Der Baumbestand des Bürgerparks in Osnabrück – 2006 und vor 50 Jahren

Der Baumbestand des Bürgerparks wurde in einer aktuellen Kartierung erfasst und mit dem Bestand der Veröffentlichung von Adler (1957) verglichen. Der aktuelle Bestand wurde in einer Karte und einer kommentierten Artenliste dokumentiert.The current tree species of the Bürgerpark in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany, were listed and compared with the listing by Adler (1957). The present tree distribution was mapped, together with comments

Entwicklung einer Erntemaschine für Kamillenblüten

Mit dem Anbau von Kamille wird die Biodiversität in Landwirtschaftsbetrieben erhöht sowie eine zusätzliche Einkommensquelle geschaffen. Um die Ernte der Kamillenblüten effizienter zu gestalten, wurde ein dreijähriges Forschungsprojekt gefördert. Es hatte zum Ziel, eine neue Erntemaschine in Form eines Funktionsmusters zu entwickeln und zu untersuchen, das sich durch eine hohe Pflückqualität, geringe Verluste, eine Flächenleistung von mindestens 1 ha je Stunde und geringe Kosten auszeichnet. In der Endphase des Projektes wurde in der Erntesaison 2013 das Funktionsmuster einer Erntemaschine erprobt, die das Know-how und somit die Grundlage für die zukünftige Produktion einer neuen Erntemaschine in Kleinserie liefert.The cultivation of chamomile results in increased biodiversity in farms and in additional income sources. To make the harvest of chamomile flowers more efficient, a three-year research project was funded. The aim was the development and investigation of a research prototype characterized by a high picking quality, low losses, productivity of 1 hectare per hour, and low costs. In the final phase of the project a selfpropelled harvester was tested, which provided the base for the future commercial manufacturing of the new harvester in small series

Vehicle Based Laser Range Finding in Crops

Laser rangefinders and laser scanners are widely used for industrial purposes and for remote sensing. In agriculture information about crop parameters like volume, height, and density can support the optimisation of production processes. In scientific papers the measurement of these parameters by low cost laser rangefinders with one echo has been presented for short ranges. Because the cross section area of the beam increases with the measuring range, it can be expected that laser rangefinders will have a reduced measuring accuracy in small sized crops and when measuring far distances. These problems are caused by target areas smaller than the beam and by the beam striking the edges of crop objects. Lab tests under defined conditions and a real field test were performed to assess the measuring properties under such difficult conditions of a chosen low cost sensor. Based on lab tests it was shown that the accuracy was reduced, but the successful use of the sensor under field conditions demonstrated the potential to meet the demands for agricultural applications, Insights resulting from investigations made in the paper contribute to facilitating the choice or the development of laser rangefinder sensors for vehicle based measurement of crop parameters for optimisation of production processes

Estimating the effects of Cry1F Bt-maize pollen on non-target Lepidoptera using a mathematical model of exposure

In farmland biodiversity, a potential risk to the larvae of non-target Lepidoptera from genetically modified (GM) Bt-maize expressing insecticidal Cry1 proteins is the ingestion of harmful amounts of pollen deposited on their host plants. A previous mathematical model of exposure quantified this risk for Cry1Ab protein. We extend this model to quantify the risk for sensitive species exposed to pollen containing Cry1F protein from maize event 1507 and to provide recommendations for management to mitigate this risk.A 14-parameter mathematical model integrating small- and large-scale exposure was used to estimate the larval mortality of hypothetical species with a range of sensitivities, and under a range of simulated mitigation measures consisting of non-Bt maize strips of different widths placed around the field edge.The greatest source of variability in estimated mortality was species sensitivity. Before allowance for effects of large-scale exposure, with moderate within-crop host-plant density and with no mitigation, estimated mortality locally was <10% for species of average sensitivity. For the worst-case extreme sensitivity considered, estimated mortality locally was 99·6% with no mitigation, although this estimate was reduced to below 40% with mitigation of 24-m-wide strips of non-Bt maize. For highly sensitive species, a 12-m-wide strip reduced estimated local mortality under 1·5%, when within-crop host-plant density was zero. Allowance for large-scale exposure effects would reduce these estimates of local mortality by a highly variable amount, but typically of the order of 50-fold.Mitigation efficacy depended critically on assumed within-crop host-plant density; if this could be assumed negligible, then the estimated effect of mitigation would reduce local mortality below 1% even for very highly sensitive species.Synthesis and applications. Mitigation measures of risks of Bt-maize to sensitive larvae of non-target lepidopteran species can be effective, but depend on host-plant densities which are in turn affected by weed-management regimes. We discuss the relevance for management of maize events where cry1F is combined (stacked) with a herbicide-tolerance trait. This exemplifies how interactions between biota may occur when different traits are stacked irrespective of interactions between the proteins themselves and highlights the importance of accounting for crop management in the assessment of the ecological impact of GM plants

Development of a chamomile harvester

The cultivation of chamomile results in increased biodiversity in farms and in additional income sources. To make the harvest of chamomile flowers more efficient, a three-year research project was funded. The aim was the development and investigation of a research prototype characterized by a high picking quality, low losses, productivity of 1 hectare per hour, and low costs. In the final phase of the project a selfpropelled harvester was tested, which provided the base for the future commercial manufacturing of the new harvester in small series

