Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity

Strategies to conserve biodiversity need to include the monitoring, modelling, adaptation and regulation of the composition of the atmosphere. Atmospheric issues include climate variability and extremes; climate change; stratospheric ozone depletion; acid deposition; photochemical pollution; suspended particulate matter; and hazardous air pollutants. Coarse filter and fine filter approaches have been used to understand the complexity of the interactions between the atmosphere and biodiversity. In the first approach, climate-based models, using GIS technology, helped create future biodiversity scenarios under a 2 × CO₂ atmosphere. In the second approach, the SI/MAB forest biodiversity monitoring protocols helped calibrate the climate-forest biodiversity baseline and, as global diagnostics, helped identify where the biodiversity was in equilibrium with the present climate. Forest climate monitoring, an enhancing protocol, was used in a co-location approach to define the thermal buffering capacity of forest ecosystems and their ability to reduce and ameliorate global climate variability, extremes and change.     

Disembodied and Disembedded? The Social and Economic Implications of Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity

The social and economic implications of atmospheric change on biodiversity need to be seen in a global context of major shifts in the conceptualization and management of our relationship with nature. Traditionally, we have conceptualized the atmosphere and the other creatures of the biosphere as separate from the human, but their quasi-autonomy is now becoming subject to more and more human management. This raises not only economic issues, but social, political, and ethical concerns that will have substantial influence on public policy. Among these are the commodification of genetic material; the privatization of traditional knowledge; and the management of information. In this broader context, the paper examines an array of current and proposed strategies of response to changes in biodiversity as a result of climatic and other stresses.     

Atmospheric Change, Forests and Biodiversity

Predicted atmospheric change, mainly climate change, will have profound effects on the biodiversity of Canadian forests. Predictions derived from forest models, responses of species and ecosystems related to modern ecological characteristics and paleoecological studies suggest large-scale, wide-ranging changes from the biome to physiological levels. Paleoecological analogues in B.C. and other parts of Canada reveal that major changes must be expected in forest composition, range, structure and ecological processes. In B.C., past warmer and drier climates supported a different forest pattern, including forest types with no modern analogue. This produced dramatically different disturbance regimes, specifically more fires, and affected tree growth rates. The relationship of forests with non-forest habitats, especially wetlands and grasslands was different suggesting implications for wildlife biodiversity. British Columbia's Forest Practices Code prescribes guidelines for biodiversity objectives but ignores the issue of atmospheric change. This omission may result from a lack of understanding of the profound potential effects of atmospheric change on forest biodiversity in the next harvest cycle and lack of mechanisms to assess impacts and develop management strategies for specific sites. An example of a simple paleoecological assessment method involving pollen ratios is proposed.     

Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity in the Arctic

The Canadian Arctic is characterized by a high variation in landform types and there are complex interactions between land, water and the atmosphere which dramatically affect the distribution of biota. Biodiversity depends upon the intensity, predictability and scale of these interactions. Observations, as well as predictions of large-scale climate models which include ocean circulation, reveal an anomalous cooling of northeastern Canada in recent decades, in contrast to the overall significant increase in average annual temperature in the Northern Hemisphere. Predictions from models are necessary to forecast the change in the treeline in the 21st century which may lead to a major loss of tundra. The rate of change in vegetation in response to climate change is poorly understood. The treeline in central Canada, for example, is showing infilling with trees, and in some locations, northerly movement of the boundary. The presence of sea ice in Hudson Bay and other coastal areas is a major factor affecting interactions between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Loss of ice and therefore hunting of seals by polar bears will reduce bear and arctic fox populations within the region. In turn, this is likely to have significant effects on their herbivorous prey populations and forage plants. Further, the undersurface of sea ice is a major site for the growth of algae and marine invertebrates which in turn act as food for the marine food web. A rise in sea-level may flood coastal saltmarsh communities leading to changes in plant assemblages and a decline in foraging by geese and other consumers. The anomalous cooling in the eastern Arctic, primarily in late winter and early spring, has interrupted northern migration of breeding populations of geese and ducks and led to increased damage to vegetation in southern arctic saltmarshes as a result of foraging. It is likely that there has been a significant loss of invertebrates in those areas where the vegetation has been destroyed. Warming will have major effects on permafrost distribution and on ground-ice resulting in a major destabilization of slopes and slumping of soil, and disruption of tundra plant communities. Disruption of peat and moss surfaces lead to loss of insulation, an increase in active-layer depth and changes in drainage and plant assemblages. Increases of UV-B radiation will strongly affect vulnerable populations of both plants and animals. The indigenous peoples will face major changes in life style, edibility of food and health standards, if there is a significant warming trend. The great need is for information which is sensitive to the changes and will assist in developing an understanding of the complex interactions of the arctic biota, human populations and the physical environment.     

