Resprouting multi-stemmed woody plants form an important component of the woody vegetation in many ecosystems, but a clear methodology for reliable measurement of their size and quick, ...non-destructive estimation of their woody biomass and carbon stock is lacking. Our goal was to find a minimum number of sprouts, i.e., the most easily obtainable, and sprout parameters that should be measured for accurate sprout biomass and carbon stock estimates. Using data for 5 common temperate woody species, we modelled carbon stock and sprout biomass as a function of an increasing number of sprouts in an interaction with different sprout parameters. The mean basal diameter of only two to five of the thickest sprouts and the basal diameter and DBH of the thickest sprouts per stump proved to be accurate estimators for the total sprout biomass of the individual resprouters and the populations of resprouters, respectively. Carbon stock estimates were strongly correlated with biomass estimates, but relative carbon content varied among species. Our study demonstrated that the size of the resprouters can be easily measured, and their biomass and carbon stock estimated; therefore, resprouters can be simply incorporated into studies of woody vegetation.
Trends in bread waste utilisation Dymchenko, Alan; Geršl, Milan; Gregor, Tomáš
Trends in food science & technology,
February 2023, 2023-02-00, Volume:
132
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Bread is the most consumed food and one of the most wasted foods in the world. Every year, millions of tonnes of bread are wasted worldwide. The reason for this is the rapid spoilage of bakery ...products. This results in a large amount of unused bread in supermarkets and households. However, waste bread could be used as a renewable raw material. The most discussed strategy for recycling bakery waste is fermentation. But there are other methods to utilise bread waste, which will be discussed in the present review.
In this review, we examine the latest trends in bread waste recycling; explore the possibilities for producing new chemicals, foods and other products and materials; and determine the efficiency of using bread waste to produce sugar used to make a new product through fermentation and other technologies.
Bread waste is a good feedstock for microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and yeasts. These microorganisms produce glucose from bread waste. After glucose extraction, the hydrolysate can be further fermented by microorganisms to produce lactic acid, hydrogen, ethanol, 2,3-butanediol, paramylon and syngas. Bread waste is also used to produce textiles and graphene. Already now, the processing of stale bread by extrusion to make a new product is used in manufacturing. In the last decade, craft breweries have learnt to use leftover bread to brew beer, saving millions of slices of bread each year.
•Creation of new products from waste bread.•Possibilities of glucose obtaining from waste bread.•Bread waste is a potential feedstock for bacteria, fungi and yeasts.•Bread waste is a promising raw material for chemicals production.•Bread waste fermentation technologies.
The Hranice hypogenic karst region includes urban, spa and agricultural areas and industry complexes that affect water quality in the region. Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), especially ...pesticides and pharmaceuticals, are released into the complex aquatic system. These substances and their metabolites can affect aquatic and human life, as well as the regional development of the wider area traditionally associated with the spa. In this study, we conducted preliminary screening for pesticides and pharmaceuticals at 33 sampling sites and across different location types, including surface water, drainage water, a shallow well, groundwater and thermal karst water. Sampling occurred between February 2022 and June 2023. The results generally confirm that current land use is causing pollution in the karst system. The monitored substances were present in all water types, and in most cases the concentrations of pesticides were lower than those of their metabolites. Chloridazon desphenyl (DESPH) is the most widespread pesticide in surface, ground and hypogenic waters. Its concentrations in surface waters were 5.7 ng·L
−1
–2,230 ng·L
−1
, in groundwaters were 11.3 ng·L
−1
–1,490 ng·L
−1
and in karst hypogenic waters 5.4 ng·L
−1
–378 ng·L
−1
. Diclofenac was the most widespread substance from the pharmaceutical group. Its concentrations ranged from 5.6 ng·L
−1
–549 ng·L
−1
in surface waters, 8.4 ng·L
−1
–112 ng·L
−1
in groundwaters and 5.1 ng·L
−1
–47.4 ng·L
−1
in karst hypogenic waters. Directly in the karst hypogenic waters, the following EOCs were repeatedly detected: atrazine and its metabolites, simazin, metazachlor ethane sulfonic acid (ESA), metolachlor ESA, alachlor ESA, chloridazon DESPH, diclofenac, ibuprofen, azithromycin, bisphenol A and diethyltoluamide (DEET). The initial research hypothesis is that hydrothermal karst waters are of sub-recent age and deep circulation and, unlike surface and groundwaters, are not contaminated by recent pollutants. A certain component of these waters is therefore a shallow and shorter circulation.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to detect three triazine pesticides and their metabolites in the drip water and the sediment of the Amaterska cave system. Diversity of the bacterial community in ...the sediment was also assessed, and the potential role of bacteria in degradation of these pesticides was evaluated.
