scholarly journals Comparison of the Initial Growth of Different Poplar Clones on Four Sites in Western Slovakia—Preliminary Results

Author(s):  
Dávid Heilig ◽  
Bálint Heil ◽  
Christoph Leibing ◽  
Heinz Röhle ◽  
Gábor Kovács

AbstractThis study was conducted to evaluate four hybrid poplar comparison tests along a groundwater availability gradient in Western Slovakia. The weather fluctuation during the 3-year study period was described with indices, such as the Forestry Aridity Index (FAI) or the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC). The soil chemical and physical parameters were determined from soil samples from the two upper horizons. The nutrient status and supply of the trees were categorized based on leaf elemental analysis. Altogether, 21 different clones from 6 genomic groups were compared. The survival (SRV), diameter at breast height (DBH), and height of the trees (H) had been measured annually since the plantations were established, and from these measurements, mean annual height increment (MAHI) values were derived. These weather, edaphic, and clonal factors were evaluated and compared. Significant effects of the site (edaphic factors) were found as the primary source of variance and clonal differences as secondary sources of variance among the growth of trees. The interaction of site × clone effects was not significant. The results showed that for short rotation forestry (SRF), the site parameters—especially groundwater availability—are key factors.

Author(s):  
Ann Ogbo ◽  
Kifordu Anyibuofu Anthony ◽  
Okagu Kosisochukwu

The study aimed at establishing an assessment of hygiene maintenance factors effects on employees’productivity. The hygiene/maintenance factors play vital role in employees’ productivity. They do not motivate employee in organization, yet they must be present or dissatisfaction will arise. . The study is aimed to pursue the following objectives: To determine the extent to which working conditions improve the performance of employees, to ascertain the effect of interpersonal relations within the organization on firms’ profitability and to assesthe extent to whichcompensation improve the performance of employees.The study was conducted using the survey approach. The geographical scope of the study was Mobile telecommunication network (MTN), located within Enugu metropolis. Two sources of data were utilized in the study: they included primary and secondary sources. The primary source wasthrough the administration of copies of designed questionnaire to a total of forty one respondents that made up the sample size for the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lino Bianco

AbstractRuins are a statement on the building materials used and the construction method employed. Casa Ippolito, now in ruins, is typical of 17th-century Maltese aristocratic country residences. It represents an illustration of secondary or anthropogenic geodiversity. This paper scrutinises these ruins as a primary source in reconstructing the building’s architecture. The methodology involved on-site geographical surveying, including visual inspection and non-invasive tests, a geological survey of the local lithostratigraphy, and examination of notarial deeds and secondary sources to support findings about the building’s history as read from its ruins. An unmanned aerial vehicle was used to digitally record the parlous state of the architectural structure and karsten tubes were used to quantify the surface porosity of the limestone. The results are expressed from four perspectives. The anatomy of Casa Ippolito, as revealed in its ruins, provides a cross-section of its building history and shows two distinct phases in its construction. The tissue of Casa Ippolito—the building elements and materials—speaks of the knowledge of raw materials and their properties among the builders who worked on both phases. The architectural history of Casa Ippolito reveals how it supported its inhabitants’ wellbeing in terms of shelter, water and food. Finally, the ruins in their present state bring to the fore the site’s potential for cultural tourism. This case study aims to show that such ruins are not just geocultural remains of historical built fabric. They are open wounds in the built structure; they underpin the anatomy of the building and support insights into its former dynamics. Ruins offer an essay in material culture and building physics. Architectural ruins of masonry structures are anthropogenic discourse rendered in stone which facilitate not only the reconstruction of spaces but also places for human users; they are a statement on the wellbeing of humanity throughout history.


Author(s):  
Seema S.Ojha

History is constructed by people who study the past. It is created through working on both primary and secondary sources that historians use to learn about people, events, and everyday life in the past. Just like detectives, historians look at clues, sift through evidence, and make their own interpretations. Historical knowledge is, therefore, the outcome of a process of enquiry. During last century, the teaching of history has changed considerably. The use of sources, viz. textual, visual, and oral, in school classrooms in many parts of the world has already become an essential part of teaching history. However, in India, it is only a recent phenomenon. Introducing students to primary sources and making them a regular part of classroom lessons help students develop critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills. These will be useful throughout their lives. This paper highlights the benefits of using primary source materials in a history classroom and provides the teacher, with practical suggestions and examples of how to do this.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sabbatini ◽  
N. Arriga ◽  
T. Bertolini ◽  
S. Castaldi ◽  
T. Chiti ◽  
...  

Abstract. The production of bioenergy in Europe is one of the strategies conceived to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The suitability of the land use change from a cropland (REF site) to a short-rotation coppice plantation of hybrid poplar (SRC site) was investigated by comparing the GHG budgets of these two systems over 24 months in Viterbo, Italy. This period corresponded to a single rotation of the SRC site. The REF site was a crop rotation between grassland and winter wheat, i.e. the same management of the SRC site before the conversion to short-rotation coppice. Eddy covariance measurements were carried out to quantify the net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (FCO2), whereas chambers were used to measure N2O and CH4 emissions from soil. The measurements began 2 years after the conversion of arable land to SRC so that an older poplar plantation was used to estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC) loss due to SRC establishment and to estimate SOC recovery over time. Emissions from tractors and from production and transport of agricultural inputs (FMAN) were modelled. A GHG emission offset, due to the substitution of natural gas with SRC biomass, was credited to the GHG budget of the SRC site. Emissions generated by the use of biomass (FEXP) were also considered. Suitability was finally assessed by comparing the GHG budgets of the two sites. CO2 uptake was 3512 ± 224 g CO2 m−2 at the SRC site in 2 years, and 1838 ± 107 g CO2 m−2 at the REF site. FEXP was equal to 1858 ± 240 g CO2 m−2 at the REF site, thus basically compensating for FCO2, while it was 1118 ± 521 g CO2 m−2 at the SRC site. The SRC site could offset 379.7 ± 175.1 g CO2eq m−2 from fossil fuel displacement. Soil CH4 and N2O fluxes were negligible. FMAN made up 2 and 4 % in the GHG budgets of SRC and REF sites respectively, while the SOC loss was 455 ± 524 g CO2 m−2 in 2 years. Overall, the REF site was close to neutrality from a GHG perspective (156 ± 264 g CO2eq m−2), while the SRC site was a net sink of 2202 ± 792 g CO2eq m−2. In conclusion the experiment led to a positive evaluation from a GHG viewpoint of the conversion of cropland to bioenergy SRC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yusuf Patria

This article is aimed at discussing the critical analysis of a Muslim thinker, Malik Bennabi, of the state of contemporary Muslim society. This discussion uses a descriptive-analytic approach with Bennabi's works as the primary source and other supporting works as secondary sources. Bennabi's definition of a society, especially its origin, basic elements, and its stages, is described in detail as a basis for understanding Bennabi's thoughts. then, the article discusses Bennabi's analysis and criticism of the current state of Muslim society. For him, the root of all the problems experienced by Muslim society today is an internal weakness or what he calls "colonisability". This situation, according to him, creates vulnerable individuals and societies to be "colonized" again. Bennabi referred to these individuals in Muslim society as “Post-Muwaḥḥiddūn man”, as a sign that internal weaknesses began to emerge in Muslim society after the Muwaḥḥid dynasty. Based on his explanation, it can be concluded that the current Muslim society is disoriented and has lost its identity. The author also concludes that Bennabi's approach and analysis are able to describe the current state of Muslim society and the root of the problems it is experiencing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-502
Author(s):  
Scott X. Chang ◽  
Zheng Shi ◽  
Barb R. Thomas

Forest stand age can affect ecosystem carbon (C) cycling and net ecosystem productivity (NEP). In Canada, establishment of short-rotation plantations on previously agricultural lands has been ongoing, but the effect of stand development on soil respiration (Rs) and NEP in such plantations is poorly understood. These types of data are essential for constraining ecosystem models that simulate C dynamics over the rotation of a plantation. We studied Rs (including autotrophic, Ra, and heterotrophic, Rh) and NEP in 2008 and 2009 in a chronosequence of 5-, 8-, 14-, and 16-yr-old (ages in 2009) hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × Populus × petrowskyana var. Walker) plantations in northern Alberta. The highest Rs and NEP were generally found in the 14-yr-old stand. Seasonal variations in Rs were similar among the plantations, with most of the variation explained by soil temperature at the 10 cm depth in 2008 with far less explained in 2009, a much drier year. In diurnal measurements, hysteresis was found between soil respiration and soil temperature, with the patterns of hysteresis different among stand ages. Soil respiration in the 14-yr-old plantation had the greatest sensitivity to temperature changes. Stand age did not affect the Rh:Rs ratio, whereas the NEP exhibited strong inter-annual variability. We conclude that stand age was a major factor affecting Rs and NEP, and such effects should be considered in empirical models used to simulate ecosystem C dynamics to evaluate potentials for C sequestration and the C source–sink relationship in short-rotation woody crop systems.


2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Matula

The objective of the paper was to determine an appropriate concentration of available sulphur in soil for the initial growth of plants. Based on previous researches two methods of soil extraction were used to acquire information on the soil reserve: water extraction (H<sub>2</sub>O 1:5, w/v) and extraction in 0.5M ammonium acetate with addition of NH<sub>4</sub>F (KVK-UF soil test). Spring barley was used as a test crop to determine the soil reserve of sulphur and its response to sulphur addition to the soil. A collection of 48 samples of topsoil from agriculturally important localities in the CR was made up for this purpose and the parameters of the nutrient status of the soil were remarkably different. A set of soils was used to establish short-time vegetation experiments in a plant growth chamber according to the scheme: A) control &ndash; without sulphur application and B) response variant with application of 30 mg S/kg of soil in the form of (NH)<sub>4</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>; nitrogen in variant A was adjusted by application of NH<sub>4</sub>Cl. Index of nutrient efficiency (IE = Y/N where Y = yield and N = nutrient concentration in the plant) and boundary lines of the point field were used to evaluate the efficiency of barley nutrition with sulphur. The efficient soil reserve of sulphur for the soil test H<sub>2</sub>O (1:5) when the ICP analytical technique was used was indicated in the range of 8&ndash;11 mg S/kg; 6&ndash;10 mg S/kg for sulphate detection on a SKALAR analyser. The efficient utilisation of sulphur by barley plants for the KVK-UF soil test was in the range of 7&ndash;12 mg S/kg. The conversion of the KVK-UF S-test to the index of soil reserve of sulphur by adding up a variable portion of the CEC value to the value of sulphur determined by the soil test (0.0167CEC + 9.1667) improved the closeness of the relationship between soil and plant.


1982 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 77-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrix Heintze

The written sources for African history are scattered throughout the world, often in archives to which access is difficult. To reach them often requires a considerable expenditure of time and money, quite apart from the necessary linguistic knowledge. As a result, at least in the German-speaking world, much of the writing of African history and anthropology has for decades rested exclusively on published sources. Besides often leading to a serious deficiency of information, such an approach limits the degree of control to which written testimony can be subjected: even the most assiduous textual criticism soon reaches its limits if comparable information is lacking. In addition, where there are only a few published sources, the historian may all too easily be lulled into a false sense of security. To remedy this, it is not enough to plead for as much archival work as possible (a requirement that can today usually be taken for granted in any case) and encourage the publication of more primary sources. We should also pay more attention to the distinction between primary and secondary sources, that is, take more explicitly into account the proximity of a source to the historical event or situation concerned--quite apart from observing all the other rules of textual criticism.This paper therefore has two purposes. First, I wish to draw attention to a hitherto-neglected source for Angolan history in the first half of the seventeenth century--the manuscript collection of Fernão de Sousa, Governor of Angola from 1624 to 1630. A rough review of its contents and arrangement will perhaps stimulate scholars to study it and facilitate its use.


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