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).
This project focuses on the long-term stability (or otherwise) of vegetation, based on a series of multi-proxy records in southern South America. We will build a network of sites suitable for high-resolution reconstructions of changes in vegetation since the Last Glacial Maximum, and use these to test a null hypothesis that changes in vegetation over the past 14,000 years are driven by internal dynamics rather than external forcing factors. The extent to which the null hypothesis can be falsified will reveal the degree to which we can expect to be able to predict how vegetation is affected by external events, including future climate change. The southern fringes of the South American landmass provide a rare opportunity to examine the development of moorland vegetation with sparse tree cover in a wet, cool temperate climate of the Southern Hemisphere. We present a record of changes in vegetation over the past 17,000 years, from a lake in extreme southern Chile (Isla Santa Inés, Magallanes region, 53°38.97S; 72°25.24W; Fontana, Bennett 2012: The Holocene), where human influence on vegetation is negligible. The western archipelago of Tierra del Fuego remained treeless for most of the Lateglacial period. Nothofagus may have survived the last glacial maximum at the eastern edge of the Magellan glaciers from where it spread southwestwards and established in the region at around 10,500 cal. yr BP. Nothofagus antarctica was likely the earlier colonizing tree in the western islands, followed shortly after by Nothofagus betuloides. At 9000 cal. yr BP moorland communities expanded at the expense of Nothofagus woodland. Simultaneously, Nothofagus species shifted to dominance of the evergreen Nothofagus betuloides and the Magellanic rain forest established in the region. Rapid and drastic vegetation changes occurred at 5200 cal. yr BP, after the Mt Burney MB2 eruption, including the expansion and establishment of Pilgerodendron uviferum and the development of mixed Nothofagus-Pilgerodendron-Drimys woodland. Scattered populations of Nothofagus, as they occur today in westernmost Tierra del Fuego may be a good analogue for Nothofagus populations during the Lateglacial in eastern sites. Climate, dispersal barriers and/or fire disturbance may have played a role controlling the postglacial spread of Nothofagus. Climate change during the Lateglacial and early Holocene was a prerequisite for the expansion of Nothofagus populations and may have controlled it at many sites in Tierra del Fuego. The delayed arrival at the site, with respect to the Holocene warming, may be due to dispersal barriers and/or fire disturbance at eastern sites, reducing the size of the source populations. The retreat of Nothofagus woodland after 9000 cal. yr BP may be due to competitive interactions with bog communities. Volcanic disturbance had a positive influence on the expansion of Pilgerodendron uviferum and facilitated the development of mixed Nothofagus-Pilgerodendron-Drimys woodland.
The increasing proportion of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) in different branches of industry will result in an increasingly larger quantity of CFRP wastes in future. With regard to improved management of natural resources, it is necessary to add these fibres that require energy-intensive production to effective recycling management. But high-quality material recycling is only ecoefficient if the recycled fibres can be used to produce new high-quality and marketable products. Tests carried out up to now indicate that very good results can be expected for large-scale recycling of carbon fibres by means of pyrolysis. The waste pyrolysis plant (WPP) operated in Burgau is the only large-scale pyrolysis plant for municipal wastes in Germany. Use of this plant to treat CFRP wastes represents a unique opportunity for the whole Southern German economy and in particular the Augsburg economic region. In a study funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Health ('Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit'), the specific implementation options for the recovery of carbon fibres from composites by means of large-scale pyrolysis have been under investigation since November 2010. To this end, in the first step a development study was carried out, which in particular examined the options