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This work investigates the integration of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) into recently proposed hydrogen aircraft concepts. Based on a numerical optimization of the stack's operating conditions, the interrelated aspects of efficiency and system mass are explored. A novel 1D two-phase PEMFC stack model is developed that captures water management effects in detail and yet features sufficiently low computational cost to be used for system-level optimization. The stack model is validated for a wide range of temperatures, current densities and oxygen concentrations. In combination with auxiliary component models, it can relate the effects of the investigated parameters on cell-level water management to system-level effects. This allows for an improved understanding of the underlying design tradeoffs, particularly regarding pressurized operation and stack oversizing. The results show that the conditions that maximize the overall system efficiency for a given flight phase deviate significantly from those that merely maximize stack efficiency.

Pandemic is a type of epidemic that spreads over significant geographical areas and affects a large percent of population on a national or global level. Pandemic, as a project, has a lifecycle, a beginning and an end, though uncertain. The objective of the article is to trace various types of pandemics, to discuss their adverse effects of unemployment, distrust and loss of production. It presents various stimuli and remedial measures, a model to work out pandemic cost and its financial impact—estimated as ₹130 lakh crore in India. The article also gives an overview of positive results in the form of appreciations and acknowledgements, change in work culture resulting in work from home (WFH) approach. Financial restructuring resorted to by various business houses and future policy implications are also presented. The article is based on data drawn from government notifications and published reports. The study is exploratory, descriptive and analytical; it is presented in six parts.

The experiment was conducted at the research field of the Agronomy Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur and Regional Agricultural Research Stations (RARS), Burirhat during two successive rabi seasons of 2015 and 17 to find out the relation between different development events of garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) and the sowing time based temperature, and also to minimize the yield reduction by adopting appropriate management practices. The treatments comprised with three sowing dates (30 November, 15 December and 30 December) and three management practices (low, medium and high). Under high management, Nov. 30 sowing took maximum days (64 days in 2015-16 and 58 days in 2016-17 at Joydebpur and 58 days in 2015-16 and 57 days in 2016-17 at RARS, Burirhat) to reach harvesting maturity. The results indicated that the number of days required for attaining different phenological stages decreased with delay of sowing. Late sowing took minimum time from flowering to fresh pod maturity (51 days and 49 days in two years at Joydebpur, and 49 days and 46 days in two years at Burirhat) due to increase in minimum temperature. The results revealed that the highest pod yield (14.77 t ha-1in 2015-16 and 13.09 t ha-1in 2016-17 at Joydebpur and 9.63 tha-1 in 2015-16 and 10.33 t ha-1in 2016-17 at Burirhat) was recorded from 30 November sowing with high management practices which was followed by 15 December with the same management. Yield reduction in late sowing was reduced to some extent by high management practices. The two year results revealed that 30 November sowing with high management practices (extra 20% recommended fertilizer dose, HRC + two irrigation at pre flowering and pod development stage + seed treatment + one weeding at 21 DAE) showed better pod yield than other combinations. Bangladesh Agron. J. 2020, 23(2): 13-22

A number of management issues can be used as drivers for change in order to improve animal welfare and nursing capacity of the hyperprolific sow. Group housing of sows during gestation is a recommended practice from the perspective of animal welfare. Related health issues include reproductive health and the locomotor system. It appears that management of pregnant sows in groups is challenging for a producer and considerable skill is required. We explored the benefits and challenges of group housing, including feeding issues. Increasing litter size requires additional attention to the mammary gland and its ability to provide sufficient nursing for the growing litter. We discuss the fundamentals of mammary development and the specific challenges related to the hyperprolific sow. We also address challenges with the farrowing environment. It appears that the old-fashioned farrowing crate is not only outdated in terms of welfare from the public’s perspective, but also fails to provide the environment that the sow needs to support her physiology of farrowing, nursing, and maternal behaviour. Studies from our group and others indicate that providing the sow with a loose housing system adequate in space and nesting material, along with reasonable chance for isolation, can be considered as fundamental for successful farrowing of the hyperprolific sow. It has also been shown that management strategies, such as split suckling and cross fostering, are necessary to ensure proper colostrum intake for all piglets born alive in a large litter. We thus conclude that welfare and nursing capacity of the sow can be improved by management. However, current megatrends such as the climate change may change sow management and force the industry to rethink goals of breeding and, for instance, breeding for better resilience may need to be included as goals for the future.

