Article
Agronomy
David Rivest, Marc-Olivier Martin-Guay, Claire Cossette
Summary: Temperate short-rotation agroforestry systems have great potential for environmentally and economically sustainable crop and woody biomass production. This study determined the impacts of windbreaks and alley cropping systems planted with short-rotation willow strips on microclimate and forage crop yields. Results showed that the willow strips reduced wind speed, increased daytime air temperature, improved soil moisture, and increased snow depth. Additionally, forage yields did not differ among distances or systems, except for a significant increase within the windbreak.
AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xinjie Zha, Yuan Tian, Ouzhu, Gang Fu
Summary: This study conducted a grazing experiment in alpine grassland sites on the Tibetan Plateau and found that warm-season grazing significantly reduced forage nutrient storages, while cold-season grazing had a smaller impact. The relationships between plant species, phylogenetic diversity, and forage nutrient storages were different. Grazing can restructure the elevation distribution of forage nutrient storages.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Ana Veronica Lino Dias, Juliana Duarte Messana, Yury Tatiana Granja-Salcedo, Yeison Fabian Murilo Alfonso, Lorrayny Galoro Silva, Karine Dalla Vecchia Camargo, Kenia Larissa Gomes Carvalho Alves, Paloma Helena Goncalves, Ricardo Andrade Reis, Telma Teresinha Berchielli
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of supplementation with non-protein nitrogen (NPN) or ruminal undegradable protein (RUP) on intake, digestibility, and amino acid (AA) use efficiency of Nellore cattle grazing during the dry season. The results showed that supplementing with RUP increased the intake of dry matter and amino acids, but did not affect the digestibility or flux of amino acids. Additionally, it increased the blood concentrations of certain amino acids. Overall, RUP supplementation can be an effective strategy to enhance nutrient intake and absorption in cattle during the dry season.
Article
Biophysics
Georgios Nikolaou, Damianos Neocleous, Evangelini Kitta, Nikolaos Katsoulas
Summary: This study determines cucumber crop coefficients under different greenhouse microclimatic conditions and parameterizes the Priestley-Taylor reference evapotranspiration model. It is found that there is a significant relationship between crop coefficients and leaf area, and evapotranspiration can be modeled satisfactorily using simple measurements of leaf area index.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Silvia Ferrarese, Davide Bertoni, Alessio Golzio
Summary: This study presents a new index for comparing microclimatic conditions inside museum showcases. The index offers the advantage of being independent of fixed thresholds determined by norms or curators' experiences. The procedure for computing the index is described in detail and is easily reproducible. The index was used to compare microclimatic conditions over two periods longer than one year in the library hall of the Museum of Physics, University of Turin, Italy. The results demonstrate that the index accurately identifies favorable or critical conditions for conservation.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL PLUS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Elizabeth H. Boughton, Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, Hilary Swain, Carl Bernacchi, Raoul K. Boughton, Keith Brinsko, Haoyu Li, Alan Rivero, Evan H. DeLucia, Jed Sparks
Summary: This study investigates the application of patch-burn grazing management in subtropical humid grazing lands. The results indicate that patch-burn grazing management can enhance forage nutritive value and create patch contrast in pastures. However, compared to conventional full-burn management, patch-burn grazing management does not necessarily increase production.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Ivana Turekova, Iveta Markova, Eva Sventekova, Jozef Harangozo
Summary: The study aimed to monitor the concentration of CO2 and proportion of dust particles in university classrooms, showing that CO2 levels increased significantly with the number of students and could be reduced after a 15-minute ventilation.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
S. Stirling, L. Delaby, A. Mendoza, S. Farina
Summary: This study quantified the impact of feeding strategy and Holstein Friesian cow genotype on individual animal and whole-farm biophysical performance, finding that New Zealand Holstein Friesian cows showed higher productivity and better reproductive performance in the temperate hot-summer region of South America.
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Yang You, Jingfei Ren, Jing Wu, Zhouwen Ma, Yongchao Gu, Yingxin Wang, Zhaofeng Wang, Saman Bowatte, Qingping Zhou, Fujiang Hou
Summary: The study found that spraying taste agents onto alpine pasture can indirectly alter soil bacterial diversity and encourage more selective feeding of pasture species. Different taste agents have varying effects on soil bacterial diversity and vegetation diversity.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Doris N. Omeokachie, Temitope A. Laniyan, David B. Olawade, Omotayo Abayomi-Agbaje, Deborah T. Esan, Godson R. E. E. Ana
Summary: This study assessed indoor environmental quality in selected shopping malls and found that noise levels and air pollution were higher than the recommended limits. Bacteria and fungi were identified, with bacteria primarily from human skin. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring noise levels and indoor air quality in malls, as well as enforcing government policies to improve indoor air quality.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lais Leal da Cunha, Carolina Bremm, Jean Victor Savian, Angel Sanchez Zubieta, Jusiane Rossetto, Paulo Cesar de Faccio Carvalho
Summary: For grazing animals in southern Brazil, the nutrient contents and sward structure of the forage have different levels of explanatory power for dry matter intake, average daily gain, and methane emissions. Forage nutrient contents only explain a small fraction of the variation in these response variables, while sward structure descriptors have a greater explanatory power, with the interaction between them explaining most of the variation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lin Liu, Yuhong Cai, Lei Jin, Yushuang Zhu, Yunfei Gao, Yamin Ding, Jia Xia, Kunpeng Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the microclimate and thermal comfort of a coastal mountainside greenway through field surveys and numerical simulations. The results show that the greenway topography, tree planting density, and greenway size have significant impacts on the microclimate, with wind speed playing a crucial role in thermal comfort. Increasing tree density provides more shade but blocks crosssection sea breeze, while widening the greenway size enhances transverse convection of the sea breeze. Overall, this study provides guidance for coastal mountainside greenway design based on microclimate suitability and pedestrians' thermal comfort.
Article
Agronomy
Cecilia Loza, Thorsten Reinsch, Ralf Loges, Friedhelm Taube, Jose Ignacio Gere, Christof Kluss, Mario Hasler, Carsten S. Malisch
Summary: This study found that cows grazing diverse mixtures in a full-grazing dairy system increased their milk yield, but methane emissions also increased. The high feed quality and milk yield from both mixtures resulted in relatively low methane emissions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tianqi Yu, Ruirui Yan, Chu Zhang, Sisi Chen, Zhitao Zhang, LeiFeng Guo, Tianci Hu, Chengxiang Jiang, Miao Wang, Keyu Bai, Wenneng Zhou, Lianhai Wu
Summary: Livestock feeding behavior and intake are crucial for grassland health and productivity. This study observed and analyzed the feeding behavior and forage intake of cattle under different grazing intensities, as well as used GPS sensors to study cattle grazing behavior trends. The results showed that cattle forage intake decreased with increasing grazing intensity, with a peak in July and August. Cattle movement levels increased with higher grazing intensity and were influenced by environmental factors.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mahmuda Sharmin, Mark G. Tjoelker, Sebastian Pfautsch, Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Paul D. Rymer, Sally A. Power
Summary: This study evaluated the extent to which street trees can reduce sub-canopy air temperature relative to ambient conditions (Delta T), and how Delta T relates to tree traits and microclimatic variables. Species with high leaf area index (LAI) and wider canopies provided the greatest daytime cooling benefits and lower levels of nighttime warming. This study provides valuable information on how tree characteristics and microclimate influence potential cooling benefits that may aid planning decisions on the use of trees to mitigate heat in urban landscapes.