1,720,993 research outputs found
aMazing pattern: spatial self-organization in peatlands
No full textPredicting how gradual changes in abiotic conditions affect ecosystem functioning is a key challenge in ecology and environmental science. For many ecosystems, the response to gradual changes may not be smooth, but rapid and almost irreversible shifts in ecosystem states may occur. Early warning signals for such catastrophic shifts are difficult to obtain. Recent research suggests that so-called self-organized patchiness (regular spatial vegetation patterning) can serve as an indicator for such sudden changes. Self-organized patchiness has been observed in a variety of ecosystems, including peatlands. Most research has focused on linear patterns along the contours of peatland slopes. More recently, aerial photographs from relatively flat ground in Siberia revealed peatlands with so-called maze-patterning, because this type of patchiness somewhat resembles the corridors of a maze. The striking self-organized patchiness has amazed many peatland scientists and has lead to considerable attention for peatland patterning in the literature. Until now, however, the driving mechanisms of peatland patchiness still remain elusive, despite more than a century of research on this phenomenon. This thesis investigates underlying mechanisms that explain self-organized patchiness in peatlands, and whether this patchiness could serve as an indicator for proximity to catastrophic shifts in peatland ecosystem states. A combination of theoretical and empirical approaches is used. We conclude that the potential importance of different driving mechanisms for peatland patterning depends on climatic conditions. Increased evapotranspiration in vegetation patches with high density may be particularly important in peatlands where most water leaves the system through evapotranspiration. Alternatively, in peatlands where water is lost via drainage or overland flow, a positive feedback between the thickness of the upper aerobic peat layer and the rate of peat formation the peat accumulation mechanism may be more important. Global climate models project for most peatland regions an increasing importance of evapotranspiration during the coming century, with the strongest increases being projected for Siberia and Canada. Based on the results in this thesis, we speculate that evapotranspiration may become the main driver of pattern formation in parts of these regions. We also conclude that a shift from an unpatterned state without hummocks and hollows toward a patterned state with hummocks and hollows already comprises a catastrophic shift in ecosystem functioning that is difficult to reverse. This means that a pattern cannot be used as an indicator of proximity to a catastrophic shift, but rather indicates that the shift has already happened. Moreover, the very slow development of peatlands calls for caution when applying equilibrium concepts, which are used in most mathematical models of pattern formation, to peatland dynamics. Investigation of the mechanisms that drive self-organized patchiness in ecosystems is a promising approach to increase our understanding of ecosystem functioning, and the response of ecosystems to changing abiotic conditions. This thesis exemplifies that studies on pattern formation need to include both theoretical and empirical approaches, because the driving mechanisms of self-organized patchiness may change with climatic regions and may therefore be site-specific
Innovation through Collaboration : Interactive learning in nutrigenomics consortia
No full textInteractive learning has been a central concept in innovation studies since the 1980s and its infl uence on innovation has been shown in numerous studies since then. Interactive learning is of special importance in emerging technologies like nutrigenomics in which complementary, often tacit knowledge has to be exchanged and combined in order to learn and innovate. However, suffi cient insight into the black box of the interactive learning process was lacking thus far. In this book Rens Vandeberg constructs a Framework for Interactive Learning in Emerging Technologies and explores this framework in nutrigenomics consortia. The developed framework encompasses not only the interactive learning outcome, but also the interactive learning process itself and the conditions that infl uence the interactive learning process. The resulting insights provide new means for the stimulation of interactive learning, knowledge creation and innovation management
How Should Europe’s ICT Ambitions look like? An Interpretative Review of the Facts
No full textIn this Discussion Paper we analyse how Europe’s ICT ambition can be translated into a policy agenda. To achieve this, we provide a quantitative overview of the importance of ICT and the relative position of Europe versus the US. Next we provide a discussion of potential explanations for the differences in ICT use and production. We find that Europe’s position with respect to ICT use and production is not only worse compared to that of the US. In some areas Europe is ahead of the US, whereas in others Europe lags on an aggregate level. Our main conclusion is that Europe should not aim at creating an ICT-production cluster but it should aim at removing barriers to ICT use. The reasons are as follows. It is not a sensible strategy to specialise in industries where one has a comparative disadvantage. Moreover, the largest benefit from ICT is in its use not in its production
Motors of sustainable innovation : Towards a theory on the dynamics of technological innovation systems
No full textModern societies are encountering environmental and political problems in the sphere of energy supply. One way to deal with this is to support the development of sustainable energy technologies. Since the development and diffusion of renewable energy has proved to be a very slow process, strategic insight is needed into how the emergence of these technologies takes place and how this process can be accelerated. The objective of this book is to gain insight into the dynamics of technological change with a focus on sustainable energy technologies. As the theoretical starting point, the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework is used. The TIS is a structure made up of actors, institutions and technologies, in which the development and diffusion of new technologies takes place. For the successful development of a technology, a TIS needs to be built up. This build-up is understood as the unfolding of key activities, or system functions, that take place within the TIS. The system functions are types of activities necessary for a TIS to develop and to yield fruitful innovations. These involve Entrepreneurial Activities, Knowledge Development, Knowledge Diffusion, Guidance of the Search, Market Formation, Resource Mobilisation and Support from Advocacy Coalitions. The author develops the idea that the build-up of a TIS, especially in a formative stage, can accelerate due to positive interactions between these system functions. These positive interactions are called motors of sustainable innovation. The development of motors of sustainable innovation is studied in several historical case studies situated in the Netherlands and Sweden (biomass gasification, biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells and automotive natural gas). Based on these studies, a typology of motors is constructed. Strategic lessons are drawn that specify which interventions can be taken to support particular motors
Nature Conservation and Human Well-Being in Bhutan
No full textBhutan’s nature conservation policy aims to integrate nature conservation and economicdevelopment. This policy is guided by a Buddhist attitude that places coexistencewith nature over exploitation of nature for economic gain. We looked at hownature conservation policy affected everyday life and economic activities of local communitiesand what this may imply for the country’s long-term socioeconomic development.The study includes a field survey involving 210 local residents in two nationalparks. The results indicated that there is support for nature conservation in local communitiesdespite the significant restrictions on the use of non–timber forest productsand the loss of crops to wild animals. However, the compensation schemes are inadequatewhich may lead to depopulation and the abandonment of land in rural areas
A State of the Art of Governance Literature on adaptation to climate change: Towards a research agenda
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Accelerating the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies : an innovation system perspective
No full textIn order to take up the twin challenge of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, while meeting a growing energy demand, the potential deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies is attracting a growing interest of policy makers around the world. At present CCS is the only technological solution that has the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants and other large-scale industrial processes. The ultimate goal of CCS is to store the otherwise emitted CO2 for geological times in the deep underground. By reaching its goal CCS can significantly cut back CO2 emissions from burning carbon-containing fuels which may dominate the primary energy supply until at least the middle of the 21st century. Despite the acknowledged urgency to demonstrate CCS technologies and the increasing amount of funding available, no fully integrated power plants with CCS have yet been built at commercial scale. The pattern of difficulty at the demonstration phase, whereby new technologies fail to negotiate the various market and institutional barriers that confront them, is often manifested in multifaceted, capital-intensive technologies, like CCS. If this part of the innovation process is not well managed, either by policy makers or industries, this might lead to the development of technologies that do not match market demands or the absence of technological innovation altogether. On the other hand if the innovation process is well understood, it may allow for shaping and accelerating the development and deployment of emerging technologies. This thesis is centred around the question of how to accelerate the development and deployment of CCS technologies, using a multi-disciplinary research focus. After all, the innovation process is not only influenced by technological characteristics. The social-economic environment in which a technology is developed and deployed – called the ‘Technological Innovation System (TIS)’ - is deemed of great importance. A well functioning Innovation System would greatly support the final market uptake of CCS technologies. So identifying strengths and weaknesses in the present Innovation System is of crucial importance to technology managers and policy makers that wish to accelerate the innovation process. In order to do so, the research presented in this thesis applies the Innovation System Functions approach. System Functions are key processes required for an Innovation System to develop and grow and, thereby, to increase the commercial chances of the new technology. In recent scientific articles published by the Innovation Studies Group of the Utrecht University, seven functions are discerned, each covering a critical aspect of technology development, namely entrepreneurial activities, knowledge development, knowledge diffusion, guidance, market creation, resources mobilization and the creation of legitimacy. For a better understanding of the innovation processes, in this thesis the innovation systems functions are used to compare the growth and performance of CCS Innovation Systems in the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia, and of course the Netherlands. Such a comparison offers the possibility to learn from each other’s experiences regarding the development of CCS and strategies that could accelerate the deployment of CCS technologies in the Netherlands and abroa
Seeing the forest through the trees: Relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem services in tropical forests and their implications for conservation
No full textAlthough tropical forests are rich in plant diversity and deliver essential ecosystem services, goods and services that benefit our well-being, tropical forests are under increasing pressure of deforestation and degradation. In response and under the assumption that biodiversity and ecosystem services are positively related, conservation measures are increasingly focussing on ecosystem services. Yet, for tropical forests, such relationships remain unclear. This thesis identified three important knowledge gaps. First, it is unclear how plant diversity in a broad sense (including taxonomic, functional and structural diversity) is related to the stock and the flow components of ecosystem services. Second, questions have been raised on how using a different plot size or geographical extent can affect relationships. Third and last, it is unknown how the combination of ecological factors and socio-economic factors can influence relationships. To close these knowledge gaps, this thesis explored the relationships between plant diversity, carbon storage, timber provisioning and the provisioning of non-timber forest products (‘NTFPs’; products such as medicines, food and cultural totems) in old-growth tropical forests. As there were many potential relationships to consider, this thesis aimed to “see the forest through the trees” and to come to general implications for tropical forest conservation. A systematic review of pan-tropical studies found mainly positive relationships between plant diversity in a broad sense and carbon storage, regardless of the stock or flow. By contrast, relationships concerning timber and NTFPs had been poorly studied. Although the reported positive relationships were in line with predictions, the discovered mix of positive and negative relationships was surprising. Plot size was found to moderate relationships, where relationships were more often significant when smaller plots were used. Direct analyses of the relationships between woody species richness and the stock component of the three ecosystem services within and across Amazonia showed that woody species richness was consistently positively related to carbon stock. This thesis provides evidence suggesting that previously reported zero to negative outcomes for this relationship were due to moderating effects of sampling a large amount of environmental heterogeneity by including a large geographical extent. The found positive relationship suggests that protecting carbon-rich tropical forests in the Amazon is likely to protect concentrations in woody species diversity as well. By contrast, timber stock and NTFP stock were not consistently related to woody species richness in the Guiana Shield, a region of Amazonia. Instead, these stocks were related to differences in floristic composition across forest types and biogeographical subregions. In Suriname, a country on the Guiana Shield, NTFP stocks were mainly determined by a very small number of woody species called ‘NTFP oligarchs’, which were associated to specific floristic compositions. However, NTFP flows were ultimately determined by socio-economic factors such as the demand, costs and harvest rules. These factors determined which NTFP stocks were harvested, regardless of how much stock or plant diversity was present. These findings suggests that forests with important timber and NTFP stocks will often be located near forest-dwelling communities. Therefore, protection of these stocks could benefit from allowing community management of forests
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