Beschreibung:    Geoengineering methods are intended to reduce climate change, which is already having demonstrable effects on ecosystem structure and functioning in some regions. Two types of geoengineering activities that have been proposed are: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) removal (CDR), which removes CO 2 from the atmosphere, and solar radiation management (SRM, or sunlight reflection methods), which reflects a small percentage of sunlight back into space to offset warming from greenhouse gases (GHGs). Current research suggests that SRM or CDR might diminish the impacts of climate change on ecosystems by reducing changes in temperature and precipitation. However, sudden cessation of SRM would exacerbate the climate effects on ecosystems, and some CDR might interfere with oceanic and terrestrial ecosystem processes. The many risks and uncertainties associated with these new kinds of purposeful perturbations to the Earth system are not well understood and require cautious and comprehensive research. Content Type Journal Article Category Review Paper Pages 1-20 DOI 10.1007/s13280-012-0258-5 Authors Lynn M. Russell, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. Mail Code 0221, La Jolla, CA 92093-0221, USA Philip J. Rasch, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, P. O. Box 999, MSIN K9-34, Richland, WA 99352, USA Georgina M. Mace, Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, UK Robert B. Jackson, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA John Shepherd, Earth System Science, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH UK Peter Liss, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ UK Margaret Leinen, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, 5600 US Rt 1 North, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA David Schimel, NEON Inc, 1685 38th Street, Boulder, CO 80305, USA Naomi E. Vaughan, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK Anthony C. Janetos, Joint Global Change Research Institute Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/University of Maryland, 5825 University Research Court, Suite 3500, College Park, MD 20740, USA Philip W. Boyd, NIWA Centre of Chemical & Physical Oceanography, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Richard J. Norby, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 2040, MS-6301, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6301, USA Ken Caldeira, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution, Stanford, CA 94305, USA Joonas Merikanto, Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland Paulo Artaxo, Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa R, 187, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-090, Brazil Jerry Melillo, The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA M. Granger Morgan, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA Journal AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment Online ISSN 1654-7209 Print ISSN 0044-7447

Beschreibung:    European larch ( Larix decidua Mill.) forests in the Alps are cultural landscapes that have been shaped by humans for centuries through traditional management. Biological and historical data sources were employed, and a multi-scale approach was adopted to capture the influence of factors affecting the structure of these forests. Landscape and stand scale dynamics were analyzed in four watersheds (c. 13,000 ha) of the western and central Italian Alps that have experienced different land-use intensities. Observed landscape changes were generalized using path analyses developed from a common conceptual model. Stand structure and a range of environmental variables were sampled in 203 circular plots, and land use and anthropogenic variables were derived from thematic maps and aerial photographs. We used multivariate statistical analyses (ordination and SEM models) to relate forest structure, anthropogenic influences, land uses, and topography. The most commonly observed land cover transition was an expansion of forests at the expense of open areas. All studied watersheds were dominated by larch forests, but their structure and spatial pattern differed greatly. Anthropogenic variables were less important at Ventina, the least accessible site, but emerged as fundamental to explain stand structure in the other study sites. Complexity of topography and proximity to roads had influenced past human activities mainly in the most accessible sites. Regeneration density was greatest at lower elevations and closer to human settlements. Quantification of the role played by forest harvesting and cattle grazing in past centuries is critical for understanding how global change factors may influence future dynamics of mountain forests in the European Alps and similar cultural landscapes worldwide. Content Type Journal Article Category Research Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s10980-012-9792-6 Authors Matteo Garbarino, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Emanuele Lingua, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy Peter J. Weisberg, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada Reno, Mail Stop 186, Reno, NV 89557, USA Alessandra Bottero, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Fabio Meloni, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Renzo Motta, Department of Agronomy, Forest and Land Management, University of Torino, Via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, Italy Journal Landscape Ecology Online ISSN 1572-9761 Print ISSN 0921-2973

Beschreibung:    Before climate change is considered in long-term coastal management, it is necessary to investigate how institutional stakeholders in coastal management conceptualize climate change, as their awareness will ultimately affect their actions. Using questionnaires in eight Baltic Sea riparian countries, this study examines environmental managers’ awareness of climate change. Our results indicate that problems related to global warming are deemed secondary to short-term social and economic issues. Respondents agree that problems caused by global warming will become increasingly important, but pay little attention to adaptation and mitigation strategies. Current environmental problems are expected to continue to be urgent in the future. We conclude that an apparent gap exists between decision making, public concerns, and scientific consensus, resulting in a situation in which the latest evidence rarely influences commonly held opinions. Content Type Journal Article Pages 645-655 DOI 10.1007/s13280-012-0327-9 Authors Joanna Piwowarczyk, Department of Marine Ecology, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 55 Powstancow Warszawy Street, 81-712 Sopot, Poland Anders Hansson, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research and Water and Environmental Studies, Department of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden Mattias Hjerpe, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research and Water and Environmental Studies, Department of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden Boris Chubarenko, Atlantic Branch of the Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kaliningrad, Russia Konstantin Karmanov, Atlantic Branch of the Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kaliningrad, Russia Journal AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment Online ISSN 1654-7209 Print ISSN 0044-7447 Journal Volume Volume 41 Journal Issue Volume 41, Number 6

Beschreibung:    Under increasing water scarcity, collective groundwater management is a global concern. This article presents an interdisciplinary analysis of this challenge drawing on a survey including 50 large and small farms and gardens in a village in an agricultural land reclamation area on the edge of the Western Desert of Egypt. Findings revealed that smallholders rely on a practice of shallow groundwater use, through which drainage water from adjacent irrigation areas is effectively recycled within the surface aquifer. Expanding agroindustrial activities in the surrounding area are socio-economically important, but by mining non-renewable water in the surrounding area, they set in motion a degradation process with social and ecological consequences for all users in the multi-layered aquifer system. Based on the findings of our investigation, we identify opportunities for local authorities to more systematically connect available environmental information sources and common pool resource management precedents, to counterbalance the degradation threat. Content Type Journal Article Category Report Pages 1-14 DOI 10.1007/s13280-012-0255-8 Authors Caroline King, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK Boshra Salem, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt Journal AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment Online ISSN 1654-7209 Print ISSN 0044-7447