Effects of microhabitats and soil conditions on structuring patterns of nematode communities in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation forests under temperate climate conditions

Urban heat island and urban-driven climate variations are recognized issues and may considerably affect the local climatic potential of free-running technologies. Nevertheless, green design and bioclimatic early-design analyses are generally based on typical rural climate data, without including urban effects. This paper aims to define a simple approach to considering urban shapes and expected effects on local bioclimatic potential indicators to support early-design choices. Furthermore, the proposed approach is based on simplifying urban shapes to simplify analyses in early-design phases. The proposed approach was applied to a sample location (Turin, temperate climate) and five other climate conditions representative of Eurasian climates. The results show that the inclusion of the urban climate dimension considerably reduced rural HDD (heating degree-days) from 10% to 30% and increased CDD (cooling degree-days) from 70% to 95%. The results reveal the importance of including the urban climate dimension in early-design phases, such as building programming in which specific design actions are not yet defined, to support the correct definition of early-design bioclimatic analyses.

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Biochar Improves Maize Growth but Has a Limited Effect on Soil Properties: Evidence from a Three-Year Field Experiment

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13073617 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 3617

Author(s):

Agnieszka Medyńska-Juraszek ◽

Agnieszka Latawiec ◽

Jolanta Królczyk ◽

Adam Bogacz ◽

Dorota Kawałko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Field Experiment ◽

Soil Properties ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Temperate Climate ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Maize Growth ◽

Chemical Soil ◽

Physical And Chemical

Biochar application is reported as a method for improving physical and chemical soil properties, with a still questionable impact on the crop yields and quality. Plant productivity can be affected by biochar properties and soil conditions. High efficiency of biochar application was reported many times for plant cultivation in tropical and arid climates; however, the knowledge of how the biochar affects soils in temperate climate zones exhibiting different properties is still limited. Therefore, a three-year-long field experiment was conducted on a loamy Haplic Luvisol, a common arable soil in Central Europe, to extend the laboratory-scale experiments on biochar effectiveness. A low-temperature pinewood biochar was applied at the rate of 50 t h−1, and maize was selected as a tested crop. Biochar application did not significantly impact the chemical soil properties and fertility of tested soil. However, biochar improved soil physical properties and water retention, reducing plant water stress during hot dry summers, and thus resulting in better maize growth and higher yields. Limited influence of the low-temperature biochar on soil properties suggests the crucial importance of biochar-production technology and biochar properties on the effectiveness and validity of its application in agriculture.

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