Sample records for conservation act biomass

  1. Energy Potential of Biomass from Conservation Grasslands in Minnesota, USA

    PubMed Central

    Jungers, Jacob M.; Fargione, Joseph E.; Sheaffer, Craig C.; Wyse, Donald L.; Lehman, Clarence

    2013-01-01

    Perennial biomass from grasslands managed for conservation of soil and biodiversity can be harvested for bioenergy. Until now, the quantity and quality of harvestable biomass from conservation grasslands in Minnesota, USA, was not known, and the factors that affect bioenergy potential from these systems have not been identified. We measured biomass yield, theoretical ethanol conversion efficiency, and plant tissue nitrogen (N) as metrics of bioenergy potential from mixed-species conservation grasslands harvested with commercial-scale equipment. With three years of data, we used mixed-effects models to determine factors that influence bioenergy potential. Sixty conservation grassland plots, each about 8 ha in size, were distributed among three locations in Minnesota. Harvest treatments were applied annually in autumn as a completely randomized block design. Biomass yield ranged from 0.5 to 5.7 Mg ha−1. May precipitation increased biomass yield while precipitation in all other growing season months showed no affect. Averaged across all locations and years, theoretical ethanol conversion efficiency was 450 l Mg−1 and the concentration of plant N was 7.1 g kg−1, both similar to dedicated herbaceous bioenergy crops such as switchgrass. Biomass yield did not decline in the second or third year of harvest. Across years, biomass yields fluctuated 23% around the average. Surprisingly, forb cover was a better predictor of biomass yield than warm-season grass with a positive correlation with biomass yield in the south and a negative correlation at other locations. Variation in land ethanol yield was almost exclusively due to variation in biomass yield rather than biomass quality; therefore, efforts to increase biomass yield might be more economical than altering biomass composition when managing conservation grasslands for ethanol production. Our measurements of bioenergy potential, and the factors that control it, can serve as parameters for assessing the economic

  2. Energy and conservation benefits from managed prairie biomass

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jungers, Jacob M.; Trost, Jared J.; Lehman, Clarence L.; Tilman, David; Booth, Elaine

    2011-01-01

    Marginally productive land, such as that enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), may provide acreage and economic incentives for cellulosic energy production. Improving the yields from these lands will help establish a biomass producer?s position in the marketplace. The effects of water and nitrogen on biomass yields were investigated in both a plot-scale experiment and a broad-scale survey of CRP lands. The plot-scale experiment demonstrated that irrigation improved mixed-species prairie biomass yields more than nitrogen fertilizer on coarse-textured, marginally productive soils. Experimental plots amended with both irrigation and moderate (but not high) nitrogen produced more biomass than other treatment combinations, but this trend was not statistically significant. The survey of biomass yields on CRP lands across four Midwestern States indicates that yields are better correlated with June rainfall than any other individual month. Applying nutrient-enriched water such as agricultural runoff could benefit prairie yields if applied at appropriate times.

  3. 45 CFR 670.9 - Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... FOUNDATION CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS Prohibited Acts, Exceptions § 670.9 Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of § 670.4 shall not apply to acts carried... 45 Public Welfare 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception...

  4. 45 CFR 670.9 - Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... FOUNDATION CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS Prohibited Acts, Exceptions § 670.9 Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of § 670.4 shall not apply to acts carried... 45 Public Welfare 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception...

  5. 45 CFR 670.9 - Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... FOUNDATION CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS Prohibited Acts, Exceptions § 670.9 Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of § 670.4 shall not apply to acts carried... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception...

  6. 45 CFR 670.9 - Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... FOUNDATION CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS Prohibited Acts, Exceptions § 670.9 Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of § 670.4 shall not apply to acts carried... 45 Public Welfare 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception...

  7. 45 CFR 670.9 - Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... FOUNDATION CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS Prohibited Acts, Exceptions § 670.9 Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of § 670.4 shall not apply to acts carried... 45 Public Welfare 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Antarctic Conservation Act enforcement exception...

  8. 78 FR 25685 - Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Implementation of the Shark Conservation Act of 2010

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-02

    .... 1826d et seq., and the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act... regulations pertaining to the conservation and management of specific shark fisheries are set forth in Parts... regulation or requirement related to the conservation and management of sharks. The SCA also amended the...

  9. Department of Energy Recovery Act Investment in Biomass Technologies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    2010-11-01

    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided more than $36 billion to the Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate work on existing projects, undertake new and transformative research, and deploy clean energy technologies across the nation. Of this funding, $1029 million is supporting innovative work to advance biomass research, development, demonstration, and deployment.

  10. Conservation of Mexican wetlands: role of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilson, M.H.; Ryan, D.A.

    1997-01-01

    Mexico's wetlands support a tremendous biological diversity and provide significant natural resource benefits to local communities. Because they are also critical stopover and wintering grounds for much of North America's waterfowl and other migratory birds, Mexico has become an important participant in continental efforts to conserve these resources through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Funding from the Act has supported partnerships in a number of Mexico's priority wetlands to conduct data analyses and dissemination, mapping, environmental education, wetland restoration, development of sustainable economic alternatives for local people, and reserve planning and management. These partnerships, with the close involvement of Mexico's Federal Government authority, the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia, have advanced conservation in a uniquely Mexican model that differs from that employed in the United States and Canada.

  11. The use of conservation biomass feedstocks as potential bioenergy resources in the United Kingdom.

    PubMed

    Phillips, D; Mitchell, E J S; Lea-Langton, A R; Parmar, K R; Jones, J M; Williams, A

    2016-07-01

    A number of countries have introduced energy policies to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide which, in the case of bio-heat, has resulted in increased use of small wood burning stoves and boilers, particularly in Europe. There are issues surrounding the supply of sustainable wood feedstock, prompting a desire to utilise local biomass resources. This includes biomass generated through the management of natural woodlands in nature reserves and conservation areas. These management practices can also extend to other areas, such as raised bog wildernesses and estuary Reed beds. We term the biomass from this resource as conservation biomass. This study is concerned with the viability of this resource as a fuel within the United Kingdom, and combustion tests were carried out using a small domestic stove. It was concluded that there is as much as 500kty(-1) that could be used in this way. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. 78 FR 51213 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-20

    ... Conservation of 1978, as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, (16 U.S.C 2401... Conservation Act of 1978, as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, (16 U.S.C...

  13. 77 FR 38834 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-29

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act. This...

  14. 78 FR 41959 - Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-12

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit modification under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is... Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part...

  15. 22 CFR 226.16 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 226.16 Section 226.16 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION OF ASSISTANCE AWARDS TO U.S. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Pre-award Requirements § 226.16 Resource Conservation and...

  16. Impacts of biomass production at civil airports on grassland bird conservation and aviation strike risk.

    PubMed

    Conkling, Tara J; Belant, Jerrold L; DeVault, Travis L; Martin, James A

    2018-03-08

    Growing concerns about climate change, foreign oil dependency, and environmental quality have fostered interest in perennial native grasses (e.g., switchgrass [Panicum virgatum]) for bioenergy production while also maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, biomass cultivation in marginal landscapes such as airport grasslands may have detrimental effects on aviation safety as well as conservation efforts for grassland birds. In 2011-2013, we investigated effects of vegetation composition and harvest frequency on seasonal species richness and habitat use of grassland birds and modeled relative abundance, aviation risk, and conservation value of birds associated with biomass crops. Avian relative abundance was greater in switchgrass monoculture plots during the winter months, whereas Native Warm-Season Grass (NWSG) mixed species plantings were favored by species during the breeding season. Conversely, treatment differences in aviation risk and conservation value were not biologically significant. Only 2.6% of observations included avian species of high hazard to aircraft, providing support for semi-natural grasslands as a feasible landcover option at civil airports. Additionally, varied harvest frequencies across a mosaic of switchgrass monocultures and NWSG plots allows for biomass production with multiple vegetation structure options for grassland birds to increase seasonal avian biodiversity and habitat use. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

  17. 78 FR 28000 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-13

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science... regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic...

  18. 77 FR 67407 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-09

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science... regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic...

  19. 75 FR 52300 - Merchant Marine Act and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 253 [Docket No. 0908061221-91225-01] RIN 0648-AY16 Merchant Marine Act and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fishing Vessel, Fishing Facility and Individual Fishing Quota Lending Program...

  20. 78 FR 59728 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-27

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The National Science... regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit...

  1. 78 FR 19729 - Wild Bird Conservation Act; Receipt of Application for Approval

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-02

    ...-FF09A30000] Wild Bird Conservation Act; Receipt of Application for Approval AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service... birds that are protected in accordance with the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992. DATES: Written data... invited to comment on the following application for approval to conduct certain activities with bird...

  2. 78 FR 20291 - Fisheries of the United States; Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 Implementing Regulations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-04

    .... 121227743-3275-01] RIN 0648-BC86 Fisheries of the United States; Billfish Conservation Act of 2012... request public comment on potential issues related to the implementation of the Billfish Conservation Act... Conservation Act of 2012 (BCA), Public Law 112-183, 16 U.S.C. 1827a, was signed into law on October 5, 2012...

  3. National Energy Conservation Policy Act. Public Law 95-619, 95th Congress.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC.

    This publication is the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (P.L. 95-619). The purposes of this act are to provide for the regulation of interstate commerce, to reduce the growth in demand for energy in the United States, and to conserve nonrenewable energy resources produced in this nation and elsewhere, without inhibiting beneficial economic…

  4. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Orientation Manual

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This manual provides introductory information on the solid and hazardous waste management programs under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Designed for EPA and state staff, members of the regulated community, and the general public.

  5. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Federal Facilities

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Federal facilities have responsibilities with hazardous waste under RCRA, including the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). .

  6. 77 FR 64831 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-23

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish...

  7. 77 FR 64831 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-23

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of a permit modification issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to...

  8. 77 FR 23766 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-20

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science...

  9. 76 FR 47611 - Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-05

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit modification issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation...

  10. 78 FR 54686 - Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-05

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required...

  11. 77 FR 60477 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-03

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science...

  12. 78 FR 60321 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-01

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science...

  13. The greenGain project - Biomass from landscape conservation and maintenance work for renewable energy production in the EU

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clalüna, Aline; Baumgarten, Wibke; García Galindo, Daniel; Lenz, Klaus; Doležal, Jan; De Filippi, Federico; Lorenzo, Joaquín; Montagnoli, Louis

    2017-04-01

    The project greenGain is looking for solutions to increase the energy production with regional and local biomass from landscape conservation and maintenance work, which is performed in the public interest. The relevant resources analysed in the greenGain model regions are, among others, biomass residues from clearing invasive vegetation in marginal agricultural lands in Spain, and residues from abandoned vineyards and olive groves in landscape protected areas in Italy. The main target groups are regional and local players who are responsible for maintenance and conservation work and for the biomass residue management in their regions. Moreover, the focus will be on service providers - including farmers and forest owners, their associations, NGOs, energy providers and consumers. Local companies, municipalities and public authorities are collaborating to identify the still underutilised non-food biomass resources and to discuss the way to integrate them into the local and regional biomass markets. Since the start of the three year project in January 2015, the partners from Italy, Spain, Czech Republic and Germany analysed, among other, the biomass feedstock potential coming from landscape maintenance work, and assessed various technological options to utilise this type of biomass. Further, political, legal and environmental aspects as well as awareness raising and public acceptance actions regarding the energetic use of biomass from public areas were assessed. greenGain also facilitates the exchange between model regions and other similar relevant players in the EU and shares examples of good practice. General guidelines will be prepared to guarantee a wide dissemination to other regions in the EU. Thus, the project shows how to build-up reliable knowledge on local availability of this feedstock and provides know-how concerning planning, harvesting, pre-treatment, storage and sustainable conversion pathways to a wide range of stakeholders in the EU.

  14. 20 CFR 435.16 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 435.16 Section 435.16 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, OTHER NON-PROFIT...

  15. Abbreviated Version Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Statutory Checklist

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The RCRA Statutory Checklist is provided to aid attorneys and others in reviewing and documenting statutory provisions required for authorization under Section 3006(b) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended.

  16. 34 CFR 74.16 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 74.16 Section 74.16 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Pre-Award...

  17. 78 FR 54685 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-05

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  18. 76 FR 58049 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-19

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  19. 75 FR 62892 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub .L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-13

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub .L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Modification Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  20. 78 FR 52218 - Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-22

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  1. 76 FR 50272 - Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-12

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Modification Request Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-541. SUMMARY: The... conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations...

  2. 75 FR 62891 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-13

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  3. 76 FR 52354 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-22

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  4. 78 FR 9072 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-07

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  5. 75 FR 54389 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-07

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Modification Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  6. 75 FR 25300 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-07

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  7. 76 FR 30397 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-25

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Modification Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  8. 78 FR 58568 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-24

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  9. 78 FR 56743 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-13

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  10. 78 FR 56744 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-13

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  11. Energy Alert 78-1, National Energy Act: A Special Report on the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Association of Physical Plant Administrators of Universities and Colleges, Washington, DC.

    This Energy Alert deals specifically with Public Law 95-619, the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 (NECPA). Title III, Part 1 of NECPA authorizes $900 million over a three-year period for grants to schools and hospitals for energy audits, technical assistance and energy conservation projects. This publication attempts to inform…

  12. 77 FR 31044 - Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-24

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act AGENCY: National... 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permits... CONTACT: Nadene G. Kennedy, Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, Rm. 755, National Science Foundation...

  13. 77 FR 50720 - Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-22

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of requests to modify permits issued to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978,, Public Law 95- 541. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of a requested permit modification.

  14. 76 FR 60933 - Antarctic Conservation Act Permit Applications

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-30

    ...Notice is hereby given that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a waste management permit application for a flight by a Beechcraft Queen Air 65 ``Excaliber'' to depart Punta Arenas, Chile, fly over the South Pole, land at Teniente Marsh Base (Frei Base) where it will overnight, and return to Punta Arenas, Chile. The application is submitted by World Flyers of Buena Vista, CO and submitted to NSF pursuant to regulations issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

  15. 77 FR 50533 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-21

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice...

  16. 77 FR 35068 - Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-12

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permits Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice...

  17. 77 FR 518 - Notice of Lodging of the Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of the Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act Notice is hereby given that on December 22, 2011, a proposed Consent... Erie's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA'') violations stemming from its failure to meet...

  18. Differences in evolutionary pressure acting within highly conserved ortholog groups.

    PubMed

    Przytycka, Teresa M; Jothi, Raja; Aravind, L; Lipman, David J

    2008-07-17

    In highly conserved widely distributed ortholog groups, the main evolutionary force is assumed to be purifying selection that enforces sequence conservation, with most divergence occurring by accumulation of neutral substitutions. Using a set of ortholog groups from prokaryotes, with a single representative in each studied organism, we asked the question if this evolutionary pressure is acting similarly on different subgroups of orthologs defined as major lineages (e.g. Proteobacteria or Firmicutes). Using correlations in entropy measures as a proxy for evolutionary pressure, we observed two distinct behaviors within our ortholog collection. The first subset of ortholog groups, called here informational, consisted mostly of proteins associated with information processing (i.e. translation, transcription, DNA replication) and the second, the non-informational ortholog groups, mostly comprised of proteins involved in metabolic pathways. The evolutionary pressure acting on non-informational proteins is more uniform relative to their informational counterparts. The non-informational proteins show higher level of correlation between entropy profiles and more uniformity across subgroups. The low correlation of entropy profiles in the informational ortholog groups suggest that the evolutionary pressure acting on the informational ortholog groups is not uniform across different clades considered this study. This might suggest "fine-tuning" of informational proteins in each lineage leading to lineage-specific differences in selection. This, in turn, could make these proteins less exchangeable between lineages. In contrast, the uniformity of the selective pressure acting on the non-informational groups might allow the exchange of the genetic material via lateral gene transfer.

  19. North American Wetlands Conservation Act: Contributions to Bird Conservation in Coastal Areas of the U.S.

    Treesearch

    Keith McKnight; Robert Ford; Jennifer Kross

    2005-01-01

    The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) was passed in 1989, and has been instrumental in restoring, protecting, and enhancing 3.5 million has of wetland and associated habitats across North America. The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which NAWCA projects have addressed the priority habitat needs expressed by the North American...

  20. 77 FR 25192 - Wild Bird Conservation Act; Receipt of Application for Approval of a Cooperative Breeding Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-27

    ... Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA). DATES: Written data, comments, or requests for a copy of this application must... to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Under...-FF09A30000] Wild Bird Conservation Act; Receipt of Application for Approval of a Cooperative Breeding Program...

  1. Notification: EPA Oversight of Delegated State Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Programs

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Project #OPE-FY16-0033, September 19, 2016. The EPA OIG plans to begin preliminary research on the EPA's oversight of authorized state hazardous waste programs that fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

  2. 76 FR 66089 - Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-25

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit modification issued under the Antarctic Conservation of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF...

  3. 76 FR 67485 - Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-01

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Modification Issued Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit issued under the Antarctic Conservation of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish...

  4. 78 FR 48200 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-07

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-541. SUMMARY: The National... activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  5. 75 FR 57299 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-20

    ... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit system for various... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas...

  6. 76 FR 61117 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-03

    ... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the establishment of a permit system for various... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas...

  7. 75 FR 24862 - Removing Regulations Implementing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 83 [Docket No. FWS-R9-WSR-2010... and Wildlife Conservation Act AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove our regulations implementing...

  8. 75 FR 51420 - Removing Regulations Implementing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 83 [Docket No. FWS-R9-WSR-2010... and Wildlife Conservation Act AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing our regulations implementing the Fish...

  9. 76 FR 58843 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-22

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  10. 75 FR 65035 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-21

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  11. 77 FR 31044 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-24

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  12. 78 FR 53789 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-30

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 671 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  13. 78 FR 66384 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-05

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 Part 671 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of permit applications received.

  14. Avian Use of Perennial Biomass Feedstocks as Post-Breeding and Migratory Stopover Habitat

    PubMed Central

    Robertson, Bruce A.; Doran, Patrick J.; Loomis, Elizabeth R.; Robertson, J. Roy; Schemske, Douglas W.

    2011-01-01

    Increased production of biomass crops in North America will require new agricultural land, intensify the cultivation of land already under production and introduce new types of biomass crops. Assessing the potential biodiversity impacts of novel agricultural systems is fundamental to the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, yet the consequences of expanded biomass production remain unclear. We evaluate the ability of two candidate second generation biomass feedstocks (switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, and mixed-grass prairie) not currently managed as crops to act as post-breeding and fall migratory stopover habitat for birds. In total, we detected 41 bird species, including grassland specialists and species of state and national conservation concern (e.g. Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii). Avian species richness was generally comparable in switchgrass and prairie and increased with patch size in both patch types. Grassland specialists were less abundant and less likely to occur in patches within highly forested landscapes and were more common and likely to occur in larger patches, indicating that this group is also area-sensitive outside of the breeding season. Variation in the biomass and richness of arthropod food within patches was generally unrelated to richness and abundance metrics. Total bird abundance and that of grassland specialists was higher in patches with greater vegetation structural heterogeneity. Collectively, we find that perennial biomass feedstocks have potential to provide post-breeding and migratory stopover habitat for birds, but that the placement and management of crops will be critical factors in determining their suitability for species of conservation concern. Industrialization of cellulosic bioenergy production that results in reduced crop structural heterogeneity is likely to dramatically reduce the suitability of perennial biomass crops for birds. PMID:21390274

  15. 76 FR 30203 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-24

    ...The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of requests to modify permits issued to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the Antarctic Conservation Act at Title 45 part 670 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This is the required notice of a requested permit modification.

  16. 76 FR 51397 - Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Notice is hereby given... Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (``EPCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 11001, et seq. The Complaint alleges that...

  17. 77 FR 24740 - Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Resource Conservation And Recovery Act and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Resource Conservation And Recovery Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Notice is hereby given... Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq., and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know...

  18. 78 FR 46331 - Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee AGENCY: Energy... Energy is soliciting nominations for candidates to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development... INFORMATION: The Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 (Biomass Act) [Pub. L. 106-224] requires...

  19. 18 CFR 292.602 - Exemption to qualifying facilities from the Public Utility Holding Company Act and certain State...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 292.602 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS UNDER THE PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT OF 1978 REGULATIONS UNDER SECTIONS... capacity over 30 megawatts if such facility produces electric energy solely by the use of biomass as a...

  20. 18 CFR 292.602 - Exemption to qualifying facilities from the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ....602 Section 292.602 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS UNDER THE PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT OF 1978 REGULATIONS UNDER... produces electric energy solely by the use of biomass as a primary energy source. (b) Exemption from the...

  1. 75 FR 6263 - Biomass Crop Assistance Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-08

    ... Part II Department of Agriculture Commodity Credit Corporation 7 CFR Part 1450 Biomass Crop... RIN 0560-AH92 Biomass Crop Assistance Program AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service... to implement the new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) authorized by the Food, Conservation, and...

  2. Comparative analysis of sugarcane bagasse metagenome reveals unique and conserved biomass-degrading enzymes among lignocellulolytic microbial communities.

    PubMed

    Mhuantong, Wuttichai; Charoensawan, Varodom; Kanokratana, Pattanop; Tangphatsornruang, Sithichoke; Champreda, Verawat

    2015-01-01

    As one of the most abundant agricultural wastes, sugarcane bagasse is largely under-exploited, but it possesses a great potential for the biofuel, fermentation, and cellulosic biorefinery industries. It also provides a unique ecological niche, as the microbes in this lignocellulose-rich environment thrive in relatively high temperatures (50°C) with varying microenvironments of aerobic surface to anoxic interior. The microbial community in bagasse thus presents a good resource for the discovery and characterization of new biomass-degrading enzymes; however, it remains largely unexplored. We have constructed a fosmid library of sugarcane bagasse and obtained the largest bagasse metagenome to date. A taxonomic classification of the bagasse metagenome reviews the predominance of Proteobacteria, which are also found in high abundance in other aerobic environments. Based on the functional characterization of biomass-degrading enzymes, we have demonstrated that the bagasse microbial community benefits from a large repertoire of lignocellulolytic enzymes, which allows them to digest different components of lignocelluoses into single molecule sugars. Comparative genomic analyses with other lignocellulolytic and non-lignocellulolytic metagenomes show that microbial communities are taxonomically separable by their aerobic "open" or anoxic "closed" environments. Importantly, a functional analysis of lignocellulose-active genes (based on the CAZy classifications) reveals core enzymes highly conserved within the lignocellulolytic group, regardless of their taxonomic compositions. Cellulases, in particular, are markedly more pronounced compared to the non-lignocellulolytic group. In addition to the core enzymes, the bagasse fosmid library also contains some uniquely enriched glycoside hydrolases, as well as a large repertoire of the newly defined auxiliary activity proteins. Our study demonstrates a conservation and diversification of carbohydrate-active genes among diverse

  3. 75 FR 44163 - Implementation of Regulations Required Under Title XI of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-28

    ... Under Title XI of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008; Conduct in Violation of the Act AGENCY... Act and provide for a fairer market place. DATES: We will consider comments we receive by November 22... clarify conditions for industry compliance with the P&S Act and provide for a fairer market place. We have...

  4. 77 FR 25630 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-01

    .... 120316196-2195-01] RIN 0648-BB89 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Interim Action; Withdrawn AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA...

  5. Remarkable amphibian biomass and abundance in an isolated wetland: implications for wetland conservation.

    PubMed

    Gibbons, J Whitfield; Winne, Christopher T; Scott, David E; Willson, John D; Glaudas, Xavier; Andrews, Kimberly M; Todd, Brian D; Fedewa, Luke A; Wilkinson, Lucas; Tsaliagos, Ria N; Harper, Steven J; Greene, Judith L; Tuberville, Tracey D; Metts, Brian S; Dorcas, Michael E; Nestor, John P; Young, Cameron A; Akre, Tom; Reed, Robert N; Buhlmann, Kurt A; Norman, Jason; Croshaw, Dean A; Hagen, Cris; Rothermel, Betsie B

    2006-10-01

    Despite the continuing loss of wetland habitats and associated declines in amphibian populations, attempts to translate wetland losses into measurable losses to ecosystems have been lacking. We estimated the potential productivity from the amphibian community that would be compromised by the loss of a single isolated wetland that has been protected from most industrial, agricultural, and urban impacts for the past 54 years. We used a continuous drift fence at Ellenton Bay, a 10-ha freshwater wetland on the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina (U.S.A.), to sample all amphibians for 1 year following a prolonged drought. Despite intensive agricultural use of the land surrounding Ellenton Bay prior to 1951, we documented 24 species and remarkably high numbers and biomass of juvenile amphibians (>360,000 individuals; >1,400 kg) produced during one breeding season. Anurans (17 species) were more abundant than salamanders (7 species), comprising 96.4% of individual captures. Most (95.9%) of the amphibian biomass came from 232095 individuals of a single species of anuran (southern leopard frog[Rana sphenocephala]). Our results revealed the resilience of an amphibian community to natural stressors and historical habitat alteration and the potential magnitude of biomass and energy transfer from isolated wetlands to surrounding terrestrial habitat. We attributed the postdrought success of amphibians to a combination of adult longevity (often >5 years), a reduction in predator abundance, and an abundance of larval food resources. Likewise, the increase of forest cover around Ellenton Bay from <20% in 1951 to >60% in 2001 probably contributed to the long-term persistence of amphibians at this site. Our findings provide an optimistic counterpoint to the issue of the global decline of biological diversity by demonstrating that conservation efforts can mitigate historical habitat degradation.

  6. 75 FR 12141 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-15

    .... 0907221160-91412-02] RIN 0648-AY01 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish Fishery AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service...: NMFS issues this final rule to amend the Monkfish Fishery [[Page 12142

  7. 77 FR 16942 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-23

    ... Multispecies Fishery Management Plan which was approved on March 8, 2012. This action amends the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan to explicitly define and facilitate the effective operation of state.... 110901552-20494-02] RIN 0648-BB34 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions...

  8. 75 FR 81505 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-28

    .... 101116568-0608-01] RIN 0648-BA42 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Tilefish Fishery AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... implementing the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to require the first year cost-recovery fee percentage...

  9. 76 FR 20721 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-13

    ... Conservation Act AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit applications received under the... Diego. The volume of the air sacs and lungs are critical to the diving physiology of penguins in at... total body O 2 stores in various species. And second, the ratio of air sac to lung volume is a potential...

  10. 77 FR 74500 - Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan for Western Butte County...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-14

    ... is being prepared under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act. The BRCP addresses State and Federal endangered species compliance... conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (Act), and a natural community conservation...

  11. 77 FR 7610 - Notice of permit applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-13

    ... 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has... to be used for K-12 educational outreach activities. In general, the bird parts will be an example of...

  12. A Toolbox for Corrective Action: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facilities Investigation Remedy Selection Track

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The purpose of this toolbox is to help EPA Regional staff and their partners to take advantage of the efficiency and quality gains from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facilities Investigation Remedy Selection Track (FIRST) approach.

  13. Conserved Genes Act as Modifiers of Invertebrate SMN Loss of Function Defects

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Howard C.; Sen, Anindya; Kalloo, Geetika; Harris, Jevede; Barsby, Tom; Walsh, Melissa B.; Satterlee, John S.; Li, Chris; Van Vactor, David; Artavanis-Tsakonas, Spyros; Hart, Anne C.

    2010-01-01

    Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is caused by diminished function of the Survival of Motor Neuron (SMN) protein, but the molecular pathways critical for SMA pathology remain elusive. We have used genetic approaches in invertebrate models to identify conserved SMN loss of function modifier genes. Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans each have a single gene encoding a protein orthologous to human SMN; diminished function of these invertebrate genes causes lethality and neuromuscular defects. To find genes that modulate SMN function defects across species, two approaches were used. First, a genome-wide RNAi screen for C. elegans SMN modifier genes was undertaken, yielding four genes. Second, we tested the conservation of modifier gene function across species; genes identified in one invertebrate model were tested for function in the other invertebrate model. Drosophila orthologs of two genes, which were identified originally in C. elegans, modified Drosophila SMN loss of function defects. C. elegans orthologs of twelve genes, which were originally identified in a previous Drosophila screen, modified C. elegans SMN loss of function defects. Bioinformatic analysis of the conserved, cross-species, modifier genes suggests that conserved cellular pathways, specifically endocytosis and mRNA regulation, act as critical genetic modifiers of SMN loss of function defects across species. PMID:21124729

  14. Expanding the biomass resource: sustainable oil production via fast pyrolysis of low input high diversity biomass and the potential integration of thermochemical and biological conversion routes.

    PubMed

    Corton, J; Donnison, I S; Patel, M; Bühle, L; Hodgson, E; Wachendorf, M; Bridgwater, A; Allison, G; Fraser, M D

    2016-09-01

    Waste biomass is generated during the conservation management of semi-natural habitats, and represents an unused resource and potential bioenergy feedstock that does not compete with food production. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to characterise a representative range of biomass generated during conservation management in Wales. Of the biomass types assessed, those dominated by rush ( Juncus effuses ) and bracken ( Pteridium aquilinum ) exhibited the highest and lowest volatile compositions respectively and were selected for bench scale conversion via fast pyrolysis. Each biomass type was ensiled and a sub-sample of silage was washed and pressed. Demineralization of conservation biomass through washing and pressing was associated with higher oil yields following fast pyrolysis. The oil yields were within the published range established for the dedicated energy crops miscanthus and willow. In order to examine the potential a multiple output energy system was developed with gross power production estimates following valorisation of the press fluid, char and oil. If used in multi fuel industrial burners the char and oil alone would displace 3.9 × 10 5  tonnes per year of No. 2 light oil using Welsh biomass from conservation management. Bioenergy and product development using these feedstocks could simultaneously support biodiversity management and displace fossil fuels, thereby reducing GHG emissions. Gross power generation predictions show good potential.

  15. 76 FR 57765 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-16

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit...: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to...

  16. 77 FR 36581 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-19

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received.... The presence of these animals pose operation safety concerns as well as potential harm to the animals... for capturing Antarctic fishes to study their physiology and biochemistry. Benthic Otter trawling is...

  17. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Organic Air Emission Standards for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities and Generators

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This document describes the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) organic air emission standards contained in 40 CFR parts 264/265, subpart CC for hazardous waste treatment

  18. 78 FR 68093 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree; Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree; Pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act On October 28, 2013, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed Consent Decree (``Decree'') in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in the lawsuit entitled United States of...

  19. 76 FR 9611 - Notice of Permit Modification Request Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-18

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Modification Request Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit modification request... that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a request to modify a permit issued to conduct...

  20. The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act: A Workshop to Discuss Improvements and a Brief Summary of First Year Results

    Treesearch

    David Mehlman; Heather Johnson; Bob Ford

    2005-01-01

    The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA; Public Law 106-247), passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000, establishes a matching grants program to fund projects that promote the conservation of migratory birds in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. During its deliberations, the U.S. Congress recognized that migratory birds provide significant...

  1. The Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework: a tool for incorporating climate change into natural resource management.

    PubMed

    Cross, Molly S; Zavaleta, Erika S; Bachelet, Dominique; Brooks, Marjorie L; Enquist, Carolyn A F; Fleishman, Erica; Graumlich, Lisa J; Groves, Craig R; Hannah, Lee; Hansen, Lara; Hayward, Greg; Koopman, Marni; Lawler, Joshua J; Malcolm, Jay; Nordgren, John; Petersen, Brian; Rowland, Erika L; Scott, Daniel; Shafer, Sarah L; Shaw, M Rebecca; Tabor, Gary M

    2012-09-01

    As natural resource management agencies and conservation organizations seek guidance on responding to climate change, myriad potential actions and strategies have been proposed for increasing the long-term viability of some attributes of natural systems. Managers need practical tools for selecting among these actions and strategies to develop a tailored management approach for specific targets at a given location. We developed and present one such tool, the participatory Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework, which considers the effects of climate change in the development of management actions for particular species, ecosystems and ecological functions. Our framework is based on the premise that effective adaptation of management to climate change can rely on local knowledge of an ecosystem and does not necessarily require detailed projections of climate change or its effects. We illustrate the ACT framework by applying it to an ecological function in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, USA)--water flows in the upper Yellowstone River. We suggest that the ACT framework is a practical tool for initiating adaptation planning, and for generating and communicating specific management interventions given an increasingly altered, yet uncertain, climate.

  2. The Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) Framework: A tool for incorporating climate change into natural resource management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cross, Molly S.; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Bachelet, Dominique; Brooks, Marjorie L.; Enquist, Carolyn A.F.; Fleishman, Erica; Graumlich, Lisa J.; Groves, Craig R.; Hannah, Lee; Hansen, Lara J.; Hayward, Gregory D.; Koopman, Marni; Lawler, Joshua J.; Malcolm, Jay; Nordgren, John R.; Petersen, Brian; Rowland, Erika; Scott, Daniel; Shafer, Sarah L.; Shaw, M. Rebecca; Tabor, Gary

    2012-01-01

    As natural resource management agencies and conservation organizations seek guidance on responding to climate change, myriad potential actions and strategies have been proposed for increasing the long-term viability of some attributes of natural systems. Managers need practical tools for selecting among these actions and strategies to develop a tailored management approach for specific targets at a given location. We developed and present one such tool, the participatory Adaptation for Conservation Targets (ACT) framework, which considers the effects of climate change in the development of management actions for particular species, ecosystems and ecological functions. Our framework is based on the premise that effective adaptation of management to climate change can rely on local knowledge of an ecosystem and does not necessarily require detailed projections of climate change or its effects. We illustrate the ACT framework by applying it to an ecological function in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, USA)—water flows in the upper Yellowstone River. We suggest that the ACT framework is a practical tool for initiating adaptation planning, and for generating and communicating specific management interventions given an increasingly altered, yet uncertain, climate.

  3. EVALUATION OF THE RCRA (RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT) EXTRACTION PROCEDURE - LYSIMETER STUDIES WITH MUNICIPAL/INDUSTRIAL WASTES

    EPA Science Inventory

    A study was initiated to determine the accuracy with which the Extraction Procedures (EP), employed in the regulations promulgated under Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (40 CFR 26.124), simulates the leaching an industrial waste would undergo when codis...

  4. 78 FR 56247 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-12

    ... the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the... the permit . Litchfield Island has thriving and pristine peat moss bank communities. Samples could be...

  5. 76 FR 39905 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-07

    ... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct activities regulated under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. NSF has published regulations under the...

  6. 78 FR 76862 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-19

    ... the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has developed regulations for the... and structure of the cetacean communities. In order to understand the diet of different marine mammals...

  7. 75 FR 53723 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-01

    ... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and...-depth sensing equipment is available, however positioning such devices near seabird and pinniped...

  8. Testing assumptions for conservation of migratory shorebirds and coastal managed wetlands

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Collazo, Jaime; James Lyons,; Herring, Garth

    2015-01-01

    Managed wetlands provide critical foraging and roosting habitats for shorebirds during migration; therefore, ensuring their availability is a priority action in shorebird conservation plans. Contemporary shorebird conservation plans rely on a number of assumptions about shorebird prey resources and migratory behavior to determine stopover habitat requirements. For example, the US Shorebird Conservation Plan for the Southeast-Caribbean region assumes that average benthic invertebrate biomass in foraging habitats is 2.4 g dry mass m−2 and that the dominant prey item of shorebirds in the region is Chironomid larvae. For effective conservation and management, it is important to test working assumptions and update predictive models that are used to estimate habitat requirements. We surveyed migratory shorebirds and sampled the benthic invertebrate community in coastal managed wetlands of South Carolina. We sampled invertebrates at three points in time representing early, middle, and late stages of spring migration, and concurrently surveyed shorebird stopover populations at approximately 7-day intervals throughout migration. We used analysis of variance by ranks to test for temporal variation in invertebrate biomass and density, and we used a model based approach (linear mixed model and Monte Carlo simulation) to estimate mean biomass and density. There was little evidence of a temporal variation in biomass or density during the course of spring shorebird migration, suggesting that shorebirds did not deplete invertebrate prey resources at our site. Estimated biomass was 1.47 g dry mass m−2 (95 % credible interval 0.13–3.55), approximately 39 % lower than values used in the regional shorebird conservation plan. An additional 4728 ha (a 63 % increase) would be required if habitat objectives were derived from biomass levels observed in our study. Polychaetes, especially Laeonereis culveri(2569 individuals m−2), were the most abundant prey in foraging

  9. 78 FR 8500 - Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Research and... Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L... fuels and biobased products. Tentative Agenda: Agenda will include the following: Update on USDA Biomass...

  10. 75 FR 57298 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-20

    ... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and... chick carcass counts, and assessment of check health.) Leopard seal research assesses the impact of...

  11. 75 FR 68830 - Notice of permit applications received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-09

    ... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and... impacts initial CO\\2\\ sequestration and how it impacts the composition of the phytoplankton community...

  12. 78 FR 14358 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-05

    ... the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York in the lawsuit entitled United...; and Mountain Mart 108, LLC. The proposed Consent Decree resolves claims of the United States under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by various laws including the Resource Conservation and Recovery...

  13. 75 FR 1651 - Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List for Conservation Projects

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-01-12

    ...-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and established the Multistate Conservation...; 91400-9410-0000-7B] Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List for Conservation Projects... of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies...

  14. 77 FR 51831 - Notice of Permit Applications Received; Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-27

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received; Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  15. Integrating Climate Change into Habitat Conservation Plans Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bernazzani, Paola; Bradley, Bethany A.; Opperman, Jeffrey J.

    2012-06-01

    Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are an important mechanism for the acquisition of land and the management of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. HCPs have become a vital means of protecting endangered and threatened species and their habitats throughout the United States, particularly on private land. The scientific consensus that climate is changing and that these changes will impact the viability of species has not been incorporated into the conservation strategies of recent HCPs, rendering plans vulnerable biologically. In this paper we review the regulatory context for incorporating climate change into HCPs and analyze the extent to which climate change is linked to management actions in a subset of large HCPs. We conclude that most current plans do not incorporate climate change into conservation actions, and so we provide recommendations for integrating climate change into the process of HCP development and implementation. These recommendations are distilled from the published literature as well as the practice of conservation planning and are structured to the specific needs of HCP development and implementation. We offer nine recommendations for integrating climate change into the HCP process: (1) identify species at-risk from climate change, (2) explore new strategies for reserve design, (3) increase emphasis on corridors, linkages, and connectivity, (4) develop anticipatory adaptation measures, (5) manage for diversity, (6) consider assisted migration, (7) include climate change in scenarios of water management, (8) develop future-oriented management actions, and (9) increase linkages between the conservation strategy and adaptive management/monitoring programs.

  16. Integrating climate change into habitat conservation plans under the U.S. endangered species act.

    PubMed

    Bernazzani, Paola; Bradley, Bethany A; Opperman, Jeffrey J

    2012-06-01

    Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) are an important mechanism for the acquisition of land and the management of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. HCPs have become a vital means of protecting endangered and threatened species and their habitats throughout the United States, particularly on private land. The scientific consensus that climate is changing and that these changes will impact the viability of species has not been incorporated into the conservation strategies of recent HCPs, rendering plans vulnerable biologically. In this paper we review the regulatory context for incorporating climate change into HCPs and analyze the extent to which climate change is linked to management actions in a subset of large HCPs. We conclude that most current plans do not incorporate climate change into conservation actions, and so we provide recommendations for integrating climate change into the process of HCP development and implementation. These recommendations are distilled from the published literature as well as the practice of conservation planning and are structured to the specific needs of HCP development and implementation. We offer nine recommendations for integrating climate change into the HCP process: (1) identify species at-risk from climate change, (2) explore new strategies for reserve design, (3) increase emphasis on corridors, linkages, and connectivity, (4) develop anticipatory adaptation measures, (5) manage for diversity, (6) consider assisted migration, (7) include climate change in scenarios of water management, (8) develop future-oriented management actions, and (9) increase linkages between the conservation strategy and adaptive management/monitoring programs.

  17. The Physics of Basis For A Conservative Physics And Conservative Technology Tokamak Power Plant, ARIES-ACT2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kessel, C. E.; Poli, F. M.

    2014-03-04

    The conservative physics and conservative technology tokamak power plant ARIES-ACT2 has a major radius of 9.75 m at aspect ratio of 4.0, strong shaping with elongation of 2.2 and triangularity of 0.63. The no wall βN reaches ~ 2.4, limited by n=1 external kink mode, and can be extended to 3.2 with a stabilizing shell behind the ring structure shield. The bootstrap current fraction is 77% with a q95 of 8.0, requiring about ~ 4.0 MA of external current drive. This current is supplied with 30 MW of ICRF/FW and 80 MW of negative ion NB. Up to 1.0 MAmore » can be driven with LH with no wall, and 1.5 or more MA can be driven with a stabilizing shell. EC was examined and is most effective for safety factor control over ρ ~ 0.2-0.6 with 20 MW. The pedestal density is ~ 0.65x10 20/m 3 and the temperature is ~ 9.0 keV. The H98 factor is 1.25, n/n Gr = 1.3, and the net power to LH threshold power is 1.3-1.4 in the flattop. Due to the high toroidal field and high central temperature the cyclotron radiation loss was found to be high depending on the first wall reflectivity.« less

  18. Modeling Reef Fish Biomass, Recovery Potential, and Management Priorities in the Western Indian Ocean.

    PubMed

    McClanahan, Timothy R; Maina, Joseph M; Graham, Nicholas A J; Jones, Kendall R

    2016-01-01

    Fish biomass is a primary driver of coral reef ecosystem services and has high sensitivity to human disturbances, particularly fishing. Estimates of fish biomass, their spatial distribution, and recovery potential are important for evaluating reef status and crucial for setting management targets. Here we modeled fish biomass estimates across all reefs of the western Indian Ocean using key variables that predicted the empirical data collected from 337 sites. These variables were used to create biomass and recovery time maps to prioritize spatially explicit conservation actions. The resultant fish biomass map showed high variability ranging from ~15 to 2900 kg/ha, primarily driven by human populations, distance to markets, and fisheries management restrictions. Lastly, we assembled data based on the age of fisheries closures and showed that biomass takes ~ 25 years to recover to typical equilibrium values of ~1200 kg/ha. The recovery times to biomass levels for sustainable fishing yields, maximum diversity, and ecosystem stability or conservation targets once fishing is suspended was modeled to estimate temporal costs of restrictions. The mean time to recovery for the whole region to the conservation target was 8.1(± 3SD) years, while recovery to sustainable fishing thresholds was between 0.5 and 4 years, but with high spatial variation. Recovery prioritization scenario models included one where local governance prioritized recovery of degraded reefs and two that prioritized minimizing recovery time, where countries either operated independently or collaborated. The regional collaboration scenario selected remote areas for conservation with uneven national responsibilities and spatial coverage, which could undermine collaboration. There is the potential to achieve sustainable fisheries within a decade by promoting these pathways according to their social-ecological suitability.

  19. Modeling Reef Fish Biomass, Recovery Potential, and Management Priorities in the Western Indian Ocean

    PubMed Central

    McClanahan, Timothy R.; Maina, Joseph M.; Graham, Nicholas A. J.; Jones, Kendall R.

    2016-01-01

    Fish biomass is a primary driver of coral reef ecosystem services and has high sensitivity to human disturbances, particularly fishing. Estimates of fish biomass, their spatial distribution, and recovery potential are important for evaluating reef status and crucial for setting management targets. Here we modeled fish biomass estimates across all reefs of the western Indian Ocean using key variables that predicted the empirical data collected from 337 sites. These variables were used to create biomass and recovery time maps to prioritize spatially explicit conservation actions. The resultant fish biomass map showed high variability ranging from ~15 to 2900 kg/ha, primarily driven by human populations, distance to markets, and fisheries management restrictions. Lastly, we assembled data based on the age of fisheries closures and showed that biomass takes ~ 25 years to recover to typical equilibrium values of ~1200 kg/ha. The recovery times to biomass levels for sustainable fishing yields, maximum diversity, and ecosystem stability or conservation targets once fishing is suspended was modeled to estimate temporal costs of restrictions. The mean time to recovery for the whole region to the conservation target was 8.1(± 3SD) years, while recovery to sustainable fishing thresholds was between 0.5 and 4 years, but with high spatial variation. Recovery prioritization scenario models included one where local governance prioritized recovery of degraded reefs and two that prioritized minimizing recovery time, where countries either operated independently or collaborated. The regional collaboration scenario selected remote areas for conservation with uneven national responsibilities and spatial coverage, which could undermine collaboration. There is the potential to achieve sustainable fisheries within a decade by promoting these pathways according to their social-ecological suitability. PMID:27149673

  20. 78 FR 29125 - Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Research and... Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L... contact (Departments of [[Page 29126

  1. 76 FR 60934 - Notice of Permit Application Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-30

    ...Notice is hereby given that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a waste management permit application for Quark Expeditions' cruise ships to conduct a number of activities, including: shore excursions via zodiac or helicopter, camping ashore or extended stays, mountaineering, kayaking, helicopter flight seeing/emergency landings, and skiing. The application is submitted by Quark Expeditions of Waterbury, Vermont and submitted to NSF pursuant to regulations issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

  2. 75 FR 42462 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-21

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  3. 76 FR 30203 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-24

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  4. 75 FR 60830 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-01

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  5. 76 FR 793 - Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List for Conservation Projects

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-06

    ...; 91400-9410-0000-7B] Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List for Conservation Projects... 2011 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). As required by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act...

  6. 78 FR 78305 - Energy and Water Use Labeling for Consumer Products Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-26

    ... FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 305 [3084-AB15] Energy and Water Use Labeling for Consumer Products Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``Energy Labeling Rule'') AGENCY: Federal Trade... to the Energy Labeling Rule (``Rule'') to require a new Department of Energy (DOE) test procedure for...

  7. 75 FR 23191 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Certain...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-03

    ...-BT-STD-0005] RIN 1904-AC15 Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation... Conservation Act (EPCA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding energy conservation standards for certain incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs) that have elliptical...

  8. 77 FR 32701 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-01

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  9. 78 FR 33115 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-03

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  10. 78 FR 54492 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-04

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  11. 77 FR 6826 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-09

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit... Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct...

  12. 75 FR 31609 - Conservation Stewardship Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-03

    ...Section 2301 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act) amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). On July 29, 2009, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) published an interim final rule for CSP with a 60-day public comment period. On September 21, 2009, the public comment period was extended 30 days. NRCS is publishing a final rule that addresses the comments received on the interim final rule and makes other minor adjustments to improve clarity of the rule.

  13. 78 FR 25093 - Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List and Approval for Conservation Projects

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-29

    ... Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.) and established the Multistate Conservation Grant Program...-9410-0000] Multistate Conservation Grant Program; Priority List and Approval for Conservation Projects... year 2013 priority list of wildlife and sport fish conservation projects from the Association of Fish...

  14. Estimation of fish biomass using environmental DNA.

    PubMed

    Takahara, Teruhiko; Minamoto, Toshifumi; Yamanaka, Hiroki; Doi, Hideyuki; Kawabata, Zen'ichiro

    2012-01-01

    Environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic vertebrates has recently been used to estimate the presence of a species. We hypothesized that fish release DNA into the water at a rate commensurate with their biomass. Thus, the concentration of eDNA of a target species may be used to estimate the species biomass. We developed an eDNA method to estimate the biomass of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) using laboratory and field experiments. In the aquarium, the concentration of eDNA changed initially, but reached an equilibrium after 6 days. Temperature had no effect on eDNA concentrations in aquaria. The concentration of eDNA was positively correlated with carp biomass in both aquaria and experimental ponds. We used this method to estimate the biomass and distribution of carp in a natural freshwater lagoon. We demonstrated that the distribution of carp eDNA concentration was explained by water temperature. Our results suggest that biomass data estimated from eDNA concentration reflects the potential distribution of common carp in the natural environment. Measuring eDNA concentration offers a non-invasive, simple, and rapid method for estimating biomass. This method could inform management plans for the conservation of ecosystems.

  15. Estimation of Fish Biomass Using Environmental DNA

    PubMed Central

    Takahara, Teruhiko; Minamoto, Toshifumi; Yamanaka, Hiroki; Doi, Hideyuki; Kawabata, Zen'ichiro

    2012-01-01

    Environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic vertebrates has recently been used to estimate the presence of a species. We hypothesized that fish release DNA into the water at a rate commensurate with their biomass. Thus, the concentration of eDNA of a target species may be used to estimate the species biomass. We developed an eDNA method to estimate the biomass of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) using laboratory and field experiments. In the aquarium, the concentration of eDNA changed initially, but reached an equilibrium after 6 days. Temperature had no effect on eDNA concentrations in aquaria. The concentration of eDNA was positively correlated with carp biomass in both aquaria and experimental ponds. We used this method to estimate the biomass and distribution of carp in a natural freshwater lagoon. We demonstrated that the distribution of carp eDNA concentration was explained by water temperature. Our results suggest that biomass data estimated from eDNA concentration reflects the potential distribution of common carp in the natural environment. Measuring eDNA concentration offers a non-invasive, simple, and rapid method for estimating biomass. This method could inform management plans for the conservation of ecosystems. PMID:22563411

  16. 76 FR 51065 - Notice of Permit Application Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-17

    ...Notice is hereby given that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a waste management permit application from Mr. Sebastian Copeland for his private expedition crossing Antarctica from the Russian Novo station on the coast to the Pole of Inaccessibility to South Pole and ending at Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions camp at Union Glacier where they will be flown back to Punta Arenas, Chile. The application is submitted to NSF pursuant to regulations issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

  17. 76 FR 60933 - Notice of Permit Application Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-30

    ...Notice is hereby given that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received a waste management permit application for a flight by a Beechcraft Queen Air 65 ``Excaliber'' to depart Punta Arenas, Chile, fly over the South Pole, land at Teniente Marsh Base (Frei Base) where it will overnight, and return to Punta Arenas, Chile. The application is submitted by World Flyers of Buena Vista, CO and submitted to NSF pursuant to regulations issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

  18. The conservation genetics juggling act: Integrating genetics and ecology, science and policy

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Haig, Susan M.; Miller, Mark P.; Bellinger, Renee; Draheim, Hope M.; Mercer, Dacey; Mullins, Tom

    2016-01-01

    The field of conservation genetics, when properly implemented, is a constant juggling act integrating molecular genetics, ecology, and demography with applied aspects concerning managing declining species or implementing conservation laws and policies. This young field has grown substantially since the 1980’s following development of the polymerase chain reaction and now into the genomics era. Our lab has “grown up” with the field, having worked on these issues for over three decades. Our multi-disciplinary approach entails understanding the behavior and ecology of species as well as the underlying processes that contribute to genetic viability. Taking this holistic approach provides a comprehensive understanding of factors that influence species persistence and evolutionary potential while considering annual challenges that occur throughout their life cycle. As a federal lab, we are often addressing the needs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in their efforts to list, de-list or recover species. Nevertheless, there remains an overall communication gap between research geneticists and biologists who are charged with implementing their results. Therefore, we outline the need for a National Center for Small Population Biology to ameliorate this problem and provide organizations charged with making status decisions firmer ground from which to make their critical decisions. 

  19. Some green for some green in West Virginia: An overview of the West Virginia Conservation and Preservation Easements Act

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1997-11-01

    The West Virginia Conservation and Preservation Act is a land management device whose time has come in West Virginia. Wise use of this tool by lawyers, property owners and holding entities can help the state to achieve a balance between the wise use of its natural resources and the promotion of tourism. Although not appropriate in every situation where it could potentially be applied, the West Virginia Act is a device by which economic and environmental interests can converge for the benefit of both parties.

  20. 76 FR 20721 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-13

    ... Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541) AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit... physiology of penguins in at least two ways. First, the respiratory oxygen store is estimated to comprise one... volume is a potential mechanism for prevention of pulmonary barotrauma (``lung squeeze''). Yet the...

  1. 77 FR 64970 - Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Biomass Research and... Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L... Meeting: To provide advice and guidance that promotes research and development leading to the production...

  2. 75 FR 78667 - Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative-Chesapeake Bay Watershed

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-16

    ... Corporation Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative--Chesapeake Bay Watershed AGENCY: Commodity Credit... Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative-- Chesapeake Bay... Act of 2008 (2008 Act). CCPI-CBW is a voluntary conservation initiative that enables the use of...

  3. Biomass carbon stocks in China's forests between 2000 and 2050: a prediction based on forest biomass-age relationships.

    PubMed

    Xu, Bing; Guo, ZhaoDi; Piao, ShiLong; Fang, JingYun

    2010-07-01

    China's forests are characterized by young forest age, low carbon density and a large area of planted forests, and thus have high potential to act as carbon sinks in the future. Using China's national forest inventory data during 1994-1998 and 1999-2003, and direct field measurements, we investigated the relationships between forest biomass density and forest age for 36 major forest types. Statistical approaches and the predicted future forest area from the national forestry development plan were applied to estimate the potential of forest biomass carbon storage in China during 2000-2050. Under an assumption of continuous natural forest growth, China's existing forest biomass carbon (C) stock would increase from 5.86 Pg C (1 Pg=10(15) g) in 1999-2003 to 10.23 Pg C in 2050, resulting in a total increase of 4.37 Pg C. Newly planted forests through afforestation and reforestation will sequestrate an additional 2.86 Pg C in biomass. Overall, China's forests will potentially act as a carbon sink for 7.23 Pg C during the period 2000-2050, with an average carbon sink of 0.14 Pg C yr(-1). This suggests that China's forests will be a significant carbon sink in the next 50 years.

  4. 76 FR 22785 - Wetland Conservation

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-25

    ... Wetland Conservation AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA..., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Room 6819, South Building, P... recordkeeping requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Background Existing wetland conservation...

  5. 75 FR 65995 - Biomass Crop Assistance Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-27

    ... practices approved through conservation planning would be periodically monitored by USDA to determine the... negative impacts, through reduced purchases of inputs for traditional farming, within a region ranging from... changes in land management associated with the adoption of dedicated biomass energy cropping practices and...

  6. Bio-mass utilization in high pressure cogeneration boiler

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koundinya, Sandeep; Maria Ambrose Raj, Y.; Sreeram, K.; Divakar Shetty A., S.

    2017-07-01

    Coal is widely used all over the world in almost all power plants. The dependence on coal has increased enormously as the demand for electricity has reached its peak. Coal being a non-renewable source is depleting fast. We being the engineers, it's our duty to conserve the natural resources and optimize the coal consumption. In this project, we have tried to optimize the bio-mass utilization in high pressure cogeneration boiler. The project was carried in Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited, erode related to Boiler No:10 operating at steam pressure of 105 kscg and temperature of 510°C. Available bio-mass fuels in and around the mill premises are bagasse, bagasse pith, cane trash and chipper dust. In this project, we have found out the coal equivalent replacement by the above bio-mass fuel(s) to facilitate deciding on the optimized quantity of coal that can be replaced by biomass without modifying the existing design of the plant. The dominant fuel (coal) which could be displaced with the substitute biomass fuel had been individually (biomass) analyzed.

  7. 75 FR 66119 - Proposed Information Collection; International Conservation Grant Programs

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-27

    ..., great apes, elephants, and many other highly cherished species. The Division of International Conservation administers 11 competitive grant programs funded under the: African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4245). Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261). Great Apes Conservation...

  8. Forest biodiversity and woody biomass harvesting

    Treesearch

    Deahn M. Donner; T. Bently Wigley; Darren A. Miller

    2017-01-01

    With the expected increase in demand for woody biomass to help meet renewable energy needs, one principal sustainability question has been whether this material can be removed from forest stands while still conserving biological diversity and retaining ecosystem functioning (Hecht et al. 2009; Berch, Morris, and Malcolm 2011; Ridley et al. 2013). In general,...

  9. OsCESA9 conserved-site mutation leads to largely enhanced plant lodging resistance and biomass enzymatic saccharification by reducing cellulose DP and crystallinity in rice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Fengcheng; Xie, Guosheng; Huang, Jiangfeng

    Genetic modification of plant cell walls has been posed to reduce lignocellulose recalcitrance for enhancing biomass saccharification. Several dozen CESA mutants have been reported since cellulose synthase (CESA) gene was first identified, but almost all mutants exhibit the defective phenotypes in plant growth and development. Here, the rice (Oryza sativa) Osfc16 mutant with substitutions (W481C, P482S) at P-CR conserved site in CESA9 shows a slightly affected plant growth and higher biomass yield by 25%–41% compared with wild type (Nipponbare, a japonica variety). Chemical and ultrastructural analyses indicate that Osfc16 has a significantly reduced cellulose crystallinity (CrI) and thinner secondary cellmore » walls compared with wild type. CESA co-IP detection, together with implementations of a proteasome inhibitor (MG132) and two distinct cellulose inhibitors (Calcofluor, CGA), shows that CESA9 mutation could affect integrity of CESA4/7/9 complexes, which may lead to rapid CESA proteasome degradation for low-DP cellulose biosynthesis. These may reduce cellulose CrI, which improves plant lodging resistance, a major and integrated agronomic trait on plant growth and grain production, and enhances biomass enzymatic saccharification by up to 2.3-fold and ethanol productivity by 34%–42%. Our study has for the first time reported a direct modification for the low-DP cellulose production that has broad applications in biomass industries.« less

  10. OsCESA9 conserved-site mutation leads to largely enhanced plant lodging resistance and biomass enzymatic saccharification by reducing cellulose DP and crystallinity in rice

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Fengcheng; Xie, Guosheng; Huang, Jiangfeng; ...

    2017-03-15

    Genetic modification of plant cell walls has been posed to reduce lignocellulose recalcitrance for enhancing biomass saccharification. Several dozen CESA mutants have been reported since cellulose synthase (CESA) gene was first identified, but almost all mutants exhibit the defective phenotypes in plant growth and development. Here, the rice (Oryza sativa) Osfc16 mutant with substitutions (W481C, P482S) at P-CR conserved site in CESA9 shows a slightly affected plant growth and higher biomass yield by 25%–41% compared with wild type (Nipponbare, a japonica variety). Chemical and ultrastructural analyses indicate that Osfc16 has a significantly reduced cellulose crystallinity (CrI) and thinner secondary cellmore » walls compared with wild type. CESA co-IP detection, together with implementations of a proteasome inhibitor (MG132) and two distinct cellulose inhibitors (Calcofluor, CGA), shows that CESA9 mutation could affect integrity of CESA4/7/9 complexes, which may lead to rapid CESA proteasome degradation for low-DP cellulose biosynthesis. These may reduce cellulose CrI, which improves plant lodging resistance, a major and integrated agronomic trait on plant growth and grain production, and enhances biomass enzymatic saccharification by up to 2.3-fold and ethanol productivity by 34%–42%. Our study has for the first time reported a direct modification for the low-DP cellulose production that has broad applications in biomass industries.« less

  11. 76 FR 63904 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Coral Reef Conservation Program Administration

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-14

    ... Collection; Comment Request; Coral Reef Conservation Program Administration AGENCY: National Oceanic and... The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act) was enacted to provide a framework for conserving coral reefs. The Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program, under the Act, provides funds to broad- based...

  12. Variation in Biomass Composition Components among Forage, Biomass, Sorghum-Sudangrass, and Sweet Sorghum Types

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stefaniak, T. R.; Dahlberg, J. A.; Bean, B. W.

    2012-07-01

    Alternative biomass sources must be developed if the United States is to meet the goal in the U.S. Energy Security Act of 2007 to derive 30% of its petroleum from renewable sources, and several different biomass crops are currently in development. Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is one such crop that will be an important feedstock source for biofuel production. As composition influences productivity, there exists a need to understand the range in composition observed within the crop. The goal of this research was to assess the range in dietary fiber composition observed within different types of biomass sorghums. Amore » total of 152 sorghum samples were divided into the four end-use types of sorghum: biomass, forage, sorghum-sudangrass, and sweet. These samples were analyzed chemically using dietary fiber analysis performed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory using published protocols. Significant variation among the groups was detected for glucan and ash. Positive and highly significant correlations were detected between structural carbohydrates in the biomass and sweet sorghums while many of these correlations were negative or not significant in the forage and sorghum-sudangrass types. In addition, a wide range of variation was present within each group indicating that there is potential to manipulate the composition of the crop.« less

  13. Landscape Suitability in Botswana for the Conservation of Its Six Large African Carnivores

    PubMed Central

    Winterbach, Hanlie E. K.; Winterbach, Christiaan W.; Somers, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approach to map and identify these areas in Botswana for its large carnivore guild consisting of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The habitat suitability for large carnivores depends primarily on prey availability, interspecific competition, and conflict with humans. Prey availability is most likely the strongest natural determinant. We used the distribution of biomass of typical wild ungulate species occurring in Botswana which is preyed upon by the six large carnivores to evaluate the potential suitability of the different management zones in the country to sustain large carnivore populations. In areas where a high biomass of large prey species occurred, we assumed interspecific competition between dominant and subordinated competitors to be high. This reduced the suitability of these areas for conservation of subordinate competitors, and vice versa. We used the percentage of prey biomass of the total prey and livestock biomass to identify areas with potentially high levels of conflict in agricultural areas. High to medium biomass of large prey was mostly confined to conservation zones, while small prey biomass was more evenly spread across large parts of the country. This necessitates different conservation strategies for carnivores with a preference for large prey, and those that can persist in the agricultural areas. To ensure connectivity between populations inside Botswana and also with its neighbours, a number of critical areas for priority management actions exist in the

  14. Landscape suitability in Botswana for the conservation of its six large African carnivores.

    PubMed

    Winterbach, Hanlie E K; Winterbach, Christiaan W; Somers, Michael J

    2014-01-01

    Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approach to map and identify these areas in Botswana for its large carnivore guild consisting of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The habitat suitability for large carnivores depends primarily on prey availability, interspecific competition, and conflict with humans. Prey availability is most likely the strongest natural determinant. We used the distribution of biomass of typical wild ungulate species occurring in Botswana which is preyed upon by the six large carnivores to evaluate the potential suitability of the different management zones in the country to sustain large carnivore populations. In areas where a high biomass of large prey species occurred, we assumed interspecific competition between dominant and subordinated competitors to be high. This reduced the suitability of these areas for conservation of subordinate competitors, and vice versa. We used the percentage of prey biomass of the total prey and livestock biomass to identify areas with potentially high levels of conflict in agricultural areas. High to medium biomass of large prey was mostly confined to conservation zones, while small prey biomass was more evenly spread across large parts of the country. This necessitates different conservation strategies for carnivores with a preference for large prey, and those that can persist in the agricultural areas. To ensure connectivity between populations inside Botswana and also with its neighbours, a number of critical areas for priority management actions exist in the

  15. 78 FR 1251 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act On December 31, 2012, the Department of....C. 7401 et seq.; the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.; and the Resource Conservation and...

  16. Health impacts of anthropogenic biomass burning in the developed world.

    PubMed

    Sigsgaard, Torben; Forsberg, Bertil; Annesi-Maesano, Isabella; Blomberg, Anders; Bølling, Anette; Boman, Christoffer; Bønløkke, Jakob; Brauer, Michael; Bruce, Nigel; Héroux, Marie-Eve; Hirvonen, Maija-Riitta; Kelly, Frank; Künzli, Nino; Lundbäck, Bo; Moshammer, Hanns; Noonan, Curtis; Pagels, Joachim; Sallsten, Gerd; Sculier, Jean-Paul; Brunekreef, Bert

    2015-12-01

    Climate change policies have stimulated a shift towards renewable energy sources such as biomass. The economic crisis of 2008 has also increased the practice of household biomass burning as it is often cheaper than using oil, gas or electricity for heating. As a result, household biomass combustion is becoming an important source of air pollutants in the European Union.This position paper discusses the contribution of biomass combustion to pollution levels in Europe, and the emerging evidence on the adverse health effects of biomass combustion products.Epidemiological studies in the developed world have documented associations between indoor and outdoor exposure to biomass combustion products and a range of adverse health effects. A conservative estimate of the current contribution of biomass smoke to premature mortality in Europe amounts to at least 40 000 deaths per year.We conclude that emissions from current biomass combustion products negatively affect respiratory and, possibly, cardiovascular health in Europe. Biomass combustion emissions, in contrast to emissions from most other sources of air pollution, are increasing. More needs to be done to further document the health effects of biomass combustion in Europe, and to reduce emissions of harmful biomass combustion products to protect public health. Copyright ©ERS 2015.

  17. 77 FR 10997 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers; Correction

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-24

    ... Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers; Correction AGENCY: Office of... standards for distribution transformers. It was recently discovered that values in certain tables of the...,'' including distribution transformers. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT 1992), Public Law 102-486, amended...

  18. 7 CFR 63.1 - Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... ACT OF 1946 AND THE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT (CONTINUED) NATIONAL SHEEP INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT CENTER... Development Act, 7 U.S.C. 2008j, as amended by section 11009 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008...

  19. Directed plant cell-wall accumulation of iron: embedding co-catalyst for efficient biomass conversion

    Treesearch

    Chien-Yuan Lin; Joseph E. Jakes; Bryon S. Donohoe; Peter N. Ciesielski; Haibing Yang; Sophie-Charlotte Gleber; Stefan Vogt; Shi-You Ding; Wendy A. Peer; Angus S. Murphy; Maureen C. McCann; Michael E. Himmel; Melvin P. Tucker; Hui Wei

    2016-01-01

    Background: Plant lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable feedstock for the production of biobased fuels and chemicals. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a co-catalyst to improve the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. However, directly adding iron catalysts into biomass prior to pretreatment is diffusion limited,...

  20. Dugong dugon feeding in tropical Australian seagrass meadows: implications for conservation planning.

    PubMed

    Tol, Samantha J; Coles, Rob G; Congdon, Bradley C

    2016-01-01

    Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to rapid population reductions caused in part by loss of seagrass feeding meadows. Understanding dugong feeding behaviour in tropical Australia, where the majority of dugongs live, will assist conservation strategies. We examined whether feeding patterns in intertidal seagrass meadows in tropical north-eastern Australia were related to seagrass biomass, species composition and/or nitrogen content. The total biomass of each seagrass species removed by feeding dugongs was measured and compared to its relative availability. Nitrogen concentrations were also determined for each seagrass species present at the sites. Dugongs consumed seagrass species in proportion to their availability, with biomass being the primary determining factor. Species composition and/or nitrogen content influenced consumption to a lesser degree. Conservation plans focused on protecting high biomass intertidal seagrass meadows are likely to be most effective at ensuring the survival of dugong in tropical north-eastern Australia.

  1. 76 FR 35577 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-17

    ... assigned to Level 4 would have ABC derived by the SSC using case-by-case approaches based on biomass, catch... threshold defined as the ratio of biomass (B)/B MSY to identify the probability of overfishing the stock... biomass for a given stock does not fall to a very low level from which recovery is more difficult. It...

  2. Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act : Legislative History of the Act to Assist the Electrical Consumers of the Pacific Northwest through use of the Federal Columbia River Power System to Achieve Cost-Effective Energy Conservation : P.L. 96-501, 94 Stat. 2697.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

    1981-01-01

    The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act became effective when it was signed into law by President Carter on December 5, 1980. This ended a four-year debate over legislation designed to plan and coordinate the region's energy future. This legislative history is an abbreviated version taken from the larger historical file maintained by the BPA Law Library. It is intended to assist BPA personnel and others who are studying the Northwest Power Act and working on its implementation. The documents included were selected for their value in determining what Congress meant in enacting the statute and to providemore » the researcher with a starting point for further investigation. These documents include: a history of the Act, a chronology of the legislative action leading to passage of the law; a section-by-section analysis of the Act; the Congressional Records of Senate and House debates on the bill and its amendments, and a list of Congressional committee hearings.« less

  3. Woody biomass from short rotation energy crops

    Treesearch

    R.S. Zalesny; M.W. Cunningham; R.B. Hall; J. Mirck; D.L. Rockwood; John 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...

  4. 76 FR 57515 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Refrigerators...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-15

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment, including refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine if more stringent, amended standards for these products are technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this final rule, DOE is adopting more stringent energy conservation standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. It has determined that the amended energy conservation standards for these products would result in the significant conservation of energy and are technologically feasible and economically justified.

  5. Federal Register Notice: State Authorization To Regulate the Hazardous Components of Radioactive Mixed Wastes Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is today publishing a notice that in order to obtain and maintain authorization to administer and enforce a hazardous waste program pursuant to Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), States must have authority to regulate the hazardous components of 'radioactive mixed wastes.

  6. Bird Communities and Biomass Yields in Potential Bioenergy Grasslands

    PubMed Central

    Blank, Peter J.; Sample, David W.; Williams, Carol L.; Turner, Monica G.

    2014-01-01

    Demand for bioenergy is increasing, but the ecological consequences of bioenergy crop production on working lands remain unresolved. Corn is currently a dominant bioenergy crop, but perennial grasslands could produce renewable bioenergy resources and enhance biodiversity. Grassland bird populations have declined in recent decades and may particularly benefit from perennial grasslands grown for bioenergy. We asked how breeding bird community assemblages, vegetation characteristics, and biomass yields varied among three types of potential bioenergy grassland fields (grass monocultures, grass-dominated fields, and forb-dominated fields), and assessed tradeoffs between grassland biomass production and bird habitat. We also compared the bird communities in grassland fields to nearby cornfields. Cornfields had few birds compared to perennial grassland fields. Ten bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) were observed in perennial grassland fields. Bird species richness and total bird density increased with forb cover and were greater in forb-dominated fields than grass monocultures. SGCN density declined with increasing vertical vegetation density, indicating that tall, dense grassland fields managed for maximum biomass yield would be of lesser value to imperiled grassland bird species. The proportion of grassland habitat within 1 km of study sites was positively associated with bird species richness and the density of total birds and SGCNs, suggesting that grassland bioenergy fields may be more beneficial for grassland birds if they are established near other grassland parcels. Predicted total bird density peaked below maximum biomass yields and predicted SGCN density was negatively related to biomass yields. Our results indicate that perennial grassland fields could produce bioenergy feedstocks while providing bird habitat. Bioenergy grasslands promote agricultural multifunctionality and conservation of biodiversity in working landscapes. PMID:25299593

  7. Community motivations to engage in conservation behavior to conserve the Sumatran orangutan.

    PubMed

    Nilsson, Danielle; Gramotnev, Galina; Baxter, Greg; Butler, James R A; Wich, Serge A; McAlpine, Clive A

    2016-08-01

    Community-based conservation programs in developing countries are often based on the assumption that heteronomous motivation (e.g., extrinsic incentives such as economic rewards and pressure or coercion to act) will incite local communities to adopt conservation behaviors. However, this may not be as effective or sustainable as autonomous motivations (e.g., an intrinsic desire to act due to inherent enjoyment or self-identification with a behavior and through freedom of choice). We analyzed the comparative effectiveness of heteronomous versus autonomous approaches to community-based conservation programs through a case study of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) conservation in 3 villages in Indonesia. Each village had a different conservation program design. We surveyed people (n = 240) to determine their motivations for and behavior changes relative to orangutan and orangutan habitat (forest) protection. Heteronomous motivations (e.g., income from tourism) led to greater self-reporting of behavior change toward orangutan protection. However, they did not change self-reported behavior toward forest (i.e., orangutan habitat) protection. The most effective approach to creating self-reported behavior change throughout the community was a combination of autonomous and heteronomous motivations. Individuals who were heteronomously motivated to protect the orangutan were more likely to have changed attitudes than to have changed their self-reported behavior. These findings demonstrate that the current paradigm of motivating communities in developing countries to adopt conservation behaviors primarily through monetary incentives and rewards should consider integrating autonomous motivational techniques that promote the intrinsic values of conservation. Such a combination has a greater potential to achieve sustainable and cost-effective conservation outcomes. Our results highlight the importance of using in-depth sociopsychological analyses to inform the design and

  8. The Navy Biofuel Initiative Under the Defense Production Act

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-06-22

    Market for Biomass -Based Diesel Fuel in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), by Brent D. Yacobucci, The Market for Biomass -Based Diesel Fuel in the...defense.17 During the 1970s, DOE directed a synthetic fuels program toward commercializing coal liquefaction, coal gasification , and oil shale... Biomass : Background and Policy, by Anthony Andrews and Jeffrey Logan. The Navy Biofuel Initiative Under the Defense Production Act Congressional

  9. Ethanol production from woody biomass: Silvicultural opportunities for suppressed western conifers

    Treesearch

    Andrew Youngblood; Junyong Zhu; C. Tim Scott

    2010-01-01

    The 2007 Energy Security and Independence Act (ESIA) requires 16 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced from lignocellulose biomass by 2022 in the United States. Forests can be a key source of renewable lignocellulose for ethanol production if cost and conversion efficiency barriers can be overcome. We explored opportunities for using woody biomass from thinning...

  10. 76 FR 11857 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-03

    ...NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Framework Adjustment (FW) 45 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). FW 45 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield (OY), and minimize the economic impact of management measures on affected vessels, pursuant to the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This action would revise the biological reference points and stock status for pollock, update annual catch limits (ACLs) for several stocks for fishing years (FYs) 2011-2012, adjust the rebuilding program for Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder, increase scallop vessel access to the Great South Channel Exemption Area, approve five new sectors, modify the existing dockside and at-sea monitoring requirements, revise several sector administrative provisions, establish a Gulf of Maine (GOM) Cod Spawning Protection Area, and refine measures affecting the catch of limited access NE multispecies Handgear A vessels. This action would disapprove the Council's proposed catch limits for GB yellowtail flounder for FY 2011, and instead propose new catch limits for this stock through emergency action authority based on new flexibility provided by the International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act. This action is necessary to ensure that the fishery is managed on the basis of the best available science, to comply with the acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules adopted in Amendment 16 to the FMP, and to enhance the viability of the fishery following the transition to sector management in 2010.

  11. Conserved Domains in the Transformer Protein Act Complementary to Regulate Sex-Specific Splicing of Its Own Pre-mRNA.

    PubMed

    Tanaka, Arisa; Aoki, Fugaku; Suzuki, Masataka G

    2018-05-26

    The transformer (tra) gene, which is a female-determining master gene in the housefly Musca domestica, acts as a memory device for sex determination via its auto-regulatory function, i.e., through the contribution of the TRA protein to female-specific splicing of its own pre-mRNA. The TRA protein contains 4 small domains that are specifically conserved among TRA proteins (domains 1-4). Domain 2, also named TRA-CAM domain, is the most conserved, but its function remains unknown. To examine whether these domains are involved in the auto-regulatory function, we performed in vitro splicing assays using a tra minigene containing a partial genomic sequence of the M. domestica tra (Mdtra) gene. Co-transfection of the Mdtra minigene and an MdTRA protein expression vector into cultured insect cells strongly induced female-specific splicing of the minigene. A series of deletion mutation analyses demonstrated that these domains act complementarily to induce female-specific splicing. Domain 1 and the TRA-CAM domain were necessary for the female-specific splicing when the MdTRA protein lacked both domains 3 and 4. In this situation, mutation of the well-conserved 3 amino acids (GEG) in the TRA-CAM domain significantly reduced the female-specific splicing activity of MdTRA. GST-pull down analyses demonstrated that the MdTRA protein specifically enriched on the male-specific exonic region (exon 2b), which contains the putative TRA/TRA-2 binding sites, and that the GEG mutation disrupts this enrichment. Since the MdTRA protein interacts with its own pre-mRNA through TRA-2, our findings suggest that the conserved amino acid residues in the TRA-CAM domain may be crucial for the interaction between MdTRA and TRA-2, enhancing MdTRA recruitment on its pre-mRNA to induce female-specific splicing of tra in the housefly. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  12. Insights into plant biomass conversion from the genome of the anaerobic thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii DSM 6725

    PubMed Central

    Dam, Phuongan; Kataeva, Irina; Yang, Sung-Jae; Zhou, Fengfeng; Yin, Yanbin; Chou, Wenchi; Poole, Farris L.; Westpheling, Janet; Hettich, Robert; Giannone, Richard; Lewis, Derrick L.; Kelly, Robert; Gilbert, Harry J.; Henrissat, Bernard; Xu, Ying; Adams, Michael W. W.

    2011-01-01

    Caldicellulosiruptor bescii DSM 6725 utilizes various polysaccharides and grows efficiently on untreated high-lignin grasses and hardwood at an optimum temperature of ∼80°C. It is a promising anaerobic bacterium for studying high-temperature biomass conversion. Its genome contains 2666 protein-coding sequences organized into 1209 operons. Expression of 2196 genes (83%) was confirmed experimentally. At least 322 genes appear to have been obtained by lateral gene transfer (LGT). Putative functions were assigned to 364 conserved/hypothetical protein (C/HP) genes. The genome contains 171 and 88 genes related to carbohydrate transport and utilization, respectively. Growth on cellulose led to the up-regulation of 32 carbohydrate-active (CAZy), 61 sugar transport, 25 transcription factor and 234 C/HP genes. Some C/HPs were overproduced on cellulose or xylan, suggesting their involvement in polysaccharide conversion. A unique feature of the genome is enrichment with genes encoding multi-modular, multi-functional CAZy proteins organized into one large cluster, the products of which are proposed to act synergistically on different components of plant cell walls and to aid the ability of C. bescii to convert plant biomass. The high duplication of CAZy domains coupled with the ability to acquire foreign genes by LGT may have allowed the bacterium to rapidly adapt to changing plant biomass-rich environments. PMID:21227922

  13. 75 FR 18261 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-09

    ...This final rule implements measures approved under Amendment 16 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 16 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) as part of the biennial adjustment process in the FMP to update status determination criteria for all regulated NE multispecies or ocean pout stocks; to adopt rebuilding programs for NE multispecies stocks newly classified as being overfished and subject to overfishing; and to revise management measures, including significant revisions to the sector management measures, necessary to end overfishing, rebuild overfished regulated NE multispecies and ocean pout stocks, and mitigate the adverse economic impacts of increased effort controls. This final rule also implements new requirements under Amendment 16 for establishing acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACLs), and accountability measures (AMs) for each stock managed under the FMP, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Finally, this action adds Atlantic wolffish to the list of species managed by the FMP. This action is necessary to address the results of the most recent stock assessment, which indicate that several additional regulated species are overfished and subject to overfishing, and that stocks currently classified as overfished require additional reductions in fishing mortality to rebuild by the end of their rebuilding periods.

  14. Estimates of global cyanobacterial biomass and its distribution

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Garcia-Pichel, Ferran; Belnap, Jayne; Neuer, Susanne; Schanz, Ferdinand

    2003-01-01

    We estimated global cyanobacterial biomass in the main reservoirs of cyanobacteria on Earth: marine and freshwater plankton, arid land soil crusts, and endoliths. Estimates were based on typical population density values as measured during our research, or as obtained from literature surveys, which were then coupled with data on global geographical area coverage. Among the marine plankton, the global biomass of Prochlorococcus reaches 120 × 1012 grams of carbon (g C), and that of Synechoccus some 43 × 1012 g C. This makes Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, in that order, the most abundant cyanobacteria on Earth. Tropical marine blooms of Trichodesmium account for an additional 10 × 1012 g C worldwide. In terrestrial environments, the mass of cyanobacteria in arid land soil crusts is estimated to reach 54 × 1012 g C and that of arid land endolithic communities an additional 14 × 1012 g C. The global biomass of planktic cyanobacteria in lakes is estimated to be around 3 × 1012 g C. Our conservative estimates, which did not include some potentially significant biomass reservoirs such as polar and subarctic areas, topsoils in subhumid climates, and shallow marine and freshwater benthos, indicate that the total global cyanobacterial biomass is in the order of 3 × 1014 g C, surpassing a thousand million metric tons (1015 g) of wet biomass.

  15. 18 CFR 1316.4 - Buy American Act supply contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2013-04-01 2012-04-01 true Buy American Act supply contracts. 1316.4 Section 1316.4 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... American Act Supply Contracts (a) In TVA's acquisition of end products, the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a...

  16. 18 CFR 1316.4 - Buy American Act supply contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Buy American Act supply contracts. 1316.4 Section 1316.4 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... American Act Supply Contracts (a) In TVA's acquisition of end products, the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a...

  17. 18 CFR 1316.4 - Buy American Act supply contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Buy American Act supply contracts. 1316.4 Section 1316.4 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... American Act Supply Contracts (a) In TVA's acquisition of end products, the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a...

  18. 18 CFR 1316.4 - Buy American Act supply contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Buy American Act supply contracts. 1316.4 Section 1316.4 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY... American Act Supply Contracts (a) In TVA's acquisition of end products, the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a...

  19. 75 FR 42130 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Resource...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Reporting Requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and...

  20. [Vegetation biomass distribution characteristics of alpine tundra ecosystem in Changbai Mountains].

    PubMed

    Wei, Jing; Wu, Gang; Deng, Hongbing

    2004-11-01

    Climate change is one of the hotspots in global environment concerns, while alpine tundra ecosystem is most sensitive to global climate change. Because of the relatively small area of tundra, researches on alpine tundra ecosystem were much less. Based on the measurement of species biomass, dominant species organ biomass and vegetation biomass, this paper discussed the biomass spatial variation in alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountains. The results showed that among 43 species investigated, the first five species in biomass were Rhododendron chrysanthum (159.01 kg x hm(-2)), Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum (137.52 kg x hm(-2)), Vaccinium uliginosum (134.7 kg x hm(-2)), Dryas octopetala var. asiatica (131.5 kg x hm(-2)) and Salix rotundifolia (128.4 kg x hm(-2)), which were the dominant species in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountains. Along with increasing altitude, the ratio of below-/above-ground biomass and below-ground/total biomass gradually increased, while the vegetation biomass gradually decreased. The vegetation biomass showed a significant correlation with altitude in typical alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountains, and the average vegetation biomass was 2.21 t x hm(-2). Alpine tundra ecosystem is very important for microclimate regulation, soil improvement, water-holding, soil conservation, nutrient cycling, carbon fixation and oxygen production, and currently, it is the CO2 sink of Changbai Mountains.

