Effect of feeding strategies on pharmaceutical removal by subsurface flow constructed wetlands.

PubMed

Zhang, Dong Qing; Gersberg, Richard M; Hua, Tao; Zhu, Junfei; Nguyen, Anh Tuan; Law, Wing-Keung; Ng, Wun Jern; Tan, Soon Keat

2012-01-01

This study presents findings on an assessment of the effect of continuous and batch feeding strategies on the removal of selected pharmaceuticals from synthetic wastewater. Six mesocosm-scale constructed wetlands, including three horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands and three sand filters, were set up at the campus of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The findings showed that ibuprofen and diclofenac removal in the wetlands was significantly ( < 0.05) enhanced in the batch versus continuous mode. In contrast, naproxen and carbamazepine showed no significant differences ( > 0.05) in elimination under either feeding strategy. Our results also clearly showed that the presence of plants exerts a stimulatory effect on pharmaceutical removal for ibuprofen, diclofenac, and naproxen in batch and continuous mode. Estimation of the quantitative role of this stimulatory effect on pharmaceutical elimination of batch operation as compared with the effect of the presence of the higher plant alone showed that batch operation may account for 40 to 87% of the contribution conferred by the aquatic plant. The findings of this study imply that where maximal removal of pharmaceutical compounds is desired, periodic draining and filling might be the preferred operational strategy for full-scale, subsurface flow constructed wetlands. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Design and operation of a continuous 13C and 15N labeling chamber for uniform or differential, metabolic and structural, plant tissue isotope labeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tracing heavy stable isotopes from plant material through the ecosystem provides the most sensitive information about ecosystem processes; from CO2 fluxes and soil organic matter formation to small-scale stable-isotope biomarker probing. Coupling multiple stable isotopes such as 13C with 15N, 18O o...

Control of occupational exposure to phenol in industrial wastewater treatment plant of a petroleum refinery in Alexandria, Egypt: An intervention application case study.

PubMed

Zaki, Gehan R; El-Marakby, Fadia A; Ramadan, Alaa El-Din K; Issa, Ahmed I; Nofal, Faten H

2016-11-01

Phenol exposure is one of the hazards in the industrial wastewater treatment basin of any refinery. It additively interacts with hydrogen sulfide emitted from the wastewater basin. Consequently, its concentration should be greatly lower than its threshold limit value. The present study aimed at controlling occupational exposure to phenol in the work environment of wastewater treatment plant in a refinery by reducing phenolic compounds in the industrial wastewater basin. This study was conducted on both laboratory and refinery scales. The first was completed by dividing each wastewater sample from the outlets of different refinery units into three portions; the first was analyzed for phenolic compounds. The second and third were for laboratory scale charcoal and bacterial treatments. The two methods were compared regarding their simplicities, design, and removal efficiencies. Accordingly, bacterial treatment by continuous flow of sewage water containing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa was used for refinery scale treatment. Laboratory scale treatment of phenolic compounds revealed higher removal efficiency of charcoal [100.0(0.0) %] than of bacteria [99.9(0.013) %]. The refinery scale bacterial treatment was [99.8(0.013) %] efficient. Consequently, level of phenol in the work environment after refinery-scale treatment [0.069(0.802) mg/m(3)] was much lower than that before [5.700(26.050) mg/m(3)], with removal efficiency of [99.125(2.335) %]. From the present study, we can conclude that bacterial treatment of phenolic compounds in industrial wastewater of the wastewater treatment plant using continuous flow of sewage water containing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa reduces the workers' exposure to phenol.

Modelling utility-scale wind power plants. Part 1: Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milligan, Michael R.

1999-10-01

As the worldwide use of wind turbine generators continues to increase in utility-scale applications, it will become increasingly important to assess the economic and reliability impact of these intermittent resources. Although the utility industry in the United States appears to be moving towards a restructured environment, basic economic and reliability issues will continue to be relevant to companies involved with electricity generation. This article is the first of two which address modelling approaches and results obtained in several case studies and research projects at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This first article addresses the basic economic issues associated with electricity production from several generators that include large-scale wind power plants. An important part of this discussion is the role of unit commitment and economic dispatch in production cost models. This paper includes overviews and comparisons of the prevalent production cost modelling methods, including several case studies applied to a variety of electric utilities. The second article discusses various methods of assessing capacity credit and results from several reliability-based studies performed at NREL.

POTENTIAL AQUATIC COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH A MULTIDISCIPLINARY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT EXPERIMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Small-scale urban stream restoration efforts (e.g., riparian planting and in-stream habitat structures) often fail to improve ecological structure and function due the continuous hydrologic and chemical disturbances posed by impervious surfaces upstream. Decentralized stormwater...

Field application of a planted fixed bed reactor (PFR) for support media and rhizosphere investigation using undisturbed samples from full-scale constructed wetlands.

PubMed

Barreto, A B; Vasconcellos, G R; von Sperling, M; Kuschk, P; Kappelmeyer, U; Vasel, J L

2015-01-01

This study presents a novel method for investigations on undisturbed samples from full-scale horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (HSSFCW). The planted fixed bed reactor (PFR), developed at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), is a universal test unit for planted soil filters that reproduces the operational conditions of a constructed wetland (CW) system in laboratory scale. The present research proposes modifications on the PFR original configuration in order to allow its operation in field conditions. A mobile device to obtain undisturbed samples from real-scale HSSFCW was also developed. The experimental setting is presented with two possible operational configurations. The first allows the removal and replacement of undisturbed samples in the CW bed for laboratory investigations, guaranteeing sample integrity with a mobile device. The second allows the continuous operation of the PFR and undisturbed samples as a fraction of the support media, reproducing the same environmental conditions outside the real-scale system. Investigations on the hydrodynamics of the adapted PFR were carried out with saline tracer tests, validating the proposed adaptation. Six adapted PFR units were installed next to full-scale HSSFCW beds and fed with interstitial liquid pumped from two regions of planted and unplanted support media. Fourteen points were monitored along the system, covering carbon fractions, nitrogen and sulfate. The results indicate the method as a promising tool for investigations on CW support media, rhizosphere and open space for studies on CW modeling, respirometry, kinetic parameters, microbial communities, redox potential and plant influence on HSSFCW.

How does biomass distribution change with size and differ among species? An analysis for 1200 plant species from five continents.

PubMed

Poorter, Hendrik; Jagodzinski, Andrzej M; Ruiz-Peinado, Ricardo; Kuyah, Shem; Luo, Yunjian; Oleksyn, Jacek; Usoltsev, Vladimir A; Buckley, Thomas N; Reich, Peter B; Sack, Lawren

2015-11-01

We compiled a global database for leaf, stem and root biomass representing c. 11 000 records for c. 1200 herbaceous and woody species grown under either controlled or field conditions. We used this data set to analyse allometric relationships and fractional biomass distribution to leaves, stems and roots. We tested whether allometric scaling exponents are generally constant across plant sizes as predicted by metabolic scaling theory, or whether instead they change dynamically with plant size. We also quantified interspecific variation in biomass distribution among plant families and functional groups. Across all species combined, leaf vs stem and leaf vs root scaling exponents decreased from c. 1.00 for small plants to c. 0.60 for the largest trees considered. Evergreens had substantially higher leaf mass fractions (LMFs) than deciduous species, whereas graminoids maintained higher root mass fractions (RMFs) than eudicotyledonous herbs. These patterns do not support the hypothesis of fixed allometric exponents. Rather, continuous shifts in allometric exponents with plant size during ontogeny and evolution are the norm. Across seed plants, variation in biomass distribution among species is related more to function than phylogeny. We propose that the higher LMF of evergreens at least partly compensates for their relatively low leaf area : leaf mass ratio. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

A Mock UF6 Feed and Withdrawal System for Testing Safeguards Monitoring Systems and Strategies Intended for Nuclear Fuel Enrichment and Processing Plants

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

Krichinsky, Alan M; Bates, Bruce E; Chesser, Joel B

2009-12-01

This report describes an engineering-scale, mock UF6 feed and withdrawal (F&W) system, its operation, and its intended uses. This system has been assembled to provide a test bed for evaluating and demonstrating new methodologies that can be used in remote, unattended, continuous monitoring of nuclear material process operations. These measures are being investigated to provide independent inspectors improved assurance that operations are being conducted within declared parameters, and to increase the overall effectiveness of safeguarding nuclear material. Testing applicable technologies on a mock F&W system, which uses water as a surrogate for UF6, enables thorough and cost-effective investigation of hardware,more » software, and operational strategies before their direct installation in an industrial nuclear material processing environment. Electronic scales used for continuous load-cell monitoring also are described as part of the basic mock F&W system description. Continuous monitoring components on the mock F&W system are linked to a data aggregation computer by a local network, which also is depicted. Data collection and storage systems are described only briefly in this report. The mock UF{sub 6} F&W system is economical to operate. It uses a simple process involving only a surge tank between feed tanks and product and withdrawal (or waste) tanks. The system uses water as the transfer fluid, thereby avoiding the use of hazardous UF{sub 6}. The system is not tethered to an operating industrial process involving nuclear materials, thereby allowing scenarios (e.g., material diversion) that cannot be conducted otherwise. These features facilitate conducting experiments that yield meaningful results with a minimum of expenditure and quick turnaround time. Technologies demonstrated on the engineering-scale system lead to field trials (described briefly in this report) for determining implementation issues and performance of the monitoring technologies under plant operating conditions. The ultimate use of technologies tested on the engineering-scale test bed is to work with safeguards agencies to install them in operating plants (e.g., enrichment and fuel processing plants), thereby promoting new safeguards measures with minimal impact to operating plants. In addition, this system is useful in identifying features for new plants that can be incorporated as part of 'safeguards by design,' in which load cells and other monitoring technologies are specified to provide outputs for automated monitoring and inspector evaluation.« less

Technoeconomic study on steam explosion application in biomass processing.

PubMed

Zimbardi, Francesco; Ricci, Esmeralda; Braccio, Giacobbe

2002-01-01

This work is based on the data collected during trials of a continuous steam explosion (SE) plant, with a treatment capacity of about 350 kg/h, including the biomass fractionation section. The energy and water consumption, equipment cost, and manpower needed to run this plant have been used as the base case for a techno-economic evaluation of productive plants. Three processing plant configurations have been considered: (I) SE pretreatment only; (II) SE followed by the hemicellulose extraction; (III) SE followed by the sequential hemicellulose and lignin extractions. The biomass treatment cost has been evaluated as a function of the plant scale. For each configuration, variable and fixed cost breakdown has been detailed in the case of a 50,000 t/y plant.

Impacts of short-term heatwaves on sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence(SiF) in temperate tree species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, F.; Gu, L.; Guha, A.; Han, J.; Warren, J.

2017-12-01

The current projections for global climate change forecast an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme climatic events, such as droughts and short-term heat waves. Understanding the effects of short-term heat wave on photosynthesis process is of critical importance to predict global impacts of extreme weather event on vegetation. The diurnal and seasonal characteristics of SIF emitted from natural vegetation, e.g., forest and crop, have been studied at the ecosystem-scale, regional-scale and global-scale. However, the detailed response of SIF from different plant species under extremely weather event, especially short-term heat wave, have not been reported. The purpose of this study was to study the response of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, gas exchange and continuous fluorescence at leaf scale for different temperate tree species. The short-term heatwave experiment was conducted using plant growth chamber (CMP6050, Conviron Inc., Canada). We developed an advanced spectral fitting method to obtain the plant SIF in the plant growth chamber. We compared SIF variation among different wavelength and chlorophyll difference among four temperate tree species. The diurnal variation of SIF signals at leaf-scales for temperate tree species are different under heat stress. The SIF response at leaf-scales and their difference for four temperate tree species are different during a cycle of short-term heatwave stress. We infer that SIF be used as a measure of heat tolerance for temperate tree species.

Convergence and divergence in a long-term old-field succession: the importance of spatial scale and species abundance.

PubMed

Li, Shao-Peng; Cadotte, Marc W; Meiners, Scott J; Pu, Zhichao; Fukami, Tadashi; Jiang, Lin

2016-09-01

Whether plant communities in a given region converge towards a particular stable state during succession has long been debated, but rarely tested at a sufficiently long time scale. By analysing a 50-year continuous study of post-agricultural secondary succession in New Jersey, USA, we show that the extent of community convergence varies with the spatial scale and species abundance classes. At the larger field scale, abundance-based dissimilarities among communities decreased over time, indicating convergence of dominant species, whereas incidence-based dissimilarities showed little temporal tend, indicating no sign of convergence. In contrast, plots within each field diverged in both species composition and abundance. Abundance-based successional rates decreased over time, whereas rare species and herbaceous plants showed little change in temporal turnover rates. Initial abandonment conditions only influenced community structure early in succession. Overall, our findings provide strong evidence for scale and abundance dependence of stochastic and deterministic processes over old-field succession. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Bioprocessing Data for the Production of Marine Enzymes

PubMed Central

Sarkar, Sreyashi; Pramanik, Arnab; Mitra, Anindita; Mukherjee, Joydeep

2010-01-01

This review is a synopsis of different bioprocess engineering approaches adopted for the production of marine enzymes. Three major modes of operation: batch, fed-batch and continuous have been used for production of enzymes (such as protease, chitinase, agarase, peroxidase) mainly from marine bacteria and fungi on a laboratory bioreactor and pilot plant scales. Submerged, immobilized and solid-state processes in batch mode were widely employed. The fed-batch process was also applied in several bioprocesses. Continuous processes with suspended cells as well as with immobilized cells have been used. Investigations in shake flasks were conducted with the prospect of large-scale processing in reactors. PMID:20479981

Real-Time Monitoring System for a Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Power Plant

PubMed Central

Moreno-Garcia, Isabel M.; Palacios-Garcia, Emilio J.; Pallares-Lopez, Victor; Santiago, Isabel; Gonzalez-Redondo, Miguel J.; Varo-Martinez, Marta; Real-Calvo, Rafael J.

2016-01-01

There is, at present, considerable interest in the storage and dispatchability of photovoltaic (PV) energy, together with the need to manage power flows in real-time. This paper presents a new system, PV-on time, which has been developed to supervise the operating mode of a Grid-Connected Utility-Scale PV Power Plant in order to ensure the reliability and continuity of its supply. This system presents an architecture of acquisition devices, including wireless sensors distributed around the plant, which measure the required information. It is also equipped with a high-precision protocol for synchronizing all data acquisition equipment, something that is necessary for correctly establishing relationships among events in the plant. Moreover, a system for monitoring and supervising all of the distributed devices, as well as for the real-time treatment of all the registered information, is presented. Performances were analyzed in a 400 kW transformation center belonging to a 6.1 MW Utility-Scale PV Power Plant. In addition to monitoring the performance of all of the PV plant’s components and detecting any failures or deviations in production, this system enables users to control the power quality of the signal injected and the influence of the installation on the distribution grid. PMID:27240365

The design of an irradiator for the continuous processing of liquid latex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reuter, O.; Langley, R.; Zn, Wan Manshol Bin W.

1998-06-01

This paper presents anew design concept for a gamma irradiation plant for the continuous processing of pumpable liquids. Typical applications of such a plant include ∗ the irradiation vulcanisation of natural latex rubber ∗ disinfection of municipal sewage sludge for agricultural use ∗ sterilisation of liquids in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries ∗ industrial processing of bulk liquids The authors describe the design and operation of the latex irradiator now operating on a small production scale in Malaysia and proposed developments. The design allows irradiation processing to be carried out under an inert or other gaseous environment. State-of-the-art computer control system ensures the fully automatic processing operation needed by industrial computers.

A study of residence time distribution using radiotracer technique in the large scale plant facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wetchagarun, S.; Tippayakul, C.; Petchrak, A.; Sukrod, K.; Khoonkamjorn, P.

2017-06-01

As the demand for troubleshooting of large industrial plants increases, radiotracer techniques, which have capability to provide fast, online and effective detections to plant problems, have been continually developed. One of the good potential applications of the radiotracer for troubleshooting in a process plant is the analysis of Residence Time Distribution (RTD). In this paper, the study of RTD in a large scale plant facility using radiotracer technique was presented. The objective of this work is to gain experience on the RTD analysis using radiotracer technique in a “larger than laboratory” scale plant setup which can be comparable to the real industrial application. The experiment was carried out at the sedimentation tank in the water treatment facility of Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (Public Organization). Br-82 was selected to use in this work due to its chemical property, its suitable half-life and its on-site availability. NH4Br in the form of aqueous solution was injected into the system as the radiotracer. Six NaI detectors were placed along the pipelines and at the tank in order to determine the RTD of the system. The RTD and the Mean Residence Time (MRT) of the tank was analysed and calculated from the measured data. The experience and knowledge attained from this study is important for extending this technique to be applied to industrial facilities in the future.

Task Order 7. Use of activated carbon for treatment of explosives-contaminated groundwater at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant (MAAP). Final report, Apr 89-May 90

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

Dennis, R.M.; Wujcik, W.J.; Lowe, W.L.

1990-05-01

The primary objective of this task was to determine the feasibility of using GAC to treat ground water contaminated by explosives at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant (MAAP) in Milan, Tennessee. Laboratory GAC isotherm studies were conducted and two carbons, Atochem, Inc. GAC 830 and Calgon Filtrasorb 300, were selected for further testing in continuous flow GAC columns. Three pilot scale continuous flow GAC column tests were performed at MAAP using the two carbons selected from the laboratory GAC isotherm studies. The results from the laboratory and pilot studies are presented in this report. They show that concurrent removal ofmore » explosives such as TNT, RDX, HMX, Tetryl, and nitrobenzenes from ground water using continuous flow granular activated carbon is feasible.« less

Mass flow and energy balance plus economic analysis of a full-scale biogas plant in the rice-wine-pig system.

PubMed

Li, Jiang; Kong, Chuixue; Duan, Qiwu; Luo, Tao; Mei, Zili; Lei, Yunhui

2015-10-01

This paper presents mass flow and energy balance as well as an economic analysis for a biogas plant in a rice-wine-pig system at a practical rather than laboratory scale. Results showed feeding amount was 65.30 t d(-1) (total solid matter (TSM) 1.3%) for the normal temperature continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), and 16.20 t d(-1) (TSM 8.4%) for the mesophilic CSTR. The digestion produced 80.50 t d(-1) of mass, with 76.41 t d(-1) flowing into rice fields and 4.49 t d(-1) into composting. Energy consumption of this plant fluctuated with seasons, and surplus energy was 823, 221 kWh/year. Thus, biogas plant was critical for material recycling and energy transformation of this agro-ecosystem. The economic analysis showed that the payback time of the plant was 10.9 years. It also revealed application of biogas as a conventional energy replacement would be attractive for a crop-wine-livestock ecosystem with anaerobic digestion of manure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reclamation with trees in Illinois

Treesearch

Brad Evilsizer

1980-01-01

Thru private initiative, Illinois citizens historically have invented and conducted large-scale tree planting programs, starting with hedgerow fences and farmstead windbreaks and continuing with surface mine reclamation and farm woodlands. With invaluable help from public and private scientific personnel, the old and new programs hold promise of enlargement and...

Microfiltration of thin stillage: Process simulation and economic analyses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In plant scale operations, multistage membrane systems have been adopted for cost minimization. We considered design optimization and operation of a continuous microfiltration (MF) system for the corn dry grind process. The objectives were to develop a model to simulate a multistage MF system, optim...

Looking for practical tools to achieve next-future applicability of dark fermentation to produce bio-hydrogen from organic materials in Continuously Stirred Tank Reactors.

PubMed

Tenca, A; Schievano, A; Lonati, S; Malagutti, L; Oberti, R; Adani, F

2011-09-01

This study aimed at finding applicable tools for favouring dark fermentation application in full-scale biogas plants in the next future. Firstly, the focus was obtaining mixed microbial cultures from natural sources (soil-inocula and anaerobically digested materials), able to efficiently produce bio-hydrogen by dark fermentation. Batch reactors with proper substrate (1 gL(glucose)(-1)) and metabolites concentrations, allowed high H(2) yields (2.8 ± 0.66 mol H(2)mol(glucose)(-1)), comparable to pure microbial cultures achievements. The application of this methodology to four organic substrates, of possible interest for full-scale plants, showed promising and repeatable bio-H(2) potential (BHP=202 ± 3 NL(H2)kg(VS)(-1)) from organic fraction of municipal source-separated waste (OFMSW). Nevertheless, the fermentation in a lab-scale CSTR (nowadays the most diffused typology of biogas-plant) of a concentrated organic mixture of OFMSW (126 g(TS)L(-1)) resulted in only 30% of its BHP, showing that further improvements are still needed for future full-scale applications of dark fermentation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large Pilot Scale Testing of Linde/BASF Post-Combustion CO 2 Capture Technology at the Abbott Coal-Fired Power Plant

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

O'Brien, Kevin C.

The work summarized in this report is the first step towards a project that will re-train and create jobs for personnel in the coal industry and continue regional economic development to benefit regions impacted by previous downturns. The larger project is aimed at capturing ~300 tons/day (272 metric tonnes/day) CO 2 at a 90% capture rate from existing coal- fired boilers at the Abbott Power Plant on the campus of University of Illinois (UI). It will employ the Linde-BASF novel amine-based advanced CO 2 capture technology, which has already shown the potential to be cost-effective, energy efficient and compact atmore » the 0.5-1.5 MWe pilot scales. The overall objective of the project is to design and install a scaled-up system of nominal 15 MWe size, integrate it with the Abbott Power Plant flue gas, steam and other utility systems, and demonstrate the viability of continuous operation under realistic conditions with high efficiency and capacity. The project will also begin to build a workforce that understands how to operate and maintain the capture plants by including students from regional community colleges and universities in the operation and evaluation of the capture system. This project will also lay the groundwork for follow-on projects that pilot utilization of the captured CO 2 from coal-fired power plants. The net impact will be to demonstrate a replicable means to (1) use a standardized procedure to evaluate power plants for their ability to be retrofitted with a pilot capture unit; (2) design and construct reliable capture systems based on the Linde-BASF technology; (3) operate and maintain these systems; (4) implement training programs with local community colleges and universities to establish a workforce to operate and maintain the systems; and (5) prepare to evaluate at the large pilot scale level various methods to utilize the resulting captured CO 2. Towards the larger project goal, the UI-led team, together with Linde, has completed a preliminary design for the carbon capture pilot plant with basic engineering and cost estimates, established permitting needs, identified approaches to address Environmental, Health, and Safety concerns related to pilot plant installation and operation, developed approaches for long-term use of the captured carbon, and established strategies for workforce development and job creation that will re-train coal operators to operate carbon capture plants. This report describes Phase I accomplishments and demonstrates that the project team is well-prepared for full implementation of Phase 2, to design, build, and operate the carbon capture pilot plant.« less

Hydrologic and erosional impacts associated with an increased role of wildland fire on western rangelands

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Landscape plant community transitions across the Great Basin and Intermountain West have altered fire regimes and present large-scale consequences relative to rangeland hydrology. Extensive conversion of Great Basin shrub steppe to annual grasslands has increased fuel continuity and the frequency, ...

REMOVAL OF CRYPTOSPORIDIUM AND GIARDIA THROUGH CONVENTIONAL WATER TREATMENT AND DIRECT FILTRATION

EPA Science Inventory

Pilot- and full-scale evaluations of Giardia and Cryptosporidium cyst removal through direction filtration and conventional water treatment were conducted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Cysts were seeded continuously in a step dose at a 0.5 gpm pilot plant and i...

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

Marker, Terry; Roberts, Michael; Linck, Martin

Cellulosic and woody biomass can be directly converted to hydrocarbon gasoline and diesel blending components through the use of a new, economical, technology named integrated hydropyrolysis plus hydroconversion (IH2). The IH2 gasoline and diesel blending components are fully compatible with petroleum based gasoline and diesel, contain less than 1% oxygen and have less than 1 total acid number (TAN). The IH2 gasoline is high quality and very close to a drop in fuel. The life cycle analysis (LCA) shows that the use of the IH2 process to convert wood to gasoline and diesel results in a greater than 90% reductionmore » in greenhouse gas emission compared to that found with fossil derived fuels. The technoeconomic analysis showed the conversion of wood using the IH2 process can produce gasoline and diesel at less than $2.00/gallon. In this project, the previously reported semi-continuous small scale IH2 test results were confirmed in a continuous 50 kg/day pilot plant. The continuous IH2 pilot plant used in this project was operated round the clock for over 750 hours and showed good pilot plant operability while consistently producing 26-28 wt % yields of high quality gasoline and diesel product. The IH2 catalyst showed good stability, although more work on catalyst stability is recommended. Additional work is needed to commercialize the IH2 technology including running large particle size biomass, modeling the hydropyrolysis step, studying the effects of process variables and building and operating a 1-50 ton/day demonstration scale plant. The IH2 is a true game changing technology by utilizing U.S. domestic renewable biomass resources to create transportation fuels, sufficient in quantity and quality to substantially reduce our reliance on foreign crude oil. Thus, the IH2 technology offers a path to genuine energy independence for the U. S., along with the creation of a significant number of new U.S. jobs to plant, grow, harvest, and process biomass crops into fungible fuels.« less

Optimal Multi-scale Demand-side Management for Continuous Power-Intensive Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, Sumit

With the advent of deregulation in electricity markets and an increasing share of intermittent power generation sources, the profitability of industrial consumers that operate power-intensive processes has become directly linked to the variability in energy prices. Thus, for industrial consumers that are able to adjust to the fluctuations, time-sensitive electricity prices (as part of so-called Demand-Side Management (DSM) in the smart grid) offer potential economical incentives. In this thesis, we introduce optimization models and decomposition strategies for the multi-scale Demand-Side Management of continuous power-intensive processes. On an operational level, we derive a mode formulation for scheduling under time-sensitive electricity prices. The formulation is applied to air separation plants and cement plants to minimize the operating cost. We also describe how a mode formulation can be used for industrial combined heat and power plants that are co-located at integrated chemical sites to increase operating profit by adjusting their steam and electricity production according to their inherent flexibility. Furthermore, a robust optimization formulation is developed to address the uncertainty in electricity prices by accounting for correlations and multiple ranges in the realization of the random variables. On a strategic level, we introduce a multi-scale model that provides an understanding of the value of flexibility of the current plant configuration and the value of additional flexibility in terms of retrofits for Demand-Side Management under product demand uncertainty. The integration of multiple time scales leads to large-scale two-stage stochastic programming problems, for which we need to apply decomposition strategies in order to obtain a good solution within a reasonable amount of time. Hence, we describe two decomposition schemes that can be applied to solve two-stage stochastic programming problems: First, a hybrid bi-level decomposition scheme with novel Lagrangean-type and subset-type cuts to strengthen the relaxation. Second, an enhanced cross-decomposition scheme that integrates Benders decomposition and Lagrangean decomposition on a scenario basis. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our developed methodology, we provide several industrial case studies throughout the thesis.

Estimation of radionuclide (137Cs) emission rates from a nuclear power plant accident using the Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM).

PubMed

Park, Soon-Ung; Lee, In-Hye; Ju, Jae-Won; Joo, Seung Jin

2016-10-01

A methodology for the estimation of the emission rate of 137 Cs by the Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM) with the use of monitored 137 Cs concentrations around a nuclear power plant has been developed. This method has been employed with the MM5 meteorological model in the 600 km × 600 km model domain with the horizontal grid scale of 3 km × 3 km centered at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to estimate 137 Cs emission rate for the accidental period from 00 UTC 12 March to 00 UTC 6 April 2011. The Lagrangian Particles are released continuously with the rate of one particle per minute at the first level modelled, about 15 m above the power plant site. The presently developed method was able to simulate quite reasonably the estimated 137 Cs emission rate compared with other studies, suggesting the potential usefulness of the present method for the estimation of the emission rate from the accidental power plant without detailed inventories of reactors and fuel assemblies and spent fuels. The advantage of this method is not so complicated but can be applied only based on one-time forward LPDM simulation with monitored concentrations around the power plant, in contrast to other inverse models. It was also found that continuously monitored radionuclides concentrations from possibly many sites located in all directions around the power plant are required to get accurate continuous emission rates from the accident power plant. The current methodology can also be used to verify the previous version of radionuclides emissions used among other modeling groups for the cases of intermittent or discontinuous samplings. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Studying long-term, large-scale grassland restoration outcomes to improve seeding methods and reveal knowledge gaps

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

1) Considerable research is currently focused on restoring the World’s degraded grasslands by introducing species from seed. The research is continually providing valuable new insights into early seeded plant establishment, but more emphasis on longer, larger studies is needed to better quantify s...

Nanometer-scale elongation rate fluctuations in the Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather) stem were altered by radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation.

PubMed

Senavirathna, Mudalige Don Hiranya Jayasanka; Asaeda, Takashi; Thilakarathne, Bodhipaksha Lalith Sanjaya; Kadono, Hirofumi

2014-01-01

The emission of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) by various wireless communication base stations has increased in recent years. While there is wide concern about the effects of EMR on humans and animals, the influence of EMR on plants is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of EMR on the growth dynamics of Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather) by measuring the nanometric elongation rate fluctuation (NERF) using a statistical interferometry technique. Plants were exposed to 2 GHz EMR at a maximum of 1.42 Wm(-2) for 1 h. After continuous exposure to EMR, M. aquaticum plants exhibited a statistically significant 51 ± 16% reduction in NERF standard deviation. Temperature observations revealed that EMR exposure did not cause dielectric heating of the plants. Therefore, the reduced NERF was due to a non-thermal effect caused by EMR exposure. The alteration in NERF continued for at least 2.5 h after EMR exposure and no significant recovery was found in post-EMR NERF during the experimental period.

Nanometer-scale elongation rate fluctuations in the Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather) stem were altered by radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation

PubMed Central

Senavirathna, Mudalige Don Hiranya Jayasanka; Asaeda, Takashi; Thilakarathne, Bodhipaksha Lalith Sanjaya; Kadono, Hirofumi

2014-01-01

The emission of radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) by various wireless communication base stations has increased in recent years. While there is wide concern about the effects of EMR on humans and animals, the influence of EMR on plants is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of EMR on the growth dynamics of Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather) by measuring the nanometric elongation rate fluctuation (NERF) using a statistical interferometry technique. Plants were exposed to 2 GHz EMR at a maximum of 1.42 Wm−2 for 1 h. After continuous exposure to EMR, M. aquaticum plants exhibited a statistically significant 51 ± 16% reduction in NERF standard deviation. Temperature observations revealed that EMR exposure did not cause dielectric heating of the plants. Therefore, the reduced NERF was due to a non-thermal effect caused by EMR exposure. The alteration in NERF continued for at least 2.5 h after EMR exposure and no significant recovery was found in post-EMR NERF during the experimental period. PMID:24670369

Development and demonstration of a lignite-pelletizing process. Phase II report

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

Not Available

1980-01-01

The current work began with scale-up of laboratory equipment to commercial size equipment. For this purpose, BCI used an existing pilot plant that had been assembled to pelletize and indurate taconite ore. BCI determined therewith that lignite pellets can be produced continuously on a pilot scale using the basic process developed in the laboratory. The resulting pellets were found to be similar to the laboratory pellets at equivalent binder compositions. Tests of product made during a 5-ton test run are reported. A 50-ton demonstration test run was made with the pilot plant. Pellet production was sustained for a two-week period.more » The lignite pelletizing process has, therefore, been developed to the point of demonstration in a 50-ton test. BCI has completed and cost estimated a conceptually designed 4000 TPD facility. BCI believes it has demonstrated a technically feasible process to agglomerate lignite by using an asphalt emulsion binder. Product quality is promising. Capital and operating costs appear acceptable to justify continuing support and development. The next step should focus on three areas: production development, process refinement, and cost reduction. For further development, BCI recommends consideration of a 5 to 10 ton/h pilot plant or a 20 to 40 ton/h module of a full sized plant, the lower first cost of the former being offset by the ability to incorporate the latter into a future production unit. Other specific recommendations are made for future study that could lead to process and cost improvements: Binder Formulation, disc Sizing, Drier Bed Depth, and Mixing Approach. Pellet use other than power plant fuel is considered.« less

Scale models: A proven cost-effective tool for outage planning

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

Lee, R.; Segroves, R.

1995-03-01

As generation costs for operating nuclear stations have risen, more nuclear utilities have initiated efforts to improve cost effectiveness. Nuclear plant owners are also being challenged with lower radiation exposure limits and new revised radiation protection related regulations (10 CFR 20), which places further stress on their budgets. As source term reduction activities continue to lower radiation fields, reducing the amount of time spent in radiation fields becomes one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing radiation exposure. An effective approach for minimizing time spent in radiation areas is to use a physical scale model for worker orientation planning andmore » monitoring maintenance, modifications, and outage activities. To meet the challenge of continued reduction in the annual cumulative radiation exposures, new cost-effective tools are required. One field-tested and proven tool is the physical scale model.« less

Defining groundwater-dependent ecosystems and assessing critical water needs for their foundational plant communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stella, J. C.

2017-12-01

In many water-limited regions, human water use in conjunction with increased climate variability threaten the sustainability of groundwater-dependent plant communities and the ecosystems that depend on them (GDEs). Identifying and delineating vulnerable GDEs and determining critical functional thresholds for their foundational species has proved challenging, but recent research across several disciplines shows great promise for reducing scientific uncertainty and increasing applicability to ecosystem and groundwater management. Combining interdisciplinary approaches provides insights into indicators that may serve as early indicators of ecosystem decline, or alternatively demonstrate lags in responses depending on scale or sensitivity, or that even may decouple over time (Fig. 1). At the plant scale, miniaturization of plant sap flow sensors and tensiometers allow for non-destructive, continual measurements of plant water status in response to environmental stressors. Novel applications of proven tree-ring and stable isotope methods provide multi-decadal chronologies of radial growth, physiological function (using d13C ratios) and source water use (using d18O ratios) in response to annual variation in climate and subsurface water availability to plant roots. At a landscape scale, integration of disparate geospatial data such as hyperspectral imagery and LiDAR, as well as novel spectral mixing analysis promote the development of novel water stress indices such as vegetation greenness and non-photosynthetic (i.e., dead) vegetation (Fig. 2), as well as change detection using time series (Fig. 3). Furthermore, increases in data resolution across numerous data types can increasingly differentiate individual plant species, including sensitive taxa that serve as early warning indicators of ecosystem impairment. Combining and cross-calibrating these approaches provide insight into the full range of GDE response to environmental change, including increased climate drought and variability, human groundwater extraction and flow regulation. We review the range of emerging water stress indicators at multiple scales, and illustrate their application and integration in current projects in semi-arid ecosystems of the U.S. Southwest and in southern Europe.

UV/H2O2 process stability and pilot-scale validation for trace organic chemical removal from wastewater treatment plant effluents.

PubMed

Miklos, David B; Hartl, Rebecca; Michel, Philipp; Linden, Karl G; Drewes, Jörg E; Hübner, Uwe

2018-06-01

This study investigated the removal of 15 trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) occurring at ambient concentrations from municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent by advanced oxidation using UV/H 2 O 2 at pilot-scale. Pseudo first-order rate constants (k obs ) for photolytic as well as combined oxidative and photolytic degradation observed at pilot-scale were validated with results from a bench-scale collimated beam device. No significant difference was determined between pilot- and lab-scale performance. During continuous pilot-scale operation at constant UV fluence of 800 mJ/cm 2 and H 2 O 2 dosage of 10 mg/L, the removal of various TOrCs was investigated. The average observed removal for photo-susceptible (k UV >10 -3  cm 2 /mJ; like diclofenac, iopromide and sulfamethoxazole), moderately photo-susceptible (10 -4

Continuity-based model interfacing for plant-wide simulation: a general approach.

PubMed

Volcke, Eveline I P; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Vanrolleghem, Peter A

2006-08-01

In plant-wide simulation studies of wastewater treatment facilities, often existing models from different origin need to be coupled. However, as these submodels are likely to contain different state variables, their coupling is not straightforward. The continuity-based interfacing method (CBIM) provides a general framework to construct model interfaces for models of wastewater systems, taking into account conservation principles. In this contribution, the CBIM approach is applied to study the effect of sludge digestion reject water treatment with a SHARON-Anammox process on a plant-wide scale. Separate models were available for the SHARON process and for the Anammox process. The Benchmark simulation model no. 2 (BSM2) is used to simulate the behaviour of the complete WWTP including sludge digestion. The CBIM approach is followed to develop three different model interfaces. At the same time, the generally applicable CBIM approach was further refined and particular issues when coupling models in which pH is considered as a state variable, are pointed out.

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale.

PubMed

Li, Xiliang; Liu, Zhiying; Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant's aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland's agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a 'bottom-up' effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly.

Chromium removal from wastewater using HSF and VF pilot-scale constructed wetlands: Overall performance, and fate and distribution of this element within the wetland environment.

PubMed

Papaevangelou, Vassiliki A; Gikas, Georgios D; Tsihrintzis, Vassilios A

2017-02-01

The current experimental work aimed at the investigation of the overall chromium removal capacity of constructed wetlands (CWs) and the chromium fate-distribution within a wetland environment. For this purpose, the experimental setup included the parallel operation and monitoring of two horizontal subsurface flow (HSF) pilot-scale CWs and two vertical flow (VF) pilot-scale CWs treating Cr-bearing wastewater. Samples were collected from the influent, the effluent, the substrate and the plants. Apart from the continuous experiment, batch experiments (kinetics and isotherm) were conducted in order to investigate the chromium adsorption capacity of the substrate material. According to the findings, HSF-CWs demonstrated higher removal capacities in comparison to VF-CWs, while in both types the planted units indicated better performance compared to the unplanted ones. Analysis in various wetland compartments and annual mass balance calculation highlighted the exceptional contribution of substrate to chromium retention, while Cr accumulation in plant was not so high. Finally, experimental data fitted better to the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models regarding kinetics and isotherm simulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The smell of environmental change: Using floral scent to explain shifts in pollinator attraction

Treesearch

Laura A. Burkle; Justin B. Runyon

2017-01-01

As diverse environmental changes continue to influence the structure and function of plant-pollinator interactions across spatial and temporal scales, we will need to enlist numerous approaches to understand these changes. Quantitative examination of floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is one approach that is gaining popularity, and recent work suggests that...

9 CFR 590.146 - Application for continuous inspection in official plants; approval.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... copies of each print drawing as specified in this section of the complete floor plan, plot plan... zip code or an accurate description of the location. (3) Plot plan of entire premises shall include..., and vehicular loading areas. The plot plan may be drawn to a scale of one-thirty-second inch per foot...

Bacterial diversity at different stages of the composting process

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Composting is an aerobic microbiological process that is facilitated by bacteria and fungi. Composting is also a method to produce fertilizer or soil conditioner. Tightened EU legislation now requires treatment of the continuously growing quantities of organic municipal waste before final disposal. However, some full-scale composting plants experience difficulties with the efficiency of biowaste degradation and with the emission of noxious odours. In this study we examine the bacterial species richness and community structure of an optimally working pilot-scale compost plant, as well as a full-scale composting plant experiencing typical problems. Bacterial species composition was determined by isolating total DNA followed by amplifying and sequencing the gene encoding the 16S ribosomal RNA. Results Over 1500 almost full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences were analysed and of these, over 500 were present only as singletons. Most of the sequences observed in either one or both of the composting processes studied here were similar to the bacterial species reported earlier in composts, including bacteria from the phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Deinococcus-Thermus. In addition, a number of previously undetected bacterial phylotypes were observed. Statistical calculations estimated a total bacterial diversity of over 2000 different phylotypes in the studied composts. Conclusions Interestingly, locally enriched or evolved bacterial variants of familiar compost species were observed in both composts. A detailed comparison of the bacterial diversity revealed a large difference in composts at the species and strain level from the different composting plants. However, at the genus level, the difference was much smaller and illustrated a delay of the composting process in the full-scale, sub-optimally performing plants. PMID:20350306

Nutrient enrichment is associated with altered nectar and pollen chemical composition in Succisa pratensis Moench and increased larval mortality of its pollinator Bombus terrestris L.

PubMed

Ceulemans, Tobias; Hulsmans, Eva; Vanden Ende, Wim; Honnay, Olivier

2017-01-01

Pollinators are declining worldwide and possible underlying causes include disease, invasive pest species and large scale land use changes resulting in habitat loss and degradation. One particular cause of habitat degradation is the increased inflow of nutrients due to anthropogenic combustion processes and large scale application of agricultural fertilizers. This nutrient pollution has been shown to affect pollinators through the loss of nectar and pollen-providing plant species. However, it may also affect pollinators through altering the nectar and pollen chemical composition of plant species, hence influencing pollinator food quality. Here, we experimentally investigated the effect of nutrient enrichment on amino acid and sugar composition of nectar and pollen in the grassland plant Sucissa pratensis, and the subsequent colony size and larval mortality of the pollinating bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found less of the essential amino acids glycine and arginine in the pollen of fertilized plants, and more arginine, ornithine and threonine in the pollen of control plants. Nectar glucose and pollen fructose levels were lower in fertilized plants as compared to control plants. Furthermore, bumblebee colonies visiting fertilized plants showed more dead larvae than colonies visiting control plants. Our results suggest that the fitness of bumblebees can be negatively affected by changes in their food quality following nutrient pollution. If similar patterns hold for other plant and pollinator species, this may have far reaching implications for the maintenance of pollination ecosystem services, as nutrient pollution continues to rise worldwide.

Nutrient enrichment is associated with altered nectar and pollen chemical composition in Succisa pratensis Moench and increased larval mortality of its pollinator Bombus terrestris L.

PubMed Central

Vanden Ende, Wim; Honnay, Olivier

2017-01-01

Pollinators are declining worldwide and possible underlying causes include disease, invasive pest species and large scale land use changes resulting in habitat loss and degradation. One particular cause of habitat degradation is the increased inflow of nutrients due to anthropogenic combustion processes and large scale application of agricultural fertilizers. This nutrient pollution has been shown to affect pollinators through the loss of nectar and pollen-providing plant species. However, it may also affect pollinators through altering the nectar and pollen chemical composition of plant species, hence influencing pollinator food quality. Here, we experimentally investigated the effect of nutrient enrichment on amino acid and sugar composition of nectar and pollen in the grassland plant Sucissa pratensis, and the subsequent colony size and larval mortality of the pollinating bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We found less of the essential amino acids glycine and arginine in the pollen of fertilized plants, and more arginine, ornithine and threonine in the pollen of control plants. Nectar glucose and pollen fructose levels were lower in fertilized plants as compared to control plants. Furthermore, bumblebee colonies visiting fertilized plants showed more dead larvae than colonies visiting control plants. Our results suggest that the fitness of bumblebees can be negatively affected by changes in their food quality following nutrient pollution. If similar patterns hold for other plant and pollinator species, this may have far reaching implications for the maintenance of pollination ecosystem services, as nutrient pollution continues to rise worldwide. PMID:28406910

The Microbial Database for Danish wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal (MiDas-DK) - a tool for understanding activated sludge population dynamics and community stability.

PubMed

Mielczarek, A T; Saunders, A M; Larsen, P; Albertsen, M; Stevenson, M; Nielsen, J L; Nielsen, P H

2013-01-01

Since 2006 more than 50 Danish full-scale wastewater treatment plants with nutrient removal have been investigated in a project called 'The Microbial Database for Danish Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plants with Nutrient Removal (MiDas-DK)'. Comprehensive sets of samples have been collected, analyzed and associated with extensive operational data from the plants. The community composition was analyzed by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) supported by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and deep metagenomics. MiDas-DK has been a powerful tool to study the complex activated sludge ecosystems, and, besides many scientific articles on fundamental issues on mixed communities encompassing nitrifiers, denitrifiers, bacteria involved in P-removal, hydrolysis, fermentation, and foaming, the project has provided results that can be used to optimize the operation of full-scale plants and carry out trouble-shooting. A core microbial community has been defined comprising the majority of microorganisms present in the plants. Time series have been established, providing an overview of temporal variations in the different plants. Interestingly, although most microorganisms were present in all plants, there seemed to be plant-specific factors that controlled the population composition thereby keeping it unique in each plant over time. Statistical analyses of FISH and operational data revealed some correlations, but less than expected. MiDas-DK (www.midasdk.dk) will continue over the next years and we hope the approach can inspire others to make similar projects in other parts of the world to get a more comprehensive understanding of microbial communities in wastewater engineering.

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant’s aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland’s agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a ‘bottom-up’ effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly. PMID:25942588

Application of CFD modelling at a full-scale ozonation plant for the removal of micropollutants from secondary effluent.

PubMed

Launer, M; Lyko, S; Fahlenkamp, H; Jagemann, P; Ehrhard, P

2013-01-01

Since November 2009, Germany's first full-scale ozonation plant for tertiary treatment of secondary effluent is in continuous operation. A kinetic model was developed and combined with the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS(®) CFX(®) to simulate the removal of micropollutants from secondary effluents. Input data like reaction rate constants and initial concentrations of bulk components of the effluent organic matter (EfOM) were derived from experimental batch tests. Additionally, well-known correlations for the mass transfer were implemented into the simulation model. The CFD model was calibrated and validated by full-scale process data and by analytical measurements for micropollutants. The results show a good consistency of simulated values and measured data. Therewith, the validated CFD model described in this study proved to be suited for the application of secondary effluent ozonation. By implementing site-specific ozone exposition and the given reactor geometry the described CFD model can be easily adopted for similar applications.

Probe activities. Annual report, July 1, 1975--June 30, 1976. [Veterinary medicine

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

Sanders, W.M.; Saunders, G.C.; Bartlett, M.L.

1976-12-01

Small-scale experiments and feasibility studies were performed for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Included were computer support for the payment of indemnity for brucellosis in Texas; the measurement of cattle ear canal temperatures and its automation was continued at the Veterinary Services Laboratory (VSL), Ames, IA; and two short serological probes experiments were supported. Also funds were transferred to support the Electronic Identification Project to enable this work to continue without interruption.

Coal desulfurization by low temperature chlorinolysis, phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalvinskas, J. J.; Grohmann, K.; Rohatgi, N.; Ernest, J.; Feller, D.

1980-01-01

An engineering scale reactor system was constructed and operated for the evaluation of five high sulfur bituminous coals obtained from Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. Forty-four test runs were conducted under conditions of 100 by 200 mesh coal,solvents - methlychloroform and water, 60 to 130 C, 0 to 60 psig, 45 to 90 minutes, and gaseous chlorine flow rate of up to 24 SCFH. Sulfur removals demonstrated for the five coals were: maximum total sulfur removal of 46 to 89% (4 of 5 coals with methylchloroform) and 0 to 24% with water. In addition, an integrated continuous flow mini-pilot plant was designed and constructed for a nominal coal rate of 2 kilograms/hour which will be operated as part of the follow-on program. Equipment flow sheets and design drawings are included for both the batch and continuous flow mini-pilot plants.

Thinking big: Towards ideal strains and processes for large-scale aerobic biofuels production

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

McMillan, James D.; Beckham, Gregg T.

In this study, global concerns about anthropogenic climate change, energy security and independence, and environmental consequences of continued fossil fuel exploitation are driving significant public and private sector interest and financing to hasten development and deployment of processes to produce renewable fuels, as well as bio-based chemicals and materials, towards scales commensurate with current fossil fuel-based production. Over the past two decades, anaerobic microbial production of ethanol from first-generation hexose sugars derived primarily from sugarcane and starch has reached significant market share worldwide, with fermentation bioreactor sizes often exceeding the million litre scale. More recently, industrial-scale lignocellulosic ethanol plants aremore » emerging that produce ethanol from pentose and hexose sugars using genetically engineered microbes and bioreactor scales similar to first-generation biorefineries.« less

Thinking big: Towards ideal strains and processes for large-scale aerobic biofuels production

DOE PAGES

McMillan, James D.; Beckham, Gregg T.

2016-12-22

In this study, global concerns about anthropogenic climate change, energy security and independence, and environmental consequences of continued fossil fuel exploitation are driving significant public and private sector interest and financing to hasten development and deployment of processes to produce renewable fuels, as well as bio-based chemicals and materials, towards scales commensurate with current fossil fuel-based production. Over the past two decades, anaerobic microbial production of ethanol from first-generation hexose sugars derived primarily from sugarcane and starch has reached significant market share worldwide, with fermentation bioreactor sizes often exceeding the million litre scale. More recently, industrial-scale lignocellulosic ethanol plants aremore » emerging that produce ethanol from pentose and hexose sugars using genetically engineered microbes and bioreactor scales similar to first-generation biorefineries.« less

Spatial variation of corn canopy temperature as dependent upon soil texture and crop rooting characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choudhury, B. J.

1983-01-01

A soil plant atmosphere model for corn (Zea mays L.) together with the scaling theory for soil hydraulic heterogeneity are used to study the sensitivity of spatial variation of canopy temperature to field averaged soil texture and crop rooting characteristics. The soil plant atmosphere model explicitly solves a continuity equation for water flux resulting from root water uptake, changes in plant water storage and transpirational flux. Dynamical equations for root zone soil water potential and the plant water storage models the progressive drying of soil, and day time dehydration and night time hydration of the crop. The statistic of scaling parameter which describes the spatial variation of soil hydraulic conductivity and matric potential is assumed to be independent of soil texture class. The field averaged soil hydraulic characteristics are chosen to be representative of loamy sand and clay loam soils. Two rooting characteristics are chosen, one shallow and the other deep rooted. The simulation shows that the range of canopy temperatures in the clayey soil is less than 1K, but for the sandy soil the range is about 2.5 and 5.0 K, respectively, for the shallow and deep rooted crops.

Modeling plant composition as community continua in a forest landscape with LiDAR and hyperspectral remote sensing.

PubMed

Hakkenberg, C R; Peet, R K; Urban, D L; Song, C

2018-01-01

In light of the need to operationalize the mapping of forest composition at landscape scales, this study uses multi-scale nested vegetation sampling in conjunction with LiDAR-hyperspectral remotely sensed data from the G-LiHT airborne sensor to map vascular plant compositional turnover in a compositionally and structurally complex North Carolina Piedmont forest. Reflecting a shift in emphasis from remotely sensing individual crowns to detecting aggregate optical-structural properties of forest stands, predictive maps reflect the composition of entire vascular plant communities, inclusive of those species smaller than the resolution of the remotely sensed imagery, intertwined with proximate taxa, or otherwise obscured from optical sensors by dense upper canopies. Stand-scale vascular plant composition is modeled as community continua: where discrete community-unit classes at different compositional resolutions provide interpretable context for continuous gradient maps that depict n-dimensional compositional complexity as a single, consistent RGB color combination. In total, derived remotely sensed predictors explain 71%, 54%, and 48% of the variation in the first three components of vascular plant composition, respectively. Among all remotely sensed environmental gradients, topography derived from LiDAR ground returns, forest structure estimated from LiDAR all returns, and morphological-biochemical traits determined from hyperspectral imagery each significantly correspond to the three primary axes of floristic composition in the study site. Results confirm the complementarity of LiDAR and hyperspectral sensors for modeling the environmental gradients constraining landscape turnover in vascular plant composition and hold promise for predictive mapping applications spanning local land management to global ecosystem modeling. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

10KP: A phylodiverse genome sequencing plan.

PubMed

Cheng, Shifeng; Melkonian, Michael; Smith, Stephen A; Brockington, Samuel; Archibald, John M; Delaux, Pierre-Marc; Li, Fay-Wei; Melkonian, Barbara; Mavrodiev, Evgeny V; Sun, Wenjing; Fu, Yuan; Yang, Huanming; Soltis, Douglas E; Graham, Sean W; Soltis, Pamela S; Liu, Xin; Xu, Xun; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu

2018-03-01

Understanding plant evolution and diversity in a phylogenomic context is an enormous challenge due, in part, to limited availability of genome-scale data across phylodiverse species. The 10KP (10,000 Plants) Genome Sequencing Project will sequence and characterize representative genomes from every major clade of embryophytes, green algae, and protists (excluding fungi) within the next 5 years. By implementing and continuously improving leading-edge sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools, 10KP will catalogue the genome content of plant and protist diversity and make these data freely available as an enduring foundation for future scientific discoveries and applications. 10KP is structured as an international consortium, open to the global community, including botanical gardens, plant research institutes, universities, and private industry. Our immediate goal is to establish a policy framework for this endeavor, the principles of which are outlined here.

Controls for multi-scale temporal variation in methane flux of a subtropical tidal salt marsh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H.

2016-12-01

Coastal wetlands provide critical carbon sequestration benefits, yet the production of methane (CH4) from these ecosystems can vary by an order of magnitude based on environmental and biological factors. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements for methane flux (FCH4) were performed in a subtropical tidal salt marsh of eastern China over 20 months. Spectral analysis techniques including the continuous wavelet transform, the wavelet coherence, the partial wavelet coherence and the multiple wavelet coherence were employed to analyze the periodicities and the main regulating factors of FCH4 in the tidal salt marsh. The annual budget of methane was 17.8 g C-CH4 m-2 yr-1, which was relatively high compared to those of most reported from inland wetland sites. In non-growing season, release of ebullition was the dominant driving mechanism for variability of FCH4 from hourly to monthly scales. There was no single dominant factor at short-term scale (half-day to 1-day) in growing season. It is worthwhile to note that tide was one of the most important factors regulating FCH4 at short time scale (half-day to 1-day). In comparison, the contribution of temperature to FCH4 at a short time scale (half-day to 1-day) was small due to its narrow range. In addition, plant-modulated transport and gross primary production also contributed to FCH4 at multiple temporal scales in this densely vegetated marsh, especially at weekly to monthly scales. Due to the complex interactive influences of tidal dynamics, temperature fluctuation, plant productivity, plant-mediated transport and release of ebullition on FCH4 exhibited no clear pattern of diurnal variation, but instead was highly variable.

Research and development in pilot plant production of granular NPK fertilizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Failaka, Muhamad Fariz; Firdausi, Nadia Zahrotul; Chairunnisa, Altway, Ali

2017-05-01

PT Pupuk Kaltim (Pupuk Kaltim) as one of the biggest fertilizer manufacturer in Indonesia, always striving to improve the product quality and achieve the optimal performance while facing the challenges of global competition NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) market. In order to continuously improve operations and processes of two units NPK compound plant, Pupuk Kaltim has successfully initiated a new facility which is referred to as a NPK pilot-scale research facility with design capacity of 30 kg/hr. This mini-plant is used to assist in the scale up of new innovations from laboratory research to better understand the effect of using new raw materials and experiment with process changes to improve quality and efficiency. The pilot installation is composed of the following main parts: mixer, screw feeder, granulator, dryer and cooler. The granulator is the equipment where NPK granules is formed by spraying appropriate steam and water onto raw materials in a rotating drum. The rotary dryer and cooler are intended for the drying process where temperature reduction and the final moisture are obtained. As a part of innovations project since 2014, the pilot plant has conducted many of experiments such as trials using Ammonium Sulfate (ZA) as a new raw material, alternative raw materials of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Potassium Chloride (KCl) and clay, and using a novel material of fly ash. In addition, the process engineering staff also conduct the trials of raw materials ratio so that an ideal formulation with lower cost can be obtained especially when it is applied in the existing full-scale plant.

Increase of methane formation by ethanol addition during continuous fermentation of biogas sludge.

PubMed

Refai, Sarah; Wassmann, Kati; van Helmont, Sebastian; Berger, Stefanie; Deppenmeier, Uwe

2014-12-01

Very recently, it was shown that the addition of acetate or ethanol led to enhanced biogas formation rates during an observation period of 24 h. To determine if increased methane production rates due to ethanol addition can be maintained over longer time periods, continuous reactors filled with biogas sludge were developed which were fed with the same substrates as the full-scale reactor from which the sludge was derived. These reactors are well reflected conditions of a full-scale biogas plant during a period of 14 days. When the fermenters were pulsed with 50-100 mM ethanol, biomethanation increased by 50-150 %, depending on the composition of the biogas sludge. It was also possible to increase methane formation significantly when 10-20 mM pure ethanol or ethanolic solutions (e.g. beer) were added daily. In summary, the experiments revealed that "normal" methane production continued to take place, but ethanol led to production of additional methane.

Canopy nitrogen, carbon assimilation, and albedo in temperate and boreal forests: Functional relations and potential climate feedbacks.

PubMed

Ollinger, S V; Richardson, A D; Martin, M E; Hollinger, D Y; Frolking, S E; Reich, P B; Plourde, L C; Katul, G G; Munger, J W; Oren, R; Smith, M-L; Paw U, K T; Bolstad, P V; Cook, B D; Day, M C; Martin, T A; Monson, R K; Schmid, H P

2008-12-09

The availability of nitrogen represents a key constraint on carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, and it is largely in this capacity that the role of N in the Earth's climate system has been considered. Despite this, few studies have included continuous variation in plant N status as a driver of broad-scale carbon cycle analyses. This is partly because of uncertainties in how leaf-level physiological relationships scale to whole ecosystems and because methods for regional to continental detection of plant N concentrations have yet to be developed. Here, we show that ecosystem CO(2) uptake capacity in temperate and boreal forests scales directly with whole-canopy N concentrations, mirroring a leaf-level trend that has been observed for woody plants worldwide. We further show that both CO(2) uptake capacity and canopy N concentration are strongly and positively correlated with shortwave surface albedo. These results suggest that N plays an additional, and overlooked, role in the climate system via its influence on vegetation reflectivity and shortwave surface energy exchange. We also demonstrate that much of the spatial variation in canopy N can be detected by using broad-band satellite sensors, offering a means through which these findings can be applied toward improved application of coupled carbon cycle-climate models.

Canopy nitrogen, carbon assimilation, and albedo in temperate and boreal forests: Functional relations and potential climate feedbacks

PubMed Central

Ollinger, S. V.; Richardson, A. D.; Martin, M. E.; Hollinger, D. Y.; Frolking, S. E.; Reich, P. B.; Plourde, L. C.; Katul, G. G.; Munger, J. W.; Oren, R.; Smith, M.-L.; Paw U, K. T.; Bolstad, P. V.; Cook, B. D.; Day, M. C.; Martin, T. A.; Monson, R. K.; Schmid, H. P.

2008-01-01

The availability of nitrogen represents a key constraint on carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, and it is largely in this capacity that the role of N in the Earth's climate system has been considered. Despite this, few studies have included continuous variation in plant N status as a driver of broad-scale carbon cycle analyses. This is partly because of uncertainties in how leaf-level physiological relationships scale to whole ecosystems and because methods for regional to continental detection of plant N concentrations have yet to be developed. Here, we show that ecosystem CO2 uptake capacity in temperate and boreal forests scales directly with whole-canopy N concentrations, mirroring a leaf-level trend that has been observed for woody plants worldwide. We further show that both CO2 uptake capacity and canopy N concentration are strongly and positively correlated with shortwave surface albedo. These results suggest that N plays an additional, and overlooked, role in the climate system via its influence on vegetation reflectivity and shortwave surface energy exchange. We also demonstrate that much of the spatial variation in canopy N can be detected by using broad-band satellite sensors, offering a means through which these findings can be applied toward improved application of coupled carbon cycle–climate models. PMID:19052233

Model for the techno-economic analysis of common work of wind power and CCGT power plant to offer constant level of power in the electricity market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomsic, Z.; Rajsl, I.; Filipovic, M.

2017-11-01

Wind power varies over time, mainly under the influence of meteorological fluctuations. The variations occur on all time scales. Understanding these variations and their predictability is of key importance for the integration and optimal utilization of wind in the power system. There are two major attributes of variable generation that notably impact the participation on power exchanges: Variability (the output of variable generation changes and resulting in fluctuations in the plant output on all time scales) and Uncertainty (the magnitude and timing of variable generation output is less predictable, wind power output has low levels of predictability). Because of these variability and uncertainty wind plants cannot participate to electricity market, especially to power exchanges. For this purpose, the paper presents techno-economic analysis of work of wind plants together with combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant as support for offering continues power to electricity market. A model of wind farms and CCGT plant was developed in program PLEXOS based on real hourly input data and all characteristics of CCGT with especial analysis of techno-economic characteristics of different types of starts and stops of the plant. The Model analyzes the followings: costs of different start-stop characteristics (hot, warm, cold start-ups and shutdowns) and part load performance of CCGT. Besides the costs, the technical restrictions were considered such as start-up time depending on outage duration, minimum operation time, and minimum load or peaking capability. For calculation purposes, the following parameters are necessary to know in order to be able to economically evaluate changes in the start-up process: ramp up and down rate, time of start time reduction, fuel mass flow during start, electricity production during start, variable cost of start-up process, cost and charges for life time consumption for each start and start type, remuneration during start up time regarding expected or unexpected starts, the cost and revenues for balancing energy (important when participating in electricity market), and the cost or revenues for CO2-certificates. Main motivation for this analysis is to investigate possibilities to participate on power exchanges by offering continues guarantied power from wind plants by backing-up them with CCGT power plant.

Coal desulfurization by low temperature chlorinolysis, phase 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalvinskas, J. J.; Rohatgi, N. K.; Ernest, J.

1981-01-01

Laboratory scale, bench scale batch reactor, and minipilot plant tests were conducted on 22 bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coals. Chemical pretreatment and post treatment of coals relative to the chlorination were tried as a means of enhancing desulfurization by the chlorinolysis process. Elevated temperature (500-700 C) hydrogen treatment of chlorinolysis-processed coal at atmospheric pressure was found to substantially increase coal desulfurization up to 90 percent. Sulfur forms, proximate and ultimate analyses of the processed coal are included. Minipilot plant operation indicates that the continuous flow reactor provides coal desulfurization results comparable to those obtained in the batch reactor. Seven runs were conducted at coal feed rates of 1.5 to 8.8 kg per hour using water and methylchloroform solvents, gaseous chlorine feed of 3 to 31.4 SCFH at 21 to 70 C, and atmospheric pressure for retention times of 20 to 120 minutes.

Interaction Between the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Wind Energy: From Continental-Scale to Turbine-Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St. Martin, Clara Mae

Wind turbines and groups of wind turbines, or "wind plants", interact with the complex and heterogeneous boundary layer of the atmosphere. We define the boundary layer as the portion of the atmosphere directly influenced by the surface, and this layer exhibits variability on a range of temporal and spatial scales. While early developments in wind energy could ignore some of this variability, recent work demonstrates that improved understanding of atmosphere-turbine interactions leads to the discovery of new ways to approach turbine technology development as well as processes such as performance validation and turbine operations. This interaction with the atmosphere occurs at several spatial and temporal scales from continental-scale to turbine-scale. Understanding atmospheric variability over continental-scales and across plants can facilitate reliance on wind energy as a baseload energy source on the electrical grid. On turbine scales, understanding the atmosphere's contribution to the variability in power production can improve the accuracy of power production estimates as we continue to implement more wind energy onto the grid. Wind speed and directional variability within a plant will affect wind turbine wakes within the plants and among neighboring plants, and a deeper knowledge of these variations can help mitigate effects of wakes and possibly even allow the manipulation of these wakes for increased production. Herein, I present the extent of my PhD work, in which I studied outstanding questions at these scales at the intersections of wind energy and atmospheric science. My work consists of four distinct projects. At the coarsest scales, I analyze the separation between wind plant sites needed for statistical independence in order to reduce variability for grid-integration of wind. At lower wind speeds, periods of unstable and more turbulent conditions produce more power than periods of stable and less turbulent conditions, while at wind speeds closer to rated wind speed, periods of unstable and more turbulent conditions produce less power than periods of stable and less turbulent conditions. Using these new, stability- and turbulence-specific power curves to calculate annual energy production (AEP) estimates results in smaller AEPs than if calculated using no stability and turbulence filters, which could have implications for manufacturers and operators. In my third project, I address the problem of expensive power production validation. Rather than erecting towers to provide upwind wind measurements, I explore the utility of using nacelle-mounted anemometers for power curve verification studies. I calculate empirical nacelle transfer functions (NTFs) with upwind tower and turbine measurements. The fifth-order and second-order NTFs show a linear relationship between upwind wind speed and nacelle wind speed at wind speeds less than about 9 m s-1 , but this relationship becomes non-linear at wind speeds higher than about 9 m s-1. The use of NTFs results in AEPs within 1 % of an AEP using upwind wind speeds. Additionally, during periods of unstable conditions as well as during more turbulent conditions, the nacelle-mounted anemometer underestimates the upwind wind speed more than during periods of stable conditions and less turbulence conditions at some wind speed bins below rated speed. Finally, in my fourth project, I consider spatial scales on the order of a wind plant. Using power production data from over 300 turbines from four neighboring wind farms in the western US along with simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model's Wind Farm Parameterization (WRF-WFP), I investigate the advantage of using the WFP to simulate wakes. During this case, winds from the west and north-northwest range from about 5 to 11 m s-1. A down-ramp occurs in this case study, which WRF predicts too early. The early prediction of the down-ramp likely affects the error in WRF-predicted power, the results of which show exaggerated wake effects. While these projects span a range of spatio-temporal scales, a unifying theme is the important aspect of atmospheric variation on wind power production, wind power production estimates, and means for facilitating the integration of wind-generated electricity into power grids. Future work, such as universal NTFs for sites with similar characteristics, NTFs for waked turbines, or the deployment of lidars on turbine nacelles for operation purposes, should continue to study the mutually-important interconnections between these two fields. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Plant Enhanced Bioremediation of Dissolved Toluene in Large Scale Column Setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, S.; Yadav, B. K.; Mathur, S.

2016-12-01

Hydrocarbons like BTEX compounds entering the soil-water system through anthropogenic activities can be long lasting sources of pollution, and thus, it is essential to look for remediation options that are environmentally benign. Bioremediation is a promising cost effective technique causing no harm to the contaminated ecosystem as compared to the traditional physicochemical methods. Natural microbes degrade contaminants from polluted soil water resources in bioremediation; however this process of natural bioremediation is quite slow under prevailing environmental conditions of a typical polluted site. Research has also proven that plants play an important role when it comes to accelerate the degradation rate cost-effectively in enhanced bioremediation technique. Thus in this study, fate and transport of dissolved toluene from a source zone to down-gradient receptors in a continuous soil-water plant system was investigated. For this, two sets of large scale column experiments were performed by connecting them with a treatment wetland having canna plants in first set and unplanted gravel bed in the second set. A continuous source of toluene contaminated water was supplied at the top of the column setups. A constant groundwater flow velocity of 0.625 cm/hr was maintained in the vertical direction. Free drainage was allowed at the bottom and a constant hydraulic head of 2.0 cm was maintained at the top boundary throughout the period of the experiments in both the cases. The observed microbial colonies using the plate counting method along with measured dissolved oxygen (DO) proved that the BTEX compound degraded aerobically at a faster rate in the first set. Plants played a positive role in enhancing biodegradation rate of the BTEX compound during its transport through the porous media. Finally the observed data of the column experiments were compared with the breakthrough curves obtained numerically solving the advection dispersion equation. The results of this research can be used to obtain vital information on framing the engineered bioremediation planning for contaminated sites.

Reproductive phenology of coastal plain Atlantic forest vegetation: comparisons from seashore to foothills.

PubMed

Staggemeier, Vanessa Graziele; Morellato, Leonor Patrícia Cerdeira

2011-11-01

The diversity of tropical forest plant phenology has called the attention of researchers for a long time. We continue investigating the factors that drive phenological diversity on a wide scale, but we are unaware of the variation of plant reproductive phenology at a fine spatial scale despite the high spatial variation in species composition and abundance in tropical rainforests. We addressed fine scale variability by investigating the reproductive phenology of three contiguous vegetations across the Atlantic rainforest coastal plain in Southeastern Brazil. We asked whether the vegetations differed in composition and abundance of species, the microenvironmental conditions and the reproductive phenology, and how their phenology is related to regional and local microenvironmental factors. The study was conducted from September 2007 to August 2009 at three contiguous sites: (1) seashore dominated by scrub vegetation, (2) intermediary covered by restinga forest and (3) foothills covered by restinga pre-montane transitional forest. We conducted the microenvironmental, plant and phenological survey within 30 transects of 25 m × 4 m (10 per site). We detected significant differences in floristic, microenvironment and reproductive phenology among the three vegetations. The microenvironment determines the spatial diversity observed in the structure and composition of the flora, which in turn determines the distinctive flowering and fruiting peaks of each vegetation (phenological diversity). There was an exchange of species providing flowers and fruits across the vegetation complex. We conclude that plant reproductive patterns as described in most phenological studies (without concern about the microenvironmental variation) may conceal the fine scale temporal phenological diversity of highly diverse tropical vegetation. This phenological diversity should be taken into account when generating sensor-derived phenologies and when trying to understand tropical vegetation responses to environmental changes.

