Soil carbon and litter development along a reconstructed biodiverse forest chronosequence of South-Western Australia

Soil organic matter (SOM) increases with time as landscape is restored. Studying SOM development along restored forest chronosequences would be useful in clarifying some of the uncertainties in quantifying C turnover rates with respect to forest clearance and ensuing restoration. The development of soil organic matter in the mineral soils was studied at four depths in a 16-year-old restored jarrah forest chronosequence. The size-separated SOM fractionation along with δ13C isotopic shift was utilised to resolve the soil C temporal and spatial changes with developing vegetation. The restored forest chronosequence revealed several important insights into how soil C is developing with age. Litter accumulation outpaced the native forest levels in 12 years after restoration. The surface soils, in general, showed increase in total C with age, but this trend was not clearly observed at lower depths. C accumulation was observed with increasing restoration age in all three SOM size-fractions in the surface 0–2 cm depth. These biodiverse forests show a trend towards accumulating C in recalcitrant stable forms, but only in the surface 0–2 cm mineral soil. A significant reverse trend was observed for the moderately labile SOM fraction for lower depths with increasing restoration age. Correlating the soil δ13C with total C concentration revealed the re-establishment of the isotopically depleted labile to enriched refractory C continuum with soil depth for the older restored sites. This implied that from a pedogenic perspective, the restored soils are developing towards the original native soil carbon profile.

Understanding 2H/1H systematics of leaf wax n-alkanes in coastal plants at Stiffkey saltmarsh, Norfolk, UK

Interpretation of sedimentary n-alkyl lipid d2H data is complicated by a limited understanding of factors controlling interspecies variation in biomarker 2H/1H composition. To distinguish between the effects of interrelated environmental, physical and biochemical controls on the hydrogen isotope composition of n-alkyl lipids, we conducted linked d2H analyses of soil water, xylem water, leaf water and n-alkanes from a range of C3 and C4 plants growing at a UK saltmarsh (i) across multiple sampling sites, (ii) throughout the 2012 growing season, and (iii) at different times of the day. Soil waters varied isotopically by up to 35& depending on marsh sub-environment, and exhibited site-specific seasonal shifts in d2H up to a maximum of 31 per mil. Maximum interspecies variation in xylem water was 38 per mil, while leaf waters differed seasonally by a maximum of 29 per mil. Leaf wax n-alkane 2H/1H, however, consistently varied by over 100 per mil throughout the 2012 growing season, resulting in an interspecies range in the ewax/leaf water values of -79 per mil to –227 per mil. From the discrepancy in the magnitude of these isotopic differences, we conclude that mechanisms driving variation in the 2H/1H composition of leaf water, including (i) spatial changes in soil water 2H/1H, (ii) temporal changes in soil water 2H/1H, (iii) differences in xylem water 2H/1H, and (iv) differences in leaf water evaporative 2H-enrichment due to varied plant life forms, cannot explain the range of n-alkane d2H values we observed. Results from this study suggests that accurate reconstructions of palaeoclimate regimes from sedimentary n-alkane d2H require further research to constrain those biological mechanisms influencing species-specific differences in 2H/1H fractionation during lipid biosynthesis, in particular where plants have developed biochemical adaptations to water-stressed conditions. Understanding how these mechanisms interact with environmental conditions will be crucial to ensure accurate interpretation of hydrogen isotope signals from the geological record.

Computerized identification of motor complications in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To investigate whether spirography-based objective measures are able to effectively characterize the severity of unwanted symptom states (Off and dyskinesia) and discriminate them from motor state of healthy elderly subjects. Background: Sixty-five patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 10 healthy elderly (HE) subjects performed repeated assessments of spirography, using a touch screen telemetry device in their home environments. On inclusion, the patients were either treated with levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel or were candidates for switching to this treatment. On each test occasion, the subjects were asked trace a pre-drawn Archimedes spiral shown on the screen, using an ergonomic pen stylus. The test was repeated three times and was performed using dominant hand. A clinician used a web interface which animated the spiral drawings, allowing him to observe different kinematic features, like accelerations and spatial changes, during the drawing process and to rate different motor impairments. Initially, the motor impairments of drawing speed, irregularity and hesitation were rated on a 0 (normal) to 4 (extremely severe) scales followed by marking the momentary motor state of the patient into 2 categories that is Off and Dyskinesia. A sample of spirals drawn by HE subjects was randomly selected and used in subsequent analysis. Methods: The raw spiral data, consisting of stylus position and timestamp, were processed using time series analysis techniques like discrete wavelet transform, approximate entropy and dynamic time warping in order to extract 13 quantitative measures for representing meaningful motor impairment information. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the dimensions of the quantitative measures into 4 principal components (PC). In order to classify the motor states into 3 categories that is Off, HE and dyskinesia, a logistic regression model was used as a classifier to map the 4 PCs to the corresponding clinically assigned motor state categories. A stratified 10-fold cross-validation (also known as rotation estimation) was applied to assess the generalization ability of the logistic regression classifier to future independent data sets. To investigate mean differences of the 4 PCs across the three categories, a one-way ANOVA test followed by Tukey multiple comparisons was used. Results: The agreements between computed and clinician ratings were very good with a weighted area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) coefficient of 0.91. The mean PC scores were different across the three motor state categories, only at different levels. The first 2 PCs were good at discriminating between the motor states whereas the PC3 was good at discriminating between HE subjects and PD patients. The mean scores of PC4 showed a trend across the three states but without significant differences. The Spearman’s rank correlations between the first 2 PCs and clinically assessed motor impairments were as follows: drawing speed (PC1, 0.34; PC2, 0.83), irregularity (PC1, 0.17; PC2, 0.17), and hesitation (PC1, 0.27; PC2, 0.77). Conclusions: These findings suggest that spirography-based objective measures are valid measures of spatial- and time-dependent deficits and can be used to distinguish drug-related motor dysfunctions between Off and dyskinesia in PD. These measures can be potentially useful during clinical evaluation of individualized drug-related complications such as over- and under-medications thus maximizing the amount of time the patients spend in the On state.

Organizações culturais e (re)configuração do espaço: o caso do Istituto Europeo di Design, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro

O presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar de que maneira a possibilidade de instalação do Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) no bairro da Urca, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, interfere na (re)configuração do espaço. Para o estudo desse processo adotou-se o conceito de espaço definido por Milton Santos, que o caracteriza como um conjunto indissociável de sistemas de objetos e ações, considerando necessária sua análise numa perspectiva histórica. Para ampliação das considerações sobre poder, identificação e caracterização dos atores sociais e das relações entre eles estabelecidas foram utilizados conceitos propostos por Carlos Matus para a análise da realidade social. A pesquisa de campo, de natureza qualitativa, coletou dados secundários a partir de notícias sobre o processo de revitalização do antigo Cassino da Urca e instalação do Istituto Europeo di Design no local, publicadas em jornais e revistas impressos, jornais on line e blogs, assim como dados primários, a partir de observação não estruturada das instalações ao redor do prédio do antigo Cassino da Urca, participação em reuniões da associação de bairro e entrevistas semi-estruturadas com representantes de organizações envolvidas no processo. Para o tratamento dos dados coletados, realizou-se análise argumentativa e interpretativa a partir da teoria utilizada. Com base nas notícias e documentos consultados, foi definido o período de análise, desde a cessão do prédio do antigo Cassino da Urca ao IED, em agosto de 2006, até o anúncio de parceria com outra organização, pelo instituto, em maio de 2012. O estudo permitiu identificar que a instalação do IED na Urca interferiu na configuração do espaço, principalmente no que se refere à formação e à atuação da associação de moradores do bairro, à instalação de novos empreendimentos comerciais no entorno do prédio já restaurado e, por consequência, na paisagem do bairro. Destaca-se também que a instalação do IED gerou mudanças que extrapolam os limites territoriais do bairro. Com base nos dados analisados, destaca-se que a relação de cooperação entre a Prefeitura Municipal do Rio de Janeiro e o IED foi estabelecida em torno da valorização por parte da Prefeitura do domínio de uma capacidade técnica pelo IED, nas áreas de atuação da organização, que são o ensino, pesquisa e consultoria nas áreas de arquitetura, design, moda e comunicação, o que reforça o argumento da valorização atual de organizações culturais no processo de (re)configuração do espaço urbano, quanto aos aspectos econômicos, simbólicos e sociais.

Configurando a cidade contemporânea em Natal : os processos espaciais em Ponta Negra

This dissertation is about the spatial configuration in Natal and processes in the Ponta Negra neighborhood today. Ponta Negra has undergone a number of critical social and spatial changes due to tourism development after the 1990s. It is of special interest to consider the intensification of real estate investment after 2000, when the new airport terminal, located in the neighboring municipality of Parnamirim, was in use. Ponta Negra is the place where most tourists go to, so attracting considerable public investments. New agents of transformation have produced change in the neighborhood as well. The present study aims at analysing the spatial processes in this part of the city. Here, the spatial configuration that resulted from extended real estate investments, both public and private, in recent years, is analysed in detail. The study identifies the multually differentiated, however internally homogenous areas. The concepts of production of space, contemporanean urban development and spatial dynamics are discussed. The research is based on document analysis and field work. Results were plotted to maps and tables. A detailed analysis of the spatial processes in the Ponta Negra neighborhood is undertaken as a conclusion, considering the contemporanean global scenario