The potential of grasslands to mitigate climate change by carbon (C) sequestration in soils depends on agricultural management and the response of the grassland C cycle to a warming and more variable climate. A 15-year time series of eddy covariance carbon dioxide (CO2) flux measurements on a medium-intensively managed grassland at 1000 m above sea level in Switzerland was analysed to assess how CO2 fluxes respond to environmental drivers as well as grazing and cutting events. Further, the effects of management, recent warming trends and anomalous weather conditions on the annual C sequestration potential were assessed. To this end, C budgets including atmospheric and management-related C fluxes (fertilization, cutting/grazing) were estimated. Generally, the main environmental drivers of CO2 fluxes were light and temperature. The removal of the aboveground canopy by management significantly reduced photosynthesis and induced a saturation in the photosynthetic response to light at lower intensities compared to periods without management. Ecosystem respiration remained largely unaffected by management. With a net ecosystem exchange of −357 (± 76) g C m−2 year−1 and a net biome production of −154 (± 80) g C m−2 year−1 (including management C fluxes), the grassland on average acted as a net C sink. Recent climate warming favors spring CO2 assimilation due to earlier starting vegetation periods. However, the warming also resulted in an increased ecosystem respiration. Further, anomalous and especially unfavorable weather conditions for photosynthesis and regrowth following harvest events induced several periods of an anomalously increased net CO2 release. In the year 2015, such release anomalies contributed to an annual net C loss. Under future climatic conditions, the C sequestration potential at the mountain site will depend on the extent to which spring photosynthesis is offset by such climate-management interactions and a warming-induced increase in ecosystem respiration. ISSN:0168-1923 ISSN:1873-2240

Dry direct seeding is an alternative rice production method that reduces 50-60% irrigation water required compared to the conventional method. The present study was undertaken with a view to optimize irrigation requirement for dry direct seeded rice. The experiment involved seven water management levels and two rice varieties in a split-plot design allocating water management levels in main plot and rice variety in sub-plot. The treatments were replicated thrice. The water management levels are (i) puddled transplanted rice with full irrigation (PTR-CI), (ii) puddled transplanted rice with alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation (PTR-AWD), (iii) dry direct seeded rice with no standing water at all, (iv) dry direct seeding with AWD irrigation (DDSR-AWD), (v) dry direct seeded rice with 3-5 cm standing water from panicle initiation to heading, (vi) dry direct seeded rice with 3-5 cm standing water from panicle initiation to grain filling, (vii) dry direct seeded rice with 3-5 cm standing water from heading to grain filling. Two rice varieties included in the experiments are BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29. The frequency and amount of irrigation for different plots were recorded. Data on different crop characters, yield and related attributes were collected and were subjected to statistical analysis using a computer package program MSTAT-C. The results reveal that rice gave the highest grain yield in dry direct seeding system where the standing water was maintained from panicle initiation stage to flowering (T5) or grain filling stage (T6) at reproductive phase. The T5 treatment required 7-9 irrigations whereas T6 required 9-12 irrigations. The treatment T5 required 50% less irrigation water than PTR-CI method. Thus, it may be concluded that dry direct seeded rice should be practiced for rice and standing water should be maintained from panicle initiation to heading for obtaining higher grain yield with least irrigation input. Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2020, 5 (1), 6-14

This research paper addresses the hypothesis that intensive cooling management during the summer improves the secretion of metabolic hormones in dairy cows. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the effect of different cooling managements on the different ghrelin isoforms and leptin secretion of 20 Israeli-Holstein dairy cows during 5 weeks during heat stress. The cows were divided into two groups: one was exposed to 5 cooling sessions per day (5 CS) and the other to 8 cooling sessions per day (8 CS). Blood was collected and leptin and ghrelin isoforms level were radioimmunoassayed. Analysis of the interaction between coolings and the week of the experiment showed that the 8 CS group consumed more food and produced more milk, although neither difference was statistically significant. In addition, the 8 CS group exhibited higher blood levels of acyl-ghrelin and leptin as compared to the 5 CS group. Conversely, the blood levels of total ghrelin were lower in the cows exposed to 8 CS as compared to cows from the 5 CS treatment. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found only between total ghrelin levels and the weeks, but not with other parameters examined. We further compared digestibility as well as stress parameters between the groups. We found that the 8 CS group cows ruminated and lay down more hours during a day and simultaneously had better activity time. No significant difference was detected between groups in milk yield and digestibility parameters. Our results suggest that intensive cooling management during the hot season influences the levels of metabolic hormones in the circulation and helps to mitigate the detrimental effect of heat stress on dairy cow welfare and production.

The realized ecological niches of native zooplankton and non-indigenous species (NIS) were analysed in the contrasting estuaries of Bilbao and Urdaibai from 1998 to 2015 in order to study their responses to the particular features of each estuary and the biotic and abiotic changes along the study period. The marginality and tolerance of zooplankton taxa was estimated for the two estuaries together using the OMI analysis, whilst, by means of the WitOMI analysis, niches were differentiated into spatial subniches to assess the differences between estuaries and into temporal subniches to determine the variations in time within each estuary. The changes in the niche overlap of the main native and NIS species were calculated with the D-metric. Results showed that the combined effect of salinity gradients and seasonal variations, linked to temperature, defined the main spatio-temporal niches of zooplankton taxa in the overall environmental scenario of both estuaries. Thus, those factors separated winter-spring neritic, summer-autumn neritic, warm water affinity brackish and limnetic species. Secondarily, river discharge and hydrological stability accounted for the higher presence of freshwater and some brackish species in the estuary of Bilbao and tychoplanktonic organisms in the estuary of Urdaibai. At the regional scale the marginality and tolerance of zooplankton taxa reflected a combination of spatial and seasonal niche breadth and difference of abundance between estuaries. The number of taxa with niches not clearly explained by the environmental variables studied was higher in the estuary of Urdaibai, whilst the new arriving species occupied realized niches well defined by the environmental variables and overall zooplankton taxa showed a better discrimination from generalist to specialist behaviours in the estuary of Bilbao. This was related to inherent abiotic and biotic features of each estuary, which make the estuary of Urdaibai more refractory to the settlement of NIS species. Moreover, in the estuary of Bilbao, several neritic and brackish species experienced temporal changes in niche breadth and overlap that was attributed both to the environmental improvement related to rehabilitation plans in the system and the impact of the species that arrived during the study period. In the estuary of Urdaibai only small changes attributable to the limited impact of NIS were inferred, since no meaningful changes in environmental conditions were perceived. This work was supported by the University of the Basque Country through research funds to Consolidated Research Groups (GIU16/69) and through a grant to Z. Barroeta. The authors thank the WGEUROBUS of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for facilitating research on P. marinus.

We propose a positive association between voluntary MEFs and the value relevance of earnings in audited financial reports based on the confirmation, signaling, and expectation management effects of...

With the development of society, people’s requirements for the fairness and openness of "pharmaceutical management and regulations" are constantly increasing. In this context, China’s pharmaceutical management teaching needs continue to expand. In order to build an online platform for pharmaceutical management, enrich Management methods to enhance management effects. This article is based on PHP language and WEB development technology to realize the construction of the online platform of "Pharmaceutical Affairs Management and Regulations" and online intelligent promotion.

Quantity–intensity curves were used to evaluate the dynamics of soil potassium (K) at different soil depths under different K management. The equilibrium concentration ratio of K (CR0) increased wi...

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is an effective tool to evaluate the performance of harvest control rules (HCRs) and alternative management strategies. However, a comprehensive MSE framework advising management is still absent for the severely depleted Gulf of Maine (GoM) cod (Gadus morhua). In the present study, we developed a conceptual MSE framework and conditioned on this stock utilizing stock-specific parameterization. We highlighted the simulation of a few key processes with semi-independent sub-models and accounted for uncertainties from multiple sources. The simulated population dynamics was calibrated and validated against the historical trend in hindcasting. Forecasting simulations were also conducted and validated to examine the effectiveness in the context of uncertainty. Hindcasting results suggested that the calibrated MSE framework could capture the stock dynamics assuming different recruitment dynamics indicated by residuals lower than 5%. Forecasting stochastic runs demonstrated a minor disparity between management effects of fishing-mortality-based and catch-based HCRs when the segregated stock recruitment relationship was adopted with a difference in simulated spawning stock biomass lower than 10%. Additionally, the results were comparable to assessment and projections made in the stock assessment, indicating the robustness of the framework. The framework can potentially help disentangle complex issues related to the mixed fishery, decision-making, and performance evaluation of a monitoring system.

This data article is a presentation of data related to the research article entitled “Crop rotation and residue management effects under no-till on the soil quality of a Haplic Cambisol in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa” (Gura and Mnkeni, 2019) [1]. A number of soil experimental techniques were used to acquire the soil indicators data and the data was interpreted using the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) to assess and quantify the impacts of conservation agriculture strategies on soil quality. The data was processed and analyzed using the JMP statistical package (SAS Institute Inc., 2013) [2]. The data is made available for further use and for furthering the understanding of the key findings of the related research. Keywords: Soil quality, Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF), Soil quality index (SQI), Conservation agriculture (CA)

Grassland management can influence nitrogen leaching by changing respective inputs (like fertilization) and outputs (e.g. harvest) from the ecosystem but also through changes in plant and microbial communities and their interactions with the soil. Yet the mechanisms of these processes and their importance for nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) are poorly researched. Although temperate grassland management can cause a high leaching risk, studies measuring annual soil nitrogen fluxes and covering a high number of sites are limited. Using a resin method, we measured annual leaching fluxes of NO3-N and NH4-N in 150 grassland sites in three German regions from spring 2018 to spring 2019 at a depth of 10 cm. We used Structural Equation Modeling to identify direct and indirect management effects on nitrogen leaching. Both fertilization and grazing intensities increased NO3-N leaching to almost the same extent. Fertilization intensity increased NO3-N leaching directly and indirectly i) by decreasing the negative effect of plant richness on NO3-N leaching and ii) by increasing the positive effect of legume cover on NO3-N leaching. Similarly, grazing intensity increased NO3-N directly and indirectly i) by increasing the positive effect of legume cover on NO3-N leaching and ii) by decreasing the negative effect of grass cover on NO3-N leaching. Microbial biomass (nitrogen) increased NO3-N leaching and it was not controlled by management. Fertilization strongly increased NH4-N leaching, both by a direct effect and indirectly by increasing the positive effect of plant nitrogen on NH4-N. Grazing intensity and plant richness had no direct effects on NH4-N leaching. We have shown that grassland management considerably influences inorganic nitrogen leaching in the annual basis, and that fertilization intensity is more important than grazing, especially for NH4-N leaching. Moreover, we found that plant diversity decreases NO3-N leaching, but this effect is controlled by fertilization leading to increased leaching risks. Thus, reducing the management intensity, both in meadows and pastures, can be used as a mitigation tool for inorganic nitrogen leaching.

Climate change and management effects on taxonomic and functional diversity of soil communitiesAuthors: Brunon Malicki1, 2, Jenni Nordén1, Carl-Fredrik Johannesson 1, Håvard Kauserud2Affiliations:1) Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Oslo, Norway 2) University of Oslo, Department of bioscience Boreal forests are crucial to the terrestrial carbon (C) stocks of the world, containing even 50% of all forest C, up to 80% of which can be located within their soils. There its cycle is regulated by a complex net of interactions between the organisms inhabiting it and the abiotic environment. Both climate change as well as anthropogenic disturbances in the form of management activities, can cause a reduction in their carbon stocks. For this reason, it is important to understand how community structure is affected by the ongoing climate change and various management activities in boreal forest soil. This kind of understanding is necessary for informed actions to mitigate the consequences of climate change. The aim of the project ForBioFunCtion is to assess the changes in boreal forest soil communities, as well as soil C fluxes that result from the activities of the soil communities, as a response to management and climate change. In order to do this, a chrono sequence has been set up in Norwegian bilberry spruce forests, including: a clear-cut, thinned middle-aged managed, mature managed as well as a near natural forest stand. Within each site, open top chambers, outfitted with heaters, will be placed, in order to stimulate an increase in temperature. Moreover, increased precipitation will be simulated by fortnightly watering. Lastly, nitrogen fertilizer or biochar will be added to experimental units within the clear-cut, thinned, middle-aged and mature managed stands. Each year, soil cores and dead wood samples will be taken from each experimental unit, and the communities inhabiting them will be analyzed with the use of next-generation sequencing and modern bioinformatics, in order to determine both the species as well as functional group composition. Moreover, mesh bags containing both plant and fungal necromass will be used for assessing the rate of litter decomposition under the different experimental conditions. The project aims to broaden the understanding of the response of soil communities to both climate change and improper forest management. This in turn could hopefully allow for creating methods of safeguarding the processes they regulate, as well as their diversity.

[Abstract] Forest fires and post-fire practices influence sediment connectivity (SC). In this study, we use the ‘aggregated index of connectivity’ (AIC) to assess SC in five Mediterranean catchments (198–1090 ha) affected by a wildfire in 2012 in south-eastern Spain. Two temporal scenarios were considered, immediately after the fire and before post-fire management, and 2 years after the fire including all practices (hillslope barriers, check-dams, afforestation, salvage logging and skid trails). One LiDAR (light detection and ranging)-derived digital elevation model (DEM, 2 m × 2 m resolution) was generated, per scenario. The five catchment outlets were established as the computation target (AICоᴜᴛ), and structural and functional SC were calculated. Index outputs were normalized to make the results of the non-nested catchments comparable (AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ). The output analysis includes the SC distribution along the catchments and at local scale (929 sub-catchments, 677 in the burned area), the hillslope and channel measures' effect on SC, and a sedimentological analysis using observed area-specific sediment yield (SSY) at 10 new (built after post-fire practices) concrete check-dams located in the catchments (SSY = 1.94 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹; σ = 1.22). The catchments with more circular shapes and steeper slopes were those with higher AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ. The structural SC maps – removing the rainfall erosivity influence – allowed evaluating the actual role played by the post-fire practices that reduced SC (x̅ = − 1.19%; σ = 0.41); while functional SC was linked to the actual change of SC (x̅ = + 5.32%; σ = 0.62). Hillslope treatments resulted in significant changes on AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ at sub-catchment scale with certain disconnectivity. A good and positive correlation was found between the SSY and the changes of AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ. However, the coarse DEM resolution explained the lack of effect of the rock check-dams – located on the secondary channels – on AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ. AICɴ₋оᴜᴛ proved to be a useful tool for decision making in post-fire restoration, but an optimal input data is still necessary to refine calculations. European Cooperation in Science and Technology; CA18135 Gobierno de Castilla-la Mancha; Sbply/16/180501/ 000109 This study was supported by funds provided to the VIS4FIRE Spanish R&D project (RTA2017-00042-C05-00) co-funded by the “Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria” (INIA) and FEDER programme. This study was done in the frame of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) action CA18135 ‘FIRElinks’ (Fire in the Earth System:Science & Society). J. González-Romero holds a scholarship (Sbply/16/180501/000109) from the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha/European Social Fund (ESF, EU).

International audience; Many temperate grasslands are used for dairying, and ongoing research aims to better understand these systems in order to increase animal production and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. However, it is difficult to fully understand management effects on SOC because most changes are slow and difficult to distinguish from natural variability, even if changes are important over years to decades. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements can overcome this problem by continuously measuring net carbon exchange from pastures, but net balances are very sensitive to even small systematic measurement errors. Combining EC measurements with detailed process-based modelling can reduce the risks inherent in total reliance on EC measurements. Modelling can also reveal information about the underlying processes that drive observed fluxes. Here, we describe carbon exchange patterns of five paddocks situated at four different locations in New Zealand and France where EC data and detailed physiological modelling were available. The work showed that respiration by grazing animals was often only incompletely captured in EC measurements. This was most problematic when fluxes were based on gap-filling, which could have estimated incorrect fluxes during grazing periods based on observations from periods without grazing. We then aimed to extract plant physiological insights from these studies. We found appreciable carbon uptake rates even at temperatures below 0 degrees C. After grazing, carbon uptake was reduced for up to 2 weeks. This reduction was larger than expected from reduced leaf area after grazing, but the factors contributing to that difference have not yet been identified. Detailed physiological models can also extrapolate findings to new management regimes, environmental conditions or plant attributes. This overcomes the limitation of experimental studies, which are necessarily restricted to actual site and weather conditions allowing models to make further progress on predicting management effects on SOC.

The dual-purpose wheat stands out as a complementary alternative for forage supply during the winter period. Therefore, this work had the objective of evaluate the performance characteristics in five genotypes of dual-purpose wheat submitted to different sowing densities and different clipping managements. The experiment was carried out during the 2016 and 2017 harvests. The experimental design was a randomized block design, organized in a factorial scheme, with five dual-purpose wheat genotypes (BRS Tarumã, BRS Umbu, BRS Figueira, BRS Guatambu and BRS 277) x five sowing densities (75, 150, 225, 300 and 375 seeds m²) x four clipping operations (zero, one, two and three clippings), arranged in three replicates. The measuring of characters were number of fertile tillers, seeds yield, angle of flag leaf, chlorophyll content and flowering. The genotype BRS Tarumâ is superior in number of fertile tillers and chlorophyll index for all the sowing densities, as well, the flowering is influenced direct by clipping managements. The sowing density of 75 seeds m-2 is not indicated for dual-purpose wheat independent of the clipping management. The seeds yield is amplified thought the increase in sowing density, however, advancing in clipping levels there is a decrease in forage yield. O trigo de duplo propósito se destaca como uma alternativa complementar para o fornecimento de forragem durante o período de inverno. Portanto, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar as características de desempenho de cinco genótipos de trigo de duplo propósito submetidos a diferentes densidades de semeadura e diferentes manejos de corte. O experimento foi realizado durante as safras de 2016 e 2017. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, organizado em esquema fatorial, com cinco genótipos de trigo de duplo propósito (BRS Tarumã, BRS Umbu, BRS Figueira, BRS Guatambu e BRS 277) x cinco densidades de semeadura (75, 150, 225, 300 e 375 m² de sementes) x quatro operações de clipagem (zero, um, dois e três recortes), dispostos em três repetições. As medidas dos caracteres foram número de perfilhos férteis, rendimento de sementes, ângulo de folha de bandeira, teor de clorofila e floração. O genótipo BRS Tarumâ é superior em número de perfilhos férteis e índice de clorofila para todas as densidades de semeadura, assim como o florescimento é influenciado diretamente pelos manejos de corte. A densidade de semeadura de 75 sementes m-2 não é indicada para trigo de dupla finalidade independente do manejo de corte. O rendimento das sementes é amplificado pelo aumento da densidade de semeadura, entretanto, avançando nos níveis de recorte, há uma diminuição no rendimento de forragem.

Grain yield and harvest index also influenced significantly with the application of zinc and silicon and maximum grain yield was recorded with the application of 150:80:40 NPK + two Zn spray 0.5% (65.88 q ha-1) followed by treatment 150:80:40 NPK + Two Si spray @ 0.3% (63.46 q ha-1) and lowest in T1 control (30.12 q ha-1). Harvest index was recorded non-significant.

Laboratory analysis of soil traits associated with soil quality or soil health has gained popularity very recently reflecting a trend begun over a half-century ago scrutinizing farming systems for potentially deleterious soil effects. This renewed focus has brought into the forefront concerns about how laboratory soil handling may influence the observed traits. We find evidence in the literature that many but not all these concerns were addressed decades ago before the topic became of widespread interest but also before the soil testing industry modernized to high-throughput methods of soil homogenization not designed for soil quality investigations. Consequently, we find it necessary to retrace some steps in order to better characterize artifacts that may hamper objective evaluation of soil responses associated with soil health before conclusions of management effects of farming systems are drawn.

High NO3 concentrations in the Abbotsford‐Sumas aquifer are linked to raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) production. Passive capillary wick samplers were used to quantify the impacts of N, irrigation, and alley managements on drainage and NO3 leaching from raspberry rows and alleys over 4 yr. Conventional management (100 kg N ha−1 surface broadcast on the row as a split application, clean cultivation of alleys, and fixed‐duration drip irrigation) was compared with different mineral fertilizer N rates, N applied as manure, alleys seeded to a perennial forage grass or an autumn‐seeded spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) crop, or evapotranspiration (ET)‐scheduled irrigation. The temporal pattern of drainage and NO3 leaching was driven by seasonal precipitation and growing season irrigation. Growing season drainage and NO3 leaching were much lower under ET‐scheduled irrigation compared with fixed irrigation. Nitrate leaching was high (up to 90 kg N ha−1), even with no managed N inputs due to high inherent soil fertility and large quantities of N applied in irrigation water. Nitrate leaching was insensitive to N fertilizer rate. Application of N as poultry manure more than doubled NO3 leaching compared with fertilizer, emphasizing the need to use organic N inputs judiciously. The perennial grass alley cover crop resulted in the greatest overall reduction in NO3 leaching. Our data indicate that no single management strategy is sufficient to protect groundwater quality. Rather, an integrated package of improved practices (i.e., application of a reduced rate of mineral N through fertigation, combined with ET‐scheduled irrigation and perennial alley crop) is necessary to protect groundwater quality.

A growing proportion of digital educational resources in the total number of study guides necessitates the development of new methods to assess publication activity and rating of authors, university chairs and departments and universities in general. The indicators of publication activity are necessary for making effective management decisions in education. Open data from electronic depositories served as sources of analysis. Custom-developed collector_stat program was used as a tool. On the example of sampling from the open online database of the Joint Fund of Electronic Resources “Science and Education”, we showed the results of calculation and analysis of the relationship between institutional status and IT-expertise of authors’ group of digital educational resources having different statuses in the education system. The group under study includes students of the pre-university training department and bachelor’s program, lecturers and associate professors, as well as administrative staff. The concept of an author’s position was introduced to assess the publication activity. On the back of this concept, we also adopted several integral and physical measures, which constitute a system of subset webliometrics of publications’ array. We observed high correlation and a linear dependence of the proposed measures and demonstrated the impact of management effects. The findings can be used to estimate the parameters and predict the indicators of groups and individual authors in the system of chairs, departments, and universities.

In the past 30 years, many stand structural attributes (SSAs) have been suggested and structural indices have been developed to describe the complex structure of forests. Most studies, however, have explored the potential and limits of structural measures to quantify forest structures by applying multiple measures to one stand or few measures to several stands. However, the interdependencies of multiple structural attributes across many stands of different forest management types and developmental stages have not yet been explored. Using 20 structural attributes and 124 completely inventoried 1 ha sized stands we tested to what extent structural characteristics reflect different stand types and management intensities, and how these characteristics change over time. We found that single SSAs do not show the clear gradients that they were intended to reflect, suggesting that stand structure should be described by multiple structural attributes, and that these should represent different structural aspects (including vertical, and horizontal heterogeneity, density, and diversity). A principal component analysis showed that combining several SSAs, allowed us to distinguish between stand types. The structure of mature stands remained rather constant over the observed period of about 6 years, while that of young stands changed more rapidly due to ingrowth and mortality. The older the stands, the less the large trees contributed to stand growth relative to their size. We conclude that multiple stand structural attributes are needed to characterise stand types, management effects and to explain stand productivity.

Phosphorus fertilization can increase P losses in surface runoff, but limited information is available for fields with

Methane (CH4) emission from animal husbandry accounts for a large percentage of anthropogenic contributions to CH4 emissions. Fully understanding of grazing management effects on the CH4 budget is essential for mitigating CH4 emissions in the temperate grazing steppe systems. Annual CH4 budgets for the sheep grazed steppes at various grazing intensities, un–grazing (UG, 0 sheep ha−1year−1), defer grazing (DG, 1.0 sheep ha−1 year−1), moderate grazing (MG, 1.43 sheep ha−1year−1), and heavy grazing (HG, 2.43 sheep ha−1year−1) were assessed across 2012–2014 in the agro–pastoral region of northern China. Annual soil CH4 uptake averaged across 2012–2014 were 1.1 ± 0.1, 2.4 ± 0.2, 2.2 ± 0.2, and 1.3 ± 0.1 kg CH4–C ha−1 for UG, DG (only 2013–2014), MG and HG sites. Non–growing season CH4 uptake comprised 50.0 ± 4.3% of annual CH4 uptake in 2012–2013 and 37.7 ± 2.0% in 2013–2014. DG and MG significantly promoted annual soil CH4 uptake (P 0.05). Bell–shaped relationship was presented between stocking rates and soil CH4 uptake (r2 = 0.59, P

Bellinger BJ, Richter A, Porras A, Davis SL. 2017. Drought and management effects on biophysicochemistry in a rapidly flushed reservoir. Lake Reserv Manage. 34:182—198.During a recent drought period, a municipal reservoir was affected by increased duration and magnitude of cyanobacterial blooms, deep water hypoxia, and abundant Hydrilla verticillata growth. We analyzed over 20 yr of water quality data from sources monitoring Lake Austin, Texas, USA, to relate changing hydraulic pulsing rates during periods of water surplus and deficit to system biophysicochemistry. During the drought period, average daily discharges through the reservoir system were significantly reduced to conserve water supply. In response, growing season hydraulic residence times in Lake Austin, typically a run-of-river system with residence of about 10 d, increased 2– to 8–fold. Nutrient loadings to Lake Austin decreased during low discharge, but only total phosphorus (TP) concentrations declined appreciably in the reservoir. ...