As the volume of CO2, one of greenhouse gases linked to global warming, in the atmosphere increases, there has been an increasing interest in CO2 sequestration. Aqueous carbonation, which involves the extraction of Mg from serpentine minerals and the subsequent carbonation reaction with CO2 to form the geologically stable mineral MgCO3, has been proposed as a promising CO2 sequestration technol...

Serpentine is formed during chemical transformation of ultrabasic magmatic rocks. The characteristics of serpenti ne soi l are its high Mg and low Ca contenI. Various factors have lead to the formation of specific serpentine flora and vegetation. In the serpentine flora both basophi10us and acidophilous plant species are present, and a small number of families and often genera predominate. Most...

There are more than half million tons of serpentine waste produced per year during mining operation in Taiwan. This study is to develop a process to manufacture fire-resistant geopolymer based on serpentine waste. The experiment results show that the waste serpentine-based geopolymer have very good physical/mechanical characteristics. For fire resistance tests, a 10 mm thick geopolymer panel wa...

Effects of simulated serpentine soil conditions (elevated Mg:Ca ratio and Ni concentration) on seedlings from populations of Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) from serpentine and non-serpentine sites were evaluated in sand culture. We determined (1) how seedlings are affected by elevated Mg:Ca ratio and Ni concentrations, (2) if there are interactive effects between Mg:Ca ratio and Ni conc...

Biotic interactions, such as competition and herbivory, can limit plant species ranges to a subset of edaphically suitable habitats, termed the realized niche. Here we explored the role that herbivores play in restricting the niche of serpentine ecotypes of the native California annual Collinsia sparsiflora. We planted seeds from four populations into a range of natural field environments that ...

The physico-chemical properties of serpentine soils lead to strong selection of plant species. Whereas many studies have described the serpentine flora, little information is available on the fungal communities dwelling in these sites. Asbestos minerals, often associated with serpentine rocks, can be weathered by serpentine-isolated fungi, suggesting an adaptation to this substrate. In this stu...

Multiple introductions can play a prominent role in explaining the success of biological invasions. One often cited mechanism is that multiple introductions of invasive species prevent genetic bottlenecks by parallel introductions of several distinct genotypes that, in turn, provide heritable variation necessary for local adaptation. Here, we show that the invasion of Aegilops triuncialis into ...

To achieve dual frequency operation for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications, a hybrid dual-band dielectric resonator antenna with serpentine slot fed by a microstrip line is proposed. The proposed antenna structure consists of cylindrical dielectric resonator and serpentine slot resonator. The serpentine slot is etched on the ground plane of the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA). By...

Serpentine barrens represent extreme hazards for plant colonists. These sites are characterized by high porosity leading to drought, lack of essential mineral nutrients, and phytotoxic levels of metals. Nevertheless, nature forged populations adapted to these challenges. Here, we use a population-based evolutionary genomic approach coupled with elemental profiling to assess how autotetraploid A...