Climate-driven enrichment of pollutants in peatlands

Abstract. Peatlands play an important role for global carbon dynamics, acting as a sink or source depending on climate. Such changes imply a series of additional effects because peatlands are also an important reservoir of atmospherically derived pollutants. Using a multiproxy approach (non-pollen-palynomorphs, δ15N, C/N, Se, Br, I, Hg, Ti), we show a relationship between climate (wetter–drier) and peat decomposition, which affected element concentrations in a Spanish bog during the last 5500 years. Changes in superficial wetness played a critical role in the cycling of elements coupled to carbon dynamics. Dry phases caused increased peat mineralisation, resulting in a 2–3 times increase in concentrations of the analysed elements independent from atmospheric fluxes. Under the present trend of climate change large areas of northern peatlands are expected to be severely affected; in this context our findings indicate that the increase in carbon release, which leads to an enrichment of elements, may enhance the export of stored contaminants (Hg, organohalogens) to the aquatic systems or to the atmosphere.

Download Full-text

Climate-driven enrichment of pollutants in peatlands

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-4-2095-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 2095-2109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Martínez Cortizas ◽

H. Biester ◽

T. Mighall ◽

R. Bindler

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Critical Role ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Aquatic Systems ◽

Element Concentrations ◽

Present Trend ◽

Carbon Release ◽

Northern Peatlands ◽

Global Carbon ◽

Multiproxy Approach

Abstract. Peatlands play an important role for global carbon dynamics, acting as a sink or source depending on climate. Such changes imply a series of additional effects because peatlands are also an important reservoir of atmospherically derived pollutants. Using a multiproxy approach (non-pollen-palynomorphs, δ15N, C/N, Se, Br, I, Hg, Ti), we show a relationship between climate (wetter-drier) and peat decomposition, which affected element concentrations in a Spanish bog during the last 5500 years. Changes in superficial wetness played a critical role in the cycling of elements coupled to carbon dynamics. Dry phases caused increased peat mineralisation, resulting in a 2–3 times increase in concentrations of the analysed elements independent from atmospheric fluxes. Under the present trend of climate change large areas of northern peatlands are expected to be severely affected; in this context our findings indicate that the increase in carbon release, which leads to an enrichment of elements, may enhance the export of stored contaminants (Hg, organohalogens) to the aquatic systems or to the atmosphere.

Download Full-text

Modelling above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: insights from a Mediterranean woodland

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-13-961-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 961-973 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

W. Simonson ◽

P. Ruiz-Benito ◽

F. Valladares ◽

D. Coomes

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Critical Role ◽

Carbon Fluxes ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Airborne Lidar ◽

Lidar Data ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Data Set ◽

Multi Temporal

Abstract. Woodlands represent highly significant carbon sinks globally, though could lose this function under future climatic change. Effective large-scale monitoring of these woodlands has a critical role to play in mitigating for, and adapting to, climate change. Mediterranean woodlands have low carbon densities, but represent important global carbon stocks due to their extensiveness and are particularly vulnerable because the region is predicted to become much hotter and drier over the coming century. Airborne lidar is already recognized as an excellent approach for high-fidelity carbon mapping, but few studies have used multi-temporal lidar surveys to measure carbon fluxes in forests and none have worked with Mediterranean woodlands. We use a multi-temporal (5-year interval) airborne lidar data set for a region of central Spain to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon dynamics in typical mixed broadleaved and/or coniferous Mediterranean woodlands. Field calibration of the lidar data enabled the generation of grid-based maps of AGB for 2006 and 2011, and the resulting AGB change was estimated. There was a close agreement between the lidar-based AGB growth estimate (1.22 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and those derived from two independent sources: the Spanish National Forest Inventory, and a tree-ring based analysis (1.19 and 1.13 Mg ha−1 yr−1, respectively). We parameterised a simple simulator of forest dynamics using the lidar carbon flux measurements, and used it to explore four scenarios of fire occurrence. Under undisturbed conditions (no fire) an accelerating accumulation of biomass and carbon is evident over the next 100 years with an average carbon sequestration rate of 1.95 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. This rate reduces by almost a third when fire probability is increased to 0.01 (fire return rate of 100 years), as has been predicted under climate change. Our work shows the power of multi-temporal lidar surveying to map woodland carbon fluxes and provide parameters for carbon dynamics models. Space deployment of lidar instruments in the near future could open the way for rolling out wide-scale forest carbon stock monitoring to inform management and governance responses to future environmental change.

Download Full-text

Global Carbon Dynamics of Higher Latitude Forests During an Anticipated Climate Change: Ecophysiological Versus Biome-Migration View

Boreal Forests and Global Change ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-0942-2_43 ◽

1995 ◽

pp. 455-464

Author(s):

G. H. Kohlmaier ◽

Ch. Häger ◽

A. Nadler ◽

G. Würth ◽

M. K. B. Lüdeke

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Global Carbon

Download Full-text

Mature Andean forests as globally important carbon sinks and future carbon refuges

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-22459-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alvaro Duque ◽

Miguel A. Peña ◽

Francisco Cuesta ◽

Sebastián González-Caro ◽

Peter Kennedy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Biotic Factors ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

Size Dependent ◽

The Past ◽

Aboveground Carbon ◽

Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽

Global Carbon

AbstractIt is largely unknown how South America’s Andean forests affect the global carbon cycle, and thus regulate climate change. Here, we measure aboveground carbon dynamics over the past two decades in 119 monitoring plots spanning a range of >3000 m elevation across the subtropical and tropical Andes. Our results show that Andean forests act as strong sinks for aboveground carbon (0.67 ± 0.08 Mg C ha−1 y−1) and have a high potential to serve as future carbon refuges. Aboveground carbon dynamics of Andean forests are driven by abiotic and biotic factors, such as climate and size-dependent mortality of trees. The increasing aboveground carbon stocks offset the estimated C emissions due to deforestation between 2003 and 2014, resulting in a net total uptake of 0.027 Pg C y−1. Reducing deforestation will increase Andean aboveground carbon stocks, facilitate upward species migrations, and allow for recovery of biomass losses due to climate change.

Download Full-text

Modelling above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: insights from a Mediterranean woodland

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-12-14739-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (17) ◽

pp. 14739-14772 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

W. Simonson ◽

P. Ruiz-Benito ◽

F. Valladares ◽

D. Coomes

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Critical Role ◽

Carbon Fluxes ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

National Forest Inventory ◽

Airborne Lidar ◽

Fire Occurrence ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Multi Temporal

Abstract. Woodlands represent highly significant carbon sinks globally, though could lose this function under future climatic change. Effective large-scale monitoring of these woodlands has a critical role to play in mitigating for, and adapting to, climate change. Mediterranean woodlands have low carbon densities, but represent important global carbon stocks due to their extensiveness and are particularly vulnerable because the region is predicted to become much hotter and drier over the coming century. Airborne lidar is already recognized as an excellent approach for high-fidelity carbon mapping, but few studies have used multi-temporal lidar surveys to measure carbon fluxes in forests and none have worked with Mediterranean woodlands. We use a multi-temporal (five year interval) airborne lidar dataset for a region of central Spain to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon dynamics in typical mixed broadleaved/coniferous Mediterranean woodlands. Field calibration of the lidar data enabled the generation of grid-based maps of AGB for 2006 and 2011, and the resulting AGB change were estimated. There was a close agreement between the lidar-based AGB growth estimate (1.22 Mg ha−1 year−1) and those derived from two independent sources: the Spanish National Forest Inventory, and a~tree-ring based analysis (1.19 and 1.13 Mg ha−1 year−1, respectively). We parameterised a simple simulator of forest dynamics using the lidar carbon flux measurements, and used it to explore four scenarios of fire occurrence. Under undisturbed conditions (no fire occurrence) an accelerating accumulation of biomass and carbon is evident over the next 100 years with an average carbon sequestration rate of 1.95 Mg C ha−1 year−1. This rate reduces by almost a third when fire probability is increased to 0.01, as has been predicted under climate change. Our work shows the power of multi-temporal lidar surveying to map woodland carbon fluxes and provide parameters for carbon dynamics models. Space deployment of lidar instruments in the near future could open the way for rolling out wide-scale forest carbon stock monitoring to inform management and governance responses to future environmental change.

