Northern Parts Of Europe Research Articles

Like a Flaming Comet: The Rise of Magdalena Abakanowicz in the Netherlands

After her success at the first Biennales of Lausanne, Magdalena Abakanowicz’s name soared like a comet. Her gallery in Lausanne played a major role in this, and in 1968 organized a solo exhibition with three-dimensional sculptures of sisal (Abakans) traveling through a large part of Northern Europe. Prior to this show, a group exhibition of Polish tapestries, including works of Abakanowicz, traveled through Germany and the Netherlands (1964–1965). Both exhibitions were shown in Eindhoven at the Van Abbemuseum thanks to the energetic young director Jean Leering.More or less simultaneously with the solo, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam organized the international exhibition Perspectief in textiel (1969) in which Abakanowicz participated with three large works. Curator Wil Bertheux was responsible for both the layout and design of the exhibition. The show was a major success, a landmark in the history of the fiber art movement. At the same time and again thanks to the support of Jean Leering, Abakanowicz got an important commission for the decoration of the reception room of the new Provinciehuis in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The enormous environment Bois le Duc (1970–1971), height more than 7 meters; width 22 meters, is considered one of her most imposing art works.

High‐resolution projections of evapotranspiration and water availability for Europe under climate change

Evapotranspiration plays an essential role in estimating water balance, runoff and effective precipitation. To determine historical and projected water availability for Europe, we contribute high‐resolution (1 km) estimates of monthly and annual potential evapotranspiration (ET0) and actual evapotranspiration (AET0). In the ET0 calculation, the monthly and annual heat index I and annual α parameter were estimated following the Thornthwaite method, and AET0 was calculated using the Budyko approach. The variables were estimated for a climate normal period that largely precedes an anthropogenic warming signal (1961–1990), and for two CMIP5 multi‐model future projections (2011–2040 and 2041–2070). We project widespread and relatively uniform ET0 increases of around 50–100 mm by the 2020s and 75–125 mm by the 2050s for most of Europe. These values imply important changes that may affect runoff and groundwater recharge. AET0 was identified as important driver of water availability with more regional variability. Spatial mapping of changes relative to the normal baseline imply that all except northern parts of Europe are vulnerable to water deficits, with pronounced decrease expected in southern Europe. We provide high‐resolution maps and data as an important tool for future natural resources management and climate change mitigation planning.

O2.1. FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS ACROSS EUROPE DIFFER IN INTELLECTUAL QUOTIENT (IQ) AND EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

BackgroundChildren who later develop Schizophrenia on average are more likely to present with lower IQ; this has been considered evidence for the neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia. Though, recent studies have shown that first episode psychosis patients with a history of cannabis use have significantly higher premorbid and current IQ compared to those who never used it. This suggests that abnormal early neurodevelopment does not explain the aetiology of all cases of Schizophrenia, leaving space to environmental hazards.The present study aims to: investigate differences in IQ, as a marker of neurodevelopment, and in exposure to environmental risk factors in a large sample first episode psychosis patients recruited across five different European countries, in comparison with their respective control groups.MethodsWe analysed data on IQ, socio-demographics and cannabis use from FEP=705 (51.1 % males) and healthy controls=1.034 (48.9 % males), as part of the European network of national schizophrenia networks studying European Gene-Environment-Interaction (EUGEI) study. Patients met ICD-10 criteria for psychosis, ascertained by using OPCRIT (McGuffin et al., 1991).The CEQmv(Di Forti et al., 2009) further modified for the EUGEI study, was used to collect data on cannabis use. We used ANOVAs where IQ was used as the outcome variable and case/control status and Country were respectively entered as independent predictors, along with other predictors.ResultsCase-control status (F (1,1.484)=133.1, p<0.001) and Country (F (4, 1.484)=32.1, p<0.001) resulted in interaction in predicting IQ after controlling for gender, age, ethnicity, education, occupation relationship and living status. That means, being a case and being from France (mean IQ=73.4), Spain (mean IQ=74.6) and Italy (mean IQ=75.4) was associated with the lowest IQ (F (4,1.484)=3.7, p=0.004), compared with cases from UK (mean IQ=87.1) and Holland (mean IQ=85.5). Among controls the pattern was similar but not significant.We then grouped countries as North- (UK and Holland) and South – Europe (Italy, Spain, France) and we compared the presence of the main risk factors between the two groups. Both patients and controls from the northern part of Europe, were more likely to be from other ethnicities (chi2(2)=93.3, p<0.001) and living alone (chi2(2)=39.6, p<0.001) than patients and controls from the southern part, who were, for instance, more likely to be married (chi2(2)=34.1, p=0.007). There were no differences in education, nor in gender distribution between cases from the north and from the south of Europe and cases from the south, but not controls, were more likely to be employed than patients from the North (chi2(1)=19.1, p<0.001). A significant difference emerged in patterns of cannabis use, that resulted more dangerous in the northern part, where cases, but not controls, were more likely to have used cannabis (chi2 (1)=18.2, p<0.001) on a daily basis (chi2(2)=17.6, p<0.001) with a higher concentration in THC (chi2 (2)=43.8, p<0.001) and before their 15 years (chi2 (2)=20.8, p<0.001), compared to patients from the south.DiscussionOur findings on the higher IQ reported in the first episode psychosis patients from northern Europe sites might indicate this as a group with less neurodevelopmental abnormalities and more likely to have developed Psychosis because of adverse social environment and more harmful pattern of cannabis use, compared to patients from the southern countries.

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Present-day tropospheric ozone distribution and trends relevant to vegetation

This Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) on the current state of knowledge of ozone metrics of relevance to vegetation (TOAR-Vegetation) reports on present-day global distribution of ozone at over 3300 vegetated sites and the long-term trends at nearly 1200 sites. TOAR-Vegetation focusses on three metrics over vegetation-relevant time-periods across major world climatic zones: M12, the mean ozone during 08:00–19:59; AOT40, the accumulation of hourly mean ozone values over 40 ppb during daylight hours, and W126 with stronger weighting to higher hourly mean values, accumulated during 08:00–19:59. Although the density of measurement stations is highly variable across regions, in general, the highest ozone values (mean, 2010–14) are in mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, including southern USA, the Mediterranean basin, northern India, north, north-west and east China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. The lowest metric values reported are in Australia, New Zealand, southern parts of South America and some northern parts of Europe, Canada and the USA. Regional-scale assessments showed, for example, significantly higher AOT40 and W126 values in East Asia (EAS) than Europe (EUR) in wheat growing areas (p &amp;lt; 0.05), but not in rice growing areas. In NAM, the dominant trend during 1995–2014 was a significant decrease in ozone, whilst in EUR it was no change and in EAS it was a significant increase. TOAR-Vegetation provides recommendations to facilitate a more complete global assessment of ozone impacts on vegetation in the future, including: an increase in monitoring of ozone and collation of field evidence of the damaging effects on vegetation; an investigation of the effects on peri-urban agriculture and in mountain/upland areas; inclusion of additional pollutant, meteorological and inlet height data in the TOAR dataset; where not already in existence, establishing new region-specific thresholds for vegetation damage and an innovative integration of observations and modelling including stomatal uptake of the pollutant.

Local loss coefficients inside air cavity of ventilated pitched roofs

Pitched roofs with a ventilated air cavity to avoid snow melt and ensure dry conditions beneath the roofing are a widely used construction in northern parts of Europe and America. The purpose of this study has been to determine pressure losses at the inlet (eaves) and inside the air cavity consisting of friction losses and passing of tile battens. These results are necessary to increase the accuracy of ventilation calculations of pitched roofs. Laboratory measurements, numerical analysis as well as calculations by use of empirical expressions have been used in the study. A large difference in the local loss coefficients depending on the edge design and height of the tile batten was found. The local loss coefficients of the round-edged tile battens were approximately 40% lower than the local loss coefficients of the sharp-edged tile battens. Furthermore, the local loss factor increased by increasing height of the tile batten. The numerical analysis was found to reliably reproduce the results from the measurements.

Medicine Availability and Prescribing Policy for Non-Communicable Diseases in the Western Balkan Countries.

