Alpine Regions Of Austria Research Articles

Engagement of new entrants in mountain farming through the lens of generativity: Lack of family farming background and its implications in Alpine Austria and Italy

AbstractWhile mountain family farmers rely on cultural, financial and material resources passed on from previous generations, new entrants typically lack such intergenerational amenities. Applying the concept of ‘generativity’ to agriculture prove valuable in examining start‐up motives, obstacles, opportunities and impacts regarding generational renewal via newcomers without a family farming background. Following a multilevel approach, we interviewed new entrants, long‐established family farmers and members of agricultural organisations in three Alpine regions of Austria and Italy. We illustrate that family farmers primarily care for their farm's continued existence, while new entrants seek autonomy from the agricultural industry, thus transmitting the relevance of agriculture beyond their offspring. At first sight, land access is a major hurdle for new entrants, as agricultural land is reserved for family farmers. By taking over abandoned farms, new entrants escape constraints imposed by previous farming generations, thus facilitating the introduction of novel operating concepts and the regeneration of traditional practices. Consequently, newcomer farms are transforming from previously exclusive production sites into open spaces of exchange that include non‐agricultural communities, reconnecting land, production and consumption. We conclude that a lack of family farming ties may foster extra‐familial renewal and sustainability in mountain agriculture.

Sports-related leisure behavior in Alpine regions during the COVID-19 pandemic-A cross-sectional study in Austria, Germany and Italy.

As a planetary health challenge, COVID-19 forced governments around the world to take action to prevent the most severe consequences resulting from the spread of the virus. These measures ranged from stay-at-home orders to limitations on indoor and outdoor activities, travel restrictions and the cancelation of sports events, all of which affected people's leisure activities and daily lives. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine changes in sports-related leisure behavior in terms of attending major sports events, following major sports events via media, travel intentions and the use of new sports offerings. Furthermore, we aimed to identify variables associated with changed sports-related leisure behavior during the pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey (n = 1,809) was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021 in the Alpine regions of Austria, Germany and Italy. Sports-related leisure behavior was investigated for changes during the pandemic compared to the time before the coronavirus outbreak and for differences between the three countries. Results showed that the self-reported importance of attending major sports events decreased significantly in the Alpine regions of all three countries during COVID-19. Prevailing restrictions affected vacation planning for over 80% of participants. A majority of approximately three quarters of respondents stated they had spent their holidays at home during the travel restrictions. Sports facilities and opportunities played an important role in the choice of vacation destination for more than half of participants. A binary logistic regression showed significant correlations between vacation planning during COVID-19 and the variables gender, income, quality of life and mental health. 31.9% of all respondents tried new sports offerings during extended restrictions, with a large proportion (72.4%) using apps, online tools or courses. Furthermore, approximately 30% of respondents increased their e-sports consumption. The results showed that sports-related leisure behavior in Alpine regions changed in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the future, policymakers as well as sports and leisure providers should react to these behavioral changes and adapt their portfolio and services to meet consumers92 demands.

Benford’s Law for Telemetry Data of Wildlife

Benford’s law (BL) specifies the expected digit distributions of data in social sciences, such as demographic or financial data. We focused on the first-digit distribution and hypothesized that it would apply to data on locations of animals freely moving in a natural habitat. We believe that animal movement in natural habitats may differ with respect to BL from movement in more restricted areas (e.g., game preserve). To verify the BL-hypothesis for natural habitats, during 2015–2018, we collected telemetry data of twenty individuals of wild red deer from an alpine region of Austria. For each animal, we recorded the distances between successive position records. Collecting these data for each animal in weekly logbooks resulted in 1132 samples of size 65 on average. The weekly logbook data displayed a BL-like distribution of the leading digits. However, the data did not follow BL perfectly; for 9% (99) of the 1132 weekly logbooks, the chi-square test refuted the BL-hypothesis. A Monte Carlo simulation confirmed that this deviation from BL could not be explained by spurious tests, where a deviation from BL occurred by chance.

A Biochemometric Approach for the Identification of In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Constituents in Masterwort.

Peucedanum ostruthium (L.) Koch, commonly known as masterwort, has a longstanding history as herbal remedy in the Alpine region of Austria, where the roots and rhizomes are traditionally used to treat disorders of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract. Based on a significant NF-κB inhibitory activity of a P. ostruthium extract (PO-E), this study aimed to decipher those constituents contributing to the observed activity using a recently developed biochemometric approach named ELINA (Eliciting Nature’s Activities). This -omics tool relies on a deconvolution of the multicomponent mixture, which was employed by generating microfractions with quantitative variances of constituents over several consecutive fractions. Using an optimized and single high-performance counter-current chromatographic (HPCCC) fractionation step 31 microfractions of PO-E were obtained. 1H NMR data and bioactivity data from three in vitro cell-based assays, i.e., an NF-ĸB reporter-gene assay and two NF-κB target-gene assays (addressing the endothelial adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1) were collected for all microfractions. Applying heterocovariance analyses (HetCA) and statistical total correlation spectroscopy (STOCSY), quantitative variances of 1H NMR signals of neighboring fractions and their bioactivities were correlated. This revealed distinct chemical features crucial for the observed activities. Complemented by LC-MS-CAD data this biochemometric approach differentiated between active and inactive constituents of the complex mixture, which was confirmed by NF-κB reporter-gene testing of the isolates. In this way, four furanocoumarins (imperatorin, ostruthol, saxalin, and 2’-O-acetyloxypeucedanin), one coumarin (ostruthin), and one chromone (peucenin) were identified as NF-κB inhibiting constituents of PO-E contributing to the observed NF-ĸB inhibitory activity. Additionally, this approach also enabled the disclose of synergistic effects of the PO-E metabolites imperatorin and peucenin. In sum, prior to any isolation an early identification of even minor active constituents, e.g. peucenin and saxalin, ELINA enables the targeted isolation of bioactive constituents and, thus, to effectively accelerate the NP-based drug discovery process.

