| 1. |
- Ahrens, Lutz, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and phenolic compounds in Swedish rivers over four different seasons
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and phenolic compounds are emerging organic pollutants characterized by their persistency, bioaccumulation and toxicity potential. In this study, 28 PFASs and 10 phenolic compounds were investigated in 10 Swedish rivers over four different seasons (October 2016, January 2017, April 2017 and July 2017). The objective was to investigate the levels, composition profiles, sesonal trends and fluxes for both compound classes. In total, 7 out of 28 PFASs and 9 out of 10 phenolic compounds were detected in surface water from the 10 rivers. The average concentration in all samples was 3.2 ng L-1 for ∑28PFASs (median 2.4 ng L-1, n = 40), while 230 ng L-1 for the sum of the phenolic compounds (median 0 ng L-1, n = 38). Highest average ∑28PFAS concentrations were found in Rönneån with 10 ng L-1 (median 11 ng L-1), followed by Norrström with 9.0 ng L-1 (median 9.1 ng L-1), whereas no PFASs were detected in Umeå älv and Ångermanälven. On the other hand, highest average of the sum of the phenolic compound concentrations were found in Nyköpingsån with 1500 ng L-1 (median 57 ng L-1), while for the other rivers the average ranged between 50 ng L-1 and 140 ng L-1, except for Emån where TBP was only detected in one sample with 0.33 ng L-1. This indicates that PFASs and phenolic compounds origin from different sources. The dominant PFASs were perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS, 38 % of the ∑28PFASs), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, 21 %), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS (branched), 8.9 %), while the dominant phenolic compounds were 4nonylphenol (4-NP, 67 %), 4-tert-nonylphenol-diethoxylate (4-NP-EO2, 20 %), and 2,4,6tribromophenol (TBP, 10 %). The concentrations of PFASs and phenolic compounds were relatively constant during the four investigated seasons which indicates a relatively steady input of these two compound classes into the river systems. The daily fluxes of Σ28PFAS was estimated to be in total 220 g d-1 (81 kg year-1), whereas the daily fluxes of phenolic compounds was estimated to be 16000 g d-1 (5700 kg year-1) for all 10 investigated rivers. The Annual Average Environmental Quality Standard (AA-EQS) of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) was exceeded in 33% (n = 13) of the surface water samples for the sum of linear and branched PFOS and in 13% (n = 5) of the surface water samples for 4NP. This indicates that there is a potential risk for the aquatic environment. The AA-EQS of 4-octylphenol (4-OP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) was not exceeded in any surface water sample.
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| 2. |
- Allen, Craig R., et al.
(författare)
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Quantifying spatial resilience
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664. ; 53:3, s. 625-635
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Anthropogenic stressors affect the ecosystems upon which humanity relies. In some cases when resilience is exceeded, relatively small linear changes in stressors can cause relatively abrupt and nonlinear changes in ecosystems. 2. Ecological regime shifts occur when resilience is exceeded and ecosystems enter a new local equilibrium that differs in its structure and function from the previous state. Ecological resilience, the amount of disturbance that a system can withstand before it shifts into an alternative stability domain, is an important framework for understanding and managing ecological systems subject to collapse and reorganization. 3. Recently, interest in the influence of spatial characteristics of landscapes on resilience has increased. Understanding how spatial structure and variation in relevant variables in landscapes affects resilience to disturbance will assist with resilience quantification, and with local and regional management. 4. Synthesis and applications. We review the history and current status of spatial resilience in the research literature, expand upon existing literature to develop a more operational definition of spatial resilience, introduce additional elements of a spatial analytical approach to understanding resilience, present a framework for resilience operationalization and provide an overview of critical knowledge and technology gaps that should be addressed for the advancement of spatial resilience theory and its applications to management and conservation.
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| 4. |
- Angeler, David
(författare)
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Deathcore, creativity and scientific thinking.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Research Ideas and Outcomes. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 2367-7163. ; 2, s. 2-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Major scientific breakthroughs are generally the result of materializing creative ideas, the result of an inductive process that sometimes spontaneously and unexpectedly generates a link between thoughts and/or objects that did not exist before. Creativity is the cornerstone of scientific thinking, but scientists in academia are judged by metrics of quantification that often leave little room for creative thinking. In many scientific fields, reductionist approaches are rewarded and new ideas viewed skeptically. As a result, scientific inquiry is often confined to narrow but safe disciplinary ivory towers, effectively preventing profoundly creative explorations that could yield unexpected benefits. New information This paper argues how apparently unrelated fields specifically music and belief systems can be combined in a provocative allegory to provide novel perspectives regarding patterns in nature, thereby potentially inspiring innovation in the natural, social and other sciences. The merger between basic human tensions such as those embodied by religion and music, for example the heavy metal genre of deathcore, may be perceived as controversial, challenging, and uncomfortable. However, it is an example of moving the thinking process out of unconsciously established comfort zones, through the connection of apparently unrelated entities. We argue that music, as an auditory art form, has the potential to enlighten and boost creative thinking in science. Metal, as a fast evolving and diversifying extreme form of musical art, may be particularly suitable to trigger surprising associations in scientific inquiry. This may pave the way for dealing with questions about what we don´t know that we don´t know in a fast-changing planet.
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| 5. |
- Axelsson Linkowski, Weronika
(författare)
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Managing mountains, past and present conditions for traditional summer farming and Sami reindeer husbandry in northern Scandinavia
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Traditional land use and conditions for maintenance of biodiversity are often interlinked. When land use changes and ecosystems change as a result, there is a risk to loose both the traditional ecological knowledge and the biodiversity connected to this land use. This thesis focuses on traditional land use, summer farming and Sami reindeer husbandry, in the mountain areas of northern Scandinavia (mainly Sweden), in a historical and contemporary perspective. The overall aim is to contribute to the understanding of the conditions for the traditional land use in the Scandinavian (mainly Swedish) mountains, using the concepts of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and a historical-ecological perspective. Both summer farming and reindeer husbandry are under strong external pressure and face large challenges today. Some of these challenges are shared and some differ between the two types of northern pastoralism. Scandinavian summer farmers experience that different views on their land use from different authorities affect them negatively. The increasing populations of large carnivores also worry the summer farmers. Recent depredation rates are in fact of the same level as historically (around 1900). Interviews showed that traditional knowledge about protective measures had eroded during years without carnivores, but also that farming practices have changed recently and that new knowledge developed. Sami plant use has been studied historically, but information about Sami plant management of Angelica archangelica was not documented. We argue that Sami ecological knowledge should be used to ensure sustainable harvest methods. Today traditional reindeer husbandry faces severe problems due to the reduction of winter grazing land by different encroachments, most importantly from modern forestry. The negative effects are even larger since increasingly difficult winter conditions create a need for a wider range of good grazing areas. Traditional knowledge is essential in the herders´ daily work, but the usability of the knowledge is severely constrained by recent changes. In the future planning of an ecologically and socially sustainable mountain management it is necessary to work with traditional land users and integrate their traditional knowledge.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Berglund, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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Land use on organic soils in Sweden – a survey on the land use of organic soils within agriculture and forest lands during 1983-2014
- 2016
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Data from the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU), the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Swedish National Forest Inventory were used in a GIS analysis to evaluate the distribution of organic soils (OS) used for agriculture and forestry in Sweden. The status of agricultural soils and agricultural land use changes were also studied, based on the most recent data available from the SGU. The total surface area of OS in Sweden was estimated to be 6 207 284 ha (15.2% of the land surface area), which is less than reported in previous assessments (Berglund and Berglund, 2008; Berglund et al., 2009). Of the total OS area 98.2% was peat, of which 4.7% was shallow peat and 2.5% 40K peat (peat determined using gamma radiation data). The remaining 1.8% were gyttja soils. Total agricultural area under EU regulations (i.e. on the EU agriculture block map) in Sweden was 3 232 039 ha (7.9% of the land surface area) and most of this was arable land (82.8%). Pasture occupied approx. 16% of the area, the land use on the remaining 1.2% is unknown. Agricultural area on OS (AOS) based on SGU-data and the EU agriculture block map was estimated to be 225 722 ha which is 7% of the total agricultural area based on EU agriculture block maps and 9.0% based on the national maps over agricultural land areas provided by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. More than 50% of AOS was arable land whereas approx. 40% was divided between pasture and unmanaged arable land. The remaining area was wetland, unknown or other land use type. In comparison to previously studies in 2003 (Berglund and Berglund, 2008) and 2008 (Berglund et al., 2009), both the total agricultural area and AOS area have decreased, probably due to structural changes in agriculture. The decline has been sharper for the surface area of AOS than for the total agricultural area. Among the Swedish National Forest Inventory plots, 12.3% were located on OS. Land use changes recorded on the Forest Inventory plots were mostly from arable land to other land uses rather than from other land uses to arable land both in total area and in OS.
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| 10. |
- Bjärstig, Therese, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Implementing collaborative planning in the swedish mountains : The case of Vilhelmina
- 2018
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Ingår i: WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment. - Southampto : WIT Press. - 9781784662912 ; , s. 781-796, s. 781-795
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Critical appraisals have stressed the need for participation and social learning in spatial planning, and planning is now seen as a process of innovative collaboration by multiple actors. During such ‘collaborative planning’, various parties try to develop new inclusive strategies through dialog. Collaborative planning is a major strand of current planning theory and highlights the need for new methods that involve citizen participation. In Sweden, the realization of collaborative planning in practice remains elusive, and research on the subject is limited, so further studies are needed. Thus, in the project “Green planning: Vilhelmina as a testbed for innovative land use planning in the mountain region”, we tested and implemented methods for involving citizens and other land-use stakeholders in the process of developing Vilhelmina municipality’s comprehensive plan (MCP). This paper presents lessons learned from that process and data obtained from a set of focus groups, a workshop, surveys, and personal communication. From these activities in the Swedish mountain region, we learned that collaborative practices have both pros and cons that must be addressed for practical realization of the widely embraced ideal of collaborative planning.
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