Priorities for sustainable turfgrass management: a research and industry perspective

This paper provides a brief review and assessment of the key environmental, regulatory and technical issues facing the turfgrass sector with specific reference to the European context. It considers the range of externalities or ‘drivers for change' facing the industry, and the challenges and opportunities available for promoting and achieving more sustainable turfgrass management within the sports, landscape and amenity sectors. The analysis confirms that there are a number of key areas where a concerted research and industrial effort is required. These include responding to the pressures from government demands for greater environmental regulation, the increasing pressure on natural resources (notably water, energy and land), the emerging role of turf management in supporting ecosystem services and enhancing biodiversity, the continued need to promote integrated pest management, and the looming challenges posed by a changing climate, and urgent need to adapt. Whilst many of these externalities appear to be risks to the sports turf industry, there will also be significant opportunities, for those where the labour, energy and agronomic costs are minimized and where the drive to adopt a multifunctional approach to sportsturf management is embraced

Update of forest management plans from Södra using stereo matching of aerial images, the national terrain model and data from the National Forest Inventory

Inom skogsbruket i Sverige framställs årligen ett stort antal Skogsbruksplaner (SBPL) där subjektiva fältmätningar vanligtvis används för skattningen av de skogliga variablerna. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka möjligheterna att uppdatera Södras befintliga SBPL med hjälp av den nya nationella höjdmodellen och punktmoln med 3D data genererat genom automatisk stereomatchning av Lantmäteriets flygbilder. Skattningarna gjordes på avdelningsnivå med hjälp av en areabaserad metod. För detta användes Riksskogstaxeringens provytedata som referensdata vid framtagningen av skattningsfunktioner i form av regressionsmodeller. Sambandet mellan provytedatat och metriker beräknade från 3D punktmolnet användes för att utveckla regressionsmodellerna. Dessa tillämpades sedan på hela området av intresse för att få avdelningsvisa skattningar. Skattningarna utvärderades mot inventeringsdata från Södras kombinerade kontrolltaxering och kvalitetsuppföljning från fyra fastigheter belägna i Kronobergs län. Avdelningarna på fastigheterna dominerades främst av gran, men även tall- och lövdominerade avdelningar förekom. I övrigt hade avdelningarna huggningsklass (hkl) G1–G2 samt S1–S2 och ett ålderspann mellan 42–61 år för gran och 74–105 år för tall. De avdelningsvisa skattningarna gav ett relativt medelfel om 11,8% för grundytevägd medelhöjd, 18,9% för grundytevägd medeldiameter, 21,8% för volym och 18,6% för grundyta. I ett andra steg stratifierades utvärderingsdatat med avseende på trädslag, ålder och ståndortsindex genom att använda uppgifterna från de befintliga SBPL. Vid stratifieringen med avseende på trädslag erhölls något lägre medelfel, främst vid skattningarna för grundytevägd medeldiameter och volym, vilket indikerar att regressionsmodellerna fungerar olika på olika typer av skog. Resultaten visar att 3D punktmoln genererade genom stereomatchning av flygbilder har stor potential att användas för skogliga skattningar.In Swedish forestry, a large number of forest management plans (SBPL) are produced annually where subjective field measurements are typically used for estimation of forest variables. This study aimed to investigate the possibility to update Södra’s existing SBPL using the new national elevation model and 3D point clouds generated by automatic stereo matching of aerial images from the Swedish Land Survey (Lantmäteriet). The estimates were made at stand level using an area-based approach. The estimates were made with regression models where data from the National Forest Inventory’s (NFI) sample plots served as reference data in the development of the regression models. The relationship between data from NFIs sample plots and metrics derived from the 3D point cloud was used to develop the regressions models. These were then applied to the entire area of interest to obtain stand level estimates. The estimates were evaluated against inventory data from Södra’s combined control assessment and quality assurance from four properties located in Kronoberg’s County in southern Sweden. The stands in the evaluation data were mainly dominated by spruce, but pine and broadleaved stands were also present. The stands were in maturity class (hkl) G1–G2 and S1–S2 and had an age that ranged between 42–61 years for spruce and 74–105 years for pine. The stand estimates gave a relative RMSE of 11.8% for basal area weighted mean height, 18.9% for basal area weighted mean diameter, 21.8% for volume and 18.6% for basal area. In a second stage the evaluation data was stratified with respect to tree species, age and site index, using data from the existing SBPL. By stratifying the data with respect to tree species a slightly lower RMSE could be obtained, at least for the diameter and volume estimations. That indicates that the regression models operate differently on different types of forest. The results imply that 3D point clouds from stereo matching of aerial images have a great potential to be used for forest estimations

Проектирование и разработка пользовательского интерфейса Web-ресурса для решения типовых задач по физике

Материалы XIII Междунар. науч.-техн. конф. студентов, магистрантов и молодых ученых, Гомель, 25–26 апр. 201

Cell-free synthesis of cytochrome c

Cytochrome c is a peripheral membrane protein, attached to the cytoplasmic surface of the inner mito-chondrial membrane [l-4]. It is coded for by a nuclear gene and translated on cytoplasr@c ribosome

Heritage branding orientation: The case of Ach. Brito and the dynamics between corporate and product heritage brands

The notion of heritage branding orientation is introduced and explicated. Heritage branding orientation is designated as embracing both product and corporate brands and differs from corporate heritage brand orientation which has an explicit corporate focus. Empirical insights are drawn from an in-depth and longitudinal case study of Ach. Brito, a celebrated Portuguese manufacturer of soaps and toiletries. This study shows how, by the pursuance of a strategy derived from a heritage branding orientation Ach. Brito – after a prolonged period of decline – achieved a dramatic strategic turnaround. The findings reveal how institutional heritage can be a strategic resource via its adoption and activation at both the product and corporate levels. Moreover, the study showed how the bi-lateral interplay between product and corporate brand levels can be mutually reinforcing. In instrumental terms, the study shows how heritage can be activated and articulated in different ways. For instance, it can re-position both product and/or corporate brands; it can be meaningfully informed by product brand heritage and shape corporate heritage; and can be of strategic importance to both medium-sized and small enterprises