Optimization of biodiesel supply chains based on small farmers: a case study in Brazil

This article presents a methodology for conceiving and planning the development of an optimized supply chain of a biodiesel plant sourced from family farms and taking into consideration agricultural, logistic, industrial, and social aspects. This model was successfully applied to the production chain of biodiesel fuel from castor oil in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Results suggest important insights related to the optimal configuration of the crushing units, regarding its location, technology, and when it should be available, as well as the configuration of the production zones along the planning horizon considered. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is performed in order to measure how possible variations in the considered conjecture can affect the robustness of the solutions.     

污水土地处理生态工程综合效益评价以霍林河森林型慢速渗滤土地处理工程为例

为了科学、定量地评价污水土地处理生态工程的综合效益,运用层次分析法（ＡＨＰ）,提出了评价指标体系、指标权重和综合效益计算方法．应用此方法对霍林河森林型慢速渗滤土地处理工程的综合效益进行了分析与评价．结果表明,霍林河森林型慢速渗滤土地处理工程的综合效益值ＣＥ＝０．６４,属于中级生态经济系统,而且具有良好的环境效益和社会效益     

Assessment of land use changes through an indicator-based approach: A case study from the Lamone river basin in Northern Italy

This study has been performed in order to evaluate the land use changes and related environmental impacts which occurred in recent decades in the Lamone river basin (Northern Italian Apennines). Using the DPSIR indicator-based approach, agricultural land use changes and conversions occurred within the periods 1976–1994 and 1994–2003, have been associated with the shortage of water in the river and the modification of the landscape structure. Results show that Lamone river basin in 1976 was mainly dominated by forest (27.4%) and cropland (32.3%) and through the entire period the valley presented a strong persistence of land uses and the main conversions detected are afforestation and agricultural intensification. The hydrological balance analysis results indicate that the agricultural intensification process produced a water deficit in summer periods equal to 0.89 mln m³ in 2003. The landscape of the Lamone valley became more homogeneous, showing a decrease in diversity (Shannon Diversity Index values decreased from 1.81 to 1.58) and the riparian corridor became more human-dominated (Human Habitat values increased from 0.61 to 0.77). An integrated assessment of possible management options has been conducted, using the MULINO-DSS software as a support. Thirteen different management scenarios have been produced in order to solve the water balance issue and to enhance the riparian corridor. Attributing equal weight to the environmental, social and economical criteria, the best solution corresponds to the sole creation of artificial basins and the actual situation is placed at position 8 (out of 13).     

Review: Prospects and limitations of prescribed burning as a management tool in European grasslands

Grassland managers and scientists are increasingly interested in cost-effective alternative ways of grassland biodiversity conservation. Prescribed burning is a promising management tool which should be integrated in the planning of management efforts. In addition, small-scale prescribed burning is an effective fire suppression strategy to decrease the serious negative impacts of uncontrolled burnings on ecosystems and human life. Prescribed burning forms an integral part of the North-American grassland management practice, while in Europe it is rarely applied, despite the fact that uncontrolled burning occurs frequently in some regions. Our goal was to evaluate the use of prescribed burning as a promising but neglected management tool in European grasslands. We found that European studies on prescribed burning of grasslands are scarce and we conclude that annual burning is usually not an appropriate option for the conservation of species-rich grasslands. We reviewed burning studies from North-America to identify findings which might be adapted to the European grassland conservation strategy. In North-America, contrary to Europe, the application of burning is fine tuned in terms of frequency and timing, and usually combined with other restoration measures (grazing or seed sowing). Thus, we conclude that with the application of carefully designed prescribed burning, multiple conservation goals, e.g. invasion control and enhancing landscape-level heterogeneity, can be linked with an effective fire suppression strategy. We emphasize that for the application of prescribed burning in Europe, the general findings of carefully designed case studies should be combined with the practical knowledge of conservation managers concerning the local application circumstances to reach specific management objectives.     

