• Energy Research
• 11. Sustainability close
• 15. Life on land close
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Sustainable nitrogen (N) management in agriculture is one of the most important issues affecting the environmental performance of modern agriculture. It is actually well perceived that coordinated efforts and holistic approaches are required to regulate N use by farmers. The purpose of this study was to provide an initial examination of stakeholders’ views in Japan regarding N use in agriculture and challenges to increase its sustainability. The analysis was based on a questionnaire study of five types of stakeholders (farmers, advisors, researchers, suppliers, policy makers). By means of multivariate analysis techniques it was revealed that consensus was lacking either in the acknowledgment of the causes and effects of unsustainable N management or in the challenges that need to be addressed. N losses from farms and the effects of N use were perceived but not conceived equally by all stakeholders. Organic farming and mandatory measures were the most controversial challenges, while those involving awareness, training and advisory were the most popular. This study cannot provide safe conclusions that can be generalized in the Japanese context, but it indicates domains where further research is required and orientations for future policy design towards more sustainable N use.

La quête de décarbonisation et de décentralisation du réseau électrique actuel a permis une forte pénétration des ressources énergétiques distribuées en bordure du réseau de distribution. La diversité, la complexité et le nombre croissant de ces ressources énergétiques posent actuellement un défi à leur gestion. Cela a entraîné l'émergence de divers écosystèmes énergétiques qui utilisent diverses stratégies et initiatives organisationnelles communautaires comme formes de techniques de gestion. Il existe également des modèles commerciaux et des structures de gouvernance correspondants qui sont innovants et technologiquement perturbateurs pour les opérations du réseau actuel. Une analyse de cinq cas représentatifs de ces communautés d'énergie renouvelable est réalisée en utilisant des projets réels comme études de cas. Les domaines d'intervention pris en compte dans cette étude comprenaient les structures organisationnelles et de gouvernance, les rôles et la relation entre les principales parties prenantes/propriétaires, la façon dont ces écosystèmes interagissent avec le réseau électrique et le rôle des collaborations. Les résultats de l'étude ont révélé que chaque catégorie d'écosystème a des structures organisationnelles et de gouvernance similaires, bien qu'elles puissent être constituées différemment. En termes de propriété, il a été constaté que les coopératives énergétiques, les municipalités et les communautés possédaient une plus grande part de ces ressources énergétiques. En outre, il a été constaté que la plupart de ces écosystèmes interagissaient avec le réseau en fournissant de l'énergie excédentaire de la communauté au réseau électrique, tandis que d'autres fonctionnent de manière isolée du réseau. À l'exception d'un cas, tous les autres ont montré des éléments de collaboration comme faisant partie intégrante de leur mode de fonctionnement. La búsqueda de descarbonizar y descentralizar la red eléctrica actual ha permitido una alta penetración de los Recursos de Energía Distribuida en el borde de la red de distribución. La diversidad, complejidad y número creciente de estos recursos energéticos suponen actualmente un reto para su gestión. Esto ha dado lugar a la aparición de diversos ecosistemas energéticos que utilizan diversas estrategias e iniciativas organizativas basadas en la comunidad como formas de técnicas de gestión. También hay modelos de negocio y estructuras de gobierno correspondientes que son innovadores y tecnológicamente disruptivos para las operaciones de la red actual. Se realiza un análisis de cinco casos representativos de estas Comunidades de Energías Renovables utilizando proyectos de la vida real como casos de estudio. Las áreas de enfoque consideradas en este estudio incluyeron estructuras organizativas y de gobernanza, roles y la relación entre las partes interesadas/propietarios clave, cómo estos ecosistemas interactúan con la red eléctrica y el papel de las colaboraciones. El resultado del estudio reveló que cada categoría de ecosistema tiene estructuras organizativas y de gobernanza similares, aunque pueden estar constituidas de manera diferente. En términos de propiedad, se encontró que las cooperativas de energía, los municipios y las comunidades poseen una mayor parte de estos recursos energéticos. Además, se descubrió que la mayoría de estos ecosistemas interactúan con la red al suministrar el exceso de energía de la comunidad a la red eléctrica, mientras que otros operan aislados de la red. Aparte de un caso, todos los demás mostraron elementos de colaboración como un componente integral de su modo de operación. The quest to decarbonize and decentralize the current power grid has enabled high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources at the edge of the distribution network. The diversity, complexity and growing numbers of these energy resources currently pose a challenge to managing them. This has resulted in the emergence of various energy ecosystems which use diverse community-based organizational strategies and initiatives as forms of management techniques. There are also corresponding business models and governance structures that are innovative and technologically disruptive to the operations of the current grid. An analysis of five representative cases of these Renewable Energy Communities is performed using real-life projects as case studies. The focus areas considered in this study included organizational and governance structures, roles, and the relationship between key stakeholders/owners, how these ecosystems interact with the power grid, and the role of collaborations. The outcome of the study revealed that each category of ecosystem has similar organizational and governance structures although they may differently be constituted. In terms of ownership, energy cooperative, municipalities, and communities were found to own a greater share of these energy resources. Furthermore, most of these ecosystems were found to interact with the grid by supplying excess energy from the community to the power grid whilst others operate in isolation from the grid. Apart from one case, all the others showed elements of collaborations as an integral component of their mode of operations. وقد مكن السعي إلى إزالة الكربون واللامركزية من شبكة الطاقة الحالية من الاختراق العالي لموارد الطاقة الموزعة على حافة شبكة التوزيع. يشكل تنوع موارد الطاقة هذه وتعقيدها وأعدادها المتزايدة حاليًا تحديًا لإدارتها. وقد أدى ذلك إلى ظهور مختلف النظم الإيكولوجية للطاقة التي تستخدم استراتيجيات ومبادرات تنظيمية مجتمعية متنوعة كأشكال لتقنيات الإدارة. هناك أيضًا نماذج أعمال وهياكل حوكمة مقابلة مبتكرة ومدمرة تقنيًا لعمليات الشبكة الحالية. يتم إجراء تحليل لخمس حالات تمثيلية لمجتمعات الطاقة المتجددة هذه باستخدام مشاريع واقعية كدراسات حالة. وشملت مجالات التركيز التي تم النظر فيها في هذه الدراسة الهياكل التنظيمية والحوكمة، والأدوار، والعلاقة بين أصحاب المصلحة/المالكين الرئيسيين، وكيفية تفاعل هذه النظم الإيكولوجية مع شبكة الطاقة، ودور التعاون. كشفت نتائج الدراسة أن كل فئة من فئات النظام الإيكولوجي لها هياكل تنظيمية وحوكمة متشابهة على الرغم من أنه قد يتم تشكيلها بشكل مختلف. من حيث الملكية، وجد أن تعاونيات الطاقة والبلديات والمجتمعات تمتلك حصة أكبر من موارد الطاقة هذه. علاوة على ذلك، وجد أن معظم هذه النظم الإيكولوجية تتفاعل مع الشبكة من خلال توفير الطاقة الزائدة من المجتمع إلى شبكة الطاقة بينما تعمل النظم الأخرى بمعزل عن الشبكة. وبصرف النظر عن حالة واحدة، أظهرت جميع الحالات الأخرى عناصر التعاون كجزء لا يتجزأ من طريقة عملياتها.

Abstract This paper presents a new methodology for impact assessment—SIAM (Spatial Impact Assessment Methodology)—which is based on the assumption that the importance of environmental impacts is dependent, among other things, on the spatial distribution of the effects and of the affected environment. The information generated by the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in impact identification and prediction stages of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is used in the assessment of impact significance by the computation of a set of impact indices. For each environmental component (e.g., air pollution, water resources, biological resources), impact indices are calculated based on the spatial distribution of impacts. A case study of impact evaluation of a proposed highway in Central Portugal illustrates the application of the methodology and shows its capabilities to be adapted to the particular characteristics of a given EIA problem.

Water scarcity is a driver for society to rethink water management and change the paradigm of use to a fit-for-purpose approach—i.e., separating potable water for human consumption (drinking, cooking or personal hygiene) from all non-potable uses that do not require the same quality level. In this context, urban water reuse is a relevant tool for municipalities and metropolitan areas when dealing with pressure on water resources, among several alternative water sources that can be considered in a site-specific and integrated manner. Through the available literature and specific case studies in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, this paper explores the benefits and barriers of water reuse and intends to support local authorities in including water reuse in their water management strategies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper focusing on Portugal and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area that globally examines governance, economic, legislative and social aspects regarding water reuse and presents specific implementation examples covering potable and non-potable as well as direct and indirect reuse.

Shrub encroachment influences several ecosystem services in drylands worldwide. Yet, commonly used strategies to reduce encroachment show a low medium-term success, calling for a better understanding of its causes. Previous works identified multiple drivers responsible for this phenomenon, including anthropogenic and environmental causes. However, the relative effect of climate, topography and edaphic factors on shrub encroachment is not fully understood nor has been properly quantified in Mediterranean Basin drylands. Also, understanding how these drivers lead to changes in plant communities' functional traits associated to shrub encroachment is crucial, considering traits influence ecosystem processes and associated ecosystem services. Here, we studied the understory of a Mediterranean dryland ecosystem composed of savanna-like Holm-oak woodlands, along a regional climatic gradient. We specifically assessed (i) how climatic, topographic and edaphic factors influence understory relative shrub cover (RSC) and (ii) their direct and indirect effects (via RSC) on plant functional traits. We studied the mean and diversity of 12 functional traits related to plant regeneration, establishment, and dispersal, at the community-level. We found that, under similar low-intensity land use, topographic and edaphic factors, namely slope variations and soil C:N ratio, were the most important predictors of shrub encroachment, determining communities' functional characteristics. Climate, namely summer precipitation, had a much lesser influence. Our model explained 52% of the variation in relative shrub cover. Climate had a stronger effect on a set of functional traits weakly involved in shrub encroachment, related to flowering and dispersal strategies. We show that shrub encroachment is largely predicted by topo-edaphic factors in Mediterranean drylands subject to conventional low-intensity land use. Hence, management strategies to reduce encroachment need to take these drivers into account for efficient forecasting and higher cost-effectiveness. Our results suggest that climate change might not greatly impact shrub encroachment in the Mediterranean Basin, but may affect functional structure and reduce functional diversity of plant communities, thus affecting ecosystem functioning.

AbstractElectrocution on power lines is an important human‐related cause of bird mortality and an important conservation issue worldwide. Besides impacts on bird populations, electrocutions cause power outages, resulting in damage to power line network integrity. However, there is a general lack of knowledge on the risk of bird electrocution, especially in developing countries. Generating information over large scales without resorting to local mortality data can be useful for the development of regional management strategies, particularly in countries where electrocution is poorly documented. Here, we developed a framework to model the risk of bird electrocution as an interaction between the species‐specific exposure to power lines (pole density within a species distribution range) and susceptibility (morphological and behavioral traits associated with electrocution hazards). We applied this framework to Brazil, identifying 283 species that face a risk of electrocution, of which 38 were classified as higher risk, mostly raptors (76%). The Pantanal (a large wetland biome) concentrates the greatest cumulative susceptibility due to the high number of species vulnerable to electrocution (i.e. large species using power lines for perching or nesting), while the Atlantic Forest region has a higher risk for electrocution, due to the spatial overlap between the presence of vulnerable species and high exposure to power lines. Furthermore, our study identified spatial patterns of bird electrocution, highlighting priority areas for electrocution susceptibility and electrocution risk to be further investigated, and where measures to mitigate bird electrocutions should be applied on new and existing power lines. Our framework allows a preliminary assessment aimed at identifying areas of higher risk of electrocution, to highlight species vulnerable to this threat and to improve power line routing. This approach can be replicated to other understudied areas of the world where the same information is available.

Global climate change accentuates the seasonal and interannual irregularity of temperature and precipitation of the Mediterranean climate. The consequences of this variability on wheat production are felt on its development cycle and productivity, making the production chain of this crop vulnerable to the occurrence of years with abnormal distributions of precipitation and with extreme temperatures. Adaptation strategies like irrigation or fertilization can help to cope with the negative impacts of climate uncertainty. This study evaluated the effects of water regime and nitrogen (N) fertilization techniques on wheat production in southern Portugal based on the results of three trials conducted in two agricultural years (2016/2017 and 2017/2018) with contrasting climate conditions. Phenology and yield were evaluated by comparing water regimes (R1, full irrigation; R2, supplemental irrigation at four stages: start of stem extension, booting, anthesis, grain filling; R0, rainfed (in 2017/2018)) and N fertilization splitting/timing and type (conventional and enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs): controlled-release N, stabilized with nitrification inhibitor, and stabilized with urease inhibitor). Significant effects of water regime on grain yield were obtained in 2016/2017, a year with extreme aridity and high water requirements felt from the tillering stage, in the trial with conventional fertilizers. In 2017/2018, when a beneficial seasonal rainfall distribution occurred, water regime did not influence grain yield, pointing to the feasibility of supplementary irrigation to maximize water productivity. Nitrogen fertilization influenced yield and its components, with the highest values of grain yield being obtained with conventional fertilizer. Regardless of the possible effects on grain quality, the use of EEF did not prove to have an indisputable effect on wheat yield in the conditions under which the trials were conducted. Comparison of the results in the two years accentuates the need to continue the evaluation of the influence of agronomic management in wheat production in the context of adaptation to the climatic uncertainty in Mediterranean regions.