Reviving wood-pastures for biodiversity and people: A case study from western Estonia

Wood-pastures are associated with high cultural and biodiversity values in Europe. However, due to their relatively low productivity, large areas of wood-pastures have been lost over the last century. In some areas, incentive schemes have been developed to revive wood-pastures. We investigated the effects of one such scheme in western Estonia. We compared the structure of grazed wood-pastures (old and restored) to those of abandoned wood-pastures and ungrazed forest stands to explore the effects of management, and conducted interviews with 24 farmers to investigate their motivations to carry out the management. We found a positive influence of active management on the semi-open structure of wood-pastures. Financial support was vital for management, but personal values related to tradition also played an important role. The interviewees differed widely in their range of motivations, suggesting that other strategies in addition to financial incentives would further improve the management of wood-pastures in the region.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0719-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Climate change mitigation policy paradigms—national objectives and alignments

The aim of this paper is to assess how policy goals in relation to the promotion of green growth, energy security, pollution control and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions have been aligned in policies that have been implemented in selected countries during the last decades as a basis for discussing how a multi objective policy paradigm can contribute to future climate change mitigation. The paper includes country case studies from Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and the United States covering renewable energy options, industry, transportation, the residential sector and cross-sectoral policies. These countries and regions together contribute more than two thirds of global GHG emissions. The paper finds that policies that are nationally driven and that have multiple objectives, including climate-change mitigation, have been widely applied for decades in both developing countries and industrialised countries. Many of these policies have a long history, and adjustments have taken place based on experience and cost effectiveness concerns. Various energy and climate-change policy goals have worked together in these countries, and in practice a mix of policies reflecting specific priorities and contexts have been pursued. In this way, climate-change mitigation has been aligned with other policy objectives and integrated into broader policy packages, though in many cases specific attention has not been given to the achievement of large GHG emission reductions. Based on these experiences with policy implementation, the paper highlights a number of key coordination and design issues that are pertinent to the successful joint implementation of several energy and climate-change policy goals.     

Investigations of mercury concentrations in walleye and other fish in the Athabasca River ecosystem with increasing oil sands developments

Recent studies have reported an increasing trend of mercury concentrations in walleye (Sander vitreus) from the Athabasca River, north eastern Alberta (Canada); these studies were based on three years of comparison and attributed the mercury increase to expanding oil sands developments in the region. In order to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of mercury trends in fish, we compiled an extensive database for walleye, lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), northern pike (Esox lucius) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) using all available data obtained from provincial, federal, and industry-funded monitoring and other programs. Evidence for increasing trends in mercury concentrations were examined for each species by location and year also considering fish weight and length. In the immediate oil sands area of the Athabasca River, mercury concentrations decreased (p < 0.001) in walleye and lake whitefish over 1984-2011. In western Lake Athabasca and its delta, mercury concentrations decreased (p < 0.0001) in northern pike (1981-2009) although no trend was evident for walleye (1981-2005) and lake trout (1978-2009). Mercury concentrations in lake trout from Namur Lake, a small lake west of the oil sands area, were higher in 2007 than 2000 (p < 0.0001); it is difficult to ascribe this increase to an oil sands impact because similar increases in mercury concentrations have been observed in lake trout from similar sized lakes in the Northwest Territories. While mercury emissions rates have increased with oil sands development and the landscape become more disturbed, mercury concentrations remained low in water and sediments in the Athabasca River and its tributaries and similar to concentrations observed outside the development areas and in earlier decades. Our fish database was assembled from a series of studies that differed in study purpose, design, and analytical methods. Future monitoring programs investigating mercury trends in fish should be more rigorous in their design.     

A user evaluation of biodegradable cutlery

This paper summarizes a study evaluating the acceptance and perceived performance of disposable cutlery made from starch-based biodegradable resins relative to nondegradable polystyrene cutlery. Two hundred forty-three sailors onboard three U.S. Navy vessels ate their lunch using either biodegradable cutlery made with resins manufactured by one of two commercial companies or polystyrene cutlery. The cutlery was rated on several sensory and performance dimensions as well as for overall acceptability. Results indicated that sailors rated both the biodegradable and the polystyrene utensils as easy to hold. There were also no differences in the perceived ease of using each of the spoons. However, compared to the polystyrene utensils, both types of biodegradable utensils were viewed as less sturdy, as having a less attractive color, and as being less acceptable overall. The biodegradable forks and knives were also rated as more difficult to use for piercing and cutting food than the polystyrene ones. In addition, several significant differences emerged between the two types of biodegradable cutlery. The results are discussed in terms of the need for continued consumer testing of products developed from biodegradable polymeric materials.     

Does delayed fertilization facilitate sperm competition in bats?