Application of a new method for rapid quality assessment of renewable aggregate resources in alpine regions

Abstract Alluvial fans, valley fills and debris cones represent economically significant, natural aggregate resources in the alpine regions of Austria. Due to continual erosion they constitute renewable sources of sand and gravel. However, knowledge of their petrographic properties and resulting aggregate quality is scant. An automated evaluation method was developed to estimate petrographic characteristics and predict resource suitability. This method makes use of the fact that the properties of a gravel deposit depend on the morphology and geology of the provenance area. Area percentages of geological units in the source area were expected to mirror the litho-spectrum of the gravel resource. Petrographic analysis of 13 field samples shows that this is indeed the case. Discrepancies amount to 0–10%; larger deviations occur for grain size fractions <2 mm in the presence of soft rock types such as mica-schist or paragneiss. Forecasts of aggregate quality on the basis of lithological composition and grain size characteristics were compared to operational data of five gravel pits. The actual usage of the material agrees with predictions in four out of the five cases.

10,000 years of Ursus arctos in the Alps – A success story? Analyses of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene brown bear remains from Alpine caves in Austria

Sixteen sites yielding radiocarbon dated brown bears from Alpine regions of Austria are described. Samples have been dated by the AMS-method. For each find, a description of the site, dating and the context of the find are given. The time frame of the finds ranges from Preboreal to the Middle Ages. The climatic context and palaeobiological aspects are discussed. There is no correlation between altitude of the site and chronological age of the bear remains. Comparative data suggest the majority of bears in Alpine cave sites are females. Remains of Holocene brown bears were found in denning caves and in natural pits. Hence, they are bears that did not survive the winter or bears that fell into a natural shaft.

Pestivirus infection in sheep and goats in West Austria

Blood samples from 3112 sheep (185 flocks) and 1196 goats (163 flocks) from the Western region of Austria were tested for pestivirus-specific RNA. In this area, communal Alpine pasturing of sheep, cattle and goats is an important part of farming. The prevalence of sheep persistently-infected (PI) with pestivirus was 0.32% (10 animals) and the PI animals originated from five flocks (2.7% of those investigated). In goats, only one PI animal (0.08%) was detected. Sequence analysis of the 5'-end untranslated region (UTR) revealed that the strains of Border disease virus (BDV) detected were closely related to genotype 3 but the PI animals did not show any clinical signs of Border disease. The goat was PI with bovine viral diarrhoea virus-1 (BVDV-1). On one farm a high abortion rate among sheep had been observed 1year before the study was carried out but the other farms did not show any evidence of reproductive failures. Pestiviruses are endemic in small ruminants in some Alpine regions of Austria and PI healthy animals as described here have a key epidemiological role. A successful BVDV eradication programme in Austria will create highly pestivirus-susceptible cattle populations. Sheep and goats present a high risk for the reintroduction of pestiviruses to cattle herds because they are less likely to be considered to be PI. The results underline the need for the immediate consideration of small ruminants in eradication programmes.

137Cs and 90Sr transfer to milk in Austrian alpine agriculture

The alpine regions of Austria were among the most contaminated territories outside of the former USSR after the Chernobyl accident. In the investigated province of Salzburg the median 137Cs surface deposition was 31.4 kBq m −2 with maximum values exceeding 90 kBq m −2 (May 1986). To quantify the transfer of 137Cs and 90Sr from vegetation to milk in these seminatural conditions nine seasonally grazed alps were identified and vegetation and milk sampled during summer 2002 and summer 2003. Mean ± SD milk transfer coefficients (fm) for 137Cs and 90Sr were 0.0071 ± 0.0009 d l −1, and 0.0011 ± 0.0004 d l −1, respectively; which for 137Cs is markedly higher than those fm values found in intensive agricultural systems. Transfer kinetics for 137Cs into cow milk were approximated using a 2-compartment model with a short and a long-term component. Fitting the model to empirical data results in reliable estimates of the time constant of the short-term component, biological half-life 1.06 ± 0.28 d, whereas the estimates of the long-term component are subject to high uncertainties.

A note on 207Bi in environmental samples

Traces of the radionuclide 207Bi were identified in soil and cryoconite (glacier sediment) samples from Alpine regions of Austria. This nuclide has been produced in thermonuclear explosions mainly in the early 1960s and subsequently dispersed in the atmosphere. Activity concentrations up to 22 Bq/kg d.m. have been found. The ratio 207Bi: 137Cs(global fallout) equals (1.70 ± 0.12)10 −3, which is in accordance with literature data. When low levels of 207Bi are assessed by gamma spectrometry, corrections must be made for a gamma line produced in the lead shield by neutron activation due to cosmic neutrons.