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The role of social, policy and economic forces in shaping forest restoration practices in Europe
No full textForest restoration in Europe has a complex history strongly influenced by various social, policy and economic factors. Understanding these influences is essential for shaping effective restoration strategies and avoiding past mistakes, particularly in light of meeting ambitious targets outlined in initiatives such as the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. Here we identify the key social, policy and economic drivers, barriers and enablers that have historically shaped forest restoration across Europe. We analyzed and synthesized detailed information from historical national narratives on forest restoration provided by experts from 18 European countries. Our work details how wars, changes in governance (centralization vs. decentralization) and forest tenure (privatization vs. nationalization), different policy instruments (regulatory, financial, persuasive and organizational), market fluctuations and sociodemographic changes (e.g., rural abandonment, changes in public opinion) have driven the development of forest restoration in Europe. The findings underscore the need to use inclusive and innovative governance mechanisms to reconcile diverging societal paradigms (e.g., rural vs. urban, conservation vs. forestry) partly reflected in incoherent forest-related policies, as well as to address the fragmentation resulting from forest privatization. Ensuring stable funding mechanisms (e.g., remuneration systems for forest ecosystem services) alongside favorable regulatory frameworks will also be key for successful large-scale forest restoration efforts. Policy recommendations are made to ensure the effective implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, including a hybrid governance model that balances strong national regulatory frameworks with local adaptability to diverse socioecological contexts, integrating socioeconomic metrics, strengthening public engagement, and leveraging market-based and green tax incentives
Narratives of the future: Farmers' navigation of uncertainty in adopting carbon farming schemes
No full textThere is growing interest in how farming practices can mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon and restoring soil health-known as carbon farming. Ultimately, the success of the carbon farming market depends on attracting farmers willing to enrol and adopt these practices. As of yet, we know little about the factors that stimulate or hinder farmer engagement with the carbon farming market. This paper contributes to filling this gap through a study of the factors that shape South African large scale farmers' narratives of the future and how such narratives impact farmers' perspectives on emerging carbon farming initiatives. Using semi-structured interviews with ten farmers, applying and modifying Vignoli et al.'s (2020) narrative framework, we examine farmers' future narratives in the South African thicket biome of the Eastern Cape province. Three future narratives are identified: 'keep fighting and innovate the business', 'stop fighting but keep the farm' and 'the future of the family farm (probably) ends with me'. Experiences, constraints, expectations and aspirations shape these narratives. Additionally, the study's findings show that environmental factors significantly impact future narratives and, consequently, the adoption of carbon farming practices. This study contributes to understanding how ecological awareness together with economic and social factors can drive agricultural decision-making
Ecohydrological feedbacks increase water storage, streamflow and resilience of natural peatlands
No full textPeatlands are hypothesized to enhance water storage, sustain baseflow, and mitigate drought impact at the landscape level. The importance of ecohydrological feedbacks for the peatland water cycle and the interaction with surrounding landscapes is, however, poorly understood. This thin scientific basis hinders effective land- and water management and understanding peatland restoration impacts on regional hydrology. We developed the PECOSIM model (PEatland ECOhydrology and Streamflow SIMulator) to quantify the impact of three ecohydrological feedbacks on streamflow and water storage: (1) the transmissivity feedback (2) elastic storage and (3) water table depth (WTD) - evapotranspiration feedback. Validation with seven years of hourly observations from Degero Stormyr, an oligotrophic fen in northern Sweden, confirms strong model performance for growing season WTD and streamflow (Kling Gupta Model Efficiency: 0.88 and 0.87). Using PECOSIM we show the synergy of all ecohydrological feedbacks quadruples growing season streamflow (66 mm vs 16 mm without feedbacks) and maintains a shallower, more stable WTD (0.13 m vs 0.55 m). Without feedbacks, 'active' streamflow generating storage during the growing season was absent (0 mm), whereas the feedbacks together provide 63 mm streamflow generating storage. The three feedbacks additionally sustain streamflow and storage regimes under water stress, boosting drought resilience of natural peatlands and their surrounding landscape. This study provides scientific support for the crucial role of ecohydrological feedbacks in natural peatlands and highlights their function as nature-based solution by increasing water storage and baseflow. Degradation of natural peatlands will diminish feedback efficiency, and compromise peatland ecosystem services vital for sustainable water management
Changes in microbiota during the cheese making process - from the raw milk to the final cheeses
