Cause, conseguenze e strategie di mitigazione Proponiamo il primo di una serie di articoli in cui affronteremo l’attuale problema dei mutamenti climatici. Presentiamo il documento redatto, votato e pubblicato dall’Ipcc - Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - che illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.

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Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.

Climate change 2014 - Synthesis Report

Beginning with Emlen (1966) and MacArthur and Pianka (1966) and extending through the last ten years, several authors have sought to predict the foraging behavior of animals by means of mathematical models. These models are very similar,in that they all assume that the fitness of a foraging animal is a function of the efficiency of foraging measured in terms of some "currency" (Schoener, 1971) -usually energy- and that natural selection has resulted in animals that forage so as to maximize this fitness. As a result of these similarities, the models have become known as "optimal foraging models"; and the theory that embodies them, "optimal foraging theory." The situations to which optimal foraging theory has been applied, with the exception of a few recent studies, can be divided into the following four categories: (1) choice by an animal of which food types to eat (i.e., optimal diet); (2) choice of which patch type to feed in (i.e., optimal patch choice); (3) optimal allocation of time to different patches; and (4) optimal patterns and speed of movements. In this review we discuss each of these categories separately, dealing with both the theoretical developments and the data that permit tests of the predictions. The review is selective in the sense that we emphasize studies that either develop testable predictions or that attempt to test predictions in a precise quantitative manner. We also discuss what we see to be some of the future developments in the area of optimal foraging theory and how this theory can be related to other areas of biology. Our general conclusion is that the simple models so far formulated are supported are supported reasonably well by available data and that we are optimistic about the value both now and in the future of optimal foraging theory. We argue, however, that these simple models will requre much modification, espicially to deal with situations that either cannot easily be put into one or another of the above four categories or entail currencies more complicated that just energy.

Citation classic - optimal foraging - a selective review of theory and tests

Anaerobic digestion of energy crops, residues, and wastes is of increasing interest in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and to facilitate a sustainable development of energy supply. Production of biogas provides a versatile carrier of renewable energy, as methane can be used for replacement of fossil fuels in both heat and power generation and as a vehicle fuel. For biogas production, various process types are applied which can be classified in wet and dry fermentation systems. Most often applied are wet digester systems using vertical stirred tank digester with different stirrer types dependent on the origin of the feedstock. Biogas is mainly utilized in engine-based combined heat and power plants, whereas microgas turbines and fuel cells are expensive alternatives which need further development work for reducing the costs and increasing their reliability. Gas upgrading and utilization as renewable vehicle fuel or injection into the natural gas grid is of increasing interest because the gas can be used in a more efficient way. The digestate from anaerobic fermentation is a valuable fertilizer due to the increased availability of nitrogen and the better short-term fertilization effect. Anaerobic treatment minimizes the survival of pathogens which is important for using the digested residue as fertilizer. This paper reviews the current state and perspectives of biogas production, including the biochemical parameters and feedstocks which influence the efficiency and reliability of the microbial conversion and gas yield.

Biogas production: current state and perspectives

Framework Convention on Climate Change

The effects of feeding 3-nitrooxypropanol on methane emissions and productivity of Holstein cows in mid lactation

Technical Note: Validation of a System for Monitoring Feeding Behavior of Dairy Cows

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1136&context=advs_facpub

Enhancing in vitro degradation of alfalfa hay and corn silage using feed enzymes.

