Search results for "Law"
showing 10 items of 23812 documents
Enabling policy innovations promoting multiple ecosystem benefits: lessons learnt from case studies in the Baltic Sea Region
2019
Abstract This paper analyses how specific institutional barriers and drivers affect the success of agri-environmental governance and policy innovations in four case study catchments in Germany, Latvia, Poland and Sweden. Possible adaptations of institutional settings are explored, aiming at increased effectiveness of policies and governance in delivering multiple ecosystem benefits along with reduced nutrient emissions and flood management. Factors of success synthesized from existing examples of innovative policy instruments in the EU and further afield are used to identify barriers and opportunities for the implementation of policy innovations in different institutional settings across th…
A mysterious dwarf: Suthepiidae nov. fam., a new harvestman family from mountains of northern Thailand (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores)
2020
A new family of laniatorean harvestmen from northern Thailand is proposed, Suthepiidae fam. nov., which comprises one new genus and one new species, Suthepia inermis sp. nov. This family stands out by characters hitherto unknown or rarely recorded for Opiliones, and close relatives of this taxon are presently not discernible. Important characters are a short and compact penis with a massively enlarged distal part with a rich armament of sclerites and membranes which can be moved and everted by hemolymph pressure during mating; the pedipalp of males and females is without raptorial adaptations, i.e. elevated sockets (= apophyses) carrying strong distal spines are completely absent, therefore…
Responses of boreal carabid beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) to clear-cutting and top-soil preparation
2006
Today, forestry is the most important disturbance force in Fennoscandian boreal forests, having remarkably altered fauna and flora in this biome. However, since the late 1900s, forest-management practices have been modified to better consider biodiversity while harvesting timber. For example, green-tree retention, gap felling, and lighter top-soil preparation methods (harrowing) have been introduced, but little is known about the ecological effects of these changes. We sampled carabid beetles in seven clear-cut stands that were subsequently harrowed. We studied the effects of (1) clear-cut size by comparing carabid catches of small gaps (ca. 0.16 ha) with those of larger clear-cuts (ca. 2 h…
Conservation and people: Towards an ethical code of conduct for the use of camera traps in wildlife research
2020
International audience; Abstract 1. Camera trapping is a widely employed tool in wildlife research, used to estimate animal abundances, understand animal movement, assess species richness and understand animal behaviour. In addition to images of wild animals, research cameras often record human images, inadvertently capturing behaviours ranging from innocuous actions to potentially serious crimes. 2. With the increasing use of camera traps, there is an urgent need to reflect on how researchers should deal with human images caught on cameras. On the one hand, it is important to respect the privacy of individuals caught on cameras, while, on the other hand, there is a larger public duty to re…
A Robust and All-Inclusive Pipeline for Shuffling of Adeno-Associated Viruses.
2018
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are attractive templates for engineering of synthetic gene delivery vectors. A particularly powerful technology for breeding of novel vectors with improved properties is DNA family shuffling, i.e., generation of chimeric capsids by homology-driven DNA recombination. Here, to make AAV DNA shuffling available to a wider community, we present a robust experimental and bioinformatical pipeline comprising: (i) standardized and partially codon-optimized plasmids carrying 12 different AAV capsid genes; (ii) a scalable protocol including troubleshooting guide for viral library production; and (iii) the freely available software SALANTO for comprehensive analysis of ch…
How to reconcile wood production and biodiversity conservation? The Pan-European boreal forest history gradient as an "experiment".
2018
There are currently competing demands on Europe's forests and the finite resources and services that they can offer. Forestry intensification that aims at mitigating climate change and biodiversity conservation is one example. Whether or not these two objectives compete can be evaluated by comparative studies of forest landscapes with different histories. We test the hypothesis that indicators of wood production and biodiversity conservation are inversely related in a gradient of long to short forestry intensification histories. Forest management data containing stand age, volume and tree species were used to model the opportunity for wood production and biodiversity conservation in five no…
Assessing environmental conditions of Antarctic footpaths to support management decisions.
2016
Thousands of tourists visit certain Antarctic sites each year, generating a wide variety of environmental impacts. Scientific knowledge of human activities and their impacts can help in the effective design of management measures and impact mitigation. We present a case study from Barrientos Island in which a management measure was originally put in place with the goal of minimizing environmental impacts but resulted in new undesired impacts. Two alternative footpaths used by tourist groups were compared. Both affected extensive moss carpets that cover the middle part of the island and that are very vulnerable to trampling. The first path has been used by tourists and scientists since over …
Optimal conservation resource allocation under variable economic and ecological time discounting rates in boreal forest
2016
Resource allocation to multiple alternative conservation actions is a complex task. A common trade-off occurs between protection of smaller, expensive, high-quality areas versus larger, cheaper, partially degraded areas. We investigate optimal allocation into three actions in boreal forest: current standard forest management rules, setting aside of mature stands, or setting aside of clear-cuts. We first estimated how habitat availability for focal indicator species and economic returns from timber harvesting develop through time as a function of forest type and action chosen. We then developed an optimal resource allocation by accounting for budget size and habitat availability of indicator…
Consumer behaviour change through education for sustainable development: case of Latvia
2018
More sustainability and sustainable development are major challenges faced by society today. Consumer's choices and the use of products and services have important impacts on the environment; consequently, consumer behaviour is crucial. Education and pedagogics help select real sustainable living attitudes of students, their families and friends. This case study describes the mid-term results of a teaching assignment and survey in three Latvian higher education organisations which involve system thinking and students' action on consumer choices of household chemicals. The multilayer results provide insight into the consumption of these chemicals and show that one year after the assignment, …
Biotrickling filter modeling for styrene abatement. Part 1: Model development, calibration and validation on an industrial scale
2017
Abstract A three-phase dynamic mathematical model based on mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfer, diffusion, and biodegradation was calibrated and validated for the simulation of an industrial styrene-degrading biotrickling filter. The model considered the key features of the industrial operation of biotrickling filters: variable conditions of loading and intermittent irrigation. These features were included in the model switching from the mathematical description of periods with and without irrigation. Model equations were based on the mass balances describing the main processes in biotrickling filtration: convection, mass transfe…