No full textThe objectives were to evaluate effects of feeding different types of silages on the microbiota of the raw milk and the resulting cheeses. Different silages were produced without additives, acid treated and inoculated with a LAB starter culture, and each silage was fed to dairy cows during a three-week period. A brine-salted long ripened type of hard cheeses was produced and samples of milk, cheese curd and cheese during ripening were collected, and their microbiota characterised using 16S rRNA sequencing. Raw milk microbiota consisted of many different genera, the top 20 genera explaining 75 % of the relative abundance. In cheese Lactococcus, followed by Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus, were the dominant genus throughout the ripening, indicating a strong influence from the starter culture. Feeding the different silages did not result in differences in the microbiota in the raw milk or ripened cheeses. Results at amplicon sequence variant level showed that the relative abundance of LAB present both in the raw milk and in cheeses, decreased along the value chain
Cost-neutral food tax reforms for healthier and more sustainable diets
No full textThis study evaluates cost-neutral food tax reforms integrating climate and health objectives, compared with strictly climate-and health-focused reforms. Results indicate that a strict climate-focused reform risks negative health outcomes, while the strict health-focused reform achieves only 40 % of the climate benefit of the integrated reforms and adversely impacts animal welfare. Integrated tax reforms, however, could reduce Sweden's food carbon footprint by an amount equivalent to an 8 % reduction in passenger car emissions, alongside co-benefits such as decreased pesticide and fertilizer use and lower ammonia emissions. In addition, the healthier diets simulated as a result of the integrated reforms are estimated to save more than twice as many lives as those lost to road traffic fatalities. Furthermore, the strict climate-and health-focused reforms lead to higher food costs, disproportionately affecting low-income groups. The integrated reforms were designed to be cost-neutral by applying subsidies in the form of VAT exemptions on healthy foods or through the redistribution of tax revenues to all citizens. This study demonstrates that it is possible to design food tax reforms to achieve substantial environmental and health improvements while avoiding additional financial burdens on consumers, suggesting a promising pathway for policy development
Decentering climate in vulnerability analysis: On aspiration, striving, and the fullness of life in uncertain times
No full textVulnerability is a core concept within the environmental social sciences. Yet contemporary discussions often focus narrowly on specific kinds of risks, especially relating to climate, with particular attention to avoiding loss and harm. We recast vulnerability as an experientially grounded, cross-cutting concept by arguing for two analytical shifts. First, we decenter climate by analyzing how vulnerability unfolds across interconnected spheres of life within a broader life trajectory. Second, we argue for an understanding of vulnerability that is far more than avoiding loss but always experienced in relation to the lives people have reason to value and strive to build. We illustrate this framing by recounting three in-depth life histories complemented with observations from a broader sample of 52 households in rural Nepal, a context that has experienced significant climate, environmental, and other shocks in recent years. Our work reveals how these more dramatic events intersect with a wide range of everyday human concerns - health, labour, debt, care for loved ones, and the need for social belonging. We argue that a more experiential and cross-cutting understanding of vulnerability holds potential to support development pathways that better address people's lived needs and aspirations in ways that recognize their sense of self and agency. More fundamentally, this framing provides insight into our shared human condition in present times, amidst mounting climate-related damages, a pandemic, wars, and continued political upheaval. If vulnerability is the propensity for loss and suffering, what lies in wait if it is to be addressed? To which future should we strive
From tradition to innovation: Effects of manual and automated ikejime on welfare and product quality of rainbow trout and hybrid striped bass
No full textEnsuring humane slaughter is essential for ethical and high-quality fish production. Ikejime is widely regarded as rapid and quality-preserving, yet its manual application is labour-intensive and anatomy-dependent, limiting scalability. An automated, AI-guided ikejime system could overcome these constraints, but its welfare efficacy is unvalidated. We provide the first neurological evaluation of manual and automated ikejime for rendering rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, similar to 0.3-0.5 kg) and hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops female x M. saxatilis male, similar to 1.1-2.1 kg) insensible, using visually evoked responses (VERs) on the electroencephalogram (EEG). Results are compared with manual percussion and asphyxiation, together with exploratory product-quality analyses. Asphyxiation caused prolonged distress lasting up to 13-16 min in both species. In contrast, both ikejime methods rendered all trout irreversibly insensible within 2 min, although neither reliably achieved immediate insensibility. Efficacy declined in bass, with similar to 25-43 % of individuals remaining sensible after application. These findings demonstrate that ikejime, whether manual or automated, should be preceded by a stunning step ensuring immediate loss of sensibility. Reduced effectiveness in larger and more robust species underscores the need for species-specific refinements, including optimized spike dimensions and insertion techniques. While exploratory product-quality assessments indicated potential effects of slaughter method and effectiveness on rigor mortis and drip loss, these patterns should be validated in future studies using larger sample sizes and broader replication. Together, these data provide critical evidence to guide the refinement of slaughter methods aiming to enhance fish welfare while ensuring product quality
