Antagonistic effect of natural habitat conversion on community adjustment to climate warming in nonbreeding waterbirds

Although the impacts of climate and land-use changes on biodiversity have been widely documented, their joint effects remain poorly understood. We evaluated how nonbreeding waterbird communities adjust to climate warming along a gradient of land-use change. Using midwinter waterbird counts (132 species) at 164 major nonbreeding sites in 22 Mediterranean countries, we assessed the changes in species composition from 1991 to 2010, relative to thermal niche position and breadth, in response to regional and local winter temperature anomalies and conversion of natural habitats. We observed a low-level, nonsignificant community adjustment to the temperature increase where natural habitat conversion occurred. At the sites affected by natural habitat conversion, the relative increase of warm-dwelling species in response to climate warming was 6 times lower and the relative species decline was 3 times higher than in the sites without natural habitat conversion. We found no evidence of community adjustment to climate warming when natural habitat conversion was >5% over 15 years. This strong negative effect suggests an antagonistic interaction between climate warming and habitat change. These results underline the importance of habitat conservation in community adjustment to climate warming.     

RECOTOX,a French initiative in ecotoxicology-toxicology to monitor,understand and mitigate the ecotoxicological impacts of pollutants in socioagroecosystems

RECOTOX is a cross-cutting initiative promoting an integrated research to respond to the challenges of monitoring, understanding, and mitigating environmental and health impacts of pesticides in agroecosystems. The added value of RECOTOX is to develop a common culture around spatial ecotoxicology including the whole chain of pressure-exposure-impact, while strengthening an integrated network of in natura specifically equipped sites. In particular, it promotes transversal approaches at relevant socioecological system scales, to capitalize knowledge, expertise, and ongoing research in ecotoxicology and, to a lesser extent, environmental toxicology. Thus, it will open existing research infrastructures in environmental sciences to research programs in ecotoxicology of pesticides.     

Evaluating forest transition based on a multi-scale approach: forest area dynamics in Switzerland 1850–2000

Regional Environmental Change - A trend of forest area expansion after decades of decline is taking place in many countries around the globe. In Switzerland, forest cover has been expanding since...     

Characterization of Extruded Thermoplastic Starch Reinforced by Montmorillonite Nanoclay

The purpose of this study was to understand how the montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay influences physical and mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch (TPS), which was produced by a conventional extrusion procedure. MMT nanoclay was added at 0, 4, and 8 % (w/w) concentrations. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed most MMT platelets existed in tactoid structure in the starch matrix. In addition, FTIR spectra indicated TPS/MMT nanocomposites kept chemically stable after the extrusion. Tensile strength (TS) was about 7.0 MPa, while elongation-at-break (E) and elastic modulus (EM) were about 52 % and 32–41 MPa, respectively. Moisture sorption behaviour of the samples was well described by GAB and BET models. Thermal property tests exhibited the glass transition temperature (T _g ) of the nanocomposites decreased with increasing MMT from 0 to 8 %, indicating MMT nanoclay had a plasticization effect.     

Structural Change of the Manufacturing Sector in Korea: Measurement of Real Energy Intensity and CO2 Emissions

In terms of energy use, it is wellknown that energy intensity in the manufacturingsector is higher than any other sector. In Korea, theenergy intensity of the manufacturing sector hasdeteriorated since the late 1980s. This phenomenonis quite unique compared with the trend of energyintensity in other countries. In this study, weclosely examine the structural composition of Korea'smanufacturing sector from 1981 to 1996, its energyintensity, and its implications for carbon dioxide(CO₂) emissions by introducing the measurement ofreal energy intensity.The conventional index of energy intensity is notappropriate for aggregate industries. Since theaggregation of industries in the manufacturing sectorincludes structural change, it would be better toseparate the effect of structural change. Hence, inthis study, we apply a decomposition methodology forenergy intensity based on the `Divisia Index'. Ateach industry level, energy intensity is a mixedmeasurement of pure energy efficiency improvement andfuel substitution. We also calculate real energyintensity at each industry level. Based on ouranalysis, we derive carbon dioxide (CO₂) intensity and analyze the factors that affect CO₂ emission in this sector.During 1988–1993, the energy intensity of themanufacturing sector in Korea deteriorated. Industrial structural change,the real energy intensity in this sector became evenworse during this period. The primary reason for thisphenomenon was that the share of energy intensiveindustries, such as steel, cement, and petro-chemicalindustries increased. Second, during the sameperiod, liquefied natural gas (LNG) rapidlypenetrated this sector, so that theCO₂ intensity improved. We find thatharmonization of economic development strategies andenvironmental consideration is crucial for sustainabledevelopment. Based on our study, we derived somepolicy implications. Integration of industrialpolicies and energy efficiency improving programs isquite important, as well as the acceleration of fuelsubstitution to less carbon (C) intensive ones. Integration of local and global environmental policiesplays an important role for mitigatingCO₂ emissions.