Using network analysis to study globalization, regionalization, and multi-polarity—Introduction to special section

n this introduction to the special section on globalization, regionalization, and multi-polarity, we review network analysis applications to the study of globalization as a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon and we explore the frontiers of our knowledge about the network properties of global systems. We focus on the global economic (trade and investment), political, and migration systems

Indicadores de la globalización

<div>Este artículo tiene el propósito de realizar un balance sobre los trabajos que han abordado </div><div>la temática de indicadores de globalización  y formular algunas propuestas para avanzar </div><div>en este programa de investigación. Si bien los indicadores formulados se han ido </div><div>ajustando y afinando gradualmente (desde el punto de vista conceptual y técnico), aún </div><div>hay una serie de consideraciones que merecen la atención de la comunidad de creadores </div><div>de indicadores, tales como: adición de dimensiones y variables, la correcta representación </div><div>del espacio geográfico del proceso de globalización y la distinción entre integración </div><div>regional y global.</div&gt

Understorey removal effects on tree regeneration in temperate forests: a meta‐analysis

1. The unwanted development of dense understorey vegetation composed of resource‐acquisitive, tall plant species competing strongly with tree regeneration can pose formidable problems for managers attempting to regenerate temperate forests. Despite many studies on the effects of understorey removal, no comprehensive review has summarised and quantified its effects on subsequent life stages of tree regeneration in temperate forests. 2. We synthesised data from 32 experimental studies from temperate forest regions. We used meta‐analytic techniques to find general patterns in terms of the characteristics of the understorey, overstorey and characteristics of the regenerating tree species, which are most responsible for possible positive understorey removal effects on early life stages of tree regeneration, i.e. emergence, survival and growth. 3. Both seedling survival and growth increased in response to understorey removal; emergence did not show a clear pattern. Seedlings growing free from competition mainly increased their biomass growth (total and above‐ground), whereas diameter and height growth responded less. These positive effects were largest when removing denser understorey vegetation and under more open overstorey conditions. Multiple management options influenced the regeneration responses to understorey removal. For instance, growth of older, planted seedlings responded less to removal, whereas protection against large browsers increased growth responses. 4. Tree species with differing strategies responded differently to understorey removal. Growth and survival responses of early‐successional species responded more strongly to understorey removal than mid‐ or late‐successional tree species. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our study showed that understorey removal can have strong positive effects on tree regeneration across temperate forest contexts. The magnitude of these effects depended on overstorey and understorey conditions, but also on the type of tree species that is regenerated. Our results can support forest managers in their decision‐making and help assess under what conditions understorey removal will be most justified

West-Central Asia: a comparative analysis of students’ trajectories in Russia (Moscow) from the 1980s and China (Yiwu) from the 2000s

Through an exploration of oral history and ethnographic material, this article makes a comparative examination of the life-trajectories of students from Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan who studied in Russia (Moscow) during the late 1980s, and from Tajikistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia who studied in China in the 2000s. In contrast to the cohort of students in Moscow who were mainly men from places with relatively amicable relations with the USSR, the female students of Muslim background from West and Central Asia regarded China as a place where they could pursue fulfilling forms of economic and personal autonomy. By comparing these two groups of international students, this article sheds light into the nature of historical, geographical and geopolitical connections and disconnections between West-Central Asia, Eurasia (especially Russia) and East Asia (especially China). By centring its attention to the demise of Soviet/Russian education and the emergence of China as a figure of economic prosperity, the article theorises West-Central Asia as a particular arena of interaction suitable to comprehend the networks, ‘third spaces’ or zones of interaction (e.g. Moscow and Yiwu), and forms of connection fostered by these students’ trajectories

Nation States, Cities, and People: Alternative Ways to Measure Globalization

In the last decade, attempts to measure globalization have multiplied, and they have led to the devising of diverse globalisation indexes. Besides other important similarities, the main feature shared by the most notable of these indexes is the fact that they use the same unit of analysis: the nation-state. This is a paradoxical situation, if one considers that one of the most distinctive characteristics of globalization is that its dynamics extend beyond the state. Gives this premise, the aim of the article is, on the one hand, to justify in any case the use of instruments that seek to measure globalization on the basis of states, and, on the other, to propose alternative approaches to such measurement. The paper\u2019s underlying assumption is that different approaches to the measurement of globalization are not mutually exclusive. Rather, such a plurality of perspectives is opportune given the complexity and multidimensionality of the concept of globalization

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

Temperate forests cover 16% of the global forest area. Within these forests, the understorey is an important biodiversity reservoir that can influence ecosystem processes and functions in multiple ways. However, we still lack a thorough understanding of the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning. As a result, understoreys are often ignored during assessments of forest functioning and changes thereof under global change. We here compiled studies that quantify the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning, focussing on litter production, nutrient cycling, evapotranspiration, tree regeneration, pollination and pathogen dynamics. We describe the mechanisms driving understorey functioning and develop a conceptual framework synthesizing possible effects of multiple global change drivers on understorey-mediated forest ecosystem functioning. Our review illustrates that the understorey's contribution to temperate forest functioning is significant but varies depending on the ecosystem function and the environmental context, and more importantly, the characteristics of the overstorey. To predict changes in understorey functioning and its relative importance for temperate forest functioning under global change, we argue that a simultaneous investigation of both overstorey and understorey functional responses to global change will be crucial. Our review shows that such studies are still very scarce, only available for a limited set of ecosystem functions and limited to quantification, providing little data to forecast functional responses to global change

Regional actorness and interregional relations:ASEAN, the EU and Mercosur

The European Union (EU) has a long tradition of interregional dialogue mechanisms with other regional organisations and is using these relations to project its own model of institutionalised actorness. This is partly motivated by the emerging actorness of the EU itself, which benefits from fostering capable regional counterparts in other parts of the world. This article advances the argument that actorness, which we conceptualise in terms of institutions, recognition and identity, is a relational concept, dependent on context and perception. Taking the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and their relations with the EU as case studies, this article demonstrates that the actorness capabilities of all three organisations have been enhanced as result of ASEAN-EU and Mercosur-EU relations. However, there are clear limits to the development of the three components of regional actorness and to the interregional relations themselves. These limits stem both from the type of interregionalism at play and from the different regional models the actors incorporate. While there is evidence of institutional enhancement in ASEAN and Mercosur, these formal changes have been grafted on top of firmly entrenched normative underpinnings. Within the regional organisations, interactions with the EU generate centrifugal forces concerning the model to pursue, thus limiting their institutional cohesion and capacity. In addition, group-to-group relations have reinforced ASEAN and Mercosur identities in contrast to the EU. The formation of such differences has narrowed the scope of EU interregionalism despite the initial success of improved regional actorness

Combining biodiversity resurveys across regions to advance global change research

More and more ecologists have started to resurvey communities sampled in earlier decades to determine long-term shifts in community composition and infer the likely drivers of the ecological changes observed. However, to assess the relative importance of and interactions among multiple drivers, joint analyses of resurvey data from many regions spanning large environmental gradients are needed. In this article, we illustrate how combining resurvey data from multiple regions can increase the likelihood of driver orthogonality within the design and show that repeatedly surveying across multiple regions provides higher representativeness and comprehensiveness, allowing us to answer more completely a broader range of questions. We provide general guidelines to aid the implementation of multiregion resurvey databases. In so doing, we aim to encourage resurvey database development across other community types and biomes to advance global environmental change research

Evaluating structural and compositional canopy characteristics to predict the light‐demand signature of the forest understorey in mixed, semi‐natural temperate forests

Questions: Light availability at the forest floor affects many forest ecosystem processes, and is often quantified indirectly through easy‐to‐measure stand characteristics. We investigated how three such characteristics, basal area, canopy cover and canopy closure, were related to each other in structurally complex mixed forests. We also asked how well they can predict the light‐demand signature of the forest understorey (estimated as the mean Ellenberg indicator value for light [“EIVLIGHT”] and the proportion of “forest specialists” [“%FS”] within the plots). Furthermore, we asked whether accounting for the shade‐casting ability of individual canopy species could improve predictions of EIVLIGHT and %FS. Location: A total of 192 study plots from nineteen temperate forest regions across Europe. Methods: In each plot, we measured stand basal area (all stems >7.5 cm diameter), canopy closure (with a densiometer) and visually estimated the percentage cover of all plant species in the herb (7 m). We used linear mixed‐effect models to assess the relationships between basal area, canopy cover and canopy closure. We performed model comparisons, based on R2 and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), to assess which stand characteristics can predict EIVLIGHT and %FS best, and to assess whether canopy shade‐casting ability can significantly improve model fit. Results: Canopy closure and cover were weakly related to each other, but showed no relation with basal area. For both EIVLIGHT and %FS, canopy cover was the best predictor. Including the share of high‐shade‐casting species in both the basal‐area and cover models improved the model fit for EIVLIGHT, but not for %FS. Conclusions: The typically expected relationships between basal area, canopy cover and canopy closure were weak or even absent in structurally complex mixed forests. In these forests, easy‐to‐measure structural canopy characteristics were poor predictors of the understorey light‐demand signature, but accounting for compositional characteristics could improve predictions