Philosophical Disputations at the University of Tartu 1632-1710: Boundaries of a Discipline

The article focuses on the definitions and divisions of philosophical disciplines in the disputations presented at the University of Tartu during the first two periods of its existence: Academia Gustaviana (1632--1656) and Academia Gustavo-Carolina (1690--1710). The classifications of philosophy in Tartu are studied in the context of competing traditions of classifying knowledge and the spread of novel pedagogical methods in early modern Europe. These trends were also reflected in the university statutes that were directly borrowed from the University of Uppsala, the parent institution of the academy in Tartu. The article shows that a strong emphasis on Ramist methods of teaching in the 1632 constitution and a similar prominence given to Aristotelianism in the 1689 constitution affected, to some extent, the priorities given to certain disciplines in the faculties but did not always determine the division of responsibilities between professors nor the conceptual tools and contents of instruction

Teadusprojektid raamatukogus 2010–2021

Research Projects at the University of Tartu Library in 2010–2021 The statutory objectives of the library include the scientific research of the university history, book history, cultural and science history, librarianship and information sciences, and the publication of research results. In 2006, the library established the Research Centre. Its staff has through the years been international and several major projects have been carried out. Librarians from the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books have also participated in research projects dealing with book history. A separate grant-financed research group of science history and the history of ideas has been workingsince 2008. This article gives information about research carried out in 2010–2021

EstSoil-EH: a high-resolution eco-hydrological modelling parameters dataset for Estonia

https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/83/2021

All dispersal functions are wrong, but many are useful: a response to Cousens et al.

1. To address the lack of information about the shape and extent of real dispersal kernels, Bullock et al. (Journal of Ecology 105:6-19, 2017) synthesised empirical information on seed dispersal distances. Testing the fit of a variety of probability density functions, they found no function was the best-fitting for all datasets but some outperformed others. Cousens et al. (Journal of Ecology, 2017) focus on the specific finding of the generally poor fit of the WALD function to wind dispersal data and use this to argue that mechanistically derived functions would not be expected to fit data particularly well. 2. We agree in part with this argument and discuss the issues that may lead to poor fit, including the simplifying assumptions of the WALD and the complexity of the dispersal process. We explain the fundamental linkage between the mechanistic form of the WALD and the derived function used for fitting to data. 3. We demonstrate, however, that the logic that a mechanistically based function could fit to data is valid, under the hypothesis that it encompasses the key processes determining the dispersal kernel. This argument is supported by the facts that: (1) our analyses and others have shown the WALD performs well in a number of cases; and (2) the WALD is the best-fitting function for an example in which we simulate dispersal data using a realistic representation of variability in the wind dispersal process. 4. Synthesis. While there are reasons that mechanistically derived functions may not fit well to empirical data, they do in some empirical and simulated cases and this suggests they can capture the dispersal behaviour of real systems. Mechanistic functions should be explored along with other more general functions when describing empirical data to investigate their simplifying assumptions and to add to our arsenal of functions for analysing dispersal data. Analyses using these functions are critical if we are to move from simply describing the system in which the data were gathered to gaining more general insights into dispersal and predicting its consequences

Structure and function of the soil microbiome underlying N2O emissions from global wetlands

Wetland soils are the greatest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a critical greenhouse gas and ozone depleter released by microbes. Yet, microbial players and processes underlying the N2O emissions from wetland soils are poorly understood. Using in situ N2O measurements and by determining the structure and potential functional of microbial communities in 645 wetland soil samples globally, we examined the potential role of archaea, bacteria, and fungi in nitrogen (N) cycling and N2O emissions. We show that N2O emissions are higher in drained and warm wetland soils, and are correlated with functional diversity of microbes. We further provide evidence that despite their much lower abundance compared to bacteria, nitrifying archaeal abundance is a key factor explaining N2O emissions from wetland soils globally. Our data suggest that ongoing global warming and intensifying environmental change may boost archaeal nitrifiers, collectively transforming wetland soils to a greater source of N2O

Agricultural policies exacerbate honeybee pollination service supply-demand mismatches across Europe

Declines in insect pollinators across Europe have raised concerns about the supply of pollination services to agriculture. Simultaneously, EU agricultural and biofuel policies have encouraged substantial growth in the cultivated area of insect pollinated crops across the continent. Using data from 41 European countries, this study demonstrates that the recommended number of honeybees required to provide crop pollination across Europe has risen 4.9 times as fast as honeybee stocks between 2005 and 2010. Consequently, honeybee stocks were insufficient to supply >90% of demands in 22 countries studied. These findings raise concerns about the capacity of many countries to cope with major losses of wild pollinators and highlight numerous critical gaps in current understanding of pollination service supplies and demands, pointing to a pressing need for further research into this issue

Global diversity and distribution of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil

Our knowledge of microbial biogeography has advanced in recent years, yet we lack knowledge of the global diversity of some important functional groups. Here, we used environmental DNA from 327 globally collected soil samples to investigate the biodiversity patterns of nitrogen-fixing bacteria by focusing on the nifH gene but also amplifying the general prokaryotic 16S SSU region. Globally, N-fixing prokaryotic communities are driven mainly by climatic conditions, with most groups being positively correlated with stable hot or seasonally humid climates. Among soil parameters, pH, but also soil N content were most often shown to correlate with the diversity of N-fixer groups. However, specific groups of N-fixing prokaryotes show contrasting responses to the same variables, notably in Cyanobacteria that were negatively correlated with stable hot climates, and showed a U-shaped correlation with soil pH, contrary to other N-fixers. Also, the non-N-fixing prokaryotic community composition was differentially correlated with the diversity and abundance of N-fixer groups, showing the often-neglected impact of biotic interactions among bacteria