Search results for "Ecosystem"
showing 10 items of 1752 documents
Data from: Optimizing management to enhance multifunctionality in a boreal forest landscape
2016
1. The boreal biome, representing approximately one third of remaining global forests, provides a number of crucial ecosystem services. A particular challenge in forest ecosystems is to reconcile demand for increased timber production with provisioning of other ecosystem services and biodiversity. However, there is still little knowledge about how forest management could help solve this challenge. Hence, studies that investigate how to manage forests to reduce trade-offs between ecosystem services and biodiversity are urgently needed to help forest owners and policy-makers take informed decisions. 2. We applied seven alternative forest management regimes using a forest growth simulator in a…
Farming intensity indirectly reduces crop yield through negative effects on agrobiodiversity and key ecological functions
2022
International audience; Farming intensity and landscape heterogeneity influence agrobiodiversity and associated ecological functions. The relative contributions of these agroecosystem components to agricultural production remain unclear because of inter-relations and weather-dependant variations. Using a structural equation modelling approach, we estimated direct and indirect contributions of farming intensity (soil management, pesticide use and fertilisation) and landscape heterogeneity (of semi-natural covers and crop mosaic) to cereal crop production, in 54 fields (mostly wheat), in two years (24 and 30 fields). Indirect effects were evaluated through agrobiodiversity (carabid and plant …
Emergency Response Model as a part of the Smart Society
2021
Centralized hybrid emergency model with predictive emergency response functions is necessary when the purpose is to protect the critical infrastructure (CI). A shared common operational picture among Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) authorities means that a real-time communication link from the local level to the state-level exists. If a cyberattack would interrupt electricity transmission, telecommunication networks will discontinue operating. Cyberattack becomes physical in the urban and maritime area if an intrusion has not been detected. Hybrid threats require hybrid responses. The purpose of this qualitative research was to find out technological-related fundamental risks …
More nature in the city
2020
According to projects and practices that the Italian botanists and ecologists are carrying out for bringing “more nature in the city”, new insights for a factual integration between ecological perspectives and more consolidated aesthetic and agronomic approaches to the sustainable planning and management of urban green areas are provided.
Urban Landscapes and Resilience. Exploring an adaptive design perspective
2017
Il concetto di resilienza in pianificazione è emerso in tempi recenti come un mezzo potente per sostenere la ricerca e l'innovazione sua nella teoria che nella pratica. Partendo da una definizione delle città come sistemi adattivi complessi, organismi viventi in un contesto di non-equilibrio e spazi di intensa interazione e interdipendenza uomo-natura, il contributo intende esplorare il ruolo dei servizi ecosistemici nella costruzione della resilienza urbana. Il cambiamento globale e l'incertezza richiedono un approccio strategico verso la resilienza urbana, attraverso l'adaptive design. Mentre una visione basata sullo stato di equilibrio tende a guardare alla forma urbana ideale, riconosce…
Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Processes: A Case Study of Lake Engure
2014
Abstract This focus of the study was on system dynamic models that could be useful for modelling environmental processes in Lake Engure. The paper considers the system dynamic model development principles, the most important elements and structure. The aim of the study was to describe possible methods of ecosystem process modelling that allow to represent the actual state of ecosystems and provide opportunities to predict further processes. The methods of ecosystem modelling considered in the paper reveal interactive factors of anthropogenic and environmental processes that influence changes in ecosystems. System dynamic models indicate not only interactions between various factors in the e…
Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm?
2019
Aposematic theory has historically predicted that predators should select for warning signals to converge on a single form, as a result of frequency-dependent learning. However, widespread variation in warning signals is observed across closely related species, populations and, most problematically for evolutionary biologists, among individuals in the same population. Recent research has yielded an increased awareness of this diversity, challenging the paradigm of signal monomorphy in aposematic animals. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of these disparate lines of investigation, identifying within them three broad classes of explanation for variation in aposematic warning signals: …
Author Correction: Evaluation of three methods for biomass estimation in small invertebrates, using three large disparate parasite species as model o…
2018
Invertebrate biomass is considered one of the main factors driving processes in ecosystems. It can be measured directly, primarily by weighing individuals, but more often indirect estimators are used. We developed two indirect and non-destructive approaches to estimate biomass of small invertebrates in a simple manner. The first one was based on clay modelling and the second one was based on image analysis implemented with open-source software. Furthermore, we tested the accuracy of the widely used geometric approximation method (third method). We applied these three different methods to three morphologically disparate model species, an acanthocephalan worm, a crustacean and a flatworm. To …
Value Co-creation for Smart Villages: The Institutionalization of Regional Service Ecosystems
2020
Building a versatile portfolio of public and private digital-enabled services is vital in rural and sparsely populated regions, where traditional market mechanisms alone cannot guarantee the availability of essential services. However, contemporary services tend to build on prevalent institutions, often governed by decisions based on market mechanisms, such as economies of scale – service-by-service and village-by-village. A shift is suggested towards networks of smart villages co-creating value as regional service ecosystems. We draw from institutional theory and employ the Service-dominant logic (SDL) framework in investigating value co-creation in rural villages in Sweden. Analyzing 53 l…
The MIMOSE Approach to Support Sustainable Forest Management Planning at Regional Scale in Mediterranean Contexts
2017
In recent decades, Mediterranean landscapes have been affected by human-induced drivers, such as land use and climate change. Forest ecosystems and landscapes have been particularly affected in mountainous regions due to limited management and stewardship, especially in remote areas. Therefore, there is a need to set up new strategies to enhance ecosystem services in forested areas which, in turn, will benefit local communities and economies. In this study, we implemented a new approach—Multiscale Mapping of Ecosystem Services (MIMOSE)—to assess ecosystem services in Mediterranean forests located in a mountainous region of Italy. We spatially assessed timber provision and carbon sequestrati…