Plant Site Research Articles

Statistical and hydrodynamic numerical modeling to quantify storm surge hazard: Comparison of approaches applied to U.S. North Atlantic coast

Estimating the storm surge magnitude and annual exceedance probability is a key element in the siting and design of coastal nuclear power plants in both the U.S. and France. However, differences in storm climatology, specifically the relative importance of tropical cyclones (TCs) versus extratropical storms (XTCs), have driven differences in estimation method development. This work compares purely statistical modeling with combined statistical and numerical simulation modeling approaches for extreme storm surge applied to the U.S. North Atlantic coast which is subject to both tropical and extratropical storms. Two frequency analysis methods are applied to observed water levels and compared to a copula-based joint probability analysis of TCs and automated frequency analysis of XTCs that is enriched with numerically simulated storms. One frequency analysis method is applied using (1) hourly at-site data and (2) hourly at-site data enriched with additional data from a homogeneous region. The other frequency analysis method is applied using (1) hourly at-site data and (2) hourly at-site data enriched with monthly water level maxima. Variables of interest used in the comparison are skew storm surge, maximum instantaneous storm surge, non-tidal residual and maximum seal level. The performance of the methods (mean surge and water level estimates and confidence intervals) depend on the variable of interest and, to some extent, on return period. Inclusion of additional information (e.g., regional water levels, and monthly maxima) in the frequency analysis methods does not have a large impact on estimated mean surge and water levels, but significantly reduces resulting confidence intervals (over 40% reduction in some cases). However, the confidence intervals still grow with increasing return period. Inclusion of simulated storms in the joint probability analysis results in significantly different mean surge and water level estimates (up to 25% higher than the frequency analysis in some cases). The joint probability analysis confidence intervals are wider than those for the frequency analysis methods lower return periods (e.g., 60%–80% wider at 100 years), but they grow much more slowly and are significantly narrower for higher return periods (e.g., 40%–60% narrower at 1 000 years). Although there are appreciable differences between the results documented in this paper, these are reasonable due to differences in the data and methods used in this comparison.

Effects of afforestation and upslope distance on soil moisture and organic carbon, and trade-off between them, on the Loess Plateau hillslopes

Large-scale afforestation is considered controversial as an ecosystem renewal strategy for the Loess Plateau of China, since it may increase soil organic carbon (SOC) but may also exacerbate water shortages. In our study, we aimed to clarify how afforestation and slope affect soil moisture content (SMC) and SOC and their interaction particularly for deep hillslope profiles on long hillslopes, in terms of the trade-off between soil moisture and organic carbon. This study investigated SMC and SOC density (SOCD) from 0 to 400 cm hillslope depth profiles at 20 m intervals uphill to 100 m in the May and October (the beginning and end of the growing period, respectively) from 2015 to 2017. The three sampling sites were located in Robinia pseudoacacia plantation, natural forest, and natural grassland as the control. Soil moisture deficit and SOC sequestration of plantation were compared to those of grassland, and the trade-off between SMC and SOCD was evaluated. The results showed that SMC and SOCD were the lowest in the Robinia pseudoacacia plantation, indicating that the plantation exhibited a greater soil moisture deficit and SOC loss than the grassland. In the plantation and natural forestland, the subsoil (100–400 cm) exhibited greater soil moisture deficit and SOC loss than the soil (0–100 cm). SOCD increased while SMC decreased with upslope distance for all hillslope layers in both plantation and natural forestland. The downslope sites exhibited more severe soil moisture deficit, and greater SOC loss than the upslope sites. Natural grassland exhibited low water depletion and high SOC sequestration. Further, the downslope plantation sites exhibited the lowest root mean square deviation for the relationship between SMC and SOCD. Based on these findings, a vegetation restoration strategy involving afforestation of downslope patches within a contiguous grassland matrix may achieve high-level maintenance of ecosystem services. These findings provide a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau.

The promising future of developing large-scale PV solar farms in China: A three-stage framework for site selection

Large-scale Photovoltaics (PV) play a pivotal role in climate change mitigation due to their cost-effective scaling potential of energy transition. Consequently, selecting locations for large-scale PV power plants has gained worldwide prominence in recent decades. Although massive studies have examined various siting criteria, land consolidation and cost-benefit feasibility issues are not often included due to the lack of a comprehensive and discretionary decision-making system. In this study, we introduced a three-stage framework combining DBSCAN clustering and cost-benefit analysis to identify the most efficient and cost-effective land parcels. The results indicate that while a total area of 425,191 km2 is considered developable for PV installation in China, only 23% of that area (128,588 km2) are consolidated land parcels which are suitable for developing large-scale PV power plants. Moreover, the potential of these consolidated land parcels (8,289,662 gWh/year) can supply about 90% of China's electricity demand. However, when considering the infrastructure investment per kWh, high-potential land parcels doubled the moderate-potential ones. These results emphasize the importance of large-scale PV plant siting as it impacts the efficiency of PV integration and the optimal land use. Hence, this methodology equips decision-makers with a practical and efficient tool for economically developing large-scale solar PV.

Integrated proteomic analysis reveals interactions between phosphorylation and ubiquitination in rose response to Botrytis infection.

As two of the most abundant post-translational modifications, phosphorylation and ubiquitination play a significant role in modulating plant-pathogen interactions and increasing evidence indicates their crosstalk in plant immunity. Rose (Rosa sp.) is one of the most important ornamental plants and can be seriously infected by Botrytis cinerea. Here, integrated proteomics analysis was performed to detect global proteome, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination changes in rose upon B. cinerea infection and investigate the possible phosphorylation and ubiquitination crosstalk. A total of 6165 proteins, 11 774 phosphorylation and 10 582 ubiquitination sites, and 77 phosphorylation and 13 ubiquitination motifs were identified. Botrytis cinerea infection resulted in 169 up-regulated and 122 down-regulated proteins, 291 up-regulated and 404 down-regulated phosphorylation sites, and 250 up-regulated and 634 down-regulated ubiquitination sites. There were 12 up-regulated PR10 proteins and half of them also showed reduced ubiquitination. A lot of kinases probably involved in plant pattern-triggered immunity signaling were up-regulated phosphoproteins. Noticeably, numerous kinases and ubiquitination-related proteins also showed a significant change in ubiquitination and phosphorylation, respectively. A cross-comparison of phosphoproteome and ubiquitylome indicated that both of two post-translational modifications of 104 proteins were dynamically regulated, and many putative pattern-triggered immunity signaling components in the plant plasma membrane were co-regulated. Moreover, five selected proteins, including four PR10 proteins and a plasma membrane aquaporin, were proven to be involved in rose resistance to B. cinerea. Our study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying rose resistance to B. cinerea and also increases the database of phosphorylation and ubiquitination sites in plants.

Harmonized geospatial data to support infrastructure siting feasibility planning for energy system transitions

Climate change, energy system transitions, and socioeconomic change are compounding influences affecting the growth of electricity demand. While energy efficiency initiatives and distributed resources can address a significant amount of this demand, the United States will likely still need new utility-scale generation resources. The energy sector uses capacity expansion planning models to determine the aggregate need for new generation, but these models are typically at the state or regional scale and are not equipped to address the wide range of location- and technology-specific issues that are increasingly a factor in power plant siting. To help address these challenges, we have developed the Geospatial Raster Input Data for Capacity Expansion Regional Feasibility (GRIDCERF) data package, a high-resolution product to evaluate siting suitability for renewable and non-renewable power plants in the conterminous United States. GRIDCERF offers 264 suitability layers for use with 56 power plant technologies in a harmonized format that can be easily ingested by geospatially-enabled modeling software allowing for customization to robustly address science objectives when evaluating varying future conditions.

A novel framework for wave power plant site selection and wave forecasting based on GIS, MCDM, and ANN methods: A case study in Hainan Island, Southern China

Wave power plants (WPPs) hold significant promise for sustainable energy generation but face complex challenges in site selection and wave forecasting. To address these challenges, this study presents an integrated methodology that combines geographic information system (GIS), multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques. The primary objective of this research is to identify optimal sites for WPP deployment and enhance the accuracy of wave power density (WPD) forecasting. The study focuses on Hainan Island, the second-largest island in China, and employs both macro-scale and micro-scale site selection methods. It establishes a comprehensive criteria system that encompasses environmental, technical, economic, and social aspects. To improve the objectivity of criteria weighting, a group decision making-analytic hierarchy process (GDM-AHP) approach is applied. The findings reveal that approximately 1.36 % (1427.93 km2) of Hainan Island's area offers suitable conditions for WPP deployment, with concentrations in the southern, northern, and eastern marine regions. Among the 27 identified alternative sites covering 208.76 km2 along the eastern coast, six optimal sites are pinpointed in Wanning, Wenchang, and Qionghai. Furthermore, the optimized ANN outperforms the standard ANN, achieving a mean relative error of 9.0 %. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of WPP site selection and wave forecasting while offering a practical and adaptable framework for stakeholders involved in renewable energy projects, particularly in coastal areas such as Hainan Island. These results and methodologies have real-world implications for the efficient and effective deployment of wave energy projects, ultimately promoting sustainable energy generation and socioeconomic development.

Simulation of Hypothetical Radiological Accident at Potential Nuclear Power Plant Sites in Malaysia

After any nuclear incident, the main concern for human well-being is the extent of radiation released beyond the site. This study simulated a similar scenario on three potential nuclear power plant sites in Malaysia, using the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident as a reference. The computer model Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) was used to simulate and track the movement of air parcels and the dispersion of radioactive emissions. HYSPLIT analyzed the dispersion profile of radioactive materials, revealing that in S1, S2, and S3, the maximum ground dose was 7.9 mSv, 28.0 mSv, and 7.6 mSv, respectively. The maximum activity deposited on the ground was 62 MBq, 210 MBq, and 14 MBq for S1, S2, and S3, respectively. The analysis of ground deposition indicated that S1 covered an estimated area of 1500 km2, S2 covered 3025 km2, and S3 had the largest coverage of approximately 4537 km2. Overall, this study demonstrates that the hypothetical accident would contaminate the vicinity of the three potential nuclear power plant (NPP) sites.

Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Background In recent years, the focus of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) research has gradually shifted from pure chemical research to looking at the combination of chemistry with the life sciences. However, due to the complexity of the chemical composition of Chinese medicinal plants, understanding material structure through in vivo and in vitro studies is a bottleneck in biological analysis. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has numerous unique advantages over other analytical techniques, and has developed into a crucial tool in Chinese medicine research. This review aims to analyze and summarize the application of NMR under the multiple fields of TCM. Methods The online databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI were using the search terms “Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry,” “NMR,”“Chinese medicine,” “TCM,” “Herbal medicine,” were from January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2023 Results The research scopes were 375 after being selected. The latest applications of NMR to TCM including its application to metabolomics, structural identification and efficacy exploration, and authentication and quality control. There were 116 articles on metabolism, 196 articles on compound structure identification and 63 articles on quality control. The metabolomic study of NMR is in line with the multicomponent, multitarget, and overall comprehensive effect of TCM. The structural identification of the chemical components of TCM is more helpful for the discovery of other biologically active substances with high efficacy and few side effects. NMR provides support in quality control and planting site selection of TCM. Conclusion NMR has become an essential tool and makes great contributions to the field of TCM research, the innovation in the application of NMR technology will aid with the research on the material basis of TCM.

Proximate composition and nutritional analysis of selected bananas cultivated in Hainan, China

Fenjiao, Dajiao, Red banana, and Haigongjiao are four selected banana varieties cultivated in Hainan, China. However, there is still no overall study comparing their nutritional properties. Our aim was to investigate their proximate composition, vitamin C and B6, amino acids, minerals, and bioactive compounds while evaluating the influence of banana variety and cultivation site on these parameters. Results indicated that Haigongjiao (Chengmai) had the highest level of soluble sugar, protein, and vitamin C. Ten essential amino acids were present in all varieties. The ratio of essential to total and non-essential amino acids in Red banana and Haigongjiao (Chengmai) met the World Health Organization’s criteria for ideal proteins. Twenty minerals were tested, K and Mg were the most abundant macro-elements in all samples with no harmful minerals. Red banana (Baoting) and (Waning) contained the highest Zn and Mn levels, respectively, while Red banana (Baoting) possessed the highest flavonoid, rutin, β-carotene, and 5-HT content. These findings suggested that Red banana and Haigongjiao possess a better nutritional profile. Variance partitioning analysis indicated that the physicochemical properties and vitamin content were more affected by banana variety than plantation site, while free amino acids, minerals, and bioactive compounds content were more affected by plantation site.

