Publication Server of Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development
Not a member yet
28149 research outputs found
Sort by
Kick-Off and Boot Camp Event (TransLearnN Project Report)
No full textFrom 5–8 December 2023, the Transformational Learning Network for Resilience project held its inaugural Kick-off and Boot Camp at a venue close to Eberswalde, Germany. This four-day workshop marked the formal launch of the project and brought together over 50 representatives from Ukrainian and EU partner institutions to initiate collaborative structures, thematic work-streams, and network coordination. This report provides an overview and documents the results of this event
The Role of Universities of Applied Sciences in the Development of a National Research Data Infrastructure. Situation and Potentials of Universities of Applied Sciences from the Perspective of the Network FDM@HAW
No full text“The presentation highlights the role of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in research and their potential for the development of a National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). To address the growing need for structured research data management (RDM) at UASs, the FDM@HAW network has emerged as a potential connector between NFDI and UAS landscape. It aims to raise awareness of NFDI services across a diverse UAS network, and articulate UAS-specific requirements back to NFDI. In doing so, it strengthens mutual integration and fosters targeted support. […] In line with NFDI’s mission to “improv[e] the possibilities for using data for science and society” (https://www.nfdi.de/association/?lang=en, April 16, 2025), FDM@HAW seeks to disseminate knowledge of and strengthen competence in delving into these possibilities. The network provides valuable support to activate a target group that has largely been untapped. Close cooperation between NFDI and FDM@HAW will then contribute to the successful development of a nationwide RDM ecosystem. In the presentation, proposals for cooperation will be outlined.” (cf. the CoRDI submission abstract “The Role of Universities of Applied Sciences in the Development of a National Research Data Infrastructure”, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16735972)
The slides for the presentation and the manuscript for the lightning talk held at CoRDI on August 28, 2025, can be found below
Exploring farmer-driven approaches for sustainable cocoa livelihoods in Côte d’Ivoire
No full textAbstract
The Ivorian cocoa sector faces numerous socio-economic and environmental challenges, including widespread poverty among smallholder farmers. Over decades, multiple approaches have been adopted to address these challenges, often top-down and outcome-based in their design. This study applied a Positive Deviance (PD) approach to explore strategies employed by innovative Ivorian cocoa farming households to identify and learn from locally developed solutions. Analysing data from 303 Ivorian cocoa households, 16 PD households were selected for follow-up in-depth interviews. Key strategies identified among these households included income diversification, the use of organic fertilizers like compost and animal manure, and maintaining diversified plantations and dry-season crops to enhance household resilience. While these practices are not entirely new to the Ivorian context, their strategic combination and anticipation of specific challenges appears to be key to their success. However, their adoption was often depending on the households’ access to resources, such as land and labour, limiting their generalizability across all smallholder farmers. The study therefore highlights the need for context-specific approaches to support smallholder farmers and argues for tailored and locally grounded development interventions. Given the critical role that cooperatives play in facilitating access to inputs, knowledge, and credit, they should be strengthened, particularly in their capacity to reach underserved groups. While these exploratory findings offer valuable insights into local innovations and trade-offs within the cocoa sector, future research should incorporate more quantitative data on household income streams to better understand the broader applicability and trade-offs of these strategies
Climate model downscaling in central Asia: a dynamical and a neural network approach
No full textAbstract
High-resolution climate projections are essential for estimating future climate change impacts. Statistical and dynamical downscaling methods, or a hybrid of both, are commonly employed to generate input datasets for impact modelling. In this study, we employ COSMO-CLM (CCLM) version 6.0, a regional climate model, to explore the benefits of dynamically downscaling a general circulation model (GCM) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), focusing on climate change projections for central Asia (CA). The CCLM, at 0.22° horizontal resolution, is driven by the MPI-ESM1-2-HR GCM (at 1° spatial resolution) for the historical period of 1985–2014 and the projection period of 2019–2100 under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), namely the SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Using the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) gridded observation dataset as a reference, we evaluate the performance of CCLM driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis over the historical period. The added value of CCLM, compared to its driving GCM, is evident over mountainous areas in CA, which are at a higher risk of extreme precipitation events. The mean absolute error and bias of climatological precipitation (mm d −1 ) are reduced by 5 mm d −1 for summer and 3 mm d −1 for annual values. For winter, there was no error reduction achieved. However, the frequency of extreme precipitation values improved in the CCLM simulations. Additionally, we employ CCLM to refine future climate projections. We present high-resolution maps of heavy precipitation changes based on CCLM and compare them with the CMIP6 GCM ensemble. Our analysis indicates an increase in the intensity and frequency of heavy precipitation events over CA areas already at risk of extreme climatic events by the end of the century. The number of days with precipitation exceeding 20 mm increases by more than 90 by the end of the century, compared to the historical reference period, under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. The annual 99th percentile of total precipitation increases by more than 9 mm d −1 over mountainous areas of central Asia by the end of the century, relative to the 1985–2014 reference period, under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Finally, we train a convolutional neural network (CNN) to map a GCM simulation to its dynamically downscaled CCLM counterpart. The CNN successfully emulates the GCM–CCLM model chain over large areas of CA but shows reduced skill when applied to a different GCM–CCLM model chain. The scientific community interested in downscaling CMIP6 models could use our downscaling data, and the CNN architecture offers an alternative to traditional dynamical and statistical methods
Effects of different doses and preparations of zinc oxide in weanling piglets on performance, intestinal microbiota and microbial metabolites
No full textAbstract
For years, high zinc levels (up to 3000 mg/kg feed) have been used to aid piglets during the weaning phase. However, studies revealed drawbacks like antimicrobial resistance and environmental impact. Since 2022, the EU limits zinc inclusion levels to 150 mg total zinc per kg. Therefore, alternative strategies for replacing high levels of zinc are of great interest. This study compares a potentiated zinc oxide source (HiZox®) and feed grade zinc oxide at various levels on piglet performance, fecal consistency and fecal microbiome.
The trial involved a total of 1,440 healthy weaned piglets (DanBred × Duroc; 50% barrows, 50% gilts; initial BW 10.1 ± 1.46 kg) over the 28-day duration of the experimental period. Piglets were randomly assigned to 12 treatment groups, each consisting of 12 pens, with 10 piglets per pen.
The trial comprised two periods: the starter period (days 1 to 14) focused on comparing the two zinc products, while all animals received a diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg of potentiated ZnO in the grower period (days 15 to 28). Treatment groups receiving feed grade ZnO were denoted as Z150, Z300, Z600, Z900, Z1500, and Z3000, while corresponding groups with the potentiated ZnO product were labeled H150, H300, H600, H900, H1500, and H3000, respectively. Body weight (BW) and feed intake (FI) were measured for every pen at days 1, 14 and 28. Fecal samples were collected on the same days.
During the starter phase (days 1 to 14), potentiated ZnO significantly improved average daily gain (ADG) compared to feed-grade ZnO (P ≤ 0.001), with the highest values observed at 3000 mg/kg (H3000: 247 g/d vs. Z3000: 233 g/d). Feed intake (FI) was also higher in potentiated ZnO groups (P ≤ 0.001), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was more efficient (e.g., H3000: 1.2 vs. Z3000: 1.24; P = 0.001). In the grower phase residual effects from the starter phase persisted: animals previously fed potentiated ZnO had improved FCR (P = 0.003). Fecal microbiota analysis revealed that higher zinc levels reduced Lactobacillus abundance (P ≤ 0.001) and increased the presence of genera typical of adult pigs, such as Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Terrisporobacter (P < 0.01). In conclusion, based on the observed shift in fecal microbiota composition characterized by a reduction in lactobacilli and an increase in proteobacteria due to heightened dietary zinc levels, it is advised to adjust zinc supplementation to 150 mg/kg after the initial 2 wk post-weaning
Effectiveness of the world network of biosphere reserves in maintaining forest ecosystem functions
No full textAbstract
UNESCO biosphere reserves serve as learning areas for sustainable development, where preserving ecosystem functionality is an imperative. However, this critical assumption has yet to be thoroughly examined. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated differences in satellite-derived proxies of ecosystem functions in forests between inside and surrounding areas of biosphere reserves, globally. Our findings based on linear mixed effect models show that (i) only 18 of 119 biosphere reserves exhibited higher values for all forest ecosystem function proxies inside the reserves compared to outside, (ii) smaller reserves in fragmented forestscapes were more affected by hot day temperatures, and (iii) greater forest cover correlated with increased ecosystem functioning across all biomes. This study underscores the potential significance of biosphere reserves to biodiversity conservation efforts and the need for the integration of satellite-based, outcome-oriented proxies of ecosystem functions in assessments of protected area effectiveness
