Development of indicators for assessment of green infrastructure for a territorial network of ecological stability

Landscape structure and biotic indicators have a significant role in assessing the green infrastructure of a landscape and design of a territorial ecological network. In this contribution, a methodological approach has been developed for assessing and defining indicators of current land use and biota that can be used for designing a territorial network of ecological stability. We used the assessment of ecological stability of the elements of the current landscape structure, an index of the ecological stability of a representative geo-ecosystem, the cumulative effect of high ecological stability landscape elements, and the Shannon Diversity Index (SHDI) to measure the degree of entropy, or landscape diversity. The assessment of biota was based on qualitative habitat field data and an evaluation of their overall nature conservation importance based on the type of land cover and habitats, the importance of habitats, their current conservation status, how many rare habitats are in a region, and how many vulnerable species are present in habitats. The assessment was applied on a local level, using the example of the Dolný Lopašov study area. The spatial distribution of green infrastructure is not balanced within the study area. The most significant elements of the ecological network consist of natural and semi-natural habitats that have a favourable conservation status. The Malé Karpaty Mountains, situated in the northern region, are forest-covered and have the highest ecological stability. Intensively cultivated fields are dominant in the central and southern parts of the study areas and are characterised by a low proportion of green infrastructure and low ecological stability. The results of the modelling of the cumulative impact of landscape elements on ecological stability by distance show that the cumulative impact of woodland elements positively affects the ecological stability of the area, especially in the area of intensively cultivated fields, an element with a low degree of ecological stability. Using selected indicators of current landscape structure and biota helps to assess the overall ecological stability of the area, identify the most stable areas, as well as areas with the lowest ecological stability, where it is necessary to complete and design new elements of green infrastructure to increase the function of the ecological network

Wooded grasslands as part of the European agricultural heritage

Wooded grasslands have always played an important role in rural life with changing issues: They are of high importance for questions of biodiversity, soil, and water resources and in preserving agricultural heritage, but their maintenance is labor intensive. Abandoned wooded grasslands undergo succession, and food production alone does not support their survival. They require special attention and at the beginning a well-established subsidy system can help to contribute to their survival. Their sustainable use in the present-day landscapes can only be conceivable in complexity where food production, reintroduction of their cultural values, biodiversity and landscape protection, and ecotourism are playing an important role. This chapter gives an overview on the recent situation of wooded grasslands and their historical development, based on the work done by the Institute for Research on European Agricultural Landscapes (www.​eucalandnetwork.​eu). National pictures, definitions, history (including local names), threats, potentials, cultural values, spatial distributions, subtypes, and available databases have been collected, described, and analyzed. The main results of this survey are as follows: (1) Wooded grasslands are known to the public but mainly to local communities where they occur; (2) Many subtypes of wooded grasslands exist in various European countries; (3) Wooded grasslands underwent tremendous changes during the past centuries and lost their importance for various reasons; (4) There are many local and regional projects focusing on wooded grasslands, often as “lighthouse” projects to valorise cultural achievements

Wooded grasslands as part of the European agricultural heritage

Wooded grasslands have always played an important role in rural life with changing issues: They are of high importance for questions of biodiversity, soil, and water resources and in preserving agricultural heritage, but their maintenance is labor intensive. Abandoned wooded grasslands undergo succession, and food production alone does not support their survival. They require special attention and at the beginning a well-established subsidy system can help to contribute to their survival. Their sustainable use in the present-day landscapes can only be conceivable in complexity where food production, reintroduction of their cultural values, biodiversity and landscape protection, and ecotourism are playing an important role. This chapter gives an overview on the recent situation of wooded grasslands and their historical development, based on the work done by the Institute for Research on European Agricultural Landscapes (www.​eucalandnetwork.​eu). National pictures, definitions, history (including local names), threats, potentials, cultural values, spatial distributions, subtypes, and available databases have been collected, described, and analyzed. The main results of this survey are as follows: (1) Wooded grasslands are known to the public but mainly to local communities where they occur; (2) Many subtypes of wooded grasslands exist in various European countries; (3) Wooded grasslands underwent tremendous changes during the past centuries and lost their importance for various reasons; (4) There are many local and regional projects focusing on wooded grasslands, often as “lighthouse” projects to valorise cultural achievements

Monitoring quality and coverage of harm reduction services for people who use drugs: A consensus study

Background and aims: Despite advances in our knowledge of effective services for people who use drugs over the last decades globally, coverage remains poor in most countries, while quality is often unknown. This paper aims to discuss the historical development of successful epidemiological indicators and to present a framework for extending them with additional indicators of coverage and quality of harm reduction services, for monitoring and evaluation at international, national or subnational levels. The ultimate aim is to improve these services in order to reduce health and social problems among people who use drugs, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, crime and legal problems, overdose (death) and other morbidity and mortality. Methods and results: The framework was developed collaboratively using consensus methods involving nominal group meetings, review of existing quality standards, repeated email commenting rounds and qualitative analysis of opinions/experiences from a broad range of professionals/experts, including members of civil society and organisations representing people who use drugs. Twelve priority candidate indicators are proposed for opioid agonist therapy (OAT), needle and syringe programmes (NSP) and generic cross-cutting aspects of harm reduction (and potentially other drug) services. Under the specific OAT indicators, priority indicators included 'coverage', 'waiting list time', 'dosage' and 'availability in prisons'. For the specific NSP indicators, the priority indicators included 'coverage', 'number of needles/syringes distributed/collected', 'provision of other drug use paraphernalia' and 'availability in prisons'. Among the generic or cross-cutting indicators the priority indicators were 'infectious diseases counselling and care', 'take away naloxone', 'information on safe use/sex' and 'condoms'. We discuss conditions for the successful development of the suggested indicators and constraints (e.g. funding, ideology). We propose conducting a pilot study to test the feasibility and applicability of the proposed indicators before their scaling up and routine implementation, to evaluate their effectiveness in comparing service coverage and quality across countries. Conclusions: The establishment of an improved set of validated and internationally agreed upon best practice indicators for monitoring harm reduction service will provide a structural basis for public health and epidemiological studies and support evidence and human rights-based health policies, services and interventions. © 2017 The Author(s)