Search Results (89)

The project “Optimizing Selection Pressures and Pest Management to Maximize Cultivation Yield” (OSPREY, award #DE-EE08902) was undertaken to enhance the annual productivity, stability, and quality of algal production strains for biofuels and bioproducts. The foundation of this project was the year-round cultivation of a Nannochloropsis strain across three outdoor systems in California, Hawaii, and New Mexico. We aimed to leverage environmental selection pressures to drive strain improvement and use metagenomic techniques to inform pest management tools. The resulting dataset includes environmental and biological parameters from these cultivation campaigns, captured in a single CSV file. This dataset aims to serve a wide range of end users, from biologists to algal farmers, addressing the scarcity of publicly available data on algae cultivation. Further data releases will include 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and shotgun sequencing datasets. Full article

This study investigates the effect of prolonged maceration, pre-fermentation heating, and barrel aging on the volatile aroma profile and sensory characteristics of Teran wine. The vinification processes included a control treatment (7-day maceration, TM7-Y; Y—young wine), 10-day maceration (TM10-Y), 21-day post-fermentation maceration (TM21-Y), and 48-h pre-fermentation heating at 45 °C followed by 8-day maceration (TPHT-Y). All wines were then aged in oak barrels for six months, resulting in TM7-A, TM10-A, TM21-A, and TPHT-A wines (A—aged wine). Volatile compounds were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), while sensory profiles were evaluated using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). TPHT-Y and TM21-Y treatments reduced several groups of free volatile compounds while enhancing sensory properties, with TM21-Y wines notably exhibiting pronounced dried fruit notes, likely due to high β-damascenone concentrations. Conversely, TM10-Y and TM7-Y treatments resulted in significantly higher concentrations of the most volatile aroma compounds. Aging in oak barrels significantly increased the levels of particular free volatile compounds like C₁₃-norisoprenoids, volatile phenols, furans, and lactones. It also enhanced sensory quality, with fruity aromas prominent across all treatments, and TM21-A and TPHT-A wines showing strong dried fruit, jam, and liqueur notes. This study offers valuable insights into tailoring wine aromas and sensory attributes through specific vinification techniques, contributing to a more refined approach to optimizing wine production. In conclusion, the findings highlight the importance of maceration and aging techniques in developing complex and desirable wine profiles, offering practical guidance for improving Teran wine quality. Full article

Prescribed burning is a cost-effective method for reducing hazardous fuels in pine- and oak-dominated forests, but smoke emissions contribute to atmospheric pollutant loads, and the potential exists for exceeding federal air quality standards designed to protect human health. Fire behavior during prescribed burns influences above-canopy sensible heat flux and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in buoyant plumes, affecting the lofting and dispersion of smoke. A more comprehensive understanding of how enhanced energy fluxes and turbulence are related during the passage of flame fronts could improve efforts to mitigate the impacts of smoke emissions. Pre- and post-fire fuel loading measurements taken during 48 operational prescribed burns were used to estimate the combustion completeness factors (CC) and emissions of fine particulates (PM_2.5), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO) in pine- and oak-dominated stands in the Pinelands National Reserve of southern New Jersey. During 11 of the prescribed burns, sensible heat flux and turbulence statistics were measured by tower networks above the forest canopy. Fire behavior when fire fronts passed the towers ranged from low-intensity backing fires to high-intensity head fires with some crown torching. Consumption of forest-floor and understory vegetation was a near-linear function of pre-burn loading, and combustion of fine litter on the forest floor was the predominant source of emissions, even during head fires with some crowning activity. Tower measurements indicated that above-canopy sensible heat flux and TKE calculated at 1 min intervals during the passage of fire fronts were strongly influenced by fire behavior. Low-intensity backing fires, regardless of forest type, had weaker enhancement of above-canopy air temperature, vertical and horizontal wind velocities, sensible heat fluxes, and TKE compared to higher-intensity head and flanking fires. Sensible heat flux and TKE in buoyant plumes were unrelated during low-intensity burns but more tightly coupled during higher-intensity burns. The weak coupling during low-intensity backing fires resulted in reduced rates of smoke transport and dispersion, and likely in more prolonged periods of elevated surface concentrations. This research facilitates more accurate estimates of PM_2.5, CO, and CO₂ emissions from prescribed burns in the Pinelands, and it provides a better understanding of the relationships among fire behavior, sensible heat fluxes and turbulence, and smoke dispersion in pine- and oak-dominated forests. Full article

Oak is one of the most economically important hardwood tree species in Europe, and its prevalence will increase due to progressing global climate change, according to predictive models. With the increasing demand for timber and with the need for a balance between carbon emissions and sequestration, it is essential to address the afforestation of agricultural land. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the physico-mechanical properties and anatomical structure of pendulate oak (Quercus robur L.) wood—specifically focusing on the trunk’s cross-section—in post-agricultural areas compared with the forest land in the western part of Poland. Wood density, bending strength, modulus of elasticity, and other parameters were analyzed from 1626 wood samples. The analysis of physico-mechanical properties reveals that, historically, agricultural land use has an almost negligible impact on wood quality. Despite significant differences in small vessel diameter and fiber length favoring trees from post-agricultural land, the physico-mechanical properties remain consistent. Large vessel measurements show comparable diameter and length in both land types. These findings suggest that post-agricultural land can serve as an effective alternative for high-quality pendulate oak wood production for industrial purposes. However, wood from post-agricultural land may exhibit a decrease in modulus of rupture by over 30% and potentially lower density above the trunk’s halfway point. This observation hints at the fact that oak trees in post-agricultural areas could be cultivated in shorter rotation periods compared to forest land. Full article

Climate change has intensified the need for robust fire prevention strategies. Sustainable forest fuel management is crucial in mitigating the occurrence and rapid spread of forest fires. This study assessed the impact of vegetation clearing and/or grazing over a three-year period in the herbaceous and shrub parts of a Mediterranean oak forest. Using high-resolution multispectral data from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), four flight surveys were conducted from 2019 (pre- and post-clearing) to 2021. These data were used to evaluate different scenarios: combined vegetation clearing and grazing, the individual application of each method, and a control scenario that was neither cleared nor purposely grazed. The UAV data allowed for the detailed monitoring of vegetation dynamics, enabling the classification into arboreal, shrubs, herbaceous, and soil categories. Grazing pressure was estimated through GPS collars on the sheep flock. Additionally, a good correlation (r = 0.91) was observed between UAV-derived vegetation volume estimates and field measurements. These practices proved to be efficient in fuel management, with cleared and grazed areas showing a lower vegetation regrowth, followed by areas only subjected to vegetation clearing. On the other hand, areas not subjected to any of these treatments presented rapid vegetation growth. Full article

Spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) has caused considerable damage to oak trees across eastern deciduous forests. Forest management, post-outbreak, is resource intensive and typically focused on ecosystem restoration or resource loss mitigation. Some local forest managers and government partners are exploring developing technologies such as Unpiloted Aerial Systems (UASs, UAVs, or drones) to enhance their ability to gather reliable fine-scale information. However, with limited resources and the complexity of investing in hardware, software, and technical expertise, the decision to adopt UAS technologies has raised questions on their effectiveness. The objective of this study was to evaluate the abilities of two UAS surveying approaches for classifying the health of individual oak trees following a spongy moth outbreak. Combinations of two UAS multispectral sensors and two Structure from Motion (SfM)-based software are compared. The results indicate that the overall classification accuracy differed by as much as 3.8% between the hardware and software configurations. Additionally, the class-specific accuracy for ’Declining Oaks‘ differed by 5–10% (producer’s and user’s accuracies). The processing experience between open-source and commercial SfM software was also documented and demonstrated a 25-to-75-fold increase in processing duration. These results point out major considerations of time and software accessibility when selecting between hardware and software options for fine-scale forest mapping. Based on these findings, future stakeholders can decide between cost, practicality, technical complexity, and effectiveness. Full article

This paper develops a technology for manufacturing a biocomposite using post-production wood waste as filler, but also as an alternative material that can substitute traditional composites. Three types of post-production wood waste, i.e., ash wood chips, oak chips and medium-density wood fiberboard (MDF), were used in this study. Three different biocomposites were produced for each of these materials, differing in the content of waste to polymer. The biodegradable and compostable bioplastic Mater-Bi (CF05S) was obtained using the pioneering proprietary technologies of Novamont company using starches, cellulose, vegetable oils and their combinations. Mater-Bi was used as the matrix of the composite, which, due to its chemical composition, allows the production of fully biodegradable composites. The physicochemical properties, such as static tensile, impact, water absorption and hardness, were investigated. The results provide the basis for a detailed analysis of the properties of the biocomposites and made it possible to accurately determine their properties. The results show that the optimal solution is the Mater-Bi biocomposite with 20 wt.% oak filler content, which shows the most favorable adhesion strength and water absorption. The research conducted here is in the context of issues related to sustainability and a circular economy, through waste management, as well as through the production of biodegradable construction products. Full article

Culinary medicine (CM) addresses diseases through nutrition and culinary education. To promote access to educational material for people with diabetes and engagement in virtual classes, we created a virtual culinary medicine toolkit (VCMT) sensitive to literacy levels and language preferences. The VCMT was developed to accompany existing virtual CM programs and help improve participant interaction and retention, offering educational materials for providers and participants. The provider VCMT offers level-setting education to reduce mixed nutrition messaging, including educational resources discussing inclusive nutrition and mindful eating topics. Each handout has a QR code and link to engaging, animated videos that provide further explanation. The participant VCMT offers a range of fundamental cooking skill videos and infographics, including knife skills and preparing whole grains and healthy beverages. Participant handouts and animated videos, which are played during the virtual CM class, allow participants to learn more about diabetes management and food literacy topics, including interpreting nutrition labels, and are employed during a CM to facilitate discussion and reflection. The animated videos replace a traditional slide-based lecture, allowing space for patient-centered facilitated discussions during virtual cooking sessions. The VCMT could guide the development of virtual CM interventions to shift learning from lecture-based to patient-centered discussions via a visual and inclusive medium. Full article

Vegetation structural complexity (VSC) plays an essential role in the functioning and the stability of fire-prone Mediterranean ecosystems. However, we currently lack knowledge about the effects of increasing fire severity on the VSC spatial variability, as modulated by the plant community type in complex post-fire landscapes. Accordingly, this study explored, for the first time, the effect of fire severity on the VSC of different Mediterranean plant communities one year after fire by leveraging field inventory and Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The field-evaluated VSC retrieved in post-fire scenarios from Sentinel-1 γ⁰ VV and VH backscatter data featured high fit (R² = 0.878) and low predictive error (RMSE = 0.112). Wall-to-wall VSC estimates showed that plant community types strongly modulated the VSC response to increasing fire severity, with this response strongly linked to the regenerative strategies of the dominant species in the community. Moderate and high fire severities had a strong impact, one year after fire, on the VSC of broom shrublands and Scots pine forests, dominated by facultative and obligate seeder species, respectively. In contrast, the fire-induced impacts on VSC were not significantly different between low and moderate fire-severity scenarios in communities dominated by resprouter species, i.e., heathlands and Pyrenean oak forests. Full article