for modifying the Burgau WPP for the recycling of CFRP. The knowledge acquired from the pyrolysis tests, the fibre tests and the economic feasibility study confirmed the positive assessment of the overall concept of CFRP recycling in Burgau. As an overall result, unlimited profitability was found for all scenarios with regard to investments in CFRP recycling in Burgau WPP. The work on the development study was carried out by bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH together with the Augsburg-based 'function integrated lightweight construction project group ('Funktionsintegrierter Leichtbau' - FIL) of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT). Methods: analysis and moderation of social processes, economy and management consulting, process engineering
Agriculture is the major contributor of nitrogen to ecosystems, both by organic and inorganic fertilizers. Percolation of nitrate to groundwater and further transport to surface waters is assumed to be one of the major pathways in the fate of this nitrogen. The quantification of groundwater and associated nitrate flux to streams is still challenging. In particular because we lack understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal variability of groundwater and associated NO3- fluxes. In this preliminary study we will focus on the identification and quantification of groundwater and associated nitrate fluxes by combining high resolution distributed fiber-optic temperature sensing (DTS) with in situ UV photometry (ProPS). DTS is a new technique that is capable to measure temperature over distances of km with a spatial resolution of ca1 m and an accuracy of 0.01 K. It has been applied successfully to identify and quantify sources of groundwater discharge to streams. ProPS is a submersible UV process photometer, which uses high precision spectral analyses to provide single substance concentrations, in our case NO3-, at minute intervals and a detection limit of less than 0.05 mg l-1 (ca.0.01 mg NO3--Nl-1). We will conduct field experiments using artificial point sources of lateral inflow to test DTS and ProPS based quantification approaches and estimate their uncertainty. The selected study area is the Schwingbach catchment in Hessen, Germany, which has a good monitoring infrastructure. Preliminary research on hydrological fluxes and field observations indicate that the catchment favors the intended study.
Leistungsfähiges Pflanzgut mit guter Boden- und Klimaanpassung bildet die Grundlage der einer umweltgerechten Pflanzenproduktion. Dies trifft in gleicher Weise auf den Weinbau zu. Neben der Globalisierung der Märkte gehört sicherlich die Klimaveränderung zu den größten Herausforderungen der Gegenwart. Das größte Problem sind in zunehmendem Maß eine wärmere Witterung kombiniert mit Starkregenereignisse während der Traubenreifung und die dadurch ausgelöste Traubenfäule. Wegen der besonderen Bedeutung von Weinlandschaften für Tourismus und Wirtschaft kommt dem Weinanbau hierbei eine besondere gesellschaftliche Bedeutung zu. Die Sicherung der Produktion von gesunden Trauben steht daher an erster Stelle. Ein lockerer Traubenaufbau durch längere Beerenstielchen und/oder kleinere Beeren sowie festere Beerenschale können den Fäulnisbefall stark reduzieren. Sie sind damit ein hervorragendes Resistenzmerkmal und können den Einsatz von Spezial-Botrytiziden erheblich vermindern. Solche Formen der apparenten Resistenz sind sehr stabil, da der Pathogen sie nur schwer überwinden kann und daher hervorragend für langlebige Kulturpflanzen, wie die Weinrebe geeignet. Das Fachgebiet entwickelt von den traditionell in Deutschland angebauten Rebsorten Klone mit lockerem Traubenaufbau und damit einhergehender hoher Resistenz gegen Traubenfäulen. Hierzu wird Zuchtmaterial, das im Rahmen dieses oder weiterer Projekte gesammelt wurde, auf seine Widerstandsfähigkeit gegen Traubenfäulen und weitere weinbaulich relevante Eigenschaften getestet. Ziel ist die Entwicklung von Klonen traditioneller Rebsorten mit hoher Traubenfäuleresistenz kombiniert mit einem stabilen Ertrag und hoher Trauben und Weinqualität, um deutschen Winzern entsprechendes Pflanzgut zur Verfügung zu stellen und damit einerseits die Applikation von Fungiziden zu reduzieren und gleichzeitig die Konkurrenzfähigkeit der heimischen Produktion an ihren traditionellen Standorten sichern zu helfen.
Eine hohe Resistenz gegen Bodenpathogene, gute Standortanpassung und Veredlungsaffinität sind die entscheidenden Merkmale von Unterlagen. Bei der Pathogenresistenz ist bei Reben die Widerstandsfähigkeit gegen die Reblaus Daktulosphaira vitifoiae essentiell, da die europäische Kulturrebe Vitis vinifera L über keinerlei Resistenzen verfügt und nur an wenigen Standorten ein wurzelechter Anbau möglich ist. Klimaveränderungen erfordern neue Unterlagen mit hoher Reblausfestigkeit und besserer Standortanpassung. Aufgrund der derzeitigen Szenarien werden sowohl Trockenresistenz als auch Toleranz gegen hohe Kalkgehalte insbesondere in Verbindung mit hohem Bodenwassergehalte zukünftig von Bedeutung sein. Hierfür werden entsprechende Kreuzungen vorgenommen, die Sämlinge aufgezogen, auf ihre Reblausfestigkeit getestet und anschießend Prüfungen der Wurzelungs- und Veredlungsfähigkeit vorgenommen. Anschließend wird die Witterungs- und Bodenanpassung der Zuchtstämme insbesondere auf Trocken- und Kalkstandorten untersucht. Ziel ist die Entwicklung verschiedener Unteralgen, die eine vollständige Reblausresistenz mit hohen Trockenheits- und/oder Kalktoleranz kombinieren.
Synthetic natural gas from wood-How can the synthesis be optimised? The production of bio natural gas as a fuel and combustible made of biomass that is rich in lignin presents an interesting alternative to the use (combustion) of biomass purely as a source of energy. In this project, researchers examine how the chemical reactions, the mass transfer and the fluid dynamics in fluidised bed reactors mutually influence each other. In experiments, they check whether the reactor simulation mirrors the actual processes precisely enough. This is important for optimising processes for the production of bio natural gas with the help of simulations. Background Woody biomass containing lignin, such as wood and straw, can so far only be transformed into a combustible product gas via thermochemical processes such as gasification. From the wood gas thereby gained, a synthetic natural gas is made via fluid bed methanation. This so-called bio-SNG (synthetic natural gas) can be fed directly into the existing natural gas network and is available as a renewable and CO2-neutral substitute for conventional fossil natural gas and as fuel for natural gas vehicles. The fluid bed methanation, during which wood gas is transformed into methane, works well at the pilot scale, but further research is necessary before it can be implemented in larger production plants. Aim The goal of the experiments is to collect on a 160 kW pilot plant data of sufficiently good quality that will enable researchers to validate the computer models. These models are used to upscale the fluid bed methanation to the scale of commercial plants and to optimise processes. During the experiments, the researchers will vary temperature, pressure, gas flows and gas composition. For process optimisation, the researchers will measure the fluid dynamics, the axial temperature and the gas phase concentration profiles and will use a catalyst sampling system. Significance The computer modules validated via the measurements on the pilot plant enable researchers to derive meaningful model experiments in the perspective of the 'observing passenger'. In these experiments, a small amount of a catalyst is exposed to a periodically changing gas mixture, which is what happens to the catalyst when there is movement in the fluidised bed reactor. This innovative approach can be applied to all chemical reactors with moving solids.
