Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires

In the EU, the mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services, abbreviated to MAES, is seen as a key action for the advancement of biodiversity objectives, and also to inform the development and implementation of related policies on water, climate, agriculture, forest, marine and regional planning. In this study, we present the development of an analytical framework which ensures that consistent approaches are used throughout the EU. It is framed by a broad set of key policy questions and structured around a conceptual framework that links human societies and their well-being with the environment. Next, this framework is tested through four thematic pilot studies, including stakeholders and experts working at different scales and governance levels, which contributed indicators to assess the state of ecosystem services. Indicators were scored according to different criteria and assorted per ecosystem type and ecosystem services using the common international classification of ecosystem services (CICES) as typology. We concluded that there is potential to develop a first EU wide ecosystem assessment on the basis of existing data if they are combined in a creative way. However, substantial data gaps remain to be filled before a fully integrated and complete ecosystem assessment can be carried out.

Recently, some authors have provided experimental evidence of the existence of an urban-scale macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD). Their convincing results were obtained on the basis of 500 urban fixed detectors placed 100 m upstream of most major intersections in the city of Yokohama, Japan. Those authors assume that the network in which data are collected is homogeneous in regard to congestion occurrence. This paper is devoted to exploring the impact of heterogeneity on the existence of an MFD. All data available for a medium-size French city are used. The data set encompasses measurements on highways, urban center streets (congested during business hours), and residential area streets. Data were collected by loop detectors with a distance from a downstream signal that can vary from 1,000 to 10 m. Heterogeneity is examined here in various aspects: differences between the surface and highway network, impact of the distance between the loop detector and the traffic signal in the surface network, and differences between penetrating roads and the ring road in the highway network. It is proved in this paper that heterogeneity has a strong impact on the shape of the macroscopic fundamental diagram.

Transformative adaptation will be increasingly important to effectively address the impacts of climate change and other global drivers on social-ecological systems. Enabling transformative adaptation requires new ways to evaluate and adaptively manage trade-offs between maintaining desirable aspects of current social-ecological systems and adapting to major biophysical changes to those systems. We outline such an approach, based on three elements developed by the Transformative Adaptation Research Alliance (TARA): (1) the benefits of adaptation services; that sub-set of ecosystem services that help people adapt to environmental change; (2) The values-rules-knowledge perspective (vrk) for identifying those aspects of societal decision-making contexts that enable or constrain adaptation and (3) the adaptation pathways approach for implementing adaptation, that builds on and integrates adaptation services and the vrk perspective. Together, these elements provide a future-oriented approach to evaluation and use of ecosystem services, a dynamic, grounded understanding of governance and decision-making and a logical, sequential approach that connects decisions over time. The TARA approach represents a means for achieving changes in institutions and governance needed to support transformative adaptation.

The second MAES report presents indicators that can be used at European and Member State's level to map and assess biodiversity, ecosystem condition and ecosystem services according to the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES v4.3).\nThis work is based on a review of data and indicators available at national and European level and is applying the MAES analytical framework adopted in 2013.

Abstract. In this study we analyzed how an improved representation of snowpack processes and soil properties in the multilayer snow and soil schemes of the Interaction Soil-Biosphere-Atmosphere (ISBA) land surface model impacts the simulation of soil temperature profiles over northern Eurasian regions. For this purpose, we refine ISBA's snow layering algorithm and propose a parameterization of snow albedo and snow compaction/densification adapted from the detailed Crocus snowpack model. We also include a dependency on soil organic carbon content for ISBA's hydraulic and thermal soil properties. First, changes in the snowpack parameterization are evaluated against snow depth, snow water equivalent, surface albedo, and soil temperature at a 10 cm depth observed at the Col de Porte field site in the French Alps. Next, the new model version including all of the changes is used over northern Eurasia to evaluate the model's ability to simulate the snow depth, the soil temperature profile, and the permafrost characteristics. The results confirm that an adequate simulation of snow layering and snow compaction/densification significantly impacts the snowpack characteristics and the soil temperature profile during winter, while the impact of the more accurate snow albedo computation is dominant during the spring. In summer, the accounting for the effect of soil organic carbon on hydraulic and thermal soil properties improves the simulation of the soil temperature profile. Finally, the results confirm that this last process strongly influences the simulation of the permafrost active layer thickness and its spatial distribution.

Abstract Biodiversity hotspots understandably attract considerable conservation attention. However, deserts are rarely viewed as conservation priority areas, due to their relatively low productivity, yet these systems are home to unique species, adapted to harsh and highly variable environments. While global attention has been focused on hotspots, the world's largest tropical desert, the S ahara, has suffered a catastrophic decline in megafauna. Of 14 large vertebrates that have historically occurred in the region, four are now extinct in the wild, including the iconic scimitar‐horned oryx ( O ryx dammah) . The majority has disappeared from more than 90% of their S aharan range, including addax ( A ddax nasomaculatus ), dama gazelle ( N anger dama) and S aharan cheetah ( A cinonyx jubatus hecki ) – all now on the brink of extinction. Greater conservation support and scientific attention for the region might have helped to avert these catastrophic declines. The S ahara serves as an example of a wider historical neglect of deserts and the human communities who depend on them. The scientific community can make an important contribution to conservation in deserts by establishing baseline information on biodiversity and developing new approaches to sustainable management of desert species and ecosystems. Such approaches must accommodate mobility of both people and wildlife so that they can use resources most efficiently in the face of low and unpredictable rainfall. This is needed to enable governments to deliver on their commitments to halt further degradation of deserts and to improve their status for both biodiversity conservation and human well‐being. Only by so‐doing will deserts be able to support resilient ecosystems and communities that are best able to adapt to climate change.

We examine issues to consider when reframing conservation science and practice in the context of global change. New framings of the links between ecosystems and society are emerging that are changing peoples' values and expectations of nature, resulting in plural perspectives on conservation. Reframing conservation for global change can thus be regarded as a stage in the evolving relationship between people and nature rather than some recent trend. New models of how conservation links with transformative adaptation include how decision contexts for conservation can be reframed and integrated with an adaptation pathways approach to create new options for global-change-ready conservation. New relationships for conservation science and governance include coproduction of knowledge that supports social learning. New processes for implementing adaptation for conservation outcomes include deliberate practices used to develop new strategies, shift world views, work with conflict, address power and intergenerational equity in decisions, and build consciousness and creativity that empower agents to act. We argue that reframing conservation for global change requires scientists and practitioners to implement approaches unconstrained by discipline and sectoral boundaries, geopolitical polarities, or technical problematization. We consider a stronger focus on inclusive creation of knowledge and the interaction of this knowledge with societal values and rules is likely to result in conservation science and practice that meets the challenges of a postnormal world.

Abstract Within the context of the European Flood Risk Management Directive, adopted in 2007, the European countries are required to prepare flood hazard and flood risk maps before 2014. The Exchange Circle on Flood Mapping (EXCIMAP) has made an inventory of flood mapping practices in Europe. This inventory has resulted in a ‘Handbook on Good Practices for flood mapping in Europe’ and an ‘Atlas of Flood maps containing examples from 19 European countries, Japan and USA’. This paper highlights the main conclusions of the EXCIMAP Handbook and Atlas, regarding the most appropriate ways to present flood‐related information. Distinction is made between different types of use and users, such as land‐use planning, emergency planning, flood risk management, reinsurance and the general public. Many countries disseminate flood maps (mainly flood extent maps) and flood hazard maps (depth or depth–velocity combinations) already via Internet. Many European rivers are part of transboundary water systems. Therefore, uniform approaches in flood (risk) assessments, map legend and presentation are urgently needed.

