Climate change goes underground: effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on microbial community structure and activities in the rhizosphere.

General concern about climate change has led to growing interest in the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to elevated concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. Experimentation during the last two to three decades using a large variety of approaches has provided sufficient information to conclude that enrichment of atmospheric CO2 may have severe impact on terrestrial ecosystems. This impact is mainly due to the changes in the organic C dynamics as a result of the effects of elevated CO2 on the primary source of organic C in soil, i.e., plant photosynthesis. As the majority of life in soil is heterotrophic and dependent on the input of plant-derived organic C, the activity and functioning of soil organisms will greatly be influenced by changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. In this review, we examine the current state of the art with respect to effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil microbial communities, with a focus on microbial community structure. On the basis of the existing information, we conclude that the main effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil microbiota occur via plant metabolism and root secretion, especially in C3 plants, thereby directly affecting the mycorrhizal, bacterial, and fungal communities in the close vicinity of the root. There is little or no direct effect on the microbial community of the bulk soil. In particular, we have explored the impact of these changes on rhizosphere interactions and ecosystem processes, including food web interactions

Biologisch uitgangsmateriaal : opstellen van de Annex 2005

Vanaf 1 januari 2004 moet volgens EU-regelgeving in de biologische landbouw gebruik worden gemaakt van op biologische wijze geproduceerd teeltmateriaal. Omdat het niet waarschijnlijk was dat voor alle gewassen en teeltwijzen op genoemde datum voldoende biologisch zaaizaad en pootgoed beschikbaar zou zijn, is besloten op nationale schaal de beschikbaarheid van biologisch uitgangsmateriaal te inventariseren. De nationale Annex is de lijst waarop de (sub)gewassen staan waarvan voldoende materiaal aanwezig is. Voor de gewassen op deze lijst mogen telers niet langer gebruik maken van gangbaar uitgangsmateriaal, er wordt hiervoor geen ontheffing verleend. De nationale Annex moet jaarlijks worden geactualiseerd. Het Expertisecentrum LNV heeft in 2003 en 2004 de coördinatie hiervan in handen gehad. Het LBI heeft een groot deel van de werkzaamheden uitgevoerd.Hoofdstuk 2 beschrijft welke stappen zijn ondernomen voor het opstellen van de Annex 2005. In hoofdstuk 3 staat het advies van het EC-LNV aan het ministerie van LNV over de Annex 2005 en het besluit van de directie Landbouw. Hoofdstuk 4 doet aanbevelingen voor het actualiseren van de Annex in de toekomst. Overige meer gedetailleerde, doch relevante informatie is in bijlagen opgenomen

Onderzoek en monitoring naar de voedselveiligheid van biologische producten

Het Expertisecentrum LNV heeft geïnventariseerd welke instituten reeds monitoring of onderzoek naar de voedselveiligheid van biologische producten doen. Tevens is geïnventariseerd welke instituten expertise in huis hebben om dergelijke monitoring- en onderzoeksprogramma’s uit te voeren

Toward a research instrument for firm behaviour in the dichotomy dynamic versus myopic national innovation systems: reflections from a systems perspective

Whereas Patel and Pavitt’s (Econ Innov New Technol 3:77–95, 1994a) work has been modestly cited, its postulation of two archetypes for national innovation systems, i.e. dynamic and myopic national innovation systems, has hardly been used to advance insight in firm behaviour; in this chapter we explore this dichotomy and build a novel research instrument for characterising this behaviour with regard to technological activities (although we equate their original terminology with innovation). An exploration of the underlying postulations, background and domain assumptions leads to the development of elements for the instrument. At the same time, it demonstrates that firm behaviour has limitedly been discussed in the context of national innovation systems. Therefore, suggestions for research, including the use of research methods, build on the deliberations on this chapter. Furthermore, the thoughts on how to use the research instrument informed by systems theories indicate the multiple levels of analysis: decision making on and monitoring of innovation processes in firms and innovation networks, sectoral innovation systems, regional innovation systems and national innovation systems. In addition, decision making on and monitoring of innovation processes in firms and innovation networks is related in this chapter to two models derived from systems theories: the model for the dynamic adaptation capability and the model for management of innovation and organisational structures. Particularly, we advocate that data for using the research instruments to position firm behaviour in the continuum of dynamic and myopic national innovation systems can be aggregated to compare firms across sectoral, regional and national innovation systems; this will lead to answering the question whether firms’ perspectives on innovation are an expression of its individual approach to innovation management or whether they share traits related to managing innovation with other firms in an industrial sector, regional innovation system or national innovation system

Taking social ontology seriously: An interview with Jack Katz

This interview with Jack Katz offers an inspiring statement about how to study social life. It starts with a discussion of Katz’s three-dimensional social ontology; social life is constituted in embodied interactions in which people adjust to others and create transcendent meanings. Contrasting the ontology with anthropology’s ontological turn, we note that social ontology is about generating empirically accurate descriptions capturing the flow of social life. This leads to a critical discussion of sociology’s preoccupation with explanans-driven theorizing. Touching upon macro–micro relationships, we consider what a phenomenology of collective emotions would look like. This brings us to emotional transformations, notably the notion of ‘falling’, an important theme in Katz’s work. The interview continues with advice of how to think beyond given categories, to consider the validity of ethnographic description and to look for the absurd. Finally, we conclude that ethnography has the potential to appeal to mass audiences