Trends of changes in the floristic composition of forest vegetation in the northern Baikal region upon climate warming

Parameters characterizing the activity of species in altitudinal zonal elements of the flora have been analyzed in the northern Baikal region. The results provide evidence for the weakening status of xerophilic species in the cenoflora of hemiboreal light coniferous forests of the class Rhytidio-Laricetea, which form the lower part of the forest belt bordering the steppe. This fact indicates that climate on the slopes of mountain ridges is becoming more humid. The increase in humidity may be explained by both progressing degradation of permafrost and increasing precipitation. On the other hand, no significant change has been observed in the cenoflora of mountain taiga forests of the class Vaccinio-Piceetea, which form the upper part of the forest belt.     

Climate Change in Southern and Eastern Africa During the Past Millennium and its Implications for Societal Development

Climatic records from equatorial eastern Africa and subtropical southern Africa have shown that both temperature and the amount of rainfall have varied over the past millennium. Moreover, the rainfall pattern in these regions varied inversely over long periods of time. Droughts started abruptly, were of multi-decadal to multi-centennial length and the changes in the hydrological budget were of large amplitude. Changing water resources in semi-arid regions clearly must have regional influences on both ecological and socio-economic processes. Through a detailed analysis of the historical and paleoclimatic evidence from southern and eastern Africa covering the past millennium it is shown that, depending on the vulnerability of a society, climatic variability can have an immense impact on societies, sometimes positive and sometimes disastrous. Therefore, the interconnected issue of world ecosystem and social resilience is the challenge for decision-makers if sustainable development is to be reached on global and local levels.     

Sustainable Development: The Need for a New Paradigm

At present, the term sustainable development is misleading because we actually live in a markedly unsustainable world and conditions will become even more unsustainable in the 21st century. Indeed, the 21st century will be the defining period in man's occupation of this planet. Either we take very positive steps to ameliorate our environmental excesses now or we face the prospect of major environmental catastrophes in the future. It is a fact that advanced civilizations have collapsed twice within the last 5000 years in Europe and we must face up to the fact that a third collapse, this time on a global scale, is not beyond the realms of possibility. It is therefore up to us to begin using our considerable ingenuity to prepare for the future in a more rational manner than is presently the case. This article demonstrates clearly the dilemma that we now face.     

Global Warming, Uncertainty and Endogenous Technical Change

What impact does ecological uncertainty have on agents' decisions concerning domestic emissions abatement, physical investments, and R&;D expenditures? How sensitive are the answers to these questions when we move from exogenous to endogenous technical change? To investigate these issues we modify the ETC-RICE model described in Buonanno et al. (2001) by embedding in it a hazard rate function as in Bosello and Moretto (1999). With this model at hand we run numerical optimisations focusing our attention on the control variables of the representative agents, i.e., domestic abatement rate, investments in physical capital, and R&;D spending, as well as on the endogenous patterns of GDP level and CO₂ emissions. Our results show that uncertainty strongly influences agents behaviour; in particular, agents slow down their emissions in order to maintain a more sustainable growth path. In addition, R&;D expenditures trigger the “engine of growth” exclusively when environmental technical change is formalized in an endogenous fashion. However, even if environmental uncertainty may stimulate technical change, long-run growth it turns out to be negatively affected by the former, as also predicted by Clarke and Reed (1994) Tsur and Zemel (1996) and Bosello and Moretto (1999).     

安徽省的主要自然灾害及防治对策

本文论述了安徽省的洪涝、干旱、风暴、霜冻、地震、病虫害和地裂等主要自然灾害的慨况及典型实例,并根据安徽的情况提出了相应的减轻灾害损失的对策。     

DETERMINING RAINS OF HYDROLOGIC CONSEQUENCE IN CHICAGO FOR FORECASTING APPLICATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Accurate forecasting of heavy rainstorms that affect the Chicago Metropolitan area and lead to the undesirable release of storm runoff into Lake Michigan is a major objective. These releases (overflows) were found to be produced by storm events yielding 2 inches or more in a few hours, although only 24 percent of such ≥ 2-inch storms in the area during 1948-1981 produced overflows. Failure to forecast properly or to be able to react to these 2-inch overflow producing events has occurred most often in the spring and fall, although relatively often in June and July in recent years. These overflows have exhibited an inexplicable trebling during 1972-1981 without an increase in ≥ 2-inch storm events. This type of troublesome storm can be reliably predicted, using a recently developed radar man forecast system for the Chicago area.     

