The ecosystem services concept: a new Esperanto to facilitate participatory planning processes?

Landscape Ecology - Several case studies investigated the role of ecosystem services in participatory planning processes. However, no systematic study exists that cuts across a large number of...     

High vegetative compatibility diversity of Cryphonectria parasitica infecting sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) in Britain indicates multiple pathogen introductions

Chestnut blight, caused by Cryphonectria parasitica, was identified in Devon, UK, in December 2016. Intensive surveys detected the disease at further sites in Devon (seven), Berkshire (one), Dorset (one), Derbyshire (four) and a cluster of eight sites in southeast London. Over 570 survey samples were tested, and 227 were positive for C. parasitica by isolation and real-time PCR. A total of 227 isolates were tested for mating type, and 197 screened for vegetative compatibility group (VCG) and compared with VCGs known from mainland Europe. The same isolates were also screened for the presence of Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV-1). Eleven VCGs were identified within the UK population. Five corresponded to already known European VCGs but six were unique. The European VCGs mainly came from the Devon, Dorset, Berkshire and Derbyshire disease outbreaks, whilst unique VCGs were almost exclusively from the southeast London cluster. Both mating types were detected, but only one mating type was present at each site, with the exception of a single Devon site. Perithecia of C. parasitica were never observed at any site. CHV-1 was found in seven isolates from three different locations and was always subtype-I, which has limited hypovirulence. Therefore, although CHV-1 is associated with C. parasitica at some outbreaks, it probably has limited impact on virulence. The diversity of VCGs and their distribution at outbreak sites, together with findings of CHV-1, suggests C. parasitica has been introduced to the UK multiple times over at least two decades through international plant trade.     

Innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3): Past,present and future research

The recent change in the regional development strategy of the European Union (EU) results in an important need to study the terms of change and their respective implications. This study seeks, through a bibliometric analysis, to ascertain the developments taking place in studies on research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) to identify shortcomings and opportunities for future research. This bibliometric review drew upon the Scopus database with the sample selected containing all the articles containing the keywords “Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation” or “RIS3.” This correspondingly reports how some authors maintain that the path the EU should take involves imitative innovation. Meanwhile, others propose that each region should specialise in those industries that are already established there and thus avoid targeting any areas they do not already know/specialise in. Our findings detail six clusters in RIS3 research, which help in contextualising the literature review: (a) business discovery; (b) smart specialisation; (c) innovation; (d) specialisation; (e) regional policies; and (f) regional development. This study furthermore sets out perspectives for future lines of research and correspondingly seeks to convey a vast theoretical basis that may serve as the point of departure for future studies.     

Innovating in less developed regions: What drives patenting in the lagging regions of Europe and North America

Not all economically disadvantaged—“less developed” or “lagging”—regions are the same. They are, however, often bundled together for the purposes of innovation policy design and implementation. This paper attempts to determine whether such bundling is warranted by conducting a regional level investigation for Canada, the United States, on the one hand, and Europe, on the other, to (a) identify the structural and socioeconomic factors that drive patenting in the less developed regions of North America and Europe, respectively; and (b) explore how these factors differ between the two contexts. The empirical analysis, estimated using a mixed‐model approach, reveals that, while there are similarities between the drivers of innovation in North America's and Europe's lagging regions, a number of important differences between the two continents prevail. The analysis also indicates that the territorial processes of innovation in North America's and Europe's less developed regions are more similar to those of their more developed counterparts than to one another.     

Backshoring and nearshoring: An overview

Increasingly, economies that have traditionally benefited from offshoring are losing some of their strategical advantages, with a consequent increase in backshoring by developed economies. This paper describes the phenomenon and tries to shed light on the current challenges, trends, and debates in the area, and on the main determinants of backshoring. A new phenomenon known as nearshoring is also analysed—this consists of relocating some previously offshored manufacturing activities so that they are now close to previous core locations, but not so close as to suffer from disagglomeration effects. This combines the advantages of offshoring and backshoring.     

Assessing seed desiccation responses of native trees in the Caribbean

New Forests - Native trees from the Caribbean were tested for seed desiccation responses, by adapting the “100-seed test” protocol. Ninety-seven seed lots of 91 species were collected...     

Otolith elemental characteristics of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) from brackish waters of the Gulf of Bothnia,Baltic Sea

To investigate whether European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) groups in the brackish (≤7%) Gulf of Bothnia (Baltic Sea) express specific otolith elemental characteristics, concentrations of elements (Ca, Ba, Sr, Zn, Mn, Fe) in whole otoliths were studied by inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry. Whitefish (N = 67) were sampled from six different latitudinal sites; four in the sea and two in rivers along the west coast of Finland, and from a fresh water lake for comparison. The concentration of several elements showed significant differences among sampling sites. Otolith Ba concentrations were higher at the northern sampling sites compared to the southern ones, thereby showing negative association to capture‐habitat salinity. In contrast, otolith Sr and Zn concentrations were lower at the northern sampling sites, thereby associating positively to capture‐habitat salinity. Otolith Mn concentrations did not associate with latitude or salinity but markedly varied between sampling sites. Elevated Fe concentrations occurred in fish otoliths from the two northernmost sites. Ca concentrations were at the same levels in otoliths from all whitefish samples. Otoliths of whitefish from the lake had very high Ba and low Sr concentrations compared to concentrations in otoliths from whitefish in the sea and rivers. Our results show that otolith elemental characteristics of whitefish vary considerably at various geographic scales showing high potential for population identification using elemental fingerprints. Analysis of otolith elemental characteristics may therefore provide an efficient tool for the identification of main areas of residence, spawning locations, and migration routes, thus contributing towards the sustainable management of whitefish stocks.     

Effect of Growth Regulators and Ethanol on Termination of Dormancy in Potato Tubers

The main objective of this study was to find the best practice of inducing the sprouting of dormant potato tubers. We compared two protocols of breakage of dormancy, which are based on dipping excised potato eyes in an aqueous solution of gibberellic acid (GA₃) and kinetin (standard 1) or in the aqueous solution of GA₃, thiourea, and daminozide (standard 2), with a newly reported approach based on ethanol. We tested the effect of ethanol alone or in combination with GA₃ and/or kinetin on dormancy release and sprouting of the potato tubers. As a model, we used two potato genotypes (cultivars Pasat and Dorota), with long dormancy of 5 and 10 weeks respectively. We showed that the standard 2 was the most effective treatment both for dormancy breaking and in promoting sprout growth, especially for cv. Dorota, for which the treatment induced 82.3% of tuber eye-plugs to sprout 28 days after treatment and to produce 93.2% of emerged plants after subsequent 28 days of cultivation in the greenhouse. For this cultivar, similar efficacy was observed for the combination of 4% ethanol with GA₃ and kinetin. The same concentration of ethanol combined with GA₃ but without kinetin was the most efficient treatment for breaking dormancy of cultivar Pasat. However, the difference between the various treatment combinations was statistically insignificant. Ethanol alone or in combination with kinetin poorly induced breakage of dormancy, confirming the main role of GA₃ in artificial dormancy breaking. Thus our study showed that the standard 2 is the most effective approach for breakage of dormancy at least with long term-dormancy cultivars.     

Evaluation of Particle Size Influence on Proximate Composition,Physicochemical, Techno-Functional and Physio-Functional Properties of Flours Obtained from Persimmon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Diospyros kaki</Emphasis> Trumb.) Coproducts

The aim of the work was to study the influence of particle size in the composition, physicochemical, techno-functional and physio-functional properties of two flours obtained from persimmon (Diospyros kaki Trumb. cvs. ‘Rojo Brillante’ (RBF) and ‘Triump’ (THF) coproducts. The cultivar (RBF and THF) and particle size significantly affected all parameters under study, although depending on the evaluated property, only one of these effects predominated. Carbohydrates (38.07–46.98 g/100 g) and total dietary fiber (32.07–43.57 g/100 g) were the main components in both flours (RBF and THF). Furthermore, insoluble dietary fiber represented more than 68% of total dietary fiber content. All color properties studied were influenced by cultivar and particle size. For both cultivars, the lower particle size, the higher lightness and hue values. RBF flours showed high values for emulsifying activity (69.33–74.00 mL/mL), while THF presented high values for water holding capacity (WHC: 9.47–12.19 g water/g sample). The bile holding capacity (BHC) and fat/oil binding values were, in general, higher in RBF (19.61–12.19 g bile/g sample and 11.98–9.07, respectively) than THF (16.12–12.40 g bile/g sample and 9.78–7.96, respectively). The effect of particle size was really evident in both WHC and BHC. Due to their dietary fiber content, techno-functional and physio-functional properties, persimmon flours seem to have a good profile to be used as potential functional ingredient.