Using digital image projections to visualize forest landscape changes due to management activities and forest growth

A pedagogic problem in forestry and landscape management is to visualize future landscape effects of forest growth and current management activities in the forest. This paper presents a method for forecasting digital image projections of forest landscape dynamics. Static nonlinear regression functions estimate the digital numbers in a Landsat Thematic Mapper image. Regressors used are forest stand variables. By estimating the future forest stand data, based on intermediate treatment and growth, future satellite digital images are created. In a case study example, the future landscape of a forest block in the province of Västernorrland, Sweden, is projected to demonstrate the application of this visualization technique.     

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A SWEDISH AND A CHINESE HYDROLOGICAL MODEL1

ABSTRACT: There are a large number of conceptual hydrological models available today. It is not easy to immediately identify the similarities and differences between the different models. The Swedish HBV model and the Chinese Xinanjiang model are two examples of conceptual, semi-distributed, rainfall-runoff models. The Xinanjiang model was designed for use in humid and semi-humid regions, with no routine for the snowmelt runoff, whereas the snow routine is an important part of the HBV model in many applications. The model structures of the two models may be described in four routines, compared in this paper. The integral structures of them are similar, but there are some differences, especially in the runoff production routine. The physical significance and physical definitions of some model parameters were analyzed. Both models were tested in two basins. Both models gave similar results, and both models performed well in the application. The similarity of the results obtained by different model structures leads to the following two conclusions. First, more effort should probably be spent on the improvement of input data quality and coverage than on the development of more detailed model structures only. Second, inference about basin behavior and characteristics from the values of calibrated model parameters must be made with great caution.     

Electromagnetic fields in offices.

With the increased use of electric and electronic equipment in our offices, our daily exposure to electromagnetic fields has become increasingly complex due to the great variety of the frequency content of the fields. Today focus has shifted from monitors as the dominating sources of electromagnetic fields to other electronic equipment, cabling, nearby substations, power lines and stray currents in buildings. In the last 5 years wireless communication has become common in our offices. These devices use radio frequency waves to communicate and are therefore sources of radio frequency fields in our offices. To a certain degree, they all add to the complicated issue of the extensive field frequencies found in offices. The exposure of office workers is generally considered to be low and not in conflict with the existing guidelines, but if a precaution approach is applied there are a number of measures that can be taken to reduce the electromagnetic fields in offices in order to obtain a good electrical environment.     

The Ethical Contract as a Tool in Organic Animal Husbandry

This article explores what an ethicfor organic animal husbandry might look like,departing from the assumption that organicfarming is substantially based in ecocentricethics. We argue that farm animals arenecessary functional partners in sustainableagroecosystems. This opens up additional waysto argue for their moral standing. We suggestan ethical contract to be used as acomplementary to the ecocentric framework. Weexpound the content of the contract and end bysuggesting how to apply this contract inpractice. The contract enjoins us to share thewealth created in the agroecosystem (by ourjoint contributions) by enjoining us to carefor the welfare and needs of the individualanimal, and to protect them from exploitation(just as human co-workers should not beexploited). The contract makes promoting goodanimal welfare a necessary condition forbenefiting farm animals. Animals for their partare guaranteed coverage under the contract solong as they continue to contribute to thesystem with products and services.     

Environmental assessment of supercritical water oxidation of sewage sludge

Environmental aspects of using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) to treat sewage sludge were studied using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The system studied is the first commercial scale SCWO plant for sewage sludge in the world, treating sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment facility in Harlingen, TX, USA. The environmental impacts were evaluated using three specific environmental attributes: global warming potential (GWP), photo-oxidant creation potential (POCP) and resource depletion; as well as two single point indicators: EPS2000 and EcoIndicator99. The LCA results show that for the described process, gas-fired preheating of the sludge is the major contributor to environmental impacts, and emissions from generating electricity for pumping and for oxygen production are also important. Overall, SCWO processing of undigested sewage sludge is an environmentally attractive technology, particularly when heat is recovered from the process. Energy-conserving measures and recovery of excess oxygen from the SCWO process should be considered for improving the sustainability potential.     

Equilibrium and kinetic studies on biosorption of Hg(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions onto microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was used for the biosorption of Hg(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions. The maximum adsorption of Hg(II) and Cd(II) ions on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii biomass was observed at pH 6.0 and the corresponding value for Pb(II) ions was 5.0. The biosorption of Hg(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions by microalgae biomass increased as the initial concentration of Hg(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions increased in the biosorption medium. The maximum biosorption capacities of microalgae for Hg(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions were 72.2+/-0.67, 42.6+/-0.54 and 96.3+/-0.86 mg/g dry biomass, respectively. The affinity order for algal biomass was Pb(II)>Hg(II)>Cd(II). FT-IR analysis of algal biomass revealed the presence of amino, carboxyl, hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, which were responsible for biosorption of metal ions. Biosorption equilibrium was established in about 60 min and the equilibrium was well described by the Freundlich biosorption isotherms. Temperature change in the range of 5-35 degrees C did not affect the biosorption capacity. The microalgae could be regenerated using 0.1 M HCl, with up to 98% recovery, which allowed the reuse of the biomass in six biosorption-desorption cycles without any considerable loss of biosorption capacity.     

