Establishing conversation spaces in hastily formed networks: the worst fire in modern Swedish history

In presenting examples from the most extensive and demanding fire in modern Swedish history, this paper describes challenges facing hastily formed networks in exceptional situations. Two concepts that have been used in the analysis of the socio‐technical systems that make up a response are conversation space and sensemaking. This paper argues that a framework designed to promote understanding of the sensemaking process must take into consideration the time and the location at which an individual is engaged in an event. In hastily formed networks, location is partly mediated through physical systems that form conversation spaces of players and their interaction practices. This paper identifies and discusses four challenges to the formation of shared conversation spaces. It is based on the case study of the 2006 Bodträskfors forest fire in Sweden and draws on the experiences of organised volunteers and firefighters who participated in a hastily formed network created to combat the fire.     

From teleconnection to telecoupling: taking stock of an emerging framework in land system science

Land use change is influenced by a complexity of drivers that transcend spatial, institutional and temporal scales. The analytical framework of telecoupling has recently been proposed in land system science to address this complexity, particularly the increasing importance of distal connections, flows and feedbacks characterising change in land systems. This framework holds important potential for advancing the analysis of land system change. In this article, we review the state of the art of the telecoupling framework in the land system science literature. The article traces the development of the framework from teleconnection to telecoupling and presents two approaches to telecoupling analysis currently proposed in the literature. Subsequently, we discuss a number of analytical challenges related to categorisation of systems, system boundaries, hierarchy and scale. Finally, we propose approaches to address these challenges by looking beyond land system science to theoretical perspectives from economic geography, social metabolism studies, political ecology and cultural anthropology.     

Socioeconomic outcomes of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia

Agricultural land use is transforming rapidly in Southeast Asia, often supported by development policies aiming primarily at economic growth. However, the socioeconomic outcomes of these changes for smallholder farmers remain unclear. Here, we systematically review cases of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia to assess their socioeconomic outcomes and potential trade-off and synergies in these outcomes. Of the 126 reviewed cases, we find mostly positive outcomes for income (SDG 1, 100 cases) and employment (SDG 8, 11 cases), while outcomes on health (SDG 3, 9 cases) were mixed, and outcomes for food security (SDG 2, 44 cases), gender equality (SDG 5, 13 cases), and economic equality (SDG 10, 14 cases) were mostly negative. Studies describing multiple outcomes show indications of synergies between income and food security, and between income and employment, but also potential trade-offs between income and economic equality. In addition, we find that economic land concessions result in multiple negative outcomes more often than other types of land governance regimes. The results provide evidence that economic gains from agricultural land use change often come at a cost of other dimensions of sustainable development.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-022-01712-4.     

Residual Effect of Induced Water Stress and Nitrogen Addition on the Mycobiota in Scots Pine Stands

Mycobiota (fungi, lichens and myxomycetes) was examined in permanent plots following experiments of artificial drought (D) and nitrogen addition (N) and compared with untreated forest (C), in Scots pine stand planted on Arenosols. Species diversity and relationships between fungal community structure and environmental variables (plant species numbers and cover, bryophyte cover, soil and bark pH, tree mortality) were explored. Both D and N treatments lead to decrease of fungal species in general, however, responses of individual trophic and ecological groups varied. The strongest effect of the treatments was observed for soil fungi, especially mycorrhizal: numbers of fruiting species and ectomycorrhizal root tips decreased, and species composition has changed. Saprotrophic fungi reacted by changes in species composition but not in numbers. Of the studied environmental variables, the most significant effect on mycobiota had bryophyte and vascular plant cover as well as vascular plant species numbers.     

Status and trends of terrestrial arthropod abundance and diversity in the North Atlantic region of the Arctic

Ambio - The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP) provides an opportunity to improve our knowledge of Arctic arthropod diversity, but initial baseline studies are required to...     

Population-based assessment of a vehicle fleet with seat belts providing lower shoulder belt forces than today

Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify the population-based effects of a lower shoulder belt load limit on front row occupants in frontal car crashes.

Method: Crashes of modern vehicles from the GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) are corrected for bias and projected to the national level. Injury risk functions are computed for the injury severity levels Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 2+, MAIS 3+, and fatal, stratified by 2 age cohorts (16–44 years of age and 45 years or older). To assess the field effectivity of a “softer belt,” the projected crash frequency data are modified separately for the 2 age cohorts such that its risk structure represents the risk of a softer belt. Given those 2 samples, the field effectivity of a softer belt is derived for several shares of the younger age cohort according to the injury severity levels MAIS 2+, MAIS 3+, and fatal.

Results: The injury risk distribution of the projected crash frequency data, represented here by the injury risk functions obtained, fits well into the injury risk distribution of other data sets (Sweden, United States, and Japan) given in the literature. The relative effects of a lower belt force are stable over the different ratios of the younger and old age cohorts. At the MAIS 2+ level, a lower belt force can significantly reduce the number of injuries (about 10%). A lower belt force does not significantly affect the number of MAIS 3+ injuries. A lower belt force can, however, more than double the number of fatal injuries.

Conclusions: Because the number of fatal injuries rises dramatically due to lower belt force, the reduction in the number of MAIS 2+ injuries comes at a very high cost. Therefore, whether reducing the belt force limit is the right approach is questionable.     

Education and advice contribute to increased density of broadleaved conservation trees, but not saplings, in young forest in Sweden

The effectiveness of different conservation policies is debated, but the policies are rarely evaluated quantitatively. A voluntary or 'soft' policy based mainly on education provides information about ecosystems and effects of land use, to encourage conservation action. Swedish forestry relies mainly on soft policy, with substantial resources for education and advice to more than 200,000 forest owners, while legal regulation is weak. Increased retention of broadleaved trees at clear-cutting, with environmental benefits in the conifer-dominated forestry, is important in the policy. We used the Swedish National Forest Inventory to analyse this policy for young forests in southern Sweden. Between 1983-1987 and 1998-2002 the policy had no positive effect on saplings (1.3m tall to 4.9 cm dbh) of birch, oak, beech and other species that mostly decreased in density, due to planting of conifers and browsing by ungulates. However, broadleaved conservation trees (>or=15 cm dbh) increased in density, e.g. to about one oak and six birches per ha in young coniferous forest in 1998-2002. The relative increase in density was higher for large (>or=20 cm dbh) than for small trees (15-20 cm dbh). The density of conservation trees was higher on forestland of high than of low productivity. Thus, the soft conservation policy did not influence regeneration of saplings in this type of forestry system, but large broadleaved trees were increasingly saved at 'clear-cuttings'. Advice and educational programmes probably contributed to this result. A continued increase in conservation trees at harvest may require economical support to forest owners.     

Evaluation of Monte Carlo-based calibrations of HPGe detectors for in situ gamma-ray spectrometry

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of Monte Carlo-based calibrations for in situ gamma-ray spectrometry. We have performed in situ measurements at five different sites in Sweden using HPGe detectors to determine ground deposition activity levels of ¹³⁷Cs from the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Monte Carlo-calculated efficiency calibration factors were compared with corresponding values calculated using a more traditional semi-empirical method. In addition, results for the activity ground deposition were also compared with activity densities found in soil samples. In order to facilitate meaningful comparisons between the different types of results, the combined standard uncertainty of in situ measurements was assessed for both calibration methods. Good agreement, both between the two calibration methods, and between in situ measurements and soil samples, was found at all five sites. Uncertainties in in situ measurements for the given measurement conditions, about 20 years after the fallout occurred, were found to be in the range 15–20% (with a coverage factor k = 1, i.e. with a confidence interval of about 68%).     

Optimization of animal manure vermicomposting based on biomass production of earthworms and higher plants

The goal of this study was to optimize the mixture of swine manure (SM) and cattle manure (CM) used in the vermicomposting process, seeking to increase the manure biodegradation rate and enhance the biomass production of both earthworms and higher plants. To achieve this goal, physico-chemical parameters were determined to assess the final compost quality after 50 days of vermicomposting. The different manure ratios used to produce the composts (C) were as follows (SM:CM, % m/m basis): C1 100:0, C2 (75:25), C3 (50:50), C4 (25:75), and C5 (0:100). In addition, the earthworm biomass and the phytoproductivity of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants grown in mixtures (1:1) of natural soil and the most viable vermicomposts were investigated. The C1 and C2 compost compositions were associated with high earthworm mortality rates. The C3 compost provided the highest mineral concentrations and C5 showed the highest lettuce yield (wet biomass). The results verify that stabilized cattle manure is an excellent substrate for the vermicomposting process and that fresh swine manure must be mixed with pre-stabilized cattle manure to ensure an optimized vermicomposting process, which must be controlled in terms of temperature and ammonia levels. It is concluded that small livestock farmers could add value to swine manure by applying the vermicomposting process, without the need for high investments and with a minimal requirement for management of the biodegradation process. These are important technical aspects to be considered when circular economy principles are applied to small farms.     

Response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with activated carbon in a large-scale field experiment in the Grenland fjords,Norway

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A field experiment with thin-layer capping was conducted in the Grenland fjords, Norway, for remediation in situ of mercury and dioxin-contaminated...