Legal prerequisites for ecosystem-based management in the Baltic Sea area: The example of eutrophication

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of law in the management of the Baltic Sea, with focus on eutrophication. It aims to identify legal instruments or structures realizing an ecosystem approach. This also includes a discussion of the prerequisites of law as contributor to ecosystem-based management (EBM), as well as evaluation of current legal instruments. While ecosystem approach to environmental management is central to contemporary environmental management policy, it is still unclear what such an approach entails in concrete legal terms. The scope of the analysis stretches from international and EU legal regimes, to implementation and regulation within the national legal systems. A conclusion is that the management structures need further development to properly realize EBM, for example, through concretization of management measures, and clarification of duties and responsibilities for their realization.     

Equilibrium sampling: partitioning of organochlorine compounds from lipids into polydimethylsiloxane

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) can be used for equilibrium sampling of environmental pollutants in a large variety of matrices including biota. For comparison with lipid-normalized concentrations e.g. from biota monitoring programmes, reliable lipid to PDMS partition ratios (K(Lipid,PDMS)) are required. Additionally, K(Lipid,PDMS) facilitate comparison of equilibrium sampling data obtained in various environmental media and can be helpful to convert equilibrium sampling data into a more informative form. This work investigated the equilibrium partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and selected organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) between lipids from biota of different trophic levels and PDMS. One vegetable oil, a fish oil and seal oil were investigated. The lipid to PDMS partition ratios were compound-specific and ranged from 14.5 to 62.9 g/g with correction for lipid uptake into the PDMS and from 13.0 to 54.8 g/g without correction. Additionally, PDMS served as a reference partitioning phase for the accurate determination of lipid to lipid partition ratios, which for all analytes were close to unity. Evaluating the results in a bioaccumulation context, they indicate that the equilibrium partitioning of neutral lipophilic environmental contaminants into the lipids of the three investigated species will be very similar, although they represent three distinct trophic levels.     

Facial asymmetry is negatively related to condition in female macaque monkeys

The face is an important visual trait in social communication across many species. In evolutionary terms, there are large and obvious selective advantages in detecting healthy partners, both in terms of avoiding individuals with poor health to minimise contagion and in mating with individuals with high health to help ensure healthy offspring. Many models of sexual selection suggest that an individual's phenotype provides cues to their quality. Fluctuating asymmetry is a trait that is proposed to be an honest indicator of quality, and previous studies have demonstrated that rhesus monkeys gaze longer at symmetric faces, suggesting preferences for such faces. The current study examined the relationship between measured facial symmetry and measures of health in a captive population of female rhesus macaque monkeys. We measured asymmetry from landmarks marked on front-on facial photographs and computed measures of health based on veterinary health and condition ratings, number of minor and major wounds sustained and gain in weight over the first 4?years of life. Analysis revealed that facial asymmetry was negatively related to condition-related health measures, with symmetric individuals being healthier than more asymmetric individuals. Facial asymmetry appears to be an honest indicator of health in rhesus macaques, and asymmetry may then be used by conspecifics in mate-choice situations. More broadly, our data support the notion that faces are valuable sources of information in non-human primates and that sexual selection based on facial information is potentially important across the primate lineage.     

Model correlation in stochastic forest simulators—A case of multilevel multivariate model for seedling establishment

Forest development can be predicted by the use of forest simulators based on various statistical models describing the forest and its dynamics. One potential approach to study the reliability of the simulators is to utilise Monte Carlo simulation techniques to generate a predictive distribution of a forest characteristic. One problem in examining the effect of model uncertainty in forestry decision making, however, is correlation between the models. If this is not taken into account, predictions of the model systems may become biased, and the effect of errors on decision making may be underestimated. In reality, the models often are interdependent, but the correlations usually are not known because the models have been estimated in separate studies. The aim of this paper is to study the impacts of between-model dependencies on the predictive distribution of forest characteristics by Monte Carlo simulation techniques. We utilise a case of predicting seedling establishment of planted Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands as an example with multivariate multilevel model structures. Regardless of low cross-correlations between the models, ignoring them led to significant underestimation of the amount of competing broadleaves to be removed in pre-commercial thinning. Therefore, we recommend that between-model dependencies are clarified and considered in stochastic simulations. In our case, between-model interdependencies can be reliably estimated with a limited dataset. In addition, estimating the models separately and using the model residuals to estimate interdependencies between models were also sufficient to take the between-model dependencies into account when producing stochastic predictions for silvicultural decision making.     

Global change shifts vegetation and plant-parasite interactions in a boreal mire

The aim of this study was to detect vegetation change and to examine trophic interactions in a Sphagnum-dominated mire in response to raised temperature and nitrogen (N) addition. A long-term global-change experiment was established in 1995, with monthly additions of N (30 kg x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) and sulfur (20 kg x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) during the vegetation period. Mean air temperature was raised by 3.6 degrees C with warming chambers. Vegetation responses were negligible for all treatments for the first four years, and no sulfur effect was seen during the course of the experiment. However, after eight years of continuous treatments, the closed Sphagnum carpet was drastically reduced from 100% in 1995 down to 41%, averaged over all N-treated plots. Over the same period, total vascular plant cover (of the graminoid Eriophorum vaginatum and the two dwarf-shrubs Andromeda polifolia and Vaccinium oxycoccos) increased from 24% to an average of 70% in the N plots. Nitrogen addition caused leaf N concentrations to rise in the two dwarf-shrubs, while for E. vaginatum, leaf N remained unchanged, indicating that the graminoid to a larger extent than the dwarf-shrubs allocated supplemented N to growth. Concurrent with foliar N accumulation of the two dwarf-shrubs, we observed increased disease incidences caused by parasitic fungi, with three species out of 16 showing a significant increase. Warming caused a significant decrease in occurrence of three parasitic fungal species. In general, decreased disease incidences were found in temperature treatments for A. polifolia and in plots without N addition for V. oxycoccos. The study demonstrates that both bryophytes and vascular plants at boreal mires, only receiving background levels of nitrogen of about 2 kg x ha(-1) x yr(-1), exhibit a time lag of more than five years in response to nitrogen and temperature rise, emphasizing the need for long-term experiments. Moreover, it shows that trophic interactions are likely to differ markedly in response to climate change and increased N deposition, and that these interactions might play an important role in controlling the change in mire vegetation composition, with implications for both carbon sequestration and methane emission.     

Evaluating the management strategies of a forestland estate--the S-O-S approach

Connecting Multiple Criteria Decision Support (MCDS) methods with SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis yields analytical priorities for the factors included in SWOT analysis and makes them commensurable. In addition, decision alternatives can be evaluated with respect to each SWOT factor. In this way, SWOT analysis provides the basic frame within which to perform analyses of decision situations. MCDS methods, in turn, assist in carrying out SWOT more analytically and in elaborating the results of the analyses so that alternative strategic decisions can be prioritized also with respect to the entire SWOT. The A'WOT analysis is an example of such hybrid methods. It makes combined use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT. In this study, a hybrid method of the Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis with Ordinal criteria (SMAA-O) and SWOT is developed as an elaboration of the basic ideas of A'WOT. The method is called S-O-S (SMAA-O in SWOT). SMAA-O enables the handling of ordinal preference information as well as mixed data consisting of both ordinal and cardinal information. Using SMAA-O is enough to just rank decision elements instead of giving them cardinal preference or priority ratios as required by the most commonly used MCDS methods. Using SMAA-O, in addition to analyzing what the recommended action is under certain priorities of the criteria, enables one to analyze what kind of preferences would support each action. The S-O-S approach is illustrated by a case study, where the shareholders of a forest holding owned by a private partnership prepared the SWOT analysis. Six alternative strategies for the management of their forest holding and of old cottage located on the holding were formed. After S-O-S analyses were carried out, one alternative was found to be the most recommendable. However, different importance orders of the SWOT groups would lead to different recommendations, since three of the six alternatives were efficient according to S-O-S analyses.     

The missing pieces for better future predictions in subarctic ecosystems: A Torneträsk case study

Arctic and subarctic ecosystems are experiencing substantial changes in hydrology, vegetation, permafrost conditions, and carbon cycling, in response to climatic change and other anthropogenic drivers, and these changes are likely to continue over this century. The total magnitude of these changes results from multiple interactions among these drivers. Field measurements can address the overall responses to different changing drivers, but are less capable of quantifying the interactions among them. Currently, a comprehensive assessment of the drivers of ecosystem changes, and the magnitude of their direct and indirect impacts on subarctic ecosystems, is missing. The Torneträsk area, in the Swedish subarctic, has an unrivalled history of environmental observation over 100 years, and is one of the most studied sites in the Arctic. In this study, we summarize and rank the drivers of ecosystem change in the Torneträsk area, and propose research priorities identified, by expert assessment, to improve predictions of ecosystem changes. The research priorities identified include understanding impacts on ecosystems brought on by altered frequency and intensity of winter warming events, evapotranspiration rates, rainfall, duration of snow cover and lake-ice, changed soil moisture, and droughts. This case study can help us understand the ongoing ecosystem changes occurring in the Torneträsk area, and contribute to improve predictions of future ecosystem changes at a larger scale. This understanding will provide the basis for the future mitigation and adaptation plans needed in a changing climate.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01381-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Influence of diesel concentration on the fate of phenanthrene in soil

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of diesel on the loss and bioavailability of soil-associated [14C]phenanthrene with time. In addition, the temporal development of phenanthrene catabolic activity and the impact of co-contaminant mixtures on the soil microflora were also assessed. With respect to compound fate, the results suggested that competitive effects between dissimilar co-contaminants did influence [14C]phenanthrene loss. Where diesel was present at a concentration of 0, 20, 200 and 2000 mg kg(-1), increased phenanthrene loss was observed with increasing diesel concentrations. In the 20,000 mg kg(-1) diesel treatment, however, a significantly higher amount of the initial [14C]activity remained after 225 days. Furthermore, initial degradation of phenanthrene in this treatment was retarded as a result of repressed phenanthrene catabolic activity. These results were complemented by a 4-fold increase in total culturable bacterial cell numbers in the 20,000 mg kg(-1) treatment when compared with the 2000 mg kg(-1) after 225 days of incubation time.     

Analysis of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in air samples from Northwest Europe

Air samples were collected from 4 field sites in Europe: 2 sites from the UK, Hazelrigg (semi-rural) and Manchester (urban); 1 site from Ireland: Mace Head (rural); and 1 site from Norway: Kjeller (rural). Additionally, air samples were taken from indoor locations in Troms?, Norway. Air samples were collected using high-volume air samplers employing sampling modules containing glass-fibre filters (GFFs, particle phase), and glass columns with a polyurethane foam (PUF)-XAD-2-PUF sandwich (gaseous phase). Typical outdoor air volumes required for the determination of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) ranged from 500-1800 m3. GFFs and PUF-XAD columns were analysed separately to obtain information on phase partitioning. All air samples were analysed for volatile, neutral PFAS, with selected GFF samples halved for analysis of both neutral and airborne particle-bound ionic PFAS. Volatile PFAS were extracted from air samples by cold-column immersion with ethyl acetate, and were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the positive chemical ionisation mode (GC-PCI-MS). Ionic PFAS were extracted from GFFs by sonication in methanol, and were analysed by liquid chromatography-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) using electrospray ionisation in the negative ion mode (ESI-). Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) was often the predominant analyte found in the particulate phase at concentrations ranging from 1-818 pg m(-3), and 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) and 6:2 FTOH were the prevailing analytes found in the gas phase, at 5-243 pg m(-3) and 5-189 pg m(-3), respectively. These three PFAS were ubiquitous in air samples. Many other PFAS, both neutral and ionic, were also present, and levels of individual analytes were in the 1-125 pg m(-3) range. Levels of some PFAS exceeded those of traditional persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In this study, the presence of 12:2 FTOH and fluorotelomer olefins (FTolefins), and ionic PFAS other than perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and PFOA, are reported in air samples for the first time. Concentrations of neutral PFAS were several orders of magnitude higher in indoor air than outdoor air, making homes a likely important diffuse source of PFAS to the atmosphere. Our repeated findings of non-volatile ionic PFAS in air samples raises the possibility that they might directly undergo significant atmospheric transport on particles away from source regions, and more atmospheric measurements of ionic PFAS are strongly recommended.