Quantification of uncertainties in global grazing systems assessments

Livestock systems play a key role in global sustainability challenges like food security and climate change, yet, many unknowns and large uncertainties prevail. We present a systematic, spatially explicit assessment of uncertainties related to grazing intensity (GI), a key metric for assessing ecological impacts of grazing, by combining existing datasets on a) grazing feed intake, b) the spatial distribution of livestock, c) the extent of grazing land, and d) its net primary productivity (NPP). An analysis of the resulting 96 maps implies that on average 15% of the grazing land NPP is consumed by livestock. GI is low in most of worlds grazing lands but hotspots of very high GI prevail in 1% of the total grazing area. The agreement between GI maps is good on one fifth of the world's grazing area, while on the remainder it is low to very low. Largest uncertainties are found in global drylands and where grazing land bears trees (e.g., the Amazon basin or the Taiga belt). In some regions like India or Western Europe massive uncertainties even result in GI > 100% estimates. Our sensitivity analysis indicates that the input-data for NPP, animal distribution and grazing area contribute about equally to the total variability in GI maps, while grazing feed intake is a less critical variable. We argue that a general improvement in quality of the available global level datasets is a precondition for improving the understanding of the role of livestock systems in the context of global environmental change or food security

Atmospheric Corrosion of Painted Galvanized and 55%Al-Zn Steel Sheets: Results of 12 Years of Exposure

Zinc or 55%Al-Zn alloy-coated steel sheets, either bare or covered by different painting systems, have been exposed for 12 years to the action of the urban atmosphere at the CIDEPINT station located in La Plata (34° 50′ South, 57° 53′, West), province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The samples exposed surface was evaluated through periodical visual inspections, standardized adhesion tests, and electrochemical impedance measurements. The ambient variables monitored were average annual rains and temperatures, time of wetness, sulphur and chloride concentration, relative humidity, and speed and direction of the winds. It was found that in this atmosphere, the corrosion resistance of the bare 55% Al-Zn/steel sheets was higher than of the galvanized steel, and the polyurethane painting system was more protective than the alkyd and epoxy ones, which degraded after 6-7 years of exposure

Factores que afectan a la estructura de los recubrimientos de cinc obtenidos por inmersión

Coating solidification during hot-dip galvanizing is a very complex process due to Al-Fe, Al-Fe-Zn and Fe-Zn intermetallic compounds development. Fe-Zn intermetallic are brittle and detrimental for the coating ductility, while the diffusion towards the surface of a segregated insoluble alloying such as antimonium causes the sheet darkness. Steel sheets of different roughness were hot-dip galvanized under different operation conditions using a laboratory scale simulator. The effect of steel roughness and process parameters upon coating characteristics were analyzed. Experimental results showed that the steel roughness affects the coating thickness, zinc grain size and texture as well as the out-bursts development, while the process parameters affects the Fe<sub>2</sub>Al<sub>5</sub> morphology and antimonium segregation.<br><br>En el proceso de galvanizado por inmersión, la solidificación del recubrimiento constituye una etapa compleja en la que, además de formarse compuestos intermetálicos de Al-Fe, Al-Fe-Zn y Fe-Zn, tiene lugar la segregación de elementos aleantes insolubles como el antimonio. Ambos fenómenos son, al menos parcialmente, indeseables ya que la fragilidad de los intermetálicos de Fe-Zn afecta a la ductilidad del recubrimiento y la difusión del antimonio hacia la superficie causa su ennegrecimiento. Con un simulador diseñado a escala de laboratorio se galvanizaron chapas de diferente rugosidad sujetas a condiciones operativas también diferentes, analizándose el efecto de la rugosidad del acero y de los parámetros del proceso sobre las características del recubrimiento. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron que la rugosidad afecta tanto al espesor del recubrimiento, tamaño de grano y textura del cinc como a la formación de <i>out-bursts</i>, mientras que los parámetros del proceso lo hacen sobre la morfología del intermetálico Fe<sub>2</sub>Al<sub>5</sub> y la segregación de antimonio