Trees and shrubs as a component of buffer zones: advantages and disadvantages in P-retention

Trees and shrubs are potential components for construction of buffer zones, especially for reducing phosphorus levels in soil. Woody species appear to be less efficient in capturing nutrients from overland flow, at least outside the growing season. Tree seedlings prevent effective mowing and removal of hay, which may lead to an accumulation of dead hay on the zone. Therefore woody species should mainly be used in places where yearly mowing and removal of hay is not feasible

Menetelmäkuvaus ravinnejalanjäljen laskemiseksi. Laskentaesimerkkinä elintarvikeketju. NUTS-hankkeen loppuraportti

Typpi, fosfori ja kalium, ovat välttämättömiä ravinteita kaikelle turvatulle ruuantuotannolle ja elämiselle. Ihmistoiminnan seurauksena kuitenkin varsinkin typpeä ja fosforia on saatettu ravinnekiertoon liikaa, mikä näkyy tuotantoketjujen ravinnevuotojen vuoksi ravinnepäästöinä ja erilaisina ympäristövaikutuksina. Päästöjen lisäksi resurssien rajallisuus rasittaa ravinnetaloutta: fosforivarannot ovat hupenemassa ja reaktiivisen typen valmistaminen ilmakehästä kuluttaa runsaasti fossiilisia polttoaineita. Jotta edellä oleviin ongelmiin voidaan puuttua yksittäisten tuotanto- ja kulutusketjujen hallinnan kautta, on ravinnevirtoja pystyttävä mittaamaan ja arvottamaan. Tässä työssä esitellään menetelmä ravinnejalanjäljen laskemiseksi. Ravinnejalanjäljellä pyritään mittaamaan erilaisten tuotanto- ja kulutusketjujen ravinteiden käytön tehokkuutta. Sillä tarkastellaan, kuinka paljon ketju ottaa käyttöön ravinnetta, ja kuinka paljon käyttöönotetusta ravinnemäärästä saadaan hyötykäyttöön, joko tarkasteltavaan tuotteeseen tai sivutuotteeseen tai muihin ravinteiden hyödyntävään hyödykkeeseen. Samalla tunnistetaan myös ketjun vuotokohdat: hukatut ravinteet voivat olla ravinnehaihtumia tai -huuhtoutumia, tai ravinteita, jotka päätyvät pitkäaikaiseen varastointiin tai jätteenä muuhun kuin ravinnehyötykäyttöön. Näiden luokitusten avulla lasketaan ravinnejalanjälki tarkasteltua toiminnallista yksikköä kohden: ”Tuotetta varten otetaan käyttöön x kg ravinnetta (typpeä tai fosforia), josta hyödynnettiin tuotteessa y % ja kaikki hyötykäyttö huomioon ottaen z %.”Tässä työssä ravinnejalanjäljen laskeminen demonstroidaan kaurahiutaleelle ja kaurapuurolle tehdyn laskelman kautta. Raportissa on ohjeistettu ravinnejalanjäljen laskenta kussakin elinkaaren vaiheessa alkaen alkutuotannon panostuotannosta ja päättyen jätehuoltoon. Laskelman tulokset osoittavat, että kaurahiutaleketju ottaa käyttöön elinkaarensa aikana 42 kg typpeä ja 7 kg fosforia. Typestä 55 % hyödynnettiin päätuotteessa, siis kaurahiutaleissa, ja kokonaisuudessaan, sivutuotteet huomioon ottaen, typen hyötykäyttöaste oli 71 %. Fosforista 55 % hyödynnettiin päätuotteessa ja kokonaisuudessaan fosforin hyötykäyttöaste oli 99 %. Selkeästi heikoimmat typen ja fosforin hyötykäyttöasteet (alle 50 %) ovat jäteveden käsittelyssä ja elintarvikejätteen käsittelyssä. Laskennan tuloksien perusteella voidaan sanoa, että eniten kehitettävää olisi erityisesti jätehuollossa. Ravinnejalanjälki tarjoaa yksinkertaisessa ja vertailukelpoisessa muodossa tietoa ravinneresurssien kulutuksesta ja käytön tehokkuudesta. Siltä osin se on rinnasteinen vesijalanjäljen kanssa vaikkakaan ei ole ravinteiden suhteellista saatavuutta samalla tapaa huomioon kuin vesijalanjälki. Tehdyn laskelman perusteella voidaan todeta ravinnejalanjäljen osoittavan potentiaalia käyttökelpoisena menetelmänä kestävyyden ympäristöllisen dimension tarkasteluun muiden LCA -pohjaisten menetelmien kuten ilmastonmuutos- ja rehevöitymispotentiaalin arvioinnin rinnalla. Ravinnejalanjäljen, hiilijalanjäljen, rehevöittämispotentiaalin sekä lisäksi biodiversiteetin muutosta kuvaavan potentiaalin ja ekotoksisen jalanjäljen arviointi antaisi yhdistettyinä tuotevirran ja tuotteiden ekologisesta kestävyydestä jo nykyistä paljon paremman kokonaiskuvan. Ravinnejalanjälkeä voidaan soveltaa elintarvikkeiden tuotantotehokkuuden tarkasteluun, mikä on järkevää lannoite- ja ruuantuotannon vastatessa suurimmasta osasta ravinnevirroista, mutta myös se soveltuu myös muihin bioenergian ja biomateriaalien tuotantoketjujen tarkasteluun ja kehittämiseen.ABSTRACT Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are necessary nutrients for all secure food production and all life. However, as a result of human activity, excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in particular have been introduced into the nutrient cycle, which, due to nutrient leakage from production chains, manifests itself in the form of nutrient emissions and different environmental impacts. In addition to emissions, the nutrient economy is burdened by the limited amount of resources available: the phosphorus resources are dwindling, and the manufacture of reactive nitrogen from theatmosphere requires large amounts of fossil fuels. To be able to tackle the problems described above through management of individual production and consumption chains, it must be possible to quantify and evaluate nutrient flows. This study presents a method for calculating the nutrient footprint. The aim with using the nutrient footprint is to measure the efficiency of utilisation of nutrients in various production and consumption chains. It is used for examining how much nutrients each chain takes in, and how much of this intake of nutrients is utilised, either in the product under study or its by-product, or some other commodity making use of nutrients. At the same time, the leakage points along the chain are also identified: the nutrients can be lost through evaporation or leaching, or they may end up in long-term storage, or as waste without nutrient recovery. On the basis of these classifications, the nutrient footprint per functional unit under study is calculated: “For the product, a total of x kg of the nutrient (nitrogen or phosphorus) is taken to use, of which y% was utilised in the product, the total utilisation rate amounting to z% with all practical uses considered.” In this study, the calculation of the nutrient footprint is demonstrated by means of a calculation made for oatmeal and porridge. The report includes instructions for calculating the nutrient footprint in each phase of the life cycle, beginning from input production in primary production and ending with waste management. The results of the calculation show that, during its life cycle, the oatmeal chain takes in 42 kg of nitrogen and 7 kg of phosphorus. 55% of the nitrogen was utilised in the main product, or oatmeal and, with the by-products considered, the total utilisation rate of nitrogen amounted to 71%. 55% of the phosphorus was utilised in the main product, and the total utilisation rate of phosphorus was 99%. Clearly the weakest utilisation rates of nitrogen and phosphorus (less than 50%) are achieved in sewage disposal and food waste treatment. On the basis of the results of this calculation, it could be stated that waste management is the sector with the most room for improvement. The nutrient footprint offers information on the consumption and efficiency of utilisation of nutrient resources in a simple and comparable form. In that sense, it is comparable with the water footprint, even though it does not take account of the relative access to nutrients in the same manner as the water footprint. On the basis of the calculation made, it can be concluded that the nutrient footprint would seem to be a usable method for examining the environmental dimension of sustainability alongside other LCA-based methods, such as the assessment of the climate change potential and eutrophication potential. In addition, we would be able to obtain a much clearer overall image of the ecological sustainability of the product flows and the products if the assessments of the nutrient footprint, the carbon footprint, and the eutrophication potential, as well as the ecotoxicity footprint and the potential describing the biodiversity change were combined. The nutrient footprint can be applied to the study of the production efficiency of food products, which is rational since feed and food production is responsible for the main part of nutrient flows, but it is also suited for the examination and development of other production chains for bioenergy and biomaterials.201

Leveraging the benefits of modularity in the provision of integrated solutions: A strategic learning perspective

The purpose of this study is to improve the current understanding of the ways a manufacturer can learn to leverage the benefits associated with modular solution designs in its transition to a solution provider. We find that a modular solution design acts as a key integration mechanism, allowing the provider to orchestrate actors in the supply network for simultaneous exploitation of resources related to the existing solution modules and exploration of new ones. Yet, to implement a modular solution design effectively, the provider needs to engage in strategic learning that improves its ability to explore customers' readiness to adopt new types of solutions, while it develops an ability to deploy the derivative solutions by utilizing the resources related to its core product business. Mastering the co-evolutionary processes of strategic learning that combine elements of explorative and exploitative learning facilitates a pursuit of the industrializer path to service-based growth. For managers, our findings demonstrate the ways a manufacturer may unlock the economies of scale in solution business by leveraging the benefits of a modular solution design.</p

The next phase in servitization: transforming integrated solutions into modular solutions

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Engaging a product-focused sales force in solution selling: interplay of individual- and organizational-level conditions

This study explains how manufacturers tackle the critical managerial challenge of transforming a product-focused sales force to undertake solution selling. Through an application of configurational theory, the authors explain how individual and organizational conditions combine to determine salespeople’s engagement in solution selling.Multilevel, multisource data from the sales organization of a global supplier of building solutions represent input from salespeople (N = 184), solution champions (N = 23), and sales managers (N = 26). A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis reveals no single, optimal way to overcome transformation challenges. Rather, consistent with prior research, solution selling requires certain types of salespeople, because valuebased selling is a necessary condition for successful engagement. Beyond this foundational condition, a heterogeneous sales force can be engaged, as long as the organization provides appropriate support that is tailored to individual salespersons’ needs. The findings affirm that this viable support can come from either sales managers or solution champions.</p

Trait-based responses to land use and canopy dynamics modify long-term diversity changes in forest understories

Aim Land use is the foremost cause of global biodiversity decline, but species do not respond equally to land-use practices. Instead, it is suggested that responses vary with species traits, but long-term data on the trait-mediated effects of land use on communities are scarce. Here we study how forest understorey communities have been affected by two land-use practices during 4-5 decades, and whether changes in plant diversity are related to changes in functional composition. Location Finland. Time period 1968-2019. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods We resurveyed 245 vegetation plots in boreal herb-rich forest understories, and used hierarchical Bayesian linear models to relate changes in diversity, species composition, average plant size, and leaf economic traits to reindeer abundance, forest management intensity, and changes in climate, canopy cover and composition. We also studied the relationship between species evenness and plant size across both space and time. Results Intensively managed forests decreased in species richness and had increased turnover, but management did not affect functional composition. Increased reindeer densities corresponded with increased leaf dry matter content, evenness and diversity, and decreased height and specific leaf area. Successional development in the canopy was associated with increased specific leaf area and decreased leaf dry matter content and height in the understorey over the study period. Effects of reindeer abundance and canopy density on diversity were partially mediated by vegetation height, which had a negative relationship with evenness across both space and time. Observed changes in climate had no discernible effect on any variable. Main conclusions Functional traits are useful in connecting vegetation changes to the mechanisms that drive them, and provide unique information compared to turnover and diversity metrics. These trait-dependent selection effects could inform which species benefit and which suffer from land-use changes and explain observed biodiversity changes under global change.Peer reviewe

Cyclic alternating pattern is associated with cerebral hemodynamic variation: A near-infrared spectroscopy study of sleep in healthy humans

The cylic alternating pattern (CAP), that is, cylic variation of brain activity without non-REM sleep stages, is related to sleep instability and preservation, as well as consolidation of learning. Unlike the well-known electrical activity of CAP, its cerebral hemodynamic counterpart has not been assessed in healthy subjects so far. We recorded scalp and cortical hemodynamics with near-infrared spectroscopy on the forehead and systemic hemodynamics (heart rate and smplitude of the photoplethysmograph) with a finger pulse oximeter during 23 rights in 11 subjects. Electrical CAP activity was recorded with a polysomnogram. CAP was related to changes in scalp, cortical, and systemic hemodynamic signals that resembled the ones seen in arousal. Due to their repetit8ive nature, CAP sequences manifested as low- and very-low-frequency oscillations in the hemodynamic signals. The subtype A3+B showed the strongest hemodynamic changes. A transient hypoxia occurred during CAP cycles, suggesting that an increased CAP rate, especially with the subtype A3+B, which may result from diseases or fragmented sleep, might have an adverse effect on the cerebral vasculature.Peer reviewe

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