DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e164067

Authors: Sara Klingenfuß, Manuel John, Tuulikki Halla, Theresa Klara Loch, Philipp Mack, Barbara Meyers, Ronja Mikoleit, Taru Peltola

Abstract: The forest understory plays a central role in ecological processes and human experiences of forests, yet it often remains overlooked in forest management and conservation. In this interdisciplinary workshop, researchers from Finland and Germany came together to explore the understory through multiple lenses—ecological, cultural, social, and sensory. The participants acknowledged and discussed diverse forms of knowledge related to the understory, from scientific to traditional and place-based, to better understand the many ways people relate to it. Through shared readings, discussion, and direct engagement in the forest, we reflected on how the understory shapes foraging practices, sense of place, human–nature relationships, and alternative forest economies. We discussed what it means to "know" the understory, who holds this knowledge, and how it influences forest governance. This report brings together the key themes, questions, and ideas that emerged, highlighting the understory not only as a biological layer, but as a space where ecological, cultural and political dimensions meet. In doing so, we aim to provoke rethinking dominant forest perspectives and encourage more inclusive and relational ways of valuing and managing European forests.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e106369

Authors: Christos Arvanitidis, Ron Dekker, Andreas Petzold, Niklas Blomberg, Giovanni Lamanna, Rudolf Dimper, Cristina Isabel Huertas Olivares, Ana Mellado, Matthew Viljoen, Sally Chambers, Montserrat González, Sophie Viscido

Abstract: The Special Collection of articles on the Science Projects of the EOSC Future project, funded by the European Commission, refers to one of the essential components of the project. This editorial article explains how the Science Projects fit to the EOSC Future, the way their concept has been developed and evolved during the preparation and the implementation of the project and it also makes an introduction to the templates developed by the Science Projects as a plan to carry out their activities.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/rio.7.e66106

Authors: Stefano Della Chiesa, Andrea Vianello, Simone Tritini, Aureliano Piva

Abstract: The Alpine Convention (AC) promotes research, cooperation and monitoring activities in the Alpine region. In this framework, the AC Atlas is the official content management system for geographical data published by the Alpine Convention. The AC Atlas' final goal is to promote, collect, organize, and disseminate the results of research activities carried out by the Alpine Convention, its Working Groups and by European projects in the Alpine region.The system is based on the open-source GeoNode platform supporting standard OGC services. Hence, the AlpConv Atlas allows for browsing, searching, editing documents, layers, maps, and related metadata by an intuitive web-based graphical user interface. The AC Atlas is finally a collaborative platform for managing various geographical data and the related documentation, which can be of great interest to several stakeholders.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e32449

Authors: Katja Seltmann, Sara Lafia, Deborah Paul, Shelley James, David Bloom, Nelson Rios, Shari Ellis, Una Farrell, Jessica Utrup, Michael Yost, Edward Davis, Rob Emery, Gary Motz, Julien Kimmig, Vaughn Shirey, Emily Sandall, Daniel Park, Christopher Tyrrell, R. Sean Thackurdeen, Matthew Collins, Vincent O'Leary, Heather Prestridge, Christopher Evelyn, Ben Nyberg

Abstract: Georeferencing is the process of aligning a text description of a geographic location with a spatial location based on a geographic coordinate system. Training aids are commonly created around the georeferencing process to disseminate community standards and ideas, guide accurate georeferencing, inform users about new tools, and help users evaluate existing geospatial data. The Georeferencing for Research Use (GRU) workshop was implemented as a training aid that focused on the creation and research use of geospatial coordinates, and included both data researchers and data providers, to facilitate communication between the groups. The workshop included 23 participants with a wide background of expertise ranging from students (undergraduate and graduate), professors, researchers and educators, scientific data managers, natural history collections personnel, and spatial analyst specialists. The conversations and survey results from this workshop demonstrate that it is important to provide opportunities for biocollections data providers to interact directly with the researchers using the data they produce and vice versa.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21774

Authors: Thibault Datry, Gabriel Singer, Eric Sauquet, Dídac Jorda-Capdevila, Daniel Von Schiller, Rachel Stubbington, Claire Magand, Petr Pařil, Marko Miliša, Vicenç Acuña, Maria Helena Alves, Bénédicte Augeard, Matthias Brunke, Núria Cid, Zoltán Csabai, Judy England, Jochen Froebrich, Phoebe Koundouri, Nicolas Lamouroux, Eugènia Martí, Manuela Morais, Antoni Munné, Michael Mutz, Vladimir Pesic, Ana Previšić, Arnaud Reynaud, Christopher Robinson, Jonathan Sadler, Nikos Skoulikidis, Benoit Terrier, Klement Tockner, David Vesely, Annamaria Zoppini

Abstract: More than half of the global river network is composed of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which are expanding in response to climate change and increasing water demands. After years of obscurity, the science of IRES has bloomed recently and it is being recognised that IRES support a unique and high biodiversity, provide essential ecosystem services and are functionally part of river networks and groundwater systems. However, they still lack protective and adequate management, thereby jeopardizing water resources at the global scale. This Action brings together hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists, modellers, environmental economists, social researchers and stakeholders from 14 different countries to develop a research network for synthesising the fragmented, recent knowledge on IRES, improving our understanding of IRES and translating this into a science-based, sustainable management of river networks. Deliverables will be provided through i) research workshops synthesising and addressing key challenges in IRES science, supporting research exchange and educating young researchers, and ii) researcher-stakeholder workshops translating improved knowledge into tangible tools and guidelines for protecting IRES and raising awareness of their importance and value in societal and decision-maker spheres. This Action is organized within six Working Groups to address: (i) the occurrence, distribution and hydrological trends of IRES; (ii) the effects of flow alterations on IRES functions and services; (iii) the interaction of aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes at catchment scale; (iv) the biomonitoring of the ecological status of IRES; (v) synergies in IRES research at the European scale, data assemblage and sharing; (vi) IRES management and advocacy training.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14944

Authors: W. Daniel Kissling

Abstract: Seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals is a pivotal ecosystem function in tropical forests, but the role that frugivores have played in the biogeography and macroevolution of species-rich tropical plant families remains largely unexplored. This project investigates how frugivory-relevant plant traits (e.g. fruit size, fruit color, fruit shape etc.) are distributed within the angiosperm family of palms (Arecaceae), how this relates to diversification rates, and whether and how it coincides with the global biogeographic distribution of vertebrate frugivores (birds, bats, primates, other frugivorous mammals) and their ecological traits (e.g. diet specialization, body size, flight ability, color vision etc.). Palms are particularly suitable because they are well studied, species-rich, characteristic of tropical rainforests, and dispersed by all groups of vertebrate seed dispersers. Using newly compiled data on species distributions and ecological traits in combination with phylogenies we will test (1) how fruit trait variability relates to palm phylogeny and other aspects of plant morphology (e.g. leaf size, plant height, growth form), (2) whether geographic variability in fruit traits correlates with geographic distributions of animal consumers and their traits, and (3) to what extent interaction-relevant plant traits are related to palm diversification rates. This combined macroecological and macroevolutionary approach allows novel insights into the global ecology and the evolution of a tropical keystone plant family. This is important for the conservation and sustainable management of tropical rainforests because palms are often key components of subsistence economies, ecosystem dynamics and carbon storage and therefore help to enhance nature’s goods, benefits and services to humanity.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8827

Authors: Jennifer McWhorter, Darren Wright, Julie Thomas

Abstract:

HTML

XML

PDF