scholarly journals The NEBIE plot network: Highlights of long-term scientific studies

2017 ◽  
Vol 93 (02) ◽  
pp. 122-137
Author(s):  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Jennifer Dacosta ◽  
Steven G. Newmaster ◽  
Azim Mallik ◽  
Shelley Hunt ◽  
...  

The NEBIE plot network is a stand-scale, multi-agency research project designed to compare the ecological effects of a range of silvicultural treatments in northern temperate and boreal forest regions of Ontario, Canada. While research on silviculture intensities has been previously conducted, the NEBIE plot network is at a larger scale, and covers a wider range of intensities in a variety of northern temperate and boreal forest types. Details about experimental design, treatment designs and research sites, are presented in a companion paper which is published in this edition of The Forestry Chronicle. The operational scale of treatment plots allow for assessment of a variety of forest values. We used a criteria and indicator approach to organize long-term research studies on the network sites, with the goal of providing scientific findings that would inform forest policy. Pre-treatment, and 2-, 5-, and 10-year post-harvesting data have been collected. These initial data add to existing information on the effects of intensification of silviculture on biological diversity, forest productivity, ecosystem health and vitality, soil and water resources, contribution of enhanced forest management global carbon cycles, and long-term multiple socio-economic benefits of northern forests.

2017 ◽  
Vol 93 (02) ◽  
pp. 87-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Margo Shaw ◽  
Jennifer Dacosta ◽  
Steven G. Newmaster

The Intensive Management Science Partnership: NEBIE Plot Network is a stand-scale, multi-agency research project designed to compare the ecological effects of a range of silvicultural treatments in northern temperate and boreal forest regions of Ontario. The NEBIE plot network was established in 2001 with randomized complete block experiments installed at eight sites. The NEBIE acronym stands for Natural disturbance, and Extensive, Basic, Intensive, and Elite silviculture. Each NEBIE treatment was replicated at least three times at each site, using large experimental units (2-ha plots). The NEBIE plot network provides researchers with an opportunity to conduct long-term scientific studies at multiple scales and disciplines. The operational-scale treatment plots allow assessment of a variety of forest values in a context directly relevant to informing forest planning and management. In this paper, we document the experimental design and describe the sites and silviculture treatments. Information about sampling designs is provided, along with preliminary results, in a companion paper published in this edition of The Forestry Chronicle.


Author(s):  
E Y. Wang ◽  
J. T. Cherian ◽  
A. Madsen ◽  
R. M. Fisher

Many steel parts are electro-plated with chromium to protect them against corrosion and to improve their wear-resistance. Good adhesion of the chrome plate to the steel surface, which is essential for long term durability of the part, is extremely dependent on surface preparation prior to plating. Recently, McDonnell Douglas developed a new pre-treatment method for chrome plating in which the steel is anodically etched in a sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid solution. On carbon steel surfaces, this anodic pre-treatment produces a dark, loosely adhering material that is commonly called the “smut” layer. On stainless steels and nickel alloys, the surface is only darkened by the anodic pre-treatment and little residue is produced. Anodic pre-treatment prior to hard chrome plating results in much better adherence to both carbon and alloy steels.We have characterized the anodic pre-treated steel surface and the resulting “smut” layer using various techniques including electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) on bulk samples and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) on stripped films.


Water Policy ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-483
Author(s):  
Tishya Chatterjee

In conditions of severe water-pollution and dormant community acceptance of accumulating environmental damage, the regulator's role goes beyond pollution prevention and more towards remediation and solutions based on the community's long-term expectations of economic benefits from clean water. This paper suggests a method to enable these benefits to become perceptible progressively, through participatory clean-up operations, supported by staggered pollution charges. It analyses the relevant literature on pollution prevention and applies a cost-based “willingness to pay” model, using primary basin-level data of total marginal costs. It develops a replicable demand-side approach imposing charge-standard targets over time in urban-industrial basins of developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4747
Author(s):  
Mario A. Heredia Salgado ◽  
Ina Säumel ◽  
Andrea Cianferoni ◽  
Luís A. C. Tarelho

Improving the livelihoods of communities living in fragile ecosystems, such as tropical forests, is among the main strategies to promote their conservation and preserve wildlife. In the Ecuadorian Amazon, farmers’ cooperatives are recognized as an important mechanism to improve the socioeconomic conditions of local communities. This study analyzes the integration of pyrolysis processes to convert agricultural waste into biochar as a way to implement the bioeconomy in these organizations. We found that post-harvesting processes in the studied farmers’ cooperatives are similar, and coffee husks are a potential feedstock to produce biochar. Although the environmental policies in Ecuador consider the valorization of agricultural waste, we did not find any specific standard to regulate the operation of pyrolysis facilities. Nonetheless, conversion of agricultural waste into biochar can contribute to (i) replacement of subsidized fossil fuels used in drying processes, (ii) prevention of environmental pollution caused by accumulation of waste, (iii) emergence of new income sources linked with the provision of carbon sequestration services, and (iv) the long-term maintenance of soil fertility. Currently, demonstration projects are needed to stimulate collaboration among farmers’ cooperatives, academia, the government, international cooperation agencies, and existing forest conservation initiatives.


