Natur för alla

Det finns en tydlig politisk ambition att skyddad natur vara tillgänglig för alla. I många fall är möjligheterna att uppleva Sveriges natur begränsad för människor med nedsatt rörlighet. Att arbeta med tillgänglighetsanpassning av leder är en möjlighet att tillgodose alla människors rätt att vistas i naturen. Frågeställningarna som undersökts är: Vilka tillgänglighetskrav finns för anpassning av leder i skyddad natur? Vilka utmaningar och möjligheter innebär tillgänglighetsanpassning av leder i skyddad natur? Resultatet är baserat på en litteraturstudie som kompletterats med en enkätundersökning. Litteraturen som studerats är lagstiftning, vetenskapliga rapporter, policydokument och offentliga rapporter. Urvalet baserades på det vetenskapliga värdet och relevansen för ämnet. Enkätundersökningen avgränsades till två län. Studien visar att det finns ett flertal utmaningar och möjligheter inom tillgänglighetsarbete i skyddad natur. De främsta möjligheterna är att tillgänglighetsåtgärder främjar hälsofaktorer, att de gynnar de flesta besökare och kan minska slitage i naturen. Utmaningarna ligger främst inom finansiering av tillgänglighetsåtgärder och långsiktigt underhåll av lederna. Genom att ha rätt kompetens vid rätt tidpunkt kan sannolikt högre kostnadseffektivitet uppnås. På detta sätt bör resurser kunna frigöras för ytterligare initiativ som kan ge bidra till ökad måluppfyllelse när det gäller de politiska ambitionerna om natur för alla.Nature conservation areas are a valuable part of the Swedish landscape. There is a clear political ambition that these areas should be accessible to all. In many cases, the opportunities to experience Sweden's nature are limited to people with reduced mobility. Working with accessibility adaptation of pathways is an opportunity to fulfill the right of all people to experience nature. The questions at issue are: What are the requirements for accessibility adjustments regarding trails in protected nature? What challenges and opportunities entail accessibility adjustments of trails in protected nature? The result is based on a literature review that was complimented by a survey. The literature included in the review was legislation, scientific reports, policy documents and official reports. The selection was based on the scientific value and relevance to the subject. The study shows that a framework and regulation for accessibility adjustments exists. There are several possibilities and challenges connected to accessibility adjustments in protected nature. The primary possibilities found are that accessibility adjustments benefits most visitors, it promotes health factors, it gives people with a reduced mobility the opportunity to spend time in nature and it can reduce wear on the nature. The challenges primarily lay in economy and financing the adjustment and long-term maintenance of the trails. By having the right competence at the right time, higher cost efficiency in accessibility work is likely to be achieved. In this way resources should be able to be released for further initiatives that can achieve higher goal fulfilment in the political ambitions of accessible nature for all

Three-year survey of abundance, prevalence and genetic diversity of chlorovirus populations in a small urban lake

Inland water environments cover about 2.5 percent of our planet and harbor huge numbers of known and still unknown microorganisms. In this report, we examined water samples for the abundance, prevalence, and genetic diversity of a group of infectious viruses (chloroviruses) that infect symbiotic chlorella-like green algae. Samples were collected on a weekly basis for a period of 24 to 36 months from a recreational freshwater lake in Lincoln, Nebraska, and assayed for infectious viruses by plaque assay. The numbers of infectious virus particles were both host- and site-dependent. The consistent fluctuations in numbers of viruses suggest their impact as key factors in shaping microbial community structures in the water surface. Even in low-viral-abundance months, infectious chlorovirus populations were maintained, suggesting either that the viruses are very stable or that there is ongoing viral production in natural hosts. Includes supplementary figure

The effects of climate change on hailstorms

Hailstorms are dangerous and costly phenomena that are expected to change in response to a warming climate. In this Review, we summarize current knowledge of climate change effects on hailstorms. As a result of anthropogenic warming, it is generally anticipated that low-level moisture and convective instability will increase, raising hailstorm likelihood and enabling the formation of larger hailstones; the melting height will rise, enhancing hail melt and increasing the average size of surviving hailstones; and vertical wind shear will decrease overall, with limited influence on the overall hailstorm activity, owing to a predominance of other factors. Given geographic differences and offsetting interactions in these projected environmental changes, there is spatial heterogeneity in hailstorm responses. Observations and modelling lead to the general expectation that hailstorm frequency will increase in Australia and Europe, but decrease in East Asia and North America, while hail severity will increase in most regions. However, these projected changes show marked spatial and temporal variability. Owing to a dearth of long-term observations, as well as incomplete process understanding and limited convection-permitting modelling studies, current and future climate change effects on hailstorms remain highly uncertain. Future studies should focus on detailed processes and account for non-stationarities in proxy relationships

Frequency Versus Quantity: Phenotypic Response of Two Wheat Varieties to Water and Nitrogen Variability

Due to climate change, water availability will become increasingly variable, affecting nitrogen (N) availability. Therefore, we hypothesised watering frequency would have a greater impact on plant growth than quantity, affecting N availability, uptake and carbon allocation. We used a gravimetric platform, which measures the unit of volume per unit of time, to control soil moisture and precisely compare the impact of quantity and frequency of water under variable N levels. Two wheat genotypes (Kukri and Gladius) were used in a factorial glasshouse pot experiment, each with three N application rates (25, 75 and 150mgNkg−1 soil) and five soil moisture regimes (changing water frequency or quantity). Previously documented drought tolerance, but high N use efficiency, of Gladius as compared to Kukri provides for potentially different responses to N and soil moisture content. Water use, biomass and soil N were measured. Both cultivars showed potential to adapt to variable watering, producing higher specific root lengths under low N coupled with reduced water and reduced watering frequency (48h watering intervals), or wet/dry cycling. This affected mineral N uptake, with less soil N remaining under constant watering × high moisture, or 48h watering intervals × high moisture. Soil N availability affected carbon allocation, demonstrated by both cultivars producing longer, deeper roots under low N. Reduced watering frequency decreased biomass more than reduced quantity for both cultivars. Less frequent watering had a more negative effect on plant growth compared to decreasing the quantity of water. Water variability resulted in differences in C allocation, with changes to root thickness even when root biomass remained the same across N treatments. The preferences identified in wheat for water consistency highlights an undeveloped opportunity for identifying root and shoot traits that may improve plant adaptability to moderate to extreme resource limitation, whilst potentially encouraging less water and nitrogen use

Evidence-based design strategies to produce health promoting landscapes

Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being is an international master’s program offered at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) at Alnarp¸ leading to a Master of Science degree with a specialization in Environmental Psychology. The course Nature-Based Interventions LK0306 focuses on how different types of natural outdoor settings can be used for interventions as part of treatment, rehabilitation and programs for the prevention and promotion of healthy everyday habits in different user groups. This factsheet is the final product of the students’ work within the course during the autumn term of 2019. This year, Associate Professor John Rayner, contributed to this factsheet with his thoughts on the findings from the different groups’ work

Against the odds: Network and institutional pathways enabling agricultural diversification

Farming systems that support locally diverse agricultural production and high levels of biodiversity are in rapid decline, despite evidence of their benefits for climate, environmental health, and food security. Yet, agricultural policies, financial incentives, and market concentration increasingly constrain the viability of diversified farming systems. Here, we present a conceptual framework to identify novel processes that promote the emergence and sustainability of diversified farming systems, using three real-world examples where farming communities have found pathways to diversification despite major structural constraints. By applying our framework to analyze these bright spots in the United States, Brazil, and Malawi, we identify two distinct pathways—network and institutional—to diversification. These pathways emerge through alignment of factors related to social and ecological structure (policies, institutions, and environmental conditions) and agency (values, collective action, and management decisions). We find that, when network and institutional pathways operate in tandem, the potential to scale up diversification across farms and landscapes increases substantially

Long-term psychosocial outcomes of low-dose CT screening: results of the UK Lung Cancer Screening randomised controlled trial

National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme, grant reference no. HTA 09/61/01

The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe

From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries