The project aims to theorize the scalar organization of natural resource governance in the European Union. This research agenda is inspired by critical geographers' work on the politics of scale. The research will examine an analytical framework derived from theories of institutional change and multi-level govern-ance to fill this theoretical gap. Furthermore, it will review conceptualizations of the state in institutional economics, evaluate their adequacy to capture the role of the state in the dynamics identified, and develop them further. The described processes may imply shifts in administrative levels, shifts in relations between different levels and changes in spatial delimitations of competent jurisdictions that result, for example, from decentralization or the introduction of river basin oriented administrative structures. The research investigates the implications of two European Directives: the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). They both have potentially great significance for the organization of marine and water governance at the level of Member States and below, and adhere to similar regulatory ideas for achieving good ecological status of waters. A multiple case study on changes in the scalar reorganization of marine and water governance that result from the implementation of the Directives will be carried out. It will rely on qualitative and quantitative data gathering based on semi-structured interviews and review of secondary and tertiary sources looking at Portugal, Spain, and Germany. It specifically addresses the role of social ecological transactions, the structure of decision making processes and the role of changes in contextual factors (such as ideologies, interdependent institutions and technology).
Durum wheat is mainly grown as a summer crop. An introduction of a winter form failed until now due to the difficulty to combine winter hardiness with required process quality. Winter hardiness is a complex trait, but in most regions the frost tolerance is decisive. Thereby a major QTL, which was found in T. monococcum, T.aestivum, H. vulgare and S.cereale on chromosome 5, seems especially important. With genotyping by sequencing it is now possible to make association mapping based on very high dense marker maps, which delivers new possibilities to detect main and epistatic effects. Furthermore, new sequencing techniques allow candidate gene based association mapping. The main aim of the project is to unravel the genetic architecture of frost tolerance and quality traits in durum. Thereby, the objectives are to (1) determine the genetic variance, heritability and correlations among frost tolerance and quality traits, (2) examine linkage disequilibrium and population structure, (3) investigate sequence polymorphism at candidate genes for frost tolerance, and (4) perform candidate gene based and genome wide association mapping.
Die Europäische Kommission wird voraussichtlich eine Folgenabschätzung sowie einen Gesetzesentwurf zur indirekten Landnutzungsänderung (ILUC) in Zusammenhang mit der Biokraftstoffproduktion veröffentlichen. Die Einführung einer EU-Richtlinie zur indirekten Landnutzungsänderung in der Richtlinie für Erneuerbare Energien (RED) und der Richtlinie zur Kraftstoffqualität (FQD), hat möglicherweise Einfluss auf derzeitige Investitionen und Arbeitsplätze in der europäischen Biokraftstoffindustrie. Im Auftrag der Umweltorganisation Transport & Environment hat Ecofys untersucht, inwieweit der Biokraftstoffsektor unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Bestandswahrung gegen die Einführung einer ILUC-Richtlinie auf EU-Ebene geschützt werden kann. Dies wird mit dem Begriff 'Grandfathering' beschrieben. Der Bericht beginnt mit einem Überblick über den EU Biokraftstoffmarkt und -sektor. Er analysiert die verschiedenen Auswirkungen möglicher ILUC Maßnahmen in Hinblick auf den Sektor und geht der Frage nach, inwieweit gegenwärtige Investitionen und Arbeitsplätze geschützt werden müssen. In einem zweiten Schritt untersucht der Bericht die Grandfathering Klausel, die aktuell in der RED und FQD Richtlinie enthalten ist, sowie weitere mögliche Grandfathering Optionen. Die Studie kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die Einführung einer ILUC Politikmaßnahme bei gleichzeitigem Erhalt der Arbeitsplätze und der Investitionen in Biokrafstoffproduktion möglich ist, wenn das Biokraftstoffverbrauchsniveau von 2010-2012 bis zum Jahr 2020 von der ILUC Richtlinie ausgenommen wird. Dies würde bedeuten, dass eine mögliche ILUC Richtlinie sich lediglich auf die zukünftige Biokraftsoffproduktion ab 2020 bezieht. Die ILUC-Maßnahme würde den gesamten Biokraftstoffverbrauch in der EU nicht deutlich verringern, da die Ziele der RED und FQD für 2020 unverändert bleiben. Dennoch könnten auf den EU Biodieselsektor Herausforderungen zukommen, wenn z. B. neue ILUC-Faktoren eingeführt oder der Mindestschwellenwert für Treibhausgasausstoß angehoben würde. Ein Grandfathering des derzeitigen Biokraftstoffverbrauchs würde dem entgegenwirken und heutige Investitionen und Arbeitsplätze sichern. Die Ergebnisse der Studie wurden am 22. März 2012 dem Europäischen Parlament vorgestellt.