  1. Public Library Materials Conservation Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lowell, Howard P.

    The Massachusetts Public Library Materials Conservation Project was a year-long program sponsored by the Massachusetts Bureau of Library Extension and conducted by the New England document Conservation Center (NEDCC) under a grant from Title I, Library Services and Construction Act. Its purposes were to provide public library administrators,…

  2. Biodiversity enhances reef fish biomass and resistance to climate change.

    PubMed

    Duffy, J Emmett; Lefcheck, Jonathan S; Stuart-Smith, Rick D; Navarrete, Sergio A; Edgar, Graham J

    2016-05-31

    Fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrates, play key functional roles in aquatic ecosystems, and provide protein for a billion people, especially in the developing world. Those functions are compromised by mounting pressures on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Because of its economic and food value, fish biomass production provides an unusually direct link from biodiversity to critical ecosystem services. We used the Reef Life Survey's global database of 4,556 standardized fish surveys to test the importance of biodiversity to fish production relative to 25 environmental drivers. Temperature, biodiversity, and human influence together explained 47% of the global variation in reef fish biomass among sites. Fish species richness and functional diversity were among the strongest predictors of fish biomass, particularly for the large-bodied species and carnivores preferred by fishers, and these biodiversity effects were robust to potentially confounding influences of sample abundance, scale, and environmental correlations. Warmer temperatures increased biomass directly, presumably by raising metabolism, and indirectly by increasing diversity, whereas temperature variability reduced biomass. Importantly, diversity and climate interact, with biomass of diverse communities less affected by rising and variable temperatures than species-poor communities. Biodiversity thus buffers global fish biomass from climate change, and conservation of marine biodiversity can stabilize fish production in a changing ocean.

  3. Biodiversity enhances reef fish biomass and resistance to climate change

    PubMed Central

    Duffy, J. Emmett; Lefcheck, Jonathan S.; Navarrete, Sergio A.; Edgar, Graham J.

    2016-01-01

    Fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrates, play key functional roles in aquatic ecosystems, and provide protein for a billion people, especially in the developing world. Those functions are compromised by mounting pressures on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Because of its economic and food value, fish biomass production provides an unusually direct link from biodiversity to critical ecosystem services. We used the Reef Life Survey’s global database of 4,556 standardized fish surveys to test the importance of biodiversity to fish production relative to 25 environmental drivers. Temperature, biodiversity, and human influence together explained 47% of the global variation in reef fish biomass among sites. Fish species richness and functional diversity were among the strongest predictors of fish biomass, particularly for the large-bodied species and carnivores preferred by fishers, and these biodiversity effects were robust to potentially confounding influences of sample abundance, scale, and environmental correlations. Warmer temperatures increased biomass directly, presumably by raising metabolism, and indirectly by increasing diversity, whereas temperature variability reduced biomass. Importantly, diversity and climate interact, with biomass of diverse communities less affected by rising and variable temperatures than species-poor communities. Biodiversity thus buffers global fish biomass from climate change, and conservation of marine biodiversity can stabilize fish production in a changing ocean. PMID:27185921

  4. Improvement of Arabidopsis Biomass and Cold, Drought and Salinity Stress Tolerance by Modified Circadian Clock-Associated PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORs.

    PubMed

    Nakamichi, Norihito; Takao, Saori; Kudo, Toru; Kiba, Takatoshi; Wang, Yin; Kinoshita, Toshinori; Sakakibara, Hitoshi

    2016-05-01

    Plant circadian clocks control the timing of a variety of genetic, metabolic and physiological processes. Recent studies revealed a possible molecular mechanism for circadian clock regulation. Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR (PRR) genes, including TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1), encode clock-associated transcriptional repressors that act redundantly. Disruption of multiple PRR genes results in drastic phenotypes, including increased biomass and abiotic stress tolerance, whereas PRR single mutants show subtle phenotypic differences due to genetic redundancy. In this study, we demonstrate that constitutive expression of engineered PRR5 (PRR5-VP), which functions as a transcriptional activator, can increase biomass and abiotic stress tolerance, similar to prr multiple mutants. Concomitant analyses of relative growth rate, flowering time and photosynthetic activity suggested that increased biomass of PRR5-VP plants is mostly due to late flowering, rather than to alterations in photosynthetic activity or growth rate. In addition, genome-wide gene expression profiling revealed that genes related to cold stress and water deprivation responses were up-regulated in PRR5-VP plants. PRR5-VP plants were more resistant to cold, drought and salinity stress than the wild type, whereas ft tsf and gi, well-known late flowering and increased biomass mutants, were not. These findings suggest that attenuation of PRR function by a single transformation of PRR-VP is a valuable method for increasing biomass as well as abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. Because the PRR gene family is conserved in vascular plants, PRR-VP may regulate biomass and stress responses in many plants, but especially in long-day annual plants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. 78 FR 55889 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-11

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including commercial refrigeration equipment (CRE). EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more-stringent, amended standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this notice, DOE proposes amended energy conservation standards for commercial refrigeration equipment. The notice also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

  6. 75 FR 59469 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Refrigerators...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-27

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment, including residential refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more stringent, amended standards for these products are technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this NOPR, DOE proposes amended energy conservation standards for residential refrigerators, refrigerator- freezers, and freezers. The NOPR also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

  7. Native grasses for biomass production at high elevations

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Recent policies such as the Energy Independence Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and the second U.S. Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS), have targeted biofuel production and domestic energy independence. Hence, considerable interest has focused on producing plant biomass for conversion into biofuels for the...

  8. Cover crop biomass harvest for bioenergy: implications for crop productivity

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Winter cover crops, such as rye (Secale cereale), are usually used in conservation agriculture systems in the Southeast. Typically, the cover crop is terminated two to three weeks before planting the summer crop, with the cover biomass left on the soil surface as a mulch. However, these cover crops ...

  9. Woody biomass from short rotation energy crops. Chapter 2

    Treesearch

    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...

  10. Coexistence and survival in conservative Lotka-Volterra networks.

    PubMed

    Knebel, Johannes; Krüger, Torben; Weber, Markus F; Frey, Erwin

    2013-04-19

    Analyzing coexistence and survival scenarios of Lotka-Volterra (LV) networks in which the total biomass is conserved is of vital importance for the characterization of long-term dynamics of ecological communities. Here, we introduce a classification scheme for coexistence scenarios in these conservative LV models and quantify the extinction process by employing the Pfaffian of the network's interaction matrix. We illustrate our findings on global stability properties for general systems of four and five species and find a generalized scaling law for the extinction time.

  11. Coexistence and Survival in Conservative Lotka-Volterra Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knebel, Johannes; Krüger, Torben; Weber, Markus F.; Frey, Erwin

    2013-04-01

    Analyzing coexistence and survival scenarios of Lotka-Volterra (LV) networks in which the total biomass is conserved is of vital importance for the characterization of long-term dynamics of ecological communities. Here, we introduce a classification scheme for coexistence scenarios in these conservative LV models and quantify the extinction process by employing the Pfaffian of the network’s interaction matrix. We illustrate our findings on global stability properties for general systems of four and five species and find a generalized scaling law for the extinction time.

  12. 77 FR 75057 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-19

    ... shell and egg-bearing lobsters. The commenters state that lobster fishing takes place in the southern... fewer dredges and shorter dredge time anticipated in an area of high biomass such as GB. This fishery is... from the three gears being used together in this area. However, because the biomass of surfclams and...

  13. Deciduous and evergreen trees differ in juvenile biomass allometries because of differences in allocation to root storage.

    PubMed

    Tomlinson, Kyle W; van Langevelde, Frank; Ward, David; Bongers, Frans; da Silva, Dulce Alves; Prins, Herbert H T; de Bie, Steven; Sterck, Frank J

    2013-08-01

    Biomass partitioning for resource conservation might affect plant allometry, accounting for a substantial amount of unexplained variation in existing plant allometry models. One means of resource conservation is through direct allocation to storage in particular organs. In this study, storage allocation and biomass allometry of deciduous and evergreen tree species from seasonal environments were considered. It was expected that deciduous species would have greater allocation to storage in roots to support leaf regrowth in subsequent growing seasons, and consequently have lower scaling exponents for leaf to root and stem to root partitioning, than evergreen species. It was further expected that changes to root carbohydrate storage and biomass allometry under different soil nutrient supply conditions would be greater for deciduous species than for evergreen species. Root carbohydrate storage and organ biomass allometries were compared for juveniles of 20 savanna tree species of different leaf habit (nine evergreen, 11 deciduous) grown in two nutrient treatments for periods of 5 and 20 weeks (total dry mass of individual plants ranged from 0·003 to 258·724 g). Deciduous species had greater root non-structural carbohydrate than evergreen species, and lower scaling exponents for leaf to root and stem to root partitioning than evergreen species. Across species, leaf to stem scaling was positively related, and stem to root scaling was negatively related to root carbohydrate concentration. Under lower nutrient supply, trees displayed increased partitioning to non-structural carbohydrate, and to roots and leaves over stems with increasing plant size, but this change did not differ between leaf habits. Substantial unexplained variation in biomass allometry of woody species may be related to selection for resource conservation against environmental stresses, such as resource seasonality. Further differences in plant allometry could arise due to selection for different types

  14. 41 CFR 101-25.112 - Energy conservation policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2011-07-01 2007-07-01 true Energy conservation...-General Policies § 101-25.112 Energy conservation policy. (a) Agency officials responsible for procurement..., which has been established pursuant to Public Law 94-163, Energy Policy and Conservation Act. (b) With...

  15. 41 CFR 101-25.112 - Energy conservation policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Energy conservation...-General Policies § 101-25.112 Energy conservation policy. (a) Agency officials responsible for procurement..., which has been established pursuant to Public Law 94-163, Energy Policy and Conservation Act. (b) With...

  16. 41 CFR 101-25.112 - Energy conservation policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Energy conservation...-General Policies § 101-25.112 Energy conservation policy. (a) Agency officials responsible for procurement..., which has been established pursuant to Public Law 94-163, Energy Policy and Conservation Act. (b) With...

  17. 41 CFR 101-25.112 - Energy conservation policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2014-07-01 2012-07-01 true Energy conservation...-General Policies § 101-25.112 Energy conservation policy. (a) Agency officials responsible for procurement..., which has been established pursuant to Public Law 94-163, Energy Policy and Conservation Act. (b) With...

  18. 41 CFR 101-25.112 - Energy conservation policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2013-07-01 2012-07-01 true Energy conservation...-General Policies § 101-25.112 Energy conservation policy. (a) Agency officials responsible for procurement..., which has been established pursuant to Public Law 94-163, Energy Policy and Conservation Act. (b) With...

  19. The Conservation Efforts Database: Improving our knowledge of landscape conservation actions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Heller, Matthew M.; Welty, Justin; Wiechman , Lief A.

    2017-01-01

    The Conservation Efforts Database (CED) is a secure, cloud-based tool that can be used to document and track conservation actions across landscapes. A recently released factsheet describes this tool ahead of the rollout of CED version 2.0. The CED was developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the USGS, and the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative to support the 2015 Endangered Species Act status review for greater sage-grouse. Currently, the CED accepts policy-level data, such as Land Use Plans, and treatment level data, such as conifer removals and post-fire recovery efforts, as custom spatial and non-spatial records. In addition to a species assessment tool, the CED can also be used to summarize the extent of restoration efforts within a specific area or to strategically site conservation actions based on the location of other implemented actions. The CED can be an important tool, along with post-conservation monitoring, for implementing landscape-scale adaptive management.

  20. 78 FR 64067 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-25

    ...Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must prescribe energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including residential furnace fans. EPCA requires DOE to determine whether such standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this notice, DOE is proposing new energy conservation standards for residential furnace fans. The notice also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

  1. Megafauna biomass tradeoff as a driver of Quaternary and future extinctions

    PubMed Central

    Barnosky, Anthony D.

    2008-01-01

    Earth's most recent major extinction episode, the Quaternary Megafauna Extinction, claimed two-thirds of mammal genera and one-half of species that weighed >44 kg between ≈50,000 and 3,000 years ago. Estimates of megafauna biomass (including humans as a megafauna species) for before, during, and after the extinction episode suggest that growth of human biomass largely matched the loss of non-human megafauna biomass until ≈12,000 years ago. Then, total megafauna biomass crashed, because many non-human megafauna species suddenly disappeared, whereas human biomass continued to rise. After the crash, the global ecosystem gradually recovered into a new state where megafauna biomass was concentrated around one species, humans, instead of being distributed across many species. Precrash biomass levels were finally reached just before the Industrial Revolution began, then skyrocketed above the precrash baseline as humans augmented the energy available to the global ecosystem by mining fossil fuels. Implications include (i) an increase in human biomass (with attendant hunting and other impacts) intersected with climate change to cause the Quaternary Megafauna Extinction and an ecological threshold event, after which humans became dominant in the global ecosystem; (ii) with continued growth of human biomass and today's unprecedented global warming, only extraordinary and stepped-up conservation efforts will prevent a new round of extinctions in most body-size and taxonomic spectra; and (iii) a near-future biomass crash that will unfavorably impact humans and their domesticates and other species is unavoidable unless alternative energy sources are developed to replace dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. PMID:18695222

  2. Development of the Integrated Biomass Supply Analysis and Logistics Model (IBSAL)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sokhansanj, Shahabaddine; Webb, Erin; Turhollow Jr, Anthony F

    2008-06-01

    The Integrated Biomass Supply & Logistics (IBSAL) model is a dynamic (time dependent) model of operations that involve collection, harvest, storage, preprocessing, and transportation of feedstock for use at a biorefinery. The model uses mathematical equations to represent individual unit operations. These unit operations can be assembled by the user to represent the working rate of equipment and queues to represent storage at facilities. The model calculates itemized costs, energy input, and carbon emissions. It estimates resource requirements and operational characteristics of the entire supply infrastructure. Weather plays an important role in biomass management and thus in IBSAL, dictating themore » moisture content of biomass and whether or not it can be harvested on a given day. The model calculates net biomass yield based on a soil conservation allowance (for crop residue) and dry matter losses during harvest and storage. This publication outlines the development of the model and provides examples of corn stover harvest and logistics.« less

  3. Institutional Manager's Guide to Energy Conservation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of State and Local Programs.

    The information provided in this guidebook is based on a field evaluation of grantees in the Institutional Conservation Program (ICP). The ICP, authorized by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 and administered by the Department of Energy, provides energy audits and 50 percent matching grants for detailed energy analyses and for…

  4. Proceedings of the 1978 National Conference on Technology for Energy Conservation (Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 24-27, 1978).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Information Transfer, Inc., Rockville, MD.

    This publication contains the proceedings of the National Conference on Technology for Energy Conservation held in January 1978, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 112 papers included are organized under the following topics: (1) Legal Considerations; (2) Energy from Biomass; (3) Energy Conservation in Agriculture; (4) Status of Energy Conservation;…

  5. 75 FR 48934 - Coral Reef Conservation Program Implementation Guidelines

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-12

    ...-01] RIN 0648-ZC19 Coral Reef Conservation Program Implementation Guidelines AGENCY: National Oceanic... Guidelines (Guidelines) for the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP or Program) under the Coral Reef... assistance for coral reef conservation projects under the Act. NOAA revised the Implementation Guidelines for...

  6. Lignin from hydrothermally pretreated grass biomass retards enzymatic cellulose degradation by acting as a physical barrier rather than by inducing nonproductive adsorption of enzymes.

    PubMed

    Djajadi, Demi T; Jensen, Mads M; Oliveira, Marlene; Jensen, Anders; Thygesen, Lisbeth G; Pinelo, Manuel; Glasius, Marianne; Jørgensen, Henning; Meyer, Anne S

    2018-01-01

    Lignin is known to hinder efficient enzymatic conversion of lignocellulose in biorefining processes. In particular, nonproductive adsorption of cellulases onto lignin is considered a key mechanism to explain how lignin retards enzymatic cellulose conversion in extended reactions. Lignin-rich residues (LRRs) were prepared via extensive enzymatic cellulose degradation of corn stover ( Zea mays subsp. mays L.), Miscanthus  ×  giganteus stalks (MS) and wheat straw ( Triticum aestivum L.) (WS) samples that each had been hydrothermally pretreated at three severity factors (log R 0 ) of 3.65, 3.83 and 3.97. The LRRs had different residual carbohydrate levels-the highest in MS; the lowest in WS. The residual carbohydrate was not traceable at the surface of the LRRs particles by ATR-FTIR analysis. The chemical properties of the lignin in the LRRs varied across the three types of biomass, but monolignols composition was not affected by the severity factor. When pure cellulose was added to a mixture of LRRs and a commercial cellulolytic enzyme preparation, the rate and extent of glucose release were unaffected by the presence of LRRs regardless of biomass type and severity factor, despite adsorption of the enzymes to the LRRs. Since the surface of the LRRs particles were covered by lignin, the data suggest that the retardation of enzymatic cellulose degradation during extended reaction on lignocellulosic substrates is due to physical blockage of the access of enzymes to the cellulose caused by the gradual accumulation of lignin at the surface of the biomass particles rather than by nonproductive enzyme adsorption. The study suggests that lignin from hydrothermally pretreated grass biomass retards enzymatic cellulose degradation by acting as a physical barrier blocking the access of enzymes to cellulose rather than by inducing retardation through nonproductive adsorption of enzymes.

  7. The Ramsar Conference, Final Act of the International Conference on the Conservation of Wetlands and Waterfowl (Ramsar, Iran, 30 January to 3 February 1971).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    IUCN Bulletin, 1971

    1971-01-01

    The text of the Final Act of the International Conference on the Conservation of Wetlands and Waterfowl is presented in this pamphlet. The conference was convened by the Government of Iran at Ramsar, Iran, January 30 to February 3, 1971, to promote international collaboration in this field. It was sponsored by the International Wildfowl Research…

  8. 77 FR 28347 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Expanding Incentives for Voluntary Conservation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-14

    ...; Expanding Incentives for Voluntary Conservation Actions Under the Endangered Species Act AGENCY: Fish and... notice is published under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531... Species Act that would create incentives for landowners and others to take voluntary conservation actions...

  9. Indirect Effects of Conservation Policies on the Coupled Human-Natural Ecosystem of the Upper Gulf of California

    PubMed Central

    Morzaria-Luna, Hem Nalini; Ainsworth, Cameron H.; Kaplan, Isaac C.; Levin, Phillip S.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.

    2013-01-01

    High bycatch of non-target species and species of conservation concern often drives the implementation of fisheries policies. However, species- or fishery-specific policies may lead to indirect consequences, positive or negative, for other species or fisheries. We use an Atlantis ecosystem model of the Northern Gulf of California to evaluate the effects of fisheries policies directed at reducing bycatch of vaquita (Phocoena sinus) on other species of conservation concern, priority target species, and metrics of ecosystem function and structure. Vaquita, a Critically Endangered porpoise endemic to the Upper Gulf of California, are frequently entangled by finfish gillnets and shrimp driftnets. We tested five fishery management scenarios, projected over 30 years (2008 to 2038), directed at vaquita conservation. The scenarios consider progressively larger spatial restrictions for finfish gillnets and shrimp driftnets. The most restrictive scenario resulted in the highest biomass of species of conservation concern; the scenario without any conservation measures in place resulted in the lowest. Vaquita experienced the largest population increase of any functional group; their biomass increased 2.7 times relative to initial (2008) levels under the most restrictive spatial closure scenario. Bycatch of sea lions, sea turtles, and totoaba decreased > 80% in shrimp driftnets and at least 20% in finfish gillnet fleets under spatial management. We found indirect effects on species and ecosystem function and structure as a result of vaquita management actions. Biomass and catch of forage fish declined, which could affect lower-trophic level fisheries, while other species such as skates, rays, and sharks increased in both biomass and catch. When comparing across performance metrics, we found that scenarios that increased ecosystem function and structure resulted in lower economic performance indicators, underscoring the need for management actions that consider ecological and

  10. Variegated tropical landscapes conserve diverse dung beetle communities.

    PubMed

    Costa, Cristiane; Oliveira, Victor Hugo F; Maciel, Rafaella; Beiroz, Wallace; Korasaki, Vanesca; Louzada, Julio

    2017-01-01

    Conserving biodiversity in tropical landscapes is a major challenge to scientists and conservationists. Current rates of deforestation, fragmentation, and land use intensification are producing variegated landscapes with undetermined values for the conservation of biological communities and ecosystem functioning. Here, we investigate the importance of tropical variegated landscapes to biodiversity conservation, using dung beetle as focal taxa. The study was carried out in 12 variegated landscapes where dung beetles were sampled using six pitfall traps, 30 m apart from each other, along a transect in each studied landscape use and cover classes-LUCC (forest fragment and corridor, coffee plantation, and pasture). We baited each pitfall trap with 30 g of human feces and left open for a 48 h period. We also measured three environmental variables reflecting structural differences among the studied classes: canopy cover, local vegetation heterogeneity and soil sand content. We collected 52 species and 2,695 individuals of dung beetles. We observed significant differences in the mean species richness, abundance and biomass among classes, with forest fragments presenting the highest values, forest corridors and coffee plantations presenting intermediate values, and pastures the lowest values. Regarding community structure, we also found significant differences among classes. Canopy cover was the only variable explaining variation in dung beetle species richness, abundance, biomass, and community structure. The relative importance of spatial turnover was greater than nestedness-resultant component in all studied landscapes. This study evaluated the ecological patterns of dung beetle communities in variegated tropical landscapes highlighting the importance of these landscapes for conservation of tropical biodiversity. However, we encourage variegation for the management of landscapes that have already been fragmented or as a complementary initiative of current conservation

  11. Numerical simulation of vortex pyrolysis reactors for condensable tar production from biomass

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Miller, R.S.; Bellan, J.

    1998-08-01

    A numerical study is performed in order to evaluate the performance and optimal operating conditions of vortex pyrolysis reactors used for condensable tar production from biomass. A detailed mathematical model of porous biomass particle pyrolysis is coupled with a compressible Reynolds stress transport model for the turbulent reactor swirling flow. An initial evaluation of particle dimensionality effects is made through comparisons of single- (1D) and multi-dimensional particle simulations and reveals that the 1D particle model results in conservative estimates for total pyrolysis conversion times and tar collection. The observed deviations are due predominantly to geometry effects while directional effects frommore » thermal conductivity and permeability variations are relatively small. Rapid ablative particle heating rates are attributed to a mechanical fragmentation of the biomass particles that is modeled using a critical porosity for matrix breakup. Optimal thermal conditions for tar production are observed for 900 K. Effects of biomass identity, particle size distribution, and reactor geometry and scale are discussed.« less

  12. Highly conserved elements discovered in vertebrates are present in non-syntenic loci of tunicates, act as enhancers and can be transcribed during development

    PubMed Central

    Sanges, Remo; Hadzhiev, Yavor; Gueroult-Bellone, Marion; Roure, Agnes; Ferg, Marco; Meola, Nicola; Amore, Gabriele; Basu, Swaraj; Brown, Euan R.; De Simone, Marco; Petrera, Francesca; Licastro, Danilo; Strähle, Uwe; Banfi, Sandro; Lemaire, Patrick; Birney, Ewan; Müller, Ferenc; Stupka, Elia

    2013-01-01

    Co-option of cis-regulatory modules has been suggested as a mechanism for the evolution of expression sites during development. However, the extent and mechanisms involved in mobilization of cis-regulatory modules remains elusive. To trace the history of non-coding elements, which may represent candidate ancestral cis-regulatory modules affirmed during chordate evolution, we have searched for conserved elements in tunicate and vertebrate (Olfactores) genomes. We identified, for the first time, 183 non-coding sequences that are highly conserved between the two groups. Our results show that all but one element are conserved in non-syntenic regions between vertebrate and tunicate genomes, while being syntenic among vertebrates. Nevertheless, in all the groups, they are significantly associated with transcription factors showing specific functions fundamental to animal development, such as multicellular organism development and sequence-specific DNA binding. The majority of these regions map onto ultraconserved elements and we demonstrate that they can act as functional enhancers within the organism of origin, as well as in cross-transgenesis experiments, and that they are transcribed in extant species of Olfactores. We refer to the elements as ‘Olfactores conserved non-coding elements’. PMID:23393190

  13. Landscape-level effects on aboveground biomass of tropical forests: A conceptual framework.

    PubMed

    Melito, Melina; Metzger, Jean Paul; de Oliveira, Alexandre A

    2018-02-01

    Despite the general recognition that fragmentation can reduce forest biomass through edge effects, a systematic review of the literature does not reveal a clear role of edges in modulating biomass loss. Additionally, the edge effects appear to be constrained by matrix type, suggesting that landscape composition has an influence on biomass stocks. The lack of empirical evidence of pervasive edge-related biomass losses across tropical forests highlights the necessity for a general framework linking landscape structure with aboveground biomass. Here, we propose a conceptual model in which landscape composition and configuration mediate the magnitude of edge effects and seed-flux among forest patches, which ultimately has an influence on biomass. Our model hypothesizes that a rapid reduction of biomass can occur below a threshold of forest cover loss. Just below this threshold, we predict that changes in landscape configuration can strongly influence the patch's isolation, thus enhancing biomass loss. Moreover, we expect a synergism between landscape composition and patch attributes, where matrix type mediates the effects of edges on species decline, particularly for shade-tolerant species. To test our conceptual framework, we propose a sampling protocol where the effects of edges, forest amount, forest isolation, fragment size, and matrix type on biomass stocks can be assessed both collectively and individually. The proposed model unifies the combined effects of landscape and patch structure on biomass into a single framework, providing a new set of main drivers of biomass loss in human-modified landscapes. We argue that carbon trading agendas (e.g., REDD+) and carbon-conservation initiatives must go beyond the effects of forest loss and edges on biomass, considering the whole set of effects on biomass related to changes in landscape composition and configuration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. 78 FR 55781 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Freezers

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-11

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more-stringent, amended standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this notice, DOE proposes amended energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers. The notice also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

  15. Functional Group Analysis of Biomass Burning Particles Using Infrared Spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horrell, K.; Lau, A.; Bond, T.; Iraci, L. T.

    2008-12-01

    Biomass burning is a significant source of particulate organic carbon in the atmosphere. These particles affect the energy balance of the atmosphere directly by absorbing and scattering solar radiation, and indirectly through their ability to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The chemical composition of biomass burning particles influences their ability to act as CCN, thus understanding the chemistry of these particles is required for understanding their effects on climate and air quality. As climate change influences the frequency and severity of boreal forest fires, the influence of biomass burning aerosols on the atmosphere may become significantly greater. Only a small portion of the organic carbon (OC) fraction of these particles has been identified at the molecular level, although several studies have explored the general chemical classes found in biomass burning smoke. To complement those studies and provide additional information about the reactive functional groups present, we are developing a method for polarity-based separation of compound classes found in the OC fraction, followed by infrared (IR) spectroscopic analysis of each polarity fraction. It is our goal to find a simple, relatively low-tech method which will provide a moderate chemical understanding of the entire suite of compounds present in the OC fraction of biomass burning particles. Here we present preliminary results from pine and oak samples representative of Midwestern United States forests burned at several different temperatures. Wood type and combustion temperature are both seen to affect the composition of the particles. The latter seems to affect relative contributions of certain functional groups, while oak demonstrates at least one additional chemical class of compounds, particularly at lower burning temperatures, where gradual solid-gas phase reactions can produce relatively large amounts of incompletely oxidized products.

  16. 75 FR 14287 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-24

    ... Government Appropriations Act, 2001 J. Executive Order 13211 K. Executive Order 12630 L. Section 32 of the... and Background Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.; EPCA or... (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) establishes the ``Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than...

  17. The Influence of Mean Trophic Level on Biomass and Production in Marine Ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woodson, C. B.; Schramski, J.

    2016-02-01

    The oceans have faced rapid removal of top predators causing a reduction in the mean trophic level of many marine ecosystems due to fishing down the food web. However, estimating the pre-exploitation biomass of the ocean has been difficult. Historical population sizes have been estimated using population dynamics models, archaeological or historical records, fisheries data, living memory, ecological monitoring data, genetics, and metabolic theory. In this talk, we expand on the use of metabolic theory by including complex trophic webs to estimate pre-exploitation levels of marine biomass. Our results suggest that historical marine biomass could be as much as 10 times higher than current estimates and that the total carrying capacity of the ocean is sensitive to mean trophic level and trophic web complexity. We further show that the production levels needed to support the added biomass are possible due to biomass accumulation and predator-prey overlap in regions such as fronts. These results have important implications for marine biogeochemical cycling, fisheries management, and conservation efforts.

  18. 78 FR 17229 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Amendment Under the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-20

    ... Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Missouri Air Conservation Law; the Missouri Clean Water Law and the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law On March 14, 2013..., the Missouri Air Conservation Law, the Clean Water Act, the Missouri Clean Water Law, the Resource...

  19. Group discussions regarding consumer energy conservation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    The results of a series of group discussions conducted to investigate consumer attitudes and motivations as they relate to energy conservation are described. Specifically, the study was designed to cast light on the following questions: (1) the background climate of opinion that acts as a frame of reference for energy conservation communications; (2) classification of consumers in terms of adherence to or rejection of a conservation ethic; (3) the relation of energy waste and conservation to the standard of living aspirations of Americans; (4) the dominant kinds of motivations that are likely to influence receptivity to communications designed to promotemore » energy conservation; (5) compatibility of counter-culture values with the conservation ethic; (6) kinds of beliefs held regarding the future role of alternative energy sources; (7) the likely effectiveness of economic incentives to energy conservation; (8) differences between teenager and pre-teen attitudes from adult attitudes.« less

  20. 77 FR 11785 - Energy Conservation Program: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework Document for High...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-28

    ... Conservation Program: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework Document for High-Intensity Discharge...) is initiating the rulemaking and data collection process to consider establishing energy conservation... Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) (42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.; EPCA or ``the Act'') sets forth a variety of...

  1. Advisability of Regulating Electric Vehicles for Energy Conservation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1976-08-01

    Vehicles that do not consume fuel are examined to determine if they should be included under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act, as amended by Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The manner if compar...

  2. 10 CFR 431.382 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 431.382 Section 431.382 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL... energy efficiency standard prescribed under the Act and this part. (b) In accordance with sections 333...

  3. The growth of sport shooting participation: What does this trend mean for conservation revenue?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Duda, Mark D.; Beppler, Tom; Organ, John F.

    2017-01-01

    Enacted in 1937, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act – more commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act – is one of the oldest and most reliable sources of funding for wildlife conservation in the United States. The result of organized support form sportsmen, fish and wildlife agencies, firearms manufacturers, conservation organizations, and even garden clubs, the PR Act created an excise tax on so-called “long guns” and ammunition used by hunters, thereby establishing the first sustainable source of revenue dedicated to conservation and land management efforts throughout the country. Later, legislators amended the PR Act to include an excise tax on pistols, revolvers, bows, arrows, and other archery equipment.

  4. Geographic coincidence of richness, mass, conservation value, and response to climate of U.S. land birds

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Grundel, Ralph; Frohnapple, Krystal; Zaya, David N.; Glowacki, Gary A.; Weiskerger, Chelsea J.; Patterson, Tamatha A.; Pavlovic, Noel B.

    2014-01-01

    Distributional patterns across the United States of five avian community breeding-season characteristics—community biomass, richness, constituent species' vulnerability to extirpation, percentage of constituent species' global abundance present in the community (conservation index, CI), and the community's position along the ecological gradient underlying species composition (principal curve ordination score, PC)—were described, their covariation was analyzed, and projected effects of climate change on the characteristics and their covariation were modeled. Higher values of biomass, richness, and CI were generally preferred from a conservation perspective. However, higher values of these characteristics often did not coincide geographically; thus regions of the United States would differ in their value for conservation depending on which characteristic was chosen for setting conservation priorities. For instance, correlation patterns between characteristics differed among Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. Among the five characteristics, community richness and the ecological gradient underlying community composition (PC) had the highest correlations with longitude, with richness declining from east to west across the contiguous United States. The ecological gradient underlying composition exhibited a demarcation near the 100th meridian, separating the contiguous United States grossly into two similar-sized avian ecological provinces. The combined score (CS), a measure of species' threat of decline or extirpation, exhibited the strongest latitudinal pattern, declining from south to north. Over ∼75% of the lower United States, projected changes in June temperature and precipitation to year 2080 were associated with decreased averaged values of richness, biomass, and CI, implying decreased conservation value for birds. The two ecological provinces demarcated near the 100th meridian diverged from each other, with projected changes in June temperatures and

  5. Gila River Basin Native Fishes Conservation Program

    Treesearch

    Doug Duncan; Robert W. Clarkson

    2013-01-01

    The Gila River Basin Native Fishes Conservation Program was established to conserve native fishes and manage against nonnative fishes in response to several Endangered Species Act biological opinions between the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Central Arizona Project (CAP) water transfers to the Gila River basin. Populations of some Gila...

  6. 76 FR 50183 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for the Northern Mariana Islands

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-12

    ... Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for the Northern Mariana Islands AGENCY.... ACTION: Notice of agency decision. SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan for the...-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the Secretary of State...

  7. 18 CFR 382.203 - Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. 382.203 Section 382.203 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... § 382.203 Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. (a) The adjusted costs of administration of...

  8. 18 CFR 382.203 - Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. 382.203 Section 382.203 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... § 382.203 Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. (a) The adjusted costs of administration of...

  9. 18 CFR 382.203 - Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. 382.203 Section 382.203 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... § 382.203 Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. (a) The adjusted costs of administration of...

  10. 18 CFR 382.203 - Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. 382.203 Section 382.203 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... § 382.203 Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. (a) The adjusted costs of administration of...

  11. 18 CFR 382.203 - Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. 382.203 Section 382.203 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL... § 382.203 Annual charges under the Interstate Commerce Act. (a) The adjusted costs of administration of...

  12. Biomass shock pretreatment

    DOEpatents

    Holtzapple, Mark T.; Madison, Maxine Jones; Ramirez, Rocio Sierra; Deimund, Mark A.; Falls, Matthew; Dunkelman, John J.

    2014-07-01

    Methods and apparatus for treating biomass that may include introducing a biomass to a chamber; exposing the biomass in the chamber to a shock event to produce a shocked biomass; and transferring the shocked biomass from the chamber. In some aspects, the method may include pretreating the biomass with a chemical before introducing the biomass to the chamber and/or after transferring shocked biomass from the chamber.

  13. 75 FR 48723 - Meeting Announcement: Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Advisory Group

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-11

    ...] Meeting Announcement: Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Advisory Group AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife... Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) grants program (Advisory Group) will meet in person and via conference...: Recognizing the importance of conserving migratory birds, the U.S. Congress passed the NMBCA (Pub. L. 106-247...

  14. Bicycle transportation for energy conservation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1980-05-01

    The study was mandated by Section 682 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978. The study's objectives were to: (1) identify the obstacles to increased bicycle use; (2) develop a Comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Program (CBTP) to ov...

  15. 17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry... claims and claim adjustment expenses of property-casualty insurance underwriters. (g) Guide 7...

  16. 17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

  17. 17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

  18. 17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

  19. 17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

  20. 17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

  1. 17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

  2. 17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

  3. 17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

  4. 17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

  5. 78 FR 42802 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act On July 11, 2013, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed consent decree with the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in the lawsuit entitled United States v....

  6. 10 CFR 490.603 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 490.603 Section 490.603 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE FUEL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM Investigations and Enforcement § 490.603 Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of sections 501, 503(b...

  7. 10 CFR 490.603 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 490.603 Section 490.603 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE FUEL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM Investigations and Enforcement § 490.603 Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of sections 501, 503(b...

  8. 10 CFR 490.603 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 490.603 Section 490.603 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE FUEL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM Investigations and Enforcement § 490.603 Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of sections 501, 503(b...

  9. 10 CFR 490.603 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 490.603 Section 490.603 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE FUEL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM Investigations and Enforcement § 490.603 Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of sections 501, 503(b...

  10. 10 CFR 490.603 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Prohibited acts. 490.603 Section 490.603 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE FUEL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM Investigations and Enforcement § 490.603 Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of sections 501, 503(b...

  11. Quantifying the evidence for co-benefits between species conservation and climate change mitigation in giant panda habitats.

    PubMed

    Li, Renqiang; Xu, Ming; Powers, Ryan; Zhao, Fen; Jetz, Walter; Wen, Hui; Sheng, Qingkai

    2017-10-05

    Conservationists strive for practical, cost-effective management solutions to forest-based species conservation and climate change mitigation. However, this is compromised by insufficient information about the effectiveness of protected areas in increasing carbon storage, and the co-benefits of species and carbon conservation remain poorly understood. Here, we present the first rigorous quantitative assessment of the roles of giant panda nature reserves (NRs) in carbon sequestration, and explore the co-benefits of habitat conservation and climate change mitigation. Results show that more than 90% of the studied panda NRs are effective in increasing carbon storage, with the mean biomass carbon density of the whole NRs exhibiting a 4.2% higher growth rate compared with lands not declared as NRs over the period 1988-2012, while this effectiveness in carbon storage masks important patterns of spatial heterogeneity across the giant panda habitats. Moreover, the significant associations have been identified between biomass carbon density and panda's habitat suitability in ~85% NRs and at the NR level. These findings suggest that the planning for carbon and species conservation co-benefits would enhance the greatest return on limited conservation investments, which is a critical need for the giant panda after its conservation status has been downgraded from "endangered" to "vulnerable".

  12. Soil structure, microbial biomass and carbon and nitrogen stocks as influenced by conventional tillage and conservation techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abrougui, Khaoula; Khemis, Chiheb; Cornelis, Wim; Chehaibi, Sayed

    2017-04-01

    To evaluate the impact of tillage systems on soil environment, it is necessary to quantify the modifications to physical, chemical and biological properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term impact of different tillage systems in organic farming on soil resistance to penetration, bulk density, microbial biomass, organic matter, and carbon and nitrogen stocks. The tillage systems included conventional tillage (CT), 'agronomic' tillage (AT) and superficial (shallow) tillage (ST), with ST being a non-inversion practice. Tests were carried out on alluvial poorly developed soil (10% clay, 57% silt, 33% sand) in the Higher Institute of Agronomy of Chott Meriem (Tunisia). The soil resistance to penetration was measured with a penetrologger till 50 cm depth along with soil water content measurements. Bulk density (g cm-3) was measured by a cylinder densimeter on samples collected every 10 cm till 30 cm depth. Microbial biomass is a determining factor in soil biological quality because of its role in the regulation, transformation and storage of nutrients. To count the germs, we used the method of enumeration after incorporation into agar. The Walkley and Black method was used for the determination of soil organic matter, and Kjeldahl's for the analysis of total nitrogen content. Carbon and nitrogen stocks (t ha-1) were then calculated as a function of carbon and nitrogen contents, bulk density and the horizon depth. Shallow tillage without inversion ST showed the best values in terms of soil resistance and bulk density. Indeed, soil resistance was 3.1, 2.4 and 2 MPa under CT, AT and ST respectively at 40 cm depth. By adopting this conservation technique, we noted an increase in organic matter with 53% as compared to CT (from 1.9% to 2.9%) and thus a significant increase in C (from 12.5 to 14.5 g kg-1) and N (from 5 to 8 g kg-1) stocks, particularly in the topsoil. In fact, the increase of organic matter in the topsoil constituted a reserve of

  13. Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features.

    PubMed

    Edgar, Graham J; Stuart-Smith, Rick D; Willis, Trevor J; Kininmonth, Stuart; Baker, Susan C; Banks, Stuart; Barrett, Neville S; Becerro, Mikel A; Bernard, Anthony T F; Berkhout, Just; Buxton, Colin D; Campbell, Stuart J; Cooper, Antonia T; Davey, Marlene; Edgar, Sophie C; Försterra, Günter; Galván, David E; Irigoyen, Alejo J; Kushner, David J; Moura, Rodrigo; Parnell, P Ed; Shears, Nick T; Soler, German; Strain, Elisabeth M A; Thomson, Russell J

    2014-02-13

    In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100 km(2)), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250 mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.

  14. Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edgar, Graham J.; Stuart-Smith, Rick D.; Willis, Trevor J.; Kininmonth, Stuart; Baker, Susan C.; Banks, Stuart; Barrett, Neville S.; Becerro, Mikel A.; Bernard, Anthony T. F.; Berkhout, Just; Buxton, Colin D.; Campbell, Stuart J.; Cooper, Antonia T.; Davey, Marlene; Edgar, Sophie C.; Försterra, Günter; Galván, David E.; Irigoyen, Alejo J.; Kushner, David J.; Moura, Rodrigo; Parnell, P. Ed; Shears, Nick T.; Soler, German; Strain, Elisabeth M. A.; Thomson, Russell J.

    2014-02-01

    In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100km2), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.

  15. Cell wall targeted in planta iron accumulation enhances biomass conversion and seed iron concentration in Arabidopsis and rice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Haibing; Wei, Hui; Ma, Guojie

    Conversion of nongrain biomass into liquid fuel is a sustainable approach to energy demands as global population increases. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a catalyst to enhance the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. However, direct addition of iron catalysts to biomass pretreatment is diffusion-limited, would increase the cost and complexity of biorefinery unit operations and may have deleterious environmental impacts. Here, we show a new strategy for in planta accumulation of iron throughout the volume of the cell wall where iron acts as a catalyst in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. We engineered CBM-IBP fusionmore » polypeptides composed of a carbohydrate-binding module family 11 (CBM11) and an iron-binding peptide (IBP) for secretion into Arabidopsis and rice cell walls. CBM-IBP transformed Arabidopsis and rice plants show significant increases in iron accumulation and biomass conversion compared to respective controls. Further, CBM-IBP rice shows a 35% increase in seed iron concentration and a 40% increase in seed yield in greenhouse experiments. CBM-IBP rice potentially could be used to address iron deficiency, the most common and widespread nutritional disorder according to the World Health Organization.« less

  16. Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world's most carbon-dense forests.

    PubMed

    Keith, Heather; Mackey, Brendan G; Lindenmayer, David B

    2009-07-14

    From analysis of published global site biomass data (n = 136) from primary forests, we discovered (i) the world's highest known total biomass carbon density (living plus dead) of 1,867 tonnes carbon per ha (average value from 13 sites) occurs in Australian temperate moist Eucalyptus regnans forests, and (ii) average values of the global site biomass data were higher for sampled temperate moist forests (n = 44) than for sampled tropical (n = 36) and boreal (n = 52) forests (n is number of sites per forest biome). Spatially averaged Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change biome default values are lower than our average site values for temperate moist forests, because the temperate biome contains a diversity of forest ecosystem types that support a range of mature carbon stocks or have a long land-use history with reduced carbon stocks. We describe a framework for identifying forests important for carbon storage based on the factors that account for high biomass carbon densities, including (i) relatively cool temperatures and moderately high precipitation producing rates of fast growth but slow decomposition, and (ii) older forests that are often multiaged and multilayered and have experienced minimal human disturbance. Our results are relevant to negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change regarding forest conservation, management, and restoration. Conserving forests with large stocks of biomass from deforestation and degradation avoids significant carbon emissions to the atmosphere, irrespective of the source country, and should be among allowable mitigation activities. Similarly, management that allows restoration of a forest's carbon sequestration potential also should be recognized.

  17. Re-evaluation of forest biomass carbon stocks and lessons from the world's most carbon-dense forests

    PubMed Central

    Keith, Heather; Mackey, Brendan G.; Lindenmayer, David B.

    2009-01-01

    From analysis of published global site biomass data (n = 136) from primary forests, we discovered (i) the world's highest known total biomass carbon density (living plus dead) of 1,867 tonnes carbon per ha (average value from 13 sites) occurs in Australian temperate moist Eucalyptus regnans forests, and (ii) average values of the global site biomass data were higher for sampled temperate moist forests (n = 44) than for sampled tropical (n = 36) and boreal (n = 52) forests (n is number of sites per forest biome). Spatially averaged Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change biome default values are lower than our average site values for temperate moist forests, because the temperate biome contains a diversity of forest ecosystem types that support a range of mature carbon stocks or have a long land-use history with reduced carbon stocks. We describe a framework for identifying forests important for carbon storage based on the factors that account for high biomass carbon densities, including (i) relatively cool temperatures and moderately high precipitation producing rates of fast growth but slow decomposition, and (ii) older forests that are often multiaged and multilayered and have experienced minimal human disturbance. Our results are relevant to negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change regarding forest conservation, management, and restoration. Conserving forests with large stocks of biomass from deforestation and degradation avoids significant carbon emissions to the atmosphere, irrespective of the source country, and should be among allowable mitigation activities. Similarly, management that allows restoration of a forest's carbon sequestration potential also should be recognized. PMID:19553199

  18. 77 FR 30486 - Confidentiality of Information; Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-23

    ... Management Reauthorization Act AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act or MSA). The purposes of these revisions are to make both...-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSRA) and the 1996 Sustainable Fisheries...

  19. Biomass Logistics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Richard Hess; Kevin L. Kenney; William A. Smith

    Equipment manufacturers have made rapid improvements in biomass harvesting and handling equipment. These improvements have increased transportation and handling efficiencies due to higher biomass densities and reduced losses. Improvements in grinder efficiencies and capacity have reduced biomass grinding costs. Biomass collection efficiencies (the ratio of biomass collected to the amount available in the field) as high as 75% for crop residues and greater than 90% for perennial energy crops have also been demonstrated. However, as collection rates increase, the fraction of entrained soil in the biomass increases, and high biomass residue removal rates can violate agronomic sustainability limits. Advancements inmore » quantifying multi-factor sustainability limits to increase removal rate as guided by sustainable residue removal plans, and mitigating soil contamination through targeted removal rates based on soil type and residue type/fraction is allowing the use of new high efficiency harvesting equipment and methods. As another consideration, single pass harvesting and other technologies that improve harvesting costs cause biomass storage moisture management challenges, which challenges are further perturbed by annual variability in biomass moisture content. Monitoring, sampling, simulation, and analysis provide basis for moisture, time, and quality relationships in storage, which has allowed the development of moisture tolerant storage systems and best management processes that combine moisture content and time to accommodate baled storage of wet material based upon “shelf-life.” The key to improving biomass supply logistics costs has been developing the associated agronomic sustainability and biomass quality technologies and processes that allow the implementation of equipment engineering solutions.« less

  20. Oak woodland conservation management planning in southern CA - lessons learned

    Treesearch

    Rosi Dagit

    2015-01-01

    The California Oak Woodlands Conservation Act (AB 242 2001) established requirements for the preservation and protection of oak woodlands and trees, and allocated funding managed by the Wildlife Conservation Board. In order to qualify to use these funds, counties and cities need to adopt an oak conservation management plan. Between 2008 and 2011, a team of concerned...

  1. 77 FR 13887 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Clothes Washers

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-07

    ... Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Clothes Washers; Final Rule #0;#0;Federal... Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Clothes Washers AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and...) establishes new test procedures for residential clothes washers under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act...

  2. 78 FR 70960 - Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Resource...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act On November 20, 2013, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed consent decree with the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois in the lawsuit entitled United States v....

  3. Biomass torrefaction: A promising pretreatment technology for biomass utilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, ZhiWen; Wang, Mingfeng; Ren, Yongzhi; Jiang, Enchen; Jiang, Yang; Li, Weizhen

    2018-02-01

    Torrefaction is an emerging technology also called mild pyrolysis, which has been explored for the pretreatment of biomass to make the biomass more favorable for further utilization. Dry torrefaction (DT) is a pretreatment of biomass in the absence of oxygen under atmospheric pressure and in a temperature range of 200-300 degrees C, while wet torrrefaction (WT) is a method in hydrothermal or hot and high pressure water at the tempertures within 180-260 degrees C. Torrrefied biomass is hydrophobic, with lower moisture contents, increased energy density and higher heating value, which are more comparable to the characteristics of coal. With the improvement in the properties, torrefied biomass mainly has three potential applications: combustion or co-firing, pelletization and gasification. Generally, the torrefaction technology can accelerate the development of biomass utilization technology and finally realize the maximum applications of biomass energy.

  4. 78 FR 15376 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Amendment Under the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-11

    ... Act; the Clean Water Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Emergency Planning and...'') for violations of the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act... Herculaneum Lead Smelter Facility 12-month rolling average limit for SO 2 emissions and the 12-month rolling...

  5. Carbon-Based Nanomaterials in Biomass-Based Fuel-Fed Fuel Cells

    PubMed Central

    Vestergaard, Mun’delanji C.; Tamiya, Eiichi

    2017-01-01

    Environmental and sustainable economical concerns are generating a growing interest in biofuels predominantly produced from biomass. It would be ideal if an energy conversion device could directly extract energy from a sustainable energy resource such as biomass. Unfortunately, up to now, such a direct conversion device produces insufficient power to meet the demand of practical applications. To realize the future of biofuel-fed fuel cells as a green energy conversion device, efforts have been devoted to the development of carbon-based nanomaterials with tunable electronic and surface characteristics to act as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts and/or as supporting matrix for metal-based electrocatalysts. We present here a mini review on the recent advances in carbon-based catalysts for each type of biofuel-fed/biofuel cells that directly/indirectly extract energy from biomass resources, and discuss the challenges and perspectives in this developing field. PMID:29125564

  6. Carbon-Based Nanomaterials in Biomass-Based Fuel-Fed Fuel Cells.

    PubMed

    Hoa, Le Quynh; Vestergaard, Mun'delanji C; Tamiya, Eiichi

    2017-11-10

    Environmental and sustainable economical concerns are generating a growing interest in biofuels predominantly produced from biomass. It would be ideal if an energy conversion device could directly extract energy from a sustainable energy resource such as biomass. Unfortunately, up to now, such a direct conversion device produces insufficient power to meet the demand of practical applications. To realize the future of biofuel-fed fuel cells as a green energy conversion device, efforts have been devoted to the development of carbon-based nanomaterials with tunable electronic and surface characteristics to act as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts and/or as supporting matrix for metal-based electrocatalysts. We present here a mini review on the recent advances in carbon-based catalysts for each type of biofuel-fed/biofuel cells that directly/indirectly extract energy from biomass resources, and discuss the challenges and perspectives in this developing field.

  7. Evolutionary conservation of regulated longevity assurance mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    McElwee, Joshua J; Schuster, Eugene; Blanc, Eric; Piper, Matthew D; Thomas, James H; Patel, Dhaval S; Selman, Colin; Withers, Dominic J; Thornton, Janet M; Partridge, Linda; Gems, David

    2007-01-01

    Background To what extent are the determinants of aging in animal species universal? Insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling (IIS) is an evolutionarily conserved (public) regulator of longevity; yet it remains unclear whether the genes and biochemical processes through which IIS acts on aging are public or private (that is, lineage specific). To address this, we have applied a novel, multi-level cross-species comparative analysis to compare gene expression changes accompanying increased longevity in mutant nematodes, fruitflies and mice with reduced IIS. Results Surprisingly, there is little evolutionary conservation at the level of individual, orthologous genes or paralogous genes under IIS regulation. However, a number of gene categories are significantly enriched for genes whose expression changes in long-lived animals of all three species. Down-regulated categories include protein biosynthesis-associated genes. Up-regulated categories include sugar catabolism, energy generation, glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and several other categories linked to cellular detoxification (that is, phase 1 and phase 2 metabolism of xenobiotic and endobiotic toxins). Protein biosynthesis and GST activity have recently been linked to aging and longevity assurance, respectively. Conclusion These processes represent candidate, regulated mechanisms of longevity-control that are conserved across animal species. The longevity assurance mechanisms via which IIS acts appear to be lineage-specific at the gene level (private), but conserved at the process level (or semi-public). In the case of GSTs, and cellular detoxification generally, this suggests that the mechanisms of aging against which longevity assurance mechanisms act are, to some extent, lineage specific. PMID:17612391

  8. 75 FR 24741 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) Conservation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-05

    ...] Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) Conservation Assessment... conservation of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) in Arizona and New Mexico as a component of the Service's gray wolf (Canis lupus) recovery efforts. Not required by the Endangered Species Act (Act), the...

  9. 76 FR 5820 - Meeting Announcements: North American Wetlands Conservation Council; Neotropical Migratory Bird...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-02

    ...] Meeting Announcements: North American Wetlands Conservation Council; Neotropical Migratory Bird... Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant proposals for recommendation to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (Commission). This meeting is open to the public. The Advisory Group for the Neotropical Migratory Bird...

  10. Biomass Burning

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2015-07-27

    Projects:  Biomass Burning Definition/Description:  Biomass Burning: This data set represents the geographical and temporal distribution of total amount of biomass burned. These data may be used in general circulation models (GCMs) and ...

  11. 18 CFR 380.13 - Compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... Endangered Species Act. 380.13 Section 380.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT § 380.13 Compliance with the Endangered Species Act. (a) Definitions. For purposes of... Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). (2) Consultation requirement. (i) Prior to the filing of the...

  12. 18 CFR 380.13 - Compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... Endangered Species Act. 380.13 Section 380.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT § 380.13 Compliance with the Endangered Species Act. (a) Definitions. For purposes of... Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). (2) Consultation requirement. (i) Prior to the filing of the...

  13. 18 CFR 380.13 - Compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... Endangered Species Act. 380.13 Section 380.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT § 380.13 Compliance with the Endangered Species Act. (a) Definitions. For purposes of... Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). (2) Consultation requirement. (i) Prior to the filing of the...

  14. 18 CFR 380.13 - Compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... Endangered Species Act. 380.13 Section 380.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT § 380.13 Compliance with the Endangered Species Act. (a) Definitions. For purposes of... Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). (2) Consultation requirement. (i) Prior to the filing of the...

  15. 18 CFR 380.13 - Compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Endangered Species Act. 380.13 Section 380.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT § 380.13 Compliance with the Endangered Species Act. (a) Definitions. For purposes of... Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). (2) Consultation requirement. (i) Prior to the filing of the...

  16. Effects of aerosol from biomass burning on the global radiation budget

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Penner, Joyce E.; Dickinson, Robert E.; O'Neill, Christine A.

    1992-01-01

    An analysis is made of the likely contribution of smoke particles from biomass burning to the global radiation balance. These particles act to reflect solar radiation directly; they also can act as cloud condensation nuclei, increasing the reflectivity of clouds. Together these effects, although uncertain, may add up globally to a cooling effect as large as 2 watts per square meter, comparable to the estimated contribution to sulfate aerosols. Anthropogenic increases of smoke emission thus may have helped weaken the net greenhouse warming from anthropogenic trace gases.

  17. 76 FR 30186 - Proposed Information Collection; Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-24

    ... 7C] Proposed Information Collection; Migratory Birds and Wetlands Conservation Grant Programs AGENCY...). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Division of Bird Habitat Conservation administers grant programs... Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA), Public Law 106-247. Currently, information that we collect for...

  18. Cell wall targeted in planta iron accumulation enhances biomass conversion and seed iron concentration in Arabidopsis and rice

    DOE PAGES

    Yang, Haibing; Wei, Hui; Ma, Guojie; ...

    2016-04-07

    Conversion of nongrain biomass into liquid fuel is a sustainable approach to energy demands as global population increases. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a catalyst to enhance the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. However, direct addition of iron catalysts to biomass pretreatment is diffusion-limited, would increase the cost and complexity of biorefinery unit operations and may have deleterious environmental impacts. Here, we show a new strategy for in planta accumulation of iron throughout the volume of the cell wall where iron acts as a catalyst in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. We engineered CBM-IBP fusionmore » polypeptides composed of a carbohydrate-binding module family 11 (CBM11) and an iron-binding peptide (IBP) for secretion into Arabidopsis and rice cell walls. CBM-IBP transformed Arabidopsis and rice plants show significant increases in iron accumulation and biomass conversion compared to respective controls. Further, CBM-IBP rice shows a 35% increase in seed iron concentration and a 40% increase in seed yield in greenhouse experiments. In conclusion, CBM-IBP rice potentially could be used to address iron deficiency, the most common and widespread nutritional disorder according to the World Health Organization.« less

  19. Cell wall targeted in planta iron accumulation enhances biomass conversion and seed iron concentration in Arabidopsis and rice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yang, Haibing; Wei, Hui; Ma, Guojie

    Conversion of nongrain biomass into liquid fuel is a sustainable approach to energy demands as global population increases. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a catalyst to enhance the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. However, direct addition of iron catalysts to biomass pretreatment is diffusion-limited, would increase the cost and complexity of biorefinery unit operations and may have deleterious environmental impacts. Here, we show a new strategy for in planta accumulation of iron throughout the volume of the cell wall where iron acts as a catalyst in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. We engineered CBM-IBP fusionmore » polypeptides composed of a carbohydrate-binding module family 11 (CBM11) and an iron-binding peptide (IBP) for secretion into Arabidopsis and rice cell walls. CBM-IBP transformed Arabidopsis and rice plants show significant increases in iron accumulation and biomass conversion compared to respective controls. Further, CBM-IBP rice shows a 35% increase in seed iron concentration and a 40% increase in seed yield in greenhouse experiments. In conclusion, CBM-IBP rice potentially could be used to address iron deficiency, the most common and widespread nutritional disorder according to the World Health Organization.« less

  20. Allometric equations for estimating tree biomass in restored mixed-species Atlantic Forest stands

    Treesearch

    Lauro Rodrigues Nogueira; Vera Lex Engel; John A. Parrotta; Antonio Carlos Galvão de Melo; Danilo Scorzoni Ré

    2014-01-01

    Restoration of Atlantic Forests is receiving increasing attention because of its role in both biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration for global climate change mitigation. This study was carried out in an Atlantic Forest restoration project in the south-central region of São Paulo State – Brazil to develop allometric equations to estimate tree biomass of...

  1. 77 FR 70105 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-23

    ... Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Residential Dishwashers, Dehumidifiers, and Conventional Cooking... conventional cooking products under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. DATES: The effective date of this...

  2. 18 CFR 2.78 - Utilization and conservation of natural resources-natural gas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... conservation of natural resources-natural gas. 2.78 Section 2.78 Conservation of Power and Water Resources... INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General Policy and Interpretations Under the Natural Gas Act § 2.78 Utilization and conservation of natural resources—natural gas. (a)(1) The national interests in the development and utilization...

  3. 78 FR 66887 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-07

    ... optimum yield. This action would also continue to suspend the minimum shell size for Atlantic surfclams... still above the biomass target reference points. Based on this information, the Council is recommending...

  4. Biomass burning: A significant source of nutrients for Andean rainforests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fabian, P. F.; Rollenbeck, R.; University Of Marburg, Germany

    2010-12-01

    Regular rain and fogwater sampling in the Podocarpus National Park,on the humid eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes,has been carried out since 2002.The samples,accumulated over about 1-week intervals,were analysed for pH,conductivity,and major ions (K+, Na+, NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, SO4 2-, NO3-, PO4 3- ).Annual deposition rates of these ions which, due to poor acidic soils with low mineralization rates,constitute the dominant nutrient supply to the mountaineous rainforests, and major ion sources could be determined using back trajectories,along with satellite data. While most of the Na, Cl, and K as well as Ca and Mg input was found to originate from natural oceanic and desert dust sources,respectively (P.Fabian et al.,Adv.Geosci.22,85-94, 2009), NO3, NH4, and about 90% of SO4 (about 10 % is from active volcanoes) are almost entirely due to anthropogenic sources,most likely biomass burning. Industrial and transportation emissions and other pollutants,however,act in a similar way as the precursors produced by biomass burning.For quantifying the impacts of biomass burning vs. those of anthropogenic sources other than biomass burning we used recently established emission inventories,along with simplified model calculations on back trajectories.First results yielding significant contributions of biomass burning will be discussed.

  5. Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erb, Karl-Heinz; Kastner, Thomas; Plutzar, Christoph; Bais, Anna Liza S.; Carvalhais, Nuno; Fetzel, Tamara; Gingrich, Simone; Haberl, Helmut; Lauk, Christian; Niedertscheider, Maria; Pongratz, Julia; Thurner, Martin; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan

    2018-01-01

    Carbon stocks in vegetation have a key role in the climate system. However, the magnitude, patterns and uncertainties of carbon stocks and the effect of land use on the stocks remain poorly quantified. Here we show, using state-of-the-art datasets, that vegetation currently stores around 450 petagrams of carbon. In the hypothetical absence of land use, potential vegetation would store around 916 petagrams of carbon, under current climate conditions. This difference highlights the massive effect of land use on biomass stocks. Deforestation and other land-cover changes are responsible for 53-58% of the difference between current and potential biomass stocks. Land management effects (the biomass stock changes induced by land use within the same land cover) contribute 42-47%, but have been underestimated in the literature. Therefore, avoiding deforestation is necessary but not sufficient for mitigation of climate change. Our results imply that trade-offs exist between conserving carbon stocks on managed land and raising the contribution of biomass to raw material and energy supply for the mitigation of climate change. Efforts to raise biomass stocks are currently verifiable only in temperate forests, where their potential is limited. By contrast, large uncertainties hinder verification in the tropical forest, where the largest potential is located, pointing to challenges for the upcoming stocktaking exercises under the Paris agreement.

  6. Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass.

    PubMed

    Erb, Karl-Heinz; Kastner, Thomas; Plutzar, Christoph; Bais, Anna Liza S; Carvalhais, Nuno; Fetzel, Tamara; Gingrich, Simone; Haberl, Helmut; Lauk, Christian; Niedertscheider, Maria; Pongratz, Julia; Thurner, Martin; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan

    2018-01-04

    Carbon stocks in vegetation have a key role in the climate system. However, the magnitude, patterns and uncertainties of carbon stocks and the effect of land use on the stocks remain poorly quantified. Here we show, using state-of-the-art datasets, that vegetation currently stores around 450 petagrams of carbon. In the hypothetical absence of land use, potential vegetation would store around 916 petagrams of carbon, under current climate conditions. This difference highlights the massive effect of land use on biomass stocks. Deforestation and other land-cover changes are responsible for 53-58% of the difference between current and potential biomass stocks. Land management effects (the biomass stock changes induced by land use within the same land cover) contribute 42-47%, but have been underestimated in the literature. Therefore, avoiding deforestation is necessary but not sufficient for mitigation of climate change. Our results imply that trade-offs exist between conserving carbon stocks on managed land and raising the contribution of biomass to raw material and energy supply for the mitigation of climate change. Efforts to raise biomass stocks are currently verifiable only in temperate forests, where their potential is limited. By contrast, large uncertainties hinder verification in the tropical forest, where the largest potential is located, pointing to challenges for the upcoming stocktaking exercises under the Paris agreement.

  7. Unexpectedly large impact of forest management and grazing on global vegetation biomass

    PubMed Central

    Erb, K.-H.; Bais, A.L.S.; Carvalhais, N.; Fetzel, T.; Gingrich, S.; Haberl, H.; Lauk, C.; Niedertscheider, M.; Pongratz, J.; Thurner, M.; Luyssaert, S.

    2017-01-01

    Carbon stocks in vegetation play a key role in the climate system1–4, but their magnitude and patterns, their uncertainties, and the impact of land use on them remain poorly quantified. Based on a consistent integration of state-of-the art datasets, we show that vegetation currently stores ~450 PgC. In the hypothetical absence of land use, potential vegetation would store ~916 PgC, under current climate. This difference singles out the massive effect land use has on biomass stocks. Deforestation and other land-cover changes are responsible for 53-58% of the difference between current and potential biomass stocks. Land management effects, i.e. land-use induced biomass stock changes within the same land cover, contribute 42-47% but are underappreciated in the current literature. Avoiding deforestation hence is necessary but not sufficient for climate-change mitigation. Our results imply that trade-offs exist between conserving carbon stocks on managed land and raising the contribution of biomass to raw material and energy supply for climate change mitigation. Efforts to raise biomass stocks are currently only verifiable in temperate forests, where potentials are limited. In contrast, large uncertainties hamper verification in the tropical forest where the largest potentials are located, pointing to challenges for the upcoming stocktaking exercises under the Paris agreement. PMID:29258288

  8. 78 FR 77005 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-20

    ... continues to suspend the minimum shell size for Atlantic surfclams for the 2014 fishing year. DATES: This... relatively low fishing mortality, the stock is still above the biomass target reference points. This action...

  9. Biomass treatment method

    DOEpatents

    Friend, Julie; Elander, Richard T.; Tucker, III; Melvin P.; Lyons, Robert C.

    2010-10-26

    A method for treating biomass was developed that uses an apparatus which moves a biomass and dilute aqueous ammonia mixture through reaction chambers without compaction. The apparatus moves the biomass using a non-compressing piston. The resulting treated biomass is saccharified to produce fermentable sugars.

  10. 76 FR 37407 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-27

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including residential furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more-stringent, amended standards for these products would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this direct final rule, DOE adopts amended energy conservation standards for residential furnaces and for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps. A notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes identical energy efficiency standards is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. If DOE receives adverse comment and determines that such comment may provide a reasonable basis for withdrawing the direct final rule, this final rule will be withdrawn, and DOE will proceed with the proposed rule.

  11. 76 FR 37549 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-27

    ...The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including residential furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps. EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine whether more-stringent, amended standards for these products would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this notice, DOE proposes energy conservation standards for residential furnaces and for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps identical to those set forth in a direct final rule published elsewhere in today's Federal Register. If DOE receives adverse comment and determines that such comment may provide a reasonable basis for withdrawing the direct final rule, DOE will publish a notice withdrawing the direct final rule and will proceed with this proposed rule.

  12. 76 FR 25211 - Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedures for Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-04

    ... 44 U.S.C. 1510. #0; #0;The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. #0... the Regulatory Flexibility Act C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 D. Review Under the... Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291, et seq.; ``EPCA'' or, ``the Act'') sets forth a variety of provisions...

  13. The assessment of mangrove biomass and carbon in West Africa: a spatially explicit analytical framework

    Treesearch

    Wenwu Tang; Wenpeng Feng; Meijuan Jia; Jiyang Shi; Huifang Zuo; Carl C. Trettin

    2015-01-01

    Mangrove forests are highly productive and have large carbon sinks while also providing numerous goods and ecosystem services. However, effective management and conservation of the mangrove forests are often dependent on spatially explicit assessments of the resource. Given the remote and highly dispersed nature of mangroves, estimation of biomass and carbon...

  14. Mapping the economic costs and benefits of conservation.

    PubMed

    Naidoo, Robin; Ricketts, Taylor H

    2006-10-01

    Resources for biodiversity conservation are severely limited, requiring strategic investment. Understanding both the economic benefits and costs of conserving ecosystems will help to allocate scarce dollars most efficiently. However, although cost-benefit analyses are common in many areas of policy, they are not typically used in conservation planning. We conducted a spatial evaluation of the costs and benefits of conservation for a landscape in the Atlantic forests of Paraguay. We considered five ecosystem services (i.e., sustainable bushmeat harvest, sustainable timber harvest, bioprospecting for pharmaceutical products, existence value, and carbon storage in aboveground biomass) and compared them to estimates of the opportunity costs of conservation. We found a high degree of spatial variability in both costs and benefits over this relatively small (approximately 3,000 km(2)) landscape. Benefits exceeded costs in some areas, with carbon storage dominating the ecosystem service values and swamping opportunity costs. Other benefits associated with conservation were more modest and exceeded costs only in protected areas and indigenous reserves. We used this cost-benefit information to show that one potential corridor between two large forest patches had net benefits that were three times greater than two otherwise similar alternatives. Spatial cost-benefit analysis can powerfully inform conservation planning, even though the availability of relevant data may be limited, as was the case in our study area. It can help us understand the synergies between biodiversity conservation and economic development when the two are indeed aligned and to clearly understand the trade-offs when they are not.

  15. Mapping the Economic Costs and Benefits of Conservation

    PubMed Central

    Naidoo, Robin; Ricketts, Taylor H

    2006-01-01

    Resources for biodiversity conservation are severely limited, requiring strategic investment. Understanding both the economic benefits and costs of conserving ecosystems will help to allocate scarce dollars most efficiently. However, although cost-benefit analyses are common in many areas of policy, they are not typically used in conservation planning. We conducted a spatial evaluation of the costs and benefits of conservation for a landscape in the Atlantic forests of Paraguay. We considered five ecosystem services (i.e., sustainable bushmeat harvest, sustainable timber harvest, bioprospecting for pharmaceutical products, existence value, and carbon storage in aboveground biomass) and compared them to estimates of the opportunity costs of conservation. We found a high degree of spatial variability in both costs and benefits over this relatively small (~3,000 km2) landscape. Benefits exceeded costs in some areas, with carbon storage dominating the ecosystem service values and swamping opportunity costs. Other benefits associated with conservation were more modest and exceeded costs only in protected areas and indigenous reserves. We used this cost-benefit information to show that one potential corridor between two large forest patches had net benefits that were three times greater than two otherwise similar alternatives. Spatial cost-benefit analysis can powerfully inform conservation planning, even though the availability of relevant data may be limited, as was the case in our study area. It can help us understand the synergies between biodiversity conservation and economic development when the two are indeed aligned and to clearly understand the trade-offs when they are not. PMID:17076583

  16. Restoration of degraded arid farmland at Project Wadi Attir: Impact of conservation on biological productivity and soil organic matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mor-Mussery, Amir; Helman, David; Ben Eli, Michael; Leu, Stefan

    2017-04-01

    The Israeli Negev Desert, as most Mediterranean drylands, is profoundly degraded. We have been documenting degradation and successful rehabilitation approaches in recent research, aiming at maximizing environmental and economic benefits while restoring healthy dryland soils and perennial vegetation to act as carbon sinks. These methods have been implemented for rehabilitation of Project Wadi Attir's. 50 hectares of heavily degraded farmland suffering from intensive soil erosion (expressed in dense gullies net and massive overland flow). Project Wadi Attir is a groundbreaking initiative of the Bedouin community in the Negev, for establishing a model sustainable agricultural operation. The project was initiated by the US-based Sustainability Laboratory and the Hura Municipal Council. The project is designed to demonstrate implementation of holistic sustainability principles developed by The Lab. The project's ecosystem restoration component involves site development, erosion control, soil conservation and improvement, planting of native and agroforestry trees, together with conservation and protection of biodiversity hotspots and avoiding grazing have, within three years, revealed the high biodiversity and productivity potential of this arid/semi-arid landscape. A number of shrublands and loess plots were subject to strict conservation, avoiding tilling and grazing. Soil fertility, productivity and biodiversity of these conserved plots inside the farm boundaries was compared to similar unprotected plots outside the farm fences by sampling in the field and by using satellite imaging. Our findings indicate a gradual improvement of SOM content specifically in the conserved shrubland area. Water infiltration, herbaceous biomass productivity and ants' activity of the protected plots also significantly increased within 3 years compared to the unprotected control areas. Starting from similar soil organic matter content in 2013 (3.3%) in the rocky slopes, in 2016 1% higher

  17. Amazonian landscapes and the bias in field studies of forest structure and biomass.

    PubMed

    Marvin, David C; Asner, Gregory P; Knapp, David E; Anderson, Christopher B; Martin, Roberta E; Sinca, Felipe; Tupayachi, Raul

    2014-12-02

    Tropical forests convert more atmospheric carbon into biomass each year than any terrestrial ecosystem on Earth, underscoring the importance of accurate tropical forest structure and biomass maps for the understanding and management of the global carbon cycle. Ecologists have long used field inventory plots as the main tool for understanding forest structure and biomass at landscape-to-regional scales, under the implicit assumption that these plots accurately represent their surrounding landscape. However, no study has used continuous, high-spatial-resolution data to test whether field plots meet this assumption in tropical forests. Using airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) acquired over three regions in Peru, we assessed how representative a typical set of field plots are relative to their surrounding host landscapes. We uncovered substantial mean biases (9-98%) in forest canopy structure (height, gaps, and layers) and aboveground biomass in both lowland Amazonian and montane Andean landscapes. Moreover, simulations reveal that an impractical number of 1-ha field plots (from 10 to more than 100 per landscape) are needed to develop accurate estimates of aboveground biomass at landscape scales. These biases should temper the use of plots for extrapolations of forest dynamics to larger scales, and they demonstrate the need for a fundamental shift to high-resolution active remote sensing techniques as a primary sampling tool in tropical forest biomass studies. The potential decrease in the bias and uncertainty of remotely sensed estimates of forest structure and biomass is a vital step toward successful tropical forest conservation and climate-change mitigation policy.

  18. Thermochemical and trace element behavior of coal gangue, agricultural biomass and their blends during co-combustion.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Chuncai; Liu, Guijian; Cheng, Siwei; Fang, Ting; Lam, Paul Kwan Sing

    2014-08-01

    The thermal decomposition behavior of coal gangue, peanut shell, wheat straw and their blends during combustion were determined via thermogravimetric analysis. The coal gangue/agricultural biomass blends were prepared in four weight ratios and oxidized under dynamic conditions from room temperature to 1000 °C by various heating rates. Kinetic models were carried out to evaluate the thermal reactivity. The overall mass balance was performed to assess the partition behavior of coal gangue, peanut shell and their blends during combustion in a fixed bed reactor. The decomposition processes of agricultural biomass included evaporation, release of volatile matter and combustion as well as char oxidation. The thermal reactivity of coal gangue could be improved through the addition of agricultural biomass in suitable proportion and subsequent appropriate heating rate during combustion. In combination with the heating value and base/acid ratio limitations, a blending ratio of 30% agricultural biomass is conservatively selected as optimum blending. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Major Biomass Conference

    Science.gov Websites

    Top Scientists, Industry and Government Leaders to Gather for Major Biomass Conference America, South America and Europe will focus on building a sustainable, profitable biomass business at the Third Biomass Conference of the Americas in Montreal. Scheduled presentations will cover all biomass

  20. Cell wall targeted in planta iron accumulation enhances biomass conversion and seed iron concentration in Arabidopsis and rice.

    PubMed

    Yang, Haibing; Wei, Hui; Ma, Guojie; Antunes, Mauricio S; Vogt, Stefan; Cox, Joseph; Zhang, Xiao; Liu, Xiping; Bu, Lintao; Gleber, S Charlotte; Carpita, Nicholas C; Makowski, Lee; Himmel, Michael E; Tucker, Melvin P; McCann, Maureen C; Murphy, Angus S; Peer, Wendy A

    2016-10-01

    Conversion of nongrain biomass into liquid fuel is a sustainable approach to energy demands as global population increases. Previously, we showed that iron can act as a catalyst to enhance the degradation of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. However, direct addition of iron catalysts to biomass pretreatment is diffusion-limited, would increase the cost and complexity of biorefinery unit operations and may have deleterious environmental impacts. Here, we show a new strategy for in planta accumulation of iron throughout the volume of the cell wall where iron acts as a catalyst in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. We engineered CBM-IBP fusion polypeptides composed of a carbohydrate-binding module family 11 (CBM11) and an iron-binding peptide (IBP) for secretion into Arabidopsis and rice cell walls. CBM-IBP transformed Arabidopsis and rice plants show significant increases in iron accumulation and biomass conversion compared to respective controls. Further, CBM-IBP rice shows a 35% increase in seed iron concentration and a 40% increase in seed yield in greenhouse experiments. CBM-IBP rice potentially could be used to address iron deficiency, the most common and widespread nutritional disorder according to the World Health Organization. © 2016 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. 18 CFR 284.3 - Jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Natural Gas Act. 284.3 Section 284.3 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OTHER REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND...

  2. 18 CFR 284.3 - Jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... Natural Gas Act. 284.3 Section 284.3 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OTHER REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND...

  3. The role of the reactor wall in hydrothermal biomass conversions.

    PubMed

    Fábos, Viktória; Yuen, Alexander K L; Masters, Anthony F; Maschmeyer, Thomas

    2012-11-01

    The processing of renewable feedstocks to platform chemicals and, to a lesser degree, fuels is a key part of sustainable development. In particular, the combination of lignocellulosic biomass with hydrothermal upgrading (HTU), using high temperature and pressure water (HTPW), is experiencing a renaissance. One of the many steps in this complicated process is the in-situ hydrogenation of intermediate compounds. As formic acid and related low-molecular-weight oxygenates are among the species generated, it is conceivable that they act as a hydrogen source. Such hydrogenations have been suggested to be catalyzed by water, by bases like NaOH, and/or to involve "reactive/nascent hydrogen". To achieve the temperatures and pressures required for HTU, it is necessary to conduct the reactions in high-pressure vessels. Metals are typical components of their walls and/or internal fittings. Here, using cyclohexanone as a model compound for more complex biomass-derived molecules, iron in the wall of high-pressure stainless steel reactors is shown to be responsible for the hydrogenation of ketones with low-molecular-weight oxygenates acting as a hydrogen source in combination with water. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Resources and FAQs ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    ECHO, Enforcement and Compliance History Online, provides compliance and enforcement information for approximately 800,000 EPA-regulated facilities nationwide. ECHO includes permit, inspection, violation, enforcement action, and penalty information about facilities regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Stationary Source Program, Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System (NPDES), and/or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Information also is provided on surrounding demographics when available.

  5. Biomass pretreatment

    DOEpatents

    Hennessey, Susan Marie; Friend, Julie; Elander, Richard T; Tucker, III, Melvin P

    2013-05-21

    A method is provided for producing an improved pretreated biomass product for use in saccharification followed by fermentation to produce a target chemical that includes removal of saccharification and or fermentation inhibitors from the pretreated biomass product. Specifically, the pretreated biomass product derived from using the present method has fewer inhibitors of saccharification and/or fermentation without a loss in sugar content.

  6. Carbon gains by conservation projects overbalance carbon losses by degradation in China's karst ecoregions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tong, X.; Yue, Y.; Fensholt, R.; Brandt, M.

    2017-12-01

    China's ecological restoration projects are considered as "mega-engineering" activities and the most ambitious afforestation and conservation projects in human history. The highly sensitive and vulnerable karst ecosystem in Southwest China is one of the largest exposed carbonate rock areas (more than 0.54 million km2) in the world. Accelerating desertification has been reported during the last half century, caused by the increasing intensity of human exploitation of natural resources. As a result, vast karst areas (approximately 0.12 million km2) previously covered by vegetation and soil were turned into a rocky landscape. To combat this severe form of land degradation, more than 19 billion USD have been invested in mitigation initiatives since the end of the 1990s. The costs of mega-engineering as a climate change mitigation measure are however only justified if ecosystem properties can be affected at large scales. Here we study the carbon balance of the karst regions of 8 Chinese provinces over four decades, using optical and passive microwave satellite data, supported by statistical data on project implementations. We find that most areas experiencing losses in aboveground biomass carbon are located in areas with a high standing biomass ( 95 Mg C ha-1), whereas areas with a carbon gain are mostly located in regions with a low standing biomass ( 45 Mg C ha-1). However, the overall gains in carbon stocks overbalance the losses, with an average gross loss of -0.8 Pg C and a gross gain of +2.4 Pg C (1980s to 2016), resulting in a net gain of 1.6 Pg C. Areas of carbon gains are widespread and spatially coherent with conservation projects implemented after 2001, whereas areas of carbon losses show that ongoing degradation is still happening in the western parts of the karst regions. We conclude that the impact of conservation projects on the carbon balance of China's karst ecoregions is remarkable, but biomass carbon losses caused by ongoing degradation can not be

  7. 18 CFR 1312.4 - Prohibited acts and criminal penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Prohibited acts and criminal penalties. 1312.4 Section 1312.4 Conservation of Power and Water Resources TENNESSEE VALLEY... archaeological value of the archaeological resources involved and the cost of restoration and repair of such...

  8. Integration of carbon conservation into sustainable forest management using high resolution satellite imagery: A case study in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Langner, Andreas; Samejima, Hiromitsu; Ong, Robert C.; Titin, Jupiri; Kitayama, Kanehiro

    2012-08-01

    Conservation of tropical forests is of outstanding importance for mitigation of climate change effects and preserving biodiversity. In Borneo most of the forests are classified as permanent forest estates and are selectively logged using conventional logging techniques causing high damage to the forest ecosystems. Incorporation of sustainable forest management into climate change mitigation measures such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) can help to avert further forest degradation by synergizing sustainable timber production with the conservation of biodiversity. In order to evaluate the efficiency of such initiatives, monitoring methods for forest degradation and above-ground biomass in tropical forests are urgently needed. In this study we developed an index using Landsat satellite data to describe the crown cover condition of lowland mixed dipterocarp forests. We showed that this index combined with field data can be used to estimate above-ground biomass using a regression model in two permanent forest estates in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Tangkulap represented a conventionally logged forest estate while Deramakot has been managed in accordance with sustainable forestry principles. The results revealed that conventional logging techniques used in Tangkulap during 1991 and 2000 decreased the above-ground biomass by an annual amount of average -6.0 t C/ha (-5.2 to -7.0 t C/ha, 95% confidential interval) whereas the biomass in Deramakot increased by 6.1 t C/ha per year (5.3-7.2 t C/ha, 95% confidential interval) between 2000 and 2007 while under sustainable forest management. This indicates that sustainable forest management with reduced-impact logging helps to protect above-ground biomass. In absolute terms, a conservative amount of 10.5 t C/ha per year, as documented using the methodology developed in this study, can be attributed to the different management systems, which will be of interest when implementing REDD+ that

  9. Unraveling transcriptional control and cis-regulatory codes using the software suite GeneACT

    PubMed Central

    Cheung, Tom Hiu; Kwan, Yin Lam; Hamady, Micah; Liu, Xuedong

    2006-01-01

    Deciphering gene regulatory networks requires the systematic identification of functional cis-acting regulatory elements. We present a suite of web-based bioinformatics tools, called GeneACT , that can rapidly detect evolutionarily conserved transcription factor binding sites or microRNA target sites that are either unique or over-represented in differentially expressed genes from DNA microarray data. GeneACT provides graphic visualization and extraction of common regulatory sequence elements in the promoters and 3'-untranslated regions that are conserved across multiple mammalian species. PMID:17064417

  10. Carbon carry capacity and carbon sequestration potential in China based on an integrated analysis of mature forest biomass.

    PubMed

    Liu, YingChun; Yu, GuiRui; Wang, QiuFeng; Zhang, YangJian; Xu, ZeHong

    2014-12-01

    Forests play an important role in acting as a carbon sink of terrestrial ecosystem. Although global forests have huge carbon carrying capacity (CCC) and carbon sequestration potential (CSP), there were few quantification reports on Chinese forests. We collected and compiled a forest biomass dataset of China, a total of 5841 sites, based on forest inventory and literature search results. From the dataset we extracted 338 sites with forests aged over 80 years, a threshold for defining mature forest, to establish the mature forest biomass dataset. After analyzing the spatial pattern of the carbon density of Chinese mature forests and its controlling factors, we used carbon density of mature forests as the reference level, and conservatively estimated the CCC of the forests in China by interpolation methods of Regression Kriging, Inverse Distance Weighted and Partial Thin Plate Smoothing Spline. Combining with the sixth National Forest Resources Inventory, we also estimated the forest CSP. The results revealed positive relationships between carbon density of mature forests and temperature, precipitation and stand age, and the horizontal and elevational patterns of carbon density of mature forests can be well predicted by temperature and precipitation. The total CCC and CSP of the existing forests are 19.87 and 13.86 Pg C, respectively. Subtropical forests would have more CCC and CSP than other biomes. Consequently, relying on forests to uptake carbon by decreasing disturbance on forests would be an alternative approach for mitigating greenhouse gas concentration effects besides afforestation and reforestation.

