Carbon debt : inzichtelijk maken van maatschappelijke risico's van het opnemen van carbon debt vereisten

In het Energieakkoord is afgesproken dat meestook van biomassa in kolencentrales niet meer wordt dan 25 PetaJoule. Als onderdeel van de totale biomassa is zo’n 3,5 miljoen ton hout nodig. De mee te stoken biomassa zal aanvullend op de NTA8080-eisen moeten voldoen aan ‘duurzaamheidseisen voor koolstofschuld, indirecte landgebruikseffecten (ILUC) en duurzaam bosbeheer (FSC)’. In dit rapport wordt verkend, in hoeverre de duurzaamheidseisen genoemd in het Energieakkoord, risico’s op een carbon debt al uitsluiten en welke biomassa-stromen additioneel uitgesloten worden door een carbon debt eis. Ook zijn mogelijke procesrisico’s geïdentificeerd die discussie over carbon debt kan opleveren voor de verdere uitwerking van de afspraken uit het Energieakkoord

Greenhouse gas reporting for the LULUCF sector in the Netherlands : methodological background, update 2016

This report provides a complete methodological description and background information of the DutchNational System for Greenhouse gas Reporting of the LULUCF sector. It provides detailed description of themethodologies, activity data and emission factors that were used. Additionally it gives a table-by-tableelaboration of the choices and motivations for filling the CRF tables for KP-LULUC

Early life antibiotic exposure is associated with an increased risk of atopic eczema and hay fever

Background: Several studies suggested that early life exposure to antibiotics is associated with an increased risk of developing allergies later in life, but results are inconsistent. In this study we aimed to systematically review and quantify the relationship between early life exposure to antibiotics and the risk of atopic eczema (dermatitis) or hay fever (allergic rhinitis). Method: PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for observational studies published from January 1966 through November 11, 2015. Studies were included that assessed the association between antibiotic consumption during the first 2 years of life and the risk of eczema or hay fever later in life. Separate metaanalyses were performed to assess the risk estimates for cohort studies, cross sectional studies and case control studies. Furthermore, in subgroup analyses the effect of child's age at the time of antibiotic use/diagnosis of allergies, and the number of courses of antibiotic treatments have been analyzed. Overall pooled estimates of the odds ratios (ORs) were obtained using fixed or random-effects models. Results: Twenty-two studies (including 394 517 patients) were selected to study the risk of eczema and 23 studies (including 256 609 patients) to study the risk of hay fever. In all separate meta-analyses of the distinct study designs, those who were exposed to antibiotics early in life were found to have a statistically significantly increased risk of eczema and hay fever. The summary OR for risk of eczema were 1.24 (95% CI, 1.09-1.41; I2: 60.0%) in the meta-analyses of the cohort studies (n = 50 824); 1.41 (95% CI, 1.33-1.49; I2: 0.0%) in the cross sectional studies (n = 217 752), and 1.15 (95% CI, 1.01- 1.42; I2: 79.5%) in the case control studies (n = 125 941). The summary OR for risk of hay fever were 1.18 (95% CI, 1.01-1.37; I2: 74.3%) in the cohort studies (n = 46 540); 1.56 (95% CI, 1.29-1.90; I2: 63.6%) in cross sectional studies (n = 27 608), and 1.14 (95% CI, 1.04-1.26; I2: 64.8%) in the case control studies (n = 182 461). In subgroup analyses, there was no statistically significant effect of the child's age at time of antibiotic use as well as the time of allergy diagnosis on these associations. The association was stronger if patients had been treated with ≥2 courses compared with one course of antibiotics both for eczema and for hay fever. Conclusion: Early life exposure to antibiotics is related to an increased risk of both atopic eczema and hay fever later in life

Greenhouse gas reporting of the LULUCF sector in the Netherlands : Methodological background, update 2019

This report provides a complete methodological description and background information of the Dutch National System for Greenhouse Gas Reporting of the LULUCF sector. It provides detailed description of the methodologies, activity data and emission factors that were used. Each of the reporting categories Forest Land, Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands, Settlements, Other land and Harvested Wood Products are described in a separate chapter. Additionally it gives a table-by-table elaboration of the choices and motivations for filling the CRF tables for KP-LULUCF

Relationships between Specific Airway Resistance and Forced Expiratory Flows in Asthmatic Children

. The first aim was to assess the relationships between forced expiratory flows and sRaw in a large group of asthmatic children in a transversal study. We then performed a longitudinal study in order to determine whether sRaw of preschool children could predict subsequent impairment of forced expiratory flows at school age.Pulmonary function tests (sRaw and forced expiratory flows) of 2193 asthmatic children were selected for a transversal analysis, while 365 children were retrospectively selected for longitudinal assessment from preschool to school age. (% predicted) (−0.09, 95% CI, −0.20 to 0). and could be used in preschool children to predict subsequent mild airflow limitation

Species distribution modeling in the tropics: problems, potentialities, and the role of biological data for effective species conservation

In this paper we aim to investigate the problems and potentialities of species distribution modeling (SDM) as a tool for conservation planning and policy development and implementation in tropical regions. We reviewed 123 studies published between 1995 and 2007 in five of the leading journals in ecology and conservation, and examined two tropical case studies in which distribution modeling is currently being applied to support conservation planning. We also analyzed the characteristics of data typically used for fitting models within the specific context of modeling tree species distribution in Central America. The results showed that methodological papers outnumbered reports of SDMs being used in an applied context for setting conservation priorities, particularly in the tropics. Most applications of SDMs were in temperate regions and biased towards certain organisms such as mammals and birds. Studies from tropical regions were less likely to be validated than those from temperate regions. Unpublished data from two major tropical case studies showed that those species that are most in need of conservation actions, namely those that are the rarest or most threatened, are those for which SDM is least likely to be useful. We found that only 15% of the tree species of conservation concern in Central America could be reliably modelled using data from a substantial source (Missouri Botanical Garden VAST database). Lack of data limits model validation in tropical areas, further restricting the value of SDMs. We concluded that SDMs have a great potential to support biodiversity conservation in the tropics, by supporting the development of conservation strategies and plans, identifying knowledge gaps, and providing a tool to examine the potential impacts of environmental change. However, for this potential to be fully realized, problems of data quality and availability need to be overcome. Weaknesses in current biological datasets need to be systematically addressed, by increasing collection of field survey data, improving data sharing and increasing structural integration of data sources. This should include use of distributed databases with common standards, referential integrity, and rigorous quality control. Integration of data management with SDMs could significantly add value to existing data resources by improving data quality control and enabling knowledge gaps to be identified

A population-based nested case control study on recurrent pneumonias in children with severe generalized cerebral palsy: ethical considerations of the design and representativeness of the study sample

BACKGROUND: In children with severe generalized cerebral palsy, pneumonias are a major health issue. Malnutrition, dysphagia, gastro-oesophageal reflux, impaired respiratory function and constipation are hypothesized risk factors. Still, no data are available on the relative contribution of these possible risk factors in the described population. This paper describes the initiation of a study in 194 children with severe generalized cerebral palsy, on the prevalence and on the impact of these hypothesized risk factors of recurrent pneumonias. METHODS/DESIGN: A nested case-control design with 18 months follow-up was chosen. Dysphagia, respiratory function and constipation will be assessed at baseline, malnutrition and gastro-oesophageal reflux at the end of the follow-up. The study population consists of a representative population sample of children with severe generalized cerebral palsy. Inclusion was done through care-centres in a predefined geographical area and not through hospitals. All measurements will be done on-site which sets high demands on all measurements. If these demands were not met in "gold standard" methods, other methods were chosen. Although the inclusion period was prolonged, the desired sample size of 300 children was not met. With a consent rate of 33%, nearly 10% of all eligible children in The Netherlands are included (n = 194). The study population is subtly different from the non-participants with regard to severity of dysphagia and prevalence rates of pneumonias and gastro-oesophageal reflux. DISCUSSION: Ethical issues complicated the study design. Assessment of malnutrition and gastro-oesophageal reflux at baseline was considered unethical, since these conditions can be easily treated. Therefore, we postponed these diagnostics until the end of the follow-up. In order to include a representative sample, all eligible children in a predefined geographical area had to be contacted. To increase the consent rate, on-site measurements are of first choice, but timely inclusion is jeopardized. The initiation of this first study among children with severe neurological impairment led to specific, unexpected problems. Despite small differences between participants and non-participating children, our sample is as representative as can be expected from any population-based study and will provide important, new information to bring us further towards effective interventions to prevent pneumonias in this population

Height-diameter allometry of tropical forest trees

Copyright © 2011 European Geosciences Union. This is the published version available at http://www.biogeosciences.net/8/1081/2011/bg-8-1081-2011.html doi:10.5194/bg-8-1081-2011Tropical tree height-diameter (H:D) relationships may vary by forest type and region making large-scale estimates of above-ground biomass subject to bias if they ignore these differences in stem allometry. We have therefore developed a new global tropical forest database consisting of 39 955 concurrent H and D measurements encompassing 283 sites in 22 tropical countries. Utilising this database, our objectives were: 1. to determine if H:D relationships differ by geographic region and forest type (wet to dry forests, including zones of tension where forest and savanna overlap). 2. to ascertain if the H:D relationship is modulated by climate and/or forest structural characteristics (e.g. stand-level basal area, A). 3. to develop H:D allometric equations and evaluate biases to reduce error in future local-to-global estimates of tropical forest biomass. Annual precipitation coefficient of variation (PV), dry season length (SD), and mean annual air temperature (TA) emerged as key drivers of variation in H:D relationships at the pantropical and region scales. Vegetation structure also played a role with trees in forests of a high A being, on average, taller at any given D. After the effects of environment and forest structure are taken into account, two main regional groups can be identified. Forests in Asia, Africa and the Guyana Shield all have, on average, similar H:D relationships, but with trees in the forests of much of the Amazon Basin and tropical Australia typically being shorter at any given D than their counterparts elsewhere. The region-environment-structure model with the lowest Akaike's information criterion and lowest deviation estimated stand-level H across all plots to within amedian −2.7 to 0.9% of the true value. Some of the plot-to-plot variability in H:D relationships not accounted for by this model could be attributed to variations in soil physical conditions. Other things being equal, trees tend to be more slender in the absence of soil physical constraints, especially at smaller D. Pantropical and continental-level models provided less robust estimates of H, especially when the roles of climate and stand structure in modulating H:D allometry were not simultaneously taken into account

Phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian tree communities

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Honorio Coronado, E. N., Dexter, K. G., Pennington, R. T., Chave, J., Lewis, S. L., Alexiades, M. N., Alvarez, E., Alves de Oliveira, A., Amaral, I. L., Araujo-Murakami, A., Arets, E. J. M. M., Aymard, G. A., Baraloto, C., Bonal, D., Brienen, R., Cerón, C., Cornejo Valverde, F., Di Fiore, A., Farfan-Rios, W., Feldpausch, T. R., Higuchi, N., Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, I., Laurance, S. G., Laurance, W. F., López-Gonzalez, G., Marimon, B. S., Marimon-Junior, B. H., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Neill, D., Palacios Cuenca, W., Peñuela Mora, M. C., Pitman, N. C. A., Prieto, A., Quesada, C. A., Ramirez Angulo, H., Rudas, A., Ruschel, A. R., Salinas Revilla, N., Salomão, R. P., Segalin de Andrade, A., Silman, M. R., Spironello, W., ter Steege, H., Terborgh, J., Toledo, M., Valenzuela Gamarra, L., Vieira, I. C. G., Vilanova Torre, E., Vos, V., Phillips, O. L. (2015), Phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian tree communities. Diversity and Distributions, 21: 1295–1307. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12357, which has been published in final form at 10.1111/ddi.12357Aim: To examine variation in the phylogenetic diversity (PD) of tree communities across geographical and environmental gradients in Amazonia. Location: Two hundred and eighty-three c. 1 ha forest inventory plots from across Amazonia. Methods: We evaluated PD as the total phylogenetic branch length across species in each plot (PDss), the mean pairwise phylogenetic distance between species (MPD), the mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) and their equivalents standardized for species richness (ses.PDss, ses.MPD, ses.MNTD). We compared PD of tree communities growing (1) on substrates of varying geological age; and (2) in environments with varying ecophysiological barriers to growth and survival. Results: PDss is strongly positively correlated with species richness (SR), whereas MNTD has a negative correlation. Communities on geologically young- and intermediate-aged substrates (western and central Amazonia respectively) have the highest SR, and therefore the highest PDss and the lowest MNTD. We find that the youngest and oldest substrates (the latter on the Brazilian and Guiana Shields) have the highest ses.PDss and ses.MNTD. MPD and ses.MPD are strongly correlated with how evenly taxa are distributed among the three principal angiosperm clades and are both highest in western Amazonia. Meanwhile, seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) and forests on white sands have low PD, as evaluated by any metric. Main conclusions: High ses.PDss and ses.MNTD reflect greater lineage diversity in communities. We suggest that high ses.PDss and ses.MNTD in western Amazonia results from its favourable, easy-to-colonize environment, whereas high values in the Brazilian and Guianan Shields may be due to accumulation of lineages over a longer period of time. White-sand forests and SDTF are dominated by close relatives from fewer lineages, perhaps reflecting ecophysiological barriers that are difficult to surmount evolutionarily. Because MPD and ses.MPD do not reflect lineage diversity per se, we suggest that PDss, ses.PDss and ses.MNTD may be the most useful diversity metrics for setting large-scale conservation priorities.FINCyT - PhD studentshipSchool of Geography of the University of LeedsRoyal Botanic Garden EdinburghNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationEuropean Union's Seventh Framework ProgrammeERCCNPq/PELDNSF - Fellowshi