A comprehensive comparison of perpendicular distance sampling methods for sampling downed coarse woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey H. Gove; Mark J. Ducey; Harry T. Valentine; Michael S. Williams

2013-01-01

Many new methods for sampling down coarse woody debris have been proposed in the last dozen or so years. One of the most promising in terms of field application, perpendicular distance sampling (PDS), has several variants that have been progressively introduced in the literature. In this study, we provide an overview of the different PDS variants and comprehensive...

Critical length sampling: a method to estimate the volume of downed coarse woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

G& #246; ran St& #229; hl; Jeffrey H. Gove; Michael S. Williams; Mark J. Ducey

2010-01-01

In this paper, critical length sampling for estimating the volume of downed coarse woody debris is presented. Using this method, the volume of downed wood in a stand can be estimated by summing the critical lengths of down logs included in a sample obtained using a relascope or wedge prism; typically, the instrument should be tilted 90° from its usual...

Disentangling effects of key coarse woody debris fuel properties on its combustion, consumption and carbon gas emissions during experimental laboratory fire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Weiwei; van Logtestijn, Richard S.P.; van der Werf, Guido R.; van Hal, Jurgen R.; Cornelissen, Johannes H.C.

2018-01-01

Coarse woody debris is a key terrestrial carbon pool, and its turnover through fire plays a fundamental role in global carbon cycling. Coarse dead wood fuel properties, which vary between tree species and wood decay stages, might affect its combustion, consumption and carbon gas emissions during

Common factors drive disease and coarse woody debris dynamics in forests impacted by sudden oak death

Science.gov (United States)

Richard C. Cobb; Maggie N. Chan; Ross K. Meentemeyer; David M. Rizzo

2011-01-01

Disease ecology has made important steps in describing how epidemiological processes control the impact of pathogens on populations and communities but fewer field or theoretical studies address disease effects at the ecosystem level. We demonstrate that the same epidemiological mechanisms drive disease intensity and coarse woody debris (CWD) dynamics...

An Analysis of the Ecology and Public Perception of Coarse Woody Debris in Virginia

OpenAIRE

Fuhrman, Nicholas E.

2004-01-01

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important habitat component for wildlife, fish, and plants and is important in nutrient cycling and soil formation. Knowledge of the volume, distribution, and use of CWD across Virginia would be useful to forest managers modeling nutrient budgets in southeastern forests and is important to wildlife management efforts. Knowledge of the effectiveness of informational brochures and cooperative learning activities/presentations at influencing public perception of C...

Motivations to leave coarse woody debris in private forests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boon, Tove Enggrob; Meilby, Henrik; Andersen, Anne Sofie Kirkegaard

2014-01-01

costs and benefits incurred? Based on the theory of planned behaviour, the aim of this study is to investigate forest owners’ motivation to integrate nature concerns in forest management. As criteria for choosing a relevant case, we looked for a measure that has a potential to significantly improve...... biodiversity, has political attention, is tangible, constitutes something any forest owner can do even on a small area of land, involves potential trade-offs with other management goals, and, preferably something that most forest owners and their personal network would have an opinion about.......Based on these criteria, we selected the case of leaving coarse woody debris on the forest floor. A survey questionnaire was designed and sent to 1434 private forest owners in Denmark, 686 of whom answered. The presentation includes the first results of the analysis....

Coarse woody debris carbon storage across a mean annual temperature gradient in tropical montane wet forest

Science.gov (United States)

Darcey K. Iwashita; Creighton M. Litton; Christian P. Giardina

2013-01-01

Coarse woody debris (CWD; defined here as fallen and standing dead trees and tree ferns) is a critical structural and functional component of forest ecosystems that typically comprises a large proportion of total aboveground carbon (C) storage. However, CWD estimates for the tropics are uncommon, and little is known about how C storage in CWD will respond to climate...

Spatial and temporal patterns of beetles associated with coarse woody debris in managed bottomland hardwood forests

Science.gov (United States)

Michael D. Ulyshen; James L. Hanula; Scott Horn; John C. Kilgo; Christopher E. Moorman

2004-01-01

Malaise traps were used to sample beetles in artificial canopy gaps of different size (0.13 ha, 0.26 ha, and 0.50 ha) and age in a South Carolina bottomland hardwood forest. Traps were placed at the center, edge, and in the surrounding forest of each gap. Young gaps (~1 year) had large amounts of coarse woody debris compared to the surrounding forest, while older gaps...

Effects of creating two forest structures and using prescribed fire on coarse woody debris in northeastern California, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Fabian C. C. Uzoh; Carl N. Skinner

2009-01-01

Little is known about the dynamics of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forests that were originally characterized by frequent, low-moderate intensity fires. We investigated effects of prescribed burning at the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern California following creation of two stand structure conditions: 1) high structural diversity (HiD) that included...

Cost efficiency of measures to increase the amount of coarse woody debris in managed Norway spruce forest

OpenAIRE

Ranius, Thomas; Ekvall, Hans; Jonsson, Mattias; Bostedt, Göran

2005-01-01

Changing silvicultural methods in managed forestland to improve habitat quality for forest organisms has become one of the main means to preserve forest biodiversity in Fennoscandia. In boreal forests, coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important substrate for red-listed species. In this study, we analyse cost efficiency of five management measures taken in Swedish forestry, which aim at increasing CWD in managed forests: retention of living trees at harvest, artificial creation of high stumps, ...

Amount and distribution of coarse woody debris in pine ecosystems of north-western Spain, Russia and the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Celia Herrero; Olga Krankina; Vicente J. Monleon; Felipe. Bravo

2014-01-01

The quantity and characteristics of coarse woody debris (CWD) were examined in four distinct pine ecosystems of north-western (NW) Spain, NW Russia and the NW USA. Despite differences in species, ecological conditions and management histories, in all four ecosystems the mean snag volume was less than that of logs, most of the CWD mass was in an intermediate degree of...

Effect of forest harvesting best management practices on coarse woody debris distribution in stream and riparian zones in three Appalachian watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

J. M. McClure; R. K. Kolka; A. White

2004-01-01

The distribution of coarse woody debris (CWD) was analyzed in three Appalachian watersheds in eastern Kentucky, eighteen years after harvest. The three watersheds included an unharvested control (Control), a second watershed with best management practices (BMPs) applied that included a 15.2 m unharvested zone near the stream (BMP watershed), and a third watershed that...

Ground-dwelling arthropod association with coarse woody debris following long-term dormant season prescribed burning in the longleaf pine flatwoods of North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

James L Hanula; Dale Wade; Joseph O' Brien; Susan Loeb

2009-01-01

A 5-year study of long-term (40 years) study plots was conducted on the Osceola National Forest in northern Florida to determine how dormant-season fire frequency (annual, biennial, quadrennial, or unburned) affects ground-dwelling macroarthropod use of coarse woody debris in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests. Pitfall traps were used to sample arthropods...

Disentangling the drivers of coarse woody debris behavior and carbon gas emissions during fire

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Weiwei; van der Werf, Guido R.; van Logtestijn, Richard S. P.; van Hal, Jurgen R.; Cornelissen, Johannes H. C.

2016-04-01

The turnover of coarse woody debris, a key terrestrial carbon pool, plays fundamental roles in global carbon cycling. Biological decomposition and fire are two main fates for dead wood turnover. Compared to slow decomposition, fire rapidly transfers organic carbon from the earth surface to the atmosphere. Both a-biotic environmental factors and biotic wood properties determine coarse wood combustion and thereby its carbon gas emissions during fire. Moisture is a key inhibitory environmental factor for fire. The properties of dead wood strongly affect how it burns either directly or indirectly through interacting with moisture. Coarse wood properties vary between plant species and between various decay stages. Moreover, if we put a piece of dead wood in the context of a forest fuel bed, the soil and wood contact might also greatly affect their fire behavior. Using controlled laboratory burns, we disentangled the effects of all these driving factors: tree species (one gymnosperms needle-leaf species, three angiosperms broad-leaf species), wood decay stages (freshly dead, middle decayed, very strongly decayed), moisture content (air-dried, 30% moisture content in mass), and soil-wood contact (on versus 3cm above the ground surface) on dead wood flammability and carbon gas efflux (CO2 and CO released in grams) during fire. Wood density was measured for all coarse wood samples used in our experiment. We found that compared to other drivers, wood decay stages have predominant positive effects on coarse wood combustion (for wood mass burned, R2=0.72 when air-dried and R2=0.52 at 30% moisture content) and associated carbon gas emissions (for CO2andCO (g) released, R2=0.55 when air-dried and R2=0.42 at 30% moisture content) during fire. Thus, wood decay accelerates wood combustion and its CO2 and CO emissions during fire, which can be mainly attributed to the decreasing wood density (for wood mass burned, R2=0.91 when air-dried and R2=0.63 at 30% moisture content) as wood

The role of coarse woody debris in southeastern pine forests; preliminary results from a large-scale experiment.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCay Timothy, S.; Hanula, James, L.; Loeb, Susan, C.; Lohr, Steven, M.; McMinn, James, W.; Wright-Miley. Bret, D.

2002-08-01

McCay, Timothy S., James L. Hanula, Susan C. Loeb, Steven M. Lohr, James W. McMinn, and Bret D. Wright-Miley. 2002. The role of coarse woody debris in southeastern pine forests; preliminary results from a large-scale experiment. 135-144. In: Proceedings of the symposium on the ecology and management of dead wood in western forests. 1999 November 2-4; Reno, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture 949 p. ABSTRACT: We initiated a long-term experiment involving manipulation of coarse woody debris (CWD) at the Savannah River National Environmental Research Park in the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Each of four 9.3-ha plots in each of four blocks was subject to one of the following treatments: removal of all snags and fallen logs, removal of fallen logs only, felling and girdling to simulate a catastrophic pulse of CWD, and control. Removal treatments were applied in 1996, and the felling or snag-creation treatment will be applied in 2000-2001. Monitoring of invertebrate, herptile, avian, and mammalian assemblages and CWD dynamics began immediately after CWD removal and continues through the present. Removal treatments resulted in a fivefold to tenfold reduction in CWD abundance. To date, significant differences among treatments have only been detected for a few animal taxa. However, preliminary results underscore the benefits of large-scale experiments. This experiment allowed unambiguous tests of hypotheses regarding the effect of CWD abundance on fauna. Coupled with studies of habitat use and trophic interactions, the experimental approach may result in stronger inferences regarding the function of CWD than results obtained through natural history observation or uncontrolled correlative studies.

Relationships between forest fine and coarse woody debris carbon stocks across latitudinal gradients in the United States as an indicator of climate change effects

Science.gov (United States)

C.W. Woodall; G.C. Liknes

2008-01-01

Coarse and fine woody materials (CWD and FWD) are substantial forest ecosystem carbon (C) stocks. There is a lack of understanding how these detritus C stocks may respond to climate change. This study used a nation-wide inventory of CWD and FWD in the United States to examine how these C stocks vary by latitude. Results indicate that the highest CWD and FWD C stocks...

Testing woody fuel consumption models for application in Australian southern eucalypt forest fires

Science.gov (United States)

J.J. Hollis; S. Matthews; Roger Ottmar; S.J. Prichard; S. Slijepcevic; N.D. Burrows; B. Ward; K.G. Tolhurst; W.R. Anderson; J S. Gould

2010-01-01

Five models for the consumption of coarse woody debris or woody fuels with a diameter larger than 0.6 cm were assessed for application in Australian southern eucalypt forest fires including: CONSUME models for (1) activity fuels, (2) natural western woody and (3) natural southern woody fuels, (4) the BURNUP model and (5) the recommendation by the Australian National...

Late Permian wood-borings reveal an intricate network of ecological relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Zhuo; Wang, Jun; Rößler, Ronny; Ślipiński, Adam; Labandeira, Conrad

2017-09-15

Beetles are the most diverse group of macroscopic organisms since the mid-Mesozoic. Much of beetle speciosity is attributable to myriad life habits, particularly diverse-feeding strategies involving interactions with plant substrates, such as wood. However, the life habits and early evolution of wood-boring beetles remain shrouded in mystery from a limited fossil record. Here we report new material from the upper Permian (Changhsingian Stage, ca. 254-252 million-years ago) of China documenting a microcosm of ecological associations involving a polyphagan wood-borer consuming cambial and wood tissues of the conifer Ningxiaites specialis. This earliest evidence for a component community of several trophically interacting taxa is frozen in time by exceptional preservation. The combination of an entry tunnel through bark, a cambium mother gallery, and up to 11 eggs placed in lateral niches-from which emerge multi-instar larval tunnels that consume cambium, wood and bark-is ecologically convergent with Early Cretaceous bark-beetle borings 120 million-years later.Numerous gaps remain in our knowledge of how groups of organisms interacted in ancient ecosystems. Here, Feng and colleagues describe a late Permian fossil wood-boring beetle microcosm, with the oldest known example of complex tunnel geometry, host tissue response, and the presence of fungi within.

Exploring the role of wood waste landfills in early detection of non-native alien wood-boring beetles

Science.gov (United States)

Davide Rassati; Massimo Faccoli; Lorenzo Marini; Robert A. Haack; Andrea Battisti; Edoardo. Petrucco Toffolo

2015-01-01

Non-native wood-boring beetles (Coleoptera) represent one of the most commonly intercepted groups of insects at ports worldwide. The development of early detection methods is a crucial step when implementing rapid response programs so that non-native wood-boring beetles can be quickly detected and a timely action plan can be produced. However, due to the limited...

Field results for line intersect distance sampling of coarse woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

David L. R. Affleck

2009-01-01

A growing recognition of the importance of downed woody materials in forest ecosystem processes and global carbon budgets has sharpened the need for efficient sampling strategies that target this resource. Often the aggregate volume, biomass, or carbon content of the downed wood is of primary interest, making recently developed probability proportional-to-volume...

Influence of coarse woody debris on the soricid community in southeastern Coastal Plain pine stands.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Justin, C.; Castleberry, Steven, B.; Kilgo, John, C.

2010-07-01

Shrew abundance has been linked to the presence of coarse woody debris (CWD), especially downed logs, in many regions in the United States. We investigated the importance of CWD to shrew communities in managed upland pine stands in the southeastern United States Coastal Plain. Using a randomized complete block design, 1 of the following treatments was assigned to twelve 9.3-ha plots: removal (n 5 3; all downed CWD _10 cm in diameter and _60 cm long removed), downed (n 5 3; 5-fold increase in volume of downed CWD), snag (n 5 3; 10-fold increase in volume of standing dead CWD), and control (n 5 3; unmanipulated). Shrews (Blarina carolinensis, Sorex longirostris, and Cryptotis parva) were captured over 7 seasons from January 2007 to August 2008 using drift-fence pitfall trapping arrays within treatment plots. Topographic variables were measured and included as treatment covariates. More captures of B. carolinensis were made in the downed treatment compared to removal, and captures of S. longirostris were greater in downed and snag compared to removal. Captures of C. parva did not differ among treatments. Captures of S. longirostris were positively correlated with slope. Our results suggest that abundance of 2 of the 3 common shrew species of the southeastern Coastal Plain examined in our study is influenced by the presence of CWD.

The carbon budget of coarse woody debris in a temperate broad-leafed secondary forest in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jomura, M.; Dannoura, M.; Kanazawa, Y.; Kominami, Y.; Miyama, T.; Goto, Y.; Tamai, K.

2007-01-01

We evaluated the carbon budget of coarse woody debris (CWD) in a temperate broad-leafed secondary forest. On the basis of a field survey conducted in 2003, the mass of CWD was estimated at 9.30 tC/ha, with snags amounting to 60% of the total mass. Mean annual CWD input mass was estimated to be 0.61 tC/ha/yr by monitoring tree mortality in the forest from 1999 to 2004. We evaluated the CWD decomposition rate as the CO 2 evolution rate from CWD by measuring CO 2 emissions from 91 CWD samples (RCWD) with a closed dynamic chamber and infrared gas analysis system. The relationships between RCWD and temperature in the chamber, water content of the CWD, and other CWD characteristics were determined. By scaling the measured RCWD to the ecosystem, we estimated that the annual RCWD in the forest in 2003 was 0.50 tC/ha/yr or 10%-16% of the total heterotrophic respiration. Therefore, 0.11 tC/ha/yr or 7% of the forest net ecosystem production was sequestered by CWD. In a young forest, in which CWD input and decomposition are not balanced, the CWD carbon budget needs to be quantified for accurate evaluation of the forest carbon cycle and NEP

Dynamics of Coarse Woody Debris Characteristics in the Qinling Mountain Forests in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Yuan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Coarse woody debris (CWD is an essential component in defining the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Long-term dynamics of CWD characteristics not only affect the release rates of chemical elements from CWD, but also the species diversity of inhabiting plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms as well as the overall health of ecosystems. However, few quantitative studies have been done on the long-term dynamics of CWD characteristics in forest ecosystems in China. In this study, we conducted nine tree censuses between 1996 and 2016 at the Huoditang Experimental Forest in the Qinling Mountains of China. We quantified forest biomass including CWD and CWD characteristics such as decay states and diameter classes during this period and correlated with stand, site, and climatic variables. The forest biomass was dominated by live tree biomass (88%; followed by CWD mass (6%–10%. Understory biomass contributed only a small portion (1%–4% of the overall biomass. Significant differences in average annual increment of CWD mass were found among forest stands of different species (p < 0.0001. Forest biomass, stand age, forest type, aspect, slope, stand density, annual average temperature, and precipitation were all significantly correlated with CWD mass (p < 0.05, with forest type exhibiting the strongest correlation (r2 = 0.8256. Over time, the annual mass of different CWD characteristics increased linearly from 1996–2016 across all forest types. Our study revealed that forest biomass, including CWD characteristics, varied by forest type. Stand and site characteristics (forest biomass, forest type, aspect, slope and stand density along with temperature and precipitation played a major role in the dynamics of CWD in the studied forest ecosystems.

Effect of coarse woody debris manipulation on soricid and herpetofaunal communities in upland pine stands of the southeastern coastal plain.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Justin, Charles

2009-04-01

Abstract -The majority of studies investigating the importance of coarse woody debris (CWD) to forest- floor vertebrates have taken place in the Pacific Northwest and southern Appalachian Mountains, while comparative studies in the southeastern Coastal Plain are lacking. My study was a continuation of a long-term project investigating the importance of CWD as a habitat component for shrew and herpetofaunal communities within managed pine stands in the southeastern Coastal Plain. Results suggest that addition of CWD can increase abundance of southeastern and southern short-tailed shrews. However, downed wood does not appear to be a critical habitat component for amphibians and reptiles. Rising petroleum costs and advances in wood utilization technology have resulted in an emerging biofuels market with potential to decrease CWD volumes left in forests following timber harvests. Therefore, forest managers must understand the value of CWD as an ecosystem component to maintain economically productive forests while conserving biological diversity.

External Microflora of a Marine Wood-Boring Isopod

OpenAIRE

Boyle, Paul J.; Mitchell, Ralph

1981-01-01

Bacteria associated with the marine wood-boring isopod Limnoria lignorum were enumerated by acridine orange epifluorescence microscopy and by plate counts on several media; the plate-viable bacteria were isolated and identified. Similar procedures were followed to enumerate and identify bacteria associated with the wood substrate from which the isopods were collected and with the surrounding water from the isopod habitat. Approximately 1.4 × 107 bacterial cells were associated with each indiv...

Wood-Boring Bivalves (Mollusca: Teredinidae, Pholadidae) of Pacific coast of Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cantera K, Jaime R

2010-01-01

Twelve species of wood-boring bivalves, ten of the family Teredinidae and two of family Pholadidae were collected in mangroves at 6 locations of the Pacific coast of Colombia. This paper presents a brief escription of these species, including size, ecological notes and geographical distribution.

Patterns in woody vegetation structure across African savannas

Science.gov (United States)

Axelsson, Christoffer R.; Hanan, Niall P.

2017-07-01

savanna tree sizes do not occur in either coarse sands or heavy clays. When examining the occurrence of PVPs, we found that the same factors that contribute to the formation of PVPs also correlate with higher levels of woody plant aggregation elsewhere in savannas and that rainfall seasonality plays a key role for the underlying processes.

Patterns in woody vegetation structure across African savannas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. R. Axelsson

2017-07-01

content suggesting that maximal savanna tree sizes do not occur in either coarse sands or heavy clays. When examining the occurrence of PVPs, we found that the same factors that contribute to the formation of PVPs also correlate with higher levels of woody plant aggregation elsewhere in savannas and that rainfall seasonality plays a key role for the underlying processes.

Biogeography of Wood-Boring Crustaceans (Isopoda: Limnoriidae) Established in European Coastal Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, Luísa M. S.; Merckelbach, Lucas M.; Cragg, Simon M.

2014-01-01

Marine wood-borers of the Limnoriidae cause great destruction to wooden structures exposed in the marine environment. In this study we collated occurrence data obtained from field surveys, spanning over a period of 10 years, and from an extensive literature review. We aimed to determine which wood-boring limnoriid species are established in European coastal waters; to map their past and recent distribution in Europe in order to infer species range extension or contraction; to determine species environmental requirements using climatic envelopes. Of the six species of wood-boring Limnoria previously reported occurring in Europe, only Limnoria lignorum, L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are established in European coastal waters. L. carinata and L. tuberculata have uncertain established status, whereas L. borealis is not established in European waters. The species with the widest distribution in Europe is Limnoria lignorum, which is also the most tolerant species to a range of salinities. L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata appear to be stenohaline. However, the present study shows that both L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are more widespread in Europe than previous reports suggested. Both species have been found occurring in Europe since they were described, and their increased distribution is probably the results of a range expansion. On the other hand L. lignorum appears to be retreating poleward with ocean warming. In certain areas (e.g. southern England, and southern Portugal), limnoriids appear to be very abundant and their activity is rivalling that of teredinids. Therefore, it is important to monitor the distribution and destructive activity of these organisms in Europe. PMID:25313796

Accumulation and connectivity of coarse woody debris in partial harvest and unmanaged relict forests.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert C Morrissey

Full Text Available When a tree dies, it continues to play an important ecological role within forests. Coarse woody debris (CWD, including standing deadwood (SDW and downed deadwood (DDW, is an important functional component of forest ecosystems, particularly for many dispersal-limited saproxylic taxa and for metapopulation dynamics across landscapes. Processes, such as natural disturbance or management, modify forest composition and structure, thereby influencing CWD abundance and distribution. Many studies have compared older forests to forests managed with even-aged silvicultural systems and observed a prolonged period of low CWD occurrence after harvesting. With fine-scale spatial data, our study compares the long-term impacts of light partial harvesting on the CWD structure of eastern deciduous hardwood forests. We mapped and inventoried DDW and SDW using variable radius plots based on a 10 m × 10 m grid throughout an unmanaged, structurally-complex relict forest and two nearby forests that were partially harvested over 46 years ago. The relict stand had significantly larger individual pieces and higher accumulations of DDW and SDW than both of the partially harvested stands. Connectivity of CWD was much higher in the relict stand, which had fewer, larger patches. Larger pieces and higher proportion of decay-resistant species (e.g. Quercus spp. in the relict forest resulted in slower decomposition, greater accumulation and increased connectivity of CWD. Partial harvests, such that occur with selection forestry, are generally considered less disruptive of ecosystem services, but this study highlights the long-term impacts of even light partial harvests on CWD stocks and distribution. When planning harvesting events, forest managers should also consider alternative methods to ensure the sustainability of deadwood resources and function.

Diet of southern toads (Bufo terrestris) in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands subject to coarse woody debris manipulations.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moseley, Kurtis R.; Steven B. Castleberry; James L. Hanula; Mark Ford.

2005-04-01

ABSTRACT In the southeastern United States, coarse woody debris (CWD) typically harbors high densities of invertebrates. However, its importance as a foraging substrate for southeastern amphibians is relatively unknown. We examined effects of CWD manipulations on diet composition of southern toads (Bufo terrestris) in upland loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Twelve 9.3-ha plots were assigned one of the following treatments: removal- all CWD _10 cm in diameter and _60 cm long removed; downed- five-fold increase in volume of down CWD; and unmanipulated control stands. We collected southern toads _4 cm snout-vent length (SVL) during 14 d sampling periods in June and October 2002, June 2003 and during a 28 d sampling period in April 2003. We collected 80, 36 and 35 southern toads in control, downed and removal treatments, respectively. We found no difference in relative abundance or frequency of invertebrate groups consumed among treatments (P.0.05). Average body weight (g), SVL (cm) and stomach content weight (g wet) of individuals also were similar among treatments (P . 0.05). The role of CWD as a foraging substrate for southern toads in loblolly pine stands of the southeastern Coastal Plain may be negligible, at least in the early stages of decay.

Forest structure and downed woody debris in boreal, temperate, and tropical forest fragments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, William A; González, Grizelle; Hudak, Andrew T; Hollingsworth, Teresa Nettleton; Hollingsworth, Jamie

2008-12-01

Forest fragmentation affects the heterogeneity of accumulated fuels by increasing the diversity of forest types and by increasing forest edges. This heterogeneity has implications in how we manage fuels, fire, and forests. Understanding the relative importance of fragmentation on woody biomass within a single climatic regime, and along climatic gradients, will improve our ability to manage forest fuels and predict fire behavior. In this study we assessed forest fuel characteristics in stands of differing moisture, i.e., dry and moist forests, structure, i.e., open canopy (typically younger) vs. closed canopy (typically older) stands, and size, i.e., small (10-14 ha), medium (33 to 60 ha), and large (100-240 ha) along a climatic gradient of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests. We measured duff, litter, fine and coarse woody debris, standing dead, and live biomass in a series of plots along a transect from outside the forest edge to the fragment interior. The goal was to determine how forest structure and fuel characteristics varied along this transect and whether this variation differed with temperature, moisture, structure, and fragment size. We found nonlinear relationships of coarse woody debris, fine woody debris, standing dead and live tree biomass with mean annual median temperature. Biomass for these variables was greatest in temperate sites. Forest floor fuels (duff and litter) had a linear relationship with temperature and biomass was greatest in boreal sites. In a five-way multivariate analysis of variance we found that temperature, moisture, and age/structure had significant effects on forest floor fuels, downed woody debris, and live tree biomass. Fragment size had an effect on forest floor fuels and live tree biomass. Distance from forest edge had significant effects for only a few subgroups sampled. With some exceptions edges were not distinguishable from interiors in terms of fuels.

Effects of moisture content on coarse woody debris respiration in a tropical rainforest of Brunei Darussalam

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Y.; Li, G.; Han, S. H.; Abu Salim, K.; Son, Y.

2017-12-01

Since coarse woody debris (CWD) respiration (Rcwd) has an important role in carbon (C) cycling in forest ecosystems, it is a significant parameter in an investigation of CWD decomposition rate. Rcwd is known as to be influenced not only by environmental factors but also by CWD properties (e.g., moisture content). This study investigated the effects of CWD moisture content on Rcwd in a lowland mixed Dipterocarp tropical rainforest of Brunei Darussalam. CWDs in the forest were selected and categorized into two decay classes (sound and partially decomposed), and three diameter classes (10-20 cm, 20-30 cm, more than 30 cm). Samplings of CWDs were conducted in February and October, 2016. The fresh weight and Rcwd of the samples were measured within 24 h of sampling. Rcwd measurements were conducted using a closed chamber system with a diffusion-type, non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor. In February, the fresh weight and Rcwd of the samples were remeasured, after submerging them in the fresh water for 24, 48, and 72 h. The Rcwd increased significantly with moisture content in February (r2=0.25, p0.05). Rcwd was lowest in the largest diameter class (p0.05). On the basis of these results, the Rcwd in this site was in the range of Rcwd in previous studies conducted in other tropical rainforests. Rcwd increased with moisture content, however, the contribution of moisture content to changes in Rcwd might not be influential during the eight months study period.*Supported by research grants from the Korea Forest Service (2017044B10-1719-BB01).

An Account on marine wood-boring organisms of offshore waters of Bombay High, India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Wagh, A.B.; Raveendran, T.V.

An incidence of wood-boring organisms in a water column of 75 meters depth, 160 km off the Bombay coast is reported. The destruction of untreated panels of mango wood exposed for periods varying from 1-12 months was caused by eight species...

Effect of long-term understory prescribed burning on standing and down dead woody material in dry upland oak forests

Science.gov (United States)

Polo, John A.; Hallgren, S.W.; Leslie,, David M.

2013-01-01

Dead woody material, long ignored or viewed as a nuisance for forest management, has gained appreciation for its many roles in the forest including wildlife habitat, nutrient storage and cycling, energy for trophic webs, protection of soil, fuel for fire and carbon storage. The growing interest in managing dead woody material has created strong demand for greater understanding of factors controlling amounts and turnover. Prescribed burning, an important management tool, may have strong effects of dead woody material given fire’s capacity to create and consume dead woody material. We determined effects of long-term understory prescribed burning on standing and down woody material in upland oak forests in south-central North America. We hypothesized that as frequency of fire increased in these stands the amount of deadwood would decrease and the fine woody material would decrease more rapidly than coarse woody material. The study was conducted in forests dominated by post oak (Quercus stellata) and blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) in wildlife management areas where understory prescribed burning had been practiced for over 20 years and the range of burn frequencies was 0 (unburned) fires per decade (FPD) to 4.6 FPD. The amount of deadwood was low compared with more productive forests in southeastern North America. The biomass (24.7 Mg ha-1) and carbon stocks (11.7 Mg ha-1) were distributed among standing dead (22%), coarse woody debris (CWD, dia. > 7.5 cm., 12%), fine woody debris (FWD, dia. prescribed burning influenced the amount and size distribution of standing and down dead woody material. There were two explanations for the lack of a detectable effect. First, a high incidence of severe weather including ice storms and strong winds that produce large amounts of deadwood intermittently in an irregular pattern across the landscape may preclude detecting a strong effect of understory prescribed burning. Second, fire suppression during the first one-half of the

Woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

Donna B. Scheungrab; Carl C. Trettin; Russ Lea; Martin F. Jurgensen

2000-01-01

Woody debris can be defined as any dead, woody plant material, including logs, branches, standing dead trees, and root wads. Woody debris is an important part of forest and stream ecosystems because it has a role in carbon budgets and nutrient cycling, is a source of energy for aquatic ecosystems, provides habitat for terrestrial and aquatic organisms, and contributes...

Woody structure facilitates invasion of woody plants by providing perches for birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Prather, Chelse M; Huynh, Andrew; Pennings, Steven C

2017-10-01

Woody encroachment threatens prairie ecosystems globally, and thus understanding the mechanisms that facilitate woody encroachment is of critical importance. Coastal tallgrass prairies along the Gulf Coast of the US are currently threatened by the spread of several species of woody plants. We studied a coastal tallgrass prairie in Texas, USA, to determine if existing woody structure increased the supply of seeds from woody plants via dispersal by birds. Specifically, we determined if (i) more seedlings of an invasive tree ( Tridacia sebifera ) are present surrounding a native woody plant ( Myrica cerifera ); (ii) wooden perches increase the quantity of seeds dispersed to a grassland; and (iii) perches alter the composition of the seed rain seasonally in prairie habitats with differing amounts of native and invasive woody vegetation, both underneath and away from artificial wooden perches. More T. sebifera seedlings were found within M. cerifera patches than in graminoid-dominated areas. Although perches did not affect the total number of seeds, perches changed the composition of seed rain to be less dominated by grasses and forbs. Specifically, 20-30 times as many seeds of two invasive species of woody plants were found underneath perches independent of background vegetation, especially during months when seed rain was highest. These results suggest that existing woody structure in a grassland can promote further woody encroachment by enhancing seed dispersal by birds. This finding argues for management to reduce woody plant abundance before exotic plants set seeds and argues against the use of artificial perches as a restoration technique in grasslands threatened by woody species.

Engineering developments for small-scale harvest, storage and combustion of woody crops in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savoie, P.; Ouellet-Plamondon, C.; Morissette, R.; Preto, F. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada)

2010-07-01

Although wood remains an important source of energy for cooking and heating in developing countries, it has been largely replaced by fossil fuels, nuclear energy and hydroelectric power in developed countries. Given the need to diversify sources of energy, wood energy is being revitalized in developed countries. This paper reported on a current research program on woody crops at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The research involves the development of a woody crop harvester to collect small size trees in plantations as well as in natural growth. The harvested package is a small round bale that enables natural drying from about 50 per cent moisture at harvest, down to 30 and 20 per cent after 4 to 6 months of storage outside and under shelter, respectively. The combustion value of woody crops averaged 19.4 GJ/t on a dry matter basis with little variation. The woody crops can be pulverized into fine particles, dried artificially to 10 per cent moisture content and processed into pellets for combustion. In a practical trial, more than 7.5 MJ/t DM were needed to produce pellets without providing more energy than coarse wood chips. The rural applications for this biomass include heating community and farm buildings and drying crops. These applications can use locally grown woody crops such as willow, or forest residues such as branches and bark in the form of chips to replace fossil energy sources.

Role of soil texture, clay mineralogy, location, and temperature in coarse wood decomposition - a mesocosm experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Cinzia Fissore; Martin F. Jurgensen; James Pickens; Chris Miller; Deborah Page-Dumroese; Christian P. Giardina

2016-01-01

Of all the major pools of terrestrial carbon (C), the dynamics of coarse woody debris (CWD) are the least understood. In contrast to soils and living vegetation, the study of CWD has rarely relied on ex situ methods for elaborating controls on decomposition rates. In this study, we report on a mesocosm incubation experiment examining how clay amount (8%, 16%,...

Carbon Flux of Down Woody Materials in Forests of the North Central United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodall, C.W.

2010-01-01

Across large scales, the carbon (C) flux of down woody material (DWM) detrital pools has largely been simulated based on forest stand attributes (e.g., stand age and forest type). The annual change in forest DWM C stocks and other attributes (e.g., size and decay class changes) was assessed using a forest inventory in the north central United States to provide an empirical assessment of strategic-scale DWM C flux. Using DWM inventory data from the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis program, DWM C stocks were found to be relatively static across the study region with an annual flux rate not statistically different from zero. Mean C flux rates across the study area were -0.25, -0.12, -0.01, and -0.04 (Mg/ha/yr) for standing live trees, standing dead trees, coarse woody debris, and fine woody debris, respectively. Flux rates varied in their both magnitude and status (emission/sequestration) by forest types, latitude, and DWM component size. Given the complex dynamics of DWM C flux, early implementation of inventory re measurement, and relatively low sample size, numerous future research directions are suggested.

Application of 13C NMR spectroscopy to characterize organic chemical components of decomposing coarse woody debris from different climatic regions

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Takuya Hishinuma

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR spectroscopy was applied to coarse woody debris (CWD in different stages of decomposition and collected from forest floor of a subtropical, a cool temperate, and a subalpine forest in Japan. The purpose was to test its applicability to characterize organic chemical composition of CWD of broad-leaved and coniferous trees from different climatic conditions. O-alkyl-C, mainly representing carbohydrates, was the predominant component of CWD at the three sites, accounting for 43.5-58.1% of the NMR spectra. Generally, the relative area under the signals for aromatic-C and phenolic-C, mainly representing lignin, increased, whereas the relative area for O-alkyl-C decreased, as the decay class advanced. The relative area under NMR chemical shift regions was significantly correlated with the chemical properties examined with proximate analyses. That is, O-alkyl-C and di-O-alkyl-C NMR signal areas were positively correlated with the volumetric density of CWD and the content of total carbohydrates. Methoxyl-C, aromatic-C, phenolic-C, carboxyl-C, and carbonyl-C were positively correlated with the contents of acid-unhydrolyzable residues (lignin, tannins, and cutin and nitrogen. Lignin-C calculated from NMR signals increased, and polysaccharide-C decreased, with the decay class of CWD at the three study sites. A review of previous studies on 13C NMR spectroscopy for decomposing CWD suggested further needs of its application to broad-leaved trees from tropical and subtropical regions.

The effect of clay amendment on substrate properties and growth of woody plants

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Tomáš Meisl

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This work deals with the effect of two clay products differing in particle size distribution on properties of growing substrate and on growth of containerized woody plants in substrates amended with these clay products. Fine and coarse clay were added to a peat substrate, each at two rates. The peat substrate without clay was used as a control. The substrates were tested in experiments with two woody ornamentals (Thuja occidentalis ’Smaragd’ and Prunus cistena. Chemical and physical properties of the substrates were measured according to European Standards before planting. Proportion of water categories differing in availability to the plants were calculated from retention curves measured on the sand box. Properties of substrates in containers with and without plants were evaluated in the same way at the end of the culture. Clay addition changed chemical and physical properties of the tested substrates in terms: available nutrients content, particle density, bulk density, total pore volume, easy available water, water buffering capacity, air capacity, and shrinkage. The effect of fine clay was much stronger. In comparison with the clear effect of clay addition on the substrate chemical and physical properties, the effect on the growth and quality of model woody plants was not so explicit.

Microbial Communities in Sunken Wood Are Structured by Wood-Boring Bivalves and Location in a Submarine Canyon

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Fagervold, Sonja K.; Romano, Chiara; Kalenitchenko, Dimitri; Borowski, Christian; Nunes-Jorge, Amandine; Martin, Daniel; Galand, Pierre E.

2014-01-01

The cornerstones of sunken wood ecosystems are microorganisms involved in cellulose degradation. These can either be free-living microorganisms in the wood matrix or symbiotic bacteria associated with wood-boring bivalves such as emblematic species of Xylophaga, the most common deep-sea woodborer. Here we use experimentally submerged pine wood, placed in and outside the Mediterranean submarine Blanes Canyon, to compare the microbial communities on the wood, in fecal pellets of Xylophaga spp. and associated with the gills of these animals. Analyses based on tag pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene showed that sunken wood contained three distinct microbial communities. Wood and pellet communities were different from each other suggesting that Xylophaga spp. create new microbial niches by excreting fecal pellets into their burrows. In turn, gills of Xylophaga spp. contain potential bacterial symbionts, as illustrated by the presence of sequences closely related to symbiotic bacteria found in other wood eating marine invertebrates. Finally, we found that sunken wood communities inside the canyon were different and more diverse than the ones outside the canyon. This finding extends to the microbial world the view that submarine canyons are sites of diverse marine life. PMID:24805961

Arthropod Diversity and Functional Importance in Old-Growth Forests of North America

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Timothy Schowalter

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Old-growth forests have become rare in North America but provide habitat for unique assemblages of species that often are rare in younger forests. Insects and related arthropods reach their highest diversity in old-growth forests because of their stable moderate temperature and relative humidity and the rich variety of resources represented by high plant species richness and structural complexity. Old-growth arthropod assemblages typically are distinct from those in younger, managed forests. Major subcommunities include the arboreal community that is composed of a rich assemblage of herbivores, fungivores, and their associated predators and parasitoids that function to regulate primary production and nutrient fluxes, the stem zone community that includes bark- and wood-boring species and their associated predators and parasitoids that initiate the decomposition of coarse woody debris, and the forest floor community composed of a variety of detritivores, fungivores, burrowers, and their associated predators and parasitoids that are instrumental in litter decomposition. Insect outbreaks are relatively rare in old-growth forests, where the diversity of resources and predators limit population growth. In turn, insects contribute to plant diversity and limit primary production of host plant species, thereby promoting development of old-growth forest characteristics. Arthropods also provide important functions in decomposition and nutrient cycling that may be lost in younger, managed forests with limited provision of coarse woody debris and accumulated litter. Protection of remnant old-growth forests within the forest matrix may be particularly valuable for maintaining the diversity of plant and arthropod predators that can minimize outbreaks, thereby contributing to resilience to changing environmental conditions.

Rainfall and topo-edaphic influences on woody community phenology in South African savannas

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Shackleton, CM

1999-03-01

Full Text Available the limiting periods, i.e. at Stockholm. the start and cessation of the rainy season. This was Fatubarin, A. (1985) Observations on the phenology of not reflected in the data presented here with respect to the woody plants and grasses in a savanna ecosystem... of temperature on evaporative demand (Bate, Furniss & Pendle, 1982).∗ Current address: Environmentek, CSIR, P.O. Box At a gross scale, annual rainfall is a coarse index of395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. e-mail: csh- ackle@csir.co.za. seasonal plant available...

The complete genome of Teredinibacter turnerae T7901: an intracellular endosymbiont of marine wood-boring bivalves (shipworms.

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Joyce C Yang

Full Text Available Here we report the complete genome sequence of Teredinibacter turnerae T7901. T. turnerae is a marine gamma proteobacterium that occurs as an intracellular endosymbiont in the gills of wood-boring marine bivalves of the family Teredinidae (shipworms. This species is the sole cultivated member of an endosymbiotic consortium thought to provide the host with enzymes, including cellulases and nitrogenase, critical for digestion of wood and supplementation of the host's nitrogen-deficient diet. T. turnerae is closely related to the free-living marine polysaccharide degrading bacterium Saccharophagus degradans str. 2-40 and to as yet uncultivated endosymbionts with which it coexists in shipworm cells. Like S. degradans, the T. turnerae genome encodes a large number of enzymes predicted to be involved in complex polysaccharide degradation (>100. However, unlike S. degradans, which degrades a broad spectrum (>10 classes of complex plant, fungal and algal polysaccharides, T. turnerae primarily encodes enzymes associated with deconstruction of terrestrial woody plant material. Also unlike S. degradans and many other eubacteria, T. turnerae dedicates a large proportion of its genome to genes predicted to function in secondary metabolism. Despite its intracellular niche, the T. turnerae genome lacks many features associated with obligate intracellular existence (e.g. reduced genome size, reduced %G+C, loss of genes of core metabolism and displays evidence of adaptations common to free-living bacteria (e.g. defense against bacteriophage infection. These results suggest that T. turnerae is likely a facultative intracellular ensosymbiont whose niche presently includes, or recently included, free-living existence. As such, the T. turnerae genome provides insights into the range of genomic adaptations associated with intracellular endosymbiosis as well as enzymatic mechanisms relevant to the recycling of plant materials in marine environments and the production

Repeated prescribed fires decrease stocks and change attributes of coarse woody debris in a temperate eucalypt forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Aponte, Cristina; Tolhurst, Kevin G; Bennett, Lauren T

2014-07-01

Previous studies have found negligible effects of single prescribed fires on coarse woody debris (CWD), but the cumulative effects of repeated low-intensity prescribed fires are unknown. This represents a knowledge gap for environmental management because repeated prescribed fires are a key tool for mitigating wildfire risk, and because CWD is recognized as critical to forest biodiversity and functioning. We examined the effects of repeated low-intensity prescribed fires on the attributes and stocks of (fallen) CWD in a mixed-species eucalypt forest of temperate Australia. Prescribed fire treatments were a factorial combination of two seasons (Autumn, Spring) and two frequencies (three yearly High, 10 yearly Low), were replicated over five study areas, and involved two to seven low-intensity fires over 27 years. Charring due to prescribed fires variously changed carbon and nitrogen concentrations and C to N ratios of CWD pieces depending on decay class, but did not affect mean wood density. CWD biomass and C and N stocks were significantly less in Fire than Control treatments. Decreases in total CWD C stocks of -8 Mg/ha in Fire treatments were not balanced by minor increases in pyrogenic (char) C (-0.3 Mg/ha). Effects of prescribed fire frequency and season included significantly less C and N stocks in rotten CWD in High than Low frequency treatments, and in the largest CWD pieces in Autumn than Spring treatments. Our study demonstrates that repeated low-intensity prescribed fires have the potential to significantly decrease CWD stocks, in pieces of all sizes and particularly decayed pieces, and to change CWD chemical attributes. CWD is at best a minor stock of pyrogenic C under such fire regimes. These findings suggest a potential trade-off in the management of temperate eucalypt forests between sustained reduction of wildfire risk, and the consequences of decreased CWD C stocks, and of changes in CWD as a habitat and biogeochemical substrate. Nonetheless

Flow-sediment-large woody debris interplay: Introducing an appropriately scaled laboratory experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, H.; Spreitzer, G.; Tunnicliffe, J. F.

2017-12-01

The morphology of steep (>0.01 m/m) forested streams is governed not only by water-sediment interplay, but also by accumulations of coarse and fine organic debris. In this project we look at the jamming dynamics (formation, persistence and hydraulic feedbacks) of large woody debris with the help of scaled laboratory experiments. In New Zealand, the recruitment of wood from both natural tree-fall and forest harvesting has led to obstruction of culverts, bridges and other river constrictions. Understanding the dynamics of jam formation and persistence is important for harvest practice guidelines, management of sediment accumulation, as well as establishing impacts to habitat and infrastructure. In this study, we provide the context of our work, present our experimental setup for studying the complex flow-sediment-wood interactions and present some initial results. In our experimental setup, we varied feed rates of sediment and organic fine material in order to establish concentration thresholds for jam formation, and development of sediment retention capacity upstream of the jam. Large woody debris accumulation is studied for different blocking scenarios, and the effect on sediment transport is measured. Sediment quantities and changes in channel bed morphology upstream of the critical cross section are evaluated, together with resulting backwater effects, and associated energy losses. In the long term, our results will inform our understanding of the processes that take place from the mobilization of woody debris to accumulation.

Woodiness within the Spermacoceae–Knoxieae alliance (Rubiaceae): retention of the basal woody condition in Rubiaceae or recent innovation?

Science.gov (United States)

Lens, Frederic; Groeninckx, Inge; Smets, Erik; Dessein, Steven

2009-01-01

Background and Aims The tribe Spermacoceae is essentially a herbaceous Rubiaceae lineage, except for some species that can be described as ‘woody’ herbs, small shrubs to treelets, or lianas. Its sister tribe Knoxieae contains a large number of herbaceous taxa, but the number of woody taxa is higher compared to Spermacoceae. The occurrence of herbaceous and woody species within the same group raises the question whether the woody taxa are derived from herbaceous taxa (i.e. secondary woodiness), or whether woodiness represents the ancestral state (i.e. primary woodiness). Microscopic observations of wood anatomy are combined with an independent molecular phylogeny to answer this question. Methods Observations of wood anatomy of 21 woody Spermacoceae and eight woody Knoxieae species, most of them included in a multi-gene molecular phylogeny, are carried out using light microscopy. Key Results Observations of wood anatomy in Spermacoceae support the molecular hypothesis that all the woody species examined are secondary derived. Well-known wood anatomical characters that demonstrate this shift from the herbaceous to the woody habit are the typically flat or decreasing length vs. age curves for vessel elements, the abundance of square and upright ray cells, or even the (near-) absence of rays. These so-called paedomorphic wood features are also present in the Knoxieae genera Otiophora, Otomeria, Pentas, Pentanisia and Phyllopentas. However, the wood structure of the other Knoxieae genera observed (Carphalea, Dirichletia and Triainolepis) is typical of primarily woody taxa. Conclusions In Spermacoceae, secondary woodiness has evolved numerous times in strikingly different habitats. In Knoxieae, there is a general trend from primary woodiness towards herbaceousness and back to (secondary) woodiness. PMID:19279041

Woody biomass policies and location decisions of the woody bioenergy industry in the southern United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Zhimei; Hodges, Donald G.; Young, Timothy M.

2013-01-01

Woody biomass for bioenergy production has been included in relatively few renewable energy policies since the 1970s. Recently, however, several states have implemented a variety of new woody biomass policies to spur the establishment of new bioenergy industry. Establishing new woody biomass-based facilities in a specific state is affected by a number of factors such as the strength of these new policy incentives, resource availability, business tax climate, and the available labor force. This study employs a conditional logit model (CLM) to explore the effects of woody biomass policies on the siting decisions of new bioenergy projects relative to some of these other state attributes. The CLM results suggest that state government incentives are significantly related to state success in attracting new plants. The results have substantial implications regarding woody biomass policies and the creation of a new bioenergy industry. -- Highlights: •This study explores the effects of state attributes on the siting decisions of new woody bioenergy projects. •Results suggest that state woody biomass policies are significantly related to state success in attracting new plants. •Other factors related to the siting of woody bioenergy facilities include resource availability, taxes, and wage rate

Backwater development by woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

Geertsema, Tjitske; Torfs, Paul; Teuling, Ryan; Hoitink, Ton

2017-04-01

Placement of woody debris is a common method for increasing ecological values in river and stream restoration, and is thus widely used in natural environments. Water managers, however, are afraid to introduce wood in channels draining agricultural and urban areas. Upstream, it may create backwater, depending on hydrodynamic characteristics including the obstruction ratio, the Froude number and the surface level gradient. Patches of wood may trigger or counter morphological activity, both laterally, through bank erosion and protection, and vertically, with pool and riffle formation. Also, a permeable construction composed of wood will weather over time. Both morphodynamic activity and weathering cause backwater effects to change in time. The purpose of this study is to quantify the time development of backwater effects caused by woody debris. Hourly water levels gauged upstream and downstream of patches and discharge are collected for five streams in the Netherlands. The water level drop over the woody debris patch relates to discharge in the streams. This relation is characterized by an increasing water level difference for an increasing discharge, up to a maximum. If the discharge increases beyond this level, the water level difference reduces to the value that may represent the situation without woody debris. This reduction depends primarily on the obstruction ratio of the woody debris in the channel cross-section. Morphologic adjustments in the stream and reorientation of the woody material reduce the water level drop over the patches in time. Our results demonstrate that backwater effects can be reduced by optimizing the location where woody debris is placed and manipulating the obstruction ratio. Current efforts are focussed on representing woody debris in a one-dimensional numerical model, aiming to obtain a generic tool to achieve a stream design with woody debris that minimizes backwater.

Combining woody biomass for combustion with green waste composting: Effect of removal of woody biomass on compost quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandecasteele, Bart; Boogaerts, Christophe; Vandaele, Elke

2016-12-01

The question was tackled on how the green waste compost industry can optimally apply the available biomass resources for producing both bioenergy by combustion of the woody fraction, and high quality soil improvers as renewable sources of carbon and nutrients. Compost trials with removal of woody biomass before or after composting were run at 9 compost facilities during 3 seasons to include seasonal variability of feedstock. The project focused on the changes in feedstock and the effect on the end product characteristics (both compost and recovered woody biomass) of this woody biomass removal. The season of collection during the year clearly affected the biochemical and chemical characteristics of feedstock, woody biomass and compost. On one hand the effect of removal of the woody fraction before composting did not significantly affect compost quality when compared to the scenario where the woody biomass was sieved from the compost at the end of the composting process. On the other hand, quality of the woody biomass was not strongly affected by extraction before or after composting. The holocellulose:lignin ratio was used in this study as an indicator for (a) the decomposition potential of the feedstock mixture and (b) to assess the stability of the composts at the end of the process. Higher microbial activity in green waste composts (indicated by higher oxygen consumption) and thus a lower compost stability resulted in higher N immobilization in the compost. Removal of woody biomass from the green waste before composting did not negatively affect the compost quality when more intensive composting was applied. The effect of removal of the woody fraction on the characteristics of the green waste feedstock and the extracted woody biomass is depending on the season of collection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Biofuels from Forests: Woody Biomass

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Edwin H. White

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The use of woody biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and bioproducts involves multiple sources of material that together create year round supplies. The main sources of woody biomass include residues from wood manufacturing industries, low value trees including logging slash in forests that are currently underutilized and dedicated short-rotation woody crops. Conceptually a ton of woody biomass feedstocks can replace a barrel of oil as the wood is processed (refined through a biorefinery. As oil is refined only part of the barrel is used for liquid fuel, e.g., gasoline, while much of the carbon in oil is refined into higher value chemical products-carbon in woody biomass can be refined into the same value-added products.

Spatial and temporal distribution of fungi and wood-borers in the coastal tropical waters of Goa, India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vishwakiran, Y.; Thakur, N.L.; Raghukumar, S.; Yennawar, P.L.; Anil, A.C.

. (Meyers) Yusoff, Read, E. B. G. Jones et S. T. Moss 2 416 4 Arenariomyces trifurcatus Höhnk 22 4 5 Bathyascus tropicalis Kohlm. 2 44 6 Bathyascus vermisporus Kohlm. 8 4 2 7 Corollospora pulchella Kohlm., I. Schmidt et Nair. 8 2 8 8 Dactylospora haliotrepha... faster growth and multiplication rate dur- ing the early stage of wood decomposition (Cooke Distribution of fungi and wood-borers in the coastal tropical waters of Goa, India 53 54 Y. Vishwakiran et al. and Rayner 1984). Such fungi face a competition from...

Climatological determinants of woody cover in Africa

OpenAIRE

Good, Stephen P.; Caylor, Kelly K.

2011-01-01

Determining the factors that influence the distribution of woody vegetation cover and resolving the sensitivity of woody vegetation cover to shifts in environmental forcing are critical steps necessary to predict continental-scale responses of dryland ecosystems to climate change. We use a 6-year satellite data record of fractional woody vegetation cover and an 11-year daily precipitation record to investigate the climatological controls on woody vegetation cover across the African continent....

Comparative study of phloem loading radiotracer techniques for in vivo sucrose translocation in non woody and woody plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulkarni, Pranav; Pandey, Manish; Suprasanna Penna; Ramteke, Sahadeo

2017-01-01

The application of radioisotopes for analysing the in vivo physiological responses in plants is a well known practical approach for the plant physiologists. Physiological difference in woody and non woody plants necessitates the need for universal way of application of radioisotopes to study in vivo sucrose translocation. In this study, grape vine (Vitis vinifera cv. Thomson seedless) and mustard (Brassica juncea cv. Pusa Bold) plants having active source and sink were used as representative system for woody and non woody plants. In present work we applied different strategies for radio activity loading in both boody and non woody plant viz. phloem loading via cut end, direct injection into phloem and activity incorporation through minor vein of leaves (gaseous CO 2 incorporation)

Woody biomass energy potential in 2050

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lauri, Pekka; Havlík, Petr; Kindermann, Georg; Forsell, Nicklas; Böttcher, Hannes; Obersteiner, Michael

2014-01-01

From a biophysical perspective, woody biomass resources are large enough to cover a substantial share of the world's primary energy consumption in 2050. However, these resources have alternative uses and their accessibility is limited, which tends to decrease their competitiveness with respect to other forms of energy. Hence, the key question of woody biomass use for energy is not the amount of resources, but rather their price. In this study we consider the question from the perspective of energy wood supply curves, which display the available amount of woody biomass for large-scale energy production at various hypothetical energy wood prices. These curves are estimated by the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM), which is a global partial equilibrium model of forest and agricultural sectors. The global energy wood supply is estimated to be 0–23 Gm 3 /year (0–165 EJ/year) when energy wood prices vary in a range of 0–30$/GJ (0–216$/m 3 ). If we add household fuelwood to energy wood, then woody biomass could satisfy 2–18% of world primary energy consumption in 2050. If primary forests are excluded from wood supply then the potential decreases up to 25%. - highlights: • We examine woody biomass energy potential by partial equilibrium model of forest and agriculture sectors. • It is possible to satisfy 18% (or 14% if primary forests are excluded) of the world's primary energy consumption in 2050 by woody biomass. • To achieve this would require an extensive subsidy/tax policy and would lead to substantial higher woody biomass prices compared to their current level

Frost resistance in alpine woody plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuner, Gilbert

2014-01-01

This report provides a brief review of key findings related to frost resistance in alpine woody plant species, summarizes data on their frost resistance, highlights the importance of freeze avoidance mechanisms, and indicates areas of future research. Freezing temperatures are possible throughout the whole growing period in the alpine life zone. Frost severity, comprised of both intensity and duration, becomes greater with increasing elevation and, there is also a greater probability, that small statured woody plants, may be insulated by snow cover. Several frost survival mechanisms have evolved in woody alpine plants in response to these environmental conditions. Examples of tolerance to extracellular freezing and freeze dehydration, life cycles that allow species to escape frost, and freeze avoidance mechanisms can all be found. Despite their specific adaption to the alpine environment, frost damage can occur in spring, while all alpine woody plants have a low risk of frost damage in winter. Experimental evidence indicates that premature deacclimation in Pinus cembra in the spring, and a limited ability of many species of alpine woody shrubs to rapidly reacclimate when they lose snow cover, resulting in reduced levels of frost resistance in the spring, may be particularly critical under the projected changes in climate. In this review, frost resistance and specific frost survival mechanisms of different organs (leaves, stems, vegetative and reproductive over-wintering buds, flowers, and fruits) and tissues are compared. The seasonal dynamics of frost resistance of leaves of trees, as opposed to woody shrubs, is also discussed. The ability of some tissues and organs to avoid freezing by supercooling, as visualized by high resolution infrared thermography, are also provided. Collectively, the report provides a review of the complex and diverse ways that woody plants survive in the frost dominated environment of the alpine life zone.

