Nuisances et propositions d'aménagement dans l'espace industrialisé sud-rhénan (Noises and fitting up proposals in the upper-rhine industrial space)

The floodplain of the Upper Rhine and its biocoenoses have, through different river-regulatory activities over the last 175 years, undergone large scale degradation. At the same time flood protection for the downstream inhabitants has been greatly reduced. For reasons of flood protection, the “Polder Altenheim” in Baden-Württemberg, Germany southwest of Strasbourg, France, with so called retention flooding, was put into operation in 1987. The original floodplain had been diked for the previous 17 years, during which no flooding occurred. Since 1989 “ecological flooding” also is carried out. This has assisted in the regeneration of floodplain biotopes and promoted the floodplain biotic communities and the readaption of the bioceonosis to a regular flooding regime. The creation of new floodplain biotopes of early succession stages, particularly through geomorphodynamic processes, has followed the more than ten flood ocassions and typical biotic communities have colonised these sites. This will be presented together with selected examples of terrestrial and limnical species and communities. The following species and communities will be discussed: kingfisher Alcedo atthis, carabid communities (Coleoptera), the red alga Hildenbrandia rivularis (Rhodophyceae), the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis (Neritacea) and the freshwater bug Aphelocheirus aestivalis (Hydrocorisae).

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Scaling in a Geothermal Heat Exchanger at Soultz-Sous-Forêts (Upper Rhine Graben, France): A XRD and SEM-EDS Characterization of Sulfide Precipitates

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11070271 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 271

Author(s):

Béatrice A. Ledésert ◽

Ronan L. Hébert ◽

Justine Mouchot ◽

Clio Bosia ◽

Guillaume Ravier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Exchanger ◽

Energy Production ◽

Electricity Production ◽

Normal Operation ◽

Upper Rhine Graben ◽

Geothermal Heat ◽

Deep Wells ◽

Upper Rhine ◽

Management Issues

The Soultz-Sous-Forêts geothermal site (France) operates three deep wells for electricity production. During operation, scales precipitate within the surface installation as (Ba, Sr) sulfate and (Pb, As, Sb) sulfide types. Scales have an impact on lowering energy production and inducing specific waste management issues. Thus scaling needs to be reduced for which a thorough characterization of the scales has to be performed. The geothermal brine is produced at 160 °C and reinjected at 70 °C during normal operation. In the frame of the H2020 MEET project, a small heat exchanger was tested in order to allow higher energy production, by reinjecting the geothermal fluid at 40 °C. Samples of scales were analyzed by XRD and SEM-EDS, highlighting that mostly galena precipitates and shows various crystal shapes. These shapes can be related to the turbulence of the flow and the speed of crystal growth. Where the flow is turbulent (entrance, water box, exit), crystals grow quickly and mainly show dendritic shape. In the tubes, where the flow is laminar, crystals grow more slowly and some of them are characterized by well-developed faces leading to cubes and derived shapes. The major consequence of the temperature decrease is the increased scaling phenomenon.

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Prey, management and landscape requirements of an endangered population of the Woodlark Lullula arborea in Southwest Germany

Journal of Ornithology ◽

10.1007/s10336-021-01862-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Verena Rösch ◽

Pascal Aloisio ◽

Martin H. Entling

Keyword(s):

Food Resource ◽

Bird Species ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Main Food ◽

Vegetation Height ◽

Endangered Population ◽

Rhine Valley ◽

Territory Selection ◽

Main Food Source ◽

Upper Rhine

AbstractVineyards can be valuable habitats for biodiversity conservation. For example, in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) over a third of the state’s critically endangered Woodlark (Lullula arborea) population breeds in vineyards along the western margin of the Upper Rhine Valley. We here aim to elucidate how local ground cover management, food availability and the proximity to settlements affect territory selection by this bird species in the region. As climate, site conditions and management differ greatly from more continental or Mediterranean wine-growing areas, conditions for Woodlark conservation may differ as well.We compared 26 Woodlark territories in vineyards with 26 nearby reference areas from which Woodlarks were absent. We recorded vineyard ground cover in the inter-rows (% cover) as well as vegetation height and composition (forbs vs. grasses). Arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps, since they are the main food resource of Woodlarks during the breeding season. In addition, the distance to built-up areas was measured. The vegetation in Woodlark territories was shorter (mean 14.2 vs. 19.6 cm) and more dominated by forbs (39% vs. 27% cover) than in absence areas. The vegetation cover in the inter-rows had no effect on Woodlark territory presence or absence. Woodlarks also favoured areas with a higher abundance of arthropods (mean abundance 69.1 vs. 57.5) and a greater distance to built-up areas (mean distance 554 vs. 373 m). We conclude that to promote the Woodlark in wine-growing areas, short, forb-rich swards should be created, facilitating arthropod detectability. This is likely to require low levels of nitrogen fertilization since fertilizers favour tall-growing grasses that outcompete forbs. Pesticide applications should be kept at a minimum to enhance arthropods as the main food source for Woodlarks and their chicks. In addition, the expansion of settlements into breeding areas of Woodlarks should be avoided.

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