Climatic Vagary and COVID-19 Pandemic: Influence on Livestock Production and Household Performance in South Western Nigeria

This research was aimed at investigating the recent climatic vagary on livestock production and household performance with the subsequent effect of COVID -19 pandemic in the South- Western Nigeria. Online survey was employed using a structured questionnaire as the test instrument. A total of 100 respondents was examined on how the recent climate change affect household performance, food consumption, farming (livestock production) with associated effects of COVID -19 pandemic. Data generated were subjected to descriptive statistics. Results depicted that 95.1% of respondents had tertiary education, 68.2% and 50.0% were male and self-employed, respectively. Majority (98.8%) of the respondents were aware of the recent effect of climate change on livestock and 77.9% had been victims of it. About 56.5% kept livestock under intensive system. It was observed that 90.7% confirmed severe effect of climate change on availability of feed and the price. About 43.5% and 32.1% indicated that recent climate change had severe effects on level of production and mortality respectively. Report on household performance showed that 61.6% engaged in farming, in which livestock was 33.3% and mixed farming was 38.6%. Severity of the effect of climate change was confirmed by 80% of the respondents with subsequent effect on price of food commodity (94%), with family level of production (78.8%) and cost of production (90.5%). Pandemic decreased effect on the purchasing power of respondents (54.7%) which equally affected the family food intake as confirmed by 73.6% and consequently affected the family protein consumption. It was observed that salary alone will not be enough to cope with future effect of pandemic but farming and side businesses are of vital values. These findings necessitate the adoption of agricultural production in every household to limit the effect of climatic change and financial crises posed by the pandemic. Conclusively, to curb the negative effect of climate change cum COVID-19 pandemic, agricultural practices should be encouraged among the youths and females to abate the impending food insecurity. Also, the rural agriculture should be encouraged through various agricultural aids to spur farmers' interest and boost their production potentials. Cette recherche visait à enquêter sur les récents aléas climatiques sur la production animale et les performances des ménages avec l'effet consécutif de la pandémie COVID -19 dans le sud-ouest du Nigéria. L'enquête en ligne a été utilisée en utilisant un questionnaire structuré comme instrument de test. Un total de 100 répondants a été examiné sur la façon dont le récent changement climatique affecte les performances des ménages, la consommation alimentaire, l'agriculture (production animale) avec les effets associés de la pandémie COVID -19. Les données générées ont été soumises à des statistiques descriptives. Les Climate vagary and COVID-19 Pandemic: Influence on livestock production résultats ont montré que 95.1% des personnes interrogées avaient fait des études supérieures, 68.2% et 50.0% étaient des hommes et des travailleurs indépendants, respectivement. La majorité (98.8%) des répondants étaient au courant de l'effet récent du changement climatique sur le bétail et 77.9% en avaient été victimes. Environ 56.5% ont gardé le bétail dans un système intensif. Il a été observé que 90,7% confirmaient un effet grave du changement climatique sur la disponibilité des aliments pour animaux et le prix. Environ 43.5% et 32.1% ont indiqué que les changements climatiques récents ont eu des effets graves sur le niveau de production et la mortalité respectivement. Le rapport sur la performance des ménages a montré que 61.6% étaient engagés dans l'agriculture, dans laquelle le bétail était de 33.3% et l'agriculture mixte était de 38.6%. La gravité de l'effet du changement climatique a été confirmée par 80% des répondants avec un effet ultérieur sur le prix des denrées alimentaires (94%), avec le niveau de production familial (78.8%) et le coût de production (90.5%). La pandémie a diminué l'effet sur le pouvoir d'achat des répondants (54.7%), ce qui a également affecté l'apport alimentaire de la famille comme le confirme 73.6% et a par conséquent affecté la consommation de protéines de la famille. Il a été observé que le salaire à lui seul ne suffira pas pour faire face aux effets futurs de la pandémie, mais l'agriculture et les activités annexes sont des valeurs vitales. Ces constats nécessitent l'adoption de la production agricole dans chaque ménage pour limiter les effets du changement climatique et des crises financières posés par la pandémie. En conclusion, pour freiner l'effet négatif du changement climatique et de la pandémie de COVID-19, les pratiques agricoles devraient être encouragées chez les jeunes et les femmes afin de réduire l'insécurité alimentaire imminente. En outre, l'agriculture rurale devrait être encouragée par diverses aides agricoles pour stimuler l'intérêt des agriculteurs et accroître leur potentiel de production.

Impact of climate change and industrialization on remote Lake Bolshoe Toko, Siberia

<p>To test if recent climate change and pollution affected remote lake ecosystems without direct human influence, we used paleolimnological methods on lake sediments from a large, prestine, and deep lake in Yakutia, Russia. We compared diatoms and sediment-geochemistry from before and after the onset of industrialization in the mid-nineteenth century, at water depths between 12.1 and 68.3 m in Lake Bolshoe Toko. We analyzed diatom species changes and geochemical changes including mercury concentrations. Chronologies were established using <sup>210</sup>Pb and <sup>137</sup>Cs revealing sedimentation rates between 0.018 and 0.033 cm y<sup>-1</sup> at shallow- and deep-water sites, respectively. Increase in light planktonic diatoms (<em>Cyclotella</em>) and decrease in heavily silicified euplanktonic <em>Aulacoseira</em> through time at deep-water sites can be related to warming air temperatures and shorter periods of lake-ice cover, causing pronounced thermal stratification. Diatom beta diversity changed only significantly in shallow-water communities which can be related to the development of new habitats with macrophyte growth. Mercury concentrations increased by a factor of 1.6 as a result of atmospheric fallout. Increases in the chrysophyte <em>Mallomonas</em> indicates a trend towards acidification. We conclude that also remote boreal lakes are susceptible to human-induced long-distance pollution and recent climate change.</p>

Divergent responses of permafrost peatlands to recent climate change

<p>Permafrost peatlands are found in high-latitude regions and store globally-important amounts of soil organic carbon. These regions are warming at over twice the global average rate, causing permafrost thaw and exposing previously inert carbon to decomposition and emission to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. However, it is unclear how peatland hydrological behaviour, vegetation structure and carbon balance, and the linkages between them, will respond to permafrost thaw in a warming climate. Here we show that permafrost peatlands follow divergent ecohydrological trajectories in response to recent climate change within the same rapidly warming region (northern Sweden). Whether a site becomes wetter or drier depends on local factors and the autogenic response of individual peatlands. We find that bryophyte-dominated vegetation demonstrates resistance, and in some cases resilience, to climatic and hydrological shifts. Drying at four sites is clearly associated with reduced carbon sequestration, while no clear relationship at wetting sites is observed. We highlight the complex dynamics of permafrost peatlands and warn against an overly-simple approach when considering their ecohydrological trajectories and role as C sinks under a warming climate.   </p>

Effects of Recent Climate Change on Maize Yield in Southwest Ecuador

In recent years, evidence of recent climate change has been identified in South America, affecting agricultural production negatively. In response to this, our study employs a crop modelling approach to estimate the effects of recent climate change on maize yield in four provinces of Ecuador. One of them belongs to a semi-arid area. The trend analysis of maximum temperature, minimum temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and solar radiation was done for 36 years (from 1984 to 2019) using the Mann–Kendall test. Furthermore, we simulated (using the LINTUL5 model) the counterfactual maize yield under current crop management in the same time-span. During the crop growing period, results show an increasing trend in the temperature in all the four studied provinces. Los Rios and Manabi showed a decreasing trend in radiation, whereas the semi-arid Loja depicted a decreasing precipitation trend. Regarding the effects of climate change on maize yield, the semi-arid province Loja showed a more significant negative impact, followed by Manabi. The yield losses were roughly 40 kg ha−1 and 10 kg ha−1 per year, respectively, when 250 kg N ha−1 is applied. The simulation results showed no effect in Guayas and Los Rios. The length of the crop growing period was significantly different in the period before and after 2002 in all provinces. In conclusion, the recent climate change impact on maize yield differs spatially and is more significant in the semi-arid regions.