Frost resistance of alpine woody plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilbert eNeuner

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This report provides a brief review of key findings related to frost resistance in alpine woody plant species, summarizes data on their frost resistance, highlights the importance of freeze avoidance mechanisms, and indicates areas of future research.Freezing temperatures are possible throughout the whole growing period in the alpine life zone. Frost severity, comprised of both intensity and duration, becomes greater with increasing elevation and, there is also a greater probability, that small statured woody plants, may be insulated by snow cover.Several frost survival mechanisms have evolved in woody alpine plants in response to these environmental conditions. Examples of tolerance to extracellular freezing and freeze dehydration, life cycles that allow species to escape frost, and freeze avoidance mechanisms can all be found. Despite their specific adaption to the alpine environment, frost damage can occur in spring, while all alpine woody plants have a low risk of frost damage in winter. Experimental evidence indicates that premature deacclimation in Pinus cembra in the spring, and a limited ability of many species of alpine woody shrubs to rapidly reacclimate when they lose snow cover, resulting in reduced levels of frost resistance in the spring, may be particularly critical under the projected changes in climate.In this review, frost resistance and specific frost survival mechanisms of different organs (leaves, stems, vegetative and reproductive over-wintering buds, flowers and fruits and tissues are compared. The seasonal dynamics of frost resistance of leaves of trees, as opposed to woody shrubs, is also discussed. The ability of some tissues and organs to avoid freezing by supercooling, as visualized by high resolution infrared thermography, are also provided. Collectively, the report provides a review of the complex and diverse ways that woody plants survive in the frost dominated environment of the alpine life zone.

Woody biomass logistics [Chapter 14

Science.gov (United States)

Robert Keefe; Nathaniel Anderson; John Hogland; Ken Muhlenfeld

2014-01-01

The economics of using woody biomass as a fuel or feedstock for bioenergy applications is often driven by logistical considerations. Depending on the source of the woody biomass, the acquisition cost of the material is often quite low, sometimes near zero. However, the cost of harvesting, collection, processing, storage, and transportation from the harvest site to end...

A sustainable woody biomass biorefinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shijie; Lu, Houfang; Hu, Ruofei; Shupe, Alan; Lin, Lu; Liang, Bin

2012-01-01

Woody biomass is renewable only if sustainable production is imposed. An optimum and sustainable biomass stand production rate is found to be one with the incremental growth rate at harvest equal to the average overall growth rate. Utilization of woody biomass leads to a sustainable economy. Woody biomass is comprised of at least four components: extractives, hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose. While extractives and hemicellulose are least resistant to chemical and thermal degradation, cellulose is most resistant to chemical, thermal, and biological attack. The difference or heterogeneity in reactivity leads to the recalcitrance of woody biomass at conversion. A selection of processes is presented together as a biorefinery based on incremental sequential deconstruction, fractionation/conversion of woody biomass to achieve efficient separation of major components. A preference is given to a biorefinery absent of pretreatment and detoxification process that produce waste byproducts. While numerous biorefinery approaches are known, a focused review on the integrated studies of water-based biorefinery processes is presented. Hot-water extraction is the first process step to extract value from woody biomass while improving the quality of the remaining solid material. This first step removes extractives and hemicellulose fractions from woody biomass. While extractives and hemicellulose are largely removed in the extraction liquor, cellulose and lignin largely remain in the residual woody structure. Xylo-oligomers, aromatics and acetic acid in the hardwood extract are the major components having the greatest potential value for development. Higher temperature and longer residence time lead to higher mass removal. While high temperature (>200°C) can lead to nearly total dissolution, the amount of sugars present in the extraction liquor decreases rapidly with temperature. Dilute acid hydrolysis of concentrated wood extracts renders the wood extract with monomeric sugars

Climatological determinants of woody cover in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Good, Stephen P; Caylor, Kelly K

2011-03-22

Determining the factors that influence the distribution of woody vegetation cover and resolving the sensitivity of woody vegetation cover to shifts in environmental forcing are critical steps necessary to predict continental-scale responses of dryland ecosystems to climate change. We use a 6-year satellite data record of fractional woody vegetation cover and an 11-year daily precipitation record to investigate the climatological controls on woody vegetation cover across the African continent. We find that-as opposed to a relationship with only mean annual rainfall-the upper limit of fractional woody vegetation cover is strongly influenced by both the quantity and intensity of rainfall events. Using a set of statistics derived from the seasonal distribution of rainfall, we show that areas with similar seasonal rainfall totals have higher fractional woody cover if the local rainfall climatology consists of frequent, less intense precipitation events. Based on these observations, we develop a generalized response surface between rainfall climatology and maximum woody vegetation cover across the African continent. The normalized local gradient of this response surface is used as an estimator of ecosystem vegetation sensitivity to climatological variation. A comparison between predicted climate sensitivity patterns and observed shifts in both rainfall and vegetation during 2009 reveals both the importance of rainfall climatology in governing how ecosystems respond to interannual fluctuations in climate and the utility of our framework as a means to forecast continental-scale patterns of vegetation shifts in response to future climate change.

Ecological studies of wood-boring bivalves in the vicinity of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. Progress report Sep-Nov 81

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoagland, K.E.; Crocket, L.

1982-06-01

The species composition, distribution, and population dynamics of wood-boring bivalves are being studied in the vicinity of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Untreated wood test panels are used to collect organisms at 12 stations. Physiological tolerances of 3 species are also under investigation in the laboratory. Competition among the species is being analyzed. In the fall of 1981, Teredo bartschi remained in Oyster Creek despite continuous prolonged outages of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Determinants of woody cover in African savannas

Science.gov (United States)

Sankaran, M.; Hanan, N.P.; Scholes, Robert J.; Ratnam, J.; Augustine, D.J.; Cade, B.S.; Gignoux, J.; Higgins, S.I.; Le, Roux X.; Ludwig, F.; Ardo, J.; Banyikwa, F.; Bronn, A.; Bucini, G.; Caylor, K.K.; Coughenour, M.B.; Diouf, A.; Ekaya, W.; Feral, C.J.; February, E.C.; Frost, P.G.H.; Hiernaux, P.; Hrabar, H.; Metzger, K.L.; Prins, H.H.T.; Ringrose, S.; Sea, W.; Tews, J.; Worden, J.; Zambatis, N.

2005-01-01

Savannas are globally important ecosystems of great significance to human economies. In these biomes, which are characterized by the co-dominance of trees and grasses, woody cover is a chief determinant of ecosystem properties 1-3. The availability of resources (water, nutrients) and disturbance regimes (fire, herbivory) are thought to be important in regulating woody cover1,2,4,5, but perceptions differ on which of these are the primary drivers of savanna structure. Here we show, using data from 854 sites across Africa, that maximum woody cover in savannas receiving a mean annual precipitation (MAP) of less than ???650 mm is constrained by, and increases linearly with, MAP. These arid and semi-arid savannas may be considered 'stable' systems in which water constrains woody cover and permits grasses to coexist, while fire, herbivory and soil properties interact to reduce woody cover below the MAP-controlled upper bound. Above a MAP of ???650 mm, savannas are 'unstable' systems in which MAP is sufficient for woody canopy closure, and disturbances (fire, herbivory) are required for the coexistence of trees and grass. These results provide insights into the nature of African savannas and suggest that future changes in precipitation 6 may considerably affect their distribution and dynamics. ?? 2005 Nature Publishing Group.

Woody Species Diversity in Traditional Agroforestry Practices of Dellomenna District, Southeastern Ethiopia: Implication for Maintaining Native Woody Species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abiot Molla

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The major impact of humans on forest ecosystems including loss of forest area, habitat fragmentation, and soil degradation leads to losses of biodiversity. These problems can be addressed by integration of agriculture with forests and maintaining the existing forests. This study was initiated to assess woody species diversity of traditional agroforestry practices. Three study sites (Burkitu, Chire, and Erba were selected based on the presence of agroforestry practice. Forty-eight (48 sample quadrants having an area of 20 m × 20 m, 16 sample quadrants in each study site, were systematically laid using four transect lines at different distance. The diversity of woody species was analyzed by using different diversity indices. A total of 55 woody species belonging to 31 families were identified and documented. There were significantly different (P<0.05 among the study Kebeles (peasant associations. Mangifera indica, Entada abyssinica, and Croton macrostachyus were found to have the highest Important Value Index. The results confirmed that traditional agroforestry plays a major role in the conservation of native woody species. However, threats to woody species were observed. Therefore, there is a need to undertake conservation practices before the loss of species.

Predictive coarse-graining

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schöberl, Markus, E-mail: m.schoeberl@tum.de [Continuum Mechanics Group, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Garching (Germany); Zabaras, Nicholas [Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 2a, 85748 Garching (Germany); Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 365 Fitzpatrick Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Koutsourelakis, Phaedon-Stelios [Continuum Mechanics Group, Technical University of Munich, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85748 Garching (Germany)

2017-03-15

We propose a data-driven, coarse-graining formulation in the context of equilibrium statistical mechanics. In contrast to existing techniques which are based on a fine-to-coarse map, we adopt the opposite strategy by prescribing a probabilistic coarse-to-fine map. This corresponds to a directed probabilistic model where the coarse variables play the role of latent generators of the fine scale (all-atom) data. From an information-theoretic perspective, the framework proposed provides an improvement upon the relative entropy method and is capable of quantifying the uncertainty due to the information loss that unavoidably takes place during the coarse-graining process. Furthermore, it can be readily extended to a fully Bayesian model where various sources of uncertainties are reflected in the posterior of the model parameters. The latter can be used to produce not only point estimates of fine-scale reconstructions or macroscopic observables, but more importantly, predictive posterior distributions on these quantities. Predictive posterior distributions reflect the confidence of the model as a function of the amount of data and the level of coarse-graining. The issues of model complexity and model selection are seamlessly addressed by employing a hierarchical prior that favors the discovery of sparse solutions, revealing the most prominent features in the coarse-grained model. A flexible and parallelizable Monte Carlo – Expectation–Maximization (MC-EM) scheme is proposed for carrying out inference and learning tasks. A comparative assessment of the proposed methodology is presented for a lattice spin system and the SPC/E water model.

48 CFR 1452.237-71 - Utilization of Woody Biomass.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Biomass. 1452.237-71 Section 1452.237-71 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Utilization of Woody Biomass. As prescribed in § 1437.7202, insert the following clause: Utilization of Woody Biomass (MAY 2005) (a) The contractor may remove and utilize woody biomass, if: (1) Project work is...

Aluminium exclusion and aluminium tolerance in woody plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivano eBrunner

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The aluminium (Al cation Al3+ is highly rhizotoxic and is a major stress factor to plants on acid soils, which cover large areas of tropical and boreal regions. Many woody plant species are native to acid soils and are well adapted to high Al3+ conditions. In tropical regions, both woody Al accumulator and non-Al accumulator plants occur, whereas in boreal regions woody plants are non-Al accumulators. The mechanisms of these adaptations can be divided into those that facilitate the exclusion of Al3+ from root cells (exclusion mechanisms and those that enable plants to tolerate Al3+ once it has entered the root and shoot symplast (internal tolerance mechanisms. The biochemical and molecular basis of these mechanisms have been intensively studied in several crop plants and the model plant Arabidopsis. In this review, we examine the current understanding of Al3+ exclusion and tolerance mechanisms from woody plants. In addition, we discuss the ecology of woody non-Al accumulator and Al accumulator plants, and present examples of Al3+ adaptations in woody plant populations. This paper complements previous reviews focusing on crop plants and provides insights into evolutionary processes operating in plant communities that are widespread on acid soils.

Aluminum exclusion and aluminum tolerance in woody plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunner, Ivano; Sperisen, Christoph

2013-01-01

The aluminum (Al) cation Al(3) (+) is highly rhizotoxic and is a major stress factor to plants on acid soils, which cover large areas of tropical and boreal regions. Many woody plant species are native to acid soils and are well adapted to high Al(3) (+) conditions. In tropical regions, both woody Al accumulator and non-Al accumulator plants occur, whereas in boreal regions woody plants are non-Al accumulators. The mechanisms of these adaptations can be divided into those that facilitate the exclusion of Al(3) (+) from root cells (exclusion mechanisms) and those that enable plants to tolerate Al(3) (+) once it has entered the root and shoot symplast (internal tolerance mechanisms). The biochemical and molecular basis of these mechanisms have been intensively studied in several crop plants and the model plant Arabidopsis. In this review, we examine the current understanding of Al(3) (+) exclusion and tolerance mechanisms from woody plants. In addition, we discuss the ecology of woody non-Al accumulator and Al accumulator plants, and present examples of Al(3) (+) adaptations in woody plant populations. This paper complements previous reviews focusing on crop plants and provides insights into evolutionary processes operating in plant communities that are widespread on acid soils.

Handbook for inventorying downed woody material

Science.gov (United States)

James K. Brown

1974-01-01

To facilitate debris management, procedures for inventorying downed woody material are presented. Instructions show how to estimate weights and volumes of downed woody material, fuel depth, and duff depth. Using the planar intersect technique, downed material is inventoried by 0- to 0.25-inch, 0.25- to 1-inch, and 1- to 3-inch diameter classes; and by 1-inch classes...

Coarse woody debris and soil respiration 6 years post-tornado in a Piedmont forest blowdown

Science.gov (United States)

Oldfield, C.; Peterson, C. J.

2017-12-01

Severe wind disturbances can rapidly change carbon pools and fluxes in forests, causing a site to switch from a carbon sink to a source in a matter of minutes. Moreover, salvage logging after a disturbance can result in disturbed and compacted soil, altered woody debris carbon pools, and seedling mortality, all of which may further alter carbon dynamics beyond that caused by the disturbance itself. We measured down dead wood and soil respiration in the summer of 2017 at Boggs Creek Recreation Area in the Piedmont of northeast Georgia, the site of a severe tornado in 2011. Down dead wood and soil respiration were compared in control (intact forest), salvaged, and unsalvaged areas. Megagrams per hectare of down dead wood was significantly higher in the unsalvaged condition than the control or salvage logging condition (ANOVAs, pdead wood was not significantly different in the control when compared to the salvage logging condition (p=0.99). Soil respiration was significantly higher in the salvage logged condition than the control (pdead wood in a forest, and salvage logging may lead to greater soil respiration years after the initial disturbance, both of which will influence the time elapsed before a disturbed forest switches from carbon source to carbon sink. Further research is needed to determine the duration of these effects, along with the carbon consequences for other forest carbon pools.

Woody biomass availability for bioethanol conversion in Mississippi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Verdin, Gustavo; Grebner, Donald L.; Sun, Changyou; Munn, Ian A.; Schultz, Emily B.; Matney, Thomas G.

2009-01-01

This study evaluated woody biomass from logging residues, small-diameter trees, mill residues, and urban waste as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol conversion in Mississippi. The focus on Mississippi was to assess in-state regional variations and provide specific information of biomass estimates for those facilities interested in locating in Mississippi. Supply and cost of four woody biomass sources were derived from Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) information, a recent forest inventory conducted by the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, and primary production costs. According to our analysis, about 4.0 million dry tons of woody biomass are available for production of up to 1.2 billion liters of ethanol each year in Mississippi. The feedstock consists of 69% logging residues, 21% small-diameter trees, 7% urban waste, and 3% mill residues. Of the total, 3.1 million dry tons (930 million liters of ethanol) can be produced for $34 dry ton -1 or less. Woody biomass from small-diameter trees is more expensive than other sources of biomass. Transportation costs accounted for the majority of total production costs. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the largest impacts in production costs of ethanol come from stumpage price of woody biomass and technological efficiency. These results provide a valuable decision support tool for resource managers and industries in identifying parameters that affect resource magnitude, type, and location of woody biomass feedstocks in Mississippi. (author)

Thermo-Analytical and Physico-Chemical Characterization of Woody and Non-Woody Biomass from an Agro-ecological Zone in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayokunle Oluwabusayo Balogun

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Woody (Albizia pedicellaris and Terminalia ivorensis and non-woody (guinea corn (Sorghum bicolor glume and stalk biomass resources from Nigeria were subjected to thermo-analytical and physico-chemical analyses to determine their suitability for thermochemical processing. They were found to have comparably high calorific values (between 16.4 and 20.1 MJ kg-1. The woody biomass had very low ash content (0.32%, while the non-woody biomass had relatively high ash content (7.54%. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA of the test samples showed significant variation in the decomposition behavior of the individual biomasses. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs derivatives indicated the presence of fatty and resin acids in the dichloromethane (CH2Cl2 extracts. Analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS of the samples revealed that the volatiles liberated consisted mostly of acids, alcohols, ketones, phenols, and sugar derivatives. These biomass types were deemed suitable for biofuel applications.

Determinants of patchiness of woody vegetation in an African savanna

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldhuis, Michiel P.; Rozen-Rechels, David; le Roux, Elizabeth; Cromsigt, Joris P.G.M.; Berg, Matheus P.; Olff, Han

2016-01-01

How is woody vegetation patchiness affected by rainfall, fire and large herbivore biomass? Can we predict woody patchiness and cover over large-scale environmental gradients? We quantified variation in local patchiness as the lacunarity of woody cover on satellite-derived images. Using Random Forest

Selecting and optimizing eco-physiological parameters of Biome-BGC to reproduce observed woody and leaf biomass growth of Eucommia ulmoides plantation in China using Dakota optimizer

Science.gov (United States)

Miyauchi, T.; Machimura, T.

2013-12-01

field survey) were weighted for priority. We compared some gradient-based global optimization methods of Dakota starting with the default parameters of Biome-BGC. In the result of sensitive analysis, carbon allocation parameters between coarse root and leaf, between stem and leaf, and SLA had high contribution on both leaf and woody biomass changes. These parameters were selected to be optimized. The measured leaf, above- and below-ground woody biomass carbon density at the last year were 0.22, 1.81 and 0.86 kgC m-2, respectively, whereas those simulated in the non-optimized control case using all default parameters were 0.12, 2.26 and 0.52 kgC m-2, respectively. After optimizing the parameters, the simulated values were improved to 0.19, 1.81 and 0.86 kgC m-2, respectively. The coliny global optimization method gave the better fitness than efficient global and ncsu direct method. The optimized parameters showed the higher carbon allocation rates to coarse roots and leaves and the lower SLA than the default parameters, which were consistent to the general water physiological response in a dry climate. The simulation using the weighted object function resulted in the closer simulations to the measurements at the last year with the lower fitness during the previous years.

Regional Comparative Advantage for Woody Biofuels Production

Science.gov (United States)

Timothy M. Young; Donald G. Hodges; Robert C. Abt; Andy J. Hartsell; James H. Perdue

2009-01-01

The economic availability of woody biomass for the southeastern United States is summarized in this final report for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Southeastern Sun Grant Center research contract R11-0515-016 as administered by the University of Tennessee. Georeferenced economic supply curves (marginal cost curves) for woody biomass producers’ for the 13...

Lectures on coarse geometry

CERN Document Server

Roe, John

2003-01-01

Coarse geometry is the study of spaces (particularly metric spaces) from a 'large scale' point of view, so that two spaces that look the same from a great distance are actually equivalent. This point of view is effective because it is often true that the relevant geometric properties of metric spaces are determined by their coarse geometry. Two examples of important uses of coarse geometry are Gromov's beautiful notion of a hyperbolic group and Mostow's proof of his famous rigidity theorem. The first few chapters of the book provide a general perspective on coarse structures. Even when only metric coarse structures are in view, the abstract framework brings the same simplification as does the passage from epsilons and deltas to open sets when speaking of continuity. The middle section reviews notions of negative curvature and rigidity. Modern interest in large scale geometry derives in large part from Mostow's rigidity theorem and from Gromov's subsequent 'large scale' rendition of the crucial properties of n...

Effect of downed woody debris on small mammal anti-predator behavior.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinkleman, Travis, M.; Orrock, John, L.; Loeb, Susan, C.

2011-10-01

Anti-predator behavior can affect prey growth, reproduction, survival, and generate emergent effects in food webs. Small mammals often lower the cost of predation by altering their behavior in response to shrubs,but the importance of other microhabitat features, such as downed woody debris, for anti-predator behavior is unknown. We used givingup densities to quantify the degree to which downed woody debris alters perceived predation risk by small mammals in southeastern pineforests. We placed 14 foraging trays next to large downed woody debris,shrubs, and in open areas for 12 consecutive nights. Moon illumination, a common indicator of predation risk, led to a similar reduction in small mammal foraging in all three microhabitats (open, downed woody debris,and shrub). Small mammals perceived open microhabitats as riskier than shrub microhabitats, with downed woody debris habitats perceived as being of intermediate risk between shrub and open microhabitats. Despite the presumed benefits of the protective cover of downed woody debris, small mammals may perceive downed woody debris as a relatively risky foraging site in southeastern pine forests where the high diversity and abundance of rodent-eating snakes may provide a primary predatory threat.

Woody Allen kimpus arhitektuuriga

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2000-01-01

Woody Allen protesteerib oma uue lühifilmiga kavatsuse vastu ehitada 16-korruseline ärihoone tema New Yorgi kodu lähedale. W. Allen hindab New Yorgi ajaloolisi rajoone, mida näitab ka oma filmides

Measuring Biomass and Carbon Stock in Resprouting Woody Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Matula, Radim; Damborská, Lenka; Nečasová, Monika; Geršl, Milan; Šrámek, Martin

2015-01-01

Resprouting multi-stemmed woody plants form an important component of the woody vegetation in many ecosystems, but a clear methodology for reliable measurement of their size and quick, non-destructive estimation of their woody biomass and carbon stock is lacking. Our goal was to find a minimum number of sprouts, i.e., the most easily obtainable, and sprout parameters that should be measured for accurate sprout biomass and carbon stock estimates. Using data for 5 common temperate woody species, we modelled carbon stock and sprout biomass as a function of an increasing number of sprouts in an interaction with different sprout parameters. The mean basal diameter of only two to five of the thickest sprouts and the basal diameter and DBH of the thickest sprouts per stump proved to be accurate estimators for the total sprout biomass of the individual resprouters and the populations of resprouters, respectively. Carbon stock estimates were strongly correlated with biomass estimates, but relative carbon content varied among species. Our study demonstrated that the size of the resprouters can be easily measured, and their biomass and carbon stock estimated; therefore, resprouters can be simply incorporated into studies of woody vegetation. PMID:25719601

The role of short-rotation woody crops in sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shepard, J.P.; Tolbert, V.R.

1996-01-01

One answer to increase wood production is by increasing management intensity on existing timberland, especially in plantation forests. Another is to convert land currently in agriculture to timberland. Short-rotation woody crops can be used in both cases. But, what are the environmental consequences? Short-rotation woody crops can provide a net improvement in environmental quality at both local and global scales. Conversion of agricultural land to short-rotation woody crops can provide the most environmental quality enhancement by reducing erosion, improving soil quality, decreasing runoff, improving groundwater quality, and providing better wildlife habitat. Forest products companies can use increased production from intensively managed short-rotation woody crop systems to offset decreased yield from the portion of their timberland that is managed less intensively, e.g. streamside management zones and other ecologically sensitive or unique areas. At the global scale, use of short-rotation woody crops for bioenergy is part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels. Incorporating short-rotation woody crops into the agricultural landscape also increases storage of carbon in the soil, thus reducing atmospheric concentrations. In addition, use of wood instead of alternatives such as steel, concrete, and plastics generally consumes less energy and produces less greenhouse gases. Cooperative research can be used to achieve energy, fiber, and environmental goals. This paper will highlight several examples of ongoing cooperative research projects that seek to enhance the environmental aspects of short-rotation woody crop systems. Government, industry, and academia are conducting research to study soil quality, use of mill residuals, nutrients in runoff and groundwater, and wildlife use of short-rotation woody crop systems in order to assure the role of short-rotation crops as a sustainable way of meeting society's needs

Woody encroachment in northern Great Plains grasslands: Perceptions, actions, and needs

Science.gov (United States)

Symstad, Amy J.; Leis, Sherry A.

2017-01-01

The United States Northern Great Plains (NGP) has a high potential for landscape-scale conservation, but this grassland landscape is threatened by encroachment of woody species. We surveyed NGP land managers to identify patterns in, and illustrate a broad range of, individual managers' perceptions on (1) the threat of woody encroachment to grasslands they manage, and (2) what management practices they use that may influence woody encroachment in this region. In the 34 surveys returned, which came from predominantly public lands in the study area, 79% of responses reported moderate or substantial woody encroachment. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) were the most problematic encroachers. Thirty-one survey respondents said that prescribed fire was used on the lands they manage, and 64% of these responses reported that controlling woody encroachment was a fire management objective. However, only 18% of survey respondents using prescribed fire were achieving their desired fire return interval. Most respondents reported using mechanical and/or chemical methods to control woody species. In contrast to evidence from the central and southern Great Plains, few survey respondents viewed grazing as affecting encroachment. Although the NGP public land managers we surveyed clearly recognize woody encroachment as a problem and are taking steps to address it, many feel that the rate of their management is not keeping pace with the rate of encroachment. Developing strategies for effective woody plant control in a variety of NGP management contexts requires filling ecological science gaps and overcoming societal barriers to using prescribed fire.

Woody biomass for bioenergy and biofuels in the United States -- a briefing paper

Science.gov (United States)

Eric M. White

2010-01-01

Woody biomass can be used for the generation of heat, electricity, and biofuels. In many cases, the technology for converting woody biomass into energy has been established for decades, but because the price of woody biomass energy has not been competitive with traditional fossil fuels, bioenergy production from woody biomass has not been widely adopted. However,...

Water-based woody biorefinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Amidon, Thomas E; Liu, Shijie

2009-01-01

The conversion of biomass into chemicals and energy is essential in order to sustain our present way of life. Fossil fuels are currently the predominant energy source, but fossil deposits are limited and not renewable. Biomass is a reliable potential source of materials, chemicals and energy that can be replenished to keep pace with our needs. A biorefinery is a concept for the collection of processes used to convert biomass into materials, chemicals and energy. The biorefinery is a "catch and release" method for using carbon that is beneficial to both the environment and the economy. In this study, we discuss three elements of a wood-based biorefinery, as proposed by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF): hot-water extraction, hydrolysis, and membrane separation/concentration. Hemicelluloses are the most easily separable main component of woody biomass and thus form the bulk of the extracts obtained by hot-water extraction of woody biomass. Hot-water extraction is an important step in the processes of woody biomass and product generation, replacing alternative costly pre-treatment methods. The hydrolysis of hemicelluloses produces 5-carbon sugars (mainly xylose), 6-carbon sugars (mainly glucose and mannose), and acetic acid. The use of nano-filtration membranes is an efficient technology that can be employed to fractionate hot-water extracts and wood hydrolysate. The residual solid mass after hot-water extraction has a higher energy content and contains fewer easily degradable components. This allows for more efficient subsequent processing to convert cellulose and lignin into conventional products.

Woody plants and land use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huxley, P.A.

1982-01-01

The importance of woody species in land use systems has recently gained international attention. In addition to the production of food and fuelwood, trees can maintain or improve the fertility status of the soil and conserve both soil and water. The use of multipurpose trees in land use system and the important role of trees in association with other crops is now recognized. The methods of scientifically studying such systems, and of manipulating them to improve their productivity or net utility have not been well developed. This introductory paper documents the role of woody species in agriculture, forestry and agroforestry. It outlines some of the important research needs for such systems and the role which isotopes could play in the research. (author)

Soil compaction and growth of woody plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozlowski, T.T. [Univ. of California, Berkeley (United States). Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy and Management

1999-07-01

supply of physiological growth requirements at meristematic sites. Many protocols have been developed, with variable success, to alleviate the adverse effects of soil compaction on the growth and development of woody plants. These include planting of compaction-tolerant species, controlling vehicular and animal traffic, amending soils by adding coarse materials and,or organic matter, replacing compacted soils with uncompacted soils, loosening soils with aerating equipment, installing drainage systems and judiciously applying fertilizers. Prevention of soil compaction before planting is usually much preferred over post-planting treatments because the latter are expensive and difficult to apply, may not be adequately effective and may injure plant roots.

Soil compaction and growth of woody plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlowski, T.T.

1999-01-01

supply of physiological growth requirements at meristematic sites. Many protocols have been developed, with variable success, to alleviate the adverse effects of soil compaction on the growth and development of woody plants. These include planting of compaction-tolerant species, controlling vehicular and animal traffic, amending soils by adding coarse materials and,or organic matter, replacing compacted soils with uncompacted soils, loosening soils with aerating equipment, installing drainage systems and judiciously applying fertilizers. Prevention of soil compaction before planting is usually much preferred over post-planting treatments because the latter are expensive and difficult to apply, may not be adequately effective and may injure plant roots

Spatial vegetation patterns and neighborhood competition among woody plants in an East African savanna.

Science.gov (United States)

Dohn, Justin; Augustine, David J; Hanan, Niall P; Ratnam, Jayashree; Sankaran, Mahesh

2017-02-01

The majority of research on savanna vegetation dynamics has focused on the coexistence of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Interactions among woody plants in savannas are relatively poorly understood. We present data from a 10-yr longitudinal study of spatially explicit growth patterns of woody vegetation in an East African savanna following exclusion of large herbivores and in the absence of fire. We examined plant spatial patterns and quantified the degree of competition among woody individuals. Woody plants in this semiarid savanna exhibit strongly clumped spatial distributions at scales of 1-5 m. However, analysis of woody plant growth rates relative to their conspecific and heterospecific neighbors revealed evidence for strong competitive interactions at neighborhood scales of up to 5 m for most woody plant species. Thus, woody plants were aggregated in clumps despite significantly decreased growth rates in close proximity to neighbors, indicating that the spatial distribution of woody plants in this region depends on dispersal and establishment processes rather than on competitive, density-dependent mortality. However, our documentation of suppressive effects of woody plants on neighbors also suggests a potentially important role for tree-tree competition in controlling vegetation structure and indicates that the balanced-competition hypothesis may contribute to well-known patterns in maximum tree cover across rainfall gradients in Africa. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Can lemmings control the expansion of woody plants on tundra?

Science.gov (United States)

Oksanen, Lauri; Oksanen, Tarja; Olofsson, Johan; Virtanen, Risto; Hoset, Katrine; Tuomi, Maria; Kyrö, Kukka

2013-04-01

The ongoing expansion of woody vegetation in the arctic, due to global warming, creates a positive feed back loop. Increasing abundance of woody plants reduces surface albedo both directly and via speeding up snow melt. Thus a successively greater fraction of incoming solar radiation is absorbed and converted to heat. Browsing mammals - both big and small - can prevent this by consuming woody plants. However, the grazer/browser community of many tundra areas is dominated by brown/Norwegian lemmings (Lemmus spp.) which eat graminoids and mosses and cannot use woody plants as forage. It would seem a priori likely that in such areas, mammalian herbivores speed up the expansion of woody plants by improving the chances of their seedlings to get established. We studied the impact of lemmings on woody plants by constructing lemming proof exclosures within piece high-altitude tundra at Joatkanjávri, northernmost Norway. The exclosures were constructed in 1998, during a period of low lemming densities, in snow-beds, where Norwegian lemmings (L. lemmus) were the only ecologically significant herbivorous mammals. (Reindeer migrate through the area in May, when snow-beds are inaccessible for them; during the fall migration, the area represents a dead end and is therefore avoided.) We chose pairs of maximally similar vegetation patches of 0.5 by 0.5 m and randomly assigned one of each pair to become an exclosure while the other plot was left open. The initial state of the vegetation was documented by the point frequency method. In 2008, after the 2007 lemming outbreak, the same documentation was repeated; thereafter the plots were harvested, the vegetation was sorted to species, oven dried and weighed. Exclusion of lemmings resulted to pronounced increase in community level plant biomass. Evergreen woody plants were especially favored by the exclusion of lemming: their above-ground biomass in exclosures was 14 times as great as their biomass on open reference plots. The

On the Assessment of the CO2 Mitigation Potential of Woody Biomass

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Víctor Codina Gironès

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Woody biomass, a renewable energy resource, accumulates solar energy in form of carbon hydrates produced from atmospheric CO2 and H2O. It is, therefore, a means of CO2 mitigation for society as long as the biogenic carbon released to the atmosphere when delivering its energy content by oxidation can be accumulated again during growth of new woody biomass. Even when considering the complete life cycle, usually, only a small amount of fossil CO2 is emitted. However, woody biomass availability is limited by land requirement and, therefore, it is important to maximize its CO2 mitigation potential in the energy system. In this study, we consider woody biomass not only as a source of renewable energy but also as a source of carbon for seasonal storage of solar electricity. A first analysis is carried out based on the mitigation effect of woody biomass usage pathways, which is the avoided fossil CO2 emissions obtained by using one unit of woody biomass to provide energy services, as alternative to fossil fuels. Results show that woody biomass usage pathways can achieve up to 9.55 times the mitigation effect obtained through combustion of woody biomass, which is taken as a reference. Applying energy system modeling and multi-objective optimization techniques, the role of woody biomass technological choices in the energy transition is then analyzed at a country scale. The analysis is applied to Switzerland, demonstrating that the use of woody biomass in gasification–methanation systems, coupled with electrolysers and combined with an intensive deployment of PV panels and efficient technologies, could reduce the natural gas imports to zero. Electrolysers are used to boost synthetic natural gas production by hydrogen injection into the methanation reaction. The hydrogen used is produced when there is excess of solar electricity. The efficient technologies, such as heat pumps and battery electric vehicles, allow increasing the overall efficiency of the

Evaluating ecohydrological theories of woody root distribution in the Kalahari.

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Abinash Bhattachan

Full Text Available The contribution of savannas to global carbon storage is poorly understood, in part due to lack of knowledge of the amount of belowground biomass. In these ecosystems, the coexistence of woody and herbaceous life forms is often explained on the basis of belowground interactions among roots. However, the distribution of root biomass in savannas has seldom been investigated, and the dependence of root biomass on rainfall regime remains unclear, particularly for woody plants. Here we investigate patterns of belowground woody biomass along a rainfall gradient in the Kalahari of southern Africa, a region with consistent sandy soils. We test the hypotheses that (1 the root depth increases with mean annual precipitation (root optimality and plant hydrotropism hypothesis, and (2 the root-to-shoot ratio increases with decreasing mean annual rainfall (functional equilibrium hypothesis. Both hypotheses have been previously assessed for herbaceous vegetation using global root data sets. Our data do not support these hypotheses for the case of woody plants in savannas. We find that in the Kalahari, the root profiles of woody plants do not become deeper with increasing mean annual precipitation, whereas the root-to-shoot ratios decrease along a gradient of increasing aridity.

Woody biomass from short rotation energy crops. Chapter 2

Science.gov (United States)

R.S., Jr. Zalesny Jr.; M.W. Cunningham; R.B. Hall; J. Mirck; D.L. Rockwood; J.A. Stanturf; T.A. Volk

2011-01-01

Short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) are ideal for woody biomass production and management systems because they are renewable energy feedstocks for biofuels, bioenergy, and bioproducts that can be strategically placed in the landscape to conserve soil and water, recycle nutrients, and sequester carbon. This chapter is a synthesis of the regional implications of producing...

How coarse is too coarse for salmon spawning substrates?

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Wooster, J. K.; Riebe, C. S.; Ligon, F. K.; Overstreet, B. T.

2009-12-01

Populations of Pacific salmon species have declined sharply in many rivers of the western US. Reversing these declines is a top priority and expense of many river restoration projects. To help restore salmon populations, managers often inject gravel into rivers, to supplement spawning habitat that has been depleted by gravel mining and the effects of dams—which block sediment and thus impair habitat downstream by coarsening the bed where salmon historically spawned. However, there is little quantitative understanding nor a methodology for determining when a river bed has become too coarse for salmon spawning. Hence there is little scientific basis for selecting sites that would optimize the restoration benefits of gravel injection (e.g., sites where flow velocities are suitable but bed materials are too coarse for spawning). To develop a quantitative understanding of what makes river beds too coarse for salmon spawning, we studied redds and spawning use in a series of California and Washington rivers where salmon spawning ability appears to be affected by coarse bed material. Our working hypothesis is that for a given flow condition, there is a maximum “threshold” particle size that a salmon of a given size is able to excavate and/or move as she builds her redd. A second, related hypothesis is that spawning use should decrease and eventually become impossible with increasing percent coverage by immovable particles. To test these hypotheses, we quantified the sizes and spatial distributions of immovably coarse particles in a series of salmon redds in each river during the peak of spawning. We also quantified spawning use and how it relates to percent coverage by immovable particles. Results from our studies of fall-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytsha) in the Feather River suggest that immovable particle size varies as a function of flow velocity over the redd, implying that faster water helps fish move bigger particles. Our Feather River study also

Woody debris dynamics in Interior West forests and woodlands

Science.gov (United States)

John D. Shaw; James Long; Raffaella Marzano; Matteo Garbarino

2012-01-01

Managers are interested in the dynamics of down woody material because of its role as a fuel component, a feature of wildlife habitat, a carbon pool, and other characteristics. We analyzed nearly 9,000 plots from the Interior West, spanning the range from sparse juniper and mesquite woodland to dense spruce-fir forests, in order to characterize down woody material as...

Assessing Woody Vegetation Trends in Sahelian Drylands Using MODIS Based Seasonal Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Martin; Hiernaux, Pierre; Rasmussen, Kjeld; Mbow, Cheikh; Kergoat, Laurent; Tagesson, Torbern; Ibrahim, Yahaya Z.; Wele, Abdoulaye; Tucker, Compton J.; Fensholt, Rasmus

2016-01-01

Woody plants play a major role for the resilience of drylands and in peoples' livelihoods. However, due to their scattered distribution, quantifying and monitoring woody cover over space and time is challenging. We develop a phenology driven model and train/validate MODIS (MCD43A4, 500m) derived metrics with 178 ground observations from Niger, Senegal and Mali to estimate woody cover trends from 2000 to 2014 over the entire Sahel. The annual woody cover estimation at 500 m scale is fairly accurate with an RMSE of 4.3 (woody cover %) and r(exp 2) = 0.74. Over the 15 year period we observed an average increase of 1.7 (+/- 5.0) woody cover (%) with large spatial differences: No clear change can be observed in densely populated areas (0.2 +/- 4.2), whereas a positive change is seen in sparsely populated areas (2.1 +/- 5.2). Woody cover is generally stable in cropland areas (0.9 +/- 4.6), reflecting the protective management of parkland trees by the farmers. Positive changes are observed in savannas (2.5 +/- 5.4) and woodland areas (3.9 +/- 7.3). The major pattern of woody cover change reveals strong increases in the sparsely populated Sahel zones of eastern Senegal, western Mali and central Chad, but a decreasing trend is observed in the densely populated western parts of Senegal, northern Nigeria, Sudan and southwestern Niger. This decrease is often local and limited to woodlands, being an indication of ongoing expansion of cultivated areas and selective logging.We show that an overall positive trend is found in areas of low anthropogenic pressure demonstrating the potential of these ecosystems to provide services such as carbon storage, if not over-utilized. Taken together, our results provide an unprecedented synthesis of woody cover dynamics in theSahel, and point to land use and human population density as important drivers, however only partially and locally offsetting a general post-drought increase.

Woody Allen, serial schlemiel ?

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Frédérique Brisset

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Woody Allen a développé au fil des années une persona cinématographique de schlemiel new-yorkais aisément reconnaissable par le spectateur. Elle marque nombre de ses films, qu’il y apparaisse en tant qu’acteur ou y dirige des substituts comédiens comme déclinaisons de lui-même. Si cette figure prototypique est le fondement de la sérialité dans sa filmographie, il est des traits stylistiques qui en portent trace tout au long de son œuvre : la récurrence annuelle de ses réalisations, la signature formelle symbolisée par ses génériques à la typographie singulière, le rythme de ses dialogues ponctués d’interjections et l’usage de l’autocitation sont autant de procédés qui marquent son cinéma d’un sceau très personnel. Ils fonctionnent comme des clins d’œil au spectateur qui reçoit dès lors LE Woody Allen millésimé comme une invitation à retrouver son microcosme. Ainsi la sérialité se pose comme à la fois initiale et conséquentielle de son système filmique, processus de création unique dans le cinéma américain.Woody Allen has long constructed a cinematographic persona of schlemiel New- Yorker that the audience can easily identify. It impacts most of his films, whether he stars in them or directs “substitute” actors to impersonate his character. If this prototypical figure is the basis of seriality in his cinematography, serial stylistic features can also be found all along his career: the annual recurrence of his productions, the formal signature symbolised by the typography of his singular credit titles, his rhythmical interjection-punctuated dialogues and the use of self-quotation imprint a very personal seal upon his movies. They all work as a recognition signals for the audience who thus receive THE Woody Allen vintage as an invitation to re-enter his microcosm. Seriality is then both initial and consequential to his cinematographic system, a unique creative process in American film history.

ASSIMILATION OF COARSE-SCALEDATAUSINGTHE ENSEMBLE KALMAN FILTER

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin

2011-01-01

Reservoir data is usually scale dependent and exhibits multiscale features. In this paper we use the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) to integrate data at different spatial scales for estimating reservoir fine-scale characteristics. Relationships between the various scales is modeled via upscaling techniques. We propose two versions of the EnKF to assimilate the multiscale data, (i) where all the data are assimilated together and (ii) the data are assimilated sequentially in batches. Ensemble members obtained after assimilating one set of data are used as a prior to assimilate the next set of data. Both of these versions are easily implementable with any other upscaling which links the fine to the coarse scales. The numerical results with different methods are presented in a twin experiment setup using a two-dimensional, two-phase (oil and water) flow model. Results are shown with coarse-scale permeability and coarse-scale saturation data. They indicate that additional data provides better fine-scale estimates and fractional flow predictions. We observed that the two versions of the EnKF differed in their estimates when coarse-scale permeability is provided, whereas their results are similar when coarse-scale saturation is used. This behavior is thought to be due to the nonlinearity of the upscaling operator in the case of the former data. We also tested our procedures with various precisions of the coarse-scale data to account for the inexact relationship between the fine and coarse scale data. As expected, the results show that higher precision in the coarse-scale data yielded improved estimates. With better coarse-scale modeling and inversion techniques as more data at multiple coarse scales is made available, the proposed modification to the EnKF could be relevant in future studies.

Identification of the wood-borer and the factors affecting its attack on Caryocar brasiliense trees in the Brazilian Savanna=Identificação do broqueador de tronco e os fatores que afetam o seu ataque em árvores de Caryocar brasiliense no cerrado brasileiro.

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Germano Leão Demolin Leite

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this work were to identify the wood-borer of the trunk of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae and the effects of tree size, chemical and physical soil attributes, and floristic diversity in its attack. The wood-boring caterpillar of the trunck of C. brasiliense belongs to the family Cossidae (Lepidoptera. The number of pupae and the amount of sawdust produced by the wood-borer per tree was higher in the pasture 1 of Montes Claros and pasture in Ibiracatu than in the other four areas (pastures and savanna in Montes Claros and savanna in Ibiracatu. The number of pupae and the amount of sawdust was highest in the trunks of trees with diameters having a breast height (DBH more than 30 cm. This may explain the severity of attack in the areas mentioned above, which contain a higher percentage of plants with DBH> 30 cm. The soil properties also positively associate with higher attack of the wood-borer on trees when the soil is rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, sum of bases, capacity of cationic exchange, and organic matter, while there was a negative correlation between attack and fine sand content. Systems with less floristic diversity, particularly trees of other species, may concentrate the attack of the wood-borer in the trunks of C. Brasiliense trees. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram identificar o broqueador do tronco de Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae e os efeitos de tamanho de árvore, atributos químico-físicos do solo e da diversidade florística em seu ataque. A lagarta broqueadora do tronco de C. brasiliense pertence à família Cossidae (Lepidoptera. O número de pupas e de serragem do broqueador por árvore foi maior na pastagem (1 em Montes Claros e pastagem em Ibiracatu do que nas outras quatro áreas (pastagens e cerrado em Montes Claros e cerrado em Ibiracatu. O número de pupas e da quantidade de serragem do broqueador foi maior em árvores cujo diâmetro de tronco na altura do peito (DAB foi

Woody plant encroachment of grasslands: a comparison of terrestrial and wetland settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Saintilan, Neil; Rogers, Kerrylee

2015-02-01

A global trend of woody plant encroachment of terrestrial grasslands is co-incident with woody plant encroachment of wetland in freshwater and saline intertidal settings. There are several arguments for considering tree encroachment of wetlands in the context of woody shrub encroachment of grassland biomes. In both cases, delimitation of woody shrubs at regional scales is set by temperature thresholds for poleward extent, and by aridity within temperature limits. Latitudinal expansion has been observed for terrestrial woody shrubs and mangroves, following recent warming, but most expansion and thickening has been due to the occupation of previously water-limited grassland/saltmarsh environments. Increases in atmospheric CO₂, may facilitate the recruitment of trees in terrestrial and wetland settings. Improved water relations, a mechanism that would predict higher soil moisture in grasslands and saltmarshes, and also an enhanced capacity to survive arid conditions, reinforces local mechanisms of change. The expansion of woody shrubs and mangroves provides a negative feedback on elevated atmospheric CO₂ by increasing carbon sequestration in grassland and saltmarsh, and is a significant carbon sink globally. These broad-scale vegetation shifts may represent a new stable state, reinforced by positive feedbacks between global change drivers and endogenic mechanisms of persistence in the landscape.

Human population growth offsets climate-driven increase in woody vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Martin; Rasmussen, Kjeld; Peñuelas, Josep; Tian, Feng; Schurgers, Guy; Verger, Aleixandre; Mertz, Ole; Palmer, John R B; Fensholt, Rasmus

2017-03-06

The rapidly growing human population in sub-Saharan Africa generates increasing demand for agricultural land and forest products, which presumably leads to deforestation. Conversely, a greening of African drylands has been reported, but this has been difficult to associate with changes in woody vegetation. There is thus an incomplete understanding of how woody vegetation responds to socio-economic and environmental change. Here we used a passive microwave Earth observation data set to document two different trends in land area with woody cover for 1992-2011: 36% of the land area (6,870,000 km 2 ) had an increase in woody cover largely in drylands, and 11% had a decrease (2,150,000 km 2 ), mostly in humid zones. Increases in woody cover were associated with low population growth, and were driven by increases in CO 2 in the humid zones and by increases in precipitation in drylands, whereas decreases in woody cover were associated with high population growth. The spatially distinct pattern of these opposing trends reflects, first, the natural response of vegetation to precipitation and atmospheric CO 2 , and second, deforestation in humid areas, minor in size but important for ecosystem services, such as biodiversity and carbon stocks. This nuanced picture of changes in woody cover challenges widely held views of a general and ongoing reduction of the woody vegetation in Africa.

Short-Term Responses of Ground Beetles to Forest Changes Caused by Early Stages of Emerald Ash Borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)-Induced Ash Mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Kayla I; Herms, Daniel A

2016-04-22

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), an invasive wood-boring beetle native to Asia, has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees since its accidental introduction into North America, resulting in widespread formation of canopy gaps and accumulations of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forests. The objective was to quantify effects of canopy gaps and CWD caused by early stages of emerald ash borer-induced ash mortality, and their interaction on ground beetle assemblages. The impact of canopy gaps and CWD varied, as gaps affected beetle assemblages in 2011, while effects of CWD were only observed in 2012. Gaps decreased beetle activity-abundance, and marginally decreased richness, driving changes in species composition, but evenness and diversity were unaffected. Effects of the CWD treatment alone were minimal, but CWD interacted with the canopy treatment, resulting in an increase in activity-abundance of ground beetles in canopy gaps without CWD, and a marginal increase in species richness in canopy gaps with CWD. Although there were some initial changes in species composition, these were ephemeral, suggesting that ground beetle assemblages may be resilient to disturbance caused by emerald ash borer. This study contributes to our understanding of the cascading ecological impacts of biological invasions on forest ecosystems. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Processing woody debris biomass for co-milling with pulverized coal

Science.gov (United States)

Dana Mitchell; Bob Rummer

2007-01-01

The USDA, Forest Service, Forest Products Lab funds several grants each year for the purpose of studying woody biomass utilization. One selected project proposed removing small diameter stems and unmerchantable woody material from National Forest lands and delivering it to a coal-fired power plant in Alabama for energy conversion. The Alabama Power Company...

Coarse graining for synchronization in directed networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, An; Lü, Linyuan

2011-05-01

Coarse-graining model is a promising way to analyze and visualize large-scale networks. The coarse-grained networks are required to preserve statistical properties as well as the dynamic behaviors of the initial networks. Some methods have been proposed and found effective in undirected networks, while the study on coarse-graining directed networks lacks of consideration. In this paper we proposed a path-based coarse-graining (PCG) method to coarse grain the directed networks. Performing the linear stability analysis of synchronization and numerical simulation of the Kuramoto model on four kinds of directed networks, including tree networks and variants of Barabási-Albert networks, Watts-Strogatz networks, and Erdös-Rényi networks, we find our method can effectively preserve the network synchronizability.

Woody encroachment over 70 years in South African savannahs: overgrazing, global change or extinction aftershock?

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Nicola; Erasmus, B F N; Archibald, S; Bond, W J

2016-09-19

Woody encroachment in 'open' biomes like grasslands and savannahs is occurring globally. Both local and global drivers, including elevated CO2, have been implicated in these increases. The relative importance of different processes is unresolved as there are few multi-site, multi-land-use evaluations of woody plant encroachment. We measured 70 years of woody cover changes over a 1020 km(2) area covering four land uses (commercial ranching, conservation with elephants, conservation without elephants and communal rangelands) across a rainfall gradient in South African savannahs. Different directions of woody cover change would be expected for each different land use, unless a global factor is causing the increases. Woody cover change was measured between 1940 and 2010 using the aerial photo record. Detection of woody cover from each aerial photograph was automated using eCognitions' Object-based image analysis (OBIA). Woody cover doubled in all land uses across the rainfall gradient, except in conservation areas with elephants in low-rainfall savannahs. Woody cover in 2010 in low-rainfall savannahs frequently exceeded the maximum woody cover threshold predicted for African savannahs. The results indicate that a global factor, of which elevated CO2 is the likely candidate, may be driving encroachment. Elephants in low-rainfall savannahs prevent encroachment and localized megafaunal extinction is a probable additional cause of encroachment.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Evaluation of techniques for determining the density of fine woody debris

Science.gov (United States)

Becky Fasth; Mark E. Harmon; Christopher W. Woodall; Jay. Sexton

2010-01-01

Evaluated various techniques for determining the density (i.e., bulk density) of fine woody debris during forest inventory activities. It was found that only experts in dead wood inventory may be able to identify fine woody debris stages of decay. Suggests various future research directions such as...

Incidence of bark- and wood-boring insects in firewood: a survey at Michigan's Mackinac Bridge.

Science.gov (United States)

Haack, Robert A; Petrice, Toby R; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C

2010-10-01

Firewood is a major pathway for the inadvertent movement of bark- and wood-infesting insects. After discovery of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in southeastern Michigan in 2002, quarantines were enacted including prohibition of transporting firewood across the Mackinac Bridge between Michigan's Lower and Upper peninsulas. Drivers are required to surrender firewood before crossing the bridge. We surveyed recently surrendered firewood in April, July, and September 2008 and categorized it by genus, cross-sectional shape (whole, half, or quarter), approximate age (years since it was a live tree), presence of bark, and evidence of bark- and wood-boring insects. The 1045 pieces of firewood examined represented 21 tree genera: primarily Acer (30%), Quercus (18%), Fraxinus (15%), Ulmus (12%), Betula (5%), and Prunus (5%). Live borers (Bostrichoidea, Brentidae, Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Cossidae, Curculionidae [Scolytinae and non-Scolytinae], and Siricidae) were found in 23% of the pieces and another 41% had evidence of previous borer infestation. Of the 152 Fraxinus firewood pieces, 13% had evidence of past A. planipennis infestation, but we found no live A. planipennis. We discuss national "don't move firewood" campaigns and U.S. imports of fuelwood. During 1996-2009, the United States imported fuelwood valued at > dollars U.S. 98 million from 34 countries.

Woody biomass utilization trends, barriers, and strategies: Perspectives of U.S. Forest Service managers

Science.gov (United States)

Shiloh Sundstrom; Max Nielsen-Pincus; Cassandra Moseley; Sarah. McCaffrey

2012-01-01

The use of woody biomass is being promoted across the United States as a means of increasing energy independence, mitigating climate change, and reducing the cost of hazardous fuels reduction treatments and forest restoration projects. The opportunities and challenges for woody biomass use on the national forest system are unique. In addition to making woody biomass...

Carbon Stocks of Fine Woody Debris in Coppice Oak Forests at Different Development Stages

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Ender Makineci

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Dead woody debris is a significant component of the carbon cycle in forest ecosystems. This study was conducted in coppice-originated oak forests to determine carbon stocks of dead woody debris in addition to carbon stocks of different ecosystem compartments from the same area and forests which were formerly elucidated. Weight and carbon stocks of woody debris were determined with recent samplings and compared among development stages (diameter at breast height (DBH, D1.3m, namely small-diameter forests (SDF = 0–8 cm, medium diameter forests (MDF = 8–20 cm, and large-diameter forests (LDF = 20–36 cm. Total woody debris was collected in samplings; as bilateral diameters of all woody debris parts were less than 10 cm, all woody parts were in the “fine woody debris (FWD” class. The carbon concentrations of FWD were about 48% for all stages. Mass (0.78–4.92 Mg·ha−1 and carbon stocks (0.38–2.39 Mg·ha−1 of FWD were significantly (p > 0.05 different among development stages. FWD carbon stocks were observed to have significant correlation with D1.3m, age, basal area, and carbon stocks of aboveground biomass (Spearman rank correlation coefficients; 0.757, 0.735, 0.709, and 0.694, respectively. The most important effects on carbon budgets of fine woody debris were determined to be coppice management and intensive utilization. Also, national forestry management, treatments of traditional former coppice, and conversion to high forest were emphasized as having substantial effects.

Future challenges for woody biomass projections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schadauer, K.; Barreiro, Susana; Schelhaas, M.; McRoberts, Ronald E.

2017-01-01

Many drivers affect woody biomass projections including forest available for wood supply, market behavior, forest ownership, distributions by age and yield classes, forest typologies resulting from different edaphic, climatic conditions, and last but not least, how these factors are incorporated

Non-Galerkin Coarse Grids for Algebraic Multigrid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falgout, Robert D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Schroder, Jacob B. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2014-06-26

Algebraic multigrid (AMG) is a popular and effective solver for systems of linear equations that arise from discretized partial differential equations. And while AMG has been effectively implemented on large scale parallel machines, challenges remain, especially when moving to exascale. Particularly, stencil sizes (the number of nonzeros in a row) tend to increase further down in the coarse grid hierarchy, and this growth leads to more communication. Therefore, as problem size increases and the number of levels in the hierarchy grows, the overall efficiency of the parallel AMG method decreases, sometimes dramatically. This growth in stencil size is due to the standard Galerkin coarse grid operator, $P^T A P$, where $P$ is the prolongation (i.e., interpolation) operator. For example, the coarse grid stencil size for a simple three-dimensional (3D) seven-point finite differencing approximation to diffusion can increase into the thousands on present day machines, causing an associated increase in communication costs. We therefore consider algebraically truncating coarse grid stencils to obtain a non-Galerkin coarse grid. First, the sparsity pattern of the non-Galerkin coarse grid is determined by employing a heuristic minimal “safe” pattern together with strength-of-connection ideas. Second, the nonzero entries are determined by collapsing the stencils in the Galerkin operator using traditional AMG techniques. The result is a reduction in coarse grid stencil size, overall operator complexity, and parallel AMG solve phase times.

Relationship of Course Woody Debris to Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Prey Diversity and Abundance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horn, G.S.

1999-09-03

The abundance of diversity of prey commonly used by the red-cockaded woodpecker were monitored in experimental plots in which course woody debris was manipulated. In one treatment, all the woody debris over four inches was removed. In the second treatment, the natural amount of mortality remained intact. The overall diversity of prey was unaffected; however, wood roaches were significantly reduced by removal of woody debris. The latter suggests that intensive utilizations or harvesting practices may reduce foraging.

HIRENASD coarse unstructured

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Unstructured HIRENASD mesh: - coarse size (5.7 million nodes, 14.4 million elements) - for node centered solvers - 01.06.2011 - caution: dimensions in mm

Woody Vegetation Die off and Regeneration in Response to Rainfall Variability in the West African Sahel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Brandt

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The greening in the Senegalese Sahel has been linked to an increase in net primary productivity, with significant long-term trends being closely related to the woody strata. This study investigates woody plant growth and mortality within greening areas in the pastoral areas of Senegal, and how these dynamics are linked to species diversity, climate, soil and human management. We analyse woody cover dynamics by means of multi-temporal and multi-scale Earth Observation, satellite based rainfall and in situ data sets covering the period 1994 to 2015. We find that favourable conditions (forest reserves, low human population density, sufficient rainfall led to a rapid growth of Combretaceae and Balanites aegyptiaca between 2000 and 2013 with an average increase of 4% woody cover. However, the increasing dominance and low drought resistance of drought prone species bears the risk of substantial woody cover losses following drought years. This was observed in 2014–2015, with a die off of Guiera senegalensis in most places of the study area. We show that woody cover and woody cover trends are closely related to mean annual rainfall, but no clear relationship with rainfall trends was found over the entire study period. The observed spatial and temporal variation contrasts with the simplified labels of “greening” or “degradation”. While in principal a low woody plant diversity negatively impacts regional resilience, the Sahelian system is showing signs of resilience at decadal time scales through widespread increases in woody cover and high regeneration rates after periodic droughts. We have reaffirmed that the woody cover in Sahel responds to its inherent climatic variability and does not follow a linear trend.

