Structure function and Multifractal spectrum applied to Digital Elevation Model

A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provides the information basis used for many geographic applications such as topographic and geomorphologic studies, landscape through GIS (Geographic Information Systems) among others. The DEM capacity to represent Earth?s surface depends on the surface roughness and the resolution used. Each DEM pixel depends on the scale used characterized by two variables: resolution and extension of the area studied. DEMs can vary in resolution and accuracy by the production method, although there are statistical characteristics that keep constant or very similar in a wide range of scales. Based on this property, several techniques have been applied to characterize DEM through multiscale analysis directly related to fractal geometry: multifractal spectrum and the structure function. The comparison of the results by both methods is discussed. The study area is represented by a 1024 x 1024 data matrix obtained from a DEM with a resolution of 10 x 10 m each point, which correspond with a region known as ?Monte de El Pardo? a property of Spanish National Heritage (Patrimonio Nacional Español) of 15820 Ha located to a short distance from the center of Madrid. Manzanares River goes through this area from North to South. In the southern area a reservoir is found with a capacity of 43 hm3, with an altitude of 603.3 m till 632 m when it is at the highest capacity. In the middle of the reservoir the minimum altitude of this area is achieved

Allocation of 14C assimilated in late spring to tissue and biochemical stem components of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) over the seasons

Carbon distribution in the stem of 2-year-old cork oak plants was studied by 14CO2 pulse labeling in late spring in order to trace the allocation of photoassimilates to tissue and biochemical stem components of cork oak. The fate of 14C photoassimilated carbon was followed during two periods: the first 72 h (short-term study) and the first 52 weeks (long-term study) after the 14CO2 photosynthetic assimilation. The results showed that 14C allocation to stem tissues was dependent on the time passed since photoassimilation and on the season of the year. In the first 3 h all 14C was found in the polar extractives. After 3 h, it started to be allocated to other stem fractions. In 1 day, 14C was allocated mostly to vascular cambium and, to a lesser extent, to primary phloem; no presence of 14C was recorded for the periderm. However, translocation of 14C to phellem was observed from 1 week after 14CO2 pulse labeling. The phellogen was not completely active in its entire circumference at labeling, unlike the vascular cambium; this was the tissue that accumulated most photoassimilated 14C at the earliest sampling. The fraction of leaf-assimilated 14C that was used by the stem peaked at 57% 1 week after 14CO2 plant exposure. The time lag between C photoassimilation and suberin accumulation was ∼8 h, but the most active period for suberin accumulation was between 3 and 7 days. Suberin, which represented only 1.77% of the stem weight, acted as a highly effective sink for the carbon photoassimilated in late spring since suberin specific radioactivity was much higher than for any other stem component as early as only 1 week after 14C plant labeling. This trend was maintained throughout the whole experiment. The examination of microautoradiographs taken over 1 year provided a new method for quantifying xylem growth. Using this approach it was found that there was more secondary xylem growth in late spring than in other times of the year, because the calculated average cell division time was much shorter

GIS-Based Assessment of Banana Residual Biomass Potential for Ethanol Production and Power Generation: A Case Study

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops in the world. The plant bears one bunch in its life, leaving behind a large amount of agricultural residues (starchy and lignocellulosic biomass), which could be used for different purposes such as bioenergy. Ecuador is the largest exporter of banana fruits. In this work, the potential of banana residual biomass produced in the province of El Oro, Ecuador for bioenergy applications was assessed using Geographic Information Systems?GIS. The methodology included the assessment of biomass distribution, facility location, transport optimization and a novel virtual land parcel that allows for these kinds of studies in areas with lack of geo-referenced information. According to our approach, El Oro province has an available biomass potential of 190,102 t fm year?1 of starchy residual biomass and 198,602 t dm year?1 of lignocellulosic residual biomass. Two candidate points located at 79°51?12?W3°11?21?S and 79°52?49?W3°17?49?S were identified for the installment of energy conversion facilities supplied with residual biomass. From the available potential of starchy biomass it would be possible to obtain up to 19 million liters of bioethanol per year assuming an average yield of 101.2 l t?1 fresh matter; while the available lignocellulosic biomass, which energy content (Lower Heating Value, moisture free biomass) was determined at 12.9 MJ kg?1 on average, could be used for power generation with an installed capacity of 18 MW. Chemical characterization of the lignocellulosic biomass suggested that further studies should be undertaken regarding the potential application of these crop residues to second generation bioethanol

