Does biological quality matter? Direct and reflected appraisal of biodiversity in temperate deciduous broad-leaf forest

Using a multilevel approach, this study investigates direct (perceptual, emotional, and physiological responses [qEEG]) and reflected (preference, attitude, and intention to accept conservation measures) appraisal of different levels of biodiversity in temperate deciduous broad-leaf forest biotopes. Thirty-five participants viewed three series of zoomed pictures from biotopes assessed according to biological criteria to be of High, Intermediate, and Low level of biodiversity. Participants’ appraisal differed between the biotopes, and partly between the conceptualisation of appraisal, but overall there was a consistency across direct and reflected levels of appraisal. The most prominent result of the analysis of qEEG was a higher brain activity in the Theta frequency for the Low biotope. The Theta frequency has amongst others been associated with on-set of sleep and in the present context probably indicating that the Low biotope was less stimulating. The Low biotope was perceived to have the lowest degree of biodiversity followed by the Intermediate and the High biotopes. The Intermediate biotope elicited the most positive emotional response, and was rated highest in preference and in importance to conserve, whereas the intention to accept conservation measures did not differ between the biotopes. Thus biodiversity related criteria presently favoured in forest conservation management schemes are not necessarily prioritised by the public. Emotional components are likely to be at stake tending to favour the conservation of biotopes of an intermediate level of biodiversity.     

Identification of sources of heavy metals in agricultural soils using multivariate analysis and GIS

Purpose

Heavy metals in agricultural soils readily enter the food chain when taken up by plants, but there have been few investigations of heavy metal pressure in farming areas with low background concentrations. This study was carried out in a cultivation area of Northeast China that has undergone decades of intensive farming, with the aim of identifying the sources of accumulated heavy metals in agricultural soils using multivariate analysis and geographic information system (GIS).

Materials and methods

In 2011, concentrations of total iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and cobalt (Co), as well as soil pH and organic matter, were measured at 149 sites in arable soils in the study area. The principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to extract hidden subsets from the raw dataset in order to detect possible sources. Metal contents in soils from various croplands were further investigated using analysis of variance. With the Kriging interpolation method, GIS was used to display the PCA results spatially to explore the influence of land use on heavy metal accumulation.

Results and discussion

Most of the studied metals in arable soils of the study area were shown to have low concentrations, except for Cd (0.241 mg?kg^?1). According to the results of the PCA analysis, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Co formed the first component (PC1) explaining 40.1 % of the total variance. The source of these metals was attributed to farming practices (“anthropogenic” factor). Cu, Ni, and Cr fell into the second component (PC2), heavy metals that derived from parent rock materials (“lithogetic” factor). This component describes 24.6 % of the total variance. Compared to paddy lands, soils in drylands had greater accumulations of all the metals in PC1, which can be explained by a higher rate of phosphorus fertilizer application and a longer farming history.

Conclusions

Owing to the natural low backgrounds, soils in the study area were safe from heavy metal pollution with a contamination risk of Cd the only exception. Multivariate analysis and GIS were effective means in helping to identify the sources of soil metals and addressing the land use influence on soil metals accumulation. This work can support the development of strategy and policies to aid in the prevention of widespread heavy metal contamination in area with characteristics similar to those of the study area.     

A generic framework to assess the representation and protection of benthic ecosystems in European marine protected areas

1. There is concern across the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) region that a consideration of vulnerable components and the wider support mechanisms underpinning benthic marine ecosystems may be lacking from the process of marine protected area (MPA) designation, management and monitoring.
2. In this study, MPAs across six European ecoregions were assessed from a benthic ecology perspective. The study included 102 MPAs, designated by 10 countries, and focused on three aspects regarding the role of the benthos in: (i) the designation of MPAs; (ii) the management measures used in MPAs; and (iii) the monitoring and assessment of MPAs.
3. Qualitative entries to a questionnaire based on an existing framework (EU project ‘Monitoring Evaluation of Spatially Managed Areas’, (MESMA) were collected by 19 benthic experts of the ICES Benthic Ecology Working Group. A pedigree matrix was used to apply a numerical scale (score) to these entries.
4. The results showed clear differences in scores between ecoregions and between criteria. The designation‐phase criteria generally achieved higher scores than the implementation‐phase criteria. Poor designation‐phase scores were generally reiterated in the implementation‐phase scores, such as scores for assessment and monitoring.
5. Over 70% of the MPA case studies were found to consider the benthos to some extent during selection and designation; however, this was not followed up with appropriate management measures and good practice during the implementation phase.
6. Poor spatial and temporal coverage of monitoring and ineffective indicators is unlikely to pick up changes caused by management measures in the MPA. There is concern that without adequate monitoring and adaptive management frameworks, the MPAs will be compromised. Also, there could be an increased likelihood that, with regard to the benthos, they will fail to meet their conservation objectives.
7. This assessment was successful in highlighting issues related to the representation and protection of the benthos in MPAs and where changes need to be made, such as expanding the characterization and monitoring of benthic species or habitats of interest. These issues could be attributable to an ongoing process and/or an indication that some MPAs only have ‘paper protection’.

     

Long-term study of above- and below-ground biomass production in relation to nitrogen and carbon accumulation dynamics in a grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) plantation on former agricultural land

In the Northern and Baltic countries, grey alder is a prospective tree species for short-rotation forestry. Hence, knowledge about the functioning of such forest ecosystems is critical in order to manage them in a sustainable and environmentally sound way. The 17-year-long continuous time series study is conducted in a grey alder plantation growing on abandoned agricultural land. The results of above- and below-ground biomass and production of the 17-year-old stand are compared to the earlier published respective data from the same stand at the ages of 5 and 10 years. The objectives of the current study were to assess (1) above-ground biomass (AGB) and production; (2) below-ground biomass: coarse root biomass (CRB), fine root biomass (FRB) and fine root production (FRP); (3) carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) accumulation dynamics in grey alder stand growing on former arable land. The main results of the 17-year-old stand were as follows: AGB 120.8 t ha^?1; current annual increment of the stem mass 5.7 t ha year^?1; calculated CRB 22.3 t ha^?1; FRB 81 ± 10 g m^?2; nodule biomass 31 ± 19 g m^?2; fine root necromass 11 ± 2 g m^?2; FRP 53 g DM m^?2 year^?1; fine root turnover rate 0.54 year^?1; and fine root longevity 1.9 years. FRB was strongly correlated with the stand basal area and stem mass. Fine root efficiency was the highest at the age of 10 years; at the age of 17 years, it had slightly reduced. Grey alder stand significantly increased N and C_org content in topsoil. The role of fine roots for the sequestration of C is quite modest compared to leaf litter C flux.     

Masting behaviour and dendrochronology of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in southern Sweden

To identify weather controls of beech diameter growth and masting in southern Sweden, we analyze records of monthly weather, regional masting record, and tree-ring chronologies from five beech-dominated stands. The results indicate a strong weather control of temporal pattern of masting events in southern Sweden over the second half of the 20th century. Negative summer temperature anomaly 2 years prior to a mast year, coupled with positive temperature anomaly in the year immediately preceding the same mast year, is a characteristic weather pattern associated with known mast years. Strong dependence of beech masting behaviour on temperature explains the high degree of regional synchronization of masting events. Growth of beech in southern Sweden is strongly and negatively correlated with previous year's summer temperature and positively – with previous year's October temperature. The present study does not provide a conclusive answer in identifying a full set of direct and indirect effects of climatic variables controlling tree-ring growth, since the negative effect of previous year's summer temperature may be a result of a temperature-controlled increase in the beech nut production in the current year. Consistent and significant negative departures of ring-width index during mast years support the hypothesis about a trade-off between investment of bioassimilates into production of beech nuts and tree-ring growth. Alternative explanation of growth anomalies in mast years, relating such anomaly to a negative impact of previous year's growing season, was not supported by the data. We found a limited effect of masting on diameter growth in the following years, indicating that decline in the overall wood production, associated with heavy masting, is short term and typically occurs in the year of actual masting.     

Landscape structure and the long-term decline of cyclic grey-sided voles in Fennoscandia

Changes in forest landscape structure have been suggested as a likely contributing factor behind the long-term decline in the numbers of cyclic grey-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus) in northern Fennoscandian lowland regions in contrast to mountain regions due to the absence of forest management in the mountains. This study, for the first time, formally explored landscape structure in 29 lowland (LF) and 14 mountain forest (MF) landscapes (each 2.5 × 2.5 km) in northern Sweden, and related the results to the cumulated spring trapping index of the grey-sided vole in 2002–2006. The grey-sided vole showed striking contrasts in dynamics close in space and time. The MF landscapes were characterized by larger patches and less fragmentation of preferred forest types. The grey-sided vole was trapped in all of 14 analyzed MF landscapes but only in three out of 29 of the LF landscapes. MF and LF landscapes with grey-sided vole occurrence were characterized by similar focal forest patch size (mean 357 ha, minimum 82 ha and mean 360 ha, minimum 79 ha, respectively). In contrast, these MF compared to the LF landscapes were characterized by larger patches of preferred forest types and less fragmented preferred forest types and by a lower proportion of clear-cut areas. The present results suggest that landscape structure is important for the abundance of grey-sided voles in both regions. However, in the mountains the change from more or less seasonal dynamics to high-amplitude cycles between the mid 1990s and 2000s cannot be explained by changes in landscape structure.     

Population‐level consequences for wild fish exposed to sublethal concentrations of chemicals – a critical review

Concentrated chemical spills have been shown to impact adversely on fish populations and even cause localized population extinctions. Evaluating population‐level impacts of sublethal exposure concentrations is, however, complex and confounded by other environmental pressures. Applying effect measures derived from laboratory‐based chemical exposures to impacts in wild fish populations is constrained by uncertainty on how biochemical response measures (biomarkers) translate into health outcomes, lack of available data for chronic exposures and the many uncertainties in available fish population models. Furthermore, wild fish show phenotypic plasticity and local adaptations can occur that adds geographic and temporal variance on responses. Such population‐level factors are rarely considered in the chemical risk assessment process and can probably be derived only from studies on wild fish. Molecular technologies, including microsatellite and SNP genotyping, and RNASeq for gene expression studies, are advancing our understanding of mechanisms of eco‐toxicological response, tolerance, adaptation and selection in wild populations. We examine critically the application of such approaches with examples including using microsatellites that has identified roach (Rutilus rutilus) populations living in rivers contaminated with sewage effluents that are self‐sustaining, and studies of stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) that have identified genomic regions under selection putatively related to pollution tolerance. Integrating data on biological effects between laboratory‐based studies and wild populations, and building understanding on adaptive responses to sublethal exposure are some of the priority research areas for more effective evaluation of population risks and resilience to contaminant exposure.     

The use of at‐sea‐sampling data to dissociate environmental variability in Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) catches to improve resource exploitation efficiency within the Skagerrak/Kattegat trawl fishery

Research into the influence of environmental variables on the behaviour of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), and hence catch rates, dates back to the 1960s (e.g., Höglund and Dybern, Diurnal and seasonal variations in the catch‐composition of Nephrops norvegicus (L.) at the Swedish west coast. ICES CM 1965/I46; Simpson, Variations in the catches of Nephrops norvegicus at different times of day and night. Rapport et Proés‐verbaux des Réunions Conseil permanent international pour 1'Exploration de la Mer 156:186). However, the use of fishery‐dependent data in identifying influential factors is relatively limited and only includes a number of papers on a limited dataset (e.g., Redant and De Clark, Diurnal variations in CPUE and length composition of the catches in a Nephrops directed fishery in the Central North Sea. ICES CM 1984/K:3; Maynou and Sardà, Influence of environmental factors on commercial trawl catches of Nephrops norvegicus (L.). ICES J. Mar. Sci. 58:1318). Here, we aimed to dissociate environmental variability in Norway lobster catches to improve resource exploitation efficiency within the Skagerrak and Kattegat trawl fisheries by utilising data collected as part of an extensive at‐sea‐sampling programme spanning 16 years. Catch rates were modelled using Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) and considered a range of response variables, including depth, temperature, current speed, season, moon phase and time of day. The results obtained herein showed that time of day, season, depth, temperature, year, trawl type and location all significantly affect catch rates of Nephrops.     

Genetic mapping of the barley lodging resistance locus Erectoides‐k

The barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutant erectoides‐k.32 (ert‐k.32) was isolated in 1947 from an X‐ray‐mutant population of cultivar ‘Bonus’. The mutant was released as a cultivar in 1958 with the name ‘Pallas’ – one of the first cereal crop cultivars developed from induced mutants. ‘Pallas’ is a semi‐dwarf barley cultivar known for its culm stability and resistance to lodging. In total, eight allelic ert‐k mutants are known that show different phenotypic strength concerning culm length and spike architecture. They represent alternatives to the widely used, but pleiotropic ‘Green Revolution’ alleles of the Sdw1 (semidwarf1/denso) and Uzu1 (semi‐brachytic1) genes in breeding of robust elite barley cultivars. In the present study, we locate Ert‐k to a 15.7‐cM region in the centromeric region of chromosome 6H. Although the interval is estimated to contain approximately 700 genes, the work provides a solid foundation for the identification of the underlying mutations causing the ert‐k lodging‐resistant phenotype. In addition, the linked markers could be used to follow the ert‐k mutant genotype in marker‐assisted selection of new lodging‐resistant barley cultivars.