Nas ultimas décadas, a elevação do consumo e do custo dos fertilizantes minerais tem preocupado o setor agrícola mundial. Portanto, o uso do lodo de esgoto tratado (biossólido) como adubo está sendo incentivado em diversos países, visto que aumenta a produtividade e gera benefícios pela reciclagem da matéria orgânica e nutrientes contidos em sua composição. Ainda assim, a presença de elementos potencialmente tóxicos (ex. metais pesados) no lodo e a falta de conhecimento sobre o seu efeito residual no ambiente, principalmente, em casos onde há a alteração do uso agrícola do solo, têm contribuído para a sua disposição final em aterros sanitários. Esta pesquisa pressupõe que o uso agrícola do lodo de esgoto, mesmo algum tempo após a sua aplicação ao solo, continua exercendo efeito residual favorável sobre a produtividade (biomassa) e a ciclagem de nutrientes em plantios de eucalipto, bem como em culturas de plantas alimentícias. No município de Itatinga-SP, foram instalados três experimentos com povoamentos de Eucalyptus grandis, sendo: (1) Prática de desbaste em dois talhões de eucalipto plantados em 1998, sobre Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo (LVA) e Latossolo Vermelho Escuro (LVE), e adubados com 20 t ha-1 lodo de esgoto; (2) Prática da talhadia (condução de rebrota) em parcelas cultivadas com eucalipto e adubadas (em 2003) com 10, 20 e 30 t ha-1 de lodo de esgoto, aplicadas na forma úmida (torta) e seca (granulado) e (3) Prática de reforma em parcelas de eucalipto adubadas (em 2005) com 15 t ha-1 dos lodos produzidos pelas estações de tratamento de esgoto de Barueri, São Miguel e Parque Novo Mundo. Um quarto experimento procurou simular a alteração do uso agrícola do solo, pela substituição de povoamentos de eucaliptos adubados com lodo de esgoto (há catorze anos) por áreas de cultivo das espécies: Lactuca sativa L. (alface), Raphanus sativus L. e Oryza sativa L. (arroz de sequeiro). Neste experimento, as plantas foram cultivadas em vasos preenchidos com dois tipos de latossolo (LVA e LVE), ambos coletados em talhões de E. grandis adubados há catorze anos com lodo de esgoto. De modo geral, a adubação dos plantios de eucalipto com os lodos de esgoto elevou o teor de fósforo, cálcio e zinco no solo. Nas áreas de desbaste, as concentrações foliares de nutrientes foram mais elevadas nas árvores cultivadas sob efeito residual do lodo de esgoto; todavia, este efeito não foi suficiente para alterar o crescimento do tronco (em circunferência) das árvores. Na área de talhadia, a adubação com 10 t ha-1 de lodo de esgoto aplicado seco exerceu efeito residual positivo sobre a produção de biomassa aérea. Na área de reforma, a biomassa acumulada pelas árvores cultivadas sob efeito residual do lodo foi superior (até 150%) em relação à testemunha; além disso, este efeito residual do lodo trouxe reflexos positivos também na ciclagem de nutrientes, devido à maior deposição de folhedo. Sob o efeito residual do lodo de esgoto, as plantas alimentícias acumularam 2 a 5 vezes mais biomassa em relação ás respectivas testemunhas, principalmente ao serem cultivadas no LVA. Essas plantas apresentaram, também, concentrações mais elevadas de cádmio nas folhas, bem como de cromo e níquel nas raízes; todavia, em nenhum dos cultivos, foram excedidos os limites de metais pesados preconizados pela Agência de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) do Brasil. / Over the last few decades, the increase in consumption and in the cost of mineral fertilizers has concerned overall agriculture. Therefore, the use of treated sewage sludge (biosolids) as fertilizer has being encouraged in many countries, inasmuch as it increases productivity and generates benefits by the recycling of organic matter and nutrients in its composition. Nevertheless, the presence of potentially toxic elements (e.g. heavy metals) in the sludge and the lack of knowledge about its long term effect on the environment, especially in cases where there is a change in agricultural use, have contributed to its final disposal in landfills. This research assumes that the agricultural use of sewage sludge, even some time after its application to the soil, have a favorable long term effect on productivity (biomass) and nutrient cycling in eucalypt stands, as well as in cultures of food plants. For this study, three experiments with Eucalyptus grandis were installed in Itatinga/SP: (1) Thinning practice in two eucalyptus stands planted in 1998, on sandy and clayey ferralsol (LVA and LVE, by its acronym in Portuguese), both fertilized with 20 t ha-1 of sewage sludge; (2) Coppicing practice (sprouting conduct) in eucalyptus plots fertilized (in 2003) with 10, 20 and 30 t ha-1 of wet and dry sewage sludge; and (3) Reform techniques in eucalyptus plots fertilized (in 2005) with 15 t ha-1 of sludge produced by Barueri\'s, São Miguel\'s and Parque Novo Mundo\'s wastewater treatment plants. A fourth experiment simulated the change of use of agricultural soil, by replacing eucalyptus stands fertilized with sewage sludge (fourteen years ago) for vegetable species: Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce), Raphanus sativus L. (radish) and Oryza sativa L. (upland rice). In this experiment, plants were grown in pots filled with two types of ferralsol (LVA and LVE), both collected in E. grandis stands fertilized with sewage sludge (14 years ago). In general, the eucalyptus stands fertilization with sewage sludge increased the phosphorus, calcium and zinc content in the soil. In thinning stands, the leaf nutrient concentrations were greater in trees grown under long term effect of sewage sludge; however, this effect was not sufficient to alter the growth of the trunk (in circumference). In coppice stands, the fertilization with 10 t ha-1 of dry sewage sludge had positive long term effect on the biomass production. In areas undergoing stand reform, the biomass accumulated by trees grown on long term effect of the sewage sludge was greater (150%) than the control. Furthermore, this effect of the sludge also brought positive impacts on nutrient cycling, due to an increasing in the leaf fall production. Under the long term effect of sewage sludge, the food plants accumulated 2 to 5 times more biomass than respective control treatments, especially if they are grown on the LVA. These plants also showed greater cadmium concentrations in the leaves, as well as greater chromium and nickel concentration in the roots. However, the concentrations of heavy metals didn\'t exceed the limits recommended by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA, by its acronym in Portuguese) in any of the crops.

Two optimisation problems were considered, in which market exposure is indirectly controlled. The first one models the capital of a company and an independent portfolio of new businesses, each one represented by a Cram\'r-Lundberg process. The company can choose the proportion of new business it wants to take on and can alter this proportion over time. Here the objective is to find a strategy that maximises the survival probability. We use a point processes framework to deal with the impact of an adapted strategy in the intensity of the new business. We prove that when Cram\'{e}r-Lundberg processes with exponentially distributed claims, it is optimal to choose a threshold type strategy, where the company switches between owning all new businesses or none depending on the capital level. For this type of processes that change both drift and jump measure when crossing the constant threshold, we solve the one and two-sided exit problems. This optimisation problem is also solved when the capital of the company and the new business are modelled by spectrally positive L\'vy processes of bounded variation. Here the one-sided exit problem is solved and we prove optimality of the same type of threshold strategy for any jump distribution. The second problem is a stochastic variation of the work done by Taylor about underwriting in a competitive market. Taylor maximised discounted future cash flows over a finite time horizon in a discrete time setting when the change of exposure from one period to the next has a multiplicative form involving the company's premium and the market average premium. The control is the company's premium strategy over a the mentioned finite time horizon. Taylor's work opened a rich line of research, and we discuss some of it. In contrast with Taylor's model, we consider the market average premium to be a Markov chain instead of a deterministic vector. This allows to model uncertainty in future conditions of the market. We also consider an infinite time horizon instead of finite. This solves the time dependency in Taylor's optimal strategies that were giving unrealistic results. Our main result is a formula to calculate explicitly the value function of a specific class of pricing strategies. Further we explore concrete examples numerically. We find a mix of optimal strategies where in some examples the company should follow the market while in other cases should go against it.

