Latest news from the Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) in Bavaria

Der inzwischen auf der EPPO A1-Liste aufgeführte Quarantäneschädling, der Bockkäfer Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853), ist seit seiner Einschleppung nach Braunau am Inn (Österreich) im Jahr 2001 in ganz Europa ein Begriff. Neben zwei unabhängigen Fundorten in Frankreich, 2003 in Gien und 2004 in Sainte-Anne-sur-Brivet (Hérard & al. 2005) wurde eine Freiland-Population dieser Laubbäume schädigenden Art erstmals 2004 auch in Deutschland festgestellt. Bisherige Funde von Käfern in Deutschland waren auf das Gelände des Hamburger Hafens, Umschlagplatz vieler Container aus dem asiatischen Raum, beschränkt (Schliesske 2001). Es konnte aber nie eine Übersiedelung auf Laubbäume in der Umgebung beobachtet werden. Die Situation änderte sich gravierend, als offensichtlich befallene Bäume in Neukirchen am Inn (Gemeinde Neuburg am Inn, Landkreis Passau) in Bayern festgestellt wurden. Symptome wie mangelnde Belaubung, kraterförmige Eiablagestellen und Austritt von Bohrmehl an einem Ahornbaum deuteten auf Befall mit A. glabripennis hin. Nach Entnahme von Astteilen wurden in Gängen Bockkäfer-Larven gefunden, die von Kollegen des Bundesamtes und Forschungszentrums für Wald (BFW) in Wien mittels DNA-Analyse zweifelsfrei als A. glabripennis identifiziert wurden (Hoyer & al. 2003).Since the introduction of Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853) to Neukirchen/Inn, a small village in the rural district Passau, in 2004, considerable efforts were made to eradicate this quarantine pest in Bavaria. This longicorn species mainly infested deciduous trees of urban areas in Neukirchen/Inn. The centre where the infestation started was the graveyard at the outskirts of the town. Into the forestal area, which is about two kilometres away, the population of A. glabripennis couldn’t yet extend. Over the last three years the following taxa of deciduous trees were detected as a host plant of A. glabripennis in Bavaria: Acer spp. (maple), Betula spp. (birch), Aesculus hippocastanum (white chestnut), Salix spp. (willow) and Populus spp. (poplar). At the moment the only way of controlling A. glabripennis seems to be a permanent monitoring in the infested area. For reaching this aim potentially host trees, which show symptoms of infestation, will be cut down, chaffed and burned – also only in the case of suspicion. When in 2004 altogether 16 trees and in the following year only two trees were removed the infestation seemed hopefully to be cleared. But in the middle of October 2005 many egg deposition sites could be found on several maple trees in the graveyard. For reasons of precaution 49 trees were cut in January 2006. The growing season in 2006 almost confirmed the 1½ to 2-year generation cycle of A. glabripennis which is assumed by experts for Central Europe. After the nearly uneventful year 2005 again ten trees in the surrounding of the graveyard showed conspicuous symptoms. Furthermore exit holes of adult beetles could be detected. The trees immediately were removed. The eradication measures and the monitoring in Neukirchen/Inn have to be continued in the following years

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First report of the Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky,1853) (Cerambycidae, Coleoptera) in Bavaria

Anfang Mai 2004 wurden die ersten Anzeichen für die Einschleppung einer invasiven gebietsfremden Art, des baumschädigenden Bockkäfers Anoplophora glabripennis, nach Bayern festgestellt. Ein Ahornbaum am Rande des Parkplatzes vom Friedhof in Neukirchen am Inn (Gemeinde Neuburg am Inn, Landkreis Passau) wies verdächtige Symptome wie Fehlstellen in der Belaubung und kraterförmige Vertiefungen (Eiablagegruben?) in seiner Rinde auf. In unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft zum Friedhof liegt zudem eine Spedition, bei der Granitsteine und andere Granitwaren, teilweise aus dem asiatischen Raum, umgeschlagen bzw. auf Holzpaletten auf dem Betriebsgelände längere Zeit gelagert werden. Von diesem Ahorn wurden verdächtige Aststücke entnommen und im Labor an der Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL) in Freising vorsichtig aufgespalten. Es fanden sich Bohrgänge und Bockkäferlarven, die jedoch eine unterschiedliche Größe aufwiesen. Die dorsale Chitinplatte der Vorderbrust hatte aber die typische burgzinnenartige Form, die als morphologisches Bestimmungskriterium von A. glabripennis in der Literatur angegeben wird (HOYER et al. 2003). Zur eindeutigen Absicherung wurden die Larven an das Bundesamt und Forschungszentrum für Wald (BFW) in Wien geschickt. Die Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus Österreich hatten aufgrund des aufsehenerregenden Fundes von A. glabripennis in Braunau am Inn (Erstfund für Europa, 2001) inzwischen die größte Erfahrung in der sicheren Diagnose des Asiatischen Laubholzbockkäfers. Da bereits damals eine erhöhte Gefahr des „unerlaubten Grenzübertrittes“ ins 300 m entfernte bayerische Simbach am Inn bestand, waren schon Kontakte geknüpft und es wurde auch kollegiale Hilfe angeboten. Die schnelle und unbürokratische Hilfe führte beim Verdachtsfall in Neukirchen am Inn zu einer raschen Aufklärung. Über eine DNA-Analyse mittels PCR konnte in Wien innerhalb kürzester Zeit bestätigt werden, dass es sich bei den Larven um A. glabripennis handelte. Mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit stand auch fest, dass der Einschleppungsweg über die asiatischen Holzpaletten der Spedition abgelaufen sein musste. Wenn man eine einjährige Generationsdauer des Käfers in Mitteleuropa voraussetzt, dann war das Einschleppungsjahr 2003. Da aber bei den meisten Wirtsbäumen inzwischen sogar ein zweijähriger Zyklus angedacht wird, war die Einschleppung vermutlich schon 2002.In May 2004 first signs of the introduction of the longicorn beetle Anoplophora glabripennis to Bavaria were detected in Neukirchen/Inn (rural district Passau). A maple tree near to a truckage company dealing with granite stones also from Asia showed less foliation and other symptoms of a wood boring pest. The investigation of a branch resulted in two larvae, which had on their prothorax a distinctive area well known for A. glabripennis. To confirm the supposition the larvae were sent to the Federal Forest Research Centre in Vienna for a DNA-analysis. After the unambiguously identification of this invasive species a safety zone of 2 kilometres was established around the centre of the infestation. In this safety zone monitorings for damaged deciduous trees which were assumed to be host plants of the beetle were carried out. The citizens of the affected area were informed of the situation and a general ordinance (disposition) was published committing the inhabitants for assistance in eradication measures. Altogether 16 trees were cut down, chaffed and burned during the season 2004: 5 maples, 4 willows, 4 white chestnuts, 2 birches and 1 poplar. All the trees were within a radius of about 500 metres of the centre of infestation. For special investigations concerning the biology of A. glabripennis samples of infested wood were transported to the LfL and kept under conditions of quarantine. From this wood 47 adults emerged between the 2nd of July and the 8th of September. Each of the adults lived about 3-4 weeks. With the death of the last specimen, a male, on the 4th of October, the antennae, the body length and the body width at the shoulders were measured. The antennae of the females were in average 37,5 mm long, the antennae of the males were about 48,0 mm long. The female beetles were with a size of 28,5 mm body length and 9,7 mm body width in average bigger than the males with 25,9 mm length and 8,8 mm body width. At the moment the situation in Neukirchen/Inn seems to be cleared but the Monitoring has to be continued in the following years

The role of social identity in institutional work for sociotechnical transitions: The case of transport infrastructure in Berlin

Generally, sociotechnical change requires that agency is exercised across multiple, connected levels or contexts. Yet there is very little work in the sociotechnical sustainability transitions literature that theorises these connections in ways that acknowledge the individual-level processes involved. Here we show how identity theory can connect macro- and micro-levels of analysis, with identity construction being a social psychological process that is also involved in institutional work. For empirical illustration we use the case of emerging mobility transitions in Berlin, Germany, in particular aspects of institutional work for infrastructural change in favor of cycling. The study shows how the construction of a common identity among varied actor groups has been key to a citizen campaign for safe cycling infrastructure. The construction of a socially inclusive identity relating to cycling has been made possible by prioritizing the development of a campaign network comprised of weak ties among stakeholders, rather than a closer-knit network based on a more exclusive group of sporty cyclists. The findings are discussed in the light of both social psychological models and sociotechnical transitions theory. The implications for scaling niche practices for sustainability are considered

Narratives of change: Strategies for inclusivity in shaping socio-technical future visions

Narratives of change are increasingly becoming the focus in the context of sustainability transition, and one reason for this is the growing awareness of the impact of language on our environment. Drawing on an analysis of narratives of change of the Swedish strategic innovation program Viable Cities, in our article we illustrate how intermediary organizations seeking to facilitate sustainable futures use narratives to develop their strategies for inclusivity, and we discuss the value of narrative analysis to understand such mediation. In so doing, we draw on a narrative approach from literary studies and show the added value of analysis of textual presentation techniques for sustainability transitions research. As interpretations of discourse, narratives shape social communities and not only tell us about change, but also witness, and are intended to drive, specific changes. Our analysis of the presentation techniques of the narrative of Viable Cities reveals the ways in which the narrative seeks to achieve the goal of inclusion, to help drive change towards the goals of sustainability. This is done through the plurality of the storylines and the narration; while the plurality of perspectives is maintained through the essayistic character of the texts, as well as through stretching the time of the narrative

Compliance Check of Health Care Process Models

Improving medical care quality and reducing care costs requires the interaction of patients, healthcare professionals andmedical associations. Patients want to be informed about treatments, healthcare professionals demand easy access to bestpractice information and medical associations need to communicate evidence based guidelines. The configuration of medicalcare workflow systems and the compliance check of care processes according to national and international guidelines is themotivation for this paper. We are following a process model based approach for the management of health care networks. Wepresent a method for the compliance check of process models and enable a configuration of information systems with processmodels. The application of the method as well as the discussion of the practical benefits is illustrated by a real world casestudy

Cooperative Control Design for Robot-Assisted Balance During Gait

Avoiding falls is a challenge for many persons in aging societies, and balance dysfunction is a major risk factor. Robotic solutions to assist human gait, however, focus on average kinematics, and less on instantaneous balance reactions. We propose a controller that only intervenes when needed, and that avoids stability issues when interacting with humans: Assistance is triggered only when balance is lost, and this action is purely feed-forward. Experiments show that subjects who start falling during gait can be uprighted by such feed-forward assistive force

What is needed for citizen-centered urban energy transitions : Insights on attitudes towards decentralized energy storage

This paper aims to fill a research gap in the area of consumer-citizen attitudes to business models for decentralized energy storage, at the level of households and buildings. The study focuses on the interaction of such attitudes and their underlying motivation factors with socio-cultural, contextual factors. Self-determination theory (SDT) is used as a theoretical framework, to connect interpersonal and contextual factors, addressing the question of how contexts influence the motivation to support energy storage. Drawing on SDT, this study examines the role of autarky (independence from the energy system), autonomy (control over energy management) and relatedness (degree of sharing required) in this regard, embedded and interpreted in the socio-cultural local context of two demonstration sites in Sweden and Portugal. A mixed method approach is used. Quantitative survey data provides information on local social and cultural dimensions, followed by stakeholder consultation workshops that elicit participants’ views on different models of decentralized energy storage. The findings raise questions of how to improve autarky and autonomy for prosumers, while keeping the need for time investment low and provide flexibility regarding the required degree of interaction between prosumers. Implications for business models and policy support for citizen-centered sustainable urban energy systems are derived