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Eastern Kentucky is a 35-county region that is a part of the Cumberland Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains. With mountaintop removal and associated land cover change (LCC) (primarily deforestation), it is hypothesized that there would be changes in various atmospheric boundary layer parameters and precipitation. In this research, we have conducted sensitivity experiments of atmospheric response of a significant flash flood-producing rainfall event by modifying land cover and topography. These reflect recent LCC, including mountaintop removal (MTR). We have used the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for this purpose. The study found changes in amount, location, and timing of precipitation. LCC also modified various surface fluxes, moist static energy, planetary boundary layer height, and local-scale circulation wind circulation. The key findings were the modification in fluxes and precipitation totals. With respect to sensible heat flux (H), there was an increase to bare soil (post-MTR) in comparison to pre-MTR conditions (increased elevation with no altered land cover). Allowing for growth of vegetation, the grass simulation resulted in a decrease in H. H increased when permitting the growth of forest land cover (LC) but not to the degree of bare soil. In regards to latent heat flux (LE), there was a dramatic decrease transitioning from pre-MTR to post-MTR simulations. Then with the subsequent grass and forest simulations, there was an increase in LE comparable to the pre-MTR simulation. Under pre-MTR conditions, the total precipitation was at its highest level overall. Then with the simulated loss of vegetation and elevation, there was a dramatic decrease in precipitation. With the grass LC, the precipitation increased in all areas of interest. Then forest LC was simulated allowing overall slightly higher precipitation than grass.

A considerable part of the global pool of terrestrial carbon is stored in high latitude soils. In these soils, repeated cycles of freezing and thawing creates soil motion (cryoturbation) that in combination with other cryogenic disturbance processes may play a profound role in controlling the carbon balance of the arctic soil. Conditions for cryogenic soil processes are predicted to dramatically change in response to the ongoing climate warming, but little is known how these changes may affect the ability of arctic soils to accumulate carbon. In this thesis, I utilize a patterned ground system, referred to as non-sorted circles, as experimental units and quantify how cryogenic soil processes affect plant communities and carbon fluxes in arctic soils. I show that the cryoturbation has been an important mechanism for transporting carbon downwards in the studied soil over the last millennia. Interestingly, burial of organic material by cryoturbation appears to have mainly occurred during bioclimatic events occurring around A.D. 900-1250 and A.D. 1650-1950 as indicated by inferred 14C ages. Using a novel photogrammetric approach, I estimate that about 0.2-0.8 % of the carbon pool is annually subjected to a net downward transport induced by the physical motion of soil. Even though this flux seems small, it suggests that cryoturbation is an important transporter of carbon over centennial and millennial timescales and contributes to translocate organic matter to deeper soil layers where respiration proceeds at slow rates. Cryogenic processes not only affect the trajectories of the soil carbon, but also generate plant community changes in both species composition and abundance, as indicated by a conducted plant survey on non-sorted circles subjected to variable differential frost heave during the winter. Here, disturbance-tolerant plant species, such as Carex capillaris and Tofieldia pusilla, seem to be favoured by disturbance generated by the differential heave. Comparison with findings from a previous plant survey on the site conducted in the 1980s suggest that the warmer temperatures during the last decades have resulted in decreased differential heave in the studied non-sorted circles. I argue that this change in cryogenic activity has increased abundance of plants present in the 1980s. The fact that the activity and function of the non-sorted circles in Abisko are undergoing changes is further supported by their contemporary carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. Here, my measurements of CO2 fluxes suggest that all studied non-sorted circles act as net CO2 sources and thus that the carbon balance of the soils are in a transition state. My results highlight the complex but important relationship between cryogenic soil processes and the carbon balance of arctic soils.

O abacateiro (Persea americana Mill.) possui desenvolvimento organizado em fluxos de crescimento e florescimento em panículas, provenientes principalmente de gemas terminais, podendo ocorrer em menor intensidade a partir de gemas axilares. Dessa forma, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a capacidade de florescimento e a presença de substâncias ergásticas nas células de gemas axilares, bem como determinar a contribuição dos fluxos de crescimento de primavera e verão para a composição floral dos abacateiros \'Geada\', \'Fortuna\', Quintal\', \'Margarida\' e \'Hass\', localizados no sudoeste do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Adotou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado e por meio da contagem do número de brotações e inflorescências, o acompanhamento do desenvolvimento vegetativo e reprodutivo foi feito em 40 ramos do fluxo de primavera e 40 ramos do fluxo de verão, distribuídos em cinco plantas por cultivar, no período de março a agosto/2016. A capacidade de florescimento de gemas axilares foi avaliada em estruturas coletadas mensalmente entre março e julho de 2016 nos ramos dos fluxos de primavera e verão, sendo as alterações anatômicas do meristema e a presença de substâncias ergásticas (amido, proteínas totais, compostos fenólicos e polissacarídeos) monitoradas a partir de testes histológicos e histoquímicos. Para as análises histológicas, as amostras vegetais foram desidratadas em série gradual de álcoois, emblocados em historesina e coradas em coloração dupla com reagente ácido periódico de Schiff e Naftol Blue Black. O florescimento de todas as cultivares ocorreu no mês de agosto/2016 e a formação de inflorescências foi predominante em ramos provenientes do fluxo de verão para todas as cultivares. Os resultados evidenciam a capacidade de florescimento de gemas axilares dos abacateiros, as quais são anatomicamente idênticas às gemas terminais e apresentaram início do comprometimento com o florescimento, caracterizada pelo aparecimento dos eixos secundários da inflorescência, dois meses antes (entre maio e julho) da época de floração (agosto/setembro). / Avocado trees (Persea americana Mill.) has an organized development in fluxes of growth and flowering in panicles, mainly coming from terminal buds, and may occur in less intensity from axillary buds. Thus, the present study had as objective the evaluation of the flowering potential and presence of ergastic substances in axillary buds, as well as to determine the contribution of the spring and summer fluxes growth to the floral composition of the avocado trees \'Geada\', \'Fortuna\' , Quintal \',\' Margarida \'and\' Hass\', located in the southwest of São Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized and the vegetative and reproductive development was monitored in 40 branches of the spring flux and 40 branches of the summer flux by counting the number of shoots and inflorescences, distributed in five plants per cultivar, in the period from March to August / 2016. The flowering capacity of axillary buds was evaluated in monthly collected structures between March and July of 2016 in the branches of spring and summer fluxes, being the anatomical alterations of the meristem and the presence of ergastic substances (starch, total proteins, phenolic compounds and polysaccharides) monitored from histological and histochemical analyses. For the histological analyzes, the plant samples were dehydrated in a gradual series of alcohols, placed in historesin and stained in double staining with periodic acid reagents of Schiff and Naftol Blue Black. The flowering of all cultivars occurred in August / 2016 and inflorescence formation was more significant in branches from the summer flow for all cultivars. The results showed the flowering ability of axillary buds of the avocado trees, which are anatomically identical to the terminal buds and showed the beginning of the flowering, characterized by the appearance of the secondary axes of the inflorescence two months before (between May and July) of flowering (August / September).

Este trabalho investiga as potenciais mudanças de temperatura e precipitação em escala regional no estado de São Paulo, decorrentes das mudanças do uso da terra. Realizou-se a análise de um conjunto de observações micrometeorológicas no período de fevereiro de 2005 a fevereiro de 2006, sobre áreas de cerrado, cana-de-açúcar e eucalipto. O balanço de energia no cerrado indicou que o saldo de radiação foi maior que sobre a cana-de-açúcar, devido principalmente ao maior albedo e perda de radiação de onda longa na cana. No eucalipto o saldo de radiação foi semelhante ao do cerrado. A partição de energia no cerrado e na cana-de-açúcar diferiu marcadamente nos quatro meses após a colheita, quando a razão de Bowen e o fluxo de calor no solo foram maiores na cana-de-açúcar. No período úmido o eucalipto destacou-se com maior evapotranspiração (5,2 mm dia-1) do que no cerrado e na cana-de-açúcar (3,1 e 2,5 mm dia-1, respectivamente). Apesar disso, o eucalipto foi a área mais sensível à condição de estresse hídrico, reduzindo a evapotranspiração em maior proporção no final de agosto. A temperatura máxima diária (Tmax) sobre o cerrado foi menor que sobre cana-de-açúcar (de 1,3 a 2 ºC) e maior do que sobre o eucalipto (de 0,5 a 1,3 ºC), consistente com a comparação da partição de energia na maior parte do ano. A temperatura mínima diária (Tmin) sobre o cerrado foi maior que sobre a cana-de-açúcar (por até 3 ºC) e maior do que sobre o eucalipto (por até 1 ºC). Também foram analisadas as séries históricas de precipitação e temperatura do ar (Tmax e Tmin) em Ribeirão Preto e Campinas no período de 1943 a 2000, sugerindo em ambas uma oscilação decadal marcada por uma fase quente da Tmax) e seca (da chuva), entre 1943-1965, seguida de uma fase úmida e Tmax levemente fria, até 2000. Este padrão mostrou-se semelhante a variabilidade da Oscilação decadal do Pacífico, portanto um controle de variabilidade natural de grande escala. A Tmin média anual mostrou um aumento significativo nos últimos 58 anos, apesar de alguns anos relativamente frios na década de 1980, particularmente em Ribeirão Preto. Nas últimas duas décadas a persistência de anomalias quentes da Tmin foi marcante, consistente com as tendências globais, possivelmente devido a intensificação do efeito estufa. Entretanto, há evidências de que a crescente urbanização pode ter influenciado o sinal das estações, baseado na comparação com a variabilidade das reanálises do NCEP/DOE. O efeito da urbanização é mais provável em Campinas devido a três fatores: localização em relação a mancha urbana, regime local dos ventos e grande aumento populacional entre 1950 e 2000. Considerando que a cana substituiu o cerrado no último século e baseado na comparação do microclima em cada ecossistema, sugere-se que as mudanças de uso da terra associadas à expansão da cana-de-açúcar não explicam a variabilidade de longo prazo da temperatura. Apesar desta falta de evidência, verificou-se uma tendência de resfriamento da Tmax, significativa somente no inverno, que poderia ser resultante das queimadas de cana-de-açúcar. / This work investigates potential regional scale temperature and precipitation changes in the São Paulo state, caused by land use changes. We analised micrometeorological measurements, in the period February 2005 to February 2006, over three different ecosystems (cerrado, sugar cane and eucalyptus plantation). The surface energy balances showed that over the cerrado the net radiation was larger than for sucar cane, mostly due to a larger albedo and long wave radiation loss. The net radiation was similar between the cerrado and eucalyptus. The energy partition over the cerrado and sugar cane differed markedly during the first four months after sugar cane´s harvest, when the Bowen ratio and soil heat flux were both higher over the latter area. During the wet period, was evapotranspiration over eucalyptus ppeared remarkably larger (5,2 mm day-1), compared to the cerrado and sugar cane (3,1 e 2,5 mm day-1, respectively). Despite that, the eucalyptus area was the most sensitive to soil water stress conditions, where the largest reduction in evapotranspiration was observed at the end of August. The daily maximum emperature (Tmax) over the cerrado was lower than over the sugar cane (from 1,3 to 2 ºC) and larger than over eucalyptus (from 0,5 to 1,3 ºC), concurrent with the comparisons of energy partitioning during most of the year. The daily minimum temperature (Tmin) over cerrado site was larger than over the sugar cane (up to 3 ºC) and over eucalyptus (up to 1 ºC). Time series of precipitation and air temperature (Tmax and Tmin), at Ribeirão Preto and Campinas cities, were further analyzed, in the 1943 to 2000 period, and suggested over both stations a decadal oscillation marked by warm phasis (in Tmax) and dry phase in precip), in the sub-period 1943-1965, followed by an wet phase (in precip) and slightly cold phase (of Tmax) up to 2000. This pattern appeared to be similar to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation variability, thus likely to be controlled by a large scale natural variability. The annual mean Tmin showed a significant increasing trend in the last 58 years, despite of some cold years during 980s, particularly at Ribeirão Preto city. In the last two decades (1980 2000) the persistence of warm Tmin anomalies was more clearly noticed, concurrent with global mean temperature trends, likely arising from the enhancement of the greenhouse effect. However, we found evidences that increasing urbanization could have affected the measurements over the meteorological weather stations, based on comparisons with NCEP/DOE reanalysis data variability. The urbanization effect is most likely in the Campinas city, partly to three factors: the meteorological station is located close to the urban spot area, local wind regimes, and substantial population growth between 1950 to 2000. Hypothesizing that the sugar cane plantations replaced, in the last 30 years, the primitive cerrado areas that existed in the early 20th century, and comparing the microclimate over both ecosystems, it is suggested that the land use changes associated to sugar cane plantation does not explain the long term temperature variability observed in the weather stations. However, the seasonal trends of Tmax appeared to decrease in the last 30 years, during the winter season, what could be caused by the increasing sugar cane burning emission.

RALFs são peptídeos hormonais de aproximadamente 5kD que regulam negativamente o alongamento celular. Dentre suas atividades biológicas, a alcalinização do meio extracelular e a inibição do alongamento celular são tidas como associadas, pois a acidificação do meio extracelular é necessária para a expansão celular. A atividade de alcalinização e a de inibição do crescimento são medidas em dois ensaios distintos: o ensaio de alcalinização do meio extracelular de células em suspensão e o ensaio do crescimento de raiz primária de plantas jovens. Buscando-se fazer ambas as avaliações da inibição da expansão celular e da alcalinização em um único modelo de estudo, tomou-se como medida da expansão celular o volume das células decantadas (VCD). Quando o tampão MES ou o pré-tratamento com \"Fusicoccin\" foi utilizado para se atenuar o efeito de alcalinização do AtRALF1, verificou-se que o efeito de inibição do alongamento celular não sofreu alteração. Em arabidopsis são encontrados nove peptídeos RALF, que apresentam alta similaridade com o RALF original de tabaco. Com exceção do AtRALF4, todos são capazes de alcalinizar o meio extracelular e inibir raízes. A comparação da estrutura primária do AtRALF4 com os demais RALFs mostra que poucos resíduos são distintos entre eles, sugerindo que estes possam ser os determinantes das atividades de inibição e alcalinização. A alteração de um destes resíduos, AtRALF4(N92A), é capaz de restaurar a capacidade do AtRALF4 de inibir as raízes sem, no entanto, recuperar a atividade de alcalinização. Quando três outros resíduos exclusivos do AtRALF4 foram substituídos pelos seus correspondentes do AtRALF1, observa-se uma restauração parcial da alcalinização, desta vez, sem alterar a capacidade de inibir as raízes. Recentemente, foi mostrado pelo nosso grupo que o peptídeo AtRALF1 induz a expressão de genes relacionados ao rearranjo da parede celular. Quando verificado por PCR quantitativa, contatou-se que somente os peptídeos mutantes que apresentam atividade de inibição do crescimento são capazes de promover uma indução semelhante. Ainda, utilizando gel indicador de pH, verificou-se que plantas transgênicas super-expressando AtRALF1 (35S:AtRALF1) acidificam o meio durante seu crescimento de maneira semelhante a plantas selvagens. O peptídeo de defesa AtPEP1, a exemplo dos peptídeos RALF, também promove a alcalinização do meio extracelular. A utilização de drogas para reproduzir ou atenuar o efeito de alcalinização promovido por este peptídeo sugere que a expressão dos genes responsivos a AtPEP1 também não está relacionada à alteração na atividade das próton-ATPases. Finalmente, quando mutantes para ambos os receptores de AtPEPs foram utilizados (atpepr1/r2) em gel indicador de pH, verificou-se que estes alcalinizam o pH da rizosfera na presença do peptídeo. Nossos dados somados sugerem uma dissociação das atividades biológicas de alcalinização do meio extracelular e de inibição da expansão celular. A alteração na atividade das próton-ATPases pode não ser apenas uma mensagem secundária do efeito biológico, mas sim outra fonte de informação independente e ainda pouco explorada como tal. / RALFs are 5kD peptide hormones that negatively regulates cell expansion. Among the biological activities of the RALF peptide, the extracellular alkalinization and cellular expansion inhibition were previously suggested to be associated, once the extracellular acidification is required to cell expansion. Usually, the alkalinization and cell expansion inhibition activities are evaluated in two different assays, the cell suspension medium alkalinization and the plantlet root growth inhibition. We manage to set an assay in which both cell expansion inhibition and extracellular alkalinization activities could be evaluated. Using the package suspension cell volume through decantation as a value of cell expansion, we evaluated the relation between alkalinization and cell expansion inhibition in different conditions. When the MES buffer or the pre-treatment with Fusicoccin was used to arrest the AtRALF1 extracellular alkalinization, the package cell volume inhibition activity was not affected. There are 9 RALF peptides encoded in arabidopsis plants that are closely related with the first isoform isolated from tobacco. With exception of the AtRALF4, all those isoforms are able to alkalinize the extracellular medium and arrest root growth. Comparing the AtRALF4 with other eight isoforms, we verified that are few different amino acids between them, suggesting that those amino acids could be essential for the biological activities. The rescue of one of those amino acids, AtRALF4(N92A), was able to regain the root growth inhibition activity of the AtRALF4 peptide, although the extracellular alkalinization activity was not restored. When three other AtRALF4 amino acids were substituted by their AtRALF1 correspondent, there is a partial rescue of the extracellular alkalinization activity, but no alterations in the root growth inhibition. We had recently shown that the AtRALF1 peptide induces the expression of genes related to cell wall rearrangement. The quantitative PCR analyses demonstrates that only the mutant peptides that are able to arrest root growth are also able to induce the gene expression. When submitted to a pH indicator, it was verified that AtRALF1 overexpressing plants acidifies it during its growth, as much as wild type plants.The defense peptide AtPEP1, similarly of AtRALF1, also triggers extracellular alkalinization. The use of proton-pump chemical modulators to simulate or arrests AtPEP1 extracellular alkalinization activity suggests that the gene expression of the AtPEP1-responsive genes is not related to changes in plasma membrane proton pump activity. Finally, when double mutants for both the AtPEP1 receptors (atpepr1/r2) were submitted to a pH gel indicator, it was seen that they alkalinize the rhizosphere pH in the presence of the AtPEP1 peptide. Our data suggests that the extracellular alkalinization and arrest of cell expansion activities are dissociated. The proton pump modulation activity may not be only a secondary messenger, but another source of information independent and yet to be explored.