During the transition processes, the Western Balkan countries were affected by conflicts and transition-related changes. Life expectancy in these countries is lower, while the mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is higher in comparison with western and northern parts of Europe. The primary aim of this study was to analyze the treatment possibilities for the most common NCDs in the Western Balkan countries. The secondary aim was to understand and compare the policies regarding prescribing-related competencies of family physicians. In June and July 2017, a document analysis was performed of national positive medicines lists, strategic documents, and clinical guidelines for the treatment of the most frequent NCDs; arterial hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All text phrases that referred to medicines prescribing were extracted and sorted into following domains: medicine availability, prescribing policy, and medication prescribing-related competencies. Possibilities for treatment of arterial hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, asthma, and COPD vary across the Western Balkan countries. This variance is reflected in the number of registered medicines, number of parallels, and number of different combinations, as well as restrictions placed on family physicians in prescribing insulin, inhaled corticosteroids, statins and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), without consultant's recommendation. Western Balkan countries are capable of providing essential medicines for the treatment of NCDs, with full or partial reimbursement. There are some exceptions, related to statins, newer generation of oral antidiabetic agents and some of the antihypertensive combinations. Prescribing-related competences of family physicians are limited. However, this practice is not compliant to the practices of family medicine, its principles and primary care structures, and may potentially result in increased health-care financial ramifications to both the system and patients due to frequent referrals to the specialists.

Potential distribution of pine wilt disease under future climate change scenarios.

Pine wilt disease (PWD) constitutes a serious threat to pine forests. Since development depends on temperature and drought, there is a concern that future climate change could lead to the spread of PWD infections. We evaluated the risk of PWD in 21 susceptible Pinus species on a global scale. The MB index, which represents the sum of the difference between the mean monthly temperature and 15 when the mean monthly temperatures exceeds 15°C, was used to determine current and future regions vulnerable to PWD (MB ≥ 22). For future climate conditions, we compared the difference in PWD risks among four different representative concentration pathways (RCPs 2.6, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) and two time periods (2050s and 2070s). We also evaluated the impact of climate change on habitat suitability for each Pinus species using species distribution models. The findings were then integrated and the potential risk of PWD spread under climate change was discussed. Within the natural Pinus distribution area, southern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia were categorized as vulnerable regions (MB ≥ 22; 16% of the total Pinus distribution area). Representative provinces in which PWD has been reported at least once overlapped with the vulnerable regions. All RCP scenarios showed expansion of vulnerable regions in northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America under future climate conditions. By the 2070s, under RCP 8.5, an estimated increase in the area of vulnerable regions to approximately 50% of the total Pinus distribution area was revealed. In addition, the habitat conditions of a large portion of the Pinus distribution areas in Europe and Asia were deemed unsuitable by the 2070s under RCP 8.5. Approximately 40% of these regions overlapped with regions deemed vulnerable to PWD, suggesting that Pinus forests in these areas are at risk of serious damage due to habitat shifts and spread of PWD.

Functional diversity in Dichomitus squalens monokaryons

Dichomitus squalens is a white-rot fungus that colonizes and grows mainly on softwood and is commonly found in the northern parts of Europe, North America, and Asia. We analyzed the genetic and physiological diversity of eight D. squalens monokaryons derived from a single dikaryon. In addition, an unrelated dikaryon and a newly established dikaryon from two of the studied monokaryons were included. Both growth and lignocellulose acting enzyme profiles were highly variable between the studied monokaryotic and dikaryotic strains, demonstrating a high level of diversity within the species.

SAMANTHA ZACHER (ed.). Imagining the Jew in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture

As more scholarly attention has been given to Anglo-Saxon interest in the Old Testament and attitudes towards Judaism in recent years, the field has reached a point where it would benefit from a new articulation of the value of such work. Samantha Zacher acknowledges a ‘decisive change in attitudes towards Jews in England (and western Europe in general) in the twelfth century’ but notes that these new anti-Semitisms supplemented rather than replaced older anti-Judaic rhetoric (pp. 5–6). Accordingly, this book makes the case for studying representations of Jews before 1066, to understand the foundations of the later anti-Semitic hostility and outright violence in England and other parts of Northern Europe. In that respect, this collection of essays serves as a caution against the apologist scholarship we often want to promote, as if to suggest that the Anglo-Saxons (and those who study them) are not really to blame for unfortunate but unrelated later developments. The collection is organized into four parts, each of which is a coherent and engaging unit, but there are several themes or patterns that cut across these divisions—liturgy as a defining element of Anglo-Saxon culture, the uneasiness or instability of Christian (in particular, Anglo-Saxon) relationships with Judaism (both dependent upon Judaism and yet superseding it), and the inescapability of denigration in Christian writings on or representations of Judaism.

