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Human actions on natural ecosystems have not only jeopardized human well-being but also threatened the existence of other species. On the other hand, the benefits resulting from a greater integration between the logic of nature and human occupations have been seen as motivating factors for the prevention and mitigation of environmental impacts in landscape planning, since it provides human well-being through the grant of resources, regulation of the environment and socio-cultural services called ecosystem services. This article highlights the relevance of using ecosystem integrity indicators related to the functioning of ecological support processes for landscape planning.

The research used the photosynthetic performance of vegetation through carbon fluxes in the landscape, defining areas where different approaches to green infrastructure can be applied, gaining over the majority of work in this area, in which low degrees of objectivity on measurement and consequent ecological recovery still prevail. Thus, using the conceptual support of restoration ecology and remote sensing, the work identified different vegetation performances in relation to the supporting ecological processes using the multispectral CO₂flux index, linked to the carbon flux to identify the photosynthetic effectiveness of the vegetation and the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI).

With a study in the Distrito Federal (DF), the results of the different performances of vegetation for ecological support, through electromagnetic signatures and associated vegetation formations, allowed for the identification of hotspots of greater integrity that indicate multifunctional areas to be preserved and critical areas that deserve planning actions using green infrastructure techniques for their restoration and integration into the landscape.

This approach could be the initial step towards establishing clear and assertive criteria for selecting areas with greater potential for the development of supporting ecological processes in the territorial mosaic.

Relational contracting is increasingly being applied to complex and uncertain construction projects. However, it has proved hard to achieve stable performance and industry-level learning in this field. This paper employs an institutional perspective to analyze how legitimacy for relational contracting has been produced and challenged in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, including implications for dissemination and learning.

A collaborative case study design is used, where longitudinal accounts of the developments in relational contracting over more than 25 years in four Nordic countries were developed by scholars based in each country. The descriptions are underpinned by literature sources from research, practice and policy.

The countries share similar problem perceptions that have triggered the de-institutionalization of traditional contracting practices. Models and policies developed elsewhere are important sources of knowledge and legitimacy. Most countries have seen pendulum movements, where dissemination of relational contracting is followed by backlashes when projects fail to meet projected outcomes. Before long, however, relational contracting tends to re-emerge under new labels and in slightly new forms. Such a proliferation of concepts presents further obstacles to learning. Successful institutionalization is found to rely on realistic goals in combination with broad competence development at the organizational and industry levels.

In seeking inspiration from other countries, policymakers should go beyond contract models to also consider strategies to manage industry-level learning.

The paper provides a unique longitudinal cross-country perspective on the field of relational contracting. As such, it contributes to the small stream of literature on long-term institutional change in the construction sector.

The emphasis on short-term by project-based firms (PBFs) implies the adoption of project efficiency and impact on the team as project success drivers in PBFs context. Good performance by employees, as individuals in a team, can be explained by their behaviors, associated with goal orientation theory. Learning and performance orientations are associated with teams’ effectiveness and overall project performance. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between the dimensions of goal orientation, especially learning orientation, and project efficiency and impact on the team, in PBFs context.

A quantitative approach was adopted, based on data from a survey of 714 respondents, representing project managers, that turned into a valid sample of 315 composed only by PBFs respondents. The results were analyzed through multiple linear regression and, mainly, mediation analysis methods.

Performance-avoid orientation is a predictor of project efficiency; performance-prove orientation, a predictor of impact on the team. Learning orientation relates positively to both project success criteria. Project managers should balance/induce the proper orientation within the team, favoring learning orientation according to the results, to have short-term project success in PBFs.

There is a direct relationship between learning orientation and project efficiency, but it is fully mediated by impact on the team, which it was not found in previous studies. This study argues that they are not parallel constructs, constituent parts of equal weight in project success, but that impact on the team precedes project efficiency when learning orientation is considered.