Indicator Values Research Articles

Magnitude and drivers of plant diversity loss differ between spatial scales in Scania, Sweden 1957–2021

AbstractQuestionsChanged land use, nitrogen deposition, climate change, and the spread of non‐native species have repeatedly been reported as the main drivers of recent floristic changes in northern Europe. However, the relevance of the geographical scale at which floristic changes are observed is less well understood and it has only rarely been possible to quantify biodiversity loss. Therefore, we assessed changes in species richness, species composition and mean ecological indicator values (EIVs) at three nested geographic scales during two different time periods, each ca 30 years, since the mid‐1900s.LocationTwo parishes in central Scania, southernmost Sweden.MethodsWe analyzed species presence/absence data from three inventories at ca 30‐year intervals over 1957–2021 and three geographic scales (157 m2, ca 7 km2 and ca 45 km2) to document temporal trends and differences between geographic scales in terms of species richness, species composition and mean EIVs.ResultsWe found shifts in species composition across all geographical scales. However, the magnitude of biodiversity loss and the main drivers of these changes were scale‐dependent. At the smallest spatial scale, we saw a dramatic loss of plant biodiversity with local species richness in 2021 being only 48% of that of 1960. In contrast, at the larger geographic scales no significant changes in species richness were observed because species losses were compensated for by gains of predominantly non‐native species, which made up at least 78% of the new species richness. At the smallest spatial scale, changed land use (ceased grazing/mowing and intensified forestry) appeared as the main driver, while an increasing proportion of non‐native species, as well as climatic changes and increasing nitrogen loads appeared relatively more important at larger geographic scales.ConclusionOur results highlight the precarious situation for biodiversity in the region and at the same time the fundamental importance of geographic scale in studies of biodiversity change. Both the magnitude and drivers of changes may differ depending on the geographic scale and must be considered also when previously published studies are interpreted.

Young Children's Mental Health Improves Following Medicaid Expansion to Low-Income Adults.

We investigate whether the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, implemented in 2014, improved the mental health of young children whose parents are in the policy's target population. We study children ages 2 to 3 in families with incomes less than 138% of the federal poverty level. We use restricted National Health Interview Survey data covering the United States from 2010 to 2018 to conduct an event study-a flexible version of difference-in-differences-of the Medicaid expansion's effects on Mental Health Indicator values for young children. We estimate effects using ordered logit regression. Children's mental health was statistically significantly better in Medicaid expansion states, compared with non-expansion states, in 3 of 4 post-expansion years. There were no differences between expansion and non-expansion states in the pre-expansion period, lending support to the causal interpretation that the expansion improved children's mental health. While Medicaid expansion targets low-income adults, our evidence indicates it improves low-income children's mental health. The expansion is a two-generation investment in prevention. It helps lay a foundation for strong mental health in children's early years and beyond.

Model-based evaluation in terms of weed management and overall sustainability of cropping systems designed with three different approaches

CONTEXTFor arable crops, weeds are the most harmful pests among those targeted by pesticides. They are also crucial sources of plant biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, and host and feed wild fauna. As there is, to date, no curative weed control method as effective as herbicides, reducing herbicide use while limiting the damage to crop production requires combining many partially-efficient cultural practices at the cropping-system scale. OBJECTIVEThe objectives were to (1) compare the performances and applicability of cropping systems obtained with three contrasting design approaches, aiming at reducing weed harmfulness for crop production and herbicide use, (2) identify the technical determinants of a more sustainable weed management. The design approaches were: (1) de novo design by diverse experts working in five regions, (2) step-by-step improvement of a series of farmers' cropping systems from a single production context over several years; (3) farmer-centred design of one current cropping system by one group of farmers with weed issues, helped with a board game (Mission Ecophyt'eau®) and a decision-support system to evaluate weed impacts (DeciFlorSys). METHODSWe assessed (1) weed impacts on crop production and biodiversity by simulating current and innovative cropping systems with the FlorSys model over 30 years and with 10 weather scenarios, (2) sustainability by scoring the economic, social and environmental performances of all systems with the multicriteria evaluation tool DEXiPM. To account for production context, we assessed the differences in indicator values between innovative and current cropping systems (“trajectories”). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSThe trajectories showed no trade-off between weed harmfulness for crop production and herbicide use intensity. Reduced herbicide use (−1.0 Treatment Frequency Index) was compensated by combining alternative levers targeting weed prevention, particularly crop diversification (+ 3 to 5 new crops on average) and tillage. Changes in weed impacts were greater with expert design than with the two farmer-design approaches. However, social sustainability from farmers' perspective mostly decreased with expert design (6 trajectories out of 9). Moreover, the best trajectories for reconciling low weed harmfulness and low herbicide use with higher sustainability were obtained by farmers after 10 years of step-by-step design (2 trajectories out of 30). SIGNIFICANCEThe use of models, board games and decision-support systems in the two farmers' groups showed that bringing new knowledge in different ways is essential to actually change cropping systems. Implicating farmers early in the design process also improved the likelihood to adopt the designed cropping system.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF TOURISM BUSINESSES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MEASURES RELATED TO COVID-19

We all know that the spread of the COVID-19 disease has brought significant restrictions for the whole world, which are also closely related to the business activities of companies. Due to the measures taken by the government of the Slovak Republic, some businesses were limited in the performance of their activities. In order to achieve the goal, in addition to general logical methods, we used hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis. We chose the ward method as the clustering method. Ward's method of minimum variance is an agglomerative (merging) hierarchical method. Slovak businesses in the field of tourism, the most businesses contained cluster 3, which contained 16 businesses. This most numerous and dominant cluster has an average asset indicator value of 8546978 €. In Slovakia, as part of the aid to tourism enterprises at the government level, a call was launched within the framework of the scheme, during which it was possible to draw aid for the months of April to October 2020. This aid was supposed to cover the loss of 10% of their sales to entrepreneurs in the gastronomy and tourism industry.

Expectation dispersion, uncertainty, and the reaction to news

Key macroeconomic indicator releases are closely monitored by financial markets. We examine the impact of expectation dispersion and economic uncertainty on the stock market’s reaction to these indicators. We find that the strength of the financial market response to news decreases with the preceding dispersion in expectations about the indicator value. Higher uncertainty, in contrast, increases the response. We rationalize our findings in a model of imperfect information. In the model, dispersion results from a perceived weak link between macroeconomic indicators and fundamentals that reduces the informational content of indicators, while fundamental uncertainty makes their informational content more valuable.

Energy Supply Systems Predicting Model for the Integration of Long-Term Energy Planning Variables with Sustainable Livelihoods Approach in Remote Communities

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Organization pursue the provision of affordable and quality energy for all human beings, which is why the correct planning of Energy Supply Systems (ESS) in communities that present levels of energy poverty, that is, the impossibility to satisfy their minimum needs for energy services. This work proposes a methodology to evaluate the contribution to development by the adequate provision of the demand of ESS in remote communities through the approach of Sustainable Livelihoods (SLs). The methodology starts from the initial evaluation of the sustainable livelihoods or capitals of the communities and the analysis of their interaction. Then, a capital improvement process is proposed by selecting the indicator values that optimize the model in each period, through an evolutionary algorithm that guarantees that the indicators evolve to a rich scenario as a result of planning to evolve the key variables based on a quantitative model with the indicators that empower evaluating the contribution of the ESS to them.

A machine learning-based positioning method for poultry in cage environments

Individuals or groups of animals exhibit different activities that characterize domain behavior. Rapid and accurate localization of poultry in small and complex cage environments helps analyze the poultry domain behavior. This study proposes a machine-learning-based method for locating poultry in small and complex cage environments. Here, the characteristics of ultra-high frequency-radio frequency identification devices were determined, received signal strength indicator values were collected, and the tag-coordinate regression problem was converted into a multi-area classification problem. Different models were used to predict the target position. The results revealed that the neural network model yielded the best prediction, locating the target within a 40 cm × 40 cm area with 88.74% accuracy or within a 30 cm × 30 cm area with 76.81% accuracy, with average errors of 7.61 cm and 7.97 cm, respectively. Finally, experiments with live chickens were performed, and the results were verified using synchronized video, obtaining a Pearson correlation coefficient exceeding 0.909. This study presents a feasible method for target localization in small and complex cage environments, providing valuable modal information for multimodal learning.

Assessment of Urban Sustainability—The Case of Amman City in Jordan

Accelerated urbanization causes an increasing number of city dwellers, insufficient and overburdened infrastructure and services, and negative environmental impacts and climate change impacts. Measuring the city’s progress toward sustainability is essential to support decision-making and policy development. This study aims to establish an assessment and monitoring method of sustainable development goals at the city level, focusing on identifying indicators that are compatible with the city context to update and monitor progress toward sustainability. A review of the literature on sustainability assessment methods and tools is presented. A comprehensive framework for city sustainability assessment and a checklist of indicators. Amman city in Jordan is suggested. A Voluntary Local Review (VLR) report of Amman was presented to the United Nations in 2022. The report reviews Amman’s progress toward achieving the SDGs; however, it lacks clear and a quantitative assessment of the city’s sustainability, particularly SDG 11, which this paper seeks to address. The checklist survey questions were formulated according to the sub-indicators of the UN-Habitat SDG indicator metadata. The checklist was distributed to respondents from the Municipality of Amman and related organizations to the VLR. The respondents evaluated the sub-indicators of Goal 11 and gave performance level scores in three levels: low, average, and optimal. The sum of the indicator values is quantitatively presented in tables. The findings reveal that the indicator values of the city sustainability assessment framework, as applied in this paper, can be adjusted within the characteristics and constraints of the local context in a two-year observation period to provide updated data for decision-makers regarding the current status and future implementation of sustainability agendas.

Negative spill-over effects of agricultural practices on plant species conservation in nature reserves

Nature reserves are one of the most important instruments for biodiversity protection and to limit regional species extinctions. However, these functions can only be fulfilled if environmental influences from the surroundings, such as agrochemical inputs do not negatively affect the protected habitats.Here, we compare the effectiveness of conservation measures under the influence of yield-optimized cultivation in Germany using vegetation analyses of transects from the edge to the core of protected areas at 21 sites. By analysing nitrogen and phosphate deposition, herbicide number and concentration in soil and vegetation as well as Ellenberg indicator values of plant communities as a function of the distance from the field margin at each site, we aimed at assessing the impact of these stressors in different environmental settings.The results indicate strong chemical edge effects and negative influences for plant communities resulting from increased nutrient input and amounts of herbicide residues closer to the edge of the agricultural fields. Concordantly, the number of endangered plants species decreased with increasing proximity to the field edge. The strong influence of yield-optimized cultivation on the edges of nature reserves which decrease with distance show that nature protection needs effective buffer zones surrounding conservation areas, especially if nature reserves are only small and narrow. To prevent spill-over effects the application of fertilizer and herbicides on croplands adjacent to conservation areas has to be reduced. This could be achieved most effectively through organic farming and targeted agricultural subsidies.

Conceptualization of the task of information support of strategic planning processes at the regional level

At present, improving the quality of strategic planning at the regional level is one of the top priority tasks for the government authorities in the Russian Federation. It is mainly connected with the necessity of improving information maintenance of the process as the key element of the management cycle (analysis, planning, execution) determining the target parameters of social and economic development of the region. The study involves analysis of the legal and regulatory framework of strategic management and the system of strategic planning instruments in the Russian Federation. The authors point out that their development includes both official procedures and content stages of determining parameters of strategic management of the regional development. Improvement of the effectiveness of their implementation may be achieved by applying formalized methods for describing the object of management and the process of strategic planning itself. The study highlights and describes its main stages: goal setting (determines the directions of the region’s development with the consideration of numerous levels of administration, goals of development and the criteria for their achievement), scenario forecasting (considers probable variants of changes in internal and external factors), creating an indicative plan (provides for the quantitative characteristics of the desired state of the regional system) and regulating (determines the vector of control actions directed towards correction of the indicator values observed). It is pointed out that in practice the above mentioned stages can overlap in time and be repeated many times in order to update the process. The stages are directly implemented through the set of functions described in the article with the key stages involving development of strategic decisions and making strategic choices. Thus, it is these functions that are very often the least formalized ones and that demand appropriate information support. Within the study, a number of groups of sources of structured and poorly structured information were identified (including the results of surveys, expert evaluation, etc.). As a whole, the formed information environment of the decision-maker involves both information sources and the interrelation between the stages of strategizing, as well as the strategic planning instruments.

