Plant species in arable field margins and road verges of central Norway

Plant species composition and species number were studied in two types of field margins: 31 arable field margins and 33 road verges. Both field margin types were adjacent to intensively managed grass or cereal fields. Effects of eight variables on field margin vegetation were studied. Despite having many plant species in common, composition and species number differed between the two field margin types, due to different ecological conditions and margin management. Arable field margins were composed of tall and/or nutrient demanding ubiquitous species and were characterised by species of later successional stages than those of road verges. The vegetation of road verges was lower and species numbers were higher than in arable field margins. The road verges contained several semi-natural meadow species that are declining in abundance. A CCA ordination of the field margins and the recorded variables showed that plant species composition was significantly affected by thickness of litter, slope, width, moisture level and type of crop in the adjacent field. Number of plant species was significantly higher in mown than unmown margins and generally higher in margins adjacent to fields with mainly grass production than in margins adjacent to fields with mainly cereal crops. In order to preserve botanical diversity in this agricultural landscape, the maintenance of regularly mown road verges should be prioritized.     

Stressful but rewarding: Norwegian personnel mobilised for the 2004 tsunami disaster

Adequate responses to disasters and emergency situations rely, among other factors, on coping abilities in disaster workers and emergency personnel. In this study, different aspects of disaster-related stressors and training/experience were investigated in Norwegian personnel (n = 581) mobilised for the 2004 tsunami disaster. The level of stress reactions, measured nine to ten months after the tsunami, was relatively low in this sample, indicating that the personnel coped well with the challenges of the disaster. The level of intrusive memories was higher in disaster-area personnel (n = 335) than in home-base personnel (n = 246). Stress reactions were significantly associated with witnessing experiences (disaster-area group) and with having to reject victims in need of help (both groups). Specific preparation for the mission was associated with a lower level of stress reactions in disaster-area personnel. Such factors may be considered in training and preparation programmes for disaster workers.     

Mental representations of animal and plant species in their social contexts: Results from a survey across Europe

Despite a growing body of literature on public views on biodiversity and nature, our understanding of public attitudes towards animal and plant species is still rudimentary. This study investigates mental representations, constituted by beliefs, of three types of species (a large mammal, a spider and a non-native plant), and explores their links with cultural factors such as value orientations and cultural capital, in order to better understand attitudes towards these species.We conducted a survey in eight sites across Europe (n = 2378) and found strong relationships between beliefs about species, in particular with regard to their harmlessness, value and previous population change, and the desirability of an increase in this species. Other beliefs, such as perceived nativeness, were less influential. We discuss how respondents combined beliefs to mental representations of species, and show how representations are related to species-independent factors that tap respondents’ cultural context, such as socially shared value orientations and education.     

The Norwegian Red List between science and policy

This article explores how science and policy interact using the Norwegian Red List 2006 as a case example. The paper draws on concepts from the sociology of science, interviews with key informants, as well as analysis of a Norwegian newspaper debate about a controversial conservation issue.The paper highlights how the relationship between science and policy can best be described as an interaction rather than simply a transmission of knowledge from one to the other. In addition, the study focuses on the active construction and communication of the science–policy relationship. Regulators, scientists and NGOs, it is argued, strategically define the relationship between science and policy as more straightforward than it really is.The paper suggests that the shaping, simplification and communication of scientific knowledge is best understood as a social process that occurs in three stages, which may overlap to varying degrees. The shaping of scientific knowledge for policy occurs first within the scientific domain. The shaping, we suggest, is the result of both the broader institutional context and a more specific micro-level social context, but it is also the outcome of requirements inherent in the genre of science communication. In the second stage, regulators and actors in the public debate redefine and simplify scientific knowledge to make it better suited to the policy arena. In the final stage, scientists, regulators and NGOs actively seek to define science as objectively true, and independent of the policy arena. By doing so, they are able to strengthen their arguments, regardless of their position on particular issues. But they also contribute to shrouding the social nature of scientific production.     

A North Sea and Baltic Sea Model Ensemble Eutrophication Assessment

A method to combine observations and an ensemble of ecological models is suggested to produce a eutrophication assessment. Using threshold values and methodology from the Oslo and Paris Commissions (OSPAR) and the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), four models are combined to assess eutrophication for the Baltic and North Seas for the year 2006. The assessment indicates that the entire southeastern part of the North Sea, the Kattegat, the Danish Straits, the Gulf of Finland, and the Gulf of Riga as well as parts of the Arkona Basin, the Bornholm Basin, and the Baltic proper may be classified as problem areas. The Bothnian Bay and parts of the Baltic proper, the Bornholm Basin, and the Arkona Basin are classified as potential problem areas. This method is a useful tool for the classification of eutrophication; however, the results depend on the threshold values, and further work is needed within both OSPAR and HELCOM to harmonize these values.