Tree-ring isotopic composition reveals intraspecific variation in water use efficiency of Pinus pinaster Ait. provenances grown in common gardens

Key messageThe physiological responses expressed by variation in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes and iWUE in five provenances of maritime pine grown in four common gardens were primarily determined by genotype differences in phenotypic plasticity and secondarily by genotype.Given the impacts of climate change on forest resources and considering the slowness of evolutionary processes in trees, a need arises to understand the interplay between tree species adaptation to climate, genetic variation, and their impact on tree growth and productivity. Broadening knowledge of the capacity of tree populations to respond to climate-related disturbances is a prerequisite for the development of resilience strategies, including assisted migration and climate-smart forestry. This study tests the physiological ability of different maritime pine provenances, comparing Mediterranean (Corsica, Sardinia, and Tuscany) and Atlantic (Portugal) provenances, to adapt to progressively drier conditions that have occurred in the last thirty years. Four provenance trials with randomized blocks of the five maritime pine provenances were used as test sites in Sardinia (Italy). Wood cores were collected from the 40-year-old plants. Cores were split into five-year segments to determine provenance-related variations in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes and provide information on long-term patterns in intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). The provenance × site interaction was the most important source of variation, meaning that the genotypes responded differently to the planting sites. Considering the main effects, both genotype and environmental conditions at the planting sites influenced stable isotope composition in tree rings. This suggests that iWUE was determined by phenotypic plasticity that differed among genotypes. In contrast, provenance responses were stable with time, and the provenance × site interaction was stable across time periods. These findings suggest that provenance selection to improve iWUE in maritime pine may need to consider site conditions but point more to soil conditions than to climate. In any case, they limit our ability to recommend maritime pine provenances based on iWUE until the missing site factors can be identified.

Site Suitability Assessment for Petroleum hubs and Oil retail assets in the Jomoro District: A Hybrid Approach using Fuzzy AHP and VIKOR Method

Petroleum Infrastructure is indispensable considering the current local and global energy demands, however explosions from such establishments often cause loss of lives and properties within the surrounding communities thereby posing great concern to government and the citizenry. This condition calls for research that would provide meaningful solutions to mitigate this menace. Unlawful siting of oil refineries, petrochemical plants, berthing terminals, pipelines, storage terminals, oil and gas retail assets results from non-consideration of environmental impact on growing human population, competition for customers and lack of enforcement of energy standards. The study aims to employ a multifaceted approach comprising of suitability, proximity and spatial statistical analysis in assessing viable areas for developing petroleum hubs in the district. This study further investigated the efficiency of the method and level of compliance to standards set by the Ministry of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Town and Country Planning Department through validation using the newly acquired land for petroleum hub and existing filling stations in the study area. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data consist of locations of oil and gas filling stations picked with the Garmin handheld GPS and surveyed boundary of the land. The secondary data was obtained from the Survey and Mapping division of the land commission of Ghana. It comprises of topographic data, geology and soil maps from which soil types, lithology, roads networks, water bodies, terrain slope and land use features of the area were extracted and used. The dataset was reclassified and weighted using Fuzzy AHP and VIKOR. Spatial analyses were carried out using ArcGIS software to show areas suitable or otherwise for siting petroleum hubs in the study area. Results shows 67.44% of the area are highly suitable for establishment of petroleum hubs, 32.33% of the area falls within moderate suitability zones whereas the least suitability zones occupied 0.23% of the total area. The newly acquired government land for the petroleum hub project fell within the highly suitable zone confirming the validity of the studies in comparison with studies from field experts via environmental impact assessment. The proposed petroleum hub covered areas dominated by very high and high area suitability for its establishment constituting 75.9 km2 (90.3%) of its entire area whereas the moderate suitability zones constituted 8.2 km2 (9.7%) of the remaining areas. Towns situated in very high areas includes; Bakakole Nkwanta, Ahobre, Nawule, Allowule, Tikobo No.1, Edu, Damofu, Ave lenu and Ebonloa, Mpatabo. High areas comprises of Kengen Kpokezo, Alenda wharf, Tekyinta. Anwonakrom, Nkwamta, Elubo and Agege are among the moderate and low area zones for hub and oil retail assets establishment 75% of the oil retail assets complied with the required set standards whiles 25% defaulted. The integration of GIS techniques with multi-criteria decision analyses has proved to be an effective tool for selecting suitable sites for petroleum hubs, oil retail assets and very useful in determining places of high fire risk for proper planning of the area. It is recommended that the authorities and stakeholders put measures in place to educate, perform site suitability assessment and enforce set standards in establishment of petroleum infrastructure.

