Worldwide there is considerable concern over the effects of human activities on the quantity and quality of freshwater. Measurement of infiltration behaviour will be important for improving freshwater management. This study identifies that New Zealand has a sporadic history of measuring soil water movement attributes on a limited number of soil types, although the current practical demand should be large for management of irrigation, dairy farm effluent disposal, as well as municipal / domestic waste- and storm-water disposal. Previous research has demonstrated that infiltration behaviour is governed by the interplay between numerous mechanisms including hydrophobicity and preferential flow, the latter being an important mechanism of contaminant leaching for many NZ soils. Future characterisation will need to recognise the dynamic nature of these interactions, and be able to reliably characterise the key infiltration mechanisms. Since macropores are responsible for preferential flow, it is critical that infiltration studies use a representative sample of the macropore network. The aim of this project was to study the mechanisms governing the infiltration behaviour of a layered soil in large (50 x 70 cm) monolith lysimeters, where the connectivity of the macropore network remains undisturbed. Four lysimeters of the Gorge silt loam were collected, a structured soil with four distinct layers. On each lysimeter there were four separate infiltration experiments, with water applied under suctions of 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 kPa by a custom-built tension infiltrometer. Each lysimeter was instrumented with 30 tensiometers, located in arrays at the layer boundaries. There was also a field experiment using ponded dye infiltration to visually define preferential flowpaths. Analysis of dye patterns, temporal variability in soil matric potential (Ψm), and solute breakthrough curves all show that preferential flow is an important infiltration mechanism. Preferential flowpaths were activated when Ψm was above -1.5 kPa. During saturated infiltration, at least 97% of drainage was through the ‘mobile’ pore volume of the lysimeter (θm), estimated among the lysimeters at 5.4 – 8.7 % of the lysimeter volume. Early-time infiltration behaviour did not show the classical square-root of time behaviour, indicating sorptivity was not the governing mechanism. This was consistent across the four lysimeters, and during infiltration under different surface imposed suctions. The most likely mechanism restricting sorptivity is weak hydrophobicity, which appears to restrict infiltration for the first 5 – 10 mm of infiltration. Overall, the Gorge soil’s early-time infiltration behaviour is governed by the dynamic interaction between sorptivity, hydrophobicity, the network of air-filled pores, preferential flow and air encapsulation. Long-time infiltration behaviour was intimately linked to the temporal dynamics of Ψm, which was in turn controlled by preferential flow and soil layer interactions. Preferential flowpaths created strong inter-layer connectivity by allowing an irregular wetting front to reach lower layers within 2 – 15 mm of infiltration. Thereafter, layer interactions dominate infiltration for long-time periods, as Ψm in soil layers with different K(Ψm) relationships self-adjusts to try to maintain a constant Darcy velocity. An important finding was that Ψm rarely attained the value set by the tension infiltrometer during unsaturated infiltration. The results show that ‘true’ steady-state infiltration is unlikely to occur in layered soils. A quasi-steady state was identified once the whole column had fully wet and layer interactions had settled to where Ψm changes occurred in unison through each soil layer. Quasi-steady state was difficult to identify from just the cumulative infiltration curve, but more robustly identified as when infiltration matched drainage, and Ψm measurements showed each layer had a stable hydraulic gradient. I conclude that the in-situ hydraulic conductivity, K(Ψm), of individual soil layers can be accurately and meaningfully determined from lysimeter-scale infiltration experiments. My results show that K(Ψm) is different for each soil layer, and that differences are consistent among the four lysimeters. Under saturated flow the subsoil had the lowest conductivity, and was the restricting layer. Most interestingly this pattern reversed during unsaturated flow. As Ψm decreased below -0.5 to -1 kPa, the subsoil was markedly more conductive, and the topsoil layers became the restricting layers. All four soil layers demonstrate a sharp decline in K(Ψm) as Ψm decreases, with a break in slope at ~ -1 kPa indicating the dual-permeability nature of all layers.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese Juliano Dutra Schmitz.pdf: 9582623 bytes, checksum: f579b0458e2ab6f4ae5579715de842ea (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-03 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / A macieira (Malus X domestica Borkh.) apresenta anomalias fisiológicas quando cultivada em regiões de inverno ameno, onde o frio hibernal é insuficiente para superação da dormência. Assim, na presente tese foram estudados três temas de pesquisa. No tema 1 estudou-se a distribuição e fenologia da brotação e crescimento inicial da ramificação primaveril; No tema 2 estudou-se a brotação primaveril através da determinação do status hídrico de gemas laterais e da condutância hidráulica do xilema. O tema 3 realizou-se a análise do comportamento da brotação primaveril de uma cultivar de baixo exigência em frio cultivada em inverno ameno. Para isso, foram montados dois dispositivos experimentais: Experimento 1: realizado em Montpellier/França, onde foram estudadas quatro cultivares de macieira, com diferentes requerimentos em frio (‘Condessa’, ‘Granny Smith’, ‘Royal Gala’ e ‘Starkrimson’), submetidas a dois regimes térmicos (inverno frio, condições naturais de Montpellier; e inverno ameno, temperatura controlada em casa-de-vegetação). Experimento 2: realizado com a cultivar de baixo requerimento em frio ‘Eva’ sob regime térmico hibernal ameno (condição natural de Capão do leão/Brasil). A partir do experimento 1, dois artigos foram redigidos . Conclui-se a partir dos resultados obtidos (artigos 1 e 2) que as temperaturas hibernais têm o principal efeito na distribuição da ramificação ao longo do eixo principal e no tempo para brotação; a presença de folha das plantas submetidas ao regime térmico de inverno ameno não afeta a distribu ição de ramos prolépticos vegetativos; a cultivar exerce efeito no crescimento da ramificação. Com relação ao status hídrico, conclui-se que durante o inverno (período de dormência) as gemas laterais permanecem hidraulicamente isoladas do eixo principal; assim como o potencial de brotação está relacionado a um efeito ramo inteiro (todo eixo principal) do que ao potencial individual de cada gema lateral. Através do experimento 2, um artigo foi elaborado, tendo por objetivo testar a hipótese que a posição em que a gema lateral está localizada sobre o eixo principal têm efeito na brotação primaveril, no conteúdo de água e tamanho das mesmas. Pode-se concluir deste estudo que uma semana antes a brotação, as gemas localizadas na zona distal possuem maior potencial de crescimento (maior frequência de brotação e menor tempo médio para brotação), além de apresentarem maior umidade ponderal e tamanho. / The apple tree (Malus X domestica Borkh.) presents morphological and physiological anomalies when grown in mild winter climates with insufficient winter chilling to overcome winter dormancy. Symptoms are typically delayed and erratic budburst, entailing desynchronized flowering and fruitset and poor agronomic performances. This thesis aimed at gaining more insights on the following issues. Firstly, what are the effects of winter temperatures on axillary burdburst and bud outgrowth, and what are the respective effects of winter temperatures and cultivar?, and secondly, is there a link between the temperature-dependent budburst and bud water status? Works were done in France and Brazil. In France, experiments were carried out in controlled conditions on four apple cultivars characterized by either high chilling (‘Granny Smith’, ‘Royal Gala’, ‘Starkrimson’) or low chilling (‘Condessa’) requirements and were submitted to outdoor-cold and greenhouse-mild winter temperatures. We showed that the actual shoot architecture and budburst resulted from an ordered sequence of events with a pivotal role of winter temperatures on the dormancy completion of individual lateral buds. Endogenous factors related to the cultivar branching pattern overtook the temperature effect on the lateral bud outgrowth. Furthermore, the delayed senescence and subsequent leaf persistence during winter, characterizing the apple tree in the mild winter temperature conditions, had only a weak effect on the topological distribution of budburst and lateral outgrowth. The analyses of bud water status were done on distal buds only, characterized by high budburst frequency in cold winter conditions. We showed that, from endodormancy to the pre-budburst stage, xylem conductance at the stem-to-bud junction did not show consistent changes across cultivars and winter temperature treatments. Bud water potential had negative values, between -4.35 and -2.24 MPa, depending on cultivars and winter temperature treatments. Moreover, whatever the cultivar, there were no significant trends across dates for the effects of winter temperatures on bud water potential and relative water content without a consistent relationship with actual spring budburst frequency. These results suggested that lateral buds were hydraulically isolated from the parent stem during winter until a few days before budburst. The other set of experiments was carried out in Brazil, under mild winter conditions, on the low chilling apple cultivar ‘Eva’. The objectives were to gain more insights on the effect of the position of the over-wintering lateral bud along the whole-parent shoot on bud size and water content. Results highlighted that distal buds were larger and had a higher water content than proximal buds with a strong increase of water content a week before spring budburst. It was concluded that the acrotonic pattern of budburst was mainly established during ecodormancy. As a whole, we showed that spring budburst seemed more related to a whole-shoot effect than to the water status of the individual bud during winter dormancy. Our study substantiated the importance of the whole shoot as an integrated morphological and physiological unit in driving budburst and further growth.

Les structures en béton armé ou en bois se dégradent sous des actions mécaniques et climatiques. Les propriétés physiques et mécaniques de ces matériaux sont liées aux conditions d'exposition et à leurs variations. L’évaluation non destructive de ces propriétés en amont des dégradations est une nécessité pour les maîtres d'ouvrages afin de prédire la durée de vie des structures dans un contexte de gestion durable du patrimoine bâti. La présence d’eau dans les pores du béton est un facteur qui facilite la pénétration des agents agressifs (dioxyde de carbone, chlorures, etc. responsables de l’initiation de pathologies comme la corrosion des aciers). Pour le cas du matériau bois, les causes les plus fréquentes des détériorations sont souvent d’origine biologiques (champignons et insectes). L’humidité est également reconnue comme une des conditions les plus importantes pour le développement de ces attaques. Il est donc nécessaire d’évaluer et de quantifier la variation spatiale de l’humidité dans ces matériaux de construction pour limiter les actions de réparation. Le système radar (Ground Penetrating Radar, « GPR ») est un outil d’auscultation des matériaux totalement non destructif, rapide, compact et sans contact. Cette technique est basée sur la propagation des ondes électromagnétiques. Cette propagation est fortement liée à la permittivité et la conductivité du matériau qui sont très sensibles aux variations de l’humidité. L’objectif de cette thèse est double : d’une part, modéliser l’effet des variations de l’humidité dans un matériau homogène, multi-couches ou avec gradient, et d’autre part, de quantifier expérimentalement l’effet d’un gradient d’humidité sur le béton et celui de l’anisotropie sur le bois. Pour cela, un modèle analytique a été développé en se basant sur la notion des lois de mélange (ajustées sur des mesures expérimentales de la permittivité en prenant en compte l’effet de la dispersion fréquentielle) et sur la propagation d’une onde plane. Une simulation numérique a permis d’apprécier l’effet d’un gradient et d’un milieu anisotropique sur la vitesse de propagation des ondes radar. La phase expérimentale a été effectuée sur un matériau modèle homogène et isotrope comme le sable pour comparer les différentes méthodes de mesure de la vitesse de l’onde directe. Une analyse fréquentielle de l’atténuation a été également étudiée pour évaluer la dispersion de l’atténuation dans un milieu considéré comme homogène. La deuxième partie de l’expérimentation a consisté à suivre par mesures radar le séchage d’une dalle en béton instrumentée par capteurs d’humidité. Enfin, une campagne expérimentale sur des échantillons en bois de deux essences (Pin et Epicéa) soumis à des humidités variables entre 0 et 50% a été menée. La phase de modélisation et de simulation a montré que la dispersion fréquentielle est significative seulement dans le cas d’un béton humide à forte salinité et que l’anisotropie et le gradient ont un effet significatif sur la propagation. La phase expérimentale a montré que dans le cas d’un matériau homogène, la vitesse est indépendante de la distance émetteur-récepteur, et qu’elle est variable dans le cas d’un béton soumis à un gradient d’humidité. Enfin, les essais sur le bois montrent que la partie réelle de sa permittivité est croissante en fonction de l’humidité. Le contraste de permittivité entre direction longitudinale et transversale (tangentielle ou radiale) est négligeable à l’état sec du matériau et commence à être significatif à partir de la saturation des fibres. Cela permet de privilégier la direction longitudinale à la direction transversale pour évaluer l’humidité des structures en bois. / The reinforced concrete or the timber structures are degraded under mechanical and climatic actions. Physical and mechanical properties of these materials are linked to outdoor exposure conditions and their variations. The early non-destructive evaluation of these properties before the initiation of degradations is a need for masters of structures in order to predict the service life of the structures in a context of sustainable management of the built heritage. The presence of water in the pores of the concrete is a factor which facilitates the penetration of aggressive agents (carbon dioxide, chlorides, etc. responsible of the initiation of pathologies such as steel corrosion). In the case of wood material, the most common causes of damage are often of biological origin (fungi and insects). Moisture is also recognized as one of the most important conditions for the development of these attacks. It is therefore necessary to evaluate and quantify the spatial variation of the humidity in the building materials to limit repair actions. The GPR system (Ground Penetrating Radar) is an auscultation tool of materials which is completely non-destructive, fast, compact, and contactless. This technique is based on the propagation of electromagnetic waves. This propagation is strongly linked to the permittivity and the conductivity of the material that are highly sensitive to changes in humidity. The objective of this thesis is twofold: first, modelling the effect of moisture variation in a homogeneous material, multi-layers or with gradient, and secondly, to experimentally quantify the effect of a moisture gradient on the concrete and the effect of the anisotropy (case of wood material). An analytical model has been developed based on the concept of mixing laws (Fitted on experimental measurements of the permittivity by taking into account the effect of the frequency dispersion) and the propagation of a plane wave. A numerical simulation was used to assess the effects of a gradient and the effect of an anisotropic medium on the propagation velocity of the radar waves. The experimental phase was performed on a homogeneous and isotropic model material such as sand to compare different measurement methods of the velocity of the direct wave. A frequency analysis of the attenuation was also examined to evaluate the dispersion of the attenuation in a considered homogeneous medium. The second part of the experiment was to monitor, by radar measurements, the drying of a concrete slab instrumented by humidity sensors. Finally, an experimental campaign on samples of two species of wood (Pine and Spruce) with different moisture content between 0 and 50% was conducted. The modelling and simulations phase has shown that the frequency dispersion is significant only in the case of wet concrete with a high salinity content. The anisotropy and the gradient have a significant effect on the spread. The experimental phase showed that in the case of a homogeneous material, the speed is independent of the offset (distance between transmitter and receiver), and it varies in the case of concrete with a moisture gradient. Finally, tests on the timber indicate that the real part of its permittivity increases as a function of moisture. The contrast between longitudinal and transverse direction (tangential or radial) is negligible in the dry state of the material and begins to be very significant from the fiber saturation point. It indicates that the longitudinal direction, instead of the transverse direction, is more convenient to measure the moisture of wood structures.

Cette recherche doctorale porte sur la modélisation 3D de la dynamique des teneurs en eau dans le sol et le soussol lorsque les écoulements sont à saturation variable. La modélisation est basée sur une version généralisée de la loi de Darcy-Buckingham et de l’équation de Richards multidimensionnelle. Les recherches présentées dans cette thèse concernent différents volets, présentés ci-dessous, dont le fil conducteur est l’analyse de phénomènes d’écoulements en milieux poreux, contenant de fortes hétérogénéités et/ou perturbés par des fluctuations temporelles. Dans le cadre d’un partenariat de recherche entre l’IMFT et l'IRSN sur la problématique du stockage souterrain de déchets radioactifs, nous avons modélisé en 3D la dynamique du front de désaturation d’une couche argileuse autour d’une galerie souterraine ventilée, à l’aide du code volumes finis BIGFLOW 3D. Ce travail a permis de mettre au point une approche d’immersion pour la modélisation des écoulements en milieux composites. Un autre volet de cette thèse concerne une étude analytique et numérique des profils verticaux de succion et de teneur en eau lors d’une infiltration verticale, non-saturante, dans un sol hétérogène finement stratifié. Des solutions analytiques exactes et approchées sont obtenues en régime permanent, à l’aide de transformations de variables, et sont comparées avec des solutions numériques pour différents degrés d’hétérogénéité. De même, les phénomènes de « barrière capillaire » sont étudiés d’une part analytiquement et d’autre part, par expérimentations numériques transitoires d’infiltration sur des systèmes bicouches, en présence d’une nappe plus ou moins profonde. D’autre part, les écoulements nonsaturés sont étudiés, cette fois, en présence d’un forçage transitoire fortement oscillatoire, dans une colonne de sable fin homogène, sous l’effet de fluctuations périodiques du niveau de la surface libre. Une méthode multi-front mise au point lors d’une thèse précédente à l’IMFT est validée numériquement en montrant que cette méthode simule efficacement la dynamique oscillatoire des flux et des profils de pression avec un nombre limité de « fronts ». De plus, nous avons analysé la phénoménologie capillaire/gravitaire des écoulements oscillatoires dans la colonne grâce à un suivi dynamique du plan de flux nul. Enfin, nous présentons, comme extension aux travaux précédents, une étude préliminaire des phénomènes 3D d’infiltration et de redistribution d’eau, notamment lorsque l’hétérogénéité du sol est de type aléatoire. Les premiers essais d’infiltration permettent de tester, en réplique unique, des méthodes de prises de moyennes spatiales des champs de succion et teneur en eau et évaluer la taille minimum du domaine de calcul 3D permettant d’obtenir des profils verticaux moyens représentatifs de l’infiltration dans une réplique unique du sol aléatoire. / This doctoral research, defended at the Institut de Mécanique des Fluides de Toulouse, is devoted to modeling water pressure and water content in soils and in subsurface geologic formations, in the case of variably saturated flow. One of the main scientific objectives of this work is to analyze the response of unsaturated flow systems, and particularly capillary and gravitational effects, in the presence of material heterogeneities, discontinuities, and/or space-time fluctuations. Modeling is based on a generalized version of Darcy- Buckingham’s law, and of Richards’ flow equation. Overall, the topics developed in this PhD thesis focus on several related aspects of variably saturated water flow in the subsurface. These aspects all occur at once in most applications (drying/wetting,heterogeneity, temporal forcing), but they are "decoupled" here for convenience. A preliminary research (collaborative project IMFT / IRSN) was developed to study the 2D/3D drying process at the porous wall of a deep cylindrical excavation in response to hydrometeorological signals. This project has motivated the design and testing of a novel approach to include cavities in the modeling domain. A detailed study of steady state infiltration was developed for the case of finely stratified soils, with parameters that vary continuously and cyclically with depth. Exact and approximate analytical solutions are calculated based on variable transformation methods and on perturbation type approximations, and they are tested numerically using a finite volume code (BIGFLOW 3D). The sensitivity of suction fluctuations vs. stratification wavelength is investigated, as well as the effect of the degree of heterogeneity, and of water table depth. Capillary barrier effects are studied for the case of unsaturated infiltration in multilayer soil systems characterized by a discontinuity of soil properties at interfaces. Numerical experiments are developed for transient infiltration towards a water table through a two-layer system, the goal being to analyze possible capillary barrier effects under various scenarios. On the other hand, we study numerically the case of a partially saturated / unsaturated soil column submitted to highly variable oscillatory pressure at the bottom of the column: this leads to vertical flow oscillations in the unsaturated zone above the water table influenced by tides (coastal beach sand). We analyze the dynamics of this oscillatory flow, where capillary and gravitational effects compete; for this purpose we use a novel method that tracks the positions of the zero flux plane in the unsaturated column. Finally, we also present, as an extension to the previous studies, a preliminary investigation of multidimensional infiltration/redistribution phenomena, particularly for the case of fully 3D random-type soil heterogeneity. The first numerical experiments of 3D infiltration are undertaken based on the single realization approach to soil heterogeneity, and assuming a uniform distribution of wetting at soil surface.

