Filetype
Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e., γ-diversity), either due to reduced β-diversity amplifying diversity loss or increased β-diversity dampening diversity loss. Additionall
Anthropogenic land-use and climate change pose novel selection pressures on bees, yet their evolutionary responses in terms of morphological or physiological adaptations remain unclear. While adaptive responses are expected, these may be constrained by gene flow when changes in selection pressures are spatially heterogeneous. The buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) is a widespread species th
Residential gardens can provide pollinator habitat and thus contribute to mitigating declines of insect pollinators. To further improve gardens for pollinators, it is necessary to understand the factors and pathways leading to successful conservation interventions. We studied how the success of two common pro-pollinator interventions, garden meadows and flower plantings, were influenced by gardene
INTRODUCTION: The optimal depth for decompression stops is unclear. We hypothesize that a decompression stop at 1.3 bar, compared with 1.6 bar, decreases post-dive whole-body nitrogen washout volumes and venous gas emboli (VGE).METHODS: In this randomized crossover trial, divers performed wet air dives of 40 minutes at 3.4 bar (340 kPa) with a seven-minute-long decompression stop at either 1.3 bar
Neonicotinoids, systemic insecticides that are distributed into all plant tissues and protect against pests, have become a common part of crop production, but can unintentionally also affect non-target organisms, including pollinators. Such effects can be direct effects from insecticide exposure, but neonicotinoids can affect plant physiology, and effects could therefore also be indirectly mediate
This Theoretical Foundations Report has been developed for UNDP’s Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA). It demonstrates the need for increased policy attention to the neglected inner dimension of sustainability to address today’s sustainability crises. In addition, it provides an overview of current research and evidence for the potential of consciousness approaches and practices to complement
Green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly used in policymaking to promote biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services through the protection, creation, restoration and connection of natural and man-made green areas. The EU Commission adopted in 2013, the concept as a strategy. When member states apply the policy, it is translated into specific bureaucratic and political systems, creating different
Local climate adaptation is constrained and steered along specific paths by various mechanisms, which together form a lock-in. The study focuses on Swedish local civil servants’ strategies to deal with climate adaption lock-ins and to what extent the strategies disrupt the lock-ins. Interviews were conducted with civil servants in six municipalities, complemented by inter-views at regional and nat
Droughts present a significant global challenge, particularly to forest ecosystems in regions such as eastern New South Wales, Australia, which is known for its dry climate and frequent, intense droughts. Recent studies have indicated a notable increase in tree mortality and canopy browning across this area, especially during the recent extreme drought period culminating in the Black Summer of 201
BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer presents as advanced disease in >80% of patients; yet, appropriate ages to consider prevention and early detection strategies are poorly defined. We investigated age-specific associations and attributable risks of pancreatic cancer for established modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors.PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 167 483 participants from two prospective US
Bee-mediated pollination plays a crucial role in sustaining global food production. However, while the demand for these pollination services is increasing, many bee species are in decline. To address this discrepancy, farmers use managed bee species to improve crop pollination. One key factor affecting pollination efficiency is the affinity for the crop of interest (i.e., the extent to which a bee
To reverse biodiversity loss, creating resilient ecological networks has been promoted in policy and practice. However, we argue that emphasising networks within policy without clear conservation prioritisations may direct focus away from ecological processes important for population persistence. We studied the rationale for resilient ecological networks represented in a policy context, by reviewi
We have investigated the bacterial decomposition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from the organic layer of a boreal forest soil and filtered at a pore size of 0.2 µm. This DOM source has previously been extensively characterized and contains approximately equal amounts by carbon of a colloidal fraction, mainly composed of carbohydrates, and a fraction of molecularly dissolved DOM. Here
Context: Land-use intensification to increase yields is often detrimental to biodiversity undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, it is questionable if ecosystem service providers contribute to ecological intensification by achieving the same or higher yields than conventional high-intensity agriculture. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to disentangle the effects of local and
Human activities in deciduous forests over the past centuries have influenced associated species. To reduce extinction risks and mitigate population declines, there is growing interest in forest conservation and restoration, including initiatives by the European Union (EU). For resulting restoration and conservation practices to succeed, it is essential to know which forest characteristics promote
Pollinators are estimated to benefit the reproduction of three-quarters of global leading crop species and contribute to 3%–8% of the total global food production. Ongoing declines in pollinator populations have raised concerns about repercussions for food security. Thus, there is a need to better understand how agricultural yields depend on pollinator abundance. Here, we established yield–pollina
In the pursuit of more sustainable agriculture, weeds play a dual role by threatening crop production and simultaneously contributing to farmland biodiversity. Management actions such as the use of fertilisers (fertilisation) may change weed abundance and community composition with consequences for both weed–crop competition and biodiversity. Alleviating the balance between yield and biodiversity
Organismal abundance tends to decline with increasing body size. Metabolic theory links this size structure with energy use and productivity, postulating a size–abundance slope of −0.75 that is invariant across environments. We tested the robustness of this relationship across gradients of protist species richness (1–6 species), temperature (15°C–25°C) and time. Using replicated microcosms, we pro
Agricultural intensification and expansion are regarded as main drivers of biodiversity loss. This conclusion is mainly based on observed declines of local diversity (α-diversity), while effects on community composition homogenization (decrease of β-diversity) at a larger spatial scale are less well understood. Carabid beetles and spiders represent two widespread guilds and are important predators
Resource competition between wild pollinators and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has the potential to detrimentally impact insect biodiversity as well as wild plant and crop pollination. As honeybees are central place foragers, their competitive impact on wild bees is expected to be structured by hive proximity, in conjunction with foraging decisions related to landscape-level resource availab