The Holocene Dynamics of Vegetation and Ecological Conditions in the Polar Urals

Palynological, paleocarpological, and paleoentomological analyses of frozen peat deposits near Lake Pereval'noe, the Polar Urals, were performed to reveal the main stages of change in the pattern of vegetation over the period from the beginning of warming after the last Pleistocene glaciation to the late Holocene. Nine to four thousand years ago, the study region (at the present-day upper boundary of open larch forests) was covered with taiga forests, as the climate there was significantly warmer. These were larch–birch forests with an admixture of spruce and, later, spruce forests with larch and birch.     

近30年来中国气候湿润程度变化的空间差异及其对生态系统脆弱性的影响

论文利用近30 a中国756个气象站点日观测数据计算中国陆地表层潜在蒸散和湿润指数现状及变化趋势,然后划分湿润程度变化对不同自然地带生态系统脆弱性影响的等级,并应用于农田、林地和草地三大生态系统脆弱性变化分析,结果显示:近30 a中国陆地表层平均年潜在蒸散为754 mm,平均湿润指数为-5.6,湿润指数平均变化率为-4.4/10 a,反映中国陆地表层湿润程度总体具有下降趋势。近30 a中国陆地表层气候湿润程度变化导致生态系统脆弱性增加的面积约占中国陆地面积的43.7%,主要集中在东北地区西南部、华北地区、西北地区东部,以及青藏高原的西部、北部和东部。总体上,近30 a中国陆地表层气候湿润程度变化对农田、林地和草地生态系统脆弱性具有不利影响。其中草地生态系统脆弱性增加的面积最大,约占草地生态系统总面积的63.2%;其次为农田生态系统,约占31.6%;林地生态系统脆弱性受影响面积最小,约占17.7%。     

“化危机为转机”：灾害救助中社工组织的角色实践及行为策略

以往大部分文献从经济、政治和管理学等角度对“全能政府”与灾害危机之间的关系进行了探讨,过于重视政府角色的扩张,却忽略了非营利部门在灾害救助中的作用。本着社工非营利组织能发挥积极的“补充性（suplementary）”而非“替代性”作用的观点,本文围绕一个核心问题展开,即“社工非营利组织如何根据地震灾害的实际情况制定不同的行为策略,发展出一套组织生存法则”。虽然一些学者对社工组织在灾害救助过程中能否扮演重要角色或功能仍有质疑,但本文认为,社工组织通过“自省”（self-reflection）和“自我观照”（inner-understanding）,制定正确的行为策略,就能将灾害危机化为组织发展契机。     

未来50年鄱阳湖流域气候变化预估

据 ECHAM5/ MPI OM模式在3种排放情景（SRES高排放A2,中排放A1B,低排放B1）下所做的21世纪前50年气候变化预估试验得到的数据,研究鄱阳湖流域2001~2050年气温和降水相对于目前气候（1961~1990年）的可能变化。结果表明：①未来50年气温在3种排放情景下都将迅速增加,远远高于1990s的增加幅度和速度。A1B情景温度增加最明显,平均气温变化达到162°C。②降水量变化相对复杂,前30年主要为减少趋势,A2情景下减少幅度最大,2020s年均降水量减少了67%;后20年降水量增加,B1情景增加最显著,2030s年增加幅度达到108%。③根据预估的各季节变化结果,1~3月和 4~6月降水量增加;而降水减少主要在7~9月和10~12月,则赣江流域类似于2003~2005年的伏旱、秋旱连冬旱的情况将可能阶段性出现,并在2011~2030年加强。④降水量的空间分异非常明显,东部变化大于西部,南部变化大于北部。⑤如果2001~2050年在A2或A1B情景下,降水序列存在20a的周期振荡;在B1情景下,存在30a的周期振荡。人类排放增加可能弱化振荡强度,并使周期发生变化。