scholarly journals Distribution and conservation status of fairy shrimps (Crustacea: Anostraca) in the astatic soda pans of the Carpathian basin: the role of local and spatial factors

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsófia Horváth ◽  
Csaba Ferenc Vad ◽  
Lajos Vörös ◽  
Emil Boros

The distribution of Branchinecta orientalis, B. ferox and Chirocephalus carnuntanus was assessed in the natural and semi-natural astatic soda pans of the Carpathian basin. In Europe, these habitats are exclusively restricted to Hungary (Great Hungarian Plain), Austria (Seewinkel) and Serbia (Vojvodina). The present research is the first comprehensive large-scale study – covering an area of approximately 125,000 km2 – on these three fairy shrimp species in the region, and it is important especially in the case of Branchinecta spp., due to former taxonomical uncertainties. The local, land use and spatial effects on the species distribution were also analysed. The three anostracans were found to adopt different strategies, mainly according to the salinity of the pans. The apparently halophilous B. orientalis tolerated higher salinities than the other species, which can be regarded as habitat-generalist halotolerants, showing a high preference for soda waters in Central Europe. The density of the species was significantly affected only by local factors, while their occurrence was influenced also by pan isolation. Land use did not explain a significant amount of variation in either case. In conclusion, soda pans with a wide range of different salinities constitute a suitable habitat for all the three species. Also, protected areas with high number of pans – as Seewinkel (in Austria) or Kiskunság (in Hungary) – can play an essential role in the long-term conservation of these anostracans. Finally, we suggest that these species should be legally protected, primarily because the number of their habitats in the basin is seriously declining.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 117862212110281
Author(s):  
Nieves Fernandez-Anez ◽  
Andrey Krasovskiy ◽  
Mortimer Müller ◽  
Harald Vacik ◽  
Jan Baetens ◽  
...  

Changes in climate, land use, and land management impact the occurrence and severity of wildland fires in many parts of the world. This is particularly evident in Europe, where ongoing changes in land use have strongly modified fire patterns over the last decades. Although satellite data by the European Forest Fire Information System provide large-scale wildland fire statistics across European countries, there is still a crucial need to collect and summarize in-depth local analysis and understanding of the wildland fire condition and associated challenges across Europe. This article aims to provide a general overview of the current wildland fire patterns and challenges as perceived by national representatives, supplemented by national fire statistics (2009–2018) across Europe. For each of the 31 countries included, we present a perspective authored by scientists or practitioners from each respective country, representing a wide range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The authors were selected from members of the COST Action “Fire and the Earth System: Science & Society” funded by the European Commission with the aim to share knowledge and improve communication about wildland fire. Where relevant, a brief overview of key studies, particular wildland fire challenges a country is facing, and an overview of notable recent fire events are also presented. Key perceived challenges included (1) the lack of consistent and detailed records for wildland fire events, within and across countries, (2) an increase in wildland fires that pose a risk to properties and human life due to high population densities and sprawl into forested regions, and (3) the view that, irrespective of changes in management, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of wildland fires in the coming decades. Addressing challenge (1) will not only be valuable in advancing national and pan-European wildland fire management strategies, but also in evaluating perceptions (2) and (3) against more robust quantitative evidence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungmin O. ◽  
Rene Orth

AbstractWhile soil moisture information is essential for a wide range of hydrologic and climate applications, spatially-continuous soil moisture data is only available from satellite observations or model simulations. Here we present a global, long-term dataset of soil moisture derived through machine learning trained with in-situ measurements, SoMo.ml. We train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to extrapolate daily soil moisture dynamics in space and in time, based on in-situ data collected from more than 1,000 stations across the globe. SoMo.ml provides multi-layer soil moisture data (0–10 cm, 10–30 cm, and 30–50 cm) at 0.25° spatial and daily temporal resolution over the period 2000–2019. The performance of the resulting dataset is evaluated through cross validation and inter-comparison with existing soil moisture datasets. SoMo.ml performs especially well in terms of temporal dynamics, making it particularly useful for applications requiring time-varying soil moisture, such as anomaly detection and memory analyses. SoMo.ml complements the existing suite of modelled and satellite-based datasets given its distinct derivation, to support large-scale hydrological, meteorological, and ecological analyses.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike J. Newland ◽  
Patricia Martinerie ◽  
Emmanuel Witrant ◽  
Detlev Helmig ◽  
David R. Worton ◽  
...  

