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Optimizing organic fertilization towards sustainable vegetable production evaluated by long-term field measurement and multi-level fuzzy comprehensive model
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Dominance and rarity in tree communities across the globe: Patterns, predictors and threats
Get PDFAim: Ecological and anthropogenic factors shift the abundances of dominant and rare tree species within local forest communities, thus affecting species composition and ecosystem functioning. To inform forest and conservation management it is important to understand the drivers of dominance and rarity in local tree communities. We answer the following research questions: (1) What are the patterns of dominance and rarity in tree communities? (2) Which ecological and anthropogenic factors predict these patterns? And (3) what is the extinction risk of locally dominant and rare tree species?
Location: Global.
Time period: 1990–2017.
Major taxa studied: Trees.
Methods: We used 1.2 million forest plots and quantified local tree dominance as the relative plot basal area of the single most dominant species and local rarity as the percentage of species that contribute together to the least 10% of plot basal area. We mapped global community dominance and rarity using machine learning models and evaluated the ecological and anthropogenic predictors with linear models. Extinction risk, for example threatened status, of geographically widespread dominant and rare species was evaluated.
Results: Community dominance and rarity show contrasting latitudinal trends, with boreal forests having high levels of dominance and tropical forests having high levels of rarity. Increasing annual precipitation reduces community dominance, probably because precipitation is related to an increase in tree density and richness. Additionally, stand age is positively related to community dominance, due to stem diameter increase of the most dominant species. Surprisingly, we find that locally dominant and rare species, which are geographically widespread in our data, have an equally high rate of elevated extinction due to declining populations through large-scale land degradation.
Main conclusions: By linking patterns and predictors of community dominance and rarity to extinction risk, our results suggest that also widespread species should be considered in large-scale management and conservation practices.202
Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS): The European Research Infrastructure Supporting Atmospheric Science
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Statement complementing the EFSA Scientific Opinion on application (EFSA‐GMO‐NL‐2015‐126) for authorisation of food and feed containing, consisting of and produced from genetically modified soybean MON 87705 × MON 87708 × MON 89788
Get PDFFollowing a request from the European Commission, the GMO Panel assessed additional information related to the application for authorisation of food and feed containing, consisting of and produced from genetically modified soybean MON × MON 87708 × MON 89788 (EFSA-GMO-NL-2015-126). The applicant conducted a 90-day feeding study on GM soybean MON 87705 and provided a proposal for post-market monitoring considering the altered fatty acid profile of GM soybean MON 87705 × MON 87708 × MON 89788, to fulfil the deficiencies identified by EFSA GMO Panel, addressing elements that remained inconclusive from a previous EFSA scientific opinion issued in 2020. The GMO Panel concludes that the 90-day feeding study on GM soybean MON 87705 is in line with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 and that no treatment-related adverse effects were observed in rats after feeding diets containing soybean MON 87705 meals at 30% or 15% for 90 days. The GMO Panel reiterates the recommendation for a PMM for food in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 and Regulation (EU) No 503/2013 and concludes that the proposal provided by the applicant is in line with the recommendations described for the PMM plan of soybean MON 87705 × MON 87708 × MON 89788 in the adopted scientific opinion. Taking into account the previous assessment and the new information, the GMO Panel concludes that soybean MON 87705 × MON 87708 × MON 89788, as assessed in the scientific opinion on application EFSA-GMO-NL-2015-126 and in the supplementary toxicity study, is as safe as its non-GM comparator and the non-GM reference varieties tested and does not represent a nutritional concern in humans and animals, within the scope of this application.202
Management implications following the reconstruction of the small and shallow Lake Mustijärv (Estonia)
Get PDFLake Mustijärv was reconstructed by sediment removal following an almost complete siltation. Here we evaluate challenges and opportunities for the management of the lake. We focused on the stream discharging to the lake (i.e., external loading), sediment retention in accumulation basins (i.e., internal processes) as well as the ecosystem-level response to stressors based on biological variables (phyto- and zooplankton, macrophytes, fishes and zoobenthos). Urban and agricultural inputs elevated ammonium and total phosphorus concentrations in the lake, challenging lake reconstruction efforts. Sediment transport highly increased the risk of faster filling of the lake, associated with upstream streambed excavation. Sediments trapped at the accumulation basins release nutrients that enhance eutrophication. We, however, observed a rapid recovery in fish, macrophytes, and zoobenthos, despite the significant disturbances. Lake Mustijärv is in eutrophic condition, reflected by phytoplankton (Pseudanabaena, Closteriopsis dominance) and zooplankton (Keratella, Polyarthra dominance) composition. To improve lake water quality will require controlling external nutrient inputs, underlining the importance of better coordinated activities between the local (lake restoration) and regional (catchment use) scales.202
Growth path tools for young and developing farmers : farm task mapping
Get PDFThis study is to develop techniques for business engineering on farms. Changes outside the farms are reflected in the agricultural sector placing new demands for the farm managers career paths and expertise. To have success in farm business a young farmer needs to find strategies adapting these changes to the operational tasks of the farm. In adaptation, it is important to see the possibilities of development during the farm’s life cycle. Agricultural entrepreneur usually faces the farm activities as a holistic system. The sustainability of the farm business depends on the conditions of the production processes and the agricultural entrepreneur’s ability to operate at different stages of his or her career path.
In agriculture change is regulated by its own legislation, market regulation, customer requirements, traditions, and work culture, which must be taken into account in maintaining the vitality of the farm system. In Finland, the AgriHubi network offers a new channel for agriculture industry stakeholders to provide tools for the development of agricultural entrepreneurs’ management skills and career growth path. One of the results of this project is the identification of farm entrepreneurs’ development areas with the help of the farm task map tool. The task mapping method is based on mapping the important elements of the company.202
