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This policy brief introduces preliminary research results of the
Build4People project, funded by the German government as part
of the multi-phase focus programme “Sustainable Development
of Urban Regions”. Furthermore, the research agenda of the
upcoming main four-year Research and Development phase (RD
phase) will be introduced based on insights gained in previous
shorter funding periods. The Build4People research consortium
consists of representatives from four German universities and two
German companies with their respective research, implementation and dissemination partners in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Build4People’s rationale is based on Phnom Penh‘s dynamic
economic growth, which is coupled with a local urbanisation and
construction boom. However, new buildings and neighbourhoods
are rarely constructed in a sustainable way with direct and
indirect negative environmental impacts. Issues of sustainability
are hardly addressed by decision-makers in the construction
sector, related ministries, city administrations or building users.
The overall aim of the multi- and trans-disciplinary Build4People
project during the RD phase is to support and analyse the
transformative shift in Phnom Penh’s current business-as-usual
urban development pathway towards a pathway with higher
sustainability and liveability levels. The entry points for the
research are the building and neighbourhood planning sectors.
Methods, tools and key instruments to achieve the objectives of
the RD phase are collaborative planning workshops, strategic
niche management approaches, transition management approaches and subsequent experimental implementation. All of these measures will generate applied knowledge for local stakeholders and a basis for evidence-based decision-making.
Urban quality of life as a people-driven approach serves as the
integrating link for all of our scientific, conceptional, analytical
and normative dimensions. During our research, we will jointly
conceptualize, measure and model urban quality of life and
consider its political dimension and its often-ambiguous
relationship to sustainability.
Biodiversity loss is an important topic considering climate change, global warming, and even the reasoning of current and future animal-related diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban biodiversity is also important because of the ecosystem services they provide, restorative benefits for well-being, and physical health of the people who live in urban areas. Each city has its own strategies to cope with this issue, and these strategies do not function without the contribution of habitants of the cities. We developed an index (BBS) of the existing possibilities to support urban biodiversity in Berlin to measure the awareness and willingness of the Berliners to participate and support urban biodiversity. A survey was conducted in a face-to-face situation in four districts of Berlin with 431 urban residents, measuring preference for three different levels of biodiversity, connectedness to residential greenspace, neighborhood and city, nature relatedness, and willingness in participatory actions around greenspace. The results show that the high biodiversity condition in a photo scenario was preferred by most residents, indicating the appreciation for urban biodiversity. The connectedness to the residential greenspace was high (and higher than the connectedness to neighborhood and city), showing large potential for quality of life. While the overall willingness to participate in actions to support urban greenspace was rather high, our index shows substantial differences in activities, which are perceived more or less. This is a key result for urban park management to increase urban biodiversity participation processes.
Im Rahmen eines vom Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN) mit Mitteln des Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMU) geförderten Erprobungs- und Entwicklungs-(E+E-)Vorhabens „Naturerfahrungsräume in Großstädten am Beispiel Berlin“ wurde in
einer viereinhalbjährigen Begleituntersuchung die Neueinrichtung von Naturerfahrungsräumen (NER) in Berlin wissenschaftlich untersucht.
Das zu Grunde gelegte Konzept der NER für Großstädte in Deutschland knüpft an die Vorarbeiten von Schemel & Wilke (2008) und Stopka & Rank (2013) an. Gegenstand der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung sind die neu eingerichteten Berliner NER „Wilde Welt“ am Spieroweg in Spandau, an der Moorwiese in Pankow und auf dem Kienberg in Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Alle drei untersuchten NER haben einen räumlichen Bezug zu Großwohnsiedlungen. Sie variieren sowohl in ihrer Größe (von 0,54 ha bis 1,58 ha) als auch in ihrer Vegetationsausstattung. Weiterentwicklungen des Konzeptes sind eine Anbindung der Pilotflächen an Einrichtungen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe sowie die Beschäftigung von Kümmer(er)*innen. Darüber hinaus wurden Erfahrungen in der Einrichtung und im Betrieb bisheriger NER in ganz Deutschland ausgewertet.
Ziel der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung war es, in einem interdisziplinären Ansatz einerseits das Spielverhalten von Kindern in NER sowie die Akzeptanz dieser Räume zu untersuchen.
Andererseits ging es darum, die gesetzlichen und institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen, die für die Einrichtung und den Betrieb der NER förderlich oder hemmend wirken, zu analysieren.
Drittens sollte der Zusammenhang zwischen dem Spielverhalten der Kinder und der Entwicklung von Flora, Vegetation und Fauna auf diesen Flächen untersucht werden, um hieraus Rückschlüsse auf die Größe und Ausstattung von NER und auf die Notwendigkeit pflegerischer Eingriffe ziehen zu können.
In der Begleituntersuchung wurden die drei Arbeitsbereiche Lebensqualität (Spielverhalten, Gesundheitsvorsorge, (pädagogische) Begleitung durch Kümmer(er)*innen, Akzeptanz, Partizipation), Planungsqualität (gesetzliche Rahmenbedingungen, Betreiber*innen-Modelle, Flächengestaltung, Sicherheit und Haftung) und ökologische Qualität (Entwicklung von Flora, Vegetation und Fauna, Nutzungsspuren und Flächenentwicklung, Flächenpflege) unterschieden.
Entsprechend des Umfangs des Untersuchungsgegenstandes kam eine Vielzahl von Erhebungsmethoden zum Einsatz. Für den Bereich Lebensqualität war die Beobachtung des Spielverhaltens von Kindern ein wesentlicher methodischer Baustein. Darüber hinaus wurden Interviews mit relevanten Akteur*innen (Kümmer(er)*innen, Pädagog*innen, Kinder und Eltern) dieses Bereiches geführt.
Im Bereich der Planungsqualität sind mithilfe von Expert*inneninterviews Erkenntnisse über hemmende und fördernde Bedingungen in der Einrichtung und im Betrieb der NER gewonnen
worden. Zusätzlich wurde eine mit der Materie vertraute Anwaltskanzlei hinzugezogen, die den Stand des Wissens zur Bedeutung der Verkehrssicherungspflicht und zu den Möglichkeiten der planungsrechtlichen Verankerung von NER zusammenfassend darstellte.
Für den Bereich der ökologischen Qualität sind in den NER Flora (Gefäßpflanzenarten), Biotoptypen, Vegetationsstruktur und aussagekräftige Tiergruppen (Avifauna, Tagfalter und tag-
aktive Nachtfalter, Heuschrecken und Grillen) über einen Zeitraum von vier Jahren untersucht worden. Die Dokumentation von Trampelpfaden und eine Fotodokumentation des Zustands der Vegetationsentwicklung über die Jahre stellten einen weiteren methodischen Baustein dar.
Im Ergebnis zeigte sich, dass das Spielverhalten von Kindern auf NER wesentlich vielfältiger ist als auf herkömmlichen Kinderspielplätzen. Gerade die natürliche Ausstattung der NER und damit verbunden der Aufforderungscharakter der unterschiedlichen natürlichen Elemente führt zu einem komplexeren Spielverhalten, die Kreativität und Fantasie der Kinder wird gefördert.
Kinder machen nicht nur wichtige und vielfältige Naturerfahrungen, sie werden auch in ihrem Sozialverhalten positiv unterstützt. So profitieren gerade Kinder, die in einer Großstadt aufwachsen, wenig Zugang zur Natur haben und stärker unter dem Natur-Entfremdungssyndrom
leiden, von dem Besuch eines NER. Der Aufenthalt in natürlicher Umwelt wirkt sich auch positiv auf Gesundheitsaspekte aus, beispielsweise auf Selbstwirksamkeit, Wohlbefinden, Verantwortungsgefühl und Erholung.
Herauszustellen ist die Bedeutung des/der Kümmer(ers)*in für den erfolgreichen Betrieb eines NER. Dieser/Diese Kümmer(er)*in ist Ansprechperson für Kinder aber auch für pädagogische Fachkräfte, Eltern und die Nachbarschaft. Zudem sorgt er/sie für die Sicherheit und Sauberkeit im NER und beteiligt die Kinder bei der Pflege und dem Unterhalt im NER.
Viele Eltern unterstützen grundsätzlich den Besuch ihres Kindes in einem NER. Die Akzeptanz der Eltern hinsichtlich des Aufenthaltes der Kinder im NER ist besonders groß, wenn die Kinder bei der Planung und Einrichtung des NER beteiligt waren.
In Hinblick auf die planungsrechtliche Entwicklung ist es bedeutsam, dass neben der Einführung des NER im Bundesnaturschutzgesetz im Jahre 2009 nunmehr auch die Bestrebung besteht, den Begriff im Baugesetzbuch zu verankern. NER sollten als wichtige Bestandteile eines
städtischen Grünflächensystems gerade auch in hoch verdichteten Stadträumen in den Flächennutzungs- und Bebauungsplänen der Kommunen rechtssicher festgesetzt werden können. Vorbildhaft zeigen sich außerhalb Berlins 14 weitere Groß- und Mittelstädte, in denen
bereits NER oder dem Konzept entsprechende Flächen eingerichtet werden konnten. Einige andere deutsche Kommunen haben bereits von dem Konzept gehört und planen selbst die Einrichtung solcher Flächen. Diese Bestrebungen sind zu unterstützen.
Unsicherheiten in der Einschätzung der Verkehrssicherungspflicht für NER halten offenbar immer noch viele Kommunen davon ab, NER einzurichten und zu betreiben. Hierauf deuten Aussagen von Kommunalvertretern hin. Ein aktives Sicherheitsmanagement, das bereits in der Planung und Gestaltung der Flächen ansetzt, kann die Risiken für den/die Flächenbetreiber*in auf ein Minimum beschränken. Auch hier, das haben die Aussagen der Betreiber*innen von NER gezeigt, ist die institutionelle Verankerung eines/einer Kümmer(ers)*in und die vertrauensvolle Kooperation zwischen Flächeneigentümer*in, Flächenbetreibenden und für die Pflege Verantwortlichen für ein erfolgreiches Sicherheitsmanagement wesentlich.
Die ökologische Begleituntersuchung zeigte, dass die als Pilotflächen ausgewählten NER eine artenreiche Flora und Fauna aufweisen. Positiv für eine hohe Artenvielfalt der betrachteten Artengruppen ist eine Mischung aus unterschiedlichen Vegetationsbereichen, die eine hohe
Strukturvielfalt ergeben. Beim Kinderspiel kommt es zu leichten Abnutzungserscheinungen wie Trampelpfaden und Rindenschäden an Gehölzen. Die Nutzung führte im Untersuchungszeitraum nicht zu einem Verlust gefährdeter Tier- und Pflanzenarten und beeinträchtigte nicht
die Gesamtartenzahlen der untersuchten Tiergruppen. Das Kinderspiel sorgte allerdings für eine gewisse Dynamik in der Vielfalt der Pflanzenarten über die Zeit. Die Vegetationsstruktur wird davon aber nur kleinräumig beeinflusst. Andere Faktoren wie der Witterungsverlauf in den Untersuchungsjahren, die natürliche Sukzession sowie Bau-, Sicherungs- und Pflegemaßnahmen sind entscheidender. Da Bau- und Pflegemaßnahmen auch die Fauna beeinflussen, sollten diese behutsam durchgeführt werden und in für Flora und Fauna unproblematischen Zei-
ten erfolgen. Anfangsgestaltungen und Sicherungsmaßnahmen erhöhen aber auch die Strukturvielfalt, was auf längere Sicht zu einer Zunahme der Artenvielfalt führen kann. Die Nutzung der NER kann also im Rahmen der untersuchten Parameter im Untersuchungszeitraum als nachhaltig angesehen werden. Die NER blieben attraktiv für das Kinderspiel. Ein längerfristig angelegtes ökologisches Monitoring kann weitergehende Erkenntnisse liefern, um die richtige Balance zwischen Nutzungsintensität und ökologischer Flächenentwicklung zu finden.
Insgesamt lässt sich schon jetzt das Fazit ziehen, dass die Einrichtung von NER die Lebensbedingungen von Kindern und deren Familien in hochverdichteten Stadträumen wirksam verbessern kann. Als wichtiger Bestandteil des städtischen Grünflächensystems leisten Naturerfahrungsräume zudem einen wichtigen Beitrag für das Mikroklima und die Biotop- und Artenvielfalt in den Städten. Insofern ist zu hoffen, dass das Konzept der NER eine rasche Verbreitung in den Städten und Kommunen finden wird.
Cities at the fringe of the Taklimakan desert in NW China are prone to dust and sand storms with serious consequences for human well-being. The Kökyar Protection Forest was established in the 1980s as an ecological engineering project with the intent of protecting the city of Aksu, NW China, from these impacts. It is designed as a combination of poplar shelterbelts and orchards, irrigated by river water from the Aksu River, the main tributary of the Tarim River. Prevalent literature describes it as an afforestation project for combatting desertification with manifold positive effects for the economic, social, and environmental dimension of sustainable development. This paper sets out to challenge these claims by a sustainability assessment in which the plantation is examined from a broader perspective, embedding it to the wider context of social and environmental problems in South Xinjiang. Methods comprise evapotranspiration calculations, interviews, a socioeconomic household survey, stakeholder dialogues, and literature research. Results affirm its economic sustainability, but see a mixed record for the social sphere. From the nature conservation point of view, it has to be classified as unsustainable because its high irrigation water consumption results in the downstream desiccation and desertification of natural riparian forests along the Tarim River, causing a forest loss in the downstream area twice the size of the forest gain in the upstream area. There is a trade-off between artificial shelterbelt plantations for urban ecosystem services on the one hand side, and natural riparian forests and their biodiversity on the other hand side. The paper recommends restricting agricultural extension, and using locally adapted less water consuming agroforestry schemes to protect urban dwellers from dust stress.
Riparian forests are rare and valuable ecosystems in Central Asia, both due to their significance for biodiversity and to their provision of vital ecosystem services to local residents. However, the actual forest use behaviour is under-researched, official figures may not be trustworthy, and the question of over-use is up in the air. This paper sets out to shed light on riparian forest use behaviour by local residents using the example of Ak-Tal Village upon the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan: Which economic use patterns do they practice (focusing on fuel wood and pasture)? Which other ecosystem services do they recognise? Is there forest over-exploitation? To answer these questions, this study builds on local knowledge, by applying the methods of focus group discussions and a household survey. Results show an extreme discrepancy between official wood consumption figures (50–60 m3 p.a.) and figures based on household wood consumption (310–404 m3 p.a.). The forest also serves as an important winter pasture over the seven months between October and April (stocking density 0.61 livestock units/ha), but payments for these ecosystem services are low, with annually 40 KGS/ha. Local residents are aware of additional material and nonmaterial ecosystem services of the riparian forest. Opinions diverge upon the question if there is forest over-exploitation, potentially because different stakeholders have different concepts of an optimal forest status. Consequently, optimal forest use behaviour can only be defined by the local users themselves, e.g., in a future stakeholder dialogue.
Peatlands in the European Union are largely drained for agriculture and emit 25% of the total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Drainage-based peatland use has also negative impacts on water quality, drinking water provision and biodiversity. Consequently, key EU environmental policy objectives include the rewetting of all drained peatlands as an essential nature-based solution. Rewetting of peatlands can be combined with site-adapted land use, so-called paludiculture. Paludiculture produces biomass from wet and rewetted peatlands under conditions that maintain the peat body, facilitate peat accumulation and can provide many of the ecosystem services associated with natural, undrained peatlands. The biomass can be used for a wide range of traditional and innovative food, feed, fibre and fuel products. Based on examples in Germany, we have analysed emerging paludiculture options for temperate Europe with respect to greenhouse gas fluxes, biodiversity and indicative business economics. Best estimates of site emission factors vary between 0 and 8 t CO2eq ha−1 y−1. Suitability maps for four peatland-rich federal states (76% of total German peatland area) indicate that most of the drained, agriculturally used peatland area could be used for paludiculture, about one-third of the fen area for any paludiculture type. Fen-specific biodiversity benefits from rewetting and paludiculture, if compared to the drained state. Under favourable conditions, paludiculture can be economically viable, but costs and revenues vary considerably. Key recommendations for large-scale implementation are providing planning security by paludiculture spatial planning, establishing best practice sites and strengthening research into crops, water tables and management options.
Biomass is an important metric for monitoring carabid populations and serves as an ecological indicator. Models that predict carabid weight based on body size represent a simple and straightforward method to estimate biomass and are therefore commonly used. However, such models are rarely evaluated against independent validation data. In this study, we evaluated the two widely used size-weight models by Szyszko (1983) and Booij et al. (1994) drawing on previously published independent data. Additionally, we developed and tested four new models to also evaluate the potential effect of taxonomic parameters; and compared model predictions with actual measurements of biomass using relative deviation graphs and observed versus predicted from regression. We show that the two models by Szyszko (1983) and Booij et al. (1994) contain systematic bias towards larger and smaller carabids, respectively, suggesting restricted applicability of such models. Additional taxonomic parameters improved weight predictions, indicating one possible solution to the issue of restricted applicability. We discuss further relevant limitations of size-weight models and their application and recommend a combined use of the models of Szyszko (1983) and Booij et al. (1994) for carabids ≥ 11.8 mm and < 11.8 mm, respectively.
Implications for insect conservation: Size-weight models are a suitable and simple method to estimate the biomass of carabids and have great potential to be used in monitoring schemes, the investigation of long-term trends and ecological studies. It is, however, essential that researchers pay special attention to potential restrictions in their applicability and methodological limitations.
Detailed knowledge of a soil’s lime requirement (LR) is a prerequisite for a demand-based lime fertilization to achieve the optimum soil pH and thus sustainably increasing soil fertility and crop yields. LR can be directly determined by the base neutralizing capacity (BNC) obtained by soil-base titration. For a site-specific soil acidity management, detailed information on the within-field variation of BNC is required. However, soil-base titrations for BNC determination are too laborious to be extensively applied in routine soil testing. In contrast, visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (visNIRS) is a time and cost-effective alternative that can analyze several soil characteristics within a single spectrum. VisNIRS was tested in the laboratory on 170 air-dried and sieved soil samples of nine agricultural fields of a quaternary landscape in North-east Germany predicting the soil’s BNC and the corresponding lime requirement (LRBNC) at a target pH of 6.5. Seven spectral pre-processing methods were tested including a new technique based on normalized differences (ND). Furthermore, six multivariate regression methods were conducted including a new method combining a forward stagewise subset selection algorithm with PLSR (FS-PLSR). The models were validated using an independent sample set. The best regression model for most target variables was FS-PLSR combined with the second Savitzky-Golay derivation as pre-processing method achieving R2s from 0.68 to 0.82. Finally, the performance of the direct prediction of LRBNC (R2 = 0.68) was compared with an indirect prediction that was calculated by the predicted BNC parameters. This resulted in slightly higher correlation coefficients for the indirect method with R2 = 0.75.
Liming agricultural fields is necessary for counteracting soil acidity and is one of the oldest operations in soil fertility management. However, the best management practice for liming in Germany only insufficiently considers within-field soil variability. Thus, a site-specific variable rate liming strategy was developed and tested on nine agricultural fields in a quaternary landscape of north-east Germany. It is based on the use of a proximal soil sensing module using potentiometric, geoelectric and optical sensors that have been found to be proxies for soil pH, texture and soil organic matter (SOM), which are the most relevant lime requirement (LR) affecting soil parameters. These were compared to laboratory LR analysis of reference soil samples using the soil’s base neutralizing capacity (BNC). Sensor data fusion utilizing stepwise multi-variate linear regression (MLR) analysis was used to predict BNC-based LR (LRBNC) for each field. The MLR models achieved high adjusted R2 values between 0.70 and 0.91 and low RMSE values from 65 to 204 kg CaCO3 ha−1. In comparison to univariate modeling, MLR models improved prediction by 3 to 27% with 9% improvement on average. The relative importance of covariates in the field-specific prediction models were quantified by computing standardized regression coefficients (SRC). The importance of covariates varied between fields, which emphasizes the necessity of a field-specific calibration of proximal sensor data. However, soil pH was the most important parameter for LR determination of the soils studied. Geostatistical semivariance analysis revealed differences between fields in the spatial variability of LRBNC. The sill-to-range ratio (SRR) was used to quantify and compare spatial LRBNC variability of the nine test fields. Finally, high resolution LR maps were generated. The BNC-based LR method also produces negative LR values for soil samples with pH values above which lime is required. Hence, the LR maps additionally provide an estimate on the quantity of chemically acidifying fertilizers that can be applied to obtain an optimal soil pH value.
Soil acidification is caused by natural paedogenetic processes and anthropogenic impacts but can be counteracted by regular lime application. Although sensors and applicators for variable-rate liming (VRL) exist, there are no established strategies for using these tools or helping to implement VRL in practice. Therefore, this study aimed to provide guidelines for site-specific liming based on proximal soil sensing. First, high-resolution soil maps of the liming-relevant indicators (pH, soil texture and soil organic matter content) were generated using on-the-go sensors. The soil acidity was predicted by two ion-selective antimony electrodes (RMSEpH: 0.37); the soil texture was predicted by a combination of apparent electrical resistivity measurements and natural soil-borne gamma emissions (RMSEclay: 0.046 kg kg−1); and the soil organic matter (SOM) status was predicted by a combination of red (660 nm) and near-infrared (NIR, 970 nm) optical reflection measurements (RMSESOM: 6.4 g kg−1). Second, to address the high within-field soil variability (pH varied by 2.9 units, clay content by 0.44 kg kg−1 and SOM by 5.5 g kg−1), a well-established empirical lime recommendation algorithm that represents the best management practices for liming in Germany was adapted, and the lime requirements (LRs) were determined. The generated workflow was applied to a 25.6 ha test field in north-eastern Germany, and the variable LR was compared to the conventional uniform LR. The comparison showed that under the uniform liming approach, 63% of the field would be over-fertilized by approximately 12 t of lime, 6% would receive approximately 6 t too little lime and 31% would still be adequately limed.
Despite being a natural soil-forming process, soil acidification is a major agronomic challenge under humid climate conditions, as soil acidity influences several yield-relevant soil properties. It can be counterbalanced by the regular application of agricultural lime to maintain or re-establish soil fertility and to optimize plant growth and yield. To avoid underdose as well as overdose, lime rates need to be calculated carefully. The lime rate should be determined by the optimum soil pH (target pH) and the response of the soil to lime, which is described by the base neutralizing capacity (BNC). Several methods exist to determine the lime requirement (LR) to raise the soil pH to its optimum. They range from extremely time-consuming equilibration methods, which mimic the natural processes in the soil, to quick tests, which rely on some approximations and are designed to provide farmers with timely and cost-efficient data. Due to the higher analytical efforts, only limited information is available on the real BNC of particular soils. In the present paper, we report the BNC of 420 topsoil samples from Central Europe (north-east Germany), developed on sediments from the last ice age 10,000 years ago under Holocene conditions. These soils are predominantly sandy and low in humus, but they exhibit a huge spatial variability in soil properties on a small scale. The BNC was determined by adding various concentrations of Ca(OH)2 and fitting an exponential model to derive a titration curve for each sample. The coefficients of the BNC titration curve were well correlated with soil properties affecting soil acidity and pH buffer capacity, i.e., pH, soil texture and soil organic matter (SOM). From the BNC model, the LRs (LRBNC) were derived and compared with LRVDLUFA based on the standard protocol in Germany as established by the Association of German Agricultural Analytic and Research Institutes (VDLUFA). The LRBNC and LRVDLUFA correlated well but the LRVDLUFA were generally by approximately one order of magnitude higher. This is partly due to the VDLUFA concept to recommend a maintenance or conservation liming, even though the pH value is in the optimum range, to keep it there until the next lime application during the following rotation. Furthermore, the VDLUFA method was primarily developed from field experiments where natural soil acidification and management practices depressed the effect of lime treatment. The BNC method, on the other hand, is solely based on laboratory analysis with standardized soil samples. This indicates the demand for further research to develop a sound scientific algorithm that complements LRBNC with realistic values of annual Ca2+ removal and acidification by natural processes and N fertilization.
Evaluating Soil-Borne Causes of Biomass Variability in Grassland by Remote and Proximal Sensing
(2019)
On a grassland field with sandy soils in Northeast Germany (Brandenburg), vegetation indices from multi-spectral UAV-based remote sensing were used to predict grassland biomass productivity. These data were combined with soil pH value and apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) from on-the-go proximal sensing serving as indicators for soil-borne causes of grassland biomass variation. The field internal magnitude of spatial variability and hidden correlations between the variables of investigation were analyzed by means of geostatistics and boundary-line analysis to elucidate the influence of soil pH and ECa on the spatial distribution of biomass. Biomass and pH showed high spatial variability, which necessitates high resolution data acquisition of soil and plant properties. Moreover, boundary-line analysis showed grassland biomass maxima at pH values between 5.3 and 7.2 and ECa values between 3.5 and 17.5 mS m−1. After calibrating ECa to soil moisture, the ECa optimum was translated to a range of optimum soil moisture from 7% to 13%. This matches well with to the plant-available water content of the predominantly sandy soil as derived from its water retention curve. These results can be used in site-specific management decisions to improve grassland biomass productivity in low-yield regions of the field due to soil acidity or texture-related water scarcity.
