The impact of changing agricultural policies on jointly used rough pastures in the Bavarian Pre-Alps - an economic and ecological scenario approach

The following paper assesses the impact of different policy options on the land use and associated biodiversity values of jointly organized low intensity grazing systems (‘Allmende’) in Southern Bavaria. We use an integrated economic and ecological modelling approach to compare the results of the scenarios with a reference situation that reflects the Common Agricultural Policy prior to the Fischler Reform. The economic sub model is based on single farms which alter their land use in response to economic stimuli. Within the economic part, key factors like the farm’s endowment with machinery, quota and buildings but also the farmer’s attitude are regarded. Within the rule based ecological sub model we analyze three main parameters: (a) protected habitats according to the EC Habitats Directive, (b) biodiversity for selected taxonomic groups (plants, lichens, ground beetles) and (c) habitat quality of selected target species (plants, butterflies). An overall evaluation of the scenarios leads to the conclusion that the impact of the Fischler reform will be fairly limited in the study area, since at the observed level of intensity the lower product prices will be compensated by higher direct payments. If all payments were strictly targeted to agri-environmental measures and set to a level which guarantees a low input management of the grass land, the overall public expenses could be reduced by approx. 100 to 200 € ha-1. In addition this setting will provide additional habitats for the target species. However, the number of agricultural employment opportunities and the agricultural value added decline severely. Regarding all indicators but the extent of protected habitats and the public costs, a scenario of complete market liberalization performs the worst

The impact of changing agricultural policies on jointly used rough pastures in the Bavarian Pre-Alps: An economic and ecological scenario approach

The paper assesses the impact of different policy options on the land use and associated biodiversity values of jointly organised low-intensity grazing systems ('Allmende') in Bavaria. We use an integrated economic and ecological modelling approach to compare three scenarios with the situation in 2003/05. We base the economic sub-model on single farms, which alter their land use in response to economic stimuli. Within the economic part, factors like the farm's endowment with machinery and quota are regarded. Within the rule-based ecological sub-model we analyse: area of protected habitats according to the EC Habitats Directive; biodiversity for selected taxonomic groups and habitat quality for different target species. An overall evaluation of the scenarios indicates that decoupling has a limited effect, because higher direct payments compensate the effect of lower product prices. If all payments are strictly targeted to agri-environmental measures and set to a level which guarantees a low-input management of the grassland, the public costs could be reduced and additional habitats for the target species could be provided. Regarding all indicators but the extent of protected habitats and the public costs, a scenario with a cessation of public payments and market liberalisation performs the worst.Agriculture CAP Decoupling Biodiversity EC Habitats Directive Agent-based modelling

The impact of changing agricultural policies on jointly used rough pastures in the Bavarian Pre-Alps - an economic and ecological scenario approach

The following paper assesses the impact of different policy options on the land use and associated biodiversity values of jointly organized low intensity grazing systems (‘Allmende’) in Southern Bavaria. We use an integrated economic and ecological modelling approach to compare the results of the scenarios with a reference situation that reflects the Common Agricultural Policy prior to the Fischler Reform. The economic sub model is based on single farms which alter their land use in response to economic stimuli. Within the economic part, key factors like the farm’s endowment with machinery, quota and buildings but also the farmer’s attitude are regarded. Within the rule based ecological sub model we analyze three main parameters: (a) protected habitats according to the EC Habitats Directive, (b) biodiversity for selected taxonomic groups (plants, lichens, ground beetles) and (c) habitat quality of selected target species (plants, butterflies). An overall evaluation of the scenarios leads to the conclusion that the impact of the Fischler reform will be fairly limited in the study area, since at the observed level of intensity the lower product prices will be compensated by higher direct payments. If all payments were strictly targeted to agri-environmental measures and set to a level which guarantees a low input management of the grass land, the overall public expenses could be reduced by approx. 100 to 200 € ha-1. In addition this setting will provide additional habitats for the target species. However, the number of agricultural employment opportunities and the agricultural value added decline severely. Regarding all indicators but the extent of protected habitats and the public costs, a scenario of complete market liberalization performs the worst.CAP, agent based modelling, BioAssess, impact assessment, biodiversity, agriculture, target species, EC Habitats Directive, Land Economics/Use, Q18, Q57,

Don’t Shut the Stable Door after the Phage Has Bolted—The Importance of Bacteriophage Inactivation in Food Environments

In recent years, a new potential measure against foodborne pathogenic bacteria was rediscovered—bacteriophages. However, despite all their advantages, in connection to their widespread application in the food industry, negative consequences such as an uncontrolled phage spread as well as a development of phage resistant bacteria can occur. These problems are mostly a result of long-term persistence of phages in the food production environment. As this topic has been neglected so far, this article reviews the current knowledge regarding the effectiveness of disinfectant strategies for phage inactivation and removal. For this purpose, the main commercial phage products, as well as their application fields are first discussed in terms of applicable inactivation strategies and legal regulations. Secondly, an overview of the effectiveness of disinfectants for bacteriophage inactivation in general and commercial phages in particular is given. Finally, this review outlines a possible strategy for users of commercial phage products in order to improve the effectiveness of phage inactivation and removal after application

Skin biomarkers predict development of atopic dermatitis in infancy

Background: There is currently no insight into biomarkers that can predict the onset of pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD). Methods: Nested in a prospective birth cohort study that examined the occurrence of physician-diagnosed AD in 300 children, 44 random children with onset of AD in the first year of life were matched on sex and season of birth with 44 children who did not develop AD. Natural moisturizing factor (NMF), corneocyte surface protrusions, cytokines, free sphingoid bases (SBs) of different chain lengths and their ceramides were analyzed from tape strips collected at 2 months of age before onset of AD using liquid chromatography, atomic force microscopy, multiplex immunoassay, and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, respectively. Results: Significant alterations were observed for four lipid markers, with phytosphingosine ([P]) levels being significantly lower in children who developed AD compared with children who did not (median 240 pmol/mg vs. 540 pmol/mg, p < 0.001). The two groups of children differed in the relative amounts of SB of different chain lengths (C17, C18 and C20). Thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) was slightly higher in children who developed AD, whereas NMF and corneocyte surface texture were similar. AD severity assessed by the eczema area and severity index (EASI) at disease onset was 4.2 (2.0;7.2). [P] had the highest prediction accuracy among the biomarkers (75.6%), whereas the combination of 5 lipid ratios gave an accuracy of 89.4%. Conclusion: This study showed that levels and SB chain length were altered in infants who later developed AD, and that TARC/CCL17 levels were higher

Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover

International audienceThe second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and chemical biosignatures (as well as abiotic/prebiotic organics). The mission will deliver a lander with instruments for atmospheric and geophysical investigations and a rover tasked with searching for signs of extinct life. The ExoMars rover will be equipped with a drill to collect material from outcrops and at depth down to 2 m. This subsurface sampling capability will provide the best chance yet to gain access to chemical biosignatures. Using the powerful Pasteur payload instruments, the ExoMars science team will conduct a holistic search for traces of life and seek corroborating geological context informatio