Ethnobotanische Aspekte der Hochgebirgsflora der Ostalpen

Hochgebirge stellen vielfältige und ökologisch extrem wertvolle Lebensräume dar. Im Alpenraum ist die gut adaptierte und artenreiche Kälteflora nachweislich durch den anthropogen induzierten Klimawandel und durch Änderungen der Landnutzung zumindest lokal stark gefährdet. Der Verlust an biologischer Vielfalt hat letztlich auch für die lokale Bevölkerung und ihre kulturelle Vielfalt Konsequenzen. Um herauszufinden, wie groß diese Auswirkungen im Alpenraum sein können, wird in dieser Arbeit der Frage um das Potential an ethnobotanisch wertvollen Pflanzen nachgegangen. Beispielhaft für die Ostalpen wurden die Gefäßpflanzen oberhalb der Waldgrenze von drei GLORIA-Gebieten – Hochschwab, Schrankogel und Latemar – untersucht. Von den insgesamt 645 Arten wurden für 471 Arten (73%) beschriebene Anwendungen dokumentiert. Obwohl die absoluten Artenanzahlen in den Untersuchungsgebieten stark variieren, liegen die prozentuellen Anteile an nutzbaren Arten in allen drei Gebieten zwischen 71 und 75%. Die häufigste Nutzungsform, mit 49% aller berücksichtigten Arten, ist die Verwendung als Nahrungspflanzen, gefolgt von Heilpflanzen, mit 40%. Aber auch Verwendungen als Zier-, Ritual-, Kosmetik- und Färbepflanzen, sowie diverse sonstige Nutzungen wurden dokumentiert und in der vorliegenden Arbeit dargestellt. Die Anteile der nutzbaren Arten sowie die Verhältnisse der einzelnen Nutzungsgruppen zueinander bleiben über die Höhenstufenverbreitung relativ konstant. Die ausschließlich in den alpinen und nivalen Höhenstufen vorkommenden Gefäßpflanzen, weisen jedoch mit 57% den geringsten Anteil an nutzbaren Arten auf, und die Arten, deren Verbreitungsschwerpunkt in der subalpinen Stufe liegt, mit 85% den höchsten. Bei (sub-)endemischen und gefährdeten, seltenen oder geschützten Arten konnte ich im Vergleich zu den häufigeren Arten keine wesentlichen Unterschiede im Anteil zwischen nutzbaren und nicht nutzbaren Arten feststellen.High mountain regions are extremely diverse in terms of habitats and species. They are therefore of particular ecological value. Accelerating anthropogenic climate change and changes in land-use practices are endangering the flora of the Alps that previously adapted to the cold; effects of warming on alpine vegetation are already being observed. The expected decrease in biodiversity will ultimately also have consequences to the spread of local and regional traditional knowledge to future generations. In order to estimate the magnitude of such consequences, this study attempts to assess the potential of plant species that are relevant to ethnobotany. Exemplary for the Eastern Alps, vascular plants growing above the timber line in the three GLORIA target regions – Hochschwab, Schrankogel and Latemar – were studied. In total 471 (73%) out of 645 considered species are or were used in some way. Although the number of useful plant species vary among regions, their percentages lie between 71 and 75% in all regions. Most of these useful species are edible plants (49% of the total number), followed by medicinal plants (40%). Furthermore, ornamental plants, plants used for rituals or cosmetics, dye plants and various other types of plant usage were documented and treated in this study. The proportions of useful plants did not vary in relation to the altitudinal distribution of species. Plant species being restricted to the alpine and nival zones, however, had the lowest percentage of useful plants (57%), whereas species having a clear centre of distribution in the sub-alpine zone showed the highest proportion of useful plants (85%). A comparison of the proportion of useful plants among (sub-)endemic, endangered, rare and/or protected species versus the more common ones did not yield obvious differences

Bergkrauttee und Maiwipferlsirup

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Verwendung und den Bedeutungen von Wildpflanzen in Regionen der steirischen Kalkalpen. Die Fragestellung teilt sich in vier Detailfragen: Welche Wildpflanzen werden aktuell als Nahrungs- und/oder Heilpflanzen genutzt? Von wem werden sie genutzt? Woher kommt das Wissen darüber? Warum wird gesammelt und genutzt? Die theoretische Verankerung erfolgte in der Ethnobotanik und der Ethnomedizin bzw. Medical Anthropology. Insbesondere die Thematik um die Generierung von ganzheitlichem Wohlbefinden und den damit verbundenen Theorien zu Körper-Konzeptionen und Selbstwahrnehmungen bilden eine Grundlage für diese Arbeit. Da das Subjekt und die subjektive Wahrnehmung im Mittelpunkt des Interesses stehen, bediente ich mich qualitativer Forschungsmethoden, die den Anspruch haben, Lebenswelten aus der Sicht der handelnden Menschen zu beschreiben. Es wurden acht semi-strukturierte Leitfadeninterviews mit sechs Personen, sowie teilnehmende Beobachtung durchgeführt und anschließend mit Hilfe der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse nach MAYRING (2003) ausgearbeitet. Im Ergebnisteil wurden über 100 verschiedene Arten dokumentiert, die aktuell als Nahrungs- und/oder Heilpflanzen genutzt werden. Auch wenn Erfahrungswissen in ruralen Gebieten weiterhin verbreitet ist, ist die Anzahl der Personen, die dieses Wissen gebrauchen und aktuell Wildpflanzen nutzen eher gering. Die Wertigkeit um die Wildpflanzennutzung hat sich gewandelt, es besteht keine Notwendigkeit zu sammeln, traditionelle Bezüge sind zweitrangig. Die Praxis und die ganzheitlichen Erfahrungen stehen im Vordergrund, um das Selbst zu stärken und aktiv zum eigenen Wohlbefinden beitragen zu können.This work focuses on the uses and the meanings of wild plants in regions of the Styrian Limestone Alps. The leading question is divided into four matters of detail: Which wild plants where currently used as edible and/or medicinal plants? Who uses wild plants nowadays? Where is the knowledge about it from? Why do people gather and use wild plants? The topic is embedded in concepts of ethnobotany and medical anthropology. In particular the holistic view of wellbeing and theories about embodiment and self-perception were operated as theoretical foundation. Due to the fact that the subject and the subjective perception are in the center of attention, I have chosen qualitative research methods to collect data. I conducted eight semistructured interviews with six persons and performed participant observation. Information was analysed by means of Qualitative Content Analysis according to MAYRING (2003). More than 100 plant species were documented as currently used for nourishment edible and/or as medicinal plants. Practical knowledge is distributed, but only a limited amount of people actually apply it and use wild plants. The significance about the use of wild plants has changed; there is no necessity anymore to gather plants and traditional occasions are subordinated. Practical experiences and holistic perceptions are reasons for using wild plants in order to strengthen the Self and to be conducive to the own wellbeing

Changes in plant diversity in a water‑limited and isolated high‑mountain range (Sierra Nevada, Spain)

Open Access funding provided by University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). This study was funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (project MEDIALPS-Disentangling anthropogenic drivers of climate change impacts on alpine plant species: Alps vs. Mediterranean mountains).Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https ://doi.org/10.1007/s0003 5-021-00246 -x.We thank Manfred Bardy-Durchhalter for managing the database, Imran Nadeem for discussing climate data preparation, and National Park and Andalusian Environmental Agency staff for their assistance in the field in 2015 and 2019, and answering our questions.Climate change impacts are of a particular concern in small mountain ranges, where cold-adapted plant species have their optimum zone in the upper bioclimatic belts. This is commonly the case in Mediterranean mountains, which often harbour high numbers of endemic species, enhancing the risk of biodiversity losses. This study deals with shifts in vascular plant diversity in the upper zones of the Sierra Nevada, Spain, in relation with climatic parameters during the past two decades. We used vegetation data from permanent plots of three surveys of two GLORIA study regions, spanning a period of 18 years (2001–2019); ERA5 temperature and precipitation data; and snow cover durations, derived from on-site soil temperature data. Relationships between diversity patterns and climate factors were analysed using GLMMs. Species richness showed a decline between 2001 and 2008, and increased thereafter. Species cover increased slightly but significantly, although not for endemic species. While endemics underwent cover losses proportional to non-endemics, more widespread shrub species increased. Precipitation tended to increase during the last decade, after a downward trend since 1960. Precipitation was positively related to species richness, colonisation events, and cover, and negatively to disappearance events. Longer snow cover duration and rising temperatures were also related to increasing species numbers, but not to cover changes. The rapid biotic responses of Mediterranean alpine plants indicate a tight synchronisation with climate fluctuations, especially with water availability. Thus, it rather confirms concerns about biodiversity losses, if projections of increasing temperature in combination with decreasing precipitation hold true.University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) - Austrian Academy of Science

The Impact of Exercise Training and Supplemental Oxygen on Peripheral Muscles in COPD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: Exercise training is a cornerstone of the treatment of COPD while the related inter-individual heterogeneity in skeletal muscle dysfunction and adaptations are not yet fully understood. We set out to investigate the effects of exercise training and supplemental oxygen on functional and structural peripheral muscle adaptation. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study, 28 patients with non-hypoxemic COPD (FEV1 45.92 ± 9.06%) performed six-weeks of combined endurance and strength training, three times a week while breathing either supplemental oxygen or medical air. The impact on exercise capacity, muscle strength and quadriceps femoris muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), was assessed by maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing, ten-repetition maximum strength test of knee extension, and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Results: After exercise training, patients demonstrated a significant increase of functional capacity, aerobic capacity, exercise tolerance, quadriceps muscle strength and bilateral CSA. Supplemental oxygen affected significantly the training impact on peak work rate when compared to medical air (+0.20 ± 0.03 vs +0.12 ± 0.03 Watt/kg, p = 0.047); a significant increase in CSA (+3.9 ± 1.3 cm2, p = 0.013) was only observed in the training group using oxygen. Supplemental oxygen and exercise induced peripheral desaturation were identified as significant opposing determinants of muscle gain during this exercise training intervention, which led to different adaptations of CSA between the respective subgroups. Conclusions: The heterogenous functional and structural muscle adaptations seem determined by supplemental oxygen and exercise induced hypoxia. Indeed, supplemental oxygen may facilitate muscular training adaptations, particularly in limb muscle dysfunction, thereby contributing to the enhanced training responses on maximal aerobic and functional capacity

Coarsening Dynamics of Domains in Lipid Membranes

We investigate isothermal diffusion and growth of micron-scale liquid domains within membranes of free-floating giant unilamellar vesicles with diameters between 80 and 250 Am. Domains appear after a rapid temperature quench, when the membrane is cooled through a miscibility phase transition such that coexisting liquid phases form. In membranes quenched far from a miscibility critical point, circular domains nucleate and then progress within seconds to late stage coarsening in which domains grow via two mechanisms 1), collision and coalescence of liquid domains, and 2), Ostwald ripening. Both mechanisms are expected to yield the same growth exponent, alpha = 1/3, where domain radius grows as time(alpha). We measure alpha = 0.28 +/- 0.05, in excellent agreement. In membranes close to a miscibility critical point, the two liquid phases in the membrane are bicontinuous. A quench near the critical composition results in rapid changes in morphology of elongated domains. In this case, we measure alpha = 0.50 +/- 0.16, consistent with theory and simulation

Climate change affects vegetation differently on siliceous and calcareous summits of the European Alps

The alpine life zone is expected to undergo major changes with ongoing climate change. While an increase of plant species richness on mountain summits has generally been found, competitive displacement may result in the long term. Here, we explore how species richness and surface cover types (vascular plants, litter, bare ground, scree and rock) changed over time on different bedrocks on summits of the European Alps. We focus on how species richness and turnover (new and lost species) depended on the density of existing vegetation, namely vascular plant cover. We analyzed permanent plots (1 x 1 m) in each cardinal direction on 24 summits (24 x 4 x 4), with always four summits distributed along elevation gradients in each of six regions (three siliceous, three calcareous) across the European Alps. Mean summer temperatures derived from downscaled climate data increased synchronously over the past 30 years in all six regions. During the investigated 14 years, vascular plant cover decreased on siliceous bedrock, coupled with an increase in litter, and it marginally increased on higher calcareous summits. Species richness showed a unimodal relationship with vascular plant cover. Richness increased over time on siliceous bedrock but slightly decreased on calcareous bedrock due to losses in plots with high plant cover. Our analyses suggest contrasting and complex processes on siliceous versus calcareous summits in the European Alps. The unimodal richness-cover relationship and species losses at high plant cover suggest competition as a driver for vegetation change on alpine summits

Baseline Studie zu EU-Missionen in Österreich

Die österreichische Forschungs-, Technologie- und Innovationspolitik ist – nicht zuletzt in Antwort auf die von der EU formulierten fünf Missionen, aber auch darüber hinaus – zunehmend gefordert, gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen sowie, damit verbunden, notwendige transformative Entwicklungen aufzugreifen und konkrete Maßnahmen zu setzen. Die FTI Task Force der österreichischen Bundesregierung hat zu diesem Zweck eine eigene Arbeitsgruppe eingesetzt, die die Koordination der EU-Missionen in Österreich übernommen hat. Des Weiteren wurden in jeder Mission Area in Österreich Mission Action Groups gebildet, die die Abstimmungs- und Entwicklungsarbeit in den Mission Areas im Wesentlichen vorantreiben. Ziel der Analyse ist es somit, in den genannten fünf Missionen (Cancer, Cities, Climate, Soil, Waters) die Ausgangsposition und das Potenzial der österreichischen FTI-Landschaft hinsichtlich missionsorientierter Forschung zu erheben und soweit möglich darzustellen. Auf der Grundlage der Untersuchung soll eine erste Kompetenz- und Ressourcenlandkarte für die Weiterentwicklung der Missionen vorliegen, d.h. einer österreichischen Interpretation der EU-Missionen entsprechen

Introducing the FAIR Principles for research software

Research software is a fundamental and vital part of research, yet significant challenges to discoverability, productivity, quality, reproducibility, and sustainability exist. Improving the practice of scholarship is a common goal of the open science, open source, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) communities and research software is now being understood as a type of digital object to which FAIR should be applied. This emergence reflects a maturation of the research community to better understand the crucial role of FAIR research software in maximising research value. The FAIR for Research Software (FAIR4RS) Working Group has adapted the FAIR Guiding Principles to create the FAIR Principles for Research Software (FAIR4RS Principles). The contents and context of the FAIR4RS Principles are summarised here to provide the basis for discussion of their adoption. Examples of implementation by organisations are provided to share information on how to maximise the value of research outputs, and to encourage others to amplify the importance and impact of this work

Prevalence of RT-qPCR-detected SARS-CoV-2 infection at schools: First results from the Austrian School-SARS-CoV-2 prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The role of schools in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is much debated. We aimed to quantify reliably the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections at schools detected with reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-qPCR). METHODS: This nationwide prospective cohort study monitors a representative sample of pupils (grade 1-8) and teachers at Austrian schools throughout the school year 2020/2021. We repeatedly test participants for SARS-CoV-2 infection using a gargling solution and RT-qPCR. We herein report on the first two rounds of examinations. We used mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and robust 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). FINDINGS: We analysed data on 10,734 participants from 245 schools (9465 pupils, 1269 teachers). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection increased from 0·39% at round 1 (95% CI 028-0·55%, 28 September-22 October 2020) to 1·39% at round 2 (95% CI 1·04-1·85%, 10-16 November). Odds ratios for SARS-CoV-2 infection were 2·26 (95% CI 1·25-4·12, P = 0·007) in regions with >500 vs. ≤500 inhabitants/km2, 1·67 (95% CI 1·42-1·97, P<0·001) per two-fold higher regional 7-day community incidence, and 2·78 (95% CI 1·73-4·48, P<0·001) in pupils at schools with high/very high vs. low/moderate social deprivation. Associations of regional community incidence and social deprivation persisted in a multivariable adjusted model. Prevalence did not differ by average number of pupils per class nor between age groups, sexes, pupils vs. teachers, or primary (grade 1-4) vs. secondary schools (grade 5-8). INTERPRETATION: This monitoring study in Austrian schools revealed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 0·39%-1·39% of participants and identified associations of regional community incidence and social deprivation with higher prevalence. FUNDING: BMBWF Austria