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Pyrethroid as an agent of biocide resistance (BR) and environmental contamination has become a major threat for global health and biodiversity conservation. After eradication of malaria in Europe, uncontrolled mosquito elimination performed just to decrease their nuisance became a long-term practice. Pyrethroids, compounds used for chemical control of mosquitoes are not selective. The main goal of this paper was to study the pyrethroid resistance among mosquitoes of genus Culex and Aedes in Central Europe. Experiment was performed by collecting mosquitoes of Culex spp. and Aedes spp. in four locations: Suchohrad, Vysoká pri Morave, Bratislava, and Bratislava surroundings, where pyrethroids are commonly used as a form of chemical control of mosquito population. The biocide resistance was determined by the CDC bottle bioassay. The second aim was the determination of presence and longevity of cypermethrin in the surrounding environment in the village Vysoká pri Morave. Samples were collected 7 days after ultra-low volume (ULV) fogging treatment in June 2021 and analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LS/MS). According to the results of performed tests we may state that in all tested localities there is a considerable possibility of occurrence of resistance of tested mosquitoes to deltamethrin and cypermethrin. Based on the results obtained by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy from the collected vegetation samples we may conclude that the measured values of cypermethrin and deltamethrin exceeded the highest accepted measured residue levels (MRL) for food and animals products, and after the ULV treatment the population of mosquitoes increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coppicing is a form of forest management in European broadleaved forests. While it is still practised in south-eastern Europe, in central and western Europe it was almost completely replaced by high forest management. Currently, there are increasing efforts to reintroduce coppice management into former coppice woods. However, little comprehensive knowledge is available about the extent and management of coppice reintroduction and the processes governing it. In this paper, we present an overview of localities in the Czech Republic where coppice reintroduction was taking place in 2020. We identified 8 localities and conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with experts involved in their management in order to understand what motivated them to restart coppicing and what obstacles they have had to face. The main motivation of site managers is nature conservation, while the most important obstacles are operational issues, such as bureaucracy, complicated land ownership and legal responsibilities or lack of workforce. Other motivating factors identified in other European countries (production of a renewable energy source and potential for rural employment) have so far played a minor role in the Czech Republic. We conclude that a major challenge for future forest policies will be to utilise the economic experiences of regions with active coppicing to foster the spread of coppice woods in order to combine renewable energy production with biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural forest expansion (NFE), that is, the establishment of secondary forest on non-forested land through natural succession, has substantially contributed to the widespread expansion of forests in Europe over the last few decades. So far, EU policies have largely neglected the potential of NFE for meeting policy objectives on restoration. Synthesising recent interdisciplinary research, this paper assesses the challenges and opportunities of NFE in view of contributing to European forest and ecosystem restoration. Specifically, we discuss the potential for supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and forestry and economic use, summarize the current knowledge about societal perceptions and the policymaking on NFE, and make policy recommendations to better use the potential of NFE. We conclude that NFE has the potential to contribute to the European restoration policy agenda if local contexts and possible trade-offs are properly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of biodiversity has profound implications for nature's contributions to people and their health. This study intends to examine the factors responsible for biodiversity loss as well as the coping mechanisms to address this crisis in the context of 35 European economies covering the 2009–2018 period. The study utilises both the static and dynamic panel estimation techniques to examine the above issue. Specifically, the study applied Driscoll and Kraay (1998a), Driscoll and Kraay (Rev Econ Stat 80:549-560, 1998b) and Panel Corrected Standard Approach (PCSE) for the static panel models. As for dynamic panel models, the study employs linear dynamic panel model by Arrelano and Bond (Rev Econ Stud 58:277-297, 1991) and Arrelano and Bover (J Econom 68:29-51, 1995)/Blundell and Bond (J Econom 87:115-143, 1998) system generalised methods of moments (GMM). Morandeover for robustness purposes, fixed and random effect models are also applied. The findings indicate that renewable energy use increases biodiversity crisis whereas organic farming is beneficial for biodiversity preservation in Europe. Corruption and gender gap were found to increase the biodiversity crisis. The evidence also suggests a positive and significant effect of forest area, e-governance and social progress on biodiversity. Finally, the study provides insightful implications for stakeholders and practitioners associated with energy and biodiversity conservation in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reintroduction, the human-mediated movement of organisms to re-establish locally extinct populations, has become a popular conservation tool. However, because reintroductions often focus on local or national conservation issues, their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity at large scale remains unclear. While taxonomic biases have already been identified in reintroduction programs at regional scales, studies have stressed the need to account for other facets of biodiversity when assessing the relevance of the allocation of conservation efforts. In particular, it may be very fruitful to discriminate if and how such taxonomic biases may influence the functional complementarity of reintroduction targets, and to which extent reintroduction practitioners may have focused on species performing more singular functions than others. Here, we investigate the diversity of functional traits supported by reintroduced species of terrestrial birds and mammals in Europe. For each taxonomic group, we explored the functional representativeness of reintroduction targets at the European scale, i.e., whether species involved in reintroduction programs collectively represent the range of functional trait variation observed in the regional assemblage. Because additional conservation value could have been given by practitioners to species performing singular functions, we also measured the functional distinctiveness of reintroduced species. We found that reintroductions of birds did not focus on functionally distinct species, and that the subset of reintroduced birds is representative of the functional diversity at a continental scale. However, reintroductions of mammals involved more functionally distinct species than expected, even though reintroduced mammals are not collectively representative of the functional diversity of the continental assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ponds are lentic waterbodies with a high conservation value for biodiversity that have long been overlooked by management policies. Recent initiatives aimed to promote the conservation of these ecosystems by restoring or creating new ponds throughout Europe. Therefore, studying responses of aquatic invertebrates to local pond characteristics and connectivity between them is determinant to understand community dynamics and colonization processes of these scattered ecosystems. We studied larval communities of odonates in 20 created or restored ponds to assess their colonization during the first 2 or 3 years. Community dynamics in relation to pond vegetation, landscape context and connectivity with other ponds were also investigated. No difference in species richness was found between restored and created ponds. Most species colonized the ponds during the first year, but a different pattern in colonization was observed between Anisoptera and Zygoptera. Community composition was related to the landscape context of ponds and the time since pond creation or restoration. Abundances were positively related to pond connectivity, especially in the suborder Zygoptera. No relationship was found between vegetation and Anisopteran larvae, while Zygoptera seem more sensible to the vegetation structure due to their endophytic oviposition. This work confirms the high colonization capacity of odonates and shows that creation of new ponds could be as efficient as pond restoration to enhance the conservation of freshwater species. It also highlights that landscape characteristics and connectivity between ponds are determinant to support higher abundances and a posteriori increase population viability at the landscape scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]