Publications

For many horticultural species such as seedless plant species, species that produce recalcitrant seed as well as plant species that are propagated vegetatively to preserve the unique genomic constitution of cultivars (such as fruit and several timber and ornamental trees), cryopreservation is the only valuable solution for the safe long term storage. Moreover, besides its use for the conservation of genetic resources, cryopreservation proved to be extremely useful for the storage of plant tissues with specific characteristics, such as medicinal- and alkaloid-producing cell lines, hairy root cultures, genetically transformed and transformation-competent culture lines.

This issue of Acta Horticulturae contains a selection of the contributions made at the “first International Symposium on Cryopreservation in Horticultural Species” that was held in Leuven, Belgium from 5 to 8 April, 2009. This event was a co-organization of the COST Action 871, CRYOPLANET of the European Science Foundation and ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science).

The primary objective of the Action was to develop an improved methodology for estimating pollutant emissions and fuel consumption from commercial road transport operated with Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV’s) in Europe. The methods should make it possible to estimate the emissions from single vehicles, as well as, from vehicle fleets. The activities were concentrated on improving the amount and quality of basic data on emissions and transport activity, as well as, on validating and enhancing existing models.

The present report contains the final results of the collective work carried on by a group of researchers operating within the COST Action Land management for urban dynamics -TU602, looking for new perspectives to a more effective control of urban expansion and regeneration by means of innovative methods and tools. The fast change going on, as far as socio-economic phenomena at the wider scale (de-industrialisation, displacement of activities, increased mobility of people and goods, etc.), the European integration, and the affirmation of neo-liberal politico-administrative orientations are concerned, has produced extensive territorial restructuring, deep transformations in the urban form, and the change of the development models.

The pervasiveness of change and the similarity of issues to be tackled in the different countries and towns (“globalisation”) do not automatically mean that there is a progressive amalgamation of European planning systems and land regimes or that local planning approaches and urban management procedures are getting closer. Constitutional systems, property regimes, administrative traditions are conditioning the urban management processes, while local authorities are challenged by the new political orientations and the stronger role of the private bodies. In this context, the elaboration of new urban land management approaches and instruments is needed.

The possibility to gather an extensive number of researchers, practitioners and experts from different European Countries, interested in comparing the domestic systems and experiences, has been the driver for this COST Action.

The mission of the Action is expressed as the need to update the knowledge of the effectiveness of the different land regimes and planning systems operating in the European Countries, in a time of rapid change of political systems, territorial and urban organisation and public policies.

The main objective of the Action is to develop a Europe-wide “comparative framework of land management regimes and policies and to produce recommendations for land mobilization methods and tools in order to foster urban dynamics”. In particular, it has focused on:

1. land management regimes and land policies for urban development and regeneration;

2. land management tools for large urban development projects; and the overall assessment of the performance of those regimes, policies, and tools.