Traditional Indonesian homegardens harbour often high crop diversity, which appears to be an important basis for a sustainable food-first strategy. Crop pollination by insects is a key ecosystem service but threatened by agricultural intensification and land conversion. Gaps in knowledge of actual benefits from pollination services limit effective management planning. Using an integrative and agronomic framework for the assessment of functional pollination services, we will conduct ecological experiments and surveys in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. We propose to study pollination services and net revenues of the locally important crop species cucumber, carrot, and eggplant in traditional homegardens in a forest distance gradient, which is hypothesized to affect bee community structure and diversity. We will assess pollination services and interactions with environmental variables limiting fruit maturation, based on pollination experiments in a split-plot design of the following factors: drought, nutrient deficiency, weed pressure, and herbivory. The overall goal of this project is the development of 'biodiversity-friendly' land-use management, balancing human and ecological needs for local smallholders.
Increasing population pressure is leading to unsustainable land use in North Vietnamese highlands and destruction of natural habitats. The resulting loss of biodiversity includes plant genetic resources - both wild (= non-cultivated) species and cultivated landraces - adapted to local conditions, and local knowledge concerning the plants. A particularly important group among endangered plants are the legumes (1) because Southeast Asia is a major centre of genetic diversity for this family, and (2) because the potential contribution of legumes to sustainable land use is, due to their multifunctionality (e.g., soil improvement, human and livestock nutrition), especially high. The project aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of legumes with an integrated approach wherein a series of components are combined: (1) A participatory, indigenous knowledge survey complemented by information from the literature; (2) germplasm collection missions (for ex situ conservation) complemented by field evaluation and seed increase; (3) genetic diversity analysis of selected material by molecular markers; and (4) GIS based analysis of generated data to identify areas of particular genetic diversity as a basis for land area planning and in situ preservation recommendations. Project results are expected to be also applicable to similar highlands in Southeast Asia.
The vegetation of East and South African savannahs has been shaped by the complex interaction of geo-biophysical processes and human impact. For both regions a controversial discussion is pertinent, as to whether massive degradation threatens the sustainability of livelihoods in these regions. Rangeland vegetation is mainly affected by environmental conditions (soil and climate) and by livestock management. Extent and interaction of these drivers are not well understood but have profound impacts on the resilience and vulnerability of these systems to be shifted toward unfavourable degraded or bush encroached states. The project aims to analyse and model rangeland vegetation in response to range management including livestock, soil quality and climatic conditions and to assess the impacts of changes in these conditions on the resilience and vulnerability of rangeland systems. Field measurements, remote sensing of vegetation patterns and dynamics and simulation modelling will be used to understand the dynamics of rangeland vegetation. We will use the 'fast' or 'state' variables potential of pastures to produce palatable biomass, the variability of this production, and the system's potential to recover from disturbance impact as indicators of resilience. 'slow' variables that control (or drive) the 'fast' variables such as management, climate and soil variables are recorded in cooperation with other subprojects as with A1 for soil variables. Results of the project will show which management activities are most favourable for individual regions to sustain plant production in the long term.
Das Auerhuhn ist eine stark gefährdete Brutvogelart der Schweiz. Veränderungen in der Zusammensetzung und Nutzung des Waldes haben dazu geführt, dass sich die Bestände dieses Raufusshuhns in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten halbiert haben. Deshalb sollen die Lebensraumansprüche des attraktiven Waldvogels vermehrt in der Planung und Umsetzung von Waldreservaten und der Bewirtschaftung von Wäldern der höheren Lagen berücksichtigt werden. Auf der kleinen räumlichen Ebene sind die Habitatsansprüche der Art durch Untersuchungen in West- und Mitteleuropa (Storch 1993, 2002, Schroth 1994) und Skandinavien relativ gut bekannt. Dagegen werden die Populationsprozesse auf der Ebene der Landschaft erst in Ansätzen verstanden (Sjöberg 1996, Kurki 2000). Entsprechend konnte man die Bestandsrückgänge in den meisten Gebieten Europas noch nicht stoppen, da einerseits genauere Kenntnisse über das Zusammenspiel und die relative Bedeutung der einzelnen Faktoren fehlen (Habitatqualität, Störungen, Prädatoren, Witterung-Klima, Huftierkonkurrenz), und andererseits noch nicht versucht wurde, die Bestandsentwicklung im grossen landschaftlichen Massstab als Metapopulationsdynamik zu verstehen. Es ist das primäre Ziel dieses Projekts, ein räumlich explizites Metapopulationsmodell des Auerhuhns für einen grossen Landschaftsausschnitt der Schweizer Alpen zu erarbeiten. Dabei sollen die erwähnten Einflussfaktoren möglichst umfassend berücksichtigt werden. Die Arbeit soll modellhaft zeigen, dass für das Verständnis von Populationsvorgängen von raumbeanspruchenden Wildtierarten eine Analyse und Bewertung von lokal bis überregional wirksamen Einflussfaktoren notwendig sind. Die Ergebnisse sollen zudem als konzeptionelle Grundlage für den Nationalen Aktionsplan Auerhuhn und für regionale Artenförderungsprojekte dienen. Folgende Fragen und Themen sind für das Projekt von zentraler Bedeutung: Wie gross ist das landschaftsökologische Lebensraumpotenzial für das Auerhuhn in den Alpen, wie ist es räumlich verteilt? Wie verteilen sich die lokalen Auerhuhnpopulationen in diesen Potenzialgebieten? Wie gross sind die Bestände? Welche Faktoren beeinflussen den Status von Lokal- und Regionalpopulationen? Welche Populationen haben abgenommen oder sind verschwunden, welche sind stabil (Source-Sink-Mechanismen)? Zwischen welchen räumlich getrennten Populationen besteht ein Austausch? Welche Landschaftselemente wirken als Barrieren? Entwickeln einer nicht-invasiven Methode für die genetische Differenzierung von Populationen, sowie für Bestandsschätzungen und Monitoring.
Graffiti is a major, increasing danger to architectural heritage materials, generating also a negative social connotation. Apart from aesthetics aspects, interactions of graffiti with substrate, as well as cleaning procedures, threaten historical substance. Monuments made of stone, bricks and mortars are menaced by this problem because very often, porous natural materials were employed. Two major kind of coatings are currently being used for protecting surfaces against graffiti: permanent and sacrificial. First kind is suited for materials with low porosity, as metals and concrete, but does not fit the requirements for porous ancient materials. Second one is sometimes used in monuments, but it is not an appropriated solution, since removal procedures can damage substrates somewhat. Hence, effective solutions for anti-graffiti systems is an urgent social and technical necessity. The main objective of this project is to develop novel conservation coatings suited for protecting materials of historical monuments, based on a similar structure of ancient protein coatings, avoiding the disadvantages of currently used antigraffiti coatings . This develop is based in a totally new formulation made by complexation of polyampholytes with polymeric amines modified by fluorocarbon residues. These will be a new generation of antigraffiti coatings, specifically suited for the protection of monuments, which after further development, could be commercialised and applied by SME's involved in this market, thus increasing the competitiveness of these companies. Main characteristics of these products are: - Low surface energy - Permanent under out-door conditions - Reversible to specially designed mild cleaning systems - Permeable to water-vapour - Impermeable to liquid water - Transparent The objective will be achieved by means of research activities, such as: definition of requirements and test procedures, design of new anti-graffiti system, characterisation of substrates, comparative assessment of currently used and the new protection and conservation strategies and evaluation of the technical and socio-economic impact of the new anti-graffiti on cultural heritage materials. Prime Contractor: Fundacion Labein; Derio; Spain.
Background: Aquaculture significantly contributes to protein supply and cash income of Black Thai farmers in Yen Chau, Son La province, Northern Vietnam. Fish is produced for cash income (2/3rd) and subsistence (1/3rd) while self recruiting species (small fish, crustaceans and molluscs) provide additional protein for home consumption. The current aquaculture system is a polyculture of the macroherbivorous grass carp as main species together with 3-5 other non-herbivorous fish species like Common Carp, Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Mud Carp, Silver Barb and Nile Tilapia. With a rearing period of 21 months, the productivity of the aquaculture system amounts to 1.54 +- 0.33 t ha-1 a-1 and can be characterized as low. Nearly each household has at least one pond, which serves multiple purposes and is operated as a flow-through-system. The steady water flow is advantageous for the culture of grass carp, but causes a continuous loss of nutrients and high turbidity and thereby limits the development of phytoplankton and zooplankton which are natural food for non-herbivorous species. The farmers are using mainly green leaves (banana, bamboo, cassava, maize and grass) and crop residues (rice bran, rice husk, cassava root peel, distillery residue) as feed input, which is available to Grass Carp while non-herbivorous fish species are not fed specifically. Manure is used as fertilizer. The uneaten parts of fed plants are sometimes accumulating in the pond over several years, resulting in heavy loads of organic matter causing oxygen depletion. Anaerobic sediment and water layers limit the development of zoobenthos and may provide a habitat for anaerobe disease agents. Since 2003 an unknown disease condition has been threatening Grass Carp production and is having a major economic impact on the earnings from fish farming in Yen Chau region. Other fish in the same ponds are not affected. Especially in March-April and in September-October the disease is causing high morbidity and mortalities of Grass Carp in affected ponds and is thereby decreasing the dietary protein supply and income generation of Black Thai farmers. Little is known about the definition or aetiology of the disease condition.
