Genetic engineering, breeding and biodiversity. Summary

Will the use of genetic breeding techniques finally destroy the remaining agricultural diversity of varieties, or can modern biotechnology actually help in the conservation and use of global biodiversity? What strategies are being discussed for the long-term protection of biodiversity, what role can international agreements play in this? And what political possibilities or necessities for action result from this? These are the guiding questions of this study commissioned by the German Bundestag. On the basis of an overview of the situation of biological diversity in Germany and worldwide, as well as of the status and perspectives of plant breeding, the authors describe chains of effects that can emanate from the use of new plant varieties in agriculture. In particular, they ask whether the use of genetic engineering methods will exert qualitatively new influences compared to conventional breeding approaches. Based on this technology-centred perspective, the need for action with regard to the conservation of agricultural diversity as a whole is discussed, with concepts of comprehensive coordination and integration at the spatial, content-related, institutional and political levels forming the core of the proposals

Climate neutral truck traffic due to algae-based fuels? TAB-Fokus

Biofuels produced from algae represent an innovative approach with regard to the renewable and climatefriendly energy supply of the truck fleet which currently is predominantly powered by diesel fuel. Algae have a significantly higher productivity than conventional energy crops and can help prevent land use conflicts with food production or nature conservation. Research on the production of algae-based fuels is being conducted worldwide. So far, however, it has not been possible to produce algae-based fuel in an energy-efficient and economically viable way on a scale that is relevant for road haulage. Options for improving competitiveness can be found in optimising the selection and cultivation of algae and the utilisation of algae in so-called biorefineries, where various algae-based resources and products are produced simultaneously

Einsichten und Eingriffe in das Gehirn. Die Herausforderung der Gesellschaft durch die Neurowissenschaften

Die Neurowissenschaften haben in den letzten Jahren durch erweiterte Methoden und Forschungsansätze sowohl neue Einblicke in die Arbeitsweise des Gehirns als auch bisher nicht gekannte Möglichkeiten des gezielten Eingriffs in seine Funktionen eröffnet. Hieraus ergeben sich nicht nur Chancen einer besseren Behandlung von Erkrankungen. Neue Ansätze der medikamentösen Beeinflussung von Hirnfunktionen und die Entwicklung von Gehirn-Maschine-Schnittstellen rücken die Perspektive in greifbare Nähe, menschliche Fähigkeiten zu steigern und zu erweitern – mit kaum absehbaren gesellschaftlichen Folgen. Zudem sieht sich unser Selbstverständnis als verantwortlich handelnde und frei entscheidende Personen durch Thesen einiger führender Neurowissenschaftler herausgefordert. Sind geistige Vorgänge, wie behauptet wird, lediglich der Reflex neuronalen Geschehens und ist unsere Willensfreiheit nur eine vom Gehirn vorgespiegelte Illusion? Dieser Band arbeitet den Stand der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion zu den wichtigsten neurowissenschaftlichen Arbeitsfeldern auf und gibt einen umfassenden Überblick über die brisanten Fragen, die die Hirnforschung für die Gesellschaft der Gegenwart und Zukunft aufwirft

Klimaneutraler Lkw-Verkehr dank Algenkraftstoffen? TAB-Fokus

Biokraftstoffe aus Algen stellen einen innovativen Ansatz zur regenerativen und klimaschonenden Energieversorgung der aktuell überwiegend dieselmotorisierten Lkw-Flotte dar. Algen haben eine deutlich höhere Produktivität als herkömmliche Energiepflanzen und können Landnutzungskonflikte mit der Nahrungsmittelerzeugung oder dem Naturschutz vermeiden. An der Herstellung algenbasierter Kraftstoffe wird weltweit geforscht. Bislang ist es jedoch nicht gelungen, Algenkraft stoff energetisch und wirtschaftlich sinnvoll in einem für den Straßengüterverkehr relevanten Umfang zu produzieren. Optionen zur Verbesserung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit liegen in der Optimierung der Algenselektion und -zucht sowie der Verwertung von Algen in sogenannten Bioraffinerien, in denen gleichzeitig verschiedene algenbasierte Rohstoffe und Produkte erzeugt werden

Handlungsmöglichkeiten für Kommunikation und Beteiligung beim Stromnetzausbau. Ein Praxishandbuch für Abgeordnete. Abschlussbericht zum TA-Projekt »Interessenausgleich bei Infrastrukturprojekten: Handlungsoptionen für die Kommunikation und Organisation vor Ort«

Aktuell sind in Deutschland ein weitreichender Umbau und eine Erweiterung des Stromnetzes im Gang. Hierbei treten immer wieder Konflikte vor Ort auf. Bürger lehnen neue Leitungen ab, gründen Bürgerinitiativen, organisieren Protest. Die Diskussionen werden sehr engagiert und emotional geführt. Bundestagsabgeordnete nehmen als Vermittler zwischen bundespolitischen Entscheidungen und den lokalen Ansprüchen eine Schlüsselrolle ein. Einerseits erwarten die Bürger von ihnen eine klare Positionierung und eine aktive Rolle als Sachwalter ihrer Interessen. Auf der anderen Seite gehen die Betreiber der Übertragungsnetze davon aus, dass die Politik die gefassten Beschlüsse rechtfertigt und dafür einsteht, dass sie möglichst reibungslos umgesetzt werden können. Das vorliegende TAB-Hintergrundpapier stellt wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse und Praxiserfahrungen zu Kommunikation und Beteiligung beim Netzausbau zusammenfassend dar und gibt daraus folgernd Hinweise auf Handlungsmöglichkeiten für Kommunikationsstrategien und Beteiligungsverfahren. Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages, in deren Wahlkreisen Netzausbauvorhaben geplant sind, sollen auf diese Weise beim Umgang mit den daraus entstehenden Interessenkollisionen und Konflikten vor Ort unterstützt werden. INHALT ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 7 I. EINLEITUNG 9 II. KOMMUNIKATION UND BETEILIGUNG BEIM INFRASTRUKTURAUSBAU VOR ORT 11 1. Kommunikation und Beteiligung – was ist das und was können sie leisten? 11 2. Die Rolle der Mitglieder des Bundestages 13 3. Bürgerfragen zum Netzausbau 15 4. Erkenntnisse zu Information und Beteiligung aus der Forschung 17 4.1 Bürgerbeteiligung und Demokratie – Konzepte und Definitionen 18 4.2 Erkenntnisse aus der Partizipationsforschung 23 4.3 Ausgewählte Methoden der Beteiligung 28 5. Erkenntnisse aus Praxisbeispielen 31 5.1 Dialog zur Westküstenleitung in Schleswig-Holstein 31 5.2 Dialog zur Leitung Dörpen/West–Niederrhein in Niedersachsen 36 5.3 Dialoge im Rahmen des BESTGRID-Projekts 39 5.4 Mediationsverfahren Umspannwerk Hagen-Garenfeld 41 5.5 Tunneldialog Schwäbisch Gmünd 42 5.6 Dialog zur Bahnstrecke Hanau–Fulda 43 5.7 Aktuelle MdB-Veranstaltungen zum Netzausbau 43 6. Fazit aus den Praxiserfahrungen mit Kommunikation und Beteiligung 51 III. HANDLUNGSMÖGLICHKEITEN FÜR MDB FÜR EINE ERFOLGREICHE KOMMUNIKATION UND BÜRGERBETEILIGUNG 55 1. Ziele und Zielgruppe 55 2. Der richtige Zeitpunkt 55 3. Vertrauen als wichtigster »weicher Faktor« 56 4. Eigene Veranstaltungen – welches Format ist geeignet? 57 5. Praktische Komponenten einer erfolgreichen Veranstaltung 60 IV. HINTERGRUNDWISSEN ZUM NETZAUSBAU 67 1. Rechtlicher Rahmen – das Planungsverfahren 67 2. Akteure und ihre Rollen 72 3. Hintergründe zu den häufigsten Fragen der Bürger 74 3.1 Gesundheitsschutz 74 3.2 Wohnumfeldschutz – Abstandsregelungen 75 3.3 Wertverlust von Grundstücken 76 3.4 Landschafts-/Ortsbild – Möglichkeiten der Verkabelung 77 3.5 Einschränkung der Bewirtschaftung 78 3.6 Bündelung/Überbündelung 78 3.7 Mitnahme/Rückbau 79 3.8 Vogelschutz 79 4. Kleiner Exkurs zur Technik des Netzausbaus 80 LITERATUR 82 1. In Auftrag gegebene Gutachten 82 2. Weitere Literatur 82 ANHANG 86 1. Tabellenverzeichnis 86 2. Abbildungsverzeichnis 8

cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Type I Is Implicated in the Regulation of the Timing and Quality of Sleep and Wakefulness

Many effects of nitric oxide (NO) are mediated by the activation of guanylyl cyclases and subsequent production of the second messenger cyclic guanosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP activates cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PRKGs), which can therefore be considered downstream effectors of NO signaling. Since NO is thought to be involved in the regulation of both sleep and circadian rhythms, we analyzed these two processes in mice deficient for cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I (PRKG1) in the brain. Prkg1 mutant mice showed a strikingly altered distribution of sleep and wakefulness over the 24 hours of a day as well as reductions in rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS) duration and in non-REM sleep (NREMS) consolidation, and their ability to sustain waking episodes was compromised. Furthermore, they displayed a drastic decrease in electroencephalogram (EEG) power in the delta frequency range (1–4 Hz) under baseline conditions, which could be normalized after sleep deprivation. In line with the re-distribution of sleep and wakefulness, the analysis of wheel-running and drinking activity revealed more rest bouts during the activity phase and a higher percentage of daytime activity in mutant animals. No changes were observed in internal period length and phase-shifting properties of the circadian clock while chi-squared periodogram amplitude was significantly reduced, hinting at a less robust oscillator. These results indicate that PRKG1 might be involved in the stabilization and output strength of the circadian oscillator in mice. Moreover, PRKG1 deficiency results in an aberrant pattern, and consequently a reduced quality, of sleep and wakefulness, possibly due to a decreased wake-promoting output of the circadian system impinging upon sleep

Above-ground carbon stocks, species diversity and fire dynamics in the Bateke Plateau

Savannas are heterogeneous systems characterised by a high spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem structure. Savannas dominate the tropics, with important ecological functions, and play a prominent role in the global carbon cycle, in particular responsible for much of its inter-annual variability. They are shaped by resource availability, soil characteristics and disturbance events, particularly fire. Understanding and predicting the demographic structure and woody cover of savannas remains a challenge, as it is currently poorly understood due to the complex interactions and processes that determine them. A predictive understanding of savanna ecosystems is critical in the context of land use management and global change. Fire is an essential ecological disturbance in savannas, and forest-savanna mosaics are maintained by fire-mediated positive feedbacks. Over half of the world’s savannas are found in Africa, and over a quarter Africa’s surface burns every year, with fires occurring principally in the savanna biome. These have strong environmental and social impacts. Most fires in Africa are anthropogenic and occur during the late dry season, but their dynamics and effects remain understudied. The main objective of this research is to understand the floristic composition, carbon storage, woody cover and fire regime of the mesic savannas of the Bateke Plateau. The Bateke Plateau is savanna-forest mosaic ecosystem, situated mainly in the Republic of Congo, with sandy Kalahari soils and enough precipitation for potential forest establishment (1600 mm/yr). Despite occupying 89,800 km2, its ecology and ecosystem functions are poorly understood. This study combines two approaches: firstly experimental, setting up long term field experiments where the fire regime is manipulated, and then observational, using remote sensing to estimate the carbon storage and study the past history of the fire regime in the region. I established four large (25 ha) plots at two savanna sites, measured their carbon stocks, spatial structure and floristic composition, and applied different annual fire treatments (early and late dry season burns). These treatments were applied annually during 3 years (2015, 2016 and 2017), and the plots were re-measured every year to estimate tree demographic rates and the identification of the key processes that impact them, including fire and competition. Field data were combined with satellite radar data from ALOS PALSAR, and the fire products of the MODIS satellites, to estimate carbon stocks and fire regimes for the entire Bateke Plateau. I also analyse the underlying biophysical and anthropogenic processes that influence the patterns in Above-Ground Woody Biomass (AGWB) and their spatial variability in the Bateke landscape. The total plant carbon stocks (above-ground and below-ground) were low, averaging only 6.5 ± 0.3 MgC/ha, with grass representing over half the biomass. Soil organic matter dominate the ecosystem carbon stocks, with 16.7 ± 0.9 Mg/ha found in the top 20 cm alone. We identified 49 plant species (4 trees, 13 shrubs, 4 sedges, 17 forbs and 11 grass species), with a tree hyperdominance of Hymenocardia acida, and a richer herbaceous species composition. These savannas showed evidence of tree clustering, and also indications of tree-tree competition. Trees had low growth rates (averaging 1.21 mm/yr), and mortality was relatively low (3.24 %/yr) across all plots. The experiment showed that late dry season fires significantly reduced tree growth compared to early dry season fires, but also reduced stem mortality rates. Results show that these mesic savannas had very low tree biomass, with tree cover held far below its climate potential closed-canopy maximum, likely due to nutrient poor sandy soils and frequent fires. Results from the remote sensing analysis indicated that multiple explanatory variables had a significant effect on AGWB in the Bateke Plateau. Overall, the frequency of fire had the largest impact on AGWB (with higher fire frequency resulting in lower AGWB), with sand content the next most important explanatory variable (with more sand reducing AGWB). Fires in the Bateke are very frequent, and show high seasonality. The proportion of fires that occurred in the late dry season, though smaller predictor, was also more important than other factors (including soil carbon proportion, whether or not the savanna area was in a protected area, annual rainfall, or distance to the nearest town, river or road), with a larger proportion of late dry season fires associated with a small increase in AGWB. The results give pointers for management of the savannas of the Bateke Plateau, as well as improving our understanding of vegetation dynamics in this understudied ecosystem and help orient policy and conservation

Precipitation gradients drive high tree species turnover in the woodlands of eastern and southern Africa

Savannas cover one-fifth of the Earth's surface, harbour substantial biodiversity, and provide a broad range of ecosystem services to hundreds of millions of people. The community composition of trees in tropical moist forests varies with climate, but whether the same processes structure communities in disturbance-driven savannas remains relatively unknown. We investigate how biodiversity is structured over large environmental and disturbance gradients in woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. We use tree inventory data from the Socio-Ecological Observatory for Studying African Woodlands (SEOSAW) network, covering 755 ha in a total of 6780 plots across nine countries of eastern and southern Africa, to investigate how alpha, beta, and phylogenetic diversity varies across environmental and disturbance gradients. We find strong climate-richness patterns, with precipitation playing a primary role in determining patterns of tree richness and high turnover across these savannas. Savannas with greater rainfall contain more tree species, suggesting that low water availability places distributional limits on species, creating the observed climate-richness patterns. Both fire and herbivory have minimal effects on tree diversity, despite their role in determining savanna distribution and structure. High turnover of tree species, genera, and families is similar to turnover in seasonally dry tropical forests of the Americas, suggesting this is a feature of semiarid tree floras. The greater richness and phylogenetic diversity of wetter plots shows that broad-scale ecological patterns apply to disturbance-driven savanna systems. High taxonomic turnover suggests that savannas from across the regional rainfall gradient should be protected if we are to maximise the conservation of unique tree communities