Distribution and prediction of biocrusts under the canopy of typical vascular plants on the Loess Plateau, Northwest China.

Vascular plants exert significant effects on micro-environment, thereby affecting the distribution of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). The relationship between vascular plants and the spatial distribution characteristics of biocrusts is largely unknown. We investigated the distribution characteristics of biocrusts under the canopy of vascular plants in the water-wind erosion crisscross area of the Loess Plateau, where larger areas of biocrusts had been formed since the implantation of "Grain for Green" project.

Co-applying biochar and manganese ore can improve the formation and stability of humic acid during co-composting of sewage sludge and corn straw.

This study examined the effects of corn straw biochar (CSB) and manganese ore (MO) on the abiotic formation and stability of humic acid (HA) during sewage sludge composting. Co-applying CSB and MO (106%) induced a higher increase in HA content of final compost product than those of no or single applications (32.6-85.

Radio frequency heating of green peas (Pisum sativum L.): The improvement of heating uniformity and its dry blanching effect.

A radio frequency (RF) heating system was used to process green peas and a rotating system was introduced to improve heating rate and heating uniformity. Results revealed that rotation treatment accelerated heating rate effectively and improved heating uniformity index significantly (p < 0.05) from 0.

Blanching effects of radio frequency heating on enzyme inactivation, physiochemical properties of green peas (Pisum sativum L.) and the underlying mechanism in relation to cellular microstructure.

Fresh green peas require blanching to terminate enzymatic reaction induced quality deterioration before frozen storage. Radio frequency (RF) heating is a novel way of dry blanching for fruits and vegetables with high processing efficiency. In this study, blanching effects of RF heating on relative activities of lipoxygenase (LOX) and peroxidase (POD), physiochemical properties as well as cellular morphology changes of green peas were investigated.