Assessment of Trend in Global Drought Propensity in the Twenty-First Century Using Drought Management Index

This study attempts to perform a global analysis of the trend in drought propensity in the twenty-first century using bias corrected soil moisture simulations from two General Circulation Model (GCMs) outputs based on the Representative Concentration Pathway-8.5 (RCP8.5) scenario. Drought propensity is characterized in terms of the probabilistic index – Drought Management Index (DMI), which is suitable for the assessment of slowly varying changes in soil moisture drought on a multi-year time scale. A global gridded analysis is performed to assess the future trend in drought propensity at each location on the globe over the twenty-first century. Regional analysis is also carried out to investigate the trends, if any, at the continental scale. A significant increasing trend in drought propensity is observed in large parts of Africa, South America and Asia, whereas a significant decreasing trend is observed in the northern parts of Europe and North America. This study helps to assess the spatio-temporal propagation of global drought propensity in future and aids in identifying the regions that would be relatively more/less prone to droughts towards the end of the century.

Sunflower crop and climate change: vulnerability, adaptation, and mitigation potential from case-studies in Europe

Climate change is characterized by higher temperatures, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, extreme climatic hazards, and less water available for agriculture. Sunflower, a spring-sown crop often cultivated in southern and eastern regions of Europe, could be more vulnerable to the direct effect of heat stress at anthesis and drought during its growing cycle, both factors resulting in severe yield loss, oil content decrease, and fatty acid alterations. Adaptations through breeding (earliness, stress tolerance), crop management (planting dates), and shifting of growing areas could be developed, assessed and combined to partly cope with these negative impacts. New cultivation opportunities could be expected in northern parts of Europe where sunflower is not grown presently and where it could usefully contribute to diversify cereal-based cropping systems. In addition, sunflower crop could participate to the mitigation solution as a low greenhouse gas emitter compared to cereals and oilseed rape. Sunflower crop models should be revised to account for these emerging environmental factors in order to reduce the uncertainties in yield and oil predictions. The future of sunflower in Europe is probably related to its potential adaptation to climate change but also to its competitiveness and attractiveness for food and energy.

Vitamin D Deficiency in Europeans Today and in Viking Settlers of Greenland.

The vast majority of the Earth's population lives between the 20th and 40th parallel north and south. It seems that right here humans have found the best living conditions relating not only to temperature and food recourses, but also to UV radiation necessary for the production of vitamin D by human skin. An exception to this general rule is Europe. Nearly half a billion people live between the 40th and 60th parallel north of the equator despite the fact that the amounts of UV radiation there are much lower. Moreover, since the time of the Vikings, there has always been a part of the European population that lived even further north than the 60th parallel (the northern parts of Europe, including Greenland). In this work, we present the potential role that vitamin D deficiency might have played in the extinction of the Vikings of Greenland. We analyze factors that contribute to the discrepancy between the theoretical distribution of areas with vitamin D deficiency and today's reality, like the impact of civilization, religious traditions, as well as vitamin D supplementation in food products and as a biologically active dietary additive. The global migration of people on a scale and speed never seen before is now even more important for this discrepancy.

Molecular Biogeography of Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola L.) Shows Traces of Recent Range Expansion.

Prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola L., Asteraceae), a wild relative of cultivated lettuce, is an autogamous species which greatly expanded throughout Western and Northern Europe during the last 2 centuries. Here, we present a large-scale biogeographic genetic analysis performed on a dataset represented by 2622 individuals from 110 wild European populations. Thirty-two maternally inherited chloroplast RFLP-markers and 10 nuclear microsatellite loci were used. Microsatellites revealed low genetic variation and high inbreeding coefficients within populations, as well as strong genetic differentiation between populations, which was in accordance with the autogamous breeding system. Analysis of molecular variance based clustering indicated the presence of 3 population clusters, which showed strong geographical patterns. One cluster occupied United Kingdom and part of Northern Europe, and characterized populations with a single predominant genotype. The second mostly combined populations from Northern Europe, while the third cluster grouped populations particularly from Southern Europe. Kriging of gene diversity for L. serriola corroborated northwards and westwards spread from Central (Eastern) Europe. Significant lower genetic diversity characterized the newly colonized parts of the range compared to the historical ones, confirming the importance of founder effects. Stronger pattern of isolation by distance was assessed in the newly colonized areas than in the historical areas (Mantel’s r = 0.20). In the newly colonized areas, populations at short geographic distances were genetically more similar than those in the historical areas. Our results corroborate the species’ recent and rapid northward and westward colonization from Eastern Europe, as well as a decrease of genetic diversity in recently established populations.

Straw Berry Cultivation In Charsadda A District Of Cmpii In Nwfp By Allah Dad Khan Agriculture Extension And Ghulam Nabi Agriculture Research Tarnab Peshawar

Adv Plants Agric Res 2016, 4(3): 00142 Strawberries that were originally grown in northern parts of Europe were also found in different parts of Russia, Chile and United States. Strawberries are also thought to have been cultivated in ancient Rome in large scale for medicinal purposes. During the 13th century, France also cultivated strawberries for its medicinal purpose. The roots, fruits and leaves of Alpine strawberry were widely used in these countries to make medicine that were used to cure digestive problems and skin diseases. Berry was used internally to cure diarrhea. Its leaves and roots were used for gout. Over the years strawberries were used for treating skin rashes, sun burn, discoloration of teeth and digestive disorders. In 13th century, strawberry was widely used as an aphrodisiac (Figure 1). News

Statistical-Synoptic Analysis of the Atmosphere Thickness Pattern of Iran’s Pervasive Frosts

The present study aimed at analyzing the synoptic pattern of atmospheric thickness of winter pervasive frosts in Iran. To this end, the data related to the daily minimum temperature of a 50-year period (1961–2010) were gathered from 451 synoptic and climatology stations. Then, the instances in which the temperature was below 0 °C for at least two consecutive days and this phenomenon covered at least 50% of the entirety of Iran were selected. Subsequently, the atmosphere thickness pattern was extracted for these days, with the representative day being identified and analyzed through cluster analysis. The results showed that the Siberian high pressure plays a significant role in the occurrence of pervasive frosts in Iran. In some other cases, the northeast–southwest direction of this pattern leads to its combination with the East Europe high pressure, causing widespread frosts in Iran. Furthermore, the interaction between counter clockwise currents in this system and the clockwise currents in the Azores high pressure tongue directs cold weather from northern parts of Europe toward Iran. The formation of blocking systems leads to the stagnation of cold weather over Iran, a phenomenon that results in significant reduction of temperature and severe frosts in these areas. In addition, the omega pattern (the fifth pattern) and Deep Eastern European trough and polar low pressure pattern (the fourth pattern) were the most dominant and severe frost patterns in Iran respectively.

Photovoltaic energy rating data sets for Europe

We present a study of possible climatic data sets that can be used to perform energy rating calculations on photovoltaic (PV) modules in Europe. We selected five geographic locations across Europe to cover the range of climatic conditions present. In order to assess the validity and significance of such climatic data sets we performed a detailed analysis of the sensitivity of the calculated energy rating to the variability of the input parameters. These are the transmission of the front glass based on the angle of incidence of the irradiance, the spectral response measurement of the PV module, coefficients for calculating module temperature from ambient temperature, and measured power matrices as function of module temperature and irradiance. We found that the calculated energy rating is not sensitive to the first three, but mainly varies due to difference in measured power matrices. This is in particular true for the module performance at low irradiance, and therefore shows a more pronounced difference in climates where such low irradiance conditions occur more frequently, such as in the northern parts of Europe. Nevertheless, the variability found is still less than those between geographic locations. We propose a selection of four energy rating data sets, which differ between them by more than the uncertainty and represent the main climates present across Europe.

The effect of environmental humidity and temperature on skin barrier function and dermatitis.

Physicians are aware that climatic conditions negatively affect the skin. In particular, people living in equator far countries such as the Northern parts of Europe and North America are exposed to harsh weather during the winter and may experience dry and itchy skin, or deterioration of already existing dermatoses. We searched the literature for studies that evaluated the mechanisms behind this phenomenon. Commonly used meteorological terms such as absolute humidity, relative humidity and dew point are explained. Furthermore, we review the negative effect of low humidity, low temperatures and different seasons on the skin barrier and on the risk of dermatitis. We conclude that low humidity and low temperatures lead to a general decrease in skin barrier function and increased susceptible towards mechanical stress. Since pro-inflammatory cytokines and cortisol are released by keratinocytes, and the number of dermal mast cells increases, the skin also becomes more reactive towards skin irritants and allergens. Collectively, published data show that cold and dry weather increase the prevalence and risk of flares in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Accumulation and distribution of mercury in fruiting bodies by fungus Suillus luteus foraged in Poland, Belarus and Sweden.

Presented in this paper is result of the study of the bioconcentration potential of mercury (Hg) by Suillus luteus mushroom collected from regions within Central, Eastern, and Northern regions of Europe. As determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy, the Hg content varied from 0.13 ± 0.05 to 0.33 ± 0.13 mg kg−1 dry matter for caps and from 0.038 ± 0.014 to 0.095 ± 0.038 mg kg−1 dry matter in stems. The Hg content of the soil substratum (0–10 cm layer) underneath the fruiting bodies showed generally low Hg concentrations that varied widely ranging from 0.0030 to 0.15 mg kg−1 dry matter with mean values varying from 0.0078 ± 0.0035 to 0.053 ± 0.025 mg kg−1 dry matter, which is below typical content in the Earth crust. The caps were observed to be on the richer in Hg than the stems at ratio between 1.8 ± 0.4 and 5.3 ± 2.6. The S. luteus mushroom showed moderate ability to accumulate Hg with bioconcentration factor (BCF) values ranging from 3.6 ± 1.3 to 42 ± 18. The consumption of fresh S. luteus mushroom in quantities up to 300 g week−1 (assuming no Hg ingestion from other foods) from background areas in the Central, Eastern, and Northern part of Europe will not result in the intake of Hg exceeds the provisional weekly tolerance limit (PTWI) of 0.004 mg kg−1 body mass.

Modeling climate change impact on potato crop phenology, and risk of frost damage and heat stress in northern Europe

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the main food crops in northern Europe, considered to be the fourth most important crop on a global scale after rice, wheat and maize. Climate change leading to longer growing seasons may call for adjustments in timing of planting and harvesting, and in this modeling study we assess potential effects of a warmer climate on potato crop phenology and temperature stress. A phenological potato model was parameterized with three planting dates to assess management impact on the timing of emergence and maturation of both early and late potato. Estimates on phenological development and occurrence of temperature stress were analyzed by comparing two developmental thresholds (0°C and +2°C) and three temperature response functions. The potato model was driven by observed gridded climate data and two sets of bias corrected climate model data, representing RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for the period 1991–2100.The future simulations indicated that a warmer climate and earlier planting may move the timing of harvest up to 1 month earlier, however, potato emergence early in the year will be associated with an increased risk of frost damage in most parts of northern Europe. The areas of west Europe most prone to frost damage today may experience a risk of frost damage in response to climate change. The simulation of early potato development was sensitive to the setting of the developmental threshold, while late potato development was sensitive to the optimum temperature setting. While a linear temperature response function is essentially sufficient for current climate conditions in northern Europe, optimum and upper thresholds should be considered in climate change impact assessments. The potato model runs with temperature data corrected according to quantile-mapping indicated in general a slightly higher risk of temperature stress than the corresponding runs with temperature data corrected by linear scaling.

Characterization of Antibiotic Resistance Gene Abundance and Microbiota Composition in Feces of Organic and Conventional Pigs from Four EU Countries.

One of the recent trends in animal production is the revival of interest in organic farming. The increased consumer interest in organic animal farming is mainly due to concerns about animal welfare and the use of antibiotics in conventional farming. On the other hand, providing animals with a more natural lifestyle implies their increased exposure to environmental sources of different microorganisms including pathogens. To address these concerns, we determined the abundance of antibiotic resistance and diversity within fecal microbiota in pigs kept under conventional and organic farming systems in Sweden, Denmark, France and Italy. The abundance of sul1, sul2, strA, tet(A), tet(B) and cat antibiotic resistance genes was determined in 468 samples by real-time PCR and the fecal microbiota diversity was characterized in 48 selected samples by pyrosequencing of V3/V4 regions of 16S rRNA. Contrary to our expectations, there were no extensive differences between the abundance of tested antibiotic resistance genes in microbiota originating from organic or conventionally housed pigs within individual countries. There were also no differences in the microbiota composition of organic and conventional pigs. The only significant difference was the difference in the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in the samples from different countries. Fecal microbiota in the samples originating from southern European countries (Italy, France) exhibited significantly higher antibiotic resistance gene abundance than those from northern parts of Europe (Denmark, Sweden). Therefore, the geographical location of the herd influenced the antibiotic resistance in the fecal microbiota more than farm’s status as organic or conventional.