Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
- Dissertation (128)
- Bachelorarbeit (22)
- Masterarbeit (14)
- Habilitation (1)
Schlagworte
- Nachhaltigkeit (21)
- Sustainability (7)
- Biodiversität (6)
- Landwirtschaft (6)
- Energiewende (4)
- Transformation (4)
- Agriculture (3)
- Governance (3)
- Pestizid (3)
- Steuerungsprozesse (3)
- Ökosystem (3)
- Abwasser (2)
- Arzneimittel (2)
- Biodegradability (2)
- Biodiversity (2)
- Biologische Abbaubarkeit (2)
- Data Mining (2)
- Energiepolitik (2)
- Energieversorgung (2)
- Energy Policy (2)
- Erneuerbare Energien (2)
- Ethiopia (2)
- Käfer (2)
- Lüneburg (2)
- Nachhaltige Entwicklung (2)
- Sediment (2)
- Sustainability Research (2)
- Umweltanalytik (2)
- Umweltbelastung (2)
- Windenergie (2)
- Äthiopien (2)
- Ökologie (2)
- Abwasseranalyse (1)
- Abwasserbelastung (1)
- Abwasserentsorgung (1)
- Abwassermarkierungsstoffe (1)
- Ackerbau (1)
- Afghanistan (1)
- Agrarpolitik (1)
- Agrarwirtschaft (1)
- Anden (1)
- Antibiotikum (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Autonomie (1)
- Autonomy (1)
- Baum (1)
- Baumart (1)
- Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen (1)
- Bees (1)
- Betrieb (1)
- Beweidung (1)
- Bienen (1)
- Biochar (1)
- Biochemie (1)
- Biochemistry (1)
- Biocides (1)
- Biodiesel (1)
- Biofuel (1)
- Biokraftstoff (1)
- Biomass (1)
- Biomass burning (1)
- Biomasse (1)
- Biosphere Reserve (1)
- Biosphäre (1)
- Biospärenreservat (1)
- Biozide (1)
- Bodenverdichtung (1)
- Calluna vulgaris (1)
- Cargo Bike (1)
- China (1)
- Circular Economy (1)
- Citizen Science (1)
- Climate Change (1)
- Climate Simulation (1)
- Coastel environment (1)
- Collaborative Initiative (1)
- Corporate Social Responsibility (1)
- Data Analysis (1)
- Datenanalyse (1)
- Demokratie (1)
- Deschampsia flexnosa (1)
- Deutsche Schweiz (1)
- Deutschland (1)
- Diesel Particulate Filter (1)
- Dignity (1)
- Discourse Studies (1)
- Disease Resistance (1)
- Dorf (1)
- Drahtschmiele (1)
- EU Water Framework Directive (1)
- Ecosystem services (1)
- Ecuador (1)
- Effizienz (1)
- Einzelhandel (1)
- Elbe (1)
- Elektrifizierung (1)
- Elemente (1)
- Emission (1)
- Energie (1)
- Energiewirtschaft (1)
- Energy Transition (1)
- Entdeckendes Lernen (1)
- Entrepreneurship (1)
- Entwicklung (1)
- Environmental Communication (1)
- Environmental governance (1)
- Epigenetik (1)
- Ernährungslage (1)
- European Union (1)
- Europäische Union (1)
- Feldversuch (1)
- Fließgewässer (1)
- Flächennutzung (1)
- Food Security (1)
- Forschungsevaluation (1)
- Fotografie (1)
- Foucault, Michel (1)
- Freedom (1)
- Freiheit (1)
- Führung (1)
- Gemeinwohl (1)
- Geschlechterverhältnis (1)
- Gewässer (1)
- Gewässerbelastung (1)
- Graslandschaft (1)
- Grundschüler (1)
- Habitat (1)
- Harz (1)
- Haushaltschemikalie (1)
- Heidekraut (1)
- Holocene (1)
- Hotel (1)
- Ili Delta (1)
- Immunity (1)
- Indien (1)
- Individuality (1)
- Individuum (1)
- Informationssystem (1)
- Institutional Change (1)
