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Eight willow (Salix) clones (Inger, Klara, Linnea, Resolution, Stina, Terra Nova, Tora, Tordis) were planted on two soil types in Denmark. The biomass quality was evaluated after 3 years of growth by measuring differences in concentrations of 14 elements associated with ash behavior during combustion, and total ash content. Three-year-old shoots of Tordis and Tora performed in general the best with relatively lower mean concentrations of K, Ca, Na, S, and total ash content than other clones across the two experimental sites. Terra Nova was the least suited for combustion as it contained up to 22, 27, 35, and 23 % higher concentrations of K, S, Ca, and total ash than the other clones. In addition to clone and site, appropriate management could further improve the fuel quality of willow biomass. When shoots of Inger were harvested annually (1-year shoots) high concentrations of K and Cl were found in all three consecutive harvests, but concentrations decreased significantly when rotation length was extended beyond 1 year of growth. Significant decreases of Mg, Na, P, S, and Zn were also registered from 2- to 3-year-old shoots. No difference in quality of biomass was found between two plant densities (8000 and 12,000 trees ha−1) of the clones Inger and Tora after the first 3-year rotation when grown at the site with a coarse sandy soil. The study indicates considerable diversity in concentration of elements within commercially available willow cultivars and suggests breeders and growers to select clones not only according to biomass yield potential but also according to biomass quality.

AbstractArctic plant communities are altered by climate changes. The magnitude of these alterations depends on whether species distributions are determined by macroclimatic conditions, by factors related to local topography, or by biotic interactions. Our current understanding of the relative importance of these conditions is limited due to the scarcity of studies, especially in the High Arctic. We investigated variations in vascular plant community composition and species richness based on 288 plots distributed on three sites along a coast‐inland gradient in Northeast Greenland using a stratified random design. We used an information theoretic approach to determine whether variations in species richness were best explained by macroclimate, by factors related to local topography (including soil water) or by plant‐plant interactions. Latent variable models were used to explain patterns in plant community composition. Species richness was mainly determined by variations in soil water content, which explained 35% of the variation, and to a minor degree by other variables related to topography. Species richness was not directly related to macroclimate. Latent variable models showed that 23.0% of the variation in community composition was explained by variables related to topography, while distance to the inland ice explained an additional 6.4 %. This indicates that some species are associated with environmental conditions found in only some parts of the coast–inland gradient. Inclusion of macroclimatic variation increased the model's explanatory power by 4.2%. Our results suggest that the main impact of climate changes in the High Arctic will be mediated by their influence on local soil water conditions. Increasing temperatures are likely to cause higher evaporation rates and alter the distribution of late‐melting snow patches. This will have little impact on landscape‐scale diversity if plants are able to redistribute locally to remain in areas with sufficient soil water.

Spatial planning has to deal with trade-offs between various stakeholders’ wishes and needs as part of planning and management of landscapes, natural resources and/or biodiversity. To make ecosystem services (ES) trade-off research more relevant for spatial planning, we propose an analytical framework,which puts stakeholders, their land-use/management choices, their impact on ES and responses at the centre. Based on 24 cases from around the world, we used this framing to analyse the appearance and diversity of real-world ES trade-offs. They cover a wide range of trade-offs related to ecosystem use, including: land-use change, management regimes, technical versus nature-based solutions, natural resource use, and management of species. The ES trade-offs studied featured a complexity that was far greater than what is often described in the ES literature. Influential users and context setters are at the core of the trade-off decision-making, but most of the impact is felt by non-influential users. Provisioning and cultural ES were the most targeted in the studied trade-offs, but regulating ES were the most impacted. Stakeholders’ characteristics, such as influence, impact faced, and concerns can partially explain their position and response in relation to trade-offs. Based on the research findings, we formulate recommendations for spatial planning.

This paper presents results obtained from extensive accelerated lifetime tests performed on a high power Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) battery cell. The tests were performed at elevated temperatures, with different C-rates, and for different cycle depths. The obtained results have shown a very good capacity retention and a reduced internal resistance increase (and subsequently reduced power capability decrease) even after more than 8000 cycles performed at 42.5°C. We found out that both the capacity and the internal resistance have been degrading faster when the LTO-based battery cells were cycled with a smaller C-rate (i.e., 1C) than with a higher C-rate (i.e., 3C). Moreover, based on the harvested aging results, we discovered that the capacity and not the internal resistance is the performance parameter of the tested LTO-based battery cells, which will limit their lifetime.

Abstract In recent years, rapidly increasing electric power demand and organizational concerns regarding social and environmental issues have resulted in significant attention being given to microgrids. However, sustainable microgrids that simultaneously address economic benefits and environmental and social issues have not been broadly explored by researches. This study addresses the sustainable microgrid design problem by leveraging blockchain technology to provide the real time-based demand response programs. Three sustainable objectives (economy, environment, and society) are formulated by a multi-objective mixed integer-linear programming model. A robust fuzzy multi-objective optimization approach is proposed to determine the optimal number, location, and capacity of renewable distributed generation units as well as the equilibrium supply and dynamic pricing decisions under uncertain demand, capacity, and economic, environmental, and social parameters. The proposed model and solution approach are then applied to a case study in Vietnam. We find that blockchain technology-based sustainable microgrid can result in a 1.68% and 2.61% increase of profitability and consumer satisfaction, respectively, and a 0.97% reduction of environmental impacts.

AbstractRegardless of where they are in the world, people depend on a reliable and sufficient supply of domestic hot water (DHW) for daily use. Some countries that have district heating (DH) infrastructure, such as Denmark and China, combine spacing heating (SH) and DHW together, with the aim of having a smart, energy efficient and environmentally friendly energy-consumption system. Nevertheless, the development of centralized DHW (CDHW) systems in these two countries differs significantly. This article details the challenges China's CDHW system is currently encountering and proposes to apply the flat station concept to improve China's CDHW system. Meanwhile, the technical advantages of the Danish CDHW, which would benefit China, are analyzed. Overall, from a technical point of view, the flat station concept is not only in line with China's current DH conditions but would compensate for some technical defects of the existing CDHW system.