  11. Methods for pretreating biomass

    DOEpatents

    Balan, Venkatesh; Dale, Bruce E; Chundawat, Shishir; Sousa, Leonardo

    2017-05-09

    A method for pretreating biomass is provided, which includes, in a reactor, allowing gaseous ammonia to condense on the biomass and react with water present in the biomass to produce pretreated biomass, wherein reactivity of polysaccharides in the biomass is increased during subsequent biological conversion as compared to the reactivity of polysaccharides in biomass which has not been pretreated. A method for pretreating biomass with a liquid ammonia and recovering the liquid ammonia is also provided. Related systems which include a biochemical or biofuel production facility are also disclosed.

  12. Evaluation of total aboveground biomass and total merchantable biomass in Missouri

    Treesearch

    Michael E. Goerndt; David R. Larsen; Charles D. Keating

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, the state of Missouri has been converting to biomass weight rather than volume as the standard measurement of wood for buying and selling sawtimber. Therefore, there is a need to identify accurate and precise methods of estimating whole tree biomass and merchantable biomass of harvested trees as well as total standing biomass of live timber for...

  13. Developing above-ground woody biomass equations for open-grown, multiple-stemmed tree species: shelterbelt-grown Russian-olive

    Treesearch

    Xinhau Zhour; James R. Brandle; Michele M. Schoeneberger; Tala Awada

    2007-01-01

    Multiple-stemmed tree species are often used in agricultural settings, playing a significant role in natural resource conservation and carbon sequestration. Biomass estimation, whether for modeling growth under different climate scenarios, accounting for carbon sequestered, or inclusion in natural resource inventories, requires equations that can accurately describe...

  14. Water resources planning under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stutzman, Karl F.

    1980-01-01

    This paper briefly discusses the more significant provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (1958). It covers pertinent aspects of legislative history, the development and current status (April 1980) of certain policies relevant to administering the Act, and other matters. It is directed primarily to practicing fish and wildlife agency field biologists, planners, and decisionmakers engaged in water resources development activities under the Act. It is not intended to be exhaustive in its treatment. The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act provides a basic procedural framework for the orderly consideration of fish and wildlife conservation measures to be incorporated into Federal and Federally permitted or licensed water development projects. The principal provisions of the Act include: 1. a statement of Congressional purpose that fish and wildlife conservation shall receive equal consideration with other project features; 2. mandatory consultation with wildlife agencies with a view to achieving such conservation; 3. full consideration by action of the recommendations stemming from consultation; 4. authority for action agencies to implement such recommendations as they find acceptable. The FWCA in effect amends, conditions, or supplements other Federal laws and is thus closely linked in its application and interpretation. It is similarly linked to Federal planning standards and procedures. Because of this, interpretations tend to be flexible and evolve, adapting to changing situations. The following reference matrix outlines selected sections of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act which are of particular relevance to planners.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  16. DUE GlobBiomass - Estimates of Biomass on a Global Scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eberle, J.; Schmullius, C.

    2017-12-01

    For the last three years, a new ESA Data User Element (DUE) project had focussed on creating improved knowledge about the Essential Climate Variable Biomass. The main purpose of the DUE GlobBiomass project is to better characterize and to reduce uncertainties of AGB estimates by developing an innovative synergistic mapping approach in five regional sites (Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Kalimantan, South Africa) for the epochs 2005, 2010 and 2015 and for one global map for the year 2010. The project team includes leading Earth Observation experts of Europe and is linked through Partnership Agreements with further national bodies from Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and South Africa. GlobBiomass has demonstrated how EO observation data can be integrated with in situ measurements and ecological understanding to provide improved biomass estimates that can be effectively exploited by users. The target users had mainly be drawn from the climate and carbon cycle modelling communities and included users concerned with carbon emissions and uptake due to biomass changes within initiatives such as REDD+. GlobBiomass provided a harmonised structure that can be exploited to address user needs for biomass information, but will be capable of being progressively refined as new data and methods become available. This presentation will give an overview of the technical prerequisites and final results of the GlobBiomass project.

  17. Port Graham Community Building Biomass Heating Design Project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Norman, Patrick; Sink, Charles

    signed a letter of intent to negotiate a sale of woody biomass material April 30, 2015. Chugachmiut Forestry has conducted two different field forest measurements of Native allotment lands and PGVC forest and timber lands. Lands deemed road accessible for biomass harvest were analyzed for this project. Forestry then conducted three different analyses and developed two reports to determine forest biomass on a tons per acre basis in addition to timber volume measurements taken for forest management purposes. Permits required were limited. For the biomass building, the Kenai Peninsula Borough did not require a permit. State of Alaska, Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire and Life Safety requires a plan review for fire and life safety requirements called an application for Fire and Life Safety Plan Review that would require a registered design professional to sign the document. State of Alaska State Forest Practices Act is required to be followed for any timber sale or harvest. This Act also requires consultation with Alaska Department of Fish and Game when operations are in close proximity or cross anadromous waters. Native allotment lands require following U. S. Bureau of Indian Affairs timber sale contracting process and approval.« less

  18. Biomass torrefaction mill

    DOEpatents

    Sprouse, Kenneth M.

    2016-05-17

    A biomass torrefaction system includes a mill which receives a raw biomass feedstock and operates at temperatures above 400 F (204 C) to generate a dusty flue gas which contains a milled biomass product.

  19. 76 FR 38330 - Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-30

    .... The Act combats trafficking in ``illegal'' wildlife, fish, or plants. The Food, Conservation and... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 7 CFR Part 357 [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0129] RIN 0579-AD44 Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions AGENCY: Animal and Plant...

  20. Tar Production from Biomass Pyrolysis in a Fluidized Bed Reactor: A Novel Turbulent Multiphase Flow Formulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bellan, J.; Lathouwers, D.

    2000-01-01

    A novel multiphase flow model is presented for describing the pyrolysis of biomass in a 'bubbling' fluidized bed reactor. The mixture of biomass and sand in a gaseous flow is conceptualized as a particulate phase composed of two classes interacting with the carrier gaseous flow. The solid biomass is composed of three initial species: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. From each of these initial species, two new solid species originate during pyrolysis: an 'active' species and a char, thus totaling seven solid-biomass species. The gas phase is composed of the original carrier gas (steam), tar and gas; the last two species originate from the volumetric pyrolysis reaction. The conservation equations are derived from the Boltzmann equations through ensemble averaging. Stresses in the gaseous phase are the sum of the Newtonian and Reynolds (turbulent) contributions. The particulate phase stresses are the sum of collisional and Reynolds contributions. Heat transfer between phases, and heat transfer between classes in the particulate phase is modeled, the last resulting from collisions between sand and biomass. Closure of the equations must be performed by modeling the Reynolds stresses for both phases. The results of a simplified version (first step) of the model are presented.

  1. A review of conservation legislation in Nepal: Past progress and future needs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heinen, Joel T.; Kattel, Bijaya

    1992-11-01

    Nepal is considered a leader among developing nations with regard to conservation legislation and programs; it was among the first Asian nations to develop national conservation legislation, sign CITES, and develop a national conservation strategy. We review the history of modern conservation law in Nepal from the Rana period (early 1950s) to the present. The early legislation focused mainly on strict preservation of areas and species; this phase culminated in the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973. Subsequent legislation has evolved more in the direction of an integrated, holistic approach to conservation and is beginning to incorporate the participation of local people; subsequent amendments to the 1973 act allowed greater rights to rural villagers, and the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more strictly defined protected areas (national parks, wildlife reserves, etc.). Our review of conservation legislation suggests that Nepal has had many successes to date; the country has a protected area system covering over 10% of its land area, and many target species are recovering in parks and reserves. There are also some causes of concern, including staff shortages, financial constraints within the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and the fact that there is little legal infrastructure outside of protected areas to enforce conservation laws; further, some aspects of hunting regulations are in need of revision. Primary needs include a comprehensive review of these policies and a nationalized strategy to ameliorate the shortcomings.

  2. Evaluation of low wing-loading fuel conservative, short-haul transports

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasley, L. H.; Waldeck, T. A.

    1976-01-01

    Fuel conservation that could be attained with two technology advancements, Q fan propulsion system and active control technology (ACT) was studied. Aircraft incorporating each technology were sized for a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) field length of 914 meters (3,000 feet), 148 passengers, and a 926 kilometer (500 nautical mile) mission. The cruise Mach number was .70 at 10100 meter (33,000 foot) altitude. The improvement resulting from application of the Q fan propulsion system was computed relative to an optimized fuel conservative transport design. The performance improvements resulting from application of ACT technology were relative to the optimized Q fan propulsion system configuration.

  3. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part B permit application for tank storage units at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-05-01

    In compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), this report discusses information relating to permit applications for three tank storage units at Y-12. The storage units are: Building 9811-1 RCRA Tank Storage Unit (OD-7); Waste Oil/Solvent Storage Unit (OD-9); and Liquid Organic Solvent Storage Unit (OD-10). Numerous sections discuss the following: Facility description; waste characteristics; process information; groundwater monitoring; procedures to prevent hazards; contingency plan; personnel training; closure plan, post closure plan, and financial requirements; record keeping; other federal laws; organic air emissions; solid waste management units; and certification. Sixteen appendices contain such items as maps, waste analysesmore » and forms, inspection logs, equipment identification, etc.« less

  4. Methods for producing and using densified biomass products containing pretreated biomass fibers

    DOEpatents

    Dale, Bruce E.; Ritchie, Bryan; Marshall, Derek

    2015-05-26

    A process is provided comprising subjecting a quantity of plant biomass fibers to a pretreatment to cause at least a portion of lignin contained within each fiber to move to an outer surface of said fiber, wherein a quantity of pretreated tacky plant biomass fibers is produced; and densifying the quantity of pretreated tacky plant biomass fibers to produce one or more densified biomass particulates, wherein said biomass fibers are densified without using added binder.

  5. 77 FR 76972 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-31

    ... Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment: Proposed... the criteria for covered equipment under Part A-1 of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation... the Energy Policy and Conservation Act V. Procedural Issues and Regulatory Review A. Review Under...

  6. The ARIES Advanced And Conservative Tokamak (ACT) Power Plant Study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kessel, C. E.; Poli, F. M.; Ghantous, K.

    2014-03-05

    Tokamak power plants are studied with advanced and conservative design philosophies in order to identify the impacts on the resulting designs and to provide guidance to critical research needs. Incorporating updated physics understanding, and using more sophisticated engineering and physics analysis, the tokamak configurations have developed a more credible basis compared to older studies. The advanced configuration assumes a self-cooled lead lithium (SCLL) blanket concept with SiC composite structural material with 58% thermal conversion efficiency. This plasma has a major radius of 6.25 m, a toroidal field of 6.0 T, a q95 of 4.5, a βN total of 5.75, Hmore » 98 of 1.65, n/nGr of 1.0, and peak divertor heat flux of 13.7 MW/m 2. The conservative configuration assumes a dual coolant lead lithium (DCLL) blanket concept with ferritic steel structural material and helium coolant, achieving a thermal conversion efficiency of 45%. The plasma major radius is 9.75 m, a toroidal field of 8.75 T, a q95 of 8.0, a βN total of 2.5, H 98 of 1.25, n/n Gr of 1.3, and peak divertor heat flux of 10 MW/m 2. The divertor heat flux treatment with a narrow power scrape-off width has driven the plasmas to larger major radius. Edge and divertor plasma simulations are targeting a basis for high radiated power fraction in the divertor, which is necessary for solutions to keep the peak heat flux in the range of 10-15 MW/m 2. Combinations of the advanced and conservative approaches show intermediate sizes. A new systems code using a database approach has been used and shows that the operating point is really an operating zone with some range of plasma and engineering parameters and very similar costs of electricity. Papers in this issue provide more detailed discussion of the work summarized here.« less

  7. Biomass

    Treesearch

    Bernard R. Parresol

    2001-01-01

    Biomass, the contraction for biological mass, is the amount of living material provided by a given area or volume of the earth's surface, whether terrestrial or aquatic. Biomass is important for commercial uses (e.g., fuel and fiber) and for national development planning, as well as for scientific studies of ecosystem productivity, energy and nutrient flows, and...

  8. 50 CFR 600.155 - Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 12 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. 600.155 Section 600.155 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS Regional...

  9. 50 CFR 600.155 - Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 12 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. 600.155 Section 600.155 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS Regional...

  10. BIOMASS DRYING TECHNOLOGIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The report examines the technologies used for drying of biomass and the energy requirements of biomass dryers. Biomass drying processes, drying methods, and the conventional types of dryers are surveyed generally. Drying methods and dryer studies using superheated steam as the d...

  11. IMPROVING BIOMASS LOGISTICS COST WITHIN AGRONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY CONSTRAINTS AND BIOMASS QUALITY TARGETS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Richard Hess; Kevin L. Kenney; Christopher T. Wright

    Equipment manufacturers have made rapid improvements in biomass harvesting and handling equipment. These improvements have increased transportation and handling efficiencies due to higher biomass densities and reduced losses. Improvements in grinder efficiencies and capacity have reduced biomass grinding costs. Biomass collection efficiencies (the ratio of biomass collected to the amount available in the field) as high as 75% for crop residues and greater than 90% for perennial energy crops have also been demonstrated. However, as collection rates increase, the fraction of entrained soil in the biomass increases, and high biomass residue removal rates can violate agronomic sustainability limits. Advancements inmore » quantifying multi-factor sustainability limits to increase removal rate as guided by sustainable residue removal plans, and mitigating soil contamination through targeted removal rates based on soil type and residue type/fraction is allowing the use of new high efficiency harvesting equipment and methods. As another consideration, single pass harvesting and other technologies that improve harvesting costs cause biomass storage moisture management challenges, which challenges are further perturbed by annual variability in biomass moisture content. Monitoring, sampling, simulation, and analysis provide basis for moisture, time, and quality relationships in storage, which has allowed the development of moisture tolerant storage systems and best management processes that combine moisture content and time to accommodate baled storage of wet material based upon “shelf-life.” The key to improving biomass supply logistics costs has been developing the associated agronomic sustainability and biomass quality technologies and processes that allow the implementation of equipment engineering solutions.« less

  12. New and Retrofitted Facilities for Energy Conservation. Information Series No. 152.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kowle, Carol P.

    One of a series of sixteen knowledge transformation papers, this paper presents an overview of considerations and methods for accomplishing energy conservation in the schools. First, the National Energy Act of 1978 is outlined with special attention to the school and hospital energy conservation grant program. In the next section on energy…

  13. The National Landscape Conservation System: A model for long term conservation of significant landscapes

    Treesearch

    Dave Harmon; Jeff Jarvis

    2011-01-01

    The Bureau of Land Management administers over 256 million surface acres, more than any other U.S. public agency, the vast majority of which is in the western half of the United States. A land protection system was initiated in 1970 with the creation of the King Range National Conservation Area. In 1976, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (http://www.blm.gov/...

  14. A state-based national network for effective wildlife conservation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Meretsky, Vicky J.; Maguire, Lynn A.; Davis, Frank W.; Stoms, David M.; Scott, J. Michael; Figg, Dennis; Goble, Dale D.; Griffith, Brad; Henke, Scott E.; Vaughn, Jacqueline; Yaffee, Steven L.

    2012-01-01

    State wildlife conservation programs provide a strong foundation for biodiversity conservation in the United States, building on state wildlife action plans. However, states may miss the species that are at the most risk at rangewide scales, and threats such as novel diseases and climate change increasingly act at regional and national levels. Regional collaborations among states and their partners have had impressive successes, and several federal programs now incorporate state priorities. However, regional collaborations are uneven across the country, and no national counterpart exists to support efforts at that scale. A national conservation-support program could fill this gap and could work across the conservation community to identify large-scale conservation needs and support efforts to meet them. By providing important information-sharing and capacity-building services, such a program would advance collaborative conservation among the states and their partners, thus increasing both the effectiveness and the efficiency of conservation in the United States.

  15. Curriculum Leadership in a Conservative Era

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ylimaki, Rose M.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose is to examine how recent conservative cultural political shifts have affected the meanings of curriculum leadership in schools. The author examines four principals in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act and other related policies and trends. Design: This is a critical ethnographic study of principals' curriculum…

  16. Fishing-gear restrictions and biomass gains for coral reef fishes in marine protected areas.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Stuart J; Edgar, Graham J; Stuart-Smith, Rick D; Soler, German; Bates, Amanda E

    2018-04-01

    Considerable empirical evidence supports recovery of reef fish populations with fishery closures. In countries where full exclusion of people from fishing may be perceived as inequitable, fishing-gear restrictions on nonselective and destructive gears may offer socially relevant management alternatives to build recovery of fish biomass. Even so, few researchers have statistically compared the responses of tropical reef fisheries to alternative management strategies. We tested for the effects of fishery closures and fishing gear restrictions on tropical reef fish biomass at the community and family level. We conducted 1,396 underwater surveys at 617 unique sites across a spatial hierarchy within 22 global marine ecoregions that represented 5 realms. We compared total biomass across local fish assemblages and among 20 families of reef fishes inside marine protected areas (MPAs) with different fishing restrictions: no-take, hook-and-line fishing only, several fishing gears allowed, and sites open to all fishing gears. We included a further category representing remote sites, where fishing pressure is low. As expected, full fishery closures, (i.e., no-take zones) most benefited community- and family-level fish biomass in comparison with restrictions on fishing gears and openly fished sites. Although biomass responses to fishery closures were highly variable across families, some fishery targets (e.g., Carcharhinidae and Lutjanidae) responded positively to multiple restrictions on fishing gears (i.e., where gears other than hook and line were not permitted). Remoteness also positively affected the response of community-level fish biomass and many fish families. Our findings provide strong support for the role of fishing restrictions in building recovery of fish biomass and indicate important interactions among fishing-gear types that affect biomass of a diverse set of reef fish families. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

  17. Spatio-temporal modelling of biomass of intensively grazed perennial dairy pastures using multispectral remote sensing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edirisinghe, Asoka; Clark, Dave; Waugh, Deanne

    2012-06-01

    Pasture biomass is a vital input for management of dairy systems in New Zealand. An accurate estimate of pasture biomass information is required for the calculation of feed budget, on which decisions are made for farm practices such as conservation, nitrogen use, rotational lengths and supplementary feeding leading to profitability and sustainable use of pasture resources. The traditional field based methods of measuring pasture biomass such as using rising plate metres (RPM) are largely inefficient in providing the timely information at the spatial extent and temporal frequency demanded by commercial environments. In recent times remote sensing has emerged as an alternative tool. In this paper we have examined the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from medium resolution imagery of SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 satellite sensors to predict pasture biomass of intensively grazed dairy pastures. In the space and time domain analysis we have found a significant dependency of time over the season and no dependency of space across the scene at a given time for the relationship between NDVI and field based pasture biomass. We have established a positive correlation (81%) between the two variables in a pixel scale analysis. The application of the model on 2 selected farms over 3 images and aggregation of the predicted biomass to paddock scale has produced paddock average pasture biomass values with a coefficient of determination of 0.71 and a standard error of 260 kg DM ha-1 in the field observed range between 1500 and 3500 kg DM ha-1. This result indicates a high potential for operational use of remotely sensed data to predict pasture biomass of intensively grazed dairy pastures.

  18. Aboveground Biomass and Dynamics of Forest Attributes using LiDAR Data and Vegetation Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    V V L, P. A.

    2015-12-01

    In recent years, biomass estimation for tropical forests has received much attention because of the fact that regional biomass is considered to be a critical input to climate change. Biomass almost determines the potential carbon emission that could be released to the atmosphere due to deforestation or conservation to non-forest land use. Thus, accurate biomass estimation is necessary for better understating of deforestation impacts on global warming and environmental degradation. In this context, forest stand height inclusion in biomass estimation plays a major role in reducing the uncertainty in the estimation of biomass. The improvement in the accuracy in biomass shall also help in meeting the MRV objectives of REDD+. Along with the precise estimate of biomass, it is also important to emphasize the role of vegetation models that will most likely become an important tool for assessing the effects of climate change on potential vegetation dynamics and terrestrial carbon storage and for managing terrestrial ecosystem sustainability. Remote sensing is an efficient way to estimate forest parameters in large area, especially at regional scale where field data is limited. LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) provides accurate information on the vertical structure of forests. We estimated average tree canopy heights and AGB from GLAS waveform parameters by using a multi-regression linear model in forested area of Madhya Pradesh (area-3,08,245 km2), India. The derived heights from ICESat-GLAS were correlated with field measured tree canopy heights for 60 plots. Results have shown a significant correlation of R2= 74% for top canopy heights and R2= 57% for stand biomass. The total biomass estimation 320.17 Mt and canopy heights are generated by using random forest algorithm. These canopy heights and biomass maps were used in vegetation models to predict the changes biophysical/physiological characteristics of forest according to the changing climate. In our study we have

  19. Biomass [updated

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Turhollow Jr, Anthony F

    2016-01-01

    Biomass resources and conversion technologies are diverse. Substantial biomass resources exist including woody crops, herbaceous perennials and annuals, forest resources, agricultural residues, and algae. Conversion processes available include fermentation, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, combustion, and transesterification. Bioderived products include liquid fuels (e.g. ethanol, biodiesel, and gasoline and diesel substitutes), gases, electricity, biochemical, and wood pellets. At present the major sources of biomass-derived liquid fuels are from first generation biofuels; ethanol from maize and sugar cane (89 billion L in 2013) and biodiesel from vegetable oils and fats (24 billion liters in 2011). For other than traditional uses, policy in themore » forms of mandates, targets, subsidies, and greenhouse gas emission targets has largely been driving biomass utilization. Second generation biofuels have been slow to take off.« less

  20. Biomass cogeneration: A business assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skelton, J. C.

    1981-11-01

    The biomass cogeneration was reviewed. The business assessment is based in part on discussions with key officials from firms that have adopted biomass cogeneration systems and from organizations such as utilities, state and federal agencies, and banks directly involved in a biomass cogeneration project. The guide is organized into five chapters: biomass cogeneration systems, biomass cogeneration business considerations, biomass cogeneration economics, biomass cogeneration project planning, and case studies.

  1. Past-focused environmental comparisons promote proenvironmental outcomes for conservatives

    PubMed Central

    Baldwin, Matthew; Lammers, Joris

    2016-01-01

    Conservatives appear more skeptical about climate change and global warming and less willing to act against it than liberals. We propose that this unwillingness could result from fundamental differences in conservatives’ and liberals’ temporal focus. Conservatives tend to focus more on the past than do liberals. Across six studies, we rely on this notion to demonstrate that conservatives are positively affected by past- but not by future-focused environmental comparisons. Past comparisons largely eliminated the political divide that separated liberal and conservative respondents’ attitudes toward and behavior regarding climate change, so that across these studies conservatives and liberals were nearly equally likely to fight climate change. This research demonstrates how psychological processes, such as temporal comparison, underlie the prevalent ideological gap in addressing climate change. It opens up a promising avenue to convince conservatives effectively of the need to address climate change and global warming. PMID:27956619

  2. Oyster reef restoration supports increased nekton biomass and potential commercial fishery value

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Across the globe, discussions centered on the value of nature drive many conservation and restoration decisions. As a result, justification for management activities increasingly asks for two lines of evidence: (1) biological proof of augmented ecosystem function or service, and (2) monetary valuation of these services. For oyster reefs, which have seen significant global declines and increasing restoration work, the need to provide both biological and monetary evidence of reef services on a local-level has become more critical in a time of declining resources. Here, we quantified species biomass and potential commercial value of nekton collected from restored oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in coastal Louisiana over a 3-year period, providing multiple snapshots of biomass support over time. Overall, and with little change over time, fish and invertebrate biomass is 212% greater at restored oyster reefs than mud-bottom, or 0.12 kg m−2. The additional biomass of commercial species is equivalent to an increase of local fisheries value by 226%, or $0.09 m−2. Understanding the ecosystem value of restoration projects, and how they interact with regional management priorities, is critical to inform local decision-making and provide testable predictions. Quantitative estimates of potential commercial fisheries enhancement by oyster reef restoration such as this one can be used directly by local managers to determine the expected return on investment. PMID:26336635

  3. Oyster reef restoration supports increased nekton biomass and potential commercial fishery value

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Humphries, Austin T.; LaPeyre, Megan K.

    2015-01-01

    Across the globe, discussions centered on the value of nature drive many conservation and restoration decisions. As a result, justification for management activities increasingly asks for two lines of evidence: (1) biological proof of augmented ecosystem function or service, and (2) monetary valuation of these services. For oyster reefs, which have seen significant global declines and increasing restoration work, the need to provide both biological and monetary evidence of reef services on a local-level has become more critical in a time of declining resources. Here, we quantified species biomass and potential commercial value of nekton collected from restored oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in coastal Louisiana over a 3-year period, providing multiple snapshots of biomass support over time. Overall, and with little change over time, fish and invertebrate biomass is 212% greater at restored oyster reefs than mud-bottom, or 0.12 kg m−2. The additional biomass of commercial species is equivalent to an increase of local fisheries value by 226%, or $0.09 m−2. Understanding the ecosystem value of restoration projects, and how they interact with regional management priorities, is critical to inform local decision-making and provide testable predictions. Quantitative estimates of potential commercial fisheries enhancement by oyster reef restoration such as this one can be used directly by local managers to determine the expected return on investment.

  4. Rheology of concentrated biomass

    Treesearch

    J.R. Samaniuk; J. Wang; T.W. Root; C.T. Scott; D.J. Klingenberg

    2011-01-01

    Economic processing of lignocellulosic biomass requires handling the biomass at high solids concentration. This creates challenges because concentrated biomass behaves as a Bingham-like material with large yield stresses. Here we employ torque rheometry to measure the rheological properties of concentrated lignocellulosic biomass (corn stover). Yield stresses obtained...

  5. Effects of management tactics on meeting conservation objectives for Western North American groundfish fisheries.

    PubMed

    Melnychuk, Michael C; Banobi, Jeannette A; Hilborn, Ray

    2013-01-01

    There is considerable variability in the status of fish populations around the world and a poor understanding of how specific management characteristics affect populations. Overfishing is a major problem in many fisheries, but in some regions the recent tendency has been to exploit stocks at levels below their maximum sustainable yield. In Western North American groundfish fisheries, the status of individual stocks and management systems among regions are highly variable. In this paper, we show the current status of groundfish stocks from Alaska, British Columbia, and the U.S. West Coast, and quantify the influence on stock status of six management tactics often hypothesized to affect groundfish. These tactics are: the use of harvest control rules with estimated biological reference points; seasonal closures; marine reserves; bycatch constraints; individual quotas (i.e., 'catch shares'); and gear type. Despite the high commercial value of many groundfish and consequent incentives for maintaining stocks at their most productive levels, most stocks were managed extremely conservatively, with current exploitation rates at only 40% of management targets and biomass 33% above target biomass on average. Catches rarely exceeded TACs but on occasion were far below TACs (mean catch:TAC ratio of 57%); approximately $150 million of potential landed value was foregone annually by underutilizing TACs. The use of individual quotas, marine reserves, and harvest control rules with estimated limit reference points had little overall effect on stock status. More valuable fisheries were maintained closer to management targets and were less variable over time than stocks with lower catches or ex-vessel prices. Together these results suggest there is no single effective management measure for meeting conservation objectives; if scientifically established quotas are set and enforced, a variety of means can be used to ensure that exploitation rates and biomass levels are near to or more

  6. 50 CFR 600.155 - Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. 600.155 Section 600.155 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC... Fishery Management Councils § 600.155 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. (a) FOIA requests...

  7. Biomass Characterization | Bioenergy | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    analytical methods for biomass characterization available for downloading. View the Biomass Compositional Methods Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry Photo of a man in front of multiple computer screens that present Characterization of Biomass We develop new methods and tools to understand the chemical composition of raw biomass

  8. 75 FR 45600 - Information Collection: Emergency Conservation Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency Information Collection: Emergency Conservation Program AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. ACTION: Notice; request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is seeking comments from all...

  9. Shifts in tree functional composition amplify the response of forest biomass to climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Tao; Niinemets, Ülo; Sheffield, Justin; Lichstein, Jeremy W.

    2018-04-01

    Forests have a key role in global ecosystems, hosting much of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and acting as a net sink for atmospheric carbon. These and other ecosystem services that are provided by forests may be sensitive to climate change as well as climate variability on shorter time scales (for example, annual to decadal). Previous studies have documented responses of forest ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, including drought-induced increases in tree mortality rates. However, relationships between forest biomass, tree species composition and climate variability have not been quantified across a large region using systematically sampled data. Here we use systematic forest inventories from the 1980s and 2000s across the eastern USA to show that forest biomass responds to decadal-scale changes in water deficit, and that this biomass response is amplified by concurrent changes in community-mean drought tolerance, a functionally important aspect of tree species composition. The amplification of the direct effects of water stress on biomass occurs because water stress tends to induce a shift in tree species composition towards species that are more tolerant to drought but are slower growing. These results demonstrate concurrent changes in forest species composition and biomass carbon storage across a large, systematically sampled region, and highlight the potential for climate-induced changes in forest ecosystems across the world, resulting from both direct effects of climate on forest biomass and indirect effects mediated by shifts in species composition.

  10. Shifts in tree functional composition amplify the response of forest biomass to climate.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tao; Niinemets, Ülo; Sheffield, Justin; Lichstein, Jeremy W

    2018-04-05

    Forests have a key role in global ecosystems, hosting much of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and acting as a net sink for atmospheric carbon. These and other ecosystem services that are provided by forests may be sensitive to climate change as well as climate variability on shorter time scales (for example, annual to decadal). Previous studies have documented responses of forest ecosystems to climate change and climate variability, including drought-induced increases in tree mortality rates. However, relationships between forest biomass, tree species composition and climate variability have not been quantified across a large region using systematically sampled data. Here we use systematic forest inventories from the 1980s and 2000s across the eastern USA to show that forest biomass responds to decadal-scale changes in water deficit, and that this biomass response is amplified by concurrent changes in community-mean drought tolerance, a functionally important aspect of tree species composition. The amplification of the direct effects of water stress on biomass occurs because water stress tends to induce a shift in tree species composition towards species that are more tolerant to drought but are slower growing. These results demonstrate concurrent changes in forest species composition and biomass carbon storage across a large, systematically sampled region, and highlight the potential for climate-induced changes in forest ecosystems across the world, resulting from both direct effects of climate on forest biomass and indirect effects mediated by shifts in species composition.

  11. Integrating Science & Management: Florida Scrub-Jay Conservation along the Central Florida's Atlantic Coast

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Breininger, David R.

    2018-01-01

    Florida scrub-jays are a species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The NASA Ecology program has been a partner for conservation, recovery, and translocation across the species range. The objectives of this talk are to update members of the Archie Carr Working Group recovery, conservation, and translocation activities and describe how the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge and nearby conservation lands relate to species recovery actions.

  12. 77 FR 15352 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Expanding Incentives for Voluntary Conservation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-15

    ...; Expanding Incentives for Voluntary Conservation Actions Under the Endangered Species Act AGENCY: Fish and... Endangered Species Act. By this notice, we are inviting public comment to help us identify potential changes... notice is published under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531...

  13. Biomass Burning Emissions – The Importance of Reducing Uncertainties for Improved Regulatory Decision; an EPA Perspective

    EPA Science Inventory

    Biomass burning emissions from wildland and prescribed fires can have far reaching impacts in several of EPA’s regulatory programs under the Clean Air Act, ultimately affecting decisions on actions taken under State Implementation Plans (SIPs), and programs such as Visibility and...

  14. 77 FR 43865 - Sunshine Act Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-26

    ... MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION Sunshine Act Meeting TIME AND DATE: The Marine Mammal Commission will... National Marine Fisheries Service's six regions to identify the most pressing marine mammal research and... federal conservation efforts for marine mammals. Members of the public are invited to attend these...

  15. 78 FR 13710 - Sunshine Act Meetings

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-28

    ... MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION Sunshine Act Meetings TIME AND DATE: The Marine Mammal Commission will... National Marine Fisheries Service's six regions to identify the most pressing marine mammal research and... federal conservation efforts for marine mammals. Members of the public are invited to attend these...

  16. Environmental Performance Information Use by Conservation Agency Staff

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wardropper, Chloe Bradley

    2018-04-01

    Performance-based conservation has long been recognized as crucial to improving program effectiveness, particularly when environmental conditions are dynamic. Yet few studies have investigated the use of environmental performance information by staff of conservation organizations. This article identifies attitudinal, policy and organizational factors influencing the use of a type of performance information—water quality information—by Soil and Water Conservation District staff in the Upper Mississippi River Basin region. An online survey ( n = 277) revealed a number of important variables associated with greater information use. Variables included employees' prosocial motivation, or the belief that they helped people and natural resources through their job, the perceived trustworthiness of data, the presence of a U.S. Clean Water Act Total Maximum Daily Load standard designation, and staff discretion to prioritize programs locally. Conservation programs that retain motivated staff and provide them the resources and flexibility to plan and evaluate their work with environmental data may increase conservation effectiveness under changing conditions.

  17. Residue distribution and biomass recovery following biomass harvest of plantation pine

    Treesearch

    Johnny Grace III; John Klepac; S. Taylor; Dana Mitchell

    2016-01-01

    Forest biomass is anticipated to play a significant role in addressing an alternative energy supply. However, the efficiencies of current state-of-the-art recovery systems operating in forest biomass harvests are still relatively unknown. Forest biomass harvest stands typically have higher stand densities and smaller diameter trees than conventional stands which may...

  18. How to reconcile wood production and biodiversity conservation? The Pan-European boreal forest history gradient as an "experiment".

    PubMed

    Naumov, Vladimir; Manton, Michael; Elbakidze, Marine; Rendenieks, Zigmars; Priednieks, Janis; Uhlianets, Siarhei; Yamelynets, Taras; Zhivotov, Anton; Angelstam, Per

    2018-07-15

    There are currently competing demands on Europe's forests and the finite resources and services that they can offer. Forestry intensification that aims at mitigating climate change and biodiversity conservation is one example. Whether or not these two objectives compete can be evaluated by comparative studies of forest landscapes with different histories. We test the hypothesis that indicators of wood production and biodiversity conservation are inversely related in a gradient of long to short forestry intensification histories. Forest management data containing stand age, volume and tree species were used to model the opportunity for wood production and biodiversity conservation in five north European forest regions representing a gradient in landscape history from very long in the West and short in the East. Wood production indicators captured the supply of coniferous wood and total biomass, as well as current accessibility by transport infrastructure. Biodiversity conservation indicators were based on modelling habitat network functionality for focal bird species dependent on different combinations of stand age and tree species composition representing naturally dynamic forests. In each region we randomly sampled 25 individual 100-km 2 areas with contiguous forest cover. Regarding wood production, Sweden's Bergslagen region had the largest areas of coniferous wood, followed by Vitebsk in Belarus and Zemgale in Latvia. NW Russia's case study regions in Pskov and Komi had the lowest values, except for the biomass indicator. The addition of forest accessibility for transportation made the Belarusian and Swedish study region most suitable for wood and biomass production, followed by Latvia and two study regions in NW Russian. Regarding biodiversity conservation, the overall rank among regions was opposite. Mixed and deciduous habitats were functional in Russia, Belarus and Latvia. Old Scots pine and Norway spruce habitats were only functional in Komi. Thus

  19. Plant biomass degrading ability of the coprophilic ascomycete fungus Podospora anserina.

    PubMed

    Couturier, Marie; Tangthirasunun, Narumon; Ning, Xie; Brun, Sylvain; Gautier, Valérie; Bennati-Granier, Chloé; Silar, Philippe; Berrin, Jean-Guy

    2016-01-01

    The degradation of plant biomass is a major challenge towards the production of bio-based compounds and materials. As key lignocellulolytic enzyme producers, filamentous fungi represent a promising reservoir to tackle this challenge. Among them, the coprophilous ascomycete Podospora anserina has been used as a model organism to study various biological mechanisms because its genetics are well understood and controlled. In 2008, the sequencing of its genome revealed a great diversity of enzymes targeting plant carbohydrates and lignin. Since then, a large array of lignocellulose-acting enzymes has been characterized and genetic analyses have enabled the understanding of P. anserina metabolism and development on plant biomass. Overall, these research efforts shed light on P. anserina strategy to unlock recalcitrant lignocellulose deconstruction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. 75 FR 65442 - Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-25

    ... increase in biomass and recruitment on Georges Bank and off Long Island, NY. Based on this information, the..., stock recruitment, projected fishing effort and catches, and areas closed to fishing. In June 2010, the... Quahogs \\3\\ 100,000 35,240 100,000 35,240 100,000 35,240 \\1\\ Numerical values are in millions except for...

  1. 41 CFR 105-72.206 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... and Recovery Act. 105-72.206 Section 105-72.206 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Regional Offices-General... OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 72.2-Pre-Award Requirements § 105...

  2. 41 CFR 105-72.206 - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... and Recovery Act. 105-72.206 Section 105-72.206 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Regional Offices-General... OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 72.2-Pre-Award Requirements § 105...

  3. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure report: Area 2 Bitcutter and Postshot Containment Shops Injection Wells, Correction Action Unit 90

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    This Closure Report provides documentation of the activities conducted during the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) closure of the Bitcutter and Postshot Containment Shops Injection Wells located in Area 2 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), Oak Spring Quadrangle (USGS, 1986), Township 10 South, Range 53 East, Nye County, Nevada. This report discusses the Bitcutter Shop Inside Injection Well (CAU 90-A) closure-in-place and the Bitcutter Shop Outside Injection Well (CAU 90-B) and Postshot Containment Shop Injection Well (CAU 90-C) clean closures. This Closure Report provides background information about the unit, the results of the characterization activities and actions conductedmore » to determine the closure design. It also provides a discussion of the drainage analysis, preliminary closure activities, final closure activities, waste management activities, and the Post-Closure Care requirements.« less

  4. Pyramiding genes and alleles for improving energy cane biomass yield

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ming, Ray; Nagai, Chifumi; Yu, Qingyi

    The overall goal of this project is to identify genes and gene interaction networks contributed to the extreme segregants with 30 folds biomass yield difference in sugarcane F2 populations. Towards achieving this goal, yield trials of 108 F2 extreme segregants from S. officinarum LA Purple and S. robustum MOL5829 (LM population) were carried out in two locations in three years. A yield trial of the second F2 population from S. officinarum LA Purple and S. spontaneum US56-14-4 (LU population) was installed in the summer of 2014 and the first set of yield component data was collected. For genotyping, transcriptomes frommore » leaves and stalks of 70 extreme segregants of the LM F2 population and 119 individuals of the LU F2 populations were sequenced. The genomes of 91 F1 individuals from the LM populations are being sequenced to construct ultra-high density genetic maps for each of the two parents for both assisting the LA Purple genome assembling and for testing a hypothesis of female restitution. The genomes of 110 F2 individuals from single F1 in the LU population, a different set from the 119 F2 individuals used for transcriptome sequencing, are being sequenced for mapping genes and QTLs affecting biomass yield and for testing a hypothesis of female restitution. Gene expression analysis between extreme segregants of high and low biomass yield showed up-regulation of cellulose synthase, cellulose, and xylan synthase in high biomass yield segregants among 3,274 genes differentially expressed between the two extremes. Our transcriptome results revealed not only the increment of cell wall biosynthesis pathway is essential, but the rapid turnover of certain cell wall polymers as well as carbohydrate partitioning are also important for recycling and energy conservation during rapid cell growth in high biomass sugarcane. Seventeen differentially expressed genes in auxin, one in ethylene and one in gibberellin related signaling and biosynthesis pathways were

  5. 75 FR 10814 - Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum in...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-09

    ...] Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum in Shasta... Enhancement of Survival Permit from the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum (applicant) under the... Conservation Area Forum under the Act (16 U.S.C 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed Safe...

  6. Biomass Conversion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Decker, Steve; Brunecky, Roman; Lin, Chien-Yuan

    2017-08-02

    Biomass constitutes all the plant matter found on our planet, and is produced directly by photosynthesis, the fundamental engine of life on earth. It is the photosynthetic capability of plants to utilize carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that leads to its designation as a 'carbon neutral' fuel, meaning that it does not introduce new carbon into the atmosphere. This article discusses the life cycle assessments of biomass use and the magnitude of energy captured by photosynthesis in the form of biomass on the planet to appraise approaches to tap this energy to meet the ever-growing demand for energy.

  7. Conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs) in higher plants.

    PubMed

    Freeling, Michael; Subramaniam, Shabarinath

    2009-04-01

    Plant conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs)--a specific category of phylogenetic footprint--have been shown experimentally to function. No plant CNS is conserved to the extent that ultraconserved noncoding sequences are conserved in vertebrates. Plant CNSs are enriched in known transcription factor or other cis-acting binding sites, and are usually clustered around genes. Genes that encode transcription factors and/or those that respond to stimuli are particularly CNS-rich. Only rarely could this function involve small RNA binding. Some transcribed CNSs encode short translation products as a form of negative control. Approximately 4% of Arabidopsis gene content is estimated to be both CNS-rich and occupies a relatively long stretch of chromosome: Bigfoot genes (long phylogenetic footprints). We discuss a 'DNA-templated protein assembly' idea that might help explain Bigfoot gene CNSs.

  8. Biomass resources in California

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tiangco, V.M.; Sethi, P.S.

