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INI 1128575 STP-2: Fate of Plant Residues in Soil Organic Matter Pools under Contrast Land Use as Evaluated by Two Tracer Techniques

Das Projekt "INI 1128575 STP-2: Fate of Plant Residues in Soil Organic Matter Pools under Contrast Land Use as Evaluated by Two Tracer Techniques" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bayreuth, Fachgruppe Geowissenschaften, Bayreuther Zentrum für Ökologie und Umweltforschung (BayCEER), Lehrstuhl für Agrarökosystemforschung durchgeführt. Soil C sequestration through changes in land use and management is one of the important strategies to mitigate the global greenhouse effect. Plant residue is the primary source of C formation and sequestration in soil. The relative contribution of residues depends upon composition and decomposability of litter which is a function of lad use and management. The present project is conceived with objective to evaluate the fate of plant residue in soil C influenced by different land-use management practices. Ultimate aim to sketch policy for appropriate management practices, which would facilitate enrichment of C stock in soils for maintaining soil health and fertility as well as mitigation of global warming by C sequestration. Management practices like intensity of tilling and no tillage have a definite effect on SOC stock; it would be considered as pertinent management practice for residue derived C-turnover. To fulfil the objective as stated, representative soil samples will be collected under various land covers/uses and management practices and analysed for important physico chemical properties e.g. pH, CEC, clay content, bulk density, soil water storage, and soil porosity are the important soil physical parameters which influences C load in soil. Different pools of C viz. total SOC (Ctot), Water stable aggregates, labile fractions of oxidisable organic carbon etc. will be studied to know the C stock and its distribution in soil. Impact of added plant residue on C sequestration and C dynamics of plant residues decomposition in contrast land use will be analyzed and quantified by using 14C labelled plant residues as well as 13C natural abundance and allow for differentiation between residues-derived carbon and native SOC. Labeled microbial biomass C and mineralizable C, acetone exactable reside, 14C and d13C in CO2 and in SOM pool will be measured that may provide precise estimates of residues decomposition rates and contribution in soil organic C. Microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) and mineralizable carbon (Cmin) measured as early indicators of future trends in total SOM as it provides a good measure of labile organic matter because it directly reflects recent soil organic matter turnover. Data on biomass productivity will also be collected from those sites. Results would help us to know the relative efficiency of different land use managements for organic C enrichment or depletion in soils.

Hydrogen for clean urban transport in Europe (HyFleet:CUTE)

Das Projekt "Hydrogen for clean urban transport in Europe (HyFleet:CUTE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Mercedes-Benz Group AG durchgeführt. Im Projekt HyFLEET:CUTE wurde 47 Busse in 10 Städten auf drei Kontinenten eingesetzt (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, London, Luxemburg, Madrid, Perth, Peking und Reykjavik). Das Projekt zielte darauf ab, Antriebskonzepte für Stadtbusse zu demonstrieren und weiterzuentwickeln, die Wasserstoff als Kraftstoff nutzen. Ferner wurden die damit einhergehenden Produktions- und Verteilungspfade für nachhaltig erzeugten Wasserstoff erprobt. Durch die Entwicklung verbrauchsoptimierter Wasserstoffbusse hat das Projekt dazu beigetragen, den Energieverbrauch im Transportsektor zu reduzieren und zu diversifizieren. Obendrein konnte es Wege einer sauberen, effizienten und sicheren Wasserstoffversorgung und -verteilung vermitteln. Von den eingesetzten Bussen besaßen 33 einen Elektromotor, der mit Strom aus einer Brennstoffzelle angetrieben wurde. Die anderen 14 Busse hatten einen Verbrennungsmotor, der an den Kraftstoff Wasserstoff angepasst war. Im Laufe des Projekts wurde ferner ein neuer Brennstoffzellen-Hybrid-Bus entwickelt, getestet und im Alltagsbetrieb demonstriert. Weiteres Kernelement des Projektes war die Optimierung der bestehenden Wasserstoff-Infrastrukturen, die aus dem Vorläuferprojekt CUTE stammten, sowie die Entwicklung und Erprobung neuer Anlagen und Versorgungskonzepte. Der Wasserstoff wurde an den einzelnen Standorten auf verschiedene Weise bereitgestellt: in manchen Städten durch Herstellung direkt an der Tankstelle ('on site) mittels Elektrolyse oder Reformierung, in anderen Städten per Lkw aus externer Produktion. So konnten verschiedene Pfade der Produktion und Verteilung bewertet werden. HyFLEET:CUTE umfasste außerdem den Betrieb von zwei stationären Brennstoffzellen, die an der Tankstelle in Berlin elektrischen Strom und Wärme bereitstellten. In HyFLEET:CUTE haben 31 Partner aus Politik, Industrie und Wissenschaft kooperiert, um die Entwicklung der Wasserstofftechnologie voranzubringen. Das Projekt war auch Teil der Initiative 'Wasserstoff für Mobilität (Hydrogen for Transport), die alle verkehrsbezogenen Demonstrationsvorhaben der Europäischen Kommission in diesem Bereich beraten und koordiniert hat. Die Aufgaben von PLANET PLANET war für die Bewertung der Leistungsfähigkeit der Wasserstoff-Tankstellen verantwortlich und konnte so an die erfolgreichen Arbeiten im Vorgängerprojekt CUTE anschließen. Zu den wichtigsten Indikatoren, die aus den täglichen Betriebsdaten der 10 Standorte zu ermitteln waren, gehörten Wirkungsgrade und Verfügbarkeiten. Daraus wurden die 'kritischen Komponenten ermittelt, die z.B. an mehreren Standorten bzw. wiederholt zu Ausfallzeiten führten. In Zusammenarbeit mit den Projektpartnern wurden Maßnahmen zur Optimierung entwickelt und Empfehlungen für zukünftige Systeme abgeleitet. PLANET leitete ferner die weltweiten Aktivitäten für Aus- und Weiterbildung. Ziel war es, die Ergebnisse und Erfahrungen aus HyFLEET:CUTE an potentielle Nutzergruppen weitezugeben. usw.

Grey water treatment in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor

Das Projekt "Grey water treatment in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, Institut für Abwasserwirtschaft und Gewässerschutz B-2 durchgeführt. In ecological sanitation, the wastewater is considered not only as a pollutant, but also as a resource for fertiliser, water and energy and for closing water and nutrients cycles (Otterpohl et. al., 1999; Otterpohl et. al., 2003; Elmitwalli et al. 2005). The ecological sanitation based on separation between grey and black water (and even between faeces and urine), is considered a visible future solution for wastewater collection and treatment. Grey water, which symbolises the wastewater generated in the household excluding toilet wastewater (black water), represents the major volume of the domestic wastewater (60- 75 percent) with low content of nutrients and pathogens (Otterpohl et. al., 1999; Jefferson et al., 1999; Eriksson et al., 2002). Most of grey-water treatment plants include one or two-step septic-tank for pre-treatment (Otterpohl et al., 2003). The grey-water treatment needs both physical and biological processes for removal of particles, dissolved organic-matters and pathogens (Jefferson et al., 1999). Recently, many researchers have studied the grey-water treatment either by application of high-rate aerobic systems, like rotating biological contactor (Nolde, 1999), fluidised bed (Nolde, 1999), aerobic filter (Jefferson et al., 2000), membrane bioreactor (Jefferson et al., 2000), or by application of low-rate systems, like slow sand filter (Jefferson et al., 1999), vertical flow wetlands (Otterpohl et. al., 2003). Although high-rate anaerobic systems, which are low-cost systems, have both physical and biological removal, no research has been done until now on grey water in these systems. The grey water contains a significant amount (41 percent) of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the domestic wastewater (Otterpohl et al., 2003) and this amount can be removed by the highrate anaerobic systems. Although high-rate anaerobic systems have been successfully operated in tropical regions for domestic wastewater treatment, the process up till now is not applied in lowtemperature regions. The COD removal is limited for domestic wastewater treatment in high-rate anaerobic systems at low temperatures and, therefore, a long HRT is needed for providing sufficient hydrolysis of particulate organic (Zeeman and Lettinga, 1999; Elmitwalli et al. 2002). The grey water has a relatively higher temperature (18-38 degree C), as compared to the domestic wastewater (Eriksson et al. 2002), because the grey water originates from hot water sources, like shower (29 degree C), kitchen (27-38 degree C) and laundry (28-32 degree C). Therefore, high-rate anaerobic systems might run efficiently for on-site grey water treatment, even in low-temperature regions. The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor is the most applied system for anaerobic domestic waster treatment. Accordingly, the aim of this research is to study the feasibility of application of UASB reactor for the treatment of grey water at low and controlled (30 degree C) temperatures.

Integrating Urban Agriculture in Land Use Planning and Management for Sustainable Urban Land Governance in Tanzania

