Efficiency comparison of three attractant products against webbing clothes moth Tineola bisselliella (Hummel) (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) using an adapted four arms olfactometer

Contribution to section 2: Biology, behaviour and detectio

Tamm Review: Observed and projected climate change impacts on Russia's forests and its carbon balance

Russia's boreal forests provide numerous important ecosystem functions and services, but they are being increasingly affected by climate change. This review presents an overview of observed and potential future climate change impacts on those forests with an emphasis on their aggregate carbon balance and processes driving changes therein. We summarize recent findings highlighting that radiation increases, temperature-driven longer growing seasons and increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations generally enhance vegetation productivity, while heat waves and droughts tend to decrease it. Estimates of major carbon fluxes such as net biome production agree that the Russian forests as a whole currently act as a carbon sink, but these estimates differ in terms of the magnitude of the sink due to different methods and time periods used. Moreover, models project substantial distributional shifts of forest biomes, but they may overestimate the extent to which the boreal forest will shift poleward as past migration rates have been slow. While other impacts of current climate change are already substantial, and projected impacts could be both large-scale and disastrous, the likelihood for (climate-driven) disturbances such as fires and insect outbreaks, which are expected to increase in the future. We conclude that the mpacts of climate change on Russia's boreal forest are often superimposed by other environmental and societal changes in a complex way, and the interaction of these developments could exacerbate both existing and projected future challenges. Hence, development of adaptation and mitigation strategies for Russia's forests is strongly advised

Inconsistent recognition of uncertainty in studies of climate change impacts on forests

Petr, M., Vacchiano, G., Thom, D., Mairota, P., Kautz, M., Gonçalves, L. M. D. S., ... Reyer, C. P. O. (2019). Inconsistent recognition of uncertainty in studies of climate change impacts on forests. Environmental Research Letters, 14(11), 1-13. [113003]. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab4670Background. Uncertainty about climate change impacts on forests can hinder mitigation and adaptation actions. Scientific enquiry typically involves assessments of uncertainties, yet different uncertainty components emerge in different studies. Consequently, inconsistent understanding of uncertainty among different climate impact studies (from the impact analysis to implementing solutions) can be an additional reason for delaying action. In this review we (a) expanded existing uncertainty assessment frameworks into one harmonised framework for characterizing uncertainty, (b) used this framework to identify and classify uncertainties in climate change impacts studies on forests, and (c) summarised the uncertainty assessment methods applied in those studies. Methods. We systematically reviewed climate change impact studies published between 1994 and 2016. We separated these studies into those generating information about climate change impacts on forests using models -'modelling studies', and those that used this information to design management actions-'decision-making studies'. We classified uncertainty across three dimensions: nature, level, and location, which can be further categorised into specific uncertainty types. Results. We found that different uncertainties prevail in modelling versus decision-making studies. Epistemic uncertainty is the most common nature of uncertainty covered by both types of studies, whereas ambiguity plays a pronounced role only in decision-making studies. Modelling studies equally investigate all levels of uncertainty, whereas decision-making studies mainly address scenario uncertainty and recognised ignorance. Finally, the main location of uncertainty for both modelling and decision-making studies is within the driving forces-representing, e.g. socioeconomic or policy changes. The most frequently used methods to assess uncertainty are expert elicitation, sensitivity and scenario analysis, but a full suite of methods exists that seems currently underutilized. Discussion & Synthesis. The misalignment of uncertainty types addressed by modelling and decision-making studies may complicate adaptation actions early in the implementation pathway. Furthermore, these differences can be a potential barrier for communicating research findings to decision-makers.publishersversionpublishe

Understanding the Polymerization of Polyfurfuryl Alcohol: Ring Opening and Diels-Alder Reactions

Polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) is one of the most intriguing polymers because, despite its easy polymerization in acid environment, its molecular structure is definitely not obvious. Many studies have been performed in recent decades, and every time, surprising aspects came out. With the present study, we aim to take advantage of all of the findings of previous investigations and exploit them for the interpretation of the completely cured PFA spectra registered with three of the most powerful techniques for the characterization of solid, insoluble polymers: Solid-State 13C-NMR, Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-resonant Raman spectroscopy at different excitation wavelengths, using both an UV laser source and UV synchrotron radiation. In addition, the foreseen structures were modeled and the corresponding 13C-NMR and FTIR spectra were simulated with first-principles and semi-empiric methods to evaluate their matching with experimental ones. Thanks to this multi-technique approach, based on complementary analytical tools and computational support, it was possible to conclude that, in addition to the major linear unconjugated polymerization, the PFA structure consists of Diels-Alder rearrangements occurring after the opening of some furanic units, while the terminal moieties of the chain involves \u3b3-lactone arrangements. The occurrence of head-head methylene ether bridges and free hydroxyl groups (from unreacted furfuryl alcohol, FA, or terminal chains) could be excluded, while the conjugated systems could be considered rather limited

Alternative forest management strategies to account for climate change-induced productivity and species suitability changes in Europe

We present for the first time a study on alternative forest management at the European scale to account for climate change impacts. We combine insights into detailed studies at high resolution with the actual status of the forest and a realistic estimate of the current management practices at large scale. Results show that the European forest system is very inert and that it takes a long time to influence the species distribution by replacing species after final felling. By 2070, on average about 36 % of the area expected to have decreased species suitability will have changed species following business as usual management. Alternative management, consisting of shorter rotations for those species and species planting based on expected trends, will have increased this species transition to 40 %. The simulated forward-looking alternative management leads to some reduction in increment, but does not influence the amount of wood removed from the forest. Northern Europe is projected to show the highest production increases under climate change and can also adapt faster to the new (proposed) species distribution. Southwest Europe is expected to face the greatest challenge by a combination of a predicted loss of production and a slow rate of management alteration under climate change

Forest carbon allocation modelling under climate change

Carbon allocation plays a key role in ecosystem dynamics and plant adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Hence, proper description of this process in dynamic vegetation models is crucial for the simulations of the impact of climate change on carbon cycling in forests. Here we review how carbon allocation modelling is implemented in 31 dynamic vegetation models to identify the main gaps compared to our theoretical and empirical understanding of carbon allocation. We found that a hybrid approach based on combining several principles and/or types of carbon allocation modelling prevailed in examined models. The analysis revealed that although the number of carbon allocation studies over the last 10 years has substantially increased, some background processes are still insufficiently understood, and some issues in models are frequently oversimplified or even omitted. Hence, current challenges for carbon allocation modelling in forest ecosystems are (i) to overcome remaining limits in process understanding, particularly regarding the impact of disturbances on carbon allocation, accumulation and utilisation of non-structural carbohydrates, and carbon use by symbionts, and (ii) to implement existing knowledge to mechanistic description of carbon allocation in models that would integrate the impact of environmental conditions, disturbances, and seasonal variation in carbon allocation, or (iii) to improve more simplistic models by accounting for the impact of crucial factors affecting carbon allocation in particular environment