Convergent relationships between flower economics and hydraulic traits across aquatic and terrestrial herbaceous plants

Maintaining open flowers is critical for successful pollination and depends on long-term water and carbon balance.Yet the relationship between how flower hydraulic traits are coordinated in different habitats is poorly understood.Here,we hypothesize that the coordination and trade-offs between floral hydraulics and economics traits are independent of environmental conditions.To test this hypothesis,we investigated a total of 27 flower economics and hydraulic traits in six aquatic and six terrestrial herbaceous species grown in a tropical botanical garden.We found that although there were a few significant differences,most flower hydraulics and economics traits did not differ significantly between aquatic and terrestrial herbaceous plants.Both flower mass per area and floral longevity were significantly positively correlated with the time required for drying full-hydrated flowers to 70%relative water content.Flower dry matter content was strongly and positively related to drought tolerance of the flowers as indicated by flower water potential at the turgor loss point.In addition,there was a trade-off between hydraulic efficiency and the construction cost of a flower across species.Our results show that flowers of aquatic and terrestrial plants follow the same economics spectrum pattern.These results suggest a convergent flower economics design across terrestrial and aquatic plants,providing new insights into the mechanisms by which floral organs adapt to aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

The Development and Use of Economic Value concerning Urban Landscape Plants in Shijiazhuang City in the Context of Ecological Civilization Construction

Many landscape plants have edible,medicinal,forage,industrial and other economic value,which has not been fully exploited.Effective development and utilization of the economic value of city landscape plant,conforms to the need of sustainable development and economical society,which is of great significance to the development of urban ecological civilization construction. In this paper,the landscape plant species in Shijiazhuang City and their economic value are investigated and analyzed,the principle and scheme of economic development and utilization of landscape plants in Shijiazhuang city value are put forward,which provides the reference for full and sustainable utilization of landscape plant resources in Shijiazhuang City.

SOC Vertical Distribution Pattern of Economic Plants in the Loess Gully Areas of China

Three economic plants from the loess gully areas in China to explore the changing vertical distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon.The results showed that:(1) with the increase of depth,the average SOC content of economic plants decreased from 13.98 to 1.39 g/kg on the 0-100 cm soil profile,in the form of a power function;(2) the constructed depth spatial distribution models for different plants could help accurately assess the spatial distribution pattern of soil organic carbon;(3) compared with traditional agricultural planting,the carbon sink function for walnut and grape at a soil depth of 100 cm increased by 92.8±8.98 t/hm^(2) and 45.7±7.7 t/hm^(2),respectively.The adjustment of agricultural planting structure increases the content of soil organic carbon,and economic plants are of great significance to enhance the carbon sink function of the agricultural ecosystem in the loess gully area.

Economic Development through Medicinal and Aromatic Plants(MAPs) Cultivation in Hindu Kush Himalaya Mountains of District Swat, Pakistan

Poverty is pervasive in the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan, and most people survive by farming small landholdings. However, many supplement their meager subsistence earnings by collecting and selling plant material for use in herbal medicine. This material is wild-harvested, but collectors seem not to fully appreciate the potential value of the plant material they collect nor the longterm impact their collection has on local plant populations. A model project supported by the International Food Policy Research Institute(IFPRI)persuaded small-scale farmers in four different villages to use some of their land for cultivating traditionally wild-harvested species of medicinal and aromatic plants(MAPs) with high market value. The farmers were provided seeds or rhizomes of five MAPs and asked to monitor their germination and growth on 25 m2 plots during a 12 month period. At the end of the study, growth and yield data from the four localities were compared and economic analyses conducted to determine the profitability of the species based on yields, prevailing market prices, and costs of production. Five of the cultivated species were subsequently marketed and their value evaluated:Sesamum indicum, Linum usitatissimum, Ocimum basilicum, Nigella sativa and Viola pilosa. The MAPs V. pilosa and O. basilicum were the most profitable,whereas Nigella sativa was the least profitable because of its low germination rate. The net income from all but Nigella was higher than that would have been earned by planting the same area with the predominant cereals or tomatoes. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility and financial benefits of cultivating MAPs as a cash crop, this model study identified a number of additional steps that would increase the benefits of MAPs cultivation in this area.A combination of specialized education, market infrastructure development and a small loans program would enable farmers to increase their agricultural income without damaging the area's plant diversity.

