Investigating the sources of process innovation among UK manufacturing firms

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Soils apart from equilibrium ? consequences for soil carbon balance modelling

International audienceMany projections of the soil carbon sink or source are based on kinetically defined carbon pool models. Para\-meters of these models are often determined in a way that the steady state of the model matches observed carbon stocks. The underlying simplifying assumption is that observed carbon stocks are near equilibrium. This assumption is challenged by observations of very old soils that do still accumulate carbon. In this modelling study we explored the consequences of the case where soils are apart from equilibrium. Calculation of equilibrium states of soils that are currently accumulating small amounts of carbon were performed using the Yasso model. It was found that already very small current accumulation rates cause big changes in theoretical equilibrium stocks, which can virtually approach infinity. We conclude that soils that have been disturbed several centuries ago are not in equilibrium but in a transient state because of the slowly ongoing accumulation of the slowest pool. A first consequence is that model calibrations to current carbon stocks that assume equilibrium state, overestimate the decay rate of the slowest pool. A second consequence is that spin-up runs (simulations until equilibrium) overestimate stocks of recently disturbed sites. In order to account for these consequences, we propose a transient correction. This correction prescribes a lower decay rate of the slowest pool and accounts for disturbances in the past by decreasing the spin-up-run predicted stocks to match an independent estimate of current soil carbon stocks. Application of this transient correction at a Central European beech forest site with a typical disturbance history resulted in an additional carbon fixation of 5.7±1.5 tC/ha within 100 years. Carbon storage capacity of disturbed forest soils is potentially much higher than currently assumed. Simulations that do not adequately account for the transient state of soil carbon stocks neglect a considerable amount of current carbon accumulation

Relations and evolution in "Cheilanthes" ("Sinopteridaceae, Pteridophyta") in Macaronesia and Mediterranean area, deduced from genome analysis of their hybrids

Nine species of "Cheilantoid ferns" are known to grow in Macaronesia and the Mediterranean basin. Two of them (lacking a pseudo-indusium and having the basic chromosome number X = 29), both aggregate species which we prefer to retain in Notholaena, are not included in this study. The other seven species (with distinct pseudo-indusium and the basic chromosome number X = 30), which we accept as members of the genus Cheilanthes Sw. sensu stricto, were subjected to detailed genome analysis of their natural and experimentally produced hybrids and shown to represent an aggregate of four very distinct ancestral diploids and three allotetraploids. The latter must have once been formed by chromosome doubling in the three diploid hybrids of C. maderensis Lowe with the other three diploid species. Theoretically three more allotetraploids would be possible but their formation has obviously been prevented by the geographical separation of the three respective diploids. The most widely distributed of the tetraploids, i.e. C. pteridioides (Reich.) C.Chr. has also been resynthesized from its ancestors (still sympatric) under experimental conditions. The intermediate morphology of the allotetraploids (as compared with their diploid ancestors) is obviously the reason why their status and existence has so long escaped recognition in Europe. These seven species form a natural group and, in our opinion, should not be divided into sections.Se conocen nueve especies de "helechos Cheilantoides" que viven en Macaronesia y la cuenca Mediterranea. Dos de ellos, (sin pseudoindusio y con número cromosómico básico X = 29) que preferimos incluir en Notholaena, no se estudian en este trabajo. Las otras siete especies (con pseudoindusio y número cromosómico básico X = 30) que reconocemos como miembros del género Cheilanthes Sw. sensu stricto, fueron objeto de un análisis detallado del genoma de sus híbridos, tanto de los naturales, como de los producidos experimentalmente mostrando un agregado de cuatro ancestrales diploides muy distintos y tres alotetraploides. Estos últimos deben haberse formado por duplicación de los cromosomas en los tres híbridos diploides resultantes del cruzamiento de C. maderensis con las otras tres especies diploides. Teóricamente son posibles otros tres alotetraploides, pero su formación se ha impedido por la separación geográfica de los 3 diploides respectivos. Los tetraploides más ampliamente distribuidos, como por ejemplo Cheilanthes pteridioides (Reich.) C. Chr., han sido igualmente resintetizados a partir de sus ancestros bajo condiciones experimentales. La morfología intermedia de los alotetraploides (comparada con sus ancestros diploides) es obviamente la razón por la que su existencia y status han pasado inadvertidos en Europa. Estas siete especies forman un grupo natural que, en nuestra opinión, no debe ser dividido en secciones