Woody vegetation die off and regeneration in response to rainfall variability in the west African Sahel

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Martin; Tappan, G. Gray; Aziz Diouf, Abdoul; Beye, Gora; Mbow, Cheikh; Fensholt, Rasmus

2017-01-01

The greening in the Senegalese Sahel has been linked to an increase in net primary productivity, with significant long-term trends being closely related to the woody strata. This study investigates woody plant growth and mortality within greening areas in the pastoral areas of Senegal, and how these dynamics are linked to species diversity, climate, soil and human management. We analyse woody cover dynamics by means of multi-temporal and multi-scale Earth Observation, satellite based rainfall and in situ data sets covering the period 1994 to 2015. We find that favourable conditions (forest reserves, low human population density, sufficient rainfall) led to a rapid growth of Combretaceae and Balanites aegyptiaca between 2000 and 2013 with an average increase of 4% woody cover. However, the increasing dominance and low drought resistance of drought prone species bears the risk of substantial woody cover losses following drought years. This was observed in 2014–2015, with a die off of Guiera senegalensis in most places of the study area. We show that woody cover and woody cover trends are closely related to mean annual rainfall, but no clear relationship with rainfall trends was found over the entire study period. The observed spatial and temporal variation contrasts with the simplified labels of “greening” or “degradation”. While in principal a low woody plant diversity negatively impacts regional resilience, the Sahelian system is showing signs of resilience at decadal time scales through widespread increases in woody cover and high regeneration rates after periodic droughts. We have reaffirmed that the woody cover in Sahel responds to its inherent climatic variability and does not follow a linear trend.

Generalized coarse-grained Becker-Doering equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolton, Colin D; Wattis, Jonathan A D

2003-01-01

We present and apply a generalized coarse-graining method of reducing the Becker-Doering model; originally formulated to describe the stepwise aggregation and fragmentation of clusters during nucleation. Previous formulations of the coarse-graining procedure have allowed a temporal rescaling of the coarse-grained reaction rates; this is generalized to allow the rescaling to depend on cluster size. The form of this factor is derived for general reaction rates and general mesh function so that the steady-state solution is preserved; in the case of an even mesh function the kinetics can also be accurately reproduced. With a size-dependent mesh function the equilibrium solution and the form of convergence to this state are matched for a specific example. Finally we consider reaction rates relevant to the classical nucleation theory of spherical cluster growth, and numerically compare solutions of the full system to the generalized coarse-grained system in both constant monomer and constant mass formulations, demonstrating the accuracy of the method

Financial and energy analyses of woody biomass plantations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strauss, C.H.

1991-01-01

This paper provides an economic analysis of a short rotation woody crop (SRWC) plantation system established the financial and energy costs of woody biomass and related net values for the total system. A production model for commercial-sized Populus plantations was developed from a series of research projects sponsored by the U.S,. Department of Energy's Short Rotation Woody Crops Program. The design was based on hybrid poplar planted on good quality agricultural sites at a density of 2100 cutting ha -1 . Growth was forecast at 16 Mg(OD) ha -1 yr -1 on a six-year rotation cycle. All inputs associated with plantation establishment, annual operations, and land use were identified on a financial and energy cost basis (Strauss et al. 1989). Net values for the system projected a minimum financial profit and a major net energy gain. Financial profit was limited by the high market value of energy inputs as compared to the low market value of the energy output. The net energy gain was attributed to the solar energy captured through photosynthesis. Principal input costs to the overall system, on both a financial and energy basis, were land rent and the harvesting/transportation requirements

Coarse-mesh rebalancing acceleration for eigenvalue problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asaoka, T.; Nakahara, Y.; Miyasaka, S.

1974-01-01

The coarse-mesh rebalance method is adopted for Monte Carlo schemes for aiming at accelerating the convergence of a source iteration process. At every completion of the Monte Carlo game for one batch of neutron histories, the scaling factor for the neutron flux is calculated to achieve the neutron balance in each coarse-mesh zone into which the total system is divided. This rebalance factor is multiplied to the weight of each fission source neutron in the coarse-mesh zone for playing the next Monte Carlo game. The numerical examples have shown that the coarse-mesh rebalance Monte Carlo calculation gives a good estimate of the eigenvalue already after several batches with a negligible extra computer time compared to the standard Monte Carlo. 5 references. (U.S.)

Assessing woody vegetation trends in Sahelian drylands using MODIS based seasonal metrics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Martin Stefan; Hiernaux, Pierre; Rasmussen, Kjeld

2016-01-01

Woody plants play a major role for the resilience of drylands and in peoples' livelihoods. However, due to their scattered distribution, quantifying and monitoring woody cover over space and time is challenging. We develop a phenology driven model and train/validate MODIS (MCD43A4, 500 m) derived...

Woody biomass and bioenergy potentials in Southeast Asia between 1990 and 2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Nophea; Knorr, Wolfgang; Foster, David R.; Etoh, Hiroko; Ninomiya, Hiroshi; Chay, Sengtha; Sun, Sengxi; Kim, Sophanarith

2009-01-01

Forests in Southeast Asia are important sources of timber and other forest products, of local energy for cooking and heading, and potentially as sources of bioenergy. Many of these forests have experienced deforestation and forest degradation over the last few decades. The potential flow of woody biomass for bioenergy from forests is uncertain and needs to be assessed before policy intervention can be successfully implemented in the context of international negotiations on climate change. Using current data, we developed a forest land use model and projected changes in area of natural forests and forest plantations from 1990 to 2020. We also developed biomass change and harvest models to estimate woody biomass availability in the forests under the current management regime. Due to deforestation and logging (including illegal logging), projected annual woody biomass production in natural forests declined from 815.9 million tons (16.3 EJ) in 1990 to 359.3 million tons (7.2 EJ) in 2020. Woody biomass production in forest plantations was estimated at 16.2 million tons yr -1 (0.3 EJ), but was strongly affected by cutting rotation length. Average annual woody biomass production in all forests in Southeast Asia between 1990 and 2020 was estimated at 563.4 million tons (11.3 EJ) yr -1 declining about 1.5% yr -1 . Without incentives to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, and to promote forest rehabilitation and plantations, woody biomass as well as wood production and carbon stocks will continue to decline, putting sustainable development in the region at risk as the majority of the population depend mostly on forest ecosystem services for daily survival. (author)

Characterization of fast pyrolysis products generated from several western USA woody species

Science.gov (United States)

Jacqueline M. Jarvis; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese; Nathaniel M. Anderson; Yuri Corilo; Ryan P. Rodgers

2014-01-01

Woody biomass has the potential to be utilized at an alternative fuel source through its pyrolytic conversion. Here, fast pyrolysis bio-oils derived from several western USA woody species are characterized by negative-ion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) to determine molecular-level composition. The...

Field and flume investigations of the effects of logjams and woody debris on streambed morphology

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, V.; Montgomery, D. R.; McHenry, M. L.

2014-12-01

Interactions among wood debris, fluid flow and sediment transport in rivers are first-order controls on channel morphodynamics, affecting streambed morphology, sediment transport, sediment storage and aquatic habitat. Woody debris increases the hydraulic and topographic complexity in rivers, leading to a greater diversity of aquatic habitats and an increase in the number of large pools that are important fish habitat and breeding grounds. In the past decade, engineered logjams have become an increasingly used tool in river management for simultaneously decreasing the rate of riverbank migration and improving aquatic habitat. Sediment deposits around woody debris build up riverbanks and counteract bank migration caused by erosion. Previous experiments on flow visualization around model woody debris suggest the amount of sediment scour and deposition are primarily related to the presence of roots and the obstructional area of the woody debris. We present the results of fieldwork and sediment transport experiments of streambed morphology around stationary woody debris. Field surveys on the Hoh River and the Elwha River, WA, measure the local streambed morphology around logjams and individual pieces of woody debris. We quantified the amount of local scour and dam-removal related fine sediment deposition around natural and engineered logjams of varying sizes and construction styles, located in different geomorphic settings. We also quantified the amount of local scour around individual pieces of woody debris of varying sizes, geometries and orientations relative to flow. The flume experiments tested the effects of root geometry and log orientation of individual stationary trees on streambed morphology. The flume contained a deformable sediment bed of medium sand. We find that: 1) the presence of roots on woody debris leads to greater areas of both sediment scour and deposition; and 2) the amount of sediment scour and deposition are related to the wood debris cross

Conundrums in mixed woody-herbaceous plant systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

House, JI

2003-11-01

Full Text Available -form communities, the novel, complex, nonlinear behaviour of mixed tree-grass systems cannot be accounted for by simply studying or modelling woody and herbaceous components independently. A more robust understanding requires addressing three fundamental conundrums...

Learning to Play Efficient Coarse Correlated Equilibria

KAUST Repository

Borowski, Holly P.

2018-03-10

The majority of the distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Coarse correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However, there are no existing distributed learning algorithms that converge to specific coarse correlated equilibria. In this paper, we provide one such algorithm, which guarantees that the agents’ collective joint strategy will constitute an efficient coarse correlated equilibrium with high probability. The key to attaining efficient correlated behavior through distributed learning involves incorporating a common random signal into the learning environment.

Meat quality of broiler breast fillets with white striping and woody breast muscle myopathies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tijare, V V; Yang, F L; Kuttappan, V A; Alvarado, C Z; Coon, C N; Owens, C M

2016-09-01

The global poultry industry has been faced with emerging broiler breast meat quality issues including conditions known as white striping (WS, white striations parallel to muscle fibers) and woody breast (WB, hardness of raw fillet). Experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of WS and WB hardness on meat quality traits in broiler breast fillets. In Exp. 1, birds were processed at approximately 9 wk of age and deboned at 4 h postmortem (PM); in Exp. 2, birds were processed at approximately 6 and 9 wk of age and deboned at 2 h PM. Fillets were categorized as: normal for both white striping and woody breast (NORM); moderate for white striping and mild for woody breast (MILD); severe for white striping and mild for woody breast (WS); severe for woody breast and moderate for white striping (WB); or severe for both white striping and woody breast (BOTH). Sarcomere length, gravimetric fragmentation index, marination uptake, cook loss, and Meullenet-Owens razor shear energy (MORSE) values on non-marinated and marinated fillets were assessed. Sarcomeres tended to be longer (P = 0.07) with increasing severity of WS and WB in both experiments and gravimetric fragmentation index did not differ (P > 0.05) among categories. Marinade uptake decreased (P  0.05) in non-marinated fillets, the marinated BOTH fillets had greater MORSE values (P  0.05) among categories of marinated breasts. At 9 wk, WS and BOTH were higher (P white striping and woody breast, individually or in combination, negatively impact meat quality, especially water holding capacity attributes such as marinade uptake and cook loss. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Nutrition and adventitious rooting in woody plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda Bortolanza Pereira

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Vegetative propagation success of commercial genotypes via cutting techniques is related to several factors, including nutritional status of mother trees and of propagation material. The nutritional status determines the carbohydrate quantities, auxins and other compounds of plant essential metabolism for root initiation and development. Each nutrient has specific functions in plant, acting on plant structure or on plant physiology. Although the importance of mineral nutrition for success of woody plants vegetative propagation and its relation with adventitious rooting is recognized, the role of some mineral nutrients is still unknown. Due to biochemical and physiological complexity of adventitious rooting process, there are few researches to determine de role of nutrients on development of adventitious roots. This review intends to explore de state of the art about the effect of mineral nutrition on adventitious rooting of woody plants.

Mapping gains and losses in woody vegetation across global tropical drylands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Feng; Brandt, Martin Stefan; Liu, Yi Y

2017-01-01

MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data to remove the interannual fluctuations of the woody leaf component. We revealed significant trends (P ... trend in the leaf component (VODleaf modeled from NDVI), indicating pronounced gradual growth/decline in woody vegetation not captured by traditional assessments. The method is validated using a unique record of ground measurements from the semiarid Sahel and shows a strong agreement between changes...

Diel habitat selection of largemouth bass following woody structure installation in Table Rock Lake, Missouri

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, J.M.; Paukert, Craig P.; Bush, S.C.; Allen, M.J.; Siepker, Michael

2018-01-01

Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède) use of installed habitat structure was evaluated in a large Midwestern USA reservoir to determine whether or not these structures were used in similar proportion to natural habitats. Seventy largemouth bass (>380 mm total length) were surgically implanted with radio transmitters and a subset was relocated monthly during day and night for one year. The top habitat selection models (based on Akaike's information criterion) suggest largemouth bass select 2–4 m depths during night and 4–7 m during day, whereas littoral structure selection was similar across diel periods. Largemouth bass selected boat docks at twice the rate of other structures. Installed woody structure was selected at similar rates to naturally occurring complex woody structure, whereas both were selected at a higher rate than simple woody structure. The results suggest the addition of woody structure may concentrate largemouth bass and mitigate the loss of woody habitat in a large reservoir.

Characterization of coarse particulate matter in school gyms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branis, Martin; Safranek, Jiri

2011-01-01

We investigated the mass concentration, mineral composition and morphology of particles resuspended by children during scheduled physical education in urban, suburban and rural elementary school gyms in Prague (Czech Republic). Cascade impactors were deployed to sample the particulate matter. Two fractions of coarse particulate matter (PM 10-2.5 and PM 2.5-1.0 ) were characterized by gravimetry, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Two indicators of human activity, the number of exercising children and the number of physical education hours, were also recorded. Lower mass concentrations of coarse particulate matter were recorded outdoors (average PM 10-2.5 4.1-7.4 μg m -3 and PM 2.5-1.0 2.0-3.3 μg m -3 ) than indoors (average PM 10-2.5 13.6-26.7 μg m -3 and PM 2.5-1.0 3.7-7.4 μg m -3 ). The indoor concentrations of coarse aerosol were elevated during days with scheduled physical education with an average indoor-outdoor (I/O) ratio of 2.5-16.3 for the PM 10-2.5 and 1.4-4.8 for the PM 2.5-1.0 values. Under extreme conditions, the I/O ratios reached 180 (PM 10-2.5 ) and 19.1 (PM 2.5-1.0 ). The multiple regression analysis based on the number of students and outdoor coarse PM as independent variables showed that the main predictor of the indoor coarse PM concentrations is the number of students in the gym. The effect of outdoor coarse PM was weak and inconsistent. The regression models for the three schools explained 60-70% of the particular dataset variability. X-ray spectrometry revealed 6 main groups of minerals contributing to resuspended indoor dust. The most abundant particles were those of crustal origin composed of Si, Al, O and Ca. Scanning electron microscopy showed that, in addition to numerous inorganic particles, various types of fibers and particularly skin scales make up the main part of the resuspended dust in the gyms. In conclusion, school gyms were found to be indoor microenvironments with high concentrations of

Quantum theory of multiscale coarse-graining.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yining; Jin, Jaehyeok; Wagner, Jacob W; Voth, Gregory A

2018-03-14

Coarse-grained (CG) models serve as a powerful tool to simulate molecular systems at much longer temporal and spatial scales. Previously, CG models and methods have been built upon classical statistical mechanics. The present paper develops a theory and numerical methodology for coarse-graining in quantum statistical mechanics, by generalizing the multiscale coarse-graining (MS-CG) method to quantum Boltzmann statistics. A rigorous derivation of the sufficient thermodynamic consistency condition is first presented via imaginary time Feynman path integrals. It identifies the optimal choice of CG action functional and effective quantum CG (qCG) force field to generate a quantum MS-CG (qMS-CG) description of the equilibrium system that is consistent with the quantum fine-grained model projected onto the CG variables. A variational principle then provides a class of algorithms for optimally approximating the qMS-CG force fields. Specifically, a variational method based on force matching, which was also adopted in the classical MS-CG theory, is generalized to quantum Boltzmann statistics. The qMS-CG numerical algorithms and practical issues in implementing this variational minimization procedure are also discussed. Then, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the method. Finally, as an alternative strategy, a quasi-classical approximation for the thermal density matrix expressed in the CG variables is derived. This approach provides an interesting physical picture for coarse-graining in quantum Boltzmann statistical mechanics in which the consistency with the quantum particle delocalization is obviously manifest, and it opens up an avenue for using path integral centroid-based effective classical force fields in a coarse-graining methodology.

Quantum theory of multiscale coarse-graining

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yining; Jin, Jaehyeok; Wagner, Jacob W.; Voth, Gregory A.

2018-03-01

Coarse-grained (CG) models serve as a powerful tool to simulate molecular systems at much longer temporal and spatial scales. Previously, CG models and methods have been built upon classical statistical mechanics. The present paper develops a theory and numerical methodology for coarse-graining in quantum statistical mechanics, by generalizing the multiscale coarse-graining (MS-CG) method to quantum Boltzmann statistics. A rigorous derivation of the sufficient thermodynamic consistency condition is first presented via imaginary time Feynman path integrals. It identifies the optimal choice of CG action functional and effective quantum CG (qCG) force field to generate a quantum MS-CG (qMS-CG) description of the equilibrium system that is consistent with the quantum fine-grained model projected onto the CG variables. A variational principle then provides a class of algorithms for optimally approximating the qMS-CG force fields. Specifically, a variational method based on force matching, which was also adopted in the classical MS-CG theory, is generalized to quantum Boltzmann statistics. The qMS-CG numerical algorithms and practical issues in implementing this variational minimization procedure are also discussed. Then, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the method. Finally, as an alternative strategy, a quasi-classical approximation for the thermal density matrix expressed in the CG variables is derived. This approach provides an interesting physical picture for coarse-graining in quantum Boltzmann statistical mechanics in which the consistency with the quantum particle delocalization is obviously manifest, and it opens up an avenue for using path integral centroid-based effective classical force fields in a coarse-graining methodology.

Cross-stratified Wood: Enigmatic Woody Debris Deposits in Warm-Polar Fluvial Sediments (Pliocene Beaufort Formation, Nunavut)

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, N. S.; Gosse, J. C.; Rybczynski, N.

2012-04-01

Woody debris has been an important sediment component and a significant geomorphic agent in pristine fluvial systems since the Devonian. In recent years a large volume of research has focussed on various aspects of the importance of woody debris within the fluvial realm; from the evolutionary significance of fossil wood accumulations in the rock record to studies of the biogeomorphological and ecological importance of woody debris in modern rivers. In this presentation we describe cross-stratified woody debris deposits comprising organic detritus from a boreal-type treeline forest that included species of pine, birch, poplar, alder, spruce, eastern cedar, and larch, in both shrub and tree form. The cross-stratified wood is an enigmatic subset of fine woody debris which, to our knowledge, has never before been described from either the global stratigraphic record or modern fluvial environments. The deposits we describe are located within the Pliocene Beaufort Formation on Meighen Island, Nunavut, Canada, at a latitude of 80°N, and are compared with other cross-stratified woody debris deposits that have been noted elsewhere in the Pliocene of the Canadian Arctic. We make the robust observation that these deposits appear to be geographically and stratigraphically restricted to polar latitudes from a period of warm climatic conditions during the Pliocene (15-20 °C warmer mean annual temperature than the present day). In this regard it is possible to speculate that the transport of large amounts of woody debris as bedload is potentially a unique feature of forested high latitude rivers. Such bedload deposition requires a large amount of woody debris with a greater density than the fluid transporting it. The softwood composition of the debris suggests that this was most likely attained by saturation and subsequent entrainment of extensive accumulations of deadwood, promoted by unusually high rates of tree mortality and low rates of bacterial decomposition arising from

Human population growth offsets climate-driven increase in woody vegetation in sub-Saharan Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Martin Stefan; Rasmussen, Kjeld; Peñuelas, Josep

2017-01-01

The rapidly growing human population in sub-Saharan Africa generates increasing demand for agricultural land and forest products, which presumably leads to deforestation. Conversely, a greening of African drylands has been reported, but this has been difficult to associate with changes in woody...... an increase in woody cover largely in drylands, and 11% had a decrease (2,150,000 km2), mostly in humid zones. Increases in woody cover were associated with low population growth, and were driven by increases in CO2 in the humid zones and by increases in precipitation in drylands, whereas decreases in woody...... cover were associated with high population growth. The spatially distinct pattern of these opposing trends reflects, first, the natural response of vegetation to precipitation and atmospheric CO2, and second, deforestation in humid areas, minor in size but important for ecosystem services...

Woody plants and the prediction of climate-change impacts on bird diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kissling, W. Daniel; Field, R.; Korntheuer, H.

2010-01-01

Current methods of assessing climate-induced shifts of species distributions rarely account for species interactions and usually ignore potential differences in response times of interacting taxa to climate change. Here, we used species-richness data from 1005 breeding bird and 1417 woody plant...... species in Kenya and employed model-averaged coefficients from regression models and median climatic forecasts assembled across 15 climate-change scenarios to predict bird species richness under climate change. Forecasts assuming an instantaneous response of woody plants and birds to climate change...... suggested increases in future bird species richness across most of Kenya whereas forecasts assuming strongly lagged woody plant responses to climate change indicated a reversed trend, i.e. reduced bird species richness. Uncertainties in predictions of future bird species richness were geographically...

Effect of fly ash on the strength of porous concrete using recycled coarse aggregate to replace low-quality natural coarse aggregate

Science.gov (United States)

Arifi, Eva; Cahya, Evi Nur; Christin Remayanti, N.

2017-09-01

The performance of porous concrete made of recycled coarse aggregate was investigated. Fly ash was used as cement partial replacement. In this study, the strength of recycled aggregate was coMPared to low quality natural coarse aggregate which has high water absorption. Compression strength and tensile splitting strength test were conducted to evaluate the performance of porous concrete using fly ash as cement replacement. Results have shown that the utilization of recycled coarse aggregate up to 75% to replace low quality natural coarse aggregate with high water absorption increases compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of porous concrete. Using fly ash up to 25% as cement replacement improves compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of porous concrete.

Crimes e pecados: Woody Allen, Hollywood e o cinema independente

OpenAIRE

Soares, Marcos; Anjos, Ana Paula B.; Fabris, Marcos

2012-01-01

In this essay we propose an analysis of the film Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) by Woody Allen in an attempt to focus on its reflections both on the American independent movie production in the 80’s as well as on the conditions of possibility of Allen’s career. Este ensaio traz uma análise do filme Crimes e Pecados (1989) do cineasta Woody Allen que enfatiza suas reflexões tanto sobre a situação do cinema independente no final dos anos 80 nos Estados...

On the effects attendant on the decrease of the radionuclide contents in woody plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulko, N.I.; Shabaleva, M.A.; Starovojtova, T.V.

2002-01-01

Our experiment on the study of migration and accumulation of radiocesium in woody plants performed on radiation-contaminated forest soils within the greenhouse experiment/microfield experiment/natural forest stand system shows that it is quite possible to influence markedly on the Cs 137 migration within the soil/woody plant system by the purposeful action on water and nutritive regimes of bogs. When fertilizers are applied, a decrease in the Cs 137 contents in woody plants and an increase in growth indices are observed, these being attended with antagonism, dissolution, binding and maximization effects

El Niño drought increased canopy turnover in Amazon forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Leitold, Veronika; Morton, Douglas C; Longo, Marcos; Dos-Santos, Maiza Nara; Keller, Michael; Scaranello, Marcos

2018-03-25

Amazon droughts, including the 2015-2016 El Niño, may reduce forest net primary productivity and increase canopy tree mortality, thereby altering both the short- and the long-term net forest carbon balance. Given the broad extent of drought impacts, inventory plots or eddy flux towers may not capture regional variability in forest response to drought. We used multi-temporal airborne Lidar data and field measurements of coarse woody debris to estimate patterns of canopy turnover and associated carbon losses in intact and fragmented forests in the central Brazilian Amazon between 2013-2014 and 2014-2016. Average annualized canopy turnover rates increased by 65% during the drought period in both intact and fragmented forests. The average size and height of turnover events was similar for both time intervals, in contrast to expectations that the 2015-2016 El Niño drought would disproportionally affect large trees. Lidar-biomass relationships between canopy turnover and field measurements of coarse woody debris were modest (R 2  ≈ 0.3), given similar coarse woody debris production and Lidar-derived changes in canopy volume from single tree and multiple branch fall events. Our findings suggest that El Niño conditions accelerated canopy turnover in central Amazon forests, increasing coarse woody debris production by 62% to 1.22 Mg C ha -1  yr -1 in drought years . No claim to original US Government works New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

Physiology of woody plants

CERN Document Server

Hazewinkel, Michiel; Pallardy, Stephen G

1996-01-01

This completely revised classic volume is an up-to-date synthesis of the intensive research devoted to woody plants. Intended primarily as a text for students and a reference for researchers, this interdisciplinary book should be useful to a broad range of scientists from agroforesters, agronomists, and arborists to plant pathologists, ecophysiologists, and soil scientists. Anyone interested in plant physiology will find this text invaluable. Key Features * Includes supplementary chapter summaries and lists of general references * Provides a solid foundation of reference information * Thoroughly updated classic text/reference.

Characterization of coarse particulate matter in school gyms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Branis, Martin, E-mail: branis@natur.cuni.cz [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Institute for Environmental Studies, Prague (Czech Republic); Safranek, Jiri [Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Physical Education, Department of Outdoor Sports, Prague (Czech Republic)

2011-05-15

We investigated the mass concentration, mineral composition and morphology of particles resuspended by children during scheduled physical education in urban, suburban and rural elementary school gyms in Prague (Czech Republic). Cascade impactors were deployed to sample the particulate matter. Two fractions of coarse particulate matter (PM{sub 10-2.5} and PM{sub 2.5-1.0}) were characterized by gravimetry, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Two indicators of human activity, the number of exercising children and the number of physical education hours, were also recorded. Lower mass concentrations of coarse particulate matter were recorded outdoors (average PM{sub 10-2.5} 4.1-7.4 {mu}g m{sup -3} and PM{sub 2.5-1.0} 2.0-3.3 {mu}g m{sup -3}) than indoors (average PM{sub 10-2.5} 13.6-26.7 {mu}g m{sup -3} and PM{sub 2.5-1.0} 3.7-7.4 {mu}g m{sup -3}). The indoor concentrations of coarse aerosol were elevated during days with scheduled physical education with an average indoor-outdoor (I/O) ratio of 2.5-16.3 for the PM{sub 10-2.5} and 1.4-4.8 for the PM{sub 2.5-1.0} values. Under extreme conditions, the I/O ratios reached 180 (PM{sub 10-2.5}) and 19.1 (PM{sub 2.5-1.0}). The multiple regression analysis based on the number of students and outdoor coarse PM as independent variables showed that the main predictor of the indoor coarse PM concentrations is the number of students in the gym. The effect of outdoor coarse PM was weak and inconsistent. The regression models for the three schools explained 60-70% of the particular dataset variability. X-ray spectrometry revealed 6 main groups of minerals contributing to resuspended indoor dust. The most abundant particles were those of crustal origin composed of Si, Al, O and Ca. Scanning electron microscopy showed that, in addition to numerous inorganic particles, various types of fibers and particularly skin scales make up the main part of the resuspended dust in the gyms. In conclusion, school

Effects of topoclimatic complexity on the composition of woody plant communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Oldfather, Meagan F; Britton, Matthew N; Papper, Prahlad D; Koontz, Michael J; Halbur, Michelle M; Dodge, Celeste; Flint, Alan L; Flint, Lorriane E; Ackerly, David D

2016-01-01

Topography can create substantial environmental variation at fine spatial scales. Shaped by slope, aspect, hill-position and elevation, topoclimate heterogeneity may increase ecological diversity, and act as a spatial buffer for vegetation responding to climate change. Strong links have been observed between climate heterogeneity and species diversity at broader scales, but the importance of topoclimate for woody vegetation across small spatial extents merits closer examination. We established woody vegetation monitoring plots in mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands that spanned topoclimate gradients of a topographically heterogeneous landscape in northern California. We investigated the association between the structure of adult and regenerating size classes of woody vegetation and multidimensional topoclimate at a fine scale. We found a significant effect of topoclimate on both single-species distributions and community composition. Effects of topoclimate were evident in the regenerating size class for all dominant species (four Quercus spp., Umbellularia californica and Pseudotsuga menziesii) but only in two dominant species (Quercus agrifolia and Quercus garryana) for the adult size class. Adult abundance was correlated with water balance parameters (e.g. climatic water deficit) and recruit abundance was correlated with an interaction between the topoclimate parameters and conspecific adult abundance (likely reflecting local seed dispersal). However, in all cases, the topoclimate signal was weak. The magnitude of environmental variation across our study site may be small relative to the tolerance of long-lived woody species. Dispersal limitations, management practices and patchy disturbance regimes also may interact with topoclimate, weakening its influence on woody vegetation distributions. Our study supports the biological relevance of multidimensional topoclimate for mixed woodland communities, but highlights that this relationship might be mediated by

DETERMINATION OF CRYSTALLINITY INDEX OF CARBOHYDRATE COMPONENTS IN HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L. WOODY CORE BY MEANS OF FT-IR SPECTROSCOPY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esat Gümüşkaya

2005-04-01

Full Text Available In this study; it was investigated chemical compositions of hemp woody core and changes in crystallinity index of its carbohydrate components by using FT-IR spectroscopy was investigated. It was determined that carbohyrate components ratio in hemp woody core were similar to that in hard wood, but lignin content in hemp woody core was higher than in hard wood. Crystallinity index of carbohydrate components in hemp woody core increased by removing amorphous components. It was designated that monoclinic structure in hemp woody core and its carbohydrate components was dominant, but triclinic ratio increased by treated chemical isolation of carbohydrate from hemp woody core.

Spatiotemporal soil and saprolite moisture dynamics across a semi-arid woody plant gradient

Science.gov (United States)

Woody plant cover has increased 10-fold over the last 140+ years in many parts of the semi-arid western USA. Woody plant cover can alter the timing and amount of plant available moisture in the soil and saprolite. To assess spatiotemporal subsurface moisture dynamics over two water years in a snow-d...

Assessing the Roles of Fire Frequency and Precipitation in Determining Woody Plant Expansion in Central U.S. Grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Brunsell, N. A.; Van Vleck, E. S.; Nosshi, M.; Ratajczak, Z.; Nippert, J. B.

2017-10-01

Woody plant expansion into grasslands and savannas is occurring and accelerating worldwide and often impacts ecosystem processes. Understanding and predicting the environmental and ecological impacts of encroachment has led to a variety of methodologies for assessing its onset, transition, and stability, generally relying on dynamical systems approaches. Here we continue this general line of investigation to facilitate the understanding of the roles of precipitation frequency and intensity and fire frequency on the conversion of grasslands to woody-dominated systems focusing on the central United States. A low-dimensional model with stochastic precipitation and fire disturbance is introduced to examine the complex interactions between precipitation and fire as mechanisms that may suppress or facilitate increases in woody cover. By using Lyapunov exponents, we are able to ascertain the relative control exerted on woody encroachment through these mechanisms. Our results indicate that precipitation frequency is a more important control on woody encroachment than the intensity of individual precipitation events. Fire, however, exerts a much more dominant impact on the limitation of encroachment over the range of precipitation variability considered here. These results indicate that fire management may be an effective strategy to slow the onset of woody species into grasslands. While climate change might predict a reduced potential for woody encroachment in the near future, these results indicate a reduction in woody fraction may be unlikely when considering anthropogenic fire suppression.

Interactions of woody biofuel feedstock production systems with water resources: considerations for sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Carl C. Trettin; Devendra Amatya; Mark Coleman

2008-01-01

Water resources are important for the production of woody biofuel feedstocks. It is necessary to ensure that production systems do not adversely affect the quantity or quality of surface and ground water. The effects of woody biomass plantations on water resources are largely dependent on the prior land use and the management regime. Experience from both irrigated and...

Structure and composition of woody vegetation in two important bird areas in southern Zimbabwe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gandiwa, P.; Chinoitezvi, E.; Gandiwa, E.

2013-01-01

This study assessed the status of woody vegetation structure and composition in two Important Bird Areas (IBA) i.e. Manjinji Pan and Save-Runde Junction located in southeastern Zimbabwe. The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine the woody vegetation structure and composition of the study

Evaluating nurse plants for restoring native woody species to degraded subtropical woodlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Yelenik, Stephanie G; DiManno, Nicole; D'Antonio, Carla M

2015-01-01

Harsh habitats dominated by invasive species are difficult to restore. Invasive grasses in arid environments slow succession toward more desired composition, yet grass removal exacerbates high light and temperature, making the use of "nurse plants" an appealing strategy. In this study of degraded subtropical woodlands dominated by alien grasses in Hawai'i, we evaluated whether individuals of two native (Dodonaea viscosa, Leptocophylla tameiameia) and one non-native (Morella faya) woody species (1) act as natural nodes of recruitment for native woody species and (2) can be used to enhance survivorship of outplanted native woody species. To address these questions, we quantified the presence and persistence of seedlings naturally recruiting beneath adult nurse shrubs and compared survival and growth of experimentally outplanted seedlings of seven native woody species under the nurse species compared to intact and cleared alien-grass plots. We found that the two native nurse shrubs recruit their own offspring, but do not act as establishment nodes for other species. Morella faya recruited even fewer seedlings than native shrubs. Thus, outplanting will be necessary to increase abundance and diversity of native woody species. Outplant survival was the highest under shrubs compared to away from them with few differences between nurse species. The worst habitat for native seedling survival and growth was within the unmanaged invasive grass matrix. Although the two native nurse species did not differentially affect outplant survival, D. viscosa is the most widespread and easily propagated and is thus more likely to be useful as an initial nurse species. The outplanted species showed variable responses to nurse habitats that we attribute to resource requirements resulting from their typical successional stage and nitrogen fixation capability.

Utilization characteristics and importance of woody biomass resources on the rural-urban fringe in botswana.

Science.gov (United States)

Nkambwe, Musisi; Sekhwela, Mogodisheng B M

2006-02-01

This article examines the utilization characteristics and importance of woody biomass resources in the rural-urban fringe zones of Botswana. In the literature for Africa, attention has been given to the availability and utilization of biomass in either urban or rural environments, but the rural-urban fringe has been neglected. Within southern Africa, this neglect is not justified; the rural-urban fringe, not getting the full benefits available in urban environments in Botswana, has developed problems in woody biomass availability and utilization that require close attention. In this article, socioeconomic data on the importance of woody biomass in the Batlokwa Tribal Territory, on the rural-urban fringe of Gaborone, Botswana, were collected together with ecologic data that reveal the utilization characteristics and potential for regrowth of woody biomass. The analysis of these results show that local woody biomass is very important in the daily lives of communities in the rural-urban fringe zones and that there is a high level of harvesting. However, there is no effort in planning land use in the tribal territory to either conserve this resource or provide alternatives to its utilization. The future of woody biomass resources in Botswana's rural-urban fringe is uncertain. The investigators recommend that a comprehensive policy for the development of the rural-urban fringe consider the importance of this resource. The neglect of this resource will have far-reaching implications on the livelihoods of residents as well as the environment in this zone.

Environmental determinants of woody plant diversity at a regional scale in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Qian

Full Text Available Understanding what drives the geographic variation of species richness across the globe is a fundamental goal of ecology and biogeography. Environmental variables have been considered as drivers of global diversity patterns but there is no consensus among ecologists on what environmental variables are primary drivers of the geographic variation of species richness. Here, I examine the relationship of woody plant species richness at a regional scale in China with sixteen environmental variables representing energy availability, water availability, energy-water balance, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity. I found that temperature seasonality is the best predictor of woody species richness in China. Other important environmental variables include annual precipitation, mean temperature of the coldest month, and potential evapotranspiration. The best model explains 85% of the variation in woody plant species richness at the regional scale in China.

CHROMOSOMES OF WOODY SPECIES

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Julio R Daviña

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Chromosome numbers of nine subtropical woody species collected in Argentina and Paraguay are reported. The counts tor Coutarea hexandra (2n=52, Inga vera subsp. affinis 2n=26 (Fabaceae and Chorisia speciosa 2n=86 (Bombacaceae are reported for the first time. The chromosome number given for Inga semialata 2n=52 is a new cytotype different from the previously reported. Somatic chromosome numbers of the other taxa studied are: Sesbania punicea 2n=12, S. virgata 2n=12 and Pilocarpus pennatifolius 2n=44 from Argentina

Lidar-derived estimate and uncertainty of carbon sink in successional phases of woody encroachment

Science.gov (United States)

Sankey, Temuulen; Shrestha, Rupesh; Sankey, Joel B.; Hardgree, Stuart; Strand, Eva

2013-01-01

Woody encroachment is a globally occurring phenomenon that contributes to the global carbon sink. The magnitude of this contribution needs to be estimated at regional and local scales to address uncertainties present in the global- and continental-scale estimates, and guide regional policy and management in balancing restoration activities, including removal of woody plants, with greenhouse gas mitigation goals. The objective of this study was to estimate carbon stored in various successional phases of woody encroachment. Using lidar measurements of individual trees, we present high-resolution estimates of aboveground carbon storage in juniper woodlands. Segmentation analysis of lidar point cloud data identified a total of 60,628 juniper tree crowns across four watersheds. Tree heights, canopy cover, and density derived from lidar were strongly correlated with field measurements of 2613 juniper stems measured in 85 plots (30 × 30 m). Aboveground total biomass of individual trees was estimated using a regression model with lidar-derived height and crown area as predictors (Adj. R2 = 0.76, p 2. Uncertainty in carbon storage estimates was examined with a Monte Carlo approach that addressed major error sources. Ranges predicted with uncertainty analysis in the mean, individual tree, aboveground woody C, and associated standard deviation were 0.35 – 143.6 kg and 0.5 – 1.25 kg, respectively. Later successional phases of woody encroachment had, on average, twice the aboveground carbon relative to earlier phases. Woody encroachment might be more successfully managed and balanced with carbon storage goals by identifying priority areas in earlier phases of encroachment where intensive treatments are most effective.

The potential impact of invasive woody oil plants on protected areas in China under future climate conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Guanghui; Yang, Jun; Lu, Siran; Huang, Conghong; Jin, Jing; Jiang, Peng; Yan, Pengbo

2018-01-18

Biodiesel produced from woody oil plants is considered a green substitute for fossil fuels. However, a potential negative impact of growing woody oil plants on a large scale is the introduction of highly invasive species into susceptible regions. In this study, we examined the potential invasion risk of woody oil plants in China's protected areas under future climate conditions. We simulated the current and future potential distributions of three invasive woody oil plants, Jatropha curcas, Ricinus communis, and Aleurites moluccana, under two climate change scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) up to 2050 using species distribution models. Protected areas in China that will become susceptible to these species were then identified using a spatial overlay analysis. Our results showed that by 2050, 26 and 41 protected areas would be threatened by these invasive woody oil plants under scenarios RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, respectively. A total of 10 unique forest ecosystems and 17 rare plant species could be potentially affected. We recommend that the invasive potential of woody oil plants be fully accounted for when developing forest-based biodiesel, especially around protected areas.

Seed production of woody plants in conditions of environment pollution by metallurgical industry emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. V. Gritzay

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The influence of environment pollution by metallurgical industry emissions on woody plants bearing parameters was examined. The results obtained show the decrease of bearing rate, diminution of seeds, fruits and seed cells sizes in woody plants affected by technogenic emissions. Attenuation of the 1000 seeds’ weight was established. Incresing the amount of fruits with development deviations was ascertained. It was found aplasia and abnormal form of the samara fruit of ash and ailanthus trees, arcuation and narrowing of some parts of the catalpa fruitcases. Practical recommendations on using seeds’ sensitive parameters in biomonitoring of woody phytocenoses under technogenic stressful conditions are proposed.

Perspectives on screening winter-flood-tolerant woody species in the riparian protection forests of the three gorges reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fan; Wang, Yong; Chan, Zhulong

2014-01-01

The establishment of riparian protection forests in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is an ideal measure to cope with the eco-environmental problems of the water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ). Thus, the information for screening winter-flood-tolerant woody plant species is useful for the recovery and re-establishment of the riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ. Therefore, we discussed the possibilities of constructing and popularizing riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ from several aspects, including the woody plant species distribution in the WLFZ, the survival rate analyses of suitable candidate woody species under controlled flooding conditions, the survival rate investigation of some woody plant species planted in the TGR WLFZ, and the physiological responses of some woody plant species during the recovery stage after winter floods. The results of woody species investigation showed that most woody plant species that existed as annual seedlings in the TGR WLFZ are not suitable candidates for the riparian protection forests. However, arbor species (e.g., Salix matsudana, Populus×canadensis, Morus alba, Pterocarya stenoptera, Taxodium ascendens, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and shrub species (e.g., Salix variegata, Distylium chinensis, Lycium chinense, Myricaria laxiflora, and Rosa multiflora) might be considered suitable candidates for the riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ by survival rate analyses under controlled winter flooding conditions, and survival rate investigations of woody plant species planted in the TGR WLFZ, respectively. Physiological analyses showed that P.×canadensis, M. alba, L. chinense, and S. variegata could develop specific self-repairing mechanisms to stimulate biomass accumulation and carbohydrate synthesis via the increases in chlorophyll pigments and photosynthesis during recovery after winter floods. Our results suggested these woody plant species could endure the winter flooding stress and recover well

Perspectives on screening winter-flood-tolerant woody species in the riparian protection forests of the three gorges reservoir.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Yang

Full Text Available The establishment of riparian protection forests in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR is an ideal measure to cope with the eco-environmental problems of the water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ. Thus, the information for screening winter-flood-tolerant woody plant species is useful for the recovery and re-establishment of the riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ. Therefore, we discussed the possibilities of constructing and popularizing riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ from several aspects, including the woody plant species distribution in the WLFZ, the survival rate analyses of suitable candidate woody species under controlled flooding conditions, the survival rate investigation of some woody plant species planted in the TGR WLFZ, and the physiological responses of some woody plant species during the recovery stage after winter floods. The results of woody species investigation showed that most woody plant species that existed as annual seedlings in the TGR WLFZ are not suitable candidates for the riparian protection forests. However, arbor species (e.g., Salix matsudana, Populus×canadensis, Morus alba, Pterocarya stenoptera, Taxodium ascendens, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides and shrub species (e.g., Salix variegata, Distylium chinensis, Lycium chinense, Myricaria laxiflora, and Rosa multiflora might be considered suitable candidates for the riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ by survival rate analyses under controlled winter flooding conditions, and survival rate investigations of woody plant species planted in the TGR WLFZ, respectively. Physiological analyses showed that P.×canadensis, M. alba, L. chinense, and S. variegata could develop specific self-repairing mechanisms to stimulate biomass accumulation and carbohydrate synthesis via the increases in chlorophyll pigments and photosynthesis during recovery after winter floods. Our results suggested these woody plant species could endure the winter flooding stress

Predicting duff and woody fuel consumed by prescribed fire in the Northern Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

James K. Brown; Michael A. Marsden; Kevin C. Ryan; Elizabeth D. Reinhardt

1985-01-01

Relationships for predicting duff reduction, mineral soil exposure, and consumption of downed woody fuel were determined to assist in planning prescribed fires. Independent variables included lower and entire duff moisture contents, loadings of downed woody fuels, duff depth, National Fire-Danger Rating System 1,000-hour moisture content, and Canadian Duff Moisture...

Evaluating nurse plants for restoring native woody species to degraded subtropical woodlands

Science.gov (United States)

Yelenik, Stephanie G.; DiManno, Nicole; D’Antonio, Carla M.

2015-01-01

Harsh habitats dominated by invasive species are difficult to restore. Invasive grasses in arid environments slow succession toward more desired composition, yet grass removal exacerbates high light and temperature, making the use of “nurse plants” an appealing strategy. In this study of degraded subtropical woodlands dominated by alien grasses in Hawai'i, we evaluated whether individuals of two native (Dodonaea viscosa, Leptocophylla tameiameia) and one non-native (Morella faya) woody species (1) act as natural nodes of recruitment for native woody species and (2) can be used to enhance survivorship of outplanted native woody species. To address these questions, we quantified the presence and persistence of seedlings naturally recruiting beneath adult nurse shrubs and compared survival and growth of experimentally outplanted seedlings of seven native woody species under the nurse species compared to intact and cleared alien-grass plots. We found that the two native nurse shrubs recruit their own offspring, but do not act as establishment nodes for other species. Morella faya recruited even fewer seedlings than native shrubs. Thus, outplanting will be necessary to increase abundance and diversity of native woody species. Outplant survival was the highest under shrubs compared to away from them with few differences between nurse species. The worst habitat for native seedling survival and growth was within the unmanaged invasive grass matrix. Although the two native nurse species did not differentially affect outplant survival, D. viscosa is the most widespread and easily propagated and is thus more likely to be useful as an initial nurse species. The outplanted species showed variable responses to nurse habitats that we attribute to resource requirements resulting from their typical successional stage and nitrogen fixation capability.

Lidar-derived estimate and uncertainty of carbon sink in successional phases of woody encroachment

Science.gov (United States)

Sankey, Temuulen; Shrestha, Rupesh; Sankey, Joel B.; Hardegree, Stuart; Strand, Eva

2013-07-01

encroachment is a globally occurring phenomenon that contributes to the global carbon sink. The magnitude of this contribution needs to be estimated at regional and local scales to address uncertainties present in the global- and continental-scale estimates, and guide regional policy and management in balancing restoration activities, including removal of woody plants, with greenhouse gas mitigation goals. The objective of this study was to estimate carbon stored in various successional phases of woody encroachment. Using lidar measurements of individual trees, we present high-resolution estimates of aboveground carbon storage in juniper woodlands. Segmentation analysis of lidar point cloud data identified a total of 60,628 juniper tree crowns across four watersheds. Tree heights, canopy cover, and density derived from lidar were strongly correlated with field measurements of 2613 juniper stems measured in 85 plots (30 × 30 m). Aboveground total biomass of individual trees was estimated using a regression model with lidar-derived height and crown area as predictors (Adj. R2 = 0.76, p < 0.001, RMSE = 0.58 kg). The predicted mean aboveground woody carbon storage for the study area was 677 g/m2. Uncertainty in carbon storage estimates was examined with a Monte Carlo approach that addressed major error sources. Ranges predicted with uncertainty analysis in the mean, individual tree, aboveground woody C, and associated standard deviation were 0.35 - 143.6 kg and 0.5 - 1.25 kg, respectively. Later successional phases of woody encroachment had, on average, twice the aboveground carbon relative to earlier phases. Woody encroachment might be more successfully managed and balanced with carbon storage goals by identifying priority areas in earlier phases of encroachment where intensive treatments are most effective.

Spatial modeling of potential woody biomass flow

Science.gov (United States)

Woodam Chung; Nathaniel Anderson

2012-01-01

The flow of woody biomass to end users is determined by economic factors, especially the amount available across a landscape and delivery costs of bioenergy facilities. The objective of this study develop methodology to quantify landscape-level stocks and potential biomass flows using the currently available spatial database road network analysis tool. We applied this...

Closed Loop Short Rotation Woody Biomass Energy Crops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brower, Michael [CRC Development, LLC, Oakland, CA (United States)

2012-09-30

CRC Development LLC is pursuing commercialization of shrub willow crops to evaluate and confirm estimates of yield, harvesting, transportation and renewable energy conversion costs and to provide a diverse resource in its supply portfolio.The goal of Closed Loop Short Rotation Woody Biomass Energy Crops is supply expansion in Central New York to facilitate the commercialization of willow biomass crops as part of the mix of woody biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and bioproducts. CRC Development LLC established the first commercial willow biomass plantation acreage in North America was established on the Tug Hill in the spring of 2006 and expanded in 2007. This was the first 230- acres toward the goal of 10,000 regional acres. This project replaces some 2007-drought damaged acreage and installs a total of 630-acre new planting acres in order to demonstrate to regional agricultural producers and rural land-owners the economic vitality of closed loop short rotation woody biomass energy crops when deployed commercially in order to motivate new grower entry into the market-place. The willow biomass will directly help stabilize the fuel supply for the Lyonsdale Biomass facility, which produces 19 MWe of power and exports 15,000 pph of process steam to Burrows Paper. This project will also provide feedstock to The Biorefinery in New York for the manufacture of renewable, CO2-neutral liquid transportation fuels, chemicals and polymers. This project helps end dependency on imported fossil fuels, adds to region economic and environmental vitality and contributes to national security through improved energy independence.

Influence of fire on dead woody material in forests of California and southwestern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Carl N. Skinner

2002-01-01

The frequent occurrence of fire in most forested areas of California and southwestern Oregon before this century has been well established. Likewise, the importance of dead woody material to various wildlife species as snags and downed logs has been well documented. It is unlikely that much large woody material survived fire long enough to decompose fully in fire...

Woody Vegetation Composition and Structure in Peri-urban Chongming Island, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Min; Escobedo, Francisco J.; Wang, Ruijing; Zhou, Qiaolan; Lin, Wenpeng; Gao, Jun

2013-05-01

Chongming, the world's largest alluvial island, is located within the municipality of Shanghai, China. Recent projects have now linked peri-urban Chongming to Shanghai's urban core and as a result will soon undergo substantial changes from urbanization. We quantitatively analyzed the structure and composition of woody vegetation across subtropical, peri-urban Chongming as a basis for sustainable management of these rapidly urbanizing subtropical ecosystems elsewhere. We used 178 permanent, random plots to statistically and spatially analyze woody plant composition and tree structure across the 1,041 km2 of Chongming. A total of 2,251 woody plants were measured comprising 42 species in 37 genera. We statistically and geospatially analyzed field data according to land uses and modeled air pollution removal by trees. Average tree diameter at breast height, total height, and crown widths on transportation land uses were greater than other land uses. These same values were lowest on forest land use and greater tree cover was associated with areas of increased anthropogenic activity. Less than 20 % of the woody vegetation was exotic and a species richness index was significantly different between land uses due to legacy effects. Composition of agriculture and forest land uses were similar to residential and transportation. Tree cover across Chongming was also estimated to annually remove 1,400 tons of air pollutants. We propose that this integrated and quantitative method can be used in other subtropical, peri-urban areas in developing countries to establish baseline trends for future sustainability objectives and to monitor the effects of urbanization and climate change.

The contribution of woody plant materials on the several conditions in a space environment

Science.gov (United States)

Tomita-Yokotani, Kaori; Baba, Keiichi; Suzuki, Toshisada; Kimura, Shunta; Sato, Seigo; Katoh, Hiroshi; Abe, Yusuke; Katayama, Takeshi

Woody plant materials have several utilization elements in our habitation environment on earth. The studies of woody plants under a space-environment in the vegetable kingdom have a high contribution to the study of various and exotic environmental responses, too. Woody plants can produce an excess oxygen, woody materials for the living cabin, and provide a biomass by cultivating crops and other species of creatures. Tree material would become to be a tool in closed bio-ecosystems such as an environment in a space. We named the trees used as material for the experiment related to space environments “CosmoBon”, small tree bonsai. Japanese cherry tree, “Sakura”, is famous and lovely tree in Japan. One species of “Sakura”, “Mamezakura, Prunus incisa”, is not only lovely tree species, but also suitable tree for the model tree of our purpose. The species of Prunus incisa is originally grown in volcano environment. That species of Sakura is originally grown on Mt. Fuji aria, oligotrophic place. We will try to build the best utilization usage of woody plant under the space environment by “Mamezakura” as a model tree. Here, we will show the importance of uniformity of materials when we will use the tree materials in a space environment. We will also discuss that tree has a high possibility of utilization under the space environments by using our several results related to this research.

Woody biomass production lags stem-girth increase by over one month in coniferous forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuny, Henri E; Rathgeber, Cyrille B K; Frank, David; Fonti, Patrick; Mäkinen, Harri; Prislan, Peter; Rossi, Sergio; Del Castillo, Edurne Martinez; Campelo, Filipe; Vavrčík, Hanuš; Camarero, Jesus Julio; Bryukhanova, Marina V; Jyske, Tuula; Gričar, Jožica; Gryc, Vladimír; De Luis, Martin; Vieira, Joana; Čufar, Katarina; Kirdyanov, Alexander V; Oberhuber, Walter; Treml, Vaclav; Huang, Jian-Guo; Li, Xiaoxia; Swidrak, Irene; Deslauriers, Annie; Liang, Eryuan; Nöjd, Pekka; Gruber, Andreas; Nabais, Cristina; Morin, Hubert; Krause, Cornelia; King, Gregory; Fournier, Meriem

2015-10-26

Wood is the main terrestrial biotic reservoir for long-term carbon sequestration(1), and its formation in trees consumes around 15% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions each year(2). However, the seasonal dynamics of woody biomass production cannot be quantified from eddy covariance or satellite observations. As such, our understanding of this key carbon cycle component, and its sensitivity to climate, remains limited. Here, we present high-resolution cellular based measurements of wood formation dynamics in three coniferous forest sites in northeastern France, performed over a period of 3 years. We show that stem woody biomass production lags behind stem-girth increase by over 1 month. We also analyse more general phenological observations of xylem tissue formation in Northern Hemisphere forests and find similar time lags in boreal, temperate, subalpine and Mediterranean forests. These time lags question the extension of the equivalence between stem size increase and woody biomass production to intra-annual time scales(3, 4, 5, 6). They also suggest that these two growth processes exhibit differential sensitivities to local environmental conditions. Indeed, in the well-watered French sites the seasonal dynamics of stem-girth increase matched the photoperiod cycle, whereas those of woody biomass production closely followed the seasonal course of temperature. We suggest that forecasted changes in the annual cycle of climatic factors(7) may shift the phase timing of stem size increase and woody biomass production in the future.

The role of large woody debris in modulating the dispersal of a post-fire sediment pulse

Science.gov (United States)

Short, Lauren E.; Gabet, Emmanuel J.; Hoffman, Daniel F.

2015-10-01

In 2001, a series of post-fire debris flows brought 30,000 m3 of sediment, deposited as fans, to the narrow valley floor of Sleeping Child Creek in western Montana (USA). In 2005, pebble-counts and surveys of the channel in proximity to six of the debris flow fans documented a regular sequence of fine-grained aggradation upstream of the fans, incision through the fans, and coarse-grained aggradation downstream of the fans. These measurements were repeated in 2012. We found that the delivery of large woody debris (LWD) over the intervening 7 years has been a dominant factor in the disposition of the debris-flow material. The amount of LWD in the study reach has increased by as much as 50% in the areas with a high burn severity, leading to the formation of large logjams that interrupt the flow of sediment along the streambed. Nearly all of the surveyed reaches have aggraded since 2005, including those that had initially begun incising through the debris flow deposits, and the streambed has become generally finer. We hypothesize that, over the next few decades, debris flow sediment not colonized and anchored by riparian vegetation will trickle out of the affected reaches as the logjams slowly degrade.

Environmental effects of growing short-rotation woody crops on former agricultural lands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolbert, V.R.; Thornton, F.C.; Joslin, J.D.

1997-01-01

Field-scale studies in the Southeast have been addressing the environmental effects of converting agricultural lands to biomass crop production since 1994. Erosion, surface water quality and quantity and subsurface movement of water and nutrients from woody crops, switchgrass and agricultural crops are being compared. Nutrient cycling, soil physical changes, and crop productivity are also being monitored at the three sites. Maximum sediment losses occurred in the spring and fall. Losses were greater from sweetgum planted without a cover crop than with a cover crop. Nutrient losses of N and P in runoff and subsurface water occurred primarily after spring fertilizer application. These field plot studies are serving as the basis for a water shed study initiated in 1997. Results from the two studies will be used to develop and model nutrient and hydrologic budgets for woody crop plantings to identify potential constraints to sustainable deployment of short-rotation woody crops in the southeastern United States. (author)

Fungal endophytes in woody roots of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

Science.gov (United States)

J. A. Hoff; Ned B. Klopfenstein; Geral I. McDonald; Jonalea R. Tonn; Mee-Sook Kim; Paul J. Zambino; Paul F. Hessburg; J. D. Rodgers; T. L. Peever; L. M. Carris

2004-01-01

The fungal community inhabiting large woody roots of healthy conifers has not been well documented. To provide more information about such communities, a survey was conducted using increment cores from the woody roots of symptomless Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) growing in dry forests...