Atmospheric Change and Biodiversity: Co-Networks and Networking

Canada responded to the Global Biodiversity Convention by completing the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy in 1995. At the same time, Environment Canada also completed a national Science Assessment on Biodiversity. During this period, the Smithsonian Institution, in partnership with Parks and Environment Canada, initiated the implementation of a global biodiversity monitoring program in Canada. Under the auspices of the United Nations Man and the Biosphere Program, the SI/MAB monitoring protocols and plots have spread across Canada at an unprecedented rate. National champions in the science and educational sectors, working within an inter-disciplinary ecological framework, have guided the development, education, quality control and sharing of atmosphere-biodiversity observations electronically.Atmospheric-Biodiversity Networks and Networking have traditionally operated within separate mandates with little degree of integration. Air-Bio Networks were designed within an integrated framework to better understand the atmospheric stress on biodiversity and the adaptation actions, nationally and regionally. Detailed examples of the cumulative effects of climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid deposition, ground-level ozone, suspended particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants on biodiversity will be discussed using a Southern Ontario case study. In addition, recommendations will be presented for future paired SI/MAB plots, linked networks and networking for adaptation within the context of climate, chemical and ecological gradients.     

Influences of Climatic Change on Some Ecological Processes of an Insect Outbreak System in Canada's Boreal Forests and the Implications for Biodiversity

Insect outbreaks are a major disturbance factor in Canadian forests. If global warming occurs, the disturbance patterns caused by insects may change substantially, especially for those insects whose distributions depend largely on climate. In addition, the likelihood of wildfire often increases after insect attack, so the unpredictability of future insect disturbance patterns adds to the general uncertainty of fire regimes. The rates of processes fundamental to energy, nutrient, and biogeochemical cycling are also affected by insect disturbance, and through these effects, potential changes in disturbance patterns indirectly influence biodiversity. A process-level perspective is advanced to describe how the major insect outbreak system in Canadian forests, that of the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem. [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae]), might react to global warming. The resulting scenarios highlight the possible importance of natural selection, extreme weather, phenological relationships, complex feedbacks, historical conditions, and threshold behavior. That global warming already seems to be affecting the lifecycles of some insects points to the timeliness of this discussion. Some implications of this process-level perspective for managing the effects of global warming on biodiversity are discussed. The value of process-level understanding and high-resolution, long-term monitoring in attacking such problems is emphasized. It is argued that a species-level, preservationist approach may have unwanted side-effects, be cost-ineffective, and ecologically unsustainable.     

The Impact of Climate Change on Mammal Diversity in Canada

Current large-scale mammalian diversity patterns in Canada can be accurately explained using various measurements of heat energy. Unfortunately, climatic change is predicted to alter the fundamental climatic basis for contemporary diversity gradients, with the expected consequence that much of the Canadian biota will need to migrate in order to remain within climatically suitable regions. We make predictions regarding future mammal diversity patterns in Canada, and therefore provide a preliminary indication of where management intervention should be directed in order to conserve mammal diversity as climate changes. We also examine the current distributions of individual mammal species in Canada in order to determine which taxa cannot migrate farther north because of the Arctic Ocean barrier. Of the 25 species that fall into this category, we examine the predicted loss of habitat in one keystone species – Dicrostonyx groenlandicus, the collared lemming – and find that this taxon is likely to lose approximately 60% of its habitat with unpredictable but likely detrimental consequences for the arctic biota. We discuss the implications of our findings briefly.     

