No description available.

Peat moss, also called sphagnum, has become a big problem in many countries such as China and Sweden due to its high green-house gas emission from chemical and biological degradation. In this work, the performance of peat moss pyrolysis has been studied, to investigate the potential of application of peat moss pyrolysis on fuel and chemical production. Thermalgravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and pyrolysis experiments in a bench-scale reactor have been conducted. Kinetic parameters were calculated based on the results of TG and DTG by Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) method and Coats-Redfern method. 450, 500, 550, 600 °C were chosen as the pyrolytic peak temperatures and four phases of products (char, aqueous phase, tar, and gas) were collected. It was found that the peat moss pyrolysis from room temperature to 900 °C could be classified as a six stages reaction. Stage 1 to stage 5 were estimated to be the results of the removal or decomposition of moisture content, hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, and CaCO3, respectively. The results of activation energies calculated by Coats-Redfern method revealed that, when the heating rate different from 10, 15, and 20 °C/min: stage 3 had the activation energy of 276389, 262587, and 239049 J/mol; stage 4 had the activation energy of 252851, 248918, and 307427 J/mol; stage 5 had the activation energy of 1108268, 814402, and 857437 J/mol, respectively. When the peak pyrolytic temperature raised from 450 to 600 °C: the production of char would decrease; the 500 °C one had the highest production of tar; the aqueous phase produced had the highest TAN value at 500 °C. / Torvmossa, även kallad sphagnum, har blivit ett stort problem i många länder som Kina och Sverige på grund av dess stora utsläpp av växthusgaser från kemisk och biologisk nedbrytning. I detta arbete har torvmossans egenskaper vid pyrolys studerats för att undersöka dess potential att användas inom bränsle- och kemisk produktion.Termogravimetrisk analys (TGA), differentiell termisk analys (DTG) och pyrolysförsök i en bench-scale reaktor har genomförts. Kinetiska parametrar beräknades baserat på resultaten av TGA och DTG med Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) metoden och Coats-Redfern metoden. 450, 500, 550, 600 °C valdes som temperaturer vid pyrolys och fyra olika produkter (kol, vattenfas, tjära och gas) uppsamlades. Det visade sig att torvmosspyrolysen från rumstemperatur till 900 °C kunde klassificeras som en reaktion på sex steg. Steg 1 till steg 5 uppskattades vara resultaten av avlägsnande eller sönderdelning av fuktinnehåll, hemicellulosa, cellulosa, lignin respektive CaCO3. Resultaten av aktiveringsenergier beräknade med CoatsRedfern-metoden och visade att: när uppvärmningshastigheten skiljer sig från 10, 15 och 20 °C/min; steg 3 hade aktiveringsenergin 276389, 262587 och 239049 J/mol; steg 4 hade aktiveringsenergin 252851, 248918 och 307427 J/mol; steg 5 hade aktiveringsenergin 1108268, 814402 respektive 857437 J/mol. När den högsta pyrolytiska temperaturen höjdes från 450 till 600 °C: minskade produktionen av kol; 500 °C hade den högsta produktionen av tjära; den producerade vattenfasen hade det högsta TAN-värdet vid 500 °C.

