| 1. |
- Johansson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term soil organic carbon changes after cropland conversion to grazed grassland in Southern Sweden
- 2024
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Ingår i: Soil use and management. - 0266-0032 .- 1475-2743. ; 40:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is growing awareness of the potential value of agricultural land for climate change mitigation. In Sweden, cropland areas have decreased by approximately 30% over recent decades, creating opportunities for these former croplands to be managed for climate change mitigation by increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. One potential land-use change is conversion of cropland to grazed grasslands, but the long-term effect of such change in management is not well understood and likely varies with soil type and site-specific conditions. Through sampling of mineral and peatland soils within a 75-year chronosequence of land converted from crop production to grazed grassland, we assessed how time since conversion, catenary position, and soil depth affected SOC storage. The SOC stocks calculated at an equivalent soil or ash mass increased through time since conversion in mineral soils at all topographic positions, at a rate of ~0.65% year−1. Soils at low topographic positions gained the most carbon. Peat SOC stock gains after conversion were large, but only marginally significant and only when calculated at an equivalent ash mass. We conclude that the conversion of mineral soil to grazed grassland promotes SOC accumulation at our sites, but climate change mitigation potential would need to be evaluated through a full greenhouse gas balance.
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| 2. |
- Lindborg, Regina, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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Ecosystem services provided by semi-natural and intensified grasslands : Synergies, trade-offs and linkages to plant traits and functional richness
- 2023
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Ingår i: Applied Vegetation Science. - 1402-2001 .- 1654-109X. ; 26:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Question: Semi-natural grasslands (SNG) are important for maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes in farmland. Current pasture-based livestock production mainly occurs on intensified grasslands (IG) that have been agronomically improved. Although it is documented that SNG and IG differ in terms of plant diversity, their ability to provide ecosystem services (ES) in farmland is less explored. Here, we review the role of SNG and IG in delivering ES, illustrate their trade-offs and synergies, and examine how ES can be assessed by using plant traits and functional richness.Results: We found that SNG generate a wider range of ES than IG. Trade-offs exist between ES that appear more pronounced in IG between high biomass production and other ES. SNG are good in providing habitat for biodiversity, supporting pollination and cultural services. SNG also have a significantly wider range of plant functional traits and a higher functional richness, suggesting that the potential to supply ES in SNG is partly driven by higher number of species and their functional diversity.Conclusion: Clearer trade-offs were found in IG compared with SNG, supported both by the literature and the functional richness. This suggests that functional knowledge could be a good complement to understand the mechanisms behind ES generation and could help with tailoring grassland management to sustain biodiversity, ecological functions and ES. Although both IG and SNG are likely needed for the long-term sustainability of food production, both could aim for a more balanced generation of ES, increasing biodiversity and functional redundancy at the landscape scale.
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| 3. |
- Lindborg, Regina, 1966-
(författare)
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Land Use Change in Space and Time : implications for plant species conservation in semi-natural grasslands
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Land use change has during the last century altered the traditional rural landscape in Sweden, resulting in a major decline in species diversity. Traditional small-scale farming, with a remarkably high small-scale species richness, has changed in favour of rationalized agriculture, and many semi-natural grasslands, i.e. traditionally managed pastures and meadows, have become abandoned. In this thesis I examine how spatio-temporal processes affect plant species in Swedish semi-natural grasslands exposed to habitat degradation as well as recovery (restoration). I also discuss how to conserve plant species associated with semi-natural grasslands. In general, species responded slowly to habitat degradation, but quickly to improvement of habitat quality. Population viability analysis (PVA) of the grazing favoured herb Primula farinosa suggested, in contrast to historical records, that populations in abandoned grasslands performed better than populations in traditionally managed grasslands, a result questioning the accuracy of PVAs. Restoration of grasslands counteracted species richness decline and the number of species increased within seven years after restoration. It was possible to recruit grassland species in grazed former arable fields by artificial seed-sowing. This may help to speed up the natural recruitment, which often is low due to dispersal limitations in modern fragmented landscapes. Studies at larger regional scales showed century long time-lags in the response of plant species richness to land use change. Species richness was not related to present-day connectivity of grasslands, but positive effects appeared for grassland configuration in 1950s and 1900s. Thus, making conservation guidelines based solely on present-day data may be strongly misleading and under-estimate the actual risk of species loss. To secure long-term survival of species, it is important to focus on processes associated with larger spatial scales. This may benefit natural dynamics at longer time-scales, where abandoned and restored grasslands, together with species-rich semi-natural grasslands, could become natural parts of sustainable landscape management.
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| 4. |
- Scaini, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Pathways from research to sustainable development: Insights from ten research projects in sustainability and resilience
- 2024
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Ingår i: AMBIO. - : SPRINGER. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Drawing on collective experience from ten collaborative research projects focused on the Global South, we identify three major challenges that impede the translation of research on sustainability and resilience into better-informed choices by individuals and policy-makers that in turn can support transformation to a sustainable future. The three challenges comprise: (i) converting knowledge produced during research projects into successful knowledge application; (ii) scaling up knowledge in time when research projects are short-term and potential impacts are long-term; and (iii) scaling up knowledge across space, from local research sites to larger-scale or even global impact. Some potential pathways for funding agencies to overcome these challenges include providing targeted prolonged funding for dissemination and outreach, and facilitating collaboration and coordination across different sites, research teams, and partner organizations. By systematically documenting these challenges, we hope to pave the way for further innovations in the research cycle.
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