Assessing risk and adaptation options to fires and windstorms in European forestry

Risks can generally be described as the combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Using this framework, we evaluated the historical and future development of risk of fire and wind damage in European forestry at the national level. Fire risk is expected to increase, mainly as a consequence of an increase in fire hazard, defined as the Fire Weather Index in summer. Exposure, defined as forest area, is expected to increase slightly as a consequence of active afforestation and abandonment of marginal agricultural areas. Adaptation options to fire risk should therefore aim to decrease the vulnerability, where a change in tree species from conifers to broadleaves had most effect. Risk for wind damage in forests is expected to increase mainly as a consequence of increase in exposure (total growing stock) and vulnerability (defined by age class and tree species distribution). Projections of future wind climate indicate an increase in hazard (storminess) mainly over Western Europe. Adaptation options should aim to limit the increase in exposure and vulnerability. Only an increase in harvest level can stop the current build-up of growing stock, while at the same time it will lower vulnerability through the reduction of the share of old and vulnerable stands. Changing species from conifers to broadleaves helps to reduce vulnerability as well. Lowering vulnerability by decreasing the rotation length is only effective in combination with a high demand for wood. Due to data limitations, no forecast of future fire area or damaged timber amount by storms was possible.     

Towards a climate change adaptation strategy for coffee communities and ecosystems in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Mexico

The mountain chain of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Mexico is globally significant for its biodiversity and is one of the most important coffee production areas of Mexico. It provides water for several municipalities and its biosphere reserves are important tourist attractions. Much of the forest cover outside the core protected areas is in fact coffee grown under traditional forest shade. Unless this (agro)forest cover can be sustained, the biodiversity of the Sierra Madre and the environmental services it provides are at risk. We analyzed the threats to livelihoods and environment from climate change through crop suitability modeling based on downscaled climate scenarios for the period 2040 to 2069 (referred to as 2050s) and developed adaptation options through an expert workshop. Significant areas of forest and occasionally coffee are destroyed every year by wildfires, and this problem is bound to increase in a hotter and drier future climate. Widespread landslides and inundations, including on coffee farms, have recently been caused by hurricanes whose intensity is predicted to increase. A hotter climate with more irregular rainfall will be less favorable to the production of quality coffee and lower profitability may compel farmers to abandon shade coffee and expand other land uses of less biodiversity value, probably at the expense of forest. A comprehensive strategy to sustain the biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods of the Sierra Madre in the face of climate change should include the promotion of biodiversity friendly coffee growing and processing practices including complex shade which can offer some hurricane protection and product diversification; payments for forest conservation and restoration from existing government programs complemented by private initiatives; diversification of income sources to mitigate risks associated with unstable environmental conditions and coffee markets; integrated fire management; development of markets that reward sustainable land use practices and forest conservation; crop insurance programs that are accessible to smallholders; and the strengthening of local capacity for adaptive resource management.     

上海市能源消费CO2排放清单与碳流通图

基于上海市能源统计数据,参照IPCC(2006)方法,测算了上海市能源CO2排放清单,并绘制了2007年上海市碳流通图.结果表明,上海市能源相关的CO2排放总量从1995年的1.10亿t增长到2007年的2.01亿t,期间年均增长率为5.0%.其中“交通”对应的CO2排放量增长最为迅速,年均增长率达15.1%;而“热电厂”的CO2排放量增幅逐渐变缓,其原因为近年上海市外来电力比重增大.2007年“热电厂”、“工业与建筑业”、“交通”、“商业”、“居民生活”与“农业”各部分CO2排放分担率分别为35.4%、34.4%、23.8%、4.0%、2.0%、0.4%.由2007年上海市碳流通图可见,15.6%的煤炭直接由终端使用,这不利于能源效率的提高与污染物的减排;成品油存在较多的交叉流通,若能够减少不必要的流通,不但能够缓解成品油的运输,还能够减少其在转运过程中的输配损失.     

Prevalence and perspectives of illegal trade in cacti and succulent plants in the collector community

Although illegal wildlife trade (IWT) represents a serious threat to biodiversity, research into the prevalence of illegal plant collection and trade remains scarce. Because cacti and succulents are heavily threatened by overcollection for often illegal, international ornamental trade, we surveyed 441 members of the cacti and succulent hobbyist collector community with a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. We sought to understand collector perspectives on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and on the threats IWT poses to cactus and succulent conservation. Most respondents (74% of 401 respondents) stated that illegal collection in cacti and succulents represents a “very serious problem” and that the problem of wild plant collection is increasing (72% of 319 respondents). Most forms of illegal collection and trade were seen as very unacceptable by respondents. Self-reported noncompliance with CITES rules was uncommon (11.2% of 418 respondents); it remains a persistent problem in parts of the cacti and succulent hobbyist community. People engaging in rule breaking, such as transporting plants without required CITES documents, generally did so knowingly. Although 60.6% of 381 respondents regarded CITES as a very important tool for conservation, sentiment toward CITES and its efficacy in helping species conservation was mixed. Collectors in our survey saw themselves as potentially playing important roles in cactus and succulent conservation, but this potential resource remains largely untapped. Our results suggest the need for enhanced consultation with stakeholders in CITES decision-making. For challenging subjects like IWT, developing evidence-based responses demands deep interdisciplinary engagement, including assessing the conservation impact of species listings on CITES appendices.     

Experimental evidence for the effects of task repetitiveness on mental strain and objective work performance

People frequently have to work in high repetitive jobs. Previous research has focused exclusively on the effects of task repetitiveness on well‐being, while neglecting effects on work performance. In the present study, we aimed to fill this void by conducting two workplace simulations with experimental manipulations of task repetitiveness. Participants worked for about 5 hours at either a computer workstation, compiling computer hardware packages according to customer requests (Experiment 1, N = 160), or at an assembly line, piecing together equipment sets for furniture (Experiment 2, N = 213). Both experiments provide consistent evidence that high repetitiveness has a detrimental effect on well‐being, whereas work performance increases under conditions of high repetitiveness. On a practical level, our study hence shows that high task repetitiveness is a double‐edged sword for both employees and organizations. On a conceptual level, our findings emphasize the necessity to account for both mental strain and work performance when examining the effects of task repetitiveness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photochemistry of halogenated benzene derivatives. part xii.∗ effects of sodium nitrite on the environmental phototransformation of bromoxynil (3,5‐dibromo‐4‐hydroxybenzonitrile) herbicide in water: The photoincorporation of nitrite ions into bromoxynil

Photoreactions of the herbicide bromoxynil (3,5‐dibromo‐4‐hydroxybenzonitrile) (1) were extensively studied in water containing various concentrations of sodium nitrite with radiation of wavelengths around 313 nm. In the absence of NaNO₂, the quantum yields for the photodecomposition of the herbicide I amounted to 0.054±0.005, while such data was in the range of 0.047 ±0.005 to 0.023 ±0.003 in the presence of 0.5 to 25.0 × 10^‐3 m of the inorganic salt. These quantum yield data for the phototransformation of 1 without and with the presence of sodium nitrite followed the Stern‐Volmer equation. The rates of the photolytic destruction of bromoxynil (1) in water were slower in the presence than in the absence of NaNO₂. For example, the irradiation of the 7.8 x 10^‐6M aqueous solution of 1 in the presence of 10 mM sodium nitrite gave rise to the production of three main photoproducts, viz., 3‐bromo‐4‐hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzonitrile (2), 4‐hydroxy‐3‐nitrobenzonitrile (3), and an “unidentified photoproduct”; 4. In the case of this photoreaction of compound 1, the percentages of maximum concentration of the photoproducts 2, 3, and 4 were achieved after 14, 44.5, and 60‐min photolyses of 1, respectively; the starting material 1 completely disappeared after 60‐min photolysis. The photoproducts 2 and 3 were identified through the interpretation of the GC‐MS data. Both thhe mass and FT‐IR spectra of the product 4 indicated the possible presence of a COOH group in 4.     

The effect of macrophytes on retention times in a constructed wetland for wastewater treatment

Retention times of treated water in a constructed wetland (CW) with horizontal subsurface flow were determined both in the vegetative and non-vegetative periods of 2005. Tracer experiments were performed using fluorescein, an organic compound detectable at extremely low concentrations. Nominal and tracer retention times were determined and compared. Winter tracer retention time (TRT 194 h) and nominal retention time (nHRT 190 h) were nearly exactly equal, while summer TRT (335 h) was approximately twofold higher than nHRT (158 h). Residence time distribution function (RTD) was used to compare retention times obtained for the vegetative and non-vegetative periods. The obtained results document a significant influence of dense common reed vegetation on retention characteristics of the studied system. Common reed can convert a significant volume of water from liquid to gas via evapotranspiration (ET) and thus prolong water retention times in the system. This is very important both technically and ecologically. Longer retention times mean a longer time for microbiological decay of wastewater. Water converted from liquid to gas causes cooling of the microclimate, which is very important, especially in intensively cultivated areas with a lack of water.