Lichen and moss are the dominant ground cover on the Canadian Shield rock barrens of eastern Georgian Bay, and they provide many ecosystem services. Lichen and moss mats are essential for developing and accumulating soil on the bedrock landscape, and as the mats establish they moderate soil temperature and reduce soil water losses, thereby improving the microclimate for more complex vegetation. In addition to pioneering ecosystem succession, the lichen and moss mats provide essential nesting habitat for turtle species-at-risk. These lichen and moss mats are not well understood on rock barrens landscapes, and as such this thesis aims to increase knowledge of the growth, persistence and restoration approaches for these valuable ecosystem resources. We quantified the ecohydrological controls on the growth of lichen and moss mats by measuring the CO2 exchange of lichen and moss under varying environmental conditions. From these results we determined that key growth periods for lichen and moss were during the wet portions of the growing season (spring and fall), and that growth was limited or non-existent during the dry period (summer). Further, we determined that soil moisture was the most important control on lichen and moss CO2 exchange, and that this relationship differed among cover type (lichen, moss, mix of lichen and moss). Moss was able to continue CO2 uptake at a lower water content than lichen, suggesting that lichen would have a greater decline in productivity under drier conditions. A decline in lichen and moss productivity would also likely lead to a decline in soil development through chemical weathering which, in turn, could affect the availability of turtle nesting habitat. We also used CO2 exchange measurements to compare lichen and moss productivity between natural and transplanted mats. Transplanting in-tact patches of lichen and moss has not been widely studied, and as such we tested this approach on a rock barrens landscape. We determined that natural and transplant productivity did not differ for lichen, and that there were some differences between treatments for mixed and moss plots. We also used the tea bag index method to compare relative decomposition rates between treatments (natural, transplant), where we found that decomposition rates did not differ. Our results indicate that it is feasible to remove lichen mats from the footprint of a planned disturbance such as construction and transplant them successfully to nearby undisturbed areas. This approach would restore the lichen cover and the ecosystem services that lichens provide immediately rather than waiting decades for natural regrowth or fragment establishment. As a whole, this thesis will increase knowledge of both the growth and persistence, as well as the restoration of lichen and moss on rock barrens landscapes. Given that lichens and mosses of these genera grow globally, our findings can be applied widely to enhance and protect lichen and moss mats, and the ecosystem services they provide / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

A series of laboratory experiments and a field investigation were conducted to closely define the application of the ATP assay and ATP as a planktonic biomass estimator for routine use in reservoir limnology. The laboratory experiments verified the published range of C:ATP ratios (i.e. 250:1) as a conversion factor for ATP to biomass in cultured selected genera of freshwater algae, except for the species of blue-green algae examined. The field investigation conducted at Moss Reservoir included organic carbon measurements with ATP biomass in size classes on a depth basis. The ATP biomass varied seasonally and with depth; the best significant mtltiple correlation was between organic carbon and the smallest size class (.45 to 10 um) and total net plankton biomass (.45 to 165 um). Daily monitoring of biomass in size classes demonstrated the sensitivity of the technique.

The objective of my project was to determine variability and representability of mercury in the urban environment of Umeå in northern Sweden, based on applying the methods of forest moss biomonitoring (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, ICP Manual). Mercury (Hg) is a commune pollutant in urban environments release to the atmosphere by anthropogenic activities. Industrial, traffic and incineration activities are the main sources of this element. Mercury is easily transported through the atmosphere and cycle through terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, trending to bioaccumulate in organisms. The aims of the study are: (1) determine the representability and variability of the method in a specific urban environment, based on more intensive analyses of a green area within the city boundaries of Umeå, northern Sweden. (2) influence of site-specific conditions on the concentration of mercury in mosses. (3) City-scale variability in relation to national forest moss biomonitoring data (IVL.se). Results of urban environment measurements do not differ much respect the values of mercury concentration obtained sampling mosses far from the city, but it is subject to many factors that can alter results of the study.  Most of these are meteorological factors and the difficulty of find green zones close to cities with the suitable conditions to find mosses and perform a property sampling process avoiding throughfall and litterfall. The conclusion is that the use of mosses is a representative and valuable method to obtaining information in an urban environment but is limited by mentioned factors.

