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none ; 5 ; no ; Over the last decades, the reduction of the energy use in the building sector has become a topic of major investigation and policy development worldwide. Guidelines have been defined to drive governments and building construction stakeholders towards the retrofit of the existing building stock and to the construction of new high-performance buildings. However, availability of operational data is often limited, especially when it comes to high performance buildings in warm climates, although it is essential to define design approaches targeted to energy efficiency, to design smart energy grids and demand-response oriented energy programs. Buildings, such as living laboratories, may offer opportunities to implement and develop energy databases, to provide benchmarks and to study occupant behaviour under different operational conditions. The paper investigates the energy and thermal comfort performance of a residential building in the Mediterranean climate. The building, certified as Passivhaus and equipped with an advanced monitoring system, allows to test different control strategies, to study occupant behaviour and to provide real time operational data. In particular, the data analysis showed a positive energy balance on yearly basis, i.e. an energy use of 59.7 kWh/m2net/year vs. an on-site energy generation of 76.0 kWh/m2net/year. The energy breakdown highlighted, that energy uses related to user behaviour and comfort requests account for about 72% of the total energy use, confirming that occupant behaviour is one of the major drivers of the operational energy use (and the related services) in high performance buildings. ; none ; Causone F.; Tatti A.; Pietrobon M.; Zanghirella F.; Pagliano L. ; Causone, F.; Tatti, A.; Pietrobon, M.; Zanghirella, F.; Pagliano, L.

Over the last decades, the reduction of the energy use in the building sector has become a topic of major investigation and policy development worldwide. Guidelines have been defined to drive governments and building construction stakeholders towards the retrofit of the existing building stock and to the construction of new high-performance buildings. However, availability of operational data is often limited, especially when it comes to high performance buildings in warm climates, although it is essential to define design approaches targeted to energy efficiency, to design smart energy grids and demand-response oriented energy programs. Buildings, such as living laboratories, may offer opportunities to implement and develop energy databases, to provide benchmarks and to study occupant behaviour under different operational conditions. The paper investigates the energy and thermal comfort performance of a residential building in the Mediterranean climate. The building, certified as Passivhaus and equipped with an advanced monitoring system, allows to test different control strategies, to study occupant behaviour and to provide real time operational data. In particular, the data analysis showed a positive energy balance on yearly basis, i.e. an energy use of 59.7 kWh/m2net/year vs. an on-site energy generation of 76.0 kWh/m2net/year. The energy breakdown highlighted, that energy uses related to user behaviour and comfort requests account for about 72% of the total energy use, confirming that occupant behaviour is one of the major drivers of the operational energy use (and the related services) in high performance buildings.

5 Pags. The definitive version is available at: http://www.actahort.org/index.htm ; The importance of mango growing contrasts with the paucity of information on its reproductive biology. In this work, the reproductive biology of mango was studied in the subtropical conditions of the Southern Spanish Mediterranean coast, using the cultivars 'Osteen', 'Kensington', 'Kent' and 'Keitt'. In order to establish the appropriate developmental coordinates during the reproductive phase, phenology was studied from the start of the blooming season to fruit harvest. Also to detect the reasons behind the low fruit set in mango, pollen tube pathway and fertilization were analysed, using microscopy techniques. A good proportion of the flowers were male and dropped soon after anthesis. Pollen grains readily germinated, pollen tubes reached the base of the style within one day, penetrated the ovule through the nucellus and reached the embryo sac three days after pollination. Endosperm nuclei soon developed, but the embryo remained in a quiescent stage. A good proportion of the ovules degenerated at different stages of development. Temperature had an effect on pollen performance, and low temperatures hampered pollen germination. Finally, a compatibility assay was performed, showing no differences between self and cross pollen tube growth in the style. However a paternity analysis, with microsatellite markers, showed significant differences in outcrossing rate depending on the availability of pollinizer trees. ; V. Pérez thanks to Cabildo de La Palma-CSIC for a PhD grant. Support to this work was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)- European Regional Development Fund, European Union (AGL2010-15140 and AGL2012-40239 grants). ; Peer reviewed

While the problem of sedimentation slowly filling dams and reservoirs is innate to the structures, it is especially significant in Mediterranean climates that rely on reservoir storage to mitigate out-of-phase water availability and demand. Reservoirs and their impounding structures have significant impacts on in-stream and riparian ecosystems. Several preventative and mitigation measures have been designed by engineers to limit sediment accumulation and the ecological impacts of reservoirs. Dam removal has been documented to have significant environmental benefits for restoration of aquatic ecosystems and native fisheries but may also lead to eroded floodplains, impaired downstream habitat and loss of flood control capacity. The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) establishes goals and guidance designating "heavily modified water bodies" and achieving "good ecological potential," but definitions of these terms are not clearly defined. In addition, sediment management is not explicitly addressed in WFD guidance, thus contributing to limited guidance on how reservoir sedimentation should be managed in Mediterranean climates. As a European Union member state and a Mediterranean-climate country, surface water and reservoir management in Portugal is undergoing several changes through actions to achieve WFD goals. We examine how WFD management guidance for reservoirs and their ecological status is currently being considered throughout Europe and in Portugal specifically.

orcid:0000-0001-8628-0514 ; WOS: 000325182400014 ; Mediterranean-climate regions (med-regions) are global hotspots of endemism facing mounting environmental threats associated with human-related activities, including the ecological impacts associated with non-native species introductions. We review freshwater fish introductions across med-regions to evaluate the influences of non-native fishes on the biogeography of taxonomic and functional diversity. Our synthesis revealed that 136 freshwater fish species (26 families, 13 orders) have been introduced into med-regions globally. These introductions, and local extirpations, have increased taxonomic and functional faunal similarity among regions by an average of 7.5% (4.6-11.4%; Jaccard) and 7.2% (1.4-14.0%; Bray-Curtis), respectively. Faunal homogenisation was highest in Chile and the western Med Basin, whereas sw Cape and the Aegean Sea drainages showed slight differentiation (decrease in faunal similarity) over time. At present, fish faunas of different med-regions have widespread species in common (e.g. Gambusia holbrooki, Cyprinus carpio, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Carassius auratus, and Micropterus salmoides) which are typically large-bodied, non-migratory, have higher physiological tolerance, and display fast population growth rates. Our findings suggest that intentional and accidental introductions of freshwater fish have dissolved dispersal barriers and significantly changed the present-day biogeography of med-regions across the globe. Conservation challenges in med-regions include understanding the ecosystem consequences of non-native species introductions at macro-ecological scales. ; DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion BiologyDepartment of Science & Technology (India); David and Elaine Potter Foundation; Spanish Ministry of ScienceSpanish Government [CGL2009-12877-C02-01, Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065]; Czech Ministry of Culture [DKRVO2012, DKRVO 2013/14, 00023272]; Czech Ministry of Culture (National Museum) ; SMM acknowledges the financial support of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology and the David and Elaine Potter Foundation during his PhD studies. EGB acknowledges funding support from the Spanish Ministry of Science (projects CGL2009-12877-C02-01 and Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065). DLM acknowledges Dr Stephen Beatty (Murdoch University) for his work on the fishes of south-western Australia. RS. acknowledges support from the Czech Ministry of Culture (DKRVO2012 and DKRVO 2013/14, National Museum, 00023272). The authors thank Nicolas Poulet (ONEMA) for providing data on French Mediterranean river systems, Meta Povz and Predag Simonovic for providing data on Adriatic river systems, and Sergio Zerunian and Massimo Lorenzoni for providing data on Italian river systems.

Rammed earth is considered a very sustainable construction system due to its low embodied energy, long service life and high recyclability. However, authors found that there is a lack of experimental results at real scale regarding rammed earth thermal behaviour. For this reason, this paper is first focused on the characterization of two different types of earth in order to check the suitability of being used in rammed earth walls. After the characterization, two experimental cubicle-shape buildings were built in Barcelona and Puigverd de Lleida (Spain) in order to test the thermal behaviour of their walls in two different climatic conditions. Temperature profiles inside walls have been monitored using thermocouples and temperature profile of southern walls was analysed in free floating conditions during summer and winter periods of 2013. Results show that thermal amplitude from outside to inside temperatures are decreased by rammed earth walls, achieving constant temperatures in inner surface of southern walls. ; The work was partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER)), in collaboration with the City Hall of Puigverd de Lleida. The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2014 SGR 123). This project has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under Grant agreement Nº PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE) and from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 657466 (INPATH-TES). Barcelona cubicle has been conducted under the direction of the company Casa S-Low, with the collaboration of Luis Allepuz y Cristian Poza in their final degree project at EPSEB (UPC).

AbstractWhile the city of Barcelona is being held up worldwide as an example of a compact and sustainable urban settlement, its metropolitan region has been suburbanized with low‐density housing that, among other impacts, threatens the water supply system of the area. In this process of urbanization new landscapes of consumption — greening the city with non‐native natures — have been produced, requiring a higher use of water and other inputs. Starting with the drought events of 2008 in Metropolitan Barcelona, this article aims to develop an understanding of the production of the green city in a Mediterranean environment. Using urban political ecology, and extending our scope to cultural theories, we investigate the proliferation of Atlantic gardens in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. By broadening existing debates on suburban natures from a predominantly North American focus to other contexts, the article aims to offer a different view of the political, economic and cultural constructions of urban natures in order to facilitate the design of more equitable cities.RésuméLa ville de Barcelone est citée partout comme exemple d'implantation urbaine compacte et durable. En revanche, dans sa région métropolitaine, les banlieues se caractérisent par un habitat peu dense et, entre autres impacts, elles mettent en danger l'approvisionnement local en eau. Au cours de cette urbanisation, de nouveaux paysages de consommation ont été créés (avec des espaces verts composés de natures non locales), nécessitant davantage d'eau et d'autres apports. Partant des épisodes de sécheresse de 2008 dans la métropole de Barcelone, ce travail développe un concept de production de la 'ville verte' dans un environnement méditerranéen. En s'appuyant sur l'écologie politique urbaine et en étendant le champ d'investigation aux théories culturelles, il étudie la prolifération des jardins d'inspiration atlantique dans la région métropolitaine de Barcelone. Les débats existants sur les 'natures suburbaines' sont élargis pour passer d'un cadre nord‐américain prédominant à d'autres contextes, ce qui permet d'offrir une vision différente des interprétations politiques, économiques et culturelles des 'natures urbaines' afin de faciliter la conception de villes plus équitables.

We constructed a seasonal nitrogen (N) budget for the year 2008 in the Calapooia River Watershed (CRW), an agriculturally dominated tributary of the Willamette River (Oregon, U.S.) under Mediterranean climate. Synthetic fertilizer application to agricultural land (dominated by grass seed crops) was the source of 90% of total N input to the CRW. Over 70% of the stream N export occurred during the wet winter, the primary time of fertilization and precipitation, and the lowest export occurred in the dry summer. Averaging across all 58 tributary subwatersheds, 19% of annual N inputs were exported by streams, and 41% by crop harvest. Regression analysis of seasonal stream export showed that winter fertilization was associated with 60% of the spatial variation in winter stream export, and this fertilizer continued to affect N export in later seasons. Annual N inputs were highly correlated with crop harvest N (r(2)=0.98), however, seasonal dynamics in N inputs and losses produced relatively low overall nitrogen use efficiency (41%), suggesting that hydrologic factors may constrain improvements in nutrient management. The peak stream N export during fall and early winter creates challenges to reducing N losses to groundwater and surface waters. Construction of a seasonal N budget illustrated that the period of greatest N loss is disconnected from the period of greatest crop N uptake. Management practices that serve to reduce the N remaining in the system at the end of the growing season and prior to the fall and winter rains should be explored to reduce stream N export. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Abstract. ERA-40 reanalyses, and simulations from three regional climate models (RCMs) (ALADIN, LMDZ, and WRF) and from one statistical downscaling model (CDF-t) are used to evaluate the uncertainty in downscaling of wind, temperature, and rainfall cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) for eight stations in the French Mediterranean basin over 1991–2000. The uncertainty is quantified using the Cramer-von Mises score (CvM) to measure the "distance" between the simulated and observed CDFs. The ability of the three RCMs and CDF-t to simulate the "climate" variability is quantified with the explained variance, variance ratio and extreme occurrence. The study shows that despite their differences, the three RCMs display very similar performance. In terms of global distributions (i.e. CvM), all models perform better than ERA-40 for both seasons and variables. However, looking at variance criteria, RCMs are not always much better than ERA-40 reanalyses, whereas CDF-t produces accurate results when applied to ERA-40. In a second step, a combined statistical/dynamical downscaling approach has been used, consisting in applying CDF-t to the RCM outputs. It shows that CDF-t applied to the RCM outputs does not necessarily produce better results than those from CDF-t directly applied to ERA-40. It also shows that CDF-t applied to RCMs generally improves the downscaled CDFs and that the "additional" added value of CDF-t applied to the RCMs is independent of the performance of the RCMs in terms of CvM, explained variance, variance ratio and extreme occurrence.

The thermal insulation of buildings, intended as wrap feature which determines the dispersion of heat, the reference parameter is necessary to contain the thermal losses during the winter season. The transmittance of the opaque components, used as an indicator of the energy quality of a casing, together with the overall coefficient of dispersion, represents a proper descriptor of the behavior during the heating season. However, if a strong insulation in winter conditions brings only positive effects, the same cannot be said for the summer conditions. A high value of the insulation in the casing is convenient only when the gains free, either in the form of solar contribution that of endogenous heat, are controlled and restricted. From the national transposition of the 2002/91/CE legislation up to the 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings, performance values are set very restrictive transmittance of opaque surfaces that both of those transparent to the new buildings. The same does not happen for the thermophysical characteristics able to implement strategies for the control of solar radiation during the summer period, the fluctuations in external temperatures during the summer period. This article shows some experimental evidence of the effects on transmission rate and density of the opaque elements of the buildings carried out on a case study of a representative building of climate-Mediterranean summer: The study verify the results produced by increased insulation of the building envelope on energy performance of buildings during the summer through indicators such as temperature and energy consumption to maintain the same constant with respect to the prescribed values