In the master’s thesis, we evaluate the impact of different types of soil treatment on the physical and hydro-physical properties of the subsurface layers of soil. The experimental research took place near the town of Šakvice in two chosen areas treated conventionally, i.e. by tillage. The PRP SOL substance was applied to one of the observed areas. Unimpaired soil samples were taken during the vegetation period of the grown crops in the topsoil (10,20 cm) and in the undersoil (30 cm) on 13th May 2009 and on 10th September 2009. The chosen physical parameters of the soil, i.e. the reduced volume mass, the porosity, the distribution of pores, the actual content of water and air, were determined by standard analytical methods. The double-ring infiltration method was used during the field measuring of infiltration. The Philip’s equation and the Philip’s type three-parameter equation were used for the data analysis, serving as a base for estimation of saturated water content Ks. A protractor with a constant gradient was used during laboratory measuring. The results of a year-long research have not shown any major influence of the PRP SOL substance on the physical quality of the subsurface layers of soil in the observed area. On the contrary, the permeability od the soil obtained on the basis of Ks estimation is higher in the area treated by the PRP SOL substance.

Le biome boréal, emmagasinant d’importantes quantités de carbone en son sol et recouvrant une majorité du territoire alaskien, fennoscandien et russe, contribue grandement au système climatique. Toutefois, les variabilités climatiques et les propriétés de l’écosystème, notamment en ce qui a trait à la présence ou l’absence de pergélisol, complexifient la quantification de la variabilité des bilans de carbone du biome boréal, au sein duquel se retrouvent des écosystèmes forestiers, lentiques et de zones humides. Ces bilans de carbone sont grandement influencés par le début et la fin de la saison de croissance photosynthétique, étant à leur tour dépendants de plusieurs variables environnementales telles que la température de l’air et du sol, le contenu du sol en eau, les stades de développement de la végétation, etc. Cette recherche vise à quantifier l’impact de ces variabilités environnementales sur la variabilité des moments où se produisent le début et la fin de la saison de croissance photosynthétique, en distinguant les forêts boréales avec et sans pergélisol. La saison de croissance photosynthétique est caractérisée à partir de la productivité primaire brute dérivée de mesures covariance des turbulences provenant de 40 sites-années d’observation à travers la forêt boréale nord-américaine où l’épinette noire est l’espèce d’arbre dominante. Les variables environnementales considérées étaient les températures de l’air et du sol, les stades de développement de la végétation, le couvert nival, le rayonnement photosynthétiquement actif et le contenu du sol en eau. Le cadre statistique choisi incluait le calcul des coefficients de corrélations de Pearson, l’analyse des points communs et la modélisation par équations structurelles. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que la variabilité du début de la saison de croissance dans les sites sans pergélisol est contrôlée directement par la variabilité annuelle des stades de développement de la végétation ainsi que par le moment où survient le dégel du sol. Ce résultat souligne ainsi l’importance de l’accès à l’eau liquide du sol afin que la végétation initie la photosynthèse. Aucune variable environnementale ne pouvait significativement expliquer le contrôle du début de la photosynthèse au sein des sites avec pergélisol. À l’automne, le contenu du sol en eau ainsi que le début du couvert nival influencent directement la variabilité de la fin de la saison de croissance photosynthétique. Il est alors montré que la disponibilité de l’eau peut mener à une cessation plus hâtive de la photosynthèse à l’automne. L’effet de l’apparition du couvert nival est quant à lui opposé dans les sites avec et sans pergélisol. Son retard dans les sites sans pergélisol témoigne d’une température de l’air suffisamment élevée pour que les précipitations tombent sous forme liquide, prolongeant ainsi les activités photosynthétiques. Son retard dans les sites avec pergélisol signifie plutôt des précipitations neigeuses moindres, retardant ainsi l’apparition d’une couche isolante pour le sol, qui aurait pu allonger la saison de croissance photosynthétique. Cette étude contribue à clarifier les processus contrôlant le début et la fin de la saison de croissance photosynthétique et aidera à améliorer la compréhension des effets des changements climatiques sur la force du puits de carbone de la forêt boréale nord-américaine. / The boreal forest, storing large amounts of carbon in its soil and covering a majority of the Alaskan, Canadian, Fennoscandian and Russian territory, is an integral part of the climate system. However, climatic variability and ecosystem properties, particularly with regards to the presence or absence of permafrost, limits our understanding of the carbon balance variability in the boreal biome, which comprises forest, lake and wetland ecosystems. The boreal carbon sink-source strength is greatly influenced by phenological events, including the start and end of the photosynthetic growing season, which are themselves dependent on several environmental variables such as air and soil temperature, soil water content, vegetation development stages, etc. This research aims to provide new insights on the influence of environmental variability on the variability in the timing of the photosynthetic growing season, by broadly distinguishing between boreal forests with and without permafrost. The photosynthetic growing season is characterized using gross primary productivity derived from eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange. Data from 40 black spruce- dominated site-years of observation across the North American boreal forest are used. The considered environmental predictors were air and soil temperatures, vegetation development stages, snow cover, photosynthetically active radiation and soil water content. The statistical framework included the calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients, commonality analyses and structural equation modeling. This study shows that the variability in the start of the growing season in permafrost-free sites is directly controlled by the variability in vegetation development stage as well as by the thawing of seasonally frozen ground. This result thus emphasizes the importance of access to liquid soil water for the vegetation to initiate photosynthesis. No environmental variable could significantly explain photosynthesis recovery in sites with permafrost. In fall, the soil water content as well as the start of snow cover directly influence the variability in the end of the photosynthetic growing season. These results suggest that the availability of water can limit photosynthesis in the fall. The effect of snow cover is opposite in sites with and without permafrost. A delay in the appearance of continuous snow cover in sites without permafrost indicates that the air temperature is high enough for precipitation to fall in liquid form and for photosynthesis to continue. In contrast, its delay in sites with permafrost indicates less snowfall, thus delaying the appearance of an insulating layer for the soil, which could have lengthened the photosynthetic growing season. This study sheds light on the controls of the annual variation of the timing of the photosynthetic growing season and will help understanding of the effects of climate change on the strength of the North American boreal forest carbon sink.

Pulmonary TNFa concentration and wall thickness after on- versus off pump cardiac surgery

Forests can be considered as one of the most important Earth's ecosystems not only because of oxygen production and carbon sequestration via photosynthesis, but also as a source of many natural resources (such as wood) and as a habitat of many specific plants and animals. Monitoring of forest health status is thus crucial activity for keeping all production and ecosystem functions of forests. The main aim of the thesis is development of an alternative approach for forest health status based on airborne hyperspectral data (HyMap) analysis supported by field sampling. The proposed approach tries to use similar vegetation parameters which are used in case of the current methods of forest health status assessment based on field inspections. It is believed that importance of such new methods will significantly increase in the time when the planned satellite hyperspectral missions (e.g. EnMap) will move into operational phase. The developed forest health monitoring approach is practically demonstrated on mature Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) forests of the Sokolov lignite basin which were affected by long-term coal mining and heavy industry and therefore high variability of forest health status was assumed in this case. Two leaf level radiative transfer models were used for simulating spectral...

[ES] Existen muchos estudios que relacionan el consumo regular de frutas con importantes beneficios para la salud. Esto es debido a la gran cantidad de fibra, vitaminas y otros compuestos bioactivos presentes en ellas, los cuales pueden ser de gran ayuda en la prevención de algunas enfermedades. En los últimos años, el consumidor se ha decantado por consumir productos con alto valor nutricional y, como consecuencia del estilo de vida actual, existe una alta demanda de productos con fácil manejo para su consumo. Algunos de los principales inconvenientes de las frutas son su estacionalidad y corta vida útil, por lo que resulta interesante ofrecer productos de fruta de alto valor nutritivo y sensorial, estables y fácil manejo. La liofilización es una técnica que permiten obtener productos altamente estables microbiológicamente, debido a su bajo contenido de humedad, y con una máxima calidad sensorial, nutritiva y funcional. Sin embargo, se trata de un proceso largo y energéticamente costoso. Con base a lo anterior, el objetivo de esta tesis ha sido seleccionar las mejores condiciones de liofilización para la obtención de dos productos de naranja, uno la propia torta liofilizada y otro el polvo obtenido por trituración de la misma. Así, la sección uno se centra en evaluar la influencia tanto del contenido de agua como de la composición en solutos de un producto naranja en algunas propiedades de la torta liofilizada y del polvo correspondiente. Las propiedades analizadas se seleccionaron teniendo en cuenta tanto la retención de los compuestos bioactivos, como la porosidad, el color y las propiedades mecánicas de la torta obtenida y del polvo conseguido tras su trituración, además de las propiedades de flujo del polvo y su comportamiento frente a la rehidratación. En base a los resultados obtenidos se ha podido concluir que el puré de naranja es más recomendable a los efectos de obtener un producto tipo snack crujiente y el zumo cuando se desee un polvo para rehidratar, en este caso evitando cualquier tratamiento térmico antes de la liofilización. En la sección dos, se ha estudiado el impacto de la temperatura del secado, 30 y 50 °C, sobre los compuestos bioactivos del producto obtenido a partir del zumo de naranja formulado con goma Arábiga y fibra de bambú, así como sobre las mismas propiedades antes descritas de la torta liofilizada y de su correspondiente producto en polvo. En este caso, además, se llevó a cabo una evaluación sensorial de los productos rehidratados. Los resultados obtenidos permiten recomendar 50°C para el secado de este producto por liofilización. Esta temperatura acorta el tiempo del proceso en un 64 %, favorece la extracción de la vitamina C sin afectar al contenido total de fenoles y carotenoides, mejora las propiedades mecánicas de las tortas y no afecta a la fluidez ni a la rehidratación del producto en polvo. Finalmente, en la sección tres, se ha trabajado en la aplicación de una solución analítica basada en la ley de Darcy para modelar la cinética de pérdida de agua durante la liofilización. La solución analítica debe complementarse con una solución numérica de las ecuaciones de Fourier para la transferencia de calor. El modelo se ha ajustado a la dinámica experimental de liofilización de un producto a base de naranja formulado a partir del zumo. La pseudo-permeabilidad de Darcy obtenida fue de 2,0X10-12 con un índice de desviación de la conducta ideal de 0,5. Las ecuaciones propuestas, resueltas con la pseudo-permeabilidad de Darcy ajustada y el índice de desviación ideal, permiten reproducir la dinámica de liofilización experimental del mismo producto a diferentes temperaturas. / [CA] Existeixen molts estudis que relacionen el consum regular de fruites amb importants beneficis per a la salut. Això és degut a la gran quantitat de fibra, vitamines i altres compostos *bioactivos que es troben elles, els quals poden ser de gran ajuda en la prevenció d'algunes malalties. En els últims anys el consumidor s'ha decantat per consumir productes amb alt valor nutricional i, a conseqüència de l'estil de vida actual, existeix una alta demanda de productes amb fàcil maneig per al seu consum. Alguns dels principals inconvenients de les fruites són la seua estacionalitat i curta vida útil, per la qual cosa resulta interessant oferir productes de fruita d'alt valor nutritiu i sensorial, estables i fàcil maneig. La liofilització és una tècnica que permeten obtindre productes altament estables microbiologicament, a causa del seu baix contingut d'humitat, i amb una màxima qualitat sensorial, nutritiva i funcional. No obstant això, es tracta d'un procés llarg i energèticament costós. Amb base a l'anterior, l'objectiu d'aquesta Tesi ha sigut seleccionar les millors condicions de liofilització per a l'obtenció de dos productes de taronja, un la pròpia coca liofilitzada i un altre la pols obtinguda per trituració d'aquesta. Així, la primera part de la Tesi se centra en avaluar la influència tant del contingut d'aigua com de la composició en soluts d'un producte taronja en algunes propietats de la coca liofilitzada i de la pols corresponent. Les propietats a analitzar es van seleccionar tenint en compte tant la retenció dels compostos bioactius, com la porositat, el color i les propietats mecàniques de la coca obtinguda i de la pols aconseguida després de la seua trituració, a més de les propietats de flux de la pols i el seu comportament enfront de la rehidratació. Sobre la base dels resultats obtinguts s'ha pogut concloure que el puré de taronja és més recomanable a l'efecte d'obtindre un producte tipus snack cruixent i el suc quan es desitge una pols per a rehidratar, en aquest cas evitant qualsevol tractament tèrmic abans de la liofilització. En la segona part de la Tesi, s'ha estudiat l'impacte de la temperatura de l'assecat, 30 i 50 °C, sobre els compostos bioactius del producte obtingut a partir del suc de taronja formulat amb goma Aràbiga i fibra de bambú, així com sobre les mateixes propietats abans descrites de la coca liofilitzada i del seu corresponent producte en pols. En aquest cas, a més, es va dur a terme una avaluació sensorial dels productes rehidratats. Els resultats obtinguts permeten recomanar 50 °C per a l'assecat per liofilització d'aquest producte. Aquesta temperatura acurta el temps del procés en un 64%, afavoreix l'extracció de la vitamina C sense afectar el contingut total de fenols i carotenoids, millora les propietats mecàniques de les coques i no afecta a la fluïdesa ni a la rehidratació del producte en pols. Finalment, en la tercera part de la Tesi, s'ha treballat en l'aplicació d'una solució analítica basada en la llei de Darcy per a modelar la cinètica de pèrdua d'aigua durant la liofilització. La solució analítica ha de complementar-se amb una solució numèrica de les equacions de Fourier per a la transferència de calor. El model s'ha ajustat a la dinàmica experimental de liofilització d'un producte a base de taronja formulat a partir del suc. La pseudo-permeabilitat de Darcy obtinguda va ser de 2,0X10-12 amb un índex de desviació de la conducta ideal de 0,5. Les equacions proposades, resoltes amb la pseudo-permeabilitat de Darcy ajustada i l'índex de desviació ideal, permeten reproduir la dinàmica de liofilització experimental del mateix producte a diferents temperatures. / [EN] There are many studies linking regular fruit consumption with important health benefits. This is due to the large amount of fibre, vitamins and other bioactive compounds found in them, which can be of great help in the prevention of some diseases. In recent years, consumers have become more inclined to consume products with high nutritional value and, as a consequence of today's lifestyle, there is a high demand for products that are easy to handle for consumption. Some of the main disadvantages of fruits are their seasonality and short shelf life, so it is interesting to offer fruit products of high nutritional and sensory value that are stable and easy to handle. Freeze-drying is a technique that makes it possible to obtain highly microbiologically stable products, due to their low moisture content, and with maximum sensory, nutritional and functional quality. However, it is a long and energy-intensive process. Based on the above, the aim of this Doctoral Thesis has been to select the best freeze-drying conditions for obtaining two orange products, one the freeze-dried cake itself and the other the powder obtained by crushing it. Thus, the first part of the Thesis focuses on evaluating the influence of both the water content and the solute composition of an orange product on some properties of the freeze-dried cake and the corresponding powder. The properties to be analysed were selected taking into account the retention of the bioactive compounds, the porosity, the colour and the mechanical properties of the cake obtained and of the powder obtained after grinding, as well as the flow properties of the powder and its behaviour against rehydration. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that orange puree is more recommendable for obtaining a crunchy snack-type product and juice when a powder for rehydration is desired, in this case avoiding any heat treatment before freeze-drying. In the second part of the Thesis, the impact of the drying temperature, 30 and 50 °C, on the bioactive compounds of the product obtained from orange juice formulated with gum Arabic and bamboo fibre, as well as on the same properties described above of the freeze-dried cake and its corresponding powdered product, has been studied. In this case, a sensory evaluation of the rehydrated products was also carried out. The results obtained allow to recommend 50°C for the freeze-drying of this product. This temperature shortens the processing time by 64 %, favours the extraction of vitamin C without affecting the total phenol and carotenoid content, improves the mechanical properties of the cakes and does not affect the flowability and rehydration of the powdered product. Finally, in the third part of the Thesis, we have studied the application of an analytical solution based on Darcy's law to model the kinetics of water loss during freeze-drying. The analytical solution must be complemented with a numerical solution of the Fourier equations for heat transfer. The model has been fitted to the experimental dynamics of freeze-drying an orange-based product formulated from the juice. The Darcy pseudo-permeability obtained was 2,0X10-12 with an index of deviation from ideal behaviour of 0,5. The proposed equations, solved with the adjusted Darcy pseudo-permeability and the ideal deviation index, allow to reproduce the experimental freeze-drying dynamics of the same product at different temperatures. / Uscanga Ramos, MA. (2022). Influencia de la composición y de la temperatura de secado en la calidad de un producto de naranja liofilizado. Propuesta de un modelo mecanístico para la modelización de la cinética del proceso [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181238 / TESIS

Das Wurzelwachstum von Winterweizen wurde erfasst und modelliert, um teilflächenspezifisches Boden- und Düngemanagement zu verbessern. Die Variation von Wurzellängendichten im Feld wurde über zwei Vegetationsperioden hinweg an zwei unterschiedlichen Standorten in Ostdeutschland untersucht. Zur Auswertungserleichterung der hohen Anzahl an Wurzelproben, wurde eine halbautomatische Methode zur Bildanalyse von Wurzeln entwickelt. Der Einfluss von Änderungen bezüglich Bodenwasserstatus und Bodendichte bzw. Durchdringungswiderstand auf das Wurzelwachstum wurde untersucht. Die erhobenen Felddaten dienten gleichzeitig dazu, die Bodenwasser- und Wurzelwachstumsberechnung des Modells CERES-Wheat zu validieren. Das Modell simulierte die unterschiedlichen Bodeneigenschaften sowie die Wurzellängendichten und Bodenwassergehalte nur unzureichend. Der Effekt von Änderungen der Niederschlagsmengen auf die Simulationen von Wurzellängendichten und Bodenwassergehalten wurde anhand einer Unsicherheitsanalyse getestet und war extrem gering. Des Weiteren wurde eine Methode für praktische Zwecke entwickelt, mit der die Generierung von räumlich hoch aufgelösten Bodeninformationen unter Verwendung limitierter Eingangsdaten möglich ist. Die Modellkalkulationen basieren auf der Dempster-Shafer-Theorie. Anhand von multitemporal und multimodal erfassten Bodenleitfähigkeitsdaten, die Eingangsdaten für den Modellansatz sind, wurden Bodentypen und Texturklassen bestimmt. Das Modell generiert eine digitale Bodenkarte, die flächenhafte Informationen über Bodentypen und Bodeneigenschaften enthält. Die Validation der Bodenkarte mit zusätzlich erhobenen Bodeninformationen ergab gute bis sehr gute Ergebnisse. / Winter wheat root growth was measured and modelled to improve site-specific soil and fertilizer management in commercial wheat fields. Field variations in root length densities were analysed at two contrasting sites in East-Germany during two vegetation seasons. A semi-automated root analysing method was developed to facilitate analyses of large numbers of samples. Influences of variations in soil water states, bulk densities and penetration resistances on spatial distributions of roots were quantified. Differences in soil characteristics were large between the two sites and affected root growth considerably. The same field data was used for validating the soil moisture and root growth calculations of the widely applied growth model CERES-Wheat. Simulations of root length densities, soil physical properties and soil water contents were inadequate. The effects of changes of rainfall variabilities on simulated root length densities and soil water contents were tested by uncertainty analysis but were negligible low. A methodology for generating soil information for practical management purposes at a high degree of spatial resolution using limited input information was developed. The corresponding model calculations were carried out based on the Dempster and Shafer theorem. Soil types and texture classes were determined with multimodally and multitemporally captured data of soil electrical conductivities which are required input data of the new model approach. The model generates a digital map with extensive information of spatial variations in soil properties. The validation of the generated soil map with soil data from independent measurements yielded close correlation between measured and calculated values.