An Introduction to Climate-Smart Forestry in Mountain Regions

AbstractThe goal to limit the increase in global temperature below 2 °C requires reaching a balance between anthropogenic emissions and reductions (sinks) in the second half of this century. As carbon sinks, forests can potentially play an important role in carbon capture. The Paris Agreement (2015) requires signatory countries to reduce deforestation, while conserving and enhancing carbon sinks. Innovative approaches may help foresters take up climate-smart management methods and identify measures for scaling purposes. The EU’s funding instrument COST has supported the Action CLIMO (Climate-Smart Forestry in Mountain Regions – CA15226), with the aim of reorienting forestry in mountain areas to challenge the adverse impacts of climate change.Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020, CLIMO has brought together scientists and experts in continental and regional focus assessments through a cross-sectoral approach, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. CLIMO has provided scientific analysis on issues including criteria and indicators, growth dynamics, management prescriptions, long-term perspectives, monitoring technologies, economic impacts, and governance tools. This book addresses different combinations of CLIMO’s driving/primary objectives and discusses smarter ways to develop forestry and monitor forests under current environmental changes, affecting forest ecosystems.

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The Influence of Land Use Change on Key Ecosystem Services and Their Relationships in a Mountain Region from Past to Future (1995–2050)

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050616 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 616

Author(s):

Jie Gao ◽

Xuguang Tang ◽

Shiqiu Lin ◽

Hongyan Bian

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Sustainable Land Use ◽

Mountain Region ◽

Water Yield ◽

Mountain Regions ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

The Government ◽

Steep Slopes

The ecosystem services (ESs) provided by mountain regions can bring about benefits to people living in and around the mountains. Ecosystems in mountain areas are fragile and sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance. Understanding the effect of land use change on ESs and their relationships can lead to sustainable land use management in mountain regions with complex topography. Chongqing, as a typical mountain region, was selected as the site of this research. The long-term impacts of land use change on four key ESs (i.e., water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ)) and their relationships were assessed from the past to the future (at five-year intervals, 1995–2050). Three future scenarios were constructed to represent the ecological restoration policy and different socioeconomic developments. From 1995 to 2015, WY and SC experienced overall increases. CS and HQ increased slightly at first and then decreased significantly. A scenario analysis suggested that, if the urban area continues to increase at low altitudes, by 2050, CS and HQ are predicted to decrease moderately. However, great improvements in SC, HQ, and CS are expected to be achieved by the middle of the century if the government continues to make efforts towards vegetation restoration on the steep slopes.

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Transcriptional activity of transposable elements along an elevational gradient in Arabidopsis arenosa

Mobile DNA ◽

10.1186/s13100-021-00236-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Guillaume Wos ◽

Rimjhim Roy Choudhury ◽

Filip Kolář ◽

Christian Parisod

Keyword(s):

Transposable Elements ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Common Garden ◽

Elevational Gradient ◽

Mountain Regions ◽

Transcriptomic Response ◽

Genetic Lineages ◽

Two Factors ◽

Arabidopsis Arenosa ◽

Expression Response

Abstract Background Plant genomes can respond rapidly to environmental changes and transposable elements (TEs) arise as important drivers contributing to genome dynamics. Although some elements were reported to be induced by various abiotic or biotic factors, there is a lack of general understanding on how environment influences the activity and diversity of TEs. Here, we combined common garden experiment with short-read sequencing to investigate genomic abundance and expression of 2245 consensus TE sequences (containing retrotransposons and DNA transposons) in an alpine environment in Arabidopsis arenosa. To disentangle general trends from local differentiation, we leveraged four foothill-alpine population pairs from different mountain regions. Seeds of each of the eight populations were raised under four treatments that differed in temperature and irradiance, two factors varying with elevation. RNA-seq analysis was performed on leaves of young plants to test for the effect of elevation and subsequently of temperature and irradiance on expression of TE sequences. Results Genomic abundance of the 2245 consensus TE sequences varied greatly between the mountain regions in line with neutral divergence among the regions, representing distinct genetic lineages of A. arenosa. Accounting for intraspecific variation in abundance, we found consistent transcriptomic response for some TE sequences across the different pairs of foothill-alpine populations suggesting parallelism in TE expression. In particular expression of retrotransposon LTR Copia (e.g. Ivana and Ale clades) and LTR Gypsy (e.g. Athila and CRM clades) but also non-LTR LINE or DNA transposon TIR MuDR consistently varied with elevation of origin. TE sequences responding specifically to temperature and irradiance belonged to the same classes as well as additional TE clades containing potentially stress-responsive elements (e.g. LTR Copia Sire and Tar, LTR Gypsy Reina). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that the A. arenosa genome harbours a considerable diversity of TE sequences whose abundance and expression response varies across its native range. Some TE clades may contain transcriptionally active elements responding to a natural environmental gradient. This may further contribute to genetic variation between populations and may ultimately provide new regulatory mechanisms to face environmental challenges.

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Debris Flows Occurrence in the Semiarid Central Andes under Climate Change Scenario

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11020043 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Stella M. Moreiras ◽

Sergio A. Sepúlveda ◽

Mariana Correas-González ◽

Carolina Lauro ◽

Iván Vergara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Debris Flows ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Central Andes ◽

Semiarid Region ◽

Change Scenario ◽

Permafrost Degradation ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Negative Impacts

This review paper compiles research related to debris flows and hyperconcentrated flows in the central Andes (30°–33° S), updating the knowledge of these phenomena in this semiarid region. Continuous records of these phenomena are lacking through the Andean region; intense precipitations, sudden snowmelt, increased temperatures on high relief mountain areas, and permafrost degradation are related to violent flow discharges. Documented catastrophic consequences related to these geoclimatic events highlight the need to improve their understanding in order to prepare the Andean communities for this latent danger. An amplified impact is expected not only due to environmental changes potentially linked to climate change but also due to rising exposure linked to urban expansion toward more susceptible or unstable areas. This review highlights as well the need for the implementation of preventive measures to reduce the negative impacts and vulnerability of the Andean communities in the global warming context.

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Use of Citizen Science Data for Characterizing Patterns and Drivers of Avian Altitudinal Migration

Biodiversity Information Science and Standards ◽

10.3897/biss.3.36223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Pei-Yu Tsai ◽

Chie-Jen Ko ◽

Ya-Jung Lu ◽

Chia Hsieh ◽

Mao-Ning Tuanmu

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Global Analysis ◽

Research Question ◽

Bird Species ◽

Migration Behavior ◽

Mountain Regions ◽

Science Data ◽

Essential Information ◽

Altitudinal Migration

Altitudinal migration, the seasonal and repeateing movement of animal individuals between breeding and non-breeding areas at different elevations, is a common and important but understudied behavior in birds. Difficulty in characterizing avian altitudinal migration has prevented a comprehensive understanding of both patterns and drivers of this behavior. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated altitudinal migration patterns and underlying mechanisms for a major proportion (~70%) of an entire resident bird community on a subtropical island with an almost 4000-m elevational gradient. We quantified migration tendency of individual bird species based on the seasonal shift in the elevational distribution of their occurrence records in the eBird database. We then built phylogeny-controlled regression models to examine the associations between the birds’ migration tendencies and their functional traits to test major hypotheses on the mechanisms of altitudinal migration. The results showed a common but variable altitudinal migration behavior among the 118 species examined, with 40 and 11 species conducting post-breeding downhill and uphill migration, respectively. The species that have a narrower thermal tolerance range, can tolerate lower temperatures, have a smaller body size, have a more diverse or invertebrate-rich diet, or use an open nest had a higher downhill migration tendency. In contrast, no traits examined showed consistent associations with the uphill migration tendency. This suggests that post-breeding downhill and uphill migrations are driven by different processes and current hypotheses can only explain the former, but not the latter. This relatively comprehensive study demonstrated the power of citizen science data to provide new insights into an old research question from a novel perspective. Using the same approach, we are investigating the behavior in mountain regions around the world. With the global analysis, we will be able to understand the general patterns and mechanisms of avian altitudinal migration and also investigate their variation among mountain regions in different climate zones. In the face of rapid environmental changes in mountain ecosystems, the approach used in this study may also provide essential information for the conservation of mountainous biodiversity.

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Following the very initial growth of biological RNA viral clones

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.80359-0 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 86 (2) ◽

pp. 435-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

José M. Cuevas ◽

Andrés Moya ◽

Rafael Sanjuán

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Rna Virus ◽

Growth Dynamics ◽

Direct Consequence ◽

Mutation Rates ◽

Initial Growth ◽

Virus Population ◽

High Genetic Diversity ◽

Viral Yield ◽

Fitness Parameters

Due to their extremely high genetic diversity, which is a direct consequence of high mutation rates, RNA viruses are often described as molecular quasispecies. According to this theory, RNA virus populations cannot be understood in terms of individual viral clones, as they are clouds of interconnected mutants, but this prediction has not yet been demonstrated experimentally. The goal of this study was to determine the fitness of individual clones sampled from a given RNA virus population, a necessary previous step to test the above prediction. To do so, limiting dilutions of a vesicular stomatitis virus population were employed to isolate single viral clones and their initial growth dynamics were followed, corresponding to the release of the first few hundred viral particles. This technique is useful for estimating basic fitness parameters, such as intracellular growth rate, viral yield per cell, rate at which cells are infected and time spent in cell-to-cell transmission. A combination of these parameters allows estimation of the fitness of individual clones, which seems to be determined mainly by their ability to complete infection cycles more quickly. Interestingly, fitness was systematically higher for initial clones than for their derived populations. In addition to environmental changes, such as cellular defence mechanisms, these differences are attributable to high RNA virus mutation rates.

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The foreign policy of carbon sinks: Carbon capture and storage as foreign policy in Norway

Energy Procedia ◽

10.1016/j.egypro.2014.11.727 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 63 ◽

pp. 6927-6944 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jo-Kristian S. Roettereng

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Carbon Capture ◽

Carbon Capture And Storage ◽

Carbon Sinks ◽

And Storage

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Agritourism Initiatives in the Context of Continuous Out-Migration: Comparative Perspectives for the Alps and Chinese Mountain Regions

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11164418 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (16) ◽

pp. 4418 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Thomas Dax ◽

Dachang Zhang ◽

Yanying Chen

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Western Europe ◽

Economic Transition ◽

Population Decline ◽

Economic Incentives ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Mountain Regions ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Core Element ◽

The Alps

After World War II, the economic recovery of Western Europe implied a swift economic transition for all regions, including the area of the Alps, although affecting various parts at different paces and stages. The resulting out-migration led to population decline in some mountain valleys and regions since the 1950s. Such negative population development trends are widespread across mountain areas of the world, including China, where out-migration started after its rural reform in the 1970s. The effect was in some cases even more significant than in the Alps, with the first villages being deserted in the 1980s. Current estimations report about 380,000 rural villages in China being abandoned between 2000–2016, particularly in its mountain regions. While lower population densities might alleviate the pressures on ecology and contribute to environmental benefits, these movements aggravate a spiraling-down process of local economies and culture. In the Alps, many regions that were facing challenges of out-migration and economic weaknesses focused on local initiatives, including agritourism schemes that provided both economic incentives and stability to involved mountain farmers, and the continuation of local land management systems. However, China’s interest for promoting rural action and tourism-oriented farm diversification only started more recently, with a range of rural tourism and agricultural tourism initiatives emerging. This paper focuses on lessons from successful initiatives in the Alps that might induce and strengthen China’s search for elaborating agritourism activities in mountain areas. In consequence, agritourism might be assessed as a contribution to mitigate out-migration from mountain regions and a core element of the future sustainable development of the Alps and the Chinese countryside.

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CIETRZEW W POLSCE – MOŻLIWOŚCI ZACHOWANIA POPULACJI

Zarządzanie ochroną przyrody w lasach ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0013.2813 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol XII ◽

pp. 1-1

Author(s):

Robert Kamieniarz

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

The Other ◽

Black Grouse ◽

Protected Species ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

The North ◽

Other Hand ◽

North Eastern ◽

Regional Projects ◽

North Eastern Part

In 1995 the black grouse was registered in the Polish list of protected species. The national black grouse protection plan has been prepared and a few regional projects of the conservation of grouse and its areas of occurrence have been implemented. Unfortunately, adverse trends have not been turned back in the majority of regions. On the other hand, the population occurrence area has even increased locally in the mountains. The registered changes in the area of black grouse occurrence indicate that this species has the greatest chance of survival in some mountain areas in the southern part of Poland and locally in lowlands in the north-eastern part of the country. However, it is necessary to stop and reverse the unfavourable environmental changes which have been registered in areas of black grouse occurrence.

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Forage mission for alleviating feed deficit situation of livestock in Nepal

Journal of Agriculture and Environment ◽

10.3126/aej.v17i0.19856 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 ◽

pp. 24-29

Author(s):

Banshi Sharma

Keyword(s):

Dry Matter ◽

Animal Feed ◽

High Mountain ◽

Mountain Regions ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Ecological Zones ◽

Forage Plant ◽

Fodder Crops ◽

Land Improvement ◽

Agro Ecological Zones

Nepal is divided in five agro-ecological zones. There is feed deficit in every zones except in high mountain regions. There is 34% deficit in animal feed (Singh, 2002). The forage mission* is carried out in 49 districts of the country with the aim of providing sufficient green and dry matter to improved livestock of the country to yield more milk from cattle and buffalo. Similarly more meat from buffaloes, sheep and goats has been obtained. Pasture land improvement is in high mountain areas. In mid hills, cultivation of forages such as stylo, molasses, mulato, setaria, joint vetch, leucaena, napier , forage peanut, desmodium and climbing legumes such as fodder peas have been promoted. In Terai, intensive cultivation of fodder crops: basically winter forages- oat, berseem and vetch is going to be popular. Feeding the legumes and non-legumes forage plant in suitable ratio helps a great extend in livestock production.

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Will the Pyrenees suffer less rainfall-triggered landslides in the future? Results of regional-scale stability modelling in the Val d’Aran focussing on land cover and rainfall predictions.

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8923 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marcel Hürlimann ◽

Zizheng Guo ◽

Càrol Puig-Polo ◽

Vicente Medina

Keyword(s):

Climate Changes ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Daily Rainfall ◽

Stability Conditions ◽

High Mountain ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Lulc Changes ◽

Overall Stability ◽

The Future ◽

Root Strength

The occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides in high-mountain areas will be affected by future environmental changes. We analysed the influence of climate changes as well as land use and land cover (LULC) changes on shallow slope failures in the Val d&#8217;Aran region (Central Pyrenees) applying the simplified physically-based susceptibility model FSLAM. In this study, the event rainfall as well as the root strength were defined as the two input parameters that will be affected by the future changes.On one side, the climate changes were analysed by the rainfall projections that are defined in the 26 regional climate models available at the moment in the EURO-CORDEX database using RCP 8.5 scenarios. Future precipitation return periods up to 2100 were calculated by a simplified peaks-over-threshold method based on storm events frequency analysis. Finally, daily rainfall scenarios for the entire study were estimated by weighting current rainfall extremes using a multiplier factor. On the other side, the LULC changes were calculated by the IDRISI TerrSet software suite. All the predictions were performed for three time periods (near, mid and far future).The results of the climate change prediction showed that the daily rainfall will increase between 15 and 27 % assuming a return period of 100 years. In addition, the LULC predictions foresee a strong increase of the forest area, while in particular grassland, but also shrubs, decrease in area. Using the different rainfall and LULC predictions, multiples scenarios were defined and the corresponding susceptibility maps calculated. The stability calculations by the FSLAM model indicate that the overall stability conditions in the study area reduces when only the future rainfall prediction is considered. In contrast, the overall stability largely improves when only considering the LULC predictions (due to the increase of forest area and the corresponding higher root strength). However, the effect of LULC-changes is more important than the influence of rainfall-changes. Therefore, the overall stability conditions will improve in the future.Many simplifications were incorporated in this susceptibility assessment and there are many uncertainties. Nonetheless, these results may help future studies to improve our knowledge on the impacts of future environmental changes on landslide occurrence in high-mountain areas.

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