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The Soutpansberg Transect investigates the abundance and diversity of ants and spiders along an altitudinal gradient in the Western Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa. It has a north-south orientation over the mountain and is a long term project initiated in 2009. Data collection is carried out in intervals that suit the data logger capacity. To study the diversity patterns in ants and other invertebrate groups across the spatial transect over a long-term period and the climate the invertebrates.

A new concept of a system for Combined Heat and Power generation is presented. The concept is based on hybrid use of two renewable energy sources, direct solar (thermodynamic solar) and biomass (indirect solar energy). Biomass combustion is conducted using a fluidized bed combustor. A second source of energy, given by the direct irradiation of the bed with a concentrated solar radiation, is integrated in the same system, using the fluidized bed as solar receiver. A Stirling engine converts heat into mechanical power. A Scheffler type mirror is adopted to allow irradiation of the system in a fixed focal point. Advantages of the proposed solution are illustrated and some preliminary results on the performance of the system, obtained with a simple model, are presented. The principal improvements with respect to existing systems of similar size and primary energy source are illustrated. The most important are the enhanced heat transfer processes that are realized with the help of the fluidized bed, and the possibility of continuous cogeneration during the day. Different working conditions are considered to estimate the contribution given by the burning of fuel, in presence as well as in absence of sun irradiation (as during the night). The distribution of energy shares among the different flux contributes is reported versus the amount of biomass burned per unit time. The results clearly demonstrate the advantage of coupling, in the same system, two sources for heat generation, thus maintaining the option of producing electricity without the supply of biomass fuel.

Responses to recent climatic changes in the sediment of subarctic Lake Saanajärvi in northwestern Finnish Lapland are studied by comparison of various biological and sedimentological proxies with the 200-year long climate record, specifically reconstructed for the site using a data-set of European-wide meteorological data. The multi-proxy evidence of simultaneously changing diatom, Cladocera, and chrysophyte assemblages along with the increased rates of organic matter accumulation and pigment concentrations suggest that the lake has undergone a distinct typological change starting from the turn of the 20th century. This change, indicating an increase in lake productivity, parallels a pronounced rise in the meteorologically reconstructed mean annual and summer temperatures in the region between ca. 1850 and 1930's. We postulate that, during the Little Ice Age, the lake was not, or was only weakly, thermally stratified during summer, whereas the subsequent increase in air and hence epilimnetic water temperatures resulted in the development of the present summer stratification. The increased thermal stability of the lake created more suitable conditions for the growth of phyto- and zooplankton and changed the overall primary production from benthos to plankton. Mineral magnetic and carbonaceous particle records suggest long-distance pollution, particularly since the 1920's, yet the observed changes in lake biota and productivity can hardly be explained by this very minor background pollution; the 20th century species configurations are typical of neutral waters and do not indicate any response to pollution.

This paper focuses on binomial mobility-sustainability. Particular attention is paid to pedal mobility and to the fact that cycle transport ia a mean for a correct use of space. The work analyzes the route taken by Apulia Region, that conseiders cycle mobility as palnning and programming instrument, trasversally linked several filed.

Il volume contiene gli abstract dei lavori accettati per i contributi orali e i poster presentati a HYPOTHESIS XII

Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an oilseed species, which in southern Italy is cultivated as annual during the spring-summer period under irrigation, but in most temperate areas such as those of eastern coast of Sicily, it could be grown as semiperennial with no irrigation, by the adoption of autumnal sowings. A field experiment was conducted in southeastern Sicily with the aim of assessing plant surviving, seed yield and oil quality of four castor genotypes originating from different geographical areas (two Sicilian, one Tunisian and one Brazilian). The favorable climatic conditions allowed the plant to survive during the fall-winter period. Seed yield reached 3.45 t ha-1 on average of the two years and seed oil content ranged from 45% (Tunisian cultivar) to 48% ('Local RG 2' Sicilian genotype). Oil yield reflected the variation in seed yield. Genetic diversity for fatty acid composition and saponification number, iodine value and cetane number was evidenced. When ricinoleic acid is not taken into account, the oil of all genotypes satisfied the E.U. standards for biodiesel. The ricinoleic acid was the lowest (79%) in the Sicilian 'Local RG 2' and the highest (89%) in the Tunisian one, revealing a greater suitability of oil of the first genotype for biodiesel. In turn, the oil of Tunisian genotype could be exploited in other bio-based industrial sectors. The study also demonstrated that in the southeastern coast of Sicily autumnal sowings might be advantageous for castor grown as semi-perennial crop, mainly since they allow saving irrigation water.

Emergency building, devoted to give rapid and effective housing solutions to catastrophic and unexpected events, relies on the basic principles of construction rapidity and reversibility as well as the use of alternative energy sources. The growing need for environmental impact reduction in the building sector represents for temporary housing - especially under emergency conditions - a priority requisite, since, after given time lapses, areas occupied with emergency settlements will have to be recovered to their original use. In this case, the buildings' service life does not correspond to the life cycle of their materials and components; as a consequence, design activities will have to assure the dismantability and reusability of structures for further service cycles, making the whole process reversible: from construction to 'zero waste' de-construction. This paper aims at defining design criteria for low-impact emergency dwellings, assessing at the same time their applicability to corrugated steel pipes, obtained by assembling galvanized curved sheets - commonly used for underpasses and conduits - for which different use possibilities have been investigated. In this view, the research program has led to the definition of modular dwelling solutions. Then, technical feasibility studies have been carried out in collaboration with the industrial sector, taking advantage of consolidated production lines for innovative use purposes. Along the different research stages, a methodology has been defined for the assessment of the fundamental sustainability criteria through different simulation procedures; among these, the evaluation of the life-cycle environmental impacts with SimaPRO software and the 3D modelling for the maximization of the construction/environment integration - also in relation to the use of PV modules - have produced interesting results.

M.J.M. acknowledges funding from FCT through the grant SFRH/BPD/115566/2016. ALTALUZ (Reference PTDC/CTM-ENE/5125/2014). The optical properties of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) sustained by self-assembled silver nanoparticles are of great interest for enhancing light trapping in thin film photovoltaics. First, we report on a systematic investigation of the structural and the optical properties of silver nanostructures fabricated by a solid-state dewetting process on various substrates. Our study allows to identify fabrication conditions in which circular, uniformly spaced nanoparticles are obtainable. The optimized NPs are then integrated into plasmonic back reflector (PBR) structures. Second, we demonstrate a novel procedure, involving a combination of opto-electronic spectroscopic techniques, allowing for the quantification of useful and parasitic absorption in thin photovoltaic absorber deposited on top of the PBR. We achieve a significant broadband useful absorption enhancement of 90% for 0.9 µm thick μc-Si:H film and demonstrate that optical losses due to plasmonic scattering are insignificant below 730 nm. Finally, we present a successful implementation of a plasmonic light trapping scheme in a thin film a-Si:H solar cell. The quantum efficiency spectra of the devices show a pronounced broadband enhancement resulting in remarkably high short circuit current densities (Jsc). preprint published

Increasing the rate of renovation for the existing building stock is a crucial challenge for EU’s energy policy. The Smart City Block (SCB) project proposes an innovative answer to this challenge. The underlying hypothesis is that introducing a collective dimension to renovation could result in increasing rates of renovation while also impacting positively the efficiency of the renovation and the social ties within urban areas. The collective dimension considered is the city block in Brussels.The first part of this paper describes the theoretical part of the project that was necessary to develop an adapted methodology. It describes the SCB offering, Brussels segmentation and some results of surveys.The SCB offering shows that many different options can be proposed to the city block dwellers, ranging from a collective insulation, efficient heating systems and shared photovoltaics to collective kitchen garden in the inner space of the block, shared vehicles or shared spaces. This is especially relevant for Brussels where city blocks often have an inner space that could be used. Besides, the segmentation of Brussels based on city block characteristics offers a typology that can be further used to target specific environmental or social deficit.However, the collective dimension introduced in the project is challenging for western individualistic minds. In order to evaluate the acceptance of households, a survey was conducted on 4 city blocks in Brussels, representing over 450 households. It shows a clear willingness to investigate the concept further but only if concrete proposals with estimations of energy and financial savings are provided. Sharing space, equipment and activities was more positively accepted than what we initially expected. Although the attitude-behaviour gap must not be underestimated, this opening can be viewed as an evolution of lifestyles in some segments of the population. Governance and institutional arrangements are expected to play a critical role in supporting this evolution.The second ...