Humus accumulation and microbial activities in calcari-epigleyic fluvisols under grassland and forest diked in for 30 years

The accumulation and transformation of organic matter during soil development is rarely investigated although such processes are relevant when discussing about carbon sequestration in soil. Here, we investigated soils under grassland and forest close to the North Sea that began its genesis under terrestrial conditions 30 years ago after dikes were closed. Organic C contents of up to 99 mg g−1 soil were found until 6 cm soil depth. The humus consisted mainly of the fraction lighter than 1.6 g cm−3 which refers to poorly degraded organic carbon. High microbial respiratory activity was determined with values between 1.57 and 1.17 μg CO2–C g−1 soil h−1 at 22 °C and 40 to 70% water-holding capacity for the grassland and forest topsoils, respectively. The microbial C to organic C ratio showed values up to 20 mg Cmic g−1 Corg. Although up to 2.69 kg C m−2 were estimated to be sequestered during 30 years, the microbial indicators showed intensive colonisation and high transformation rates under both forest and grassland which were higher than those determined in agricultural and forest topsoils in Northern Germany

Methane turnover and temperature response of methane-oxidizing bacteria in permafrost-affected soils of northeast Siberia

The abundance, activity, and temperature response of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria were studied in permafrost-affected tundra soils of northeast Siberia. The soils were characterized by both a high accumulation of organic matter at the surface and high methane concentrations in the water-saturated soils. The methane oxidation rates of up to 835 nmol CH4 h−1 g−1 in the surface soils were similar to the highest values reported so far for natural wetland soils worldwide. The temperature response of methane oxidation was measured during short incubations and revealed maximum rates between 22 °C and 28 °C. The active methanotrophic community was characterized by its phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) concentrations and with stable isotope probing (SIP). Concentrations of 16:1ω8 and 18:1ω8 PLFAs, specific to methanotrophic bacteria, correlated significantly with the potential methane oxidation rates. In all soils, distinct 16:1 PLFAs were dominant, indicating a predominance of type I methanotrophs. However, long-term incubation of soil samples at 0 °C and 22 °C demonstrated a shift in the composition of the active community with rising temperatures. At 0 °C, only the concentrations of 16:1 PLFAs increased and those of 18:1 PLFAs decreased, whereas the opposite was true at 22 °C. Similarly, SIP with 13CH4 showed a temperature-dependent pattern. When the soils were incubated at 0 °C, most of the incorporated label (83%) was found in 16:1 PLFAs and only 2% in 18:1 PLFAs. In soils incubated at 22 °C, almost equal amounts of 13C label were incorporated into 16:1 PLFAs and 18:1 PLFAs (33% and 36%, respectively). We concluded that the highly active methane-oxidizing community in cold permafrost-affected soils was dominated by type I methanotrophs under in situ conditions. However, rising temperatures, as predicted for the future, seem to increase the importance of type II methanotrophs, which may affect methane cycling in northern wetlands

Evaluierung des Bundes-Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetzes (B-KJHG) 2013: Zusammenfassender Bericht aller Module und Beurteilung

Mit dem 1. Mai 2013 trat das Bundes-Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz 2013 (B-KJHG) in Kraft und löste das bis dahin gültige Jugendwohlfahrtsgesetz von 1989 ab. Zielsetzung der Reform war u.a. der verbesserte Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen vor Gewalt in der Familie und anderen Gefährdungen. Weiters sollte die Prävention von Erziehungsproblemen sowie die Partizipation von Eltern, Kindern und Jugendlichen gestärkt und Impulse für einheitliche Standards im Bereich der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe gegeben werden. Das Österreichische Institut für Familienforschung an der Universität Wien (ÖIF) führte die Evaluierung des B-KJHG durch und erhob dafür unterschiedliche Perspektiven auf die Arbeit der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe auf Basis des B-KJHG. Befragt wurden u.a. fallführende Sozialarbeiter/innen, mitteilungspflichtige Fachkräfte (z.B. Psycholog/innen, Lehrkräfte, Kindergartenpädagog/innen, Ärzt/innen), Jugendliche in voller Erziehung sowie Eltern, die freiwillige Erziehungshilfe durch die Kinder- und Jugendhilfe erhalten

Permafrost Thaw and Liberation of Inorganic Nitrogen in Eastern Siberia

The currently observed climate warming will lead to widespread degradation of near-surface permafrost, which may release substantial amounts of inorganic nitrogen (N) into arctic ecosystems. We studied 11 soil profiles at three different sites in arctic eastern Siberia to assess the amount of inorganic N stored in arctic permafrost soils. We modelled the potential thickening of the active layer for these sites using the CryoGrid2 permafrost model and representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 (a stabilisation scenario) and 8.5 (a business as usual emission scenario, with increasing carbon emissions). The modelled increases in active-layer thickness (ALT) were used to estimate potential annual liberation of inorganic N from permafrost soils during the course of climate change. We observed significant stores of inorganic ammonium in permafrost, up to 40-fold higher than in the active layer. The modelled increase in ALT under the RCP8.5 scenario can result in substantial liberation of N, reaching values up to the order of magnitude of annual fixation of atmospheric N in arctic soils. However, the thaw-induced liberation of N represents only a small flux in comparison with the overall ecosystem N cycling

Forms of International Cooperation in Environmental Education: the Experience of Saint Petersburg State University

The authors analyse different forms of environmental education projects and programmes implemented in the Baltic Sea region. The first one is "The Baltic University" programme taught in English. The "Baltic University" is a network of more than 200 universities from 14 counties of the Baltic Sea region. This education programme offers an opportunity for students to enroll on bachelor and master degree programmes related to environmental and social problems of the Baltic Sea region. The Polar and Marine Sciences, POMOR master programme, represents the second form of international environmental education. Russian and German researchers from six universities and four research centres have developed the programme. The target group of the programme are Russian and international students, studying together during the whole duration of the programme. It is the first internationally accredited MA programme taught in English. International accreditation proves the compliance of the programme with international education standards. The same cooperation model is used in a new international master programme - Cold Regions Environmental Landscapes Integrated Science (CORELIS). The programme started in 2016. It is implemented jointly by Hamburg university (the lead partner of the project), and university professors from Helsinki (Finland) and Lisbon (Portugal). Researchers from the Austrian National Institute of Polar Research (Austria, and Lund University (Sweden) will join the programme at a later stage. Such an approach will help achieve the synergy of the European and Russian approaches to environmental education. The Russian-Norwegian master programme "Geoecological monitoring and rational use of natural resources in the Northern oil and gas production regions" is a good example of the third form of international environmental education. The programme similar to POMOR and CORELIS. However, it has one distinctive feature - Russian and foreign students study together from the second term only. The authors describe the ways of achieving the learning objectives of these master programmes depending on the students' language skills and their basic knowledge of ecology and nature management