Climate change, with a higher temperature, is making the snow covered period shorter in the Swedish mountain region. This represents a threat towards plant species at high altitudes which, due to their sensitivity to temperature changes, will likely lead to a change in plant species composition. The purpose of this study was to determine if there has been any change in vegetation cover in the Swedish mountain region and if temperature has changed, based on data from a long-term monitoring program called National Inventory of Landscapes in Sweden (NILS), and data collected from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). The NILS program has conducted three different inventories from 2003 – 2018 in which Sweden is divided into 10 stratums. Further, NILS divided Sweden into 631 survey quadrates (5x5 km), which of 145 were distributed across the Swedish mountain region. Linear regression analysis was used to determine if there had been any change in the average vegetation cover, or in the cover of lichens, mosses and herbs, and to assess if there had been any change in temperature during the sample years 2003 – 2018. The results showed that the vegetation cover in both the sample blocks of 20 m radius and smaller sample areas 0.252 m had no significant change. Neither did the cover of herbs or the average temperature. The period of 2003 – 2018 might have been too short of a period to see any kind of difference in the temperature and the herbs might have a difficult time surviving due to a long drought period and hence they have not been able to increase their average cover. Results of lichens and mosses showed a significant increase in cover which could be because they can withstand drought better than herbs and therefore have a better chance of surviving the rise in temperature. In conclusion I observed no change in the cover of vegetation but there is an increasing cover of lichens and mosses in the Swedish mountain regions. / Klimatförändring med en högre temperatur leder till att den snötäckta perioden är kortare i det svenska fjällområdet. Detta är ett hot mot växtarter som redan befinner sig på gränsen av sin extrema klimatzon och kommer med stor sannolikhet leda till en förändring i kompositionen av växtarter. Syftet med denna studie var att fastställa om det har blivit någon förändring i vegetationstäcket i det svenska fjällområdet och om det finns en förändring i temperaturen med hjälp av data från Nationell Inventering av Landskapet i Sverige (NILS) och data insamlat av Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institut (SMHI). NILS programmet har i dagsläge utfört inventering vid 3 olika perioder fördelade mellan 2003 – 2018 och dom har delat upp Sverige i 10 olika stratum där stratum 10 är fjällområdet. Vidare har dom delat in Sverige i 631 inventerings rutor, varav 145 ligger i fjällområdet. Lineär regression analys användes för att se om det blivit någon förändring i täckningen av vegetationen, lavar, mossor och örter, samt för att se om temperaturen förändrats under inventeringsåren 2003 – 2018. Resultatet av täckningen på vegetationen i 20 m radie samt de små provområdena på 0,252 visade inte någon antydan på signifikant skillnad. Det gjorde inte heller resultatet på täckningen av örter eller medeltemperaturen. 2003 – 2018 kan ha varit alldeles för kort för att avgöra om det har blivit någon förändring i medeltemperaturen och örter kan ha de svårare att överleva då torrperioden blivit längre på grund utav den kortare snötäckta perioden. Mossor och lavar hade dock båda en ökning i sin täckning vilket kan förklaras med att många arter kan lagra vätska under en lång tid och har därmed en större chans att överleva en stigande temperatur. Slutsatsen är att sedan 2003 förekommer det inte någon förändring i vegetationstäcket, däremot finns det en ökad täckning av lavar och mossor i det svenska fjällområdet.

Chloroplasts are organelles that convert light energy to chemical energy through photosynthesis. The movement of chloroplasts within the cell for the optimization of light absorption is crucial for plant survival. Cellular motor proteins and cytoskeletal tracks can facilitate transport of organelles. As an ancient superfamily of microtubule-dependent motors, kinesins participate in various cellular activities including cytokinesis, vesicle and organelle movements. Based on phylogenetic relationships and functional analysis, the kinesin superfamily has been subdivided into more than 14 families, most of which can be found in plants. With the ever increasing amount of genomic information, it is important and beneficial to systematically characterize and document kinesins within an organism. As a result of my collaborative work with other members of the Vidali lab, a detailed phylogenetic characterization of the 76 kinesins of the kinesin superfamily in the moss Physcomitrella patens is reported here. We found a remarkable conservation of families and subfamily classes with Arabidopsis, which is important for future comparative analyses of functions. Some of the families are composed of fewer members, while other families are greatly expanded in moss. To improve the comparison between species, and to simplify communication between research groups, we proposed a classification of subfamilies based on our phylogenetic analysis. As part of my efforts in studying chloroplasts motility, I investigated the function of two members of Physcomitrella kinesin family 14 class V proteins, Ppkin14-Va and -Vb. These two proteins are orthologs of the Arabidopsis KAC proteins which mediate actin-based chloroplast movement in Arabidopsis thaliana. In contrast, in the Physcomitrella both actin filaments (AFs) and microtubules (MTs) participate in chloroplast movement. Our results show that Ppkin14-Vs are important for maintaining chloroplast dispersion. They also function during chloroplast light avoidance responses via an AF-dependent, rather than MT-dependent mechanism. Although two Ppkin14- Vs do not act as MT-based motors, our phylogenetic study on moss kinesins provides an important source of information to track other potential kinesins that are predicted to move chloroplasts on MTs.

