Calibration of paired watersheds: Utility of moving sums in presence of externalities

Historically, paired watershed studies have been used to quantify the hydrological effects of land use and management practices by concurrently monitoring 2 similar watersheds during calibration (pretreatment) and post‐treatment periods. This study characterizes seasonal water table and flow response to rainfall during the calibration period and tests a change detection technique of moving sums of recursive residuals (MOSUM) to select calibration periods for each control–treatment watershed pair when the regression coefficients for daily water table elevation were most stable to minimize regression model uncertainty. The control and treatment watersheds were 1 watershed of 3–4‐year‐old intensely managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) with natural understory, 1 watershed of 3–4‐year‐old loblolly pine intercropped with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), 1 watershed of 14–15‐year‐old thinned loblolly pine with natural understory (control), and 1 watershed of switchgrass only. The study period spanned from 2009 to 2012. Silvicultural operational practices during this period acted as external factors, potentially shifting hydrologic calibration relationships between control and treatment watersheds. MOSUM results indicated significant changes in regression parameters due to silvicultural operations and were used to identify stable relationships for water table elevation. None of the calibration relationships developed using this method were significantly different from the classical calibration relationship based on published historical data. We attribute that to the similarity of historical and 2010–2012 leaf area index on control and treatment watersheds as moderated by the emergent vegetation. Although the MOSUM approach does not eliminate the need for true calibration data or replace the classic paired watershed approach, our results show that it may be an effective alternative approach when true data are unavailable, as it minimizes the impacts of external disturbances other than the treatment of interest.     

Bioenergy potentials from forestry in 2050

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the global energy production potential of woody biomass from forestry for the year 2050 using a bottom-up analysis of key factors. Woody biomass from forestry was defined as all of the aboveground woody biomass of trees, including all products made from woody biomass. This includes the harvesting, processing and use of woody biomass. The projection was performed by comparing the future demand with the future supply of wood, based on existing databases, scenarios, and outlook studies. Specific attention was paid to the impact of the underlying factors that determine this potential and to the gaps and uncertainties in our current knowledge. Key variables included the demand for industrial roundwood and woodfuel, the plantation establishment rates, and the various theoretical, technical, economical, and ecological limitations related to the supply of wood from forests. Forests, as defined in this study, exclude forest plantations. Key uncertainties were the supply of wood from trees outside forests, the future rates of deforestation, the consumption of woodfuel, and the theoretical, technical, economical, or ecological wood production potentials of the forests. Based on a medium demand and medium plantation scenario, the global theoretical potential of the surplus wood supply (i.e., after the demand for woodfuel and industrial roundwood is met) in 2050 was calculated to be 6.1 Gm³ (71 EJ) and the technical potential to be 5.5 Gm³ (64 EJ). In practice, economical considerations further reduced the surplus wood supply from forests to 1.3 Gm³ year⁻¹ (15 EJ year⁻¹). When ecological criteria were also included, the demand for woodfuel and industrial roundwood exceeded the supply by 0.7 Gm³ year⁻¹ (8 EJ year⁻¹). The bioenergy potential from logging and processing residues and waste was estimated to be equivalent to 2.4 Gm³ year⁻¹ (28 EJ year⁻¹) wood, based on a medium demand scenario. These results indicate that forests can, in theory, become a major source of bioenergy, and that the use of this bioenergy can, in theory, be realized without endangering the supply of industrial roundwood and woodfuel and without further deforestation. Regional shortages in the supply of industrial roundwood and woodfuel can, however, occur in some regions, e.g., South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa.     

Hydraulic redistribution by deeply rooted grasses and its ecohydrologic implications in the southern Great Plains of North America

Perennial bioenergy crops with deep (>1 m) rooting systems, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), are hypothesized to increase carbon storage in deep soil. Deeply rooted plants may also affect soil hydrology by accessing deep soil water for transpiration, which can affect soil water content and infiltration in deep soil layers, thereby affecting groundwater recharge. Using stable H and O isotope (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) and ³H values, we studied the soil water conditions at 20–30 cm intervals to depths of 2.4–3.6 m in paired fields of switchgrass and shallow rooted crops at three sites in the southern Great Plains of North America. We found that soil under switchgrass had consistently higher soil water content than nearby soil under shallow-rooted annual crops by a margin of 15%–100%. Soil water content and isotopic depth profiles indicated that hydraulic redistribution of deep soil water by switchgrass roots explained these observed soil water differences. To our knowledge, these are the first observations of hydraulic redistribution in deeply rooted grasses, and complement earlier observations of dynamic soil water fluxes under shallow-rooted grasses. Hydraulic redistribution by switchgrass may be a strategy for drought avoidance, wherein the plant may actively prevent water limitation. This raises the possibility that deeply rooted grasses may be used to passively subsidize soil water to more shallow-rooted species in inter-cropping arrangements.     

城市垃圾的生物处理技术

生物技术是实现城市垃圾无害化和资源化的一种有效手段。重点阐述了城市垃圾生物处趣的基本原理及3种主要的生物处理方法，简要介绍了城市垃圾生物处理方法中的一些新技术及发展趋势，为寻找适合我国国情的垃圾处理技术提供一些参考。     

Environmental Governance and Shifts in Canadian Biofuel Production and Innovation

Canada's adoption of international climate commitments, national emissions standards, and incentive programs drove expansion of biofuel production using available first-generation technologies in feedstock-rich regions. Market saturation and the emergence of second-generation technologies shifted government support away from first-generation technologies, placing pressure on regional production clusters. This article analyzes how Canadian biofuel firms restructured their value-chain activities in response to those technological and policy changes. The ability to access technologies and navigate multiscalar policy contexts shapes restructuring. Geographic patterns of cellulosic innovation are identified, and the role of firms and policy in regional industrial reorganization is discussed.     