Potential of Reducing CO2 Emission Using Parabolic Trough Collector for 13.75MW Desalination Processes

Desalination is an important process in fulfilling the freshwater demands of both the industrial sector and human needs. Typically, thermal desalination processes rely on fossil fuels to minimize production costs. However, using fossil fuel in desalination contributes to releasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is essential to utilize renewable energy sources to mitigate the production of CO2 emissions. To reduce CO2 emissions research has been conducted to explore the potential use of parabolic trough solar collectors in harnessing available solar energy at the power plant site for thermal desalination processes which required 13.75 MW of thermal energy. The study utilized the system advisor model software to assess the collector’s system performance. The research findings indicate that 416 units of parabolic trough solar collectors are required to fulfill the thermal power needs. The presence of these solar collectors has the potential to generate 26.06 GWh of thermal power, thereby reducing coal consumption by 5,740.4 metric tons per year and directly lowering CO2 emissions by 13,892 metric tons per year.

Decision-theoretic rough set model and spatial analysis-based waste-to-energy incineration plant site selection: a case study in first-tier cities of China.

Selecting a sustainable waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plant site is important for handling huge challenges created by on-going municipal solid waste. However, many studies with WTE incineration plant site problems fail to determine alternative evaluation criteria and cities beforehand, which may increase decision costs and evaluation risks. This paper proposes a novel methodology based on decision-theoretic rough set model and suitable analysis for selecting the optimal WTE incineration plant site. Firstly, from the features of cities, alternative evaluation criteria are determined by three-phase method. Considering different geographical features, a geographical index system is established. Secondly, subjective and objective criteria weights are determined by an improved DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method and TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method-based linear programming model under the hesitant fuzzy linguistic context, respectively. Subjective and objective criteria weights are combined to form the final criteria weights by building an optimization model. Thirdly, the decision-theoretic rough set model is utilized to select alternative WTE incineration plant sites. We utilize spatial analysis adopting Geographic Information System technology to rank all alternative cities to build facilities. Finally, a numerical case is performed to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology. The sensitivity analysis with the parameter [Formula: see text] ranking from 0 to 1 is performed, the result confirms that the proposed methodology has better robustness. Compared with the multi-criteria decision-making methods, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed methodology are demonstrated.

Diversity at single nucleotide to pangenome scales among sulfur cycling bacteria in salt marshes.

Salt marshes are known for their significant carbon storage capacity, and sulfur cycling is closely linked with the ecosystem-scale carbon cycling in these ecosystems. Sulfate reducers are key for the decomposition of organic matter, and sulfur oxidizers remove toxic sulfide, supporting the productivity of marsh plants. To date, the complexity of coastal environments, heterogeneity of the rhizosphere, high microbial diversity, and uncultured majority hindered our understanding of the genomic diversity of sulfur-cycling microbes in salt marshes. Here, we use comparative genomics to overcome these challenges and provide an in-depth characterization of sulfur-cycling microbial diversity in salt marshes. We characterize communities across distinct sites and plant species and uncover extensive genomic diversity at the taxon level and specific genomic features present in MAGs affiliated with uncultivated sulfur-cycling lineages. Our work provides insights into the partnerships in salt marshes and a roadmap for multiscale analyses of diversity in complex biological systems.

An Analysis of the Spatial Characteristics and Transport Fluxes of BTEX in Soil and Atmospheric Phases at a Decommissioned Steel Mill Site in China with a Long History.

BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene), as characteristic pollutants in chemical plant sites, are widely present in the environment and pose a serious threat to the health and safety of nearby residents. Studying the spatial distribution characteristics and transport fluxes of BTEX in soil and air at contaminated sites and the health risks they pose to humans is of great significance for fine pollution control and environmental management. This study took a typical decommissioned steel plant as a case study. A total of 23 soil and air samples were collected from different locations to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics of BTEX in soil and air. The transport and fate of BTEX in soil and air were evaluated using the fugacity model, and finally, a human health risk assessment was conducted. The results indicate a relatively severe level of benzene pollution in both soil and air. The maximum exceedance factor of benzene in soil samples is 31.5, with the concentration exceedance depth at 1.5 m. The maximum concentration of benzene in air samples is 4.98 μg·m-3. Benzene, at 5.9% of the site, shows a low flux with negative values, while other components at various locations all exhibit a trend of transport from the soil phase to the atmospheric phase. Benzene is the pollutant that contributes the most to the transport flux from soil to air within the site. The coking area and sewage treatment area are key areas within the steel mill where BTEX accumulate easily in the soil. The non-carcinogenic risk values of the individual components of BTEX in the soil are below the acceptable risk level. However, the carcinogenic risk value of benzene in the children's exposure scenario exceeds the carcinogenic risk level of 10-6. The carcinogenic risk range of various components of BTEX in the air is 2.63 × 10-6~3.88 × 10-5, with 28.6% of the locations exceeding the threshold of 10-6. The range of the total HI (hazard index) is 2.08 × 10-4~1.81 × 10-1, all of which is below the safety threshold of 1. The results of this study will provide scientific support for the fine pollution control and environmental management of industrial contaminated sites with BTEX as their typical pollutants.

A central facility concept for nuclear microreactor maintenance and fuel cycle management

Commercial deployment of nuclear microreactors presents an opportunity for the industry to rethink its approach to manufacturing, siting, operation and maintenance, and fuel cycle management as certain principles used in grid-scale nuclear projects are not applicable to a decentralized microreactor economy. The success of this nascent industry is dependent on its ability to reduce infrastructure, logistical, regulatory and lifecycle costs. A utility-like ‘Central Facility’ that consolidates the services required and responsibilities borne by vendors into one or a few centralized locations will be necessary to support the deployment of a fleet of microreactors. This paper discusses the requirements for a Central Facility, its implications on the cost structures of owners and suppliers of microreactors, and the impact of the facility for the broader microreactor industry. In addition, this paper discusses the pre-requisites for eligibility as well as the opportunities for a Central Facility host site. While there are many suitable locations for such a capability across the U.S., this paper considers a facility co-located with the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant and Savannah River Sites to illustrate how a Central Facility can leverage the existing infrastructure and stimulate a local ecosystem.

Agricultural exploitation and physiographic location in the availability of nutrients to the soil of Diyala Governorate

The study area was chosen to include three physiographic sites on the Diyala River, as it is located in the village of Umm Al-Azam between longitudes 33.71785 east and latitudes 44.6185 north. There are four pedons in each A physiographic unit, two of which are in cultivated sites and the other two are in unexploited agricultural sites, so the total of the studied pedons is twelve. The results of laboratory analysis showed that the lowest content of available nitrogen for the cultivated sites was in the soils of river levees and the highest content in the soils of the river basins, while in the abandoned soil sites, it was the lowest content in the soils of the river basins and the highest content in the soils of depressions, and that the variance of the available nitrogen content in the soils of the cultivated pedons sites was moderate. The results indicated that the available phosphorous content in the sites of cultivated pedons soils ranged between 17.25 – 40.24 mg kg-1 as it was the lowest content in river levee and the highest in the depressions soils, while the available phosphorous content in the soils of the abandoned pedons sites ranged between 19.19 - 43.00 mg kg-1 as it was the lowest content in river basins and the highest content in depressions soils, while the variance of phosphorus in the cultivated soils pedons was of slight variation available. The available potassium content in the soils of the planted pedons sites ranged between 175.60 - 255.17 mg kg-1 , as it was the lowest content in the river levee and the highest in the soils of the river basins. The available potassium content in the soils of the abandoned pedons sites ranged between 170.64 - 257.45 mg kg-1 , where the lowest content of the available potassium was in the river levee soils, and the highest was in the depressions soils. Also, the variance of the available potassium in the pedons' soils was very little. As for the effect of the interaction between agricultural exploitation and physiographic sites and horizons in the characteristics of the study area, the results of the statistical analysis indicated that all study indicators represented by sites, type of use, horizons and their interactions did not have a significant effect of increasing nitrogen in the soil of the study area, as well as phosphorous and potassium. Keywords: N, P, K, nutrients, physiographic location, agricultural exploitation.

