Role of soil carbon in the landscape functioning of the Alto São Bartolomeu watershed in the Cerrado region, Brazil

El trabajo muestra los resultados del comportamiento térmico de una vivienda social construida masivamente por el Instituto Provincial de la Vivienda (IPV), monitoreada desde el 30 de abril hasta el 05 de junio de 2008. Se localiza en la periferia norte de la capital de Catamarca y su uso es residencial. Esta conformada por porch, cocina-comedor, dormitorios y baño que totalizan una superficie de 43.04 m2. El objetivo principal es conocer el comportamiento térmico en relación a parámetros de confort. En este sentido se monitorearon y analizaron tres periodos representativos: 1) 30/04/08 al 06/05/08, 2) 18 al 24/05/08 y 3) 30/05/08 al 05/06/08. Los resultados han demostrado que cuando las condiciones de las temperaturas exteriores son más rigurosas (altas o bajas) la respuesta del diseño de su envolvente es insuficiente para alcanzar los rangos de confort térmico establecidos y como consecuencia de ello demanda mayor cantidad de energía auxiliar para su acondicionamiento.This study shows the results of the thermal behavior of a house built by the Provincial Housing Institute examined since April 30th until June 5th in the year 2008. The house is placed to the North of the Capital city of Catamarca and it is used as dwelling. It includes a porch, dining room and kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom, all comprising a 43.04m2 covered surface. The main purpose of this work is to know the thermal behavior in ralation to comfort parameters. To this end, three representative periods were observed and analysed: 1) April 30th to May 6th, 2008; 2) May 18th to May 24th, 2008; and 3) May 30th to June 5th, 2008. The results have demonstrated that, when the external weather conditions are more severe (high or low), the answer of the enveloping design is insufficient to reach the established thermal comfort ranges; as a consequence, the design demands more auxiliary power for fitting out.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora