Germination of broccoli seeds exposed to UV-C radiation (priming) for a 30-minute period and tolerance to water stress was evaluated. These findings suggest that the adverse effect of drought on the germination rate can be circumvented by seeds primed with a UV-C radiation at a wavelength of 254 nm during 30 min.
[EN] The state of accessibility for the disabled in Spain has undergone remarkable improvements in recent years due to the steps taken in agreement with the law 51/2003 of December 2 (LIONDAU). These improvements have had important impacts in urban environments, but this seems not to have been the case in rural areas in spite of the fact that their demographic weight is still considerable. Therefore, there is still a long way to go before all citizens with a disability could be granted sufficient participation in public and private spheres of life under the same conditions as all other citizens. In Spain there are 3 847 700 people with a disability, and 944 440 of them (24, 5%) live in rural communities. According to population projections to come, these figures are expected to increase. As the population ageing rate in rural communities is higher than that in urban areas, the number of disabled people will grow here in even greater proportion. Thus, the description of the state of accessibility for the disabled in these towns is necessary to propose measures aimed at the improvement of such conditions, as they are indispensable for the better living standards of such a large part of the population. Most of the existing papers and approaches as far as accessibility is concerned refer to urban environments. Thus, the following methodology proposes the selection of a certain number of parameters in accordance to the analysis of the existing legislation, the various standards of accessibility established by the law, and the study of the different types of functional impairment. These parameters will be used to compose a data collection sheet to examine the state of accessibility in any given municipality. In turn, such parameters will be grouped in the different fields of action considered in this paper. Data collection will allow us to assess accessibility parameters. This assessment will be also useful to decide on a rating scale for the accessibility features and fields of action under research. Thus, two ...
[EN] The use of biomass raw material from agricultural areas is a challenge for Ecuatorian government. However there is lack information about surveying systems and processing in its height and weather conditions. The objective of this work was to develop methods to quantify straw residues, easily applicable in corn areas of Guaranda (Ecuador), and model the drying process at different air conditions. Two dendrometric equations were obtained for predicting dry available biomass by stem and cultivated area respectively, from corn mean height and radius of the stem. High coefficients of determination were obtained (0.94 and 0.97 respectively). Straw chips with initial moisture content ranging from 70 to 80% with an average moisture content of 76.7% wet basis were dried until they reached constant moisture content. Traditional models used to describe the drying process of agricultural products were employed to fit the observed data of the drying process of straw corn chips. Among the tested models, the Midili, Page, and sigmoid model were those that best fit the observed data representing the drying process. The effective diffusion (Def) was determined by means of an analytical solution of Fick's second law. Effective moisture diffusivity values obtained at natural outdoor drying conditions were 2.443E-11 and 2.035E-10 m2/s, for the first and second falling periods, respectively. ; The participation of Dr. Sergio Perez and Dr. Zulay Nino-Ruiz in this work was possible by funding from the Ecuadorian Government by means of PROMETEO program, leaded by the Secretaria Nacional de Educacion Superior, Ciencia y Tecnologia (SENESCYT). ; Gaibor Chávez, J.; Pérez Pacheco, S.; Velázquez Martí, B.; Niño Ruiz, ZM.; Domínguez Narváez, V. (2016). Dendrometric characterization of corn cane residues and drying models in natural conditions in Bolivar Province (Ecuador). Renewable Energy. 86:745-750. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2015.09.009 ; S ; 745 ; 750 ; 86
[EN] The aim of this research was the determination of the best conditions for applying Bordeaux mixture for the control of gray mold or rot (Botrytis cinerea) in passion fruit (Passiflora ligularis Juss) grown in organic farming in the Andes. This disease is responsible for nearly 30% loss of production in the province of Tungurahua (Ecuador). To do this, three doses and four frequencies of application in two locations were evaluated. The locations were in the sectors El Galpón and Runtun which are cantons of Patate and Baños, respectively, in Ecuador. Therefore, each experimental unit was composed of 12 blocks (3 doses x 4 frequencies) together a control test with three plants each. In total, 78 plants were evaluated. The doses used were 5 g CuSO4/litre of water (D1), 10 g CuSO4/litre of water (D2), and 15 g CuSO4/litre of water (D3). The studied application frequencies were every 7 days (F1), every 14 days (F2), every 21 days (F3) and every 28 days (F4). From the first application of the treatment, the efficacy was evaluated every 15 days up to 90 days, also performing an economic analysis of the treatments. The evaluation of the effectiveness of each treatment was performed using an affection index, defined as the ratio number of affected organs (branches, leaves, flowers or fruits) and the number of total organs. It has been demonstrated that treatment with 0.5 kg of CuSO4 in 100 litres of water applied every 21 days gives good results for the control of gray mold. Complete removal of the Botrytis was achieved at 75 days after starting treatment. Treatments with higher dose level and the same frequency of application did not improve the results. ; The participation of Dr. Borja Velázquez Martí in this work was made possible by funding from the Ecuadorian Government by means of PROMETEO program leaded by the Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología (SENESCYT). ; Vega, J.; Escobar, B.; Velázquez Martí, B. (2013). Application of Bordeaux mixture for Botrytis control in passion fruit ...
[EN] This study evaluates the technology and work systems used in order to harvest residual biomass from pruning in the specific conditions of Mediterranean fruit orchards (narrow distances between crop-rows). Harvesting has been divided into several types of operations pruning, biomass alignment between crop tracks, biomass concentration in piles, chipping and bundling - which have been analyzed in five Mediterranean cultivations for three years. Altogether, three types of pruning have been analyzed: Manual, previous mechanical followed by manual, and fully mechanical; Two types of alignment: Manual and mechanical; Three concentration systems: Manual, tractor with a rake and a forwarder; Four chipping work organization systems: chipper driven inside orchard and manually fed by operators, mobile chipper driven inside orchard with pick-up header, mobile chipper fed by means of mechanical crane, chipper mounted on a truck fed by means of mechanical crane, which was working in a fixed position in a border of the plot after wood concentration. Also two bundling organization systems were checked: bundler machine working in a fixed position after wood concentration and working inside the plot driven among the crops. Previous concentration of the materials was the best alternative for their chipping or bundling in the studied conditions. Regression models have been calculated to predict the time of work of machinery and labor for each alternative. These equations were used to implement logistic planning as the Borvemar model, which defines a logistics network for supplying bio-energy systems. ; The research shown in this paper was developed by the project AGL2007-62328 funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain, and FEDER funds of European Union. ; Velázquez Martí, B.; Fernández-González, E.; Callejón-Ferre, ÁJ.; Estornell Cremades, J. (2012). Mechanized methods for harvesting residual biomass from Mediterranean fruit tree cultivations. Scientia Agricola. 69(3):180-188. ...
[EN] In this work, a new approach to evaluating the amount of residual biomass obtained from orange trees based on normalization of variables is proposed for Bolivar province, Ecuador. So far, several models to quantify the amount of residues obtained from pruning have been proposed from dendrometric and cultivation variables, such as height, crown diameter, stem diameter, area per plant, yield, and age. However, the high dispersion of their values, caused by uncontrolled conditions, gave models with a low-medium coeffi cient of determination. The aim of this work has been to develop several models in order to predict wet available biomass using dimensionless dendrometric parameters from height, diameter and height of the crown, and the stem height. They improved the coeffi cients of determination to 0.94 for the global mathematical model. The drying process of pruned materials has also been analyzed. Residual biomass with 50% initial moisture content was dried outdoors on cement and agricultural soil until it reached constant moisture content. Models used to describe the drying process of agricultural products were employed to fi t the observed data of the drying process of orange tree chips. Among the tested models, the Midili and Page models were those that best fi tted the observed data in the drying process. The information offered by these equations is of vital importance because they help estimate the amount of biomass that is generated in a given area, and the implementation geographic information system (GIS) maps. In addition, logistic algorithms can be applied. ; This research work has been carried out within the cooperation frame funded by the ADSIDEO program of Centro de Cooperacion al Desarrollo (CCD) of Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain), in collaboration with the Centro de Estudios de la Biomasa (CEB), Universidad Estatal de Bolivar, Guaranda, Ecuador. The participation of Dr Sergio Perez in this work was possible by funding from the Ecuadorian government by means of PROMETEO program, ...
