scholarly journals Drought effects on the stability of forest-grassland ecotones under gradual climate change

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0206138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceres Barros ◽  
Wilfried Thuiller ◽  
Tamara Münkemüller
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8170
Author(s):  
Veronica Sanda Chedea ◽  
Ana-Maria Drăgulinescu  ◽  
Liliana Lucia Tomoiagă  ◽  
Cristina Bălăceanu ◽  
Maria Lucia Iliescu 

Known for its dry and semi-dry white wine, the Târnave vineyard located in central Transylvania is challenged by the current climate change, which has resulted in an increase of the period of active vegetation by approximately 15–20 days, the average annual temperature by 1–1.5 °C and also the amount of useful temperatures (useful thermal balance for the grapevine). Furthermore, the frost periods have been reduced. Transylvania is an important Romanian region for grapevine cultivation. In this context, one can use the climatic changes to expand their wine assortment by cultivating an autochthonous grapevine variety called Amurg. Amurg is a red grape cultivar homologated at SCDVV Blaj, which also homologated 7 cultivars and 11 clones. Because viticulture depends on the stability of meteorological and hydrological parameters of the growing area, its foundations are challenged by climate change. Grapevine production is a long time investment, taking at least five years before the freshly planted vines produce the desired quality berries. We propose the implementation of a climate change-based precision viticulture turn-key solution for environmental monitoring in the Târnave vineyard. This solution aims to evaluate the grapevine’s micro-climate to extend the sustainable cultivation of the Amurg red grapes cultivar in Transylvania with the final goal of obtaining Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) rosé and red wines from this region. Worldwide, the changing conditions from the existing climate (a 30-year average), used in the past hundred years to dictate local standards, such as new and erratic trends of temperature and humidity regimes, late spring freezes, early fall frosts, storms, heatwaves, droughts, area wildfires, and insect infestations, would create dynamic problems for all farmers to thrive. These conditions will make it challenging to predict shifts in each of the components of seasonal weather conditions. Our proposed system also aims to give a solution that can be adapted to other vineyards as well.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Susana Borràs

<p>In the new 'Age of the Anthropocene', the Earth's atmosphere, like other elements of Nature, is rapidly being colonized by a minority of the world's population, at no cost, threatening the security of all humanity and the stability of the planet. The development processes of the great emitters of greenhouse gases have transferred social and environmental costs to all the world population, especially the most impoverished ones. This article is a critical analysis of how the legal climate change regime continues to legitimize the onslaught on the atmosphere. It reflects on the need to move to a new "climate justice law", characterized by responsibilities and obligations centered on the prevention, repair, restoration and treatment of damage and related risks linked to climate change, while protecting human rights and the atmosphere, as a common interest of humanity and the Earth.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Atmosphere, climate change, common concern of humankind, climate justice law<strong></strong></p>


Author(s):  
Peter Mason

Climate change poses a major threat to almost all forms of human activity on earth, including tourism. As Holden (2016: 227) argues: Of all the challenges facing tourism’s relationship with nature, it is not an exaggeration to state that climate change represents the greatest. Holden gives as his rationale for this statement that it is the stability and predictability of climate that is vital for the environments and ecosystems that are required for the continuation of current types of tourism, whether these are the traditional form of mass tourism, in terms of ‘sun, sea and sand’ holidays, or a niche activity which involves visiting a tropical rain forest with rare flora and fauna as the main attraction. Climate change also presents opportunities for tourism. If areas currently experiencing cool winters and mild summers get warmer, then new types of tourism may be possible including beach-based holidays where at present these are of little importance. Climate change is likely to lead to modifications in the weather at different times of the year so ‘seasonality’ which is currently a very important dimension to many forms of tourism will be affected, probably to the extent that seasons when there is high tourism activity will get longer in some parts of the world. Although tourism is likely to be significantly affected by climate change, it has also contributed to climate change through for example the burning of fossil fuels in transport for tourism as well through the use of power in hotel accommodation.


Author(s):  
Doina Drăguşin

The study aims to analyse the impact of the drought phenomenon on groundwater in Dobrogea Plateau, taking into account the specific climatic and hydrological factors and especially the geological and structural context in which it delineates the main hydrostructures. The groundwater is subject to climatic and anthropogenic impacts whose weight are difficult to assess, so until now, a hydrogeological drought index was not identified. The effects of climate change impact are reflected in the fluctuations of the piezometric surface of the shallow aquifers, the deepest aquifers being influenced rather by socio-economic issues. To achieve the objective of the research, the available data (climate, hydrological and hydrogeological) were processed using GIS and Excel softs and the results (maps, graphs, tables) were interpreted and correlated in some relevant conclusions.


