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Preferences for Renewable Energies and Green Jobs in Mexico City
Get PDFMexico City, that boasts the first place in electricity consumption among urban centers in the country, is actively advancing its energy transition by promoting renewable energies and tapping into its potential for solar and bio-energy. As households in emerging economies drive global energy demand, this study explores preferences of Mexico City's residents. Using a discrete choice experiment, 940 residents were presented with energy contracts featuring renewable energy sources, green job creation in the energy sector, renewable energy percentages in the energy mix, and electricity prices. Estimates reveal that respondents are willing to pay a 19.5% premium over the average price per kilowatt-hour if the energy source were exclusively solar and created 1000 green jobs. These findings offer insights for other megacities with similar challenges and renewable potential in pursuing a just energy transition
The contribution to forest conservation and restoration in Sweden of small, protected patches on private forest land
Get PDFIn forest regions worldwide, the extent of industrial forestry footprint challenges biodiversity conservation and calls for advanced protection and ecological restoration. The conservation efficiency of protected areas needs to be improved, and forest ecosystems need to be set in a state that favors biodiversity, resilience, and provisioning of ecosystem services. Sweden hosts a large share of the European forests, with dominance of non-industrial forest ownership and extensive forestry footprint, hence with a strong need for expanded conservation, restoration, and multiple-use targets. Protection through voluntary Nature Conservation Agreements and regulated Biotope Protection Areas exists since the 1990s, supported by economic compensation to landowners. Across entire Sweden and all ecoregions, we assessed their abundance over a 30-year period, including forest types, restoration practices, rotation intervals, and selection of tree species. These nearly 14,000 patches covering over 70,000 ha are small with a median area of 3-4 ha and rarely larger than 20 ha. Their contribution is important, particularly in southern Sweden with low and fragmented forest cover distributed among many different owners. A decreasing trend in protection is alarming since these contribute to representative forest type across the forest landscape of Sweden. Active restoration dominates over passive set-asides; coniferous forest types are less represented than more rare forest types, many different tree species are favored, and different restoration practices occur, but with few dominating. While recognizing the important contribution, we find that the restoration practices are narrow and repetitive and that a greater diversification is needed to improve conservation and multiple-use targets of forests
From dead trees to landscapes
Get PDFForests provide critical habitat for a vast number of organisms, including species that rely on deadwood. This thesis investigates the capacity of multifunctional forest landscapes in Sweden, so-called ecoparks, to sustain deadwood-dependent biodiversity compared to conventional production forests. Focusing on saproxylic beetles and wood-inhabiting fungi, I explore how habitat characteristics from the microhabitat to the landscape scale relate to species richness, functional diversity, and community composition. Across nine landscapes in the boreal and boreonemoral zones, I used artificially created high stumps of pine, birch, and aspen to sample saproxylic beetles and eDNA of wood-inhabiting fungi. Combined with field measurements of habitat structures, I analysed diversity and community patterns in relation to deadwood availability, forest types, and high conservation value forests. The results show that ecoparks generally maintain higher structural habitat quality, greater volumes and diversity of deadwood, and more extensive areas of high conservation value forests. These features translate into significantly higher taxonomic and functional diversity of saproxylic beetles, especially red-listed species, with the ecopark Hornsö, known as a hotspot for saproxylic beetles, standing out as a strong driver of these patterns. Both beetles and fungi responded to environmental variables across spatial scales, with local deadwood characteristics, forest composition, and surrounding high conservation value forest all influencing diversity and community structure. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating multi-scale habitat considerations into forest conservation and management
Genetic influence of a STAU2 frameshift mutation and RELN regulatory elements on performance in Icelandic horses
