| 1. |
- Felton, Adam, et al.
(författare)
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Replacing monocultures with mixed-species : Ecosystem service implications of two production forest alternatives in Sweden
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 45:Suppl. 2, s. 124-139
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whereas there is evidence that mixed-species approaches to production forestry in general can provide positive outcomes relative to monocultures, it is less clear to what extent multiple benefits can be derived from specific mixed-species alternatives. To provide such insights requires evaluations of an encompassing suite of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and forest management considerations provided by specific mixtures and monocultures within a region. Here, we conduct such an assessment in Sweden by contrasting even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies)-dominated stands, with mixed-species stands of spruce and birch (Betula pendula or B. pubescens), or spruce and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). By synthesizing the available evidence, we identify positive outcomes from mixtures including increased biodiversity, water quality, esthetic and recreational values, as well as reduced stand vulnerability to pest and pathogen damage. However, some uncertainties and risks were projected to increase, highlighting the importance of conducting comprehensive interdisciplinary evaluations when assessing the pros and cons of mixtures.
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| 2. |
- Felton, Adam, et al.
(författare)
-
Replacing monocultures with mixed-species stands : Ecosystem service implications of two production forest alternatives in Sweden
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 45, s. 124-139
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whereas there is evidence that mixed-species approaches to production forestry in general can provide positive outcomes relative to monocultures, it is less clear to what extent multiple benefits can be derived from specific mixed-species alternatives. To provide such insights requires evaluations of an encompassing suite of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and forest management considerations provided by specific mixtures and monocultures within a region. Here, we conduct such an assessment in Sweden by contrasting even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies)-dominated stands, with mixed-species stands of spruce and birch (Betula pendula or B. pubescens), or spruce and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). By synthesizing the available evidence, we identify positive outcomes from mixtures including increased biodiversity, water quality, esthetic and recreational values, as well as reduced stand vulnerability to pest and pathogen damage. However, some uncertainties and risks were projected to increase, highlighting the importance of conducting comprehensive interdisciplinary evaluations when assessing the pros and cons of mixtures.
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| 3. |
- Mårald, Erland, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Forest governance and management across time : developing a new forest social contract
- 2017
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Bok (refereegranskat)abstract
- The influence of the past, and of the future on current-time tradeoffs in the forest arena are particularly relevant given the long-term successions in forest landscapes and the hundred years' rotations in forestry. Historically established path dependencies and conflicts determine our present situation and delimit what is possible to achieve. Similarly, future trends and desires have a large influence on decision making. Nevertheless, decisions about forest governance and management are always made in the present – in the present-time appraisal of the developed situation, future alternatives and in negotiation between different perspectives, interests, and actors.This book explores historic and future outlooks as well as current tradeoffs and methods in forest governance and management. It emphasizes the generality and complexity with empirical data from Sweden and internationally. It first investigates, from a historical perspective, how previous forest policies and discourses have influenced current forest governance and management. Second, it considers methods to explore alternative forest futures and how the results from such investigations may influence the present. Third, it examines current methods of balancing tradeoffs in decision-making among ecosystem services. Based on the findings the authors develop an integrated approach – Reflexive Forestry – to support exchange of knowledge and understandings to enable capacity building and the establishment of common ground. Such societal agreements, or what the authors elaborate as forest social contracts, are sets of relational commitment between involved actors that may generate mutual action and a common directionality to meet contemporary challenges.
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| 4. |
- Ahlford, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Dried reagents for multiplex genotyping by tag-array minisequencing to be used in microfluidic devices
- 2010
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Ingår i: The Analyst. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 0003-2654 .- 1364-5528. ; 135:9, s. 2377-2385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present an optimized procedure for freeze-drying and storing reagents for multiplex PCR followed by genotyping using a tag-array minisequencing assay with four color fluorescence detection which is suitable for microfluidic assay formats. A test panel was established for five cancer mutations in three codons (175, 248 and 273) of the tumor protein gene (TP53) and for 13 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TP53 gene. The activity of DNA polymerase was preserved for six months of storage after freeze-drying, and the half-life of activities of exonuclease I and shrimp alkaline phosphatase were estimated to 55 and 200 days, respectively. We conducted a systematic genotyping comparison using freeze-dried and liquid reagents. The accuracy of successful genotyping was 99.1% using freeze-dried reagents compared to liquid reagents. As a proof of concept, the genotyping protocol was carried out with freeze-dried reagents stored in reaction chambers fabricated by micromilling in a cyclic olefin copolymer substrate. The results reported in this study are a key step towards the development of an integrated microfluidic device for point-of-care DNA-based diagnostics.
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| 5. |
- Axelsson, Petter, et al.
(författare)
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Belowground Competition Directs Spatial Patterns of Seedling Growth in Boreal Pine Forests in Fennoscandia
- 2014
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI AG. - 1999-4907. ; 5, s. 2106-2121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aboveground competition is often argued to be the main process determining patterns of natural forest regeneration. However, the theory of multiple resource limitation suggests that seedling performance also depends on belowground competition and, thus, that their relative influence is of fundamental importance. Two approaches were used to address the relative importance of above-and below-ground competition on regeneration in a nutrient-poor pine (Pinus sylvestris) boreal forest. Firstly, seedling establishment beneath trees stem-girdled 12 years ago show that a substantial proportion of the seedlings were established within two years after girdling, which corresponds to a time when nutrient uptake by tree roots was severely reduced without disrupting water transport to the tree canopy, which consequently was maintained. The establishment during these two years also corresponds to abundances high enough for normal stand replacement. Secondly, surveys of regeneration within forest gaps showed that surrounding forests depressed seedlings, so that satisfactory growth occurred only more than 5 m from forest edges and that higher solar radiation in south facing edges was not enough to mediate these effects. We conclude that disruption of belowground competitive interactions mediates regeneration and, thus, that belowground competition has a strong limiting influence on seedling establishment in these forests.
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| 6. |
- Bernerstedt, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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3500 kyrkor : Problem eller möjlighet. 8 Restuareringsexempel
- 2014
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- I kyrkorna finner man de högsta kvaliteterna av arkitektur och konst som har stått i mänsklig makt att uppbringa. Kulturarvets värde är högt. Arkitektur är en konstart som förstärker funktionen/verksamheten – på samma sätt som t.ex. musik, poesi, skulptur eller måleri. Konstarterna går utöver funktionerna/verksamheterna, därför finns det alltid nya möjligheter att bearbeta. Restaureringskonstens uppgift är att tillvara arkitekturkvaliteterna, utveckla dem och förhöja dem. Det finns ungefär 3 500 kyrkor inom Svenska kyrkan, en tredjedel medeltida och entredjedel från 1950–60-talen. Sammantaget är det en komplex samling byggnader. Majoriteten av 6,4 miljoner medlemmar i Svenska kyrkan är intresserade av att kyrkobyggnaderna tas om hand. Färre säger sig vara intresserade av att aktivt delta i kyrkans kärnverksamhet. Men kyrkobyggnaden och verksamheten hänger samman; de enda byggnader som haft enoch samma användning i 1000 år är kyrkor. Att vårda och utveckla kyrkobyggnadsmiljöernaingår inte i kyrkans kärnverksamheter. Varför inte? Sedan relationsförändringen år 2000 då kyrkan skildes från staten har inga långsiktiga visioner eller strategier om förvaltningen av Sveriges mest tillgängliga kulturskatt framkommit. Inget drastiskt hände år 2000; antalet gudstjänstbesökare började minska långt tidigare. Varför ska vi vara så oroliga nu när vi inte var det förut? Våra kyrkor är i bättre skick än i något annat land i Europa, vi har aldrig haft det så bra som nu, ändå är det först nu som vi inte anser oss ha råd att sköta denna del av kulturarvet. Andra länder har en mängd olika sätt att finansiera och arbeta med kyrkobyggnader. Sverige har bara ett sätt, statsbidrag. En mängd oprövade möjligheter finns – ett gyllene ägg att förvalta! 20 studenter i Restaureringskonst har arbetat med kunskapsuppbyggnad i teori och praktik under året. Våra studier har innefattat tre innerstadskyrkor och fem andra kyrkor i Stockholms stift, praktiskt nåbara för våra studier. Vi är väl medvetna om de helt olikartade förutsättningar som finns i vårt avlånga land med Europas snabbaste urbaniseringstakt, även om vi haft ett begränsat antal fallstudier när vi tränat arbetsprocess och metodik. Året har förutom projektarbete omfattat föreläsningar, seminarier, workshops och studieresor inom restaureringshistoria, dokumentation med 3D-laserscanning, kulturhistoriskvärdering och analys, material och metoder för restaurering, gestaltning och bevarande,presentation och kommunikation. Av årets studenter är tio arkitekter, en ingenjör, sex antikvarier, två konservatorer och en förvaltare. Tack vare kursens blandade professioner är inledningdiskussionerna och det interna kunskapsutbytet en viktig del av utbildningen, liksom det nätverk som erbjuds genom inbjudna föreläsare och specialister inom praktisk restaurering och i forskningsfronten. Genom studiebesök och studieresor får studenterna kontakter ochintryck av hur restaurering tillämpas och diskuteras i olika sammanhang. I år har vi gjort studieresor till Tyskland och England samt inom Sverige. Kyrkan har i alla tider stått för högsta kvalitet i arkitektur och konst – årets kurs vill visa värdet av denna resurs och hur vi kan arbeta med uppgiften att upprätthålla och gärna öka kulturarvets kvaliteter genomrestaureringskonst.Vi tackar alla som bidragit till genomförandet av vår kurs i år; särskilt Stockholms stift och de församlingar som har gett oss tillgång till sina kyrkor.
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| 7. |
- Blasko, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of tree species identity and species mixing on ecosystem carbon and nitrogen stocks in a boreal forest
- 2020
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 458
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forest management practices, such as selection or mixing of particular tree species, may enhance forests' carbon (C) sinks and resilience against climate change. While a majority of research on this subject has focused on aboveground production, far less is known about how these management decisions impact belowground C storage, as well as the C and nitrogen (N) stocks of the whole ecosystem. We used a well-replicated 60-year-old experiment in boreal Sweden comparing monocultures and a mixture of the two dominant coniferous species: Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris (L.), set up at a site that was assessed as equally suitable for the growth of either species. Our aim was to evaluate the species identity and species mixing effects on ecosystem C and N stocks. We measured total standing volume, aboveground tree biomass, fine-root biomass, C and N pools in tree biomass and soil, litterfall inputs, and soil CO2 emissions. Our results show major differences in C allocation and growth patterns between spruce and pine. We found almost twice as high total standing volume and litterfall inputs in the pine stands than in the spruce stands. Higher proportion and amount of needle biomass resulted in larger amounts of N retained in the canopy and smaller accumulation of C and N in the humus in the spruce compared to pine stands. The C sinks in aboveground tree biomass and soil were larger in the pine compared to spruce stands at this site. In addition, a significantly higher soil CO2 efflux rate and fineroot biomass in the spruce compared to pine stands suggested greater tree internal allocation of C belowground to roots and ectomycorrhizal fungi in response to stronger N limitation. We found no significant mixing effect in the mixed stands, given the levels of the measured variables did not exceed levels of the most productive monoculture, with an exception of higher SOC stocks in the deeper (10-20 cm) mineral soil layer in the mixed stands. Our results do not support the idea of higher productivity and C sinks of forest mixtures compared to the best performing monoculture on the given site suggesting that these tree species are not complementary from a forest management perspective. However, in many cases the mixed stands performed equally well as the best monoculture, indicating that management for multi-species stands may not result in any loss in C uptake and storage.
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| 8. |
- Blasko, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The carbon sequestration response of aboveground biomass and soils to nutrient enrichment in boreal forests depends on baseline site productivity
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 838
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nutrient enrichment can alleviate productivity limitations and thus substantially increase carbon (C) uptake in northern coniferous forests. Yet, factors controlling stand-to-stand variation of forest ecosystem responses to nutrient enrichment remain unclear. We used five long-term (13 years) nutrient-enrichment experiments across Sweden, where nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium were applied annually to young Norway spruce forests that varied in their baseline ecosystem properties. We measured tree biomass and soil C and N stocks, litterfall C inputs, soil CO2 efflux, and shifts in composition and biomass of soil microbial communities to understand the links between above and belowground responses to nutrient enrichment. We found that the strongest responses in tree biomass occurred when baseline site productivity was lowest. High increases in tree biomass C stocks were generally balanced by weaker responses in organic soil C stocks. The average ecosystem C-N response rate was 35 kg C kg-1 N added, with a nearly five-fold greater response rate in tree biomass than in soil. The positive nutrient enrichment effects on ecosystem C sinks were driven by a 95% increase in tree biomass C stocks, 150% increase in litter production, 67% increase in organic layer C stocks, and a 46% reduction in soil CO2 efflux accompanied by compositional changes in soil microbial communities. Our results show that ecosystem C uptake in spruce forests in northern Europe can be substantially enhanced by nutrient enrichment; however, the strength of the responses and whether the enhancement occurs mainly in tree biomass or soils are dependent on baseline forest productivity.
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| 9. |
- Chang, Ya-Ting, et al.
(författare)
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Versican accumulates in vascular lesions in pulmonary arterial hypertension
- 2016
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Ingår i: PULMONARY CIRCULATION. - : Wiley. - 2045-8932 .- 2045-8940. ; 6:3, s. 347-359
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a lethal condition for which there is no effective curative pharmacotherapy. PAH is characterized by vasoconstriction, wall thickening of pulmonary arteries, and increased vascular resistance. Versican is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan in the vascular extracellular matrix that accumulates following vascular injury and promotes smooth-muscle cell proliferation in systemic arteries. Here, we investigated whether versican may play a similar role in PAH. Paraffin-embedded lung sections from patients who underwent lung transplantation to treat PAH were used for immunohistochemistry. The etiologies of PAH in the subjects involved in this study were idiopathic PAH, scleroderma, and congenital heart disease (atrial septal defect) with left-to-right shunt. Independent of the underlying etiology, increased versican immunostaining was observed in areas of medial thickening, in neointima, and in plexiform lesions. Western blot of lung tissue lysates confirmed accumulation of versican in patients with PAH. Double staining for versican and CD45 showed only occasional colocalization in neointima of high-grade lesions and plexiform lesions. In vitro, metabolic labeling with [S-35] sulfate showed that human pulmonary artery smooth-muscle cells (hPASMCs) produce mainly chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans. In addition, hypoxia, but not cyclic stretch, was demonstrated to increase both versican messenger RNA expression and protein synthesis by hPASMCs. Versican accumulates in vascular lesions of PAH, and the amount of versican correlates more with lesion severity than with underlying etiology or inflammation. Hypoxia is a possible regulator of versican accumulation, which may promote proliferation of pulmonary smooth-muscle cells and vascular remodeling in PAH.
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| 10. |
- Cintas Sanchez, Olivia, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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The potential role of forest management in Swedish scenarios towards climate neutrality by mid century
- 2017
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 383:January, s. 73-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Swedish climate policy targets net zero greenhouse gases (GHG) by mid-century, with road transport independent of fossil fuels by 2030, requiring far-reaching changes in the way energy is used. Forest management is expected to support carbon sequestration and provide biomass for various uses, including energy. In this paper, we combine two energy scenarios with four forest scenarios and quantify GHG balances associated with energy-use for heat, electricity, and road transport, and with forest management and production, use, and end-of-life management of various forest products, including products for export. The aggregated GHG balances are evaluated in relation to the 2-degree target and an allocated Swedish CO2 budget. The production of biofuels in the agriculture sector is considered but not analyzed in detail.The results suggest that Swedish forestry can make an important contribution by supplying forest fuels and other products while maintaining or enhancing carbon storage in vegetation, soils, and forest products. The GHG neutrality goal is not met in any of the scenarios without factoring in carbon sequestration. Measures to enhance forest productivity can increase output of forest products (including biofuels for export) and also enhance carbon sequestration. The Swedish forest sector can let Sweden reach net negative emissions, and avoid “using up” its allocated CO2 budget, thereby increasing the associated emissions space for the rest of the world.
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