Holling's Figure-Eight Model: A Technical Reevaluation in Relation to Climate Change and Biodiversity

Holling proposed a four-phase conceptual model of ecosystem dynamics that includes exploitation, conservation, and destructive and renewal components to explain the failure of many natural resource management schemes. The model is drawn as a sideways figure-eight i.e. . There are two dimensions in this model, connectivity (abscissa) and the amount of capital stored in the system (ordinate). This conceptual model has been suggested as a guide to thinking about the impact of climate change on biodiversity, but the two dimensions are insufficient and the alignment of the figure-eight model is problematic when compared with actual data. Kay has adjusted the dimensions of the figure-eight model and renamed the abscissa as exergy stored and the ordinate as exergy consumed. We realign the original figure-eight model, labeling the abscissa as carbon stored and the ordinate as nutrients, such that the relative values of both axes are in qualitative agreement with data from four different studies. This new alignment is then shown to fit relatively well with Holling's original labels. This revision of the figure-eight model brings Holling's model into agreement with observations and provides insight into the linkages between biodiversity and climate change.     

The Biodiversity Crisis and Adaptation to Climate Change: A Case Study from Australia's Forests

If current trends continue, human activities will drastically alter most of the planet's remaining natural ecosystems and their composite biota within a few decades. Compounding the impacts on biodiversity from deleterious management practices is climate variability and change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded that there is ample evidence to suggest climate change is likely to result in significant impacts on biological diversity. These impacts are likely to be exacerbated by the secondary effects of climate change such as changes in the occurrence of wildfire, insect outbreaks and similar disturbances. Current changes in climate are very different from those of the past due to their rate and magnitude, the direct effects of increased atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and because highly modified landscapes and an array of threatening processes limit the ability of terrestrial ecosystems and species to respond to changed conditions. One of the primary human adaptation option for conserving biodiversity is considered to be changes in management. The complex and overarching nature of climate change issues emphasises the need for greatly enhanced cooperation between scientists, policy makers, industry and the community to better understand key interactions and identify options for adaptation. A key challenge is to identify opportunities that facilitate sustainable development by making use of existing technologies and developing policies that enhance the resilience of climate-sensitive sectors. Measures to enhance the resilience of biodiversity must be considered in all of these activities if many ecosystem services essential to humanity are to be sustained. New institutional arrangements appear necessary at the regional and national level to ensure that policy initiatives and research directed at assessing and mitigating the vulnerability of biodiversity to climate change are complementary and undertaken strategically and cost-effectively. Policy implementation at the national level to meet responsibilities arising from the UNFCCC (e.g., the Kyoto Protocol) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity require greater coordination and integration between economic sectors, since many primary drivers of biodiversity loss and vulnerability are influenced at this level. A case study from the Australian continent is used to illustrate several key issues and discuss a basis for reform, including recommendations for facilitating adaptation to climate variability and change.     

阿图什市空气质量变化趋势分析

分析了阿图什市“八五”至“九五”期间空气质量监测数据不同年度、不同季节及不同污染因子的动态变化趋势．结合当地能源结构、气候特征、城市环境综合发展水平,指出影响阿图什市空气质量的主要因素,为防治和减轻阿图什市的空气污染提供了科学依据。     

伊宁市空气质量动态变化趋势分析

分析了伊宁市空气质量长期监测数据不同月份、不同年度、不同污染因子的动态变化趋势,结合当地能源结构、气候特征、城市环境综合发展水平,指出影响伊宁市空气质量的主要因素,为防治或减轻伊宁市的空气污染提供了科学依据。     

The Use of Atmospheric Dispersion Models in Risk Assessment Decision Support Systems for Pesticides

