Swedish Forests in the Bioeconomy: Stories from the National Forest Program

Abstract

The concept of a bioeconomy has been placed central in formation of a Swedish National Forest Program (NFP). Drawing on Hajer’s conceptual framework of storylines, we present a discourse analysis of the working group reports underlying the establishment of the NFP strategy. We ask what stories about Swedish forests come to dominate the NFP process, how well they reflect the commitment of balancing economic, social and environmental interests, and what role the concept of a bioeconomy, has on the formation of these stories. Storylines of Swedish forests in the bioeconomy unite wider European discourses on the bioeconomy and climate change with historical Swedish forest policy discourses, revitalizing a discourse coalition comprising the state and the industry. Particular to the Swedish discourse is the strong emphasis on creating consensus around a single story of the forest-based bioeconomy.     

On the relevance of iron adsorption to container materials in small-volume experiments on iron marine chemistry: Fe-aided assessment of capacity, affinity and kinetics

Iron chemistry in seawater has been extensively studied in the laboratory, mostly in small-volume sample bottles. However, little has been reported about iron wall sorption in these bottles. In this paper, radio-iron ⁵⁵Fe was used to assess iron wall adsorption, both in terms of capacity, affinity and kinetics. Various bottle materials were tested. Iron sorption increased from polyethylene/polycarbonate to polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA)/high-density polyethylene/polytetrafluoroethylene to glass/quartz, reaching equilibrium in a 25–70 h period. PMMA was studied in more detail: ferric iron (Fe(III)) adsorbed on the walls of the bottles, whereas ferrous iron (Fe(II)) did not. Considering that in seawater the inorganic iron pool mostly consists of ferric iron, the wall will be a factor that needs to be considered in bottle experiments.The present data indicate that for PMMA with specific surface (S)-to-volume (V) ratio S/V, both iron capacity (42 ± 16 × 10^− 9 mol/m² or 1.7 × 10^− 9 mol/L recalculated for the S/V-specific PMMA bottles used) and affinity (log K_Fe'W = 11.0 ± 0.3 m²/mol or 12.4 ± 0.3 L/mol, recalculated for the S/V-specific PMMA bottles used) are of similar magnitude as the iron capacity and -affinity of the natural ligands in the presently used seawater and thus cannot be ignored.Calculation of rate constants for association and dissociation of both Fe'L (iron bound to natural occurring organic ligands) and Fe'W (iron adsorbed on the wall of vessels) suggests that the two iron complexes are also of rather similar kinetics, with rate constants for dissociation in the order of 10 ⁻⁴–10^− 5 L/s and rate constants for association in the order of 10⁸ L/(mol s). This makes that iron wall sorption should be seriously considered in small-volume experiments, both in assessments of shorter-term dynamics and in end-point observations in equilibrium conditions. Therefore, the present data strongly advocate making use of iron mass balances throughout in experiments in smaller volume set-ups on marine iron (bio) chemistry.     

Income distribution dynamics and cross-region convergence in Europe

This paper presents a continuous version of the model of distribution dynamics to analyse the transition dynamics and implied long-run behaviour of the EU-27 NUTS-2 regions over the period 1995–2003. It departs from previous research in two respects: first, by introducing kernel estimation and three-dimensional stacked conditional density plots as well as highest density regions plots for the visualisation of the transition function, based on Hyndman et al. (J Comput Graph Stat 5(4):315–336, 1996), and second, by combining Getis’ spatial filtering view with kernel estimation to explicitly account for the spatial dimension of the growth process. The results of the analysis indicate a very slow catching-up of the poorest regions with the richer ones, a process of shifting away of a small group of very rich regions, and highlight the importance of geography in understanding regional income distribution dynamics.

A cosmological model without singularity

Based on the assumption, that potential energy of matter in a mass filled space contributes a negative term to the energy tensor, solutions of the Einstein field equations are possible that exhibit no singularities, since the action of gravity changes sign when the density of potential energy exceeds the density of mass-energy. The solution, in which potential energy and mass-energy are in balance, is identical with Einstein's static universe. It is shown that all the observational facts, that are usually considered as confirming the big bang model, as the cosmological red shift, the abundances of light elements and the existence of the microwave background radiation, can be understood also in a static world model, when it is taken into account that due to the finite velocity of gravitational interaction all moving quanta lose momentum to the gravitational tensor potential. As in the static cosmological model the overwhelming fraction of the total mass exists in form of a hot intergalactic plasma. The model gives a simple explanation for the diffuse x-ray background and a solution to the missing mass problem without invoking any kind of new physics or of yet undiscovered particles. Also the causality problem and the curvature problem posed by the energy density of the quantum mechanical vacuum fields find a natural solution.     

New paleomagnetic results from the Aegean extensional province

Various Oligocene formations from NE Greece (ignimbrites from the Medousa area, rhyolites from Zagradenia, granodiorites from Elatia) show discordant paleomagnetic signatures, in each case indicating small cw (clockwise) rotation and also inclination flattening. Marls from Pithion were partly remagnetized in a present-day field. Samples that contain ancient magnetization components also indicate small cw rotation and inclination flattening. However, the magnetization of andesites from Peplos reflects a considerably larger rotation, likely owing to local tectonics. In the context of previous work in the area, these results are used to propose a subdivision of NE Greece into four structural zones of distinctive rotational behaviour (from east to west): sites in zone 1, east of the Kavala-Xanthi-Komotini fault (KXK), show various cw and ccw (counterclockwise) rotation angles owing to complex kinematics resulting from the interaction of the KXK and the north-Anatolian fault zone. However, zone 2, between the KXK and the Strymon valley, is structurally homogeneous ( 10° cw rotation). The paleomagnetic signature of the Vertiskos massif (zone 3) implies a larger (> 30°) cw rotation, whereas sites in the Vardar basin (zone 4) contain a paleomagnetic signature similar to that of zone 2. This suggests a motion of the Vertiscos massif, a meta-ophiolitic nappe, relative to underlying strata. Indeed, zones 2 and 4 may be parts of the same structural unit which underlies this nappe.     

Tracing nitrogen in volcanic and geothermal volatiles from the Nicaraguan volcanic front

We report new chemical and isotopic data from 26 volcanic and geothermal gases, vapor condensates, and thermal water samples, collected along the Nicaraguan volcanic front. The samples were analyzed for chemical abundances and stable isotope compositions, with a focus on nitrogen abundances and isotope ratios. These data are used to evaluate samples for volatile contributions from magma, air, air-saturated water, and the crust. Samples devoid of crustal contamination (based upon He isotope composition) but slightly contaminated by air or air-saturated water are corrected using N₂/Ar ratios in order to obtain primary magmatic values, composed of contributions from upper mantle and subducted hemipelagic sediment on the down-going plate. Using a mantle endmember with δ¹⁵N = −5‰ and N₂/He = 100 and a subducted sediment component with δ¹⁵N = +7‰ and N₂/He = 10,500, the average sediment contribution to Nicaraguan volcanic and geothermal gases was determined to be 71%. Most of the gases were dominated by sediment-derived nitrogen, but gas from Volcán Mombacho, the southernmost sampling location, had a mantle signature (46% from subducted sediment, or 54% from the mantle) and an affinity with mantle-dominated gases discharging from Costa Rica localities to the south. High CO₂/N_{2 exc.} ratios (N_{2 exc.} is the N₂ abundance corrected for contributions from air) in the south are similar to those in Costa Rica, and reflect the predominant mantle wedge input, whereas low ratios in the north indicate contribution by altered oceanic crust and/or preferential release of nitrogen over carbon from the subducting slab. Sediment-derived nitrogen fluxes at the Nicaraguan volcanic front, estimated by three methods, are 7.8 × 10⁸ mol N/a from ³He flux, 6.9 × 10⁸ mol/a from SO₂ flux, and 2.1 × 10⁸ and 1.3 × 10⁹ mol/a from CO₂ fluxes calculated from ³He and SO₂, respectively. These flux results are higher than previous estimates for Central America, reflecting the high sediment-derived volatile contribution and the high nitrogen content of geothermal and volcanic gases in Nicaragua. The fluxes are also similar to but higher than estimated hemipelagic nitrogen inputs at the trench, suggesting addition of N from altered oceanic basement is needed to satisfy these flux estimates. The similarity of the calculated input of N via the trench to our calculated outputs suggests that little or none of the subducted nitrogen is being recycled into the deeper mantle, and that it is, instead, returned to the surface via arc volcanism.