Woody debris transport modelling by a coupled DE-SW approach

Science.gov (United States)

Persi, Elisabetta; Petaccia, Gabriella; Sibilla, Stefano

2016-04-01

The presence of wood in rivers is gaining more and more attention: on one side, the inclusion of woody debris in streams is emphasized for its ecological benefits; on the other hand, particular attention must be paid to its management, not to affect hydraulic safety. Recent events have shown that wood can be mobilized during floodings (Comiti et al. 2008, Lange and Bezzola 2006), aggravating inundations, in particular near urban areas. For this reason, the inclusion of woody debris influence on the prediction of flooded areas is an important step toward the reduction of hydraulic risk. Numerical modelling plays an important role to this purpose. Ruiz-Villanueva et al. (2014) use a two-dimensional numerical model to calculate the kinetics of cylindrical woody debris transport, taking into account also the hydrodynamic effects of wood. The model here presented couples a Discrete Element approach (DE) for the calculation of motion of a cylindrical log with the solution of the Shallow Water Equations (SW), in order to simulate woody debris transport in a two-dimensional stream. In a first step, drag force, added mass force and side force are calculated from flow and log velocities, assuming a reference area and hydrodynamic coefficients taken from literature. Then, the equations of dynamics are solved to model the planar roto-translation of the wooden cylinder. Model results and its physical reliability are clearly affected by the values of the drag and side coefficients, which in turn depend upon log submergence and angle towards the flow direction. Experimental studies to evaluate drag and side coefficients can be found for a submerged cylinder, with various orientations (Gippel et al. 1996; Hoang et al. 2015). To extend such results to the case of a floating (non-totally submerged) cylinder, the authors performed a series of laboratory tests whose outcomes are implemented in the proposed DE-SW model, to assess the effects of these values on the dynamic of woody

Coarse Thinking and Pricing a Financial Option

OpenAIRE

Siddiqi, Hammad

2009-01-01

Mullainathan et al [Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2008] present a formalization of the concept of coarse thinking in the context of a model of persuasion. The essential idea behind coarse thinking is that people put situations into categories and the values assigned to attributes in a given situation are affected by the values of corresponding attributes in other co-categorized situations. We derive a new option pricing formula based on the assumption that the market consists of coars...

[Regenerative morphological traits in a woody species community in Tumbesian tropical dry forest].

Science.gov (United States)

Romero-Saritama, José Miguel; Pérez-Rúuz, César

2016-06-01

The study of functional morphological traits enables us to know fundamental aspects of the dynamics of plant communities in local and global habitats. Regenerative morphological traits play an important role in defining plant history and ecological behavior. Seed and fruit characteristics determine to a large extent the patterns for dispersal, germination, establishment and seedling recruitment a given species exhibits on its natural habitat. Despite their prominent role, seed and fruit traits have been poorly studied at the community level of woody plant species in neo-tropical dry forests. In the present study we aimed at i) evaluate the functional role of morphological traits of seeds, fruits and embryo in woody plant species; ii) determine which are the morphological patterns present in seeds collected from the community of woody species that occur in neo-tropical dry forests; and iii) compare woody plant species seed mass values comparatively between neo-tropical dry and tropical forests. To do so, mature seeds were collected from 79 plant species that occur in the Tumbesian forest of Southwest Ecuador. The studied species included the 42 and 37 most representative tree and shrubbery species of the Tumbesian forest respectively. A total of 18 morphological traits (seven quantitative and 11 qualitative) were measured and evaluated in the seeds, fruits and embryos of the selected species, and we compared the seeds mass with other forest types. Our results showed a huge heterogeneity among traits values in the studied species. Seed mass, volume and number were the traits that vary the most at the community level, i.e. seed length ranged from 1.3 to 39 mm, and seed width from 0.6 to 25 mm. Only six embryo types were found among the 79 plant species. In 40 % of the cases, fully developed inverted embryos with large and thick cotyledons to store considerable amount of nutrients were recorded. We concluded that highly variable and functionally complementary

Trends in soil erosion and woody shrub encroachment in Ngqushwa district, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Manjoro, Munyaradzi; Kakembo, Vincent; Rowntree, Kate M

2012-03-01

Woody shrub encroachment severely impacts on the hydrological and erosion response of rangelands and abandoned cultivated lands. These processes have been widely investigated at various spatial scales, using mostly field experimentation. The present study used remote sensing to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of soil erosion and encroachment by a woody shrub species, Pteronia incana, in a catchment in Ngqushwa district, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa between 1998 and 2008. The extreme categories of soil erosion and shrub encroachment were mapped with higher accuracy than the intermediate ones, particularly where lower spatial resolution data were used. The results showed that soil erosion in the worst category increased simultaneously with dense woody shrub encroachment on the hill slopes. This trend is related to the spatial patterning of woody shrub vegetation that increases bare soil patches--leading to runoff connectivity and concentration of overland flow. The major changes in soil erosion and shrub encroachment analysed during the 10-year period took place in the 5-9° slope category and on the concave slope form. Multi-temporal analyses, based on remote sensing, can extend our understanding of the dynamics of soil erosion and woody shrub encroachment. They may help benchmark the processes and assist in upscaling field studies.

Impacts of Extreme Events on Phenology: Drought-Induced Changes in Productivity of Mixed Woody-Herbaceous Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Rich, P. M.; Breshears, D. D.; White, A. B.

2006-12-01

Ecosystem responses to key climate drivers are reflected in phenological dynamics such as the timing and degree of "greenup" that integrate responses over spatial scales from individual plants to ecosystems. This integration is clearest in ecosystems dominated by a single species or life form, such as seasonally dynamic grasslands or more temporally constant evergreen forests. Yet many ecosystems have substantial contribution of cover from both herbaceous and woody evergreen plants. Responses of mixed woody- herbaceous ecosystems to climate are of increasing concern due to their extensive nature, the potential for such systems to yield more complex responses than those dominated by a single life form, and projections that extreme climate and weather events will increase in frequency and intensity with global warming. We present responses of a mixed woody-herbaceous ecosystem type to an extreme event: regional scale piñon pine mortality following an extended drought and the subsequent herbaceous greenup following the first wet period after the drought. This example highlights how reductions in greenness of the slower, more stable evergreen woody component can rapidly be offset by increases associated with resources made available to the relatively more responsive herbaceous component. We hypothesize that such two-phase phenological responses to extreme events are characteristic of many mixed woody-herbaceous ecosystems.

Property A and Coarse Embedding for Locally Compact Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Kang

property A. In a joint work with Knudby, we characterize the connected simple Lie groups with the discrete topology that have different approximation properties (see Article B). Moreover, we give a contractive Schur multiplier characterization of locally compact groups coarsely embeddable into Hilbert......In the study of the Novikov conjecture, property A and coarse embedding of metric spaces were introduced by Yu and Gromov, respectively. The main topic of the thesis is property A and coarse embedding for locally compact second countable groups. We prove that many of the results that are known...... to hold in the discrete setting, hold also in the locally compact setting.In a joint work with Deprez, we show that property A is equivalent to amenability at infinity and the strong Novikov conjecture is true for every locally compact group that embeds coarsely into a Hilbert space (see Article A...

Two-level method with coarse space size independent convergence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vanek, P.; Brezina, M. [Univ. of Colorado, Denver, CO (United States); Tezaur, R.; Krizkova, J. [UWB, Plzen (Czech Republic)

1996-12-31

The basic disadvantage of the standard two-level method is the strong dependence of its convergence rate on the size of the coarse-level problem. In order to obtain the optimal convergence result, one is limited to using a coarse space which is only a few times smaller than the size of the fine-level one. Consequently, the asymptotic cost of the resulting method is the same as in the case of using a coarse-level solver for the original problem. Today`s two-level domain decomposition methods typically offer an improvement by yielding a rate of convergence which depends on the ratio of fine and coarse level only polylogarithmically. However, these methods require the use of local subdomain solvers for which straightforward application of iterative methods is problematic, while the usual application of direct solvers is expensive. We suggest a method diminishing significantly these difficulties.

Woody biomass phytoremediation of contaminated brownfield land

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

French, Christopher J. [School of Biological and Earth Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF (United Kingdom); Dickinson, Nicholas M. [School of Biological and Earth Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: n.m.dickinson@livjm.ac.uk; Putwain, Philip D. [Ecological Restoration Consultants (ERC), Ness Botanic Gardens, University of Liverpool, Ness, Cheshire CH64 (United Kingdom)

2006-06-15

Economic and environmental regeneration of post-industrial landscapes frequently involves some element of re-afforestation or tree planting. We report field trials that evaluate whether woody biomass production is compatible with managing residual trace element contamination in brownfield soils. Large-scale mapping of contamination showed a heterogenous dispersion of metals and arsenic, and highly localised within-site hotspots. Yields of Salix, Populus and Alnus were economically viable, showing that short-rotation coppice has a potentially valuable role in community forestry. Mass balance modelling demonstrated that phytoextraction potentially could reduce contamination hotspots of more mobile elements (Cd and Zn) within a 25-30-year life cycle of the crops. Cd and Zn in stems and foliage of Salix were 4-13 times higher than EDTA-extractable soil concentrations. Lability of other trace elements (As, Pb, Cu, Ni) was not increased 3 years after planting the coppice; woody biomass may provide an effective reduction of exposure (phytostabilisation) to these less mobile contaminants. - Field trials show short-rotation coppice provides effective risk management and remediation solutions to hotspots of residual metal and As contamination of brownfield land.

Woody biomass phytoremediation of contaminated brownfield land

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

French, Christopher J.; Dickinson, Nicholas M.; Putwain, Philip D.

2006-01-01

Economic and environmental regeneration of post-industrial landscapes frequently involves some element of re-afforestation or tree planting. We report field trials that evaluate whether woody biomass production is compatible with managing residual trace element contamination in brownfield soils. Large-scale mapping of contamination showed a heterogenous dispersion of metals and arsenic, and highly localised within-site hotspots. Yields of Salix, Populus and Alnus were economically viable, showing that short-rotation coppice has a potentially valuable role in community forestry. Mass balance modelling demonstrated that phytoextraction potentially could reduce contamination hotspots of more mobile elements (Cd and Zn) within a 25-30-year life cycle of the crops. Cd and Zn in stems and foliage of Salix were 4-13 times higher than EDTA-extractable soil concentrations. Lability of other trace elements (As, Pb, Cu, Ni) was not increased 3 years after planting the coppice; woody biomass may provide an effective reduction of exposure (phytostabilisation) to these less mobile contaminants. - Field trials show short-rotation coppice provides effective risk management and remediation solutions to hotspots of residual metal and As contamination of brownfield land

SNAG AND LARGE WOODY DEBRIS DYNAMICS IN RIPARIAN FORESTS

Science.gov (United States)

Important components of riparian forests are snags and streamside large woody debris (LWD) because they are functional in maintaining water quality and providing habitat for numerous plants and animals. To effectively manage riparian forests, it is important to understand the dy...

Comparative Analysis of Woody Plants Biomass on the Affected

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nwokem et al.

stands that were generated from the field using sample quadrats and measuring ... woody plants on the affected and restricted land management practices. F u ll L en .... divided into 6 strata that served as a guide to locate the quadrat samples.

Assessment of Soil Seedbank Composition of Woody Species in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bheema

Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science (MEJS), V6(1):25-44,2014. ©CNCS ... In present work, soil seedbank assessment of woody plant species was made in .... 1995; Azene Bekele, 2007) and NDA (Natural Database for Africa) software. 2.3.

Woody Alleni komöödia Rakveres / Peeter Raudsepp

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Raudsepp, Peeter, 1974-

1999-01-01

Rakvere Teatris esietendub 15. okt "Suveöö seksikomöödia", Woody Alleni filmistsenaariumi on näidendiks kirjutanud Jürgen Fischer, lavastab külalisena Rednar Annus, kunstnikud on Ene -Liis Semper ja Raoul Kurvitz, muusikaline kujundaja Tamur Tohver.

Modeling Woody Biomass Procurement for Bioenergy Production at the Atikokan Generating Station in Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thakur Upadhyay

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Efficient procurement and utilization of woody biomass for bioenergy production requires a good understanding of biomass supply chains. In this paper, a dynamic optimization model has been developed and applied to estimate monthly supply and procurement costs of woody biomass required for the Atikokan Generating Station (AGS in northwestern Ontario, based on its monthly electricity production schedule. The decision variables in the model are monthly harvest levels of two types of woody biomass, forest harvest residues and unutilized biomass, from 19,315 forest depletion cells (each 1 km2 for a one year planning horizon. Sixteen scenarios are tested to examine the sensitivity of the cost minimization model to changing economic and technological parameters. Reduction in moisture content and improvement of conversion efficiency showed relatively higher reductions in monthly and total costs of woody biomass feedstock for the AGS. The results of this study help in understanding and designing decision support systems for optimal biomass supply chains under dynamic operational frameworks.

Eleventh-year response of loblolly pine and competing vegetation to woody and herbaceous plant control on a Georgia flatwoods site

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce R. Zutter; James H. Miller

1998-01-01

Through 11 growing seasons, growth of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) increased after control of herbaceous, woody, or both herbaceous and woody vegetation (total control) for the first 3 years after planting on a bedded site in the Georgia coastal flatwoods. Gains in stand volume index from controlling either herbaceous or woody vegetation alone were approximately two-...

Woody plants in agro-ecosystems of semi-arid regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breman, H.; Kessler, J.J.

1995-01-01

A quantitative analysis of the role of woody plants in semi-arid regions, focusing on the Sahel and Sudan zones in West-Africa, is given for the assessment of their benefits in agro-sylvopastoral land-use systems with productive and sustainability objectives.

Non-structural carbohydrates in woody plants compared among laboratories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quentin, Audrey G.; Pinkard, Elizabeth A.; Ryan, Michael G.; Tissue, David T.; Baggett, Scott L.; Adams, Henry D.; Maillard, Pascale; Marchand, Jacqueline; Landhäusser, Simon M.; Lacointe, André; Gibon, Yves; Anderegg, William R.L.; Asao, Shinichi; Atkin, Owen K.; Bonhomme, Marc; Claye, Caroline; Chow, Pak S.; Clément-Vidal, Anne; Davies, Noel W.; Dickman, Turin L.; Dumbur, Rita; Ellsworth, David S.; Falk, Kristen; Galiano, Lucía; Grünzweig, José M.; Hartmann, Henrik; Hoch, Günter; Hood, Sharon; Jones, Joanna E.; Koike, Takayoshi; Kuhlmann, Iris; Lloret, Francisco; Maestro, Melchor; Mansfield, Shawn D.; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Maucourt, Mickael; McDowell, Nathan G.; Moing, Annick; Muller, Bertrand; Nebauer, Sergio G.; Niinemets, Ülo; Palacio, Sara; Piper, Frida; Raveh, Eran; Richter, Andreas; Rolland, Gaëlle; Rosas, Teresa; Joanis, Brigitte Saint; Sala, Anna; Smith, Renee A.; Sterck, Frank; Stinziano, Joseph R.; Tobias, Mari; Unda, Faride; Watanabe, Makoto; Way, Danielle A.; Weerasinghe, Lasantha K.; Wild, Birgit; Wiley, Erin; Woodruff, David R.

2015-01-01

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in plant tissue are frequently quantified to make inferences about plant responses to environmental conditions. Laboratories publishing estimates of NSC of woody plants use many different methods to evaluate NSC. We asked whether NSC estimates in the recent

Coarse-graining stochastic biochemical networks: adiabaticity and fast simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemenman, Ilya [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Sinitsyn, Nikolai [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hengartner, Nick [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2008-01-01

We propose a universal approach for analysis and fast simulations of stiff stochastic biochemical kinetics networks, which rests on elimination of fast chemical species without a loss of information about mesoscoplc, non-Poissonian fluctuations of the slow ones. Our approach, which is similar to the Born-Oppenhelmer approximation in quantum mechanics, follows from the stochastic path Integral representation of the cumulant generating function of reaction events. In applications with a small number of chemIcal reactions, It produces analytical expressions for cumulants of chemical fluxes between the slow variables. This allows for a low-dimensional, Interpretable representation and can be used for coarse-grained numerical simulation schemes with a small computational complexity and yet high accuracy. As an example, we derive the coarse-grained description for a chain of biochemical reactions, and show that the coarse-grained and the microscopic simulations are in an agreement, but the coarse-gralned simulations are three orders of magnitude faster.

Dynamics in coarse-grained models for oligomer-grafted silica nanoparticles

KAUST Repository

Hong, Bingbing

2012-01-01

Coarse-grained models of poly(ethylene oxide) oligomer-grafted nanoparticles are established by matching their structural distribution functions to atomistic simulation data. Coarse-grained force fields for bulk oligomer chains show excellent transferability with respect to chain lengths and temperature, but structure and dynamics of grafted nanoparticle systems exhibit a strong dependence on the core-core interactions. This leads to poor transferability of the core potential to conditions different from the state point at which the potential was optimized. Remarkably, coarse graining of grafted nanoparticles can either accelerate or slowdown the core motions, depending on the length of the grafted chains. This stands in sharp contrast to linear polymer systems, for which coarse graining always accelerates the dynamics. Diffusivity data suggest that the grafting topology is one cause of slower motions of the cores for short-chain oligomer-grafted nanoparticles; an estimation based on transition-state theory shows the coarse-grained core-core potential also has a slowing-down effect on the nanoparticle organic hybrid materials motions; both effects diminish as grafted chains become longer. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Expedient Prediction of the Fuel Properties of Carbonized Woody Biomass Based on Hue Angle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuta Saito

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Woody biomass co-firing-based power generation can reduce CO2 emissions from pulverized coal boilers. Carbonization of woody biomass increases its calorific value and grindability, thereby improving the co-firing ratio. Carbonized biomass fuel properties depend on moisture, size and shape of feedstock, and carbonization conditions. To produce carbonized biomass with stable fuel properties, the carbonization conditions should be set according to the desired fuel properties. Therefore, we examined color changes accompanying woody biomass carbonization and proposed using them for rapid evaluation of fuel properties. Three types of woody biomasses were carbonized at a test facility with a capacity of 4 tons/day, and the fuel properties of the obtained materials were correlated with their color defined by the L*a*b* model. When fixed carbon, an important fuel property for carbonization, was 25 wt % or less, we observed a strong negative correlation, regardless of the tree species, between the hue angle, hab, and fixed carbon. The hab and fixed carbon were correlated even when the fixed carbon exceeded 25 wt %; however, this correlation was specific to the tree species. These results indicate that carbonized biomass fuel properties such as fixed carbon can be estimated rapidly and easily by measuring hab.

Characterization of coarse particulate matter in school gyms.

Science.gov (United States)

Braniš, Martin; Šafránek, Jiří

2011-05-01

We investigated the mass concentration, mineral composition and morphology of particles resuspended by children during scheduled physical education in urban, suburban and rural elementary school gyms in Prague (Czech Republic). Cascade impactors were deployed to sample the particulate matter. Two fractions of coarse particulate matter (PM(10-2.5) and PM(2.5-1.0)) were characterized by gravimetry, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Two indicators of human activity, the number of exercising children and the number of physical education hours, were also recorded. Lower mass concentrations of coarse particulate matter were recorded outdoors (average PM(10-2.5) 4.1-7.4 μg m(-3) and PM(2.5-1.0) 2.0-3.3 μg m(-3)) than indoors (average PM(10-2.5) 13.6-26.7 μg m(-3) and PM(2.5-1.0) 3.7-7.4 μg m(-3)). The indoor concentrations of coarse aerosol were elevated during days with scheduled physical education with an average indoor-outdoor (I/O) ratio of 2.5-16.3 for the PM(10-2.5) and 1.4-4.8 for the PM(2.5-1.0) values. Under extreme conditions, the I/O ratios reached 180 (PM(10-2.5)) and 19.1 (PM(2.5-1.0)). The multiple regression analysis based on the number of students and outdoor coarse PM as independent variables showed that the main predictor of the indoor coarse PM concentrations is the number of students in the gym. The effect of outdoor coarse PM was weak and inconsistent. The regression models for the three schools explained 60-70% of the particular dataset variability. X-ray spectrometry revealed 6 main groups of minerals contributing to resuspended indoor dust. The most abundant particles were those of crustal origin composed of Si, Al, O and Ca. Scanning electron microscopy showed that, in addition to numerous inorganic particles, various types of fibers and particularly skin scales make up the main part of the resuspended dust in the gyms. In conclusion, school gyms were found to be indoor microenvironments with high

Nutrient enrichment shifts mangrove height distribution: Implications for coastal woody encroachment.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Carolyn A; Armitage, Anna R

2018-01-01

Global changes, such as increased temperatures and elevated CO2, are driving shifts in plant species distribution and dominance, like woody plant encroachment into grasslands. Local factors within these ecotones can influence the rate of regime shifts. Woody encroachment is occurring worldwide, though there has been limited research within coastal systems, where mangrove (woody shrub/tree) stands are expanding into salt marsh areas. Because coastal systems are exposed to various degrees of nutrient input, we investigated how nutrient enrichment may locally impact mangrove stand expansion and salt marsh displacement over time. We fertilized naturally co-occurring Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) and Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) stands in Port Aransas, TX, an area experiencing mangrove encroachment within the Northern Gulf of Mexico mangrove-marsh ecotone. After four growing seasons (2010-2013) of continuous fertilization, Avicennia was more positively influenced by nutrient enrichment than Spartina. Most notably, fertilized plots had a higher density of taller (> 0.5 m) mangroves and mangrove maximum height was 46% taller than in control plots. Fertilization may promote an increase in mangrove stand expansion within the mangrove-marsh ecotone by shifting Avicennia height distribution. Avicennia individuals, which reach certain species-specific height thresholds, have reduced negative neighbor effects and have higher resilience to freezing temperatures, which may increase mangrove competitive advantage over marsh grass. Therefore, we propose that nutrient enrichment, which augments mangrove height, could act locally as a positive feedback to mangrove encroachment, by reducing mangrove growth suppression factors, thereby accelerating the rates of increased mangrove coverage and subsequent marsh displacement. Areas within the mangrove-marsh ecotone with high anthropogenic nutrient input may be at increased risk of a regime shift from grass to woody

Woody-Herbaceous Species Coexistence in Mulga Hillslopes: Modelling Structure and Function

Science.gov (United States)

Soltanjalili, M. J.; Saco, P. M.; Willgoose, G. R.

2016-12-01

The fundamental processes underlying the coexistence of woody and herbaceous species in arid and semi-arid areas have been a topic of intense research during the last few decades. Experimental and modelling studies have both supported and disputed alternative hypotheses explaining this phenomenon. Vegetation models including the key processes that drive coexistence can be used to understand vegetation pattern dynamics and structure under current climate conditions, and to predict changes under future conditions. Here we present work done towards linking the observations to modelling. The model captures woody-herbaceous coexistence along a rainfall gradient characteristic of typical conditions on Mulga ecosystems in Australia. The dynamic vegetation model simulates the spatial dynamics of overland flow, soil moisture and vegetation growth of two species. It incorporates key mechanisms for coexistence and pattern formation, including facilitation by evaporation reduction through shading, and infiltration feedbacks, local and non-local seed dispersal, competition for water uptake. Model outcomes, obtained including diflerent mechanisms, are qualitatively compared to typical vegetation cover patterns in the Australian Mulga bioregion where bush fire is very infrequent and the fate of vegetation cover is mostly determined by intra- and interspecies interactions. Through these comparisons, and by drawing on the large number of recent studies that have delivered new insights into the dynamics of such ecosystems, we identify main mechanisms that need an improved representation in the dynamic vegetation models. We show that a realistic parameterization of the model leads to results which are aligned with the observations reported in the literature. At the lower end of the rainfall gradient woody species coexist with herbaceous species within a sparse banded pattern, while at higher rainfall woody species tend to dominate the landscape.

Nutrient enrichment shifts mangrove height distribution: Implications for coastal woody encroachment

Science.gov (United States)

Armitage, Anna R.

2018-01-01

Global changes, such as increased temperatures and elevated CO2, are driving shifts in plant species distribution and dominance, like woody plant encroachment into grasslands. Local factors within these ecotones can influence the rate of regime shifts. Woody encroachment is occurring worldwide, though there has been limited research within coastal systems, where mangrove (woody shrub/tree) stands are expanding into salt marsh areas. Because coastal systems are exposed to various degrees of nutrient input, we investigated how nutrient enrichment may locally impact mangrove stand expansion and salt marsh displacement over time. We fertilized naturally co-occurring Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) and Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) stands in Port Aransas, TX, an area experiencing mangrove encroachment within the Northern Gulf of Mexico mangrove-marsh ecotone. After four growing seasons (2010–2013) of continuous fertilization, Avicennia was more positively influenced by nutrient enrichment than Spartina. Most notably, fertilized plots had a higher density of taller (> 0.5 m) mangroves and mangrove maximum height was 46% taller than in control plots. Fertilization may promote an increase in mangrove stand expansion within the mangrove-marsh ecotone by shifting Avicennia height distribution. Avicennia individuals, which reach certain species-specific height thresholds, have reduced negative neighbor effects and have higher resilience to freezing temperatures, which may increase mangrove competitive advantage over marsh grass. Therefore, we propose that nutrient enrichment, which augments mangrove height, could act locally as a positive feedback to mangrove encroachment, by reducing mangrove growth suppression factors, thereby accelerating the rates of increased mangrove coverage and subsequent marsh displacement. Areas within the mangrove-marsh ecotone with high anthropogenic nutrient input may be at increased risk of a regime shift from grass to woody

Long-term effects of burning on woody plant species sprouting on the False thornveld of Eastern Cape

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ratsele, C

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Sprouting allows woody plant species to persist in a site after a wide range of disturbances (e.g. prolonged fire), where opportunities for seedling establishment are limited. A study to investigate long-term effects of fire sprouting of woody...

Non-periodic molecular dynamics simulations of coarse grained lipid bilayer in water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kotsalis, E. M.; Hanasaki, I.; Walther, Jens Honore

2010-01-01

We present a multiscale algorithm that couples coarse grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) with continuum solver. The coupling requires the imposition of non-periodic boundary conditions on the coarse grained Molecular Dynamics which, when not properly enforced, may result in spurious fluctuations o...... in simulating more complex systems by performing a non-periodic Molecular Dynamics simulation of a DPPC lipid in liquid coarse grained water.......We present a multiscale algorithm that couples coarse grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) with continuum solver. The coupling requires the imposition of non-periodic boundary conditions on the coarse grained Molecular Dynamics which, when not properly enforced, may result in spurious fluctuations...... of the material properties of the system represented by CGMD. In this paper we extend a control algorithm originally developed for atomistic simulations [3], to conduct simulations involving coarse grained water molecules without periodic boundary conditions. We demonstrate the applicability of our method...

Woody tissue analysis using an element ratio technique (DRIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt H. Riitters; L.F. Ohmann; D.F. Grigal

1991-01-01

The diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) was used to describe the variation of 12 elements in woody tree tissue and balsam fir (Abies balsamae (L.) Mill.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), red pine (Pinus resinosa alt.), and aspen (

FROM ATOMISTIC TO SYSTEMATIC COARSE-GRAINED MODELS FOR MOLECULAR SYSTEMS

KAUST Repository

Harmandaris, Vagelis; Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Katsoulakis, Markos; Plechac, Petr

2017-01-01

The development of systematic (rigorous) coarse-grained mesoscopic models for complex molecular systems is an intense research area. Here we first give an overview of methods for obtaining optimal parametrized coarse-grained models, starting from

Modelling airborne dispersion of coarse particulate material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apsley, D.D.

1989-03-01

Methods of modelling the airborne dispersion and deposition of coarse particulates are presented, with the emphasis on the heavy particles identified as possible constituents of releases from damaged AGR fuel. The first part of this report establishes the physical characteristics of the irradiated particulate in airborne emissions from AGR stations. The second part is less specific and describes procedures for extending current dispersion/deposition models to incorporate a coarse particulate component: the adjustment to plume spread parameters, dispersion from elevated sources and dispersion in conjunction with building effects and plume rise. (author)

Recycled Coarse Aggregate Produced by Pulsed Discharge in Water

Science.gov (United States)

Namihira, Takao; Shigeishi, Mitsuhiro; Nakashima, Kazuyuki; Murakami, Akira; Kuroki, Kaori; Kiyan, Tsuyoshi; Tomoda, Yuichi; Sakugawa, Takashi; Katsuki, Sunao; Akiyama, Hidenori; Ohtsu, Masayasu

In Japan, the recycling ratio of concrete scraps has been kept over 98 % after the Law for the Recycling of Construction Materials was enforced in 2000. In the present, most of concrete scraps were recycled as the Lower Subbase Course Material. On the other hand, it is predicted to be difficult to keep this higher recycling ratio in the near future because concrete scraps increase rapidly and would reach to over 3 times of present situation in 2010. In addition, the demand of concrete scraps as the Lower Subbase Course Material has been decreased. Therefore, new way to reuse concrete scraps must be developed. Concrete scraps normally consist of 70 % of coarse aggregate, 19 % of water and 11 % of cement. To obtain the higher recycling ratio, the higher recycling ratio of coarse aggregate is desired. In this paper, a new method for recycling coarse aggregate from concrete scraps has been developed and demonstrated. The system includes a Marx generator and a point to hemisphere mesh electrode immersed in water. In the demonstration, the test piece of concrete scrap was located between the electrodes and was treated by the pulsed discharge. After discharge treatment of test piece, the recycling coarse aggregates were evaluated under JIS and TS and had enough quality for utilization as the coarse aggregate.

The influence of large woody debris and a bankfull flood on movement of adult resident coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) during fall and winter

Science.gov (United States)

Bret C. Harvey; Rodney J. Nakamoto; Jason L. White

1999-01-01

Abstract - To improve understanding of the significance of large woody debris to stream fishes, we examined the influence of woody debris on fall and winter movement by adult coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) using radiotelemetry. Fish captured in stream pools containing large woody debris moved less than fish captured in pools lacking large woody debris or...

Land use changes and development of the non-forest woody vegetation in the Danubian Lowland in Slovakia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Supuka Ján

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to assess the changes in the landscape structure of the Žitný Ostrov territory and in the woody species of the non-forest woody vegetation (NFWV over the past 120 years. Within the assessed periods of 1892, 1949, 1969 and 2015, the shares of arable land increased by 17% while the ratio of the built-up areas with gardens increased by 3.7%. At the same time, natural habitats, grassland, waterlogged meadows and wetlands decreased by 26%. These changes, concerning small mosaic plots as well as large cultural blocks, were caused by the intensification of agriculture after 1948. Ecological stability and biodiversity of these areas has decreased. Thereafter 60 windbreaks were planted from 1951–1952 in an area of 30 ha. In total, 37 woody species were planted, of which 22 were alien species. After 25 years (in 1976, 19 of the same windbreaks were surveyed, observing 16 native and 12 alien woody species. During these periods, many rare alien and coniferous species died. In 2015, 13 windbreaks with 39 woody species were identified, both in the tree and the shrubby layer. The downside is that four of the long-time surviving species are invasive trees.

Chemical-mineralogical characterisation of coarse recycled concrete aggregate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limbachiya, M.C.; Marrocchino, E.; Koulouris, A.

2007-01-01

The construction industry is now putting greater emphasis than ever before on increasing recycling and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. In keeping with this approach, many sectors of the industry have actively sought to encourage the use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as an alternative to primary aggregates in concrete production. The results of a laboratory experimental programme aimed at establishing chemical and mineralogical characteristics of coarse RCA and its likely influence on concrete performance are reported in this paper. Commercially produced coarse RCA and natural aggregates (16-4 mm size fraction) were tested. Results of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses showed that original source of RCA had a negligible effect on the major elements and a comparable chemical composition between recycled and natural aggregates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses results indicated the presence of calcite, portlandite and minor peaks of muscovite/illite in recycled aggregates, although they were directly proportioned to their original composition. The influence of 30%, 50%, and 100% coarse RCA on the chemical composition of equal design strength concrete has been established, and its suitability for use in a concrete application has been assessed. In this work, coarse RCA was used as a direct replacement for natural gravel in concrete production. Test results indicated that up to 30% coarse RCA had no effect on the main three oxides (SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 and CaO) of concrete, but thereafter there was a marginal decrease in SiO 2 and increase in Al 2 O 3 and CaO contents with increase in RCA content in the mix, reflecting the original constituent's composition

Chemical-mineralogical characterisation of coarse recycled concrete aggregate.

Science.gov (United States)

Limbachiya, M C; Marrocchino, E; Koulouris, A

2007-01-01

The construction industry is now putting greater emphasis than ever before on increasing recycling and promoting more sustainable waste management practices. In keeping with this approach, many sectors of the industry have actively sought to encourage the use of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as an alternative to primary aggregates in concrete production. The results of a laboratory experimental programme aimed at establishing chemical and mineralogical characteristics of coarse RCA and its likely influence on concrete performance are reported in this paper. Commercially produced coarse RCA and natural aggregates (16-4 mm size fraction) were tested. Results of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses showed that original source of RCA had a negligible effect on the major elements and a comparable chemical composition between recycled and natural aggregates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses results indicated the presence of calcite, portlandite and minor peaks of muscovite/illite in recycled aggregates, although they were directly proportioned to their original composition. The influence of 30%, 50%, and 100% coarse RCA on the chemical composition of equal design strength concrete has been established, and its suitability for use in a concrete application has been assessed. In this work, coarse RCA was used as a direct replacement for natural gravel in concrete production. Test results indicated that up to 30% coarse RCA had no effect on the main three oxides (SiO2, Al2O3 and CaO) of concrete, but thereafter there was a marginal decrease in SiO2 and increase in Al2O3 and CaO contents with increase in RCA content in the mix, reflecting the original constituent's composition.

Coarse graining of atactic polystyrene and its derivatives

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Anupriya; Perahia, Dvora; Grest, Gary S.

2014-03-01

Capturing large length scales in polymers and soft matter while retaining atomistic properties is imperative to computational studies of dynamic systems. Here we present a new methodology developing coarse-grain model based on atomistic simulation of atactic polystyrene (PS). Similar to previous work by Fritz et al., each monomer is described by two coarse grained beads. In contrast to this earlier work where intramolecular potentials were based on Monte Carlo simulation of both isotactic and syndiotactic single PS molecule to capture stereochemistry, we obtained intramolecular interactions from a single molecular dynamics simulation of an all-atom atactic PS melts. The non-bonded interactions are obtained using the iterative Boltzmann inversion (IBI) scheme. This methodology has been extended to coarse graining of poly-(t-butyl-styrene) (PtBS). An additional coarse-grained bead is used to describe the t-butyl group. Similar to the process for PS, the intramolecular interactions are obtained from a single all atom atactic melt simulation. Starting from the non-bonded interactions for PS, we show that the IBI method for the non-bonded interactions of PtBS converges relatively fast. A generalized scheme for substituted PS is currently in development. We would like to acknowledge Prof. Kurt Kremer for helpful discussions during this work.

Quantifying Savanna Woody Cover in the Field and on Historical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

jed1z

... mapping woody cover on such imagery in bush encroachment studies are the use of traditional pixel-based ... cover by testing it against detailed field validation data. We then assess ..... Mexico', Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 93, pp.

Coarse-graining free theories with gauge symmetries: the linearized case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahr, Benjamin; Dittrich, Bianca; He Song

2011-01-01

Discretizations of continuum theories often do not preserve the gauge symmetry content. This occurs in particular for diffeomorphism symmetry in general relativity, which leads to severe difficulties in both canonical and covariant quantization approaches. We discuss here the method of perfect actions, which attempts to restore gauge symmetries by mirroring exactly continuum physics on a lattice via a coarse graining process. Analytical results can only be obtained via a perturbative approach, for which we consider the first step, namely the coarse graining of the linearized theory. The linearized gauge symmetries are exact also in the discretized theory; hence, we develop a formalism to deal with gauge systems. Finally, we provide a discretization of linearized gravity as well as a coarse graining map and show that with this choice the three-dimensional (3D) linearized gravity action is invariant under coarse graining.

Nonlinear Multigrid solver exploiting AMGe Coarse Spaces with Approximation Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Max la Cour; Villa, Umberto; Engsig-Karup, Allan Peter

The paper introduces a nonlinear multigrid solver for mixed finite element discretizations based on the Full Approximation Scheme (FAS) and element-based Algebraic Multigrid (AMGe). The main motivation to use FAS for unstructured problems is the guaranteed approximation property of the AMGe coarse...... properties of the coarse spaces. With coarse spaces with approximation properties, our FAS approach on unstructured meshes has the ability to be as powerful/successful as FAS on geometrically refined meshes. For comparison, Newton’s method and Picard iterations with an inner state-of-the-art linear solver...... are compared to FAS on a nonlinear saddle point problem with applications to porous media flow. It is demonstrated that FAS is faster than Newton’s method and Picard iterations for the experiments considered here. Due to the guaranteed approximation properties of our AMGe, the coarse spaces are very accurate...

Technological possibilities for increasing coarse coal yield in the Staszic mine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikora, W; Major, M

1985-06-01

Experiments carried out in the Staszic underground black coal mine in Upper Silesia showed that there is a correlation of coarse coal yield and yield strength of shield supports used at longwall faces. The faces were equipped with Pioma 25-45, Fazos 15-31 and Fazos 19-32 shield supports, KWB 3RDU shearer loaders and Rybnik chain conveyors. Pressure of oil in water emulsion used in the Pioma 25/45 shield supports was reduced from the recommended 30 MPa to 15 MPa or to 10 MPa. Reducing emulsion pressure (and support yield strength) caused an increase in coarse coal yield. Coarse coal yield was also increased by use of Fazos 19/32 shield supports with reduced yield strength. During the tests coarse coal yield increased 1.68% and 2.65%. Test results are shown in 3 diagrams. Investigations carried out in the Staszic mine in 1983 showed that by optimizing yield strength of shield supports coarse coal yield could be increased 2 to 8%. 6 references.

Sensitivity to zinc of Mediterranean woody species important for restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Disante, Karen B; Fuentes, David; Cortina, Jordi

2010-04-15

Heavy metals have increased in natural woodlands and shrublands over the last several decades as a consequence of anthropogenic activities. However, our knowledge of the effects of these elements on woody species is scarce. In this study, we examined the responses of six Mediterranean woody species to increasing levels of zinc in hydroponic culture and discussed the possible implications for the restoration of contaminated sites. The species used, Pinus pinea L., Pinus pinaster Ait., Pinus halepensis Mill., Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast., Rhamnus alaternus L. and Quercus suber L. represent a climatic gradient from dry sub-humid to semi-arid conditions. Zinc concentrations in shoots ranged from 53 microg g(-1) in Q. suber to 382 microg g(-1) in T. articulata and were well below the levels found in roots. Zinc inhibited root elongation and root biomass and changed the root length distribution per diameter class, but the magnitude of the effects was species-specific. Only P. halepensis and Q. suber showed toxicity symptoms in aboveground parts. Species more characteristic from xeric environments (T. articulata, R. alaternus and P. halepensis) were more sensitive to zinc than species from mesic environments (Q. suber, P. pinaster and P. pinea). According to the Zn responses and bioaccumulation, Q. suber P. pinea and P. halepensis are the best candidates for field trials to test the value of woody species to restore contaminated sites. None of the species tested seemed suitable for phytoremediation. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sugars from woody tissue photosynthesis reduce xylem vulnerability to cavitation.

Science.gov (United States)

De Baerdemaeker, Niels J F; Salomón, Roberto Luis; De Roo, Linus; Steppe, Kathy

2017-11-01

Reassimilation of internal CO 2 via woody tissue photosynthesis has a substantial effect on tree carbon income and wood production. However, little is known about its role in xylem vulnerability to cavitation and its implications in drought-driven tree mortality. Young trees of Populus nigra were subjected to light exclusion at the branch and stem levels. After 40 d, measurements of xylem water potential, diameter variation and acoustic emission (AE) were performed in detached branches to obtain acoustic vulnerability curves to cavitation following bench-top dehydration. Acoustic vulnerability curves and derived AE 50 values (i.e. water potential at which 50% of cavitation-related acoustic emissions occur) differed significantly between light-excluded and control branches (AE 50,light-excluded  = -1.00 ± 0.13 MPa; AE 50,control  = -1.45 ± 0.09 MPa; P = 0.007) denoting higher vulnerability to cavitation in light-excluded trees. Woody tissue photosynthesis represents an alternative and immediate source of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) that confers lower xylem vulnerability to cavitation via sugar-mediated mechanisms. Embolism repair and xylem structural changes could not explain this observation as the amount of cumulative AE and basic wood density did not differ between treatments. We suggest that woody tissue assimilates might play a role in the synthesis of xylem surfactants for nanobubble stabilization under tension. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Spacetime coarse grainings in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartle, J.B.

1991-01-01

Sum-over-histories generalizations of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics are explored in which probabilities are predicted, not just for alternatives defined on spacelike surfaces, but for alternatives defined by the behavior of spacetime histories with respect to spacetime regions. Closed, nonrelativistic systems are discussed whose histories are paths in a given configuration space. The action and the initial quantum state are assumed fixed and given. A formulation of quantum mechanics is used which assigns probabilities to members of sets of alternative coarse-grained histories of the system, that is, to the individual classes of a partition of its paths into exhaustive and exclusive classes. Probabilities are assigned to those sets which decohere, that is, whose probabilities are consistent with the sum rules of probability theory. Coarse graining by the behavior of paths with respect to regions of spacetime is described. For example, given a single region, the set of all paths may be partitioned into those which never pass through the region and those which pass through the region at least once. A sum-over-histories decoherence functional is defined for sets of alternative histories coarse-grained by spacetime regions. Techniques for the definition and effective computation of the relevant sums over histories by operator-product formulas are described and illustrated by examples. Methods based on Euclidean stochastic processes are also discussed and illustrated. Models of decoherence and measurement for spacetime coarse grainings are described. Issues of causality are investigated. Such spacetime generalizations of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics may be useful models for a generalized quantum mechanics of spacetime geometry

Multiple Scales of Control on the Structure and Spatial Distribution of Woody Vegetation in African Savanna Watersheds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas R Vaughn

Full Text Available Factors controlling savanna woody vegetation structure vary at multiple spatial and temporal scales, and as a consequence, unraveling their combined effects has proven to be a classic challenge in savanna ecology. We used airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging to map three-dimensional woody vegetation structure throughout four savanna watersheds, each contrasting in geologic substrate and climate, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. By comparison of the four watersheds, we found that geologic substrate had a stronger effect than climate in determining watershed-scale differences in vegetation structural properties, including cover, height and crown density. Generalized Linear Models were used to assess the spatial distribution of woody vegetation structural properties, including cover, height and crown density, in relation to mapped hydrologic, topographic and fire history traits. For each substrate and climate combination, models incorporating topography, hydrology and fire history explained up to 30% of the remaining variation in woody canopy structure, but inclusion of a spatial autocovariate term further improved model performance. Both crown density and the cover of shorter woody canopies were determined more by unknown factors likely to be changing on smaller spatial scales, such as soil texture, herbivore abundance or fire behavior, than by our mapped regional-scale changes in topography and hydrology. We also detected patterns in spatial covariance at distances up to 50-450 m, depending on watershed and structural metric. Our results suggest that large-scale environmental factors play a smaller role than is often attributed to them in determining woody vegetation structure in southern African savannas. This highlights the need for more spatially-explicit, wide-area analyses using high resolution remote sensing techniques.

Constructing Optimal Coarse-Grained Sites of Huge Biomolecules by Fluctuation Maximization.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Min; Zhang, John Zenghui; Xia, Fei

2016-04-12

Coarse-grained (CG) models are valuable tools for the study of functions of large biomolecules on large length and time scales. The definition of CG representations for huge biomolecules is always a formidable challenge. In this work, we propose a new method called fluctuation maximization coarse-graining (FM-CG) to construct the CG sites of biomolecules. The defined residual in FM-CG converges to a maximal value as the number of CG sites increases, allowing an optimal CG model to be rigorously defined on the basis of the maximum. More importantly, we developed a robust algorithm called stepwise local iterative optimization (SLIO) to accelerate the process of coarse-graining large biomolecules. By means of the efficient SLIO algorithm, the computational cost of coarse-graining large biomolecules is reduced to within the time scale of seconds, which is far lower than that of conventional simulated annealing. The coarse-graining of two huge systems, chaperonin GroEL and lengsin, indicates that our new methods can coarse-grain huge biomolecular systems with up to 10,000 residues within the time scale of minutes. The further parametrization of CG sites derived from FM-CG allows us to construct the corresponding CG models for studies of the functions of huge biomolecular systems.

Application of Buckmaster Electrolyte Ion Leakage Test to Woody Biofuel Feedstocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broderick, Thomas F [Forest Concepts, LLC; Dooley, James H [Forest Concepts, LLC

2014-08-28

In an earlier ASABE paper, Buckmaster reported that ion conductivity of biomass leachate in aqueous solution was directly correlated with activity access to plant nutrients within the biomass materials for subsequent biological or chemical processing. The Buckmaster test involves placing a sample of the particles in a beaker of constant-temperature deionized water and monitoring the change in electrical conductivity over time. We adapted the Buckmaster method to a range of woody biomass and other cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks. Our experimental results suggest differences of electrolyte leakage between differently processed woody biomass particles may be an indicator of their utility for conversion in bioenergy processes. This simple assay appears to be particularly useful to compare different biomass comminution techniques and particle sizes for biochemical preprocessing.

Woody plant encroachment effect on soil organic carbon dynamics: results from a latitudinal gradient in Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Pellis, Guido; Chiti, Tommaso; Moscatelli, Maria Cristina; Marinari, Sara; Papale, Dario

2016-04-01

Woody plant encroachment into pastures and grasslands represents a significant land cover change phenomenon, with a considerable impact on carbon dynamics at an ecosystem level. It was estimated that 7.64% of the Southern Europe land was subject to that process between 1950 to 2010. As a result of woody encroachment, changes in vegetation composition can produce substantial changes to the soil organic carbon (SOC) cycle. Despite the numerous papers published on land-use change, an evaluation of the IPCC terrestrial carbon pools changes occurring during woody encroachment on abandoned pastures and grasslands is still lacking, particularly for the Italian territory. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of woody encroachment on carbon sequestration over abandoned pastures and grasslands in Alpine and Apennine ecosystems, with a particular focus on the SOC. We applied a chronosequence approach to seven selected sites located along a latitudinal gradient in Italy. Each chronosequence consisted of a pasture currently managed, three sites abandoned at different times in the past and, finally, a mature forest stand representing the last phase of the succession. The European Commission sampling protocols to certify SOC changes was adopted to estimate the variations following woody encroachment. Soil samples were collected at different depths in the topsoil (0-30 cm) and subsoil (30-70 cm), despite the original protocol formulation being limited to the topsoil only. In addition, aboveground living biomass (AGB), dead wood and litter were also measured following international protocols. Considering all C pools together, woody plant encroachment leads to a progressive C stock accumulation in all the chronosequences. The total C stock of mature forest stands ranges from 1.78±0.11 times (Eastern Alps) to 2.48±0.31 times (central Apennine) the initial value on pastures. Unsurprisingly, the C stocks of AGB, dead wood and litter all increase during the

Preliminary study on space mutagenesis of mutagenesis of three species of woody plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Chao; Yuan Cunquan; Li Yun; Xi Yang

2010-01-01

Dry seeds of three woody plants, Xanthoceras sorbifolia, Acer mono and Robiniap pseudoacacia, were carried into space by the return satellite for mutation breeding. The seed vigor,leaf pigments of seedlings, MDA contents and growth volume were analyzed. Compared with the earth control, the seed vigor of three woody plants were extremely improved by space-induced mutation, the seed germination rate, planting and survival rate of seedlings were all higher than those of earth control, and the MDA contents of Xanthoceras sorbifolia and Acer mono were declined. The leaf pigments content of the trees were all lower than those of the control, specially Robinia pseudoacacia and Acer mono, which were both significantly different from their control at 0.01 levels. The growth volume of the mutation group were inhibited in the first year; however, from the second year, the growth of Xanthoceras sorbifolia and Acer mono were faster than those of control, indicating that the space mutation can promote the seed vigor and seedling resistance of three woody plants. (authors)

Entropies from Coarse-graining: Convex Polytopes vs. Ellipsoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikos Kalogeropoulos

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We examine the Boltzmann/Gibbs/Shannon SBGS and the non-additive Havrda-Charvát/Daróczy/Cressie-Read/Tsallis Sq and the Kaniadakis κ-entropy Sκ from the viewpoint of coarse-graining, symplectic capacities and convexity. We argue that the functional form of such entropies can be ascribed to a discordance in phase-space coarse-graining between two generally different approaches: the Euclidean/Riemannian metric one that reflects independence and picks cubes as the fundamental cells in coarse-graining and the symplectic/canonical one that picks spheres/ellipsoids for this role. Our discussion is motivated by and confined to the behaviour of Hamiltonian systems of many degrees of freedom. We see that Dvoretzky’s theorem provides asymptotic estimates for the minimal dimension beyond which these two approaches are close to each other. We state and speculate about the role that dualities may play in this viewpoint.

Prescribed fire effects on field-derived and simulated forest carbon stocks over time

Science.gov (United States)

Nicole M. Vaillant; Alicia L. Reiner; Erin K. Noonan-Wright

2013-01-01

To better understand the impact of prescribed fire on carbon stocks, we quantified aboveground and belowground carbon stocks within five pools (live trees and coarse roots, dead trees and coarse roots, live understory vegetation, down woody debris, and litter and duff) and potential carbon emissions from a simulated wildfire before and up to 8 years after prescribed...

Simulating the productivity of desert woody shrubs in southwestern Texas

Science.gov (United States)

In the southwestern U.S., many rangelands have converted from native grasslands to woody shrublands dominated by creosotebush (Larrea tridentate) and honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), threatening ecosystem health. Both creosotebush and mesquite have well-developed long root systems that allow t...

Vegetation types, dominant compositions, woody plant diversity and stand structure in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary of Northeast India.

Science.gov (United States)

Majumdar, Koushik; Datta, B K

2015-03-01

Present study was carried out to assess the vegetation types, diversity and phytosociological status of woody plants in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary of Tripura, Northeast India. Vegetation data was derived by 25 line transects (10 m wide and 500 m length, each 0.5 ha size). All woody species at >10 cm gbh (Girth at Breast Height) within each plots were measured and counted. A total of six forest types were classified by cluster analysis using Importance Value Index (IVI) of 289 woody species. Species diversity, forest structure and woody community associations were evaluated and discussed. One way ANOVA revealed significant differences in all species diversity measures and stand structure along the forest types. Distribution of stem density at ten different gbh classes showed reverse J-shaped curves. Population status of woody plants was also examined through grouping of all individuals into four population age stages viz. sapling ( or = 30 - 120 - 210 cm gbh) and old (> or =210 cm). To observe dominant composition and species population trend, IVI of top ten dominant species from all forest types were tabulated. The present study suggested that Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary is an important habitat in Tripura from floristic point of view and it should be conserved on priority basis for remaining wildlife endurances and monitor for forest livelihoods products for sustainable biodiversity conservation in this region.

Diversity and structure of woody vegetation across areas with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Here we investigate the differences and/or similarities of woody vegetation diversity and structure across areas with different edaphic factors (i.e. soil group) in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. We stratified our study area into two strata based on soil group, namely siallitic soil in northern Gonarezhou and regosol soil ...

NONLINEAR MULTIGRID SOLVER EXPLOITING AMGe COARSE SPACES WITH APPROXIMATION PROPERTIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christensen, Max La Cour [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark); Villa, Umberto E. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Engsig-Karup, Allan P. [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark); Vassilevski, Panayot S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-01-22

The paper introduces a nonlinear multigrid solver for mixed nite element discretizations based on the Full Approximation Scheme (FAS) and element-based Algebraic Multigrid (AMGe). The main motivation to use FAS for unstruc- tured problems is the guaranteed approximation property of the AMGe coarse spaces that were developed recently at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These give the ability to derive stable and accurate coarse nonlinear discretization problems. The previous attempts (including ones with the original AMGe method, [5, 11]), were less successful due to lack of such good approximation properties of the coarse spaces. With coarse spaces with approximation properties, our FAS approach on un- structured meshes should be as powerful/successful as FAS on geometrically re ned meshes. For comparison, Newton's method and Picard iterations with an inner state-of-the-art linear solver is compared to FAS on a nonlinear saddle point problem with applications to porous media ow. It is demonstrated that FAS is faster than Newton's method and Picard iterations for the experiments considered here. Due to the guaranteed approximation properties of our AMGe, the coarse spaces are very accurate, providing a solver with the potential for mesh-independent convergence on general unstructured meshes.

Response of loblolly pine to complete woody and herbaceous control: projected yields and economic outcomes - the COMProject

Science.gov (United States)

James H. Miller; R.L. Busby; B.R. Zutter; S.M. Zedaker; M.B. Edwards; R.A. Newbold

1995-01-01

Abstract.Age-8 and -9 data from the 13 study plantations of the Competition Omission Monitoring Project (COMP) were used to project yields and derive economic outcomes for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). COMP treatments were chop-burn, complete woody plant control, complete herbaceous plant control for 4 years, and complete woody...

Assessing Extension's Ability to Promote Family Forests as a Woody Biomass Feedstock in the Northeast United States

Science.gov (United States)

Germain, Rene' H.; Ghosh, Chandrani

2013-01-01

The study reported here surveyed Extension educators' awareness and knowledge of woody biomass energy and assessed their desire and ability to reach out to family forest owners-a critical feedstock source. The results indicate Extension educators are aware of the potential of woody biomass to serve as a renewable source of energy. Respondents…

An Improved Estimation of Regional Fractional Woody/Herbaceous Cover Using Combined Satellite Data and High-Quality Training Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Mapping vegetation cover is critical for understanding and monitoring ecosystem functions in semi-arid biomes. As existing estimates tend to underestimate the woody cover in areas with dry deciduous shrubland and woodland, we present an approach to improve the regional estimation of woody and herbaceous fractional cover in the East Asia steppe. This developed approach uses Random Forest models by combining multiple remote sensing data—training samples derived from high-resolution image in a tailored spatial sampling and model inputs composed of specific metrics from MODIS sensor and ancillary variables including topographic, bioclimatic, and land surface information. We emphasize that effective spatial sampling, high-quality classification, and adequate geospatial information are important prerequisites of establishing appropriate model inputs and achieving high-quality training samples. This study suggests that the optimal models improve estimation accuracy (NMSE 0.47 for woody and 0.64 for herbaceous plants and show a consistent agreement with field observations. Compared with existing woody estimate product, the proposed woody cover estimation can delineate regions with subshrubs and shrubs, showing an improved capability of capturing spatialized detail of vegetation signals. This approach can be applicable over sizable semi-arid areas such as temperate steppes, savannas, and prairies.

Peculiarities of the Woody Plants Re-Bloom

OpenAIRE

Opalko Olga Anatolievna; Opalko Anatoly Ivanovich

2015-01-01

The data of literary sources concerning the bloom of angiosperm plants and deviation in the development of a flower and inflorescence, in particular untimely flowering, was generalized; our observation results of some peculiarities of re-bloom of woody plants in the National Dendrological Park “Sofiyivka” of NAS of Ukraine (NDP “Sofiyivka”) were discussed. The flowering process was formed during a long-term evolution of a propagation system of angiosperm plants as a basis of fertilization and...

PHYTOSOCIOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WOODY REGENERATION FROM A REFORESTATION WITH NATIVE SPECIES IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Anderson Almeida Colmanetti

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT In Brazil, specifically in São Paulo State, there are guidelines based on the high diversity of tropical forests that instructs the restoration projects in the state (current SMA 32/2014. The main goal of this study was verify the importance and effectiveness of the high diversity of arboreal species originated from a reforestation, and its influence in a woody regenerating composition. We developed a phytosociologic study in a woody regenerating stratum of a nine year old reforestation at a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN, in Mogi-Guaçu, São Paulo State. All specimens with height > 30 cm and Diameter at Breast Height (DBH < 5 cm were evaluated. The woody regenerating diversity was smaller than the overstory diversity and the species composition was similar to the overstory. The Simpson index (1-D was 0.85, Shannon index (H' was 2.46 and the Pielou index (J' was 0.60. The zoochoric dispersion syndrome was major among the species. Our results suggest that the use of high diversity of native seedlings in a reforestation leads to high diversity of species in woody regeneration stratum, after one decade of planting.

Renormalization and Coarse-graining of Loop Quantum Gravity

OpenAIRE

Charles, Christoph

2017-01-01

The continuum limit of loop quantum gravity is still an open problem. Indeed, no proper dynamics in known to start with and we still lack the mathematical tools to study its would-be continuum limit. In the present PhD dissertation, we will investigate some coarse-graining methods that should become helpful in this enterprise. We concentrate on two aspects of the theory's coarse-graining: finding natural large scale observables on one hand and studying how the dynamics of varying graphs could...

Influence of uncoated and coated plastic waste coarse aggregates to concrete compressive strength

OpenAIRE

Purnomo Heru; Pamudji Gandjar; Satim Madsuri

2017-01-01

The use of plastic waste as coarse aggregates in concrete is part of efforts to reduce environmental pollution. In one hand the use of plastic as aggregates can provide lighter weight of the concrete than concrete using natural aggregates, but on the other hand bond between plastic coarse aggregates and hard matrix give low concrete compressive strength. Improvement of the bond between plastic coarse aggregate and hard matrix through a sand coating to plastic coarse aggregate whole surface is...

Spatial-structural analysis of leafless woody riparian vegetation for hydraulic considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Weissteiner, Clemens; Jalonen, Johanna; Järvelä, Juha; Rauch, Hans Peter

2013-04-01

Woody riparian vegetation is a vital element of riverine environments. On one hand woody riparian vegetation has to be taken into account from a civil engineering point of view due to boundary shear stress and vegetation drag. On the other hand it has to be considered from a river ecological point of view due to shadowing effects and as a source of organic material for aquatic habitats. In hydrodynamic and hydro-ecological studies the effects of woody riparian vegetation on flow patterns are usually investigated on a very detailed level. On the contrary vegetation elements and their spatial patterns are generally analysed and discussed on the basis of an integral approach measuring for example basal diameters, heights and projected plant areas. For a better understanding of the influence of woody riparian vegetation on turbulent flow and on river ecology, it is essential to record and analyse plant data sets on the same level of quality as for hydrodynamic or hydro-ecologic purposes. As a result of the same scale of the analysis it is possible to incorporate riparian vegetation as a sub-model in the hydraulic analysis. For plant structural components, such as branches on different topological levels it is crucial to record plant geometrical parameters describing the habitus of the plant on branch level. An exact 3D geometrical model of real plants allows for an extraction of various spatial-structural plant parameters. In addition, allometric relationships help to summarize and describe plant traits of riparian vegetation. This paper focuses on the spatial-structural composition of leafless riparia woddy vegetation. Structural and spatial analyses determine detailed geometric properties of the structural components of the plants. Geometrical and topological parameters were recorded with an electro-magnetic scanning device. In total, 23 plants (willows, alders and birches) were analysed in the study. Data were recorded on branch level, which allowed for the

Down woody materials as an indicator of wildlife habitat, fuels, and carbon stocks of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher W. Woodall

2007-01-01

Why Are Down Woody Materials Important? The down woody materials (DWM) indicator is used to estimate the quantity of deadorganic material (resulting from plant mortality and leaf turnover) in forest ecosystems of the United States. The DWM indicator, coupled with other components of the enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, can indicate the...

Resolving Properties of Polymers and Nanoparticle Assembly through Coarse-Grained Computational Studies.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grest, Gary S. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-09-01

Coupled length and time scales determine the dynamic behavior of polymers and polymer nanocomposites and underlie their unique properties. To resolve the properties over large time and length scales it is imperative to develop coarse grained models which retain the atomistic specificity. Here we probe the degree of coarse graining required to simultaneously retain significant atomistic details a nd access large length and time scales. The degree of coarse graining in turn sets the minimum length scale instrumental in defining polymer properties and dynamics. Using polyethylene as a model system, we probe how the coarse - graining scale affects the measured dynamics with different number methylene group s per coarse - grained beads. Using these models we simulate polyethylene melts for times over 500 ms to study the viscoelastic properties of well - entangled polymer melts and large nanoparticle assembly as the nanoparticles are driven close enough to form nanostructures.

Characteristics of thin and coarse particulates of urban and natural brazilian aerosols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orsini, C.Q.; Tabacnics, M.H.; Artaxo, P.; Andrade, M.F.; Kerr, A.S.

1994-01-01

Thin and coarse particulate were sampled during the period 1982-1985 in a natural coastal forest (Jureia), and five urban-industrial regions (Vitoria, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte). The time variation of the concentration in the air, and the relative elementary composition of the thin and coarse particulate, sampled by thin and Coarse Particulate Sampler (AFG), were determined by gravimetric method and PIXE analysis respectively. The results demonstrated that the ground dust and salt from the sea are unequivocally one of the largest sources of coarse particulate, and also the ground is a significant thin particulate source. 25 refs, 22 figs, 28 tabs. (L.C.J.A.)

Coarse-graining using the relative entropy and simplex-based optimization methods in VOTCA

Science.gov (United States)

Rühle, Victor; Jochum, Mara; Koschke, Konstantin; Aluru, N. R.; Kremer, Kurt; Mashayak, S. Y.; Junghans, Christoph

2014-03-01

Coarse-grained (CG) simulations are an important tool to investigate systems on larger time and length scales. Several methods for systematic coarse-graining were developed, varying in complexity and the property of interest. Thus, the question arises which method best suits a specific class of system and desired application. The Versatile Object-oriented Toolkit for Coarse-graining Applications (VOTCA) provides a uniform platform for coarse-graining methods and allows for their direct comparison. We present recent advances of VOTCA, namely the implementation of the relative entropy method and downhill simplex optimization for coarse-graining. The methods are illustrated by coarse-graining SPC/E bulk water and a water-methanol mixture. Both CG models reproduce the pair distributions accurately. SYM is supported by AFOSR under grant 11157642 and by NSF under grant 1264282. CJ was supported in part by the NSF PHY11-25915 at KITP. K. Koschke acknowledges funding by the Nestle Research Center.

The assessment of data mining algorithms for modelling Savannah woody cover using multi-frequency (X-, C- and L-band) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) datasets

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Naidoo, L

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The woody component in African Savannahs provides essential ecosystem services such as fuel wood and construction timber to large populations of rural communities. Woody canopy cover (i.e. the percentage area occupied by woody canopy or CC) is a key...

Design of low-power coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures

CERN Document Server

Kim, Yoonjin

2010-01-01

Coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture (CGRA) has emerged as a solution for flexible, application-specific optimization of embedded systems. Helping you understand the issues involved in designing and constructing embedded systems, Design of Low-Power Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architectures offers new frameworks for optimizing the architecture of components in embedded systems in order to decrease area and save power. Real application benchmarks and gate-level simulations substantiate these frameworks.The first half of the book explains how to reduce power in the configuration cache. T

Estimates of Down Woody Materials in Eastern US Forests

Science.gov (United States)

David C. Chojnacky; Robert A. Mickler; Linda S. Heath; Christopher W. Woodall

2004-01-01

Down woody materials (WVMs) are an important part of forest ecosystems for wildlife habitat, carbon storage, structural diversity, wildfire hazard, and other large-scale ecosystem processes. To better manage forests for DWMs, available and easily accessible data on DWM components are needed. We examined data on DWMs, collected in 2001 by the US Department of...

Effects of competition and herbivory over woody seedling growth in a temperate woodland trump the effects of elevated CO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, L; Boer, M M; de Dios, V Resco; Power, S A; Bendall, E R; Hasegawa, S; Hueso, R Ochoa; Nevado, J Piñeiro; Bradstock, R A

2018-04-27

A trend of increasing woody plant density, or woody thickening, has been observed across grassland and woodland ecosystems globally. It has been proposed that increasing atmospheric [CO 2 ] is a major driver of broad scale woody thickening, though few field-based experiments have tested this hypothesis. Our study utilises a Free Air CO 2 Enrichment experiment to examine the effect of elevated [CO 2 ] (eCO 2 ) on three mechanisms that can cause woody thickening, namely (i) woody plant recruitment, (ii) seedling growth, and (iii) post-disturbance resprouting. The study took place in a eucalypt-dominated temperate grassy woodland. Annual assessments show that juvenile woody plant recruitment occurred over the first 3 years of CO 2 fumigation, though eCO 2 did not affect rates of recruitment. Manipulative experiments were established to examine the effect of eCO 2 on above-ground seedling growth using transplanted Eucalyptus tereticornis (Myrtaceae) and Hakea sericea (Proteaceae) seedlings. There was no positive effect of eCO 2 on biomass of either species following 12 months of exposure to treatments. Lignotubers (i.e., resprouting organs) of harvested E. tereticornis seedlings that were retained in situ for an additional year were used to examine resprouting response. The likelihood of resprouting and biomass of resprouts increased with lignotuber volume, which was not itself affected by eCO 2 . The presence of herbaceous competitors and defoliation by invertebrates and pathogens were found to greatly reduce growth and/or resprouting response of seedlings. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that future increases in atmospheric [CO 2 ] will, by itself, promote woody plant recruitment in eucalypt-dominated temperate grassy woodlands.

Teredo navalis in the Baltic Sea: Larval Dynamics of an Invasive Wood-Boring Bivalve at the Edge of Its Distribution

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Heike Lippert

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Wooden groin systems on the southwestern Baltic Sea coast are a traditional and important coastal-protection facility, but have been regularly infested and destroyed by the wood-boring bivalve Teredo navalis since the early 1990s. The occurrence of T. navalis was presumed to be limited mainly by the prevailing low salinities. Recently, a possible range expansion of this invasive species to the more eastern parts of the Baltic Sea has been discussed. T. navalis larval settlement was therefore monitored at the distribution boundary of the species in the Baltic Sea over a period of 4 years. At 7 stations along the prevailing salinity gradient on the Mecklenburg-western Pomeranian coast, larval traps were installed at regular time intervals, while at the same time water temperature and salinity were measured continuously every hour. Correlations between measured abiotic parameters and borehole abundance of T. navalis were tested. For the German Baltic Sea coast, no range expansion of T. navalis was confirmed. The salinity and temperatures at the groin systems varied among the study years, and significant correlations between T. navalis borehole abundance and salinity as well as temperature were found. Higher summer temperatures favor the T. navalis borehole abundance on the Mecklenburg-western Pomeranian coast, and may slightly shift the distribution border of this species toward lower salinities.

Leaf surface anatomy in some woody plants from northeastern Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maiti, R.; Rodriguez, H.G.; Balboa, P.C.R.; Kumari, A

2016-01-01

Studies on leaf surface anatomy of woody plants and its significance are rare. The present study was undertaken in the Forest Science Faculty Experimental Research Station, UANL, Mexico, with objectives to determine the variability in leaf surface anatomy in the woody plants of the Tamaulipan thornscrub and its utility in taxonomy and possible adaptation to the prevailing semiarid conditions. The results show the presence of large variability in several leaf anatomical traits viz., waxy leaf surface, type of stomata, its size, and distribution. The species have been classified on the basis of various traits which can be used in species delimitation and adaptation to the semiarid condition such as waxy leaf surface, absence sparse stomata on the leaf surface, sunken stomata. The species identified as better adapters to semi-arid environments on the basis of the presence and absence of stomata on both adaxial and abaxial surface viz., Eysenhardtia texana, Parkinsonia texana, Gymnosperma glutinosum, Celtis laevigata, Condalia hookeri and Karwinskia humboldtiana. (author)

The spatial pattern and dominant drivers of woody cover change in Latin America and Caribbean from 2001 to 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, M.; Aide, T.; Riner, G.; Redo, D.; Grau, H.; Bonilla-Moheno, M.; Lopez-Carr, D.; Levy, M.

2011-12-01

Change in woody vegetation (i.e., forests, shrublands) is a major component of global environmental change: it directly affects biodiversity, the global carbon budget, and ecosystem function. For several decades, remote sensing technology has been used to document deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), although mostly at local to regional scales (e.g., moist forests of the Amazon basin). Most studies have focused on forest loss, some local-scale studies have mapped forest recovery, with contrasting forest dynamics attributed to shifting demographic and socio-economic factors. For example, local population change (rural-urban migration) can stimulate forest recovery on abandoned land, while increasing global food demand may drive regional expansion of mechanized agriculture. However, there are no studies in LAC that simultaneously map both loss and gain in woody vegetation at continental, national, and municipality scales with consistent data sources, methods and accuracy; and thus, we lack a comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution of woody vegetation change and the relative importance of the multi-scale drivers of this change. We overcame this limitation by producing annual land-cover maps between 2001 and 2010 for each of the >16,000 municipalities in LAC. We focused on mapping municipality-scale trends in three broad classes: woody vegetation, mixed woody/plantations, and agriculture/herbaceous vegetation. Our area estimates show that woody vegetation change during the past decade was dominated by deforestation, or loss (-541,830 km2), particularly in the Amazon basin moist forest and the tropical-subtropical Cerrado and Chaco ecoregions, where large swaths of forest have been transformed to pastures and agricultural lands. Extensive areas (362,431 km2) in LAC also gained woody vegetation, particularly in regions too dry or too steep for modern agriculture, including the desert/xeric shrub biome in NE Brazil and northern Mexico, the

An Evaluation of Coarse-Grained Locking for Multicore Microkernels

OpenAIRE

Elphinstone, Kevin; Zarrabi, Amirreza; Danis, Adrian; Shen, Yanyan; Heiser, Gernot

2016-01-01

The trade-off between coarse- and fine-grained locking is a well understood issue in operating systems. Coarse-grained locking provides lower overhead under low contention, fine-grained locking provides higher scalability under contention, though at the expense of implementation complexity and re- duced best-case performance. We revisit this trade-off in the context of microkernels and tightly-coupled cores with shared caches and low inter-core migration latencies. We evaluate performance on ...

Dynamic variation in sapwood specific conductivity in six woody species

Science.gov (United States)

Jean-Christophe Domec; Frederick C. Meinzer; Barbara Lachenbruch; Johann Housset

2008-01-01

Our goals were to quantify how non-embolism inducing pressure gradients influence trunk sapwood specific conductivity (ks) and to compare the impacts of constant and varying pressure gradients on ks with KCl and H20 as the perfusion solutions. We studied six woody species (three conifers and three...

Cadmium accumulation and its effect on the in vitro growth of woody fleabane and mycorrhized white birch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, R.; Bertrand, A.; Casares, A. [Departamento de Biologia de Organismos y Sistemas, Oviedo University, Catedratico Rodrigo Uria s/n, 33071 Oviedo (Spain); Garcia, R. [Departamento de Quimica Fisica y Analitica, Oviedo University, Julian Claveria s/n, 33071 Oviedo (Spain); Gonzalez, A. [Departamento de Biologia de Organismos y Sistemas, Oviedo University, Catedratico Rodrigo Uria s/n, 33071 Oviedo (Spain)], E-mail: aidag@uniovi.es; Tames, R.S. [Departamento de Biologia de Organismos y Sistemas, Oviedo University, Catedratico Rodrigo Uria s/n, 33071 Oviedo (Spain)

2008-04-15

The effect of Cd on woody fleabane (Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter) and white birch (Betula celtiberica Rothm. and Vasc.) was examined. Woody fleabane and white birch were grown in vitro in Murashige, T., Skoog, F., [1962. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol. Plant. 15, 473-479] (MS) plus Cd (10 mg Cd kg{sup -1}) and except for root length in white birch, plant development was inhibited when Cd was added. Cd accumulation in above-ground tissues showed differences among clones, reaching 1300 and 463 mg Cd kg{sup -1} dry wt. in selected clones of woody fleabane and white birch, respectively. Tolerance of Paxillus filamentosus (Scop) Fr. to Cd was also examined before mycorrhization. Plants of mycorrhized white birch grown in the presence of Cd had a better development and accumulated more Cd in their shoots than the non-mycorrhized ones. The use of selected clones of woody fleabane and the mycorrhization of white birch enhance extraction efficiency from contaminated soils in phytoremediation programs. - The high accumulation of Cd observed in selected clones of Dittrichia viscosa and mycorrhized Betula celtiberica grown in vitro implies a potential application for phytoextraction.

Optique moderne et post-moderne dans la composition d'images transculturelles dans trois films de Woody Allen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia Fuchs

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Avec le personnage récurrent juif new-yorkais névrosé plus ou moins autobiographique, les films de Woody Allen ont créé, volontairement ou pas, leur propre mythologie et un genre à part entière composé de codes que le spectateur décrypte instantanément. Pourtant, Woody Allen est surtout un cinéaste post-moderne, analysant et déconstruisant les simulacres de son époque. Il est ainsi un passeur d'images retraçant l'histoire des arts modernes des XXe et XXIe siècles et de leurs stratégies énonciatives et réceptives.With the recurrent persona of the neurotic and more or less autobiographical Jewish New Yorker, Woody Allen's films have created, willingly or not, their own mythology and a specific genre made up of codes readily accessible to the spectator. However, Woody Allen is more than anything else a postmodern filmmaker who analyses and deconstructs the simulacra of his time. He is thus a conveyor of images which retrace the history of modern art of the XXth and XXIth centuries, and of their strategies of enunciation and reception.

Woody debris along an upland chromosequence in boreal Manitoba and its impact on long-term carbon storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manies, K. L.; Harden, J. W. [US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States); Bond-Lamberty, B. P. [University of Wisconsin, Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management, Madison, WI (United States); O' Neill, K. P. [USDA Agricultural Research Service, Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center, Beaver, WV (United States)

2005-02-01

The amount of standing dead and downed woody debris along an upland chromosequence was measured in an effort to investigate the role of fire-killed woody debris as a source of soil carbon in black spruce stands in Manitoba. Based on the measurement data and existing primary production values, a mass balance model was used to assess the potential impact of fire-killed wood on long-term carbon storage at this site. Long-term carbon was represented by the amount of carbon stored in deeper soil organic layers, persisting over millenia. Between 10 and 60 per cent of the deep-soil carbon was estimated to have been derived from wood biomass. The actual amount appears to be most affected by fire return interval, decay rate of wood, the amount of net primary production, and the decay rate of the post-fire carbon pool. Although the model was less sensitive to fire consumption rates and to rates at which standing dead wood becomes woody debris, all model runs clearly established that woody debris plays an important role in long-term carbon storage in this area. 53 refs., 4 tabs., 4 figs.

Flowering of Woody Bamboo in Tissue Culture Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-Ling Yuan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Flowering and subsequent seed set are not only normal activities in the life of most plants, but constitute the very reason for their existence. Woody bamboos can take a long time to flower, even over 100 years. This makes it difficult to breed bamboo, since flowering time cannot be predicted and passing through each generation takes too long. Another unique characteristic of woody bamboo is that a bamboo stand will often flower synchronously, both disrupting the supply chain within the bamboo industry and affecting local ecology. Therefore, an understanding of the mechanism that initiates bamboo flowering is important not only for biology research, but also for the bamboo industry. Induction of flowering in vitro is an effective way to both shorten the flowering period and control the flowering time, and has been shown for several species of bamboo. The use of controlled tissue culture systems allows investigation into the mechanism of bamboo flowering and facilitates selective breeding. Here, after a brief introduction of flowering in bamboo, we review the research on in vitro flowering of bamboo, including our current understanding of the effects of plant growth regulators and medium components on flower induction and how in vitro bamboo flowers can be used in research.

Experimental investigation of coarse particle conveying in pipes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vlasak Pavel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The advanced knowledge of particle-water mixture flow behaviour is important for safe, reliable, and economical design and operation of the freight pipelines. The effect of the mixture velocity and concentration on the coarse particle – water mixtures flow behaviour was experimentally investigated on an experimental pipe loop of inner diameter D = 100 mm with horizontal, vertical, and inclined pipe sections. Narrow particle size distribution basalt pebbles were used as model of coarse-grained solid particles. The radiometric method was used to measure particle concentration distribution in pipe cross-section. Mixture flow behaviour and particles motion along the pipe invert were studied in a pipe viewing section. The study revealed that the coarse particlewater mixtures in the horizontal and inclined pipe sections were significantly stratified. The particles moved principally in a layer close to the pipe invert. However, for higher and moderate flow velocities the particles moved also in the central part of the pipe cross-section, and particle saltation was found to be dominant mode of particle conveying.

IMPACT OF WOODY PLANTS SPECIES ON SOIL PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES ALONG GRAZING GRADIENTS IN RANGELANDS OF EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Mussa Abdulahi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In the lowlands of arid and semiarid rangelands woody plants plays an important role in soil fertility maintenance, providing food, medicine, cosmetics, fodder, fuel wood and pesticides. A better understanding of the interaction of woody plants on their immediate environment is needed to guide optimum management of native vegetation in the production landscapes. However, the impact of woody plant species on soil properties remains poorly understood. This study evaluates the impact of two dominant woody plant species (A. senegal and B. aegyptica on soil physico-chemical properties along grazing gradients in rangelands of eastern Ethiopia. Six trees of each species were selected from light, moderate and heavy grazing sites.  Soil sample data at two depths (0-15 and 16-30 cm were collected from under and open areas of A. senegal and B. aegyptica from each grazing sites, and analysed for nutrient contents. The nutrient status of soil under both woody species was significantly higher especially with regard to soil organic matter (4.37%, total nitrogen (0.313%, and available phosphorus (11.62 than the open grassland with soil organic matter (3.82%, total nitrogen (0.246%, and available phosphorus (10.94 mg/Kg soil for A. Senegal. The soil organic matter (3.93%, total nitrogen (0.285%, available phosphorus (11.66 mg/Kg soil were significantly higher than open grassland with soil organic matter (3.52%, total nitrogen (0.218%, available phosphorus (10.73 mg/Kg soil for B. aegyptica. This was more pronounced in the top 15 cm of soil under A. senegal woody plant species and on the light and moderate grazing site. Therefore, this tree has a significant effect on soil fertility improvement in resource poor rangelands and as a result, it is important to retain scattered A. senegal and B. aegyptica plants in the lowlands of eastern Ethiopia.

First steps in studying the origins of secondary woodiness in Begonia (Begoniaceae): combining anatomy, phylogenetics, and stem transcriptomics

Science.gov (United States)

Catherine Kidner; Andrew Groover; Daniel C. Thomas; Katie Emelianova; Claudia Soliz-Gamboa; Frederic Lens

2015-01-01

Since Darwin's observation that secondary woodiness is common on islands, the evolution of woody plants from herbaceous ancestors has been documented in numerous angiosperm groups. However, the evolutionary processes that give rise to this phenomenon are poorly understood. To begin addressing this we have used a range of approaches to study the anatomical and...

Multiresolution Modeling of Semidilute Polymer Solutions: Coarse-Graining Using Wavelet-Accelerated Monte Carlo

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Animesh Agarwal

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We present a hierarchical coarse-graining framework for modeling semidilute polymer solutions, based on the wavelet-accelerated Monte Carlo (WAMC method. This framework forms a hierarchy of resolutions to model polymers at length scales that cannot be reached via atomistic or even standard coarse-grained simulations. Previously, it was applied to simulations examining the structure of individual polymer chains in solution using up to four levels of coarse-graining (Ismail et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2005, 122, 234901 and Ismail et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2005, 122, 234902, recovering the correct scaling behavior in the coarse-grained representation. In the present work, we extend this method to the study of polymer solutions, deriving the bonded and non-bonded potentials between coarse-grained superatoms from the single chain statistics. A universal scaling function is obtained, which does not require recalculation of the potentials as the scale of the system is changed. To model semi-dilute polymer solutions, we assume the intermolecular potential between the coarse-grained beads to be equal to the non-bonded potential, which is a reasonable approximation in the case of semidilute systems. Thus, a minimal input of microscopic data is required for simulating the systems at the mesoscopic scale. We show that coarse-grained polymer solutions can reproduce results obtained from the more detailed atomistic system without a significant loss of accuracy.

Development and Deployment of a Short Rotation Woody Crops Harvesting System Based on a Case New Holland Forage Harvester and SRC Woody Crop Header

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisenbies, Mark [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Volk, Timothy [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Abrahamson, Lawrence [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Shuren, Richard [GreenWood Resources, Inc., Portland, OR (United States); Stanton, Brian [GreenWood Resources, Inc., Portland, OR (United States); Posselius, John [Case New Holland, New Holland, PA (United States); McArdle, Matt [Mesa Reduction Engineering and Processing, Inc., Auburn, NY (United States); Karapetyan, Samvel [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Patel, Aayushi [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Shi, Shun [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States); Zerpa, Jose [State Univ. of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY (United States)

2014-10-03

Biomass for biofuels, bioproducts and bioenergy can be sourced from forests, agricultural crops, various residue streams, and dedicated woody or herbaceous crops. Short rotation woody crops (SRWC), like willow and hybrid poplar, are perennial cropping systems that produce a number of environmental and economic development benefits in addition to being a renewable source of biomass that can be produced on marginal land. Both hybrid poplar and willow have several characteristics that make them an ideal feedstock for biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy; these include high yields that can be obtained in three to four years, ease of cultivar propagation from dormant cuttings, a broad underutilized genetic base, ease of breeding, ability to resprout after multiple harvests, and feedstock composition similar to other sources of woody biomass. Despite the range of benefits associated with SRWC systems, their deployment has been restricted by high costs, low market acceptance associated with inconsistent chip quality (see below for further explanation), and misperceptions about other feedstock characteristics (see below for further explanation). Harvesting of SRWC is the largest single cost factor (~1/3 of the final delivered cost) in the feedstock supply system. Harvesting is also the second largest input of primary fossil energy in the system after commercial N fertilizer, accounting for about one third of the input. Therefore, improving the efficiency of the harvesting system has the potential to reduce both cost and environmental impact. At the start of this project, we projected that improving the overall efficiency of the harvesting system by 25% would reduce the delivered cost of SRWC by approximately $0.50/MMBtu (or about $7.50/dry ton). This goal was exceeded over the duration of this project, as noted below.

Spatial partitioning of water use by herbaceous and woody lifeforms in semiarid woodlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breshears, D.D.

1993-01-01

Ecological studies of soil moisture, plant water uptake, and community composition in semiarid regions have focused on differences with depth in the soil profile, yet there are many reasons to expect that moisture also varies with the presence or absence of woody vegetation. Plant and soil moisture relationships for three dominant species in a semiarid woodland, Bouteloua gracilis, Juniperus monosperma, and Pinus edulis, were studied for 1.5 years. Soil moisture varied by type of plant cover as well as by depth. Plant water potential and conductance differed among species and was related to spatial variability in soil moisture. Water potential for blue grama was most correlated with soil moisture in the 0-15 cm layer of intercanopies; juniper water potential was highly correlated with soil moisture in the 0-15 cm layer beneath tree canopies of either species, and pinyon water potential was only weakly correlated with soil moisture in the 15-30 cm depth interval beneath pinyons. Pinyons had consistently greater maximum conductance rates than junipers, even though pinyon conductance was more sensitive to reductions in soil moisture. The results from this study indicate that horizontal differences in the soil moisture profile associated with type of plant cover may be as important as differences in depth for predicting plant-water relationships. A simple model was hypothesized for predicting community composition of three lifeforms: Herbaceous plants, shallow-rooted woody plants, and deeper-rooted woody plants. Distributions of roots of each lifeform and plant-available water were defined with respect to four soil compartments that distinguish upper vs. lower and canopy vs. intercanopy soil regions. The model predicts that multiple combinations of herbaceous and woody biomass can exist at a site and was qualitatively consistent with field data from a climatic gradient

Overcoming barriers to seedling regeneration during forest restoration on tropical pasture land and the potential value of woody weeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelia eElgar

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Combating the legacy of deforestation on tropical biodiversity requires the conversion to forest of large areas of established pasture, where barriers to native plant regeneration include competition with pasture grasses and poor propagule supply (seed availability. In addition, initial woody plants that colonise pasture are often invasive non-native species whose ecological roles and management in the context of forest regeneration are contested. In a restoration experiment at two 0.64 ha sites we quantified the response of native woody vegetation recruitment to (1 release from competition with introduced pasture grasses, and (2 local facilitation of frugivore-assisted seed dispersal provided by scattered woody plants and artificial bird perches. Herbicide pasture grass suppression during 20 months caused a significant but modest increase in density of native woody seedlings, together with abundant co-recruitment of the prominent non-native pioneer wild tobacco (Solanum mauritianum. Recruitment of native species was further enhanced by local structure in herbicide-treated areas, being consistently greater under live trees and dead non-native shrubs (herbicide-treated than in open areas, and intermediate under bird perches. Native seedling recruitment comprised 28 species across 0.25 ha sampled but was dominated by two rainforest pioneers (Homalanthus novoguineensis, Polyscias murrayi. These early results are consistent with the expected increase in woody vegetation recruitment in response to release from competitive and dispersive barriers to rainforest regeneration. The findings highlight the need for a pragmatic consideration of the ecological roles of woody weeds and the potential roles of ‘new forests’ more broadly in accelerating succession of humid tropical forest across large areas of retired agricultural land.

Exotic woody plant invaders of the Transvaal

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L. Henderson

1984-12-01

Full Text Available The frequency and abundance o ;f exotic, woody plant invaders were recorded in 60% of the quarter degree squares in the study area. Sixty-one invaders were encountered o f which the most important and aggressive were Acacia dealbaia, Populus spp.,  Melia azedarach, Opuntia ficus-indica, Salix babylonica and  Acacia mearnsii. Invasion patterns are discussed and an attempt is made to correlate distribution with environmental factors. Attention is drawn to the areas of greatest invasion and the areas that are liable to show the greatest expansion in the future.

Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa – Lidar results

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wessels, Konrad J

2011-04-01

Full Text Available use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa ? Lidar results. K.J. Wesselsa*, R. Mathieub, B.F.N. Erasmusc, G.P. Asnerd, I.P.J. Smite, J.A.N. Van Aardtf, R. Mainb, J. Fisherb,c a Remote Sensing... with related studies, suggest that communal land use have a higher impact on the woody cover below 5m than both elephants and fire. Keywords: Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), Lidar, fuel wood, South Africa, Savannas, woody vegetation structure 1...

The Eucalyptus grandis R2R3-MYB transcription factor family: evidence for woody growth-related evolution and function.

Science.gov (United States)

Soler, Marçal; Camargo, Eduardo Leal Oliveira; Carocha, Victor; Cassan-Wang, Hua; San Clemente, Hélène; Savelli, Bruno; Hefer, Charles A; Paiva, Jorge A Pinto; Myburg, Alexander A; Grima-Pettenati, Jacqueline

2015-06-01

The R2R3-MYB family, one of the largest transcription factor families in higher plants, controls a wide variety of plant-specific processes including, notably, phenylpropanoid metabolism and secondary cell wall formation. We performed a genome-wide analysis of this superfamily in Eucalyptus, one of the most planted hardwood trees world-wide. A total of 141 predicted R2R3-MYB sequences identified in the Eucalyptus grandis genome sequence were subjected to comparative phylogenetic analyses with Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Populus trichocarpa and Vitis vinifera. We analysed features such as gene structure, conserved motifs and genome location. Transcript abundance patterns were assessed by RNAseq and validated by high-throughput quantitative PCR. We found some R2R3-MYB subgroups with expanded membership in E. grandis, V. vinifera and P. trichocarpa, and others preferentially found in woody species, suggesting diversification of specific functions in woody plants. By contrast, subgroups containing key genes regulating lignin biosynthesis and secondary cell wall formation are more conserved across all of the species analysed. In Eucalyptus, R2R3-MYB tandem gene duplications seem to disproportionately affect woody-preferential and woody-expanded subgroups. Interestingly, some of the genes belonging to woody-preferential subgroups show higher expression in the cambial region, suggesting a putative role in the regulation of secondary growth. © 2014 The Authors New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

Functional network analysis of genes differentially expressed during xylogenesis in soc1ful woody Arabidopsis plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Davin, Nicolas; Edger, Patrick P; Hefer, Charles A; Mizrachi, Eshchar; Schuetz, Mathias; Smets, Erik; Myburg, Alexander A; Douglas, Carl J; Schranz, Michael E; Lens, Frederic

2016-06-01

Many plant genes are known to be involved in the development of cambium and wood, but how the expression and functional interaction of these genes determine the unique biology of wood remains largely unknown. We used the soc1ful loss of function mutant - the woodiest genotype known in the otherwise herbaceous model plant Arabidopsis - to investigate the expression and interactions of genes involved in secondary growth (wood formation). Detailed anatomical observations of the stem in combination with mRNA sequencing were used to assess transcriptome remodeling during xylogenesis in wild-type and woody soc1ful plants. To interpret the transcriptome changes, we constructed functional gene association networks of differentially expressed genes using the STRING database. This analysis revealed functionally enriched gene association hubs that are differentially expressed in herbaceous and woody tissues. In particular, we observed the differential expression of genes related to mechanical stress and jasmonate biosynthesis/signaling during wood formation in soc1ful plants that may be an effect of greater tension within woody tissues. Our results suggest that habit shifts from herbaceous to woody life forms observed in many angiosperm lineages could have evolved convergently by genetic changes that modulate the gene expression and interaction network, and thereby redeploy the conserved wood developmental program. © 2016 The Authors. The Plant Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Resource potential for renewable energy generation from co-firing of woody biomass with coal in the Northern U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Michael E. Goerndt; Francisco X. Aguilar; Kenneth Skog

2013-01-01

Past studies have established measures of co-firing potential at varying spatial scales to assess opportunities for renewable energy generation from woody biomass. This study estimated physical availability, within ecological and public policy constraints, and associated harvesting and delivery costs of woody biomass for co-firing in selected power plants of the...

Thermodynamically consistent coarse graining of biocatalysts beyond Michaelis–Menten

Science.gov (United States)

Wachtel, Artur; Rao, Riccardo; Esposito, Massimiliano

2018-04-01

Starting from the detailed catalytic mechanism of a biocatalyst we provide a coarse-graining procedure which, by construction, is thermodynamically consistent. This procedure provides stoichiometries, reaction fluxes (rate laws), and reaction forces (Gibbs energies of reaction) for the coarse-grained level. It can treat active transporters and molecular machines, and thus extends the applicability of ideas that originated in enzyme kinetics. Our results lay the foundations for systematic studies of the thermodynamics of large-scale biochemical reaction networks. Moreover, we identify the conditions under which a relation between one-way fluxes and forces holds at the coarse-grained level as it holds at the detailed level. In doing so, we clarify the speculations and broad claims made in the literature about such a general flux–force relation. As a further consequence we show that, in contrast to common belief, the second law of thermodynamics does not require the currents and the forces of biochemical reaction networks to be always aligned.

Hybrid continuum-coarse-grained modeling of erythrocytes

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Jinming; Chen, Paul G.; Boedec, Gwenn; Leonetti, Marc; Jaeger, Marc

2018-06-01

The red blood cell (RBC) membrane is a composite structure, consisting of a phospholipid bilayer and an underlying membrane-associated cytoskeleton. Both continuum and particle-based coarse-grained RBC models make use of a set of vertices connected by edges to represent the RBC membrane, which can be seen as a triangular surface mesh for the former and a spring network for the latter. Here, we present a modeling approach combining an existing continuum vesicle model with a coarse-grained model for the cytoskeleton. Compared to other two-component approaches, our method relies on only one mesh, representing the cytoskeleton, whose velocity in the tangential direction of the membrane may be different from that of the lipid bilayer. The finitely extensible nonlinear elastic (FENE) spring force law in combination with a repulsive force defined as a power function (POW), called FENE-POW, is used to describe the elastic properties of the RBC membrane. The mechanical interaction between the lipid bilayer and the cytoskeleton is explicitly computed and incorporated into the vesicle model. Our model includes the fundamental mechanical properties of the RBC membrane, namely fluidity and bending rigidity of the lipid bilayer, and shear elasticity of the cytoskeleton while maintaining surface-area and volume conservation constraint. We present three simulation examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of this hybrid continuum-coarse-grained model for the study of RBCs in fluid flows.

Effects of geographical extent on the determinants of woody plant diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Zhiheng; Rahbek, Carsten; Fang, Jingyun

2012-01-01

the quantitative effects of geographical extent are rarely tested. Here, using distribution maps of 11,405 woody species found in China and associated environmental data to the domain, we investigated the influence of geographical extent on the determinants of species richness patterns. Our results revealed...

The Martini Coarse-Grained Force Field

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Periole, X.; Marrink, S.J.; Monticelli, Luca; Salonen, Emppu

2013-01-01

The Martini force field is a coarse-grained force field suited for molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecular systems. The force field has been parameterized in a systematic way, based on the reproduction of partitioning free energies between polar and apolar phases of a large number of chemical

Biofuel manufacturing from woody biomass: effects of sieve size used in biomass size reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Meng; Song, Xiaoxu; Deines, T W; Pei, Z J; Wang, Donghai

2012-01-01

Size reduction is the first step for manufacturing biofuels from woody biomass. It is usually performed using milling machines and the particle size is controlled by the size of the sieve installed on a milling machine. There are reported studies about the effects of sieve size on energy consumption in milling of woody biomass. These studies show that energy consumption increased dramatically as sieve size became smaller. However, in these studies, the sugar yield (proportional to biofuel yield) in hydrolysis of the milled woody biomass was not measured. The lack of comprehensive studies about the effects of sieve size on energy consumption in biomass milling and sugar yield in hydrolysis process makes it difficult to decide which sieve size should be selected in order to minimize the energy consumption in size reduction and maximize the sugar yield in hydrolysis. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap in the literature. In this paper, knife milling of poplar wood was conducted using sieves of three sizes (1, 2, and 4 mm). Results show that, as sieve size increased, energy consumption in knife milling decreased and sugar yield in hydrolysis increased in the tested range of particle sizes.

Stress Coefficients for Soil Water Balance Combined with Water Stress Indicators for Irrigation Scheduling of Woody Crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Isabel Ferreira

2017-06-01

Full Text Available There are several causes for the failure of empirical models to estimate soil water depletion and to calculate irrigation depths, and the problem is particularly critical in tall, uneven, deficit irrigated (DI crops in Mediterranean climates. Locally measured indicators that quantify water status are useful for addressing those causes and providing feed-back information for improving the adequacy of simple models. Because of their high aerodynamic resistance, the canopy conductance of woody crops is an important factor in determining evapotranspiration (ET, and accurate stress coefficient (Ks values are needed to quantify the impact of stomatal closure on ET. A brief overview of basic general principles for irrigation scheduling is presented with emphasis on DI applications that require Ks modelling. The limitations of existing technology related to scheduling of woody crops are discussed, including the shortcomings of plant-based approaches. In relation to soil water deficit and/or predawn leaf water potential, several woody crop Ks functions are presented in a secondary analysis. Whenever the total and readily available water data were available, a simple Ks model was tested. The ultimate aim of this discussion is to illustrate the central concept: that a combination of simple ET models and water stress indicators is required for scheduling irrigation of deep-rooted woody crops.

Transfer of Virtual Water of Woody Forest Products from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaisheng Luo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Global freshwater resources are under increasing pressure. It is reported that international trade of water-intensive products (the so-called virtual water trade can be used to ease global water pressure. In spite of the significant amount of international trade of woody forest products, virtual water of woody forest products (VWWFP and the corresponding international trade are largely ignored. However, virtual water research has progressed steadily. This study maps VWWFP and statistically analyzes China’s official data for the period 1993–2014. The results show a rapid increase in the trend of VWWFP flow from China, reaching 7.61 × 1012 m3 or 3.48 times annual virtual water trade for agricultural products. The export and import volumes of China are respectively 1.27 × 1012 m3 and 6.34 × 1012 m3 for 1993–2014. China imported a total of 5.07 × 1012 m3 of VWWFP in 1993–2014 to lessen domestic water pressure, which is five times the annual water transfer via China’s South–North Water Transfer project. Asia and Europe account for the highest contribution (50.52% to China’s import. Other contributors include the Russian Federation (16.63%, Indonesia (13.45%, Canada (13.41%, the United States of America (9.60%, Brazil (7.23% and Malaysia (6.33%. China mainly exports VWWFP to Asia (47.68%, North America (23.24%, and Europe (20.01%. The countries which export the highest amount of VWWFP include the United States of America, Japan, Republic of Korea and Canada. Then the countries which import the highest amount of VWWFP include the Russian Federation, Canada, United States of America, and Brazil. The VWWFP flow study shows an obvious geographical distribution that is driven by proximity and traffic since transportation cost of woody forest products could be significant.

Coarse sediment oil persistence laboratory studies and model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphrey, B.; Harper, J.R.

1993-01-01

To gain understanding of the factors which affect the fate of stranded oil on coarse sediment beaches, a series of oil penetration and tidal flushing experiments was conducted in columns containing sediments of two grain sizes: granules and pebbles. The experiments included changing oil properties by weathering and by emulsification. Factors examined included permeability, effective porosity, and residual capacity of the sediment for oil. The laboratory data provided input to an oil persistence model for coarse sediment beaches, and the model was modified on the basis of the new data. The permeability measurements suggest that the permeability of pebble/granule mixtures is close to that of the smaller component. For low viscosity oils, the permeability in coarse sediments is rapid enough to match the fall and rise of tidal water. Effective porosity of the pebbles was ca 90% of the measured porosity, but for both the granules and a 50-50 pebble/granule mixture, the effective porosity was ca 75% of measured porosity. Results of tidal flushing simulation imply that flushing may be rapid but not efficient. The emulsion completely entered the sediment in the case of pebbles only. 2 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

A century of woody plant encroachment in the dry Kimberley ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We used aerial and fixed-point repeat ground photographs, including historical photographs taken at the time of the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902, to assess the scale and timing of woody plant encroachment in the dry savannas near Kimberley in South Africa (mean annual rainfall = 300–400 mm). There were ...

Faunistic assemblages of a sublittoral coarse sand habitat of the northwestern Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Pubill

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The sublittoral megabenthic assemblages of a northwestern Mediterranean coarse sandy beach exploited for the bivalve Callista chione were studied. The spatial and bathymetric variability of its distinctive faunal assemblages was characterised by quantitative sampling performed with a clam dredge. The taxa studied were Mollusca Bivalvia and Gastropoda, Crustacea Decapoda, Echinodermata and Pisces, which accounted for over 99% of the total biomass. Three well-differentiated species assemblages were identified: (1 assemblage MSS (Medium Sand Shallow in medium sand (D50=0.37 mm and shallow waters (mean depth =6.5 m, (2 assemblage CSS (Coarse Sand Shallow in coarse sand (D50=0.62 mm in shallow waters (mean depth =6.7 m, and (3 assemblage CSD (Coarse Sand Deep in coarse sand (D50=0.64 mm in deeper waters (mean depth =16.2 m. Assemblage MSS was characterised by the codominance of the bivalves Mactra stultorum and Acanthocardia tuberculata. C. chione was dominant in both density and biomass in assemblages CSS and CSD. The occurrence of the crab Thia scutellata also characterised assemblage CSS, whereas the occurrence of the sea urchin Echinocardium mediterraneum characterised assemblage CSD. A depth breaking point of around 10 m determined the discontinuity between assemblages CSS and CSD, which was related to the closure depth of the beaches in the study area. Species richness was highest in the coarse sand communities; however, Shannon-Wiener diversity and Pielou equitability indexes were higher in the shallow fine sand community.

Coarse graining flow of spin foam intertwiners

Science.gov (United States)

Dittrich, Bianca; Schnetter, Erik; Seth, Cameron J.; Steinhaus, Sebastian

2016-12-01

Simplicity constraints play a crucial role in the construction of spin foam models, yet their effective behavior on larger scales is scarcely explored. In this article we introduce intertwiner and spin net models for the quantum group SU (2 )k×SU (2 )k, which implement the simplicity constraints analogous to four-dimensional Euclidean spin foam models, namely the Barrett-Crane (BC) and the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine/Freidel-Krasnov (EPRL/FK) model. These models are numerically coarse grained via tensor network renormalization, allowing us to trace the flow of simplicity constraints to larger scales. In order to perform these simulations we have substantially adapted tensor network algorithms, which we discuss in detail as they can be of use in other contexts. The BC and the EPRL/FK model behave very differently under coarse graining: While the unique BC intertwiner model is a fixed point and therefore constitutes a two-dimensional topological phase, BC spin net models flow away from the initial simplicity constraints and converge to several different topological phases. Most of these phases correspond to decoupling spin foam vertices; however we find also a new phase in which this is not the case, and in which a nontrivial version of the simplicity constraints holds. The coarse graining flow of the BC spin net models indicates furthermore that the transitions between these phases are not of second order. The EPRL/FK model by contrast reveals a far more intricate and complex dynamics. We observe an immediate flow away from the original simplicity constraints; however, with the truncation employed here, the models generically do not converge to a fixed point. The results show that the imposition of simplicity constraints can indeed lead to interesting and also very complex dynamics. Thus we need to further develop coarse graining tools to efficiently study the large scale behavior of spin foam models, in particular for the EPRL/FK model.

Coarse graining from variationally enhanced sampling applied to the Ginzburg-Landau model

Science.gov (United States)

Invernizzi, Michele; Valsson, Omar; Parrinello, Michele

2017-03-01

A powerful way to deal with a complex system is to build a coarse-grained model capable of catching its main physical features, while being computationally affordable. Inevitably, such coarse-grained models introduce a set of phenomenological parameters, which are often not easily deducible from the underlying atomistic system. We present a unique approach to the calculation of these parameters, based on the recently introduced variationally enhanced sampling method. It allows us to obtain the parameters from atomistic simulations, providing thus a direct connection between the microscopic and the mesoscopic scale. The coarse-grained model we consider is that of Ginzburg-Landau, valid around a second-order critical point. In particular, we use it to describe a Lennard-Jones fluid in the region close to the liquid-vapor critical point. The procedure is general and can be adapted to other coarse-grained models.

Learning to Play Efficient Coarse Correlated Equilibria

KAUST Repository

Borowski, Holly P.; Marden, Jason R.; Shamma, Jeff S.

2018-01-01

The majority of the distributed learning literature focuses on convergence to Nash equilibria. Coarse correlated equilibria, on the other hand, can often characterize more efficient collective behavior than even the best Nash equilibrium. However

Expected international demand for woody and herbaceous feedstock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamers, Patrick [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Jacobson, Jacob [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Mohammad, Roni [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Wright, Christopher [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-03-01

The development of a U.S. bioenergy market and ultimately ‘bioeconomy’ has primarily been investigated with a national focus. Limited attention has been given to the potential impacts of international market developments. The goal of this project is to advance the current State of Technology of a single biorefinery to the global level providing quantitative estimates on how international markets may influence the domestic feedstock supply costs. The scope of the project is limited to feedstock that is currently available and new crops being developed to be used in a future U.S. bioeconomy including herbaceous residues (e.g., corn stover), woody biomass (e.g., pulpwood), and energy crops (e.g., switchgrass). The timeframe is set to the periods of 2022, 2030, and 2040 to align with current policy targets (e.g., the RFS2) and future updates of the Billion Ton data. This particular milestone delivers demand volumes for generic woody and herbaceous feedstocks for the main (net) importing regions along the above timeframes. The regional focus of the study is the European Union (EU), currently the largest demand region for U.S. pellets made from pulpwood and forest residues. The pellets are predominantly used in large-scale power plants (>5MWel) in the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), Belgium (BE), and Denmark (DK).

Effects of alien woody plant invasion on the birds of Mountain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The density, biomass, species richness and composition of birds in plots in two Mountain Fynbos plant-species assemblages (Tall Mixed Fynbos and Restionaceous Tussock Marsh), infested with alien woody plants (mainly Australian Acacia spp.) at the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, South Africa, were compared ...

Host range of Phytophthora parsiana: a new high temperature pathogen of woody plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Somieh HAJEBRAHIMI

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 14 false false false IT ZH-TW X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Among several Phytophthora spp. reported previously from Pistacia vera in Iran, a high temperature species recently identified as P. parsiana (formerly known as high temperature P. cryptogea is becoming important in woody plants, including P. vera. The host range of this newly recognised species, including both annual and perennial plants, is reported here. The pathogen infected 4–5 month-old glasshouse grown seedlings of P. vera, Ficus carica, Malus pumila and Prunus dulcis, and detached stems of 23 woody plants collected during dormant and growing seasons. Nineteen field and vegetable crops and 17 weed species were not infected by  P. parsiana in these pathogenicity assays.

Determination of native woody landscape plants in Bursa and Uludag

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Around Bursa and Uludag is a wide range of native woody plants of which are commonly used for landscape planning. The present study pointed out a total of 72 plant species, consisting of 36 trees, 32 shrubs, 7 treelets and 4 climber groups, around the region which are notified to be suitable for rural and urban planning ...

Is woody residue part of your plan for sustainable forestry?

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah Page-Dumroese

2010-01-01

The answer to the title question should be "yes"! Currently, there is a lot of chatter about sustainable forestry and alternative fuels, including conversion of wood to bioenergy. At first glance it may seem like there is a conflict - how can removal of woody biomass be sustainable? Whether you are a small woodlot owner doing sustainable harvesting, looking...

Large woody debris budgets in the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds

Science.gov (United States)

Sue Hilton

2012-01-01

Monitoring of large woody debris (LWD) in the two mainstem channels of the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds since 1998, combined with older data from other work in the watersheds, gives estimates of channel wood input rates, survival, and outputs in intermediate-sized channels in coastal redwood forests. Input rates from standing trees for the two reaches over a 15...

Carbon in down woody materials of eastern U.S. forests

Science.gov (United States)

David C. Chojnacky; Robert A. Mickler; Linda S. Heath

2003-01-01

To better manage global carbon storage and other ecosystem processes, there is a need for accessible carbon data on components of down woody materials (DWM) in forests. We examined the feasibility of linking available data on DWM to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) database, which covers the nation's forest lands. We...

Modeling population dynamics and woody biomass of Alaska coastal forest

Science.gov (United States)

Randy L. Peterson; Jingjing Liang; Tara M. Barrett

2014-01-01

Alaska coastal forest, 6.2 million ha in size, has been managed in the past mainly through clearcutting. Declining harvest and dwindling commercial forest resources over the past 2 decades have led to increased interest in management of young-growth stands and utilization of woody biomass for bioenergy. However, existing models to support these new management systems...

NEW RSW & Wall Coarse Tet Only Grid

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This is the RSW Coarse Tet Only grid with the root viscous tunnel wall. This grid is for a node-based unstructured solver. Quad Surface Faces= 0 Tria Surface Faces=...

Mapping invasive woody species in coastal dunes in the Netherlands: a remote sensing approach using LIDAR and high-resolution aerial photographs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hantson, W.P.R.; Kooistra, L.; Slim, P.A.

2012-01-01

Questions Does remote sensing improve classification of invasive woody species in dunes, useful for shrub management? Does additional height information and an object-based classifier increase woody species classification accuracy? Location The dunes of Vlieland, one of the Wadden Sea Islands, the

Timing and abundance of flowering and fruiting of woody plants in the Hørsholm Arboretum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leverenz, Jerry

The Arboretum in Hørsholm has an extensive collection of woody plant species of known origin. There are approximately 2200 woody plant taxa in the collection, representing 295 genera and 101 plant families. This collection is used to study how plants from different parts of the world thrive...... flowers (pollen) and fruit (seed) in order to have a clearer understanding of the negative results. As a first step we have begun to record if, and when, the taxa in the collection produce flowers (and thus pollen), and fruits (and thereby seed). In this Working Paper we present and analyse the results...

IMPACT OF Acacia drepanolobium (AN INVASIVE WOODY SPECIES ON GUM-RESIN RESOURCES AND LOCAL LIVELIHOOD IN BORANA, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayana Abdeta

2011-10-01

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of Acacia drepanolobium, a species threatening rangeland resources including Gum-resin production and pastoralists’ livelihoods in Borana. Data were collected through vegetation surveys, key informant interviews, use of formal questionnaires and focus group discussions. We found a total of 22 woody species in the study area. A. drepanolobium was found to be the most dominant (22% and abundant (65% invasive woody species with an importance value index (IVI of 103. According to our respondents, A. drepanolobium was the first widely expanded woody species followed by Dichrostachys cinerea and A. mellifera. Eighty seven percent of our respondents ranked A. drepanolobium as the most invading woody species during their life time. Overall, our results demonstrated that the impact of A. drepanolobium had greatly affected the condition of rangeland vegetation. The implication is that the reduction in the capacity of rangelands for livestock grazing could reduce the resilience of local livelihood under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, pastoralists’ perception indicated that the expansion of A. drepanolobium had reduced the survival of Gum-resin producing species. Generally, the shift from cattle based pastoral economy to mixed livestock types could be attributed to the expansion of A. drepanolobium that forced the community to shift their mode of production. We confirmed that A. drepanolobium is an invasive indigenous woody species with multiple effects on the ecology of rangelands and on the livelihood security of pastoral communities.

Mutually unbiased coarse-grained measurements of two or more phase-space variables

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, E. C.; Walborn, S. P.; Tasca, D. S.; Rudnicki, Łukasz

2018-05-01

Mutual unbiasedness of the eigenstates of phase-space operators—such as position and momentum, or their standard coarse-grained versions—exists only in the limiting case of infinite squeezing. In Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 040403 (2018), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.040403, it was shown that mutual unbiasedness can be recovered for periodic coarse graining of these two operators. Here we investigate mutual unbiasedness of coarse-grained measurements for more than two phase-space variables. We show that mutual unbiasedness can be recovered between periodic coarse graining of any two nonparallel phase-space operators. We illustrate these results through optics experiments, using the fractional Fourier transform to prepare and measure mutually unbiased phase-space variables. The differences between two and three mutually unbiased measurements is discussed. Our results contribute to bridging the gap between continuous and discrete quantum mechanics, and they could be useful in quantum-information protocols.

Coarse graining from variationally enhanced sampling applied to the Ginzburg–Landau model

Science.gov (United States)

Invernizzi, Michele; Valsson, Omar; Parrinello, Michele

2017-01-01

A powerful way to deal with a complex system is to build a coarse-grained model capable of catching its main physical features, while being computationally affordable. Inevitably, such coarse-grained models introduce a set of phenomenological parameters, which are often not easily deducible from the underlying atomistic system. We present a unique approach to the calculation of these parameters, based on the recently introduced variationally enhanced sampling method. It allows us to obtain the parameters from atomistic simulations, providing thus a direct connection between the microscopic and the mesoscopic scale. The coarse-grained model we consider is that of Ginzburg–Landau, valid around a second-order critical point. In particular, we use it to describe a Lennard–Jones fluid in the region close to the liquid–vapor critical point. The procedure is general and can be adapted to other coarse-grained models. PMID:28292890

NEW RSW & Wall Coarse Mixed Element Grid

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This is the Coarse Mixed Element Grid for the RSW with a viscous wall at the root. This grid is for a node-based unstructured solver. Quad Surface Faces= 9728 Tria...

Estimating the shear strength of concrete with coarse aggregate replacement

OpenAIRE

Folagbade Olusoga Peter ORIOLA; George MOSES; Jacob Oyeniyi AFOLAYAN; John Engbonye SANI

2017-01-01

For economic, environmental and practical reasons, it is desirable to replace the constituents of concrete with wastes and cheaper alternative materials. However, it is best when such replacements are done at optimum replacement levels. In view of this, a laboratory investigative test was carried out to evaluate the shear strength of concrete with coarse aggregate replacement by Coconut Shell and by Waste Rubber Tyre. The coarse aggregate replacement was done at recommended optimum proportion...

Transcriptional and Hormonal Regulation of Gravitropism of Woody Stems in Populus

Science.gov (United States)

Suzanne Gerttula; Matthew S. Zinkgraf; Gloria K. Muday; Daniel R. Lewis; Farid M. Ibatullin; Harry Brumer; Foster Hart; Shawn D. Mansfield; Vladimir Filkov; Andrew Groover

2015-01-01

Angiosperm trees reorient their woody stems by asymmetrically producing a specialized xylem tissue, tension wood, which exerts a strong contractile force resulting in negative gravitropism of the stem. Here, we show, in Populus trees, that initial gravity perception and response occurs in specialized cells through sedimentation of starch-filled...

Experimental tree removal in tallgrass prairie: variable responses of flora and fauna along a woody cover gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Alford, Aaron L; Hellgren, Eric C; Limb, Ryan; Engle, David M

2012-04-01

Woody plant encroachment is a worldwide phenomenon in grassland and savanna systems whose consequence is often the development of an alternate woodland state. Theoretically, an alternate state may be associated with changes in system state variables (e.g., species composition) or abiotic parameter shifts (e.g., nutrient availability). When state-variable changes are cumulative, such as in woody plant encroachment, the probability of parameter shifts increases as system feedbacks intensify over time. Using a Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) design, we studied eight pairs of grassland sites undergoing various levels of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment to determine whether responses of flora and fauna to experimental redcedar removal differed according to the level of pretreatment redcedar cover. In the first year after removal, herbaceous plant species diversity and evenness, woody plant evenness, and invertebrate family richness increased linearly with pretreatment redcedar cover, whereas increases in small-mammal diversity and evenness were described by logarithmic trends. In contrast, increases in woody plant diversity and total biomass of terrestrial invertebrates were accentuated at levels of higher pretreatment cover. Tree removal also shifted small-mammal species composition toward a more grassland-associated assemblage. During the second year postremoval, increases in herbaceous plant diversity followed a polynomial trend, but increases in most other metrics did not vary along the pretreatment cover gradient. These changes were accompanied by extremely high growing-season precipitation, which may have homogenized floral and faunal responses to removal. Our results demonstrate that tree removal increases important community metrics among grassland flora and fauna within two years, with some responses to removal being strongly influenced by the stage of initial encroachment and modulated by climatic variability. Our results underscore the

Peculiarities of the Woody Plants Re-Bloom

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Opalko Olga Anatolievna

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The data of literary sources concerning the bloom of angiosperm plants and deviation in the development of a flower and inflorescence, in particular untimely flowering, was generalized; our observation results of some peculiarities of re-bloom of woody plants in the National Dendrological Park “Sofiyivka” of NAS of Ukraine (NDP “Sofiyivka” were discussed. The flowering process was formed during a long-term evolution of a propagation system of angiosperm plants as a basis of fertilization and further fruit and seed development. As a result of vernalization and photoperiodism reactions, flowering (under regular conditions occurs in the most favorable period for pollination and fertilization of every plant. However, various deviations, in particular, the untimely (most frequently double, sometimes three- and four-fold flowering occurs in this perfect process of generative organ formation of angiosperm plants. An increased number of reports about re-bloom (at the end of summer – at the beginning of fall of the representatives of various woody plant species whose flowers usually blossom in May-June prompts the analysis of the available information concerning the mechanisms of flowering and the causes which lead to deviation of flowering processes. Flowering of the woody plant representatives of the collection fund of the NDP “Sofiyivka” was studied; statistics about re-bloom in different cities of Ukraine were monitored. The classification of re-bloom facts was carried out according to V.L. Vitkovskiy (1984. Although this classification has mostly a stated nature, it was good enough when being formulated and, with certain conditions, it can be applied nowadays. Accordingly, using this classification, abnormal cases can include facts of early summer-fall flowering and early winter flowering. A late spring flowering can be adaptive response of damaged plants to exogenous stresses, due to which the probability of sexual propagation remains

Modeling aboveground tree woody biomass using national-scale allometric methods and airborne lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qi

2015-08-01

Estimating tree aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon (C) stocks using remote sensing is a critical component for understanding the global C cycle and mitigating climate change. However, the importance of allometry for remote sensing of AGB has not been recognized until recently. The overarching goals of this study are to understand the differences and relationships among three national-scale allometric methods (CRM, Jenkins, and the regional models) of the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program in the U.S. and to examine the impacts of using alternative allometry on the fitting statistics of remote sensing-based woody AGB models. Airborne lidar data from three study sites in the Pacific Northwest, USA were used to predict woody AGB estimated from the different allometric methods. It was found that the CRM and Jenkins estimates of woody AGB are related via the CRM adjustment factor. In terms of lidar-biomass modeling, CRM had the smallest model errors, while the Jenkins method had the largest ones and the regional method was between. The best model fitting from CRM is attributed to its inclusion of tree height in calculating merchantable stem volume and the strong dependence of non-merchantable stem biomass on merchantable stem biomass. This study also argues that it is important to characterize the allometric model errors for gaining a complete understanding of the remotely-sensed AGB prediction errors.

