DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.22.125194

Authors: Stoyan Nedkov, Vanya Stoycheva, Hristina Prodanova, Ivaylo Ananiev, Yordan Yordanov

Abstract: The ecosystem services (ES) concept has established itself in recent years as the predominant paradigm for framing environmental research and policy-making. The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 with its task for member countries to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services has contributed vastly to the development of the ES studies in the European countries. Bulgaria was among the countries that made substantial progress in its implementation and the contribution of the geographers was of vital importance. This paper aims to provide an overview and analysis of the ES research in Bulgaria focusing on the contributions of the geographers and the spatial aspects of the studies. The information on the ES research was performed through a literature review by collecting all available published works that address the main objectives of the study. To systematize and characterize the content of the reviewed papers, a special database with a standard nomenclature was constructed. The findings from the review allowed us to identify both achievements and research gaps in the ES studies conducted by Bulgarian geographers. This enabled us to define the main research priorities of the coming years which can trace the future directions of ES research in the country. They include the development of the spatial aspects in the methodological frameworks for mapping and assessment of ES, better use of GIS-based tools for mapping ES alongside models’ integration, and improvement of the publication's quality and increase of the papers published in highly rated indexed journals.

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DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.20.97566

Authors: Vladimir Ilinkin, Boryanka Traykova, Marina Stanilova

Abstract: Dalmatian pyrethrum Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trevir.) Sch. Bip. (Asteraceae) is a perennial herb endemic to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The species is widely cultivated in many countries for its bioactive compounds pyrethrins, which are used as natural insecticides. Plants derived from seeds vary greatly in pyrethrin content; therefore, the vegetative propagation of high-quality individuals is very important for the establishment of agricultural pyrethrum crops. The present study deals with rapid in vitro multiplication of pyrethrum, ex vitro adaptation of selected clones and creation of an ex situ collection, as a first step towards introducing the species into agriculture in Bulgaria. Seeds from a private ex situ collection in Bulgaria and from a natural Croatian population were used as initial material for in vitro cultures initiation. Basal MS medium (Murashige and Skoog 1962) or MS supplemented with different concentrations of kinetin and indole-3-butyric acid were used for seed germination and multiplication of one-seed derived clones by consecutive subcultivations. The propagation effectiveness was evaluated as a number of new plants obtained per initial shoot. Considerable losses were noticed due to both endophytic contaminations and necrosis, especially on media supplemented with plant growth regulators. These problems were overcome by medium optimization: adding an antibiotic and modifying the medium to increase the calcium concentration using CaCO3. In the best medium variant (basal MS + 200 mg/L Medaxone + 75 mg/L Ca) no more infected plants were observed, and the percentage of necrotic plants decreased threefold, which resulted in formation of 38.06±10.11 new plants per initial shoot for a period of 7 months. Three hundred and sixty plants were ex vitro adapted in a phytotron (88% surviving rate), then 16 plants from 4 selected clones were transferred to the ex situ collection and bloomed twice from the very first growing season (June and September). The number of the flower heads increased in the second year of field cultivation and an average of 328±138 capitula per plant were counted for the best clone. The first trials to establish a pilot plantation of pyrethrum are promising.

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DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.9.6105

Authors: Joachim Spangenberg

Abstract: The anthropocene is the age where human influences are determining the development of the planet’s ecosystems and thus the bio-physical basis of future human civilisations. Today China has become the world’s largest economy and its worst polluter with per capita greenhouse gas emissions surpassing the EU average, the world’s largest consumer of all kinds of resources. Even regarding the aggregate contribution to climate change (historical emission residues included), called the climate debt, China has not yet, but will be most probably climbing the top position rather soon.At the same time China is the world’s largest victim of environmental change, including air and soil pollution, water and land scarcity, biodiversity loss and climate change.Thus not only slowing down the increase but reducing emissions should be a top priority for China, and it is: the government has taken some bold steps. China is the world’s largest investor in renewable energies, has the largest afforestation program, and leads the world in reducing carbon dioxide emission reduction. As the largest polluter it has extraordinary opportunities to improve the global state of the environment – is it the world’s last best hope for establishing a global ecological civilisation? Some implications regarding the Chinese environmental policy are discussed, some strengths highlighted and some weaknesses identified.However, despite their magnitude, the efforts–and in particular their implementation–are not yet sufficient. We suggest three additional steps which could help China to begin reducing its climate debt within a couple of decades, define a long term perspective for policy planning and adjust its growth model to the challenges of the anthropocene.

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DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.8.4038

Authors: Winfried Schroeder, Gunther Schmidt

Abstract: The approval of genetically modified organisms for deliberate release and placing on the market requires environmental risk assessment and environmental monitoring. Methodological approaches and implementation of both tasks are still controversially discussed. This article analyses principles of environmental monitoring of genetically modified organisms as published in the Guideline 4330 Part 1 of the Association of German Engineers. Thereby, the article concentrates on the characterisation of the receiving environment affected by cultivation of genetically modified organisms and the representativeness of monitoring systems to assess large-scale implications of the cultivation of genetically modified organisms. Based on this, the article introduces statistical and geoinformatic measures as well as relevant geodata to deal with these issues.

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DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.3.18

Authors: Andrew Gardner, Brigitte Howarth

Abstract: The United Arab Emirates is a small Gulf country with perhaps the fastest rate of infrastructure development anywhere. While there is legislation in place requiring environmental impact assessments (EIA) to be undertaken for all major projects, the speed and scope of development provides special challenges in devising and implementing ecological mitigation against the loss of habitats and biodiversity that this development engenders. This paper critically discusses mitigation strategies that have been attempted, and suggests mitigation strategies in the local context. It is hoped that this will assist both the environmental consultants involved in the EIA process and the competent authorities who issue development licences, to the benefit of the remaining native biodiversity of the area.

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DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.3.34

Authors: Jenny Krutschinna, Bruno Streit

Abstract: Responding to inadequate awareness of the outstanding importance of biodiversity, the BioFrankfurt network was founded in 2004 in the State of Hesse, Germany. It is presented here as a case study and may serve as a model for other parts of the world, such as the Middle East. In 2007, only about 26% of the German population were familiar with the term “Biodiversity”, and most of them only had a vague idea about its meaning. The BioFrankfurt network of institutions addressed this problem, raising public awareness and supporting research, education and conservation. A regional biodiversity education program has been developed and delivered to more than 500 schools. Since 2007, an innovative public relations campaign combines raising awareness on regional biodiversity issues with activities to improve the public image of the Frankfurt area. Because of its geographical focus, the network’s activities gained the attention of local and regional politicians and other decision makers, culminating in the joint establishment of a new Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre by BioFrankfurt member institutions. The success of current activities attracts interesting partners, resulting in challenging cooperation initiatives. The authors are convinced that the network’s concepts and activities have a great potential to profoundly enhance the notion and acceptance of biodiversity issues elsewhere.

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