History matters, and can be an active and dynamic component in the present. We explore social-ecological memory as way to diagnose and engage with urban green space performance and resilience. Rapidly changing cities pose a threat and a challenge to the continuity that has helped to support biodiversity and ecological functions by upholding similar or only slowly changing adaptive cycles over time. Continuity is perpetuated through memory carriers, slowly changing variables and features that retain or make available information on how different situations have been dealt with before. Ecological memory carriers comprise memory banks, spatial connections and mobile link species. These can be supported by social memory carriers, represented by collectively created social features like habits, oral tradition, rules-in-use and artifacts, as well as media and external sources. Loss or lack of memory can be diagnoses by the absence or disconnect between memory carriers, as will be illustrated by several typical situations. Drawing on a set of example situations, we present an outline for a look-up table approach that connects ecological memory carriers to the social memory carriers that support them and use these connections to set diagnoses and indicate potential remedies. The inclusion of memory carriers in planning and management considerations may facilitate preservation of feedbacks and disturbance regimes as well as species and habitats, and the cultural values and meanings that go with them.

The generation of ecosystem services depends on both social and ecological features. Here we focus on management, its ecological consequences, and social drivers. Our approach combined (1) quantitative surveys of local species diversity and abundance of three functional groups of ecosystem service providers (pollinators, seed dispersers, and insectivores) with (2) qualitative studies of local management practices connected to these services and their underlying social mechanisms, i.e., institutions, local ecological knowledge, and a sense of place. It focused on the ecology of three types of green areas (allotment gardens, cemeteries, and city parks) in the city of Stockholm, Sweden. These are superficially similar but differ considerably in their management. Effects of the different practices could be seen in the three functional groups, primarily as a higher abundance of pollinators in the informally managed allotment gardens and as differences in the composition of seed dispersers and insectivores. Thus, informal management, which is normally disregarded by planning authorities, is important for ecosystem services in the urban landscape. Furthermore, we suggest that informal management has an important secondary function: It may be crucial during periods of instability and change as it is argued to promote qualities with potential for adaptation. Allotment gardeners seem to be the most motivated managers, something that is reflected in their deeper knowledge and can be explained by a sense of place and management institutions. We propose that co-management would be one possible way to infuse the same positive qualities into all management and that improved information exchange between managers would be one further step toward ecologically functional urban landscapes.

The term green infrastructure captures the need to conserve biodiversity and to sustain landscapes’ different ecosystem services. Maintaining green infrastructures through protected areas, management and landscape restoration requires knowledge in geography, spatial data about biophysical, anthropogenic and immaterial values, spatial comprehensive planning, and thus geographical information systems (GIS). To understand land use planning practices and planning education regarding GIS in Sweden we interviewed 43 planners and reviewed 20 planning education programmes. All planners used GIS to look at data but did not carry out spatial analyses of land covers. BSc programmes included more GIS than MSc programmes but very few taught analyses for spatial planning. As key spatial planning actors, municipalities’ barriers and bridges for improved GIS use for collaborative learning about green infrastructures are discussed. A concluding section presents examples of how GIS can support spatial planning for green infrastructures.

Urban green spaces provide socially valuable ecosystem services. Through an historical analysis of the development of the National Urban Park (NUP) of Stockholm, we illustrate how the coevolutionary process of humans and nature has resulted in the high level of biological diversity and associated recreational services found in the park. The ecological values of the area are generated in the cultural landscape. External pressures resulting in urban sprawl in the Stockholm metropolitan region increasingly challenge the capacity of the NUP to continue to generate valuable ecosystem services. Setting aside protected areas, without accounting for the role of human stewardship of the cultural landscape, will most likely fail. In a social inventory of the area, we identify 69 local user and interest groups currently involved in the NUP area. Of these, 25 are local stewardship associations that have a direct role in managing habitats within the park that sustain such services as recreational landscapes, seed dispersal, and pollination. We propose that incentives should be created to widen the current biodiversity management paradigm, and actively engage local stewardship associations in adaptive co-management processes of the park and surrounding green spaces. Copyright © 2005 by the author(s). Published here under license by the Resilience Alliance.

Global urbanization and food production are in direct competition for land. This paper carries outa critical review of how displacing crop production from urban and peri-urban land to other areas– because of issues related to soil quality – will demand a substantially larger proportion of theEarth’s terrestrial land surface than the surface area lost to urban encroachment. Such relationshipsmay trigger further distancing effects and unfair social-ecological teleconnections. It risks also settingin motion amplifying effects within the Earth System. In combination, such multiple stressors set thescene for food riots in cities of the Global South. Our review identifies viable leverage points on whichto act in order to navigate urban expansion away from fertile croplands. We first elaborate on thepolitical complexities in declaring urban and peri-urban lands with fertile soils as one global commons.We find that the combination of an advisory global policy aligned with regional policies enablingrobust common properties rights for bottom-up actors and movements in urban and peri-urbanagriculture (UPA) as multi-level leverage places to intervene. To substantiate the ability of aligningglobal advisory policy with regional planning, we review both past and contemporary examples whereempowering local social-ecological UPA practices and circular economies have had a stimulatingeffect on urban resilience and helped preserve, restore, and maintain urban lands with healthy soils.

Indigenous groups offer alternative knowledge and perspectives based on their own locally developed practices of resource use. We surveyed the international literature to focus on the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in monitoring, responding to, and managing ecosystem processes and functions, with special attention to ecological resilience. Case studies revealed that there exists a diversity of local or traditional practices for ecosystem management. These include multiple species management, resource rotation, succession management, landscape patchiness management, and other ways of responding to and managing pulses and ecological surprises. Social mechanisms behind these traditional practices include a number of adaptations for the generation, accumulation, and transmission of knowledge; the use of local institutions to provide leaders/stewards and rules for social regulation; mechanisms for cultural internalization of traditional practices; and the development of appropriate world views and cultural values. Some traditional knowledge and management systems were characterized by the use of local ecological knowledge to interpret and respond to feedbacks from the environment to guide the direction of resource management. These traditional systems had certain similarities to adaptive management with its emphasis on feedback learning, and its treatment of uncertainty and unpredictability intrinsic to all ecosystems.

A hypothetical model was built, using the STELLA II software program, to test several hunting options for a human hunting group. Different outcomes of possible hunting modes are analysed, such as a change in hunting rate, prey hunted, or species avoided or not avoided by taboos. The model consists of five sectors that reflect a short food chain in an upper Amazonian ecosystem. There is a vegetation sector, a predator sector, and two sectors consisting of browsers and grazers. The last sector represents a human group, known as the Ecuador Achuar. The critical factor analysed is how differences in hunting rate affect a target resource, and how this resource may be affected by general food taboos. The major results of the model are that general food taboos may not be an adaptive short term strategy for hunters, but that a 'moderate' hunting mode may be the most effective option for the human group. Since the model is a simplification of the real world, no general conclusions for management should be drawn from the results.

Social taboos exist in most cultures, both Western and non-Western. They are good examples of informal institutions, where norms, rather than governmental juridical laws and rules, determine human behavior. In many traditional societies throughout the world, taboos frequently guide human conduct toward the natural environment. Based on a survey of recent literature, we synthesize information on such taboos. We refer to them as "resource and habitat taboos" (RHTs). Examples are grouped in six different categories depending on their potential nature conservation and management functions. We compare RHTs with contemporary measures of conservation and identify and discuss some key benefits that may render them useful in partnership designs for conservation and management. We conclude that many RHTs have functions similar to those of formal institutions for nature conservation in contemporary society but have not been sufficiently recognized in this capacity. We suggest that designs for conservation of biological diversity and its sustainable use in developing countries focus more on informal institutions, like social taboos, because they may offer several advantages compared to conventional measures. These include non-costly, voluntary compliance features implicit in the taboo system.

We analyzed the role of taboos for the protection of species listed as "threatened" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and also for species known to be endemic and keystone. The study was limited to taboos that totally avoid or prohibit any use of particular species and their populations. We call them specific-species taboos. Through a literature review, 70 currently existing examples of specific-species taboos were identified and analyzed. The species avoided were grouped into biological classes. Threat categories were determined for each species, based on the IUCN Red Data Book. We found that ≃ 30% of the identified taboos prohibit any use of species listed as threatened by IUCN. Of the specific-species taboos, 60% are set on reptiles and mammals. In these two classes, ≃ 50% of the species are threatened, representing all of the threatened species in our analysis, with the exception of one bird species. Both endemic and keystone species that are important for ecosystem functions are avoided by specific-species taboos. Specific-species taboos have important ecological ramifications for the protection of threatened and ecologically important populations of species. We do not suggest that specific-species taboos are placed on species because they are, or have been, endangered; instead, we emphasize that species are avoided for a variety of other reasons. It is urgent to identify and analyze resource practices and social mechanisms of traditional societies, such as taboos, and to investigate their possible ecological significance. Although it may provide insights of value for conservation, not only of species,

This synthesis addresses local institutions and associated management practices related to natural resources and ecosystem dynamics, with an emphasis on traditional ecological knowledge systems. Traditional practices for ecosystem management include multiple species management, resource rotation, ecological monitoring, succession management, landscape patchiness management and practices of responding to and managing pulses and ecological surprises. There exist practices that seem to reduce social-ecological crises in the events of large-scale natural disturbance such as creating small-scale ecosystem renewal cycles, spreading risks and nurturing sources of ecosystem reorganization and renewal. Ecological knowledge and monitoring among local groups appears to be a key element in the development of many of the practices. The practices are linked to social mechanisms such as flexible user rights and land tenure; adaptations for the generation, accumulation and transmission of ecological knowledge; dynamics of institutions; mechanisms for cultural internalization of traditional practices; and associated worldviews and cultural values. We dive deeper into the role of informal social institutions in resource management, such as many taboo systems. We find that taboos may contribute to the conservation of habitats, local subsistence resources and 'threatened', 'endemic' and 'keystone' species, although some may run contrary to conservation and notions of sustainability. It is asserted that under certain circumstances, informal institutions may offer advantages relative to formal measures of conservation. These benefits include non-costly, voluntary compliance features. Since management of ecosystems is associated with uncertainty about their spatial and temporal dynamics and due to incomplete knowledge about such dynamics, local management practices and associated institutions may provide useful 'rules of thumb' for resource management with an ability to confer resilience and tighten environmental feedbacks of resource exploitation to local levels.

The aim of this paper is to suggest and discuss policy instruments that could lead towards a more sustainable waste management. The paper is based on evaluations from a large scale multi-disciplinary Swedish research program. The evaluations focus on environmental and economic impacts as well as social acceptance. The focus is on the Swedish waste management system but the results should be relevant also for other countries. Through the assessments and lessons learned during the research program we conclude that several policy instruments can be effective and possible to implement. Particularly, we put forward the following policy instruments: "Information"; "Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials"; "Weight-based waste fee in combination with information and developed recycling systems"; "Mandatory labeling of products containing hazardous chemicals", "Advertisements on request only and other waste minimization measures"; and "Differentiated VAT and subsidies for some services". Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials is the policy instrument that has the largest potential for decreasing the environmental impacts with the configurations studied here. The effects of the other policy instruments studied may be more limited and they typically need to be implemented in combination in order to have more significant impacts. Furthermore, policy makers need to take into account market and international aspects when implementing new instruments. In the more long term perspective, the above set of policy instruments may also need to be complemented with more transformational policy instruments that can significantly decrease the generation of waste.

People have inhabited terrestrial ecosystems of the world for thousands of years. Both resource management systems and cosmological belief systems have evolved and continue to develop. In fact, most, if not all, ecosystems and biodiversity have been altered by humans to various degrees (. Nelson and Serafin, 1992). The human imprint has in many cases wiped out species and caused substantial land use change (e.g., Turner et al., 1990; Wilson, 1992). However, there are practices of local peoples of both traditional and contemporary society that contribute to biodiversity conservation, practices that are more common than generally recognized (. Berkes and Folke, 1998). For example, throughout the Amazonian tropics, scientists have found remnants of past agricultural management systems in landscapes previously believed to be free from human imprint, suggesting that such management systems were highly adapted to natural cycles of forest regeneration (. Balée, 1992; Posey, 1992).

Although a number of comprehensive reviews have examined global ecosystem services (ES), few have focused on studies that assess urban ecosystem services (UES). Given that more than half of the world's population lives in cities, understanding the dualism of the provision of and need for UES is of critical importance. Which UES are the focus of research, and what types of urban land use are examined? Are models or decision support systems used to assess the provision of UES? Are trade-offs considered? Do studies of UES engage stakeholders? To address these questions, we analyzed 217 papers derived from an ISI Web of Knowledge search using a set of standardized criteria. The results indicate that most UES studies have been undertaken in Europe, North America, and China, at city scale. Assessment methods involve bio-physical models, Geographical Information Systems, and valuation, but few study findings have been implemented as land use policy.

Urban dwellers depend on the generation of ecosystem services for their welfare. The city of Stockholm is growing, and a 25% increase in population is projected by 2030. The effects of urban development were estimated through the quantification of nitrogen (N) leakage to the Baltic Sea under two urban development scenarios. We found that total net N load will increase by 6% or 8%, depending on which growth scenario is applied, and population increase by itself will contribute at least 15% of the point source N leakage. Technical improvements in sewage treatment could, according to our results, decrease total N load to the Baltic Sea by 4%. Based on our results, we conclude that proactive measures such as spatial urban planning can provide a constructive tool for sustainable urban development on regional as well as national and international scales, depending on geographical context as well as the ecosystem services' scale of operation. © Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2007.

Vägar och järnvägar utgör ofta barriärer i landskapet. Därför bör dessa transportinfrastrukturer anpassas så att landskapets värden och funktioner bibehålls. Det behövs säkra och funktionella passagemöjligheter för faunan när vägen eller järnvägen medför en barriäreffekt. Stora brokonstruktioner, såsom ekodukter, kan tillgodose passagebehoven men är kostsamma. Ett kostnadseffektivt alternativ är därför att anordna passager med flera funktioner, s.k. multifunktionella passager. En multifunktionell eller samordnad passage avser en konstruktion som uppfyller flera olika intressens passagebehov. I en multifunktionell passage kan exempelvis passagebehov för faunan samordnas med passagebehov hos rennäringen eller friluftsliv. Vid sådan samordning är det viktigt att utreda om det kan finnas konflikter mellan olika behov som riskerar att minska passagens funktion för exempelvis faunan. Rapportens syfte är att ta fram underlag och riktlinjer för samordning av säkra passager för olika typer av intressen och behov. Det övergripande målet med detta projekt är att undersöka och redovisa under vilka förhållanden det kan vara acceptabelt med mänskliga aktiviteter på passager främst avsedda för att säkerställa passagemöjligheter för faunan, och, hur dessa passager i så fall ska utformas mest optimalt för att reducera eventuell negativ påverkan på faunans användning av passagerna. I arbetet ingår även renpassager.

In many of the areas presently occupied by European cities, settlements were formed already in Neolithic times, when the continent was colonized by agri culturalists (9500 B.C. onwards). The re-colonization of European plants and animals after the last Ice Age, which covered large areas of Europe, was not completed before human infl uence began to cause local disturbances, meaning that the native biodiversity has evolved under human infl uence. The long history of urban development in Europe, and the location of cities in fertile river valleys, are at least two reasons of why many European cities are often characterized by higher species richness of plants and animals than some of the surrounding rural areas. The long history of co-evolution may be a particular factor explaining why European plants and animals worldwide tend to successfully establish in areas with dense human population.

The thesis examines the potential for sequestration of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) in Sweden based on small-scale agriculture and horticulture. The essay is written from a perspective where climate change has reached a level where it is no longer enough to limit emissions, the earth must in addition serve as a sink for carbon dioxide and thus long-term storage of carbon (IPCC 2014). The initiative of 4 per mille (4 ‰ initiative, 4p1000.org) was initiated during the COP21 climate summit in Paris, which was seen as a step to move to concrete action in the context of agriculture in collaboration with civil society. The initiative is based on the knowledge that terrestrial systems hold far more carbon than the atmosphere, and that plants potential to facilitate carbon sequestration in soil is an underutilized potential in mitigating climate change. An additional and long term carbon storage of 0,04%  annually of the already existing SOC would not only drastically mitigate climate change, but also contribute to increased food security and adaptation to climate change as an increase in SOC means an increase of Soil Organic Matter (SOM), soil health, fertility and resilience.

Literature studies support an analysis of carbon sequestration as a concept, and serves as a base from which questions related to carbon sequestration in Swedish farmland are formulated. The potential for carbon sequestration in Sweden is examined from the perspective of the 4 ‰ initiative, with a review of methods advocated within the initiative; eg.  cover crops, mulch, no-till/low-till, polyculture, intercropping, crop rotation and succession, agroforestry systems and perennial crops, buffer zones, organic residue amendments and optimized grazing. Relevant methods and concepts such as biochar, conservation agriculture, regenerative agriculture and holistic management are also described. This is complemented with descriptions of four practical examples of horticulture and farming in Sweden in order to anchor the theory into practice. All practitioners have been selected on the basis that they have a conscious desire to promote carbon sequestration in soil. Rather than describing these practitioners solely from the perspective of carbon sequestration, a broader view is presented mirroring the need to address carbon farming from an angle of holistic context and agroecology.

With the support of scientific references and qualitative interviews, the study highlights the importance of; multifunctional approaches; established root biomass and ground coverage; increased net primary production (NPP) through plant available nitrogen; the potential of biochar as well as mycorrhiza for long term carbon sequestration. The study also highlights the great need for research in Swedish contexts in bringing clarity to questions around soil saturation of SOC in cases when rare methods such as agroforestry are used. Finally, the need for a more radical change within agricultural practices is highlighted as well as the need of support to practitioners who want to explore new regenerative ways of managing soils which promote carbon sequestration, food sovereignty and climate resilience.

There are many different reasons why consumers buy locally produced foods. Some consumers buy locally produced food nearby, while others buy after-production because they consider that the food has been produced in an environmentally and climate-friendly way. Some consumers buy after-production because it tastes better or that they consider it to be of a higher quality than other foods.

The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the relationship and attitude to food that is produced locally, and the attitude they attach to packaging for local food of high school students in Polhem school in Gävle. Also, investigate how local manufacturers in Gävleborg County work today with market communication and packaging design.

To carry out this study, a quantitative study has been used. The quantitative study is based on two surveys conducted by high school students at the Polhem School in Gävle and local producers in Gävleborg County.

The questionnaires cover all the theory areas. The theory chapter begins with a background description about MatVärden, an association that works for Gävleborg residents, but also visitors to be able to share the food and drink produced in Gävleborg. Next, the Foodstuffs Strategy 2017 describes food production, consumer demand, packaging design and marketing communications. Each part has a connection with the purpose of the study that will be the basis for the conclusion.

The empirical material presents the material collected about the quantitative questionnaire survey.

It has been observed that there is a lack of knowledge among high school students about food produced locally. It also appears in the result that they consider that a colored and more fun packaging attracts more than one ordinary and single-colored.

Local producers have a hard time reaching out to the stores today because they lack knowledge and communication. They have limited opportunities to work per the traditional models that exist and have shown an interest in increasing their sales and reaching out to the stores.

Abstract

A wildfire is an uncontrollable fire in an area of combustible fuel that occurs in the wild or countryside area. Wildfires are becoming a deadly and frequent event in Europe due to extreme weather conditions. In 2018, wildfires profoundly affected Sweden, Finland, and Norway, which were not big news before. In Norway, although there is well–organized fire detection, warning, and mitigation systems, mapping wildfire risk areas before the fire occurrence with georeferenced spatial information, are not yet well-practiced. At this moment, there are freely available remotely sensed spatial data and there is a good possibility that analysing wildfire hazard areas with geographical information systems together with multicriteria decision analysis (GIS–MCDA) and frequency ratio models in advance so that subsequent wildfire warning, mitigation, organizational and post resilience activities and preparations can be better planned. 

This project covers eight counties of Norway: Oslo, Akershus, Østfold, Vestfold, Telemark, Buskerud, Oppland, and Hedmark. These are the counties with the highest wildfire frequency for the last ten years in Norway. In this study, GIS-MCDA integrated with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and frequency ratio models (FR) were used with selected sixteen–factor criteria based on their relative importance to wildfire ignition, fuel load, and other related characteristics. The produced factor maps were grouped under four main clusters (K): land use (K1), climate (K2), socioeconomic (K3), and topography (K4) for further analysis.

The final map was classified into no hazard, low, medium, and high hazard level rates. The comparison result showed that the frequency ratio model with MODIS satellite data had a prediction rate with 72% efficiency, followed by the same model with VIIRS data and 70% efficiency. The GIS-MCDA model result showed 67% efficiency with both MODIS and VIIRS data. Those results were interpreted in accordance with Yesilnacar’s classifications such as the frequency ratio model with MODIS data was considered a good predictor, whereas the GIS-MCDA model was an average predictor. When testing the model on the dependent data set, the frequency ratio model showed 72% with MODIS & VIIRS data, and the GIS-MCDA model showed 67% and 68% performance with MODIS and VIIRS data, respectively. In the hazard maps produced, the frequency ratio models for both MODIS and VIIRS showed that Hedmark and Akershus counties had the largest areas with the highest susceptibility to wildfires, while the GIS-MCDA method resulted to Østfold and Vestfold counties.

Through this study, the best independent wildfire predictor criteria were selected from the highest to the lowest of importance; wildfire constraint and criteria maps were produced; wildfire hazard maps with high-resolution georeferenced data using three models were produced and compared; and the best, reliable, robust, and applicable model alternative was selected and recommended. Therefore, the aims and specific objectives of this study should be considered and fulfilled.