Building responsiveness to climate change through community based adaptation in Bangladesh

This article explores the drivers, benefits, and challenges to climate change adaptation in Bangladesh. It specifically investigates the “Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestation Program,” a 5-year $5 million adaptation scheme being funded and implemented in part by the Government of Bangladesh, United Nations Development Program, and Global Environment Facility. The article explores how the CBACC-CA builds various types of adaptive capacity in Bangladesh and the extent its design and implementation offers lessons for other adaptation programs around the world. The first part of the study begins by describing its research methods consisting of research interviews, site visits, and a literature review. It then summarizes six primary sectors vulnerable to climate change in Bangladesh: water resources and coastal zones, infrastructure and human settlements, agriculture and food security, forestry and biodiversity, fisheries, and human health. The article next describes the genesis and background behind the CBACC-CA, with an emphasis on components that promote capacity development, demonstration projects, risk reduction, and knowledge management. The article concludes that technology by itself is only a partial component of successful adaptation efforts, and that multiple and integrated adaptation measures that cut across sectors and social, institutional, and infrastructural dimensions are needed to truly build resilience and effectiveness.     

Fire use: Is it really the cheaper land preparation method for large-scale plantations?

During the last two decades Indonesia has experienced immense forest and land fires. Often these fires are associated with extended drought and widespread use of fire to clear previously logged forest and other degraded land in preparation for oil palm, rubber, or pulpwood plantations. There are many reasons for the use of fire in land clearing activities, but probably the most important one is economics. There is still acceptance that fire is the cheapest, fastest, and most effective land clearing method with the added benefit of providing nutrients from ash residues. This paper provides a review of existing information on the financial costs and benefits of using fire for land clearing in agriculture and forestry plantations as compared with zero-burning techniques. The findings indicate that the economic advantage of fire use varies widely and depends on many factors, such as soil fertility, vegetation density, labour cost, equipment and training costs, and the costs of fire management. For large-scale land clearing, the financial analysis of the costs and benefits of fire versus zero-burning shows that when applied to low-volume vegetation, zero-burning methods are not more expensive than burning – and may actually be more cost effective in the long term. This is the case for clearing oil palm or rubber plantations for replanting, low secondary vegetation, and heavily logged-over forest. Under high-volume forest conditions, burning remains less expensive because it is more difficult, time consuming, and costly to dispose of high volumes of piled wood mechanically.     

Prioritization of Ecosystem Services Research: Tampa Bay Demonstration Project

The Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Demonstration Project (TBESDP) is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Ecosystem Services Research Program. The principal objectives of TBESDP are to (1) quantify the ecosystem services of the Tampa Bay watershed, (2) determine the value of ecosystem services to society, (3) predict the supply of ecosystem services under future scenarios of population growth and climate change, and (4) apply this knowledge through models and tools that will support the best informed environmental decisions possible. The scope and complexity of this project required intensive effort to establish which services can be quantified by applying existing models, data, and scientific literature and which services will require supporting research. Research priorities were assessed by: (1) developing and refining conceptual models of major ecosystems in the Tampa Bay region, (2) gathering input from stakeholders about the relative importance and values of various ecosystem services, (3) preparing and reviewing a bibliometric analysis of the volume of scientific literature relevant to the ecosystems and services of interest, and (4) evaluating an integrated analysis of importance, value, and availability of scientific information. This analysis led us to focus on two research priorities, seagrass-habitat functions as support for fishery production, and wetlands as regulators of water quality.     

HCHs and DDTs in Yellow River of Henan section—a typical agricultural area in China: levels,distributions and risks

The levels, potential sources and ecological risks of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) in Yellow River of Henan section, a typical agricultural area in China, were investigated. Surface water samples and suspended particulate matters (SPMs) were collected from 23 sites during two seasons. In wet season, the residues of ∑HCHs (α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH and δ-HCH) and ∑DDTs (p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDD) ranged from 41.7 to 290 and 4.42 to 269 ng/L in surface water, while those varied from 0.86 to 157 and 1.79 to 96.1 ng/g dw in SPM, respectively. Moreover, in surface water, the levels of HCHs and DDTs in wet season were much higher than those in dry season. The reverse was true for residues of HCHs and DDTs in SPM. Compared with the large rivers in other regions, the levels of HCHs and DDTs in the studied area ranked at high levels and the residual concentrations might cause adverse biological risk, especially for ∑HCHs during wet season. Distributions of HCHs and DDTs delineated that the input of tributaries made a significant effect on the residue of HCHs and DDTs in the mainstream. ∑HCHs in surface water were consist of 26.7 % α-HCH, 30.0 % β-HCH, 37.9 % γ-HCH and 5.45 % δ-HCH and those in SPM contained 5.16 % α-HCH, 22.1 % β-HCH, 60.5 % γ-HCH and 12.2 % δ-HCH on average. Combined with ratios of α-HCH/γ-HCH in surface water (0.70) and in SPM (0.09), the results strongly indicated that lindane was recently used or discharged in the studied area. The mean percentage of DDTs′ isomers were 28.7 % p,p′-DDT, 29.8 % o,p′-DDT, 28.1 % p,p′-DDE and 13.4 % p,p′-DDD in surface water, while those were 12.5 % p,p′-DDT, 31.8 % o,p′-DDT, 30.5 % p,p′-DDE and 25.1 % p,p′-DDD in SPM. The ratios of (DDE + DDD)/∑DDTs and o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT revealed that the DDTs in the studied area mainly derived from long-term weathering of technical DDTs residue and the input of dicofol.     

Chemical composition of Eurasian lynx urine conveys information on reproductive state,individual identity,and urine age

In mammals, the chemical profiles of individuals are complex and variable mixtures, and animals perceive information based on variation in the overall quality of these mixtures. A variety of compounds potentially involved in chemical communication have been characterized in the urine of different felid species, but little is known about the information content of felid scent marks. In this study, we investigated whether chemical composition of Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx urine was related to sex, reproductive state, and individual identity. We further analysed if elemental sulphur in lynx urine could serve as a dietary cue or as an indicator for the freshness of a scent mark. We collected urine from captive and wild Eurasian lynx, and analysed volatile constituents of urine by means of solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our results show that lynx scent profiles contain sex-specific information on reproductive state, as well as individual identity cues. Urine marks are, therefore, well-suited to fulfil a role in reproductive behaviour and social organisation of wild lynx populations. Relative sulphur content was unrelated to time since last feeding, but decreased with age of the urine sample. The influence of diet and body condition on scent profiles should be further investigated by means of experimental studies, and may shed more light on the messages encoded in carnivore scent-marks.     

Shoreline shifting and its prediction using remote sensing and GIS techniques: a case study of Sagar Island,West Bengal (India)

The shoreline position is difficult to predict but the trend of erosion or accretion can be determined by geospatial and statistical techniques which may help in reducing the loss of property. The study aims to assess the shoreline changes and prediction in Sagar Island, a delta of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. Shorelines have been delineated by using Tasseled Cap Transformation techniques from the Landsat MSS (1975), Landsat TM (1989, 1991) and Landsat ETM+ (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2011) images. The uncertainty was calculated for every year for assessing the positional error related to shoreline extraction. Total shoreline change rate/year has also been calculated and the uncertainty of total shoreline change rate was found ±3.20 m/year. In the present study, End Point Rate (EPR) and Linear Regression (LR) methods have been used for shoreline change rate calculation and prediction of shoreline. Long term (1975–2002) and short term (2002–2011) erosion and accretion rates were calculated for the study area. Sagar is the biggest island of the Sundarban region; so, it was divided into three segments in order to analyze the change on a segment basis. It was observed that the most of erosion occurred in the Segment B (south Sagar). The rate of erosion was ?7.91 and ?7.01 m/year for the periods 1975–2002 and 2002–2011 respectively. The mean shoreline change rate was high in Segment B (South Sagar) with values of ?6.46 m/year (1975–2002) but the rate was decreased into ?5.25 m/year during the later period (2002–2011). The study reveals that most of the southern part of Sagar Island is vulnerable to high rate of shoreline erosion.     

