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Fashion products made from repurposed materials (e.g., backpacks made from pineapple leaves) have become more prevalent nowadays, and their environmental sustainability is one of the core advantages. Yet, it is currently unclear how consumers respond to products made from repurposed materials. We conducted three experiments to examine the effects of three material features, namely function, sustainability, and distinguishability, on consumer preferences for fashion products made from repurposed materials. The results indicate that, when the function of repurposed materials is as good as that of conventional materials, consumers prefer a product made from repurposed materials over the same product made from conventional materials. Also, consumers in general prefer repurposed materials to be less visually distinguishable. Finally, when the sustainability of the repurposed products is emphasized, consumers appear more likely to choose products made from repurposed materials, even when these products have an inferior function. In conclusion, to promote fashion products made from repurposed materials, marketers may emphasize the function and sustainability of repurposed materials, and producers may manufacture repurposed materials that visually resemble conventional materials.

This dataset contains measurements of downwelling short wave irradiance, measured in a small scale grid setup at Falkenberg: 20 sensors in 4 by 5 grid with a 50 meter grid spacing. Another 4 sensors were placed in all direction about 5 km away from the main grid at Falkenberg. The sampling rate is 10 Hz, to catch all irradiance variability, and is calibrated against a high quality sun tracker. The strength of this dataset is not the absolute accuracy, but rather the spatial measurements and ability to catch variability. Quality: Accuracy is estimated to be within 5% of a conventional pyranometer. Quality varies depending on weather type, but is best for high solar elevation angles (solar noon +/- 4 hours). Data is manually quality controlled, with detailed quality flags included in the dataset. Some anomalous data is not caught, in particular noisy data due to many insects on the sensor or small dirt from birds that reduces the signal slightly. These effects are much smaller than the driving weather patterns. The data is unsuitable for calculating radiation balances, but it is particularly useful for studying variability and patterns of solar irradiance on small scales. Funding: Dutch Research Council (NWO), Shedding Light On Cloud Shadows: VI.Vidi.192.068 Project: FESSTVaL (Field Experiment on submesoscale spatio-temporal variability in Lindenberg), a measurement campaign initiated by the Hans-Ertel-Center for Weather Research.

