Par Value Research Articles

PENGUKURAN KOEFISIEN ATENUASI DAN HUBUNGANNYA DENGAN KUALITAS AIR DI PERAIRAN KELURAHAN PULAU PANGGANG

Koefisien atenuasi merupakan gambaran seberapa besar cahaya datang berkurang atau hilang dibandingkan dengan energi cahaya datang di permukaan. Pengurangan energi cahaya dikarenakan adanya proses absorpsi dan hamburan oleh kolom air dan materi yang terkandung di dalamnya seperti fitoplankton, padatan tersuspensi dan colored dissolved organic matter. Kuantitas cahaya yang mengalami atenuasi setara dengan jumlah cahaya yang diabsorpsi dan dihamburkan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis hubungan antara koefisien atenuasi dengan kualitas air, serta mengkaji karakteristik optik perairan Kelurahan Pulau Panggang. Pengukuran spektral menggunakan TriOSRamses yang memiliki sensor irradiance dengan panjang gelombang antara 320 nm sampai 950 nm dan rentang kanal 3,3 nm. Perhitungan koefisien atenuasi (Kd) berdasarkan perubahan downwelling irradiance pada dua kedalaman berbeda. Korelasi Pearson digunakan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara Kd dengan kualitas air. Berdasarkan rentang panjang gelombang, Kd dibagi menjadi 4 yaitu Kd PAR, Kd biru, Kd hijau dan Kd merah. Kd biru dan Kd hijau memiliki hubungan paling erat dengan kecerahan sebesar 0,5406 dan 0,3990 serta bersifat negatif, sedangkan Kd PAR dan Kd merah paling erat hubungannya dengan muatan padatan tersuspensi sebesar 0,4015 dan 0,4073 dan bersifat positif. Perairan Kelurahan Pulau Panggang merupakan perairan turbid dengan nilai Kd PAR > 0,115 m-1.

Does the Par Value of Share Influence the Success of IPOS?

This paper examines the impact of the par value concept on the success of new issues during initial public offering (IPO) and the subsequent efficiency of companies. The study is based on a sample of IPO firms which went public on the Warsaw Stock Exchange from 1998 to 2013. The paper shows that the concept of par value – which was invented to protect buyers and lenders against shares being issued without corresponding existing assets – interacts with investor behaviour and can be used to improve the success of a share issue. The paper also shows that this concept does not affect the profitability of companies after IPO.

Comparison of Artificial Intelligence and Physical Models for Forecasting Photosynthetically-Active Radiation

Different kinds of radiative transfer models, including a relative sunshine-based model (BBM), a physical-based model for tropical environment (PBM), an efficient physical-based model (EPP), a look-up-table-based model (LUT), and six artificial intelligence models (AI) were introduced for modeling the daily photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR, solar radiation at 400–700 nm), using ground observations at twenty-nine stations, in different climatic zones and terrain features, over mainland China. The climate and terrain effects on the PAR estimates from the different PAR models have been quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that the Genetic model had overwhelmingly higher accuracy than the other models, with the lowest root mean square error (RMSE = 0.5 MJ m−2day−1), lowest mean absolute bias error (MAE = 0.326 MJ m−2day−1), and highest correlation coefficient (R = 0.972), respectively. The spatial–temporal variations of the annual mean PAR (APAR), in the different climate zones and terrains over mainland China, were further investigated, using the Genetic model; the PAR values in China were generally higher in summer than those in the other seasons. The Qinghai Tibetan Plateau had always been the area with the highest APAR (8.668 MJ m−2day−1), and the Sichuan Basin had always been the area with lowest APAR (4.733 MJ m−2day−1). The PAR datasets generated by the Genetic model, in this study, could be used in numerous PAR applications, with high accuracy.

Dietary and Non-Dietary Predictors of Pyrethroid Pesticides in a Cohort of Urban Pregnant Women

Pyrethroids and organophosphate pesticides are used in agriculture and residential areas to protect crops and reduce the transmission of insect-borne diseases. We aimed to investigate dietary and non-dietary predictors of pyrethroid and organophosphate urinary concentrations of five biomarkers (3-PBA, PNP, CPM, OPM, and 24-D) among healthy pregnant women aged 16-35 living in New York City. Urinary pesticides biomarkers of 153 women who participated in the Thyroid Disruption and Infant Development Study were measured. We imputed the <LOD values of OXY2, 24-D, PAR, CPM and OPM with LOD/sqrt(2), and categorized outcome variables into 3 categories ( <LOD, LOD-Median, >median) subsequently to assess their association with dietary and non-dietary predictors. Baseline demographic and dietary data were collected from all women at the time of recruitment in prenatal clinics. After excluding cases with missing values on dietary and non-dietary predictors, 137 participants were included in our analysis. Ordinal logistic regression models with dietary and non-dietary predictors were used to predict level of biomarker; in these models odds ratios under 1.0 represent increased odds. The proportional odds assumption held. For each year increase in maternal age, the odds of having higher concentrations of 24-D was higher [OR=0.92 (95%CI: 0.85,0.98). Hispanic women had higher odds of having lower concentrations of CPM and OPM [OR=5.0 (95%CI: 1.70,14.73), [OR=3.43 (95%CI: 1.24,9.51)]. Dietary variables predicted the concentration of PAR. Mothers who reported eating any organic products had higher odds of having higher urinary levels of OPM compared to those who did not [OR=0.36 (95%CI: 0.14, 0.94). Age and ethnicity predict pyrethroid and organophosphate concentrations in this population of pregnant women. Our intriguing finding of higher concentrations of OPM in mothers who report eating organic products requires confirmation in future work with more detailed dietary assessments.

Effect of dates of sowing and nitrogen levels on growth and yield of okra

A field study was conducted at COA, Bikaner to elucidate the effect of dates of sowing and nitrogen levels on growth and yield in okra (Varsha Uphar) during kharif, 2014. Results indicated a remarkable significant influence on all the vegetative growth attributes, flower characters and yield parameters in different dates of sowing and levels of nitrogen. The maximum plant height (96.92 cm), number of fruit per plant (17.28), length of fruit at harvest (18.03 cm) and fresh fruit yield (83.44 qha-1) were recorded under 20th July sowing as compared to other sowing dates. Similarly, in respect to earliness i.e., days to plant emergence (9.27) and days to first flowering (37.00) were observed under 20th July sown crop. The superiority of 20th July sown crop is further manifested by higher net return (Rs. 82308.83 ha-1) and B: C ratio (3.38). Application of 100 per cent RDN recorded significantly higher plant height (96.59 cm), number of fruits per plant (18.08), length of fruit at harvest (18.13 cm) and fresh fruit yield (91.64 q ha-1). However, with respect to earliness i.e., days to first flowering (36.33) was minimum with no nitrogen. Significantly higher net return (Rs. 93484.77 ha-1) and B:C ratio (3.69) was recorded due to application of 100 per cent recommended dose of nitrogen. While 125 per cent RDN gave at par values of all these parameters. Whereas, application of different levels of N had no significant effect on plant emergence. The treatment combination of 20th July sowing date + 100 per cent RDN resulted in higher values for plant height (99.56 cm), number of fruits per plant (20.42) and fresh fruit yield per hectare (95.09 q ha-1).

Tillage and residue retention effect on crop and water productivity of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) under rainfed conditions

