From the perspective of the biorefinery, the inherent heterogeneity of mixed-species feedstocks increases the apparent risk associated with their use due to the difficulty in predicting processing ...characteristics, potential yields and digestibility. These materials often contain species from different botanical classifications, which could affect pretreatment efficiency and Saccharification yields. For this study, we evaluated the impact of ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX™1) pretreatment conditions on hydrolysis sugar yields for five early successional old-field treatment replicates, each comprised of a different mixture of annual forb and grass species. Yields from these samples were also compared to a late successional old field sample and to corn stover that had been pretreated at the same conditions. Relatively high sugar yields were obtained for four of the five early successional feedstocks when pretreated at the same conditions: 2.0 g NH3:g DM; 0.5 g H2O:g DM; 100 °C; 30 min. It was found that glucan digestibility was strongly inversely correlated to the total lignin content; however this was not true of the xylan digestibility. The mixed-species feedstocks that had a higher grass content tended to also have a higher structural sugar content and were more digestible than forb-dominated feedstocks, thereby resulting in higher saccharification yields. Also, the grass-dominated mixed-species feedstocks were as digestible as corn stover (∼80% total sugar yields). However, due to its higher structural sugar content, corn stover had higher total glucose and xylose yields (580 g/kg biomass) compared to the mixed-species feedstocks, which ranged from 290 to 470 g/kg biomass.
► Mixed-species feedstock digestibility is related to species classification. ► Grass-dominated mixed-species feedstocks tended to have higher sugar yields. ► Grass-dominated mixed-species feedstocks and corn stover were equally digestible. ► Glucan digestibility was strongly inversely correlated to the lignin content.
This new and significantly updated authored dictionary is a unique glossary of paleontological terms, taxa, localities, and concepts. It focuses primarily on identifying the most significant groups ...of fossil animals and plants in relation to their evolution and phylogeny. It also focuses on mass extinctions, on taxa that are problematic in some significant way, on the principal fossil-Lagerstatten of the world, and on historical turning points marked by index fossils. Although there are many current resources on the subject, none contains an accurate representation of the paleontological lexicon. Although well aware that the fast-changing field of paleontology will always defy any attempt at complete description, the author has attempted to provide an accurate and comprehensive set of about 4,000 entries that will be useful to professionals as well as to general readers of scientific literature without a background in paleontology.
The first and so far only Plant Geography of Chile was written about 100 years ago, since when many things have changed: plants have been renamed and reclassified, taxonomy and systematics have ...experienced deep changes as have biology, geography, and biogeography. The time is therefore ripe for a new look at Chile's plants and their distribution. Focusing on three key issues - botany/systematics, geography and biogeographical analysis - this book presents a thoroughly updated synthesis both of Chilean plant geography and of the different approaches to studying it. Because of its range - from the neotropics to the temperate sub-Antarctic - Chile's flora provides a critical insight into evolutionary patterns, particularly in relation to the distribution along the latitudinal profiles and the global geographical relationships of the country's genera. The consequences of these relations for the evolution of the Chilean Flora are discussed. This book will provide a valuable resource for both graduate students and researchers in botany, plant taxonomy and systematics, biogeography, evolutionary biology and plant conservation.
Phylogeography of Southern European Refugia provides the first synthesis of the remarkable diversity, evolutionary complexity, and conservation importance of the flora and fauna in the Mediterranean ...region, with emphasis on the three major peninsular refugia. The book frames a number of case studies within several introductory and closing chapters that review the development and importance of phylogeographic approaches in evolutionary biology. The book opens with a chapter by the field s founding father, John Avise, reviewing the 25 evolutionary insights that have arisen from the phylogeographic revolution. Key to this perspective is the notion that the multidisciplinary field of phylogeography is serving as an epistemological bridge between the formerly distinct fields of population genetics and phylogenetics. Next, the foremost leaders of plant phylogeography in Europe, Rémy Petit and Giovanni Vendramin provide an extraordinarily comprehensive and studious review of the history of plant organelle genetics and their application in phylogeography. A closing chapter provides an up-to-date review of the caveats, challenges, and future prospects in phylogeography as a discipline. The volume contains both broad scale and regional phylogeographic studies with original data from a range of organisms including trees, mammals, insects, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Throughout the volume it is clear that phylogeographic studies, especially in the major peninsulas of southern Europe (Iberia, Italy, the Balkans) have provided enlightening insights into the evolutionary complexity and conservation importance of biota occupying Europe s most prominent glacial refugia.
This essay considers the publication of a major history of plants by the Oxford botanist Robert Morison (1620–1683). Morison's work was both a contribution to contemporary knowledge of plant taxonomy ...and a significant venture in the early history of the Oxford University Press. It was above all one of the most complex illustrated books published in late seventeenth-century England. Scott Mandelbrote presents its intellectual context and describes its material history and the interaction between author, artists, and publisher in its creation.
