No abstract

Public water supply in Europe relies very heavily on groundwater. Recharge of groundwater takes place mainly in the winter months. An analysis of winter rainfall data shows that current recharge rates are abnormally high, and that during several periods in the past the rate has been less than half the current value. A return to such low values could have catastrophic consequences, but even more modest drops would be serious. Useful predictions must be based on climatic models and the full use of climatic, paleohydrological and historical data.

With a simple analysis, it is possible to show that there is a regional pattern in summer and winter droughts in parts of western Europe. The analysis shows that current winter rainfall is abnormally high, but at other times the rainfall has been very low for long periods. Winter rainfall is important for groundwater recharge and thus for the water supply. The summer droughts have serious effects on the natural environment, agriculture, and water supply. Although general models of future climate predict that long‐term winter rainfall is likely to increase in northern and central parts of Europe, it is important to be aware of the natural medium‐ and short‐term variability. Figures 1 and 2 show the deviation of summer and winter rainfall from the mean.

No abstract

To investigate the extent to which the level of androstenone and skatole decreases with a decrease in live weight and/or age at slaughter of entire male pigs produced under organic standards, 1174 entire male pigs were raised in parallel in five organic herds, distributed across four batches in summer and winter. The median androstenone level was high for organic entire male pigs (1.9 µg/g), but varied greatly both within and between herds. Median skatole level was 0.05 µg/g, also with a wide range both within and between herds. Decreasing live weight over the range of 110 ± 15.6 kg s.d. was found to decrease androstenone as well as skatole concentration, however, with different patterns of association. Age did not have significant direct effect on either androstenone or skatole levels. Androstenone levels were higher during winter than summer ( P < 0.0001), but no difference in skatole was found between seasons. The study concludes that decreasing live weight at slaughter could be an applicable management tool to reduce risk of boar taint and the level of tainted carcasses for a future production of entire male pigs within the organic pig production system, although further studies are needed as great variation in boar taint was found also for low weight animals.