Dedicated bioenergy crop impacts on soil wind erodibility and organic carbon in Kansas

Citation: Evers, Byron J., Humberto Blanco‐Canqui, Scott A. Staggenborg, and John Tatarko. “Dedicated Bioenergy Crop Impacts on Soil Wind Erodibility and Organic Carbon in Kansas.” Agronomy Journal 105, no. 5 (2013): 1271–76. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2013.0072.Dedicated bioenergy crops such as perennial warm-season grasses (WSGs) may reduce soil erosion and improve soil properties while providing biomass feedstock for biofuel. We quantified impacts of perennial WSGs and row crops on soil wind erodibility parameters (erodible fraction, geometric mean diameter of dry aggregates, and aggregate stability) and soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration under a dedicated bioenergy crop experiment in eastern Kansas after 4 and 5 yr of management. Soil properties were measured under switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii L.), miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), and annual row crops including continuous corn (Zea mays L.), photoperiod sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.], sweet sorghum, and grain sorghum. Perennial WSGs reduced wind erodible fraction by 1.08 to 1.16 times compared with row crops. The geometric mean diameter of dry aggregates under switchgrass and miscanthus was 2.8 to 4.5 times greater than under row crops. Dry soil aggregate stability under miscanthus and big bluestem was greater than under row crops. After 5 yr, differences in SOC concentration between WSGs and row crops were not statistically significant for the 0- to 15-cm depth. Photoperiod sensitive and sweet sorghum had greater biomass yield than WSGs. In 2011, miscanthus yielded more biomass than corn by 5.3 Mg haˉ¹. Overall, growing dedicated bioenergy crops can reduce the soil’s susceptibility to wind erosion but may not significantly increase SOC concentration in this region in the short term

Irrigated Cotton Tests on the High Plains, 1959.

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Adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica em genótipos de feijão de cor (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) em três ambientes distintos Adaptability and fenotypic stability of collor bean genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in three different environments

No biênio 1996/97 foram testados, em três ambientes, vinte e um genótipos de feijão de cor, com o objetivo de identificar e avaliar os parâmetros de adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica para a produtividade de grãos. Foi utilizado o delineamento experimental, blocos casualizados, com três repetições por tratamento. Os genótipos revelaram diferenças altamente significativas entre si, em todos os ambientes avaliados. Na análise de variância conjunta, os efeitos das causas de variação foram altamente significativos, evidenciando diferenças entre genótipos, ambientes e a existência de um comportamento diferenciado entre os genótipos frente às variações de ambientes. O rendimento médio de grãos variou de 1321kg/ha a 801kg/ha, com média geral de 1081kg/ha. A maioria dos genótipos demonstraram alta estabilidade fenotípica, merecendo destaque os genótipos LP 93-15, LP 93,2, LP 93-38 e Rudá, os quais evidenciaram rendimento médio superior à média geral dos ensaios, adaptabilidade geral e comportamento previsível em todos os ambientes estudados. Entre os genótipos com rendimento de grãos abaixo da média geral podem ser destacados os genótipos AN 9022180, LM 93204319, LR 91155315, PF 9029975, PF 9029984 e TB 94-05, com adaptabilidade geral e alta estabilidade fenotípica nos ambientes avaliados.<br>In the biennium 1996/97, twenty-one genotypes of colored bean were evaluated, in three environments, to identify and estimate adaptability parameters and phenotypic stability for grains yield. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications per treatment. The genotypes revealed highly significant differences among them, in all evaluated environments. In the analysis of joint variance, the genotype effects, environment and the interaction genotype x environments were highly significant, showing differences among genotypes x environment, and the existence of a differentiated behavior among genotypes according to enviromental variation. Average grain yields varied from 1321kg.ha-1 to 801kg.ha-1, with on overall average of 1081kg.ha-1. Most of the genotypes evidenced high phenotypic stability, specially LP 93-15, LP 93,2, LP 93-38 and Rudá, which showed superior average yield compared to the overall yield average, general adaptability and predicted behavior in all the studied enviroments. Among the genotypes with grain yield below the overall average AN 9022180, LM 93204319, LR 91155315, PF 9029975, PF 9029984 and TB 94-05 presented general adaptability and high phenotipic stability in the environments evaluated

Ultrafast optical spectroscopy of strongly correlated materials and high-temperature superconductors: a non-equilibrium approach

In the last two decades non-equilibrium spectroscopies have evolved from avant-garde studies to crucial tools for expanding our understanding of the physics of strongly correlated materials. The possibility of obtaining simultaneously spectroscopic and temporal information has led to insights that are complementary to (and in several cases beyond) those attainable by studying the matter at equilibrium. From this perspective, multiple phase transitions and new orders arising from competing interactions are benchmark examples where the interplay among electrons, lattice and spin dynamics can be disentangled because of the different timescales that characterize the recovery of the initial ground state. For example, the nature of the broken-symmetry phases and of the bosonic excitations that mediate the electronic interactions, eventually leading to superconductivity or other exotic states, can be revealed by observing the sub-picosecond dynamics of impulsively excited states. Furthermore, recent experimental and theoretical developments have made it possible to monitor the time-evolution of both the single-particle and collective excitations under extreme conditions, such as those arising from strong and selective photo-stimulation. These developments are opening the way for new, non-equilibrium phenomena that can eventually be induced and manipulated by short laser pulses. Here, we review the most recent achievements in the experimental and theoretical studies of the non-equilibrium electronic, optical, structural and magnetic properties of correlated materials. The focus will be mainly on the prototypical case of correlated oxides that exhibit unconventional superconductivity or other exotic phases. The discussion will also extend to other topical systems, such as iron-based and organic superconductors, (Formula presented.) and charge-transfer insulators. With this review, the dramatically growing demand for novel experimental tools and theoretical methods, models and concepts, will clearly emerge. In particular, the necessity of extending the actual experimental capabilities and the numerical and analytic tools to microscopically treat the non-equilibrium phenomena beyond the simple phenomenological approaches represents one of the most challenging new frontiers in physics