University of Rhode Island

About: University of Rhode Island is a education organization based out in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bay. The organization has 11464 authors who have published 22770 publications receiving 841066 citations. The organization is also known as: URI & Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.

Forest ecosystem carbon and nitrogen accumulation during the first century after agricultural abandonment

Abstract: Forests of the northeastern United States are expected to serve as a substantial sink for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) as they recover from extensive clearing and agriculture. However, questions remain concerning the rate, distribution, and duration of this potential sink. We used a chronosequence approach to determine changes in ecosystem C and N during the first 115 years of forest development after agricultural abandonment in Rhode Island, USA. All sites had similar soils, climate, land-use history, and dominant overstory vegetation (Pinus strobus), but differed in time since agricultural abandonment. Total ecosystem C increased linearly across the chronosequence at a mean rate of 2.10 Mg C·ha–1·yr–1. Most of the C was sequestered into plant biomass (73%) with less stored in the forest floor (17%) and deep mineral soil (6%; 20–70 cm depth). Total ecosystem N did not change over time; instead N accumulated in the forest floor (11.6 kg N·ha–1·yr–1) and plant biomass (4.1 kg N·ha–1·yr–1), and these increas...

Gaussian Random Processes

Abstract: There are several types of random processes that have found wide application because of their realistic physical modeling yet relative mathematical simplicity. In this and the next two chapters we describe these important random processes. They are the Gaussian random process, the subject of this chapter; the Poisson random process, described in Chapter 21; and the Markov chain, described in Chapter 22. Concentrating now on the Gaussian random process, we will see that it has many important properties. These properties have been inherited from those of the N-dimensional Gaussian PDF, which was discussed in Section 14.3.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Socially Responsible Investing: A Global Perspective

Abstract: This research examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company stock valuation across three regions of the world. After a brief introduction, the article gives an overview of the evolving definition of CSR as well as a discussion of the ways in which this construct has been operationalized. Presentation of the potential impact of corporate social performance on firm financial performance follows, including investor characteristics, the rationale behind their choices, and their influence on the marketplace for securities worldwide. The unique method used to select socially responsible investments is then provided that also includes a description of the quantitative techniques employed in the analyses. Results are offered subsequently, and the close describes implications for global enterprises as socially responsible investments.