Search

This article is a response to comments made by researchers from the Universidad de Sevilla regarding a paper on extending climate justice to animals. The authors of the response agree with the commenters that the Iberian Lynx population has increased due to conservation efforts, but they clarify that their paper was not intended as a critique of these measures. The purpose of their paper is to discuss how to help wild animals cope with climate change, using the Iberian Lynx as an illustrative case. They argue that while the population has increased, the species is still at risk of extinction due to climate change. The authors also address the commenters' mention of the lack of originality in their proposed conservation measures, stating that their intention was to examine the moral implications of intervention strategies. Overall, the authors emphasize the importance of climate justice for animals, including the Iberian Lynx. [Extracted from the article]

Biobanks have become an integral part of health and bioscience research. However, the ultra-low temperature (ULT) storage methods that biobanks employ [ULT freezers and liquid nitrogen (LN2)] are associated with carbon emissions that contribute to anthropogenic climate change. This paper aims to provide a 'Roadmap' for reducing carbon emissions associated with ULT storage in biobanking. The Roadmap offers recommendations associated with nine areas of ULT storage practice: four relating to ULT freezers, three associated with LN2 storage, and two generalised discussions regarding biosample management and centralisation. For each practice, we describe (a) the best approaches to mitigate carbon emissions, (b) explore barriers associated with hindering their implementation, and (c) make a series of recommendations that can help biobank stakeholders overcome these barriers. The recommendations were the output of a one year, UK-based, multidisciplinary research project that involved a quantitative Carbon Footprinting Assessment of the emissions associated with 1 year of ULT storage (for both freezers and LN2) at four different case study sites; as well as two follow up stakeholder workshops to qualitatively explore UK biobank stakeholder perceptions, views, and experiences on how to consider such assessments within the broader social, political, financial, technical, and cultural contexts of biobanking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document summarizes a collection of research papers on the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine and freshwater ecosystems. The papers discuss topics such as the discharge of nutrients into water systems, eutrophication, and the increase in frequency and severity of HABs worldwide. They also explore the diversity, growth, toxins, and toxicity of harmful algae, as well as mitigation strategies. The studies provide valuable insights into the impact of human activities on HAB-forming species and the need for further research and mitigation efforts. [Extracted from the article]

In 1980, reports of deep-sea jellyfish blooms in Norwegian fjords led researchers to investigate the problem. The helmet jellyfish, Periphylla periphylla, has since migrated far north into Arctic waters. This paper examines what happened when the jellyfish blooms were noticed in 1980 from a historical and ethnographic perspective. It traces four research projects and business ideas that proposed solutions to the jellyfish problem and asks how they are representative of the ways in which humans meet the challenges of anthropogenic climate change. The paper concludes that the jellyfish problem was met with a "techno-fix" attitude that sought to "turn a problem into a resource", which eventually leads to what Julia Livingston has termed "self-devouring growth". In a final outlook, the article asks how we can engage with questions of conservation from a humanities perspective and concludes that the jellyfish story can help us to ask questions about "conservation for whom". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is changing the Earth system processes that control the characteristics of natural hazards both globally and across Australia. Model projections of hazards under future climate change are necessary for effective adaptation. This paper presents BARPA-R (the Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric Regional Projections for Australia), a regional climate model designed to downscale climate projections over the Australasian region with the purpose of investigating future hazards. BARPA-R, a limited-area model, has a 17 km horizontal grid spacing and makes use of the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) atmospheric model and the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model. To establish credibility and in compliance with the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) experiment design, the BARPA-R framework has been used to downscale ERA5 reanalysis. Here, an assessment of this evaluation experiment is provided. Performance-based evaluation results are benchmarked against ERA5, with comparable performance between the free-running BARPA-R simulations and observationally constrained reanalysis interpreted as a good result. First, an examination of BARPA-R's representation of Australia's surface air temperature, precipitation, and 10 m winds finds good performance overall, with biases including a 1 ∘ C cold bias in daily maximum temperatures, reduced diurnal temperature range, and wet biases up to 25 mm per month in inland Australia. Recent trends in daily maximum temperatures are consistent with observational products, while trends in minimum temperatures show overestimated warming and trends in precipitation show underestimated wetting in northern Australia. Precipitation and temperature teleconnections are effectively represented in BARPA-R when present in the driving boundary conditions, while 10 m winds are improved over ERA5 in six out of eight of the Australian regions considered. Secondly, the paper considers the representation of large-scale atmospheric circulation features and weather systems. While generally well represented, convection-related features such as tropical cyclones, the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), the Northwest Cloudband, and the monsoon westerlies show more divergence from observations and internal interannual variability than mid-latitude phenomena such as the westerly jets and extratropical cyclones. Having simulated a realistic Australasian climate, the BARPA-R framework will be used to downscale two climate change scenarios from seven CMIP6 global climate models (GCMs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azolla is the only plant with a co-evolving nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacterial symbiont (cyanobiont), Nostoc azollae, resulting from whole-genome duplication (WGD) 80 million years ago in Azolla's ancestor. Additional genes from the WGD resulted in genetic, biochemical, and morphological changes in the plant that enabled the transmission of the cyanobiont to successive generations via its megaspores. The resulting permanent symbiosis and co-evolution led to the loss, downregulation, or conversion of non-essential genes to pseudogenes in the cyanobiont, changing it from a free-living organism to an obligate symbiont. The upregulation of other genes in the cyanobiont increased its atmospheric dinitrogen fixation and the provision of nitrogen-based products to the plant. As a result, Azolla can double its biomass in less than two days free-floating on fresh water and sequester large amounts of atmospheric CO2, giving it the potential to mitigate anthropogenic climate change through carbon capture and storage. Azolla's biomass can also provide local, low-cost food, biofertiliser, feed, and biofuel that are urgently needed as our population increases by a billion every twelve years. This paper integrates data from biology, genetics, geology, and palaeontology to identify the location, timing and mechanism for the acquisition of a co-evolving diazotrophic cyanobiont by Azolla's ancestor in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religions play a key role in shaping our worldviews, values, and behaviours and this includes our interactions with the environment. Fuelled by the development of the technocratic paradigm, Christianity has historically received a bad reputation for perpetuating anti-environmental views. Nonetheless, the development of ecotheological strands and the emergence of faith-based organisations focusing on climate justice have aided in producing the much-needed environmental reformulations. As such, this paper seeks to provide a broad overview of the role of Christianity in shaping worldviews, from those hindering environmental action to more contemporary ecotheological approaches discussing climate change, particularly Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si'. Christianity's preparedness to navigate climate change will be theorised in relation to empirical evidence and the work of European faith-based organisations, as well as the methodological opportunities that the field of ecolinguistics can offer to inform effective communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on our planet, and essential to the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for food security, income from tourism and coastal protection. Unfortunately, most coral reefs are existentially threatened by global climate change and local anthropogenic pressures. To better understand the dynamics underlying deterioration of reefs, monitoring at high spatial and temporal resolution is key. However, conventional monitoring methods for quantifying coral cover and species abundance are limited in scale due to the extensive manual labor required. Although computer vision tools have been employed to aid in this process, in particular structure‐from‐motion (SfM) photogrammetry for 3D mapping and deep neural networks for image segmentation, analysis of the data products creates a bottleneck, effectively limiting their scalability.This paper presents a new paradigm for mapping underwater environments from ego‐motion video, unifying 3D mapping systems that use machine learning to adapt to challenging conditions under water, combined with a modern approach for semantic segmentation of images.The method is exemplified on coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, demonstrating high‐precision 3D semantic mapping at unprecedented scale with significantly reduced required labor costs: given a trained model, a 100 m video transect acquired within 5 min of diving with a cheap consumer‐grade camera can be fully automatically transformed into a semantic point cloud within 5 min. We demonstrate the spatial accuracy of our method and the semantic segmentation performance (of at least 80% total accuracy), and publish a large dataset of ego‐motion videos from the northern Gulf of Aqaba, along with a dataset of video frames annotated for dense semantic segmentation of benthic classes.Our approach significantly scales up coral reef monitoring by taking a leap towards fully automatic analysis of video transects. The method advances coral reef transects by reducing the labor, equipment, logistics, and computing cost. This can help to inform conservation policies more efficiently. The underlying computational method of learning‐based Structure‐from‐Motion has broad implications for fast low‐cost mapping of underwater environments other than coral reefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change has an unprecedented impact on ecosystems and their services, with severe consequences for human well‐being, particularly for the marginalised and vulnerable members of society in the Global South. The well‐being of communities relies not only on material and regulating services ecosystems provide but also on non‐material services.In this paper, we unravel the diverse ways that climate change impacts affect Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) and the well‐being of rural populations in four sites in Madagascar—a biodiversity hotspot but one of the economically poorest countries in the world. We conducted participatory community workshops, mapping and semi‐structured interviews with local residents across social subgroups to understand the mechanisms of climate‐related degradation and the resulting impacts on different dimensions of human well‐being through an NCP lens.We found that non‐material services are generally more often associated with well‐being effects. Climate change degrades material and non‐material services through sea level rise, biodiversity loss, drought, precipitation and temperature variability, with consequences for materials, companionship and labour, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences. Loss of land and forests is expressed through ecological grief.The outcome of our research provides evidence‐based information to local policymakers, conservation practitioners, and climate change agencies.This information can help improve government efforts toward holistic conservation and climate change adaptation by addressing the impacts on the physical and mental well‐being of the most vulnerable communities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide, the leading contributor to anthropogenic climate change, is released mainly via fossil fuel combustion, mostly for energy generation. Carbon capture technologies are employed for reducing the emissions from existing huge point sources, along with capturing them from direct air, to reduce the existing concentration. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the various subtypes of carbon capture technologies with the aim of providing an assessment of each from technological, social, geo-political, economic, and environmental perspectives. Since the emissions intensity and quantity, along with the social–political–economic conditions, vary in different geographic regions, prioritising and finding the right type of technology is critical for achieving ambitious net-zero targets. Four main types of carbon capture technology were analysed (adsorption, absorption, membrane, and cryogenic) under four scenarios depending on the jurisdiction. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (also known as the TOPSIS method) was used to establish a quantitative ranking of each, where weightages were allocated according to the emissions status and economics of each depending on the jurisdiction. Furthermore, forecasting the trends for technology types vis à vis carbon neutral targets between 2040 and 2050 was carried out by applying regression analysis on existing data and the emissions footprint of major contributing countries. The study found the membrane score to be the highest in the TOPSIS analysis in three of the four scenarios analysed. However, absorption remains the most popular for post-combustion capture despite having the highest energy penalty per ton of CO2 capture. Overall, capture rates are well short of projections for carbon neutrality; the methodology put forward for prioritising and aligning appropriate technologies and the region-by-region analysis will help highlight to technocrats, governments, and policymakers the state of the art and how to best utilise them to mitigate carbon emissions—critical in achieving the net-zero goals set at various international agreements on climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of our rapidly evolving word, where pressing issues like anthropogenic climate change and accelerating urbanization demand innovative solutions, a critical evaluation of the potential and impact of digital technologies is necessary. Climate-neutral governance entails the implementation of governmental instruments and tools designed and used to harmonize short-term policy actions with a long-term vision of achieving a climate-neutral state. This fact aims to facilitate evidence-based decision-making, foster inter-sectoral coordination, enhance transparency, and cultivate public legitimacy for climate mitigation and adaptation measures. This paper presents a focused analysis of SmartCities projects and their implementation across diverse urban centers and nations. Our objective is to provide a comprehensive overview, highlighting recent advancements in the realm of smart and climate-neutral city governance. Furthermore, we conduct a comprehensive inquiry into Romania's legislative framework, encompassing the regulations and strategies pertaining to energy, climate change, and urban development. This analysis is complemented by an exploration of the evolving perspectives and legislative proposals that are likely to shape the future course of action in these domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy rainfall in eastern Africa between late 2019 and mid 2020 caused devastating floods and landslides throughout the region. These rains drove the levels of Lake Victoria to a record-breaking maximum in the second half of May 2020. The combination of high lake levels, consequent shoreline flooding, and flooding of tributary rivers caused hundreds of casualties and damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure in the riparian countries of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Media and government reports linked the heavy precipitation and floods to anthropogenic climate change, but a formal scientific attribution study has not been carried out so far. In this study, we characterize the spatial extent and impacts of the floods in the Lake Victoria basin and then investigate to what extent human-induced climate change influenced the probability and magnitude of the record-breaking lake levels and associated flooding by applying a multi-model extreme event attribution methodology. Using remote-sensing-based flood mapping tools, we find that more than 29 000 people living within a 50 km radius of the lake shorelines were affected by floods between April and July 2020. Precipitation in the basin was the highest recorded in at least 3 decades, causing lake levels to rise by 1.21 m between late 2019 and mid 2020. The flood, defined as a 6-month rise in lake levels as extreme as that observed in the lead-up to May 2020, is estimated to be a 63-year event in the current climate. Based on observations and climate model simulations, the best estimate is that the event has become more likely by a factor of 1.8 in the current climate compared to a pre-industrial climate and that in the absence of anthropogenic climate change an event with the same return period would have led lake levels to rise by 7 cm less than observed. Nonetheless, uncertainties in the attribution statement are relatively large due to large natural variability and include the possibility of no observed attributable change in the probability of the event (probability ratio, 95 % confidence interval 0.8–15.8) or in the magnitude of lake level rise during an event with the same return period (magnitude change, 95 % confidence interval 0–14 cm). In addition to anthropogenic climate change, other possible drivers of the floods and their impacts include human land and water management, the exposure and vulnerability of settlements and economic activities located in flood-prone areas, and modes of climate variability that modulate seasonal precipitation. The attribution statement could be strengthened by using a larger number of climate model simulations, as well as by quantitatively accounting for non-meteorological drivers of the flood and potential unforced modes of climate variability. By disentangling the role of anthropogenic climate change and natural variability in the high-impact 2020 floods in the Lake Victoria basin, this paper contributes to a better understanding of changing hydrometeorological extremes in eastern Africa and the African Great Lakes region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the interaction between climate change and anthropogenic pressures in the eutrophication process. Eutrophication, which is the excessive supply of nutrients to estuarine and coastal regions, poses a significant threat to ecosystems worldwide. The article explores the complex link between climate change and eutrophication, highlighting the potential exacerbation of eutrophication and its negative impacts due to climate-driven factors such as temperature changes, wind patterns, and sea level rise. The research topic also covers various themes related to eutrophication assessment, biogeochemical consequences, anthropogenic pressures, climate variability, ecosystem comparisons, and the effects of eutrophication on ecosystem services. The volume includes six papers contributed by scientists from different countries, providing insights into the effects of different factors on marine ecosystems. [Extracted from the article]

• Little is known about the level of climate change to which societies can adapt to. • Limits to adaptation are more likely to be reached and breached in the future. • Limits can be viewed from a justice informed perspective and coupled with modelling. • Assessing limits is central to national and international adaptation policymaking. Anthropogenic climate change is already causing dangerous and widespread disruptions in global ecological and social systems and affects the lives of billions of people around the world. Even with scaled-up risk management and adaptation, the limits of adaptation will often be reached. Currently, very little is known about the degree to which societies can adapt to climate change, and where and when limits to adaptation will be reached. In this paper, we conceptualize adaptation limits through a novel methodological framework, assess adaptation limits along adaptation pathways, and propose a research strategy for empirical and model-based limits assessments based on biophysical and socio-economic data. Assessing limits is central to national and international adaptation policymaking. More efficient adaptation can also help climate mitigation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a research study conducted in Khorramabad, Iran, which aimed to understand the factors influencing small-scale farmers' willingness to migrate in response to climate change. The study found that farmers with greater knowledge and resources related to adaptation were less likely to express a willingness to migrate. Factors such as education level, second job, financial support, and homeownership were associated with a higher probability of being willing to migrate. The study emphasizes the importance of improving farmers' knowledge of adaptation strategies, providing access to resources and support systems, and investing in education and financial capital to enhance their adaptive capacity and reduce their inclination to migrate. [Extracted from the article]

