Climate readiness of recovery plans for threatened Australian species

The rapidly changing climate is posing growing threats for all species, but particularly for those already considered threatened. We reviewed 100 recovery plans for Australian terrestrial threatened species (50 fauna and 50 flora plans) written from 1997 to 2017. We recorded the number of plans that acknowledged climate change as a threat and of these how many proposed specific actions to ameliorate the threat. We classified these actions along a continuum from passive or incremental to active or interventionist. Overall, just under 60% of the sampled recovery plans listed climate change as a current or potential threat to the threatened taxa, and the likelihood of this acknowledgment increased over time. A far smaller proportion of the plans, however, identified specific actions associated with ameliorating climate risk (22%) and even fewer (9%) recommended any interventionist action in response to a climate-change-associated threat. Our results point to a disconnect between the knowledge generated on climate-change-related risk and potential adaptation strategies and the extent to which this knowledge has been incorporated into an important instrument of conservation action.     

Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

Using fuzzy set theory to address the uncertainty of susceptibility to drought

This paper presents the technical aspects of a new methodology for assessing the susceptibility of society to drought. The methodology consists of a combination of inference modelling and fuzzy logic applications. Four steps are followed: (1) model input variables are selected—these variables reflect the main factors influencing susceptibility in a social group, population or region, (2) fuzzification—the uncertainties of the input variables are made explicit by representing them as ‘fuzzy membership functions’, (3) inference modelling—the input variables are used to construct a model made up of linguistic rules, and (4) defuzzification—results from the model in linguistic form are translated into numerical form, also through the use of fuzzy membership functions. The disadvantages and advantages of this methodology became apparent when it was applied to the assessment of susceptibility from three disciplinary perspectives: Disadvantages include the difficulty in validating results and the subjectivity involved with specifying fuzzy membership functions and the rules of the inference model. Advantages of the methodology are its transparency, because all model assumptions have to be made explicit in the form of inference rules; its flexibility, in that informal and expert knowledge can be incorporated through ‘fuzzy membership functions’ and through the rules in the inference model; and its versatility, since numerical data can be converted to linguistic statements and vice versa through the procedures of ‘fuzzification’ and ‘defuzzification’.     

Long-Term Changes in the Fauna of Diurnal Lepidopterans (Lepidoptera,Diurna) in the Northern Taiga Subzone of the Western Russian Plain

In the diurnal lepidopteran fauna of the northern taiga subzone in the western Russian Plain, the species inhabiting primary biotopic complexes typical of this subzone currently account for slightly more than 60% of the total species richness and abundance. A large part of the fauna is represented by the species of more southern origin, whose expansion to the northern taiga was caused by anthropogenic transformation of landscapes between the 12th and 20th centuries and recent climate warming.     

水质监测频率与极端气候对高原湖泊入湖河流氮磷通量估算的影响

河流是流域氮磷营养盐的主要输出途径之一,准确掌握其通量变化和驱动因素对流域营养盐管理具有重要意义.本研究以滇池主要入湖河流宝象河为例,基于周水质观测数据和逐日水量数据,构建了河流氮磷通量LOADSET模型.估算了宝象河不同时间尺度（日、季、年）TN和TP的通量,评估了4种低频水质采样和极端气候指数对河流氮磷通量计算的影响.结果表明：①2018年宝象河的TN和TP年通量分别为270.49 t和11.19 t,存在显著的年内差异,夏季是通量最高的季节,分别占TN和TP年通量的40.78%和41.96%.②基于LOADEST模型的低频水质采样的氮磷估算结果与高频采样差异较小,宝象河TN、TP通量估算受采样频率影响较小.③宝象河的TN和TP通量变化受连续5日最大降水量、平均最低气温、平均最高气温、最低气温、最低气温极大值、最高气温极小值和平均温差7种极端气候指数的显著影响.     

