Search results for "graphic"

Biotrickling filter modeling for styrene abatement. Part 1: Model development, calibration and validation on an industrial scale

2017

Abstract A three-phase dynamic mathematical model based on mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfer, diffusion, and biodegradation was calibrated and validated for the simulation of an industrial styrene-degrading biotrickling filter. The model considered the key features of the industrial operation of biotrickling filters: variable conditions of loading and intermittent irrigation. These features were included in the model switching from the mathematical description of periods with and without irrigation. Model equations were based on the mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfe…

Looking for Hidden Enemies of Metabarcoding: Species Composition, Habitat and Management Can Strongly Influence DNA Extraction while Examining Grassl…

2021

Despite the raising preoccupation, the critical question of how the plant community is composed belowground still remains unresolved, particularly for the conservation priority types of vegetation. The usefulness of metabarcoding analysis of the belowground parts of the plant community is subjected to a considerable bias, that often impedes detection of all species in a sample due to insufficient DNA quality or quantity. In the presented study we have attempted to find environmental factors that determine the amount and quality of DNA extracted from total plant tissue from above- and belowground samples (1,000 and 10,000 cm2). We analyzed the influence of land use intensity, soil properties…

The effect of buffer strip width and selective logging on riparian forest microclimate

2019

Riparian forests have cool and humid microclimates, and one aim of leaving forested buffer strips between clear-cut areas and streams is to conserve these microclimatic conditions. We used an experimental study set up of 35 streamside sites to study the impacts of buffer strip width (15 or 30 m) and selective logging within the buffer strips on summer-time air temperature, relative air humidity and canopy openness 12 years after logging. The buffer strip treatments were compared to unlogged control sites. We found that 15-meter buffer strips with or without selective logging and 30-meter buffer strips with selective logging were insufficient in maintaining temperature, relative humidity and…

Ocean acidification impairs vermetid reef recruitment

2014

Vermetids form reefs in sub-tropical and warm-temperate waters that protect coasts from erosion, regulate sediment transport and accumulation, serve as carbon sinks and provide habitat for other species. The gastropods that form these reefs brood encapsulated larvae; they are threatened by rapid environmental changes since their ability to disperse is very limited. We used transplant experiments along a natural CO2 gradient to assess ocean acidification effects on the reef-building gastropod Dendropoma petraeum. We found that although D. petraeum were able to reproduce and brood at elevated levels of CO2, recruitment success was adversely affected. Long-term exposure to acidified conditions…

Modeling dense inflorescences

2016

Showy inflorescences - clusters of flowers - are a common feature of many plants, greatly contributing to their beauty. The large numbers of individual flowers (florets), arranged in space in a systematic manner, make inflorescences a natural target for procedural modeling. We present a suite of biologically motivated algorithms for modeling and animating the development of inflorescences with closely packed florets. These inflorescences share the following characteristics: (i) in their ensemble, the florets form a relatively smooth, often approximately planar surface; (ii) there are numerous collisions between petals of the same or adjacent florets; and (iii) the developmental stage and ty…

Elaboración de modelos de la distribución de la tórtola europea (Streptopelia turtur L. 1758) en el sureste de la península ibérica

2021

The European turtle dove population and breeding range has declined sharply in Spain. This study reanalyses data from the Atlas of Breeding Birds in Alicante (SE Spain), aiming to identify the main variables related to its occurrence and abundance. We used hierarchical partitioning analysis to identify important environmental variables associated with natural vegetation, farming, hydrological web, anthropic presence, climate, and topography. Analysis combining the most explicative variables of each group identified the mixture of pines and scrubland in the semiarid areas and the length of unpaved roads as the most important variables with a positive effect on occurrence, while herbaceous cr…

Disturbance-grazer-vegetation interactions maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands

2017

Low-intensity livestock grazing is a widespread management tool in order to maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands for nature conservation purposes. Historical photographs indicate that forest disturbance significantly contributed to forest-grassland mosaic pattern formation. Disturbance grazer interactions are however poorly understood and the effects of logging or windthrow are rarely considered in management plans. Moreover, disturbance-grazer interactions are crucial for the maintenance of open habitats in the upcoming "rewilding" approach of nature conservation. We aimed to understand the effects of forest gap creation by the breakdown of senile trees or by single-tre…

Spatial structure and β-diversity of phytoplankton in Tibetan Plateau lakes: nestedness or replacement?

2017

Spatial patterns and β-diversity of phytoplankton assemblages depend on the relative importance of species dispersal capacity and species-sorting. Variability in species composition, composed by differences in species richness (nestedness) and/or species replacement, may be caused by niche availability and environmental selection. A field survey was carried out in Tibetan plateau on 38 lakes. Tibetan plateau lakes, located at high elevation, are harsh ecosystems characterized by low temperatures, low available nutrients, high UV amount, and strong salinity gradients. Only well-adapted species can survive in these environments. We therefore hypothesized that environmental filtering was the m…

2018

Abstract Understanding the response of biodiversity to management, land use and climate change is a major challenge in farmland to halt the decline of biodiversity. Farmlands shelter a wide variety of taxa, which vary in their life cycle and habitat niches. Consequently, monitoring biodiversity from sessile annual plants to migratory birds requires dedicated protocols. In this article, we describe the protocols applied in a long-term research platform, the LTSER Zone Atelier “Plaine & Val de Sevre” (for a full description see Bretagnolle et al. (2018) [1] ). We present the data in the form of the description of monitoring protocols, which has evolved through time for arable weeds, grassland…

Aquatic and Semiaquatic Heteroptera (Nepomorpha) from the Strei River Basin

2018

Abstract During a field campaign in the Strei River basin in August 2014, seven suitable habitats for aquatic and semi-aquatic true bugs were identified from the confluence of the Strei River with the Bărbat River down to the confluence with the Mureș River. Forty-eight individuals belonging to 15 species and nine families of aquatic and semi-aquatic true bugs were sampled. We mention two species considered rare in Romanian fauna: Hebrus montanus and Microvelia pygmaea. The statistic-mathematical analysis showed the similarity of the true bugs’ communities from habitats with similar conditions, as well as the relation of each species with particular habitat conditions, emphasizing the fact …