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A Just Transition or a Downward Spiral? Land and Livelihood Transitions to and Away From Coal Mining in India
Get PDFWhen coal mines expand across Central and Eastern India, agrarian groups typically object strongly to displacement. Meanwhile, and often in the immediate vicinity of the expanding mines, the previously displaced now working in the coal economy protest against mine closures. Additional millions are situated somewhere between attempts to protect agrarian livelihoods and keeping a coal job as their lives become increasingly conflated with, and dependent on, coal. In this article, we draw on long-term and recent engagements across two coal-producing states in India to reflect on difficult livelihood transitions to and away from coal mining among indigenous and caste Hindu groups. We focus on the enduring value of land for which there is no good substitute as means of social reproduction. When a mine inevitably closes, lacking skills and land holdings generate a downward spiral in enforced livelihood transitions towards insecure informality. This creates enduring tensions in the concept of 'just transitions' when applied to the Indian coal sector
Resource quantity and heterogeneity drive successional plant diversity in managed and unmanaged boreal forests
Get PDFThe understory vegetation of boreal forests plays a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity by creating habitats, supplying food resources, and regulating microclimate and soil conditions. This essential layer is frequently affected by disturbances such as forest fires and clear-cutting, which significantly alter understory communities and the ecosystem resource availability and heterogeneity. This study aimed to understand how these disturbances influence the spatial and temporal dynamics of key ecosystem resources, and subsequently the patterns of understory diversity. We analyzed and compared understory vegetation diversity in a rotational management chronosequence and an unmanaged fire chronosequence of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris forests across northern Sweden. We assessed the relationship of above- and belowground resource availability and heterogeneity with alpha and beta diversity using generalized additive models and multivariate analyses. We found that belowground resource availability (especially inorganic nitrogen) and aboveground resource heterogeneity (especially variation in forest structural complexity) were most strongly positively correlated with alpha and beta diversity, varying across successional stages. In early stages (0-60 years), high availability of belowground resources and aboveground heterogeneity was associated with high alpha and beta diversity. In mid-stages (100-200 years), reduced belowground resource availability and aboveground heterogeneity was linked to lower diversity. In late stages (> 250 years, which only exists in the unmanaged fire chronosequence), increased aboveground heterogeneity associated with tree mortality was linked to a resurgence in alpha and beta diversity. These results highlight the necessity of maintaining a mosaic of stands with different disturbance regimes and successional stages, particularly early post-fire stands and late successional stands, which are currently much rarer on the landscape, to support biodiversity at the landscape level
Winter browsing by moose (Alces alces) in a forested mountainous landscape of west-central Sweden
Get PDFBrowsing ecology involving ungulates and their food resource is complex as consumption may reflect responses to various factors, such as quantity and quality of browse species. This study investigated winter browsing by moose Alces alces in a mountainous landscape of west-central Sweden, characterized by Norway spruce Picea abies production forests with high inclusion of deciduous species. Field data on tree species abundances as well as fresh and previous browsing were collected along moose tracks and control transects, to answer our questions regarding browse selection in relation to availability. The data were analyzed using mainly modelling (generalized linear mixed models) approaches. The results revealed greater amounts of available food trees (< 5 m) in young compared to older forests and along moose tracks compared to control transects. Downy birch Betula pubescens was the most abundant independent of forest age class and transect type (i.e. tracks versus controls). Quantitatively, the key winter browse in the study area was a mix of deciduous species, primarily downy birch and willows (Salix spp.) complemented by Eurasian aspen Populus tremula and grey alder Alnus incana. In young forest, aspen, rowan Sorbus aucuparia and willows were the most selected species, while common juniper Juniperus communis was the least selected. In older forest, alder was most selected, followed by willows and rowan, while aspen and downy birch were the least selected, except for spruce and lodgepole pine Pinus contorta. According to Jacobs selectivity index, downy birch, was underused while aspen, rowan and willows were overused in relation to their frequencies. The latter are often limited in today's cultivated forest landscape and thus an increased amount of those species may be utilized to a higher degree by moose than an increase of downy birch. No effect from snow depth was detected and browsing on dwarf shrubs was not observed
Confirming existing parameterizations for methane gas transfer velocity in lakes based on direct and high-frequent methods
Get PDFFreshwater systems are important sources of atmospheric methane (CH4). However, estimated emissions are associated with high uncertainties due to limited knowledge about the temporal variability in emissions and their associated controls, such as air-water gas transfer velocity. Here, we determined the gas transfer velocity of CH4 based on a novel measurement setup that combines simultaneous eddy covariance flux measurements with continuously monitored CH4 water- and air-side concentrations. Measurements were conducted during a 10-d campaign in a freshwater lake in mid-Sweden. The gas transfer velocity fell within the range of existing wind-speed-based parameterizations derived for carbon dioxide in other lakes. For wind speeds below 4 m s(-1), the gas transfer velocity for CH4 followed parameterizations predicting faster gas exchange, while for wind speeds above 5 m s(-1), it aligned with those predicting relatively lower gas exchange. This pattern can be explained by ebullition. Extending the wind speed range for such combined eddy covariance measurements with continuously monitored CH4 water- and air-side concentrations would improve model reliability
Psychological health among livestock owners, the potential effect of large carnivores
Get PDFSustainable wildlife management should, amongst others, safeguard human health. This study concerns rural residents' perceived quality of life and the potential effect of large carnivores (LCs) on psychological health outcomes (life satisfaction, anxiety symptoms, and exhaustion). One group of rural residents that appears to be especially vulnerable when the number and range of LCs increase is sheep owners. 279 participants (rural residents without livestock n =114, livestock owners without sheep n = 103, and sheep owners n = 62) completed a survey on rural living also including established instruments to assess psychological health outcomes. Rural residents without livestock were mainly positive while sheep owners were mainly negative towards presence of LCs. Sheep owners reported lower life satisfaction, more anxiety symptoms, and more exhaustion symptoms as compared to other livestock owners and rural residents as a group. However elevated stress and anxiety symptoms among sheep owners seem to be an outcome of accumulated stress due not only to the presence of LCs, but also due to problems to reach the break even point economically. The results are discussed in terms of the overall situation for livestock owner
Remnant continuity forests are essential for sustaining epiphytic biodiversity in boreal production forest landscapes
No full textBoreal forest landscapes are rapidly transformed through expanding clearcutting forestry, leading to a decline in forests with long tree continuity and an increase in even-aged production stands. The role of remnant forests in supporting biodiversity within production forest landscapes remains poorly understood. Northern Europe provides an ideal setting for studying mosaics of clearcut and remnant continuity forests, given its long history of clearcutting and the prevalence of even-aged forest stands. New remote-sensing techniques have enabled the identification of forests in boreal Sweden that have maintained permanent tree cover at least since the 1950s ('continuity forest'), meaning that they have likely never been clearcut, with removal of all trees. Using these data (including production forest as well as protected forest), we randomly selected 16 areas, each 225 km(2 )in size, with the proportion of continuity forest ranging from 2% to 25%. In each study area, we selected four even-aged production forest stands aged 0-80 years and one selectively harvested (never-clearcut) production stand aged 81-120 years. As model organisms for assessing biodiversity, we used epiphytic lichens on randomly selected Norway spruce Picea abies trees. We recorded 164 epiphytic lichen taxa on 926 trees. Species richness (including species of conservation concern) in the even-aged forests 80 years old are important to epiphytic biodiversity since they host many species of conservation concern. Synthesis and applications. Our study has relevance for forestry and conservation across the boreal biome where a continued rapid expansion of clearcutting into primary forest landscapes is likely. Preserving continuity forests for the future would enrich the epiphytic biodiversity of younger, even-aged production forests due to their function as dispersal nuclei. The remnant continuity forests are also conservation targets in their own right due to their rich lichen diversity
A Scoping Review of Determinants of Business Engagement With Biodiversity
No full textCorporate biodiversity engagement is rising on the international agenda because companies not only face increasingly apparent biodiversity-related risks and dependencies, but also contribute to, and have the potential to mitigate biodiversity loss through their practices and investments. This scoping review maps the current literature on the determinants of business engagement with biodiversity, outlining motivations, barriers, actions, and financial instruments from 100 studies based on 26,096 records published between 2000 and 2023, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines. Findings reveal that companies are driven by multifaceted factors, with economic motivations including operational management and profitability frequently recorded. Regulatory frameworks motivate corporate engagement through legislation compliance while posing challenges due to regulatory uncertainty and inconsistent policies. While various financial mechanisms exist, further research is needed to explore innovative funding structures to upscale business investment. We call for empirical, context-specific studies on biodiversity monetization mechanisms
