Description:    Wetland ecosystems are of global significance having productive, regulatory and informative function. These wetlands are crucial for the long-term protection of water sources, as well as the survival of its unique biodiversity. Most of the wetlands of Turkey are now facing serious threat from the anthropogenic sources and now near to the verge of extinction. This study has been carried out to monitor vegetation dynamics and ecological status of wetlands of Koyna basin at spatial and temporal scale. This study has involved MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images of the year 2000, 2004 and 2008 on daily basis with spatial resolution of 1 km. The MODIS 16 days composite NDVI time series products of 250-m spatial resolution from year 2000 to 2008 has been utilized to monitor the ecological status of the wetlands. The European Nature Information System habitat classification map, meteorological data (precipitation, temperature) coupled with field data has been utilized to validate NDVI values of nine habitats in the wetlands. The time series analyses of NDVI data values have been correlated with the groundwater level depth from 1996 to 2004. The overall analysis has shown a declining trend of NDVI over the year 2000 to 2008, indicated a degraded wetland condition in span of 9 years. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s10113-011-0241-x Authors Jay Krishna Thakur, Department Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Institute of Geosciences, Martin Luther University, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany P. K. Srivastava, Department of Civil Engineering, Water and Environment Management Research Center, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR United Kingdom S. K. Singh, Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Science, KBCAOS, IIDS, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, 211002 India Zoltán Vekerdy, Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, Twente University, Hengelosestraat 99, 7514 AE Enschede, The Netherlands Journal Regional Environmental Change Online ISSN 1436-378X Print ISSN 1436-3798

Description:    In the last decades, due to climate changes, soil deterioration, and Land Use/Land Cover Changes (LULCCs), land degradation risk has become one of the most important ecological issues at the global level. Land degradation involves two interlocking systems: the natural ecosystem and the socio-economic system. The complexity of land degradation processes should be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess diachronically land degradation dynamics under changing land covers. This paper analyzes LULCCs and the parallel increase in the level of land sensitivity to degradation along the coastal belt of Sardinia (Italy), a typical Mediterranean region where human pressure affects the landscape characteristics through fires, intensive agricultural practices, land abandonment, urban sprawl, and tourism concentration. Results reveal that two factors mainly affect the level of land sensitivity to degradation in the study area: (i) land abandonment and (ii) unsustainable use of rural and peri-urban areas. Taken together, these factors represent the primary cause of the LULCCs observed in coastal Sardinia. By linking the structural features of the Mediterranean landscape with its functional land degradation dynamics over time, these results contribute to orienting policies for sustainable land management in Mediterranean coastal areas. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9831-8 Authors S. Bajocco, Unit for Climatology and Meteorology in Agriculture (CRA-CMA), Italian National Agricultural Research Council, Via del Caravita 7a, 00186 Rome, RM, Italy A. De Angelis, Unit for Climatology and Meteorology in Agriculture (CRA-CMA), Italian National Agricultural Research Council, Via del Caravita 7a, 00186 Rome, RM, Italy L. Perini, Unit for Climatology and Meteorology in Agriculture (CRA-CMA), Italian National Agricultural Research Council, Via del Caravita 7a, 00186 Rome, RM, Italy A. Ferrara, Department of Crop Science, University of Basilicata, Via dell’Ateneo Lucano, Potenza, PZ, Italy L. Salvati, Centre for Soil-Plant Relationships (CRA-RPS), Italian National Agricultural Research Council, Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, RM, Italy Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X

Description:    A 108-year (1901–2008) downscaling of the twentieth-century reanalysis (20CR) using the Regional Spectral Model (RSM) has been conducted for the southeastern United States (SEUS) at a horizontal grid resolution of 10 km. This 108-year product, named as the Florida Climate Institute-Florida State University Land–Atmosphere Reanalysis for the southeastern United States at 10-km resolution version 1.0 [FLAReS1.0], has primarily been developed for anticipated application studies in hydrology, crop management, ecology, and other interdisciplinary fields in the SEUS. The analysis of this downscaled product reveals that it ameliorates the issue of artificial discontinuity in the precipitation time series of the 20CR from the variations inherent to RSM. This centennial scale product allows us to begin examining decadal scale variations of the regional features of the SEUS. The fidelity of the low-frequency variations of the winter rainfall associated with the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation is reasonably well captured in FLAReS1.0. In fact, the modulation of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnection with the SEUS rainfall by AMO in the downscaled product is also validated with observations. The ENSO-associated variations of accumulated rainfall from landfalling hurricanes in the SEUS are also well simulated in the downscaled climate simulation. It is to be noted that the success of this dynamical downscaling is also because the global reanalysis of 20CR showed comparable fidelity in these low-frequency variations of the SEUS climate. This method of dynamic downscaling global reanalysis with inclusion of spectral nudging at large wavelengths (in this case ≥500 km) toward the driving global reanalysis (20CR) is sometimes referred as a form of regional reanalysis. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-9 DOI 10.1007/s10113-012-0372-8 Authors V. Misra, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, P.O. Box 3064520, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4520, USA S. M. DiNapoli, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, 2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr., 200 RM Johnson Bldg, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2840, USA S. Bastola, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, 2035 E. Paul Dirac Dr., 200 RM Johnson Bldg, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2840, USA Journal Regional Environmental Change Online ISSN 1436-378X Print ISSN 1436-3798

Description:    Recent studies have demonstrated the geomorphic complexity and wide range of hydrologic regimes found in alpine headwater channels that provide complex habitats for aquatic taxa. These geohydrologic elements are fundamental to better understand patterns in species assemblages and indicator taxa and are necessary to aquatic monitoring protocols that aim to track changes in physical conditions. Complex physical variables shape many biological and ecological traits, including life history strategies, but these mechanisms can only be understood if critical physical variables are adequately represented within the sampling framework. To better align sampling design protocols with current geohydrologic knowledge, we present a conceptual framework that incorporates regional-scale conditions, basin-scale longitudinal profiles, valley-scale glacial macroform structure, valley segment-scale (i.e., colluvial, alluvial, and bedrock), and reach-scale channel types. At the valley segment- and reach-scales, these hierarchical levels are associated with differences in streamflow and sediment regime, water source contribution and water temperature. Examples of linked physical-ecological hypotheses placed in a landscape context and a case study using the proposed framework are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach for monitoring complex temporal and spatial patterns and processes in glaciated basins. This approach is meant to aid in comparisons between mountain regions on a global scale and to improve management of potentially endangered alpine species affected by climate change and other stressors. Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-16 DOI 10.1007/s00267-012-9957-8 Authors Anne A. Weekes, Natural Systems Design, Seattle, WA, USA Christian E. Torgersen, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA David R. Montgomery, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Andrea Woodward, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Seattle, WA, USA Susan M. Bolton, School of Environmental and Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Journal Environmental Management Online ISSN 1432-1009 Print ISSN 0364-152X