Dominant agricultural and food systems lead to continuous resource depletion and unacceptable environmental and social impacts. While current calls for changing agrifood systems are increasingly framed in the context of sustainability transitions, they rarely make an explicit link to transition studies to address these systemic challenges, nor do transition scholars sufficiently address agri-food systems, despite their global pertinence. From this viewpoint, we illustrate several gaps in the agri-food systems debate that sustainability transition studies could engage in. We propose four avenues for research in the next decade of transition research on agri-food systems: 1) Crossscale dynamics between coupled systems; 2) Social justice, equity and inclusion; 3) Sustainability transitions in low- and middle-income countries; 4) Cross-sectoral governance and system integration. We call for a decade of new transition research that moves beyond single-scale and sector perspectives toward more inclusive and integrated analyses of food system dynamics.
With increasing road encroachment, habitat fragmentation by transport infrastructures has been a serious threat for European biodiversity. Areas with no roads or little traffic (“roadless and low-traffic areas”) represent relatively undisturbed natural habitats and functioning ecosystems. They provide many benefits for biodiversity and human societies (e.g., landscape connectivity, barrier against pests and invasions, ecosystem services). Roadless and low-traffic areas, with a lower level of anthropogenic disturbances, are of special relevance in Europe because of their rarity and, in the context of climate change, because of their contribution to higher resilience and buffering capacity within landscape ecosystems. An analysis of European legal instruments illustrates that, although most laws aimed at protecting targets which are inherent to fragmentation, like connectivity, ecosystem processes or integrity, roadless areas are widely neglected as a legal target. A case study in Germany underlines this finding. Although the Natura 2000 network covers a significant proportion of the country (16%), Natura 2000 sites are highly fragmented and most low-traffic areas (75%) lie unprotected outside this network. This proportion is even higher for the old Federal States (western Germany), where only 20% of the low-traffic areas are protected. We propose that the few remaining roadless and low-traffic areas in Europe should be an important focus of conservation efforts; they should be urgently inventoried, included more explicitly in the law and accounted for in transport and urban planning. Considering them as complementary conservation targets would represent a concrete step towards the strengthening and adaptation of the Natura 2000 network to climate change.
Remotely sensed effectiveness assessments of protected areas lack a common framework: A review
(2022)
Effective protected areas reflect socio-ecological values, such as biodiversity and habitat maintenance, as well as human well-being. These values, which safeguard ecosystem services in protected areas, are treated as models for the sustainable preservation and use of resources. While there is much research on the effectiveness of protected areas in a variety of disciplines, the question is whether there is a common framework that uses remote sensing methods. We conducted a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of 44 peer-reviewed scientific papers utilizing remote sensing data in order to examine the effectiveness of protected areas. Very few studies to date have a wide or even a global geographical focus; instead, most quantify the effectiveness of protected areas by focusing on local-scale case studies and single indicators such as forest cover change. Methods that help integrate spatial selection approaches, to compare a protected area's characteristics with its surroundings, are increasingly being used. Based on this review, we argue for a multi-indicator-based framework on protected area effectiveness, including the development of a consistent set of socio-ecological indicators for a global analysis. In turn, this will allow for globally applicable use, including a concrete evaluation that considers the diversity of regional parameters, biome-specific variables, and political frameworks. Ideally, such a framework will enhance the monitoring and evaluation of global strategies and conventions.
Expectations of what forests and woodlands should provide vary among locations, stakeholder groups, and over time. Developing multifunctional forests requires understanding of the dynamic roles of traditions and cultural legacies in social-ecological systems at multiple levels and scales. Implementing policies about multifunctional forests requires a landscape and social-ecological perspective, and recognition of both spatial and temporal features at multiple scales. This study explores the dissemination of even-aged silviculture in central, eastern and northern Europe, and the consequences of choosing different vantage points in social-ecological systems for mapping of barriers, and to identify levers, towards multifunctional forest landscapes. Using a narrative approach, we first summarise the development of even-aged silviculture in four European regions. Next, we focus on Sweden as a keen adopter of even-aged silviculture, and identify levers at three groups of vantage points. They were (1) biosphere with biodiversity as short-hand for composition, structure and function of ecosystems, which support human well-being at multiple scales; (2) society in terms of different levels of stakeholder interactions from local to global, and (3) economy represented by value chain hierarchies and currencies. The emergence of even-aged silviculture >200 years ago formed an expanding frontier from central to northern Europe. Sustained yield wood production and biodiversity conservation encompass different portfolios of ecosystem aspects and spatio-temporal scales. Ignorance and lack of knowledge about these differences enforce their mutual rivalry. An exploratory review of six groups of stakeholders at multiple levels in the traditional industrial forest value chain highlights inequalities in terms of distribution of income and power across different levels of governance. This effectively marginalises other than powerful industrial actors. The distribution of financial results along the value chain is dynamic in space and time, and not all benefits of forest ecosystems can be measured using monetary valuation. There are also other currencies and incentives. A discussion of cultural trajectories in central and eastern European, Russian and Swedish forest management illustrates that forest history patterns repeat themselves. Longitudinal case studies of countries and regions can help foster holistic multi-dimensional and multi-level systems thinking. Application of deep levers of change is likely to require external drivers. A key challenge is to handle the manufacturing of doubt and decay of truth, i.e., the appearance of alternative facts, and the diminishing role of evidence and systems analyses in political and civic discourses. This transition is fuelled by new and rapidly evolving digital arenas.
Little is known about the emergence and development of novel governance approaches for forest ecosystem services provision, what drives them, and how they can be fostered. Existing frameworks often deal with single aspects of resource management and thus fail to assess processes, multi-level influences, and interacting dimensions and factors in a system-based understanding. In this article, we introduce the conceptual foundation and an empirical application of an adapted Social-Ecological System framework with additional elements that builds on the idea of complex and interlinked social-ecological-technical-forestry-innovation systems that allows for the identification of key factors for revealing forest ecosystem services dynamics to understand the emergence and development of such governance innovations. The development and testing of the framework was based on six case studies for knowledge co-creation. To showcase its application, two governance innovations were examined: a voluntary carbon market payment scheme in Germany and a network approach for forest-pasture management in Italy. The application of the framework reveals required adaptations to improve innovation by systematically unpacking the system dimensions and identifying fostering and hindering factors and their interdependencies. We highlight the output of a sound system-based information basis that allows for purposeful innovation conditioning by policy makers, practitioners, and other related actors.
Forests are key components of European multifunctional landscapes and supply numerous forest ecosystem services (FES) fundamental to human well-being. The sustainable provision of FES has the potential to provide responses to major societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, or rural development. To identify suitable strategies for the future sustenance of FES, we performed a solution scanning exercise with a group of transdisciplinary forest and FES experts from different European regions. We identified and prioritized fifteen major challenges hindering the balanced provision of multiple FES and identified a series of potential solutions to tackle each of them. The most prominent challenges referred to the increased frequency and impacts of extreme weather events and the normative mindset regarding forest management. The respective solutions pointed to the promotion of forest resilience via climate-smart forestry and mainstreaming FES-oriented management through a threefold strategy focusing on education, awareness raising, and networking. In a subsequent survey, most solutions were assessed as highly effective, transferable, monitorable, and with potential for being economically efficient. The implementation of the solutions could have synergistic effects when applying the notion of leverage points. Seven emerging pathways towards the sustainable supply of FES have been identified. These pathways build on each other and are organized based on their potential for transformation: (1) shifting forest management paradigms towards pluralistic ecosystem valuation; (2) using integrated landscape approaches; (3) increasing forest resilience; (4) coordinating actions between forest-related actors; (5) increasing participation in forest planning and management; (6) continuous, open, and transparent knowledge integration; and (7) using incentive-based instruments to support regulating and cultural FES. These pathways can contribute to the implementation of the new EU Forestry Strategy to support the balanced supply of multiple FES.
Governance Innovations for forest ecosystem service provision – Insights from an EU-wide survey
(2022)
This paper analyses the occurrence of governance innovations for forest ecosystem service (FES) provision in the forestry sector in Europe and the factors that influence innovation development. Based on a European-wide online survey, public and private forest owners and managers representing different property sizes indicate what type of governance innovation activities they engage in, and why. To investigate forestry innovations as systems, the analysis focuses on biophysical, social and technical factors influencing innovation development. The results of our exploratory quantitative analysis show that most innovation activities identified are largely oriented towards biomass production. Accordingly, most forest owners implement efficiency-driven optimisation strategies for forest management and technological improvement for provisioning service supply, to generate income. In contrast, the provision of regulating and cultural services is not yet a prominent part of forestry innovation activities.Reasons are rooted in a market-oriented economic rationale focusing on timber production, a lack of financial resources to compensate for other FES provisions or institutions to provide backup and security to forest owners and managers for engaging in innovation development. Given that the provision of a wide range of FES is a politically well-established objective for forest management in Europe, a strategy is needed that helps to align actors and sectors for supporting and co-financing related forest management approaches and business models. The current revision of the forest related policy framework on EU level under the EU Green deal poses a window of opportunity for better fostering novel governance approaches for more sustainable FES provision.
Enduring sustainability challenges requires a new model of collective leadership that embraces critical reflection, inclusivity and care. Leadership collectives can support a move in academia from metrics to merits, from a focus on career to care, and enact a shift from disciplinary to inter- and trans-disciplinary research. Academic organisations need to reorient their training programs, work ethics and reward systems to encourage collective excellence and to allow space for future leaders to develop and enact a radically re-imagined vision of how to lead as a collective with care for people and the planet.
Forest ecosystems provide a range of goods and services that are essential to human well-being. Yet global environmental problems, increasing urbanization, industrialization pressures, and dominant market mechanisms put into jeopardy the long term sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services (FES). Markets tend to favor private goods, such as timber, and are typically less able to provide sustainable financing mechanisms for public goods and services, such as carbon storage, biodiversity conservation or recreational value. European forest owners and policy makers alike are looking for governance innovations that generate economic opportunity while ensuring the future provision of FES.
This systematic literature review aims to consolidate existing academic empirical research on local or regional level governance innovations in Europe concerned with generating forest-based revenue through FES provision. Thus, it complements conceptual literature dealing with challenges and opportunities of financing the provision of FES. When conducting the review we followed the process guidelines developed by ‘Collaboration for Environmental Evidence’ (Collaboration for Environmental Evidence, 2018). Out of a total of 3962 scanned papers, 23 papers containing 48 case studies were identified and analyzed in detail, to address the following guiding questions: (1) What types of FES related (governance) innovations for forest-based revenue generation exist and which FES do they address? (2) What are the motivations driving innovation development? (3) What are the implications for forest management? We found four types of governance innovations: forest product and organizational innovations which largely relate to provisioning FES; service innovations, which generally relate to cultural FES; and financial incentive systems or payment schemes targeting mostly regulating services. We identify potential synergies between two high-priority EU policy objectives: rural economic development and securing future FES provision. Currently, governance innovations’ forest management implications and associated impact on (future) FES provision are rarely addressed in this literature. We recommend future policy and research to give greater consideration to the interdependencies between securing a range of FES, (rural) economic development, and forest management, to realize potential synergies.
This Special Issue provides insights into conceptual approaches, methodological procedures and practice findings for the development and assessment of governance innovations for the sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services (FES) in Europe. We depart from the observation that the sustainable and balanced provision of FES requires novel policy, management and business approaches that need to overcome challenges in order to emerge, develop and flourish. These challenges are rooted in the diversity of forest ecosystems and institutional contexts, a lack of system understanding, of innovation dynamics, the public good character of many FES, and a production-oriented reference frame for forest management. We use a set of good governance innovation practices in form of new actor alliances and payment schemes as a basis for assessment and learning how to promote different kinds or bundles of FES. The contributing authors of the SI combine several methodological approaches to understand the working conditions of such innovations, including integrated mapping, stakeholder and governance analysis, and a forward-looking scenario approach for innovation assessment. Applying multi-methods and multi-actor approaches fruitfully orchestrated a constructive debate among stakeholders on the chances and challenges of governance innovations in Europe, to allow for their uptake in forest policy, business and practice.
An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German organic agri-food sector involves citizens through different community financing models. While such models provide alternative funding sources as well as marketing opportunities to SMEs, they allow private investors to combine their financial and ethical concerns by directly supporting the development of a more sustainable food system. Due to the low level of financial intermediation, community financing is characterized by close relations between investors and investees. Against this background, we apply the proximity concept from economic geography to explore spatial and relational aspects of community financing in the German organic agri-food sector. Based on a qualitative multiple case study approach, we find that the relevance of proximity is twofold. While different forms of proximity between SMEs and their potential investors are key success factors, proximity is also considered as one desired outcome of community financing. Furthermore, our results reveal that the extent to which SMEs rely on particular proximity dimensions distinguishes two different approaches to community financing.
Purpose
The present study explores the development of agri-food value chains from an organizational learning perspective, using the German organic food sector as an example. We illustrate how the development of local value chains unfolds over time and outline how facilitation can support this process.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used an action research design to facilitate change in practice and to create new knowledge. Data were collected through qualitative interviews, participant observation, and documentation of workshops and other learning activities. Data analysis and conceptualization followed a grounded theory approach.
Findings
The development process of value chains occurs in three phases, from joint exploration of the problem, through a phase of experimentation and implementation, to further cultivation of established collaborations among value chain actors. The development process oscillates between intra- and inter-organizational learning as well as explorative and exploitative activities.
Practical implications
The results of this study can help to understand and to further professionalize the practice of value chain development and provide guidance for facilitators and other stakeholder working in this field.
Theoretical implications
By drawing on the theory of exploration and exploitation, the study enhances the understanding of value chains collaboration in an inter-organizational setting. The study conceptualizes the development of agri-food value chains and the role of facilitators in the process.
Originality/value
There is little research to date that considers the development of value chains as a collaborative learning process. The presented grounded theory of local value chain development may inform further research on the transition towards a more sustainable agri-food system.
A large variety of organisations provides support for cooperative approaches in the field of research and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural development, and acts as Innovation Support Services (ISS). The findings from ProAkis (2015) show that different types of organisations such as administrative offices, public or semi-public advisory services, rural academies/universities, producer organisations, other NGOs or private consultants engaged in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) can act as ISS. The funding of ISS can be public, private or a mix of both. A literature review indicates that studies often focus on the
larger “enabling environment” and the structure of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). Moreover, many authors pay particular attention to the role of public or semi-public farm advisory organisations (Knierim et al., 2015; Sulaiman 2015). The paper is based on the analysis of more than 200 case studies of publically or privately funded interactive innovation projects within the EU and beyond. The selection of cases took place under the framework of the Horizon2020-funded European research and innovation project LIAISON. European and national databases contain several thousands of projects in agriculture, forestry and rural development. We selected projects applying the interactive innovation approach from a) EU programmes (EIP-Agri, Horizon2020, Interreg, and LIFE+); b) nationally/regionally or privately funded projects; and c) informal initiatives or networks in the agri-food, forestry, bioeconomy or nature conservation area. The results indicate that publically funded IIS play a core role for legal/administrative compliance of projects. Semi-public advisory services take up this role as well, and they are strong in linking farmers with scientists, technicians, entrepreneurs etc. However, they often exist and offer efficient ISS only for those industries that have a long tradition for a sector or area (e.g. dairy, pork, poultry or club fruit). This paper shows that different types of organisations (research institutes, farmers or producer organisations, NGOs, processing or marketing SMEs, or public bodies) provide various forms of support for the studied interactive innovation groups. No particular type of organisation such as the farm advisory services are more suitable than the other organisations for the delivery of ISS. Instead, it depends on former collaboration, the particular topic, objective or capacities available as well as the cultural/political context who engages in interactive innovation and provides innovation support.
There is a strong demand in media management to strengthen the bridge between theory and practice. Following the debate on rigor and relevance, the approach of engaged scholarship and arguments from our community, we see the need to develop a research agenda in dialogue with practice. Therefore, we explore the following questions: Which topics do media managers consider relevant to research? How can these issues be contrasted with the research agendas proclaimed by media management research?
To answer these questions, we first summarize current issues in media management research through a literature review. Second, current issues in media management practice are captured based on an online survey with German media managers (N=46). Finally, the two perspectives are contrasted to develop relevant questions for media management research and practice.
This article aims to build a better understanding of entrepreneurial communication and strategic communication. The term entrepreneurial is finding its way into the discussion of communication science in general and strategic communication in particular, for example, through the consideration of startups. So far, the term entrepreneurial communication remains vague, is hardly defined and is not systematically distinguished from strategic communication. By applying an analogies lens in the context of problematizing, differences between the terms entrepreneurial and strategic in entrepreneurial communication and strategic communication are explored based on selected given definitions. As a result, three unifying dimensions – development stage, mode, and logic – are developed to highlight fundamental differences between the two terms. To create potential for a future creation of entrepreneurial communication as research program, and to elaborate on future potential for strategic communication in relation to this, central theoretical approaches in entrepreneurship research and their potential to research entrepreneurial communication are explored.
The density of phytophagous insect pest populations is related (directly and indirectly) to several groups of factors that can be broadly divided into: abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic. Each extreme in the abiotic environment at a macro-level leads to a series of consecutive extremes in the biotic environment, which eventually results in micro-level responses in the individual organisms. The manifestation of factors acts in aggregate or in a sequence, creating a chain of processes around us. Insects very efficiently use the abundance of nutritional resources, resulting in a tremendous increase in their population density, and triggering control mechanisms through the emergence of parasitic and pathogenic infections (viruses, bacteria, fungi, microsporidia, protozoa and nematodes). The development of entomopathogenic infections in host populations is directly dependent on the characteristics of both the antagonist and the insect. It is associated with the lifestyle and life cycle of the insect, with features encoded in the mechanism of pathogen action, and limited by the pathogen’s virulence and pathogenicity.
Zukunftstechnologien üben schon seit geraumer Zeit Transformationsdruck auf Medienorganisationen aus (Küng, 2008). Medienorganisationen sind daher gezwungen, gezielt zu reagieren, sich zu verändern und zu lernen. Ein theoretisches Konstrukt, das diesen Prozess erklärt, ist die Theorie des organisationalen Lernens (OL) (Senge, 2006). In der allgemeinen Managementforschung ist OL bereits ein etablierter theoretische Ansatz (Dick, 2005), bei Medienorganisationen wurde OL bislang kaum erforscht (Bernhard & Will, 2021). Die strategische Orientierung der Organisation stellt eine Möglichkeit zur Förderung des OL dar (Seçkin-Halaç, 2019). Insbesondere die strategische Technologieorientierung (TO) könnte in Anbetracht von Zukunftstechnologien hilfreich für OL sein (ebd.). Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigt sich dieser Beitrag mit der folgenden Frage: Besteht ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Technologieorientierung (TO) und dem organisationalen Lernen (OL) in Medienorganisationen? Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage wurde eine explorative Onlineumfrage (Zeitraum: Dez. 2020 bis Jan. 2021) unter deutschen Medienmanager*innen (N=46) durchgeführt. Für die Untersuchung wurden die Instrumente von Hakala & Kohtamäki (2011) für die TO und von Marsick & Watkins (2003) für das OL übernommen. Die Umfragedaten wurden mithilfe der Rangkorrelation nach Spearman analysiert. Kernergebnis der Untersuchung ist, dass ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen TO und OL besteht.
Conservation grazing uses semi-feral or domesticated herbivores to limit encroachment in open areas and to promote biodiversity. However, we are still unaware of its effects on wild herbivores. This study investigates the influence of herded sheep and goats on red deer (Cervus elaphus) spatial behavior by testing three a-priori hypotheses: (i) red deer are expected to avoid areas used by livestock, as well as adjacent areas, when livestock are present, albeit (ii) red deer increase the use of these areas when sheep and goats are temporarily absent and (iii) there is a time-lagged disruption in red deer spatial behavior when conservation grazing practice ends. Using GPS-telemetry data on red deer from a German heathland area, we modelled their use of areas grazed by sheep and goats, using mixed-effect logistic regression. Additionally, we developed seasonal resource selection functions (use-availability design) to depict habitat selection by red deer before, during, and after conservation grazing. Red deer used areas less during conservation grazing throughout all times of the day and there was no compensatory use during nighttime. This effect mostly persisted within 21 days after conservation grazing. Effects on habitat selection of red deer were detectable up to 3000 meters away from the conservation grazing sites, with no signs of either habituation or adaption. For the first time, we demonstrate that conservation grazing can affect the spatio-temporal behavior of wild herbivores. Our findings are relevant for optimizing landscape and wildlife management when conservation grazing is used in areas where wild herbivores are present.
As wolves recolonize areas of Europe ranging from moderate to high anthropogenic impact, fear of wolves is a recurring source of conflict. Shared tools for evaluating wolf responses to humans, and comparing such responses across their range, can be valuable. Experiments in which humans approach wild wolves can increase our understanding of how wolves respond to humans, facilitating human-wolf coexistence. We have developed the first standardized protocol for evaluating wolf responses to approaching humans using high-resolution GPS data, and tested it on wild wolves. We present a field protocol for experimentally approaching GPS-collared wolves, a descriptive comparison of two statistical methods for detecting a measurable flight response, a tutorial for identifying wolf flight initiation and resettling positions, and an evaluation of the method when reducing GPS positioning frequency. The field protocol, a data collection form, and the tutorial with R code for extracting flight parameters are provided. This protocol will facilitate studies of wolf responses to approaching humans, applicable at a local, national, and international level. Data compiled in a standardized way from multiple study areas can be used to quantify the variation in wolf responses to humans within and between populations, and in relation to predictors such as social status, landscape factors, or human population density, and to establish a baseline distribution of wolf response patterns given a number of known predictors. The variation in wolf responses can be used to assess the degree to which results can be generalized to areas where GPS studies are not feasible, e.g., for predicting the range of likely wolf behaviors, assessing the likelihood of wolf-human encounters, and complementing existing tools for evaluating reports of bold wolves. Showing how wolves respond to human encounters should help demystify the behavior of wild wolves toward humans in their shared habitat.
Celtis mildbraedii sawdust (CMS) from Ghana was characterised to investigate its suitability with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for syngas production via co-pyrolysis. The physical and chemical properties assessed include proximate and ultimate compositions, pH value, higher heating value (HHV), and lignocellulosic composition. Also, the thermal behaviour at different heating rates (5, 10, and 20 K/min) and qualitative prediction of organic compounds of CMS were examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG) and NIR spectroscopy techniques, respectively. Results of proximate analysis (moisture = 17.15 ± 0.0 wt.%, ash = 1.13 ± 0.4 wt.%, volatile matter = 68.39 ± 0.4 wt.%, fixed carbon = 13.33 ± 0.8 wt.%); ultimate analysis (C = 48.51 wt.%, H = 6.66 wt.%, N = 0.51 wt.%, S = 0.02 wt.%, O = 44.30 wt.%); pH values (cold phase = 7.60, hot phase = 6.30); HHV (15.37 – 18.03 MJ/kg); and lignocellulosic composition (extractives = 13.80 ± 0.57 wt.%, hemicellulose = 21.95 ± 3.89 wt.%, lignin = 17.35 ± 0.35 wt.%, cellulose = 46.90 ± 2.97 wt.%) were obtained. The maximum mass loss was 83.48% at 289.8 °C at 5 K/min. It was concluded that CMS is a highly potential biomass resource for syngas production with an empirical formula of CH1.64O0.69N0.009S0.0001.
Wood and wood-based products are widely used for structural building elements, but due to their composition, they are susceptible of combusting if exposed to fire. Fire safety is an important issue of building safety, especially when the building's fire load contents enhance the risks of fire spread. Therefore, the involved materials are very important to address the fire safety requirements. When existing timber structures are involved, the most usual way to improve its reaction to fire is to treat wood with fire retardant materials.
The idea of this paper is to give an overall overview, on the existing fire-retardant and intumescent coating materials, modification, and treatments that can be applied to wood and wood-based products in order to improve their reaction to fire.
Im Rahmen des Projektes „Brandenburg spezifische Boden-Indikatoren für ein Klimamonitoring im Rahmen der Deutschen Anpassungsstrategie
(DAS) sowie Zusammenstellung von aussagefähigen Wirkungs- und Alarmschwellen“ sind Kenntnisse über die spezifische
Gefährdung der Brandenburger Böden zusammengestellt worden. Basierend auf den Prognosen von Gerstengarbe et al. (2003) und Zebisch et al. (2005) wird Brandenburg durch die prognostizierten Klimaveränderungen besonders betroffen sein. Diese werden sich vor allem in Veränderungen in Niederschlagsverteilungen, Niederschlagsformen und steigenden
Temperaturen äußern. Besonders die Umverteilung der Niederschläge und steigende Temperaturen im Winterhalbjahr können den Wasserhaushalt des Bodens negativ beeinflussen (Linke et al., 2011). Eine Verringerung der Niederschläge im Sommerhalbjahr wird deutlich erkennbare Auswirkungen auf die bisher betriebene Landwirtschaft haben. Aufgrund
der Veränderungen der Niederschlagsformen, mit zunehmenden Starkniederschlägen, ist mit häufigerem Auftreten von Bodenerosion sowie von lokalen und regionalen Hochwasserereignissen zu rechnen. Die befragten Experten betonen, dass im Boden Nutzungsänderungen
voraussichtlich wesentlich stärker und schneller sichtbar werden als durch Änderungen im Klima. Dadurch kann ein negativer Einfluss der
Klimaveränderungen durch frühzeitige Nutzungsanpassung kompensiert werden.
The aim of this study was the development of a methodical processing line for estimating the log’s volume from scanning logs using a long-range high-speed personal laser scanner (PLS) GeoSLAM ZEB HORIZON and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology in an open-source software framework of Cloud Compare. Additionally, the accuracy and precision of using PLS and the suggested method when measuring roundwood volume was examined compared to measurements made using a xylometer and estimations obtained from applying the formulae of Huber, Smalian and Newton. For this purpose, several parameters were measured in 50 logs of Norway spruce with an average length of 2.53 m and a mean diameter of 19.97 cm. Afterwards, the volume of these 50 logs was measured with a xylometer. The results of these measurements served as reference values. The same 50 logs were subsequently scanned with the PLS. The scans were converted into point clouds and were analyzed in Cloud Compare to estimate the volume of the scanned logs. Next, the root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean bias error (MBE) as well as their relative values were calculated for the volumes determined in Cloud Compare and estimated with the above mentioned formulae. The calculated RMSE (and relative RMSE) determined a deviation of the logs' volumes estimated in Cloud Compare from the xylometric volumes of 2.88 dm3 (3.54%) whereas the deviations of the log’s volumes calculated applying the formulae of Huber, Smalian and Newton from the xylometric volumes were respectively 9.63 dm3 (11.83%), 10.33 dm3 (12.69%) and 4.69 dm3 (5.76%). The calculated MBE (and relative MBE) showed that the estimated volumes in Cloud Compare and those using the formulae were overestimated, with the lowest overestimation of 0.10 dm3 (0.12%) in Cloud Compare and the highest, 5.50 dm3 (6.75%), using the Smalian formula. Therefore, it can be stated that results of suggested methodical processing line came closest to the logs' volumes obtained with the xylometer, i.e., they were more accurate and precise compared to the conventionally formulae for log’s volume estimation. The implementation of this method has the potential filling a gap towards a wall-to-wall complete digitization of the roundwood commercialization and ensure transparency and acceptance between the stakeholders involved in the wood supply chain.
One method for estimating the solid wood content in a stack involves using conversion factors and multiplying these by the measured gross volume. The conversion factors can vary depending on several log and stack parameters. The aim of this study was to analyze eleven parameters using a 3D simulation model based on 541 measured logs of Norway spruce. To this end, 50 data sets were created from measured logs, where the parameters of interest in this study (e.g., length, crookedness, taper …) were classified according to different ranges. After that, 64 runs of simulations were carried out. In each simulation run, 150 stacks were modeled. The simulation results were compared with previous studies and with the measurement guidelines of several countries. This analysis revealed that the parameters midpoint diameter, length, crookedness, delimbing quality and the proportion of moderately and highly crooked logs in a stack have a considerable influence on the conversion factors. Taper, proportion of butt logs in a stack and stack height have a modest effect as do the proportion of tapered and crooked logs for low and high taper and low crookedness. In contrast, ovality and the proportion of logs stacked in opposite directions have a marginal influence on the conversion factors. Based on findings from these analyses, the current measurement guidelines of different countries can now be adapted to achieve a higher degree of accuracy.
Assessing the solid wood content is crucial when acquiring stacked roundwood. A frequently used method for this is to multiply determined conversion factors by the measured gross volume. However, the conversion factors are influenced by several log and stack parameters. Although these parameters have been identified and studied, their individual influence has not yet been analyzed using a broad statistical basis. This is due to the considerable financial resources that the data collection entails. To overcome this shortcoming, a 3D-simulation model was developed. It generates virtual wood stacks of randomized composition based on one individual data set of logs, which may be real or defined by the user. In this study, the development and evaluation of the simulation model are presented. The model was evaluated by conducting a sensitivity and a quantitative analysis of the simulation outcomes based on real measurements of 405 logs of Norway spruce and 20 stacks constituted with these. The results of the simulation outcomes revealed a small overestimation of the net volume of real stacks: by 1.2% for net volume over bark and by 3.2% for net volume under bark. Furthermore, according to the calculated mean bias error (MBE), the model underestimates the gross volume by 0.02%. In addition, the results of the sensitivity analysis confirmed the capability of the model to adequately consider variations in the input parameters and to provide reliable outcomes.
The influence that parameters crookedness and taper have on the stack volume was analyzed by using a 3D-simulation model in this study. To do so, log length, diameters at the midpoint and both ends, crookedness, bark thickness, taper and ovality were measured in 1000 logs of Scots pine. From this database, several data sets with different proportions of crooked and tapered logs in stack as well as with different degrees of taper and crookedness were created and taken as basis to simulate the stacks and carry out the analysis. The results show how the variation of these parameters influences the stack volume and provide their volume variation grades. These rates of variation were compared with measurement guidelines of some countries and previous research works. In conclusion, the parameters crookedness and taper influence the stack volume to a considerable extent. Specifically, the stack volume is increased as the crookedness degree or the proportion of crooked logs increases. In contrast, the stack volume is reduced as the taper degree or the proportion of tapered logs increases. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the capability of this simulation model to provide accurate results which can serve as a basis for future studies.
The quantification of the solid wood content in a wood stack has been an object of investigation since the 18th century. Particularly, the log parameters exert a considerable influence on the volume of the stack, such as (1) the log midpoint diameter, (2) average bark thickness, (3) crookedness, and (4) log taper. Although many of these parameters have already been studied and some are already considered in many countries when measuring wood stacks, their influence has not been analyzed individually so far since a broad statistical database is needed and the data collection is very costly. Consequently, a 3D-simulation model was developed based on a cross-platform game engine. This model generates virtual wood stacks based on a data set of logs which are defined by the user. The simulation of a stack can be done in a few seconds only and each stack generated can be visualized once all iterations are done. The simulation results are the stacked cubic volume, solid wood cubic volume, and the respective conversion factors. The model, fed with both real data and user-defined data, allows for a detailed analysis of the effect of each parameter on the results, as the user can vary their values discretionary. To obtain the first results from real data, 1000 logs of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were measured. The first simulations based on these data show reliable results and it is possible to quantify the influence of the proportion of crooked wood in a pile on the stack volume and the conversion factor. In addition, the results are highly in line with the real trials that have already been performed in parallel. A further scientific evaluation and statistical analysis will be done in a second study phase. However, the model already provides a reasonable tool that is easy to apply for the forest and wood industry in order to make the most accurate estimate possible of the solid wood content in a wood pile.
The rational use of natural resources is essential for sustainable development. The use of environmentally friendly raw materials, which has minimal environmental impact in its processing, is necessity today. The ecological value of the black locust wood is analyzed based on the study of its use and on the markets in Germany. It is a valuable tree like tropical tree species. It can be obtained by environmentally friendly procurement methods. Therefore, the possibility of growing this invasive species of plants on reclaimed coal-mining dumps under environmental monitoring has been studied. The plantations peculiarities of the black locust plant in the Northeast Lowland of Germany were investigated. The structure, properties of the work wood, and its possibilities of use were analyzed. The principles of sorting and corresponding quality criteria for the wood of the work were considered. We made comparison of the markets in Brandenburg (Germany) and Hungary. Measures to increase the use of work are suggested. The disrupted lands of the Male Polissya are considered as reserve territories for receiving ecological wood of the black locust. It is environmentally justifiable to set aside for this affected areas of coal mining in favourable forest areas. The phytomeliorative properties of black locust tree make it a promising species for afforestation of newly formed ecotopes with wide ecological amplitude in Male Polissya conditions. The creation of reclamation layers of loose soils is a prerequisite for ensuring their uniform growth and development in the conditions of coal-mining dumps. The distribution of the main taxation indices of the black locust stands on the new soils depends on their physicochemical properties and on the microclimatic features of the dumps. This causes differences in the growth and development of black locust plantations, effects on the quality of the wood of black locust and determines the ways of its possible use. Land reclamation effect of black locust plantations is associated with production effect. Simultaneously with receiving the black locust wood, the environmental situation will be getting better, because black locust can protect soil from erosion due to its root system. This is especially important in times of climate change. Black locust plantations on reclaimed coal-mining dumps can be considered as an additional source of the biologically stable wood.
Introduction
The effects of climate change are exacerbating the fire risk in forests worldwide. Conifer plantations in particular are especially vulnerable to fire outbreaks. At the end of the extraordinarily hot and dry summer of 2018, a forest pine plantation burned in Brandenburg, NE Germany. Different forestry interventions were carried out after the fire, while one area of the damaged plantation remained untouched.
Methods
We investigated the resilience of the forest ecosystem and the effectiveness of different active and passive forest restoration measures during the subsequent relatively warm and dry years 2019–2021.
Results
One year after the fire, Populus tremula showed strong spontaneous colonization at all sites. In contrast, the majority of planted Pinus sylvestris plantlets died on the plots that had been salvage-logged after the fire. Three years after the fire, Populus tremula successfully established itself as the dominant tree species on all plots, with the highest abundance on the plot where the overstorey of the dead pines was left. Betula pendula, Salix caprea, and Pinus sylvestris showed lower abundance, with their proportion increasing with decreasing cover by dead trees. The distribution of regrowing trees is very heterogeneous across the different treatments and plots. In the clear-cut plots, the extreme microclimatic conditions expose the young trees to additional heat and drought, while the retention of deadwood measurably buffers the temperature and water stress.
Discussion
The resilience and adaptability of naturally regenerating forests that develop into ecosystems that are more diverse seem more promising than restoration through intervention. Apart from hampering restoration under extreme weather conditions, post-fire salvage logging contributes to soil degradation and loss of organic carbon.
Agricultural intensification decreased land cover complexity by converting small complex arable field geometries into large and simple structures which then were managed uniformly. These changes have led to a variety of negative environmental effects and influence ecosystem services. We present a novel small-scale and site-specific cropping system which splits a large field into small homogeneous sub-fields called ‘patches’ grouped in different yield potentials. A detailed workflow is presented to generate new spatially arranged patches with special focus on preprocessing and filtering of multi-year yield data, the variation in patch sizes and the adaptation of maximum working width to use available conventional farm equipment and permanent traffic lanes. The reduction of variance by the used cluster algorithm depends on the within-field heterogeneity. The patch size, the number of growing seasons (GS) used for clustering and the parallel shift of the patch structure along the permanent traffic lane resulted in a change in relative variance. Independent cross validation showed an increased performance of the classification algorithm with increasing number of GS used for clustering. The applied cluster analysis resulted in robust field segregation according to different yield potential zones and provides an innovative method for a novel cropping system.
Since 2017, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) offers transformative learning modules in their curricula, which are called ITL—Innovative Teaching and Learning formats. Student tutors change into the role of teachers and organize lectures, excursions, and assignments at the Real-World Laboratory “Ackerbaum”—an agroforestry system in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Students can learn about agroforestry systems, participate in research, and take practical action. The examination of the module is a scientific report linked to the experimental area. In this study, an attempt was made to verify the quality and impact of teaching formats in the ITL via the analysis of 53 reports created by 170 students as well as surveys among participants. For this purpose, indicators were formulated that capture the quality of scientific methods and the contribution to higher education for sustainable development. Students and tutors appreciate the open working atmosphere and the possibility to actively participate in the course; many leave the module motivated. Some even move toward transformation in agriculture professionally as, e.g., consultants in the field of agroforestry. As a transformative institution, HNEE offers with ITL a rare opportunity for practical application, scientific methods, and transdisciplinary collaboration with different stakeholders to work on future models to change today’s agriculture.
Introducing agro-ecological techniques such as no-tillage systems with cover crops in rotations with soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) could provide more resilience to changing climatic conditions and, at the same time, reduce soil erosion, nitrate leaching, and weed density in the main crop. However, there are challenges in introducing no-tillage techniques in crop systems in Europe as there is little quantitative knowledge about the agro-economic impact. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agronomic and economic impacts of three soybean cropping systems involving a rye (Secale cereal L.) cover crop prior to soybean, i.e., two no-tillage systems; either herbicide-free with crimping the rye or herbicide-based without rye crimping and one plough-based in which rye was cut as green silage. The impacts of these cropping strategies were compared in a three-year cropping system experiment at a research station in north-eastern Germany with and without irrigation. The following parameters were measured: (1) cover crop biomass; (2) weed biomass; (3) soybean plant density; (4) soybean grain yield; and (5) gross margin of the cropping system. The results showed that all three soybean cropping systems can effectively suppress weeds. System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass and highest soybean yield; system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system. The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date. The gross margin was highest in system (C), due to the high soybean grain yield. The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C), although system (B) could be economically attractive in organic farming with higher prices for organic soybean. In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields. Before recommending the application of the no-tillage with cover crop technique for the conditions tested in north-eastern Germany, more investigations on the benefits and risks of this technique are needed. Further research needs to focus on maintaining a high rye biomass as well as on ensuring an early soybean planting date. Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipment is still required in order to develop good management practices for no-tillage herbicide-free systems in European conditions.
As a land use management system, agroforestry has environmental, economic and societal benefits over conventional agriculture or forestry. Important benefits of combining tree growth with agricultural crops and/or forage production systems include higher biodiversity through more diverse habitats, the control of runoff and soil erosion, the augmentation of soil water availability, the creation of microclimates, carbon sequestration and provision of a more diverse farm economy. As the climate changes, north eastern Germany is likely to be particularly prone to severe effects from droughts and wind erosion in the future. However, the area of land under agroforestry makes up less than 2% of the total agricultural area in Germany. Through qualitative interviews with key actors, this study analyzed the benefits of, potentials for and barriers to implementing agroforestry systems in the federal state of Brandenburg. Results showed that agroforestry systems have significant potential in relation to several benefits, particularly the mitigation of soil erosion and stabilization of microclimate regimes. Additionally, agroforestry has the potential to provide wood for energy production or material uses. Although a small but highly innovative and interlinked community exists, administrative barriers and high start-up costs currently hamper the transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry systems.
The estimation of forest biomass is gaining interest not only for calculating harvesting volumes but also for carbon storage estimation. However, bark (and carbon) compounds are not distributed equally along the stem. Particularly when looking at Scots pine, a radical change in the structure of the bark along the stem can be noted. At the bark transition area, the bark changes from thick and rough to thin and smooth. The aim of our study was (1) to analyze the height of the bark transition area where the bark structure changes and (2) to analyze the effect of cardinal direction on the bark thickness. Regression analyses and forward selection were performed including measured tree height, DBH, bark thickness, crown base height and upper and lower heights of the bark transition areas of 375 trees. While the cardinal direction had no effect on bark thickness, DBH was found to have a significant effect on the heights of the bark transition areas, with stand density and tree height having a minor additional effect. These variables can be used to estimate timber volume (without bark) with higher accuracy and to predict the carbon storage potential of forest biomass according to different tree compartments and compounds.
Abstract
Teacher Education for Sustainable Development (TESD) is a niche innovation in teacher education that empowers teachers to prepare learners to address global socio-environmental challenges. To advance the diffusion of this niche innovation into general teacher education, this article offers a systematic literature review based on a qualitative analysis of 158 peer-reviewed publications on TESD research. Our results show that TESD research is a growing field characterized by five types of inquiry: designing learning environments, understanding learner attributes, measuring learning outcomes, promoting systems change, and advancing visions for the field. Major innovation potentials of TESD for more general teacher education are its emphasis on the grand socio-environmental challenges of our times, methodologies to engage with knowledge diversity (e.g., inter/transdisciplinarity), and sustainability science learning approaches (e.g., backcasting). We suggest that future work builds from this review to strengthen links between teacher education and TESD in enhancing quality education.
This research examines the connection between higher education curricula for sustainable development and student development of key competencies for sustainability. The authors conducted a comparative case study that followed ten students from three graduate sustainability programs. Through a combination of student-generated and contextual data, we created a set of learning journeys. These journeys showed that activities which foster reflection, interaction, and real-world connections are especially critical for competence development as part of the whole curriculum. What and how students found most useful depended on individual disposition and we identified four general categories based on prior experience, attitude to learning, and individual goals. Barriers to competency development were frustration, feelings of helplessness, and being unable to link competence to concrete activities or concepts. These barriers could be mitigated through peer interaction and mentorship, environmental support such as spaces for collaboration, and instructor scaffolding. Because no single course can fit the needs of each student, we recommend that beneficial components in the form of courses that support the above-mentioned activities be part of purposeful curriculum design.