Impact of urbanization trends on production of key staple crops

Urbanization has appropriated millions of hectares of cropland, and this trend will persist as cities continue to expand. We estimate the impact of this conversion as the amount of land needed elsewhere to give the same yield potential as determined by differences in climate and soil properties. Robust spatial upscaling techniques, well-validated crop simulation models, and soil, climate, and cropping system databases are employed with a focus on populous countries with high rates of land conversion. We find that converted cropland is 30–40% more productive than new cropland, which means that projection of food production potential must account for expected cropland loss to urbanization. Policies that protect existing farmland from urbanization would help relieve pressure on expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01674-z.     

UASB-CASS-混凝法处理淀粉废水的工艺

采用UASB-CASS-混凝法处理淀粉废水.处理结果证明该工艺投资省、运行费用较低,而且可以产生可供利用的沼气,处理后的废水达标排放,获得了较好的经济效益和社会效益.     

Extruded Cornstarch-Glycerol-Polyvinyl Alcohol Blends: Mechanical Properties, Morphology, and Biodegradability

Elongation properties of extruded cornstarch were improved by blending with glycerol. Further blending of starch-glycerol with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) resulted in significant improvements in both tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break. Samples of starch-glycerol without PVOH equilibrated at 50% relative humidity had a TS of 1.8 MPa and elongation of 113%, whereas those containing PVOH had a TS and elongation of 4 MPa and 150%, respectively. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of starch-glycerol-PVOH blends showed that decreases in glass transition temperatures (T _g values) were proportional to glycerol content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of fractured surfaces revealed numerous cracks in starch-glycerol (80:20) samples. Cracks were absent in starch-glycerol (70:30) samples. In both blends, many starch granules were exposed at the surface. No exposed starch granules were visible in blends with added PVOH. Starch-glycerol samples incubated in compost lost up to 70% of their dry weight within 22 days. Addition of PVOH lowered both the rate and extent of biodegradation.     

淀粉聚乙烯膜在受控条件下的好氧生物降解

采用土埋、真菌生长和 CO₂ 释放试验分别测定了几种淀粉聚乙烯膜的生物降解性 .试验结果表明 ,膜的生物降解性与膜中的淀粉含量正相关 ,并受膜比面积大小的影响 .在受控条件下 ,含淀粉 6%～ 30 %的膜经 28d降解后 ,降解质量变化率在0.6%～ 12.4%范围内 ,其 CO₂ 释放量为 0.02～ 0.15mg/mg膜 .膜中的聚乙烯组分不仅本身难被生物降解 ,而且还抑制微生物对其淀粉组分的降解 .CO₂ 是淀粉聚乙烯膜好氧生物降解的终产物 ,可以作为评估膜生物降解性的一个可靠指标 .     

Effect of Degree of Substitution of Octenyl Succinate Starch on the Emulsification Activity on Different Oil Phases

Octenyl succinic starch (OSA starch) was synthesized from an aqueous medium and pyridine medium using previously established literature methods. Such a substitution would conceivably impart some hydrophobicity to the already hydrophilic starch chain. Thus, an amphiphilic character could be introduced wherein while the water solubility of the final product would be retained or enhanced, interactions with hydrophobic phases could be enhanced. These products find a variety of applications. The emulsifying activity of OSA starch was tested against different oil phases. It was found that the activity was dependent on the oil phase chosen. The activity was largely independent of the concentration of the substrates when the modification was conducted in an aqueous medium. Products from an organic medium did show an increase in activity with concentration. This difference in activity was attributed to the molecular weight of the final product, which seemed to be lower for the products from an organic medium as suggested by viscometry. The granular state of starch could also have a great effect on the properties of modified starch.     

Impact evaluation of agrotechnologies in watersheds

The special project RAISA (Advanced Researches for Innovation in Agricultural Systems) of the National Research Council of Italy concerns the development of new methodologies for the study and evaluation of the impact of agrotechnologies on the environment. In the project, several trans-disciplinary Units have worked together since 1990. The aim of the project is to define systems, using tools such as remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems, for decision making support in land planning and land use management, with particular attention to groudwater table pollution. The fundamental steps for evaluation of the impact of agrotechnologies on the Po river watershed, 75,000 km² in northern Italy, and Tevere (Tiber) river watershed, 17.169 km² in Central Italy are described here. The study concerns particular areas located in the western part of the Po River plain, where flooded rice is the main crop, and in the central plain of the Tevere basin where the risk of water pollution is considerable, due to small and medium sized swine breeding farms. The aspects considered were water pollution due to mineral nitrogen used to fertilize the rice crop and the nitrogen contained in the waste water from pig farms. For the Po river basin the methodology developed was based on the integration of satellite remote sensing images, and the available cartography, such as topographic and thematic maps, together with the hydrological and the toxicological data of the chemical fertilizers employed, summarized in maps of the groundwater table pollution hazard. A simpler evaluation was obtained in the Tevere river basin: the thematic layers were crossed in bi-directional matrices and the result merged with the map of the territorial distributionof the swine. In both cases the selected information was integrated and processed in Integrated sub-basin scale. The GISs led to the development of a user-friendly system for formalizing our knowledge of the degree of pollution hazard in simple and readable maps.Research supported by National Research Council of Italy, Special Project RAISA, sub-project N. 1 Paper N.     

Agricultural Application and Environmental Degradation of Photo-Biodegradable Polyethylene Mulching Films

Photo-biodegradable polyethylene (PBD-PE) films containing starch have been developed and used in agriculture. They are better able to raise temperature, preserve moisture, and raise yield than common polyethylene films, and they can be degraded environmentally after finishing these functions. The photo-biodegradation induction periods of four kinds PBD-PE films range from 46 to 64 days, which basically satisfies the needs of agricultural cultivation. All PBD-PE films can be degraded to Stage V, in which almost no film exists on the surface of the ridges 2–3 months or so after the induction periods. The PBD-PE films buried in soil have also good degradability.     

仿野生发菜的生产工艺研究

文章报道了以价廉的植物性资源(淀粉等)原料为主料、海藻酸钠为固型剂，添加蛋白质等食品添加剂，通过一定的工艺过程可制作仿野生发菜。最佳的生产工艺条件是：W海藻酸钠：W蛋白质：W淀粉=2：1：1，水与固体原料之和的重量比为16～20：1，制浆液的温度在70℃左右，出丝的温度在50℃以上，以叶绿素类色素与天然的红色素如高梁红色素一起调配，可得外观形态、颜色、营养价值、口感与天然野生发菜相接近的仿生发菜产品。该工艺投资小，生产成本低，可进行大规模工业化生产。     

Assessment of different carbon and salinity level on growth kinetics,lipid, and starch composition of Chlorella vulgaris SAG 211-12

ABSTRACT

The quality of microalgal biofuel depends on the fatty acid (FA) distribution. A high ratio of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) favors better biofuel characteristics. Palmitic acid (C16:0) and stearic acid (C18:0) are essential FAs for required biodiesel quality. In this study, combined effects of growth medium concentrations of NaCl, glucose and glycerol on cell composition and FA profile of the Chlorella vulgaris SAG 211–12 were investigated. A central composite design (CCD) based design of experiments (DoE) was used for experimental setup. According to experimental results, the maximum mass fraction for palmitic acid (C16:0), 40.67% of total fatty acids, was obtained in the medium supplemented with 0.9% (w/v) NaCl, 0.3% (w/v) glucose, and 0.3% (w/v) glycerol, whereas stearic acid (C18:0) percentage reached the highest value of 22.16% of total fatty acids in the presence of 2.5% NaCl, 0.6% glucose, and 0.6% glycerol. According to the same set of designed experiments, best starch content was found as 22.08% of dry cell weight in a medium containing 2.0% NaCl, 0.3% glucose, and 0.3% glycerol. C16:0 mass fraction as a function of three medium ingredient concentrations was modeled using a Kriging model. Optimum concentrations of NaCl, glucose and glycerol to reach maximum C16:0 fraction were predicted as 0.5, 1, and 1%, respectively.     

Biodegradable Corn Starch Loose-Fill. II. The Effect of Storage at Different Relative Humidities on the Physical Properties of Loose-Fill

The physical properties of corn starch loose-fill were examined at various relative humidities (r.h.). After 48 h of storage at both 25 and 50% r.h., only a slight change in the dimension and physical properties of the corn starch loose-fill was apparent. A wet environment (75% r.h. for 48 h), however, caused significant shrinkage and the loss of physical properties. The tensile properties, particularly tensile modulus, sharply increased, while the resilience gradually decreased with storage time. Amorphous X-ray diffraction patterns of corn starch loose-fills were transformed into crystalline patterns due to aging at 75% r.h. after 48 h. These changes were attributed to the structural relaxation, which was accelerated by moisture gain. The T _g of corn starch loose-fill decreased with increasing the moisture content in expanded starch. Our proposed model based on Avrami equation was able to describe the time-dependent recrystallization of corn starch by modifying the time-dependent tensile modulus. The growth parameter (n) and time constant (k) for the recrystallization process of corn starch loose-fill were about 3.2 and 8.87 × 10^–18 s^–1, respectively. If the growth parameter of 3.2 is considered, spherulitic growth of crystallization occurred in the corn starch loose-fill in the wet environment.