Download Full-text

Global carbon dynamics of higher latitude forests during an anticipated climate change: Ecophysiological versus biome-migration view

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/bf01182855 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 82 (1-2) ◽

pp. 455-464 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

G. H. Kohlmaier ◽

Ch. H�ger ◽

A. Nadler ◽

G. W�rth ◽

M. K. B. L�deke

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Global Carbon

Download Full-text

Twelfth Century AD

10.1093/oso/9780199329199.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Lonnie G. Thompson ◽

Alan L. Kolata

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Southern Oscillation ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Critical Role ◽

Lake Titicaca ◽

Independent Evidence ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Ice Cap ◽

Paleoclimate Records ◽

Past Climate Change

Climate is a fundamental and independent variable of human existence. Given that 50 percent of the Earth’s surface and much of its population exist between 30oN and 30oS, paleoenvironmental research in the Earth’s tropical regions is vital to our understanding of the world’s current and past climate change. Most of the solar energy that drives the climate system is absorbed in these regions. Paleoclimate records reveal that tropical processes, such as variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), have affected the climate over much of the planet. Climatic variations, particularly in precipitation and temperature, play a critical role in the adaptations of agrarian cultures located in zones of environmental sensitivity, such as those of the coastal deserts, highlands, and altiplano of the Andean region. Paleoclimate records from the Quelccaya ice cap (5670 masl) in highland Peru that extend back ~1800 years show good correlation between precipitation and the rise and fall of pre-Hispanic civilizations in western Peru and Bolivia. Sediment cores extracted from Lake Titicaca provide independent evidence of this correspondence with particular reference to the history of the pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku state centered in the Andean altiplano. Here we explore, in particular, the impacts of climate change on the development and ultimate dissolution of this altiplano state.

Download Full-text

Configurations to Superior Environmental Innovation Strategy: A Both–And Approach

Organization & Environment ◽

10.1177/10860266211031623 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 108602662110316

Author(s):

Tiziana Russo-Spena ◽

Nadia Di Paola ◽

Aidan O’Driscoll

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Value Chain ◽

Critical Role ◽

Well Being ◽

Point Of View ◽

Future Generations ◽

Innovation Strategy ◽

Environmental Innovation ◽

Data Set

An effective climate change action involves the critical role that companies must play in assuring the long-term human and social well-being of future generations. In our study, we offer a more holistic, inclusive, both–and approach to the challenge of environmental innovation (EI) that uses a novel methodology to identify relevant configurations for firms engaging in a superior EI strategy. A conceptual framework is proposed that identifies six sets of driving characteristics of EI and two sets of beneficial outcomes, all inherently tensional. Our analysis utilizes a complementary rather than an oppositional point of view. A data set of 65 companies in the ICT value chain is analyzed via fuzzy-set comparative analysis (fsQCA) and a post-QCA procedure. The results reveal that achieving a superior EI strategy is possible in several scenarios. Specifically, after close examination, two main configuration groups emerge, referred to as technological environmental innovators and organizational environmental innovators.

Download Full-text

MaxEnt Modeling Based on CMIP6 Models to Project Potential Suitable Zones for Cunninghamia lanceolata in China

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12060752 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 752

Author(s):

Yichen Zhou ◽

Zengxin Zhang ◽

Bin Zhu ◽

Xuefei Cheng ◽

Liu Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Critical Role ◽

Cunninghamia Lanceolata ◽

Distribution Area ◽

Timber Species ◽

Diurnal Range ◽

The Future ◽

Suitable Area

Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. (Chinese fir) is one of the main timber species in Southern China, which has a wide planting range that accounts for 25% of the overall afforested area. Moreover, it plays a critical role in soil and water conservation; however, its suitability is subject to climate change. For this study, the appropriate distribution area of C. lanceolata was analyzed using the MaxEnt model based on CMIP6 data, spanning 2041–2060. The results revealed that (1) the minimum temperature of the coldest month (bio6), and the mean diurnal range (bio2) were the most important environmental variables that affected the distribution of C. lanceolata; (2) the currently suitable areas of C. lanceolata were primarily distributed along the southern coastal areas of China, of which 55% were moderately so, while only 18% were highly suitable; (3) the projected suitable area of C. lanceolata would likely expand based on the BCC-CSM2-MR, CanESM5, and MRI-ESM2-0 under different SSPs spanning 2041–2060. The increased area estimated for the future ranged from 0.18 to 0.29 million km2, where the total suitable area of C. lanceolata attained a maximum value of 2.50 million km2 under the SSP3-7.0 scenario, with a lowest value of 2.39 million km2 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario; (4) in combination with land use and farmland protection policies of China, it is estimated that more than 60% of suitable land area could be utilized for C. lanceolata planting from 2041–2060 under different SSP scenarios. Although climate change is having an increasing influence on species distribution, the deleterious impacts of anthropogenic activities cannot be ignored. In the future, further attention should be paid to the investigation of species distribution under the combined impacts of climate change and human activities.

Download Full-text