End-of-production light treatments as a tool for controlling chemical composition of herbs and lettuce
No full textGrowing plants in indoor environments (“Vertical farms”/”Plant factories”) provides good opportunities of controlling all climatic factors, including light intensity, daily light integral, and light quality. Thus, it is possible to control the quality of the produce to a great extent. The present study examines the possibilities to use “end-ofproduction” treatments with narrow band light to control the quality of leafy vegetables. Two different experiments were performed, comprising different types of leafy vegetables which were grown in sole multiwavelength LED light, or in a greenhouse with high-pressure sodium light, for the first weeks of the production cycle. At the end of the production cycle, plants were subjected to narrow-band light at different peak wavelengths for the last four days before harvest. Four different narrow-band light treatments (peak wavelengths 456, 520, 596, and 663 nm) were included in the study. The leafy vegetables were analysed with respect to their content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, and total phenolic content, in addition to biometric data (fresh- and dry weight). The results indicated the potential of end-of-production treatments to modify the concentration of secondary metabolites in leafy vegetables, with especially blue and yellow light treatments having the potential of increasing the concentration of phenolic compounds and lutein/ϐ-carotene. However, for some of the treatments and cultivars, fresh- and/or dry weight was significantly reduced by the end-of-production treatment
Vitamin B12 release through bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis of the marine bacterium Sulfitobacter sp. M39
No full textVitamin B12 (B12) is an essential cofactor for vital metabolic processes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. De novo B(12 )biosynthesis is exclusively carried out by a modicum of prokaryotes, although being required by most organisms. Recently, it has been demonstrated that not all B-12-prototrophic bacteria voluntarily share this vital cofactor and, therefore, are termed B-12-retainers. Consequently, low biosynthesis potential and limited voluntary release lead to a large discrepancy between availability and demand for B-12 in the ocean, indicating that release of B12 may be an important control. Hence, in this study, we examined a specific release process, cell lysis after phage infection. We isolated bacteriophages specific for the B-12-prototrophic, yet B-12-retainer bacterium Sulfitobacter sp. M39. The addition of the bacteriophages to a Sulfitobacter sp. M39 mono-culture led to a significant increase in virus-like particles, reduced bacterial growth, and quantifiable extracellular dissolved B-12. When introducing bacteriophages to a co-culture comprising the host bacterium and the B-12-auxotrophic diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, we observed rapid response in the form of microalgal growth. Our results indicate that B(12 )is released as a result of bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis of Sulfitobacter sp. M39, enabling the growth of T. pseudonana in co-culture and possibly other microbes in nature. Therefore, we propose that bacteriophage-mediated cell lysis is a key mechanism for the release of essential metabolites, including vitamins, and given the estimated bacteriophage infection rates in the ocean, it plays a crucial role in the B-vitamin cycle in the marine environment
Movement Pattern and Habitat Use of the Endangered Brook Barbel (Barbus caninus) in a Mediterranean Stream
No full textUnderstanding the ecology and behaviour of freshwater fish species is essential for effective management and conservation. Within the genus Barbus, small-sized mountain species remain understudied despite conservation concerns. In this study, we investigated the movement patterns, habitat use and flow preferences of the endangered species Barbus caninus in a Mediterranean mountain stream in northern Italy using passive integrated transponder telemetry. Over a 15-month period, 164 tagged fish were tracked between 2 and 30 times. Most individuals exhibited small home ranges, with a median linear range of 33.7 m, although a few fish moved over hundreds of metres. Fish size did not influence movement patterns. Movements were seasonally variable, with a significantly larger linear range observed during spring compared to other seasons. The barbel showed a weak preference for fast-flowing mesohabitats, and this preference was pronounced during winter. Despite this, B. caninus predominantly utilised low-velocity confined zones within hydromorphological units, potentially indicating energetically efficient microhabitat use. These findings shed light on the habitat requirements and movement patterns of an endangered species that inhabits small mountain streams and is subject to numerous anthropogenic threats