The spatial distribution characteristics of the biomass residual potential in China.

Biomass energy as a kind of renewable energy would be one of the industry's future development direction. As a high energy consumption country, China is urgent need of developing the renewable energy. Understanding the distribution and components of biomass could be beneficial to guide the utilizing technologies and investment strategy of biomass residual. The comprehensive statistical methods were applied to calculate the potential biomass residual of each provinces in China. The results show that (1) Nationwide, the residues biomass of agricultural, forest, and urban waste accounted for 64.16%, 10.88%, and 24.96% of total biomass residual, respectively. The intensity of agricultural, forest, and urban waste biomass residual were 1.89, 0.32, and 0.74 PJ per km2 year, respectively. (2) The agricultural biomass residual in eastern China was more abundant than that in western China. The straw residues, agricultural processing residues, livestock manure and pruning residues from permanent orchard respectively shared 32.24%, 10.62%, 56.0%, and 1.13%. (3) The stem wood with its intensity 0.29 PJ per km2 year was major contributor of forest biomass residual (with its intensity 0.32 PJ per km2 year). The forest biomass residual in northern and southern China was larger than that in eastern and western China, but the intensity of forest biomass residual in southern China was larger than that in the other provinces. (4) The intensity of forest biomass was 0.74 PJ per km2 year, which was mainly contributed by urban greenery management outside forests (0.736 PJ per km2). The intensity of urban biomass residual in eastern and southern China was usually larger than that in northern and western China.

Contamination processes of tree components in Japanese forest ecosystems affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 137Cs fallout.

In forests affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, trees became contaminated with 137Cs. However, 137Cs transfer processes determining tree contamination (particularly for stem wood, a prominent commercial resource) remain insufficiently understood. We propose a model for simulating dynamic behavior of 137Cs in a forest tree-litter-soil system and applied it to contaminated forests of cedar plantation and natural oak stand in Fukushima to elucidate relative impact of distinct 137Cs transfer processes determining the tree contamination. The transfer of 137Cs to the trees occurred mostly (>99%) through surface uptake of 137Cs trapped by needles and bark during the fallout. Root uptake of soil 137Cs was several orders of magnitude lower than the surface uptake over a 50-year period following the accident. As a result, internal contamination of the trees proceeded through an enduring recycling (translocation) of 137Cs absorbed on the tree surface. A significant surface uptake of 137Cs through bark was suggested, contributing to 100% (leafless oak tree) and 30% (foliated cedar tree; the remaining uptake occurred at needles) of the total uptake by the trees, although that pathway still needs to be evaluated by experimental evidence. It was suggested that the activity concentration of 137Cs in stem wood of the trees at these sites are currently (as of 2021) decreasing by ~3% per year, mainly through radioactive decay of 137Cs and partly through dilution effect from tree growth. Although further refinement of the model is recommended, for example by including tree species specific 137Cs transportation in stem, these findings provide vital information for planning of forestry reactivation in Fukushima; e.g., removal of forest floor organic layer will not reduce the tree contamination for a long term because of the 137Cs absorption via the tree surface substantially greater than root uptake of 137Cs deposited to the floor.

LC-MS/MS Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Phenolic Compounds and Pentacyclic Triterpenes in Antifungal Extracts of Terminalia brownii (Fresen).

Decoctions and macerations of the stem bark and wood of Terminalia brownii Fresen. are used in traditional medicine for fungal infections and as fungicides on field crops and in traditional granaries in Sudan. In addition, T. brownii water extracts are commonly used as sprays for protecting wooden houses and furniture. Therefore, using agar disc diffusion and macrodilution methods, eight extracts of various polarities from the stem wood and bark were screened for their growth-inhibitory effects against filamentous fungi commonly causing fruit, vegetable, grain and wood decay, as well as infections in the immunocompromised host. Ethyl acetate extracts of the stem wood and bark gave the best antifungal activities, with MIC values of 250 µg/mL against Nattrassia mangiferae and Fusarium verticillioides, and 500 µg/mL against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Aqueous extracts gave almost as potent effects as the ethyl acetate extracts against the Aspergillus and Fusarium strains, and were slightly more active than the ethyl acetate extracts against Nattrassiamangiferae. Thin layer chromatography, RP-HPLC-DAD and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), were employed to identify the chemical constituents in the ethyl acetate fractions of the stem bark and wood. The stem bark and wood were found to have a similar qualitative composition of polyphenols and triterpenoids, but differed quantitatively from each other. The stilbene derivatives, cis- (3) and trans- resveratrol-3-O-ß-galloylglucoside (4), were identified for the first time in T. brownii. Moreover, methyl-(S)-flavogallonate (5), quercetin-7-ß-O-di-glucoside (8), quercetin-7-O-galloyl-glucoside (10), naringenin-4'-methoxy-7-pyranoside (7), 5,6-dihydroxy-3',4',7-tri-methoxy flavone (12), gallagic acid dilactone (terminalin) (6), a corilagin derivative (9) and two oleanane type triterpenoids (1) and (2) were characterized. The flavonoids, a corilagin derivative and terminalin, have not been identified before in T. brownii. We reported earlier on the occurrence of methyl-S-flavogallonate and its isomer in the roots of T. brownii, but this is the first report on their occurrence in the stem wood as well. Our results justify the traditional uses of macerations and decoctions of T. brownii stem wood and bark for crop and wood protection and demonstrate that standardized extracts could have uses for the eco-friendly control of plant pathogenic fungi in African agroforestry systems. Likewise, our results justify the traditional uses of these preparations for the treatment of skin infections caused by filamentous fungi.