Bumblebee Vulnerability: Common Correlates of Winners and Losers across Three Continents

Abstract:  It is widely agreed that in many parts of the world some bumblebee ( Bombus ) species have declined, and that this has often been driven by land-use changes that cause reductions in the abundance of food plants. There is much less agreement about how changes in food plants affect some bumblebee species more than others. We sought to identify which species' characteristics are generally associated with the relative winners and losers by comparing the 3 independent bumblebee faunas from parts of Britain, Canada, and China. Using available survey data, we assessed species characteristics, including competition with congeners, climatic specialization, proximity to climatic range edge, food specialization, phenology, body size, and range size. Results of our meta-analysis of correlations showed support for the hypotheses that decline susceptibility is generally greater for species that have greater climatic specialization, for species in areas where they occur closest to the edges of their climatic ranges, and for species that have queens that become active later in the year. The latter characteristic may render a species at a particular disadvantage when they have long colony cycles if there are losses of food plants in mid to late colony development.     

Global Trend of Low-carbon Economy and China's Responses

Based on the analysis on the global economic crisis,climate change crisis and their mutual underlying reasons,the authors believe that low-carbon economy has become an inevitable choice to break through the dual crises,coordinate the economic development,and protect the global climate.The global trend of low-carbon economy finds expression in Green Recovery currently,while,in a long run,it will give rise to a new pattern of world competition in politics,economy,technology,trade and finance.The impact of the...     

Global climate change and the politics of disaster

The paper explores the potential political impact of global climate change and, more generally, of natural disaster. Because the affluent West has largely tamed the natural and the social domains, popular clamor for government to anticipate, prevent, and redress disaster increases. I delineate several consequences of the new politics of disaster.     

Innovative policy practices to advance building energy efficiency and retrofitting: Approaches,impacts and challenges in ten C40 cities

This study examines ten programmes to advance energy efficiency and retrofitting of existing, private sector buildings in C40 cities in Asia-Pacific and USA. We set out to identify differing policy approaches, together with potential impacts and implementation challenges for each. Findings unearthed six policy models – both mandatory and voluntary – with unique impacts and challenges. We demonstrate that innovation occurs without new policy inventions and largely by necessity, as new features are added and generic models are adapted to local circumstances. Our sample demonstrated experimentation with benchmarking in the USA, comprehensive regulation in Asia, and voluntary approaches in Australia. Overall, environmental impacts are particularly slow to emerge and plagued with attribution challenges. We found limited evidence of benchmarking programme effectiveness in reducing energy consumption in the short-term, but some indication of mid-term outcomes. Driven by unique local circumstances, the cap-and-trade model stood out by fostering large, sustained and attributable GHG emission reductions and retrofitting. Market and social impacts are highly significant across all programmes, highlighting needs to consider non-environmental impacts in policy evaluation. We emphasise the complementary potential of voluntary and regulatory approaches to advancing energy efficiency and climate resilience. We also underscore the potential for reporting or benchmarking programmes to later transition to models mandating performance improvements, such as cap-and-trade.     

TREE RING RECONSTRUCTIONS OF STREAMFLOW FOR THREE CANADIAN PRAIRIE RIVERS1

ABSTRACT: Information regarding long term hydrological variability is critical for the effective management of surface water resources. In the Canadian Prairie region, growing dependence on major river systems for irrigation and other consumptive uses has resulted in an increasing vulnerability to hydrological drought and growing interprovincial tension. This study presents the first dendrochronological records of streamflow for Canadian Prairie rivers. We present 1,113‐year, 522‐year, and 325‐year reconstructions of total water year (October to September) streamflow for the North Saskatchewan, South Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Rivers, respectively. The reconstructions indicate relatively high flows during the 20th Century and provide evidence of past prolonged droughts. Low flows during the 1840s correspond with aridity that extended over much of the western United States. Similarly, an exceptional period of prolonged low flow conditions, approximately 900 A.D. to 1300 A.D., is coincident with evidence of sustained drought across central and western North America. The 16th Century megadrought of the western United States and Mexico, however, does not appear to have had a major impact on the Canadian rivers. The dendrohydrological records illustrate the risks involved if future water policy and infrastructure development in the Canadian Prairies are based solely on records of streamflow variability over the historical record.     

Forest Stand Dynamics and Livestock Grazing in Historical Context

Abstract:  Livestock grazing has been implicated as a cause of the unhealthy condition of ponderosa pine forest stands in the western United States. An evaluation of livestock grazing impacts on natural resources requires an understanding of the context in which grazing occurred. Context should include timing of grazing, duration of grazing, intensity of grazing, and species of grazing animal. Historical context, when and under what circumstances grazing occurred, is also an important consideration. Many of the dense ponderosa pine forests and less-than-desirable forest health conditions of today originated in the early 1900s. Contributing to that condition was a convergence of fire, climate, and grazing factors that were unique to that time. During that time period, substantially fewer low-intensity ground fires (those that thinned dense stands of younger trees) were the result of reduced fine fuels (grazing), a substantial reduction in fires initiated by Native Americans, and effective fire-suppression programs. Especially favorable climate years for tree reproduction occurred during the early 1900s. Exceptionally heavy, unregulated, unmanaged grazing by very large numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries occurred in most of the U.S. West and beginning earlier in portions of the Southwest. Today, livestock numbers on public lands are substantially lower than they were during this time and grazing is generally managed. Grazing then and grazing now are not the same.     