This study compared oak butt-log volume estimations gained through terrestrial measurements in the forest stand with a remote approach using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) and photogrammetric post-processing. Terrestrial measurements were conducted in the lowland part of Croatia after a completed motor–manual final felling of a 140-year-old even-aged oak stand. Butt-logs’ volumes were estimated with four methods: the sectioning method and Huber’s, Smailan’s and Riecke–Newton’s methods. Measuring diameters and lengths and estimating volumes remotely were based on orthophotos using four different software: ArcGIS, QGIS, AutoCAD and Pix4D. Riecke–Newton’s method for volume estimation had the smallest relative bias of +1.74%, while for Huber’s method it was −8.07% and with Smailan’s method it was +21.23%. Log volume estimations gained remotely via ArcGIS and QGIS were, in the case of Huber’s method, at +3.63% relative bias, and in the case of Riecke–Newton’s method at +1.39% relative bias. Volume estimation using the sectioning method resulted in a total of 51.334 m³ for the whole sample, while the sectioning method performed with the help of AutoCAD resulted in 55.151 m³, i.e., +7.43% relative bias. Volume estimation of thirty oak butt-logs given by Pix4D software (version 4.8.4) resulted in +9.34% relative bias (56.134 m³). Comparing terrestrial measurements and the volume estimations based on them to those gained remotely showed a very high correlation in all cases. This study showed that using a UAS for log volume estimation surveys has the potential for broader use, especially after final felling in even-aged forests where the remaining trees in the stand would not block photogrammetric analysis. Full article

Understanding how fire severity affects resprouting plants during post-fire regeneration is key to anticipating Mediterranean vegetation vulnerability in a context of increasingly large fires with high intensity and severity due to climate change. Here, we monitored the water status, leaf gas exchange, and plant growth in holm oaks (Quercus ilex) of central Spain burned with different fire severity throughout the first post-fire year. The Q. ilex burned with high severity (HB+) showed higher water potential and shoot growth than those burned with low severity (LB+) or unburned (B−), especially during spring and summer. In summer, resprouting HB+ and LB+ plants exhibited higher carbon assimilation than unburned ones. Moreover, we also found that plants with higher water availability and growth, i.e., HB+ individuals, had higher specific leaf area and lower water use efficiency. Overall, our study shows that holm oak forests exhibit high plasticity to fire and that Q. ilex burned with high severity have a faster short-term regeneration than those burned with low severity. However, this rapid regeneration is based on a less conservative water-use strategy, which could jeopardize their populations in case of extreme drought events increasingly common in the current context of climate change. Full article

Long-term monitoring of microbial communities in the rhizosphere of post-fire forests is currently one of the key knowledge gaps. Knowing the time scale of the effects is indispensable to aiding post-fire recovery in vulnerable woodlands, including holm oak forests, that are subjected to a Mediterranean climate, as is the case with forests that are found in protected areas such as the Sierra Nevada National and Natural Park in southeastern Spain. We took rhizosphere soil samples from burned and unburned holm oak trees approximately 3, 6, and 9 years after the 2005 fire that devastated almost 3500 ha in southeastern Spain. We observed that the prokaryotic communities are recovering but have not yet reached the conditions observed in the unburned forest. A common denominator between this fire and other fires is the long-term persistence of three ecosystem recovery biomarkers—specifically, higher proportions of the genera Arthrobacter, Blastococcus, and Massilia in soil microbial communities after a forest fire. These pyrophilous microbes possess remarkable resilience against adverse conditions, exhibiting traits such as xerotolerance, nitrogen mineralization, degradation of aromatic compounds, and copiotrophy in favorable conditions. Furthermore, these biomarkers thrive in alkaline environments, which persist over the long term following forest fires. The relative abundance of these biomarkers showed a decreasing trend over time, but they were still far from the values of the control condition. In conclusion, a decade does not seem to be enough for the complete recovery of the prokaryotic communities in this Mediterranean ecosystem. Full article

Soil restoration is one of the biggest challenges of this century. Besides the negative impacts of climate change, the current increase in food demands has put severe pressure on soil resources, resulting in a significant area of degraded land worldwide. However, beneficial microorganisms, such as microalgae and plant growth-promoting bacteria, have an outstanding ability to restore soil health and fertility. In this mini-review, we summarize state-of-the-art knowledge on these microorganisms as amendments that are used to restore degraded and contaminated soils. Furthermore, the potential of microbial consortia to maximize beneficial effects on soil health and boost the production of plant-growth-promoting compounds within a mutualistic interaction is discussed. Full article

A series of composites based on epoxy resin filled with additives of natural origin were prepared to investigate the influence of such fillers on the properties of the epoxy compositions. For this purpose, the composites containing 5 and 10 wt.% of additive of natural origin were obtained using the dispersion of oak wood waste and peanut shells in bisphenol A epoxy resin cured with isophorone-diamine. The oak waste filler had been obtained during the assembly of the raw wooden floor. The performed studies include testing of samples prepared using unmodified and chemically modified additives. Chemical modification via mercerization and silanization was performed to increase the poor compatibility between the highly hydrophilic fillers of natural origin and the hydrophobic polymer matrix. Additionally, the introduction of NH₂ groups to the structure of modified filler via 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, potentially takes a part in co-crosslinking with the epoxy resin. Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT–IR), as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), were carried out, to study the influence of performed chemical modification on the chemical structure and morphology of wood and peanut shell flour. SEM analyses showed significant changes in the morphology of compositions with chemically modified fillers, indicating improved adhesion of the resin to lignocellulosic waste particles. Moreover, a series of mechanical (hardness, tensile strength, flexural strength, compressive strength, and impact strength) tests were carried out, to assess the influence of the application of fillers of natural origin on the properties of epoxy compositions. All composites with lignocellulosic filler were characterized by higher compressive strength (64.2 MPa—5%U-OF, 66.4%—SilOF, 63.2—5%U-PSF, and 63.8—5%SilPSF, respectively), compared to the values recorded for the reference epoxy composition without lignocellulosic filler (59.0 MPa—REF). The highest compressive strength, among all tested samples, was recorded for the composite filled with 10 wt.% of unmodified oak flour (69.1 MPa—10%U-OF). Additionally, higher values of flexural and impact strength, concerning pure BPA-based epoxy resin, were recorded for the composites with oak filler (respectively, flexural strength: 73.8 MPa—5%U-OF and 71.5 MPa—REF; impact strength: 15.82 kJ/m²—5%U-OF, 9.15 kJ/m²—REF). Epoxy composites with such mechanical properties might be considered as broadly understood construction materials. Moreover, samples containing wood flour as a filler exhibit better mechanical properties compared to those with peanut shell flour (tensile strength for samples containing post-mercerization filler: 48.04 MPa and 40.54 MPa; while post-silanization 53.53 MPa and 42.74 MPa for compositions containing 5 wt.% of wood and peanut shell flour, respectively). At the same time, it was found that increasing the weight share of flour of natural origin in both cases resulted in the deterioration of mechanical properties. Full article

Following disturbances, ecosystems are more susceptible to invasion by non-native species. Furthermore, it is important to determine the impact of alien tree species on soil regeneration processes during secondary succession. In this study, we analyzed the effect of native and late successional common oak (Quercus robur) and non-native red oak (Q. rubra) on soil physicochemical (pH, carbon, and nutrient content) and microbial properties (microbial biomass [Cmic] and respiration [RESP]) nearly 30 years after severe fire disturbance. Post-fire soils under Q. rubra had organic horizons with a greater mass, lower pH values, and depleted nutrient (N, Ca, K, Mg, and P) contents than soils under Q. robur. The impact of Q. robur as a late successional species on soil properties 30 years after a disturbance was similar to that of pioneer species (Scots pine, European larch, common birch, and black alder), as is indicated in previous studies. Most of the studied physicochemical (bulk density, soil organic carbon, N, Ca, K, and P content) and microbial (RESP and Cmic) soil parameters under Q. robur were within the ranges found for post-fire soils under pioneer tree species. Only the pH and Mg and Na contents in organic horizons were higher under Q. robur than under pioneer species. Our results indicate that Q. robur could be a valuable addition to reforestation sites after fire disturbance, especially in more fertile microhabitats. Due to the depletion of soil nutrients, care should be taken when introducing Q. rubra during the reforestation of post-fire sites, especially in larger groups. Full article