DSpace Collection:
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/648
2024-03-29T01:57:28ZSustainability of the extensive livestock production: The role of precision agriculture in Mediterranean Montado ecosystem
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/36128
Title: Sustainability of the extensive livestock production: The role of precision agriculture in Mediterranean Montado ecosystem
Authors: Serrano, João; Shahidian, Shakib; Marques da Silva, José
Editors: R. Shamshiri, Redmond
Abstract: Grassland ecosystems are one of the most common land use types worldwide. The
sustainability of extensive livestock production systems requires the optimization of soil management, pasture production and animal grazing. Montado is an agro-silvo-pastoral system characterized by a high complexity as a result of the interactions between climate, soil, pasture, trees and animals. It is in this highly unpredictable context that dynamic
management decisions have to be made, for example with respect to soil fertilization or pH correction, grazing or animal supplementation. This study shows, through case studies, the potential of the application of Precision Agriculture (PA) strategies and technologies for monitoring indicators of the Mediterranean Montado multifunctional ecosystem, specific
environmental results, namely on soil health and functionality or pasture productivity,
quality, or biodiversity, in a holistic and sustainable approach. The use, calibration and validation of soil and pasture proximal sensors, animal GPS (global positioning system) receivers and satellite images opens perspectives to explore new solutions to respond to the new economic and environmental challenges and ensures the resilience of this ecosystem.2024-01-04T00:00:00ZSources and distribution of forest biomass for energy
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/35992
Title: Sources and distribution of forest biomass for energy
Authors: Malico, Isabel; Gonçalves, Ana Cristina
Abstract: Forest biomass used for energy or fuels can be sourced directly from land-use systems, indirectly from wood-based industries or recovered from other human activities outside the forest sector. The former, referring to primary biomass from forests, includes organic products or residues derived directly from living or recently dead trees or other forest vegetation. It constituted nearly half of world’s harvested forest biomass in 2021 and holds particularly importance in the Global South, where traditional biomass remains a vital energy source for many people. Besides direct wood fuel, secondary wood residues represent another substantial source of forest bioenergy. These organic residues, such as wood chips, sawdust or black liquor, are generated by the industries processing wood, especially primary forest industries. A large amount of these residues is well-suited for further material use and energy generation. However, wood suitable for energy is not solely generated by forest-based industries. Various other activities use wood products that eventually reach the end of their usable life and are discarded, such as wood waste from construction or demolition, furniture waste or end-of-life pallets and packaging used to transport goods. This chapter presents and characterises the different woody biomass streams that can provide feedstock for energy.2024-01-01T00:00:00ZIntroduction to forest bioenergy
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/35989
Title: Introduction to forest bioenergy
Authors: Malico, Isabel; Gonçalves, Ana Cristina
Abstract: This chapter presents the introduction and outline of the book “Forest Bioenergy: From Wood Production to Energy Use”. Today, biomass, the most commonly used renewable energy source, contributes to 10% of the worldwide energy supply. The majority of bioenergy comes from woody biomass, which is mainly converted into heat (mostly in households, followed by industries). Its conversion to power is also relevant, while the production of transport bio-fuels is a promising pathway. Modern bioenergy presents numerous ad-vantages: it has a renewable, versatile, local and distributed nature; it helps increase energy security and meet the rising global energy demands; it easily substitutes for fossil fuels; and it presents potential environmental and economic benefits. Carbon sequestration and storage are among the several environmental services provided by forests. The amount of biomass they produce, and consequently, their bioenergy potential, is highly variable. Forest plantations provide the highest bioenergy yields per unit area, while in forest systems managed for other purposes, factors such as stand structure affect residual biomass generation. Assessing and monitoring biomass, along with de-terming bioenergy potentials, are essential tasks often based on mathematical models that vary in complexity and span different spatial and temporal scales, frequently with associated cartography.2024-01-01T00:00:00ZAWARTECH project: from laboratory experiments to farm conditions
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/33972
Title: AWARTECH project: from laboratory experiments to farm conditions
Authors: Cruz, V.; Baptista, F.J.; Rico, J.C.; Coelho, D.
Abstract: Production intensification with the focus on self-supply or higher competitiveness may lead to decrease animal welfare conditions. Also, intensive production systems, characterized by high animal density, can potentially reduce animal health and welfare, as well as complicate individual
monitoring and control process. In this sense, it is important to provide animal producers with precision livestock farming tools that contribute to an efficient management of the production process. These technological tools allow to automatically monitor and control the environmental
conditions and the animal’s physiological and behavioural responses. The main objective of the AWARTECH (Animal Welfare Adjusted Real Time Environmental Conditions of Housing) project was to create and develop an innovative precision livestock tool able to support and reinforce the pig value chain, through management solutions based on real time monitoring, analysis and control of
environmental, physiological, behavioural and productive parameters. Indoor environmental data was measured (air temperature, relative humidity, velocity and gas concentration), registered and integrated in an environmental control system. The physiological data (pig surface temperature) was automatically collected by thermographic cameras. In order to monitor the animal’s behaviour, video
cameras and microphones were installed. An individual feeding machine was installed, allowing, through an RFID system, individual monitoring and control of the food supplied and ingested, the number and duration of visits and the animal’s weight. The AWARTECH Smart Sensing platform results from the integration of those data provided by the animals and of the environmental
conditions, in real time. The monitoring and control of these data through an algorithm, allowed to develop actuations orders directed, in real time, to the environmental control systems in order to create the conditions that promote animal welfare and maximise production efficiency.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z