Including stakeholders’ perspectives on ecosystem services in multifunctionality assessments

Multifunctional landscapes are used and shaped by a range of different stakeholders. The high number of diverging values, interests or demands in such landscapes can lead to conflicts that impact sustainability goals. In this study, our aim was to include stakeholders’ valuations of ecosystem services in multifunctionality assessments and thereby to identify different and possibly contradictory perspectives on landscape multifunctionality. Two European cultural landscapes, the Vereinigte Mulde (Germany) and the Kromme Rijn (The Netherlands), were used as case studies. Spatially explicit indicators of eleven ecosystem services were assessed and weighted according to their survey-based perceived importance for different stakeholder groups. While some significant differences between the groups were apparent, the results also revealed that all stakeholder groups acknowledge the importance of multiple ecosystem services. Stakeholder-specific multifunctionality hotspots occurred mainly in forests or grasslands and largely overlapped between the groups. Our study therefore clearly shows that the diversity of ecosystem services must be preserved in order to preserve the values that cultural landscapes offer to a wide range of people. While local solutions must be sought to resolve local land use conflicts over the use of ecosystem services, we conclude that multifunctionality can be declared a common goal

Die Ermittlung der SpRK-Bestaendigkeit von hochlegierten Sonderstaehlen in chloridhaltigen waessrigen Medien Abschlussbericht

With 24 refs., 14 tabs., 40 figs.TIB: RN 9216(121) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Up-regulating the human intestinal microbiome using whole plant foods, polyphenols, and/or fiber

Whole plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, and whole grain cereals, protect against chronic human diseases such as heart disease and cancer, with fiber and polyphenols thought to contribute significantly. These bioactive food components interact with the gut microbiota, with gut bacteria modifying polyphenol bioavailability and activity, and with fiber, constituting the main energy source for colonic fermentation. This paper discusses the consequences of increasing the consumption of whole plant foods on the gut microbiota and subsequent implications for human health. In humans, whole grain cereals can modify fecal bacterial profiles, increasing relative numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Polyphenol-rich chocolate and certain fruits have also been shown to increase fecal bifidobacteria. The recent FLAVURS study provides novel information on the impact of high fruit and vegetable diets on the gut microbiota. Increasing whole plant food consumption appears to upregulate beneficial commensal bacteria and may contribute toward the health effects of these foods