Search results for "Thinning"

Pine stand density influences the regeneration of Acacia saligna (Labill.) H.L.Wendl. and native woody species in a mediterranean coastal pine planta…

2018

Mediterranean plantations are the most suitable areas to assess vegetation dynamics and competitive interactions between native and exotic woody species. Our research was carried out in a coastal pine plantation (Sicily) where renaturalization by native species (Pistacia lentiscus L. and Olea europaea var. sylvestris) and invasion by Acacia saligna (Labill.) H.L.Wendl. simultaneously occur. The regeneration pattern of woody species in the pine understory was evaluated in six experimental plots along a stand density gradient, from 200 to approximately 700 pines per hectare. Both pine stand density and regeneration by native species had a significant negative relationship with Acacia natural …

1983

The viscosity of solutions of poly(decyl methacrylate)s, PDMA, in 1-pentanol (thermodynamically poor solvent) and in toluence or isooctane (good solvents) was measured up to shear rates of 3 · 104s−1 by means of rotational viscosimeters. The observed pronounced shear thinning is for all solutions well described by the theory of Graessley, with the extension, introduced by Ito. Two parameters, resulting from the evaluation of the flow curves on the basis of the above theory, are discussed: τ0, a characteristic relaxation time of the polymer chain, is found to be in the range of ms. ηfric, a frictional parameter, independent of shear rate, amounts upto 50% of the zero-shear viscosity for the …

Consistency of Carbopol 971-P NF gels and influence of soluble and cross-linked PVP.

2002

A study is made of the polymerization process of polyacrylic acid, commercially known as Carbopol® 971 NF, assessing its consistency as a function of the degree of neutralization at pH values from 3 to 12, approximately. Percentage concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.4% (w/w) were studied. The gels obtained were non-Newtonian, and pseudoplastic. As concentration and pH rise, the consistency of the gels increase to a maximum, which appears between pH 6 and 8, allowing their use as vehicles in bioadhesive formulations for mucosal application. Over the increasing viscosity interval, functions were obtained to indicate the consistency of the gel as a function of pH and concentration. Since the…

1993

The viscosities of moderately concentrated solutions of poly(butyl methacrylate)—Mw = 1820 kg/mol–in the thermodynamically good solvent toluene and in the theta solvent 2-propanol were measured up to pressures of 2000 bar as a function of shear rate in the temperature interval from 40 to 70°C. Both systems obey Graessley's equation so that it is possible to obtain the following rheological parameters in addition to the zero-shear viscosity η0 from the dependences . η can be split into an entanglement part ηent plus a frictional contribution ηfric, and the characteristic viscometric relaxation time τ0 becomes accessible. The present results demonstrate that the application of pressure raises…

Hard-Core Thinnings of Germ‒Grain Models with Power-Law Grain Sizes

2013

Random sets with long-range dependence can be generated using a Boolean model with power-law grain sizes. We study thinnings of such Boolean models which have the hard-core property that no grains overlap in the resulting germ‒grain model. A fundamental question is whether long-range dependence is preserved under such thinnings. To answer this question, we study four natural thinnings of a Poisson germ‒grain model where the grains are spheres with a regularly varying size distribution. We show that a thinning which favors large grains preserves the slow correlation decay of the original model, whereas a thinning which favors small grains does not. Our most interesting finding concerns the c…

Recent applications of point process methods in forestry statistics

2000

Forestry statistics is an important field of applied statistics with a long tradition. Many forestry problems can be solved by means of point processes or marked point processes. There, the "points" are tree locations and the "marks" are tree characteristics such as diameter at breast height or degree of damage by environmental factors. Point pro- cess characteristics are valuable tools for exploratory data analysis in forestry, for describing the variability of forest stands and for under- standing and quantifying ecological relationships. Models of point pro- cesses are also an important basis of modern single-tree modeling, that gives simulation tools for the investigation of forest stru…

The Preservation of Sicilian Forests with Poorly Mechanized Logging Processes

1997

Abstract In the province of Agrigento (Sicily), owing to lack of funds, machinery and permanently employed workers, it is necessary to forecast costs and time required for thinning out about 1500 ha of artificial forest using only chain saws and temporarily employed manpower. This study was made to find out how costs and labour productivity vary with tree species, age, size, forest density, land orography and ground uneveness, in order to decide in which areas the change from artificial to natural forest, by gradually thinning out the non-autochthonous trees, could be done at the least cost. Logging processes have been monitored at nine different test sites of about 1 ha each. The results s…

RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR OF MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE HYDROGELS

1992

ABSTRACT An extensive study was made of the rheological behaviour of microcrystal1ine cellulose-sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (MCC-NaCMC) gels at six different concentrations. The effect of agitation time, storage time, shear rate and temperature on the viscosity of these thixotropic gels was analysed, over 7200 resulting values of being available to this effect The pseudoplastic and thixotropic characteristics of the gels was established and a progressive decrease in gel viscosity with increasing storage time was observed, although retaining stability. On the other hand, constant agitation for five minutes was found to reduce gel viscosity by 40 to 50%, regardless of concentration.

Thixotropic Behavior of Salad Dressings Stabilized with Modified Starch, Pectin, and Gellan Gum. Influence of Temperature

2008

The thixotropy of low‐oil salad dressing has been analyzed at different temperatures (8–26°C). The usual formulation containing modified starch (4%) was compared with others in which part of the starch had been substituted by pectin (0.5%) or different concentrations of gellan (0.1 and 0.5%). Up and down flow curves were measured, showing in all cases shear thinning behavior and fitting the Herschel‐Bulkley model. Thixotropic areas enclosed by the up curve and the corresponding different down curves, STh, were obtained. With the aim of establishing comparative results, and since the viscosities were quite different, the parameter considered was relative thixotropic area, SR (%)=100 (STh/Sup…

Viscoelastic properties of concentrated dispersions in water of soy lecithin

2003

Abstract Viscoelastic properties of soy lecithin dispersions at 60, 120, 180 and 240 g l−1 in water have been studied as a function of ionic strength (NaCl concentrations in the range 10−5–10−2 mol l−1) and of preparation method (sonication, freezing–unfreezing). Viscosity measurements of sonicated dispersions in a rotatory viscometer show Newtonian and plastic (Bingham) behavior, whereas the frozen–unfrozen dispersions show a spectacular change in their viscoelastic properties, that is, a non-Newtonian behavior with pseudoplastic characteristics and rheopexy. These properties have been related to electrokinetic characteristics of the segregated vesicles in each case. A decrease in ζ-potent…