Microbial respiration and biomass in tropical forest soil and litter.

doi nefunkčníLaminated glass units exhibit complex response as a result of different mechanical behavior and properties of glass and polymer foil. We aim to develop a finite element model for elastic laminated glass plates based on the refined plate theory by Mau. For a geometrically nonlinear description of the behavior of units, each layer behaves according to the ReissnerMindlin kinematics, complemented with membrane effects and the von K´arm´an assumptions. Nodal Lagrange multipliers enforce the compatibility of independent layers in this approach. We have derived the discretized model by the energy-minimization arguments, assuming that the unknown fields are approximated by bi-linear functions at the element level, and solved the resulting system by the Newton method with consistent linearization. We have demonstrated through verification and validation examples that the proposed formulation is reliable and accurately reproduces the behavior of laminated glass units. This study represents a first step to the development of a comprehensive, mechanics-based model for laminated glass systems that is suitable for implementation in common engineering finite element solvers.Web of Science1261181115

Microbial respiration and biomass in tropical soil and litter.

The microbial substrate-induced respiration 9SIR) and the basal respiration (BR) of the top soil and of the litter layer of a primary forest, a secondary forest and of a plantation system were measured

Abundance, biomass and diversity of the soil fauna in degrated areas under recuperation in the central Amazon region.

The soil fauna plays an important role in the stability of decomposition processes and as a result its abundance, biomass and species composition, may influence the nutrient cycles in agroecosystems

The role of soil fauna in litter decomposition in primary forests, secondary forests and a polyculture plantation in Amazonia - methodological considerations.

A comparative study of litter quantity and quality, decomposition rates, and the abundance, biomass, and respiration of soil-inhabiting microbes, arthropods and oligochaetes in a polyculture forestry plantation and in plots of nearby secondary and primary forests. The aim is to evaluate the specific contribution of the soil microflora and of the different function soil fauna groups to the decompostion of organic matter and the resulting nutrient supply to the plants. Several methods for the study of the soil fauna and microflora have been adapted to neotropical conditions on the base of preliminary tests