Bird assemblages in fragmented agricultural landscapes: the role of small brigalow remnants and adjoining land uses

Agricultural intensification typically leads to changes in bird diversity and community composition, with fewer species and foraging guilds present in more intensively managed parts of the landscape. In this study, we compare bird communities in small (2–32 ha) brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) remnants with those in adjacent uncultivated grassland, previously cultivated grassland and current cropland, to determine the contribution of different land uses to bird diversity in the agricultural landscape. Twenty remnant brigalow patches and adjacent agricultural (‘matrix’) areas in southern inland Queensland, Australia were sampled for bird composition and habitat characteristics. The richness, abundance and diversity of birds were all significantly higher in brigalow remnants than in the adjacent matrix of cropping and grassland. Within the matrix, species richness and diversity were higher in uncultivated grasslands than in current cultivation or previously cultivated grasslands. Forty-four percent of bird species were recorded only in brigalow remnants and 78% of species were recorded in brigalow and at least one other land management category. Despite high levels of landscape fragmentation and modification, small patches of remnant brigalow vegetation provide important habitat for a unique and diverse assemblage of native birds. The less intensively managed components of the agricultural matrix also support diverse bird assemblages and thus, may be important for local and regional biodiversity conservation.     

Fire monitoring in savanna ecosystems using MODIS data: a case study of Kruger National Park, South Africa

The heterogeneity of savanna ecosystems is guaranteed by disturbance events like fires, droughts, floods and browsing and grazing by herbivores. For conservation areas with limited space to preserve biodiversity, fire monitoring is crucial. Long periods of satellite remotely sensed data provide an alternative solution to estimate the distribution of different vegetation types and fire-affected patches over time. This study focusses on the application of MODIS data to detect, identify and delineate fire-affected areas in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa, for the period 2001–2003. Fire scars on KNP’s savanna were identified using threshold and supervised classification methods on moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) with 500-m resolution and 32-day global composites using a combination of band 1 (red), 2 (NIR, near infrared), 4 (green) and 6 (SWIR, short wave infrared). On identified fire scars, the spectral indexes of albedo, normalised difference infrared index (NDII) and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) were extracted. The following four broad habitat types were used for this analysis: riparian woodland, dense woodland, mixed woodland and open-tree savanna. The values of albedo, NDII and NDVI during the dry season (June to October) for different years are lower on fire-affected patches. Mixed woodland is the largest habitat burned with 21%, 43% and 2% of the KNP area affected by fire in 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively. Riparian woodland is the least affected by fire. The supervised classification method has a greater accuracy for fire scars detection in KNP savannas during the dry season. We conclude that MODIS data can be used successfully for fire monitoring in savanna ecosystems.     

Influences of land use and stream size on particulate and dissolved materials in a small Amazonian stream network

We investigated the influences of forest or pasture land use and stream size on particulate and dissolved material concentrations in a network of second to third order streams in Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon. During the dry season, a second order stream originating in pasture had lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen and nitrate, higher concentrations of chlorophyll, total suspended solids, particulate organic carbon, particular organic nitrogen, ammonium, and phosphate than a second order stream originating in forest. Where the second order forest stream exited forest and entered pasture, concentrations of dissolved oxygen dropped from 6 mg/L to almost 0 mg/L and nitrate concentrations dropped from 12 M to 2 M over a reach of 2 km. These changes indicated a strong influence of land use. During the rainy season, differences among reaches of all particulate and dissolved materials were diminished. Concentrations of oxygen, chlorophyll, total suspended solids, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate in the third order pasture stream more closely resembled the second order forest stream than the second order pasture stream, suggesting that conditions in the channels of larger pasture streams more strongly control concentrations of these materials. If this pattern is widespread in stream networks of regions that consist of a mosaic of forest and pasture lands, it may have important consequences for understanding the effects of deforestation on larger rivers of the Amazon Basin. This would indicate that the effects of forest clearing on the concentrations of many suspended and dissolved materials will be most easily detected in very small streams but potentially difficult to detect in larger streams and rivers.     

Comparison of phenology trends by land cover class: a case study in the Great Basin, USA

Direct impacts of human land use and indirect impacts of anthropogenic climate change may alter land cover and associated ecosystem function, affecting ecological goods and services. Considerable work has been done to identify long‐term global trends in vegetation greenness, which is associated with primary productivity, using remote sensing. Trend analysis of satellite observations is subject to error, and ecosystem change can be confused with interannual variability. However, the relative trends of land cover classes may hold clues about differential ecosystem response to environmental forcing. Our aim was to identify phenological variability and 10‐year trends for the major land cover classes in the Great Basin. This case study involved two steps: a regional, phenology‐based land cover classification and an identification of phenological variability and 10‐year trends stratified by land cover class. The analysis used a 10‐year time series of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer satellite data to assess regional scale land cover variability and identify change. The phenology‐based regional classification was more detailed and accurate than national or global products. Phenological variability over the 10‐year period was high, with substantial shifts in timing of start of season of up to 9 weeks. The mean long‐term trends of montane land cover classes were significantly different from valley land cover classes due to a poor response of montane shrubland and pinyon‐juniper woodland to the early 1990s drought. The differential response during the 1990s suggests that valley ecosystems may be more resilient and montane ecosystems more susceptible to prolonged drought. This type of regional‐scale land cover analysis is necessary to characterize current patterns of land cover phenology, distinguish between anthropogenically driven land cover change and interannual variability, and identify ecosystems potentially susceptible to regional and global change.     

Relationship between river water quality and land use in a small river basin running through the urbanizing area of Central Japan

In this study, the relationship between water quality (as represented by major inorganic ion concentrations) and land use characteristics is examined for a small river basin which runs through the urbanizing area of central Japan. Water samples were taken from 24 sites at base flow and analyzed, and the proportions of the various land uses associated with the respective drainage basins were calculated using a digital land-use map (scale: 1:25000). The electrical conductivity (EC) of the water ranged from 84.5 to 600 μS cm⁻¹. Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ were the major cations, accounting for 77% of all cations. Among the anions, HCO₃ ⁻ was dominant (56%), followed by Cl⁻ (24%), SO₄ ²⁻ (13%) and NO₃ ⁻ (7%). Applying principal component analysis to land use in the drainage basin yielded three principal components. The first principal component expressed the degree of occupation by residential areas, the second indicated the degree of urban developing area (i.e., fast-developing and industrial areas), and the third showed the degree of coverage with farmland and green space. The residential area showed significant positive correlations with K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, NO₃ ⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, EC and TMI (total major ions). Urban developing area showed significant positive correlations with Ca²⁺, Cl⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, EC and TMI as well as weak negative correlations with NO₃ ⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻. Industrial area showed weak positive correlations with Na⁺ and Cl⁻ and a moderate negative correlation with NO₃ ⁻. Farmland showed significant positive correlations with NO₃ ⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻; these ions are present due to fertilizers and the biological activity of plants. Forest area is inversely related to almost all ions, indicating the need for this form of land use in order to maintain river water quality.     

Ultrasound-assisted digestion: a useful alternative in sample preparation

Ultrasound-assisted digestion is a promising alternative in the analysis of solid samples when either simple dissolution or direct analysis is not applicable. However, the field of application of ultrasonic sample digestion is still small in comparison with classical digestion alternatives and, particularly, with microwave-assisted digestion. This fact can be justified by the scant knowledge analytical chemists have about the advantages ultrasonic energy provides to digestion. Among these, the strict control at low temperatures of ultrasound applications allows the implementation of ultrasonic-assisted steps in biochemical analyses. In this connection, two specific biological applications, ultrasonic enzymatic digestion and assistance of ultrasound for cell disruption, are also reviewed.     

Determination of nitrie in human blood by combination of a specific sample preparation with high-performance anion-exchange chromatography and electrochemical detection

All photometric or HPLC methods described to date have been unable to detect nitrite, a reliable marker of NO synthase activity, in human blood because of its rapid metabolism within the erythrocytes. We now elaborate on method to prevent nitrite degradation during sample preparation which in combination with high-performance anion-exchange chromatography and electrochemical detection allows a sensitive measurement of nitrite. A linear current response in the concentration range of 10–1000 nmol/l nitrite was observed yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.99. In addition, the combination of the electrochemical with a UV detector allowed us to simultaneously quantify nitrate one analytical run, which is the end product of NO/nitrite metabolism. Basal levels for nitrate and nitrite in human blood were determined with 25±4 μmol/l and 578±116 nmol/l (n=8), respectively and thus were in the same concentration range as expected from NO measurement in saline perfused isolated organs or cultured endothelial cells. Therefore, the presented method may be used to assess activity of endothelial constitutive NO synthase in humans under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.     

Hydrodynamic disturbances produced by small zooplankton: case study for the veliger larva of a bivalve mollusc

Zooplankton produce hydrodynamic disturbances during swimmingand feeding that enlarge their perceptive volume. From the standpointof both prey and predators, fluid disturbances increase theprobability that an organism is detected, identified and reactedto within appropriate time and space scales. Morphology andkinematics dictate the magnitude, symmetry and attenuation ofdisturbances in the fluid medium. Therefore, fluid disturbancesmay be species and age (size) specific. Normal and high-speedvideo microscopy was used to study flow-field generation byfree-swimming and tethered bivalve larvae. These organisms swimand feed using many highly coordinated and symmetrically distributedappendages (i.e. cilia). Larvae tethered in flow at variousfree stream velocities (U₀), simulating swimming activity, inducedparticle trajectories approximately parallel to the organism'sdorso-ventral axis. Velocity (v) and acceleration (a) were symmetricalin the transverse plane and asymmetrical in the vertical plane.Greatest velocity magnitudes ({small tilde}7, 3 and 6 mm s^–)occurred dorsal to the velum and attenuated with source distance(r) as 1/r, 1/r^1.9 and 1/r^2.9 at 10 s^– U₀ =, 3.1 and 6.4mm s^–1, respectively. For a larva in flow, but with velumretracted, simulating sinking, velocity attenuated at Mr towardsthe organism. Mean velocity gradients were on the order of 3,8 and 10 s^–1 for swimming, sinking and hovering larvae,respectively. The high-frequency (22 Hz) component of particlevelocity past free-swimming larvae was due to beat frequencyof the velar cilia. This attenuated rapidly with r leaving onlylow-frequency (1–3 Hz) disturbances 0.1 mm beyond thetips of the cilia. Comparisons of the kinetic energy dissipationrate for turbulence in coastal waters with the kinetic energyof laminar flow fields implied possible dominance of the flowfield of hovering, but not swimming, larvae to at least threebody diameters from the organism (–1 mm). These differencesin flow fields have important implications for larval survival.The perceptive volume of a hovering larva will be 40-fold greaterthan that of a swimming or sinking larva. However, a hoveringlarva U also more likely to be detected by a potential predatorthat uses mechanosensory organs to locate prey.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets for a tropical watershed impacted by agricultural land use: Guayas, Ecuador

Large-scale changes in land use are occurring in many tropical regions, with significant impacts on nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemistry. In this study we examine the relationships between land use, anthropogenic nutrient inputs, and riverine nutrient exports in a major agricultural watershed of the Pacific coast of South America, the Guayas River basin of Ecuador. We present comprehensive nutrient budgets for nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) for the Guayas River basin and 10 sub-watersheds. We quantify the four major anthropogenic nutrient fluxes into and out of the region: N and P fertilizer application, N fixation by leguminous crops, net import/export of N and P in agricultural products (food and feed), and atmospheric deposition. We also estimate inputs of N from biological N fixation in forests and of P from weathering sources in soils and bedrock. The sum of these sources represents net inputs of N and P to each watershed region. Overall, synthetic fertilizers are the largest input to the Guayas Basin for N (53%) and P (57%), and the largest outputs are N and P in crops. Losses of N and P in river export account for 14–38% of total N and P inputs, and there is significant accumulation of N and P, or unmeasured forms of N and P export, in most of the sub-basins. Nutrient balances are indicative of the sustainability of land use practices in a region, where a negative balance of N or P indicates nutrient depletion and subsequent loss of soil fertility, yield, and economic viability. Although the nutrient balance of the entire Guayas Basin is positive, there are negative or near zero balances in two sub-watersheds with extensive banana, coffee and permanent crops. In these basins, degradation of soil quality may be occurring due to these net nutrient losses. Our data show that nutrients are leaving the basin primarily as export crops, with riverine losses of nutrients smaller than crop exports. Nonetheless, there is a direct relationship between nutrient inputs and river outputs, suggesting that agricultural management practices in the basin may have direct impacts on N and P delivery to the highly productive Guayas estuary.     