Le changement des pratiques agricoles et surtout pastorales dans les Pyrénées Centrales a entraîné une colonisation des terres par le frêne (Fraxinus excelsior L.) en constituant des peuplements denses et fréquents dans le paysage pyrénéen. Ce travail est centré sur l'étude de la répartition actuelle et future de ces peuplements qu'on appelle "des accrus" et sur leur potentialité de croissance en relation avec les facteurs qui peuvent être limitants dans la perspective d'une valorisation économique de ces accrus. L'étude de la croissance a été réalisée à trois niveaux : la croissance en hauteur en fonction de la fertilité, et la croissance en diamètre en fonction du climat et de la compétition. Pour ce dernier facteur, la croissance a été étudiée sur des peuplements en place (sans intervention) et suites à deux modalités d'éclaircie. La détection des accrus de frêne au stade perchis avec les outils de télédétection n'est pas réalisable et nécessiterait d'importants investissements et adaptations pour devenir utilisables. La présence des accrus de frêne est surtout modulée par la topographie et l'utilisation du sol. En ce qui concerne la croissance en diamètre de ces accrus, elle est modulée par la vigueur des arbres, la compétition et le climat. Ce sont surtout les températures maximales d'avril et les températures minimales de septembre ou d'août qui influencent la croissance en surface de cerne. Le frêne réagit dès la première année à l'éclaircie, d'autant plus fortement et durablement que le peuplement est plus jeune. L'effet de la nutrition minérale sur la classification des accrus étudiés, selon leur croissance en hauteur, n'est pas évident. L'ensemble des résultats obtenus dans ce travail constitue un outil pour aider à gérer les accrus de frêne dans la zone étudiée surtout dans un objectif économique. / The changes of pastoral management practices in the Central Pyrenees are at the origin of the colonization process of grasslands by the ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.). This colonization process leads to the establishment of very dense and frequent patches of ashes in the Pyrenean landscape. The research is focused on the study of the current and future distribution of these forest patches resulting of the extension of ash trees by natural seeding called "the accrues" and on their potentiality of growth in relation to the nutritional factors which can be limiting from the point of view of an economic valorization of these new forest patches. The study of the tree growth was carried out on different levels: growth in height according to the fertility, and growth in diameter according to the climate and the competition. For this last factor, the growth was studied on in situ tree settlements without intervention and with two levels of thinning. The recognition of ash patches patterns within the mountain landscape was not possible using the traditional tools of remote sensing (SPOT) and should have require new technologies such as LIDAR or multispectral aero data which were out of reach during the PhD work. Exploratory field work has shown that at the landscape level, the presence of ash patches is a function of the topography and the land use history. With regard to the diameter growth of these increased, it is modulated by the strength of the trees, the level of competition and the climate. The maximum temperatures of April and the minimal temperatures of September or August influence the growth on the surface of tree ring. The ash reacts to the first year to thinning, especially for recent settlements and young trees. The effect of the mineral nutrition on the tree growth in height is not significant. The results on spatial pattern dynamics and the references on ash growth in a wide range of soil conditions obtained during this work constitutes a tool to help to manage ash patches within the studied area mainly with an economic point of view.