Submitted by Jadson Francisco de Jesus SILVA (jadson@uefs.br) on 2018-03-02T22:16:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 clovesvilasboas_disserta??o_mestrado_2017.pdf: 2913418 bytes, checksum: bb279ced1f535288e5f541d897d80a7d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-02T22:16:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 clovesvilasboas_disserta??o_mestrado_2017.pdf: 2913418 bytes, checksum: bb279ced1f535288e5f541d897d80a7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-17 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / There is a great need for the development of more efficient systems for monitoring the dynamics of atmospheric carbon so that there is a better understanding of the interactions between the biosphere and the atmosphere. However, it is critical that these technologies have high coverage and low cost. In the vegetation, the process of biomass generation through photosynthesis is a determining factor in the way a vegetated area will appear radiometrically in the satellite images, therefore, the remote sensing becomes an alternative to the monitoring of this dynamics, having a High coverage and have a low cost. The objective of this work is to analyze the dynamics of CO2 fluxes in the Caatinga Biome by means of multispectral remote sensing, verifying the potential of multispectral images in the detection of CO2 fluxes in areas of preserved Caatinga and in a regenerated state. The study was carried out in areas of Caatinga in the municipality of Petrolina-PE and Araripina-PE, areas that are monitored by micrometeorological stations. The methodology adopted was based on the modeling of the Carbon Forest Sequestration Index (CO2flux) that measures the efficiency of the carbon sequestration process by vegetation, and proposes the integration of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with the Index of Photochemical Reflectance (PRI). For the database, 22 OLI (Landsat-8) multispectral scenes were used together with field-measured meteorological data to verify the relationship between the variables analyzed. The results showed that the vegetation of the Caatinga has seasonal variations in CO2 flows in regions with different vegetation types. The CO2flux index can be applied to determine the CO2 fluxes, presenting better adjustments when the CO2 data are compared using the 1 pixel reading in the image, showing to be more efficient in relation to the analysis with the footprint in. However, based on spectral models of vegetation, it was possible to determine the dynamics of CO2 flows in areas of preserved Caatinga and in regeneration state using data extracted from multispectral sensors. / H? uma grande necessidade no desenvolvimento de sistemas mais eficazes para o monitoramento da din?mica do carbono atmosf?rico, para que haja uma melhor compreens?o das intera??es entre a biosfera e a atmosfera. No entanto, ? fundamental que essas tecnologias possuam alta cobertura e um baixo custo. Na vegeta??o, o processo de gera??o de biomassa por meio da fotoss?ntese ? um fator determinante na forma como uma ?rea vegetada ir? aparecer radiometricamente nas imagens de sat?lite, portanto, o sensoriamento remoto vem a ser uma alternativa para o monitoramento dessa din?mica, por ter uma alta cobertura e possuir um baixo custo. O objetivo deste trabalho ? analisar, por meio de sensoriamento remoto multiespectral, a din?mica dos fluxos de CO2 no Bioma Caatinga, verificando o potencial das imagens multiespectrais na detec??o dos fluxos de CO2 em ?reas de Caatinga preservada e em estado de regenera??o. O estudo foi desenvolvido em ?reas de Caatinga no munic?pio de Petrolina-PE e Araripina-PE, ?reas monitoradas por esta??es micrometeorol?gicas. A metodologia adotada foi a partir da modelagem do ?ndice de Sequestro Florestal de Carbono (CO2flux) que mede a efici?ncia do processo de sequestro de carbono pela vegeta??o, e que prop?e a integra??o do ?ndice de Vegeta??o por Diferen?a Normalizada (NDVI) com o ?ndice de Reflect?ncia Fotoqu?mica (PRI). Foram utilizadas, para a base de dados, 22 cenas multiespectrais do sensor OLI (Landsat-8) juntamente com dados meteorol?gicos medidos em campo, a fim de verificar a rela??o entre as vari?veis analisadas. Os resultados mostraram que a vegeta??o da Caatinga tem varia??es sazonais nos fluxos de CO2 nas regi?es com diferentes tipos de vegeta??o. O ?ndice CO2flux pode ser aplicado para a determina??o os fluxos de CO2, apresentando melhores ajustes quando os dados de CO2 s?o comparados utilizando a leitura de 1 pixel na imagem, mostrando ser mais eficiente em rela??o a analise com as ?reas de influ?ncia (footprint) em rela??o aos pontos amostrais, no entanto, os dados de footprint apresentaram tamb?m correla??es significativas. Portanto, baseado nos modelos espectrais de vegeta??o foi poss?vel determinar a din?mica dos fluxos de CO2 em ?reas de Caatinga preservada e em estado de regenera??o utilizando dados extra?dos de sensores multiespectrais.

O aquecimento global é considerado um dos mais sérios problemas ambientais da atualidade mundial e suas consequências afetam de maneira severa diversos biomas já ameaçados, principalmente em ecossistemas tropicais. O estado de conservação de todos os biomas brasileiros é uma questão de grande preocupação e por esta razão, a Mata Atlântica, um dos ecossistemas florestais que mais sofreu redução em seu vasto domínio, ainda é um bioma extremamente rico em biodiversidade, com altos níveis de endemismo, apesar do intenso desmatamento e fragmentação. Diante de sua importância biogeoquímica, os objetivos principais do presente estudo foram compreender de que maneira o fenômeno de elevação da temperatura global afeta as emissões naturais de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) provenientes do solo e de que modo o acréscimo da temperatura influencia na ciclagem de nutrientes como carbono e nitrogênio. Para isso, o solo foi aquecido artificialmente em 5ºC para se avaliar o comportamento das emissões sob maiores temperaturas. O estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, no Núcleo Santa Virgínia, onde predomina a formação de Floresta Ombrófila Densa Altimontana. As amostras foram coletadas quatro vezes ao ano em campanhas de 10 dias, durante os meses de setembro e novembro de 2009 e janeiro e agosto de 2010. O sistema de aquecimento funcionou de maneira satisfatória como esperado e o aumento da temperatura ocorreu por radiação térmica de maneira lenta e gradativa. O aumento da temperatura não resultou em diferenças significativas na umidade do solo para os diferentes tratamentos. O aquecimento resultou em um aumento expressivo das emissões de CO2 e N2O, porém não apresentou diferenças para os fluxos de CH4. O aumento do fluxo dos gases pode representar uma tendência da diminuição do estoque (substrato) de carbono disponível no solo ao longo do tempo. A variação de CO2 a curto prazo pode ter sido consequência do aumento da respiração radicular e de heterótrofos presentes na rizosfera. Para o N2O a maior temperatura pode ter intensificado o metabolismo da microbiota desnitrificadora, resultando assim em maiores emissões de N2O para a atmosfera. O consumo de CH4 não apresentou diferenças significativas durante os períodos amostrados. Estudos que manipulam a temperatura do solo permitem um maior conhecimento dos processos envolvidos na emissão de gases pela atividade microbiana, mas infelizmente não permitem uma conclusão precisa a respeito do comportamento do sistema solo-atmosfera por completo devido aos inúmeros fatores que afetam esses processos de maneiras distintas. É preciso aprofundar nossos conhecimentos da dinâmica desses processos para um melhor entendimento de como a futura interação do ciclo global do C responderá às mudanças climáticas, e como será possível antecipar os efeitos negativos dessas interações que ocorrem na natureza, principalmente entre o C e o N do solo e da atmosfera. / The global warming is considered one of the most serious environmental problem of nowadays and its severe consequences affects already threatened biomes, particularly in tropical ecosystems. The conservation status of all biomes is a matter of great concern, and for this reason, the Atlantic forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems of the Planet, is still extremely rich in biodiversity, with high endemic levels, despite the intense deforestation and fragmentation. Given its biogeochemistry importance, the main objectives of this study were to understand how the phenomenon of rising global temperatures affects natural emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from soil, and how the warming influences the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen. For this, the soil was artificially heated at 5ºC to evaluate the emissions response at higher temperatures. The study was conducted at Serra do Mar State Park Núcleo Sta. Virgínia, were the formation of montane Rain Forest predominates. Gas samples were collected four times a year on 10 days campaigns during the months of September and November 2009 and January and August 2010. The heating system worked satisfactorily as expected and the temperature was increased by thermal radiation in a slow and gradual way. The temperature increase resulted in no significant differences in soil moisture for the different treatments. The higher temperature resulted in a significant increase in emissions of CO2 and N2O, but no difference was noticed to the flows of CH4. The higher emissions of gases may represent a trend of decrease in the pool of readily available carbon in the soil over time. The short-term variation of CO2 may have been a consequence of increased root respiration and heterotrophic microbiota in the rhizosphere. For the N2O results, the temperature may have enhanced the metabolism of denitrifying microbiota, thus resulting in higher emissions of N2O to the atmosphere. The consumption of CH4 showed no significant differences during the studied periods. Studies that manipulate the soil temperature allow a better understanding of the involved processes in the emission of gases by microbial activity, but unfortunately do not allow a precise conclusion about the response of the soilatmosphere system altogether because there are many factors that affects these processes in distinct ways. We need to further improve our knowledge on the dynamics of these processes for a better understanding of how the future interaction between the global carbon cycle responds to climate change, and how we anticipate the negative effects of those interactions that occur in nature, mainly between C and N present in the soil and in the atmosphere

Compartment fire scenarios are of great interest due to the large loss of life and property that occurs annually in such fires. Due to the current move towards performance-based building code standards and the increasing acceptance by the regulatory system of model results, there is a growing need for detailed compartment fire data to demonstrate the accuracy of such engineering tools as they are used to ascertain performance. A series of carefully designed full-scale room/corner tests on two vinyl ester resin composite systems have been conducted in a heavily instrumented compartment to provide compartment fire data for the calibration of engineering tools. The two composite systems were chosen based on their thermal behavior. A nominally thermally-thick glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) skin was desirable, as many analytical formulations have been developed using semi-infinite assumptions. A "thermally-thin" skin panel typical of that used in fast ferry construction, consisting of a GRP skin over a balsa core, was also tested. The test protocol used throughout the room/corner experiments was a modification of the ISO 9705 standard where the HRR of the ignition fire was varied according to the Critical Ignition Source Strength concept. To date, there has been little work done where heat fluxes from compartment fires have been measured. Therefore, one of the key data components developed in this series of tests are heat flux measurements from thin skin calorimeters. A total of twenty-five thin skin calorimeters, constructed of Inconel plates, were located throughout the room: the spatial distribution of net and incident heat fluxes within compartment for both pre- and post-flashover conditions have been determined. Additionally, rakes of bare-bead thermocouples were placed in the vent and the corner of the room coincident with the thin skin calorimeter arrays. A third rake was placed in the center of the room. The thermocouple arrays provide data regarding layer temperatures and interface heights as well as a limited determination of temperature spatial distribution within the compartment. The thermocouple rakes also permit calculation of pressure gradients across and mass flows through the vent, thus providing information regarding wall lining fire entrainment rates, of use in corner fire algorithm validations and for globally evaluating the accuracy of CFD codes. Bench-scale cone calorimeter (ASTM E1354, ISO 5660) tests have been carried out on the two composite systems to gather material fire properties necessary as model inputs for fire spread algorithms. The present study developed material properties including heat release rate, species production, and ignition data for the two composite systems. Included are uncertainty bands that account for calculation and instrument uncertainty.

Nous étudions les flux turbulents de chaleur sensible et de chaleur latente, qui sont mal compris et mal mesurés sur les glaciers, à l'aide de campagnes de terrain déployées dans la zone d'ablation du glacier tropical du Zongo (16°S, Bolivie, 4900-6000 m) durant la saison sèche de l'hiver austral et sur le glacier alpin de Saint-Sorlin (Alpes Françaises, 45°N, 2600-3400 m) durant l'été boréal. Un mât de 6 m permettait la mesure des profils verticaux de vitesse de vent et de température de l'air et des mâts de 2 m comportaient des systèmes de covariances turbulentes (CT). Nous étudions l'évolution temporelle des flux turbulents et l'applicabilité de la méthode aérodynamique des profils en terrain complexe de montagne. Les hypothèses sont discutées via la caractérisation des régimes de vent et de la turbulence. Nous calculons ensuite les flux et les erreurs associées. Sur le Zongo, sous forçage synoptique faible, un écoulement catabatique s'installe de la fin d'après-midi jusqu'au matin, avec un maximum de vitesse de vent à environ 2 m de hauteur. Les forçages synoptiques forts s'alignent approximativement avec le glacier, provoquant un intense écoulement descendant, et dans ce cas nous n'observons pas de maximum de vitesse de vent. Souvent, autour de midi, des vents ascendants sont observés. Sur le glacier de Saint-Sorlin les forçages associés à des épisodes de Foehn ou à des dépressions se déplaçant depuis l'ouest, s'alignent approximativement avec le glacier, générant des vents forts descendants. Quand le forçage synoptique est modéré, un maximum de vitesse de vent est observé nuit et jour 50% du temps. Des vents ascendants sont observés 15% du temps, quand le forçage synoptique est faible. La couche de surface est perturbée par des tourbillons de couches externes sous vent fort, ou de lentes oscillations en écoulement catabatique. Ces perturbations influencent les flux turbulents. Les erreurs aléatoires sur la méthode des profils sont dues principalement à des incertitudes sur la température. L'erreur reste faible sur les flux moyens. La couche de surface est rarement plus épaisse que 2 m et la méthode des profils appliquée à l'aide des mesures plus obtenus plus haut sous-estime les flux de surface de 20% à 70% . Quand un maximum de vitesse de vent est observé, les flux sont sous-estimés même à 2 m. L'influence des perturbations de la couche de surface n'est pas capturée par la méthode des profils, et les flux sont environ 40% inférieurs à ceux mesurés par CT. Ces derniers sont affectés par d'importantes erreurs aléatoires, en raison d'un échantillonnage statistique insuffisant des grands tourbillons. La méthode sous-estime probablement les flux à cause d'une sous-estimation de la vitesse verticale (~15%) et de la divergence verticale des flux. Sur le glacier du Zongo, l'air de haute altitude est très sec et la sublimation (quelques mm d'eau par jour) est un important puits d'énergie à la surface. Le flux de chaleur sensible est un important gain d'énergie la nuit sous l'influence de vents forts (de 30 à 50 W m-2), car l'inversion de température est marquée. Quand un maximum de vitesse de vent est observé, les flux sont faibles (de 5 à 20 W m-2) car la vitesse du vent est faible. La somme des flux turbulents est faible dans ces deux cas car ils sont opposés et les biais se compensent. En vent ascendant, le flux de chaleur sensible est faible (<5 W m-2) car la stratification est neutre, mais le flux de chaleur latente reste important (de -25 à -35 W m-2), le flux net est donc important et les biais ne se compensent plus. Sur le glacier de Saint-Sorlin, le flux de chaleur latente est faible car l'air est humide, et le flux de chaleur sensible peut être intense (~25 W m-2) quand la vitesse du vent est élevée. Le flux net est fort par vent fort et les biais sur les flux calculés par la méthode des profils peuvent être élevés. / We study turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat, that are a poorly-known and difficult term to measure over glaciers, with the help of two field campaigns deployed over the ablation zone of Zongo glacier (16°S, Bolivia, 4900-6000 m.a.s.l.) during the austral winter dry season and over the Saint-Sorlin glacier (French Alps, 45°N, 2600-3400 m.a.s.l.) during the boreal summer. A 6-m mast allowing for wind speed and air temperature vertical profile measurements was installed, along with 2-m masts holding eddy-covariance systems. The focus is on the temporal evolution of turbulent fluxes and the applicability of the aerodynamic profile method in the complex terrain of high mountains. The assumptions of the method are discussed by characterizing the wind regimes and the turbulence. We then compute fluxes and associated errors. Above Zongo glacier, under weak synoptic forcing, katabatic flows are observed from late afternoon to early morning, with a wind-speed maximum at around 2 m. Strong synoptic forcing roughly aligns with the glacier, leading to strong downslope flows for which no wind-speed maximum is observed. Most of the days around noon, upslope flows are observed. On Saint-Sorlin glacier in summer, flows associated with low-pressure systems coming from the west or Foehn events roughly align with the glacier, leading to strong downslope winds. Wind-speed maxima are observed night and day, ~50% of the time, when synoptic forcing is moderate. Upslope flows are observed 15% of the time, when synoptic forcing is weak. The surface layer is disturbed by outer-layer eddies in strong flows and by slow oscillations if katabatic flow prevails. These disturbances influence turbulent fluxes. Random errors on the fluxes derived from the profile method are mainly due to temperature uncertainties. Errors remain small on the mean fluxes. The surface layer is rarely deeper than 2 m on both glaciers and the profile method with measurements made above that height underestimates the surface fluxes by 20% to 70%. When a wind-speed maximum is observed, fluxes are underestimated even at 2 m. The influence on the fluxes of the surface-layer disturbances is not captured by the profile method, and fluxes are about 40% smaller than the eddy-covariance fluxes. The latter are affected by large random errors due to inadequate statistical sampling of large-scale eddies and are probably underestimated, mainly due to vertical wind speed underestimation (~15%) and to vertical flux divergence. Above Zongo glacier, due to the dry high-elevation air, sublimation (a few millimeters w. e. per day) is a large energy loss for the surface. Sensible heat flux is a large energy gain in strong nocturnal downslope flows (from 30 to 50 W m-2) and strong winds, due to a marked temperature inversion. When a wind-speed maximum is observed, low wind speeds cause small turbulent fluxes (from 5 to 20 W m-2). The sum of turbulent fluxes is small in those two cases because the fluxes are opposed in sign and the biases mostly compensate. In upslope flows, the sensible heat flux is small (<5 W m-2) due to near-neutral stratification, but latent heat losses remain large (around -25 to -35 W m-2), so that the net turbulent flux is large and the biases do not compensate. Above Saint-Sorlin glacier, the latent heat flux remains small because the air is generally humid, whereas the sensible heat flux can be large (~25 W m-2) when wind speed is high. The net flux is large when wind speed is high, and the biases on net turbulent fluxes derived from the profiles can be significant.