The final publication is available at link.springer.com ; [EN] The objective of the study was to evaluate the use of a robot gripper in the assessment of mango (cv. BOsteen^) firmness as well as to establish relationships between the nondestructive robot gripper measurements with embedded accelerometers in the fingers and the ripeness of mango fruit. Intact mango fruit was handled and manipulated by the robot gripper, and the major physicochemical properties related with their ripening index were analyzed. Partial least square regression models (PLS) were developed to explain these properties according to the variables extracted from the accelerometer signals. Correlation coefficients of 0.925, 0.892, 0.893, and 0.937 with a root-mean-square error of prediction of 2.524 N/ mm, 1.579 °Brix, 3.187, and 0.517, were obtained for the prediction of fruit mechanical firmness, total soluble solids, flesh luminosity, and ripening index, respectively. This research showed that it is possible to assess mango firmness and ripeness during handling with a robot gripper. ; The authors thanks MANI-DACSA projects (ref. RTA2012-00062-C04-02 and RTA2012-00062-C04-03), Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad), AICO/2015/122 project, Conselleria de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte, Generalitat Valenciana and PAID-05-11-2745 project, Vicerectorat d'Investigacio, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. Victoria Cortes thanks Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte for a FPU grant (FPU13/04202). ; Blanes Campos, C.; Cortés López, V.; Ortiz Sánchez, MC.; Mellado Arteche, M.; Talens Oliag, P. (2015). Non-Destructive Assessment of Mango Firmness and Ripeness Using a Robotic Gripper. Food and Bioprocess Technology. 8(9):1914-1924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-015-1548-2 ; S ; 1914 ; 1924 ; 8 ; 9 ; Abdi, H. (2010). Partial least squares regression and projection on latent structure regression (PLS regression). Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics, 2(1), 97–106. ; Bandyopadhyaya I., Babu D., ...
[EN] The lack of management and economic value of forest ecosystems in Mediterranean areas, mainly dominated by pines (Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus pinaster Ait.), together with a continuous growing of forests on marginal agricultural land have leaded to an increased forest fire risk and devaluation of natural resources in less favoured rural regions. The use of residual forest-based biomass as value added biofuels like pellets can reverse this situation. Nevertheless, there is an industrial need of knowledge of the influence of raw material composition on pellet manufacturing quality for the main Mediterranean softwood species. In this research influencing pellet quality variables such as contents of moisture, ash, fine particles, chlorine and sulphate, but also mechanical durability, bulk density and net calorific value have been analysed following EN standards. The obtained results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain high quality pellets from barked and debarked logs as well as from branches from P. halepensis and P. pinaster. This implies that the abundant forest biomass residues in the western Mediterranean region of Europe can be transformed into high added value solid biofuels, opening new opportunities for local industries. ; This work was supported by Moixent Forestal company, the Municipality of Enguera and AIDIMA Wood, Furniture and Packaging Technology Institute, which have allowed and facilitated raw materials, pelletization and analysis in the biomass pilot plant. This study has been partly funded by the Government of Valencia (IVACE) in the framework of the BIOPELLET project. ; Lerma Arce, V.; Oliver Villanueva, JV.; Segura Orenga, G. (2017). Influence of raw material composition of Mediterranean pinewood on pellet quality. Biomass and Bioenergy. 99:90-96. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.02.018 ; S ; 90 ; 96 ; 99
[SPA] La agricultura es el mayor consumidor de agua en el mundo, y ante la creciente demanda del uso público e industrial, el uso de eficiente del agua en el riego es una necesidad que va cobrando mayor relevancia. En regiones áridas y semiáridas donde el agua es escasa, tal es el caso del sureste español, la implementación de las tecnologías ha permitido hacer un mejor manejo y gestión del agua. Las herramientas de precisión, como lo son los lisímetros de pesada, proporcionan información en tiempo real, por lo cual, es posible hacer una caracterización y definición del comportamiento de los parámetros involucrados en el movimiento del agua en el suelo, del desarrollo vegetativo del cultivo y el estado hídrico del cultivo. En esta Tesis, dos enfoques para la medición de la velocidad de infiltración del agua en el suelo fueron propuestos a partir de los valores de masa reportados por los dos recipientes de un lisímetro de pesada, datos obtenidos bajo distintas condiciones de lluvia y diferentes contenidos de humedad en el suelo. Además, la evapotranspiración y los coeficientes de desarrollo vegetativo del pimiento (Capsicum annuum L) fueron determinados durante la temporada primavera verano de los años 2019 y 2020. Ambas investigaciones realizadas para ayudar en el uso eficiente del agua en la agricultura en climas semiáridos y con escases de agua generalizada. Usualmente, la infiltración del agua en el suelo es medida en campo mediante pruebas que requieren el uso de los cilindros concéntricos, sin embargo, estos dispositivos son propensos a errores ya que existe unmovimiento lateral del agua bajo el anillo. En las últimas décadas se han desarrollado varias posibilidades para compensar estos errores, que se basan en principios físicos, electrónicos y matemáticos. Así que la primera línea de actuación de esta Tesis fue centrada en el desarrollo de dos enfoques que permitan la determinación de la velocidad de infiltración del agua en un suelo franco limoso, usando los datos de masa reportados por un lisímetro de pesada. Partiendo del hecho de que con el lisímetro de pesada la determinación de los flujos actuantes en el suelo es más precisa, como se han demostrado con la evapotranspiración y el drenaje. Fue asumido un movimiento vertical descendente del agua en el suelo y con ayuda de la ley de conservación de la masa, 12 eventos de lluvia fueron analizados. Se ha monitoreado el comportamiento del contenido de humedad del suelo y se estableció el contenido a capacidad de campo a partir de los valores del lisímetro de pesada en el que ambos enfoques son basados. La velocidad de infiltración de estos eventos mostró una velocidad variable al comienzo de la lluvia hasta alcanzar un máximo, para descender a una velocidad estable o básica. Esta velocidad de infiltración básica fue de 1.49 ±0.36 mm·h-1, una velocidad dentro del rango de los suelos con texturas finas que reportan una baja capacidad de infiltración. Cuatro modelos empíricos o semiempíricos de infiltración de la literatura fueron calibrados con los valores obtenidos con nuestros enfoques, mostrando un mejor ajuste el modelo de Horton. La Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO) ofrece coeficientes normalizados de diferentes cultivos para establecer las necesidades de hídricas de los mismos. Sin embargo, estos coeficientes pueden no representar las condiciones climatológicas, edafológicas, prácticas de cultivo del lugar donde se realiza la siembra. Por lo que, en la segunda línea de actuación de esta Tesis, la evapotranspiración ETCLYS y los coeficientes de cultivo KClys del pimiento fueron determinados con un lisímetro de pesada compacto para el clima Mediterráneo español, de la temporada primavera–verano entre los meses de febrero y agosto de los años 2019 y 2020. ETCLYS fue determinada a partir de un balance de agua con los valores de masa del lisímetro y los valores de KClys se determinaron como la relación entre la evapotranspiración del cultivo medida con el lisímetro de pesada y la evapotranspiración de referencia. Los valores medios de KClys para el pimiento para las etapas inicial, media y final fueron 0.57, 1.06 y 0.80, respectivamente. Se obtuvieron modelos de regresión de KC en función de las unidades térmicas fraccionales, logrando una correlación máxima de 0.67 (R2). En general, los valores de KC obtenidos en este trabajo de investigación fueron menores en las etapas inicial y final y mayores en la etapa intermedia, en comparación con los valores de FAO-56 y con los valores de otros países con condiciones semiáridas. El rendimiento del pimiento aumentó un 7.72% en 2019 y un 3.49% en 2020 en comparación con el rendimiento reportado por el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino del Gobierno español en 2019, con pérdidas mínimas de agua por drenaje. Los resultados de este trabajo pueden ayudar a los agricultores a determinar las necesidades de agua de sus cultivos y a mejorar la eficiencia del agua en lugares semiáridos con condiciones similares a las del estudio. ; [ENG] Agriculture is the biggest consumer of the global water supplies, competing for the resource with the growing demand for public and industrial use. It is essential to implement technologies that help the better water management in irrigation; this gained relevance in arid and semi-arid regions where water is scarce, such as the southeast of Spain. Precision tools, such as weighing lysimeters, provide real time information for the characterization and definition of the behavior of the parameters involved in the vegetative development, the water status of crops and water movement in the soil, making efficient use of the vital liquid. In this Thesis, two approaches were proposed to measure the water infiltration rate of the soil using the mass values reported by the two lysimeter vessels under different rain conditions and different soil moisture contents. In addition, the evapotranspiration and vegetative development coefficients of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L) were determined during the spring-summer season of 2019 and 2020, Both investigations were conducted in the southeast of Spain in the regions of Murcia and Albacete, to contribute to the water efficiency in agriculture in semi-arid climates and widespread shortages of water. Usually, the infiltration estimation is made by tests with the concentric cylinders, which are prone to errors due