Analysis of nutrient content and assessment of economic value for major salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas:a case study of Dongying City, Shandong Province

Salinization of soil is a worldwide problem concerning resources and ecology,especially serious in coastal areas.Testing of 26 sorts of data or parameters are carried out on leaves of 22 plant species(in 24 plant variety) of existing main salt-tolerant plant of the Yellow River Delta region.Data or parameters include the following ele-ments:contents of K+,Na+,Ca2+,Mg2+ and Cl-,contents of protein,fat,total energy,ash and contents of 17 amino acids.The results show that these tested plants have economic values.For example,according to their uses,they can be divided into edible plants,forage plants,medicine or health plants,and some of them can be used for multipurposes.These plants have played important roles in the sustainable utilization of plant resources in coastal areas.This paper has taken evaluations on the economic uses of salt-tolerant plants and given suggestions for saline soil improvement and resource utilization in coastal areas.Based on the results of investigation and experiments,we suppose that the salt-tolerant plants in coastal areas can be grouped into 9 main groups according to their economic value:pioneer plants for saline land improvement,medicine,edible and forage plants,industry material,forestation,breeding material,energy plants and eco-tourism resources.

Leaf hydraulics coordinated with leaf economics and leaf size in mangrove species along a salinity gradient

Independence among leaf economics,leaf hydraulics and leaf size confers plants great capability in adapting to heterogeneous environments.However,it remains unclear whether the independence of the leaf traits revealed across species still holds within species,especially under stressed conditions.Here,a suite of traits in these dimensions were measured in leaves and roots of a typical mangrove species,Ceriops tagal,which grows in habitats with a similar sunny and hot environment but different soil salinity in southern China.Compared with C.tagal under low soil salinity,C.tagal under high soil salinity had lower photosynthetic capacity,as indicated directly by a lower leaf nitrogen concentration and higher water use efficiency,and indirectly by a higher investment in defense function and thinner palisade tissue;had lower water transport capacity,as evidenced by thinner leaf minor veins and thinner root vessels;and also had much smaller single leaf area.Leaf economics,hydraulics and leaf size of the mangrove species appear to be coordinated as one trait dimension,which likely stemmed from covariation of soil water and nutrient availability along the salinity gradient.The intraspecific leaf trait relationship under a stressful environment is insightful for our understanding of plant adaption to the multifarious environments.

Triple bottom-line consideration of sustainable plant disease management:From economic,sociological and ecological perspectives

Plant disease management plays an important role in achieving the sustainable development goals of the United Nations(UN)such as food security,human health,socio-economic improvement,resource conservation and ecological resilience.However,technologies available are often limited due to different interests between producers and society and lacks of proper understanding of economic thresholds and the complex interactions among ecology,productivity and profitability.A comprehensive synergy and conflict evaluation of economic,sociological and ecological effects with technologies,productions and evolutionary principles as main components should be used to guide sustainable disease management that aims to mitigate crop and economic losses in the short term while maintaining functional farm ecosystem in the long term.Consequently,there should be an increased emphasis on technology development,public education and information exchange among governments,researchers,producers and consumers to broaden the options for disease management in the future.

Relationship between Sustainable Land Use and Rural Economic Development:A Case Study of Meining Village,Pingma Town in Guangxi

For a long time,rural economic development has put economic benefits in the first place,ignoring the impact of unreasonable land use on local land resources and ecological environment,which is not conducive to the long-term high-quality development of local economy and sustainable land use.There is an urgent need to study the relationship between sustainable land use and rural economic development in order to achieve the coordinated development of the two.By using the methods of literature research and field investigation,this paper studies Meining Village,Tiandong County,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The study found that farmers tend to plant pure eucalyptus forest,single land use structure,short-term rotation planting model and traditional afforestation and land preparation technology are not conducive to sustainable land use in forest areas,and affected by economic and educational factors,farmers livelihood is relatively simple,so the development of rural economy will be restricted.In view of the above problems,this paper puts forward the following solutions:changing the land use model of Meining Village to promote sustainable land use;introducing advanced science and technology and diversified livelihood ways to promote the sustainable development of rural economy;building a virtuous circle of sustainable land use and rural economic development.

Planting Adaptability of Brassica napobrassica cv. Huaxi Under Economic Fruit Forest

The growth speed,fresh grass yield,nutritional components,soil nutrient variation and economic benefit of Brassica napobrassica cv. Huaxi under different planting patterns( drilling,hole sowing and seedling transplanting) were analyzed by a test of interplanting B. napobrassica cv. Huaxi under economic fruit forest,to solve the contradiction between food and feed during rapid development of ecological animal husbandry and improve land utilization rate. The comprehensive performance of B. napobrassica cv. Huaxi was good under the three planting patterns,and the comprehensive performance of B. napobrassica cv. Huaxi under the seedling transplanting pattern was the best among the three planting patterns. The fresh grass yield and net profit of B. napobrassica cv. Huaxi under the seedling transplanting pattern can reach 125 580. 0 kg/hm^2 and 16 674. 0 Yuan/hm^2,respectively. Interplanting B. napobrassica cv. Huaxi under economic fruit forest can improve soil physical and chemical properties,increase soil nutrients and inhibit weed growth.

Energy-Saving and Economical Evaluations of a Ceramic Gas Turbine Cogeneration Plant

A ceramic gas turbine can save energy because of its high thermal efficiency at high turbine inlet temperatures. This paper deals with the thermodynamic and economic aspects of a ceramic gas turbine cogeneration system. Here cogeneration means the simultaneous production of electrical en-ergy and useful thermal energy from the same facility. The thermodynamic performance of a ceramic gas turbine cycle is assessed using a computer model. This model is used in parametric studies of performance under partial loads and at various inlet air temperatures. The computed performance is compared to the measured performance of a conventional gas turbine cycle. Then, an economic evaluation of a ceramic gas turbine cogeneration system is investigated. Energy savings provided by this system are estimated on the basis of the distributions of heat/power ratios. The computed economic evaluation is compared to the actual economic performance of a conventional system in which boilers produce the required thermal energy and electricity is purchased from a utility.

Modifying Plant Oils for Use as Fuel in Rural Contexts Tanzania: Techno-Economic Analysis

Techno-economic analysis of a small-scale Modified Plant Oil (MPO) production plant that has an annual production capacity of 15,072,741 kg of MPO (batch process) was carried out to estimate the capital and operating costs of a plant. The analysis was done by using a computer model that was designed and simulated with an aid of SuperPro Designer (Version 4.32) software. The specified feedstock was crude Jatropha oil (JO) and the main product was MPO. The major processes involved were degumming, neutralisation and blending. Degumming involved the removal of gums or phospholipids, and two methods were used: water degumming and acid degumming, whereas blending involved mixing of degummed or purified JO with natural gas condensate (NGC) modifier to lower the viscosity of JO. From techno-economic analysis of the process, it was found that the total capital investment of a plant was about US $ 10,222,000 and the predicted unit production cost of MPO was US $ 1.315/kg at a value of US $ 1.0/kg of JO. The economic feasibility of MPO production was found to be highly influenced by the price of feedstock, which contributed about 95% of the total annual production cost. The relationship between plant throughput and unit cost of producing MPO showed that unit production cost was very sensitive to production rate at low annual throughputs. The MPO cost showed a direct linear relationship with the cost of JO, with a change of US $ 0.50/kg of MPO in MPO cost in every change of US $ 0.50/kg of JO in JO price. The process technology simulated was found to be economically viable and can be implemented in rural setting, taking into consideration Tanzania’s rural situation.

Diversity of Flowering Plants in Nubri Valley, Manaslu Conservation Area, Central Nepal

