CDM host country institution building

Contrary to earlier forecasts, the global greenhouse gas market will initially be characterised by low prices and a strong competition between the different Kyoto Mechanisms. The CDM involves higher transaction costs than the other mechanisms and has lost a considerable share of its ‘early start’ advantage due to the continuous delays in defining the CDM rules on the international level. Host countries will have to compete intensively for CDM investments. Thus the development of effective institutions is crucial to reap benefits from this market, especially if a unilateral strategy is chosen. Countries should develop approval criteria and sectoral priorities in a broad stakeholder consultation. Moreover, capacity building of local actors, information exchange as well as marketing has to be organised. Experience from several countries shows that clear competencies are crucial to get investor confidence. Long-term professional staff is also an important asset. Fights between ministries will scare off investors. The optimum institution will be a CDM Office that is independent but has full approval powers. A second-best solution is a two-tiered system. A CDM Board with representatives of ministries would define criteria and priorities whereas a CDM Secretariat would evaluate (and possibly approve) project proposals and do outreach and marketing. Small countries would preferably use the existing focal point of the UNFCCC and flexibly involve consultants if project proposalscome in. Even under an optimal institutional structure, CDM projects will only be implemented if financing and contractual issues can be resolved. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The impact of storm Xynthia in 2010 on coastal flood prevention policy in France

Storm Xynthia occurred on 28 February 2010. It was one of the most destructive climatic events to hit metropolitan France for several decades, causing 47 victims in France, among whom more than half died in the department of Vendée. The occurence of various natural phenomena (atmospheric pressure, strength and orientation of the wind, tidal range) at the same time caused a major coastal flood in several urban areas from Vendée and Charente-Maritime (central Atlantic region of France). The evaluation of the disaster highlighted a number of problems, especially delays in approving the PPR-L (Plan de Prévention des Risques Littoraux) that allowed urbanization in the coastal flood plain that exposed population to major natural risks, such as sea level rise and floods. Since 28th February, 2010, the French government has focused on these issues and tried to define in a more accurate way the criteria used for the flood zonings of the PPR-L. A number of circulars and recommendations have been produced and they all specified rules of protection for properties against the risk of flood and the necessary measures for adapting or building current or future houses (e.g. height of the upper floor, presence of an upper floor refuge) in accordance with the level of risk. The objective of this paper is twofold: we wish to highlight the impact of the disaster Xynthia on the production of PPR-L in the short and medium terms while focusing on the example of the town of La-Faute-sur-Mer. We will also analyze the evolution of the regulations since 28 February 2010, with special attention paid to the proposed criteria to define the hazard.     

Sperm competition and ejaculate investment in red squirrels (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tamiasciurus hudsonicus</Emphasis>)

Sperm competition is widespread in mammals and occurs when ejaculates from two or more males compete within the female’s reproductive tract to fertilize the ova. Enlarged testes are associated with sperm competition because they produce sperm, but the accessory glands produce fluids and proteins that are also important for fertilization success. Sperm morphology can also have consequences for fertilization success because of its influence on sperm motility. Red squirrels engage in multiple mating, and thus sperm competition is likely. Here, we assess levels of multiple paternity in a natural population of red squirrels, test the prediction that testis size is correlated with size of the accessory glands and sperm morphometry, and test the prediction that ejaculate investment is condition-dependent. Five of six litters (83%) showed evidence of multiple paternity, indicating that sperm competition is likely to have occurred. Testis size was correlated with the size of all three accessory glands (prostate, seminal vesicle, epididymides), and there was a generally positive relationship between the size of the accessory glands and sperm length. Sperm morphology showed significant variation in size and shape among individual male squirrels. There was no evidence of condition dependence of testis size or the size of the accessory glands, but sperm midpiece length was negatively related to body condition. Further work should include determining the fitness consequence of variation in sperm morphometry, testis size, and accessory gland size, and determining the effects of variation in ejaculate investment on sperm motility.     