Materials and methods
Triazines and their metabolites were analyzed in the soil, drip water, and sediment of the Amaterska cave system area in seven sampling sites (S1–S7) based on the above ground cover that included forest, permanent grassland, and agriculture cropland. The bacterial community in the cave sediments (S1–S6) was also analyzed using the Illumina sequencing of the V3 and V4 regions of 16S rDNA.
Results and discussion
Triazines were present in the soil and drip water in all sites below grassland and agricultural land but not under the forest area. Only atrazine metabolites were detected in the surface soil. In contrast, atrazine was detected in all cave sediments regardless of above ground cover, and this is likely due to the occasional alluvial influx. The overall prevalence of bacteria potentially capable of atrazine degradation in the cave sediment ranged from 13.4 to 64.0% of the entire bacterial community. The concentrations of atrazine in the cave sediment were 16 to 70 times higher than in those in drip water.
Conclusions
High concentrations of atrazine in the cave sediment indicate a slow degradation rate of triazines in the cave likely due to low temperatures and absence of photolysis. The main source of atrazine in the Amaterska cave system is likely not drip water but the alluvial influx. Bacteria potentially capable of triazine degradation in the cave sediment were detected; however, their role in this process remains to be investigated.
This study investigated weathering and hydrobiogeochemical processes in a silicate dominated watershed (Svratka river) in the Czech Republic in comparison with nearby carbonate dominated catchments. ...Elemental and isotopic analysis of river waters, particulates and sediments provided a more holistic view of weathering contributions, anthropogenic contamination, biological activity and evasion or sinks of CO
2
to the atmosphere. In water samples, we determined total alkalinity after Gran 1974, and cations and anions were determined with inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometer and ion chromatograph.
δ
13
C
DIC
in water samples was determined with isotope ratio mass spectrometer. pCO
2
and saturation indexes of calcite and dolomite were calculated with PHREEQC speciation program. Evasion fluxes were calculated after Broecker, 1974. Isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in particulate matter and sediments were determined with isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Mineral composition of sediments was determined with XRD method and elements with XRF method. Further enrichment factors of elements were calculated. The Svratka river, which is the major tributary of the Dyje river, is dominated by Ca
2+
> Na
+
> Mg
2+
> K
+
and HCO
3
−
(as total alkalinity). Partial pressure (pCO
2
) concentrations range from close to 0–572-fold of atmospheric pressure. Isotopic composition of carbon in dissolved inorganic carbon (
δ
13
C
DIC
) value ranged from − 13.3 to − 8.0‰ reflecting degradation of organic matter and exchange with the atmosphere. Bicarbonate weathering intensity for the Svratka river at its mouth is 11.8 mol/(l⋅km
2
⋅s), more on par with silicate terrains and lower than nearby carbonate watersheds. Isotopic composition of carbon (
δ
13
C) and isotopic composition of nitrogen (
δ
15
N) values of river sediment reflect soil and temperate plant (C3 plant) values, while higher
δ
15
N values could be attributed to application of organic fertilizers in lower reaches. The river sediments, which came from weathering of crystalline rocks, are dominated by silt size, geochemically less mature quartz, feldspar and muscovite particles. All the stream sediments examined revealed slightly increased amounts of Zn, Cu and Pb. However, using Al as the normalization element to calculate enrichment factors, Zn, Cu and Pb are only elevated downstream, related to industrial contamination. This study is important for local and global level since it deals with contribution of weathering rates and contribution of CO
2
to the atmosphere in silicate watershed.
Microclimatic processes were studied in the soil of the well-defined “breathing spot” named Půlhodina (BSP) in the Hranice Karst (Czech Republic). The results have indicated that air is exchanged ...between the external atmosphere and a supposed underground cavity under air-buoyancy control. Upward airflow ventilation mode (UAF mode) and downward airflow ventilation mode (DAF mode) were distinguished. The virtual temperature of switching between both modes was about 16.5 °C. At the UAF mode, the underground air is rising from the cavity through the BSP, warms soil, and carries out the underground CO
2
. At the DAF mode, the external air is sucked into the cavity through the BSP soil, promoting the advective flux of the soil-respired CO
2
deeper into the cavity. Whereas the warming of the soil is a dominant process in the UAF mode, the CO
2
advective flux into the cavity is the main process in the DAF mode. The simplified mathematical model was derived as a function of the external air temperature and the soil air temperature to simulate the time evolution of CO
2
concentration in the BSP. Despite simplifying assumptions, this model showed a good agreement with the collected data. The advective CO
2
flux from a breathing spot soil may significantly contribute to the total CO
2
flux into the adjacent underground cavity. Its total values may reach 4 × 10
−3
mol s
−1
or even more, based on the actual CO
2
concentration, the exchanged airflow magnitude (both controlled by external temperature), and the breathing spot area. This conclusion is important for karsologists studying the cave CO
2
budget, CO
2
sources, and the mechanisms of CO
2
transport into caves.
