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The objective of the work reported here was to reduce the uncertainty on the greenhouse gas balances of biofuels using agro-ecosystem modeling at a high resolution over the Ile-de-France region in Northern France. The emissions simulated during the feedstock production stage were input to a life-cycle assessment of candidate biofuel pathways: bioethanol from wheat, sugar-beet and miscanthus, and biodiesel from oilseed rape. Compared to the widely-used methodology based on fixed emission factors, ecosystem modeling lead to 55-70% lower estimates for N2O emissions, emphasizing the importance of regional factors. The life-cycle GHG emissions of first-generation biofuels were 50-70% lower than fossil-based equivalents, and 85% lower for cellulosic ethanol. When including indirect land-use change effects, GHG savings became marginal for biodiesel and wheat ethanol, but were positive due to direct effects for cellulosic ethanol.

Raw biomass grinding is a highly energy‐intensive step due to the fibrous structure of the material. Torrefaction, which enables the partial destruction of this fibrous structure through mild thermal treatment, appears as an attractive option. In this work, a complete quantification of species released during torrefaction was performed on four various biomass types: softwood, a perennial crop, an agricultural residue, and a short rotation coppice. A specially designed fixed‐bed reactor was used to characterize the different products released during torrefaction under controlled conditions. The mass balance was evaluated by quantification of the biomass weight loss and species released. For each sample of torrefied biomass, weight loss, a proximate analysis, and lower heating value were quantified, and detailed mass balances including an analysis of condensable species were performed. The results showed that, under the explored torrefaction conditions, the nature of the feedstock had a significant effect on solid weight loss and compositions, and on the yields of volatile and condensable species.A specific grinding protocol was used to evaluate torrefied biomass grindability. The grindability of torrefied biomass was significantly improved compared to raw biomass, but this tendency was less marked in the case of the agricultural residue than for the other biomasses. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 1180–1186, 2015

The genus Kimulodes was described by Tjeder and Hansson (1992) to accommodate two species, Kimulodes sinuatus originally described as Helicomitus sinuatus by Kimmins (1949) and a new species they named K. angulicornis. Within the tribe Ascalaphini, this genus is characterized by the hairless genae, the absence of a tuft of hairs at the base of the forewing in males, in contrast to the African species of Ascalaphus, and the antennae of males being sinuate or sharply arched with stout tufts of hairs on the basal flagellomeres. The genus Kimulodes was known from Central and East Africa, but remained unrecorded from West Africa. The material collected by a colleague, Jean-Michel Maldès (CIRAD), during a prospecting mission in Togo in 1990 included a male of an undescribed species of Kimulodes, which is described below. Furthermore, examination of the collection of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, yielded a male and a female of K. angulicornis from an unrecorded locality in the Central African Republic.

Potassium (K+) nutrition is of relevant interest for winegrowers because it influences grapevine growth, berry composition, as well as must and wine quality. Indeed, wine quality strongly depends on berry composition at harvest. However, K+ content of grape berries increased steadily over the last decades, in part due to climate change. Currently, the properties and qualities of many fruits are also impacted by environment. In grapevine, this disturbs berry properties resulting in unbalanced wines with poor organoleptic quality and low acidity. This requires a better understanding of the molecular basis of K+ accumulation and its control along grape berry development. This mini-review summarizes our current knowledge on K+ nutrition in relation with fruit quality in the context of a changing environment.

Using organic fertilizers on sugarcane mulches is a potentially interesting substitute for mineral fertilization in terms of economic and environmental impacts. However, no general agreement exists regarding the short-term effect of combining mulching and organic fertilization on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, we studied different mixtures in the field by combining two amounts of sugarcane mulch (5 and 10 Mg ha−1) with different N fertilizers (urea, pig slurry, and digested sewage sludge). We measured CO2 and N2O emissions shortly after application of the mixtures (0–14 days) and the mulch decomposition dynamics from 0 to 120 days after application. We hypothesized that the relative amount of N to C modifies the decomposition dynamics and GHG fluxes. The emitted N2O-N and CO2-C were measured using static chambers. Mulch-C decomposition was measured using litterbags. Our results showed that the proportion of mulch-C remaining on the soil on day 120 was not altered by either the type of N fertilizer or the mulch amount. On a shorter time scale (0–49 days), the different N treatments affected the mulch-C and mulch-N losses and the C:N ratios, indicating a transient interaction between the dynamics of the mulch and the added N. The intensity of N2O-N emission was ranked as pig slurry > urea > digested sewage sludge, underscoring the effect of the physical form of N fertilizer. This work highlights the need to jointly study carbon and nitrogen dynamics and consider both soil carbon and gas emissions to assess the GHG balances of sugarcane farming practices.

The aim of this work was to investigate lipase activities in crude extracts from Adansonia suarezensis, Adansonia grandidieri, Moringa drouhardii, Moringa oleifera, Jatropha mahafalensis, and Jatropha curcas seeds in ethanolysis and hydrolysis reactions. All crude extracts from germinated seeds showed both ethanolysis and hydrolysis activities. The influence of germination, the delipidation procedure, and the triacylglycerol/ethanol molar ratio on their ethanolysis activity was studied. Crude extracts of Jatropha and Adansonia seeds showed optimal activity at pH 8 with an optimum temperature of 30 and 40 °C, respectively. The study of the regioselectivity of crude extracts from J. mahafalensis and A. grandidieri seeds, which had the most active hydrolysis reaction, showed 1,3 regioselectivity in the hydrolysis reaction of vegetable oils. The crude extract from A. grandidieri seeds showed no typoselectivity, whereas the typoselectivity of the crude extract of J. mahafalensis seeds depended on the type of reaction.

