Shade tree management affects fruit abortion, insect pests and pathogens of cacao

The mortality of cacao fruits caused by early fruit abortion or insect and pathogen attacks was investigated in differently managed agroforestry systems in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Nine agroforestry systems shaded by three different types of tree stands were selected, which represented a decrease in structural heterogeneity: forest remnants, diverse planted trees and one or two species of planted leguminose trees. After standardized manual cross-pollination, the development of 600 fruits on 54 trees (6 trees per agroforest) was followed during 18 weeks of fruit development. In total, 432 of all fruits were lost before maturity, which seriously undermined yields. The proportion of harvested fruits per tree (overall average: 27 ± 4%) was not affected by canopy type. Although shade cover did not have a significant effect, losses due to fruit abortion were most likely under forest shade, where nitrogen-fixing leguminose shade trees were absent. Fruit losses due to pathogenic infections and insect attacks increased with the homogenization of the agroforests, supporting the hypothesis that agricultural homogenization increases risks of pest outbreaks. In conclusion, shade management may be improved to increase yields from cacao using highly diversified natural shade agroforestry systems.     

Phenol degradation using combined effects of hydrodynamic cavitation and oxidant: Doehlert matrix

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC)-based treatments have been proposed for the degradation of phenol as a toxic pollutant. The present work aimed to optimize the degradation of phenol using HC by means of Doehlert experimental design, which has not been previously addressed. Initially, operational parameters of hydraulic characteristics of the pump, inlet pressure, solution pH, and initial concentration were optimized; later, the effects of pH solution and H₂O₂ loading or initial pollutant concentration on phenol degradation were explored using the Doehlert experimental design. It was observed that phenol degradation is strongly dependent on the pH of the solution. Also, the acidic condition favors the formation of hydroxyl radicals and thus, the degradation of phenol. Based on the Doehlert matrix, the 94.1% phenol degradation and 68.60% total organic carbon (TOC) were obtained in 180 min at 304.5 mg/L of hydrogen peroxide at an initial concentration of 20 mg/L, 2.0 pH, and 90 psi inlet pressure, providing a cavitational yield of 6.33 × 10⁻⁶ mg/J and minimum treatment cost of US$/L 0.13. Overall, it has been observed that HC can be a promising route for the removal of pollutants (phenol) effectively using hydrogen peroxide as an additive.     

稀土改性NaY型分子筛催化热解废轮胎

采用稀土氧化物改性NaY型分子筛（Ⅰ型催化剂）,100 gⅠ型催化剂中添加0.5 g CeO₂得到Ⅱ型催化剂,100 gⅠ型催化剂中添加0.5 g La₂O₃和0.5 g CeO₂得到Ⅲ型催化剂。分别采用Ⅰ型、Ⅱ型和Ⅲ型催化剂催化热解废轮胎（粒径0.2 mm）,Ⅱ型和Ⅲ型催化剂的产油起始温度和终止温度均低于Ⅰ型催化剂。在催化剂加入量为2.5 g、废轮胎加入量为100 g 的条件下,Ⅲ型催化剂催化热解反应的产油率和油气总产率均高于Ⅰ型和Ⅱ型催化剂。Ⅱ型和Ⅲ型催化剂催化热解主要产生轻组分气体,Ⅱ型催化剂C₄选择性最高,Ⅲ型催化剂C₃选择性最高。     

压缩空气泡沫系统(CAFS)产生泡沫屈服应力的试验研究

压缩空气泡沫系统(CAFS)是一种高效泡沫灭火手段.泡沫的流变学性能是森林火灾扑救中泡沫发挥直接和间接灭火能力的一个决定因素.本文用专门设计的钟摆式屈服应力测定装置测定了泡沫屈服应力,验证了泡沫屈服应力假设.泡沫屈服应力与泡沫气体百分比、析液时间和泡沫平均直径有关,试验得到了屈服应力与其影响因素的关系曲线和数学表达式模型.部分描述了泡沫这种特殊流体的流变学性质,对应用CAFS系统泡沫扑救森林火灾有重要指导意义,可用于预测外力作用下灭火泡沫的流动行为.     

Using a Mass Balance Model to Evaluate Groundwater Budget of Seawater‐Intruded Island Aquifers1

Jang, Cheng‐Shin, Chen‐Wuing Liu, Shih‐Kai Chen, and Wen‐Sheng Lin, 2011. Using a Mass Balance Model to Evaluate Groundwater Budget of Seawater‐Intruded Island Aquifers. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 61‐73. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00593.x Abstract: The study developed a mass balance model to evaluate the groundwater budget of seawater‐intruded island aquifers using limited available data. The Penghu islands were selected as a study area. As sparse observed data were available in the islands, methods of combining water and chloride balances were used to determine the amounts of groundwater pumping, seawater intrusion, aquifer storages, and safe yields in the shallow and deep aquifers. The groundwater budget shows that seawater intrusion to freshwater aquifers was 1.38 × 10⁶ and 0.29 × 10⁶ m³/year in the shallow and deep aquifers, respectively, indicating that the seawater intrusion is severe in the both aquifers. The safe yield of the shallow aquifer was 14.56 × 10⁶ m³/year in 2005 which was four times higher than that of the deep aquifer (3.70 × 10⁶ m³/year). However, the annual pumping amounts in the shallow and deep aquifers were 4.77 × 10⁶ and 3.63 × 10⁶ m³/year, respectively. Although the safe yield of the shallow aquifer is enough for all water resources demands, only 55% of exploitation amount was extracted from the shallow aquifer due to its poor water quality. Groundwater exploitation in the deep aquifer should be significantly reduced and regulated by a dynamic management of pumping scheme because the annual pumping amounts are close to the safe yield and seawater intrusion occurs continually. Additionally, to alleviate further aquifer salination, at least half of the current annual groundwater abstraction should be reduced.     

Improved SWAT Model Performance With Time-Dynamic Voronoi Tessellation of Climatic Input Data in Southern Africa1

Andersson, Jafet C.M., Alexander J.B. Zehnder, Bernhard Wehrli, and Hong Yang, 2012. Improved SWAT Model Performance with Time-Dynamic Voronoi Tessellation of Climatic Input Data in Southern Africa. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 480-493. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00627.x Abstract: In this study, we compared two approaches to obtain climatic time series for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), namely the conventional centroid method and time-dynamic Voronoi tessellation, and assessed the performance of SWAT in simulating discharge and smallholder maize yields in Southern Africa. Climatic time series were estimated with each method. The Voronoi method utilized all available precipitation and temperature data, but the centroid method used only 14.5 and 82.5%, respectively. After centroid processing, sub-basin time series were on average 42 and 63% incomplete, respectively. After Voronoi processing, all time series were complete. SWAT was fed with each climate dataset. Each model setup was independently calibrated and validated against discharge and maize yield. Similar model performance was obtained with both methods for yield. The root mean squared error during calibration was 0.26 and 0.27 t ha⁻¹ for the centroid and Voronoi methods, respectively (p-value: 0.80). However, daily discharge simulations improved significantly with the Voronoi method. The coefficient of determination increased from 0.24 to 0.39 in the calibration period (p-value: 9.6 × 10⁻¹³) and from 0.41 to 0.48 in the validation period (p-value: 3.1 × 10⁻³). The Voronoi method improved the simulation of the river flow regime. The largest improvements were obtained in data scarce situations, at high spatial and temporal resolution, and where the centroid method performed the worst.     

Modeling of Sediment Yield From Anjeni-Gauged Watershed,Ethiopia Using SWAT Model1

Setegn, Shimelis G., Bijan Dargahi, Ragahavan Srinivasan, and Assefa M. Melesse, 2010. Modeling of Sediment Yield From Anjeni-Gauged Watershed, Ethiopia Using SWAT Model. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):514-526. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00431.x Abstract: The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was tested for prediction of sediment yield in Anjeni-gauged watershed, Ethiopia. Soil erosion and land degradation is a major problem on the Ethiopian highlands. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the performance and applicability of SWAT model in predicting monthly sediment yield and assess the impacts of subbasin delineation and slope discretization on the prediction of sediment yield. Ten years monthly meteorological, flow and sediment data were used for model calibration and validation. The annual average measured sediment yield was 24.6 tonnes/ha. The annual average simulated sediment yield was 27.8 and 29.5 tones/ha for calibration and validation periods, respectively. The study found that the observed values showed good agreement with the simulated sediment yield with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) = 0.81, percent bias (PBIAS) = 28%, RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR) = 0.23, and coefficient of determination (R²) = 0.86 for calibration and NSE = 0.79, PBIAS = 30%, RSR = 0.29, and R² = 0.84 for validation periods. The model can be used for further analysis of different management scenarios that could help different stakeholders to plan and implement appropriate soil and water conservation strategies.     

热碱-分步酶水解-厌氧消化工艺处理秸秆畜粪混合物料及其甲烷高值化条件

为获得秸秆畜粪混合物料在厌氧消化过程中的甲烷高值化产出,提出了一种新型"热碱-分步酶水解-厌氧消化"组合工艺.以玉米秸秆和牛粪混合物料作为实验对象,考察物料中纤维素、半纤维素、蛋白质获得高溶出效率的热碱预处理条件;分步投加纤维素酶和蛋白酶的剂量及水解时间;热碱预处理后的混合浆液和热碱-酶水解后的混合水解液厌氧消化甲烷产率及产气周期.结果表明,在80℃和0. 5%Na OH碱用量条件下,纤维素、半纤维素和蛋白质的溶出效率(%TS)最高,与未预处理相比(对照组),分别提高24. 84%、12. 24%和8. 92%;分步酶水解的过程和条件为:先投加80 U·g-1的纤维素酶水解18 h,再投加20 U·g-1的蛋白酶水解4 h,纤维素和蛋白质的水解效率可分别达到74. 08%和74. 01%,获得的水解液中糖类提高12～32倍;在厌氧消化阶段,热碱-酶水解后的水解液甲烷产量最高值可达750 m L·h-1,产气周期50 h,相比于热碱预处理后的底物消化(对照组),产甲烷效率提高了约14倍,产气周期缩短了约17 d.热碱-酶水解预处理能有效地解除混合物料厌氧消化过程的水解限速,研究结果可以为开发高效的农业废弃物能源高值化利用技术提供参考依据.     

高应变率环境下材料的失效机理研究

采用双层约束爆炸方法对高应变率环境下材料的失效模式及其影响因素进行了研究。结果表明：材料存在拉伸断裂和绝热剪切断裂两种模式。碳含量越高,材料对绝热剪切越敏感;同种材料的淬、回火类组织比正火类组织绝热剪切敏感性高。材料的屈导比哕决定了材料的失效模式,哕越大,材料越倾向于以绝热剪切模式失效。     

O3和UV-B共同作用对大豆干物质和产量的影响

为揭示O₃和UV-B共同作用对大豆干物质和产量的影响,以大豆“八月黄”为供试材料,利用OTC(开顶式气室)和紫外灯模拟O₃和UV-B共同作用环境,研究大豆干物质和产量的变化. 结果表明:与对照组相比,T1(UV-B辐射增强10%左右)、T2(100nL/L O₃与增强10%左右的UV-B复合)和T3(150nL/L O₃与增强10%左右的UV-B复合)处理下,成熟期大豆株高分别降低了12.73%、12.78%和14.15%;w〔Chl(a+b)〕分别减少了-1.16%(P>0.05)、34.20%(P<0.05)和57.38%(P<0.05);净光合速率(P_n)分别下降了11.50%、46.65%和48.58%;单株干物质质量显著降低(P<0.05),分别减少了31.02%、61.35%和67.53%;大豆产量分别减少了4.13%、54.09%和79.34%. O₃和UV-B对大豆的生长和干物质累积均有不利影响,并且存在一定的协同影响,2个因子共同作用对大豆生长和干物质累积更为不利;O₃和UV-B共同作用下大豆产量的降低主要是由粒数和粒质量降低所致.