The Antarctic Peninsula (West Antarctica) marine ecosystem has undergone substantial changes due to climate-induced shifts in atmospheric and oceanic temperatures since the 1950s. Using 25 years of satellite data (1998-2022), this study presents evidence that phytoplankton biomass and bloom phenology in the West Antarctic Peninsula are significantly changing as a response to anthropogenic climate change. Enhanced phytoplankton biomass was observed along the West Antarctic Peninsula, particularly in the early austral autumn, resulting in longer blooms. Long-term sea ice decline was identified as the main driver enabling phytoplankton growth in early spring and autumn, in parallel with a recent intensification of the Southern Annular Mode (2010-ongoing), which was observed to influence regional variability. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the complex interplay between environmental changes and phytoplankton responses in this climatically key region of the Southern Ocean and raise important questions regarding the far-reaching consequences that these ecological changes may have on global carbon sequestration and Antarctic food webs in the future. Using 25 years of satellite data, this study presents evidence that phytoplankton biomass and bloom phenology in the West Antarctic Peninsula are significantly changing as a response to anthropogenic climate change. These findings raise important questions regarding the effect of these ecological changes on global carbon sequestration and Antarctic food webs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounting potential zones for recharging groundwater is a prerequisite before the implementation of the springshed conservation program. Many studies have suggested that the resurgence of the springs in the Himalayan region is waning due to anthropogenic and Climate Change impacts. Typical physical methods of recharge zone explorations are manpower & fiscal-intensive and find limited applicability in areas with steep slopes and undulating topography. The deliberated study is an attempt towards the identification of potential recharge zones using topographical and meteorological indices via two MCDM methods, namely, AHP and Fuzzy AHP for the Saryu watershed of Kumaun Himalaya, Uttarakhand. Twelve thematic layers following the assignment of suitable weights were overlayed for the development of the groundwater recharge potentiality map. The findings indicated that following AHP 6%, 86.89%, 7.10% & 0.01% of the study area demonstrates low, moderate, high, and very high potentiality for groundwater recharge, while, FAHP suggests these indices to be 19.23%, 76.77%, 3.55%, & 0.45%, respectively. Further, FAHP demonstrates the redundancy of a few input layers for the adopted scale of the input data. The study also furnishes a brief description of opportune recharge structures based on the groundwater recharge potentialities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐term projections of drought in the southwestern United States (SWUS) are uncertain. The observed decrease in SWUS precipitation since the 1980s and heightened drought conditions since the 2000s have been linked to a cooling sea surface temperature (SST) trend in the Equatorial Pacific. Notably, climate models fail to reproduce these observed SST trends, and they may continue doing so in the future. Here, we assess the sensitivity of SWUS precipitation projections to future SST trends using a Green's function approach. Our findings reveal that a slight redistribution of SST leads to a wetting or drying of the SWUS. A reversal of the observed cooling trend in the Central and East Pacific over the next few decades would lead to a period of wetting in the SWUS. It is critical to consider the impact of possible SST pattern trends on SWUS precipitation trends until we fully trust SST evolution in climate models. Plain Language Summary: Precipitation trends in the southwestern United States (SWUS) are sensitive to the pattern of sea surface temperature (SST) trends in the Tropical Pacific. Since the turn of the century, a decrease in SWUS precipitation has been linked to a cooling of the Central and Eastern Pacific (1990–2020). Notably, climate models are unable to simulate this observed cooling SST trend. In this study, we answer how SWUS precipitation projections may be impacted by potential error in the simulation of future SST trends by climate models. We first demonstrate that slight changes in the pattern of SST trends leads to either a wetting or drying of the SWUS. Second, if the current 30‐year cooling trend in the Central and East Pacific switches to a warming trend, the SWUS could experience a near‐term increase in precipitation. While climate models are the main tool to predict the global response to anthropogenic climate change, we must consider and account for their error in projections of global warming. Key Points: The observed Equatorial Pacific cooling trend, unpredicted by climate models, may have led to decreased precipitation in the southwestern USWith a sea surface temperature‐precipitation Green's function, we find that small changes in sea surface temperature can either wet or dry the southwestern USA reversal of the cooling trend in the Equatorial Pacific could lead to a wetting trend in the southwestern US [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban riparian spaces are notoriously vulnerable, and pressure on water resources is growing. In the context of a fast-growing urban population and a lack of state-level structures and services to deal with water and sanitation, these spaces—including both land and water—are rapidly being degraded. Ongata Rongai, a satellite town in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, is one of these spaces. Traditional livelihoods exist cheek-by-jowl with modern life; livestock are watered at the rivers, lions frequent the riverbanks, large commercial farms extract water for crops, industrial factories release heavy metal contaminants into the rivers, and rapidly constructed poor-quality apartment blocks with no provision for human waste release untreated sewage and dump trash into the rivers. Compounding these anthropogenic impacts is that of climate change. Riparian spaces have become sites where humans and animals fight for access to water and riparian space, and rain becomes less reliable or frequent, yet at other times, these spaces experience flash flooding and catastrophic water levels leading to the destruction of land. This study explores the dynamics of a rapidly changing riparian environment which finds itself dominated by urbanity, under the increasing pressure of anthropogenic climate change using a One Health perspective. This study contributes much needed human voices to a growing body of literature led by indigenous Kenyan scholars, calling for urgent structural level action to conserve urban riparian zones for the benefit of human and non-human actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing climate and intensifying human activities have made an impact on the hydrological processes in the upper Yangtze River (UYR), but quantifying their effects remains uncertain. This study used the Budyko framework to investigate the response of runoff (Q) to climate change and human activities during 1956–2017 and evaluate the impacts of human activities, including land use/cover change, water use, dam construction, and vegetation change, on watershed characteristic. Results show that climate change is the dominant driver of Q variations in the Wujiang River (WJR), Jialing River (JLR), and Jinsha River (JSR) watersheds, with contributions of 58.6%, 66.9%, and 67.6%, respectively. However, in Mingjiang River (MJR) and UYR watersheds, human activities contribute more to Q variations with 55.2% and 51.2%, respectively. Human activities play important roles in variation of watershed characteristics, and they can explain 22%, 26%, 36%, 25%, and 53% of the watershed character change in UYR, WJR, JLR, MJR, and JSR, respectively. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the causes of Q change in UYR, and provides a new perspective to explore the effects of specific human activities on watershed characteristics. Plain Language Summary: With climate change and intensifying human activities, the water cycle has been changed. Runoff is an essential component of the water cycle, and its response to changing environments has drawn broad attention. This study aims to quantify the contributions of climate change and human activities to runoff changes in the upper Yangtze River (UYR) and its four sub‐watersheds over the past half‐century. According to the results, human activities and climate change have been responsible for approximately 51.2% and 48.8% of the observed runoff changes in UYR, respectively. It suggests that both human activities and climate change have played significant roles, and their contributions are remarkably comparable. In addition, the impacts of human activities on watershed environment changes are analyzed. The results suggest that increased settlement area and industrial water use are the dominant influencing factors. Key Points: Human activities and climate change have made comparable contributions to the runoff reduction in the upper Yangtze RiverWater use, land use/cover change, vegetation change, and dam construction together explain 22% of the watershed environment changesHuman settlements and increased industrial water use have been the principal factors contributing to the changes in watershed environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils and water are major resources that drive a country's economy, and therefore should be conserved and utilized sustainably. However, in Kenya, these two resources are facing huge depletion and degradation due to anthropogenic factors and climate change. Bamboo species, especially on large plantations, can significantly alter ecological, hydrological, and biogeochemical processes in the long term. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different species of bamboo and tree plantations on important soil–water processes like infiltration, bulk density, runoff, and soil loss in Kenya. The research was conducted at two sites (Gede in Arabuko Sokoke forest and at Baolala, in Kilifi County) managed by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). The Arabuko Sokoke forest has a hot–humid coastal climate, while Baolala is a hot semi-arid area with little precipitation. The study involved measurement of soil–water infiltration rates using infiltrometers, installing runoff plots to quantify surface runoff and sediment loss, and analyzing soil properties like bulk density for growing periods for different bamboo and tree species. At the Gede forest site, the 30-year-old Thyrsostachys siamensis and Bambusa bambos plantations recorded the highest infiltration rates. Mature bamboo plantations of T. siamensis and B. bambos recorded higher infiltration rates compared to mature plantations of E. camaldulensis and G. arborea. It was observed that the bamboo plantations manifested lower soil bulk density compared to bare land, which recorded the highest bulk density. At Boalala, infiltration rates were significantly higher in the bamboo species compared to grassland and bare land. The painted bamboo (B. vulgaris vittata) had a slightly higher water infiltration rate compared to B. vulgaris. Runoff and erosion patterns reinforced the benefits of more mature bamboo plantations as well. There was a significant correlation between amount of runoff and collected soil loss through erosion. The data showed reductions in surface runoff volumes and sediment loss as the bamboo plantations aged compared to younger species. Therefore, by enhancing infiltration and reducing runoff and erosion, well-managed bamboo plantations can protect valuable soil resources, improve water recharge, and support sustainable land use over the long term. In conclusion, this study showed the strong potential of bamboo as a soil and water conservation tool in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fire Ecology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Seagrass meadows are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities and climate change, necessitating restoration efforts such as cutting transplantation. Understanding the complex interactions between plant morphology and physiology is crucial for designing robust restoration strategies and assessing the success of transplantation and recovery processes. A pilot transplantation experiment with the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile was conducted in Northwestern Corsica (Calvi, France) to evaluate the feasibility of meadows degraded due to boat anchoring. The effects of the cuttings' origin and transplanting depth were investigated. The establishment success of transplanted fragments was assessed by investigating the photo-physiological parameters, carbohydrate content, and biometric parameters of both transplanted and control plants one year after transplantation at depths of 20 and 28 m. After one year, there was a high survival rate (90%) of the transplants, but their leaf surface area and biomass were significantly reduced compared to the control plants. Photosynthetic activity remained consistent between both depths, emphasizing the ability of P. oceanica cuttings to acclimate to a new light environment in a relatively short period of time (<3 months). Furthermore, light-harvesting pigments, photoprotective pigments, and carbohydrate concentration were greater at the deeper sites. This implies that transplantation at greater depths might be more effective. Furthermore, additional research is necessary to enhance our understanding of the relationship between photosynthesis and the overall health of the plant. This study emphasizes the essential integration of morphological and physiological investigations to offer an ecologically meaningful understanding of how marine ecosystems respond to various restoration methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes are essential components of the terrestrial water cycle. Their size and quantity reflect natural climate change and anthropogenic activities in time. Lakes on the Inner-Mongolian Plateau (IMP) have experienced significant changes in recent decades, but the current situation remains elusive. In this study, we conducted multi-decadal intensive monitoring of lake area and performed comprehensive variation analysis on the IMP. The study involved pre-processing, lake area extraction, post-processing, and lake area analysis procedures using multi-source satellite images. The results reveal the detailed variation in the lake from various aspects. The temporal analysis indicates that the lake area has undergone two distinct periods of decline followed by subsequent increase, and the variation pattern from January to December was diverse. The spatial analysis suggests that the lake area expanded slightly in the western and southern parts, while the area shrank in the other two. Variations in lakes of different sizes exhibited spatial heterogeneity. To some extent, effective actions have led to lake rehabilitation, but it has not yet reached or surpassed the level of 2000. This study provides a substantial data basis and technological guidance for conducting lacustrine surveys. The results can play important roles in fostering further analyses of the water cycle and the carbon cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought, being one of the most devastating natural disasters, has a far- reaching impact. In the context of global warming, it becomes crucial to quantitatively and scientifically assess the effects of anthropogenic climate change on meteorological drought in China. This assessment not only enhances our understanding of anthropogenic climate change but also aids in formulating more effective strategies for managing the risks associated with meteorological drought. This study employs the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to compute drought events by utilizing both observational data and counterfactual climate data (i.e., detrended observations). Subsequently, it analyzes the impact of anthropogenic climate change on the characteristics of drought, including frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area, in China as well as nine major river basins from 1960 to 2019. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that based on observational data, there is a discernible upward trend in the frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area of meteorological droughts in China. Notably, the regions experiencing an increase in frequency, intensity, and duration are primarily situated in the northeastern part of the Northwestern Rivers basin, the central and western parts of the Yellow River basin, the central and northern parts of the Yangtze River basin, the western part of the Southeastern River basins, and the eastern part of the Pearl River basin. Conversely, when considering a counterfactual climate scenario, the frequency and intensity of meteorological droughts in China demonstrate an upward trend, while the duration and affected area exhibit a downward trend. The impact of anthropogenic climate change on China has been evident in the increased frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area of droughts. Specifically, regions located in the northeastern parts of Northwest River basins, the southern part of the Songliao River basin, the northern part of the Haihe River basin, the central- northern part of the Yangtze River basin, the eastern part of the Pearl River basin, and the western part of the Southwest River basins have experienced amplified levels of drought. Anthropogenic climate change is highlighted as the primary factor influencing the observed drought characteristics changes in China, with contribution rates of 84.67%, 75.25%, 190.32%, and 133.99% for changes in the increased drought frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area, respectively. These changes have significant implications for water resource management and agricultural practices in the affected regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial distribution of world cultural heritage in its present-day geographical context is the foundation for the identification of and subsequent protection from key threats and vulnerabilities, particularly those arising from anthropogenic climate change. To address this challenge, we classified 45 Spanish world cultural heritage sites (WCHS) listed in the UNESCO register (as of 2023) according to type, entry date, and creation date. To establish a basis for a detailed analysis of the specific impact of climate change on the Spanish WCHS, a spatial cartographic database was developed showing the relationships between the WCHS and key geographical and climatic variables. We then used historical climate data, combined with a review of the impact mechanism of climate conditions on cultural heritage, to quantitatively evaluate the extent to which the WCHS in Spain are affected by local climate conditions from five aspects: freeze thaw cycle, thermal stress (thermoclastism), hydrodynamic scoring, corrosion, and biodegradation. Based on the above climate condition risks, we identified the five Spanish WCHS with the greatest potential climate condition risks, including Santiago de Compostela (Old Town), Pyrénées—Mont Perdu, the Roman Walls of Lugo, the Routes of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain, and the Tower of Hercules. Additionally, based on different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), we conducted a qualitative assessment of climate risk changes for WCHS in Spain under climate change. We found that the SSP1-2.6 scenario had the lowest climate risk, emphasizing the importance of achieving carbon neutrality for the protection of the WCHS. Our work translates historical climate conditions into specific climate risk levels for cultural heritage, providing data and theoretical support for effectively assessing the climate risks to Spanish WCHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical dry forests (TDF) have an enormously rich flora and fauna that offer various ecological services to the surrounding human societies. Biodiversity assessment is mandatory for implementing any sustainable forest management policy, which is why it is one of the important criteria and indicators currently used. Threats to TDF biodiversity are the primary challenges arising from environmental concerns caused by anthropogenic activity leading to global warming issues. The study aimed to investigate the vegetation assessment and several environmental and anthropogenic variables influencing forest biodiversity from 5 threatened forest sites of District Sialkot (Ghalotian, Kishan Garh, Daburgi Chanda Singh, Pir Kot, and Ghulab Garh), Pakistan. We collected 170 distinct plant species, including 135 dicots, 27 monocots, seven pteridophytes, and one bryophyte, categorized into 138 genera and 62 families, divided into 114 herbs, 32 trees, and 24 shrubs. The phytosociological analysis described the quantitative characteristics, including % frequency, % density, % cover, and importance Value Index (IVI) of all forest areas. Gulab Garh forest has the richest biodiversity forest area, and herbs are the dominant species that have been documented. Environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, organic matter, soil pH, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, Cl-, and electric conductivity (EC) strongly affect forest vegetation investigated by principal coordinate analysis. Shannon and Simpson's diversity indexes reveal that all sites contain loamy and sandy soil and display a significant relationship between alpha diversity and richness. Increasing trends in temperature and decreasing trends in rainfall suggested that climate significantly affects the Sialkot region's plant biodiversity. SWOT analysis highlighted that population growth leads to increasing anthropogenic activities such as constructing housing societies and roads, inadequate farming, and excessive grazing, impacting the forest vegetation and altering TDF ecosystem