Economic appraisal and technical effectiveness of adaptation options are key criteria for judging climate change adaptation investment decisions in all sectors. Yet relatively little methodological guidance exists for determining the most appropriate appraisal techniques for different adaptation options. This paper provides adaptation options and scopes relevant appraisal methods in agriculture focussing on livestock production specifically. We find that for many adaptation options for livestock agriculture, standard (expected) cost-benefit analysis is an appropriate tool. For adaptation options requiring long lead times or those with long lifetimes, techniques incorporating uncertainty (‘robust’ methods) are more suitable, including real options analysis, portfolio analysis and robust decision-making. From a comprehensive list of adaptation options in the livestock sector, we identify the most appropriate appraisal technique for each option and describe how the robust appraisal tools could be applied to heat stress, flood risk and water management.
Net primary productivity (NPP) is one of the major ecosystem products on which human societies rely heavily. However, rapid
urban sprawl and its associated dense population and economic conditions have generated great pressure on natural resources,
food security, and environments. It is valuable to understand how urban expansion and associated demographic and economic
conditions affect ecosystem functions. This research conducted a case study in Southeastern China to examine the impacts of
urban expansion and demographic and economic conditions on NPP. The data sources used in research include human settlement
developed through a combination of MODIS, DMSP-OLS and Landsat ETM+ images, the annual NPP from MODIS, and the population
and gross domestic product (GDP) from the 2000 census data. Multiple regression analysis and nonlinear regression analysis
were used to examine the relationships of NPP with settlement, population and GDP. This research indicates that settlement,
population and GDP have strongly negative correlation with NPP in Southeastern China, but the outcomes were nonlinear when
population or GDP reached certain thresholds. 相似文献
The aim of this research was to investigate some of the physical and mechanical properties of concrete mixed under laboratory conditions, where different proportions of coarse aggregate materials were substituted by porcelain from sanitary installations. The results of the tests show that the concrete produced has the same mechanical characteristics as conventional concrete, thus opening a door to selective recycling of sanitary porcelain and its use in the production of concrete. 相似文献
The development of mineral and energy resources worldwide has placed pressure on regional environments, economies and communities. The cumulative impacts, or cumulative effects, arising from overlapping development have stretched political systems that have traditionally been geared toward the regulation and management of individual resource developments, presenting challenges for policy makers, resource developers and civil society actors. An equally challenging task has been realisation of the potential development dividends of mineral and energy resources in the areas of business development, infrastructure, human development or the management of resource revenues. This paper introduces a special issue on ‘Understanding and Managing Cumulative Impacts in Resource Regions’. The special issue interrogates the effectiveness of new and traditional policy responses, explores methods and strategies to better respond to cumulative impacts, and details practical examples of collaborative and coordinated approaches. Papers cover a range of environmental, economic and social issues, geographical regions, commodities, and conceptual approaches. This introductory paper introduces the cumulative impact issues that have manifest in resource regions, critically appraises current conceptions of cumulative impacts, and details management and policy responses to address the cumulative dimensions of impact. 相似文献
It is commonly recognized that there are constraints to successful regional-scale assessment and monitoring of cumulative impacts because of challenges in the selection of coherent and measurable indicators of the effects. It has also been sensibly declared that the connections between components in a region are as important as the state of the elements themselves. These have previously been termed “linked” cumulative impacts/effects. These connections can be difficult to discern because of a complicated set of interactions and unexpected linkages. In this paper we diagnose that a significant cause of these constraints is the selection of indicators without due regard for their inter-relationships in the formulation of the indicator set. The paper examines whether the common “forms of capital”, i.e., natural (renewable and non-renewable), manufactured, social, human and financial capitals, framework is a potential organizing structure. We examine a large region in western NSW Australia where the predominant production systems are mining and grazing for production of wool, beef and lamb. Production in both is driven by consumption of a non-renewable resource, i.e., ore for mining and topsoil for grazing, the latter on the basis that loss rate estimates far exceed soil formation rates. We propose that the challenge of identifying connections of components within and between capital stores can be approached by explicitly separating stores of capital and the flows of capital between stores and between elements within stores, so-called capital fluxes. We attempt to acquire data from public sources for both capital stores and fluxes. The question of whether these data are a sufficient base for regional assessment, with particular reference to connections, is discussed. The well-described challenge of a comparative common currency for stores and fluxes is also discussed. We conclude that the data acquisition is relatively successful for stores and fluxes. A number of linked impacts are identified and discussed. The potential use of money as the common currency for stores and fluxes of capital is considered. The basic proposition is that replacement or preservation costs be used for this. We conclude that the study is sufficiently positive to consider further research in fully-coupled models of capital stores and fluxes. 相似文献
Radionuclide levels in vegetation from a High Arctic location were studied and compared to in situ soil concentrations. Levels of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs and the natural radionuclides 40K, 238U, 226Ra and 232Th are discussed and transfer factor (TF) values and aggregated transfer (Tag) values are calculated for vascular plants. Levels of 137Cs in vegetation generally followed the order mosses > lichen > vascular plants. The uptake of 137Cs in vascular plants showed an inverse relationship with the uptake of 40K, with 137Cs TF and Tag values generally higher than 40K TF and Tag values. 40K activity concentrations in all vegetation showed little correlation to associated soil concentrations, while the uptake of 238U, 226Ra and 232Th by vascular and non-vascular plants was generally low. 相似文献
Before populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were severely reduced by human overexploitation, the seagrass Thalassia testudinum was intensively grazed by green turtles in the Caribbean. To explore how nutrient composition of T. testudinum pastures responds to intense grazing pressure, we simulated green turtle grazing in 15 plots (each 3 m × 3 m) for 16 months
in the central Bahamas. Comparisons of clipped plots with 15 adjacent control (unclipped) plots revealed that simulated grazing
resulted in significantly higher energy, nitrogen, phosphorus, lignin, cutin, and condensed tannin content in blades in clipped
plots, but sediment organic content was not affected. By continually re-cropping blades in grazing plots, turtles ingest young,
actively growing blade tissue with higher energy, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations. Our 16-month clipping trial did
not generate the expected decline in nutrient content in T. testudinum blades under intensive grazing. However, significant decreases in nitrogen and organic matter reserves in rhizomes, with
declines apparent after 16 and 11 months, respectively, indicate that nutrient content of blades and/or blade productivity
may decline under continued clipping. 相似文献