The causal impact of economic growth on material use in Europe

Several scholars and policy-makers have claimed that Europe, and Western Europe in particular, has managed to ‘decouple’ economic growth from material use. We identify and address one major limitation in the existing literature – failure to take the endogeneity of economic growth into account. Based on a panel data-set of 32 European countries from 2000 to 2014, we estimate the causal impact of gross domestic product (GDP) on domestic material consumption (DMC) applying an instrumental variable approach. We use the number of storm occurrences as an instrument for GDP, which we show is both relevant and valid. Our results provide new evidence that increasing the GDP growth rate causes the DMC growth rate to increase for Western Europe, whereas the effect is insignificant for the Eastern European economies and Europe as a whole. As our results partly question current wisdom on the achievements of ‘decoupling’, especially among European policy-makers, we offer two explanations that are consistent with these results

Towards a sustainable hydrogen economy: Optimisation-based framework for hydrogen infrastructure development

This work studies the development of a sustainable hydrogen infrastructure that supports the transition towards a low-carbon transport system in the United Kingdom (UK). The future hydrogen demand is forecasted over time using a logistic diffusion model, which reaches 50% of the market share by 2070. The problem is solved using an extension of SHIPMod, an optimisation-based framework that consists of a multi-period spatially-explicit mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation. The optimisation model combines the infrastructure elements required throughout the different phases of the transition, namely economies of scale, road and pipeline transportation modes and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, in order to minimise the present value of the total infrastructure cost using a discounted cash-flow analysis. The results show that the combination of all these elements in the mathematical formulation renders optimal solutions with the gradual infrastructure investments over time required for the transition towards a sustainable hydrogen economy

Honeybee-collected pollen for human consumption: impact of post-harvest conditioning on the microbiota

Bee pollen is gaining attention as functional food for human consumption. However, scanty information is available on the effects of post-harvest conditioning methods on microbial populations associated to bee pollen. Here, we assessed the microbiological quality and safety of bee-collected chestnut and willow pollen processed by different treatments, such as conventional, freeze- and microwave-assisted drying. Conventional drying of chestnut pollen significantly reduced the abundance of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and the contamination by enterobacteria and yeasts. No impact of freeze-drying and microwave-assisted conditioning was found on hygiene indicators. In chestnut pollen, microwave-assisted drying effectively reduced aerobic sporeforming bacteria, while all conditioning treatments strongly decreased coagulase-positive staphylococci. None of the conditioning methods allowed the reduction of moulds contamination and the abundance of sulphite-reducing clostridia. Our findings stress the importance of studying the microbiota of bee-collected pollen for human consumption, in order to process safe pollen with high microbiological quality

Species diversity and community composition of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in apple roots are affected by site and orchard management

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial microrganisms which establish mutualistic symbioses with the roots of most food crops, improving plant performance, nutrient uptake and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A better understanding of the factors affecting AMF occurrence and diversity is fundamental to implement sustainable agricultural managements effectively profiting from beneficial plant symbionts. Here, we investigated AMF occurrence, diversity and community composition in the roots of apple trees from 21 orchards in South Tyrol, as affected by location, management (organic vs integrated) and altitude, by PCR cloning and sequencing and PCR-DGGE of partial 18S rRNA gene. The screening of 448 clones from 21 clone libraries allowed the identification of 6 native AMF at the species level: Glomus indicum, Sclerocystis sinuosa, Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizoglomus irregulare, Septoglomus constrictus and Claroideoglomus lamellosum. The most abundant genera were represented by Glomus (29.7% of the sequences), Paraglomus (19.4%), Claroideoglomus (17.2%), Sclerocystis (16.1%) and Rhizoglomus (12.3%). Septoglomus, Diversispora and Funneliformis sequences corresponded to less than 4% of total sequences. Although the degree of root colonization was unaffected by treatments, ANOSIM analysis of PCR-DGGE clusters revealed significant differences in apple root AMF diversity between sites and agricultural managements. Species richness was significantly higher in organically managed orchards than in integrated ones. Our findings provide insights into important factors affecting native AMF communities of apple trees, which could be exploited in sustainable fruit production systems, where beneficial soil biota boost biogeochemical cycles, energy fluxes and crop productivity

Protective green cover enhances soil respiration and native mycorrhizal potential compared with soil tillage in a high-density olive orchard in a long term study

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), living in symbiosis with most food crops, improve plant growth and nutrition and provide fundamental ecosystem services. Here, the possibility of increasing root density and native AMF activity through appropriate soil management practices was investigated, comparing the long-term (10 years) effects of a permanent green cover (GC) with shallow tillage (ST) in a high-density olive orchard in a Mediterranean environment. Olive root density, AMF colonization, and soil mycorrhizal inoculum potential (MIP) were determined after trench excavations at different soil depths. Soil respiration was determined by infra-red gas analysis. The activity of native AMF, as assessed by MIP bioassay, was higher in GC plots than in ST ones. Olive roots were well colonized by AMF in both management systems. Soil respiration rates of GC plots were often higher than those of ST, whereas soil moisture and temperature in the topsoil were similar in both treatments. Soil depth significantly affected root density, which peaked at 0.2 m soil depth in both soil treatments. The maintenance of a permanent plant cover appears to be a better option than shallow tillage as a soil management practice to preserve biological soil fertility in olive orchards

Brettanomyces bruxellensis yeasts: impact on wine and winemaking

Yeasts belonging to the Brettanomyces/Dekkera genus are non-conventional yeasts, which affect winemaking by causing wine spoilage all over the world. This mini-review focuses on recent results concerning the presence of Brettanomyces bruxellensis throughout the wine processing chain. Here, culture-dependent and independent methods to detect this yeast on grapes and at the very early stage of wine production are encompassed. Chemical, physical and biological tools, devised for the prevention and control of such a detrimental species during winemaking are also presented. Finally, the mini-review identifies future research areas relevant to the improvement of wine safety and sensory profiles