Two decades of experimental manipulations of heaths and forest understory in the subarctic

Current atmospheric warming due to increase of greenhouse gases will have severe consequences for the structure and functioning of arctic ecosystems with changes that, in turn, may feed back on the global-scale composition of the atmosphere. During more than two decades, environmental controls on biological and biogeochemical processes and possible atmospheric feedbacks have been intensely investigated at Abisko, Sweden, by long-term ecosystem manipulations. The research has addressed questions like environmental regulation of plant and microbial community structure and biomass, carbon and nutrient pools and element cycling, including exchange of greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds, with focus on fundamental processes in the interface between plants, soil and root-associated and free-living soil microorganisms. The ultimate goal has been to infer from these multi-decadal experiments how subarctic and arctic ecosystems will respond to likely environmental changes in the future. Here we give an overview of some of the experiments and main results.     

The World Needs a New Energy Paradigm

During 19–20 October 2009, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences arranged the international symposium Energy 2050 in Stockholm. The symposium was held in association with the Swedish EU presidency in autumn 2009. Internationally renowned scientists assessed the energy issue in a broad perspective, with particular emphasis on the possibilities of a fossil-free future. The symposium focused on key topics emanating from the in-depth energy studies carried through by the Academy´s Energy Committee since 2005. The world community is facing a challenge of historic proportions to define a new energy paradigm based on fossil-energy substitutes. This article gives an overview of the current global energy situation (2007) and of the technologies which have the major potential for supplying energy up to year 2050 without jeopardizing the CO₂ emission targets.     

Improving inverse model fitting in trees—Anisotropy,multiplicative effects,and Bayes estimation

Model fitting for individual-based effects in forests has some problems. Because samples measuring the separate influence of each individual are rarely available, the measured value in the sample represents the influence of all surrounding individual trees. Therefore, it is helpful to build inverse models that use the spatial pattern of the variable as well as that of the source trees. For example, since seed dispersal is influenced by wind effects, a model is discussed describing anisotropic effects to ensure an unbiased estimate of the total fruit number. Further, we present a model describing the absorption of radiation by trees. In this case a multiplicative combination of individual effects yields the total effect. Our approach uses logarithmic transformations of the original data to model multiplicative combinations as sum of transformed single effects. For fitting model parameters we propose an approach based on Bayesian statistics, to ensure ecologically interpretable parameters.     

Uncertainties and recommendations

An assessment of the impacts of changes in climate and UV-B radiation on Arctic terrestrial ecosystems, made within the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment (ACIA), highlighted the profound implications of projected warming in particular for future ecosystem services, biodiversity and feedbacks to climate. However, although our current understanding of ecological processes and changes driven by climate and UV-B is strong in some geographical areas and in some disciplines, it is weak in others. Even though recently the strength of our predictions has increased dramatically with increased research effort in the Arctic and the introduction of new technologies, our current understanding is still constrained by various uncertainties. The assessment is based on a range of approaches that each have uncertainties, and on data sets that are often far from complete. Uncertainties arise from methodologies and conceptual frameworks, from unpredictable surprises, from lack of validation of models, and from the use of particular scenarios, rather than predictions, of future greenhouse gas emissions and climates. Recommendations to reduce the uncertainties are wide-ranging and relate to all disciplines within the assessment. However, a repeated theme is the critical importance of achieving an adequate spatial and long-term coverage of experiments, observations and monitoring of environmental changes and their impacts throughout the sparsely populated and remote region that is the Arctic.     

Managing Protected Areas Under Climate Change: Challenges and Priorities

The implementation of adaptation actions in local conservation management is a new and complex task with multiple facets, influenced by factors differing from site to site. A transdisciplinary perspective is therefore required to identify and implement effective solutions. To address this, the International Conference on Managing Protected Areas under Climate Change brought together international scientists, conservation managers, and decision-makers to discuss current experiences with local adaptation of conservation management. This paper summarizes the main issues for implementing adaptation that emerged from the conference. These include a series of conclusions and recommendations on monitoring, sensitivity assessment, current and future management practices, and legal and policy aspects. A range of spatial and temporal scales must be considered in the implementation of climate-adapted management. The adaptation process must be area-specific and consider the ecosystem and the social and economic conditions within and beyond protected area boundaries. However, a strategic overview is also needed: management at each site should be informed by conservation priorities and likely impacts of climate change at regional or even wider scales. Acting across these levels will be a long and continuous process, requiring coordination with actors outside the “traditional” conservation sector. To achieve this, a range of research, communication, and policy/legal actions is required. We identify a series of important actions that need to be taken at different scales to enable managers of protected sites to adapt successfully to a changing climate.     

城市区域的水资源管理和保护

为了管理和保护城市水资源，需要有各种各样的方法 .污水处理是昂贵的，而且发展中国家经常使用的 2－ 4步处理也阻碍了他们的污水处理 .化学沉淀法和废水稳定池＋构造湿地组合法常常可以明显地减少对水资源的冲击 .建议发展中国家最好考虑采用这些方法 .     

Comparison of tarsal and cuticular chemistry in the leaf beetle Gastrophysa viridula (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and an evaluation of solid-phase microextraction and solvent extraction techniques

Tarsal substrate adhesion in insects is based on the effect of a thin film of liquid in the contact zone, which is deposited as droplets on the surface an insect has walked on, but as yet, little is known about the chemical composition of the liquid. In the present study, interference reflection microscopical images of the tarsal contact and footprints of Gastrophysa viridula (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are depicted and the chemical composition of tarsal liquids and cuticular components are investigated by means of solid-phase microextraction and solvent extraction of whole beetles and footprints. Based on this comparative methodical approach, we are first to provide evidence from direct sampling for the chemical congruence of cuticular lipids and tarsal liquid in beetles. Furthermore, differences resulting from the applied sampling techniques are assessed and advantages of the respective methods are discussed.