Resilience in rural common-pool resource management systems: towards enhancing landscape amenities using a multi-agent approach

Rural areas are continuously subject to changing circumstances, varying from changes in ecosystem conditions to socio-economic changes like food- and financial crises. Within Europe, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform is driver as well for change of rural common pool resources (CPR). Rural CPRs are defined as rural social-ecological systems which provide landscapes with high agricultural, ecological and cultural-historical values. The conservation of these systems is treated as the enhancement of these values through the protection of rare plant species. Analyzing resilience of rural CPRs offers a framework to emphasize dynamics and interdependencies across time, space and between social, economic and ecological domains. This paper provides insight into the effects of CAP reforms on rural CPRs and its resilience, through the use of a multi-agent simulation approach. The advantage of such a multi-agent approach is that it allows to capture interactions of heterogeneous agents in a landscape that provides space for both agriculture and rare plant species. The simulation model is applied for Winterswijk, which is a rural region in eastern part of the Netherlands. This CPR is characterized by a small scale landscape with high biodiversity. Transferring insights from resilience thinking to rural development strategies would lead to a focus on the factors that build the ability of the rural area to respond to policy changes. The strength of multi-agent models is illustrated and their potential for the analysis of different policy options and implications in rural areas is shown

Gezocht: andere methoden en nieuwe partners: landschapsecologie en WLO

De landschapsecologie is inmiddels een gevestigde wetenschap. Toch gaan de biodiversiteit en de kwaliteit van het landschap in Nederland en Vlaanderen nog steeds achteruit. Kunnen we rnet ons vakgebied dan niet meer positieve invloed hebben op landschapsveranderingen? En als we menen van wel hoe dan? Op die vragen gaat dit artikel i

Dynamical measure and field theory models free of the cosmological constant problem

Summary of abstract Field theory models including gauge theories with SSB are presented where the energy density of the true vacuum state (TVS) is zero without fine tuning. The above models are constructed in the gravitational theory where a measure of integration \Phi in the action is not necessarily \sqrt{-g} but it is determined dynamically through additional degrees of freedom. The ratio \Phi/\sqrt{-g} is a scalar field which can be solved in terms of the matter degrees of freedom due to the existence of a constraint. We study a few explicit field theory models where it is possible to combine the solution of the cosmological constant problem with: 1) possibility for inflationary scenario for the early universe; 2) spontaneously broken gauge unified theories (including fermions). The models are free from the well known problem of the usual scalar-tensor theories in what is concerned with the classical GR tests. The only difference of the field equations in the Einstein frame from the canonical equations of the selfconsistent system of Einstein's gravity and matter fields, is the appearance of the effective scalar field potential which vanishes in TVS without fine tuning.Comment: Extended version of the contribution to the fourth Alexander Friedmann International Seminar on Gravitation and Cosmology; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D; 31 page

WHO global research priorities for antimicrobial resistance in human health

The WHO research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health has identified 40 research priorities to be addressed by the year 2030. These priorities focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens of crucial importance in addressing AMR, including drug-resistant pathogens causing tuberculosis. These research priorities encompass the entire people-centred journey, covering prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections, in addition to addressing the overarching knowledge gaps in AMR epidemiology, burden and drivers, policies and regulations, and awareness and education. The research priorities were identified through a multistage process, starting with a comprehensive scoping review of knowledge gaps, with expert inputs gathered through a survey and open call. The priority setting involved a rigorous modified Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach, ensuring global representation and applicability of the findings. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to encourage research and investment in the generation of evidence to better understand AMR dynamics and facilitate policy translation for reducing the burden and consequences of AMR

Alternative strategies to sustain N-fertility in acid and calcaric beech forests: Low microbial N-demand versus high biological activity

To challenge the "conventional wisdom" that rates of net N-mineralization increase with pH, we measured net N-mineralization, respiration and/or microbial C and N in four Luxembourg beech forests with similar litter input, but different soil types, using laboratory incubation experiments. Litter input and fungal/bacterial colony ratios were also measured. To test whether the results could be explained by existing theoretical models, equations of C and N dynamics were reformulated to allow estimation of microbial growth efficiency, gross C and N release and microbial uptake, based on measured values of net N-mineralization, respiration and C:N ratios of substrate and microbes. Instead of an increase, net N-mineralization rates showed a significant sevenfold decrease from acid to calcaric soil in the organic layer, and a fourfold decrease in the mineral topsoil. At the same time, microbial N-demand increased with pH, as indicated by the significant decrease in net N-mineralization per unit microbe or unit C respired. These results could be explained by theoretical models. In organic layer and mineral topsoil, despite high gross N-release, net N-mineralization rates decreased with pH because of higher microbial immobilization. Increase in microbial N-demand was associated with a decrease in fungal/bacterial colony ratio: the more the bacteria, the higher the microbial N-demand. Acid and calcaric soils seem to have different strategies to sustain ecosystem N-fertility. In calcaric soil, N-availability to the vegetation seems indeed supported by high biological activity and gross N-release, which is needed to compensate for the potentially high immobilization by bacteria. In acid soil, however, despite low gross N-release, N-availability to the vegetation may not be lower than in calcaric soil, due to high amounts of fungi and low microbial N-demand