<p>En typisk funktion på startsidan till många webbportaler är den webbdel som presenterar exempelvis desenaste blogginläggen, nyheterna eller händelserna som har lagts till på webbplatsen. Dessa funktioner ärkända som aggreggeringswebbdelar. Eftersom startsidan är den sida som besöks mest jämfört med alla andrawebbsidor i portalen innebär det i sin tur att denna funktion utnyttjas väldigt ofta.Detta arbete syftar till att finna ett antal olika metoder som kan användas för att uppnå denna funktion ochatt ta reda på hur väl dessa webbdelar presterar.Denna rapport presenterar både de olika metoder som fanns och resultaten på en systematisk testning avdessa. Resultaten av testerna presenteras på ett överskådligt sätt.Slutligen dras slutsatser angående resultaten. Resultaten förespråkar inte en specifik metod, den metod somlämpar sig bäst för varje enskild sammanhang avgörs till största del av andra faktorer såsom frekvens avbesökare eller ändringar på innehållet som metoden söker igenom.</p>

Syftet med arbetet är att få en förståelse för moss-sedumtakets bullerdämpande egenskaper. Jag kommer även att försöka förutsäga med hjälp av akustikteori vilken utav de två olika uppbyggnadssystemen av moss-sedumtak som ger den bästa bullerdämpande effekten. Mätningarna kommer att bestå i att registrera ljudtrycksnivån i rummet, vid varje oktavband i frekvensområdet 125-4000 Hz. Först utan moss-sedummattan och sedan med moss-sedum mattan. Storleken på differensen i ljudnivån ger en bild av i vilket frekvensområde som ljudabsorptionen är effektivast. För att ytterliggare öka förståelsen för hur moss-sedum absorberar ljud så kommer även absorptionsfaktorn att beräknas. Utifrån resultaten kan man se en tydlig bild på hur xeroflor moss-sedum mattan absorberar i frekvenserna 125-4000 Hz. Den har sin bästa absorption i området 500-4000 Hz och i detta område så är det runt 1000 Hz som den absorberar effektivast.   Om vi tittar på de två olika systemen som Veg Tech använder för att bygga upp ett sedumtak på så sker dämpningen i XMS 0-4 med hjälp av luftspalten och i system XMS 2-27 i VT-filten. Men i detta fall så är luftspalten endast 25 mm så en märkbar ökad dämpning är svårt att föreställa sig. VT-filten som används i XMS 2-27 har öppna celler och kan liknas vid mineralull, som är en bra absorbent. Min slutsats är att 10 mm VT-filt ger bättre dämpning än en luftspalt på 25 mm.

During the water-to-land transition, that occurred approximately 450 MYA, novel habitats wererevealed to the emerging plants. This terrestrial habitat was a harsh environment compared to theaquatic, with shifting substrate content, irregular supply of water, damaging UV-radiation andrapid fluctuating temperatures. Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTP) are today only foundin the land living plants and not in the green algae. This suggests that these genes might haveevolved to help the plants cope with the stressful conditions. In this study the expression patternhas been analysed of the nsLTPs in the moss Physcomitrella patens during the possible conditionsthat raised during the water-to-land transition. The moss was exposed to salt, UV-B, drought, copper, cold and osmotic stress. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyse the transcription levels. I found that six genes were upregulated during either cold, dehydration or UV-B stress. This suggest that these genes are involved in the plant defense against these abiotic stresse