A key problem in developing policies to stop biodiversity loss is translating threats into a tangible factor for decisionmaking. RUBICODE will contribute to solving this by examining what biodiversity does for us. Biological units that provide specific services to society will be identified and their services valued, so that they can be compared with more traditional economic valuations. This will give decision-makers a more rational base and will help the understanding of the need for adequate conservation policies, which are essential to halting biodiversity loss. Nature is fundamentally dynamic, as are the pressures of human activities on biodiversity, yet most conservation strategies still involve a static view of nature. For the realisation of future conservation objectives it is critical that new strategies and policies incorporate these dynamics. RUBICODE will address this by developing integrated dynamic concepts for conservation strategies and examples of their application at multiple scales. RUBICODE will prioritise these strategies for the most significant European terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems by reviewing the impacts of global change on those components of biodiversity essential for maintaining ecosystem services. Important and threatened services will be identified and methods for relating biodiversity in dynamic ecosystems to the provision of these services will be compared and tested. Frameworks for linking biodiversity traits to service provision and for improving and testing indicators will be developed and used to explore management strategies and inform priorities for biodiversity conservation policy. RUBICODE will also identify current gaps in knowledge and propose a roadmap for future research. RUBICODE will involve a large number of external experts, and stakeholders from policy and practice communities, to ensure the relevance of the new concepts, their integration into conservation and to help with their dissemination. Prime Contractor: The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Toona ciliata (Australian red cedar) is highly valued for veneer and furniture production and endangered in its natural ecosystems due to exploitation. This work aims to improve the availability of this wood on the market and help reduce pressure on the species in its native environment. An afforestation project cultivating Toona ciliata was introduced to the study site in Misiones, Argentina. The local cultivation faces losses caused by drought and frost, because T. ciliata requires overstory protection when young. Consequently, Grevillea robusta, Pinus elliottii x Pinus caribaea, and Pinus taeda, nurse tree species which also produce sought-after wood were chosen to provide protection. One-year-old T. ciliata seedlings were planted underneath each of the six-year-old nurse species. An inventory after one year indicated that both survival and height increment were highest underneath G. robusta and lowest underneath P. elliottii x P. caribaea. In this study I am examining possible facilitation and competition mechanisms between the overstory and understory T. ciliata. Extensive empirical data collected over the course of 3 years will be utilized to project potential growth scenarios for several rotations using a computer based forest growth model.
Renewable natural resources (e.g. fish stocks and forests) are threatened worldwide due to non-sustainable exploitation and global environmental change, making depending industries and regions vulnerable. Over-exploitation is typically characterized by over-capitalization and destructive competition between small-scale and regionally/globally acting enterprises. In COMPROMISE the complex interactions between natural, social and institutional systems related to this will be investigated with an integrative approach. It is a key feature of such system that they characterised by low levels of knowledge. This holds for the dynamics of stocks, the economic characteristics of firms, strategies of the fishing industry, as well as for the impact of policy frameworks. Thus, in order to provide further knowledge qualitative methods are needed. The encompassing analysis starts with case studies of some fisheries in developing countries under stakeholder involvement. Typical factors and agents, patterns and conflicts will be characterized by drawing from expertise from system analysts, social and natural scientists, combined with modern modelling methods. The aim is to identify success factors for a sustainable management of renewable resources.
CULT-STRAT will establish a scientific reference for developing strategies for policy and decision-makers on European and national levels within the CAFE Programme and for heritage managers for strategic decisions at local level. It will do this through a choice of material indicators and pollution threshold levels based on best available scientific data including deterioration models, spatial distribution and mapping of pollutants and of stock of materials at risk, cost estimates, comparison studies off different conservation approaches. Damage caused to objects of cultural heritage belongs to the most serious among the detrimental effects of anthropogenic air pollutants as it endangers a vital part of the European identity. There is therefore an urgent need to include the impact of pollutants on cultural heritage alongside the human health and parts of the ecosystem that are already concerned in the EU Directives on urban air quality. This is especially relevant for the CAFE (Clean Air for Europe) programme of the Commission and the Community interventions through the 'Culture 2000' framework programme and the structural funds. The overall aim is to identify material indicators and threshold levels of pollutants to be used for development of strategies for sustainable maintenance and preventive conservation of European cultural heritage and air quality policy to reduce damage. The models will permit ranking of the effects of pollutants on corrosion and soiling of materials. The air pollution models will be related to local fluxes, including indoor concentrations. The stock of cultural heritage materials at risk in selected areas (Paris, Rome, Florence, Prague, Madrid, and Berlin) will be used for assessment and mapping of areas where cultural heritage objects are endangered. Prime Contractor: Korrosionsinstitutet Sci AB, R&D Department Atmospheric Corrosion, Stockholm SE.
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