Summary In recent decades, the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx has recolonized former habitat, bringing it into potential conflict with livestock. We studied the spatial and temporal distribution of lynx attacks on sheep in the French Jura between 1984 and 1998, during and after its population expansion. We estimated the local and regional impact of lynx predation on livestock. The number of attacks increased from three in 1984 to 188 in 1989, concurrently with the colonization of the main sheep range by lynx. During subsequent years, 66–131 attacks were recorded annually (92–194 sheep killed per year). On average, 1·6 sheep were killed per attack. Lynx preyed disproportionately on lambs and subadult sheep. A small percentage of flocks (9·5–22·9%) were attacked, most of which (75·2%) were attacked once or twice a year. At the regional level, annual sheep losses to lynx were 0·14–0·59% of the total number of sheep. The major lynx–livestock problem was due to clustered attacks in a few small areas. Each year, two to six ‘hot spots’ (33–69% of the attacks) were identified. Hot spots covered 0·3–4·5% of the total area where attacks occurred (1835–4061 km 2 ). Roe deer abundance was higher in hot spots and, even here, sheep only made up 3·1% of the lynx diet. These data show that lynx were not killing sheep due to shortages of alternative prey or in response to an increased need for food when rearing young. The concentration of hot spots in only nine small areas between 1984 and 1998 indicated that only a few individual lynx were involved. The reappearance of hot spots at the same sites, after years of interruption and despite the removal of lynx, suggested that the ultimate factors causing hot spots were factors inherent to those sites. Further investigation is needed to identify causal factors with a view to eliminating them. These may relate to landscapes features, animal husbandry practices or the behavioural ecology of lynx. In future, where large predator reintroductions are planned, the potential for concentrated, localized, impact should be evaluated and mitigation measures put in place. For scattered and episodic lynx damage, financial compensation is the only realistic option at present. In hot spots, the cost‐effectiveness of guard‐dogs or the selective removal of some individual lynx should be evaluated.

Many different approaches for national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) have been proposed since 1992, with some components common to all. A country's national strategy should be designed to help mainstream environmental concerns into policy. More broadly, it should coordinate local policy with global concerns, as well as integrate scientific knowledge into policy and development planning. The peer review mechanism for national strategies was piloted by France, and also involved representatives of countries from the North and the South as well as stakeholders. The peer review process allows countries to share their experience and information, and can assist them in identifying their own path to sustainable development. The business community can also contribute to sustainable development through provision of local and global public goods. Another input to sustainable development could come from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility (ISO 26000), as a coordinating mechanism between voluntary initiatives and binding obligations (such as international conventions). ISO standards and guidelines should therefore be integrated with national sustainable development strategies and local Agenda 21 frameworks.

Stability analyses have been widely used to better understand the mechanism of traffic jam formation. In this paper, we consider the impact of cooperative systems (a.k.a. connected vehicles) on traffic dynamics and, more precisely, on flow stability. Cooperative systems are emerging technologies enabling communication between vehicles and/or with the infrastructure. In a distributed communication framework, equipped vehicles are able to send and receive information to/from other equipped vehicles. Here, the effects of cooperative traffic are modeled through a general bilateral multianticipative car-following law that improves cooperative drivers' perception of their surrounding traffic conditions within a given communication range. Linear stability analyses are performed for a broad class of car-following models. They point out different stability conditions in both multianticipative and nonmultianticipative situations. To better understand what happens in unstable conditions, information on the shock wave structure is studied in the weakly nonlinear regime by the mean of the reductive perturbation method. The shock wave equation is obtained for generic car-following models by deriving the Korteweg de Vries equations. We then derive traffic-state-dependent conditions for the sign of the solitary wave (soliton) amplitude. This analytical result is verified through simulations. Simulation results confirm the validity of the speed estimate. The variation of the soliton amplitude as a function of the communication range is provided. The performed linear and weakly nonlinear analyses help justify the potential benefits of vehicle-integrated communication systems and provide new insights supporting the future implementation of cooperative systems.

BACKGROUND: Adaptive genomics may help predicting how a species will respond to future environmental changes. Genomic signatures of local adaptation in marine organisms are often driven by environmental selective agents impacting the physiology of organisms. With one of the highest salinity level, the Mediterranean Sea provides an excellent model to investigate adaptive genomic divergence underlying salinity adaptation. In the present study, we combined six genome scan methods to detect potential genomic signal of selection in the striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus) populations distributed across a wide salinity gradient. We then blasted these outlier sequences on published fish genomic resources in order to identify relevant potential candidate genes for salinity adaptation in this species. RESULTS: Altogether, the six genome scan methods found 173 outliers out of 1153 SNPs. Using a blast approach, we discovered four candidate SNPs belonging to three genes potentially implicated in adaptation of M. surmuletus to salinity. The allele frequency at one of these SNPs significantly increases with salinity independently from the effect of longitude. The gene associated to this SNP, SOCS2, encodes for an inhibitor of cytokine and has previously been shown to be expressed under osmotic pressure in other marine organisms. Additionally, our results showed that genome scan methods not correcting for spatial structure can still be an efficient strategy to detect potential footprints of selection, when the spatial and environmental variation are confounded, and then, correcting for spatial structure in a second step represents a conservative method. CONCLUSION: The present outcomes bring evidences of potential genomic footprint of selection, which suggest an adaptive response of M. surmuletus to salinity conditions in the Mediterranean Sea. Additional genomic data such as sequencing of a full-genome and transcriptome analyses of gene expression would provide new insights regarding the possibility that some striped red mullet populations are locally adapted to their saline environment.

