Spatial and temporal aridity gradients provide poor proxies for plant–plant interactions under climate change: a large‐scale experiment

Climate change is a daunting problem that results in actions-interactions from a number of actors in complex global systems, which require multi-level governance and a myriad of international and national policies. Deforestation is the second largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Success in this area can have a large impact on mitigation. We focus on the governance of ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’ (REDD+), a large scale experiment in climate finance and a promising cost-effective mitigation mechanism to motivate developing countries to implement policy approaches to reduce forest-related GHG emissions. REDD+, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, is considered a breakthrough mechanism in international cooperation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regime, as it was designed to be performance-based. In this paper we analyze a state of the art review on governing REDD+ based on a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed articles in the field. Ours results present a historical perspective of REDD+, literature review, and indicate the most relevant works and scholars in the field.

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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ALLELOPATHIC EFFECTS OF PARTHENIUM HYSTEROPHORUS ON GERMINATION OF SORGHUM SEEDS

Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language ◽

10.21922/srjhsel.v6i26.11391 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (26) ◽

Author(s):

Jitendra Rajpoot

Keyword(s):

Biological System ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Plant Virus ◽

Evolutionary Origin ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Biological Organization ◽

Plant Soil ◽

System A ◽

Allelopathic Effects ◽

Plant Plant

International Allelopathy Society has redefined Allelopathy as any process involving secondary metabolities produced by plants, algae, bacteria, fungi and viruses that influences the growth and development of agricultural and biological system; a study of the functions of secondary metabolities, their significance in biological organization, their evolutionary origin and elucidation of the mechanisms involving plant-plant, plant-microorganisms, plant-virus, plant-insect, plant-soil-plant interactions.

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Public Awareness: What Climate Change Scientists Should Consider

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208369 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8369

Author(s):

Mohammad Rahimi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Social Media ◽

Large Scale ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Connected Network ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Valuable Addition ◽

Scientific Approach ◽

Design Solutions ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

In this Opinion, the importance of public awareness to design solutions to mitigate climate change issues is highlighted. A large-scale acknowledgment of the climate change consequences has great potential to build social momentum. Momentum, in turn, builds motivation and demand, which can be leveraged to develop a multi-scale strategy to tackle the issue. The pursuit of public awareness is a valuable addition to the scientific approach to addressing climate change issues. The Opinion is concluded by providing strategies on how to effectively raise public awareness on climate change-related topics through an integrated, well-connected network of mavens (e.g., scientists) and connectors (e.g., social media influencers).

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Impact of air–sea coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula

Climate Dynamics ◽

10.1007/s00382-021-05812-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alba de la Vara ◽

William Cabos ◽

Dmitry V. Sein ◽

Claas Teichmann ◽

Daniela Jacob

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Large Scale ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Climate Change Signal ◽

The North ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn this work we use a regional atmosphere–ocean coupled model (RAOCM) and its stand-alone atmospheric component to gain insight into the impact of atmosphere–ocean coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). The IP climate is influenced by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. Complex interactions with the orography take place there and high-resolution models are required to realistically reproduce its current and future climate. We find that under the RCP8.5 scenario, the generalized 2-m air temperature (T2M) increase by the end of the twenty-first century (2070–2099) in the atmospheric-only simulation is tempered by the coupling. The impact of coupling is specially seen in summer, when the warming is stronger. Precipitation shows regionally-dependent changes in winter, whilst a drier climate is found in summer. The coupling generally reduces the magnitude of the changes. Differences in T2M and precipitation between the coupled and uncoupled simulations are caused by changes in the Atlantic large-scale circulation and in the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, the differences in projected changes of T2M and precipitation with the RAOCM under the RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios are tackled. Results show that in winter and summer T2M increases less and precipitation changes are of a smaller magnitude with the RCP4.5. Whilst in summer changes present a similar regional distribution in both runs, in winter there are some differences in the NW of the IP due to differences in the North Atlantic circulation. The differences in the climate change signal from the RAOCM and the driving Global Coupled Model show that regionalization has an effect in terms of higher resolution over the land and ocean.

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Contributions of Vegetation Greening and Climate Change to Evapotranspiration Trend after Large-Scale Vegetation Restoration on the Loess Plateau, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w13131755 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 1755

Author(s):

Shuo Wang ◽

Chenfeng Cui ◽

Qin Dai

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Large Scale ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Development Trend ◽

Future Trend ◽

Natural Ecosystem ◽

The Loess Plateau

Since the early 2000s, the vegetation cover of the Loess Plateau (LP) has increased significantly, which has been fully recorded. However, the effects on relevant eco-hydrological processes are still unclear. Here, we made an investigation on the changes of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) during 2000–2018 and connected them with vegetation greening and climate change in the LP, based on the remote sensing data with correlation and attribution analysis. Results identified that the average annual ETa on the LP exhibited an obvious increasing trend with the value of 9.11 mm yr−1, and the annual ETa trend was dominated by the changes of ETa in the third quarter (July, August, and September). The future trend of ETa was predicted by the Hurst exponent. Partial correlation analysis indicated that annual ETa variations in 87.8% regions of the LP were controlled by vegetation greening. Multiple regression analysis suggested that the relative contributions of potential evapotranspiration (ETp), precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), to the trend of ETa were 5.7%, −26.3%, and 61.4%, separately. Vegetation greening has a close relationship with the Grain for Green (GFG) project and acts as an essential driver for the long-term development trend of water consumption on the LP. In this research, the potential conflicts of water demanding between the natural ecosystem and social-economic system in the LP were highlighted, which were caused by the fast vegetation expansion.

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Repeated surveying over 6 years reveals that fine-scale habitat variables are key to tropical mountain ant assemblage composition and functional diversity

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80077-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mulalo M. Muluvhahothe ◽

Grant S. Joseph ◽

Colleen L. Seymour ◽

Thinandavha C. Munyai ◽

Stefan H. Foord

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Species Composition ◽

High Altitude ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Climate Models ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Composition Analysis ◽

Fine Scale

AbstractHigh-altitude-adapted ectotherms can escape competition from dominant species by tolerating low temperatures at cooler elevations, but climate change is eroding such advantages. Studies evaluating broad-scale impacts of global change for high-altitude organisms often overlook the mitigating role of biotic factors. Yet, at fine spatial-scales, vegetation-associated microclimates provide refuges from climatic extremes. Using one of the largest standardised data sets collected to date, we tested how ant species composition and functional diversity (i.e., the range and value of species traits found within assemblages) respond to large-scale abiotic factors (altitude, aspect), and fine-scale factors (vegetation, soil structure) along an elevational gradient in tropical Africa. Altitude emerged as the principal factor explaining species composition. Analysis of nestedness and turnover components of beta diversity indicated that ant assemblages are specific to each elevation, so species are not filtered out but replaced with new species as elevation increases. Similarity of assemblages over time (assessed using beta decay) did not change significantly at low and mid elevations but declined at the highest elevations. Assemblages also differed between northern and southern mountain aspects, although at highest elevations, composition was restricted to a set of species found on both aspects. Functional diversity was not explained by large scale variables like elevation, but by factors associated with elevation that operate at fine scales (i.e., temperature and habitat structure). Our findings highlight the significance of fine-scale variables in predicting organisms’ responses to changing temperature, offering management possibilities that might dilute climate change impacts, and caution when predicting assemblage responses using climate models, alone.

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Predicting Shifts in Land Suitability for Maize Cultivation Worldwide Due to Climate Change: A Modeling Approach

Land ◽

10.3390/land10030295 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 295

Author(s):

Yuan Gao ◽

Anyu Zhang ◽

Yaojie Yue ◽

Jing’ai Wang ◽

Peng Su

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Crop Production ◽

Large Scale ◽

Land Suitability ◽

Large Scale Assessment ◽

Scale Assessment ◽

Maize Cultivation ◽

Large Scale Screening ◽

Selection Of

Suitable land is an important prerequisite for crop cultivation and, given the prospect of climate change, it is essential to assess such suitability to minimize crop production risks and to ensure food security. Although a variety of methods to assess the suitability are available, a comprehensive, objective, and large-scale screening of environmental variables that influence the results—and therefore their accuracy—of these methods has rarely been explored. An approach to the selection of such variables is proposed and the criteria established for large-scale assessment of land, based on big data, for its suitability to maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation as a case study. The predicted suitability matched the past distribution of maize with an overall accuracy of 79% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.72. The land suitability for maize is likely to decrease markedly at low latitudes and even at mid latitudes. The total area suitable for maize globally and in most major maize-producing countries will decrease, the decrease being particularly steep in those regions optimally suited for maize at present. Compared with earlier research, the method proposed in the present paper is simple yet objective, comprehensive, and reliable for large-scale assessment. The findings of the study highlight the necessity of adopting relevant strategies to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.

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