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AbstractA natural laboratory is a place supporting the conditions for hypothesis testing under non-anthropogenic settings. Located at the southern end of the Magellanic sub-Antarctic ecoregion in southwestern South America, the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR) has one of the most extreme rainfall gradients in the world. Subject to oceanic climate conditions, it is also characterized by moderate thermal fluctuations throughout the year. This makes it a unique natural laboratory for studying the effects of extreme rainfall variations on forest bird communities. Here, we monitor the bird species richness in the different forest types present in the CHBR. We found that species richness decreased with increasing precipitation, in which an increase of 100 mm in average annual precipitation showed about 1% decrease in species richness. Similar patterns were found among different forest types within the CHBR. These results provide a baseline to investigate the interactions between physical and biotic factors in a subpolar region that climatically contrasts with boreal forests, which is subject to continental climatic conditions. This research highlights the importance of ecological and ornithological long-term studies in the CHBR, which can contribute both to a higher resolution of the heterogeneity of climate changes in different regions of the world, and to orient conservation policies in the Magellanic sub-Antarctic ecoregion in the face of growing development pressures.

Although there is general agreement among conservation practitioners about the need for (1) social involvement on the part of scientists; (2) interdisciplinary approaches; (3) working on local, regional, and global levels; and (4) implementing international agreements on biodiversity and environmental protection, a major challenge we face in conservation today is how to integrate and implement these multiple dimensions. Few researchers have actually offered hands-on examples for showing in practical terms how such integration can be accomplished. To address this challenge we present an innovative case study: the Omora Ethnobotanical Park, a long-term biocultural conservation initiative at the southern extreme of the Americas. Located near Puerto Williams (55º S), Cape Horn Archipelago region, Chile, the Omora Park is a public-private reserve that provides material and conceptual foundations for three complementary conservation actions: (1) interdisciplinary scientific research; (2) informal and formal education, i.e., school, university, and training courses; and (3) biocultural conservation. The latter entails an actual reserve that protects biodiversity and the water quality of Puerto Williams' watershed, as well as programs on Yahgan traditional ecological knowledge and interdisciplinary activities, such as "field environmental ethics" and ecotourism, carried out in the reserve. Being at the "end of the world," and within one of the most remote and pristine ecoregions on the planet, Omora Park offers a "bio-cultural treasure." At the same time, its geographical and technological isolation presents a challenge for implementing and sustaining conservation actions. To achieve the general conservation goals, we have defined 10 principles that have guided the actions of Omora: (1) interinstitutional cooperation, (2) a participatory approach, (3) an interdisciplinary approach, (4) networking and international cooperation, (5) communication through the media, (6) identification of a flagship species, (7) outdoor formal and informal education, (8) economic sustainability and ecotourism, (9) administrative sustainability, and (10) research and conceptual sustainability for conservation. These principles have been effective for establishing the long-term Omora initiative, as well as involving multiple actors, disciplines, and scales. Upon these foundations, the Omora initiative has extended its local goals to the regional level through a successful 5-yr process in cooperation with the Chilean government to create the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in June 2005, with the goal of establishing a long-term institutional-political framework that promotes social well-being and biocultural conservation at the southernmost tip of the Americas.

Abstract As a type of solid waste, the used cigarette filters (UCF) were utilized to produce ester-rich bio-oil via a cleaner production process, namely, microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP). The pyrolysis efficiency was significantly enhanced owing to the high heating rate under MAP conditions with assistance of microwave absorber silicon carbide (SiC) in reactor and adding methanol into N2 carrier gas. Compared with the traditional tubular muffle furnace heating method yielding 0% of bio-oil, the MAP heating method obtained 29.17% of bio-oil from UCF. The bio-oil yield from UCF increased from 29.17% to 46.71% due to the introduction of methanol. Results of the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that esters were the main components in the bio-oils (over 40%), especially of methyl acetate (over 12%). The aromatic compounds of phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also produced from the MAP of UCF. The bio-char from MAP of UCF exhibited the mesoporous property (e.g., over 500 m2/g of specific surface area). It is expected to produce over 350000 metric tons ester-rich bio-oil if the proposed technology can be scaled up globally. It will be a preeminent contribution for the conversion of UCF to the cleaner production and our environments.