Transporte coletivo em Natal/RN: uma abordagem geográfica

This paper focuses public bus service as an essential component to urban dynamics in Natal, RN. Thereby, the approach of public bus service in Natal City, capital of Rio Grande do Norte State, has as analytical category the concept of territory used, in which techniques are seen as space elements allowing man and nature interact together. The result of this interaction, systematically analyzed in different historical phases, makes space to a geographical assessment of the theme. On a second moment, it is investigated how public bus system came to be and how it functions today in Natal City. In this sense, this paper looks for the main elements that contributed to explain the subject under investigation. For example, how public bus service has accompanied Natal s socio-spatial changes, and eventually, the use of territory carried out in the context of public bus system. These questions are highlighted in this paper because they play a fundamental role to an explanation about public bus circulation, urban vehicle policies and how they affect the use of territory nowadays.

Ilha de Santana e Alto de Santa Rita: a produção do espaço a partir do turismo em Caicó e Santa Cruz - RN

Tourism is an activity that uses the spatial objects and also produces and because it creates an economic activity areas for leisure. So for this to occur itdoes need a space reorganized, with infrastructure to receive visitors. And in the process of construction / reconstruction of tourist destination the state comes as a precursor, creating public policies that tourism can develop. Thus, this paper examines the transformation process by which the spaces are aiming to become tourist, and what changes occur in socio-spatial dynamic of the city in which this activity is inserted. The spatial area of study refers to the Alto de Santa Rita, Santa Cruz and the Isla de Santana Tourist Complex in Caicó both in Rio Grande do Norte. The reconstruction of the Island de Santana did not occur randomly, in order that the spatial changes were performed to meet the demand for which Caicó had to perform his greatest social and religious event, the Feast of Santana, which occurs since its colonization in year 1748 and also the Carnival these two events being considered as a strong tourist attraction of the city. And the Santa Rita High was built in order to enter the city of Santa Cruz in the script of religious tourism of the state through the devotion of the patron. The Dissertation isstructured in five parts, the first refers to the introduction of the work, while the second examines how tourism wound to the Rio Grande do Norte and internalizesthe third part deals with the spaces for tourism in these cities, the the fourthidentifies as the symbolism of these spaces influence the transformation and the latter reveals how these spaces affect the socio-economic structure of cities across the events

Phosphate distribution in the sediments along a cascade of reservoirs - (Paranapanema River, SE, Brazil)

Total phosphorus concentrations in the sediment of a cascade of 8 reservoirs located in the Paranapanema River (SE, Brazil) were analysed during two consecutive seasonal periods (2000 and 200 1). The reservoirs of Jurumirim, Chavantes, Salto Grande, Canoas 11, Canoas 1, Capivara, Taquarucu and Rosana were built during the last five decades with the purpose of hydroelectric generation. The sampling points were distributed along a 700 km of river stretch in 19 stations distributed in the river-reservoirs zones and main tributaries as well as in 5 stations representing the adjacent wetlands. The nutrient concentration was determined in samples from surface layers of sediment. Temporal and spatial changes were observed for both years. Three different areas could be identified along the river, considering not only Tot-P variations but also others physical and chemical characteristics such as organic matter concentration, nitrogen concentration of sediment and 02, pH, conductivity and Eh measured in the bottom layer of the water column. Higher values of Tot-P were found in the middle and lower region of the Paranapanema basin (maximum value of 1.96 mg g(-1) in Tibagi River in October/2001). Agricultural practices and cattle raising are the main external sources of nutrient in these regions. Superficial or sub-superficial watershed drainage and tributaries entrances are important nutrient contributors, leading to an increasing accumulation of nutrient in the sediment. This process seems to be especially important in the middle region of the Paranapanema Valley, were the values of Tot-P were higher comparing to the other areas.

Avaliação da dinâmica do uso da terra na bacia do arroio Santa Bárbara - pelotas (Brasil), no período de 1953 a 2006

Land use dynamics is a consequence of socioeconomic system cycles. In this context, this work was developed aiming to evaluate land use alterations in Santa Bárbara watershed (Pelotas - Brazil), during 53 years (1953 - 2006), evidencing socioeconomic elements that contributed to this process. For land use dynamic analysis, maps of 1953, 1965, 1995 e 2006 were elaborated. Spatial changes that happened in Santa Bárbara watershed represent a regional process: pasture areas had decrease while culture lands had a gradual increase. This conjuncture is a consequence of the crisis in livestock destined to salted and dried meat production and of the food industry growth in Pelotas that impelled urban expansion, forest area reduction and artificial water reservoirs increase. © Scripta Nova, 2010.

