Although the use of genetically modified plants for bioremediation, or the in situ cleaning of contaminated sites, has been known for quite some time, little attention has so far been paid to the production of antibodies in plants and their ex vivo application in selective depletion. Therefore, highly affine and specific antibodies against algal toxins using microcystin as an example will be produced in plants at low cost within this research project. The basis is a monoclonal antibody (Mab 10E7, species: mouse) generated in a former research project. The sequence of the variable domains will be determined, optimized for plants and sub cloned into suitable plant transformation vectors, which already contain constant antibody sequences. In addition, a scFv fragment containing different tag sequences and fusion proteins will be constructed. Leaf-based (tobacco) as well as seed-based (barley) systems will be used.Affinity-purified plant-produced antibodies (plantibodies) will be characterized in detail for their binding properties using microtitre plate-ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The monoclonal mouse antibody will be used as reference. To assure cost-efficiency for future applications, roughly purified fractions (sequential pH and temperature treatment followed by filtration) will be tested for the upscaling. Following immobilization of the plantibody fractions on suitable substrates, for instance membranes, porous polymer monoliths or in porous glasses, their application for depletion will be defined using model water samples spiked fortified with microcystins.
In strict nature reserves and core zones of protected areas hunting and forestry operations are often restricted or banned. However, regarding the management of Wild boar, such hunt-free zones are discussed controversially and can lead to conflict. Hunters whose areas border no-hunting zones (and who have to reimburse farmers for crop damages caused by Wild boar) are concerned that the boars may evade effective population management by staying within the limits of the no-hunting zone, and farmers fear increased crop damage in the surroundings of such areas. Some conservationists are also concerned because Wild boars increasingly root protected habitats and can cause damage to rare plant assemblies. The three-year project Wild boar problem in the vicinity of protected areas by the Game Research Institute (Wildforschungsstelle) at the Centre for Agriculture Baden-Württemberg (LAZBW) aims at investigating if and how no-hunting zones might affect Wild boar activity, movement patterns, home range size, and habitat use, as well as crop damage caused by boars, by comparing these aspects between hunting-free zones and unprotected areas. Although there have already been a number of telemetry studies on Wild boar, including space use in the context of hunting activity, to date there is no study that has specifically investigated spatial and ecological aspects in and around protected areas. My dissertation Ecology of Wild boar Sus scrofa in the vicinity of protected areas is being carried out within the scope of the Game Research Institutes project and apart from the aims outlined above, further aspects of Wild boar ecology will be investigated, especially the role of Wild boar as bio-engineer and habitat creator for other species vs. unwanted damages at protected sites. Twenty-seven Vectronic GPS-GSM satellite collars with integrated activity sensors are available to tag Wild boars in three study areas: the non-protected Altdorfer Forest near Aulendorf with regular hunting activity and forestry, the nature reserve Wurzacher Ried with its ca. 700 ha core zone that is a strict reserve with no human activity, and the Biosphere Reserve Swabian Jura, especially in the surroundings of the former military training area near Münsingen and the 170 ha no-usage-area Föhrenberg.
Climate conditions along the Antarctic Peninsula have considerably changed in the last 50 years. The glaciers on the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) have already shown reactions of change by speedup and surface lowering. The disintegration of the Larsen-A and B Ice Shelves, the ice shelves in the Larsen Inlet, Prinz-Gustav-Channel and Wordie Ice Shelf have led to a surge-type behaviour of tributary glaciers to which much of the current contribution of Antarctic Peninsula ice to sea level rise is attributed. However, quantifications of mass loss from the peninsula using different observations and methods are still ambiguous. We propose to improve the quantifications of mass loss in the area of the former Northern Larsen-A embayment as well as for Western Antarctic Peninsula glaciers including tributaries to former Wordie Ice Shelf. In order to achieve those goals we analyse time series of SAR satellite data from the ESA archive to determine glacier velocity changes for these regions over the last 20 years. We use data from the new national mission TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X to generate ice velocity fields, to determine surface elevation changes and to map the grounding line of tidewater glaciers. We will back our products with ground truth measurements from two field campaigns and laser altimetry from collaborating partners. In an integrated analysis we link those data sets to achieve a better glaciological understanding of underlying processes. We apply a novel approach to quantify volume changes and to derive ice thickness maps for selected areas using a mass conserving approach that leverages on the various remote sensing data sets generated.
Aim of Project The project aims to develop novel methods, which are based on shifts of stable isotope ratios (37Cl/35Cl and 13C/12C), for assessing source and fate of contaminants in the environment. Specifically, the goals are to (i) develop on-line 37Cl/35Cl analytical methods for chlorophenol (CP) congeners, (ii) investigate isotopic fractionation during aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of CPs, (iii) apply multi-dimensional isotope analysis to identify and quantify their transformation processes at contaminated field sites, and (iv) use radiocarbon analysis to decipher contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources of CPs at contaminated and pristine field sites. Background and Relevance of the Project To assess sites with contaminated soil in industrialized regions such as Europe, methods that allow identifying sources and quantifying biotransformation of pollutants are required. Multi-dimensional compound-specific isotopic analysis is a very promising tool to this end. In the proposed project, this method will be applied to apportion sources and to quantify degradation of CPs at sawmill field sites. CPs belong the group of organochlorines (OCl), which are important man-made contaminants in groundwater and soil ecosystems. Many OCl have shown to be biodegradable, leading to natural attenuation of field sites. However, the identification of this process is not easy. Moreover, many OCl can also have natural sources, complicating the identification of anthropogenic influence on soils. Using compound-specific multi-dimensional chlorine and carbon stable isotopic (37Cl/35Cl and 13C/12C) and radiocarbon (?14C) signatures can overcome these difficulties. Scientific Methodology A GC - ICP - multi collector MS method to measure 37Cl/35Cl isotopic ratios of CPs will be developed. This method will then be used in combination with state-of-the-art 13C/12C methods to perform multi-dimensional CSIA of CPs at former sawmill field sites. Based on isotopic enrichment factors resulting from the accompanying laboratory degradation experiments, the field data will be evaluated, leading to identification and quantification of CP degradation processes. Radiocarbon analysis of CP derivatives near and remote the contaminated field site will give insights about the importance of their natural production.
The project aims at clarifying the vulnerability of adult beech trees, growing under Central-European stand conditions, to the tropospheric, chronic ozone (O3) impact. O3 as being part of 'Global Change may constrain the carbon sink strength of trees under the expected atmospheric CO2 enrichment. A novel 'Free-Air Canopy O3 Exposure' system, creating an experimentally enhanced O3regime within the canopy (relative to 'control' trees in unchanged air), is employed for analyzing O3-induced responses that are relevant for the carbon balance and CO2 demand of the trees. For relating tree performance to effective O3 doses rather than O3 exposure, the O3 flux concept into leaves will be examined and validated against AOT40. Response patterns will be assessed, integrating the cell, organ and whole-tree level, while making use of molecular, biochemical and ecophysiological methodologies. In addition, branch cuvette fumigations and exposure of young beech plants inside the stand canopy will validate the ecological significance of former O3 studies in phytotrons, open-top chambers or on single branches in tree crowns. Evidence will be incorporated into mechanistic modeling for scaling to the stand level and quantifying O3 impact for 'Global Change' scenarios. This process-oriented risk assessment will guide environmental policy making. The objective is to assess the vulnerability of adult beech trees to the ground level, chronic O3 impact by employing a novel 'Free-Air Canopy O3 Exposure' system that experimentally enhances the O3 exposure within the forest canopy. Ozone is viewed as one component in 'Global Change' scenarios in that it may mitigate the supposed increases in productivity under elevated CO2 conditions by reducing the carbon sink strength of trees and forests. This issue is regarded relevant, as recent experiments suggest such an antagonistic interaction between ozone and CO2 in plant performance. Prognoses indicate further increase in chronic, ground level O3 exposure to occur during the 21st century across the northern hemisphere, and deficits in knowledge are still significant, in particular regarding the responsiveness of advanced tree age and current O3 threshold definitions like AOT40. (...) The major outcome of this study will be the elaboration of a database needed for the management of trees and stands under the chronic, enhanced ground level O3 regimes. This includes mechanistic knowledge regarding threshold definitions of O3 flux (uptake) rather than exposure. The most important relevance of the elaborated results will be for the UNECE Level II and III concepts about 'Critical Levels for Ozone and the UNECE ICP-Forests. In particular, impacts on practical development strategies will be (1) evaluation tools to assess modifications of the CO2 sink strength of forests due to additional impacts, in the present case ozone (cf. Kyoto protocols) and (2) quantification of factors modifying the O3 effect on adult beech forest trees, Etc.
In my Phd-study, I examine the resource conflict over industrial logging in the South Moresby area on Haida Gwaii (former Queen Charlotte Islands) from 1974 to 1993. On this remote archipelago on British Columbias west-coast, a fierce dispute over logging practices, land rights, Aboriginal land claims and environmental issues had emerged in the face of devastating logging practices were not only threatening to destroy large parts of Moresby Island but also resulted in the destruction of salmon streams. The two major natural resources available on the islands were at stake during the 'war in the woods.' Together with environmentalist, the Haida First Nation successfully fought for the preservation of Gwaii Haanas (South Moresby Island) with blockades, protests, environmental campaigns, lobbying and legal action. The area is now protected as the 'Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.-' Using a cultural approach combining aspects of 'storytelling,' the 'cultural memory' and 'actor-network-theory' (ANT), the core question arises whether the (Western) dualisms between 'nature' and 'culture' and between 'fact' and 'fiction' should be dissolved. Latour argues that such dualisms and even the separation between the human and non-human world (i.e., the world of things) do not exist. Assmann claims that we do not necessarily remember what has really happened', but what was repeatedly told us to have happened. Along with Thomas King, J. Edward Chamberlin and William Cronon, I stress the point that stories - fictitious or based on facts - do matter. The effect of stories on the way we understand our past, might often be more important than that of 'hard' facts: Stories shape both a societys concept of the past and its present identity. Canada, with its heterogeneous population, is a particularly interesting place to conduct research about different concepts of 'nature' and culture'. Analyzing the different stories that evolved around South Moresby, and taking into account diverging messages of native and non-native stories, offers a new perspective on similar resource conflicts that continue to exist and arise all over the world.