Changes in European agricultural landscapes have gained on intensification in the second half of the last century. Among others, they are driven by global change phenomena such as climate change, demographic change and migration, increasing global bio-energy demands and changing human diets as well as by trade liberalisation, technological progress, and leakage effects of land use policy interventions. Farmers usually respond to such changes by adapting production and land use systems to efficiently utilize and manage their farm resource endowments. However, this process often leads to adverse impacts on the diversity of agricultural landscapes and environmental qualities. EU policies have been formulated as a reaction to singular or sectoral problems (e.g. the Common Agricultural Policy, the Water Framework Directive, the Nitrates Directive, NATURA2000), which are usually differently implemented among member states by using a variety of legislative or incentive based instruments. Consequently, more coordination among policies is required to minimize the trade-offs between different land use policy targets (i.e. land conservation versus boosting biomass production), and between private (adaptive) and societal (mitigative) land use benefits. Mitigation and adaptation are often separately analysed due to the nature of the problem i.e. mitigation is often considered as public good versus adaptation as private or club good. However, it is necessary to consider both in assessing the mutual benefits of cost-effective land uses and farm mitigation and adaptation measures, which mainly depend on spatial heterogeneity of natural and farming conditions. Consequently, it is important to consider bio-physical, ecological, and economic relationships in assessing the mitigative (public) and adaptive (private) potentials and trade-offs of alternative land uses and farm management measures.In this project we implement a data-model-policy fusion concept, which shall guarantee cost-effective mitigation and adaptation of farms and sustainable landscape and biodiversity developments in the context of climate, market, and policy instrument changes. The concept is applied to two case-study landscapes in the Mostviertel region in Austria and contains an integrated spatially explicit modelling framework to simulate the land use changes at field, farm, and landscape level as well as cost-effective farm mitigation and adaptation portfolios. The land use changes are assessed with farm economic, biodiversity, abiotic, and landscape indicators including GIS-modelling and field observations. Biodiversity effects are central in the integrated assessment acknowledging the roles of landscape structure and land use intensity. Geo-referenced land uses and land use attributes are a major interface in the data-model-policy fusion concept. The results will help farmers and regional stakeholders to identify best management practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation i
A lysimeter is a vessel containing soil placed with its top edge to the ground surface. Lysimeter are used to study phases of the hydrological cycle in terms of water content and dynamics, e.g. infiltration, evapotranspiration or runoff. Lysimeter provide a good alternative to carry out and test various methods or theoretical theories under relative undisturbed circumstances. In cooperation with the Institute of Chemistry and Dynamics of the Geosphere, IV Agrosphere (ICG-IV) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, the solute transport inside a lysimeter ought to be investigated.To avoid the inevitable problem of the boundary conditions for electromagnetic geophysical methods of a normal lysimeter with its metal wall, an alternative had to be found. Therefore PVC-cylinders were chosen with 1.5 m height and 1.2 m diameter. The dielectric permittivity of soils depends strongly on the water content. Therefore, GPR was used as it can provide non-invasive high-resolution information regarding the distribution of the dielectric permittivity of a heterogeneous medium. Because the used lysimeter has PVC walls tomographic measurements can be performed. Considering the relatively small dimensions of the lysimeter (1.2m diameter, 1.5m height) and the armament with sensors for other methods, a pair of shielded antennas was chosen with centre frequencies of approx. 750 MHz. In April and September 2002 first measurements were carried out on a filled but unequipped lysimeter to check signal quality, feasibility as well as the needed time to gather a dataset under ideal conditions. Furthermore pot irrigation tests were made in 2002 and 2004 to estimate the actual resolution with the available equipment. To derive the volumetric water content, the calculated dielectric permittivity values have to be transformed. Based on the soil inside the lysimeter (approx. 80% sand, 15% silt and 5% clay with approx. 40% porosity) appropriate mixing formulas for bulk dielectric permittivity have to be chosen and compared to the results gathered from alternative methods.
The concept of sustainability has to be adopted and implemented in each development sector. However, it is far fromeasy to adapt, adopt and implement it, especially for developing country; such as Indonesia. Without a good planning, it can be predicted that around 400 new autonomous regencies will destroy their natural resources by promoting tourism in their rural areas. With this consideration in mind, it is regarded as necessary to perform a study on sustainable tourism planning in Indonesia, especially at the local autonomous region level; case study Tana Toraja. The main goal of the study is to elaborate a guideline for ecologically sustainable tourism planning on a reagional scale. There are 3 different phase in the study, i.e.: (1) initial phase, (2) mid-phase, and (3) advance phase. An understanding of the characteristics and dynamics of various tourism resources is however essential for the planning. The results of the study show that the socio-cultural and economic dynamics in a destination have very important impact on the achievment of the three pilars of sustainability. Some important efforts that have to be done in order to promote tourism resources in sustainable development are: (1) landscape conservation, (2) landuse regulation, (3) landscape improvement and management, (4) applying building area index, and (5) applying a strict environmental regulation.
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