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A policy analysis of peatland-related policies - pressures, ecosystem services, conservation and restoration
No full textOver the last fifty years, peatlands have shifted from being intensively drained and exploited to being at the heart of debates about fighting climate change and other environmental crises. Despite current efforts towards peat-land restoration and conservation, political action is not reaching the desired targets. Are policies really providing consistent and coherent solutions? This study reviews how peatland issues have been addressed in the international political discourse and how policies in Europe and Sweden are responding to such issues to halt peatland degradation. The study follows a multi-step approach comprising i) policy selection, ii) framing process, and iii) policy coherence analysis. The results reveal that European and Swedish policies from different fields (biodiversity and conservation, climate change, agriculture, forestry, land use and soil, energy, and water) broadly emphasise the need for peatland protection and conservation. However, these policies lack coherence in addressing the different impacts affecting peatlands, comprehending certain ecosystem functions and services, and identifying explicit nature-, financial-, and social capacity-based solutions for their restoration and sustainable use. This evidence highlights the need to foster coordination among decision-makers within and across different policy fields at both governance levels
The hovering pontoon trap: The tougher, younger sibling in the pontoon trap family
Get PDFTrap nets are a large, stationary, and fixed type of passive fishing gear that has traditionally been used for catching fish in shallow coastal environments. Despite their large size, catches are often retrieved using small boats, making them less energy demanding compared to active gear types. This, along with the stationary nature of the trap, allows for fishing with relatively low environmental impact due to minimal disturbance of the benthic community. The combination of minimal benthic impact, live catch, low fuel, and selectivity offers great potential for the development of sustainable coastal fisheries. Here, we describe the development of the hovering pontoon trap, a fishing gear with a robust design to resist strong waves and currents, and usable in both shallow and deep waters to catch both pelagic and benthic species. We present results from early case studies targeting benthic Baltic Sea species, including perch (Percha fluventaliis), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and vendace (Coregonus albula), showing similar or improved catches in relation to earlier studies. Further, we show that the hovering pontoon trap was able to withstand harsher conditions than previous bottom-set models, making it a possible solution for the targeting of benthic fish communities in coastal environments
Evaluating intermediate crops for biogas production – Effects of nitrogen fertilization and harvest timing on biomass yield, methane output and economic viability
Get PDFIntermediate crops (ICs) are grown on large areas in Sweden and elsewhere for their function as cover or catch crops and to increase soil fertility, and they are usually soil-incorporated. The aim of this study was to investigate if aboveground biomass from ICs can be a sustainable source of biofuel feedstock. For that, the biomass yield of fertilized and unfertilized ICs was studied in field experiments and their energy potential determined using methane potential assays. Furthermore, we estimated the economic viability of biogas vehicle fuel production using the IC biomass. Our results indicated that it is economically viable to produce biomethane gas for vehicle fuel quality, from several intermediate crops grown in Northwest Europe, when the intermediate crop biomass was harvested with a self-loading forage wagon, used fresh or as silage as biogas feedstock and processed to methane gas in a large scale biogas plant. Nitrogen fertilization of intermediate crops was useful only when the intermediate crop is established early enough for the plant to make use of the nitrogen and 3 of the 9 investigated IC species could be grown economically feasible even without nitrogen fertilization and covering the full feedstock production costs. Other factors important for economic viability were a high gross methane yield per hectare combined with a high dry matter content in the IC biomass, with high dry matter yields to be prioritized over a higher specific methane yield. Further research is needed on the impact of IC maturity on methane production and suitable harvest technology
Bacterial Delight: Deciphering how visible light affects bacterial biological control agents in the phyllosphere of greenhouse crops
Get PDFLight can be an enabler of life but also a stressor depending on the organism and the environment. When introducing biological control agents (BCAs) to the phyllosphere of greenhouse crops, several parameters need to be met to reach high efficacy. The newly applied invaders in the harsh phyllosphere environment need to successfully attach, compete and reproduce whilst also acting against a pathogen to be regarded as effective. Light has been found to induce biosurfactant and biofilm formation in non-phototrophic bacterial BCAs. These induced mechanisms could be key in aiding the introduction of non-phototrophic BCAs. In this thesis, the effects of placement in the canopy, leaf type, visible light treatment, exposure dose and sole carbon utilisation were investigated with respect to three nonphototrophic bacterial BCAs (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Streptomyces griseoviridis). Both greenhouse and laboratory experiments were used to decipher how visible light affects these BCAs. Exposure dose, light distribution in combination with a wavelength were found to affect the BCAs when introduced in the phyllosphere of greenhouse crops. Based on viable counts S. griseoviridis was recovered at high rates irrespective of the light treatment, whereas P. chlororaphis and B. amyloliquefaciens preferred the green and white light treatments. It was found that different wavelengths influence all three BCAs’ sole carbon utilisation, where two BCAs, B. amyloliquefaciens and P. chlororaphis, had higher respiration rates under the blue spectrum, and S. griseoviridis preferred the red spectrum. In the case of P. chlororaphis, this was further translated when cascade effects were noted in the citrate cycle as an effect of the increased source utilisation under blue light treatment