实现纤维素生物质能源的可持续发展(英文)

生物质是一种丰富易得的清洁能源,具有大幅减少温室气体排放的潜力。与以玉米及其他谷物为原料的生物质能源生产技术相比,由于纤维生物能源生产消耗的化石能源较少(化石能源与碳的比值低)而备受关注。然而,生物燃料生产系统并非简单,受到多种因素的影响,如能量供应、农村的经济发展水平、土地和生态系统的保护、温室气体减排的可能性以及社会培训等。本文简要综述生物质能源开发的经济与环境影响。根据区域气候和生态条件,不同地区具有各自的生物质种类或能源作物的优化组合。在不久的将来,生物质能源开发的生物技术所面临的挑战包括:生物质形成与细胞壁分解过程的认识与操控,生物质预处理技术,糖产量高的植物变种的选育,用于纤维素降解的酶和微生物的大规模筛选与选育等。除强调生物质能源开发的环境安全和公共健康的重要性之外,生物质能开发还需要解决生命周期评价(LCA)、可持续性的标准和指标的建立等问题。     

Thematic land-cover map assimilation and synthesis: the case of locating potential bioenergy feedstock in eastern Ontario,Canada

Insufficient spatial coverage of existing land-cover data is a common limitation to timely and effective spatial analysis. Achieving spatial completeness of land-cover data is the most challenging for large study areas which straddle ecological or administrative boundaries, and where individuals and agencies lack access to, and the means to process, raw data from which to derive spatially complete land-cover maps. In many cases, various sources of secondary data are available, so that land-cover map assimilation and synthesis can resolve this research problem. The following paper develops a reliable and repeatable framework for assimilating and synthesizing pre-classified data sets. Assimilation is achieved through data reformatting and map legend reconciliation in the context of a specific application. Individual maps are assessed for accuracy at various geographic scales and levels of thematic precision, with an emphasis on the ‘area of overlap’, in order to extract information that guides the synthesis process. The quality of the synthesized land-cover data set is evaluated using advanced accuracy assessment methods, including a measure describing the ‘magnitude of disagreement’. This method is applied to derive a seamless thematic map of the land cover of eastern Ontario from two disparate map series. The importance of assessing data quality throughout the process using multiple reference data sets is highlighted, and limitations of the method are discussed.     

Assembling national biofuel development in the European Union – a comparison of Finland and Sweden

The author analyses the state powers steering biofuel development in two European Union (EU) Member States: Finland and Sweden. The different biofuel developments of these countries are approached through the concept of assemblages, which allows analysis of how the spatiality of national development is constituted in relation to the increasingly global development of biofuels. The approach illustrates how national policies implemented by Finland and Sweden are multiscaled in their origins and mediated by the agents of these assemblages. Materials in the study consist of EU and national policy documents, and 16 interviews from the key biofuel agents in Finland and Sweden. The author explains the differentiation of national biofuel assemblages through their distinguishing topologies, advocacy groups, and the properties of national policy instruments. The results demonstrate how Finnish and Swedish policies have influenced national biofuel developments. The EU's biofuel policies have diverging impacts nationally as they are translated into the specific patterns of biofuel production, consumption, and trade. Consequently, the agents of biofuel assemblages affect the transference of biofuel policies that originate from multiple scales into the national policy frameworks of the Member States.     

中国生物质能源植物种植现状及生物多样性保护

随着国家对可再生能源的重视和扶持,我国以麻疯树等为主的能源植物种植业呈现快速的产业化发展势头.这种生物质能源植物的产业化种植可能会对生物多样性带来影响,如对生态系统与栖息地的影响等,但这些影响还存在着诸多的不确定性和争议.从防患于未然的角度,对我国的生物质能源植物种植业发展提出了相应的建议:在生物多样性敏感地区的种植规划和项目应进行生物多样性影响评价,应尽可能使用当地物种并进行合理的配置,尽可能减少大规模单一物种的种植模式,注意原有生境的完整性和生态廊道的维持;同时,需要政府部门加大科学研究支持力度并做好监测工作,以实现我国生物质能源植物种植业和生物多样性保护的双赢.     

Simulated watershed scale impacts of corn stover removal for biofuel on hydrology and water quality

Ethanol from corn stover is expected to play an important role in achieving the Energy Independence and Security Act 2007 target of 136.25 billion liters (36 billion gallons) of biofuel by 2022. The 2010 USDA biofuel strategic report estimates that 16.3 billion liters (4.3 billion gallons) of biofuel from crop residues such as corn stover and straw is possible. Corn stover is expected to provide the majority of the estimated biofuel from crop residues, especially from the Midwestern US Corn Belt. A major concern related to removing corn stover is potential negative hydrologic and water quality impacts. The overall goal of this study was to estimate the watershed scale environmental impacts of corn stover removal in an agricultural watershed in the Midwest US. Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to simulate the impacts associated with three corn stover removal rates (38%, 52% and 70%). The stream flow, nitrate and mineral phosphorus loading were reduced, and sediment and organic nitrogen loading were increased at the watershed outlet with all three stover removal scenarios. The stream flow was reduced by 1.4%, 2.0% and 2.7% from the baseline scenario (no stover removed) at 38%, 52% and 70% stover removal rates, respectively. The sediment loading increased by 19.7%, 22.5% and 29.0%, organic nitrogen increased by 0.8%, 2.0% and 5.5%, mineral phosphorus decreased by 11.7%, 15.5% and 21.0%, and nitrate decreased by 2.0%, 3.2% and 5.3% from the baseline scenario at the watershed outlet with 38%, 52% and 70% stover removal rates, respectively. The model results also indicate that the watershed response to stover removal is sensitive to watershed characteristics and management inputs, such as, slope and amount of fertilizer applied. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.