Relation of Wind-induced Sand Displacement to Plant Biomass and Plant Sand-binding Capacity

Desertification is a process in which vegetation cover degrades followed by increased wind and water erosion. Plants adapted to moving sand conditions are able to reverse this process. They can stabilize die substrate. Not much data is available on the soil stabilization capacity of plants. This study was conducted to investigate the wind-induced sand displacement around plants in relation to their biomass. Sand displacement is examined in relation to the biomass allocation pattern of three different plant species. A new method was developed to experimentally investigate plant sand-binding capacity. The relationship between sand displacement and plant biomass was not linear. Apart from the amount of biomass, species-specific plant characters like the biomass allocation pattern and plant structure may be very important in determining the sand-binding capacity.

Constructing Large Capacity Power Plant on Collapsible Loess Stratum with Huge Thickness

1 Preface In the northern and northwestern parts of China, quite a large portion of area, approximately 630,000 km^2, is covered by loess and loess-liked soils. The loess thickness ranges from several meters to several hundred meters along the river’s terraces to those geomorphologic plateaus. In geology, "China Loess" has become a geologic term, because the loess in China has evolved with the widest distribution and greatest thickness in the world, and is also a typical and significant deposit in Quaternary Period.

Understanding the Impacts of Plant Capacities and Uncertainties on the Techno- Economic Analysis of Cross-Laminated Timber Production in the Southern U.S.

Understanding the economic feasibility of cross-laminated timber(CLT),an emerging and sustainable alternative to concrete and steel,is critical for the rapid expansion of the mass timber industry.However,previous studies on economic performance of CLT have not fully considered the variations in the feedstock,plant capacities,manu-facturing parameters,and capital and operating costs.This study fills this gap by developing a techno-economic analysis of producing CLT panels in the Southern United States.The effects of those variations on minimum sell-ing price(MSP)of CLT panels are explored by Monte Carlo simulation.The results show that,across all the plant capacities from 30,000 to 150,000 m^(3)/year,the MSP ranges from$345 to$609/m^(3) with a±6%–9%range caused by the variations in feedstocks,key manufacturing parameters,capital and operating cost.The MSP decreases sig-nificantly along the increasing capacities.A sensitivity analysis exhibits that the lumber price,lumber preparing loss,plant capacity,and the installed costs of layering and gluing,finishing,and miscellaneous,are the top driving factors to CLT MSP.Supported by Geographic Information System,this study also studies the transportation cost of delivering CLT to customers under three CLT demanding levels(1%,5%,15%).The results show that the trans-portation cost is 1%–8%of the MSP.Lower demanding level or higher plant capacity can increase the transporta-tion cost due to average longer delivering distance.When considering the delivered cost that sums MSP and transportation cost,larger plant capacity does not necessarily generate lower delivered cost.

Soil Stabilizing Capability of Three Plant Species Growing on the Three Gorges Reservoir Riverside

Plant regrowth capacity and soil protection were investigated using three flooding-tolerant Yangtze River riverside species （Arundinella anomala, Hemartria compressa and Cynodon dactylon）. The root and leaf surface growth, the plant regrowth capacity and the mitigation of soil runoff were analyzed using potted plants that were covered with 5, 10 and 18 cm new sediments, respectively. A. anomala reacted most slowly to the recovery from new sediments, while H. compressa had the highest recovery rates. The latter could produce 24 times the initial root length and 41 times its original leaf surface during the growth period of 12 weeks. C. dactyion showed no significant change in growth in relation to the rising sediment thickness, which means that even 18 cm of new sediments were tolerated by C. dactylon. Erosion tests showed that all three plant species can reduce the soil runoff by more than 63%. Compared to other species, A. anomala was less capable of stabilizing new sediments. The soil protecting abilities of H. compressa decreased after more than 10 cm of new sediments. C. dactyion showed the best soil retention compared to the other species examined, since it could reduce the soil runoff up to 87%. Consequently, C. dactylon was found to be significantly better for soil-protection plant species than A. anomala and H. compressa given the conditions at the Three Gorges Reservoir.