Central Nepal has long history in the field of botanical investigation in contrast with different parts of the nation. Nevertheless, the present study area (Manaslu Conservation Area) is still under-explored. The present floristic study was carried out with the aim of fulfilling this gap by giving particular attention on flowering plants and their documentation. Two field visits were directed in May-June 2012 and September-October 2012 in two unique seasons with a specific end goal to gather plant samples of both seasons. On the contrary, herbarium specimens were prepared and later identified at Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium (TUCH) and National Herbarium and Plant Laboratory (KATH). The present study uncovers the presence of 276 species of flowering plants belonging to 78 families and 200 genera of which 63 families belong to dicotyledons and 15 families belong to monocotyledons. Among these, 17 species (6.15%) of climbers, 178 species (64.49%) of herbs, 58 species (21.01%) of shrubs and 23 species (8.33%) of trees are found. Economically important flowering plants comprise about 156 species where 75 species are used as medicine, 29 species as fuel wood, 23 species as fodder, 29 species are edible, 6 species are for religious purpose, 5 specifically for construction purpose, 10 for ornamental and 13 species reported to have miscellaneous uses. MCA accounts to 9 flowering plant species for research and development and agro-technology development and 12 species are listed under IUCN and CAMP threatened categories. MCA and its affinity are likewise house to 10 endemic flowering plants. As from the study it can be inferred that Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA) is a treasure hub of flowering plants that not only represent its economic importance rather it is also a house to threaten and endemic flowering plants. Thus, proper management plans must be implemented for the conservation of resources in MCA.

Function and Screening of Plants in Ecological Floating Bed Applied in Treating Rural Domestic Wastewater

With the construction of new countryside and the development of people's living standard,the environmental problems caused by rural domestic sewage gradually attracts more attention. Ecological floating bed is one of the effective techniques for treating rural domestic sewage. Building different types of ecological floating beds according to the surrounding environment characteristics in rural areas could treat rural domestic sewage with low operation cost,simple management and convenient maintenance,and could obtain a certain economic benefit as well. Therefore,ecological floating bed get fast development in treating rural domestic sewage. The screening of plants would be vital as an important role. Assembling different plants by choosing those with ornamental function,economic benefit and strong decontamination ability according to the surrounding environment and characteristics of domestic waste water along with the seasonal features of plant growth could take full advantages of ecological floating bed.

Economic Performance Optimization of a PV-BESS Power Generator: A Case Study La Reunion Island

This paper proposes an economic performance optimization strategy for a PV plant coupled with a battery energy storage system. The case study of La Reunion Island, a non-interconnected zone (NIZ) with a high level of renewable energy sources (RES), is considered. This last decade, to reach the ambitious target of electricity autonomy by 2030 set by the local authorities, local and national plans have been launched to promote renewable energy sources integration that led to a noticeable development of photovoltaic (PV) systems. To avoid a decrease of the grid reliability due to a large integration of intermittent energy sources into a non-interconnected grid, the authorities have introduced new regulatory rules for RES producers. The proposed optimization strategy relies on these new regulatory rules and takes into account the energy market data, the amount of PV production subject to penalties for imbalance, the batteries and the PV technological characteristics together with a PV production forecast model. Due to its high convergence rate to the true global minimum and its perfect suitability to practical engineering optimization problems, the recently developed Modified Cuckoo Search algorithm is used as optimization algorithm. The effectiveness and relevance of the proposed strategy are assessed on experimental data collected on a real PV power plant. An economical analysis demonstrates that the proposed optimization strategy is able to fulfill the new regulatory rules requirements while increasing the economic performance of the system.

Modeling and Simulation of Skid-mounted LNG Plants Using HYSYS Software

This study presents three kinds of skid-mounted plants, including single mixed refrigerant cycle (MRC), nitrogen expander cycle, and natural gas (NG) Claude cycle. Hysys simulation shows that single MRC is the most efficient cycle among the three. The specific power of single MRC liquefiers is 1485 kJ/kg, 15% higher than that of large liquefaction process. Considering the recovery of stranded-gas, commercial analysis suggests that the initial cost of LNG plants ranging from 1 to 100 m3 /day can be paid back in 2 to 4 years.

Power Generation with Vegetable Oils in the Italian Scenario: A 20 MW Case Study. Technical Feasibility Analysis and Economical Aspects

Nowadays the utilization of vegetable oils, particularly the palm oil, as fuel in the power plant, has made a significant development in the last few years. This vegetable oil can be used in particular in slow marine-derived diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), with an electric efficiency of about 40%. The efficiency is connected to the size of the power plant. Moreover, the considerable amount of the required vegetable oil to feed the system forces, especially in Italy, makes it necessary to import the fuel. This is the most critical element as the palm oil is subject to continuous variations in prices. Due to this variation it is difficult to stabilize a convenient fuel supply for a long period. The paper aims to evaluate and estimate the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of a 20 MW plant for the stationary power generation fed with palm oil, enlightening the system solution (technical constructive aspects) and the economic appraisal, on the basis of variations in oil prices. A comparison with a cogenerative power plant has been also carried out and, at last, the economic sensibility analysis based on the fuel cost and the European mechanisms of biomass incentives is performed.

