injuries. A widespread range of these deaths induced by burn wound happens in low- and middle-income countries, where survivors face a lifetime of morbidity. Most of the deaths occur due to infections when a high percentage of the external regions of the body area is affected. Microbial nutrient availability, skin barrier disruption, and vascular supply destruction in burn injuries as well as systemic immunosuppression are important parameters that cause burns to be susceptible to infections. Topical antimicrobials and dressings are generally employed to inhibit burn infections followed by a burn wound therapy, because systemic antibiotics have problems in reaching the infected site, coupled with increasing microbial drug resistance. Nanotechnology has provided a range of molecular designed nanostructures (NS) that can be used in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications in burns. These NSs can be divided into organic and non-organic (such as polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) and silver NPs, respectively), and many have been designed to display multifunctional activity. The present review covers the physiology of skin, burn classification, burn wound pathogenesis, animal models of burn wound infection, and various topical therapeutic approaches designed to combat infection and stimulate healing. These include biological based approaches (e.g. immune-based antimicrobial molecules, therapeutic microorganisms, antimicrobial agents, etc.), antimicrobial photo- and ultrasound-therapy, as well as nanotechnology-based wound healing approaches as a revolutionizing area. Thus, we focus on organic and non-organic NSs designed to deliver growth factors to burned skin, and scaffolds, dressings, etc. for exogenous stem cells to aid skin regeneration. Eventually, recent breakthroughs and technologies with substantial potentials in tissue

Enhancing TRU burning and Am transmutation in Advanced Recycling Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Kazumi; Kochendarfer, Richard A.; Moriwaki, Hiroyuki; Kunishima, Shigeru

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → This ARR is an oxide fueled sodium cooled reactor based on innovative technologies to destruct TRU. → TRU burning core is designed to burn TRU at 28 kg/TW th h, adding moderator pins of B 4 C (Enriched B-11). → Am transmutation core can transmute Am at 34 kg/TW th h, adding uranium free AmN blanket to TRU burning core. → The TRU burning core improves TRU burning by 40-50% than the previous core. → The Am transmutation core can transmute Am effectively, keeping the void reactivity acceptable. - Abstract: This paper presents about conceptual designs of Advanced Recycling Reactor (ARR) focusing on enhancement in transuranics (TRU) burning and americium (Am) transmutation. The design has been conducted in the context of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) seeking to close nuclear fuel cycle in ways that reduce proliferation risks, reduce the nuclear waste in the US and further improve global energy security. This study strives to enhance the TRU burning and the Am transmutation, assuming the development of related technologies in this study, while the ARR based on mature technologies was designed in the previous study. It has followed that the provided TRU burning core is designed to burn TRU at 28 kg/TW th h, by adding moderator pins of B 4 C (Enriched B-11) and the Am transmutation core will be able to transmute Am at 34 kg/TW th h, by locating Am blanket of AmN around the TRU burning core. It indicates that these concepts improve TRU burning by 40-50% than the previous core and can transmute Am effectively, keeping the void reactivity acceptable.

Best available control measures for prescribed burning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A.M.; Stoneman, C.S.

1992-01-01

Section 190 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1990 requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue guidance on Best Available Control Measures (BACM) of PM 10 (particulate matter with a nominal aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 micrometers) from urban fugitive dust, residential wood combustion, and prescribed silvicultural and agricultural burning (prescribed burning). The purpose of this guidance is to assist states (especially, but not exclusively, those with PM 10 nonattainment areas which have been classified as serious) in developing a control measure for these three source categories. This guidance is to be issued no later than May 15, 1992 as required under the CAA. The guidance will be issued in the form of a policy guidance generic to all three BACM and in the form of Technical Information Documents (TIDs) for each of the three source categories. The policy guidance will provide the analytical approach for determining BACM and the TID will provide the technical information. The purpose of this paper is to present some insight from the forthcoming TID on what BACM might entail for prescribed burning in a serious PM 10 nonattainment area

A Review of Swidden Agriculture in Southeast Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Li

