scholarly journals Assessment of Root Plate Structure in Wind-Thrown Trees of Melia dubia

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Arunkumar ◽  
Shakti Chauhan

Root plays a significant role in tree growth and development and information pertaining to spread of the root and its depth will be useful for establishing plantations. Most of the root studies are generally carried out in trees growing in urban areas in avenues, but limited studies are carried out in plantations. Being an underground part of the tree, there are inherent difficulties in understanding root architecture. Uprooting of trees due to storm or wind damage provides an ideal opportunity to obtain critical understanding about tree roots. Such study has been carried out in an 11 year old storm ravaged Melia dubia plantation in Punjab, India. Field observations such as tree girth, root girth, root plate width and depth was recorded on uprooted trees. A large variability was recorded for all the traits. Root plate width and depth ranged from 1.42 to 5.17 m and 0.75 to 2.50 m, respectively. A strong positive relationship between tree girth and primary root girth, root plate width and depth identified in this study provides base line information which can be used while establishing M. dubia plantations.Keywords: Melia dubia, root plate, root width, root depth, wind-thrown

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskars Krišāns ◽  
Valters Samariks ◽  
Jānis Donis ◽  
Āris Jansons

An increase in extreme weather events is predicted with increasing climate changes. Changes indicate major problems in the future, as Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) is one of the most important forestry species in Northern Europe and one of the most susceptible to damage from extreme weather events, like windstorms. Root architecture is essential for tree anchorage. However, information of structural root-plate volume and characteristics in relation to tree wind resistance in drained deep peat soils is lacking. Individual tree susceptibility to wind damage is dependent on tree species, soil properties, tree health and root-plate volume. We assessed the structural root-plate dimensions of wind-thrown Norway spruce on freely drained mineral and drained deep peat soils at four trial sites in Latvia, and root-plate measurements were made on 65 recently tipped-up trees and 36 trees from tree-pulling tests on similar soils. Tree height, diameter at breast height, root-plate width and depth were measured. Measurements of structural root-plate width were done in five directions covering 180° of the root-plate; rooting depth was measured on the horizontal and vertical axes of root-plate. Root-plate volume was higher in drained peat soils in comparison to mineral soils, and root-plate width was the main driver of root-plate volume. A decreasing trend was observed in structural root depth distribution with increasing distance from the stem (i.e., from the center to the edge of the root plate) with a greater decrease in mineral soils.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Watson ◽  
Angela Hewitt ◽  
Melissa Custic ◽  
Marvin Lo

Root systems of nearly all trees in the built environment are subject to impacts of human activities that can affect tree health and reduce longevity. These influences are present from early stages of nursery development and throughout the life of the tree. Reduced root systems from root loss or constriction can reduce stability and increase stress. Natural infection of urban tree roots after severing has not been shown to lead to extensive decay development. Roots often conflict with infrastructure in urban areas because of proximity. Strategies to provide root space under pavements and to reduce pavement heaving have been developed, but strategies for prevention of foundation and sewer pipe damage are limited to increasing separation or improved construction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 3289-3309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fulvio Amato ◽  
Andrés Alastuey ◽  
Angeliki Karanasiou ◽  
Franco Lucarelli ◽  
Silvia Nava ◽  
...  

Abstract. The AIRUSE-LIFE+ project aims at characterizing similarities and heterogeneities in particulate matter (PM) sources and contributions in urban areas from southern Europe. Once the main PMx sources are identified, AIRUSE aims at developing and testing the efficiency of specific and non-specific measures to improve urban air quality. This article reports the results of the source apportionment of PM10 and PM2.5 conducted at three urban background sites (Barcelona, Florence and Milan, BCN-UB, FI-UB and MLN-UB), one suburban background site (Athens, ATH-SUB) and one traffic site (Porto, POR-TR). After collecting 1047 PM10 and 1116 PM2.5 24 h samples during 12 months (from January 2013 on) simultaneously at the five cities, these were analysed for the contents of OC, EC, anions, cations, major and trace elements and levoglucosan. The USEPA PMF5 receptor model was applied to these data sets in a harmonized way for each city. The sum of vehicle exhaust (VEX) and non-exhaust (NEX) contributes between 3.9 and 10.8 µg m−3 (16–32 %) to PM10 and 2.3 and 9.4 µg m−3 (15–36 %) to PM2.5, although a fraction of secondary nitrate is also traffic-related but could not be estimated. Important contributions arise from secondary particles (nitrate, sulfate and organics) in PM2.5 (37–82 %) but also in PM10 (40–71 %), mostly at background sites, revealing the importance of abating gaseous precursors in designing air quality plans. Biomass burning (BB) contributions vary widely, from 14–24 % of PM10 in POR-TR, MLN-UB and FI-UB, 7 % in ATH-SUB, to  <  2 % in BCN-UB. In PM2.5, BB is the second most important source in MLN-UB (21 %) and in POR-TR (18 %), the third one in FI-UB (21 %) and ATH-SUB (11 %), but is again negligible (< 2 %) in BCN-UB. This large variability among cities is mostly due to the degree of penetration of biomass for residential heating. In Barcelona natural gas is very well supplied across the city and is used as fuel in 96 % of homes, while in other cities, PM levels increase on an annual basis by 1–9 µg m−3 due to biomass burning influence. Other significant sources are the following. – Local dust, 7–12 % of PM10 at SUB and UB sites and 19 % at the TR site, revealing a contribution from road dust resuspension. In PM2.5 percentages decrease to 2–7 % at SUB-UB sites and 15 % at the TR site. – Industry, mainly metallurgy, contributing 4–11 % of PM10 (5–12 % in PM2.5), but only at BCN-UB, POR-TR and MLN-UB. No clear impact of industrial emissions was found in FI-UB and ATH-SUB. – Natural contributions from sea salt (13 % of PM10 in POR-TR, but only 2–7 % in the other cities) and Saharan dust (14 % in ATH-SUB, but less than 4 % in the other cities). During high pollution days, the largest sources (i.e. excluding secondary aerosol factors) of PM10 and PM2.5 are VEX + NEX in BCN-UB (27–22 %) and POR-TR (31–33 %), BB in FI-UB (30–33 %) and MLN-UB (35–26 %) and Saharan dust in ATH-SUB (52–45 %). During those days, there are also quite important industrial contributions in BCN-UB (17–18 %) and local dust in POR-TR (28–20 %).


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 252
Author(s):  
Viviane Da Silva Guerra ◽  
Otávio Costa Acevedo ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Medeiros ◽  
Adriano Battisti ◽  
Thaís Freitas Dill

The equations built over the years in the study of planetary boundary layer, although often based on experimental level, were created to idealized situations like, homogeneous surfaces flat, free from obstacles and steady state conditions. However such homogeneity situation is far from reality, because the earth’s surface features a large variability in topography, ground cover and urban areas. This paper presents a proposal to show the influence of the variability of the local surface as the obstacle effect on the flow in the timescale still small known, the Submeso in Convective Boundary Layer. To prove this effect was found a Transmission Factor for each wind sector in the eight micrometeorological stations present in the experimental site of Pedras Altas in the Pampa region in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Such Transmission Factor confirm the local influence of obstacles in filtering flow enabling identification of which quadrant the wind is more or less obstructed and even check in climbing time to osbtrução exerts greater impact.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (17) ◽  
pp. 23989-24039 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Amato ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
A. Karanasiou ◽  
F. Lucarelli ◽  
S. Nava ◽  
...  

Abstract. The AIRUSE-LIFE+ project aims at characterising similarities and heterogeneities in PM sources and contributions in urban areas from the Southern Europe. Once the main PMx sources are identified, AIRUSE aims at developing and testing the efficiency of specific and non-specific measures to improve urban air quality. This article reports the results of the source apportionment of PM10 and PM2.5 conducted at three urban background sites (Barcelona, Florence and Milan, BCN-UB, FI-UB, MLN-UB) one sub-urban background site (Athens, ATH-SUB) and one traffic site (Porto, POR-TR). After collecting 1047 PM10 and 1116 PM2.5 24 h samples from January 2013 to February 2014 simultaneously at the 5 cities, these were analysed for the contents of OC, EC, anions, cations, major and trace elements and levoglucosan. The USEPA PMF5 receptor model was applied to these datasets in a harmonised way for each city. The sum of vehicle exhaust and non-exhaust contributes within 3.9–10.8 μg m−3 (16–32 %) to PM10 and 2.3–9.4 μg m−3 (15–36 %) to PM2.5, although a fraction of secondary nitrate is also traffic-related but could not be estimated. Important contributions arise from secondary particles (nitrate, sulphate and organics) in PM2.5 (37–82 %) but also in PM10 (40–71 %) mostly at background sites, revealing the importance of abating gaseous precursors in designing air quality plans. Biomass burning (BB) contributions vary widely, from 14–24 % of PM10 in POR-TR, MLN-UB and FI-UB, 7 % in ATH-SUB to < 2 % in BCN-UB. In PM2.5, BB is the second most important source in MLN-UB (21 %) and in POR-TR (18 %), the third one in FI-UB (21 %) and ATH-SUB (11 %), but again negligible (< 2 %) in BCN-UB. This large variability among cities is mostly due to the degree of penetration of biomass for residential heating. In Barcelona natural gas is very well supplied across the city and used as fuel in 96 % of homes, while, in other cities, PM levels increase on an annual basis by 1–9 μg m−3 due to this source. Other significant sources are: - Local dust, 7–12 % of PM10 at SUB and UB sites and 19 % at the TR site, revealing a contribution from road dust resuspension. In PM2.5 percentages decrease to 2–7 % at SUB-UB sites and 15 % at the TR site. - Industries, mainly metallurgy, contributing 4–11 % of PM10 (5–12 % in PM2.5), but only at BCN-UB, POR-TR and MLN-UB. No clear impact of industrial emissions was found in FI-UB and ATH-SUB. - Natural contributions from sea salt (13 % of PM10 in POR-TR but only 2–7 % in the other cities) and Saharan dust (14 % in ATH-SUB), but less than 4 % in the other cities. During high pollution days, the largest specific source (i.e. excluding SSO and SNI) of PM10 and PM2.5 are: VEX+NEX in BCN-UB (27–22 %) and POR-TR (31–33 %), BB in FI-UB (30–33 %) and MLN-UB (35–26 %) and Saharan dust in ATH-SUB (52–45 %) During those days, there are also quite important Industrial contributions in BCN-UB (17–18 %) and Local dust in POR-TR (28–20 %).


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Marco Luberti

In comparison with naturally stratified deposits, anthropogenic strata often have large variability in physical and chemical characteristics, which can be determined only through field surveys and laboratory tests. The estimation of their spatial distribution, based on the modelling of their basal surface, may output imprecise results, since the interpolation process is often affected by insufficient input data, which are provided by available borehole-log data. This paper reports the results of a multitemporal-analysis methodology, which is supported by historical maps that are generally available for urban centres. The methodology allows the spatial characterization of major portions of anthropogenic deposits, which were mainly produced after the Industrial Revolution, worldwide. The first tests seemed to be satisfactory, although the selected area, which has been greatly urbanized since the end of the 19th century, is part of a city in which humans have made important modifications since ancient times.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Cirtog ◽  
Vincent Michoud ◽  
Axel Fouqueau ◽  
Mathieu Cazaunau ◽  
Antonin Bergé ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radical is the main atmospheric oxidant at night. The night period is favorable to the formation and accumulation of NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radicals in the atmosphere. On the one hand, it is formed by the reaction of nitrogen dioxide with ozone while, on the other hand, NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; being highly photosensitive, it cannot accumulate significantly during the day (S. S. Brown and J. Stutz, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012). In addition, the reaction between NO and NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; is very fast and so, urban environment is considered so far, being not favorable to the occurrence of NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radicals. However, atmospheric nitrogen chemistry near the earth surface is strongly linked to the dynamics of the boundary layer and in summer NO is rapidly depleted by ozone. A large variability of the mixing ratios for NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; as a function of height above the ground is thus expected with non-negligible concentrations in altitude (Brown et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2007). The contribution of NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radical to the atmospheric evolution of VOCs in urban and sub-urban areas may therefore also be influenced by this vertical distribution.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To demonstrate the potential importance of NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radical even in urban environment, a field campaign was carried out at night during July 2018 inside Paris. A newly developed field instrument dedicated to the measurement of NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; radical was deployed on a high payload touristic tethered balloon located in Paris 15&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; district that was used as vertical vector. The NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; instrument is a compact, robust and easily deployable on field instrument based on the IBB-CEAS (Incoherent Broad band Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy) technique. NO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; measurements were completed by ground and airborne measurements of NO (chemiluminescence analyzer), NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; (CAPS cavity) and O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; (absorption analyzer) concentrations as well as particle number concentrations (OPC GrimmTM) and 355 nm lidar (Leosphere ALS300) measurement for mixing layer probing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vertical profiles from 0 to up to 300 m were obtained at night characterized by high concentrations of ozone and moderate humidity. In this presentation, vertical profiles of the species measured and implications for VOC oxidation in urban environment will be discussed.&lt;/p&gt;


1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
J A Cantrill ◽  
B Johannesson ◽  
M Nicholson ◽  
P R Noyce

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