Future European Parliament Elections: Ten Steps Towards Uniform Procedures

Procedural steps for the European Parliament elections are proposed so as to achieve more uniformity among the national electoral provisions of the 27 Member States. The steps include the creation of a European Electoral Authority, the enhancement of the European party system, and the consolidation of the many diverse seat apportionment methods into the single equality-oriented divisor method with standard rounding (Webster/Sainte-Lague). The introduction of semi-open list systems is addressed, as is the formation of a single European constituency for the election of an additional twenty-five MEPs. In the long run the translation of votes into seats could be carried out using the biproportional variant of the divisor method with standard rounding, in order to better mirror the structure of the European Union

The influence of biochar on soil characteristics in a temperate agroecosystem

While biochar as a soil amendment is not a novel concept, the addition of biochar to temperate agricultural soils represents a relatively new territory. The objectives of this study were to evaluate soil characteristics in a conventional temperate agricultural production system amended with biochar under a maize (Zea mays) crop in southern Ontario, Canada. The treatments include: poultry manure (6 t/ha) and nitrogen fertilizer (135 kg/ha) (MN); manure (3t/ha) and biochar (3t/ha) (MB); and manure (3 t/ha), fertilizer (urea) (135 kg/ha) and biochar (3 t/ha) (MNB). Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

Evaluation of the long-term effects of pre-conditioned biochar on soil organic carbon in temperate soils using the Century Soil Organic Matter model

Biochar contains a limited quantity of available mineral nutrients, requiring its addition in large quantities, in temperate soils, and in association with nitrogen (N) fertilizer and/or manure. Alternatively, biochar could be pre-conditioned with urea ammonium nitrate (UAN-enriched biochar), requiring lower inputs of biochar. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term (150 years) impact of the addition of UAN-enriched biochar on soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil active, slow and passive carbon (C) fractions compared to other commonly used agroecosystem management practices in a coarse and medium textured soil using the Century Soil Organic Matter Model. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

Effect of biochar addition on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions from a temperate agricultural soil

Amending intensively managed temperate soils with biochar is a more recent approach to agriculture, with research is still in its infancy. A knowledge gap remains on the effect of biochar on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as most studies conducted to date were short-term (\u3c4 months) in the field or used laboratory incubations; neither of which capture temporal variations in emissions. Therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate soil CO2 and N2O emissions in a conventional agricultural production system amended with biochar and under a maize (Zea mays) crop in southern Ontario, Canada. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

Behavioral factors affecting the adoption of biochar of farmers in Canada

Biochar is a promising carbon-based soil amendment with ancient, South American roots. Despite its long history, research surrounding its use in modern agriculture has only just begun in North America. There are several studies examining biochar in soil, ranging from its effects on nutrient and water retention to the way it affects earthworms and other organisms. However, our understanding on the socioeconomic implications of using biochar as a soil amendment in temperate agriculture remains scarce. Our research aims to fill this gap through semi-structured interviews with farmers and the completion of an economic analysis based on market values of biochar feedstocks and the current projected findings of biochar’s influence on crop yields. Please click on the file below for full content of the abstract

A power-weighted variant of the EU27 Cambridge Compromise

The Cambridge Compromise composition of the European Parliament allocates five base seats to each Member State's citizenry, and apportions the remaining seats proportionately to population figures using the divisor method with rounding upwards and observing a 96 seat capping. The power-weighted variant avoids the capping step, proceeding instead by a progressive non-linear downweighting of the population figures until the largest State is allocated exactly 96 seats. The pertinent calculations of the variant are described, and its relative constitutional merits are discussed

Diversity patterns of ground beetles and understorey vegetation in mature, secondary and plantation forest regions of temperate Northern China

Plantation and secondary forests form increasingly important components of the global forest cover, but our current knowledge about their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation is limited. We surveyed understory plant and carabid species assemblages at three distinct regions in temperate northeastern China, dominated by mature forest (Changbaishan Nature Reserve, sampled in 2011 and 2012), secondary forest (Dongling Mountain, sampled in 2011 and 2012), and forest plantation habitats (Bashang Plateau, sampled in 2006 and 2007), respectively. The α-diversity of both taxonomic groups was highest in plantation forests of the Bashang Plateau. Beetle α-diversity was lowest, but plant and beetle species turnover peaked in the secondary forests of Dongling Mountain, while habitats in the Changbaishan Nature Reserve showed the lowest turnover rates for both taxa. Changbaishan Nature Reserve harbored the highest proportion of forest specialists. Our results suggest that in temperate regions of northern China, the protected larch plantation forest established over extensive areas might play a considerable role in maintaining a high biodiversity in relation to understory herbaceous plant species and carabid assemblages, which can be seen as indicators of forest disturbance. The high proportion of phytophagous carabids and the rarity of forest specialists reflect the relatively homogenous, immature status of the forest ecosystems on the Bashang Plateau. China's last remaining large old-growth forests like the ones on Changbaishan represent stable, mature ecosystems which require particular conservation attention

Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp

Many animals avoid attack from predators through toxicity or the emission of repellent chemicals. Defensive mimicry has evolved in many species to deceive shared predators, for instance through colouration and other morphological adaptations, but mimicry hardly ever seems to involve multi-trait similarities. Here we report on a wingless parasitoid wasp that exhibits a full spectrum of traits mimicing ants and affording protection against ground-dwelling predators (wolf spiders). In body size, morphology and movement Gelis agilis (Ichneumonidae) is highly similar to the black garden ant (Lasius niger) that shares the same habitat. When threatened, G. agilis also emits a volatile chemical that is similar to an ant-produced chemical that repels spiders. In bioassays with L. niger, G. agilis, G. areator, Cotesia glomerata and Drosophila melanogaster, ants and G. agilis were virtually immune to spider attack, in contrast the other species were not. Volatile characterisation with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified G. agilis emissions as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, a known insect defence semiochemical that acts as an alarm pheromone in ants. We argue that multi-trait mimicry, as observed in G. agilis, might be much more common among animals than currently realized

Predicting changes in soil organic carbon after a low dosage and one-time addition of biochar blended with manure and nitrogen fertilizer

Modeling plays an important role in predicting the long-term effects of biochar on soil organic carbon dynamics. The objective of our study was to apply the Century model to assess changes in temporal soil organic carbon in soil amended with manure and nitrogen fertilizer (MN), with manure and biochar (MB) or with manure, nitrogen fertilizer and biochar (MNB). We determined that, after 115 years, soil organic carbon stocks could not reach a steady state (equilibrium) or pre-cultivation levels, regardless of amendment type. Our results showed that a biennial input of manure and nitrogen fertilizer (MN) led to a 84% increase in soil organic carbon compared to a 79% (MNB) and 70% (MB) increase when amendments contained biochar. However, the quantity of organic matter input from crop residues and amendments was sufficient to increase the active fraction, with a turnover time of months to years, by 86%. In fact, carbon associated with the slow fraction, with a turnover time of 20 to 50 years, was the key driver for soil organic carbon accumulation in all amendment types. Although the passive fraction is the most stable form of carbon in the soil, with a turnover time of 400 to 100 years, once manure and biochar were added to the soil, this fraction increased up to 32%. Our results provided further insight into the ability of Century to accurately predict changes in soil organic carbon stocks when a combination of manure, nitrogen fertilizer or biochar were added to soil. Century predicted soil organic carbon stocks within -1% to +9% of measured values. However, further fine-tuning of the model is required since biochar undergoes chemical transformations (e.g., ageing) and changes soil physical parameters (e.g., bulk density) that can not be currently accounted for in the Century model. Addressing these limitations of Century will also help to increase the relationship between measured and predicted values