Land degradation affects natural and cultivated socio-ecosystems worldwide. Soil erosion is one of the main processes leading to land degradation, and the process is accelerated by human actions. ...Spain is dealing with extensive land degradation caused by land use and land cover change (LULCC), for instance by land abandonment, and local geo-ecological conditions. Recent land abandonment in Spain can be largely related to changing policies and international market development, which have resulted in the reallocation of agriculture and a shift from traditional rainfed crops to intensification of irrigated agriculture. This radical change in LULCC by land abandonment resulted in two opposite trends, towards greening-up and towards land degradation, each with enormous consequences for the environment by its effects on soil hydrology, runoff, sediment sources, soil erosion, fluvial channel adjustments and forest fire risks. To mitigate negative effects, appropriate management and conservation strategies are necessary.
In this review, we analyze the top-down policy framework of soil conservation in Spain, with a specific focus on the Region of Murcia. We found that multiple international policies, i.e. the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the European Water Framework Directive and the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), contribute to soil and water conservation at the national level, where the national administration selects most appropriate measures according to the country's current state. These measures are incorporated in national policies, such as the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and the National Rural Development Programme. In case of the CAP, agro-environmental subsidies are an instrument to promote soil protection at a national level. Regionally adjusted sub-measures, based on regional environmental characteristics, are then integrated in the Regional Rural Development Programmes of the Spanish Autonomous Communities. The application of subsidies, related to soil protection, is found to be controversial, as studies do not agree upon its effect on soil erosion and land degradation control. To improve decision-making, concepts such as the ecosystem service approach and nature-based solutions are suggested to be included in future policies, as these concepts aim to improve the status of the entire ecosystem in a more holistic manner than is currently the case.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
There is a growing demand for high‐quality soil data. However, soil measurements are subject to many error sources. We aimed to quantify uncertainties in synthetic and real‐world wet chemistry soil ...data through a linear mixed‐effects model, including batch and laboratory effects. The use of synthetic data allowed us to investigate how accurately the model parameters were estimated for various experimental measurement designs, whereas the real‐world case served to explore if estimates of the random effect variances were still accurate for unbalanced datasets with few replicates. The variance estimates for synthetic pHH2O data were unbiased, but limited laboratory information led to imprecise estimates. The same was observed for unbalanced synthetic datasets, where 20, 50 and 80% of the data were removed randomly. Removal led to a sharp increase of the interquartile range (IQR) of the variance estimates for batch effect and the residual. The model was also fitted to real‐world pHH2O and total organic carbon (TOC) data, provided by the Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories (WEPAL). For pHH2O, the model yielded unbiased estimates with relatively small IQRs. However, the limited number of batches with replicate measurements (5.8%) caused the batch effect to be larger than expected. A strong negative correlation between batch effect and residual variance suggested that the model could not distinguish well between these two random effects. For TOC, batch effect was removed from the model as no replicates were available within batches. Again, unbiased model estimates were obtained. However, the IQRs were relatively large, which could be attributed to the smaller dataset with only a single replicate measurement. Our findings demonstrated the importance of experimental measurement design and replicate measurements in the quantification of uncertainties in wet chemistry soil data.
Highlights
Accurate uncertainty quantification depends on the experimental measurement design.
Linear mixed‐effects models can be used as a tool to quantify uncertainty in wet chemistry soil data.
Lack of replicate measurements leads to poor estimates of error variance components.
Measurement error in wet chemistry soil data should not be ignored.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Soil properties that are considered difficult to measure are frequently determined through pedotransfer functions (PTFs). Calibration and validation datasets, containing measurements of the target ...soil property as well as widely available basic soil attributes, are needed to construct and validate PTFs. However, the target soil property data are prone to measurement errors, which are typically ignored when deriving new PTFs. In this contribution, we considered a PTF that predicts the soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and aimed to study the effect of additive and multiplicative measurement error in the CEC calibration data on multiple linear regression (MLR) and random forest (RF) PTF predictions and associated prediction uncertainty. We used data from the National Cooperative Soil Survey Soil Characterization (NCSS-SC) Database, which unfortunately did not contain repeated measurements. Therefore, data from the Wageningen Evaluating Programmes for Analytical Laboratories (WEPAL) were used to quantify measurement error variance in CEC data. We assumed that the obtained measurement error variance was representative for the NCSS-SC Database CEC data, and used it to generate a probability distribution of the CEC measurement error. We used Monte Carlo simulations to add measurement errors to the original CEC values and fitted MLR- and RF-PTFs to ‘error-free’ and ‘error-contaminated’ datasets to study the effect of measurement error. For the MLR-PTFs, measurement error did not lead to large differences in the mean estimated model coefficients when compared to the estimates based on the ‘true’ CEC. Similarly, the variable importance scores of the RF-PTFs were comparable. However, a relationship between dataset size and the standard deviations of the model coefficient estimates and variable importance scores was present. Furthermore, the model performance reduced slightly (MEC decreased between 0.09 and 2.53%) compared to the MLR-PTFs fitted on the ‘true’ CEC. A larger effect of measurement error on model performance was found for the RF-PTFs, where the MEC decreased between 1.52 and 31.59%. The study showed that measurement error in the calibration data can impact the calibration and statistical validation of PTFs, especially when using small datasets or when measurement error variance is large.
•Effect of measurement error on pedotransfer functions was studied.•Measurement error in calibration data reduces pedotransfer function performance.•Smaller calibration datasets lead to larger impact of measurement error.•Random forest pedotransfer models were sensitive to large measurement errors.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
An expert meeting was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Stockholm on 15-18 June 1997. The objective of this meeting was to derive consensus toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) ...for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for both human, fish, and wildlife risk assessment. Based on existing literature data, TEFs were (re)evaluated and either revised (mammals) or established (fish and birds). A few mammalian WHO-TEFs were revised, including 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DF, and PCB 77. These mammalian TEFs are also considered applicable for humans and wild mammalian species. Furthermore, it was concluded that there was insufficient in vivo evidence to continue the use of TEFs for some di-ortho PCBs, as suggested earlier by Ahlborg et al. Chemosphere 28:1049-1067 (1994). In addition, TEFs for fish and birds were determined. The WHO working group attempted to harmonize TEFs across different taxa to the extent possible. However, total synchronization of TEFs was not feasible, as there were orders of a magnitude difference in TEFs between taxa for some compounds. In this respect, the absent or very low response of fish to mono-ortho PCBs is most noticeable compared to mammals and birds. Uncertainties that could compromise the TEF concept were also reviewed, including nonadditive interactions, differences in shape of the dose-response curve, and species responsiveness. In spite of these uncertainties, it was concluded that the TEF concept is still the most plausible and feasible approach for risk assessment of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons with dioxinlike properties.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Long-term survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma experience late adverse effects of radiotherapy and/or anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, leading to premature ...cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
The aim of this study was to identify markers for subclinical cardiovascular disease using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in survivors of HL and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
CMR was performed in 80 lymphoma survivors treated with mediastinal radiotherapy with or without anthracyclines, and results were compared with those among 40 healthy control subjects matched for age and sex.
Of the 80 lymphoma survivors, 98% had histories of HL, the mean age was 47 ± 11 years, and 54% were male. Median radiotherapy dose was 36 Gy (interquartile range: 36-40 Gy), and radiotherapy was combined with anthracyclines in 70 lymphoma survivors (88%). Mean time between diagnosis and CMR was 20 ± 8 years. Significantly lower left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (53% ± 5% vs 60% ± 5%; P < 0.001) and LV mass (47 ± 10 g/m2 vs 56 ± 8 g/m2; P < 0.001) and higher LV end-systolic volume (37 ± 8 mL/m2 vs 33 ± 7 mL/m2; P = 0.013) were found in lymphoma survivors. LV global strain parameters were also significantly worse in lymphoma survivors (P < 0.02 for all). Native myocardial T1 was significantly higher in lymphoma survivors compared with healthy control subjects (980 ± 33 ms vs 964 ± 25 ms; P = 0.007), and late gadolinium enhancement was present in 11% of the survivors.
Long-term lymphoma survivors have detectable changes in LV function and native myocardial T1 on CMR. Further longitudinal studies are needed to assess the implication of these changes in relation to treatment and clinical outcome.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
To develop contemporary, comprehensive guidelines for the appropriate and efficient use of albumin, nonprotein colloid, and crystalloid solutions.
A systematic, literature-based, consensus exercise ...employing a modified Delphi method.
Thirty-one medical and allied health professionals from 26 University Hospital Consortium (Oak Brook, Ill) member institutions were initially chosen to participate. Participants were selected on the basis of their recognized research in the use of albumin, nonprotein colloid, and crystalloid solutions, and/or experience in the review of appropriateness of such use. A total of 24 participants completed the exercise.
Group responses were statistically analyzed in an iterative consensus development process. Five separate questionnaire rounds were designed to establish criteria for the appropriate use of albumin, nonprotein colloid, and crystalloid solutions.
Consensus guidelines were developed outlining the appropriate use of these products for 12 clinical indications, including hemorrhagic shock, nonhemorrhagic (maldistributive) shock, hepatic resection, thermal injury, cerebral ischemia, nutritional intervention, cardiac surgery, hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn, cirrhosis and paracentesis, nephrotic syndrome, organ transplantation, and plasmapheresis.
The Delphi method, a systematic, literature-based consensus process, was shown to be useful in the development of complex clinical practice guidelines for the use of albumin, nonprotein colloid, and crystalloid solutions. It is anticipated that the guidelines will assist health care providers to develop local institutional policies and procedures for the appropriate and efficient use of albumin and albumin alternatives. Institutions reviewing and updating existing local guidelines may use the University Hospital Consortium guidelines as a model for comparison.
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