Subnational location capital: the role of subnational institutional actors and socio-spatial factors on firm location

peer-reviewedFirms do not simply locate, but rather seek to accrue location‐based advantages such as knowledge, market insidership and resource utilization. Adopting the lens of social capital, this paper explores how subnational institutional actors facilitate location capital for firms. Using qualitative case study analysis of six multinational companies (MNCs), we highlight the important role of subnational institutional actors in fostering three dimensions of subnational location capital – structural, relational and cognitive. We show that subnational location capital, defined as the economic and social assets accessible through relationships within a subnational location, enable firms to derive advantages via subnational engagement. These findings contribute to the growing literature on the dynamic interaction of firms with subnational location, particularly the nuanced role of subnational institutional actors with MNCs.peer-reviewe

ADOPCIÓN POTENCIAL DE ALTERNATIVAS BIOLOGICAS POR LOS CULTIVADORES DE PLATANO DEL QUINDÍO, COLOMBIA, BAJO LA PERSPECTIVA DEL ANALISIS MULTICRITERIAL

El plátano tiene en sus procesos productivos alta dependencia de agroquímicos, siendo necesario romper con esta dependencia, explorando la adopción de alternativas biológicas, privilegiando el uso de insumos producidos al interior del agroecosistema. Considerando la pluralidad, el análisis integral, la incertidumbre, la búsqueda y análisis de las complejas relaciones a nivel económico, ecológico, sociocultural y político, presentes en los procesos de adopción, el análisis de decisión multicriterio, es la metodología más pertinente, ya que considera que el criterio económico no es ni el más importante ni el único a involucrar en este proceso, que se generan criterios contradictorios y conflictivos que hay que entender para llegar a soluciones de compromiso entre las partes. Por tal razón, se plantea identificar bajo esta metodología los criterios que influyen en la adopción potencial de alternativas biológicas por los productores de plátano del Quindío

Numerical continuation methods: a perspective

AbstractIn this historical perspective the principal numerical approaches to continuation methods are outlined in the framework of the mathematical sources that contributed to their development, notably homotopy and degree theory, simplicial complexes and mappings, submanifolds defined by submersions, and singularity and foldpoint theory

Adopción potencial de alternativas biológicas bajo la perspectiva del análisis multicriterial

El proceso productivo del plátano, uno de los principales productos de la canasta alimentaria de la población colombiana, se desarrolla bajo procesos técnicos convencionales, representados entre otros, por altas cargas de agroquímicos, externos a la unidad productiva, con impactos negativos en múltiples dimensiones lo que se traduce finalmente, en la insostenibilidad del agroecosistema. Por tal razón, urge hacer un cambio tecnológico a través de la generación participativa de alternativas biológicas, buscando explicar cómo actúan los actores sociales vinculados con la platanicultura del departamento del Quindío, respecto a la apropiación de dichas propuestas, para su potencial uso en los procesos productivos. Se aplicó la metodología multicriterial social, NAIADE, articulando las dimensiones socioculturales, económicas y ambientales del agroecosistema, entre siete escenarios/alternativas, surgiendo como solución de equilibrio entre los distintos criterios en conflicto, el sistema integral entre lo agrícola, lo pecuario y/o forestal, con utilización de recursos internos del sistema y como coalición dominante entre los distintos actores sociales, la conformada por los productores y la academia.Banana production process, one of the main products of the food basket of the Colombian population is developed under conventional technical processes, represented among others by high loads of agrochemicals, outside the production unit, with negative impacts on the multiple dimensions which finally results in the unsustainability of the agricultural ecosystem. For this reason, it is urgent to technological change through participatory generation of biological alternatives, seeking to explain how social actors act linked with platanicultura of Quindío, regarding the ownership of these proposals, for potential use in processes production. Social multicriterial methodology was applied NAIADE, coordinating the cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of agroecosystem seven scenarios / alternatives, emerging as solution balance between different conflicting criteria, the integrated system between agriculture, the livestock and / or forestry, with use of internal resources of the system and the dominant coalition between social actors, formed by producers and academia.Eje A5: Sistemas de conocimientoFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Adopción potencial de alternativas biológicas bajo la perspectiva del análisis multicriterial

El proceso productivo del plátano, uno de los principales productos de la canasta alimentaria de la población colombiana, se desarrolla bajo procesos técnicos convencionales, representados entre otros, por altas cargas de agroquímicos, externos a la unidad productiva, con impactos negativos en múltiples dimensiones lo que se traduce finalmente, en la insostenibilidad del agroecosistema. Por tal razón, urge hacer un cambio tecnológico a través de la generación participativa de alternativas biológicas, buscando explicar cómo actúan los actores sociales vinculados con la platanicultura del departamento del Quindío, respecto a la apropiación de dichas propuestas, para su potencial uso en los procesos productivos. Se aplicó la metodología multicriterial social, NAIADE, articulando las dimensiones socioculturales, económicas y ambientales del agroecosistema, entre siete escenarios/alternativas, surgiendo como solución de equilibrio entre los distintos criterios en conflicto, el sistema integral entre lo agrícola, lo pecuario y/o forestal, con utilización de recursos internos del sistema y como coalición dominante entre los distintos actores sociales, la conformada por los productores y la academia.Banana production process, one of the main products of the food basket of the Colombian population is developed under conventional technical processes, represented among others by high loads of agrochemicals, outside the production unit, with negative impacts on the multiple dimensions which finally results in the unsustainability of the agricultural ecosystem. For this reason, it is urgent to technological change through participatory generation of biological alternatives, seeking to explain how social actors act linked with platanicultura of Quindío, regarding the ownership of these proposals, for potential use in processes production. Social multicriterial methodology was applied NAIADE, coordinating the cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of agroecosystem seven scenarios / alternatives, emerging as solution balance between different conflicting criteria, the integrated system between agriculture, the livestock and / or forestry, with use of internal resources of the system and the dominant coalition between social actors, formed by producers and academia.Eje A5: Sistemas de conocimientoFacultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Earthworms regulate plant productivity and the efficacy of soil fertility amendments in acid soils of the Colombian Llanos

The Llanos region of Colombia represents one of the last large agricultural frontiers and is undergoing a rapid conversion from naturalized savanna to intensive agriculture with high agrochemical inputs and tillage. This massive land-use conversion has considerable impact on ecosystem services and biodiversity, particularly soil macrofauna, yet the full implications of this land-use shift for long-term agroecosystem productivity are poorly understood. To better elucidate potential land-use change impacts on agricultural production we used experimental microcosms in the greenhouse to evaluate how the common earthworm, Pontoscolex corethrurus, influences plant growth, nutrient uptake, and key soil properties relative to the application of lime and P fertilizer, both common soil fertility amendments in the region. Additionally, we aimed to explore the potential for interactions between earthworms and these amendments across distinct plant types, the grass Brachiaria decumbens and the legume Phaseolus vulgaris, which display different rooting patterns and nutrient acquisition strategies. Earthworms increased the biomass production of B. decumbens by 180% and N uptake by more than 240%, while P fertilizers and lime additions increased total biomass by less than 30% each for B. decumbens. Effects on P. vulgaris were similar, but less pronounced with earthworms increasing total biomass production by 35% and total plant N content by 70%, while neither lime nor P alone significantly influenced total biomass or N uptake. However, a significant interaction between earthworms and lime enhanced total biomass N content of P. vulgaris by more than 150% relative to microcosms without P. corethrurus, suggesting that earthworms can greatly enhance the efficacy of lime in soils. Additionally, we found that earthworms greatly improved soil aggregation, but only in the presence of plants, and that this effect was most prominent in microcosms with P. vulgaris. When testing treatment effects on soil P availability, only fertilizer P additions significantly influenced resin P, but not microbial biomass P. Our findings suggests the importance of developing management strategies that promote the activity and diversity of earthworms and other soil biota as a means to enhance crop productivity, resource use efficiency and a range of soil-based ecosystem services in the Llanos region and beyond

Global mismatches in aboveground and belowground biodiversity

Human activities are accelerating global biodiversity change and have resulted in severely threatened ecosystem services. A large proportion of terrestrial biodiversity is harbored by soil, but soil biodiversity has been omitted from many global biodiversity assessments and conservation actions, and understanding of global patterns of soil biodiversity remains limited. In particular, the extent to which hotspots and coldspots of aboveground and soil biodiversity overlap is not clear. We examined global patterns of these overlaps by mapping indices of aboveground (mammals, birds, amphibians, vascular plants) and soil (bacteria, fungi, macrofauna) biodiversity that we created using previously published data on species richness. Areas of mismatch between aboveground and soil biodiversity covered 27% of Earth's terrestrial surface. The temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome had the highest proportion of grid cells with high aboveground biodiversity but low soil biodiversity, whereas the boreal and tundra biomes had intermediate soil biodiversity but low aboveground biodiversity. While more data on soil biodiversity are needed, both to cover geographic gaps and to include additional taxa, our results suggest that protecting aboveground biodiversity may not sufficiently reduce threats to soil biodiversity. Given the functional importance of soil biodiversity and the role of soils in human well-being, soil biodiversity should be considered further in policy agendas and conservation actions by adapting management practices to sustain soil biodiversity and considering soil biodiversity when designing protected areas.Peer reviewe