Environmental Factors Affecting Volume Growth of Yellow Poplar Plantations in South Korea

South Korean forests need hardwood tree species that can produce timber, as global warming progresses and the habitats of conifers dwindle. For the past 30 years, exotic yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) has been planted to replace some of the pine-dominated forests, as there is a lack of native hardwood tree species that produce large and good quality timber. However, yellow poplar growth has varied among planting sites across the country. We studied how environmental factors affect the growth of 49 stands of yellow poplar trees, with 945 dominant trees across 129 plots. To identify the optimal conditions for yellow poplar growth, we assessed 28 environmental variables, including geographic, climatic, topographic, and soil properties, for their correlation with volume growth. We estimated the optimal conditions for yellow poplar growth by averaging the values of the variables for the top five performing stands. To calculate the relative distance of any stand from the optimal conditions, we divided the difference between the stand’s values for the environmental variables and the optimal conditions by the standard deviation of those variables. We then calculated Spearman rank correlation coefficients between these distances and volume growth rankings. Wind exposure (WE), growing season temperature (GT), Latitude (LN), soil phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) content, low extreme temperature during January and February (LT), and spring humidity (SH) were the most important environmental factors governing growing sites for yellow poplar in Korea, with WE being the most critical. Some variables showed synergistic effects and correlated slightly more strongly with volume growth when combined with the WE variable. Our study provides crucial insights for optimizing plantation management and site selection in non-native ranges, enhancing overall success in establishing yellow poplar plantations in South Korea.

Optimal site selection for solar plant using analytical hierarchy process (AHP): A case study in Bangladesh

AbstractSolar energy is one of the sources of renewable energy which is clean, affordable, and limitless. Despite Bangladesh having a significant potential for solar energy for its excellent geographic location, relatively low research work on location selection for the establishment of solar plants and little attempt has been taken to expand the solar energy industry. The optimal location for a solar plant to be built is the main objective of this research. Considering several aspects, five potential locations are selected utilizing the geographic data to find the optimal location and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is one of the multi‐models assessment techniques implemented to get the ideal site for solar power plants. While applying this method, some expert survey has been done via Google Form where some of the principal impact factors are set up like questionnaire and obtained the weight for the criteria for the AHP method. The results of the current analysis indicate that Rajshahi is obtained as best location for solar plant establishment followed by Ishwardi, Chattogram, Chuadanga, and Mymensingh. This work will enable to propose an effective, practical, and structured decision‐making framework that could aid policymakers in Bangladesh to select the best locations for solar farms.

Combination of recommended macro fertilizers and solid organic fertilizers for sweet corn on medium land in Inceptisol soil types

One of the horticulture products in Indonesia with a large market potential is sweetcorn, which is greatly influenced by the amount of organic matter at the planting site. The study was carried out in the IP2TP BSIP Malang, from March to July 2022. ANOVA was performed for data analysis using a fully randomized design (RBD) with 9 treatments and 3 replicates, and when there were discrepancies in the results, a DMRT analysis was conducted at a 5% level of confidence. This study aimed to ascertain how organic fertilizer affected sweetcorn yield and growth. The findings demonstrated that treatments variable plant height and leaf count had the highest values. The best results for diameter and cob length were obtained in treatment I with a combination of 1,000 kg/ha of organic fertilizer, 750 kg/ha, and 500 kg/ha, which is one recommended dose of NPK plus 500 kg/ha. In comparison to the control treatment, all treatments with the addition of organic fertilizer demonstrated significant improvements in sweet corn production per hectare. The B/C ratio value of 2.86 supports these findings, demonstrating that the maize production per ha is a plant treated with 1 recommended dose of NPK + organic fertilizer at 500 kg/ha.