Interventions and instruments to promote sustainable land use in Europe

Since the first examples of human settlements, land has been subject to transformations. With the industrial revolution and in particular after the Second World War, land transformation has become more intense in terms of overexploitation of natural resources. Only recently, however, have policy and decision makers acknowledged the importance of land as a finite resource. Sustainable development has increasingly become the subject of many studies and a reason for debate, leading to different lines of thought among the various disciplines. This has led to the design and implementation of a great number of sustainable land use practices in many European cities and regions. In fact, it seems that sustainability of land use depends both on the socio-economic processes that trigger spatial development and the effectiveness of the instruments that regulate these processes (Solly et al., 2020). The need for a more sustainable and eco-compatible approach, and the European objective to achieve zero net land take 2050 (Science for Environment Policy, 2016), have been one of the reasons why ESPON launched the pan-European research project SUPER – Sustainable Urbanization and land-use in the European Regions. The project examines, on the one hand, the nature and the structure of urbanization processes and, on the other, it seeks to analyze the degree of success of interventions and instruments aiming at a more sustainable use of land. This contribution presents the results of the project by focusing especially on the content of the SUPER “Guide to Sustainable Urbanisation and Land Use” (Cotella et al., 2020). Thanks to the exploration of more than two hundred examples of urbanization interventions gathered all over Europe, the guide suggests a set of policy recommendations for policy and decision makers in order to address land use in a more sustainable perspective. According to the different objectives and contextual needs, policy and decision makers should focus more on: (i) which intervention (i.e. densification, regeneration, containment, governance and sectoral policies) and (ii) which instrument, should be used (i.e. visions and strategies, rules and legal devices, land use regulations, programmes and projects)

ESPON SUPER – Sustainable Urbanisation and land-use Practices in European Regions. A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION AND LAND-USE

Guides help you do things. You turn to them when you need to find out how to solve a problem. They are a form of knowledge transfer, written by experts in a way that is accessible and helpful to a wide audience. This guide was written by the researchers engaged in the ESPON 2020 applied research project on Sustainable Urbanisation and Land-Use Practices in European Regions (SUPER). It aims to help people and institutions engaged with land-use management at various levels across Europe to promote sustainable urbanisation in their territories. Overall, the guide offers information, ideas and perspectives to help decision-makers and policymakers to proactively contribute to more equal, balanced, and sustainable territorial development. The decision to convert land to a different use influences our quality of life and that of future generations, and, as this Guide shows, a large toolbox of interventions exists that can help alter prevailing land-use practices. Choosing among them is a tough decision, and implementation may require strong political commitment and bold leadership. We hope that this Guide provides the inspiration to accept this challenge

Reviewing the Carbonation Resistance of Concrete

The paper reviews the studies on one of the important durability properties of concrete i.e. Carbonation. One of the main causes of deterioration of concrete is carbonation, which occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) penetrates the concrete’s porous system to create an environment with lower pH around the reinforcement in which corrosion can proceed. Carbonation is a major cause of degradation of concrete structures leading to expensive maintenance and conservation operations. Herein, the importance, process and effect of various parameters such as water/cement ratio, water/binder ratio, curing conditions, concrete cover, super plasticizers, type of aggregates, grade of concrete, porosity, contaminants, compaction, gas permeability, supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs)/ admixtures on the carbonation of concrete has been reviewed. Various methods for estimating the carbonation depth are also reported briefl

Warming and elevated CO2 promote rapid incorporation and degradation of plant-derived organic matter in an ombrotrophic peatland

Rising temperatures have the potential to directly affect carbon cycling in peatlands by enhancing organic matter (OM) decomposition, contributing to the release of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere. In turn, increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration may stimulate photosynthesis, potentially increasing plant litter inputs belowground and transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial ecosystems. Key questions remain about the magnitude and rate of these interacting and opposing environmental change drivers. Here, we assess the incorporation and degradation of plant- and microbe-derived OM in an ombrotrophic peatland after 4 years of whole-ecosystem warming (+0, +2.25, +4.5, +6.75 and +9°C) and two years of elevated CO2 manipulation (500 ppm above ambient). We show that OM molecular composition was substantially altered in the aerobic acrotelm, highlighting the sensitivity of acrotelm carbon to rising temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentration. While warming accelerated OM decomposition under ambient CO2, new carbon incorporation into peat increased in warming × elevated CO2 treatments for both plant- and microbe-derived OM. Using the isotopic signature of the applied CO2 enrichment as a label for recently photosynthesized OM, our data demonstrate that new plant inputs have been rapidly incorporated into peat carbon. Our results suggest that under current hydrological conditions, rising temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels will likely offset each other in boreal peatlands

The regulation of miRNAs by reconstituted high-density lipoproteins in diabetes-impaired angiogenesis

Diabetic vascular complications are associated with impaired ischaemia-driven angiogenesis. We recently found that reconstituted high-density lipoproteins (rHDL) rescue diabetes-impaired angiogenesis. microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate angiogenesis and are transported within HDL to sites of injury/repair. The role of miRNAs in the rescue of diabetes-impaired angiogenesis by rHDL is unknown. Using a miRNA array, we found that rHDL inhibits hsa-miR-181c-5p expression in vitro and using a hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic and antimiR identify a novel anti-angiogenic role for miR-181c-5p. miRNA expression was tracked over time post-hindlimb ischaemic induction in diabetic mice. Early post-ischaemia when angiogenesis is important, rHDL suppressed hindlimb mmu-miR-181c-5p. mmu-miR-181c-5p was not detected in the plasma or within HDL, suggesting rHDL specifically targets mmu-miR-181c-5p at the ischaemic site. Three known angiogenic miRNAs (mmu-miR-223-3p, mmu-miR-27b-3p, mmu-miR-92a-3p) were elevated in the HDL fraction of diabetic rHDL-infused mice early post-ischaemia. This was accompanied by a decrease in plasma levels. Only mmu-miR-223-3p levels were elevated in the hindlimb 3 days post-ischaemia, indicating that rHDL regulates mmu-miR-223-3p in a time-dependent and site-specific manner. The early regulation of miRNAs, particularly miR-181c-5p, may underpin the rescue of diabetes-impaired angiogenesis by rHDL and has implications for the treatment of diabetes-related vascular complications

A Multiwell Electrochemical Biosensor for Real-Time Monitoring of the Behavioural Changes of Cells in Vitro

We report the development of a multiwell biosensor for detecting changes in the electrochemical open circuit potential (OCP) generated by viable human cells in vitro. The instrument features eight culture wells; each containing three gold sensors around a common silver/silver chloride reference electrode, prepared using screen-printed conductive inks. The potential applications of the device were demonstrated by monitoring rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts (RSF) and HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells in response to chemical and biological treatments. This technology could provide an alternative to conventional end-point assays used in the fields of chemotherapy, toxicology and drug discovery

Unravelling the age of fine roots of temperate and boreal forests

Fine roots support the water and nutrient demands of plants and supply carbon to soils. Quantifying turnover times of fine roots is crucial for modeling soil organic matter dynamics and constraining carbon cycle–climate feedbacks. Here we challenge widely used isotopebased estimates suggesting the turnover of fine roots of trees to be as slow as a decade. By recording annual growth rings of roots from woody plant species, we show that mean chronological ages of fine roots vary from <1 to 12 years in temperate, boreal and sub-arctic forests. Radiocarbon dating reveals the same roots to be constructed from 10 ± 1 year (mean ± 1 SE) older carbon. This dramatic difference provides evidence for a time lag between plant carbon assimilation and production of fine roots, most likely due to internal carbon storage. The high root turnover documented here implies greater carbon inputs into soils than previously thought which has wide-ranging implications for quantifying ecosystem carbon allocation.Peer reviewe

Whole-soil warming decreases abundance and modifies the community structure of microorganisms in the subsoil but not in surface soil

The microbial community composition in subsoils remains understudied, and it is largely unknown whether subsoil microorganisms show a similar response to global warming as microorganisms at the soil surface do. Since microorganisms are the key drivers of soil organic carbon decomposition, this knowledge gap causes uncertainty in the predictions of future carbon cycling in the subsoil carbon pool (> 50 % of the soil organic carbon stocks are below 30 cm soil depth). In the Blodgett Forest field warming experiment (California, USA) we investigated how +4 ∘C warming in the whole-soil profile to 100 cm soil depth for 4.5 years has affected the abundance and community structure of microorganisms. We used proxies for bulk microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and functional microbial groups based on lipid biomarkers, such as phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs). With depth, the microbial biomass decreased and the community composition changed. Our results show that the concentration of PLFAs decreased with warming in the subsoil (below 30 cm) by 28 % but was not affected in the topsoil. Phospholipid fatty acid concentrations changed in concert with soil organic carbon. The microbial community response to warming was depth dependent. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased in warmed subsoil, and Gram+ bacteria in subsoils adapted their cell membrane structure to warming-induced stress, as indicated by the ratio of anteiso to iso branched PLFAs. Our results show for the first time that subsoil microorganisms can be more affected by warming compared to topsoil microorganisms. These microbial responses could be explained by the observed decrease in subsoil organic carbon concentrations in the warmed plots. A decrease in microbial abundance in warmed subsoils might reduce the magnitude of the respiration response over time. The shift in the subsoil microbial community towards more Actinobacteria might disproportionately enhance the degradation of previously stable subsoil carbon, as this group is able to metabolize complex carbon sources