Abortion Rights along the Irish-English Border and the Liminality of Women’s Experiences

My research in European abortion laws and restrictions focuses on the migration of thousands of Irish women who travel to England each year to access safe and legal abortion services. This article is an investigation of the Irish-English border as a symbol for reproductive freedom and the new value systems in which Irish women participate when they cross its boundary. I provide a brief history of abortion law in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and emphasize a specific case in which border crossing was severely restricted for a young rape victim desiring an abortion. Additionally, my research examines women’s experiences of liminality as they cross the Irish-English border and the complex, conflicting emotions that they may feel as they travel abroad. In particular, I address a recent pro-choice initiative by a Dutch organization called Women on Waves, which sent a ship converted into a reproductive clinic to Dublin to provide services to Irish women. The ship, which has since sailed to Poland and Portugal to offer further assistance to women in countries with bans on abortion, complicates the notion of crossing concrete national lines as it moves throughout international waters.     

Two approaches towards the relationship between plant species diversity and ecosystem functioning

Abstract. The main question to be dealt with in the papers published in this Special Feature is to which extent plant species richness can be applied as a parameter in restoration projects to qualify the ecosystem's state. Before considering this problem, it should be recognized that this approach illuminates only one side of the coin; the other side is touched by the opposite question, asking which plant species are essential components of an ecosystem. These two approaches towards the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning are not mutually exclusive, but should not be confused either. In view of ecosystem functioning certain species may be considered redundant, while in view of evolutionary processes certain ecosystem processes may be considered redundant. Where do the two approaches meet and when should they be separated? This paper touches upon this question by referring to the dual hierarchy of ecological systems.     

Comparison of volumetric and stress-weighted water footprint of grain products in China

The water footprint (WF) concept links physical and virtual forms of water, which can be used for research on the impact on water resources imposed by human consumption or production activities. Debates remain on the calculation methods due to WF being applied for different research purposes, and the large amounts of data required for the calculation being hard to obtain. This paper calculated and compared two WFs called volumetric WF (the volumes of blue and green water are combined with the same weight) and stress-weighted WF (the volumes of blue and green water are combined with different weights) based on water use data to research crop water productivity of grain crops and its impact on water resources in each region of China. Results for volumetric WF and stress-weighted WF of grain products of each region in China differed greatly. In 2010, the average volumetric WF was 1.25 m³/kg with the blue component 0.53 m³/kg, and the average stress-weighted WF was 0.51 m³/kg. In addition, there were significant differences of both kinds of WFs among regions in China. The results showed that volumetric WF could be used as a comprehensive indicator for evaluating crop water productivity, specified in space and time by source (green and blue WFs). Stress-weighted WF could offer a meaningful way of making quantitative comparisons between products, production systems and services in terms of their potential to contribute to water scarcity. The spatial distribution of these two WFs can help decision making to develop water-saving measures, relieve water stress and restore ecosystems for each region in China.     

九寨沟国家级自然保护区地震前后生态系统服务价值评估

九寨沟县为“中国旅游强县”,区域社会经济发展与九寨沟自然保护区生态系统服务价值联系紧密。2017年，九寨沟保护区发生7.0级地震，当地生态环境和社会经济发展遭受极大创伤。基于此，分别以2016、2018年为地震前后基准年，从供给服务、调节与维持服务、文化服务3个方面选取7项指标，构建九寨沟自然保护区生态系统服务价值评价体系，探明地震前后生态系统服务价值变化。研究表明：(1)地震前后九寨沟保护区生态系统服务总价值分别为1.96×10¹⁰元/a、1.52×10¹⁰元/a,单位面积价值量达3.05×10~5元hm^-2 a^-1、2.36×10~5元hm^-2 a^-1,总降幅达22.68%。(2)地震前后三类服务价值均有所下降但价值占比序列未改变，依次为供给服务、调节与维护服务和文化服务，降幅分别为24.61%、12.25%和86.02%。(3)地震前，7项服务指标按其经济价值大小排序依次为：木材供给>水源涵养>保育土壤>森林游憩>固碳释氧&g...     

‘Ecosystem service opportunities’: A practice-oriented framework for identifying economic instruments to enhance biodiversity and human livelihoods

Economic instruments that promise “win-win” solutions for both biodiversity conservation and human livelihoods have become increasingly popular over recent years. There however remains a gap in terms of practical and policy-relevant guidance about appropriate approaches that take into account the local needs and the specific cultural, legal, and ecological context in which such instruments are being developed and applied. This paper presents a step-by-step framework that helps conservation and development planners and practitioners to identify economic instruments that can promote pro-conservation behaviour in a specific setting. The concept of ‘ecosystem service opportunities’ builds on, and brings together, general economic principles and an ecosystem services perspective. The framework was designed to also address a number of concerns regarding economic approaches in order to help practitioners recognise the potentials and limits of economic approaches to nature conservation. The framework is illustrated by its application within the realm of a biodiversity conservation project in Thailand.     

Environmental factors driving the effectiveness of European agri‐environmental measures in mitigating pollinator loss – a meta‐analysis

In Europe, agri‐environmental schemes (AES) have been introduced in response to concerns about farmland biodiversity declines. Yet, as AES have delivered variable results, a better understanding of what determines their success or failure is urgently needed. Focusing on pollinating insects, we quantitatively reviewed how environmental factors affect the effectiveness of AES. Our results suggest that the ecological contrast in floral resources created by schemes drives the response of pollinators to AES but that this response is moderated by landscape context and farmland type, with more positive responses in croplands (vs. grasslands) located in simple (vs. cleared or complex) landscapes. These findings inform us how to promote pollinators and associated pollination services in species‐poor landscapes. They do not, however, present viable strategies to mitigate loss of threatened or endangered species. This indicates that the objectives and design of AES should distinguish more clearly between biodiversity conservation and delivery of ecosystem services.