Designing the next generation of climate adaptation research for development

Adaptation research has changed significantly in recent years as funders and researchers seek to encourage greater impact, ensure value for money and promote interdisciplinarity across the natural and social sciences. While these developments are inherently positive, they also bring fresh challenges. With this in mind, this paper presents an agenda for the next generation of climate adaptation research for development. The agenda is based on insights from a dialogue session held at the 2016 Adaptation Futures conference as well as drawing on the collective experience of the authors. We propose five key areas that need to be changed in order to meet the needs of future adaptation research, namely: increasing transparency and consultation in research design; encouraging innovation in the design and delivery of adaptation research programmes; demonstrating impact on the ground; addressing incentive structures; and promoting more effective brokering, knowledge management and learning. As new international funding initiatives start to take shape, we underscore the importance of learning from past experiences and scaling-up of successful innovations in research funding models.

     

Validation of the Polish version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) in an elderly population (60–70 years old)

Purpose. To assess the reliability and validity of the Polish version of the 36-point World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) in an elderly population. Method. One thousand randomly selected individuals, aged 60–70 years, living in south-eastern Poland were assessed using the Polish version of the WHODAS 2.0. Results. The analysis confirmed the high reliability and validity of the tool. Cronbach’s α index was 0.89. The tool had high stability, and the correlation between test and retest results was high. The relevance of the domain selection was high or very high. A factor analysis confirmed the relevance of assigning questions to domains. High theoretical relevance was also demonstrated. Statistically significant differences between those who were and were not suffering from health problems were observed. An analysis of the internal structure of the WHODAS 2.0 revealed strong correlations between the components of each domain and the final result. Conclusion. The Polish version of the WHODAS 2.0 showed high reliability and validity; thus, it can be used to assess health, functioning and disability in the elderly population of Poland.     

Monitoring saltwater intrusion in Rupert Bay,Québec,Canada, after the partial diversion of a major tributary

As part of a large hydroelectric project in northern Québec (Canada), a portion of the flow of the Rupert River was diverted toward the existing La Grande hydroelectric complex. As a result of the partial diversion, the discharge of the Rupert River at its mouth is reduced by an average of 50% annually. This corresponds to an 18% decrease in the total freshwater inflow into the bay and, thus, to a shift of the upstream limit of the saltwater intrusion in Rupert Bay. Changes in saltwater intrusion had been predicted numerically as part of the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA). In the project’s conditions of authorization, monitoring the hydraulic conditions and the extent of saltwater intrusion in the Rupert Bay was required by government authorities. The objective of this paper is to present the results of this environmental monitoring and, more specifically, to validate the modifications predicted in the EIA in terms of both saltwater intrusion limit and hydraulic conditions in the Rupert Bay. Results obtained during 2 years of monitoring are within the predicted trends and order of magnitude of changes anticipated in the EIA. The results, thus, confirm that the shift of the upstream limit of the saltwater front along the channels of the bay was conservatively predicted by numerical modeling.     

Freshwater fish diversity hotspots for conservation priorities in the Amazon Basin

Conserving freshwater habitats and their biodiversity in the Amazon Basin is a growing challenge in the face of rapid anthropogenic changes. We used the most comprehensive fish-occurrence database available (2355 valid species; 21,248 sampling points) and 3 ecological criteria (irreplaceability, representativeness, and vulnerability) to identify biodiversity hotspots based on 6 conservation templates (3 proactive, 1 reactive, 1 representative, and 1 balanced) to provide a set of alternative planning solutions for freshwater fish protection in the Amazon Basin. We identified empirically for each template the 17% of sub-basins that should be conserved and performed a prioritization analysis by identifying current and future (2050) threats (i.e., degree of deforestation and habitat fragmentation by dams). Two of our 3 proactive templates had around 65% of their surface covered by protected areas; high levels of irreplaceability (60% of endemics) and representativeness (71% of the Amazonian fish fauna); and low current and future vulnerability. These 2 templates, then, seemed more robust for conservation prioritization. The future of the selected sub-basins in these 2 proactive templates is not immediately threatened by human activities, and these sub-basins host the largest part of Amazonian biodiversity. They could easily be conserved if no additional threats occur between now and 2050.     

