Impact of Alien Plants on Grant Basin Rangelands

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 384-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Young ◽  
William S. Longland

Our purpose is to discuss the impact of alien plants on rangeland ecosystems of the Great Basin in terms of their effects on biological functions. The sagebrush/bunchgrass ranges of western North America are used as a model ecosystem for the impact of alien plants. Alien weed species have been introduced in successive waves, with the success of each new introduction dependent on how well adapted to the environment and how competitive the new weed is with those previously introduced. Annual species have been successful across extensive areas of Great Basin rangelands. Biennial and short- and long-lived perennial introductions have been restricted to much more specific habitats. Alien plants impact rangelands through stand renewal and successional processes. Alien weeds can cause such processes to be accelerated and/or truncated depending on the species and range site.

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 2102-2118 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Hafner ◽  
Nathan S. Upham ◽  
Emily Reddington ◽  
Candice W. Torres

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 18323-18384 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. B. Dalsøren ◽  
M. S. Eide ◽  
Ø. Endresen ◽  
A. Mjelde ◽  
G. Gravir ◽  
...  

Abstract. A reliable and up-to-date ship emission inventory is essential for atmospheric scientists quantifying the impact of shipping and for policy makers implementing regulations and incentives for emission reduction. The emission modelling in this study takes into account ship type and size dependent input data for 15 ship types and 7 size categories. Global port arrival and departure data for more than 32 000 merchant ships are used to establish operational profiles for the ship segments. The modelled total fuel consumption amounts to 217 Mt in 2004 of which 11 Mt is consumed in in-port operations. This is in agreement with international sales statistics. The modelled fuel consumption is applied to develop global emission inventories for CO2, NO2, SO2, CO, CH4, VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), N2O, BC (Black Carbon) and OC (Organic Carbon). The global emissions from ships at sea and in ports are distributed geographically, applying extended geographical data sets covering about 2 million global ship observations and global port data for 32 000 ships. In addition to inventories for the world fleet, inventories are produced separately for the three dominating ship types, using ship type specific emission modelling and traffic distributions. A global Chemical Transport Model (CTM) was used to calculate the environmental impacts of the emissions. We find that ship emissions is a dominant contributor over much of the world oceans to surface concentrations of NO2 and SO2. The contribution is also large over some coastal zones. For surface ozone the contribution is high over the oceans but clearly also of importance over western North America (contribution 15–25%) and western Europe (5–15%). The contribution to tropospheric column ozone is up to 5–6%. The overall impact of ship emissions on global methane lifetime is large due to the high NOx emissions. With regard to acidification we find that ships contribute 11% to nitrate wet deposition and 4.5% to sulphur wet deposition globally. In certain coastal regions the contributions may be in the range 15–50%. In general we find that ship emissions have a large impact on acidic deposition and surface ozone in western North America, Scandinavia, western Europe, western North Africa and Malaysia/Indonesia. For most of these regions container traffic, the largest emitter by ship type, has the largest impact. This is the case especially for the Pacific and the related container trade routes between Asia and North America. However, the contributions from bulk ships and tank vessels are also significant in the above mentioned impact regions. Though the total ship impact at low latitudes is lower, the tank vessels have a quite large contribution at low latitudes and near the Gulf of Mexico and Middle East. The bulk ships are characterized by large impact in Oceania compared to other ship types. In Scandinavia and north-western Europe, one of the major ship impact regions, the three largest ship types have rather small relative contributions. The impact in this region is probably dominated by smaller ships operating closer to the coast. For emissions in ports impacts on NO2 and SO2 seem to be of significance. For most ports the contribution to the two components is in the range 0.5–5%, for a few ports it exceeds 10%. The approach presented provides an improvement in characterizing fleet operational patterns, and thereby ship emissions and impacts. Furthermore, the study shows where emission reductions can be applied to most effectively minimize the impacts by different ship types.


2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil R. Geib ◽  
Edward A. Jolie

Despite ranking at the low end of the continuum in net caloric benefit relative to other foods, small seeds assumed great dietary importance in many parts of the world, including western North America. In a series of publications, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) argued that coiled basketry technology was invented in the eastern Great Basin during the early Holocene as a specialized food-processing technique. Coiled baskets are indeed useful for collecting and processing seeds, but it does not necessarily follow that they were originally designed for this purpose. A whole basket recently discovered at Cowboy Cave in southeastern Utah returned an AMS radiocarbon assay of 7960 ± 50 B.P., making it currently the earliest directly dated coiled basket from the Americas. This basket is not a parching tray and likely had nothing to do with harvesting seeds. We discuss the implications of this find with regard to tracking the temporal spread of coiled basketry technology in western North America and the role of coiled and twined forms in the initiation of small seed exploitation. Coiled and twined baskets for small seed processing may result from reconfiguration of existing technologies to create novel forms suited to a new food exploitation strategy.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2171-2194 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. B. Dalsøren ◽  
M. S. Eide ◽  
Ø. Endresen ◽  
A. Mjelde ◽  
G. Gravir ◽  
...  

Abstract. A reliable and up-to-date ship emission inventory is essential for atmospheric scientists quantifying the impact of shipping and for policy makers implementing regulations and incentives for emission reduction. The emission modelling in this study takes into account ship type and size dependent input data for 15 ship types and 7 size categories. Global port arrival and departure data for more than 32 000 merchant ships are used to establish operational profiles for the ship segments. The modelled total fuel consumption amounts to 217 Mt in 2004 of which 11 Mt is consumed in in-port operations. This is in agreement with international sales statistics. The modelled fuel consumption is applied to develop global emission inventories for CO2, NO2, SO2, CO, CH4, VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), N2O, BC (Black Carbon) and OC (Organic Carbon). The global emissions from ships at sea and in ports are distributed geographically, applying extended geographical data sets covering about 2 million global ship observations and global port data for 32 000 ships. In addition to inventories for the world fleet, inventories are produced separately for the three dominating ship types, using ship type specific emission modelling and traffic distributions. A global Chemical Transport Model (CTM) was used to calculate the environmental impacts of the emissions. We find that ship emissions is a dominant contributor over much of the world oceans to surface concentrations of NO2 and SO2. The contribution is also large over some coastal zones. For surface ozone the contribution is high over the oceans but clearly also of importance over Western North America (contribution 15–25%) and Western Europe (5–15%). The contribution to tropospheric column ozone is up to 5–6%. The overall impact of ship emissions on global methane lifetime is large due to the high NOx emissions. With regard to acidification we find that ships contribute 11% to nitrate wet deposition and 4.5% to sulphur wet deposition globally. In certain coastal regions the contributions may be in the range 15–50%. In general we find that ship emissions have a large impact on acidic deposition and surface ozone in Western North America, Scandinavia, Western Europe, western North Africa and Malaysia/Indonesia. For most of these regions container traffic, the largest emitter by ship type, has the largest impact. This is the case especially for the Pacific and the related container trade routes between Asia and North America. However, the contributions from bulk ships and tank vessels are also significant in the above mentioned impact regions. Though the total ship impact at low latitudes is lower, the tank vessels have a quite large contribution at low latitudes and near the Gulf of Mexico and Middle East. The bulk ships are characterized by large impact in Oceania compared to other ship types. In Scandinavia and north-Western Europe, one of the major ship impact regions, the three largest ship types have rather small relative contributions. The impact in this region is probably dominated by smaller ships operating closer to the coast. For emissions in ports impacts on NO2 and SO2 seem to be of significance. For most ports the contribution to the two components is in the range 0.5–5%, for a few ports it exceeds 10%. The approach presented provides an improvement in characterizing fleet operational patterns, and thereby ship emissions and impacts. Furthermore, the study shows where emission reductions can be applied to most effectively minimize the impacts by different ship types.


2020 ◽  
pp. 134-142
Author(s):  
Keith Berry

The presence of the amino acid α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) within Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary clay in the Raton and Powder River basins in Colorado and Wyoming, respectively, has been described as compelling evidence that extraterrestrial Aib survived the high-energy Chicxulub impact. Based on contemporary experiments and simulations, however, it is highly unlikely that extraterrestrial Aib survived the impact, which had peak impact pressures and temperatures in excess of 600 GPa and 10,000 K, respectively. In other words, the amino acid signature of the carbonaceous chondritic asteroid that impacted Chicxulub was undoubtedly destroyed upon impact during formation of the vapor plume or so-called “fireball.” The only organisms known to produce Aib are the suite (more than 30 genera) of cosmopolitan saprotrophic filamentous fungi that include Trichoderma Pers., which has recently been hypothesized to have thrived during the K/Pg mass-extinction event. Therefore it is proposed that the Aib horizon in the K/Pg boundary clay in the Raton and Powder River basins correlates with the K/Pg boundary fungal spike, which thus far has only been observed in New Zealand (Southern Hemisphere). This proposition is based upon superimposing the Aib horizon on the well-known iridium and fern-spore spikes, as its stratigraphic position precisely matches that predicted by the fungal spike. If correct, this hypothesis alters the conventional perspective on the tempo and mode of terrestrial ecosystem recovery in western North America, as the heavily sampled K/Pg boundary section in the Raton Basin was instrumental in shaping the traditional narrative of the rapid recolonization of a denuded landscape by ferns via wind-blown spores in the immediate wake of regional deforestation caused by the K/Pg impact event. Perhaps more importantly, it could present an alternative to traditional palynological approaches for locating the fungal spike in other terrestrial K/Pg boundary sections and could provide additional support for the generalization that global mass-extinction events are frequently accompanied by fungal spikes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 29763-29800 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Berg ◽  
C. L. Heald ◽  
K. E. Huff Hartz ◽  
A. G. Hallar ◽  
A. J. H. Meddens ◽  
...  

Abstract. Over the last decade, extensive beetle outbreaks in Western North America have destroyed over 100 000 km2 of forest throughout British Columbia and the Western United States. Beetle infestations impact monoterpene emissions through both decreased emissions as trees are killed (mortality effect) and increased emissions in trees under attack (attack effect). We use 14 yr of beetle mortality data together with beetle-induced monoterpene concentration data in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM) to investigate the impact of beetle mortality and attack on monoterpene emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in Western North America. Regionally, beetle infestations may have a significant impact on monoterpene emissions and SOA concentrations, with up to a 4-fold increase in monoterpene emissions and up to a 40% increase in SOA concentrations in some years (following a scenario where the attack effect is based on observed lodgepole pine response). Responses to beetle attack depend on the extent of previous mortality and the number of trees under attack in a given year, which can vary greatly over space and time. Simulated enhancements peak in 2004 (British Columbia) and 2008 (US). Responses to beetle attack are shown to be substantially larger (up to a 3-fold localized increase in SOA concentrations) when following a scenario based on bark-beetle attack in spruce trees. Placed in the context of observations from the IMPROVE network, the changes in SOA concentrations due to beetle attack are in most cases small compared to the large annual and interannual variability in total organic aerosol which is driven by wildfire activity in Western North America. This indicates that most beetle-induced SOA changes are not likely detectable in current observation networks; however these changes may impede efforts to achieve natural visibility conditions in the national parks and wilderness areas of the Western United States.


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