Current agricultural practices have caused serious ecological problems that affect agricultural sustainability by reducing ecological functions and biodiversity. There is evidence that the density of natural enemies of crop pests is related to high biodiversity. This has been shown for landscape-scale management practices (augmenting landscape complexity) and for intercropping systems (augmenting biodiversity at a local scale). However, the relative importance of local and landscape management and the mechanisms through which biodiversity may enhance biological control are still unknown. In this project we will investigate how increased plant diversity at different spatial scales affects biological control of herbivores in potato fields in the Andes. By (1) increasing plant diversity at the field scale and (2) choosing fields along a gradient in landscape complexity, the single and combined effects of these variables on biological control will be analyzed. Furthermore, we will examine whether an increase in plant functional group diversity (trap plants, repellent plants and flowering plants) enhances biological control. The introduction of trap, repellent and flowering plant species to potato fields is expected to reduce the density of the potato moth (Phthorimaea operculella, Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a pest able to destroy 100Prozent of the potato crop. The role of constitutively emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs), from selected weed species and potato, as signals for herbivores and their natural enemies in these interactions will be shown. The results of the project are expected to contribute to the development of sustainable and ecologically sound management methods for potato cultivation in the Andes. Therefore, the requirements and restrictions of management scales, local cropping practices and landscape management are considered.
Im Rahmen einer integrativ abgestimmten Maßnahmenplanung im Tibetischen Bezirk Panam soll neben Aktivitäten der Gesundheits- und Bildungsverbesserung sowie der Verwirklichung einer modernen Bewässerungslandwirtschaft auch das Prinzip der nachhaltig-multifunktionalen Waldwirtschaft eingeführt werden. Bei extremem Mangel an Wald gilt es Waldgrenzen und potenzielle Waldformen zu definieren sowie die Anforderungen an die möglichen Wälder den natürlichen Leistungspotenzialen gegenüberzustellen. Darauf abgestimmt ist es das Hauptziel der forstlichen Komponente, zur Abdeckung der gesellschaftlichen Bedürfnisse entsprechend standortsangepasste Aufforstungsmodelle abzuleiten und umzusetzen.
The introduction of non-native species and its spread are recognized to be one of the major threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Climate change is expected to enhance ecosystem invasibility through changes in resource availability (e.g. water) and the risks of desertification in Mediterranean areas, however scientific studies are rare. This project will evaluate specific traits of a characteristic invader towards competition for limited resources and the consequent alteration of community functioning under decreasing ground water availability. We selected a protected Mediterranean costal dune system of high ecological value, where large-scale extraction of ground water provides excellent experimental conditions to study changes in the competitive balances among invasive and native species. We will analyse the effects i) at the seedling level to evaluate changes in plant establishment; ii) at the plant level to gain major insights on the spatial and temporal partitioning of water sources and regulating mechanisms of selected species and iii) at the community level to evaluate changes in water flow, competition and facilitation (e.g. hydraulic lift), community functioning, and changes in invasibility of the system. The aim is the identification of key processes controlling the competitive balances between invasive neophytes and native species and invasibility of semi-arid systems to contribute to a risk assessment under global change scenarios.
Zielsetzung des beantragten Projekts ist eine umfassende Analyse des Absatzerfolgs für die im Rahmen von zwei anderen BLE-Projekten (siehe Kooperation) entwickelten und verkauften Testprodukte. Die Analyse des Absatzerfolgs basiert auf einer Analyse von Absatzmengen und -preisen und Umsätzen der Testprodukte sowie von deren engsten Substituten im Sortiment der Testgeschäfte. Darüber hinaus werden Verkaufsförderungsmaßnahmen, die im Rahmen der BLE-Projekte durchgeführt werden, im Hinblick auf deren kurz- und mittelfristigen Absatzerfolg analysiert. Die Analyseergebnisse sollen Entscheidungsträgern bei Herstellern und Händlern Informationen liefern, die für eine Listung der regionalen und fairen Öko-Lebensmittel in Naturkostläden essentiell sind.
Changing socio-economic conditions and the introduction of new technologies are rapidly altering land use in Vietnam and Thailand. In both countries farmland is often characterized by relatively steep slopes and is thus highly susceptible to land degradation by soil erosion. Intensification of agricultural systems has led to higher systems productivity but with associated increased resource use and degradation/pollution risks. The goal of this subproject is to comprehend the biophysical linkages and drivers of land-use changes in upland areas of Vietnam and Thailand and their impact on systems productivity, sustainability and environmental services. This can be only assessed by an approach, integrating the various systems and processes at stake and looking at their interconnectivity at landscape level. Of special interest is thus quantification and modelling of the interrelationships and feedback mechanisms between agricultural components within these complex ecosystems. Subproject C4.1 will develop a spatially explicit, integrated dynamic biophysical model for land use change impact assessment (LUCIA) to understand systems relationships at the landscape level and subsequently link this landscape model to the multi-agent-system (MAS) model of G1.2 (Innovations and Sustainability Strategies). In Vietnam, subproject C4.1 will investigate how nutrient and carbon losses and associated soil degradation in uplands will impact on lowland paddy rice and fish production systems. In North Thailand, an existing crop/tree model will be improved to assist in assessing the impact off-season fruit production technologies or management options on plant productivity, resource use and carbon sequestration and its modules integrated in the MAS model. The integrated biophysical and MAS models will allow assessing alternative options so that policy-relevant conclusions can then be drawn regarding the promotion of improved conservation and management systems, adapted to both the local populations and systems of governance in tropical humid mountainous watersheds from Thailand and Vietnam.
Worldwide an important part of agricultural added value is produced under irrigation. By irrigation unproductive areas can be cultivated, additional harvests can be obtained or different crops can be planted. Since its introduction into Northern Thailand lychee has developed as one of the dominating cash crops. Lychee is produced in the hillside areas and has to be irrigated during the dry season, which is the main yield-forming period. Water therefore is mainly taken from sources or streams in the mountain forests. As nowadays all the available resources are being used do to increased production, a further increase in production can only be achieved by increasing the water use efficiency. In recent years, partial root-zone drying has become a well-established irrigation technique in wine growing areas. In a ten to fifteen days rhythm one part of the root system is irrigated while the other dries out and produces abscisic acid (ABA) a drought stress hormone. While the vegetative growth and thus labor for pruning is reduced, the generative growth remains widely unaffected. Thereby water-use efficiency can be increased by more than 40Prozent. In this sub-project the PRD-technique as well as other deficit irrigation strategies shall be applied in lychee and mango orchards and its effects on plant growth and yield shall be analyzed. Especially effects of this water-saving technology on the nutrient balance shall be considered, in order to develop an optimized fertigation strategy with respect to yield and fruit quality. As shown in preliminary studies, the nutrient supply is low in soils and fruit trees in Northern Thailand (e.g. phosphate) and even deficient for both micronutrients boron (B) and zinc (Zn). Additionally, non-adapted supply of nitrogen (mineralization, fertilization) can induce uneven flowering and fruit set. Therefore, improvement is necessary. For a better understanding of possible influence of low B and Zn supply on flowering and fruit set, mobility and retranslocation of both micronutrients shall be investigated for mango and lychee. Finally, the intended system of partial root-zone fertigation (PRF) shall guarantee an even flowering and a better yield formation under improved use of the limited resource water. As this modern technique, which requires a higher level of irrigation-technology, cannot be immediately spread among the farmers in the region, in a parallel approach potential users shall be integrated in a participative process for adaptation and development. Water transport and irrigation shall be considered, as both factors offer a tremendous potential for water saving. Local knowledge shall be integrated in the participatory process (supported by subproject A1.2, Participatory Research) in order to finally offer adapted technologies for application within PRF systems for the different conditions of farmers in the hillsides of Northern Thailand.
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