Contexte : La surveillance basée sur des placettes a fourni de nombreuses informations sur la diversité taxonomique et le stockage du carbone (C) dans les forêts tropicales de plaine du bassin amazonien. Cela a permis de mieux comprendre la relation entre la dynamique de la biomasse forestière des plaines et les facteurs du changement mondial, tels que le changement climatique et la concentration atmosphérique de CO 2. Beaucoup moins d'attention a été accordée aux écosystèmes montagneux d'Amérique du Sud qui comprennent les forêts montagnardes et la végétation alpine (páramo, puna, prairies des hautes Andes, zones humides et bruyère alpine).Ce complexe de végétation fournit une variété de services écosystémiques et forme un laboratoire naturel le long de divers gradients d'histoire/biogéographie physiographique, géologique et évolutive, et d'histoire de l'utilisation des terres.Images : Ici, nous passons en revue la compréhension empirique existante et les approches basées sur des modèles pour quantifier la contribution des écosystèmes de montagne à la fourniture de services écosystémiques dans le contexte socio-écologique en évolution rapide des montagnes sud-américaines.L' objectif de cet article est de définir une feuille de route générale pour la mise en œuvre de la végétation de montagne dans des modèles dynamiques de végétation mondiale (DGVM) à utiliser dans les modèles du système terrestre (ESM), sur la base de notre compréhension actuelle de leur structure et de leur fonction et de leur réactivité aux facteurs du changement global.Nous identifions également les processus de la limite des arbres, critiques dans les écosystèmes de montagne, comme des éléments manquants clés dans les DGVM/mes, et explorons ainsi en outre un modèle de limite des arbres.Méthodes : Un bilan de la disponibilité des données empiriques a été entrepris à partir de huit sites de recherche le long des Andes et dans le sud-est du Brésil.Parmi huit sites, deux (un au Venezuela et un au Brésil) avaient potentiellement des données climatiques, écologiques et écophysiologiques convenant au paramétrage d'une DGVM.Les données sur la biomasse des arbres étaient disponibles pour six sites.Une évaluation préliminaire de la DGVM du Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) a été réalisée pour identifier les lacunes dans les données disponibles et leurs impacts sur le paramétrage et l'étalonnage du modèle.En outre, l'élévation potentielle de la limite des arbres déterminée par le climat a été modélisée pour vérifier la DGVM quant à sa capacité à identifier la transition entre la forêt montagnarde et la végétation alpine.Résultats : Les résultats de l'évaluation du modèle de surface terrestre JULES ont identifié les processus clés suivants dans les forêts montagnardes : diminution liée à la température de la production primaire nette, respiration et allocation à la biomasse aérienne et augmentation des stocks de C dans le sol avec l'altitude.Il y avait un accord variable entre la biomasse simulée et celles dérivées des mesures sur le terrain via des équations allométriques.Conclusions : Nous avons identifié des écarts majeurs entre la disponibilité des données et les besoins de modélisation basée sur les processus de la végétation de montagne sud-américaine et de sa dynamique dans les DGVM.Pour combler cet écart, nous proposons un réseau transdisciplinaire, composé de membres des communautés théoriques/de modélisation et scientifiques empiriques, pour étudier la dynamique naturelle des écosystèmes de montagne et leurs réponses aux facteurs de changement mondiaux au niveau local, régional et continental, dans un cadre de système socio-écologique.Les travaux présentés ici constituent la base de la conception de la collecte de données à partir des mesures sur le terrain et des stations de surveillance instrumentales pour paramétrer et vérifier les DGVM.Le réseau est conçu pour collaborer et compléter les recherches à long terme existantes Antecedentes: El monitoreo basado en parcelas ha arrojado mucha información sobre la diversidad taxonómica y el almacenamiento de carbono (C) en los bosques tropicales de tierras bajas de la cuenca amazónica. Esto ha resultado en una mejor comprensión de la relación entre la dinámica de la biomasa forestal de las tierras bajas y los impulsores del cambio global, como el cambio climático y la concentración atmosférica de CO 2. Se ha prestado mucha menos atención a los ecosistemas de montaña de América del Sur que comprenden bosques montanos y vegetación alpina (páramo, puna, pastizales altoandinos, humedales y brezales alpinos).Este complejo de vegetación proporciona una variedad de servicios ecosistémicos y forma un laboratorio natural a lo largo de varios gradientes fisiográficos, geológicos