Abstract. The NOX (NO and NO2) and HOX (OH and HO2) budgets of the atmosphere exert a major influence on atmospheric composition, controlling removal of primary pollutants and formation of a wide range of secondary products, including ozone, that can influence human health and climate. However, there remain large uncertainties in the changes to these budgets over recent decades. Due to their short atmospheric lifetimes, NOX and HOX are highly variable in space and time, and so the measurements of these species are of very limited value for examining long term, large scale changes to their budgets. Here, we take an alternative approach by examining long-term atmospheric trends of alkyl nitrates, the formation of which is dependent on the atmospheric NO / HO2 ratio. We derive long term trends in the alkyl nitrates from measurements in firn air from the NEEM site, Greenland. Their mixing ratios increased by a factor of 4–5 between the 1970s and 1990s. This was followed by a steep decline to the sampling date of 2008. Moreover, we examine how the trends in the alkyl nitrates compare to similarly derived trends in their parent alkanes (i.e. the alkanes which, when oxidised in the presence of NOX, lead to the formation of the alkyl nitrates). The ratios of the alkyl nitrates to their parent alkanes increase from around 1970 to the late 1990's consistent with large changes to the [NO] / [HO2] ratio in the northern hemisphere atmosphere during this period. These could represent historic changes to NOX sources and sinks. Alternatively, they could represent changes to concentrations of the hydroxyl radical, OH, or to the transport time of the air masses from source regions to the Arctic.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 7621-7655 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Stoll ◽  
H. J. Hendricks Franssen ◽  
R. Barthel ◽  
W. Kinzelbach

Abstract. Future risks for groundwater resources, due to global change are usually analyzed by driving hydrological models with the outputs of climate models. However, this model chain is subject to considerable uncertainties. Given the high uncertainties it is essential to identify the processes governing the groundwater dynamics, as these processes are likely to affect groundwater resources in the future, too. Information about the dominant mechanisms can be achieved by the analysis of long-term data, which are assumed to provide insight in the reaction of groundwater resources to changing conditions (weather, land use, water demand). Referring to this, a dataset of 30 long-term time series of precipitation dominated groundwater systems in northern Switzerland and southern Germany is collected. In order to receive additional information the analysis of the data is carried out together with hydrological model simulations. High spatio-temporal correlations, even over large distances could be detected and are assumed to be related to large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. As a result it is suggested to prefer innovative weather-type-based downscaling methods to other stochastic downscaling approaches. In addition, with the help of a qualitative procedure to distinguish between meteorological and anthropogenic causes it was possible to identify processes which dominated the groundwater dynamics in the past. It could be shown that besides the meteorological conditions, land use changes, pumping activity and feedback mechanisms governed the groundwater dynamics. Based on these findings, recommendations to improve climate change impact studies are suggested.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 3461-3482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. O'Neill ◽  
Claudia Tebaldi ◽  
Detlef P. van Vuuren ◽  
Veronika Eyring ◽  
Pierre Friedlingstein ◽  
...  

Abstract. Projections of future climate change play a fundamental role in improving understanding of the climate system as well as characterizing societal risks and response options. The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) is the primary activity within Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) that will provide multi-model climate projections based on alternative scenarios of future emissions and land use changes produced with integrated assessment models. In this paper, we describe ScenarioMIP's objectives, experimental design, and its relation to other activities within CMIP6. The ScenarioMIP design is one component of a larger scenario process that aims to facilitate a wide range of integrated studies across the climate science, integrated assessment modeling, and impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability communities, and will form an important part of the evidence base in the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. At the same time, it will provide the basis for investigating a number of targeted science and policy questions that are especially relevant to scenario-based analysis, including the role of specific forcings such as land use and aerosols, the effect of a peak and decline in forcing, the consequences of scenarios that limit warming to below 2 °C, the relative contributions to uncertainty from scenarios, climate models, and internal variability, and long-term climate system outcomes beyond the 21st century. To serve this wide range of scientific communities and address these questions, a design has been identified consisting of eight alternative 21st century scenarios plus one large initial condition ensemble and a set of long-term extensions, divided into two tiers defined by relative priority. Some of these scenarios will also provide a basis for variants planned to be run in other CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs to investigate questions related to specific forcings. Harmonized, spatially explicit emissions and land use scenarios generated with integrated assessment models will be provided to participating climate modeling groups by late 2016, with the climate model simulations run within the 2017–2018 time frame, and output from the climate model projections made available and analyses performed over the 2018–2020 period.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A64.3-A65
Author(s):  
Yiqun Chen ◽  
Andrew Curran

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the GB regulator for health and safety at work. The HSE Health and Work (H&W) program designs and carries out a wide range of interventions; including inspection, enforcement and other regulatory activities as well as prevention; targeting priority health conditions in high-risk sectors. It is anticipated that long-term, sustainable and coordinated actions developed as part of the program will over time improve awareness, behaviors, control of exposures, and, as a result, prevent work-related ill health in GB workforce.An HSE Measuring Strategy, together with measurement framework and principles, has been developed. The measurement framework draws together data systems, covering Attitudes (A), Behaviors (B), Control of exposures (C), and Disease and work-related ill health reduction (D), based on a simple model to provide evidence required for evaluating the short, medium and long term impacts of the large scale and complex H&W program on the GB health and safety system. The Strategy gives a new focus on measuring behavioral changes and risk reductions; and emphasizes longitudinal measurement designs to assess progress over time.For developing the Strategy, workshops were organized to bring stakeholders across HSE to review existing systems for conducting population surveys, collecting exposure intelligence and occupational health surveillance, which have contributed to forming a long-term vision of fit-for-purpose measurement systems.We will present the development of the Strategy and the plans to implement it with the H&W program, which requires close collaborations between epidemiologists and social researchers, policy makers, and other multidisciplinary regulatory specialists. The lessons learnt will help HSE towards building the right evidence base for monitoring and evaluation of a range of national level intervention programs for work-related ill health prevention.©British Crown copyright (2019)


Oryx ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Maunder ◽  
Wayne Page ◽  
John Mauremootoo ◽  
Richard Payendee ◽  
Yousoof Mungroo ◽  
...  

