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Digital Annex for the following thesis: Vila-Viçosa, C. (2023). Natural History, Biogeography and Evolution of the Iberian white oak syngameon (Quercus L. Sect. Quercus). Ph.D. Thesis, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Portugal Abstract: The genus Quercus L. is one of the most diverse and important group of woody plants, particularly when considering that they are the trees that rule the Northern Hemisphere forests. Oaks have an intricate Biogeography that criss-crosses diverse climatic and edaphic gradients, encompassing a huge ambiguity in terms of species delimitation. Frequently, the taxonomic proposals brought by traditional Linnaean Botany are either insufficient or rather inflate the number of species and nomenclatural assignments, which are further diluted into inconsistent taxonomic ranks, varying from species to subspecies and varieties. The supremacy given to morphological characters that are inherently fragile and plastic, spread across the distribution areas of distinct lineages, may carry ambiguity on the identification and proper species delimitation. From the oaks that are distributed across the Western Palearctic region, the ones that are deciduous or brevi-deciduous present higher levels of ambiguity in terms of species number and their delimitation. This ambiguity is particularly strong in the circummediterranean region and in the transitional areas between the two major biogeographic Regions of the western Palearctic region, the Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean. This degree of uncertainty, which increases towards the Southern European Peninsulas, is amplified by the ease that the different species of oaks tend to hybridize among them. The present work provides a holistic framework that covers multiple areas, from the taxonomic and evolutive study of this genus, to biogeography and molecular characterization. Its major objective was to resolve the species delimitation of the Iberian deciduous and marcescent oaks and putative introgression among them, enhancing the available knowledge about species diversity, which can foster suitable species and forest conservation. A specific objective was to cross-reference the natural history revision and the different taxonomic treatments brought by distinct authors, with personal observations. These data were then incorporated into ecological modelling and molecular characterization, which in the end fed a newly updated taxonomic proposal. In Section A we obtained results from extensive field, herbaria, and literature review, updating the nomenclature of the Portuguese and western Mediterranean oaks. Section B was supported by Section A’s in-depth review and enabled finer species distribution models, nurturing both hindcast (since ca. 20 Kyr) and forecast (2070-2100) exercises of the range dynamics of Mediterranean oaks species. The study of past and future range shifts solved important pending biogeographic questions, especially related to past range-shifts. Such past-range shifts improved our knowledge on species responses to climate dynamics and allowed a better anticipation of future responses of range shifts driven by climate change. Section C encompassed the molecular characterization of Iberian white oak species and their hybrids, whose delimitation is often faltering when one intends to infer about species rank, or hypothesize about the participation of parent taxon in natural hybrid swarms. This work allowed us to solve the phylogenetic backbone of western Palearctic white oaks, suggesting a significant segregation of the Iberian pedunculate oaks and unveiling two subsections inside Section Quercus. These subsections are biogeographically well-segregated and present diverse levels of introgression among species. Results demonstrated the efficiency of RADSeq for rebuilding the reticulate phylogeny of the Eurasian white oaks, showcasing the significance of the Iberian Peninsula as a major hotspot for oak diversity. We implemented a circular approach to these methods, which retro-fed themselves in terms of insight generation, enabling a powerful strategy to solve the evolutionary history of this difficult groups of plants. We estimate that the reticulate historical biogeography of the western Palearctic white oaks deserves further scrutiny by adding vicariant oak populations from northern Africa, the Near East and southern European Peninsulas. Methods should again follow this similar additive and sequential process of adjoining deep Natural History examination, with extensive fieldwork in type populations and genome-wide molecular surveys, in order to solve this group of plants. With the present work, we were able to significantly improve on the depiction of the basic unit of Biodiversity (the Species), in the complex Quercus genus. We provided tools to enable further efforts for the conservation of the Mediterranean oak forests, which overwhelm one of the most important (and one of the most threatened) Biomes for plant conservation at the global scale.

Plastic film mulching (FM) became a general practice to enhance crop productivity and its net primary production (NPP), but it can increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The proper addition of organic amendments might effectively decrease the impact of FM on global warming. To evaluate the feasibility of biomass addition on decreasing this negative influence, cover crop biomass as a green manure was incorporated with different recycling levels (0-100% of aboveground biomass) under FM and no-mulching. The net global warming potential (GWP) which integrated with soil C stock change and GHG (N2O and CH4) fluxes with CO2-equivalent was evaluated during maize cultivation. Under the same biomass incorporation, FM significantly enhanced the grain productivity and NPP of maize by 22-61 and 18-58% over no-mulching, respectively. In contrast, FM also highly increased the respired C loss, which was 11-95% higher than NPP increase, over no-mulching. Irrespective with biomass recycling ratio and mulching system, negative NECB which indicates the decrease of soil C stock was observed, mainly due to big harvest removal. FM decreased more soil C stock by 57-158% over no-mulching, but its C stock was clearly increased with increasing biomass addition. FM significantly increased total N2O and CH4 fluxes by 4-61 and 140-600% over no-mulching, respectively. Soil C stock changes mainly decided net GWP scale, but N2O and CH4 fluxes negligibly influenced. As a result, FM highly increased net GWP over no-mulching, while this net GWP was clearly decreased with increasing biomass application. However, cover cropping, and its biomass recycling was not enough to compensate the negative impact of FM on global warming. Therefore, more biomass incorporation might be essential to compensate this negative effect of FM.

