Utilizing the road bed for combined ground source heating and sustainable rainwater drainage in Hedensted, Denmark

<p>We present a novel climate adaption technology – the Climate Road - that combines collective, ground source heat pump (GSHP) based heating with sustainable urban drainage of rain water (SUDS). The system utilizes the road bed simultaneously as a retarding basin for excess rain water and as the energy source for a GSHP. Surface water percolates through the permeable road paving and is retained in the gravel road bed during extreme precipitation events where the sewage system is often overloaded. Water is subsequently released once capacity is available again on the sewage network. In addition, geothermal piping is embedded in the roadbed, serving as the collector for individual GSHPs that supply connected households with heating. The primary benefit of the combined system is the saved digging costs and lost property value from establishing a separate rainwater basin and trench for the geothermal piping as the road bed is to be established under any circumstances. However, there is also a subtle yet positive effect on the performance of the GSHP, from constantly watering the geothermal piping.</p><p>We have constructed 50 m of Climate Road in Hedensted, Denmark. The road bed is 1 m deep and 8 m wide and can retain a maximum of 150 mm of precipitation, given that the catchment area is twice that of the road surface. Moreover, the road bed is hydraulically disconnected from the surrounding soil by means of bentonite mats, to prevent seepage of groundwater into the road bed. Water is discharged by drainage pipes to a nearby rainwater basin for experimental and practical purposes only. 800 m of geothermal piping is embedded in the road bed, supplying a nearby kindergarten with domestic hot water and room heating by means of a GSHP. The Climate Road is fully instrumented with temperature sensors in the road bed, flow meters to measure water discharge and energy metering on the GSHP. We present the performance of the Climate Road in terms of supplied heating and the coefficient of performance (COP) for the heat pump in addition to drained water volumes for the first year of operation.</p>

Effects of Wetland Presence and Upland Land Use on Wild Hymenopteran and Dipteran Pollinators in the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska, USA

Pollination is an ecosystem service that is in jeopardy globally. Decreasing trends in wild pollinator populations are primarily attributed to habitat loss and degradation. These concerns are especially apparent in the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska, USA where more than 90% of the land has been cultivated and 90% of the wetlands have been lost. We compared hymenopteran and dipteran pollinator abundance, richness, and diversity in 28 wetlands and their adjacent uplands within 3 dominant land-condition types: cropped, restored, and reference state. We used vane traps to capture local pollinator insects and sweep nets to collect insect pollinators on flowers. Vane-trap captures revealed a greater abundance, richness, and diversity of hymenopteran pollinators in uplands as compared to wetlands over the entire growing season in all land-condition types. However, net collections showed that hymenopterans foraged more in wetlands than in uplands, especially in restored wetlands. The exception was September when hymenopterans were captured in uplands more than wetlands while feeding on late season forbs. Dipteran vane-trap and sweep-net captures primarily consisted of hoverflies (Syrphidae). Hoverflies were more abundant in wetlands than uplands. All pollinators used both wetlands and uplands for resources. Thus, insect-pollinator conservation can be enhanced by promoting native forb communities and pollinator habitat through wetland restoration and the planting of buffer strips.

Melittofauna and Other Potential Pollinators in Wetland and Uplands in South Central Nebraska (Insecta: Apoidea)

Our objective was to document potential wild pollinating insects in south central Nebraska. This intensively cultivated region is known as the Rainwater Basin and contains some of the most endangered wetland systems in North America. We used blue vane traps to passively collect insects and insect nets to actively collect on flowering plants from April through October in 2014 and 2015. Habitat types included playa wetlands, adjacent mixed and tallgrass prairies, and agricultural fields. Over 112,000 insects were collected; Hymenoptera represented 78% of the total, and the families Apidae and Halictidae comprised 99% of the total melittofauna. Insects from 13 orders were collected, but Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera were the most abundant potential pollinators.