Valuing structured alternatives for retrofitting blue-green infrastructure at a catchment scale using the Benefit Estimation Tool (B£ST)
Get PDFBlue-green infrastructure (BGI) options are considered to be more sustainable practices for water management and bring a range of benefits over and above water management. Davidshall in Malm & ouml;, Sweden, has been used as a case area to assess the multiple benefits of implementing BGI, considering seven alternative BGI schemes systematically developed along two scales: naturalness (i.e. more/less engineered/complex) and spatial distribution (e.g. decentral vs. end-of-pipe). The baseline alternative was the existing situation. The Benefit Estimation Tool (B ST) pound was used to carry out a socio-economic assessment. The overall benefits varied significantly (two orders of magnitude), depending on the BGI scheme implemented: the greatest values were associated with natural decentral, natural decentral/end-of-pipe, and engineered decentral/end-of-pipe alternatives, those including sub-surface and open dry detention, stormwater tree pits, and rain gardens. The three B ST pound categories providing the greatest benefits were enhancing amenity, benefiting health, and reducing flooding. Cultural ecosystem services were provided by all alternatives, and two alternatives (natural decentral and natural decentral/end-of-pipe) also provided regulating ecosystem services. The study showed that amenity and health were the most significant benefits of BGI implementation, contrasting with the main aim of BGI implementation, which was stormwater management (water quality and flood protection)
Importation of the exotic tick Amblyomma geoemydae into Sweden via illegally introduced turtles (Geoemyda spengleri) from Thailand
Get PDFIllegal importation of animals as pets might be followed by the introduction of exotic tick species, potential vectors of pathogens that can have an impact on wildlife and/or domestic animals and on humans. Therefore, permanent measures of surveillance and control on imported reptiles are emphasized. In February 2024, black-breasted leaf turtles (Geoemyda spengleri) (n = 31) were illegally imported into Sweden from Thailand. The turtles were sent by the Swedish Customs Criminal Department West in Gothenburg to a public aquarium and terrarium (Tropicarium, Kolm & aring;rden, Ostergotland county) to be kept in quarantine. At the Tropicarium the turtles were found to be infested by ticks. All ticks (n = 3) found were removed and stored in ethanol. The finding (including photos of the ticks) was reported to the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA, Uppsala) using the Report Tick Tool, a surveillance system developed by the SVA itself. The three collected ticks were identified based on morphology and genetics as Amblyomma geoemydae nymphs. This discovery demonstrates that SVA's surveillance tool can function as an early warning system for newly introduced tick species and to promptly identify exotic tick species which can carry viruses, bacteria, and/or parasites that are not currently present in the country
Turbidity reduces territory defence and exploration in an East African cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher
Get PDFHuman activities increase turbidity in aquatic environments worldwide, which often affects fish behaviour. However, predicting how species react to higher turbidity remains difficult, as responses vary depending on the species, their ecology and the ecosystem. It is thus important to improve our understanding of the responses of fishes living in ecosystems experiencing recent increases in turbidity, especially those with unique species compositions where biodiversity is most vulnerable. One such ecosystem is Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, which is home to a diverse fish community with a high degree of endemism. In this study, we conducted a laboratory experiment with the territorial cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher, which is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, to investigate the effects of increased turbidity on territorial and exploratory behaviour. We found that moderate increases in turbidity led to reduced territory defence, decreased exploration and increased time spent in shelters. Given that these fish live in large colonies, feed on planktonic particles in the water column and defend their territory against conspecific and heterospecific intruders, these behavioural changes are likely to have substantial implications for their social structure and reproduction in their native environments. Our study raises important questions about whether these effects will persist in the long term as human activities are likely to continue to increase turbidity in the lake over the coming decades and whether the responses to turbidity affect the community composition of fishes in Lake Tanganyika. (c) 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/)