Search results for " Ecosystem"

Data from: The relevance of ecological status to ecosystem functions and services in a large boreal lake

2015

1. Environmental conventions aim to protect ecosystem structures and functions to provide goods and services for mankind. The degree of aquatic ecosystem naturalness, or ecological status as it is defined in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Union, is notionally linked to supplies of ecosystem services. In practice these links have rarely been documented or even investigated and, to justify conservation and management objectives based on the status indicators, it is essential to demonstrate their relationships to ecosystem functions and services. 2. The WFD requires member states to classify their surface waters aiming to achieve good ecological status of water bodies. How…

Data from: The role of fish life histories in allometrically scaled food-web dynamics

2019

1. Body size determines key ecological and evolutionary processes of organisms. Therefore, organisms undergo extensive shifts in resources, competitors and predators as they grow in body size. While empirical and theoretical evidence show that these size-dependent ontogenetic shifts vastly influence the structure and dynamics of populations, theory on how those ontogenetic shifts affect the structure and dynamics of ecological networks is still virtually absent. 2. Here, we expand the Allometric Trophic Network (ATN) theory in the context of aquatic food webs to incorporate size-structure in the population dynamics of fish species. We do this by modifying a food web generating algorithm, th…

The urban regeneration of the peripheral areas. The case study of Tor Vergata (Rome, Italy)

2018

The ‘Urban Regeneration of Peripheral Areas’ workshop experimented with an innovative design model for the urban regeneration of Rome. The working method of the workshop is based on diachronic analysis of the evolution of the combined natural history and culture of the area, the architectural, technological, environmental and landscape situation and relation-ship with the surrounding territory. The workshop dealt with the mutual relationships, which run through and characterise the dimensional and relational scales of the environments of metropolitan ecosystems as structures and landscapes. The strategy for urban and territorial integration is left to the procedures and policies of the comm…

Sediment quality of the ecoregion Engure, Gulf of Riga, assessed by using ecotoxicity tests and biomarker responses

2014

Pētījuma mērķis bija novērtēt Engures ekoreģiona (Rīgas līča rietumu piekrastes) sedimentu kvalitāti, izmantojot sedimentu ekotoksicitātes testus. Lai noteiktu bioloģiskās atbildes reakcijas uz dažāda veida stresoriem, kā testorganismi pielietotas sānpeldes Monoporeia affinis and Pontogammarus robustoides, un izvēlēti biomarķieri (AChE, GST, GR, CAT, MT), kas noteikti gliemenēs Macoma balthica. Engures ekoreģionu varētu uzskatīt par nepiesārņotu rajonu, jo tā sedimentus raksturo salīdzinoši zemas smago metālu koncentrācijas. Engures ekoreģiona sedimentu ekotoksicitātes testu rezultāti neuzrādīja statistiski būtisku (>20% mirstība) toksisko efektu. Testorganismu izdzīvotība bija robežās no 8…

Envisioning Information Systems Support for Business Ecosystem Architecture Management in Public Sector

2018

Based on our research concerning Finnish national enterprise architecture (EA) adoption in long run, we discuss here how EA concept and tool are to be developed to support business ecosystem and organization design. Our research context indicates, beyond a federal government or a state one, that even a single municipality, like a city concern, can be perceived as an ecosystem of its sectoral domains, subsidiaries etc. We outline a vision of an overall ontologybased, shared EA repository for the-whole-of-government current state descriptions. We specify the central design principles and functional requirements for such a system and illustrate some potential use cases of it. The study suggest…

New Metropolitan Perspectives Transition with Resilience for Evolutionary Development

2023

This open access book conveys attention to the theme of transition towards resilience and sustainability and its evolutionary perspective that emphasizes the complexity and uncertainty that governments and society are called to address in response to the ongoing challenges. "New Metropolitan Perspective Post COVID Dynamics: Green and Digital Transition, between Metropolitan and Return to Villages’ Perspectives”, 25–27 May 2022, Reggio Calabria, Italy. The papers included in the book are grouped around the following main topics: the envisaged transition towards resilience and sustainability; the relevance of the planning dimension for defining sustainable development pathways and managing co…

La città e la dimensione ambientale: il paradigma dei servizi ecosistemici nella pianificazione alla scala urbana

Current agri-environmental policies dismiss varied perceptions and discourses on management of traditional rural biotopes

2017

Traditional rural biotopes (TRBs) are threatened habitats that host significant biodiversity and several ecosystem services, and depend on active management such as low-intensity grazing. The current study explores private landowners’ decision-making on TRB management and abandonment within a social-ecological system framework. We provide insight into supporting resilience of TRB systems in the face of agricultural modernization. Using a mixed methods approach with content analysis and Q analysis, we demonstrate that TRB management fosters cultural, biological, aesthetic, and utilitarian values. These are reflected in different ways through conservationist's, profit-oriented farmer's, lands…

Tree species influences diversity of ground-dwelling insects in afforested fields

2015

Abstract Impaired natural ecosystems, such as agricultural lands, are restored toward original or other target stage. Because the long agricultural history has changed the physical, chemical and biological features of the soil, afforested fields can harbor novel species assemblages and interactions. Our overall aim was to quantify the diversity of ground beetles and ants in early successional afforested fields. In a large scale field experiment, we compared plots that had been afforested 25 years ago by planting monocultures of birch, pine or spruce trees. A total of 4080 carabid individuals representing 41 species, and 131,933 ant individuals representing 15 species were recorded. Both the…

Towards a framework for assessment and management of cumulative human impacts on marine food webs

2015

Effective ecosystem-based management requires understanding ecosystem responses to multiple human threats, rather than focusing on single threats. To understand ecosystem responses to anthropogenic threats holistically, it is necessary to know how threats affect different components within ecosystems and ultimately alter ecosystem functioning. We used a case study of a Mediterranean seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) food web and expert knowledge elicitation in an application of the initial steps of a framework for assessment of cumulative human impacts on food webs. We produced a conceptual seagrass food web model, determined the main trophic relationships, identified the main threats to the fo…