Emissions of gases and particles from biomass burning during the 20th century using satellite data and an historical reconstruction

A new dataset of emissions of trace gases and particles resulting from biomass burning has been developed for the historical and the recent period (1900–2005). The purpose of this work is to provide a consistent gridded emissions dataset of atmospheric chemical species from 1900 to 2005 for chemistry-climate simulations. The inventory is built in two steps. First, fire emissions are estimated for the recent period (1997–2005) using satellite products (GBA2000 burnt areas and ATSR fire hotspots); the temporal and spatial distribution of the CO₂ emissions for the 1997–2005 period is estimated through a calibration of ATSR fire hotspots. The historical inventory, covering the 1900–2000 period on a decadal basis, is derived from the historical reconstruction of burned areas from Mouillot and Field (2005). The historical emissions estimates are forced, for each main ecosystem, to agree with the recent inventory estimates, ensuring consistency between past and recent emissions.The methodology used for estimating the fire emissions is discussed, together with the time evolution of biomass burning emissions during the 20th century, first at the global scale and then for specific regions. The results are compared with the distributions provided by other inventories and results of inverse modeling studies.     

Global mismatches in aboveground and belowground biodiversity

Human activities are accelerating global biodiversity change and have resulted in severely threatened ecosystem services. A large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity is harbored by soil, but soil biodiversity has been omitted from many global biodiversity assessments and conservation actions, and understanding of global patterns of soil biodiversity remains limited. In particular, the extent to which hotspots and coldspots of aboveground and soil biodiversity overlap is not clear. We examined global patterns of these overlaps by mapping indices of aboveground (mammals, birds, amphibians, vascular plants) and soil (bacteria, fungi, macrofauna) biodiversity that we created using previously published data on species richness. Areas of mismatch between aboveground and soil biodiversity covered 27% of Earth's terrestrial surface. The temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome had the highest proportion of grid cells with high aboveground biodiversity but low soil biodiversity, whereas the boreal and tundra biomes had intermediate soil biodiversity but low aboveground biodiversity. While more data on soil biodiversity are needed, both to cover geographic gaps and to include additional taxa, our results suggest that protecting aboveground biodiversity may not sufficiently reduce threats to soil biodiversity. Given the functional importance of soil biodiversity and the role of soils in human well-being, soil biodiversity should be considered further in policy agendas and conservation actions by adapting management practices to sustain soil biodiversity and considering soil biodiversity when designing protected areas.     

Determination of 14 amines in air samples using midget impingers sampling followed by analysis with ion chromatography in tandem with mass spectrometry

An Ion Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (IC-MS) method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of 14 volatile amines in air. The method includes collection of compounds into two midget impingers in a row filled with 15 ml of ultrapure water. The analytical performances with mass spectrometry detection were compared to those obtained with classical conductivity detection. The use of mass spectrometry detection (in SIM mode) overcomes most of the coelutions encountered with conductivity detection. Although the linearity domain of calibrations is reduced for the MS detection as compared with the CD detection, the detection limits in MS detection are highly lowered allowing the quantification of amines at the levels of μg m(-3) in air with a good accuracy for most compounds (RSD of less than 10%). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of amines released from polyurethane foams. Seven amines were identified and some in high concentrations, like dimethylaminoethanol, NIAX and TEDA.     

How to foster agroecological innovations? A comparison of participatory design methods

Facing contemporary environmental crisis implies fostering agroecological innovations that take into account local ecological regulations and rely on multiple stakeholders' innovation capacities. This paper draws on two fields of literature that remain unconnected so far: participatory approaches and design sciences. It proposes an analysis grid to support a reflexive analysis of cases of implementation of three participatory design methods: ComMod (Companion Modelling for concerted management of natural resources), Forage Rummy (simulation-based board game for designing farming systems) and KCP (collective design workshops to foster innovation). This analysis highlights key features of the methods in view of agroecological innovation challenges, focusing on knowledge management and organisation for exploration.     

Effects of five insecticides used in apple orchards on Hyaliodes vitripennis (say) (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Abstract

Azinphos‐methyl, carbaryl, dimethoate, phosmet and phosalone were used in apple orchards to manage apple aphid, apple maggot, woolly apple aphid and leaf eating caterpillars. Among the five insecticides evaluated, dimethoate, carbaryl and azinphosmethyl were the most toxic to the nymphs and adults of Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) from two regions. Phosalone was the least toxic. Nymphs were more resistant than the adults. While the LC₅₀ for dimethoate was 130 ppm for nymphs, it was 3 ppm for adults from St. Jean‐Baptiste‐de‐Rouville. There were also significant differences in the level of resistance between the two regions where the H. vitripennis were collected. At St. Alexandre the LC₅₀ for phosalone on nymphs was 19, 250 ppm whereas, at St. Jean‐Baptiste‐de‐Rouville it was 160, 000 ppm.     

Measurement of Odor Intensity by an Electronic Nose

ABSTRACT

The possibility of using electronic noses (ENs) to measure odor intensity was investigated in this study. Two commercially available ENs, an Aromascan A32S with conducting polymer sensors and an Alpha M.O.S. Fox 3000 with metal oxide sensors, as well as an experimental EN made of Taguchi-type tin oxide sensors, were used in the experiments. Odor intensity measurement by sensory analysis and EN sensor response were obtained for samples of odorous compounds (n-butanol, CH₃COCH₃, and C₂H₅SH) and for binary mixtures of odorous compounds (n-butanol and CH₃COCH₃). Linear regression analysis and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to establish a relationship between odor intensity and EN sensor responses.

The results suggest that large differences in sensor response to samples of equivalent odor intensity exist and that sensitivity to odorous compounds varies according to the type of sensors. A linear relationship between odor intensity and averaged sensor response was found to be appropriate for the EN based on conducting polymer sensors with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.94 between calculated and measured odor intensity. However, the linear regression approach was shown to be inadequate for both ENs, which included metal oxide-type sensors. Very strong correlation (r = 0.99) between measured odor intensity and calculated odor intensity using the ANN developed were obtained for both commercial ENs. A weaker correlation (r = 0.84) was found for the experimental instrument, suggesting an insufficient number of sensors and/or not enough diversity in sensor responses. The results demonstrated the ability of ENs to measure odor intensity associated with simple mixtures of odorous compounds and suggest that ANN are appropriate to model the relationship between odor intensity measurement and EN sensor response.