The value of the trackway system within a lowland plantation forest for ground-active spiders

European forest management guidelines include conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. Within plantation forestry, trackways provide contiguous permanent open-habitat with potential to enhance biodiversity. We examined the ground-active spider assemblage in the trackway network of Thetford Forest, Eastern England, the largest lowland conifer forest in the UK, created by afforestation of heathland and farmland. Results are relevant to other forests in heath regions across Europe. We used pitfall trapping to sample the spider assemblage of trackways within thicket-aged stands (n = 17), mature stands (n = 13) and heathland reference sites (n = 9). A total of 9,314 individuals of 71 species were recorded. Spider assemblages of the trackway network were distinct from those of the heathland reference sites; however, trackways were found to support specialist species associated with grass-heath habitats, including nationally scarce species. Richness of grass-heath species was similar for trackways in thicket-aged forest and heathland reference sites, although the abundance of individuals was three times greater in the reference sites. Trackways in mature stands had lower grass-heath species richness and abundance than both thicket trackways and heath reference sites. Wide trackways within thicket stands contained greater richness and abundance of specialist xeric species than narrower trackways. However, fewer xeric individuals were found in trackways compared to heathland reference sites. Either inferior habitat quality in trackways or poor dispersal ability of specialist xeric species may largely restrict these to relict areas of heathland. Targeted widening of trackways to allow permanent unshaded habitat and creating early successional stages by mechanical disturbance regimes could improve trackway suitability for specialist species, helping to restore connectivity networks for grass-heath biodiversity

Complexity Theory for a New Managerial Paradigm: A Research Framework

In this work, we supply a theoretical framework of how organizations can embed complexity management and sustainable development into their policies and actions. The proposed framework may lead to a new management paradigm, attempting to link the main concepts of complexity theory, change management, knowledge management, sustainable development, and cybernetics. We highlight how the processes of organizational change have occurred as a result of the move to adapt to the changes in the various global and international business environments and how this transformation has led to the shift toward the present innovation economy. We also point how organizational change needs to deal with sustainability, so that the change may be consistent with present needs, without compromising the future

Lidar Processing for Defining Sinkhole Characteristics under Dense Forest Cover: A Case Study in the Dinaric Mountains

The traditional approach for defining sinkholes characteristics is based on topographic maps and air photographs with derived digital terrain models. This method is sometimes not accurate, requiring costly, time consuming and potentially dangerous fieldwork. Investigations have shown that airborne scanning laser data (lidar) is useful in detection of karst depressions due to the high density of ground points that can be obtained. This is especially important under dense forest canopy, where classical photogrammetric methods do not allow ground points to be measured. The objective of this work was to map and determine geomorphometric characteristics of a large number of sinkholes located in a diverse karst terrain under a dense forest tree-canopy using lidar data. We tested an algorithm described in previous literature which uses only information from the DTM. It is based on water flow simulations on a surface (DTM) and incorporates four phases: (i) watershed delineation, (ii) confining of sinkholes, (iii) confining of higher rank sinkholes and (iv) extraction of non-karstic sinkholes. Sinkholes were confined by effluent level with cells below the effluent level designated as part of the sinkhole. In the third step sinkholes were ranked according to their location and size – first rank sinkholes are the smallest and are located within a larger sinkhole. Results are that the sinkhole fraction of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th rank in the study area was 3.25 %, 4.26 %, 5.68 %, 3.65 % and 3.14 %, respectively. Sinkhole distribution shows a peculiar directionality in their spatial distribution, which seems to be significantly towards a northwest – southeast direction. It was not possible to compare results with ground-truth data due to very low accessibility, nevertheless a statistical and visual assessment of the results shows that lidar is a very effective technique to model sinkholes under dense canopy

Invasive Alien Plant Species—Raising Awareness of a Threat to Biodiversity and Ecological Connectivity (EC) in the Adriatic-Ionian Region

Improving ecological connectivity (EC) within landscapes by establishing corridors and ecological networks has been proposed to counteract the negative effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change on biodiversity. To be functional, ecological networks should be kept free of opportunistic invasive species that can disrupt EC between protected areas and cause biodiversity loss. The present study focused on perennial herbaceous species whose occurrence in the Adriatic-Ionian region has increased in the last two decades, namely common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), Bohemian knotweed (Reynoutria × bohemica), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea), Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), and Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae). All species have a high potential to spread in grasslands, abandoned agricultural fields, forest edges, and riparian areas and pose a significant threat to native plant communities and biodiversity. Restoring heavily infested sites is a major challenge because these perennial invaders are very persistent and tend to alter the soil environment in invaded habitats and prevent the recolonization of native plant communities. Therefore, early action should be taken to prevent the spread of these environmental weeds in ecological networks and protected areas with high conservation value. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Antioxidant activities of honeybee products and their mixtures

In this study, the total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and free radical scavenging activities (FRSA) of 70 samples comprising honeybee products (honey, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis) and their mixtures were determined. The TPC was determined in accordance with the Folin-Ciocalteu method, antioxidant activity with phosphomolybdenum, and FRSA with the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assays. Honeybee propolis showed the greatest TPC, antioxidant activity, and FRSA followed by pollen, honey, and royal jelly, respectively. A positive correlation was observed between TPC and antioxidant activity of honey, pollen and mixed samples (respectively, r=0.91, r=0.93 and r=0.92) (p < 0.01). Similarly, honey and mixed samples exhibited positive correlations with TPC and FRSA (respectively, r=0.98 and r=0.92) (p < 0.01). It was concluded that honeybee products and their mixtures have antioxidant activity and FRSA and these effects may be attributed to their phenolic content