Suchergebnisse

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, by 2020 invasive alien species (IAS) should be identified and their impacts assessed, so that species can be prioritized for implementation of appropriate control strategies and measures put in place to manage invasion pathways. For one quarter of the IAS listed as the "100 of the world's worst" environmental impacts are linked to diseases of wildlife (undomesticated plants and animals). Moreover, IAS are a significant source of "pathogen pollution" defined as the human-mediated introduction of a pathogen to a new host or region. Despite this, little is known about the biology of alien pathogens and their biodiversity impacts after introduction into new regions. We argue that the threats posed by alien pathogens to endangered species, ecosystems, and ecosystem services should receive greater attention through legislation, policy, and management. We identify 10 key areas for research and action, including those relevant to the processes of introduction and establishment of an alien pathogen and to prediction of the spread and associated impact of an alien pathogen on native biota and ecosystems. The development of interdisciplinary capacity, expertise, and coordination to identify and manage threats was seen as critical to address knowledge gaps

Rapid detection of potentially harmful invasive alien species (IAS) is essential to avoid future invasions and management costs. Until recently, the Flemish region (Flanders, Northern Belgium) - and by extension Belgium - had no dedicated portal for reporting observations of such species, despite the high political priority and ongoing current (inter) national initiatives. In 2011, the Agency for Nature and Forest and the Institute for Nature and Forest Research initiated a pilot. For some notorious IAS, an early warning system was launched through the widely used online recording platform www.waarnemingen.be. The system is primarily targeted towards naturalist observers. This was done in cooperation with all Belgian regions and the major non-governmental organisations in the field of nature conservation. The system allows for reporting sightings, consulting fact sheets and setting up user-driven automated e-mail alerts. The aim of the pilot phase (March-November 2012) was to examine how the system could work (which species are picked up, potential reporting bias, data quality). Apart from testing the reporting tool as an early warning system, the project had several spin-offs. In the longer run, we aimed at mobilizing volunteers for monitoring IAS. We also wanted to provide information and raise awareness amongst field workers and the public. Eventually, we hope to streamline the process from reporting to management intervention. The ultimate goal is to have an early warning system for IAS in Flanders (northern Belgium) that connects with federal initiatives and anticipates developments of a trans-European system. The current system is already being used for various rapid response projects in Flanders, including control of invasive aquatic plants such as floating pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, water primrose Ludwigia grandiflora, Parrot's feather Myriophyllum aquaticum, ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis, Pallas' squirrel Callosciurus erythreaus, quarantine insects, American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus, giant hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum and Chinese muntjac Muntiacus reevesi.

AbstractWhy does Kant say that a "skeptical satisfaction of pure reason" is "impossible" (A758/B786)? I answer this question by giving a reading of "The Discipline of Pure Reason in Respect of Its Polemic Employment." I explain that Kant must address skepticism in this context because his warning against developing counterarguments to dogmatic attacks encourages a comparison between the critical and the skeptical methods. I then argue that skepticism fails to "satisfy" [befriedigen] reason insofar as it cannot "pacify" reason's tendency to go beyond its own boundaries. The skeptical method reveals the past failures of dogmatic metaphysics but cannot rule out future successes. Only critical knowledge of reason's proper bounds can do this, thereby pacifying our restless reason. I close by arguing that Kant's discussion implies that a skeptic must feel dissatisfied with her renunciation of metaphysics, and that this dissatisfaction can lead her to take interest in Kant's critical philosophy.

The Schelde is a lowland river originating in the northern part of France (St. Quentin), and entering the North Sea near Vlissingen, The Netherlands. The estuary covers about half of its length (355 km) as the tidal influence is stopped by sluices near Gent 160 km upstream. We focused on the Zeeschelde, the estuarine part in Flanders comprising a mesohaline, an oligohaline and a freshwater tidal zone. The Zeeschelde is subject to severe eutrophication as it receives high inputs from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities. The ecological values and nature conservation interests of the Zeeschelde are taken into consideration by a series of (inter)national policy instruments, aiming at a sustainable management and conservation of this aquatic environment. As a result several management plans apply also to the Zeeschelde or to parts of it. The most far-reaching plans are the Long Term Vision for the Schelde estuary (LTVS) and the updated Sigmaplan which combine ecological rehabilitation and sustainable habitat creation with flood control measures and navigation requisites. Compliance with almost all national and international agreements requires monitoring of biota. In the WFD fish is one of the biotic quality elements to be used in order to assess the ecological status of transitional waters. Species composition, abundance and the proportion of disturbance-sensitive species should be quantified. Any distortion attributable to anthropogenic impact is calculated by means of the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR), representing the difference between monitored data and reference conditions. The fish-based assessment tool that we developed was designed to comply with these criteria. In addition it can be used on a metric level to assess fish species of special interest under the Habitats Directive. The fish assemblages in the Zeeschelde were described based on sampling results recorded over a period of 13 years. An overview was provided of the temporal and spatial variation in those assemblages along the salinity gradient in the Zeeschelde estuary (Chapter 2). The species richness and abundance increased over these years in the different salinity zones of the Zeeschelde. Between 1991 and 2008 a total of 71 fish species were recorded within this part of the estuary. Each salinity zone is characterised by a typical fish assemblage, although some species are shared between all three zones. The observed increase since 2007 in species richness in the freshwater and oligohaline zones coincides with a remarkable increase in dissolved oxygen. Guild specific qualitative Maximal and Good Ecological Potential (MEP/GEP) lists were composed for the different zones within the Zeeschelde estuary and its tidal tributaries (Chapter 3). The geographical range and ecological demands of the detected fish species were assessed. The outcome was decisive for acceptance within these lists, which served to develop a fish-based index for the Zeeschelde. In chapter 4 the ecological goals and associated habitat needs were described for fish populations in estuaries. The Zeeschelde was presented as a case study for the description of ecological goals for the fish species listed in the MEP/GEP lists. In order to make the method more widely applicable we first classified fishes into guilds, relevant for the formulation of ecological goals. Next we described guild-specific ecological goals and defined habitat needs linked with a proper functioning of the estuarine ecosystem. The habitat needs ensure the completion of all lifecycle stages: spawning, breeding, feeding and growth to maturity. A hierarchical approach was adopted to define the goals and habitat needs: from a regional scale to habitat level. On a regional and basin wide scale the essential habitat need is connectivity, on an estuarine scale this is space and on a habitat scale diversity is most important. The proposed ecological goals need further quantification. However in general the rehabilitation of marshes and mudflats and the enhancement of flood control areas as fish habitats, with special attention for connectivity with the estuary, will significantly increase the carrying capacity of the Zeeschelde for most of the relevant populations. In Chapters 5 and 6 two essential habitat needs are discussed in detail. In chapter 5, we modelled the environmental constraints controlling the movements of anadromous and catadromous fish populations that migrate through the tidal watershed of the river Schelde. For remaining diadromous populations (flounder, three-spined stickleback, twaite shad, thinlip mullet, European eel and European smelt) a data driven logistic model was parameterized. We modelled the presence/absence of fish species in samples taken between 1995 and 2004 as a function of temperature, dissolved oxygen, river flow and season. We demonstrated that it is possible to make acceptable predictions about the future spatiotemporal distribution of migrant fishes, even if only relatively limited information is available. An important management issue that derived from our study is that it is essential to avoid at all times DO concentrations below 5 mg l-1 in the freshwater and brackish tidal estuary of the watershed. Restoration of habitats such as marshes and mudflat areas will enhance aeration of the water and help to avoid severe DO drops. The use of tidal marshes for fish and the influence of creek characteristics on the visiting fish assemblages were assessed (Chapter 6). As expected the influence of the salinity gradient is reflected in the different fish assemblages. We caught a high proportion of juveniles suggesting that the creeks are a juvenile habitat. The highest fish abundance was recorded in summer (after hatching) because then juveniles seek shelter in the creeks. It was also observed that the visit frequency was related to creek dimensions and inundation time. Larger creeks, lower in the tidal frame and with a more complex structure, as they include side creeks and permanent pools, are of higher interest for fish. We also observed a positive effect of rivulets on the mudflat adjoining the tidal marsh as they guide the fish towards the creeks. These observations are important for the design of tidal wetland restoration projects. In chapters 7 and 8 different approaches to define a fish-based evaluation tool to assess the ecological quality status of an estuary (the Zeeschelde) were described. The fish index comprises metrics which are ecologically relevant variables that are sensitive to human pressures. A first step in the selection of these metrics consisted in assessing how they evolve along a pressure gradient (graphical selection). In chapter 7 a new concept in the index development was introduced i.e. the balance between type I (false positive) and type II (false negative) errors. The magnitude of these errors was expressed as the area under the curve (AUC). Graphical screening assured the selection of metrics responsive to anthropogenic degradation. We scored metrics by judging the metric value variation in the best available site (quintiles). A forward stepwise regression selected the metric with the best balance between the type I and type II error. Metric selection was continued until the lowest AUC was obtained. To define the EBI thresholds we fixed the maximum type I error of each integrity class threshold at 10%. It was a major concern that not all quality classes can be discriminated because of unbalanced pre-classification data. Secondly the final index had a high type II error, although we believe both types of error should be small. Therefore in the next chapter a different approach was used in order to obtain a better index. In chapter 8 we described the development of a Zone specific fish-based multimetric Estuarine index of Biotic Integrity (Z-EBI) based on fish surveys data from the Zeeschelde estuary (Chapter 2). Again we pre-classified sites using indicators of anthropogenic impact and selected metrics showing a monotone response with pressure classes for further analysis. Metric values were calculated using pooled annual data within one salinity zone and expressed as catch per unit effort. Metrics were selected using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combined with a redundancy test. We defined thresholds for the Good Ecological Potential (GEP) from salinity zone specific references developed in chapter 3. andapplied a modified trisection for the other thresholds (moderate, poor and bad). The Z-EBI is defined by the average of the metric scores calculated over a one year period within each zone and translated into an Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) to comply with the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The indices integrate structural and functional qualities of the estuarine fish communities and can be used to assess the ecological quality of the Zeeschelde. We successfully validated the Z-EBI performances for habitat degradation in the various habitat zones. With this new index we encompass small temporal and spatial variations within the estuary. It accounts for the seasonal variation and covers the complete salinity zone, which is an improvement compared to the previous index. The developed indices are able to make the distinction between impacted and unimpacted (GEP) status. Our results showed that the