Biogas and Methane Yield from Rye Grass Vítěz, Tomáš; Koutný, Tomáš; Geršl, Milan ...
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis,
2015, Volume:
63, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Biogas production in the Czech Republic has expanded substantially, including marginal regions for maize cultivation. Therefore, there are increasingly sought materials that could partially replace ...maize silage, as a basic feedstock, while secure both biogas production and its quality.Two samples of rye grass (Lolium multiflorum var. westerwoldicum) silage with different solids content 21% and 15% were measured for biogas and methane yield. Rye grass silage with solid content of 15% reached an average specific biogas yield 0.431 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter and an average specific methane yield 0.249 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter. Rye grass silage with solid content 21% reached an average specific biogas yield 0.654 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter and an average specific methane yield 0.399 m3·kg−1 of organic dry matter.
Over the past 100 years, the area along the River Bílina has been influenced by open-cast brown-coal mining, coal processing, petroleum refineries, and chemical plants. As a result, the extensive ...industrial activity has changed the overall character as well as the morphology of the landscape. A survey was underway to investigate the occurrence and distribution of various elements in the sediments of the River Bílina—a tributary of the River Elbe, a watercourse running through the Czech Republic and Germany—in order to discern the natural background from anthropogenic pollution. The study evaluated the content of selected elements (As, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, V, and Cu) in stream sediments of the River Bílina. Samples were taken at 20 sampling sites throughout the 82-km-long watercourse. For all the samples, the content of the elements was determined using ICP-MS after each of the sample was digested using HF and HNO
3
. The results of analyses of elemental composition of stream sediments were compared with those found through such analyses made within the surrounding geological units—more specifically, Proterozoic crystalline, Tertiary volcanic, Quaternary loess, Neogene sediments, and Neogene coal. All the samples of the stream sediments examined revealed increased amounts of As, V, Ni, Cr, and Pb. Using the enrichment factor established on the basis of the regional geological background values proved that elevated levels of elements in stream sediments are not always the result of industrial contamination.
The deep boreholes in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin provide a valuable material to evaluate thermal maturity of the present Carboniferous units. 17 boreholes were used for evaluating expected ...paleothicknesses of the missing units and the maximum temperatures reached via 1D modelling. The models consider the geological evolution concepts accepted for the region. The reliability of the final thermal models was calibrated with vitrinite reflectance data. Vitrinite reflectance varies between 0.46 and 2.32% Rr indicating thermally early mature to over mature organic matter for the Ostrava Fm. and Karviná Fm. The coal rank increases from the east to the west. Based on the data from RockEval pyrolysis all samples from the Ostrava and Karviná Fms. belong to type III kerogen. The RE results show that the source potential of the Carboniferous sediments was not spent in full as part of the Variscan tectogen. Burial and thermal history on the Czech side of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin was reconstructed. The set of several 1D simulations proved that the thickness of the missing Palaeozoic molasses association is 2500 to 3400m in the foreland and 1800 to 2000m for the platform. The maximum burial is expected at the end of the Westphalian. The consequent sedimentation of the Carpathian Foredeep and nappe thrusting did not change the Palaeozoic thermal maturity pattern within the tested area of the USCB.
•The organic matter in the Ostrava and Karviná Fm. belong to type III kerogen.•The expected thickness of the missing Palaeozoic molasses association in the USCB varies between 1,800 and 3,400m towards the west and east.•The palaeo heat flow scenario suggest 75-80mW.m-2 during the Palaeozoic.
In this study a Rock-Eval pyrolysis, a petrographic composition of organic matter, vitrinite reflectance and gas chromatography were undertaken on borehole cores from the Mikulov Marls in order to ...define the organic matter type and determine the thermal maturity. The analyzed samples covered a depth interval of between 2300m and 4500m. The studied sediments were dark-colored, moderately laminated shales throughout which appear uniform upon visual examination. The geochemical analyses revealed that the source rock potential of the Mikulov Marls is from fair to good. According to the Rock-Eval pyrolysis, the organic matter in the samples was classified as kerogen type II–III. This classification is not supported by the results from the other used methods. The evaluation of the organic macerals demonstrated the dominant role of liptinite with prevailing liptodetrinite accompanied by a variable content of alginite, bituminite, and sporadic sporinite and resinite. The alginite consists mainly of lamalginite, derived from colonial planktonic or benthonic algae. Based on these results, the Mikulov Marls represent the kerogen type II. These results are also supported with a strong n-alkane odd-carbon-number predominance at n-C15, n-C17 and n-C19 range on the gas chromatography.
•The organic matter in the Mikulov Marls belong to the kerogen type II.•The dominant maceral group in the Mikulov Marls are macerals from liptinite group.•The beginning of the oil window is at 3 491m based on hopane isomerization.
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