The analysis of the evolution of the chemical and biological characteristics of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem requires an integrated approach. Consistently, an ecosystem description, embedded in the MFSTEP one eighth degree three-dimensional general circulation model, is tested and used following a twin experiment 5 approach. The ecosystem model is based on the NPZD trophic chain: inorgani...

A central parameter of the terrestrial carbon budget is forest biomass which represents a proxy for the stored carbon. Despite its crucial role in the terrestrial carbon budget, forest biomass is poorly quantified across most parts of the planet due to the great difficulties in measuring biomass on the ground and consistently aggregating measurements across scales. Today’s information is largel...

In this study, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and the multiple linear regression model were used to estimate distribution of biomass resources in 2010. The establishment of models, developed using different vegetation biomass sample data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI), meteorological data, coordinates, terrain data, and statisti...

This paper presents a concise overview of ash deposition in combustion or co-firing of biomass (woody biomass, agricultural residues, peat, etc.) with other fuels for power/heat generation. In this article, the following five research aspects on biomass combustion ash deposition are reviewed and discussed: influence of biomass fuel characteristics, deposit-related challenges, ash deposition mon...

The biomass supplier selection problem is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty because of subjective preferences/evaluations of decision makers, raw material cost fluctuations, variations in biomass seasonality and the dynamics of biomass demand. Designing a biomass supply chain often becomes a time-dependent problem that should be addressed by examining adequate supply schemes in diff...

Modern agriculture is an extremely energy intensive process. However high agricultural productivities and subsequently the growth of green revolution has been made possible only by large amount of energy inputs, especially those from fossil fuels. With recent price rise and scarcity of these fuels there has been a trend towards use of alternative energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal etc....

The selective pressure exerted by parasites on their hosts will to a large extent be influenced by the abundance or biomass of parasites supported by the hosts. Predicting how much parasite biomass can be supported by host individuals or populations should be straightforward: ultimately, parasite biomass must be controlled by resource supply, which is a direct function of host metabolism. Using...

Perennial biomass from grasslands managed for conservation of soil and biodiversity can be harvested for bioenergy. Until now, the quantity and quality of harvestable biomass from conservation grasslands in Minnesota, USA, was not known, and the factors that affect bioenergy potential from these systems have not been identified. We measured biomass yield, theoretical ethanol conversion efficien...

One half of the world's population relies on biomass fuel as the primary source of domestic energy. Biomass fuel exposure causes a high degree of morbidity and mortality in humans. This is especially true in the context of developing countries, which account for 99% of the world's biomass fuel use. Biomass fuel consists of fire wood, dung cakes, agricultural crop residues such as straw, grass, ...

During recent decades large changes in vegetation biomass have been observed in arctic and alpine areas. While these temporal trends have been clearly linked to changing climatic conditions, the drivers of local spatial variation in biomass are still relatively poorly understood. Thus, we examine the effects of abiotic conditions (as measured by ten variables representing topography, soil prope...