Treesearch

This article conceptualizes homelessness on public lands within a social-ecological systems framework, exploring dynamics in public natural areas in the Seattle metropolitan area (USA), a system with a compact urban-to-wildland gradient. While prior research has studied the dynamics of unsheltered homelessness within particular parks or cities—often in areas where camping is prohibited—our interviewbased study makes integrated considerations of these dynamics across a range of jurisdictions. We present a thematic analysis that examines professionally diverse perspectives on the dynamics,...

Droughts that are hotter, more frequent, and last longer; pest outbreaks that are more extensive and morecommon; and fires that are more frequent, more extensive, and perhaps more severe have raised concern thatforests in the western United States may not return once disturbed by one or more of these agents. Numerousfield-based studies have been undertaken to better understand forest response to these changing disturbanceregimes. Meta-analyses of these studies provide broad guidelines on the biotic and abiotic factors that hinderforest recovery, but study-to-study differences in methods...

In the interior highlands of the eastern United States, there is evidence that fire was frequent in some forests during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before declining drastically in the twentieth century. To better understand past fire regimes and how they shaped forest dynamics during periods of change, we conducted a dendroecological study at Lake Winona Research Natural Area (LWRNA), a 110-ha unlogged forest dominated by shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. We used remnant wood and living tree cores to construct a multicentury record of...

In the present work, the residual biomass of the green seaweed Ulva lactuca was chosen as feedstock to undergo separate hydrolysis and fermentation process to produce bioethanol. The hydrolysis process was optimized for cellulase, biomass, temperature, and time conditions. The maximum yield of fermentable sugars was 13.48 mg/mL. The recovered hydrolysate was subjected to fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The bioethanol produced was subjected to gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry analysis to determine the presence of ethanol. The technical performance and economic...

Timber bridges play a critical role at local, state, and national levels. They provide rapid and cost-effective transportation solutions. To that end, this bulletin addresses the benefits of constructing bridges with timber, including low carbon footprint, short construction time, environmentally benign aesthetics, high strength-to-weight ratio, off-site fabrication, extended service life, long spans, and favorable economics. Methods for improving timber bridge durability and protection are critical aspects of this bulletin. Physical, chemical, and design-based protection strategies...

In this present study, the production of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) from food waste was investigated and critical factors were evaluated. The economic feasibility of the process was investigated, as well as the minimum selling price (MSP) of PBS and sensitivity analysis of economic factors based on critical input parameters. 1,4-butanediol price and solvent usage in PBS purification significantly impacted economics during the process. In this process, the MSP of PBS was 3.5 $/kg. The Monte Carlo simulation technique was used to determine the uncertainty in the MSP of PBS. The plant’s...

The consumption of energy levels has increased in association with economic growth and concurrently increased the energy demand from renewable sources. The need under Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) intends to explore various technological advancements for the utilization of waste to energy. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has been reported as constructive feedstock to produce biofuels, biofuel carriers and biochemicals using energy-efficient technologies in risk freeways. The present review contemplates risk assessment and challenges in sorting and transportation of MSW and different...

The investigation on utilizing macroalgae for industrial scale biodiesel production is an imperative action needed for commercialization. In the present research work, the biooil from marine macroalgae Dictyota bartayresiana was used for biodiesel production using calcium oxide nanocatalyst synthesized using waste collected from building demolition site. The optimization results obtained were the calcination temperature 573 °C, concentration of catalyst 5.62%, methanol to oil molar ratio 14.36:1, temperature 55.7 °C and time 67.57 min for the transesterification with the biodiesel yield of...

Due to the multiple ecosystem benefits that iconic large, old growth trees provide, forest managers are applying thinning treatments around these legacy trees to improve their vigor and reduce mortality, especially in the face of climate change and other forest health threats. One objectives of this study was to analyze sub-hourly stem fluctuations of legacy ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. Ex P. & C. Laws) and sugar pines (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.) in the mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada in multiple different radius thinning treatments to assess the short-term effects of these...