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Swidden agriculture is by far the dominant land use system in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia (SEA. It provides various valuable subsistence products to local farmers, mostly the poor ethnic minority groups. Controversially, it is also closely connected with a number of environmental issues. With the strengthening regional economic cooperation in SEA, swidden agriculture has experienced drastic transformations into other diverse market-oriented land use types since the 1990s. However, there is very limited information on the basic geographical and demographic data of swidden agriculture and the socio-economic and biophysical effects of the transformations. International programs, such as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD, underscore the importance of monitoring and evaluating swidden agriculture and its transition to reduce carbon emission due to deforestation and forest degradation. In this context, along with the accessibility of Landsat historical imagery, remote sensing based techniques will offer an effective way to detect and monitor the locations and extent of swidden agriculture. Many approaches for investigating fire occurrence and burned area can be introduced for swidden agriculture mapping due to the common feature of fire relatedness. In this review paper, four broad approaches involving spectral signatures, phenological characteristics, statistical theory and landscape ecology were summarized for swidden agriculture delineation. Five research priorities about swidden agriculture involving remote sensing techniques, spatial pattern, change, drivers and impacts were proposed accordingly. To our knowledge, a synthesis review on the remote sensing and outlook on swidden agriculture has not been reported yet. This review paper aims to give a comprehensive overview of swidden agriculture studies in the domains of debated definition, trends, remote sensing methods and outlook research in SEA

Burns caused by electronic vaping devices (e-cigarettes): A new classification proposal based on mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Serror, K; Chaouat, M; Legrand, Matthieu M; Depret, F; Haddad, J; Malca, N; Mimoun, M; Boccara, D

2018-05-01

Introduction With more than 10 million of daily users, e-cigarettes encountered a great success. But in the past few years, the number of medical reports of injuries caused by the explosion of e-cigarettes has significantly increased. This article aims at reporting our series and reviewing the literature to propose a new classification based on the mechanisms of injuries related to e-cigarettes that can guide non-specialists and specialists in the management of these patients. Method We performed a retrospective review of our institutional burn database from June 2016 to July 2017 for injuries caused by or in the context of using an e-cigarette. The patients' demographics (age, gender), burn injury mechanisms, depth, localization, surface and interventions were described. Results Ten patients suffered from burns related to the use of e-cigarettes. The burns were located at the thigh (80%) and the hand (50%) with a mean surface of 3% of TBSA. Four different mechanisms could be described: Type A: thermal burns with flames due to the phenomenon of "thermal runaway", Type B: blasts lesions secondary to the explosion, Type C: chemical alkali burns caused by spreading of the electrolyte solution and Type D: thermal burns without flames due to overheating. These different mechanisms suggest specific surgical and non-surgical management. Conclusion Management of injuries sustained from e-cigarettes' explosions should be approached from the standpoint of mechanisms. Different mechanisms could be associated and should be considered in specific management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Polylactide-based renewable green composites from agricultural residues and their hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyambo, Calistor; Mohanty, Amar K; Misra, Manjusri

2010-06-14

Agricultural natural fibers like jute, kenaf, sisal, flax, and industrial hemp have been extensively studied in green composites. The continuous supply of biofibers in high volumes to automotive part makers has raised concerns. Because extrusion followed by injection molding drastically reduces the aspect ratio of biofibers, the mechanical performance of injection molded agricultural residue and agricultural fiber-based composites are comparable. Here, the use of inexpensive agricultural residues and their hybrids that are 8-10 times cheaper than agricultural fibers is demonstrated to be a better way of getting sustainable materials with better performance. Green renewable composites from polylactide (PLA), agricultural residues (wheat straw, corn stover, soy stalks, and their hybrids) were successfully prepared through twin-screw extrusion, followed by injection molding. The effect on mechanical properties of varying the wheat straw amount from 10 to 40 wt % in PLA-wheat straw composites was studied. Tensile moduli were compared with theoretical calculations from the rule of mixture (ROM). Combination of agricultural residues as hybrids is proved to reduce the supply chain concerns for injection molded green composites. Densities of the green composites were found to be lower than those of conventional glass fiber composites.