Bench-Scale Development of a Non-Aqueous Solvent (NAS) CO2 Capture Process for Coal-Fired Power Plants

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

Lail, Marty

The project aimed to advance RTI’s non-aqueous amine solvent technology by improving the solvent to reduce volatility, demonstrating long-term continuous operation at lab- (0.5 liters solvent) and bench-scale (~120 liters solvent), showing low reboiler heat duty measured during bench-scale testing, evaluating degradation products, building a rate-based process model, and evaluating the techno-economic performance of the process. The project team (RTI, SINTEF, Linde Engineering) and the technology performed well in each area of advancement. The modifications incorporated throughout the project enabled the attainment of target absorber and regenerator conditions for the process. Reboiler duties below 2,000 kJt/kg CO2 were observed inmore » a bench-scale test unit operated at RTI.« less

Time Series Remote Sensing in Monitoring the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Plant Invasions: A Study of Invasive Saltcedar (Tamarix Spp.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diao, Chunyuan

In today's big data era, the increasing availability of satellite and airborne platforms at various spatial and temporal scales creates unprecedented opportunities to understand the complex and dynamic systems (e.g., plant invasion). Time series remote sensing is becoming more and more important to monitor the earth system dynamics and interactions. To date, most of the time series remote sensing studies have been conducted with the images acquired at coarse spatial scale, due to their relatively high temporal resolution. The construction of time series at fine spatial scale, however, is limited to few or discrete images acquired within or across years. The objective of this research is to advance the time series remote sensing at fine spatial scale, particularly to shift from discrete time series remote sensing to continuous time series remote sensing. The objective will be achieved through the following aims: 1) Advance intra-annual time series remote sensing under the pure-pixel assumption; 2) Advance intra-annual time series remote sensing under the mixed-pixel assumption; 3) Advance inter-annual time series remote sensing in monitoring the land surface dynamics; and 4) Advance the species distribution model with time series remote sensing. Taking invasive saltcedar as an example, four methods (i.e., phenological time series remote sensing model, temporal partial unmixing method, multiyear spectral angle clustering model, and time series remote sensing-based spatially explicit species distribution model) were developed to achieve the objectives. Results indicated that the phenological time series remote sensing model could effectively map saltcedar distributions through characterizing the seasonal phenological dynamics of plant species throughout the year. The proposed temporal partial unmixing method, compared to conventional unmixing methods, could more accurately estimate saltcedar abundance within a pixel by exploiting the adequate temporal signatures of saltcedar. The multiyear spectral angle clustering model could guide the selection of the most representative remotely sensed image for repetitive saltcedar mapping over space and time. Through incorporating spatial autocorrelation, the species distribution model developed in the study could identify the suitable habitats of saltcedar at a fine spatial scale and locate appropriate areas at high risk of saltcedar infestation. Among 10 environmental variables, the distance to the river and the phenological attributes summarized by the time series remote sensing were regarded as the most important. These methods developed in the study provide new perspectives on how the continuous time series can be leveraged under various conditions to investigate the plant invasion dynamics.

Small-scale drivers: the importance of nutrient availability and snowmelt timing on performance of the alpine shrub Salix herbacea.

PubMed

Little, Chelsea J; Wheeler, Julia A; Sedlacek, Janosch; Cortés, Andrés J; Rixen, Christian

2016-04-01

Alpine plant communities are predicted to face range shifts and possibly extinctions with climate change. Fine-scale environmental variation such as nutrient availability or snowmelt timing may contribute to the ability of plant species to persist locally; however, variation in nutrient availability in alpine landscapes is largely unmeasured. On three mountains around Davos, Switzerland, we deployed Plant Root Simulator probes around 58 Salix herbacea plants along an elevational and microhabitat gradient to measure nutrient availability during the first 5 weeks of the summer growing season, and used in situ temperature loggers and observational data to determine date of spring snowmelt. We also visited the plants weekly to assess performance, as measured by stem number, fruiting, and herbivory damage. We found a wide snowmelt gradient which determined growing season length, as well as variations of an order of magnitude or more in the accumulation of 12 nutrients between different microhabitats. Higher nutrient availability had negative effects on most shrub performance metrics, for instance decreasing stem number and the proportion of stems producing fruits. High nutrient availability was associated with increased herbivory damage in early-melting microhabitats, but among late-emerging plants this pattern was reversed. We demonstrate that nutrient availability is highly variable in alpine settings, and that it strongly influences performance in an alpine dwarf shrub, sometimes modifying the response of shrubs to snowmelt timing. As the climate warms and human-induced nitrogen deposition continues in the Alps, these factors may contribute to patterns of local plants persistence.

Rhizofiltration using sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. vulgaris) to remediate uranium contaminated groundwater.

PubMed

Lee, Minhee; Yang, Minjune

2010-01-15

The uranium removal efficiencies of rhizofiltration in the remediation of groundwater were investigated in lab-scale experiments. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. vulgaris) were cultivated and an artificially uranium contaminated solution and three genuine groundwater samples were used in the experiments. More than 80% of the initial uranium in solution and genuine groundwater, respectively, was removed within 24h by using sunflower and the residual uranium concentration of the treated water was lower than 30 microg/L (USEPA drinking water limit). For bean, the uranium removal efficiency of the rhizofiltration was roughly 60-80%. The maximum uranium removal via rhizofiltration for the two plant cultivars occurred at pH 3-5 of solution and their uranium removal efficiencies exceeded 90%. The lab-scale continuous rhizofiltration clean-up system delivered over 99% uranium removal efficiency, and the results of SEM and EDS analyses indicated that most uranium accumulated in the roots of plants. The present results suggested that the uranium removal capacity of two plants evaluated in the clean-up system was about 25mg/kg of wet plant mass. Notably, the removal capacity of the root parts only was more than 500 mg/kg.

How does the foraging behavior of large herbivores cause different associational plant defenses?

PubMed Central

Huang, Yue; Wang, Ling; Wang, Deli; Zeng, De-Hui; Liu, Chen

2016-01-01

The attractant-decoy hypothesis predicts that focal plants can defend against herbivory by neighboring with preferred plant species when herbivores make decisions at the plant species scale. The repellent-plant hypothesis assumes that focal plants will gain protection by associating with nonpreferred neighbors when herbivores are selective at the patch scale. However, herbivores usually make foraging decisions at these scales simultaneously. The net outcomes of the focal plant vulnerability could depend on the spatial scale at which the magnitude of selectivity by the herbivores is stronger. We quantified and compared the within- and between-patch overall selectivity index (OSI) of sheep to examine the relationships between associational plant effects and herbivore foraging selectivity. We found that the sheep OSI was stronger at the within- than the between-patch scale, but focal plant vulnerability followed both hypotheses. Focal plants defended herbivory with preferred neighbors when the OSI difference between the two scales was large. Focal plants gained protection with nonpreferred neighbors when the OSI difference was narrowed. Therefore, the difference in selectivity by the herbivores between the relevant scales results in different associational plant defenses. Our study suggests important implications for understanding plant-herbivore interactions and grassland management. PMID:26847834

Analysis of the environmental issues concerning the deployment of an OTEC power plant in Martinique.

PubMed

Devault, Damien A; Péné-Annette, Anne

2017-11-01

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a form of power generation, which exploits the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and cold deep seawater. Suitable conditions for OTEC occur in deep warm seas, especially the Caribbean, the Red Sea and parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The continuous power provided by this renewable power source makes a useful contribution to a renewable energy mix because of the intermittence of the other major renewable power sources, i.e. solar or wind power. Industrial-scale OTEC power plants have simply not been built. However, recent innovations and greater political awareness of power transition to renewable energy sources have strengthened the support for such power plants and, after preliminary studies in the Reunion Island (Indian Ocean), the Martinique Island (West Indies) has been selected for the development of the first full-size OTEC power plant in the world, to be a showcase for testing and demonstration. An OTEC plant, even if the energy produced is cheap, calls for high initial capital investment. However, this technology is of interest mainly in tropical areas where funding is limited. The cost of innovations to create an operational OTEC plant has to be amortized, and this technology remains expensive. This paper will discuss the heuristic, technical and socio-economic limits and consequences of deploying an OTEC plant in Martinique to highlight respectively the impact of the OTEC plant on the environment the impact of the environment on the OTEC plant. After defining OTEC, we will describe the different constraints relating to the setting up of the first operational-scale plant worldwide. This includes the investigations performed (reporting declassified data), the political context and the local acceptance of the project. We will then provide an overview of the processes involved in the OTEC plant and discuss the feasibility of future OTEC installations. We will also list the extensive marine investigations required prior to installation and the dangers of setting up OTEC plants in inappropriate locations.

PERFORM 60 - Prediction of the effects of radiation for reactor pressure vessel and in-core materials using multi-scale modelling - 60 years foreseen plant lifetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leclercq, Sylvain; Lidbury, David; Van Dyck, Steven; Moinereau, Dominique; Alamo, Ana; Mazouzi, Abdou Al

2010-11-01

In nuclear power plants, materials may undergo degradation due to severe irradiation conditions that may limit their operational life. Utilities that operate these reactors need to quantify the ageing and the potential degradations of some essential structures of the power plant to ensure safe and reliable plant operation. So far, the material databases needed to take account of these degradations in the design and safe operation of installations mainly rely on long-term irradiation programs in test reactors as well as on mechanical or corrosion testing in specialized hot cells. Continuous progress in the physical understanding of the phenomena involved in irradiation damage and continuous progress in computer sciences have now made possible the development of multi-scale numerical tools able to simulate the effects of irradiation on materials microstructure. A first step towards this goal has been successfully reached through the development of the RPV-2 and Toughness Module numerical tools by the scientific community created around the FP6 PERFECT project. These tools allow to simulate irradiation effects on the constitutive behaviour of the reactor pressure vessel low alloy steel, and also on its failure properties. Relying on the existing PERFECT Roadmap, the 4 years Collaborative Project PERFORM 60 has mainly for objective to develop multi-scale tools aimed at predicting the combined effects of irradiation and corrosion on internals (austenitic stainless steels) and also to improve existing ones on RPV (bainitic steels). PERFORM 60 is based on two technical sub-projects: (i) RPV and (ii) internals. In addition to these technical sub-projects, the Users' Group and Training sub-project shall allow representatives of constructors, utilities, research organizations… from Europe, USA and Japan to receive the information and training to get their own appraisal on limits and potentialities of the developed tools. An important effort will also be made to teach young researchers in the field of materials' degradation. PERFORM 60 has officially started on March 1st, 2009 with 20 European organizations and Universities involved in the nuclear field.

Discriminating plant species across California's diverse ecosystems using airborne VSWIR and TIR imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meerdink, S.; Roberts, D. A.; Roth, K. L.

2015-12-01

Accurate knowledge of the spatial distribution of plant species is required for many research and management agendas that track ecosystem health. Because of this, there is continuous development of research focused on remotely-sensed species classifications for many diverse ecosystems. While plant species have been mapped using airborne imaging spectroscopy, the geographic extent has been limited due to data availability and spectrally similar species continue to be difficult to separate. The proposed Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) space-borne mission, which includes a visible near infrared/shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometer and thermal infrared (TIR) multi-spectral imager, would present an opportunity to improve species discrimination over a much broader scale. Here we evaluate: 1) the capability of VSWIR and/or TIR spectra to discriminate plant species; 2) the accuracy of species classifications within an ecosystem; and 3) the potential for discriminating among species across a range of ecosystems. Simulated HyspIRI imagery was acquired in spring/summer of 2013 spanning from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, CA with the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instruments. Three spectral libraries were created from these images: AVIRIS (224 bands from 0.4 - 2.5 µm), MASTER (8 bands from 7.5 - 12 µm), and AVIRIS + MASTER. We used canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) as a dimension reduction technique and then classified plant species using linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Our results show the inclusion of TIR spectra improved species discrimination, but only for plant species with emissivities departing from that of a gray body. Ecosystems with species that have high spectral contrast had higher classification accuracies. Mapping plant species across all ecosystems resulted in a classification with lower accuracies than a single ecosystem due to the complex nature of incorporating more plant species.

Response of pest control by generalist predators to local-scale plant diversity: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Dassou, Anicet Gbèblonoudo; Tixier, Philippe

2016-02-01

Disentangling the effects of plant diversity on the control of herbivores is important for understanding agricultural sustainability. Recent studies have investigated the relationships between plant diversity and arthropod communities at the landscape scale, but few have done so at the local scale. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 papers containing 175 independent measures of the relationship between plant diversity and arthropod communities. We found that generalist predators had a strong positive response to plant diversity, that is, their abundance increased as plant diversity increased. Herbivores, in contrast, had an overall weak and negative response to plant diversity. However, specialist and generalist herbivores differed in their response to plant diversity, that is, the response was negative for specialists and not significant for generalists. While the effects of scale remain unclear, the response to plant diversity tended to increase for specialist herbivores, but decrease for generalist herbivores as the scale increased. There was no clear effect of scale on the response of generalist predators to plant diversity. Our results suggest that the response of herbivores to plant diversity at the local scale is a balance between habitat and trophic effects that vary according to arthropod specialization and habitat type. Synthesis and applications. Positive effects of plant diversity on generalist predators confirm that, at the local scale, plant diversification of agroecosystems is a credible and promising option for increasing pest regulation. Results from our meta-analysis suggest that natural control in plant-diversified systems is more likely to occur for specialist than for generalist herbivores. In terms of pest management, our results indicate that small-scale plant diversification (via the planting of cover crops or intercrops and reduced weed management) is likely to increase the control of specialist herbivores by generalist predators.

Full-scale treatment of wastewater from a biodiesel fuel production plant with alkali-catalyzed transesterification.

PubMed

De Gisi, Sabino; Galasso, Maurizio; De Feo, Giovanni

2013-01-01

The treatment of wastewater derived from a biodiesel fuel (BDF) production plant with alkali-catalyzed transesterification was studied at full scale. The investigated wastewater treatment plant consisted of the following phases: primary adsorption/coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation processes, biological treatment with the combination of trickling filter and activated sludge systems, secondary flocculation/sedimentation processes, and reverse osmosis (RO) system with spiral membranes. All the processes were developed in a continuous mode, while the RO experiment was performed with batch tests. Two types of BDF wastewater were considered: the first wastewater (WW1) had an average total chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH and feed flow rate of 10,850.8 mg/L, 5.9 and 2946.7 L/h, respectively, while the second wastewater (WW2) had an average total COD, pH and feed flow rate of 43,898.9 mg/L, 3.3 and 2884.6 L/h, respectively. The obtained results from the continuous tests showed a COD removal percentage of more than 90% for the two types of wastewater considered. The removal of biorefractory COD and salts was obtained with a membrane technology in order to reuse the RO permeate in the factory production cycle. The rejections percentage of soluble COD, chlorides and sulphates were 92.8%, 95.0% and 99.5%, respectively. Because the spiral membranes required a high number of washing cycles, the use of plane membranes was preferable. Finally, the RO reject material should be evaporated using the large amount of inexpensive heat present in this type of industry.

Measurements of liquid phase residence time distributions in a pilot-scale continuous leaching reactor using radiotracer technique.

PubMed

Pant, H J; Sharma, V K; Shenoy, K T; Sreenivas, T

2015-03-01

An alkaline based continuous leaching process is commonly used for extraction of uranium from uranium ore. The reactor in which the leaching process is carried out is called a continuous leaching reactor (CLR) and is expected to behave as a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) for the liquid phase. A pilot-scale CLR used in a Technology Demonstration Pilot Plant (TDPP) was designed, installed and operated; and thus needed to be tested for its hydrodynamic behavior. A radiotracer investigation was carried out in the CLR for measurement of residence time distribution (RTD) of liquid phase with specific objectives to characterize the flow behavior of the reactor and validate its design. Bromine-82 as ammonium bromide was used as a radiotracer and about 40-60MBq activity was used in each run. The measured RTD curves were treated and mean residence times were determined and simulated using a tanks-in-series model. The result of simulation indicated no flow abnormality and the reactor behaved as an ideal CSTR for the range of the operating conditions used in the investigation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental and biological controls of urban tree transpiration in the Upper Midwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters, E. B.; McFadden, J.; Montgomery, R.

2009-12-01

Urban trees provide a variety of ecosystem services to urban and suburban areas, including carbon uptake, climate amelioration, energy reduction, and stormwater management. Tree transpiration, in particular, modifies urban water budgets by providing an alternative pathway for water after rain events. The relative importance of environmental and biological controls on transpiration are poorly understood in urban areas, yet these controls are important for quantifying and scaling up the ecosystem services that urban trees provide at landscape and regional scales and predicting how urban ecosystems will respond to climate changes. The objectives of our study were to quantify the annual cycle of tree transpiration in an urban ecosystem and to determine how different urban tree species and plant functional types respond to environmental drivers. We continuously measured whole-tree transpiration using thermal dissipation sap flow at four urban forest stands that were broadly representative of the species composition and tree sizes found in a suburban residential neighborhood of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. A total of 40 trees, representing different species, plant functional types, successional stages, and xylem anatomy, were sampled throughout the 2007 and 2008 growing seasons (April-November). At each site we monitored soil moisture, air temperature, and relative humidity continuously, and we measured leaf area index weekly. Urban tree transpiration was strongly correlated with diurnal changes in vapor pressure deficit and photosynthetically active radiation and with seasonal changes in leaf area index. We found that plant functional type better explained species differences in transpiration per canopy area than either successional stage or xylem anatomy, largely due to differences in canopy structure between conifer and broad-leaf deciduous trees. We also observed inter-annual differences in transpiration rates due to a mid-season drought and longer growing season in 2007, compared with the cooler, wetter conditions in 2008. These results were scaled to estimate the relative contribution of each tree type at the scale of a suburban landscape. The findings of this study have implications for understanding the role of trees in managing urban water budgets and predicting the impacts of climate change on urban ecosystem services.

27 CFR 19.53 - Continuity of plant premises.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Continuity of plant... BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS DISTILLED SPIRITS PLANTS Restrictions on Production, Location, and Use of Plants Rules for Location and Use of A Dsp § 19.53 Continuity of plant premises. As a...

27 CFR 19.53 - Continuity of plant premises.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Continuity of plant... BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ALCOHOL DISTILLED SPIRITS PLANTS Restrictions on Production, Location, and Use of Plants Rules for Location and Use of A Dsp § 19.53 Continuity of plant premises. As a...

Interpreting Carbon Fluxes from a Spatially Heterogeneous Peatland with Thawing Permafrost: Scaling from Plant Community Scale to Ecosystem Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harder, S. R.; Roulet, N. T.; Strachan, I. B.; Crill, P. M.; Persson, A.; Pelletier, L.; Watt, C.

2014-12-01

Various microforms, created by spatial differential thawing of permafrost, make up the subarctic heterogeneous Stordalen peatland complex (68°22'N, 19°03'E), near Abisko, Sweden. This results in significantly different peatland vegetation communities across short distances, as well as differences in wetness, temperature and peat substrates. We have been measuring the spatially integrated CO2, heat and water vapour fluxes from this peatland complex using eddy covariance and the CO2 exchange from specific plant communities within the EC tower footprint since spring 2008. With this data we are examining if it is possible to derive the spatially integrated ecosystem-wide fluxes from community-level simple light use efficiency (LUE) and ecosystem respiration (ER) models. These models have been developed using several years of continuous autochamber flux measurements for the three major plant functional types (PFTs) as well as knowledge of the spatial variability of the vegetation, water table and active layer depths. LIDAR was used to produce a 1 m resolution digital evaluation model of the complex and the spatial distribution of PFTs was obtained from concurrent high-resolution digital colour air photography trained from vegetation surveys. Continuous water table depths have been measured for four years at over 40 locations in the complex, and peat temperatures and active layer depths are surveyed every 10 days at more than 100 locations. The EC footprint is calculated for every half-hour and the PFT based models are run with the corresponding environmental variables weighted for the PFTs within the EC footprint. Our results show that the Sphagnum, palsa, and sedge PFTs have distinctly different LUE models, and that the tower fluxes are dominated by a blend of the Sphagnum and palsa PFTs. We also see a distinctly different energy partitioning between the fetches containing intact palsa and those with thawed palsa: the evaporative efficiency is higher and the Bowen ration lower for the thawed palsa fetches.

GAS/LIQUID MEMBRANES FOR NATURAL GAS UPGRADING

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

Howard S. Meyer

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is conducting this research program whose objective is to develop gas/liquid membranes for natural gas upgrading to assist DOE in achieving their goal of developing novel methods of upgrading low quality natural gas to meet pipeline specifications. Kvaerner Process Systems (KPS) and W. L. Gore & Associates (GORE) gas/liquid membrane contactors are based on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes acting as the contacting barrier between the contaminated gas stream and the absorbing liquid. These resilient membranes provide much greater surface area for transfer than other tower internals, with packing densities five to ten times greater, resulting inmore » equipment 50-70% smaller and lower weight for the same treating service. The scope of the research program is to (1) build and install a laboratory- and a field-scale gas/liquid membrane absorber; (2) operate the units with a low quality natural gas feed stream for sufficient time to verify the simulation model of the contactors and to project membrane life in this severe service; and (3) conducted an economic evaluation, based on the data, to quantify the impact of the technology. Chevron, one of the major producers of natural gas, has offered to host the test at a gas treating plant. KPS will use their position as a recognized leader in the construction of commercial amine plants for building the unit along with GORE providing the membranes. GTI will provide operator and data collection support during lab- and field-testing to assure proper analytical procedures are used. Kvaerner and GTI will perform the final economic evaluation. GTI will provide project management and be responsible for reporting and interactions with DOE on this project. Efforts this quarter have concentrated on field site selection. ChevronTexaco has nominated their Headlee Gas Plant in Odessa, TX for a commercial-scale dehydration test. Design and cost estimation for this new site are underway. Potting and module materials testing continued. Preliminary design of the bench-scale equipment continues.« less

An examination of scale of assessment, logging and ENSO-induced fires on butterfly diversity in Borneo.

PubMed

Cleary, Daniel F R

2003-04-01

The impact of disturbance on species diversity may be related to the spatial scales over which it occurs. Here I assess the impact of logging and ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) -induced burning and forest isolation on the species richness (477 species out of more than 28,000 individuals) and community composition of butterflies and butterfly guilds using small (0.9 ha) plots nested within large (450 ha) landscapes. The landscapes were located in three habitat classes: (1) continuous, unburned forest; (2) unburned isolates surrounded by burned forest; and (3) burned forest. Plots with different logging histories were sampled within the two unburned habitat classes, allowing for independent assessment of the two disturbance factors (logging and burning). Disturbance within habitat classes (logging) had a very different impact on butterfly diversity than disturbance among habitat classes (due to ENSO-induced burning and isolation). Logging increased species richness, increased evenness, and lowered dominance. Among guilds based on larval food plants, the species richness of tree and herb specialists was higher in logged areas but their abundance was lower. Both generalist species richness and abundance was higher in logged areas. Among habitat classes, species richness was lower in burned forest and isolates than continuous forest but there was no overall difference in evenness or dominance. Among guilds, generalist species richness was significantly lower in burned forest and isolates than continuous forest. Generalist abundance was also very low in the isolates. There was no difference among disturbance classes in herb specialist species richness but abundance was significantly higher in the isolates and burned forest than in continuous forest. Tree specialist species richness was lower in burned forest than continuous forest but did not differ between continuous forest and isolates. The scale of assessment proved important in estimating the impact of disturbance on species richness. Within disturbance classes, the difference in species richness between primary and logged forest was more pronounced at the smaller spatial scale. Among disturbance classes, the difference in species richness between continuous forest and isolates or burned forest was more pronounced at the larger spatial scale. The lower levels of species richness in ENSO-affected areas and at the larger (landscape) spatial scale indicate that future severe ENSO events may prove one of the most serious threats to extant biodiversity.

Hydrocarbon fuels from brown grease: Moving from the research laboratory toward an industrial process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, Lawrence M.; Strothers, Joel; Pinnock, Travis; Hilaire, Dickens Saint; Bacolod, Beatrice; Cai, Zhuo Biao; Sim, Yoke-Leng

2017-04-01

Brown grease is a generic term for the oily solids and semi-solids that accumulate in the sewer system and in sewage treatment plants. It has previously been shown that brown grease undergoes pyrolysis to form a homologous series of alkanes and 1-alkenes between 7 and 17 carbon atoms, with smaller amounts of higher hydrocarbons and ketones up to about 30 carbon atoms. The initial study was performed in batch mode on a scale of up to 50 grams of starting material. However, continuous processes are usually more efficient for large scale production of fuels and commodity chemicals. This work describes the research and development of a continuous process. The first step was to determine the required reactor temperature. Brown grease consists largely of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and they react at different rates, and produce different products and intermediates. Intermediates include ketones, alcohols, and aldehydes, and Fe(III) ion catalyzes at least some of the reactions. By monitoring the pyrolysis of brown grease, its individual components, and intermediates, it was determined that a reactor temperature of at least 340 °C is required. A small scale (1 L) continuous stirred tank reactor was built and its performance is described.

Anaerobic digestion of whole stillage from dry-grind corn ethanol plant under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

PubMed

Eskicioglu, Cigdem; Kennedy, Kevin J; Marin, Juan; Strehler, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Anaerobic digestion of whole stillage from a dry-grind corn-based ethanol plant was evaluated by batch and continuous-flow digesters under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions. At whole corn stillage concentrations of 6348 to 50,786 mg total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD)/L, at standard temperature (0 °C) and pressure (1 atm), preliminary biochemical methane potential assays produced 88±8 L (49±5 L CH4) and 96±19 L (65±14 L CH4) biogas per L stillage from mesophilic and thermophilic digesters, respectively. Continuous-flow studies for the full-strength stillage (TCOD=254 g/L) at organic loadings of 4.25, 6.30 and 9.05 g TCOD/L days indicated unstable performance for the thermophilic digester. Among the sludge retention times (SRTs) of 60, 45 and 30 days tested, the mesophilic digestion was successful only at 60 days-SRT which does not represent a practical operation time for a large scale bioethanol plant. Future laboratory studies will focus on different reactor configurations to reduce the SRT needed in the digesters. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Terrestrial carbon cycle responses to drought and climate stress: New insights using atmospheric observations of CO2 and delta13C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alden, Caroline B.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) continue to rise well into the second decade of the new millennium, in spite of broad-scale human understanding of the impacts of fossil fuel emissions on the earth's climate. Natural sinks for CO2 that are relevant on human time scales---the world's oceans and land biosphere---appear to have kept pace with emissions. The continuously increasing strength of the land biosphere sink for CO2 is surpassing expectations given our understanding of the CO2 fertilization and warming effects on the balance between photosynthesis and respiration, especially in the face of ongoing forest degradation. The climate and carbon cycle links between the atmosphere and land biosphere are not well understood, especially at regional (100 km to 10,000 km) scales. The climate modulating effects of changing plant stomatal conductance in response to temperature and water availability is a key area of uncertainty. Further, the differential response to climate change of C3 and C4 plant functional types is not well known at regional scales. This work outlines the development of a novel application of atmospheric observations of delta13C of CO2 to investigate the links between climate and water and carbon cycling and the integrated responses of C3 and C4 ecosystems to climate variables. A two-step Bayesian batch inversion for 3-hourly, 1x1º CO2 fluxes (step one), and for 3-hourly 1x1º delta13C of recently assimilated carbon (step two) is created here for the first time, and is used to investigate links between regional climate indicators and changes in delta13C of the biosphere. Results show that predictable responses of regional-scale, integrated plant discrimination to temperature, precipitation and relative humidity anomalies can be recovered from atmospheric signals. Model development, synthetic data simulations to test sensitivity, and results for the year 2010 are presented here. This dissertation also includes two other applications of atmospheric observations of CO2 and delta13C: 1) a state of the art atmospheric CO2 budgeting exercise to show that global net sinks for CO2 have steadily increased over the last 50 years, and 2) a global investigation of the mechanistic drivers of interannual variability in biosphere discrimination against delta13C.

Remote sensing of the energetic status of plants and ecosystems: optical and odorous signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penuelas, J.; Bartrons, M.; Llusia, J.; Filella, I.

2016-12-01

The optical and odorous signals emitted by plants and ecosystems present consistent relationships. They offer promising prospects for continuous local and global monitoring of the energetic status of plants and ecosystems, and therefore of their processing of energy and matter. We will discuss how the energetic status of plants (and ecosystems) resulting from the balance between the supply and demand of reducing power can be assessed biochemically, by the cellular NADPH/NADP ratio, optically, by using the photochemical reflectance index and sun-induced fluorescence as indicators of the dissipation of excess energy and associated physiological processes, and "odorously", by the emission of volatile organic compounds such as isoprenoids, as indicators of an excess of reducing equivalents and also of enhancement of protective converging physiological processes. These signals thus provide information on the energetic status, associated health status, and the functioning of plants and ecosystems. We will present the links among the three signals and will especially discuss the possibility of remotely sense the optical signals linked to carbon uptake and VOCs exchange by plants and ecosystems. These signals and their integration may have multiple applications for environmental and agricultural monitoring, for example, by extending the spatial coverage of carbon-flux and VOCs emission observations to most places and times, and/or for improving the process-based modeling of carbon fixation and isoprenoid emissions from terrestrial vegetation on plant, ecosystemic and global scales. Considerable challenges remain for a wide-scale and routine implementation of these biochemical, optical, and odorous signals for ecosystemic and/or agronomic monitoring and modeling, but its interest for making further steps forward in global ecology, agricultural applications, global carbon cycle, atmospheric science, and earth science warrants further research efforts in this line.

Community shifts under climate change: mechanisms at multiple scales.

PubMed

Gornish, Elise S; Tylianakis, Jason M

2013-07-01

Processes that drive ecological dynamics differ across spatial scales. Therefore, the pathways through which plant communities and plant-insect relationships respond to changing environmental conditions are also expected to be scale-dependent. Furthermore, the processes that affect individual species or interactions at single sites may differ from those affecting communities across multiple sites. We reviewed and synthesized peer-reviewed literature to identify patterns in biotic or abiotic pathways underpinning changes in the composition and diversity of plant communities under three components of climate change (increasing temperature, CO2, and changes in precipitation) and how these differ across spatial scales. We also explored how these changes to plants affect plant-insect interactions. The relative frequency of biotic vs. abiotic pathways of climate effects at larger spatial scales often differ from those at smaller scales. Local-scale studies show variable responses to climate drivers, often driven by biotic factors. However, larger scale studies identify changes to species composition and/or reduced diversity as a result of abiotic factors. Differing pathways of climate effects can result from different responses of multiple species, habitat effects, and differing effects of invasions at local vs. regional to global scales. Plant community changes can affect higher trophic levels as a result of spatial or phenological mismatch, foliar quality changes, and plant abundance changes, though studies on plant-insect interactions at larger scales are rare. Climate-induced changes to plant communities will have considerable effects on community-scale trophic exchanges, which may differ from the responses of individual species or pairwise interactions.

Experimental evaluation of the sustainability of dwarf bamboo (Pseudosasa usawai) sprout-harvesting practices in Yangminshan National Park, Taiwan.

PubMed

Liao, Chi-Cheng; Chang, Chi-Ru; Hsu, Meng-Ting; Poo, Wak-Kim

2014-08-01

Sustainable harvest of natural products that meets the needs of local people has been viewed by many as an important means for sustaining conservation projects. Although plants often respond to tissue damage through compensatory growth, it may not secure long-term sustainability of the populations because many plants enhance individual well-being at the expense of propagation. Sustainability may further be threatened by infrequent, large-scale events, especially ill-documented ones. We studied the impacts of sprout harvesting on sprout growth in a dwarf bamboo (Pseudosasa usawai) population that has seemingly recovered from an infrequent, large-scale masting event. Experimental results suggest that although a single sprout harvest did not significantly alter the subsequent abundance and structure of sprouts, culm damage that accompanied sprout harvesting resulted in shorter, thinner, and fewer sprouts. Weaker recovery was found in windward, continually harvested, and more severely damaged sites. These findings suggest that sprout growth of damaged dwarf bamboos is likely non-compensatory, but is instead supported through physiological integration whose strength is determined by the well-being of the supplying ramets. Healthy culms closer to the damage also provided more resources than those farther away. Sustainable harvesting of sprouts could benefit from organized community efforts to limit the magnitude of culm damage, provide adequate spacing between harvested sites, and ensure sufficient time interval between harvests. Vegetation boundaries relatively resilient to infrequent, large-scale events are likely maintained by climatic factors and may be sensitive to climate change. Continual monitoring is, therefore, integral to the sustainability of harvesting projects.

Monitoring of activated sludge settling ability through image analysis: validation on full-scale wastewater treatment plants.

PubMed

Mesquita, D P; Dias, O; Amaral, A L; Ferreira, E C

2009-04-01

In recent years, a great deal of attention has been focused on the research of activated sludge processes, where the solid-liquid separation phase is frequently considered of critical importance, due to the different problems that severely affect the compaction and the settling of the sludge. Bearing that in mind, in this work, image analysis routines were developed in Matlab environment, allowing the identification and characterization of microbial aggregates and protruding filaments in eight different wastewater treatment plants, for a combined period of 2 years. The monitoring of the activated sludge contents allowed for the detection of bulking events proving that the developed image analysis methodology is adequate for a continuous examination of the morphological changes in microbial aggregates and subsequent estimation of the sludge volume index. In fact, the obtained results proved that the developed image analysis methodology is a feasible method for the continuous monitoring of activated sludge systems and identification of disturbances.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for second-generation ethanol production: from academic exploration to industrial implementation.

PubMed

Jansen, Mickel L A; Bracher, Jasmine M; Papapetridis, Ioannis; Verhoeven, Maarten D; de Bruijn, Hans; de Waal, Paul P; van Maris, Antonius J A; Klaassen, Paul; Pronk, Jack T

2017-08-01

The recent start-up of several full-scale 'second generation' ethanol plants marks a major milestone in the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates of agricultural residues and energy crops. After a discussion of the challenges that these novel industrial contexts impose on yeast strains, this minireview describes key metabolic engineering strategies that have been developed to address these challenges. Additionally, it outlines how proof-of-concept studies, often developed in academic settings, can be used for the development of robust strain platforms that meet the requirements for industrial application. Fermentation performance of current engineered industrial S. cerevisiae strains is no longer a bottleneck in efforts to achieve the projected outputs of the first large-scale second-generation ethanol plants. Academic and industrial yeast research will continue to strengthen the economic value position of second-generation ethanol production by further improving fermentation kinetics, product yield and cellular robustness under process conditions. © FEMS 2017.

A tide prediction and tide height control system for laboratory mesocosms

PubMed Central

Long, Jeremy D.

2015-01-01

Experimental mesocosm studies of rocky shore and estuarine intertidal systems may benefit from the application of natural tide cycles to better replicate variation in immersion time, water depth, and attendant fluctuations in abiotic and edaphic conditions. Here we describe a stand-alone microcontroller tide prediction open-source software program, coupled with a mechanical tidal elevation control system, which allows continuous adjustment of aquarium water depths in synchrony with local tide cycles. We used this system to monitor the growth of Spartina foliosa marsh cordgrass and scale insect herbivores at three simulated shore elevations in laboratory mesocosms. Plant growth decreased with increasing shore elevation, while scale insect population growth on the plants was not strongly affected by immersion time. This system shows promise for a range of laboratory mesocosm studies where natural tide cycling could impact organism performance or behavior, while the tide prediction system could additionally be utilized in field experiments where treatments need to be applied at certain stages of the tide cycle. PMID:26623195

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for second-generation ethanol production: from academic exploration to industrial implementation

PubMed Central

Jansen, Mickel L. A.; Bracher, Jasmine M.; Papapetridis, Ioannis; Verhoeven, Maarten D.; de Bruijn, Hans; de Waal, Paul P.; van Maris, Antonius J. A.; Klaassen, Paul

2017-01-01

Abstract The recent start-up of several full-scale ‘second generation’ ethanol plants marks a major milestone in the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates of agricultural residues and energy crops. After a discussion of the challenges that these novel industrial contexts impose on yeast strains, this minireview describes key metabolic engineering strategies that have been developed to address these challenges. Additionally, it outlines how proof-of-concept studies, often developed in academic settings, can be used for the development of robust strain platforms that meet the requirements for industrial application. Fermentation performance of current engineered industrial S. cerevisiae strains is no longer a bottleneck in efforts to achieve the projected outputs of the first large-scale second-generation ethanol plants. Academic and industrial yeast research will continue to strengthen the economic value position of second-generation ethanol production by further improving fermentation kinetics, product yield and cellular robustness under process conditions. PMID:28899031

The distinctive microbial community improves composting efficiency in a full-scale hyperthermophilic composting plant.

PubMed

Yu, Zhen; Tang, Jia; Liao, Hanpeng; Liu, Xiaoming; Zhou, Puxiong; Chen, Zhi; Rensing, Christopher; Zhou, Shungui

2018-06-07

The application of conventional thermophilic composting (TC) is limited by poor efficiency. Newly-developed hyperthermophilic composting (HTC) is expected to overcome this shortcoming. However, the characterization of microbial communities associated with HTC remains unclear. Here, we compared the performance of HTC and TC in a full-scale sludge composting plant, and found that HTC running at the hyperthermophilic and thermophilic phases for 21 days, led to higher composting efficiency and techno-economic advantages over TC. Results of high-throughput sequencing showed drastic changes in the microbial community during HTC. Thermaceae (35.5-41.7%) was the predominant family in the hyperthermophilic phase, while the thermophilic phase was dominated by both Thermaceae (28.0-53.3%) and Thermoactinomycetaceae (29.9-36.1%). The change of microbial community could be the cause of continuous high temperature in HTC, and thus improve composting efficiency by accelerating the maturation process. This work has provided theoretical and practical guidance for managing sewage sludge by HTC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Over 150 years of long-term fertilization alters spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity

DOE PAGES

Liang, Yuting; Wu, Liyou; Clark, Ian M.; ...

2015-04-07

Spatial scaling is a critical issue in ecology, but how anthropogenic activities like fertilization affect spatial scaling is poorly understood, especially for microbial communities. Here, we determined the effects of long-term fertilization on the spatial scaling of microbial functional diversity and its relationships to plant diversity in the 150-year-old Park Grass Experiment, the oldest continuous grassland experiment in the world. Nested samples were taken from plots with contrasting inorganic fertilization regimes, and community DNAs were analyzed using the GeoChip-based functional gene array. The slopes of microbial gene-area relationships (GARs) and plant species-area relationships (SARs) were estimated in a plot receivingmore » nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) and a control plot without fertilization. Our results indicated that long-term inorganic fertilization significantly increased both microbial GARs and plant SARs. Microbial spatial turnover rates (i.e., z values) were less than 0.1 and were significantly higher in the fertilized plot (0.0583) than in the control plot (0.0449) (P < 0.0001). The z values also varied significantly with different functional genes involved in carbon (C), N, P, and sulfur (S) cycling and with various phylogenetic groups (archaea, bacteria, and fungi). Similarly, the plant SARs increased significantly (P < 0.0001), from 0.225 in the control plot to 0.419 in the fertilized plot. Soil fertilization, plant diversity, and spatial distance had roughly equal contributions in shaping the microbial functional community structure, while soil geochemical variables contributed less. These results indicated that long-term agricultural practice could alter the spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity. Determining the spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity and its response to human activities is important but challenging in microbial ecology. Most studies to date are based on different sites that may not be truly comparable or on short-term perturbations, and hence, the results observed could represent transient responses. This study examined the spatial patterns of microbial communities in response to different fertilization regimes at the Rothamsted Research Experimental Station, which has become an invaluable resource for ecologists, environmentalists, and soil scientists. The current study is the first showing that long-term fertilization has dramatic impacts on the spatial scaling of microbial communities. By identifying the spatial patterns in response to long-term fertilization and their underlying mechanisms, this study makes fundamental contributions to predictive understanding of microbial biogeography.« less

Over 150 years of long-term fertilization alters spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity

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

Liang, Yuting; Wu, Liyou; Clark, Ian M.

Spatial scaling is a critical issue in ecology, but how anthropogenic activities like fertilization affect spatial scaling is poorly understood, especially for microbial communities. Here, we determined the effects of long-term fertilization on the spatial scaling of microbial functional diversity and its relationships to plant diversity in the 150-year-old Park Grass Experiment, the oldest continuous grassland experiment in the world. Nested samples were taken from plots with contrasting inorganic fertilization regimes, and community DNAs were analyzed using the GeoChip-based functional gene array. The slopes of microbial gene-area relationships (GARs) and plant species-area relationships (SARs) were estimated in a plot receivingmore » nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) and a control plot without fertilization. Our results indicated that long-term inorganic fertilization significantly increased both microbial GARs and plant SARs. Microbial spatial turnover rates (i.e., z values) were less than 0.1 and were significantly higher in the fertilized plot (0.0583) than in the control plot (0.0449) (P < 0.0001). The z values also varied significantly with different functional genes involved in carbon (C), N, P, and sulfur (S) cycling and with various phylogenetic groups (archaea, bacteria, and fungi). Similarly, the plant SARs increased significantly (P < 0.0001), from 0.225 in the control plot to 0.419 in the fertilized plot. Soil fertilization, plant diversity, and spatial distance had roughly equal contributions in shaping the microbial functional community structure, while soil geochemical variables contributed less. These results indicated that long-term agricultural practice could alter the spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity. Determining the spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity and its response to human activities is important but challenging in microbial ecology. Most studies to date are based on different sites that may not be truly comparable or on short-term perturbations, and hence, the results observed could represent transient responses. This study examined the spatial patterns of microbial communities in response to different fertilization regimes at the Rothamsted Research Experimental Station, which has become an invaluable resource for ecologists, environmentalists, and soil scientists. The current study is the first showing that long-term fertilization has dramatic impacts on the spatial scaling of microbial communities. By identifying the spatial patterns in response to long-term fertilization and their underlying mechanisms, this study makes fundamental contributions to predictive understanding of microbial biogeography.« less

Warming and Chilling: Assessing Aspects of Changing Plant Ecology with Continental-scale Phenology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, M. D.; Hanes, J. M.

2009-12-01

Many recent ecological studies have concentrated on the direct impacts of climate warming, such as modifications to seasonal plant and animal life cycle events (phenology). There are many examples, with most indicating earlier onset of spring plant growth and delayed onset of autumn senescence. However, the implication of continued warming for plant species’ chilling requirements has received comparatively less attention. Temperate zone woody plants often require a certain level of cool season "chilling" (accumulated time at temperatures below a specific threshold) to break dormancy and prepare to respond to springtime warming. Thus, the potential impacts of insufficient chilling must be included in a comprehensive assessment of plant species' responses to climate warming. Vegetation phenological data, when collected for specific plant species at continental-scale, can be used to extract information relating to the combined impacts of reduced chilling and warming on plant species physiology. In a recent study, we demonstrated that common lilac first leaf and first bloom phenology (collected from multiple locations in the western United States and matched with air temperature records) can estimate the species' chilling requirement (in this case 1748 chilling hours, below a base temperature of 7.2°C) and highlight the changing impact of warming on the plant's phenological response in light of that requirement. Specifically, when chilling is above the requirement, lilac first leaf dates advance at a rate of -5.0 days per 100 hour chilling accumulation reduction, and lilac first bloom dates advance at a rate of -4.2 days per 100 hour chilling accumulation reduction. In contrast, when chilling is below the requirement, the lilac event dates advance at a much reduced rate of -1.6 days per 100 hour reduction for first leaf date and -2.2 days per 100 hour reduction for first bloom date. Overall, these encouraging results for common lilac suggest that similar continental-scale phenological measurements could facilitate a better understanding of relationships among phenological response, springtime warming, and chilling requirements for other species. Further, it should be possible to address more detailed follow-up plant ecology questions in future studies using similar methodology. Example questions would include: 1) Are the chilling requirements for a species the same across its entire range? 2) Do species adapt to warming conditions by changing their chilling requirements? and 3) How much variation is there among species chilling requirements within the same community? Continental-scale phenological data sets are being developed by the USA National Phenology Network (http://www.usanpn.org), that will facilitate such investigations, and in turn be essential for understanding of (and eventually consideration of possible adaptations to) the coming impacts of climate warming on temperate plant communities. Additionally, these phenological data, because they provide plants species’ responses across large portions of species geographic ranges, will facilitate deeper understanding of the full range of plant-environment responses and consequently foster development of more robust phenological models.

A hydroponic system for microgravity plant experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, B. D.; Bausch, W. C.; Knott, W. M.

1988-01-01

The construction of a permanently manned space station will provide the opportunity to grow plants for weeks or months in orbit for experiments or food production. With this opportunity comes the need for a method to provide plants with a continuous supply of water and nutrients in microgravity. The Capillary Effect Root Environment System (CERES) uses capillary forces to maintain control of circulating plant nutrient solution in the weightless environment of an orbiting spacecraft. The nutrient solution is maintained at a pressure slightly less than the ambient air pressure while it flows on one side of a porous membrane. The root, on the other side of the membrane, is surrounded by a thin film of nutrient solution where it contacts the moist surface of the membrane. The root is provided with water, nutrients and air simultaneously. Air bubbles in the nutrient solution are removed using a hydrophobic/hydrophilic membrane system. A model scaled to the size necessary for flight hardware to test CERES in the space shuttle was constructed.

Compounds from African Medicinal Plants with Activities Against Selected Parasitic Diseases: Schistosomiasis, Trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis.

PubMed

Simoben, Conrad V; Ntie-Kang, Fidele; Akone, Sergi H; Sippl, Wolfgang

2018-05-09

Parasitic diseases continue to represent a threat on a global scale, particularly among the poorest countries in the world. This is particularly because of the absence of vaccines, and in some cases, resistance against available drugs, currently being used for their treatment. In this review emphasis is laid on natural products and scaffolds from African medicinal plants (AMPs) for lead drug discovery and possible further development of drugs for the treatment of parasitic diseases. In the discussion, emphasis has been laid on alkaloids, terpenoids, quinones, flavonoids and narrower compound classes of compounds with micromolar range activities against Schistosoma, Trypanosoma and Leishmania species. In each subparagraph, emphasis is laid on the compound subclasses with most promising in vitro and/or in vivo activities of plant extracts and isolated compounds. Suggestions for future drug development from African medicinal plants have also been provided. This review covering 167 references, including 82 compounds, provides information published within two decades (1997-2017).

Can plant phloem properties affect the link between ecosystem assimilation and respiration?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mencuccini, M.; Hölttä, T.; Sevanto, S.; Nikinmaa, E.

2012-04-01

Phloem transport of carbohydrates in plants under field conditions is currently not well understood. This is largely the result of the lack of techniques suitable for measuring phloem physiological properties continuously under field conditions. This lack of knowledge is currently hampering our efforts to link ecosystem-level processes of carbon fixation, allocation and use, especially belowground. On theoretical grounds, the properties of the transport pathway from canopy to roots must be important in affecting the link between carbon assimilation and respiration, but it is unclear whether their effect is partially or entirely masked by processes occurring in other parts of the ecosystem. One can also predict the characteristic time scales over which these effects should occur and, as consequence, predict whether the transfer of turgor and osmotic signals from the site of carbon assimilation to the sites of carbon use are likely to control respiration. We will present two sources of evidence suggesting that the properties of the phloem transport system may affect processes that are dependent on the supply of carbon substrate, such as root or soil respiration. Firstly, we will summarize the results of a literature survey on soil and ecosystem respiration where the speed of transfer of photosynthetic sugars from the plant canopy to the soil surface was determined. Estimates of the transfer speed could be grouped according to whether the study employed isotopic or canopy soil flux-based techniques. These two groups provided very different estimates of transfer times likely because transport of sucrose molecules, and pressure-concentration waves, in phloem differed. Secondly, we will argue that simultaneous measurements of bark and xylem diameters provide a novel tool to determine the continuous variations of phloem turgor in vivo in the field. We will present a model that interprets these changes in xylem and live bark diameters and present data testing the model predictions for mature trees in the field. At the diurnal scale, the calculated phloem turgor signal related to patterns of photosynthetic activity and inferred phloem loading. At the seasonal scale, phloem turgor showed rapid changes during two droughts and after two rainfall events consistent with physiological predictions of phloem transport. Daily cumulative totals of calculated phloem osmotic concentrations were strongly related to daily cumulative totals of canopy photosynthesis. We propose that this method has potential for continuous field monitoring of tree phloem function.

Recovery of energy and nutrient resources from cattle paunch waste using temperature phased anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Jensen, Paul D; Mehta, Chirag M; Carney, Chris; Batstone, D J

2016-05-01

Cattle paunch is comprised of partially digested cattle feed, containing mainly grass and grain and is a major waste produced at cattle slaughterhouses contributing 20-30% of organic matter and 40-50% of P waste produced on-site. In this work, Temperature Phased Anaerobic Digestion (TPAD) and struvite crystallization processes were developed at pilot-scale to recover methane energy and nutrients from paunch solid waste. The TPAD plant achieved a maximum sustainable organic loading rate of 1-1.5kgCODm(-3)day(-1) using a feed solids concentration of approximately 3%; this loading rate was limited by plant engineering and not the biology of the process. Organic solids destruction (60%) and methane production (230LCH4kg(-1) VSfed) achieved in the plant were similar to levels predicted from laboratory biochemical methane potential (BMP) testing. Model based analysis identified no significant difference in batch laboratory parameters vs pilot-scale continuous parameters, and no change in speed or extent of degradation. However the TPAD process did result in a degree of process intensification with a high level of solids destruction at an average treatment time of 21days. Results from the pilot plant show that an integrated process enabled resource recovery at 7.8GJ/dry tonne paunch, 1.8kgP/dry tonne paunch and 1.0kgN/dry tonne paunch. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Root system markup language: toward a unified root architecture description language.

PubMed

Lobet, Guillaume; Pound, Michael P; Diener, Julien; Pradal, Christophe; Draye, Xavier; Godin, Christophe; Javaux, Mathieu; Leitner, Daniel; Meunier, Félicien; Nacry, Philippe; Pridmore, Tony P; Schnepf, Andrea

2015-03-01

The number of image analysis tools supporting the extraction of architectural features of root systems has increased in recent years. These tools offer a handy set of complementary facilities, yet it is widely accepted that none of these software tools is able to extract in an efficient way the growing array of static and dynamic features for different types of images and species. We describe the Root System Markup Language (RSML), which has been designed to overcome two major challenges: (1) to enable portability of root architecture data between different software tools in an easy and interoperable manner, allowing seamless collaborative work; and (2) to provide a standard format upon which to base central repositories that will soon arise following the expanding worldwide root phenotyping effort. RSML follows the XML standard to store two- or three-dimensional image metadata, plant and root properties and geometries, continuous functions along individual root paths, and a suite of annotations at the image, plant, or root scale at one or several time points. Plant ontologies are used to describe botanical entities that are relevant at the scale of root system architecture. An XML schema describes the features and constraints of RSML, and open-source packages have been developed in several languages (R, Excel, Java, Python, and C#) to enable researchers to integrate RSML files into popular research workflow. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Slipstream pilot-scale demonstration of a novel amine-based post-combustion technology for carbon dioxide capture from coal-fired power plant flue gas

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

Krishnamurthy, Krish R.

Post-combustion CO 2 capture (PCC) technology offers flexibility to treat the flue gas from both existing and new coal-fired power plants and can be applied to treat all or a portion of the flue gas. Solvent-based technologies are today the leading option for PCC from commercial coal-fired power plants as they have been applied in large-scale in other applications. Linde and BASF have been working together to develop and further improve a PCC process incorporating BASF’s novel aqueous amine-based solvent technology. This technology offers significant benefits compared to other solvent-based processes as it aims to reduce the regeneration energy requirementsmore » using novel solvents that are very stable under the coal-fired power plant feed gas conditions. BASF has developed the desired solvent based on the evaluation of a large number of candidates. In addition, long-term small pilot-scale testing of the BASF solvent has been performed on a lignite-fired flue gas. In coordination with BASF, Linde has evaluated a number of options for capital cost reduction in large engineered systems for solvent-based PCC technology. This report provides a summary of the work performed and results from a project supported by the US DOE (DE-FE0007453) for the pilot-scale demonstration of a Linde-BASF PCC technology using coal-fired power plant flue gas at a 1-1.5 MWe scale in Wilsonville, AL at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC). Following a project kick-off meeting in November 2011 and the conclusion of pilot plant design and engineering in February 2013, mechanical completion of the pilot plant was achieved in July 2014, and final commissioning activities were completed to enable start-up of operations in January 2015. Parametric tests were performed from January to December 2015 to determine optimal test conditions and evaluate process performance over a variety of operation parameters. A long-duration 1500-hour continuous test campaign was performed from May to August 2016 at a selected process condition to evaluate process performance and solvent stability over a longer period similar to how the process would operate as a continuously running large-scale PCC plant. The pilot plant integrated a number of unique features of the Linde-BASF technology aimed at lowering overall energy consumption and capital costs. During the overall test period including startup, parametric testing and long-duration testing, the pilot plant was operated for a total of 6,764 hours out of which testing with flue gas was performed for 4,109 hours. The pilot plant testing demonstrated all of the performance targets including CO 2 capture rate exceeding 90%, CO 2 purity exceeding 99.9 mol% (dry), flue gas processing capacity up to 15,500 lbs/hr (equivalent to 1.5 MWe capacity slipstream), regeneration energy as low as 2.7 GJ/tonne CO 2, and regenerator operating pressure up to 3.4 bara. Excellent solvent stability performance data was measured and verified by Linde and BASF during both test campaigns. In addition to process data, significant operational learnings were gained from pilot tests that will contribute greatly to the commercial success of PCC. Based on a thorough techno-economic assessment (TEA) of the Linde-BASF PCC process integrated with a 550 MWe supercritical coal-fired power plant, the net efficiency of the integrated power plant with CO 2 capture is increased from 28.4% with the DOE/NETL Case 12 reference to 30.9% with the Linde-BASF PCC plant previously presented utilizing the BASF OASE® blue solvent [Ref. 4], and is further increased to 31.4% using a Linde-BASF PCC plant with BASF OASE® blue solvent and an advanced stripper interstage heater (SIH) configuration. The Linde-BASF PCC plant incorporating the BASF OASE® blue solvent also results in significantly lower overall capital costs, thereby reducing the cost of electricity (COE) and cost of CO 2 captured from $147.25/MWh and $56.49/MT CO 2, respectively, for the reference DOE/NETL Case 12 plant, to $128.49/MWh and $41.85/MT CO2 for process case LB1, respectively, and $126.65/MWh and $40.66/MT CO 2 for process case SIH, respectively. With additional innovative Linde-BASF PCC process configuration improvements, the COE and cost of CO 2 captured can be further reduced to $125.51/MWh and $39.90/MT CO 2 for a further optimized PCC process defined as LB1-CREB. Most notably, the Linde-BASF process options assessed have already demonstrated the potential to lower the cost of CO 2 captured below the DOE target of $40/MT CO 2 at the 550 MWe scale for second generation PCC technologies. Project organization, structure, goals, tasks, accomplishments, process criteria and milestones will be presented in this report along with highlights and key results from parametric and long-duration testing of the Linde-BASF PCC pilot. The parametric and long-duration testing campaigns were aimed at validating the performance of the PCC technology against targets determined from a preliminary techno-economic assessment. The stability of the solvent with extended operation in a realistic power plant setting was measured with performance verified. Additionally, general solvent classification information, process operating conditions, normalized solvent performance data, solvent stability test results, flue gas conditions data, CO 2 purity data in the gaseous product stream, steam requirements and process flow diagrams, and updated process economic data for a scaled-up 550 MWe supercritical power plant with CO 2 capture are presented and discussed in this report.« less

Design of distributed PID-type dynamic matrix controller for fractional-order systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dawei; Zhang, Ridong

2018-01-01

With the continuous requirements for product quality and safety operation in industrial production, it is difficult to describe the complex large-scale processes with integer-order differential equations. However, the fractional differential equations may precisely represent the intrinsic characteristics of such systems. In this paper, a distributed PID-type dynamic matrix control method based on fractional-order systems is proposed. First, the high-order approximate model of integer order is obtained by utilising the Oustaloup method. Then, the step response model vectors of the plant is obtained on the basis of the high-order model, and the online optimisation for multivariable processes is transformed into the optimisation of each small-scale subsystem that is regarded as a sub-plant controlled in the distributed framework. Furthermore, the PID operator is introduced into the performance index of each subsystem and the fractional-order PID-type dynamic matrix controller is designed based on Nash optimisation strategy. The information exchange among the subsystems is realised through the distributed control structure so as to complete the optimisation task of the whole large-scale system. Finally, the control performance of the designed controller in this paper is verified by an example.

Conceptual Design of a 100 MWe Modular Molten Salt Power Tower Plant

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

James E. Pacheco; Carter Moursund, Dale Rogers, David Wasyluk

2011-09-20

A conceptual design of a 100 MWe modular molten salt solar power tower plant has been developed which can provide capacity factors in the range of 35 to 75%. Compared to single tower plants, the modular design provides a higher degree of flexibility in achieving the desired customer's capacity factor and is obtained simply by adjusting the number of standard modules. Each module consists of a standard size heliostat field and receiver system, hence reengineering and associated unacceptable performance uncertainties due to scaling are eliminated. The modular approach with multiple towers also improves plant availability. Heliostat field components, receivers andmore » towers are shop assembled allowing for high quality and minimal field assembly. A centralized thermal-storage system stores hot salt from the receivers, allowing nearly continuous power production, independent of solar energy collection, and improved parity with the grid. A molten salt steam generator converts the stored thermal energy into steam, which powers a steam turbine generator to produce electricity. This paper describes the conceptual design of the plant, the advantages of modularity, expected performance, pathways to cost reductions, and environmental impact.« less

Approaches to Plant Hydrogen and Oxygen Isoscapes Generation

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

West, Jason B.; Kreuzer-Martin, Helen W.; Ehleringer, James

2009-12-01

Plant hydrogen and oxygen isoscapes have been utilized to address important and somewhat disparate research goals. The isotopic composition of leaf water affects the isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 and O2 and is a logical starting point for understanding the isotopic composition of plant organic compounds since photosynthesis occurs in the leaf water environment. Leaf water isoscapes have been produced largely as part of efforts to understand atmospheric gas isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of plant organic matter has also been targeted for its potential to serve as a proxy for past environmental conditions. Spatially distributed sampling and modeling ofmore » modern plant H & O isoscapes can improve our understanding of the controls of the isotope ratios of compounds such as cellulose or n-alkanes from plants and therefore their utility for paleoreconstructions. Spatially varying plant hydrogen and oxygen isotopes have promise for yielding geographic origin information for a variety of plant products, including objects of criminal forensic interest or food products. The future has rich opportunities for the continued development of mechanistic models, methodologies for the generation of hydrogen and oxygen isoscapes, and cross-disciplinary interactions as these tools for understanding are developed, shared, and utilized to answer large-scale questions.« less

CPV plants data analysis. ISFOC and NACIR projects results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, M.; Rubio, F.; Sala, G.; Pachón, D.; Bett, A.; Siefer, G.; Vetter, M.; Schies, A.; Wachtel, J.; Gombert, A.; Wüllner, J.; Díaz, V.; Vázquez, M. A.; Abulfotuh, F.; Fetyan, K.; el Moussaoui, A.; Mansouri, S.; Loudiyi, K.; Darhmaoui, H.; Mrabti, T.

2012-10-01

Now it is the moment for CPV to become a reliable solution for large scale electricity generation, because it is one of the technologies with higher efficiency, and moreover, it has still margin for improvement. In order to continue with this development, it is important to introduce, in the design of the installations, all the lessons learned during the operation of pilot plants. This paper presents the operation results obtained at the ISFOC pilot plants, during the first three and a half years of operation, and the NACIR project. The CPV technology is not demonstrating signs of degradation which could reduce its high capability of transforming light into electricity. From the operation issues, valuable information is obtained in order to improve the design, turning CPV prototypes into an industrialized product ready to compete with other technologies, making a great effort in the reduction of the installation costs.

GE pilot plant gasifies all coal types and grades without pretreatment

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

Not Available

1978-03-01

A pilot-scale coal gasification plant at General Electric Company's Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York, is converting more than three-quarters of a ton of low-grade coal per hour into 100,000 cubic feet of fuel gas suitable for running electric power plants. GE is also going to test new ideas for coal feeding and stirring the reacting mixture to prevent caking. One unique approach will be the use of an extruder to feed coal continuously into the pressurized gasifier through a gas-tight seal, much as toothpaste is squeezed from a tube. The 6-inch-diameter rod of fuel that leaves the extrudermore » is comprised of a mixture of fine coal particles and tar (the latter is a by-product of the gasification process). Once inside, the rod is broken into chunks to form the bed being gasified.« less

Characterizing grazing disturbance in semiarid ecosystems across broad scales, using diverse indices

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beever, E.A.; Tausch, R.J.; Brussard, P.F.

2003-01-01

Although management and conservation strategies continue to move toward broader spatial scales and consideration of many taxonomic groups simultaneously, researchers have struggled to characterize responses to disturbance at these scales. Most studies of disturbance by feral grazers investigate effects on only one or two ecosystem elements across small spatial scales, limiting their applicability to ecosystem-level management. To address this inadequacy, in 1997 and 1998 we examined disturbance created by feral horses (Equus caballus) in nine mountain ranges of the western Great Basin, USA, using plants, small mammals, ants, and soil compaction as indicators. Nine horse-occupied and 10 horse-removed sites were stratified into high- and low-elevation groups, and all sites at each elevation had similar vegetation type, aspect, slope gradient, and recent (≥15-yr) fire and livestock-grazing histories. Using reciprocal averaging and TWINSPAN analyses, we compared relationships among sites using five data sets: abiotic variables, percent cover by plant species, an index of abundance by plant species, 10 disturbance-sensitive response variables, and grass and shrub species considered “key” indicators by land managers. Although reciprocal averaging and TWINSPAN analyses of percent cover, abiotic variables, and key species suggested relationships between sites influenced largely by biogeography (i.e., mountain range), disturbance-sensitive variables clearly segregated horse-occupied and horse-removed sites. These analyses suggest that the influence of feral horses on many Great Basin ecosystem attributes is not being detected by monitoring only palatable plant species. We recommend development of an expanded monitoring strategy based not only on established vegetation measurements investigating forage consumption, but also including disturbance-sensitive variables (e.g., soil surface hardness, abundance of ant mounds) that more completely reflect the suite of effects that a large-bodied grazer may impose on mountain ecosystems, independent of vegetation differences. By providing a broader-based mechanism for detection of adverse effects, this strategy would provide management agencies with defensible data in a sociopolitical arena that has been embroiled in conflict for several decades.

Characterizing grazing disturbance in semiarid ecosystems across broad spatial scales using multiple indices.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beever, Erik A.; Tausch, Robin J.; Brussard, Peter F.

2003-01-01

Although management and conservation strategies continue to move toward broader spatial scales and consideration of many taxonomic groups simultaneously, researchers have struggled to characterize responses to disturbance at these scales. Most studies of disturbance by feral grazers investigate effects on only one or two ecosystem elements across small spatial scales, limiting their applicability to ecosystem-level management. To address this inadequacy, in 1997 and 1998 we examined disturbance created by feral horses (Equus caballus) in nine mountain ranges of the western Great Basin, USA, using plants, small mammals, ants, and soil compaction as indicators. Nine horse-occupied and 10 horse-removed sites were stratified into high- and low-elevation groups, and all sites at each elevation had similar vegetation type, aspect, slope gradient, and recent (≥15-yr) fire and livestock-grazing histories. Using reciprocal averaging and TWINSPAN analyses, we compared relationships among sites using five data sets: abiotic variables, percent cover by plant species, an index of abundance by plant species, 10 disturbance-sensitive response variables, and grass and shrub species considered “key” indicators by land managers. Although reciprocal averaging and TWINSPAN analyses of percent cover, abiotic variables, and key species suggested relationships between sites influenced largely by biogeography (i.e., mountain range), disturbance-sensitive variables clearly segregated horse-occupied and horse-removed sites. These analyses suggest that the influence of feral horses on many Great Basin ecosystem attributes is not being detected by monitoring only palatable plant species. We recommend development of an expanded monitoring strategy based not only on established vegetation measurements investigating forage consumption, but also including disturbance-sensitive variables (e.g., soil surface hardness, abundance of ant mounds) that more completely reflect the suite of effects that a large-bodied grazer may impose on mountain ecosystems, independent of vegetation differences. By providing a broader-based mechanism for detection of adverse effects, this strategy would provide management agencies with defensible data in a sociopolitical arena that has been embroiled in conflict for several decades.

Herbarium specimens can reveal impacts of climate change on plant phenology; a review of methods and applications.

PubMed

Jones, Casey A; Daehler, Curtis C

2018-01-01

Studies in plant phenology have provided some of the best evidence for large-scale responses to recent climate change. Over the last decade, more than thirty studies have used herbarium specimens to analyze changes in flowering phenology over time, although studies from tropical environments are thus far generally lacking. In this review, we summarize the approaches and applications used to date. Reproductive plant phenology has primarily been analyzed using two summary statistics, the mean flowering day of year and first-flowering day of year, but mean flowering day has proven to be a more robust statistic. Two types of regression models have been applied to test for associations between flowering, temperature and time: flowering day regressed on year and flowering day regressed on temperature. Most studies analyzed the effect of temperature by averaging temperatures from three months prior to the date of flowering. On average, published studies have used 55 herbarium specimens per species to characterize changes in phenology over time, but in many cases fewer specimens were used. Geospatial grid data are increasingly being used for determining average temperatures at herbarium specimen collection locations, allowing testing for finer scale correspondence between phenology and climate. Multiple studies have shown that inferences from herbarium specimen data are comparable to findings from systematically collected field observations. Understanding phenological responses to climate change is a crucial step towards recognizing implications for higher trophic levels and large-scale ecosystem processes. As herbaria are increasingly being digitized worldwide, more data are becoming available for future studies. As temperatures continue to rise globally, herbarium specimens are expected to become an increasingly important resource for analyzing plant responses to climate change.

Evolution of animal and plant dicers: early parallel duplications and recurrent adaptation of antiviral RNA binding in plants.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Krishanu; Campos, Henry; Kolaczkowski, Bryan

2013-03-01

RNA interference (RNAi) is a eukaryotic molecular system that serves two primary functions: 1) gene regulation and 2) protection against selfish elements such as viruses and transposable DNA. Although the biochemistry of RNAi has been detailed in model organisms, very little is known about the broad-scale patterns and forces that have shaped RNAi evolution. Here, we provide a comprehensive evolutionary analysis of the Dicer protein family, which carries out the initial RNA recognition and processing steps in the RNAi pathway. We show that Dicer genes duplicated and diversified independently in early animal and plant evolution, coincident with the origins of multicellularity. We identify a strong signature of long-term protein-coding adaptation that has continually reshaped the RNA-binding pocket of the plant Dicer responsible for antiviral immunity, suggesting an evolutionary arms race with viral factors. We also identify key changes in Dicer domain architecture and sequence leading to specialization in either gene-regulatory or protective functions in animal and plant paralogs. As a whole, these results reveal a dynamic picture in which the evolution of Dicer function has driven elaboration of parallel RNAi functional pathways in animals and plants.

Scaling laws and technology development strategies for biorefineries and bioenergy plants.

PubMed

Jack, Michael W

2009-12-01

The economies of scale of larger biorefineries or bioenergy plants compete with the diseconomies of scale of transporting geographically distributed biomass to a central location. This results in an optimum plant size that depends on the scaling parameters of the two contributions. This is a fundamental aspect of biorefineries and bioenergy plants and has important consequences for technology development as "bigger is better" is not necessarily true. In this paper we explore the consequences of these scaling effects via a simplified model of biomass transportation and plant costs. Analysis of this model suggests that there is a need for much more sophisticated technology development strategies to exploit the consequences of these scaling effects. We suggest three potential strategies in terms of the scaling parameters of the system.

Status of molten carbonate fuel cell technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsons, E. L., Jr.; Williams, M. C.; George, T. J.

The MCFC technology has been identified by the DOE as a promising product for commercialization. Development of the MCFC technology supports the National Energy Strategy. Review of the status of the MCFC technology indicates that the MCFC technology developers are making rapid and significant progress. Manufacturing facility development and extensive testing is occurring. Improvements in performance (power density), lower costs, improved packaging, and scale up to full height are planned. MCFC developers need to continue to be responsive to end-users in potential markets. It will be market demands for the correct product definition which will ultimately determine the character of MCFC power plants. There is a need for continued MCFC product improvement and multiple product development tests.

Scaling relations for a functionally two-dimensional plant: Chamaesyce setiloba (Euphorbiaceae).

PubMed

Koontz, Terri L; Petroff, Alexander; West, Geoffrey B; Brown, James H

2009-05-01

Many characteristics of plants and animals scale with body size as described by allometric equations of the form Y = βM(α), where Y is an attribute of the organism, β is a coefficient that varies with attribute, M is a measure of organism size, and α is another constant, the scaling exponent. In current models, the frequently observed quarter-power scaling exponents are hypothesized to be due to fractal-like structures. However, not all plants or animals conform to the assumptions of these models. Therefore, they might be expected to have different scaling relations. We studied one such plant, Chamaesyce setiloba, a prostrate annual herb that grows to functionally fill a two-dimensional space. Number of leaves scaled slightly less than isometrically with total aboveground plant mass (α ≈ 0.9) and substantially less than isometrically with dry total stem mass (α = 0.82), showing reduced allocation to leaf as opposed to stem tissue with increasing plant size. Additionally, scalings of the lengths and radii of parent and daughter branches differed from those predicted for three-dimensional trees and shrubs. Unlike plants with typical three-dimensional architectures, C. setiloba has distinctive scaling relations associated with its particular prostrate herbaceous growth form.

A model framework to represent plant-physiology and rhizosphere processes in soil profile simulation models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanderborght, J.; Javaux, M.; Couvreur, V.; Schröder, N.; Huber, K.; Abesha, B.; Schnepf, A.; Vereecken, H.

2013-12-01

Plant roots play a crucial role in several key processes in soils. Besides their impact on biogeochemical cycles and processes, they also have an important influence on physical processes such as water flow and transport of dissolved substances in soils. Interaction between plant roots and soil processes takes place at different scales and ranges from the scale of an individual root and its directly surrounding soil or rhizosphere over the scale of a root system of an individual plant in a soil profile to the scale of vegetation patterns in landscapes. Simulation models that are used to predict water flow and solute transport in soil-plant systems mainly focus on the individual plant root system scale, parameterize single-root scale phenomena, and aggregate the root system scale to the vegetation scale. In this presentation, we will focus on the transition from the single root to the root system scale. Using high resolution non-invasive imaging techniques and methods, gradients in soil properties and states around roots and their difference from the bulk soil properties could be demonstrated. Recent developments in plant sciences provide new insights in the mechanisms that control water fluxes in plants and in the adaptation of root properties or root plasticity to changing soil conditions. However, since currently used approaches to simulate root water uptake neither resolve these small scale processes nor represent processes and controls within the root system, transferring this information to the whole soil-plant system scale is a challenge. Using a simulation model that describes flow and transport processes in the soil, resolves flow and transport towards individual roots, and describes flow and transport within the root system, such a transfer could be achieved. We present a few examples that illustrate: (i) the impact of changed rhizosphere hydraulic properties, (ii) the effect of root hydraulic properties and root system architecture, (iii) the regulation of plant transpiration by root-zone produced plant hormones, and (iv) the impact of salt accumulation at the soil-root interface on root water uptake. We further propose a framework how this process knowledge could be implemented in root zone simulation models that do not resolve small scale processes.

State of the art of aerobic granulation in continuous flow bioreactors.

PubMed

Kent, Timothy R; Bott, Charles B; Wang, Zhi-Wu

In the wake of the success of aerobic granulation in sequential batch reactors (SBRs) for treating wastewater, attention is beginning to turn to continuous flow applications. This is a necessary step given the advantages of continuous flow treatment processes and the fact that the majority of full-scale wastewater treatment plants across the world are operated with aeration tanks and clarifiers in a continuous flow mode. As in SBRs, applying a selection pressure, based on differences in either settling velocity or the size of the biomass, is essential for successful granulation in continuous flow reactors (CFRs). CFRs employed for aerobic granulation come in multiple configurations, each with their own means of achieving such a selection pressure. Other factors, such as bioaugmentation and hydraulic shear force, also contribute to aerobic granulation to some extent. Besides the formation of aerobic granules, long-term stability of aerobic granules is also a critical issue to be addressed. Inorganic precipitation, special inocula, and various operational optimization strategies have been used to improve granule long-term structural integrity. Accumulated studies reviewed in this work demonstrate that aerobic granulation in CFRs is capable of removing a wide spectrum of contaminants and achieving properties generally comparable to those in SBRs. Despite the notable research progress made toward successful aerobic granulation in lab-scale CFRs, to the best of our knowledge, there are only three full-scale tests of the technique, two being seeded with anammox-supported aerobic granules and the other with conventional aerobic granules; two other process alternatives are currently in development. Application of settling- or size-based selection pressures and feast/famine conditions are especially difficult to implement to these and similar mainstream systems. Future research efforts needs to be focused on the optimization of the granule-to-floc ratio, enhancement of granule activity, improvement of long-term granule stability, and a better understanding of aerobic granulation mechanisms in CFRs, especially in full-scale applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-scale simulation of plant stem reinforcement by brachysclereids: A case study in apple fruit peduncles.

PubMed

Horbens, Melanie; Branke, Dominik; Gärtner, Roland; Voigt, Axel; Stenger, Florian; Neinhuis, Christoph

2015-10-01

Sclereid formation in addition to or in gaps of fragmented fibre rings is common in dicotyledonous plant stems. Whether this sclereid formation is force-triggered remains open so far. In fruit peduncles of several Malus species as modified plant stems, for example, the persistent fibre ring is displaced to the centre by formation of cortex parenchyma during growth. Parenchyma cells subsequently differentiate into an additional layer of brachysclereids, previously interpreted as an adaptation to continuously rising fruit loads. The present study pursues a multi-scale numerical modelling approach, to verify the important effect for different cellular architectures in both sclerenchyma categories on the stiffness of these tissues and the entire peduncle. First, different material properties are simulated analogue to plant tissues on the basis of three cell types. A regular three-dimensional and a random Voronoi microstructure combined with various mechanical cell wall parameters are applied. Using homogenisation simulations based on HILL's principle, numerical calculations predict a lower effective homogenised tissue stiffness of isodiametric brachysclereids compared to those of fibres, confirming experimentally obtained data from Malus fruit peduncles. Furthermore, a curved peduncle model with a complex arrangement of different material layers is generated. Diverse material sets are tested under three representative loadings, using an adaptive diffuse domain approach (AMDiS). The model explains the function of sclereids as considerable contributors to the stiffness against bending and tensile deformations, as well as torsion, especially in consequence of superimposed load conditions in the case of a curved plant stem. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photocatalytic treatment of an industrial effluent using artificial and solar UV radiation: an operational cost study on a pilot plant scale.

PubMed

Durán, A; Monteagudo, J M; San Martín, I

2012-05-15

The aim of this work was to study the operation costs of treating a real effluent from an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power station located in Spain. The study compares different homogeneous photocatalytic processes on a pilot plant scale using different types of radiation (artificial UV or solar UV with a compound parabolic collector). The efficiency of the processes was evaluated by an analysis of the total organic carbon (TOC) removed. The following processes were considered in the study: (i) a photo-Fenton process at an artificial UV pilot plant (with the initial addition of H(2)O(2)), (ii) a modified photo-Fenton process with continuous addition of H(2)O(2) and O(2) to the system and (iii) a ferrioxalate-assisted solar photo-Fenton process at a compound parabolic collector (CPC) pilot plant. The efficiency of these processes in degrading pollutants has been studied previously, and the results obtained in each of those studies have been published elsewhere. The operational costs due to the consumption of electrical energy, reagents and catalysts were calculated from the optimal conditions of each process. The results showed that the solar photo-Fenton system was economically feasible, being able to achieve up to 75% mineralization with a total cost of 6 €/m(3), which can be reduced to 3.6 €/m(3) by subtracting the electrical costs because the IGCC plant is self-sufficient in terms of energy. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant trait detection with multi-scale spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamon, J. A.; Wang, R.

2017-12-01

Proximal and remote sensing using imaging spectrometry offers new opportunities for detecting plant traits, with benefits for phenotyping, productivity estimation, stress detection, and biodiversity studies. Using proximal and airborne spectrometry, we evaluated variation in plant optical properties at various spatial and spectral scales with the goal of identifying optimal scales for distinguishing plant traits related to photosynthetic function. Using directed approaches based on physiological vegetation indices, and statistical approaches based on spectral information content, we explored alternate ways of distinguishing plant traits with imaging spectrometry. With both leaf traits and canopy structure contributing to the signals, results exhibit a strong scale dependence. Our results demonstrate the benefits of multi-scale experimental approaches within a clear conceptual framework when applying remote sensing methods to plant trait detection for phenotyping, productivity, and biodiversity studies.

Microbial Interactions in Plants: Perspectives and Applications of Proteomics.

PubMed

Imam, Jahangir; Shukla, Pratyoosh; Mandal, Nimai Prasad; Variar, Mukund

2017-01-01

The structure and function of proteins involved in plant-microbe interactions is investigated through large-scale proteomics technology in a complex biological sample. Since the whole genome sequences are now available for several plant species and microbes, proteomics study has become easier, accurate and huge amount of data can be generated and analyzed during plant-microbe interactions. Proteomics approaches are highly important and relevant in many studies and showed that only genomics approaches are not sufficient enough as much significant information are lost as the proteins and not the genes coding them are final product that is responsible for the observed phenotype. Novel approaches in proteomics are developing continuously enabling the study of the various aspects in arrangements and configuration of proteins and its functions. Its application is becoming more common and frequently used in plant-microbe interactions with the advancement in new technologies. They are more used for the portrayal of cell and extracellular destructiveness and pathogenicity variables delivered by pathogens. This distinguishes the protein level adjustments in host plants when infected with pathogens and advantageous partners. This review provides a brief overview of different proteomics technology which is currently available followed by their exploitation to study the plant-microbe interaction. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Benefits of supplementing an industrial waste anaerobic digester with energy crops for increased biogas production.

PubMed

Nges, Ivo Achu; Escobar, Federico; Fu, Xinmei; Björnsson, Lovisa

2012-01-01

Currently, there is increasing competition for waste as feedstock for the growing number of biogas plants. This has led to fluctuation in feedstock supply and biogas plants being operated below maximum capacity. The feasibility of supplementing a protein/lipid-rich industrial waste (pig manure, slaughterhouse waste, food processing and poultry waste) mesophilic anaerobic digester with carbohydrate-rich energy crops (hemp, maize and triticale) was therefore studied in laboratory scale batch and continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) with a view to scale-up to a commercial biogas process. Co-digesting industrial waste and crops led to significant improvement in methane yield per ton of feedstock and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio as compared to digestion of the industrial waste alone. Biogas production from crops in combination with industrial waste also avoids the need for micronutrients normally required in crop digestion. The batch co-digestion methane yields were used to predict co-digestion methane yield in full scale operation. This was done based on the ratio of methane yields observed for laboratory batch and CSTR experiments compared to full scale CSTR digestion of industrial waste. The economy of crop-based biogas production is limited under Swedish conditions; therefore, adding crops to existing industrial waste digestion could be a viable alternative to ensure a constant/reliable supply of feedstock to the anaerobic digester. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of design, physico-chemical and environmental parameters on pharmaceuticals and fragrances removal by constructed wetlands.

PubMed

Hijosa-Valsero, M; Matamoros, V; Sidrach-Cardona, R; Pedescoll, A; Martín-Villacorta, J; García, J; Bayona, J M; Bécares, E

2011-01-01

The ability of several mesocosm-scale and full-scale constructed wetlands (CWs) to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from urban wastewater was assessed. The results of three previous works were considered as a whole to find common patterns in PPCP removal. The experiment took place outdoors under winter and summer conditions. The mesocosm-scale CWs differed in some design parameters, namely the presence of plants, the vegetal species chosen (Typha angustifolia versus Phragmites australis), the flow configuration (surface flow versus subsurface flow), the primary treatment (sedimentation tank versus HUSB), the feeding regime (batch flow versus continuous saturation) and the presence of gravel bed. The full-scale CWs consisted of a combination of various subsystems (ponds, surface flow CWs and subsurface flow CWs). The studied PPCPs were ketoprofen, naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, salicylic acid, carbamazepine, caffeine, methyl dihydrojasmonate, galaxolide and tonalide. The performance of the evaluated treatment systems was compound dependent and varied as a function of the CW-configuration. In addition, PPCP removal efficiencies were lower during winter. The presence of plants favoured naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, salicylic acid, caffeine, methyl dihydrojasmonate, galaxolide and tonalide removal. Significant positive correlations were observed between the removal of most PPCPs and temperature or redox potential. Accordingly, microbiological pathways appear to be the most likely degradation route for the target PPCPs in the CWs studied.

The concurrent growth of plants and chemical purification of wastewater used as a hydroponic unit.

PubMed

Jurdi, M; Soufi, M; Acra, A

1987-01-01

In this study the seedling of a variety of plants were successfully grown hydroponically on raw wastewater obtained from one of the main sewer outfalls in Beirut. In the first phase, a series of experiments was run on a batch system in glass or plastic containers provided with aeration facilities. A continuous-flow system with recirculation was adopted in the second phase. Iron supplementation was applied in all cases to compensate for its deficiency in the raw wastewater used. The immediate and ultimate objectives of the project were threefold: (a) to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing as a hydroponic medium untreated municipal wastewater having relatively high mean values for BOD and mineral content; (b) to achieve the growth of useful plants on such readily available hydroponic media, thereby saving on fertilizers and scarce water resources; and (c) reclamation of the wastewater through biological purification leading to the gradual depletion of the nutritive constituents. Experimental conditions are described, and the data presented leads to the conclusion that the system is practicable on a laboratory scale. It has great potential for trial on a pilot scale prior to field applications in developing countries suffering from water shortage and hard currency expended on imported fertilizers and wastewater purification facilities.

Monitoring shifts in plant diversity in response to climate change: A method for landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, T.J.; Owen, A.J.; Lee, M.

2000-01-01

Improved sampling designs are needed to detect, monitor, and predict plant migrations and plant diversity changes caused by climate change and other human activities. We propose a methodology based on multi-scale vegetation plots established across forest ecotones which provide baseline data on patterns of plant diversity, invasions of exotic plant species, and plant migrations at landscape scales in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We established forty two 1000-m2 plots in relatively homogeneous forest types and the ecotones between them on 14 vegetation transects. We found that 64% of the variance in understory species distributions at landscape scales were described generally by gradients of elevation and under-canopy solar radiation. Superimposed on broad-scale climatic gradients are small-scale gradients characterized by patches of light, pockets of fertile soil, and zones of high soil moisture. Eighteen of the 42 plots contained at least one exotic species; monitoring exotic plant invasions provides a means to assess changes in native plant diversity and plant migrations. Plant species showed weak affinities to overstory vegetation types, with 43% of the plant species found in three or more vegetation types. Replicate transects along several environmental gradients may provide the means to monitor plant diversity and species migrations at landscape scales because: (1) ecotones may play crucial roles in expanding the geophysiological ranges of many plant species; (2) low affinities of understory species to overstory forest types may predispose vegetation types to be resilient to rapid environmental change; and (3) ecotones may help buffer plant species from extirpation and extinction.

Global Change And Water Availability And Quality: Challenges Ahead

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larsen, M. C.; Ryker, S. J.

2012-12-01

The United States is in the midst of a continental-scale, multi-year water-resources experiment, in which society has not defined testable hypotheses or set the duration and scope of the experiment. What are we doing? We are expanding population at two to three times the national growth rate in our most water-scarce states, in the southwest, where water stress is already great and modeling predicts decreased streamflow by the middle of this century. We are expanding irrigated agriculture from the west into the east, particularly to the southeastern states, where increased competition for ground and surface water has urban, agricultural, and environmental interests at odds, and increasingly, in court. We are expanding our consumption of pharmaceutical and personal care products to historic high levels and disposing of them in surface and groundwater, through sewage treatment plants and individual septic systems that were not designed to treat them. These and other examples of our national-scale experiment are likely to continue well into the 21st century. This experiment and related challenges will continue and likely intensify as non-climatic and climatic factors, such as predicted rising temperature and changes in the distribution of precipitation in time and space, continue to develop.

From broadscale patterns to fine-scale processes: habitat structure influences genetic differentiation in the pitcher plant midge across multiple spatial scales.

PubMed

Rasic, Gordana; Keyghobadi, Nusha

2012-01-01

The spatial scale at which samples are collected and analysed influences the inferences that can be drawn from landscape genetic studies. We examined genetic structure and its landscape correlates in the pitcher plant midge, Metriocnemus knabi, an inhabitant of the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, across several spatial scales that are naturally delimited by the midge's habitat (leaf, plant, cluster of plants, bog and system of bogs). We analysed 11 microsatellite loci in 710 M. knabi larvae from two systems of bogs in Algonquin Provincial Park (Canada) and tested the hypotheses that variables related to habitat structure are associated with genetic differentiation in this midge. Up to 54% of variation in individual-based genetic distances at several scales was explained by broadscale landscape variables of bog size, pitcher plant density within bogs and connectivity of pitcher plant clusters. Our results indicate that oviposition behaviour of females at fine scales, as inferred from the spatial locations of full-sib larvae, and spatially limited gene flow at broad scales represent the important processes underlying observed genetic patterns in M. knabi. Broadscale landscape features (bog size and plant density) appear to influence oviposition behaviour of midges, which in turn influences the patterns of genetic differentiation observed at both fine and broad scales. Thus, we inferred linkages among genetic patterns, landscape patterns and ecological processes across spatial scales in M. knabi. Our results reinforce the value of exploring such links simultaneously across multiple spatial scales and landscapes when investigating genetic diversity within a species. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

New scale-down methodology from commercial to lab scale to optimize plant-derived soft gel capsule formulations on a commercial scale.

PubMed

Oishi, Sana; Kimura, Shin-Ichiro; Noguchi, Shuji; Kondo, Mio; Kondo, Yosuke; Shimokawa, Yoshiyuki; Iwao, Yasunori; Itai, Shigeru

2018-01-15

A new scale-down methodology from commercial rotary die scale to laboratory scale was developed to optimize a plant-derived soft gel capsule formulation and eventually manufacture superior soft gel capsules on a commercial scale, in order to reduce the time and cost for formulation development. Animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets were prepared using an applicator on a laboratory scale and their physicochemical properties, such as tensile strength, Young's modulus, and adhesive strength, were evaluated. The tensile strength of the animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets was 11.7 MPa and 4.41 MPa, respectively. The Young's modulus of the animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets was 169 MPa and 17.8 MPa, respectively, and both sheets showed a similar adhesion strength of approximately 4.5-10 MPa. Using a D-optimal mixture design, plant-derived soft gel film sheets were prepared and optimized by varying their composition, including variations in the mass of κ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan, oxidized starch and heat-treated starch. The physicochemical properties of the sheets were evaluated to determine the optimal formulation. Finally, plant-derived soft gel capsules were manufactured using the rotary die method and the prepared soft gel capsules showed equivalent or superior physical properties compared with pre-existing soft gel capsules. Therefore, we successfully developed a new scale-down methodology to optimize the formulation of plant-derived soft gel capsules on a commercial scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Profitability and sustainability of small - medium scale palm biodiesel plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solikhah, Maharani Dewi; Kismanto, Agus; Raksodewanto, Agus; Peryoga, Yoga

2017-06-01

The mandatory of biodiesel application at 20% blending (B20) has been started since January 2016. It creates huge market for biodiesel industry. To build large-scale biodiesel plant (> 100,000 tons/year) is most favorable for biodiesel producers since it can give lower production cost. This cost becomes a challenge for small - medium scale biodiesel plants. However, current biodiesel plants in Indonesia are located mainly in Java and Sumatra, which then distribute biodiesel around Indonesia so that there is an additional cost for transportation from area to area. This factor becomes an opportunity for the small - medium scale biodiesel plants to compete with the large one. This paper discusses the profitability of small - medium scale biodiesel plants conducted on a capacity of 50 tons/day using CPO and its derivatives. The study was conducted by performing economic analysis between scenarios of biodiesel plant that using raw material of stearin, PFAD, and multi feedstock. Comparison on the feasibility of scenarios was also conducted on the effect of transportation cost and selling price. The economic assessment shows that profitability is highly affected by raw material price so that it is important to secure the source of raw materials and consider a multi-feedstock type for small - medium scale biodiesel plants to become a sustainable plant. It was concluded that the small - medium scale biodiesel plants will be profitable and sustainable if they are connected to palm oil mill, have a captive market, and are located minimally 200 km from other biodiesel plants. The use of multi feedstock could increase IRR from 18.68 % to 56.52 %.

Introducing close-range photogrammetry for characterizing forest understory plant diversity and surface fuel structure at fine scales

Treesearch

Benjamin C. Bright; E. Louise Loudermilk; Scott M. Pokswinski; Andrew T. Hudak; Joseph J. O' Brien

2016-01-01

Methods characterizing fine-scale fuels and plant diversity can advance understanding of plant-fire interactions across scales and help in efforts to monitor important ecosystems such as longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests of the southeastern United States. Here, we evaluate the utility of close-range photogrammetry for measuring fuels and plant...

Positive diversity–invasibility relationship in species-rich semi-natural grassland at the neighbourhood scale

PubMed Central

Zeiter, Michaela; Stampfli, Andreas

2012-01-01

Background and Aims Attempts to answer the old question of whether high diversity causes high invasion resistance have resulted in an invasion paradox: while large-scale studies often find a positive relationship between diversity and invasibility, small-scale experimental studies often find a negative relationship. Many of the small-scale studies are conducted in artificial communities of even-aged plants. Species in natural communities, however, do not represent one simultaneous cohort and occur at various levels of spatial aggregation at different scales. This study used natural patterns of diversity to assess the relationship between diversity and invasibility within a uniformly managed, semi-natural community. Methods In species-rich grassland, one seed of each of ten species was added to each of 50 contiguous 16 cm2 quadrats within seven plots (8 × 100 cm). The emergence of these species was recorded in seven control plots, and establishment success was measured in relation to the species diversity of the resident vegetation at two spatial scales, quadrat (64 cm2) within plots (800 cm2) and between plots within the site (approx. 400 m2) over 46 months. Key Results Invader success was positively related to resident species diversity and richness over a range of 28–37 species per plot. This relationship emerged 7 months after seed addition and remained over time despite continuous mortality of invaders. Conclusions Biotic resistance to plant invasion may play only a sub-ordinate role in species-rich, semi-natural grassland. As possible alternative explanations for the positive diversity–invasibility relationship are not clear, it is recommended that future studies elaborate fine-scale environmental heterogeneity in resource supplies or potential resource flows from resident species to seedlings by means of soil biological networks established by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. PMID:22956533

Assessing Biofuel Crop Invasiveness: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Buddenhagen, Christopher Evan; Chimera, Charles; Clifford, Patti

2009-01-01

Background There is widespread interest in biofuel crops as a solution to the world's energy needs, particularly in light of concerns over greenhouse-gas emissions. Despite reservations about their adverse environmental impacts, no attempt has been made to quantify actual, relative or potential invasiveness of terrestrial biofuel crops at an appropriate regional or international scale, and their planting continues to be largely unregulated. Methodology/Principal Findings Using a widely accepted weed risk assessment system, we analyzed a comprehensive list of regionally suitable biofuel crops to show that seventy percent have a high risk of becoming invasive versus one-quarter of non-biofuel plant species and are two to four times more likely to establish wild populations locally or be invasive in Hawaii or in other locations with a similar climate. Conclusions/Significance Because of climatic and ecological similarities, predictions of biofuel crop invasiveness in Hawaii are applicable to other vulnerable island and subtropical ecosystems worldwide. We demonstrate the utility of an accessible and scientifically proven risk assessment protocol that allows users to predict if introduced species will become invasive in their region of interest. Other evidence supports the contention that propagule pressure created by extensive plantings will exacerbate invasions, a scenario expected with large-scale biofuel crop cultivation. Proactive measures, such as risk assessments, should be employed to predict invasion risks, which could then be mitigated via implementation of appropriate planting policies and adoption of the “polluter-pays” principle. PMID:19384412

Plant systems biology: network matters.

PubMed

Lucas, Mikaël; Laplaze, Laurent; Bennett, Malcolm J

2011-04-01

Systems biology is all about networks. A recent trend has been to associate systems biology exclusively with the study of gene regulatory or protein-interaction networks. However, systems biology approaches can be applied at many other scales, from the subatomic to the ecosystem scales. In this review, we describe studies at the sub-cellular, tissue, whole plant and crop scales and highlight how these studies can be related to systems biology. We discuss the properties of system approaches at each scale as well as their current limits, and pinpoint in each case advances unique to the considered scale but representing potential for the other scales. We conclude by examining plant models bridging different scales and considering the future prospects of plant systems biology. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Biogeomorphic feedbacks in the Southwestern USA: exploring the mechanisms of geomorphic change and the effectiveness of mitigation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dean, D. J.; Diehl, R. M.; Topping, D. J.

2017-12-01

Water development and the proliferation of riparian plants have resulted in extensive geomorphic change to rivers worldwide. In many dryland rivers of the Southwestern U.S., these phenomena have contributed to conditions of sediment accumulation leading to channel narrowing, floodplain aggradation, and loss of fluvial habitat. Using a series of field and laboratory measurements, we demonstrate how biogeomorphic feedbacks have promoted channel contraction. Experimental evidence shows that vegetation can have a substantial effect on local hydraulics and sediment-transport fields, depending on plant morphology, but that the impact of plants on physical processes is mediated by flow and sediment supply. In the Little Colorado River in Arizona, water management practices, variations in climate/hydrology, and the resultant expansion of riparian vegetation have resulted in channel narrowing, increases in sinuosity and drag, and decreases in channel slope. These changes have created a biogeomorphic feedback by disrupting downstream flood conveyance; flood travel time has increased resulting in flow attenuation, declines in peak discharge, and continued sediment accumulation at large scales. In the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, channel narrowing and floodplain aggradation has led to the loss of channel capacity and an increase in overbank flooding even though discharges have declined. Vegetation expansion into channel environments has exacerbated this condition by reducing channel-margin flow velocities, increasing sediment deposition, and reducing bank erosion thereby creating a biogeomorphic feedback leading to additional narrowing. An understanding of the mechanisms that have driven geomorphic changes in river channels may help to formulate effective mitigation measures. Vegetation removal can have local and reach-scale effects on channel morphology; however, the effectiveness of these actions is dependent upon many variables including the flow regime and upstream sediment supply. At larger scales, the construction of continuous mass-balance sediment budgets, such as on the Rio Grande and the Yampa and Green rivers in Dinosaur National Monument, can help managers tailor upstream water releases required to maintain sufficient channel complexity or to maximize sediment export.

GAS/LIQUID MEMBRANES FOR NATURAL GAS UPGRADING

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

Howard S. Meyer

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is conducting this research program whose objective is to develop gas/liquid membranes for natural gas upgrading to assist DOE in achieving their goal of developing novel methods of upgrading low quality natural gas to meet pipeline specifications. Kvaerner Process Systems (KPS) and W. L. Gore & Associates (GORE) gas/liquid membrane contactors are based on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes acting as the contacting barrier between the contaminated gas stream and the absorbing liquid. These resilient membranes provide much greater surface area for transfer than other tower internals, with packing densities five to ten times greater, resulting inmore » equipment 50-70% smaller and lower weight for the same treating service. The scope of the research program is to (1) build and install a laboratory- and a field-scale gas/liquid membrane absorber; (2) operate the units with a low quality natural gas feed stream for sufficient time to verify the simulation model of the contactors and to project membrane life in this severe service; and (3) conducted an economic evaluation, based on the data, to quantify the impact of the technology. Chevron, one of the major producers of natural gas, has offered to host the test at a gas treating plant. KPS will use their position as a recognized leader in the construction of commercial amine plants for building the unit along with GORE providing the membranes. GTI will provide operator and data collection support during lab- and field-testing to assure proper analytical procedures are used. Kvaerner and GTI will perform the final economic evaluation. GTI will provide project management and be responsible for reporting and interactions with DOE on this project. Efforts this quarter have concentrated on field site selection. ChevronTexaco has nominated their Headlee Gas Plant in Odessa, TX for a commercial-scale dehydration test. Design and cost estimation for this new site are underway. A HazOp review was conducted. Potting and module materials testing continued. Preliminary design of the bench-scale equipment continues. A status meeting was held in Morgantown, WV with the DOE Project Manager.« less

Does Hawaiian native forest conserve water? Lower uptake rates at tree and stand scale by Metrosideros polymorpha relative to plantation species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kagawa, A. K.; Sack, L.; Duarte, T. K.; James, S. A.

2007-12-01

Native plants are often claimed to be conservative water users that enhance groundwater recharge compared to faster-growing non-native species that tend to dominate watersheds. This argument would have implications for motivating conservation and restoration of native forest in Hawai'i. However, few studies have examined differences in native and non-native plant transpiration (water use) at species or at stand level. Our aim was determine whether species matter to stand-level water use. We measured plant transpiration in a continuous mosaic of native forest and non-native tree plantation in Honaunau, Hawaii, focusing on endemic dominant tree Metrosideros polymorpha, alien timber trees Eucalyptus saligna and Fraxinus uhdei, and dominant understory Cibotium tree ferns. We measured xylem sap flow for six individuals of each species continuously for over eight weeks, and we estimated stand water use by scaling up these measurements using stand sapwood area and tree fern leaf area values obtained through vegetation surveys. Native forest dominant Metrosideros had the lowest rates of whole-tree daily water use at 8 kg day-1 (200kg m-2sapwood day-1), less than half the daily rates for Eucalyptus or Fraxinus; Metrosideros also had the lowest maximum transpiration rates of the three tree species. At the stand level, Fraxinus-dominated stands had higher water use than Eucalyptus- and Metrosideros- dominated stands due to the species' high sap flow rates, five-fold greater sapwood allocation, and the stands' two-fold greater dominant tree density. In Metrosideros-dominated stands, high Cibotium tree fern leaf area contributed to nearly 60% of water use, indicating the fern's critical role in forest water balance. Stand water use was influenced by factors at various scales, including species composition, stem density, tree sizes, and tree species' sapwood allocation, and was affected significantly by understory contributions. These findings highlight the importance of constituent species in forest water use, and in the case of this Hawaiian forest, indicate conservative water use by native forest.

Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of rendering plant and slaughterhouse wastes.

PubMed

Bayr, Suvi; Rantanen, Marianne; Kaparaju, Prasad; Rintala, Jukka

2012-01-01

Co-digestion of rendering and slaughterhouse wastes was studied in laboratory scale semi-continuously fed continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) at 35 and 55 °C. All in all, 10 different rendering plant and slaughterhouse waste fractions were characterised showing high contents of lipids and proteins, and methane potentials of 262-572 dm(3)CH(4)/kg volatile solids(VS)(added). In mesophilic CSTR methane yields of ca 720 dm(3) CH(4)/kg VS(fed) were obtained with organic loading rates (OLR) of 1.0 and 1.5 kg VS/m(3) d, and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 50 d. For thermophilic process, the lowest studied OLR of 1.5 kg VS/m(3) d, turned to be unstable after operation of 1.5 HRT, due to accumulating ammonia, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and probably also long chain fatty acids (LCFAs). In conclusion, mesophilic process was found to be more feasible for co-digestion than thermophilic process, methane yields being higher and process more stable in mesophilic conditions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prediction of mean circulation velocity in oxidation ditch.

PubMed

Simon, S; Roustan, M; Audic, J M; Chatellier, P

2001-02-01

In wastewater treatment, oxidation ditches are used for the removal of carbon and nitrogen of activated sludge. The control of the single-phase flow is essential to the optimisation of the whole process. Among the two global functioning parameters (mean liquid velocity Uc, power dissipated per unit of volume P/V), the mean circulation velocity can be recommended. Indeed, the values of the power dissipated per unit of volume P/V obtained in different scale plant show that the industrial criterion on P/V leads to an overdesign of channel. Therefore a mean liquid circulation velocity Uc created by horizontal impellers must be maintained inside the ditch. In order to predict the velocity Uc, a model has been proposed based on the Equations of the continuity and motion and using a few simple parameters. Experiments were carried out on pilot plant (1 m3) and full scale ditches (860, 1400 and 2800 m3) in which the characteristics of the mixing system and the dimensions of channels were varied. A good agreement was observed between the model predictions and experimental data for the mean circulation velocity Uc.

Toluene emissions from plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heiden, A. C.; Kobel, K.; Komenda, M.; Koppmann, R.; Shao, M.; Wildt, J.

The emission of toluene from different plants was observed in continuously stirred tank reactors and in field measurements. For plants growing without stress, emission rates were low and ranged from the detection limit up to 2·10-16 mol·cm-2·s-1. Under conditions of stress, the emission rates exceeded 10-14 mol·cm-2·s-1. Exposure of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. Gigantheus) to 13CO2 resulted in 13C-labeling of the emitted toluene on a time scale of hours. Although no biochemical pathway for the production of toluene is known, these results indicate that toluene is synthesized by the plants. The emission rates of toluene from sunflower are dependent on nutrient supply and wounding. Since α-pinene emission rates are also influenced by these factors, toluene and α-pinene emissions show a high correlation. During pathogen attack on Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) significant toluene emissions were observed. In this case emissions of toluene and α-pinene also show a good correlation. Toluene emissions were also found in field experiments with pines using branch enclosures.

Dynamic analysis on cavitation and embolization in vascular plants under tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Jeongeun; Hwang, Bae Geun; Kim, Yangmin; Lee, Sang Joon

2014-11-01

Plants can transport sap water from the soil to the tip of their leaves using the tensile forces created by leaf transpiration without any mechanical pumps. However, the high tension adversely induces a thermodynamically metastable state in sap water with negative pressure and gas bubbles are prone to be formed in xylem vessels. Cavitation easily breaks down continuous water columns and grows into embolization, which limits water transport through xylem vessels. Meanwhile, the repair process of embolization is closely related to water management and regulation of sap flow in plants. In this study, the cavitation and embolization phenomena of liquid water in vascular plants and a physical model system are experimentally and theoretically investigated in detail under in vivo and in vitro conditions. This study will not only shed light on the understanding of these multiphase flows under tension but also provide a clue to solve cavitation problems in micro-scale conduits and microfluidic network systems. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2008-0061991).

Development of an Intermediate-Scale Aerobic Bioreactor to Regenerate Nutrients from Inedible Crop Residues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finger, Barry W.; Strayer, Richard F.

1994-01-01

Three Intermediate-Scale Aerobic Bioreactors were designed, fabricated, and operated. They utilized mixed microbial communities to bio-degrade plant residues. The continuously stirred tank reactors operated at a working volume of 8 L, and the average oxygen mass transfer coefficient, k(sub L)a, was 0.01 s(exp -1). Mixing time was 35 s. An experiment using inedible wheat residues, a replenishment rate of 0.125/day, and a solids loading rate of 20 gdw/day yielded a 48% reduction in biomass. Bioreactor effluent was successfully used to regenerate a wheat hydroponic nutrient solution. Over 80% of available potassium, calcium, and other minerals were recovered and recycled in the 76-day wheat growth experiment.

Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 5. Synthesis Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

RD-Rl45 988 AQUATIC PLANT CONTROL RESEARCH PROGRAM LARGE-SCALE 1/2 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ..(U) ARMY ENGINEER WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION VICKSBURG MS...REPORT A-78-2 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR -, CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC PLANTS Report 5 SYNTHESIS REPORT bv Andrew...Corps of Engineers Washington, DC 20314 84 0,_1 oil.. LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC

Removal of selected emerging PPCP compounds using greater duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) based lab-scale free water constructed wetland.

PubMed

Li, Jianan; Zhou, Qizhi; Campos, Luiza C

2017-12-01

Greater duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) based lab-scale free water constructed wetland (CW) was employed for removing four emerging pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) (i.e. DEET, paracetamol, caffeine and triclosan). Orthogonal design was used to test the effect of light intensity, aeration, E.coli abundance and plant biomass on the target compounds. Synthetic wastewater contaminated with the target compounds at concentration of 25 μg/L was prepared, and both batch and continuous flow experiments were conducted. Up to 100% removals were achieved for paracetamol (PAR), caffeine (CAF) and tricolsan (TCS) while the highest removal for DEET was 32.2% in batch tests. Based on orthogonal Duncan analysis, high light intensity (240 μmolmm -2 s -1 ), full aeration, high plant biomass (1.00 kg/m 2 ) and high E.coli abundance (1.0 × 10 6  CFU/100 mL) favoured elimination of the PPCPs. Batch verification test achieved removals of 17.1%, 98.8%, 96.4% and 95.4% for DEET, PAR, CAF and TCS respectively. Continuous flow tests with CW only and CW followed by stabilization tank (CW-ST) were carried out. Final removals of the PPCP contaminants were 32.6%, 97.7%, 98.0% and 100% for DEET, PAR, CAF and TCS, respectively, by CW system alone, while 43.3%, 97.5%, 98.2% and 100%, respectively, were achieved by CW-ST system. By adding the ST tank, PPCP concentrations decreased significantly faster (p < 0.05) compared with continuous flow CW alone. In addition, after removing aerators during continuous flow CW experiments, the treatment systems presented good stability for the PPCP removals. CW-ST showed better chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) removals (89.3%, 91.2%, respectively) than CW only (79.4%, 85.2%, respectively). However, poor DEET removal (<50%) and high E.coli abundance (up to 1.7 log increase) in the final treated water indicated further treatment processes may be required. Statistical analysis showed significant correlations (p < 0.05) between PPCPs and water quality parameters (e.g. COD, nitrate, phosphate), and between the four PPCP compounds for the continuous flow CW and CW-ST systems. Positive results encourage further test of Greater duckweed at pilot scale CW using real wastewater. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isometric scaling of above- and below-ground biomass at the individual and community levels in the understorey of a sub-tropical forest

PubMed Central

Cheng, Dongliang; Zhong, Quanlin; Niklas, Karl J.; Ma, Yuzhu; Yang, Yusheng; Zhang, Jianhua

2015-01-01

Background and Aims Empirical studies and allometric partitioning (AP) theory indicate that plant above-ground biomass (MA) scales, on average, one-to-one (isometrically) with below-ground biomass (MR) at the level of individual trees and at the level of entire forest communities. However, the ability of the AP theory to predict the biomass allocation patterns of understorey plants has not been established because most previous empirical tests have focused on canopy tree species or very large shrubs. Methods In order to test the AP theory further, 1586 understorey sub-tropical forest plants from 30 sites in south-east China were harvested and examined. The numerical values of the scaling exponents and normalization constants (i.e. slopes and y-intercepts, respectively) of log–log linear MA vs. MR relationships were determined for all individual plants, for each site, across the entire data set, and for data sorted into a total of 19 sub-sets of forest types and successional stages. Similar comparisons of MA/MR were also made. Key Results The data revealed that the mean MA/MR of understorey plants was 2·44 and 1·57 across all 1586 plants and for all communities, respectively, and MA scaled nearly isometrically with respect to MR, with scaling exponents of 1·01 for all individual plants and 0·99 for all communities. The scaling exponents did not differ significantly among different forest types or successional stages, but the normalization constants did, and were positively correlated with MA/MR and negatively correlated with scaling exponents across all 1586 plants. Conclusions The results support the AP theory’s prediction that MA scales nearly one-to-one with MR (i.e. MA ∝ MR ≈1·0) and that plant biomass partitioning for individual plants and at the community level share a strikingly similar pattern, at least for the understorey plants examined in this study. Furthermore, variation in environmental conditions appears to affect the numerical values of normalization constants, but not the scaling exponents of the MA vs. MR relationship. This feature of the results suggests that plant size is the primary driver of the MA vs. MR biomass allocation pattern for understorey plants in sub-tropical forests. PMID:25564468

Can biomass responses to warming at plant to ecosystem levels be predicted by leaf-level responses?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, J.; Shao, J.; Zhou, X.; Yan, W.; Lu, M.

2015-12-01

Global warming has the profound impacts on terrestrial C processes from leaf to ecosystem scales, potentially feeding back to climate dynamics. Although numerous studies had investigated the effects of warming on C processes from leaf to plant and ecosystem levels, how leaf-level responses to warming scale up to biomass responses at plant, population, and community levels are largely unknown. In this study, we compiled a dataset from 468 papers at 300 experimental sites and synthesized the warming effects on leaf-level parameters, and plant, population and ecosystem biomass. Our results showed that responses of plant biomass to warming mainly resulted from the changed leaf area rather than the altered photosynthetic capacity. The response of ecosystem biomass to warming was weaker than those of leaf area and plant biomass. However, the scaling functions from responses of leaf area to plant biomass to warming were different in diverse forest types, but functions were similar in non-forested biomes. In addition, it is challenging to scale the biomass responses from plant up to ecosystem. These results indicated that leaf area might be the appropriate index for plant biomass response to warming, and the interspecific competition might hamper the scaling of the warming effects on plant and ecosystem levels, suggesting that the acclimation capacity of plant community should be incorporated into land surface models to improve the prediction of climate-C cycle feedback.

Assessment of micro-scale anaerobic digestion for management of urban organic waste: A case study in London, UK.

PubMed

Walker, M; Theaker, H; Yaman, R; Poggio, D; Nimmo, W; Bywater, A; Blanch, G; Pourkashanian, M

2017-03-01

This paper describes the analysis of an AD plant that is novel in that it is located in an urban environment, built on a micro-scale, fed on food and catering waste, and operates as a purposeful system. The plant was built in 2013 and continues to operate to date, processing urban food waste and generating biogas for use in a community café. The plant was monitored for a period of 319days during 2014, during which the operational parameters, biological stability and energy requirements of the plant were assessed. The plant processed 4574kg of food waste during this time, producing 1008m 3 of biogas at average 60.6% methane. The results showed that the plant was capable of stable operation despite large fluctuations in the rate and type of feed. Another innovative aspect of the plant was that it was equipped with a pre-digester tank and automated feeding, which reduced the effect of feedstock variations on the digestion process. Towards the end of the testing period, a rise in the concentration of volatile fatty acids and ammonia was detected in the digestate, indicating biological instability, and this was successfully remedied by adding trace elements. The energy balance and coefficient of performance (COP) of the system were calculated, which concluded that the system used 49% less heat energy by being housed in a greenhouse, achieved a net positive energy balance and potential COP of 3.16 and 5.55 based on electrical and heat energy, respectively. Greenhouse gas emissions analysis concluded that the most important contribution of the plant to the mitigation of greenhouse gases was the avoidance of on-site fossil fuel use, followed by the diversion of food waste from landfill and that the plant could result in carbon reduction of 2.95kg CO 2eq kWh -1 electricity production or 0.741kg CO 2eq kg -1 waste treated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Describing a multitrophic plant-herbivore-parasitoid system at four spatial scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuautle, M.; Parra-Tabla, V.

2014-02-01

Herbivore-parasitoid interactions must be studied using a multitrophic and multispecies approach. The strength and direction of multiple effects through trophic levels may change across spatial scales. In this work, we use the herbaceous plant Ruellia nudiflora, its moth herbivore Tripudia quadrifera, and several parasitoid morphospecies that feed on the herbivore to answer the following questions: Do herbivore and parasitoid attack levels vary depending on the spatial scale considered? With which plant characteristics are the parasitoid and the herbivore associated? Do parasitoid morphospecies vary in the magnitude of their positive indirect effect on plant reproduction? We evaluated three approximations of herbivore and parasitoid abundance (raw numbers, ratios, and attack rates) at four spatial scales: regional (three different regions which differ in terms of abiotic and biotic characteristics); population (i.e. four populations within each region); patch (four 1 m2 plots in each population); and plant level (using a number of plant characteristics). Finally, we determined whether parasitoids have a positive indirect effect on plant reproductive success (seed number). Herbivore and parasitoid numbers differed at three of the spatial scales considered. However, herbivore/fruit ratio and attack rates did not differ at the population level. Parasitoid/host ratio and attack rates did not differ at any scale, although there was a tendency of a higher attack in one region. At the plant level, herbivore and parasitoid abundances were related to different plant traits, varying the importance and the direction (positive or negative) of those traits. In addition, only one parasitoid species (Bracon sp.) had a positive effect on plant fitness saving up to 20% of the seeds in a fruit. These results underline the importance of knowing the scales that are relevant to organisms at different trophic levels and distinguish between the specific effects of species.

Semi-commercial scale production of carrageenan plant growth promoter by E-beam technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abad, Lucille V.; Dean, Giuseppe Filam O.; Magsino, Gil L.; Dela Cruz, Rafael Miguel M.; Tecson, Mariel G.; Abella, Matt Ezekiel S.; Hizon, Mark Gil S.

2018-02-01

The plant growth promoter (PGP) effect of different formulations of gamma-irradiated carrageenan solutions were tested on rice by foliar spraying. The best formulation was produced in large quantity for field application. Multilocation trials of around 1600 ha rice field in different regions of the Philippines indicated increase in yield of an average of around 20%. Increased resistance to tungro virus was also noted. Likewise, there was extensive root growth, increase in number of tillers, and development of sturdy stems that prevented lodging of rice plant. E-beam irradiation of carrageenan PGP was also studied to increase its throughput of production. Degradation of carrageenan by e-beam irradiation is inhibited by the formation of crosslinks. Optimisation by addition of hydrogen peroxide to improve degradation is discussed. A continuous flow liquid handling system has been fabricated to increase throughput of the carrageenan PGP. Using the optimized parameters, the system can produce a volume of approximately 1700 L/h.

Recent advances in plant-herbivore interactions

PubMed Central

Burkepile, Deron E.; Parker, John D.

2017-01-01

Plant-herbivore interactions shape community dynamics across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. From amphipods to elephants and from algae to trees, plant-herbivore relationships are the crucial link generating animal biomass (and human societies) from mere sunlight. These interactions are, thus, pivotal to understanding the ecology and evolution of virtually any ecosystem. Here, we briefly highlight recent advances in four areas of plant-herbivore interactions: (1) plant defense theory, (2) herbivore diversity and ecosystem function, (3) predation risk aversion and herbivory, and (4) how a changing climate impacts plant-herbivore interactions. Recent advances in plant defense theory, for example, highlight how plant life history and defense traits affect and are affected by multiple drivers, including enemy pressure, resource availability, and the local plant neighborhood, resulting in trait-mediated feedback loops linking trophic interactions with ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Similarly, although the positive effect of consumer diversity on ecosystem function has long been recognized, recent advances using DNA barcoding to elucidate diet, and Global Positioning System/remote sensing to determine habitat selection and impact, have shown that herbivore communities are probably even more functionally diverse than currently realized. Moreover, although most diversity-function studies continue to emphasize plant diversity, herbivore diversity may have even stronger impacts on ecosystem multifunctionality. Recent studies also highlight the role of risk in plant-herbivore interactions, and risk-driven trophic cascades have emerged as landscape-scale patterns in a variety of ecosystems. Perhaps not surprisingly, many plant-herbivore interactions are currently being altered by climate change, which affects plant growth rates and resource allocation, expression of chemical defenses, plant phenology, and herbivore metabolism and behavior. Finally, we conclude by noting that although the field is advancing rapidly, the world is changing even more rapidly, challenging our ability to manage these pivotal links in the food chain. PMID:28232868

Discussion on calculation of disease severity index values from scales with unequal intervals

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

When estimating severity of disease, a disease interval (or category) scale comprises a number of categories of known numeric values – with plant disease this is generally the percent area with symptoms (e.g., the Horsfall-Barratt (H-B) scale). Studies in plant pathology and plant breeding often use...

A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers.

PubMed

Aronson, Myla F J; La Sorte, Frank A; Nilon, Charles H; Katti, Madhusudan; Goddard, Mark A; Lepczyk, Christopher A; Warren, Paige S; Williams, Nicholas S G; Cilliers, Sarel; Clarkson, Bruce; Dobbs, Cynnamon; Dolan, Rebecca; Hedblom, Marcus; Klotz, Stefan; Kooijmans, Jip Louwe; Kühn, Ingolf; Macgregor-Fors, Ian; McDonnell, Mark; Mörtberg, Ulla; Pysek, Petr; Siebert, Stefan; Sushinsky, Jessica; Werner, Peter; Winter, Marten

2014-04-07

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common being Columba livia and Poa annua. The density of bird and plant species (the number of species per km(2)) has declined substantially: only 8% of native bird and 25% of native plant species are currently present compared with estimates of non-urban density of species. The current density of species in cities and the loss in density of species was best explained by anthropogenic features (landcover, city age) rather than by non-anthropogenic factors (geography, climate, topography). As urbanization continues to expand, efforts directed towards the conservation of intact vegetation within urban landscapes could support higher concentrations of both bird and plant species. Despite declines in the density of species, cities still retain endemic native species, thus providing opportunities for regional and global biodiversity conservation, restoration and education.

A global analysis of the impacts of urbanization on bird and plant diversity reveals key anthropogenic drivers

PubMed Central

Aronson, Myla F. J.; La Sorte, Frank A.; Nilon, Charles H.; Katti, Madhusudan; Goddard, Mark A.; Lepczyk, Christopher A.; Warren, Paige S.; Williams, Nicholas S. G.; Cilliers, Sarel; Clarkson, Bruce; Dobbs, Cynnamon; Dolan, Rebecca; Hedblom, Marcus; Klotz, Stefan; Kooijmans, Jip Louwe; Kühn, Ingolf; MacGregor-Fors, Ian; McDonnell, Mark; Mörtberg, Ulla; Pyšek, Petr; Siebert, Stefan; Sushinsky, Jessica; Werner, Peter; Winter, Marten

2014-01-01

Urbanization contributes to the loss of the world's biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. However, comparative studies of urban biodiversity leading to robust generalities of the status and drivers of biodiversity in cities at the global scale are lacking. Here, we compiled the largest global dataset to date of two diverse taxa in cities: birds (54 cities) and plants (110 cities). We found that the majority of urban bird and plant species are native in the world's cities. Few plants and birds are cosmopolitan, the most common being Columba livia and Poa annua. The density of bird and plant species (the number of species per km2) has declined substantially: only 8% of native bird and 25% of native plant species are currently present compared with estimates of non-urban density of species. The current density of species in cities and the loss in density of species was best explained by anthropogenic features (landcover, city age) rather than by non-anthropogenic factors (geography, climate, topography). As urbanization continues to expand, efforts directed towards the conservation of intact vegetation within urban landscapes could support higher concentrations of both bird and plant species. Despite declines in the density of species, cities still retain endemic native species, thus providing opportunities for regional and global biodiversity conservation, restoration and education. PMID:24523278

Nutrient allocation strategies of woody plants: an approach from the scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus between twig stems and leaves.

PubMed

Yan, Zhengbing; Li, Peng; Chen, Yahan; Han, Wenxuan; Fang, Jingyun

2016-02-05

Allocation of limited nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), among plant organs reflects the influences of evolutionary and ecological processes on functional traits of plants, and thus is related to functional groups and environmental conditions. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by exploring the stoichiometric scaling of N and P concentrations between twig stems and leaves of 335 woody species from 12 forest sites across eastern China. Scaling exponents of twig stem N (or P) to leaf N (or P) varied among functional groups. With increasing latitude, these scaling exponents significantly decreased from >1 at low latitude to <1 at high latitude across the study area. These results suggested that, as plant nutrient concentration increased, plants at low latitudes showed a faster increase in twig stem nutrient concentration, whereas plants at high latitudes presented a faster increase in leaf nutrient concentration. Such shifts in nutrient allocation strategy from low to high latitudes may be controlled by temperature. Overall, our findings provide a new approach to explore plant nutrient allocation strategies by analysing the stoichiometric scaling of nutrients among organs, which could broaden our understanding of the interactions between plants and their environments.

Detecting climate-change responses of plants and soil organic matter using isotopomers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schleucher, Jürgen; Ehlers, Ina; Segura, Javier; Haei, Mahsa; Augusti, Angela; Köhler, Iris; Zuidema, Pieter; Nilsson, Mats; Öquist, Mats

2015-04-01

Responses of vegetation and soils to environmental changes will strongly influence future climate, and responses on century time scales are most important for feedbacks on the carbon cycle, climate models, prediction of crop productivity, and for adaptation to climate change. That plants respond to increasing CO2 on century time scales has been proven by changes in stomatal index, but very little is known beyond this. In soil, the complexity of soil organic matter (SOM) has hampered a sufficient understanding of the temperature sensitivity of SOM turnover. Here we present new stable isotope methodology that allows detecting shifts in metabolism on long time scales, and elucidating SOM turnover on the molecular level. Compound-specific isotope analysis measures isotope ratios of defined metabolites, but as average of the entire molecule. Here we demonstrate how much more detailed information can be obtained from analyses of intramolecular distributions of stable isotopes, so-called isotopomer abundances. As key tool, we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which allows detecting isotope abundance with intramolecular resolution and without risk for isotope fractionation during analysis. Enzyme isotope fractionations create non-random isotopomer patterns in biochemical metabolites. At natural isotope abundance, these patterns continuously store metabolic information. We present a strategy how these patterns can be used as to extract signals on plant physiology, climate variables, and their interactions. Applied in retrospective analyses to herbarium samples and tree-ring series, we detect century-time-scale metabolic changes in response to increasing atmospheric CO2, with no evidence for acclimatory reactions by the plants. In trees, the increase in photosynthesis expected from increasing CO2 ("CO2 fertilization) was diminished by increasing temperatures, which resolves the discrepancy between expected increases in photosynthesis and commonly observed lack of biomass increases. Isotopomer patterns are a rich source of metabolic information, which can be retrieved from archives of plant material covering centuries and millennia, the time scales relevant for climate change. Boreal soils contain a huge carbon pool that may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Biological activity persists in soils under frozen conditions, but it is largely unknown what controls it, and whether it differs from unfrozen conditions. In an incubation experiment, we traced the metabolism of 13C-labeled cellulose by soil microorganisms. NMR analysis revealed that the 13C label was converted both to respired CO2 and to phospholipid fatty acids, indicating that the polymeric substrate cellulose entered both catabolic and anabolic pathways. Both applications demonstrate a fundamental advantage of isotopomer analysis, namely that their abundances directly reflect biochemical processes. This allows obtaining metabolic information on millennial time scales, thus bridging between plant-physiology and paleo sciences. It may also be key to characterizing SOM with sufficient resolution to understand current biogeochemical fluxes involving SOM and to identify molecular components and organisms that are key for SOM turnover.

9 CFR 590.24 - Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Egg products plants requiring..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Scope of Inspection § 590.24 Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection. No plant in...

Active management of plant canopy temperature as a tool for modifying plant metabolic activity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The relationship between a plant and its thermal environment is a major determiner of its growth and development. Since plants grow and develop within continuously variable thermal environments, they are subjected to continuous thermal variation over their life cycle. Transpiration serves to uncoupl...

9 CFR 590.24 - Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Egg products plants requiring..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION INSPECTION OF EGGS AND EGG PRODUCTS (EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION ACT) Scope of Inspection § 590.24 Egg products plants requiring continuous inspection. No plant in...

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Selected Life History Information of Animal Species on Lake Conway, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

Name Management Information 2 Loplsostus i. Inhabits warm, sluggish waters. (Continued) platyrhincus Can live in very stagnant waters 3 Amia calva a...water with abundant vegetation. Amia calva can survive very stagnant water due to its ability to surface and ’breathe’ the air. Active at twilight and...Name Scientific Name FishSpecies 1 Longnose gar Loplsosteus osseus 2 Florida gar Lepisosteus platjrhincus 3 Bowf in Aula calva 4 American eel Anguilla

Ultrasonic disintegration of biosolids for improved biodegradation.

PubMed

Nickel, Klaus; Neis, Uwe

2007-04-01

Biological cell lysis is known to be the rate-limiting step of anaerobic biosolids degradation. Shear forces generated by low frequency ultrasound can be used to disintegrate bacterial cells in sewage sludge. Thus, the quantity of dissolved organic substrate is increased. Consequently, the degradation rate and the biodegradability of organic biosolids mass are improved. Fundamental pilot-studies showed a significantly accelerated biosolids degradation with less digested sludge being produced and increased biogas production being attained. A full-scale ultrasound reactor system was developed for continuous operation under real life conditions on sewage treatment plants (STP).

Development of a Novel Gas Pressurized Stripping Process-Based Technology for CO₂ Capture from Post-Combustion Flue Gases

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

Chen, Shiaoguo

A novel Gas Pressurized Stripping (GPS) post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) process has been developed by Carbon Capture Scientific, LLC, CONSOL Energy Inc., Nexant Inc., and Western Kentucky University in this bench-scale project. The GPS-based process presents a unique approach that uses a gas pressurized technology for CO₂ stripping at an elevated pressure to overcome the energy use and other disadvantages associated with the benchmark monoethanolamine (MEA) process. The project was aimed at performing laboratory- and bench-scale experiments to prove its technical feasibility and generate process engineering and scale-up data, and conducting a techno-economic analysis (TEA) to demonstrate its energy usemore » and cost competitiveness over the MEA process. To meet project goals and objectives, a combination of experimental work, process simulation, and technical and economic analysis studies were applied. The project conducted individual unit lab-scale tests for major process components, including a first absorption column, a GPS column, a second absorption column, and a flasher. Computer simulations were carried out to study the GPS column behavior under different operating conditions, to optimize the column design and operation, and to optimize the GPS process for an existing and a new power plant. The vapor-liquid equilibrium data under high loading and high temperature for the selected amines were also measured. The thermal and oxidative stability of the selected solvents were also tested experimentally and presented. A bench-scale column-based unit capable of achieving at least 90% CO₂ capture from a nominal 500 SLPM coal-derived flue gas slipstream was designed and built. This integrated, continuous, skid-mounted GPS system was tested using real flue gas from a coal-fired boiler at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC). The technical challenges of the GPS technology in stability, corrosion, and foaming of selected solvents, and environmental, health and safety risks have been addressed through experimental tests, consultation with vendors and engineering analysis. Multiple rounds of TEA were performed to improve the GPS-based PCC process design and operation, and to compare the energy use and cost performance of a nominal 550-MWe supercritical pulverized coal (PC) plant among the DOE/NETL report Case 11 (the PC plant without CO₂ capture), the DOE/NETL report Case 12 (the PC plant with benchmark MEA-based PCC), and the PC plant using GPS-based PCC. The results reveal that the net power produced in the PC plant with GPS-based PCC is 647 MWe, greater than that of the Case 12 (550 MWe). The 20-year LCOE for the PC plant with GPS-based PCC is 97.4 mills/kWh, or 152% of that of the Case 11, which is also 23% less than that of the Case 12. These results demonstrate that the GPS-based PCC process is energy-efficient and cost-effective compared with the benchmark MEA process.« less

Techno-economic evaluation of the application of ozone-oxidation in a full-scale aerobic digestion plant.

PubMed

Chiavola, Agostina; D'Amato, Emilio; Gori, Riccardo; Lubello, Claudio; Sirini, Piero

2013-04-01

This paper deals with the application of the ozone-oxidation in a full scale aerobic sludge digester. Ozonation was applied continuously to a fraction of the biological sludge extracted from the digestion unit; the ozonated sludge was then recirculated to the same digester. Three different ozone flow rates were tested (60,500 and 670g O3 h(-1)) and their effects evaluated in terms of variation of the total and soluble fractions of COD, nitrogen and phosphorous, of total and volatile suspended solids concentrations and Sludge Volume Index in the aerobic digestion unit. During the 7-month operation of the ozonation process, it was observed an appreciable improvement of the aerobic digestion efficiency (up to about 20% under the optimal conditions) and of the sludge settleability properties. These results determined an average reduction of about 60% in the biological sludge extracted from the plant and delivered to final disposal. A thorough economic analysis showed that this reduction allowed to achieve a significant cost saving for the plant with respect to the previous years operated without ozonation. Furthermore, it was determined the threshold disposal cost above which implementation of the ozone oxidation in the aerobic digestion units of similar WWTPs becomes economically convenient (about 60€t(-1) of sludge). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Root System Markup Language: Toward a Unified Root Architecture Description Language1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Pound, Michael P.; Pradal, Christophe; Draye, Xavier; Godin, Christophe; Leitner, Daniel; Meunier, Félicien; Pridmore, Tony P.; Schnepf, Andrea

2015-01-01

The number of image analysis tools supporting the extraction of architectural features of root systems has increased in recent years. These tools offer a handy set of complementary facilities, yet it is widely accepted that none of these software tools is able to extract in an efficient way the growing array of static and dynamic features for different types of images and species. We describe the Root System Markup Language (RSML), which has been designed to overcome two major challenges: (1) to enable portability of root architecture data between different software tools in an easy and interoperable manner, allowing seamless collaborative work; and (2) to provide a standard format upon which to base central repositories that will soon arise following the expanding worldwide root phenotyping effort. RSML follows the XML standard to store two- or three-dimensional image metadata, plant and root properties and geometries, continuous functions along individual root paths, and a suite of annotations at the image, plant, or root scale at one or several time points. Plant ontologies are used to describe botanical entities that are relevant at the scale of root system architecture. An XML schema describes the features and constraints of RSML, and open-source packages have been developed in several languages (R, Excel, Java, Python, and C#) to enable researchers to integrate RSML files into popular research workflow. PMID:25614065

Conduct of Occupational Health During Major Disasters: A Comparison of Literature on Occupational Health Issues in the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

PubMed

Toyoda, Hiroyuki; Mori, Koji

2017-01-01

Workers who respond to large-scale disasters can be exposed to health hazards that do not exist in routine work. It is assumed that learning from past cases is effective for preparing for and responding to such problems, but published information is still insufficient. Accordingly, we conducted a literature review about the health issues and occupational health activities at the World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attack and at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident to investigate how occupational health activities during disasters should be conducted. Seven studies about the WTC attack were extracted and categorized into the following topics: "in relation to emergency systems including occupational health management"; "in relation to improvement and prevention of health effects and occupational hygiene"; and "in relation to care systems aimed at mitigating health effects." Studies about the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident have been used in a previous review. We conclude that, to prevent health effects in workers who respond to large-scale disasters, it is necessary to incorporate occupational health regulations into the national response plan, and to develop practical support functions that enable support to continue for an extended period, training systems for workers with opportunities to report accidents, and care systems to mitigate the health effects.

Can plant resistance to specialist herbivores be explained by plant chemistry or resource use strategy?

PubMed

Kirk, Heather; Vrieling, Klaas; Pelser, Pieter B; Schaffner, Urs

2012-04-01

At both a macro- and micro-evolutionary level, selection of and performance on host plants by specialist herbivores are thought to be governed partially by host plant chemistry. Thus far, there is little evidence to suggest that specialists can detect small structural differences in secondary metabolites of their hosts, or that such differences affect host choice or performance of specialists. We tested whether phytochemical differences between closely related plant species are correlated with specialist host choice. We conducted no-choice feeding trials using 17 plant species of three genera of tribe Senecioneae (Jacobaea, Packera, and Senecio; Asteraceae) and a more distantly related species (Cynoglossum officinale; Boraginaceae) containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), and four PA-sequestering specialist herbivores of the genus Longitarsus (Chrysomelidae). We also assessed whether variation in feeding by specialist herbivores is attributable to different resource use strategies of the tested plant species. Plant resource use strategy was quantified by measuring leaf dry matter content, which is related to both plant nutritive value and to plant investment in quantitative defences. We found no evidence that intra-generic differences in PA profiles affect feeding by specialist herbivores. Instead, our results indicate that decisions to begin feeding are related to plant resource use strategy, while decisions to continue feeding are not based on any plant characteristics measured in this study. These findings imply that PA composition does not significantly affect host choice by these specialist herbivores. Leaf dry matter content is somewhat phylogenetically conserved, indicating that plants may have difficulty altering resource use strategy in response to selection pressure by herbivores and other environmental factors on an evolutionary time scale.

Multi-scale Modeling of Power Plant Plume Emissions and Comparisons with Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costigan, K. R.; Lee, S.; Reisner, J.; Dubey, M. K.; Love, S. P.; Henderson, B. G.; Chylek, P.

2011-12-01

The Remote Sensing Verification Project (RSVP) test-bed located in the Four Corners region of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico offers a unique opportunity to develop new approaches for estimating emissions of CO2. Two major power plants located in this area produce very large signals of co-emitted CO2 and NO2 in this rural region. In addition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintaining Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) on each of the power plant stacks, the RSVP program has deployed an array of in-situ and remote sensing instruments, which provide both point and integrated measurements. To aid in the synthesis and interpretation of the measurements, a multi-scale atmospheric modeling approach is implemented, using two atmospheric numerical models: the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with chemistry (WRF-Chem; Grell et al., 2005) and the HIGRAD model (Reisner et al., 2003). The high fidelity HIGRAD model incorporates a multi-phase Lagrangian particle based approach to track individual chemical species of stack plumes at ultra-high resolution, using an adaptive mesh. It is particularly suited to model buoyancy effects and entrainment processes at the edges of the power plant plumes. WRF-Chem is a community model that has been applied to a number of air quality problems and offers several physical and chemical schemes that can be used to model the transport and chemical transformation of the anthropogenic plumes out of the local region. Multiple nested grids employed in this study allow the model to incorporate atmospheric variability ranging from synoptic scales to micro-scales (~200 m), while including locally developed flows influenced by the nearby complex terrain of the San Juan Mountains. The simulated local atmospheric dynamics are provided to force the HIGRAD model, which links mesoscale atmospheric variability to the small-scale simulation of the power plant plumes. We will discuss how these two models are applied and integrated for the study and we will include the incorporation of the real-time CEMS measurements for input into the models. We will compare the model simulations to the RSVP in-situ, column, and satellite measurements for selected periods. More information on the RSVP Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) measurements can be found at https://tccon-wiki.caltech.edu/Sites/Four_Corners . Grell, G.A., S.E. Peckham, R. Schmitz, S.A. McKeen, G. Frost, W.C. Skamarock and B. Eder, 2005: Fully coupled online chemistry within the WRF model. Atmos. Environ., 39, 6957-6975. Reisner, J., A. Wyszogrodzki, V. Mousseau, and D. Knoll, 2003: An efficient physics-based preconditioner of the fully implicit solution of small-scale thermally driven atmospheric flows. J Comput. Physics., 189, 30-44.

Anticipating on amplifying water stress: Optimal crop production supported by anticipatory water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartholomeus, Ruud; van den Eertwegh, Gé; Simons, Gijs

2015-04-01

Agricultural crop yields depend largely on the soil moisture conditions in the root zone. Drought but especially an excess of water in the root zone and herewith limited availability of soil oxygen reduces crop yield. With ongoing climate change, more prolonged dry periods alternate with more intensive rainfall events, which changes soil moisture dynamics. With unaltered water management practices, reduced crop yield due to both drought stress and waterlogging will increase. Therefore, both farmers and water management authorities need to be provided with opportunities to reduce risks of decreasing crop yields. In The Netherlands, agricultural production of crops represents a market exceeding 2 billion euros annually. Given the increased variability in meteorological conditions and the resulting larger variations in soil moisture contents, it is of large economic importance to provide farmers and water management authorities with tools to mitigate risks of reduced crop yield by anticipatory water management, both at field and at regional scale. We provide the development and the field application of a decision support system (DSS), which allows to optimize crop yield by timely anticipation on drought and waterlogging situations. By using this DSS, we will minimize plant water stress through automated drainage and irrigation management. In order to optimize soil moisture conditions for crop growth, the interacting processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system need to be considered explicitly. Our study comprises both the set-up and application of the DSS on a pilot plot in The Netherlands, in order to evaluate its implementation into daily agricultural practice. The DSS focusses on anticipatory water management at the field scale, i.e. the unit scale of interest to a farmer. We combine parallel field measurements ('observe'), process-based model simulations ('predict'), and the novel Climate Adaptive Drainage (CAD) system ('adjust') to optimize soil moisture conditions. CAD is used both for controlled drainage practices and for sub-irrigation. The DSS has a core of the plot-scale SWAP model (soil-water-atmosphere-plant), extended with a process-based module for the simulation of oxygen stress for plant roots. This module involves macro-scale and micro-scale gas diffusion, as well as the plant physiological demand of oxygen, to simulate transpiration reduction due to limited oxygen availability. Continuous measurements of soil moisture content, groundwater level, and drainage level are used to calibrate the SWAP model each day. This leads to an optimal reproduction of the actual soil moisture conditions by data assimilation in the first step in the DSS process. During the next step, near-future (+10 days) soil moisture conditions and drought and oxygen stress are predicted using weather forecasts. Finally, optimal drainage levels to minimize stress are simulated, which can be established by CAD. Linkage to a grid-based hydrological simulation model (SPHY) facilitates studying the spatial dynamics of soil moisture and associated implications for management at the regional scale. Thus, by using local-scale measurements, process-based models and weather forecasts to anticipate on near-future conditions, not only field-scale water management but also regional surface water management can be optimized both in space and time.

40 CFR 61.121 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standards for Radionuclide Emissions From Elemental Phosphorus Plants § 61.121 Definitions. (a) Elemental phosphorus plant or plant means any facility...

Multi-scale responses of vegetation to removal of horse grazing from Great Basin (USA) mountain ranges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beever, E.A.; Tausch, R.J.; Thogmartin, W.E.

2008-01-01

Although free-roaming equids occur on all of the world's continents except Antarctica, very few studies (and none in the Great Basin, USA) have either investigated their grazing effects on vegetation at more than one spatial scale or compared characteristics of areas from which grazing has been removed to those of currently grazed areas. We compared characteristics of vegetation at 19 sites in nine mountain ranges of the western Great Basin; sites were either grazed by feral horses (Equus caballus) or had had horses removed for the last 10-14 years. We selected horse-occupied and horse-removed sites with similar aspect, slope, fire history, grazing pressure by cattle (minimal to none), and dominant vegetation (Artemisia tridentata). During 1997 and 1998, line-intercept transects randomly located within sites revealed that horse-removed sites exhibited 1.1-1.9 times greater shrub cover, 1.2-1.5 times greater total plant cover, 2-12 species greater plant species richness, and 1.9-2.9 times greater cover and 1.1-2.4 times greater frequency of native grasses than did horse-occupied sites. In contrast, sites with horses tended to have more grazing-resistant forbs and exotic plants. Direction and magnitude of landscape-scale results were corroborated by smaller-scale comparisons within horse-occupied sites of horse-trail transects and (randomly located) transects that characterized overall site conditions. Information-theoretic analyses that incorporated various subsets of abiotic variables suggested that presence of horses was generally a strong determinant of those vegetation-related variables that differed significantly between treatments, especially frequency and cover of grasses, but also species richness and shrub cover and frequency. In contrast, abiotic variables such as precipitation, site elevation, and soil erodibility best predicted characteristics such as forb cover, shrub frequency, and continuity of the shrub canopy. We found species richness of plants monotonically decreased across sites as grazing disturbance increased, suggesting that either the bell-shaped diversity-disturbance curve of the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis does not apply in this system or that most sites are already all on the greater-disturbance slope of the curve. In our study, numerous vegetation properties of less-grazed areas and sites differed notably from horse-grazed sites at local and landscape scales during a wetter and an average-precipitation year. ?? 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Continuous engineering of nano-cocrystals for medical and energetic applications.

PubMed

Spitzer, D; Risse, B; Schnell, F; Pichot, V; Klaumünzer, M; Schaefer, M R

2014-10-10

Cocrystals, solid mixtures of different molecules on molecular scale, are supposed to be tailor made materials with improved employability compared to their pristine individual components in domains such as medicine and explosives. In medicine, cocrystals are obtained by crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients with precisely chosen coformers to design medicaments that demonstrate enhanced stability, high solubility, and therefore high bioavailability and optimized drug up-take. Nanoscaling may further advance these characteristica compared to their micronsized counterparts - because of a larger surface to volume ratio of nanoparticles. In the field of energetic materials, cocrystals offer the opportunity to design smart explosives, combining high reactivity with significantly reduced sensitivity, nowadays essential for a safe manipulation and handling. Furthermore, cocrystals are used in ferroelectrics, non-linear material response and electronic organics. However, state of the art batch processes produce low volume of cocrystals of variable quality and only have produced micronsized cocrystals so far, no nano-cocrystals. Here we demonstrate the continuous preparation of pharmaceutical and energetic micro- and nano-cocrystals using the Spray Flash Evaporation process. Our laboratory scale pilot plant continuously prepared up to 8 grams per hour of Caffeine/Oxalic acid 2:1, Caffeine/Glutaric acid 1:1, TNT/CL-20 1:1 and HMX/Cl-20 1:2 nano- and submicronsized cocrystals.

Continuous engineering of nano-cocrystals for medical and energetic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spitzer, D.; Risse, B.; Schnell, F.; Pichot, V.; Klaumünzer, M.; Schaefer, M. R.

2014-10-01

Cocrystals, solid mixtures of different molecules on molecular scale, are supposed to be tailor made materials with improved employability compared to their pristine individual components in domains such as medicine and explosives. In medicine, cocrystals are obtained by crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients with precisely chosen coformers to design medicaments that demonstrate enhanced stability, high solubility, and therefore high bioavailability and optimized drug up-take. Nanoscaling may further advance these characteristica compared to their micronsized counterparts - because of a larger surface to volume ratio of nanoparticles. In the field of energetic materials, cocrystals offer the opportunity to design smart explosives, combining high reactivity with significantly reduced sensitivity, nowadays essential for a safe manipulation and handling. Furthermore, cocrystals are used in ferroelectrics, non-linear material response and electronic organics. However, state of the art batch processes produce low volume of cocrystals of variable quality and only have produced micronsized cocrystals so far, no nano-cocrystals. Here we demonstrate the continuous preparation of pharmaceutical and energetic micro- and nano-cocrystals using the Spray Flash Evaporation process. Our laboratory scale pilot plant continuously prepared up to 8 grams per hour of Caffeine/Oxalic acid 2:1, Caffeine/Glutaric acid 1:1, TNT/CL-20 1:1 and HMX/Cl-20 1:2 nano- and submicronsized cocrystals.

Continuous engineering of nano-cocrystals for medical and energetic applications

PubMed Central

Spitzer, D.; Risse, B.; Schnell, F.; Pichot, V.; Klaumünzer, M.; Schaefer, M. R.

2014-01-01

Cocrystals, solid mixtures of different molecules on molecular scale, are supposed to be tailor made materials with improved employability compared to their pristine individual components in domains such as medicine and explosives. In medicine, cocrystals are obtained by crystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredients with precisely chosen coformers to design medicaments that demonstrate enhanced stability, high solubility, and therefore high bioavailability and optimized drug up-take. Nanoscaling may further advance these characteristica compared to their micronsized counterparts – because of a larger surface to volume ratio of nanoparticles. In the field of energetic materials, cocrystals offer the opportunity to design smart explosives, combining high reactivity with significantly reduced sensitivity, nowadays essential for a safe manipulation and handling. Furthermore, cocrystals are used in ferroelectrics, non-linear material response and electronic organics. However, state of the art batch processes produce low volume of cocrystals of variable quality and only have produced micronsized cocrystals so far, no nano-cocrystals. Here we demonstrate the continuous preparation of pharmaceutical and energetic micro- and nano-cocrystals using the Spray Flash Evaporation process. Our laboratory scale pilot plant continuously prepared up to 8 grams per hour of Caffeine/Oxalic acid 2:1, Caffeine/Glutaric acid 1:1, TNT/CL-20 1:1 and HMX/Cl-20 1:2 nano- and submicronsized cocrystals. PMID:25300652

Investigation of power-plant plume photochemistry using a reactive plume model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y. H.; Kim, H. S.; Song, C. H.

2016-12-01

Emissions from large-scale point sources have continuously increased due to the rapid industrial growth. In particular, primary and secondary air pollutants are directly relevant to atmospheric environment and human health. Thus, we tried to precisely describe the atmospheric photochemical conversion from primary to secondary air pollutants inside the plumes emitted from large-scale point sources. A reactive plume model (RPM) was developed to comprehensively consider power-plant plume photochemistry with 255 condensed photochemical reactions. The RPM can simulate two main components of power-plant plumes: turbulent dispersion of plumes and compositional changes of plumes via photochemical reactions. In order to evaluate the performance of the RPM developed in the present study, two sets of observational data obtained from the TexAQS II 2006 (Texas Air Quality Study II 2006) campaign were compared with RPM-simulated data. Comparison shows that the RPM produces relatively accurate concentrations for major primary and secondary in-plume species such as NO2, SO2, ozone, and H2SO4. Statistical analyses show good correlation, with correlation coefficients (R) ranging from 0.61 to 0.92, and good agreement with the Index of Agreement (IOA) ranging from 0.70 to 0.95. Following evaluation of the performance of the RPM, a demonstration was also carried out to show the applicability of the RPM. The RPM can calculate NOx photochemical lifetimes inside the two plumes (Monticello and Welsh power plants). Further applicability and possible uses of the RPM are also discussed together with some limitations of the current version of the RPM.

Effects of plant roots on the hydraulic performance during the clogging process in mesocosm vertical flow constructed wetlands.

PubMed

Hua, G F; Zhao, Z W; Kong, J; Guo, R; Zeng, Y T; Zhao, L F; Zhu, Q D

2014-11-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of plant roots (Typha angustifolia roots) on the hydraulic performance during the clogging process from the perspective of time and space distributions in mesocosm vertical flow-constructed wetlands with coarse sand matrix. For this purpose, a pair of lab-scale experiments was conducted to compare planted and unplanted systems by measuring the effective porosity and hydraulic conductivity of the substrate within different operation periods. Furthermore, the flow pattern of the clogging process in the planted and unplanted wetland systems were evaluated by their hydraulic performance (e.g., mean residence time, short circuiting, volumetric efficiency, number of continuously stirred tank reactors, and hydraulic efficiency factor) in salt tracer experiments. The results showed that the flow conditions would change in different clogging stages, which indicated that plants played different roles related to time and space. In the early clogging stages, plant roots restricted the flow of water, while in the middle and later clogging stages, especially the later stage, growing roots opened new pore spaces in the substrate. The roots played an important role in affecting the hydraulic performance in the upper layer (0-30 cm) where the sand matrix had a larger root volume fraction. Finally, the causes of the controversy over plant roots' effects on clogging were discussed. The results helped further understand the effects of plant roots on hydraulic performance during the clogging process.

A nondestructive method for continuously monitoring plant growth.

PubMed

Schwartzkopf, S H

1985-06-01

In the past, plant growth generally has been measured using destructive methods. This paper describes a nondestructive technique for continuously monitoring plant growth. The technique provides a means of directly and accurately measuring plant growth over both short and long time intervals. Application of this technique to the direct measurement of plant growth rates is illustrated using corn (Zea mays L.) as an example.

Isometric scaling of above- and below-ground biomass at the individual and community levels in the understorey of a sub-tropical forest.

PubMed

Cheng, Dongliang; Zhong, Quanlin; Niklas, Karl J; Ma, Yuzhu; Yang, Yusheng; Zhang, Jianhua

2015-02-01

Empirical studies and allometric partitioning (AP) theory indicate that plant above-ground biomass (MA) scales, on average, one-to-one (isometrically) with below-ground biomass (MR) at the level of individual trees and at the level of entire forest communities. However, the ability of the AP theory to predict the biomass allocation patterns of understorey plants has not been established because most previous empirical tests have focused on canopy tree species or very large shrubs. In order to test the AP theory further, 1586 understorey sub-tropical forest plants from 30 sites in south-east China were harvested and examined. The numerical values of the scaling exponents and normalization constants (i.e. slopes and y-intercepts, respectively) of log-log linear MA vs. MR relationships were determined for all individual plants, for each site, across the entire data set, and for data sorted into a total of 19 sub-sets of forest types and successional stages. Similar comparisons of MA/MR were also made. The data revealed that the mean MA/MR of understorey plants was 2·44 and 1·57 across all 1586 plants and for all communities, respectively, and MA scaled nearly isometrically with respect to MR, with scaling exponents of 1·01 for all individual plants and 0·99 for all communities. The scaling exponents did not differ significantly among different forest types or successional stages, but the normalization constants did, and were positively correlated with MA/MR and negatively correlated with scaling exponents across all 1586 plants. The results support the AP theory's prediction that MA scales nearly one-to-one with MR (i.e. MA ∝ MR (≈1·0)) and that plant biomass partitioning for individual plants and at the community level share a strikingly similar pattern, at least for the understorey plants examined in this study. Furthermore, variation in environmental conditions appears to affect the numerical values of normalization constants, but not the scaling exponents of the MA vs. MR relationship. This feature of the results suggests that plant size is the primary driver of the MA vs. MR biomass allocation pattern for understorey plants in sub-tropical forests. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Demographic outcomes and ecosystem implications of giant tortoise reintroduction to Española Island, Galapagos.

PubMed

Gibbs, James P; Hunter, Elizabeth A; Shoemaker, Kevin T; Tapia, Washington H; Cayot, Linda J

2014-01-01

Restoration of extirpated species via captive breeding has typically relied on population viability as the primary criterion for evaluating success. This criterion is inadequate when species reintroduction is undertaken to restore ecological functions and interactions. Herein we report on the demographic and ecological outcomes of a five-decade-long population restoration program for a critically endangered species of "ecosystem engineer": the endemic Española giant Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis). Our analysis of complementary datasets on tortoise demography and movement, tortoise-plant interactions and Española Island's vegetation history indicated that the repatriated tortoise population is secure from a strictly demographic perspective: about half of tortoises released on the island since 1975 were still alive in 2007, in situ reproduction is now significant, and future extinction risk is low with or without continued repatriation. Declining survival rates, somatic growth rates, and body condition of repatriates suggests, however, that resources for continued population growth are increasingly limited. Soil stable carbon isotope analyses indicated a pronounced shift toward woody plants in the recent history of the island's plant community, likely a legacy of changes in competitive relations between woody and herbaceous plants induced by now-eradicated feral goats and prolonged absence of tortoises. Woody plants are of concern because they block tortoise movement and hinder recruitment of cactus--a critical resource for tortoises. Tortoises restrict themselves to remnant cactus patches and areas of low woody plant density in the center of the island despite an apparent capacity to colonize a far greater range, likely because of a lack of cactus elsewhere on the island. We conclude that ecosystem-level criteria for success of species reintroduction efforts take much longer to achieve than population-level criteria; moreover, reinstatement of endangered species as fully functioning ecosystem engineers may often require large-scale habitat restoration efforts in concert with population restoration.

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (14th) Aquatic Plant Control Research Planning and Operations Review, Held at Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma on 26-29 November 1979.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

Development; Problem Identification and Assessment for Aquatic Plant Management; Natural Succession of Aquatic Plants; Large-Scale Operations Management Test...of Insects and Pathogens for Control of Waterhyacinth in Louisiana; Large-Scale Operations Management Test to Evaluate Prevention Methodology for...Control of Eurasian Watermilfoil in Washington; Large-Scale Operations Management Test Using the White Amur at Lake Conway, Florida; and Aquatic Plant Control Activities in the Panama Canal Zone.

Natural stand dynamics in longleaf pine: How climatic disturbances shape the community.

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

Outcalt, Kenneth, W.

2001-06-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) once dominated the overstory of a wide range of southern plant communities from the Atlantic to Texas. Although periodic fires shaped the longleaf pine communities, climatic caused disturbances, significantly impacted them as well, changing stand structure and providing open sites for regeneration. Tornadoes, which usually operate at the partial stand scale are mimicked by even age management of longleaf pine. Seed-tree and shelterwood systems create conditions similar to less severe hurricanes that remove only some of the overstory. Lightening strikes, are continuously impacting longleaf stands creating small scale gaps of 2 to 4 trees where regenerationmore » is not uniform. Managers using the selection system should be aware of this, and create gaps in dry sandhills sites accordingly.« less

Individual-Based Ant-Plant Networks: Diurnal-Nocturnal Structure and Species-Area Relationship

PubMed Central

Dáttilo, Wesley; Fagundes, Roberth; Gurka, Carlos A. Q.; Silva, Mara S. A.; Vieira, Marisa C. L.; Izzo, Thiago J.; Díaz-Castelazo, Cecília; Del-Claro, Kleber; Rico-Gray, Victor

2014-01-01

Despite the importance and increasing knowledge of ecological networks, sampling effort and intrapopulation variation has been widely overlooked. Using continuous daily sampling of ants visiting three plant species in the Brazilian Neotropical savanna, we evaluated for the first time the topological structure over 24 h and species-area relationships (based on the number of extrafloral nectaries available) in individual-based ant-plant networks. We observed that diurnal and nocturnal ant-plant networks exhibited the same pattern of interactions: a nested and non-modular pattern and an average level of network specialization. Despite the high similarity in the ants’ composition between the two collection periods, ant species found in the central core of highly interacting species totally changed between diurnal and nocturnal sampling for all plant species. In other words, this “night-turnover” suggests that the ecological dynamics of these ant-plant interactions can be temporally partitioned (day and night) at a small spatial scale. Thus, it is possible that in some cases processes shaping mutualistic networks formed by protective ants and plants may be underestimated by diurnal sampling alone. Moreover, we did not observe any effect of the number of extrafloral nectaries on ant richness and their foraging on such plants in any of the studied ant-plant networks. We hypothesize that competitively superior ants could monopolize individual plants and allow the coexistence of only a few other ant species, however, other alternative hypotheses are also discussed. Thus, sampling period and species-area relationship produces basic information that increases our confidence in how individual-based ant-plant networks are structured, and the need to consider nocturnal records in ant-plant network sampling design so as to decrease inappropriate inferences. PMID:24918750

Response of ammonium removal to growth and transpiration of Juncus effusus during the treatment of artificial sewage in laboratory-scale wetlands.

PubMed

Wiessner, A; Kappelmeyer, U; Kaestner, M; Schultze-Nobre, L; Kuschk, P

2013-09-01

The correlation between nitrogen removal and the role of the plants in the rhizosphere of constructed wetlands are the subject of continuous discussion, but knowledge is still insufficient. Since the influence of plant growth and physiological activity on ammonium removal has not been well characterized in constructed wetlands so far, this aspect is investigated in more detail in model wetlands under defined laboratory conditions using Juncus effusus for treating an artificial sewage. Growth and physiological activity, such as plant transpiration, have been found to correlate with both the efficiency of ammonium removal within the rhizosphere of J. effusus and the methane formation. The uptake of ammonium by growing plant stocks is within in a range of 45.5%, but under conditions of plant growth stagnation, a further nearly complete removal of the ammonium load points to the likely existence of additional nitrogen removal processes. In this way, a linear correlation between the ammonium concentration inside the rhizosphere and the transpiration of the plant stocks implies that an influence of plant physiological activity on the efficiency of N-removal exists. Furthermore, a linear correlation between methane concentration and plant transpiration has been estimated. The findings indicate a fast response of redox processes to plant activities. Accordingly, not only the influence of plant transpiration activity on the plant-internal convective gas transport, the radial oxygen loss by the plant roots and the efficiency of nitrification within the rhizosphere, but also the nitrogen gas released by phytovolatilization are discussed. The results achieved by using an unplanted control system are different in principle and characterized by a low efficiency of ammonium removal and a high methane enrichment of up to a maximum of 72.7% saturation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil Bacteria and Fungi Respond on Different Spatial Scales to Invasion by the Legume Lespedeza cuneata.

PubMed

Yannarell, Anthony C; Busby, Ryan R; Denight, Michael L; Gebhart, Dick L; Taylor, Steven J

2011-01-01

The spatial scale on which microbial communities respond to plant invasions may provide important clues as to the nature of potential invader-microbe interactions. Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don is an invasive legume that may benefit from associations with mycorrhizal fungi; however, it has also been suggested that the plant is allelopathic and may alter the soil chemistry of invaded sites through secondary metabolites in its root exudates or litter. Thus, L. cuneata invasion may interact with soil microorganisms on a variety of scales. We investigated L. cuneata-related changes to soil bacterial and fungal communities at two spatial scales using multiple sites from across its invaded N. American range. Using whole-community DNA fingerprinting, we characterized microbial community variation at the scale of entire invaded sites and at the scale of individual plants. Based on permutational multivariate analysis of variance, soil bacterial communities in heavily invaded sites were significantly different from those of uninvaded sites, but bacteria did not show any evidence of responding at very local scales around individual plants. In contrast, soil fungi did not change significantly at the scale of entire sites, but there were significant differences between fungal communities of native versus exotic plants within particular sites. The differential scaling of bacterial and fungal responses indicates that L. cuneata interacts differently with soil bacteria and soil fungi, and these microorganisms may play very different roles in the invasion process of this plant.

Crop systems and plant roots can modify the soil water holding capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doussan, Claude; Cousin, Isabelle; Berard, Annette; Chabbi, Abad; Legendre, Laurent; Czarnes, Sonia; Toussaint, Bruce; Ruy, Stéphane

2015-04-01

At the interface between atmosphere and deep sub-soil, the root zone plays a major role in regulating the flow of water between major compartments: groundwater / surface / atmosphere (drainage, runoff, evapotranspiration). This role of soil as regulator/control of water fluxes, but also as a supporting medium to plant growth, is strongly dependent on the hydric properties of the soil. In turn, the plant roots growing in the soil can change its structure; both in the plow layer and in the deeper horizons and, therefore, could change the soil properties, particularly hydric properties. Such root-related alteration of soil properties can be linked to direct effect of roots such as soil perforation during growth, aggregation of soil particles or indirect effects such as the release of exudates by roots that could modify the properties of water or of soil particles. On an another hand, the rhizosphere, the zone around roots influenced by the activity of root and associated microorganisms, could have a high influence on hydric properties, particularly the water retention. To test if crops and plant roots rhizosphere may have a significant effect on water retention, we conducted various experiment from laboratory to field scales. In the lab, we tested different soil and species for rhizospheric effect on soil water retention. Variation in available water content (AWC) between bulk and rhizospheric soil varied from non-significant to a significant increase (to about 16% increase) depending on plant species and soil type. In the field, the alteration of water retention by root systems was tested in different pedological settings for a Maize crop inoculated or not with the bacteria Azospirillum spp., known to alter root structure, growth and morphology. Again, a range of variation in AWC was evidenced, with significant increase (~30%) in some soil types, but more linked to innoculated/non-innoculated plants rather than to a difference between rhizospheric and bulk soil. Finally, in field condition, on a larger time scale, we investigated the effect of crop alternations on the Lusignan ACBB SOERE site. That site presents on the same soil type different crop alternation treatments: an old, continuous grassland, a 8-year continuous cereal rotation and an alternation of cereal/grassland (3-years cereals and 3 to 6 years grassland). Measurements of AWC in these different crop systems setting, 8 years after implementation of the SOERE, show that AWC was different in the cereal/grassland alternation compared to the continuous cereal or grassland cropping systems (~15-20% increase). If such alteration of AWC may seem modest, modeling (in the case of ACBB SOERE) shows that this increase in AWC would increase the cereal yield but also decrease the water drainage out of the root zone, and the possible associated loss of nitrate and pesticides. As a conclusion, in line with some other literature data, roots can influence soil hydric properties and this opens a way to use plants as "soil engineers" to modulate the properties of the root zone, and thus the components of water balance, to mitigate effects of drought on crops… However, how and how much plants will modify the hydric properties, a question which mixes physics, biology, microbiology, crop system settings, is still in infancy and needs further research.

The rich get richer: Patterns of plant invasions in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, T.J.; Barnett, D.T.; Kartesz, J.T.

2003-01-01

Observations from islands, small-scale experiments, and mathematical models have generally supported the paradigm that habitats of low plant diversity are more vulnerable to plant invasions than areas of high plant diversity. We summarize two independent data sets to show exactly the opposite pattern at multiple spatial scales. More significant, and alarming, is that hotspots of native plant diversity have been far more heavily invaded than areas of low plant diversity in most parts of the United States when considered at larger spatial scales. Our findings suggest that we cannot expect such hotspots to repel invasions, and that the threat of invasion is significant and predictably greatest in these areas.

Evapotranspiration of the urban forest at the municipal scale in Los Angeles, CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litvak, E.; Pataki, D. E.

2015-12-01

The severest drought on record in southern California and predictions of continued water shortages make it essential to understand urban water use. However, urban evapotranspiration (ET), which is an important part of municipal water budgets, remains a major uncertainty. Urban ET is difficult to measure and model, particularly in cities with diverse plant composition. The city of Los Angeles contains more than 6 million trees, most of which are non-natives that originate from multiple geographic regions, which further complicates predictions of urban forest transpiration. Previously, we made extensive in situ measurements of tree transpiration and turfgrass ET in greater Los Angeles area. Here, we utilize these data to systematize transpiration of different tree species based on physiological mechanisms underlying plant water relations. The resulting empirical model estimates Los Angeles urban forest ET from easy-to-collect plant characteristics and freely available environmental parameters. Plant characteristics are tree diameter, wood type (e.g. coniferous), phenological type (e.g. evergreen) and plant composition. Environmental parameters are vapor pressure deficit of the air, incoming solar radiation and reference ET (all available at http://cimis.water.ca.gov). By combining this model with existing surveys of urban trees in Los Angeles, we estimated that citywide ET of irrigated landscapes varies from 1.2 ± 0.5 mm/d in winter to 2.8 ± 1.1 mm/d in summer. On average, trees and turfgrass contributed 27% and 73% to total tree+turfgrass ET, correspondingly. To our knowledge, this model provides the first citywide estimates of Los Angeles ET differentiated by wood types and plant composition. These results will inform decision makers about species-specific water use by urban trees and assist with determining landscape designs that are beneficial for water conservation. This model may also be incorporated into a regional hydrologic model to provide spatially resolved ET at the municipal scale.

Aerobic Methane Generation From Plants (AMP)? Yes, Mostly!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whiticar, M. J.; Ednie, A. C.

2007-12-01

In 2006, Keppler et al. (K) published an intriguing and revolutionary idea that aerobic methane is produced in plants (AMP) and released to the atmosphere. Their initial scaling calculations estimated the amount of AMP fluxing from living plants to range from 62-236 Tg/y and 1-7 Tg/y for plant litter. Houweling et al. (2006) (H) refined this flux to ca. 85 Tg/y PIH and 125 Tg/y present day. More recently, Dueck et al. (2007) (D) challenged the claim of AMP from intact plants. Their experiments cited "...No evidence for substantial aerobic methane emission by terrestrial plants..." (max. 0.4 ng/g h-1). Due to the significance of AMP in understanding present and palaeo-atmospheric budgets (e.g., Whiticar and Schaefer, 2007), we conducted a wide range of experiments to confirm or refute the existence and magnitude of AMP. For explanation, experiments of K were time-series batch samples measured by gas chromatography on purged and ambient samples, whereas D used continuous-flow cuvettes and measured by optical PAS with time series single injections. Our longer-term experiments with corn, wheat, tomato, red cedar, chestnut, moss and lichen (3-97 h, 32 °C) used a plant chamber, flow-through system with a GYRO, an optical spectrometer that enables continuous 1 Hz CH4 measurements with a precision of ca. 1 ppbv. We conducted over 100 chamber experiments on sterilized and non-sterilized (Cs-137 radiation) samples of: 1) intact living plants (IP), 2) fresh leaves (FL) and 3) dried leaves (DL); under both 1) high and 2) low light conditions (HL, LL), and with 1) ambient CH4 (AM, ca. 1.92 ppmv) and 2) purged methane (PM, 10 and 96 ppbv) levels. Our results demonstrate that IP-AMs have CH4 flux rates of 0.74-3.48 ng/g h-1. In contrast, IP-PMs show intense CH4 uptake rates of -28.5 to -57.9 ng/g h-1 (substantially different than K's reported emissions of 12-370 ng/g h-1 values). Our FL-AM-LL have CH4 flux rates of 0.36-2.05 ng/g h-1, whereas FL-AM-HL have significant CH4 generation of 0.27 to 12.7 ng/g h-1 (substantially higher than K's max of 3 ng/g h-1). FL-PM emissions are low (ca. 1 ng/g h-1). DL CH4 release is also low ranging from LL of 0.33 to HL of 3.37 ng/g h-1. Interestingly, our Cs-irradiated FL have increasingly higher CH4 emission rates with higher radiation dosages. We do not attempt to extrapolate our AMP laboratory experiments to global scales, nor make any physiological, biochemical or mechanistic claims. However at this point our work does indeed confirm that AMP is indeed operative and significant under certain conditions. The magnitude of our small scale, laboratory, AMP emission experiments is consistent with the earlier claims of K and H. We have, to some degree, emulated the experimental designs of both K and D. We remain intrigued by the findings, yet uncertain, if not puzzled, by the process and the discrepancies between groups.

47 CFR 65.450 - Net income.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) INTERSTATE RATE... the interstate portion of plant specific operations (Accounts 6110-6441), plant nonspecific operations... disposition of plant in service items, shall be handled as follows: (1) Gains related to property sold to...

47 CFR 65.450 - Net income.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) INTERSTATE RATE... the interstate portion of plant specific operations (Accounts 6110-6441), plant nonspecific operations... disposition of plant in service items, shall be handled as follows: (1) Gains related to property sold to...

Zea mays iRS1563: A Comprehensive Genome-Scale Metabolic Reconstruction of Maize Metabolism

PubMed Central

Saha, Rajib; Suthers, Patrick F.; Maranas, Costas D.

2011-01-01

The scope and breadth of genome-scale metabolic reconstructions have continued to expand over the last decade. Herein, we introduce a genome-scale model for a plant with direct applications to food and bioenergy production (i.e., maize). Maize annotation is still underway, which introduces significant challenges in the association of metabolic functions to genes. The developed model is designed to meet rigorous standards on gene-protein-reaction (GPR) associations, elementally and charged balanced reactions and a biomass reaction abstracting the relative contribution of all biomass constituents. The metabolic network contains 1,563 genes and 1,825 metabolites involved in 1,985 reactions from primary and secondary maize metabolism. For approximately 42% of the reactions direct literature evidence for the participation of the reaction in maize was found. As many as 445 reactions and 369 metabolites are unique to the maize model compared to the AraGEM model for A. thaliana. 674 metabolites and 893 reactions are present in Zea mays iRS1563 that are not accounted for in maize C4GEM. All reactions are elementally and charged balanced and localized into six different compartments (i.e., cytoplasm, mitochondrion, plastid, peroxisome, vacuole and extracellular). GPR associations are also established based on the functional annotation information and homology prediction accounting for monofunctional, multifunctional and multimeric proteins, isozymes and protein complexes. We describe results from performing flux balance analysis under different physiological conditions, (i.e., photosynthesis, photorespiration and respiration) of a C4 plant and also explore model predictions against experimental observations for two naturally occurring mutants (i.e., bm1 and bm3). The developed model corresponds to the largest and more complete to-date effort at cataloguing metabolism for a plant species. PMID:21755001

Community- Weighted Mean Plant Traits Predict Small Scale Distribution of Insect Root Herbivore Abundance

PubMed Central

Jeltsch, Florian; Wurst, Susanne

2015-01-01

Small scale distribution of insect root herbivores may promote plant species diversity by creating patches of different herbivore pressure. However, determinants of small scale distribution of insect root herbivores, and impact of land use intensity on their small scale distribution are largely unknown. We sampled insect root herbivores and measured vegetation parameters and soil water content along transects in grasslands of different management intensity in three regions in Germany. We calculated community-weighted mean plant traits to test whether the functional plant community composition determines the small scale distribution of insect root herbivores. To analyze spatial patterns in plant species and trait composition and insect root herbivore abundance we computed Mantel correlograms. Insect root herbivores mainly comprised click beetle (Coleoptera, Elateridae) larvae (43%) in the investigated grasslands. Total insect root herbivore numbers were positively related to community-weighted mean traits indicating high plant growth rates and biomass (specific leaf area, reproductive- and vegetative plant height), and negatively related to plant traits indicating poor tissue quality (leaf C/N ratio). Generalist Elaterid larvae, when analyzed independently, were also positively related to high plant growth rates and furthermore to root dry mass, but were not related to tissue quality. Insect root herbivore numbers were not related to plant cover, plant species richness and soil water content. Plant species composition and to a lesser extent plant trait composition displayed spatial autocorrelation, which was not influenced by land use intensity. Insect root herbivore abundance was not spatially autocorrelated. We conclude that in semi-natural grasslands with a high share of generalist insect root herbivores, insect root herbivores affiliate with large, fast growing plants, presumably because of availability of high quantities of food. Affiliation of insect root herbivores with large, fast growing plants may counteract dominance of those species, thus promoting plant diversity. PMID:26517119

Process, pattern and scale: hydrogeomorphology and plant diversity in forested wetlands across multiple spatial scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, L.; Hupp, C. R.; Forman, R. T.

2002-12-01

Many geodisturbances occur across large spatial scales, spanning entire landscapes and creating ecological phenomena in their wake. Ecological study at large scales poses special problems: (1) large-scale studies require large-scale resources, and (2) sampling is not always feasible at the appropriate scale, and researchers rely on data collected at smaller scales to interpret patterns across broad regions. A criticism of landscape ecology is that findings at small spatial scales are "scaled up" and applied indiscriminately across larger spatial scales. In this research, landscape scaling is addressed through process-pattern relationships between hydrogeomorphic processes and patterns of plant diversity in forested wetlands. The research addresses: (1) whether patterns and relationships between hydrogeomorphic, vegetation, and spatial variables can transcend scale; and (2) whether data collected at small spatial scales can be used to describe patterns and relationships across larger spatial scales. Field measurements of hydrologic, geomorphic, spatial, and vegetation data were collected or calculated for 15- 1-ha sites on forested floodplains of six (6) Chesapeake Bay Coastal Plain streams over a total area of about 20,000 km2. Hydroperiod (day/yr), floodplain surface elevation range (m), discharge (m3/s), stream power (kg-m/s2), sediment deposition (mm/yr), relative position downstream and other variables were used in multivariate analyses to explain differences in species richness, tree diversity (Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index H'), and plant community composition at four spatial scales. Data collected at the plot (400-m2) and site- (c. 1-ha) scales are applied to and tested at the river watershed and regional spatial scales. Results indicate that plant species richness and tree diversity (Shannon-Wiener diversity index H') can be described by hydrogeomorphic conditions at all scales, but are best described at the site scale. Data collected at plot and site scales are tested for spatial heterogeneity across the Chesapeake Bay Coastal Plain using a geostatistical variogram, and multiple regression analysis is used to relate plant diversity, spatial, and hydrogeomorphic variables across Coastal Plain regions and hydrologic regimes. Results indicate that relationships between hydrogeomorphic processes and patterns of plant diversity at finer scales can proxy relationships at coarser scales in some, not all, cases. Findings also suggest that data collected at small scales can be used to describe trends across broader scales under limited conditions.

Soil nitrogen dynamics and Capsicum Annuum sp. plant response to biochar amendment in silt loam soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horel, Agota; Gelybo, Gyorgyi; Dencso, Marton; Toth, Eszter; Farkas, Csilla; Kasa, Ilona; Pokovai, Klara

2017-04-01

The present study investigated the growth of Capsicum Annuum sp. (pepper) in small-scale experiment to observe changes in plant growth and health as reflected by leaf area, plant height, yield, root density, and nitrogen usage. Based on field conditions, part of the study aimed to examine the photosynthetic and photochemical responses of plants to treatments resulting from different plant growth rates. During the 12.5 week long study, four treatments were investigated with biochar amount of 0, 0.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0% (by weight) added to silt loam soil. The plants were placed under natural environmental conditions, such that photosynthetic activities from photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and the plants photochemical reflectance index (PRI) could be continuously measured after exposure to sunlight. In this study we found that benefits from biochar addition to silt loam soil most distinguishable occurred in the BC2.5 treatments, where the highest plant yield, highest root density, and highest leaf areas were observed compared to other treatments. Furthermore, data showed that too low (0.5%) or too high (5.0%) biochar addition to the soil had diminishing effects on Capsicum Annuum sp. growth and yield over time. At the end of the 12th week, BC2.5 had 22.2%, while BC0.5 and BC5.0 showed 17.4% and 15.7% increase in yield dry weight respectively compared to controls. The collected data also showed that the PRI values of plants growing on biochar treated soils were generally lower compared to control treatments, which could relate to leaf nitrogen levels. Total nitrogen amount showed marginal changes over time in all treatments. The total nitrogen concentration showed 28.6% and 17.7% increase after the 6th week of the experiment for BC2.5 and BC5.0, respectively, while inorganic nutrients of NO3-N and NH4+-N showed a continuous decrease during the course of the study, with a substantial drop during the first few weeks. The present study provides evidence for impact of biochar on plant stress levels and growth function in biochar amended soils. Our findings emphasize the necessity for optimization to local parameters prior to biochar additions to soils.

Plant hydraulics as a central hub integrating plant and ecosystem function: meeting report for 'Emerging Frontiers in Plant Hydraulics' (Washington, DC, May 2015).

PubMed

Sack, Lawren; Ball, Marilyn C; Brodersen, Craig; Davis, Stephen D; Des Marais, David L; Donovan, Lisa A; Givnish, Thomas J; Hacke, Uwe G; Huxman, Travis; Jansen, Steven; Jacobsen, Anna L; Johnson, Daniel M; Koch, George W; Maurel, Christophe; McCulloh, Katherine A; McDowell, Nate G; McElrone, Andrew; Meinzer, Frederick C; Melcher, Peter J; North, Gretchen; Pellegrini, Matteo; Pockman, William T; Pratt, R Brandon; Sala, Anna; Santiago, Louis S; Savage, Jessica A; Scoffoni, Christine; Sevanto, Sanna; Sperry, John; Tyerman, Stephen D; Way, Danielle; Holbrook, N Michele

2016-09-01

Water plays a central role in plant biology and the efficiency of water transport throughout the plant affects both photosynthetic rate and growth, an influence that scales up deterministically to the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, hydraulic traits mediate the ways in which plants interact with their abiotic and biotic environment. At landscape to global scale, plant hydraulic traits are important in describing the function of ecological communities and ecosystems. Plant hydraulics is increasingly recognized as a central hub within a network by which plant biology is connected to palaeobiology, agronomy, climatology, forestry, community and ecosystem ecology and earth-system science. Such grand challenges as anticipating and mitigating the impacts of climate change, and improving the security and sustainability of our food supply rely on our fundamental knowledge of how water behaves in the cells, tissues, organs, bodies and diverse communities of plants. A workshop, 'Emerging Frontiers in Plant Hydraulics' supported by the National Science Foundation, was held in Washington DC, 2015 to promote open discussion of new ideas, controversies regarding measurements and analyses, and especially, the potential for expansion of up-scaled and down-scaled inter-disciplinary research, and the strengthening of connections between plant hydraulic research, allied fields and global modelling efforts. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

U.S. Nuclear Power Plants: Continued Life or Replacement After 60? (released in AEO2010)

EIA Publications

2010-01-01

Nuclear power plants generate approximately 20% of U.S. electricity, and the plants in operation today are often seen as attractive assets in the current environment of uncertainty about future fossil fuel prices, high construction costs for new power plants (particularly nuclear plants), and the potential enactment of greenhouse gas regulations. Existing nuclear power plants have low fuel costs and relatively high power output. However, there is uncertainty about how long they will be allowed to continue operating.

Uranium fate in wetland mesocosms: Effects of plants at two iron loadings with different pH values.

PubMed

Koster van Groos, Paul G; Kaplan, Daniel I; Chang, Hyun-Shik; Seaman, John C; Li, Dien; Peacock, Aaron D; Scheckel, Kirk G; Jaffé, Peter R

2016-11-01

Small-scale continuous flow wetland mesocosms (∼0.8 L) were used to evaluate how plant roots under different iron loadings affect uranium (U) mobility. When significant concentrations of ferrous iron (Fe) were present at circumneutral pH values, U concentrations in root exposed sediments were an order of magnitude greater than concentrations in root excluded sediments. Micro X-ray absorption near-edge structure (μ-XANES) spectroscopy indicated that U was associated with the plant roots primarily as U(VI) or U(V), with limited evidence of U(IV). Micro X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) of plant roots suggested that for high iron loading at circumneutral pH, U was co-located with Fe, perhaps co-precipitated with root Fe plaques, while for low iron loading at a pH of ∼4 the correlation between U and Fe was not significant, consistent with previous observations of U associated with organic matter. Quantitative PCR analyses indicated that the root exposed sediments also contained elevated numbers of Geobacter spp., which are likely associated with enhanced iron cycling, but may also reduce mobile U(VI) to less mobile U(IV) species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fossil fuel furnace reactor

DOEpatents

Parkinson, William J.

1987-01-01

A fossil fuel furnace reactor is provided for simulating a continuous processing plant with a batch reactor. An internal reaction vessel contains a batch of shale oil, with the vessel having a relatively thin wall thickness for a heat transfer rate effective to simulate a process temperature history in the selected continuous processing plant. A heater jacket is disposed about the reactor vessel and defines a number of independent controllable temperature zones axially spaced along the reaction vessel. Each temperature zone can be energized to simulate a time-temperature history of process material through the continuous plant. A pressure vessel contains both the heater jacket and the reaction vessel at an operating pressure functionally selected to simulate the continuous processing plant. The process yield from the oil shale may be used as feedback information to software simulating operation of the continuous plant to provide operating parameters, i.e., temperature profiles, ambient atmosphere, operating pressure, material feed rates, etc., for simulation in the batch reactor.

Zero Discharge Performance of an Industrial Pilot-Scale Plant Treating Palm Oil Mill Effluent

PubMed Central

Mahmood, Qaisar; Qiu, Jiang-Ping; Li, Yin-Sheng; Chang, Yoon-Seong; Chi, Li-Na; Li, Xu-Dong

2015-01-01

Palm oil is one of the most important agroindustries in Malaysia. Huge quantities of palm oil mill effluent (POME) pose a great threat to aqueous environment due to its very high COD. To make full use of discharged wastes, the integrated “zero discharge” pilot-scale industrial plant comprising “pretreatment-anaerobic and aerobic process-membrane separation” was continuously operated for 1 year. After pretreatment in the oil separator tank, 55.6% of waste oil in raw POME could be recovered and sold and anaerobically digested through 2 AnaEG reactors followed by a dissolved air flotation (DAF); average COD reduced to about 3587 mg/L, and biogas production was 27.65 times POME injection which was used to generate electricity. The aerobic effluent was settled for 3 h or/and treated in MBR which could remove BOD3 (30°C) to less than 20 mg/L as required by Department of Environment of Malaysia. After filtration by UF and RO membrane, all organic compounds and most of the salts were removed; RO permeate could be reused as the boiler feed water. RO concentrate combined with anaerobic surplus sludge could be used as biofertilizer. PMID:25685798

Modelling C₃ photosynthesis from the chloroplast to the ecosystem.

PubMed

Bernacchi, Carl J; Bagley, Justin E; Serbin, Shawn P; Ruiz-Vera, Ursula M; Rosenthal, David M; Vanloocke, Andy

2013-09-01

Globally, photosynthesis accounts for the largest flux of CO₂ from the atmosphere into ecosystems and is the driving process for terrestrial ecosystem function. The importance of accurate predictions of photosynthesis over a range of plant growth conditions led to the development of a C₃ photosynthesis model by Farquhar, von Caemmerer & Berry that has become increasingly important as society places greater pressures on vegetation. The photosynthesis model has played a major role in defining the path towards scientific understanding of photosynthetic carbon uptake and the role of photosynthesis on regulating the earth's climate and biogeochemical systems. In this review, we summarize the photosynthesis model, including its continued development and applications. We also review the implications these developments have on quantifying photosynthesis at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and discuss the model's role in determining photosynthetic responses to changes in environmental conditions. Finally, the review includes a discussion of the larger-scale modelling and remote-sensing applications that rely on the leaf photosynthesis model and are likely to open new scientific avenues to address the increasing challenges to plant productivity over the next century. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Suspended biofilm carrier and activated sludge removal of acidic pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Falås, P; Baillon-Dhumez, A; Andersen, H R; Ledin, A; la Cour Jansen, J

2012-03-15

Removal of seven active pharmaceutical substances (ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, clofibric acid, mefenamic acid, and gemfibrozil) was assessed by batch experiments, with suspended biofilm carriers and activated sludge from several full-scale wastewater treatment plants. A distinct difference between nitrifying activated sludge and suspended biofilm carrier removal of several pharmaceuticals was demonstrated. Biofilm carriers from full-scale nitrifying wastewater treatment plants, demonstrated considerably higher removal rates per unit biomass (i.e. suspended solids for the sludges and attached solids for the carriers) of diclofenac, ketoprofen, gemfibrozil, clofibric acid and mefenamic acid compared to the sludges. Among the target pharmaceuticals, only ibuprofen and naproxen showed similar removal rates per unit biomass for the sludges and biofilm carriers. In contrast to the pharmaceutical removal, the nitrification capacity per unit biomass was lower for the carriers than the sludges, which suggests that neither the nitrite nor the ammonia oxidizing bacteria are primarily responsible for the observed differences in pharmaceutical removal. The low ability of ammonia oxidizing bacteria to degrade or transform the target pharmaceuticals was further demonstrated by the limited pharmaceutical removal in an experiment with continuous nitritation and biofilm carriers from a partial nitritation/anammox sludge liquor treatment process. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Zero discharge performance of an industrial pilot-scale plant treating palm oil mill effluent.

PubMed

Wang, Jin; Mahmood, Qaisar; Qiu, Jiang-Ping; Li, Yin-Sheng; Chang, Yoon-Seong; Chi, Li-Na; Li, Xu-Dong

2015-01-01

Palm oil is one of the most important agroindustries in Malaysia. Huge quantities of palm oil mill effluent (POME) pose a great threat to aqueous environment due to its very high COD. To make full use of discharged wastes, the integrated "zero discharge" pilot-scale industrial plant comprising "pretreatment-anaerobic and aerobic process-membrane separation" was continuously operated for 1 year. After pretreatment in the oil separator tank, 55.6% of waste oil in raw POME could be recovered and sold and anaerobically digested through 2 AnaEG reactors followed by a dissolved air flotation (DAF); average COD reduced to about 3587 mg/L, and biogas production was 27.65 times POME injection which was used to generate electricity. The aerobic effluent was settled for 3 h or/and treated in MBR which could remove BOD3 (30°C) to less than 20 mg/L as required by Department of Environment of Malaysia. After filtration by UF and RO membrane, all organic compounds and most of the salts were removed; RO permeate could be reused as the boiler feed water. RO concentrate combined with anaerobic surplus sludge could be used as biofertilizer.

Continuously-stirred anaerobic digester to convert organic wastes into biogas: system setup and basic operation.

PubMed

Usack, Joseph G; Spirito, Catherine M; Angenent, Largus T

2012-07-13

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a bioprocess that is commonly used to convert complex organic wastes into a useful biogas with methane as the energy carrier. Increasingly, AD is being used in industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste(water) treatment applications. The use of AD technology allows plant operators to reduce waste disposal costs and offset energy utility expenses. In addition to treating organic wastes, energy crops are being converted into the energy carrier methane. As the application of AD technology broadens for the treatment of new substrates and co-substrate mixtures, so does the demand for a reliable testing methodology at the pilot- and laboratory-scale. Anaerobic digestion systems have a variety of configurations, including the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), plug flow (PF), and anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) configurations. The CSTR is frequently used in research due to its simplicity in design and operation, but also for its advantages in experimentation. Compared to other configurations, the CSTR provides greater uniformity of system parameters, such as temperature, mixing, chemical concentration, and substrate concentration. Ultimately, when designing a full-scale reactor, the optimum reactor configuration will depend on the character of a given substrate among many other nontechnical considerations. However, all configurations share fundamental design features and operating parameters that render the CSTR appropriate for most preliminary assessments. If researchers and engineers use an influent stream with relatively high concentrations of solids, then lab-scale bioreactor configurations cannot be fed continuously due to plugging problems of lab-scale pumps with solids or settling of solids in tubing. For that scenario with continuous mixing requirements, lab-scale bioreactors are fed periodically and we refer to such configurations as continuously stirred anaerobic digesters (CSADs). This article presents a general methodology for constructing, inoculating, operating, and monitoring a CSAD system for the purpose of testing the suitability of a given organic substrate for long-term anaerobic digestion. The construction section of this article will cover building the lab-scale reactor system. The inoculation section will explain how to create an anaerobic environment suitable for seeding with an active methanogenic inoculum. The operating section will cover operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. The monitoring section will introduce testing protocols using standard analyses. The use of these measures is necessary for reliable experimental assessments of substrate suitability for AD. This protocol should provide greater protection against a common mistake made in AD studies, which is to conclude that reactor failure was caused by the substrate in use, when really it was improper user operation.

A discussion on disease severity index values: warning on inherent errors and suggestions to maximize accuracy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

When estimating severity of a plant disease, a disease interval (or category) scale comprises a number of categories of known numeric values – with plant disease this is generally based on the percent area with symptoms (e.g. the Horsfall-Barratt (H-B) scale). Studies in plant pathology and plant br...

Spatial correlations of Diceroprocta apache and its host plants: Evidence for a negative impact from Tamarix invasion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellingson, A.R.; Andersen, D.C.

2002-01-01

1. The hypothesis that the habitat-scale spatial distribution of the, Apache cicada Diceroprocta apache Davis is unaffected by the presence of the invasive exotic saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima was tested using data from 205 1-m2 quadrats placed within the flood-plain of the Bill Williams River, Arizona, U.S.A. Spatial dependencies within and between cicada density and habitat variables were estimated using Moran's I and its bivariate analogue to discern patterns and associations at spatial scales from 1 to 30 m. 2. Apache cicadas were spatially aggregated in high-density clusters averaging 3m in diameter. A positive association between cicada density, estimated by exuvial density, and the per cent canopy cover of a native tree, Goodding's willow Salix gooddingii, was detected in a non-spatial correlation analysis. No non-spatial association between cicada density and saltcedar canopy cover was detected. 3. Tests for spatial cross-correlation using the bivariate IYZ indicated the presence of a broad-scale negative association between cicada density and saltcedar canopy cover. This result suggests that large continuous stands of saltcedar are associated with reduced cicada density. In contrast, positive associations detected at spatial scales larger than individual quadrats suggested a spill-over of high cicada density from areas featuring Goodding's willow canopy into surrounding saltcedar monoculture. 4. Taken together and considered in light of the Apache cicada's polyphagous habits, the observed spatial patterns suggest that broad-scale factors such as canopy heterogeneity affect cicada habitat use more than host plant selection. This has implications for management of lower Colorado River riparian woodlands to promote cicada presence and density through maintenance or creation of stands of native trees as well as manipulation of the characteristically dense and homogeneous saltcedar canopies.

Spatial correlations of Diceroprocta apache and its host plants: Evidence for a negative impact from Tamarix invasion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellingson, A.R.; Andersen, D.C.

2002-01-01

1. The hypothesis that the habitat-scale spatial distribution of the Apache cicada Diceroprocta apache Davis is unaffected by the presence of the invasive exotic saltcedar Tamarix ramosissima was tested using data from 205 1-m2 quadrats placed within the flood-plain of the Bill Williams River, Arizona, U.S.A. Spatial dependencies within and between cicada density and habitat variables were estimated using Moran's I and its bivariate analogue to discern patterns and associations at spatial scales from 1 to 30 m.2. Apache cicadas were spatially aggregated in high-density clusters averaging 3 m in diameter. A positive association between cicada density, estimated by exuvial density, and the per cent canopy cover of a native tree, Goodding's willow Salix gooddingii, was detected in a non-spatial correlation analysis. No non-spatial association between cicada density and saltcedar canopy cover was detected.3. Tests for spatial cross-correlation using the bivariate IYZ indicated the presence of a broad-scale negative association between cicada density and saltcedar canopy cover. This result suggests that large continuous stands of saltcedar are associated with reduced cicada density. In contrast, positive associations detected at spatial scales larger than individual quadrats suggested a spill-over of high cicada density from areas featuring Goodding's willow canopy into surrounding saltcedar monoculture.4. Taken together and considered in light of the Apache cicada's polyphagous habits, the observed spatial patterns suggest that broad-scale factors such as canopy heterogeneity affect cicada habitat use more than host plant selection. This has implications for management of lower Colorado River riparian woodlands to promote cicada presence and density through maintenance or creation of stands of native trees as well as manipulation of the characteristically dense and homogeneous saltcedar canopies.

Hotspots of Community Change: Temporal Dynamics Are Spatially Variable in Understory Plant Composition of a California Oak Woodland

PubMed Central

Spotswood, Erica N.; Bartolome, James W.; Allen-Diaz, Barbara

2015-01-01

Community response to external drivers such climate and disturbance can lead to fluctuations in community composition, or to directional change. Temporal dynamics can be influenced by a combination of drivers operating at multiple spatial scales, including external landscape scale drivers, local abiotic conditions, and local species pools. We hypothesized that spatial variation in these factors can create heterogeneity in temporal dynamics within landscapes. We used understory plant species composition from an 11 year dataset from a California oak woodland to compare plots where disturbance was experimentally manipulated with the removal of livestock grazing and a prescribed burn. We quantified three properties of temporal variation: compositional change (reflecting the appearance and disappearance of species), temporal fluctuation, and directional change. Directional change was related most strongly to disturbance type, and was highest at plots where grazing was removed during the study. Temporal fluctuations, compositional change, and directional change were all related to intrinsic abiotic factors, suggesting that some locations are more responsive to external drivers than others. Temporal fluctuations and compositional change were linked to local functional composition, indicating that environmental filters can create subsets of the local species pool that do not respond in the same way to external drivers. Temporal dynamics are often assumed to be relatively static at the landscape scale, provided disturbance and climate are continuous. This study shows that local and landscape scale factors jointly influence temporal dynamics creating hotspots that are particularly responsive to climate and disturbance. Thus, adequate predictions of response to disturbance or to changing climate will only be achieved by considering how factors at multiple spatial scales influence community resilience and recovery. PMID:26222069

Hotspots of Community Change: Temporal Dynamics Are Spatially Variable in Understory Plant Composition of a California Oak Woodland.

PubMed

Spotswood, Erica N; Bartolome, James W; Allen-Diaz, Barbara

2015-01-01

Community response to external drivers such climate and disturbance can lead to fluctuations in community composition, or to directional change. Temporal dynamics can be influenced by a combination of drivers operating at multiple spatial scales, including external landscape scale drivers, local abiotic conditions, and local species pools. We hypothesized that spatial variation in these factors can create heterogeneity in temporal dynamics within landscapes. We used understory plant species composition from an 11 year dataset from a California oak woodland to compare plots where disturbance was experimentally manipulated with the removal of livestock grazing and a prescribed burn. We quantified three properties of temporal variation: compositional change (reflecting the appearance and disappearance of species), temporal fluctuation, and directional change. Directional change was related most strongly to disturbance type, and was highest at plots where grazing was removed during the study. Temporal fluctuations, compositional change, and directional change were all related to intrinsic abiotic factors, suggesting that some locations are more responsive to external drivers than others. Temporal fluctuations and compositional change were linked to local functional composition, indicating that environmental filters can create subsets of the local species pool that do not respond in the same way to external drivers. Temporal dynamics are often assumed to be relatively static at the landscape scale, provided disturbance and climate are continuous. This study shows that local and landscape scale factors jointly influence temporal dynamics creating hotspots that are particularly responsive to climate and disturbance. Thus, adequate predictions of response to disturbance or to changing climate will only be achieved by considering how factors at multiple spatial scales influence community resilience and recovery.

Development of population structure and spatial distribution patterns of a restored forest during 17-year succession (1993-2010) in Pingshuo opencast mine spoil, China.

PubMed

Zhao, Zhongqiu; Wang, Lianhua; Bai, Zhongke; Pan, Ziguan; Wang, Yun

2015-07-01

Afforestation of native tree species is often recommended for ecological restoration in mining areas, but the understanding of the ecological processes of restored vegetation is quite limited. In order to provide insight of the ecological processes of restored vegetation, in this study, we investigate the development of the population structure and spatial distribution patterns of restored Robinia pseudoacacia (ROPS) and Pinus tabuliformis (PITA) mixed forests during the 17 years of the mine spoil period of the Pingshuo opencast mine, Shanxi Province, China. After a 17-year succession, apart from the two planted species, Ulmus pumila (ULPU), as an invasive species, settled in the plot along with a large number of small diameter at breast height (DBH) size. In total, there are 10,062 living individual plants, much more than that at the plantation (5105), and ROPS had become the dominant species with a section area with a breast height of 9.40 m(2) hm(-2) and a mean DBH of 6.72 cm, much higher than both PITA and ULPU. The DBH size classes of all the total species showed inverted J-shaped distributions, which may have been a result of the large number of small regenerated ULPU trees. The DBH size classes of both ROPS and PITA showed peak-type structures with individuals mainly gathering in the moderate DBH size class, indicating a relatively healthy DBH size class structure. Meanwhile, invasive ULPU were distributed in a clear L shape, concentrating on the small DBH size class, indicating a relatively low survival rate for adult trees. Both ROPS and PITA species survival in the plantation showed uniform and aggregated distribution at small scales and random with scales increasing. ULPU showed a strong aggregation at small scales as well as random with scales increasing. Both the population structure and spatial distribution indicated that ROPS dominates and will continue to dominate the community in the future succession, which should be continuously monitored.

Geographic smoothing of solar PV: Results from Gujarat

DOE PAGES

Klima, Kelly; Apt, Jay

2015-09-24

We examine the potential for geographic smoothing of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation using 13 months of observed power production from utility-scale plants in Gujarat, India. To our knowledge, this is the first published analysis of geographic smoothing of solar PV using actual generation data at high time resolution from utility-scale solar PV plants. We use geographic correlation and Fourier transform estimates of the power spectral density (PSD) to characterize the observed variability of operating solar PV plants as a function of time scale. Most plants show a spectrum that is linear in the log–log domain at high frequencies f,more » ranging from f -1.23 to f -1.56 (slopes of -1.23 and -1.56), thus exhibiting more relative variability at high frequencies than exhibited by wind plants. PSDs for large PV plants have a steeper slope than those for small plants, hence more smoothing at short time scales. Interconnecting 20 Gujarat plants yields a f -1.66 spectrum, reducing fluctuations at frequencies corresponding to 6 h and 1 h by 23% and 45%, respectively. Half of this smoothing can be obtained through connecting 4-5 plants; reaching marginal improvement of 1% per added plant occurs at 12-14 plants. The largest plant (322 MW) showed an f -1.76 spectrum. Furthermore, this suggests that in Gujarat the potential for smoothing is limited to that obtained by one large plant.« less

Microchemical Plant in a Liquid Droplet: Plasmonic Liquid Marble for Sequential Reactions and Attomole Detection of Toxin at Microliter Scale.

PubMed

Han, Xuemei; Koh, Charlynn Sher Lin; Lee, Hiang Kwee; Chew, Wee Shern; Ling, Xing Yi

2017-11-15

Miniaturizing the continuous multistep operations of a factory into a microchemical plant offers a safe and cost-effective approach to promote high-throughput screening in drug development and enforcement of industrial/environmental safety. While particle-assembled microdroplets in the form of liquid marble are ideal as microchemical plant, these platforms are mainly restricted to single-step reactions and limited to ex situ reaction monitoring. Herein, we utilize plasmonic liquid marble (PLM), formed by encapsulating liquid droplet with Ag nanocubes, to address these issues and demonstrate it as an ideal microchemical plant to conduct reaction-and-detection sequences on-demand in a nondisruptive manner. Utilizing a two-step azo-dye formation as our model reaction, our microchemical plant allows rapid and efficient diazotization of nitroaniline to form diazonium nitrobenzene, followed by the azo coupling of this intermediate with target aromatic compound to yield azo-dye. These molecular events are tracked in situ via SERS measurement through the plasmonic shell and further verified with in silico investigation. Furthermore, we apply our microchemical plant for ultrasensitive SERS detection and quantification of bisphenol A (BPA) with detection limit down to 10 amol, which is 50 000-fold lower than the BPA safety limit. Together with the protections offered by plasmonic shell against external environments, these collective advantages empower PLM as a multifunctional microchemical plant to facilitate small-volume testing and optimization of processes relevant in industrial and research contexts.

Performance evaluation of different horizontal subsurface flow wetland types by characterization of flow behavior, mass removal and depth-dependent contaminant load.

PubMed

Seeger, Eva M; Maier, Uli; Grathwohl, Peter; Kuschk, Peter; Kaestner, Matthias

2013-02-01

For several pilot-scale constructed wetlands (CWs: a planted and unplanted gravel filter) and a hydroponic plant root mat (operating at two water levels), used for treating groundwater contaminated with BTEX, the fuel additive MTBE and ammonium, the hydrodynamic behavior was evaluated by means of temporal moment analysis of outlet tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs): hydraulic indices were related to contaminant mass removal. Detailed investigation of flow within the model gravel CWs allowed estimation of local flow rates and contaminant loads within the CWs. Best hydraulics were observed for the planted gravel filter (number of continuously stirred tank reactors N = 11.3, dispersion number = 0.04, Péclet number = 23). The hydroponic plant root mat revealed lower N and pronounced dispersion tendencies, whereby an elevated water table considerably impaired flow characteristics and treatment efficiencies. Highest mass removals were achieved by the plant root mat at low level: 98% (544 mg m⁻² d⁻¹), 78% (54 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) and 74% (893 mg m⁻² d⁻¹) for benzene, MTBE and ammonium-nitrogen, respectively. Within the CWs the flow behavior was depth-dependent, with the planting and the position of the outlet tube being key factors resulting in elevated flow rate and contaminant flux immediately below the densely rooted porous media zone in the planted CW, and fast bottom flow in the unplanted reference. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The continuing search for antitumor agents from higher plants

PubMed Central

Pan, Li; Chai, Heebyung; Kinghorn, A. Douglas

2009-01-01

Plant secondary metabolites and their semi-synthetic derivatives continue to play an important role in anticancer drug therapy. In this short review, selected single chemical entity antineoplastic agents from higher plants that are currently in clinical trials as cancer chemotherapy drug candidates are described. These compounds are representative of a wide structural diversity. In addition, the approaches taken toward the discovery of anticancer agents from tropical plants in the laboratory of the authors are summarized. The successful clinical utilization of cancer chemotherapeutic agents from higher plants has been evident for about half a century, and, when considered with the promising pipeline of new plant-derived compounds now in clinical trials, this augurs well for the continuation of drug discovery research efforts to elucidate additional candidate substances of this type. PMID:20228943

An automated, high-throughput plant phenotyping system using machine learning-based plant segmentation and image analysis.

PubMed

Lee, Unseok; Chang, Sungyul; Putra, Gian Anantrio; Kim, Hyoungseok; Kim, Dong Hwan

2018-01-01

A high-throughput plant phenotyping system automatically observes and grows many plant samples. Many plant sample images are acquired by the system to determine the characteristics of the plants (populations). Stable image acquisition and processing is very important to accurately determine the characteristics. However, hardware for acquiring plant images rapidly and stably, while minimizing plant stress, is lacking. Moreover, most software cannot adequately handle large-scale plant imaging. To address these problems, we developed a new, automated, high-throughput plant phenotyping system using simple and robust hardware, and an automated plant-imaging-analysis pipeline consisting of machine-learning-based plant segmentation. Our hardware acquires images reliably and quickly and minimizes plant stress. Furthermore, the images are processed automatically. In particular, large-scale plant-image datasets can be segmented precisely using a classifier developed using a superpixel-based machine-learning algorithm (Random Forest), and variations in plant parameters (such as area) over time can be assessed using the segmented images. We performed comparative evaluations to identify an appropriate learning algorithm for our proposed system, and tested three robust learning algorithms. We developed not only an automatic analysis pipeline but also a convenient means of plant-growth analysis that provides a learning data interface and visualization of plant growth trends. Thus, our system allows end-users such as plant biologists to analyze plant growth via large-scale plant image data easily.

The Plant Phenology Ontology: A New Informatics Resource for Large-Scale Integration of Plant Phenology Data.

PubMed

Stucky, Brian J; Guralnick, Rob; Deck, John; Denny, Ellen G; Bolmgren, Kjell; Walls, Ramona

2018-01-01

Plant phenology - the timing of plant life-cycle events, such as flowering or leafing out - plays a fundamental role in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, including human agricultural systems. Because plant phenology is often linked with climatic variables, there is widespread interest in developing a deeper understanding of global plant phenology patterns and trends. Although phenology data from around the world are currently available, truly global analyses of plant phenology have so far been difficult because the organizations producing large-scale phenology data are using non-standardized terminologies and metrics during data collection and data processing. To address this problem, we have developed the Plant Phenology Ontology (PPO). The PPO provides the standardized vocabulary and semantic framework that is needed for large-scale integration of heterogeneous plant phenology data. Here, we describe the PPO, and we also report preliminary results of using the PPO and a new data processing pipeline to build a large dataset of phenology information from North America and Europe.

Scale-dependent feedbacks between patch size and plant reproduction in desert grassland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Svejcar, Lauren N.; Bestelmeyer, Brandon T.; Duniway, Michael C.; James, Darren K.

2015-01-01

Theoretical models suggest that scale-dependent feedbacks between plant reproductive success and plant patch size govern transitions from highly to sparsely vegetated states in drylands, yet there is scant empirical evidence for these mechanisms. Scale-dependent feedback models suggest that an optimal patch size exists for growth and reproduction of plants and that a threshold patch organization exists below which positive feedbacks between vegetation and resources can break down, leading to critical transitions. We examined the relationship between patch size and plant reproduction using an experiment in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland. We tested the hypothesis that reproductive effort and success of a dominant grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) would vary predictably with patch size. We found that focal plants in medium-sized patches featured higher rates of grass reproductive success than when plants occupied either large patch interiors or small patches. These patterns support the existence of scale-dependent feedbacks in Chihuahuan Desert grasslands and indicate an optimal patch size for reproductive effort and success in B. eriopoda. We discuss the implications of these results for detecting ecological thresholds in desert grasslands.

Discovery of Newer Therapeutic Leads for Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

promising plant extracts and then prepare large-scale quantities of the plant extracts using supercritical fluid extraction techniques and use this...quantities of the plant extracts using supercritical fluid extraction techniques. Large scale plant collections were conducted for 14 of the top 20...material for bioassay-guided fractionation of the biologically active constituents using modern chromatography techniques. The chemical structures of

Quantifying nitrous oxide fluxes on multiple spatial scales in the Upper Midwest, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study seeks to quantify the roles of soybean and corn plants and the cropland ecosystem in the regional N2O budget of the Upper Midwest, USA. The N2O flux was measured at three scales (plant, the soil-plant ecosystem, and region) using newly designed steady-state flow-through plant chambers, a ...

Host Plant Associations of an Entomopathogenic Variety of the Fungus, Colletotrichum acutatum, Recovered from the Elongate Hemlock Scale, Fiorinia externa

PubMed Central

Marcelino, José A. P.; Gouli, Svetlana; Parker, Bruce L.; Skinner, Margaret; Schwarzberg, Lora; Giordano, Rosanna

2009-01-01

A fungal epizootic has been detected in populations of the scale Fiorinia externa Ferris (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in the eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière (Pinales: Pinaceae), of several northeastern states. Colletotrichum acutatum Simmonds var. fioriniae Marcelino and Gouli var. nov. inedit (Phyllachorales: Phyllachoraceae), a well-known plant pathogen, was the most commonly recovered fungus from these infected scales. This is the second report of a Colletotrichum sp. infecting scale insects. In Brazil C. gloeosporioides f. sp. ortheziidae recovered from Orthezia praelonga is under development as a biopesticide for citrus production. C. acutatum was detected growing endophytically in 28 species of plants within the epizootic areas. DNA sequences of the High Mobility Box at the MAT 1–2, mating type gene indicate that Colletotrichum sp. isolates recovered from scale insects and plants within epizootic areas were identical. Results from plant bioassays showed that this entomopathogenic Colletotrichum variety grew endophytically in all of the plants tested without causing external symptoms or signs of infection, with the exception of strawberry plants where mild symptoms of infection were observed. The implications of these findings with respect to the use of this fungus as a biological control agent are discussed. PMID:19613851

Comparing centralised and decentralised anaerobic digestion of stillage from a large-scale bioethanol plant to animal feed production.

PubMed

Drosg, B; Wirthensohn, T; Konrad, G; Hornbachner, D; Resch, C; Wäger, F; Loderer, C; Waltenberger, R; Kirchmayr, R; Braun, R

2008-01-01

A comparison of stillage treatment options for large-scale bioethanol plants was based on the data of an existing plant producing approximately 200,000 t/yr of bioethanol and 1,400,000 t/yr of stillage. Animal feed production--the state-of-the-art technology at the plant--was compared to anaerobic digestion. The latter was simulated in two different scenarios: digestion in small-scale biogas plants in the surrounding area versus digestion in a large-scale biogas plant at the bioethanol production site. Emphasis was placed on a holistic simulation balancing chemical parameters and calculating logistic algorithms to compare the efficiency of the stillage treatment solutions. For central anaerobic digestion different digestate handling solutions were considered because of the large amount of digestate. For land application a minimum of 36,000 ha of available agricultural area would be needed and 600,000 m(3) of storage volume. Secondly membrane purification of the digestate was investigated consisting of decanter, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis. As a third option aerobic wastewater treatment of the digestate was discussed. The final outcome was an economic evaluation of the three mentioned stillage treatment options, as a guide to stillage management for operators of large-scale bioethanol plants. Copyright IWA Publishing 2008.

Small-scale spatial variability in phylogenetic community structure during early plant succession depends on soil properties.

PubMed

Ulrich, Werner; Piwczyński, Marcin; Zaplata, Markus Klemens; Winter, Susanne; Schaaf, Wolfgang; Fischer, Anton

2014-07-01

During early plant succession, the phylogenetic structure of a community changes in response to important environmental filters and emerging species interactions. We traced the development of temperate-zone plant communities during the first 7 years of primary succession on catchment soils to explore patterns of initial species assembly. We found pronounced small-scale differences in the phylogenetic composition of neighbouring plant assemblages and a large-scale trend towards phylogenetic evenness. This small-scale variability appears to be mediated by soil properties, particularly carbonate content. Therefore, abiotic environmental conditions might counteract or even supersede the effects of interspecific competition among closely related species, which are usually predicted to exhibit patterns of phylogenetic evenness. We conclude that theories on phylogenetic community composition need to incorporate effects of small-scale variability of environmental factors.

Ecosystem-scale plant hydraulic strategies inferred from remotely-sensed soil moisture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassiouni, M.; Good, S. P.; Higgins, C. W.

2017-12-01

Characterizing plant hydraulic strategies at the ecosystem scale is important to improve estimates of evapotranspiration and to understand ecosystem productivity and resilience. However, quantifying plant hydraulic traits beyond the species level is a challenge. The probability density function of soil moisture observations provides key information about the soil moisture states at which evapotranspiration is reduced by water stress. Here, an inverse Bayesian approach is applied to a standard bucket model of soil column hydrology forced with stochastic precipitation inputs. Through this approach, we are able to determine the soil moisture thresholds at which stomata are open or closed that are most consistent with observed soil moisture probability density functions. This research utilizes remotely-sensed soil moisture data to explore global patterns of ecosystem-scale plant hydraulic strategies. Results are complementary to literature values of measured hydraulic traits of various species in different climates and previous estimates of ecosystem-scale plant isohydricity. The presented approach provides a novel relation between plant physiological behavior and soil-water dynamics.

50 CFR 17.107 - Facilitating enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas § 17.107 Facilitating enforcement. Water vehicles operating in manatee sanctuary or refuge...

50 CFR 17.107 - Facilitating enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas § 17.107 Facilitating enforcement. Water vehicles operating in manatee sanctuary or refuge...

50 CFR 17.107 - Facilitating enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas § 17.107 Facilitating enforcement. Water vehicles operating in manatee sanctuary or refuge...

50 CFR 17.107 - Facilitating enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas § 17.107 Facilitating enforcement. Water vehicles operating in manatee sanctuary or refuge...

50 CFR 17.107 - Facilitating enforcement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas § 17.107 Facilitating enforcement. Water vehicles operating in manatee sanctuary or refuge...

Satellite observed global variations in ecosystem-scale plant water storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, F.; Wigneron, J. P.; Brandt, M.; Fensholt, R.

2017-12-01

Plant water storage is a key component in ecohydrological processes and tightly coupled with global carbon and energy budgets. Field measurements of individual trees have revealed diurnal and seasonal variations in plant water storage across different tree species and sizes. However, global estimation of plant water storage is challenged by up-scaling from individual trees to an ecosystem scale. The L-band passive microwaves are sensitive to water stored in the stems, branches and leaves, with dependence on the vegetation structure. Thus, the L-band vegetation optical depth (L-VOD) parameter retrieved from satellite passive microwave observations can be used as a proxy for ecosystem-scale plant water storage. Here, we employ the recently developed SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) L-VOD dataset to investigate spatial patterns in global plant water storage and its diurnal and seasonal variations. In addition, we compare the spatiotemporal patterns between plant water storage and canopy greenness (i.e., enhanced vegetation indices, EVI) to gain ecohydrological insights among different territorial biomes, including boreal forest and tropical woodland. Generally, seasonal dynamics of plant water storage is much smaller than canopy greenness, yet the temporal coupling of these two traits is totally different between boreal and tropical regions, which could be related to their strategies in plant water regulation.

50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Critical habitat-plants. 17.96 Section 17.96 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND...

50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Critical habitat-plants. 17.96 Section 17.96 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND...

50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Critical habitat-plants. 17.96 Section 17.96 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND...

50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Critical habitat-plants. 17.96 Section 17.96 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND...

50 CFR 17.96 - Critical habitat-plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Critical habitat-plants. 17.96 Section 17.96 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND...

50 CFR 17.12 - Endangered and threatened plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Endangered and threatened plants. 17.12 Section 17.12 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED...

50 CFR 17.12 - Endangered and threatened plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Endangered and threatened plants. 17.12 Section 17.12 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED...

50 CFR 17.12 - Endangered and threatened plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Endangered and threatened plants. 17.12 Section 17.12 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED...

Continental Scale Vegetation Structure Mapping Using Field Calibrated Landsat, ALOS Palsar And GLAS ICESat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scarth, P.; Phinn, S. R.; Armston, J.; Lucas, R.

2015-12-01

Vertical plant profiles are important descriptors of canopy structure and are used to inform models of biomass, biodiversity and fire risk. In Australia, an approach has been developed to produce large area maps of vertical plant profiles by extrapolating waveform lidar estimates of vertical plant profiles from ICESat/GLAS using large area segmentation of ALOS PALSAR and Landsat satellite image products. The main assumption of this approach is that the vegetation height profiles are consistent across the segments defined from ALOS PALSAR and Landsat image products. More than 1500 field sites were used to develop an index of fractional cover using Landsat data. A time series of the green fraction was used to calculate the persistent green fraction continuously across the landscape. This was fused with ALOS PALSAR L-band Fine Beam Dual polarisation 25m data and used to segment the Australian landscapes. K-means clustering then grouped the segments with similar cover and backscatter into approximately 1000 clusters. Where GLAS-ICESat footprints intersected these clusters, canopy profiles were extracted and aggregated to produce a mean vertical vegetation profile for each cluster that was used to derive mean canopy and understorey height, depth and density. Due to the large number of returns, these retrievals are near continuous across the landscape, enabling them to be used for inventory and modelling applications. To validate this product, a radiative transfer model was adapted to map directional gap probability from airborne waveform lidar datasets to retrieve vertical plant profiles Comparison over several test sites show excellent agreement and work is underway to extend the analysis to improve national biomass mapping. The integration of the three datasets provide options for future operational monitoring of structure and AGB across large areas for quantifying carbon dynamics, structural change and biodiversity.

Rapid start-up of one-stage deammonification MBBR without addition of external inoculum.

PubMed

Kanders, Linda; Ling, Daniel; Nehrenheim, Emma

2016-12-01

In recent years, the anammox process has emerged as a useful method for robust and efficient nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This paper evaluates a one-stage deammonification (nitritation and anammox) start-up using carrier material without using anammox inoculum. A continuous laboratory-scale process was followed by full-scale operation with reject water from the digesters at Bekkelaget WWTP in Oslo, Norway. A third laboratory reactor was run in operational mode to verify the suitability of reject water from thermophilic digestion for the deammonification process. The two start-ups presented were run with indigenous bacterial populations, intermittent aeration and dilution, to favour growth of the anammox bacterial branches. Evaluation was done by chemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses. The results demonstrate that anammox culture can be set up in a one-stage process only using indigenous anammox bacteria and that a full-scale start-up process can be completed in less than 120 days.

Bibliography of Literature for Avian Issues in Solar and Wind Energy and Other Activities

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

Walston, Leroy J.; White, Ellen M.; Meyers, Stephanie A.

2015-04-01

Utility-scale solar energy has been a rapidly expanding energy sector in the United States in recent years and is expected to continue to grow. In 2014, concerns were raised over the risk of avian fatalities associated with utility-scale solar plants. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Program, Argonne National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory studied the issue and released A Review of Avian Monitoring and Mitigation Information at Existing Utility-Scale Solar Facilities (ANL/EVS-15/2, March 2015). A comprehensive literature review included peer-reviewed journal articles on avian fatalities from solar energy facilities and other sources (e.g., windmore » energy, building collisions, etc.), project-specific technical reports on avian monitoring and fatality at solar facilities, information on mitigation measures and best management practices, and literature pertaining to avian behavioral patterns and habitat use. The source citations are listed in this bibliography; they are current through December 2014.« less

Reusable Launch Vehicle Control in Multiple Time Scale Sliding Modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shtessel, Yuri

1999-01-01

A reusable launch vehicle control problem during ascent is addressed via multiple-time scaled continuous sliding mode control. The proposed sliding mode controller utilizes a two-loop structure and provides robust, de-coupled tracking of both orientation angle command profiles and angular rate command profiles in the presence of bounded external disturbances and plant uncertainties. Sliding mode control causes the angular rate and orientation angle tracking error dynamics to be constrained to linear, de-coupled, homogeneous, and vector valued differential equations with desired eigenvalues placement. The dual-time scale sliding mode controller was designed for the X-33 technology demonstration sub-orbital launch vehicle in the launch mode. 6DOF simulation results show that the designed controller provides robust, accurate, de-coupled tracking of the orientation angle command profiles in presence of external disturbances and vehicle inertia uncertainties. It creates possibility to operate the X-33 vehicle in an aircraft-like mode with reduced pre-launch adjustment of the control system.

Remote-Sensed Monitoring of Dominant Plant Species Distribution and Dynamics at Jiuduansha Wetland in Shanghai, China

DOE PAGES

Lin, Wenpeng; Chen, Guangsheng; Guo, Pupu; ...

2015-08-11

Spartina alterniflora is one of the most hazardous invasive plant species in China. Monitoring the changes in dominant plant species can help identify the invasion mechanisms of S. alterniflora, thereby providing scientific guidelines on managing or controlling the spreading of this invasive species at Jiuduansha Wetland in Shanghai, China. However, because of the complex terrain and the inaccessibility of tidal wetlands, it is very difficult to conduct field experiments on a large scale in this wetland. Hence, remote sensing plays an important role in monitoring the dynamics of plant species and its distribution on both spatial and temporal scales. Inmore » this paper, based on multi-spectral and high resolution (<10 m) remote sensing images and field observational data, we analyzed spectral characteristics of four dominant plant species at different green-up phenophases. Based on the difference in spectral characteristics, a decision tree classification was built for identifying the distribution of these plant species. The results indicated that the overall classification accuracy for plant species was 87.17%, and the Kappa Coefficient was 0.81, implying that our classification method could effectively identify the four plant species. We found that the area of Phragmites australi showed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2012, with an annual spreading rate of 33.77% and 31.92%, respectively. The area of Scirpus mariqueter displayed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 (12.16% per year) and a decreasing trend from 2004 to 2012 (-7.05% per year). S. alterniflora has the biggest area (3302.20 ha) as compared to other species, accounting for 51% of total vegetated area at the study region in 2012. It showed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2012, with an annual spreading rate of 130.63% and 28.11%, respectively. As a result, the native species P. australi was surrounded and the habitats of S. mariqueter were occupied by S. alterniflora. The high proliferation ability and competitive advantage for S. alterniflora inhibited the growth of other plant species and we anticipate a continuous expansion of this invasive species at Jiuduansha Wetland. Finally, effective measures should be taken to control the invasion of S. alterniflora.« less

Remote-Sensed Monitoring of Dominant Plant Species Distribution and Dynamics at Jiuduansha Wetland in Shanghai, China

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

Lin, Wenpeng; Chen, Guangsheng; Guo, Pupu

Spartina alterniflora is one of the most hazardous invasive plant species in China. Monitoring the changes in dominant plant species can help identify the invasion mechanisms of S. alterniflora, thereby providing scientific guidelines on managing or controlling the spreading of this invasive species at Jiuduansha Wetland in Shanghai, China. However, because of the complex terrain and the inaccessibility of tidal wetlands, it is very difficult to conduct field experiments on a large scale in this wetland. Hence, remote sensing plays an important role in monitoring the dynamics of plant species and its distribution on both spatial and temporal scales. Inmore » this paper, based on multi-spectral and high resolution (<10 m) remote sensing images and field observational data, we analyzed spectral characteristics of four dominant plant species at different green-up phenophases. Based on the difference in spectral characteristics, a decision tree classification was built for identifying the distribution of these plant species. The results indicated that the overall classification accuracy for plant species was 87.17%, and the Kappa Coefficient was 0.81, implying that our classification method could effectively identify the four plant species. We found that the area of Phragmites australi showed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2012, with an annual spreading rate of 33.77% and 31.92%, respectively. The area of Scirpus mariqueter displayed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 (12.16% per year) and a decreasing trend from 2004 to 2012 (-7.05% per year). S. alterniflora has the biggest area (3302.20 ha) as compared to other species, accounting for 51% of total vegetated area at the study region in 2012. It showed an increasing trend from 1997 to 2004 and from 2004 to 2012, with an annual spreading rate of 130.63% and 28.11%, respectively. As a result, the native species P. australi was surrounded and the habitats of S. mariqueter were occupied by S. alterniflora. The high proliferation ability and competitive advantage for S. alterniflora inhibited the growth of other plant species and we anticipate a continuous expansion of this invasive species at Jiuduansha Wetland. Finally, effective measures should be taken to control the invasion of S. alterniflora.« less

An update on radioactive release and exposures after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster

PubMed Central

Mclaughlin, P D; Jones, B; Maher, M M

2012-01-01

On 11 March 2011, the Richter scale 0.9-magnitude Tokohu earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast of Japan, resulting in widespread injury and loss of life. Compounding this tragic loss of life, a series of equipment and structural failures at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNP) resulted in the release of many volatile radioisotopes into the atmosphere. In this update, we detail currently available evidence about the nature of immediate radioactive exposure to FDNP workers and the general population. We contrast the nature of the radioactive exposure at FDNP with that which occurred at the Chernobyl power plant 25 years previously. Prediction of the exact health effects related to the FDNP release is difficult at present and this disaster provides the scientific community with a challenge to help those involved and to continue research that will improve our understanding of the potential complications of radionuclide fallout. PMID:22919005

Development of novel assays for lignin degradation: comparative analysis of bacterial and fungal lignin degraders.

PubMed

Ahmad, Mark; Taylor, Charles R; Pink, David; Burton, Kerry; Eastwood, Daniel; Bending, Gary D; Bugg, Timothy D H

2010-05-01

Two spectrophotometric assays have been developed to monitor breakdown of the lignin component of plant lignocellulose: a continuous fluorescent assay involving fluorescently modified lignin, and a UV-vis assay involving chemically nitrated lignin. These assays have been used to analyse lignin degradation activity in bacterial and fungal lignin degraders, and to identify additional soil bacteria that show activity for lignin degradation. Two soil bacteria known to act as aromatic degraders, Pseudomonas putida and Rhodococcus sp. RHA1, consistently showed activity in these assays, and these strains were shown in a small scale experiment to breakdown lignocellulose, producing a number of monocyclic phenolic products. Using milled wood lignin prepared from wheat straw, pine, and miscanthus, some bacterial lignin degraders were found to show specificity for lignin type. These assays could be used to identify novel lignin degraders for breakdown of plant lignocellulose.

An update on radioactive release and exposures after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster.

PubMed

McLaughlin, P D; Jones, B; Maher, M M

2012-09-01

On 11 March 2011, the Richter scale 0.9-magnitude Tokohu earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast of Japan, resulting in widespread injury and loss of life. Compounding this tragic loss of life, a series of equipment and structural failures at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNP) resulted in the release of many volatile radioisotopes into the atmosphere. In this update, we detail currently available evidence about the nature of immediate radioactive exposure to FDNP workers and the general population. We contrast the nature of the radioactive exposure at FDNP with that which occurred at the Chernobyl power plant 25 years previously. Prediction of the exact health effects related to the FDNP release is difficult at present and this disaster provides the scientific community with a challenge to help those involved and to continue research that will improve our understanding of the potential complications of radionuclide fallout.

Integrated drying and incineration of wet sewage sludge in combined bubbling and circulating fluidized bed units.

PubMed

Li, Shiyuan; Li, Yunyu; Lu, Qinggang; Zhu, Jianguo; Yao, Yao; Bao, Shaolin

2014-12-01

An original integrated drying and incineration technique is proposed to dispose of sewage sludge with moisture content of about 80% in a circulating fluidized bed. This system combines a bubbling fluidized bed dryer with a circulating fluidized bed incinerator. After drying, sewage sludge with moisture less than 20% is transported directly and continuously from the fluidized bed dryer into a circulating fluidized bed incinerator. Pilot plant results showed that integrated drying and incineration is feasible in a unique single system. A 100 t/d Sewage Sludge Incineration Demonstration Project was constructed at the Qige sewage treatment plant in Hangzhou City in China. The operational performance showed that the main operation results conformed to the design values, from which it can be concluded that the scale-up of this technique is deemed both feasible and successful. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A multi-scale evaluation of pack stock effects on subalpine meadow plant communities in the Sierra Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, Steven R.; Berlow, Eric L.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Génin, Alexandre; Matchett, John R.; Hart, Stephen C.

2017-01-01

We evaluated the influence of pack stock (i.e., horse and mule) use on meadow plant communities in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in the Sierra Nevada of California. Meadows were sampled to account for inherent variability across multiple scales by: 1) controlling for among-meadow variability by using remotely sensed hydro-climatic and geospatial data to pair stock use meadows with similar non-stock (reference) sites, 2) accounting for within-meadow variation in the local hydrology using in-situ soil moisture readings, and 3) incorporating variation in stock use intensity by sampling across the entire available gradient of pack stock use. Increased cover of bare ground was detected only within “dry” meadow areas at the two most heavily used pack stock meadows (maximum animals per night per hectare). There was no difference in plant community composition for any level of soil moisture or pack stock use. Increased local-scale spatial variability in plant community composition (species dispersion) was detected in “wet” meadow areas at the two most heavily used meadows. These results suggest that at the meadow scale, plant communities are generally resistant to the contemporary levels of recreational pack stock use. However, finer-scale within-meadow responses such as increased bare ground or spatial variability in the plant community can be a function of local-scale hydrological conditions. Wilderness managers can improve monitoring of disturbance in Sierra Nevada meadows by adopting multiple plant community indices while simultaneously considering local moisture regimes.

Continuous monitoring of seasonal phenological development by BBCH code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornelius, Christine; Estrella, Nicole; Menzel, Annette

2010-05-01

Phenology, the science of recurrent seasonal natural events, is a proxy for changes in ecosystems due to recent global climate change. Phenological studies mostly deal with data considering the beginning of different development stages e.g. budburst or the beginning of flowering. Just few studies focus on the end of phenological stages, such as the end of flowering or seed dispersal. Information about the entire development cycle of plants, including data of the end of stages, are received by observing plants according to the extended BBCH-scale (MEIER 1997). The scale is a standardized growth stage key which allows a less labor intensive, weekly observation rhythm. Every week frequencies of all occurring phenological stages are noted. These frequencies then constitute the basis to interpolate the development of each phenological stage, even though it was not being seen during field work. Due to the lack of studies using this kind of key for observations over the entire development cycle there is no common methodology to analyze the data. So our objective was to find a method of analysis, with which onset dates as well as endpoints of each development stage could be defined. Three different methods of analysis were compared. Results show that there is no significant difference in onset dates of phenological stages between all methods tested. However, the method of pooled pre/post stage development seems to be most suitable for climate change studies, followed by the method of cumulative stage development and the method of weighted plant development.

An numerical analysis of high-temperature helium reactor power plant for co-production of hydrogen and electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudek, M.; Podsadna, J.; Jaszczur, M.

2016-09-01

In the present work, the feasibility of using a high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactor (HTR) for electricity generation and hydrogen production are analysed. The HTR is combined with a steam and a gas turbine, as well as with the system for heat delivery for medium temperature hydrogen production. Industrial-scale hydrogen production using copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle is considered and compared with high temperature electrolysis. Presented cycle shows a very promising route for continuous, efficient, large-scale and environmentally benign hydrogen production without CO2 emissions. The results show that the integration of a high temperature helium reactor, with a combined cycle for electric power generation and hydrogen production, may reach very high efficiency and could possibly lead to a significant decrease of hydrogen production costs.

Evaluating the causes of photovoltaics cost reduction: Why is PV different?

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

Trancik, Jessika; McNerney, James; Kavlak, Goksin

The goals of this project were to quantify sources of cost reduction in photovoltaics (PV), improve theories of technological evolution, develop new analytical methods, and formu- late guidelines for continued cost reduction in photovoltaics. A number of explanations have been suggested for why photovoltaics have come down in cost rapidly over time, including increased production rates, significant R&D expenditures, heavy patenting ac- tivity, decreasing material and input costs, scale economies, reduced plant construction costs, and higher conversion efficiencies. We classified these proposed causes into low- level factors and high-level drivers. Low-level factors include technical characteristics, such as module efficiency ormore » wafer area, which are easily posed in terms of variables of a cost equation. High-level factors include scale economies, research and development (R&D), and learning-by-doing.« less

Seed dispersal and seedling establishment of Sarracenia purpurea (Sarraceniaceae).

PubMed

Ellison, Aaron M; Parker, Jerelyn N

2002-06-01

Plant ecologists continue to grapple with Reid's paradox, the observation that dispersal distances of most herbs and trees are too limited to account for their recolonization of northern latitudes following glacial recession. As global climate changes and natural habitats become increasingly fragmented, understanding patterns of seed dispersal and the potential for long-distance colonization takes on new importance. We studied the dispersal and establishment of the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea, which grows commonly in isolated bogs throughout Canada and eastern North America. Median dispersal distance of S. purpurea is only 5 cm, which is insufficient to explain its occurrence throughout formerly glaciated regions of North America. Establishment probability of seeds in the field is approximately 5%, and juveniles are normally found clustered around adult plants. The large-scale population genetic structure of this species can be accounted for by rare long-distance dispersal events, but its predictable occurrence in isolated habitats requires additional explanation. Reid's paradox remains an open question, and predicting long-range colonization into fragmented habitats by species with limited dispersal ability is a novel challenge.

Propellant production and useful materials: Hardware data from components and the systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramohalli, Kumar

1992-01-01

Research activities at the University of Arizona/NASA Space Engineering Research Center are described; the primary emphasis is on hardware development and operation. The research activities are all aimed toward introducing significant cost reductions through the utilization of resources locally available at extraterrestrial sites. The four logical aspects include lunar, Martian, support, and common technologies. These are described in turn. The hardware realizations are based upon sound scientific principles which are used to screen a host of interesting and novel concepts. Small scale feasibility studies are used as the screen to allow only the most promising concepts to proceed. Specific examples include: kg/day-class oxygen plant that uses CO2 as the feed stock, spent stream utilization to produce methane and 'higher' compounds (using hydrogen from a water electrolysis plant), separation of CO from the CO2, reduction of any iron bearing silicate (lunar soils), production of structural components, smart sensors and autonomous controls, and quantitative computer simulation of extraterrestrial plants. The most important feature of all this research continues to be the training of high-quality students for our future in space.

Status of the flora and fauna on the Nevada Test Site, 1993. Results of continuing basic environmental monitoring, January through December 1993

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

Hunter, R.B.

1994-09-01

This report provides the results of monitoring of plants and animals on the Nevada Test Site during calendar year 1993. Monitoring was accomplished under the Department of Energy`s Basic Environmental Compliance and Monitoring Program, initiated in 1987. The program looks at both baseline study areas, chosen to represent undisturbed conditions as much as possible, and areas disturbed by Department of energy (DOE) activities or natural phenomena. DOE disturbances studied include areas blasted by above-ground nuclear tests before 1962, subsidence craters created by underground nuclear tests, road maintenance activities, areas cleared for drilling, and influences of man-made water sources. Natural phenomenamore » studied include recovery from range fires, effects of introduced species, damage to plants by insect outbreaks, and effects of weather fluctuations. In 1993 disturbances examined included several burned areas and roadsides, a drill pad on Pahute Mesa, introduced grasses and shrub removal effects on ephemeral plants, and effects on pine trees of an infestation of pinyon needle scale insects.« less

Large-scale use of solar energy with central receivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreith, F.; Meyer, R. T.

1983-12-01

The working principles of solar central receiver power plants are outlined and applications are discussed. Heliostat arrays direct sunlight into a receiver cavity mounted on a tower, heating the working fluid in the tower to temperatures exceeding 500 C. The formulation for the image plane and the geometric concentration ratio for a heliostat field are provided, noting that commercial electric power plants will require concentration ratios of 200-1000. Automated controls consider imperfections in the mirrors, tracking errors, and seasonal insolation intensity and angular variations. Membranes may be used instead of rigid heliostat mirrors to reduce costs, while trade-offs exist between the efficiencies of cavity and exterior receivers on the tower. Sensible heat storage has proved most effective for cloudy or nighttime operations. Details of the DOE Solar One 10 MW plant, which began operation in 1982, are provided, with mention given to the 33.6 continuous hours of power generation that have been achieved. Projected costs of commercial installations are $700/kWt, and possible applications include recovering and refining oil, processing natural gas, uranium ore, and sugar cane, drying gypsum board, and manufacturing ammonia.

Herbivore Impacts on Marsh Production Depend upon a Compensatory Continuum Mediated by Salinity Stress

PubMed Central

Long, Jeremy D.; Porturas, Laura D.

2014-01-01

Plant communities are disturbed by several stressors and they are expected to be further impacted by increasing anthropogenic stress. The consequences of these stressors will depend, in part, upon the ability of plants to compensate for herbivory. Previous studies found that herbivore impacts on plants can vary from negative to positive because of environmental control of plant compensatory responses, a.k.a. the Compensatory Continuum Hypothesis. While these influential studies enhanced our appreciation of the dynamic nature of plant-herbivore interactions, they largely focused on the impact of resource limitation. This bias limits our ability to predict how other environmental factors will shape the impact of herbivory. We examined the role of salinity stress on herbivory of salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina foliosa, by an herbivore previously hypothesized to influence the success of restoration projects (the scale insect, Haliaspis spartinae). Using a combination of field and mesocosm manipulations of scales and salinity, we measured how these factors affected Spartina growth and timing of senescence. In mesocosm studies, Spartina overcompensated for herbivory by growing taller shoots at low salinities but the impact of scales on plants switched from positive to neutral with increasing salinity stress. In field studies of intermediate salinities, scales reduced Spartina growth and increased the rate of senescence. Experimental salinity additions at this field site returned the impact of scales to neutral. Because salinity decreased scale densities, the switch in impact of scales on Spartina with increasing salinity was not simply a linear function of scale abundance. Thus, the impact of scales on primary production depended strongly upon environmental context because intermediate salinity stress prevented plant compensatory responses to herbivory. Understanding this context-dependency will be required if we are going to successfully predict the success of restoration efforts and the ecological consequences of anthropogenic disturbances. PMID:25310475

50 CFR 17.105 - Permits and exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... being conducted to directly protect any manatees, to enhance the propagation or survival of manatees, or...

50 CFR 17.105 - Permits and exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... being conducted to directly protect any manatees, to enhance the propagation or survival of manatees, or...

50 CFR 17.105 - Permits and exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... being conducted to directly protect any manatees, to enhance the propagation or survival of manatees, or...

50 CFR 17.105 - Permits and exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... being conducted to directly protect any manatees, to enhance the propagation or survival of manatees, or...

50 CFR 17.105 - Permits and exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... being conducted to directly protect any manatees, to enhance the propagation or survival of manatees, or...

Novel Inorganic/Polymer Composite Membranes for CO 2 Capture

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

Ho, W.S. Winston; Dutta, Prabir K.; Schmit, Steve J.

The objective of this project is to develop a cost-effective design and manufacturing process for new membrane modules that capture CO 2 from flue gas in coal-fired power plants. The membrane consisted of a thin selective layer including inorganic (zeolite) embedded in a polymer structure so that it can be made in a continuous manufacturing process. The membrane was incorporated in spiral-wound modules for the field test with actual flue gas at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Wilsonville, AL and bench scale tests with simulated flue gas at the Ohio State University (OSU). Using the modules for post-combustionmore » CO 2 capture is expected to achieve the DOE target of $40/tonne CO 2 captured (in 2007 dollar) for 2025. Membranes with the amine-containing polymer cover layer on zeolite-Y (ZY) nanoparticles deposited on the polyethersulfone (PES) substrate were successfully synthesized. The membranes showed a high CO 2 permeance of about 1100 GPU (gas permeation unit, 1 GPU = 10 -6 cm 3 (STP)/(cm 2 • s • cm Hg), 3000 GPU = 10-6 mol/(m 2 • s • Pa)) with a high CO 2/N 2 selectivity of > 200 at the typical flue gas conditions at 57°C (about 17% water vapor in feed gas) and > 1400 GPU CO 2 permeance with > 500 CO 2/N 2 selectivity at 102°C (~ 80% water vapor). The synthesis of ZY nanoparticles was successfully scaled up, and the pilot-scale membranes were also successfully fabricated using the continuous membrane machine at OSU. The transport performance of the pilot-scale membranes agreed reasonably well with the lab-scale membranes. The results from both the lab-scale and scale-up membranes were used for the techno-economic analysis. The scale-up membranes were fabricated into prototype spiral-wound membrane modules for continuous testing with simulated or real flue gas. For real flue gas testing, we worked with NCCC, in consultation with TriSep Corporation, Gradient Technology and American Electric Power (AEP). The membrane module demonstrated > 800 GPU of CO 2 permeance and > 150 CO 2/N 2 selectivity when tested with real flue gas at NCCC. The results obtained were used to update the techno-economic analysis. In addition, the EH&S assessment of the membranes for post-combustion CO 2 capture was conducted.« less

Beyond theories of plant invasions: Lessons from natural landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, Thomas J.

2002-01-01

There are a growing number of contrasting theories about plant invasions, but most are only weakly supported by small-scale field experiments, observational studies, and mathematical models. Among the most contentious theories is that species-rich habitats should be less vulnerable to plant invasion than species-poor sites, stemming from earlier theories that competition is a major force in structuring plant communities. Early ecologists such as Charles Darwin (1859) and Charles Elton (1958) suggested that a lack of intense interspecific competition on islands made these low-diversity habitats vulnerable to invasion. Small-scale field experiments have supported and contradicted this theory, as have various mathematical models. In contrast, many large-scale observational studies and detailed vegetation surveys in continental areas often report that species-rich areas are more heavily invaded than species-poor areas, but there are exceptions here as well. In this article, I show how these seemingly contrasting patterns converge once appropriate spatial and temporal scales are considered in complex natural environments. I suggest ways in which small-scale experiments, mathematical models, and large- scale observational studies can be improved and better integrated to advance a theoretically based understanding of plant invasions.

Improvements in the use of aquatic herbicides and establishment of future research directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Getsinger, K.D.; Netherland, M.D.; Grue, C.E.; Koschnick, T.J.

2008-01-01

Peer-reviewed literature over the past 20 years identifies significant changes and improvements in chemical control strategies used to manage nuisance submersed vegetation. The invasive exotic plants hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata L.f. Royle) and Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) continue to spread and remain the plant species of greatest concern for aquatic resource managers at the national scale. Emerging exotic weeds of regional concern such as egeria (Egeria densa Planch.), curlyleaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus L.), and hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma (Roxb.) T. Anders), as well as native plants such as variable watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum Michx), and cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana Gray) are invasive outside their home ranges. In addition, there is always the threat of new plant introductions such as African elodea (Lagarosiphon major (Ridley) Moss) or narrow-leaf anacharis (Egeria najas Planchon). The registration of the bleaching herbicide fluridone in the mid 1980s for whole-lake and large-scale management stimulated numerous lines of research involving reduction of use rates, plant selectivity, residue monitoring, and impacts on fisheries. In addition to numerous advances, the specificity of fluridone for a single plant enzyme led to the first documented case of herbicide resistance in aquatic plant management. The resistance of hydrilla to fluridone has stimulated a renewed interest by industry and others in the registration of alternative modes of action for aquatic use. These newer chemistries tend to be enzyme-specific compounds with favorable non-target toxicity profiles. Registration efforts have been facilitated by increased cooperation between key federal government agencies that have aquatic weed control and research responsibilities, and regulators within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). We reviewed past and current research efforts to identify areas in need of further investigation and to establish priorities for future research directions in chemical management of submersed plants. The priorities we identified include: (A) improving methods for evaluating non-target impacts of herbicides with an emphasis on threatened and endangered species, or species of special concern; (B) improving herbicide performance in flowing-water environments, including irrigation canals; (C) screening and developing new herbicides to supplement fluridone for large-scale or whole-lake management approaches; (D) screening and developing new organic algaecides to supplement the use of copper-based compounds; (E) developing risk assessment tools to educate the public on the risks of invasive species and chemical management options; (F) increasing cooperative research with ecologists and fisheries scientists to evaluate the long-term impacts of invasive species introductions and herbicide programs on native plant assemblages, water quality, and fish populations; and (G) improving the integration of chemical control technology with other aquatic plant management disciplines. While circumstances may dictate setting new priorities or dropping current ones, the list we have generated represents our vision of the needs that will require the greatest focus over the next several years.

Terrigenous fluxes of pollen, insect scale and land plant palynodebris observed by sediment traps deployed in the subarctic Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsutsui, H.; Takahashi, K.; Matsuoka, K.; Jordan, R. W.; Yamamoto, S.

2016-02-01

From 1990 to 2009, sediment traps were deployed and recovered in the subarctic Pacific (Station SA; 49°N, 174°W) during each summer, allowing the long-term observation of particle fluxes. As the Pacific Decadal Oscillation index changed in 1999 while air temperatures cooled, this study focused on pollen, land plant debris and insect scale fluxes during 1994 to 2009 at Station SA. The maximum pollen and fern spores flux was 644 grains m2 d-1, with a mean of 74 grains m2 d-1and the following details: 65% of the total pollen counts represented by wind-pollinated trees (e.g., alder, birch and pine), 24% by the herbaceous plants, and 11% by fern spores. Spore, herbaceous and wind-pollinated tree pollen fluxes peaked primarily in May (and sporadically also in April and June) and September-October. The annual flux peaks of insect scales (of unknown origin) and land-plant debris were in May and September, but over the entire study period the maximum insect scale flux of 161 scales m2 d-1 was in August 2002, with a mean of 16 scales m2 d-1. Furthermore, the maximum (in August 2004) and mean land-plant debris fluxes were 107 and 10 plant fragments m2 d-1, respectively. The sediment traps were situated at southern side of the Aleutian Islands, where snow and ice occurred for six months from October to May. The ice-snow season accounts for 25% of the total annual particle flux, with 75% throughout the rest of the year. The correlation coefficient among pollen, insect scales and land plant debris are: 1) 0.58 (probability <1%) between wind-pollinated plant pollen and insect scales, and 2) 0.75 (probability <5%) between herbaceous plant pollen and land plant debris. The production locations, residence time, routes and mode of transport of the particles are important factors. The pollen fluxes observed during April to June appeared to have originated from the Western Alaska, but during the rest of years they appeared to have been from the eastern Russia. That pollen and other organic debris were conveyed by wind over long distance across the ocean.

76 FR 55723 - Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 License...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-08

... environmentally unacceptable conditions. Following the events at the Fukushima (Japan) Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant... the Fukushima accident is unlikely to occur at any TVA plant. Nonetheless, the effort has resulted in... the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident, concluded that continued operation and continued licensing activities...

The relative influence of habitat amount and configuration on genetic structure across multiple spatial scales

PubMed Central

Millette, Katie L; Keyghobadi, Nusha

2015-01-01

Despite strong interest in understanding how habitat spatial structure shapes the genetics of populations, the relative importance of habitat amount and configuration for patterns of genetic differentiation remains largely unexplored in empirical systems. In this study, we evaluate the relative influence of, and interactions among, the amount of habitat and aspects of its spatial configuration on genetic differentiation in the pitcher plant midge, Metriocnemus knabi. Larvae of this species are found exclusively within the water-filled leaves of pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) in a system that is naturally patchy at multiple spatial scales (i.e., leaf, plant, cluster, peatland). Using generalized linear mixed models and multimodel inference, we estimated effects of the amount of habitat, patch size, interpatch distance, and patch isolation, measured at different spatial scales, on genetic differentiation (FST) among larval samples from leaves within plants, plants within clusters, and clusters within peatlands. Among leaves and plants, genetic differentiation appears to be driven by female oviposition behaviors and is influenced by habitat isolation at a broad (peatland) scale. Among clusters, gene flow is spatially restricted and aspects of both the amount of habitat and configuration at the focal scale are important, as is their interaction. Our results suggest that both habitat amount and configuration can be important determinants of genetic structure and that their relative influence is scale dependent. PMID:25628865

The relative influence of habitat amount and configuration on genetic structure across multiple spatial scales.

PubMed

Millette, Katie L; Keyghobadi, Nusha

2015-01-01

Despite strong interest in understanding how habitat spatial structure shapes the genetics of populations, the relative importance of habitat amount and configuration for patterns of genetic differentiation remains largely unexplored in empirical systems. In this study, we evaluate the relative influence of, and interactions among, the amount of habitat and aspects of its spatial configuration on genetic differentiation in the pitcher plant midge, Metriocnemus knabi. Larvae of this species are found exclusively within the water-filled leaves of pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) in a system that is naturally patchy at multiple spatial scales (i.e., leaf, plant, cluster, peatland). Using generalized linear mixed models and multimodel inference, we estimated effects of the amount of habitat, patch size, interpatch distance, and patch isolation, measured at different spatial scales, on genetic differentiation (F ST) among larval samples from leaves within plants, plants within clusters, and clusters within peatlands. Among leaves and plants, genetic differentiation appears to be driven by female oviposition behaviors and is influenced by habitat isolation at a broad (peatland) scale. Among clusters, gene flow is spatially restricted and aspects of both the amount of habitat and configuration at the focal scale are important, as is their interaction. Our results suggest that both habitat amount and configuration can be important determinants of genetic structure and that their relative influence is scale dependent.

Using LiDAR and quickbird data to model plant production and quantify uncertainties associated with wetland detection and land cover generalizations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cook, B.D.; Bolstad, P.V.; Naesset, E.; Anderson, R. Scott; Garrigues, S.; Morisette, J.T.; Nickeson, J.; Davis, K.J.

2009-01-01

Spatiotemporal data from satellite remote sensing and surface meteorology networks have made it possible to continuously monitor global plant production, and to identify global trends associated with land cover/use and climate change. Gross primary production (GPP) and net primary production (NPP) are routinely derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard satellites Terra and Aqua, and estimates generally agree with independent measurements at validation sites across the globe. However, the accuracy of GPP and NPP estimates in some regions may be limited by the quality of model input variables and heterogeneity at fine spatial scales. We developed new methods for deriving model inputs (i.e., land cover, leaf area, and photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by plant canopies) from airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR) and Quickbird multispectral data at resolutions ranging from about 30??m to 1??km. In addition, LiDAR-derived biomass was used as a means for computing carbon-use efficiency. Spatial variables were used with temporal data from ground-based monitoring stations to compute a six-year GPP and NPP time series for a 3600??ha study site in the Great Lakes region of North America. Model results compared favorably with independent observations from a 400??m flux tower and a process-based ecosystem model (BIOME-BGC), but only after removing vapor pressure deficit as a constraint on photosynthesis from the MODIS global algorithm. Fine-resolution inputs captured more of the spatial variability, but estimates were similar to coarse-resolution data when integrated across the entire landscape. Failure to account for wetlands had little impact on landscape-scale estimates, because vegetation structure, composition, and conversion efficiencies were similar to upland plant communities. Plant productivity estimates were noticeably improved using LiDAR-derived variables, while uncertainties associated with land cover generalizations and wetlands in this largely forested landscape were considered less important.

Plant and bird diversity in natural forests and in native and exotic plantations in NW Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Proença, Vânia M.; Pereira, Henrique M.; Guilherme, João; Vicente, Luís

2010-03-01

Forest ecosystems have been subjected to continuous dynamics between deforestation and forestation. Assessing the effects of these processes on biodiversity could be essential for conservation planning. We analyzed patterns of species richness, diversity and evenness of plants and birds in patches of natural forest of Quercus spp. and in stands of native Pinus pinaster and exotic Eucalyptus globulus in NW Portugal. We analyzed data of forest and non-forest species separately, at the intra-patch, patch and inter-patch scales. Forest plant richness, diversity and evenness were higher in oak forest than in pine and eucalypt plantations. In total, 52 species of forest plants were observed in oak forest, 33 in pine plantation and 28 in eucalypt plantation. Some forest species, such as Euphorbia dulcis, Omphalodes nitida and Eryngium juresianum, were exclusively or mostly observed in oak forest. Forest bird richness and diversity were higher in both oak and pine forests than in eucalypt forest; evenness did not differ among forests. In total, 16 species of forest birds were observed in oak forest, 18 in pine forest and 11 in eucalypt forest. Species such as Certhia brachydactyla, Sitta europaea and Dendrocopos major were common in oak and/or pine patches but were absent from eucalypt stands. Species-area relationships of forest plants and forest birds in oak patches had consistently a higher slope, at both the intra and inter-patch scales, than species-area relationships of forest species in plantations and non-forest species in oak forest. These findings demonstrate the importance of oak forest for the conservation of forest species diversity, pointing the need to conserve large areas of oak forest due to the apparent vulnerability of forest species to area loss. Additionally, diversity patterns in pine forest were intermediate between oak forest and eucalypt forest, suggesting that forest species patterns may be affected by forest naturalness.

A new NDVI measure that overcomes data sparsity in cloud-covered regions predicts annual variation in ground-based estimates of high arctic plant productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rune Karlsen, Stein; Anderson, Helen B.; van der Wal, René; Bremset Hansen, Brage

2018-02-01

Efforts to estimate plant productivity using satellite data can be frustrated by the presence of cloud cover. We developed a new method to overcome this problem, focussing on the high-arctic archipelago of Svalbard where extensive cloud cover during the growing season can prevent plant productivity from being estimated over large areas. We used a field-based time-series (2000-2009) of live aboveground vascular plant biomass data and a recently processed cloud-free MODIS-Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data set (2000-2014) to estimate, on a pixel-by-pixel basis, the onset of plant growth. We then summed NDVI values from onset of spring to the average time of peak NDVI to give an estimate of annual plant productivity. This remotely sensed productivity measure was then compared, at two different spatial scales, with the peak plant biomass field data. At both the local scale, surrounding the field data site, and the larger regional scale, our NDVI measure was found to predict plant biomass (adjusted R 2 = 0.51 and 0.44, respectively). The commonly used ‘maximum NDVI’ plant productivity index showed no relationship with plant biomass, likely due to some years having very few cloud-free images available during the peak plant growing season. Thus, we propose this new summed NDVI from onset of spring to time of peak NDVI as a proxy of large-scale plant productivity for regions such as the Arctic where climatic conditions restrict the availability of cloud-free images.

Cannabis cultivation: Methodological issues for obtaining medical-grade product.

PubMed

Chandra, Suman; Lata, Hemant; ElSohly, Mahmoud A; Walker, Larry A; Potter, David

2017-05-01

As studies continue to reveal favorable findings for the use of cannabidiol in the management of childhood epilepsy syndromes and other disorders, best practices for the large-scale production of Cannabis are needed for timely product development and research purposes. The processes of two institutions with extensive experience in producing large-scale cannabidiol chemotype Cannabis crops-GW Pharmaceuticals and the University of Mississippi-are described, including breeding, indoor and outdoor growing, harvesting, and extraction methods. Such practices have yielded desirable outcomes in Cannabis breeding and production: GW Pharmaceuticals has a collection of chemotypes dominant in any one of eight cannabinoids, two of which-cannabidiol and cannabidivarin-are supporting epilepsy clinical trial research, whereas in addition to a germplasm bank of high-THC, high-CBD, and intermediate type cannabis varieties, the team at University of Mississippi has established an in vitro propagation protocol for cannabis with no detectable variations in morphologic, physiologic, biochemical, and genetic profiles as compared to the mother plants. Improvements in phytocannabinoid yields and growing efficiency are expected as research continues at these institutions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Cannabinoids and Epilepsy". Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Single-tube hydroponics as a novel idea for small-scale production of crop seed in a plant incubator.

PubMed

Kuroda, Masaharu; Ikenaga, Sachiko

2015-01-01

We present a novel protocol for small-scale production of crop seed in a plant incubator termed "Single-tube hydroponics." Our protocol minimizes the materials and methods for cultivation whereby a large number of independent plants can be cultured in a limited space. This study may aid in the improvement of crop seed components, especially in the cultivation of transgenic plants.

Green infrastructure and ecosystem services – is the devil in the detail?

PubMed Central

Cameron, Ross W. F.; Blanuša, Tijana

2016-01-01

Background Green infrastructure is a strategic network of green spaces designed to deliver ecosystem services to human communities. Green infrastructure is a convenient concept for urban policy makers, but the term is used too generically and with limited understanding of the relative values or benefits of different types of green space and how these complement one another. At a finer scale/more practical level, little consideration is given to the composition of the plant communities, yet this is what ultimately defines the extent of service provision. This paper calls for greater attention to be paid to urban plantings with respect to ecosystem service delivery and for plant science to engage more fully in identifying those plants that promote various services. Scope Many urban plantings are designed based on aesthetics alone, with limited thought on how plant choice/composition provides other ecosystem services. Research is beginning to demonstrate, however, that landscape plants provide a range of important services, such as helping mitigate floods and alleviating heat islands, but that not all species are equally effective. The paper reviews a number of important services and demonstrates how genotype choice radically affects service delivery. Conclusions Although research is in its infancy, data are being generated that relate plant traits to specific services, thereby helping identify genotypes that optimize service delivery. The urban environment, however, will become exceedingly bland if future planting is simply restricted to monocultures of a few ‘functional’ genotypes. Therefore, further information is required on how to design plant communities where the plants identified (1) provide more than a single benefit (multifunctionality), (B) complement each other in maximizing the range of benefits that can be delivered in one location, and (3) continue to maintain public acceptance through diversity. The identification/development of functional landscape plants is an exciting and potentially high-impact arena for plant science. PMID:27443302

Green infrastructure and ecosystem services - is the devil in the detail?

PubMed

Cameron, Ross W F; Blanuša, Tijana

2016-09-01

Green infrastructure is a strategic network of green spaces designed to deliver ecosystem services to human communities. Green infrastructure is a convenient concept for urban policy makers, but the term is used too generically and with limited understanding of the relative values or benefits of different types of green space and how these complement one another. At a finer scale/more practical level, little consideration is given to the composition of the plant communities, yet this is what ultimately defines the extent of service provision. This paper calls for greater attention to be paid to urban plantings with respect to ecosystem service delivery and for plant science to engage more fully in identifying those plants that promote various services. Many urban plantings are designed based on aesthetics alone, with limited thought on how plant choice/composition provides other ecosystem services. Research is beginning to demonstrate, however, that landscape plants provide a range of important services, such as helping mitigate floods and alleviating heat islands, but that not all species are equally effective. The paper reviews a number of important services and demonstrates how genotype choice radically affects service delivery. Although research is in its infancy, data are being generated that relate plant traits to specific services, thereby helping identify genotypes that optimize service delivery. The urban environment, however, will become exceedingly bland if future planting is simply restricted to monocultures of a few 'functional' genotypes. Therefore, further information is required on how to design plant communities where the plants identified (1) provide more than a single benefit (multifunctionality), (B) complement each other in maximizing the range of benefits that can be delivered in one location, and (3) continue to maintain public acceptance through diversity. The identification/development of functional landscape plants is an exciting and potentially high-impact arena for plant science. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Invasive plants have scale-dependent effects on diversity by altering species-area relationships.

PubMed

Powell, Kristin I; Chase, Jonathan M; Knight, Tiffany M

2013-01-18

Although invasive plant species often reduce diversity, they rarely cause plant extinctions. We surveyed paired invaded and uninvaded plant communities from three biomes. We reconcile the discrepancy in diversity loss from invaders by showing that invaded communities have lower local richness but steeper species accumulation with area than that of uninvaded communities, leading to proportionately fewer species loss at broader spatial scales. We show that invaders drive scale-dependent biodiversity loss through strong neutral sampling effects on the number of individuals in a community. We also show that nonneutral species extirpations are due to a proportionately larger effect of invaders on common species, suggesting that rare species are buffered against extinction. Our study provides a synthetic perspective on the threat of invasions to biodiversity loss across spatial scales.

Control of Solar Power Plants Connected Grid with Simple Calculation Method on Residential Homes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kananda, Kiki; Nazir, Refdinal

2017-12-01

One of the most compatible renewable energy in all regions to apply is solar energy. Solar power plants can be built connected to existing or stand-alone power grids. In assisting the residential electricity in which there is a power grid, then a small scale solar energy power plants is very appropriate. However, the general constraint of solar energy power plants is still low in terms of efficiency. Therefore, this study will explain how to control the power of solar power plants more optimally, which is expected to reactive power to zero to raise efficiency. This is a continuation of previous research using Newton Rapshon control method. In this study we introduce a simple method by using ordinary mathematical calculations of solar-related equations. In this model, 10 PV modules type of ND T060M1 with a 60 Wp capacity are used. The calculations performed using MATLAB Simulink provide excellent value. For PCC voltage values obtained a stable quantity of approximately 220 V. At a maximum irradiation condition of 1000 W / m2, the reactive power value of Q solar generating system maximum 20.48 Var and maximum active power of 417.5 W. In the condition of lower irradiation, value of reactive power Q almost close to zero 0.77Var. This simple mathematical method can provide excellent quality control power values.

Glomus fasciculatum Fungi as a Bio-convertor and Bio-activator of Inorganic and Organic P in Dual Symbiosis.

PubMed

Azmat, Rafia; Hamid, Neelofer; Moin, Sumeira; Saleem, Ailyan

2016-01-01

Dual symbiosis played an effective role in drought condition and temperature. Furthermore, performed services in absorption of water and solubilization of chief nutrients specially phosphorus for growth of plants. Phosphorous is essential for plant growth in any climatic condition because of central constituent of ATP providing chemical energy for all metabolic reactions of plants. The goal of this work was to monitor the growth of plant under three climatic conditions in comparison to control plant under Glomus fasciculatum inoculation related with adequate supply of phosphorous. Results demonstrated that Glomus fasciculatum (VAM) activates the solubilization of P into the anionic form H2PO4(-) which is highly consumable form by the plants. Minerals including P in soil most regularly solubilized for fixing in plants and continuously changed to highly soluble forms by reaction with inorganic or organic constituents of the soil which are activated in the presence of fungi for continuous availability. Experimental facts and nonstop growth of plants recommended that VAM fungi act as a bio-convertor and bio-activator of soil nutrients, especially of P and their hyphal interaction absorbs soil nutrients and activates insoluble P to soluble one for plant development. Continuous growth of 18 months old Conocarpus erectus L plant in dual symbiosis supports the proposed idea that phosphorus cycle exists during VAM inoculations, where soil reaction altered in presence of spores that help to solubilize the P which strengthens the plant, activates photo-biological activity and demonstrates the new function of VAM as a recycler for continues growth.

Multiscale Investigation from Subcellular to Tissue Scale of Onion Epidermal Plant Cell Wall Mechanical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamil, Mohammad Shafayet

The physical and mechanical properties of cell walls, their shape, how they are arranged and interact with each other determine the architecture of plant organs and how they mechanically respond to different environmental and loading conditions. Due to the distinctive hierarchy from subcellular to tissue scale, plant materials can exhibit remarkably different mechanical properties. To date, how the subcellular scale arrangement and the mechanical properties of plant cell wall structural constituents give rise to macro or tissue scale mechanical responses is not yet well understood. Although the tissue scale plant cell wall samples are easy to prepare and put to different types of mechanical tests, the hierarchical features that emerge when moving towards a higher scale make it complicated to link the macro scale results to micro or subcellular scale structural components. On the other hand, the microscale size of cell brings formidable challenges to prepare and grip samples and carry mechanical tests under tensile loading at subcellular scale. This study attempted to develop a set of test protocols based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS) tensile testing devices for characterizing plant cell wall materials at different length scales. For the ease of sample preparation and well established database of the composition and conformation of its structural constituents, onion epidermal cell wall profile was chosen as the study material. Based on the results and findings of multiscale mechanical characterization, a framework of architecture-based finite element method (FEM) computational model was developed. The computational model laid the foundation of bridging the subcellular or microscale to the tissue or macroscale mechanical properties. This study suggests that there are important insights of cell wall mechanics and structural features that can only be investigated by carrying tensile characterization of samples not confounded by extracellular parameters. To the best of our knowledge, the plant cell wall at subcellular scale was never characterized under tensile loading. By coupling the structure based multiscale modeling and mechanical characterizations at different length scales, an attempt was made to provide novel insights towards understanding the mechanics and architecture of cell wall. This study also suggests that a multiscale investigation is essential for garnering fundamental insights into the hierarchical deformation of biological systems.

Highly local environmental variability promotes intrapopulation divergence of quantitative traits: an example from tropical rain forest trees.

PubMed

Brousseau, Louise; Bonal, Damien; Cigna, Jeremy; Scotti, Ivan

2013-10-01

In habitat mosaics, plant populations face environmental heterogeneity over short geographical distances. Such steep environmental gradients can induce ecological divergence. Lowland rainforests of the Guiana Shield are characterized by sharp, short-distance environmental variations related to topography and soil characteristics (from waterlogged bottomlands on hydromorphic soils to well-drained terra firme on ferralitic soils). Continuous plant populations distributed along such gradients are an interesting system to study intrapopulation divergence at highly local scales. This study tested (1) whether conspecific populations growing in different habitats diverge at functional traits, and (2) whether they diverge in the same way as congeneric species having different habitat preferences. Phenotypic differentiation was studied within continuous populations occupying different habitats for two congeneric, sympatric, and ecologically divergent tree species (Eperua falcata and E. grandiflora, Fabaceae). Over 3000 seeds collected from three habitats were germinated and grown in a common garden experiment, and 23 morphological, biomass, resource allocation and physiological traits were measured. In both species, seedling populations native of different habitats displayed phenotypic divergence for several traits (including seedling growth, biomass allocation, leaf chemistry, photosynthesis and carbon isotope composition). This may occur through heritable genetic variation or other maternally inherited effects. For a sub-set of traits, the intraspecific divergence associated with environmental variation coincided with interspecific divergence. The results indicate that mother trees from different habitats transmit divergent trait values to their progeny, and suggest that local environmental variation selects for different trait optima even at a very local spatial scale. Traits for which differentiation within species follows the same pattern as differentiation between species indicate that the same ecological processes underlie intra- and interspecific variation.

Highly local environmental variability promotes intrapopulation divergence of quantitative traits: an example from tropical rain forest trees

PubMed Central

Brousseau, Louise; Bonal, Damien; Cigna, Jeremy; Scotti, Ivan

2013-01-01

Background and Aims In habitat mosaics, plant populations face environmental heterogeneity over short geographical distances. Such steep environmental gradients can induce ecological divergence. Lowland rainforests of the Guiana Shield are characterized by sharp, short-distance environmental variations related to topography and soil characteristics (from waterlogged bottomlands on hydromorphic soils to well-drained terra firme on ferralitic soils). Continuous plant populations distributed along such gradients are an interesting system to study intrapopulation divergence at highly local scales. This study tested (1) whether conspecific populations growing in different habitats diverge at functional traits, and (2) whether they diverge in the same way as congeneric species having different habitat preferences. Methods Phenotypic differentiation was studied within continuous populations occupying different habitats for two congeneric, sympatric, and ecologically divergent tree species (Eperua falcata and E. grandiflora, Fabaceae). Over 3000 seeds collected from three habitats were germinated and grown in a common garden experiment, and 23 morphological, biomass, resource allocation and physiological traits were measured. Key Results In both species, seedling populations native of different habitats displayed phenotypic divergence for several traits (including seedling growth, biomass allocation, leaf chemistry, photosynthesis and carbon isotope composition). This may occur through heritable genetic variation or other maternally inherited effects. For a sub-set of traits, the intraspecific divergence associated with environmental variation coincided with interspecific divergence. Conclusions The results indicate that mother trees from different habitats transmit divergent trait values to their progeny, and suggest that local environmental variation selects for different trait optima even at a very local spatial scale. Traits for which differentiation within species follows the same pattern as differentiation between species indicate that the same ecological processes underlie intra- and interspecific variation. PMID:24023042

Meta-modeling soil organic carbon sequestration potential and its application at regional scale.

PubMed

Luo, Zhongkui; Wang, Enli; Bryan, Brett A; King, Darran; Zhao, Gang; Pan, Xubin; Bende-Michl, Ulrike

2013-03-01

Upscaling the results from process-based soil-plant models to assess regional soil organic carbon (SOC) change and sequestration potential is a great challenge due to the lack of detailed spatial information, particularly soil properties. Meta-modeling can be used to simplify and summarize process-based models and significantly reduce the demand for input data and thus could be easily applied on regional scales. We used the pre-validated Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate the impact of climate, soil, and management on SOC at 613 reference sites across Australia's cereal-growing regions under a continuous wheat system. We then developed a simple meta-model to link the APSIM-modeled SOC change to primary drivers, i.e., the amount of recalcitrant SOC, plant available water capacity of soil, soil pH, and solar radiation, temperature, and rainfall in the growing season. Based on high-resolution soil texture data and 8165 climate data points across the study area, we used the meta-model to assess SOC sequestration potential and the uncertainty associated with the variability of soil characteristics. The meta-model explained 74% of the variation of final SOC content as simulated by APSIM. Applying the meta-model to Australia's cereal-growing regions reveals regional patterns in SOC, with higher SOC stock in cool, wet regions. Overall, the potential SOC stock ranged from 21.14 to 152.71 Mg/ha with a mean of 52.18 Mg/ha. Variation of soil properties induced uncertainty ranging from 12% to 117% with higher uncertainty in warm, wet regions. In general, soils in Australia's cereal-growing regions under continuous wheat production were simulated as a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide with a mean sequestration potential of 8.17 Mg/ha.

A multi-scale evaluation of pack stock effects on subalpine meadow plant communities in the Sierra Nevada

PubMed Central

Berlow, Eric L.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Génin, Alexandre; Matchett, John R.; Hart, Stephen C.

2017-01-01

We evaluated the influence of pack stock (i.e., horse and mule) use on meadow plant communities in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in the Sierra Nevada of California. Meadows were sampled to account for inherent variability across multiple scales by: 1) controlling for among-meadow variability by using remotely sensed hydro-climatic and geospatial data to pair stock use meadows with similar non-stock (reference) sites, 2) accounting for within-meadow variation in the local hydrology using in-situ soil moisture readings, and 3) incorporating variation in stock use intensity by sampling across the entire available gradient of pack stock use. Increased cover of bare ground was detected only within “dry” meadow areas at the two most heavily used pack stock meadows (maximum animals per night per hectare). There was no difference in plant community composition for any level of soil moisture or pack stock use. Increased local-scale spatial variability in plant community composition (species dispersion) was detected in “wet” meadow areas at the two most heavily used meadows. These results suggest that at the meadow scale, plant communities are generally resistant to the contemporary levels of recreational pack stock use. However, finer-scale within-meadow responses such as increased bare ground or spatial variability in the plant community can be a function of local-scale hydrological conditions. Wilderness managers can improve monitoring of disturbance in Sierra Nevada meadows by adopting multiple plant community indices while simultaneously considering local moisture regimes. PMID:28609464

Technoeconomic analysis of large scale production of pre-emergent Pseudomonas fluorescens microbial bioherbicide in Canada.

PubMed

Mupondwa, Edmund; Li, Xue; Boyetchko, Susan; Hynes, Russell; Geissler, Jon

2015-01-01

The study presents an ex ante technoeconomic analysis of commercial production of Pseudomonas fluorescens BRG100 bioherbicide in Canada. An engineering economic model is designed in SuperPro Designer® to investigate capital investment scaling and profitability. Total capital investment for a stand-alone BRG100 fermentation plant at baseline capacity (two 33,000L fermenters; 3602tonnesannum(-1)) is $17.55million. Total annual operating cost is $14.76million. Raw materials account for 50% of operating cost. The fermentation plant is profitable over wide operating scale, evaluated over a range of BRG100 prices and costs of capital. Smaller plants require higher NPV breakeven prices. However, larger plants are more sensitive to changes in the cost of capital. Unit production costs decrease as plant capacity increases, indicating scale economies. A plant operating for less than one year approaches positive NPV for periods as low as 2months. These findings can support bioherbicide R&D investment and commercialization strategies. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nutrient removal by up-scaling a hybrid floating treatment bed (HFTB) using plant and periphyton: From laboratory tank to polluted river.

PubMed

Liu, Junzhuo; Wang, Fengwu; Liu, Wei; Tang, Cilai; Wu, Chenxi; Wu, Yonghong

2016-05-01

Planted floating treatment bed (FTB) is an innovative technique of removing nutrients from polluted water but limited in deep water and cold seasons. Periphyton was integrated into FTB for a hybrid floating treatment bed (HFTB) to improve its nutrient removal capacity. To assess its potential for treating nutrient-polluted rivers, HFTB was up-scaled from 5L laboratory tanks to 350L outdoor tanks and then to a commercial-scale 900m section of polluted river. Plants and periphyton interacted in HFTB with periphyton limiting plant root growth and plants having shading effects on periphyton. Non-overlapping distribution of plants and periphyton can minimize the negative interactions in HFTB. HFTB successfully kept TN and TP of the river at less than 2.0 and 0.02mgL(-1), respectively. This study indicates that HFTB can be easily up-scaled for nutrients removal from polluted rivers in different seasons providing a long-term, environmentally-friendly method to remediate polluted ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demonstration of Essential Reliability Services by Utility-Scale Solar

Science.gov Websites

Essential Reliability Services by Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant: Q&A Demonstration of Essential Reliability Services by Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant: Q&A Webinar Questions & Answers April 27, 2017 Is photovoltaic (PV) generation required to provide grid supportive

A subcontinental view of forest plant invasions

Treesearch

Christopher M. Oswalt; Songlin Fei; Qinfeng Guo; Basil V. Iannone III; Sonja N. Oswalt; Bryan C. Pijanowski; Kevin M. Potter

2015-01-01

Over the last few decades, considerable attention has focused on small-scale studies of invasive plants and invaded systems. Unfortunately, small scale studies rarely provide comprehensive insight into the complexities of biological invasions at macroscales. Systematic and repeated monitoring of biological invasions at broad scales are rare. In this report, we...

78 FR 40940 - Lacey Act Implementation Plan; Definitions for Exempt and Regulated Articles

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-09

... plants. Many maricultural products are cultivated on a commercial scale on seaweed farms; however, some...'' definition to require that the plants be ``produced on a commercial scale'' instead. We have also made the... particular traits, through such means as breeding, cloning, or genetic modification. Commercial scale...

Exotic plant species invade hot spots of native plant diversity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, T.J.; Binkley, Dan; Chong, G.W.; Kalkhan, M.A.; Schell, L.D.; Bull, K.A.; Otsuki, Yuka; Newman, G.; Bashkin, Michael A.; Son, Y.

1999-01-01

Some theories and experimental studies suggest that areas of low plant species richness may be invaded more easily than areas of high plant species richness. We gathered nested-scale vegetation data on plant species richness, foliar cover, and frequency from 200 1-m2 subplots (20 1000-m2 modified-Whittaker plots) in the Colorado Rockies (USA), and 160 1-m2 subplots (16 1000-m2 plots) in the Central Grasslands in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota (USA) to test the generality of this paradigm.At the 1-m2 scale, the paradigm was supported in four prairie types in the Central Grasslands, where exotic species richness declined with increasing plant species richness and cover. At the 1-m2 scale, five forest and meadow vegetation types in the Colorado Rockies contradicted the paradigm; exotic species richness increased with native-plant species richness and foliar cover. At the 1000-m2 plot scale (among vegetation types), 83% of the variance in exotic species richness in the Central Grasslands was explained by the total percentage of nitrogen in the soil and the cover of native plant species. In the Colorado Rockies, 69% of the variance in exotic species richness in 1000-m2 plots was explained by the number of native plant species and the total percentage of soil carbon.At landscape and biome scales, exotic species primarily invaded areas of high species richness in the four Central Grasslands sites and in the five Colorado Rockies vegetation types. For the nine vegetation types in both biomes, exotic species cover was positively correlated with mean foliar cover, mean soil percentage N, and the total number of exotic species. These patterns of invasibility depend on spatial scale, biome and vegetation type, spatial autocorrelation effects, availability of resources, and species-specific responses to grazing and other disturbances. We conclude that: (1) sites high in herbaceous foliar cover and soil fertility, and hot spots of plant diversity (and biodiversity), are invasible in many landscapes; and (2) this pattern may be more closely related to the degree resources are available in native plant communities, independent of species richness. Exotic plant invasions in rare habitats and distinctive plant communities pose a significant challenge to land managers and conservation biologists.

Characterizing regional-scale temporal evolution of air dose rates after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

PubMed

Wainwright, Haruko M; Seki, Akiyuki; Mikami, Satoshi; Saito, Kimiaki

2018-09-01

In this study, we quantify the temporal changes of air dose rates in the regional scale around the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, and predict the spatial distribution of air dose rates in the future. We first apply the Bayesian geostatistical method developed by Wainwright et al. (2017) to integrate multiscale datasets including ground-based walk and car surveys, and airborne surveys, all of which have different scales, resolutions, spatial coverage, and accuracy. This method is based on geostatistics to represent spatial heterogeneous structures, and also on Bayesian hierarchical models to integrate multiscale, multi-type datasets in a consistent manner. We apply this method to the datasets from three years: 2014 to 2016. The temporal changes among the three integrated maps enables us to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of radiation air dose rates. The data-driven ecological decay model is then coupled with the integrated map to predict future dose rates. Results show that the air dose rates are decreasing consistently across the region. While slower in the forested region, the decrease is particularly significant in the town area. The decontamination has contributed to significant reduction of air dose rates. By 2026, the air dose rates will continue to decrease, and the area above 3.8 μSv/h will be almost fully contained within the non-residential forested zone. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DSC: software tool for simulation-based design of control strategies applied to wastewater treatment plants.

PubMed

Ruano, M V; Ribes, J; Seco, A; Ferrer, J

2011-01-01

This paper presents a computer tool called DSC (Simulation based Controllers Design) that enables an easy design of control systems and strategies applied to wastewater treatment plants. Although the control systems are developed and evaluated by simulation, this tool aims to facilitate the direct implementation of the designed control system to the PC of the full-scale WWTP (wastewater treatment plants). The designed control system can be programmed in a dedicated control application and can be connected to either the simulation software or the SCADA of the plant. To this end, the developed DSC incorporates an OPC server (OLE for process control) which facilitates an open-standard communication protocol for different industrial process applications. The potential capabilities of the DSC tool are illustrated through the example of a full-scale application. An aeration control system applied to a nutrient removing WWTP was designed, tuned and evaluated with the DSC tool before its implementation in the full scale plant. The control parameters obtained by simulation were suitable for the full scale plant with only few modifications to improve the control performance. With the DSC tool, the control systems performance can be easily evaluated by simulation. Once developed and tuned by simulation, the control systems can be directly applied to the full-scale WWTP.

40 CFR 52.2454 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... of air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in Elkton, VA. 52.2454 Section 52.2454 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND... air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in Elkton, VA. (a) Applicability. (1) This section...

40 CFR 52.2454 - Prevention of significant deterioration of air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in Elkton, VA. 52.2454 Section 52.2454 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND... air quality for Merck & Co., Inc.'s Stonewall Plant in Elkton, VA. (a) Applicability. (1) This section...

Spatial variation in disease resistance: from molecules to metapopulations

PubMed Central

Laine, Anna-Liisa; Burdon, Jeremy J.; Dodds, Peter N.; Thrall, Peter H.

2010-01-01

Summary Variation in disease resistance is a widespread phenomenon in wild plant-pathogen associations. Here, we review current literature on natural plant-pathogen associations to determine how diversity in disease resistance is distributed at different hierarchical levels – within host individuals, within host populations, among host populations at the metapopulation scale and at larger regional scales. We find diversity in resistance across all spatial scales examined. Furthermore, variability seems to be the best counter-defence of plants against their rapidly evolving pathogens. We find that higher diversity of resistance phenotypes also results in higher levels of resistance at the population level. Overall, we find that wild plant populations are more likely to be susceptible than resistant to their pathogens. However, the degree of resistance differs strikingly depending on the origin of the pathogen strains used in experimental inoculation studies. Plant populations are on average 16% more resistant to allopatric pathogen strains than they are to strains that occur within the same population (48 % vs. 32 % respectively). Pathogen dispersal mode affects levels of resistance in natural plant populations with lowest levels detected for hosts of airborne pathogens and highest for waterborne pathogens. Detailed analysis of two model systems, Linum marginale infected by Melampsora lini, and Plantago lanceolata infected by Podosphaera plantaginis, show that the amount of variation in disease resistance declines towards higher spatial scales as we move from individual hosts to metapopulations, but evaluation of multiple spatial scales is needed to fully capture the structure of disease resistance. Synthesis: Variation in disease resistance is ubiquitous in wild plant-pathogen associations. While the debate over whether the resistance structure of plant populations is determined by pathogen-imposed selection versus non-adaptive processes remains unresolved, we do report examples of pathogen-imposed selection on host resistance. Here we highlight the importance of measuring resistance across multiple spatial scales, and of using sympatric strains when looking for signs of coevolution in wild plant-pathogen interactions. PMID:21243068

Early genetic consequences of defaunation in a large-seeded vertebrate-dispersed palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana)

PubMed Central

Giombini, M I; Bravo, S P; Sica, Y V; Tosto, D S

2017-01-01

Plant populations are seriously threatened by anthropogenic habitat disturbance. In particular, defaunation may disrupt plant-disperser mutualisms, thus reducing levels of seed-mediated gene flow and genetic variation in animal-dispersed plants. This may ultimately limit their adaptive potential and ability to cope with environmental change. Tropical forest remnants are typically deprived of medium to large vertebrates upon which many large-seeded plants rely for accomplishing effective seed dispersal. Our main goal was to examine the potential early genetic consequences of the loss of large vertebrates for large-seeded vertebrate-dispersed plants. We compared the genetic variation in early-stage individuals of the large-seeded palm Syagrus romanzoffiana between continuous protected forest and nearby partially defaunated fragments in the Atlantic Forest of South America. Using nine microsatellites, we found lower allelic richness and stronger fine-scale spatial genetic structure in the disturbed area. In addition, the percentage of dispersed recruits around conspecific adults was lower, although not significantly, in the disturbed area (median values: 0.0 vs 14.4%). On the other hand, no evidence of increased inbreeding or reduced pollen-mediated gene flow (selfing rate and diversity of pollen donors) was found in the disturbed area. Our findings are strongly suggestive of some early genetic consequences resulting from the limitation in contemporary gene flow via seeds, but not pollen, in defaunated areas. Plant-disperser mutualisms involving medium–large frugivores, which are seriously threatened in tropical systems, should therefore be protected to warrant the maintenance of seed-mediated gene flow and genetic diversity in large-seeded plants. PMID:28121308

An improved, low-cost, hydroponic system for growing Arabidopsis and other plant species under aseptic conditions

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Hydroponics is a plant growth system that provides a more precise control of growth media composition. Several hydroponic systems have been reported for Arabidopsis and other model plants. The ease of system set up, cost of the growth system and flexibility to characterize and harvest plant material are features continually improved in new hydroponic system reported. Results We developed a hydroponic culture system for Arabidopsis and other model plants. This low cost, proficient, and novel system is based on recyclable and sterilizable plastic containers, which are readily available from local suppliers. Our system allows a large-scale manipulation of seedlings. It adapts to different growing treatments and has an extended growth window until adult plants are established. The novel seed-holder also facilitates the transfer and harvest of seedlings. Here we report the use of our hydroponic system to analyze transcriptomic responses of Arabidopsis to nutriment availability and plant/pathogen interactions. Conclusions The efficiency and functionality of our proposed hydroponic system is demonstrated in nutrient deficiency and pathogenesis experiments. Hydroponically grown Arabidopsis seedlings under long-time inorganic phosphate (Pi) deficiency showed typical changes in root architecture and high expression of marker genes involved in signaling and Pi recycling. Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of gene expression of Arabidopsis roots depleted of Pi by short time periods indicates that genes related to general stress are up-regulated before those specific to Pi signaling and metabolism. Our hydroponic system also proved useful for conducting pathogenesis essays, revealing early transcriptional activation of pathogenesis-related genes. PMID:24649917

An improved, low-cost, hydroponic system for growing Arabidopsis and other plant species under aseptic conditions.

PubMed

Alatorre-Cobos, Fulgencio; Calderón-Vázquez, Carlos; Ibarra-Laclette, Enrique; Yong-Villalobos, Lenin; Pérez-Torres, Claudia-Anahí; Oropeza-Aburto, Araceli; Méndez-Bravo, Alfonso; González-Morales, Sandra-Isabel; Gutiérrez-Alanís, Dolores; Chacón-López, Alejandra; Peña-Ocaña, Betsy-Anaid; Herrera-Estrella, Luis

2014-03-21

Hydroponics is a plant growth system that provides a more precise control of growth media composition. Several hydroponic systems have been reported for Arabidopsis and other model plants. The ease of system set up, cost of the growth system and flexibility to characterize and harvest plant material are features continually improved in new hydroponic system reported. We developed a hydroponic culture system for Arabidopsis and other model plants. This low cost, proficient, and novel system is based on recyclable and sterilizable plastic containers, which are readily available from local suppliers. Our system allows a large-scale manipulation of seedlings. It adapts to different growing treatments and has an extended growth window until adult plants are established. The novel seed-holder also facilitates the transfer and harvest of seedlings. Here we report the use of our hydroponic system to analyze transcriptomic responses of Arabidopsis to nutriment availability and plant/pathogen interactions. The efficiency and functionality of our proposed hydroponic system is demonstrated in nutrient deficiency and pathogenesis experiments. Hydroponically grown Arabidopsis seedlings under long-time inorganic phosphate (Pi) deficiency showed typical changes in root architecture and high expression of marker genes involved in signaling and Pi recycling. Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of gene expression of Arabidopsis roots depleted of Pi by short time periods indicates that genes related to general stress are up-regulated before those specific to Pi signaling and metabolism. Our hydroponic system also proved useful for conducting pathogenesis essays, revealing early transcriptional activation of pathogenesis-related genes.

Production costs and operative margins in electric energy generation from biogas. Full-scale case studies in Italy.

PubMed

Riva, C; Schievano, A; D'Imporzano, G; Adani, F

2014-08-01

The purpose of this study was to observe the economic sustainability of three different biogas full scale plants, fed with different organic matrices: energy crops (EC), manure, agro-industrial (Plants B and C) and organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) (Plant A). The plants were observed for one year and total annual biomass feeding, biomass composition and biomass cost (€ Mg(-1)), initial investment cost and plant electric power production were registered. The unit costs of biogas and electric energy (€ Sm(-3)biogas, € kWh(-1)EE) were differently distributed, depending on the type of feed and plant. Plant A showed high management/maintenance cost for OFMSW treatment (0.155 € Sm(-3)biogas, 45% of total cost), Plant B suffered high cost for EC supply (0.130 € Sm(-3)biogas, 49% of total cost) and Plant C showed higher impact on the total costs because of the depreciation charge (0.146 € Sm(-3)biogas, 41% of total costs). The breakeven point for the tariff of electric energy, calculated for the different cases, resulted in the range 120-170 € MWh(-1)EE, depending on fed materials and plant scale. EC had great impact on biomass supply costs and should be reduced, in favor of organic waste and residues; plant scale still heavily influences the production costs. The EU States should drive incentives in dependence of these factors, to further develop this still promising sector. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design report small-scale fuel alcohol plant. Volume 2: Detailed construction information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1980-12-01

The objectives are to provide potential alcohol producers with a reference design and provide a complete, demonstrated design of a small scale fuel alcohol plant. The plant has the capability for feedstock preparation, cooking, saccharification, fermentation, distillation, by-product dewatering, and process steam generation. An interesting feature is an instrumentation and control system designed to allow the plant to run 24 hours per day with only four hours of operator attention.

Geospatial modeling of plant stable isotope ratios - the development of isoscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, J. B.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Hurley, J. M.; Cerling, T. E.

2007-12-01

Large-scale spatial variation in stable isotope ratios can yield critical insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of biogeochemical cycles, animal movements, and shifts in climate, as well as anthropogenic activities such as commerce, resource utilization, and forensic investigation. Interpreting these signals requires that we understand and model the variation. We report progress in our development of plant stable isotope ratio landscapes (isoscapes). Our approach utilizes a GIS, gridded datasets, a range of modeling approaches, and spatially distributed observations. We synthesize findings from four studies to illustrate the general utility of the approach, its ability to represent observed spatio-temporal variability in plant stable isotope ratios, and also outline some specific areas of uncertainty. We also address two basic, but critical questions central to our ability to model plant stable isotope ratios using this approach: 1. Do the continuous precipitation isotope ratio grids represent reasonable proxies for plant source water?, and 2. Do continuous climate grids (as is or modified) represent a reasonable proxy for the climate experienced by plants? Plant components modeled include leaf water, grape water (extracted from wine), bulk leaf material ( Cannabis sativa; marijuana), and seed oil ( Ricinus communis; castor bean). Our approaches to modeling the isotope ratios of these components varied from highly sophisticated process models to simple one-step fractionation models to regression approaches. The leaf water isosocapes were produced using steady-state models of enrichment and continuous grids of annual average precipitation isotope ratios and climate. These were compared to other modeling efforts, as well as a relatively sparse, but geographically distributed dataset from the literature. The latitudinal distributions and global averages compared favorably to other modeling efforts and the observational data compared well to model predictions. These results yield confidence in the precipitation isoscapes used to represent plant source water, the modified climate grids used to represent leaf climate, and the efficacy of this approach to modeling. Further work confirmed these observations. The seed oil isoscape was produced using a simple model of lipid fractionation driven with the precipitation grid, and compared well to widely distributed observations of castor bean oil, again suggesting that the precipitation grids were reasonable proxies for plant source water. The marijuana leaf δ2H observations distributed across the continental United States were regressed against the precipitation δ2H grids and yielded a strong relationship between them, again suggesting that plant source water was reasonably well represented by the precipitation grid. Finally, the wine water δ18O isoscape was developed from regressions that related precipitation isotope ratios and climate to observations from a single vintage. Favorable comparisons between year-specific wine water isoscapes and inter-annual variations in previous vintages yielded confidence in the climate grids. Clearly significant residual variability remains to be explained in all of these cases and uncertainties vary depending on the component modeled, but we conclude from this synthesis that isoscapes are capable of representing real spatial and temporal variability in plant stable isotope ratios.

Comparison of start-up strategies and process performance during semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of sugarcane filter cake co-digested with bagasse.

PubMed

Janke, Leandro; Leite, Athaydes F; Nikolausz, Marcell; Radetski, Claudemir M; Nelles, Michael; Stinner, Walter

2016-02-01

The anaerobic digestion of sugarcane filter cake and the option of co-digestion with bagasse were investigated in a semi-continuous feeding regime to assess the main parameters used for large-scale process designing. Moreover, fresh cattle manure was considered as alternative inoculum for the start-up of biogas reactors in cases where digestate from a biogas plant would not be available in remote rural areas. Experiments were carried out in 6 lab-scale semi-continuous stirred-tank reactors at mesophilic conditions (38±1°C) while the main anaerobic digestion process parameters monitored. Fresh cattle manure demonstrated to be appropriate for the start-up process. However, an acclimation period was required due to the high initial volatile fatty acids concentration (8.5gL(-1)). Regardless the mono-digestion of filter cake presented 50% higher biogas yield (480mLgVS(-1)) than co-digestion with bagasse (320mLgVS(-1)) during steady state conditions. A large-scale co-digestion system would produce 58% more biogas (1008m(3)h(-1)) than mono-digestion of filter cake (634m(3)h(-1)) due to its higher biomass availability for biogas conversion. Considering that the biogas production rate was the technical parameter that displayed the most relevant differences between the analyzed substrate options (0.99-1.45m(3)biogasm(3)d(-1)). The decision of which substrate option should be implemented in practice would be mainly driven by the available construction techniques, since economically efficient tanks could compensate the lower biogas production rate of co-digestion option. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology

DOE PAGES

Iversen, Colleen M.; McCormack, M. Luke; Powell, A. Shafer; ...

2017-02-28

Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing environmental conditions. And while fine roots play an important role in ecosystem functioning, fine-root traits are underrepresented in global trait databases. This has hindered efforts to analyze fine-root trait variation and link it with plant function and environmental conditions at a global scale. This Viewpoint addresses the need for a centralized fine-root trait database, and introduces the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED, http://roots.ornl.gov) which so far includes > 70 000 observations encompassing a broad range of rootmore » traits and also includes associated environmental data. FRED represents a critical step toward improving our understanding of below-ground plant ecology. For example, FRED facilitates the quantification of variation in fine-root traits across root orders, species, biomes, and environmental gradients while also providing a platform for assessments of covariation among root, leaf, and wood traits, the role of fine roots in ecosystem functioning, and the representation of fine roots in terrestrial biosphere models. There has been a continued input of observations into FRED to fill gaps in trait coverage will improve our understanding of changes in fine-root traits across space and time.« less

Capping hazardous red mud using acidic soil with an embedded layer of zeolite for plant growth.

PubMed

Ma, Yingqun; Si, Chunhua; Lin, Chuxia

2014-01-01

A nearly three-year microcosm experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of capping red mud using acidic soil with an embedded layer of zeolite in sustaining the growth of a grass species. This 'sandwich-structured' design allowed self-sustaining growth of the plants under rain-fed conditions no matter whether the underlying red mud was neutralized or not. During the initial stage, the plants grew better when the red mud was not neutralized with MgCl2 probably due to pH rise in the root zone. Neutralization of red mud led to salinization and pH decrease in the root zone. However, the difference in plant growth performance between these scenarios became less remarkable over time due to gradual improvement of soil conditions in the neutralized scenarios. Continuous leaching of soluble salts and alkali by rainwater extended the root zone to the red mud layer. As a result of vegetative production, soil organic matter rapidly accumulated. This, combined with increase in pH and decrease in salinity, markedly facilitated microbial activities and consequently improved the supply of nutrients. This study provides abasis for field-scale experimental design that will have implications for effectively establishing vegetative cover in red mud disposal sites to control dust hazards.

Plant Phenotyping through the Eyes of Complex Systems: Theoretical Considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.

2017-12-01

Plant phenotyping is an emerging transdisciplinary research which necessitates not only the communication and collaboration of scientists from different disciplines but also the paradigm shift to a holistic approach. Complex system is defined as a system having a large number of interacting parts (or particles, agents), whose interactions give rise to non-trivial properties like self-organization and emergence. Plant ecosystems are complex systems which are continually morphing dynamical systems, i.e. self-organizing hierarchical open systems. Such systems are composed of many subunits/subsystems with nonlinear interactions and feedback. The throughput such as the flow of energy, matter and information is the key control parameter in complex systems. Information theoretic approaches can be used to understand and identify such interactions, structures and dynamics through reductions in uncertainty (i.e. entropy). The theoretical considerations based on network and thermodynamic thinking and exemplary analyses (e.g. dynamic process network, spectral entropy) of the throughput time series will be presented. These can be used as a framework to develop more discipline-specific fundamental approaches to provide tools for the transferability of traits between measurement scales in plant phenotyping. Acknowledgment: This work was funded by the Weather Information Service Engine Program of the Korea Meteorological Administration under Grant KMIPA-2012-0001.

A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology

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

Iversen, Colleen M.; McCormack, M. Luke; Powell, A. Shafer

Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing environmental conditions. And while fine roots play an important role in ecosystem functioning, fine-root traits are underrepresented in global trait databases. This has hindered efforts to analyze fine-root trait variation and link it with plant function and environmental conditions at a global scale. This Viewpoint addresses the need for a centralized fine-root trait database, and introduces the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED, http://roots.ornl.gov) which so far includes > 70 000 observations encompassing a broad range of rootmore » traits and also includes associated environmental data. FRED represents a critical step toward improving our understanding of below-ground plant ecology. For example, FRED facilitates the quantification of variation in fine-root traits across root orders, species, biomes, and environmental gradients while also providing a platform for assessments of covariation among root, leaf, and wood traits, the role of fine roots in ecosystem functioning, and the representation of fine roots in terrestrial biosphere models. There has been a continued input of observations into FRED to fill gaps in trait coverage will improve our understanding of changes in fine-root traits across space and time.« less

Modeling the Economic Feasibility of Large-Scale Net-Zero Water Management: A Case Study.

PubMed

Guo, Tianjiao; Englehardt, James D; Fallon, Howard J

  While municipal direct potable water reuse (DPR) has been recommended for consideration by the U.S. National Research Council, it is unclear how to size new closed-loop DPR plants, termed "net-zero water (NZW) plants", to minimize cost and energy demand assuming upgradient water distribution. Based on a recent model optimizing the economics of plant scale for generalized conditions, the authors evaluated the feasibility and optimal scale of NZW plants for treatment capacity expansion in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Local data on population distribution and topography were input to compare projected costs for NZW vs the current plan. Total cost was minimized at a scale of 49 NZW plants for the service population of 671,823. Total unit cost for NZW systems, which mineralize chemical oxygen demand to below normal detection limits, is projected at ~$10.83 / 1000 gal, approximately 13% above the current plan and less than rates reported for several significant U.S. cities.

NoScale - Characterisation of thermal deep groundwater for the prevention of scaling and corrosion in geothermal plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haslinger, Edith; Goldbrunner, Johann; Dietzel, Martin; Leis, Albrecht; Boch, Ronny; Knauss, Ralf; Hippler, Dorothee; Shirbaz, Andrea; Fröschl, Heinz; Wyhlidal, Stefan; Plank, Otmar; Gold, Marlies; Elster, Daniel

2017-04-01

During the exploitation of thermal water for the use in a geothermal plant a series of hydrochemical reactions such as solution and precipitation processes (scaling) or corrosion processes can be caused by pressure and temperature changes and degassing of the thermal water. Operators of hydrogeothermal plants are often confronted with precipitations in water-bearing parts of their plant, such as heat exchangers and pipes, which result in considerable costs for cleaning or remediation or the use of inhibitors. In the worst case, scaling and corrosion can lead to the abandonment of the system. The effects of the fluids on the technical facilities of hydrogeothermal plants are usually difficult to predict. This applies in particular to the long-term effects in the exploitation and use as well as the aspect of the reinjection of the fluids. In publications and guides for thermal water use in Austria, it is emphasized that the hydrochemical conditions have to be checked during the operation of geothermal plants, but precise directives and thus guidance for operators as well as a scientific investigations on this topic are almost completely missing today. The aim of the research project NoScale was the assessment of deep thermal water bodies in different geological reservoirs in Austria and Bavaria and therefore different hydrochemical compositions with regard to their scaling and corrosion potential in geothermal use. In the course of parallel chemical and mineralogical laboratory investigations, conclusions were drawn about the effects of thermal water on different technical components of hydrogeothermal plants and on the other hand a data basis for the model simulation of the relevant hydrochemical processes was developed. Subsequently, on the basis of detailed hydrochemical model calculations, possible effects of the use of the thermal waters on the technical components of the geothermal plants were shown. This approach of complex process modeling, detailed laboratory studies and experimental approaches has not been followed in Austria so far. The research results contribute significantly to the increased visibility of potential risks of the exploitation and use of thermal water. Thus, the project NoScale supports the operators of hydrogeothermal plants to assess risks of scaling in corrosion already in the pre-drilling phase, which leads to a much more energy and cost efficient operation.

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 2. First Year Poststocking Results. Volume II. The Fish, Mammals, and Waterfowl of Lake Conway, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

7AD-AI3 853 ’FLORIDA SAME AND FRESH WATER FISH COMMISSION ORLANDO F/ 616 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR--ETC(U...of a series of reports documenting a large-scale operations management test of use of the white amur for control of problem aquatic plants in Lake...M. 1982. "Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants; Report 2, First Year Poststock- ing

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 2. First Year Poststocking Results. Volume VI. The Water and Sediment Quality of Lake Conway, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

AD A113 .5. ORANGE COUNTY POLLUTION CONTROL DEPT ORLANDO FL F/S 6/6 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR-ETC(U) FEB 82 H D...Large-Scale Operations Management Test of use of the white amur for control of problem aquatic plants in Lake Conway, Fla. Report 1 of the series presents...as follows: Miller, D. 1982. "Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants; Report 2, First

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 4. Third Year Poststocking Results. Volume VI. The Water and Sediment Quality of Lake Conway, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

RAI-RI247443 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE i/i UNITE AMUR FOR CONTR.. (U) MILLER RND MILLER INC ORLANDO FL H D MILLER ET RL...LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC PLANTS Report 1: Baseline Studies Volume I...Boyd, J. 1983. "Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants; Report 4, Third Year Poststocking

2. SALEMBROSIUS CONTINUOUS GASFIRED HEAT TREATING LINE AT HEAT TREATMENT ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. SALEM-BROSIUS CONTINUOUS GAS-FIRED HEAT TREATING LINE AT HEAT TREATMENT PLANT OF THE DUQUESNE WORKS. - U.S. Steel Duquesne Works, Heat Treatment Plant, Along Monongahela River, Duquesne, Allegheny County, PA

50 CFR 17.103 - Establishment of protection areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee...) Whether the area is to be a manatee sanctuary or refuge. (1) If the area is to be a manatee sanctuary, the...

75 FR 46859 - Lacey Act Implementation Plan; Definitions for Exempt and Regulated Articles

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-04

... plants of species grown on a commercial scale. As we propose to define them, these terms would apply to... cultivar. A plant (except a tree) that: (a) Has been developed through selective breeding or other means... concern, while exempting plants grown on a commercial scale. They are also designed to be consistent with...

Desalination: Status and Federal Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-30

on one side and lets purified water through. Reverse osmosis plants have fewer problems with corrosion and usually have lower energy requirements...Texas) and cities are actively researching and investigating the feasibility of large-scale desalination plants for municipal water supplies...desalination research and development, and in construction and operational costs of desalination demonstration projects and full-scale plants

AN EXAMINATION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS IN LARGE-SCALE URBAN TREE PLANTING INITIATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

This project will result in a typology of the degrees and forms of citizen participation in large-scale urban tree planting initiatives. It also will identify specific aspects of urban tree planting processes that residents perceive as fair and unfair, which will provide ad...

Formulation of low solids coal water slurry from advanced coal cleaning waste fines

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

Battista, J.J.; Morrison, J.L.; Lambert, A.

1997-07-01

GPU Genco, the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG), Penn State University and the Homer City Coal Processing Corporation are conducting characterization and formulation tests to determine the suitability of using minus 325 mesh coal waste fines as a low solids coal water slurry (CWS) co-firing fuel. The fine coal is contained in a centrifuge effluent stream at the recently modified Homer City Coal Preparation Plant. Recovering, thickening and then co-firing this material with pulverized coal is one means of alleviating a disposal problem and increasing the Btu recovery for the adjacent power plant. The project team ismore » currently proceeding with the design of a pilot scale system to formulate the effluent into a satisfactory co-firing fuel on a continuous basis for combustion testing at Seward Station. The ultimate goal is to burn the fuel at the pulverized coal units at the Homer City Generating Station. This paper presents the success to date of the slurry characterization and pilot scale design work. In addition, the paper will update GPU Genco`s current status for the low solids coal water slurry co-firing technology and will outline the company`s future plans for the technology.« less

Sources and sinks of carbonyl sulfide in a mountain grassland and relationships to the carbon dioxide exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spielmann, Felix M.; Kitz, Florian; Hammerle, Albin; Gerdel, Katharina; Wohlfahrt, Georg

2016-04-01

The trace gas carbonyl sulfide (COS) has been proposed as a tracer for canopy gross primary production (GPP), canopy transpiration and stomatal conductance of plant canopies in the last few years. COS enters the plant leaf through the stomata and diffuses through the intercellular space, the cell wall, the plasma membrane and the cytosol like CO2. It is then catalyzed by the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) in a one-way reaction to H2S and CO2. This one-way flux into the leaf makes COS a promising tracer for the GPP. However there is growing evidence, that plant leaves aren't the only contributors to the ecosystem flux of COS. Therefor the COS uptake of soil microorganisms also containing CA and abiotic COS production might have to be accounted for when using COS as a tracer at the ecosystem scale. The overarching objective of this study was to quantify the relationship between the ecosystem-scale exchange of COS, CO2 and H2O and thus to test for the potential of COS to be used as a tracer for the plant canopy CO2 and H2O exchange. More specifically we aimed at quantifying the contribution of the soil to the ecosystem-scale COS exchange in order to understand complications that may arise due to a non-negligible soil COS exchange. In May 2015 we set up our quantum cascade laser (QCL) (Aerodyne Research Inc., MA, USA) at a temperate mountain grassland in Stubai Valley close to the village of Neustift, Austria. Our site lies at the valley bottom and is an intensively managed mountain grassland, which is cut 3-4 times a year. With the QCL we were able to measure concurrently the concentrations of COS, CO2, H2O (and CO) at a frequency of 10 Hz with minimal noise. This allowed us to conduct ecosystem-scale eddy covariance measurements. The eddy covariance flux measurements revealed that the COS uptake continues at night, which we confirmed was not caused by soil microorganisms, as the soil exchange was close to neutral during nighttime. Instead, the nocturnal COS uptake appears to be caused by incomplete stomatal closure and continuing catalytic CA activity in the absence of light. The resulting data also revealed a weaker correlation between COS- and CO2-fluxes than expected, which hints to further COS-exchange mechanisms at our site. To disentangle sources and sinks within and below the canopy, we measured vertical within-canopy profiles of COS and CO2 and inferred the vertical distribution of sources and sinks by means of an inverse Lagrangian analysis. The resulting data confirmed that soils at our site are sources for COS during daytime and close to neutral during nighttime and place the major COS/CO2 sink in the central part of the canopy, where a large amount of leaf area still receives enough light. Taken together our results suggest that using COS as a tracer for canopy CO2 and H2O exchange may be less straight forward than previously thought and that further work is required to better understand the ecosystem-scale COS exchange and its drivers.

Development of an experimental approach to study coupled soil-plant-atmosphere processes using plant analogs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trautz, Andrew C.; Illangasekare, Tissa H.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Heck, Katharina; Helmig, Rainer

2017-04-01

The atmosphere, soils, and vegetation near the land-atmosphere interface are in a state of continuous dynamic interaction via a myriad of complex interrelated feedback processes which collectively, remain poorly understood. Studying the fundamental nature and dynamics of such processes in atmospheric, ecological, and/or hydrological contexts in the field setting presents many challenges; current experimental approaches are an important factor given a general lack of control and high measurement uncertainty. In an effort to address these issues and reduce overall complexity, new experimental design considerations (two-dimensional intermediate-scale coupled wind tunnel-synthetic aquifer testing using synthetic plants) for studying soil-plant-atmosphere continuum soil moisture dynamics are introduced and tested in this study. Validation of these experimental considerations, particularly the adoption of synthetic plants, is required prior to their application in future research. A comparison of three experiments with bare soil surfaces or transplanted with a Stargazer lily/limestone block was used to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed approaches. Results demonstrate that coupled wind tunnel-porous media experimentation, used to simulate field conditions, reduces complexity, and enhances control while allowing fine spatial-temporal resolution measurements to be made using state-of-the-art technologies. Synthetic plants further help reduce system complexity (e.g., airflow) while preserving the basic hydrodynamic functions of plants (e.g., water uptake and transpiration). The trends and distributions of key measured atmospheric and subsurface spatial and temporal variables (e.g., soil moisture, relative humidity, temperature, air velocity) were comparable, showing that synthetic plants can be used as simple, idealized, nonbiological analogs for living vegetation in fundamental hydrodynamic studies.

Root-shoot growth responses during interspecific competition quantified using allometric modelling.

PubMed

Robinson, David; Davidson, Hazel; Trinder, Clare; Brooker, Rob

2010-12-01

Plant competition studies are restricted by the difficulty of quantifying root systems of competitors. Analyses are usually limited to above-ground traits. Here, a new approach to address this issue is reported. Root system weights of competing plants can be estimated from: shoot weights of competitors; combined root weights of competitors; and slopes (scaling exponents, α) and intercepts (allometric coefficients, β) of ln-regressions of root weight on shoot weight of isolated plants. If competition induces no change in root : shoot growth, α and β values of competing and isolated plants will be equal. Measured combined root weight of competitors will equal that estimated allometrically from measured shoot weights of each competing plant. Combined root weights can be partitioned directly among competitors. If, as will be more usual, competition changes relative root and shoot growth, the competitors' combined root weight will not equal that estimated allometrically and cannot be partitioned directly. However, if the isolated-plant α and β values are adjusted until the estimated combined root weight of competitors matches the measured combined root weight, the latter can be partitioned among competitors using their new α and β values. The approach is illustrated using two herbaceous species, Dactylis glomerata and Plantago lanceolata. Allometric modelling revealed a large and continuous increase in the root : shoot ratio by Dactylis, but not Plantago, during competition. This was associated with a superior whole-plant dry weight increase in Dactylis, which was ultimately 2·5-fold greater than that of Plantago. Whole-plant growth dominance of Dactylis over Plantago, as deduced from allometric modelling, occurred 14-24 d earlier than suggested by shoot data alone. Given reasonable assumptions, allometric modelling can analyse competitive interactions in any species mixture, and overcomes a long-standing problem in studies of competition.

A fuzzy-logic-based controller for methane production in anaerobic fixed-film reactors.

PubMed

Robles, A; Latrille, E; Ruano, M V; Steyer, J P

2017-01-01

The main objective of this work was to develop a controller for biogas production in continuous anaerobic fixed-bed reactors, which used effluent total volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration as control input in order to prevent process acidification at closed loop. To this aim, a fuzzy-logic-based control system was developed, tuned and validated in an anaerobic fixed-bed reactor at pilot scale that treated industrial winery wastewater. The proposed controller varied the flow rate of wastewater entering the system as a function of the gaseous outflow rate of methane and VFA concentration. Simulation results show that the proposed controller is capable to achieve great process stability even when operating at high VFA concentrations. Pilot results showed the potential of this control approach to maintain the process working properly under similar conditions to the ones expected at full-scale plants.

Polymeric and composite materials for use in systems utilizing hot, flowing geothermal brine. II

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

Lorensen, L.E.; Walkup, C.M.

1978-04-13

Further progress is reported on a continuing experimental program designed to select high-performance polymeric materials for use in geothermal power plants. In field tests 12 nozzles, 27 wear plates, and 2 types of polymer lined pipe were tested. Nozzles made of Teflons TFE and PFA, Tefzel, Ryton PPS and H-Resin/carbon cloth were little changed except for some scaling. The fluorocarbons scaled least rapidly. All blade type wear plates eroded, those based on Tefzel, PPQ, and PPS the least. Fluorocarbon lined pipes were little affected by exposure. In laboratory tests samples were heated at 250 and 300/sup 0/C in brine. Severalmore » materials including fluorocarbon and unhydrolyzable aromatic or cross-linked aliphatic, thermally stable polymers survived for periods up to 1300 h. In erosion tests, coatings based on epoxy resins and a fluorocarbon were most resistant; good adhesion was required.« less

Revolution…Now The Future Arrives for Five Clean Energy Technologies – 2015 Update

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

None

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the Revolution Now report, highlighting four transformational technologies: land-based wind power, silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar modules, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and electric vehicles (EVs). That study and its 2014 update showed how dramatic reductions in cost are driving a surge in consumer, industrial, and commercial adoption for these clean energy technologies—as well as yearly progress. In addition to presenting the continued progress made over the last year in these areas, this year’s update goes further. Two separate sections now cover large, central, utility-scale PV plants and smaller, rooftop, distributed PV systems tomore » highlight how both have achieved significant deployment nationwide, and have done so through different innovations, such as easier access to capital for utility-scale PV and reductions of non-hardware costs and third-party ownership for distributed PV. Along with these core technologies« less

Conspecific and Heterospecific Plant Densities at Small-Scale Can Drive Plant-Pollinator Interactions

PubMed Central

Janovský, Zdeněk; Mikát, Michael; Hadrava, Jiří; Horčičková, Eva; Kmecová, Kateřina; Požárová, Doubravka; Smyčka, Jan; Herben, Tomáš

2013-01-01

Generalist pollinators are important in many habitats, but little research has been done on small-scale spatial variation in interactions between them and the plants that they visit. Here, using a spatially explicit approach, we examined whether multiple species of flowering plants occurring within a single meadow showed spatial structure in their generalist pollinator assemblages. We report the results for eight plant species for which at least 200 individual visits were recorded. We found that for all of these species, the proportions of their general pollinator assemblages accounted for by particular functional groups showed spatial heterogeneity at the scale of tens of metres. This heterogeneity was connected either with no or only subtle changes of vegetation and flowering species composition. In five of these species, differences in conspecific plant density influenced the pollinator communities (with greater dominance of main pollinators at low-conspecific plant densities). The density of heterospecific plant individuals influenced the pollinator spectrum in one case. Our results indicate that the picture of plant-pollinator interactions provided by averaging data within large plots may be misleading and that within-site spatial heterogeneity should be accounted for in terms of sampling effort allocation and analysis. Moreover, spatially structured plant-pollinator interactions may have important ecological and evolutionary consequences, especially for plant population biology. PMID:24204818

Chemical sensing of plant stress at the ecosystem scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karl, T.; Guenther, A.; Turnipseed, A.; Patton, E. G.; Jardine, K.

2008-09-01

Significant ecosystem-scale emissions of methylsalicylate (MeSA), a semivolatile plant hormone thought to act as the mobile signal for systemic acquired resistance (SAR), were observed in an agroforest. Our measurements show that plant internal defence mechanisms can be activated in response to temperature stress and are modulated by water availability on large scales. Highest MeSA fluxes (up to 0.25 mg/m2/h) were observed after plants experienced ambient night-time temperatures of ~7.5°C followed by a large daytime temperature increase (e.g. up to 22°C). Under these conditions estimated night-time leaf temperatures were as low as ~4.6°C, likely inducing a response to prevent chilling injury. Our observations imply that plant hormones can be a significant component of ecosystem scale volatile organic compound (VOC) fluxes (e.g. as high as the total monoterpene (MT) flux) and therefore contribute to the missing VOC budget. If generalized to other ecosystems and different types of stresses these findings suggest that semivolatile plant hormones have been overlooked by investigations of the impact of biogenic VOCs on aerosol formation events in forested regions. Our observations show that the presence of MeSA in canopy air serves as an early chemical warning signal indicating ecosystem-scale stresses before visible damage becomes apparent. As a chemical metric, ecosystem emission measurements of MeSA in ambient air could therefore support field studies investigating factors that adversely affect plant growth.

Villacidro solar demo plant: Integration of small-scale CSP and biogas power plants in an industrial microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camerada, M.; Cau, G.; Cocco, D.; Damiano, A.; Demontis, V.; Melis, T.; Musio, M.

2016-05-01

The integration of small scale concentrating solar power (CSP) in an industrial district, in order to develop a microgrid fully supplied by renewable energy sources, is presented in this paper. The plant aims to assess in real operating conditions, the performance, the effectiveness and the reliability of small-scale concentrating solar power technologies in the field of distributed generation. In particular, the potentiality of small scale CSP with thermal storage to supply dispatchable electricity to an industrial microgrid will be investigated. The microgrid will be realized in the municipal waste treatment plant of the Industrial Consortium of Villacidro, in southern Sardinia (Italy), which already includes a biogas power plant. In order to achieve the microgrid instantaneous energy balance, the analysis of the time evolution of the waste treatment plant demand and of the generation in the existing power systems has been carried out. This has allowed the design of a suitable CSP plant with thermal storage and an electrochemical storage system for supporting the proposed microgrid. At the aim of obtaining the expected energy autonomy, a specific Energy Management Strategy, which takes into account the different dynamic performances and characteristics of the demand and the generation, has been designed. In this paper, the configuration of the proposed small scale concentrating solar power (CSP) and of its thermal energy storage, based on thermocline principle, is initially described. Finally, a simulation study of the entire power system, imposing scheduled profiles based on weather forecasts, is presented.

Electrophysiological assessment of water stress in fruit-bearing woody plants.

PubMed

Ríos-Rojas, Liliana; Tapia, Franco; Gurovich, Luis A

2014-06-15

Development and evaluation of a real-time plant water stress sensor, based on the electrophysiological behavior of fruit-bearing woody plants is presented. Continuous electric potentials are measured in tree trunks for different irrigation schedules, inducing variable water stress conditions; results are discussed in relation to soil water content and micro-atmospheric evaporative demand, determined continuously by conventional sensors, correlating this information with tree electric potential measurements. Systematic and differentiable patterns of electric potentials for water-stressed and no-stressed trees in 2 fruit species are presented. Early detection and recovery dynamics of water stress conditions can also be monitored with these electrophysiology sensors, which enable continuous and non-destructive measurements for efficient irrigation scheduling throughout the year. The experiment is developed under controlled conditions, in Faraday cages located at a greenhouse area, both in Persea americana and Prunus domestica plants. Soil moisture evolution is controlled using capacitance sensors and solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, wind intensity and direction are continuously registered with accurate weather sensors, in a micro-agrometeorological automatic station located at the experimental site. The electrophysiological sensor has two stainless steel electrodes (measuring/reference), inserted on the stem; a high precision Keithley 2701 digital multimeter is used to measure plant electrical signals; an algorithm written in MatLab(®), allows correlating the signal to environmental variables. An electric cyclic behavior is observed (circadian cycle) in the experimental plants. For non-irrigated plants, the electrical signal shows a time positive slope and then, a negative slope after restarting irrigation throughout a rather extended recovery process, before reaching a stable electrical signal with zero slope. Well-watered plants presented a continuous signal with daily maximum and a minimum EP of similar magnitude in time, with zero slope. This plant electrical behavior is proposed for the development of a sensor measuring real-time plant water status. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the degradation efficiency of full-scale biogas plants: A comparative study of degradation indicators.

PubMed

Li, Chao; Nges, Ivo Achu; Lu, Wenjing; Wang, Haoyu

2017-11-01

Increasing popularity and applications of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process has necessitated the development and identification of tools for obtaining reliable indicators of organic matter degradation rate and hence evaluate the process efficiency especially in full-scale, commercial biogas plants. In this study, four biogas plants (A1, A2, B and C) based on different feedstock, process configuration, scale and operational performance were selected and investigated. Results showed that the biochemical methane potential (BMP) based degradation rate could be use in incisively gauging process efficiency in lieu of the traditional degradation rate indicators. The BMP degradation rates ranged from 70 to 90% wherein plants A2 and C showed the highest throughput. This study, therefore, corroborates the feasibility of using the BMP degradation rate as a practical tool for evaluating process performance in full-scale biogas processes and spots light on the microbial diversity in full-scale biogas processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 2. First Year Poststocking Results. Volume VII. A Model for Evaluation of the Response of the Lake Conway, Florida, Ecosystem to Introduction of the White Amur.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT S. TYPE OF REPORT A PERIOD COVERED TEST OF THE USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF Report 2 of a series PROBLEM AQUATIC PLANTS...111. 1981. "Large-Scale Operations Management Test of the Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants; Report 2, First Year Poststock...Al 3 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC PLANTS A MODEL FOR EVALUATION OF

8. QUENCHING MECHANISM FOR THE CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC FURNACE HEAT TREATING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

8. QUENCHING MECHANISM FOR THE CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC FURNACE HEAT TREATING LINE AT THE HEAT TREATMENT PLANT OF THE DUQUESNE WORKS. - U.S. Steel Duquesne Works, Heat Treatment Plant, Along Monongahela River, Duquesne, Allegheny County, PA

Using Plant Phylogenetic Relatedness as a Predictor for Plants' Control on Soil Microbial Communities and Nitrogen Cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, T.; Bowman, W. D.

2016-12-01

Despite the known importance of soil microbes and their influence on soil processes, a mechanistic understanding is still needed to predict how plants and soil microbes interact at scales that are relevant to community and ecosystem-scale processes. Closely related plant species have similar traits aboveground, but we don't know whether this is also true for belowground traits that affect soil microbial community structure and function. Determining how tightly plant phylogeny and plant functional traits are linked to soil microbial communities is a useful approach for discovering plant-microbe associations that are generalizable across plant species (a limitation of studies that employ a single or few plant species). Using this approach, we conducted a greenhouse study with seven congeneric grasses (genus Poa) and their native soils to examine whether plants' influences on microbial community structure were consistent with plant phylogenetic relatedness and/or plant functional traits. Seeds of each Poa species were planted in native soil (from the seed source population) as well as a homogenized soil from all seven populations. Additionally, a nitrogen treatment was added to address how an environmental change (such as nitrogen deposition) alters plant-microbe associations. Rhizosphere community composition of bacteria and fungi was obtained via marker gene sequencing to compare community composition across plant species. Patterns in plant-microbe associations across plant species reveal plant control on nutrient cycling via plant species' influence on microbial community structure. These results determine if we are ready to generalize about plant-microbe interactions at the genus level, an important stepping-stone to applying knowledge of plant-microbe interactions to larger ecological scales.

Pilot-scale test for electron beam purification of flue gas from coal-combustion boiler

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

Hashimoto, Shoji; Namba, Hideki; Tokunaga, Okihiro

1995-06-01

Construction of a pilot plant of the treatment capacity of 12,000 m{sup 3}N/h flue gas was completed in November, 1992 in the Shin-Nagoya Thermal Power Station, Nagoya for electron beam purification of flue-gas from coal combustion boiler and the operation had been continued during one year. The results obtained In the tests shows that the target removal efficiency for SO{sub 2} (94 %) and for NO{sub x} (80 %) was achieved with appropriate operation conditions (electron beam dose, temperature, amount of ammonia etc.). The effective collection of powdery by-products was performed by an electrostatic precipitator.

A study on using fireclay as a biomass carrier in an activated sludge system.

PubMed

Tilaki, Ramazan Ali Dianati

2011-01-01

By adding a biomass carrier to an activated sludge system, the biomass concentration will increase, and subsequently the organic removal efficiency will be enhanced. In this study, the possibility of using excess sludge from ceramic and tile manufacturing plants as a biomass carrier was investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of using fireclay as a biomass carrier on biomass concentration, organic removal and nitrification efficiency in an activated sludge system. Experiments were conducted by using a bench scale activated sludge system operating in batch and continuous modes. Artificial simulated wastewater was made by using recirculated water in a ceramic manufacturing plant. In the continuous mode, hydraulic detention time in the aeration reactor was 8 and 22 h. In the batch mode, aeration time was 8 and 16 h. Fireclay doses were 500, 1,400 and 2,250 mg l(-1), and were added to the reactors in each experiment separately. The reactor with added fireclay was called a Hybrid Biological Reactor (HBR). A reactor without added fireclay was used as a control. Efficiency parameters such as COD, MLVSS and nitrate were measured in the control and HBR reactors according to standard methods. The average concentration of biomass in the HBR reactor was greater than in the control reactor. The total biomass concentration in the HBR reactor (2.25 g l(-1) fireclay) in the continuous mode was 3,000 mg l(-1) and in the batch mode was 2,400 mg l(-1). The attached biomass concentration in the HBR reactor (2.25 g l(-1) fireclay) in the continuous mode was 1,500 mg l(-1) and in the batch mode was 980 mg l(-1). Efficiency for COD removal in the HBR and control reactor was 95 and 55%, respectively. In the HBR reactor, nitrification was enhanced, and the concentration of nitrate was increased by 80%. By increasing the fireclay dose, total and attached biomass was increased. By adding fireclay as a biomass carrier, the efficiency of an activated sludge system to treat wastewater from ceramic manufacturing plants was increased.

Anaerobic digestion of orange peel in a semi-continuous pilot plant: An environmentally sound way of citrus waste management in agro-ecosystems.

PubMed

Zema, Demetrio A; Fòlino, Adele; Zappia, Giovanni; Calabrò, Paolo S; Tamburino, Vincenzo; Zimbone, Santo Marcello

2018-07-15

The management of residues of citrus processing involves economic and environmental problems. In particular, the uncontrolled disposal of citrus processing waste near production sites can have heavy impacts on air, soil, surface water bodies and groundwater. Anaerobic digestion has been proposed as a viable alternative for citrus waste valorisation, if some problems, linked to the biochemical processes, are overcome. Although many experimental tests have studied the inhibitory effects of the high essential oil content of orange peel on biomethanisation processes, fewer experiences have been carried out in continuous or semi-continuous pilot digesters, more similar to the full-scale biogas plants, using real orange peel. This study has evaluated the methane production through anaerobic digestion of industrial orange peel using a pilot plant (84L) with semi-continuous feeding at increasing Organic Loading Rates (OLR) and essential oil (EO) supply rates (EOsr) until the complete process inhibition. Under mesophilic conditions, the highest daily specific methane yield was achieved at OLR of 1.0g TVS L -1 d -1 and EOsr of 47.6mgL -1 d -1 . Partial inhibition of the anaerobic digestion was detected at OLR and EOsr of 1.98g TVS L -1 d -1 and 88.1mgL -1 d -1 , respectively and the process irreversibly stopped when OLR and EOsr reached 2.5g TVS L -1 d -1 and 111.2mgL -1 d -1 , respectively. Under thermophilic conditions, the cumulative methane production (0.12Lg TVS -1 ) was about 25% of that under mesophilic conditions (0.46Lg TVS -1 ). The thermophilic digestion was completely inhibited at lower OLR (1.98g TVS L -1 d -1 ) and EOsr (88.1mgL -1 d -1 ) compared to mesophilic conditions. This study confirmed the suitability of anaerobic digestion of orange peel for biomethane production (provided that the right management of the process is set), in view of an environmentally sound way of agricultural residues management in agro-ecosystems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Putting the Spotlight Back on Plant Suspension Cultures

PubMed Central

Santos, Rita B.; Abranches, Rita; Fischer, Rainer; Sack, Markus; Holland, Tanja

2016-01-01

Plant cell suspension cultures have several advantages that make them suitable for the production of recombinant proteins. They can be cultivated under aseptic conditions using classical fermentation technology, they are easy to scale-up for manufacturing, and the regulatory requirements are similar to those established for well-characterized production systems based on microbial and mammalian cells. It is therefore no surprise that taliglucerase alfa (Elelyso®)—the first licensed recombinant pharmaceutical protein derived from plants—is produced in plant cell suspension cultures. But despite this breakthrough, plant cells are still largely neglected compared to transgenic plants and the more recent plant-based transient expression systems. Here, we revisit plant cell suspension cultures and highlight recent developments in the field that show how the rise of plant cells parallels that of Chinese hamster ovary cells, currently the most widespread and successful manufacturing platform for biologics. These developments include medium optimization, process engineering, statistical experimental designs, scale-up/scale-down models, and process analytical technologies. Significant yield increases for diverse target proteins will encourage a gold rush to adopt plant cells as a platform technology, and the first indications of this breakthrough are already on the horizon. PMID:27014320

Multiscale Metabolic Modeling: Dynamic Flux Balance Analysis on a Whole-Plant Scale1[W][OPEN

PubMed Central

Grafahrend-Belau, Eva; Junker, Astrid; Eschenröder, André; Müller, Johannes; Schreiber, Falk; Junker, Björn H.

2013-01-01

Plant metabolism is characterized by a unique complexity on the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. On a whole-plant scale, changing source and sink relations accompanying plant development add another level of complexity to metabolism. With the aim of achieving a spatiotemporal resolution of source-sink interactions in crop plant metabolism, a multiscale metabolic modeling (MMM) approach was applied that integrates static organ-specific models with a whole-plant dynamic model. Allowing for a dynamic flux balance analysis on a whole-plant scale, the MMM approach was used to decipher the metabolic behavior of source and sink organs during the generative phase of the barley (Hordeum vulgare) plant. It reveals a sink-to-source shift of the barley stem caused by the senescence-related decrease in leaf source capacity, which is not sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of sink organs such as the growing seed. The MMM platform represents a novel approach for the in silico analysis of metabolism on a whole-plant level, allowing for a systemic, spatiotemporally resolved understanding of metabolic processes involved in carbon partitioning, thus providing a novel tool for studying yield stability and crop improvement. PMID:23926077

Evaluating impact level of different factors in environmental impact assessment for incinerator plants using GM (1, N) model.

PubMed

Pai, T Y; Chiou, R J; Wen, H H

2008-01-01

In this study, the impact levels in environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports of 10 incinerator plants were quantified and discussed. The relationship between the quantified impact levels and the plant scale factors of BeiTou, LiZe, BaLi, LuTsao, RenWu, PingTung, SiJhou and HsinChu were constructed, and the impact levels of the GangShan (GS) and YongKong (YK) plants were predicted using grey model GM (1, N). Finally, the effects of plant scale factors on impact levels were evaluated using grey model GM (1, N) too. According to the predicted results of GM, the relative errors of topography/geology/soil, air quality, hydrology/water quality, solid waste, noise, terrestrial fauna/flora, aquatic fauna/flora and traffic in the GS plant were 17%, 14%, 15%, 17%, 75%, 16%, 13%, and 37%, respectively. The relative errors of the same environmental items in the YK plant were 1%, 18%, 10%, 40%, 37%, 3%, 25% and 33%, respectively. According to GM (1, N), design capacity (DC) and heat value (HV) were the plant scale factors that affected the impact levels significantly in each environmental item, and thus were the most significant plant scale factors. GM (1, N) was effective in predicting the environmental impact and analyzing the reasonableness of the impact. If there is an EIA for a new incinerator plant to be reviewed in the future, the official committee of the Taiwan EPA could review the reasonableness of impact levels in EIA reports quickly.

Scale and plant invasions: A theory of biotic acceptance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, T.J.; Jarnevich, C.; Chong, G.W.; Evangelista, P.H.

2006-01-01

We examined the relationship between native and alien plant species richness, cover, and estimated biomass at multiple spatial scales. The large dataset included 70511-m2 subplots, 1443 10-m2 subplots, and 727100-m2 subplots, nested in 727 1000-m2 plots in 37 natural vegetation types in seven states in the central United States. We found that native and alien species richness (averaged across the vegetation types) increased significantly with plot area. Furthermore, the relationship between native and alien species richness became increasingly positive and significant from the plant neighbourhood scale (1-m2) to the 10-m2, 100-m2, and the 1000-m2 scale where over 80% of the vegetation types had positive slopes between native and alien species richness. Both native and alien plant species may be responding to increased resource availability and/or habitat heterogeneity with increased area. We found significant positive relationships between the coefficient of variation of native cover in 1-m2 subplots in a vegetation type (i.e. a measure of habitat heterogeneity), and both the relative cover and relative biomass of alien plant species. At the 1000-m2 scale, we did find weak negative relationships between native species richness and the cover, biomass, and relative cover of alien plant species. However, we found very strong positive relationships between alien species richness and the cover, relative cover, and relative biomass of alien species at regional scales. These results, along with many other field studies in natural ecosystems, show that the dominant genera pattern in invasion ecology at multiple spatial scales is one of "biotic acceptance" where natural ecosystems tend to accommodate the establishment and coexistence of introduced species despite the presence and abundance of native species.

The TERRA-PNW Dataset: A New Source for Standardized Plant Trait, Forest Carbon Cycling, and Soil Properties Measurements from the Pacific Northwest US, 2000-2014.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berner, L. T.; Law, B. E.

2015-12-01

Plant traits include physiological, morphological, and biogeochemical characteristics that in combination determine a species sensitivity to environmental conditions. Standardized, co-located, and geo-referenced species- and plot-level measurements are needed to address variation in species sensitivity to climate change impacts and for ecosystem process model development, parameterization and testing. We present a new database of plant trait, forest carbon cycling, and soil property measurements derived from multiple TERRA-PNW projects in the Pacific Northwest US, spanning 2000-2014. The database includes measurements from over 200 forest plots across Oregon and northern California, where the data were explicitly collected for scaling and modeling regional terrestrial carbon processes with models such as Biome-BGC and the Community Land Model. Some of the data are co-located at AmeriFlux sites in the region. The database currently contains leaf trait measurements (specific leaf area, leaf longevity, leaf carbon and nitrogen) from over 1,200 branch samples and 30 species, as well as plot-level biomass and productivity components, and soil carbon and nitrogen. Standardized protocols were used across projects, as summarized in an FAO protocols document. The database continues to expand and will include agricultural crops. The database will be hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORLN) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). We hope that other regional databases will become publicly available to help enable Earth System Modeling to simulate species-level sensitivity to climate at regional to global scales.

Trends and Variability in Temperature Sensitivity of Lilac Flowering Phenology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huanjiong; Dai, Junhu; Rutishauser, This; Gonsamo, Alemu; Wu, Chaoyang; Ge, Quansheng

2018-03-01

The responses of plant phenology to temperature variability have many consequences for ecological processes, agriculture, forestry, and human health. Temperature sensitivity (ST) of phenology could measure how and to what degree plant could phenologically track climate change. The long-term trends and spatial patterns in ST have been well studied for vegetative phenology such as leaf unfolding, but trends to be expected for reproductive phenology in the future remain unknown. Here we investigate trends and factors driving the temporal variation of ST of first bloom date (FBD). Using the long-term FBD records during 1963-2013 for common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) from 613 stations in Europe, we compared changes in ST from the beginning to the end of the study period. The Spearman partial correlations were used to assess the importance of four influencing factors. The results showed that the temporal changes in ST of FBD varied considerably among time scales. Mean ST decreased significantly by 0.92 days °C-1 from 1963-1972 to 2004-2013 (P < 0.01), but remained stable from 1963-1987 to 1989-2013. The strength of FBD and temperature relationship, the spring temperature variance, and winter chill all impact ST in an expected way at most stations. No consistent responses of ST on photoperiod were found. Our results imply that the trends and variability in ST of flowering phenology are driving by multiple factors and impacted by time scales. Continued efforts are still needed to further examine the flowering-temperature relationship for other plant species in other climates and environments using similar methods to our study.

Relative importance of thermal versus carbon dioxide induced warming from fossil-fuel combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X.; Caldeira, K.

2015-12-01

The Earth is heated both when reduced carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide and when outgoing longwave radiation is trapped by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (CO2 greenhouse effect). The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of time scales and relative magnitudes of climate forcing increase over time from pulse, continuous, and historical CO2 and thermal emissions. To estimate the amount of global warming that would be produced by thermal and CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, we calculate thermal emissions with thermal contents of fossil fuels and estimate CO2 emissions with emission factors from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5. We then use a schematic climate model mimicking Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 to investigate the climate forcing and the time-integrated climate forcing. We show that, considered globally, direct thermal forcing from fossil fuel combustion is about 1.71% the radiative forcing from CO2 that has accumulated in the atmosphere from past fossil fuel combustion. When a new power plant comes on line, the radiative forcing from the accumulation of released CO2 exceeds the thermal emissions from the power plant in less than half a year (and about 3 months for coal plants). Due to the long lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere, CO2 radiative forcing greatly overwhelms direct thermal forcing on longer time scales. Ultimately, the cumulative radiative forcing from the CO2 exceeds the direct thermal forcing by a factor of ~100,000.

50 CFR 17.86 - Special rules-plants. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Special rules-plants. [Reserved] 17.86... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS Experimental Populations § 17.86 Special rules—plants. [Reserved] ...

50 CFR 17.86 - Special rules-plants. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Special rules-plants. [Reserved] 17.86... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS Experimental Populations § 17.86 Special rules—plants. [Reserved] ...

50 CFR 17.86 - Special rules-plants. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Special rules-plants. [Reserved] 17.86... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS Experimental Populations § 17.86 Special rules—plants. [Reserved] ...

Rejoinder to Harrison (2008): The myth of plant species saturation

Treesearch

Thomas J. Stohlgren; Curtis Flather; Catherine S. Jarnevich; David T. Barnett; John Kartesz

2008-01-01

We find ourselves in general agreement with many of Harrison's remarks especially since we both find our data present a ' strong case that at county to state scales, exotic plant invasions have led to few native plant extinctions' (emphasis added, Harrison 2007: 000). Where we differ appears related to the breadth of scales to which our conclusions may...

Variance in composition of inquiline communities in leaves of Sarracenia purpurea L. on multiple spatial scales.

PubMed

Harvey, E; Miller, T E

1996-11-01

A survey of the abundances of species that inhabit the water-bearing leaves of the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea was conducted at several different spatial scales in northern Florida. Individual leaves are hosts to communities of inquiline species, including mosquitoes, midges, mites, copepods, cladocerans, and a diverse bacterial assemblage. Inquiline communities were quantified from four pitchers per plant, three plants per subpopulation, two subpopulations per population, and three populations. Species varied in abundance at different spatial scales. Variation in the abundances of mosquitoes and copepods was not significantly associated with any spatial scale. Midges varied in abundance at the level of populations; one population contained significantly more midges than the other two. Cladocerans varied at the level of the subpopulation, whereas mites varied at the level of the individual plants. Bacterial communities were described by means of Biolog plates, which quantify the types of carbon media used by the bacteria in each pitcher. Bacterial communities were found to vary significantly in composition among individual plants but not among populations or subpopulations. These results suggest that independent factors determining the abundances of individual species are important in determining community patterns in pitcher-plant inquilines.

Mountain Plant Community Sentinels: AWOL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malanson, G. P.

2017-12-01

Mountain plant communities are thought to be sensitive to climate change. Because climatic gradients are steep on mountain slopes, the spatial response of plant communities to climate change should be compressed and easier to detect. These expectations have led to identifying mountain plant communities as sentinels for climate change. This idea has, however, been criticized. Two critiques, for alpine treeline and alpine tundra, are rehearsed and supplemented. The critique of alpine treeline as sentinel is bolstered with new model results on the confounding role of dispersal mechanisms and sensitivity to climatic volatility. In alpine tundra, for which background turnover rates have yet to be established, community composition may reflect environmental gradients only for extremes where effects of climate are most indirect. Both plant communities, while primarily determined by energy at broad scales, may respond to water as a proximate driver at local scales. These plant communities may not be in equilibrium with climate, and differently scaled time lags may mean that ongoing vegetation change may not signal ongoing climate change (or lack thereof). In both cases a double-whammy is created by scale dependence for time lags and for drivers leading to confusion, but these cases present opportunities for insights into basic ecology.

Growing Out of Stress: The Role of Cell- and Organ-Scale Growth Control in Plant Water-Stress Responses[OPEN

PubMed Central

Robbins, Neil E.

2016-01-01

Water is the most limiting resource on land for plant growth, and its uptake by plants is affected by many abiotic stresses, such as salinity, cold, heat, and drought. While much research has focused on exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular signaling events governing water-stress responses, it is also important to consider the role organismal structure plays as a context for such responses. The regulation of growth in plants occurs at two spatial scales: the cell and the organ. In this review, we focus on how the regulation of growth at these different spatial scales enables plants to acclimate to water-deficit stress. The cell wall is discussed with respect to how the physical properties of this structure affect water loss and how regulatory mechanisms that affect wall extensibility maintain growth under water deficit. At a higher spatial scale, the architecture of the root system represents a highly dynamic physical network that facilitates access of the plant to a heterogeneous distribution of water in soil. We discuss the role differential growth plays in shaping the structure of this system and the physiological implications of such changes. PMID:27503468

Temporal and spatial scaling of the genetic structure of a vector-borne plant pathogen.

PubMed

Coletta-Filho, Helvécio D; Francisco, Carolina S; Almeida, Rodrigo P P

2014-02-01

The ecology of plant pathogens of perennial crops is affected by the long-lived nature of their immobile hosts. In addition, changes to the genetic structure of pathogen populations may affect disease epidemiology and management practices; examples include local adaptation of more fit genotypes or introduction of novel genotypes from geographically distant areas via human movement of infected plant material or insect vectors. We studied the genetic structure of Xylella fastidiosa populations causing disease in sweet orange plants in Brazil at multiple scales using fast-evolving molecular markers (simple-sequence DNA repeats). Results show that populations of X. fastidiosa were regionally isolated, and that isolation was maintained for populations analyzed a decade apart from each other. However, despite such geographic isolation, local populations present in year 2000 were largely replaced by novel genotypes in 2009 but not as a result of migration. At a smaller spatial scale (individual trees), results suggest that isolates within plants originated from a shared common ancestor. In summary, new insights on the ecology of this economically important plant pathogen were obtained by sampling populations at different spatial scales and two different time points.

Species turnover drives β-diversity patterns across multiple spatial scales of plant-galling interactions in mountaintop grasslands.

PubMed

Coelho, Marcel Serra; Carneiro, Marco Antônio Alves; Branco, Cristina Alves; Borges, Rafael Augusto Xavier; Fernandes, Geraldo Wilson

2018-01-01

This study describes differences in species richness and composition of the assemblages of galling insects and their host plants at different spatial scales. Sampling was conducted along altitudinal gradients composed of campos rupestres and campos de altitude of two mountain complexes in southeastern Brazil: Espinhaço Range and Mantiqueira Range. The following hypotheses were tested: i) local and regional richness of host plants and galling insects are positively correlated; ii) beta diversity is the most important component of regional diversity of host plants and galling insects; and iii) Turnover is the main mechanism driving beta diversity of both host plants and galling insects. Local richness of galling insects and host plants increased with increasing regional richness of species, suggesting a pattern of unsaturated communities. The additive partition of regional richness (γ) into local and beta components shows that local richnesses (α) of species of galling insects and host plants are low relative to regional richness; the beta (β) component incorporates most of the regional richness. The multi-scale analysis of additive partitioning showed similar patterns for galling insects and host plants with the local component (α) incorporated a small part of regional richness. Beta diversity of galling insects and host plants were mainly the result of turnover, with little contribution from nesting. Although the species composition of galling insects and host plant species varied among sample sites, mountains and even mountain ranges, local richness remained relatively low. In this way, the addition of local habitats with different landscapes substantially affects regional richness. Each mountain contributes fundamentally to the composition of regional diversity of galling insects and host plants, and so the design of future conservation strategies should incorporate multiple scales.

Reciprocal interactions between fluvial processes and riparian plants at multiple scales: ecogeomorphic feedbacks drive coevolution of floodplain morphology and vegetation communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stella, J. C.; Kui, L.; Diehl, R. M.; Bywater-Reyes, S.; Wilcox, A. C.; Shafroth, P. B.; Lightbody, A.

2017-12-01

Fluvial forces interact with woody riparian plants in complex ways to influence the coevolution of river morphology and floodplain plant communities. Here, we report on an integrated suite of multi-disciplinary studies that contrast the responses of plants with different morphologies, tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) and cottonwood (Populus fremontii) in terms of (1) differences in vulnerability to scour and burial during floods; (2) interactions and feedbacks between plants and river morphodynamics; and (3) long-term coevolution of river floodplains and riparian communities following flow regulation from dams. The focus of these studies is sand-bed rivers in arid-land regions where invasion by tamarisk has strongly influenced riverine plant communities and geomorphic processes. We complemented a suite of field-scale flume experiments using live seedlings to quantify the initial stages of plant-river interactions with an analysis of long-term vegetation and geomorphic changes along the dammed Bill Williams River (AZ, USA) using time-series air photographs. Vegetation-fluvial interactions varied with plant characteristics, river hydraulics and sediment conditions, across the wide range of scales we investigated. In the flume studies, tamarisk's denser crowns and stiffer stems induced greater sedimentation compared to cottonwood. This resulted in tamarisk's greater mortality from burial as small seedlings under sediment equilibrium conditions but higher relative survival in larger floods under sediment deficit scenarios, in which more cottonwoods were lost to root scour. Sediment deficit conditions, as occurs downstream of dams, induced both greater scour and greater plant loss. With larger size and at higher densities, plants' vulnerability diminished due to greater root anchoring and canopy effects on hydraulics. At the corridor scale, we observed a pattern of plant encroachment during five decades of flow regulation, in which channel narrowing and simplification was more associated with tamarisk-dominated reaches compared with native woodlands. Together, these multi-scale plant-river dynamics help explain the persistence of tamarisk along regulated rivers where catastrophic floods have been reduced and also highlight limitations of using flow releases for invasive species management.

Integrating water and carbon fluxes at the ecosystem scale across African ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merbold, Lutz; Brümmer, Christian; Archibald, Sally; Ardö, Jonas; Arneth, Almut; Brüggemann, Nicolas; de Grandcourt, Agnes; Kergoat, Laurent; Moffat, Antje M.; Mougin, Eric; Nouvellon, Yann; Saint-Andre, Laurent; Saunders, Matthew; Scholes, Robert J.; Veenendaal, Elmar; Kutsch, Werner L.

