Poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-isophthalate) copolyesters obtained from linear oligomeric blends

Postprint (published version

Similar local but different systemic metabolomic responses of closely related pine subspecies to folivory by caterpillars of the processionary moth

Plants respond locally and systemically to herbivore attack. Most of the research conducted on plant-herbivore relationships at elemental and molecular levels have focused on the elemental composition or/and certain molecular compounds or specific families of defensive metabolites showing that herbivores tend to select plant individuals or species with higher nutrient concentrations and to avoid those with higher levels of defensive compounds. We performed stoichiometric and metabolomics, local and systemic, analyses in two subspecies of Pinus sylvestris under the attack by the caterpillars of the pine processionary moth, an important pest in the Mediterranean Basin. Both pine subspecies responded locally to folivory mainly by increasing the relative concentrations of terpenes and some phenolics. Systemic responses differed between subspecies and most of the metabolites presented intermediate concentrations between those of the affected parts and unattacked trees. Our results support the hypothesis that foliar nutrient concentrations are not a key factor of an alleged plant selection by adult female processionary moths for oviposition since folivory was not associated with any of the elements analyzed. Phenolic compounds did not generally increase in the attacked trees questioning thus their commonly proposed induction by folivory attack and their anti-feeding properties. Herbivory attack produced a general systemic shift in pines, including both primary and secondary metabolisms, that was less intense and chemically different from the local responses. Local pine responses were similar between subspecies while systemic responses were more distant between them

Estudi de l'evolució del sòl urbà a la Vall d'Àneu

Aquest treball té com a principal objectiu analitzar l'evolució del sòl urbà als pobles de la Vall d'Àneu, dins l'àmbit del Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu. La Vall d'Àneu, situada en el Pirineu axial català, està formda pels municipis de l'Alt Àneu, Espot, Esterri d'Àneu i La Guingueta d'Àneu, i amb un total de 24 poblacions, totes elles per sota la cota de 1500 m.El principal objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la evolución del suelo urbano de las poblaciones de la Vall d'Àneu, dentro del ámbito del Parque Natural de l'Alt Pirineu. La Vall d'Àneu, situada en el Pirineo axial catalán, está compuesta por los municipios de l'Alt Àneu, Espot, Esterri d'Àneu y La Guingueta d'Àneu y con un total de 24 poblaciones, todas ellas situados por debajo de la cota de 1500 m.The aim of this study is to analyse the evolution of urban land in the Vall d'Àneu villages within the Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu. Vall d'Àneu, located in the axial catalan Pirineus, is composted of the municipalities: Alt Àneu, Espot, Esterri d'Àneu and La Guingueta d'Àneu and with a total of 24 villages, all of them located below the altitude of 1500m. In the middle of the last century, the whole population of the Valley showed a uniformity as opposed to their size and distribution, where the altitude was not a decisive factor. In recent decades, Vall d'Àneu has experienced a population and economic growth, based on the services sector (ski resorts, rural tourism, adventure sports, and so on). This shift has resulted in a growing of the villages, accentuated in recent years. This has not been uniform, but has been focused on certain areas depending on the period. Thus, in recent decades, this growth has focused on the villages near the ski slopes and in forecast PTPAPiA the trend must continue

Impacts of Global Change on Mediterranean Forests and Their Services

The increase in aridity, mainly by decreases in precipitation but also by higher temperatures, is likely the main threat to the diversity and survival of Mediterranean forests. Changes in land use, including the abandonment of extensive crop activities, mainly in mountains and remote areas, and the increases in human settlements and demand for more resources with the resulting fragmentation of the landscape, hinder the establishment of appropriate management tools to protect Mediterranean forests and their provision of services and biodiversity. Experiments and observations indicate that if changes in climate, land use and other components of global change, such as pollution and overexploitation of resources, continue, the resilience of many forests will likely be exceeded, altering their structure and function and changing, mostly decreasing, their capacity to continue to provide their current services. A consistent assessment of the impacts of the changes, however, remains elusive due to the difficulty of obtaining simultaneous and complete data for all scales of the impacts in the same forests, areas and regions. We review the impacts of climate change and other components of global change and their interactions on the terrestrial forests of Mediterranean regions, with special attention to their impacts on ecosystem services. Management tools for counteracting the negative effects of global change on Mediterranean ecosystem- services are finally discussed

Impacts of global change on Mediterranean forests and their services

The increase in aridity, mainly by decreases in precipitation but also by higher temperatures, is likely the main threat to the diversity and survival of Mediterranean forests. Changes in land use, including the abandonment of extensive crop activities, mainly in mountains and remote areas, and the increases in human settlements and demand for more resources with the resulting fragmentation of the landscape, hinder the establishment of appropriate management tools to protect Mediterranean forests and their provision of services and biodiversity. Experiments and observations indicate that if changes in climate, land use and other components of global change, such as pollution and overexploitation of resources, continue, the resilience of many forests will likely be exceeded, altering their structure and function and changing, mostly decreasing, their capacity to continue to provide their current services. A consistent assessment of the impacts of the changes, however,remains elusive due to the difficulty of obtaining simultaneous and complete data for all scales of the impacts in the same forests, areas and regions. We review the impacts of climate change and other components of global change and their interactions on the terrestrial forests of Mediterranean regions, with special attention to their impacts on ecosystem services. Management tools for counteracting the negative effects of global change on Mediterranean ecosystem- services are finally discussed

Mathematical programming for energetic, economic and environmental optimization of building design

L’objectiu d’aquesta tesis és desenvolupar eines sistemàtiques de suport per la presa de decisions basades en mètodes matemàtics pel disseny òptim d’edificis amb mínim cost i mínim impacte ambiental. Avui en dia la societat és cada vegada més conscient de la importància que té respectar el medi ambient. Com a resultat, les autoritats i moltes empreses i consumidors estan interessats en productes econòmicament eficients però també respectuosos amb el medi ambient. En aquest context l’eficiència energètica hi juga un paper molt important. L’aïllament d’edificis és particularment interessant, ja que fa disminuir el consum d’energia i, conseqüentment, permet reduir també l’impacte ambiental. El problema general que pretenem solucionar en aquesta tesis és el disseny d’edificis ambientalment respectuosos amb el mínim cost econòmic, centrant-nos en l’optimització de l’aïllament tèrmic exterior. Per tal de demostrar les possibilitats de les nostres eines, considerem un cas d’estudi: Una casa tipus cubicle localitzada a la regió de Lleida. No obstant les nostres metodologies són suficientment generals per treballar amb diferents models d’edifici, variables de decisió i funcions objectiu. Els nostres mètodes s’han desenvolupat amb la intenció d’ajudar als agents involucrats en el disseny d’edificis.El objetivo de esta tesis es desarrollar herramientas sistemáticas de soporte para la toma de decisiones basadas en métodos matemáticos para el diseño óptimo de edificios con mínimo coste y mínimo impacto ambiental. Hoy en día la sociedad es cada vez más consciente de la importancia que tiene respetar el medio ambiente. Como resultado, las autoridades y muchas empresas y consumidores están interesados en productos económicamente eficientes pero también respetuosos con el medio ambiente. En este contexto la eficiencia energética juega un papel muy importante. El aislamiento de edificios es particularmente interesante, ya que hace disminuir el consumo de energía y, consecuentemente, permite reducir también el impacto ambiental. El problema general que pretendemos solucionar en esta tesis es el diseño de edificios ambientalmente respetuosos con el mínimo coste económico, centrándonos en la optimización del aislamiento térmico exterior. Para demostrar las posibilidades de nuestras herramientas, consideramos un caso de estudio: Una casa tipo cubículo localizada en la región de Lleida. No obstatnte nuestras metodologías son suficientemente generales para trabajar con diferentes modelos de edificio, variables de decisión y funciones objetivo. Nuestros métodos se han desarrollado con la intención de ayudar a los agentes involucrados en el diseño de edificios.The goal of this thesis is to provide systematic mathematical decision-support tools for the design of optimal buildings with minimum cost and minimum environmental impact. Nowadays the society is becoming more aware of the importance of being environmentally conscious. As a result, the authorities and many companies and consumers seek for products that are cost efficient but also environmentally friendly. Here energy efficiency plays an important role. Building insulation is particularly appealing, since it decreases the energy demand, thereby leading to significant environmental savings. The general problem we aim to solve in this thesis is the design of environmentally friendly buildings with the lowest possible cost focusing on the optimization of the external thermal insulation. To illustrate the capabilities of our approaches, we consider a case study: A house-like cubicle located in the Lleida region. However our methodology is general enough to work with different building models, decision variables and objective functions. Our methods are intended to assist decision-makers in the design of buildings

European-IceMap250 sea ice extent maps (2000-2017)

This dataset contains March and September monthly sea ice extent maps covering the European Arctic and the Baltic Sea at 250 m resolution (2000-2017). Additionally, it contains sea ice presence likelihood maps (% of observations) used to derive sea ice extent. This dataset has been produced with a modified version of the IceMap250 algorithm from MODIS visible and infrared data. Credits for the original algorithm: Gignac et al., 2017. For scientific, management, and monitoring purposes. Re-use of this content for commercial or non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. The authors accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the re-use of this dataset