Assessing of energy policies based on Turkish agriculture:

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayin, Cengiz; Nisa Mencet, M.; Ozkan, Burhan

2005-01-01

In this study, the current energy status of Turkey and the effects of national energy policies on Turkish agricultural support policies are discussed for both current and future requirements. Turkey is an energy-importing country producing 30 mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent) energy but consuming 80 mtoe. The energy import ratio of Turkey is 65-70% and the majority of this import is based on petroleum and natural gas. Furthermore, while world energy demand increases by 1.8% annually, Turkey's energy demand increases by about 8%. Although energy consumption in agriculture is much lower than the other sectors in Turkey, energy use as both input and output of agricultural sector is a very important issue due to its large agricultural potential and rural area. Total agricultural land area is 27.8 million hectares and about 66.5% of this area is devoted for cereal production. On the other hand, Turkey has over 4 million agricultural farm holdings of which 70-75% is engaged in cereal production. Machinery expenses, mainly diesel, constitute 30-50% of total variable expenses in cereal production costs. It is observed that energy policies pursued in agriculture have been directly affected by diesel prices in Turkey. Therefore, support policy tools for using diesel and electricity in agriculture are being pursued by the Turkish government

Effects of magnesium-based hydrogen storage materials on the thermal decomposition, burning rate, and explosive heat of ammonium perchlorate-based composite solid propellant.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Leili; Li, Jie; Zhang, Lingyao; Tian, Siyu

2018-01-15

MgH 2 , Mg 2 NiH 4 , and Mg 2 CuH 3 were prepared, and their structure and hydrogen storage properties were determined through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermal analyzer. The effects of MgH 2 , Mg 2 NiH 4 , and Mg 2 CuH 3 on the thermal decomposition, burning rate, and explosive heat of ammonium perchlorate-based composite solid propellant were subsequently studied. Results indicated that MgH 2 , Mg 2 NiH 4 , and Mg 2 CuH 3 can decrease the thermal decomposition peak temperature and increase the total released heat of decomposition. These compounds can improve the effect of thermal decomposition of the propellant. The burning rates of the propellant increased using Mg-based hydrogen storage materials as promoter. The burning rates of the propellant also increased using MgH 2 instead of Al in the propellant, but its explosive heat was not enlarged. Nonetheless, the combustion heat of MgH 2 was higher than that of Al. A possible mechanism was thus proposed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

High burn rate solid composite propellants

Science.gov (United States)

Manship, Timothy D.

High burn rate propellants help maintain high levels of thrust without requiring complex, high surface area grain geometries. Utilizing high burn rate propellants allows for simplified grain geometries that not only make production of the grains easier, but the simplified grains tend to have better mechanical strength, which is important in missiles undergoing high-g accelerations. Additionally, high burn rate propellants allow for a higher volumetric loading which reduces the overall missile's size and weight. The purpose of this study is to present methods of achieving a high burn rate propellant and to develop a composite propellant formulation that burns at 1.5 inches per second at 1000 psia. In this study, several means of achieving a high burn rate propellant were presented. In addition, several candidate approaches were evaluated using the Kepner-Tregoe method with hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based propellants using burn rate modifiers and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD)-based propellants being selected for further evaluation. Propellants with varying levels of nano-aluminum, nano-iron oxide, FeBTA, and overall solids loading were produced using the HTPB binder and evaluated in order to determine the effect the various ingredients have on the burn rate and to find a formulation that provides the burn rate desired. Experiments were conducted to compare the burn rates of propellants using the binders HTPB and DCPD. The DCPD formulation matched that of the baseline HTPB mix. Finally, GAP-plasticized DCPD gumstock dogbones were attempted to be made for mechanical evaluation. Results from the study show that nano-additives have a substantial effect on propellant burn rate with nano-iron oxide having the largest influence. Of the formulations tested, the highest burn rate was a 84% solids loading mix using nano-aluminum nano-iron oxide, and ammonium perchlorate in a 3:1(20 micron: 200 micron) ratio which achieved a burn rate of 1.2 inches per second at 1000