ecological status of the Zeeschelde at present varies from bad to moderate. A comparison of the average scores obtained with EBI and Z-EBI indicated that in those cases where a different appreciation appeared, the EBI scores lower. This confirms our view that local and temporal appreciations are too sensitive to small variations, which do not necessarily represent an overall negative impact on the ecosystem functioning. Implementing rehabilitation and conservation measures will improve the ecological quality status of the Zeeschelde. At present the Z-EBI corresponds best with the demands from the different legislations and provides the most holistic information from an ecological point of view. ; De Schelde ontspringt in St. Quentin (Frankrijk) en mondt 355 km verder uit in de Noordzee nabij Vlissingen (Nederland). Tussen Gent en de monding is de Schelde over zowat 160 km onderhevig aan getijdewerking. In deze studie concentreerden we ons op de Zeeschelde (Belgisch estuarium) met haar drie saliniteit zones: een mesohaline zone, een oligohaline zone (inclusief de Rupel) en een zoetwater zone (inclusief de Durme, Dijle, Zenne, Grote en Kleine Nete). De Zeeschelde wordt vervuild door huishoudelijk en industrieel afval en ten gevolge van landbouwactiviteiten. Toch heeft de Zeeschelde een hoog ecologisch potentieel en een natuurwaarde die door nationale en internationale richtlijnen worden gewaarborgd. Voor het verzekeren van natuurherstel, gecombineerd met veiligheid en toegankelijkheid, werd gekozen voor het wenselijk alternatief van het geactualiseerd Sigmaplan. Als onderdeel van de studies die nagaan of aan de verschillende richtlijnen wordt voldaan, is in de meeste gevallen ook een beoordeling vereist van de status van biota. In de Kaderrichtlijn Water wordt vis vooropgesteld als een kwaliteitselement voor het beoordelen van de ecologische status van overgangswater. Een verschuiving tengevolge van menselijke activiteiten in de soortensamenstelling, abundantie en aantal gevoelige soorten wordt weergegeven in een ecologische kwaliteitsratio, die het verschil aantoont tussen de actuele en de referentietoestand. Daarom ontwikkelden we een visindex die gevoelig is voor dergelijke verschuivingen en die tevens elementen opneemt die van belang zijn voor de habitatrichtlijn. Op basis van vangstgegevens, verzameld over 13 jaar, beschreven we de vissamenstelling in de Zeeschelde langsheen de zoutgradiënt (Hoofdstuk 2). In totaal vingen we voor de drie saliniteitszones 71 verschillende soorten. Elke zone was gekenmerkt door een typische visgemeenschap, die we verder onderverdeelden in gildes of ecologische groepen. De toename van het aantal soorten in de verschillende zones viel samen met een verbetering van de waterkwaliteit (opgeloste zuurstof). Op basis van de recente en historische visstandgegevens stelden we referentielijsten samen diebeantwoorden aan het Maximaal Ecologisch Potentieel (MEP) en het Goed Ecologisch Potentieel (GEP) van de drie saliniteitzones in de Zeeschelde vis (Hoofdstuk 3). De geografische spreiding en ecologische vereisten van elke vissoort waren bepalend om deze al dan niet in de lijst op te nemen. Deze referentielijsten werden gebruikt voor het ontwikkelen van een zone specifieke visindex voor het Zeeschelde estuarium. We groepeerden de vissen uit de referentielijsten in gildes en expliciteerden hun ecologische doelstellingen en de ermee geassocieerde habitateisen (Hoofdstuk 4). De aanwezigheid van de vereiste habitatten garandeert dat de betrokken vissen hun levenscyclus kunnen voltooien. Op regionale en bekkenschaal houdt dat ondermeer ecologische connectiviteit in, op estuariene schaal is dat voornamelijk ruimte en op habitatniveau diversiteit. De bescherming en de maatregelen natuurherstel waarbij slikken, schorren en gecontroleerde overstromingsvlaktes worden gerealiseerd, verhogen de draagkracht van de Zeeschelde voor vis. De habitateisen beschreven in hoofdstuk 4 zijn kwalitatief. Om de connectiviteit te kwantificeren modelleerden we omgevingsvariabelen die een belangrijke invloed uitoefenen op de migratie van diadrome vispopulaties in de Zeeschelde (Hoofdstuk 5). Zo modelleerden we de aan- en afwezigheid van migratoren in de Schelde in functie van temperatuur, opgeloste zuurstof, stroomsnelheid en seizoen. We toonden aan dat met relatief weinig informatie aanvaardbare voorspellingen konden gemaakt worden van de ruimtelijke en tijdelijke verspreiding van migrerende vissoorten. Dat in het zoetwater- en brakwatergedeelte een zuurstofconcentratie van minstens 5 mg l-1 een noodzakelijke habitatvereiste blijkt te zijn, is belangrijk voor het estuariumbeheer. De realisatie en bescherming van afdoende oppervlakten slikken en schorren zijn noodzakelijk om de zuurstofuitwisseling te verbeteren. Het gebruik van schorren door vissen en het belang van kreekeigenschappen voor de bezoekende visgemeenschappen verduidelijkten we in hoofdstuk 6. Naargelang het zoutgehalte troffen we in de schorkreken andere visgemeenschappen aan. In alle schorkreken vingen we hoofdzakelijk juveniele exemplaren met een piek in de zomer. De positie van de kreek in het getijdevenster beïnvloedt de bezoekfrequentie van de vissen, dit is ook het geval bij aanwezigheid van een geul op het slik vóór het schor. Kreken die relatief lager liggen, breed zijn en vertakkingen hebben met permanente poelen worden het meest bezocht door vissen. In hoofdstuk 7 beschreven we de ontwikkeling van een op vis gebaseerd scoresysteem: de visindex (EBI). Deze visindex bevat metrieken of ecologisch relevante variabelen die gevoelig zijn voor verstoring. Een metriek die een staalnameplaats bijna altijd een zelfde status geeft als deze bepaald op basis van de omgevingsindicatoren is een goede metriek met een kleine foutenmarge. Het evenwicht tussen type I- en type II- fout kan met een curve weergegeven worden en het oppervlak onder deze lijn (AUC: area under the curve) is een maat voor de performantie van de metriek: hoe kleiner de oppervlakte hoe performanter. Met een stapsgewijze regressieanalyse selecteerden we eerst de metriek met de laagste AUC, waarna we de volgende metriek selecteerden die in combinatie met de eerste een nog kleinere AUC geeft tot uiteindelijk de AUC niet verder afnam. Finaal selecteerden we vijf metrieken en de spreiding van hun gemiddelde waarde werd gebruikt om de grenswaarden van de index te bepalen. Deze index is in staat op basis van één afvissing de kwaliteit van een staalnameplaats vast te leggen. Hij vertoont echter nog enkele tekortkomingen en daarom ontwikkelden wemet een alternatieve benadering nog een andere visindex voor de Zeeschelde (Hoofdstuk 8). Bij de alternatieve benadering opteerden we om voor het berekenen van de metriekwaarden alle gegevens per jaar binnen één zone te combineren. Dat impliceerde dat de resulterende index (Z-EBI) de Zeeschelde per saliniteitzone evalueert, gebaseerd op jaargegevens. Metrieken werden geselecteerd met behulp van statistische analyses, gecombineerd met ecologische achtergrondkennis. De referentielijsten werden gebruikt om grenswaarden voorelke geselecteerde metriek te bepalen. Het gemiddelde van de metriek scores berekend voor één jaar gaf de indexwaarde aan. Deze werd vertaald in een ecologische kwaliteitsratio (EQR) in overeenstemming met de Kaderrichtlijn Water. In elke zone beoordeelt de index structurele en functionele kwaliteiten en bepaalt hij de staat van de ecologische kwaliteit van de Zeeschelde. Door het gebruik van jaargegevens hielden we rekening met seizoensverschillen en door het beoordelen van een totale zone werden eveneens ruimtelijke verschillengeïntegreerd. De indexwaarden toonden aan dat de ecologische status van de Zeeschelde naargelang de zone varieert tussen slecht en matig. Bij een vergelijking van de EBI en Z-EBI scores stelden we vast dat bij een verschil de EBI steeds lager scoorde. Dit bevestigde onze hypothese dat het gebruik van locale en tijdelijke beoordelingen te gevoelig is voor kleine veranderingen die daarenboven niet noodzakelijk een negatieve invloed hebben op het functioneren van het ecosysteem. Momenteel beantwoordt de Z-EBI het best aan de criteria van verschillende richtlijnen en vanuit een ecologisch perspectief verschaft ze de meest holistische beoordeling.

Eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.), a commonly consumed fish, is known to bioaccumulate lipophilic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides. Since 1994, the Flemish eel pollutant monitoring network monitors about 300 different sites in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium). This includes rivers, canals, polder waters and closed water bodies. The concentrations of the sum of the 7 indicator PCBs (PCB congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) measured by this monitoring network, are very high: in 80% of all sampled localities, the Belgian PCB standard for fish (75 ng/g fresh weight) is exceeded. Therefore, in 2002, the Flemish authorities have issued a catch-and-release obligation for all fish in the 5 most polluted waters in Flanders and an overall catch-and-release obligation for eel in Flanders. In spite of this restriction, some sport fishers still take their eel home for consumption. The objective of this study was to assess the intake of the 7 indicator PCBs (iPCBs) in this subgroup and to compare their intake with the exposure of a Flemish background population.

This report synthesises the testing of the ecosystem service and natural capital concepts in real world applications. All 27 OpenNESS case studies shared their experiences, which they gained up to November 2014. In total over 160 researchers contributed to the work conducted in the case studies, while the people involved through stakeholder participation are 2-3 fold this number. In over half (15) case studies, the research was organised in sub-projects, where the spatial area or stakeholder group were specific to the problem or issue addressed (total 67 issues reported i.e. subprojects). Each case study provided three types of information: (i) a 2-5 page narrative describing the aims, process and results in their case study so far and links to other WPs; (ii) answers to 27 questions designed to provide information on rationale for the study, stakeholders involved, tools tested and work planned for the coming year; and (iii) a matrix with numerical scores of the tools used, policy areas addressed and joint research activities between case studies. WP coordinators and CS research leaders were all consulted on the structure and the questions of these 3 type of reports. The results of these three inputs are integrated and summarized to provide a comprehensive understanding of the testing of the ecosystem service and natural capital concepts in the OpenNESS project so far. In this report we test approaches to collate the data, which will be utilised to create the final synthesis deliverable of WP5 i.e. D5.4 'Review paper reporting the case study representative's and CABs assessment of the practical advantages and limitations of ES and NC assessment from the practitioners' perspective'. This report (D5.2) is structured to provide a summary of the work completed in 27 case studies and 67 sub-projects. Case study research leaders could not report full details for all 67 case studies as some were not sufficiently advanced (e.g. the selection of some tools were not yet finalised with the stakeholders), therefore the number of sub-projects varies depending on the answers received. This report is arranged in three parts: 1. Typology of real-world applications tested 2. Stakeholders involved and the case study advisory board (CAB) 3. Tools used 4. Lessons-learned from the case studies The majority of the work conducted in OpenNESS was judged by the case study research leaders to have an element of awareness rising with 46% of the stated sub-projects reporting that awareness rising was a key purpose of the integrated assessment and valuation and another 30% reporting it was relevant in their case study. Priority-setting to determine future land use was considered a key priority in a quarter of the subprojects and an additional 42% considered this aspect relevant. Litigation/natural damage assessment was considered to be the type of assessment which requires the highest reliability and accuracy, but was not the key purpose of many sub-projects in fact 79% specifically reported that this purpose as not relevant in their case study. The short-term goal of each sub-project was quite specific, but themes were identified utilizing the most frequently used terms to assign one short- term goal to each sub-project. This analysis revealed that the short term goal of the majority of the sub-projects (82%) were either to map the ecosystem services of an area (30%), test the utility of specific tools (30%) or more generally improve management or town planning (22%). Similarly, synthesis of the long-term goals of the case studies found 'long term sustainability of the case study area' was the most commonly concluded long-term goal of the sub-projects (45%). The second most common long-term objective was 'evaluation of the ES and NC concepts' (21%). Future reports will attempt to standardise reporting to ensure consistency of terminology. The key policy areas addressed were context specific to the case studies depending on the real world issue addressed. Across all the sub-projects reported the three most important policy areas were (i) Biodiversity 2020 strategy, (ii) Flora-Fauna Habitat Directive, and (iii) Green Infrastructure Strategy with 46, 35, and 41 sub-projects respectively reporting these policies or key or relevant policies. The Case Study Advisory Board (CAB) was designed to direct the research to real-world issues and problems and to evaluate the results of the research conducted in OpenNESS. Most case studies established a formal board which met and directed the researchers in the area of study, and who will be the primary user community when the evaluation of the research results. It was however, not always possible or indeed desirable for a single board to be established in some case studies, these case studies do however consult directly with local stakeholders (Case Studies 11, 14, 20, 22 & 25). More than half of the subprojects indicated that scientists and consultants (n=45), natural resources management authority (n=39) and municipality or local government (n=37) were involved in the case studies. Ten case studies indicated that all concerned stakeholders are represented in the CAB. When concerned stakeholders are not represented in the CAB, they are mostly local stakeholders (citizens, local farmers, local government, local NGOs, local stakeholders in general) and private businesses. Most common reasons for not including concerned stakeholders were: lack of interest from stakeholders' side, stakeholders are involved in another way in the project, lack of contacts, or "the area is too big" to include all stakeholders in the CAB. In three case studies not all stakeholders are identified yet. The Spreadsheet/GIS, Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) and ESTIMAP are the most common tools being tested in of the sub-projects followed by QuickScan and INVEST, while State Transmission Models (STM) and Global/European overview datasets are currently not being tested widely. It is recognised that the STM models are data demanding, while the Global/European model has only recently been finalized and available for testing. In addition this model is only relevant for case studies where land-use is highly impacted by import and/or exported biological goods. ES-mapping was the most popular valuation and decision-support method tested , followed by preference assessment. A wide spectrum of models, tools and methods (in different combinations) will be used in all the subprojects. Different reasons for the use of a particular method have been mentioned. These will be used to formulate a consistent typology for future evaluation. A more detailed (participatory) evaluation of the models, tools and methods will be necessary afterwards (e.g. when results are available and have been presented to CAB and/or other stakeholders involved) in order to see if the tools used were indeed the most appropriate ones for the purposes mentioned and to see what feedback is given to the results. For most of the subprojects, it was too early to draw robust conclusions about the use of the tools/methods. In other cases, there were some preliminary reactions reported. Positive first reactions and/or rather sceptical or critical (first) impressions from OpenNESS case study partners that have been gathered are summarized fully in the this report. The formulation of the feedback offered in this reporting period will be used to formulate a more consistent typology of responses enabling a synthesis across all case studies and sub-projects in future reports. The 27 case studies provide an excellent testing ground to operationalise the ES/NC concept. A great diversity of issues are being tested with a wide range of tools. It is too early to draw conclusions, but is clear that the stategy adopted in this report is providing the basis to allow syntheis across all 27 case studies at the end of the funding period. ; This report synthesises the testing of the ecosystem service and natural capital concepts in real world applications. All 27 OpenNESS case studies shared their experiences, which they gained up to November 2014. In total over 160 researchers contributed to the work conducted in the case studies, while the people involved through stakeholder participation are 2-3 fold this number. In over half (15) case studies, the research was organised in sub-projects, where the spatial area or stakeholder group were specific to the problem or issue addressed (total 67 issues reported i.e. subprojects). Each case study provided three types of information: (i) a 2-5 page narrative describing the aims, process and results in their case study so far and links to other WPs; (ii) answers to 27 questions designed to provide information on rationale for the study, stakeholders involved, tools tested and work planned for the coming year; and (iii) a matrix with numerical scores of the tools used, policy areas addressed and joint research activities between case studies. WP coordinators and CS research leaders were all consulted on the structure and the questions of these 3 type of reports. The results of these three inputs are integrated and summarized to provide a comprehensive understanding of the testing of the ecosystem service and natural capital concepts in the OpenNESS project so far. In this report we test approaches to collate the data, which will be utilised to create the final synthesis deliverable of WP5 i.e. D5.4 'Review paper reporting the case study representative's and CABs assessment of the practical advantages and limitations of ES and NC assessment from the practitioners' perspective'. This report (D5.2) is structured to provide a summary of the work completed in 27 case studies and 67 sub-projects. Case study research leaders could not report full details for all 67 case studies as some were not sufficiently advanced (e.g. the selection of some tools were not yet finalised with the stakeholders), therefore the number of sub-projects varies depending on the answers received. This report is arranged in three parts: 1. Typology of real-world applications tested 2. Stakeholders involved and the case study advisory board (CAB) 3. Tools used 4. Lessons-learned from the case studies The majority of the work conducted in OpenNESS was judged by the case study research leaders to have an element of awareness rising with 46% of the stated sub-projects reporting that awareness rising was a key purpose of the integrated assessment and valuation and another 30% reporting it was relevant in their case study. Priority-setting to determine future land use was considered a key priority in a quarter of the subprojects and an additional 42% considered this aspect relevant. Litigation/natural damage assessment was considered to be the type of assessment which requires the highest reliability and accuracy, but was not the key purpose of many sub-projects in fact 79% specifically reported that this purpose as not relevant in their case study. The short-term goal of each sub-project was quite specific, but themes were identified utilizing the most frequently used terms to assign one short- term goal to each sub-project. This analysis revealed that the short term goal of the majority of the sub-projects (82%) were either to map the ecosystem services of an area (30%), test the utility of specific tools (30%) or more generally improve management or town planning (22%). Similarly, synthesis of the long-term goals of the case studies found 'long term sustainability of the case study area' was the most commonly concluded long-term goal of the sub-projects (45%). The second most common long-term objective was 'evaluation of the ES and NC concepts' (21%). Future reports will attempt to standardise reporting to ensure consistency of terminology. The key policy areas addressed were context specific to the case studies depending on the real world issue addressed. Across all the sub-projects reported the three most important policy areas were (i) Biodiversity 2020 strategy, (ii) Flora-Fauna Habitat Directive, and (iii) Green Infrastructure Strategy with 46, 35, and 41 sub-projects respectively reporting these policies or key or relevant policies. The Case Study Advisory Board (CAB) was designed to direct the research to real-world issues and problems and to evaluate the results of the research conducted in OpenNESS. Most case studies established a formal board which met and directed the researchers in the area of study, and who will be the primary user community when the evaluation of the research results. It was however, not always possible or indeed desirable for a single board to be established in some case studies, these case studies do however consult directly with local stakeholders (Case Studies 11, 14, 20, 22 & 25). More than half of the subprojects indicated that scientists and consultants (n=45), natural resources management authority (n=39) and municipality or local government (n=37) were involved in the case studies. Ten case studies indicated that all concerned stakeholders are represented in the CAB. When concerned stakeholders are not represented in the CAB, they are mostly local stakeholders (citizens, local farmers, local government, local NGOs, local stakeholders in general) and private businesses. Most common reasons for not including concerned stakeholders were: lack of interest from stakeholders' side, stakeholders are involved in another way in the project, lack of contacts, or "the area is too big" to include all stakeholders in the CAB. In three case studies not all stakeholders are identified yet. The Spreadsheet/GIS, Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) and ESTIMAP are the most common tools being tested in of the sub-projects followed by QuickScan and INVEST, while State Transmission Models (STM) and Global/European overview datasets are currently not being tested widely. It is recognised that the STM models are data demanding, while the Global/European model has only recently been finalized and available for testing. In addition this model is only relevant for case studies where land-use is highly impacted by import and/or exported biological goods. ES-mapping was the most popular valuation and decision-support method tested , followed by preference assessment. A wide spectrum of models, tools and methods (in different combinations) will be used in all the subprojects. Different reasons for the use of a particular method have been mentioned. These will be used to formulate a consistent typology for future evaluation. A more detailed (participatory) evaluation of the models, tools and methods will be necessary afterwards (e.g. when results are available and have been presented to CAB and/or other stakeholders involved) in order to see if the tools used were indeed the most appropriate ones for the purposes mentioned and to see what feedback is given to the results. For most of the subprojects, it was too early to draw robust conclusions about the use of the tools/methods. In other cases, there were some preliminary reactions reported. Positive first reactions and/or rather sceptical or critical (first) impressions from OpenNESS case study partners that have been gathered are summarized fully in the this report. The formulation of the feedback offered in this reporting period will be used to formulate a more consistent typology of responses enabling a synthesis across all case studies and sub-projects in future reports. The 27 case studies provide an excellent testing ground to operationalise the ES/NC concept. A great diversity of issues are being tested with a wide range of tools. It is too early to draw conclusions, but is clear that the stategy adopted in this report is providing the basis to allow syntheis across all 27 case studies at the end of the funding period.