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NaturArchy: a multidisciplinary exploration of soil science & art
No full textCompos[t]ing and Lament are two multidisciplinary artworks that combine soil science, visual and performance art, and digital technologies to raise awareness of the importance of soil and its role in our lives. This article discusses the scientific background, artistic concepts, and technological innovations behind the projects. At the same time it highlights the relevance of art-science collaborations to engage audiences at an experiential level, on scientific and policy issues relating to soil. The case studies show how art-science collaborations and artistic research contribute to knowledge valorisation. By merging soil science and art, Compos[t]ing and Lament offer unique perspectives on the complex systems of soil formation, soil health, the history of human interaction with soil, and the potential for sustainable land management.JRC.S.4 - Centre for Advanced Studie
Evaluating local wind circulation metrics for radionuclide transport and dispersion: A practical approach for radiological safety
No full textUnderstanding the atmospheric dispersion and transport of radioactive materials is crucial for assessing radiological exposure and potential health risks, as well as for optimizing radiological environmental impact assessment and radiological monitoring networks. The dispersion of radionuclides following an accidental release from a nuclear facility is highly influenced by local wind circulation patterns, yet these effects are often overlooked in routine atmospheric dispersion assessments. This study evaluates the role of simple wind circulation indices—stagnation, recirculation, and ventilation—in shaping the dispersion of radioactive material, demonstrating their relevance for nuclear safety planning. The analysis focuses on the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP), where 1.256 atmospheric dispersion simulations were conducted using the RIMPUFF model over a four-year period (2012–2015) under different meteorological conditions. Considering the existing set of 84 monitoring stations included in the EURDEP system in an area of 200 km around the ANPP, the influence of each local atmospheric process is analyzed and characterized by taking the TGDR maximum values reached, and the number of monitoring stations affected in each simulation. On average, results demonstrate that high stagnation confines radionuclide plumes near the source, with maximum TGDR reaching 0.005 μSv/h and affecting up to 14 monitoring stations. In contrast, high recirculation enhances local accumulation, leading to, on average, peaks of 0.035 μSv/h and reducing the number of stations impacted (12 monitoring stations). High ventilation conditions promote wider dispersion, with maximum TGDR of 0.002 μSv/h affecting 10 monitoring stations. Extreme cases of each atmospheric process are also analyzed, showing distinct effects on the spatial distribution of affected monitoring stations. These findings highlight that wind circulation indices, derived from routine meteorological data, offer a straightforward yet effective means of anticipating dispersion behaviour in emergency scenarios.JRC.E.6 - Emerging Security Challenge
The Risk Management Plan Challenge: A Serious Game on Water Reuse Governance
Full text linkThis report presents a Serious Game designed as a training tool for the development of Water Reuse Risk Management Plans under Regulation (EU) 2020/741. The game guides participants through the core steps of the RMP process—hazards identification, exposure analysis, qualitative risk assessment, and the selection of management measures—using modular boards, cards, and worksheets. By adopting stakeholder roles and engaging in collaborative decision-making, players practice the logic and procedures of risk-based planning in a structured but interactive format. First tested at the 4th International School on Water Reuse in Turin and later in academic and policy settings, the game has proven to support learning about regulatory requirements and build confidence in applying RMP principles. This training tool is also intended to support the European Union Water Academy's efforts, a flagship initiative of the European Water Resilience Strategy, to enhance capacity building and knowledge sharing in water reuse governance across Europe. This report describes the structure of the game, shares insights from the initial trial, and discusses its potential as a scalable training resource for water reuse governance in Europe.JRC.D.2 - Ocean and Wate
Determination of GM maize events MON810 and MON87427 in whole maize flour.
Full text linkTo support the implementation of the EU GMO legislation, official control laboratories in EU Member States monitor the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed through analytical testing. To ensure comparable and reliable laboratory performance, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Genetically Modified Food and Feed (EURL GMFF) organises proficiency tests (PTs). This report presents the results of PT “GMFF-25/02” on the determination of the GMO content in whole maize flour containing GM maize events MON810 and MON87427. The majority of the 68 participating laboratories demonstrated an excellent performance in both GMO identification and quantification.JRC.F.5 - Food and Feed Complianc
Cooling the city, powering the future: A critical assessment of nature-based and technological cooling strategies for urban BIPV systems
No full textMore frequent heat waves and intensified urban heat islands (UHI) significantly impact public health and energy demand. Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) systems are increasingly recognized as a clean source for on-site energy generation and meeting energy demands. However, photovoltaic (PV) efficiency declines due to elevated panel temperatures, with more unconverted solar radiation released as heat, contributing further to UHI intensity. Maintaining lower module temperatures is thus essential, as it improves power conversion efficiency and reduces heat release from PV surfaces. This review fills a critical gap in the literature by systematically assessing natural and technological cooling strategies for BIPV across hot climates, warm climates, and heat wave periods, focusing on their impact on PV efficiency, module, and air temperature reduction. The study evaluates rooftop cooling solutions, such as radiative/supercool roofs and green roofs, alongside PV-integrated techniques, including photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) systems, phase change materials (PCM), and radiative cooling. The assessment indicates that both cool and green roofs can effectively reduce surface temperatures in hot and warm climates, although with a slow response of the latter in extreme heat conditions. PCMs, radiative, and PV/T systems are effective at hot and extreme conditions due to their higher cooling efficiency, thermal regulation, and energy recovery potential. The findings underscore the importance of local climate-specific design, integration of balanced hybrid strategies, and innovation to enhance energy efficiency, mitigate urban heat stress, and support resilient, zero-energy buildings and urban transitions.JRC.C.2 - Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Small persistent humid forest clearings drive tropical forest biomass losses
No full textTropical forests store about half of the global forest aboveground carbon (AGC)1, yet extensive areas are affected by disturbances, such as deforestation from agricultural expansion2,3 and degradation from fires4, selective logging5, and edge effects6,7. Over time, disturbed forests can recover, gradually restoring carbon stocks and ecological functions8. However, how recovery rates vary with disturbance size, type and location remains poorly quantified. Here we use a bookkeeping approach with spatially explicit vegetation recovery curves to quantify AGC dynamics in disturbed tropical forests during 1990–2020. We find that disturbed tropical dry forests remained carbon neutral, whereas disturbed tropical humid forests experienced a net AGC loss of 15.6 ± 3.7 PgC, primarily driven by small but persistent deforestation clearings. Despite affecting only about 5% of the disturbed area, these small-size (less than 2 ha) deforestation events accounted for about 56% of carbon losses, owing to persistent land-use conversion without forest regrowth. By contrast, large fire-induced carbon losses were offset by the long-term post-fire recovery. Over time, deforestation expanded into humid forests with higher carbon stock density, intensifying AGC losses per unit area. These findings highlight the disproportionate impact of small clearings on tropical carbon losses, suggesting the need to curb land-use changes and protect young and recovering forests.JRC.D.1 - Forests and Bio-Econom
A contribution to support circularity policy decision making on removal and separate recycling of embedded electronics – methodology and applications in Switzerland and the EU
No full textScarce technology metals and critical raw materials (CRM) in electronic devices embedded in vehicles (EED) are often lost during end-of-life recycling. This study presents a methodology to assess the proportionality of mandatory removal and separate recycling policies. Combining material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and economic evaluation, it quantifies environmental and economic trade-offs between baseline and policy scenarios. The approach was applied to Switzerland’s revision of the ORDEE and the EU’s update of the ELVD. In Switzerland, 41 EED types were benchmarked to define proportionality thresholds; in the EU, three were prioritized for CRM recovery. Results reflect contextual factors such as CRM criticality and economic feasibility, demonstrating the method’s flexibility. Though limited to recycling in this work, the framework can be adapted to other circular strategies and allows coherent, comparative policy assessments and can be adapted to other sectors.JRC.D.3 - Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessment
Nature-adjusted probability of default for European small and medium enterprises
No full textSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the European economy. However, theimpact of nature-related risks on SME creditworthiness is still largely unexplored. To address this gap,we incorporate indicators of nature-related risks - namely the Biodiversity Intactness Index, the HumanFootprint Index, and ENCORE scores - into an Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) credit scoring modelestimated on millions of securitised SME loans. Our results show that both physical and transition riskindicators significantly improve the predictive performance of SME credit models, highlighting the impor-tance of integrating nature-related risk metrics into financial risk assessment frameworks.JRC.B.1 - Economic and Financial Resilienc
Broadening climate migration research across impacts, adaptation and mitigation
No full textCurrent climate migration literature focuses on establishing links between climate drivers and migration. However, it often overlooks the broader role that migration plays within the context of climate impacts, adaptation and the connection with mitigation. This Perspective highlights four key research gaps: (1) the effectiveness of migration as an adaptation strategy, (2) how migration interacts with in situ adaptation efforts, (3) migration’s impacts on origin and destination communities and (4) feedback between climate mitigation policies and migration. To address these gaps, we propose solutions grounded in strengthening conceptual frameworks, expanded and harmonized data, and advancing methodological innovation. Together, these efforts can inform policy-making to better protect vulnerable populations, allocate resources more effectively and strengthen resilience and justice.JRC.E.5 - Demography and Migratio
The science and practice of proportionality in AI risk evaluations
No full textA global challenge in artificial intelligence (AI) regulation lies in achieving effective risk management without compromising innovation and technical progress (1). The European Union (EU) Artificial Intelligence Act (2) represents the first regulatory attempt worldwide to navigate this tension in the form of a binding, risk-based framework. In August 2025, obligations for providers of general-purpose AI (GPAI) models under the EU AI Act entered into application. They require providers of the most advanced GPAI models to evaluate possible systemic risks stemming from their models (3). This raises the regulatory challenge of ensuring that the evaluations provide meaningful risk information without imposing excessive burden on providers. The principle of proportionality, a binding requirement under EU law, requires the regulator to calibrate its actions to their intended objectives. The application of proportionality to model evaluations for AI risk opens opportunities to develop scientific methods that operationalize such calibration within concrete evaluation practices.JRC.T.3 - Algorithmic Transparenc