Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem

Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.     

Net anthropogenic nitrogen accumulation in the Beijing metropolitan region

Background, aim, and scope  

A rapid increase in anthropogenic nitrogen inputs has a strong impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We have estimated net anthropogenic nitrogen accumulation (NANA) as an index of nitrogen (N) pollution potential in the Beijing metropolitan region, China. Our research provides a basis for understanding the potential impact of anthropogenic N inputs on environmental problems, such as nation-wide water quality degradation under the current rapid urban expansion in modern China.     

Recognizing Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in the post-2020 Biodiversity Agenda

The Convention on Biological Diversity is defining the goals that will frame future global biodiversity policy in a context of rapid biodiversity decline and under pressure to make transformative change. Drawing on the work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, we argue that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in biodiversity policy. We support this argument with four key points. First, Indigenous peoples and local communities hold knowledge essential for setting realistic and effective biodiversity targets that simultaneously improve local livelihoods. Second, Indigenous peoples’ conceptualizations of nature sustain and manifest CBD’s 2050 vision of “Living in harmony with nature.” Third, Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ participation in biodiversity policy contributes to the recognition of human and Indigenous peoples’ rights. And fourth, engagement in biodiversity policy is essential for Indigenous peoples and local communities to be able to exercise their recognized rights to territories and resources.     

The Arctic in an earth system context: from brake to accelerator of change

Human activities over the past few centuries have profoundly changed the functioning of the earth system as a whole. These changes are particularly evident in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, where environmental change has been pronounced and rapid. Such changes have implications beyond the region, as they can lead to two important feedback processes: the ice-albedo feedback and the terrestrial carbon cycle-climate feedback. These processes play an exceptionally important role in earth system functioning, particularly because they may switch this century from damping the effects of anthropogenic climate change to accelerating them. Rapid environmental change in the high latitudes also has consequences for issues of direct importance to humans, particularly water resources.     

Assessing the benefits of the greenhouse gas emission reduction policy: a pilot case study of Korea

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to avert or slow climate change has become an increasingly important policy issue in developing countries such as Korea, as well as in developed countries. This paper uses the willingness to pay survey technique to assess the benefits that would ensue from a proposed OHO emissions reduction policy. It aims to provide at least a preliminary evaluation of the policy, using Korea as a specific case study. Respondents overall accepted the contingent market and were on average willing to contribute a significant amount toward the GHG emissions reduction policy. This willingness varies according to respondents' individual characteristics and environmental concerns. Finally, this study discusses the importance of including the climate change problem in cost—benefit analysis and presents the policy implications of the results.     

Echoes from the Past: A Healthy Baltic Sea Requires More Effort

Integrated sediment multiproxy studies and modeling were used to reconstruct past changes in the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Results of natural changes over the past 6000 years in the Baltic Sea ecosystem suggest that forecasted climate warming might enhance environmental problems of the Baltic Sea. Integrated modeling and sediment proxy studies reveal increased sea surface temperatures and expanded seafloor anoxia (in deep basins) during earlier natural warm climate phases, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Under future IPCC scenarios of global warming, there is likely no improvement of bottom water conditions in the Baltic Sea. Thus, the measures already designed to produce a healthier Baltic Sea are insufficient in the long term. The interactions between climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the Baltic Sea should be considered in management, implementation of policy strategies in the Baltic Sea environmental issues, and adaptation to future climate change.     

Late Holocene wetland transgression and 500 years of vegetation and fire variability in the semi-arid Amboseli landscape,southern Kenya

The semi-arid Amboseli landscape, southern Kenya, is characterised by intermittent groundwater-fed wetlands that form sedimentary geoarchives recording past ecosystem changes. We present a 5000-year environmental history of a radiocarbon dated sediment core from Esambu Swamp adjacent to Amboseli National Park. Although radiocarbon dates suggest an unconformity or sedimentary gap that spans between 3800 and 500 cal year BP, the record provides a unique insight into the long-term ecosystem history and wetland processes, particularly the past 500 years. Climatic shifts, fire activity and recent anthropogenic activity drive changes in ecosystem composition. Prior to 3800 cal year BP the pollen data suggest semi-arid savanna ecosystem persisted near the wetland. The wetland transgressed at some time between 3800 and 500 cal year BP and it is difficult to constrain this timing further, and palustrine peaty sediments have accumulated since 400 cal year BP. Increased abundance of Afromontane forest taxa from adjacent highlands of Kilimanjaro and the Chyulu Hills and local arboreal taxa reflect changes in regional moisture budgets. Particularly transformative changes occurred in the last five centuries, associated with increased local biomass burning coeval with the arrival of Maa-speaking pastoralists and intensification of the ivory trade. Cereal crops occurred consistently from around 300 cal year BP, indicative of further anthropogenic activity. The study provides unique insight in Amboseli ecosystem history and the link between ecosystem drivers of change. Such long-term perspectives are crucial for future climate change and associated livelihood impacts, so that suitable responses to ensure sustainable management practices can be developed in an important conservation landscape.     

Tracking the anthropogenic drivers of ecological impacts

Despite the pivotal role human factors (anthropogenic drivers) are presumed to play in global environmental change, substantial uncertainties and contradictory conclusions about them continue. We attempt to further discipline the human factors issue by estimating the effects of two anthropogenic drivers, population and affluence, on a wide variety of global environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of ozone depleting substances, and the ecological footprint. Population proportionately increases all types of impacts examined. Affluence typically increases impacts, but the specific effect depends on the type of impact. These findings refocus attention on population and material affluence as principal threats to sustainability and challenge predictions of an ameliorating effect of rising affluence on impacts.     

The process and mechanism of urban environmental change: an evolutionary view

This paper discusses how an evolutionary viewpoint can contribute to the understanding of the processes and mechanisms of urban environmental change. There are four major components in the urban environmental evolution concept: (a) cities can be viewed as complex systems that are subject to constant change, which constitutes a dynamic evolutionary process; (b) urban environmental profiles of cities are diverse, but there are certain commonalities in the longitudinal dynamics among different cities; (c) nevertheless, there is a strong non-linearity in the trajectories of the environmental evolution of cities, rather than there being a fixed common pattern; (d) the trajectory is shaped by a unique combination of endogenous and exogenous forces, reflecting both the outer pressures and the responses within the city. The evolutionary perspective has important policy implications by emphasising the possibility for cities in developing countries to follow a more environmentally sound pathway to sustainable development.     

Climate Change and Mitigation

Planet Earth has experienced repeated changes of its climate throughout time. Periods warmer than today as well as much colder, during glacial episodes, have alternated. In our time, rapid population growth with increased demand for natural resources and energy, has made society increasingly vulnerable to environmental changes, both natural and those caused by man; human activity is clearly affecting the radiation balance of the Earth. In the session “Climate Change and Mitigation” the speakers offered four different views on coal and CO₂: the basis for life, but also a major hazard with impact on Earth’s climate. A common denominator in the presentations was that more than ever science and technology is required. We need not only understand the mechanisms for climate change and climate variability, we also need to identify means to remedy the anthropogenic influence on Earth’s climate.     

Effect of recent climate change on Arctic Pb pollution: a comparative study of historical records in lake and peat sediments

Historical changes of anthropogenic Pb pollution were reconstructed based on Pb concentrations and isotope ratios in lake and peat sediment profiles from Ny-?lesund of Arctic. The calculated excess Pb isotope ratios showed that Pb pollution largely came from west Europe and Russia. The peat profile clearly reflected the historical changes of atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic Pb into Ny-?lesund, and the result showed that anthropogenic Pb peaked at 1960s-1970s, and thereafter a significant recovery was observed by a rapid increase of (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios and a remarkable decrease in anthropogenic Pb contents. In contrast to the peat record, the longer lake record showed relatively high anthropogenic Pb contents and a persistent decrease of (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios within the uppermost samples, suggesting that climate-sensitive processes such as catchment erosion and meltwater runoff might have influenced the recent change of Pb pollution record in the High Arctic lake sediments.     

A discursive review of the textual use of ‘trapped’ in environmental migration studies: The conceptual birth and troubled teenage years of trapped populations

First mooted in 2011, the concept of Trapped Populations referring to people unable to move from environmentally high-risk areas broadened the study of human responses to environmental change. While a seemingly straightforward concept, the underlying discourses around the reasons for being ‘trapped’, and the language describing the concept have profound influences on the way in which policy and practice approaches the needs of populations at risk from environmental stresses and shocks. In this article, we apply a Critical Discourse Analysis to the academic literature on the subject to reveal some of the assumptions implicit within discussing ‘trapped’ populations. The analysis reveals a dominant school of thought that assisted migration, relocation, and resettlement in the face of climate change are potentially effective adaptation strategies along a gradient of migrant agency and governance.     

Influence of sampling sufficiency on biodiversity analysis of microperiphyton communities for marine bioassessment

Introduction  

With quick responses to environmental changes, easy sampling, relative immobility, increasing availability of easily used taxonomic references, and allowing standardization for temporal and spatial comparisons, the biodiversity measures of microperiphyton communities have widely been accepted as useful indicators to evaluate environmental stress and anthropogenic impact.     

Assessing anthropogenic sources of mercury in soil in Wanshan Hg mining area, Guizhou, China

Long-term mining and smelting activities brought a series of environmental issues into soils in Wanshan mercury (Hg) mining area (WMMA), Guizhou, China. Several studies have been published on the concentrations of Hg in local soils, but a comprehensive assessment of the mass of Hg in soil induced by anthropogenic activities, as presented in this paper, has not been previously conducted. Three districts of WMMA were chosen as the study areas. We summarized previous published data and sampled 14 typical soil profiles to analyze the spatial and vertical distributions of Hg in soil in the study areas. The regional geologic background, direct and indirect Hg deposition, and Hg-polluted irrigation water were considered as the main sources of Hg contaminations in local soils. Furthermore, the enrichment factor (EF) method was applied to assess the extent of anthropogenic input of Hg to soil. Titanium (Ti) was chosen to be the reference element to calculate the EF. Generally, the elevated values of EF were observed in the upper soil layers and close to mine wastes. The total budget of Hg in soil contributed from anthropogenic sources was estimated to be 1,227 t in arable soil and 75 t in natural soil. Our data showed that arable soil was the major sink of anthropogenic Hg in the study area.     

An integrated environmental approach to investigate biomarker fluctuations in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L. in the Vilaine estuary, France

Estuarine areas represent complex and highly changing environments at the interface between freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the aquatic organisms living in estuaries have to face highly variable environmental conditions. The aim of this work was to study the influence of environmental changes from either natural or anthropogenic origins on the physiological responses of Mytilus edulis. Mussels were collected in the Vilaine estuary during early summer because this season represents a critical period of active reproduction in mussels and of increased anthropogenic inputs from agricultural and boating activities into the estuary. The physiological status of the mussel M. edulis was evaluated through measurements of a suite of biomarkers related to: oxidative stress (catalase, malondialdehyde), detoxication (benzopyrene hydroxylase, carboxylesterase), neurotoxicity (acetylcholinesterase), reproductive cycle (vitelline, condition index, maturation stages), immunotoxicity (hemocyte concentration, granulocyte percentage, phagocytosis, reactive oxygen species production, oxidative burst), and general physiological stress (lysosomal stability). A selection of relevant organic contaminant (pesticides, (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorobiphenyls) was measured as well as environmental parameters (water temperature, salinity, total suspended solids, turbidity, chlorophyll a, pheopigments) and mussel phycotoxin contamination. Two locations differently exposed to the plume of the Vilaine River were compared. Both temporal and inter-site variations of these biomarkers were studied. Our results show that reproduction cycle and environmental parameters such as temperature, organic ontaminants, and algal blooms could strongly influence the biomarker responses. These observations highlight the necessity to conduct integrated environmental approaches in order to better understand the causes of biomarker variations.     