Axioms ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Fasma Diele ◽  
Carmela Marangi ◽  
Angela Martiradonna

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is one of the key indicators of land degradation. SOC positively affects soil functions with regard to habitats, biological diversity and soil fertility; therefore, a reduction in the SOC stock of soil results in degradation, and it may also have potential negative effects on soil-derived ecosystem services. Dynamical models, such as the Rothamsted Carbon (RothC) model, may predict the long-term behaviour of soil carbon content and may suggest optimal land use patterns suitable for the achievement of land degradation neutrality as measured in terms of the SOC indicator. In this paper, we compared continuous and discrete versions of the RothC model, especially to achieve long-term solutions. The original discrete formulation of the RothC model was then compared with a novel non-standard integrator that represents an alternative to the exponential Rosenbrock–Euler approach in the literature.


2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Visvanathan ◽  
P. Svenstrup ◽  
P. Ariyamethee

This paper presents a case study of a natural gas production site covering various technical issues related to selection of an appropriate Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. The long-term field experience indicates the necessity of the selection of appropriate pretreatment systems for fouling-free RO operational conditions. The produced water has a variety of impurities such as oil and grease, process chemicals used for corrosion and scaling control, and dehydration of natural gas, etc. This situation leads to a complicated and extremely difficult task for a membrane specialist to design RO systems, especially the pre-treatment section. Here as part of the pretreatment selection, two types of UF membrane modules viz. spiral wound and hollow fibre, with MWCO of 8000 and 50,000 Dalton respectively, were tested in parallel with NF membranes of the spiral wound type with MWCO 200 Dalton. The UF permeate is used as feed for RO compatibility testing. Both configurations of UF failed to be compatible, due to irreversible fouling of the RO membrane. The NF membrane, however, showed interesting results, due to membrane stability in terms of cleaning and fouling. The NF plant with 50% capacity gave a recovery of 75% and the RO plant gave a recovery of 60% versus the expected 92–95%. The long-term tests have indicated that the reminder of the membranes could be installed to achieve full capacity of the plant. This study also demonstrates the importance of selection of proper pre-treatment set-up for the RO system design.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Kinga Kęska ◽  
Michał Wojciech Szcześniak ◽  
Izabela Makałowska ◽  
Małgorzata Czernicka

Waterlogging (WL), excess water in the soil, is a phenomenon often occurring during plant cultivation causing low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the soil. The aim of this study was to identify candidate genes involved in long-term waterlogging tolerance in cucumber using RNA sequencing. Here, we also determined how waterlogging pre-treatment (priming) influenced long-term memory in WL tolerant (WL-T) and WL sensitive (WL-S) i.e., DH2 and DH4 accessions, respectively. This work uncovered various differentially expressed genes (DEGs) activated in the long-term recovery in both accessions. De novo assembly generated 36,712 transcripts with an average length of 2236 bp. The results revealed that long-term waterlogging had divergent impacts on gene expression in WL-T DH2 and WL-S DH4 cucumber accessions: after 7 days of waterlogging, more DEGs in comparison to control conditions were identified in WL-S DH4 (8927) than in WL-T DH2 (5957). Additionally, 11,619 and 5007 DEGs were identified after a second waterlogging treatment in the WL-S and WL-T accessions, respectively. We identified genes associated with WL in cucumber that were especially related to enhanced glycolysis, adventitious roots development, and amino acid metabolism. qRT-PCR assay for hypoxia marker genes i.e., alcohol dehydrogenase (adh), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (aco) and long chain acyl-CoA synthetase 6 (lacs6) confirmed differences in response to waterlogging stress between sensitive and tolerant cucumbers and effectiveness of priming to enhance stress tolerance.


Author(s):  
Katina Popova ◽  
◽  
Miroslava Malcheva ◽  

Tourism in Bulgaria is a cross cutting sector of particular importance for unemployment and poverty eradication. As a source of foreign exchange earnings and direct investments it ensures viable medium and long-term economic benefits for both the destination and the local community. In recent years, the sustainable development of tourism on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is seriously threatened, mainly due to the consequences of mass sea tourism, the short-sighted use of available resources and the territorial concentration of accommodation facilities. The aim of the present study is to establish the achievements of the hospitality business on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in terms of sustainability and environmentally friendly lifestyle.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bohuslav Slánský ◽  
Vit Šmilauer ◽  
Jiří Hlavatý ◽  
Richard Dvořák

A jointed plain concrete pavement represents a reliable, historically proven technical solution for highly loaded roads, highways, airports and other industrial surfaces. Excellent resistance to permanent deformations (rutting) and also durability and maintenance costs play key roles in assessing the economic benefits, rehabilitation plans, traffic closures, consumption and recycling of materials. In the history of concrete pavement construction, slow-to-normal hardening Portland cement was used in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s-1980s. The pavements are being replaced after 40-50 years of service, mostly due to vertical slab displacements due to missing dowel bars. However, pavements built after 1996 used rapid hardening cements, resulting in long-term surface cracking and decreased durability. In order to build durable concrete pavements, slower hardening slag-blended binders were designed and tested in the restrained ring shrinkage test and in isothermal calorimetry. Corresponding concretes were tested mainly for the compressive/tensile strength evolution and deicing salt-frost scaling to meet current specifications. The pilot project was executed on a 14 km highway, where a unique temperature-strain monitoring system was installed to provide long-term data from the concrete pavement. A thermo-mechanical coupled model served for data validation, showing a beneficial role of slower hydration kinetics. Continuous monitoring interim results at 24 months have revealed small curling induced by drying and the overall small differential shrinkage of the slab.


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