Life Sciences Commons^™

Biomass And Biofuels In Maine: Estimating Supplies For Expanding The Forest Products Industry, Jonathan Rubin, Kate Dickerson, Jacob Kavkewitz

Energy & the Environment

This paper estimates the renewable energy potential of Maine’s forest resources, and how much energy these resources could potentially provide the state. Using the most recent state-specific data available, and a methodology similar to the Billion Tons Report, we find that ethanol production from Maine’s forest residues could potentially provide 18% of Maine’s transportation (gasoline) fuels with a fermentation wood to ethanol process. Making Fischer-Tropsch diesel (F-T diesel) using forest residues can replace 39% of Maine’s petro-diesel consumption. Actual levels of biofuels that can be produced will depend on conversion factors and forestry residue removals that are subject to uncertainty.

Slides: Tribal Perspectives On Natural Resource Policy, Donald Wharton

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Donald Wharton, Native American Rights Fund

16 slides

Quantifying Total And Sustainable Agricultural Biomass Resources In South Dakota, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Russell Persyn, Dennis Todey

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Conversion of biomass is considered the next major advance in biorenewable fuels, energy, and products. Wholesale conversion to biomass utilization could result in removal of current crop residues from agricultural fields or even implementation of different crops and cropping strategies (i.e., switchgrass). To date, the driver for biomass processing has been economics and limitations on the conversion of the lignocellulose. Over the last forty years significant investments and resultant changes in management practices in the agricultural sector have focused on soil and water conservation. One of the major efforts has focused on conservation-till or no-till, with the goal of retaining …

Corn Stover Availability And Collection Efficiency Using Typical Hay Equipment, Robert M. Prewitt, Michael D. Montross, Scott A. Shearer, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Stephen F. Higgins, Samuel G. Mcneill, Shahab Sokhansanj

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Corn stover has been identified as a potential feedstock for the production of fermentable sugars and thermochemical processes. The availability and efficiency of typical hay equipment for collecting corn stover has not been well quantified. Corn stover was collected for two years on a central Kentucky farm near Louisville. Six different harvesting treatments, using traditional hay equipment, were used to harvest corn stover. A rotary mower, rotary scythe (flail-type mower with windrow-forming shields), parallel bar rake, and a round baler were utilized. The average stover moisture content prior to grain harvest was above 40%, and field drying was required before …

Effects Of Elevated Atmospheric Co2 On Root Dynamics, Biomass And Architecture In A Scrub-Oak Ecosystem At Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Daniel Benjamin Stover

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A major gap in whole-plant ecology lies with our understanding of root system growth, function and distribution. Large belowground structures, in addition to fine roots, are of particular interest because of their role in carbon sequestration. Non-destructive methods, including ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and minirhizotron observation tubes, were used to investigate effects of elevated CO₂ on root biomass, dynamics (productivity, mortality, and turnover), root persistence and architecture in a fire dominated scrub-oak ecosystem. Open-top chambers have been exposed to elevated atmospheric CO₂ for the past eleven years at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. No significant sustained CO₂ treatment effects …

Comparison Of Ground-Based Remote Sensors For Evaluation Of Corn Biomass Affected By Nitrogen Stress, Soon-Dal Hong, James Schepers, Dennis D. Francis, Michael R. Schlemmer

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The nondestructive determination of plant biomass is not possible; however, crop-canopy sensors that determine the normalized difference vegetation index have the potential to estimate living biomass, which is indicative of plant vigor and stress. Pot experiments using sand culture were conducted in 2002 and 2003 under greenhouse conditions to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) deficiency on corn biomass and reflectance. Stress was imposed by implementing six to eight levels of N in Hoagland’s nutrient solution. Canopy reflectance measurements made at three growth stages with a variety of handheld spectral sensors (active and passive) were closely correlated with dry weight …

Simulations Of Phytoplankton Species And Carbon Production In The Equatorial Pacific Ocean 1. Model Configuration And Ecosystem Dynamics, Baris Salihoglu, Eileen E. Hofmann

OES Faculty Publications

The primary objective of this research is to investigate phytoplankton community response to variations in physical forcing and biological processes in the Cold Tongue region of the equatorial Pacific Ocean at 0N, 140W. This research objective was addressed using a one-dimensional multicomponent lower trophic level ecosystem model that includes detailed algal physiology, such as spectrally-dependent photosynthetic processes and iron limitation on algal growth. The ecosystem model is forced by a one-year (1992) time series of spectrally-dependent light, temperature, and water column mixing obtained from a Tropical Atmosphere-Ocean (TAO) Array mooring. Autotrophic growth is represented by five algal groups, which have …

Relationships Between Remotely Sensed Data And Biomass Components In A Big Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata) Dominated Area In Yellowstone National Park, Mustafa Mi̇ri̇k, Jack E. Norland, Mario E. Biondini, Robert L. Crabtree, Gerald J. Michels

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The predictive power of a hyperspectral imagery for estimating woody and herbaceous biomass were examined for a big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) dominated area in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States of America. The normalized difference vegetation (NDV) and structure insensitive pigment (SIP) indices were used to investigate the relationships between biomass components and reflectance spectra. Ground data were collected in 13 sample plots 1 m^2 in size by clipping all herbaceous vegetation to ground level and stripping green leaves from big sagebrush plants. Strong relationships (R^2 from 0.83 to 0.96) were found between the hyperspectral data and biomass components. The …

Economic Analysis Of Cellulase Production Methods For Bio-Ethanol, Jun Zhuang, Mary A. Marchant, Sue E. Nokes, Herbert J. Strobel

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The cost of cellulase enzymes has limited the feasibility of producing ethanol from fibrous biomass. Traditional submerged fermentation (SmF) was compared to an alternative method of producing cellulase, solid state cultivation (SSC). Results from an economic analysis indicated that the unit costs for cellulase enzyme production were $15.67 (The prices are all 2004 prices in this article, except otherwise stated. We deflated newer prices to 2004 prices using a deflation factor 0.9 per year and inflated older prices to 2004 prices using an inflation factor 1.1.) per kilogram ($/kg) and $40.36/kg, for the SSC and SmF methods, respectively, while the …

Comparison Of Plankton Catch By Three Light-Trap Designs In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Richard F. Shaw, Joseph S. Cope, G. Joan Holt, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The ichthyoplankton catch and zooplankton biomass estimates of three light-trap designs-cylindrical, quatrefoil, and rectangular-were compared over three consecutive nights at an offshore petroleum platform in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The quatrefoil light trap had higher fish and zooplankton abundance estimates than the other two designs. Categorical analysis of the two abundant fish taxa, Opisthonema oglinum and Anchoa spp., indicated that catch by the quatrefoil and rectangular traps was similar, capturing more larvae than juveniles and more O. oglinum than Anchoa spp. relative to cylindrical trap catch. Across all fish species, the quatrefoil captured a greater percentage of larvae. Other …

Impact And Interaction Of Samea Multiplicalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) And Cyrtobagous Salviniae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) On Salvinia Minima In South Louisiana And The Foraging Behavior Of Solenopsis Invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) On Salvinia Minima, Sunil Tewari

LSU Master's Theses

A field study was conducted in 2005 and 2006 to evaluate the impact and interaction of the herbivores Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands and Samea multiplicalis Guenee on common salvinia, Salvinia minima Baker in south Louisiana. It was a completely randomized experimental design in which treatments consisted of C. salviniae and S. multiplicalis feeding on common salvinia both independently and together along with a control. Our study revealed that treatments consisting of C. salviniae and S .multiplicalis feeding both independently and together had a significant impact on the biomass of common salvinia. Sampling done in October of both 2005 and …