NMR spectroscopic studies of chitin oligomers - Resolution of individual residues and characterization of minor amide cis conformations
Get PDFChitin is the second most abundant biopolymer in nature after cellulose and is composed of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) connected via beta(1 -> 4)-glycosidic bonds. Despite its prominence in nature and diverse roles in pharmaceutical and food technological applications, there is still a need to develop methods to study structure and function of chitin and its corresponding oligomers. Efforts have been made to analyse chitin oligomers by NMR spectroscopy, but spectral overlap has prevented any differentiation between the interior residues. In this study, chitin oligomers up to hexaose with natural abundance of 15N were analysed with NMR spectroscopy in aqueous solution. Different 1H,15N-HSQC pulse sequences were evaluated to obtain the best resolution and sensitivity. Interior residues were resolved in the 15N dimension and detailed chemical shifts of amide proton and nitrogen are reported for the first time. Additionally, all oligomers were analysed for the presence of the amide cis form and its corresponding chemical shifts were assigned. This study exploits the information that can be obtained from chitin oligomers with NMR spectroscopy and depicts methods for detailed analysis of glycans containing oligomers of N-acetylglucosamine
TYPHON proteins are RAB-dependent mediators of the trans-Golgi network secretory pathway
Get PDFThe trans-Golgi network (TGN), a key compartment in endomembrane trafficking, participates in both secretion to and endocytosis from the plasma membrane. Consequently, the TGN plays a key role in plant growth and development. Understanding how proteins are sorted for secretion or endocytic recycling at the TGN is critical for elucidating mechanisms of plant development. We previously showed that the protein ECHIDNA is essential for phytohormonal control of hypocotyl bending because it mediates secretion of cell wall components and the auxin influx carrier AUXIN RESISTANT 1 (AUX1) from the TGN. Despite the critical role of ECHIDNA in TGN-mediated trafficking, its mode of action remains unknown in Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana). We therefore performed a suppressor screen on the ech mutant. Here, we report the identification of TGN-localized TYPHON 1(TPN1) and TPN2 proteins. A single amino acid change in either TPN protein causes dominant suppression of the ech mutant's defects in growth and AUX1 secretion, while also restoring wild-type (WT)-like ethylene-responsive hypocotyl bending. Importantly, genetic and cell biological evidence shows that TPN1 acts through RASASSOCIATED BINDING H1b (RABH1b), a TGN-localized RAB-GTPase. These results provide insights into ECHIDNA-mediated secretory trafficking of cell wall and auxin carriers at the TGN, as well as its role in controlling plant growth
Impact of plant diversity in potato-ley strip-cropping systems on soil microbial communities
Get PDFCrop diversification enhances agroecosystem productivity, yet underlying mechanisms, particularly those underground, remain unclear. Diversification practices, such as strip-cropping (alternating strips of different crops) and integrating legumes (plant-based fertilization), may improve nutrient uptake and reduce pathogen build-up via soil microbial community shifts. However, most evidence for plant diversity benefits arises from grasslands, and its impact in cropping systems remains underexplored. This study examined microbial communities in organically managed, long-term potato-ley strip-cropping systems, comparing mono-cropping and stripcropping, and further examined the effect of replacing animal manure by integrating legumes and plant-based fertilization in strip-cropping systems. To assess changes in microbial community composition, bacterial, fungal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) DNA was sequenced. In addition, AMF and potato fungal pathogens were quantified using quantitative PCR. Strip-cropping increased AMF and soil-borne potato pathogens at the strip edges, where ley and potato interacted, though edge effects were absent in plant-based stripcropping systems. Despite higher pathogen abundance at the edges, these did not relate to more significant tuber disease symptoms or yield losses. Changes in soil abiotic properties, particularly lower pH, from plant-based management, influenced fungal community structure more than strip-cropping. Bacterial community structure, including N-fixing bacteria, remained unaffected by either practice. Our results indicate that legume legacy in plant-based systems more strongly affected fungal community than strip-cropping, while strip-cropping benefitted AMF abundances. Taken together, our findings suggest that for sustainable agricultural practices aiming to improve soil health and crop productivity, a comprehensive approach that considers crop diversity, soil management, and fertilization practices is necessary
The influence of land use, microhabitat and aquatic insect subsidies on predatory riparian arthropod distributions
