The Fire in the Mediterranean Region: A Case Study of Forest Fires in Portugal

Forest fires are a common disturbance in many forest systems in the world and in particular in the Mediterranean region. Their origins can be either natural or anthropogenic. The effects in regard to the time trends, vegetation, and soil will be reflected in the species distribution, forest composition, and soil potential productivity. In general, it can be said that the larger the fire and the shorter the time between two consecutive occurrences, the higher the probability to originate shifts in vegetation and soil degradation. In the Mediterranean region, the number of fire ignitions does not reflect the burnt area due to the occurrence of very large fires. The latter occur in a very small proportion of the number of ignitions, but result in very large burnt areas. Also there seems to be an increasing trend toward larger fires in the Mediterranean region due mainly to climatic and land use changes. This case study highlights the importance of vegetation regrowth a short time after the fire to maintain both forest systems and soil conservation

Assessment of the Availability of Forest Biomass for Bioenergy Production in Southwest Portugal.

In 2014, Portugal was the seventh largest pellets producer in the World. Since the shortage of raw material is one of the major obstacles that the Portuguese sellets market faces, the need for a good assessment of biomass availability for energy purposes at both country and regional levels is reinforced. This work uses a Geographical Information System environment and remote sensing data to assess the availability and sustainability of forest biomass residues in a management unit with around 940 ha of maritime pine forest. The period considered goes from 2004 to 2015. The study area is located in Southwestern Portugal, close to a pellets factory; therefore the potential Contribution of the residual biomass generated in the management unit to the production of pellets is evaluated. An allometric function is used for the estimation of maritime pine above ground biomass. With this estimate, and considering several forest operations, the residual biomass available was assessed, according to stand composition and structure. This study shows that, when maritime pine forests are managed to produce wood, the amount of residues available for energy production is small (an average of 0.37 t ha -1  year -1 were generated in the study area between 2004 and 2015). As a contribution to the sustainability of the Portuguese pellets industries, new management models for maritime pine forests may be developed. The effect of the pinewood nematode on the availability of residual biomass can be clearly seen in this study. In the management unit considered, cuts were made to prevent dissemination of the disease. This contributes to a higher availability of forest residues in a specific period of time, but, in the medium term, they lead to a decrease in the amount of residues that can be used for energy purposes

Plant protein blends in diets for Senegalese sole affect skeletal muscle growth, flesh texture and the expression of related genes

Author's accepted version (postprint).Available from 26/11/2017.Skeletal muscle growth and flesh quality of Senegalese sole fed diets containing increasing levels of plant protein blends to replace fishmeal were evaluated using muscle cellularity, texture profile and gene expression. A control fish meal-based diet (FM) was compared with three isonitrogenous (54%) and isolipidic (9%) diets with increasing levels of plant protein (PP) blends (50% PP50, 75% PP75 and 100% PP100). By the end of the experiment sole fed PP50 and PP75 had a final body length similar to the CTR (25 cm), but fish fed PP100 were significantly smaller (23 cm). Total FM replacement by PP sources resulted in significantly smaller muscle cross sectional area (CSA) mainly due to a decrease in the muscle fibre size as the total number of fibres did not vary significantly among treatments. The dietary incorporation of PP significantly reduced the expression of several key genes involved in myogenesis and muscle growth (mrf4, fgf6, myhc and mylc2). Fillet texture analysed instrumentally was affected by the total substitution of FM. Fish fed PP100 diet had a significantly higher modulus of elasticity, i.e. lower flesh stiffness, compared with the other groups. Muscle fibre size was moderately related (r = − 0.573) to the modulus of elasticity and positively correlated with the expression of lysyl oxidase (r = 0.495). The observed changes in muscle cellularity could not be associated with the expression of texture-related genes (capn2, ctsb, ctsd), since no significant differences were observed among diets. The present results point towards a modulation of the expression of several muscle growth related genes by increasing levels of PP sources that alter muscle cellularity and textural properties of Senegalese sole when total FM is replaced by PP

Detecção de vegetação arbórea através de segmentação e classificação orientada a objecto de imagens multiespectrais de alta resolução (Quickbird).

O principal objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar o potencial de imagens de alta resolução espacial (Quickbird) utilizando o método de segmentação multi-resolução e classificação digital orientada a objecto na 1) identificação de manchas por espécie florestal obtendo mapas de ocupação do solo e 2) identificação de área de coberto arbóreo por espécie para a região de Portel (Alentejo). Procedeu-se ao cálculo de bandas sintéticas tais como o índice de vegetação NDVI e as compentes principais para aumentar a capacidade de separação entre as classes no processo de segmentação e classificação. Ambos os resultados foram validados através do calculo da matriz de confusão e do coeficiente Kappa. Os resultados foram bastantes satisfatórios, para o mapa de ocupação do solo, obtendo-se um Kappa de 82,5% e para o mapa de área de coberto arbóreo de 80% e ambos com precisão global acima de 88%. Podemos concluir que a metodologia desenvolvida e os dados de alta resolução do satélite Quickbird produzem resultados satisfatórios para a identificação e separação das espécies florestais. A baixa resolução espectral deste satélite é compensada pela elevada resolução espacial e pela utilização de outros parâmetros de forma e de textura dos objectos individuais e entre objectos

Energy Production from Forest Biomass: An Overview

As long as care is taken regarding stand and forest sustainability, forest biomass is an interesting alternative to fossil fuels because of its historical use as an energy source, its relative abundance and availability worldwide, and the fact that it is carbon-neutral. This study encompasses the revision of the state of the sources of forest biomass for energy and their estimation, the impacts on forests of biomass removal, the current demand and use of forest biomass for energy, and the most used energy conversion technologies. Forests can provide large amounts of biomass that can be used for energy. However, as the resources are limited, the increasing demand for biomass brings about management challenges. Stand structure is determinant for the amount of residues produced. Biomass can be estimated with high accuracy using both forest inventory and remote sensing. Yet, remote sensing enables biomass estimation and monitoring in shorter time periods. Different bioenergy uses and conversion technologies are characterized by different efficiencies, which should be a factor to consider in the choice of the best suited technology. Carefully analyzing the different options in terms of available conversion technologies, end-uses, costs, environmental benefits, and alternative energy vectors is of utmost importance

Evergreen Oak Biomass Residues for Firewood

This chapter presents the assessment of the availability for residential heating of residual biomass from cork and holm oaks in a 12,188 ha agroforest area in Portugal. First, the above-ground biomass of evergreen oaks using very high spatial resolution satellite images was determined, followed by the definition of different scenarios for residues removal from the stands. The useful energy potential of the firewood that can be collected from the study area under the various silviculture scenarios was determined considering different energy conversion technologies: open fireplaces (still popular in Portugal) and more efficient closed burning appliances. Additionally, emissions of airborne pollutants from combusting all the available residual biomass in the study area were determined. Depending on the percentage of residues collected when the trees are pruned and on the conversion technologies used, the energy potential of evergreen oak firewood ranged from 5.0 × 106 MJ year−1 to 7.5 × 107 MJ year−1. Heavier pruning combined with the use of open fireplaces generates less useful heat and much higher emissions of pollutants per unit useful energy produced than lighter pruning combined with a more efficient technology. This case study illustrates the need to promote the transition from inefficient to more efficient and cleaner technologies

Scaling anomaly in cosmic string background

We show that the classical scale symmetry of a particle moving in cosmic string background is broken upon inequivalent quantization of the classical system, leading to anomaly. The consequence of this anomaly is the formation of single bound state in the coupling interval \gamma\in(-1,1). The inequivalent quantization is characterized by a 1-parameter family of self-adjoint extension parameter \omega. It has been conjectured that the formation of loosely bound state in cosmic string background may lead to the so called anomalous scattering cross section for the particles, which is usually seen in molecular physics.Comment: 4 pages,1 figur

Histological and ultrastructural feature and nitrite production of caprine preantral follicles in vitro cultured in the presence or absence of serum

Avaliou-se o efeito da adição de diferentes tipos e concentrações de soro sobre o desenvolvimento e a sobrevivência de folículos ovarianos pré-antrais (FOPA) caprinos in vitro. Além disso, verificou-se a relação entre as concentrações de nitrito presentes no meio de cultivo e a viabilidade folicular. Cada par ovariano foi dividido em 29 fragmentos, sendo um destinado ao controle. Os fragmentos foram cultivados por um ou sete dias em meio essencial mínimo suplementado (MEM+) ou MEM+ com diferentes concentrações (10 ou 20%) de soro fetal bovino (SFB), soro de cabra em estro (SCE) ou soro de cabra em diestro (SCD). Na análise morfológica após sete dias, apenas o tratamento com 10% de SFB apresentou percentual de FOPA normais similar ao MEM+ (P>0,05). A análise ultra-estrutural dos folículos cultivados por sete dias com MEM+ ou MEM+ com 10% de SFB mostrou danos oocitários, porém células da granulosa normais. A análise do meio de cultivo revelou correlação positiva entre a viabilidade folicular e a produção de nitrito. A suplementação com soro não melhorou a viabilidade de FOPA e a concentração de nitrito no meio de cultivo funcionou como um indicador da viabilidade das células da granulosa de FOPA caprinos cultivados in vitro. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe effect of the addition of different types and concentrations of sera on the viability and development of caprine preantal follicles (PAF) in vitro cultured was analyzed. In addition, it was evaluated the correlation between nitrite concentrations in culture medium and folicular viability. Each ovarian pair was divided in 29 fragments and one was used as control. The fragments were cultured for one or seven days in minimal essential medium (MEM+) or MEM+ with different concentrations of (10 or 20%) bovine fetal serum (BFS), estrous goat serum (EGS), or diestrous goat serum (DGS). After seven days, the morphological analysis showed that only the treatment with 10% BFS maintained the percentage of normal PAF similar to MEM+ (P>0.05). The ultrastructural analysis of follicles cultured for seven days in MEM+ or MEM+ with 10% BFS showed some oocyte damage, although the granulosa cells were normal. Analysis of culture medium revealed a positive correlation between follicular viability and nitrite production. Supplementation with serum did not improve the viability of PAF and nitrite levels in culture medium served as an indicator of viability of granulose cells from caprine PAF in vitro cultured

APOIO À DECISÃO PARA A PROTEÇÃO INTEGRADA NO COMBATE A Tuta absoluta EM TOMATE HORTOINDUSTRIAL

A traça-do-tomateiro é atualmente uma praga-chave do tomate para indústria, na região do Ribatejo. A sua presença foi detectada em 2010, tendo causado prejuízos significativos na campanha de 2011. O objetivo deste projeto é criar ferramentas para a tomada de decisão no âmbito da proteção desta cultura contra esta praga. Durante o ano de 2013, procedeu-se à monitorização semanal de adultos de T. absoluta com recurso a armadilhas com feromona sexual, e à observação visual em 25 a 50 plantas, de acordo com o estado fenológico da cultura. O material entomológico foram analisadas, posteriormente, em laboratório para deteção de parasitismo. Além de avaliar a intensidade de ataque, identificaram-se fatores de risco prévio, para construção de mapas de risco de apoio à tomada de decisão para a limitação da praga como culturas vizinhas e respetivas datas de colheita. Os dados preliminares não apresentaram uma correlação entre o número de machos adultos capturados e o número de larvas presentes na cultura, pelo que a estimativa de risco baseada apenas na contagem de machos adultos não parece ser suficiente para a tomada de decisão. Verificaram-se dificuldades no combate à praga devido a razões de ordem estrutural (e.g. posse da terra, hospedeiros alternativos na vizinhança) e a lacunas no conhecimento da sua bioecologia