Das Projekt "Ökologie des Wildschweins Sus scrofa in der Nähe von Schutzgebieten" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Forstzoologisches Institut, Professur für Wildtierökologie und Wildtiermanagement durchgeführt. In strict nature reserves and core zones of protected areas hunting and forestry operations are often restricted or banned. However, regarding the management of Wild boar, such hunt-free zones are discussed controversially and can lead to conflict. Hunters whose areas border no-hunting zones (and who have to reimburse farmers for crop damages caused by Wild boar) are concerned that the boars may evade effective population management by staying within the limits of the no-hunting zone, and farmers fear increased crop damage in the surroundings of such areas. Some conservationists are also concerned because Wild boars increasingly root protected habitats and can cause damage to rare plant assemblies. The three-year project Wild boar problem in the vicinity of protected areas by the Game Research Institute (Wildforschungsstelle) at the Centre for Agriculture Baden-Württemberg (LAZBW) aims at investigating if and how no-hunting zones might affect Wild boar activity, movement patterns, home range size, and habitat use, as well as crop damage caused by boars, by comparing these aspects between hunting-free zones and unprotected areas. Although there have already been a number of telemetry studies on Wild boar, including space use in the context of hunting activity, to date there is no study that has specifically investigated spatial and ecological aspects in and around protected areas. My dissertation Ecology of Wild boar Sus scrofa in the vicinity of protected areas is being carried out within the scope of the Game Research Institutes project and apart from the aims outlined above, further aspects of Wild boar ecology will be investigated, especially the role of Wild boar as bio-engineer and habitat creator for other species vs. unwanted damages at protected sites. Twenty-seven Vectronic GPS-GSM satellite collars with integrated activity sensors are available to tag Wild boars in three study areas: the non-protected Altdorfer Forest near Aulendorf with regular hunting activity and forestry, the nature reserve Wurzacher Ried with its ca. 700 ha core zone that is a strict reserve with no human activity, and the Biosphere Reserve Swabian Jura, especially in the surroundings of the former military training area near Münsingen and the 170 ha no-usage-area Föhrenberg.
Das Projekt "Impact of silviculture on species diversity in forests in Germany" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Arbeitsbereich für Weltforstwirtschaft und Institut für Weltforstwirtschaft des Friedrich-Löffler-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit durchgeführt. Objectives: Focus of investigations is in development of species and ecosystem diversity (alpha-, beta- and gamma-diversity) as well as on ecological and population biological processes on landscape and ecosystem levels. The project asks questions on the function of forest management and landscape units for dispersal and establishment of typical forest plants (herb, shrub and tree layer), in particular on the exchange of diaspores (dispersal units) and the recolonization of biocoenologically impoverished, partly fragmented forest ecosystems. We will also check to what extent species or species groups and habitat structures can be used as indicators for monitoring of biological diversity in forests on landscape level. Major questions are: (1) How to maintain or re-create a biological diversity that is typical and as large as possible for the respective forest ecosystem? (2) What spacious effects does forest management have for the biological diversity at landscape level? (3) Which role do wild animals (e.g. hoofed game, birds) play in the diaspore dispersal of vascular forest plants? (4) How can the biological diversity be monitored with simple methods? Results: - The comparison of the recent and the ancient forest cover shows in total an increasing forest area of 636 ha. On the soils of the ground and terminal moraines deforestation exceeds by far the reforestation (balance -544ha). On the sander the afforestation of former heathland, communal pasture and fields increases the forest area round about 1.198 ha. - The rare vascular plant species, selected on the basis of their frequency in the distribution atlas of the flora of Schleswig-Holstein, are mainly found on the nutrient rich and moist sites of the recent moraine, especially in the Alno-Ulmion and the Hordelymo-Fagetum. - A comparison of the presence of the rare vascular plant species with informations in the distribution atlas leads to the presumption of a decrease of the occurence of a lot of these species. The reasons for this are discussed. - The strict relationship of the rare forest vascular plant species to sites with continously forest cover is remarkable. Only 12 of the 72 sites with at least one rare plant species are clearly afforestated agricultaral area. - Hoofed game species transport numerous plant species - partially in large amounts - over relatively long distances, both by the faeces after gut passage (endozoochory) and by adhesion to the coats and hooves (epizoochory). Especially wild boar are of particular importance, as they may potentially disperse almost plant species.
Das Projekt "The Carbon Sink Strength of Beech in a Changing Environment: Experimental Risk Assessment of Mitigation by Chronic Ozone Impact (CASIROZ)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität München, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt, Department Ökologie, Lehrstuhl für Ökophysiologie der Pflanzen durchgeführt. The project aims at clarifying the vulnerability of adult beech trees, growing under Central-European stand conditions, to the tropospheric, chronic ozone (O3) impact. O3 as being part of 'Global Change may constrain the carbon sink strength of trees under the expected atmospheric CO2 enrichment. A novel 'Free-Air Canopy O3 Exposure' system, creating an experimentally enhanced O3regime within the canopy (relative to 'control' trees in unchanged air), is employed for analyzing O3-induced responses that are relevant for the carbon balance and CO2 demand of the trees. For relating tree performance to effective O3 doses rather than O3 exposure, the O3 flux concept into leaves will be examined and validated against AOT40. Response patterns will be assessed, integrating the cell, organ and whole-tree level, while making use of molecular, biochemical and ecophysiological methodologies. In addition, branch cuvette fumigations and exposure of young beech plants inside the stand canopy will validate the ecological significance of former O3 studies in phytotrons, open-top chambers or on single branches in tree crowns. Evidence will be incorporated into mechanistic modeling for scaling to the stand level and quantifying O3 impact for 'Global Change' scenarios. This process-oriented risk assessment will guide environmental policy making. The objective is to assess the vulnerability of adult beech trees to the ground level, chronic O3 impact by employing a novel 'Free-Air Canopy O3 Exposure' system that experimentally enhances the O3 exposure within the forest canopy. Ozone is viewed as one component in 'Global Change' scenarios in that it may mitigate the supposed increases in productivity under elevated CO2 conditions by reducing the carbon sink strength of trees and forests. This issue is regarded relevant, as recent experiments suggest such an antagonistic interaction between ozone and CO2 in plant performance. Prognoses indicate further increase in chronic, ground level O3 exposure to occur during the 21st century across the northern hemisphere, and deficits in knowledge are still significant, in particular regarding the responsiveness of advanced tree age and current O3 threshold definitions like AOT40. (...) The major outcome of this study will be the elaboration of a database needed for the management of trees and stands under the chronic, enhanced ground level O3 regimes. This includes mechanistic knowledge regarding threshold definitions of O3 flux (uptake) rather than exposure. The most important relevance of the elaborated results will be for the UNECE Level II and III concepts about 'Critical Levels for Ozone and the UNECE ICP-Forests. In particular, impacts on practical development strategies will be (1) evaluation tools to assess modifications of the CO2 sink strength of forests due to additional impacts, in the present case ozone (cf. Kyoto protocols) and (2) quantification of factors modifying the O3 effect on adult beech forest trees, Etc.
Das Projekt "Networking Forest Plantations in a crowded world - optimising ecosystem services through improved planning and management strategies (NETFOP)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Waldbau-Institut durchgeführt. The natural forests of the world are under intense pressure as their area decreases from year to year. The loss of natural forest and its biodiversity goes along with a declining number of goods and services provided by these ecosystems. The establishment of forest plantations could provide one possible solution to influence this trend. However, these plantations cannot always compensate for the natural diversity and often do not meet the expected supply of goods and services. This project is cooperation between the Forest Research Institute Dehra Dun (India), Alterra Wageningen (the Netherlands) and the Silviculture Institute in Freiburg. It aims to develop suitable methodologies for the assessment of ecosystem goods and services provided by planted forests in selected study areas in India and Germany. The study areas in both countries cover different vegetation zones in the mountain areas (Forests of Himalayan Range in the State of Uttaranchal in India and in the Black Forest in Germany). These areas comprise of 20 km long and 30 km wide strips. Within the study area the requirements of local stakeholders as well as provision of actual ecosystem goods and services from different landscape units will be studied. In the former case, participatory appraisal methods will be applied to evaluate uses of ecosystem goods and services according to local perceptions. In India, this work will be mainly based on research at village level, while in Germany focus group discussions with representatives of different stakeholders will be organised. The actual ecosystem goods and services will be assessed through an inventory of each landscape unit (especially forests and plantations) within the action range of the villages. The collected data will be processed in a landscape model to assess the importance of forest plantations in providing goods and services, compared to other landscape units. On the basis of these results, management options will be identified to adjust plantation management according to the local demands of ecosystem goods and services. Furthermore, the results will promote general awareness about the importance of biodiversity in providing ecosystem goods and services.
Das Projekt "Identification of nature, steering factors and indicators of soil degradation for the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Arbeitsgruppe Geoökologie durchgeführt. Within the project 'Causes and effects of natural and man-made soil degradation in Bashkortostan - basic investigations for sustainable agricultural management strategies in semiarid regions (project manager Prof. Dr. M. Frühauf , Institute of Geosciences, workgroup Geoecology, Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg), different tasks and theses should be developed for PhD- qualification. Main topics are the development and evaluation of indicators of soil degradation in the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan. In this process measurements for quantification of soil degradation and soil water balance under different land use will take place. Natural soils of the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan will act as reference. Furthermore relationships between climate parameters, soil properties, soil water budgets/ dynamics and yield development will be investigated. Developing of a GIS structure gather the main causal connections between land use, soil degradation patterns and soil erosion. In addition spatial and temporal analyses of yield development and soil quality will describe. It is note one of the most important tasks will be the regionalization from farm scale to the rayon level as step towards the regionalization of the whole forest steppe zone. These activities should be a contribution to development of regionally adapted strategies for soil protection and sustainable land use.
Das Projekt "SOM formation: The mycorrhiza-mediated pathway for soil organic matter (SOM) formation and consequences for the SOM turnover under short rotation forestry" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Rostock, Institut für Landnutzung durchgeführt. Arbuscular- (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi influence soil organic matter (SOM) quantity and quality using different mechanisms. So far little is known how changes in the dominating mycorrhiza type occurring after land use change from arable crops to short rotation forestry (SRF) affect the quantity, composition and turnover of SOM. Therefore, we will manipulate the dominating mycorrhiza type in field and lab experiments to test the following hypotheses: (1) A change from AM to EM, expected under SRF, results in SOM storage due to mycelium formation and SOM stabilising hydrophobin production; (2) A back-change to AM in crops after SRF stimulates saprotrophs to decompose the previously stored SOM and forms new SOM using aggregating effects of glomalin. Accordingly, we will sample recent and former long term SRF and their corresponding reference sites. We will investigate the mycorrhizal colonisation, the amount and molecular composition of SOM including markers (chitin, hydrophobin, glomalin). The microbial decomposition of SOM in the presence and absence of EM will be investigated using 13C studies in incubation experiments. This will prove the importance and sustainability of mycorrhizal C for SOM formation.
Das Projekt "Support to Member States in improving waste management based on assessment of Member States' performance" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von BIPRO Beratungsgesellschaft für integrierte Problemlösungen GmbH durchgeführt. Implementation of EU waste legislation shows large differences in the EU Member States especially with regard to municipal waste management. Major discrepancies prevail particularly in the implementation and application of the Waste Framework Directive and proper transposition of EU requirements into national legislation. The waste management performance of all EU Member States was subject to screening to identify those Member States with the largest implementation gaps, in particular in relation to municipal waste management. For screening the main elements and legal requirements stemming from EU waste directives (mainly from the Waste Framework and the Landfill Directive) were considered for the design of suitable criteria. These core elements comprise the practical implementation of the waste management hierarchy, application of economic and legal instruments to move up the waste hierarchy, sufficiency of treatment infrastructure and quality of waste management planning, the fulfilment of targets and infringement procedures. These elements were assessed by 18 criteria for each Member State taking into account information sources at EU, national or regional level. Latest available statistical data and data of former years for comparison of development within a country were extracted from the EUROSTAT database. References comprised reports published by the European Commission, the European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production, internal working documents of EUROSTAT and the EU Commission as well as national/regional Waste Management Plans. Where available also Waste Prevention Programmes were screened. The screening results confirmed the assumption of large differences within the EU-27 with regard to treatment of municipal waste, compliance with the WFD and Landfill Directives and application of legal or economic instruments as well as planning quality. For each criterion two, one or zero points could be achieved, leading to maximum points of 42 for all criteria. The methodology includes weighting of results for three selected criteria related to the application of the treatment options recycling, energy recovery and disposal of municipal waste.
Das Projekt "Demonstration of direct Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) co-combustion in pulverised fuel plants and implementation of a sustainable waste-to-energy technology in large-scale energy production (RECOFUEL)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von REMONDIS GmbH, Stoffstrom-Marktentwicklung SBS durchgeführt. Objective: The use of Solid Recovered Fuels (SRF) derived from mixed-/mono waste streams is expected to result in a significant contribution to the generation of sustainable energy. The demand for alternative waste treatment is addressed by production and direct co-combustion of SRF in pulverised fuel fired power plants as an environmentally friendly, energy efficient, short-term available and cost effective technical solution. The project assists the implementation of EU policies (energy, environmental, economic and social goals) by sustainable energy production, CO2 emission reduction, preservation of natural resources and abatement of hazardous impacts on the environment due to landfill. The proposed project comprises large-scale demonstration of SRF co-combustion at a 450MWth brown coal/lignite boiler of RWE Rheinbraun AG in a continuous period of at least 12 months with the scope of permanent and reliable operation. A thermal share of 10% is envisaged (25.000 - 50.000 Mg/a SRF) resulting in a direct environmental benefit up to 50.000 Mg/a CO2 by the efficient use of the renewable share of SRF. With successful demonstration the implementation of the SRF co-combustion technology at further comparable and larger units of RWE is envisaged. Operational problems arising during former short-term co-combustion tests with hard coal could be successfully solved by an improved fuel production and a reliable quality control system. The interaction between a reliable quality control, quality management system and the combustion technology makes this technology competitive in the liberalised energy market without any additional subsidy. To achieve the ambitious goals partners of industry and research centres with substantial expertise in the areas covering the whole waste-to-energy chain created a consortium.
Das Projekt "Integration of routine Aircraft measurements into a Global Observing System (IAGOS)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphäre durchgeführt. IAGOS is a design study pursuing the preparation of a resilient distributed infrastructure for routine observations of atmospheric composition, aerosols, clouds and contrails on the global scale from commercial in-service aircraft. Observations in the Up per Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) are critical for improving the scientific understanding of chemistry-climate interactions, particularly those associated with the roles of clouds, aerosols and chemical composition. This information is essen tial for improving the scientific basis related to predictions of global climate change and for the assessment of surface air pollution, including the influence of aviation impacts and of emissions from other parts of the world on Europe. In IAGOS, new instrument packages will be developed which include state of the art developments based on the former MOZAIC instrumentation for O3, H2O, CO and NOy/NOx with significant reductions in size and weight. A central element is the certification of the packa ges for installation and deployment on Airbus longrange aircraft and for maintenance in compliance with aeronautical regulations. New instrumentation will be designed for aerosol, cloud particles and for stratospheric water vapour. Another important elem ent is the design of realtime data provision from the new instruments to meteorological services. Finally, IAGOS will establish the logistic and financial boundary conditions for the operation of the new infrastructure and will initiate the dialog betwe en scientific partners, users and airlines interested in supporting the new infrastructure. IAGOS is epected to make a significant step forward in the development of a globally operated in situ ob-servation network for the climate system.
Das Projekt "Causes and effects of natural and man-made soil degradation in Bashkortostan - basic investigations for sustainable agricultural management strategies in semiarid regions" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Arbeitsgruppe Geoökologie durchgeführt. In the Republic of Bashkortostan (Southern Russia) land use in general and land use practices in particular have changed due to the transformation process after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. These developments are causing land degradation and soil erosion, subsequently leading to a dramatic loss of arable land and a reduction of land productivity. The project will investigate the natural and anthropogenic causes for land degradation and soil erosion. Further more, ecological, socio-economic and political factors influencing sustainable agriculture in the region will be examined. For this study existing Russian archives, results from field work as well as the analyses of remote sensing data will be used. Finally, guidelines and recommendations for soil conservation strategies will be developed. In addition, the existing data basis will be re-examined and adapted to international standards. The integration of data as well as their transfer to the public will be achieved by using GIS techniques.
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