Leleu Isabelle, Tonnelier Isabelle, Puechberty Rachel, Gouin Philippe, Viquendi Isabelle, Cobos Laurent, Foray Anouck, Baillon Martine, N’Dima Pierre-Olivier. La refonte du système d'information national pour la gestion et la mise à disposition des données hydrométriques. In: 35es journées de l’hydraulique de la Société Hydrotechnique de France. Hydrométrie 2013. Paris, 15-16 mai 2013. 2013.

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Sugarcane distillery waste water (SDW) or vinasse is the residual liquid waste generated during sugarcane molasses fermentation and alcohol distillation. Worldwide, this effluent is responsible for serious environmental issues. In Reunion Island, between 100 and 200 thousand tons of SDW are produced each year by the three local distilleries. In this study, the potential of Aspergillus niger to reduce the pollution load of SDW and to produce interesting metabolites has been investigated. The fungal biomass yield was 35 g L−1 corresponding to a yield of 0.47 g of biomass/g of vinasse without nutrient complementation. Analysis of sugar consumption indicated that mono-carbohydrates were initially released from residual polysaccharides and then gradually consumed until complete exhaustion. The high biomass yield likely arises from polysaccharides that are hydrolysed prior to be assimilated as monosaccharides and from organic acids and other complex compounds that provided additional C-sources for growth. Comparison of the size exclusion chromatography profiles of raw and pre-treated vinasse confirmed the conversion of humic- and/or phenolic-like molecules into protein-like metabolites. As a consequence, chemical oxygen demand of vinasse decreased by 53%. Interestingly, analysis of intracellular lipids of the biomass revealed high content in oleic acid and physical properties relevant for biodiesel application. The soft-rot fungus A. niger demonstrated a great ability to grow on vinasse and to degrade this complex and hostile medium. The high biomass production is accompanied by a utilization of carbon sources like residual carbohydrates, organic acids and more complex molecules such as melanoidins. We also showed that intracellular lipids from fungal biomass can efficiently be exploited into biodiesel.

Urban areas often host exotic plant species, whether managed or spontaneous. These plants are suspected of affecting pollinator diversity and the structure of pollination networks. However, in dense cityscapes, exotic plants also provide additional flower resources during periods of scarcity, and the consequences for the seasonal dynamics of networks still need to be investigated. For two consecutive years, we monitored monthly plant-pollinator networks in 12 green spaces in Paris, France. We focused on seasonal variations in the availability and attractiveness of flower resources, comparing native and exotic plants at both the species and community levels. We also considered their respective contributions to network properties over time (specialization and nestedness). Exotic plants provided more abundant and diverse flower resources than native plants, especially from late summer on. However, native plants received more visits and attracted more pollinator species at the community level; and during certain times of the year at the species level as well. Exotic plants were involved in more generalist interactions, increasingly so over the seasons. In addition, they contributed more to network nestedness than native plants. These results show that exotic plants are major components of plant-pollinator interactions in a dense urban landscape, even though they are less attractive than natives. They constitute a core of generalist interactions that increase nestedness and can participate in the overall stability of the network. However, most exotic species were seldom visited by insects. Pollinator communities may benefit from including more native species when managing urban green spaces.