Continuous multi-criteria methods for crop and soil conservation planning on La Colacha (Río Cuarto, Province of Cordoba, Argentina)

Agro-areas of Arroyos Menores (La Colacha) west and south of Rand south of R?o Cuarto (Prov. of Cordoba, Argentina) basins are very fertile but have high soil loses. Extreme rain events, inundations and other severe erosions forming gullies demand urgently actions in this area to avoid soil degradation and erosion supporting good levels of agro production. The authors first improved hydrologic data on La Colacha, evaluated the systems of soil uses and actions that could be recommended considering the relevant aspects of the study area and applied decision support systems (DSS) with mathematic tools for planning of defences and uses of soils in these areas. These were conducted here using multi-criteria models, in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM); first of discrete MCDM to chose among global types of use of soils, and then of continuous MCDM to evaluate and optimize combined actions, including repartition of soil use and the necessary levels of works for soil conservation and for hydraulic management to conserve against erosion these basins. Relatively global solutions for La Colacha area have been defined and were optimised by Linear Programming in Goal Programming forms that are presented as Weighted or Lexicographic Goal Programming and as Compromise Programming. The decision methods used are described, indicating algorithms used, and examples for some representative scenarios on La Colacha area are given

Lethal and sublethal toxicity of Fipronil and Imidacloprid on Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Psyttalia concolor (Szèpligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a koinobiont endoparasitoid of several species of tephritid (Diptera) larvae, such as Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Here, we report on the effects of imidacloprid and fipronil on P. concolor females, when different routes of exposure were evaluated: residual contact (cover and bait sprays) and via treatment of host species. Moreover, the persistence of the bait formulated compound also was studied. For each experiment, lethal (mortality) and sublethal effects (parasitization rate or longevity) were studied. Fipronil produced 100% mortality irrespective of exposure route, and it was very persistent, because 34-d-old residues still produced this high mortality rate, being as toxic or even more toxic than the reference product dimethoate. Toxicity of imidacloprid depends on the mode of exposure, although always remained less toxic than dimethoate. Imidacloprid caused high mortality or sublethal effect to the progeny in cover sprays and when applied via treated host, being harmless in bait sprays application. In conclusion, our results suggest that fipronil should not be used in the field when the parasitoid is present. On the contrary, although imidacloprid is physiologically active against females of P. concolor, ecological selectivity may result through the use of bait treatmen

Cultivo del centeno para producción de biomasa con fines térmicos.

Análisis de la orientación del cultivo de centeno para producir biomasa térmica

Panorama de actualidad en el sector de los combustibles de biomasa

Del 24 al 26 de septiembre del 2019 se celebró la 12ª edición de Expobiomasa (www. expobiomasa.com) en la Feria de Valladolid, considerada como la Feria Internacional de Bioenergía en España. Este evento es el punto de encuentro profesional especializado en tecnologías de biomasa a nivel europeo. Está organizado con periodicidad bienal por la Asociación Española de Valorización Energética de la Biomasa (AVEBIOM) con la colaboración del Ayuntamiento de Valladolid, la Junta de Castilla y León, el Gobierno de España y la Asociación Europea de la Bioenergía (Bioenergy Europe). Expobiomasa incluye, además de la Feria de Exposición de diferentes tecnologías que componen la cadena de valor de la biomasa, una serie de conferencias técnicas sobre el uso de la biomasa en diferentes sectores de la Industria organizada por Bioenergy International. El eje de Expobiomasa es la cadena de producción de los combustibles de biomasa (desde acopio a acondicionado y presentación final) y sus aplicaciones térmicas. De acuerdo con la información proporcionada por AVEBIOM, la edición de 2019 acogió a 540 empresas de 30 países dedicadas a la fabricación de maquinaria para la recolección y acopio de la biomasa, reciclaje de residuos madereros y agrícolas, fábricas de pélets, fabricantes de calderas y estufas de biomasa para uso doméstico e industrial, equipos de cogeneración energética (calor y electricidad) y la industria auxiliar. La exposición recibió la visita de 16.540 profesionales del sector procedentes de 40 países, siendo España el país más representado, seguido de Portugal

Tecnologías de cosecha de biomasa energética en la 27ª Conferencia Europea de Biomasa

La Conferencia Europea de la Biomasa (European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, acrónimo EUBCE, www.eubce.com) está considerada como la plataforma líder del sector de la biomasa y la bioenergía a nivel mundial; es el punto de encuentro anual de expertos, científicos y tecnólogos especialistas en biomasa y bioenergía, a fin de intercambiar conocimientos y dar a conocer los últimos avances científicos y las aplicaciones innovadoras habidos en el sector. La Conferencia cuenta con el apoyo de organizaciones internacionales, como son la Comisión Europea, la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura - (United Nations Educational Scientiflc and Cultural Organization, UNESCO-Natural Sciences sector), el Consejo Mundial de Energía Renovable (WCRE), la Asociación Europea de la Industria de la Biomasa (European Biomass Industry Association, EUBIA), la Asociación Global de la Bioenergía (Global Bioenergy Partnership, GBP), y otras organizaciones

Panorama de actualidad en el sector de los combustibles de biomasa

Del 24 al 26 de septiembre del 2019 se celebró la 12ª edición de Expobiomasa (www. expobiomasa.com) en la Feria de Valladolid, considerada como la Feria Internacional de Bioenergía en España. Este evento es el punto de encuentro profesional especializado en tecnologías de biomasa a nivel europeo. Está organizado con periodicidad bienal por la Asociación Española de Valorización Energética de la Biomasa (AVEBIOM) con la colaboración del Ayuntamiento de Valladolid, la Junta de Castilla y León, el Gobierno de España y la Asociación Europea de la Bioenergía (Bioenergy Europe). Expobiomasa incluye, además de la Feria de Exposición de diferentes tecnologías que componen la cadena de valor de la biomasa, una serie de conferencias técnicas sobre el uso de la biomasa en diferentes sectores de la Industria organizada por Bioenergy International. El eje de Expobiomasa es la cadena de producción de los combustibles de biomasa (desde acopio a acondicionado y presentación final) y sus aplicaciones térmicas. De acuerdo con la información proporcionada por AVEBIOM, la edición de 2019 acogió a 540 empresas de 30 países dedicadas a la fabricación de maquinaria para la recolección y acopio de la biomasa, reciclaje de residuos madereros y agrícolas, fábricas de pélets, fabricantes de calderas y estufas de biomasa para uso doméstico e industrial, equipos de cogeneración energética (calor y electricidad) y la industria auxiliar. La exposición recibió la visita de 16.540 profesionales del sector procedentes de 40 países, siendo España el país más representado, seguido de Portugal

Effects of nitrogen nutrition on biomass production of Typha domingensis (Pers.) Steudel to bioethanol production

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of nitrogen nutrition on biomass production of different ecotypes of T. domingensis grown hydroponically for two months. The experiment was a two-factor randomized design with five nitrogen treatments and three ecotypes, where treatments were increasing N levels (0, 20, 50, 100 and 200 mg·l-1) in the nutrient solution. Biomass production, biomass partitioning and total nitrogen content (TN) in the biomass produced by each ecotype were determined, and results were analysed by using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Increasing N level resulted in a significantly increase of biomass production, where the best response was found for the ecotype from Cuenca. The N level also influenced TN; interaction between ecotype and treatment was recorded. TN was higher in the submerged biomass than in the aerial biomass. Results from this work showed that the response of hydroponically grown T. domingensis to N concentrations depends on the ecotype