Διαδικτυακή Πύλη Συνεργασίας Για Τα Δάση

Ecosystems provide a multitude of benefits to humanity, from food to recreation. In our latest In-depth Report, we explore four core facets of the ecosystem services concept: the links between biodiversity and ecosystem services; techniques for mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services; valuation of ecosystem services and the importance of considering all services; and biodiversity as part of an interconnected system. Ecosystem services are the many different benefits that ecosystems provide to people. For example, a stand of trees can reduce air pollution, purify the water supply, reduce the likelihood of floods and help regulate the climate by capturing and storing carbon. It might also provide timber for buildings, a space for recreation and improve the aesthetic qualities of the landscape. Despite the importance of these services to people, in the past many have been taken for granted, being viewed as free and infinite. However, it is now clear that the worldwide degradation of ecosystems is also reducing the services they can provide. The ecosystem services concept provides a starting point towards defining, monitoring and valuing such services. Making the fundamental nature of these services explicit not only helps to raise awareness of the importance of protecting ecosystems, it can also provide decision makers with quantitative data, enabling them to consider all aspects of the socio-economic-ecological system in which we live. In this way we can work towards policies which protect biodiversity while optimising sustainable use of ecosystems, allowing both humanity and ecosystems to thrive.

Throughout the years, extractives have been studied with various analytical methods, and it has been found that different tree species contain different types and amounts of extractive compounds. However, many studies have been incomplete and the number of methods used has been almost as vast as the number of publications, making it difficult or even impossible to compare the results of different studies. This thesis contains data on lipophilic and hydrophilic extractives in heartwood, sapwood and knots of 39 industrially important conifer species: 14 pines (Pinus), 7 spruces (Picea), 9 firs (Abies), 5 larches (Larix), 3 hemlocks (Tsuga) and Douglas- ir (Pseudotsuga). The wood samples were sequentially extracted, and the amount and composition of resin acids, fatty acids, sterols, steryl esters, acylglycerols, juvabiones, lignans, oligolignans, flavonoids and stilbenes were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry. The main conclusions were that: • there are major differences in amount and composition of extractives, not only between genera, but also between species, especially regarding the hydrophilic extractives; • lignans are present in heartwood and knots of all genera. The knots, however, contain remarkably more, in some cases several hundred times more, lignans than the adjacent heartwood. Some spruce, fir, larch and hemlock species contain especially high concentrations of lignans. Hydroxymatairesinol is the dominating lignan in spruce and hemlock, while secoisolariciresinol dominates in fir and larch; • considerable amounts of flavonoids are found in all larches, some of the pines and in Douglas-fir; • stilbenes are present in heartwood and knots of all pines; • considerable amounts of juvabiones are found in all firs, some pines and in Douglas-fir. The concentrations are significantly higher in knots than in ordinary stemwood; and • pine heartwood and pine knots in particular contain much more resin acids than the sapwood. Lipophilic extractives are known to cause problems in pulp and paper mills, mainly in the form of deposits and specks. On the other hand, they can be recovered and utilized as tall oil and sterol-based products. The hydrophilic compounds are not detrimental in pulping and papermaking. They do, however, exhibit strong bioactivity and play a significant role in the protection of trees against insects, bacteria and fungi. Several of these compounds are strong antioxidants, and some are already used as active agents in dietary supplements and cosmetic products. The extraction, purification and utilization of these bioactive polyphenols should be further studied and developed with special focus on the knots of the most promising conifer species. This thesis provides a unique collection of data on extractives in conifers, probably the most comprehensive study ever published. The book is not meant to be read from cover to cover, but rather to be used as a reference when information is needed on amount and/or composition of extractives in conifers.

Financing protected areas is crucial for guaranteeing the flow of ecosystem services (ES) provided by natural and semi-natural ecosystems, which are the basis of human well-being. In the last two decades, together with traditional conservation tools, innovative instruments, such as PES (Payment for Ecosystem Services), have been proposed and implemented all over the world in order to improve management effectiveness in biodiversity conservation. In this paper we identified and categorized 33 PES case studies in 19 Natura 2000 sites developing the hypothesis that a PES approach may contribute to improving the effectiveness of conservation actions at different spatial and administrative levels. We found that in these areas, farmers and foresters often allow the maintenance of natural and semi-natural ecosystems through their economic activity. Through PES schemes their important role can be formally acknowledged, both in environmental and economic terms. PES schemes are also a tool for involving more stakeholders, particularly local companies, residents and tourists in conservation actions. So PES can actually improve Natura 2000 sites’ management and increase the availability of financial resources in favor of conservation actions. However, careful attention must to be paid to the supporting role of public authorities, generally crucial for the success of a PES.