y evolutivos de historia/biogeografía e historia del uso de la tierra. Objetivos: Aquí, revisamos la comprensión empírica existente y los enfoques basados en modelos para cuantificar la contribución de los ecosistemas de montaña a la prestación de servicios ecosistémicos en el entorno socioecológico rápidamente cambiante de las montañas sudamericanas. El objetivo de este documento es esbozar una amplia hoja de ruta para la implementación de la vegetación de montaña en modelos dinámicos de vegetación global (DGVM) para su uso en Modelos del Sistema Terrestre (ESM), basados en nuestra comprensión actual de su estructura y función y de su capacidad de respuesta a los impulsores del cambio global. También identificamos los procesos arbóreos, críticos en los ecosistemas de montaña, como elementos clave que faltan en las DGVM/ESM, y por lo tanto exploramos además un modelo arbóreo. Métodos: Se realizó un inventario de la disponibilidad de datos empíricos de ocho sitios de investigación a lo largo de los Andes y en el sureste de Brasil. De los ocho sitios, dos (uno en Venezuela y otro en Brasil) tenían algunos datos climáticos, ecológicos y ecofisiológicos potencialmente adecuado para parametrizar una DGVM. Se disponía de datos de biomasa de árboles para seis sitios. Se realizó una evaluación preliminar de la DGVM del Simulador Conjunto de Medio Ambiente Terrestre del Reino Unido (JULES) para identificar lagunas en los datos disponibles y sus impactos en la parametrización y calibración del modelo. Además, se modeló la posible elevación determinada por el clima de la línea de árboles para verificar la DGVM en cuanto a su capacidad para identificar la transición entre el bosque montano y la vegetación alpina. Resultados: Los resultados de la evaluación del modelo de superficie terrestre de JULES identificaron los siguientes procesos clave en los bosques montanos: disminución relacionada con la temperatura en la producción primaria neta, la respiración y la asignación a la biomasa sobre el suelo y aumento de las poblaciones de suelo C con elevación. Hubo un acuerdo variable entre la biomasa simulada y las derivadas de las mediciones de campo a través de ecuaciones alométricas. Conclusiones: Identificamos grandes brechas entre la disponibilidad de datos y las necesidades de modelado basado en procesos de la vegetación de montaña sudamericana y su dinámica en las DGVM. Para cerrar esta brecha, proponemos una red transdisciplinaria, compuesta por miembros de las comunidades científicas teóricas/de modelado y empíricas, para estudiar la dinámica natural de los ecosistemas de montaña y sus respuestas a los impulsores del cambio global a nivel local, regional y continental, dentro de un marco de sistema socioecológico. El trabajo presentado aquí forma la base para el diseño de la recopilación de datos a partir de mediciones de campo y estaciones de monitoreo instrumental para parametrizar y verificar las DGVM. La red está diseñada para colaborar y complementar la investigación existente a largo plazo. Background: Plot-based monitoring has yielded much information on the taxonomic diversity and carbon (C) storage in tropical lowland forests of the Amazon basin.This has resulted in an improved understanding of the relationship between lowland forest biomass dynamics and global change drivers, such as climate change and atmospheric CO 2 concentration.Much less attention has been paid to the mountain ecosystems of South America that comprise montane forests and alpine vegetation (páramo, puna, high Andean grasslands, wetlands, and alpine heath).This vegetation complex provides a variety of ecosystem services and forms a natural laboratory along various physiographic, geological and evolutionary history/biogeography, and land use history gradients.Aims: Here, we review existing empirical understanding and model-based approaches to quantify the contribution of mountain ecosystems to ecosystem service provision in the rapidly changing socioecological setting of the South American mountains.The objective of this paper is to outline a broad road map for the implementation of mountain vegetation into dynamic global vegetation models (DGVM) for use in Earth System Models (ESM), based on our current understanding of their structure and function and of their responsiveness to global change drivers.We also identify treeline processes, critical in mountain ecosystems, as key missing elements in DGVMs/ESMs, and thus explore in addition a treeline model.Methods: Stocktaking of the availability of empirical data was undertaken from eight research sites along the Andes and in south-eastern Brazil.Out of eight sites, two (one each in Venezuela and Brazil) had some climate, ecological and ecophysiological data potentially suitable to parametrise a DGVM.Tree biomass data were available for six sites.A preliminary assessment of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) DGVM was made to identify gaps in available data and their impacts on model parametrisation and calibration.Additionally, the potential climate-determined elevation of the treeline was modelled to check the DGVM for its ability to identify the transition between the montane forest and alpine vegetation.Results: Outcomes of the evaluation of the JULES land surface model identified the following key processes in montane forests: temperature-related decrease in net primary production, respiration, and allocation to above-ground biomass and increase in soil C stocks with elevation.There was a variable agreement between simulated biomass and those derived from field measurements via allometric equations.Conclusions: We identified major gaps between data availability and the needs for process-based modelling of South American mountain vegetation and its dynamics in DGVMs.To bridge this gap, we propose a transdisciplinary network, composed of members of the theoretical/modelling and empirical scientific communities, to study the natural dynamics of mountain ecosystems and their responses to global change drivers locally, regionally and at the continental scale, within a social-ecological system framework.The work presented here forms the basis for the design of data collection from field measurements and instrumental monitoring stations to parametrise and verify DGVMs.The network is designed to collaborate with and complement existing long-term research معلومات أساسية: أسفر الرصد القائم على قطعة الأرض عن الكثير من المعلومات حول التنوع التصنيفي وتخزين الكربون (C) في غابات الأراضي المنخفضة الاستوائية في حوض الأمازون. وقد أدى ذلك إلى فهم أفضل للعلاقة بين ديناميات الكتلة الحيوية للغابات المنخفضة ومحركات التغير العالمي، مثل تغير المناخ وتركيز ثاني أكسيد الكربون في الغلاف الجوي. وقد تم إيلاء اهتمام أقل بكثير للنظم الإيكولوجية الجبلية في أمريكا الجنوبية التي تشمل الغابات الجبلية والغطاء النباتي في جبال الألب (بارامو، بونا، الأراضي العشبية في أعالي الأنديز، الأراضي الرطبة، وصحة جبال الألب). يوفر مجمع الغطاء النباتي هذا مجموعة متنوعة من خدمات النظام الإيكولوجي ويشكل مختبرًا طبيعيًا على طول مختلف التاريخ الفيزيائي والجيولوجي والتطوري/الجغرافيا الحيوية، وتدرجات تاريخ استخدام الأراضي. الأهداف: نستعرض هنا الفهم التجريبي الحالي والنهج القائمة على النماذج لقياس مساهمة النظم الإيكولوجية الجبلية في توفير خدمات النظام الإيكولوجي في البيئة الاجتماعية والبيئية المتغيرة بسرعة لجبال أمريكا الجنوبية. الهدف من هذه الورقة هو تحديد خريطة طريق واسعة لتنفيذ الغطاء النباتي الجبلي في نماذج نباتية عالمية ديناميكية (DGVM) لاستخدامها في نماذج نظام الأرض (ESM)، بناءً على فهمنا الحالي من هيكلها ووظيفتها واستجابتها لمحركات التغير العالمي. كما نحدد عمليات خطوط الأشجار، الحرجة في النظم الإيكولوجية الجبلية، كعناصر رئيسية مفقودة في DGVMs/ESMs، وبالتالي نستكشف بالإضافة إلى ذلك نموذج خط الأشجار. الأساليب: تم إجراء جرد لتوافر البيانات التجريبية من ثمانية مواقع بحثية على طول جبال الأنديز وفي جنوب شرق البرازيل. من بين ثمانية مواقع، كان لدى موقعين (واحد في كل من فنزويلا والبرازيل) بعض البيانات المناخية والبيئية والفسيولوجية البيئية المحتملة مناسبة لتحديد معالم DGVM. كانت بيانات الكتلة الحيوية الثلاثية متاحة لستة مواقع. تم إجراء تقييم أولي لمحاكي بيئة الأراضي المشترك في المملكة المتحدة (JULES) DGVM لتحديد الثغرات في البيانات المتاحة وتأثيراتها على تحديد معالم النموذج ومعايرته. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، تم نمذجة الارتفاع المحتمل المحدد بالمناخ لخط الأشجار للتحقق من DGVM لقدرته على تحديد الانتقال بين الغابة الجبلية والغطاء النباتي في جبال الألب. النتائج: حددت نتائج تقييم نموذج سطح الأرض JULES العمليات الرئيسية التالية في الغابات الجبلية: الانخفاض المرتبط بدرجة الحرارة في صافي الإنتاج الأولي، والتنفس، والتخصيص للكتلة الحيوية فوق الأرض و زيادة مخزونات التربة C مع الارتفاع. كان هناك اتفاق متغير بين الكتلة الحيوية المحاكية وتلك المستمدة من القياسات الميدانية عبر المعادلات المتجانسة. الاستنتاجات: حددنا الفجوات الرئيسية بين توافر البيانات والاحتياجات إلى النمذجة القائمة على العمليات للغطاء النباتي الجبلي في أمريكا الجنوبية وديناميكياته في DGVM. لسد هذه الفجوة، نقترح شبكة متعددة التخصصات، تتألف من أعضاء المجتمعات العلمية النظرية/النمذجة والتجريبية، لدراسة الديناميكيات الطبيعية للنظم الإيكولوجية الجبلية واستجاباتها لمحركات التغيير العالمي محليًا وإقليميًا وعلى المستوى القاري، ضمن إطار النظام الاجتماعي الإيكولوجي. يشكل العمل المقدم هنا الأساس لتصميم جمع البيانات من القياسات الميدانية ومحطات المراقبة الآلية إلى بارامتير والتحقق من DGVM. تم تصميم الشبكة للتعاون مع البحوث القائمة طويلة الأجل واستكمالها

