Social,hydro-ecological and climatic change in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh

Regional Environmental Change - This study investigates the historical development of the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh through the lens of human-delta co-evolutionary system. The change...     

河流湿地氮循环修复过程中的新型功能微生物

自然生态系统中厌氧氨氧化菌和氨氧化古菌的发现,改变了人们对传统氮循环过程的认识.通过氨氧化古菌和厌氧氨氧化菌在缺氧/厌氧的条件下完成硝化反应和封闭的氮循环,对于河流氮循环生态修复意义显著.通过PCR聚合酶链反应结合水体沉积物理化指标,研究典型河流湿地中厌氧氨氧化菌和氨氧化古菌及其在循环中的作用.结果表明,在海河支流北运河湿地中存在厌氧氨氧化菌和氨氧化古菌,它们对于水体和底泥沉积物的氮转化有较重要作用.通过构建16S rRNA克隆文库生物多样性分析比较,发现湿地中厌氧氨氧化菌的生物多样性相对较低,96个克隆序列只分为3个OTUs;其与基因库(GenBank)中已探明的厌氧氨氧化菌Candidatus"Kuenenia stuttgartiensis"和Candidatus"Brocadia fulgida"的相似度分别为98%和95%.通过建立氨氧化古菌克隆文库发现,96个克隆子共得到5个OTUs,其与GenBank中关系最近序列(土壤/沉积物中)的相似度均大于95%;对本实验样本和水相、土壤/沉积物相中不同氨氧化古菌进行进化谱系分析,发现北运河河流湿地的古菌amoA基因属于土壤/沉积物进化分支.     

Assessing agricultural systems vulnerability to climate change to inform adaptation planning: an application in Khorezm,Uzbekistan

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change. The current vulnerability assessments through traditional fragmented sectoral methods are insufficient to capture the effects on complex agricultural systems. Therefore, the traditional methods need to be replaced by integrated approaches. The objective of this study is to propose a holistic vulnerability assessment method for agricultural systems. By aggregating both agro-ecological and socio-economic information, we develop an agricultural systems vulnerability index (ASVI) which allows for (i) a classification of geographical units according to their vulnerability level, (ii) an identification of key determinants of vulnerability for each unit and (iii) an assessment of adaptation policy scenarios considering their effects on the sustainability of the analysed systems. The proposed method is applied in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan—a representative irrigated agricultural region in the lower Amu Darya river basin. A decision support tool is used to facilitate multi-criteria decision analysis, including the computation of the index and performing sensitivity analysis of the results. The assessment for Khorezm reveals significant spatial differences of vulnerability levels due to a variation of contributing factors, e.g. natural resources, water productivity, rural-urban ratio. It reveals also that feasible land and water management policies could reduce the vulnerability in Khorezm, particularly in the districts with the poorest agro-ecological conditions. Overall, the proposed method could support national and local authorities in the identification of sustainable adaptation policies for the agriculture sector.     

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) for climate change adaptation

Regional Environmental Change -     

Integrated spatial assessment of the water,energy and food dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals

Regional Environmental Change - Water is considered the bloodstream of the biosphere, but its management is one of the most important challenges for human development. In view of the sustainable...