The basidiomycete Armillaria mellea s.l. is one of the most important root rot pathogens of forest trees and comprises several species. The aim of the project is to identify the taxa occurring inSwitzerland and to understand their ecological behaviour. Root, butt and stem rots caused by different fungi are important tree diseases responsible for significant economic losses. Armillaria spp. occur world-wide and are important components of many natural and managed forest ecosystems. Armillaria spp. are known saprothrophs as well as primary and secondary pathogens causing root and butt rot on a large number of woody plants, including forest and orchard trees as well as grape vine and ornamentals. The identification of several Armillaria species in Europe warrants research in the biology and ecology of the different species. We propose to study A. cepistipes for the following reasons. First, A. cepistipes is dominating the rhizomorph populations in most forest types in Switzerland. This widespread occurrence contrasts with the current knowledge about A. cepistipes, which is very limited. Second, because the pathogenicity of A. cepistipes is considered low this fungus has the potential for using as an antagonist to control stump colonising pathogenic fungi, such as A. ostoyae and Heterobasidion annosum. This project aims to provide a better understanding of the ecology of A. cepistipes in mountainous Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests. Special emphasis will be given to interactions of A. cepistipes with A. ostoyae, which is a very common facultative pathogen and which often co-occurs with A. cepistipes. The populations of A. cepistipes and A. ostoyae will be investigated in mountainous spruce forests were both species coexist. The fungi will be sampled from the soil, from stumps and dead wood, and from the root system of infected trees to determine the main niches occupied by the two species. Somatic incompatibility will be used to characterise the populations of each species. The knowledge of the spatial distribution of individual genets will allow us to gain insights into the mode of competition and the mode of spreading. Inoculation experiments will be used to determine the variation in virulence expression of A. cepistipes towards Norway spruce and to investigate its interactions with A. ostoyae.
OpenHeritage aims at developing and testing an inclusive governance model and a supporting toolbox for the adaptive re-use of cultural heritage assets. It builds on the role of communities and the possibility of empowering them in the redevelopment process based on the concepts of heritage community and participatory culture. The project operates with an open definition of heritage, not limited to listed assets but also involving those buildings, complexes, and spaces that have a symbolic or practical significance for local or trans-local heritage communities. Inclusiveness also means the incorporation of a coalition of stakeholders into the re-use and maintenance process, the integration of resources involving new financial and economic models, and working with the local social, environmental, administrative, and economic context of the heritage sites. Territorial integration is an essential element as well: the planning process goes beyond a building or a site to contribute to the transformation of wider areas.
OpenHeritage connects diverse cases across Europe, involving sixteen Observatory Cases (OCs), which are adaptive re-use projects that are studied and compared in-depth, and six Cooperative Heritage Labs (CHLs), on-going projects overseen by consortium partners, where it co-creates and tests its inclusive model. The cases are situated in a variety of urban, peri-urban, and natural environments, and include diverse heritage assets.
OpenHeritage will launch a website (Heritage Point) to provide a forum for engagement and support resource integration at the CHLs, and will create a database of macro- and micro-level research results, connecting systematically collected information on the regulatory framework all over Europe with current heritage re-use practices as analyzed in the OCs . Using the OCs and CHLs as starting points, OpenHeritage establishes a system of dissemination to support the uptake of innovation in adaptive heritage re-use.
European cultural landscapes are valued as everyday living environment, countryside, heritage, scenery with aesthetic and recreational qualities and unique biodiversity, and as a source of ecosystem services that they provide to society. Cultural landscapes, however, are undergoing rapid and fundamental transformations across Europe, mainly as a result of an on-going polarization of land use, with abandonment and rural exodus on the one hand, and intensification and (peri-) urbanisation on the other. So far, substantial challenges have inhibited the design of effective responses to safeguard cultural landscape values. The proposed HERCULES project strives for the empowerment of public and private actors to protect, manage, and plan for sustainable landscapes of significant cultural, historical, and archaeological value at local, national, and pan-European scales. By applying and developing innovative technologies and tools for assessing and mapping cultural landscapes, the project will (a) synthesise existing knowledge on drivers, patterns, and outcomes of persistence and change in Europes cultural landscapes; (b) perform targeted case studies to develop in-depth insights on dynamics and values of cultural landscapes; (c) develop a typology of cultural landscapes and scale-up case study insights using observations and landscape modelling; (d) develop visions for re-coupling social and ecological components in cultural landscapes and translate them into policy and management options; and (e) design and implement a community-based Knowledge Hub for Good Landscape Practice and demonstrate it with land users, agencies, SMEs, and citizen associations. HERCULES comprises European universities, SMEs, NGOs, and a research institute that are leaders in landscape science and practice. The project follows the European Landscape Conventions call for transdisciplinary research and involves all actors with stakes in cultural landscapes of historical and archaeological value.
The purpose of the EOPOWER project is to create conditions for sustainable economic development through the increased use of Earth observation products and services for environmental applications. This purpose serves the higher goal of effective use of Earth observation for decision making and management of economic and sustainable development processes.
This will be achieved through the following activities: - 1. Roadshow activities to promote the increased use of EO products and services for environmental applications, including capacity building; - 2. Portfolio of potential EO applications for economic development and environmental management; - 3. Enhancement of the resource facility on capacity building in the GEO web portal; - 4. Establishment of local focal points (nodes) that actively promote and provide capacity building on the use of EO for environmental applications effectively and at low-cost; - 5. Explore the establishment of a high-level forum of stakeholders (resource providers, international organizations) that have an interest in EO for economic development and environmental applications; - 6. Establishment of a central feedback node that digests and shares information on incubators, innovation, successes, experiences, visibility and provides brokerage and advice on resource mobilization.
This will result in the output presented below: - 1. Opportunities created for economic development, in particular in developing countries; - 2. Key international economic development processes identified that require environmental information and mechanisms to develop them in a sustainable fashion; - 3. Local communities and authorities have received capacity building and are able to collaborate with international development programs, use environmental EO information and products, and engage resource providers; - 4. Mechanism established to market and exploit EO applications for the creation of new innovative products and support services.