Temperature sensitivity of decomposition in relation to soil organic matter pools: critique and outlook

Knorr et al. (2005) concluded that soil organic carbon pools with longer turnover times are more sensitive to temperature. We show that this conclusion is equivocal, largely dependent on their specific selection of data and does not persist when the data set of Kätterer et al. (1998) is analysed in a more appropriate way. Further, we analyse how statistical properties of the model parameters may interfere with correlative analyses that relate the Q₁₀ of soil respiration with the basal rate, where the latter is taken as a proxy for soil organic matter quality. We demonstrate that negative parameter correlations between Q₁₀-values and base respiration rates are statistically expected and not necessarily provide evidence for a higher temperature sensitivity of low quality soil organic matter. Consequently, we propose it is premature to conclude that stable soil carbon is more sensitive to temperature than labile carbon

Open innovation, value creation and value capture : an introduction

To be successful in open innovation, firms need to craft an effective strategy for both value creation and value capture. However, these two aspects are difficult to combine, and there are important tensions that deserve closer examination. The aim of this special section is to offer original perspectives on key conceptual and empirical research questions related to how open innovation can help organizations to create and capture value, the extent to which there might be a tension between value creation and value capture in open innovation strategies, and how this tension can be effectively dealt wit

Crowdfunding as Donations to Entrepreneurial Firms

The bulk of today's (“preorder-,” “reward-,” “gift-,” and “donation-based”) crowdfunding raises funds for small, private entrepreneurial ventures without granting funders private claims to the projects’ income or the ability to guarantee the realization and delivery of project outcomes. We theorize and show empirically – via a mixed-method approach applied to a representative and remarkably informative case – that the payoff structure for crowdfunders, akin to a public good contribution problem, leads to the tangible value of main project outputs exerting little influence on contributions to crowdfunding. This then raises the question of which funder motivations fund seekers may have to address to crowdfund their projects. We demonstrate the especially large role of non-pecuniary motivations and pinpoint three particular motivations that profit-seeking entrepreneurs may stimulate to be financed through crowdfunding. The findings hold important implications for entrepreneurs’ crowdfunding strategies, platform design, and our understanding of how this funding institution works in general. The study also adds to emerging research on the implications of the public good nature of crowdfunding

Reducing errors on estimates of the carbon uptake period based on time series of atmospheric CO₂

High-quality, long-time-series measurements of atmospheric greenhouse gases show interannual variability in the measured seasonal cycles. These changes can be analyzed to better understand the carbon cycle and the impact of climate drivers. However, nearly all discrete measurement records contain gaps and have noise due to the influence of local fluxes or synoptic variability. To facilitate analysis, filtering and curve-fitting techniques are often applied to these time series. Previous studies have recognized that there is an inherent uncertainty associated with this curve fitting, and the choice of a given mathematical method might introduce biases. Since uncertainties are seldom propagated to the metrics under study, this can lead to misinterpretation of the signal. In this study, we use an ensemble-based approach to quantify the uncertainty of the derived seasonal cycle metrics. We apply it to CO2 dry-air mole fraction time series from flask measurements in the Northern Hemisphere. We use this ensemble-based approach to analyze the carbon uptake period (CUP: the time of the year when the CO2 uptake is greater than the CO2 release): its onset, termination and duration. Previous studies have diagnosed CUP based on the dates on which the detrended, zero-centered seasonal cycle curve switches from positive to negative (the downward zero-crossing date, DZCD) and vice versa (upward zero-crossing date, UZCD). However, the UZCD is sensitive to the skewness of the CO2 seasonal cycle during the net carbon release period. Hence, we develop an alternative method proposed by to estimate the onset and termination of the CUP based on a threshold defined in terms of the first derivative of the CO2 seasonal cycle. Using the ensemble approach, we arrive at a tighter constraint to the threshold by considering the annual uncertainty; we call this the ensemble of first derivative (EFD) method. Further, using the EFD approach and an additional curve-fitting algorithm, we show that (a) the uncertainty of the studied metrics is smaller using the EFD method than when approximated using the timing of the zero-crossing date (ZCD), and (b) the onset and termination dates derived with the EFD method provide more robust results, irrespective of the curve-fitting method applied to the data.</p

Bayesian calibration of a soil organic carbon model using Δ¹⁴C measurements of soil organic carbon and heterotrophic respiration as joint constraints

Soils of temperate forests store significant amounts of organic matter and are considered to be net sinks of atmospheric CO₂. Soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover has been studied using the Δ¹⁴C values of bulk SOC or different SOC fractions as observational constraints in SOC models. Further, the Δ¹⁴C values of CO₂ that evolved during the incubation of soil and roots have been widely used together with Δ¹⁴C of total soil respiration to partition soil respiration into heterotrophic respiration (HR) and rhizosphere respiration. However, these data have not been used as joint observational constraints to determine SOC turnover times. Thus, we focus on (1) how different combinations of observational constraints help to narrow estimates of turnover times and other parameters of a simple two-pool model, the Introductory Carbon Balance Model (ICBM); (2) whether relaxing the steady-state assumption in a multiple constraints approach allows the source/sink strength of the soil to be determined while estimating turnover times at the same time. To this end ICBM was adapted to model SOC and SO¹⁴C in parallel with litterfall and the Δ¹⁴C of litterfall as driving variables. The Δ¹⁴C of the atmosphere with its prominent bomb peak was used as a proxy for the Δ¹⁴C of litterfall. Data from three spruce-dominated temperate forests in Germany and the USA (Coulissenhieb II, Solling D0 and Howland Tower site) were used to estimate the parameters of ICBM via Bayesian calibration. Key findings are as follows: (1) the joint use of all four observational constraints (SOC stock and its Δ¹⁴C, HR flux and its Δ¹⁴C) helped to considerably narrow turnover times of the young pool (primarily by Δ¹⁴C of HR) and the old pool (primarily by Δ¹⁴C of SOC). Furthermore, the joint use of all observational constraints made it possible to constrain the humification factor in ICBM, which describes the fraction of the annual outflux from the young pool that enters the old pool. The Bayesian parameter estimation yielded the following turnover times (mean ± standard deviation) for SOC in the young pool: Coulissenhieb II 1.1 ± 0.5 years, Solling D0 5.7 ± 0.8 years and Howland Tower 0.8 ± 0.4 years. Turnover times for the old pool were 377 ± 61 years (Coulissenhieb II), 313 ± 66 years (Solling D0) and 184 ± 42 years (Howland Tower), respectively. (2) At all three sites the multiple constraints approach was not able to determine if the soil has been losing or storing carbon. Nevertheless, the relaxed steady-state assumption hardly introduced any additional uncertainty for the other parameter estimates. Overall the results suggest that using Δ¹⁴C data from more than one carbon pool or flux helps to better constrain SOC models

Die Konstitution von Sinogenin. Glykoside und Aglykone. 181. Mitteilung

Durch Abbau von Sinogenin zu 3B, 11a -Diacetoxy-12-ketoatiansaure-methylester (X) wurde die Konstitution dieses Genins als 3B, 11a, 14-Trihydroxy-12-keto-carden-(20:22)-olid bewiesen

Characterizing Ecosystem-Atmosphere Interactions from Short to Interannual Time Scales

Characterizing ecosystem-atmosphere interactions in terms of carbon and water exchange on different time scales is considered a major challenge in terrestrial biogeochemical cycle research. The respective time series are now partly comprising an observation 5 period of one decade. In this study, we explored whether the observation period is already sufficient to detect cross relationships of the variables beyond the annual cycle as they are expected from comparable studies in climatology. We explored the potential of Singular System Analysis (SSA) to extract arbitrary kinds of oscillatory patterns. The method is completely data adaptive and performs an 10 effective signal to noise separation. We found that most observations (NEE, GP P , Reco, V P D, LE, H, u, P ) were influenced significantly by low frequency components (interannual variability). Furthermore we extracted a set of nonlinear relationships and found clear annual hysteresis effects except for the NEE-Rg relationship which turned out to be the sole linear relationship 15 in the observation space. SSA provides a new tool to investigate these phenomena explicitly on different time scales. Furthermore, we showed that SSA has great potential for eddy covariance data processing since it can be applied as novel gap fillingapproach relying on the temporal time series structure only.JRC.H.2-Climate chang