Organic farming practices and climate change adaptation

The need to adapt to climate change is one of the main challenges facing the future of agriculture. Even if strong and effective mitigation measures were taken, even if greenhouse gas emissions dropped to zero immediately, the climate would continue to change for decades. This is why adaptation is necessary. If global warming can be kept to a moderate level, our need to adapt might primarily reflect gradual changes; but if temperatures rise sharply, adaptation measures will necessarily involve some fundamental transformations in agricultural production. Moreover, as the effects of climate change can vary greatly at local and regional levels, even moderate global warming can trigger fundamental changes in some places

Reduzierte Bodenbearbeitung im Ökologischen Landbau: Einfluss auf Leistung und Struktur der Bodenmikroorganismengemeinschaft

Problemstellung/Ziele: Im Projekt ‚Ökologische Bodenbewirtschaftung’ (PÖB) der Stiftung Ökologie und Landbau, Bad Dürckheim, wird seit 1995 am Standort Rommersheim, Rheinhessen, eine differenzierte Grundbodenbearbeitung mit den Varianten Pflug (P), Zweischichtenpflug (LP) und Schichtengrubber (LC) durchgeführt. Ziel der Untersuchungen war es, vertiefende Einsichten in die Reaktion der mikrobiellen Biomasse auf die differenzierte Bodenbearbeitung unter den besonderen Bedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus zu erhalten. Hypothesen: Eine reduzierte (LP) und konservierende (LC) Bodenbearbeitung führt im Vergleich zum Pflug (P) zu einer Anreicherung und Sequestrierung sowie einer qualitativen Modifikation von organischer Bodensubstanz und mikrobieller Biomasse. Die funktionelle und strukturelle Diversität der Bodenmikroorganismen-Gemeinschaft wird hierdurch ebenfalls modifiziert. Methoden: Im Frühjahr 2001 wurden Bodenproben aus Grünbrache-Parzellen in vierfacher Wiederholung je Bodenbearbeitungsvariante differenziert nach Ober- (0-15cm) und Unterkrume (15-25cm) entnommen und hinsichtlicher der Gehalte an organischer Substanz (trockene Veraschung), mikrobieller Biomasse (CFE-C) und Aktivität (Infrarotgasanalysator) sowie der funktionellen Diversität (community level substrate utilization profiles – BIOLOG GN2) untersucht. Die strukturelle Diversität wurde mittels Phospholipid-Fettsäure (PLFA) und Phospholipid-Etherlipide (PLEL) –Muster analysiert. Ergänzend wurde die Qualität der organischen Bodensubstanz durch eine Kaltwasser-Extraktion und der spektroskopischen Eigenschaften untersucht. Fazit: Reduzierte und konservierende Bodenbearbeitung modifiziert die Organische Bodensubstanz, die Leistung sowie die funktionelle und strukturelle Diversität von Bodenmikroorganismen-Gemeinschaften

Changing Agriculture in a Changing Climate

Changes in weather patterns are going to affect agriculture with impacts differing according to region. The developing countries can reckon with the first effects. The authors look at the role that organic agriculture can play in adaptation. They assess the potential that organic agriculture could have but also look at the contribution that agriculture itself is making to climate change and examine how organic agriculture fares in this respect

Mitigating Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture

Climate change has severe adverse effects on the livelihood of millions of the world’s poorest people. Increasing temperatures, water scarcity and droughts, flooding and storms affect food security. Thus, mitigation actions are needed to pave the way for a sustainable future for all. Currently, agriculture directly contributes about 10-15 percent to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Adding emissions from deforestation and land use change for animal feed production, this rises to about 30 percent. Scenarios predict a significant rise in agricultural emissions without effective mitigation actions. Given all the efforts undertaken in other sectors, agriculture would then become the single largest emitter within some decades, and without mitigation in agriculture, ambitious goals, such as keeping global warming below two degrees may become impossible to reach. The main agricultural emission sources are nitrous oxide from soils and methane from enteric fermentation in ruminants. In addition, conversion of native vegetation and grasslands to arable agriculture releases large amounts of CO2 from the vegetation and from soil organic matter. The main mitigation potential lies in soil carbon sequestration and preserving the existing soil carbon in arable soils. Nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced by reduced nitrogen application, but much still remains unclear about the effect different fertilizer types and management practices have on these emissions. Methane emissions from ruminants can only be reduced significantly by a reduction in animal numbers. Sequestration, finally, can be enhanced by conservative management practices, crop rotation with legumes (grass-clover) leys and application of organic fertilizers. An additional issue of importance are storage losses of food in developing and food wastage in developed countries (each about 30-40 percent of end products). Thus, there are basically five broad categories of mitigation actions in agriculture and its broader context: zz reducing direct and indirect emissions from agriculture; zz increasing carbon sequestration in agricultural soils; zz changing human dietary patterns towards more climate friendly food consumption, in particular less animal products; zz reducing storage losses and food wastage; zz the option of bioenergy needs to be mentioned, but depending on the type of bioenergy several negative side-effects may occur, including effects on food security, biodiversity and net GHG emissions. Although there are many difficulties in the details of mitigation actions in agriculture, a paradigm of climate friendly agriculture based on five principles can be derived from the knowledge about agricultural emissions and carbon sequestration: zz Climate friendly agriculture has to account for tradeoffs and choose system boundaries adequately; zz it has to account for synergies and adopt a systemic approach; zz aspects besides mitigation such as adaptation and food security are of crucial importance; zz it has to account for uncertainties and knowledge gaps, and zz the context beyond the agricultural sector has to be taken into account, in particular food consumption and waste patterns. Regarding policies to implement such a climate friendly agriculture, not much is yet around. In climate policy, agriculture only plays a minor role and negotiations proceed only very slowly on this topic. In agricultural policy climate change mitigation currently plays an insignificant role. In both contexts, some changes towards combined approaches can be expected over the next decade. Its 13 is essential that climate policy adequately captures the special characteristics of the agricultural sector. Policies with outcomes that endanger other aspects of agriculture such as food security or ecology have to be avoided. Agriculture delivers much more than options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and serving as a CO2 sink. We close this report with recommendations for the five most important goals to be realized in the context of mitigation and agriculture and proposals for concrete actions. First, soil organic carbon levels have to be preserved and, if possible, increased. Governments should include soil carbon sequestration in their mitigation and adaptation strategies and the climate funds should take a strong position on supporting such practices. Second, the implementation of closed nutrient cycles and optimal use of biomass has to be supported. Again, governments and funds should act on this. Policy instruments for nitrate regulation are a good starting point for this. As a third and most effective goal, we propose changes in food consumption and waste patterns. Without a switch to attitudes characterized by sufficiency, there is a danger that all attempts for mitigation remain futile. Finally, there are two goals for research, namely to develop improved knowledge on nitrous oxide dynamics, and on methods for assessment of multi-functional farming systems. Without this, adequate policy instruments for climate friendly agriculture and an optimal further development of it are not possible

Methane fluxes, microbial activities and community structures in a wet tundra of the Lena Delta

Wet tundra environments of the Arctic are natural sources of the climate relevant trace gas methane. The underlying biogeochemical processes are not yet well understood. The field investigations were carried out on the island Samoylov (N 72°, E 126°) located in the Lena Delta, Siberia. The study site represented an area of typical polygonal patterned grounds with ice-wedges, which were considered for analyses of methane fluxes, organic matter quality and microbial communities.The mean flux rate of the depression was 53.2 ± 8.7 mg CH4 m-2 d-1, whereas the mean flux rate of the dryer rim part of the polygon was 4.7 ± 2.5 CH4 m-2 d-1. The quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM), which represents an important C pool for microbial communities, correlated significant with the total concentrations of phospholipid fatty acids and ether lipids (PLFA and PLEL) a measure for microbial biomass. Although permafrost soils represent a large carbon pool, it was shown, that the reduced quality of organic matter leads to a substrate limitation of the microbial metabolism. This is an important finding for modelling and calculating trace gas fluxes from permafrost environments, because the known models are consider only the total carbon amount.It can be concluded by the presented results firstly that microbial communities in permafrost environments are composed by members of all three domains of life at numbers comparable to temperate soil ecosystems and secondly that the permafrost microorganisms are well adapted to the extreme temperature gradient of their environment

Klimafreundlicher Bioweinbau auf der Domaine de Beudon

Die Landwirtschaft soll Treibhausgasemissionen reduzieren und klimafreundlicher werden. So die Zielsetzung laut Klimastrategie des Bundesamtes für Landwirtschaft. Dass diese Strategie auch ohne gesetzliche Verpflichtungen umgesetzt werden kann, zeigen Marion und Jacques Granges auf der Domaine de Beudon in Fully VS. Das FiBL hat im Auftrag von Bio Suisse für den Bioweinbetrieb eine Klimabilanz gerechnet

No-till agriculture – a climate smart solution?

No-tillage farming systems or no-till, as an aspect of conservation farming, are actively promoted by international research and development organizations to conserve soils and by this, ensure food security, biodiversity and water conservation. Instead of tilling before seeding, seeds are deposited directly into untilled soil by opening a narrow slot trench or band. Today, it is also seen as mitigation and adaptation option and thus being promoted as a measure to be supported under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There are even many voices advocating no-till to benefit from any future and existing carbon market. But: Is no-till the solution to reduce the hunger in the world and to mitigate climate change? It has been proven that no-till can signifi cantly reduce soil erosion and conserve water in the soils. This is regarded as a basis for higher and more stable crop yields – but science shows that this is not necessarily true. Discouragingly, there are numbers of examples of no yield benefits or even yield reductions under no-till in developing countries, especially in the first up to ten years. However, particularly the crop yields are crucial for the food security of small-scale farmers and not whether a method is more efficient or not. Although humus can be enriched under no-tillage, the sequestration of soil carbon, is result of the accumulated organic matter in the topsoil, is restricted to the upper 10 cm of the soil. Compared with ploughing, no carbon benefi t – or even a carbon defi cit – has been found at soil depths below 20 cm. This is why no-till makes little or no contribution to carbon sequestration and does not prove to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in croplands. The quantifi cation of carbon sequestration rates under no-till are highly doubtful. Anyhow, it is very likely that emission reductions generated from no-till projects in developing countries would serve to offset emissions from he industry and transport sector in developed countries. Those well quantifi ed emissions from developed countries would thus be offset by uncertain reductions from agriculture projects. The overall aim of the UNFCCC – to avoid dangerous climate change – would be jeopardized. Even if no-till became a promising mitigation option, other environmental problems would remain. No-till farming systems often come along with the industrialization of agriculture with high inputs of agrochemicals. On the one hand, small-scale farmers are not skilled in handling such chemicals. On the other hand there remains a risk that they apply cheap chemicals, which persist long-term in the environment. Efforts should therefore be strengthened on how to combine sustainable production systems such as organic agriculture with no-till practices. To summarize, there are too many open questions and uncertainties concerning the impact of no-till on crop yields and carbon sequestration, so that no-till could not be sold as the solution for hunger reduction and adequate option to mitigate climate change but as an important part of integrated strategies. Therefore, we recommend keeping no-till and reduced till out of the carbon market unless reliable carbon offset quantifi cation and monitoring can be undertaken at reasonable cost

Development and evaluation of two instruments to assess nursing staff's competence in mobility care based on kinaesthetics

Development and evaluation of two instruments to assess nursing staff’s competence in mobility care based on kinaesthetics Mobility impairment affects the physical, psychological, and social aspects of a care-dependent person’s life. Nursing staff require competence to provide mobility care that is mobilitypromoting and safe. Kinaesthetics is an approach taking into account these requirements. However, it is unclear how competence in mobility care based on kinaesthetics is defined, no suitable instruments are yet available to assess this competence and no data exist about nursing staff’s levels of competence in mobility care. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an assessment of nursing staff’s competence in mobility care based on kinaesthetics to finally improve care recipients' mobility and thereby quality of life and nursing staff’s musculoskeletal health. The study was carried out in three phases: Phase I involved a concept development on nurses’ competence in kinaesthetics including a literature review and a workshop with kinaesthetics experts (n=7) as well as a systematic literature review about instruments assessing nurses’ skills in patient mobilisation. In phase II, two assessment instruments, the Kinaesthetics Competence Observation (KCO, score from 4-16) and the Kinaesthetics Competence Self-Evaluation (KCSE, score from 4-16) were developed and tested regarding content validity with kinaesthetics experts (n=23). In phase III, a cross-sectional observational study (nursing staff=48, residents=31) using the KCO and a survey (nursing staff=180) using the KCSE was applied in three Swiss nursing homes. The data analysis methods used in this study were content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics including factor and multivariate analysis. Results of phase I revealed that competence in mobility care based on kinaesthetics includes knowledge, skills, attitude and a dynamic state. In the systematic review, 16 observation instruments were described. Phase II: The KCO (4 domains: interaction, support of the person, nurses’ own movement, environment) and KCSE (4 domains: attitude, dynamic state, knowledge, self-perceived skills) were developed based on the results obtained in Phase I. Their content validity index was very good (KCO=1.0, KCSE=0.93). Phase III results demonstrated acceptable preliminary psychometric properties of the new instruments. Nursing staff’s self-assed average level of competence in mobility care was very good (13, SD 1.44) and the observed average competence level was good (10.8, SD 2.44). Higher competence levels in mobility care based on kinaesthetics were positively correlated with amount of completed kinaesthetics training, experience in nursing home care and rate of employment. In conclusion, nursing staff’s competence in mobility care can be self-evaluated efficiently using the KCSE. In order to glean a more objective assessment, the KCO should be used alongside the KCSE. Future research is necessary concerning psychometrics of both assessment instruments and in the area of nursing staff’s competence development in kinaesthetics in practice. Furthermore, inter-professional and international research on guideline development is needed to enhance basic and continuing education in mobility care for nursing staff. More advanced approaches of mobility care could fundamentally change the quality of nursing care in the future.Entwicklung und Evaluierung von zwei Instrumenten zur Erfassung der pflegerischen Kompetenz in der Bewegungsunterstützung basierend auf Kinästhetik. Mobilitätseinschränkungen beeinflussen Menschen in ihren physischen, psychischen und sozialen Aspekten des Lebens. Pflegepersonen benötigen Kompetenz um diese Menschen so zu pflegen, dass deren Mobilität gefördert wird und keine negativen Konsequenzen entstehen. Kinästhetik ist ein Ansatz der diese Aspekte berücksichtigt. Es ist jedoch unklar, wie Kompetenz in Kinästhetik definiert ist. Es fehlen passende Instrumente um diese Kompetenz zu erfassen und es existieren keine Daten zu Kompetenzlevel in der Pflege. Daher war es das Ziel dieser Studie, ein Assessment zur Evaluation der pflegerischen Kompetenz in Kinästhetik zu entwickeln, mit dem Zweck die funktionale Bewegung von pflegebedürftigen Menschen als auch die muskuloskeletale Gesundheit der Pflegepersonen zu verbessern. Die Studie wurde in drei Phasen ausgeführt: Phase I beinhaltete die Entwicklung des Konzeptes „Kompetenz in Kinästhetik“ basierend auf einer Literaturübersicht und einem Workshop mit Kinästhetik-Experten (n=7) sowie eine systematische Literaturübersicht über Instrumente zur Erfassung der pflegerischen Fähigkeiten in der Patientenmobilisation. In Phase II wurden zwei Assessmentinstrumente – das Kinästhetik Kompetenz Beobachtungsinstrument (KCO, Score von 4-16) und das Kinästhetik Kompetenz Selbsteinschätzungsinstrument (KSCE, Score von 4-16) – entwickelt und hinsichtlich Inhaltsvalidität mit Kinästhetik-Experten (n=23) getestet. In Phase III, wurde eine Querschnittsbeobachtungsstudie (Pflegepersonen=48, Pflegeheimbewohner=31) unter Verwendung des KCO und eine Fragebogenerhebung (Pflegepersonen=180) mittels des KCSE in drei Schweizer Pflegeheimen durchgeführt. Datenanalysemethoden waren Inhaltsanalyse, beschreibende und schließende Statistik inklusive Faktorenanalyse und multivariate Analyse. Phase I zeigte, dass Kompetenz in Kinästhetik Wissen, Fertigkeiten, Haltung und Weiterentwicklung beinhaltet. Basierend auf der systematischen Literaturübersicht wurden 16 Beobachtungsinstrumente beschrieben. Phase II: basierend auf den Ergebnissen von Phase I wurde das KCO (4 Bereiche: Interaktion, Bewegungsunterstützung der Person, eigene Bewegung, Umgebungsgestaltung) und das KCSE (4 Bereiche: Haltung, Weiterentwicklung, Wissen und selbsteingeschätzte Fertigkeiten) entwickelt. Deren Inhaltsvalidität war sehr gut (KCO=1.0, KCSE=0.93). Phase III zeigte erste zufriedenstellende psychometrische Eigenschafen der Instrumente. Die selbsteingeschätzte Kompetenz der Pflegenden war sehr gut (13, SD 1.44) und die beobachtete Kompetenz war gut (10.8, SD 2.44). Höhere Kompetenzlevel waren positiv korreliert mit mehr absolviertem Kinästhetik-Training, längerer Erfahrung in der Langzeitpflege und einem höheren Anstellungsgrad. Pflegerische Kompetenz in Kinästhetik kann effizient anhand des KCSE eingeschätzt werden. Um ein objektivere Einschätzung zu erhalten, sollte das KCO zusätzlich angewandt werden. Hinsichtlich der psychometrischen Eigenschaften der Instrumente und der Entwicklung der Kompetenz in Kinästhetik in der Praxis ist weitere Forschung notwendig. Zudem sollten interprofessionelle und internationale Leitlinien erarbeitet werden, um die Aus- und Weiterbildung von Pflegenden hinsichtlich guter Praxis in der Bewegungsunterstützung weiterzuentwickeln. Fortschrittlichere Methoden hinsichtlich der Bewegungsunterstützung könnten die Pflegequalität in der Zukunft grundlegend verändern.Kahden kinestetiikkaan pohjautuvan mittarin kehittäminen ja evaluointi hoitohenkilökunnan osaamisperustan arviointiin liikkumisen avustustilanteissa Liikuntarajoite vaikuttaa hoidosta riippuvaisen henkilön fyysiseen, psyykkiseen ja sosiaaliseen elämään. Hoitohenkilökunta tarvitsee osaamisperustan toteuttaakseen liikkumista edistävää ja turvallista avustamista. Kinestetiikan lähestymistapa huomioi nämä vaatimukset. Epäselvää on, miten osaamisperusta kinestetiikkaan pohjautuvassa liikkumisen avustamisessa määritellään, ei ole olemassa sopivia mittareita kyseisen osaamisperustan arviointiin tai tietoa hoitajien osaamisperustan tasosta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kehittää ja evaluoida hoitajien kinestetiikan osaamisperustan arviointia ja siten edistää hoidosta riippuvaisen henkilön liikkumista, elämänlaatua sekä henkilöstön tuki- ja liikuntaelimistön terveyttä. Tutkimus toteutettiin kolmessa vaiheessa: Ensimmäisenä kehitettiin konsepti hoitajien kinestetiikan osaamisperustaa varten perustuen kirjallisuuskatsaukseen, työpajaan kinestetiikan asiantuntijoiden (n=7) kanssa sekä systemaattiseen kirjallisuuskatsaukseen hoitajien osaamista arvioivista mittareista potilaiden liikkumisen avustamisessa. Toisessa vaiheessa kehitettiin KCO (Kinaesthetics Competence Observation, asteikko 4–16) ja KCSE (Kinaesthetics Competence Self-Evaluation, asteikko 4–16) mittarit. Mittareiden sisältöä kehitettiin ja testattiin kinestetiikan asiantuntijoiden (n=23) kanssa. Kolmannessa vaiheessa tehtiin havainnoiva poikittaistutkimus kolmessa sveitsiläisessä hoitolaitoksessa (hoitajat=48, asukkaat=31) käyttämällä KCO-mittaria sekä KCSE kyselyä (hoitajat=180). Analyysimenetelminä käytettiin sisällön analyysia, kuvailevaa tilastoanalyysia ja tilastollista päättelyä, mukaan lukien faktori- ja monimuuttuja-analyysi. Ensimmäisen vaiheen tulokset osoittivat kinestetiikan osaamisperustan koostuvan tiedoista, taidoista, asenteesta ja dynaamisesta tilasta. Systemaattisessa kirjallisuuskatsauksessa kuvattiin 16 havainnointimittaria. Toisessa vaiheessa KCO (neljä osa-aluetta: vuorovaikutus, henkilön avustaminen, hoitajan oma liikkuminen, ympäristö) ja KCSE (neljä osa-aluetta: asenne, dynaaminen tila, osaaminen, itsearvioidut taidot) kehitettiin näiden tulosten pohjalta. Mittareiden sisällön luotettavuusindeksi oli erittäin hyvä (KCO=1.0, KCSE=0.93). Kolmannen vaiheen tulokset osoittavat mittareiden alustavien psykometristen ominaisuuksien olevan hyväksyttäviä. Hoitajien itsearvioima avustamisen keskimääräinen osaamistaso oli erittäin hyvä (13, SD 1.44) ja havainnoitu keskimääräinen osaamistaso hyvä (10.8, SD 2.44). Korkeammat osaamistasot korreloivat positiivisesti kinestetiikkakoulutuksen määrän, työkokemuksen hoitolaitoksessa sekä työajan (kokoaikainen- tai osaaikainen työ) kanssa. Johtopäätöksinä voidaan todeta, että KSCE mittaa hoitajien itsearvioimaa kinestetiikan osaamisperusta luotettavasti. Objektiivisempaan arviointiin tulisi käyttää lisäksi KCO-havainnointimittaria. Jatkotutkimusta tarvitaan mittareiden psykometristen ominaisuuksien edelleen testaamiseksi sekä hoitohenkilökunnan kinestetiikan osaamisperustan kehittymisestä käytännössä. Moniammatillista ja kansainvälistä tutkimusta tarvitaan suositusten kehittämiseksi, jotta hoitajien liikkumisen avustamisen opetuksen tasoa perus- ja jatkokoulutuksessa voidaan parantaa. Edistyksellisemmät liikkumisen tukemisen lähestymistavat voivat tulevaisuudessa muuttaa hoitotyön laatua merkittävästi

New Directions in Model Checking Dynamic Epistemic Logic

Dynamic Epistemic Logic (DEL) can model complex information scenarios in a way that appeals to logicians. However, its existing implementations are based on explicit model checking which can only deal with small models, so we do not know how DEL performs for larger and real-world problems. For temporal logics, in contrast, symbolic model checking has been developed and successfully applied, for example in protocol and hardware verification. Symbolic model checkers for temporal logics are very efficient and can deal with very large models. In this thesis we build a bridge: new faithful representations of DEL models as so-called knowledge and belief structures that allow for symbolic model checking. For complex epistemic and factual change we introduce transformers, a symbolic replacement for action models. Besides a detailed explanation of the theory, we present SMCDEL: a Haskell implementation of symbolic model checking for DEL using Binary Decision Diagrams. Our new methods can solve well-known benchmark problems in epistemic scenarios much faster than existing methods for DEL. We also compare its performance to to existing model checkers for temporal logics and show that DEL can compete with established frameworks. We zoom in on two specific variants of DEL for concrete applications. First, we introduce Public Inspection Logic, a new framework for the knowledge of variables and its dynamics. Second, we study the dynamic gossip problem and how it can be analyzed with epistemic logic. We show that existing gossip protocols can be improved, but that no perfect strengthening of "Learn New Secrets" exists