    1993-12-31

    The biomass resources in California which have potential for energy conversion were assessed and characterized through the project funded by the California Energy Commission and the US Department of Energy`s Western Regional Biomass Energy Program (WRBEP). The results indicate that there is an abundance of biomass resources as yet untouched by the industry due to technical, economic, and environmental problems, and other barriers. These biomass resources include residues from field and seed crops, fruit and nut crops, vegetable crops, and nursery crops; food processing wastes; forest slash; energy crops; lumber mill waste; urban wood waste; urban yard waste; livestock manure;more » and chaparral. The estimated total potential of these biomass resource is approximately 47 million bone dry tons (BDT), which is equivalent to 780 billion MJ (740 trillion Btu). About 7 million BDT (132 billion MJ or 124 trillion Btu) of biomass residue was used for generating electricity by 66 direct combustion facilities with gross capacity of about 800 MW. This tonnage accounts for only about 15% of the total biomass resource potential identified in this study. The barriers interfering with the biomass utilization both in the on-site harvesting, collection, storage, handling, transportation, and conversion to energy are identified. The question whether these barriers present significant impact to biomass {open_quotes}availability{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}sustainability{close_quotes} remains to be answered.« less

  9. Insight on invasions and resilience derived from spatiotemporal discontinuities of biomass at local and regional scales

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Angeler, David G.; Allen, Criag R.; Johnson, Richard K.

    2012-01-01

    Understanding the social and ecological consequences of species invasions is complicated by nonlinearities in processes, and differences in process and structure as scale is changed. Here we use discontinuity analyses to investigate nonlinear patterns in the distribution of biomass of an invasive nuisance species that could indicate scale-specific organization. We analyze biomass patterns in the flagellate Gonyostomum semen (Raphidophyta) in 75 boreal lakes during an 11-year period (1997-2007). With simulations using a unimodal null model and cluster analysis, we identified regional groupings of lakes based on their biomass patterns. We evaluated the variability of membership of individual lakes in regional biomass groups. Temporal trends in local and regional discontinuity patterns were analyzed using regressions and correlations with environmental variables that characterize nutrient conditions, acidity status, temperature variability, and water clarity. Regionally, there was a significant increase in the number of biomass groups over time, indicative of an increased number of scales at which algal biomass organizes across lakes. This increased complexity correlated with the invasion history of G. semen and broad-scale environmental change (recovery from acidification). Locally, no consistent patterns of lake membership to regional biomass groups were observed, and correlations with environmental variables were lake specific. The increased complexity of regional biomass patterns suggests that processes that act within or between scales reinforce the presence of G. semen and its potential to develop high-biomass blooms in boreal lakes. Emergent regional patterns combined with locally stochastic dynamics suggest a bleak future for managing G. semen, and more generally why invasive species can be ecologically successful.

  10. Conservation of soil organic carbon, biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystem services along climatic gradients in West Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marks, E.; Aflakpui, G. K. S.; Nkem, J.; Poch, R. M.; Khouma, M.; Kokou, K.; Sagoe, R.; Sebastiã, M.-T.

    2009-08-01

    Terrestrial carbon resources are major drivers of development in West Africa. The distribution of these resources co-varies with ecosystem type and rainfall along a strong Northeast-Southwest climatic gradient. Soil organic carbon, a strong indicator of soil quality, has been severely depleted in some areas by human activities, which leads to issues of soil erosion and desertification, but this trend can be altered with appropriate management. There is significant potential to enhance existing soil carbon stores in West Africa, with benefits at the global and local scale, for atmospheric CO2 mitigation as well as supporting and provisioning ecosystem services. Three key factors impacting carbon stocks are addressed in this review: climate, biotic factors, and human activities. Climate risks must be considered in a framework of global change, especially in West Africa, where landscape managers have few resources available to adapt to climatic perturbations. Among biotic factors, biodiversity conservation paired with carbon conservation may provide a pathway to sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation is also a global priority with local benefits for ecosystem resilience, biomass productivity, and provisioning services such as foodstuffs. Finally, human management has largely been responsible for reduced carbon stocks, but this trend can be reversed through the implementation of appropriate carbon conservation strategies in the agricultural sector, as shown by multiple studies. Owing to the strong regional climatic gradient, country-level initiatives will need to consider carbon sequestration approaches for multiple ecosystem types. Given the diversity of environments, global policies must be adapted and strategies developed at the national or sub-national levels to improve carbon storage above and belowground. Initiatives of this sort must act locally at farmer scale, and focus on ecosystem services rather than on carbon sequestration solely.

  11. Conservation of soil organic carbon, biodiversity and the provision of other ecosystem services along climatic gradients in West Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marks, E.; Aflakpui, G. K. S.; Nkem, J.; Poch, R. M.; Khouma, M.; Kokou, K.; Sagoe, R.; Sebastiã, M.-T.

    2008-11-01

    Terrestrial carbon resources are major drivers of development in West Africa. The distribution of these resources co-varies with ecosystem type and rainfall along a strong Northeast-Southwest climatic gradient. Soil organic carbon, a strong indicator of soil quality, has been severely depleted in some areas by human activities, which leads to issues of soil erosion and desertification, but this trend can be altered via appropriate management. There is significant potential to enhance existing soil carbon stores in West Africa, with benefits at the global and local scales, for atmospheric CO2 mitigation and supporting, and provisioning ecosystem services, respectively. Three key factors impacting carbon stocks are addressed in this review: climate, biotic factors, and human activities. Climate risks must be considered in a framework of global change, especially in West Africa, where landscape managers have few resources available to adapt to climatic perturbations. Among biotic factors, biodiversity conservation paired with carbon conservation may provide a pathway to sustainable development, as evidence suggests that both may be inter-linked, and biodiversity conservation is also a global priority with local benefits for ecosystem resilience, biomass productivity, and provisioning services such as foodstuffs. Finally, human management has largely been responsible for reduced carbon stocks, but this trend can be reversed through the implementation of appropriate carbon conservation strategies in the agricultural sector, as shown by multiple studies. Owing to the strong regional climatic gradient, country-level initiatives will need to consider carbon sequestration approaches for multiple ecosystem types. Given the diversity of environments, global policies must be adapted and strategised at the national or sub-national levels to improve C storage above and belowground. Initiatives of this sort must act locally at farmer scale, and focus on ecosystem services rather

  12. The positive relationships between plant coverage, species richness, and aboveground biomass are ubiquitous across plant growth forms in semi-steppe rangelands.

    PubMed

    Sanaei, Anvar; Ali, Arshad; Chahouki, Mohammad Ali Zare

    2018-01-01

    The positive relationships between biodiversity and aboveground biomass are important for biodiversity conservation and greater ecosystem functioning and services that humans depend on. However, the interaction effects of plant coverage and biodiversity on aboveground biomass across plant growth forms (shrubs, forbs and grasses) in natural rangelands are poorly studied. Here, we hypothesized that, while accounting for environmental factors and disturbance intensities, the positive relationships between plant coverage, biodiversity, and aboveground biomass are ubiquitous across plant growth forms in natural rangelands. We applied structural equation models (SEMs) using data from 735 quadrats across 35 study sites in semi-steppe rangelands in Iran. The combination of plant coverage and species richness rather than Shannon's diversity or species diversity (a latent variable of species richness and evenness) substantially enhance aboveground biomass across plant growth forms. In all selected SEMs, plant coverage had a strong positive direct effect on aboveground biomass (β = 0.72 for shrubs, 0.84 for forbs and 0.80 for grasses), followed by a positive effect of species richness (β = 0.26 for shrubs, 0.05 for forbs and 0.09 for grasses), and topographic factors. Disturbance intensity had a negative effect on plant coverage, whereas it had a variable effect on species richness across plant growth forms. Plant coverage had a strong positive total effect on aboveground biomass (β = 0.84 for shrubs, 0.88 for forbs, and 0.85 for grasses), followed by a positive effect of species richness, and a negative effect of disturbance intensity across plant growth forms. Our results shed light on the management of rangelands that is high plant coverage can significantly improve species richness and aboveground biomass across plant growth forms. We also found that high disturbance intensity due to heavy grazing has a strong negative effect on plant coverage rather than species

  13. Complex pendulum biomass sensor

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hoskinson, Reed L.; Kenney, Kevin L.; Perrenoud, Ben C.

    A complex pendulum system biomass sensor having a plurality of pendulums. The plurality of pendulums allow the system to detect a biomass height and density. Each pendulum has an angular deflection sensor and a deflector at a unique height. The pendulums are passed through the biomass and readings from the angular deflection sensors are fed into a control system. The control system determines whether adjustment of machine settings is appropriate and either displays an output to the operator, or adjusts automatically adjusts the machine settings, such as the speed, at which the pendulums are passed through the biomass. In anmore » alternate embodiment, an entanglement sensor is also passed through the biomass to determine the amount of biomass entanglement. This measure of entanglement is also fed into the control system.« less

  14. 78 FR 10634 - Notice of Meetings, Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-14

    ...In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Dominguez- Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council (Council) will meet as indicated below.

  15. Correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Wenlan; Sun, Zhirong; Qu, Jixu; Yang, Chunning; Zhang, Xiaomin; Wei, Xinxin

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Root respiration was determined using a biological oxygen analyzer. Respiration-related enzymes including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase plus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexose isomerase and succinate dehydrogenase, and respiratory pathways were evaluated. Biomass was determined by a drying-weighing method. In addition, the percentage of glycyrrhizic acid was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography. The association between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid was investigated. The glycolysis pathway (EMP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and pentose phosphate (PPP) pathway acted concurrently in the roots of G. uralensis. Grey correlation analysis showed that TCA had the strongest correlation (correlation coefficient, 0.8003) with biomass. Starch and acetyl coenzyme A had the closest association with above-ground biomass, while soluble sugar correlated less strongly with above-ground biomass. Grey correlation analysis between biochemical pathways and the intermediates showed that pyruvic acid had the strongest correlation with EMP, while acetyl coenzyme A correlated most strongly with TCA. Among the intermediates and pathways, pyruvic acid and EMP exhibited the greatest correlation with glycyrrhizic acid, while acetyl coenzyme A and TCA correlated with glycyrrhizic acid less closely. The results of this study may aid the cultivation of G. uralensis. However, these results require verification in further studies. PMID:28962162

  16. Correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis.

    PubMed

    Liu, Wenlan; Sun, Zhirong; Qu, Jixu; Yang, Chunning; Zhang, Xiaomin; Wei, Xinxin

    2017-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhiza uralensis . Root respiration was determined using a biological oxygen analyzer. Respiration-related enzymes including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase plus 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, phosphohexose isomerase and succinate dehydrogenase, and respiratory pathways were evaluated. Biomass was determined by a drying-weighing method. In addition, the percentage of glycyrrhizic acid was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography. The association between root respiration and the levels of biomass and glycyrrhizic acid was investigated. The glycolysis pathway (EMP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) and pentose phosphate (PPP) pathway acted concurrently in the roots of G. uralensis . Grey correlation analysis showed that TCA had the strongest correlation (correlation coefficient, 0.8003) with biomass. Starch and acetyl coenzyme A had the closest association with above-ground biomass, while soluble sugar correlated less strongly with above-ground biomass. Grey correlation analysis between biochemical pathways and the intermediates showed that pyruvic acid had the strongest correlation with EMP, while acetyl coenzyme A correlated most strongly with TCA. Among the intermediates and pathways, pyruvic acid and EMP exhibited the greatest correlation with glycyrrhizic acid, while acetyl coenzyme A and TCA correlated with glycyrrhizic acid less closely. The results of this study may aid the cultivation of G. uralensis . However, these results require verification in further studies.

  17. Overview of the Biomass Scenario Model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peterson, S.; Peck, C.; Stright, D.

    2015-02-01

    Biofuels are promoted in the United States through legislation, as one part of an overall strategy to lessen dependence on imported energy as well as to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (Office of the Biomass Program and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 2008). For example, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) mandates 36 billion gallons of renewable liquid transportation fuel in the U.S. marketplace by the year 2022 (U.S. Government, 2007). Meeting the volumetric targets has prompted an unprecedented increase in funding for biofuels research, much of it focused on producing ethanol and other fuel typesmore » from cellulosic feedstocks as well as additional biomass sources (such as oil seeds and algae feedstock). In order to help propel the biofuels industry, the U.S. government has enacted a variety of incentive programs (including subsidies, fixed capital investment grants, loan guarantees, vehicle choice credits, and corporate average fuel economy standards) -- the short-and long-term ramifications of which are not well understood. Efforts to better understand the impacts of incentive strategies can help policy makers to develop a policy suite which will foster industry development while reducing the financial risk associated with government support of the nascent biofuels industry.« less

  18. Estimating terrestrial aboveground biomass estimation using lidar remote sensing: a meta-analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zolkos, S. G.; Goetz, S. J.; Dubayah, R.

    2012-12-01

    Estimating biomass of terrestrial vegetation is a rapidly expanding research area, but also a subject of tremendous interest for reducing carbon emissions associated with deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The accuracy of biomass estimates is important in the context carbon markets emerging under REDD, since areas with more accurate estimates command higher prices, but also for characterizing uncertainty in estimates of carbon cycling and the global carbon budget. There is particular interest in mapping biomass so that carbon stocks and stock changes can be monitored consistently across a range of scales - from relatively small projects (tens of hectares) to national or continental scales - but also so that other benefits of forest conservation can be factored into decision making (e.g. biodiversity and habitat corridors). We conducted an analysis of reported biomass accuracy estimates from more than 60 refereed articles using different remote sensing platforms (aircraft and satellite) and sensor types (optical, radar, lidar), with a particular focus on lidar since those papers reported the greatest efficacy (lowest errors) when used in the a synergistic manner with other coincident multi-sensor measurements. We show systematic differences in accuracy between different types of lidar systems flown on different platforms but, perhaps more importantly, differences between forest types (biomes) and plot sizes used for field calibration and assessment. We discuss these findings in relation to monitoring, reporting and verification under REDD, and also in the context of more systematic assessment of factors that influence accuracy and error estimation.

  19. 78 FR 3338 - High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act; Identification and Certification Procedures...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-16

    .... 1103210208-2676-02] RIN 0648-BA89 High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act; Identification and... Conservation Act, which amended the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection... protected living marine resources (PLMRs) pursuant to the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection...

  20. Wildlife Population Dynamics in Human-Dominated Landscapes under Community-Based Conservation: The Example of Nakuru Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

    PubMed Central

    Ogutu, Joseph O.; Kuloba, Bernard; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Kanga, Erustus

    2017-01-01

    Wildlife conservation is facing numerous and mounting challenges on private and communal lands in Africa, including in Kenya. We analyze the population dynamics of 44 common wildlife species in relation to rainfall variation in the Nakuru Wildlife Conservancy (NWC), located in the Nakuru-Naivasha region of Kenya, based on ground total counts carried out twice each year from March 1996 to May 2015. Rainfall in the region was quasi-periodic with cycle periods dependent on the rainfall component and varying from 2.8 years for the dry season to 10.9 years for the wet season. These oscillations are associated with frequent severe droughts and food scarcity for herbivores. The trends for the 44 wildlife species showed five general patterns during 1996–2015. 1) Steinbuck, bushbuck, hartebeest and greater kudu numbers declined persistently and significantly throughout 1996–2015 and thus merit the greatest conservation attention. 2) Klipspringer, mongoose, oribi, porcupine, cheetah, leopard, ostrich and Sykes monkey numbers also decreased noticeably but not significantly between 1996 and 2015. 3) Dik dik, eland, African hare, Jackal, duiker, hippo and Thomson’s gazelle numbers first increased and then declined between 1996 and 2015 but only significantly for duiker and hippo. 4) Aardvark, serval cat, colobus monkey, bat-eared fox, reedbuck, hyena and baboon numbers first declined and then increased but only the increases in reedbuck and baboon numbers were significant. 5) Grant’s gazelle, Grevy’s zebra, lion, spring hare, Burchell’s zebra, bushpig, white rhino, rock hyrax, topi, oryx, vervet monkey, guinea fowl, giraffe, and wildebeest numbers increased consistently between 1996 and 2015. The increase was significant only for rock hyrax, topi, vervet monkey, guinea fowl, giraffe and wildebeest. 6) Impala, buffalo, warthog, and waterbuck, numbers increased significantly and then seemed to level off between 1996 and 2015. The aggregate biomass of primates and

  1. Wildlife Population Dynamics in Human-Dominated Landscapes under Community-Based Conservation: The Example of Nakuru Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya.

    PubMed

    Ogutu, Joseph O; Kuloba, Bernard; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Kanga, Erustus

    2017-01-01

    Wildlife conservation is facing numerous and mounting challenges on private and communal lands in Africa, including in Kenya. We analyze the population dynamics of 44 common wildlife species in relation to rainfall variation in the Nakuru Wildlife Conservancy (NWC), located in the Nakuru-Naivasha region of Kenya, based on ground total counts carried out twice each year from March 1996 to May 2015. Rainfall in the region was quasi-periodic with cycle periods dependent on the rainfall component and varying from 2.8 years for the dry season to 10.9 years for the wet season. These oscillations are associated with frequent severe droughts and food scarcity for herbivores. The trends for the 44 wildlife species showed five general patterns during 1996-2015. 1) Steinbuck, bushbuck, hartebeest and greater kudu numbers declined persistently and significantly throughout 1996-2015 and thus merit the greatest conservation attention. 2) Klipspringer, mongoose, oribi, porcupine, cheetah, leopard, ostrich and Sykes monkey numbers also decreased noticeably but not significantly between 1996 and 2015. 3) Dik dik, eland, African hare, Jackal, duiker, hippo and Thomson's gazelle numbers first increased and then declined between 1996 and 2015 but only significantly for duiker and hippo. 4) Aardvark, serval cat, colobus monkey, bat-eared fox, reedbuck, hyena and baboon numbers first declined and then increased but only the increases in reedbuck and baboon numbers were significant. 5) Grant's gazelle, Grevy's zebra, lion, spring hare, Burchell's zebra, bushpig, white rhino, rock hyrax, topi, oryx, vervet monkey, guinea fowl, giraffe, and wildebeest numbers increased consistently between 1996 and 2015. The increase was significant only for rock hyrax, topi, vervet monkey, guinea fowl, giraffe and wildebeest. 6) Impala, buffalo, warthog, and waterbuck, numbers increased significantly and then seemed to level off between 1996 and 2015. The aggregate biomass of primates and carnivores

  2. Conservation reaches new heights.

    PubMed

    Pepall, J; Khanal, P

    1992-10-01

    The conservation program with the management assistance of the Woodlands Mountain Institute in 2 contiguous parks, the Mount Everest National Park in Nepal and the Qomolangma Nature Reserve in China, in 2 countries is described. The focus is on conservation of the complex ecosystem with sustainable development by showing local people how to benefit from the park without environmental damage. Cultural diversity is as important as biological diversity. The area has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site with the "last pure ecological seed" of the Himalayas. The regional geography and culture are presented. Population growth has impacted natural resources through overgrazing, cultivation of marginal land, and deforestation; future plans to build a dam and road bordering the nature reserve pose other threats. Proposed management plans for the Makalu-Barun Nature Park (established in November 1991) and Conservation Area include a division of the park into nature reserve areas free of human activity, protected areas which permit traditional land use, and special sites and trail for tourists and religious pilgrims. The conservation area will act as a buffer for the park and provide economic opportunities; further subdivisions include land use for biodiversity protection, community forest and pasture, agroforestry, and agriculture and settlement. Efforts will be made to increase the welfare of women and local people; proposed projects include the introduction of higher milk-producing animals for stall feeding. Also proposed is a cultural and natural history museum. 70% of the project's resources will be directed to local community participation in consultation and park maintenance. The project is a model of how conservation and protection of natural resources can coexist with local economic development and participation; an integration of preservation of biological diversity, mountain wisdom, and the value of local people as resources for conservation.

  3. Common and conflicting interests in the engagements between conservation organizations and corporations.

    PubMed

    Robinson, John G

    2012-12-01

    The conservation community increasingly views the corporate sector as a positive force for conservation. Collaborations between corporations and nongovernmental conservation organizations (NGOs) seek to mitigate the negative effects of corporate activities and augment positive conservation outcomes. I reviewed the establishment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies by corporations; the emerging focus on environmental practices and sustainability; and the history of engagement between corporations and nongovernmental organizations. I considered the ethical and reputation vulnerabilities of these collaborations, which depend especially on the financial nature of the relationship and reviewed how CSR approaches have influenced corporate practices. I concluded that whereas CSR practices can act to mitigate negative environmental impact, to date they have had limited positive effect on biodiversity conservation. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

  4. Pretreated densified biomass products

    DOEpatents

    Dale, Bruce E; Ritchie, Bryan; Marshall, Derek

    2014-03-18

    A product comprising at least one densified biomass particulate of a given mass having no added binder and comprised of a plurality of lignin-coated plant biomass fibers is provided, wherein the at least one densified biomass particulate has an intrinsic density substantially equivalent to a binder-containing densified biomass particulate of the same given mass and h a substantially smooth, non-flakey outer surface. Methods for using and making the product are also described.

  5. Method for pretreating lignocellulosic biomass

    DOEpatents

    Kuzhiyil, Najeeb M.; Brown, Robert C.; Dalluge, Dustin Lee

    2015-08-18

    The present invention relates to a method for pretreating lignocellulosic biomass containing alkali and/or alkaline earth metal (AAEM). The method comprises providing a lignocellulosic biomass containing AAEM; determining the amount of the AAEM present in the lignocellulosic biomass; identifying, based on said determining, the amount of a mineral acid sufficient to completely convert the AAEM in the lignocellulosic biomass to thermally-stable, catalytically-inert salts; and treating the lignocellulosic biomass with the identified amount of the mineral acid, wherein the treated lignocellulosic biomass contains thermally-stable, catalytically inert AAEM salts.

  6. System and process for biomass treatment

    DOEpatents

    Dunson, Jr., James B; Tucker, III, Melvin P; Elander, Richard T; Lyons, Robert C

    2013-08-20

    A system including an apparatus is presented for treatment of biomass that allows successful biomass treatment at a high solids dry weight of biomass in the biomass mixture. The design of the system provides extensive distribution of a reactant by spreading the reactant over the biomass as the reactant is introduced through an injection lance, while the biomass is rotated using baffles. The apparatus system to provide extensive assimilation of the reactant into biomass using baffles to lift and drop the biomass, as well as attrition media which fall onto the biomass, to enhance the treatment process.

  7. The Biomass mission: a step forward in quantifying forest biomass and structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    LE Toan, T.

    2015-12-01

    The primary aim of the ESA BIOMASS mission is to determine, for the first time and in a consistent manner, the global distribution of above-ground forest biomass (AGB) in order to provide greatly improved quantification of the size and distribution of the terrestrial carbon pool, and improved estimates of terrestrial carbon fluxes. Specifically, BIOMASS will measure forest carbon stock, as well as forest height, from data provided by a single satellite giving a biomass map covering tropical, temperate and boreal forests at a resolution of around 200 m every 6 months throughout the five years of the mission. BIOMASS will use a long wavelength SAR (P-band) providing three mutually supporting measurement techniques, namely polarimetric SAR (PolSAR), polarimetric interferometric SAR (PolInSAR) and tomographic SAR (TomoSAR). The combination of these techniques will significantly reduce the uncertainties in biomass retrievals by yielding complementary information on biomass properties. Horizontal mapping: For a forest canopy, the P-band radar waves penetrate deep into the canopy, and their interaction with the structure of the forest will be exploited to map above ground biomass (AGB), as demonstrated from airborne data for temperate, boreal forests and tropical forest. Height mapping: By repeat revisits to the same location, the PolInSAR measurements will be used to estimate the height of scattering in the forest canopy. The long wavelength used by BIOMASS is crucial for the temporal coherence to be preserved over much longer timescales than at L-band, for example. 3D mapping: The P-band frequency used by BIOMASS is low enough to ensure penetration through the entire canopy, even in dense tropical forests. As a consequence, resolution of the vertical structure of the forest will be possible using tomographic methods from the multi-baseline acquisitions. This is the concept of SAR tomography, which will be implemented in the BIOMASS mission. The improvement in the

  8. Biomass fuel combustion and health*

    PubMed Central

    de Koning, H. W.; Smith, K. R.; Last, J. M.

    1985-01-01

    Biomass fuels (wood, agricultural waste, and dung) are used by about half the world's population as a major, often the only, source of domestic energy for cooking and heating. The smoke emissions from these fuels are an important source of indoor air pollution, especially in rural communities in developing countries. These emissions contain important pollutants that adversely affect health—such as suspended particulate matter and polycyclic organic matter which includes a number of known carcinogens, such as benzo[a]pyrene, as well as gaseous pollutants like carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Exposure to large amounts of smoke may present a health risk that is of a similar order of magnitude to the risk from tobacco smoke. The effects on health arising from exposure to air pollution are reviewed, based on what has been reported in the literature so far. Further and more detailed information on exposures and on the epidemiological aspects is urgently required. The persons most frequently affected are women who do the cooking for households in rural villages; they suffer from impaired health due to prolonged and repeated contact with these harmful pollutants. When they are pregnant, the developing fetus may also be exposed and this leads to the risk of excess deaths. In the developing countries, exposure to biomass fuel emissions is probably one of the most important occupational health hazards for women. A conservatively estimated 300-400 million people worldwide, mostly in the rural areas of developing countries, are affected by these problems. PMID:3872729

  9. Ecology and conservation: contributions to One Health.

    PubMed

    Cleaveland, S; Borner, M; Gislason, M

    2014-08-01

    Although One Health is widely promoted as a more effective approach towards human, animal and ecosystem health, the momentum is still driven largely by health professionals, predominantly from the veterinary sector. While few can doubt the merits of interdisciplinary One Health approaches to tackle complex health problems, operating across the disciplines still presents many challenges. This paper focuses on the contributions of partners from ecology and conservation to One Health approaches, and identifies four broad areas which could act as a focus for practical engagement and bring ecological and conservation objectives more to the forefront of the One Health agenda: i) developing initiatives with shared conservation and health objectives, particularly in and around protected areas and including programmes addressing human reproductive health and mental health; ii) broadening concepts of health to extend beyond indicators of disease to include the assessment of ecological impacts; iii) the integration of ecological and epidemiological monitoring systems within protected areas to support conservation management and wildlife disease surveillance; iv) building partnerships to bring conservation, health, development and animal welfare agencies together to combat threats to global biodiversity and health from the international trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

  10. Thermophilic biogasification of biomass

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ghosh, S.; Klass, D.L.; Edwards, V.H.

    1980-01-01

    Secondary sewage effluent- and fresh-water-grown water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes), Coastal Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), and a hyacinth-grass-municipal solid waste-sludge (biomass-waste) blend were used as test feeds to develop a fast thermophilic biomass- digestion process. For the pure biomass feeds thermophilic digestion has no apparent advantage over mesophilic digestion, but the reverse is true for the biomass-waste blend. Alkaline pretreatment of the feed improved thermophilic digester performance substantially. For a given plant feed load, the reactor volume, culture-heating requirements, and CH4 production rate for thermophilic digestion of the pretreated biomass-waste feed were 18,46, and 135% of those for conventional mesophilic digestion.more » For a biomass-waste feed the respective volatile solids reduction and energy recovery efficiencies were 46 and 49% for thermophilic and 36 and 43% for mesophilic digestions.« less

  11. 50 CFR 70.4 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...) MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES CONSERVATION AREAS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES § 70.4 Prohibited acts. (a) The... aquatic animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized under the..., capture, or take any animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized...

  12. 50 CFR 70.4 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ...) MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES CONSERVATION AREAS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES § 70.4 Prohibited acts. (a) The... aquatic animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized under the..., capture, or take any animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized...

  13. 50 CFR 70.4 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ...) MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES CONSERVATION AREAS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES § 70.4 Prohibited acts. (a) The... aquatic animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized under the..., capture, or take any animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized...

  14. 50 CFR 70.4 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ...) MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES CONSERVATION AREAS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES § 70.4 Prohibited acts. (a) The... aquatic animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized under the..., capture, or take any animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized...

  15. 50 CFR 70.4 - Prohibited acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ...) MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES CONSERVATION AREAS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES § 70.4 Prohibited acts. (a) The... aquatic animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized under the..., capture, or take any animal on any national fish hatchery area is prohibited except as may be authorized...

  16. A bioeconomic perspective on the Endangered Species Act

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salau, K. R.; Fenichel, E. P.

    2012-12-01

    Habitat destruction threatens species existence and has recently accelerated due to population growth, urban sprawl, agricultural development and other profitable land conversions on public and private lands. To exacerbate this issue, the public good nature of species existence creates strong incentives for landowners to engage in free-riding behavior and forego conservation on managed lands. To reverse these negative effects, the United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 to create a set of rules for planning government intervention to protect dwindling fish, wildlife, and plant populations and create a platform for recovery and conservation. The ESA is quite explicit about how to make tradeoffs when listing a species as threatened or endangered - only evaluation of biological risks faced are considered. But the act is unclear about what information can or should be used when determining delisting criteria for endangered species. The ESA mandates federal participation in conservation and, in many cases, agencies must curtail socially beneficial activities (e.g. grazing, renewable energy development, mining, military training) in order to meet species recovery objectives. As funding for conservation on federal lands is limited, this creates an implicit tradeoff between recovering species - to gain post-delisting managerial flexibility - and preventing extinction - to minimize management costs. In this respect, reconciliation of biological recovery goals amidst budget constraints and alternate land-use benefits should be supplemented by economic analysis. Economic tradeoffs are inherent in species recovery under the ESA, but the act does not discuss how agencies should structure a recovery plan in light of such factors. This study outlines a bioeconomic approach to framing the recovery problem under the ESA and provides a framework for simultaneously establishing measurable delisting criteria and a least-cost path to recovery. This

  17. Applying the dark diversity concept to nature conservation.

    PubMed

    Lewis, Rob J; de Bello, Francesco; Bennett, Jonathan A; Fibich, Pavel; Finerty, Genevieve E; Götzenberger, Lars; Hiiesalu, Inga; Kasari, Liis; Lepš, Jan; Májeková, Maria; Mudrák, Ondřej; Riibak, Kersti; Ronk, Argo; Rychtecká, Terezie; Vitová, Alena; Pärtel, Meelis

    2017-02-01

    Linking diversity to biological processes is central for developing informed and effective conservation decisions. Unfortunately, observable patterns provide only a proportion of the information necessary for fully understanding the mechanisms and processes acting on a particular population or community. We suggest conservation managers use the often overlooked information relative to species absences and pay particular attention to dark diversity (i.e., a set of species that are absent from a site but that could disperse to and establish there, in other words, the absent portion of a habitat-specific species pool). Together with existing ecological metrics, concepts, and conservation tools, dark diversity can be used to complement and further develop conservation prioritization and management decisions through an understanding of biodiversity relativized by its potential (i.e., its species pool). Furthermore, through a detailed understanding of the population, community, and functional dark diversity, the restoration potential of degraded habitats can be more rigorously assessed and so to the likelihood of successful species invasions. We suggest the application of the dark diversity concept is currently an underappreciated source of information that is valuable for conservation applications ranging from macroscale conservation prioritization to more locally scaled restoration ecology and the management of invasive species. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  18. Clarifying the conservation status of the northern California black walnut (Juglans hindsii) using microsatellite markers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The conservation status of the northern California black walnut (Juglans hindsii) has been a source of considerable confusion and controversy. Although not currently legally protected by either Federal or State Endangered Species Acts, this species is given conservation status by the California Nati...

  19. Defining trade-offs among conservation, profitability, and food security in the California current bottom-trawl fishery.

    PubMed

    Hilborn, Ray; Stewart, Ian J; Branch, Trevor A; Jensen, Olaf P

    2012-04-01

    Although it is recognized that marine wild-capture fisheries are an important source of food for much of the world, the cost of sustainable capture fisheries to species diversity is uncertain, and it is often questioned whether industrial fisheries can be managed sustainably. We evaluated the trade-off among sustainable food production, profitability, and conservation objectives in the groundfish bottom-trawl fishery off the U.S. West Coast, where depletion (i.e., reduction in abundance) of six rockfish species (Sebastes) is of particular concern. Trade-offs are inherent in this multispecies fishery because there is limited capacity to target species individually. From population models and catch of 34 stocks of bottom fish, we calculated the relation between harvest rate, long-term yield (i.e., total weight of fish caught), profit, and depletion of each species. In our models, annual ecosystem-wide yield from all 34 stocks was maximized with an overall 5.4% harvest rate, but profit was maximized at a 2.8% harvest rate. When we reduced harvest rates to the level (2.2% harvest rate) at which no stocks collapsed (<10% of unfished levels), biomass harvested was 76% of the maximum sustainable yield and profit 89% of maximum. A harvest rate under which no stocks fell below the biomass that produced maximum sustainable yield (1% harvest rate), resulted in 45% of potential yield and 67% of potential profit. Major reductions in catch in the late 1990s led to increase in the biomass of the most depleted stocks, but this rebuilding resulted in the loss of >30% of total sustainable yield, whereas yield lost from stock depletion was 3% of total sustainable yield. There are clear conservation benefits to lower harvest rates, but avoiding overfishing of all stocks in a multispecies fishery carries a substantial cost in terms of lost yield and profit. ©2011 Society for Conservation Biology.

  20. An online-coupled NWP/ACT model with conserved Lagrangian levels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sørensen, B.; Kaas, E.; Lauritzen, P. H.

    2012-04-01

    Numerical weather and climate modelling is under constant development. Semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian (SISL) models have proven to be numerically efficient in both short-range weather forecasts and climate models, due to the ability to use long time steps. Chemical/aerosol feedback mechanism are becoming more and more relevant in NWP as well as climate models, since the biogenic and anthropogenic emissions can have a direct effect on the dynamics and radiative properties of the atmosphere. To include chemical feedback mechanisms in the NWP models, on-line coupling is crucial. In 3D semi-Lagrangian schemes with quasi-Lagrangian vertical coordinates the Lagrangian levels are remapped to Eulerian model levels each time step. This remapping introduces an undesirable tendency to smooth sharp gradients and creates unphysical numerical diffusion in the vertical distribution. A semi-Lagrangian advection method is introduced, it combines an inherently mass conserving 2D semi-Lagrangian scheme, with a SISL scheme employing both hybrid vertical coordinates and a fully Lagrangian vertical coordinate. This minimizes the vertical diffusion and thus potentially improves the simulation of the vertical profiles of moisture, clouds, and chemical constituents. Since the Lagrangian levels suffer from traditional Lagrangian limitations caused by the convergence and divergence of the flow, remappings to the Eulerian model levels are generally still required - but this need only be applied after a number of time steps - unless dynamic remapping methods are used. For this several different remapping methods has been implemented. The combined scheme is mass conserving, consistent, and multi-tracer efficient.

  1. Territorial user rights for fisheries as ancillary instruments for marine coastal conservation in Chile.

    PubMed

    Gelcich, Stefan; Fernández, Miriam; Godoy, Natalio; Canepa, Antonio; Prado, Luis; Castilla, Juan Carlos

    2012-12-01

    Territorial user rights for fisheries have been advocated as a way to achieve sustainable resource management. However, few researchers have empirically assessed their potential as ancillary marine conservation instruments by comparing them to no-take marine protected areas. In kelp (Lessonia trabeculata) forests of central Chile, we compared species richness, density, and biomass of macroinvertebrates and reef fishes among territorial-user-right areas with low-level and high-level enforcement, no-take marine protected areas, and open-access areas in 42 100-m subtidal transects. We also assessed structural complexity of the kelp forest and substratum composition. Multivariate randomized permutation tests indicated macroinvertebrate and reef fish communities associated with the different access regimes differed significantly. Substratum composition and structural complexity of kelp forest did not differ among access regimes. Univariate analyses showed species richness, biomass, and density of macroinvertebrates and reef fishes were greater in highly enforced territorial-user-right areas and no-take marine protected areas than in open-access areas. Densities of macroinvertebrates and reef fishes of economic importance were not significantly different between highly enforced territorial-user-right and no-take marine protected areas. Densities of economically important macroinvertebrates in areas with low-level enforcement were significantly lower than those in areas with high-level enforcement and no-take marine protected areas but were significantly higher than in areas with open access. Territorial-user-right areas could be important ancillary conservation instruments if they are well enforced. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

  2. Transforming conservation science and practice for a postnormal world.

    PubMed

    Colloff, Matthew J; Lavorel, Sandra; van Kerkhoff, Lorrae E; Wyborn, Carina A; Fazey, Ioan; Gorddard, Russell; Mace, Georgina M; Foden, Wendy B; Dunlop, Michael; Prentice, I Colin; Crowley, John; Leadley, Paul; Degeorges, Patrick

    2017-10-01

    We examine issues to consider when reframing conservation science and practice in the context of global change. New framings of the links between ecosystems and society are emerging that are changing peoples' values and expectations of nature, resulting in plural perspectives on conservation. Reframing conservation for global change can thus be regarded as a stage in the evolving relationship between people and nature rather than some recent trend. New models of how conservation links with transformative adaptation include how decision contexts for conservation can be reframed and integrated with an adaptation pathways approach to create new options for global-change-ready conservation. New relationships for conservation science and governance include coproduction of knowledge that supports social learning. New processes for implementing adaptation for conservation outcomes include deliberate practices used to develop new strategies, shift world views, work with conflict, address power and intergenerational equity in decisions, and build consciousness and creativity that empower agents to act. We argue that reframing conservation for global change requires scientists and practitioners to implement approaches unconstrained by discipline and sectoral boundaries, geopolitical polarities, or technical problematization. We consider a stronger focus on inclusive creation of knowledge and the interaction of this knowledge with societal values and rules is likely to result in conservation science and practice that meets the challenges of a postnormal world. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  3. Alterations in soil microbial community composition and biomass following agricultural land use change.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qian; Wu, Junjun; Yang, Fan; Lei, Yao; Zhang, Quanfa; Cheng, Xiaoli

    2016-11-04

    The effect of agricultural land use change on soil microbial community composition and biomass remains a widely debated topic. Here, we investigated soil microbial community composition and biomass [e.g., bacteria (B), fungi (F), Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Actinomycete (ACT)] using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis, and basal microbial respiration in afforested, cropland and adjacent uncultivated soils in central China. We also investigated soil organic carbon and nitrogen (SOC and SON), labile carbon and nitrogen (LC and LN), recalcitrant carbon and nitrogen (RC and RN), pH, moisture, and temperature. Afforestation averaged higher microbial PLFA biomass compared with cropland and uncultivated soils with higher values in top soils than deep soils. The microbial PLFA biomass was strongly correlated with SON and LC. Higher SOC, SON, LC, LN, moisture and lower pH in afforested soils could be explained approximately 87.3% of total variation of higher total PLFAs. Afforestation also enhanced the F: B ratios compared with cropland. The basal microbial respiration was higher while the basal microbial respiration on a per-unit-PLFA basis was lower in afforested land than adjacent cropland and uncultivated land, suggesting afforestation may increase soil C utilization efficiency and decrease respiration loss in afforested soils.

  4. Alterations in soil microbial community composition and biomass following agricultural land use change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qian; Wu, Junjun; Yang, Fan; Lei, Yao; Zhang, Quanfa; Cheng, Xiaoli

    2016-11-01

    The effect of agricultural land use change on soil microbial community composition and biomass remains a widely debated topic. Here, we investigated soil microbial community composition and biomass [e.g., bacteria (B), fungi (F), Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Actinomycete (ACT)] using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis, and basal microbial respiration in afforested, cropland and adjacent uncultivated soils in central China. We also investigated soil organic carbon and nitrogen (SOC and SON), labile carbon and nitrogen (LC and LN), recalcitrant carbon and nitrogen (RC and RN), pH, moisture, and temperature. Afforestation averaged higher microbial PLFA biomass compared with cropland and uncultivated soils with higher values in top soils than deep soils. The microbial PLFA biomass was strongly correlated with SON and LC. Higher SOC, SON, LC, LN, moisture and lower pH in afforested soils could be explained approximately 87.3% of total variation of higher total PLFAs. Afforestation also enhanced the F: B ratios compared with cropland. The basal microbial respiration was higher while the basal microbial respiration on a per-unit-PLFA basis was lower in afforested land than adjacent cropland and uncultivated land, suggesting afforestation may increase soil C utilization efficiency and decrease respiration loss in afforested soils.

  5. Mapping aboveground woody biomass using forest inventory, remote sensing and geostatistical techniques.

    PubMed

    Yadav, Bechu K V; Nandy, S

    2015-05-01

    Mapping forest biomass is fundamental for estimating CO₂ emissions, and planning and monitoring of forests and ecosystem productivity. The present study attempted to map aboveground woody biomass (AGWB) integrating forest inventory, remote sensing and geostatistical techniques, viz., direct radiometric relationships (DRR), k-nearest neighbours (k-NN) and cokriging (CoK) and to evaluate their accuracy. A part of the Timli Forest Range of Kalsi Soil and Water Conservation Division, Uttarakhand, India was selected for the present study. Stratified random sampling was used to collect biophysical data from 36 sample plots of 0.1 ha (31.62 m × 31.62 m) size. Species-specific volumetric equations were used for calculating volume and multiplied by specific gravity to get biomass. Three forest-type density classes, viz. 10-40, 40-70 and >70% of Shorea robusta forest and four non-forest classes were delineated using on-screen visual interpretation of IRS P6 LISS-III data of December 2012. The volume in different strata of forest-type density ranged from 189.84 to 484.36 m(3) ha(-1). The total growing stock of the forest was found to be 2,024,652.88 m(3). The AGWB ranged from 143 to 421 Mgha(-1). Spectral bands and vegetation indices were used as independent variables and biomass as dependent variable for DRR, k-NN and CoK. After validation and comparison, k-NN method of Mahalanobis distance (root mean square error (RMSE) = 42.25 Mgha(-1)) was found to be the best method followed by fuzzy distance and Euclidean distance with RMSE of 44.23 and 45.13 Mgha(-1) respectively. DRR was found to be the least accurate method with RMSE of 67.17 Mgha(-1). The study highlighted the potential of integrating of forest inventory, remote sensing and geostatistical techniques for forest biomass mapping.

  6. Process for treating biomass

    DOEpatents

    Campbell, Timothy J; Teymouri, Farzaneh

    2015-11-04

    This invention is directed to a process for treating biomass. The biomass is treated with a biomass swelling agent within the vessel to swell or rupture at least a portion of the biomass. A portion of the swelling agent is removed from a first end of the vessel following the treatment. Then steam is introduced into a second end of the vessel different from the first end to further remove swelling agent from the vessel in such a manner that the swelling agent exits the vessel at a relatively low water content.

  7. Process for treating biomass

    DOEpatents

    Campbell, Timothy J.; Teymouri, Farzaneh

    2015-08-11

    This invention is directed to a process for treating biomass. The biomass is treated with a biomass swelling agent within the vessel to swell or rupture at least a portion of the biomass. A portion of the swelling agent is removed from a first end of the vessel following the treatment. Then steam is introduced into a second end of the vessel different from the first end to further remove swelling agent from the vessel in such a manner that the swelling agent exits the vessel at a relatively low water content.

  8. Process for treating biomass

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Campbell, Timothy J.; Teymouri, Farzaneh

    This invention is directed to a process for treating biomass. The biomass is treated with a biomass swelling agent within the vessel to swell or rupture at least a portion of the biomass. A portion of the swelling agent is removed from a first end of the vessel following the treatment. Then steam is introduced into a second end of the vessel different from the first end to further remove swelling agent from the vessel in such a manner that the swelling agent exits the vessel at a relatively low water content.

  9. The structure of Mediterranean rocky reef ecosystems across environmental and human gradients, and conservation implications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sala, Enric; Ballesteros, Enric; Dendrinos, Panagiotis; Di Franco, Antonio; Ferretti, Francesco; Foley, David; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Friedlander, Alan M.; Garrabou, Joaquim; Guclusoy, Harun; Guidetti, Paolo; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Hereu, Bernat; Karamanlidis, Alexandros A.; Kizilkaya, Zafer; Macpherson, Enrique; Mangialajo, Luisa; Mariani, Simone; Micheli, Fiorenza; Pais, Antonio; Riser, Kristin; Rosenberg, Andrew A.; Sales, Marta; Selkoe, Kimberly A.; Starr, Rick; Tomas, Fiona; Zabala, Mikel

    2012-01-01

    Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m-2). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas.

  10. The structure of Mediterranean rocky reef ecosystems across environmental and human gradients, and conservation implications.

    PubMed

    Sala, Enric; Ballesteros, Enric; Dendrinos, Panagiotis; Di Franco, Antonio; Ferretti, Francesco; Foley, David; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Friedlander, Alan; Garrabou, Joaquim; Güçlüsoy, Harun; Guidetti, Paolo; Halpern, Benjamin S; Hereu, Bernat; Karamanlidis, Alexandros A; Kizilkaya, Zafer; Macpherson, Enrique; Mangialajo, Luisa; Mariani, Simone; Micheli, Fiorenza; Pais, Antonio; Riser, Kristin; Rosenberg, Andrew A; Sales, Marta; Selkoe, Kimberly A; Starr, Rick; Tomas, Fiona; Zabala, Mikel

    2012-01-01

    Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m(-2)). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas.

  11. The Structure of Mediterranean Rocky Reef Ecosystems across Environmental and Human Gradients, and Conservation Implications

    PubMed Central

    Sala, Enric; Ballesteros, Enric; Dendrinos, Panagiotis; Di Franco, Antonio; Ferretti, Francesco; Foley, David; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Friedlander, Alan; Garrabou, Joaquim; Güçlüsoy, Harun; Guidetti, Paolo; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Hereu, Bernat; Karamanlidis, Alexandros A.; Kizilkaya, Zafer; Macpherson, Enrique; Mangialajo, Luisa; Mariani, Simone; Micheli, Fiorenza; Pais, Antonio; Riser, Kristin; Rosenberg, Andrew A.; Sales, Marta; Selkoe, Kimberly A.; Starr, Rick; Tomas, Fiona; Zabala, Mikel

    2012-01-01

    Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m−2). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas. PMID:22393445

  12. The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.

    DOE PAGES

    Edmundson, Scott J.; Huesemann, Michael H.

    2015-10-28

    Night biomass loss in photosynthetic algae is an essential parameter that is often overlooked when modeling or optimizing biomass productivities. Night respiration acts as a tax on daily biomass gains and has not been well characterized in the context of biofuel production. We examined the night biomass loss in three algae strains that may have potential for commercial biomass production ( Nannochloropsis salina-CCMP1776, Chlorella sorokiniana-DOE1412, and Picochlorum sp. LANL-WT). Biomass losses were monitored by ash free dry weight (AFDW mg/L -1) and optical density (OD 750) on a thermal-gradient incubator. Night biomass loss rates were highly variable (ranging from -0.006more » to -0.59 day -1), species-specific, and dependent on both culture growth phase prior to the dark period and night pond temperature. In general, the fraction of biomass lost over a 10 hour dark period, which ranged from ca. 1 to 22% in our experiments, was positively correlated with temperature and declined as the culture transitioned from exponential to linear to stationary phase. Furthermore, the dynamics of biomass loss should be taken into consideration in algae strain selection, are critical in predictive modeling of biomass production based on geographic location and can influence the net productivity of photosynthetic cultures used for bio-based fuels or products.« less

  13. The dark side of algae cultivation: Characterizing night biomass loss in three photosynthetic algae, Chlorella sorokiniana, Nannochloropsis salina and Picochlorum sp.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Edmundson, Scott J.; Huesemann, Michael H.

    Night biomass loss in photosynthetic algae is an essential parameter that is often overlooked when modeling or optimizing biomass productivities. Night respiration acts as a tax on daily biomass gains and has not been well characterized in the context of biofuel production. We examined the night biomass loss in three algae strains that may have potential for commercial biomass production ( Nannochloropsis salina-CCMP1776, Chlorella sorokiniana-DOE1412, and Picochlorum sp. LANL-WT). Biomass losses were monitored by ash free dry weight (AFDW mg/L -1) and optical density (OD 750) on a thermal-gradient incubator. Night biomass loss rates were highly variable (ranging from -0.006more » to -0.59 day -1), species-specific, and dependent on both culture growth phase prior to the dark period and night pond temperature. In general, the fraction of biomass lost over a 10 hour dark period, which ranged from ca. 1 to 22% in our experiments, was positively correlated with temperature and declined as the culture transitioned from exponential to linear to stationary phase. Furthermore, the dynamics of biomass loss should be taken into consideration in algae strain selection, are critical in predictive modeling of biomass production based on geographic location and can influence the net productivity of photosynthetic cultures used for bio-based fuels or products.« less

  14. Overview of IEA biomass combustion activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hustad, J. E.

    1994-07-01

    The objectives of the International Energy Agency (IEA) bioenergy program are: (1) to encourage cooperative research, development and use of energy and the increased utilization of alternatives to oil; and (2) to establish increased program and project cooperation between participants in the whole field of bioenergy. There are four Task Annexes to the Implementing Agreement during the period 1992-1994: Efficient and Environmentally Sound Biomass Production Systems; Harvesting and Supply of Woody Biomass for Energy; Biomass Utilization; and Conversion of Municipal Solid Waste Feedstock to Energy. The report describes the following biomass combustion activities during the period 1992-1994: Round robin test of a wood stove; Emissions from biomass combustion; A pilot project cofiring biomass with oil to reduce SO2 emissions; Small scale biomass chip handling; Energy from contaminated wood waste combustion; Modeling of biomass combustion; Wood chip cogeneration; Combustion of wet biomass feedstocks, ash reinjection and carbon burnout; Oxidation of wet biomass; Catalytic combustion in small wood burning appliances; Characterization of biomass fuels and ashes; Measurement techniques (FTIR).

  15. The role of wild and scenic rivers in the conservation of aquatic biodiversity

    Treesearch

    John D. Rothlisberger; Tamara Heartsill Scalley; Russell F. Thurow

    2017-01-01

    Formerly diverse and abundant freshwater species are highly imperiled, with higher extinction rates than many other taxonomic groups worldwide. In the 50 years since passage of the US Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, wild and scenic rivers (WSRs) have contributed significantly to the conservation of native aquatic biodiversity as well as to the conservation and restoration...

  16. Effects of Governance on Availability of Land for Agriculture and Conservation in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Sparovek, Gerd; Barretto, Alberto Giaroli de Oliveira Pereira; Matsumoto, Marcelo; Berndes, Göran

    2015-09-01

    The 2012 revision of the Brazilian Forest Act changed the relative importance of private and public governance for nature conservation and agricultural production. We present a spatially explicit land-use model for Brazilian agricultural production and nature conservation that considers the spatial distribution of agricultural land suitability, technological and management options, legal command, and control frameworks including the Atlantic Forest Law, the revised Forest Act, and the Amazonian land-titling, "Terra Legal," and also market-driven land use regulations. The model is used to analyze land use allocation under three scenarios with varying priorities among agricultural production and environmental protection objectives. In all scenarios, the legal command and control frameworks were the most important determinants of conservation outcomes, protecting at least 80% of the existing natural vegetation. Situations where such frameworks are not expected to be effective can be identified and targeted for additional conservation (beyond legal requirements) through voluntary actions or self-regulation in response to markets. All scenarios allow for a substantial increase in crop production, using an area 1.5-2.7 times the current cropland area, with much of new cropland occurring on current pastureland. Current public arrangements that promote conservation can, in conjunction with voluntary schemes on private lands where conversion to agriculture is favored, provide important additional nature conservation without conflicting with national agricultural production objectives.

  17. Determinants of Persistence and Tolerance of Carnivores on Namibian Ranches: Implications for Conservation on Southern African Private Lands

    PubMed Central

    Lindsey, Peter Andrew; Havemann, Carl Peter; Lines, Robin; Palazy, Lucille; Price, Aaron Ernest; Retief, Tarryn Anne; Rhebergen, Tiemen; Van der Waal, Cornelis

    2013-01-01

    Changing land use patterns in southern Africa have potential to dramatically alter the prospects for carnivore conservation. Understanding these influences is essential for conservation planning. We interviewed 250 ranchers in Namibia to assess human tolerance towards and the distribution of large carnivores. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), leopards (Panthera pardus) and brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were widely distributed on Namibian farmlands, spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) had a narrower distribution, and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and lions (Panthera leo) are largely limited to areas near source populations. Farmers were most tolerant of leopards and least tolerant of lions, wild dogs and spotted hyaenas. Several factors relating to land use correlated consistently with carnivore-presence and landowner tolerance. Carnivores were more commonly present and/or tolerated where; wildlife diversity and biomass were higher; income from wildlife was higher; income from livestock was lower; livestock biomass was lower; in conservancies; game fencing was absent; and financial losses from livestock depredation were lower. Efforts to create conditions whereby the costs associated with carnivores are lowest, and which confer financial value to them are likely to be the most effective means of promoting carnivore conservation. Such conditions are achieved where land owners pool land to create conservancies where livestock are replaced with wildlife (or where livestock husbandry is improved) and where wildlife generates a significant proportion of ranch income. Additional measures, such as promoting improved livestock husbandry and educational outreach efforts may also help achieve coexistence with carnivores. Our findings provide insights into conditions more conducive to the persistence of and tolerance towards large carnivores might be increased on private (and even communal) lands in Namibia, elsewhere in southern and East Africa and other parts of the world where

  18. Determinants of persistence and tolerance of carnivores on Namibian ranches: implications for conservation on Southern African private lands.

    PubMed

    Lindsey, Peter Andrew; Havemann, Carl Peter; Lines, Robin; Palazy, Lucille; Price, Aaron Ernest; Retief, Tarryn Anne; Rhebergen, Tiemen; Van der Waal, Cornelis

    2013-01-01

    Changing land use patterns in southern Africa have potential to dramatically alter the prospects for carnivore conservation. Understanding these influences is essential for conservation planning. We interviewed 250 ranchers in Namibia to assess human tolerance towards and the distribution of large carnivores. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), leopards (Panthera pardus) and brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were widely distributed on Namibian farmlands, spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) had a narrower distribution, and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and lions (Panthera leo) are largely limited to areas near source populations. Farmers were most tolerant of leopards and least tolerant of lions, wild dogs and spotted hyaenas. Several factors relating to land use correlated consistently with carnivore-presence and landowner tolerance. Carnivores were more commonly present and/or tolerated where; wildlife diversity and biomass were higher; income from wildlife was higher; income from livestock was lower; livestock biomass was lower; in conservancies; game fencing was absent; and financial losses from livestock depredation were lower. Efforts to create conditions whereby the costs associated with carnivores are lowest, and which confer financial value to them are likely to be the most effective means of promoting carnivore conservation. Such conditions are achieved where land owners pool land to create conservancies where livestock are replaced with wildlife (or where livestock husbandry is improved) and where wildlife generates a significant proportion of ranch income. Additional measures, such as promoting improved livestock husbandry and educational outreach efforts may also help achieve coexistence with carnivores. Our findings provide insights into conditions more conducive to the persistence of and tolerance towards large carnivores might be increased on private (and even communal) lands in Namibia, elsewhere in southern and East Africa and other parts of the world where

  19. Above ground biomass and tree species richness estimation with airborne lidar in tropical Ghana forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vaglio Laurin, Gaia; Puletti, Nicola; Chen, Qi; Corona, Piermaria; Papale, Dario; Valentini, Riccardo

    2016-10-01

    Estimates of forest aboveground biomass are fundamental for carbon monitoring and accounting; delivering information at very high spatial resolution is especially valuable for local management, conservation and selective logging purposes. In tropical areas, hosting large biomass and biodiversity resources which are often threatened by unsustainable anthropogenic pressures, frequent forest resources monitoring is needed. Lidar is a powerful tool to estimate aboveground biomass at fine resolution; however its application in tropical forests has been limited, with high variability in the accuracy of results. Lidar pulses scan the forest vertical profile, and can provide structure information which is also linked to biodiversity. In the last decade the remote sensing of biodiversity has received great attention, but few studies focused on the use of lidar for assessing tree species richness in tropical forests. This research aims at estimating aboveground biomass and tree species richness using discrete return airborne lidar in Ghana forests. We tested an advanced statistical technique, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), which does not require assumptions on data distribution or on the relationships between variables, being suitable for studying ecological variables. We compared the MARS regression results with those obtained by multilinear regression and found that both algorithms were effective, but MARS provided higher accuracy either for biomass (R2 = 0.72) and species richness (R2 = 0.64). We also noted strong correlation between biodiversity and biomass field values. Even if the forest areas under analysis are limited in extent and represent peculiar ecosystems, the preliminary indications produced by our study suggest that instrument such as lidar, specifically useful for pinpointing forest structure, can also be exploited as a support for tree species richness assessment.

  20. Community-weighted mean of leaf traits and divergence of wood traits predict aboveground biomass in secondary subtropical forests.

    PubMed

    Ali, Arshad; Yan, En-Rong; Chang, Scott X; Cheng, Jun-Yang; Liu, Xiang-Yu

    2017-01-01

    Subtropical forests are globally important in providing ecological goods and services, but it is not clear whether functional diversity and composition can predict aboveground biomass in such forests. We hypothesized that high aboveground biomass is associated with high functional divergence (FDvar, i.e., niche complementarity) and community-weighted mean (CWM, i.e., mass ratio; communities dominated by a single plant strategy) of trait values. Structural equation modeling was employed to determine the direct and indirect effects of stand age and the residual effects of CWM and FDvar on aboveground biomass across 31 plots in secondary forests in subtropical China. The CWM model accounted for 78, 20, 6 and 2% of the variation in aboveground biomass, nitrogen concentration in young leaf, plant height and specific leaf area of young leaf, respectively. The FDvar model explained 74, 13, 7 and 0% of the variation in aboveground biomass, plant height, twig wood density and nitrogen concentration in young leaf, respectively. The variation in aboveground biomass, CWM of leaf nitrogen concentration and specific leaf area, and FDvar of plant height, twig wood density and nitrogen concentration in young leaf explained by the joint model was 86, 20, 13, 7, 2 and 0%, respectively. Stand age had a strong positive direct effect but low indirect positive effects on aboveground biomass. Aboveground biomass was negatively related to CWM of nitrogen concentration in young leaf, but positively related to CWM of specific leaf area of young leaf and plant height, and FDvar of plant height, twig wood density and nitrogen concentration in young leaf. Leaf and wood economics spectra are decoupled in regulating the functionality of forests, communities with diverse species but high nitrogen conservative and light acquisitive strategies result in high aboveground biomass, and hence, supporting both the mass ratio and niche complementarity hypotheses in secondary subtropical forests

  1. Dependency of global primary bioenergy crop potentials in 2050 on food systems, yields, biodiversity conservation and political stability.

    PubMed

    Erb, Karl-Heinz; Haberl, Helmut; Plutzar, Christoph

    2012-08-01

    The future bioenergy crop potential depends on (1) changes in the food system (food demand, agricultural technology), (2) political stability and investment security, (3) biodiversity conservation, (4) avoidance of long carbon payback times from deforestation, and (5) energy crop yields. Using a biophysical biomass-balance model, we analyze how these factors affect global primary bioenergy potentials in 2050. The model calculates biomass supply and demand balances for eleven world regions, eleven food categories, seven food crop types and two livestock categories, integrating agricultural forecasts and scenarios with a consistent global land use and NPP database. The TREND scenario results in a global primary bioenergy potential of 77 EJ/yr, alternative assumptions on food-system changes result in a range of 26-141 EJ/yr. Exclusion of areas for biodiversity conservation and inaccessible land in failed states reduces the bioenergy potential by up to 45%. Optimistic assumptions on future energy crop yields increase the potential by up to 48%, while pessimistic assumptions lower the potential by 26%. We conclude that the design of sustainable bioenergy crop production policies needs to resolve difficult trade-offs such as food vs. energy supply, renewable energy vs. biodiversity conservation or yield growth vs. reduction of environmental problems of intensive agriculture.

  2. Dependency of global primary bioenergy crop potentials in 2050 on food systems, yields, biodiversity conservation and political stability

    PubMed Central

    Erb, Karl-Heinz; Haberl, Helmut; Plutzar, Christoph

    2012-01-01

    The future bioenergy crop potential depends on (1) changes in the food system (food demand, agricultural technology), (2) political stability and investment security, (3) biodiversity conservation, (4) avoidance of long carbon payback times from deforestation, and (5) energy crop yields. Using a biophysical biomass-balance model, we analyze how these factors affect global primary bioenergy potentials in 2050. The model calculates biomass supply and demand balances for eleven world regions, eleven food categories, seven food crop types and two livestock categories, integrating agricultural forecasts and scenarios with a consistent global land use and NPP database. The TREND scenario results in a global primary bioenergy potential of 77 EJ/yr, alternative assumptions on food-system changes result in a range of 26–141 EJ/yr. Exclusion of areas for biodiversity conservation and inaccessible land in failed states reduces the bioenergy potential by up to 45%. Optimistic assumptions on future energy crop yields increase the potential by up to 48%, while pessimistic assumptions lower the potential by 26%. We conclude that the design of sustainable bioenergy crop production policies needs to resolve difficult trade-offs such as food vs. energy supply, renewable energy vs. biodiversity conservation or yield growth vs. reduction of environmental problems of intensive agriculture. PMID:23576836

  3. Energy from Biomass.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carioca, J. O. B.; And Others

    1987-01-01

    Discusses how biomass in the form of fuelwood, crop residues, and animal dung can be converted into fuels such as biogas and ethanol to replace or supplement fossil fuels. Argues for future decentralized, integrated biomass energy development. (TW)

  4. 78 FR 35217 - Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; American Lobster Fishery

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-12

    .... 080219213-3470-01] RIN 0648-AT31 Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; American... lobster trap fishery in Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 (Federal nearshore waters in Southern New England; Area 2), and in the Outer Cape Cod Lobster Conservation Management Area (Federal nearshore waters...

  5. One-pot conversion of biomass-derived xylose and furfural into levulinate esters via acid catalysis.

    PubMed

    Hu, Xun; Jiang, Shengjuan; Wu, Liping; Wang, Shuai; Li, Chun-Zhu

    2017-03-07

    Direct conversion of biomass-derived xylose and furfural into levulinic acid, a platform molecule, via acid-catalysis has been accomplished for the first time in dimethoxymethane/methanol. Dimethoxymethane acted as an electrophile to transform furfural into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Methanol suppressed both the polymerisation of the sugars/furans and the Aldol condensation of levulinic acid/ester.

  6. Biodiversity simultaneously enhances the production and stability of community biomass, but the effects are independent.

    PubMed

    Cardinale, Bradley J; Gross, Kevin; Fritschie, Keith; Flombaum, Pedro; Fox, Jeremy W; Rixen, Christian; van Ruijven, Jasper; Reich, Peter B; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Wilsey, Brian J

    2013-08-01

    To predict the ecological consequences of biodiversity loss, researchers have spent much time and effort quantifying how biological variation affects the magnitude and stability of ecological processes that underlie the functioning of ecosystems. Here we add to this work by looking at how biodiversity jointly impacts two aspects of ecosystem functioning at once: (1) the production of biomass at any single point in time (biomass/area or biomass/ volume), and (2) the stability of biomass production through time (the CV of changes in total community biomass through time). While it is often assumed that biodiversity simultaneously enhances both of these aspects of ecosystem functioning, the joint distribution of data describing how species richness regulates productivity and stability has yet to be quantified. Furthermore, analyses have yet to examine how diversity effects on production covary with diversity effects on stability. To overcome these two gaps, we reanalyzed the data from 34 experiments that have manipulated the richness of terrestrial plants or aquatic algae and measured how this aspect of biodiversity affects community biomass at multiple time points. Our reanalysis confirms that biodiversity does indeed simultaneously enhance both the production and stability of biomass in experimental systems, and this is broadly true for terrestrial and aquatic primary producers. However, the strength of diversity effects on biomass production is independent of diversity effects on temporal stability. The independence of effect sizes leads to two important conclusions. First, while it may be generally true that biodiversity enhances both productivity and stability, it is also true that the highest levels of productivity in a diverse community are not associated with the highest levels of stability. Thus, on average, diversity does not maximize the various aspects of ecosystem functioning we might wish to achieve in conservation and management. Second, knowing how

  7. NREL: International Activities - Biomass Resource Assessment

    Science.gov Websites

    Biomass Resource Assessment Map showing annual productivity of marginal lands in APEC economies . Biomass resource assessments quantify the existing or potential biomass material in a given area. Biomass biomass resources could be used to produce power, heat, transportation fuels, and various chemical

  8. Biomass power in transition

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Marshall, D.K.

    1996-12-31

    Electricity production from biomass fuel has been hailed in recent years as an environmentally acceptable energy source that delivers on its promise of economically viable renewable energy. A Wall Street Journal article from three years ago proclaimed wood to be {open_quotes}moving ahead of costly solar panels and wind turbines as the leading renewable energy alternative to air-fouling fossils fuels and scary nuclear plants.{close_quotes} Biomass fuel largely means wood; about 90% of biomass generated electricity comes from burning waste wood, the remainder from agricultural wastes. Biomass power now faces an uncertain future. The maturing of the cogeneration and independent power plantmore » market, restructuring of the electric industry, and technological advances with power equipment firing other fuels have placed biomass power in a competitive disadvantage with other power sources.« less

  9. Is torrefaction of polysaccharides-rich biomass equivalent to carbonization of lignin-rich biomass?

    PubMed

    Bilgic, E; Yaman, S; Haykiri-Acma, H; Kucukbayrak, S

    2016-01-01

    Waste biomass species such as lignin-rich hazelnut shell (HS) and polysaccharides-rich sunflower seed shell (SSS) were subjected to torrefaction at 300°C and carbonization at 600°C under nitrogen. The structural variations in torrefied and carbonized biomasses were compared. Also, the burning characteristics under dry air and pure oxygen (oxy-combustion) conditions were investigated. It was concluded that the effects of carbonization on HS are almost comparable with the effects of torrefaction on SSS in terms of devolatilization and deoxygenation potentials and the increases in carbon content and the heating value. Consequently, it can be proposed that torrefaction does not provide efficient devolatilization from the lignin-rich biomass while it is relatively more efficient for polysaccharides-rich biomass. Heat-induced variations in biomass led to significant changes in the burning characteristics under both burning conditions. That is, low temperature reactivity of biomass reduced considerably and the burning shifted to higher temperatures with very high burning rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 18 CFR 16.18 - Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act. 16.18 Section 16.18 Conservation of Power... Projects Subject to Sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act § 16.18 Annual licenses for projects...

  11. 18 CFR 16.18 - Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act. 16.18 Section 16.18 Conservation of Power... Projects Subject to Sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act § 16.18 Annual licenses for projects...

  12. 18 CFR 16.18 - Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act. 16.18 Section 16.18 Conservation of Power... Projects Subject to Sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act § 16.18 Annual licenses for projects...

  13. 18 CFR 16.18 - Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act. 16.18 Section 16.18 Conservation of Power... Projects Subject to Sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act § 16.18 Annual licenses for projects...

  14. 18 CFR 16.18 - Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Annual licenses for projects subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act. 16.18 Section 16.18 Conservation of Power... Projects Subject to Sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power Act § 16.18 Annual licenses for projects...

  15. Biomass and biomass change in lodgepole pine stands in Alberta

    Treesearch

    Robert A. Monserud; Shongming Huang; Yuqing Yang

    2006-01-01

    We describe methods and results for broad-scale estimation and mapping of forest biomass for the Canadian province of Alberta. Differences over successive decades provided an estimate of biomass change. Over 1500 permanent sample plots (PSP) were analyzed from across the range of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm...

  16. Above-ground biomass and carbon estimates of Shorea robusta and Tectona grandis forests using QuadPOL ALOS PALSAR data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behera, M. D.; Tripathi, P.; Mishra, B.; Kumar, Shashi; Chitale, V. S.; Behera, Soumit K.

    2016-01-01

    Mechanisms to mitigate climate change in tropical countries such as India require information on forest structural components i.e., biomass and carbon for conservation steps to be implemented successfully. The present study focuses on investigating the potential use of a one time, QuadPOL ALOS PALSAR L-band 25 m data to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) using a water cloud model (WCM) in a wildlife sanctuary in India. A significant correlation was obtained between the SAR-derived backscatter coefficient (σ°) and the field measured AGB, with the maximum coefficient of determination for cross-polarized (HV) σ° for Shorea robusta, and the weakest correlation was observed with co-polarized (HH) σ° for Tectona grandis forests. The biomass of S. robusta and that of T. grandis were estimated on the basis of field-measured data at 444.7 ± 170.4 Mg/ha and 451 ± 179.4 Mg/ha respectively. The mean biomass values estimated using the WCM varied between 562 and 660 Mg/ha for S. robusta; between 590 and 710 Mg/ha for T. grandis using various polarized data. Our results highlighted the efficacy of one time, fully polarized PALSAR data for biomass and carbon estimate in a dense forest.

  17. Biomass Research Program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kenney, Kevin; Wright, Christopher; Shelton-Davis,

    INL's mission is to achieve DOE's vision of supplying high-quality raw biomass; preprocessing biomass into advanced bioenergy feedstocks; and delivering bioenergy commodities to biorefineries. You can learn more about research like this at the lab's facebook site http://www.facebook.com/idahonationallaboratory.

  18. Biomass Research Program

    ScienceCinema

    Kenney, Kevin; Wright, Christopher; Shelton-Davis, Colleen

    2017-12-09

    INL's mission is to achieve DOE's vision of supplying high-quality raw biomass; preprocessing biomass into advanced bioenergy feedstocks; and delivering bioenergy commodities to biorefineries. You can learn more about research like this at the lab's facebook site http://www.facebook.com/idahonationallaboratory.

  19. Improving LiDAR Biomass Model Uncertainty through Non-Destructive Allometry and Plot-level 3D Reconstruction with Terrestrial Laser Scanning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stovall, A. E.; Shugart, H. H., Jr.

    2017-12-01

    Future NASA and ESA satellite missions plan to better quantify global carbon through detailed observations of forest structure, but ultimately rely on uncertain ground measurement approaches for calibration and validation. A significant amount of the uncertainty in estimating plot-level biomass can be attributed to inadequate and unrepresentative allometric relationships used to convert plot-level tree measurements to estimates of aboveground biomass. These allometric equations are known to have high errors and biases, particularly in carbon rich forests because they were calibrated with small and often biased samples of destructively harvested trees. To overcome this issue, a non-destructive methodology for estimating tree and plot-level biomass has been proposed through the use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS). We investigated the potential for using TLS as a ground validation approach in LiDAR-based biomass mapping though virtual plot-level tree volume reconstruction and biomass estimation. Plot-level biomass estimates were compared on the Virginia-based Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's SIGEO forest with full 3D reconstruction, TLS allometry, and Jenkins et al. (2003) allometry. On average, full 3D reconstruction ultimately provided the lowest uncertainty estimate of plot-level biomass (9.6%), followed by TLS allometry (16.9%) and the national equations (20.2%). TLS offered modest improvements to the airborne LiDAR empirical models, reducing RMSE from 16.2% to 14%. Our findings suggest TLS plot acquisitions and non-destructive allometry can play a vital role for reducing uncertainty in calibration and validation data for biomass mapping in the upcoming NASA and ESA missions.

  20. 40 CFR Table Mm-2 to Subpart Mm of... - Default Factors for Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Fuels and Biomass MM Table MM-2 to Subpart MM of Part 98 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass Biomass-based fuel and biomass Column A:Density (metric tons/bbl) Column B: Carbon share(% of mass) Column C:Emission factor (metric tons CO2/bbl) Ethanol (100%) 0.1267 52.14 0.2422...

  1. 40 CFR Table Mm-2 to Subpart Mm of... - Default Factors for Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Fuels and Biomass MM Table MM-2 to Subpart MM of Part 98 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass Biomass-based fuel and biomass Column A:Density (metric tons/bbl) Column B: Carbon share(% of mass) Column C:Emission factor (metric tons CO2/bbl) Ethanol (100%) 0.1267 52.14 0.2422...

  2. 40 CFR Table Mm-2 to Subpart Mm of... - Default Factors for Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Fuels and Biomass MM Table MM-2 to Subpart MM of Part 98 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass Biomass-based fuel and biomass Column A:Density (metric tons/bbl) Column B: Carbon share(% of mass) Column C:Emission factor (metric tons CO2/bbl) Ethanol (100%) 0.1267 52.14 0.2422...

  3. 40 CFR Table Mm-2 to Subpart Mm of... - Default Factors for Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... Fuels and Biomass MM Table MM-2 to Subpart MM of Part 98 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Biomass-Based Fuels and Biomass Biomass-based fuel and biomass Column A:Density (metric tons/bbl) Column B: Carbon share(% of mass) Column C:Emission factor (metric tons CO2/bbl) Ethanol (100%) 0.1267 52.14 0.2422...

  4. Uncertainty in the spatial distribution of tropical forest biomass: a comparison of pan-tropical maps.

    PubMed

    Mitchard, Edward Ta; Saatchi, Sassan S; Baccini, Alessandro; Asner, Gregory P; Goetz, Scott J; Harris, Nancy L; Brown, Sandra

    2013-10-26

    Mapping the aboveground biomass of tropical forests is essential both for implementing conservation policy and reducing uncertainties in the global carbon cycle. Two medium resolution (500 m - 1000 m) pantropical maps of vegetation biomass have been recently published, and have been widely used by sub-national and national-level activities in relation to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Both maps use similar input data layers, and are driven by the same spaceborne LiDAR dataset providing systematic forest height and canopy structure estimates, but use different ground datasets for calibration and different spatial modelling methodologies. Here, we compare these two maps to each other, to the FAO's Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) 2010 country-level data, and to a high resolution (100 m) biomass map generated for a portion of the Colombian Amazon. We find substantial differences between the two maps, in particular in central Amazonia, the Congo basin, the south of Papua New Guinea, the Miombo woodlands of Africa, and the dry forests and savannas of South America. There is little consistency in the direction of the difference. However, when the maps are aggregated to the country or biome scale there is greater agreement, with differences cancelling out to a certain extent. When comparing country level biomass stocks, the two maps agree with each other to a much greater extent than to the FRA 2010 estimates. In the Colombian Amazon, both pantropical maps estimate higher biomass than the independent high resolution map, but show a similar spatial distribution of this biomass. Biomass mapping has progressed enormously over the past decade, to the stage where we can produce globally consistent maps of aboveground biomass. We show that there are still large uncertainties in these maps, in particular in areas with little field data. However, when used at a regional scale, different maps appear to converge, suggesting we can provide

  5. Impacts of management practices on bioenergy feedstock yield and economic feasibility on Conservation Reserve Program grasslands

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, Eric K.; Aberle, Ezra; Chen, Chengci

    Perennial grass mixtures planted on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land are a potential source of dedicated bioenergy feedstock. Long-term nitrogen (N) and harvest management are critical factors for maximizing biomass yield while maintaining the longevity of grass stands. A six-year farm-scale study was conducted to understand the impact of weather variability on biomass yield, determine optimal N fertilization and harvest timing management practices for sustainable biomass production, and estimate economic viability at six CRP sites in the United States. Precipitation during the growing season was a critical factor for annual biomass production across all regions, and annual biomass production wasmore » severely reduced when growing season precipitation was below 50% of average. The N rate of 112 kg ha -1 produced the highest biomass yield at each location. Harvest timing resulting in the highest biomass yield was site-specific and was a factor of predominant grass type, seasonal precipitation, and the number of harvests taken per year. The use of N fertilizer for yield enhancement unambiguously increased the cost of biomass regardless of the harvest timing for all six sites. The breakeven price of biomass at the farmgate ranged from 37 dollars to 311 dollars Mg -1 depending on the rate of N application, timing of harvesting, and location when foregone opportunity costs were not considered. Breakeven prices ranged from 69 dollars to 526 dollars Mg -1 when the loss of CRP land rental payments was included as an opportunity cost. Annual cost of the CRP to the federal government could be reduced by over 8% in the states included in this study; however, this would require the biomass price to be much higher than in the case where the landowner receives the CRP land rent. Lastly, this field research demonstrated the importance of long-term, farm-scale research for accurate estimation of biomass feedstock production and economic viability from perennial

  6. Impacts of management practices on bioenergy feedstock yield and economic feasibility on Conservation Reserve Program grasslands

    DOE PAGES

    Anderson, Eric K.; Aberle, Ezra; Chen, Chengci; ...

    2015-12-21

    Perennial grass mixtures planted on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land are a potential source of dedicated bioenergy feedstock. Long-term nitrogen (N) and harvest management are critical factors for maximizing biomass yield while maintaining the longevity of grass stands. A six-year farm-scale study was conducted to understand the impact of weather variability on biomass yield, determine optimal N fertilization and harvest timing management practices for sustainable biomass production, and estimate economic viability at six CRP sites in the United States. Precipitation during the growing season was a critical factor for annual biomass production across all regions, and annual biomass production wasmore » severely reduced when growing season precipitation was below 50% of average. The N rate of 112 kg ha -1 produced the highest biomass yield at each location. Harvest timing resulting in the highest biomass yield was site-specific and was a factor of predominant grass type, seasonal precipitation, and the number of harvests taken per year. The use of N fertilizer for yield enhancement unambiguously increased the cost of biomass regardless of the harvest timing for all six sites. The breakeven price of biomass at the farmgate ranged from 37 dollars to 311 dollars Mg -1 depending on the rate of N application, timing of harvesting, and location when foregone opportunity costs were not considered. Breakeven prices ranged from 69 dollars to 526 dollars Mg -1 when the loss of CRP land rental payments was included as an opportunity cost. Annual cost of the CRP to the federal government could be reduced by over 8% in the states included in this study; however, this would require the biomass price to be much higher than in the case where the landowner receives the CRP land rent. Lastly, this field research demonstrated the importance of long-term, farm-scale research for accurate estimation of biomass feedstock production and economic viability from perennial

  7. 20 CFR 410.585 - Conservation and investment of payments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... SAFETY ACT OF 1969, TITLE IV-BLACK LUNG BENEFITS (1969- ) Payment of Benefits § 410.585 Conservation and... beneficiary) (Social Security No.), a minor, for whom (Name of payee) is representative payee for black lung... whom _________ (Name of payee) is representative payee for black lung benefits. A representative payee...

  8. School Energy Management: An Analysis of Energy Conservation Measures under the Schools and Hospitals Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen (Shirley J.) Associates, Inc., Lake Jackson, TX.

    This report analyzes a 1981 survey of public school districts receiving energy conservation measure (ECM) grants under the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, Title III, Cycle 1. The report contains charts of data, analyses of projects, and sections presenting study design, data treatment, findings, and conclusions. The survey's purpose was…

  9. Biomass Data | Geospatial Data Science | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    Biomass Data Biomass Data These datasets detail the biomass resources available in the United Coverage File Last Updated Metadata Biomethane Zip 72.2 MB 10/30/2014 Biomethane.xml Solid Biomass Zip 69.5

  10. 75 FR 81258 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Notice of Petition for Waiver of Electrolux...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-27

    ... INFORMATION: I. Background and Authority Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (``EPCA'') sets... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [Case No. CW-017] Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Notice of Petition for Waiver of Electrolux Home Products, Inc...

  11. Uncertainties in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Advanced Biomass Feedstock Logistics Supply Chains in Kansas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cafferty, Kara G.; Searcy, Erin M.; Nguyen, Long

    To meet Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) cellulosic biofuel mandates, the United States will require an annual domestic supply of about 242 million Mg of biomass by 2022. To improve the feedstock logistics of lignocellulosic biofuels and access available biomass resources from areas with varying yields, commodity systems have been proposed and designed to deliver on-spec biomass feedstocks at preprocessing “depots”, which densify and stabilize the biomass prior to long-distance transport and delivery to centralized biorefineries. The harvesting, preprocessing, and logistics (HPL) of biomass commodity supply chains thus could introduce spatially variable environmental impacts into the biofuel life cyclemore » due to needing to harvest, move, and preprocess biomass from multiple distances that have variable spatial density. This study examines the uncertainty in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of corn stover logisticsHPL within a bio-ethanol supply chain in the state of Kansas, where sustainable biomass supply varies spatially. Two scenarios were evaluated each having a different number of depots of varying capacity and location within Kansas relative to a central commodity-receiving biorefinery to test GHG emissions uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the spatial uncertainty in the HPL gate-to-gate sequence. The results show that the transport of densified biomass introduces the highest variability and contribution to the carbon footprint of the logistics HPL supply chain (0.2-13 g CO 2e/MJ). Moreover, depending upon the biomass availability and its spatial density and surrounding transportation infrastructure (road and rail), logistics HPL processes can increase the variability in life cycle environmental impacts for lignocellulosic biofuels. Within Kansas, life cycle GHG emissions could range from 24 to 41 g CO 2e/MJ depending upon the location, size and number of preprocessing depots constructed. However, this range can be

  12. Uncertainties in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Advanced Biomass Feedstock Logistics Supply Chains in Kansas

    DOE PAGES

    Cafferty, Kara G.; Searcy, Erin M.; Nguyen, Long; ...

    2014-11-04

    To meet Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) cellulosic biofuel mandates, the United States will require an annual domestic supply of about 242 million Mg of biomass by 2022. To improve the feedstock logistics of lignocellulosic biofuels and access available biomass resources from areas with varying yields, commodity systems have been proposed and designed to deliver on-spec biomass feedstocks at preprocessing “depots”, which densify and stabilize the biomass prior to long-distance transport and delivery to centralized biorefineries. The harvesting, preprocessing, and logistics (HPL) of biomass commodity supply chains thus could introduce spatially variable environmental impacts into the biofuel life cyclemore » due to needing to harvest, move, and preprocess biomass from multiple distances that have variable spatial density. This study examines the uncertainty in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of corn stover logisticsHPL within a bio-ethanol supply chain in the state of Kansas, where sustainable biomass supply varies spatially. Two scenarios were evaluated each having a different number of depots of varying capacity and location within Kansas relative to a central commodity-receiving biorefinery to test GHG emissions uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the spatial uncertainty in the HPL gate-to-gate sequence. The results show that the transport of densified biomass introduces the highest variability and contribution to the carbon footprint of the logistics HPL supply chain (0.2-13 g CO 2e/MJ). Moreover, depending upon the biomass availability and its spatial density and surrounding transportation infrastructure (road and rail), logistics HPL processes can increase the variability in life cycle environmental impacts for lignocellulosic biofuels. Within Kansas, life cycle GHG emissions could range from 24 to 41 g CO 2e/MJ depending upon the location, size and number of preprocessing depots constructed. However, this range can be

  13. Biomass Burning Data and Information

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2015-04-21

    Biomass Burning Data and Information This data set represents ... geographical and temporal distribution of total amount of biomass burned. These data may be used in general circulation models (GCMs) and ... models of the atmosphere. Project Title:  Biomass Burning Discipline:  Tropospheric Composition ...

