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Biochar represents a new approach to fight global warming through its ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by carbon fixation. It has been proven to be efficient in increasing harvest through the effects of increasing WHC, pH level and the uptake of nutrients. Sweden has 12 biochar production facilities and therefore represents an interesting biochar developer. In this report, Different field studies on the use of biochar were compared both in Sweden and internationally. The field studies were identified based on crop type, soil type, climate, feedstock and pyrolysis method. Stockholm Stad was even observed as a consumer of biochar that is supplied by Stockholm Exergi in Sweden. Varying results have been observed on effects of biochar, mainly due to the different conditions in which it is applied. Due to the variable effects of biochar on the observed factors, it is recommended for the capability to customise the biochar by choosing the specific pyrolysis method and the type of feedstock. To have a better understanding and ability to customise biochar more extensive information is needed on biochar use and application in different areas. Biochar seems to respond most effectively to nutrient poor soils in both agriculture and forestry. Tropical and boreal forest seem to benefit the most from biochar application compared to temperate zones. / Biokol fungerar som en kolsänka och är en metod att bekämpa klimatförändringar. Det har även visat sig vara effektiv inom jordbruk då den ökar skörden genom att förbättra jordens vatten hållfasthet,näringsupptag samt öka pH. Sverige är ledande i biokol med 12 producerande faciliteter och därmed incitament att utveckla biokol. I rapporten jämförs olika fältstudier i Sverige och internationellt. Fältstudierna var baserade på grödan, jordtyp, klimat, råmaterialet och pyrolys metoden. Varierande resultat har observerats kring biocools användning och detta beror på de olika faktorerna där biokol applicerats. Därmed rekommenderas det att biokol skräddarsys genom bland annat specifik pyrolys metod och råmaterial. Mer omfattande information kring biokol använding i olika området krävs för att kunna skräddarsy biokol. Biokol verkar dock mest effektiv inom näringsfattiga områden både inom jordbruk och skog,specifikt boreala och tropiska zoner.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第24655号 / 農博第2538号 / 新制||農||1097(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R5||N5436(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科農学専攻 / (主査)教授 白岩 立彦, 教授 中﨑 鉄也, 教授 丸山 伸之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Flooding is a major environmental stress that damages agricultural production worldwide. Using the key regulator of submergence tolerance in rice, SUB1A, as a model, we have advanced our understanding of how plants coordinate transcriptional, hormonal, and metabolic responses to submergence. However, the contribution of SUB1A to recovery from sublethal submergence is still unknown. This study revealed SUB1A's additional role in the recovery phase: promotion of a rapid return to normal metabolic status upon desubmergence through quick recovery of photosystem II photochemistry and carbon fixation. We also investigated how SUB1A differentially regulates adaptive responses in two functionally distinct leaves, growing and mature leaves, under submergence. This study revealed that rice plants promote rapid carbohydrate and nitrogen remobilization and transport in mature leaves, supporting quick elongation growth of growing leaves. In the presence of SUB1A, these metabolic processes were suppressed in mature leaves, resulting in the avoidance of energy starvation in the source tissues. In growing leaves, SUB1A enhanced the accumulation of abscisic acid, but repressed the level of ACC, a precursor of ethylene, contributing to the restriction of elongation growth and leaf senescence in the sink tissues. Application of nitrogen fertilizers is a necessary step to maintain high grain yield in cereals, but plants absorb only 30-50% of supplied N. Wheat, one of the most widely grown crops in the world, requires a high level of nitrogen application to maintain grain yield and protein content. In this study, we investigated how nitrogen input affects the accumulation of major N and C compounds and expression of genes associated with N and C metabolism in flag leaves of wheat. We used two genotypes with distinct nitrogen use efficiencies (NUE), VA08MAS-369 and VA07W-415. VA08MAS-369 displayed higher grain yield, stover biomass, and stover N content at low N, which results from greater N-uptake efficiency in this genotype. Consistently, high N-uptake efficiency was reflected by increased mRNA accumulation of nitrate transporters and their transcriptional regulator, NAC2, in flag leaves at the post-anthesis stage. Overall, this study advanced our knowledge of the important mechanisms in plant response to flooding and N limitation in these key staple cereals. / PHD / Flooding is a serious natural disaster that damages agricultural production worldwide. Rice is a wetland plant that adapts to flooding conditions, but its tolerance to flooding varies in cultivars. Functional characterization of a submergence tolerance gene, SUB1A, has led to our understanding of various mechanisms that regulate flooding tolerance in rice and other plants. However, the role of SUB1A in plant recovery from mild submergence stress is still unknown. This study revealed that SUB1A contributes to the maintenance of photosynthetic performance and provides protection from sudden exposure to high light after floodwater subsides. These processes aid in a quick recovery from reduced metabolic activities. We also investigated the role of SUB1A in adaptive responses in growing and mature leaves of rice plants during submergence. Mature and growing leaves looked similar, but their functional importance was distinct. In general, mature leaves serve as energy production tissues through photosynthesis. The excess carbohydrate and nitrogen reserves produced in mature leaves are transferred to growing leaves that consume a large amount of energy for rapid growth. This study revealed that SUB1A restricted the consumption and transfer of energy reserves in mature leaves to avoid an energy crisis. In growing leaves, SUB1A suppressed elongation growth and leaf senescence through the proper regulation of key hormones controlling these processes. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer application is a necessary process to improve agricultural productivity in many crops. However, crops only take up 30-50% of applied N, resulting in water and air pollution and altered ecosystems. Improvement of plant N use efficiency (NUE) is one of the ways to address this issue. This study compared two soft red winter wheat lines with contrasting NUE under low and normal N supply. It was concluded that one line, VA08MAS-369, had higher grain yield and N uptake efficiency under low N supply. Our physiological and molecular study indicated that VA08MAS-369 significantly promoted N remobilization in leaves and N transport to grains after flowering under limited N. This study advanced our understanding of NUE mechanisms in winter wheat, which may aid the development of new cultivars with enhanced NUE through modern biotechnological approaches.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第21835号 / 農博第2348号 / 新制||農||1068(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H31||N5207(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科農学専攻 / (主査)教授 白岩 立彦, 教授 稲村 達也, 准教授 田中 朋之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Cette thèse en électronique moléculaire porte essentiellement sur le développement d’une méthode pour le calcul de la transmission de dispositifs électroniques moléculaires (DEMs), c’est-à-dire des molécules branchées à des contacts qui forment un dispositif électronique de taille moléculaire. D’une part, la méthode développée vise à apporter un point de vue différent de celui provenant des méthodes déjà existantes pour ce type de calculs. D’autre part, elle permet d’intégrer de manière rigoureuse des outils théoriques déjà développés dans le but d’augmenter la qualité des calculs. Les exemples simples présentés dans ce travail permettent de mettre en lumière certains phénomènes, tel que l’interférence destructive dans les dispositifs électroniques moléculaires. Les chapitres proviennent d’articles publiés dans la littérature. Au chapitre 2, nous étudions à l’aide d’un modèle fini avec la méthode de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité de Kohn-Sham un point quantique moléculaire. De plus, nous calculons la conductance du point quantique moléculaire avec une implémentation de la formule de Landauer. Nous trouvons que la structure électronique et la conductance moléculaire dépendent fortement de la fonctionnelle d’échange et de corrélation employée. Au chapitre 3, nous discutons de l’effet de l’ajout d’une chaîne ramifiée à des molécules conductrices sur la probabilité de transmission de dispositifs électroniques moléculaires. Nous trouvons que des interférences destructives apparaissent aux valeurs propres de l’énergie des chaînes ramifiées isolées, si ces valeurs ne correspondent pas à des états localisés éloignés du conducteur moléculaire. Au chapitre 4, nous montrons que les dispositifs électroniques moléculaires contenant une molécule aromatique présentent généralement des courants circulaires qui sont associés aux phénomènes d’interférence destructive dans ces systèmes. Au chapitre 5, nous employons l’approche « source-sink potential » (SSP) pour étudier la transmission de dispositifs électroniques moléculaires. Au lieu de considérer les potentiels de sources et de drains exactement, nous utilisons la théorie des perturbations pour trouver une expression de la probabilité de transmission, T(E) = 1 − |r(E)|2, où r(E) est le coefficient de réflexion qui dépend de l’énergie. Cette expression dépend des propriétés de la molécule isolée, en effet nous montrons que c’est la densité orbitalaire sur les atomes de la molécule qui sont connectés aux contacts qui détermine principalement la transmission du dispositif à une énergie de l’électron incident donnée. Au chapitre 6, nous présentons une extension de l’approche SSP à un canal pour des dispositifs électroniques moléculaires à plusieurs canaux. La méthode à multiples canaux proposée repose sur une description des canaux propres des états conducteurs du dispositif électronique moléculaire (DEM) qui sont obtenus par un algorithme auto-cohérent. Finalement, nous utilisons le modèle développé afin d’étudier la transmission du 1-phényl-1,3-butadiène branché à deux rangées d’atomes couplées agissant comme contacts à gauche et à la droite. / This thesis is on molecular electronics concentrates mostly on the development of a method for the calculation of the transmission probability of molecules that are connected to contacts. On the one hand, this method aims at bringing a different point of view among the other methods for such calculations. On the other hand, it allows the integration of already developed theoretical tools in a rigorous manner, which increases the quality of the calculations. The work presented here often contains simple examples that shine some light on phenomena, such as the destructive interference, in molecular electronic devices. The chapters are from articles already published in the litterature. In chapter 2, we study a molecular quantum dot using a finite model with Kohn-Sham density functional theory. Moreover, using an implementation of the Landauer formula, we calculate the conductance of the quantum dot. We find that the electronic structure and molecular conductance depend strongly on the exchange and correlation functional employed. In chapter 3, we discuss the effect of adding a side chain to conducting molecules on the transmission probability of molecular electronic devices. We find that destructive interferences appear approximately at the energy eigenvalues of the isolated side chain, if these values do not correspond to localized states far away from the conductor. In chapter 4, we show that molecular electronic devices containing an aromatic molecule generaly possess circular currents which are associated with destructive interference phenomena in these systems. In chapter 5, we use the source-sink potential (SSP) approach to study the electronic transmission of some devices. Instead of considering the source and sink potentials exactly, we use perturbation theory to find an expression for the transmission probability T(E) = 1 − |r(E)|2 that depends on the properties of the bare molecule, where r(E) is the energy-dependent reflection coefficient. We show that in the first-order, it is the orbital density on the atoms connected to the contacts that largely determines the transmission probability for a given incoming electron energy. In chapter 6, we present an extension of the single channel source-sink potential approach for molecular electronic devices to multiple channels. The proposed multichannel method relies on an eigenchannel description of the conducting states of the molecular electronic device, which are obtained by a self-consistent algorithm. We use the model to study the transport of the 1-phenyl-1,3-butadiene molecule connected to two coupled rows of atoms that act as contacts on the left and right sides.

: Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse traitent du contrôle de systèmes dynamiques soumis à des excitations harmoniques et transitoires en utilisant des absorbeurs de type Nonlinear Energy Sink (NES). Plusieurs aspects ont été développés : la conception et la réalisation d'un nouveau design pour le NES cubique, l'étude de la location et du transfert irréversible d'énergie sur un NES bistable et le développement d'un critère de conception pour un NES à Vibro-Impact (VI). Dans un premier temps, un critère de conception est proposé pour le NES à raideur cubique. Le design proposé est basé sur des ressorts coniques ou des ressorts à pas variable. Un mécanisme à raideur négative est aussi introduit pour supprimer la partie linéaire et avoir une raideur cubique pure. Dans un deuxième temps, le concept du NES est validé expérimentalement par des essais statiques et des essais dynamiques. Une analyse de sensibilité est aussi menée sur la longueur des ressorts précontraints, elle dénote parfois un état bistable de l'oscillateur. Ensuite, le NES bistable ainsi obtenu est étudié plus en détail. Ce type d'absorbeur s'avère être très robuste pour différents types d’excitation. Des études expérimentales sont aussi menées afin d'explorer le comportement dynamique. Enfin, un critère de conception est proposé pour le NES à Vibro-Impact. Des calculs analytiques détaillés sont proposés pour contrôler les vibrations sous différentes excitations. L'étude expérimentale montre une bonne cohérence avec les résultats théoriques. / The work presented in this thesis deals with the passive control of dynamics systems subjected to harmonic and transient excitations using a Nonlinear Energy Sink (NES). Several research aspects have been developed: design theory and experimental study of a novel NES, efficient Targeted Energy Transfer (TET) of bistable NES and design criteria for optimally tuned Vibro-Impact (VI) NES. Firstly, a design criterion intended to provide optimal nonlinear stiffness is proposed. Then a novel design of NES system yielding cubic stiffness with conical springs or variable pitch springs and negative stiffness mechanism is developed. Secondly, the experimental procedures for static and dynamic test are presented and applied to validate the concept of NES system. Then a sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the pre-compressed length of springs. Thirdly, the optimal design of the above device with negative stiffness (termed as bistable NES) is studied. This type of NES is proved to work robustly for different types of excitation, and experimental study of semi-active control are explored. Finally, design criteria for optimally tuned VI NES are studied. Detailed analytical calculations of clearance to control the vibration under different excitations are proposed. A good correspondence between theoretical and experimental results is observed.

Dans cette étude menée sur la côte méditerranéenne du Maroc, de l’Algérie, et de la Tunisie à une échelle spatiale et temporelle étendue (2200 km de côte et sur 100 ans environ), nous déterminons, par une approche « Source-to-sink », les relations existantes entre l’érosion produite dans les bassins versants et les sédiments transportés en suspension par les oueds, avec la redistribution de ces sédiments le long du rivage. Nous proposons un nouveau modèle empirique de transport sédimentaire en suspension le long des bassins versants de notre site d’étude. Nous déterminons alors l’impact des barrages sur les sédiments, puis nous estimons quantitativement quels sont les apports sédimentaires s’effectuant jusqu’à la mer. Nous analysons les caractéristiques morphologiques du littoral selon sa géométrie et les indices morphodynamiques issus de la littérature. Après avoir cartographié la position du trait de côte à différentes périodes, la cinématique du rivage est déterminée, ainsi que la dérive littorale. Ces analyses se basent sur le concept de cellule littorale. Nous terminons par une synthèse globale avant de tirer les conclusions principales sur les relations entre les bassins versants et les cellules littorales, telles que (1) le rôle de précurseur et de tampon sédimentaire joué par les deltas pour limiter l’érosion des plages en secteur aval de la cellule littorale, (2) les liens entre les apports sédimentaires des oueds avant-barrage avec le type de barre littorale, et (3) les liens entre les apports sédimentaires des oueds avant-barrage, minorés du volume de sédiment déplacé par la dérive littorale, avec la taille des deltas et le nombre de barres littorales. / In this study conducted on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia at an extended spatial and temporal scale (2200 km of coastline and about 100 years), we determine, using a "source-to- sink ", the existing relationships between erosion produced in watersheds and sediment transported in suspension by wadis, with the redistribution of these sediments along the shoreline. We propose a new empirical model of suspended sediment transport along the watersheds of our study site. We then determine the impact of dams on the sediments, and then quantitatively estimate the sedimentary contributions to the sea. We analyze the morphological characteristics of the littoral according to its geometry and the morphodynamic indices from the literature . After mapping the position of the coastline at different periods, the kinematics of the shoreline is determined, as well as the shoreline drift. These analyzes are based on the concept of a littoral cell. We conclude with a general synthesis before drawing the main conclusions on the relations between watersheds and coastal cells, such as (1) the role of precursor and sediment buffer played by deltas to limit the erosion of beaches in the sector (3) the links between sediment inputs from pre-barrage wadis, minus the volume of sediment moved by the coastal drift, with the size of the deltas and the number of coastal bars.