Integrating Multi-Source Data to Explore Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Future Scenarios of Arid Urban Agglomerations: A Geodetector–PLUS Modelling Framework for Sustainable Land Use Planning
No full textLand use and landscape changes undermine the balance between humans and the environment, threatening sustainable regional development, yet their driving mechanisms and future trends remain insufficiently understood, particularly in arid areas. This study establishes a long-term analytical framework for the temporal evolution and driving mechanisms of land use and landscape patterns in arid areas, based on Landsat remote sensing imagery and socio-economic data. We investigate spatiotemporal evolution trends, driving mechanisms, and spatial non-stationarity of regional landscapes, and apply the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model to predict future landscape changes under business-as-usual (BAU), economic development (ED), and ecological protection (EP) scenarios. The results show that: (1) Grassland and unused land together account for over 80% of the total area. From 1990 to 2020, built-up land expanded by 1471.58 km 2 , an increase of 190.09%. The comprehensive land use dynamic degree in the Urumqi–Changji–Shihezi (UCS) region was 0.22%, with the highest value observed between 2000 and 2010. (2) At the class level, spatial heterogeneity and fragmentation of different landscape types increased, enhancing regional landscape diversity. (3) Spatiotemporal changes in land use and landscape patterns were driven by the combined effects of natural factors, socio-economic conditions, and policy influences. (4) By 2030, under all three scenarios, unused land is expected to decrease, with the most significant reduction under the EP scenario. Grassland will increase most notably under the EP scenario, built-up land will expand, especially under the ED scenario, and cropland will also grow, mainly under the EP scenario. Forest and water areas will show slight decreases with minimal fluctuations. Overall, the proposed framework effectively captures the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving forces of land use and landscape changes, providing support for the formulation of long-term sustainable development policies
A two-decade overview of oxadiazole derivatives as promising anticancer agents
No full textOne of the most difficult illnesses that people today must deal with is cancer. It is distinguished by aberrant cell division and growth, which results in the development of tumors and lumps. The heterocyclic nucleus has drawn a lot of interest in the field of chemotherapeutics; moreover, it is essential in medicinal chemistry. Oxadiazole is a nitrogen–oxygen heterocyclic core with five members that exhibits remarkable anticancer properties. Inhibiting different enzymes and growth factors is the mechanism linked to tumor defeat. This review has covered research conducted over the past 20 years as well as their potential applications in drug development as antineoplastic agents, given the significance of oxadiazole and its derivatives in this global panic problem. This review aims to highlight the anticancer properties of 1,3,4-oxadiazole and its derivatives, 1,2,4-oxadiazole
Brief communication: What do we need to know? Ten questions about climate and water challenges in Berlin-Brandenburg
No full textAbstract
As climate change escalates, the Berlin-Brandenburg region faces new challenges. Climate change-induced extreme events including droughts, heatwaves, and floods, are expected to cause new conflicts to emerge and aggravate existing ones. To guide future research, we engaged a transdisciplinary academic community of experts to co-develop a list of key questions on these climate and water challenges in the region. Our findings highlight the urgent need for integrated and participatory research approaches. We expect this list of key questions to provide a roadmap for scientists and policymakers to foster actionable knowledge production to address climate and water challenges in the region
Sustainability Management at EU Partner Universities: The current state of strategy developments and implementations at the EU partner universities in the TransLearnN project
No full textThis report presents an overview of the current state of sustainability strategy development at four European universities participating in the TransLearnN project: Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE, Germany), Rzeszów University of Technology (RUT, Poland), Technical University of Liberec (TUL, Czech Republic), and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH, Lithuania). The analysis draws on institutional self-assessments, strategic documents, internal surveys, and supplementary materials such as presentations and posters. The report serves as a comparative reference for Ukrainian partner universities, who are developing their own sustainability governance frameworks in the context of post-war recovery and transformation