<p>Циљ савременог гајења јабуке је да се у засаду велике густине садње, заснованом са садницама високог квалитета које рађају већ у години садње, и савременим сортиментом који укључује и сорте склоне алтернативној родности, успоставе редовни и високи приноси који ће се кретати од 50-70 t/ha и добар квалитет плодова. Мера која је од највећег значаја за регулисање родности јесте хемијско проређивање цветова и плодова јабуке.<br />Циљ обављених истраживања је да се испита утицај хемијског проређивања цветова и плодова на заметање, квалитет плодова и родност пупољака сорти јабуке као и да се испита интеракција између минералне исхране азотом и хемијског проређивања. Резултати истраживања били би смернице за хемијско проређивање плодова у агроеколошким условима Србије, са тежњом да у скорој будућности постану део законске регулативе и припадајућих правилника за интегралну производњу, као и развој побољшаних формулација препарата за проређивање.<br />На основу испитивања проређивања цветова може се закључити да сорте јабуке бребурн и златни делишес различито реагују на примену ATS и KTS. Примена 3% ATS и 1,5% KTS код сорте бребурн изазива јаке ожеготине на листовима које могу бити узрок смањеној маси плода и слабијем образовању родних пупољака. Код сорте златни делишес ATS концентрације 3% не испољава негативно дејство на крупноћу плодова и родност пупољака, али са друге стране није ефикаснији од ATS нижих концентрација, док KTS има знатно слабије дејство.<br />Ефикасност препарата на бази NAA у смањењу заметања и приноса сорте јабуке бребурн није зависила од примењене концентрације, док је маса плода у свим варијантама била веома велика, те се за практичну примену могу препоручити ниже концентрације, до 10 &mu;l/l NAA. Сви третмани са NAA у распону концентрација од 8 до 12 &mu;l/l били су једнако ефикасни у редуковању заметања и приноса плодова, док је BA испољио слабију ефикасност у проређивању сорте јабуке камспур. Родност пупољака у третманима проређивања плодова сорти бребурн и камспур није сразмерна повећању концентрације препарата, већ у великој мери зависи од године испитивања.<br />Значајна интеракција је утврђена између фактора ђубрење и проређивање за параметре заметања плодова. Интеракција ова два фактора огледа се у томе да се у режиму интензивног ђубрења азотним ђубривима концентрација препарата на бази NAA и BA треба повећати како би се постигао задовољавајући ниво проређивања.<br />Додавање нафтенских киселина нафтилсирћетној киселини и бензиладенину значајно доприноси повећању просечне масе плода сорте јабуке златни делишес у односу на формулације без нафтенских киселина, као последица биолошке активности нафтенских киселина у смеши. Запажено је повећање чврстине плода у варијантама где је примењена формулација BA са нафтенским киселинама у односу на формулације без<br />нафтенских киселина.<br />Датум прихватања теме од стране Сената:<br />ДП<br />30.5.2013.<br />Чланови комисије:</p> / <p>Cilj savremenog gajenja jabuke je da se u zasadu velike gustine sadnje, zasnovanom sa sadnicama visokog kvaliteta koje rađaju već u godini sadnje, i savremenim sortimentom koji uključuje i sorte sklone alternativnoj rodnosti, uspostave redovni i visoki prinosi koji će se kretati od 50-70 t/ha i dobar kvalitet plodova. Mera koja je od najvećeg značaja za regulisanje rodnosti jeste hemijsko proređivanje cvetova i plodova jabuke.<br />Cilj obavljenih istraživanja je da se ispita uticaj hemijskog proređivanja cvetova i plodova na zametanje, kvalitet plodova i rodnost pupoljaka sorti jabuke kao i da se ispita interakcija između mineralne ishrane azotom i hemijskog proređivanja. Rezultati istraživanja bili bi smernice za hemijsko proređivanje plodova u agroekološkim uslovima Srbije, sa težnjom da u skoroj budućnosti postanu deo zakonske regulative i pripadajućih pravilnika za integralnu proizvodnju, kao i razvoj poboljšanih formulacija preparata za proređivanje.<br />Na osnovu ispitivanja proređivanja cvetova može se zaključiti da sorte jabuke breburn i zlatni delišes različito reaguju na primenu ATS i KTS. Primena 3% ATS i 1,5% KTS kod sorte breburn izaziva jake ožegotine na listovima koje mogu biti uzrok smanjenoj masi ploda i slabijem obrazovanju rodnih pupoljaka. Kod sorte zlatni delišes ATS koncentracije 3% ne ispoljava negativno dejstvo na krupnoću plodova i rodnost pupoljaka, ali sa druge strane nije efikasniji od ATS nižih koncentracija, dok KTS ima znatno slabije dejstvo.<br />Efikasnost preparata na bazi NAA u smanjenju zametanja i prinosa sorte jabuke breburn nije zavisila od primenjene koncentracije, dok je masa ploda u svim varijantama bila veoma velika, te se za praktičnu primenu mogu preporučiti niže koncentracije, do 10 &mu;l/l NAA. Svi tretmani sa NAA u rasponu koncentracija od 8 do 12 &mu;l/l bili su jednako efikasni u redukovanju zametanja i prinosa plodova, dok je BA ispoljio slabiju efikasnost u proređivanju sorte jabuke kamspur. Rodnost pupoljaka u tretmanima proređivanja plodova sorti breburn i kamspur nije srazmerna povećanju koncentracije preparata, već u velikoj meri zavisi od godine ispitivanja.<br />Značajna interakcija je utvrđena između faktora đubrenje i proređivanje za parametre zametanja plodova. Interakcija ova dva faktora ogleda se u tome da se u režimu intenzivnog đubrenja azotnim đubrivima koncentracija preparata na bazi NAA i BA treba povećati kako bi se postigao zadovoljavajući nivo proređivanja.<br />Dodavanje naftenskih kiselina naftilsirćetnoj kiselini i benziladeninu značajno doprinosi povećanju prosečne mase ploda sorte jabuke zlatni delišes u odnosu na formulacije bez naftenskih kiselina, kao posledica biološke aktivnosti naftenskih kiselina u smeši. Zapaženo je povećanje čvrstine ploda u varijantama gde je primenjena formulacija BA sa naftenskim kiselinama u odnosu na formulacije bez<br />naftenskih kiselina.<br />Datum prihvatanja teme od strane Senata:<br />DP<br />30.5.2013.<br />Članovi komisije:</p> / <p>The goal of modern apple growing in high density orchards, established with high-quality nursery trees which bear fruits in the year of planting, often including varieties prone to biennial bearing is to achieve high and regular yields that range from 50 to 70 t/ha with good fruit quality. Chemical thinning of flowers and fruits is a technical practice which is of great importance for crop regulation.<br />The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of chemical thinning of apple flowers and fruits on fruit set, fruit quality and bearing potential of apple buds as well as to examine the interaction between the nitrogen supply and chemical thinning treatments. The research will result with guidelines for the chemical thinning in agroecological conditions of Serbia, aiming to become a part of the legislation and associated regulations for integrated production in the near future. Testing of improved formulations of thinning chemicals will be included into expe rimental plan.<br />Considering the results derived from flower thinning experiments, it could be concluded that cv. Braeburn and Golden Delicious react differently to the application of ATS and KTS. Application of 3% ATS and 1.5% of KTS in cv Braeburn causes severe leaf burns that may be causing reduced fruit weight and a decrease in bearing potential. In cv Golden Delicious ATS applied at the concentration of 3% does not exhibit a negative effect on fruit size and bearing potential, but at the other side is not more efficient than ATS at lower concentrations, whereas KTS has a much weaker thinning effect.<br />The efficacy of NAA in reducing fruit set and yield of apple variety Braeburn is not dependent on the concentration applied, while fruit size was very large within the range of NAA concentrations. Therefore, for the practical application, concentrations lower than 10 ml/l NAA would be recommended. All treatments with NAA at concentrations ranging from 8 to 12 ml/l were equally effective in reducing fruit set and yield, while the BA exhibited decreased efficiency in thinning apple variety Camspur. Fertility of buds in Braeburn and Camspur varieties was not proportional to the increase in concentration of chemical, but to a large extent depends on the conditions of the experimental year.<br />An interaction between nitrogen supply and chemical thinning significantly affected fruit set in a way that concentration of NAA and BA for fruit thinning should be increased in order to achieve a satisfactory level of thinning at a higher level of nitrogen supply.<br />Adding of naphthenic acids to NAA and BA significantly contributed to the increase of average fruit weight of apple variety Golden Delicious compared to same chemical formulation without naphthenic acids, as a result of the biological activity of naphthenic acids in the mixture. An increase of fruit firmness was detected in thinning treatments where naphthenic acids were added to BA compared BA applied alone.</p>

Vineyard management strategies, including vineyard floor management and crop level management, can be used to influence vine vigor and fruit composition. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of these practices on Pinot Noir in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Managing crop levels is common in cool climate vineyard production though it is a costly practice. With economic pressures, the premium winegrape industry is questioning whether they can reduce production costs and increase yields without compromising quality. A crop thinning trial was conducted in 2010 and 2011 to address these concerns and to better understand the role of vine balance on fruit composition. Crop levels were moderately (35% crop removed) or severely (65% crop removed) thinned at pre-bloom, fruit set, lag phase, or véraison and compared to full crop treatments. In both years, crop thinning reduced yields but had no effect on berry weight or cluster size. In 2010, poor fruit set reduced overall yields, and thinning treatments resulted in very few differences in vine growth, cluster architecture or fruit composition, including total soluble solids (TSS), pH, titratable acidity (TA), yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN), anthocyanins, phenolics and tannins. In 2011, yields were much higher due to high fruit set and larger cluster size. No differences were found in vine growth (leaf areas or pruning weights) or fruit YAN, but thinned vines had higher TSS and pH and lower TA than full crop vines at harvest. Fruit thinned at lag phase and véraison had higher TSS and lower TA than fruit thinned pre-bloom. Intensity of thinning had a stronger influence on anthocyanin and tannin concentration than timing, while phenolics were not impacted by either factor. Ravaz index values (fruit yield/pruning weight) below 2.25 and leaf area to yield ratios of 2.25 to 3.25 m²/kg improved fruit composition in 2011 as did later season thinning, though data from the remaining years of this study will provide more insight into appropriate crop load metrics for cool climate Pinot Noir. A second study was implemented in 2011 to determine the impact of crop thinning in vines with different levels of vegetative vigor caused by three vineyard floor management techniques: permanent grass (Festuca rubra spp. rubra) cover (grass), alternating grass cover and tillage (grass & tilled), and tillage of every alleyway (tilled). Crop was thinned at the BB stage of berry development (EL stage 73) to one cluster per shoot (half crop) or not thinned (full crop); all cluster wings were removed at the time of thinning. Tillage treatments had been in place four years prior to the start of the study and competition for nitrogen in grass caused reduced early season vine growth, leaf chlorophyll and canopy size at both bloom and véraison while crop thinning increased canopy size at véraison. Yields were altered by tillage and crop thinning treatments, as grass had fewer clusters per shoot and berries per cluster, and crop thinning reduced yields to 64.7% of full crop across all tillage treatments. At harvest, grass had the lowest TA while TSS and pH were not affected by tillage. Crop thinning increased TSS but did not impact pH or TA. Anthocyanins were affected by both tillage and thinning and were found to be related to vine yield, YAN, leaf N, and leaf area index. Tannins were highest in grass but were not affected by crop thinning, and phenolics were not changed by either factor. Few interactions between tillage and crop thinning were found, but as variables such as yield per vine were impacted by both treatment factors, monitoring long term effects of crop / Graduation date: 2012

Molding is a simple manufacturing process whereby fluid fills a master tool and then solidifies in the shape of the tool cavity. The precise nature of material flow during molding has long allowed fabrication of plastic components with sizes 1 mm 1 m. Polymer molding with precise critical dimension control could enable scalable, inexpensive production of micro- and nanostructures for functional or lithographic use. This dissertation reports experiments and simulations on molding of polymer micro- and nanostructures at length scales 1 nm 1 mm. The research investigates two main areas: 1) mass transport during micromolding and 2) polymer mechanical properties during nanomolding at length scales 100 nm. Measurements and simulations of molding features of size 100 nm 1 mm show local mold geometry modulates location and rate of polymer shear and determines fill time. Dimensionless ratios of mold geometry, polymer thickness, and bulk material and process properties can predict flow by viscous or capillary forces, shape of polymer deformation, and mold fill time. Measurements and simulations of molding at length scales 100 nm show the importance of nanoscale physical processes distinct from bulk during mechanical processing. Continuum simulations of atomic force microscope nanoindentation accurately model sub-continuum polymer mechanical response but highlight the need for nanoscale material property measurements to accurately model deformation shape. The development of temperature-controlled nanoindentation enables characterization of nanoscale material properties. Nanoscale uniaxial compression and squeeze flow measurements of glassy and viscoelastic polymer show film thickness determines polymer entanglement with cooperative polymer motions distinct from those observed in bulk. This research allows predictive design of molding processes and highlights the importance of nanoscale mechanical properties that could aid understanding of polymer physics.