G Dry Matter (g + dry_matter)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Balances of phosphorus and nitrogen in carp ponds

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 1-2 2000
R. Knösche
The impact of carp pond effluents on natural waters was investigated in the German federal states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Bavaria, and in Hungary. Data from 38 ponds (size = 0.25,122 ha) were available for the calculation of inlet,outlet differences. An average difference of 0.51 kg phosphorus (P) ha,1 year,1 was obtained. This means that every hectare of pond surface releases 510 g P less than it receives from the incoming water. This result was independent of the amount of fish harvested (, 1500 ha,1 year,1). The average retention of P (P-balance) was 5.71 kg P ha,1 year,1. Phosphorus retention increased with increasing intensity of production. Nitrogen (N) retention increased with production intensity from 78.5 kg ha,1 year,1 in German standard ponds to >,290 kg N ha,1 year,1in pig-cum-fish ponds in Hungary. A predominantly mineralized sludge suspension is released during harvesting at loads below 1% of the retention capacity of the pond. Under usual pond management regimes, the sludge load during harvesting ranged from 50 to 200 L ha,1, equivalent to 0.3,9.3 g dry matter ha,1. The present study suggests that ponds are not a burden on the environment. By contrast, these water bodies improve water quality. Therefore, pressures to reduce the intensity of pond production cannot be justified on the basis of supposed impacts on water quality. However, even if loads during harvesting are low compared with the retention capacity of the pond, more effort should be carried out to reduce the pollution of streams by pond outlets downstream. This can be done by limiting pond drainage to periods when the suspended material has settled or by short-term sedimentation of the sludge in a settling pond downstream of the rearing facility. [source]


Release of cell contents and comminution of particles of perennial ryegrass herbage during ingestion by dairy cows fed indoors or grazing

GRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 3 2006
A. Boudon
Abstract The effect of feeding indoors fresh perennial ryegrass vs. grazing on ingestive behaviour, release of cell contents and comminution of particles during ingestion, as well as on gas production of ingested boli fermented in vitro, was studied. Indoor feeding and grazing were compared using four dairy cows according to a triple reversal design with six periods. Chemical and morphological composition of the ingested herbage was similar for both indoor feeding and grazing treatments. The intake rate was markedly higher indoors compared with grazing [52·1 vs. 22·9 g dry matter (DM) min,1] with heavier boli and less saliva added per gram of DM intake. The proportions of intracellular nitrogen and chlorophyll released during mastication after ingestion of herbage fed indoors were lower, and the median size of the particles in the boli was larger (5·97 vs. 4·44 mm) compared with grazing. As a result, the rate of gas production in vitro was also lower for herbage fed indoors compared with grazing (0·423 vs. 0·469 mL min,1 g,1 incubated DM). Indoor feeding or grazing may have limited consequences in vivo on the kinetics of availability of nutrients for micro-organisms in the rumen, because the consequences of the more extensive physical damage suffered by herbage ingested at grazing could be compensated by a lower intake rate. [source]


Mineral absorption in tapirs (Tapirus spp.) as compared to the domestic horse

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 6 2009
M. Clauss
Summary To test whether mineral recommendations for horses are likely to guarantee adequate mineral provision for tapirs (Tapirus spp.), we investigated the apparent absorption (aA) of macro and micro-minerals in 18 tapirs from five zoological institutions in a total of 24 feeding trials with total faecal collection. Samples of feeds and faeces were analysed for Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Cu and Zn. The resulting aA coefficients and the linear relationships of apparently absorbable dietary mineral content to total dietary mineral content (per 100 g dry matter) were compared with data for domestic horses. While there were no apparent differences in the absorption patterns for P, K, Na, Fe, Cu or Zn, the absorption of both Ca and Mg was distinctively higher in tapirs than in horses. Tapirs are browsers that are adapted to a diet of higher Ca content and higher Ca:P ratio than equids, and high absorptive efficiency for Ca might have evolved to ensure that high dietary Ca concentrations do not lead to the binding of dietary P in the intestine, making it unavailable for hindgut microbes. Similar to other hindgut fermenters, in tapirs, absorption coefficients for Ca increased with dietary Ca:P ratio, and urinary Ca:creatinine ratios increased with dietary Ca. Several zoo diets used were deficient in one or more minerals. When compared with faeces of free-ranging animals, faeces of zoo animals had higher concentrations of most minerals, probably indicating a lesser diluting effect of indigestible fibre in zoo animals. [source]


Size and Structure of Fine Root Systems in Old-growth and Secondary Tropical Montane Forests (Costa Rica)

BIOTROPICA, Issue 2 2003
Dietrich Hertel
ABSTRACT The fine root systems of three tropical montane forests differing in age and history were investigated in the Cordillera Talamanca, Costa Rica. We analyzed abundance, vertical distribution, and morphology of fine roots in an early successional forest (10,15 years old, ESF), a mid-successional forest (40 years old, MSP), and a nearby undisturbed old-growth forest (OGF), and related the root data to soil morphological and chemical parameters. The OGF stand contained a 19 cm deep organic layer on the forest floor (i.e., 530 mol C/m2), which was two and five times thicker than that of the MSF (10 cm) and ESF stands (4 cm), respectively. There was a corresponding decrease in fine root biomass in this horizon from 1128 g dry matter/m2 in the old-growth forest to 337 (MSF) and 31 g/m2 (ESF) in the secondary forests, although the stands had similar leaf areas. The organic layer was a preferred substrate for fine root growth in the old-growth forest as indicated by more than four times higher fine root densities (root mass per soil volume) than in the mineral topsoil (0,10 cm); in the two secondary forests, root densities in the organic layer were equal to or lower than in the mineral soil. Specific fine root surface areas and specific root tip abundance (tips per unit root dry mass) were significantly greater in the roots of the ESF than the MSF and OGF stands. Most roots of the ESF trees (8 abundant species) were infected by VA mycorrhizal fungi; ectomycorrhizal species (Quercus copeyemis and Q. costaricensis) were dominant in the MSF and OGF stands. Replacement of tropical montane oak forest by secondary forest in Costa Rica has resulted in (1) a large reduction of tree fine root biomass; (2) a substantial decrease in depth of the organic layer (and thus in preferred rooting space); and (3) a great loss of soil carbon and nutrients. Whether old,growth Quercus forests maintain a very high fine root biomass because their ectomycorrhizal rootlets are less effective in nutrient absorption than those of VA mycorrhizal secondary forests, or if their nutrient demand is much higher than that of secondary forests (despite a similar leaf area and leaf mass production), remains unclear. [source]


Application of sewage sludge to arable land,soil concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls, and their accumulation in earthworms

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 12 2002
Nadja Matscheko
Abstract Soils from five agricultural sites, three research sites, and two privately owned farms were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybronimated diphenylethers (PBDEs). In soils that had not been treated with sludge (reference soils), the international toxic equivalents (I-TEQs) were 0.6 to 1.5 pg/g dry matter (DM) for the PCDD/Fs, which are low compared to generally reported background soil levels in Europe. The concentrations of sum of six penta- and hexa-PCBs were 450 to 1,400 pg/g DM. The PBDEs 47 and 99 dominated among the tri- to hepta-PBDEs analyzed (8,80 pg/g DM). The impact of adding 1 to 3 tonnes of sludge (DM) per hectare per year on the concentrations was studied at the three research sites by calculating ratios of the compounds in sludge-treated soil to reference soil (S/R ratio). The concentrations of I-TEQs did not increase in the sludge-treated soil, whereas the S/R ratios for PBDEs were greater than one. Also, although the PCB contents were higher in the sludge-treated soils, the background sources were more important for the concentrations of PCBs than of PBDEs. The largest increase in the S/R ratios was found at a private farm where large amounts of sludge had been used in the past. Accumulation of the compounds in earthworms from the sites also was investigated. The biota-soil accumulation factors (BSAFs) of the tested compounds declined in the following order: ortho -PCBs , PBDEs > non-ortho -PCBs > 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs. The average BSAF for ortho -PCBs was five (organic matter/lipids), and the lowest BSAFs (0.1,0.8) found were for octachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin. To our knowledge, accumulation of PBDEs in earthworms has not been published previously. [source]


DEHYDRATION CHARACTERISTICS OF PAPAYA (CARICA PUBENSCENS): DETERMINATION OF EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT AND DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2009
R. LEMUS-MONDACA
ABSTRACT This study determined the drying kinetics behavior of papaya at different temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80C). Desorption isotherms were determined at 5, 20 and 50C over a relative humidity range of 10,95%. The Guggenheim, Anderson and de Boer models were found to be suitable for description of the sorption data. The samples reached equilibrium moisture of 0.10 ± 0.01 g water/g dry matter. Fick's second law model was used to calculate the effective diffusivity (6.25,24.32 × 10 - 10 m2/s). In addition, experimental data were fitted by means of seven mathematical models. The kinetic parameters and the diffusion coefficient were temperature-dependent and were evaluated by an Arrhenius-type equation. The modified Page model obtained the best-fit quality on experimental data according to statistical tests applied. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The main utility of this study is the application of both different empirical models and the diffusional model in tropical fruits' dehydration, which can be considered a basis for a very accurate estimation of drying time and the optimization of the same process. Two newly mathematical models are proposed in this study, through which a good fit on the data of experimental moisture content was achieved. The study of drying of papaya cultivated in Chile engages a great technological interest, because this product is widely used in the development of different products such as candying, canning, juice, syrup and marmalade. In addition, papayas cultivated in Chile, along with other tropical fruits cultivated in Brazil, Colombia and the Caribbean, have become especially important in the exportations of these countries. The major markets for these products include the U.S.A., the European Community and Asia. [source]