Figure 1data_Exp 2Figure 1 data: Condition of experimental seedlings in hummocks with contrasting shrub density and tree canopy in Experiment 2: No Trees - Low Shrub biomass (NTLS), No Trees - High Shrub biomass (NTHS), Present Trees - Low Shrub biomass (PTLS) and Present Trees - High shrub biomass (PTHS) during the warmest growing season (2011) and at the end of the experiment (2013). Seedling condition was defined as: healthy (< 50% of the needles turned yellow or brown) or unhealthy (> 50% of the needles turned yellow or brown). Seedlings were 1 month old at plantation time in the July 2010.Table 1_environmental conditions_Exp 1Table 1 data: Environmental conditions and vegetation characteristics in hummocks (circular and bands) and lawns for Experiment 1. Water table depth below surface is an average for the four growing seasons (2010-2013)Table 2_ photosynthesis data_Exp 1Table 2 photosynthesis data: Photosynthesis rates for experimental pine seedlings in hummocks (circular and bands) versus adjacent lawns for Experiment 1.Table 2_seedling responses_Exp 1Table 2 data: Responses of experimental pine seedlings in hummocks (circular and bands) versus adjacent lawns for Experiment 1 after 4 growing seasons. ST: Seeds inserted on top of moss; SB: Seeds inserted below moss; Small seedling (1 month old at plantation time); Large seedling (2 months old at plantation time). Emergence = % of planted seeds emerged after 1 year. Condition = % healthy seedlings. Stem growth corresponds to vertical stem growth for germinating (ST and SB) seedlings and new stem growth for older (small and large) seedlings.Table 3_regression seedling-environment_Exp 1Table 3 data for generalized linear models assessing the responses of experimental pine seedlings in hummocks (circular and bands) and adjacent lawns for Experiment 1 during the whole experimental period (2010-2013). ST: Seedlings from seeds inserted on top of moss; SB: Seedlings from seeds inserted below moss; Small seedling (1 month old at plantation time); Large seedling (2 months old at plantation time). Condition = % healthy seedlings. Growth = stem growth.Table 4_Environmental data_Exp 2Table 4: Environmental conditions in hummocks with contrasting shrub density and tree canopy in Experiment 2: No Trees - Low Shrub biomass (NTLS), No Trees - High Shrub biomass (NTHS), Present Trees - Low Shrub biomass (PTLS) and Present Trees - High shrub biomass (PTHS).Table 4 and Table S5a_seedling performance_Exp 2Table 4: Seedling performance in hummocks with contrasting shrub density and tree canopy in Experiment 2: No Trees - Low Shrub biomass (NTLS), No Trees - High Shrub biomass (NTHS), Present Trees - Low Shrub biomass (PTLS) and Present Trees - High shrub biomass (PTHS). Seedling emergence, condition and survival from seeds inserted below the moss (SB), and from small planted seedlings.Table S3_cox regression (survival analysis)_Exp 1Table S3: Data for Cox survival analysis for experimental pine seedlings in hummocks (circular and bands) versus adjacent lawns during 2010-2013. ST: Seedlings from seeds inserted on top of moss; SB: Seedlings from seeds inserted below moss; Small seedling (1 month old, 10 cm tall at plantation time); Large seedling (2 months old, 30 cm tall at plantation time).Table S4_ regression seedling-environment 2011_Exp 1Table S4: Data for generalized linear models assessing the responses of experimental pine seedlings in hummocks (circular and bands) and adjacent lawns for Experiment 1 in 2011. Small seedling (1 month old, 10 cm tall at plantation time); Large seedling (2 months old, 30 cm tall at plantation time). Condition = % healthy seedlings. Growth = stem growth. Boreal ecosystems are warming roughly twice as fast as the global average, resulting in woody expansion that could further speed up the climate warming. Boreal peatbogs are waterlogged systems that store more than 30% of the global soil carbon. Facilitative effects of shrubs and trees on the establishment of new individuals could increase tree cover with profound consequences for the structure and functioning of boreal peatbogs, carbon sequestration and climate. We conducted two field experiments in boreal peatbogs to assess the mechanisms that explain tree seedling recruitment and to estimate the strength of positive feedbacks between shrubs and trees. We planted seeds and seedlings of Pinus sylvestris in microsites with contrasting water-tables and woody cover and manipulated both shrub canopy and root competition. We monitored seedling emergence, growth and survival for up to four growing seasons and assessed how seedling responses related to abiotic and biotic conditions. We found that tree recruitment is more successful in drier topographical microsites with deeper water-tables. On these hummocks, shrubs have both positive and negative effects on tree seedling establishment. Shrub cover improved tree seedling condition, growth and survival during the warmest growing season. In turn, higher tree basal area correlates positively with soil nutrient availability, shrub biomass and abundance of tree juveniles. Synthesis. Our results suggest that shrubs facilitate tree colonization of peatbogs which further increases shrub growth. These facilitative effects seem to be stronger under warmer conditions suggesting that a higher frequency of warmer and dry summers may lead to stronger positive interactions between shrubs and trees that could eventually facilitate a shift from moss to tree-dominated systems.