Woody biomass: Niche position as a source of sustainable renewable chemicals and energy and kinetics of hot-water extraction/hydrolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shijie

2010-01-01

The conversion of biomass to chemicals and energy is imperative to sustaining our way of life as known to us today. Fossil chemical and energy sources are traditionally regarded as wastes from a distant past. Petroleum, natural gas, and coal are not being regenerated in a sustainable manner. However, biomass sources such as algae, grasses, bushes and forests are continuously being replenished. Woody biomass represents the most abundant and available biomass source. Woody biomass is a reliably sustainable source of chemicals and energy that could be replenished at a rate consistent with our needs. The biorefinery is a concept describing the collection of processes used to convert biomass to chemicals and energy. Woody biomass presents more challenges than cereal grains for conversion to platform chemicals due to its stereochemical structures. Woody biomass can be thought of as comprised of at least four components: extractives, hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose. Each of these four components has a different degree of resistance to chemical, thermal and biological degradation. The biorefinery concept proposed at ESF (State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry) aims at incremental sequential deconstruction, fractionation/conversion of woody biomass to achieve efficient separation of major components. The emphasis of this work is on the kinetics of hot-water extraction, filling the gap in the fundamental understanding, linking engineering developments, and completing the first step in the biorefinery processes. This first step removes extractives and hemicellulose fractions from woody biomass. While extractives and hemicellulose are largely removed in the extraction liquor, cellulose and lignin largely remain in the residual woody structure. Xylo-oligomers and acetic acid in the extract are the major components having the greatest potential value for development. Extraction/hydrolysis involves at least 16 general reactions that could

Coarse-to-fine region selection and matching

KAUST Repository

Yang, Yanchao

2015-10-15

We present a new approach to wide baseline matching. We propose to use a hierarchical decomposition of the image domain and coarse-to-fine selection of regions to match. In contrast to interest point matching methods, which sample salient regions to reduce the cost of comparing all regions in two images, our method eliminates regions systematically to achieve efficiency. One advantage of our approach is that it is not restricted to covariant salient regions, which is too restrictive under large viewpoint and leads to few corresponding regions. Affine invariant matching of regions in the hierarchy is achieved efficiently by a coarse-to-fine search of the affine space. Experiments on two benchmark datasets shows that our method finds more correct correspondence of the image (with fewer false alarms) than other wide baseline methods on large viewpoint change. © 2015 IEEE.

Calibration and validation of coarse-grained models of atomic systems: application to semiconductor manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Kathryn; Oden, J. Tinsley

2014-07-01

Coarse-grained models of atomic systems, created by aggregating groups of atoms into molecules to reduce the number of degrees of freedom, have been used for decades in important scientific and technological applications. In recent years, interest in developing a more rigorous theory for coarse graining and in assessing the predictivity of coarse-grained models has arisen. In this work, Bayesian methods for the calibration and validation of coarse-grained models of atomistic systems in thermodynamic equilibrium are developed. For specificity, only configurational models of systems in canonical ensembles are considered. Among major challenges in validating coarse-grained models are (1) the development of validation processes that lead to information essential in establishing confidence in the model's ability predict key quantities of interest and (2), above all, the determination of the coarse-grained model itself; that is, the characterization of the molecular architecture, the choice of interaction potentials and thus parameters, which best fit available data. The all-atom model is treated as the "ground truth," and it provides the basis with respect to which properties of the coarse-grained model are compared. This base all-atom model is characterized by an appropriate statistical mechanics framework in this work by canonical ensembles involving only configurational energies. The all-atom model thus supplies data for Bayesian calibration and validation methods for the molecular model. To address the first challenge, we develop priors based on the maximum entropy principle and likelihood functions based on Gaussian approximations of the uncertainties in the parameter-to-observation error. To address challenge (2), we introduce the notion of model plausibilities as a means for model selection. This methodology provides a powerful approach toward constructing coarse-grained models which are most plausible for given all-atom data. We demonstrate the theory and

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-01-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f 0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f 0 . In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

Science.gov (United States)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-04-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f0. In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Estimating tree species diversity in the savannah using NDVI and woody canopy cover

Science.gov (United States)

Madonsela, Sabelo; Cho, Moses Azong; Ramoelo, Abel; Mutanga, Onisimo; Naidoo, Laven

2018-04-01

Remote sensing applications in biodiversity research often rely on the establishment of relationships between spectral information from the image and tree species diversity measured in the field. Most studies have used normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate tree species diversity on the basis that it is sensitive to primary productivity which defines spatial variation in plant diversity. The NDVI signal is influenced by photosynthetically active vegetation which, in the savannah, includes woody canopy foliage and grasses. The question is whether the relationship between NDVI and tree species diversity in the savanna depends on the woody cover percentage. This study explored the relationship between woody canopy cover (WCC) and tree species diversity in the savannah woodland of southern Africa and also investigated whether there is a significant interaction between seasonal NDVI and WCC in the factorial model when estimating tree species diversity. To fulfil our aim, we followed stratified random sampling approach and surveyed tree species in 68 plots of 90 m × 90 m across the study area. Within each plot, all trees with diameter at breast height of >10 cm were sampled and Shannon index - a common measure of species diversity which considers both species richness and abundance - was used to quantify tree species diversity. We then extracted WCC in each plot from existing fractional woody cover product produced from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. Factorial regression model was used to determine the interaction effect between NDVI and WCC when estimating tree species diversity. Results from regression analysis showed that (i) WCC has a highly significant relationship with tree species diversity (r2 = 0.21; p NDVI and WCC is not significant, however, the factorial model significantly reduced the error of prediction (RMSE = 0.47, p NDVI (RMSE = 0.49) or WCC (RMSE = 0.49) model during the senescence period. The result justifies our assertion

Transient catchment hydrology after wildfires in a Mediterranean basin: runoff, sediment and woody debris

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2007-01-01

Full Text Available The transient effect of forest fires on runoff, erosion and yield of woody biomass has been investigated by combining the experimental approach with mathematical models of hydrological processes. The case study is the Branega creek in Liguria, Italy, where a forest fire in August 2003 caused substantial changes to soil and vegetation, and left a considerable amount of woody debris on the ground. Immediately after the fire, rainfall simulator experiments in adjacent burned and unburned plots showed the extent to which fire had increased runoff and erosion rates. A distributed hydrological model using the tube-flux approach, calibrated on experimental measurements, has been used to investigate hill slope and channel erosion in a small sub-catchment, 1.5 ha in area, nested in the Branega basin. Simulation runs show that the model accommodates the observed variability of runoff and erosion under disturbed and undisturbed conditions. A model component describing the delivery of wood from hill slopes to the channel in post-fire conditions, validated against local survey data, showed that the removal and transport of woody biomass can be reproduced using an integrated hydrological approach. Hence, transient complexity after wildfires can be addressed by such an approach with empirically determined physically-based parameters.

Dendrochronological dating of large woody debris on the example of Morávka River and Černá Opava River

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Michal Rybníček

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Woody debris is an inseparable part of natural river channels. In a river ecosystem it affects the hydraulic, hydrological and morphological properties of the channel, and it is also of a biological significance. However, besides the positive effects, the woody debris can also have a negative impact, e.g. the reduction of the flow profile capacity or the destruction of waterside buildings. With the de­ve­lop­ment of log floating and timber trade, the woody debris started to be removed from the channels. Currently, within the process of stream revitalization, woody debris is being artificially placed into ri­vers. This paper deals with the possible dendrochronological dating of large woody debris (LWD and wood jams in the river channel and the riparian zone. Two sites have been chosen for the research, the Morávka River and the Černá Opava River. These sites have been chosen because of two dif­fe­rent types of riparian stands. The banks of the Morávka River are a soft wood floodplain forest (350 m ASL; the Černá Opava River has stands with nearly a hundred percent proportion of spruce (600 m ASL. The results of the research show that the species with diffuse-porous wood structure are very hard to date on the basis of Pressler borer cores. On the other hand, the sites with softwood species are easi­ly datable, especially if the trunks contain more than 40 tree-rings. At these sites it is possible to use the dendrochronological dating for the establishment of the temporal dynamics of the woody debris input in the river ecosystem.

Exploring an extensive dataset to establish woody vegetation cover and composition in Kruger National Park for the late 1980s

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Gregory A. Kiker

2014-09-01

Conservation implications: The results provided evidence that large-scale, woody vegetation surveys conducted along roads offer useful ecosystem level information. However, such an approach fails to pick up less common species. The data presented here provided a useful snapshot of KNP woody vegetation structure and composition and could provide excellent opportunities for spatio-temporal comparisons.

Woody Debris: Denitrification Hotspots and N2O Production in Fluvial Systems

Science.gov (United States)

The maintenance and restoration of forested riparian cover is important for watershed nitrogen (N) cycling. Forested riparian zones provide woody debris to streams that may stimulate in-stream denitrification and control nitrous oxide (N2O) production. We examined the effects of ...

Knots Untie: Molecular Determinants Involved in Knot Formation Induced by Pseudomonas savastanoi in Woody Hosts

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Eloy Caballo-Ponce

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The study of the molecular basis of tree diseases is lately receiving a renewed attention, especially with the emerging perception that pathogens require specific pathogenicity and virulence factors to successfully colonize woody hosts. Pathosystems involving woody plants are notoriously difficult to study, although the use of model bacterial strains together with genetically homogeneous micropropagated plant material is providing a significant impetus to our understanding of the molecular determinants leading to disease. The gammaproteobacterium Pseudomonas savastanoi belongs to the intensively studied Pseudomonas syringae complex, and includes three pathogenic lineages causing tumorous overgrowths (knots in diverse economically relevant trees and shrubs. As it occurs with many other bacteria, pathogenicity of P. savastanoi is dependent on a type III secretion system, which is accompanied by a core set of at least 20 effector genes shared among strains isolated from olive, oleander, and ash. The induction of knots of wild-type size requires that the pathogen maintains adequate levels of diverse metabolites, including the phytohormones indole-3-acetic acid and cytokinins, as well as cyclic-di-GMP, some of which can also regulate the expression of other pathogenicity and virulence genes and participate in bacterial competitiveness. In a remarkable example of social networking, quorum sensing molecules allow for the communication among P. savastanoi and other members of the knot microbiome, while at the same time are essential for tumor formation. Additionally, a distinguishing feature of bacteria from the P. syringae complex isolated from woody organs is the possession of a 15 kb genomic island (WHOP carrying four operons and three other genes involved in degradation of phenolic compounds. Two of these operons mediate the catabolism of anthranilate and catechol and, together with another operon, are required for the induction of full-size tumors

Coarse and fine sediment transportation patterns and causes downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Songzhe; Yang, Yunping; Zhang, Mingjin; Sun, Zhaohua; Zhu, Lingling; You, Xingying; Li, Kanyu

2017-11-01

Reservoir construction within a basin affects the process of water and sediment transport downstream of the dam. The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) affects the sediment transport downstream of the dam. The impoundment of the TGR reduced total downstream sediment. The sediment group d≤0.125 mm (fine particle) increased along the path, but the average was still below what existed before the reservoir impoundment. The sediments group d>0.125 mm (coarse particle) was recharged in the Yichang to Jianli reach, but showed a deposition trend downstream of Jianli. The coarse sediment in the Yichang to Jianli section in 2003 to 2007 was above the value before the TGR impoundment. However, the increase of both coarse and fine sediments in 2008 to 2014 was less than that in 2003 to 2007. The sediment retained in the dam is the major reason for the sediment reduction downstream. However, the retention in different river reaches is affected by riverbed coarsening, discharge, flow process, and conditions of lake functioning and recharging from the tributaries. The main conclusions derived from our study are as follows: 1) The riverbed in the Yichang to Shashi section was relatively coarse, thereby limiting the supply of fine and coarse sediments. The fine sediment supply was mainly controlled by TGR discharge, whereas the coarse sediment supply was controlled by the duration of high flow and its magnitude. 2) The supply of both coarse and fine sediments in the Shashi to Jianli section was controlled by the amount of total discharge. The sediment supply from the riverbed was higher in flood years than that in the dry years. The coarse sediment tended to deposit, and the deposition in the dry years was larger than that in the flood years. 3) The feeding of the fine sediment in the Luoshan to Hankou section was mainly from the riverbed. The supply in 2008 to 2014 was more than that in 2003 to 2007. Around 2010, the coarse sediments transited from depositing to scouring that was

Combining fine texture and coarse color features for color texture classification

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junmin; Fan, Yangyu; Li, Ning

2017-11-01

Color texture classification plays an important role in computer vision applications because texture and color are two fundamental visual features. To classify the color texture via extracting discriminative color texture features in real time, we present an approach of combining the fine texture and coarse color features for color texture classification. First, the input image is transformed from RGB to HSV color space to separate texture and color information. Second, the scale-selective completed local binary count (CLBC) algorithm is introduced to extract the fine texture feature from the V component in HSV color space. Third, both H and S components are quantized at an optimal coarse level. Furthermore, the joint histogram of H and S components is calculated, which is considered as the coarse color feature. Finally, the fine texture and coarse color features are combined as the final descriptor and the nearest subspace classifier is used for classification. Experimental results on CUReT, KTH-TIPS, and New-BarkTex databases demonstrate that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art classification performance. Moreover, the proposed method is fast enough for real-time applications.

A coarse-to-fine scheme for groupwise registration of multisensor images

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Yinghao Li

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Ensemble registration is concerned with a group of images that need to be registered simultaneously. It is challenging but important for many image analysis tasks such as vehicle detection and medical image fusion. To solve this problem effectively, a novel coarse-to-fine scheme for groupwise image registration is proposed. First, in the coarse registration step, unregistered images are divided into reference image set and float image set. The images of the two sets are registered based on segmented region matching. The coarse registration results are used as an initial solution for the next step. Then, in the fine registration step, a Gaussian mixture model with a local template is used to model the joint intensity of coarse-registered images. Meanwhile, a minimum message length criterion-based method is employed to determine the unknown number of mixing components. Based on this mixture model, a maximum likelihood framework is used to register a group of images. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, some representative groupwise registration approaches are compared on different image data sets. The experimental results show that the proposed approach has improved performance compared to conventional approaches.

Terrain aided navigation for autonomous underwater vehicles with coarse maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Ling; Cheng, Xianghong; Zhu, Yixian

2016-01-01

Terrain aided navigation (TAN) is a form of geophysical localization technique for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operating in GPS-denied environments. TAN performance on sensor-rich AUVs has been evaluated in sea trials. However, many challenges remain before TAN can be successfully implemented on sensor-limited AUVs, especially with coarse maps. To improve TAN performance over coarse maps, a Gaussian process (GP) is proposed for the modeling of bathymetric terrain and integrated into the particle filter (GP-PF). GP is applied to provide not only the bathymetric value prediction through learning a set of bathymetric data from coarse maps but also the variance of the prediction. As a measurement update, calculated on bathymetric deviation is performed through the PF to obtain absolute and bounded positioning accuracy. Through the analysis of TAN performance on experimental data for two different terrains with map resolutions of 10–50 m, both the ability of the proposed model to represent the actual bathymetric terrain with accuracy and the effect of the GP-PF for TAN on sensor-limited systems in suited terrain are demonstrated. The experiment results further verify that there is an inverse relationship between the coarseness of the map and the overall TAN accuracy in rough terrains, but there is hardly any relationship between them in relatively flat terrains. (paper)

A Plumber's-Eye View of Xylem Water Transport in Woody Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Vilalta, Jordi; Pinol, Josep

2004-01-01

We present a practical for university-level students aimed at measuring and comparing xylem hydraulic properties of co-existing plant species. After sampling branches of several woody species in the field, their main hydraulic properties were measured using a simple set-up. Hydraulic conductivity ("K[subscript h]") was calculated as the ratio…

Systematic and simulation-free coarse graining of homopolymer melts: A structure-based study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Delian; Wang, Qiang

2015-01-01

We propose a systematic and simulation-free strategy for coarse graining of homopolymer melts, where each chain of N m monomers is uniformly divided into N segments, with the spatial position of each segment corresponding to the center-of-mass of its monomers. We use integral-equation theories suitable for the study of equilibrium properties of polymers, instead of many-chain molecular simulations, to obtain the structural and thermodynamic properties of both original and coarse-grained (CG) systems, and quantitatively examine how the effective pair potentials between CG segments and the thermodynamic properties of CG systems vary with N. Our systematic and simulation-free strategy is much faster than those using many-chain simulations, thus effectively solving the transferability problem in coarse graining, and provides the quantitative basis for choosing the appropriate N-values. It also avoids the problems caused by finite-size effects and statistical uncertainties in many-chain simulations. Taking the simple hard-core Gaussian thread model [K. S. Schweizer and J. G. Curro, Chem. Phys. 149, 105 (1990)] as the original system, we demonstrate our strategy applied to structure-based coarse graining, which is quite general and versatile, and compare in detail the various integral-equation theories and closures for coarse graining. Our numerical results show that the effective CG potentials for various N and closures can be collapsed approximately onto the same curve, and that structure-based coarse graining cannot give thermodynamic consistency between original and CG systems at any N < N m

MT-ADRES: Multithreading on Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Kehuai; Kanstein, Andreas; Madsen, Jan

2007-01-01

The coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture ADRES (Architecture for Dynamically Reconfigurable Embedded Systems) and its compiler offer high instruction-level parallelism (ILP) to applications by means of a sparsely interconnected array of functional units and register files. As high-ILP archi......The coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture ADRES (Architecture for Dynamically Reconfigurable Embedded Systems) and its compiler offer high instruction-level parallelism (ILP) to applications by means of a sparsely interconnected array of functional units and register files. As high......-ILP architectures achieve only low parallelism when executing partially sequential code segments, which is also known as Amdahl’s law, this paper proposes to extend ADRES to MT-ADRES (Multi-Threaded ADRES) to also exploit thread-level parallelism. On MT-ADRES architectures, the array can be partitioned in multiple...

Influence of uncoated and coated plastic waste coarse aggregates to concrete compressive strength

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Purnomo Heru

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of plastic waste as coarse aggregates in concrete is part of efforts to reduce environmental pollution. In one hand the use of plastic as aggregates can provide lighter weight of the concrete than concrete using natural aggregates, but on the other hand bond between plastic coarse aggregates and hard matrix give low concrete compressive strength. Improvement of the bond between plastic coarse aggregate and hard matrix through a sand coating to plastic coarse aggregate whole surface is studied. Sand used to coat the plastic aggregates are Merapi volcanic sand which are taken in Magelang. Three mixtures of polypropylene (PP coarse plastic aggregates, Cimangkok river sand as fine aggregates, water and Portland Cement Composite with a water-cement ratio of 0.28, 0.3 and 0.35 are conducted. Compression test are performed on concrete cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 20 cm. The results in general show that concrete specimens using plastic aggregates coated with sand have higher compressive strength compared to those of concrete specimens using plastic aggregates without sand coating. The bond improvement is indirectly indicated by the betterment of concrete compressive strength.

Herbivores shape woody plant communities in the Kruger National Park: Lessons from three long-term exclosures

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Benjamin J. Wigley

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The role of grazers in determining vegetation community compositions and structuring plant communities is well recognised in grassy systems. The role of browsers in affecting savanna woody plant communities is less clear. We used three long-term exclosures in the Kruger National Park to determine the effect of browsers on species compositions and population structures of woody communities. Species assemblages, plant traits relating to browsing and soil nutrients were compared inside and outside of the exclosures. Our results showed that browsers directly impact plant species distributions, densities and population structures by actively selecting for species with traits which make them desirable to browsers. Species with high leaf nitrogen, low total phenolic content and low acid detergent lignin appeared to be favoured by herbivores and therefore tend to be rare outside of the exclosures. This study also suggested that browsers have important indirect effects on savanna functioning, as the reduction of woody cover can result in less litter of lower quality, which in turn can result in lower soil fertility. However, the magnitude of browser effects appeared to depend on inherent soil fertility and climate. Conservation implications: Browsers were shown to have significant impacts on plant communities. They have noticeable effects on local species diversity and population structure, as well as soil nutrients. These impacts are shown to be related to the underlying geology and climate. The effects of browsers on woody communities were shown to be greater in low rainfall, fertile areas compared to high rainfall, infertile soils.

Optimal Design of Experiments by Combining Coarse and Fine Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Alpha A.; Brenner, Michael P.; Colwell, Lucy J.

2017-11-01

In many contexts, it is extremely costly to perform enough high-quality experimental measurements to accurately parametrize a predictive quantitative model. However, it is often much easier to carry out large numbers of experiments that indicate whether each sample is above or below a given threshold. Can many such categorical or "coarse" measurements be combined with a much smaller number of high-resolution or "fine" measurements to yield accurate models? Here, we demonstrate an intuitive strategy, inspired by statistical physics, wherein the coarse measurements are used to identify the salient features of the data, while the fine measurements determine the relative importance of these features. A linear model is inferred from the fine measurements, augmented by a quadratic term that captures the correlation structure of the coarse data. We illustrate our strategy by considering the problems of predicting the antimalarial potency and aqueous solubility of small organic molecules from their 2D molecular structure.

Coarse Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Transmembrane Protein-Lipid Systems

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Peter Spijker

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Many biological cellular processes occur at the micro- or millisecond time scale. With traditional all-atom molecular modeling techniques it is difficult to investigate the dynamics of long time scales or large systems, such as protein aggregation or activation. Coarse graining (CG can be used to reduce the number of degrees of freedom in such a system, and reduce the computational complexity. In this paper the first version of a coarse grained model for transmembrane proteins is presented. This model differs from other coarse grained protein models due to the introduction of a novel angle potential as well as a hydrogen bonding potential. These new potentials are used to stabilize the backbone. The model has been validated by investigating the adaptation of the hydrophobic mismatch induced by the insertion of WALP-peptides into a lipid membrane, showing that the first step in the adaptation is an increase in the membrane thickness, followed by a tilting of the peptide.

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of the Bluff Experimental Forest, Warren County, Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Robert L. Johnson; Elbert L. Little

1967-01-01

Nearly 100 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines grow naturally on the 450-acre Bluff Experimental Forest in west-central Mississippi. This publication lists the plants and provides information on silvical characteristics of the tree species.

Firewood harvest from forests of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Part 1: Long-term, sustainable supply available from native forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

West, P.W.; Cawsey, E.M.; Stol, J.; Freudenberger, D.

2008-01-01

The Murray-Darling Basin is a 1 million km 2 agricultural region of south-eastern Australia, although 29% of it retains native forests. Some are mallee eucalypt types, whilst the 'principal' types are dominated mainly by other eucalypt species. One-third of the 6-7 million oven-dry tonne of firewood burnt annually in Australia is obtained from these forests, principally through collection of coarse woody debris. There are fears that removal of this debris may prejudice the floral and faunal biodiversity of the Basin. The present work considers what silvicultural management practices will allow the long-term maintenance of the native forests of the Basin and their continued contribution to its biodiversity. It then estimates that the maximum, long-term, annual, sustainable yield of firewood which could be harvested, by collection of coarse woody debris, from principal forest types of the Basin would be 10 million oven-dry tonne yr -1 . An alternative, harvest of firewood from live trees by thinning the principal forests and clear-felling mallee forests, would be able to supply 2.3 million tonne yr -1 sustainably. Whilst coarse woody debris harvests could supply far more than the present demand for firewood from the Basin, they would lead to substantial reductions of the debris remaining in the forests; this may be detrimental to biodiversity maintenance. Live tree harvest does not lead to this problem, but would barely be able to supply existing firewood demand

Topo-edaphic controls over woody plant biomass in South African savannas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. S. Colgan

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The distribution of woody biomass in savannas reflects spatial patterns fundamental to ecosystem processes, such as water flow, competition, and herbivory, and is a key contributor to savanna ecosystem services, such as fuelwood supply. While total precipitation sets an upper bound on savanna woody biomass, the extent to which substrate and terrain constrain trees and shrubs below this maximum remains poorly understood, often occluded by local-scale disturbances such as fire and trampling. Here we investigate the role of hillslope topography and soil properties in controlling woody plant aboveground biomass (AGB in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Large-area sampling with airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR provided a means to average across local-scale disturbances, revealing an unexpectedly linear relationship between AGB and hillslope-position on basalts, where biomass levels were lowest on crests, and linearly increased toward streams (R² = 0.91. The observed pattern was different on granite substrates, where AGB exhibited a strongly non-linear relationship with hillslope position: AGB was high on crests, decreased midslope, and then increased near stream channels (R² = 0.87. Overall, we observed 5-to-8-fold lower AGB on clayey, basalt-derived soil than on granites, and we suggest this is due to herbivore-fire interactions rather than lower hydraulic conductivity or clay shrinkage/swelling, as previously hypothesized. By mapping AGB within and outside fire and herbivore exclosures, we found that basalt-derived soils support tenfold higher AGB in the absence of fire and herbivory, suggesting high clay content alone is not a proximal limitation on AGB. Understanding how fire and herbivory contribute to AGB heterogeneity is critical to predicting future savanna carbon storage under a changing climate.

Transpirational drying and costs for transporting woody biomass - a preliminary review

Science.gov (United States)

Bryce J. Stokes; Bryce J. McDonaStokes; Timothy P. McDonald; Tyrone Kelley

1993-01-01

High transport costs arc a factor to consider in the use of forest residues for fuel. Costs can be reduced by increasing haul capacities, reducing high moisture contents, and improving trucking efficiency. The literature for transpirational drying and the economics of hauling woody biomass is summarized here. Some additional, unpublished roundwood and chipdrying test...

Effects of coarse-graining on the scaling behavior of long-range correlated and anti-correlated signals

OpenAIRE

Xu, Yinlin; Ma, Qianli D.Y.; Schmitt, Daniel T.; Bernaola-Galván, Pedro; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.

2011-01-01

We investigate how various coarse-graining methods affect the scaling properties of long-range power-law correlated and anti-correlated signals, quantified by the detrended fluctuation analysis. Specifically, for coarse-graining in the magnitude of a signal, we consider (i) the Floor, (ii) the Symmetry and (iii) the Centro-Symmetry coarse-graining methods. We find, that for anti-correlated signals coarse-graining in the magnitude leads to a crossover to random behavior at large scales, and th...

Development of new test procedures for measuring fine and coarse aggregates specific gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-01

The objective of the research is to develop and evaluate new test methods at determining the specific gravity and absorption of both fine and coarse aggregates. Current methods at determining the specific gravity and absorption of fine and coarse agg...

Coarse-grain modelling of protein-protein interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baaden, Marc; Marrink, Siewert J.

2013-01-01

Here, we review recent advances towards the modelling of protein-protein interactions (PPI) at the coarse-grained (CG) level, a technique that is now widely used to understand protein affinity, aggregation and self-assembly behaviour. PPI models of soluble proteins and membrane proteins are

The toughness of secondary cell wall and woody tissue

OpenAIRE

Lucas, P. W.; Tan, H. T. W.; Cheng, P. Y.

1997-01-01

The 'across grain' toughness of 51 woods has been determined on thin wet sections using scissors. The moisture content of sections and the varying sharpness of the scissor blades had little effect on the results. In thin sections (less than 0.6mm), toughness rose linearly with section thickness. The intercept toughness at zero thickness, estimated from regression analysis, was proportional to relative density, consistent with values reported for non-woody plant tissues. Extrapolation of the i...

Inventory of Green Spaces and Woody Plants in the Urban Landscape in Ariogala

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Straigytė

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Regulation of urban greenery design, management and protection was approved in 2008 in Lithuania after the Green Space Law was passed, allowing protection of public green spaces and woody plants. Protection of these resources first requires an inventory, and we have created a digital database that will help in management of urban green spaces. Material and Methods: An inventory of green spaces and woody plants was conducted in the public urban territory of Ariogala, using GIS technology. A digital cartographic database was created using ArcGis 9.1 software. Results and Conclusion: Most of the woody plants in the survey area are deciduous trees, and the survey results highlighted the major green space management problems. Often, planted trees grow under power lines, and their crowns touch the power cables. Near blocks of flats, trees are often in the wrong place-planted too close to buildings, trees shade windows and their roots heave pavers and penetrate building foundations. According to the inventory, street trees sustain the most damage, most commonly showing injuries on their trunks and roots. Leaves of Aesculus hipocastanum L. show massive damage from Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, and Tilia cordata Mill. are damaged by Cercospora microsora Sacc. T. cordata is a favourite city tree, but is susceptible to infestation and when damaged appears unsightly, ending its vegetation period very early. The inventory of green spaces also showed that there are sufficient public parks.

Descriptive sensory analysis of marinated and non-marinated woody breast fillet portions

Science.gov (United States)

The woody breast (WB) myopathy influences muscle composition and texture characteristics in broiler breast meat. It is unknown if marination lessens the negative influence of WB on meat quality or if WB effects are uniform throughout the Pectoralis major. The objective of this study was to determi...

Parametrizing coarse grained models for molecular systems at equilibrium

KAUST Repository

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Chazirakis, A.; Tsourtis, A.; Katsoulakis, M. A.; Plechá č, P.; Harmandaris, V.

2016-01-01

Hierarchical coarse graining of atomistic molecular systems at equilibrium has been an intensive research topic over the last few decades. In this work we (a) review theoretical and numerical aspects of different parametrization methods (structural-based, force matching and relative entropy) to derive the effective interaction potential between coarse-grained particles. All methods approximate the many body potential of mean force; resulting, however, in different optimization problems. (b) We also use a reformulation of the force matching method by introducing a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (E. Kalligiannaki, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 2015). We apply and compare these methods to: (a) a benchmark system of two isolated methane molecules; (b) methane liquid; (c) water; and (d) an alkane fluid. Differences between the effective interactions, derived from the various methods, are found that depend on the actual system under study. The results further reveal the relation of the various methods and the sensitivities that may arise in the implementation of numerical methods used in each case.

Parametrizing coarse grained models for molecular systems at equilibrium

KAUST Repository

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia

2016-10-18

Hierarchical coarse graining of atomistic molecular systems at equilibrium has been an intensive research topic over the last few decades. In this work we (a) review theoretical and numerical aspects of different parametrization methods (structural-based, force matching and relative entropy) to derive the effective interaction potential between coarse-grained particles. All methods approximate the many body potential of mean force; resulting, however, in different optimization problems. (b) We also use a reformulation of the force matching method by introducing a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (E. Kalligiannaki, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 2015). We apply and compare these methods to: (a) a benchmark system of two isolated methane molecules; (b) methane liquid; (c) water; and (d) an alkane fluid. Differences between the effective interactions, derived from the various methods, are found that depend on the actual system under study. The results further reveal the relation of the various methods and the sensitivities that may arise in the implementation of numerical methods used in each case.

Modeling and Optimization of Woody Biomass Harvest and Logistics in the Northeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Damon S.

World energy consumption is at an all-time high and is projected to continue growing for the foreseeable future. Currently, much of the energy that is produced comes from non-renewable fossil energy sources, which includes the burden of increased greenhouse gas emissions and the fear of energy insecurity. Woody biomass is being considered as a material that can be utilized to reduce the burden caused by fossil energy. While the technical capability to convert woody biomass to energy has been known for a long period of time, the cost of the feedstock has been considered too costly to be implemented in a large commercial scale. Increasing the use of woody biomass as an energy source requires that the supply chains are setup in a way that minimizes cost, the locational factors that lead to development are understood, the facilities are located in the most favorable locations and local resource assessments can be made. A mixed integer linear programming model to efficiently configure woody biomass supply chain configurations and optimize the harvest, extraction, transport, storage and preprocessing of the woody biomass resources to provide the lowest possible delivered price. The characteristics of woody biomass, such as spatial distribution and low bulk density, tend to make collection and transport difficult as compared to traditional energy sources. These factors, as well as others, have an adverse effect on the cost of the feedstock. The average delivered cost was found to be between 64.69-98.31 dry Mg for an annual demand of 180,000 dry Mg. The effect of resource availability and required demand was examined to determine the impact that each would have on the total cost. The use of woody biomass for energy has been suggested as a way to improve rural economies through job creation, reduction of energy costs and regional development. This study examined existing wood using bio-energy facilities in the northeastern United States to define the drivers of

Effect of downed woody debris on small mammal anti-predator behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Travis M. Hinkelman; John L. Orrock; Susan C Loeb

2011-01-01

Anti-Predator behavior can affect prey growth, reproduction, survival, and generate emergent effects in food webs. Small mammals often lower the cost of predation by altering their behavior in response to shrubs, but the importance of other microhabitat features, such as downed woody debris, for anti-predator behavior is unknown. We used giving-up densities to quantify...

Vest-Woodi müük lisab globaalsust / Aarne Mäe

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Mäe, Aarne, 1967-

2005-01-01

Vest-Wood Grupi omanikfirma Door Holding ja ameeriklaste Jeld-Wen jõudsid kokkuleppele Euroopa suurima uksetootja ning turustja Vest-Woodi müügi suhtes. Plaanide kohaselt jätkab ettevõte iseseisvat tegutsemist, kasutades seniseid tootebrände ning peakontor jääb Taani Logstorisse. Vt. samas: Firma müük Rakvere tehasele muudatusi ei too

Reactor calculation in coarse mesh by finite element method applied to matrix response method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakata, H.

1982-01-01

The finite element method is applied to the solution of the modified formulation of the matrix-response method aiming to do reactor calculations in coarse mesh. Good results are obtained with a short running time. The method is applicable to problems where the heterogeneity is predominant and to problems of evolution in coarse meshes where the burnup is variable in one same coarse mesh, making the cross section vary spatially with the evolution. (E.G.) [pt

Mapping fractional woody cover in semi-arid savannahs using multi-seasonal composites from Landsat data

Science.gov (United States)

Higginbottom, Thomas P.; Symeonakis, Elias; Meyer, Hanna; van der Linden, Sebastian

2018-05-01

Increasing attention is being directed at mapping the fractional woody cover of savannahs using Earth-observation data. In this study, we test the utility of Landsat TM/ ETM-based spectral-temporal variability metrics for mapping regional-scale woody cover in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, for 2010. We employ a machine learning framework to compare the accuracies of Random Forest models derived using metrics calculated from different seasons. We compare these results to those from fused Landsat-PALSAR data to establish if seasonal metrics can compensate for structural information from the PALSAR signal. Furthermore, we test the applicability of a statistical variable selection method, the recursive feature elimination (RFE), in the automation of the model building process in order to reduce model complexity and processing time. All of our tests were repeated at four scales (30, 60, 90, and 120 m-pixels) to investigate the role of spatial resolution on modelled accuracies. Our results show that multi-seasonal composites combining imagery from both the dry and wet seasons produced the highest accuracies (R2 = 0.77, RMSE = 9.4, at the 120 m scale). When using a single season of observations, dry season imagery performed best (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 9.9, at the 120 m resolution). Combining Landsat and radar imagery was only marginally beneficial, offering a mean relative improvement of 1% in accuracy at the 120 m scale. However, this improvement was concentrated in areas with lower densities of woody coverage (continue to exploit the Landsat archive, but should aim to use multi-seasonal derived information. When the coarser 120 m pixel scale is adequate, integration of Landsat and SAR data should be considered, especially in areas with lower woody cover densities. The use of multiple seasonal compositing periods offers promise for large-area mapping of savannahs, even in regions with a limited historical Landsat coverage.

Path-space variational inference for non-equilibrium coarse-grained systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmandaris, Vagelis; Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Katsoulakis, Markos; Plecháč, Petr

2016-01-01

In this paper we discuss information-theoretic tools for obtaining optimized coarse-grained molecular models for both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular simulations. The latter are ubiquitous in physicochemical and biological applications, where they are typically associated with coupling mechanisms, multi-physics and/or boundary conditions. In general the non-equilibrium steady states are not known explicitly as they do not necessarily have a Gibbs structure. The presented approach can compare microscopic behavior of molecular systems to parametric and non-parametric coarse-grained models using the relative entropy between distributions on the path space and setting up a corresponding path-space variational inference problem. The methods can become entirely data-driven when the microscopic dynamics are replaced with corresponding correlated data in the form of time series. Furthermore, we present connections and generalizations of force matching methods in coarse-graining with path-space information methods. We demonstrate the enhanced transferability of information-based parameterizations to different observables, at a specific thermodynamic point, due to information inequalities. We discuss methodological connections between information-based coarse-graining of molecular systems and variational inference methods primarily developed in the machine learning community. However, we note that the work presented here addresses variational inference for correlated time series due to the focus on dynamics. The applicability of the proposed methods is demonstrated on high-dimensional stochastic processes given by overdamped and driven Langevin dynamics of interacting particles.

Path-space variational inference for non-equilibrium coarse-grained systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harmandaris, Vagelis, E-mail: harman@uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete (Greece); Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion (Greece); Kalligiannaki, Evangelia, E-mail: ekalligian@tem.uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete (Greece); Katsoulakis, Markos, E-mail: markos@math.umass.edu [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (United States); Plecháč, Petr, E-mail: plechac@math.udel.edu [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware (United States)

2016-06-01

In this paper we discuss information-theoretic tools for obtaining optimized coarse-grained molecular models for both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular simulations. The latter are ubiquitous in physicochemical and biological applications, where they are typically associated with coupling mechanisms, multi-physics and/or boundary conditions. In general the non-equilibrium steady states are not known explicitly as they do not necessarily have a Gibbs structure. The presented approach can compare microscopic behavior of molecular systems to parametric and non-parametric coarse-grained models using the relative entropy between distributions on the path space and setting up a corresponding path-space variational inference problem. The methods can become entirely data-driven when the microscopic dynamics are replaced with corresponding correlated data in the form of time series. Furthermore, we present connections and generalizations of force matching methods in coarse-graining with path-space information methods. We demonstrate the enhanced transferability of information-based parameterizations to different observables, at a specific thermodynamic point, due to information inequalities. We discuss methodological connections between information-based coarse-graining of molecular systems and variational inference methods primarily developed in the machine learning community. However, we note that the work presented here addresses variational inference for correlated time series due to the focus on dynamics. The applicability of the proposed methods is demonstrated on high-dimensional stochastic processes given by overdamped and driven Langevin dynamics of interacting particles.

Comparison of coarse-grained (MARTINI) and atomistic molecular ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Rajat Desikan

as the root mean square deviation (RMSD) histograms and the inner pore radius profiles from ... ever coarse-grained simulations of membrane-proteins ..... from the MARTINI simulations show greater fluctuations than the all-atom simulations.

Survival, reproduction, and recruitment of woody plants after 14 years on a reforested landfill

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, George R.; Handel, Steven N.; Schmalhofer, Victoria R.

1992-03-01

With the advent of modern sanitary landfill closure techniques, the opportunity exists for transforming municipal landfills into urban woodlands. While costs of fullscale reforestation are generally prohibitive, a modest planting of clusters of trees and shrubs could initiate or accelerate population expansions and natural plant succession from open field to diverse forest. However, among woody species that have been screened for use on landfills, these ecological potentials have not yet been investigated. We examined a 14-yr-old landfill plantation in New Jersey, USA, established to test tolerance of 19 species of trees and shrubs to landfill environments. We measured survivorship, reproduction, and recruitment within and around the experimental installation. Half of the original 190 plants were present, although survival and growth rates varied widely among species. An additional 752 trees and shrubs had colonized the plantation and its perimeter, as well as 2955 stems of vines. However, the great majority (>95%) of woody plants that had colonized were not progeny of the planted cohort, but instead belonged to 18 invading species, mostly native, bird-dispersed, and associated with intermediate stages of secondary plant succession. Based on this evidence, we recommend that several ecological criteria be applied to choices of woody species for the restoration of municipal landfills and similar degraded sites, in order to maximize rapid and economical establishment of diverse, productive woodlands.

Loss of native herbaceous species due to woody plant encroachment facilitates the establishment of an invasive grass.

Science.gov (United States)

Alofs, Karen M; Fowler, Norma L

2013-03-01

Although negative relationships between diversity (frequently measured as species richness) and invasibility at neighborhood or community scales have often been reported, realistic natural diversity gradients have rarely been studied at this scale. We recreated a naturally occurring gradient in species richness to test the effects of species richness on community invasibility. In central Texas savannas, as the proportion of woody plants increases (a process known as woody plant encroachment), herbaceous habitat is both lost and fragmented, and native herbaceous species richness declines. We examined the effects of these species losses on invasibility in situ by removing species that occur less frequently in herbaceous patches as woody plant encroachment advances. This realistic species removal was accompanied by a parallel and equivalent removal of biomass with no changes in species richness. Over two springs, the nonnative bunchgrass Bothriochloa ischaemum germinated significantly more often in the biomass-removal treatment than in unmanipulated control plots, suggesting an effect of native plant density independent of diversity. Additionally, significantly more germination occurred in the species-removal treatment than in the biomass-removal treatment. Changes in species richness had a stronger effect on B. ischaemum germination than changes in plant density, demonstrating that niche-related processes contributed more to biotic resistance in this system than did species-neutral competitive interactions. Similar treatment effects were found on transplant growth. Thus we show that woody plant encroachment indirectly facilitates the establishment of an invasive grass by reducing native diversity. Although we found a negative relationship between species richness and invasibility at the scale of plots with similar composition and environmental conditions, we found a positive relationship between species richness and invasibility at larger scales. This apparent

A Computer-Based Simulation for Teaching Heat Transfer across a Woody Stem

Science.gov (United States)

Maixner, Michael R.; Noyd, Robert K.; Krueger, Jerome A.

2010-01-01

To assist student understanding of heat transfer through woody stems, we developed an instructional package that included an Excel-based, one-dimensional simulation model and a companion instructional worksheet. Guiding undergraduate botany students to applying principles of thermodynamics to plants in nature is fraught with two main obstacles:…

The flora of woody plants and vegetation on the Horn of Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Ib

2017-01-01

There are about one thousand species of woody plants that occur naturally on the Horn of Africa, including trees and large shrubs, and they have many functions in the highly varied ecosystem on the Horn, including soil conservation and the prevention of flooding during tropical rainstorms. For hi...

Alkaline hemp woody core pulping : impregnation characteristics, kinetic modelling and papermaking qualities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de B.

1998-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to elucidate alkaline processing of hemp woody core, supporting the development and optimization of an efficient and non-polluting pulping process. This study has been a constituent of an integral programme to study fibre hemp.

It is known that

Coarse grainings and irreversibility in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anastopoulos, C.

1997-01-01

In this paper we are interested in studying coarse graining in field theories using the language of quantum open systems. Motivated by the ideas of Hu and Calzetta on correlation histories we employ the Zwanzig projection technique to obtain evolution equations for relevant observables in self-interacting scalar field theories. Our coarse-graining operation consists in concentrating solely on the evolution of the correlation functions of degree less than n, a treatment which corresponds to the familiar truncation of the BBKGY hierarchy at the nth level. We derive the equations governing the evolution of mean-field and two-point functions thus identifying the terms corresponding to dissipation and noise. We discuss possible applications of our formalism, the emergence of classical behavior, and the connection to the decoherent histories framework. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Trophic ecology of Lepidoptera larvae associated with woody vegetation in a savanna ecosystem

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Scholtz, CH

1982-06-01

Full Text Available This study represents a quantitative survey of a Lepidoptera community and deals with the trophic ecology of the 27 species of foliage-feeding Lepidoptera on the eight dominant woody plants in the Burkea africana-Eragrostis pallens savanna...

Relative role of contemporary environment versus history in shaping diversity patterns of China's woody plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Zhiheng; Fang, Jingyun; Tang, Zhiyao

2012-01-01

What determines large-scale patterns of species diversity is a central and controversial topic in biogeography and ecology. In this study, we compared the effects of contemporary environment and historical contingencies on species richness patterns of woody plants in China, using fine-resolution ......-plant species richness across China, while historical contingencies generate regional deviations from this trend. Our findings imply that both species diversity and regional evolutionary and ecological histories should be taken into account for future nature conservation......., and the Tibetan Plateau, perhaps reflecting their special geological features and history. Nevertheless, partial regression indicated that historical effects were less important relative to contemporary environment. In conclusion, contemporary environment (notably climate) determines the general trend in woody...

On the global relationships between photosynthetic water-use efficiency, leaf mass per unit area and atmospheric demand in woody and herbaceous plants

Science.gov (United States)

Letts, M. G.; Fox, T. A.; Gulias, J.; Galmes, J.; Hikosaka, K.; Wright, I.; Flexas, J.; Awada, T.; Rodriguez-Calcerrada, J.; Tobita, H.

2013-12-01

A global dataset was compiled including woody and herbaceous C3 species from forest, Mediterranean and grassland-shrubland ecosystems, to elucidate the dependency of photosynthetic water-use efficiency on vapour pressure deficit (D) and leaf traits. Mean leaf mass per unit area (LMA) was lower and mass-based leaf nitrogen content (Nmass) was higher in herbaceous species. Higher mean stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (E) and net CO2 assimilation rate under light saturating conditions (Amax) were observed in herbs, but photosynthetic and intrinsic water-use efficiencies (WUE = Amax/E and WUEi = Amax/gs) were lower than in woody plants. Woody species maintained stricter stomatal regulation of water loss at low D, resulting in a steeper positive and linear relationship between log D and log E. Herbaceous species possessed very high gs at low D, resulting in higher ratio of substomatal to atmospheric CO2 concentrations (ci/ca) and E, but lower WUE and WUEi than woody plants, despite higher Amax. The lower WUE and higher rates of gas exchange were most pronounced in herbs with low LMA and high Nmass. Photosynthetic water use also differed between species from grassland-shrubland and Mediterranean or forest environments. Water-use efficiency showed no relationship with either D or LMA in grassland-shrubland species, but showed a negative relationship with D in forest and chaparral. The distinct photosynthetic water-use of woody and herbaceous plants is consistent with the opportunistic growth strategy of herbs and the more conservative growth strategy of woody species. Further research is recommended to examine the implications of these functional group and ecosystem differences in the contexts of climate and atmospheric change.

Horizontal Residual Mean Circulation: Evaluation of Spatial Correlations in Coarse Resolution Ocean Models

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y.; McDougall, T. J.

2016-02-01

Coarse resolution ocean models lack knowledge of spatial correlations between variables on scales smaller than the grid scale. Some researchers have shown that these spatial correlations play a role in the poleward heat flux. In order to evaluate the poleward transport induced by the spatial correlations at a fixed horizontal position, an equation is obtained to calculate the approximate transport from velocity gradients. The equation involves two terms that can be added to the quasi-Stokes streamfunction (based on temporal correlations) to incorporate the contribution of spatial correlations. Moreover, these new terms do not need to be parameterized and is ready to be evaluated by using model data directly. In this study, data from a high resolution ocean model have been used to estimate the accuracy of this HRM approach for improving the horizontal property fluxes in coarse-resolution ocean models. A coarse grid is formed by sub-sampling and box-car averaging the fine grid scale. The transport calculated on the coarse grid is then compared to the transport on original high resolution grid scale accumulated over a corresponding number of grid boxes. The preliminary results have shown that the estimate on coarse resolution grids roughly match the corresponding transports on high resolution grids.

Coarse grained model for semiquantitative lipid simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marrink, SJ; de Vries, AH; Mark, AE

2004-01-01

This paper describes the parametrization of a new coarse grained (CG) model for lipid and surfactant systems. Reduction of the number of degrees of freedom together with the use of short range potentials makes it computationally very efficient. Compared to atomistic models a gain of 3-4 orders of

75 FR 5941 - Umatilla National Forest, Walla Walla Ranger District, Walla Walla, WA; Cobbler II Timber Sale...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-05

... haul routes, non-commercial thinning, hardwood restoration, meadow restoration, and landscape... of Elgin, Oregon, is approximately 20 miles to the southwest. Troy and Eden Bench Wildland Urban... provide additional coarse woody debris. Landscape Prescribed Fire--Landscape prescribed fire would occur...

Influence of Disturbance on Habitats and Biological Communities in Lowland Streams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Morten Lauge; Friberg, N.

2009-01-01

). The results indicate that disturbance cascades through the stream ecosystem, primarily meditated by changes in macrophyte communities that are essential providers of habitat in unshaded lowland streams in which other structural elements, as coarse inorganic substrates and woody debris, are scarce...

Coarse-grained stochastic processes and kinetic Monte Carlo simulators for the diffusion of interacting particles

Science.gov (United States)

Katsoulakis, Markos A.; Vlachos, Dionisios G.

2003-11-01

We derive a hierarchy of successively coarse-grained stochastic processes and associated coarse-grained Monte Carlo (CGMC) algorithms directly from the microscopic processes as approximations in larger length scales for the case of diffusion of interacting particles on a lattice. This hierarchy of models spans length scales between microscopic and mesoscopic, satisfies a detailed balance, and gives self-consistent fluctuation mechanisms whose noise is asymptotically identical to the microscopic MC. Rigorous, detailed asymptotics justify and clarify these connections. Gradient continuous time microscopic MC and CGMC simulations are compared under far from equilibrium conditions to illustrate the validity of our theory and delineate the errors obtained by rigorous asymptotics. Information theory estimates are employed for the first time to provide rigorous error estimates between the solutions of microscopic MC and CGMC, describing the loss of information during the coarse-graining process. Simulations under periodic boundary conditions are used to verify the information theory error estimates. It is shown that coarse-graining in space leads also to coarse-graining in time by q2, where q is the level of coarse-graining, and overcomes in part the hydrodynamic slowdown. Operation counting and CGMC simulations demonstrate significant CPU savings in continuous time MC simulations that vary from q3 for short potentials to q4 for long potentials. Finally, connections of the new coarse-grained stochastic processes to stochastic mesoscopic and Cahn-Hilliard-Cook models are made.

Woody crops conference 2013; Agrarholz-Kongress 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-06-01

Within the Guelzow expert discussions at 19th and 20th February 2013 in Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany) the following lectures were held: (1) Research funding of the BMELV in the field of the production of woody crops (Andreas Schuette); (2) ELKE - Development of extensive concepts of land use for the production of renewable raw materials as possible compensatory measures and substitute measures (Frank Wegener); (3) Knowledge transfer to the realm of practice, experiences of the DLG (Frank Setzer); (4) Results of the tests with fast growing tree species after 18 years of cultivation in Guelzow (Andreas Gurgel); (5) Latest findings on the production of woody crops in Brandenburg (D. Murach); (6) Phytosanitary situation in short-rotation coppices in Germany - Current state of knowledge and prognoses for the future (Christiane Helbig); (7) Evaluation of alternative delivery procedures in short-rotation coppices (Janine Schweier); (8) With a short-rotation coppice shredder through Germany (Wolfram Kudlich); (9) Changes of land-use of traditional crops rotation systems to short-rotation coppices consisting of poplar trees and willow trees, which sites are suitable? - Selected results from the ProLoc association (Martin Hofmann); (10) Cultivation of populus tremula for short-rotation coppices at agricultural areas (Mirko Liesebach); (11) Investigations of the resistance behaviour of newly developed black poplar clones and balsam poplar clones against the poplar leave rust Melampsora larici-populina (Christina Fey-Wagner); (12) A agri-forestry system for ligneous energy production in the organic farming - First results from cultivation experiments in Bavaria (Klaus Wiesinger); (13) Implementation of agri-forestry systems with energy wood in the rural area - the project AgroForstEnergie (Armin Vetter); (14) Impact of agroforestry land utilization on microclimate, soil fertility and quality of water (Christian Boehm).

Facilitation between woody and herbaceous plants that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in temperate European forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Veresoglou, Stavros D; Wulf, Monika; Rillig, Matthias C

2017-02-01

In late-successional environments, low in available nutrient such as the forest understory, herbaceous plant individuals depend strongly on their mycorrhizal associates for survival. We tested whether in temperate European forests arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) woody plants might facilitate the establishment of AM herbaceous plants in agreement with the mycorrhizal mediation hypothesis. We used a dataset spanning over 400 vegetation plots in the Weser-Elbe region (northwest Germany). Mycorrhizal status information was obtained from published resources, and Ellenberg indicator values were used to infer environmental data. We carried out tests for both relative richness and relative abundance of herbaceous plants. We found that the subset of herbaceous individuals that associated with AM profited when there was a high cover of AM woody plants. These relationships were retained when we accounted for environmental filtering effects using path analysis. Our findings build on the existing literature highlighting the prominent role of mycorrhiza as a coexistence mechanism in plant communities. From a nature conservation point of view, it may be possible to promote functional diversity in the forest understory through introducing AM woody trees in stands when absent.

Tree Plantation Will not Compensate Natural Woody Vegetation Cover Loss in the Atlantic Department of Southern Benin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toyi, MS.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study deals with land use and land cover changes for a 33 years period. We assessed these changes for eight land cover classes in the south of Benin by using an integrated multi-temporal analysis using three Landsat images (1972 Landsat MSS, 1986 Landsat TM and 2005 Landsat ETM+. Three scenarios for the future were simulated using a first-order Markovian model based on annual probability matrices. The contribution of tree plantations to compensate forest loss was assessed. The results show a strong loss of forest and savanna, mainly due to increased agricultural land. Natural woody vegetation ("forest", "wooded savanna" and "tree and shrub savanna" will seriously decrease by 2025 due to the expansion of agricultural activities and the increase of settlements. Tree plantations are expected to double by 2025, but they will not compensate for the loss of natural woody vegetation cover. Consequently, we assist to a continuing woody vegetation area decrease. Policies regarding reforestation and forest conservation must be initiated to reverse the currently projected tendencies.

Conservative and dissipative force field for simulation of coarse-grained alkane molecules: A bottom-up approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trément, Sébastien; Rousseau, Bernard, E-mail: bernard.rousseau@u-psud.fr [Laboratoire de Chimie-Physique, UMR 8000 CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay (France); Schnell, Benoît; Petitjean, Laurent; Couty, Marc [Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques MICHELIN, Centre de Ladoux, 23 place des Carmes, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand (France)

2014-04-07

We apply operational procedures available in the literature to the construction of coarse-grained conservative and friction forces for use in dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. The full procedure rely on a bottom-up approach: large molecular dynamics trajectories of n-pentane and n-decane modeled with an anisotropic united atom model serve as input for the force field generation. As a consequence, the coarse-grained model is expected to reproduce at least semi-quantitatively structural and dynamical properties of the underlying atomistic model. Two different coarse-graining levels are studied, corresponding to five and ten carbon atoms per DPD bead. The influence of the coarse-graining level on the generated force fields contributions, namely, the conservative and the friction part, is discussed. It is shown that the coarse-grained model of n-pentane correctly reproduces self-diffusion and viscosity coefficients of real n-pentane, while the fully coarse-grained model for n-decane at ambient temperature over-predicts diffusion by a factor of 2. However, when the n-pentane coarse-grained model is used as a building block for larger molecule (e.g., n-decane as a two blobs model), a much better agreement with experimental data is obtained, suggesting that the force field constructed is transferable to large macro-molecular systems.

Woody plant diversity in sacred forests and fallows in Chiang Mai, Thailand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Junsongduang, A.; Balslev, Henrik; Jampeetong, Arunothai

2014-01-01

All woody plant and seedling diversity was compared in a Karen and a Lawa hill-tribe village in northern Thailand in four different habitats: sacred forests and fallow fields of three ages derived from rotational shifting cultivation (young fallows, 1–2 years old; medium-age fallow, 3-4 years old...

Adaptive resolution simulation of polarizable supramolecular coarse-grained water models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavadlav, Julija; Praprotnik, Matej; Melo, Manuel N.; Marrink, Siewert J.

2015-01-01

Multiscale simulations methods, such as adaptive resolution scheme, are becoming increasingly popular due to their significant computational advantages with respect to conventional atomistic simulations. For these kind of simulations, it is essential to develop accurate multiscale water models that can be used to solvate biophysical systems of interest. Recently, a 4-to-1 mapping was used to couple the bundled-simple point charge water with the MARTINI model. Here, we extend the supramolecular mapping to coarse-grained models with explicit charges. In particular, the two tested models are the polarizable water and big multiple water models associated with the MARTINI force field. As corresponding coarse-grained representations consist of several interaction sites, we couple orientational degrees of freedom of the atomistic and coarse-grained representations via a harmonic energy penalty term. This additional energy term aligns the dipole moments of both representations. We test this coupling by studying the system under applied static external electric field. We show that our approach leads to the correct reproduction of the relevant structural and dynamical properties

Coarse particles-water mixtures flow in pipes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vlasák, Pavel

2017-01-01

Roč. 225, č. 2017 (2017), s. 338-341 ISSN 2411-3336 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP105/10/1574 Institutional support: RVO:67985874 Keywords : hydrotransport * coarse particles pipeline installation * pressure drop * pipe inclination Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics)

Soil physical properties regulate lethal heating during burning of woody residues

Science.gov (United States)

Matt Busse; Carol Shestak; Ken Hubbert; Eric Knapp

2010-01-01

Temperatures well in excess of the lethal threshold for roots (60°C) have been measured in forest soils when woody fuels are burned. Whether this heat pulse is strongly moderated by soil moisture or soil texture is not fully understood, however. We measured soil heat profi les during 60 experimental burns, identifying changes in maximum soil temperature and heat...

Coarse-mesh discretized low-order quasi-diffusion equations for subregion averaged scalar fluxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anistratov, D. Y.

2004-01-01

In this paper we develop homogenization procedure and discretization for the low-order quasi-diffusion equations on coarse grids for core-level reactor calculations. The system of discretized equations of the proposed method is formulated in terms of the subregion averaged group scalar fluxes. The coarse-mesh solution is consistent with a given fine-mesh discretization of the transport equation in the sense that it preserves a set of average values of the fine-mesh transport scalar flux over subregions of coarse-mesh cells as well as the surface currents, and eigenvalue. The developed method generates numerical solution that mimics the large-scale behavior of the transport solution within assemblies. (authors)

Characteristics of fine and coarse particles of natural and urban aerosols of Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orsini, C.M.Q.; Tabacniks, M.H.; Artaxo Netto, P.E.; Andrade, M.F.; Kerr, A.

1986-02-01

Fine and coarse particles have been sampled from 1982 to 1985 in one natural forest seacoast site (Jureia) and five urban-industrial cities (Vitoria, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, and Belo Horizonte). The time variations of concentrations in air and the relative elemental compositions of fine and coarse particle fractions, sampled by Nuclepore stacked filter units (SFU), have been determined gravimetrically and by PIXE analysis, respectively. Enrichment factors and correlation coefficients of the trace elements measured lead to unambiguous characterization of soil dust and sea salt, both major aerosol sources that emit coarse particles, and soil dust is also a significant source of fine particles. (Author) [pt

Effects of coarse-graining on the scaling behavior of long-range correlated and anti-correlated signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yinlin; Ma, Qianli D Y; Schmitt, Daniel T; Bernaola-Galván, Pedro; Ivanov, Plamen Ch

2011-11-01

We investigate how various coarse-graining (signal quantization) methods affect the scaling properties of long-range power-law correlated and anti-correlated signals, quantified by the detrended fluctuation analysis. Specifically, for coarse-graining in the magnitude of a signal, we consider (i) the Floor, (ii) the Symmetry and (iii) the Centro-Symmetry coarse-graining methods. We find that for anti-correlated signals coarse-graining in the magnitude leads to a crossover to random behavior at large scales, and that with increasing the width of the coarse-graining partition interval Δ, this crossover moves to intermediate and small scales. In contrast, the scaling of positively correlated signals is less affected by the coarse-graining, with no observable changes when Δ 1 a crossover appears at small scales and moves to intermediate and large scales with increasing Δ. For very rough coarse-graining (Δ > 3) based on the Floor and Symmetry methods, the position of the crossover stabilizes, in contrast to the Centro-Symmetry method where the crossover continuously moves across scales and leads to a random behavior at all scales; thus indicating a much stronger effect of the Centro-Symmetry compared to the Floor and the Symmetry method. For coarse-graining in time, where data points are averaged in non-overlapping time windows, we find that the scaling for both anti-correlated and positively correlated signals is practically preserved. The results of our simulations are useful for the correct interpretation of the correlation and scaling properties of symbolic sequences.

Growth and foliar nitrogen concentrations of interplanted native woody legumes and pecan

Science.gov (United States)

J.W. Van Sambeek; Nadia E. Navarrete-Tindall; Kenneth L. Hunt

2008-01-01

The interplanting and underplanting of nodulated nitrogen-fixing plants in tree plantings can increase early growth and foliage nitrogen content of hardwoods, especially black walnut and pecan. Recent studies have demonstrated that some non-nodulated woody legumes may be capable of fixing significant levels of atmospheric nitrogen. The following nine nurse crop...

Automated detection of branch dimensions in woody skeletons of leafless fruit tree canopies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bucksch, A.; Fleck, S.

2009-01-01

Light driven physiological processes of tree canopies need to be modelled based on detailed 3Dcanopy structure – we explore the possibilities offered by terrestrial LIDAR to automatically represent woody skeletons of leafless trees as a basis for adequate models of canopy structure. The automatic

Effects of Fireplace Use on Forest Vegetation and Amount of Woody Debris in Suburban Forests in Northwestern Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Hegetschweiler, K. Tessa; van Loon, Nicole; Ryser, Annette; Rusterholz, Hans-Peter; Baur, Bruno

2009-02-01

Urban forests are popular recreation areas in Europe. Several of these temperate broad-leaved forests also have a high conservation value due to sustainable management over many centuries. Recreational activities, particularly the use of fireplaces, can cause extensive damage to soil, ground vegetation, shrubs, and trees. Firewood collection depletes woody debris, leading to a loss of habitat for specialized organisms. We examined the effects of fireplace use on forest vegetation and the amount of woody debris by comparing disturbed and control plots in suburban forests in northwestern Switzerland. At frequently used fireplaces, we found reduced species densities in the ground vegetation and shrub layer and changes in plant species composition due to human trampling within an area of 150-200 m2. Picnicking and grilling also reduced the height and changed the age structure of shrubs and young trees. The amount of woody debris was lower in disturbed plots than in control plots. Pieces of wood with a diameter of 0.6-7.6 cm were preferentially collected by fireplace users. The reduction in woody debris volume extended up to a distance of 16 m from the fire ring, covering an area of 800 m2 at each picnic site. In order to preserve the ecological integrity of urban forests and to maintain their attractiveness as important recreation areas, we suggest depositing logging residues to be used as firewood and to restrict visitor movements near picnic sites.

FROM ATOMISTIC TO SYSTEMATIC COARSE-GRAINED MODELS FOR MOLECULAR SYSTEMS

KAUST Repository

Harmandaris, Vagelis

2017-10-03

The development of systematic (rigorous) coarse-grained mesoscopic models for complex molecular systems is an intense research area. Here we first give an overview of methods for obtaining optimal parametrized coarse-grained models, starting from detailed atomistic representation for high dimensional molecular systems. Different methods are described based on (a) structural properties (inverse Boltzmann approaches), (b) forces (force matching), and (c) path-space information (relative entropy). Next, we present a detailed investigation concerning the application of these methods in systems under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. Finally, we present results from the application of these methods to model molecular systems.

Fine-coarse semantic processing in schizophrenia: a reversed pattern of hemispheric dominance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeev-Wolf, Maor; Goldstein, Abraham; Levkovitz, Yechiel; Faust, Miriam

2014-04-01

Left lateralization for language processing is a feature of neurotypical brains. In individuals with schizophrenia, lack of left lateralization is associated with the language impairments manifested in this population. Beeman׳s fine-coarse semantic coding model asserts left hemisphere specialization in fine (i.e., conventionalized) semantic coding and right hemisphere specialization in coarse (i.e., non-conventionalized) semantic coding. Applying this model to schizophrenia would suggest that language impairments in this population are a result of greater reliance on coarse semantic coding. We investigated this hypothesis and examined whether a reversed pattern of hemispheric involvement in fine-coarse semantic coding along the time course of activation could be detected in individuals with schizophrenia. Seventeen individuals with schizophrenia and 30 neurotypical participants were presented with two word expressions of four types: literal, conventional metaphoric, unrelated (exemplars of fine semantic coding) and novel metaphoric (an exemplar of coarse semantic coding). Expressions were separated by either a short (250 ms) or long (750 ms) delay. Findings indicate that whereas during novel metaphor processing, controls displayed a left hemisphere advantage at 250 ms delay and right hemisphere advantage at 750 ms, individuals with schizophrenia displayed the opposite. For conventional metaphoric and unrelated expressions, controls showed left hemisphere advantage across times, while individuals with schizophrenia showed a right hemisphere advantage. Furthermore, whereas individuals with schizophrenia were less accurate than control at judging literal, conventional metaphoric and unrelated expressions they were more accurate when judging novel metaphors. Results suggest that individuals with schizophrenia display a reversed pattern of lateralization for semantic coding which causes them to rely more heavily on coarse semantic coding. Thus, for individuals with

Comparison of vitrified and unvitrified Eocene woody tissues by TMAH thermochemolysis – implications for the early stages of the formation of vitrinite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huggett William W

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Samples of vitrified and unvitrified Eocene woody plant tissues collected from the Fossil Forest site, Geodetic Hills, Axel Heiberg Island, have been characterized by TMAH thermochemolysis. All samples are gymnosperm-derived, are of very low maturity and all share the same post-depositional geologic history. Differences in the distributions of products observed from vitrified and unvitrified samples suggest that vitrification of woody tissue is associated with modification of the lignin C3 side chain, following loss of all or most of the carbohydrate present in the precursor woody tissues. The key driver of vitrification appears to be physical compression of the tissue following biological removal of cellulosic materials.

FY 1998 report on the results of R and D projects by local consortiums for immediate effects. Development of woody ceramics and application to building parts; 1998 nendo woody ceramics no sosei to kenchiku buzai nado eno oyo seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

The R and D project has been implemented for developing materials for, e.g., light, highly heat-insulating and energy-saving type building parts (e.g., roofing tiles and tiles), and light tableware having warmness of wood. The stock materials for china and porcelain, roofing tile clay, tiles and cement are dispersed with hollow microcapsules as the filler, which are of glassy balloons thermally treated to be highly functional, in order to develop superlight, highly heat insulating and high-strength materials. For development of the woody ceramic materials, the microcapsules are investigated for size, thickness, thermal shrinkage, fusibility, compressive stress, reinforcing mechanisms, and monodispersibility. Also investigated are optimization of material formability, development of commercial ceramics and evaluation of their marketability, decoration techniques, antimicrobial membrane materials and their immobilization techniques, development of antimicrobial ceramic tiles, evaluation of the antimicrobial membranes, evaluation of resistance to microwaves, and so on. The efforts are also directed to researches on fundamental techniques for woody tile clay, and R and D of the application techniques and products of the woody cement. (NEDO)

Formulation of coarse mesh finite difference to calculate mathematical adjoint flux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, Valmir; Martinez, Aquilino Senra; Silva, Fernando Carvalho da

2002-01-01

The objective of this work is the obtention of the mathematical adjoint flux, having as its support the nodal expansion method (NEM) for coarse mesh problems. Since there are difficulties to evaluate this flux by using NEM. directly, a coarse mesh finite difference program was developed to obtain this adjoint flux. The coarse mesh finite difference formulation (DFMG) adopted uses results of the direct calculation (node average flux and node face averaged currents) obtained by NEM. These quantities (flux and currents) are used to obtain the correction factors which modify the classical finite differences formulation . Since the DFMG formulation is also capable of calculating the direct flux it was also tested to obtain this flux and it was verified that it was able to reproduce with good accuracy both the flux and the currents obtained via NEM. In this way, only matrix transposition is needed to calculate the mathematical adjoint flux. (author)

Forest operations and woody biomass logistics to improve efficiency, value, and sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Nathaniel Anderson; Dana Mitchell

2016-01-01

This paper reviews the most recent work conducted by scientists and engineers of the Forest Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the areas of forest operations and woody biomass logistics, with an emphasis on feedstock supply for emerging bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts applications. This work is presented in the context of previous...

Case studies on sugar production from underutilized woody biomass using sulfite chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

J.Y. Zhu; M. Subhosh Chandra; Roland Gleisner; William Gilles; Johnway Gao; Gevan Marrs; Dwight Anderson; John Sessions

2015-01-01

We examined two case studies to demonstrate the advantages of sulfite chemistry for pretreating underutilized woody biomass to produce sugars through enzymatic saccharification. In the first case study, we evaluated knot rejects from a magnesium-basedsulfite mill for direct enzymatic sugar production.We found that the sulfite mill rejects are an excellent feedstock for...

Coarse mode aerosols in the High Arctic

Science.gov (United States)

Baibakov, K.; O'Neill, N. T.; Chaubey, J. P.; Saha, A.; Duck, T. J.; Eloranta, E. W.

2014-12-01

Fine mode (submicron) aerosols in the Arctic have received a fair amount of scientific attention in terms of smoke intrusions during the polar summer and Arctic haze pollution during the polar winter. Relatively little is known about coarse mode (supermicron) aerosols, notably dust, volcanic ash and sea salt. Asian dust is a regular springtime event whose optical and radiative forcing effects have been fairly well documented at the lower latitudes over North America but rarely reported for the Arctic. Volcanic ash, whose socio-economic importance has grown dramatically since the fear of its effects on aircraft engines resulted in the virtual shutdown of European civil aviation in the spring of 2010 has rarely been reported in the Arctic in spite of the likely probability that ash from Iceland and the Aleutian Islands makes its way into the Arctic and possibly the high Arctic. Little is known about Arctic sea salt aerosols and we are not aware of any literature on the optical measurement of these aerosols. In this work we present preliminary results of the combined sunphotometry-lidar analysis at two High Arctic stations in North America: PEARL (80°N, 86°W) for 2007-2011 and Barrow (71°N,156°W) for 2011-2014. The multi-years datasets were analyzed to single out potential coarse mode incursions and study their optical characteristics. In particular, CIMEL sunphotometers provided coarse mode optical depths as well as information on particle size and refractive index. Lidar measurements from High Spectral Resolution lidars (AHSRL at PEARL and NSHSRL at Barrow) yielded vertically resolved aerosol profiles and gave an indication of particle shape and size from the depolarization ratio and color ratio profiles. Additionally, we employed supplementary analyses of HYSPLIT backtrajectories, OMI aerosol index, and NAAPS (Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System) outputs to study the spatial context of given events.

Sparrow nest survival in relation to prescribed fire and woody plant invasion in a northern mixed-grass prairie

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Robert K.; Shaffer, Terry L.; Grant, Todd A.; Derrig, James L.; Rubin, Cory S.; Kerns, Courtney K.

2017-01-01

Prescribed fire is used to reverse invasion by woody vegetation on grasslands, but managers often are uncertain whether influences of shrub and tree reduction outweigh potential effects of fire on nest survival of grassland birds. During the 2001–2003 breeding seasons, we examined relationships of prescribed fire and woody vegetation to nest survival of clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) and Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) in mixed-grass prairie at Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern North Dakota, USA. We assessed relationships of nest survival to 1) recent fire history, in terms of number of breeding seasons (2, 3, or 4–5) since the last prescribed fire, and 2) prevalence of trees and tall (>1.5 m) shrubs in the landscape and of low (≤1.5 m) shrubs within 5 m of nests. Nest survival of both species exhibited distinct patterns related to age of the nest and day of year, but bore no relationship to fire history. Survival of clay-colored sparrow nests declined as the amount of trees and tall shrubs within 100 m increased, but we found no relationship to suggest nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) as an underlying mechanism. We found little evidence linking nest survival of Savannah sparrow to woody vegetation. Our results suggest that fire can be used to restore northern mixed-grass prairies without adversely affecting nest survival of ≥2 widespread passerine species. Survival of nests of clay-colored sparrow may increase when tall woody cover is reduced by fire. Our data lend support to the use of fire for reducing scattered patches of tall woody cover to enhance survival of nests of ≥1 grassland bird species in northern mixed-grass prairies, but further study is needed that incorporates experimental approaches and assessments of shorter term effects of fire on survival of nests of grassland passerines.

Coarse mesh code development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lieberoth, J.

1975-06-15

The numerical solution of the neutron diffusion equation plays a very important role in the analysis of nuclear reactors. A wide variety of numerical procedures has been proposed, at which most of the frequently used numerical methods are fundamentally based on the finite- difference approximation where the partial derivatives are approximated by the finite difference. For complex geometries, typical of the practical reactor problems, the computational accuracy of the finite-difference method is seriously affected by the size of the mesh width relative to the neutron diffusion length and by the heterogeneity of the medium. Thus, a very large number of mesh points are generally required to obtain a reasonably accurate approximate solution of the multi-dimensional diffusion equation. Since the computation time is approximately proportional to the number of mesh points, a detailed multidimensional analysis, based on the conventional finite-difference method, is still expensive even with modern large-scale computers. Accordingly, there is a strong incentive to develop alternatives that can reduce the number of mesh-points and still retain accuracy. One of the promising alternatives is the finite element method, which consists of the expansion of the neutron flux by piecewise polynomials. One of the advantages of this procedure is its flexibility in selecting the locations of the mesh points and the degree of the expansion polynomial. The small number of mesh points of the coarse grid enables to store the results of several of the least outer iterations and to calculate well extrapolated values of them by comfortable formalisms. This holds especially if only one energy distribution of fission neutrons is assumed for all fission processes in the reactor, because the whole information of an outer iteration is contained in a field of fission rates which has the size of all mesh points of the coarse grid.

75 FR 76695 - Request for Proposals for 2011 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-09

... from forest restoration activities, such as wildfire hazardous fuel treatments, insect and disease... INFORMATION: To address the goals of Public Law 110-234, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Rural... are: Promote projects that target and help remove economic and market barriers to using woody biomass...

LBA-ECO ND-02 Secondary Forest Small Stem, Non-Woody Biomass, Para, Brazil: 1999-2005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set reports biomass from small stems and non-woody vegetation measured from 1999 to 2005 in plots of a secondary-growth forest fertilization experiment....

LBA-ECO ND-02 Secondary Forest Small Stem, Non-Woody Biomass, Para, Brazil: 1999-2005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This data set reports biomass from small stems and non-woody vegetation measured from 1999 to 2005 in plots of a secondary-growth forest fertilization...

Coarse-mesh method for multidimensional, mixed-lattice diffusion calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodds, H.L. Jr.; Honeck, H.C.; Hostetler, D.E.

1977-01-01

A coarse-mesh finite difference method has been developed for multidimensional, mixed-lattice reactor diffusion calculations, both statics and kinetics, in hexagonal geometry. Results obtained with the coarse-mesh (CM) method have been compared with a conventional mesh-centered finite difference method and with experiment. The results of this comparison indicate that the accuracy of the CM method for highly heterogeneous (mixed) lattices using one point per hexagonal mesh element (''hex'') is about the same as the conventional method with six points per hex. Furthermore, the computing costs (i.e., central processor unit time and core storage requirements) of the CM method with one point per hex are about the same as the conventional method with one point per hex

MT-ADRES: multi-threading on coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Kehuai; Kanstein, Andreas; Madsen, Jan

2008-01-01

The coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture ADRES (architecture for dynamically reconfigurable embedded systems) and its compiler offer high instruction-level parallelism (ILP) to applications by means of a sparsely interconnected array of functional units and register files. As high-ILP archi......The coarse-grained reconfigurable architecture ADRES (architecture for dynamically reconfigurable embedded systems) and its compiler offer high instruction-level parallelism (ILP) to applications by means of a sparsely interconnected array of functional units and register files. As high......-ILP architectures achieve only low parallelism when executing partially sequential code segments, which is also known as Amdahl's law, this article proposes to extend ADRES to MT-ADRES (multi-threaded ADRES) to also exploit thread-level parallelism. On MT-ADRES architectures, the array can be partitioned...

Identification of putative orthologous genes for the phylogenetic reconstruction of temperate woody bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Li-Na; Zhang, Xian-Zhi; Zhang, Yu-Xiao; Zeng, Chun-Xia; Ma, Peng-Fei; Zhao, Lei; Guo, Zhen-Hua; Li, De-Zhu

2014-09-01

The temperate woody bamboos (Arundinarieae) are highly diverse in morphology but lack a substantial amount of genetic variation. The taxonomy of this lineage is intractable, and the relationships within the tribe have not been well resolved. Recent studies indicated that this tribe could have a complex evolutionary history. Although phylogenetic studies of the tribe have been carried out, most of these phylogenetic reconstructions were based on plastid data, which provide lower phylogenetic resolution compared with nuclear data. In this study, we intended to identify a set of desirable nuclear genes for resolving the phylogeny of the temperate woody bamboos. Using two different methodologies, we identified 209 and 916 genes, respectively, as putative single copy orthologous genes. A total of 112 genes was successfully amplified and sequenced by next-generation sequencing technologies in five species sampled from the tribe. As most of the genes exhibited intra-individual allele heterozygotes, we investigated phylogenetic utility by reconstructing the phylogeny based on individual genes. Discordance among gene trees was observed and, to resolve the conflict, we performed a range of analyses using BUCKy and HybTree. While caution should be taken when inferring a phylogeny from multiple conflicting genes, our analysis indicated that 74 of the 112 investigated genes are potential markers for resolving the phylogeny of the temperate woody bamboos. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Environmental Impacts and Costs of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils, Transesterified Lipids and Woody BTL—A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Brekke

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This article reviews and compares assessments of three biodiesel fuels: (1 transesterified lipids, (2 hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO, and (3 woody biomass-to-liquid (BTL Fischer-Tropsch diesel and selected feedstock options. The article attempts to rank the environmental performance and costs of fuel and feedstock combinations. Due to inter-study differences in goal and study assumptions, the ranking was mostly qualitative and intra-study results are emphasized. Results indicate that HVO made from wastes or by-products such as tall oil, tallow or used cooking oil outperform transesterified lipids and BTL from woody material, both with respect to environmental life cycle impacts and costs. These feedstock options are, however, of limited availability, and to produce larger volumes of biofuels other raw materials must also be used. BTL from woody biomass seems promising with good environmental performance and the ability not to compete with food production. Production of biofuels from agricultural feedstock sources requires much energy and leads to considerable emissions due to agrochemical inputs. Thus, such biodiesel fuels are ranked lowest in this comparison. Production of feedstock is the most important life cycle stage. Avoiding detrimental land use changes and maintaining good agricultural or forestry management practices are the main challenges to ensure that biofuels can be a sustainable option for the future transport sector.

Field-Cage Methodology for Evaluating Climatic Suitability for Introduced Wood-Borer Parasitoids: Preliminary Results from the Emerald Ash Borer System

Science.gov (United States)

Ulyshen, Michael D.; Duan, Jian J.; Bauer, Leah S.; Gould, Juli; Taylor, Phil; Bean, Dick; Holko, Carol; Driesche, Roy Van

2011-01-01

Field-cage methods were developed to evaluate the abilities of Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Spathius agrili Yang (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), biocontrol agents of Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), to parasitize, develop and overwinter following three late-season releases at both a northern (Michigan) and a southern (Maryland) location within the current North American range of A. planipennis. In August, September and October of 2009, five young green ash trees were selected at each location. Tetrastichus planipennisi and S. agrili were each randomly assigned to one of two cages attached to each tree, surrounding separate sections of trunk in which late-instar A. planipennis had been inserted. The following April, the caged trunk sections were dissected to determine the fate of each A. planipennis larva and the developmental stages of all recovered parasitoid progeny. At both locations, T. planipennisi and S. agrili were able to parasitize hosts and successfully overwinter (i.e., reach adulthood the following spring). For T. planipennisi, successful parasitism (i.e., parasitoid progeny reached adulthood) occurred for all caged releases in Maryland, but only for the August and September releases in Michigan. At both locations, percent parasitism by T. planipennisi was higher in August and September than in October. For S. agrili, successful parasitism occurred for all caged releases in Maryland, but only for the August release in Michigan. In Maryland, percent parasitism by S. agrili in August and September was higher than in October. The caging method described here should be useful in determining the climatic suitability of other regions before proceeding with large-scale releases of either species and may have utility in other wood-borer parasitoid systems as well. PMID:22233133

Application of Bridge Pier Scour Equations for Large Woody Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-01

velocities and, thus, reduces boundary shear stress , the primary driver of sediment erosion. Even if this vegetation should become uprooted, the smaller...ER D C TR -1 6- 10 Application of Bridge Pier Scour Equations for Large Woody Vegetation En gi ne er R es ea rc h an d D ev el op m...K. Corcoran, and Kevin S. Holden July 2016 Approved for public release ; distribution is unlimited. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and

A Global Database of Field-observed Leaf Area Index in Woody Plant Species, 1932-2011

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This data set provides global leaf area index (LAI) values for woody species. The data are a compilation of field-observed data from 1,216 locations...

Superplastic behavior of coarse-grained aluminum alloys

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chezan, AR; De Hosson, JTM

2005-01-01

In this paper we concentrate on the superplastic behavior and the microstructural evolution of two coarse-grained Al alloys: Al-4.4w/oMg and Al-4.4w/oMg-0.4w/oCu. The values for the strain rate sensitivity index and activation energy suggest that solute drag on dislocation motion is an important

EFFECTIVENESS OF LARGE WOODY DEBRIS IN STREAM REHABILITATION PROJECTS IN URBAN BASINS. (R825284)

Science.gov (United States)

Urban stream rehabilitation projects commonly include log placement to establish the types of habitat features associated with large woody debris (LWD) in undisturbed streams. Six urban in-stream rehabilitation projects were examined in the Puget Sound Lowland of western Washi...

Woody debris volume depletion through decay: Implications for biomass and carbon accounting

Science.gov (United States)

Shawn Fraver; Amy M. Milo; John B. Bradford; Anthony W. D’Amato; Laura Kenefic; Brian J. Palik; Christopher W. Woodall; John Brissette

2013-01-01

Woody debris decay rates have recently received much attention because of the need to quantify temporal changes in forest carbon stocks. Published decay rates, available for many species, are commonly used to characterize deadwood biomass and carbon depletion. However, decay rates are often derived from reductions in wood density through time, which when used to model...

Status of exotic woody species in big cypress national preserve. Technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gunderson, L.H.

1983-12-01

The current status of exotic woody plants in Big Cypress National Preserve is documented. A map of the distribution of principal pest species, Melaleuca quinquenervia, Schinus terebinthifolius, and Casuarina sp., is presented. Prognoses of population increases of these problem species are determined utilizing the current distributions and assessing environmental conditions. Some potential problem species are also identified.

The National Inventory of Down Woody Materials: Methods, Outputs, and Future Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher W. Woodall

2003-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) of the USDA Forest Service conducts a national inventory of forests of the United States. A subset of FIA permanent inventory plots are sampled every year for numerous forest health indicators ranging fiom soils to understory vegetation. Down woody material (DWM) is an FIA indicator that refines estimation of forest...

Symmetries and the coarse-mesh method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makai, M.

1980-10-01

This report approaches the basic problem of the coarse-mesh method from a new side. Group theory is used for the determination of the space dependency of the flux. The result is a method called ANANAS after the analytic-analytic solution. This method was tested on two benchmark problems: one given by Melice and the IAEA benchmark. The ANANAS program is an experimental one. The method was intended for use in hexagonal geometry. (Auth.)

Field note: comparative efficacy of a woody evapotranspiration landfill cover following the removal of aboveground biomass.

Science.gov (United States)

Schnabel, William; Munk, Jens; Byrd, Amanda

2015-01-01

Woody vegetation cultivated for moisture management on evapotranspiration (ET) landfill covers could potentially serve a secondary function as a biomass crop. However, research is required to evaluate the extent to which trees could be harvested from ET covers without significantly impacting their moisture management function. This study investigated the drainage through a six-year-old, primarily poplar/cottonwood ET test cover for a period of one year following the harvest of all woody biomass exceeding a height of 30 cm above ground surface. Results were compared to previously reported drainage observed during the years leading up to the coppice event. In the first year following coppice, the ET cover was found to be 93% effective at redirecting moisture during the spring/summer season, and 95% effective during the subsequent fall/winter season. This was slightly lower than the 95% and 100% efficacy observed in the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons, respectively, during the final measured year prior to coppice. However, the post-coppice efficacy was higher than the efficacy observed during the first three years following establishment of the cover. While additional longer-term studies are recommended, this project demonstrated that woody ET covers could potentially produce harvestable biomass while still effectively managing aerial moisture.

Enhancement of properties of recycled coarse aggregate concrete using bacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo; Arakha; Sarkar; P; Jha

2016-01-01

Due to rapid construction, necessity for raw materials of concrete, especially coarse aggregate, tends to increase the danger of early exhaustion of the natural resources. An alternative source of raw materials would perhaps delay the advent of this early exhaustion. Recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) plays a great role as an alternative raw material that can replace the natural coarse aggregate (NCA) for concrete. Previous studies show that the properties of RCA concrete are inferior in quality compared to NCA concrete. This article attempts to study the improvement of properties of RCA concrete with the addition of bacteria named as Bacillus subtilis. The experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the improvement of the compressive strength, capillary water absorption, and drying shrinkage of RCA concrete incorporating bacteria. The compressive strength of RCA concrete is found to be increased by about 20% when the cell concentration of B. subtilis is 106 cells/ml. The capillary water absorption as well as drying shrinkage of RCA are reduced when bacteria is incorporated. The improvement of RCA concrete is confirmed to be due to the calcium carbonate precipitation as observed from the microstructure studies carried out on it such as EDX, SEM, and XRD.

Species composition and diversity of non-forest woody vegetation along roads in the agricultural landscape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tóth Attila

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Non-forest woody vegetation represents an important component of green infrastructure in the agricultural landscape, where natural and semi-natural forest cover has only a low land use proportion. This paper focuses on linear woody vegetation structures along roads in the agricultural landscape and analyses them in three study areas in the Nitra Region, Slovakia. We evaluate species composition and diversity, species occurrence frequency or spatial distribution, their structure according to relatively achievable age and origin. For the evaluation of occurrence frequency, a Frequency Factor was proposed and applied. This factor allows a better comparison of different study areas and results in more representative findings. The study areas were divided into sectors based on visual landscape features, which are easily identifiable in the field, such as intersections and curves in roads, and intersections of roads with other features, such as cadastral or land boundaries, watercourses, etc. Based on the species abundance, woody plants present within the sectors were categorised into 1 predominant, 2 complementary and 3 mixed-in species; and with regard to their origin into 1 autochthonous and 2 allochthonous. Further, trees were categorised into 1 long-lived, 2 medium-lived and 3 short-lived tree species. The main finding is that among trees, mainly allochthonous species dominated. Robinia pseudoacacia L. was the predominant tree species in all three study areas. It was up to 4 times more frequent than other predominant tree species. Introduced tree species prevailed also among complementary and mixed-in species. Among shrubs, mainly native species dominated, while non-native species had a significantly lower proportion and spatial distribution. Based on these findings, several measures have been proposed to improve the overall ecological stability, the proportion and spatial distribution of native woody plant species. The recommendations and

Characterizing protein conformations by correlation analysis of coarse-grained contact matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsay, Richard J.; Siess, Jan; Lohry, David P.; McGee, Trevor S.; Ritchie, Jordan S.; Johnson, Quentin R.; Shen, Tongye

2018-01-01

We have developed a method to capture the essential conformational dynamics of folded biopolymers using statistical analysis of coarse-grained segment-segment contacts. Previously, the residue-residue contact analysis of simulation trajectories was successfully applied to the detection of conformational switching motions in biomolecular complexes. However, the application to large protein systems (larger than 1000 amino acid residues) is challenging using the description of residue contacts. Also, the residue-based method cannot be used to compare proteins with different sequences. To expand the scope of the method, we have tested several coarse-graining schemes that group a collection of consecutive residues into a segment. The definition of these segments may be derived from structural and sequence information, while the interaction strength of the coarse-grained segment-segment contacts is a function of the residue-residue contacts. We then perform covariance calculations on these coarse-grained contact matrices. We monitored how well the principal components of the contact matrices is preserved using various rendering functions. The new method was demonstrated to assist the reduction of the degrees of freedom for describing the conformation space, and it potentially allows for the analysis of a system that is approximately tenfold larger compared with the corresponding residue contact-based method. This method can also render a family of similar proteins into the same conformational space, and thus can be used to compare the structures of proteins with different sequences.

A detection of the coarse water droplets in steam turbines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartoš Ondřej

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to introduce a novel method for the detection of coarse water droplets in a low pressure part of steam turbines. The photogrammetry method has been applied for the measurement of coarse droplets in the low-pressure part of a steam turbine. A new probe based on this measurement technique was developed and tested in the laboratory and in a steam turbine in the Počerady power-plant. The probe was equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation. The paper contains results from laboratory tests and the first preliminary measurements in a steam turbine. Possible applications of this method have been examined.

Invasive alien woody plants of the northern Cape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Henderson

1991-10-01

Full Text Available The frequency and abundance of invasive alien woody plants were recorded along roadsides and at watercourse crossings in 31% (90/286 of the quarter degree squares in the study area. The survey yielded 23 species of which the most prominent invaders were Prosopis spp. The most prominent remaining species were: Opuntia ficus-indica, Nicotiana glauca and Melia azedarach. The greatest abundance and diversity of alien invader plants were recorded near human settlements. More than half of the total recorded species have invaded perennial riverbanks. The episodic Molopo and Kuruman Rivers have been invaded almost exclusively by  Prosopis spp., which in places have formed extensive stands.

Modification of the MORSE code for Monte Carlo eigenvalue problems by coarse-mesh rebalance acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishida, Takahiko; Horikami, Kunihiko; Suzuki, Tadakazu; Nakahara, Yasuaki; Taji, Yukichi

1975-09-01

The coarse-mesh rebalancing technique is introduced into the general-purpose neutron and gamma-ray Monte Carlo transport code MORSE, to accelerate the convergence rate of the iteration process for eigenvalue calculation in a nuclear reactor system. Two subroutines are thus attached to the code. One is bookkeeping routine 'COARSE' for obtaining the quantities related with the neutron balance in each coarse mesh cell, such as the number of neutrons absorbed in the cell, from random walks of neutrons in a batch. The other is rebalance factor calculation routine 'REBAL' for obtaining the scaling factor whereby the neutron flux in the cell is multiplied to attain the neutron balance. The two subroutines and algorithm of the coarse mesh rebalancing acceleration in a Monte Carlo game are described. (auth.)

A Global Database of Field-observed Leaf Area Index in Woody Plant Species, 1932-2011

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data set provides global leaf area index (LAI) values for woody species. The data are a compilation of field-observed data from 1,216 locations obtained from...

Martini Coarse-Grained Force Field : Extension to Carbohydrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lopez, Cesar A.; Rzepiela, Andrzej J.; de Vries, Alex H.; Dijkhuizen, Lubbert; Huenenberger, Philippe H.; Marrink, Siewert J.

2009-01-01

We present an extension of the Martini coarse-grained force field to carbohydrates. The parametrization follows the same philosophy as was used previously for lipids and proteins, focusing on the reproduction of partitioning free energies of small compounds between polar and nonpolar phases. The

Comparison of 226Ra nuclide from soil by three woody species Betula pendula, Sambucus nigra and Alnus glutinosa during the vegetation period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soudek, Petr; Petrova, Sarka; Benesova, Dagmar; Tykva, Richard; Vankova, Radomira; Vanek, Tomas

2007-01-01

The uptake of 226 Ra from the contaminated soil was compared in three woody species: alder (Alnus glutinosa), birch (Betula pendula) and elder (Sambucus nigra). The 226 Ra activities increased during the vegetation periods (in 2003, 2004 and 2005) both in the leaves and flowers + seeds. The highest accumulation was found in birch, reaching 0.41 Bq/g DW in the leaves (at the end of the vegetation period in 2003). The lowest 226 Ra accumulation was determined in alder. The extent of 226 Ra accumulation in the leaves of woody species demonstrates that these pioneer woody species can be used as remediation alternative to the use of herbs, provided that the removal of fallen leaves could be achieved in the end of vegetation period

Synopsis: the role of prescribed burning in regenerating Quercus macrocarpa and associated woody plants in stringer woodlands in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Carolyn Hull Sieg; Henry A. Wright

1998-01-01

Poor tree reproduction, sparse shrub cover, and increasing amounts of exotic species such as Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) are common problems in woody draws in the Northern Great Plains. Although the historic role of fire in maintaining woody draws is unclear, it is likely that these woodlands burned periodically, especially in dry years on hot...

Landscape Evolution in South Texas Savannas: Impact of Woody Encroachment on Land-Surface Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Basant, S.; Wilcox, B. P.

2017-12-01

South Texas shrubland savannas have seen extensive woody encroachment over the last century. The ecosystem is largely spread over the coastal sediments typified by subtle elevation differences which are marked by bands of thick vegetation. Together, they form a dendritic pattern of vegetation which resembles a drainage network. We hypothesize that these vegetation shifts from grassland to woodlands began with the woody encroachment of drainage networks first. This was helped mainly by two factors, a) cattle grazing, b) the undulating feature of the landscape, c) periodic high intensity storms every few years resulting in large overland flows. We propose that the overland flows generated by these periodic storms provided a `subsidy' of extra water accounting for the differential rate of biomass production in lowlands. We also propose that with the continued woody encroachment, the extent of redistribution of water has changed in extent, and in scale triggering vegetation dynamics which are more controlled at patch scales. Soil moisture data was collected for over a year using neutron moisture meter for 40 points spread over a micro catchment. Plot scale runoff and interception data was sampled for the same catchment. USGS historical streamflow data from nearby creeks was used to confirm the periodic trend of runoff generation. Control exerted by microtopography of the site was accounted by using DEM at 1m resolution. Soil water storage was found to be consistently higher for uplands with open areas while lower for wooded patches but the upland sites also exhibited variability based on the slope and soil texture. Runoff generated also varied on shrub cover, slope and soil order, but higher for areas with previous records of grazing. Most runoff events were < 2mm except for 2 hurricane events in our records which generated more than 100mm of runoff. This points to the importance the role of rainfall intensity and the scale of runoff redistribution in providing

Water-use strategies of six co-existing Mediterranean woody species during a summer drought

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quero, J.L.; Sterck, F.J.; Martínez-Vilalta, J.; Villar, R.

2011-01-01

Drought stress is known to limit plant performance in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. We have investigated the dynamics of the hydraulics, gas exchange and morphology of six co-existing Mediterranean woody species growing under natural field conditions during a drought that continued during the

Characterization and distribution of a Potyvirus associated with passion fruit woodiness disease in Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

This paper describes the incidence and etiology of viral infection on passion fruit in Uganda. Viral disease symptoms, including those characteristic of Passion fruit woodiness disease (PWD), were observed in producing areas with an overall mean infection level of 27%. Electron microscopic observati...

Texture coarseness responsive neurons and their mapping in layer 2–3 of the rat barrel cortex in vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Garion, Liora; Dubin, Uri; Rubin, Yoav; Khateb, Mohamed; Schiller, Yitzhak; Azouz, Rony; Schiller, Jackie

2014-01-01

Texture discrimination is a fundamental function of somatosensory systems, yet the manner by which texture is coded and spatially represented in the barrel cortex are largely unknown. Using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging in the rat barrel cortex during artificial whisking against different surface coarseness or controlled passive whisker vibrations simulating different coarseness, we show that layer 2–3 neurons within barrel boundaries differentially respond to specific texture coarsenesses, while only a minority of neurons responded monotonically with increased or decreased surface coarseness. Neurons with similar preferred texture coarseness were spatially clustered. Multi-contact single unit recordings showed a vertical columnar organization of texture coarseness preference in layer 2–3. These findings indicate that layer 2–3 neurons perform high hierarchical processing of tactile information, with surface coarseness embodied by distinct neuronal subpopulations that are spatially mapped onto the barrel cortex. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03405.001 PMID:25233151

Biodiversity of Soil Microbial Communities Following Woody Plant Invasion of Grassland: An Assessment Using Molecular Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Kantola, I. B.; Gentry, T. J.; Filley, T. R.; Boutton, T. W.

2012-12-01

Woody plants have encroached into grasslands, savannas, and other grass-dominated ecosystems throughout the world during the last century. This dramatic vegetation change is likely driven by livestock grazing, altered fire frequencies, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and/or changes in atmospheric deposition patterns. Woody invasion often results in significant changes in ecosystem function, including alterations in above- and belowground primary productivity, soil C, N, and P storage and turnover, and the size and activity of the soil microbial biomass pool. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships and interactions between plant communities and soil microbial communities in the Rio Grande Plains region of southern Texas where grasslands have been largely replaced by woodlands. Research was conducted along a successional chronosequence representing the stages of woody plant encroachment from open grassland to closed-canopy woodland. To characterize soil microbial community composition, soil samples (0-7.5 cm) were collected in remnant grasslands (representing time 0) and near the centers of woody plant clusters, groves, and drainage woodlands ranging in age from 10 to 130 yrs. Ages of woody plant stands were determined by dendrochronology. Community DNA was extracted from each soil sample with a MoBio PowerMax Soil DNA isolation kit. The DNA concentrations were quantified on a NanoDrop ND-1000 spectrophotometer and diluted to a standard concentration. Pyrosequencing was performed by the Research and Testing Laboratory (Lubbock, TX) according to Roche 454 Titanium chemistry protocols. Samples were amplified with primers 27F and 519R for bacteria, and primers ITS1F and ITS4 for fungi. Sequences were aligned using BioEdit and the RDP Pipeline and analyzed in MOTHUR. Non-metric multidimensional scaling of the operational taxonomic units identified by pyrosequencing revealed that both bacterial and fungal community composition were

Coupling a nano-particle with isothermal fluctuating hydrodynamics: Coarse-graining from microscopic to mesoscopic dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Español, Pep [Dept. Física Fundamental, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Aptdo. 60141, E-28080 Madrid (Spain); Donev, Aleksandar [Dept. Física Fundamental, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Aptdo. 60141, E-28080 Madrid (Spain); Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 251 Mercer Street, New York, New York 10012 (United States)

2015-12-21

We derive a coarse-grained description of the dynamics of a nanoparticle immersed in an isothermal simple fluid by performing a systematic coarse graining of the underlying microscopic dynamics. As coarse-grained or relevant variables, we select the position of the nanoparticle and the total mass and momentum density field of the fluid, which are locally conserved slow variables because they are defined to include the contribution of the nanoparticle. The theory of coarse graining based on the Zwanzing projection operator leads us to a system of stochastic ordinary differential equations that are closed in the relevant variables. We demonstrate that our discrete coarse-grained equations are consistent with a Petrov-Galerkin finite-element discretization of a system of formal stochastic partial differential equations which resemble previously used phenomenological models based on fluctuating hydrodynamics. Key to this connection between our “bottom-up” and previous “top-down” approaches is the use of the same dual orthogonal set of linear basis functions familiar from finite element methods (FEMs), both as a way to coarse-grain the microscopic degrees of freedom and as a way to discretize the equations of fluctuating hydrodynamics. Another key ingredient is the use of a “linear for spiky” weak approximation which replaces microscopic “fields” with a linear FE interpolant inside expectation values. For the irreversible or dissipative dynamics, we approximate the constrained Green-Kubo expressions for the dissipation coefficients with their equilibrium averages. Under suitable approximations, we obtain closed approximations of the coarse-grained dynamics in a manner which gives them a clear physical interpretation and provides explicit microscopic expressions for all of the coefficients appearing in the closure. Our work leads to a model for dilute nanocolloidal suspensions that can be simulated effectively using feasibly short molecular dynamics

Using of Porcelinite as Coarse Aggregate in Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haifa Saleh

2015-02-01

Full Text Available In this research the ability of using porcelinite as coarse aggregate to produce light weight concrete was investigated.  The experimental program consists of preparing and testing a mixes to investigate mechanical properties of concrete, with a total of 15 cubes (100×100×100 mm, 30 cylinders (100×200 mm. The tests include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, fresh and hardened density of  light weight concrete for different porcelinite percentages ranged between(0% to 100% of the coarse aggregate weight. The obtained results for tested specimens were compared to control one. Test results indicated that using of porcelinite in concrete mix reduces the strength of concrete Porcelinite aggregate represents a reduction in density ranging between (10%-36% of normal weight concrete, therefore there is an advantage  using this type of light weight aggregate in this country where soil bearing capacity is low in most construction sites.

Development of a stranded oil in coarse sediment (SOCS) model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphrey, B.; Owens, E.; Sergy, G.

1993-01-01

Oil spills in Canadian waters have a high probability of impacting coarse sediment beaches, yet the ability to predict oil fate and estimate natural self-cleaning rates is less than adequate. Data is lacking to understand fully many oil sediment interactions. Historically, shoreline interactions have been considered using fairly simple concepts. The authors examined the processes that may occur on a coarse sediment beach, selected those which are important, and developed a fate and persistence model for stranded oil. The processes were divided into stages relative to the spill event, and the factors which affect each stage were evaluated. Three areas of special interest were the capacity of a beach to hold oil, the residual capacity of a beach for oil, and the long-term fate of the oil. After developing model algorithms, the outputs were compared to a data base of information collected during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The stranded oil in coarse sediment model will provide information at two levels: a general level for planning and sensitivity mapping and a more detailed level intended for the prediction of oil fate on specific known beaches. The strengths and weaknesses of the model have been assessed in terms of data deficiencies. The type and nature of the data which are most useful to, and which need to be collected for, spill planning and spill monitoring were identified. The model shows that the important factors directing the fate of oil on coarse sediment beaches are porosity and permeability, determined by grain size and oil properties (composition, viscosity, etc.). The natural rate of removal of oil, modeled as a first-order (exponential) removal, is dependent on the stage of the spill process and on wave energy

Change in Soil and Forest Floor Carbon after Shelterwood Harvests in a New England Oak-Hardwood Forest, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayanna L. Warren

2014-01-01

Full Text Available There has been effort worldwide to quantify how much carbon forests contain in order to designate appropriate offset credits to forest carbon climate mitigation. Carbon pools on or immediately below the soil surface are understood to be very active in response to environmental change but are not well understood. Our study focused on the effects of shelterwood regeneration harvests in New England on the carbon stored in litter, woody debris, and surface soil carbon. Results demonstrate significant difference in surface (0–10 cm soil carbon between control (nonharvested and harvested sites, with higher carbon percentage on control sites. Results showed a significant difference in coarse woody debris with higher amounts of carbon per area on harvested sites. No significant difference in litter mass was recorded between harvested and control sites. When coarse woody debris and litter are included with soil carbon, total carbon did not have a significant decline over 20 years following shelterwood treatment to the forest to secure regeneration, but there was considerable variability among sites. When taking all surface soil carbon measurements together, our results suggest that for accounting purposes the measurement of below-ground carbon after shelterwood harvests is not necessary for the southern New England region.

Overview of methods and tools for evaluating future woody biomass availability in European countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barreiro, Susana; Schelhaas, Mart Jan; Kändler, Gerald; Antón-Fernández, Clara; Colin, Antoine; Bontemps, Jean Daniel; Alberdi, Iciar; Condés, Sonia; Dumitru, Marius; Ferezliev, Angel; Fischer, Christoph; Gasparini, Patrizia; Gschwantner, Thomas; Kindermann, Georg; Kjartansson, Bjarki; Kovácsevics, Pál; Kucera, Milos; Lundström, Anders; Marin, Gheorghe; Mozgeris, Gintautas; Nord-Larsen, Thomas; Packalen, Tuula; Redmond, John; Sacchelli, Sandro; Sims, Allan; Snorrason, Arnór; Stoyanov, Nickola; Thürig, Esther; Wikberg, Per Erik

2016-01-01

Key message: This analysis of the tools and methods currently in use for reporting woody biomass availability in 21 European countries has shown that most countries use, or are developing, National Forest Inventory-oriented models whereas the others use standwise forest inventory--oriented

Martini Coarse-Grained Force Field : Extension to RNA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uusitalo, Jaakko J.; Ingolfsson, Helgi I.; Marrink, Siewert J.; Faustino, Ignacio

2017-01-01

RNA has an important role not only as the messenger of genetic information but also as a regulator of gene expression. Given its central role in cell biology, there is significant interest in studying the structural and dynamic behavior of RNA in relation to other biomolecules. Coarse-grain

Moving beyond Watson-Crick models of coarse grained DNA dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Linak, Margaret C; Tourdot, Richard; Dorfman, Kevin D

2011-11-28

DNA produces a wide range of structures in addition to the canonical B-form of double-stranded DNA. Some of these structures are stabilized by Hoogsteen bonds. We developed an experimentally parameterized, coarse-grained model that incorporates such bonds. The model reproduces many of the microscopic features of double-stranded DNA and captures the experimental melting curves for a number of short DNA hairpins, even when the open state forms complicated secondary structures. We demonstrate the utility of the model by simulating the folding of a thrombin aptamer, which contains G-quartets, and strand invasion during triplex formation. Our results highlight the importance of including Hoogsteen bonding in coarse-grained models of DNA.

The Andatza coarse-grained turbidite system (westernmost Pyrenees: Stratigraphy, sedimentology and structural control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bodego

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This is a field-based work that describes the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Andatza Conglomerate Formation. Based on facies analysis three facies associations of a coarse-grained turbidite system and the related slope have been identified: (1 an inner fan of a turbidite system (or canyon and (2 a low- and (3 a high-gradient muddy slope respectively. The spatial distribution of the facies associations and the palaeocurrent analysis allow to interpret a depositional model for the Andatza Conglomerates consisting of an L-shaped, coarse-grained turbidite system, whose morphology was structurally controlled by synsedimentary basement-involved normal faults. The coarse-grained character of the turbidite system indicates the proximity of the source area, with the presence of a narrow shelf that fed the turbidite canyon from the north.

Separation and collection of coarse aggregate from waste concrete by electric pulsed power

Science.gov (United States)

Shigeishi, Mitsuhiro

2017-09-01

Waste concrete accounts for a substantial fraction of construction waste, and the recycling of waste concrete as concrete aggregate for construction is an important challenge associated with the rapid increase in the amount of waste concrete and the tight supply of natural aggregate. In this study, we propose a technique based on the use of high-voltage pulsed electric discharge into concrete underwater for separating and collecting aggregate from waste concrete with minimal deterioration of quality. By using this technique, the quality of the coarse aggregate separated and collected from concrete test specimens is comparable to that of coarse aggregate recycled by heating and grinding methods, thus satisfying the criteria in Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) A 5021 for the oven-dry density and the water absorption of coarse aggregate by advanced recycling.

The total amounts of radioactively contaminated materials in forests in Fukushima, Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Hashimoto, Shoji; Ugawa, Shin; Nanko, Kazuki; Shichi, Koji

2012-01-01

There has been leakage of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A heavily contaminated area (≥ 134, 137Cs 1000 kBq m−2) has been identified in the area northwest of the plant. The majority of the land in the contaminated area is forest. Here we report the amounts of biomass, litter (small organic matter on the surface of the soil), coarse woody litter, and soil in the contaminated forest area. The estimated overall volume and weight were 33 Mm3 (branches, leaves, litter, and coarse woody litter are not included) and 21 Tg (dry matter), respectively. Our results suggest that removing litter is an efficient method of decontamination. However, litter is being continuously decomposed, and contaminated leaves will continue to fall on the soil surface for several years; hence, the litter should be removed promptly but continuously before more radioactive elements are transferred into the soil. PMID:22639724

Exact CTP renormalization group equation for the coarse-grained effective action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalvit, D.A.; Mazzitelli, F.D.

1996-01-01

We consider a scalar field theory in Minkowski spacetime and define a coarse-grained closed time path (CTP) effective action by integrating quantum fluctuations of wavelengths shorter than a critical value. We derive an exact CTP renormalization group equation for the dependence of the effective action on the coarse-graining scale. We solve this equation using a derivative expansion approach. Explicit calculation is performed for the λφ 4 theory. We discuss the relevance of the CTP average action in the study of nonequilibrium aspects of phase transitions in quantum field theory. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Coarse-grained simulations of polyelectrolyte complexes: MARTINI models for poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vögele, Martin [Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart (Germany); Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt a. M. (Germany); Holm, Christian; Smiatek, Jens, E-mail: smiatek@icp.uni-stuttgart.de [Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart (Germany)

2015-12-28

We present simulations of aqueous polyelectrolyte complexes with new MARTINI models for the charged polymers poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium). Our coarse-grained polyelectrolyte models allow us to study large length and long time scales with regard to chemical details and thermodynamic properties. The results are compared to the outcomes of previous atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and verify that electrostatic properties are reproduced by our MARTINI coarse-grained approach with reasonable accuracy. Structural similarity between the atomistic and the coarse-grained results is indicated by a comparison between the pair radial distribution functions and the cumulative number of surrounding particles. Our coarse-grained models are able to quantitatively reproduce previous findings like the correct charge compensation mechanism and a reduced dielectric constant of water. These results can be interpreted as the underlying reason for the stability of polyelectrolyte multilayers and complexes and validate the robustness of the proposed models.

Coarse-grained simulations of polyelectrolyte complexes: MARTINI models for poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vögele, Martin; Holm, Christian; Smiatek, Jens

2015-01-01

We present simulations of aqueous polyelectrolyte complexes with new MARTINI models for the charged polymers poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium). Our coarse-grained polyelectrolyte models allow us to study large length and long time scales with regard to chemical details and thermodynamic properties. The results are compared to the outcomes of previous atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and verify that electrostatic properties are reproduced by our MARTINI coarse-grained approach with reasonable accuracy. Structural similarity between the atomistic and the coarse-grained results is indicated by a comparison between the pair radial distribution functions and the cumulative number of surrounding particles. Our coarse-grained models are able to quantitatively reproduce previous findings like the correct charge compensation mechanism and a reduced dielectric constant of water. These results can be interpreted as the underlying reason for the stability of polyelectrolyte multilayers and complexes and validate the robustness of the proposed models

Large-scale carbon stock assessment of woody vegetation in tropical dry deciduous forest of Sathanur reserve forest, Eastern Ghats, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Gandhi, Durai Sanjay; Sundarapandian, Somaiah

2017-04-01

Tropical dry forests are one of the most widely distributed ecosystems in tropics, which remain neglected in research, especially in the Eastern Ghats. Therefore, the present study was aimed to quantify the carbon storage in woody vegetation (trees and lianas) on large scale (30, 1 ha plots) in the dry deciduous forest of Sathanur reserve forest of Eastern Ghats. Biomass of adult (≥10 cm DBH) trees was estimated by species-specific allometric equations using diameter and wood density of species whereas in juvenile tree population and lianas, their respective general allometric equations were used to estimate the biomass. The fractional value 0.4453 was used to convert dry biomass into carbon in woody vegetation of tropical dry forest. The mean aboveground biomass value of juvenile tree population was 1.86 Mg/ha. The aboveground biomass of adult trees ranged from 64.81 to 624.96 Mg/ha with a mean of 245.90 Mg/ha. The mean aboveground biomass value of lianas was 7.98 Mg/ha. The total biomass of woody vegetation (adult trees + juvenile population of trees + lianas) ranged from 85.02 to 723.46 Mg/ha, with a mean value of 295.04 Mg/ha. Total carbon accumulated in woody vegetation in tropical dry deciduous forest ranged from 37.86 to 322.16 Mg/ha with a mean value of 131.38 Mg/ha. Adult trees accumulated 94.81% of woody biomass carbon followed by lianas (3.99%) and juvenile population of trees (1.20%). Albizia amara has the greatest biomass and carbon stock (58.31%) among trees except for two plots (24 and 25) where Chloroxylon swietenia contributed more to biomass and carbon stock. Similarly, Albizia amara (52.4%) showed greater carbon storage in juvenile population of trees followed by Chloroxylon swietenia (21.9%). Pterolobium hexapetalum (38.86%) showed a greater accumulation of carbon in liana species followed by Combretum albidum (33.04%). Even though, all the study plots are located within 10 km radius, they show a significant spatial variation among

Measuring Crack Length in Coarse Grain Ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Salem, Jonathan A.; Ghosn, Louis J.