2030 ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger van Santen ◽  
Djan Khoe ◽  
Bram Vermeer

When we asked our colleagues to list what they consider the most pressing problems facing our planet today, they came back with a wide range of concerns, including atmospheric pollution, climate change, intensifying security threats, and the need to secure an adequate food supply for all the world’s people. Given that we concentrate in this book on the most crucial of these issues, it is dispiriting that we should still have to begin with the most basic of human needs. In the early twenty-first century, a lack of food, water, and shelter continues to rob tens of millions of people of their lives every year. More than half of all the world’s deaths are attributable to malnutrition. More people die of hunger every year than perished in the whole of World War II. What makes this problem especially distressing is that we know it isn’t necessary. That’s why we give particular prominence in this book to the question of what we should do about it. Once the basic necessities have been taken care of, the next biggest killers are cancer and infectious diseases. And as we grow older, we become increasingly concerned about our reliance on caregivers and the decline in our cognition. Breakthroughs in these fields would enable us to live longer and happier. So that’s the second category of challenges we discuss in this book. The continued existence of the human race is not, of course, guaranteed. The rapid pace of change on our planet requires us to adapt significantly and quickly. We discuss the issues arising from that recognition in a separate part of the book devoted to the sustainability of our Earth. The stability of our society isn’t guaranteed either. Financial crises, explosive urban growth, and armed conflict all have a detrimental effect on our well-being, making this the fourth category of the problems we consider. In our view, the most important issues human beings need to work on are: malnutrition, drought, cancer, infectious diseases, care of the elderly, cognitive deterioration, climate change, depletion of natural resources, natural disasters, educational deprivation, habitable cities, financial instability, war and terrorism, and the infringement on personal integrity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 107-125
Author(s):  
Md. Mostafizur Rahman ◽  
Ishrat Islam

Purpose Bangladesh is one of the most flood-prone countries in the world. A number of research works have identified that the flood scenario will be aggravated with climate change context in Bangladesh. In 2014, Bangladesh had prepared municipal level master plan for 222 municipalities with a view to planned urban development. But climate change-induced flood has not been considered in master plan, which poses a question toward the sustainability of the plan. Ullapara Municipality of Sirajganj district has been selected to conduct the research. This study aims to evaluate how infrastructure in proposed master plan will be exposed to climate change-induced flood. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of this study follows geographic information system (GIS)-based flood exposure analysis of selected infrastructure. These infrastructures include transport infrastructure, educational infrastructure, health infrastructure and other urban facilities. Climate change-induced flood for the year 2040 has been used for flood exposure analysis. Findings It is evident from the flood exposure analysis that about 33.99% roads will be exposed to 1.5 m–2 m inundation level; seven primary school, six secondary school and four colleges would be highly exposed to 2.0 m–2.50 m inundation level; four health facilities would be exposed to 1.0 m–2.0 m inundation level because of future climate change. This inundation scenario for long duration will lead to dysfunction of concerned infrastructure and, in turn, undermine the stability of a socioeconomic system of Ullapara Municipality. Originality/value As the master plan is not fully implemented till now, there is scope for intervention for considering climate change-induced flood to make the plan sustainable.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byeong Wook Lee ◽  
Woo-Sun Park

Climate change has resulted in increased intensity and frequency of typhoons and storm surges. Accordingly, attention has been paid to securing the breakwater’s stability to protect the safety of the port. Herein, hydraulic model experiments were conducted to evaluate the hydraulic performance of a vertical breakwater having a rear parapet. For comparison, cases in which the parapet was placed on the seaside, the harborside, and at the center of the breakwater were considered. Regular waves were used for convenient performance analysis. Five wave gauges and nine pressure transducers were installed to secure physical data for hydraulic performance evaluation. Results showed that a rear parapet can reduce the maximum wave force acting on the breakwater. Even though impulsive pressure was generated, it did not affect the stability of the breakwater owing to the phase difference between the maximum wave pressures acting on the caisson and parapet. By decreasing the maximum wave force, the required self-weight that satisfies the safety factor of 1.2 was reduced by up to 82.7%; the maximum bearing pressure was reduced by up to 47.6% compared with that of the parapet located on the seaside. Thus, the rear parapet was found to be more suitable for actual applications.


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