L'élevage est un secteur très important de l'économie colombienne ; cependant, au cours de la prochaine décennie, il sera confronté à d'énormes défis, notamment l'adaptation au changement climatique et l'atténuation de ses effets. La Colombie doit changer radicalement, et en très peu de temps, le modèle de production animale, en libérant des zones de pâturage pour d'autres utilisations et en intensifiant la production animale dans des zones appropriées. Malgré l'urgence et l'ampleur des changements requis, seules des initiatives isolées à petite échelle existent. Ainsi, la Colombie a le défi de la mise à l'échelle des mesures, mais, jusqu'à présent, elle n'a pas eu de programme conçu pour y parvenir. À partir d'une analyse des politiques, des acteurs et des initiatives existantes, nous cherchons à comprendre les potentialités et les limites de la mise à l'échelle de pratiques prometteuses pour faire face aux défis du changement climatique dans le secteur de l'élevage en Colombie. Nous montrons les éléments qui ont été essentiels dans les initiatives précédentes concernant les espaces de mise à l'échelle : espace politique, espace budgétaire et financier, espace de capacité institutionnelle, espace d'apprentissage, espace de partenariat, espace technique et autres espaces, auxquels nous ajoutons l'importance de la dimension technique. Enfin, nous proposons quelques éléments pour concevoir un programme national de reconversion de l'élevage pour le contexte colombien. La ganadería es un sector muy importante en la economía colombiana; sin embargo, en la próxima década enfrentará algunos desafíos enormes, incluida la adaptación y mitigación del cambio climático. Colombia debe cambiar drásticamente, y en muy poco tiempo, el modelo de producción ganadera, liberando áreas de pasto para otros usos e intensificando la producción ganadera en zonas adecuadas. A pesar de la urgencia y la magnitud de los cambios requeridos, solo existen iniciativas aisladas a pequeña escala. Por lo tanto, Colombia tiene el desafío de la ampliación de las medidas, pero, hasta ahora, no ha tenido un programa diseñado para lograrlo. A partir de un análisis de las políticas, los actores y las iniciativas existentes, buscamos comprender las potencialidades y limitaciones de la ampliación de prácticas prometedoras para enfrentar los desafíos del cambio climático en el sector ganadero en Colombia. Mostramos los elementos que han sido clave en iniciativas anteriores con respecto a los espacios de ampliación: espacio de políticas, espacio fiscal y financiero, espacio de capacidad institucional, espacio de aprendizaje, espacio de asociación, espacio técnico y otros espacios, a los que añadimos la importancia de la dimensión técnica. Finalmente, proponemos algunos elementos para diseñar un programa nacional de reconversión de la ganadería para el contexto colombiano. Livestock raising is a very important sector in the Colombian economy; however, in the next decade, it will face some enormous challenges, including adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. Colombia must change drastically, and in a very short time, the model of livestock production, freeing up areas of pasture for other uses and intensifying livestock production in suitable zones. In spite of the urgency and the magnitude of the required changes, only isolated small-scale initiatives exist. Thus, Colombia has the challenge of the scaling up of measures, but, up to now, it has had no program designed to achieve this. Starting from an analysis of the policies, actors, and existing initiatives, we seek to understand the potentialities for and limitations to the scaling up of promising practices to face the challenges of climate change in the livestock sector in Colombia. We show the elements that have been key in previous initiatives regarding the spaces for scaling up: policy space, fiscal and financial space, institutional capacity space, learning space, partnership space, technical space, and other spaces, to which we add the importance of the technical dimension. Finally, we propose some elements for designing a national program of reconversion of livestock raising for the Colombian context. تعد تربية الماشية قطاعًا مهمًا للغاية في الاقتصاد الكولومبي ؛ ومع ذلك، في العقد المقبل، ستواجه بعض التحديات الهائلة، بما في ذلك التكيف مع تغير المناخ والتخفيف من حدته. يجب أن تتغير كولومبيا بشكل جذري، وفي وقت قصير جدًا، نموذج الإنتاج الحيواني، وتحرير مناطق المراعي للاستخدامات الأخرى وتكثيف الإنتاج الحيواني في المناطق المناسبة. على الرغم من إلحاح التغييرات المطلوبة وحجمها، لا توجد سوى مبادرات صغيرة معزولة. وبالتالي، تواجه كولومبيا التحدي المتمثل في توسيع نطاق التدابير، ولكن حتى الآن، لم يكن لديها برنامج مصمم لتحقيق ذلك. بدءًا من تحليل السياسات والجهات الفاعلة والمبادرات الحالية، نسعى إلى فهم إمكانات وقيود توسيع نطاق الممارسات الواعدة لمواجهة تحديات تغير المناخ في قطاع الثروة الحيوانية في كولومبيا. نعرض العناصر التي كانت أساسية في المبادرات السابقة فيما يتعلق بمساحات التوسع: مساحة السياسة، والمساحة المالية والمالية، ومساحة القدرات المؤسسية، ومساحة التعلم، ومساحة الشراكة، والمساحة التقنية، والمساحات الأخرى، والتي نضيف إليها أهمية البعد التقني. أخيرًا، نقترح بعض العناصر لتصميم برنامج وطني لإعادة تحويل تربية الماشية للسياق الكولومبي.