Ecological barriers mediate spatiotemporal shifts of bird communities at a continental scale

This study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant P2BEP3_195232) and by the Academy of Finland (project 323527 and project 329251).Species' range shifts and local extinctions caused by climate change lead to community composition changes. At large spatial scales, ecological barriers, such as biome boundaries, coastlines, and elevation, can influence a community's ability to shift in response to climate change. Yet, ecological barriers are rarely considered in climate change studies, potentially hindering predictions of biodiversity shifts. We used data from two consecutive European breeding bird atlases to calculate the geographic distance and direction between communities in the 1980s and their compositional best match in the 2010s and modeled their response to barriers. The ecological barriers affected both the distance and direction of bird community composition shifts, with coastlines and elevation having the strongest influence. Our results underscore the relevance of combining ecological barriers and community shift projections for identifying the forces hindering community adjustments under global change. Notably, due to (macro)ecological barriers, communities are not able to track their climatic niches, which may lead to drastic changes, and potential losses, in community compositions in the future.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Localizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Through Co-creation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS): Towards an Assessment Framework for Local Governments

This chapter discusses the role of co-creation processes related to Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It investigates the triangulation of NBS, co-creation and the SDGs from the lessons learned in NBS Horizon 2020-funded project CLEVER Cities (See https://clevercities.eu/) with the aim to shed light on the role of co-creation pathways in achieving multiple co-benefits produced by NBS through the lens of the SDGs. This entry is divided in three main parts, discussing: (1) how NBS contribute to achieving the SDGs, (2) ways to deploy co-creation of NBS in Urban Living Labs (ULLs), (3) how co-creation on the local level can help achieve the SDGs (through macro categories of analysis and micro-level indicators). In this chapter, the importance of generating a common technical language around co-creation processes in NBS-related Horizon 2020 projects is discussed, and moreover, the need for a common comprehensive understanding of co-creation methodologies and tools that are widely used and spread across NBS implementation experiences. Recent experience with inclusive processes for co-creation of NBS provides evidence in supporting the achievement of SDGs. Nevertheless, an overall framework that triangulates NBS, co-creation methodologies, and the SDGs is still lacking on the practical level. Finally, this entry concludes that NBS co-creation processes could benefit from embedding SDGs as integral part of their methodological framework. Aligning with universally recognized targets and speaking a common language, i.e., 2030 Agenda, would help to break silos in local authorities’ agendas and boost alliances and partnerships, leading to societal transformative change

Mainstreaming climate adaptation : taking stock about “what works” from empirical research worldwide

Adaptation to a changing climate is unavoidable. Mainstreaming climate adaptation objectives into existing policies, as opposed to developing dedicated adaptation policy, is widely advocated for public action. However, knowledge on what makes mainstreaming effective is scarce and fragmented. Against this background, this paper takes stock of peer-reviewed empirical analyses of climate adaptation mainstreaming, in order to assess current achievements and identify the critical factors that render mainstreaming effective. The results show that although in most cases adaptation policy outputs are identified, only in a minority of cases this translates into policy outcomes. This “implementation gap” is most strongly seen in developing countries. However, when it comes to the effectiveness of outcomes, we found no difference across countries. We conclude that more explicit definitions and unified frameworks for adaptation mainstreaming research are required to allow for future research syntheses and well-informed policy recommendations

Green balance in urban areas as an indicator for policy support: a multi-level application

Green spaces are increasingly recognised as key elements in enhancing urban resilience as they provide several ecosystem services. Therefore, their implementation and monitoring in cities are crucial to meet sustainability targets.In this paper, we provide a methodology to compute an indicator that assesses changes in vegetation cover within Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI). Such an indicator is adopted as one of the indicators for reporting on the key area “nature and biodiversity” in the Green City Accord (GCA).In the first section, the key steps to derive the indicator are described and a script, which computes the trends in vegetation cover using Google Earth Engine (GEE), is provided.The second section describes the application of the indicator in a multi-scale, policy-orientated perspective. The analysis has been carried out in 696 European Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), considering changes in vegetation cover inside UGI between 1996 and 2018. Results were analysed for the EU and the United Kingdom. The Municipality of Padua (Italy) is used as a case study to illustrate the results at the local level.Over the last 22 years, a slight upward trend characterised the vegetation growth within UGI in European FUAs. Within core cities and densily built-upcommuting zones, the trend was stable; in non-densely built-up areas, an upward trend was recorded. Vegetation cover in UGI has been relatively stable in European cities. However, a negative balance between abrupt changes in greening and browning has been recorded, affecting most parts of European cities (75% of core cities and 77% of commuting zones in densely built-up areas). This still indicates ongoing land take with no compensation of green spaces that are lost to artificial areas.Focusing on the FUA of Padua, a downward trend was observed in 33.3% and 12.9% of UGI in densely built-up and not-densely built-up areas, respectively. Within the FUA of Padua, most municipalities are characterised by a negative balance between abrupt greening and browning, both in non-densely built-up and densely built-up areas.This approach complements traditional metrics, such as the extent of UGI or tree canopy cover, by providing a valuable measure of condition of urban ecosystems and an instrument to monitor the impact of land take

Green balance in urban areas as an indicator for policy support: a multi-level application

Green spaces are increasingly recognised as key elements in enhancing urban resilience as they provide several ecosystem services. Therefore, their implementation and monitoring in cities are crucial to meet sustainability targets.In this paper, we provide a methodology to compute an indicator that assesses changes in vegetation cover within Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI). Such an indicator is adopted as one of the indicators for reporting on the key area “nature and biodiversity” in the Green City Accord (GCA).In the first section, the key steps to derive the indicator are described and a script, which computes the trends in vegetation cover using Google Earth Engine (GEE), is provided.The second section describes the application of the indicator in a multi-scale, policy-orientated perspective. The analysis has been carried out in 696 European Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), considering changes in vegetation cover inside UGI between 1996 and 2018. Results were analysed for the EU and the United Kingdom. The Municipality of Padua (Italy) is used as a case study to illustrate the results at the local level.Over the last 22 years, a slight upward trend characterised the vegetation growth within UGI in European FUAs. Within core cities and densily built-upcommuting zones, the trend was stable; in non-densely built-up areas, an upward trend was recorded. Vegetation cover in UGI has been relatively stable in European cities. However, a negative balance between abrupt changes in greening and browning has been recorded, affecting most parts of European cities (75% of core cities and 77% of commuting zones in densely built-up areas). This still indicates ongoing land take with no compensation of green spaces that are lost to artificial areas.Focusing on the FUA of Padua, a downward trend was observed in 33.3% and 12.9% of UGI in densely built-up and not-densely built-up areas, respectively. Within the FUA of Padua, most municipalities are characterised by a negative balance between abrupt greening and browning, both in non-densely built-up and densely built-up areas.This approach complements traditional metrics, such as the extent of UGI or tree canopy cover, by providing a valuable measure of condition of urban ecosystems and an instrument to monitor the impact of land take

Angiomatöses fibröses Histiozytom - Fallserie mit Schwerpunkt auf der späten fibrotischen Variante

Das angiomatöse fibröse Histiozytom (AFH) ist eine seltene, geringgradig maligne, subkutane Neoplasie bei Kindern oder jungen Erwachsenen.status: publishe