Vegetation change and effects of cattle grazing in the transition mire "Burgmoos”

Mires are highly threatened ecosystems in the lowlands of Central Europe. Reduced water levels and eutrophication promote shrub encroachment and the expansion of tall species, such as common reed (Phragmites australis). In the "Burgmoos”, a Swiss mire of national importance, attempts have been made to reverse these developments through cattle grazing in parts of the mire area. To monitor overall vegetation change and to assess the influence of grazing (which started in 2004), the vegetation was surveyed in 1995, 2001 and 2007. Ecological indicator values of the vegetation changed considerably between 1995 and 2007: mean indicator values for nutrients and soil pH increased in 80 and 72% of the relevés, respectively, while mean indicator values for moisture, humus and light decreased in 81, 86 and 76% of the relevés, respectively. Plant species from bogs, transition mires and fens decreased, while trees, pasture species and P. australis increased. Grazing had a weak effect on P. australis and did not prevent an increase in abundance of this species. The abundance of transition mire species was maintained in the grazed area between 2001 and 2007, whereas it continued to decrease in the ungrazed areas. This positive effect of grazing was, however, compensated by several adverse effects: In the non-forested parts of the mire, grazing accelerated the increase of nutrient indicator values, the decrease of bog species and the increase of pasture species. We conclude that grazing has not been effective in preventing undesirable vegetation changes in the Burgmoo

The Historic Square Foot Dataset : outstanding small‐scale richness in Swiss grasslands around the year 1900

Grasslands host a significant share of Europe's species diversity but are among the most threatened vegetation types of the continent. Resurvey studies can help to understand patterns and drivers of changes in grassland diversity and species composition. However, most resurveys are based on local or regional data, and hardly reach back more than eight decades. Here, we publish and describe the Historic Square Foot Dataset, comprising 580 0.09-m2 and 43 1-m2 vegetation plots carefully sampled between 1884 and 1931, covering a wide range of grassland types across Switzerland. We provide the plots as an open-access data set with coordinates, relocation accuracy and fractional aboveground biomass per vascular plant species. We assigned EUNIS habitat types to most plots. Mean vascular plant species richness in 0.09 m2 was 19.7, with a maximum of 47. This is considerably more than the present-day world record of 43 species for this plot size. Historically, species richness did not vary with elevation, differing from the unimodal relationship found today. The data set provides unique insight into how grasslands in Central Europe looked more than 100 years ago, thus offering manifold options for studies on the development of grassland biodiversity and productivity

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG

Modern Melioration – an opportunity to revitalise peatlands in intensively used agricultural landscapes?

Abstract: As part of a Modern Melioration project in the municipality of Abtwil (canton of Aargau, Switzerland) it is planned to designate an area of special ecological importance for the long-term protection and renaturation of the „Moos“, a drained and intensively used peatland, together with its original hydrological catchment area. A study was carried out to determine the feasibility of such peatland revitalisation and the best way of implementing it. The re-establishment of a near-natural water regime is by far the most important step in the successful revitalisation of the „Moos“. In fact Modern Melioration, properly managed, has the potential to become an important tool in the conservation of both landscape and nature.Zusammenfassung: Im Rahmen einer Modernen Melioration in der Gemeinde Abtwil (Kanton Aargau, Schweiz) soll das entwässerte und intensiv genutzte Niedermoor „Moos“ mitsamt seinem ursprünglichen hydrologischen Einzugsgebiet revitalisiert und als ökologische Vorrangfläche langfristig gesichert werden. Mit einer Studie wurde geklärt, ob eine solche Moorrevitalisierung machbar wäre und wie sie sich am besten realisieren ließe. Die Wiederherstellung eines moorfreundlichen Wasserregimes ist die mit Abstand wichtigste Maßnahme für eine erfolgreiche Revitalisierung des „Moos“. Bei sachgerechter Handhabung haben Moderne Meliorationen durchaus das Potenzial, sich zu einem wichtigen Instrument für den Landschafts- und Naturschutz zu entwickeln.DFG, SUB Göttingen, DGMTresearc

Evaluation of the pharmacoDYNAMIC effects of riociguat in subjects with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Background The presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) severely aggravates the clinical course of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. So far, neither established heart failure therapies nor pulmonary vasodilators have proven to be effective for this condition. Riociguat (Adempas®, BAY 63-2521), a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase, is a novel pulmonary and systemic vasodilator that has been approved for the treatment of precapillary forms of PH. With regard to postcapillary PH, the DILATE-1 study was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled single-dose study in subjects with PH associated with HFPEF. Although there was no significant change in the primary outcome measure, peak decrease in mean pulmonary artery pressure with riociguat versus placebo, riociguat significantly increased stroke volume without changing heart rate, pulmonary artery wedge pressure, transpulmonary pressure gradient or pulmonary vascular resistance. The present study is designed to test the efficacy of long-term treatment with riociguat in patients with PH associated with HFPEF. Methods/study design The DYNAMIC study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter clinical phase IIb trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and kinetics of riociguat in PH-HFPEF patients. The drug will be given over 26 weeks to evaluate the effects of riociguat versus placebo. The primary efficacy variable will be the change from baseline in cardiac output at rest, measured by right heart catheter after 26 weeks of study drug treatment. Additional efficacy variables will be changes from baseline in further hemodynamic parameters, changes in left and right atrial area, right ventricular volume, as well as right ventricular ejection fraction measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and changes from baseline in World Health Organization (WHO) class and Nterminal prohormone Btype natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP).(VLID)349627

Left ventricular function and volumes from gated [13N]-ammonia positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging: A prospective head-to-head comparison against CMR using a hybrid PET/MR device

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) can be used to evaluate left ventricular (LV) volumes and function. We performed a head-to-head comparison of LV function and volumes obtained simultaneously using [13N]-ammonia-PET and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), with the latter serving as the reference standard. Methods and results: In this prospective study, 51 patients underwent [13N]-ammonia-PET MPI and CMR using a hybrid PET/MR device. Left ventricular end-systolic volumes (LVESV), end-diastolic volumes (LVEDV), stroke volumes (LVSV), ejection fractions (LVEF), and segmental wall motion were analyzed for both methods and were compared using correlational and Bland-Altman (BA) analysis; segmental wall motion was compared using ANOVA. The agreement between [13N]-ammonia-PET and CMR for LVEF was good, with minimal bias (- .6%) and narrow BA limits of agreement (- 7.9% to 6.8%), but [13N]-ammonia-PET systematically underestimated LV volumes, with high bias in LVESV (- 11.2 ml), LVEDV (- 28.9 ml), and LVSV (- 17.5 ml). Mean segmental wall motion in [13N]-ammonia-PET differed significantly among the corresponding normokinetic (6.6 ± 2 mm), hypokinetic (5.1 ± 2 mm), and akinetic (3.3 ± 2 mm) segments in CMR (P < .01). Conclusion: LVEF and LV wall motion can be accurately assessed using [13N]-ammonia-PET MPI, although LV volumes are significantly underestimated compared to CMR. Keywords: CMR; [13N]-ammonia-PET; coronary artery disease; left heart function; left ventricle volume; left ventricle wall motion; left ventricular ejection fraction