Population genetic structure in a human-disturbed environment: a case study in the land snail Helix aspersa (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)

Local patterns of genetic variation were analysed in the land snail Helix aspersa for 32 populations sampled within a patchy agricultural landscape: the polders of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel (France). This investigation examined the allele frequencies at four enzymatic markers and five microsatellite loci through the genotyping of 580 individuals. A strongly significant population genetic substructuring (mean F(ST)=0.088, P<0.001) was found at the scale of the whole polders area (3050 ha) and both categories of markers displayed a similar magnitude of spatial genetic differentiation. We did not find any obvious effects of habitat fragmentation on the distribution of genetic variability. Despite the reality of habitat patchiness and environmental instability (related to farming practices), an isolation by distance process was clearly depicted, although selective pressures cannot be ruled out for one enzymatic locus. Overall, genetic drift, along with occasional long-distance episodes of gene flow, was presumably the most likely evolutionary force that shaped the observed pattern of genetic variation.     

Earthworm communities a bioindicator of arable land management practices: A case study in semiarid region of India

The abundances and activities of earthworms in arable lands depend strongly on management practices and; therefore earthworm can act as a potential bioindicator of land use practices. In this study earthworm diversity and abundances was measured in three differently managed agro-ecosystems i.e. conventional, integrated and organic, in some sites of northern semiarid region of India. The maximal numbers of earthworm occurrence were in integrated farming system (100%, all studied sites showed the presence) followed by organically managed (70%) and conventional (18.9%) agro-ecosystems. A total of six species belonging to four different families were identified during this survey and all recorded earthworm species were present in organically managed agro-ecosystems, while integrated and conventional arable lands exhibited only three earthworm species. The abundance of earthworms in arable system was also directly related to the management practices. The values of ecological indices e.g. Shannon diversity (H′), species dominance (C), the species richness (S) and evenness (E) indicated the anthropogenic pressure on earthworm communities in arable lands of northern India.     

Plasmid transfer in natural soil: a case by case study with nitrogen-fixing Enterobacter

Abstract In strains of nitrogen-fixing Enterobacter agglomerans , isolated from the rhizosphere of cereals, the nif genes are located on large plasmids. Plasmid pEA9 (200 kb) is self-transmissible between closely related strains. To collect data on possible uncontrolled gene spread, for planned releases of such bacteria, plasmid pEA9 was labelled with transposons (Tn 1725 and Tn 5 ) and used in mating experiments between homologous Enterobacter strains with soil as substrate. The soil was from a plot into which an actual release was being planned. In the majority of experiments it was not sterilized.
Survival and plasmid transfer is described, as are variations in temperature, time, moisture, pH and soil packing. Further experiments were with or without added energy sources, and with or without plant roots. Under standard conditions (22°C, pH 5.2, 15.5% moisture, loose soil, 2 × 10⁷ inoculated donor and recipient cells each per g soil, 3 days incubation) sterilized soil gave low rates of plasmid transfer (10⁻⁶ per donor) but non-sterilized soil gave none. Adding Luria broth or sucrose to non-sterilized soil elicited strong cell propagation, together with plasmid transfer (optimum after incubation for 1 day: 10⁻⁴ exconjugants per donor). No transfer could be registered in the presence of wheat seedling roots for periods up to 5 weeks.     

Morphological and ecological shifts in a land snail caused by the impact of an introduced predator

Introduced predators have become major threats to native animal species in oceanic islands. A number of studies have shown that alien predators have caused serious extinctions of island endemics. However, little attention has been paid to the evolutionary impacts of alien predators on native species. The present study shows that predation by black rats, Rattus rattus, has resulted in ecological and morphological changes in the land snail Mandarina anijimana from the island of Anijima in the Ogasawara archipelago. The frequency of empty predated shells has increased over the past 17–19 years in southern areas of the island. The shells of these snails were found to be significantly higher, smaller and darker in the survey in 2006 than in the survey in 1987–1989 performed in central and southern parts of Anijima, where predation by Rattus was serious. M. anijimana were formerly restricted to shallow broad-leaved litter, whereas they are currently found in deep palm litter, where predation pressure from Rattus may be lower. This suggests that increased predation pressure by Rattus has changed the habitat use of M. anijimana. The close association between shell morphology and habitat use of Mandarina species suggests that the habitat shift induced by the predation of Rattus has caused these changes in the shell morphology of M. anijimana over a period of 17–19 years.     

遥感和GIS支持的土地利用动态监测研究--以黄河三角洲垦利县为例

以黄河三角洲垦利县为例 ,对比分析了目视解译、机助分类等遥感土地利用信息提取方法 ,采用 1981、1991和 1995年 3时相土地利用现状信息 ,研究确定了统一的监测分类系统 ,提出了土地利用面积及其空间分布动态监测方法 .在此基础上 ,分析了垦利县地类面积增减变化 ,在GIS支持下分析了 1981～ 1995年土地利用空间动态变化 ,同时进行了实地监测点土地利用变化分析 ,探明了该县土地利用动态变化规律 .     

A comparative study: conventional preparation and ThinPrep® 2000 in respiratory cytology

In order to compare and contrast conventional preparation (CP) with ThinPrep 2000 (TP) in respiratory cytology, 207 samples were divided equally and processed by the two different preparation methods, generating three CP and one TP slide per sample. No lesion identified by CP was missed by TP and there were no significant differences between TP and CP in the diagnostic categories. However, two cases of squamous cell carcinoma were detected on TP which had been classified as unsatisfactory and moderate squamous dyskaryosis, respectively, on CP. ThinPrep was found to be superior to CP in many respects as it provided standardized preparations in a greater proportion of cases and problems such as cell overlapping and background debris were markedly reduced. In several instances the diagnostic accuracy in CP was compromised by smears that were either too thick, too thin, or too scanty. Cell preservation was also better on TP when compared with CP, facilitating more accurate diagnosis and significantly reducing the primary screening and reporting time, especially of sputum samples. A major advantage of TP methodology is the fact that it facilitates optimal use of skilled cytotechnologists and streamlines the workflow in the laboratory.     

Developing characterisation factors for land fragmentation impacts on biodiversity in LCA: key learnings from a sugarcane case study

Purpose

Habitat change was identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as the main direct driver of biodiversity loss. However, while habitat loss is already implemented in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, the additional impact on biodiversity due to habitat fragmentation is not assessed yet. Thus, the goal of this study was to include fragmentation effects from land occupation and transformation at both midpoint and endpoint levels in LCIA.

Methods

One promising metric, combining the landscape spatial configuration with species characteristics, is the metapopulation capacity λ, which can be used to rank landscapes in terms of their capacity to support viable populations spatially structured. A methodology to derive worldwide regionalised fragmentation indexes based on λ was used and combined with the Species Fragmented-Area Relationship (SFAR), which relies on λ to assess a species loss due to fragmentation. We adapted both developments to assess fragmentation impacts due to land occupation and transformation at both midpoint and endpoint levels in LCIA. An application to sugarcane production occurring in different geographical areas, more or less sensitive to land fragmentation, was performed.

Results and discussion

The comparison to other existing LCIA indicators highlighted its great potential for complementing current assessments through fragmentation effect inclusion. Last, both models were discussed through the evaluation grid used by the UNEP-SETAC land use LCIA working group for biodiversity impact assessment models.

Conclusions

Midpoint and endpoint characterisation factors were successfully developed to include the impacts of habitat fragmentation on species in LCIA. For now, they are provided for bird species in all forest ecoregions belonging to the biodiversity hotspots. Further work is required to develop characterisation factors for all taxa and all terrestrial ecoregions.