Reproductive delays between mating and birth may provide a previously unconsidered avenue for post-copulatory sexual selection in mammals. In particular, delayed fertilization could provide an enhanced opportunity for sperm competition by extending the time for ejaculates to interact in the female reproductive tract. We tested the prediction that species with delayed fertilization exhibit greater degrees of sperm competition than those without delays by examining testis volume (a proxy for sperm competition) in 38 species of bats. Examination of fluid-preserved museum specimens of bat species with and without delays revealed that species with delays (in particular those with delayed fertilization) had significantly larger testes than species without them. Although it predicts the presence of delayed fertilization, hibernation did not predict relative testis size. We conclude that, once they evolve, reproductive delays may facilitate sperm competition.     

Ultra trace simultaneous determination of 50 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biota using pMRM GC-MS/MS

Abstract

A saponification extraction method with gas chromatography pseudo-MRM (pMRM) mass spectrometry detection was developed for the determination of 50 total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAH50, a combination of parent and alkylated homologues) in biota. The method was aimed at monitoring and identification of potential TPAH contaminants in bitumen impacted environments. Alkylated PAHs were determined by multi-level, quantitative calibration using parent PAHs. The developed and thoroughly validated method required only one injection for TPAH50 analysis which represents significant saving of time and expensive authentic alkylated standards. The current method was tested with certified reference mussel tissue NIST 1974c and performed well. In a comparison study, the method reached a limit of quantitation (LOQ) for the TPAH50 between 0.1 and 0.2?ng g^?1, while the QuEChERs enhanced matrix removal – lipid (EMR) kit produced by Agilent showed an LOQ of 5–10?ng g^?1. The current method relied on response factors (RF) for the quantitation of alkylated PAHs determined against parent PAHs. These RFs were shown to be stable and consistent over the course of 1 year, during which over 200 routine environmental biota monitoring samples were analyzed. The environmental biota monitoring samples analyzed include muscle, carcass and liver, with an average total PAH50 concentration of 13, 90 and 135?ng g^?1, respectively. Results show significant differences in the distributions of 1 ringed, 2 ringed, 3 ringed, 4 ringed, and 5+ ringed TPAHs between the types of biota samples.     

Operating parameters for high nitrite accumulation during nitrification in a rotating biological nitrifying contactor.

Incomplete nitrification was studied in a completely and partially submerged rotating biological contactor (RBC). In a partially submerged RBC without additional aeration, 50 to 90% nitrite accumulation (alpha) was achieved at rotation speeds (omega) of 2 to 18 min(-1). In a completely submerged RBC operating during 80 days, a higher alpha of 96% was achieved at omega = 2 min(-1). Incomplete nitrification in a completely submerged RBC at oxygen concentrations of 1.5 to 6.8 mg O2/L indicated that the mass transfer of oxygen is rate-limiting. Modeling of the completely submerged RBC predicts that the oxygen profile will not penetrate the biofilm more than 30 microm, thereby strongly limiting the nitrite-oxidizer growth and causing high nitrite accumulation. Molecular analysis (i.e., fluorescence in situ hybridization) indicated that the nitrite-oxidizers are superficially located (<200 microm) and that the ammonia-oxidizers comprise up to approximately 800 microm of the biofilm.     

Concentrations of dioxin-like PCB congeners in unweathered Aroclors by HRGC/HRMS using EPA Method 1668A

We have determined the congener compositions of nine commercial Aroclor products of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the sub-part-per-million level using high-resolution gas chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1668A. These Aroclor composition data should allow improved characterization and risk assessment of PCB contamination at hazardous waste sites, particularly for dioxin-like PCB congeners. By combining the data on the concentrations of each dioxin-like congener with its World Health Organization toxicity equivalency factor, we have established dioxin toxic equivalent concentrations for each pure Aroclor product.     

Release from bats: genetic distance and sensoribehavioural regression in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus

The auditory thresholds of the AN2 interneuron and the behavioural thresholds of the anti-bat flight-steering responses that this cell evokes are less sensitive in female Pacific field crickets that live where bats have never existed (Moorea) compared with individuals subjected to intense levels of bat predation (Australia). In contrast, the sensitivity of the auditory interneuron, ON1 which participates in the processing of both social signals and bat calls, and the thresholds for flight orientation to a model of the calling song of male crickets show few differences between the two populations. Genetic analyses confirm that the two populations are significantly distinct, and we conclude that the absence of bats has caused partial regression in the nervous control of a defensive behaviour in this insect. This study represents the first examination of natural evolutionary regression in the neural basis of a behaviour along a selection gradient within a single species.     

Comparison of four different methods for reliability evaluation of ecotoxicity data: a case study of non-standard test data used in environmental risk assessments of pharmaceutical substances

Part 2 presents measures at the city scale, which are distinguished into object- and area-related means. The former ones include emission reduction, energy gaining and saving, as well as the climate-improving impact of rooftop and façade greening. Area-related means refer to the reduction of radiation temperature through shading and transpiration as well as impact of urban green areas of different size on the urban climate. Furthermore the opportunities to use subsurface urban heat island as an energy-reservoir for cooling or heating are discussed.