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Nearly 25% of Europe’s Landscape Could be Rewilded, Research Finds

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17 Aug, 2024

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

Abandoned farmlands in Europe — which make up nearly 25 percent of the continent’s landscape  — have the potential to be rewilded, according to a new study published in Current Biology.

The researchers found that 289 million acres of European farmland is ripe with rewilding potential, a press release from Cell Press said.

“There are many areas in Europe that have a low enough human footprint, as well as the presence of key animal species, to potentially be rewilded,” said lead author of the study Miguel B. Araújo, a biogeographer with Portugal’s University of Évora and Spain’s National Museum of Natural Sciences, in the press release. “We also highlight the need for different strategies depending on the conditions of each region.”

The research team provided a roadmap for nations to meet the European Biodiversity Strategy’s targets of protecting 30 percent of land by 2030, with 10 percent strictly under conservation.

The team discovered that 70 percent of the opportunities for rewilding the landscape existed in the colder climates of Northern Europe — particularly Scotland, Scandinavia and the Baltics — with the greatest potential in the Iberian Peninsula.

Ruined farmhouses on abandoned farmland in Spain. OlivierGuiberteau / iStock / Getty Images Plus

The researchers developed criteria for determining rewilding potential in a given area: extensive land tracts of more than 24,710.5 acres that feature vital species with little human disturbance.

Depending on the size of an area and the animal species who inhabit it, the team also established two rewilding strategies: passive and active.

Passive rewilding relies on the process of natural recolonization, which is where animals gradually and independently come back to abandoned areas. This approach is best for regions that have a healthy key herbivore population — such as deer, moose, ibex and rabbits — in addition to carnivores like bears, lynxes and wolves.

Regions lacking species of key herbivores or carnivores would need active rewilding — the reintroduction of missing species to jumpstart the recovery of the ecosystem. The purpose of both strategies is to create a biodiverse and self-sustaining landscape.

“I often refer to herbivores as the ecosystem engineers as they graze and shape the vegetation, while predators would be the architects creating ‘fear landscapes’ that herbivores avoid,” Araújo said in the press release. “The interaction between herbivores and carnivores creates mosaic patterns in the landscapes, essential for biodiversity.”

Black and chestnut Icelandic horses on abandoned farmland on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland. Rixipix / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Some nations, including France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries, are poised to achieve their conservation targets if they adopt the rewilding strategies and zones suggested by the study.

Since Europe has a dense human population, other nations — Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands — would not be able to meet their conservation goals if they only relied on the study’s recommendations, which highlights the necessity of alternative approaches to conservation.

“Conservation strategies involving ecological restoration of densely populated areas could help some countries reach conservation goals,” Araújo said. “Countries could reclaim land to turn it into conservation areas or establish networks of small, protected habitats. Traditional multi-use landscapes, like the oak parklands in the Iberian Peninsula and various extensive agricultural and forestry systems across Europe, could also help if managed sustainably.”

The researchers hope that, as organizations and governments keep investing in land conservation, their framework and findings will assist with attempts to acquire or manage land areas with the best potential for rewilding success.

“We’re racing against time,” Araújo said. “The areas that look most promising for rewilding today may not be the same in 50 years due to the impacts of climate change.”

The post Nearly 25% of Europe’s Landscape Could be Rewilded, Research Finds appeared first on EcoWatch.

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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