Nickel/Yttria-stabilised zirconia cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells

This thesis deals with the porous Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) cermet anode on a YSZ electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Such anodes are predominantly operated in moist hydrogen at 700°C to 1000°C, and the most important technological parameters are the polarization resistance and the long-term stability.\ud The polarization resistance can be measured by a number of techniques, in the present work impedance spectroscopy has been used extensively. By impedance spectroscopy limiting processes in the anode polarization resistance may often be separated and characterized individually, provided they have a reasonable separation in time constants

A Systematic Review of Landscape Corridor Conservation and Management in Europe

Since EU Commission initiated Green Infrastructure (GI) strategy, an important step has been taken to help public to understand benefits of nature, such as providing food, clean air, and water resource. Besides, Green Infrastructure plays an important role in climate regulation, stormwater prevention, sustaining biodiversity. And its recreational function is also valuable for human society. Therefore, it is necessary to invest more resources in Green Infrastructure to develop, maintain and sustain it (Green Infrastructure COM, 2013). Green Infrastructure is planned as a strategically network of natural and seminatural areas with environmental functions and its elements are designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services it (European Environment Agency, 2011), which also provide solutions for urban and rural landscape conservation and sustainable development under the background of rapid and fundamental transformations in European landscapes. Landscape corridor is identified as thin strips that connect isolated patches (Joshua J. T. et al., 2002). It has similar features such as connectivity, functionality, integration, and can be considered as a part of Green Infrastructure network from systems thinking, ecological thinking and social thinking. Landscape corridor can be defined as the linear landscape elements with cultural properties that represent the combined works of nature and of man. It is important due to its connectivity as well as its scenic, cultural, social, economical, ecological and recreational functions. Comparing with the concept of Green Infrastructure, we can find that Landscape corridor (LC) shares many common features with GI, but it also has its own properties gained from its unique linear form, such as connectivity and/or forming boundaries

European Landscapes in Transition – Implications for Policy and Practice

European rural landscapes as we experience them today are the result of ongoing processes and interactions between nature and society. These are changing fast: the future landscapes will be different from those we know currently. Written for academics, policy-makers and practitioners, this book is the first to explore the complex histories of rural landscapes in Europe as a basis for their sound governance in future. Tensions between the needs of agricultural spaces driven by economic incentives and a variety of non-agricultural functions are explored to demonstrate current challenges and the shortfalls in the policies that address them. Using inspiring case studies that highlight the roles of regional agents and communities, the authors go further than the usual analyses to illustrate the importance of local context. Written by experts currently working to revitalise the rural landscapes of Europe, the text concludes with suggestions for improving landscape policy and planning practice

Landscape Strategy-Making and Collaboration:The Hills of Northern Mors, Denmark; A Case of Changing Focus and Scale

This paper focuses on a three-year rural landscape strategy-making process, which was driven by a Danish municipality and involved a large number of stakeholders. The project was part of an action research program aimed at developing new approaches to collaborative landscape planning. Gaining experiences with such approaches was part of this aim. During the course of the project, the focus and scale of the strategy changed significantly. The process developed in interesting ways in respect to three dimensions of collaborative landscape planning: collaboration, scale, and public goods. After a brief review of the three dimensions and their links to landscape planning, the case story is unfolded in three sections: (1) The planning process, (2) the process outcome (the strategy), and (3) the aftermath in terms of critical reflections from participating planners and local stakeholders. The process and outcome of the landscape strategy-making process is discussed in the context of collaboration, scale, and public goods, including a brief outline of the lessons learned

Methodology for environmental assessment of agri-environment schemes: the Agri Environmental Footprint Index

End of project reportAgri-environment schemes pay farmers for the provision of environmental services. Such schemes tend to have multiple measures that deliver multiple environmental objectives, and there is a lack of consistent methodology with which to measure the environmental benefits of such schemes. Funded by EU FP6, the Agri-Environment Footprint project (www.footprint.rdg.ac.uk) aimed to address this challenge, and this report provides results from selected components of the project.European Unio