to the lateral movement under the ring. Several possibilities have been developed over the last decades to compensate these errors, which are based on physical, electronic and mathematical principles. So, the first action line of this Thesis was focused on the development of two approaches to determine the infiltration rate/speed in a silt loam soil by means mass values reported by a weighing lysimeter. Because with the lysimeter it is possible to determine acting soil flows very precisely; then with the help of mass conservation and assuming a downward vertical movement, 12 rain events were analyzed. In addition, it was possible to monitor the behavior of soil moisture and to establish the content at field capacity from the values of the weighing lysimeter, from which both approaches are based. The infiltration rate of these events showed a variable rate at the beginning of the rainfall until reaching a maximum, to descend to a stable or basic rate. This basic infiltration rate was of 1.49 ±0.36 mm·h-1, this is because soils with fine textures have reported low infiltration capacity. Four empirical or semi-empirical models of infiltration were calibrated with the values obtained with our approaches, showing a better fit with the Horton's model. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers standardized crop coefficients to establish the water requirement of crops. However, these coefficients can change due to different conditions, such as climatic variations and cultivation practices. So, in the second action line of this Thesis, the actual evapotranspiration (ETClys) and crop coefficients (KClys) of bell pepper were determined with a compact removable weighing lysimeter between February and August for two crop seasons 2019 and 2020 for the Spanish Mediterranean. ETClys was determined from the water balance, and the KClys values were determined as the ratio of the actual evapotranspiration, measured on the removable weighing lysimeter, and the reference evapotranspiration. The average values of KClys for the bell pepper for the initial, middle, and final stages were 0.57, 1.06, and 0.80, respectively. KC regression models were obtained as a function of the fraction thermal units, achieving a maximum correlation of 0.67 (R2). In general, the KC values obtained in this research work were lower in the initial and end stages and larger in the middle stage compared to the FAO-56 values and to values in other countries with semiarid conditions. The bell pepper yield increased by 7.72% in 2019 and by 3.49% in 2020 compared to the yield reported by the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Areas of the Spanish Government in 2019 and with minimal water loss through drainage. The results in this work can help farmers to determine the crop water requirements and to improve system efficiency in semiarid locations with conditions like those of the study. ; Escuela Internacional de Doctorado de la Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena ; Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena ; Programa de Doctorado en Técnicas Avanzadas en Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario
[EN] During the application of pesticides in tree crops with airblast sprayer only a fraction reaches vegetation, while the rest is lost in the atmosphere, soil or surface waters or evaporates quickly. These losses pose a risk to the environment and people. Growing environmental awareness in society and his concern for preserving the health of people and animals have stimulated important legislative actions that promote the improvement of the efficiency of the application of pesticides and reducing the risks associated with their use. The first step to achieve this goal is to quantify the amount of spray volume reaching each substrate (vegetation, soil and atmosphere). To quantify the losses, deposition or the mass balance applications have used different experimental methods carried out under field conditions. However, these tests are very expensive and time consuming. Also, when performed abroad, it is very difficult to control all the factors that influence the distribution of the spray and they are virtually impossible to reproduce. These limitations have prompted the development of physical-mathematical models to simulate the behavior of droplets during applications. The numerical approximation by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be a good choice The aim of this thesis was to design a first CFD model to simulate the overall behavior during treatments in citrus tree with airblast sprayer in Mediterranean conditions. First, an experiment was conducted to describe the actual air flow from airblast sprayer fan facing up to the top of an orange tree. It was noted there were two vortexes, one on top and another behind the tree. No such structures have been described in other tree crops. High foliage density produces flow separation and this is the reason for the turbulent structures. Then we proceeded to model the problem by assuming that the tree facing the current fan behaved like a solid. 12 CFD 2D-models were generated to reproduce the behavior of air against the tree, resulting from the combination of ...
[EN] We propose, based on the case study "the irrigation of the Royal Acequia of Moncada (RAM)" the most important one of the "huertas" surrounding Valencia, to focus on: the process of growth in irrigated area over time, the use of water resources and the role played by political and economic elites in leading the process. The human impact on the current irrigation RAM area would go back to the beginning of the Roman colonial presence in the second century BC and the founding of the city of Valencia, with rainfed crops based on the typical Mediterranean within a parcel division based on the typical Roman land although it left few traces on the territory. From the eighth century, the consolidation of a new social group formed by Arabized Berber Islamic clans will be a commitment to a change in the model farm. With irrigation they will seek to overcome limited climate and provide more consistent production for the dietary needs of the new ethno-social group. The first option of these clans would be the use of water resources from natural springs and around them the settlement process would begin with farms as productive core housing-mark which will be the preeminent form of occupation and territorial organization for several centuries. A space that would combine the presence set of spaces inhabited and cultivated with intermediate spaces dedicated to preservation, supply of raw materials and grazing. The second option would start in the late tenth century with the construction of the bypass channel of Turia river. It was an entirely designed and built channel with successive derivations where water would get continuous and proportional to each of the farmhouses exits. The third option, up to date, started in the thirteenth century after the process of military conquest, colonization and feudalization by the Catalan-Aragonese Christian Crown and opted for continuing increasing the social option of irrigated agriculture. Space with a concentration of housing that will decrease in number and increase in size will be ...
The policies that define the use and management of wetlands in Spain have undergone tremendous changes in recent decades. During the period of 1950 1980, Land Reform Plans promoted filling and draining of these areas for agricultural use. In 1986, with the incorporation of Spain to the European Union (EU), there was a sudden change of direction in these policies, which, thereafter, pursued restoring and protecting these ecosystems. This change, combined with increasing urban development and infrastructure pressures (e.g., roads, golf courses, etc.), creates a conflict of uses which complicates the management of these ecosystems by local governments. This study analyzes the effectiveness of policies and management tools of important coastal wetlands at the local scale in the Valencian Community (Western Mediterranean Sea) using a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) methodology. A supra-municipal model of environmental planning is proposed to enable consistent management at a regional scale. This model enhances local government s effectiveness and it can be applied in other areas with similar problems. ; Sebastiá-Frasquet, M.; Altur Grau, VJ.; Sanchís Blay, JA. (2014). Wetland Planning: Current Problems and Environmental Management Proposals at Supra-Municipal Scale (Spanish Mediterranean Coast). Water. 6(3):620-641. doi:10.3390/w6030620 ; S ; 620 ; 641 ; 6 ; 3 ; Myers, S. C., Clarkson, B. R., Reeves, P. N., & Clarkson, B. D. (2013). Wetland management in New Zealand: Are current approaches and policies sustaining wetland ecosystems in agricultural landscapes? Ecological Engineering, 56, 107-120. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.12.097 ; Maltby, E., Acreman, M., Blackwell, M. S. A., Everard, M., & Morris, J. (2013). The challenges and implications of linking wetland science to policy in agricultural landscapes – experience from the UK National Ecosystem Assessment. Ecological Engineering, 56, 121-133. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.12.086 ; Sebastiá, M.-T., Rodilla, M., Sanchis, J.-A., Altur, V., ...
A pneumatic robot gripper capable of sorting eggplants according to their firmness has been developed and tested. The gripper has three fingers and one suction cup. Each finger has an inertial sensor attached to it. One of the fingers adapts to and copies the shapes of eggplants when the jamming of its internal granular material changes from soft to hard. The other fingers adapt to the shape of the eggplant with the use of extra degrees of freedom. Specific software acquires and processes the information obtained with the inertial sensors and generates 16 independent variables extracted from the signals. A total of 234 eggplants were selected and tested on the same day with the robot gripper, during the pick-and-place operation, and with a destructive firmness tester. The non-destructive parameters extracted from the gripper finger accelerometers were used to build and validate a partial least square model, with a calibration regression coefficient of r = 0.87 and a high prediction performance (r = 0.90). Furthermore, from the results of the paper, it has been seen that the procedure can be simplified by using only two non-destructive impacts and one uniaxial accelerometer to assess eggplant firmness. The non-destructive assessment of firmness while grasping agricultural products in pick-and-place operations could be implemented in many prehensile pneumatic robot grippers. This technique could mean an important advance in the hygienic postharvest handling of fruits and vegetables. ; This research is supported by MANI-DACSA project (Ref. RTA2012-00062-C04-02), partially funded by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad). ; Blanes Campos, C.; Ortiz Sánchez, MC.; Mellado Arteche, M.; Beltrán Beltrán, P. (2015). Assessment of eggplant firmness with accelerometers on a pneumatic robot gripper. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 113:44-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2015.01.013 ; S ; 44 ; 50 ; 113
[EN] In Europe, more than 70% of the population lives in an urban area. All the challenges related to land use conflicts, demographic changes, climate resilience and human well-being are concentrated inside the cities, since the population is already living in urban areas, which are more and more compact and dependent on grey infrastructure. In this context, urban green infrastructure represents a sustainable solution to maintain the benefits and services provided by urban ecosystems and an efficient urban planning tool to face the urban challenges. The sustainability of our cities can be reached adopting an innovative vision using the concept of ecosystem services of the urban green infrastructure. Different initiatives to assess the benefits provided by green infrastructure have emerged in the last decade. However, very few take into account the whole range of services provided by urban green infrastructure. The present article provides a systematic search and synthesis of the most important literature to review indicators of urban green infrastructure. The main goal is to give an insight of how urban green infrastructure is measured in practice. Results show the set of ecosystem services that are being considered when assessing sustainability of green infrastructure and identify the most recurrent indicators at the different scales. This work is expected to contribute to the improvement of the evaluation of green infrastructure effectiveness for providing benefits for urban dwellers. ; This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the project Green Cities For Climate and Water Resilience, Sustainable Economic Growth, Healthy Citizens and Environments with reference 730283. ; Tudorie, CM.; Gielen, E.; Vallés-Planells, M.; Galiana, F. (2019). Urban green indicators: a tool to estimate the sustainability of our cities. International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics. 14(1):19-29. https://doi.org/10.2495/DNE-V14-N1-19-29 ; S ; 19 ; 29 ; 14 ; 1
[EN] The effective definition of public intervention goals and resource allocation for natural resource management requires decision makers to understand the monetary values of the full range of goods and services provided by landscapes, in other words, their Total Economic Value (TEV). Aesthetic enjoyment (AE) can be considered as part of such TEV of landscapes. For the estimation of the economic value of AE in Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain), this paper applies the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM). It is a combination of two established techniques: analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and discount cash flow (DCF). The economic value of non-market benefits under AMUVAM is obtained indirectly, by comparing the relative degrees of importance attached to the different components of TEV. In this way, not only does it estimate a monetary value of AE but also its importance relative to TEV. Results express that AE represents 7% of the TEV in Albufera Natural Park and 24% of the EV in Albufera Natural Park ( 176 million). Results reveal distinct patterns in the valuation of TEV and existence value (EV). In this way, together with the average, a range of values which show the different sensitivities of society is provided. The comparison of the TEV obtained for Albufera Natural Park with previous studies conducted on wetlands suggests its similarity in scale. ; Estruch-Guitart, V.; Vallés-Planells, M. (2017). The economic value of landscape aesthetics in Albufera natural park through the analytic multicriteria valuation method. International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics. 12(3):281-302. doi:10.2495/DNE-V12-N3-281-302 ; S ; 281 ; 302 ; 12 ; 3
