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Contrasting forest management strategies: Impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services under changing climate and disturbance regimes
Get PDFNatural disturbances may compromise the past and ongoing efforts to increase carbon sequestration and halt biodiversity loss in boreal forests. Measures to minimize the effects of forest disturbances i.e., adaptive management, offer solutions to secure future timber yields. However, the consequences of adaptive management on biodiversity, the climate change mitigation potential of forests, and other ecosystem services are not well understood. In addition, the impact of climate change and disturbances on future forest-based mitigation potential is not well known. We compared the effects of forest management options emphasizing climate change mitigation or adaptation on boreal forests in changing climate and disturbance regimes in southern Finland. We used the process-based forest landscape and disturbance model iLand to dynamically model interactions between climate change and disturbances together with forest management and protection options, and examined the consequent effects on forest carbon storage, berry yields, recreation, and structural attributes important for biodiversity. Mitigation managements resulted in up to one-fifth higher carbon stocks, even after accounting for disturbances by wind and bark beetles, but halved annual harvests over the 80-year simulation period. Adaptive managements reduced bark beetle disturbances, but in some cases the disturbed volumes were even higher than under business-as-usual management due to increased wind damage. The effects of proactive risk management depended on the time horizon considered, the adaptive management option chosen and the climate change scenario. In general, the mitigation managements had positive effects on the biodiversity indicators studied, while the effects of adaptive management were mixed. Our results highlight the complex interactions between disturbance risk prevention, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, and other ecosystem services. The results guide forest managers and policymakers to plan mitigation and adaptation strategies optimizing multiple benefits, and strengthening forest resilience in a changing climate.202
Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies
Get PDFThe social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we develop a dynamic material-energy flow model integrating system dynamics, social life cycle assessment, and geometallurgical approaches. The analysis focuses on critical materials: Rare Earth Elements, Nickel, Silicon, Graphite, Magnesium, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Aluminum, Cobalt, Lithium, Zinc, and Tellurium used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar photovoltaic panels. We assess their social impact on work safety, gender equality, informal employment, labor income share, employment rate, and child labor—key issues addressed by Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, and 8. Here we show that Aluminum production for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels generates the most jobs and income opportunities, while extraction of Cobalt, Lithium, Silicon, and Zinc carry the highest social risks.202
Variations in tocopherol, tocotrienol, avenanthramide and saponin content in oats and the influence of milling and baking processes
Get PDFOats, as whole-grain cereal, are a good source of nutrients, including compounds located in the outer layers of groats, such as fibre and bioactive compounds. The aim was to study variations in selected bioactive compounds of oats and evaluate possible losses due to oats' milling into flour and the baking process. The levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols (i.e. tocols), avenanthramides and saponins of 30 Finnish-grown oat batches representing different cultivars were measured. The analysed sample materials were laboratory hulled non-heated groats, flours from a commercial mill and breads. The oat batches showed marked variation, and the greatest variation among the batches was observed in avenanthramide content, with a 10-fold difference. Meanwhile, the variation in tocols and saponins was approximately twofold. As a result of the change from groats to flours, the content of tocols, avenanthramides and saponins decreased by 1–40%, usually 1–33% and 1–57% in the oat batches, respectively. Losses in avenanthramides and saponins were also observed after baking. Avenanthramides seemed to tolerate the studied processing steps the best. This study showed that the oat batches’ losses in the studied bioactive compounds differed due to multiple factors such as physical separation and chemical reactions.202
Rediscovery of small-scale fisheries in the era of crises
Get PDFThis article analyses the role of small-scale fisheries in the era of crises that increase fisheries’ vulnerability. Crises may also trigger a reconsideration of the value of small-scale fisheries. Thus, our main research questions are twofold: 1) How do the recent crises directly affect small-scale fisheries? and 2) What are the opportunities for reinventing the societal and environmental benefits of small-scale fisheries? Answers to the research questions are based on a selection of interviews, email inquiry, research articles and reports in the context of Finnish small-scale fisheries. By focusing on these fisheries, operated in a Northern European welfare state, we study the potential that the new turbulent and uncertain circumstances could lead to acknowledgement of the multifunctional character of small-scale fisheries. The results show that climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine have challenged the resilience of Finnish small-scale fishing livelihood, albeit moderately. The prospects for new policies triggered by these crises stem from acknowledgement of small-scale fisheries’ contribution to food security, environmental benefits and short supply chains. The best way to secure fish-based food security and sustainability during crises, is to keep the fishing sector and the production and distribution chains vital in normal conditions. We conclude that in a society like Finland the rediscovery of small-scale fisheries’ future necessitates wide societal and political discussion about the pros and cons of the livelihood, together with inclusive governance that recognizes the multifunctional roles of small-scale fisheries in the era of crises.202
Kiertoajan pidennyksillä voi kasvattaa hiilivarastoa hallituin riskein
Get PDFMetsiköiden kiertoaikaa pidentämällä voidaan kasvattaa metsien hiilivarastoa. Hakkuuvälin pidentäminen vaikuttaa positiivisesti myös muihin metsien tarjoamiin ekosysteemipalveluihin ja lisää elonkirjoa. Toisaalta kiertoaikojen pidennys kasvattaa myös metsiin kohdistuvia tuhoriskejä. Juurikääpä, tuuli ja kirjanpainajat aiheuttavat taloudellisia tappioita erityisesti Etelä-Suomen kuusivaltaisissa metsissä. Kuinka suuria riskit ovat ja miten niitä voisi metsänhoidossa ottaa huomioon - etenkin jos hiilivarastoa halutaan kasvattaa kiertoaikoja pidentämällä?202