Measurements of fog water interception by shrubs on the California central coast

Fog water deposition may be an important component of the water budget of herbaceous-shrub ecosystems on the central and southern coastal regions of California. This paper presents the first analysis of measured fog water drip rates and meteorological controls in shrublands of Big Sur, California. Seasonal totals of 1255 mm and 306 mm of fog water drip were recorded in 2014 and 2015 (respectively), for averaged fog deposition rates of 0.02–0.08 l m² hr.^?1 to the soil under shrub canopy cover. The diurnal patterns of fog water drip showed that the majority of all trough water collected under shrubs on no-rain days occurred between the hours of 11 PM and 9 AM. During the study period from June 1 to October 31 of both 2014 and 2015, soil water content decreased significantly from average levels of 4–6 % at the shrub canopy center and middle locations, through 2–3 % VWC at the shrub edge locations, to levels at or below 2 % at 2-m distance locations from the shrub edge in open grass cover. Based on these results, we conclude that detectable rates of shrub canopy fog interception help sustain elevated soil water levels under shrubs and aid woody vegetation survival through periods of low rainfall.     

Evidences of different salinization sources in the roman coastal aquifer (Central Italy)

The coastal aquifer of Rome is hosted in the Tiber River Delta depositional sequence, in a densely populated area, which was reclaimed at the end of the 19th century. Moderate salinization processes characterize this aquifer. Hydrogeological and hydrochemical surveys were carried out in October 2012 and February 2013 in the southern sector of the Delta. Hydrogeological surveys updated knowledge of groundwater morphology and a detailed conceptual hydrogeological model of the coastal aquifer was realized. Hydrochemical analyses helped to identify the salinization spatial distribution and to specify the main groundwater types. The most salinized water was not detected close to the coastline, where seawater intrusion processes would be expected, but in the inner areas. Moreover, the salinization processes resulted to be slightly marked. Results so far suggest that the source of salinization may be related more to a combination of land use and historical development of the Tiber River Delta, rather than to seawater.     

Recent advances in the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide

Fossil fuels are currently the major energy source and are rapidly consumed to supply the increasing energy demands of mankind. CO₂, a product of fossil fuel combustion, leads to climate change and will have a serious impact on our environment. There is an increasing need to mitigate CO₂ emissions using carbon–neutral energy sources. Therefore, research activities are devoted to CO₂ capture, storage and utilization. For instance, photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into hydrocarbon fuels is a promising avenue to recycle carbon dioxide. Here we review the present status of the emission and utilization of CO₂. Then we review the photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ by TiO₂, modified TiO₂ and non-titanium metal oxides. Finally, the challenges and prospects for further development of CO₂ photocatalytic reduction are presented.     

High amounts of free aromatic amino acids in the protein-like fluorescence of water-dissolved organic matter

Fluorescence spectroscopy is widely used to study water pollution. The fluorescence of water natural organic matter can be classified into two groups: the protein-like fluorescence originating from aromatic amino acids and the humic fluorescence originating from humic substances. Actually, the precise molecular origin of the protein-like fluorescence is unknown because this fluorescence may be caused by either free amino acids, peptides or proteins. Therefore, we studied the molecular origin of the protein-like fluorescence of Suwannee River natural organic matter and fractions A, B and C + D obtained by size exclusion chromatography/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Fractions were analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The electrophoretic mobilities of fractions varied in the order C + D > B > A and the molecular size in the opposite order. Our results show that the protein-like fluorescence is almost exclusively located in high molecular size fraction A and medium molecular size fraction B. Retention times and fluorescence emission spectra of authentic free aromatic amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan were identical with the retention times and emission spectra of several chromatographic peaks of fractions A and B. More than 50 % of the protein-like fluorescence is due to free aromatic amino acids incorporated in water natural organic matter.