Climate warming is shifting biological communities, with warmth-demanding species being favoured at the expense of cold-adapted species in a process referred to as thermophilization1-4. Because biodiversity responses often lag behind climate warming, climatic debts are accumulating in many ecosystems across the world5-7. Although we might expect that thermophilization and climatic debts will vary among habitats, standardized quantification across ecosystems is lacking. Here we analysed multidecadal data from 6,067 resurveyed vegetation plots over 12-78 years in forests, grasslands and on alpine summits across Europe. We demonstrate that forest understory and grassland plant communities experienced positive thermophilization, although not significantly different from zero. By contrast, alpine summit vegetation showed much stronger (up to five times) and significant thermophilization. Thermophilization was driven largely by increases in warmth-demanding species in grasslands, by declines in cold-adapted species on alpine summits and by both processes in forests. Significant climatic debts have accumulated in forests and alpine summits, but less so in grasslands, with debts positively correlated with macroclimate temperature changes. Our findings uncover divergent thermophilization trajectories and increasing climatic debts across ecosystems. Moreover, we highlight the mechanisms that enable some communities to track climate change more closely than others and provide a basis for projecting future shifts in plant communities under accelerating climate warming.

Human appropriation of land reduces the quality and continuity of remaining natural habitat, affecting species fecundity, survival, and movements, which must be accounted for in impact assessments. Effective decision-making for sustainable land-use and resource extraction requires methods that represent the ecological impacts of human activities on surrounding landscapes. We propose a method that draws on the concept of landscape perforation, treats the land use in focus as the non-habitat, and quantifies adjacent human pressures by adapting the Human Footprint Index. The method aligns with the contention that disturbances in otherwise intact landscapes result in disproportionate ecological effects. We used a conservative intersection (algebraic product t-norm from fuzzy logic) to model the relationship between pressures that modify and those that do not. Inspired by landscape ecology's relative importance of spatial process to land transformation, we assumed a negatively sloped logistic function for pressures that modify the land cover, and a negative linear relationship for pressures that do not modify land cover. The index was applied to 102,646 quarries and mines, sourced from OpenStreetMap, quantifying their perforation potential. Developed in the context of life cycle assessment to quantify potential impacts of supply chains, a case study of steel illustrates its application from a product perspective. The method supports a proactive approach by equipping decision-makers with one more layer of information regarding “what is around” a land use. Globally applicable, it emphasizes transdisciplinary solutions for sustainable production, environmental stress assessment, and strategic resource planning with a spatially explicit component.

In this paper we derive three design principles for the development of a practice-oriented methodology aimed at contributing to structuring complex and unstructured problems related to sustainability transitions in a multi-actor setting: (i) assuring self-reference of stakeholders and recognizing conditions for effective control as building blocks of the methodology, (ii) gradual alignment and development of the building blocks and (iii) recognizing and including both human and non-human elements. As a theoretical foundation for our work, we combine the key strengths and features of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), Cybernetics and Socio-Ecological Systems (SES). We derive the principles from theoretically reflecting on three consecutive empirical research projects in Norway through which an initial methodology gradually was refined. The projects were different in terms of the sustainability challenge addressed, however, they shared the same fundamental problem characteristics in terms of complexity and unstructuredness.We argue that locally developed methodologies based on the principles derived can be helpful when dealing with such challenges.

Microplastics are a significant environmental issue, and large amounts are annually lost to the environment. In April 2023, the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Committee voted to prohibit microplastics intentionally added to products within the European Union (EU). This includes microplastics added to artificial turfs used for football (soccer). The current dynamics of microplastics lost from artificial turfs to the environment are not yet fully understood. This paper investigates the loss of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) granules from annually-operated artificial turfs used for soccer in Norway. A material flow model was developed to provide system understanding, find key parameters, and quantify flows and stocks. Estimation of flow uncertainties was performed by Monte Carlo simulation, and data reconciliation provided improved estimates for the balanced system. Finally, for future regulation, scenarios were created to see how the loss of SBR granules changes under different conditions. The results reveal a current annual loss of 1187 tons of SBR granules (900 kg/year per field), a number that increases every year, due to the maintenance and design of the artificial turfs. Scenarios indicate that implementing measures is crucial to preventing the loss of SBR granules to the environment. The model developed may be easily modified to represent the release of microplastics from artificial turfs in other geographical areas, climatic zones, or maintenance practices.

