scholarly journals Climate change going deep: The effects of global climatic alterations on cave ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 98-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Mammola ◽  
Elena Piano ◽  
Pedro Cardoso ◽  
Philippe Vernon ◽  
David Domínguez-Villar ◽  
...  

Scientists of different disciplines have recognized the valuable role of terrestrial caves as ideal natural laboratories in which to study multiple eco-evolutionary processes, from genes to ecosystems. Because caves and other subterranean habitats are semi-closed systems characterized by a remarkable thermal stability, they should also represent insightful systems for understanding the effects of climate change on biodiversity in situ. Whilst a number of recent advances have demonstrated how promising this fast-moving field of research could be, a lack of synthesis is possibly holding back the adoption of caves as standard models for the study of the recent climatic alteration. By linking literature focusing on physics, geology, biology and ecology, we illustrate the rationale supporting the use of subterranean habitats as laboratories for studies of global change biology. We initially discuss the direct relationship between external and internal temperature, the stability of the subterranean climate and the dynamics of its alteration in an anthropogenic climate change perspective. Owing to their evolution in a stable environment, subterranean species are expected to exhibit low tolerance to climatic perturbations and could theoretically cope with such changes only by shifting their distributional range or by adapting to the new environmental conditions. However, they should have more obstacles to overcome than surface species in such shifts, and therefore could be more prone to local extinction. In the face of rapid climate change, subterranean habitats can be seen as refugia for some surface species, but at the same time they may turn into dead-end traps for some of their current obligate inhabitants. Together with other species living in confined habitats, we argue that subterranean species are particularly sensitive to climate change, and we stress the urgent need for future research, monitoring programs and conservation measures.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maiss Razem

As cities in the developing nations are becoming urbanised at an accelerated pace and intensity, urban planners, design practitioners and policymakers conjoin efforts to satisfy the emergent needs. The design and construction of a sustainable built environment offers adaptive amelioration to the risks of climate change, which ostensibly affects the global South more than the North. Therefore, for developing cities to become sustainably urbanised and planned, socio-economic factors in addition to environmentally devised technological innovations should be comprehensively conceived, to become more consciously assimilated in urban planning and design of residential neighbourhoods in the global South. One of these social factors is place attachment, which has been gaining traction in the last three decades due to the role it plays in understanding the implications of human–place bonding on predicting behaviours, which in turn prepares communities to become resilient and sustainable in the face of possible risks, ranging from climate change displacement to environmental depletion of resources, economic constraints and social tensions. This paper explores the link between place attachment and the creation of more sustainable communities that are civically engaged and environmentally conscientious. As the dynamics of place attachment differ from one context to another, the study employs qualitative methods to mine the place attachment values of several residents of a neighbourhood in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Through semi-structured interviews with a representative section of the residential communities and photographic documentation, the study analyses the findings from affective and cognitive perspectives, and evaluates their contribution to achieving sustainability. Based on the findings, the research proposes an agenda for future research directions in place attachment studies, providing empirical insight from the context of Jordan.


Author(s):  
Fanen Terdoo ◽  
Giuseppe Feola

Abstract: Rice is one of the most important food crops in sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change, variability, and economic globalization threaten to disrupt rice value chains across the subcontinent, undermining their important role in economic development, food security, and poverty reduction. This paper maps existing research on the vulnerability of rice value chains, synthesizes the evidence and the risks posed by climate change and economic globalization, and discusses agriculture and rural development policies and their relevance for the vulnerability of rice value chains in sub-Saharan Africa. Important avenues for future research are identified. These include the impacts of multiple, simultaneous pressures on rice value chains, the effects of climate change and variability on parts of the value chain other than production, and the forms and extent to which different development policies hinder or enhance the resilience of rice value chains in the face of climatic and other pressures.


Author(s):  
João Vasco Silva ◽  
Ken E. Giller

Abstract Crop production is at the core of a ‘perfect storm’ encompassing the grand challenges of achieving food and nutrition security for all, in the face of climate change, while avoiding further conversion of natural habitats for agriculture and loss of biodiversity. Here, we explore current trends in crop modelling related to these grand challenges by reflecting on research presented at the Second International Crop Modelling Symposium (iCropM2020). A keyword search in the book of abstracts of the symposium revealed a strong focus on ‘climate change’, ‘adaptation’ and ‘impact assessment’ and much less on ‘food security’ or ‘policy’. Most research focused on field-level investigations and far fewer on farm(ing) systems levels – the levels at which management decisions are made by farmers. Experimentation is key to development and testing of crop models, yet the term ‘simulation’ outweighed by far the terms ‘experiments’ and ‘trials’, and few contributions dealt with model improvement. Cereals are intensively researched, whereas roots, tubers and tropical perennials are under-researched. Little attention is paid to nutrient limitations apart from nitrogen or to pests and diseases. The aforementioned aspects represent opportunities for future research where crop models can help in devising hypotheses and driving new experimentation. We must also ensure that crop models are fit for their intended purposes, especially if they are to provide advice to policymakers. The latter, together with cross-scale and interdisciplinary efforts with direct engagement of stakeholders are needed to address the grand challenges faced by food and agricultural systems in the next century.


Author(s):  
Qi Gao

Purpose In the face of climate change, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are expected to translate global or national mitigation and adaptation targets to project and plan levels of decision-making. This paper aims to examine how to transform China’s EIA procedures to accommodate consideration of climate change and what constraints might be for doing so. Design/methodology/approach The main methodology used in this paper is doctrinal research, which is the primary legal methodology to find the law and interpret and analyse the document. Theoretical research is applied to analyse the ideas and assumptions of the mainstreaming approach. Comparative research is done to consider relevant international experiences. Findings Despite well-founded rationale for the mainstreaming approach, entrenched institutional, legal and technical obstacles cannot be neglected in the context of China. Urgent needs to fix existing EIA/SEA loopholes and improve the general enabling environment are also highlighted as a fundamental aspect of mainstreaming. Originality/value The potential of mainstreaming climate change into China’s EIA procedures remains largely unexplored. As a ground-breaking work from China’s perspective, the findings of this paper can serve as an important foundation for future research from legal and other perspectives.


FACETS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 598-614
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Campbell ◽  
Alice H. Pawlik ◽  
Xavier A. Harrison

Ranaviruses are an emerging group of pathogens capable of infecting all cold-blooded vertebrates. In Europe, ranaviruses pose a particularly potent threat to wild amphibian populations. Since the 1980s research on amphibian-infecting ranaviruses in Europe has been growing. The wide distribution of amphibian populations in Europe, the ease with which many are monitored, and the tractable nature of counterpart ex situ experimental systems have provided researchers with a unique opportunity to study many aspects of host–ranavirus interactions in the wild. These characteristics of European amphibian populations will also enable researchers to lead the way as the field of host–ranavirus interactions progresses. In this review, we provide a summary of the current key knowledge regarding amphibian infecting ranaviruses throughout Europe. We then outline important areas of further research and suggest practical ways each could be pursued. We address the study of potential interactions between the amphibian microbiome and ranaviruses, how pollution may exacerbate ranaviral disease either as direct stressors of amphibians or indirect modification of the amphibian microbiome. Finally, we discuss the need for continued surveillance of ranaviral emergence in the face of climate change.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlis Wullenkord ◽  
Gerhard Reese

Despite urgent need for climate action, denial of climate change and resulting absence of appropriate pro-environmental behavior are widespread. Interpretive (recognition of climate change as a problem but re-interpretation of its severity) and implicatory denial of climate change (recognition of climate change as a problem but denial of psychological, political, and moral implications) can be interpreted as self-protective strategies people use to protect the self in the face of threat. However, research has usually considered individual self-protective strategies but has not integrated them into one comprehensive measure. The present research aimed at reviewing the existing literature and constructing the Climate Self-Protection Scale (CSPS) to assess climate-relevant defensive, self-protective strategies. In Study 1, N=354 Germans responded to a pool of items. Using exploratory main axis analysis, we identified a five-factorial structure of the measure, corresponding to the self-protective strategies rationalization, avoidance, denial of personal outcome severity, denial of global outcome severity, and denial of guilt. Study 2 (N=453 Germans) used confirmatory factor analysis to verify the five-factorial structure of the CSPS. Self-protective strategies were positively related with each other (except for avoidance and denial of guilt) and fit into a framework of interpretive (denial of global and personal outcome severity) and implicatory denial (rationalization, avoidance, denial of guilt). They related positively to male gender and right-wing political orientation, and negatively to various indicators of pro-environmentalism, even when controlling for covariates. This provides evidence of criterion and construct validity of the CSPS. In future research, the scale could be used as a tool to examine climate-relevant self-protective strategies further.


Nature ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 580 (7804) ◽  
pp. 456-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Lawrence ◽  
Marjolijn Haasnoot ◽  
Robert Lempert

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-55
Author(s):  
Natalia Christofoletti Barrenha
Keyword(s):  
The Face ◽  

This text seeks to explore the Argentine films Castro (Alejo Moguillansky, 2009) and El asaltante (Pablo Fendrik, 2007) from within the displacement of their characters through the city. This transit configures the organising element of the plots, determining the direction and rhythm of events. The escape motto will structure the film analyses, which are also twinned by the sensory apprehension that comes from the spaces they travel through. The notion of escape, as explored by Esteban Dipaola in Argentine cinema of the 1990s, continues to throb in mid-to-late 2000s production, and in these films represents the means by which the protagonists deploy critical attitudes—sometimes radical and explosive, sometimes silent—in the face of fixed notions, suggesting some scepticism about the “stability” and “order” that they (dis)encounter in normality. RESUMEN Este texto busca explorar los largometrajes argentinos Castro (Alejo Moguillansky, 2009) y El asaltante (Pablo Fendrik, 2007) a partir del desplazamiento de sus personajes por la ciudad. El transitar se configura como elemento organizador de las tramas, determinando la dirección y el ritmo de los acontecimientos. El tema de la fuga irá estructurando los análisis de las películas, las cuales también están relacionadas por la aprehensión sensorial que hacen de los espacios que recorren. La noción de fuga, tal y como fue explorada por Esteban Dipaola en el cine argentino de los años 90, continúa vigente en la producción de mediados/fines de la primera década del siglo XXI, y en estas películas es el recurso por medio del cual los protagonistas despliegan actitudes críticas – a veces radicales y explosivas, y a veces silenciosas – frente a nociones convencionales, lo cual hace pensar que existe un cierto escepticismo con relación a la “estabilidad” y al “orden” que ellos (des)encuentran en la normalidad. RESUMO Este texto busca explorar os longas-metragens argentinos Castro (Alejo Moguillansky, 2009) e El asaltante (Pablo Fendrik, 2007) a partir do deslocamento de seus personagens pela cidade. O transitar configura-se como elemento organizador das tramas, determinando a direção e o ritmo dos acontecimentos. O mote da fuga estruturará as análises dos filmes, os quais também se irmanam pela apreensão sensorial que fazem dos espaços que percorrem. A noção de fuga, conforme explorada por Esteban Dipaola no cinema argentino da década de 1990, continua a pulsar na produção de meados/fins dos anos 2000, e é, nestes filmes, o recurso através do qual os protagonistas desdobram atitudes críticas – às vezes radicais e explosivas, às vezes silenciosas – diante de noções fixas, sugerindo certo ceticismo em relação à “estabilidade” e à “ordem” que eles (des)encontram na normalidade.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Keane ◽  
Lisa M. Holsinger ◽  
Mary F. Mahalovich ◽  
Diana F. Tomback

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