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2014-15 and 2015-16 to study the effect of moisture conservation techniques and tillage management practices on growth, productivity and economics of Indian mustard[Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj and Coss.]. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three replications in cropping system mode. The main plot treatments consisted of four moisture conservation practices adopted inkharif season cropviz. ridges and furrows (RF), RF + crop residue (CR) 4 tonnes/ha, RF + CR 2 tonnes/ha + vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) and flat sowing (FS) and in sub plots;five zero tillage management techniques, viz. zero tillage (ZT), ZT + seed priming, ZT + CR 4 tonnes/ha, ZT + CR 2 tonnes/ha + Hydrogel and conventional tillage (CT) were executed in mustard. Results revealed that moisture conservation technique,RF + CR 4 tonnes/ha in main plot and tillage management practice ZT + CR 4 tonnes/ha in sub plot recorded significantly superior growth parameters, physiological indices, yield attributes and yield values over rest of the treatments. Sowing in furrows under RF + CR 4 tonnes/ha recorded highest values for seeds/siliqua and siliqua length to the tune of 13.16 and 4.17 cm, seed yield (2.12 tonnes/ha) and stover yield (7.46 tonnes/ha), respectively. Furthermore under RF +CR 4 tonnes/ha treatment registered significantly higherWUE (21.63 kg/ha/mm) as well as maximumN, P and K uptake values of 102.7, 21.02 and 97.15 kg/ha, respectively. Highest net returns of ` 54100/ha as well as B:C ratio (2.88) were obtained under RF + CR 4 tonnes/ha. In sub-plots, ZT + CR 4 tonnes/ha gave significantly higher values of siliquae/plant, seeds/siliqua and siliqua length to the tune of 342, 13.18 and 4.05 cm, respectively. ZT + CR 4 tonnes/ha recorded maximum seed yield (2.05 tonnes/ha) closely followed by ZT + CR 2 tonnes/ha + Hydrogel (1.94 tonnes/ha) and both the treatments were statistically at par. Water use efficiency under ZT sowing with CR 4 tonnes/ha and ZT + CR 2 tonnes/ha + Hydrogel, gave statistically at par values of 20.93 and 19.72 kg/ha/mm, respectively. In spite of higher cost of cultivation, significantly maximum net returns (` 49500/ha) were obtained under ZT + CR 4 tonnes/ha. Thus on the basis research findings, it can be established that under rainfed conditions after kharif crop harvest planting of Indian mustard can be done in left over furrows without any tillage with application of ex-situ CR 4 tonnes/ha or with CR 2 tonnes/ha + Hydrogel to save time, reduce cost and capitalize of residual moisture.

Revising ‘Bloody foreigners!’

AbstractLeslie Hannah argues, among other things, that the series on par value of UK‐listed equities that I presented in an article published in the Economic History Review in 2015 is deeply flawed. Although I would quibble with some of Hannah's points, his main conclusion is correct: many of the series in ‘Bloody foreigners!’ are, in fact, flawed and require substantial revision. In this note, I explain the source of the errors and the steps I have taken to correct them in the preparation of subsequent work.

ROPES Reveals Past Land Cover and PPEs From Single Pollen Records

Quantitative reconstructions of past vegetation cover commonly require pollen productivity estimates (PPEs). PPEs are calibrated in extensive and rather cumbersome surface-sample studies, and are so far only available for selected regions. Moreover, it may be questioned whether present-day pollen-landcover relationships are valid for palaeo-situations. We here introduce the ROPES approach that simultaneously derives PPEs and mean plant abundances from single pollen records. ROPES requires pollen counts and pollen accumulation rates (PARs, grains cm-2 year-1). Pollen counts are used to reconstruct plant abundances following the REVEALS approach. The principle of ROPES is that changes in plant abundance are linearly represented in observed PAR values. For example, if the PAR of pine doubles, so should the REVEALS reconstructed abundance of pine. Consequently, if a REVEALS reconstruction is ‘correct’ (i.e. ‘correct’ PPEs are used) the ratio ‘PAR over REVEALS’ is constant for each taxon along all samples of a record. With incorrect PPEs, the ratio will instead vary. ROPES starts from random (likely incorrect) PPEs, but then adjusts them using an optimization algorithm with the aim to minimize variation in the ‘PAR over REVEALS’ ratio across the record. ROPES thus simultaneously calculates mean plant abundances and PPEs. We illustrate the approach with test applications on nine synthetic pollen records. The results show that good performance of ROPES requires data sets with high underlying variation, many samples and low noise in the PAR data. ROPES can deliver first landcover reconstructions in regions for which PPEs are not yet available. The PPEs provided by ROPES may then allow for further REVEALS-based reconstructions. Similarly, ROPES can provide insight in pollen productivity during distinct periods of the past such as the Lateglacial. We see a potential to study spatial and temporal variation in pollen productivity for example in relation to site parameters, climate and land use. It may even be possible to detect expansion of non-pollen producing areas in a landscape. Overall, ROPES will help produce more accurate landcover reconstructions and expand reconstructions into new study regions and non-analogue situations of the past. ROPES will be available within the R package DISQOVER.

CONTRACT - A TOOL FOR IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF THE NATURAL RESERVE FUND

Topicality. Market transformations in the country's economy caused the need to revise the labor relations institute from the economic development point of view. Particular importance was the theoretical reassessment labor relations institutional: the old labor law institutes, which corresponded to the administrative command system, must transform to new ones, that contain market needs. One of such labor relations institutes are contractual relations between the employer and the employee, which allow to personalize the labor relations as much as possible, consider the economic interest of both parties, and protect as far as possible the mutual interests and rights. Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is represented the main tendencies and realities of using an employment contract in Ukraine's companies, which is signed in the standard form. The current legislation gaps of the contract using are considered as a special employment contract form with the companies leaders and other employees categories, depending on the specifics enterprise's activity or belonging to the management sphere. The preconditions for the special legislation implementation are determined during the labor contracts conclusion with the Ukrainian's nature reserve fund enterprises heads. The personal responsibility for environmental protection legislation and violation conditions are considered. Proactive and experienced specialists are established an extensive system of allowances and one-time incentives. Research results. In this article we have reviewed the implementation preconditions during the labor contracts' conclusion with the enterprises' heads of the Ukrainian nature reserve fund. We have considered the responsibility personalization conditions for environmental legislation violations with the definition of socio-economic components. For example, the contract may also stipulate social and living conditions, such as the garden plot allocation, a car, living conditions improvement, the share sale at par value, the social pensions surcharges establishment, protection against inflation processes and so on. Also it may be envisaged an employee to move another area. Conclusions. A contract can give the chance to more people to realize their work abilities on the most favorable conditions, to build the civil society foundations and the legal capitalist state. Contract's application can detail the labor relations, the system of economic incentives and encouragement, protects the rights of both employee and employer, and also provides an opportunity to assess the mutual responsibility's degree.

Passenger insurance on the Russians railway transport. Automated subsystem of voluntary insurance against passengers accidents on the railway transport bases on the automated control system “Express”

The article reviews the ways of insurance in railway transport, namely compulsory insurance of the civil liability of the carrier for causing damage to life, health, property of passengers and voluntary insurance of passengers on the basis of the management system for passenger transportations in the automated control system “Express”. In the case of compulsory insurance, a railway ticket for a longdistance train is a confirmation that the passenger is insured. No additional documents are needed. In the case of voluntary insurance, a passenger can purchase a voluntary insurance policy at the railway ticket office or through the website www: //rzd.ru. The ACS “Express” gives the opportunity for a passenger to issue a travel document for a long distance train and a policy of voluntary insurance against accidents in one of four insurance companies: PJSC “Rosgosstrakh”, LLC “Renaissance Insurance Group”, JSC “Insurance Company BLAGOSOSTOYANIE”, JSC “Insurance Company of the Gas Industry” (SOGAZ). At the moment each insurance company offers insurance premium of 3 par values with the relevant insurance amounts. The cost of voluntary insurance policies depends only on the sum insured and does not depend on such factors as the duration of the trip, the train category or the age of the insured. Insurance coverage is valid during the trip from the moment of announcement of boarding, but not earlier than 30 minutes before departure, and ends no later than one hour after the arrival of the insured passenger to the destination station, provided that it is located on the territory of the railway station or terminal. The insurance contract is concluded for one trip in longdistance railway transport. The information technology of voluntary insurance creates for passengers more attractive conditions, the comfort and safety of passenger transportation increases. The article provides the functional description and report examples of developed and implemented in the industrial operation software and analysis complex on the basis of the ACS “Express”, which includes automated work stations (AWS) “Insurance companies and complexes”, “Voluntary insurance” and “Inquiry on insured passengers by train”. This software and analytical complex implements tasks that ensure the formation of reference and analytical information, operational financial reporting on the sold voluntary insurance policies and monitoring of the demand indicators of insurance policies and insurance companies.

Quantitative easing auctions of Treasury bonds

The Federal Reserve uses (reverse) auctions to implement its purchases of Treasury bonds in quantitative easing (QE). To evaluate dealers’ offers across multiple bonds, the Fed relies on its internal yield curve model, fitted to secondary market bond prices. From November 2010 to September 2011, a one standard deviation increase in the cheapness of a Treasury bond (how much the market price of the bond is below a model-implied value) increases the Fed’s purchase quantity of that bond by 276 million and increases the auction costs on that bond by 2.6 cents per $100 par value, controlling for standard covariates. Our results suggest that the Fed harvests gains from trades by purchasing undervalued bonds, but strategic dealers extract some profits because the Fed’s relative values can be partly inferred from price data.

Growth and yield assessment of direct seeded basmati rice under different irrigation schedules

A field experiment was conducted to study the growth and yield of various varieties of basmati rice under different irrigation schedules in kharif, 2015. The treatments included combinations of five irrigation schedules viz. control, irrigation/saturation at 0.3 and 0.4 bar suction, irrigation at 2 days interval through sprinkler at 125 and 150% PE with three varieties viz. Basmati-370, Pusa-1121 and Pusa-1509. Plant height, maximum number of tillers/m2 and dry matter accumulation/m2, leaf area index, CGR, RGR and yield attributes as well as grain yield and straw yield were recorded maximum with control. However, among the irrigation schedules applied for aerobic system, irrigation at 2 days interval through sprinkler at 150% PE recorded significantly higher but at par values for all the growth parameters, yield attributes and yield with control. Pusa-1509 was found to be the best in terms of growth parameters, yield attributes, grain and straw yields. Also, Pusa1509 recorded significantly higher values over Basmati-370 but was found close to Pusa-1121.

Reducing Moral Hazard at the Expense of Market Discipline: The Effectiveness of Double Liability Before and During the Great Depression

Prior to the Great Depression, regulators imposed double liability on bank shareholders to ensure financial stability and protect depositors. Under double liability, shareholders of failing banks lost their initial investment and had to pay up to the par value of the stock in order to compensate depositors. We examine whether double liability was effective at mitigating bank risks and providing a safety net for depositors before and during the Great Depression. We first develop a model that demonstrates two competing effects of double liability: a direct effect that constrains bank risk taking as a result of increased skin in the game, and an indirect effect that promotes risk taking owing to weaker monitoring by better-protected depositors. We then test the model?s predictions using a novel identification strategy that compares state Federal Reserve member banks and national banks in New York and New Jersey. We find no evidence that double liability reduced bank risk prior to the Great Depression, but do find evidence that deposits in double-liability banks were stickier and less susceptible to runs during the Great Depression. Our findings suggest that the banking system was inherently fragile under double liability because of the conflict between shareholder incentive alignment and depositor market discipline; the depositor protection feature of double liability reduced the threat of funding outflows but may have undermined its effectiveness as a regulatory tool for reducing bank risk.

Reducing Moral Hazard at the Expense of Market Discipline: The Effectiveness of Double Liability Before and During the Great Depression

Prior to the Great Depression, regulators imposed double liability on bank shareholders to ensure financial stability and protect depositors. Under double liability, shareholders of failing banks lost their initial investment and had to pay up to the par value of the stock in order to compensate depositors. We examine whether double liability was effective at mitigating bank risks and providing a safety net for depositors before and during the Great Depression. We first develop a model that demonstrates two competing effects of double liability: a direct effect that constrains bank risk taking as a result of increased skin in the game, and an indirect effect that promotes risk taking owing to weaker monitoring by better-protected depositors. We then test the model’s predictions using a novel identification strategy that compares state Federal Reserve member banks and national banks in New York and New Jersey. We find no evidence that double liability reduced bank risk prior to the Great Depression, but do find evidence that deposits in double-liability banks were stickier and less susceptible to runs during the Great Depression. Our findings suggest that the banking system was inherently fragile under double liability because of the conflict between shareholder incentive alignment and depositor market discipline; the depositor protection feature of double liability reduced the threat of funding outflows but may have undermined its effectiveness as a regulatory tool for reducing bank risk.

Spruce and broadleaved trees pollen percentages and PAR values in the European part of Russia: 9 years of pollen trap monitoring implemented to the fossil data

Abstract. 9-years results of modern pollen monitoring in the Central European Russia are presented. We discuss some implementations of modern pollen data to the interpretation of fossil distribution for Picea and broadleaved trees pollen.

A Preface to Neoclassical Legal Thought

Most legal historians speak of the period following classical legal thought as “progressive legal thought.” That term creates an unwarranted bias in characterization, however, creating the impression that conservatives clung to an obsolete “classical” ideology, when in fact they were in many ways just as revisionist as the progressives legal thinkers whom they critiqued. The Progressives and New Deal thinkers whom we identify with progressive legal thought were nearly all neoclassical, or marginalist, in their economics, but it is hardly true that all marginalists were progressives. For example, the lawyers and policy makers in the corporate finance battles of the 1920s, who advocated for the abolition of par value stock and the adoption of more forward looking theories of corporate valuation, were thoroughly marginalist in their reasoning, but by and large they were regarded by Progressives as the enemy.Indeed, corporate finance and minimum wage policies are areas where progressive and corporation lawyers flipped against each other. On the minimum wage question, corporate interests in the early twentieth century generally clung to the classical and backward looking “wage fund” theory, which set an absolute limit on wages based on historically accumulated capital. Progressives embraced a forward looking marginal productivity theory. By contrast, in corporate finance, corporate interests generally rejected the view that corporate value should be driven by historically paid in capital as reflected in stated “par” value of shares. Rather, they believed that stated corporate value should be based on reasonable economic prospects, and that this made the concept of par value obsolete.Neoclassicism in both economics and law was a big tent that fed different and inconsistent ideologies. Describing the successor ideology to classical legal thought as “progressive” does not do justice to the range of views that the successors had. Marginalism in economics led to influential legal theories about policy making, and about the relationship between interest groups and welfare. On one side, it led to progressivity in tax policy, championed by Progressive marginalist economist Edwin R.A. Seligman; and the idea that workers’ wages were limited by nothing more than the marginal contribution of each worker to the employer. Marginalism’s strong environmentalism also eventually led to greater egalitarianism in race policy, although that change was not reflected in the writing of the Progressives, who attempted to be both marginalist and genetic determinist. On the other side, marginalism also led to a comprehensive revision of corporate finance theory and the modern theory of the large corporation, in which shareholders are all but irrelevant. Marginalism also gave us public choice theory and its deep distrust of government, developed by such writers as Mancur Olson and Buchanan and Tullock in the 1960s. The theory was derived directly from models of competition in neoclassical economics, and the authors were all economists.This essay briefly describes the contours of neoclassical legal thought, including its dramatic impact on constitutional adjudication and regulatory theory, corporate law and finance, labor law, race relations, and competition policy.

The essence of equity capital and its structuring for accounting needs

The paper considers various interpretations of the essence of equity capital. The concept of equity capital is viewed from the perspective of property as a venture capital, i. e. business property, which does not guarantee profits and dividends, and for which there is no clear schedule of returning funds to investors and shareholders.The most common equity capital components in national and foreign practice are examined and compared. It is pointed out that the equity components mainly used in Ukraine are defined by the National Accounting Standards. Alternatively, the structure of equity capital components in foreign practice relies on the Conceptual Framework of Financial Statements, but it is further detailed by national standards of each country and depends on its policy and accounting characteristics. The structure of equity capital in foreign practice may be influenced by shareholders’ decisions on the establishment of funds (additional capital), allocation of profits, transactions with treasury shares. It is made clear that in most countries equity capital components include joint stock capital, surplus reserves, and retained profit.The article reviews the classification of equity capital, viewed as the key factor, and determines its influence on accounting principles and policies. It is concluded that in regulatory documents, there are no clear lines between types of equity capital. The paper also discusses various views of scholars on equity capital arrangement. It is found that in research works, equity capital is classified based on various characteristics, but the majority of researchers consider sources of equity capital to be the main criterion. In addition, there is no consensus among academics as to what types of equity capital can be singled out by the criterion described.Taking into consideration some proposals of scholars and foreign practice related to ac- counting of equity capital, the author develops a generalized structure of equity capital which is based on the sources of capital formation and includes: invested capital, particularly registered capital (statutory and mandatory share capital), corrective capital (unpaid and withdrawn capital), additional capital (capital received from investors for stock that exceeds the par value of the stock, i.e. additional equity capital); acquired capital (assets received for free, capital formed from revaluation of assets, other capital) and reinvested capital (retained profits (uncovered losses) and surplus reserves). The above equity structure can be used to prepare financial statements in order to increase its informational value.Proposals are given on how to improve methods for accounting of equity capital, in particular accounting of additional capital invested by founders in the account entitled “Non-registered investments of owners”.

Estimation and Analysis of Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Net Primary Productivity Integrating Efficiency Model with Process Model in Karst Area

Estimates of regional net primary productivity (NPP) are useful in modeling regional and global carbon cycles, especially in karst areas. This work developed a new method to study NPP characteristics and changes in Chongqing, a typical karst area. To estimate NPP accurately, the model which integrated an ecosystem process model (CEVSA) with a light use efficiency model (GLOPEM) called GLOPEM-CEVSA was applied. The fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) was derived from remote sensing data inversion based on moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer atmospheric and land products. Validation analyses showed that the PAR and NPP values, which were simulated by the model, matched the observed data well. The values of other relevant NPP models, as well as the MOD17A3 NPP products (NPP MOD17), were compared. In terms of spatial distribution, NPP decreased from northeast to southwest in the Chongqing region. The annual average NPP in the study area was approximately 534 gC/m2a (Std. = 175.53) from 2001 to 2011, with obvious seasonal variation characteristics. The NPP from April to October accounted for 80.1% of the annual NPP, while that from June to August accounted for 43.2%. NPP changed with the fraction of absorbed PAR, and NPP was also significantly correlated to precipitation and temperature at monthly temporal scales, and showed stronger sensitivity to interannual variation in temperature.

Effects of shading in summer and autumn on physiological and biochemical characteristics of 'Huangjinya' in Shandong Province, China

In order to ensure the suitable shade model for 'Huangjinya' tea plant in Shandong Province, black or blue shading net at 55%, 70% or 85% shading rates was selected to recover tea garden in summer and autumn, then micro-climate of tea garden, leaf color, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, growth status and biochemical composition of tea shoots were investigated.The results showed that compared with the control, light intensity and air temperature in tea garden, leaf temperature of tea plants in different shading treatments significantly decreased, while air humidity in tea garden increased. The contents of chlorophyll in the tea leaves were obviously increased with increasing the shading rate, which resulted in the leaf color becoming green. The yellowing characteristics and biochemical quality of 'Huangjinya' tea plants could be well kept in 55% shading treatments. In 70% shading treatments, 'Huangjinya' tea plants had better growth situation and higher yield with no photo-inhibition. Compared with the blue shading treatments, black shading treatments could obviously promote the growth of 'Huangjinya' tea plants, keep yellowing characteristics, and improve the quality. Therefore, the 70% black shading treatment (daily PAR values of 1.2-3.5 ten thousand lx) was appropriate for promoting the growth of 'Huangjinya' tea plants at the seedling stage. For mature tea plants, the 55% black shading treatment (daily PAR values of 1.8-5.5 ten thousand lx) could be used to keep the yellowing characteristics and to improve biochemical quality effectively, so as to give full play to its variety characteristics, to achieve goal of high quality and high yield.

Linking spatial distribution and feeding behavior of Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) is a semi-pelagic fish species with a wide geographical distribution and commonly found on the continental shelf. In recent years, the species has received some attention due to its ecological role in pelagic food webs. Stable isotope of nitrogen and carbon (δ15N and δ13C) and Stomach Content Analysis (SCA) of T. trachurus were adopted as tools to provide necessary knowledge on its feeding habits in the Strait of Sicily. The strong correlation found between δ15N and δ13C values with body length, together with significant ontogenetic shift evidenced by SCA, could be associated to changes in food availability, which in turn is triggered by environmental conditions. Spatial distribution of T. trachurus in the study area, mainly for small and medium size specimens, is linked to lower temperature, salinity and Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PARsat) values with higher aggregations on the Adventure Bank (i.e., an area characterized by periodic upwelling events). Larger size specimens mostly inhabited shallower waters characterized by higher temperature, salinity and PAR values, typical of the central-eastern part of the study area. Our results support the hypothesis that feeding behavior of T. trachurus is strictly linked to environmental factors (i.e. chiefly oceanographic conditions of the water column and day duration) that in turn influences the distribution of its prey. Findings can supply knowledge needed for improving fish stock management and promoting plans able to take into account also local ecosystem analysis.