Vegetation changes at oligotrophic grasslands managed for a declining butterfly

A selection of sites occupied by the EU-protected marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) in western Czech Republic were subjected to a vegetation survey 15 years ago and again recently. In the 66 time-replicated 25 m2plots from 12 sites, representing the diversity ofE. aurinia-occupied oligotrophic grasslands in the Slavkovský les Protected Landscape Area (and covering a fifth of the currently-occupied Czech sites), we recorded quantitative representation of vascular plants and mosses. We analysed the data using multivariate ordinations, asking how the vegetation changed between the surveys, how was it affected by the conservation management applied and how it affected occupancy by the butterfly larval nests; the vegetation patterns were interpreted using Ellenberg’s plant indicator values. Between the two surveys, the overall representation of the larval host plant,Succisa pratensis, did not change; tree and herbs layers (both grasses and forbs) increased and the moss layer decreased. Across surveys, the main driver of vascular plants’ species composition was moisture, followed by soil reaction and nitrogen, whereas in mosses, nitrogen was the main factor. The main change between the surveys was the increase of nitrogen accompanied by decreased light, probably due to increase of competitively strong plants. Butterfly occupancy declined at sites with high soil moisture and increased at sites with higher soil reaction. Mowing of moist nitrogen-rich sites, but not drier nitrogen-poor sites, increased occupancy, illustrating the need for context-dependent interventions. All the evidence thus shows thatE. auriniaprefers drier, warmer and less acidic conditions within the generally moist acidic grasslands and that ongoing eutrophication represents a potential problem in the future.

Oxidative stability and compositional characteristics of oil from microwave irradiated black cumin seed under accelerated oxidation condition

The present work evaluated the impact of microwave pre-treatment on the storage stability, fatty acids and triacylglycerol contents in black cumin seed oil (BCO) during storage at 62 ºC. During storage, the oxidative indicator values (free acidity, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, TOTOX, specific extinctions and thiobarbituric acid) for the oils increased faster in untreated oil samples than in the microwaved samples. The degradation rate of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and triacylglycerol species (LLL and OLL) during storage were higher in untreated samples compared to treated ones, indicating that oxidation proceeded more slowly in the treated samples. During storage, the generation of hydroperoxides, their degradation and the formation of secondary oxidation products as investigated by FTIR, were lower in the treated oils. In conclusion, microwave pre-treatment prior to oil extraction reduced the oxidative degradation of oil samples, thereby increasing the storage stability of BCO.

Effectiveness of different metrics of floristic quality assessment: The simpler, the better?

Vascular plants are good environmental indicators. Thus, floristic inventories have a high potential in environmental management since they reflect the current and past status of the environment. In this study, we used the flora of a suburban riverscape in central Italy to test the performance of the Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) approach, an expert-based evaluation technique. Ten expert botanists assigned coefficients of conservatism (CC) to 382 plant species. We found statistically significant differences between the values assigned to the inventoried flora by botanical experts. In spite of this, the analysis of pseudo multivariate dissimilarity-based standard errors of CC values assigned by the different experts revealed that, in our case, an assessment by a minimum of five botanists allows characterizing the flora with a stable level of precision. We used the distance from agricultural and urban surfaces as a proxy of anthropogenic disturbance to divide the area around the river in four belts of increasing disturbance. The disturbance gradient was mirrored by median CC values and by the Adjusted Floristic Quality Assessment Index (Adjusted FQAI). Conversely, the Floristic Quality Assessment Index (FQAI), which is based on CC values and on the number of native species, showed increasing values with increasing disturbance. Comparing the performance of median CC values to Ellenberg Indicator Values (EIVs), life forms, and chorotypes, we revealed that the last three indicators may be ineffective in highlighting the conservation status of the environment. We suggest that the use of the median CC values may be a simpler and effective alternative to the calculation of indices in FQA, when the adequacy of the number of experts in minimizing the variability of CC values is a posteriori verified.