Greenhouse gas mitigation and offset options for suckler cow farms: an economic comparison for the Swiss case

We assessed the economic suitability of 4 greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation options and one GHG offset option for an improvement of the GHG balance of a representative Swiss suckler cow farm housing 35 Livestock units and cultivating 25 ha grassland. GHG emissions per kilogram meat in the economic optimum differ between the production systems and range from 18 to 21.9 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat. Only GHG offset by agroforestry systems showed the potential to significantly reduce these emissions. Depending on the production system agroforestry systems could reduce net GHG emissions by 66% to 7.3 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat in the most intensive system and by 100% in the most extensive system. In this calculation a carbon sequestration rate of 8 t CO₂/ha/year was assumed. The potential of a combination of the addition of lipids to the diet, a cover of the slurry tank and the application of nitrification inhibitors only had the potential to reduce GHG emissions by 12% thereby marginal abatement costs are increasing much faster than for agroforestry systems. A reduction of the GHG emissions to 7.5 kg CO₂-eq./kg meat—possible with agroforestry only—raised costs between 0.03 CHF/kg meat and 0.38 CHF/kg meat depending on the production system and the state of the system before the reduction. If GHG emissions were reduced maximally average costs ranged between 0.37 CHF/kg meat, if agroforestry had the potential to reduce net GHG emissions to 0 kg CO₂-eq., to 1.17 CHF/kg meat if also other options had to be applied.     

Gaseous emissions from weaned pigs raised on different floor systems

Gaseous emissions from agriculture contribute to a number of environmental effects. Carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are greenhouse gases taking part to the global problem of climate change. Ammonia (NH₃) emissions are responsible of soil acidification and eutrophication and contribute also to indirect emissions of N₂O. This work evaluated the influence of the type of floor on the emissions of these gases in the raising of weaned pigs. Two trials were carried out. In the first trial, the animals were kept either on fully slatted floor or on straw-based deep litter and, in the second one, either on fully slatted floor or on sawdust-based deep litter. For each trial and on each type of floor, 2 successive batches of weaned pigs were raised without changing the litter or emptying the slurry pit between the 2 batches. The rooms were automatically ventilated to maintain a constant ambient temperature.The performance of the animals was not significantly different according to the floor type. In trial 1, the nitrogen contents of the straw deep litter (including the substrate) and slurry were respectively 276 and 389 g pig⁻¹. In trial 2, the sawdust deep litter and slurry nitrogen contents were respectively 122 and 318 g pig⁻¹.Raising pigs on straw deep litter produced proportionately around 100% more NH₃ than raising pigs on slatted floor (0.61 g NH₃-N d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ vs. 0.31 g NH₃-N d⁻¹ pig⁻¹; P < 0.05). Differences in CO₂, H₂O and CH₄ emissions were not significant between systems. Raising pigs on sawdust deep litter produced also proportionately more NH₃ (+52%; 0.55 g NH₃-N d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ vs. 0.36 g NH₃-N d⁻¹ pig⁻¹; P < 0.01) but also more CO₂ (+25%; 427 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ vs. 341 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹; P < 0.001) and H₂O (+65%; 981 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ vs. 593 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹; P < 0.001) and less CH₄ (−40%; 0.52 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ vs. 0.86 g d⁻¹ pig⁻¹; P < 0.001) than raising pigs on slatted floor. Practically no N₂O emission was observed from rooms with slatted floor while the N₂O emissions were 0.03 and 0.32 g N₂O-N d⁻¹ pig⁻¹ for the straw and sawdust deep litter respectively. The warming potential of the greenhouse gases (N₂O + CH₄), were about 22, 34 and 168 g CO₂ equivalents per day and per pig on fully slatted floor, straw or sawdust deep litter respectively.In conclusion, pollutant gas emissions from rearing of weaned pig seem lower with fully slatted plastic floor system than with deep litter systems.     

The role of epicuticular waxes on foliar metal transfer and phytotoxicity in edible vegetables: case of Brassica oleracea species exposed to manufactured particles

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The rapid industrialization and urbanization of intra- and peri-urban areas at the world scale are responsible for the degradation of the quality of...     

Investigating soils retention ratios and modelling geochemical factors affecting heavy metals retention in soils in a tropical urban watershed

This study aimed at investigating the retention of Pb and Cd in soils and the geochemical factors influencing the adsorption of these pollutants. Soil samples were air-dried and ground to pass through a 2-mm sieve, and different soil extracts were prepared for chemical analysis (organic matter, cation exchange capacity and pH). Total Pb and Cd were extracted with diacid using digestion method and determined by atomic adsorption spectrophotometer (AAS) after filtration. Results revealed that the heavy metals retention ratio (RR) of the Rhodic ferralsol, Xanthic ferralsol and Mollic gleysol (2) were very high for Cd (>80 %) and was relatively low (generally < 60 %) for Pb. In contrast, RRs for the Plinthic gleysol and the Mollic gleysol (1) were relatively low (<60 %), regardless of the heavy metal concerned. Multiple regression equations indicated for Pb and Cd concentrations different linear relationships over simple linear regression, when pH, organic matter, clay percentage and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were used as independent variables. Results indicate that organic matter exerts major influences on the retention of Pb and Cd in soils, while CEC, clay content and pH have a minor influence in this process in the Ntem watershed. From these observations, the application of soil organic matter could be a solution in protecting shallow aquifers from heavy metal pollution and thus insuring that they are not a hazard to public health.