Search

Daily weather observations measured by students and staff at Halkali Agricultural School (a school opened in 1892 on agriculture and animal husbandry during the Ottoman period) from 1896 to 1917 in Istanbul, Turkiye have been transcribed from the original publications into digital form and translated from Ottoman Turkish (the Perso‐Arabic script) to English (Latin alphabet). Over 55,000 observations of daily maximum, minimum and average temperature; rainfall, soil and under soil (0.25 m) temperature; humidity, pressure and wind speed were recovered. In addition, weather observations taken in Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute from 1911 to 1936 and taken in Florya Meteorological Station from 1937 to 2022 could inform long‐term temperature changes in Istanbul. The publication of a new historical data set that includes, for the first time, digitized and quality‐controlled daily meteorological observations in Istanbul will enhance the understanding of weather changes in Turkiye back to the late 19th century. These observations will be used to fill gaps in existing temperature and pressure records and to the improvement of the accuracy of reanalysis products prior to the 1950s. It will be the first data set publication of other parameters such as soil temperature, wind speed and humidity for that period in that region. Data are available on the CEDA Archive in csv file format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented, including one on the European Union (EU) biodiversity policy and chemicals policy and the relevance of these policy areas and raptor monitoring from the perspective of a policy-maker, and another on an overview of the conservation status and trends of raptors and owls in Europe.

1. Ecosystem services are the benefits humans obtain from ecosystems. The importance of research into ecosystem services has been widely recognized, and rapid progress is being made. However, the prevailing approach to quantifying ecosystem services is still based on static analyses and single services, ignoring system dynamics, uncertainty and feedbacks. This is not only partly due to a lack of mechanistic understanding of processes and a dearth of empirical data, but also due to a failure to engage fully with the interdisciplinarity of the problem. 2. We argue that there is a tendency to ignore the feedbacks between and within both social and ecological systems, and a lack of explicit consideration of uncertainty. Metrics need to be developed that can predict thresholds, which requires strong linkages to underlying processes, while the development of policy for management of ecosystem services needs to be based on a broader understanding of value and drivers of human well-being. 3. We highlight the complexities, gaps in current knowledge and research, and the potentially promising avenues for future investigation in four priority research areas: agendas, processes, metrics and uncertainty. 4. Synthesis and applications. The research interest in the field of ecosystem services is rapidly expanding, and can contribute significantly to the sustainable management of natural resources. However, a narrow disciplinary approach, or an approach which does not consider feedbacks within and between ecological and social systems, has the potential to produce dangerously misleading policy recommendations. In contrast, if we explicitly acknowledge and address uncertainties and complexities in the provision of ecosystem services, progress may appear slower but our models will be substantially more robust and informative about the effects of environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, ideno[1,2,3,-cdl- pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 8, 18, 28, 29, 31, 52, 77, 101, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 128, 138, 141, 149, 153, 156, 157, 163, 169, 170, 171, 180, 183, 187, 189, 194, 199, 201, 206, and 209 were measured in ∼200 rural soils across Great Britain (GB). Dominance of soil PAH profiles by heavier compounds (4–6 rings) provided initial evidence for the importance of source in governing soil PAH concentrations. No relationship was found between soil organic matter (SUM) and sum concentration of total and ‘heavy’ PAHs, although there was a weak positive relationship with lighter compounds. A spatial statistical technique showed that highest soil PAH concentrations were usually found close to industrial/urban centers where presumably source intensity is highest. PCBs clustered into seven groups, five of which contained a single ‘dioxin like’ PCB, one contained lighter congeners (2–4 chlorines), and one contained heavy congeners (5–10 chlorines). Linear regressions with SUM explained up to 24.3% of variation for the sum concentration of penta- to deca- congeners, but <1% for the lighter congener groups. No significant relationships were found with latitude. Spatial statistical techniques showed clusters of high soil PCB concentrations predominantly in west and south east GB, either associated with urbanized areas or on the West coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]