The paper compares two multi-criteria methods, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the best–worst method (BWM), in assessing criteria related to the quality of urban parks. The criteria assessed were accessibility, location, biodiversity preservation, park equipment, water elements, terrain configuration, cultural and historical value, and the presence of small architectural objects. Five decision-makers participated in the research, having expertise in urban greenery, urban forestry, environmental protection, landscape design, and cultural and historical heritage. The results of decision-makers’ evaluations were compared at individual and group levels after the application of three aggregation procedures: CRITIC, ENTROPY, and WGGM (weighted geometric mean method). Similarities in results, i.e., priorities of analyzed criteria after applying the two different decision support methods, indicated high consistency between experts during the cognitive evaluation processes. All applied aggregation schemes performed well and may be considered trustworthy in identifying the group solution. One of the conclusions is that either the AHP or the BWM can be efficiently used in evaluations of criteria for assessing the quality of urban parks if the members of a group are consistent, regardless of whether the consensus process is properly carried out before the decision-making process.

Forest management planning is a challenge due to the diverse criteria that need to be considered in the underlying decision-making process. This challenge becomes more complex in joint collaborative management areas (ZIF) because the decision now may involve numerous actors with diverse interests, preferences, and goals. In this research, we present an approach to identifying and quantifying the most relevant criteria that actors consider in a forest management planning process in a ZIF context, including quantifying the performance of seven alternative stand-level forest management models (FMM). Specifically, we developed a combined multicriteria decision analysis and group decision-making process by (a) building a cognitive map with the actors to identify the criteria and sub-criteria; (b) structuring the decision tree; (c) structuring a questionnaire to elicit the importance of criteria and sub-criteria in a pairwise comparison process, and to evaluate the FMM alternatives; and (d) applying a Delphi survey to gather actors’ preferences. We report results from an application to a case study area, ZIF of Vale do Sousa, in North-Western Portugal. Actors assigned the highest importance to the criteria income (56.8% of all actors) and risks (21.6% of all actors) and the lowest to cultural services (27.0% of all actors). Actors agreed on their preferences for the sub-criteria of income (diversification of income sources), risks (wildfires) and cultural services (leisure and recreation activities). However, there was a poor agreement among actors on the sub-criteria of the wood demand and biodiversity criteria. For 27.0% of all actors the FMM with the highest performance was the pedunculate oak and for 43.2% of all actors the eucalypt FMM was the least preferable alternative. The findings indicate that this approach can support ZIF managers in enhancing forest management planning by improving its utility for actors and facilitating its implementation.

Recycling organic waste is most important for preserving natural resources. The research objective was to quantify the effect of the application of vermicompost and vermicompost leachate on the yield and quality of strawberries and compare it with a standard fertilization program with mineral fertilizers during a 3-year production cycle. Five fertilization treatments were studied: control—without fertilizer (Ø); vermicompost (V); vermicompost + foliar application of vermicompost leachate (VL); vermicompost leachate through fertigation and foliar application (L); and mineral NPK fertilizers (NPK). The application of V positively affected strawberry yield only in the first year. In all three years of fruiting, the highest yield was measured for NPK treatment. In the first year, fertilization had no effect on fruit quality, while in the second and third years, the application of leachate led to a significantly higher concentration of total soluble solids, total anthocyanins, antioxidant activity of the fruit, and a lower concentration of total acid. Strawberries are grown for a two- or three-year production cycle, so the application of V and VL cannot maintain the yield level as was with the application of mineral NPK fertilizers. The quality of strawberry fruit, however, can be improved significantly.

Hypertension is a frequent comorbidity in patients with heart failure; therefore, blood pressure management for these patients is widely recommended in medical guidelines. Bee pollen and postbiotics that contain inactivated probiotic cells and their metabolites have emerged as promising bioactive compounds sources, and their potential role in mitigating cardiovascular (CV) risks is currently being unveiled. Therefore, this preliminary study aimed to investigate the impact of a lactic-fermented bee pollen postbiotic (FBPP) on the CV microbiota via in vitro tests. A new isolated Lactobacillus spp. strain from the digestive tract of bees was used to ferment pollen, obtaining liquid and dried atomized caps postbiotics. The modulating effects on a CV microbiota that corresponds to the pathophysiology of hypertension were investigated using microbiological methods and qPCR and correlated with the metabolic profile. Both liquid and dried FBPPs increased the number of the beneficial Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. bacteria by up to 2 log/mL, while the opportunistic pathogen E. coli, which contributes to CV pathogenesis, decreased by 3 log/mL. The short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile revealed a significant increase in lactic (6.386 ± 0.106 g/L) and acetic (4.284 ± 0.017 g/L) acids, both with known antihypertensive effects, and the presence of isovaleric acid, which promotes a healthy gut microbiota. Understanding the impact of the FBPP on gut microbiota could lead to innovative strategies for promoting heart health and preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Summary: Biodiversity refers to genetic, species and ecosystems varieties within an area. Two main characteristics that should be investigated when considering biodiversity are richness and evenness. Richness is related to the number of different species in the analyzed area, while evenness corresponds to the homogeneity of the abundance of species. For quantifying these features, many indices have been defined, and this paper offers an overview of the most commonly used biodiversity indices, such as Shannon, Simpson, Margalef and Berger-Parker. The paper explains the process of calculating these indices on the case study example of four forest communities and discusses the results obtained. The Jaccard index analysis is used to discover a similarity between the analyzed forest communities. Results from this part of the research are visualized by creating appropriate dendrograms for making the interpretation easier. Calculating and analyzing these indices is useful not only for forest ecosystems, but for the other types of ecosystems as well, including agro-ecosystems. Biodiversity indices can be obtained in thespecialized software, for instance in EstimateS (Statistical Estimation of Species Richness and Shared Species from Samples), or by programming in the statistical package R, as it was done in this research.