Das Projekt "Integrating Urban Agriculture in Land Use Planning and Management for Sustainable Urban Land Governance in Tanzania" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Institut für Umweltsozialwissenschaften und Geographie, Professur für Physische Geographie durchgeführt. Urban agriculture is a common livelihood strategy for residents of cities in developing countries. In Dar es Salaam, urban agriculture comprises the production of crops, livestock and vegetables. This research focuses on understanding how Urban Agriculture (UA) can be integrated in urban land use planning and management proceses for sustainable development taking Dar es Salaam as a case study area. Urban agriculture is defined widely. In this context conceived as farming activities in the built-up areas and peri-urban where open spaces are available, with special emphasis on amaranths production. Poverty is a relative term conceived as income and non-income state in human life. Basically in this respect poverty refers to lack of food, access, use and control of land and information for sustaining urban livelihoods of the urban poor i.e small holder farmers. Sustainable development refers to consideration of legal, institution contexts, stakeholders involvement and financial needs for UA development in view to safeguarding present and future prospects of the city land development including community livelihood strategies. It takes also, into account urban agricultural as an integral component of the citys urban planning and management functions. Urban land use planning and management process refers to a process of guiding, directing and controlling use of land and adopting land use principles for the orderly, efficient, and equitable development and arrangement of land. Important issues include land use regulation, land resource management, and environmental conservation, protecting UA, housing development and investment attraction, which are addressed through tools such as land use plans, zoning, and capital improvements programs. It also deals with land use conflict areas identification, water sources and irrigation options for sustainable urban development.

A European Tracking System für Electricity - Phase II (E-Track II)

Das Projekt "A European Tracking System für Electricity - Phase II (E-Track II)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Öko-Institut. Institut für angewandte Ökologie e.V. durchgeführt. *Phase II of the project will refine the proposed tracking standard, by integrating the new Guarantees of Origin for cogeneration, the implementation of which was due in 2007. A focus on the specific requirements from new Member States will be made. Furthermore, consumer organisations will be supported in defining their requirements on tracking systems and the related policies, and the views of non-domestic consumer groups will be sought. Finally, the action will develop a strategy for the further development of energy-related certification schemes and their potential integration. With Directives 96/02/EC and 2003/54/EC, the EU has introduced liberalisation of the electricity markets in its Member States and has created the framework for an internal European market for electricity. Directives 2001/77/EC and 2004/8/EC contain regulations on Guarantees of Origin, which serve to enable producers to demonstrate that the electricity they sell is produced from renewable energy sources or high efficiency cogeneration. Directive 2003/54/EC requires suppliers to provide details about their fuel mix and the respective environmental impact (disclosure). Disclosing a fuel mix or a green power product requires a procedure to track electricity generation attributes , such as fuel type, CO2 emissions etc.. from generators to electricity suppliers and their customers. Support systems for RES electricity and high efficiency cogeneration may require similar allocation systems. Such accounting systems can significantly contribute to transparency for the consumers choice and to improved market functioning. Harmonisation of such tracking schemes across Europe is a keystone for the development of a transparent internal European market for electricity. The E-TRACK project, which was terminated in June 2007, has successfully developed a blueprint for a European tracking standard. Principles of the standard have been taken over by several countries. However, tracking systems used in Europe are still far from being coordinated, and double counting and other errors can occur, which compromises the reliability of information provided to consumers and other actors.

Improved Methods for the Assessment of the Generic Impact of Noise in the Environment (IMAGINE)

Das Projekt "Improved Methods for the Assessment of the Generic Impact of Noise in the Environment (IMAGINE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Müller-BBM Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung durchgeführt. For the production of strategic noise maps as required under the EU Directive 2002/49/EC, improved assessment methods for environmental noise will be required. Noise from any major source, be it major roads, railways, airports or industrial activities in agglomerations, needs to be included in the noise mapping. For road and rail, improved methods will be developed in the 5th frame work Harmonoise project. These methods will be adopted to develop methods for aircraft and industrial noise in the IMAGINE project proposed here. Noise source databases to be developed in IMAGINE for road and rail sources will allow a quick and easy implementation of the methods in all member states. Measured noise levels can add to the quality of noise maps because they tend to have better credibility than computed levels. In the project proposed here, guidelines for monitoring and measuring noise levels will be developed, that can contribute to a combined product (measurement and computation) that has high quality and high credibility. Noise action plans shall be based on strategic noise maps. The IMAGINE project will develop guidelines for noise mapping that will make it easy and straightforward to assess the efficiency of such action plans. Traffic flow management will be a key element of such action plans, both on a national and a regional level. Noise mapping will be developed into a dynamic process rather than a static presentation of the situation. IMAGINE will provide the link between Harmonoise and the practical process of producing noise maps and action plans. It will establish a platform where experts and end users can exchange their experience and views. This platform should continue after the project and provide a basis for exploitation to the IMAGINE results. me Contractor: Detalrail B.V.; Utrecht; Netherlands.

Biological Control of Striga hermonthica in Sudan

Das Projekt "Biological Control of Striga hermonthica in Sudan" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Tropische Agrarwissenschaften (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institut) (490), Fachgebiet Agrarökologie der Tropen und Substropen (490f) durchgeführt. Striga hermonthica is a parasitic flowering plant belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae. It is a root parasite that can attack sorghum, maize, millet and several grass weeds in the semi arid Tropics. In Sudan Striga is considered as the main constraint in sorghum production, the main staple food for the majority of Sudanese people. Several means of control are used to control Striga either chemically or physically, however these means are either inefficient or very costly. The biological control is an additional recent tool for the control of parasitic weeds. Several fusarium species were isolated from Striga in Sudan and they were found to be highly efficient in controlling Striga. The main objectives of this study are to (i) test the efficacy of formulated fusarium spp. in controlling Striga under field conditions; (ii) determine the optimum dose of the mycoherbicide to be used; and (iii) identify toxins produced by these bioagents for environmental safety.

Calcium cycle for efficient and low cost CO2 capture in fluidized bed systems (C3-CAPTURE)

Das Projekt "Calcium cycle for efficient and low cost CO2 capture in fluidized bed systems (C3-CAPTURE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Fakultät für Energietechnik, Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen durchgeführt. Objectives: The project aims on developing a dry CO2 capture system for atmospheric and pressurized fluidized bed boilers. The atmospheric option will be developed towards a pilot plant application. For the pressurized option the project seeks for a proof of principle to determine if the advantages of a pressurized capture system can balance the problems known from existing PFBC systems. The quantifiable objectives are: - Low CO2 capture costs (less than 20 Euro/t for atmospheric, less than 12 Euro/t for pressurized sy stems) - Acceptable efficiency penalty for CO2 capture (less than about equal to 6 percent nel). - greater than 90 percent carbon capture for new power plants and greater than 60 percent for retrofitted existing plants - A purge gas stream containing greater than 95 percent CO2 - A solid purge usable for cement production - Sim ultaneous sulphur and CO2 removal with sulphur recovery option Approach: Limestone is a CO2 carrier. The CO2 can be released easily in a conventional calcination process, well known in the cement and lime industry. By integrating a closed carbonation/calc ination loop in the flue gas of a conventional CFB-boiler, the CO2 in the flue gas can be removed. The heat required for calcination is released during carbonation and can be utilised efficiently (high temperature) in the steam cycle of the boiler. Concent rated CO2 can be generated when using oxygen blown calcination. Because the fuel required for supplying heat for calcination is only a fraction of the total fuel requirements, the required oxygen is only about 1/3 of the oxygen required for oxyfuel process es. The work programme: 1.Definition of the technical and economic boundary conditions 2.Selection and improvement of sorbent materials 3.Lab scale and semi-technical scale process development (experimental work) 4.Technical and economic evaluation 5.Des ign of a 1 MWth Pilot plant.

Tsunami Risk ANd Strategies For the European Region (TRANSFER)

Das Projekt "Tsunami Risk ANd Strategies For the European Region (TRANSFER)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum durchgeführt. The project main goal is to contribute to our understanding of tsunami processes in the Euro-Mediterranean region, to the tsunami hazard and risk assessment and to identifying the best strategies for reduction of tsunami risk. Focus will be posed on the gaps and needs for the implementation of an efficient tsunami early warning system (TEWS) in the Euro- Mediterranean area, which is a high-priority task in consideration that no tsunami early warning system is today in place in the Euro-Mediterranean countries. The main items addressed by the project may be summarised as follows. The present Europe tsunami catalogue will be improved and updated, and integrated into a world-wide catalogue (WP1). A systematic attempt will be made to identify and to characterise the tsunamigenic seismic (WP2) and non-seismic (WP3) sources throughout the Euro-Mediterranean region. An analysis of the present-day earth observing and monitoring (seismic, geodetic and marine) systems and data processing methods will be carried out in order to identify possible adjustments required for the development of a TEWS, with focus on new algorithms suited for real-time detection of tsunami sources and tsunamis (WP4). The numerical models currently used for tsunami simulations will be improved mainly to better handle the generation process and the tsunami impact at the coast (WP5). The project Consortium has selected ten test areas in different countries. Here innovative probabilistic and statistical approaches for tsunami hazard assessment (WP6), up-to-date and new methods to compute inundation maps (WP7) will be applied. Here tsunami scenario approaches will be envisaged; vulnerability and risk will be assessed; prevention and mitigation measures will be defined also by the advise of end users that are organised in an End User Group (WP8). Dissemination of data, techniques and products will be a priority of the project (WP9). Prime Contractor: Alma Mater Studiorum-Universita di Bologna; Bologna, Italy.

ECOPHOS

Das Projekt "ECOPHOS" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Dortmund, Lehrstuhl Fluidverfahrenstechnik durchgeführt. The EU-project ECOPHOS (13 Partners from 8 countries) focuses on new technologies for the production of phosphorous salts, phosphoric and phosphorous acids and phosphates in a cost efficient and ecologically sustainable way, on utilisation and processing of industrial solid waste from the phosphoric acid production and on creation of a new generation of phosphoric fertilizers.

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