Traditionally, a ``low-energy`` house has been one that used little energy for space heating. But space heating typically accounts for less than half of the energy used by new US homes, and for low heating energy homes, space heating is often the third largest end use, behind water heating and appliances, and sometimes behind cooling. Low space heat alone cannot identify a low-energy house. To better understand the determinants of a low-energy house, we collected data on housing characteristics, incremental costs, and energy measurements from energy-efficient houses around the world and in a range of climates. We compare the energy required to provide thermal comfort as well as water heating, and other appliances. We do not have a single definition of a low-energy house, but through comparisons of actual buildings, we show how different definitions and quantitative indicators fail. In comparing the energy use of whole houses, weather normalization can be important, but for cases in which heating or cooling energy is surpassed by other end uses, other normalization methods must be used.

Uranium is a pollutant of concern to both human and ecosystem health. Uranium's redox state often dictates its partitioning between the aqueous- and solid-phases, and thus controls its dissolved concentration and, coupled with groundwater flow, its migration within the environment. In anaerobic environments, the more oxidized and mobile form of uranium (UO2 2+ and associated species) may be reduced, directly or indirectly, by microorganisms to U(IV) with subsequent precipitation of UO2. However, various factors within soils and sediments may limit biological reduction of U(VI), inclusive of alterations in U(VI) speciation and competitive electron acceptors. Here we elucidate the impact of U(VI) speciation on the extent and rate of reduction with specific emphasis on speciation changes induced by dissolved Ca, and we examine the impact of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides (ferrihydrite, goethite and hematite) varying in free energies of formation on U reduction. The amount of uranium removed from solution during 100 h ...

Airflow measurement techniques are necessary to determine the most basic of indoor air quality questions: ''Is there enough fresh air to provide a healthy environment for the occupants of the building?'' This paper outlines airflow measurement techniques, but it does not make recommendations for techniques that should be used. The airflows that will be discussed are those within a room or zone, those between rooms or zones, such as through doorways (open or closed) or passive vents, those between the building and outdoors, and those through mechanical air distribution systems. Techniques that are highlighted include particle streak velocimetry, hot wire anemometry, fan pressurization (measuring flow at a given pressure), tracer gas, acoustic methods for leak size determination, the Delta Q test to determine duct leakage flows, and flow hood measurements. Because tracer gas techniques are widely used to measure airflow, this topic is broken down into sections as follows: decay, pulse injection, constant injection, constant concentration, passive sampling, and single and multiple gas measurements for multiple zones.

AbstractPlanetary health provides a perspective of ecological interdependence that connects the health and vitality of individuals, communities, and Earth's natural systems. It includes the social, political, and economic ecosystems that influence both individuals and whole societies. In an era of interconnected grand challenges threatening health of all systems at all scales, planetary health provides a framework for cross‐sectoral collaboration and unified systems approaches to solutions. The field of allergy is at the forefront of these efforts. Allergic conditions are a sentinel measure of environmental impact on human health in early life—illuminating how ecological changes affect immune development and predispose to a wider range of inflammatory noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This shows how adverse macroscale ecology in the Anthropocene penetrates to the molecular level of personal and microscale ecology, including the microbial systems at the foundations of all ecosystems. It provides the basis for more integrated efforts to address widespread environmental degradation and adverse effects of maladaptive urbanization, food systems, lifestyle behaviors, and socioeconomic disadvantage. Nature‐based solutions and efforts to improve nature‐relatedness are crucial for restoring symbiosis, balance, and mutualism in every sense, recognizing that both personal lifestyle choices and collective structural actions are needed in tandem. Ultimately, meaningful ecological approaches will depend on placing greater emphasis on psychological and cultural dimensions such as mindfulness, values, and moral wisdom to ensure a sustainable and resilient future.