1. Forest subsidy distribution in five European countriesElena Haeler, Andreas Bolte, Rafael Buchacher, Harri Hänninen, R. Jandl, Artti Juutinen, Katharina Kuhlmey, Mikko Kurttila, Gun Lidestav, Raisa Mäkipää, Lydia Rosenkranz, Matevž Triplat, Urša Vilhar, Kerstin Westin, Silvio Schueler, 2023, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: Forest subsidies are widely used to achieve policy objectives aimed at maintaining and supporting the provision of the various ecosystem services provided by forests. In the European Union, an important instrument is the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but countries also have national subsidy systems. In both cases, individual countries determine which objectives they want to achieve with the subsidy schemes and which measures are supported. In this comparative study, we investigate which forest-related measures are subsidized across Europe and which forest owners, representing a very heterogeneous group, are involved in the activities of the subsidy systems. We collected data on subsidies paid out for forest-related measures from Austria, Finland, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden from the EAFRD funding period 2014–2020 for a comparison of the funded activities. Further, we analysed how subsidies were distributed among private forest owners with forest holdings of different sizes by performing G-tests to compare the observed with the expected subsidies received by forest owners in the different size categories. The results show that through the flexibility given by the CAP for countries to adjust their subsidy programmes to the specific national needs, EAFRD funds and equivalent national subsidies are indeed used for a wide range of activities instead of only a few following one common European goal. Reflecting the different needs and various forest functions, the subsidized activities range from the more ecology-oriented “investment to increase resistance and the ecological value of forests” to the more management-oriented “purchase of new machinery and new equipment for forestry operations”. In all five countries, small-scale forest owners with holdings smaller than 200 ha are the largest owner group and manage a large share of the forest area in private hands (from 47% in Austria to 97% in Slovenia). However, especially owners of the smallest holdings (< 20 ha) rarely use the funding scheme of the EAFRD framework and thus receive a disproportionately low share of subsidies. There might be several reasons for this. Small-scale forest owners are generally less involved regarding policy issues (including subsidy schemes) than owners of larger forest holdings and may not be aware of all funding opportunities. In addition, the considerable effort to apply, including project preparation, administration and documentation may be perceived as a barrier. It became clear that the current subsidy systems of the countries focus on different forest policy objectives. Our study further revealed that the documentation of subsidy distribution is partly unclear and inconsistent across countries hampering European comparisons. However, understanding current subsidy distribution is urgently needed for increasing the effectiveness of subsidy systems to achieve European policy goals of vital multifunctional forests.
Ključne besede: European agricultural fund for rural development, EAFRD, policy, incentives, multifunctional forests, small-scale forest owners, bioeconomy
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 05.01.2023; Ogledov: 498; Prenosov: 316
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2. Common preferences of European small-scale forest owners towards contract-based managementArtti Juutinen, Elena Haeler, R. Jandl, Katharina Kuhlmey, Mikko Kurttila, Raisa Mäkipää, Tähti Pohjanmies, Lydia Rosenkranz, Mitja Skudnik, Matevž Triplat, Anne Tolvanen, Urša Vilhar, Kerstin Westin, Silvio Schueler, 2022, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: The societal demands on forest management are becoming increasingly diverse, which will be reflected in decisions made by forest owners. We examined the willingness of private forest owners in Austria, Finland, Germany, Slovenia, and Sweden to participate in a contract-based payment scheme in which they were asked to apply a specific management strategy to promote either timber production or environmental goals. The preferences for the contract-based management and associated consequences in terms of profitability, biodiversity, carbon stock, and climate change-induced damages were addressed within a choice experiment. A majority of respondents across all countries agreed to participate in a payment scheme to promote environmental goals, while schemes purely targeted to increase wood production were found less attractive. Forest owners liked improvements in profitability and environmental attributes and disliked deterioration of these attributes. Differences among countries were found in the level of expected contract payments, and commonalities were found with respect to preferences towards environmental goals, including biodiversity and carbon stocks. Hence, new policies to target European forest subsidy to promote the provision of environmental goals would likely be acceptable.
Ključne besede: choice experiment, ecosystem services, forest policy, incentives, private forest owners
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 29.09.2022; Ogledov: 503; Prenosov: 270
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3. Quantification of the link between timed up-and-go test subtasks and contractile muscle propertiesAndreas Ziegl, Dieter Hayn, Peter Kastner, Ester Fabiani, Boštjan Šimunič, Kerstin Löffler, Lisa Weidinger, Bianca Brix, Nandu Goswami, Günter Schreier, 2021, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: Frailty and falls are a major public health problem in older adults. Muscle weakness of the lower and upper extremities are risk factors for any, as well as recurrent falls including injuries and fractures. While the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test is often used to identify frail members and fallers, tensiomyography (TMG) can be used as a non-invasive tool to assess the function of skeletal muscles. In a clinical study, we evaluated the correlation between the TMG parameters of the skeletal muscle contraction of 23 elderly participants (22 f, age 86.74 % 7.88) and distance-based TUG test subtask times. TUG tests were recorded with an ultrasonic-based device. The sit-up and walking phases were significantly correlated to the contraction and delay time of the muscle vastus medialis (% = 0.55%0.80, p < 0.01). In addition, the delay time of the muscles vastus medialis (% = 0.45, p = 0.03) and gastrocnemius medialis (% = %0.44, p = 0.04) correlated to the sit-down phase. The maximal radial displacements of the biceps femoris showed significant correlations with the walk-forward times (% = %0.47, p = 0.021) and back (% = %0.43, p = 0.04). The association of TUG subtasks to muscle contractile parameters, therefore, could be utilized as a measure to improve the monitoring of elderly people%s physical ability in general and during rehabilitation after a fall in particular. TUG test subtask measurements may be used as a proxy to monitor muscle properties in rehabilitation after long hospital stays and injuries or for fall prevention.
Ključne besede: timed up-and-go test, tensiomyography, biomedical engineering, biomedical sensors, health
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 18.10.2021; Ogledov: 789; Prenosov: 701
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