scholarly journals National-scale changes in crop diversity through the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel O. Mariani ◽  
Marc W. Cadotte ◽  
Marney E. Isaac ◽  
Denis Vile ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Ecological Functioning

AbstractExpansion of crops beyond their centres of domestication is a defining feature of the Anthropocene Epoch. This process has fundamentally altered the diversity of croplands, with likely consequences for the ecological functioning and socio-economic stability of agriculture under environmental change. While changes in crop diversity through the Anthropocene have been quantified at large spatial scales, the patterns, drivers, and consequences of change in crop diversity and biogeography at national-scales remains less explored. We use production data on 339 crops, grown in over 150 countries from 1961 to 2017, to quantify changes in country-level crop richness and evenness. Virtually all countries globally have experienced significant increases in crop richness since 1961, with the early 1980s marking a clear onset of a ~ 9-year period of increase in crop richness in countries worldwide. While these changes have increased the similarity of diversity of croplands among countries, only half of countries experienced increases in crop evenness through time. Ubiquitous increases in crop richness within nearly all countries between 1980 and 2000 are a unique biogeographical feature of the Anthropocene. At the same time, we detected opposing changes in crop evenness, and only modest signatures of increased homogenization of croplands among countries. Therefore context-dependent and, at least, national-scale assessments are needed to understand and predict how changes in crop diversity influence agricultural resistance and resilience to environmental change.

scholarly journals National-scale Changes in Crop Diversity Through the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel O. Mariani ◽  
Marc W. Cadotte ◽  
Marney E. Isaac ◽  
Denis Vile ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Production Data ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Context Dependent

Abstract Expansion of crops beyond their centres of domestication is a defining feature of the current Anthropocene Epoch. These patterns have been quantified at large spatial scales, but the drivers and consequences of change in crop diversity and biogeography at national-scales remains less explored. We use production data on 339 crops, grown in over 150 countries from 1961–2017, to quantify changes in country-level crop richness and evenness. Virtually all countries globally have experienced significant increases in crop richness since 1961, with the early 1980s marking a clear onset of a ~ 9 year period of increase in crop richness worldwide. While these changes have increased the similarity of diversity of croplands among countries, only half of countries experienced increases in crop evenness through time. Ubiquitous increases in crop richness within nearly all countries between 1980–2000 are a unique biogeographical feature of the Anthropocene. At the same time, opposite changes in crop evenness, and only modest signatures of increased homogenization of croplands among countries, underscores that the understanding or predicting of consequences of crop diversity change requires context-dependent and, at least, national-scale assessments.

Spatial regularities between non-immigrant and immigrant numbers in Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
Yigit Aydede
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Pooled Data

The present study intends to reveal spatial regularities between non-immigrant and immigrant numbers in two different ways. First, it questions the existence of those regularities when spatial scales get finer. Second, it uses pooled data over four population censuses covering the period from 1991 to 2006, which enabled us to apply appropriate techniques to remove those unobserved fixed effects so that the estimations would accurately identify the linkage between local immigrant and non-immigrant numbers. The results provide evidence about the existence of negative spatial regularities between non-immigrant and immigrant numbers in Canada at national scale.

A framework for the Integrated Assessment of SDG trade-offs in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Marcinko ◽  
Robert Nicholls ◽  
Tim Daw ◽  
Sugata Hazra ◽  
Craig Hutton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Sundarbans

<p>The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding targets are significantly interconnected, with many interactions, synergies and trade-offs between individual goals across multiple temporal and spatial scales.  We propose a framework for the Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) of a complex deltaic socio-ecological system in order to analyse such SDG interactions. We focus on the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), India within the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. It is densely populated with 4.4 million people (2011), high levels of poverty and a strong dependence on rural livelihoods. It is only 50 km from the growing megacity of Kolkata (about 15 million people in 2020). The area also includes the Indian portion of the world’s largest mangrove forest – the Sundarbans – hosting the iconic Bengal Tiger. Like all deltaic systems, this area is subject to multiple drivers of environmental change operating across different scales. The IAM framework is designed to investigate current and future trends in socio-environmental change and explore associated policy impacts, considering a broad range of sub-thematic SDG indicators. Integration is achieved through the soft coupling of multiple sub-models, knowledge and data of relevant environmental and socio-economic processes.  The following elements are explicitly considered: (1) agriculture; (2) aquaculture; (3) mangroves; (4) fisheries; and (5) multidimensional poverty. Key questions that can be addressed include the implications of changing monsoon patterns, trade-offs between agriculture and aquaculture, or the future of the Sundarbans mangroves under sea-level rise and different management strategies, including trade-offs with land use to the north.  The novel high-resolution analysis of SDG interactions allowed by the IAM will provide stakeholders and policy makers the opportunity to prioritize and explore the SDG targets that are most relevant to the SBR and provide a foundation for further integrated analysis.</p>

scholarly journals Trade and Deforestation Predict Rat Lungworm Disease, an Invasive-Driven Zoonosis, at Global and Regional Scales

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luz A. de Wit ◽  
Taylor H. Ricketts
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Zoonotic Disease ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Rat Lungworm ◽  
Land Use Policies

The introduction of non-native species and deforestation are both important drivers of environmental change that can also facilitate the geographic spread of zoonotic pathogens and increase disease risk in humans. With ongoing trends in globalization and land-use conversions, introduced species and deforestation are ever more likely to pose threats to human health. Here, we used rat lungworm disease, an emerging zoonotic disease caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis and maintained by invasive rats and snails, to explore how these two forms of environmental change can impact zoonotic disease risk. We used logistic regressions to examine the role of global trade in the introduction of A. cantonensis at a country level and used model estimates to predict the probability of introduction as a function of trade. We then used hurdle-based regression models to examine the association between deforestation and rat lungworm disease in two regions where A. cantonensis is already established: Hawaii and Thailand. At the global scale, we found the trade of horticultural products to be an important driver in the spread of A. cantonensis and that the majority of countries at high risk of future A. cantonensis introduction are islands. At country scales, we found deforestation to increase the per-capita risk of A. cantonensis exposure in Hawaii and Thailand. Our study provides a preliminary view of the associations between species introductions, deforestation, and risk of A. cantonensis exposure in people. Better understanding how these two widespread and overlapping forms of environmental change affect human health can inform international biosecurity protocols, invasive species management, and land-use policies.

European Geography

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boian Koulov ◽  
Linda McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
National Scale ◽  
European Continent ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Cold War

The European Specialty Group (ESG) was founded with considerable enthusiasm in 1992. Its organization and the rapid membership increase were in response to the historic changes following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reintegration of the European continent, and a heightened interest in the evolution of European political and economic life. The purpose of the ESG is to move beyond the Cold War legacy of East–West division of the continent and foster research, teaching, and scholarly interaction on the geography of the new Europe. The ESG also serves as a bridge between US geographers working on Europe and their counterparts in the rest of the world. Finally, the group promotes the study of Europe within the discipline of geography and facilitates the exchange of information and ideas among its members and Europeanists in other disciplines, government, and private agencies. Research on Europe has been undertaken at a variety of spatial scales. A number of books reflect the pan-European scale (Berentsen 1993, 1997; Harris 1991, 1993a, b, 1997; Jordan 1996; McDonald 1997; Murphy 1991; Unwin 1998). The national scale also has received attention due to the continued importance of the different national contexts despite increased European integration, in conjunction with difficulties created by the lack of comparable statistical databases at a sub-national scale for the countries across Europe. Regardless of spatial scale several consistent themes have emerged. Within political geography focus is clearly on the new divisions of Europe, states–nations relationships, sub-national political transformation, the twin forces of democratization and nationalism, and ethnic conflict. Within economic geography research has centered around issues of “widening” versus “deepening” in the EU, globalization and pan-European integration, the impacts and implications of the incorporation of Central and Eastern European nations into the European economy, and the spatially uneven nature of economic change. Geographers also have been active in addressing issues of environmental damage, population, and migration. This chapter takes a regional approach that reflects the typical focus of most research. The material is treated systematically within sections on Western, Nordic, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe.

Geographies of Climate Change Belief

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Hopkins ◽  
Ezra M. Markowitz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Change Perceptions ◽  
Nationally Representative

Despite scientific consensus on the anthropogenic causation of climate change, and ever-growing knowledge on the biophysical impacts of climate change, there is large variability in public perceptions of and belief in climate change. Public support for national and international climate policy has a strong positive association with certainty that climate change is occurring, human caused, serious, and solvable. Thus to achieve greater acceptance of national climate policy and international agreements, it is important to raise public belief in climate change and understandings of personal climate risk. Public understandings of climate change and associated risk perceptions have received significant academic attention. This research has been conducted across a range of spatial scales, with particular attention on large-scale, nationally representative surveys to gain insights into country-scale perceptions of climate change. Generalizability of nationally representative surveys allows some degree of national comparison; however, the ability to conduct such comparisons has been limited by the availability of comparative data sets. Consequently, empirical insights have been geographically biased toward Europe and North America, with less understanding of public perceptions of climate change in other geographical settings including the Global South. Moreover, a focus on quantitative surveying techniques can overlook the more nuanced, culturally determined factors that contribute to the construction of climate change perceptions. The physical and human geographies of climate change are diverse. This is due to the complex spatial dimensions of climate change and includes both the observed and anticipated geographical differentiation in risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities. While country location and national climate can impact upon how climate change is understood, so too will sociocultural factors such as national identity and culture(s). Studies have reported high variability in climate change perceptions, the result of a complex interplay between personal experiences of climate, social norms, and worldviews. Exploring the development of national-scale analyses and their findings over time, and the comparability of national data sets, may provide some insights into the factors that influence public perceptions of climate change and identify national-scale interventions and communications to raise risk perception and understanding of climate change.

scholarly journals Climate-human-environment interactions: resolving our past

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Dearing
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Case

Abstract. The paper reviews how we can learn from the past about climate-human-environment interactions at the present time, and in the future. It focuses on data sources for environmental change at local/regional and regional/global spatial scales, and shows the scope and limitations of each. It reviews alternative methods for learning from the past, including the increasing use of simulation models. The use of multiple records (observational, palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, documentary) in local case-studies is exemplified in a study from China, where independent records help unravel the complexity of interactions and provide a basis for assessing the resilience and sustainability of the landscape system. Holocene global records for Natural Forcings (e.g. climate and tectonics), Human Society and Ecosystems are reviewed, and the problems of reconstructing global records of processes that are only recorded at local scales examined. Existing regional/global records are used to speculate about the veracity of anthropogenic forcing of global climate, with specific consideration of the Ruddiman theory. The paper concludes that a full understanding of causes of earth system change through (at least) the Holocene can come only through the most rigorous reconstructions of climate, human activities and earth processes, and importantly their interactions, at all locations and at all scales. It follows that we need to promote inter-scale learning: regionalisation and generalisation of existing data would be useful first steps. There is now a need to develop long-term simulation models that can help anticipate complex ecosystem behaviour and environmental processes in the face of global environmental change – and resolving our past is an essential element in that endeavour.

scholarly journals A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 904-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Hoffmann ◽  
Anna Dimitrova ◽  
Raya Muttarak ◽  
Jesus Crespo Cuaresma ◽  
Jonas Peisker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Country Level ◽  
And Migration

scholarly journals Regional Features of Income Stratification in the Context of Employment and Financial Behavior (Case of the Tyva Republic)

2020 ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Zinaida T. Golenkova ◽  
◽  
Julia V. Goliusova ◽  
Pavel E. Sushko ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Financial Behavior ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Regional Features ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The One ◽  
Subjective Estimates ◽  
Tyva Republic

Based on the data of representative sociological research of inhabitants of the Tyva Republic conducted by researchers of Institute of sociology of FCTAS RAS in April 2019, the article reveals the features of income stratification of the population of the Republic in the context of employment and financial behavior. It is shown that the model of income strat-ifi cation of Tuva is shifted down, since the population of the Republic is dominated by groups with incomes, usually not exceeding 1.5 medians, who also have loans or credits. In General, this situation is partly replicated at the country level. Savings strategies are not widely popular among the population of the Republic. It is also noted that the presence of official employment among the majority of respondents, although it reduces the risk of falling into the group of low-income people, does not guarantee their socio-economic stability. At the same time, individuals ‘ subjective estimates of their income are concentrated in approximately the same range, corresponding to the median group. This, on the one hand, indicates absubjective desire for more prosperous groups in material terms, and on the other hand, confirms that the established way of life is perceived by most Tuvans as the most common in the region, allowing them to feel no worse than the rest. The results of the study also show that in order to ensure an appropriate standard of living, the population of the Republic often turns to mutual assistance resources. At the same time about half of households pay debts to credit and microfinance organizations.

scholarly journals Climate-human-environment interactions: resolving our past

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Dearing
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Local Case ◽  
The Face

Abstract. The paper reviews how we can learn from the past about climate-human-interactions at the present time, and in the future. It focuses on data sources for environmental change at local and regional/global spatial scales, and shows the scope and limitations of each. The use of parallel histories in local case-studies is described in a case-study from China, where independent records help unravel the complexity of interactions and provide a basis for assessing the resilience and sustainability of the landscape system. Holocene global records for Natural Forcings (e.g. climate and tectonics), Human Society and Ecosystems are reviewed, and the problems of reconstructing global records of processes that are only recorded at local scales examined. Existing regional/global records are used to speculate about the veracity of anthropogenic forcing of global climate. The paper concludes that a full understanding of causes of earth system change through (at least) the Holocene can come only through the most rigorous reconstructions of climate, human activities and earth processes, and importantly their interactions, at all locations and at all scales. It follows that we need to promote inter-scale learning: regionalisation and generalisation of existing data would be useful first steps. There is now a need to develop long-term simulation models that can help anticipate complex ecosystem behaviour and environmental processes in the face of global environmental change – and resolving our past is an essential element in that endeavour.

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