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 8, 2009). Thesis advisor: Craig Harper. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study is to explore haw thinning planning standards agree with standards of estimation. Study was carried out in Kretinga forest enterprise Grūšlaukė forestry. Study of ratio of stands medial diameter and medial high was carried out in 11 – 60 years old pure spruce. The main purpose of thinning is to increase total productivity of forest stands and to form desirable structure and closeness of stands. It is important that all kinds of forest thinning concern biodiversity, increase resistance to wind and snow damage of forest stands, improve the quality of growing timber. Forests thinning use that timber part which rots in forests and gives no profit. To reach all these purpose forests thinning must be planned. Planning standard must be definite as it possible. It is important that these standards be suit with forests thinning normative. It was estimated that both standards has different rates and they are not matched. Thinning is planning by thickness of stands, but they are estimating by the number of trees in one hectare of stands. It was estimated that the ratio of forest stands medial diameter and medial high can be used in thinning planning. In pure spruce stands thinning must planned until ratio of medial diameter and medial high reach value: 0,8 in 11 – 20 years old stands; 0,9 in 21 – 40 years old stands; 1,0 in 41 – 60 years old stands.

The first of a series of mass mortalities of Nile crocodiles in the Olifants and Letaba rivers in the Kruger National Park (KNP) was reported in the winter of 2008. The present study investigated the levels and possible effects on eggshell thickness of inorganic elements and organic pollutants in Nile crocodile eggs from these rivers, and comparing them with eggs from a reference crocodile farm and a reference dam inside the KNP. The egg contents were analyzed for chlorinated organic compounds and brominated flame retardants. Eggshells and egg contents were analyzed for inorganic elements. The elemental concentrations in the eggshells and contents were low when compared with previous studies. The highest concentrations were found in the eggs from the reference crocodile farm. The eggs from the reference dam and the crocodile farm had thicker shells, and the eggs from the Olifants and Letaba rivers had thinner shells. Not all eggs in a female develop at the same rate, while eggshell formation presumably occurs at the same time for all eggs. As a result, the elemental profile of egg contents may differ between eggs of the same clutch, but less so for the shells. Weak or no associations were found between the elemental concentrations of the content and eggshells and eggshell thinning. A possible organic pollutant–induced eggshell thinning effect was found. The compounds found were not at levels that could have caused the mortalities, but may affect the sex ratios through endocrine disruption. Further studies are therefore required. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The first of a series of mass mortalities of Nile crocodiles in the Olifants and Letaba rivers in the Kruger National Park (KNP) was reported in the winter of 2008. The present study investigated the levels and possible effects on eggshell thickness of inorganic elements and organic pollutants in Nile crocodile eggs from these rivers, and comparing them with eggs from a reference crocodile farm and a reference dam inside the KNP. The egg contents were analyzed for chlorinated organic compounds and brominated flame retardants. Eggshells and egg contents were analyzed for inorganic elements. The elemental concentrations in the eggshells and contents were low when compared with previous studies. The highest concentrations were found in the eggs from the reference crocodile farm. The eggs from the reference dam and the crocodile farm had thicker shells, and the eggs from the Olifants and Letaba rivers had thinner shells. Not all eggs in a female develop at the same rate, while eggshell formation presumably occurs at the same time for all eggs. As a result, the elemental profile of egg contents may differ between eggs of the same clutch, but less so for the shells. Weak or no associations were found between the elemental concentrations of the content and eggshells and eggshell thinning. A possible organic pollutant–induced eggshell thinning effect was found. The compounds found were not at levels that could have caused the mortalities, but may affect the sex ratios through endocrine disruption. Further studies are therefore required. / Thesis (M.Sc (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.