  14. Costs of Producing Biomass from Riparian Buffer Strips

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Turhollow, A.

    2000-09-01

    Nutrient runoff from poultry litter applied to agricultural fields in the Delmarva Peninsula contributes to high nutrient loadings in Chesapeake Bay. One potential means of ameliorating this problem is the use of riparian buffer strips. Riparian buffer strips intercept overland flows of water, sediments, nutrients, and pollutants; and ground water flows of nutrients and pollutants. Costs are estimated for three biomass systems grown on buffer strips: willow planted at a density of 15,300 trees/ha (6200 trees/acre); poplar planted at a density of 1345 trees/ha (545 trees/acre); and switchgrass. These costs are estimated for five different scenarios: (1) total economic costs,more » where everything is costed [cash costs, noncash costs (e.g., depreciation), land rent, labor]; (2) costs with Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments (which pays 50% of establishment costs and an annual land rent); (3) costs with enhanced CRP payments (which pays 95% of establishment costs and an annual payment of approximately 170% of land rent for trees and 150% of land rent for grasses); (4) costs when buffer strips are required, but harvest of biomass is not required [costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities (e.g., fertilization), harvest, and transport]; and (5) costs when buffer strips are required. and harvest of biomass is required to remove nutrients (costs borne by biomass are for yield enhancing activities and transport). CRP regulations would have to change to allow harvest. Delivered costs of willow, poplar, and switchgrass [including transportation costs of $0.38/GJ ($0.40/million Btu) for switchgrass and $0.57/GJ ($0.60/million Btu) for willow and poplar] at 11.2 dry Mg/ha-year (5 dry tons/acre-year) for the five cost scenarios listed above are [$/GJ ($million BIN)]: (1) 3.30-5.45 (3.45-5.75); (2) 2.30-3.80 (2.45-4.00); (3) 1.70-2.45 (1.80-2.60); (4) l-85-3.80 (1.95-4.05); and (5) 0.80-1.50 (0.85-1.60). At yields of 15.7 to 17.9 GJ/ha-year (7 to 8 dry

  15. 18 CFR 284.263 - Exemption from section 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions. 284.263 Section 284.263 Conservation of... UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES Emergency Natural Gas Sale...

  16. 18 CFR 284.263 - Exemption from section 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions. 284.263 Section 284.263 Conservation of... UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES Emergency Natural Gas Sale...

  17. Provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985. Agricultural Information Bulletin Number 498.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glaser, Lewrene K.

    This report summarizes the 18 titles of the Food Security Act of 1985 and compares it with previous legislation where applicable. It describes the act's provisions for dairy; wool and mohair; wheat; feed grains; cotton; rice; peanuts; soybeans; sugar; other general commodity provisions; trade; conservation; credit; agricultural research,…

  18. An integrated moral obligation model for landowner conservation norms

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pradhananga, Amit K.; Davenport, Mae A.; Fulton, David C.; Maruyama, Geoffrey M.; Current, Dean

    2017-01-01

    This study applies an integrated moral obligation model to examine the role of environmental and cultural values, and beliefs in the activation of landowner conservation norms. Data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of riparian landowners in two Minnesota watersheds: Sand Creek and Vermillion River watersheds. Study findings suggest that collectivistic and biospheric–altruistic values form the bases for the activation of personal norms. Further, beliefs about local responsibility and ability to act influence personal norms to protect water resources. Findings suggest that landowners’ personal norms of water conservation are more likely to be activated by conservation strategies that appeal to biospheric–altruistic and collectivistic values, emphasize adverse consequences of water pollution, highlight water resource protection as a local responsibility, and provide the resources needed to protect water resources.

  19. Conditioning biomass for microbial growth

    DOEpatents

    Bodie, Elizabeth A; England, George

    2015-03-31

    The present invention relates to methods for improving the yield of microbial processes that use lignocellulose biomass as a nutrient source. The methods comprise conditioning a composition comprising lignocellulose biomass with an enzyme composition that comprises a phenol oxidizing enzyme. The conditioned composition can support a higher rate of growth of microorganisms in a process. In one embodiment, a laccase composition is used to condition lignocellulose biomass derived from non-woody plants, such as corn and sugar cane. The invention also encompasses methods for culturing microorganisms that are sensitive to inhibitory compounds in lignocellulose biomass. The invention further provides methods of making a product by culturing the production microorganisms in conditioned lignocellulose biomass.

  20. Linking phenology and biomass productivity in South Dakota mixed-grass prairie

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rigge, Matthew; Smart, Alexander; Wylie, Bruce; Gilmanov, Tagir; Johnson, Patricia

    2013-01-01

    Assessing the health of rangeland ecosystems based solely on annual biomass production does not fully describe plant community condition; the phenology of production can provide inferences on species composition, successional stage, and grazing impacts. We evaluate the productivity and phenology of western South Dakota mixed-grass prairie using 2000 to 2008 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite imagery at 250 m spatial resolution. Growing season NDVI images were integrated weekly to produce time-integrated NDVI (TIN), a proxy of total annual biomass production, and integrated seasonally to represent annual production by cool (C3) and warm (C4) season species. Additionally, a variety of phenological indicators including cool season percentage of TIN were derived from the seasonal profiles of NDVI. Cool season percentage and TIN were combined to generate vegetation classes, which served as proxies of plant community condition. TIN decreased with precipitation from east to west across the study area. Alternatively, cool season percentage increased from east to west, following patterns related to the reliability (interannual coefficient of variation [CV]) and quantity of mid-summer precipitation. Cool season TIN averaged 76.8% of total. Seasonal accumulation of TIN corresponded closely (R2 > 0.90) to that of gross photosynthesis data from a carbon flux tower. Field-collected biomass and community composition data were strongly related to the TIN and cool season percentage products. The patterns of vegetation classes were responsive to topographic, edaphic, and land management influences on plant communities. Accurate maps of biomass production, cool/warm season composition, and vegetation classes can improve the efficiency of land management by adjusting stocking rates and season of use to maximize rangeland productivity and achieve conservation objectives. Further, our results clarify the spatial and

  1. Conservation of deep pelagic biodiversity.

    PubMed

    Robison, Bruce H

    2009-08-01

    The deep ocean is home to the largest ecosystems on our planet. This vast realm contains what may be the greatest number of animal species, the greatest biomass, and the greatest number of individual organisms in the living world. Humans have explored the deep ocean for about 150 years, and most of what is known is based on studies of the deep seafloor. In contrast, the water column above the deep seabed comprises more than 90% of the living space, yet less than 1% of this biome has been explored. The deep pelagic biota is the largest and least-known major faunal group on Earth despite its obvious importance at the global scale. Pelagic species represent an incomparable reservoir of biodiversity. Although we have yet to discover and describe the majority of these species, the threats to their continued existence are numerous and growing. Conserving deep pelagic biodiversity is a problem of global proportions that has never been addressed comprehensively. The potential effects of these threats include the extensive restructuring of entire ecosystems, changes in the geographical ranges of many species, large-scale elimination of taxa, and a decline in biodiversity at all scales. This review provides an initial framework of threat assessment for confronting the challenge of conserving deep pelagic biodiversity; and it outlines the need for baseline surveys and protected areas as preliminary policy goals.

  2. 76 FR 14427 - Revision to Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Clean Air Act, Comprehensive...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Revision to Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Clean Air Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Published on March 10, 2011 The notice previously published on March 10, 2011 is...

  3. Predators, Prey and Habitat Structure: Can Key Conservation Areas and Early Signs of Population Collapse Be Detected in Neotropical Forests?

    PubMed Central

    de Thoisy, Benoit; Fayad, Ibrahim; Clément, Luc; Barrioz, Sébastien; Poirier, Eddy; Gond, Valéry

    2016-01-01

    Tropical forests with a low human population and absence of large-scale deforestation provide unique opportunities to study successful conservation strategies, which should be based on adequate monitoring tools. This study explored the conservation status of a large predator, the jaguar, considered an indicator of the maintenance of how well ecological processes are maintained. We implemented an original integrative approach, exploring successive ecosystem status proxies, from habitats and responses to threats of predators and their prey, to canopy structure and forest biomass. Niche modeling allowed identification of more suitable habitats, significantly related to canopy height and forest biomass. Capture/recapture methods showed that jaguar density was higher in habitats identified as more suitable by the niche model. Surveys of ungulates, large rodents and birds also showed higher density where jaguars were more abundant. Although jaguar density does not allow early detection of overall vertebrate community collapse, a decrease in the abundance of large terrestrial birds was noted as good first evidence of disturbance. The most promising tool comes from easily acquired LiDAR data and radar images: a decrease in canopy roughness was closely associated with the disturbance of forests and associated decreasing vertebrate biomass. This mixed approach, focusing on an apex predator, ecological modeling and remote-sensing information, not only helps detect early population declines in large mammals, but is also useful to discuss the relevance of large predators as indicators and the efficiency of conservation measures. It can also be easily extrapolated and adapted in a timely manner, since important open-source data are increasingly available and relevant for large-scale and real-time monitoring of biodiversity. PMID:27828993

  4. Predators, Prey and Habitat Structure: Can Key Conservation Areas and Early Signs of Population Collapse Be Detected in Neotropical Forests?

    PubMed

    de Thoisy, Benoit; Fayad, Ibrahim; Clément, Luc; Barrioz, Sébastien; Poirier, Eddy; Gond, Valéry

    2016-01-01

    Tropical forests with a low human population and absence of large-scale deforestation provide unique opportunities to study successful conservation strategies, which should be based on adequate monitoring tools. This study explored the conservation status of a large predator, the jaguar, considered an indicator of the maintenance of how well ecological processes are maintained. We implemented an original integrative approach, exploring successive ecosystem status proxies, from habitats and responses to threats of predators and their prey, to canopy structure and forest biomass. Niche modeling allowed identification of more suitable habitats, significantly related to canopy height and forest biomass. Capture/recapture methods showed that jaguar density was higher in habitats identified as more suitable by the niche model. Surveys of ungulates, large rodents and birds also showed higher density where jaguars were more abundant. Although jaguar density does not allow early detection of overall vertebrate community collapse, a decrease in the abundance of large terrestrial birds was noted as good first evidence of disturbance. The most promising tool comes from easily acquired LiDAR data and radar images: a decrease in canopy roughness was closely associated with the disturbance of forests and associated decreasing vertebrate biomass. This mixed approach, focusing on an apex predator, ecological modeling and remote-sensing information, not only helps detect early population declines in large mammals, but is also useful to discuss the relevance of large predators as indicators and the efficiency of conservation measures. It can also be easily extrapolated and adapted in a timely manner, since important open-source data are increasingly available and relevant for large-scale and real-time monitoring of biodiversity.

  5. Effects of poly-γ-glutamic acid biopreparation (PGAB) on nitrogen conservation in the coastal saline soil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Lihua; Xu, Xianghong; Zhang, Huan; Han, Rui; Cheng, Yao; Tan, Xueyi; Chen, Xuanyu

    2017-04-01

    Water leaching is the major method to decrease soil salinity of the coastal saline soil. Conservation of soil nutrition in the soil ameliorating process is helpful to maintain soil fertility and prevent environment pollution. In the experiment, glutamic acid and poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA) producing bacteria were isolated for manufacturing the PGA biopreparation (PGAB), and the effect of PGAB on the soil nitrogen (N) conservation was assayed. The glutamic acid and PGA producing bacteria were identified as Brevibacterium flavum and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. After soil leached with water for 90 days, compared to control treatment, salt concentration of 0-30cm soil with PGAB treatment was lowered by 39.93%, however the total N loss was decreased by 65.37%. Compared to control, the microbial biomass N increased by 1.19 times at 0-30 cm soil with PGAB treatment. The populations of soil total bacteria, fungi, actinomyces, nitrogen fixing bacteria, ammonifying bacteria, nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria and biomass of soil algae were significantly increased in PGAB treatment, while anaerobic bacteria decreased (P<0.05). In addition, the percentage of soil aggregates with diameter > 0.25 mm and 0.02 mm < diameter <0.25 mm were increased by 2.93 times and 26.79% respectively in PGAB treatment. The soil erosion-resistance coefficient of PGAB treatment increased by 50%. All these suggested that the PGAB conserved the soil nitrogen effectively in the process of soil water leaching and improved the coastal saline soil quality.

  6. Integrating conservation genetic considerations into conservation planning: a case study of bull trout in the Lake Pend Oreille-lower Clark Fork River system

    Treesearch

    John Epifanio; Gordon Haas; Karen Pratt; Bruce Rieman; Paul Spruell; Craig Stockwell; Fred Utter; William Young

    2003-01-01

    Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a species of conservation concern-listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act-throughout its native range in the western United States. The authors were assembled by the Clark Fork River Aquatic Implementation Team, composed of biologists representing Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP); Idaho Department...

  7. 'Underutilised' agricultural land: its definitions, potential use for future biomass production and its environmental implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyake, Saori; Bargiel, Damian

    2017-04-01

    scenarios with low-impact crops and production system must be designed for future biomass production taking into consideration climate, land use, local biophysical conditions and relevant policies (e.g. conservation) within a regional/ landscape planning framework.

  8. THE INTEGRATION OF THE 241-Z BUILDING DECONTAMINATION & DECOMMISSIONING (D&D) UNDER COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE COMPENSATION & LIABILITY ACT (CERCLA) WITH RESOURCE CONSERVATION & RECOVERY ACT (RCRA) CLOSURE AT THE PLUTONIUM FINISHING PLANT (PFP)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    HOPKINS, A.M.

    2007-02-20

    The 241-Z treatment and storage tanks, a hazardous waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) unit permitted pursuant to the ''Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976'' (RCRA) and Washington State ''Hazardous Waste Management Act, RCW 70.105'', have been deactivated and are being actively decommissioned. The 241-Z TSD unit managed non-listed radioactive contaminated waste water, containing trace RCRA characteristic constituents. The 241-Z TSD unit consists of below grade tanks (D-4, D-5, D-7, D-8, and an overflow tank) located in a concrete containment vault, sample glovebox GB-2-241-ZA, and associated ancillary piping and equipment. The tank system is located beneath the 241-Z building.more » The 241-Z building is not a portion of the TSD unit. The sample glovebox is housed in the above-grade building. Waste managed at the TSD unit was received via underground mining from Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) sources. Tank D-6, located in the D-6 vault cell, is a past-practice tank that was taken out of service in 1972 and has never operated as a portion of the RCRA TSD unit. CERCLA actions address Tank D-6, its containment vault cell, and soil beneath the cell that was potentially contaminated during past-practice operations and any other potential past-practice contamination identified during 241-Z closure, while outside the scope of the ''Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Closure Plant, 241-Z Treatment and Storage Tanks''.« less

  9. Incorporating the effects of socioeconomic uncertainty into priority setting for conservation investment.

    PubMed

    McBride, Marissa F; Wilson, Kerrie A; Bode, Michael; Possingham, Hugh P

    2007-12-01

    Uncertainty in the implementation and outcomes of conservation actions that is not accounted for leaves conservation plans vulnerable to potential changes in future conditions. We used a decision-theoretic approach to investigate the effects of two types of investment uncertainty on the optimal allocation of global conservation resources for land acquisition in the Mediterranean Basin. We considered uncertainty about (1) whether investment will continue and (2) whether the acquired biodiversity assets are secure, which we termed transaction uncertainty and performance uncertainty, respectively. We also developed and tested the robustness of different rules of thumb for guiding the allocation of conservation resources when these sources of uncertainty exist. In the presence of uncertainty in future investment ability (transaction uncertainty), the optimal strategy was opportunistic, meaning the investment priority should be to act where uncertainty is highest while investment remains possible. When there was a probability that investments would fail (performance uncertainty), the optimal solution became a complex trade-off between the immediate biodiversity benefits of acting in a region and the perceived longevity of the investment. In general, regions were prioritized for investment when they had the greatest performance certainty, even if an alternative region was highly threatened or had higher biodiversity value. The improved performance of rules of thumb when accounting for uncertainty highlights the importance of explicitly incorporating sources of investment uncertainty and evaluating potential conservation investments in the context of their likely long-term success.

  10. Biomass Energy Data Book: Edition 1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wright, Lynn L; Boundy, Robert Gary; Perlack, Robert D

    The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of the Biomass Program and the Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis in the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program. Designed for use as a desk-top reference, the book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use. This is the first edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book and is currently only available online in electronic format.more » There are five main sections to this book. The first section is an introduction which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Following the introduction to biomass is a section on biofuels which covers ethanol, biodiesel and BioOil. The biopower section focuses on the use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. The fourth section is about the developing area of biorefineries, and the fifth section covers feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also three appendices which include measures of conversions, biomass characteristics and assumptions for selected tables and figures. A glossary of terms and a list of acronyms are also included for the reader's convenience.« less

  11. Biomass Energy Data Book: Edition 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boundy, Robert Gary; Davis, Stacy Cagle

    The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Biomass Program in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program of the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed for use as a convenient reference, the book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use, including discussions on sustainability. This is the third edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book which is only available online in electronic format. There are five main sectionsmore » to this book. The first section is an introduction which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Following the introduction to biomass, is a section on biofuels which covers ethanol, biodiesel and bio-oil. The biopower section focuses on the use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. The fourth section is on the developing area of biorefineries, and the fifth section covers feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also four appendices which include frequently needed conversion factors, a table of selected biomass feedstock characteristics, and discussions on sustainability. A glossary of terms and a list of acronyms are also included for the reader's convenience.« less

  12. Biomass Energy Data Book: Edition 4

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boundy, Robert Gary; Diegel, Susan W; Wright, Lynn L

    The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Biomass Program in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program of the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed for use as a convenient reference, the book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use, including discussions on sustainability. This is the fourth edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book which is only available online in electronic format. There are five main sectionsmore » to this book. The first section is an introduction which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Following the introduction to biomass, is a section on biofuels which covers ethanol, biodiesel and bio-oil. The biopower section focuses on the use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. The fourth section is on the developing area of biorefineries, and the fifth section covers feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also two appendices which include frequently needed conversion factors, a table of selected biomass feedstock characteristics, and discussions on sustainability. A glossary of terms and a list of acronyms are also included for the reader's convenience.« less

  13. Conserved water molecules in bacterial serine hydroxymethyltransferases.

    PubMed

    Milano, Teresa; Di Salvo, Martino Luigi; Angelaccio, Sebastiana; Pascarella, Stefano

    2015-10-01

    Water molecules occurring in the interior of protein structures often are endowed with key structural and functional roles. We report the results of a systematic analysis of conserved water molecules in bacterial serine hydroxymethyltransferases (SHMTs). SHMTs are an important group of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes that catalyze the reversible conversion of l-serine and tetrahydropteroylglutamate to glycine and 5,10-methylenetetrahydropteroylglutamate. The approach utilized in this study relies on two programs, ProACT2 and WatCH. The first software is able to categorize water molecules in a protein crystallographic structure as buried, positioned in clefts or at the surface. The other program finds, in a set of superposed homologous proteins, water molecules that occur approximately in equivalent position in each of the considered structures. These groups of molecules are referred to as 'clusters' and represent structurally conserved water molecules. Several conserved clusters of buried or cleft water molecules were found in the set of 11 bacterial SHMTs we took into account for this work. The majority of these clusters were not described previously. Possible structural and functional roles for the conserved water molecules are envisaged. This work provides a map of the conserved water molecules helpful for deciphering SHMT mechanism and for rational design of molecular engineering experiments. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Education Highlights: Forest Biomass

    ScienceCinema

    Barone, Rachel; Canter, Christina

    2018-06-25

    Argonne intern Rachel Barone from Ithaca College worked with Argonne mentor Christina Canter in studying forest biomass. This research will help scientists develop large scale use of biofuels from forest biomass.

  15. Education Highlights: Forest Biomass

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barone, Rachel; Canter, Christina

    2016-01-27

    Argonne intern Rachel Barone from Ithaca College worked with Argonne mentor Christina Canter in studying forest biomass. This research will help scientists develop large scale use of biofuels from forest biomass.

  16. A comprehensive review of Farm Bill contributions to wildlife conservation, 1985-2000

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Heard, P.L.; Allen, A.W.; Best, Louis B.; Brady, S.J.; Burger, W.; Esser, A.J.; Hackett, E.; Johnson, D.H.; Pederson, R.L.; Reynolds, R.E.; Rewa, C.; Ryan, M.R.; Molleur, R.T.; Buck, P.

    2000-01-01

    A comprehensive review of the scientific literature was undertaken to determine wildlife responses to programs established under the conservation title of the 1985 Food Security Act as amended in 1990 and 1996 (Farm Bill). Literature was annotated and summaries of wildlife responses were provided for the Conservation Reserve Program CRP, Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The report recognized that Farm Bill conservation programs were created to serve many purposes. Foremost among these purposes was to enable Americaa??s farmers and ranchers to be better stewards of their lands. In general, wildlife responded positively to improvements in land stewardship, particularly when the needs of wildlife were considered in conservation planning and implementation. Whereas authors acknowledged that their understanding of wildlife responses to Farm Bill conservation programs was still incomplete, they concluded that these programs were making significant contributions toward conservation of the nationa??s fish and wildlife resources.

  17. The impact of landsat satellite monitoring on conservation biology.

    PubMed

    Leimgruber, Peter; Christen, Catherine A; Laborderie, Alison

    2005-07-01

    Landsat 7's recent malfunctioning will result in significant gaps in long-term satellite monitoring of Earth, affecting not only the research of the Earth science community but also conservation users of these data. To determine whether or how important Landsat monitoring is for conservation and natural resource management, we reviewed the Landsat program's history with special emphasis on the development of user groups. We also conducted a bibliographic search to determine the extent to which conservation research has been based on Landsat data. Conservation biologists were not an early user group of Landsat data because a) biologists lacked technical capacity--computers and software--to analyze these data; b) Landsat's 1980s commercialization rendered images too costly for biologists' budgets; and c) the broad-scale disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology did not develop until the mid-to-late 1980s. All these conditions had changed by the 1990s and Landsat imagery became an important tool for conservation biology. Satellite monitoring and Landsat continuity are mandated by the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This legislation leaves open commercial options. However, past experiments with commercial operations were neither viable nor economical, and severely reduced the quality of monitoring, archiving and data access for academia and the public. Future satellite monitoring programs are essential for conservation and natural resource management, must provide continuity with Landsat, and should be government operated.

  18. Balance between climate change mitigation benefits and land use impacts of bioenergy: conservation implications for European birds.

    PubMed

    Meller, Laura; Thuiller, Wilfried; Pironon, Samuel; Barbet-Massin, Morgane; Hof, Andries; Cabeza, Mar

    2015-07-01

    Both climate change and habitat modification exert serious pressure on biodiversity. Although climate change mitigation has been identified as an important strategy for biodiversity conservation, bioenergy remains a controversial mitigation action due to its potential negative ecological and socio-economic impacts which arise through habitat modification by land-use change. While the debate continues, the separate or simultaneous impacts of both climate change and bioenergy on biodiversity have not yet been compared. We assess projected range shifts of 156 European bird species by 2050 under two alternative climate change trajectories: a baseline scenario, where the global mean temperature increases by 4°C by the end of the century, and a 2 degrees scenario, where global concerted effort limits the temperature increase to below 2°C. For the latter scenario, we also quantify the pressure exerted by increased cultivation of energy biomass as modelled by IMAGE2.4, an integrated land-use model. The global bioenergy use in this scenario is in the lower end of the range of previously estimated sustainable potential. Under the assumptions of these scenarios, we find that the magnitude of range shifts due to climate change is far greater than the impact of land conversion to woody bioenergy plantations within the European Union, and that mitigation of climate change reduces the exposure experienced by species. However, we identified potential for local conservation conflict between priority areas for conservation and bioenergy production. These conflicts must be addressed by strict bioenergy sustainability criteria that acknowledge biodiversity conservation needs beyond existing protected areas and apply also to biomass imported from outside the European Union.

  19. Balance between climate change mitigation benefits and land use impacts of bioenergy: conservation implications for European birds

    PubMed Central

    Meller, Laura; Thuiller, Wilfried; Pironon, Samuel; Barbet-Massin, Morgane; Hof, Andries; Cabeza, Mar

    2015-01-01

    Both climate change and habitat modification exert serious pressure on biodiversity. Although climate change mitigation has been identified as an important strategy for biodiversity conservation, bioenergy remains a controversial mitigation action due to its potential negative ecological and socio-economic impacts which arise through habitat modification by land-use change. While the debate continues, the separate or simultaneous impacts of both climate change and bioenergy on biodiversity have not yet been compared. We assess projected range shifts of 156 European bird species by 2050 under two alternative climate change trajectories: a baseline scenario, where the global mean temperature increases by 4°C by the end of the century, and a 2 degrees scenario, where global concerted effort limits the temperature increase to below 2°C. For the latter scenario, we also quantify the pressure exerted by increased cultivation of energy biomass as modelled by IMAGE2.4, an integrated land-use model. The global bioenergy use in this scenario is in the lower end of the range of previously estimated sustainable potential. Under the assumptions of these scenarios, we find that the magnitude of range shifts due to climate change is far greater than the impact of land conversion to woody bioenergy plantations within the European Union, and that mitigation of climate change reduces the exposure experienced by species. However, we identified potential for local conservation conflict between priority areas for conservation and bioenergy production. These conflicts must be addressed by strict bioenergy sustainability criteria that acknowledge biodiversity conservation needs beyond existing protected areas and apply also to biomass imported from outside the European Union. PMID:26681982

  20. Determining decision thresholds and evaluating indicators when conservation status is measured as a continuum.

    PubMed

    Connors, B M; Cooper, A B

    2014-12-01

    Categorization of the status of populations, species, and ecosystems underpins most conservation activities. Status is often based on how a system's current indicator value (e.g., change in abundance) relates to some threshold of conservation concern. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves can be used to quantify the statistical reliability of indicators of conservation status and evaluate trade-offs between correct (true positive) and incorrect (false positive) classifications across a range of decision thresholds. However, ROC curves assume a discrete, binary relationship between an indicator and the conservation status it is meant to track, which is a simplification of the more realistic continuum of conservation status, and may limit the applicability of ROC curves in conservation science. We describe a modified ROC curve that treats conservation status as a continuum rather than a discrete state. We explored the influence of this continuum and typical sources of variation in abundance that can lead to classification errors (i.e., random variation and measurement error) on the true and false positive rates corresponding to varying decision thresholds and the reliability of change in abundance as an indicator of conservation status, respectively. We applied our modified ROC approach to an indicator of endangerment in Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) (i.e., percent decline in geometric mean abundance) and an indicator of marine ecosystem structure and function (i.e., detritivore biomass). Failure to treat conservation status as a continuum when choosing thresholds for indicators resulted in the misidentification of trade-offs between true and false positive rates and the overestimation of an indicator's reliability. We argue for treating conservation status as a continuum when ROC curves are used to evaluate decision thresholds in indicators for the assessment of conservation status. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  1. Biomass Energy Data Book: Edition 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wright, Lynn L; Boundy, Robert Gary; Badger, Philip C

    The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Biomass Program in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program of the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed for use as a convenient reference, the book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end use, including discussions on sustainability. This is the second edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book which is only available online in electronic format. There are five main sectionsmore » to this book. The first section is an introduction which provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Following the introduction to biomass, is a section on biofuels which covers ethanol, biodiesel and bio-oil. The biopower section focuses on the use of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. The fourth section is on the developing area of biorefineries, and the fifth section covers feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry. The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also four appendices which include frequently needed conversion factors, a table of selected biomass feedstock characteristics, assumptions for selected tables and figures, and discussions on sustainability. A glossary of terms and a list of acronyms are also included for the reader's convenience.« less

  2. Biomass conversion processes for energy and fuels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sofer, S. S.; Zaborsky, O. R.

    The book treats biomass sources, promising processes for the conversion of biomass into energy and fuels, and the technical and economic considerations in biomass conversion. Sources of biomass examined include crop residues and municipal, animal and industrial wastes, agricultural and forestry residues, aquatic biomass, marine biomass and silvicultural energy farms. Processes for biomass energy and fuel conversion by direct combustion (the Andco-Torrax system), thermochemical conversion (flash pyrolysis, carboxylolysis, pyrolysis, Purox process, gasification and syngas recycling) and biochemical conversion (anaerobic digestion, methanogenesis and ethanol fermentation) are discussed, and mass and energy balances are presented for each system.

  3. Forest biomass density across large climate gradients in northern South America is related to water availability but not with temperature

    PubMed Central

    Cayuela, Luis; González-Caro, Sebastián; Aldana, Ana M.; Stevenson, Pablo R.; Phillips, Oliver; Cogollo, Álvaro; Peñuela, Maria C.; von Hildebrand, Patricio; Jiménez, Eliana; Melo, Omar; Londoño-Vega, Ana Catalina; Mendoza, Irina; Velásquez, Oswaldo; Fernández, Fernando; Serna, Marcela; Velázquez-Rua, Cesar; Benítez, Doris; Rey-Benayas, José M.

    2017-01-01

    Understanding and predicting the likely response of ecosystems to climate change are crucial challenges for ecology and for conservation biology. Nowhere is this challenge greater than in the tropics as these forests store more than half the total atmospheric carbon stock in their biomass. Biomass is determined by the balance between biomass inputs (i.e., growth) and outputs (mortality). We can expect therefore that conditions that favor high growth rates, such as abundant water supply, warmth, and nutrient-rich soils will tend to correlate with high biomass stocks. Our main objective is to describe the patterns of above ground biomass (AGB) stocks across major tropical forests across climatic gradients in Northwestern South America. We gathered data from 200 plots across the region, at elevations ranging between 0 to 3400 m. We estimated AGB based on allometric equations and values for stem density, basal area, and wood density weighted by basal area at the plot-level. We used two groups of climatic variables, namely mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration as surrogates of environmental energy, and annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality, and water availability as surrogates of water availability. We found that AGB is more closely related to water availability variables than to energy variables. In northwest South America, water availability influences carbon stocks principally by determining stand structure, i.e. basal area. When water deficits increase in tropical forests we can expect negative impact on biomass and hence carbon storage. PMID:28301482

  4. Forest biomass density across large climate gradients in northern South America is related to water availability but not with temperature.

    PubMed

    Álvarez-Dávila, Esteban; Cayuela, Luis; González-Caro, Sebastián; Aldana, Ana M; Stevenson, Pablo R; Phillips, Oliver; Cogollo, Álvaro; Peñuela, Maria C; von Hildebrand, Patricio; Jiménez, Eliana; Melo, Omar; Londoño-Vega, Ana Catalina; Mendoza, Irina; Velásquez, Oswaldo; Fernández, Fernando; Serna, Marcela; Velázquez-Rua, Cesar; Benítez, Doris; Rey-Benayas, José M

    2017-01-01

    Understanding and predicting the likely response of ecosystems to climate change are crucial challenges for ecology and for conservation biology. Nowhere is this challenge greater than in the tropics as these forests store more than half the total atmospheric carbon stock in their biomass. Biomass is determined by the balance between biomass inputs (i.e., growth) and outputs (mortality). We can expect therefore that conditions that favor high growth rates, such as abundant water supply, warmth, and nutrient-rich soils will tend to correlate with high biomass stocks. Our main objective is to describe the patterns of above ground biomass (AGB) stocks across major tropical forests across climatic gradients in Northwestern South America. We gathered data from 200 plots across the region, at elevations ranging between 0 to 3400 m. We estimated AGB based on allometric equations and values for stem density, basal area, and wood density weighted by basal area at the plot-level. We used two groups of climatic variables, namely mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration as surrogates of environmental energy, and annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality, and water availability as surrogates of water availability. We found that AGB is more closely related to water availability variables than to energy variables. In northwest South America, water availability influences carbon stocks principally by determining stand structure, i.e. basal area. When water deficits increase in tropical forests we can expect negative impact on biomass and hence carbon storage.

  5. Reburn system with feedlot biomass

    DOEpatents

    Annamalai, Kalyan; Sweeten, John M.

    2005-12-13

    The present invention pertains to the use of feedlot biomass as reburn fuel matter to reduce NO.sub.x emissions. According to one embodiment of the invention, feedlot biomass is used as the reburn fuel to reduce NO.sub.x. The invention also includes burners and boiler in which feedlot biomass serves a reburn fuel.

  6. The migratory bird treaty and a century of waterfowl conservation

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Anderson, Michael G.; Alisauskas, Ray T.; Batt, Bruce D. J.; Blohm, Robert J.; Higgins, Kenneth F.; Perry, Matthew; Ringelman, James K.; Sedinger, James S.; Serie, Jerome R.; Sharp, David E.; Trauger, David L.; Williams, Christopher K.

    2018-01-01

    In the final decades of the nineteenth century, concern was building about the status of migratory bird populations in North America. In this literature review, we describe how that concern led to a landmark conservation agreement in 1916, between the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) to conserve migratory birds shared by Canada and the United States. Drawing on published literature and our personal experience, we describe how subsequent enabling acts in both countries gave rise to efforts to better estimate population sizes and distributions, assess harvest rates and demographic impacts, design and fund landscape-level habitat conservation initiatives, and organize necessary political and regulatory processes. Executing these steps required large-scale thinking, unprecedented regional and international cooperation, ingenuity, and a commitment to scientific rigor and adaptive management. We applaud the conservation efforts begun 100 years ago with the Migratory Bird Treaty Convention. The agreement helped build the field of wildlife ecology and conservation in the twentieth century but only partially prepares us for the ecological and social challenges ahead. 

  7. Biomass for Electricity Generation

    EIA Publications

    2002-01-01

    This paper examines issues affecting the uses of biomass for electricity generation. The methodology used in the National Energy Modeling System to account for various types of biomass is discussed, and the underlying assumptions are explained.

  8. 75 FR 30421 - Central Utah Project Completion Act

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-01

    ... facilities of the Wasatch County Water Efficiency Project (WCWEP), Bonneville Unit, Central Utah Project (CUP... conservation and wise use of water, all of which are objectives of the CUP Completion Act. The proposed action would allow recycled water to be conveyed and used in WCWEP facilities and through exchange become CUP...

  9. Investigating combustion as a method of processing inedible biomass produced in NASA's biomass production chamber

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dreschel, T. W.; Wheeler, R. M.; Hinkle, C. R.; Sager, J. C.; Knott, W. M.

    1991-01-01

    The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project at the John F. Kennedy Space Center is a research program to integrate and evaluate biological processes to provide air, water, and food for humans in closed environments for space habitation. This project focuses on the use of conventional crop plants as grown in the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) for the production and recycling of oxygen, food, and water. The inedible portion of these crops has the potential to be converted to edible biomass or directly to the elemental constituents for direct recycling. Converting inedible biomass directly, by combustion, to carbon dioxide, water, and minerals could provide a baseline for estimating partitioning of the mass balance during recycling in a CELSS. Converting the inedible biomass to carbon dioxide and water requires the same amount of oxygen that was produced by photosynthesis. The oxygen produced during crop growth is just equal to the oxygen required to oxidize all the biomass produced during growth. Thus, the amount of oxygen produced that is available for human consumption is in proportion to the amount of biomass actually utilized by humans. The remaining oxygen must be available to oxidize the rest of the biomass back to carbon dioxide and water or the system will not be a regenerative one.

  10. Conservation and Management for Fish-eating Birds and Endangered Salmon

    Treesearch

    D. D. Roby; K. Collis; D. E. Lyons

    2005-01-01

    A conflict involving piscivorous birds and salmonids in the Pacific Northwest pits the conservation of protected migratory waterbirds against the restoration of Columbia Basin salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) that are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The Columbia River Avian Predation Project is a cooperative, collaborative research project...

  11. 75 FR 24873 - Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Repowering Assistance Payments to Eligible Biorefineries

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-06

    ... eligible biorefineries to encourage the use of renewable biomass as a replacement fuel source for fossil... agreements. All of the forms, information, certifications, and agreements required to apply for this program..., Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 110-246), to replace the use of fossil fuels...

  12. [Comparison of three stand-level biomass estimation methods].

    PubMed

    Dong, Li Hu; Li, Feng Ri

    2016-12-01

    At present, the forest biomass methods of regional scale attract most of attention of the researchers, and developing the stand-level biomass model is popular. Based on the forestry inventory data of larch plantation (Larix olgensis) in Jilin Province, we used non-linear seemly unrelated regression (NSUR) to estimate the parameters in two additive system of stand-level biomass equations, i.e., stand-level biomass equations including the stand variables and stand biomass equations including the biomass expansion factor (i.e., Model system 1 and Model system 2), listed the constant biomass expansion factor for larch plantation and compared the prediction accuracy of three stand-level biomass estimation methods. The results indicated that for two additive system of biomass equations, the adjusted coefficient of determination (R a 2 ) of the total and stem equations was more than 0.95, the root mean squared error (RMSE), the mean prediction error (MPE) and the mean absolute error (MAE) were smaller. The branch and foliage biomass equations were worse than total and stem biomass equations, and the adjusted coefficient of determination (R a 2 ) was less than 0.95. The prediction accuracy of a constant biomass expansion factor was relatively lower than the prediction accuracy of Model system 1 and Model system 2. Overall, although stand-level biomass equation including the biomass expansion factor belonged to the volume-derived biomass estimation method, and was different from the stand biomass equations including stand variables in essence, but the obtained prediction accuracy of the two methods was similar. The constant biomass expansion factor had the lower prediction accuracy, and was inappropriate. In addition, in order to make the model parameter estimation more effective, the established stand-level biomass equations should consider the additivity in a system of all tree component biomass and total biomass equations.

  13. 18 CFR 2.22 - Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act. 2.22 Section 2.22 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND...

  14. 18 CFR 2.22 - Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act. 2.22 Section 2.22 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND...

  15. 18 CFR 2.22 - Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act. 2.22 Section 2.22 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND...

  16. 18 CFR 2.22 - Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Pricing policy for transmission services provided under the Federal Power Act. 2.22 Section 2.22 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GENERAL RULES GENERAL POLICY AND...

  17. The role of corridors in conservation: Solution or bandwagon?

    PubMed

    Hobbs, R J

    1992-11-01

    Corridors are currently a major buzzword in conservation biology and landscape ecology. These linear landscape features may perform numerous functions, but it is their role in facilitating movement of fauna that has attracted much recent debate. The database supporting the idea of corridors acting as faunal conduits is remarkably small, and few studies have actually demonstrated that movement along corridors is important for any given species. Such data are very difficult to obtain, and conservation biologists are thus faced with the problem of whether to recommend the allocation of resources to corridors on the assumption that they may be important. Copyright © 1992. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Catalytic biomass pyrolysis process

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dayton, David C.; Gupta, Raghubir P.; Turk, Brian S.

    Described herein are processes for converting a biomass starting material (such as lignocellulosic materials) into a low oxygen containing, stable liquid intermediate that can be refined to make liquid hydrocarbon fuels. More specifically, the process can be a catalytic biomass pyrolysis process wherein an oxygen removing catalyst is employed in the reactor while the biomass is subjected to pyrolysis conditions. The stream exiting the pyrolysis reactor comprises bio-oil having a low oxygen content, and such stream may be subjected to further steps, such as separation and/or condensation to isolate the bio-oil.

  19. P.L. 95-619, "National Energy Supply Policy Act" (NECPA) (1978)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    2011-12-13

    The purposes of this Act are to provide for the regulation of interstate commerce, to reduce the growth in demand for energy, and to conserve non-renewable energy resources without inhibiting beneficial economic growth.

  20. Biomass resources for energy in Ohio: The OH-MARKAL modeling framework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shakya, Bibhakar

    consequences of alternative energy scenarios for the future. The model can also be used to estimate the relative merits of various energy technologies. By developing OH-MARKAL as an empirical model, this study evaluates the prospects of biomass cofiring in Ohio to generate commercial electricity. As cofiring utilizes the existing infrastructure, it is an attractive option for utilizing biomass energy resources, with the objective of replacing non-renewable fuel (coal) with renewable and cleaner fuel (biomass). It addresses two key issues: first, the importance of diversifying the fuel resource base for the power industry; and second, the need to increase the use of biomass or renewable resources in Ohio. The results of the various model scenarios developed in this study indicate that policy interventions are necessary to make biomass co-firing competitive with coal, and that about 7 percent of electricity can be generated by using biomass feedstock in Ohio. This study recommends mandating an optimal level of a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for Ohio to increase renewable electricity generation in the state. To set a higher goal of RPS than 7 percent level, Ohio needs to include other renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydro in its electricity generation portfolio. The results also indicate that the marginal price of electricity must increase by four fold to mitigate CO2 emissions 15 percent below the 2002 level, suggesting Ohio will also need to consider and invest in clean coal technologies and examine the option of carbon sequestration. Hence, Ohio's energy strategy should include a mix of domestic renewable energy options, energy efficiency, energy conservation, clean coal technology, and carbon sequestration options. It would seem prudent for Ohio to become proactive in reducing CO2 emissions so that it will be ready to deal with any future federal mandates, otherwise the consequences could be detrimental to the state's economy.

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