Biological indicators of climate change: evidence from long-term flowering records of plants along the Victorian coast, Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libby Rumpff ◽  
Fiona Coates ◽  
John W. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Indicators ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Coastal Species ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Recent Climate

We investigate the utility of using historical data sources to track changes in flowering time of coastal species in south-eastern Australia in response to recent climate warming. Studies of this nature in the southern hemisphere are rare, mainly because of a paucity of long-term data sources. Despite this, we found there is considerable potential to utilise existing data sourced from herbaria collections and field naturalists’ notes and diaries to identify native plant species suitable as biological indicators of climate change. Of 101 candidate species investigated in the present study, eight were identified as showing a general trend towards earlier flowering over time, indicating a correlation with increasing temperatures. There was some evidence to suggest that species which flower in spring and summer may be more sensitive to changes in temperature. There was a high level of uncertainty regarding the detection of trends, which was a function of the accessibility, abundance and accuracy of the various data sources. However, this uncertainty could be resolved in future studies by combining the datasets from the present study with field monitoring of phenological cycles in climatically different locations. Data held by community groups could be made more accessible if there was a concerted effort to fund collation and digitisation of these records. This might best be achieved by working with community groups, and facilitated through the recent establishment of a community phenological observation database in Australia.

Historical forest survey data from Eucalyptus - Callitris forests: a valuable resource for long-term vegetation studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn K. Whipp ◽  
Ian D. Lunt ◽  
Andrew Deane ◽  
Peter G. Spooner
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Historical Forest

Quantitative information about historical changes in natural ecosystems is important for guiding management interventions. However, few accurate data sources are available for documenting long-term vegetation changes. In this paper, we describe a neglected source of quantitative information on historical forest structure: forest inventory strip surveys, which were widely used in eastern Australia from 1915 to the 1940s. Strip surveys provide quantitative information on the species composition, stem density, basal area, stem form and size class distributions of dominant tree species. Such information is not available from other widespread data sources. Strip surveys usually surveyed 10% of the total forest area. In this paper, we describe the original survey methods, demonstrate how to decode data-book entries, and analyse a sample dataset from the Pilliga State Forests in northern New South Wales to illustrate the information that can be obtained from this material. Strip survey data-books are poorly archived. Many books exist for Eucalyptus–Callitris forests in northern and central NSW, and additional books may exist for many other forest types in eastern Australia. Strip surveys provide a valuable data source for studying long-term vegetation changes in forest ecosystems. We urge forest managers to search for and preserve this precious archival material.

scholarly journals Long-term ecological changes in Mediterranean mountain lakes linked to recent climate change and Saharan dust deposition revealed by diatom analyses

2020 ◽  
Vol 727 ◽  
pp. 138519
Author(s):  
Carmen Pérez-Martínez ◽  
Kathleen M. Rühland ◽  
John P. Smol ◽  
Vivienne J. Jones ◽  
José M. Conde-Porcuna
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mountain Lakes ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Recent Climate Change ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Recent Climate

Assessment of recent environmental changes in New Brunswick (Canada) lakes based on paleolimnological shifts in diatom species assemblages

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Anne Harris ◽  
Brian F. Cumming ◽  
John P. Smol
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Diatom Species ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Recent Climate

New Brunswick lakes are subjected to multiple environmental stressors, such as atmospheric acid deposition and climate change. In the absence of long-term environmental data, the impacts of these stressors are not well understood. Long-term effects of environmental change on diatom species assemblages were assessed in the sediments of 16 New Brunswick lakes using paleolimnological approaches. A regional trend of increasing Cyclotella stelligera Cleve & Gunrow and decreasing Aulacoseira species complex was recorded in most lakes. Detailed paleolimnological analyses of Wolfe, Cundy, and West Long lakes revealed varying degrees of species change, with assemblage shifts beginning ca. 1900 CE (common era). These species trends are not consistent with acidification. However, linear regression of mean July temperature with time for two New Brunswick historical instrumental temperature records revealed statistically significant warming over the past century. The shift from heavily silicified tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira species to small planktonic diatom species, such as C. stelligera, is consistent with paleolimnological inferences of warming trends recorded in several other lake regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These assemblage shifts are likely due to recent climate change and may be mediated by reduced ice cover and (or) increased thermal stability (decreased lake mixing) during the open water period.

Long-term response of the mamane forest to feral herbivore management on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Reddy ◽  
D H Van Vuren ◽  
P G Scowcroft ◽  
J B Kauffman ◽  
L Perry
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Native Shrubs ◽  
Term Response

Seven exclosure sites located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii and established in the 1960s and 70s were sampled to characterize long-term response of the mamane (Sophora chrysophylla) forest to protection from feral sheep grazing, and to assess impacts of non-native plant species and recurrent sheep presence on forest recovery. The forest provides essential habitat for an endangered bird, the palila (Loxoides bailleui). Vegetation was sampled inside exclosures during 1972–1976, 1998, and 2009, and also outside exclosures during 2009. Patterns of response varied among exclosures, but overall, mamane trees and native shrubs showed increasing cover between the 1970s and 1998, then a slowed rate of increase in cover or a decline between 1998 and 2009. Cover of native herbaceous vegetation showed variable trends between the 1970s and 1998, and then appeared to decline between 1998 and 2009. Mamane height class distributions inside exclosures indicated that recruitment was initially high but then declined as heights shifted toward larger size classes, and presumably an older age distribution. We found limited evidence of a negative effect of non-native species on forest regrowth, but the effect was not consistent over time or among sites. Recurrent sheep presence outside exclosures negatively affected mamane canopy density and perhaps tree density at all sites, and mamane condition at some sites. Our results indicate that the mamane forest has shown substantial regrowth inside exclosures at some sites, especially those protected the longest. However, these exclosures represent a small portion of the mamane forest. Sheep presence continues to impact mamane recovery outside exclosures, and thus habitat quality for the palila.

scholarly journals Oospore Production in Phytophthora Cinnamomi in the Presence of Trichoderma Koningii

1972 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 861 ◽  
Author(s):  
BH Pratt ◽  
JH Sedgley ◽  
WA Heather ◽  
CJ Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Root Rot ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Root Rot Disease ◽  
Trichoderma Koningii ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Rot Disease

The soil-borne fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands is a particularly impor-tant pathogen in Australia because of its consistent association with root-rot disease of a wide variety of exotic and native plant species. It was thought originally to have been introduced from south-east Asia (Crandall and Gravatt 1967), but evidence recently obtained (Pratt, Heather, and Shepherd, unpublished data), suggests that it may be indigenous to eastern Australia and may have been partly instrumental in determining the distribution of certain susceptible species, particularly Eucalyptu8 spp.

scholarly journals A Consistent Methodology to Evaluate Temperature and Heat Wave Future Projections for Cities: A Case Study for Lisbon

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Rocha ◽  
Susana C. Pereira ◽  
Carolina Viceto ◽  
Rui Silva ◽  
Jorge Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Present Climate ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Average Maximum Temperature ◽  
Accumulated Temperature

Heat waves are large-scale atmospheric phenomena that may cause heat stress in ecosystems and socio-economic activities. In cities, morbidity and mortality may increase during a heat wave, overloading health and emergency services. In the face of climate change and associated warming, cities need to adapt and mitigate the effects of heat waves. This study suggests a new method to evaluate heat waves’ impacts on cities by considering some aspects of heat waves that are not usually considered in other similar studies. The method devises heat wave quantities that are easy to calculate; it is relevant to assessing their impacts and permits the development of adaptation measures. This study applies the suggested method to quantify various aspects of heat waves in Lisbon for future climate projections considering future mid-term (2046–2065) and long-term (2081–2100) climates under the RCP8.5 greenhouse emission scenario. This is achieved through the analysis of various regional climate simulations performed with the WRF model and an ensemble of EURO-CORDEX models. This allows an estimation of uncertainty and confidence of the projections. To evaluate the climate change properties of heat waves, statistics for future climates are compared to those for a reference recent climate. Simulated temperatures are first bias corrected to minimize the model systematic errors relative to observations. The temperature for mid and long-term futures is expected to increase relative to the present by 1.6 °C and 3.6 °C, respectively, with late summer months registering the highest increases. The number of heat wave days per year will increase on average from 10, in the present climate, to 38 and 63 in mid and long-term climates, respectively. Heat wave duration, intensity, average maximum temperature, and accumulated temperature during a heat wave will also increase. Heat waves account for an annual average of accumulated temperature of 358 °C·day in the present climate, while in the mid and long-term, future climates account for 1270 °C·day and 2078 °C·day, respectively. The largest increases are expected to occur from July to October. Extreme intensity and long-duration heat waves with an average maximum temperature of more than 40 °C are expected to occur in the future climates.

Restoring Farm Woodlands for Wildlife

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer ◽  
Damian Michael ◽  
Mason Crane ◽  
Daniel Florance ◽  
Emma Burns
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Farm Woodlands ◽  
Grazing Livestock

Millions of hectares of temperate woodland and billions of trees have been cleared from Australia’s agricultural landscapes. This has allowed land to be developed for cropping and grazing livestock but has also had significant environmental impacts, including erosion, salinity and loss of native plant and animal species. Restoring Farm Woodlands for Wildlife focuses on why restoration is important and describes best practice approaches to restore farm woodlands for birds, mammals and reptiles. Based on 19 years of long-term research in temperate agricultural south-eastern Australia, this book addresses practical questions such as what, where and how much to plant, ways to manage plantings and how plantings change over time. It will be a key reference for farmers, natural resource management professionals and policy-makers concerned with revegetation and conservation.

Neophytenbekämpfung an Gewässern im Spannungsfeld gesetzlicher Zielkonflikte (Essay)

2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (6) ◽  
pp. 140-145
Author(s):  
Norbert Kräuchi
Keyword(s):  
Tracer Experiment ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Reynoutria Japonica ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Efficient Control ◽  
The One ◽  
Legal Guidelines

Control of non-native plant species along streams: an area of conflict caused by legal trade-offs (essay) Driven by global trade and supported by climate change, we increasingly encounter new species in our ecosystems. Certain of these species, for example Asian Knotweeds (Reynoutria japonica, R. sachalinensis, R. × bohemica), exhibit immense growth rates and thereby suppress existing vegetation in revitalized reaches and biotopes deserving particular protection. The ecological damage accompanying the loss of biodiversity can only be contained by effective and efficient control measures. Contradictory legal guidelines at Federal level lead in practice to a conflict of aims, making goal-oriented control impossible. On the one hand the Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance prohibits the use of pesticides in a 3-m strip along water stretches. On the other hand, numerous laws – such as the Federal Act on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage, the Water Protection Law and the Ordinance on the Handling of Organisms in the Environment infer that it is a responsibility to protect riparian zones and river banks as ecologically valuable habitats, and to take measures against invasive neophytes. As long-term investigations in the Canton of Aargau have shown, chemical control sustainably weakens the Asian Knotweed. Further, a fluorescent tracer experiment demonstrated that with careful implementation, the use of pesticides along a 3-m strip along riverbanks poses no threat to the stretch of water. Therefore the Canton of Aargau hopes that these findings contribute to the fastest possible resolution of this conflict of aims, so that investments made over the past years towards restoring stretches of water may be protected promptly from the threat of Asian Knotweed.

scholarly journals Waders in winter: long-term changes of migratory bird assemblages facing climate change

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 714-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Godet ◽  
Mikaël Jaffré ◽  
Vincent Devictor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temporal Trend ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Profound Change ◽  
Temperature Index ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Wintering Areas

Effects of climate change on species occupying distinct areas during their life cycle are still unclear. Moreover, although effects of climate change have widely been studied at the species level, less is known about community responses. Here, we test whether and how the composition of wader (Charadrii) assemblages, breeding in high latitude and wintering from Europe to Africa, is affected by climate change over 33 years. We calculated the temporal trend in the community temperature index (CTI), which measures the balance between cold and hot dwellers present in species assemblages. We found a steep increase in the CTI, which reflects a profound change in assemblage composition in response to recent climate change. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence of a strong community response of migratory species to climate change in their wintering areas.

scholarly journals Beach Vitex (Vitex rotundifolia): An Invasive Coastal Species

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Cousins ◽  
Jeanne Briggs ◽  
Chuck Gresham ◽  
Jack Whetstone ◽  
Ted Whitwell
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vegetative Reproduction ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Shrub ◽  
Coastal Species

AbstractBeach vitex is a salt-tolerant, perennial, invasive shrub that has naturalized in coastal areas of the southeastern United States. Since its introduction in the 1980s, this Pacific Rim native has invaded many fragile beach-dune ecosystems along the Mid-Atlantic, Southern Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico. Large-scale monocultures of beach vitex supplant native species through rapid vegetative reproduction and seed production. Fruits are capable of water-based dispersal, allowing for potential rapid range expansion in coastal areas. Ecosystem damage resulting from exclusion of native plant species by beach vitex and fears associated with potential negative effects on sea turtle nesting have served to promote the control and survey efforts presently underway in coastal areas of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland.

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