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Abstract: Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) research has extended its scope from communities that are short‐lived or reshape their structure annually to structurally complex forest ecosystems. The establishment of tree diversity experiments poses specific methodological challenges for assessing the multiple functions provided by forest ecosystems. In particular, methodological inconsistencies and nonstandardized protocols impede the analysis of multifunctionality within, and comparability across the increasing number of tree diversity experiments. By providing an overview on key methods currently applied in one of the largest forest biodiversity experiments, we show how methods differing in scale and simplicity can be combined to retrieve consistent data allowing novel insights into forest ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, we discuss and develop recommendations for the integration and transferability of diverse methodical approaches to present and future forest biodiversity experiments. We identified four principles that should guide basic decisions concerning method selection for tree diversity experiments and forest BEF research: (1) method selection should be directed toward maximizing data density to increase the number of measured variables in each plot. (2) Methods should cover all relevant scales of the experiment to consider scale dependencies of biodiversity effects. (3) The same variable should be evaluated with the same method across space and time for adequate larger‐scale and longer‐time data analysis and to reduce errors due to changing measurement protocols. (4) Standardized, practical and rapid methods for assessing biodiversity and ecosystem functions should be promoted to increase comparability among forest BEF experiments. We demonstrate that currently available methods provide us with a sophisticated toolbox to improve a synergistic understanding of forest multifunctionality. However, these methods require further adjustment to the specific requirements of structurally complex and long‐lived forest ecosystems. By applying methods connecting relevant scales, trophic levels, and above‐ and belowground ecosystem compartments, knowledge gain from large tree diversity experiments can be optimized

This paper analyses groundwater governance within a transfrontier conservation landscape. Given the current heightened interest in groundwater development, it is imperative that more thought be given to how groundwater resources can best be managed in different contexts for multiple uses and users. Transfrontier conservation areas are areas of vast biological diversity whose functioning and ecosystem integrity depends on the availability of water to sustain ecosystems and subsequently derive economic benefit. Further, climate vulnerable rural communities depend on and form an important part of this landscape. The work highlighted in this paper is based on a study conducted in parts of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA), the largest TFCA in the world. Climate induced challenges such as droughts and general poor land use planning have resulted in threats to long term sustainability of freshwater ecosystems and increased incidences of human-wildlife conflicts over limited water resources. Effective groundwater governance can potentially provide pathways for alleviating these challenges.
Building on the theoretical fundamentals of polycentric governance, this paper analyses the case of the KAZA TFCA in which multiple levels of governance exist. The paper discusses how to achieve coordination and accountability within a shared landscape to foster sustainable use and management of groundwater. Groundwater within a TFCA context has the potential to alleviate human-wildlife conflict over freshwater, support groundwater dependant ecosystems and sustain smallholder agriculture for the rural communities. Understanding this role of groundwater adds to the framing of freshwater governance and conservation efforts within a TFCA and the identification and development of platforms for the integrated management of groundwater. Bringing together freshwater and conservation institutions in a multi-country context towards integrated water resource management is an initial and novel attempt which forms the foundation for achieving optimal governance approaches in the commons.

The leading universities of Science and Technology (S&T) united within CESAER today publish our position 'Boosting disruptive innovation by fostering new mindsets and co-creating innovation'. We underline the vital importance of appropriate framework conditions and sustainable funding to deploy co-creation practices and develop the right skills and mindsets within and beyond universities to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable future and introduce four key messages: Foster talent and engage people Advance innovation ecosystems by developing better cooperation processes for open innovation Promote and implement scientific knowledge Promote a risk-taking mindset to boost disruptive innovation This builds on (i) our previous position encouraging the European institutions to reinforce the European Research Area (ERA) by advancing investigator-driven frontier research to boost disruptive innovation, and (ii) our most recent position highlighting the need for a global approach through a global framework for S&T collaboration to effectively deploy research and innovation to tackle local and global challenges and (iii) our white paper on the role of universities of Science and Technology in innovation ecosystems In light of the upcoming conference 'Europe as a Leader in Disruptive Innovation' organised by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we urge the EU institutions to fully acknowledge the central role of universities of S&T in stimulating disruptive innovation throughout society. Co-Chair of Task Force Innovation and Director, Tim Bedford said: "Individuals and activities engaged in advancing disruptive innovation are driven by scientific and technological curiosity, and by solving societal challenges. "Universities of S&T are crucial players acting as the 'glue' of innovation ecosystems and play an open and collaborative leadership role that goes beyond the more passive "Third Mission", helping to tackle local and global challenges." Co-Chair of Task Force Innovation, Toril ...

The leading universities of Science and Technology (S&T) united within CESAER today publish our position 'Boosting disruptive innovation by fostering new mindsets and co-creating innovation'. We underline the vital importance of appropriate framework conditions and sustainable funding to deploy co-creation practices and develop the right skills and mindsets within and beyond universities to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable future and introduce four key messages: Foster talent and engage people Advance innovation ecosystems by developing better cooperation processes for open innovation Promote and implement scientific knowledge Promote a risk-taking mindset to boost disruptive innovation This builds on (i) our previous position encouraging the European institutions to reinforce the European Research Area (ERA) by advancing investigator-driven frontier research to boost disruptive innovation, and (ii) our most recent position highlighting the need for a global approach through a global framework for S&T collaboration to effectively deploy research and innovation to tackle local and global challenges and (iii) our white paper on the role of universities of Science and Technology in innovation ecosystems In light of the upcoming conference 'Europe as a Leader in Disruptive Innovation' organised by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we urge the EU institutions to fully acknowledge the central role of universities of S&T in stimulating disruptive innovation throughout society. Co-Chair of Task Force Innovation and Director, Tim Bedford said: "Individuals and activities engaged in advancing disruptive innovation are driven by scientific and technological curiosity, and by solving societal challenges. "Universities of S&T are crucial players acting as the 'glue' of innovation ecosystems and play an open and collaborative leadership role that goes beyond the more passive "Third Mission", helping to tackle local and global challenges." Co-Chair of Task Force Innovation, Toril ...

Press release on webpage The leading universities of Science and Technology (S&T) united within CESAER today publish our position 'Boosting disruptive innovation by fostering new mindsets and co-creating innovation'. We underline the vital importance of appropriate framework conditions and sustainable funding to deploy co-creation practices and develop the right skills and mindsets within and beyond universities to ensure a safe, secure and sustainable future and introduce four key messages: Foster talent and engage people Advance innovation ecosystems by developing better cooperation processes for open innovation Promote and implement scientific knowledge Promote a risk-taking mindset to boost disruptive innovation This builds on (i) our previous position encouraging the European institutions to reinforce the European Research Area (ERA) by advancing investigator-driven frontier research to boost disruptive innovation, and (ii) our most recent position highlighting the need for a global approach through a global framework for S&T collaboration to effectively deploy research and innovation to tackle local and global challenges and (iii) our white paper on the role of universities of Science and Technology in innovation ecosystems In light of the upcoming conference 'Europe as a Leader in Disruptive Innovation' organised by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we urge the EU institutions to fully acknowledge the central role of universities of S&T in stimulating disruptive innovation throughout society. Co-Chair of Task Force Innovation and Director, Tim Bedford said: "Individuals and activities engaged in advancing disruptive innovation are driven by scientific and technological curiosity, and by solving societal challenges. "Universities of S&T are crucial players acting as the 'glue' of innovation ecosystems and play an open and collaborative leadership role that goes beyond the more passive "Third Mission", helping to tackle local and global challenges." Co-Chair of Task ...

International audience ; Fishing and Marine Ecosystems: Two ScenariosThe closing months of 2021 saw a significant level of conflict between France and the UK over post-Brexit fishing arrangements in the waters between their territories. It was clear that access to fishing stocks represented a strategic concern for the parties concerned. It must be admitted that, in a context of climate change and decades of ill-considered fishing practices, the fishing sector finds itself facing significant change. Didier Gascuel shows this here as part of the series devoted to the sea and oceans begun in our columns in summer 2020.After reviewing past trends (characterized by increasing over-exploitation of marine ecosystems and resources), he shows how things have changed in recent years, when it has been possible to better manage and regulate fishing activity. But although over-exploitation is currently held in check, there is still no eco-systemic approach to make marine environments genuinely resilient. Can there be one? Looking toward a horizon of 2050, Didier Gascuel proposes two scenarios for fishing and marine ecosystems in this article. The first of these (the worst-case scenario) takes us back to a situation of generalized over-fishing, without meaningful oversight tools or socio-political involvement to regulate it, the whole situation being further aggravated by climate change. The second — more virtuous — scenario is that of 'pesco-ecology' in which, as in agro-ecology, the sector undertakes to manage fishing and marine resources in synergy with ecological and environmental needs. This scenario, by far the most desirable in terms of preserving fishing stocks (and, in the longer term, our own ecosystem), demands a high level of political and social mobilization at the global level. Yet it can become a reality, particularly if seized upon by the European Union. ; La fin de l'année 2021 a été particulièrement marquée par les différends entre la France et le Royaume-Uni concernant les modalités de pêche post-Brexit ...

The construction of culture as a class of ecosystem service presents a significant test of the holistic ambitions of an ecosystems approach to decision making. In this paper we explore the theoretical challenges arising from efforts to understand ecosystems as objects of cultural concern and consider the operational complexities associated with understanding how, and with what consequences, knowledge about cultural ecosystem services are created, communicated and accounted for in real world decision making. We specifically forward and develop a conceptual framework for understanding cultural ecosystem services and related benefits in terms of the environmental spaces and cultural practices that arise from interactions between humans and ecosystems. The types of knowledge, and approaches to knowledge production, presumed by this relational, non-linear and place-based perspective on cultural ecosystem services are discussed and reviewed. The framework not only helps navigate more fully the challenge of operationalising 'cultural ecosystem services' but points to a more relational understanding of the ecosystem services framework as a whole. Extending and refining understanding through more ambitious engagements in interdisciplinarity remains important. ; UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government, the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). ; ©2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/). This research was funded through the UK National Ecosystem Assessment Follow-On (Work Package 5: Cultural ecosystem services and indicators) funded by the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government, the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Aquatic ecosystems are very sensitive to industrial impacts, and, therefore, it is increasingly important to study the mechanisms underlying the tolerance of aquatic organisms to water pollution. Heavy metals (HMs) are among the most common and toxic pollutants of aquatic ecosystems. They have a particularly strong effect on macrophytes, which are in close contact with the aquatic environment and can accumulate metals in considerable quantities. Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L. is a floating macrophyte (pleistophyte) with a high capacity for accumulation of HMs. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of industrial pollution on the redox reactions in H. morsus-ranae and to identify the role of low molecular weight antioxidants in adaptation of this macrophyte to unfavorable conditions. A comparative analysis of the physiological and biochemical characteristics of H. morsus-ranae from two (reference and impacted) water bodies was carried out. The study revealed an increased level of lipid peroxidation products in the leaves of H. morsus-ranae under industrial impact, which indicates oxidative stress. Nevertheless, this floating plant demonstrated fairly high resistance to adverse conditions, due to the synthesis of non-enzymatic antioxidants such as proline and soluble protein thiols. Revealing the response of macrophytes to pollution of water bodies will help predict the state of aquatic ecosystems with an increase in anthropogenic pressure. © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved. ; Acknowledgements. The reported study was partly funded by RFBR and the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region, project number 20–45–660014. The authors are grateful to the reviewer, Prof., D. Sc. Golovko T. K. (Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of RAS, Syktyvkar) for valuable comments that helped improve this paper and to Dr. Tripti (Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia) for editing the English language.

The Government of Pakistan (GoP) has initiated a preliminary analysis of Pakistan's blue carbon exposure, relevant carbon stock trends, and the sector's potential for climate action in the context of Pakistan's upcoming submission of revision of its nationally determined contribution (NDC). Blue carbon refers to coastal wetlands, namely mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, and the multitude of ecosystem services they provide, including climate change mitigation and adaptation. Through its national process, the GoP requested rapid assessment support by the World Bank to be concluded in a few months. The objective of the rapid assessment is to support the GoP to enhance its commitments in the revised NDC through blue carbon ecosystems. In line with commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement, the GoP is committed to a strategic transition towards low carbon development while strengthening national resilience to climate change. Pakistan's vulnerability to adverse impacts of climate change is established and well-recognized, and there is a need to build strong adaptation capacity across the country contributing to emissions reductions. In preparation for Pakistan's second NDC submission, there is an opportunity to consider the combined adaptation and mitigation benefits of coastal ecosystems management as part of a wider initiative on agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. The report is composed of seven chapters. Chapter one discusses the background and objectives, followed by chapter two, focusing on blue carbon-related global trends. Chapter three reviews blue carbon coastal ecosystems in Pakistan and chapter four takes stock of the blue carbon-related policies. Chapter five presents the first-pass estimation of the blue carbon inventory in the country. Chapter six summarizes recommendations to this year's NDC revision. Chapter seven provides recommendations for Pakistan to strengthen the foundations of research and outreach on blue carbon and proceed towards the blue carbon action and financing roadmap.

Intensive agriculture and densely populated areas represent major sources of nutrient pollution for European inland and coastal waters, altering the aquatic ecosystems and affecting their capacity to provide ecosystem services and support economic activities. Ambitious water policies are in place in the European Union (EU) for protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems under the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This research quantified the current pressures of point and diffuse nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to European fresh and coastal waters (2005–2012), and analysed the effects of three policy scenarios of nutrient reduction: 1) the application of measures currently planned in the Rural Development Programmes and under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD); 2) the full implementation of the UWWTD and the absence of derogations in the Nitrates Directive; 3) high reduction of nutrient, using best technologies in wastewaters treatment and optimal fertilisation in agriculture. The results of the study show that for the period 2005–2012, the nitrogen load to European seas was 3.3–4.1 TgN/y and the phosphorus load was 0.26–0.30 TgP/y. Policy measures supporting technological improvements (third scenario) could decrease the nutrient export to the seas up to 14% for nitrogen and 20% for phosphorus, improving the ecological status of rivers and lakes, but widening the nutrient imbalance in coastal ecosystems (i.e. increasing nitrogen availability with respect to phosphorus), affecting eutrophication. Further nutrient reductions could be possible by a combination of measures especially in the agricultural sector. However, without tackling current agricultural production and consumption system, the reduction might not be sufficient for achieving the goals of EU water policy in some regions. The study analysed the expected changes and the source contribution in different European regional seas, and highlights the advantages of addressing the land-sea dynamics, ...

Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) in Europe's Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) is still underdeveloped compared to the European mainland. Most of those territories are small islands for which Marine and Coastal Ecosystems (MCE) constitute a significant resource and provide important provisioning, regulating and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). Understanding the cultural dimension of ecosystems and considering the cultural benefits and values associated with them, demands methodological plurality, flexibility and creativity. This study focused on two activities related to recreational ES (recreational fishing and recreational SCUBA diving) that are particularly relevant to São Miguel Island (Archipelago of the Azores, Portugal). Stakeholders were interviewed using SeaSketch, a participatory mapping tool in which they indicated where they conduct recreational fishing and scuba diving, the relative value of those areas, in terms of preference over other areas and their willingness to relinquish them for the purpose of conservation. Responses were aggregated and represented in maps showing key areas for the provision of recreational ES around São Miguel. This approach can be used in the Azorean Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) process and other on-going conservation initiatives, to better understand the trade-offs between relevant socio-economic activities and to support negotiations between the government and groups of stakeholders. ; Data collection and analysis for this article were done as part of a Master's thesis in Maritime Spatial Planning, funded by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), with an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship and by the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), through the mobility fund Crossing the Atlantic. Fundação Gaspar Frutuoso (FGF) financed the work of Cristina Seijo as MSC-level grant researcher (002/BI/2020) and the work of Catarina Fonseca as Post-doc grant researcher (003/BIPD/2020), ...

Healthy natural ecosystems, such as protected areas (PA), support and sustain biodiversity and human well-being by providing essential ecosystem services and health benefits. However, maintaining such ecosystems to provide these environmental benefits becomes a more and more challenging issue with climate changes, biodiversity loss, land degradation and the continued erosion of the natural capital, particularly in the developing world. The main objective of this research is to establish a methodology for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15 "Life on Land". The methodology will include the determination of heavy metals in soil and needle samples, and questioners for different stakeholders: local people, local businesses, government, civil society organizations (CSO), and the academic community. Soils are integral components of protected area ecosystems. Soil health has been defined as "the capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within an ecosystem and land-use boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and promote plant and animal health" [1]. This definition speaks to the importance of managing soils, so they remain sustainable for future generations. On the other hand, the conifer needles are good bioindicators of ecosystem conditions. The questioner will allow obtaining data about the social and economic benefits of the PAs. The soil and needle samples from four protected areas in Serbia (Zlatibor, Golija, Tara, Đerdap) were analyzed using Inductively coupled plasma –optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Quantitative pollution indices were calculated (Enrichment factor (EF), Contamination factor (Cf), Geoaccumulation index (Igeo), Pollution load index (PLI), and Degree of contamination (Cd)), since they are effective tools for converting the raw environmental data into information relevant to support decision-making [2]. Results of this study provide a scientifically-based overview of ...

Networks of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs), where all extractive activities are prohibited, are the most effective tool to directly protect marine ecosystems from destructive and unsustainable human activities. No-take MPAs and MPA networks have been globally implemented in coastal seas, and their success has been significantly enhanced where science-based biophysical guidelines have informed their design. Increasingly, as human pressure on marine ecosystems is expanding further offshore, governments are establishing offshore MPAs—some very large—or MPA networks. Globally, there are growing calls from scientists, non-government organisations, and national governments to set global conservation targets upwards of 30%. Given that most of the ocean is found either in the high seas or offshore within national Exclusive Economic Zones, large offshore MPAs or networks of MPAs must be a major component of these global targets for ocean protection. However, without adequate design, these offshore MPAs risk being placed to minimise conflict with economic interests, rather than to maximise biodiversity protection. This paper describes detailed biophysical guidelines that managers can use to design effective networks of no-take MPAs in offshore environments. We conducted a systematic review of existing biophysical design guidelines for networks of MPAs in coastal seas, and found consistent elements relating to size, shape, connectivity, timeframes, and representation of biophysical features. However, few of the guidelines are tailored to offshore environments, and few of the large offshore MPAs currently in place were designed systematically. We discuss how the common inshore design guidelines should be revised to be responsive to the characteristics of offshore ecosystems, including giving consideration of issues of scale, data availability, and uncertainty. We propose 10 biophysical guidelines that can be used to systematically design offshore networks of MPAs which will also contribute to the global goal of at ...

Most of the Earth's vegetated surface is fireprone but the relevance of fire in understanding how nature works is not always recognized. We aim to show that, by adding the fire dimension to observations on biological phenomena, interpretations can be im-proved; how fire-related research can be used to answer 'fundamental' questions in ecology; and how theories/models developed for fireprone ecosystems can be applied to advancing disturbance ecology, biogeography and evolutionary biology more generally. We compiled lists from the world-wide web of the most highly cited papers in fire ecology, and examined papers that had been approached from multiple viewpoints, including fire. We show that great advances over the last 20 years have been made in our understanding of the pivotal role of fire as a driver of many ecological processes and a powerful selective agent/evolutionary trigger among biota. We document 21 sets of observations originally interpreted in the context of the two traditional dimensions, prevailing environment and biotic interactions, but can also be shown to have a strong, if not dominant, historical link to fire. We note that fire-related research is able to address 55 of the 100 questions considered 'fundamental' in ecology and that many have already received some attention in fireprone ecosystems. We show how theories/ models that had their origins in fireprone systems can be applied to other disturbance-prone systems and thus have wide application in ecology and evolutionary biology. Fire and other disturbances should be included as variables in research about possible critical environmental and biotic constraints controlling ecosystem function in general. Adding this third dimension to research endeavours greatly enriches our understanding of how nature works at the global scale in an era where ecosystems are changing rapidly and novel species-environmental interactions are emerging.

Africa is threatened by climate change, yet adaptive capacity of local communities continues to be weakened by ineffective and inefficient livelihood strategies and inappropriate development interventions. Practical and good activities for adaptation in Kenya is urgently and much needed to support adaptation actions, interventions and planning. The adaptation role of forest ecosystems has not been as prominent in the international discourse and actions as their mitigation role. This study therefore focused on the forest ecosystems as one of the natural resources used for adaptation to climate change impacts. The objective of this study was to evaluate Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to climate change in Kakamega Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem. This study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design and relied on a mixed methods methodology. Anthropogenic Global Warming Theory and Adaptive Management Theory were used to guide the study. A conceptual framework showing the interrelationship between the dependent and independent variables was outlined. The study utilized both secondary and primary data. The target population was 20,000 households living up to 10 km from the forest edge in the selected communities neighbouring Kakamega Tropical Rainforest and 20 government officials within Kakamega County. A total of 184 members of the households and 20 forest officers were sampled as respondents in the study. The study findings revealed that EbA are measures which use ecosystem services to attain or support adaptation to climate change. The EbA initiatives included; policy and behavioral changes, targeted management, conservation activities, restoration of highly degraded dry forest and reducing biodiversity loss. It was concluded that forest ecosystems help to adopt or mitigate climate. The study recommended that there is need to conserve the forest to get rid of extreme temperatures and precipitation since it was a source of many services to the surrounding communities and that the forest ecosystem also helped to ...