Impact of generated solar radiation on simulated crop growth and yield

The availability of observed daily solar radiation (OSR) is restricted to recent years. Its estimation through different methods is necessary to develop long-term data sets for agricultural and environmental applications. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of using generated daily solar radiation (GSR) on simulated growth and yield of cotton, maize, and peanut. Nine locations representing Georgia's major crop belt were selected. Daily weather data from the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN), including solar radiation, maximum and minimum temperature, and precipitation, were duplicated. The OSR was removed from one set and then generated using a stochastic procedure. The Cropping System Models (CSM)-CROPGRO-Cotton, CERES-Maize, and CROPGRO-Peanut of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) v4 were used to simulate crop growth and yield at each location with both OSR and GSR and for rainfed and irrigated conditions. The statistical analysis included summary statistics, Pearson's coefficient of correlation, mean squared deviation (MSD) and its components, namely: squared bias (SB), squared difference between standard deviations (SDSD), lack of correlation weighted by the standard deviations (LCS), and regressions. Within locations, for the three crops under rainfed and irrigated conditions, GSR did not significantly affect simulated total evapotranspiration and aboveground biomass and yields. For the three crops, deviations of simulated water use and yields from GSR with respect to simulated water use and yields from OSR were lower for the rainfed than for the irrigated conditions. Yields from the CSM-CROPGRO-Cotton and -Peanut models had lower deviations than yields from the CSM-CERES-Maize model. LCS was the major component of the MSD suggesting that the extent of the difference between standard deviations of GSR and OSRG could affect the outputs of the crop models. Nevertheless, for most locations none of the MSD components of the GSR showed significant correlation with simulated yields and the overall performance of the models was not affected. It can be concluded based on the results of this study that GSR can be used as an input for crop model simulation models when OSR is not available.     

Incorporating soil structure and root distribution into plant uptake models for radionuclides: toward a more physically based transfer model

Most biosphere and contamination assessment models are based on uniform soil conditions, since single coefficients are used to describe the transfer of contaminants to the plant. Indeed, physical and chemical characteristics and root distribution are highly variable in the soil profile. These parameters have to be considered in the formulation of a more realistic soil-plant transfer model for naturally structured soils. The impact of monolith soil structure (repacked and structured) on Zn and Mn uptake by wheat was studied in a controlled tracer application (dye and radioactive) experiment. We used Brilliant Blue and Sulforhodamine B to dye flow lines and 65Zn and 54Mn to trace soil distribution and plant uptake of surface-applied particle-reactive contaminants. Spatial variation of the soil water content during irrigation and plant growth informs indirectly about tracer and root location in the soil profile. In the structured monolith, a till pan at a depth of 30 cm limited vertical water flow and root penetration into deeper soil layers and restricted tracers to the upper third of the monolith. In the repacked monolith, roots were observed at all depths and fingering flow allowed for the fast appearance of all tracers in the outflow. These differences between the two monoliths are reflected by significantly higher 54Mn and 65Zn uptake in wheat grown on the structured monolith. The higher uptake of Mn can be modelled on the basis of radionuclide and root distribution as a function of depth and using a combination of preferential flow and rooting. The considerably higher uptake of Zn requires transfer factors which account for variable biochemical uptake as a function of location.     

The oldest European fossil songbird from the early Oligocene of Germany

We report on the oldest European songbird (Passeriformes), from the early Oligocene (30–34 million years ago) of Frauenweiler in Germany. The specimen represents the earliest associated remains of an early Tertiary passerine described so far. It ties the first appearance of Passeriformes in Europe to a minimum age of 30 million years. Passeriform birds are absent in Eocene deposits that yielded abundant remains of small land birds and apparently dispersed into Europe around the Eocene/Oligocene boundary (about 34 million years ago), not at the Oligocene/Miocene boundary (about 24 mya) as hitherto thought. This possibly relates the appearance of songbirds in Europe to a well-known major faunistic break at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, called the grande coupure. The Frauenweiler songbird most notably differs from extant Passeriformes in having a larger processus procoracoideus on the coracoid and appears to be outside Eupasseres, the taxon which includes Oscines (all modern European and most Old World songbirds) and Suboscines (most South and Central American songbirds). It shows that there were earlier dispersal events of non-oscine songbirds into Europe before the arrival of Oscines from the Australian continental plate towards the late Oligocene.