Seeing the wood for the trees: Carbon storage and conservation in temperate forests of the Himalayas

Forests have a prominent role to play in the success of the UN’s Agenda 2030, thus actions to halt deforestation are high on the international sustainability agenda. As humans are altering the composition and extent of forest ecosystems, from local to global scales, we are also affecting the provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services. We tested how measures of biodiversity, structural diversity, forest disturbances and environmental variables affect above ground tree carbon storage as an essential ecosystem service in differing legally protected forest ecosystems in the central Himalayas. This region is part of a biodiversity hotspot as well as a developing country where rural livelihoods are profoundly dependent on forest resources. We analysed drivers of above ground tree carbon in 530 plots, measuring a total of 6879 individual trees across six forests in three regions in legally protected and un-protected forest ecosystems in the Nepalese Himalayas. The aboveground tree carbon was markedly higher in protected forests (164 ± 8 t/ha) compared to in unprotected forests (114 ± 5 t/ha) but varied across regions. Biodiversity matrices were weakly correlated with above ground tree carbon content (hereafter called ‘tree carbon’) while the matrices of structural diversity were strongly correlated. Tree size inequalities, canopy cover, elevation, management, tree density, ground disturbance and woody species richness had effects on the tree carbon in bivariate regression models. However, in a multiple linear regression model matrices of structural diversity outweighed biodiversity matrices; tree size inequalities have the largest effect size on tree carbon, followed by elevation, management regime and tree richness. Tree size inequality, elevation and management regime show positive effects while tree richness has negative effect on tree carbon when accounting for the random effects of regions. Our analysis gives an evidence-base in support of forest management that retains tree size inequality, with particular emphasis on protecting large trees, as the best strategy to enhance above ground tree carbon storage and their co-benefits in temperate forests of the Himalayas.publishedVersio

Traditional prescribed burning of coastal heathland provides niches for xerophilous and sun‑loving beetles

In Western Norway, farmers have traditionally used fire as a management tool in coastal heathlands to enhance the fodder quality for livestock. Rotational prescribed burning increases landscape heterogeneity by creating a mosaic of different regeneration stages of heather. Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) responses to fire in traditionally managed coastal heathland have already been studied, but less is known about other beetle groups in this system. We compared the beetle activity between patches of mature and recently burnt heath, by looking at diversity indices, species composition and ecological preferences and traits. Contrary to previous studies, we did not find an increase in beta diversity after disturbance, but we found that prescribed burning offers micro-environmental conditions which enhanced the activity of sun-loving and xerophilous species. We also identified new indicator species for both mature and pioneer heath in five beetle families: Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Curculionidae, Leiodidae, and Scirtidae. Rotational prescribed burning was confirmed to be an efficient conservation tool for specialists without affecting the overall diversity of the site. We recommend the use of several taxa, ecological preferences and traits to assess the impact of prescribed burning and to monitor the condition of traditionally managed coastal heathlands.publishedVersio

“Stewards of the future: accompanying the rising tide of young voices by setting youth-inclusive research agendas in sustainability research”

Background From the worldwide youth-led climate strikes of 2018–2019 to the student-initiated austerity protests in Chile in 2019, it is undeniable that young people have been protagonists in pressuring for social change towards greater sustainability in recent years. This piece reflects on youth as agents of social-ecological change, and what researchers can learn from the rise in youth-led social movements demanding action in the face of global sustainability challenges. The study of sustainability problems like climate change and biodiversity loss, intrinsically requires consideration of inter-generational equity. However, despite 50% of the global population being under 30 years old, youth are often not included explicitly as actors in environmental social sciences and sustainability-related research. Here we discuss why explicitly considering young people as distinct actors during the research process is important, as it allows researchers to engage in just and inclusive work whilst at the same time accounting for important agents of change in complex social-ecological systems. Results As a framework for our inquiry we present the themes which emerged during a series of international meetings and forums on sustainability challenges and youth in 2019, a year characterized by world-wide youth mobilization. Our briefing spans the United Nations Youth 2019 Climate Action Summit, the post-2020 meetings organized by the youth branch of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Youth forums and the results from the Global Shapers Survey of the World Economic Forum. Conclusions We argue that if researchers wish to facilitate youth-inclusive evidence-based decision making, research agendas must address knowledge gaps highlighted by institutional efforts to incorporate youth concerns within global sustainability policy, a recommendation that is even more relevant in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. We draw on the themes which emerged in our analysis of international youth meetings to provide recommendations for research agendas which account both for young actors as both passive and active components of social-ecological change and we propose a more inclusive and holistic study of coupled natural-human systems.publishedVersio