Effect of corn root exudates on the degradation of atrazine and its chlorinated metabolites in soils

DIMBOA (3,4-dihydro-2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one), a major benzoxazinone of Poaceae plants, was isolated and purified from corn seedlings. The effect of isolated and purified DIMBOA on the degradation of atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine], and its toxic breakdown products, desethylatrazine [2-chloro-4-amino-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine; DEA] and desisopropylatrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-amino-s-triazine; DIA], was studied in the absence of plants using batch experiments, while the effect of corn root exudates on these compounds was determined in hydroponic experiments. Degradation experiments were performed in the presence and absence of 50 microM, 1 mM, or 5 mM DIMBOA resulting in ratios of DIMBOA to pesticide of 1:1, 20:1, and 100:1. We observed a 100% degradation of atrazine to hydroxyatrazine within 48 h at a ratio of DIMBOA to atrazine of 100:1. DIMBOA had the largest effect on atrazine, while it was about three times less effective on DEA and DIA. Corn (Zea mays L. cv. LG 2185) was exposed to 10 mg L(-1) of either atrazine, DEA, or DIA for 11 d in a growth chamber experiment. Up to 4.3 micromol L(-1) d(-1) of hydroxyatrazine were formed in the nutrient solutions by plants exposed to atrazine, while the formation of hydroxylated metabolites from plants exposed to DEA and DIA was smaller and also delayed. The formation of hydroxylated metabolites increased in the solution with plant age in all atrazine, DEA, and DIA treatments. HMBOA (3,4-dihydro-2-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one), the lactam precursor of DIMBOA, and a tentatively identified derivative of MBOA (2,3-dihydro-6-methoxy-benzoxazol-2-one) were detected in the corn root exudates. Mass balance calculations revealed that up to 30% of the disappearance of atrazine and DEA, and up to 10% of DIA removal from the solution medium in our study could be explained by the formation of hydroxylated metabolites in the solution itself. Our results show that higher plants such as corn have the potential to promote the hydrolysis of triazine residues in soils by exudation of benzoxazinones.     

Biological treatment of clogged emitters in a drip irrigation system

This study was conducted to investigate microbial organisms that can be used for preventing clogging in drip irrigation systems caused by biological factors. A total of 25 fungi isolate and 121 bacterial strains were isolated from water samples collected from drip irrigation systems in tomato greenhouses in the eastern Anatolia region of Turkey in the spring season of 2001. Biological clogging of emitters in a model drip irrigation system was experimentally caused by application of the microorganisms (fungi and bacteria) isolated in the study. Three antagonistic bacterial strains in the genus Bacillus spp (ERZ, OSU-142) and Burkholdria spp (OSU-7) were used for treatment of biological clogging of the emitters. The results showed that the antagonistic bacterial strains tested have the potential to be used as anti-clogging agents for treatment of emitters in drip irrigation system. This is the first study that demonstrated that antagonistic microorganisms can be utilized for treatment of clogging in drip irrigation systems.     

The potential of vehicle and road infrastructure interventions in fatal bicyclist accidents on Swedish roads—What can in-depth studies tell us?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of fatal crashes with bicyclists on Swedish roads in rural and urban areas and to investigate the potential of bicycle helmets and different vehicle and road infrastructure interventions to prevent them. The study has a comprehensive approach to provide road authorities and vehicle manufacturers with recommendations for future priorities.

Methods: The Swedish Transport Administration’s (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used for case-by-case analysis of fatal cycling accidents (2006–2016) on rural (n?=?82) and urban (n?=?102) roads. The database consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. The potential of helmet use and various vehicle and road infrastructure safety interventions was determined retrospectively for each case by analyzing the chain of events leading to the fatality. The potential of vehicle safety countermeasures was analyzed based on prognoses on their implementation rates in the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Results: The most common accident scenario on rural roads was that the bicyclist was struck while cycling along the side of the road. On urban roads, the majority of accidents occurred in intersections. Most accidents involved a passenger car, but heavy trucks were also common, especially in urban areas. Most accidents occurred in daylight conditions (73%). Almost half (46%) of nonhelmeted bicyclists would have survived with a helmet. It was assessed that nearly 60% of the fatal accidents could be addressed by advanced vehicle safety technologies, especially autonomous emergency braking with the ability to detect bicyclists. With regard to interventions in the road infrastructure, separated paths for bicyclists and bicycle crossings with speed calming measures were found to have the greatest safety potential. Results indicated that 91% of fatally injured bicyclists could potentially be saved with known techniques. However, it will take a long time for such technologies to be widespread.

Conclusions: The majority of fatally injured bicyclists studied could potentially be saved with known techniques. A speedy implementation of important vehicle safety systems is recommended. A fast introduction of effective interventions in the road infrastructure is also necessary, preferably with a plan for prioritization.