Abrupt biological response to hydrologic and land-use changes in Lake Apopka, Florida, USA

Lake Apopka is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in north-central Florida that experienced an abrupt shift in primary producer community structure (PPCS) in 1947. The PPCS shift was so abrupt anecdotal accounts report that dominant, submersed aquatic vegetation was uprooted by a hurricane in 1947 and replaced by phytoplankton within weeks. Here we propose two hypotheses to explain the sudden shift to phytoplankton. First, hydrologic modification of the drainage basin in the late 1800s lowered the lake level ca. 1.0 m, allowing the ecosystem to accommodate moderate, anthropogenic nutrient enrichment through enhanced production in the macrophyte community. Second, additional hydrologic changes and large-scale agricultural development of floodplain wetlands began in 1942 and altered the pattern and scale of phosphorus loading to the lake that triggered the rapid shift to phytoplankton dominance in 1947. Historic land-use changes and paleolimnological data on biological responses to nutrient loading support these hypotheses.     

Wintering French Mallard and Teal Are Heavier and in Better Body Condition than 30?Years Ago: Effects of a Changing Environment?

Animal populations are exposed to large-scale anthropogenic impact from e.g. climate change, habitat alteration and supplemental stocking. All of these may affect body condition in wintering dabbling ducks, which in turn may affect an individual’s survival and reproductive success. The aim of this study was to assess whether there have been morphometric changes in Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Teal (Anas crecca) over the last 30 years at a major wintering site. Body mass and condition increased from the 1950s–1960s to the 2000s in both species. The increase in body mass amounted to as much as 11.7%, with no corresponding change in body size. Improved body condition was maintained from early to mid-winter, but then converged with historical values for late winter. Our interpretation is that increasingly benign ambient winter conditions permit ducks to maintain better energetic “safety margins” throughout winter, and that converging spring departure values may be related to evolutionary flight energetic optima. The observed changes are consistent with large-scale climate amelioration and local/regional habitat improvement (both anthropogenic).     

The sustainable management and protection of forests: analysis of the current position globally

The loss of forest area globally due to change of land use, the importance of forests in the conservation of biodiversity and in carbon and other biogeochemical cycles, together with the threat to forests from pollution and from the impacts of climate change, place forestry policy and practice at the center of global environmental and sustainability strategy. Forests provide important economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefits, so that in forestry, as in other areas of environmental policy and management, there are tensions between economic development and environmental protection. In this article we review the current information on global forest cover and condition, examine the international processes that relate to forest protection and to sustainable forest management, and look at the main forest certification schemes. We consider the link between the international processes and certification schemes and also their combined effectiveness. We conclude that in some regions of the world neither mechanism is achieving forest protection, while in others local or regional implementation is occurring and is having a significant impact. Choice of certification scheme and implementation of management standards are often influenced by a consideration of the associated costs, and there are some major issues over the monitoring of agreed actions and of the criteria and indicators of sustainability. There are currently a number of initiatives seeking to improve the operation of the international forestry framework (e.g., The Montreal Process, the Ministerial Convention of the Protection of Forests in Europe and European Union actions in Europe, the African Timber Organisation and International Tropical Timber Organisation initiative for African tropical forest, and the development of a worldwide voluntary agreement on forestry in the United Nations Forum on Forests). We suggest that there is a need to improve the connections between scientific understanding, policy development, and forestry practice, and also the cooperation between the various international initiatives and processes, so that the international framework is more effective and its influence is extended geographically.     

Evolution of newspaper coverage of water issues in Australia during 1843–2011

News accounts both reflect and influence public opinion through their noted ‘agenda-setting’ capability. We examined newspaper articles in Australia’s The Sydney Morning Herald from 1843 to 2011 to observe the evolution of media coverage on water issues related to water resources management. The results showed that water supply-related articles have dominated the reporting of water issues since 1843. This emphasis is reflected in the institutions involved and their related policy/management initiatives, as well as the themes of the articles. Extreme events such as flooding and drought have punctuated the historical record of reports on water issues. An economic development-driven tone was overwhelmingly predominant in newspaper articles (85 % of the total); however, there has been a marked decline in the importance of development-driven tone relative to environmental-sustainability oriented tone of articles since 1994. People from academia and NGOs were rarely quoted. Inclusion of wider range stakeholders should be considered as a strategic break-through and natural events should be considered as an “opportunity” to change public opinion on water issues for environmental sustainability.