In the evaluation of potentially adverse effects oforganic chemicals such as pesticides on theenvironment the atmosphere may play an important role.After its release to the atmosphere the chemical willbe transported/dispersed in the atmosphere and finallyit will be removed either by atmospheric-chemicaldestruction or by deposition to the underlying soil orsurface water. In a risk assessment decision supportsystem both ambient concentrations and depositionfluxes must be known to evaluate the risk of directexposure (inhalation) or the risk of soil and watercontamination caused by deposition. This paperdiscusses the use of atmospheric dispersion models insuch risk assessment decision support systems.     

2010-2015年昌吉市大气降水离子特征变化趋势研究

依据昌吉州环境监测站2010—2015年降水监测资料,分析昌吉地区降水中离子特征及变化趋势,阐明昌吉市降水污染现状及变化特征。结合昌吉市特有的气象条件、地形地貌和工业分布情况,分析污染物来源及污染变化趋势。     

乌鲁木齐市环境空气中主要污染物24 h变化特征

根据乌鲁木齐市空气自动监测数据,分析并找出了乌鲁木齐市环境空气24h污染规律和变化特征。     

Mega-Development Trends in the Amazon: Implications for Global Change

This paper describes four global-change phenomena that are having major impacts on Amazonian forests. The first is accelerating deforestation and logging. Despite recent government initiatives to slow forest loss, deforestation rates in Brazilian Amazonia have increased from 1.1 million ha yr^–1 in the early 1990s, to nearly 1.5 million ha yr^–1 from 1992–1994, and to more than 1.9 million ha yr^–1 from 1995–1998. Deforestation is also occurring rapidly in some other parts of the Amazon Basin, such as in Bolivia and Ecuador, while industrialized logging is increasing dramatically in the Guianas and central Amazonia.The second phenomenon is that patterns of forest loss and fragmentation are rapidly changing. In recent decades, large-scale deforestation has mainly occurred in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon — in the Brazilian states of Pará, Maranho, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, and in northern Bolivia. While rates of forest loss remain very high in these areas, the development of major new highways is providing direct conduits into the heart of the Amazon. If future trends follow past patterns, land-hungry settlers and loggers may largely bisect the forests of the Amazon Basin.The third phenomenon is that climatic variability is interacting with human land uses, creating additional impacts on forest ecosystems. The 1997/98 El Niño drought, for example, led to a major increase in forest burning, with wildfires raging out of control in the northern Amazonian state of Roraima and other locations. Logging operations, which create labyrinths of roads and tracks in forsts, are increasing fuel loads, desiccation and ignition sources in forest interiors. Forest fragmentation also increases fire susceptibility by creating dry, fire-prone forest edges.Finally, recent evidence suggests that intact Amazonian forests are a globally significant carbon sink, quite possibly caused by higher forest growth rates in response to increasing atmospheric CO₂ fertilization. Evidence for a carbon sink comes from long-term forest mensuration plots, from whole-forest studies of carbon flux and from investigations of atmospheric CO₂ and oxygen isotopes. Unfortunately, intact Amazonian forests are rapidly diminishing. Hence, not only is the destruction of these forests a major source of greenhouse gases, but it is reducing their intrinsic capacity to help buffer the rapid anthropogenic rise in CO₂.     

A Comparison of Biomonitoring Methods for the Estimation of Atmospheric Pollutants in an Industrial Town in Austria

In the period between 1999 and 2000 epiphytic bryophytes were taken as bioindicators for air pollution by use of the IAP method (Index of Atmospheric Purity) and the VDI method within the Association of Engineers standards list (adapted from guideline 3799, 1995) in the heavy industrialized town of Linz, Austria. 52 study sites (265 trees) were analysed regarding species richness, coverage, and vitality. Q-values (sensitivity factors), calculated for each species showed significant differences for the various host tree species. The results gained by the IAP and the VDI methods were diverse, regarding the various sites where only 25% were classified identical. These differences can mainly be attributed to the differing host tree species and the size of the recording area on the various trees. Clusters of similar pollution levels were calculated and drawn as maps for both methods tested. Comparing the results of the IAP and the VDI methods with data derived from technical measurements (SO₂, NO, NO₂, and dust) a correlation between IAP-indices and SO₂ concentrations could be observed. No correlation was detected between the results derived from VDI recording and for NO, NO₂, and dust.     

Macroinvertebrate Regionalisation for use in the Management of Aquatic Ecosystems in Victoria, Australia

The development of a broader, more holistic approach to aquaticecosystem management has been called for in recent years. Physical and chemical objectives alone are no longer consideredsufficient for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and shouldbe supplemented with biological objectives. The ubiquitousand sedentary nature of macroinvertebrates, combined with theirmeasurable response to environmental conditions, favour their use as important indicators in environmental policies. To establish biological objectives, there is a need for a regionalframework to limit the variability between ecosystems. Past studies have demonstrated that an a posteriori regionalisationapproach may be more useful than an a priori approach in explaining single component (e.g. macroinvertebrates) patternsacross ecosystems. This is particularly important as aquaticresource management agencies often focus on one or twocomponents of the ecosystem to assess environmental health. This study uses an a posteriori method to delineate and describebiological regions based on edge and riffle macroinvertebrate data. The regionalisation will provide a framework for settingbiological objectives, based on the range of reference conditionsmeasured within each separate region. The objectives will includeregional checklists for taxa and biotic indices. Predictive modelling in the style of RIVPACS or AUSRIVAS will also be usedwithin each region to develop objectives, incorporating local, regional and systematic features as predictor variables.     

Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and their Effects on Biodiversity: An Overview of the Atmospheric Pathways of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Suggestions for Future Studies

Atmospheric change comprises many phenomena, namely climate change, acidic deposition, stratospheric ozone depletion, SMOG, increasing trend of suspended particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Among HAPs, a particular group of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as some organochlorine pesticides, has shown a variety of toxic effects, altering the biodiversity of many ecosystems. Because of their persistence in the environment, and of their long range transport, the study of the global cycle of POPs is important in understanding how they can affect biodiversity. This can be accomplished by coupling different approaches: toxicity and ecological studies, emission estimates, and the use of global models.     

2011年南京市春季大气颗粒物污染特征分析

2011年江苏省环境监测中心对南京市鼓楼、建邺、栖霞3区8个采样点采集了TSP和PM10样品,进行颗粒物质量浓度、水溶性离子、无机元素以及碳成分分析。结果表明该市春季大气颗粒物污染以PM10为主,不同区域颗粒物污染特点不一;水溶性离子以Ca2+、NO3-及SO2-4居多;无机元素以Ca、Fe、Al为主,Pb与Zn浓度较Ni与V高;市内EC浓度较高,可能与裸露堆煤场有关。有关研究结果提交南京市政府部门,供决策时参考。     

Diversity of epiphytic lichens and metal contents of Parmelia caperata thalli as monitors of air pollution in the town of Pistoia (c Italy)

The results of a biomonitoring survey carried out in the town of Pistoia (central Italy) using the biodiversity of epiphytic lichens and the accumulation of heavy metals in thalli of Parmelia caperata as indicators of air pollution are reported. Compared to previous surveys, the overall situation generally improved, with higher lichen diversity at most stations and lower metal concentrations in P. caperata thalli. However, the general picture according to a calibrated scale of environmental naturality/alteration was substantially negative, with about 87% of the study area classified as `altered' (including the lichen desert) or `semi-altered'. To explain this apparent contradiction, it has been suggested that lichen colonization is determined by declining SO₂ concentrations, while major injuries to lichen communities are caused by the constantly high levels of NO_X. In spite of the low levels of Pb measured in P. caperata thalli, vehicular traffic was excluded as the main source of atmospheric pollution. Domestic heating seems to be the main cause of changes in the diversity of epiphytic lichens in the study area.