Evaluation of Native and Nonnative Ornamentals as Pollinator Plants in Florida: II. Floral Resource Value

Consumer demand for novel, visually attractive ornamentals has often overshadowed the functional value plants may provide for flower-visiting insects. As native and nonnative species are hybridized for form, color, flowering, and disease resistance, it is important to assess whether some of these alterations influence plant nutrient quality for foraging insect pollinators. A study was conducted to ascertain the resource value of ornamental cultivars compared with their native congeners. The nectar volume and pollen quantity, viability, and protein content of 10 species of popular herbaceous flowering plants, commonly advertised as pollinator-friendly, were evaluated in northcentral Florida. Each genus encompassed a native and nonnative species, apart from pentas. Native species included blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella), lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), pineland lantana (Lantana depressa), and scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea). Nonnative species included Barbican™ yellow-red ring blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata ‘Gaiz005’), Bloomify™ rose lantana (Lantana camara ‘UF-1011-2’), mysty salvia (Salvia longispicata × farinacea ‘Balsalmysty’), Lucky Star® dark red pentas (Pentas lanceolata ‘PAS1231189’), ruby glow pentas (Pentas lanceolata ‘Ruby glow’) and UpTick™ Gold & Bronze coreopsis (Coreopsis × ‘Baluptgonz’). Floral rewards differed significantly across species. The native scarlet sage exhibited the largest nectar volume per flower in the summer (2.13 ± 0.17 µL), followed by the nonnative mysty salvia (1.26 ± 0.17 µL). In the fall, ruby glow pentas exhibited the largest nectar volume per flower (1.09 ± 0.17 µL) compared with all other ornamentals. The composite flowers of the native and nonnative blanket flower and coreopsis species had the lowest nectar volume per flower regardless of sampling date. Likewise, ruby glow pentas displayed the highest quantity of pollen grains (96.29 ± 0.12) per sample, followed by Lucky star pentas (52.33 ± 0.12), and Barbican blanket flower (50.98 ± 0.12). Pollen viability was similarly high (92% to 98%) among all species, apart from Bloomify rose lantana (20%) and pineland lantana (48%). Pollen protein content was highest in Uptick coreopsis (11.378 ± 1.860 μg/mg dry weight) and Lucky star pentas (10.656 ± 3.726 μg/mg dry weight), followed by lanceleaf coreopsis (7.918 ± 1.793 μg/mg dry weight). These results largely showed that the nonnative ornamentals selected provided resource-rich floral rewards, comparable to native congeners. Still, care should be taken in making similar assessments of other modern floral types.

Sustainable Development Through the Circular Economy

Linear economic models have led us to a point where our planet can no longer sustain itself and heal its natural resources. Thus, circular economy has provided us the opportunity to hope for increasing resource value, extending its life as a means to put waste back into the consumption chain. In emerging economies, circular economy-based business models are not as pertinent. However, in the past decade, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have provided a guideline for businesses, legislators, and academics. It has been witnessed that a few notable initiatives in the field of the circular economy have taken place in emerging economies which has led to achieving different SDGs to a certain extent. This chapter discusses the potential circular economy-based business models held in the attainment of different sustainable development goals.

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS FOR STUDYING THE RESOURCE VALUE OF DUMP BLAST FURNACE SLAGS

The study of the properties of blast-furnace slags requires an integrated approach, including various research methods. The purpose of the work is to substantiate the resource value of the Zaporizhstal dump blast furnace slag. The research methods were used: X-ray phase, petrographic, gamma-spectrometric analysis and electron probe microanalysis. The slag is dispersed into fractions, since the slag minerals have different hardness. Fractions (mm) were investigated in the work: >20 2.5–5, <0.63. X-ray phase analysis made it possible to reveal in the crystalline part of blast-furnace slag minerals that are technically valuable in the production of binders: 3CaO∙2SiO2, SiO2, 2CaO∙Al2O3∙SiO2, α-2CaO∙SiO2, 2CaO∙MgO∙2SiO2, α-CaO∙SiO2. Minerals akermanite, bredigite, pseudo-wollastonite have hydraulic activity. It is shown that the mass fraction of the amorphous component is half the mass of the blast furnace slag. The high content of substances in the amorphous state confirms the possibility of sorption of extraneous ions and compounds. The found elements Potassium, Sodium, Sulfur, Chlorine, Cuprum and Titanium are not part of the minerals. Slag contains less than 1% of the total amount of Fe, Ti and Cu, belonging to the 3rd class of hazardous substances. The maximum content of Potassium, Sodium and Titanium is typical for the fraction 2.5–5 mm. The most basic is the fraction <0.63 mm (pH 9.7), for the 2.5–5 mm fraction pH 9.1, the most acidic fraction >20 (pH 8.2). By the value of the toxicity index (4.3–5.4) and the III hazard class, dump blast furnace slag «Zaporizhstal» as a moderately hazardous waste can be used as a secondary raw material in the construction industry. The database on the content of natural radionuclides in technogenic raw materials has been updated. It has been proven that slag and its individual fractions contain natural radionuclides 40К, 226Ra, 232Th. The main contribution to the value of Сef is made by the 226Ra radionuclide, then by 232Th. The excess of specific activity is expressed for the 2.5–5 mm fraction. The I class of radiation hazard is defined, which allows the use of slag in construction without restrictions. Dump blast furnace slag «Zaporizhstal can be recommended in the production of inorganic binders « by the totality of chemical indicators.

