Agricultural competitive potential and competitive position in the international trade of agricultural and food products in the European Union

Purpose: This paper aimed to evaluate the competitive potential of the agricultural and food sector in the member states of the European Union and identify differences between them with reference to the position of such countries in international agricultural and food trade. Design/Methodology/Approach: The competitive potential was evaluated using a synthetic measure designed using TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution). The potential was confronted with the competitive position of the member states of the European Union in the international trade in agricultural and food products. To this end, among other indicators, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index was used. The analysis was based on data from EUROSTAT and FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) for years 2007-2017. Findings: The results point to a strong diversification of the level of agricultural development among the member states of the European Union. Four groups of countries characterised by a similar level of the analysed phenomenon were identified. The highest value of the synthetic measure was characteristic of the Netherlands. It was more than 3 times higher than in the country least competitive in that respect (Slovenia). Countries with the highest agricultural competitive potential such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and France, also maintain a high competitive advantage in the international agricultural and food trade. Many countries, in particular those included in EU-12 (Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland) in the analysed period 2007-2017 significantly improved their competitive position in the agricultural and food trade despite a small increase in the competitive potential of agriculture. Practical Implications: The surveys made it possible to identify countries (mainly new member states of the EU) in which, despite relatively large resources of production factors in agriculture, the competitive potential measured with an aggregate measure designed in this paper, taking into account primarily an advantage in terms of quality and not costs and prices, is low. This points to a need for orienting the Common Agricultural Policy at boosting the dynamics of structural transformations in this sector so that in the future these countries are able to maintain a high competitive position in agricultural and food trade. Originality/Value: An added value of this paper is the analysis of multiple factors affecting the competitiveness of the agricultural and food sector and identification of a group of EU countries by means of a synthetic measure designed using TOPSIS, whereas most papers investigate the effect of one factor with a limited number of competitiveness measures. The analysis of relationships between the competitive capacity and the international competitive position of the countries of the European Union in agricultural and food products further contributes to the originality of the study.peer-reviewe

Influence des facteurs du milieu sur la composition taxonomique et le développement des algues et autres protistes de la glace de mer dans le secteur canadien de la mer de Beaufort

RÉSUMÉ : L'évolution saisonnière des algues et autres protistes du niveau inférieur de la glace de première année a été suivie dans le Haut-Arctique occidental canadien dès leur piégeage en automne 2003 jusqu'à leur prolifération printanière et leur déclin à la fin de juin 2004. Cette étude s'est principalement intéressée aux changements temporels de composition taxonomique entre différents types de glace de mer nouvellement formée et l'eau de surface sous-jacente, à l'incorporation sélective des cellules dans la glace et à leurs stratégies de survie. Les variations de la biomasse chlorophyllienne, de l'abondance et de la composition des protistes du niveau inférieur de la glace côtière ont aussi été étudiées de la fin de l'hiver à la fin du printemps à deux sites représentatifs d'un couvert de neige mince et épais. Enfin, la répartition horizontale à petite échelle « 25 m) de la communauté de protistes du niveau inférieur de la glace de mer et des facteurs du milieu influençant leur biomasse, leur abondance et leur composition taxonomique a été évaluée à diverses périodes au cours de la saison de croissance printanière. Cette étude montre que les protistes s'établissent dans la glace de mer dès sa formation à l'automne. La composition taxonomique des protistes dans la glace nouvellement formée et les eaux de surface change au cours de l'automne. La composition des protistes dans la glace nouvelle est similaire à celle de l'eau de surface mais elle diffère dans les glaces plus âgées. Les petites algues « 4 ~m) sont les cellules pigmentées les plus abondantes dans la glace de mer nouvellement formée et l'eau de surface sous-jacente. Toutefois, elles sont moins abondantes dans la glace de mer que dans l'eau de surface. En revanche, les grosses cellules (~ 4 ~m) sont plus abondantes dans la glace de mer que dans l'eau de surface. Ces résultats montrent clairement une incorporation sélective de grosses cellules (~ 4 ~m) dans la glace de mer nouvellement formée. Enfin, cette étude suggère que la formation de spores et de kystes est une stratégie de survie mineure chez les protistes des glaces des mers arctiques. Dans la baie Franklin, l'accumulation de protistes dans le niveau inférieur de la glace de la banquise côtière commence dès la fin février. Avant la période de floraison, les protistes photosynthétiques (surtout des diatomées) dominent sous couvert de neige mince tandis que des flagellés vraisemblablement hétérotrophes dominent sous couvert de neige épais. Pendant la floraison printanière, que la banquise soit faiblement couverte de neige ou non, la communauté de protistes du niveau inférieur de la glace est dominée par des diatomées coloniales (Nitzschia frigida, N. promare, Navicula sp. 6, N. pelagica et Fragilariopsis cylindrus), la diatomée N. frigida étant la plus abondante. Après la floraison, l'abondance des diatomées diminue plus rapidement que celle des flagellés. Ceci suggère que les flagellés sont moins sensibles à la fonte de la glace que les diatomées. Enfin, les résultats montrent que, pour le niveau inférieur de la glace, la biomasse algale maximum atteinte pendant la saison de croissance printanière dépend des apports en nitrates provenant de la couche supérieure de la colonne d'eau. Ainsi, la quantité d'éléments nutritifs présente à la surface de l'eau à la fin de l'hiver est un facteur important qui détermine l'ampleur de la floraison al gale au printemps. La biomasse de chlorophylle a (chI a) et l'abondance des protistes du mveau inférieur de la glace ont montré une répartition horizontale hétérogène à trois reprises entre la fin avril et la fin mai 2004. La répartition horizontale de la biomasse chlorophyllienne était différente de celle de l'abondance des protistes de glace. Cette divergence peut être liée à des différences dans la teneur intracellulaire en chI a chez les divers taxons photosynthétiques et à l' absence de pigments chez les protistes hétérotrophes. Les flagellés étaient abondants par rapport à l'abondance totale des protistes sous couvert de neige épais alors que celle des diatomées était très élevée sous couvert de neige mince. La composition taxonomique des protistes a changé au cours de la période d'échantillonnage, en raison de la diminution du couvert de neige et de l'augmentation de l' irradiance incidente transmise à la base de la glace. La répartition horizontale des taxons de diatomées et de flagellés peut s'expliquer, entre autres, par les variations de l'épaisseur du couvert de neige à la fin avril et par les variations de la salinité de la glace et de l'épaisseur du couvert de neige à la fin mai. L'ensemble des résultats de cette thèse suggère que les flagellés tolèrent davantage les changements du milieu que les diatomées. -- ABSTRACT : The seasonal development of bottom ice algae and other protists was studied in the western Canadian High Arctic from the period of their entrapment in auturnn 2003 through the spring bloom until the decline in late June 2004. This investigation describes the temporal changes in the taxonomic composition of these ice protists between different types of newly formed sea ice and the underlying surface water, the selective incorporation of cells in sea ice and their survival strategies. The algal biomass, protist abundance and taxonomic composition were also examined under two contrasting snow co vers during the winter-spring season. Finally, small-scale patchiness « 25 m) of bottom ice protist community and the environmental factors controlling their biomass, abundance and taxonomic composition was assessed at different periods during the vernal growth season. This study demonstrated that the protist community is established in the sea ice during the first stages of its formation in auturnn. The taxonomic composition of protists in the newly formed sea ice and the underlying surface water changed through the auturnn. The composition was similar in both new ice and underlying surface water, but was markedly different in older ice types. Small photosynthetic algae « 4 flm) were the most abundant cells in the newly formed sea ice and underlying surface water, but they were less abundant in sea ice than in surface water, while larger cells (~ 4 flm) were more abundant in sea ice. These results clearly showed a selective incorporation of large cells (~4 !lm) in newly formed sea ice. Finally, this study suggested that the spore and cyst formation is a minor survival strategy for Arctic sea-ice protists. In Franklin Bay, the accumulation of protists in the bottom ice horizon started as early as the end of February. During the pre-bloom period, autotrophic protists (mainly diatoms) dominated under low snow cover whereas flagellates, which were presumably heterotrophic, dominated under high snow cover. During the bloom period, the bottom ice protist community under both snow conditions was dominated by colonial diatoms (Nitzschia frigida, N. promare, Navicula sp. 6, N. pelagica and Fragilariopsis cylindrus), with N. frigida being the most abundant. During the post-bloom period, diatom abundance declined more rapidly than flagellates. This suggests that flagellates are less sensitive than diatoms to melting sea-ice conditions. Finally, the results showed that the maximum bottom ice al gal biomass attained during the vernal growth season depends on nitrate supply from the upper water colurnn. Thus, the amount of nutrients available in the surface water at the end of the winter is a critical factor determining the magnitude of the ice algal spring bloom. VI At three different periods of the vernal growth season, bottom ice chlorophyll a (chI a) biomass and protist abundance showed a patchy horizontal distribution which seemed to be mainly governed by the snow cover. The horizontal distribution of bottom ice chI a biomass was different from that of protist abundance. This discrepancy may be related to differences in intracellular chI a content among the autotrophic taxa and absence of pigments in the heterotrophic protists. Flagellates showed a high contribution to total protist abundance under high snow cover, while diatoms were highly abundant under low snow cover. The protist taxonomie composition changed during the three sampling days due to the seasonal decrease of the snow depth and increase of the transmitted incident irradiance in the bottom ice horizon. The horizontal distribution of diatom and flagellated taxa was mainly explained, among other things, by variations in snow depth at the end of April and in bottom ice salinity and snow depth at the end of May. Overall, the results of this thesis suggest that bottom ice flagellates are more tolerant to changing environmental conditions than diatoms

Virtual IDP library

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Guidelines on how to approach the energy-efficient retrofitting of shopping centres

Special architectural conditions and needs are common in almost all shopping centres. The main retrofit drivers are: (i) improve the indoor environmental quality and functionality, to enhance the customers experience; (ii) reduce the energy consumption; (iii) optimize the building operation and relative maintenance costs and (iv) improve the overall sustainability level reducing the environmental, social, and economic impact. Shopping centres vary in their functions, typologies, forms and size, as well as the (shopping) trip purpose. To consider the shopping centre building stock as one segment with its own boundaries and trends, the EU FP7 CommONEnergy project set a shopping centre definition1: “A shopping centre is a formation of one or more retail buildings comprising units and ‘communal’ areas, which are planned and managed as a single entity related in its location, size and type of shops to the trade area that it serves.” The European wholesale and retail sector is the big marketplace of Europe, contributing with around 11% of the EU’s GDP2. Therefore, sustainability of the retail sector may significantly contribute to reaching the EU long-term environmental and energy goals. Within the retail sector, shopping centres are of particular interest due to: their structural complexity and multi-stakeholders’ decisional process, their high energy savings and carbon emissions reduction potential, as well as their importance and influence in shopping tendencies and lifestyle. A shopping centre is a building, or a complex of buildings, designed and built to contain many interconnected activities in different areas. Next to public spaces, there are areas related to work spaces, with different use and location and according to the shopping centre type. They have different opening hours and entrances than the shopping centre. Today, in addition to the mere commercial function, a shopping centre responds to several customer needs: it exhibits recreational attractions …publishedVersio

Protist (including algae) abundance and biodiversity data collected with short-term sediment traps deployed below level and ridged ice during MOSAiC legs 2 to 4 in 2019/2020

The data has been collected during the year-long drift expedition "Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate" (MOSAiC) from September 2019 to September 2020 on research vessel Polarstern. The dataset contains abundance of pelagic marine and sea ice protists, including algae (autotrophic) and protzoa (heterotrophic). Protists were identified and counted with light microscopy using the Utermöhl method and the result are given as cells per liter (cells/L) called Abundance. The samples were collected with short-term sediment traps deployed at 3-4 depths (1, 5, 15 and 50 m) below level ice and near sea-ice ridges. The samples were preserved with a few drops of Lugol and hexamethylenetetramine-buffered formalin at a final concentrations of 1%

Guidelines on retrofitting of shopping malls

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Pelagic protist (including phytoplankton) abundance and biodiversity data collected from the water column and water filled voids inside ridges during MOSAiC legs 2 to 4 in 2019/2020

The data has been collected during the the year-long drift expedition "Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate" (MOSAiC) from September 2019 to September 2020 on research vessel Polarstern. The samples were collected with Niskin bottles attached to a CTD rosette, an Apstein net with 20 µm mesh size, a hand pump or a pump mounted on a ROV. The samples were preserved using a few drops of Lugol and hexamethylenetetramine-buffered formalin at a final concentration of 1%. The samples were collected with Niskin bottles attached to a CTD rosette at the following depths: 5, 10, 30, 60, 90 m and deep chlorophyll max (DCM). Protists were identified and counted with light microscopy using the Utermöhl method and the result are given as cells per liter (cells/L) called Abundance

Sea-ice protist (including ice algae) abundance and biodiversity data from ice coring at the main coring sites (MCS_FYI and MCS_SYI) and ridges during MOSAiC legs 2 to 4 in 2019/2020

The data has been collected during the expedition "Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate" (MOSAiC) from September 2019 to September 2020 on research vessel Polarstern. The dataset contains abundance of sea ice protists, including ice algae (autotrophic) and protozoa (heterotrophic). Protists were identified and counted with light microscopy using the Utermöhl method and the result are given as cells per liter (cells/L) called Abundance. Sea ice samples were collected with a 9 cm diameter ice corer (Kovacs Enterprise) from both level and ridge ice. The samples were collected from the bottom part of the ice core and generally sectioned from 0-3 cm, 3-10 cm and in 10 cm intervals thereafter. With some exceptions, ice core sections were melted in filtered sea water at 4°C. Melted samples were preserved using Lugol-formaldehyde mixture with a few drops of acidic Lugol solution and hexamethylenetetramine-buffered formalin at a final concentrations of 1%