properties/services and functioning. Our findings reinforce the vegetational assessment and importance of local forest biodiversity and significant environmental drivers that influence the plant species diversity in TDF areas. Future conservation strategies are suggested to reduce unlawful resource consumption, restore plant biodiversity in designated protected areas, and conserve rare species locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of observations, reanalysis, and model simulations, including those using machine learning methods specifically designed for regime identification, has revealed changes in aspects of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) circulation and Australian climate and extremes over the last half-century that indicate transitions to new states. In particular, our analysis shows a dramatic shift in the metastability of the SH climate that occurred in the late 1970s, associated with a large-scale regime transition in the SH atmospheric circulation, with systematic changes in the subtropical jet, blocking, zonal winds, and storm tracks. Analysis via nonstationary clustering reveals a regime shift coincident with a sharp transition to warmer oceanic sea surface temperatures and increased baroclinicity in the large scales of the Antarctic Circumpolar Circulation (ACC), extending across the whole hemisphere. At the same time, the background state of the tropical Pacific thermocline shoaled, leading to an increased likelihood of El Niño events. The SH climate shift in the late 1970s is the first hemispheric regime shift that can be directly attributed to anthropogenic climate change. These changes in dynamics are associated with additional regional tipping points, including reductions in mean and extreme rainfall in south-west Western Australia (SWWA) and streamflow into Perth dams, and also with increases in mean and extreme rainfall over northern Australia since the late 1970s. The drying of south-eastern Australia (SEA) occurred against a background of accelerating increases in average and extreme temperatures across the whole continent since the 1990s, implying further inflection points may have occurred. Analysis of climate model simulations capturing the essence of these observed shifts indicates that these systematic changes will continue into the late 21st century under high greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Here, we review two decades of work, revealing for the first time that tipping points characteristic of regime transitions are inferred to have already occurred in the SH climate system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire is a fundamental part of the Earth system, with impacts on vegetation structure, biomass, and community composition, the latter mediated in part via key fire-tolerance traits, such as bark thickness. Due to anthropogenic climate change and land use pressure, fire regimes are changing across the world, and fire risk has already increased across much of the tropics. Projecting the impacts of these changes at global scales requires that we capture the selective force of fire on vegetation distribution through vegetation functional traits and size structure. We have adapted the fire behavior and effects module, SPITFIRE (SPread and InTensity of FIRE), for use with the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES), a size-structured vegetation demographic model. We test how climate, fire regime, and fire-tolerance plant traits interact to determine the biogeography of tropical forests and grasslands. We assign different fire-tolerance strategies based on crown, leaf, and bark characteristics, which are key observed fire-tolerance traits across woody plants. For these simulations, three types of vegetation compete for resources: a fire-vulnerable tree with thin bark, a vulnerable deep crown, and fire-intolerant foliage; a fire-tolerant tree with thick bark, a thin crown, and fire-tolerant foliage; and a fire-promoting C 4 grass. We explore the model sensitivity to a critical parameter governing fuel moisture and show that drier fuels promote increased burning, an expansion of area for grass and fire-tolerant trees, and a reduction of area for fire-vulnerable trees. This conversion to lower biomass or grass areas with increased fuel drying results in increased fire-burned area and its effects, which could feed back to local climate variables. Simulated size-based fire mortality for trees less than 20 cm in diameter and those with fire-vulnerable traits is higher than that for larger and/or fire-tolerant trees, in agreement with observations. Fire-disturbed forests demonstrate reasonable productivity and capture observed patterns of aboveground biomass in areas dominated by natural vegetation for the recent historical period but have a large bias in less disturbed areas. Though the model predicts a greater extent of burned fraction than observed in areas with grass dominance, the resulting biogeography of fire-tolerant, thick-bark trees and fire-vulnerable, thin-bark trees corresponds to observations across the tropics. In areas with more than 2500 mm of precipitation, simulated fire frequency and burned area are low, with fire intensities below 150 kWm-1 , consistent with observed understory fire behavior across the Amazon. Areas drier than this demonstrate fire intensities consistent with those measured in savannas and grasslands, with high values up to 4000 kWm-1. The results support a positive grass–fire feedback across the region and suggest that forests which have existed without frequent burning may be vulnerable at higher fire intensities, which is of greater concern under intensifying climate and land use pressures. The ability of FATES to capture the connection between fire disturbance and plant fire-tolerance strategies in determining biogeography provides a useful tool for assessing the vulnerability and resilience of these critical carbon storage areas under changing conditions across the tropics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 60% of households in Texas currently rely on electricity for space heating. As decarbonization efforts increase, non‐electrified households could adopt electric heat pumps, significantly increasing peak (highest) electricity demand in winter. Simultaneously, anthropogenic climate change is expected to increase temperatures, the potential for summer heat waves, and associated electricity demand for cooling. Uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of these concurrent changes raises questions about how they will jointly affect the seasonality of peak demand, firm capacity requirements, and grid reliability. This study investigates the net effects of residential space heating electrification and climate change on long‐term demand patterns and load shedding potential, using climate change projections, a predictive load model, and a direct current optimal power flow (DCOPF) model of the Texas grid. Results show that full electrification of residential space heating by replacing existing fossil fuel use with higher efficiency heat pumps could significantly improve reliability under hotter futures. Less efficient heat pumps may result in more severe winter peaking events and increased reliability risks. As heating electrification intensifies, system planners will need to balance the potential for greater resource adequacy risk caused by shifts in seasonal peaking behavior alongside the benefits (improved efficiency and reductions in emissions). Plain Language Summary: Electric heat pump adoption could help abate the impacts of climate change on overall power system reliability by reducing summer cooling demand in a warmer world because heat pumps are a more efficient alternative to standard air conditioning. It would also carry greenhouse gas emissions benefits in a decarbonized power grid. Yet widespread adoption of heat pumps (especially low‐efficiency heat pumps) could cause more extreme winter peaking events. During these extreme cold events, higher peak demand could result in an increased probability of outages. Higher efficiency heat pumps would help avoid these winter reliability impacts, but these more efficient heat pumps are also currently more expensive. From a grid planning perspective, planners need to account for a range of future peak demand dynamics across different heat pump adoption scenarios and climate futures. Key Points: Widespread electric heat pump adoption and climate change will increase uncertainty in seasonal peaking patterns and grid reliabilityFuture peaking behavior depends on the frequency and severity of extreme heat and cold events and the type of heat pumps widely adoptedShifts toward winter peaking could carry large resource adequacy risks, depending on pump efficiency and climate scenario [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has become an increasing concern in the Mekong region due to seasonal vegetative burning triggered by related anthropogenic activities and climate change. While the assumption of a correlation between agriculture burning and air pollution is a common postulation, little evidence exists on the association between fire incidents and air pollution concentrations. The current study explores the relationship between satellite-derived fire occurrence, land surface characteristics, and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentrations for the five Lower Mekong countries, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, in an effort to gain new insights into fire distributions related to air quality. Publicly available daily active fire hotspots from the VIIRS satellite instrument, annual land cover products from the MODIS satellite, and mean monthly ground-level PM2.5 estimates from the V5.GL.04 database were analyzed in two relational assessments; first, the distribution of VIIRS active fire counts and fire radiative power (FRP) temporally and spatially and secondly, the correlations between the monthly VIIRS active fire counts, cumulative monthly FRP and mean monthly PM2.5 estimates per country and land cover type. The results suggest a statistically significant positive correlation between monthly fire counts, cumulative FRP, and PM2.5 estimates for each country, which differ based on land cover. The strongest correlation between monthly fire incidences and PM2.5 estimates was found in the case of Myanmar. For all countries combined, fires detected in forests displayed the highest correlation with monthly PM2.5 estimates. This study demonstrates the use of the VIIRS active fire product and provides important insights into temporal and spatial fire distributions as baseline information for fire prevention and mitigation strategies in the Mekong region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change misinformation refers to inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading climate change-related information created and spread in the public domain. Despite substantial consensus among the scientific community on the reality of anthropogenic climate change, public opinion still remains divided. Combating the climate crisis requires immediate and meaningful actions; however, various actors generate and propagate climate change misinformation, with vested interests in sowing doubts in the public sphere about the reality and urgency of climate impacts. The United States of America, where public opinion holds a strong sway in many social and political spheres, acts as a pertinent case in point, where the prevalence of climate denial fueled by persistent climate change misinformation contributes to this divided public perspective. For this reason, it is imperative to enhance the understanding of the subtle ways climate change misinformation exists and functions. This article employs actor–network theory and the concept of black-boxing to explore a case of climate change misinformation in the United States, with the aim of comprehending the workings of climate change misinformation within its network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is impacting human survival through its impact upon water quality and availability. An urgent ethical imperative is thus raised for education policy makers and schools, particularly in the Australian and Asia Pacific regions, to adopt a curriculum to help students mitigate and adapt to the dire consequences caused by a warming planet. Through a blue transdisciplinary school curriculum, students will better understand and respond to the broader aspects of what is referred to as the hydrosocial cycle. A school move towards a blue curriculum requires educational policy to mandate an emphasis on the climate change effects upon the water cycle. An effective shift to a blue curriculum also requires that teachers' ethical perspectives and sensitivities are sharpened through their tertiary education courses. This is needed so they develop confidence and pedagogy for teaching anthropogenic climate change generally, something still missing from Australian and other classrooms around the world, and, more specifically, for teaching the hydrosocial cycle. The Four Component Model of Ethical Decision Making is offered as a useful framework to guide teachers in examining their values and motivations when teaching potentially confronting topics such as the impacts of climate change upon the hydrosocial cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large areas of Australia's natural woodlands have been cleared over the last two centuries, and remaining woodlands have experienced degradation from human interventions and anthropogenic climate change. Restoration of woodlands is thus of high priority both for government and society. Revegetation of deforested woodlands is increasingly funded by carbon markets, with accurate predictions of site-level carbon capture an essential step in the decision making to restore. We compared predictions of carbon in above-ground biomass using both the IPCC Tier 2 modelling approach and Australia's carbon accounting model, FullCAM, to independent validation data from ground-based measurements. The IPCC Tier 2 approach, here referred to as the FastTrack model, was adjusted to simulate carbon capture by mixed-species forests for three planting configurations: direct seeding, tubestock planting, and a mix thereof. For model validation, we collected data on above-ground biomass, crown radius, and canopy cover covering an age range of 9–35 years from 20 plantings (n = 6044 trees). Across the three planting configurations, the FastTrack model showed a bias of 2.4 tC/ha (+4.2% of the observed mean AGB), whilst FullCAM had a bias of −24.6 tC/ha (−42.9% of the observed mean AGB). About two-thirds of the error was partitioned to unsystematic error in FastTrack and about one-quarter in FullCAM, depending on the goodness-of-fit metric assessed. Model bias differed strongly between planting configurations. For the FastTrack model, we found that additional canopy cover data estimated from satellite images obtained at different years can improve the carbon capture projections. To attain the highest accuracy of carbon projection at the site level, we recommend using a model with parameters calibrated for the specific planting configuration using local representative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the depletion of surface water resources within the Lake Urmia Basin (LUB), Iran, has emerged as a significant environmental concern. Both anthropogenic activities and climate change have influenced the availability and distribution of surface water resources in this area. This research endeavors to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on surface water resources across the LUB. Various critical climatic and anthropogenic factors affecting surface water bodies, such as air temperature (AT), cropland (CL), potential evapotranspiration (PET), snow cover, precipitation, built-up areas, and groundwater salinity, were analyzed from 2000 to 2021 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform. The JRC-Global surface water mapping layers V1.4, with a spatial resolution of 30 m, were employed to monitor surface water patterns. Additionally, the Mann–Kendall (MK) non-parametric trend test was utilized to identify statistically significant trends in the time series data. The results reveal negative correlations of −0.56, −0.89, −0.09, −0.99, and −0.79 between AT, CL, snow cover, built-up areas, and groundwater salinity with surface water resources, respectively. Conversely, positive correlations of 0.07 and 0.12 were observed between precipitation and PET and surface water resources, respectively. Notably, the findings indicate that approximately 40% of the surface water bodies in the LUB have remained permanent over the past four decades. However, there has been a loss of around 30% of permanent water resources, transitioning into seasonal water bodies, which now account for nearly 13% of the total. The results of our research also indicate that December and January are the months with the most water presence over the LUB from 1984 to 2021. This is because these months align with winter in the LUB, during which there is no water consumption for the agriculture sector. The driest months in the study area are August, September, and October, with the presence of water almost at zero percent. These months coincide with the summer and autumn seasons in the study area. In summary, the results underscore the significant impact of human activities on surface water resources compared to climatic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial communities play a crucial role in ocean ecology and global biogeochemical processes. However, understanding the intricate interactions among diversity, taxonomical composition, functional traits, and how these factors respond to climate change remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose seven distinct ecological statuses by systematically considering the diversity, structure, and biogeochemical potential of the ocean microbiome to delineate their biogeography. Anthropogenic climate change is expected to alter the ecological status of the surface ocean by influencing environmental conditions, particularly nutrient and oxygen contents. Our predictive model, which utilizes machine learning, indicates that the ecological status of approximately 32.44% of the surface ocean may undergo changes from the present to the end of this century, assuming no policy interventions. These changes mainly include poleward shifts in the main taxa, increases in photosynthetic carbon fixation and decreases in nutrient metabolism. However, this proportion can decrease significantly with effective control of greenhouse gas emissions. Our study underscores the urgent necessity for implementing policies to mitigate climate change, particularly from an ecological perspective. Zhang et al. propose the ecological status of the ocean by considering microbial diversity, structure, and biogeochemical potential. Ecological status of 32.44% surface ocean will change due to climate change in 2100, assuming no policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The current state of anthropogenic climate change is particularly concerning for tropical insects, species predicted to be the most negatively affected. Researching climatic tolerance in social insects is challenging because adaptations exist at both individual and societal levels. Division of labor research helps to bridge the gap between our understanding of these adaptations at different scales, which is important because social insects comprise a tremendous portion of global animal biomass, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Considering how individual physiologies construct group-level adaptations can improve climate change impact assessments for social species. Tetragonisca angustula is a neotropical stingless bee species that exhibits high worker subcaste specialization with a morphologically distinct soldier caste. Methods: We used this species to investigate 1) whether age-and size-differentiated subcastes differ in thermal tolerance, 2) which worker subcaste operates closest to their thermal limits, and 3) the extent to which this species selects active foraging times to offset thermal stress. We measured the thermal tolerance (CTmax and CTmin) of small-bodied foragers and two soldier subcastes (hovering guards and standing guards) in T. angustula. Results and discussion: Despite body size differences between foragers and guards, no differences in the upper or lower thermal limits were observed. However, the average thermal tolerance breadth of foragers was significantly larger than that of guards, and foraging sites were more thermally variable than nest sites, supporting the Climatic Variability Hypothesis at a microclimate scale and in the context of division of labor. Warming tolerance was significantly lower among small-bodied foragers compared to hovering and standing guards. The magnitude of warming tolerances indicated low risk of imminent climate change impacts in this environment but suggests that increasing temperatures and heatwave prevalence may cause foragers to meet their upper thermal limits before other subcastes. Foraging occurred at a narrower range of temperatures than would challenge critical temperatures, with higher morning activity. Directionally increasing temperatures will likely confine these preferred foraging temperatures to a narrower time window. Further study is needed to elucidate how foragers may shift times of activity in response to anthropogenic warming, but changing climates may impact plant pollination rates in natural and agricultural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience of mammals to anthropogenic climate and land-use changes is associated with the maintenance of adequate responses of several fitness-related traits such as those related to immune functions. Isolated and combined effects of decreased food availability and increased ambient temperature can lead to immunosuppression and greater susceptibility to disease. Our study tested the general hypothesis that decreased food availability, increased ambient temperature and the combined effect of both factors would affect selected physiological and behavioral components associated with the innate immune system of fruit-eating bats (Carollia perspicillata). Physiological (fever, leukocytosis and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) and behavioral (food intake) components of the acute phase response, as well as bacterial killing ability of the plasma were assessed after immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS: 10 mg/kg) in experimental groups kept at different short-term conditions of food availability (ad libitum diet or 50% food-deprived) and ambient temperature (27 and 33°C). Our results indicate that magnitude of increase in body temperature was not affected by food availability, ambient temperature or the interaction of both factors, but the time to reach the highest increase took longer in LPS-injected bats that were kept under food restriction. The magnitude of increased neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was affected by the interaction between food availability and ambient temperature, but food intake, total white blood cell count and bacterial killing ability were not affected by any factor or interaction. Overall, our results suggest that bacterial killing ability and most components of acute phase response examined are not affected by short-term changes in food availability and ambient temperature within the range evaluated in this study, and that the increase of the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio when bats are exposed to low food availability and high ambient temperature might represent an enhancement of cellular response to deal with infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of species-environmental relationships is invaluable for effective conservation and management under anthropogenic climate change, especially for biodiversity hotspots such as riparian habitats. Species distribution models (SDMs) assess present species-environmental relationships which can project potential suitable environments through space and time. An understanding of environmental factors associated with distributions can guide conservation management strategies under a changing climate. We generated 260 ensemble SDMs for five species of Thamnophis gartersnakes (n = 347)—an important riparian predator guild—in a semiarid and biogeographically diverse region under impact from climate change (Arizona, United States). We modeled present species-environmental relationships and projected changes to suitable environment under 12 future climate scenarios per species, including the most and least optimistic greenhouse gas emission pathways, through 2100. We found that Thamnophis likely advanced northward since the turn of the 20th century and overwinter temperature and seasonal precipitation best explained present distributions. Future ranges of suitable environment for Thamnophis are projected to decrease by ca. -37.1% on average. We found that species already threatened with extinction or those with warm trailing-edge populations likely face the greatest loss of suitable environment, including near or complete loss of suitable environment. Future climate scenarios suggest an upward advance of suitable environment around montane areas for some low to mid-elevation species, which may create pressures to ascend. The most suitable environmental areas projected here can be used to identify potential safe zones to prioritize conservation refuges, including applicable critical habitat designations. By bounding the climate pathway extremes to, we reduce SDM uncertainties and provide valuable information to help conservation practitioners mitigate climate-induced threats to species. Implementing informed conservation actions is paramount for sustaining biodiversity in important aridland riparian systems as the climate warms and dries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term record of ecological, limnological and climatological parameters that were documented in the Kinneret drainage basin was statistically evaluated. The dependent relations between environmental parameters and a change in climate conditions open a consequence dispute between three optional definitions: long-term instability, climate change impact and ecosystem resiliency. The Kinneret drainage basin during the Anthropocene era is marked by intensive anthropogenic involvement: Increase in population size, drainage of the wetlands and old lake Hula, agricultural development, enhancement of lake Kinneret utilization for water supply, hydrological management, fishery and recreation. Therefore, the impact of a combination of natural and anthropogenic environmental factors confounded each other, and the uniqueness of climate change is unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change has already affected drought severity and risk across many regions, and climate models project additional increases in drought risk with future warming. Historically, droughts are typically caused by periods of below‐normal precipitation and terminated by average or above‐normal precipitation. In many regions, however, soil moisture is projected to decrease primarily through warming‐driven increases in evaporative demand, potentially affecting the ability of negative precipitation anomalies to cause drought and positive precipitation anomalies to terminate drought. Here, we use climate model simulations from Phase Six of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) to investigate how different levels of warming (1, 2, and 3°C) affect the influence of precipitation on soil moisture drought in the Mediterranean and Western North America regions. We demonstrate that the same monthly precipitation deficits (25th percentile relative to a preindustrial baseline) at a global warming level of 2°C increase the probability of both surface and rootzone soil moisture drought by 29% in the Mediterranean and 32% and 6% in Western North America compared to the preindustrial baseline. Furthermore, the probability of a dry (25th percentile relative to a preindustrial baseline) surface soil moisture month given a high (75th percentile relative to a preindustrial baseline) precipitation month is 6 (Mediterranean) and 3 (Western North America) times more likely in a 2°C world compared to the preindustrial baseline. For these regions, warming will likely increase the risk of soil moisture drought during low precipitation periods while simultaneously reducing the efficacy of high precipitation periods to terminate droughts. Plain Language Summary: Regional warming associated with climate change is already making droughts worse in many places. This trend is expected to continue as global temperatures increase in response to continued emissions of greenhouse gases. With increasing temperatures, soils are projected to lose water to the atmosphere as it draws more and more moisture from the land surface, increasing drought risk. At the same time, climate change is also projected to shift precipitation patterns. This means it is important to understand how changes in rainfall will cause and end droughts in the future. Using state‐of‐the‐art climate models, we investigate how future warming will impact the influence of precipitation on soil moisture in the Mediterranean and Western North America. Our results suggest that current levels of monthly precipitation will be insufficient to alleviate drought conditions in a warmer world. Key Points: Warming causes declines in soil moisture in the Mediterranean and Western North AmericaThe probability of a moderate soil moisture drought increases during both low and high precipitation anomalies, even at 1°C of warmingThe ability of large positive precipitation anomalies to terminate soil moisture droughts will be substantially reduced in a warmer world [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peat fires in the northern high latitudes have the potential to burn vast amounts of carbon-rich organic soil, releasing large quantities of long-term stored carbon to the atmosphere. Due to anthropogenic activities and climate change, peat fires are increasing in frequency and intensity across the high latitudes. However, at present they are not explicitly included in most fire models. Here we detail the development of INFERNO-peat, the first parameterization of peat fires in the JULES-INFERNO (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator INteractive Fire and Emission algoRithm for Natural envirOnments) fire model. INFERNO-peat utilizes knowledge from lab and field-based studies on peat fire ignition and spread to be able to model peat burnt area, burn depth, and carbon emissions, based on data of the moisture content, inorganic content, bulk density, soil temperature, and water table depth of peat. INFERNO-peat improves the representation of burnt area in the high latitudes, with peat fires simulating on average an additional 0.305×106 km 2 of burn area each year, emitting 224.10 Tg of carbon. Compared to Global Fire Emissions Database version 5 (GFED5), INFERNO-peat captures ∼ 20 % more burnt area, whereas INFERNO underestimated burning by 50 %. Additionally, INFERNO-peat substantially improves the representation of interannual variability in burnt area and subsequent carbon emissions across the high latitudes. The coefficient of variation in carbon emissions is increased from 0.071 in INFERNO to 0.127 in INFERNO-peat, an almost 80 % increase. Therefore, explicitly modelling peat fires shows a substantial improvement in the fire modelling capabilities of JULES-INFERNO, highlighting the importance of representing peatland systems in fire models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria transmission across sub-Saharan Africa is sensitive to rainfall and temperature. Whilst different malaria modelling techniques and climate simulations have been used to predict malaria transmission risk, most of these studies use coarse-resolution climate models. In these models convection, atmospheric vertical motion driven by instability gradients and responsible for heavy rainfall, is parameterised. Over the past decade enhanced computational capabilities have enabled the simulation of high-resolution continental-scale climates with an explicit representation of convection. In this study we use two malaria models, the Liverpool Malaria Model (LMM) and Vector-Borne Disease Community Model of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (VECTRI), to investigate the effect of explicitly representing convection on simulated malaria transmission. The concluded impact of explicitly representing convection on simulated malaria transmission depends on the chosen malaria model and local climatic conditions. For instance, in the East African highlands, cooler temperatures when explicitly representing convection decreases LMM-predicted malaria transmission risk by approximately 55%, but has a negligible effect in VECTRI simulations. Even though explicitly representing convection improves rainfall characteristics, concluding that explicit convection improves simulated malaria transmission depends on the chosen metric and malaria model. For example, whilst we conclude improvements of 45% and 23% in root mean squared differences of the annual-mean reproduction number and entomological inoculation rate for VECTRI and the LMM respectively, bias-correcting mean climate conditions minimises these improvements. The projected impact of anthropogenic climate change on malaria incidence is also sensitive to the chosen malaria model and representation of convection. The LMM is relatively insensitive to future changes in precipitation intensity, whilst VECTRI predicts increased risk across the Sahel due to enhanced rainfall. We postulate that VECTRI's enhanced sensitivity to precipitation changes compared to the LMM is due to the inclusion of surface hydrology. Future research should continue assessing the effect of high-resolution climate modelling in impact-based forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is increasing the occurrence of wildfires, especially in northern high latitudes, leading to a shift in land surface climate. This study aims to determine the predominant climatic effects of fires in boreal forests to assess their impact on vegetation composition, surface albedo, and snow dynamics. The influence of fire-induced changes on Earth's radiative forcing is investigated, while considering variations in burn severity and postfire vegetation structure. Six burn sites are explored in central Alaska's boreal region, alongside six control sites, by utilizing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived albedo, Leaf Area Index (LAI), snowmelt timing data, AmeriFlux radiation, National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover, and Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) data. Key findings reveal significant postfire shifts in land cover at each site, mainly from high- to low-stature vegetation. A continuous increase in postfire surface albedo and negative surface shortwave forcing was noted even after 12 years postfire, particularly during the spring and at high-severity burn areas. Results indicate that the cooling effect from increased albedo during the snow season may surpass the warming effects of earlier snowmelt. The overall climate impact of fires depends on burn severity and vegetation composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial diversity has been extensively explored in reef-building corals. However, the functional roles of coral-associated microorganisms remain poorly elucidated. Here, we recover 191 bacterial and 10 archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the coral Acropora kenti (formerly A. tenuis) and adjacent seawater, to identify microbial functions and metabolic interactions within the holobiont. We show that 82 MAGs were specific to the A. kenti holobiont, including members of the Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota, and Desulfobacterota. A. kenti-specific MAGs displayed significant differences in their genomic features and functional potential relative to seawater-specific MAGs, with a higher prevalence of genes involved in host immune system evasion, nitrogen and carbon fixation, and synthesis of five essential B-vitamins. We find a diversity of A. kenti-specific MAGs encode the biosynthesis of essential amino acids, such as tryptophan, histidine, and lysine, which cannot be de novo synthesised by the host or Symbiodiniaceae. Across a water quality gradient spanning 2° of latitude, A. kenti microbial community composition is correlated to increased temperature and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, with corresponding enrichment in molecular chaperones, nitrate reductases, and a heat-shock protein. We reveal mechanisms of A. kenti-microbiome-symbiosis on the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting the interactions underpinning the health of this keystone holobiont. This study provides insights into the functional roles of microbial symbionts within the reef-building coral Acropora kenti. The findings reveal molecular mechanisms underpinning coral health and adaptation to local environmental stressors, which may support host resilience in the face of anthropogenic climate change and pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A severe hailstorm that occurred in Spain on 30 August 2022, caused material and human damage, including one fatality due to giant hailstones up to 12 cm in diameter. By applying a pseudo‐global warming approach, here we evaluate how a simultaneous marine heatwave (and anthropogenic climate change) affected a unique environment conductive to such giant hailstones. The main results show that the supercell development was influenced by an unprecedented amount of convective available energy, with significant contributions from thermodynamic factors. Numerical simulations where the marine heatwave is not present show a notable reduction in the hail‐favorable environments, related mainly to modifications in thermodynamic environment. Our simulations also indicate that the environment in a preindustrial‐like climate would be less favorable for convective hazards and thus the hailstorm event would likely not have been as severe as the observed one, being possible to perform a novel attribution of such kind. Plain Language Summary: In August 2022, northeastern Spain faced a damaging hailstorm with hailstones up to 12 cm, causing significant harm and one fatality. This study examined how hail‐favorable environments were modified by a marine heatwave and human‐induced climate change. Numerical simulations show that the storm's intensity was influenced by abundant atmospheric energy and moisture from the warm sea, partly influenced by human‐induced warming. When the warm sea factor was excluded from the simulations, hailstones were smaller. These findings emphasize the role of human‐induced climate change and warm sea surface temperature events in intensifying extreme and high‐impact weather events like hailstorms. Key Points: Unprecedented hailstones in Spain (up to 12 cm) caused widespread damage and one fatalityA record‐breaking marine heatwave enhanced the strong hail‐favorable environmentNovel demonstration of an extreme hailstorm event attribution to anthropogenic warming [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cool temperate rainforests of eastern Australia are at risk from anthropogenic climate change with predicted changes in temperature, rainfall, severe weather, basal cloud layer, and droughts. Phenology and litter production are fundamental reproductive and growth processes to document in any ecosystem, yet very few long-term studies exist in Australian rainforests. In this study, long-term datasets are used to describe different phenological and litter production behaviours of tree species in a Nothofagus cool temperate rainforest in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, analysing seasonal and inter-annual climate drivers. Leaf fall at the community level was mostly influenced by Nothofagus moorei, driven by temperature and wind speed, and Ceratopetalum apetalum, driven by temperature, rainfall, and solar radiation. Mean dates of leaf fall at the community level were found to be advancing, correlated with an advance in solar radiation. We also analysed in detail the flowering behaviour of the dominant canopy tree species, N. moorei, which masts with a mean inter-flowering period of 3-4 years in 65% of flowering events. Three of the studied species presented mast flowering, C. apetalum, N. moorei, and Orites excelsus; however, they did not mast in the same years. All species presented strong seasonality in their phenological activity, but seasonality peaked in different months, and were driven by varied climate variables. Supra-annual peaks of flowering and fruiting did not occur at the same time for all species, and climate drivers of inter-annual phenological behaviour were different for each species. Our results show that projected changes in climate will affect species from cool temperate rainforests differently, affecting not only biomass production, but also species reproductive output and forest dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The species-area relationship (SAR) is a well-established, globally recognized ecological pattern, and research on SAR has expanded to include the phylogenetic diversity-area relationship (PDAR). However, this research has generally been limited to terrestrial systems. Using data on freshwater macroinvertebrates, the log–log form of the SAR and PDAR power models were compared between the Lhasa River and the Niyang River on the Tibetan Plateau in China. The study reveals that there is a significant difference in the slopes of SAR and PDAR between the two rivers, with the Lhasa River having a considerably higher slope. The beta diversity calculations in these two basins support this pattern, with the Lhasa River exhibiting significantly higher numbers of species and greater total phylogenetic beta diversity than the Niyang River. Regarding species replacement, the turnover component was the primary driver of both species and phylogenetic beta diversity in both rivers. These differences in the beta diversity components were mainly driven by dispersal constraints because spatial distance had a large effect on total beta diversity and turnover fractions. In addition, the nestedness component was more affected by climate and land cover, indicating that highland rivers are subject to the threats of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Therefore, spatial factors play a crucial role in determining the distribution of passively dispersed benthic organisms as the scale of change in rivers increases from local to regional effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate science community aims to improve our understanding of climate change due to anthropogenic influences on atmospheric composition and the Earth's surface. Yet not all climate interactions are fully understood, and uncertainty in climate model results persists, as assessed in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. We synthesize current challenges and emphasize opportunities for advancing our understanding of the interactions between atmospheric composition, air quality, and climate change, as well as for quantifying model diversity. Our perspective is based on expert views from three multi-model intercomparison projects (MIPs) – the Precipitation Driver Response MIP (PDRMIP), the Aerosol Chemistry MIP (AerChemMIP), and the Radiative Forcing MIP (RFMIP). While there are many shared interests and specializations across the MIPs, they have their own scientific foci and specific approaches. The partial overlap between the MIPs proved useful for advancing the understanding of the perturbation–response paradigm through multi-model ensembles of Earth system models of varying complexity. We discuss the challenges of gaining insights from Earth system models that face computational and process representation limits and provide guidance from our lessons learned. Promising ideas to overcome some long-standing challenges in the near future are kilometer-scale experiments to better simulate circulation-dependent processes where it is possible and machine learning approaches where they are needed, e.g., for faster and better subgrid-scale parameterizations and pattern recognition in big data. New model constraints can arise from augmented observational products that leverage multiple datasets with machine learning approaches. Future MIPs can develop smart experiment protocols that strive towards an optimal trade-off between the resolution, complexity, and number of simulations and their length and, thereby, help to advance the understanding of climate change and its impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]