China is the largest fruit producer and consumer market in the world. Understanding the growing conditions responses to climate change is the key to predict future site suitability of main cultivation areas for certain deciduous fruit trees. In this study, we used dynamic and growing degree day models driven by downscaled daily temperatures from 22 global climate models to project the effects of climate change on growing conditions for deciduous fruit trees under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios over 2 future time periods (represented by central years 2050s and 2085s) in northern China. The results showed a general increase of available winter chill for all sites under RCP4.5 scenario, and the most dramatic increase in chill accumulation could reach up to 36.8% in northeast regions for RCP8.5. However, the forecasted chill will decrease by 6.4% in southeast stations under RCP8.5 by 2085s. Additionally, the increase rate of growing season heat showed spatially consistency, and the most pronounced increase was found in the RCP8.5 by 2085s. For the southwest station, median heat accumulation increased by 20.8% in the 2050s and 37.1% in the 2085s under RCP8.5. Similar increasing range could be found in the northeast station; the median growing season heat increased by 19.8% and 38.8% in the 2050s and 2085s under RCP8.5, respectively. Moreover, the date of last spring frost was expected to advance and the frequency of frost occurrences was projected to decline in the study area compared to the past. Overall, the present study improves understanding regarding site-specific characteristics of climatic suitability for deciduous fruit tree cultivation in main producing regions of northern China. The results could provide growers and decision-makers with theoretical evidence to take adaptive measure to ensure fruit production in future.

Purpose This study aims to consider environmental sustainability, a global challenge under the preview of sustainable development goals, highlighting the significance of knowledge economy in attaining sustainable aggregate demand behavior globally. For this purpose, 155 countries that have data available from 1995 to 2021 were selected. The purpose of selecting these countries is to test the global responsibility of the knowledge economy to attain environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Results are estimated with the help of panel quantile regression. The empirical existence of aggregate demand-based environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was tested using non-linear tests. Moreover, principal component analysis has been incorporated to construct the knowledge economy index. Findings U-shaped aggregate demand-based EKC at global level is validated. However, environmental deterioration increases with an additional escalation after US$497.945m in aggregate demand. As a determinant, the knowledge economy is reducing CO2 emissions. The knowledge economy has played a significant role in global responsibility, shifting the EKC downward and extending the CO2 reduction phase for every selected country. Further, urbanization, energy intensity, financial development and trade openness significantly deteriorate the environmental quality. Originality/value This study contains the empirical existence of aggregate demand-based EKC. The role of the knowledge economy is examined through an index which is calculated by using four pillars of the knowledge economy (technology, innovations, education and institutions). This study is based on a combined panel of all the countries for which the data was available.

Forest soil acidification caused by acid deposition is a serious threat to the forest ecosystem. To investigate the liming effects of biomass ash (BA) and alkaline slag (AS) on the acidic topsoil and subsoil, a three-year field experiment under artificial Masson pine was conducted at Langxi, Anhui province in Southern China. The surface application of BA and AS significantly increased the soil pH, and thus decreased exchangeable acidity and active Al in the topsoil. Soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ in topsoil were significantly increased by the surface application of BA and AS, while an increase in soil exchangeable K+ was only observed in BA treatments. The soil acidity and active Al in subsoil were decreased by the surface application of AS. Compared with the control, soluble monomeric and exchangeable Al in the subsoil was decreased by 38.0% and 29.4% after 3 years of AS surface application. There was a minimal effect on soluble monomeric and exchangeable Al after the application of BA. The soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the subsoil increased respectively by 54% and 141% after surface application of 10 t ha-1 AS. The decrease of soil active Al and increase of base cations in subsoil were mainly attributed to the high migration capacity of base cations in AS. In conclusion, the effect of surface application of AS was superior to BA in ameliorating soil acidity and alleviating soil Al toxicity in the subsoil of this Ultisol.

Abstract Whilst caking occurs via several different mechanisms, absorption and migration of moisture is frequently the most dominant mechanism within the food and pharmaceutical industry. Fully understanding the propensity to cake is important for minimising down-stream process issues, however most characterisation techniques assume that moisture induced caking occurs homogenously through the sample resulting in a uniformly caked powder bed. In this study, the effect of moisture induced caking on powder flowability was investigated using powder rheology. Several materials, including skimmed milk powder (SMP) and sulphated methyl ester (SME) were stored for several days under controlled humidity conditions. The flow energies, a measure of the resistance to flow, were measured at 24 h intervals using an FT4 Powder Rheometer. As the energy is measured as a function of the bed height, variations in the powder bed are also captured. The results demonstrated that caking does not always occur uniformly, instead a caked region (or crust) forms at the air-powder interface and then progresses through the powder bed. Furthermore, the strength of this caked region was shown to increase over several days before stabilising.

<h3>Project Overview</h3> <p>Jurisdictional boundaries of governmental agencies often do not align with the geographic or social boundaries of the policy issues they are tasked with addressing. This spatial mismatch is especially common in relation to natural resources and the environment. Where it occurs, achievement of policy goals may require coordination across jurisdictions, which can lead to mutual benefits. Yet, governmental agencies may view coordination as costly or as leading to a loss of autonomy. This project examined coordination decisions made by local level governmental agencies in California, as they formed Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and subsequently coordinated development of their first groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) under California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The project addresses the question of how agencies make decisions and manage interactions when under a coordination mandate that allots agencies the discretion to decide how to coordinate. More specifically, it investigates:<ol><li>What factors influence decisions regarding the geographic extent of and parties involved in development of new formal agencies for groundwater management,</li><li>How do concerns about the potential risks of coordination affect the choice of coordination mechanisms,</li><li>How does the structure of agency interactions affect their achievement of the objectives of the coordination mandate, and</li><li>How do agencies make sense of a coordination mandate and how does that sense-making process influence the decisions agencies make when deciding how to respond to the mandate?</li></ol></p> <h3>Data Collection Overview</h3> <p>Data were collected between January 2018 and May 2020. The methods for data collection varied by data type.<ul><li>Secondary data on the physical, social, and institutional characteristics of groundwater basins were collected from California Department of Water Resources datasets, the American Community Survey, and the National Land Use Database.</li><li>Data on GSA formation and copies of GSPs and Coordination Agreements were obtained from the California’s SGMA Portal Website (https://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/)</li><li>Meeting minutes and other documentation were obtained from the respective websites of local-level agencies that formed GSAs.</li><li>Interviews were conducted with representatives from 67 groundwater sustainability agencies. Interviewees spanned 17 of the 19 basins and 38 of the 44 groundwater sustainability plans produced. Interviewees were identified based on formal GSA contact information and selected based on formal notices to produce a GSP. Recruitment sought to interview representatives from least one GSA from each GSP group.</li><li>Participant observation was undertaken of more than 58 public meetings (in person, virtually, or reviewing recordings).</li></ul></p> <h3>Shared Data Organization</h3> <p>The shared data is organized into three folders. A GIS folder contains 16 relevant data files. An interview transcripts folder contains 52 de-identified transcripts from the interviews that were recorded and transcribed. Some interviewees did not agree to recording and transcription of the interviews, thus data from those interviews are not available. A tabular data folder contains 3 spreadsheet workbooks. These include a spreadsheet documenting coordination concerns at the basin-level; a spreadsheet documenting organizational forms and institutions adopted at the basin-level; and a spreadsheet documenting coordination outcomes at the basin-level. Each spreadsheet includes a copy of the codebook used in analyzing the data. This data project also includes 6 documentation files: a GIS metadata workbook, an interview catalog, an interview consent form, a redaction protocol, this data narrative, and an administrative README file.</p> <h3>Data Overview</h3> <p>The research involved a mixed-methods approach that combines information on agencies; the physical, social, and institutional characteristics of groundwater basins and the agencies located within them; formal filings; agreements; and plans developed by agencies; meeting minutes; interview data; and data from participant observation.</p>

We researched China's climate and sustainable development goal with relevant and susceptible instruments capable of inducing and mitigating carbon emissions. Amidst the contributor to the global carbon emissions, China is caught in between mitigating its carbon emission and aiming towards placing its national contribution of emissions to the acceptable levels of 1.5 °C and below 2 °C. Following the intricacies surrounding China's sustainable development as it contains its economic and environmental performance, we adopt China's data of 1980 and 2018 with different scientific approaches (nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL), dynamic ordinary least square test, and bootstrap Granger causality) with different instruments (such as economic growth, financial development, renewable energy, and innovation policies) to research China's sustainable development. For clear exposition and insight into our findings with policies attached, we draw a conclusion from the outcomes of the mentioned approaches. From NARDL and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), we find that economic growth through economic activities is statistically significant in determining the trend (increase) of carbon emissions in China in both periods (short run and long run). However, other selected instruments (financial, renewable, and innovation policies) tend towards controlling and moderating the carbon emissions in China. Thus, China has good prospects to mitigate its carbon emissions if considered tailoring its policies towards favorable instruments. From bootstrap Granger causality, we find similar inferential results that support previous findings thereby confirming the positive implication of the selected instruments to China's sustainable development. Hence, the nexus that is established among the selected instruments clearly show the importance of technological innovation and renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions.