Universidade Federal de Viçosa

About: Universidade Federal de Viçosa is a education organization based out in Viçosa, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Biology. The organization has 16012 authors who have published 26711 publications receiving 353416 citations.

Optimization of methodology to analyze ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid in vegetables

Abstract: In this study, different solutions to extract vitamin C were tested. High-performance liquid chromatography was chosen and the conditions were based on isocratic elution in reverse phase column. Dehydroascorbic acid was determined indirectly after its reduction using dithiothreitol. The use of metaphosphoric acid to stabilize the vitamin C was shown to be required and it was necessary to neutralize the pH of the extract to apply dithiothreitol. The average recovery was 90% in collard and tomato samples. The presence of oil did not interfere in extraction and the methodology can be used to analyze stir fried vegetables.

Efeito de diferentes substratos sobre o desenvolvimento de mudas de Acacia sp.

Abstract: Sewage sludge has been studied as source of organic matter on seedling production. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the development of Acacia mangium and Acacia auriculiformis seedlings in the following substrates: a) oxic horizon + sand (1:1, v:v) + 160, 640 e 160 g m-3 of N, P2O5 and K2O respectively (HB); b) oxic horizon + sand + cattle manure (1:1:1, v:v) (HBE); c) oxic horizon + sand + sewage sludge (1:1:1, v:v) (HBL) and; d) 100% sewage sludge (LE). The substrates were limed with 1 kg m-3CaCO3 p.a.. Seeds, inoculated and non-inoculated with Rhizobium, were used, and 90 days after planting, measures of collar diameter, plant height, and root and shoot dry matter (with determination of N, P, K, Ca and Mg) were taken. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks, in a factorial 2 x 4 arrangement (with or without inoculation x 4 substrates). Better performance in seedling growth was obtained in the LE substrate with inoculated seeds. Comparatively, the HBE substrate was superior to the HBL substrate. There were no significant differences for most evaluated parameters in the HBE, HBL and HB substrates due to inoculation, probably because the existence of native bacteria in these substrates. The seedlings developing in the LE substrate accumulated more N and Ca, mainly when inoculated. There was a tendency of larger P, K and Mg accumulation in shoots of seedlings developing in the HBE substrate.

Do dynamic global vegetation models capture the seasonality of carbon fluxes in the Amazon basin? A data-model intercomparison.

Abstract: To predict forest response to long-term climate change with high confidence requires that dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) be successfully tested against ecosystem response to short-term variations in environmental drivers, including regular seasonal patterns. Here, we used an integrated dataset from four forests in the Brasil flux network, spanning a range of dry-season intensities and lengths, to determine how well four state-of-the-art models (IBIS, ED2, JULES, and CLM3.5) simulated the seasonality of carbon exchanges in Amazonian tropical forests. We found that most DGVMs poorly represented the annual cycle of gross primary productivity (GPP), of photosynthetic capacity (Pc), and of other fluxes and pools. Models simulated consistent dry-season declines in GPP in the equatorial Amazon (Manaus K34, Santarem K67, and Caxiuana CAX); a contrast to observed GPP increases. Model simulated dry-season GPP reductions were driven by an external environmental factor, ‘soil water stress’ and consequently by a constant or decreasing photosynthetic infrastructure (Pc), while observed dry-season GPP resulted from a combination of internal biological (leaf-flush and abscission and increased Pc) and environmental (incoming radiation) causes. Moreover, we found models generally overestimated observed seasonal net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and respiration (Re) at equatorial locations. In contrast, a southern Amazon forest (Jaru RJA) exhibited dry-season declines in GPP and Re consistent with most DGVMs simulations. While water limitation was represented in models and the primary driver of seasonal photosynthesis in southern Amazonia, changes in internal biophysical processes, light-harvesting adaptations (e.g., variations in leaf area index (LAI) and increasing leaf-level assimilation rate related to leaf demography), and allocation lags between leaf and wood, dominated equatorial Amazon carbon flux dynamics and were deficient or absent from current model formulations. Correctly simulating flux seasonality at tropical forests requires a greater understanding and the incorporation of internal biophysical mechanisms in future model developments.

Influence of Pyrolysis Temperature on Cadmium and Zinc Sorption Capacity of Sugar Cane Straw–Derived Biochar

Abstract: The effect of pyrolysis temperature on the characteristics and metal sorption capacity of sugar cane straw derived–biochar (BC) was investigated. Biochar was produced at four temperatures (400, 500, 600, and 700 °C) before characterization for yield, ash and moisture content, pH, EC, pHPZC, elemental composition, nutrient content, CEC, TGA, and functional groups (FT-IR). Biochar alone and in mixtures containing 10%, w/w biochar with one of two different tropical soils (Entisol and Oxisol) was shaken for 24 h with a 2.0 mM solution (pH 4.5) of Zn or Cd in a batch sorption test. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature led to a reduction in the O/C and H/C molar ratios. The sorption capacity of biochar pyrolyzed at 700 °C was nearly four times greater than that produced at 400 °C. In the Entisol mixture, there was an increase up to seven-fold in the sorption of both Cd and Zn compared with the control (without BC). In the Oxisol mixture, there was a maximum 20% increase in sorption compared with the control. For the remediation of Cd- and Zn-contaminated substrates, the use of higher pyrolysis temperature biochars are recommended because of their higher metal sorption capacities.