TY - JOUR A1 - Dietze, Elisabeth A1 - Mangelsdorf, Kai A1 - Andreev, Andreev A1 - Karger, Cornelia A1 - Schreuder, Laura T. A1 - Hopmans, Ellen C. A1 - Rach, Oliver A1 - Sachse, Dirk A1 - Wennrich, Volker A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Relationships between low-temperature fires, climate and vegetation during three late glacials and interglacials of the last 430 kyr in northeastern Siberia reconstructed from monosaccharide anhydrides in Lake El’gygytgyn sediments JF - Climate of the Past N2 - Landscapes in high northern latitudes are assumed to be highly sensitive to future global change, but the rates and long-term trajectories of changes are rather uncertain. In the boreal zone, fires are an important factor in climate-vegetation interactions and biogeochemical cycles. Fire regimes are characterized by small, frequent, low-intensity fires within summergreen boreal forests dominated by larch, whereas evergreen boreal forests dominated by spruce and pine burn large areas less frequently but at higher intensities. Here, we explore the potential of the monosaccharide anhydrides (MA) levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan to serve as proxies of low-intensity biomass burning in glacial-to-interglacial lake sediments from the high northern latitudes. We use sediments from Lake El'gygytgyn (cores PG 1351 and ICDP 5011-1), located in the far north-east of Russia, and study glacial and interglacial samples of the last 430 kyr (marine isotope stages 5e, 6, 7e, 8, 11c and 12) that had different climate and biome configurations. Combined with pollen and non-pollen palynomorph records from the same samples, we assess how far the modern relationships between fire, climate and vegetation persisted during the past, on orbital to centennial timescales. We find that MAs attached to particulates were well-preserved in up to 430 kyr old sediments with higher influxes from low-intensity biomass burning in interglacials compared to glacials. MA influxes significantly increase when summergreen boreal forest spreads closer to the lake, whereas they decrease when tundra-steppe environments and, especially, Sphagnum peatlands spread. This suggests that low-temperature fires are a typical characteristic of Siberian larch forests also on long timescales. The results also suggest that low-intensity fires would be reduced by vegetation shifts towards very dry environments due to reduced biomass availability, as well as by shifts towards peatlands, which limits fuel dryness. In addition, we observed very low MA ratios, which we interpret as high contributions of galactosan and mannosan from biomass sources other than those currently monitored, such as the moss-lichen mats in the understorey of the summergreen boreal forest. Overall, sedimentary MAs can provide a powerful proxy for fire regime reconstructions and extend our knowledge of long-term natural fire-climate-vegetation feedbacks in the high northern latitudes. KW - molecular tracers KW - organic aerosols KW - emission factors KW - carbonaceous aerosols KW - pollen records KW - core PG1351 KW - biomass KW - holocene KW - levoglucosan KW - charcoal Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-799-2020 SN - 1814-9332 SN - 1814-9324 VL - 16 IS - 2 SP - 788 EP - 818 PB - Copernicus Publications CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lehmann, Anika A1 - Zheng, Weishuang A1 - Ryo, Masahiro A1 - Soutschek, Katharina A1 - Roy, Julien A1 - Rongstock, Rebecca A1 - Maaß, Stefanie A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. T1 - Fungal traits important for soil aggregation JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Soil structure, the complex arrangement of soil into aggregates and pore spaces, is a key feature of soils and soil biota. Among them, filamentous saprobic fungi have well-documented effects on soil aggregation. However, it is unclear what properties, or traits, determine the overall positive effect of fungi on soil aggregation. To achieve progress, it would be helpful to systematically investigate a broad suite of fungal species for their trait expression and the relation of these traits to soil aggregation. Here, we apply a trait-based approach to a set of 15 traits measured under standardized conditions on 31 fungal strains including Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota, all isolated from the same soil. We find large differences among these fungi in their ability to aggregate soil, including neutral to positive effects, and we document large differences in trait expression among strains. We identify biomass density, i.e., the density with which a mycelium grows (positive effects), leucine aminopeptidase activity (negative effects) and phylogeny as important factors explaining differences in soil aggregate formation (SAF) among fungal strains; importantly, growth rate was not among the important traits. Our results point to a typical suite of traits characterizing fungi that are good soil aggregators, and our findings illustrate the power of employing a trait-based approach to unravel biological mechanisms underpinning soil aggregation. Such an approach could now be extended also to other soil biota groups. In an applied context of restoration and agriculture, such trait information can inform management, for example to prioritize practices that favor the expression of more desirable fungal traits. KW - soil aggregation KW - traits KW - saprobic fungi KW - random forest KW - biomass KW - density KW - leucine amino peptidases Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02904 SN - 1664-302X VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Olas, Justyna Jadwiga A1 - Fichtner, Franziska A1 - Apelt, Federico T1 - All roads lead to growth BT - imaging-based and biochemical methods to measure plant growth JF - Journal of experimental botany N2 - Plant growth is a highly complex biological process that involves innumerable interconnected biochemical and signalling pathways. Many different techniques have been developed to measure growth, unravel the various processes that contribute to plant growth, and understand how a complex interaction between genotype and environment determines the growth phenotype. Despite this complexity, the term 'growth' is often simplified by researchers; depending on the method used for quantification, growth is viewed as an increase in plant or organ size, a change in cell architecture, or an increase in structural biomass. In this review, we summarise the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying plant growth, highlight state-of-the-art imaging and non-imaging-based techniques to quantitatively measure growth, including a discussion of their advantages and drawbacks, and suggest a terminology for growth rates depending on the type of technique used. KW - biomass KW - growth KW - imaging KW - kinematics KW - morphometrics KW - phenomics KW - phenotyping KW - relative expansion rate of growth (RER) KW - relative growth KW - rate (RGR) Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erz406 SN - 0022-0957 SN - 1460-2431 VL - 71 IS - 1 SP - 11 EP - 21 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ilic, Ivan K. A1 - Tsouka, Alexandra A1 - Perovic, Milena A1 - Hwang, Jinyeon A1 - Heil, Tobias A1 - Löffler, Felix A1 - Oschatz, Martin A1 - Antonietti, Markus A1 - Liedel, Clemens T1 - Sustainable cathodes for Lithium-ion energy storage devices based on tannic acid-toward ecofriendly energy storage JF - Advanced sustainable systems N2 - The use of organic materials with reversible redox activity holds enormous potential for next-generation Li-ion energy storage devices. Yet, most candidates are not truly sustainable, i.e., not derived from renewable feedstock or made in benign reactions. Here an attempt is reported to resolve this issue by synthesizing an organic cathode material from tannic acid and microporous carbon derived from biomass. All constituents, including the redox-active material and conductive carbon additive, are made from renewable resources. Using a simple, sustainable fabrication method, a hybrid material is formed. The low cost and ecofriendly material shows outstanding performance with a capacity of 108 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 A g(-1) and low capacity fading, retaining approximately 80% of the maximum capacity after 90 cycles. With approximately 3.4 V versus Li+/Li, the cells also feature one of the highest reversible redox potentials reported for biomolecular cathodes. Finally, the quinone-catecholate redox mechanism responsible for the high capacity of tannic acid is confirmed by electrochemical characterization of a model compound similar to tannic acid but without catecholic groups. KW - biomass KW - electrochemistry KW - energy storage KW - redox chemistry KW - sustainability KW - tannic acid Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202000206 SN - 2366-7486 VL - 5 IS - 1 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mohr, Christian Heinrich A1 - Korup, Oliver A1 - Ulloa, Hector A1 - Iroume, Andres T1 - Pyroclastic Eruption Boosts Organic Carbon Fluxes Into Patagonian Fjords JF - Global biogeochemical cycles N2 - Fjords and old-growth forests store large amounts of organic carbon. Yet the role of episodic disturbances, particularly volcanic eruptions, in mobilizing organic carbon in fjord landscapes covered by temperate rainforests remains poorly quantified. To this end, we estimated how much wood and soils were flushed to nearby fjords following the 2008 eruption of Chaiten volcano in south-central Chile, where pyroclastic sediments covered >12km(2) of pristine temperate rainforest. Field-based surveys of forest biomass, soil organic content, and dead wood transport reveal that the reworking of pyroclastic sediments delivered similar to 66,500+14,600/-14,500tC of large wood to two rivers entering the nearby Patagonian fjords in less than a decade. A similar volume of wood remains in dead tree stands and buried beneath pyroclastic deposits (similar to 79,900+21,100/-16,900tC) or