Policy effectiveness and environmental policy Assessment: A model of the environmental benefits of renewable energy for sustainable development

The further development of integrated energy systems at the city-region level is an important way to improve the efficiency of integrated energy use, enhance the use of renewable energy and improve the economy and safety of energy operations. The development of integrated energy systems in urban areas is still in its infancy, and there is a lack of professional energy indicators in terms of comprehensive evaluation, as well as a lack of linkages with engineering practice. The development of operational and adaptable evaluation indicators and methods aids in assessing the impact of integrated energy systems on the environment, economy, and society. The quantitative processing results of indicator weights and indicator values are given, supported by historical operational data of the energy system, calculated data, and evaluation survey data. First, the fundamental model of comprehensive evaluation is built. The initial weights of indicators are then determined using the hierarchical analysis approach, and the entropy weight method is utilized to make changes to generate the target system’s combination weights. Finally, the fuzzy evaluation approach does the entire assessment computation to focus on and improve the important indicators and provide recommendations for optimizing the system’s overall advantages. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method through comparative experiments.

Создание автоматизированной программы по расчету значений целевых показателей для выполнения графика движения

Purpose: Achievement of the autonomy of calculations of target indicators for the implementation of passenger and suburb train schedule, decision-making and operational management, based on obtained calculations. Writing the program "Calculation of Target Indicator Values for Traffic Schedule Implementation" is due to the need to improve process implementation quality and to obtain maximal efficiency of planning and management system in a whole. Methods: Pascal programming language was used to automate the calculation of target indicators. Results: Creation and writing of independent software product with the preservation of organizational and mathematical methods of the work with information for to make managerial decisions. Practical significance: Automated calculation of target indicators for passenger and suburb train traffic schedule implementation will allow passenger complex all participants to consider the automation of the group of the processes related to information collection and processing on the process implementation "Train Traffic Schedule Implementation" through a single window. The proposed software product can be recommended for practical usage in the passenger complex of JSC "Russian Railways".

Current Unbalance Monitoring In Four-Wire System Based on Fuzzy Logic

The daily consumption profile of electric power is different for each electrical customer, which is random and unpredictable, especially in residential, commercial, and educational areas, which are dominated by single-phase electrical loads. The abundance of this one phase load can enhance the current unbalance of the three-phase four-wire system, and will cause several other power quality problems e.g., Increasing Neutral current, displacement of neutral point, Increasing heating in one phase and losses in distribution network. However, the PIUR (Phase current unbalance rate) value as one of indicators of power quality must not exceed the threshold recommended by the NEMA standard, which is a maximum of 30%. For this reason, this paper proposes a current unbalance monitoring based on Fuzzy Logic to produce an unbalance quality (excellent, good, moderate, bad, and poor) that can be monitored by electric customers globally. The unbalance quality is very useful for electric customers to rearrange their single-phase load installation so that the power quality indicator value is expected to be within the allowable range. In addition, this prototype (proposed system) is also able to provide great convenience for electric customers to monitor the changes of profile uses of loads, and at the same time can detect the emergence of disturbances early that may occur in each phase.

ANALISIS KESIAPAN DAN MINAT MAHASISWA DALAM PROGRAM MERDEKA BELAJAR KAMPUS MERDEKA: STUDI KASUS MAHASISWA JPTK FKIP UNS ANGKATAN 2020

<p class="abstrak">It is necessary to increase soft skills and hard skills so that university graduates are ready to work and face challenges in the world of work. Competencies are needed that are integrated with other majors so that university graduates can adapt to the world of work. So that students must be prepared to have readiness and interest in learning in the era of global competition. The Independent Learning Campus Merdeka Program (Program Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka atua MBKM) is expected to be able to answer this challenge. The method used in this research is descriptive statistics. With the aim of testing the hypothesis that there is readiness, interest, and major indicators that affect the readiness and interest of JPTK FKIP UNS students batch 2020 in carrying out the Independent Learning Campus Merdeka program. The conclusion of this study is that there is readiness of JPTK FKIP UNS students batch 2020 in the MBKM program, there is interest from JPTK FKIP UNS students batch 2020 in the MBKM program, there are large indicator values that affect the readiness and interest of JPTK FKIP UNS students batch 2020 in implementing the MBKM program, namely indicators Emotions of Pleasure and Psychic Conditions Affective Attitudes.</p>

Monetary policy and bubbles in G7 economies using a panel VAR approach: Implications for sustainable development

We use the LPPLS Multi-Scale Confidence Indicator approach to detect both positive and negative bubbles in the short-, medium- and long-run for the stock markets of the G7 countries. We were able to detect major crashes and rallies in the seven stock markets over the monthly period of 1973:02 to 2020:09. We also observed similar timing of strong (positive and negative) LPPLS indicator values across the G7 countries, suggesting synchronized extreme movements in these stock markets. Given this, to obtain an overall picture of the G7, we used a panel VAR model to analyze the impact of monetary policy shocks on the six indicators of bubbles. We found that monetary policy not only impacts the bubble indicators but also responds to them, with the nature of the underlying responses contingent on whether bubbles are positive or negative in nature, as well as the time-scale we are analyzing. In light of these findings, our results have serious implications for monetary authorities of these advanced markets in terms of sustainable development, given the finance-growth nexus. But in general, we can conclude that central banks of the G7 can indeed “lean against the wind”, and they have also been doing so under both conventional and unconventional monetary policy periods.

Distribution of the Riparian Salix Communities in and around Romanian Carpathians

Salix riparian communities are particularly diverse and of extraordinary ecological importance. This study will analyze the diversity of Salix riparian communities (S. alba, S. fragilis, S. purpurea and S. triandra), their distribution, ecological importance, and conservation. There were 444 records for S. alba, 417 for S. fragilis, 457 for S. purpurea, and 375 for S. triandra, both from the literature and herbaria. Thus, it can be seen that the distribution of the four Salix species studied is very widespread throughout the territory where this study was carried out. According to EIVE (Ecological Indicator Values of Europe) but also to the national list values for niche positions and niche widths, they were noted to be very close for all ecological indicators: M (soil moisture), L (light), and T (temperature), but not for the ecological indicator of soil nitrogen (N) availability or R (soil reaction). Obviously, those riparian Salix communities are important for the functions they indicate, primarily for climate change mitigation, but also for regulating water flow, improving water quality, and providing habitats for wildlife. Conservation and management of these important ecosystems are necessary to maintain their biodiversity, and ecological services and strategies that can be used to protect and manage these communities are outlined.

Phenology and Diversity of Weeds in the Agriculture and Horticulture Cropping Systems of Indian Western Himalayas: Understanding Implications for Agro-Ecosystems.

Weeds are a major threat to agriculture and horticulture cropping systems that reduce yield. Weeds have a better ability to compete for resources compared to the main crops of various agro-ecosystems and act as a major impediment in reducing overall yield. They often act as energy drains in the managed agroecosystems. We studied weed infestation for five different agro-ecosystems in the part of Indian Western Himalayas represented by paddy, maize, mustard, apple and vegetable orchards. Systematic random sampling was done to record flowering phenology and diversity of weeds during the assessment period 2015-2020. We recorded 59 weed species, taxonomically distributed among 50 genera in 24 families. The Asteraceae family has the most species (15% species), followed by Poaceae (14% species), and Brassicaceae (12% species). The Therophytes were the dominant life form followed by Hemicryptophytes. The majority of the weeds were shown to be at their most blooming in the summer (predominantly from June to July). The Shannon index based diversity of weeds ranged from 2.307-3.325 for the different agro-ecosystems. The highest number of weeds was in the horticulture systems (apple > vegetable) followed by agriculture fields (maize > paddy > mustard). Agriculture and horticulture cropping systems were distinguished using indicator species analysis, which was supported by high and significant indicator values for a number of species. Persicaria hydropiper, Cynodon dactylon, Poa annua, Stellaria media, and Rorippa palustris had the highest indicator value in agriculture cropping systems, while Trifolium repens, Phleum pratense, and Trifolium pratense had the highest indicator value in horticulture cropping systems. We found that eleven weed species were unique to apple gardens followed by nine in maize, four in vegetables, two in mustard and one in paddy fields. Spatial turnover (βsim) and nestedness-resultant components (βsne) of species dissimilarity revealed dissimilarity lower than 50% among the five cropping systems. The study is expected to assist in formulating an appropriate management strategy for the control of weed infestation in the study region.