The work reported in this thesis is an experimental and theoretical investigation of the so-called sink flow boundary layers. These are two-dimensional (in the mean), favourable-pressure-gradient (FPG) boundary layer flows where the boundary layers experience stream-wise acceleration inside a two-dimensional convergent channel with smooth and plane walls. The boundary layers studied are mainly turbulent with few cases that may be identified as reverse-transitional. The sink flow turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) are the only smooth-walled layers that are in ‘perfect equilibrium’ or ‘exact self-preservation’ in the sense of Townsend (1976) and Rotta (1962). The present boundary layer experiments were conducted in an open-return low-speed wind tunnel. The sink flow conditions were established on the test-plate by using a contoured test-section ceiling for creating a convergent channel with smooth and plane walls. The strength of the streamwise FPG was varied by changing the freestream speed in the test-section. Few zero-pressure-gradient (ZPG) turbulent boundary layers were also measured in the same tunnel for which the contoured ceiling was replaced by a straight one. The velocity measurement techniques used include conventional Pitot-tubes for mean flow measurements and hotwire/crosswire probes for turbulence measurements. For measurement of skin friction in ZPG flows, Preston-tube was used while for the sink flows the so-called surface hotwire method was employed. Static pressures were measured on the test-surface using an alcohol-based projection manometer. Boundary layers were tripped at the beginning of the test-plate to ensure quick transition to turbulence. The mean velocity scaling in sink flow TBLs in the presence of strong FPG has been studied systematically, especially in view of the apparent pressure-gradient-dependence of the logarithmic laws reported in the literature (Spalart & Leonard, 1986; Nickels, 2004; Chauhan et al., 2007). The experimental study of sink flow TBLs carried out over a wide range of streamwise FPGs has shown that the mean velocity profiles (in inner coordinates) exhibit systematic departures from the universal logarithmic law as the pressure gradient parameter ∆p is varied. Even so, each of these profiles exhibits a logarithmic region, albeit non-universal, whose constants are functions of the pressure gradient. Systematic dependence of these constants on the pressure gradient parameter ∆p is observed. Moreover, the wake region is uniformly absent in all these profiles. In other words, each profile looks like a ‘pure wall-flow’, in the sense of Coles (1957), only if it is viewed in relation to its own non-universal logarithmic law. To support the experimental observation of the pressure-gradient-dependence of logarithmic laws in sink flow TBLs, a theory based on the method of matched asymptotic expansions has been applied to sink flow TBLs and this theory reveals a systematic dependence of inner and outer logarithmic laws on the pressure gradient parameter ∆p. This dependence is essentially a higher-order effect and therefore becomes significant only in the presence of relatively strong pressure gradients. Comparison of the theory with the experimental data demonstrates that the disappearance of the universal logarithmic law in strong FPG situations does not necessarily imply the absence of classical inner-outer overlap region. The overlap may still manifest itself as a logarithmic functional form with constants that are strongly influenced by the magnitude of the FPG. An immediate use of the non-universal log laws is towards the estimation skin friction in strong-pressure-gradient equilibrium and near-equilibrium TBL flows and this issue has been studied in some detail. It is shown that the conventional Clauser-chart method for estimation of skin friction (which gives fairly accurate results for ZPG or mild-pressure-gradient flows), originally proposed by Clauser (1954), can be modified to deal with the situations involving strong streamwise pressure gradients, provided that the equilibrium or near-equilibrium TBL under consideration is not very close to relaminarization or separation. In such cases, the overlap layer manifests itself in the form of non-universal logarithmic laws that are dependent on the local strength of the pressure gradient. Using these non-universal log laws in conjunction with the measured pressure distribution (necessary for obtaining the acceleration parameter K) and a measured mean velocity profile, it is possible to obtain the local skin friction coefficient to an accuracy which is typical of skin friction measurements. This modified Clauser-chart method (MCCM) employs a two-fold iterative procedure (one iteration on Cf and the other on ∆p) in contrast to the conventional method that involves only one iteration (on Cf alone). As a by-product of this MCCM, one obtains the local pressure gradient parameter ∆p and the slope 1/κ and intercept C of the non-universal log law for that profile. It is also demonstrated that the arm´MCCM is quite robust to the changes in the universal values of K´arman constant κ0 and intercept C0 for the ZPG turbulent boundary layer. Various aspects of the large-scale structure in turbulent and reverse-transitional sink flow boundary layers subjected to streamwise FPGs have also been investigated. The use of sink flow configuration allows systematic characterization of the large-scale structure with the strength of the FPG as a parameter where the characterization is not contaminated by the upstream history effects. The large-scale structure is identified by cross-correlating the wall-shear stress fluctuation with the streamwise velocity fluctuation. The structure orientation is found to be linear over a large wall-normal extent typically extending from y/δ of 0.1 to 0.6. Beyond y/δ =0.6, the correlation under consideration becomes very weak to allow any conclusive results. The average structure inclination angle αavg is found to decrease systematically with increase in the streamwise FPG. This result is important and has implications towards modeling of the near-wall region. Further it is found that the structure gets elongated considerably as the FPG is increased, i.e. the streamwise spatial extent of the structure increases. Taken together, it is observed that the structure becomes flatter and longer with the increase in FPG. Structural models are proposed for sink flow TBLs in the form of either the shape of individual hairpin vortices or the possible structural self-organization. These models are then discussed in the light of present experimental results. It is also shown that the process of relaminarization of a TBL by strong FPG may be better appreciated by appealing to these structural models. The validity of Taylor’s hypothesis for structure angle measurements in the present study has been established experimentally. This exercise is important since the flows under consideration are highly accelerated and sometimes even reverse-transitional. In most of the previous work on the validity of Taylor’s hypothesis, at least for the measurements similar to the present work, the emphasis has been on ZPG turbulent boundary layers. The present exercise is therefore crucial for accelerating flows. Possible reasons for the observed validity of Taylor’s hypothesis have also been identified − specifically it is seen that the condition ∆xp/L << 1 needs to be met for Taylor’s hypothesis to be valid in pressure gradient flows. Investigation of the structure convection velocity from the space-time correlations has revealed that the convection velocity of a typical structure in the present sink flow boundary layers is almost equal to the local mean velocity (more than 90%). This implies that the structure gets convected downstream almost along with the mean flow. Near-wall ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ motions in sink flow TBLs have been studied, discussed and compared with the corresponding results for ZPG turbulent boundary layers from five different aspects: (i) turbulent diffusion of TKE, (ii) quadrant statistics, (iii) profiles of the streamwise turbulence intensity, (iv) event correlation length scales obtained from conditional sampling on the instantaneous flux signal and (v) profiles of the Townsend parameter Tp =(−uv) /u2. Near-wall inactive motion is seen to be related to the strength of the large-eddy structure in the outer region of TBL flow. For APG flows the near-wall inactive motion is known to be more intense (Bradshaw, 1967b) than the ZPG flows, say at the same K´arman number δ+. This observation is consistent with a stronger large-eddy structure that may be perceived from the stronger wake component in the mean velocity variation and the larger mean entrainment in an APG turbulent boundary layer as compared to the ZPG flow at same δ+. In sink flow TBLs, the large-eddy structure is much weaker in comparison to the ZPG flow at same δ+ which is consistent with the absence of wake component in the mean velocity profile as well as the zero mean entrainment into the layer. A sink flow TBL represents, a state of weakest large-eddy structure and hence minimum intensity of inactive motion compared to any other equilibrium or near-equilibrium TBL flow having the same K´arman number δ+. All the analysis of the relevant experimental data seems to support this.