The Activities and Aspirations of the Estonian Grassland Society

The aim of the Estonian Grassland Society (EGS) is to develop the flow of grassland-based knowledge between different stakeholders and multidisciplinary research and to create international contacts. The EGS is a non-profit organisation and more than 100 interdisciplinary researchers, plant breeders, advisors and farmers are actively involved in the work of the society. The interdisciplinary activities are becoming more and more attractive and important and bring together different target groups. At present seminars, which are focused on the adaptation producers to the EU rules and support system for farmers are attractive. Nowadays the essential goal for the EGS is to find solutions for integrating efficient grassland management and biodiversity, including socio-economic aspects. Novel approaches to combine the benefits for wildlife and the grass producer will be highlighted in the future EGS activities

Changes in Grass Quality of Coastal Meadows in Estonia

In Estonia the reason for reduction in coastal meadows and expansion of the stands of the common reed (Phragmites australis) is the discontinuation of traditional use of grasslands which were previously grazed and cut. Phragmites australis usually produces dense and monospecific stands at the waterline, where species richness is low. It can survive in ungrazed shore meadows, but it suffers from grazing (Tyler, 1969). The investigated Phragmitetum australis association had been influenced by grazing activities, but it remained rather sparse and due to that had relatively low productivity, reaching 3.11 t DM/ha. Traditionally coastal meadows have been used for grazing and have given stable quality of feed and good animal performance. The quality of fodder is an important factor for farms using the coastal areas for grazing. The aim of the study was to determine the changes in quality of the different plant associations in the coastal area

Linking Ecology and Organic Farming. Group Report, PhD-Course of SOAR, Kongskilde, Denmark, September 2001

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Use of food web knowledge in environmental conservation and management of living resources in the Baltic Sea

Food webs are central entities mediating processes and external pressures in marine ecosystems. They are essential to understand and predict ecosystem dynamics and provision of ecosystem services. Paradoxically, utilization of food web knowledge in marine environmental conservation and resource management is limited. To better understand the use of knowledge and barriers to incorporation in management, we assess its application related to the management of eutrophication, chemical contamination, fish stocks, and non-indigenous species. We focus on the Baltic, a severely impacted, but also intensely studied and actively managed semi-enclosed sea. Our assessment shows food web processes playing a central role in all four areas, but application varies strongly, from formalized integration in management decisions, to support in selecting indicators and setting threshold values, to informal knowledge explaining ecosystem dynamics and management performance. Barriers for integration are complexity of involved ecological processes and that management frameworks are not designed to handle such information. We provide a categorization of the multi-faceted uses of food web knowledge and benefits of future incorporation in management, especially moving towards ecosystem-based approaches as guiding principle in present marine policies and directives. We close with perspectives on research needs to support this move considering global and regional change

Effect of Cirsium arvense L. on soil physical properties and crop growth

The re-cultivation of abandoned areas creates weed control problems. The main problems in these areas are perennial weeds, such as Cirsium arvense L. but this perennial deep-rooted plant may have a beneficial effect on the physical properties of compacted soil. In order to study the effect of C. arvense s root system on soil properties, the field experiment and a survey of arable fields were conducted in Estonia. The soil bulk density and penetration resistance were measured from soils covered by C. arvense or spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) on compacted and un-compacted soil. The results showed significantly lower penetration resistance and bulk density underneath C. arvense than under barley in both the field experiment and a field survey on arable soils. The shoot mass of C. arvense was less affected than the shoot mass of barley by soil compaction and was caused by C. arvense s better ability to develop its root system in compacted soil. Wheat yield, on soils affected by C. arvense, was increased by 28% on loose soil and 37% on compacted soil. It may be concluded that in areas affected by deep-rooted weed species, such C. arvense, the soil s physical properties will improve at least in the first two years.vo

A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985–2009

Global environmental change has influenced lake surface temperatures, a key driver of ecosystem structure and function. Recent studies have suggested significant warming of water temperatures in individual lakes across many different regions around the world. However, the spatial and temporal coherence associated with the magnitude of these trends remains unclear. Thus, a global data set of water temperature is required to understand and synthesize global, long-term trends in surface water temperatures of inland bodies of water. We assembled a database of summer lake surface temperatures for 291 lakes collected in situ and/or by satellites for the period 1985–2009. In addition, corresponding climatic drivers (air temperatures, solar radiation, and cloud cover) and geomorphometric characteristics (latitude, longitude, elevation, lake surface area, maximum depth, mean depth, and volume) that influence lake surface temperatures were compiled for each lake. This unique dataset offers an invaluable baseline perspective on global-scale lake thermal conditions as environmental change continues