- Institutioneller Wandel (1)
- Interdisziplinäre Forschung (1)
- Internationale Organisation (1)
- Internationaler Vergleich (1)
- Jordan (1)
- Kasachstan (1)
- Kleinbauer (1)
- Kleinkredit (1)
- Klimamodell (1)
- Klimasimulation (1)
- Klimawandel (1)
- Kohlendioxid (1)
- Kollaborative Initiative (1)
- Kommunalverwaltung (1)
- Konsum (1)
- Kostenverteilung (1)
- Kraftstofffilter (1)
- Krankheitsresistenz (1)
- Kreislaufwirtschaft (1)
- Kulturlandschaft (1)
- Künstliche Intelligenz (1)
- Küstengebiet (1)
- Landwirt (1)
- Lastenfahrrad (1)
- Lebensform (1)
- Lebensmittelproduktion (1)
- Lebensraum (1)
- Lebensunterhalt (1)
- Ländliche Räume (1)
- Ländlicher Raum (1)
- Makroinvertebraten (1)
- Management (1)
- Meerwasser (1)
- Menschenwürde (1)
- Mindesteinkommen (1)
- Monitoring (1)
- Nachhaltigkeitsbericht (1)
- Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (1)
- Nachhhaltigkeit (1)
- Naturpark (1)
- Natürliche Ressourcen (1)
- Neoinstitutionalismus (1)
- Nichtstaatliche Organisation (1)
- Niedersachsen (1)
- Niederschlag (1)
- Non-Governmental Organisation (1)
- Nordseeküste (1)
- Nährstoffkreislauf (1)
- Oberflächenwasser (1)
- Ozonisierung (1)
- Ozonungsprodukte (1)
- Palaeoclimate (1)
- Paläoklima (1)
- Participation (1)
- Partizipation (1)
- Peru (1)
- Pflanzen (1)
- Pflanzenkohle (1)
- Photosynthese (1)
- Photosynthesis (1)
- Pilze (1)
- Pleistozän (1)
- Poland (1)
- Polen (1)
- Politische Strategie (1)
- Postwachstumsökonomie (1)
- Precipitation (1)
- Produktivität (1)
- Quartär (1)
- Quaternary (1)
- Regenerative Agriculture (1)
- Regenerative Landwirtschaft (1)
- Renaturierung <Ökologie> (1)
- Renewable Energies (1)
- Research Evaluation (1)
- Resin (1)
- Responsibility (1)
- Restoration <Ecology> (1)
- Risiko (1)
- Rohrleitungen (1)
- Rural Areas (1)
- Sachsen-Anhalt (1)
- Samen (1)
- Schaalsee (1)
- Schlüsselkompetenz (1)
- Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel (1)
- Sedimente (1)
- Smartphone (1)
- Software (1)
- Soil quality (1)
- Soziales System (1)
- Stadtverkehr (1)
- Stickstoff (1)
- Subtropen (1)
- Summenparameter (1)
- Sustainable Development Goals (1)
- Süßstoff (1)
- Technologietransfer (1)
- Text Mining (1)
- Tiermedizin (1)
- Tourismus (1)
- Toxizität (1)
- Transaction Cost Theory (1)
- Transaktionskosten (1)
- Transdisciplinarity (1)
- Transdisziplinarität (1)
- Transition Management (1)
- Transitionsmanagement (1)
- Trinkwasser (1)
- UNESCO (1)
- Umweltbildung (1)
- Umweltkommunikation (1)
- Umweltschutz (1)
- Umwelttoxizität (1)
- Umweltverträglichkeit (1)
- Universal Basic Income (1)
- Unternehmen (1)
- Urban Mobility (1)
- Verantwortung (1)
- Vereinigte Staaten (1)
- Vereinte Nationen (1)
- Vereisung (1)
- Verhalten (1)
- Verwaltung (1)
- Vögel (1)
- Wald (1)
- Waschmittel (1)
- Wasseranalyse (1)
- Wassermangel (1)
- Wasserqualität (1)
- Wasserverschmutzung (1)
- Wastewater (1)
- Water Analysis (1)
- Water Pollution (1)
- Water Quality (1)
- Wetter (1)
- Wirtschaftlichkeitsanalyse (1)
- Wissensmanagement (1)
- Wissenstransfer (1)
- Wohnform (1)
- Wärmespeicher (1)
- Wärmespeicherung (1)
- Xylobiont (1)
- analytics (1)
- beetle conservation (1)
- cultural landscape (1)
- field study (1)
- habitat quality (1)
- heat exchanger (1)
- knowledge management (1)
- macroinvertebrates (1)
- nitrogen (1)
- nutrients (1)
- ozonation products (1)
- pesticides (1)
- pipes (1)
- saproxylic (1)
- sediments (1)
- sewage deposal (1)
- sheep grazing (1)
- social-ecological systems (1)
- streams (1)
- wastewater tracers (1)
- water resources management (1)
- Ökosystemmanagement (1)
Institut
- Fakultät Nachhaltigkeit (165) (entfernen)
Nachhaltigkeitsziele im Sinne einer Ökologie, Ökonomie und Soziokultur lassen sich im Bauwesen auf verschiedene Instrumente zurückführen. Optimierung des Wärmeschutzes durch die Energieeinsparverordnung (Effizienz) oder Minimierung von Abfall im Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (Suffizienz). Um jedoch eine neue Qualität der Nachhaltigkeit zu schaffen, ist ein Paradigmenwechsel notwendig. Dabei können Cradle to Cradle Prinzipien als ökoeffektive Methode angewandt werden, in dem exemplarisch die Biodiversität eingebunden, gesunde Bauprodukte verbaut und erneuerbare Energien genutzt werden. Die Natur dient als Vorbild (Konsistenz). Demnach werden Gebäude nützlich für Mensch, Umwelt und Gesellschaft umgesetzt und gleichzeitig Werte geschaffen. Für den deutschen Einzelhandel bestehen vielschichtige Potenziale, da der Gebäudebestand mit mehreren Millionen Quadratmetern bedeutend ist und die Bauwerke aufgrund von Konzeptänderungen oder Verschleiß der Ladenflächen regelmäßig umgebaut werden. Die Forschung beginnt mit einer Bestandsaufnahme von Cradle to Cradle Bauprodukten und Analyse eines real umgesetzten Einkaufszentrums. Um Einflussfaktoren von Stakeholdern zu identifizieren, wurden qualitative Experteninterviews mit ausgewählten Projektbeteiligten aus Bauherrn, Betreibern, Beratern, Mietparteien und Herstellern durchgeführt. Im Rahmen des Forschungsvorhabens wurde untersucht, inwieweit sich Bauprodukte aus der Gebäudeplanung in wissenschaftlicher Theorie und praktischer Bauwirtschaft umsetzen lassen, Geschäftsmodelle anwendbar sind, Trends und Innovationen im Zusammenhang stehen oder Änderungen in Politik oder Wirtschaft notwendig sind. Im Ergebnis wurden Maßnahmen für eine neue Qualität der Nachhaltigkeit bei Einzelhandelsgebäuden identifiziert. Exemplarisch wird anhand der Interviews deutlich, dass neben einem staatlichen Umweltzeichen oder einer Green Building Planungsdisziplin, insbesondere die Ökonomie in Form von Investitions- und Betriebskosten den größten Stellenwert besitzt. Es braucht einen staatlichen Regulierungsrahmen und neue Geschäftsmodelle, damit nachhaltige Bauprodukte wirtschaftlich werden und durch Stakeholder in den Prozessen der Planung, Bauausführung und dem Betrieb berücksichtigt werden.
A Matter of Connection: Competence Development in Teacher Education for Sustainable Development
(2021)
Based on a dual case study, this cumulative dissertation investigates how individual "education for sustainable development" (ESD) courses, as part of the teacher education programs at Leuphana University in Lüneburg/Germany and Arizona State University (ASU)/USA, actually foster students' ESD-specific professional action competence. Furthermore, this work sheds light on the link between learning processes and outcomes, to reveal which factors actually affect the achievement of ILOs and competence development. The findings of this study indicate that both courses under investigation eventually live up to their role and increased student teachers' competence and commitment to implement ESD in their future careers; yet, mainly due to their different thematic foci, to varying degrees. Additionally, the four Cs (personal, professional, social, and structural connections) were revealed as significant factors that support students' learning and should be considered when planning and designing course offerings in TESD, with the goal of developing students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
Das Promotionsprojekt, das in das Forschungsprojekt Nawi-In (Naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht inklusiv gestalten – Kompetenzentwicklung von Lehramtsstudierenden für und mit der Praxis) eingebettet ist, fokussiert die Entwicklung von Analysekompetenzen Masterstudierender der Sekundarstufe I mit naturwissenschaftlichem Fach, inklusiven naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht zu identifizieren und zu analysieren. Hierfür analysierten die Masterstudierenden (N=5) sowohl eigenen videografierten als auch fremden inklusiven naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht im Rahmen eines dreisemestrigen Projektseminars. Die Begleitforschung, die im ersten und zweiten Semester des Projektseminars stattfand, untersuchte die Entwicklung der Merkmalsausprägungen der Selbstwirksamkeit, Einstellungen und des selbsteingeschätzten fachdidaktischen Wissens (PCK) in Bezug zu inklusivem naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht. Der Kern der Forschung ist die Entwicklung eines Modells, um die video-stimulierten Reflexionen zum eigenen (pre und post) und fremden inklusiven naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht (pre, re und post), die audiografiert und transkribiert wurden, auszuwerten und so eine Entwicklung der Analysekompetenzen über die verschiedenen Erhebungszeitpunkte hinweg feststellen und abbilden zu können. Das Analytical Competency Model (ACM) ist ein Kategoriensystem, das aus verschiedenen Forschungen zu Professionalisierung, Expertiseforschung über Lehrpersonen und professioneller Unterrichtswahrnehmung besteht. Validiert wurde das ACM durch das Erstellen eines Expertenratings. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine deutliche Entwicklung der Analysekompetenzen in der Studierendenstichprobe. Es wurden über den Erhebungszeitraum hinweg mehr Momente als inklusiver naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht identifiziert und die identifizierten Momente in übergeordnete Konzepte zu inklusivem naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht eingeordnet.
The world wide population growth and the increasing water scarcity endanger more and more the human society. Water saving measures alone will not be sufficient to solve all associated problems. Therefore, people in arid countries might come back to any kind of water available. In this context the way people regard wastewater must change in terms that it has to be recognized as a water resource. The reuse of wastewater, treated and untreated, for irrigation purposes in agriculture is already established in some semi-arid and arid countries. Countries with absolute water scarcity like Israel might not only be forced to reduce their water consumption, but even to transfer reused water to other sectors. Concerns of authorities and the general public about potential health risks are completely understandable. The health risks of wastewater are mainly originating from pathogens which are negatively correlated with its treatment. Therefore, the quality of a wastewater effluent derived from mechanical-biological treatment can be further improved by additional treatment steps like soil aquifer treatment (SAT). This process is adopted at the Israeli Shafdan facility in the south of Tel Aviv. Conventionally treated wastewater is applied on surface basins from where it percolates into the coastal plain aquifer which supplies approximately one quarter of Israel ́s drinking water. After a certain residence time in the subsurface the water is recovered by wells surrounding the recharge area. Although the pumping regime creates a hydraulic barrier to the pristine groundwater, concerns exist that a contamination of the surrounding drinking water wells could occur. So far, little is known about the removal of organic trace pollutants during the SAT process in general and for the Shafdan site in particular. Consequently, the need arose to study the purification power of the SAT process in terms of the removal of organic trace pollutants. For this purpose reliable wastewater tracers are essential to be able to differentiate between degradation and sorption processes on the one hand and dilution with pristine groundwater on the other hand. Based on their chemical properties, their worldwide usage in a variety of foodstuffs and beverages, and first data about the fate and occurrence of sucralose, artificial sweeteners came into the focus as promising tracer candidates.
Thus, in the present work an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of seven commonly used artificial sweeteners in different water matrices, like surface water and wastewater, was developed (see chapter 2). The method is based on the solid phase extraction (SPE) of the analytes by a styrene-divinylbenzene (SDB) copolymer material, and the analysis by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass-spectrometry (LC-ESI- MS/MS). The sensitivity in negative ionization mode was considerably enhanced by postcolumn addition of the alkaline modifier tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane. In potable water, except for aspartame and neohesperidine dihydrochalchone, absolute recoveries >75 % were obtained for all analytes under investigation, but were considerably reduced due to matrix effects in treated wastewater. The widespread distribution of the artificial sweeteners acesulfame, saccharin, cyclamate, and sucralose in the aquatic environment was proven. Concentrations in two German wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influents ranged up to 190 μg/L for cyclamate, several tens of μg/L for acesulfame and saccharin, and about 1 μg/L for sucralose. For saccharin and cyclamate removal rates >90 % during wastewater treatment were observed, whereas acesulfame and sucralose turned out to be very persistent. As a result of high influent concentrations and low removal rates in WWTPs, acesulfame was the dominant sweetener in German surface waters with concentrations up to 2.7 μg/L. The detection of acesulfame and sucralose in recovery wells in the Shafdan SAT site in Israel in the μg/L range was a promising sign for their possible use as anthropogenic markers. As acesulfame and sucralose showed a pronounced stability in WWTPs and were detected in recovery wells of the SAT site in Israel it became worthwhile to assess their tracer suitability compared to other organic trace pollutants suggested as anthropogenic markers in the past (see chapter 3). Therefore, the prediction power of the two sweeteners was evaluated in comparison with the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ), the X-ray contrast medium diatrizoic acid (DTA) and two benzotriazoles (1H-benzotriazole (BTZ) and its 4-methyl analogue (4TTri)). The concentrations of these compounds and their ratios were tracked from WWTPs with different treatment technologies, to recipient waters and further to river bank filtration (RBF) wells. Additionally, acesulfame and sucralose were compared with CBZ during advanced wastewater treatment by SAT in Israel. Only the persistent compounds acesulfame, sucralose, and CBZ showed stable ratios when comparing influent and effluent
concentrations of four German WWTPs with conventional wastewater treatment. However, by the additional application of powdered activated carbon in a fifth WWTP CBZ, BTZ, and 4-TTri were selectively removed resulting in a pronounced shift of the concentration ratios towards the nearly unaffected sweeteners. Results of a seven months monitoring program along the rivers Rhine and Main showed an excellent correlation between CBZ and acesulfame concentrations (r2 = 0.94), and still good values when correlating the concentrations with both benzotriazoles (r2 = 0.66 - 0.82). In RBF wells acesulfame and CBZ were again the compounds with the best concentration correlation (r2 = 0.85).
Das ubiquitäre Vorkommen von Arzneimittelrückständen ist eng mit möglichen Risiken für Mensch und Umwelt verbunden. Das übergeordnete Ziel dieser Forschungsarbeit ist die Weiterentwicklung methodischer Ansätze für die Identifizierung prioritärer Arzneimittelrückstände vor dem Hintergrund bestehender Wissens- und Regulierungslücken. Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt wurden drei aktuelle Problemfelder aus dem Themenkomplex "Arzneimittel in der Umwelt " ausgewählt und anhand konkreter Fallbeispiele betrachtet. Tierarzneimittel werden häufig mit der Ausbringung von Wirtschaftsdünger in landwirtschaftlich genutzte Böden eingetragen. Gegenstand der ersten Publikation ist die Frage, inwiefern Anwendungsschemata aus der Nutztierhaltung für die retrospektive Identifizierung prioritärer Tierarzneimittelrückstände genutzt werden können. Hierzu wurde eine spezielle Herangehensweise entwickelt und am Beispiel von Antibiotika erprobt. Die durchgeführte Eintragsabschätzung ermöglichte erstmalig eine umfassende Einschätzung der potenziellen Antibiotikabelastung in Wirtschaftsdünger und landwirtschaftlich genutzten Böden im nordwestdeutschen Raum. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf erhebliche Umwelteinträge hin, die eine Neubewertung bestehender Wirkstoffzulassungen notwendig erscheinen lassen. In der zweiten Publikation wurden am Beispiel einer Mischung aus 18 Arzneistoffen verschiedene Bewertungsansätze verfolgt, um das Risiko einer kombinierten antimikrobiellen Wirkung genauer zu charakterisieren und prioritäre Mischungsbestandteile zu identifizieren. Das Risiko einer antimikrobiellen Wirkung wurde sowohl durch eine experimentelle Prüfung der Mischung als auch durch einen komponentenbasierten Berechnungsansatz bestätigt. Der komponentenbasierte Ansatz verdeutlichte zudem die besondere Relevanz der in der Mischung enthaltenen Fluorchinolon-Antibiotika. Die notwendige Grundlage für eine belastbare Abschätzung von Kombinationseffekten sind jedoch harmonisierte Einzelstoffdaten, die bisher nicht im benötigten Umfang zur Verfügung stehen. Deshalb sollte speziell für Antibiotika eine systematische Prüfung der Wirkung auf Umweltmikroorganismen durchgeführt werden. Arzneistoffe können entlang ihres Lebenszyklus verschiedene biotische und abiotische Transformationsprozesse durchlaufen, die oft zur Bildung von unvollständig charakterisierten Transformationsprodukten (TPs) führen. Die Publikationen 3-7 leisten einen allgemeinen Beitrag zur Einschätzung des möglichen Gefahrenpotenzials von pharmazeutischen TPs im Wasserkreislauf und generieren neue methodische Erkenntnisse vor dem Hintergrund einer vorausschauenden Identifizierung von prioritären Abbauprodukten. Die durchgeführten Fallstudien bestätigten, dass photochemische Transformationsprozesse nicht nur zur Abschwächung bereits vorhandener, sondern im Gegenteil auch zur Entstehung gänzlich neuer Gefahrenpotenziale beitragen können. Es ist somit stark in Frage zu stellen, ob die alleinige Fokussierung auf bekannte Aktivitäten der Muttersubstanz für eine sichere Bewertung von TPs ausreicht.
Wind energy is expected to become the largest source of electricity generation in Europe's future energy mix. As a consequence, future electricity generation will be exposed to an increasing degree to weather and climate. With planning and operational lifetimes of wind energy infrastructure reaching climate time scales, adaptation to changing climate conditions is of relevance to support secure and sustainable energy supply. Premise for success of wind energy projects is the ability to service financial obligations over the project lifetime. Though, revenues(viaelectricity generation) are exposed to changing climate conditions affecting the wind resource, operating conditions or hazardous events interfering with the wind energy infrastructure. For the first time, a procedure is presented to assess such climate change impacts specifically for wind energy financing. At first, a generalised financing chain for wind energy is prepared to (qualitatively) trace the exposure of individual cost elements to physical climate change. In this regard, the revenue through wind power production is identified as the essential component within wind energy financing being exposed to changing climate conditions. This implies the wind resource to be of crucial interest for an assessment of climate change impacts on the financing of wind energy. Therefore, secondly, a novel high-resolution experimental modelling framework with the non-hydrostatic extension of the regional climate model REMO is set up to generate physically consistent climate and climate change information of the wind resource across wind turbine operating altitudes. With this setup, enhanced simulated intra-annual and inter-annual variability across the lower planetary boundary layer is achieved, being beneficial for wind energy applications, compared to state-of-the-art regional climate model configurations. In addition, surrogate climate change experiments with this setup disclose vertical wind speed changes in the lower planetary boundary layer to be indirectly affected by temperature changes through thermodynamically-induced atmospheric stability alterations. Moreover, air density changes are identified to occasionally exceed the net impact of wind energy density changes originating from changes in wind speed. This supports the consideration of air density information (in addition to wind speed) for wind energy yiel assumptions. Thirdly, the generated climate and climate change information of the wind resource are transferred to a simplified but fully-fledged financial model to assess the financial risk of wind energy project financing with respect to changing climate conditions. Sensitivity experiments for an imaginary offshore wind farm located in the German Bight reveal the long-term profitability of wind energy project financing not to be substantially affected by changing wind resource conditions, but incidents with insufficient servicing of financial obligations experience changes exceeding -10% to 14%. The integration of wind energy-specific climate and climate change information into existing financial risk assessment procedures would illustrate a valuable contribution to enable climate change adaptation for wind energy.
In response to the challenges of the energy transition, the German electricity network is subjected to a process of substantial transformation. Considering the long latency periods and lifetimes of electricity grid infrastructure projects, it is more cost-efficient to combine this need for transformation with the need to adapt the grid to future climate conditions. This study proposes the spatially varying risk of electricity grid outages as a guiding principle to determine optimal levels of security of electricity supply. Therefore, not only projections of future changes in the likelihood of impacts on the grid infrastructure were analyzed, but also the monetary consequences of an interruption. Since the windthrow of trees was identified a major source for atmospherically induced grid outages, a windthrow index was developed, to regionally assess the climatic conditions for windthrow. Further, a concept referred to as Value of Lost Grid was proposed to quantify the impacts related to interruptions of the distribution grid. In combination, the two approaches enabled to identify grid entities, which are of comparably high economic value and subjected to a comparably high likelihood of windthrow under future climate conditions. These are primarily located in the mid-range mountain areas of North-Rhine Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. In comparison to other areas of less risk, the higher risk in these areas should be reflected in comparably more resilient network structures, such as buried lines instead of overheadlines, or more comprehensive efforts to prevent grid interruptions, such as structural reinforcements of pylons or improved vegetation management along the power lines. In addition, the outcomes provide the basis for a selection of regions which should be subjected to a more regionally focused analysis inquiring spatial differences (with respect to the identified coincidence of high windthrow likelihoods and high economic importance of the grid) among individual power lines or sections of a distribution network.
This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the actual implementation of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science. Following three aims, this work likes to (1) contribute to the measurability of transdisciplinary research processes as well as their societal and academic outputs and impacts, to (2) demarcate transdisciplinary research from other modes of research in sustainability science and to (3) identify and examine the determinants that shape the contribution of transdisciplinary research to societal action for sustainable development and to scientific knowledge production. To serve these aims a mixed methods approach is applied that combines strong quantitative elements with in-depth qualitative analyses that integrate the perspectives of practitioners. This thesis provides a broad set of indicators to describe and assess transdisciplinary research that translate theoretical concepts form transdisciplinarity theory into observable variables. The indicators offer a holistic perspective on transdisciplinary research by representing research mode characteristics, societal as well as scientific outcomes of research projects and their specific context. To theoretically demarcate transdisciplinary research from other forms of research, a narrative literature review first elaborates the differences between "normal science", political use of scientific knowledge and transdisciplinarity in their underlying logics of problem definition, knowledge production and research utilization. Subsequently, these concepts were compared with perspectives and expectations of practitioners in the forest sector on integrative research settings. Moreover, a cluster analysis of data from 59 research projects identified five research modes that empirically demarcate ideal-typical transdisciplinary research from other research modes within sustainability science: (1) purely academic research, (2) practice consultation, (3) selective practitioner involvement, (4) ideal-typical transdisciplinary research and (5) practice-oriented research. Based on this finding, transdisciplinary research can be characterized as an intensive, but balanced involvement of practitioners. It incorporates not only the needs and goals of the practitioners but also their norms and values. Ideal-typical transdisciplinary research goes beyond mere consultatory research approaches and must be distinguished from what is conceptualized as applied research. Regression analysis of 81 research projects and statistical group comparisons of the five research mode clusters show that societal and academic outputs and impacts vary with specific project characteristics and combinations of project characteristics defined as research modes. The findings indicate that more interactive research modes reach more societal impacts. In particular, the involvement of practitioners in early project phases and the targeted dissemination of the research results positively affect societal impacts. This finding also aligns with practitioner expectations on integrative research and research utilization, provided by qualitative analysis. Moreover, the quantitative results show that scientific outputs and impacts decrease with the intensity of interactions, indicating a trade-off between societal and scientific outcomes and impacts. Overall, the empirical results of this thesis support the claimed effectiveness of transdisciplinary research in providing societally relevant, applicable knowledge and encourage further funding of transdisciplinary research by funding agencies.
Assessment of forest functionality and the effectiveness of forest management and certification
(2021)
Forest ecosystems are complex systems that develop inherent structures and processes relevant for their functioning and the provisioning of ecosystem services that contribute to human wellbeing. With increasing climate change impacts, especially regulating ecosystem services such as microclimate regulation are ever more relevant to maintain forest functions and services. A key question is how forest management supports or undermines the ecosystems’ capacity to maintain those functions and services. The main objective of this thesis is the development of a concept to assess the functionality of forests and to evaluate the effectiveness of forest ecosystem management including certification. An ecosystem-based and participatory methodology, named ECOSEFFECT, was developed. The method comprises a theoretical and an empirical plausibility analysis. It was applied to the Russian National FSC Standard in the Arkhangelsk Region of the Russian Federation - where boreal forests are exploited to meet Europe's demand for timber. In addition, the influence of forestry interventions on temperature regulation in Scots pine and European beech forests in Germany was assessed during two extreme hot and dry years in 2018 and 2019. Microclimate regulation is a suitable proxy for forest functionality and can be applied easily to evaluate the effectiveness of forest management in safeguarding regulating forest functions relevant under climate change. Thus, the assessment of forest microclimate regulation serves as convenient tool to illustrate forest functionality. In the boreal and temperate forests studied in the frame of this thesis, timber harvesting reduced the capacity to self-regulate forests’ microclimate and thus impair a crucial part of ecosystem functionality. Changes in structural forest characteristics influenced by forest management and silviculture significantly affect microclimatic conditions and therefore forest ecosystems' vulnerability to climate change. Canopy coverage and the number of cut trees were most relevant for cooling maximum summer temperature in pine and beech forests in northern Germany. The Russian FSC standard has the potential to improve forest management and ecological outcomes, but there are shortcomings in the precision of targeting actual problems and ecological commitment. It is theoretically plausible that FSC prevents logging in high conservation value forests and intact forest landscapes, reduces the size and number of clearcuts, and prevents hydrological changes in the landscape. However, the standard was not sufficiently explicit and compulsory to generate a strong and positive influence on the identified problems and their drivers. Moreover, spatial data revealed, that the typical regular clearcut patterns of conventional timber harvesting continue to progress into the FSC-certified boreal forests, also if declared as "Intact Forest Landscape". This results in the need to verify the assumptions and postulates on the ground as it remains unclear and questionable if functions and services of boreal forests are maintained when FSC-certified clearcutting continues.The analysis of satellite-based data on tree cover loss showed that clearcutting causes secondary dieback in the surrounding of the cleared area. FSC-certification does not prevent the various negative impacts of clearcutting and thus fails to safeguard ecosystem functions. The postulated success in reducing identified environmental threats and stresses, e. g. through a smaller size of clearcuts, could not be verified on site. The empirical assessment does not support the hypothesis of effective improvements in the ecosystem. In practice, FSC-certification did not contribute to change clearcutting practices sufficiently to effectively improve the ecological performance. Sustainability standards that are unable to translate principles into effective outcomes fail in meeting the intended objectives of safeguarding ecosystem functioning. Clearcuts that carry sustainability labels are ecologically problematic and ineffective for the intended purpose of ecological sustainability.The overexploitation of provisioning services, i.e. timber extraction, diminishes the ecosystems' capacity to maintain other services of global significance. It also impairs ecosystem functions relevant to cope with and adapt to other stresses and disturbances that are rapidly increasing under climate change.
The agreement on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly in September 2015 was a milestone in the common history of international development and sustainability governance. However, in order to be effective, it is necessary to identify and to define suitable instruments that can be applied in order to fulfill the ambitious goal catalogue. Therefore, the underlying thesis examines the concept of Village Savings and Loan associations (VSLAs) with regard to its mechanisms that operate towards an attainment of the respective goal category. VSLAs are self-government, autonomous and democratically organized Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). They consist of a maximum of 25 mostly female members, who know and trust each other. The work is carried out within a qualitative-empirical research design applied in central Cameroon, which has to some extent exemplary character for sub-Saharan Africa. In this manner, guided experts interviews were conducted with VSLA-presidents as well as with field officers that are creating and accompanying VSLAs. A first part addresses the historical evolution of the SDGs and the theoretical and actual implications of Microfinance and the VSLA-methodology. After considering the methodological proceeding, the results are presented, discussed and summarized in a conclusion. All in all, 22 mechanisms for the attainment of nine SDG-categories are identified and described. Of particular importance is the key role of the credits to trigger fruitful activities that generate financial wealth, economic growth and employment. Furthermore, the savings of the members are an important factor for the school enrollment of the members´ children. Additionally, a combination of the credits and the solidarity fund improves the medical treatment of the members and their families. In contrast to that, direct mechanisms supporting the nutritional situation or gender equality in the research field are found to have a limited importance. Moreover, none of the identified mechanisms targets the environmental sphere of the SDG-catalogue. This is weighty in light of an increasing noticeability of the impacts of climate change for the involved population group. Nonetheless, the VSLA-concept is a simple way to effectively address the social and the economic aspects of the SDG-catalogue. In this manner, a further development of the instrument could include the canalization of the capital of international de-velopment cooperation through the VSLAs as democratic and transparent grassroots-institutions.