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| 2. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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How unnecessarily high abatement costs and unresolved distributional issues undermine nutrient reductions to the Baltic Sea
- 2021
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Ingår i: AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 51, s. 51–68-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper systematically reviews the literature on how to reduce nutrient emissions to the Baltic Sea cost-effectively and considerations for allocating these costs fairly among countries. The literature shows conclusively that the reduction targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) could be achieved at considerably lower cost, if countries would cooperate to implement the least costly abatement plan. Focusing on phosphorus abatement could be prudent as the often recommended measures—wastewater treatment and wetlands—abate nitrogen too. An implication of our review is that the potential for restoring the Baltic Sea to good health is undermined by an abatement strategy that is more costly than necessary and likely to be perceived as unfair by several countries. Neither the BSAP nor the cost-effective solution meet the surveyed criteria for fairness, implying a need for side-payments.
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| 5. |
- Bartkowski, Bartosz, et al.
(författare)
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Payments by modelled results : A novel design for agri-environmental schemes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Land Use Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- From a theoretical point of view, result-based agri-environmental payments are clearly preferable to action-based payments. However, they suffer from two major practical disadvantages: costs of measuring the results and payment uncertainty for the participating farmers. In this paper, we propose an alternative design to overcome these two disadvantages by means of modelling (instead of measuring) the results. We describe the concept of agri-environmental payments by modelled results (PAMR), including a hypothetical example of payments for the protection and enhancement of soil functions. We offer a comprehensive discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of PAMR, showing that it not only unites most of the different advantages of result-based and action-based schemes, but also adds two new advantages: the potential to address trade-offs among multiple policy objectives and management for long-term environmental effects. We argue that PAMR would be a valuable addition to the agri-environmental policy toolbox in the EU and beyond, while also reflecting recent advancements in agri-environmental modelling.
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| 6. |
- Boke Olén, Niklas, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of farm type on food production, landscape openness, grassland biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions in mixed agricultural-forestry regions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Agricultural Systems. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-521X .- 1873-2267. ; 189
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: The global demand for food is expected to continue increasing for decades, which may drive both agricultural expansion and intensification. The associated environmental impacts are potentially considerable but will depend on how the agricultural sector develops. Currently, there are contrasting regional developments in agriculture; expansion and/or intensification in some regions and abandonment in others, as well as changes in the type of farming. However, the environmental consequences of changes in farm type are not well understood. Objective: We have evaluated the impacts of farm type on food production and three key environmental variables—landscape openness, grassland biodiversity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—in three marginal agricultural regions in Sweden. Methods: We do this by first dividing the population of farms in each region into types, based on their land-use and livestock holdings using an innovative clustering method. Thereafter we analysed changes in production activities for farm types over time and evaluated the environmental and food-production impacts, where landscape openness is quantified using a novel indicator. Results and conclusion: Our results show that there is not one single farm type that would simultaneously maximize food production, grassland biodiversity, and landscape openness, whilst minimizing GHG emissions. However, there exists considerable potential to manage the trade-offs between food production and these environmental variables. For example, by reducing land use for dairying and instead increasing both cropping for food production and extensive livestock grazing to maintain landscape openness and biodiversity-rich semi-natural pastures, it would keep food production at similar levels. Significance: Our farm typology allows us to assess the multifunctionality of farming, by relating contrasting production activities to multiple ecosystem services, grassland biodiversity and GHG emissions for informing policy towards more sustainable agriculture. We have demonstrated this with examples under Swedish conditions, but it should to a large extent also be applicable for other countries.
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| 7. |
- Brady, Mark, et al.
(författare)
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An agent-based approach to modeling impacts of agricultural policy on land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services
- 2012
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1572-9761 .- 0921-2973. ; 27:9, s. 1363-1381
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present extensions to the agent-based agricultural policy simulator (AgriPoliS) model that make it possible to simulate the consequences of agricultural policy reform on farmers' land use decisions and concomitant impacts on landscape mosaic, biodiversity and ecosystem services in a real agricultural region. An observed population of farms is modelled as a multi-agent system where individual farm-agent behaviour and their interactions-principally competition for land-are defined through an optimization framework with land use and landscape impacts resulting as emergent properties of the system. The model is calibrated to real data on the farms and the landscape to be studied. We illustrate the utility of the model by evaluating the potential impacts of three alternative frameworks for the European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on landscape values in two marginal agricultural regions. Mosaic value was found to be sensitive to the choice of policy scheme in one of the landscapes, whereas significant trade-offs were shown to occur in terms of species richness by habitat and species composition at the landscape scale in both regions. The relationship between food production and other ecosystem services was found to be multifaceted. Thus illustrating the difficulty of achieving landscape goals in a particular region with simple or general land management rules (such as the current rules attached to CAPs direct payments). Given the scarcity of funding for conservation, the level and conditions for allocating direct payments are, potentially, of great importance for preserving landscape values in marginal agricultural regions (subject to levels of other support).
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| 8. |
- Brady, Mark
(författare)
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An agent-based model for assessing the impacts of decoupled agricultural support on landscape values
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this article we present an empirical agent-based landscape model that is capable of simulating the consequences of changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—or any other economic parameters—on landscape mosaic and biodiversity in a real agricultural region. The model links changes in policy to structural change in agricultural production and concomitant impacts on the landscape (measured using relevant indicators). The utility of our approach is that it can use anonymous survey data on individual farms combined with generally available landscape metrics to generate an empirical agent-based model of a real agricultural landscape. We use the model to evaluate the consequences of the 2005 decoupling reform on landscape mosaic and biodiversity for a cross-section of case-study regions in EU-27. Our results demonstrated that eliminating the link between support payments and production has ostensibly quite negative consequences for the landscape but only in particular regions and circumstances. In other regions decoupled support was shown to be redundant in terms of generating landscape benefits. Implications for continued CAP reform are discussed
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| 9. |
- Brady, Mark
(författare)
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Farmers' motivations to cultivate biomass for energy and implications
- 2024
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Ingår i: Energy Policy. - 0301-4215 .- 1873-6777. ; 193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioenergy derived from agricultural biomass can contribute to meeting the rising demand for renewable energy. To estimate the agricultural sector's potential to contribute to bioenergy, it is crucial to understand what motivates farmers to increase agricultural feedstock production sustainably. Through eight semi-structured interviews and online surveys with 174 farmers in southern Sweden, we explore the barriers and incentives farmers perceive in starting or increasing feedstock production for energy purposes sustainably using production methods with a low risk of causing indirect land use change (iLUC). Among the most prominent barriers are low profitability, high-risk investments, and potential negative environmental consequences such as soil depletion. Higher market prices for plant residuals and energy crops, combined with more long-term and reliable subsidies that support investments in new machinery, facilities, and production systems, are major driving factors to increase feedstock production for bioenergy. The study found that the farmers see little potential in using marginal lands due to their low soil productivity and spatial characteristics. Further, the potential for intensifying biomass production on currently cropped land is also found to be limited due to risks of soil depletion and environmental degradation. Our study highlights that the potential of bioenergy production from underutilized land and intensive production in Scania may be overestimated, and realizing this potential in practice may require suitable policy changes.
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| 10. |
- Brady, Mark, et al.
(författare)
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Fungerar politiken för ett renare Östersjön?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Policy brief / AgriFood Economics Centre.
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Trots att jordbrukets näringsutsläpp till Östersjön har minskat krävs mycket mer för att uppnå de uppsatta miljömålen. Vi har utvärderat politiken som används för att minska utsläppen från de nio länder som samarbetar om restaureringen av Östersjön. Vi finner att den nuvarande politiken är otillräcklig eftersom: • Många länder har inte genomfört de utlovade åtgärderna för att minska näringsutsläpp från jordbruket. • Viljan att minska utsläppen undergrävs av en åtgärdsplan som är onödigt kostsam och som upplevs som orättvis. • Vissa länder har svaga lokala institutioner medan andra har ineffektiva miljöstöd.
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