Feasibility Study for Self-Sustained Wastewater Treatment Plants—Using Biogas CHP Fuel Cell, Micro-Turbine, PV and Wind Turbine Systems

This paper studies the application of renewable energy sources in wastewater treatment plants to achieve self-sustain- ability of power. The data of wastewater treatment plant in the rural city of Toukh-EGYPT are presented as a case-study. The primary objective is to provide an entirely renewable standalone power system, which satisfies lowest possible emissions with the minimum lifecycle cost. Mass balance principle is applied on the biodegradable components in the wastewater to evaluate the volume of digester gas that is produced from sludge through anaerobic digestion process. Using digester gas as a fuel lead to study combined-heat-and-power technologies, where fuel cell is selected in order to abide by the low emissions constraint. The study assessed the electrical power obtained from fuel cell and the utilization of the exhausted heat energy for additional electrical power production using a micro-turbine. After covering the major part of load demand, the use of other renewable energy sources was studied. The strength of both solar and wind energy was determined by the case-study location. Hybrid optimization model for electric renewable (HOMER) software was used to simulate the hybrid system composed of combined-heat-and-power units, wind turbines and photovoltaic systems. Simulation results gave the best system configuration and optimum size of each component beside the detailed electrical and cost analysis of the model.

Economic Evaluation of the UCSRP-HP Process in IGCC Applications

With financial assistance from the US Department of Energy and the Illinois Clean Coal Institute, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) has been working with the University of California, Berkeley, for further development of their UCSRP-HP (University of California Sulfur Recovery Process-High Pressure) technology. The key focus of the UCSRP-HP technology is integrated multi-contaminant removal of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), ammonia (NH3), chlorides and heavy metals present in coal-derived syngas. The process has two major components: 1) removal of various trace components with a solvent (e.g., diethylene glycol or water) using a high-pressure scrubbing unit and 2) removal of H2S as sulfur via reaction with SO2 (in the presence of a solvent mixed a small quantity of a homogeneous catalyst) at 120?C to 150?C and at any syngas pressure. During this research, data critical to developing and evaluating UCSRP-HP technology for multi-contaminant removal from syngas derived from Illinois #6 coal were obtained. In this paper, we have presented key economic evaluations of the UCSRP-HP process, including potential integrations with other technology options for CO2 and hydrogen separations, for a nominal Illinois #6-coal-based 550-MWe Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facility with CO2 capture and sequestration. GTI is exploring various options to demonstrate this technology in a pilot plant using actual syngas from a coal gasifier.

地膜覆盖对夏直播垄作花生的温度效应和产量的影响

为探究地膜覆盖对夏直播垄作花生的温度效应,以及对花生生长发育和产量的影响,以露地为对照,研究了普通白膜、降解黑膜处理下土壤温度的动态变化以及对花生主要经济性状和产量的影响,并探讨温度效应与气温的关系。结果表明,普通白膜覆盖提高了土下10 cm的日最低温度和日平均温度,降低土下10 cm的日最高温度;降解黑膜覆盖降低土下10 cm的日最低温度,增加土下10 cm的日最高温度和日平均温度。不同气温区间普通白膜处理土下10 cm最低温度均值高于土表1.8~3.2℃,降解黑膜则低0.7~2.0℃;普通白膜处理土下10 cm最高温度均值低于土表1.6~6.0℃,降解黑膜则高3.1~6.3℃。土表和土下10 cm平均温度均值随气温升高而增加,不同气温区间对土表和土下10 cm平均温度均值的影响不同,普通白膜和降解黑膜间也有差异。地膜覆盖的增温效应促进了植株的生长发育,整体上有利于单株叶面积和植株干质量的增加,但生长后期有早衰现象。地膜覆盖对花生主要经济性状的影响不显著,普通白膜、降解黑膜和露地种植的花生产量分别为4286、4247和4028 kg/hm^(2),差异不显著。此外,地膜覆盖对花生根瘤数量也有影响。本研究对夏直播垄作花生高产栽培及地膜覆盖技术的应用具有指导意义。