The maritime transport sector still falls outside the scope of the mechanisms for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions established by the Kyoto Protocol. However, given the prospect of an increase in CO2 emissions caused by shipping, the debate surrounding regulations relating to emissions in this sector is intensifying in several international fora. The International Maritime Organization and the European Union are discussing the introduction of a market-based measure for maritime transport. This article focuses on the principle of a cap-and-trade system and explores the potential impacts of the implementation of such a measure on the organisation of containerised shipping lines and European ports. To respond to these questions, different scenarios varying the scope for application and the degree of connection with other existing cap-and-trade markets have been constructed. The results demonstrate significant and differentiated effects between the various scenarios.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated that the puerarin injection has been widely employed in China for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the puerarin injection for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in PUBMED, EMBASE, SPRINGER LINK, Scopus, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Journals Database, Wanfang database and the China Biological Medicine database before November 2016, randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of puerarin injection treating acute ischemic stroke were included. In addition, we searched reference lists of relevant retrieved articles. Two authors extracted data independently. The effective rate, the neurologic deficit score, the blood rheology indexes, and fibrinogen were assessed and analyzed by the Review Manager 5.3 software. The continuous variables were expressed as MD with 95% CI and dichotomous data used RR or ORs. Adverse reactions related to the puerarin injection were also examined. RESULTS: Thirty-five RCTs with a total of 3224 participants were identified in the meta-analysis. The combined results of 32 trials indicated that the puerarin injection was better than control drugs at the clinical effective rate (RR 1.22, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.28, P < 0.001) and 16 studies showed the neurological deficit was significantly improved (MD -3.69, 95% CI -4.67 to -2.71, P < 0.001); the hemorheology index and fibrinogen were much lower with the puerarin injection when compared with western conventional medicines (WCM) or other control drugs (the whole blood viscosity: MD -0.89, 95% CI -1.37 to -0.41, P < 0.001; the HCT: MD -0.04, 95% CI -0.06 to -0.02, P < 0.001; the fibrinogen: MD -0.64, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.31, P < 0.001). Eleven trials reported that the adverse reactions related to the puerarin injection included facial flushing, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, and other mild gastrointestinal discomfort and allergic reaction. No serious adverse drug reactions were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Puerarin injection may be more effective and relatively safe in clinic for treating acute ischemic stroke. However, the current evidence is insufficient due to the poor methodological quality and lack of adequate safety data. Further RCTs are required to examine its efficacy.

Occurring at small temporal and spatial scales, flash floods (FF) can cause severe economic damages and human losses. To better anticipate such events and mitigate their impacts, the French Ministry in charge of Ecology has decided to set up a national FF warning system over the French territory. This automated system will be run by the SCHAPI, the French national service in charge of flood forecasting, providing warnings for fast-responding ungauged catchments (area ranging from ~10 to ~1000 km2). It will therefore be complementary to the SCHAPI’s national “vigilance” system which concerns only gauged catchments. The FF warning system to be implemented in 2017 will be based on a discharge-threshold flood warning method called AIGA (Javelle et al. 2014). This method has been experimented in real time in the south of France in the RHYTMME project (http://rhytmme.irstea.fr). It consists in comparing discharges generated by a simple conceptual hourly hydrologic model run at a 1-km2 resolution to reference flood quantiles of different (e.g., 2-, 10- and 50-year) return periods. Therefore the system characterizes in real time the severity of ongoing events by the range of the return period estimated by AIGA at any point along the river network. The hydrologic model ingests operational rainfall radar-gauge products from Météo-France and takes into account the baseflow and the initial soil humidity conditions to better estimate the basin response to rainfall inputs. To meet the requirements of the future FF warning system, the AIGA method has been extended to the whole French territory (except Corsica and overseas French territories). The calibration, regionalization and validation procedures of the hydrologic model were carried out using data for ~700 hydrometric stations from the 2002-2015 period. Performance of the warning system was evaluated with various contingency criteria (e.g., probability of detection and success rate). Furthermore, specific flood events were analysed in more details, by comparing warnings issued for exceeding different critical flood quantiles and their associated timing with field observations. The performance results show that the proposed FF warning system is useful, especially for ungauged sites. The analysis also points out the need to account for the uncertainties in the precipitation inputs and the hydrological modelling, as well as include precipitation forecasts to improve the effective warning lead time.

This chapter contains sections titled: Elementary FEM concepts and presentation of the section Method of approximation by finite elements Geometric transformation Transformation of derivation and integration operators Geometric definition of the elements Method of weighted residuals Transformation of integral forms Matrix presentation of the finite element method Integral form of We on the reference element Introduction of the Dirichlet-type boundary conditions Summary: implementation of the finite element method Application example: wave propagation Bibliography