2010-01-01

Due to a coarse grain structure, crack lengths in precracked spinel specimens could not be measured optically, so the crack lengths and fracture toughness were estimated by strain gage measurements. An expression was developed via finite element analysis to correlate the measured strain with crack length in four-point flexure. The fracture toughness estimated by the strain gaged samples and another standardized method were in agreement.

Phylogenetic diversity of macromycetes and woody plants along an elevational gradient in Eastern Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Marko Gomez-Hernandez; Guadalupe Williams-Linera; D. Jean Lodge; Roger Guevara; Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez; Etelvina Gandara

2016-01-01

Phylogenetic information provides insight into the ecological and evolutionary processes that organize species assemblages. We compared patterns of phylogenetic diversity among macromycete and woody plant communities along a steep elevational gradient in eastern Mexico to better understand the evolutionary processes that structure their communities. Macrofungi and...

Marination and cooking performance of portioned broiler breast fillets with the woody breast condition

Science.gov (United States)

The woody breast (WB) condition in broiler breast meat negatively influences technological meat quality. However, it is unknown if the WB effects are uniform throughout the Pectoralis major. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of WB on the marination and cooking performance of...

Growing stock and woody biomass assessment in Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushwaha, S P S; Nandy, S; Gupta, Mohini

2014-09-01

Biomass is an important entity to understand the capacity of an ecosystem to sequester and accumulate carbon over time. The present study, done in collaboration with the Delhi Forest Department, focused on the estimation of growing stock and the woody biomass in the so-called lungs of Delhi--the Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Aravalli hills. The satellite-derived vegetation strata were field-inventoried using stratified random sampling procedure. Growing stock was calculated for the individual sample plots using field data and species-specific volume equations. Biomass was estimated from the growing stock and the specific gravity of the wood. Among the four vegetation types, viz. Prosopis juliflora, Anogeissus pendula, forest plantation and the scrub, the P. juliflora was found to be the dominant vegetation in the area, covering 23.43 km(2) of the total area. The study revealed that P. juliflora forest with moderate density had the highest (10.7 m(3)/ha) while A. pendula forest with moderate density had the lowest (3.6 m(3)/ha) mean volume. The mean woody biomass was also found to be maximum in P. juliflora forest with moderate density (10.3 t/ha) and lowest in A. pendula forest with moderate density (3.48 t/ha). The total growing stock was estimated to be 20,772.95 m(3) while total biomass worked out to be 19,366.83 t. A strong correlation was noticed between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the growing stock (R(2) = 0.84)/biomass (R(2) = 0.88). The study demonstrated that growing stock and the biomass of the woody vegetation in Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary could be estimated with high accuracy using optical remote sensing data.

Solvation free energies and partition coefficients with the coarse-grained and hybrid all-atom/coarse-grained MARTINI models.

Science.gov (United States)

Genheden, Samuel

2017-10-01

We present the estimation of solvation free energies of small solutes in water, n-octanol and hexane using molecular dynamics simulations with two MARTINI models at different resolutions, viz. the coarse-grained (CG) and the hybrid all-atom/coarse-grained (AA/CG) models. From these estimates, we also calculate the water/hexane and water/octanol partition coefficients. More than 150 small, organic molecules were selected from the Minnesota solvation database and parameterized in a semi-automatic fashion. Using either the CG or hybrid AA/CG models, we find considerable deviations between the estimated and experimental solvation free energies in all solvents with mean absolute deviations larger than 10 kJ/mol, although the correlation coefficient is between 0.55 and 0.75 and significant. There is also no difference between the results when using the non-polarizable and polarizable water model, although we identify some improvements when using the polarizable model with the AA/CG solutes. In contrast to the estimated solvation energies, the estimated partition coefficients are generally excellent with both the CG and hybrid AA/CG models, giving mean absolute deviations between 0.67 and 0.90 log units and correlation coefficients larger than 0.85. We analyze the error distribution further and suggest avenues for improvements.

Solvation free energies and partition coefficients with the coarse-grained and hybrid all-atom/coarse-grained MARTINI models

Science.gov (United States)

Genheden, Samuel

2017-10-01

We present the estimation of solvation free energies of small solutes in water, n-octanol and hexane using molecular dynamics simulations with two MARTINI models at different resolutions, viz. the coarse-grained (CG) and the hybrid all-atom/coarse-grained (AA/CG) models. From these estimates, we also calculate the water/hexane and water/octanol partition coefficients. More than 150 small, organic molecules were selected from the Minnesota solvation database and parameterized in a semi-automatic fashion. Using either the CG or hybrid AA/CG models, we find considerable deviations between the estimated and experimental solvation free energies in all solvents with mean absolute deviations larger than 10 kJ/mol, although the correlation coefficient is between 0.55 and 0.75 and significant. There is also no difference between the results when using the non-polarizable and polarizable water model, although we identify some improvements when using the polarizable model with the AA/CG solutes. In contrast to the estimated solvation energies, the estimated partition coefficients are generally excellent with both the CG and hybrid AA/CG models, giving mean absolute deviations between 0.67 and 0.90 log units and correlation coefficients larger than 0.85. We analyze the error distribution further and suggest avenues for improvements.

Isolation of high quality RNA from pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) and other woody plants high in secondary metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

Moazzam Jazi, Maryam; Rajaei, Saideh; Seyedi, Seyed Mahdi

2015-10-01

The quality and quantity of RNA are critical for successful downstream transcriptome-based studies such as microarrays and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). RNA isolation from woody plants, such as Pistacia vera, with very high amounts of polyphenols and polysaccharides is an enormous challenge. Here, we describe a highly efficient protocol that overcomes the limitations posed by poor quality and low yield of isolated RNA from pistachio and various recalcitrant woody plants. The key factors that resulted in a yield of 150 μg of high quality RNA per 200 mg of plant tissue include the elimination of phenol from the extraction buffer, raising the concentration of β-mercaptoethanol, long time incubation at 65 °C, and nucleic acid precipitation with optimized volume of NaCl and isopropyl alcohol. Also, the A260/A280 and A260/A230 of extracted RNA were about 1.9-2.1and 2.2-2.3, respectively, revealing the high purity. Since the isolated RNA passed highly stringent quality control standards for sensitive reactions, including RNA sequencing and real-time PCR, it can be considered as a reliable and cost-effective method for RNA extraction from woody plants.

Woody invasions of urban trails and the changing face of urban forests in the great plains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Nemec, K.T.; Allen, Craig R.; Alai, A.; Clements, G.; Kessler, A.C.; Kinsell, T.; Major, A.; Stephen, B.J.

2011-01-01

Corridors such as roads and trails can facilitate invasions by non-native plant species. The open, disturbed habitat associated with corridors provides favorable growing conditions for many non-native plant species. Bike trails are a corridor system common to many urban areas that have not been studied for their potential role in plant invasions. We sampled five linear segments of urban forest along bike trails in Lincoln, Nebraska to assess the invasion of woody non-native species relative to corridors and to assess the composition of these urban forests. The most abundant plant species were generally native species, but five non-native species were also present: white mulberry (Morus alba), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) and elm (Ulmus spp.). The distribution of two of the woody species sampled, common buckthorn and honeysuckle, significantly decreased with increasing distance from a source patch of vegetation (P = 0.031 and 0.030). These linear habitats are being invaded by non-native tree and shrub species, which may change the structure of these urban forest corridors. If non-native woody plant species become abundant in the future, they may homogenize the plant community and reduce native biodiversity in these areas. ?? 2011 American Midland Naturalist.

A Phenology-Based Method for Monitoring Woody and Herbaceous Vegetation in Mediterranean Forests from NDVI Time Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Helman

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We present an efficient method for monitoring woody (i.e., evergreen and herbaceous (i.e., ephemeral vegetation in Mediterranean forests at a sub pixel scale from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI time series derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS. The method is based on the distinct development periods of those vegetation components. In the dry season, herbaceous vegetation is absent or completely dry in Mediterranean forests. Thus the mean NDVI in the dry season was attributed to the woody vegetation (NDVIW. A constant NDVI value was assumed for soil background during this period. In the wet season, changes in NDVI were attributed to the development of ephemeral herbaceous vegetation in the forest floor and its maximum value to the peak green cover (NDVIH. NDVIW and NDVIH agreed well with field estimates of leaf area index and fraction of vegetation cover in two differently structured Mediterranean forests. To further assess the method’s assumptions, understory NDVI was retrieved form MODIS Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF data and compared with NDVIH. After calibration, leaf area index and woody and herbaceous vegetation covers were assessed for those forests. Applicability for pre- and post-fire monitoring is presented as a potential use of this method for forest management in Mediterranean-climate regions.

Woody biomass comminution and sorting - a review of mechanical methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eriksson, Gunnar [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Forest Resource Management, Umeaa (Sweden)], e-mail: gunnar.eriksson@slu.se

2012-11-01

The increased demand for woody biomass for heat and electricity and biorefineries means that each bio component must be used efficiently. Any increase in raw material supply in the short term is likely to require the use of trees from early thinnings, logging residues and stumps, assortments of low value compared to stemwood. However, sorting of the novel materials into bio components may increase their value considerably. The challenge is to 1) maximise the overall values of the different raw material fractions for different users, 2) minimise costs for raw material extraction, processing, storage and transportation. Comminution of the raw material (e.g. to chips, chunks, flakes and powder) and sorting the bio components (e.g. separating bark from pulp chips and separating alkali-rich needles and shots for combustion and gasification applications) are crucial processes in this optimisation. The purpose of this study has been to make a literature review of principles for comminution and sorting, with an emphasis on mechanical methods suitable outside industries. More efficient comminution methods can be developed when the wood is to a larger extent cut along the fibre direction, and closer to the surface (with less pressure to the sides of the knife). By using coarse comminution (chunking) rather than fine comminution (chipping), productivity at landings can be increased and energy saved, the resulting product will have better storage and drying properties. At terminals, any further comminution (if necessary) could use larger-scale equipment of higher efficiency. Rolls and flails can be used to an increasing extent for removing foliage and twigs, possibly in the terrain (for instance fitted on grapples). Physical parameters used for sorting of the main components of trees include particle size, density and shape (aerodynamic drag and lift), optical and IR properties and X-ray fluorescence. Although methods developed for pulp chip production from whole trees may not

Recycled tires as coarse aggregate in concrete pavement mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

The reuse potential of tire chips as coarse aggregates in pavement concrete was examined in this research by : investigating the effects of low- and high-volume tire chips on fresh and hardened concrete properties. One concrete : control mixture was ...

Non-Steady Oscillatory Flow in Coarse Granular Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, O. H.; Gent, M. R. A. van; Meer, J. W. van der

1992-01-01

Stationary and oscillatory flow through coarse granular materials have been investigated experimentally at Delft Hydraulics in their oscillating water tunnel with the objective of determining the coefficients of the extended Forchheimer equation. Cylinders, spheres and different types of rock have....... Further, for the non-stationary term, the virtual mass coefficient will be derived....

Loop overhead reduction techniques for coarse grained reconfigurable architectures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vadivel, K.; Wijtvliet, M.; Jordans, R.; Corporaal, H.

2017-01-01

Due to their flexibility and high performance, Coarse Grained Reconfigurable Array (CGRA) are a topic of increasing research interest. However, CGRAs also have the potential to achieve very high energy efficiency in comparison to other reconfigurable architectures when hardware optimizations are

Hierarchical coarse-graining transform.

Science.gov (United States)

Pancaldi, Vera; King, Peter R; Christensen, Kim

2009-03-01

We present a hierarchical transform that can be applied to Laplace-like differential equations such as Darcy's equation for single-phase flow in a porous medium. A finite-difference discretization scheme is used to set the equation in the form of an eigenvalue problem. Within the formalism suggested, the pressure field is decomposed into an average value and fluctuations of different kinds and at different scales. The application of the transform to the equation allows us to calculate the unknown pressure with a varying level of detail. A procedure is suggested to localize important features in the pressure field based only on the fine-scale permeability, and hence we develop a form of adaptive coarse graining. The formalism and method are described and demonstrated using two synthetic toy problems.

A coarse-graining approach for molecular simulation that retains the dynamics of the all-atom reference system by implementing hydrodynamic interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markutsya, Sergiy [Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States); Lamm, Monica H., E-mail: mhlamm@iastate.edu [Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States); Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (United States)

2014-11-07

We report on a new approach for deriving coarse-grained intermolecular forces that retains the frictional contribution that is often discarded by conventional coarse-graining methods. The approach is tested for water and an aqueous glucose solution, and the results from the new implementation for coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation show remarkable agreement with the dynamics obtained from reference all-atom simulations. The agreement between the structural properties observed in the coarse-grained and all-atom simulations is also preserved. We discuss how this approach may be applied broadly to any existing coarse-graining method where the coarse-grained models are rigorously derived from all-atom reference systems.

A coarse-graining approach for molecular simulation that retains the dynamics of the all-atom reference system by implementing hydrodynamic interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markutsya, Sergiy; Lamm, Monica H.

2014-01-01

We report on a new approach for deriving coarse-grained intermolecular forces that retains the frictional contribution that is often discarded by conventional coarse-graining methods. The approach is tested for water and an aqueous glucose solution, and the results from the new implementation for coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation show remarkable agreement with the dynamics obtained from reference all-atom simulations. The agreement between the structural properties observed in the coarse-grained and all-atom simulations is also preserved. We discuss how this approach may be applied broadly to any existing coarse-graining method where the coarse-grained models are rigorously derived from all-atom reference systems

Bench-scale production of liquid fuel from woody biomass via gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanaoka, Toshiaki; Liu, Yanyong; Matsunaga, Kotetsu; Miyazawa, Tomohisa; Hirata, Satoshi; Sakanishi, Kinya [Biomass Technology Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Suehiro 2-2-2, Hiro, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0197 (Japan)

2010-08-15

The bench-scale production of hydrocarbon liquid fuel was achieved from woody biomass via gasification. The daily production capacity of the biomass-to-liquid (BTL) plant used in this study was 7.8 L of hydrocarbon liquid from 48 kg of woody biomass (on a dry basis), corresponding to 0.05 barrels. The BTL process involved the following steps: oxygen-enriched air gasification of the woody biomass, wet and dry gas cleaning, gas compression, carbon dioxide removal, and the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis reaction. In the gasification step, oxygen-enriched air gasification was carried out using a downdraft fixed-bed gasifier. The content of oxygen, which acts as the gasifying agent, was increased from 21.0 to 56.7 vol%; maximum values of the conversion to gas on a carbon basis and cold gas efficiency-approximately 96 C-mol% and 87.8%, respectively-were obtained at an oxygen content of around 30 vol%. With the increased oxygen content, the concentrations of CO, H{sub 2}, and CO{sub 2} increased from 22.8 to 36.5 vol%, from 16.8 to 28.1 vol%, and from 9.8 to 14.8 vol%, respectively, while that of N{sub 2} decreased from 48.8 to 16.0 vol%. The feed gas for the FT synthesis reaction was obtained by passing the product gas from the gasification step through a scrubber, carbon dioxide removal tower, and desulfurization tower; its composition was 30.8 vol% CO, 25.2 vol% H{sub 2}, 0.9 vol% CO{sub 2}, 2.5 vol% CH{sub 4}, 40.6 vol% N{sub 2}, < 5 ppb H{sub 2}S, and < 5 ppb COS. The hydrocarbon fuel was synthesized in a slurry bed reactor using hexadecane as the solvent and a Co/SiO{sub 2} catalyst. For hydrocarbons with carbon chain lengths of more than 5 carbon atoms (collectively referred to as C{sub 5+}) in the liquid fuel, a selectivity of 87.5% was obtained along with a chain growth probability of 0.84 under the following conditions: 4 MPa, 280 to 340 C, and a ratio of catalyst weight to feed gas rate (W/F) of 9.3 g.h/mol. (author)

Coarse woody debris facilitates oak recruitment in Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, Christian; Kuijper, Dries P. J.; Prentice, David; Wassen, Martin J.; Cromsigt, Joris P. G. M.

2012-01-01

While oaks contribute to the ecology and economy of temperate lowland forests, recruitment into larger size classes is generally scarce. Ungulate herbivory is a limiting factor for tree recruitment, thus natural structures protecting against ungulates may be important for recruitment success. We

Increased electricity production from straw by co-firing with woody biomass; Oekad elproduktion med halm genom sameldning med traedbraenslen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hedman, Henry; Nordgren, Daniel; Bostroem, Dan; Oehman, Marcus; Padban, Nader

2011-01-15

The use of straw in pulverised fuel-fired boiler is great technical challenge, especially when it comes to dealing with problems from slagging and fouling. Introduction of straw in the fuel mix of Swedish boilers will most likely be done by co-firing of woody biomass with straw, and this can provide a means to reduce the (well-documented) problems with fouling and slagging from straw. The project will focus on the faith of alkali metals (K and Na) as well as studies on the slagging and fouling propensity in pulverised fuel-fired boilers when straw is co-fired with woody biomass. A total of 5 different fuel mixtures has been fired in a 150 kW pilot-scale pulverised fuel-fired burner: (i) straw 100 %, (ii) straw/bark 50/50 %, (iii) straw/bark 75/25 % (iv) straw/wood 75/25 % (v) straw/wood 50/50 % (wt-%). The adding of woody biomass to straw has in all of the above-mentioned cases had some positive effect. In general, in all of the ash deposits, an increase in the concentration of Calcium (Ca) has been observed as well as a decrease in the concentrations of Potassium (K) and Silicon (Si). These general trends should be considered as a positive when combustion of straw is considered. Out of all ash deposits collected in the furnace, the characteristics of the bottom ash displayed the largest (positive) change and visual inspections and chemical analysis of the bottom ash showed that the ash had become more porous and contained more Calcium as more woody biomass was introduced in the fuel mix. The deposit build-up rate on the air cooled probes was reduced when more woody biomass was co-fired with straw. The reduction was highest in the trial where 50% woody biomass was used and the most apparent changes in composition could be seen in Calcium (increase) and Potassium (decrease). Danish experiences from introducing straw in pulverised fuel-fired boiler indicate that extra soot-blowers should be considered at the furnace walls and in connection to screen-tubes (if any

Quantifying the role of woody debris in providing bioenergetically favorable habitat for juvenile salmon

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, L.; Hafs, A. W.; Utz, R.; Dunne, T.

2013-12-01

The habitat complexity of a riverine ecosystem substantially influences aquatic communities, and especially the bioenergetics of drift feeding fish. We coupled hydrodynamic and bioenergetic models to assess the influence of habitat complexity, generated via large woody debris (LWD) additions, on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) growth potential in a river that lacked large wood. Model simulations indicated that LWD diversified the flow field, creating pronounced velocity gradients, which enhanced fish feeding and resting activities at the micro-habitat (sub-meter) scale. Fluid drag created by individual wood structures was increased under higher wood loading rates, leading to a 5-19% reduction in the reach-averaged velocity. We found that wood loading was asymptotically related to the reach-scale growth potential, suggesting that the river became saturated with LWD and additional loading would produce minimal benefit. In our study reach, LWD additions could potentially quadruple the potential growth area available before that limit was reached. Wood depletion in the world's rivers has been widely documented, leading to widespread attempts by river managers to reverse this trend by adding wood to simplified aquatic habitats, though systematic prediction of the effects of wood on fish growth has not been previously accomplished. We offer a quantitative, theory-based approach for assessing the role of wood on habitat potential as it affects fish growth at the micro-habitat and reach-scales. Fig. 1. Predicted flow field and salmon growth potential maps produced from model simulations with no woody debris (Graphs A and D), a low density (Graphs B and E), and a high density (Graphs C and E) of woody debris.

Life cycle assessment of woody biomass energy utilization: Case study in Gifu Prefecture, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabata, Tomohiro; Okuda, Takaaki

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the effectiveness of a woody biomass utilization system that would result in increased net energy production through wood pellet production, along with energy recovery processes as they relate to household energy demand. The direct environmental load of the system, including wood pellet production and utilization processes, was evaluated. Furthermore, the indirect load, including the economic impact of converting the existing fossil-fuel-based energy system into a woody biomass-based system, on the entire society was also evaluated. Gifu Prefecture in Japan was selected for a case study, which included a comparative evaluation of the environmental load and costs both with and without coordination with the wood pellet production process and the waste-to-energy of municipal solid waste process, using the life cycle assessment methodology. If the release of greenhouse gases from the combustion of wood pellets is included in calculations, then burning wood pellets results in unfavorable environmental consequences. However, when the reduced indirect environmental load due to the utilization of wood pellets versus petroleum is included in calculations, then favorable environmental consequences result, with a net reduction of greenhouse gases emissions by 14,060 ton-CO 2eq . -- Highlights: ► We evaluate economic and environmental impact of woody biomass utilization in household. ► Wood pellet utilization for house heating is advantageous to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ► Reduction effect of greenhouse gas will be canceled out if carbon neutrality were considered. ► Net greenhouse gas emissions considering conversion of an ordinal energy system will be minus. ► Wood pellet utilization is advantageous not only in global warming but also for resource conservation.

Free-energy coarse-grained potential for C60

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edmunds, D. M.; Tangney, P.; Vvedensky, D. D.; Foulkes, W. M. C.

2015-01-01

We propose a new deformable free energy method for generating a free-energy coarse-graining potential for C 60 . Potentials generated from this approach exhibit a strong temperature dependence and produce excellent agreement with benchmark fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Parameter sets for analytical fits to this potential are provided at four different temperatures

Ozone injury to some Japanese woody plant species in summer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadota, M; Ohta, K

1972-01-01

Ozone is an important constituent of photochemical oxidant smog. This paper reveals the semiquantitative responses of various Japanese woody plant species to ozone (0.25 ppm). Plant species examined in this investigation include four coniferous trees, eleven evergreen broad-leaf trees, and twenty-one deciduous broad-leaf trees or shrubs. Generally, plants having thin leaves were susceptible. The plant species with higher activity of photosynthesis appeared to be more susceptible. As a whole, evergreen broad-leaf trees could be said to be more resistant to ozone than deciduous broad-leaf trees.

Systematic coarse-graining of the dynamics of entangled polymer melts: the road from chemistry to rheology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padding, J T; Briels, W J

2011-01-01

For optimal processing and design of entangled polymeric materials it is important to establish a rigorous link between the detailed molecular composition of the polymer and the viscoelastic properties of the macroscopic melt. We review current and past computer simulation techniques and critically assess their ability to provide such a link between chemistry and rheology. We distinguish between two classes of coarse-graining levels, which we term coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) and coarse-grained stochastic dynamics (CGSD). In CGMD the coarse-grained beads are still relatively hard, thus automatically preventing bond crossing. This also implies an upper limit on the number of atoms that can be lumped together (up to five backbone carbon atoms) and therefore on the longest chain lengths that can be studied. To reach a higher degree of coarse-graining, in CGSD many more atoms are lumped together (more than ten backbone carbon atoms), leading to relatively soft beads. In that case friction and stochastic forces dominate the interactions, and action must be undertaken to prevent bond crossing. We also review alternative methods that make use of the tube model of polymer dynamics, by obtaining the entanglement characteristics through a primitive path analysis and by simulation of a primitive chain network. We finally review super-coarse-grained methods in which an entire polymer is represented by a single particle, and comment on ways to include memory effects and transient forces. (topical review)

Linear mixing model applied to coarse resolution satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Holben, Brent N.; Shimabukuro, Yosio E.

1992-01-01

A linear mixing model typically applied to high resolution data such as Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, Thematic Mapper, and Multispectral Scanner System is applied to the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer coarse resolution satellite data. The reflective portion extracted from the middle IR channel 3 (3.55 - 3.93 microns) is used with channels 1 (0.58 - 0.68 microns) and 2 (0.725 - 1.1 microns) to run the Constrained Least Squares model to generate fraction images for an area in the west central region of Brazil. The derived fraction images are compared with an unsupervised classification and the fraction images derived from Landsat TM data acquired in the same day. In addition, the relationship betweeen these fraction images and the well known NDVI images are presented. The results show the great potential of the unmixing techniques for applying to coarse resolution data for global studies.

A non-destructive method for quantifying small-diameter woody biomass in southern pine forests

Science.gov (United States)

D. Andrew Scott; Rick Stagg; Morris Smith

2006-01-01

Quantifying the impact of silvicultural treatments on woody understory vegetation largely has been accomplished by destructive sampling or through estimates of frequency and coverage. In studies where repeated measures of understory biomass across large areas are needed, destructive sampling and percent cover estimates are not satisfactory. For example, estimates of...

Field description of coarse bioclastic fabrics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kidwell, S.M.; Holland, S.M. (Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States))

1991-08-01

Shell- and bone-bearing rocks can be readily categorized into 9 macroscopic fabric types using semi-quantitative scales for close-packing and size-sorting of bioclasts greater than 2 mm in diameter. Although designed to describe fossiliferous siliciclastics and volcaniclastics, this system of field description can also be used to enlarge upon standard petrographic descriptions of fossiliferous carbonates. In cross-sectional bed views, coarse bioclasts may be densely packed. These coarse bioclasts (>2 mm) may be well sorted (central 80% of bioclasts lie within 1 or 2 adjacent phi size-classes), bimodal (well sorted but with a distinct second mode), or poorly sorted (central 80% of bioclasts distributed over 3 or more adjacent size-classes). Despite the complicating effects of bioclast shape, novices show 90% accuracy in estimating close-packing from photographs. They have only 60% accuracy in estimating size-sorting (the most common error is underestimating goodness of sorting), underscoring the importance of size-tallies to cross-check visual estimates when first using this scheme. This packing/sorting approach provides a good visual image of the fabric, and narrows the range of possible modes of origin more than alternative criteria such as volumetric percent-abundance (which shows no one-to-one equivalence with close-packing), orientation, and fragmentation. However, detailed interpretations of fabrics usually require more information on these and other features of the deposit, including bioclast condition, associated sedimentary structures, life-habits of bioclast-producers, and stratigraphic context.

Growth responses and metal accumulation capabilities of woody plants during the phytoremediation of tannery sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Shukla, O P; Juwarkar, Asha A; Singh, S K; Khan, Shoeb; Rai, U N

2011-01-01

Five woody plants species (i.e. Terminalia arjuna, Prosopis juliflora, Populus alba, Eucalyptus tereticornis and Dendrocalamus strictus) were selected for phytoremediation and grow on tannery sludge dumps of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), Unnao (Uttar Pradesh), India. Concentration of toxic metals were observed high in the raw tannery sludge i.e. Fe-1667>Cr-628>Zn-592>Pb-427>Cu-354>Mn-210>Cd-125>Ni-76 mg kg(-1) dw, respectively. Besides, physico-chemical properties of the raw sludge represented the toxic nature to human health and may pose numerous risks to local environment. The growth performances of woody plants were assessed in terms of various growth parameters such as height, diameter at breast height (DBH) and canopy area of plants. All the plant species have the capabilities to accumulate substantial amount of toxic metals in their tissues during the remediation. The ratio of accumulated metals in the plants were found in the order Fe>Cr>Mn>Pb>Zn>Cu>Cd>Ni and significant changes in physico-chemical parameters of tannery sludge were observed after treatment. All the woody plants indicated high bioconcentration factor for different metals in the order Fe>Cr>Mn>Ni>Cd>Pb>Zn>Cu. After one year of phytoremediation, the level of toxic metals were removed from tannery sludge up to Cr (70.22)%, Ni (59.21)%, Cd (58.4)%, Fe (49.75)%, Mn (30.95)%, Zn (22.80)%, Cu (20.46)% and Pb (14.05)%, respectively. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time evolution as refining, coarse graining and entangling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dittrich, Bianca; Steinhaus, Sebastian

2014-01-01

We argue that refining, coarse graining and entangling operators can be obtained from time evolution operators. This applies in particular to geometric theories, such as spin foams. We point out that this provides a construction principle for the physical vacuum in quantum gravity theories and more generally allows construction of a (cylindrically) consistent continuum limit of the theory. (paper)

Time evolution as refining, coarse graining and entangling

Science.gov (United States)

Dittrich, Bianca; Steinhaus, Sebastian

2014-12-01

We argue that refining, coarse graining and entangling operators can be obtained from time evolution operators. This applies in particular to geometric theories, such as spin foams. We point out that this provides a construction principle for the physical vacuum in quantum gravity theories and more generally allows construction of a (cylindrically) consistent continuum limit of the theory.

Mechanical Properties of Lightweight Concrete Using Recycled Cement-Sand Brick as Coarse Aggregates Replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Joohari, Ilya; Farhani Ishak, Nor; Amin, Norliyati Mohd

2018-03-01

This paper presents the result of replacing natural course aggregate with recycled cement-sand brick (CSB) towards the mechanical properties of concrete. Natural aggregates were used in this study as a control sample to compare with recycled coarse aggregates. This study was also carried to determine the optimum proportion of coarse aggregates replacement to produce lightweight concrete. Besides, this study was conducted to observe the crack and its behaviour development during the mechanical testing. Through this study, four types of concrete mixed were prepared, which were the control sample, 25%, 50% and 75% replacement of CSB. The test conducted to determine the effectiveness of recycled CSB as coarse aggregates replacement in this study were slump test, density measurement, compression test, and flexural test and. The strength of concrete was tested at 7 days and 28 days of curing. From the results obtained, the optimum proportion which produced the highest strength is 25% replacement of recycled CSB. The compressive and flexural strength has decreased by 10%-12% and 4%-34% respectively compared to the control sample. The presence of recycled coarse aggregates in sample has decreased the density of concrete by 0.8%-3% compared to the control sample.

Local free energies for the coarse-graining of adsorption phenomena: The interacting pair approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Pazzona, Federico G.; Pireddu, Giovanni; Gabrieli, Andrea; Pintus, Alberto M.; Demontis, Pierfranco

2018-05-01

We investigate the coarse-graining of host-guest systems under the perspective of the local distribution of pore occupancies, along with the physical meaning and actual computability of the coarse-interaction terms. We show that the widely accepted approach, in which the contributions to the free energy given by the molecules located in two neighboring pores are estimated through Monte Carlo simulations where the two pores are kept separated from the rest of the system, leads to inaccurate results at high sorbate densities. In the coarse-graining strategy that we propose, which is based on the Bethe-Peierls approximation, density-independent interaction terms are instead computed according to local effective potentials that take into account the correlations between the pore pair and its surroundings by means of mean-field correction terms without the need for simulating the pore pair separately. Use of the interaction parameters obtained this way allows the coarse-grained system to reproduce more closely the equilibrium properties of the original one. Results are shown for lattice-gases where the local free energy can be computed exactly and for a system of Lennard-Jones particles under the effect of a static confining field.

Boltzmann rovibrational collisional coarse-grained model for internal energy excitation and dissociation in hypersonic flows.

Science.gov (United States)

Munafò, A; Panesi, M; Magin, T E

2014-02-01

A Boltzmann rovibrational collisional coarse-grained model is proposed to reduce a detailed kinetic mechanism database developed at NASA Ames Research Center for internal energy transfer and dissociation in N(2)-N interactions. The coarse-grained model is constructed by lumping the rovibrational energy levels of the N(2) molecule into energy bins. The population of the levels within each bin is assumed to follow a Boltzmann distribution at the local translational temperature. Excitation and dissociation rate coefficients for the energy bins are obtained by averaging the elementary rate coefficients. The energy bins are treated as separate species, thus allowing for non-Boltzmann distributions of their populations. The proposed coarse-grained model is applied to the study of nonequilibrium flows behind normal shock waves and within converging-diverging nozzles. In both cases, the flow is assumed inviscid and steady. Computational results are compared with those obtained by direct solution of the master equation for the rovibrational collisional model and a more conventional multitemperature model. It is found that the proposed coarse-grained model is able to accurately resolve the nonequilibrium dynamics of internal energy excitation and dissociation-recombination processes with only 20 energy bins. Furthermore, the proposed coarse-grained model provides a superior description of the nonequilibrium phenomena occurring in shock heated and nozzle flows when compared with the conventional multitemperature models.

Inventories of woody residues and solid wood waste in the United States, 2002

Science.gov (United States)

David B. McKeever

2004-01-01

Large amounts of woody residues and wood waste are generated annually in the United States. In 2002, an estimated 240 million metric tons was generated during the extraction of timber from the Nation’s forests, from forestry cultural operations, in the conversion of forest land to nonforest uses, in the initial processing of roundwood timber into usable products, in...

Aboveground biomass subdivisions in woody species of the savanna ecosystem project study area, Nylsvley

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Rutherford, MC

1979-01-01

Full Text Available Aboveground peak season biomass is given for 11 woody species in each of five belt transects under study. Mean aerial biomass for all species was 16 273 kg ha, made up of 14 937 kg ha wood, 236 kg ha current season's twigs and 1 100 kg ha leaves...

Coarse-graining complex dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sibani, Paolo

2013-01-01

Continuous Time Random Walks (CTRW) are widely used to coarse-grain the evolution of systems jumping from a metastable sub-set of their configuration space, or trap, to another via rare intermittent events. The multi-scaled behavior typical of complex dynamics is provided by a fat...... macroscopic variables all produce identical long time relaxation behaviors. Hence, CTRW shed no light on the link between microscopic and macroscopic dynamics. We then highlight how a more recent approach, Record Dynamics (RD) provides a viable alternative, based on a very different set of physical ideas......: while CTRW make use of a renewal process involving identical traps of infinite size, RD embodies a dynamical entrenchment into a hierarchy of traps which are finite in size and possess different degrees of meta-stability. We show in particular how RD produces the stretched exponential, power...

Co-pyrolysis behavior of fermentation residues with woody sawdust by thermogravimetric analysis and a vacuum reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yan; Zhang, Yimin; Xu, Jingna; Li, Xiayang; Charles Xu, Chunbao

2017-12-01

This study aimed at cost-effective utilization of fermentation residues (FR) from biogas project for bio-energy via co-pyrolysis of FR and woody sawdust (WS). In this study, a vacuum reactor was used to study the pyrolysis behaviors of individual and blend samples of FR and WS. Obvious synergistic effects were observed, resulting in a lower char yield but a higher gas yield. The presence of woody sawdust promoted the devolatilization of FR, and improved the syngas (H 2 and CO) content in the gaseous products. Compared to those of the char from pyrolysis of individual feedstock, co-pyrolysis of FR and WS in the vacuum reactor promoted the cracking reactions of large aromatic rings, enlarged the surface area and reduced the oxygenated groups of the resulted char. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technical Note: Linking climate change and downed woody debris decomposition across forests of the eastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Matthew B.; Woodall, Christopher W.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Bradford, John B.

2014-01-01

Forest ecosystems play a critical role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Forest carbon (C) is stored through photosynthesis and released via decomposition and combustion. Relative to C fixation in biomass, much less is known about C depletion through decomposition of woody debris, particularly under a changing climate. It is assumed that the increased temperatures and longer growing seasons associated with projected climate change will increase the decomposition rates (i.e., more rapid C cycling) of downed woody debris (DWD); however, the magnitude of this increase has not been previously addressed. Using DWD measurements collected from a national forest inventory of the eastern United States, we show that the residence time of DWD may decrease (i.e., more rapid decomposition) by as much as 13% over the next 200 years, depending on various future climate change scenarios and forest types. Although existing dynamic global vegetation models account for the decomposition process, they typically do not include the effect of a changing climate on DWD decomposition rates. We expect that an increased understanding of decomposition rates, as presented in this current work, will be needed to adequately quantify the fate of woody detritus in future forests. Furthermore, we hope these results will lead to improved models that incorporate climate change scenarios for depicting future dead wood dynamics in addition to a traditional emphasis on live-tree demographics.

Using a botanical garden to assess factors influencing the colonization of exotic woody plants by phyllophagous insects.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirichenko, Natalia; Kenis, M

2016-09-01

The adoption of exotic plants by indigenous herbivores in the region of introduction can be influenced by numerous factors. A botanical garden in Western Siberia was used to test various hypotheses on the adaptation of indigenous phyllophagous insects to exotic plants invasions, focusing on two feeding guilds, external leaf chewers and leaf miners. A total of 150 indigenous and exotic woody plant species were surveyed for insect damage, abundance and species richness. First, exotic woody plants were much less damaged by chewers and leaf miners than native plants, and the leaf miners' species richness was much lower on exotic than native plants. Second, exotic woody plants having a congeneric species in the region of introduction were more damaged by chewers and hosted a more abundant and species-rich community of leaf miners than plants without native congeneric species. Third, damage by chewers significantly increased with the frequency of planting of exotic host plants outside the botanical garden, and leaf miners' abundance and species richness significantly increased with residence time in the garden. Finally, no significant relationship was found between insect damage or abundance and the origin of the exotic plants. Besides the ecological implications of the results, this study also illustrates the potential of botanical gardens to test ecological hypotheses on biological invasions and insect-plant interactions on a large set of plant species.

Information Theoretic Tools for Parameter Fitting in Coarse Grained Models

KAUST Repository

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Harmandaris, Vagelis; Katsoulakis, Markos A.; Plechac, Petr

2015-01-01

We study the application of information theoretic tools for model reduction in the case of systems driven by stochastic dynamics out of equilibrium. The model/dimension reduction is considered by proposing parametrized coarse grained dynamics

Abrasion and algal fouling of coarse material on the Murman littoral

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malavenda S. V.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available On the Murmansk coast of the Barents Sea the boulder littoral zone is widely spread mostly covered by Fucus communities. This is one of the most productive benthic communities of the Barents Sea. The studies of intertidal communities have the long history, but the dynamics of intertidal ecosystems due to surf and storms is not clear. The goal of the work is to identify the leading factors that determine the rate of abrasion of coarse material and fouling algae-macrophytes of the intertidal zone of Murman. The study has been conducted in the Zelenetskaya Bay of the Barents Sea on the basis of the biological station of the MMBI KSC RAS. The rate of abrasion has been carried out during 2004–2013, phyto-overgrowing – 2009–2013. In three pilot landfills 12 samples of coarse material have been exposed during the year (from July to next July. The weight change of the sample as well as species composition and biomass of algae of fouling communities have been investigated. The influence of the surf intensity, temperature of water and air has been analyzed (univariate analysis of variance ANOVA has been applied. It has been shown that on the littoral of the Murmansk coast the abrasion of coarse material is determined primarily by the number of storms, so the storm rate has been proposed. It has been revealed that the density of fouling boulders with macroalgae depends primarily on the intensity of the surf and the average gradient of air temperature. The basis for the emerging communities of annual species are green (Acrosiphonia arcta, Blidingia minima, Spongomorpha aeruginosa and brown algae (Pylaiella littoralis, Dictyosiphon chordaria. These algae groups are found everywhere in Fucus communities of the boulder intertidal zone of the Murman coast and probably they are the intermediate stage of fouling the coarse-grained material

Premelting, fluctuations, and coarse-graining of water-ice interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Limmer, David T., E-mail: dlimmer@princeton.edu [Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States); Chandler, David [Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94609 (United States)

2014-11-14

Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A procedure for coarse-graining molecular configurations onto a continuous scalar order parameter field is discussed, which provides a convenient representation of the interface between locally crystal-like and locally liquid-like regions. A number of interfacial properties are straightforwardly evaluated using this procedure such as the average premelting thickness and surface tension. The temperature and system size dependence of the premelting layer thickness calculated in this way confirms the characteristic logarithmic growth expected for the scalar field theory that the system is mapped onto through coarse-graining, though remains finite due to long-ranged interactions. Finally, from explicit simulations the existence of a premelting layer is shown to be insensitive to bulk lattice geometry, exposed crystal face, and curvature.

Premelting, fluctuations, and coarse-graining of water-ice interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Limmer, David T.; Chandler, David

2014-11-01

Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A procedure for coarse-graining molecular configurations onto a continuous scalar order parameter field is discussed, which provides a convenient representation of the interface between locally crystal-like and locally liquid-like regions. A number of interfacial properties are straightforwardly evaluated using this procedure such as the average premelting thickness and surface tension. The temperature and system size dependence of the premelting layer thickness calculated in this way confirms the characteristic logarithmic growth expected for the scalar field theory that the system is mapped onto through coarse-graining, though remains finite due to long-ranged interactions. Finally, from explicit simulations the existence of a premelting layer is shown to be insensitive to bulk lattice geometry, exposed crystal face, and curvature.

Premelting, fluctuations, and coarse-graining of water-ice interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limmer, David T.; Chandler, David

2014-01-01

Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A procedure for coarse-graining molecular configurations onto a continuous scalar order parameter field is discussed, which provides a convenient representation of the interface between locally crystal-like and locally liquid-like regions. A number of interfacial properties are straightforwardly evaluated using this procedure such as the average premelting thickness and surface tension. The temperature and system size dependence of the premelting layer thickness calculated in this way confirms the characteristic logarithmic growth expected for the scalar field theory that the system is mapped onto through coarse-graining, though remains finite due to long-ranged interactions. Finally, from explicit simulations the existence of a premelting layer is shown to be insensitive to bulk lattice geometry, exposed crystal face, and curvature

Premelting, fluctuations, and coarse-graining of water-ice interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Limmer, David T; Chandler, David

2014-11-14

Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A procedure for coarse-graining molecular configurations onto a continuous scalar order parameter field is discussed, which provides a convenient representation of the interface between locally crystal-like and locally liquid-like regions. A number of interfacial properties are straightforwardly evaluated using this procedure such as the average premelting thickness and surface tension. The temperature and system size dependence of the premelting layer thickness calculated in this way confirms the characteristic logarithmic growth expected for the scalar field theory that the system is mapped onto through coarse-graining, though remains finite due to long-ranged interactions. Finally, from explicit simulations the existence of a premelting layer is shown to be insensitive to bulk lattice geometry, exposed crystal face, and curvature.

The genus Sinularia (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) from Bremer and West Woody islands (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ofwegen, van L.P.

2008-01-01

A collection of Sinularia specimens from Bremer and West Woody islands (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia) is presented; thirteen different species were recognized, six of which are new to science and are described and figured: S. bremerensis, S. confusa, S. diffusa, S. linnei, S. papula and S.

Metagenomic profiling reveals lignocellulose degrading system in a microbial community associated with a wood-feeding beetle.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erin D Scully

Full Text Available The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophoraglabripennis is an invasive, wood-boring pest that thrives in the heartwood of deciduous tree species. A large impediment faced by A. glabripennis as it feeds on woody tissue is lignin, a highly recalcitrant biopolymer that reduces access to sugars and other nutrients locked in cellulose and hemicellulose. We previously demonstrated that lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose are actively deconstructed in the beetle gut and that the gut harbors an assemblage of microbes hypothesized to make significant contributions to these processes. While lignin degrading mechanisms have been well characterized in pure cultures of white rot basidiomycetes, little is known about such processes in microbial communities associated with wood-feeding insects. The goals of this study were to develop a taxonomic and functional profile of a gut community derived from an invasive population of larval A. glabripennis collected from infested host trees and to identify genes that could be relevant for the digestion of woody tissue and nutrient acquisition. To accomplish this goal, we taxonomically and functionally characterized the A. glabripennis midgut microbiota through amplicon and shotgun metagenome sequencing and conducted a large-scale comparison with the metagenomes from a variety of other herbivore-associated communities. This analysis distinguished the A. glabripennis larval gut metagenome from the gut communities of other herbivores, including previously sequenced termite hindgut metagenomes. Genes encoding enzymes were identified in the A. glabripennis gut metagenome that could have key roles in woody tissue digestion including candidate lignin degrading genes (laccases, dye-decolorizing peroxidases, novel peroxidases and β-etherases, 36 families of glycoside hydrolases (such as cellulases and xylanases, and genes that could facilitate nutrient recovery, essential nutrient synthesis, and detoxification. This community

Coarse mesh finite element method for boiling water reactor physics analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellison, P.G.

1983-01-01

A coarse mesh method is formulated for the solution of Boiling Water Reactor physics problems using two group diffusion theory. No fuel assembly cross-section homogenization is required; water gaps, control blades and fuel pins of varying enrichments are treated explicitly. The method combines constrained finite element discretization with infinite lattice super cell trial functions to obtain coarse mesh solutions for which the only approximations are along the boundaries between fuel assemblies. The method is applied to bench mark Boiling Water Reactor problems to obtain both the eigenvalue and detailed flux distributions. The solutions to these problems indicate the method is useful in predicting detailed power distributions and eigenvalues for Boiling Water Reactor physics problems

Biomass and carbon attributes of downed woody materials in forests of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

C.W. Woodall; B.F. Walters; S.N. Oswalt; G.M. Domke; C. Toney; A.N. Gray

2013-01-01

Due to burgeoning interest in the biomass/carbon attributes of forest downed and dead woody materials (DWMs) attributable to its fundamental role in the carbon cycle, stand structure/diversity, bioenergy resources, and fuel loadings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted a nationwide field-based inventory of DWM. Using the national DWM inventory, attributes...

Selection and Vegetative Propagation of Native Woody Plants for Water-Wise Landscaping

OpenAIRE

Rupp, Larry A; Varga, William A; Anderson, David

2011-01-01

Native woody plants with ornamental characteristics such as brilliant fall color, dwarf form, or glossy leaves have potential for use in water conserving urban landscapes. Individual accessions with one or more of these unique characteristics were identified based on the recommendations of a wide range of plant enthusiasts (both professional and amateur). Documentation of these accessions has been done through locating plants on-site where possible and then developing a record based on digita...

Energy values and estimation of power generation potentials of some non-woody biomass species

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, M; Patel, S K [National Institute of Technology, Rourkela (India)

2008-07-01

In view of high energy potentials in non-woody biomass species and an increasing interest in their utilization for power generation, an attempt has been made in this study to assess the proximate analysis and energy content of different components of Ocimum canum and Tridax procumbens biomass species (both non-woody), and their impact on power generation and land requirement for energy plantations. The net energy content in Ocimum canum was found to be slightly higher than that in Tridax procumbens. In spite of having higher ash contents, the barks from both the plant species exhibited higher calorific values. The results have shown that approximately 650 and 1,270 hectares of land are required to generate 20,000 kWh/day electricity from Ocimum canum and Tridax procumbens biomass species. Coal samples, obtained from six different local mines, were also examined for their qualities, and the results were compared with those of studied biomass materials. This comparison reveals much higher power output with negligible emission of suspended particulate matters (SPM) from biomass materials.

Variational approach to coarse-graining of generalized gradient flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duong, M.H.; Lamacz, A.; Peletier, M.A.; Sharma, U.

2017-01-01

In this paper we present a variational technique that handles coarse-graining and passing to a limit in a unified manner. The technique is based on a duality structure, which is present in many gradient flows and other variational evolutions, and which often arises from a large-deviations principle.

The geometry of generalized force matching and related information metrics in coarse-graining of molecular systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia; Harmandaris, Vagelis; Katsoulakis, Markos A.; Plecháč, Petr

2015-01-01

Using the probabilistic language of conditional expectations, we reformulate the force matching method for coarse-graining of molecular systems as a projection onto spaces of coarse observables. A practical outcome of this probabilistic description is the link of the force matching method with thermodynamic integration. This connection provides a way to systematically construct a local mean force and to optimally approximate the potential of mean force through force matching. We introduce a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (e.g., reaction coordinates, end-to-end length of chains). Furthermore, we study the equivalence of force matching with relative entropy minimization which we derive for general non-linear coarse graining maps. We present in detail the generalized force matching condition through applications to specific examples in molecular systems

The geometry of generalized force matching and related information metrics in coarse-graining of molecular systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia, E-mail: ekalligian@tem.uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion (Greece); Harmandaris, Vagelis, E-mail: harman@uoc.gr [Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion (Greece); Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), IACM/FORTH, GR-71110 Heraklion (Greece); Katsoulakis, Markos A., E-mail: markos@math.umass.edu [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 (United States); Plecháč, Petr, E-mail: plechac@math.udel.edu [Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716 (United States)

2015-08-28

Using the probabilistic language of conditional expectations, we reformulate the force matching method for coarse-graining of molecular systems as a projection onto spaces of coarse observables. A practical outcome of this probabilistic description is the link of the force matching method with thermodynamic integration. This connection provides a way to systematically construct a local mean force and to optimally approximate the potential of mean force through force matching. We introduce a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse graining mappings (e.g., reaction coordinates, end-to-end length of chains). Furthermore, we study the equivalence of force matching with relative entropy minimization which we derive for general non-linear coarse graining maps. We present in detail the generalized force matching condition through applications to specific examples in molecular systems.

Development of canopy cover and woody vegetation biomass on reclaimed and unreclaimed post-mining sites

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Frouz, Jan; Dvorščík, P.; Vávrová, A.; Doušová, O.; Kadochová, Štěpánka; Matějíček, L.

2015-01-01

Roč. 84, November (2015), s. 233-239 ISSN 0925-8574 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP504/12/1288 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : aerial photographs * reclaimed sites * succession * tree biomass * woody vegetation cover Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.740, year: 2015

Coarse Point Cloud Registration by Egi Matching of Voxel Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jinhu; Lindenbergh, Roderik; Shen, Yueqian; Menenti, Massimo

2016-06-01

Laser scanning samples the surface geometry of objects efficiently and records versatile information as point clouds. However, often more scans are required to fully cover a scene. Therefore, a registration step is required that transforms the different scans into a common coordinate system. The registration of point clouds is usually conducted in two steps, i.e. coarse registration followed by fine registration. In this study an automatic marker-free coarse registration method for pair-wise scans is presented. First the two input point clouds are re-sampled as voxels and dimensionality features of the voxels are determined by principal component analysis (PCA). Then voxel cells with the same dimensionality are clustered. Next, the Extended Gaussian Image (EGI) descriptor of those voxel clusters are constructed using significant eigenvectors of each voxel in the cluster. Correspondences between clusters in source and target data are obtained according to the similarity between their EGI descriptors. The random sampling consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is employed to remove outlying correspondences until a coarse alignment is obtained. If necessary, a fine registration is performed in a final step. This new method is illustrated on scan data sampling two indoor scenarios. The results of the tests are evaluated by computing the point to point distance between the two input point clouds. The presented two tests resulted in mean distances of 7.6 mm and 9.5 mm respectively, which are adequate for fine registration.

Sharing rotting wood in the shade: ectomycorrhizal communities of co-occurring birch and hemlock seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Sarah K. Poznanovic; Erik A. Lilleskov; Christopher R. Webster

2015-01-01

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an important nursery environment for many tree species. Understanding the communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECMF) and the effect of ECMF species on tree seedling condition in CWD will elucidate the potential for ECMF-mediated effects on seedling dynamics. In hemlock-dominated stands, we characterized ECMF communities associated with...

Evidence of Ash Tree (Fraxinus spp.) Specific Associations with Soil Bacterial Community Structure and Functional Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Michael P. Ricketts; Charles E. Flower; Kathleen S. Knight; Miquel A. Gonzalez-Meler

2018-01-01

The spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) across North America has had enormous impacts on temperate forest ecosystems. The selective removal of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) has resulted in abnormally large inputs of coarse woody debris and altered forest tree community composition, ultimately affecting a variety of ecosystem processes. The...

Performance of sampling methods to estimate log characteristics for wildlife.

Science.gov (United States)

Lisa J. Bate; Torolf R. Torgersen; Michael J. Wisdom; Edward O. Garton

2004-01-01

Accurate estimation of the characteristics of log resources, or coarse woody debris (CWD), is critical to effective management of wildlife and other forest resources. Despite the importance of logs as wildlife habitat, methods for sampling logs have traditionally focused on silvicultural and fire applications. These applications have emphasized estimates of log volume...

Estimating the acute health effects of coarse particulate matter accounting for exposure measurement error.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Howard H; Peng, Roger D; Dominici, Francesca

2011-10-01

In air pollution epidemiology, there is a growing interest in estimating the health effects of coarse particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter between 2.5 and 10 μm. Coarse PM concentrations can exhibit considerable spatial heterogeneity because the particles travel shorter distances and do not remain suspended in the atmosphere for an extended period of time. In this paper, we develop a modeling approach for estimating the short-term effects of air pollution in time series analysis when the ambient concentrations vary spatially within the study region. Specifically, our approach quantifies the error in the exposure variable by characterizing, on any given day, the disagreement in ambient concentrations measured across monitoring stations. This is accomplished by viewing monitor-level measurements as error-prone repeated measurements of the unobserved population average exposure. Inference is carried out in a Bayesian framework to fully account for uncertainty in the estimation of model parameters. Finally, by using different exposure indicators, we investigate the sensitivity of the association between coarse PM and daily hospital admissions based on a recent national multisite time series analysis. Among Medicare enrollees from 59 US counties between the period 1999 and 2005, we find a consistent positive association between coarse PM and same-day admission for cardiovascular diseases.

Woody residues and solid waste wood available for recovery in the United States, 2002

Science.gov (United States)

David B. McKeever; Robert H. Falk

2004-01-01

Large amounts of woody residues and solid wood waste are generated annually in the United States from the extraction of timber from forests, from forestry cultural operations, in the conversion of forest land to nonforest uses, in the initial processing of roundwood timber into usable products, in the construction and demolition of buildings and structures, and in the...

Use of financial and economic analyses by federal forest managers for woody biomass removal

Science.gov (United States)

Todd A. Morgan; Jason P. Brandt; John D. Baldridge; Dan R. Loeffler

2011-01-01

This study was sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program to understand and enhance the ability of federal land managers to address financial and economic (F&E) aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction. Focus groups were conducted with nearly 100 federal land managers throughout the western United States. Several issues and...

Development of a downed woody debris forecasting tool using strategic-scale multiresource forest inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew B. Russell; Christopher W. Woodall

2017-01-01

The increasing interest in forest biomass for energy or carbon cycle purposes has raised the need for forest resource managers to refine their understanding of downed woody debris (DWD) dynamics. We developed a DWD forecasting tool using field measurements (mean size and stage of stage of decay) for three common forest types across the eastern United States using field...

Water uptake in woody riparian phreatophytes of the southwestern United States: a stable isotope study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busch, D.E.; Ingraham, N.L.; Smith, S.D.

1992-01-01

Alluvial forest associations are often dominated by woody phreatophytes, plants that are tightly linked to aquifers for water uptake. Anthropogenic hydrological alterations (e.g., water impoundment or diversion) are of clear importance to riparian ecosystem function. Because decreased frequency of flooding and depression of water tables may, in effect, sever riparian plants from their natural water sources, research was undertaken to determine water uptake patterns for the dominant native and introduced woody taxa of riparian plant communities of the southwestern United States. At floodplain study sites along the Bill Williams and lower Colorado Rivers (Arizona, USA), naturally occurring D and 18 O were used to distinguish among potential water sources. Isotopic ratios from potential uptake locations were compared to water extracted from the dominant woody taxa of the study area (Populus fremontii, Salix gooddingii, and Tamarix ramosissima) to elucidate patterns of water absorption. Isotopic composition of water obtained from sapwood cores did not differ significantly from heartwood or branch water, suggesting that heartwood water exchange, stem capacitance, and phloem sap mixing may be inconsequential in actively transpiring Salix and Populus. There was evidence for close hydrologic linkage of river, ground, and soil water during the early part of the growing season. Surface soils exhibited D enrichment due to cumulative exposure to evaporation as the growing season progressed. Isotopic ratios of water extracted from Populus and Salix did not exhibit isotopic enrichment and were not significantly different from groundwater or saturated soil water sources, indicating a phreatophytic uptake pattern. Associations of isotopic ratios with water relations parameters indicated high levels of canopy evaporation and possible use of moisture from unsaturated alluvial soils in addition to groundwater in Tamarix. (author)

Cheap and Cheerful Stream Restoration - An Example of System Wide Woody Addition Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Wheaton, J. M.; Bennett, S. N.; Bouwes, N.; Camp, R.

2012-12-01

Stream restoration has been plagued with high price tags, limited spatial extents, and questionable effectiveness in light of largely absent monitoring efforts. One prominent example is the placement of large woody debris (LWD) structures and engineered log jams that are frequently employed to promote heterogeneity of instream habitat. Ironically, many of these treatments attempt to lock in place and over-engineer the woody structures as opposed to allowing them to adjust and rearrange themselves as natural LWD would have. We are in the midst of a large scale restoration experiment using LWD to recover ESA-listed steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations in the Asotin Creek Watershed of Southeast Washington. The project is an Intensively Monitored Watershed (IMW) where the restoration treatment and monitoring use a hierarchal staircase design maximizing the power to detect a population level response in steelhead. We are treating over 12 km of stream with enough LWD input (> 200 pieces per km) to mimic the historic background wood loading and encourage the stream to reshape and regularly rework itself leaving. We are using hundreds of structures we call DWS (dynamic woody structures), which generally consist of a series of wooden fence posts driven into the stream bed and complex LWD anchored between them to invoke a specific hydrogeomorphic response. The real advantage of these DWS are their cost. They can be installed quickly (15-30 minutes each) and cheaply (adjust. This dynamic switching between alternative stable states, we postulate will maintain a diversity of habitat types, and support increased steelhead production. In the short-term, we have a host of explicit design hypotheses about the physical and biotic response and a multi-scalar monitoring program geared to test each of these. We will present findings from a preliminary pilot project on three of the study creeks, which was subjected to a major flood, and tests many of these hypotheses