stored in active river channels (5,900-10,600tC). We estimate that bank erosion mobilized similar to 132,300(+21,700)/(-30,600)tC of floodplain forest soil. Eroded and reworked forest soils have been accreting on coastal river deltas at >5mmyr(-1) since the eruption. While much of the large wood is transported out of the fjord by long-shore drift, the finer fraction from eroded forest soils is likely to be buried in the fjords. We conclude that the organic carbon fluxes boosted by rivers adjusting to high pyroclastic sediment loads may remain elevated for up to a decade and that Patagonian temperate rainforests disturbed by excessive loads of pyroclastic debris can be episodic short-lived carbon sources. Plain Language Summary Fjords and old-growth forests are important sinks of organic carbon. However, the role of volcanic eruptions in flushing organic carbon in fjord landscapes remains unexplored. Here we estimated how much forest vegetation and soils were lost to fjords following the 2008 eruption ofunknownChaiten volcano in south-central Chile. Pyroclastic sediments obliterated near-pristine temperateunknownrainforest, and the subsequent reworking of these sediments delivered in less than a decade similar to 66,000 tC of large wood to the mountain rivers, draining into the nearby Patagonian fjords. A similar volume of wood remains in dead tree stands and buried beneath pyroclastic deposits or stored in active riverunknownchannels. We estimate that similar to 130,000 tC of organic carbon-rich soil was lost to erosion, thus adding to the carbon loads. While much of the wood enters the long-shore drift in the fjord heads, the finerunknownfraction from eroded forest soils is likely to be buried in the fjords at rates that exceed regional estimates by an order of magnitude. We anticipate that these eruption-driven fluxes will remain elevated forunknownthe coming years and that Patagonian temperate rainforests episodically switch from carbon sinks to hitherto undocumented carbon sources if disturbed by explosive volcanic eruptions. KW - Chile KW - Patagonia KW - rainforest KW - volcanic eruption KW - organic carbon KW - biomass Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005647 SN - 0886-6236 SN - 1944-9224 VL - 31 SP - 1626 EP - 1638 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Babalola, Jonathan Oyebamiji A1 - Omorogie, Martins Osaigbovo A1 - Babarinde, Adesola Abiola A1 - Unuabonah, Emmanuel Iyayi A1 - Oninla, Vincent Olukayode T1 - OPTIMIZATION OF THE BIOSORPTION OF Cr3+, Cd2+ AND Pb2+ USING A NEW BIOWASTE: Zea mays SEED CHAFF JF - Environmental engineering and management journal N2 - This study highlights the potential use of yellow Zea mays seed chaff (YZMSC) biomass as a biosorbent for the removal of Cr3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Fourier transformed Infrared analysis of the biomass suggests that YZMSC biomass is basically composed of cellulose and methyl cellulose. The biosorption capacities, q(max), of YZMSC biomass for Cr3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ are 14.68, 121.95 and 384.62 mg/g respectively. Biosorption equilibrium was achieved at 20, 30 and 60 min for Cr3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ respectively. YZMSC biomass was found to have higher biosorption capacity and overall kinetic rate of uptake for Pb2+ than for Cd2+ and Cr3+. However, Cr3+ had better initial kinetic rate of uptake by the biomass than Pb2+ and Cd2+. The Freundlich equilibrium isotherm model was found to describe equilibrium data better than Langmuir model suggesting that biosorption of these metal ions could be on more than one active site on the surface of YZMSC biomass. Kinetic study predicted the pseudo-second kinetic model as being able to better describe kinetic data obtained than either modified pseudo-first order or Bangham kinetic models. Biosorption of Cr3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ onto YZMSC biomass was endothermic in nature with large positive entropy values. Biosorption of these metal ions onto YZMSC biomass was observed to be feasible and spontaneous above 283 K. Optimization of biomass weight for the removal of these metal ions suggest that 384 kg, 129 kg and 144 kg of YZMSC biomass is required for the removal of 95% of Cr3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ metal ions respectively from 100 mg/L of metal ions in 10 tonnes of aqueous solutions. KW - biomass KW - biosorption KW - optimization KW - yellow Zea mays Y1 - 2016 SN - 1582-9596 SN - 1843-3707 VL - 15 SP - 1571 EP - 1580 PB - Gh. Asachi Universitatea Tehnică IaÅŸi CY - Iasi ER - TY - THES A1 - Arodudu, Oludunsin Tunrayo T1 - Sustainability assessment of agro-bioenergy systems using energy efficiency indicators BT - energy efficiency assessment of agro-bioenergy systems N2 - The sustainability of agro-bioenergy systems is dependent on many factors, some local or regional in implementation, some others global in nature. This study assessed the effects of often ignored local and regional factors (e.g. alternative agronomic factor options, alternative agricultural production systems, alternative biomass flows, alternative conversion technologies etc. The results from this study suggests that key to enhancing the energy efficiency (and by extension the sustainability) of agro-bioenergy systems is paying attention to local and regional factors such as biomass conversion technology, alternative agronomic factor options, alternative agricultural production systems and available biomass flows. KW - biomass KW - bioenergy KW - energy efficiency KW - sustainability KW - local and regional factors KW - agronomic factors KW - agricultural production systems KW - biomass flows Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meyer, Rhonda C. A1 - Witucka-Wall, Hanna A1 - Becher, Martina A1 - Blacha, Anna Maria A1 - Boudichevskaia, Anastassia A1 - Dörmann, Peter A1 - Fiehn, Oliver A1 - Friedel, Svetlana A1 - von Korff, Maria A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Melzer, Michael A1 - Repsilber, Dirk A1 - Schmidt, Renate A1 - Scholz, Matthias A1 - Selbig, Joachim A1 - Willmitzer, Lothar A1 - Altmann, Thomas T1 - Heterosis manifestation during early Arabidopsis seedling development is characterized by intermediate gene expression and enhanced metabolic activity in the hybrids JF - The plant journal N2 - Heterosis-associated cellular and molecular processes were analyzed in seeds and seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions Col-0 and C24 and their heterotic hybrids. Microscopic examination revealed no advantages in terms of hybrid mature embryo organ sizes or cell numbers. Increased cotyledon sizes were detectable 4 days after sowing. Growth heterosis results from elevated cell sizes and numbers, and is well established at 10 days after sowing. The relative growth rates of hybrid seedlings were most enhanced between 3 and 4 days after sowing. Global metabolite profiling and targeted fatty acid analysis revealed maternal inheritance patterns for a large proportion of metabolites in the very early stages. During developmental progression, the distribution shifts to dominant, intermediate and heterotic patterns, with most changes occurring between 4 and 6 days after sowing. The highest incidence of heterotic patterns coincides with establishment of size differences at 4 days after sowing. In contrast, overall transcript patterns at 4, 6 and 10 days after sowing are characterized by intermediate to dominant patterns, with parental transcript levels showing the largest differences. Overall, the results suggest that, during early developmental stages, intermediate gene expression and higher metabolic activity in the hybrids compared to the parents lead to better resource efficiency, and therefore enhanced performance in the hybrids. KW - heterosis KW - seedlings KW - metabolite profiling KW - transcript profiling KW - morphological analysis KW - Arabidopsis thaliana KW - biomass Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.05021.x SN - 0960-7412 VL - 71 IS - 4 SP - 669 EP - 683 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vorpahl, Peter A1 - Dislich, Claudia A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut A1 - Märker, Michael A1 - Schröder-Esselbach, Boris T1 - Biotic controls on shallow translational landslides JF - Earth surface processes and landforms : the journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group N2 - In undisturbed tropical montane rainforests massive organic layers accommodate the majority of roots and only a small fraction of roots penetrate the mineral soil. We investigated the contribution of vegetation to slope stability in such environments by modifying a standard model for slope stability to include an organic layer with distinct mechanical properties. The importance of individual model parameters was evaluated using detailed measurements of soil and vegetation properties to reproduce the observed depth of 11 shallow landslides in the Andes of southern Ecuador. By distinguishing mineral soil, organic layer and above-ground biomass, it is shown that in this environment vegetation provides a destabilizing effect mainly due to its contribution to the mass of the organic layer (up to 973 t ha-1 under wet conditions). Sensitivity analysis shows that the destabilizing effect of the mass of soil and vegetation can only be effective on slopes steeper than 37.9 degrees. This situation applies to 36% of the study area. Thus, on the steep slopes of this megadiverse ecosystem, the mass of the growing forest promotes landsliding, which in turn promotes a new cycle of succession. This feedback mechanism is worth consideration in further investigations of the impact of landslides on plant diversity in similar environments. KW - shallow translational landslides KW - tropical montane forest KW - biomass KW - organic layer Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3320 SN - 0197-9337 VL - 38 IS - 2 SP - 198 EP - 212 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER -