Emil Nordström (former Master student), together with Lutz Eckstein and Lovisa Lind published a paper studying decomposition along the bog-forest edge (also known as “lagg”) using the tea-bag-index.

This paper, which was based on Emil Nordström’s Master thesis, is published in the journal Ecosphere (https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4234). The authors studied the mass losses (90 days) of green and rooibos tea bags placed across the bog-forest transition of six bogs in Dalarna (Sweden). Three 20-m transects, each containing seven pairs of tea bags, were buried across the margins of each bog, centered at the edge of the Sphagnum moss (Figure 1). The results confirmed their hypothesis, showing a strong edge effect across the bog-forest transition (Figure 2).

Soil moisture levels had the strongest negative effects on decomposition rates. In comparison to soil moisture, pH and temperature had minor or no significant effects. Plants indicative of low decomposition rates included Vaccinium oxycoccos, Drosera rotundifolia, and Sphagnum species. In contrast to other studies, the authors did not find an increase in decomposition with increased species richness among the studied bog ecosystems.

In conclusion, there is an edge effect on decomposition and maintaining or restoring the hydrology of a peatland is the most important factor for continued carbon storage. A rough estimation of an areas’ decomposition rate appears to be possible based on its vegetation.

On 15 March, Professor Hans de Kroon will be giving a talk on his work on Living Labs: innovative projects that have been set up for nature restoration research. With his colleagues from Radboud University (NL) and many societal partners, he looks into ways in which nature and agriculture can be integrated to ensure livelihood for farmers while conserving and restoring landscape elements that contribute to the local and regional biodiversity.

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Read a bit more information on the project here, and attend the seminar via Zoom: https://kau-se.zoom.us/my/kaubiology, at 13:15 CET on 15 March.

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Velizara Stoilova (RivEM and Norconsult’s industry Ph.D. student) from the biology department of Karlstad University will be giving a seminar about her ongoing doctoral research entitled Existing approaches to facilitate downstream migrating fish. Velizara mainly works on solutions for fish migration and connectivity of rivers impacted by dams. As the title suggests, Velizara will be giving a talk on existing approaches to facilitate downstream migrating fish in rivers with limited connectivity and outlining her planned research.

This seminar will be streamed live on zoom on the 18th of January at 13.15 (CET). To join the seminar live on zoom, use the link https://kau-se.zoom.us/my/kaubiology. You are all welcome.

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The US Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, and The World Fish Migration Foundation invite you to save the date and register for an exciting upcoming webinar entitled: Removing “Road Dams” in Europe? taking place on 19th January, 2022 from 15:00-18:00 CET. 

This is a free, international webinar that will highlight the need and opportunities to improve road and stream crossings to enhance the biodiversity of rivers across Europe! 

We invite all river and restoration practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and students, as well as road planning, maintenance, design and construction experts to join! 

Confirmed speakers include:

• Carlos García de Leaniz of Swansea University, Wales | Topic: An overview of Europe’s current policies and research needs
• Bob Gubernick of the US Forest Service, USA | Topic: Stream simulation principles and applications in the USA
• Sofia Perä, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, Sweden | Topic: Culverts in Sweden and lessons from the LIFE REMIBAR project
• Joshua Royte, Nature Conservancy Maine, USA | Topic: Opening up headwaters in Maine, USA
• Nat Gillespie, US Forest Service, USA | Topic: What is the problem with culverts and road-crossings?

The full program, which includes speakers from both Europe and the USA, will be released in the coming month. Make sure to register so you don’t miss any important updates! We hope to see you there. 

Sponsor deals for companies: The webinar is additionally open for sponsorship from 6 companies. At this point, we have 5 spots left. For 1,000 euros, companies can show a 30-second commercial video about how they are involved in culvert replacement or the removal of culverts. The logo of sponsors will be shown on Eventbrite, announcement, and conference program. Please contact herman@fishmigration.org for more information about sponsorships. 

Two current members of NRRV, Larry Greenberg and Eva Bergman, and two former members, Johnny Norrgård and Pär Gustafsson, have recently published an overview of 15 years of research on the endemic, large-bodied population of landlocked River Klarälven-Lake Vänern population of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

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They highlight the major findings from studies of each of the salmon’s life stages and conclude that the Klarälven salmon population is below carrying capacity. Greenberg et al. (2021) suggest measures to increase the number of spawners and downstream passage success, and they also recommend habitat restoration to compensate for losses from, for example, former log-driving activities. They also discuss the ecological and legislative problems that need to be addressed if one wishes to re-establish salmon in Klarälven’s upper reaches in Norway. Managing, conserving and conducting research on this migratory salmonid population has been challenging not only because of the ecosystems’ large size, but also because there is more than one anthropomorphic stressor involved.

Read more about the paper here: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0163

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On Monday and Tuesday 6 – 7 May, Dr. Helen Kopnina from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, will visit Karlstad University. During her visit, Helen will give two talks:

 

Monday 6 May, 13:30 in room 1D350

Sustainable development goals – A critical evaluation in theory and educational practice

 

Tuesday 7 May, 13:15 in room 5F416

Ethical debates in biological conservation

 

Everyone that wants to are welcome to attend the seminars.

In the beginning of March, John Piccolo from Karlstad University, and Haydn Washington (University of New South Wales), Helen Kopnina (Hague University of Applied Sciences) and Bron Taylor (University of Florida) published the paper ”Why conservation scientists should re‐embrace their ecocentric roots” in the scientific journal Conservation Biology. In the article impact statement the authors say that “ecocentrism, the recognition of intrinsic natural vaule, is and should continue to be a vital element of biodiversity conservation”.

You can access the paper here.

Conservation biology is concerned with maintaining the rich biodiversity of Planet Earth. Over the past 50 years scientists have come to recognize that humans are the driving force behind an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. Conservation scientists work for social and ecological justice for a sustainable future of human and non-human life on Earth. The ecosystem services that nature provides for humans is what sustains us – food, clean water, recreation and cultural values. Ecosystem services provide a powerful justification for nature protection, but many people believe that we need to also look more deeply to recognize nature’s intrinsic values. A new peer-review journal, The Ecological Citizen, is dedicated to publishing research on ecocentrism, “Striving for harmony with the rest of nature”.

http://www.ecologicalcitizen.net/

 

John Piccolo from Karlstad University has been contributing to a research network in publishing articles related to ecocentrism and conservation ethics. You can read more about this work here:

http://www.ecologicalcitizen.net/article.php?t=why-ecocentrism-key-pathway-sustainability

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-018-9711-1

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138117300742

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/if-we-want-a-whole-earth-nature-needs-half-a-response-to-buscher-et-al/27ACE7EBAA074C875C4F16B1BD05F12B

 

The online “statement of commitment to ecocentrism” has been signed by a number of well-known ecologists and conservationists including Jane Goodall, David Suzuki, Ann and Paul Erhlich, Herman Daly, David Ehrenfeld, Michael Soulé, Holmes Rolston, Sarah Darwin, Reed Noss, and J. Baird Callicott.

You can read more about and sign the statement of commitment to ecocentrism here.

 

Study ecology and conservation at Karlstad University. The master program “Ecology and Conservation Biology” is now open for applications. Read more about the program here, and related articles on NRRV.se here (Swedish and English). For questions, contact John Piccolo. Apply before April 15!