2013-04-01

In this study we report on water and carbon dioxide fluxes, measured using the eddy covariance (EC) technology, from different ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa. These sites differed in ecosystem type (C3 plant dominated woodlands to C4 plant dominated grass savannas) and covered the very dry regions of the Sahel (250 mm rainfall, Sudan), the tropical areas in Central Africa (1650 mm in Uganda) further south to the subtropical areas in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa (400-900 mm in precipitation). The link between water and carbon dioxide fluxes were evaluated for time periods (see also the corresponding abstract by Bruemmer et al.) without water limitation during the peak growing season. Our results show that plant stomata control ecosystem scale water and carbon dioxide fluxes and mediate between plant growth and plant survival. On continental scale, this switch between maximizing carbon uptake and minimizing water losses, from here on called the "Carbon-Water-Tipping Point" was positively correlated to the mean annual growing season temperature at each site. Even though similar responses of plants were shown at the individual leaf-level scale this has to our knowledge not yet been shown at the ecosystem scale further suggesting a long-term adaptation of the complete ecosystems to certain climatic regions. It remains unclear how this adaption will influence the ecosystem response to ongoing climate change and according temperature increases and changes in precipitation.

Woody Species Diversity in Forest Plantations in a Mountainous Region of Beijing, China: Effects of Sampling Scale and Species Selection

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yuxin; Zhang, Shuang; Ma, Keming; Fu, Bojie; Anand, Madhur

2014-01-01

The role of forest plantations in biodiversity conservation has gained more attention in recent years. However, most work on evaluating the diversity of forest plantations focuses only on one spatial scale; thus, we examined the effects of sampling scale on diversity in forest plantations. We designed a hierarchical sampling strategy to collect data on woody species diversity in planted pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.), planted larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr.), and natural secondary deciduous broadleaf forests in a mountainous region of Beijing, China. Additive diversity partition analysis showed that, compared to natural forests, the planted pine forests had a different woody species diversity partitioning pattern at multi-scales (except the Simpson diversity in the regeneration layer), while the larch plantations did not show multi-scale diversity partitioning patterns that were obviously different from those in the natural secondary broadleaf forest. Compare to the natural secondary broadleaf forests, the effects of planted pine forests on woody species diversity are dependent on the sampling scale and layers selected for analysis. Diversity in the planted larch forest, however, was not significantly different from that in the natural forest for all diversity components at all sampling levels. Our work demonstrated that the species selected for afforestation and the sampling scales selected for data analysis alter the conclusions on the levels of diversity supported by plantations. We suggest that a wide range of scales should be considered in the evaluation of the role of forest plantations on biodiversity conservation. PMID:25545860

Modeling of bleach plant washer mineral scale

Treesearch

Alan Rudie; Peter Hart

2004-01-01

One of the more common areas of mineral scale formation in bleach plants is on washer face wires and the extraction rings of diffusion washers. Whereas most scale problems can be understood as a mixing of two streams that increase the concentrations of anions and cations and exceed a solubility product, washer problems are often more difficult to understand. The...

Real-Time Imaging of Plant Cell Wall Structure at Nanometer Scale, with Respect to Cellulase Accessibility and Degradation Kinetics (Presentation)

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

Ding, S. Y.

Presentation on real-time imaging of plant cell wall structure at nanometer scale. Objectives are to develop tools to measure biomass at the nanometer scale; elucidate the molecular bases of biomass deconstruction; and identify factors that affect the conversion efficiency of biomass-to-biofuels.

3. HOT BED FOR SALEMBROSIUS CONTINUOUS GASFIRED HEAT TREATING LINE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. HOT BED FOR SALEM-BROSIUS CONTINUOUS GAS-FIRED HEAT TREATING LINE AT THE HEAT TREATMENT PLANT OF THE DUQUESNE WORKS. - U.S. Steel Duquesne Works, Heat Treatment Plant, Along Monongahela River, Duquesne, Allegheny County, PA

Circadian rhythms of hydraulic conductance and growth are enhanced by drought and improve plant performance

PubMed Central

Caldeira, Cecilio F.; Jeanguenin, Linda; Chaumont, François; Tardieu, François

2014-01-01

Circadian rhythms enable plants to anticipate daily environmental variations, resulting in growth oscillations under continuous light. Because plants daily transpire up to 200% of their water content, their water status oscillates from favourable during the night to unfavourable during the day. We show that rhythmic leaf growth under continuous light is observed in plants that experience large alternations of water status during an entrainment period, but is considerably buffered otherwise. Measurements and computer simulations show that this is due to oscillations of plant hydraulic conductance and plasma membrane aquaporin messenger RNA abundance in roots during continuous light. A simulation model suggests that circadian oscillations of root hydraulic conductance contribute to acclimation to water stress by increasing root water uptake, thereby favouring growth and photosynthesis. They have a negative effect in favourable hydraulic conditions. Climate-driven control of root hydraulic conductance therefore improves plant performances in both stressed and non-stressed conditions. PMID:25370944

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

Mankamo, T.; Kim, I.S.; Yang, Ji Wu

Failures in the auxiliary feedwater (AFW) system of pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are considered to involve substantial risk whether a decision is made to either continue power operation while repair is being done, or to shut down the plant to undertake repairs. Technical specification action requirements usually require immediate plant shutdown in the case of multiple failures in the system (in some cases, immediate repair of one train is required when all AFW trains fail). This paper presents a probabilistic risk assessment-based method to quantitatively evaluate and compare both the risks of continued power operation and of shutting the plantmore » down, given known failures in the system. The method is applied to the AFW system for four different PWRs. Results show that the risk of continued power operation and plant shutdown both are substantial, but the latter is larger than the former over the usual repair time. This was proven for four plants with different designs: two operating Westinghouse plants, one operating Asea-Brown Boveri Combustion Engineering Plant, and one of evolutionary design. The method can be used to analyze individual plant design and to improve AFW action requirements using risk-informed evaluations.« less

Transfer from long to short photoperiods affects production efficiency of day-neutral rice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldman, K. R.; Mitchell, C. A.

1999-01-01

The day-neutral, semidwarf rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar Ai-Nan-Tsao was grown in a greenhouse under summer conditions using high-pressure sodium lamps to extend the natural photoperiod. After allowing 2 weeks for germination, stand establishment, and thinning to a consistent planting density of 212 plants/m2, stands were maintained under continuous lighting for 35 or 49 days before shifting to 8- or 12-h photoperiods until harvest 76 days after planting. Non-shifted control treatments consisting of 8-, 12-, or 24-h photoperiods also were maintained throughout production. Tiller number increased as duration of exposure to continuous light increased before shifting to shorter photoperiods. However, shoot harvest index and yield efficiency rate were lower for all plants receiving continuous light than for those under the 8- or 12-h photoperiods. Stands receiving 12-h photoperiods throughout production had the highest grain yield per plant and equaled the 8-h-photoperiod control plants for the lowest tiller number per plant. As long as stands were exposed to continuous light, tiller formation continued. Shifting to shorter photoperiods late in the cropping cycle resulted in newly formed tillers that were either sterile or unable to mature grain before harvest. Late-forming tillers also suppressed yield of grain in early-forming tillers, presumably by competing for photosynthate or for remobilized assimilate during senescence. Stands receiving 12-h photoperiods throughout production not only produced the highest grain yield at harvest but had the highest shoot harvest index, which is important for resource-recovery strategies in advanced life-support systems proposed for space.

Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Reports 2 and 3. First and Second Year Poststocking Results. Volume 5. The Herpetofauna of Lake Conway, Florida: Community Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

TEST CHART NATIONAL BVIREAU OF StANARS-1963- I AQUATIC PLANT CONTROL RESEARCH PROGRAM TECHNICAL REPORT A-78-2 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF...Waterways Experiment Station P. 0. Box 631, Vicksburg, Miss. 39180 83 11 01 018 - I ., lit I III I | LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE...No. 3. RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER Technical Report A-78-2 Aa 1 Lj 19 ________5!1___ A. TITLE (Ad Subtitle) LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT S. TYPE

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section 302.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS...

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section 302.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS...

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section 302.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS...

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section 302.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS...

7 CFR 302.2 - Movement of plants and plant products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Movement of plants and plant products. 302.2 Section 302.2 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS...

Assessing vulnerability to invasion by nonnative plant species at multiple spatial scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stohlgren, T.J.; Chong, G.W.; Schell, L.D.; Rimar, K.A.; Otsuki, Yuka; Lee, M.; Kalkhan, M.A.; Villa, C.A.

2002-01-01

Basic information on where nonnative plant species have successfully invaded is lacking. We assessed the vulnerability of 22 vegetation types (25 sets of four plots in nine study areas) to nonnative plant invasions in the north–central United States. In general, habitats with high native species richness were more heavily invaded than species-poor habitats, low-elevation areas were more invaded than high-elevation areas, and riparian zones were more invaded than nearby upland sites. For the 100 1000-m2 plots (across all vegetation types), 50% of the variation in nonnative species richness was explained by longitude, latitude, native plant species richness, soil total percentage nitrogen, and mean maximum July temperature (n = 100 plots; P < 0.001). At the vegetation-type scale (n = 25 sets of four 1000-m2 plots/type), 64% of the variation in nonnative species richness was explained by native plant species richness, elevation, and October to June precipitation (P < 0.001). The foliar cover of nonnative species (log) was strongly positively correlated with the nonnative species richness at the plot scale (r = 0.77, P < 0.001) and vegetation-type scale (r = 0.83, P < 0.001). We concluded that, at the vegetation-type and regional scales in the north–central United States, (1) vegetation types rich in native species are often highly vulnerable to invasion by nonnative plant species; (2) where several nonnative species become established, nonnative species cover can substantially increase; (3) the attributes that maintain high native plant species richness (high light, water, nitrogen, and temperatures) also help maintain nonnative plant species richness; and (4) more care must be taken to preserve native species diversity in highly vulnerable habitats.

A Largely Unsatisfied Need: Continuing Professional Development for Process and Process Plant Industries. A Summary. FEU/PICKUP Project Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geldhart, D.; Brown, A. S.

This summary report outlines the aims of a project that focused on provision of short courses for technical professionals in the chemical and allied process industry and the process plant industry. Continuing education needs of both companies and individuals, as well as corporate policies and attitudes toward continuing education and constraints…

Selectivity by host plants affects the distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: evidence from ITS rDNA sequence metadata.

PubMed

Yang, Haishui; Zang, Yanyan; Yuan, Yongge; Tang, Jianjun; Chen, Xin

2012-04-12

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can form obligate symbioses with the vast majority of land plants, and AMF distribution patterns have received increasing attention from researchers. At the local scale, the distribution of AMF is well documented. Studies at large scales, however, are limited because intensive sampling is difficult. Here, we used ITS rDNA sequence metadata obtained from public databases to study the distribution of AMF at continental and global scales. We also used these sequence metadata to investigate whether host plant is the main factor that affects the distribution of AMF at large scales. We defined 305 ITS virtual taxa (ITS-VTs) among all sequences of the Glomeromycota by using a comprehensive maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis. Each host taxonomic order averaged about 53% specific ITS-VTs, and approximately 60% of the ITS-VTs were host specific. Those ITS-VTs with wide host range showed wide geographic distribution. Most ITS-VTs occurred in only one type of host functional group. The distributions of most ITS-VTs were limited across ecosystem, across continent, across biogeographical realm, and across climatic zone. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) showed that AMF community composition differed among functional groups of hosts, and among ecosystem, continent, biogeographical realm, and climatic zone. The Mantel test showed that AMF community composition was significantly correlated with plant community composition among ecosystem, among continent, among biogeographical realm, and among climatic zone. The structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that the effects of ecosystem, continent, biogeographical realm, and climatic zone were mainly indirect on AMF distribution, but plant had strongly direct effects on AMF. The distribution of AMF as indicated by ITS rDNA sequences showed a pattern of high endemism at large scales. This pattern indicates high specificity of AMF for host at different scales (plant taxonomic order and functional group) and high selectivity from host plants for AMF. The effects of ecosystemic, biogeographical, continental and climatic factors on AMF distribution might be mediated by host plants.

GAS/LIQUID MEMBRANES FOR NATURAL GAS UPGRADING

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

Howard S. Meyer

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is conducting this research program whose objective is to develop gas/liquid membranes for natural gas upgrading to assist DOE in achieving their goal of developing novel methods of upgrading low quality natural gas to meet pipeline specifications. Kvaerner Process Systems (KPS) and W. L. Gore & Associates (GORE) gas/liquid membrane contactors are based on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes acting as the contacting barrier between the contaminated gas stream and the absorbing liquid. These resilient membranes provide much greater surface area for transfer than other tower internals, with packing densities five to ten times greater, resulting inmore » equipment 50-70% smaller and lower weight for the same treating service. The scope of the research program is to (1) build and install a laboratory- and a field-scale gas/liquid membrane absorber; (2) operate the units with a low quality natural gas feed stream for sufficient time to verify the simulation model of the contactors and to project membrane life in this severe service; and (3) conducted an economic evaluation, based on the data, to quantify the impact of the technology. Chevron, one of the major producers of natural gas, has offered to host the test at a gas treating plant. KPS will use their position as a recognized leader in the construction of commercial amine plants for building the unit along with GORE providing the membranes. GTI will provide operator and data collection support during lab- and field-testing to assure proper analytical procedures are used. KPS and GTI will perform the final economic evaluation. GTI will provide project management and be responsible for reporting and interactions with DOE on this project. Efforts this quarter have concentrated on field site selection. ChevronTexaco has nominated their Headlee Gas Plant in Odessa, TX for a commercial-scale dehydration test. Potting and module materials testing were initiated. Preliminary design of the bench-scale equipment continues.« less

Pervasive and strong effects of plants on soil chemistry: a meta-analysis of individual plant 'Zinke' effects.

PubMed

Waring, Bonnie G; Álvarez-Cansino, Leonor; Barry, Kathryn E; Becklund, Kristen K; Dale, Sarah; Gei, Maria G; Keller, Adrienne B; Lopez, Omar R; Markesteijn, Lars; Mangan, Scott; Riggs, Charlotte E; Rodríguez-Ronderos, María Elizabeth; Segnitz, R Max; Schnitzer, Stefan A; Powers, Jennifer S

2015-08-07

Plant species leave a chemical signature in the soils below them, generating fine-scale spatial variation that drives ecological processes. Since the publication of a seminal paper on plant-mediated soil heterogeneity by Paul Zinke in 1962, a robust literature has developed examining effects of individual plants on their local environments (individual plant effects). Here, we synthesize this work using meta-analysis to show that plant effects are strong and pervasive across ecosystems on six continents. Overall, soil properties beneath individual plants differ from those of neighbours by an average of 41%. Although the magnitudes of individual plant effects exhibit weak relationships with climate and latitude, they are significantly stronger in deserts and tundra than forests, and weaker in intensively managed ecosystems. The ubiquitous effects of plant individuals and species on local soil properties imply that individual plant effects have a role in plant-soil feedbacks, linking individual plants with biogeochemical processes at the ecosystem scale. © 2015 The Author(s).

A whole-plant chamber system for parallel gas exchange measurements of Arabidopsis and other herbaceous species.

PubMed

Kölling, Katharina; George, Gavin M; Künzli, Roland; Flütsch, Patrick; Zeeman, Samuel C

2015-01-01

Photosynthetic assimilation of carbon is a defining feature of the plant kingdom. The fixation of large amounts of carbon dioxide supports the synthesis of carbohydrates, which make up the bulk of plant biomass. Exact measurements of carbon assimilation rates are therefore crucial due to their impact on the plants metabolism, growth and reproductive success. Commercially available single-leaf cuvettes allow the detailed analysis of many photosynthetic parameters, including gas exchange, of a selected leaf area. However, these cuvettes can be difficult to use with small herbaceous plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana or plants having delicate or textured leaves. Furthermore, data from single leaves can be difficult to scale-up for a plant shoot with a complex architecture and tissues in different physiological states. Therefore, we constructed a versatile system-EGES-1-to simultaneously measure gas exchange in the whole shoots of multiple individual plants. Our system was designed to be able record data continuously over several days. The EGES-1 system yielded comparable measurements for eight plants for up to 6 days in stable, physiologically realistic conditions. The chambers seals have negligible permeability to carbon dioxide and the system is designed so as to detect any bulk-flow air leaks. We show that the system can be used to monitor plant responses to changing environmental conditions, such as changes in illumination or stress treatments, and to compare plants with phenotypically severe mutations. By incorporating interchangeable lids, the system could be used to measure photosynthetic gas exchange in several genera such as Arabidopsis, Nicotiana, Pisum, Lotus and Mesembryanthemum. EGES-1 can be introduced into a variety of growth facilities and measure gas exchange in the shoots diverse plant species grown in different growth media. It is ideal for comparing photosynthetic carbon assimilation of wild-type and mutant plants and/or plants undergoing selected experimental treatments. The system can deliver valuable data for whole-plant growth studies and help understanding mutant phenotypes. Overall, the EGES-1 is complementary to the readily-available single leaf systems that focus more on the photosynthetic process in within the leaf lamina.

Adaptive diversification of growth allometry in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Vasseur, François; Exposito-Alonso, Moises; Ayala-Garay, Oscar J; Wang, George; Enquist, Brian J; Vile, Denis; Violle, Cyrille; Weigel, Detlef

2018-03-27

Seed plants vary tremendously in size and morphology; however, variation and covariation in plant traits may be governed, at least in part, by universal biophysical laws and biological constants. Metabolic scaling theory (MST) posits that whole-organismal metabolism and growth rate are under stabilizing selection that minimizes the scaling of hydrodynamic resistance and maximizes the scaling of resource uptake. This constrains variation in physiological traits and in the rate of biomass accumulation, so that they can be expressed as mathematical functions of plant size with near-constant allometric scaling exponents across species. However, the observed variation in scaling exponents calls into question the evolutionary drivers and the universality of allometric equations. We have measured growth scaling and fitness traits of 451 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions with sequenced genomes. Variation among accessions around the scaling exponent predicted by MST was correlated with relative growth rate, seed production, and stress resistance. Genomic analyses indicate that growth allometry is affected by many genes associated with local climate and abiotic stress response. The gene with the strongest effect, PUB4 , has molecular signatures of balancing selection, suggesting that intraspecific variation in growth scaling is maintained by opposing selection on the trade-off between seed production and abiotic stress resistance. Our findings suggest that variation in allometry contributes to local adaptation to contrasting environments. Our results help reconcile past debates on the origin of allometric scaling in biology and begin to link adaptive variation in allometric scaling to specific genes. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Adaptive diversification of growth allometry in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana

PubMed Central

Vasseur, François; Ayala-Garay, Oscar J.; Wang, George; Enquist, Brian J.; Vile, Denis; Violle, Cyrille

2018-01-01

Seed plants vary tremendously in size and morphology; however, variation and covariation in plant traits may be governed, at least in part, by universal biophysical laws and biological constants. Metabolic scaling theory (MST) posits that whole-organismal metabolism and growth rate are under stabilizing selection that minimizes the scaling of hydrodynamic resistance and maximizes the scaling of resource uptake. This constrains variation in physiological traits and in the rate of biomass accumulation, so that they can be expressed as mathematical functions of plant size with near-constant allometric scaling exponents across species. However, the observed variation in scaling exponents calls into question the evolutionary drivers and the universality of allometric equations. We have measured growth scaling and fitness traits of 451 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions with sequenced genomes. Variation among accessions around the scaling exponent predicted by MST was correlated with relative growth rate, seed production, and stress resistance. Genomic analyses indicate that growth allometry is affected by many genes associated with local climate and abiotic stress response. The gene with the strongest effect, PUB4, has molecular signatures of balancing selection, suggesting that intraspecific variation in growth scaling is maintained by opposing selection on the trade-off between seed production and abiotic stress resistance. Our findings suggest that variation in allometry contributes to local adaptation to contrasting environments. Our results help reconcile past debates on the origin of allometric scaling in biology and begin to link adaptive variation in allometric scaling to specific genes. PMID:29540570

7. VIEW OF THE HOT BED FOR THE CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

7. VIEW OF THE HOT BED FOR THE CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC FURNACE HEAT TREATING LINE AT THE HEAT TREATMENT PLANT OF THE DUQUESNE WORKS. - U.S. Steel Duquesne Works, Heat Treatment Plant, Along Monongahela River, Duquesne, Allegheny County, PA

Cultivation of Chlorella protothecoides with urban wastewater in continuous photobioreactor: biomass productivity and nutrient removal.

PubMed

Ramos Tercero, E A; Sforza, E; Morandini, M; Bertucco, A

2014-02-01

The capability to grow microalgae in nonsterilized wastewater is essential for an application of this technology in an actual industrial process. Batch experiments were carried out with the species in nonsterilized urban wastewater from local treatment plants to measure both the algal growth and the nutrient consumption. Chlorella protothecoides showed a high specific growth rate (about 1 day(-1)), and no effects of bacterial contamination were observed. Then, this microalgae was grown in a continuous photobioreactor with CO₂-air aeration in order to verify the feasibility of an integrated process of the removal of nutrient from real wastewaters. Different residence times were tested, and biomass productivity and nutrients removal were measured. A maximum of microalgae productivity was found at around 0.8 day of residence time in agreement with theoretical expectation in the case of light-limited cultures. In addition, N-NH₄ and P-PO₄ removal rates were determined in order to model the kinetic of nutrients uptake. Results from batch and continuous experiments were used to propose an integrated process scheme of wastewater treatment at industrial scale including a section with C. protothecoides.

Comparative water use of native and invasive plants at multiple scales: a global meta-analysis.

PubMed

Cavaleri, Molly A; Sack, Lawren

2010-09-01

Ecohydrology and invasive ecology have become increasingly important in the context of global climate change. This study presents the first in-depth analysis of the water use of invasive and native plants of the same growth form at multiple scales: leaf, plant, and ecosystem. We reanalyzed data for several hundred native and invasive species from over 40 published studies worldwide to glean global trends and to highlight how patterns vary depending on both scale and climate. We analyzed all pairwise combinations of co-occurring native and invasive species for higher comparative resolution of the likelihood of an invasive species using more water than a native species and tested for significance using bootstrap methods. At each scale, we found several-fold differences in water use between specific paired invasive and native species. At the leaf scale, we found a strong tendency for invasive species to have greater stomatal conductance than native species. At the plant scale, however, natives and invasives were equally likely to have the higher sap flow rates. Available data were much fewer for the ecosystem scale; nevertheless, we found that invasive-dominated ecosystems were more likely to have higher sap flow rates per unit ground area than native-dominated ecosystems. Ecosystem-scale evapotranspiration, on the other hand, was equally likely to be greater for systems dominated by invasive and native species of the same growth form. The inherent disconnects in the determination of water use when changing scales from leaf to plant to ecosystem reveal hypotheses for future studies and a critical need for more ecosystem-scale water use measurements in invasive- vs. native-dominated systems. The differences in water use of native and invasive species also depended strongly on climate, with the greater water use of invasives enhanced in hotter, wetter climates at the coarser scales.

Predicting habitat suitability for rare plants at local spatial scales using a species distribution model.

PubMed

Gogol-Prokurat, Melanie

2011-01-01

If species distribution models (SDMs) can rank habitat suitability at a local scale, they may be a valuable conservation planning tool for rare, patchily distributed species. This study assessed the ability of Maxent, an SDM reported to be appropriate for modeling rare species, to rank habitat suitability at a local scale for four edaphic endemic rare plants of gabbroic soils in El Dorado County, California, and examined the effects of grain size, spatial extent, and fine-grain environmental predictors on local-scale model accuracy. Models were developed using species occurrence data mapped on public lands and were evaluated using an independent data set of presence and absence locations on surrounding lands, mimicking a typical conservation-planning scenario that prioritizes potential habitat on unsurveyed lands surrounding known occurrences. Maxent produced models that were successful at discriminating between suitable and unsuitable habitat at the local scale for all four species, and predicted habitat suitability values were proportional to likelihood of occurrence or population abundance for three of four species. Unfortunately, models with the best discrimination (i.e., AUC) were not always the most useful for ranking habitat suitability. The use of independent test data showed metrics that were valuable for evaluating which variables and model choices (e.g., grain, extent) to use in guiding habitat prioritization for conservation of these species. A goodness-of-fit test was used to determine whether habitat suitability values ranked habitat suitability on a continuous scale. If they did not, a minimum acceptable error predicted area criterion was used to determine the threshold for classifying habitat as suitable or unsuitable. I found a trade-off between model extent and the use of fine-grain environmental variables: goodness of fit was improved at larger extents, and fine-grain environmental variables improved local-scale accuracy, but fine-grain variables were not available at large extents. No single model met all habitat prioritization criteria, and the best models were overlaid to identify consensus areas of high suitability. Although the four species modeled here co-occur and are treated together for conservation planning, model accuracy and predicted suitable areas varied among species.

Improving the City-scale Emission Inventory of Anthropogenic Air Pollutants: A Case Study of Nanjing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, L.; Zhao, Y.; Xu, R.; Xie, F.; Wang, H.; Qin, H.; Wu, X.; Zhang, J.

2014-12-01

To evaluate the improvement of city-scale emission inventory, a high-resolution emission inventory of air pollutants for Nanjing is first developed combining detailed source information, and then justified through quantitative analysis with observations. The best available domestic emission factors and unit-/facility-based activity level data were compiled based on a thorough field survey on major emission sources. Totally 1089 individual emission sources were identified as point sources and all the emission-related parameters including burner type, combustion technology, fuel quality, and removal efficiency of pollution control devices, are carefully investigated and analyzed. Some new data such as detailed information of city fueling-gas stations, construction sites, monthly activity level, data from continuous emission monitoring systems and traffic flow information were combined to improve spatiotemporal distribution of this inventory. For SO2, NOX and CO, good spatial correlations were found between ground observation (9 state controlling air sampling sites in Nanjing) and city-scale emission inventory (R2=0.34, 0.38 and 0.74, respectively). For TSP, PM10 and PM2.5, however, poorer correlation was found due to relatively weaker accuracy in emission estimation and spatial distribution of road dust. The mixing ratios between specific pollutants including OC/EC, BC/CO and CO2/CO, are well correlated between those from ground observation and emission. Compared to MEIC (Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China), there is a better spatial consistence between this city-scale emission inventory and NO2 measured by OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument). In particular, the city-scale emission inventory still correlated well with satellite observations (R2=0.28) while the regional emission inventory showed little correlation with satellite observations (R2=0.09) when grids containing power plants are excluded. It thus confirms the improvement of city-scale emission inventory on industrial and transportation sources other than big power plants. Through the inventory evaluation, the necessity to develop high-resolution emission inventory with comprehensive emission source information is revealed for atmospheric science studies and air quality improvement at local scale.

Economic impact of corrosion and scaling problems in geothermal energy systems

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

Shannon, D.W.

Corrosion and scaling problems have a significant impact on geothermal plant economics. A power plant must amortize the capital investment over a 20-year period and achieve satisfactory operating efficiency to achieve financial success. Corrosion and scale incrustations have been encountered in all geothermal plants, and to various degrees, adversely affected plant life times and power output. Using published data this report analyzes known geothermal corrosion and scaling phenomena for significant cost impacts on plant design and operation. It has been necessary to speculate about causes and mechanisms in order to estimate impacts on conceptual geothermal plants. Silica is highly solublemore » in hot geothermal water and solubility decreases as water is cooled in a geothermal power plant. Calculations indicate as much as 30,000 tons/year could pass through a 100 MWe water cycle plant. The major cost impact will be on the reinjection well system where costs of 1 to 10 mills/kwhr of power produced could accrue to waste handling alone. On the other hand, steam cycle geothermal plants have a definite advantage in that significant silica problems will probably only occur in hot dry rock concepts, where steam above 250 C is produced. Calculation methods are given for estimating the required size and cost impact of a silica filtration plant and for sizing scrubbers. The choice of materials is significantly affected by the pH of the geothermal water, temperature, chloride, and H{sub s} contents. Plant concepts which attempt to handle acid waters above 180 C will be forced to use expensive corrosion resistant alloys or develop specialized materials. On the other hand, handling steam up to 500 C, and pH 9 water up to 180 C appears feasible using nominal cost steels, typical of today's geothermal plants. A number of factors affecting plant or component availability have been identified. The most significant is a corrosion fatigue problem in geothermal turbines at the Geyser's geothermal plant which is presently reducing plant output by about 10%. This is equivalent to over $3 million per year in increased oil consumption to replace the power. In the course of assessing the cost implications of corrosion and scaling problems, a number of areas of technological uncertainty were identified which should be considered in R and D planning in support of geothermal energy. Materials development with both laboratory and field testing will be necessary. The economic analysis on which this report is based was done in support of an AEC Division of Applied Technology program to assess the factors affecting geothermal plant economics. The results of this report are to be used to develop computer models of overall plant economics, of which corrosion and scaling problems are only a part. The translation of the economic analysis to the report which appears here, was done on AEC Special Studies Funds.« less

A new dawn for industrial photosynthesis.

PubMed

Robertson, Dan E; Jacobson, Stuart A; Morgan, Frederick; Berry, David; Church, George M; Afeyan, Noubar B

2011-03-01

Several emerging technologies are aiming to meet renewable fuel standards, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and provide viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Direct conversion of solar energy into fungible liquid fuel is a particularly attractive option, though conversion of that energy on an industrial scale depends on the efficiency of its capture and conversion. Large-scale programs have been undertaken in the recent past that used solar energy to grow innately oil-producing algae for biomass processing to biodiesel fuel. These efforts were ultimately deemed to be uneconomical because the costs of culturing, harvesting, and processing of algal biomass were not balanced by the process efficiencies for solar photon capture and conversion. This analysis addresses solar capture and conversion efficiencies and introduces a unique systems approach, enabled by advances in strain engineering, photobioreactor design, and a process that contradicts prejudicial opinions about the viability of industrial photosynthesis. We calculate efficiencies for this direct, continuous solar process based on common boundary conditions, empirical measurements and validated assumptions wherein genetically engineered cyanobacteria convert industrially sourced, high-concentration CO(2) into secreted, fungible hydrocarbon products in a continuous process. These innovations are projected to operate at areal productivities far exceeding those based on accumulation and refining of plant or algal biomass or on prior assumptions of photosynthetic productivity. This concept, currently enabled for production of ethanol and alkane diesel fuel molecules, and operating at pilot scale, establishes a new paradigm for high productivity manufacturing of nonfossil-derived fuels and chemicals.

Can sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence track diurnal variations of GPP in an evergreen needle leaf forest?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Ryu, Y.; Dechant, B.; Cho, S.; Kim, H. S.; Yang, K.

2017-12-01

The emerging technique of remotely sensed sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) has advanced our ability to estimate plant photosynthetic activity at regional and global scales. Continuous observations of SIF and gross primary productivity (GPP) at the canopy scale in evergreen needleleaf forests, however, have not yet been presented in the literature so far. Here, we report a time series of near-surface measurements of canopy-scale SIF, hyperspectral reflectance and GPP during the senescence period in an evergreen needleleaf forest in South Korea. Mean canopy height was 30 m and a hyperspectrometer connected with a single fiber and rotating prism, which measures bi-hemispheric irradiance, was installed 20 m above the canopy. SIF was retrieved in the spectral range 740-790 nm at a temporal resolution of 1 min. We tested different SIF retrieval methods, such as Fraunhofer line depth (FLD), spectral fitting method (SFM) and singular vector decomposition (SVD) against GPP estimated by eddy covariance and absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). We found that the SVD-retrieved SIF signal shows linear relationships with GPP (R2 = 0.63) and APAR (R2 = 0.52) while SFM- and FLD-retrieved SIF performed poorly. We suspect the larger influence of atmospheric oxygen absorption between the sensor and canopy might explain why SFM and FLD methods showed poor results. Data collection will continue and the relationships between SIF, GPP and APAR will be studied during the senescence period.

Hierarchical Learning of Tree Classifiers for Large-Scale Plant Species Identification.

PubMed

Fan, Jianping; Zhou, Ning; Peng, Jinye; Gao, Ling

2015-11-01

In this paper, a hierarchical multi-task structural learning algorithm is developed to support large-scale plant species identification, where a visual tree is constructed for organizing large numbers of plant species in a coarse-to-fine fashion and determining the inter-related learning tasks automatically. For a given parent node on the visual tree, it contains a set of sibling coarse-grained categories of plant species or sibling fine-grained plant species, and a multi-task structural learning algorithm is developed to train their inter-related classifiers jointly for enhancing their discrimination power. The inter-level relationship constraint, e.g., a plant image must first be assigned to a parent node (high-level non-leaf node) correctly if it can further be assigned to the most relevant child node (low-level non-leaf node or leaf node) on the visual tree, is formally defined and leveraged to learn more discriminative tree classifiers over the visual tree. Our experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of our hierarchical multi-task structural learning algorithm on training more discriminative tree classifiers for large-scale plant species identification.

Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations

PubMed Central

Rowley-Conwy, Peter; Layton, Robert

2011-01-01

All forager (or hunter–gatherer) societies construct niches, many of them actively by the concentration of wild plants into useful stands, small-scale cultivation, burning of natural vegetation to encourage useful species, and various forms of hunting, collectively termed ‘low-level food production’. Many such niches are stable and can continue indefinitely, because forager populations are usually stable. Some are unstable, but these usually transform into other foraging niches, not geographically expansive farming niches. The Epipalaeolithic (final hunter–gatherer) niche in the Near East was complex but stable, with a relatively high population density, until destabilized by an abrupt climatic change. The niche was unintentionally transformed into an agricultural one, due to chance genetic and behavioural attributes of some wild plant and animal species. The agricultural niche could be exported with modifications over much of the Old World. This was driven by massive population increase and had huge impacts on local people, animals and plants wherever the farming niche was carried. Farming niches in some areas may temporarily come close to stability, but the history of the last 11 000 years does not suggest that agriculture is an effective strategy for achieving demographic and political stability in the world's farming populations. PMID:21320899

Erato polymnioides - A novel Hg hyperaccumulator plant in ecuadorian rainforest acid soils with potential of microbe-associated phytoremediation.

PubMed

Chamba, Irene; Rosado, Daniel; Kalinhoff, Carolina; Thangaswamy, Selvaraj; Sánchez-Rodríguez, Aminael; Gazquez, Manuel Jesús

2017-12-01

Mercury (Hg) accumulation capacity was assessed in three plant species (Axonopus compressus, Erato polymnioides, and Miconia zamorensis) that grow on soils polluted by artisanal small-scale gold mines in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Individuals of three species were collected at two sampling zones: i) an intensive zone (IZ, 4.8 mg Hg kg -1 of soil) where gold extraction continues to occur, and ii) a natural zone (NZ, 0.19 mg Hg kg -1 of soil). In addition, the percentage of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization was determined in plant roots and seven fungal morphotypes isolated from rhizospheric soil. Results suggest a facilitation role of native and pollution adapted AMF on Hg phytoaccumulation. E.g., E. polymnioides increased Hg accumulation when growing with greater AMF colonization. We concluded that E. polymnioides is a good candidate for the design of microbe-assisted strategies for Hg remediation at gold mining areas. The consortia between E. polymnioides and the AMF isolated in this study could be instrumental to get a deeper understanding of the AMF role in Hg phytoaccumulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deriving leaf mass per area (LMA) from foliar reflectance across a variety of plant species using continuous wavelet analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Tao; Rivard, Benoit; Sánchez-Azofeifa, Arturo G.; Féret, Jean-Baptiste; Jacquemoud, Stéphane; Ustin, Susan L.

2014-01-01

Leaf mass per area (LMA), the ratio of leaf dry mass to leaf area, is a trait of central importance to the understanding of plant light capture and carbon gain. It can be estimated from leaf reflectance spectroscopy in the infrared region, by making use of information about the absorption features of dry matter. This study reports on the application of continuous wavelet analysis (CWA) to the estimation of LMA across a wide range of plant species. We compiled a large database of leaf reflectance spectra acquired within the framework of three independent measurement campaigns (ANGERS, LOPEX and PANAMA) and generated a simulated database using the PROSPECT leaf optical properties model. CWA was applied to the measured and simulated databases to extract wavelet features that correlate with LMA. These features were assessed in terms of predictive capability and robustness while transferring predictive models from the simulated database to the measured database. The assessment was also conducted with two existing spectral indices, namely the Normalized Dry Matter Index (NDMI) and the Normalized Difference index for LMA (NDLMA). Five common wavelet features were determined from the two databases, which showed significant correlations with LMA (R2: 0.51-0.82, p < 0.0001). The best robustness (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 18.97 g/m2 and Bias = 0.12 g/m2) was obtained using a combination of two low-scale features (1639 nm, scale 4) and (2133 nm, scale 5), the first being predominantly important. The transferability of the wavelet-based predictive model to the whole measured database was either better than or comparable to those based on spectral indices. Additionally, only the wavelet-based model showed consistent predictive capabilities among the three measured data sets. In comparison, the models based on spectral indices were sensitive to site-specific data sets. Integrating the NDLMA spectral index and the two robust wavelet features improved the LMA prediction. One of the bands used by this spectral index, 1368 nm, was located in a strong atmospheric water absorption region and replacing it with the next available band (1340 nm) led to lower predictive accuracies. However, the two wavelet features were not affected by data quality in the atmospheric absorption regions and therefore showed potential for canopy-level investigations. The wavelet approach provides a different perspective into spectral responses to LMA variation than the traditional spectral indices and holds greater promise for implementation with airborne or spaceborne imaging spectroscopy data for mapping canopy foliar dry biomass.

Chemical sensing of plant stress at the ecosystem scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karl, T.; Guenther, A.; Turnipseed, A.; Patton, E. G.; Jardine, K.

2008-06-01

Significant ecosystem-scale emissions of methylsalicylate (MeSA), a semivolatile plant hormone thought to act as the mobile signal for systemic acquired resistance (SAR) (Park et al., 2006), were observed in an agroforest. Our measurements show that plant internal defence mechanisms can be activated in response to temperature stress and are modulated by water availability on large scales. Highest MeSA fluxes (up to 0.25 mg/m2/h) were observed after plants experienced ambient night-time temperatures of ~7.5°C followed by a large daytime temperature increase (e.g. up to 22°C). Under these conditions estimated night-time leaf temperatures were as low as ~4.6°C, likely inducing a response to prevent chilling injury (Ding et al., 2002). Our observations imply that plant hormones can be a significant component of ecosystem scale volatile organic compound (VOC) fluxes (e.g. as high as the total monoterpene (MT) flux) and therefore contribute to the missing VOC budget (de Carlo et al., 2004; Goldstein and Galbally, 2007). If generalized to other ecosystems and different types of stresses these findings suggest that semivolatile plant hormones have been overlooked by investigations of the impact of biogenic VOCs on aerosol formation events in forested regions (Kulmala et al., 2001; Boy et al., 2000). Our observations show that the presence of MeSA in canopy air serves as an early chemical warning signal indicating ecosystem-scale stresses before visible damage becomes apparent. As a chemical metric, ecosystem emission measurements of MeSA in ambient air could therefore support field studies investigating factors that adversely affect plant growth.

Topical report on sources and systems for aquatic plant biomass as an energy resource

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

Goldman, J.C.; Ryther, J.H.; Waaland, R.

1977-10-21

Background information is documented on the mass cultivation of aquatic plants and systems design that is available from the literature and through consultation with active research scientists and engineers. The biology of microalgae, macroalgae, and aquatic angiosperms is discussed in terms of morphology, life history, mode of existence, and ecological significance, as they relate to cultivation. The requirements for growth of these plants, which are outlined in the test, suggest that productivity rates are dependent primarily on the availability of light and nutrients. It is concluded that the systems should be run with an excess of nutrients and with lightmore » as the limiting factor. A historical review of the mass cultivation of aquatic plants describes the techniques used in commercial large-scale operations throughout the world and recent small-scale research efforts. This review presents information on the biomass yields that have been attained to date in various geographical locations with different plant species and culture conditions, emphasizing the contrast between high yields in small-scale operations and lower yields in large-scale operations.« less

Investigation of the falling water flow with evaporation for the passive containment cooling system and its scaling-down criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Cheng; Li, Junming; Li, Le

2018-02-01

Falling water evaporation cooling could efficiently suppress the containment operation pressure during the nuclear accident, by continually removing the core decay heat to the atmospheric environment. In order to identify the process of large-scale falling water evaporation cooling, the water flow characteristics of falling film, film rupture and falling rivulet were deduced, on the basis of previous correlation studies. The influences of the contact angle, water temperature and water flow rates on water converge along the flow direction were then numerically obtained and results were compared with the data for AP1000 and CAP1400 nuclear power plants. By comparisons, it is concluded that the water coverage fraction of falling water could be enhanced by either reducing the surface contact angle or increasing the water temperature. The falling water flow with evaporation for AP1000 containment was then calculated and the feature of its water coverage fraction was analyzed. Finally, based on the phenomena identification of falling water flow for AP1000 containment evaporation cooling, the scaling-down is performed and the dimensionless criteria were obtained.

Laser-mediated perforation of plant cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehner, Martin; Jacobs, Philipp; Esser, Dominik; Schinkel, Helga; Schillberg, Stefan

2007-07-01

The functional analysis of plant cells at the cellular and subcellular levels requires novel technologies for the directed manipulation of individual cells. Lasers are increasingly exploited for the manipulation of plant cells, enabling the study of biological processes on a subcellular scale including transformation to generate genetically modified plants. In our setup either a picosecond laser operating at 1064 nm wavelength or a continuous wave laser diode emitting at 405 nm are coupled into an inverse microscope. The beams are focused to a spot size of about 1.5 μm and the tobacco cell protoplasts are irradiated. Optoporation is achieved when targeting the laser focal spot at the outermost edge of the plasma membrane. In case of the picosecond laser a single pulse with energy of about 0.4 μJ was sufficient to perforate the plasma membrane enabling the uptake of dye or DNA from the surrounding medium into the cytosol. When the ultraviolet laser diode at a power level of 17 mW is employed an irradiation time of 200 - 500 milliseconds is necessary to enable the uptake of macromolecules. In the presence of an EYFP encoding plasmid with a C-terminal peroxisomal signal sequence in the surrounding medium transient transformation of tobacco protoplasts could be achieved in up to 2% of the optoporated cells. Single cell perforation using this novel optoporation method shows that isolated plant cells can be permeabilized without direct manipulation. This is a valuable procedure for cell-specific applications, particularly where the import of specific molecules into plant cells is required for functional analysis.

Impact of climate change on crop nutrient and water use efficiencies.

PubMed

Brouder, Sylvie M; Volenec, Jeffrey J

2008-08-01

Implicit in discussions of plant nutrition and climate change is the assumption that we know what to do relative to nutrient management here and now but that these strategies might not apply in a changed climate. We review existing knowledge on interactive influences of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, temperature and soil moisture on plant growth, development and yield as well as on plant water use efficiency (WUE) and physiological and uptake efficiencies of soil-immobile nutrients. Elevated atmospheric CO(2) will increase leaf and canopy photosynthesis, especially in C3 plants, with minor changes in dark respiration. Additional CO(2) will increase biomass without marked alteration in dry matter partitioning, reduce transpiration of most plants and improve WUE. However, spatiotemporal variation in these attributes will impact agronomic performance and crop water use in a site-specific manner. Nutrient acquisition is closely associated with overall biomass and strongly influenced by root surface area. When climate change alters soil factors to restrict root growth, nutrient stress will occur. Plant size may also change but nutrient concentration will remain relatively unchanged; therefore, nutrient removal will scale with growth. Changes in regional nutrient requirements will be most remarkable where we alter cropping systems to accommodate shifts in ecozones or alter farming systems to capture new uses from existing systems. For regions and systems where we currently do an adequate job managing nutrients, we stand a good chance of continued optimization under a changed climate. If we can and should do better, climate change will not help us.

Co-generation and innovative heat storage systems in small-medium CSP plants for distributed energy production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giaconia, Alberto; Montagnino, Fabio; Paredes, Filippo; Donato, Filippo; Caputo, Giampaolo; Mazzei, Domenico

2017-06-01

CSP technologies can be applied for distributed energy production, on small-medium plants (on the 1 MW scale), to satisfy the needs of local communities, buildings and districts. In this perspective, reliable, low-cost, and flexible small/medium multi-generative CSP plants should be developed. Four pilot plants have been built in four Mediterranean countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, and Italy) to demonstrate the approach. In this paper, the plant built in Italy is presented, with specific innovations applied in the linear Fresnel collector design and the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system, based on a single the use of molten salts but specifically tailored for small scale plants.

Extinction Risk and Diversification Are Linked in a Plant Biodiversity Hotspot

PubMed Central

Davies, T. Jonathan; Smith, Gideon F.; Bellstedt, Dirk U.; Boatwright, James S.; Bytebier, Benny; Cowling, Richard M.; Forest, Félix; Harmon, Luke J.; Muasya, A. Muthama; Schrire, Brian D.; Steenkamp, Yolande; van der Bank, Michelle; Savolainen, Vincent

2011-01-01

It is widely recognized that we are entering an extinction event on a scale approaching the mass extinctions seen in the fossil record. Present-day rates of extinction are estimated to be several orders of magnitude greater than background rates and are projected to increase further if current trends continue. In vertebrates, species traits, such as body size, fecundity, and geographic range, are important predictors of vulnerability. Although plants are the basis for life on Earth, our knowledge of plant extinctions and vulnerabilities is lagging. Here, we disentangle the underlying drivers of extinction risk in plants, focusing on the Cape of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot. By comparing Red List data for the British and South African floras, we demonstrate that the taxonomic distribution of extinction risk differs significantly between regions, inconsistent with a simple, trait-based model of extinction. Using a comprehensive phylogenetic tree for the Cape, we reveal a phylogenetic signal in the distribution of plant extinction risks but show that the most threatened species cluster within short branches at the tips of the phylogeny—opposite to trends in mammals. From analyzing the distribution of threatened species across 11 exemplar clades, we suggest that mode of speciation best explains the unusual phylogenetic structure of extinction risks in plants of the Cape. Our results demonstrate that explanations for elevated extinction risk in plants of the Cape flora differ dramatically from those recognized for vertebrates. In the Cape, extinction risk is higher for young and fast-evolving plant lineages and cannot be explained by correlations with simple biological traits. Critically, we find that the most vulnerable plant species are nonetheless marching towards extinction at a more rapid pace but, surprisingly, independently from anthropogenic effects. Our results have important implications for conservation priorities and cast doubts on the utility of current Red List criteria for plants in regions such as the Cape, where speciation has been rapid, if our aim is to maximize the preservation of the tree-of-life. PMID:21629678

House-plant placement for indoor air purification and health benefits on asthmatics.

PubMed

Kim, Ho-Hyun; Yang, Ji-Yeon; Lee, Jae-Young; Park, Jung-Won; Kim, Kwang-Jin; Lim, Byung-Seo; Lee, Geon-Woo; Lee, Si-Eun; Shin, Dong-Chun; Lim, Young-Wook

2014-01-01

Some plants were placed in indoor locations frequented by asthmatics in order to evaluate the quality of indoor air and examine the health benefits to asthmatics. The present study classified the participants into two groups: households of continuation and households of withdrawal by a quasi-experimental design. The households of continuation spent the two observation terms with indoor plants, whereas the households of withdrawal passed the former observation terms with indoor plants and went through the latter observation term without any indoor plants. The household of continuation showed a continual decrease in the indoor concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the entire observation period, but the household of withdrawal performed an increase in the indoor concentrations of VOCs, except formaldehyde and toluene during the latter observation term after the decrease during the former observation term. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) increased in the households of continuation with the value of 13.9 L/min in the morning and 20.6 L/ min in the evening, but decreased in the households of withdrawal with the value of -24.7 L/min in the morning and -30.2 L/min in the evening in the first experimental season. All of the households exhibited a decrease in the value of PEFR in the second experimental season. Limitations to the generalizability of findings regarding the presence of plants indoors can be seen as a more general expression of such a benefit of human-environment relations.

House-plant placement for indoor air purification and health benefits on asthmatics

PubMed Central

Kim, Ho-Hyun; Yang, Ji-Yeon; Lee, Jae-Young; Park, Jung-Won; Kim, Kwang-Jin; Lim, Byung-Seo; Lee, Geon-Woo; Lee, Si-Eun; Shin, Dong-Chun; Lim, Young-Wook

2014-01-01

Objectives Some plants were placed in indoor locations frequented by asthmatics in order to evaluate the quality of indoor air and examine the health benefits to asthmatics. Methods The present study classified the participants into two groups: households of continuation and households of withdrawal by a quasi-experimental design. The households of continuation spent the two observation terms with indoor plants, whereas the households of withdrawal passed the former observation terms with indoor plants and went through the latter observation term without any indoor plants. Results The household of continuation showed a continual decrease in the indoor concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the entire observation period, but the household of withdrawal performed an increase in the indoor concentrations of VOCs, except formaldehyde and toluene during the latter observation term after the decrease during the former observation term. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) increased in the households of continuation with the value of 13.9 L/min in the morning and 20.6 L/ min in the evening, but decreased in the households of withdrawal with the value of -24.7 L/min in the morning and -30.2 L/min in the evening in the first experimental season. All of the households exhibited a decrease in the value of PEFR in the second experimental season. Conclusions Limitations to the generalizability of findings regarding the presence of plants indoors can be seen as a more general expression of such a benefit of human-environment relations. PMID:25384387

Disentangling the phylogenetic and ecological components of spider phenotypic variation.

PubMed

Gonçalves-Souza, Thiago; Diniz-Filho, José Alexandre Felizola; Romero, Gustavo Quevedo

2014-01-01

An understanding of how the degree of phylogenetic relatedness influences the ecological similarity among species is crucial to inferring the mechanisms governing the assembly of communities. We evaluated the relative importance of spider phylogenetic relationships and ecological niche (plant morphological variables) to the variation in spider body size and shape by comparing spiders at different scales: (i) between bromeliads and dicot plants (i.e., habitat scale) and (ii) among bromeliads with distinct architectural features (i.e., microhabitat scale). We partitioned the interspecific variation in body size and shape into phylogenetic (that express trait values as expected by phylogenetic relationships among species) and ecological components (that express trait values independent of phylogenetic relationships). At the habitat scale, bromeliad spiders were larger and flatter than spiders associated with the surrounding dicots. At this scale, plant morphology sorted out close related spiders. Our results showed that spider flatness is phylogenetically clustered at the habitat scale, whereas it is phylogenetically overdispersed at the microhabitat scale, although phylogenic signal is present in both scales. Taken together, these results suggest that whereas at the habitat scale selective colonization affect spider body size and shape, at fine scales both selective colonization and adaptive evolution determine spider body shape. By partitioning the phylogenetic and ecological components of phenotypic variation, we were able to disentangle the evolutionary history of distinct spider traits and show that plant architecture plays a role in the evolution of spider body size and shape. We also discussed the relevance in considering multiple scales when studying phylogenetic community structure.

Disentangling the Phylogenetic and Ecological Components of Spider Phenotypic Variation

PubMed Central

Gonçalves-Souza, Thiago; Diniz-Filho, José Alexandre Felizola; Romero, Gustavo Quevedo

2014-01-01

An understanding of how the degree of phylogenetic relatedness influences the ecological similarity among species is crucial to inferring the mechanisms governing the assembly of communities. We evaluated the relative importance of spider phylogenetic relationships and ecological niche (plant morphological variables) to the variation in spider body size and shape by comparing spiders at different scales: (i) between bromeliads and dicot plants (i.e., habitat scale) and (ii) among bromeliads with distinct architectural features (i.e., microhabitat scale). We partitioned the interspecific variation in body size and shape into phylogenetic (that express trait values as expected by phylogenetic relationships among species) and ecological components (that express trait values independent of phylogenetic relationships). At the habitat scale, bromeliad spiders were larger and flatter than spiders associated with the surrounding dicots. At this scale, plant morphology sorted out close related spiders. Our results showed that spider flatness is phylogenetically clustered at the habitat scale, whereas it is phylogenetically overdispersed at the microhabitat scale, although phylogenic signal is present in both scales. Taken together, these results suggest that whereas at the habitat scale selective colonization affect spider body size and shape, at fine scales both selective colonization and adaptive evolution determine spider body shape. By partitioning the phylogenetic and ecological components of phenotypic variation, we were able to disentangle the evolutionary history of distinct spider traits and show that plant architecture plays a role in the evolution of spider body size and shape. We also discussed the relevance in considering multiple scales when studying phylogenetic community structure. PMID:24651264

BER-Myriant Succinic Acid Biorefinery

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

Shmorhun, Mark

Myriant Corporation (Myriant) has successfully produced the bioproduct succinic acid by the fermentation of glucose at a commercial scale operation in Lake Providence, Louisiana. The MySAB facility (Myriant Succinic Acid Biorefinery) came on stream in May 2013 and has been producing product since then. The MySAB facility is a demonstration-scale plant, capable of utilizing sorghum grits and commercially available dextrose, to ferment glucose into succinic acid. A downstream processing train has demonstrated the ability to produce an industrial, a standard and a polymer grade product. It consists of cell separation, membrane filtration, continuous chromatography, polishing to remove ionic and colormore » bodies impurities, and final evaporation and crystallization. A by-product of the process is ammonium sulfate which is sold as a liquid fertilizer product. Since 2007 when development work began in the Woburn, Massachusetts R&D laboratories, the succinic acid bio-process has evolved through: Process development (microbiology, fermentation, and downstream) – R&D development laboratories; Piloting efforts at Fermic S.A. de C.V., Mexico City, Mexico – upstream and downstream processes; Design, construction, commissioning, and commercial production operations at the MySAB facility Additionally, Myriant became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PTT Global Chemical Plc., Thailand, in late 2015, their investment into and support of Myriant goes back to 2011. The support of PTT Global Chemical Plc. helped to improve the upstream and downstream processes, and produce significant metric ton quantities of high quality bio-based succinic acid. The product has gone into a number of commercial markets worldwide for customer applications, development and production. The experience base gained via operations at the MySAB facility since May 2013, along with continued R&D development efforts involving Microbiology, Fermentation, and Downstream processes, at both the Woburn, Massachusetts and PTT Global Chemical Plc. Thailand laboratories, positions the company well for future production at the plant and commercialization of new bio-based products. This will be especially important and valuable as the green chemistry business climate continues to take root and flourish.« less

Plant Biodiversity Change Across Scales During the Anthropocene.

PubMed

Vellend, Mark; Baeten, Lander; Becker-Scarpitta, Antoine; Boucher-Lalonde, Véronique; McCune, Jenny L; Messier, Julie; Myers-Smith, Isla H; Sax, Dov F

2017-04-28

Plant communities have undergone dramatic changes in recent centuries, although not all such changes fit with the dominant biodiversity-crisis narrative used to describe them. At the global scale, future declines in plant species diversity are highly likely given habitat conversion in the tropics, although few extinctions have been documented for the Anthropocene to date (<0.1%). Nonnative species introductions have greatly increased plant species richness in many regions of the world at the same time that they have led to the creation of new hybrid polyploid species by bringing previously isolated congeners into close contact. At the local scale, conversion of primary vegetation to agriculture has decreased plant diversity, whereas other drivers of change-e.g., climate warming, habitat fragmentation, and nitrogen deposition-have highly context-dependent effects, resulting in a distribution of temporal trends with a mean close to zero. These results prompt a reassessment of how conservation goals are defined and justified.

Solar plants, environmental degradation and local socioeconomic contexts: A case study in a Mediterranean country

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

Delfanti, Lavinia; Colantoni, Andrea, E-mail: colantoni@unitus.it; Recanatesi, Fabio

Photovoltaic plants developed on rural land are becoming a common infrastructure in the Mediterranean region and may contribute, at least indirectly, to various forms of environmental degradation including landscape deterioration, land take, soil degradation and loss in traditional cropland and biodiversity. Our study illustrates a procedure estimating (i) the extension of ground-mounted photovoltaic fields at the municipal scale in Italy and (ii) inferring the socioeconomic profile of the Italian municipalities experiencing different expansion rates of ground-mounted photovoltaic fields over the last years (2007-2014). The procedure was based on diachronic information derived from official data sources integrated into a geographical decisionmore » support system. Our results indicate that the surface area of ground-mounted photovoltaic fields into rural land grew continuously in Italy between 2007 and 2014 with positive and increasing growth rates observed during 2007-2011 and positive but slightly decreasing growth rates over 2012-2014, as a result of market saturation and policies containing the diffusion of solar plants on greenfields. We found important differences in the density of ground-mounted solar plants between northern and southern Italian municipalities. We identified accessible rural municipalities in southern Italy with intermediate population density and large availability of non-urban land as the most exposed to the diffusion of solar plants on greenfields in the last decade. Our approach is a promising tool to estimate changes in the use of land driven by the expansion of photovoltaic fields into rural land.« less

40 CFR 61.63 - Emission standard for vinyl chloride plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... plants. 61.63 Section 61.63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard... formation and purification: The concentration of vinyl chloride in each exhaust gas stream from any...

40 CFR 61.63 - Emission standard for vinyl chloride plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... plants. 61.63 Section 61.63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard... formation and purification: The concentration of vinyl chloride in each exhaust gas stream from any...

40 CFR 61.63 - Emission standard for vinyl chloride plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... plants. 61.63 Section 61.63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard... formation and purification: The concentration of vinyl chloride in each exhaust gas stream from any...

40 CFR 61.63 - Emission standard for vinyl chloride plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... plants. 61.63 Section 61.63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard... formation and purification: The concentration of vinyl chloride in each exhaust gas stream from any...

40 CFR 61.63 - Emission standard for vinyl chloride plants.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... plants. 61.63 Section 61.63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS National Emission Standard... formation and purification: The concentration of vinyl chloride in each exhaust gas stream from any...

Evidence of shift in C4 species range in central Argentina during the late Holocene

USGS Publications Warehouse

Silva, L.C.R.; Giorgis, M.A.; Anand, M.; Enrico, L.; Perez-Harguindeguy, N.; Falczuk, V.; Tieszen, L.L.; Cabido, M.

2011-01-01

AimMillennial-scale biogeographic changes are well understood in many parts of the world, but little is known about long-term vegetation dynamics in subtropical regions. Here we investigate shifts in C3/C4 plant abundance occurred in central Argentina during the past few millenniaMethodsWe determined present day soil organic matter δ13C signatures of grasslands, shrublands and woodlands, containing different mixtures of C3 and C4 plants. We measured past changes in the relative cover of C3/C4 plants by comparing δ13C values in soil profiles with present day δ13C signatures. We analyzed 14C activity in soil depths that showed major changes in vegetation.ResultsPresent day relative cover of C3/C4 plants determines whole ecosystem δ13C signatures integrated as litter and superficial soil organic matter (R2 = 0.78; p < 0.01). Deeper soils show a consistent shift in δ13C, indicating a continuous replacement of C4 by C3 plants since 3,870 (±210) YBP. During this period, the relative abundance of C3 plants increased 32% (average across sites) with significant changes being observed in all studied ecosystems.ConclusionsOur results show that C4 species were more abundant in the past, but C3 species became dominant during the late Holocene. We identified increases in the relative C3/C4 cover in grasslands, shrublands and woodlands, suggesting a physiological basis for changes in vegetation. The replacement of C4 by C3 plants coincided with changes in climate towards colder and wetter conditions and could represent a climatically driven shift in the C4 species optimum range.

Dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community structure and functioning along a nitrogen enrichment gradient in an alpine meadow ecosystem.

PubMed

Jiang, Shengjing; Liu, Yongjun; Luo, Jiajia; Qin, Mingsen; Johnson, Nancy Collins; Öpik, Maarja; Vasar, Martti; Chai, Yuxing; Zhou, Xiaolong; Mao, Lin; Du, Guozhen; An, Lizhe; Feng, Huyuan

2018-03-30

Nitrogen (N) availability is increasing dramatically in many ecosystems, but the influence of elevated N on the functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in natural ecosystems is not well understood. We measured AM fungal community structure and mycorrhizal function simultaneously across an experimental N addition gradient in an alpine meadow that is limited by N but not by phosphorus (P). AM fungal communities at both whole-plant-community (mixed roots) and single-plant-species (Elymus nutans roots) scales were described using pyro-sequencing, and the mycorrhizal functioning was quantified using a mycorrhizal-suppression treatment in the field (whole-plant-community scale) and a glasshouse inoculation experiment (single-plant-species scale). Nitrogen enrichment progressively reduced AM fungal abundance, changed AM fungal community composition, and shifted mycorrhizal functioning towards parasitism at both whole-plant-community and E. nutans scales. N-induced shifts in AM fungal community composition were tightly linked to soil N availability and/or plant species richness, whereas the shifts in mycorrhizal function were associated with the communities of specific AM fungal lineages. The observed changes in both AM fungal community structure and functioning across an N enrichment gradient highlight that N enrichment of ecosystems that are not P-limited can induce parasitic mycorrhizal functioning and influence plant community structure and ecosystem sustainability. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

Multiscale patterns and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and root-associated soil of a wild perennial herb.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Pil U; Hugerth, Luisa W; Blanchet, F Guillaume; Andersson, Anders F; Lindahl, Björn D; Tack, Ayco J M

2018-03-24

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form diverse communities and are known to influence above-ground community dynamics and biodiversity. However, the multiscale patterns and drivers of AM fungal composition and diversity are still poorly understood. We sequenced DNA markers from roots and root-associated soil from Plantago lanceolata plants collected across multiple spatial scales to allow comparison of AM fungal communities among neighbouring plants, plant subpopulations, nearby plant populations, and regions. We also measured soil nutrients, temperature, humidity, and community composition of neighbouring plants and nonAM root-associated fungi. AM fungal communities were already highly dissimilar among neighbouring plants (c. 30 cm apart), albeit with a high variation in the degree of similarity at this small spatial scale. AM fungal communities were increasingly, and more consistently, dissimilar at larger spatial scales. Spatial structure and environmental drivers explained a similar percentage of the variation, from 7% to 25%. A large fraction of the variation remained unexplained, which may be a result of unmeasured environmental variables, species interactions and stochastic processes. We conclude that AM fungal communities are highly variable among nearby plants. AM fungi may therefore play a major role in maintaining small-scale variation in community dynamics and biodiversity. © 2018 The Authors New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

Crops In Silico: Generating Virtual Crops Using an Integrative and Multi-scale Modeling Platform.

PubMed

Marshall-Colon, Amy; Long, Stephen P; Allen, Douglas K; Allen, Gabrielle; Beard, Daniel A; Benes, Bedrich; von Caemmerer, Susanne; Christensen, A J; Cox, Donna J; Hart, John C; Hirst, Peter M; Kannan, Kavya; Katz, Daniel S; Lynch, Jonathan P; Millar, Andrew J; Panneerselvam, Balaji; Price, Nathan D; Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Raila, David; Shekar, Rachel G; Shrivastava, Stuti; Shukla, Diwakar; Srinivasan, Venkatraman; Stitt, Mark; Turk, Matthew J; Voit, Eberhard O; Wang, Yu; Yin, Xinyou; Zhu, Xin-Guang

2017-01-01

Multi-scale models can facilitate whole plant simulations by linking gene networks, protein synthesis, metabolic pathways, physiology, and growth. Whole plant models can be further integrated with ecosystem, weather, and climate models to predict how various interactions respond to environmental perturbations. These models have the potential to fill in missing mechanistic details and generate new hypotheses to prioritize directed engineering efforts. Outcomes will potentially accelerate improvement of crop yield, sustainability, and increase future food security. It is time for a paradigm shift in plant modeling, from largely isolated efforts to a connected community that takes advantage of advances in high performance computing and mechanistic understanding of plant processes. Tools for guiding future crop breeding and engineering, understanding the implications of discoveries at the molecular level for whole plant behavior, and improved prediction of plant and ecosystem responses to the environment are urgently needed. The purpose of this perspective is to introduce Crops in silico (cropsinsilico.org), an integrative and multi-scale modeling platform, as one solution that combines isolated modeling efforts toward the generation of virtual crops, which is open and accessible to the entire plant biology community. The major challenges involved both in the development and deployment of a shared, multi-scale modeling platform, which are summarized in this prospectus, were recently identified during the first Crops in silico Symposium and Workshop.

Crops In Silico: Generating Virtual Crops Using an Integrative and Multi-scale Modeling Platform

PubMed Central

Marshall-Colon, Amy; Long, Stephen P.; Allen, Douglas K.; Allen, Gabrielle; Beard, Daniel A.; Benes, Bedrich; von Caemmerer, Susanne; Christensen, A. J.; Cox, Donna J.; Hart, John C.; Hirst, Peter M.; Kannan, Kavya; Katz, Daniel S.; Lynch, Jonathan P.; Millar, Andrew J.; Panneerselvam, Balaji; Price, Nathan D.; Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Raila, David; Shekar, Rachel G.; Shrivastava, Stuti; Shukla, Diwakar; Srinivasan, Venkatraman; Stitt, Mark; Turk, Matthew J.; Voit, Eberhard O.; Wang, Yu; Yin, Xinyou; Zhu, Xin-Guang

2017-01-01

Multi-scale models can facilitate whole plant simulations by linking gene networks, protein synthesis, metabolic pathways, physiology, and growth. Whole plant models can be further integrated with ecosystem, weather, and climate models to predict how various interactions respond to environmental perturbations. These models have the potential to fill in missing mechanistic details and generate new hypotheses to prioritize directed engineering efforts. Outcomes will potentially accelerate improvement of crop yield, sustainability, and increase future food security. It is time for a paradigm shift in plant modeling, from largely isolated efforts to a connected community that takes advantage of advances in high performance computing and mechanistic understanding of plant processes. Tools for guiding future crop breeding and engineering, understanding the implications of discoveries at the molecular level for whole plant behavior, and improved prediction of plant and ecosystem responses to the environment are urgently needed. The purpose of this perspective is to introduce Crops in silico (cropsinsilico.org), an integrative and multi-scale modeling platform, as one solution that combines isolated modeling efforts toward the generation of virtual crops, which is open and accessible to the entire plant biology community. The major challenges involved both in the development and deployment of a shared, multi-scale modeling platform, which are summarized in this prospectus, were recently identified during the first Crops in silico Symposium and Workshop. PMID:28555150

Feasibility study for thermal treatment of solid tire wastes in Bangladesh by using pyrolysis technology

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

Islam, M.R., E-mail: mrislam1985@yahoo.com; Joardder, M.U.H.; Hasan, S.M.

2011-09-15

In this study on the basis of lab data and available resources in Bangladesh, feasibility study has been carried out for pyrolysis process converting solid tire wastes into pyrolysis oils, solid char and gases. The process considered for detailed analysis was fixed-bed fire-tube heating pyrolysis reactor system. The comparative techno-economic assessment was carried out in US$ for three different sizes plants: medium commercial scale (144 tons/day), small commercial scale (36 tons/day), pilot scale (3.6 tons/day). The assessment showed that medium commercial scale plant was economically feasible, with the lowest unit production cost than small commercial and pilot scale plants formore » the production of crude pyrolysis oil that could be used as boiler fuel oil and for the production of upgraded liquid-products.« less

PLANT-SCALE DEMONSTRATION OF SLUDGE INCINERATOR FUEL REDUCTION

EPA Science Inventory

A plant-scale demonstration was conducted on 8 sewage sludge incinerators at Indianapolis, Indiana to reduce fuel consumption. More efficient operating mode of operation was developed, instrumentation and controls were added and an operator training program was conducted to reduc...

A new framework to increase the efficiency of large-scale solar power plants.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alimohammadi, Shahrouz; Kleissl, Jan P.

2015-11-01

A new framework to estimate the spatio-temporal behavior of solar power is introduced, which predicts the statistical behavior of power output at utility scale Photo-Voltaic (PV) power plants. The framework is based on spatio-temporal Gaussian Processes Regression (Kriging) models, which incorporates satellite data with the UCSD version of the Weather and Research Forecasting model. This framework is designed to improve the efficiency of the large-scale solar power plants. The results are also validated from measurements of the local pyranometer sensors, and some improvements in different scenarios are observed. Solar energy.

Minnesota wood energy scale-up project 1994 establishment cost data

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

Downing, M.; Pierce, R.; Kroll, T.

1996-03-18

The Minnesota Wood Energy Scale-up Project began in late 1993 with the first trees planted in the spring of 1994. The purpose of the project is to track and monitor economic costs of planting, maintaining and monitoring larger scale commercial plantings. For 15 years, smaller scale research plantings of hybrid poplar have been used to screen for promising, high-yielding poplar clones. In this project 1000 acres of hybrid poplar trees were planted on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land near Alexandria, Minnesota in 1994. The fourteen landowners involved re-contracted with the CRP for five-year extensions of their existing 10-year contracts. Thesemore » extended contracts will expire in 2001, when the plantings are 7 years old. The end use for the trees planted in the Minnesota Wood Energy Scale-up Project is undetermined. They will belong to the owner of the land on which they are planted. There are no current contracts in place for the wood these trees are projected to supply. The structure of the wood industry in the Minnesota has changed drastically over the past 5 years. Stumpage values for fiber have risen to more than $20 per cord in some areas raising the possibility that these trees could be used for fiber rather than energy. Several legislative mandates have forced the State of Minnesota to pursue renewable energy including biomass energy. These mandates, a potential need for an additional 1700 MW of power by 2008 by Northern States Power, and agricultural policies will all affect development of energy markets for wood produced much like agricultural crops. There has been a tremendous amount of local and international interest in the project. Contractual negotiations between area landowners, the CRP, a local Resource Conservation and Development District, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and others are currently underway for additional planting of 1000 acres in spring 1995.« less

Full Scale Evaluation of How Task-Based Overview Displays Impact Operator Workload and Situation Awareness When in Emergency Procedure Space

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

Spielman, Zachary; Hill, Racheal; LeBlanc, Katya

Control room modernization is critical to extending the life of the 99 operating commercial nuclear power plants (NPP) within the United States. However, due to the lack of evidence demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of recent candidate technologies, current NPP control rooms operate without the benefit of various newer technologies now available. As nuclear power plants begin to extend their licenses to continue operating for another 20 years, there is increased interest in modernizing the control room and supplementing the existing control boards with advanced technologies. As part of a series of studies investigating the benefits of advanced control roommore » technologies, the researchers conducted an experimental study to observe the effect of Task-Based Overview Displays (TODs) on operator workload and situation awareness (SA) while completing typical operating scenarios. Researchers employed the Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART) and the NASA Task Load Index (TLX) as construct measures.« less

Short term effects of copper, sulfadiazine and difloxacin on the anaerobic digestion of pig manure at low organic loading rates.

PubMed

Guo, Jianbin; Ostermann, Anne; Siemens, Jan; Dong, Renjie; Clemens, Joachim

2012-01-01

Antibiotics of inorganic and organic origin in pig manure can inhibit the anaerobic process in biogas plants. The influence of three frequently used antibiotics, copper dosed as CuSO(4), sulfadiazine (SDZ), and difloxacin (DIF), on the anaerobic digestion process of pig manure was studied in semi-continuous experiments. Biogas production recovered after every Cu dosage up to a sum of 12.94g Cukg(-1) organic dry matter (ODM), probably due to Cu precipitation following the formation of sulphide from sulphate. Complete inhibition was found at the very high Cu concentration of 19.40g Cukg(-1) ODM. Inhibitory effect of SDZ and DIF was observed at concentrations as high as 2.70gkg(-1) ODM and 0.54gkg(-1) ODM, respectively. It seems very unlikely that the antibiotics tested would inhibit the anaerobic process in a full-scale biogas plant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phytoremediation of hazardous wastes. Technical report, 23--26 July 1995

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

McCutcheon, S.C.; Wolfe, N.L.; Carreria, L.H.

1995-07-26

A new and innovative approach to phytoremediation (the use of plants to degrade hazardous contaminants) was developed. The new approach to phytoremediation involves rigorous pathway analyses, mass balance determinations, and identification of specific enzymes that break down trinitrotoluene (TNT), other explosives (RDX and HMX), nitrobenzene, and chlorinated solvents (e.g., TCE and PCE) (EPA 1994). As a good example, TNT is completely and rapidly degraded by nitroreductase and laccase enzymes. The aromatic ring is broken and the carbon in the ring fragments is incorporated into new plant fiber, as part of the natural lignification process. Half lives for TNT degradation approachmore » 1 hr or less under ideal laboratory conditions. Continuous-flow pilot studies indicate that scale up residence times in created wetlands may be two to three times longer than in laboratory batch studies. The use of created wetlands and land farming techniques guided by rigorous field biochemistry and ecology promises to be a vital part of a newly evolving field, ecological engineering.« less

Phytoremediation of hazardous wastes

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

McCutcheon, S.C.; Wolfe, N.L.; Carreria, L.H.

1995-11-01

A new and innovative approach to phytoremediation (the use of plants to degrade hazardous contaminants) was developed. The new approach to phytoremediation involves rigorous pathway analyses, mass balance determinations, and identification of specific enzymes that break down trinitrotoluene (TNT), other explosives (RDX and HMX), nitrobenzene, and chlorinated solvents (e.g., TCE and PCE) (EPA 1994). As a good example, TNT is completely and rapidly degraded by nitroreductase and laccase enzymes. The aromatic ring is broken and the carbon in the ring fragments is incorporated into new plant fiber, as part of the natural lignification process. Half lives for TNT degradation approachmore » 1 hr or less under ideal laboratory conditions. Continuous-flow pilot studies indicate that scale up residence times in created wetlands may be two to three times longer than in laboratory batch studies. The use of created wetlands and land farming techniques guided by rigorous field biochemistry and ecology promises to be a vital part of a newly evolving field, ecological engineering.« less

Enzymatic production and in situ separation of natural β-ionone from β-carotene.

PubMed

Nacke, Christoph; Hüttmann, Sonja; Etschmann, Maria M W; Schrader, Jens

2012-12-01

A biotechnological process concept for generation and in situ separation of natural β-ionone from β-carotene is presented. The process employs carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs), a plant-derived iron-containing nonheme enzyme family requiring only dissolved oxygen as cosubstrate and no additional cofactors. Organophilic pervaporation was found to be very well suited for continuous in situ separation of β-ionone. Its application led to a highly pure product despite the complexity of the reaction solution containing cell homogenates. Among three different pervaporation membrane types tested, a polyoctylmethylsiloxane active layer on a porous polyetherimide support led to the best results. A laboratory-scale demonstration plant was set up, and a highly pure aqueous-ethanolic solution of β-ionone was produced from β-carotene. The described process permits generation of high-value flavor and fragrance compounds bearing the desired label "natural" according to US and European food and safety regulations and demonstrates the potential of CCD enzymes for selective oxidative cleavage of carotenoids.

On-field study of anaerobic digestion full-scale plants (part I): an on-field methodology to determine mass, carbon and nutrients balance.

PubMed

Schievano, Andrea; D'Imporzano, Giuliana; Salati, Silvia; Adani, Fabrizio

2011-09-01

The mass balance (input/output mass flows) of full-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) processes should be known for a series of purposes, e.g. to understand carbon and nutrients balances, to evaluate the contribution of AD processes to elemental cycles, especially when digestates are applied to agricultural land and to measure the biodegradation yields and the process efficiency. In this paper, three alternative methods were studied, to determine the mass balance in full-scale processes, discussing their reliability and applicability. Through a 1-year survey on three full-scale AD plants and through 38 laboratory-scale batch digesters, the congruency of the considered methods was demonstrated and a linear equation was provided that allows calculating the wet weight losses (WL) from the methane produced (MP) by the plant (WL=41.949*MP+20.853, R(2)=0.950, p<0.01). Additionally, this new tool was used to calculate carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium balances of the three observed AD plants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 330.202 - Consideration of applications for permits to move plant pests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... plant pests. 330.202 Section 330.202 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FEDERAL PLANT PEST REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.202...

10 CFR 76.68 - Plant changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Plant changes. 76.68 Section 76.68 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) CERTIFICATION OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS Certification § 76.68 Plant changes. (a) The Corporation may make changes to the plant or to the plant's operations as described in...

10 CFR 76.68 - Plant changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Plant changes. 76.68 Section 76.68 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) CERTIFICATION OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS Certification § 76.68 Plant changes. (a) The Corporation may make changes to the plant or to the plant's operations as described in...

10 CFR 76.68 - Plant changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Plant changes. 76.68 Section 76.68 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) CERTIFICATION OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS Certification § 76.68 Plant changes. (a) The Corporation may make changes to the plant or to the plant's operations as described in...

10 CFR 76.68 - Plant changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Plant changes. 76.68 Section 76.68 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) CERTIFICATION OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS Certification § 76.68 Plant changes. (a) The Corporation may make changes to the plant or to the plant's operations as described in...

10 CFR 76.68 - Plant changes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Plant changes. 76.68 Section 76.68 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) CERTIFICATION OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS Certification § 76.68 Plant changes. (a) The Corporation may make changes to the plant or to the plant's operations as described in...

Multi-scale monitoring of landscape change after the 2011 tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, K.; Zhao, Y.; Harada, I.; Tomita, M.; Park, J.; Jung, E.; Kamagata, N.; Hirabuki, Y.

2015-04-01

The Great East Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0; occurred on 11th March 2011) and subsequent huge tsunami caused widespread damage along the Pacific Ocean coast of eastern Honshu, Japan. This research utilizes multi-resolution remote sensing images to clarify the impact on landscapes caused by this disaster, and also to monitor the subsequent survival and recovery process in the Sendai Bay region. The coastal landscape in the target area features a narrow strip of coastal sand barrier, historically stabilized by planted pine groves; backed by a low-lying plain that has traditionally been diked and converted to irrigated rice paddies. Farmsteads on the flat alluvial plain are surrounded by groves called "Igune", consisting primarily of conifers. MODIS data (250 m resolution) were employed to map the overall extent of inundation and damage on the regional landscape scale. The major damage caused by the tsunami, destruction of coastal pine forests and inundation or rice paddies on the plain, was identified at this level. Progressively finer scale analysis were then implemented using SPOT/HRG-2 (10 m resolution) data; GeoEye-1 fine resolution data (0.5 m) and very fine resolution aerial photographs (10 cm) and LiDAR. These results demonstrated the minute details of the damage and recovery process. Some patches of pine forest, for example, were seen to have survived, and some coastal plant communities were already recovering only a year after the disaster. Continuous monitoring using field work and remote sensing is required for balanced regional strategies that provide for economic and social recovery and as well as restoration of vegetation, biodiversity and vital ecosystem services.

Across species-pool aggregation alters grassland productivity and diversity.

PubMed

McKenna, Thomas P; Yurkonis, Kathryn A

2016-08-01

Plant performance is determined by the balance of intra- and interspecific neighbors within an individual's zone of influence. If individuals interact over smaller scales than the scales at which communities are measured, then altering neighborhood interactions may fundamentally affect community responses. These interactions can be altered by changing the number (species richness), abundances (species evenness), and positions (species pattern) of the resident plant species, and we aimed to test whether aggregating species at planting would alter effects of species richness and evenness on biomass production at a common scale of observation in grasslands. We varied plant species richness (2, 4, or 8 species and monocultures), evenness (0.64, 0.8, or 1.0), and pattern (planted randomly or aggregated in groups of four individuals) within 1 × 1 m plots established with transplants from a pool of 16 tallgrass prairie species and assessed plot-scale biomass production and diversity over the first three growing seasons. As expected, more species-rich plots produced more biomass by the end of the third growing season, an effect associated with a shift from selection to complementarity effects over time. Aggregating conspecifics at a 0.25-m scale marginally reduced biomass production across all treatments and increased diversity in the most even plots, but did not alter biodiversity effects or richness-productivity relationships. Results support the hypothesis that fine-scale species aggregation affects diversity by promoting species coexistence in this system. However, results indicate that inherent changes in species neighborhood relationships along grassland diversity gradients may only minimally affect community (meter) - scale responses among similarly designed biodiversity-ecosystem function studies. Given that species varied in their responses to local aggregation, it may be possible to use such species-specific results to spatially design larger-scale grassland communities to achieve desired diversity and productivity responses.

Influence of biofilm formation on corrosion and scaling in geothermal plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleyböcker, Anne; Lerm, Stephanie; Monika, Kasina; Tobias, Lienen; Florian, Eichinger; Andrea, Seibt; Markus, Wolfgramm; Hilke, Würdemann

2017-04-01

Process failures may occur due to corrosion and scaling processes in open loop geothermal systems. Especially after heat extraction, sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) contribute to corrosion processes due to a more favorable temperature for their growth. In biofilms containing FeS scales, corrosion processes are enhanced. Furthermore, scales can lead to reduced pipe profiles, to a diminished heat transfer and a decrease in the wellbore injectivity. Inhibitors are frequently applied to minimize scaling in technical systems. A prerequisite for the application of inhibitors in geothermal plants located in the Molasse basin is their degradability under reservoir conditions, e. g. in a reduced environment. In order to determine the effects of scale-inhibitors on the subsurface and microbial processes, laboratory experiments were performed focusing on the microbial inhibitor degradation. First results indicate that the inhibitor degradation under anaerobic conditions is possible. Besides the inhibitor application also other techniques are investigated to economically reduce corrosion and scaling in geothermal plants. In a mobile bypass system, the influence of biofilm formation on corrosion and scaling was investigated. The bypass system was tested at a geothermal heat store in the North German Basin. The plant is operated with highly saline fluid (salinity 130 g/L) and known to be affected by SRB. The SRB contributed to corrosion damages especially at the pump in the well on the cold side. Heat shocks were successfully used in the bypass system to reduce biofilm formation as well as corrosion and scaling processes.

SHARP pre-release v1.0 - Current Status and Documentation

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

Mahadevan, Vijay S.; Rahaman, Ronald O.

The NEAMS Reactor Product Line effort aims to develop an integrated multiphysics simulation capability for the design and analysis of future generations of nuclear power plants. The Reactor Product Line code suite’s multi-resolution hierarchy is being designed to ultimately span the full range of length and time scales present in relevant reactor design and safety analyses, as well as scale from desktop to petaflop computing platforms. In this report, building on a several previous report issued in September 2014, we describe our continued efforts to integrate thermal/hydraulics, neutronics, and structural mechanics modeling codes to perform coupled analysis of a representativemore » fast sodium-cooled reactor core in preparation for a unified release of the toolkit. The work reported in the current document covers the software engineering aspects of managing the entire stack of components in the SHARP toolkit and the continuous integration efforts ongoing to prepare a release candidate for interested reactor analysis users. Here we report on the continued integration effort of PROTEUS/Nek5000 and Diablo into the NEAMS framework and the software processes that enable users to utilize the capabilities without losing scientific productivity. Due to the complexity of the individual modules and their necessary/optional dependency library chain, we focus on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to autodownload dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion. Such complexity is untenable without strong software engineering processes such as source management, source control, change reviews, unit tests, integration tests and continuous test suites. Details on these processes are provided in the report as a building step for a SHARP user guide that will accompany the first release, expected by Mar 2016.« less

Manufacturing demonstration of microbially mediated zinc sulfide nanoparticles in pilot-plant scale reactors.

PubMed

Moon, Ji-Won; Phelps, Tommy J; Fitzgerald, Curtis L; Lind, Randall F; Elkins, James G; Jang, Gyoung Gug; Joshi, Pooran C; Kidder, Michelle; Armstrong, Beth L; Watkins, Thomas R; Ivanov, Ilia N; Graham, David E

2016-09-01

The thermophilic anaerobic metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 efficiently produces zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) in laboratory-scale (≤ 24-L) reactors. To determine whether this process can be up-scaled and adapted for pilot-plant production while maintaining NP yield and quality, a series of pilot-plant scale experiments were performed using 100-L and 900-L reactors. Pasteurization and N2-sparging replaced autoclaving and boiling for deoxygenating media in the transition from small-scale to pilot plant reactors. Consecutive 100-L batches using new or recycled media produced ZnS NPs with highly reproducible ~2-nm average crystallite size (ACS) and yields of ~0.5 g L(-1), similar to the small-scale batches. The 900-L pilot plant reactor produced ~320 g ZnS without process optimization or replacement of used medium; this quantity would be sufficient to form a ZnS thin film with ~120 nm thickness over 0.5 m width × 13 km length. At all scales, the bacteria produced significant amounts of acetic, lactic, and formic acids, which could be neutralized by the controlled addition of sodium hydroxide without the use of an organic pH buffer, eliminating 98 % of the buffer chemical costs. The final NP products were characterized using XRD, ICP-OES, TEM, FTIR, PL, DLS, HPLC, and C/N analyses, which confirmed that the growth medium without organic buffer enhanced the ZnS NP properties by reducing carbon and nitrogen surface coatings and supporting better dispersivity with similar ACS.

Estimating plant distance in maize using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

PubMed

Zhang, Jinshui; Basso, Bruno; Price, Richard F; Putman, Gregory; Shuai, Guanyuan

2018-01-01

Distance between rows and plants are essential parameters that affect the final grain yield in row crops. This paper presents the results of research intended to develop a novel method to quantify the distance between maize plants at field scale using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Using this method, we can recognize maize plants as objects and calculate the distance between plants. We initially developed our method by training an algorithm in an indoor facility with plastic corn plants. Then, the method was scaled up and tested in a farmer's field with maize plant spacing that exhibited natural variation. The results of this study demonstrate that it is possible to precisely quantify the distance between maize plants. We found that accuracy of the measurement of the distance between maize plants depended on the height above ground level at which UAV imagery was taken. This study provides an innovative approach to quantify plant-to-plant variability and, thereby final crop yield estimates.

40 CFR 60.190 - Applicability and designation of affected facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR NEW STATIONARY SOURCES Standards of Performance for Primary Aluminum Reduction Plants § 60.190 Applicability and designation of affected facility. (a) The affected facilities in primary aluminum reduction plants to which this subpart applies are...

40 CFR 63.7080 - What is the purpose of this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Lime Manufacturing Plants What This... standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for lime manufacturing plants. This subpart also establishes...? 63.7080 Section 63.7080 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR...

40 CFR 63.7080 - What is the purpose of this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Lime Manufacturing Plants What This... standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for lime manufacturing plants. This subpart also establishes...? 63.7080 Section 63.7080 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR...

40 CFR 63.7080 - What is the purpose of this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Lime Manufacturing Plants What This... standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for lime manufacturing plants. This subpart also establishes...? 63.7080 Section 63.7080 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR...

Scale dependency of forest functional diversity assessed using imaging spectroscopy and airborne laser scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, F. D.; Morsdorf, F.; Schmid, B.; Petchey, O. L.; Hueni, A.; Schimel, D.; Schaepman, M. E.

2016-12-01

Forest functional traits offer a mechanistic link between ecological processes and community structure and assembly rules. However, measuring functional traits of forests in a continuous and consistent way is particularly difficult due to the complexity of in-situ measurements and geo-referencing. New imaging spectroscopy measurements overcome these limitations allowing to map physiological traits on broad spatial scales. We mapped leaf chlorophyll, carotenoids and leaf water content over 900 ha of temperate mixed forest (Fig. 1a). The selected traits are functionally important because they are indicating the photosynthetic potential of trees, leaf longevity and protection, as well as tree water and drought stress. Spatially continuous measurements on the scale of individual tree crowns allowed to assess functional diversity patterns on a range of ecological extents. We used indexes of functional richness, divergence and evenness to map different aspects of diversity. Fig. 1b shows an example of physiological richness at an extent of 240 m radius. We compared physiological to morphological diversity patterns, derived based on plant area index, canopy height and foliage height diversity. Our results show that patterns of physiological and morphological diversity generally agree, independently measured by airborne imaging spectroscopy and airborne laser scanning, respectively. The occurrence of disturbance areas and mixtures of broadleaf and needle trees were the main drivers of the observed diversity patterns. Spatial patterns at varying extents and richness-area relationships indicated that environmental filtering is the predominant community assembly process. Our results demonstrate the potential for mapping physiological and morphological diversity in a temperate mixed forest between and within species on scales relevant to study community assembly and structure from space and test the corresponding measurement schemes.

Global associations between terrestrial producer and vertebrate consumer diversity

PubMed Central

Jetz, Walter; Kreft, Holger; Ceballos, Gerardo; Mutke, Jens

2008-01-01

In both ecology and conservation, often a strong positive association is assumed between the diversity of plants as primary producers and that of animals, specifically primary consumers. Such a relationship has been observed at small spatial scales, and a begetting of diversity by diversity is expected under various scenarios of co-evolution and co-adaptation. But positive producer–consumer richness relationships may also arise from similar associations with past opportunities for diversification or contemporary environmental conditions, or from emerging properties of plant diversity such as vegetation complexity or productivity. Here we assess whether the producer–consumer richness relationship generalizes from plot to regional scale and provide a first global test of its strength for vascular plants and endothermic vertebrates. We find strong positive richness associations, but only limited congruence of the most diverse regions. The richness of both primary and higher-level consumers increases with plant richness at similar strength and rate. Environmental conditions emerge as much stronger predictors of consumer richness, and after accounting for environmental differences little variation is explained by plant diversity. We conclude that biotic interactions and strong local associations between plants and consumers only relatively weakly scale up to broad geographical scales and to functionally diverse taxa, for which environmental constraints on richness dominate. PMID:18832059

Sewage Treatment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

A million gallon-a-day sewage treatment plant in Huntington Beach, CA converts solid sewage to activated carbon which then treats incoming waste water. The plant is scaled up 100 times from a mobile unit NASA installed a year ago; another 100-fold scale-up will be required if technique is employed for widespread urban sewage treatment. This unique sewage-plant employed a serendipitous outgrowth of a need to manufacture activated carbon for rocket engine insulation. The process already exceeds new Environmental Protection Agency Standards Capital costs by 25% compared with conventional secondary treatment plants.

Photosynthesis in high definition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilton, Timothy W.

2018-01-01

Photosynthesis is the foundation for almost all known life, but quantifying it at scales above a single plant is difficult. A new satellite illuminates plants' molecular machinery at much-improved spatial resolution, taking us one step closer to combined `inside-outside' insights into large-scale photosynthesis.

Ecosystem vs. community recovery 25 years after grass invasions and fire in a subtropical woodland

USGS Publications Warehouse

D'Antonio, Carla M.; Yelenik, Stephanie G.; Mack, Michelle C.

2017-01-01

Despite a large body of research documenting invasive plant impacts, few studies have followed individual invaded sites over decades to observe how they change, and none have contrasted how compositional impacts from invasion compare to ecosystem-process impacts over a multi-decadal time-scale. Using direct measurements of plant density and composition and of ecosystems processes, we evaluate how ecosystem structure, above-ground net primary production (ANPP), and above-ground and soil nutrient pools compare over 25 years since fire and C4 grass invasions disrupted seasonally dry Hawaiian woodlands. We compare structure and function between primary woodland that has never burned and is largely native species-dominated, with sites that had been the same woodland type but burned in alien-grass-fuelled fires in the 1970s and 1980s. The sites have not experienced fires since 1987. We report here that woody plant composition and structure continue to be dramatically changed by the initial invasions and fires that occurred 25 years ago and invaders continue to dominate in burned sites. This is reflected in continued low plant carbon pools in burned compared to unburned sites. Yet ANPP and N storage, which were dramatically lower in the initial decade after invasive-grass fuelled fires, have increased and are now indistinguishable from values measured in intact woodlands. Soil carbon pools were resilient to both invasion and fire initially and over time. Above-ground net primary production has recovered because of invasion of burned sites by a non-native N-fixing tree rather than because of recovery of native species. This invasive N-fixing tree is unlikely to return C storage of the invaded sites to those of unburned woodland because of its tissue and growth characteristics and its interactions with invasive grasses. It does not facilitate native species but rather promotes a persistent invasive grass/N-fixer savanna. Synthesis. We conclude that fire, an unusual disturbance in this system, has perpetuated the dominance of these sites by invasive species and that despite the dramatic recovery of above-ground net primary production and N pools, the ecosystem continues to be in a distinctly different state than the pre-fire, pre-Melinis community. Thus, despite the absence of further disturbance (fire), there is no evidence that succession towards the original ecosystem is occurring. The fact that N pools and above-ground net primary production recover because of a new invader (Morella faya), highlights the unpredictability of ecosystem trajectories in the face of altered regional species pools.

40 CFR 174.25 - Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant. 174.25 Section 174.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Exemptions...

40 CFR 174.25 - Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant. 174.25 Section 174.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Exemptions...

40 CFR 174.25 - Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant. 174.25 Section 174.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Exemptions...

40 CFR 174.25 - Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant. 174.25 Section 174.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Exemptions...

40 CFR 174.25 - Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Plant-incorporated protectant from sexually compatible plant. 174.25 Section 174.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Exemptions...

Comparison of riparian plant communities under four land management systems in southwestern Wisconsin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paine, L.K.; Ribic, C.A.

2002-01-01

Riparian plant community composition is influenced by moisture, erosion, original native plant communities, and current and past land use. This study compared riparian plant communities under four types of management: woody buffer strip, grassy buffer strip, rotational grazing, and continuous grazing. Study sites were located along spring-fed streams in the unglaciated region of southwestern Wisconsin, USA. At each site, plant community surveys were conducted using a point transect method. Among the treatments, woody buffer strips, rotationally grazed and continuously grazed riparian areas had greater plant species richness than grassy buffer strips, and woody buffer strips had the greatest native plant species richness. Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) was prevalent in grassy buffer strips (44% of all observations), common in woody buffer strips (15%), and rare in sites that were rotationally or continuously grazed (3 and 5%, respectively). Pasture sites had greater proportions of native grasses and grass relatives and moderate levels of overall native species richness. Considered a water quality best management practice, well-managed rotational grazing may be a reasonable alternative to buffer strips which can contribute to protection and enhancement of native vegetation biodiversity. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

An aeration control strategy for oxidation ditch processes based on online oxygen requirement estimation.

PubMed

Zhan, J X; Ikehata, M; Mayuzumi, M; Koizumi, E; Kawaguchi, Y; Hashimoto, T

2013-01-01

A feedforward-feedback aeration control strategy based on online oxygen requirements (OR) estimation is proposed for oxidation ditch (OD) processes, and it is further developed for intermittent aeration OD processes, which are the most popular type in Japan. For calculating OR, concentrations of influent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) are estimated online by the measurement of suspended solids (SS) and sometimes TKN is estimated by NH4-N. Mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and temperature are used to estimate the required oxygen for endogenous respiration. A straightforward parameter named aeration coefficient, Ka, is introduced as the only parameter that can be tuned automatically by feedback control or manually by the operators. Simulation with an activated sludge model was performed in comparison to fixed-interval aeration and satisfying result of OR control strategy was obtained. The OR control strategy has been implemented at seven full-scale OD plants and improvements in nitrogen removal are obtained in all these plants. Among them, the results obtained in Yumoto wastewater treatment plant were presented, in which continuous aeration was applied previously. After implementing intermittent OR control, the total nitrogen concentration was reduced from more than 5 mg/L to under 2 mg/L, and the electricity consumption was reduced by 61.2% for aeration or 21.5% for the whole plant.

System development and early biological tests in NASA's biomass production chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Dreschel, T. W.; Sager, J. C.; Prince, R. P.; Knott, W. M.; Hinkle, C. R.; Strayer, R. F.

1990-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber at Kennedy Space Center was constructed to conduct large scale plant growth studies for NASA's CELSS program. Over the past four years, physical systems and computer control software have been continually upgraded and the degree of atmospheric leakage from the chamber has decreased from about 40 to 5 percent of the total volume per day. Early tests conducted with a limited degree of closure showed that total crop (wheat) growth from the best trays was within 80 percent of reported optimal yields for similar light levels. Yields from subsequent tests under more tightly closed conditions have not been as good--up to only 65 percent of optimal yields. Yields appear to have decreased with increasing closure, yet potential problems exist in cultural techniques and further studies are warranted. With the ability to tightly seal the chamber, quantitative data were gathered on CO2 and water exchange rates. Results showed that stand photosynthesis and transpiration reached a peak near 25 days after planting, soon after full vegetative ground cover was established. In the final phase of testing when atmospheric closure was the highest, ethylene gas levels in the chamber rose from about 10 to nearly 120 ppb. Evidence suggests that the ethylene originated from the wheat plants themselves and may have caused an epinastic rolling of the leaves, but no apparent detrimental effects on whole plant function.

A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology.

PubMed

Iversen, Colleen M; McCormack, M Luke; Powell, A Shafer; Blackwood, Christopher B; Freschet, Grégoire T; Kattge, Jens; Roumet, Catherine; Stover, Daniel B; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A; Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar J; van Bodegom, Peter M; Violle, Cyrille

2017-07-01

Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing environmental conditions. While fine roots play an important role in ecosystem functioning, fine-root traits are underrepresented in global trait databases. This has hindered efforts to analyze fine-root trait variation and link it with plant function and environmental conditions at a global scale. This Viewpoint addresses the need for a centralized fine-root trait database, and introduces the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED, http://roots.ornl.gov) which so far includes > 70 000 observations encompassing a broad range of root traits and also includes associated environmental data. FRED represents a critical step toward improving our understanding of below-ground plant ecology. For example, FRED facilitates the quantification of variation in fine-root traits across root orders, species, biomes, and environmental gradients while also providing a platform for assessments of covariation among root, leaf, and wood traits, the role of fine roots in ecosystem functioning, and the representation of fine roots in terrestrial biosphere models. Continued input of observations into FRED to fill gaps in trait coverage will improve our understanding of changes in fine-root traits across space and time. © 2017 UT-Battelle LLC. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Consequences of the nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl.

PubMed Central

Ginzburg, H M; Reis, E

1991-01-01

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), on April 26, 1986, was the first major nuclear power plant accident that resulted in a large-scale fire and subsequent explosions, immediate and delayed deaths of plant operators and emergency service workers, and the radioactive contamination of a significant land area. The release of radioactive material, over a 10-day period, resulted in millions of Soviets, and other Europeans, being exposed to measurable levels of radioactive fallout. Because of the effects of wind and rain, the radioactive nuclide fallout distribution patterns are not well defined, though they appear to be focused in three contiguous Soviet Republics: the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, and the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Further, because of the many radioactive nuclides (krypton, xenon, cesium, iodine, strontium, plutonium) released by the prolonged fires at Chernobyl, the long-term medical, psychological, social, and economic effects will require careful and prolonged study. Specifically, studies on the medical (leukemia, cancers, thyroid disease) and psychological (reactive depressions, post-traumatic stress disorders, family disorganization) consequences of continued low dose radiation exposure in the affected villages and towns need to be conducted so that a coherent, comprehensive, community-oriented plan may evolve that will not cause those already affected any additional harm and confusion. Images p38-a p38-b PMID:1899937

Uranium fate in wetland mesocosms: Effects of plants at two ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Small-scale continuous flow wetland mesocosms (~0.8 L) were used to evaluate how plant roots under different iron loadings affect uranium (U) mobility. When significant concentrations of ferrous iron (Fe) were present at circumneutral pH values, U concentrations in root exposed sediments were an order of magnitude greater than concentrations in root excluded sediments. Micro X-ray absorption near-edge structure (µ-XANES) spectroscopy indicated that U was associated with the plant roots primarily as U(VI) or U(V), with limited evidence of U(IV). Micro X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF) of plant roots suggested that for high iron loading at circumneutral pH, U was co-located with Fe, perhaps co-precipitated with root Fe plaques, while for low iron loading at a pH of ~4 the correlation between U and Fe was not significant, consistent with previous observations of U associated with organic matter. Quantitative PCR analyses indicated that the root exposed sediments also contained elevated numbers of Geobacter spp., which are likely associated with enhanced iron cycling, but may also reduce mobile U(VI) to less mobile U(IV) species. There are significant uncertainties regarding the environmental fate of uranium (U) and efforts to minimize U exposures require understanding of its mobility in environmental systems. Much research has focused on sequestering U as solids within groundwater aquifers, where localized risks can be controlled.1 Subsurface sequestration limits t

Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Carnivorous Plant Family Sarraceniaceae

PubMed Central

Ellison, Aaron M.; Butler, Elena D.; Hicks, Emily Jean; Naczi, Robert F. C.; Calie, Patrick J.; Bell, Charles D.; Davis, Charles C.

2012-01-01

The carnivorous plant family Sarraceniaceae comprises three genera of wetland-inhabiting pitcher plants: Darlingtonia in the northwestern United States, Sarracenia in eastern North America, and Heliamphora in northern South America. Hypotheses concerning the biogeographic history leading to this unusual disjunct distribution are controversial, in part because genus- and species-level phylogenies have not been clearly resolved. Here, we present a robust, species-rich phylogeny of Sarraceniaceae based on seven mitochondrial, nuclear, and plastid loci, which we use to illuminate this family's phylogenetic and biogeographic history. The family and genera are monophyletic: Darlingtonia is sister to a clade consisting of Heliamphora+Sarracenia. Within Sarracenia, two clades were strongly supported: one consisting of S. purpurea, its subspecies, and S. rosea; the other consisting of nine species endemic to the southeastern United States. Divergence time estimates revealed that stem group Sarraceniaceae likely originated in South America 44–53 million years ago (Mya) (highest posterior density [HPD] estimate = 47 Mya). By 25–44 (HPD = 35) Mya, crown-group Sarraceniaceae appears to have been widespread across North and South America, and Darlingtonia (western North America) had diverged from Heliamphora+Sarracenia (eastern North America+South America). This disjunction and apparent range contraction is consistent with late Eocene cooling and aridification, which may have severed the continuity of Sarraceniaceae across much of North America. Sarracenia and Heliamphora subsequently diverged in the late Oligocene, 14–32 (HPD = 23) Mya, perhaps when direct overland continuity between North and South America became reduced. Initial diversification of South American Heliamphora began at least 8 Mya, but diversification of Sarracenia was more recent (2–7, HPD = 4 Mya); the bulk of southeastern United States Sarracenia originated co-incident with Pleistocene glaciation, <3 Mya. Overall, these results suggest climatic change at different temporal and spatial scales in part shaped the distribution and diversity of this carnivorous plant clade. PMID:22720090

Phylogeny and biogeography of the carnivorous plant family Sarraceniaceae.

PubMed

Ellison, Aaron M; Butler, Elena D; Hicks, Emily Jean; Naczi, Robert F C; Calie, Patrick J; Bell, Charles D; Davis, Charles C

2012-01-01

The carnivorous plant family Sarraceniaceae comprises three genera of wetland-inhabiting pitcher plants: Darlingtonia in the northwestern United States, Sarracenia in eastern North America, and Heliamphora in northern South America. Hypotheses concerning the biogeographic history leading to this unusual disjunct distribution are controversial, in part because genus- and species-level phylogenies have not been clearly resolved. Here, we present a robust, species-rich phylogeny of Sarraceniaceae based on seven mitochondrial, nuclear, and plastid loci, which we use to illuminate this family's phylogenetic and biogeographic history. The family and genera are monophyletic: Darlingtonia is sister to a clade consisting of Heliamphora+Sarracenia. Within Sarracenia, two clades were strongly supported: one consisting of S. purpurea, its subspecies, and S. rosea; the other consisting of nine species endemic to the southeastern United States. Divergence time estimates revealed that stem group Sarraceniaceae likely originated in South America 44-53 million years ago (Mya) (highest posterior density [HPD] estimate = 47 Mya). By 25-44 (HPD = 35) Mya, crown-group Sarraceniaceae appears to have been widespread across North and South America, and Darlingtonia (western North America) had diverged from Heliamphora+Sarracenia (eastern North America+South America). This disjunction and apparent range contraction is consistent with late Eocene cooling and aridification, which may have severed the continuity of Sarraceniaceae across much of North America. Sarracenia and Heliamphora subsequently diverged in the late Oligocene, 14-32 (HPD = 23) Mya, perhaps when direct overland continuity between North and South America became reduced. Initial diversification of South American Heliamphora began at least 8 Mya, but diversification of Sarracenia was more recent (2-7, HPD = 4 Mya); the bulk of southeastern United States Sarracenia originated co-incident with Pleistocene glaciation, <3 Mya. Overall, these results suggest climatic change at different temporal and spatial scales in part shaped the distribution and diversity of this carnivorous plant clade.

Frugivory and Spatial Patterns of Seed Deposition by Carnivorous Mammals in Anthropogenic Landscapes: A Multi-Scale Approach

PubMed Central

López-Bao, José V.; González-Varo, Juan P.

2011-01-01

Background Knowledge about how frugivory and seed deposition are spatially distributed is valuable to understand the role of dispersers on the structure and dynamics of plant populations. This may be particularly important within anthropogenic areas, where either the patchy distribution of wild plants or the presence of cultivated fleshy-fruits may influence plant-disperser interactions. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated frugivory and spatial patterns of seed deposition by carnivorous mammals in anthropogenic landscapes considering two spatial scales: ‘landscape’ (∼10 km2) and ‘habitat type’ (∼1–2 km2). We sampled carnivore faeces and plant abundance at three contrasting habitats (chestnut woods, mosaics and scrublands), each replicated within three different landscapes. Sixty-five percent of faeces collected (n = 1077) contained seeds, among which wild and cultivated seeds appeared in similar proportions (58% and 53%) despite that cultivated fruiting plants were much less abundant. Seed deposition was spatially structured among both spatial scales being different between fruit types. Whereas the most important source of spatial variation in deposition of wild seeds was the landscape scale, it was the habitat scale for cultivated seeds. At the habitat scale, seeds of wild species were mostly deposited within mosaics while seeds of cultivated species were within chestnut woods and scrublands. Spatial concordance between seed deposition and plant abundance was found only for wild species. Conclusions/Significance Spatial patterns of seed deposition by carnivores differed between fruit types and seemed to be modulated by the fleshy-fruited plant assemblages and the behaviour of dispersers. Our results suggest that a strong preference for cultivated fruits by carnivores may influence their spatial foraging behaviour and lower their dispersal services to wild species. However, the high amount of seeds removed within and between habitats suggests that carnivores must play an important role – often overlooked – as ‘restorers’ and ‘habitat shapers’ in anthropogenic areas. PMID:21297861

50 CFR 17.104 - Prohibitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... is determined to be in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, pursuant to section 6(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1535(c)) or has been approved as consistent with the Marine Mammal Protection... PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas...

50 CFR 17.104 - Prohibitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... is determined to be in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, pursuant to section 6(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1535(c)) or has been approved as consistent with the Marine Mammal Protection... PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas...

40 CFR 60.150 - Applicability and designation of affected facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE FOR NEW STATIONARY SOURCES Standards of Performance for Sewage Treatment Plants § 60.150 Applicability and designation of affected facility. (a) The... (dry basis) produced by municipal sewage treatment plants, or each incinerator that charges more than...

50 CFR 17.103 - Establishment of protection areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553 and 43 CFR part 14, establish manatee protection areas whenever there is substantial evidence showing such establishment is necessary to prevent the taking of one or more manatees...

50 CFR 17.103 - Establishment of protection areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553 and 43 CFR part 14, establish manatee protection areas whenever there is substantial evidence showing such establishment is necessary to prevent the taking of one or more manatees...

50 CFR 17.103 - Establishment of protection areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553 and 43 CFR part 14, establish manatee protection areas whenever there is substantial evidence showing such establishment is necessary to prevent the taking of one or more manatees...

50 CFR 17.103 - Establishment of protection areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee... accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553 and 43 CFR part 14, establish manatee protection areas whenever there is substantial evidence showing such establishment is necessary to prevent the taking of one or more manatees...

Revisiting the universal scaling hypothesis: do all plants respond similarly to aridification?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caddy-Retalic, S.; McInerney, F. A.; Lowe, A. J.; Prentice, I. C.; Wardle, G. M.

2016-12-01

Our limited understanding of how plants respond to aridification is a major barrier to predicting the future composition and distribution of global flora. Measurement of stable carbon isotope ratios in leaves is an established methodology for detecting water stress. Measuring carbon isotope ratios on aridity gradients has the potential to be used to determine the relative sensitivity of many co-occurring species. By comparing the slopes of the relationship between isotope ratios and mean annual precipitation (MAP) between species and to a common slope for all plants in a region, we can test for consistency in aridity sensitivity between different species, growth forms, local environment and continents. We present data from 1329 individual plants of 204 C3 species collected on two bioclimatic gradients: one in China (145-710mm MAP) and one in South Australia (160-980mm MAP). In examining differences between plants of different types and origins, we test the universal scaling hypothesis postulated by Prentice et al. (2010), which suggests that C3 plants have similar patterns of stomatal adjustment, irrespective of phylogeny and traits, including life form. If universal scaling were supported, plant attributes could be disregarded for the purposes of modeling community and regional ecophysiology. We find that less than a third of tested species conform to the universal scaling model, and postulate a new model of four response modes: regional scaling, biotic homeostasis, insensitive response and contrary response. We discuss potential mechanisms for each response mode and their ecological ramifications. Finally, we consider the broader utility for these data, including environmental monitoring and combining isotope data with species distributions to improve predictive vegetation mapping under future climate change scenarios.

The influence of competition between plant functional types in the Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM) v. 2.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melton, Joe; Arora, Vivek

2015-04-01

The Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM) is the interactive vegetation component in the earth system modelling framework of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma). In its current framework, CTEM uses prescribed fractional coverage of plant functional types (PFTs) in each grid cell. In reality, vegetation cover is continually adjusting to changes in climate, atmospheric composition, and anthropogenic forcing, for example, through human-caused fires and CO2 fertilization. These changes in vegetation spatial patterns occur over timescales of years to centuries as tree migration is a slow process and vegetation distributions inherently have inertia. Here, we present version 2.0 of CTEM that includes a representation of competition between PFTs through a modified version of the Lotka-Volterra (L-V) predator-prey equations. The simulated areal extents of CTEM's seven non-crop PFTs are compared with available observation-based estimates, and simulations using unmodified L-V equations (similar to other models like TRIFFID), to demonstrate that the model is able to represent the broad spatial distributions of its seven PFTs at the global scale. Differences remain, however, since representing the multitude of plant species with just seven non-crop PFTs only allows the large scale climatic controls on the distributions of PFTs to be captured. As expected, PFTs that exist in climate niches are difficult to represent either due to the coarse spatial resolution of the model and the corresponding driving climate or the limited number of PFTs used to model the terrestrial ecosystem processes. The geographic and zonal distributions of primary terrestrial carbon pools and fluxes from the versions of CTEM that use prescribed and dynamically simulated fractional coverage of PFTs compare reasonably with each other and observation-based estimates. These results illustrate that the parametrization of competition between PFTs in CTEM behaves in a reasonably realistic manner while the use of unmodified L-V equations results in unrealistic plant distributions.

Diurnal patterns of branch movement in a desert shrub (Larrea tridentata) track hydraulic stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallmark, A.

2016-12-01

Near-surface, repeat digital photography has emerged as a powerful tool to collect continuous observations of plant traits of individuals and communities across daily, seasonal, and annual time scales. To date, this technology has largely been used to detect patterns of vegetative phenology or "canopy greenness." Little work has been done to use digital photographs to quantify changes in canopy structure or shifts in canopy function on shorter time scales. In this study, we tracked the position of creosote (Larrea tridentata) branches using a timeseries of photos taken in a creosote-dominated shrubland in central New Mexico, USA where radiation, temperature, humidity, soil water content, soil water potential, and stem water potential were also measured. We found that both living and dead woody branches displayed dramatic diurnal patterns of movement, with shrubs only 1-2 m in height sometimes undergoing vertical shifts in branch position of over 0.25 m and changes in branch angle of over 20 degrees. Although circadian rhythms in plants are often attributed to cyclical patterns of photoperiod or temperature, we found that creosote branch movements were best correlated with diurnal changes in stem water potential and atmospheric humidity and that this correlation was stronger under wetter soil conditions. Branches were straighter and oriented in higher positions in times of low hydraulic stress, possibly preparing the creosote to better capture moisture via stemflow. Branches were oriented lower to the ground in times of high hydraulic stress, possibly providing more shade and reducing soil evaporation beneath the base of the shrub. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe diurnal patterns of branch movements in creosote and is the most extensive dataset of observations of diurnal movements in any woody plant. It provides more knowledge about the biology of a desert shrub, but also offers novel methods for using repeat digital photography to gain inferences about plant form and function.

7 CFR 330.206 - Permits for plant pest movement associated with National Defense projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Permits for plant pest movement associated with... (Continued) ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FEDERAL PLANT PEST REGULATIONS; GENERAL; PLANT PESTS; SOIL, STONE, AND QUARRY PRODUCTS; GARBAGE Movement of Plant Pests § 330.206...

Large-scale Eucalyptus energy farms and power cogeneration

Treesearch

Robert C. Noroña

1983-01-01

A thorough evaluation of all factors possibly affecting a large-scale planting of eucalyptus is foremost in determining the cost effectiveness of the planned operation. Seven basic areas of concern must be analyzed:1. Species Selection 2. Site Preparation 3. Planting 4. Weed Control 5....

VIEW OF BUILDING 124, THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, LOOKING NORTHEAST. ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

VIEW OF BUILDING 124, THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, LOOKING NORTHEAST. THE ROCKY FLATS PLANT WATER SUPPLY, TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM HAS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY SINCE 1953 - Rocky Flats Plant, Water Treatment Plant, West of Third Street, north of Cedar Avenue, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

7 CFR 97.3 - Plant Variety Protection Board.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Plant Variety Protection Board. 97.3 Section 97.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards... PLANT VARIETY AND PROTECTION Administration § 97.3 Plant Variety Protection Board. (a) The Plant Variety...

7 CFR 97.3 - Plant Variety Protection Board.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Plant Variety Protection Board. 97.3 Section 97.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards... PLANT VARIETY AND PROTECTION Administration § 97.3 Plant Variety Protection Board. (a) The Plant Variety...

7 CFR 97.3 - Plant Variety Protection Board.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Plant Variety Protection Board. 97.3 Section 97.3 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards... PLANT VARIETY AND PROTECTION Administration § 97.3 Plant Variety Protection Board. (a) The Plant Variety...

Beef and pork packing industries.

PubMed

MacDonald, James M

2003-07-01

A remarkable transformation of the meatpacking industry occurred in the last 25 years. That transformation consolidated the industry into one that could deliver large volumes of meat at low costs. Slaughter plants grew much larger and realized economies of scale from their size, and operations within plants were rationalized to emphasize the delivery of a small set of consistent major products (boxed beef, cut-up pork, and by-products) to retailers, wholesalers, and other processors. Similar developments occurred in livestock feeding whereby the industry realized significant cost reductions by consolidating production in very large cattle feedlots and hog farms. Gains from scale have largely been met (absent the development of new technologies that are not yet on the horizon); therefore, we are unlikely to see similar shifts in plant sizes in the next 25 years. The major forces affecting meatpacking and livestock feeding in the near future are more likely to revolve around tighter coordination among livestock production, meatpacking, wholesaling, and retailing. Although much of the recent response to food safety concerns took the form of investments in equipment, testing, and training within meatpacking plants, packers and retailers are likely to focus more on assurance of livestock production quality and methods in the future. Such assurance can be met through vertical integration or through a greater reliance on tightly drawn contracts; producers who attempt to provide the assurance while still selling through cash markets will need to develop paper trails of testing and quality assurance that will move through the marketing chain with livestock. Similarly, because of likely increased future demand for meats of assured consumer qualities, such as organically grown products or branded meat products with very specific traits, producers will likely need to provide similar indicators of assurance throughout the marketing chain. Finally, the funding offered through federal environmental assistance programs such as the USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program along with related regulations governing waste management will likely lead to greater control over livestock production practices by investors, financiers, integrators, and packers through contractual design. Shifts toward tighter vertical coordination will force continuing changes in traditional ways of doing business in livestock production and in meatpacking. In turn, public policy discussions and corporate strategies in meatpacking are likely to focus continuing attention on the particulars of contract design: how to meet consumers', retailers', and regulators' requirements for quality assurance while ensuring efficient low-cost production without retarding competition in the industry.

Use of Plant Hydraulic Theory to Predict Ecosystem Fluxes Across Mountainous Gradients in Environmental Controls and Insect Disturbances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ewers, B. E.; Pendall, E.; Reed, D. E.; Barnard, H. R.; Whitehouse, F.; Frank, J. M.; Massman, W. J.; Brooks, P. D.; Biederman, J. A.; Harpold, A. A.; Naithani, K. J.; Mitra, B.; Mackay, D. S.; Norton, U.; Borkhuu, B.

2011-12-01

While mountainous areas are critical for providing numerous ecosystem benefits at the regional scale, the strong gradients in environmental controls make predictions difficult. A key part of the problem is quantifying and predicting the feedback between mountain gradients and plant function which then controls ecosystem cycling. The emerging theory of plant hydraulics provides a rigorous yet simple platform from which to generate testable hypotheses and predictions of ecosystem pools and fluxes. Plant hydraulic theory predicts that plant controls over carbon, water, energy and nutrient fluxes can be derived from the limitation of plant water transport from the soil through xylem and out of stomata. In addition, the limit to plant water transport can be predicted by combining plant structure (e.g. xylem diameters or root-to-shoot ratios) and plant function (response of stomatal conductance to vapor pressure deficit or root vulnerability to cavitation). We evaluate the predictions of the plant hydraulic theory by testing it against data from a mountain gradient encompassing sagebrush steppe through subalpine forests (2700 to 3400 m). We further test the theory by predicting the carbon, water and nutrient exchanges from several coniferous trees in the same gradient that are dying from xylem dysfunction caused by blue-stain fungi carried by bark beetles. The common theme of both of these data sets is a change in water limitation caused by either changing precipitation along the mountainous gradient or lack of access to soil water from xylem-occluding fungi. Across all of the data sets which range in scale from individual plants to hillslopes, the data fit the predictions of plant hydraulic theory. Namely, there was a proportional tradeoff between the reference canopy stomatal conductance to water vapor and the sensitivity of that conductance to vapor pressure deficit that quantitatively fits the predictions of plant hydraulic theory. Incorporating this result into whole plant mass and energy exchange models allows prediction of plant carbon, energy and nitrogen exchange that fits recently collected data including plant sap flux, leaf gas exchange, eddy covariance towers and stand and watershed-scale biogeochemistry measurements. The results of our work will allow the next generation of ecosystem to regional scale coupled-biogeochemistry models to incorporate a simple plant hydraulic mechanism that will enable defensible predictions of carbon, water, energy and nutrient cycling with changing climate and land use.

State of the science and challenges of breeding landscape plants with ecological function

PubMed Central

Wilde, H Dayton; Gandhi, Kamal J K; Colson, Gregory

2015-01-01

Exotic plants dominate esthetically-managed landscapes, which cover 30–40 million hectares in the United States alone. Recent ecological studies have found that landscaping with exotic plant species can reduce biodiversity on multiple trophic levels. To support biodiversity in urbanized areas, the increased use of native landscaping plants has been advocated by conservation groups and US federal and state agencies. A major challenge to scaling up the use of native species in landscaping is providing ornamental plants that are both ecologically functional and economically viable. Depending on ecological and economic constraints, accelerated breeding approaches could be applied to ornamental trait development in native plants. This review examines the impact of landscaping choices on biodiversity, the current status of breeding and selection of native ornamental plants, and the interdisciplinary research needed to scale up landscaping plants that can support native biodiversity. PMID:26504560

Gary Refining Company emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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

Not Available

1986-09-01

On July 24, 1986 Gary Refining Company, Inc. announced that the Reorganization Plan for Gary Refining Company, Inc., Gary Refining Company, and Mesa Refining, Inc. has been approved by the United States bankruptcy Court (District of Colorado). The companies filed for protection from creditors on March 4, 1985 under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Payments to creditors are expected to begin upon start-up of the Gary Refining Company (GRC) refinery in Fruita, Colorado after delivery of shale oil from Union Oil's Parachute Creek plant. In the interim, GRC will continue to explore options for possible startup (onmore » a full scale or partial basis) prior to that time.« less

Large- and small-scale environmental factors drive distributions of cool-adapted plants in karstic microrefugia

PubMed Central

Vojtkó, András; Farkas, Tünde; Szabó, Anna; Havadtői, Krisztina; Vojtkó, Anna E.; Tölgyesi, Csaba; Cseh, Viktória; Erdős, László; Maák, István Elek; Keppel, Gunnar

2017-01-01

Background and aims Dolines are small- to large-sized bowl-shaped depressions of karst surfaces. They may constitute important microrefugia, as thermal inversion often maintains cooler conditions within them. This study aimed to identify the effects of large- (macroclimate) and small-scale (slope aspect and vegetation type) environmental factors on cool-adapted plants in karst dolines of East-Central Europe. We also evaluated the potential of these dolines to be microrefugia that mitigate the effects of climate change on cool-adapted plants in both forest and grassland ecosystems. Methods We compared surveys of plant species composition that were made between 2007 and 2015 in 21 dolines distributed across four mountain ranges (sites) in Hungary and Romania. We examined the effects of environmental factors on the distribution and number of cool-adapted plants on three scales: (1) regional (all sites); (2) within sites and; (3) within dolines. Generalized linear models and non-parametric tests were used for the analyses. Key Results Macroclimate, vegetation type and aspect were all significant predictors of the diversity of cool-adapted plants. More cool-adapted plants were recorded in the coolest site, with only few found in the warmest site. At the warmest site, the distribution of cool-adapted plants was restricted to the deepest parts of dolines. Within sites of intermediate temperature and humidity, the effect of vegetation type and aspect on the diversity of cool-adapted plants was often significant, with more taxa being found in grasslands (versus forests) and on north-facing slopes (versus south-facing slopes). Conclusions There is large variation in the number and spatial distribution of cool-adapted plants in karst dolines, which is related to large- and small-scale environmental factors. Both macro- and microrefugia are therefore likely to play important roles in facilitating the persistence of cool-adapted plants under global warming. PMID:28025290

Validation of a plant-wide phosphorus modelling approach with minerals precipitation in a full-scale WWTP.

PubMed

Kazadi Mbamba, Christian; Flores-Alsina, Xavier; John Batstone, Damien; Tait, Stephan

2016-09-01

The focus of modelling in wastewater treatment is shifting from single unit to plant-wide scale. Plant-wide modelling approaches provide opportunities to study the dynamics and interactions of different transformations in water and sludge streams. Towards developing more general and robust simulation tools applicable to a broad range of wastewater engineering problems, this paper evaluates a plant-wide model built with sub-models from the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2-P (BSM2-P) with an improved/expanded physico-chemical framework (PCF). The PCF includes a simple and validated equilibrium approach describing ion speciation and ion pairing with kinetic multiple minerals precipitation. Model performance is evaluated against data sets from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant, assessing capability to describe water and sludge lines across the treatment process under steady-state operation. With default rate kinetic and stoichiometric parameters, a good general agreement is observed between the full-scale datasets and the simulated results under steady-state conditions. Simulation results show differences between measured and modelled phosphorus as little as 4-15% (relative) throughout the entire plant. Dynamic influent profiles were generated using a calibrated influent generator and were used to study the effect of long-term influent dynamics on plant performance. Model-based analysis shows that minerals precipitation strongly influences composition in the anaerobic digesters, but also impacts on nutrient loading across the entire plant. A forecasted implementation of nutrient recovery by struvite crystallization (model scenario only), reduced the phosphorus content in the treatment plant influent (via centrate recycling) considerably and thus decreased phosphorus in the treated outflow by up to 43%. Overall, the evaluated plant-wide model is able to jointly describe the physico-chemical and biological processes, and is advocated for future use as a tool for design, performance evaluation and optimization of whole wastewater treatment plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large- and small-scale environmental factors drive distributions of cool-adapted plants in karstic microrefugia.

PubMed

Bátori, Zoltán; Vojtkó, András; Farkas, Tünde; Szabó, Anna; Havadtői, Krisztina; Vojtkó, Anna E; Tölgyesi, Csaba; Cseh, Viktória; Erdős, László; Maák, István Elek; Keppel, Gunnar

2017-01-01

Dolines are small- to large-sized bowl-shaped depressions of karst surfaces. They may constitute important microrefugia, as thermal inversion often maintains cooler conditions within them. This study aimed to identify the effects of large- (macroclimate) and small-scale (slope aspect and vegetation type) environmental factors on cool-adapted plants in karst dolines of East-Central Europe. We also evaluated the potential of these dolines to be microrefugia that mitigate the effects of climate change on cool-adapted plants in both forest and grassland ecosystems. We compared surveys of plant species composition that were made between 2007 and 2015 in 21 dolines distributed across four mountain ranges (sites) in Hungary and Romania. We examined the effects of environmental factors on the distribution and number of cool-adapted plants on three scales: (1) regional (all sites); (2) within sites and; (3) within dolines. Generalized linear models and non-parametric tests were used for the analyses. Macroclimate, vegetation type and aspect were all significant predictors of the diversity of cool-adapted plants. More cool-adapted plants were recorded in the coolest site, with only few found in the warmest site. At the warmest site, the distribution of cool-adapted plants was restricted to the deepest parts of dolines. Within sites of intermediate temperature and humidity, the effect of vegetation type and aspect on the diversity of cool-adapted plants was often significant, with more taxa being found in grasslands (versus forests) and on north-facing slopes (versus south-facing slopes). There is large variation in the number and spatial distribution of cool-adapted plants in karst dolines, which is related to large- and small-scale environmental factors. Both macro- and microrefugia are therefore likely to play important roles in facilitating the persistence of cool-adapted plants under global warming. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Monitoring Functional Traits of Alpine Vegetation using Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.; Wulf, H.; Schaepman, M. E.; Schmid, B.

2016-12-01

Plant functional traits can be used to study the interactions between plants and ecosystem functioning as well as the response of plants to various environmental pressures. Continuous monitoring of plant functional traits dynamics on a large spatial scale is important to understand the mechanisms of ecosystem function degradation, especially on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this study, we investigated spatiotemporal trends of functional traits (i.e., chlorophyll content, phenology, leaf area index proxy of leaf size and above ground biomass proxy of leaf mass) in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on the combined analysis of multi-sensor satellite data and field observations at three spatial scales (ground-truth data at 1 m, Landsat at 30 m, MODIS at 500 m), and analyzed potential factors contribute to their spatiotemporal trends. Chlorophyll content (Chl) and biomass was retrieved based on 94 field plots measurements. LAI was analyzed using MCD15A3H product and estimated values using digital hemispherical photographs in the field. Plant phenology will be processed based on MODIS NDVI time series and hourly Phenocam observations. The preliminary results show that (1) Chl, LAI and biomass show high spatial heterogeneity trends and increase in 2001 - 2015. (2) Elevation played an important role in the spatial pattern of LAI and Chl variation in 15 years. A dividing line of approximately 3800 m exists and shows that below this line, LAI and Chl changes more complicated, showing significantly positive and negative linear trend. While above this altitude, the change rate of two variables keeps relatively stable. Vegetation in low elevation is exposed to high habitat diversity by showing high Chl, LAI and biomass spatial heterogeneity. The vegetation in high habitat diversity may be more sensitive to climatic variables and human activities than higher elevation since warming contribute to the positive trend of traits while human factors like urbanization might be explain negative trend in relative low altitude (below 3800 m). (3) Temperature contribute to the above functional traits variation than precipitation, especially temperature is more correlated to the functional traits of widely distributed vegetation type than narrow-ranging vegetation type.

Bryophyte gas-exchange dynamics along varying hydration status reveal a significant carbonyl sulphide (COS) sink in the dark and COS source in the light.

PubMed

Gimeno, Teresa E; Ogée, Jérôme; Royles, Jessica; Gibon, Yves; West, Jason B; Burlett, Régis; Jones, Sam P; Sauze, Joana; Wohl, Steven; Benard, Camille; Genty, Bernard; Wingate, Lisa

2017-08-01

Carbonyl sulphide (COS) is a potential tracer of gross primary productivity (GPP), assuming a unidirectional COS flux into the vegetation that scales with GPP. However, carbonic anhydrase (CA), the enzyme that hydrolyses COS, is expected to be light independent, and thus plants without stomata should continue to take up COS in the dark. We measured net CO 2 (A C ) and COS (A S ) uptake rates from two astomatous bryophytes at different relative water contents (RWCs), COS concentrations, temperatures and light intensities. We found large A S in the dark, indicating that CA activity continues without photosynthesis. More surprisingly, we found a nonzero COS compensation point in light and dark conditions, indicating a temperature-driven COS source with a Q 10 (fractional change for a 10°C temperature increase) of 3.7. This resulted in greater A S in the dark than in the light at similar RWC. The processes underlying such COS emissions remain unknown. Our results suggest that ecosystems dominated by bryophytes might be strong atmospheric sinks of COS at night and weaker sinks or even sources of COS during daytime. Biotic COS production in bryophytes could result from symbiotic fungal and bacterial partners that could also be found on vascular plants. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Propellant production and useful materials: Hardware data from components and the systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramohalli, Kumar

1992-01-01

During the past year significant progress included: a major breakthrough in oxygen production through discs (instead of tubes) that resulted in two orders-of-magnitude increase in the yield rates, proving that oxygen production from any iron-bearing silicate (avoiding costly beneficiation) in lunar in-situ resource utilization (ISRU); construction of a half-scale robotic soil processor; production of melt-spun fibers in a solar furnace; and the culmination of first-stage research in the construction (and delivery to NASA LaRC) of a self-contained portable oxygen plant that incorporates the first generation ISRU technologies developed at UA SERC. In addition, further reductions in mass and power needs were achieved in two smaller oxygen plants, which, however, have far greater production rates. SERC continued to attract bright students both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and several area high school students through the Professional Internship Program (PIP) administered by the local school district. Invited lectures at elementary schools continue to draw enthusiastic response. Another important first was the creation of the Freshman Colloquium, 'Space in Our Future, and Our Future in Space,' geared toward women and minority students. This course proved to be a success, with more than one-half of the enrollment composed of women. In recognition of these important contributions, the author was appointed to the NRC Committee on Space Science Technologies.

The production of chemicals from food processing wastes using a novel fermenter separator. Annual progress report, January 1993--March 1994

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

Dale, M.C.; Venkatesh, K.V.; Choi, H.

The basic objective of this project is to convert waste streams from the food processing industry to usable fuels and chemicals using novel bioreactors. These bioreactors should allow economical utilization of waste (whey, waste sugars, waste starch, bottling wastes, candy wastes, molasses, and cellulosic wastes) by the production of ethanol, acetone/butanol, organic acids (acetic, lactic, and gluconic), yeast diacetyl flavor, and antifungal compounds. Continuous processes incorporating various processing improvements such as simultaneous product separation and immobilized cells are being developed to allow commercial scale utilization of waste stream. The production of ethanol by a continuous reactor-separator is the process closestmore » to commercialization with a 7,500 liter pilot plant presently sited at an Iowa site to convert whey lactose to ethanol. Accomplishments during 1993 include installation and start-up of a 7,500 liter ICRS for ethanol production at an industry site in Iowa; Donation and installation of a 200 liter yeast pilot Plant to the project from Kenyon Enterprises; Modeling and testing of a low energy system for recovery of ethanol from vapor is using a solvent absorption/extractive distillation system; Simultaneous saccharification/fermentation of raw corn grits and starch in a stirred reactor/separator; Testing of the ability of `koji` process to ferment raw corn grits in a `no-cook` process.« less

Control of continuous irradiation injury on potatoes with daily temperature cycling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tibbitts, T. W.; Bennett, S. M.; Cao, W.

1990-01-01

Two controlled-environment experiments were conducted to determine the effects of temperature fluctuations under continuous irradiation on growth and tuberization of two potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars, Kennebec and Superior. These cultivars had exhibited chlorotic and stunted growth under continuous irradiation and constant temperatures. The plants were grown for 4 weeks in the first experiment and for 6 weeks in the second experiment. Each experiment was conducted under continuous irradiation of 400 micromoles per square meter per second of photosynthetic photon flux and included two temperature treatments: constant 18 degrees C and fluctuating 22 degrees C/14 degrees C on a 12-hour cycle. A common vapor pressure deficit of 0.62 kilopascal was maintained at all temperatures. Plants under constant 18 degrees C were stunted and had chlorotic and abscised leaves and essentially no tuber formation. Plants grown under the fluctuating temperature treatment developed normally, were developing tubers, and had a fivefold or greater total dry weight as compared with those under the constant temperature. These results suggest that a thermoperiod can allow normal plant growth and tuberization in potato cultivars that are unable to develop effectively under continuous irradiation.

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Report 2. First Year Poststocking Results. Volume III. The Plankton and Benthos of Lake Conway, Florida,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

AD-AI09 516 FLORIDA UNIV GAINESVILLE DEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGIN--ETC F/G 6/6 LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE,WHITE AMUR--ETC(U... OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC PLANTS Report I: Baseline Studies Volume I: The Aquatic Macropyes of...COVERED LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT TEST OF USE OF Report 2 of a series THE WHITE AMUR FOR CONTROL OF PROBLEM AQUATIC (In 7 volumes) PLANTS

Microbiological community analysis of vermicompost tea and its influence on the growth of vegetables and cereals.

PubMed

Fritz, J I; Franke-Whittle, I H; Haindl, S; Insam, H; Braun, R

2012-07-01

Vermicompost, the digestion product of organic material by earthworms, has been widely reported to have a more positive effect on plant growth and plant health than conventional compost. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different vermicompost elutriates (aerated compost teas) on soils and plant growth. The teas were analyzed by chemical, microbiological, and molecular methods accompanied by plant growth tests at laboratory and field scale. The number of microorganisms in the teas increased during the extraction process and was affected by substrate addition. The vermicompost tea found to increase plant growth best under laboratory tests was applied to cereals (wheat and barley) and vegetables (Raphanus sativus, Rucola selvatica, and Pisum sativum) in a field study. The results revealed no effects of tea application on plant yield; however, sensoric tests indicated an improvement in crop quality. The soils from laboratory and field studies were investigated to detect possible microbial or chemical changes. The results indicated that minor changes to the soil microbial community occurred following tea application by foliar spray in both the laboratory-scale and field-scale experiments.

Effects of plant downtime on the microbial community composition in the highly saline brine of a geothermal plant in the North German Basin.

PubMed

Westphal, Anke; Lerm, Stephanie; Miethling-Graff, Rona; Seibt, Andrea; Wolfgramm, Markus; Würdemann, Hilke

2016-04-01

The microbial biocenosis in highly saline fluids produced from the cold well of a deep geothermal heat store located in the North German Basin was characterized during regular plant operation and immediately after plant downtime phases. Genetic fingerprinting revealed the dominance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and fermentative Halanaerobiaceae during regular plant operation, whereas after shutdown phases, sequences of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) were also detected. The detection of SOB indicated oxygen ingress into the well during the downtime phase. High 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and dsrA gene copy numbers at the beginning of the restart process showed an enrichment of bacteria, SRB, and SOB during stagnant conditions consistent with higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulfate, and hydrogen sulfide in the produced fluids. The interaction of SRB and SOB during plant downtimes might have enhanced the corrosion processes occurring in the well. It was shown that scale content of fluids was significantly increased after stagnant phases. Moreover, the sulfur isotopic signature of the mineral scales indicated microbial influence on scale formation.

50 CFR 17.104 - Prohibitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, pursuant to section 6(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C... PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas... contrary to that permitted by regulation within that area. Any take of manatees under the Acts (see § 18.3...

50 CFR 17.104 - Prohibitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, pursuant to section 6(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C... PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas... contrary to that permitted by regulation within that area. Any take of manatees under the Acts (see § 18.3...

50 CFR 17.104 - Prohibitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, pursuant to section 6(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C... PLANTS (CONTINUED) ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS (CONTINUED) Manatee Protection Areas... contrary to that permitted by regulation within that area. Any take of manatees under the Acts (see § 18.3...

7 CFR 205.204 - Seeds and planting stock practice standard.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Seeds and planting stock practice standard. 205.204 Section 205.204 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ORGANIC FOODS PRODUCTION ACT PROVISIONS NATIONAL...

7 CFR 205.204 - Seeds and planting stock practice standard.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Seeds and planting stock practice standard. 205.204 Section 205.204 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ORGANIC FOODS PRODUCTION ACT PROVISIONS NATIONAL...