scholarly journals Climate-human-environment interactions: resolving our past

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Dearing
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Local Case ◽  
The Face

Abstract. The paper reviews how we can learn from the past about climate-human-interactions at the present time, and in the future. It focuses on data sources for environmental change at local and regional/global spatial scales, and shows the scope and limitations of each. The use of parallel histories in local case-studies is described in a case-study from China, where independent records help unravel the complexity of interactions and provide a basis for assessing the resilience and sustainability of the landscape system. Holocene global records for Natural Forcings (e.g. climate and tectonics), Human Society and Ecosystems are reviewed, and the problems of reconstructing global records of processes that are only recorded at local scales examined. Existing regional/global records are used to speculate about the veracity of anthropogenic forcing of global climate. The paper concludes that a full understanding of causes of earth system change through (at least) the Holocene can come only through the most rigorous reconstructions of climate, human activities and earth processes, and importantly their interactions, at all locations and at all scales. It follows that we need to promote inter-scale learning: regionalisation and generalisation of existing data would be useful first steps. There is now a need to develop long-term simulation models that can help anticipate complex ecosystem behaviour and environmental processes in the face of global environmental change – and resolving our past is an essential element in that endeavour.

scholarly journals Climate-human-environment interactions: resolving our past

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Dearing
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Case

Abstract. The paper reviews how we can learn from the past about climate-human-environment interactions at the present time, and in the future. It focuses on data sources for environmental change at local/regional and regional/global spatial scales, and shows the scope and limitations of each. It reviews alternative methods for learning from the past, including the increasing use of simulation models. The use of multiple records (observational, palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, documentary) in local case-studies is exemplified in a study from China, where independent records help unravel the complexity of interactions and provide a basis for assessing the resilience and sustainability of the landscape system. Holocene global records for Natural Forcings (e.g. climate and tectonics), Human Society and Ecosystems are reviewed, and the problems of reconstructing global records of processes that are only recorded at local scales examined. Existing regional/global records are used to speculate about the veracity of anthropogenic forcing of global climate, with specific consideration of the Ruddiman theory. The paper concludes that a full understanding of causes of earth system change through (at least) the Holocene can come only through the most rigorous reconstructions of climate, human activities and earth processes, and importantly their interactions, at all locations and at all scales. It follows that we need to promote inter-scale learning: regionalisation and generalisation of existing data would be useful first steps. There is now a need to develop long-term simulation models that can help anticipate complex ecosystem behaviour and environmental processes in the face of global environmental change – and resolving our past is an essential element in that endeavour.

The Human Dimensions of Global Change

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Liverman ◽  
Brent Yarnal
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Global Environmental

The human–environment condition has emerged as one of the central issues of the new millennium, especially as it has become apparent that human activity is transforming nature at a global scale in both systemic and cumulative ways. Originating with concerns about potential climate warming, the global environmental change agenda rapidly enlarged to include changes in structure and function of the earth’s natural systems, notably those systems critical for life, and the policy implications of these changes, especially focused on the coupled human–environment system. Recognition of the unprecedented pace, magnitude, and spatial scale of global change, and of the pivotal role of humankind in creating and responding to it, has led to the emergence of a worldwide, interdisciplinary effort to understand the human dimensions of global change. The term “global change” now encompasses a range of research issues including those relating to economic, political, and cultural globalization, but in this chapter we limit our focus to global environmental change and to the field that has become formally known as the human dimensions of global (or global environmental) change. We also focus mainly on the work of geographers rather than attempting to review the whole human dimensions research community. Intellectually, geography is well positioned to contribute to global environmental change research (Liverman 1999). The large-scale human transformation of the planet through activities such as agriculture, deforestation, water diversion, fossil fuel use, and urbanization, and the impacts of these on living conditions through changes in, for example, climate and biodiversity, has highlighted the importance of scholarship that analyzes the human–environmental relationship and can inform policy. Geography is one of the few disciplines that has historically claimed human–environment relationships as a definitional component of itself (Glacken 1967; Marsh 1864) and has fostered a belief in and reward system for engaging integrative approaches to problem solving (Golledge 2002; Turner 2002). Moreover, global environmental change is intimately spatial and draws upon geography-led remote sensing and geographic information science (Liverman et al. 1998). Geographers anticipated the emergence of current global change concerns (Thomas et al. 1956; Burton et al. 1978) and were seminal in the development of the multidisciplinary programs of study into the human dimensions of global change.

scholarly journals Methane and Global Environmental Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave S. Reay ◽  
Pete Smith ◽  
Torben R. Christensen ◽  
Rachael H. James ◽  
Harry Clark
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Climate Feedback ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Methane Fluxes

Global atmospheric methane concentrations have continued to rise in recent years, having already more than doubled since the Industrial Revolution. Further environmental change, especially climate change, in the twenty-first century has the potential to radically alter global methane fluxes. Importantly, changes in temperature, precipitation, and net primary production may induce positive climate feedback effects in dominant natural methane sources such as wetlands, soils, and aquatic ecosystems. Anthropogenic methane sources may also be impacted, with a risk of enhanced emissions from the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors. Here, we review the global sources of methane, the trends in fluxes by source and sector, and their possible evolution in response to future environmental change. We discuss ongoing uncertainties in flux estimation and projection, and highlight the great potential for multisector methane mitigation as part of wider global climate change policy.

scholarly journals Brazilian sandy beaches: characteristics, ecosystem services, impacts, knowledge and priorities

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (spe2) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Cecília Zacagnini Amaral ◽  
Guilherme Nascimento Corte ◽  
José Souto Rosa Filho ◽  
Marcia Regina Denadai ◽  
Leonir André Colling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Benthic Habitats

ABSTRACT Sandy beaches constitute a key ecosystem and provide socioeconomic goods and services, thereby playing an important role in the maintenance of human populations and in biodiversity conservation. Despite the ecological and social importance of these ecosytems, Brazilian sandy beaches are significantly impacted by human interference, chemical and organic pollution and tourism, as well as global climate change. These factors drive the need to better understand the environmental change and its consequences for biota. To promote the implementation of integrated studies to detect the effects of regional and global environmental change on beaches and on other benthic habitats of the Brazilian coast, Brazilian marine researchers have established The Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network (ReBentos). In order to provide input for sample planning by ReBentos, we have conducted an intensive review of the studies conducted on Brazilian beaches and summarized the current knowledge about this environment. In this paper, we present the results of this review and describe the physical, biological and socioeconomics features of Brazilian beaches. We have used these results, our personal experience and worldwide literature to identify research projects that should be prioritized in the assessment of regional and global change on Brazilian sandy beaches. We trust that this paper will provide insights for future studies and represent a significant step towards the conservation of Brazilian beaches and their biodiversity.

Nature, Identity, and Disaster: Prehistoric Lake Dwelling in Central Europe

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Leckie
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
The Face ◽  
Human Practices ◽  
Swiss Lake ◽  
Community Identities

Exploring human–environment relations has been an area of great interest to archaeologists, especially for the purpose of reconstructing past environments and investigating methods of human adaptation in the face of changing climates. However, despite the great fruitfulness of such research, particularly in raising awareness of the diversity of human practices, archaeologists often do not account for the influence that preconceived notions of human– environment relationships have in such reconstructions. In fact, archaeology can play a part in constructing or reinforcing Western perceptions of the environment, and as such, sometimes tell us more about our own associations with the natural world rather than informing us about those in the past (see Stump, Chapter 10 and Armstrong Oma, Chapter 11 this volume for similar statements). Using the example of the prehistoric Swiss lake dwellings, this chapter argues that preconceived notions of human–environment relations affect how we interpret and present the archaeological record and past communities. As a consequence, these presentist preconceptions can influence interpretations of the past, creating research trajectories that are monopolized by influential historic debates and obscure the potential subtleties to human interactions with the natural world. This chapter maintains that the environment often shapes cultural and community identities, both now and in the past, with implications for how such communities deal with environmental change or disaster. In fact, environmental change and risk can itself become inscribed into the cultural identities of the communities that inhabit such landscapes (see Fiore et al., Chapter 4 and Chevalier, Chapter 5 this volume for further discussion of environment and identity). Archaeologists must therefore approach the question of past human–environment relations by considering the place of the environment in the construction of community identities through the daily process of ‘living with nature’. Cogent arguments have been made for the inextricable relationship between culture and the environment and particularly for the way in which the environment is perceived through the process of ‘dwelling’ within it (Ingold 2000). Such work has opened up new avenues of investigation particularly in relation to the mutually constituting association between an environment and its inhabitants.

scholarly journals Reflecting on the Anthropocene: The Call for Deeper Transformations

AMBIO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Cultural Narrative ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Global Change Research ◽  
Anniversary Issue

AbstractResearch on global environmental change has transformed the way that we think about human-environment relationships and Earth system processes. The four Ambio articles highlighted in this 50th Anniversary Issue have influenced the cultural narrative on environmental change, highlighting concepts such as “resilience,” “coupled human and natural systems”, and the “Anthropocene.” In this peer response, I argue that global change research is still paying insufficient attention to how to deliberately transform systems and cultures to avoid the risks that science itself has warned us about. In particular, global change research has failed to adequately integrate the subjective realm of meaning making into both understanding and action. Although this has been an implicit subtext in global change research, it is time to fully integrate research from the social sciences and environmental humanities.

scholarly journals Four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid environmental change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Ricciardi ◽  
Josephine C. Iacarella ◽  
David C. Aldridge ◽  
Tim M. Blackburn ◽  
James T. Carlton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
The Face

Unprecedented rates of introduction and spread of non-native species pose burgeoning challenges to biodiversity, natural resource management, regional economies, and human health. Current biosecurity efforts are failing to keep pace with globalization, revealing critical gaps in our understanding and response to invasions. Here, we identify four priority areas to advance invasion science in the face of rapid global environmental change. First, invasion science should strive to develop a more comprehensive framework for predicting how the behavior, abundance, and interspecific interactions of non-native species vary in relation to conditions in receiving environments and how these factors govern the ecological impacts of invasion. A second priority is to understand the potential synergistic effects of multiple co-occurring stressors – particularly involving climate change – on the establishment and impact of non-native species. Climate adaptation and mitigation strategies will need to consider the possible consequences of promoting non-native species, and appropriate management responses to non-native species will need to be developed. The third priority is to address the taxonomic impediment. The ability to detect and evaluate invasion risks is compromised by a growing deficit in taxonomic expertise, which cannot be adequately compensated by new molecular technologies alone. Management of biosecurity risks will become increasingly challenging unless academia, industry, and governments train and employ new personnel in taxonomy and systematics. Fourth, we recommend that internationally cooperative biosecurity strategies consider the bridgehead effects of global dispersal networks, in which organisms tend to invade new regions from locations where they have already established. Cooperation among countries to eradicate or control species established in bridgehead regions should yield greater benefit than independent attempts by individual countries to exclude these species from arriving and establishing.

Bilateral or multilateral bargaining in the face of global environmental change?

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Rotillon ◽  
Tarik Tazdaït ◽  
Sylvain Zeghni
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Multilateral Bargaining ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The Face
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