甘肃省作物布局演变及其对区域气候变暖的响应

根据甘肃省1985-2005年的气候资料和同时期主要作物播种面积等统计资料,利用快速聚类分析方法分析了气候变暖背景下甘肃省主要作物的种植格局和种植界限演变情况。结果表明:过去20 a里特别是进入20世纪90年代,在河西地区,玉米和棉花播种范围扩张趋势明显,种植面积比重显著增加,春小麦种植面积比重快速降低,种植范围大幅向祁连山浅山区退缩,种植结构的这种调整使玉米和棉花逐渐取代小麦成为河西主要作物,并最终导致该区主要作物种植格局从以小麦为主转变为以玉米和棉花为主;在中部地区,春小麦面积逐年缩小,冬小麦和杂粮种植扩张,玉米的种植比例逐年上升,马铃薯种植逐渐形成规模,形成了以小麦和玉米为主的种植格局;在东南部地区,春小麦和冬小麦面积逐年缩小,玉米、冬油菜和其他喜温的经济作物种植比例逐年上升。相关分析表明,上述作物种植格局的变化与气候变暖带来的积温增加及积温带北移东扩密切相关。     

Soil warming effect on net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide during the transition from winter carbon source to spring carbon sink in a temperate urban lawn

The significant warming in urban environment caused by the combined effects of global warming and heat island has stimulated widely development of urban vegetations. However, it is less known of the climate feedback of urban lawn in warmed environment. Soil warming effect on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide during the transition period from winter to spring was investigated in a temperate urban lawn in Beijing, China. The NEE (negative for uptake) under soil warming treatment (temperature was about 5℃ higher than the ambient treatment as a control) was -0.71 μmol/(m².sec), the ecosytem was a CO₂ sink under soil warming treatment, the lawn ecosystem under the control was a CO₂ source (0.13 μmol/(m².sec)), indicating that the lawn ecosystem would provide a negative feedback to global warming. There was no significant effect of soil warming on nocturnal NEE (i.e., ecosystem respiration), although the soil temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) of ecosystem respiration under soil warming treatment was 3.86, much lower than that in the control (7.03). The CO₂ uptake was significantly increased by soil warming treatment that was attributed to about 100% increase of α (apparent quantum yield) and A_max (maximum rate of photosynthesis). Our results indicated that the response of photosynthesis in urban lawn is much more sensitive to global warming than respiration in the transition period.     

牧民对气候变化的认知及应对措施——以镶黄旗为例

文章通过对镶黄旗60户牧户的调查访问,分析牧户对气候变化和极端气候灾害事件的认知和应对措施,结果显示:牧民对气温有较强的认知能力,而对于降雨和大风的认知与实际相悖;气候变化下牧户对草场情况和水资源状况等生态环境变化的认知来看,牧民对牧草产量、植物种类、土壤沙化、鼠虫害、地下水变化的认知比较明显;牧民对气候变化所采取的措施主要有政策措施、帮助措施和合作方式,而3种措施中牧民主要采取草畜平衡和春节休牧、畜种改良和防疫措施、邻里间的互助来应对气候变化。影响镶黄旗牧民的主要灾害天气主要是旱灾,占灾害天气的75%,从气候灾害事件影响方面的认知来看;气候灾害事件对畜、草、人的影响比较大,且影响程度为畜>草>人;牧民面对气候灾害事件主要采取处理牲畜、购买草料、走场、圈养、外出打工等5种应对措施。     

空冷塔对大气环境温度湿度影响的数值模拟

运用FLUENT建立空冷塔模型进行数值模拟,研究不同出口温度、环境温度和侧风速度下空冷塔与大气环境之间的传热.结果表明：不同出口温度及环境温度对空冷塔与大气环境间的换热有显著影响.其中,当出口温度升高到328K时,空冷塔近地面层空气温度上升6.22K,而其相对湿度由47.7%降至31.78%,空气干燥程度增大;随着环境温度与排气温度间温差增大,换热效果更为显著,表现为冬季空气干燥程度变化最大,春秋次之,夏季最小.不同环境风速对空冷塔与大气环境间换热区域影响显著,其中,当侧风风速为7m/s时,热交换影响区域可达11.17km,且空冷塔近处相对湿度由47.7%降至39.47%.