Análise temporal do uso do solo e comparação entre os índices de vegetação ndvi e savi no município de Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo - SP usando imagens landsat-5

This work aims to analyze the land use evolution in the city of Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo - SP through supervised classification of Landsat-5 TM satellite images according to the maximum likelihood (Maxlike), as well as verifying the mapping accuracy through Kappa index, comparing NDVI and SAVI vegetation indexes in different adjustment factors for the canopy substrate and determining the vegetal coverage percentage in all methods used on 2007, May 26 th; 2009, January 7 th and 2009, April 29 th. The Maxlike classification showed several spatial changes in land use over the study period. The most appropriated vegetation indexes were NDVI and SAVI - 0,25 factor, which showed similar values of vegetal coverage percentage, but discrepant from the inferred value for Maxlike classification.

Aglomeração urbana de Londrina: integração territorial e intensificação de fluxos

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Dengue no Brasil: abordagem geográfica na escala nacional

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A expansão da agroindústria sucroalcooleira e a questão do desenvolvimento da microrregião de Dracena-SP

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Seletividade de captura, dinâmica populacional, análise de estoque e sustentabilidade da pesca de Hemiodus unimaculatus (Bloch, 1794) a montante da barragem de Tucuruí, Brasil

Hemiodus unimaculatus (Bloch, 1794) está entre as principais espécies desembarcadas na área de influência da Usina Hidrelétrica de Tucuruí (UHE Tucuruí), contudo são poucas as informações existentes sobre a pesca e biologia da espécie na área. Logo, o trabalho se propõe a verificar as mudanças espaciais na população de H. unimaculatus, determinar as curvas de seletividade das redes utilizadas e calcular alguns parâmetros de sua dinâmica populacional. O local de estudo corresponde à área localizada a partir da barragem da UHE Tucuruí, compreendendo Reservatório (zona de inundação) e Montante. As coletas foram efetuadas trimestralmente nos anos de 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 e 2007 e semestralmente nos anos de 2002 e 2004, em cinco locais no reservatório e dois na montante, utilizando bateria de redes de emalhar de 50 m de comprimento e 3 m de altura, com malhas de 40, 60, 80 e 100 mm entre nós opostos. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis foi utilizado para comparar as médias de comprimento total e o peso dos espécimes ao nível de significância de 5%; a variação espaço-temporal das capturas foi determinada pela análise de Cluster e pelo SIMPER; a seletividade de rede pela construção das curvas de seleção; e os aspectos populacionais (crescimento, longevidade, mortalidade, recrutamento e o rendimento por recruta) com o auxílio do programa FISAT II. Os resultados demonstraram que as fêmeas são maiores e mais pesadas que os machos. No período inicial (2001-2003) a espécie dividia a área de estudo em zona de desova e crescimento, enquanto no período final (2005-2007) não havia diferença quanto o uso do espaço. A malha de 60 mm é a mais indicada para a pesca, considerando a captura de 50% de indivíduos adultos. A proporção sexual de 1,44:1 foi favorável as fêmeas (χ²_c = 28,86; p < 0,0001). As relações peso total/comprimento total apresentaram correlação positiva, não diferindo entre os sexos (t = -0,097; p = 0,9229), sendo que machos e fêmeas exibiram crescimento do tipo isométrico. O fator de condição não foi diferente entre os pontos de coleta, sugerindo que a espécie utiliza toda a área de estudo como zona de alimentação. Os parâmetros de crescimento de von Bertalanffy foram L∞ = 358 mm, k = 0,55 ano^-1 e t₀ = -0,15 ano. As médias de mortalidade total e natural foram de 3,04 ano^-1 e 0,7 ano^-1, respectivamente. A taxa de explotação foi estimada em 0,77 e o rendimento por recruta mostrou que a taxa de exploração do estoque de H. unimaculatus deve ser reduzida em 52% para manter o recrutamento e a desova. Assim, com todas as informações geradas, é possível notar que as mudanças na estrutura e dinâmica espaço-temporal de H. unimaculatus são um processo de adaptação contínuo e o manejo pesqueiro adequado se torna essencial para a preservação da espécie. Para atingir esse objetivo, faz-se necessário rever a legislação pesqueira atual, buscando uma otimização do tamanho de malha para a captura da espécie, diminuir a taxa de exploração e monitorar regularmente a seletividade e os parâmetros populacionais.

Dinâmica temporal e composição florística da comunidade arbórea de floresta ombrófila densa montana, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, SP, Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)