Contributo da criptoméria para sequestro de carbono nos Açores

Mestrado em Engenharia do AmbienteA presente dissertação pretende avaliar a contribuição da espécie exótica Cryptomeria japonica para o sequestro de carbono da floresta açoriana. Na primeira parte da tese é desenvolvida uma metodologia laboratorial para aferição da percentagem de carbono presente na matéria seca desta espécie. Foram obtidos valores médios de carbono de 52,04% para a copa, 50,56% para o fuste e 49,82% para a raiz. Na segunda parte da tese são determinados os valores dos stocks de carbono e é avaliada a capacidade de sequestro da Cryptomeria japonica através dos dados do Inventário Florestal dos Açores de 2007 disponibilizados pelos serviços florestais da ilha Terceira. Verificou-se ser o fuste a componente que contabiliza um maior armazenamento de carbono, seguido da copa e da raiz, com valores médios de stock iguais a 150,2;56,4 e 51,9 t C ha-1 respetivamente. Os valores de stock foram também estimados tendo em conta a real área de ocupação da espécie pelas diferentes ilhas analisadas. A contabilização dos stocks totais presentes na floresta de Cryptomeria foi estimada em 2816 ± 1594Gg de C, representando cerca de 2% dos stocks da floresta portuguesa. O valor médio de sequestro obtido nas parcelas de inventário de 8,36 t C ha-1ano-1 em PPL, correspondente a uma remoção de CO2 de 30 t ha-1ano-1. Verificou-se também que o sequestro de carbono aumenta com o aumento dos parâmetros altura total (Ht), diâmetro quadrático médio (dg) e Idade (I) durante os primeiros estágios de desenvolvimento da planta.This dissertation aims to assess the contribution of the various constituents of the exotic Cryptomeria japonica for forest carbon sequestration in Azores Islands. In the first part of the thesis is developed a laboratory method to measure the percentage of carbon present in the dry matter of this kind. Were obtained average carbon values of 52.04% for the canopy, and 50.56% to 49.82% for stem and root respectively. In the second part of the thesis are given the values of carbon stocks and evaluated the ability of carbon sequestration from Cryptomeria japonica through 2007 forest inventory data provided by the forest services of Azores. It was proved to be the stem, the component that contains more carbon per plot (150,2 t C ha-1) followed by the canopy (56,4 t C ha-1) and root (51,9 t C ha-1). The total stock values have also been estimated taking into account the actual area of the specie’s occupation on each island. The total stock present in the forest of Cryptomeria japonica was estimated in 2816 ± 1594 Gg, a value that represents approximately 2% of the Portuguese forest stock. The average value of the rate of carbon sequestration of this specie equals 8,36 t C ha-1year-1 expressed in NPP, corresponding to a CO2 fixation of 30 t ha-1year-1 .It was also found that carbon sequestration increases with the increase of the parameters total height (ht), mean square diameter (dg) and age (I) during the early stages of plant development

Joint mitigation of supply and financial risk in regional water supply management under uncertainty

Municipal water utilities are tasked with providing reliable, safe, and affordable drinking water for over 250 million Americans. Accomplishing this can be costly and complicated. In 2017, over $110 billion of public funding alone was spent to maintain United States drinking water infrastructure. Changes in climate, land use, and water demand introduce uncertainty in water availability. Growing variability in supply and demand impacts water supply reliability, increasing volatility of water utility costs and revenues, generating financial risk that disrupts utility operations and raises customer water rates. Water utilities have a range of tools for jointly managing supply and financial risks, including building new supply infrastructure, implementing water use restrictions during droughts, and cooperatively managing infrastructure through inter-utility agreements. To navigate supply and demand uncertainties and provide reliable, affordable water service, it is key for utilities to identify actions and decision-making rules that work effectively under a wide range of future conditions, taking greater advantage of available tools. However, no research in the water supply management and planning field to this point has applied dynamic adaptive management modeling to explore utility hydrologic vulnerability and the financial impacts of regional inter-utility agreements, nor developed adaptive financial modeling to quantify utility budgetary responses to water supply planning decisions. This dissertation employs a novel, integrated supply and financial risk modeling approach to address outstanding questions faced by water utilities, specifically: (1) How vulnerable are utilities to climate and land-use landcover change uncertainty, and how can mitigation action influence their vulnerability? (2) Can inter-utility cooperation help mitigate supply and/or financial risk? (3) How robust are regional inter-utility agreements under uncertainty? (4) How can utilities financially adapt to meet water demands? Results of this work demonstrate: (a) how utility decision-making can mitigate (and sometimes exacerbate) climate and land use change impacts on water availability; (b) the financial benefits and drawbacks of inter-utility regional cooperation, relative to independent utility operation; and (c) the adaptive capacity of water utility budgets to finance water supply infrastructure expansion under uncertainty in demand growth and climate. Addressing these questions highlights the opportunities water utilities have to ensure reliable future water service.Doctor of Philosoph

The Republican Journal: Vol. 77, No. 13 - March 30,1905

https://digitalmaine.com/rj_1905/1012/thumbnail.jp

Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N. Y., 1788-1890.

Part 2 has title: Business directory of Genesee County, N. Y., 1890. Compiled and published by J. W. Vose & Co. Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co., printers.Mode of access: Internet