Context: Maintaining functional green infrastructures (GIs) require evidence-based knowledge about historic and current states and trends of representative land cover types. Objectives: We address: (1) the long-term loss and transformation of potential natural forest vegetation; (2) the effects of site productivity on permanent forest loss and emergence of traditional cultural landscapes; (3) the current management intensity; and (4) the social-ecological contexts conducive to GI maintenance . Methods: We selected 16 case study regions, each with a local hotspot landscape, ranging from intact forest landscapes, via contiguous and fragmented forest covers, to severe forest loss. Quantitative open access data were used to estimate (i) the historic change and (ii) transformation of land covers, and (iii) compare the forest canopy loss from 2000 to 2018. Qualitative narratives about each hotspot landscape were analysed for similarities (iv). Results: While the potential natural forest vegetation cover in the 16 case study regions had a mean of 86%, historically it has been reduced to 34%. Higher site productivity coincided with transformation to non-forest land covers. The mean annual forest canopy loss for 2000–2018 ranged from 0.01 to 1.08%. The 16 case studies represented five distinct social-ecological contexts (1) radical transformation of landscapes, (2) abuse of protected area concepts, (3) ancient cultural landscapes (4) multi-functional forests, and (5) intensive even-aged forest management, of which 1 and 4 was most common. Conclusions: GIs encompass both forest naturalness and traditional cultural landscapes. Our review of Pan-European regions and landscapes revealed similarities in seemingly different contexts, which can support knowledge production and learning about how to sustain GIs.

Angelstam, P., M. Fedoriak, F. Cruz, J. Muñoz-Rojas, T. Yamelynets, M. Manton, C.-L. Washbourne, D. Dobrynin, Z. Izakovičova, N. Jansson, B. Jaroszewicz, R. Kanka, M. Kavtarishvili, L. Kopperoinen, M. Lazdinis, M. J. Metzger, D. Özüt, D. Pavloska Gjorgjieska, F. J. Sijtsma, N. Stryamets, A. Tolunay, T. Turkoglu, B. Van der Moolen, A. Zagidullina, and A. Zhuk. 2021. Meeting places and social capital supporting rural landscape stewardship: A Pan-European horizon scanning. Ecology and Society 26(1):11. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12110-260111

The perspectives and attitudes of the companies of the forest products industry operating in the fields of solid wood products, pulp, paper and paperboard products, engineered wood products and furniture manufacturing in Turkey on the chain of custody certification system and certified forest products were investigated. Within this scope, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the managers or owners of 177 companies. The data were obtained by using the questionnaire technique. The research methods included descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and the Duncan test. As a result, it was detected that there are differences in the perspectives and attitudes towards the chain of custody certification system of the companies operating in the four main branches of the forest products industry in Turkey. It was revealed by this survey that chain of custody (CoC) certification was known mostly by the companies operating in pulp, paper and paperboard companies. The certification most demanded is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) CoC certification, with a share of 15%; and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) CoC is demanded by 2% of companies.

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of natural weathering on color stability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestrisL.) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalisL.) impregnated with some chemicals [tanalith-E (TN-E), adolit-KD5 (AD-KD5), and chromated copper arsenate (CCA)] and then varnished [synthetic varnish (SV) and polyurethane varnish (PV)]. While applying varnish increased lightness, impregnation decreased lightness of the wood specimens before natural weathering. Natural weathering caused greenish, bluish, and dark color tones of the wood surface. Total color change was increased with increasing exposure times in natural weathering. Untreated (control) wood specimens exhibited higher color changes than the other wood specimens in all the stages of natural weathering. The total color changes of untreated Oriental beech specimens were less than untreated Scots pine specimens. The color stability of impregnated and varnished wood specimens gave better results than untreated and solely varnished wood specimens after natural weathering. The best color stability was obtained from both Oriental beech and Scots pine wood impregnated with TN-E before PV coating.

Mobilya endüstrisinde çalışanların el emeği ve performansları ürünlerin kalitesinin oluşmasında büyük öneme sahiptir. Çalışanlardan yüksek performans elde edebilmesi için onların iş doyumunun sağlanması gerekmektedir. Bu araştırmada örgütler için son derece önemli bir yönetsel durum olan iş doyumu veya doyumsuzluğunun işgörenlerin performansı üzerindeki etkisinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışmada, birçok araştırmada kullanılan geçerliliği test edilmiş “ Minnesota İş Tatmin Ölçeği” ve “İşgören Performans Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Bu doğrultuda, mobilya sektöründe çalışan 362 kişiye anket uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen verilere SPSS programında Bağımsız Örneklem t-Testi ve Tek Yönlü Varyans Analizi (ANOVA) testi, Korelasyon ve Regresyon Analizleri uygulanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda çalışanların iş doyumu ve doyumsuzluğu ile performansları arasında kuvvetli bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Cinsiyet, yaş, eğitim durumu ve kıdem gibi bazı demografik özelliklere göre iş doyumu ve iş performanslarında anlamlı farklılıklar bulunurken, medeni duruma göre önemli bir fark bulunamamıştır.

Mediterranean pastoral systems are providers of a wide array of Nature’s Contribution to People (NCP). They are ‘complex systems’ characterized by limited resources and socio-economic dynamics currently threatened by climate and social changes. Despite a growing number of scientific articles dealing with NCP, there is a high risk that the existing literature has left out the complexity of such systems. In the light of ongoing social, economic, and climatic changes in the Mediterranean basin, neglecting the complexity of pastoral systems can lead to significant research biases, missing the priorities affecting the stability and continuity of such systems. A combination of frameworks of analysis provided by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was applied to understand if and to what extent the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been considered in the available literature. Most of the 126 papers report studies conducted in the European Union zone (102 papers), with the majority in Spain (50). Fewer studies have been conducted in the Middle East (15 papers) and Africa zones (9 papers). Despite results confirming the importance of pastoral systems as providers of NCP, most of the eligible papers focused on regulating NCP. A lack of a multisectoral approach and integration of knowledge suggests that the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been overlooked by researchers. The creation of ‘hybrid knowledge’ bridging the expertise of different stakeholders could be the key ingredient to properly address the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems.