BACKGROUND Algal biofilm technology is recently supposed to be a promising method to produce algal biomass as the feedstock for the production of biofuels. However, the carrier materials currently used to form algal biofilm are either difficult to be obtained at a low price or undurable. Commercialization of the biofilm technology for algal biomass production extremely requires new and inexpens...

Sugarcane has been a major agronomic crop in Hawaii with an unique, high-yield, two-year production system. However, parameters relevant to advanced, cellulosic biofuel production, such as net ecosystem productivity (NEP) and radiation use efficiency (RUE), have not been evaluated in Hawaii under commercial production. Recent demand potential has rekindled interest in Hawaiian grown biofuels; a...

Patchiness of above-ground vegetation, such as that in semi-arid grasslands and shrublands, can pose problems in sampling plant cover, biomass and productivity. We present a method of measuring above-ground plant biomass and production that can be applied consistently among vegetation types and that generates seasonal, spatially-explicit results. Results from 15 sites within the Jornada Basin (...

The net primary productivity, carbon (C) stocks and turnover rates (i.e. C dynamics) of tropical forests are an important aspect of the global C cycle. These variables have been investigated in lowland tropical forests, but they have rarely been studied in tropical montane forests (TMFs). This study examines spatial patterns of aboveand belowground C dynamics along a transect ranging from lowla...

Tropical forests store large amounts of biomass despite they generally grow in nutrient-poor soils, suggesting that the role of soil characteristics in the structure and dynamics of tropical forests is complex. We used data for >34 000 trees from several permanent plots in French Guiana to investigate if soil characteristics could predict the structure (tree diameter, density and aboveground bi...

Microalgae are able to convert nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from wastewater into biomass and bio-products, thus improving the sustainability of wastewater treatment. In High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAP), biomass productivity and water treatment efficiency are highly dependent on environmental parameters such as temperature, light intensity and photoperiod. The influence of temperature and pho...

Former agricultural lands in the southern US comprise a significant land base to support short rotation woody crop (SRWC) plantations. This study presents the seven-year response of productivity and biomass allocation in operational-scale, first rotation sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis L.) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) plantations that were established on drained Ultisols which wer...

Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems incrementally remove greater quan...

In order to produce microalgal lipids that can be transformed to biodiesel fuel, effects of concentration of CO(2) aeration on the biomass production and lipid accumulation of Nannochloropsis oculata in a semicontinuous culture were investigated in this study. Lipid content of N. oculata cells at different growth phases was also explored. The results showed that the lipid accumulation from loga...

The HadGEM2 earth system climate model was used to assess the impact of biomass burning on surface ozone concentrations over the Amazon forest and its impact on vegetation, under present-day climate conditions. Here we consider biomass burning emissions from wildfires, deforestation fires, agricultural forest burning, and residential and commercial combustion. Simulated surface ozone concentrat...