Get PDFSelection for performance in horse breeding benefits from precise genetic insights at a molecular level, but knowledge remains limited. This study used whole-genome sequences of 39 elite and non-elite Icelandic horses to identify candidate causal variants linked to previously identified haplotypes in the STAU2 and RELN genes affecting pace and other gaits. A frameshift variant in linkage disequilibrium with the previously identified haplotypes in the STAU2 gene (r2 = 0.85) was identified within a predicted STAU2 transcript. This variant alters the amino acid sequence and introduces a premature stop codon but does not appear harmful or disease-causing and is potentially unique to equine biology. A large portion of the RELN haplotype overlapped with an H3K27me3 modification mark, suggesting a regulatory role of this region. Despite the small sample size, the RELN haplotype's effects were validated for t & ouml;lt, trot, and canter/gallop. Additionally, the RELN haplotype significantly influenced the age at which horses were presented for breeding field tests, indicating a potential role of the region in precocity and trainability. Functional experiments are needed to further investigate the regions' influences on biological processes and their potential impact on horse performance
Analysis of genetic diversity of Zymoseptoria tritici populations in central and south-eastern Ethiopia
Get PDFSeptoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici, is a serious threat to global wheat production, and a major bottleneck to wheat production in Ethiopia. Accurate identification and analysis of the pathogen's genetic structure helps to develop robust STB management strategies. This study aimed at molecular identification and genetic structure analysis of 200 isolates of Z. tritici representing six populations in central and south-eastern regions of Ethiopia. A total of 165 isolates were confirmed by Sanger sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear DNA (rDNA) region. The pathogen's genetic structure was further examined using 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The microsatellite markers were highly polymorphic and informative, with mean number of alleles (Na), effective alleles (Ne), Nei's gene diversity of 6.23, 2.90, and 0.59, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) confirmed the presence of low population differentiation (FST = 0.02), high gene flow (Nm = 14.7), with 95% of the total genetic variation residing within populations, and leaving only 5% for the among populations. The highest genetic diversity (Number of allele = 9.33, Effective number of allele = 3.4 and Nei's gene diversity = 0.68) was observed in the Oromia special zone surrounding Finfinnee (OSZ) Z. tritici populations, followed by Arsi and North Shewa populations, indicating that these areas are ideal for multi-location wheat germplasm resistance screening, and also the pathogen genetic and genomic analyses. Cluster analyses did not clearly divide the populations into genetically separate clusters according to their geographic areas of sampling, probably due to high gene flow. The analysis revealed existence of high genetic admixture, and all the individuals shared genomic backgrounds from two subgroups (K=2). Overall, the SSR markers are highly informative and effective genetic tools for unlocking the pathogen's genetic structure. The Z. tritici populations of central and southeast Ethiopia exhibit high genetic diversity, indicating the need to deploy durable and diverse disease management strategies. North Shewa, OSZ, Arsi and West Arsi administrative zones represent hotspots for genetic and genomic analyses of Z. tritici and excellent locations for host-pathogen interaction studies, and wheat germplasm screening for STB resistance
Good examples of soil education for youth to increase soil literacy
Get PDFOne of eight aims of the EU Mission Soil, is to increase soil literacy in society. One way to do that would be to reach out to teachers and inspire them to involve soil topics in their teaching. Therefore PREPSOIL Task 6.2 aimed to identify good examples of soil education and learning activities for youth and communicate them with teachers and pedagogic representatives across Europe. During 2023 and 2024 teachers were invited to share their good examples on soil education targeting primary, secondary and vocational training pupils. A committee which consisted of three teachers, one soil scientist and one pedagogy actor selected winners and runners up from selected finalists. All in all, the two calls received more than 50 submissions, with a broad range of examples of natural, urban and agricultural soils in interdisciplinary learning (science, humanities, etc) using multiple senses. We conclude that a lot of interesting and inspiring pedagogy work concerning soils are happening in Europe! The challenge to reach the intended teachers to share their work proved to a challenge, despite reaching through known networks and channels at national pedagogic and teacher contact points. Knowledge about the national school context and cooperation with wellknown and reputable actors, whose communication channels as well as communication in national language can help promotion and sharing of good teaching examples across Europe
Detection of canine distemper virus (CDV) neutralising antibodies in small ruminants during peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) surveillance in Zambia
Get PDFCanine distemper virus (CDV) is endemic in Zambia, while peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) has not been detected. This study screened 962 farmed goats and 237 small ruminants at informal markets for PPRV antibodies using c-ELISA. A subset (n = 29) was re-analysed with virus neutralisation assays (VNA) for antibodies to PPRV and CDV due to cross-reactivity concerns. c-ELISA indicated 6.44% PPRV seroprevalence on farms and 3.80% at markets. While VNA detected no PPRV antibodies, 45% (13/29) tested positive for CDV, possibly suggesting cross-reactivity. Given the study's limitations, further research is needed to determine whether PPRV is present in Zambia and assess potential cross-reactivity
Riparian Zone Heterogeneity Influences the Amount and Fate of Biodegradable Dissolved Organic Carbon at the Land-Water Interface
Get PDFThe transport of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (bDOC) across land-water boundaries is central to supporting the ecological and biogeochemical functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Yet, we know little about how the generation and supply of terrestrial bDOC to streams and lakes is regulated by the physical, biological, and hydrological properties of the riparian interface. Here, we assessed how terrestrial, groundwater, and aquatic bDOC differ along flowpaths connecting riparian soils to a headwater boreal stream. We further tested how bDOC generation and supply differs among interfaces with distinct hydrogeomorphologies, as reflected by differences in soil properties, groundwater dynamics, and hydrological connectivity to the stream. We found that bDOC quantity declined sharply from terrestrial sources, to groundwater, to aquatic systems, and that these differences were associated with changes in the optical and chemical properties of the dissolved organic matter pool. However, bDOC generation and potential transport in groundwater varied across site types and reflected local differences in soil organic matter storage, depth to groundwater, and soil microbial community activity. Interface zones with organic-rich soils but weak hydrological connections had a large capacity to produce bDOC, but likely only laterally contributed organic resources during floods. By contrast, sites with stronger lateral hydrological connectivity served as persistent conduits for organic resources generated further upslope, even if the capacity to generate bDOC locally was weak. Overall, our results illustrate how hydrogeomorphic heterogeneity at the land-water interface can add spatial and temporal complexity to the generation and transfer of bDOC from soils to the inland water continuum
Effectiveness of prescribed burning as a conservation tool in boreal forests
Get PDFPrescribed burning is used as a conservation tool in Fennoscandia to create and restore fire-associated structures and processes, aiming to benefit biodiversity. However, knowledge on when and where prescribed burns should be applied to be most efficient in terms of promoting biodiversity is lacking. In this thesis I examine how stand and landscape characteristics, weather, season and time since burning influences the outcomes of prescribed burns. I studied saproxylic fungal communities in spruce dominated stands in Finland 16 years after burning. I inventoried deadwood, basal area, potential fires-scars and seedling regeneration in 32 prescribed burn sites in Sweden. In 23 of the 32 sites, I surveyed saproxylic beetles. My results show that prescribed burn outcomes vary considerably among sites. I found that burning forests with high spruce proportions can create large volumes of deadwood, facilitate deciduous tree regeneration and promote red-listed saproxylic fungi. The red-listed fungi were present 16 years after burning, but not in previous inventories, highlighting the importance of long-term studies. Burning forests as opposed to clear-cuts benefited different types of saproxylic beetles, suggesting that these burn types are not interchangeable but instead complementary. Beetle species richness was also positively correlated to the proportion of protected forests in the landscape. The composition of the surrounding landscape should therefore be considered when planning burns. Weather and season differed between prescribed fires and wildfires, with wildfires occurring in drier weather conditions and later in the summer. Several Fire Weather Indices were positively correlated with the amount of deadwood created and establishment of deciduous seedlings. But in comparison to wildfires, few sites had high values of either, indicating that many burns are suboptimal in terms of creating structures and processes that benefit biodiversity. Burning later in the season when the ground is drier may be one way to improve outcomes. My results demonstrate that the conservation value of prescribed burns can be improved by more carefully considering forest type, landscape context, weather and seasonal factors