Get PDFAgricultural land use effects on aquatic and riparian communities are complex and multifaceted, resulting in habitat degradation and biodiversity loss in riparian and instream ecosystems. This study correlated predatory arthropod densities and species richness to abundance of potential prey (emerged aquatic insects and terrestrial dipterans) along an agricultural to forested land use gradient. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used as an effect size to measure attraction to prey, and the ratio of predator to prey was calculated to indicate potential consumption capacity of prey. Results revealed that gradients in land use and microhabitat condition, distance from the stream and season were important explanatory factors. Positive correlations between predatory arthropods and aquatic insect abundance were more apparent than those with terrestrial dipteran abundance, suggesting an overall preference of aquatic prey. However, positive correlations between predatory arthropods and adult aquatic insect subsidies were strongest in microhabitats with characteristics associated with higher moisture (e.g., greater soil organic matter and shade), particularly with increasing agricultural land use. In September, there was an indication of reduced confinement to microhabitats, likely as an effect of elevated seasonal precipitation. Overall results of this study suggest that a limited tolerance to desiccation in predatory arthropods increases spatial confinement with agricultural land use and ultimately restricts access to adult aquatic insect subsidies. The findings of this study have implications for the pathways that adult aquatic insect subsidies use to enter into riparian food webs with consequences that could cascade across trophic levels and larger spatial scales
Beyond the hype: using AI, big data, wearable devices, and the internet of things for high-throughput livestock phenotyping
Get PDFPhenotyping of animals is a routine task in agriculture which can provide large datasets for the functional annotation of genomes. Using the livestock farming sector to study complex traits enables genetics researchers to fully benefit from the digital transformation of society as economies of scale substantially reduces the cost of phenotyping animals on farms. In the agricultural sector genomics has transitioned towards a model of 'Genomics without the genes' as a large proportion of the genetic variation in animals can be modelled using the infinitesimal model for genomic breeding valuations. Combined with third generation sequencing creating pan-genomes for livestock the digital infrastructure for trait collection and precision farming provides a unique opportunity for high-throughput phenotyping and the study of complex traits in a controlled environment. The emphasis on cost efficient data collection mean that mobile phones and computers have become ubiquitous for cost-efficient large-scale data collection but that the majority of the recorded traits can still be recorded manually with limited training or tools. This is especially valuable in low- and middle income countries and in settings where indigenous breeds are kept at farms preserving more traditional farming methods. Digitalization is therefore an important enabler for high-throughput phenotyping for smaller livestock herds with limited technology investments as well as large-scale commercial operations. It is demanding and challenging for individual researchers to keep up with the opportunities created by the rapid advances in digitalization for livestock farming and how it can be used by researchers with or without a specialization in livestock. This review provides an overview of the current status of key enabling technologies for precision livestock farming applicable for the functional annotation of genomes
Dairy farm management factors associated with auction sale price of young dairy calves sold at auction markets in Quebec, Canada-A cross-sectional study
Get PDFEach year similar to 150,000 surplus calves are sold at auction markets in Qu & eacute;bec, Canada. Surplus calves (male or female not kept in the herd of origin) are sold at a young age, but these animals are at risk of receiving lower quality neonatal care than replacement heifers. Knowledge of factors associated with a higher selling price could help convince farmers to spend more resources in the care surplus calves. Our objective was to explore the associations between farm management practices and the median percentile of surplus calf selling price per farm at auction markets. The price (Canadian dollars/kg of BW) and the individual identification number of surplus calves sold in 2 auction markets in Qu & eacute;bec during 4 sale days in the summer 2019 and in the winter 2020 were recorded. The recorded price of each surplus calf was transformed as percentile for each breed and day of sale. Farmers managing the surplus calves were contacted and interviewed on farm management practices. The data from farmer's interviews were analyzed as potential variables associated with the median percentile of calves' selling price per farm (farm-level dependent variable) in a multivariable linear regression model. A total of 509 farmers were contacted, of which 433 farmers agreed to participate, and 409 interviews were retained for statistical analysis. The farms enrolled in the study had sold a median of 2 calves (range 1-19 calves) during the sale days considered. The main breed of surplus calves sold were Holstein (82%) and Angus crossbred calves (9%). The results from the multivariable model showed that median percentile of calves' selling price was positively associated with farms with an average milk production per cow superior to 11,000 L/yr (beta 0.13, 95% CI: 0.045, 0.221) and farms with 3 or more workers available to take care of surplus calves (beta 0.08, 95% CI: 0.005, 0.167). Those results indicate that farms having an average milk production per cow superior to 11,000 L/yr increase the calves' selling price by 13 percentiles (i.e., from 50th to 63rd) and that farms having at least 3 caretakers increase their median percentile calves' selling price by 8 percentiles (i.e., from 50th to 58th). Median percentile of calves' selling price was negatively associated with farms that vaccinated cows for neonatal calf diarrhea (beta -0.06, 95% CI: -0.127, -0.011), that do not disinfect the navel of newborn calves (beta -0.07, 95% CI: -0.133, -0.012), that allow transporters to enter the farm's building (beta -0.07, 95% CI: -0.130, -0.015) and that used wood shaving as bedding for surplus calves (beta -0.08, 95% CI: -0.156, -0.021). Sensitivity analyses performed on farms that have sold 2 or more surplus calves did not show significant changes in the associations found. Despite the fact that the study was based on self-reported questionnaire answers and a small number of calves per farm, it provides insight on farm management practices associated with median percentile of surplus calf selling price at the auction markets. Taking these results in consideration, farmers could potentially improve the market value of their animals