Outlining multi-purpose forest inventories to assess the ecosystem approach in forestry

A summary and discussion of selected published results on the current and potential role of forest inventories (with particular reference to the national ones) are presented in the light of the challenges posed by society and policy decisions in the environmental sector. The analysis concentrates mainly on the ecological and socio-economic aspects of the question and on forest inventories’ potential contribution to achieving sustainable forest management.L'articolo è diponibile sul sito dell'editore wwww.tandf.co.uk/journals

Securing a bioenergy future without imports

The UK has legally binding renewable energy and greenhouse gas targets. Energy from biomass is anticipated to make major contributions to these. However there are concerns about the availability and sustainability of biomass for the bioenergy sector. A Biomass Resource Model has been developed that reflects the key biomass supply-chain dynamics and interactions determining resource availability, taking into account climate, food, land and other constraints. The model has been applied to the UK, developing four biomass resource scenarios to analyse resource availability and energy generation potential within different contexts. The model shows that indigenous biomass resources and energy crops could service up to 44% of UK energy demand by 2050 without impacting food systems. The scenarios show, residues from agriculture, forestry and industry provide the most robust resource, potentially providing up to 6.5% of primary energy demand by 2050. Waste resources are found to potentially provide up to 15.4% and specifically grown biomass and energy crops up to 22% of demand. The UK is therefore projected to have significant indigenous biomass resources to meet its targets. However the dominant biomass resource opportunities identified in the paper are not consistent with current UK bioenergy strategies, risking biomass deficit despite resource abundance

Age Moderates Differences in Performance on the Instrumented Timed Up and Go test between People with Dementia and their Informal Caregivers

Introduction The instrumented Timed Up and Go test (iTUG) affords quantification of the subelements of the Timed Up and Go test to assess falls risk and physical performance. A miniature sensor applied to the back is able to capture accelerations and velocities from which the sub-elements of the iTUG can be quantified. This study is the first to compare iTUG performance between people with dementia (PWD) and their age matched caregivers. The aims of this study were to explore how age moderates the differences in performance on the instrumented Timed Up and Go test between PWD and their informal caregivers. Methods Eight-three community dwelling older PWD and their informal caregivers were recruited for this cross sectional, observational study. Participants were grouped by age; <70 years, 70-79 years and 80+ years old. Participants wore an inertial sensor while performing the iTUG in their home. The performance of the sub-elements sit to stand, walking and turning were captured through an algorithm converting accelerations and velocities into performance metrics such as duration and peak velocity. Performance for PWD were compared to caregivers for each age matched group and multiple regression models incorporating age, gender and presence or absence of dementia were computed. Results PWD took longer to turn in <70 year group, suggesting this may be an early indicator of functional decline in this age group. PWD took longer to complete the whole iTUG compared to caregivers in the 70-79 year old group. In the 80+ year old group PWD took longer to complete both walking phases, sit-to-stand and the full iTUG along with displaying slower turning velocity. Multiple regression models illustrated that gender failed to contribute significantly to the model, but age and presence of dementia explained around 30% of the variance of time to complete walking phases, total iTUG and turning velocity. Conclusions Differences were evident in performance of the iTUG between PWD and caregivers even after controlling for age. Age moderates the differences observed in performance