QuestionsAnalysing how multiple facets of biodiversity vary across space and time can help to predict the vulnerability of mountaintop floras to future environmental changes. Here we addressed the following questions: (a) Are elevational patterns of mountaintop plant diversity consistent across taxonomy, function and phylogeny? (b) How have the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of mountaintop plant communities changed over the past two decades? (c) Is the magnitude of these temporal trends dependent on elevation?LocationDovrefjell, central Norway.MethodsThe floristic composition of four mountaintops, spread across an elevational gradient from the tree line to the uppermost margins of vascular plant life, was surveyed every 7 years between 2001 and 2022. Six metrics of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic richness and differentiation were calculated for each mountaintop and survey. Using these data, we assessed how richness and differentiation metrics varied over space (across the elevational gradient) and over time (between surveys).ResultsAll diversity metrics decreased towards higher elevations, except phylogenetic differentiation which increased significantly by 7% per 100 m elevational gain. Taxonomic richness remained virtually stable between 2001 and 2022, whereas phylogenetic richness increased by 7.5% per decade. Functional richness also increased, but mainly on the lowest mountaintop, by 17% per decade. No significant temporal trends in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic differentiation were detected.ConclusionsOur findings underpin rearrangements in the functional and phylogenetic structure of mountain plant communities over the past two decades that cannot be predicted from trends in taxonomic richness alone. This highlights the necessity to look beyond species richness and consider multiple facets of biodiversity when studying environmental change impacts on mountain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In this study, we analysed how multiple facets of mountaintop plant diversity changed over the past two decades in central Norway. Especially noteworthy was that functional and phylogenetic richness of the summit flora increased, whereas taxonomic richness remained stable. Hence, we encourage researchers to look beyond species richness when studying the impacts of environmental change on mountain biodiversity.image

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how to improve the recognition of biodiversity knowledge for engineering students, using a case study in the context of Norway. Design/methodology/approach A case study based on an elective course for engineering students was carried out. The course is related to sustainability and also explicitly focuses on biodiversity topics and causality for loss of biodiversity. Data was collected through questionnaires to students to understand their motivations and perceptions about the course, and through interviews with study programme coordinators, to understand their perspectives regarding sustainability and biodiversity education for engineering programmes. Findings Three main conclusions are established: the best approach is to incorporate biodiversity content into existing courses, rather than having a specific course dedicated to biodiversity; more knowledge on biodiversity is seemingly increasing the understanding of its importance, thus, students should be exposed to these topics early in their studies; and some strategies to improve the current course are related to being more specific on how to deal with biodiversity in different contexts (such as working life and different industries), offering a higher number of examples, and linking biodiversity with other environmental impacts. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address the recognition of biodiversity knowledge in engineering programmes at a Norwegian university. The case study provides valuable insights that can be used to improve the integration of biodiversity knowledge into engineering programmes. Moreover, the methods used provide innovative and more reliable tools to better address the perceptions of stakeholders.

AbstractThis case focuses on the use of the CapSEM Model by the Norwegian furniture industry, beginning with efforts that raised sustainability awareness through a series of case studies over a period of more than 10 years. It started with a Cleaner Production (CP) programme for a group of furniture companies in a small community. The goal for another case study running in parallel with the CP-project, was to define a common set of Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) for reporting purposes for both the companies and the municipality to reduce waste and improve its treatment according to circular principles. While CP is at Level 1, EPIs and reporting is on level 3 and 4 in the CapSEM Model. In the furniture sector, the CP-programme led to capacity building by integrating Level 2 methods such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into their daily work processes. LCA was used for product improvements based on hot spots detected through the analyses, and also to generate Environmental Performance Declarations (EPDs) for products. The implementation of these new procedures was integrated into the organisation’s strategic work through certified Environmental Management System (EMS). In addition to a demonstration of a gradual shift from Levels 1, 2 and 3, the case also describes the benefits of building cooperative communities (Level 4) that include sectoral, regional, and academic participants. The Level 4 activities were originally initiated by a Norwegian Local Agenda 21 programme.

AbstractThe construction sector and built environment have the potential to impact on a variety of systemic dimensions, ranging from specific processes in the production of construction materials to pan-national regulations affecting regional areas and cities. This case study uses the CapSEM Model in order to identify the potential enabling and constraining impact of different methods, schemes and regulations for reducing environmental impact in the construction sector. The use of a systemic perspective highlights that all methodologies are working recursively in actor-networks, thereby affecting society and the market differently, depending on the systemic level.

AbstractThis chapter gives an overview of the history of the development of environmental management systems (EMS) and the purpose of an EMS. It expands on the description of the different steps of an EMS under the model Plan-Do-Check-Act and clarifies the use of concepts within EMS. Companies are motivated by external pressure from stakeholders, national and international authorities, customers demanding greener products etc., as well as the ability to attract new employees and avoid negative publicity. Standards belonging to the ISO 14000-family for environmental management include both product-related standards and audit and evaluation standards.

Abstract Questions Accounting for multiple facets of biodiversity can help to shed light on community assembly of mountaintop flora across space and time, but this approach has rarely been applied. Here we addressed the following questions: (a) Is the filtering effect of elevation on taxonomic diversity of mountaintop plant communities also mirrored in their functional and phylogenetic structure? (b) Can environmental changes over time interact with, and thus change, elevational patterns in mountaintop plant diversity? Location Dovrefjell, central Norway Methods The floristic composition of four mountaintops, spread across an elevational gradient from tree line to the uppermost margins of vascular plant life, was surveyed every seven years between 2001–2022. Six metrics of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic richness and diversity were calculated for each mountaintop and survey. With these data, we assessed how richness and diversity metrics varied over space (across the elevational gradient) and over time (between surveys). Results All richness and diversity metrics decreased towards higher elevations, except phylogenetic diversity which showed a marked increase with elevation. Taxonomic richness did not change significantly over time, while functional and phylogenetic richness increased between 2001–2022. No significant temporal trend in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity was detected. Conclusions Different metrics of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity can show divergent spatial and temporal trends. Future environmental changes may give rise to functionally or phylogenetically novel communities that cannot be predicted from trends in species richness alone. We therefore encourage researchers to look beyond species richness and consider multiple facets of biodiversity when analysing the impact of environmental change on mountaintop flora.

Human activities put pressure on the natural environmental and the Life Cycle Assessment methodology (LCA) is becoming a more prevalent tool to assess the relevant environmental impacts from products and processes on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems. The Global Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method (GLAM) project of the Life Cycle Initiative hosted by the UN Environment Programme aims at making recommendations for new impact assessment models (such as for land use, water consumption and eutrophication) and improving the consistency and comparability across impact categories. An important aspect to ensure the comparability of these categories across geographic regions is to identify and quantify the scale of impacts, i.e., distinguish if an impact to an area results in local species losses or global species extinctions. This distinction is of high relevance because a species lost at a local level may still exist in other regions of the world and could potentially reestablish in that area, whereas global extinctions are irreversible. A consistent approach to scale impacts from local to global scales is currently not implemented within the LCIA framework, but is crucial to appropriately consider potential biodiversity impacts across impact categories. Here we present an updated approach for calculating a scaling factor, called the Global Extinction Probability (GEP), and calculate it for more than 98 000 species in 20 species groups across marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. We also provide the GEPs for different spatial scales, such as grid cells, ecoregions or watersheds and country averages. We found that GEP varies over orders of magnitude across the world, emphasizing the relevance of considering the spatial dimension of such extinction probabilities. We recommend quantifying global extinctions based on local species loss by multiplying local species loss within a certain spatial unit with the GEP corresponding to the same spatial unit. GEPs harmonize the quantification of biodiversity impacts across impact categories, improving information to support environmental decision-making.

This is the dataset presented in the manuscript titled "Global extinction probabilities of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species groups". The dataset gives the code (R code), as well as the resulting raster files for the suggested Global extinction probabilities for different taxonomic groups, for use in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). We supply the results on 5arc minute resolution, aggregated for relevant spatial scales (e.g. terrestrial ecoregions or watersheds), as well as at country scale. For application in LCIA, we recommend applying GEPs to CFs with corresponding species groups and spatial scales. If the species group of the CFs do not match any of the provided GEPs, see (1); if the spatial scale of the CFs do not match any of the provided GEPs, see (2). If the species groups of the CFs do not match any of the provided sets of GEPs, we recommend recalculating GEPs for corresponding species groups and spatial scales based on the provided R scripts (e.g., see the R script for the freshwater heterotroph GEPs). Alternatively, GEPs can be aggregated to species group combinations by calculating species number-weighted GEP averages of the existing GEPs (see Table 4 in the article for species numbers per species group). In case of the latter approach, we recommend calculate GEP averages for all regions across the world (and not just those included in the analysis) and normalise the region-level average GEPs by the sum of the region-level average GEPs for consistency with the GEP concept. In addition to species group aggregation, GEPs can be aggregated to different spatial scales by calculating the sum of the cell-level GEPs contained per region (e.g., see R scripts).

Vi vet lite om hvordan arbeidslivet ser ut om 30 år. Likevel er det en del utviklingstrekk som har gjort seg gjeldende de senere årene og som det kan være grunn til å tro vil forsterke seg i årene framover. Overordnet handler dette blant annet om en økende globalisering, automatisering og autonome systemer og nye måter å organisere arbeid og verdikjeder på. Mer konkret ser vi raskere og større omstillingsprosesser, løsere arbeidsmarkedstilknytninger blant arbeidstakere og økende tjenesteproduksjon. Gjennom bidrag fra en rekke forskere og kommentarer fra partene i arbeidslivet ser vi i denne boken på hvilke konsekvenser slike utviklingstrekk kan få for norsk arbeidsliv, hvordan vi best kan forberede oss på endringer som kommer, og hvilke nye muligheter som kan oppstå. Hvilke nye krav og utfordringer ser vi for arbeidstakere og bedrifter, og hvordan kan vi sikre gode arbeidsbetingelser og videre konkurransekraft framover?

Species turnover is ubiquitous. However, it remains unknown whether certain types of species are consistently gained or lost across different habitats. Here, we analysed the trajectories of 1827 plant species over time intervals of up to 78 years at 141 sites across mountain summits, forests, and lowland grasslands in Europe. We found, albeit with relatively small effect sizes, displacements of smaller- by larger-ranged species across habitats. Communities shifted in parallel towards more nutrient-demanding species, with species from nutrient-rich habitats having larger ranges. Because these species are typically strong competitors, declines of smaller-ranged species could reflect not only abiotic drivers of global change, but also biotic pressure from increased competition. The ubiquitous component of turnover based on species range size we found here may partially reconcile findings of no net loss in local diversity with global species loss, and link community-scale turnover to macroecological processes such as biotic homogenisation.

While climatic research about treeline has a long history, the climatic conditions corresponding to the upper limit of closed alpine grasslands remain poorly understood. Here, we propose a climatic definition for this limit, the ‘grassline’, in analogy to the treeline, which is based on the growing season length and the soil temperature. Eighty-seven mountain summits across ten European mountain ranges, covering three biomes (boreal, temperate, Mediterranean), were inventoried as part of the GLORIA project. Vascular plant cover was estimated visually in 326 plots of 1 × 1 m. Soil temperatures were measured in situ for 2–7 years, from which the length of the growing season and mean temperature were derived. The climatic conditions corresponding to 40% plant cover were defined as the thresholds for alpine grassland. Closed vegetation was present in locations with a mean growing season soil temperature warmer than 4.9 °C, or a minimal growing season length of 85 days, with the growing season defined as encompassing days with daily mean ≥ 1 °C. Hence, the upper limit of closed grasslands was associated with a mean soil temperature close to that previously observed at the treeline, and in accordance with physiological thresholds to growth in vascular plants. In contrast to trees, whose canopy temperature is coupled with air temperature, small-stature alpine plants benefit from the soil warmed by solar radiation and consequently, they can grow at higher elevations. Since substrate stability is necessary for grasslands to occur at their climatic limit, the grassline rarely appears as a distinct linear feature.

There is generally a mismatch in the land use classification of life cycle inventory (LCI) databases and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. This mismatch can hinder the proper assessment of land use impacts on biodiversity. To facilitate such assessments, we matched the land use classes of two global LCIA methods to five widely used LCI databases, one LCI nomenclature, and one multi-regional input–output database. In unclear cases, we assumed the worst case. Assumptions were especially necessary for unspecified land use intensity classes. We conclude with recommendations for LCI database and LCIA method developers.

Even though the transition to a circular economy delivers a credible promise of economic and environmental benefits for firms, the transition towards circularity has been limited and insufficient to counteract the overconsumption of resources. Several studies suggest that circular innovations can deliver unprecedented economic benefits, new jobs and business models while significantly contribute to solving global resource challenges. Given the potential benefits, the limited adoption of circular innovations demands an explanation. We argue that one reason is that the adoption of circular innovations requires coordinated and simultaneous adoption from multiple actors to succeed. As one actor’s decision to adopt relies on other actors’ actions, circular innovations and closing material loops rarely happens unless they are orchestrated. Using a game theory approach, we illustrate the simultaneous adoption problem using a case from fish farming industry and discuss governmental interference to spur the adoption of circular practices.

The construction sector is progressively becoming more circular by reducing waste, re-using building materials and adopting regenerative solutions for energy production and biodiversity protection. The implications of circularity on construction activities are complex and require the careful evaluation of impacts to select the appropriate path forward. Evaluations of circular solutions and their environmental effectiveness are often performed based on various types of life cycle-based impact assessments. This paper uses systemic thinking to map and evaluate different impact assessment methodologies and their implications for a shift to more circular solutions. The following systemic levels are used to group the methodologies: product (material life cycle declarations and building assessments), organisation (certification and management schemes) and system (policies, standards and regulations). The results confirm that circular economy is integrated at all levels. However, development and structure are not coordinated or governed unidirectionally, but rather occur simultaneously at different levels. This recursive structure is positive if the methods are applied in the correct context, thus providing both autonomy and cohesion in decision making. Methods at lower systemic levels may then improve production processes and stimulate the market to create circular and innovative building solutions, whereas methods at higher systemic levels can be used, for example, by real estate builders, trade organisations and governments to create incentives for circular development and innovation in a broader perspective. Use of the performance methods correctly within an actor network is therefore crucial for successful and effective implementation of circular economy in the construction sector.

Aims: Understanding fine- grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine- grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m 2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi- natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open- access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/datab ases/Grass landD ivers ityEx plorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high- quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation- plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot