Search

In the cultivation of extensive green roofs (EGRs), substrate composition is a key aspect together with the evaluation of suitable recycled materials. Recycling materials as amendments can improve the establishment of a self-sustainable EGR, thus providing ecosystem services and benefits from a circular economy and climate change perspective. This study investigates the effects of compost and paper sludge on water retention, substrate temperature attenuation and plant diversity in an EGR experiment. The substrates were composed of tephra (V), compost (C) and paper sludge (P) as follows: VC, as control, VPC and VP. Herbaceous species with different ecological functionality (succulents, annuals, perennials, legumes, geophytes) were sown and/or transplanted with no cultivation inputs. Plant community composition -abundance- and diversity-richness-, substrate water retention and temperature were analyzed. The VPC and VC had the same average substrate temperature, with values lower than VP. The water retention capacity was higher in VC, thanks to the presence of compost. The substrate with paper sludge (VPC and VP) showed the highest species diversity. The VPC substrate was the best compromise for EGR temperature mitigation and plant diversity improvement. Plant functional types in EGRs can be increased, and thus the biodiversity, by modulating the quality and percentage of amendments. The substrate composition can also affect water retention and substrate temperature. In addition, the use of recycling paper sludge in growing media is a winning strategy to reduce waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While numerous Marine Protected Areas (MPA) have been created in the last decades, their effectiveness must be assessed in the context of the country's biodiversity conservation policies and must be verified by local observations. Currently, the observations of local stakeholders, such as those from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academics, government civil servants, journalists, and fishers, are not considered in any MPA database. The Sea Around Us has added observations from local stakeholders to address this gap, adding their perspectives to its reconstructed fisheries catch database, and to at least one MPA in each country's Exclusive Economic Zone. It is important to pursue and incentivize stakeholder knowledge sharing to achieve a better understanding of the current level of marine protection, as this information is a valuable addition to the existing MPA databases. To address this gap, we demonstrated that personal emails containing a one-question questionnaire about the fishing levels in an MPA are an excellent way to gather data from local stakeholders, and that this works especially well for respondents in NGOs, academia, and governments. Of the stakeholders who replied to our personalized email, 66% provided us with the fishing level of the MPA that we asked for. The paper also presents how to access this information through the Sea Around Us website, which details in anonymized form the most common fishing levels for each selected MPA, as perceived or observed by different local stakeholder groups. This information is a unique and novel addition to a website that is concerned with marine conservation and contributes to a more accurate and inclusive discourse around MPAs. This information also helps to identify the gaps that need to be addressed to turn 'paper parks' (i.e., MPAs that are legally designated but not effective) into effective MPAs, which can contribute to climate-resilient 'blue economies'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthopteroidea is an ecologically diverse group of incompletely transformed insects that includes several insect orders similar in development and structure. Many species from Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Mantodea, and Blattodea are sensitive to anthropogenic influences and are indicators of the external environment. Some species cause damage to agriculture and forestry; others are inhabitants of human dwellings and pests of food supplies. The aim of this study is to describe fauna of some orders of Orthopteroidea in the Republic of Mordovia, in the central part of European Russia. This study was conducted in April–October 1971, 1984, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2004–2023. All possible habitats were studied using a variety of methods (entomological traps, pitfall traps, pan traps, etc.). An acoustic method of species identification was also used. For each observation, the coordinates of location, abundance, and dates were recorded. The dataset contains 4865 occurrences. In total, 16,644 specimens of Orthopteroidea were studied. The dataset contains 71 species including Dermaptera (4), Orthoptera (62), Mantodea (1), and Blattodea (4). Of these, 13 species are identified for the first time in the region; these mainly inhabit steppe areas. The presence of two Orthoptera species has not been confirmed yet during our studies; these species are noted in this paper according an old published paper. The biodiversity of Mordovia includes 73 species from four orders. The biology of numerous species, their seasonal dynamics, and some descriptions of biotopes and number of new species are described. Dataset:  https://doi.org/10.15468/cmr3yy. Dataset License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces that the papers on landscape genetics by Samuel A. Cushman and colleagues, genome sequence of Dickeya solani by Linda Garlant and colleagues and pyrosequencing analysis of fungal assemblages by Alberto Orgiazzi have received the "Diversity" journal's 2015 Best Paper Awards.

The third paper [[19]] establishes a DNA barcode library for mealybug species from Espírito Santo, a major coffee-producing region in Brazil, by combining newly generated DNA barcodes with barcodes available on BOLD. The first paper explores species diversity in dogfish sharks (genus I Squalus i ) from the Pacific and western Atlantic Oceans, a taxon notorious for its conserved morphology, by means of DNA barcodes and a variety of molecular species delimitation methods [[17]]. Consequently, DNA barcodes should (in most cases) allow for an unambiguous specimen identification, as well as of morphologically unidentifiable life stages/sexes or parts of organisms, once a reliable DNA barcode reference database is available. Questions centered around how biological diversity is being generated and maintained, as well as how this biodiversity can be conserved/protected, are being frequently asked in basic and applied evolutionary biological and biodiversity research. [Extracted from the article]

Because of the immense amount of infrastructure in cities, the introduction of vegetation into these constructions is expected to play a critical role in reducing the heat island effect, in mitigating the effects of climate change, and in supporting habitat connectivity and associated biodiversity. Although there is the perception that these solutions can improve the biodiversity of cities, their real value is still unclear. This paper focuses on two aspects of urban greening: green roofs and green walls. It provides a systematic review on biodiversity present in green roofs and walls, through an exhaustive worldwide literature analysis. Arthropods, bats, and birds were the three taxonomic groups analyzed in the papers included in our review. We observed a strong increase in the number of recent publications, thus demonstrating a growing interest in this topic. In summary, we found that green roofs/walls offered additional opportunities for plants and animals to thrive in urban environments because of habitat creation and greater spatial connectivity. In addition, the enhancement of other ecosystem services such as stormwater management and heat island mitigation was noted. By incorporating green features into urban design and planning, cities can support biodiversity while also improving the overall sustainability and livability of urban spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive Green Roofs (EGRs) are nature-based solutions that provide several environmental, health, social, and economic benefits. This review of about 1430 scientific papers, based on the five Ws, When, Where, Why, Who, and Which, aims to understand how interest in these important green infrastructures originated and developed, as well as the nature of such academic research. Special attention was paid to the way researchers approached plant selection. Furthermore, this review made a detailed quantitative evaluation of the growth in interest for such green infrastructures within the scientific literature, which began mainly in Europe around the middle of the last century before spreading to America and Asia, growing rapidly during recent decades. The main impulse behind the study of EGRs came from the fields of engineering and architecture, especially on the themes of thermal mitigation and runoff reduction. In decreasing order, we found the categories aimed at ecological and environmental issues, substrate, and pollution reduction. We also found little evidence of collaboration between different disciplines, with the result that botanical features generally receive little attention. Despite the ecological benefits of plants, not enough attention has been given to them in the literature, and their study and selection are often limited to Sedum species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to cultivate the future in Higher Education (HE), firstly by looking backward and learning from the past, then by looking around and questioning the present, and finally, by looking forward and imagining the future of HE. This paper seeks to answer the question of how HE can foster students' life-world becoming, their emancipatory competence with wisdom pedagogy. The research method is based on selected literature from German educational philosophy (Herder, Humboldt, Hegel, Heidegger, and Gadamer) and on recent international publications discussing Bildung, self-cultivation, and life-world becoming in relation to HE. The findings show the need for moral education to enhance students' flourishing in life with wisdom pedagogy. In the future, HE needs to focus more on cultivating character, emancipatory competence, life-world becoming, values, justice, trust, truth, and intellectual virtues such as intellectual humility, curiosity, open-mindedness, and courage. This paper offers a framework for synthesizing the epistemological and ontological goals of HE, and a framework that presents the place and role of wisdom pedagogy in developing emancipatory competences. This paper argues for applying wisdom pedagogy and its methods by teachers in HE to foster students' capacity to flourish in life. The paper calls for more debates and research in understanding wisdom pedagogy in HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.K. food system exhibits strong unsustainability indicators across multiple dimensions, both in terms of food and nutritional insecurity and in terms of adverse climate change, biodiversity, and physical resource impacts. These indices of an unsustainable and inequitable social metabolism are the result of capitalist agriculture and society in general and, more specifically, of neoliberal and austerity policies adopted with vigour since the global financial crisis. The causal, capitalistic, and, latterly, more neoliberal bases of the U.K. food system are delineated in the first section of the paper. These bases are then detailed in terms of their impacts in exacerbating climate change, biodiversity (and resource) decline and loss, and food and nutritional insecurity. The political narratives and policy frameworks available to dissemble, mitigate, or, more rarely, to address (resolve) these impacts are then delineated. It is argued that the only policy framework available that strongly integrates food security (social equity) with ecological sustainability is political agroecology and an accompanying degrowth strategy. The final section of the paper details what political agroecology and degrowth might entail for the U.K. food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary for national parks to exert multiple forms of influence. One innovative function of national parks is leisure and recreation. By optimizing the recreation function, national parks can enhance public participation and tourists' willingness to pay to achieve sustainable development. This paper surveys 435 tourists in Wuyishan National Park with a discrete choice experiment, applies mixed logit models to explore their preferences for recreational attributes from three dimensions and analyzes the heterogeneity. The findings indicate that attributes such as the number of concession activities, transportation variety, the density of recreational facilities, biodiversity, sightseeing zone and combined ticket fee significantly impact tourists' willingness to pay. Higher-educated, younger and willing-to-revisit tourists are more likely to pay for the park and hope to optimize the facilities and activities. The estimated recreational value of the park is RMB 164.51 (about USD 22.75) per person. Here, heterogeneity exist: higher-educated tourists ask for lager sightseeing zone, younger ones prefer more diverse activities and those who are willing to revisit incline to variety means of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a summary of a special issue of the Journal of Marine Science & Engineering titled "Biodiversity, Adaptation Strategies, and Opportunities in Extreme Marine Environments." The special issue focuses on the biodiversity and biotechnological applications of marine organisms in extreme environments. The papers included in the special issue cover a range of topics, including bacteria, microalgae, and fish. The studies highlight the unique adaptations and defensive mechanisms that these organisms have developed to survive in extreme conditions, as well as the potential biotechnological applications of their compounds. The editors believe that this collection of papers will be a valuable resource for researchers interested in studying marine organisms in extreme environments. [Extracted from the article]

Spatial autocorrelation describes the interdependent relationship between the realizations or observations of a variable that is distributed across a geographical landscape, which may be divided into different units/areas according to natural or political boundaries. Researchers of Geographical Information Science (GIS) always consider spatial autocorrelation. However, spatial autocorrelation research covers a wide range of disciplines, not only GIS, but spatial econometrics, ecology, biology, etc. Since spatial autocorrelation relates to multiple disciplines, it is difficult gain a wide breadth of knowledge on all its applications, which is very important for beginners to start their research as well as for experienced scholars to consider new perspectives in their works. Scientometric analyses are conducted in this paper to achieve this end. Specifically, we employ scientometrc indicators and scientometric network mapping techniques to discover influential journals, countries, institutions, and research communities; key topics and papers; and research development and trends. The conclusions are: (1) journals categorized into ecological and biological domains constitute the majority of TOP journals;(2) northern American countries, European countries, Australia, Brazil, and China contribute the most to spatial autocorrelation-related research; (3) eleven research communities consisting of three geographical communities and eight communities of other domains were detected; (4) hot topics include spatial autocorrelation analysis for molecular data, biodiversity, spatial heterogeneity, and variability, and problems that have emerged in the rapid development of China; and (5) spatial statistics-based approaches and more intensive problem-oriented applications are, and still will be, the trend of spatial autocorrelation-related research. We also refine the results from a geographer's perspective at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbial biosynthesis of proteins, primary metabolites, and chemicals is gaining extraordinary momentum and is presently viewed as an advancing approach in the industrial research sector. Increased threats to the environment and the possibility of declining petroleum assets have switched the spotlight to microbial cell factories (MCFs). Aside from possessing various advantages over chemical synthesis, such as less toxicity, cheaper methodologies, and an environmentally benign nature, microbes can be cultivated in fermenters, resulting in an effective bioprocessing approach in terms of industrial relevance. As the overwhelming majority of biodiversity is microbial, this review first highlights the microbial biodiversity of industrially vital microorganisms. Then, the paper delineates the production pathways for generating valuable bioproducts via microbial workhorses. Many host cells synthesize bio-compounds as a part of their natural mechanism; however, several techniques have also been developed to attain the desired end product from non-native microbes with selected properties. The microbial biosynthetic pathways can be categorized as native-existing pathways, heterologous pathways, and artificial de novo pathways. Systems metabolic engineering, which integrates metabolic engineering with evolutionary engineering, synthetic biology, and systems biology, has further revolutionized the field of engineering robust phenotypes. The employment of these strategies improves the performance of the strain, eventually achieving high titer and productivity rates of bio-chemicals. Modern trends and tools for exploiting native pathways and designing non-native-created pathways are also briefly discussed in this paper. Finally, the review discusses the use of microbial workhorses for producing a myriad of materials and chemicals, including carboxylic acids, amino acids, plant natural products (PNPs), carotenoids, flavors, and fragrances, unveiling the efficacy of utilizing microbial species to generate sustainable bio-based products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper addresses the importance of increasing agrobiodiversity to cope with climate change and, at the same time, providing a sufficient amount of healthy food. This is in agreement with the messages from ecology and medicine indicating the advantages of biodiversity in general and agrobiodiversity in particular for the planet and for our health. Plant breeding is considered to be one of the causes of the decline in agrobiodiversity, and therefore, this paper illustrates alternatives to the commonly used approach based on centralized selection. The first alternative is decentralized participatory breeding, which adapts crops to both different agronomic environments and client preferences, representing an "option by context" model of research. The second alternative is evolutionary breeding, which is a more dynamic strategy than participatory plant breeding because it merges the advantages of decentralization with the ability of dynamic mixtures and evolutionary populations to cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and evolve, thus adapting to climate change and to the associated changes in the spectrum of pests. A crop capable of evolving as the environment around it evolves appears to be the most ideal way of responding to climate change and increasing agricultural biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of scholarship draws attention to prisons and environmental justice, pointing out the propensity for prisons to be located on contaminated sites and to be in close proximity to polluting industries, as well as for prisons themselves to contribute to local environmental degradation. Prisoners' immobility renders them unable to relocate away from harmful environments, and there are now numerous suggestions that their wellbeing suffers as a result of the poor quality of many local environments. However, since a relationship between environmental quality and prisoner wellbeing is yet to be robustly demonstrated, there is currently no firm evidence base from which to argue for positive change. This paper therefore examines the effect of the environmental quality of the locations of prisons, approximated as the presence of greenspace in the immediate vicinity of prisons, local species biodiversity and local levels of air and noise pollution, on wellbeing outcomes in a set of prisons in England and Wales. It finds that good environmental quality, in the form of high biodiversity and/or low air pollution, enhances the already-recognized positive effects of greenspace on the wellbeing of incarcerated populations. On the basis of these findings, this paper makes evidence-based policy recommendations intended to enhance the wellbeing of incarcerated populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tardigrades, with over 1450 species, are important organisms in ecological understanding and are valuable biological models (e.g., due to their extremotolerant capabilities). While their biodiversity is better known in Europe and North America, Central and South America have only recently started making significant contributions. Through a comprehensive review of scientific literature, biological collections, web portal consultations, and the addition of new records, this study clarifies the current knowledge of tardigrade biodiversity in Colombia. Past research started in the early 20th century, but most data are unreliable due to information gaps and the absence of specimens in biological collections. The last decade has witnessed a resurgence in tardigrade research in Colombia, leading to new species descriptions and a more robust understanding of their biodiversity. Nevertheless, the majority of the territory remains unexplored. A total of 43 known species from our analysis are present in Colombia: 26 records accepted by the literature and 17 questioned in the literature but representing distinct taxa surely present in Colombia. Other species records are considered doubtful. Our study recommends considering mostly scientific records based on verifiable material deposited in scientific collections (highlighting their importance in studying and safeguarding biodiversity) and encourages future researchers to contribute while adhering to legal requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper reports on three new species and a new record of the lichen genus Peltula Nyl., highlighting research progress on lichen diversity in Helan Mountain. In this study, species were identified through a combination of morpho-anatomy, molecular systematics, and chemical substance detection. The results of the study enrich the data of Peltula and the study of lichens in Helan Mountain. In this study, a systematic taxonomic analysis was carried out on the lichen genus Peltula, collected from Helan Mountain in China; three new species (Peltula helanense, P. overlappine, and P. reticulata) and a new record (P. crispatula (Nyl.) Egea) for China were identified. Four species were identified by morph-anatomical, chemical, and phylogenetic analyses by combining two gene loci (ITS and LSU). Peltula helanense is with tiny individual thalli up to 1mm, attached by creamy-white cylindrical rhizoids and apothecia filling the whole squamule. Peltula overlappine is characterized by thallus squamulose forming rosette-shaped patches and squamules with distinctive thickened margins. Peltula reticulata is characterized by brownish brown thallus and squamules with densely reticulate upper surface. P. crispatula is characterized by irregular squamules attached to a tuft of hyphae. The four species are described in detail, compared, and discussed with similar species, and images of morpho-anatomical structures of the four species are also provided. Moreover, a key to the species of Peltula from Helan Mountain is provided. The results enrich the data of the genus Peltula and also indicate that the rich diversity of lichen species in Helan Mountain is worthy of in-depth study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The main assumption of the so-called theory of island biogeography is that larger islands are home to more species than smaller ones. However, species richness on an island is affected not only by its size but also by other features, such as the island's distance from the mainland or its geological age. The two Canary Islands Tenerife and La Gomera are a good model for testing the relationship between species richness and island area, as they differ considerably in size (the former has an area 5.5 times that of the latter) but are similar in location and age. They lie close to each other (less than 30 km apart) in the central-western part of the archipelago, about 300 km from the African coast. Both were formed as a result of volcanic activity some 11.5–12 million years ago. We compared the species composition and species richness of ladybird beetles on these two islands based on our field surveys and the literature data. As expected, clearly more ladybird species have been recorded on Tenerife (47 species) than on La Gomera (26 species). Being the largest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife has the richest ladybird fauna of all the islands in the archipelago, but it is also more susceptible to colonization by non-native ladybirds than the other islands: to date, ten species of non-native ladybirds have been recorded on Tenerife, compared to between three and seven on the other islands (five on La Gomera). Among the non-native ladybirds established on Tenerife (but not on any other island in the archipelago) is the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), a highly invasive species of Asiatic origin that has spread nearly worldwide. This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) from two islands in the Canary archipelago: Tenerife, the largest island, and La Gomera, the second smallest. As they clearly differ in size but are similar in location and geological age, they are a suitable model for testing the species–area relationship. Our study shows that, in line with this main assumption of the theory of island biogeography, clearly more species occur on a large island (Tenerife) than on a small one (La Gomera). The field surveys documented the occurrence of 35 ladybird species on Tenerife (including 5 not previously reported from this island) and of 20 species on La Gomera (2 species new to the island). Coelopterus sp. collected on Tenerife (a single female that could not be identified to species) is the first record of this genus for the whole Canary Islands. Taking our data and previously published records into account, 47 species of Coccinellidae are known to occur on Tenerife and 26 species on La Gomera. Tenerife has by far the richest ladybird fauna of all the Canary Islands (the next in line, Gran Canaria, has 41 recorded species), but it also has the highest number of non-native ladybird species. All of the ten non-native species recorded in the Canary Islands are found on Tenerife, and for most of them, Tenerife was the island of their first appearance in the archipelago. This island, much more distant from the mainland than the other relatively large islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote), appears to be the main recipient of ladybirds immigrating to the Canary Islands. Tenerife can play this role probably because of its great habitat diversity and altitude variation, as well as intensive tourism and trade-related transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invasion of non-native species (NNS) is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity loss and represents a major problem in the Mediterranean Sea. Although many recent EU policies and directives address this problem and numerous scientific papers have been published, the available data remains scattered and incomplete. In 2021, the World Register of Introduced Marine Species (WRiMS), a newly established database, was launched but has not yet undergone systematic analysis. This study performed a thorough examination of the NNS documented in the WRiMS database within the Mediterranean Sea (International Hydrographic Organization Sea Area). Our findings revealed that the majority of species in the WRiMS database for the Mediterranean are classified as "unspecified" or "uncertain", with only 79 species labeled as "invasive" and 13 as "of concern". The number of recorded animal species exceeds that of plants, and most species belong to the phyla Chordata and Mollusca. Callinectes sapidus and Fistularia commersonii were the most frequently recorded species in the WRiMS for the Mediterranean. Although there exists some data on the impact of NNS and the vectors of their introduction, the information remains incomplete and requires further scientific research. The synthesized and summarized data in the supplement can be valuable input for a range of management decisions and for guiding further scientific research concerning NNS invasions in the Mediterranean Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective forest conservation should go hand in hand with collaboration of the surrounding local communities. Bringing advancement and relief to marginalized communities is pivotal for conservation initiatives, with the objective of cultivating a sustainable ecosystem while protecting indigenous biodiversity. The linchpin for developing successful partnerships begins with fostering a shared understanding of the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural environment. This awareness can be nurtured by interactive education and tangible outcomes that illuminate the profound long-term benefits of conscientious environmental stewardship. Therefore, an emphasis on community-driven conservation and environmental education becomes imperative, serving as a conduit for disseminating crucial information, fostering practical knowledge, and nurturing the attitudes and skills essential in the quest for environmental protection and sustainable development. Education, in this context, operates as a reciprocal process, demanding that educators glean insights from the local populace to effectively tailor strategies that elevate and empower them toward sustainable advancement. This dynamic interaction is where capacity development (CD) becomes indispensable. This paper delves into the unfolding of a series of conservation endeavors, initially driven by Anita Studer's commitment to preserving a fragment of the primary Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil. Evolving into a four-decade educational journey, the actions taken showcase enduring ripple effects across 14 states in Brazil, presenting a comprehensive survey of applied techniques in this unique context. The resources required to achieve collective conservation goals witness a continual upswing, a trend expounded in this paper. Hence, we have chronicled the history, methodology, and projects that transpired in response to the ever-evolving community needs. We will also look at the results and discuss the advancement that ensues following the CBD targets and goals presented at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. is a tripartite, broad-lobed foliose lichen usually found on bark and on epiphytic and epilithic mosses in humid forests. Currently, the species is threatened in most European countries because of its sensitivity to environmental alterations. In this paper, a total of 107 previous studies across more than 50 years were analysed to gain insight into the multiple roles that L. pulmonaria plays in forest habitats, specifically relating to ecosystem services and as environmental bioindicator. Content analysis was employed to systematically characterise and classify the existing papers on the functions performed by L. pulmonaria into several groups mostly based on research topic and scope. Two main types of ecosystem services (N2 fixation and feeding) offered by L. pulmonaria have been identified, with varying research aims and types of parameters measured in the studies. Two aspects of current biomonitoring applications using L. pulmonaria in forest habitats (concerning atmospheric pollution and forest management) were analysed, and it was found that the number of related studies increased significantly in recent years. Finally, the current practices of monitoring using L. pulmonaria as a biological indicator are discussed, and recommendations are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, a cornerstone of environmental health for thriving biodiversity and undisturbed natural processes. This balance is crucial for the sustainability of ecosystems, directly influencing human health, biodiversity, and the overall quality of our natural environment. WWTPs contribute to this equilibrium by efficiently removing pollutants and harmful substances from wastewater, thus averting the degradation of water bodies that are essential for numerous ecological processes. WWTPs encompass multiple stages of wastewater and sludge treatment and are significant energy consumers globally, especially in secondary treatment, particularly the activated sludge method which is the most common method. With an upcoming directive from the European Union aiming to reduce energy consumption in WWTPs, this paper focuses on a literature review examining global practices implemented across all stages of WWTP treatment processes. It summarizes the key points of each study, focusing primarily on the outcomes of each application. This document concludes with an in-depth review of each study and provides general conclusions for each group of studies. The objective is to identify methods that have effectively reduced energy consumption and enhanced the overall energy efficiency of WWTPs. The main conclusions indicate that the studies encompass a wide range of applications that achieve significant reductions in energy consumption. However, additional testing of these applications in more diverse operating environments through trials could further enhance their reliability and increase acceptance among WWTP operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is among the most valuable conifers in Europe for ecological and economic reasons. Throughout the course of history, primarily in the 20th century, its share in stands has been declining due to ill-suited management practices, especially clear-cut management, air pollution (SO2 and NOX emissions), and wildlife-induced damage. This literature review compiles findings from 338 scientific papers. It describes futures for silver fir and its distribution, ecological requirements, threats and diseases, seed production and nurseries, and forest management practices with emphasis on ongoing climate change. Based on recent knowledge of fir ecology and population dynamics, small-scale shelterwood and selection management have been introduced in fir stands, which have also stabilized them. Fir is an essential species for maintaining high stability and biodiversity, especially on planosols and in waterlogged habitats. Owing to its shade tolerance and environmental plasticity, it can coexist very well with many tree species in mixtures, which can increase the productive potential of stands within the natural range in Europe. The average stand volume of mature fir stands ranges from 237–657 m3 ha−1. For its successful natural regeneration, it is essential to reduce cloven-hoofed game and thus prevent bud browsing damage. The attractiveness of fir in terms of heavy browsing is the highest of all conifers (52% damage). On the other hand, fir is a species relatively resistant to bark stripping and the spread of secondary rot compared with Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Under global climate change, fir is expected to shift to higher elevations with sufficient precipitation, while in the southern part of its natural range or at lower elevations, outside water-influenced habitats, it is likely to decline. Climate change is intricately linked to the heightened prevalence of forest pathogens with significant damage potential in Europe, necessitating careful consideration and strategic adaptation within management practices of fir forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The digitization of herbarium collections is an important process that allows access to sometimes huge amounts of data that can be used in various natural sciences. In recent years, the collections of one of the thirty oldest herbariums in the world—the herbarium of the Jagiellonian University—have been digitized. This paper presents the resources of the economically very important Amaranthaceae family, which include 8801 herbarium sheets. They were analyzed in taxonomic, geographical, historical, and functional terms. Herbaria constitute a form of documentation, store and secure comparative material, as well as constitute an extra original gene bank. They are an invaluable database among others for the biological, ethnobotanical and agricultural sciences. The digitization of herbarium collections significantly facilitates access to archival materials; however, searching them is still time-consuming. Therefore, our work aims to analyze the herbarium collection of 8801 sheets for specimens representing the economically important family Amaranthaceae (Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae clade) deposited the oldest herbarium in Poland, the herbarium of the Jagiellonian University (KRA). These specimens have been collected from almost all the continents in dozens of countries for over 200 years. The analyses conducted, including the taxonomic coverage, geographical characteristics and origin, temporal coverage and utility importance of representative species, present the discussed resources in a more accessible way and may become a more attractive form for scientists potentially interested in more advanced research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botanical living collections within botanical gardens are a crucial global asset for plant diversity. Special attention should be directed towards dendrological collections due to their significant contribution to biodiversity conservation, support for scientific inquiry, enhancement of educational initiatives, and engagement of the public. Introducing plants, particularly woody species, poses a significant challenge in botanical science, one that is addressed through botanical gardens and arboretums. The establishment and development of dendrological collections in botanical gardens provide a means to comprehensively represent diverse plant species from various biogeographical regions and continents. The current paper presents, for the first time, the establishment, development, status, and future perspective of dendrological collections at the Yerevan Botanical Garden, particularly in relation to the introduction of woody plants in Armenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NBSs), defined as actions that work with and enhance nature, providing environmental, social, and economic benefits, play a pivotal role in accomplishing multiple objectives within the Water–Ecosystem–Food Nexus domain. They contribute to facilitating the transition to more resilient agrifood systems and providing an evidence base for a broader Nexus policy dialogue. This paper describes the stepwise methodology developed in the EU-funded LENSES project to carry out a comprehensive analysis of NBSs in six pilot areas in five Mediterranean countries and presents the results of NBS implementation in four pilot areas, highlighting obstacles and opportunities. The methodology includes the development of an analytical evaluation framework and a comprehensive catalogue of Nexus-related NBSs, whose suitability needs to be assessed at the local level to achieve better use of protected/natural ecosystems, increase the sustainability and multifunctionality of managed ecosystems, and design and manage novel ecosystems. Subsequently, in a collective learning process that supported the operationalisation of the WEF Nexus, NBSs were identified that address specific contextual vulnerabilities, improve water distribution, and enhance food security while preserving ecosystems and supporting adaptation to climate change. The added value of the proposed methodology lies in the multi-stakeholder participatory approach to gain in-depth knowledge of local agri-food systems, including their main WEF-related challenges, and to facilitate overcoming barriers to NBS implementation. Finally, a final survey was conducted among a small group of purposively selected stakeholders to gain some insight into their perceptions of the impact of NBS and to gather some opinions on the main barriers and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban natural spaces provide important ecosystem services and a wide range of health- and well-being-related benefits for their visitors. They are also essential spaces for biodiversity protection and promotion in a world of rising urbanisation rates and worsening impacts of climate change. However, these spaces are often underutilised by urban residents. When they are utilised, this usage often leads to some level of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Hence, understanding how to promote both use and biodiversity levels in urban natural spaces is critical. While various reports have studied the broad factors associated with urban natural space use, the specific relationship between biodiversity and use remains to be explored. This paper uses a Systems Thinking approach to unpack the complex relationship between urban natural space use and biodiversity and to help guide the design and management of these spaces in a way that promotes both use and biodiversity. With data collected from a systematic literature review, a causal loop diagram (CLD) was constructed and analysed. The CLD construction and analysis highlighted various key factors that play an important role in relating urban natural space use and biodiversity. Among these is the role of individual and social perceptions and values in determining how biodiversity levels will affect usage, and vice versa. The results were applied to a case study: the Thamesmead regeneration project undertaken by the social housing association Peabody. We made recommendations regarding Peabody's biodiversity and green infrastructure plans for Thamesmead, presenting new design and maintenance techniques and assessing various existing techniques mentioned in the documents. Through the CLD analysis, we uncovered various unintended consequences from common design and maintenance techniques and discuss these trade-offs and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses several important problems and methods related to studies of inland waters based on the existing scientific literature. The use of UAVs in freshwater monitoring is described, including recent contact and non-contact solutions. Due to a decline in biological diversity in many parts of the globe, the main threats are described together with a modern method for algae and cyanobacteria monitoring utilizing chlorophyll a fluorescence. Observed disturbances in the functioning of river biocenoses related to mine waters' discharge, causing changes in the physico-chemical parameters of waters and sediments, give rise to the need to develop more accurate methods for the assessment of this phenomenon. Important problems occurring in the context of microplastic detection, including the lack of unification, standardization and repeatability of the methods used, were described. In conclusion, accurate results in the monitoring of water quality parameters of inland waters can be achieved by combining modern methods and using non-contact solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streams are biodiversity hotspots that provide numerous ecosystem services. Safeguarding this biodiversity is crucial to uphold sustainable ecosystem functioning and to ensure the continuation of these ecosystem services in the future. However, in recent decades, streams have witnessed a disproportionate decline in biodiversity compared to other ecosystems, and are currently considered among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. This is the result of the combined effect of a multitude of stressors. For freshwater systems in general, these have been classified into five main pressures: water pollution, overexploitation, habitat degradation and destruction, alien invasive species, and hydromorphological pressures. On top of these direct stressors, the effects of global processes like environmental and climate change must be considered. The intricate and interconnected nature of various stressors affecting streams has made it challenging to formulate effective policies and management strategies. As a result, restoration efforts have not always been successful in creating a large-scale shift towards a better ecological status. In order to achieve an improved status in these systems, situation-specific management strategies tailored to specific stressor combinations may be needed. In this paper, we examine the potential of introducing native submerged macrophyte species to advance the restoration of stream ecosystems. Through successful introductions, we anticipate positive ecological outcomes, including enhanced water quality and increased biodiversity. This research is significant, as the potential success in restoring stream biodiversity not only represents progress in ecological understanding but also offers valuable insights for future restoration and management strategies for these vital ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, samples of mosses, lichens and cryptogams (mosses mixed with lichens) collected from Słowiński National Park (northern Poland) were studied for water bears (Tardigrada). In total, 27 tardigrade taxa were identified: 21 to the species level, one identified as „cf." and three to the genus level, with six species (Eremobiotus ginevrae, Hypsibius dujardini, Hypsibius scabropygus, Milnesium beasleyi, Minibiotus intermedius and Notahypsibius pallidoides) being new records for Poland. Two possibly new for science species were also found, belonging to genera Diphascon and Mesobiotus. Additionally, a very rare eutardigrade Pseudohexapodibius degenerans has been found in the samples analyzed in the present study for the first time outside of the type locality. The effects of habitat and substrate on species richness were also investigated and showed no significant differences between mosses and lichens, as well as all substrates except for concrete walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their environmental value and important role in human nutrition and food security, legumes, including lentils, have been underestimated. Nevertheless, nowadays there is a renewed interest in their consumption due to regional specialization, varietal diversity and their role in the transition towards sustainable production and consumptions systems. Recent years have also witnessed a rise in consumer awareness regarding sustainable food, healthier and plant-based diet and regional or local food systems. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influence of attributes linked to sustainability, such as biodiversity, organic certification, origin indication, and packaging type, on lentils' market prices in Italy. Based on the Hedonic Price Model, and following a review of scientific literature, eight lentil characteristics are defined. Data were collected on 228 valid observations of dry and precooked lentils across 20 different retail stores. Results indicate that Italian consumers have a positive appreciation for lentils with organic certifications and references to geographic and territorial characteristics. Some lentil varieties hold unique market positions, suggesting opportunities for diverse product offerings. Packaging materials influence consumer valuation, reflecting trends towards healthy and convenient food options. These insights will aid stakeholders in fostering sustainable practices and enhancing market competitiveness in the Italian lentil market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the relationship between out-migration from rural areas, sustainable regional development and the conservation of biodiversity. Urbanization is a key challenge for sustainable development. Will the move to cities reduce land use pressures on rural areas, and thus provide opportunities for biodiversity conservation? This paper reviews the literature on the relationship between rural out-migration and biodiversity. Generalizing statements or even predictions are rarely possible, as regional contexts differ greatly and a multitude of factors are at work. It is apparent, however, that traditional land use practices, in particular, are in decline as a result of out-migration. In some cases, this can lead to intensification, in others to abandonment, while some studies do not show any link at all. The paper then considers the case study of a peripheral biosphere reserve in Germany that is characterized by strong out-migration. Here, the urbanization tendency is evident on a smaller scale; the regional urban center consolidates, and the small communities face great challenges. At the same time, new innovative actors are emerging. It is essential for new and established actors to collaborate and jointly develop new narratives for "shrinking" regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions (NBS) have been central to the European Union's drive to address climate change, ecological degradation, and promote urban prosperity. Via an examination of the Horizon 2020-funded URBAN GreenUP project in Liverpool, this paper explores mainstreaming NBS in city planning. It uses evidence from pre- and post-intervention surveys with Liverpool residents and interviews with local business, environmental, government, and community sector experts to illustrate how a complex interplay of scale, location, focus, and visibility of NBS influences perceptions of the added value of NBS. This paper highlights the requirement that NBS interventions be bespoke and responsive to the overarching needs of residents and other stakeholders. Moreover, we underscore the importance of expert input into the design, location, and maintenance of NBS and call for these key drivers of successful delivery to be better integrated into work programs. This paper also notes that the type and size of NBS interventions impact perceptions of their value, with smaller projects being viewed as less socially and ecologically valuable compared to larger investments. We conclude that while small-scale NBS can support climatic, health, or ecological improvements in specific instances, strategic, larger-scale, and more visible investments are required to accrue substantive benefits and gain acceptance of NBS as a legitimate and effective planning tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The ladybird beetle fauna of the Canary Islands is quite specific due to the presence of a number of species that do not occur anywhere else (the so-called endemic species). However, many ladybirds recorded in the archipelago are relatively recent arrivals from various parts of the world, as shown by our previous surveys carried out in several of the Canary Islands, including Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and El Hierro. In this paper, we analyze the ladybird fauna of La Palma, one of the western islands of the archipelago, based on our field survey and already published data. The survey resulted in the recording of 26 species, seven of which had not previously been recorded on La Palma, and two of these seven had not been recorded on any of the Canary Islands. Combining our data and literature reports gives a figure of at least 35 ladybird species recorded to date on La Palma. This is fewer than on the central islands of the Canary archipelago (Gran Canaria and Tenerife), but more than on the other four islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Gomera, and El Hierro). This study confirms previous observations that the Canary Islands are often colonized by exotic ladybird species. This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) of La Palma, one of the western islands of the Canarian archipelago. The field survey of 54 study sites resulted in recording 2494 ladybird individuals belonging to 26 species. Seven of the species recorded were new to La Palma, including two, Harmonia quadripunctata (Pontoppidan) and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), which were not registered so far on any of the Canary Islands. Novius conicollis (Korschefsky) is synonymized with N. cruentatus (Mulsant). Taking our survey and literature reports into account, a total of at least 35 species of Coccinellidae have so far been recorded on La Palma. This richness in species is lower compared to that of the central islands of the Canarian archipelago, Gran Canaria (42 species) and Tenerife (41 species), but higher than that of the remaining four islands (between 22 and 27 species). The detection of two alien species new to La Palma, Nephaspis bicolor Gordon and Nephus reunioni (Fürsch), confirms earlier observations that colonization of the Canary Islands by ladybird species of exotic origins seems to be a frequent phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of biodiversity into forestmanagement has traditionally been a challenge for many researchers and practitioners. In this paper, we have provided a survey of forest management papers that use different Operations Research (OR) methods in order to integrate biodiversity objectives into their planning models. One hundred and seventy-nine references appearing in the ISI Web of Science database in the last 30 years have been categorized and evaluated according to different attributes like model components, forest management elements, or biodiversity issues. The results show that many OR methods have been applied to deal with this challenging objective. Thus, up to 18 OR techniques, divided into four large groups, which have been employed in four or more articles, have been identified. However, it has been observed how the evolution of these papers in time apparently tended to increase only until 2008. Finally, two clear trends in this set of papers should be highlighted: the incorporation of spatial analysis tools into these operational research models and, second, the setting up of hybrid models, which combine different techniques to solve this type of problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture intensification has driven the loss of biodiversity at a global level. The implementation of strategies to conserve and promote biodiversity in agricultural areas can be favoured by adequate assessment methods that foster the awareness of decision makers about the impact of management practices. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of assessment methods of the overall biodiversity in agricultural systems, focusing on the quantitative methods applied, indicators of biodiversity, and functionalities. It was concluded that compensation effects and difficulties in interpretation are associated with currently common methodologies of composite indicator calculation to assess biodiversity performance. This review allowed for the identification and critical analysis of current methodologies for biodiversity assessments in the agricultural sector, and it highlighted the need for more implementation-oriented approaches. By providing recommendations on what should be considered when formulating biodiversity assessment methods, this study can contribute to the formulation of appropriate assessment frameworks for agricultural management policies and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody plants in roadside green spaces of rural settlements provide a wide range of ecosystem functions and services. The study presented in this paper was conducted in three rural settlements in Western Slovakia, representing three different rural landscape types—lowland, basin, and mountainous landscapes. The assessed woody vegetation is situated in diverse settlement structures, with various spatial patterns. A comprehensive woody plant assessment was conducted in selected central streetscapes of three model settlements, examining spatial, compositional, visual, aesthetic, and other values, as well as the characteristics of woody plants. These attributes were clustered according to five main functions and fourteen value parameters and the results were assigned to three quality categories, to objectivise a qualitative woody plant assessment in roadside vegetation structures in the countryside. The findings show the level of suitability of woody plants based on how they fulfil aesthetic, compositional, climate, safety, cultural, and historical functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pezizales are a diverse and economically important order of fungi. They are common in the environment, having epigeous form, such as morels and hypogeous, forms called truffles. The mature ascospores of most epigeous Pezizales are forcibly discharged through an opening at the ascus apex created with the lifting of the operculum, a lid-like structure specific to Pezizales. The axenic cultures of Pezizales fungi isolated from single ascospores are important for understanding the life cycle, development, ecology, and evolution of these fungi. However, obtaining single-spore isolates can be challenging, particularly for collections obtained in locations where sterile work environments are not available. In this paper, we introduce an accessible method for harvesting ascospores from fresh ascomata in the field and laboratory for obtaining single-spore isolates. Ascospores are harvested on the inside cover of Petri plate lids in the field, air dried, and stored. At a later date, single-spore isolates are axenically cultured through serial dilution and plating on antibiotic media. With this approach, we were able to harvest ascospores and obtain single-spore isolates from 12 saprotrophic and 2 ectomycorrhizal species belonging to six Pezizales families: Discinaceae, Morchellaceae, Pezizaceae, Pyronemataceae, Sarcosomataceae, and Sarcoscyphaceae. This method worked well for saprotrophic taxa (12 out of 19 species, 63%) and was even effective for a few ectomycorrhizal taxa (2 out of 13 species, 15%). This process was used to study the initial stages of spore germination and colony development in species across several Pezizales families. We found germination often commenced with the swelling of the spore, followed by the emergence of 1–8 germ tubes. This method is sufficiently straightforward that, provided with sterile Petri dishes, citizen scientists from distant locations could use this approach to capture spores and subsequently mail them with voucher specimens to a research laboratory for further study. The generated single-spore Pezizales isolates obtained through this method were used to generate high-quality genomic data. Isolates generated in this fashion can be used in manipulative experiments to better understand the biology, evolution, and ecogenomics of Pezizales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since biodiversity is a multifaceted aspect of natural systems, several indices have been suggested to measure it. In this paper, we examined a number of well-known diversity indexes to see whether some performed better than others when applied to forest data. In order to reach this goal, we used data on basic forest variables (such as the diameters, heights, and volumes of trees) from forest plots to see if common diversity indices lead to the same conclusions about changes in biodiversity in a pairwise comparison (i.e., comparing the same region at two different times or two different regions at the same time). Out of a collection of 17 diversity indices, 8 of them exhibited robustness, indicating their constant ability to demonstrate either an increase or decrease in biodiversity over pairwise comparisons. However, it is important to note that the remaining seven diversity indices may yield inconsistent or inconclusive results, but only with regard to forest data, highlighting the complexity and nuances of measuring biodiversity with different sorts of data. In this review article, all 17 indices are presented, allowing the reader to choose which ones are most applicable to their particular dataset (genetic, econometric, sociometric, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The dedication of people towards wildlife will form an important part in future wildlife conservation and the halt of biodiversity decline. In this context, education and knowledge transfer can help to prevent actions deriving from misinformation. In this study, we refer to a survey among people interested in wildlife and try to highlight the importance of the improvement of educational services for a success in future coexistence and meaningful wildlife care. We discovered that a strong opinion about dealing with wildlife is associated with increasing contextual knowledge and experience in wildlife conservation. With the results of a survey presented in this paper, we provide insight into public attitudes towards dealing with wildlife. Based on 1569 data sets derived from participating stakeholders, we inquired about the individual experience the participants had made with wild animals, and asked about their personal engagement, attitude towards management, and emotions involved and tried to evaluate basic contextual knowledge. As a result, we discovered a positive effect showing that a strong opinion about dealing with wildlife is associated with increasing contextual knowledge. People that are experienced in and engaged in wildlife conservation expressed significantly stronger positive emotions in this context. We conclude that education is essential in dealing with wildlife responsibly and that positive emotions are a main trigger for such engagement. The results of the survey underline that a combination of contextual knowledge and a positive attitude towards wildlife leads to a higher awareness of possible conflicts between humans and wildlife. Furthermore, these criteria are crucial when developing strategies that strive for a sustainable coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human population growth has resulted in increased food consumption, followed by agrifood production intensification. Human activities have a significant impact on the environment, causing, among other things, air and water pollution and biodiversity degradation. In an international context where there is strong concern about environmental issues, it is also necessary to direct food production towards more sustainable models. In this context, the use of frameworks for certifying the environmental footprint of agrifood products can be a lever to promote sustainable production and consumption. The objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities for certifying the environmental footprint of products, focusing in particular on some of the main environmental claims: global warming, water depletion, and biodiversity loss. The olive sector was selected as a case study since it is the major tree crop in the Mediterranean countries, and it has strong impacts on human health and the environment. We employed a literature review in the SCOPUS database and the knowledge of experts in the main environmental certification sectors. The study revealed the possibility of adopting various mitigation strategies and improving environmental performance, while also pursuing certain market objectives related to certified products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful bioinspired design depends on practitioners' access to biological data in a relevant form. Although multiple open-access biodiversity databases exist, their presentation is often adapted to life scientists, rather than bioinspired designers. In this paper, we present a new tool, "Bioinspire-Explore", for navigating biodiversity data in order to uncover biological systems of interest for a range of sectors. Bioinspire-Explore allows users to search for inspiring biological models via taxa (species, genera, etc.) as an entry point. It provides information on a taxon's position in the "tree of life", its distribution and climatic niche, as well as its appearance. Bioinspire-Explore also shows users connections in the bioinspiration literature between their taxon of interest and associated biological processes, habitats, and physical measurements by way of their semantic proximity. We believe Bioinspire-Explore has the potential to become an indispensable resource for both biologists and bioinspired designers in different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the most important users of plant genetic resources, conserved predominantly in public genebanks around the world, are public and private plant breeders. Through their breeding efforts, they contribute significantly to global, regional, and local food and nutrition security. Plant breeders need genetic diversity to be able to develop competitive new varieties that are adapted to the changing environmental conditions and suit the needs of consumers. To ensure continued and timely access to the genetic resources that contain the required characteristics and traits, plant breeders established working collections with breeding materials and germplasm for the crops they were breeding. However, with the changing and increasingly more restrictive access conditions, triggered by new global legal instruments like the Convention on Biological Diversity/Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty, plant breeders started to establish their own genebanks at the turn of the 21st century. This paper analyses the conditions that contributed to this situation as well as the historical ways that plant breeders used to acquire the germplasm they needed. Public genebanks played and continue to play a conducive role in providing genetic resources to users, including private-sector plant breeders. However, also the practices of the germplasm curators to collect and distribute germplasm were affected by the new legal framework that had been developed in global fora. It is against this background that the complementarity and collaboration between public and private sector genebanks have been assessed. Whenever possible, vegetable genetic resources and vegetable private breeding companies have been used to analyze and illustrate such collaboration. The authors look at reported successful examples of collaborative efforts and consider opportunities and approaches under which such collaboration can be established and strengthened to ensure the continued availability of the building blocks for food and nutrition security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems are experiencing significant pressure from human activities, with 1 million species at risk of extinction. This is threatening to undermine the resilience of ecosystems, which provide multiple benefits to support human existence and are essential for the support of life on Earth. A number of conceptual frameworks have been developed as a guide for the assessment of ecosystem services (ESs) and nature's contributions to people (NCPs), including Millennium Ecosystems Assessment, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report, France's National Ecosystems Assessment, the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, and the Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. In this paper, we compare the existing conceptual frameworks for the assessment of ESs and NCPs and derive a unified structural framework. Several indicators for characterizing the ESs/NCPs provided are selected and integrated through normalization. On this basis, and enriched by a number of culture-specific indicators, we conduct a mapping exercise illustrating the ES/NCP provision for the whole of France in a spatially explicit form based on a 1 × 1 km scale. Finally, we generate integrated maps depicting distribution patterns of different services and contributions across the landscapes of France focusing on economic, social and ecological dimensions. The results indicate that a non-monetary assessment of the complexity and diversity of NCPs is feasible and presents tangible advantages as compared to monetary frameworks. The paper concludes that provisioning, regulating and cultural services and contributions are geographically unevenly distributed and further analysis is required to assess the degree of complementarity, feedback loops and tipping points among different services. Our pilot research clearly illustrated the feasibility of conducting a highly disaggregated multidimensional assessment of ESs/NCPs at the national scale to inform decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Biodiversity is not evenly distributed on Earth. For phytophagous insects, we could expect increasing taxonomic richness from temperate to tropical latitudes, where plant diversity is high. In this paper, we explored the variation in the number of genera in one of the most widespread groups of phytophagous insects, flea beetles, from north to south on the African continent. We found that the number of genera depends on the number of vegetation types, the kind of vegetation, and some specific bioclimatic variables, leading to an up-and-down trend in taxonomic richness from north to south. The distribution of global biodiversity can be investigated based on comprehensive datasets and many methods to process them. The taxonomic diversity of phytophagous insects is typically linked to plant diversity, which increases from temperate to tropical latitudes. In this paper, we explored the latitudinal distribution of the flea beetle genera (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) on the African continent. We divided the area into latitudinal belts and looked for possible correlations with the number and types of vegetational divisions, the area of each belt, and the bioclimatic variables. The number of flea beetle genera is related to the number and types of vegetation divisions rather than the area of each belt. Some bioclimatic variables are highly related to the number of genera, which is higher within those belts where climate factors limit the oscillation of temperature over the year and favor high precipitations, especially in the warmest months. These biotic and abiotic factors lead to a two-peak trend in the taxonomic richness of flea beetle genera from north to south. Genera endemic to restricted areas are linked to the presence of high mountain systems and increase the taxonomic richness of the belt they belong to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superfamily Tipuloidea contains the following cranefly families: Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, with 1267 species known in Europe. Recent studies have increased our knowledge regarding these families substantially, but craneflies still represent an understudied group, even in Europe. A previous paper focused on European Limoniidae, summarizing the faunistic and taxonomic papers concerning the family between 2010 and 2020, and reported additional new country records. In this study, the focus is on the other three cranefly families: Cylindrotomidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, summarizing taxonomic and faunistic studies concerning these families in Europe between 2010 and 2022. Also presented are 204 occurrence records belonging to one Cylindrotomidae, 23 Pediciidae and 62 Tipulidae species, which represent first country records from various European countries: three from Albania, three from Belarus, one from Belgium, three from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13 from Bulgaria, two from Cyprus, two from Denmark, three from Estonia, one from Finland, two from Greece, three from Italy, one from Montenegro, one from North Macedonia, six from Norway, six from Poland, four from Portugal, seven from Serbia, four from Slovenia, two from Spain and one from Sweden, and three from the European territory of Russia. In addition of species known already from Russia, six are presented as new from Central European Russia, 26 from East European Russia, six from North Caucasus and six from North European Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theoretical paper builds on a multidisciplinary framework which is structured to acknowledge the need to combine different research disciplines to understand the problems within our current unsustainable food system and be able to develop possible solutions through new innovations. Current food production methods come at an environmental cost as they generate large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions which affect biodiversity and climate change. The article shows that the problems surrounding food systems and our culture around food, are multifaceted and intricate. The fact is that a growing number of citizens suffer from obesity with various consequential diseases as a result, while a part of the population is still malnourished and dying of hunger. This paper summarizes results from some fairly new studies and different international policy reports to try to clarify how broad the problem is, which is crucial to find new pathways forward to address the problems. Through theoretical discussion, the paper identifies some of the deep underlying root causes and fundamental reasons as to why the urgent needed change is so slow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Essential oils (EOs) from plants are promising products for pest management. This paper describes the chemical composition and repellent action of four EOs against Ulomoides dermestoides, a common pest on several stored products. Most abundant chemical components found in the EOs were sabinene, trans-β-caryophyllene, and α-humulene for phellandrene-rich Lippia origanoides; limonene and carvone for carvone-rich Lippia alba; geranial, geraniol, and neral for citral-rich Lippia alba; and α-guaiene, α-bulnesene, and patchoulol for Pogostemon cablin. The repellent bioactivity, carried out utilizing the area preference method, showed that all EOs displayed great repellency with low mortality rates, suggesting these natural mixtures can be used in formulations of repellents against stored grain pests. The essential oils (EOs) from bioactive species can provide an alternative tool for the management of stored grain insects that is less environmentally damaging than synthetic chemicals. The aim of this study was to assess the repellent action and toxicity of EOs obtained from phellandrene-rich Lippia origanoides, carvone-rich Lippia alba, citral-rich L. alba, and Pogostemon cablin aerial parts on adults of Ulomoides dermestoides. These EOs were isolated by hydrodistillation and characterized by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The repellency assay was carried out using the area preference method, and the toxicity evaluated utilizing a filter paper contact test. The major components (>10%) of the studied EOs were sabinene (16.9%), trans-β-caryophyllene (18.6%) and α-humulene (10.1%) for phellandrene-rich L. origanoides EO; limonene (40.1%) and carvone (37.7%) for carvone-rich L. alba EO; geranial (24.5%), geraniol (19.0%), and neral (11.9%) for citral-rich L. alba EO; and α-guaiene (13.3%), α-bulnesene (15.7%), and patchoulol (35.3%) for P. cablin EO. All EOs displayed 100% repellency at a concentration of 16 μL/mL, with lower toxicity than that elicited by the commercial repellent DEET. EO concentrations up to 8 µL/mL did not induce any mortality on the beetle. These findings show that the EOs provide active and safe molecules for natural repellent formulations to prevent and control insect infestations of stored products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The rate of human population growth continues to increase, with a growing adverse anthropogenic influence on the biosphere. This creates a completely new evolutionary challenge to animal species and new research tasks for bioconservation science. Biocollections are very helpful in bioconservation in this situation. We studied the professional opinions of bioconservation specialists on the future of creating/maintaining biocollections and biocollection networks in Russia. There is a significant degree of concordance among them about the necessity to unite biocollections in networks. This may provide several important opportunities: the ability to cross-check in research, the simplicity of access, redundancy in storing specimens, and effective data curation. We show the success and deliberate on the future potential of our scientific institution in developing and sustaining four large biocollections. These biocollections may become a basis for a national biodiversity centre. Biodiversity collections are important vehicles for protecting endangered wildlife in situations of adverse anthropogenic influence. In Russia, there are currently a number of institution- and museum-based biological collections, but there are no nation-wide centres of biodiversity collections. In this paper, we report on the results of our survey of 324 bioconservation, big-data, and ecology specialists from different regions of Russia in regard to the necessity to create several large national biodiversity centres of wildlife protection. The survey revealed specific goals that have to be fulfilled during the development of these centres for the protection and restoration of endangered wildlife species. The top three problems/tasks (topics) are the following: (1) the necessity to create large national centres for different types of specimens; (2) the full sequencing and creation of different "omic" (genomic, proteomic, transcriptomic, etc.) databases; (3) full digitisation of a biodiversity collection/centre. These goals may constitute a guideline for the future of biodiversity collections in Russia that would be targeted at protecting and restoring endangered species. With the due network service level, the translation of the website into English, and permission from the regulator (Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation), it can also become an international project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is thought to have been domesticated many times independently in China and India, and many modern cultivars are available. All rice tissues are rich in specialized metabolites (SPMs). To date, a total of 181 terpenoids, 199 phenolics, 41 alkaloids, and 26 other types of compounds have been detected in rice. Some volatile sesquiterpenoids released by rice are known to attract the natural enemies of rice herbivores, and play an indirect role in defense. Momilactone, phytocassane, and oryzalic acid are the most common diterpenoids found in rice, and are found at all growth stages. Indolamides, including serotonin, tryptamine, and N-benzoylserotonin, are the main rice alkaloids. The SPMs mainly exhibit defense functions with direct roles in resisting herbivory and pathogenic infections. In addition, phenolics are also important in indirect defense, and enhance wax deposition in leaves and promote the lignification of stems. Meanwhile, rice SPMs also have allelopathic effects and are crucial in the regulation of the relationships between different plants or between plants and microorganisms. In this study, we reviewed the various structures and functions of rice SPMs. This paper will provide useful information and methodological resources to inform the improvement of rice resistance and the promotion of the rice industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]