Participatory mapping reveals biocultural and nature values in the shared landscape of a Nordic UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Making the right decisions for sustainable development requires sound knowledge of the values and spatial distribution of the services co-produced by ecosystems and people. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme and associated Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are key learning sites or model regions for sustainable development providing key entry points for transdisciplinary work on sustainable development. However, there is limited research exploring spatial distribution of socio-cultural Ecosystem Service (ES) values in BRs and how those values vary according to the BR zonation. We used a transdisciplinary approach to design and implement a public participation geographical information systems (PPGIS) survey in a recently designated BR to (a) asses the spatial distribution of ES values in the different zones, (b) identify hotspots of ES values, (c) identify spatial bundles of ES values and (d) assess the social-ecological characteristics that determine the distribution of those values. We found that stakeholders identify high biocultural ES values, mapping predominantly places for outdoor recreation, biodiversity, agricultural products and cultural heritage. Buffer zones had high agricultural and cultural heritage values while extractive values were largely absent from cores zones. We identified five spatial ES-value bundles highlighting distinct places important for ES values related to ‘multifunctional landscapes’ located close to settlements, ‘cultural landscapes’ associated with agricultural land, ‘wild animal resources’ along the coastlines, ‘outdoor recreation and biodiversity’ and ‘passive cultural values’ widely distributed in high and moderately populated areas. We found that accessibility was important for ES values and that people value nature close to where they live. We show the importance of biocultural values in the region, and agricultural landscapes were highly valued for multiple ES values beyond agricultural products alone. We show that BRs have become places that link cultural heritage, agricultural and biodiversity values in multifunctional landscapes. We put our findings into the local context and suggest how they can inform land-use planning and management through policies aimed at maintaining key agricultural landscapes that provide social-ecological resilience. Additionally, we discuss the value of our study for the wider BR network and how similar work can contribute to monitoring of BR implementation.publishedVersio

Integration matters: Combining socio-cultural and biophysical methods for mapping ecosystem service bundles

Ecosystem services (ESs) play an important role in sustainable landscape management. People value ESs in diverse ways encompassing social and ecological domains and we need to bring these different values together. We used social-cultural and biophysical methods to map a diverse set of ESs at two spatial scales in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. The ESs bundled into three distinct social–ecological system archetypes which were similar in their distribution and relative ES values at both spatial scales. The bundles were also well matched to relative ESs values of the Biosphere Reserve zones (core, buffer, and transition) indicating that the bundles capture the social–ecological systems of the zones. We argue that it is important to consider the social–ecological context of the zones to provide sufficient knowledge to inform management. Our work has the capacity to contribute to sustainable land management that takes biocultural values into consideration.publishedVersio

Voices of young biosphere stewards on the strengths, weaknesses, and ways forward for 74 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves across 83 countries

Young stakeholders are key actors in social-ecological systems, who have the capacity to be agents of sustainability transformation but are also at high risk of exclusion in the unfolding of global change challenges. Despite the focus of sustainability on future generations, there has been little research effort aimed at understanding young actors’ roles as biosphere stewards. In this work we investigate how young stakeholders perceive and participate in the implementation of sustainability objectives in 74 Biosphere Reserves of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme across 83 countries, through participatory group workshops, individual surveys and grey literature review. We explore to what extent youth perceptions are aligned or not with current understandings of Biosphere Reserves and how young stakeholders are acting in pursuit of Biosphere Reserve objectives. We find that young stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by environmental governance, such as resilience and adaptation to global change and the governance challenges of implementing adaptive co-management and increasing stakeholder participation. We also show that young stakeholders can be active participants in a wide range of activities that contribute to achieving conservation and development goals in their territories. They are particularly concerned with youth participation within all levels of Biosphere Reserve functioning and with the creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities that will allow future generations to remain in their native territories. Our study provides evidence of the importance of young stakeholder knowledge and perspectives as central actors in conservation and development initiatives, like Biosphere Reserves, and of the need to increase young stakeholder integration and participation within environmental governance.publishedVersio

Changing contributions of stochastic and deterministic processes in community assembly over a successional gradient

Successional dynamics in plant community assembly may result from both deterministic and stochastic ecological processes. The relative importance of different ecological processes is expected to vary over the successional sequence, between different plant functional groups, and with the disturbance levels and land-use management regimes of the successional systems. We evaluate the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes in bryophyte and vascular plant community assembly after fire in grazed and ungrazed anthropogenic coastal heathlands in Northern Europe. A replicated series of post-fire successions (n = 12) were initiated under grazed and ungrazed conditions, and vegetation data were recorded in permanent plots over 13 years. We used redundancy analysis (RDA) to test for deterministic successional patterns in species composition repeated across the replicate successional series and analyses of co-occurrence to evaluate to what extent species respond synchronously along the successional gradient. Change in species co-occurrences over succession indicates stochastic successional dynamics at the species level (i.e., species equivalence), whereas constancy in co-occurrence indicates deterministic dynamics (successional niche differentiation). The RDA shows high and deterministic vascular plant community compositional change, especially early in succession. Co-occurrence analyses indicate stochastic species-level dynamics the first two years, which then give way to more deterministic replacements. Grazed and ungrazed successions are similar, but the early stage stochasticity is higher in ungrazed areas. Bryophyte communities in ungrazed successions resemble vascular plant communities. In contrast, bryophytes in grazed successions showed consistently high stochasticity and low determinism in both community composition and species co-occurrence. In conclusion, stochastic and individualistic species responses early in succession give way to more niche-driven dynamics in later successional stages. Grazing reduces predictability in both successional trends and species-level dynamics, especially in plant functional groups that are not well adapted to disturbance. bryophytes; burning; Calluna vulgaris; coexistence; conservation management; determinism; disturbance; grazing; heathland; randomization test; stochasticity; vascular plants.Changing contributions of stochastic and deterministic processes in community assembly over a successional gradientpublishedVersio

Agrárpiaci Jelentések ÉLŐÁLLAT ÉS HÚS

Az Amerikai Egyesült Államok agrárminisztériumának (USDA) októberben megjelent rövid távú projekciója szerint a világ marhahústermelése 930 ezer tonnával 61,4 millió tonnára emelkedhet az idén a 2016. évihez képest. Az USDA adatai szerint az Egyesült Államokban a bika ára 3,82 dollár (USD)/kilogramm hasított hideg súly volt 2017 szeptemberében, 1,6 százalékkal nőtt az egy évvel korábbihoz viszonyítva. Brazíliában a szarvasmarha ára brazil reálban kifejezve 4,4 százalékkal csökkent 2017 szeptemberében az előző év azonos hónapjának átlagárához képest. Argentínában a szarvasmarha ára argentin pezóban kifejezve 10 százalékkal emelkedett ugyanekkor. Az Európai Bizottság októberben megjelent rövid távú előrevetítése szerint az EU marhahústermelése várhatóan 7,9 millió tonna körül alakul 2017-ben, nem változik számottevően az előző évihez viszonyítva. A projekció szerint a marhahús kibocsátása 2018-ban előreláthatóan 7,85 millió tonnára csökken. Az Európai Unióban a fiatal bika „R3” kereskedelmi osztály vágóhídi belépési ára 3,83 euró/kilogramm hasított hideg súly volt 2017 szeptemberében, 5,3 százalékkal nőtt az egy évvel korábbihoz képest. Magyarországon a fiatal bika termelői ára 793 forint/kilogramm hasított meleg súly volt 2017 szeptemberében, 1,4 százalékkal nőtt az előző év azonos hónapjának átlagárához viszonyítva. A vágótehén ára 18,1 százalékkal, a vágóüszőé 22,9 százalékkal emelkedett ugyanekkor

Assessment of the risk to Norwegian biodiversity from import and keeping of crustaceans in freshwater aquaria

Introduction The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) was requested by the Norwegian Environment Agency to assess the risk of negative impacts to biodiversity in Norway resulting from import of crustacean decapods for keeping in freshwater aquariums. VKM was asked to 1) list species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are currently kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway, and species that are likely to be kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway within the next 10 years, 2) assess the ability of the species to survive under Norwegian conditions and cause impacts on ecosystems and other species, and 3) state the potential negative effects on the biological diversity of diseases caused by pathogens, regulated under the Norwegian Food Act.Methods The risk assessment, without focus on pathogens, was performed in two steps. First, we used a pre-screening toolkit to identify species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps with potential to become invasive in freshwater habitats in Norway. Each species was given an invasiveness score based on 55 questions on biogeography, ecology, and climate change. In a second step, a full risk assessment, including the potential impacts of pathogens, was conducted on those species receiving the highest invasiveness score. This assessment included questions on the organism’s probability of entry and pathways of entry, establishment and spread, potential impacts on biodiversity, and how climate change scenarios might affect the assessment. Likelyhood and confidence was assessed for each question. In conclusion, each species was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk. Many crustacean decapod species are confirmed or suspected carriers of pathogens that can cause mass mortality among native crustaceans. The risk posed by crustaceans as carriers of pathogens may be independent of the environmental risk that they pose through ecological interactions. Therefore, the four crustacean disease pathogens that are regulated under the Norwegian Food Act, were assessed separately. These include Aphanomyces astaci causing crayfish plague, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causing white spot disease, Taura syndrome virus (TSV) causing Taura syndrome, and yellow head virus genotype 1 (YHV1) causing yellow head disease. The assessments comprised questions on the pathogen’s probability of entry (as a hitchhiker organism with imported crustaceans), pathways of entry, establishment and spread, and potential impact on crustacean biodiversity. Likelihood and confidence were assessed for each question. In conclusion, each pathogen was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk.In a third step, we categorized the likelihood that a crustacean species introduces a pathogen associated with a high- or moderate risk into: I) known chronic carriers, II) suspected chronic carriers, III) suspected situational carrier, IV) possible pathogen transmitters, and V) no direct or circumstantial evidence for carrier status or pathogen transmission in the genus.Results Based on information from the Norwegian Pet Trade Association, the project group listed 112 taxa (mainly species and some genera) of freshwater crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are relevant for trade in Norway. These included 38 crayfish taxa, 28 crab taxa, and 45 shrimp taxa. In addition, one marine crab was included. Sixteen species of crayfish, four species of shrimps, and two species of crabs underwent a full ecological risk assessment. The probabilities of entry both into the aquarium trade in Norway, and potentially further into Norwegian nature, were based on the prevalence of the species in the aquarium trade in Norway. We assumed that all species were equally likely to escape captivity or to be released. The four pathogens regulated under the Norwegian Food Act are either known or potential hazards to biodiversity in Norway. A. astaci is already present in Norway. It is regarded among the greatest threats to European freshwater crayfish, including noble crayfish (Astacus astacus). American freshwater crayfish are either known or suspected chronic carriers of A. astaci, while several crayfish species from other continents, as well as some species of crab and shrimp, may be situational carriers. WSSV is a "non-exotic" list 2 disease. All decapods can be infected by the virus. WSSV is primarily a problem in shrimp farming in Asia, but has spread to America and more recently to Australia. WSSV can cause 100% mortality in noble crayfish at water temperatures above 20 °C. Both TSV and YHV1 are "exotic" list 1 diseases. These can infect and cause high mortality in a limited range of saltwater shrimps. There is no evidence that TSV and YHV1 pose a risk to freshwater crayfish in the Nordic climate, nor is introduction likely through aquarium trade in freshwater crustaceans. Several other pathogens that cause crustacean dirsease are listed by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). These were briefly assessed, but not fully risk assessed.Conclusions VKM concluded that the risk of negative impacts on biodiversity caused by ecological interactions following import and private keeping of crayfish is high for Faxonius virilis, Faxonius spp., Procambarus clarkii, P. virginalis, and Pacifastacus leniusculus. These species can displace native crayfish, reduce the abundance of aquatic plants, and cause cascading effects that negatively influence invertebrates, fish, and birds. They can likely establish in Norwegian nature under the current climate conditions. The risk of negative consequences is moderate (with medium confidence) for the crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis, Procambarus alleni, Creaserinus fodiens, Cambarellus montezumae, Cherax monticola, Cherax tenuimanus, Faxonius neglectus. Perconon gibbesi of the crabs and Neocaridina davidi and Macrobrachium rosenbergii of the shrimps were associated with a moderate risk with medium confidence. Species associated with medium risk are omnivorous keystone species that will have at least moderate ecological impact on littoral freshwater ecosystems (medium confidence) if established in dense populations. None of the species associated with medium risk are likely to establish today. However, climate change will increase the risk for establishment and resulting ecological impact. The risk for negative impacts caused by the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci is high with high confidence. Crayfish plague can cause up to 100% mortality, and has already eradicated several noble crayfish populations in Norway. For WSSV, the risk for negative impact is moderate with high confidence. The risks associated with TSV and YHV1 are assessed as low for Norwegian crustacean biodiversity. According to the risk assessment of pathogens and the categorization of crustacean species based on their likelihood of being carriers of A. astaci and WSSV, 25 and 13 species of crayfish are associated with a high and medium risk, respectively. Four and 25 species of crabs are associated with a medium and low risk, respectively, and 14 and 31 species of shrimps are associated with medium and low risk, respectively. Notably, all species in the named genera should be regarded as belonging to the given risk category. OIE and general literature provide information of known crustacean diseases along with known susceptible crustacean hosts. However, there is a lack of information regarding carrier status of known and unknown disease pathogens for many exotic crustaceans. In this perspective, all exotic crustaceans should be regarded as potentially infected with a known or unknown pathogen. In order to reduce the risk of spreading diseases, eggs and living or dead animals should under no circumstances be disposed of in nature. The same applies for aquarium water or any material, such as gravel or ornamental plants, that have been in contact with the animals or water in the aquarium. The current permit requirement exemption for import of freshwater organisms that can only survive at temperatures above 5 °C provides no protection against the introduction, establishment, and spread of accompanying pathogens that could cause mass mortality in Norwegian crustacean populations. Finally, we can never predict how, or from which host species, a new disease might emerge. Many pandemics and plagues result from cross-continental pathogen-host jumps often facilitated by human transport, trade, introduction, release, or escape of alien species and associated alien pathogens

Assessment of the risk to Norwegian biodiversity from import and keeping of crustaceans in freshwater aquaria. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Alien Organisms and trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

Key words: Risk assessment, Crayfish, Shrimps, Crabs, Climate change, Aphanomyces astaci, White spot syndrome, Alien species, Biological invasion Introduction The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) was requested by the Norwegian Environment Agency to assess the risk of negative impacts to biodiversity in Norway resulting from import of crustacean decapods for keeping in freshwater aquariums. VKM was asked to 1) list species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are currently kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway, and species that are likely to be kept in freshwater aquaria in Norway within the next 10 years, 2) assess the ability of the species to survive under Norwegian conditions and cause impacts on ecosystems and other species, and 3) state the potential negative effects on the biological diversity of diseases caused by pathogens, regulated under the Norwegian Food Act. Methods The risk assessment, without focus on pathogens, was performed in two steps. First, we used a pre-screening toolkit to identify species of crayfish, crabs and shrimps with potential to become invasive in freshwater habitats in Norway. Each species was given an invasiveness score based on 55 questions on biogeography, ecology, and climate change. In a second step, a full risk assessment, including the potential impacts of pathogens, was conducted on those species receiving the highest invasiveness score. This assessment included questions on the organism’s probability of entry and pathways of entry, establishment and spread, potential impacts on biodiversity, and how climate change scenarios might affect the assessment. Likelyhood and confidence was assessed for each question. In conclusion, each species was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk. Many crustacean decapod species are confirmed or suspected carriers of pathogens that can cause mass mortality among native crustaceans. The risk posed by crustaceans as carriers of pathogens may be independent of the environmental risk that they pose through ecological interactions. Therefore, the four crustacean disease pathogens that are regulated under the Norwegian Food Act, were assessed separately. These include Aphanomyces astaci causing crayfish plague, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causing white spot disease, Taura syndrome virus (TSV) causing Taura syndrome, and yellow head virus genotype 1 (YHV1) causing yellow head disease. The assessments comprised questions on the pathogen’s probability of entry (as a hitchhiker organism with imported crustaceans), pathways of entry, establishment and spread, and potential impact on crustacean biodiversity. Likelihood and confidence were assessed for each question. In conclusion, each pathogen was designated as either low-, moderate-, or high risk. In a third step, we categorized the likelihood that a crustacean species introduces a pathogen associated with a high- or moderate risk into: I) known chronic carriers, II) suspected chronic carriers, III) suspected situational carrier, IV) possible pathogen transmitters, and V) no direct or circumstantial evidence for carrier status or pathogen transmission in the genus. Results Based on information from the Norwegian Pet Trade Association, the project group listed 112 taxa (mainly species and some genera) of freshwater crayfish, crabs and shrimps that are relevant for trade in Norway. These included 38 crayfish taxa, 28 crab taxa, and 45 shrimp taxa. In addition, one marine crab was included. Sixteen species of crayfish, four species of shrimps, and two species of crabs underwent a full ecological risk assessment. The probabilities of entry both into the aquarium trade in Norway, and potentially further into Norwegian nature, were based on the prevalence of the species in the aquarium trade in Norway. We assumed that all species were equally likely to escape captivity or to be .........publishedVersionpublishedVersio