Sustainability criteria and verification through national legislations and voluntary certification schemes are important tools to ensure sustainable supply and bioenergy development in the European ...Union. The Renewable Energy Directive Recast (RED II) sets the framework for renewable energy support for the period 2021–2030 with updated and new sustainability criteria. This study reviews the sustainability criteria in the RED II and in existing national legislations and voluntary schemes. The aim is to identify possible gaps and good practices in certification to propose a set of sustainability criteria that are effective in their coverage of the most urgent sustainability concerns, and that are practically applicable to the whole bioenergy sector. The proposed set of effective sustainability criteria was validated through stakeholder interviews. The results show that the RED II is a major step forward in safeguarding sustainable bioenergy supply; however, it still entails sustainability risks in forest management and lacks clarifications and criteria for imported biomass feedstocks. The proposed effective sustainability criteria in this study are more extensive than in the RED II and help to assure sustainable land use, to protect biodiversity, and to conserve ecosystems, whilst also addressing rights for workers and local communities, and the efficient use of resources. These criteria are already implemented in some comprehensive and stringent national support schemes and voluntary schemes. It is recommended that policy makers, scheme owners and sustainability practitioners coordinate discussions and agreements on the various sustainability aspects. A clear definition of waste and residues, measurement of indirect land use change, and recognition of competent voluntary schemes to demonstrate sustainability compliance should be considered at EU level.
•Sustainability concerns on bioenergy are not completely addressed by the RED II.•The effective sustainability criteria covering environmental, socio-economic aspects tackle the remaining concerns of the RED II.•The effective sustainability criteria are applicable and can be implemented in practice.•Recognition of competent voluntary certification schemes facilitate sustainability compliance.
Agricultural bioenergy production is subject to dynamics such as yield fluctuations, volatile prices, resource competition, new regulation and policy, innovation and climate change. This raises ...questions, to what extent bioenergy production is able to adapt to changes and overcome critical events. These dynamics have important implications for effective policy development. Using a case study method, which draws on various data sources, we investigate in detail how agricultural bioenergy sectors in the German State of Brandenburg adapted to diverse past events. The case analysis rests on the adaptive-cycle concept and the system properties potential, connectedness and resilience as defined by Holling and Gunderson (2002a). Our case study concludes that Brandenburg's biogas sector has a low potential and connectedness within the system, and a low resilience against crop failures. The biofuels sector displays similar properties in the short term. In the medium term the potential could increase in both sectors. The properties imply risks and opportunities for biogas production and the possibility to develop towards a stage with a higher potential and a higher connectedness. But adaptive capacity is limited and there are certain barriers for the agricultural bioenergy sectors to overcome potentially critical states. Policy needs to be tailored accordingly.
► Bioenergy sectors respond to climatic, economic and legal changes in different ways. ► Responses to changes expose critical features and bottlenecks of bioenergy sectors. ► Resilience, potential and connectedness are critical features for bioenergy sectors. ► Stages of development of the biogas and biofuel production sectors are identified. ► Effective policy design needs to match the sectors' features and development stages.
Effects of browsing on the condition and development of regeneration of trees in the region of Rychory (KRNAP) Cermak, P.(Mendelova Zemedelska a Lesnicka Univ., Brno (Czech Republic). Ustav Ochrany Lesu a Myslivosti) E-mail:cermacek@mendelu.cz; Grundmann, P.(Mendelova Zemedelska a Lesnicka Univ., Brno (Czech Republic). Ustav Ochrany Lesu a Myslivosti)
Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis,
12/2014, Letnik:
54, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The effects of browsing by roe deer and red deer were studied in naturally or artificially regenerated forest stands in the region of Rychory (Krkonose Natioanl Park, Czech Republic) in 2003-2004. ...Browsing was observed both in winter and summer in 14 couples of plots (one with mechanical protection, one without it) and in one control couple in a preserve for red deer. In both years, winter browsing predominated. As for natural regeneration, silver fir (26% in winter 2003), rowan (36% in winter 2003) and sycamore maple (26% in winter 2004) were the most damaged species. In artificical regeneration, silver fir damage predominated (68% in winter 2003). In the wintering game preserve with a high concentration of red deer, damage to all trees exceeded 40%. In conclusion, artificially regenerated stands were damaged more markedly than naturally regenerated ones. The level of damages increased with the distance from additional feeding devices.
Sheets of stratum corneum were prepared by a trypsinization procedure from human skin samples, homogenized with a freeze press and then fractionated into a soluble fraction and a sediment by ...centrifugation at 50,000 g. Acid phosphatase (AcP) activity was found in both fractions but the bulk of the activity was detected in the supernatant. Highest activities were observed after treatment with Triton X-100. The bulk of the AcP activity remained bound to the pellet, if suspension and fractionation of the homogenized stratum corneum were performed in acetate buffer in the range between pH 4.0-5.0, probably due to ionic or hydrophobic interactions. AcP activity was totally lost if homogenates or fractions were stored frozen at -20 degrees C in buffers with pH values lower than 4.0. Triton X-100 extracts from whole skin, epidermis, stratum corneum, cultured skin fibroblasts and leukocytes were compared by isoelectric focusing. Extracts from whole skin, epidermis and stratum corneum yielded almost identical patterns with one main AcP activity band at pI of 5.65, whereas a second pronounced band from whole skin behaved similarly to one band from cultured skin fibroblasts and leukocytes (pI 6.1). The prominent band from extracts of stratum corneum and epidermis was not observed in extracts of skin fibroblasts and leukocytes. Hence, we conclude that stratum corneum and epidermis contain a tissue-specific AcP.
Nails from four patients, infected with dermatophytes, were investigated with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to gain insight into the spatial arrangements of the dermatophytes within the ...nail. Fungal hyphae could be detected in nails of all four patients. A toenail from one patient infected with Trichophyton mentagrophytes was more extensively studied and the results are presented in this paper. Light microscopic observations with bright field illumination and Nomarski interference contrast confirmed the dermatophytic infection. Fungal hyphae found with the SEM distally on the ventral part of the toenail showed typical T. mentagrophytes structures and the comparison with cultured material clearly demonstrated the correspondence in morphology and size. Besides the fine structural morphology of the invasion of fungal hyphae into the nail plate between the horny cells and/or directly into corneocytes, "tunnel"-like holes were observed in paraffin embedded sections after removal of the paraffin. Scanning electron microscopy, with its enormous focal depth, yielded far more information than light microscopic techniques about the three dimensional behavior of dermatophytes in the nail.
During 17 days two groups of 6 and 8 volunteers of the Department of Dermatology ingested 4 and 6 capsules per day of carotenoids (10 mg beta-carotene + 15 mg canthaxanthin per capsule; Phenoro). ...Heparinized blood was collected twice a week until day 21 and then weekly until day 77. Concentrations of beta-carotene and canthaxanthin in plasma were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography during 77 days. Plasma levels of carotenoids were higher in group 2 (6 capsules) than in group 1 (4 capsules) but reached maximum concentrations within the same time. Hence, therapeutic plasma levels of beta-carotene were reached earlier in group 2. According to blood levels, group 2 could be clearly divided in low and high responders. In contrast to canthaxanthin, beta-carotene exhibited a biphasic decline in both groups, with a monophasic asymptotic decrease which was expressed clinically by a pronounced orange to yellow pigmentation of the skin.
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