Arbuscular- (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi influence soil organic matter (SOM) quantity and quality using different mechanisms. So far little is known how changes in the dominating mycorrhiza type occurring after land use change from arable crops to short rotation forestry (SRF) affect the quantity, composition and turnover of SOM. Therefore, we will manipulate the dominating mycorrhiza type in field and lab experiments to test the following hypotheses: (1) A change from AM to EM, expected under SRF, results in SOM storage due to mycelium formation and SOM stabilising hydrophobin production; (2) A back-change to AM in crops after SRF stimulates saprotrophs to decompose the previously stored SOM and forms new SOM using aggregating effects of glomalin. Accordingly, we will sample recent and former long term SRF and their corresponding reference sites. We will investigate the mycorrhizal colonisation, the amount and molecular composition of SOM including markers (chitin, hydrophobin, glomalin). The microbial decomposition of SOM in the presence and absence of EM will be investigated using 13C studies in incubation experiments. This will prove the importance and sustainability of mycorrhizal C for SOM formation.
Large areas of abandoned pasture land in the Alps are currently encroached by shrub at a breathtaking speed, with green alder (Alnus viridis) playing the most prominent role. Dense Alnus thickets reduce plant diversity in former species-rich upper montane grassland, prevent natural forest succession, change the water relations at the landscape scale by reducing runoff, contribute through symbiotic N2 fixation substantially to eutrophication by leaching nitrate to the river system and exert risks to local drinking water springs. Paradoxically, this conversion into species-poor, nitrogen enriching and releasing Alnus thickets occurs in mountain regions considered particularly rich in biodiversity and essential for the continuing provision of many ecosystem goods and services, particularly for clean and plentiful water. Except from local sources, critical loads for nitrogen by atmospheric deposition are only rarely exceeded in these high elevation regions. The project ALNEX is designed (1) to quantify the water quality impact of Alnus by measuring the nitrogen pools and fluxes from single alder shrub to catchment-wide landscapes, (2) to elaborate land management guidelines towards preserving of open, centuries-old pasture land and (3) to assess the policy implications in a critical load and biodiversity context.
Implementation of EU waste legislation shows large differences in the EU Member States especially with regard to municipal waste management. Major discrepancies prevail particularly in the implementation and application of the Waste Framework Directive and proper transposition of EU requirements into national legislation. The waste management performance of all EU Member States was subject to screening to identify those Member States with the largest implementation gaps, in particular in relation to municipal waste management. For screening the main elements and legal requirements stemming from EU waste directives (mainly from the Waste Framework and the Landfill Directive) were considered for the design of suitable criteria. These core elements comprise the practical implementation of the waste management hierarchy, application of economic and legal instruments to move up the waste hierarchy, sufficiency of treatment infrastructure and quality of waste management planning, the fulfilment of targets and infringement procedures. These elements were assessed by 18 criteria for each Member State taking into account information sources at EU, national or regional level. Latest available statistical data and data of former years for comparison of development within a country were extracted from the EUROSTAT database. References comprised reports published by the European Commission, the European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, internal working documents of EUROSTAT and the EU Commission as well as national/regional Waste Management Plans. Where available also Waste Prevention Programmes were screened. The screening results confirmed the assumption of large differences within the EU-27 with regard to treatment of municipal waste, compliance with the WFD and Landfill Directives and application of legal or economic instruments as well as planning quality. For each criterion two, one or zero points could be achieved, leading to maximum points of 42 for all criteria. The methodology includes weighting of results for three selected criteria related to the application of the treatment options recycling, energy recovery and disposal of municipal waste.
IAGOS is a design study pursuing the preparation of a resilient distributed infrastructure for routine observations of atmospheric composition, aerosols, clouds and contrails on the global scale from commercial in-service aircraft. Observations in the Up per Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) are critical for improving the scientific understanding of chemistry-climate interactions, particularly those associated with the roles of clouds, aerosols and chemical composition. This information is essen tial for improving the scientific basis related to predictions of global climate change and for the assessment of surface air pollution, including the influence of aviation impacts and of emissions from other parts of the world on Europe. In IAGOS, new instrument packages will be developed which include state of the art developments based on the former MOZAIC instrumentation for O3, H2O, CO and NOy/NOx with significant reductions in size and weight. A central element is the certification of the packa ges for installation and deployment on Airbus longrange aircraft and for maintenance in compliance with aeronautical regulations. New instrumentation will be designed for aerosol, cloud particles and for stratospheric water vapour. Another important elem ent is the design of realtime data provision from the new instruments to meteorological services. Finally, IAGOS will establish the logistic and financial boundary conditions for the operation of the new infrastructure and will initiate the dialog betwe en scientific partners, users and airlines interested in supporting the new infrastructure. IAGOS is epected to make a significant step forward in the development of a globally operated in situ ob-servation network for the climate system.
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