Potential feed enzyme additives for ruminants were tested in vitro for their stability to ruminal microbial and gastrointestinal proteolysis. Four commercial preparations from Trichoderma longibrachiatum (A, B, C, and D) and one from an undisclosed source (E) were incubated up to 6 h with ruminal fluid taken from four lactating dairy cows before or 2 h after feeding. The stability of preparation B was also tested in the presence of pepsin at pH 3 and pancreatin at pH 7. Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4), cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase (EC 3.2.1.91), beta-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.6), xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8), beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21), and beta-xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.37) activities were monitored throughout the incubations. Polysaccharidase activities of all enzyme preparations were remarkably stable in ruminal fluid taken after feeding. Ruminal fluid obtained before feeding inactivated the polysaccharidases in preparations B and D to a greater extent than ruminal fluid obtained after feeding. Cellulase and cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase activities were the least stable, declining (P < 0.05) by 35 and 60% for preparations B and D, respectively. Xylanase activity of preparation D decreased (P < 0.05) by up to 30% after 6 h of incubation, whereas beta-glucanase activity was not affected. The ability to degrade exogenous enzymes also differed among cows (P < 0.05). Pepsin and acid (pH 3.0) did not affect polysaccharidases in preparation B but decreased glycosidase activities by 10 to 15% (P < 0.05) after 1 h of incubation. Pancreatin, at the maximum concentration used, inactivated cellulase, cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase, and xylanase activities at a rate of 0.55, 1, and 0.45%/min, respectively. beta-Glucosidase and beta-xylosidase activities decreased by 1 and 0.75%/min, respectively. Partial proteolysis of cellulase, cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase, and xylanase by pancreatin produced a transient increase in activity. This twofold increase for cellulase and fourfold increase for cellulose 1,4-beta-cellobiosidase was directly proportional to pancreatin concentration. These results suggest that the enzyme feed additives tested were stable in the rumen of animals after feeding. Exogenous enzymes are likely to be more susceptible to the host gastrointestinal proteases in the abomasum and intestines than to ruminal proteases. However, exogenous polysaccharidases may survive for a considerable period of time in the small intestine and they probably maintain activity against target substrates in this environment.

Resistance of feed enzymes to proteolytic inactivation by rumen microorganisms and gastrointestinal proteases.

Research was conducted to determine whether fluctuations in the amount of feed delivered and timing of feeding affect ruminal pH and growth of feedlot cattle. In Exp. 1, the effects of constant (C) vs. fluctuating (F) daily feed delivery on ruminal pH were assessed in a crossover experiment (two 28-d periods) involving six mature, ruminally cannulated steers. The diet consisted of 86.8% barley grain, 4.9% supplement, and 8.3% barley silage (DM basis) and was offered ad libitum for 2 wk to estimate DMI by individual steers. Steers in group C were offered a constant amount of feed daily equal to their predetermined DMI, whereas steers in group F were offered 10% more or less than their predetermined DMI on a rotating 3-d schedule. Ruminal pH of each steer was measured continuously via an indwelling electrode placed in the rumen during the last 6 d of each period. Mean pH tended to be lower (0.10 units) for F than C (5.63 vs. 5.73; P = 0.15), and ruminal pH of steers in group F tended to remain below 5.8 (P = 0.03) or 5.5 (P = 0.14) for greater proportions of the day than steers in group C. Inconsistent delivery of feed lowered ruminal pH, suggesting increased risk of subclinical acidosis. In Exp. 2, a 2 x 2 factorial was used to study the effects of pattern (C vs. F) and feeding time (morning [0900] vs. evening [2100]) on the feeding behavior and performance of 234 (310 +/- 23 kg) Charolais x Hereford beef steers during backgrounding and finishing phases over 209 d. One pen per treatment was equipped with a radio frequency identification (GrowSafe Systems Ltd., Airdrie, Canada) system that monitored bunk attendance by each steer throughout the trial. Pattern of feed delivery did not affect (P = 0.16) DMI (7.36 kg/d), ADG (1.23 kg/d), G:F (0.17), or time spent at the bunk (141 min/d), nor were pattern of feed delivery x time of feeding interactions observed (P = 0.18). Late feeding increased (P < 0.05) daily DMI (7.48 vs. 7.26 kg), ADG (1.28 vs. 1.00 kg/d), and G:F (0.21 vs. 0.15). These studies indicate that the risk of subclinical acidosis was increased with fluctuating delivery of feed, but the greater risk of acidosis did not impair growth performance by feedlot cattle. Consequently, daily intake fluctuations of 10% DMI or less that do not alter overall intake by feedlot cattle are unlikely to have any negative consequences on growth performance.

Karen A. Beauchemin

Papers

The effects of feeding 3-nitrooxypropanol on methane emissions and productivity of Holstein cows in mid lactation

Technical Note: Validation of a System for Monitoring Feeding Behavior of Dairy Cows

Enhancing in vitro degradation of alfalfa hay and corn silage using feed enzymes.

Resistance of feed enzymes to proteolytic inactivation by rumen microorganisms and gastrointestinal proteases.

Effect of feed delivery fluctuations and feeding time on ruminal acidosis, growth performance, and feeding behavior of feedlot cattle.