1. Natural populations deliver a wide range of products that provide income for millions of people and need to be exploited sustainably. Large heterogeneity in individual performance within these exploited populations has the potential to improve population recovery after exploitation and thus help sustaining yields over time. 2. We explored the potential of using individual heterogeneity to design smarter harvest schemes, by sparing individuals that contribute most to future productivity and population growth, using the understorey palm Chamaedorea elegans as a model system. Leaves of this palm are an important non-timber forest product and long-term inter-individual growth variability can be evaluated from internode lengths. 3. We studied a population of 830 individuals, half of which was subjected to a 67 % defoliation treatment for three years. We measured effects of defoliation on vital rates and leaf size – a trait that determines marketability. We constructed integral projection models in which vital rates depended on stem length, past growth rate, and defoliation, and evaluated transient population dynamics to quantify population development and leaf yield. We then simulated scenarios in which we spared individuals that were either most important for population growth or had leaves smaller than marketable size. 4. Individuals varying in size or past growth rate responded similarly to leaf harvesting in terms of growth and reproduction. By contrast, defoliation-induced reduction in survival chance was smaller in large individuals than in small ones. Simulations showed that harvest-induced population decline was much reduced when individuals from size and past growth classes that contributed most to population growth were spared. Under this scenario cumulative leaf harvest over 20 years was somewhat reduced, but long-term leaf production was sustained. A three-fold increase in leaf yield was generated when individuals with small leaves are spared. 5. Synthesis and applications This study demonstrates the potential to create smarter systems of palm leaf harvest by accounting for individual heterogeneity within exploited populations. Sparing individuals that contribute most to population growth ensured sustained leaf production over time. The concepts and methods presented here are generally applicable to exploited plant and animal species which exhibit considerable individual heterogeneity. Vital rate and internode dataThis data file contains annual vital rate data (stem length growth, fruit production, survival and leaf production) of 830 individuals of the understorey palm Chamaedorea elegans, collected in a 0.7 ha plot in Chiapas, Mexico, during the period November 2012 - November 2015. A 2/3 defoliation treatment was repeatedly applied to half of the individuals. The data file also contains measurements of the lengths of all internodes of all individuals.

Baseline and future (2036-2065) river water levels and discharges at 4 gauging stations along the Cambodian Mekong (Kratie, Kampong Cham, Chrouy Changva, and Neak Loeung) under different scenarios of climate change (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) and infrastructural developments. Average depth and duration flood maps are also included for each scenario. A full description of the methods and results can be found in the article: Alexander J. Horton, Nguyen V. K. Triet, Long P. Hoang, Sokchhay Heng, Panha Hok, Sarit Chung, Jorma Koponen, and Matti Kummu. (2022). The Cambodian Mekong floodplain under future development plans and climate change. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

In this study, we test the effects of abiotic factors (light variation, caused by logging disturbance, and soil fertility) and biotic factors (species richness and functional trait composition) on biomass stocks (aboveground biomass, fine root biomass), SOM and productivity in a relatively monodominant Guyanese tropical rainforest. This forest grows on nutrient-poor soils and has few species that contribute most to total abundance. We therefore expected strong effects of soil fertility and species’ traits that determine resource acquisition and conservation, but not of diversity. We evaluated 6 years of data for 30 0.4-ha plots and tested hypotheses using structural equation models. Our results indicate that light availability (through disturbance) and soil fertility – especially P – strongly limit forest biomass productivity and stocks in this Guyanese forest. Low P availability may cause strong environmental filtering, which in turn results in a small set of dominant species. As a result, community trait composition but not species richness determines productivity and stocks of biomass and SOM in tropical forest on poor soils.

Recent studies show widespread encroachment of forest into savannas with important consequences for the global carbon cycle and land-atmosphere interactions. However, little research has focused on in situ measurements of forest-savanna boundary change over time. Using long-term inventory plots we quantify changes in above-ground biomass (AGB), vegetation structure and biodiversity over 20 years for five vegetation types (savanna, colonising forest or F1, successional monodominant forest or F2, Marantaceae forest or F3 and mixed forest or F4) along a savanna-forest transition of central Gabon, all occurring on similar soils. Additionally, we use novel 3D terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) measurements to assess forest structure differences across the transition. Overall, F1 and F2 forests increased in AGB, mainly as a result of adding stems (recruitment in F1) or increased Basal Area (F2). Some plots of F3 and F4 increased in AGB while some decreased. Changes in biodiversity and species’ dominance were small. After 20 years no plot could be classified as having moved to the next stage in the succession. TLS vertical plant profiles showed very distinctive differences amongst the vegetation types. We highlight two relevant points: (i) as forest colonises, changes in biodiversity are much slower than changes in forest structure or AGB; and (ii) all forest types store important quantities of Carbon. Decades long-term monitoring is likely to be required to assess the speed of transition between vegetation types, ideally with TLS, as this provides more objective forest classifications than inventory monitoring.