Filtyp
In Padova, the municipal department of green infrastructure monitors the urban forest through a continuously updated database that stores information about locations, species, dimensions, health conditions, and management of more than 47,000 trees. The aim of the research presented in this chapter was to support urban forest planning and management by integrating the existing database with informa
Generating scientific advice to environmental management involves assessments with complex models, sparse data, and challenging empirical experiments, necessitating the integration of expert judgment with data into scientific models. To integrate expert judgement, assessors might elicit judgement by experts as quantiles, find a probability distribution that matches the quantiles, and add this info
A major uncertainty in the estimation of soils acting as net carbon (C) sinks or sources stem from the effects of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) input on the balance between plant C input and soil C loss. In contrast to the generally observed increasing pattern of plant C input, the response of soil C loss to increased N deposition remains elusive, largely due to its large temporal variation. Here sim
Microplastics can perturb microbial nutrient-mining strategies. However, the mechanism by which microplastics affect the resource-acquisition strategies of crops in agricultural systems remains unknown. The nutrient-acquisition potential of crops and microbes was investigated under treatments with two common microplastics (polyethylene [PE] and polyvinyl chloride [PVC]) at 0%, 1%, and 5% (w/w). Di
The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not halted farmland biodiversity loss. The CAP post-2023 has a new ‘‘Green Architecture,’’ including the new ‘‘Eco-scheme’’ instrument. How can this new Green Architecture help tackle the biodiversity crisis? Through 13 workshops and an online survey, over 300 experts from 23 European Member States addressed this question. From experts’ con
Savannas cover a wide climatic gradient across large portions of the Earth’s land surface and are an important component of the terrestrial biosphere. Savannas have been undergoing changes that alter the composition and structure of their vegetation such as the encroachment of woody vegetation and increasing land-use intensity. Monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of savanna ecosystem stru
Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is of great importance to control the land-atmosphere exchange of water and CO2. Here we use in situ observations to assess the performance of monthly VPD calculated from state-of-the-art data sets including CRU, ERA5, and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2). We investigate trends in VPD at global scale and for different
Microplastics provide a new ecological niche for microorganisms, and the accumulation levels of microplastics (MPs) in terrestrial ecosystems are higher than those in marine ecosystems. Here, we applied the zymography to investigate how MPs — polyethylene [PE], and polyvinyl chloride [PVC]) at two levels (0.01% and 1% soil weight) impacted the spatial distribution of soil hydrolases, nutrient avai
Wild insect pollinators are essential to cultivated and natural ecosystems globally. Today, many pollinator species are declining. One reason is a general lack of flowering habitats at landscape scales. However, urban areas, including private gardens, may provide flowers, and constitute beneficial habitats for pollinators. Here, we evaluate the ecological outcomes of a citizen science campaign run
Phosphorus (P) availability affects the response of terrestrial ecosystems to environmental and climate change (e.g., elevated CO2), yet the magnitude of this effect remains uncertain. This uncertainty arises mainly from a lack of quantitative understanding of the soil biological and geochemical P cycling processes, particularly the P exchange with soil mineral surfaces, which is often described b
Dune slacks are biodiverse seasonal wetlands within sand dune systems, strongly influenced by the dynamics of the local groundwater regime. Future climate predictions indicate strong adverse impact on the hydrology and therefore ecology of these wetland ecosystems. In this study we aimed to find the most appropriate hydrological and ecological indicators to summarise dune slack plant community res
The widespread contamination of urban soils by airborne microplastics (MPs) is an emerging environmental issue, particularly in urban allotment gardens with home-grown food. This study investigates the vertical distribution of MP in three such gardens in Berlin, Germany, over 90 days. Soil samples were collected at three depths (0-1 cm, 1–15 cm, and 15–30 cm) and analyzed for MP composition and oc
Motivation: Here, we make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata. Moreo
Aims: We introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We de-scribe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, including potential research questions. Results: ReSurv
Human society relies on, and interacts with, a diverse assortment of organisms and ecological systems, from the local to the global level. Research and management of these coupled social-ecological systems requires data that speaks to the variety of processes, statuses, and situations defined by them. Effective stewardship is enhanced by interdisciplinary thinking and, critically, access to intero
The Long-Term Global Goal (LTGG) is the focal point for addressing future climate change. This paper explores a specific institutional context: the Structured Expert Dialogue (SED) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Set up as a platform for interaction between experts and UN negotiators, the SED is a site where scientific information about the LTGG and net-zero was translat
