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Ongoing anthropogenic climate change alters the local climatic conditions to which species may be adapted. Information on species' climatic requirements and their intraspecific variation is necessary for predicting the effects of climate change on biodiversity. We used a climatic gradient to test whether populations of two allopatric varieties of an arctic seashore herb (Primula nutans ssp. finmarchica) show adaptation to their local climates and how a future warmer climate may affect them. Our experimental set-up combined a reciprocal translocation within the distribution range of the species with an experiment testing the performance of the sampled populations in warmer climatic conditions south of their range. We monitored survival, size, and flowering over four growing seasons as measures of performance and, thus, proxies of fitness. We found that both varieties performed better in experimental gardens towards the north. Interestingly, highest up in the north, the southern variety outperformed the northern one. Supported by weather data, this suggests that the climatic optima of both varieties have moved at least partly outside their current range. Further warming would make the current environments of both varieties even less suitable. We conclude that Primula nutans ssp. finmarchica is already suffering from adaptational lag due to climate change, and that further warming may increase this maladaptation, especially for the northern variety. The study also highlights that it is not sufficient to run only reciprocal translocation experiments. Climate change is already shifting the optimum conditions for many species and adaptation needs also to be tested outside the current range of the focal taxon in order to include both historic conditions and future conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizophagus irregularis, an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, a bacterium, are microorganisms that promote plant growth. They associate with plant roots and facilitate nutrient absorption by their hosts, increase resistance against pathogens and pests, and regulate plant growth through phytohormones. In this study, eight local plant species in Finland (Antennaria dioica, Campanula rotundifolia, Fragaria vesca, Geranium sanguineum, Lotus corniculatus, Thymus serpyllum, Trifolium repens, and Viola tricolor) were inoculated with R. irregularis and/or B. amyloliquefaciens in autoclaved substrates to evaluate the plant growth−promoting effects of different plant/microbe combinations under controlled conditions. The eight plant species were inoculated with R. irregularis, B. amyloliquefaciens, or both microbes or were not inoculated as a control. The impact of the microbes on the plants was evaluated by measuring dry shoot weight, colonization rate by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, bacterial population density, and chlorophyll fluorescence using a plant phenotyping facility. Under dual inoculation conditions, B. amyloliquefaciens acted as a “mycorrhiza helper bacterium” to facilitate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus colonization in all tested plants. In contrast, R. irregularis did not demonstrate reciprocal facilitation of the population density of B. amyloliquefaciens. Dual inoculation with B. amyloliquefaciens and R. irregularis resulted in the greatest increase in shoot weight and photosynthetic efficiency in T. repens and F. vesca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities and urban green areas therein can be considered as complex social-ecological systems that provide various ecosystem services with different synergies and trade-offs among them. In this article, we show that multiple stakeholder perspectives and data sources should be used to capture key values for sustainable planning and management of urban green spaces. Using an urban forest in Helsinki, Finland as a case study, we incorporated data collected using public participation GIS, expert elicitation and forest inventories in order to investigate the guidance that the different types of data, and their integration, can provide for landscape planning. We examined the relationship and spatial concurrence between two social variables i.e. visitors’ perceived landscape values and green space use, and two ecological variables i.e. forest habitat quality and urban biodiversity, using hot/coldspot analysis. We found weak correlations and low mean spatial coincidence between the social and ecological data, indicating great complementary importance to multi-criteria decision-making. In addition, there was a higher level of spatial agreement between the ecological datasets than between the social datasets. Forest habitat quality and urban biodiversity were positively correlated and spatially coincided moderately, while we found a negative correlation and very low overlap between visitor use and landscape values. This highlights the conceptual and spatial distinction between the general preferences and values citizens assign to public green spaces and the realized everyday use of these areas and their services. The resulting maps can inform planners on overall social and environmental quality of the landscape, and point out potential threats to areas of high ecological value due to intensive recreational use, which is crucial information for natural resource management. In the end, we discuss different strategies for managing overlaps and discrepancies between the social and ecological values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note describes the methodological and practical applications of using smartphone GPS tracking (SGT) to explore the spatial distribution and density of recreational movement in multiple-use urban forests. We present findings from the pilot phase of an on-going case study in Keskuspuisto (Central park), Helsinki, Finland. The study employs an inventive and inexpensive approach for participatory data collection i.e. gathering GPS data from recreational users who have already recorded their routes for purposes other than research, using any kind of sports tracking application on their personal mobile phones. We used the SGT data to examine visitor spatial patterns on formal trails and informal paths, and present examples with runners and mountain bikers. Hotspot mapping of mountain bikers’ off-trail movement was conducted identifying several locations with clustering of off-trail use. Small-scale field mapping of three hotspot areas confirmed that the method accurately located areas of high use intensity where visible effects of path widening and high level of wear on the forest floor vegetation could be observed. We conclude that the SGT methodology offers great opportunities for gathering useful and up-to-date spatial information for adaptive planning and management as it highlights areas where conservation and visitor management measures may need to be adjusted. We suggest that this method warrants testing also for other user-centred research and planning purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentional moving of species threatened by climate change is actively being discussed as a conservation approach. The debate, empirical studies, and policy development, however, are impeded by an inconsistent articulation of the idea. The discrepancy is demonstrated by the varying use of terms, such as assisted migration, assisted colonisation, or managed relocation, and their multiple definitions. Since this conservation approach is novel, and may for instance lead to legislative changes, it is important to aim for terminological consistency. The objective of this study is to analyse the suitability of terms and definitions used when discussing the moving of organisms as a response to climate change. An extensive literature search and review of the material (868 scientific publications) was conducted for finding hitherto used terms (N = 40) and definitions (N = 75), and these were analysed for their suitability. Based on the findings, it is argued that an appropriate term for a conservation approach relating to aiding the movement of organisms harmed by climate change is assisted migration defined as follows: Assisted migration means safeguarding biological diversity through the translocation of representatives of a species or population harmed by climate change to an area outside the indigenous range of that unit where it would be predicted to move as climate changes, were it not for anthropogenic dispersal barriers or lack of time. The differences between assisted migration and other conservation translocations are also discussed. A wide adoption of the clear and distinctive term and definition provided would allow more focused research on the topic and enable consistent implementation as practitioners could have the same understanding of the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Albrecht et al.'s (J Agric Environ Ethics 26(4):827-845, ) discussion on the ethics of assisted migration, we emphasize the issues of risk and scientific uncertainty as an inextricable part of a comprehensive ethical evaluation. Insisting on a separation of risk and ethical considerations, although arguably common in many policy contexts, is at best misguided and at worst damaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal variation in the detectability of a species can bias estimates of relative abundance if not handled correctly. For example, when effort varies in space and/or time it becomes necessary to take variation in detectability into account when data are analyzed. We demonstrate the importance of incorporating seasonality into the analysis of data with unequal sample sizes due to lost traps at a particular density of a species. A case study of count data was simulated using a springactive carabid beetle. Traps were 'lost' randomly during high beetle activity in high abundance sites and during low beetle activity in low abundance sites. Five different models were fitted to datasets with different levels of loss. If sample sizes were unequal and a seasonality variable was not included in models that assumed the number of individuals was log-normally distributed, the models severely under- or overestimated the true effect size. Results did not improve when seasonality and number of trapping days were included in these models as offset terms, but only performed well when the response variable was specified as following a negative binomial distribution. Finally, if seasonal variation of a species is unknown, which is often the case, seasonality can be added as a free factor, resulting in well-performing negative binomial models. Based on these results we recommend (a) add sampling effort (number of trapping days in our example) to the models as an offset term, (b) if precise information is available on seasonal variation in detectability of a study object, add seasonality to the models as an offset term; (c) if information on seasonal variation in detectability is inadequate, add seasonality as a free factor; and (d) specify the response variable of count data as following a negative binomial or over-dispersed Poisson distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports on botanic gardens, including the study on the responses of plants to global change by Neuffer and colleagues, the use of innovative approaches such as geographic information systems (GIS) in gaining knowledge for proper ex situ protocols to store living plant material, and the fifth European Botanic Gardens Congress in Helsinki, Finland in June 2009.

Abstract: We investigated the effects of edge structure (i.e. side-canopy openness based on tree, sapling and shrub characteristics, and the composition of tree species) on the understorey vegetation at mesic urban conifer-dominated forest edges in southern Finland. Forest edge structure had an effect on understorey vegetation, and on the spatial extent of the edge effect into the forests. At open edges the edge effect (in terms of the abundances of understorey vegetation) penetrated at least up to 30m into the forest patches whereas closed edges may prevent these effects. A multilayered canopy with saplings and shrubs at the edge is important to alleviate the effects of the edge. We found that 225–250m3 ha−1 of trees (diameter at breast height (dbh)>5cm) is adequate to restrict the edge effect near the edge. However, the number of broad-leaved trees may be high at edges which, in turn, diminishes the abundance of mosses and favours herb species, thus changing the original natural understorey vegetation composition. Therefore we recommend that conifers be favoured at the edges of mesic conifer-dominated forest patches if the purpose is to restrict the extent of the effects of habitat edges. The appropriate proportion of conifers at these edges should be 80% or more. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]