Crisis in the Tar Sands: Fossil Capitalism and the Future of the Alberta Hydrocarbon Economy

Using a case study of Alberta, Canada, this paper demonstrates how a geographic critique of fossil capitalism helps elucidate the tensions shaping tar sands development. Conflicts over pipelines and Indigenous territorial claims are challenging development trajectories, as tar sands companies need to expand access to markets in order to expand production. While these conflicts are now well recognised, there are also broader dynamics shaping development. States face a rentier’s dilemma, relying on capital investments to realise resource value. Political responses to the emerging climate crisis undercut the profitability of hydrocarbon extraction. The automation of production undermines the industrial compromise between hydrocarbon labour and capital. Ultimately, the crises of fossil capitalism require a radical transformation within or beyond capital relations. To mobilise against the tar sands, organisers must recognise the tensions underpinning it, developing strategies that address ecological concerns and the economic plight of those dispossessed and abandoned by carbon extraction.

Collective self-optimization of communicating active particles

The quest for how to collectively self-organize in order to maximize the survival chances of the members of a social group requires finding an optimal compromise between maximizing the well-being of an individual and that of the group. Here we develop a minimal model describing active individuals which consume or produce, and respond to a shared resource—such as the oxygen concentration for aerotactic bacteria or the temperature field for penguins—while urging for an optimal resource value. Notably, this model can be approximated by an attraction–repulsion model, but, in general, it features many-body interactions. While the former prevents some individuals from closely approaching the optimal value of the shared “resource field,” the collective many-body interactions induce aperiodic patterns, allowing the group to collectively self-optimize. Arguably, the proposed optimal field–based collective interactions represent a generic concept at the interface of active matter physics, collective behavior, and microbiological chemotaxis. This concept might serve as a useful ingredient to optimize ensembles of synthetic active agents or to help unveil aspects of the communication rules which certain social groups use to maximize their survival chances.

Boom and Bust Archaeology

As a discourse analysis of historical resource assessment documents and interviews with professional archaeologists, this study aims to inspect and critique the production of value in the Alberta historical resource value (HRV) system. The system of evaluation for historical value creates what can be described as a presence-absence model of archaeological significance that limits the ability for archaeologists to interpret and subjectively determine the historical value of materials. In addition, current systems often rely on a contractual relationship between archaeologists and industry to produce these reports, and rarely incorporate indigenous perspectives of significance. With a focus on the assumptions and functional result of HRIA assessments, we can examine the repercussions of the contemporary archaeological evaluative model within Alberta. A goal of this nascent assessment is to provide the opportunity for evaluation of a system that largely exists below the surface of public interest but has vast implications for future access to shared historical resources.

Competitive gossip: the impact of domain, resource value, resource scarcity and coalitions

Those with better reputations often obtain more resources than those with poorer reputations. Consequently, gossip might be an evolved strategy to compete for valuable and scarce material and social resources. Influenced by models of non-human primate competition, we test the hypotheses that gossip: (i) targets aspects of reputation relevant to the domain in which the competition is occurring, (ii) increases when contested resources are more valuable, and (iii) increases when resources are scarcer. We then test hypotheses derived from informational warfare theory, which proposes that coalitions strategically collect, analyse and disseminate gossip. Specifically, we test whether: (iv) coalitions deter negative gossip, and (v) whether they increase expectations of reputational harm to competitors. Using experimental methods in a Mechanical Turk sample ( n = 600), and survey and ego network analysis methods in a sample of California sorority women ( n = 74), we found that gossip content is specific to the context of the competition; that more valuable and scarcer resources cause gossip, particularly negative gossip, to intensify; and that allies deter negative gossip and increase expectations of reputational harm to an adversary. These results support social competition theories of gossip. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.

Evaluation model of LID facilities based on the influence of water resource value

Low-impact development (LID) facilities can not only effectively control rainwater runoff and its pollution, but also enhance the value of urban water resources in water systems. Current studies usually pay more attention to the effect of pollution control indicators, and there are few reports on the evaluation of LID facilities from the perspective of enhancing the value of water resources. Taking the Maluan Bay area of Haicang, Xiamen as an example, an evaluation model of water resource value was established based on the SWMM software and the pollution loss model. From the perspective of economic quantification, the value of water resources brought by three types of LID facilities, such as green roofs, permeable pavement and infiltration gallery, under rainfall conditions in different recurrence intervals was simulated and calculated. In the single rainfall event of 1–10a recurrence interval, the water resource value brought by the green roofs is 679.14–787.49 RMB/hm2, the permeable pavement is 79.07–383.37 RMB/hm2 and the infiltration gallery is 825.45–1,021.79 RMB/hm2. The results show that the value of water resources brought by the three types of LID facilities decreases with the increase of rainfall recurrence interval.