喜凉作物生长期对全球变暖停滞响应的时空差异——以中国绿洲为例

基于中国绿洲喜凉作物（chimonophilous crop）分布区39个站点1960~2016年逐日平均气温资料,运用线性趋势法、反距离加权插值（IDW）、Morlet小波、Mann-Kendall检验等方法,研究中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期的时空变化对变暖停滞的响应.结果表明：①变暖停滞期,中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起、止日及生长期日数以-0.2d/10a、0.33d/10a、0.53d/10a的趋势变化,较1960~2016年起始日提前趋势减缓1.01d/10a,终止日推迟减缓1.28d/10a,生长期日数延长减缓2.3d/10a,对变暖停滞有响应.②中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起始日对变暖停滞响应的站点有44%,终止日和生长期日数均为49%,主要分布在南疆、柴达木盆地和河西绿洲,其中河西绿洲对变暖停滞响应最明显,南疆次之,柴达木最小,而北疆绿洲不存在滞缓现象,显然空间差异明显.③M-K检验显示,中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期起、止日及生长期日数分别在2001年、1990年和1997年发生突变,起始日晚于变暖停滞起始年份,终止日和生长期日数早于变暖停滞起始年,且分绿洲生长期日数突变年与变暖停滞起始年相接近.④Morlet小波得出变暖停滞期其变化稳定存在2.4~4.3a的震荡周期,表明未来几年中国绿洲喜凉作物气候生长期仍持续延长.     

泗顶矿区6种土地利用类型土壤微生物群落结构特征

以广西柳州泗顶铅锌矿区的玉米地、菜地、灌木、尾矿库、森林和柑橘园6种不同利用类型土壤为研究对象,采用高通量测序技术,分析了不同土地利用类型土壤微生物群落结构特征及土壤环境因子对微生物群落结构的影响.结果表明,变形菌门（Proteobacteria）是6种土壤的优势菌门,所占比例为31.34%~53.47%,γ-变形菌纲（Gammaproteobacteria）为优势菌纲.冗余分析表明,在重金属含量最高的灌木区,厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）的丰度与土壤中铅、锌、镉、铜的含量呈现显著正相关;在土壤钠和钾含量较高的玉米地和菜地,浮霉菌门（Planctomycetes）的丰度有所增加,而厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门的丰度则有所下降.在土壤有机质含量较高而总氮、总磷含量较低的柑橘园,酸杆菌门（Acidobacteria）和疣微菌门（Verrucomicrobia）的丰度较高.芽单胞菌门（Gemmatimonadetes）和浮霉菌门的丰度与土壤pH值呈显著正相关.研究结果表明土地利用类型及土壤环境因子对土壤微生物群落结构多样性有显著的影响.     

祁连山七一冰川物质平衡的时空变化特征

基于2011-2016年七一冰川的野外观测资料,结合气象站数据及1975-2015年的遥感影像,分析了冰川末端变化、物质平衡时空变化特征及其对气候变化的敏感性,结果表明：1975年以来,七一冰川末端持续退缩235 m,平均退缩速率为5.9 m/a,冰川面积减少0.13 km²（4.5%）。2011-2016年,七一冰川的平均物质平衡为-476 mm w.e.,平均ELA为4941 m a.s.l.,物质平衡梯度为2.9 mm/m。从季节变化看,受风吹雪和冰面升华影响,11月至次年3月冰川呈负平衡;4月和9月物质平衡受降水控制,随海拔变化呈现降水效应;强消融期（6-8月）物质平衡随海拔升高线性增加;消融期末由9月初延后至9月底。敏感性分析结果表明,物质平衡对气温变化的敏感性为-178.7 mm w.e. °C^-1 a^-1,对降水变化的敏感性为+2.93 mm w.e. mm^-1 a^-1。即61 mm的降水增加才能弥补暖季气温升高1 °C引起的冰川净物质损失。     

气候变化和人类活动对伊逊河流域径流变化的影响

借助Mann-Kendall趋势检验和突变检验对气象水文序列进行一致性分析,划分基准期（1961—1979年）和影响期（① 1980—1989年、② 1990—1999年、③ 2000—2016年）,利用基准期校准的可变下渗容量（VIC）模型,采用步进式方法,探究气候变化和人类活动对伊逊河流域径流变化的波动影响过程。结果表明:研究区近56年年均气温显著升高,年降水量无明显变化趋势,流域年径流量下降趋势明显,季节尺度上流域非汛期降水量增加显著。气候变化和人类活动均会对径流产生显著影响且作用机理复杂,步进式方法对影响机理的研究较传统方法更能体现其变化过程;在降水丰沛的影响 ② 期,冬季降水量增加会显著增加流域径流量,而在降水略少的影响 ① 期和 ③ 期,蒸发量增加以及土壤含水量降低使得流域径流减少;人类活动耗水在影响 ① 期和 ③ 期引起流域径流减少并且影响作用逐渐增强,影响 ② 期由于城镇化和耕地扩张使得流域产流能力增强导致径流增加。深入研究气候变化和人类活动对径流的影响机制,可为流域水资源管理和规划提供理论依据。