Neues Prinzip eines Mähhackers für Kurzumtriebsplantagen

Gegenwärtig auf dem Markt verfügbare Mähhacker für Kurzumtriebsplantagen (KUPs) auf Basis von Feldhäckslern haben Nachteile hinsichtlich der Maschinenmasse und der hohen Investitionskosten. Traktorgebundene Geräte sind bisher nur begrenzt leistungsfähig. Um einen Beitrag zur Erweiterung des Angebots kostengünstiger Erntetechnik zu leisten, wurde ein neuartiges Prinzip eines traktorbasierten Mähhackers für einreihige KUPs entwickelt, der sich durch einen einfachen Aufbau und ein breites Einsatzspektrum auszeichnet.Currently commercial available mower-chipper for short rotation coppices (SRC) based on forage harvesters are very expensive in machine mass and investment costs. Tractor-based devices are limited due to technological applicability. Contributing to an extension of economical harvest technique, a novel principle of a tractor-based mower-chipper was developed. It is characterized by a simple construction and wide range of applicability

Mechanised harvest of energy wood: state-of-the-art and new developments

Energy wood from fast growing trees, also called short rotation coppice (SRC) such as poplar, willow and eucalyptus, may provide a secure source of income for farmers, provided that production technologies, logistic chains and end user facilities are well designed in farmers’ regional structures. One of the key problems at present is the lack of inexpensive harvesting machinery. Analyzing the process chain of fast growing trees, chip lines seem to be most cost- efficient for harvest, and the modification of forage harvesters is a promising option. But the high machine weight of forage harvesters is a serious disadvantage for harvest in rain-laden or mountainous regions. Furthermore, for economic operation of these expensive harvest systems cultivation areas of more than 300 ha are required. Therefore, a simple and low weight tractor-mounted mower-chipper for medium sized standard tractors has been developed. The chipper is designed for flexible harvest of wood from fast growing trees (max. stem diameter 15 cm). The total weight of the harvester (tractor and chipper) is less than 50 % of the forage harvester combination resulting in much more flexible field operation and lower harvest costs. The machine has been successfully tested in the last three harvest seasons on an area of more than 110 ha. At harvest of 4 years old poplars (10 - 15 cm stem diameter) an average field performance of 0.5 ha h -1 has been realized. Due to the robust design and performance of the prototype the development of a reinforced model is considered at present. Such a new model could be designed for harvest of poplar or eucalyptus trees with stem diameters of more than 20 cm.A energia de biomassa florestal, em particular a de árvores de crescimento rápido, tais como choupo, salgueiro e eucalipto, pode constituir fonte segura de renda para os agricultores, desde que as tecnologias de produção, as cadeias logísticas e as instalações dos usuários finais sejam bem estruturadas regionalmente. Um dos principais problemas no momento é a falta de máquinas de colheita de custos reduzidos. Analisando-se a cadeia do processo produtivo de árvores de crescimento rápido, as linhas de chips parecem ser, em termos de custo, as mais indicadas para a colheita eficiente, todavia a modificação de colhedoras de forragem surge como uma opção promissora. O elevado peso das máquinas de colhedoras de forragem é, entretanto, séria desvantagem para uso em regiões montanhosas ou na estação chuvosa. Por outro lado, para que seja economicamente viável, o uso de maquinário pesado só é compensador quando utilizado em áreas de mais de 300 ha. Neste contexto, um trator cortador -picador de baixo peso foi desenvolvido com vistas a ser usado por empresas de médio porte. O picador é projetado para a colheita de madeira oriunda de árvores de crescimento rápido (máx. diâmetro do caule 15 cm). O peso total do dispositivo de colheita desenvolvido (trator e picador) é 50% inferior ao de uma encilhadora, o que, em operação de campo, possibilitou significativa redução nos custos de colheita. A máquina foi testada com sucesso nas últimas três épocas de colheita em uma área de mais de 110 ha. Na colheita de choupos de 4 anos de idade (diâmetro da haste 10-15 centímetros) obteve-se um desempenho médio de campo de 0,5 ha h -1 . Devido ao design robusto e ao bom desempenho do protótipo, o desenvolvimento de um modelo reforçado está sendo considerado para um futuro próximo. Este novo modelo deverá ser projetado para a colheita de madeira de álamo ou eucalipto, com diâmetros de haste de mais de 20 cm, com vistas ao aproveitamento com fins eneréticos

Sleep restriction attenuates amplitudes and attentional modulation of pain-related evoked potentials, but augments pain ratings in healthy volunteers

The experiment investigated the impact of sleep restriction on pain perception and related evoked potential correlates (laser-evoked potentials, LEPs). Ten healthy subjects with good sleep quality were investigated in the morning twice, once after habitual sleep and once after partial sleep restriction. Additionally, we studied the impact of attentional focussing on pain and LEPs by directing attention to (intensity discrimination) or away from the stimulus (mental arithmetic). Laser stimuli directed to the hand dorsum were rated as 30% more painful after sleep restriction (49+/-7 mm) than after a night of habitual sleep (38+/-7 mm). A significant interaction between attentional focus and sleep condition suggested that attentional focusing was less distinctive under sleep restriction. Intensity discrimination was preserved. In contrast, the amplitude of the early parasylvian N1 of LEPs was significantly smaller after a night of partial sleep restriction (-36%, p<0.05). Likewise, the amplitude of the vertex N2-P2 was significantly reduced (-34%, p<0.01); also attentional modulation of the N2-P2 was reduced. Thus, objective (LEPs) and subjective (pain ratings) parameters of nociceptive processing were differentially modulated by partial sleep restriction. We propose, that sleep reduction leads to an impairment of activation in the ascending pathway (leading to reduced LEPs). In contradistinction, pain perception was boosted, which we attribute to lack of pain control distinct from classical descending inhibition, and thus not affecting the projection pathway. Sleep-restricted subjects exhibit reduced attentional modulation of pain stimuli and may thus have difficulties to readily attend to or disengage from pain