21 April 2023
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals and 169 targets that were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a global effort to eradicate poverty, preserve the planet, and achieve peace and prosperity for all by 2030. They apply to all countries and are designed to be integrated, with progress on one goal supporting progress on...
10 April 2023
With the rapid pace of anthropogenic environmental change, as well as global challenges such as climate change, and widespread biodiversity loss, there is a need to further develop our understanding of insects to maximise the benefits and minimise the harm associated with them. Entomology is essential for comprehending terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems...
04 April 2023
The presence and variety of plants and insects, such as bees, are essential marks of biodiversity, ecosystem well-being, and agricultural production. Bee populations however are declining worldwide due to, among others, habitat loss, climate change, and agricultural intensification. Although the reasons behind this decline are well studied, determining...
30 March 2023
The understanding of how to restore and improve the resilience of agrifood systems could be enhanced by considering them as social-ecological systems, encompassing all living beings and their dynamic interactions with the earth system. Such a perspective calls not only for an interdisciplinary approach but also a transdisciplinary and transformative...
28 March 2023
Last Thursday (16 March 2023), Elena Velado-Alonso (EBD-CSIC) was invited to present her SHOWCASE results at a PhD seminar at the University of Seville. She highlighted the project’s overall goals and efforts, as well as her work in one of the Experimental Biodiversity Areas (EBA) – Guadalquivida, Spain.
The Spanish EBA is composed of a living community...
17 March 2023
With biodiversity declining at a worrying pace largely due to agricultural intensification, SHOWCASE aims to find management practices which can balance between maintaining food production and fostering nature conservation. An essential part of this process is to identify how farmers feel about such practices and what would motivate them to implement...
17 February 2023
Studies in the field of remote sensing of biodiversity are increasing, accompanied by the development of a variety of approaches and methodologies to better assess multiple dimensions of biodiversity in different ecosystems. One such approach is the Spectral Variation Hypothesis (SVH) which proposes that the pixel-to-pixel variability of the spectral...
10 February 2023
Agri-environment schemes (AESs) are often developed and implemented in order to mitigate the negative effects of intensive agriculture, conserve biodiversity on farmland and increase agricultural sustainability. Many such widespread AESs aim to maintain or create field margin habitats, such as flower strips or hedgerows. Their effectiveness however...
30 January 2023
Recognising the need for immediate actions to halt and reverse the dramatic loss of wild pollinators, the European Commission recently presented 'A New Deal for Pollinators' revising the 2018 EU Pollinators Initiative. The revised Pollinators Initiative sets objectives for 2030 and related actions under three priorities:
I: Improving knowledge...
27 January 2023
SHOWCASE project partner Indrek Melts from the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU) recently participated in the Sustainability Science Conference 2023 organised by the University of Toyama. The conference aims to advance the sustainable science field and provide a platform for international experts, early career researchers and scientists to...
25 January 2023
The Agroecosystems History Laboratory of Pablo de Olivine University together with the think tank Alimentta held the 9th International Congress of Agroecology in Seville (Spain) on 19-21 January 2023. In recent years, there has been significant development in both social innovation experiences and discussions on how to scale the Agroecology-Based Local...
19 January 2023
With organic food increasing in demand due to health and environmental benefits, several questions remain unanswered. Do organic farmers generate higher profits? Will the cost of cultivation reduce to compensate for low yields? Can farmers practise as per the organic agriculture protocols and obtain certification? A recent paper co-funded by SHOWCASE...