Abstract The conservation status of the five genera and 11 species of palm endemic to the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Réunion and Rodriques) are reviewed. All species are threatened with extinction; nine taxa are classified as Critically Endangered and four as Endangered on the 2000 IUCN Red List. Two taxa survive as single wild specimens (Hyophorbe amaricaulis and Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum); an additional seven taxa have wild populations of 100 or fewer. Although the historical phase of large-scale forest clearance has passed, the remaining palm populations in the Mascarenes are under threat from the effects of population fragmentation, invasive plants and animals, and high levels of seed predation that prevent natural regeneration. The advantages of in situ management for the recovery of these palm populations are discussed. Without a long-term conservation programme, utilising both in situ and ex situ management, extinction of wild populations will occur.


2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer

The increasing prevalence and/or increasing intensity of large-scale natural disturbance events in forests means that post-disturbance salvage logging is becoming more widespread. Salvage logging can have a wide range of environmental impacts, but some of these are not well known or not well understood by policy makers and natural resource managers. Some of these impacts are briefly summarized in this paper. Improved long-term forest planning needs to be embraced that takes into account the not only the environmental but also the social and environmental impacts of salvage harvesting. Past mistakes and future opportunities associated with salvage harvesting are illustrated by a case study from the Lower Cotter Catchment in south-eastern Australia. Key words: salvage harvesting, natural disturbance, environmental impacts, ecologically sustainable forestry, forest planning, long-term forest sustainability


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 128-136
Author(s):  
Egor Yumaev ◽  

One of the main conditions for the Russian economy transition to growth rates above the global average is large-scale investment. The so-called «smart investments» are important for the accelerated economic development of Russia. Only a restricted range of states is a source of «smart investment». France is among them and it is a long-standing economic partner of Russia. French business implements long-term projects in Russia. After the economic sanctions being introduced, not a single company has left Russia; however, new investors do not come from France, and the operating investors evaluate the prospects for continuing work very carefully. As there is the economic sanctions mode, lending agencies in France, being afraid of losing their business in the United States, refuse to finance projects in Russia, even if they are not included into the sanctions list. Local manufacturing content of French companies still does not cover a wide range of areas in Russia, being limited mainly to agriculture. Compared to French, Russia’s investment contribution to France is disproportionately small. The article examines the factors determining the direct investment of France in Russia; the current investment agenda of French business in Russia; identifies the prospects for France’s investment participation in the Russian economy


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1539-1551 ◽  
Author(s):  
ILYAS NURSAMSI ◽  
RUHYAT PARTASASMITA ◽  
NURVITA CUNDANINGSIH ◽  
HASNA SILMI RAMADHANI

Nursamsi I, Partasasmita R, Cundaningsih N, Ramadhani HS. 2018. Modeling the predicted suitable habitat distribution ofJavan hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi in the Java Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1539-1551. Javan hawk-eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi) isan endemic raptor of Java Island. The conservation status of Javan hawk-eagle (JHE) according to IUCN is endangered (EN) andincluded in CITES Appendix II list, and this species is also protected by the Indonesian government law based on act no. 5, year 1990.The position of Javan hawk-eagle as a top predator is now very threatened by habitat fragmentation, wildlife trade, and the decliningquality of its habitat. The primary purpose of this study was to give preliminary information about the distribution of predicted suitablehabitat for JHE as a means of finding potential releasing sites, as an evaluation for habitat protection, and even as an option for thedevelopment of new JHE protected areas. However, mapping the spatial distribution of potential habitat for JHE using terrestrial surveyis problematic because it requires enormous time, fund, and human resources. The most possible approach is by using Ecological NicheModeling (ENM)/species distribution modeling (SDM). In this study, modeling exercise was conducted by using a maximum entropymethod as an adaptation from Maxent software ver. 3.4.1, with the utilization of JHE-nest coordinate data and 16 environmentalvariables datasets as the main input. The predicted suitable habitat distribution map has shown a good match with historical and presentrecords of JHE and has fairly succeeded in capturing a wide range of habitat patches from tiny spots to quite large suitable habitat.Modeling results also showed that altitude, annual mean temperature, and two types of land cover (closed shrub, and forest area) areconsidered to be most important variables affecting the distribution of potential habitat for JHE. Moreover, about 17.77% (23,209 km2)area of Java Island has been projected to be suitable for Havan Hawk-Eagle's habitat, which mostly spread in mountainous areas whilealso appear in several lowland areas. This study suggests the importance of topographic, climatic, and land cover as pivotal predictors indetermining the suitability of habitat for JHE. This study also shows that the modeling results have a good match with the historicalrecords of JHE across the island, which suggests the overall accuracy of the model.


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