In March 2013, 40 leading experts from across the world gathered at a workshop, hosted by the European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Italy, to discuss the multiple benefits of soil carbon as part of a Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) project commissioned by Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). This collaboration led to the publication of the SCOPE Series Volume 71 "Soil Carbon: Science, Management and Policy for Multiple Benefits"; which brings together the essential scientific evidence and policy opportunities regarding the global importance of soil carbon. This short communication summarises the key messages of the assessment including research and policy implications. (Résumé d'auteur
This is the first study to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of domestic water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Germany and their potential relations to herds in other parts of Europe or worldwide. To this end, animals from different herds in Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary were genotyped and compared to genotypes from other populations with worldwide distribution and open to the public. The pilot study analyzed population structure, phylogenetic tree, and inbreeding events in our samples. In buffalos from Germany, a mixed genetic make-up with contributions from Bulgaria (Murrah breed), Romania, and Italy was found. All in all, a high degree of genetic diversity was identified in European buffalos, and a novel genotype was described in Hungarian buffalos by this study. We demonstrate that European buffalos stand out from other buffalo populations worldwide, supporting the idea that buffalos have not completely disappeared from the European continent during the late Pleistocene. The high genetic diversity in European buffalos seems to be an excellent prerequisite for the establishment of local breeds characterized by unique traits and features. This study may also be considered as an initial step on the way to genome characterization for the sustainable development of the buffalo economy in Germany and other parts of Europe in the future.
Conventional peatland agriculture and forestry is based on drainage, which enhances peat oxidation, causes massive greenhouse gas emissions and eventually destroys the peatland subsistence base. In contrast, paludicultures use biomass from wet and rewetted peatlands under conditions that maintain the peat body, facilitate peat accumulation and provide the associated natural peatland ecosystem services. In the temperate, subtropical and tropical zones, i.e. those zones of the world where plant productivity is high, peat is generally formed by roots and rhizomes, and peatlands by nature hold vegetation of which aboveground parts can be harvested without substantially harming peat conservation and formation. Besides traditional yields of food, feed, fibre and fuel, the biomass can be used as a raw material for industrial biochemistry, for producing high-quality liquid or gaseous biofuels and for further purposes like extracting and synthesizing pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Some outstanding examples are introduced, including low-intensity grazing with water buffalos, biofuels from fens, common reed as industrial raw material and sphagnum farming for horticultural growing media. Paludicultures may support substantial co-benefits, including the preservation and sequestration of carbon, regulation of water dynamics (flood control) and quality, and conservation and restoration of typical peatland flora and fauna. They can provide sustainable income from sites that have been abandoned or degraded. In many cases, paludicultures can compete effectively with drainage-based peatland agriculture and forestry, certainly when external costs are adequately considered. Various technical and political constraints, however, still hamper large-scale implementation of this promising type of land use.
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