Biomass stocks in Ghanaian cocoa ecosystems: the effects of region, management and stand age of cocoa trees

Determination of biomass produced in cocoa ecosystems is an important step towards quantifying the carbon sequestration potential of cocoa production systems. This study provides data on the biomass of cocoa systems being influenced by management, cocoa stand ages and region. Eight cocoa farms were sampled on the basis of three variables: region (Eastern, Western region), shade management (shaded, unshaded) and stand age (15 years). Allometric equations (R2 > 0.94) were developed to estimate the biomass of live cocoa trees, while the biomass of non-cocoa trees was estimated using an existing equation by FAO. Generally, biomass stocks were higher in the Eastern than Western region, shaded than unshaded, and in stands >15 years than those <15 years. The total cocoa ecosystem biomass range was, 48.1 ± 6.5 to 101.6 ± 12.6 Mg/ha. The high biomass estimates reveals a potential of system to restore appreciable biomass losses resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in Ghana

Between boreal Siberia and arid Central Asia - stable isotope hydrology and water budget of Burabay National Nature Park ecotone (Northern Kazakhstan)

Study region: Burabay National Nature Park (BNNP) of North Kazakhstan is located between humid boreal forests and an arid steppe of Central Asia. Study focus: The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses of precipitation, stream, lake and ground waters were used for water budget calculations of the BNNP endorheic lake system to assess the impact of increasing aridity on lakes in this most continental part of the Earth. New hydrological insights for the region: The stable isotope results confirmed two different types of lakes in BNNP: Burabay and Shortandy Lakes are more similar to higher latitude lakes (e.g. South Siberia), while Kishi and Ulken Shabakty Lakes are more comparable to the steppe lakes of Central Asia. The slopes of evaporation lines for this region, obtained by regression analysis of lake water samples, ranged from 4.57 (steppe lakes) to 6.21 (forest lakes). The evaporation over inflow ratios (0.34 Burabay, 0.69 Ulken Shabakty, and 0.53 Shortandy) are in good agreement with catchment water budget calculations reflecting different groundwater inputs and water retention times. The recent water level rise in the Ulken Shabakty Lake terminal basin was observed for the first time in a decade. This increase can be explained by the ‘fill and spill’ hypothesis and suggest that a single unusually wet year may significantly replenish water resources despite long-term increasing aridity of the regio

Essentials of endorheic basins and lakes: a review in the context of current and future water resource management and mitigation activities in Central Asia

Endorheic basins (i.e., land-locked drainage networks) and their lakes can be highly sensitive to variations in climate and adverse anthropogenic activities, such as overexploitation of water resources. In this review paper, we provide a brief overview of one major endorheic basin on each continent, plus a number of endorheic basins in Central Asia (CA), a region where a large proportion of the land area is within this type of basin. We summarize the effects of (changing) climate drivers and land surface-atmosphere feedbacks on the water balance. For the CA region we also discuss key anthropogenic activities, related water management approaches and their complex relationship with political and policy issues. In CA a substantial increase in irrigated agriculture coupled with negative climate change impacts have disrupted the fragile water balance for many endorheic basins and their lakes. Transboundary integrated land and water management approaches must be developed to facilitate adequate climate change adaptation and possible mitigation of the adverse anthropogenic influence on endorheic basins in CA. Suitable climate adaptation, mitigation and efficient natural resource management technologies and methods are available, and are developing fast. A number of these are discussed in the paper, but these technologies alone are not sufficient to address pressing water resource issues in CA. Food-water–energy nexus analyses demonstrate that transboundary endorheic basin management requires transformational changes with involvement of all key stakeholders. Regional programs, supported by local governments and international donors, that incorporate advanced adaptation technologies, water resource research and management capacity development, are essential for successful climate change adaptation efforts in CA. However, there is a need for an accelerated uptake of such programs, with an emphasis on unification of approaches, as the pressures resulting from climate change and aggravated by human mismanagement of natural water resources leave very little time for hesitation

Leaf Litter Decomposition and Mitigation of CO₂ Emissions in Cocoa Ecosystems

Studies simultaneously quantifying litter weight losses and rates of CO2-C evolved are few, though essential for accurate estimates of forest carbon budgets. A 120-day dry matter loss and a 130-day carbon emission experiments were concurrently conducted at the soil laboratory of the University of Reading, UK. Leaf litters of tree species comprising cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Newbouldia laevis (dominant shade tree in Eastern region (ER)) and Persea americana (dominant shade tree in Western region (WR)) of Ghana were incubated using a single tree leaf litter and/or a 1:1 mixed species leaf litters to determine and predict the litter decomposition and C dynamics in cocoa systems with or without the shade trees. Decomposition and C release trends in the ER systems followed: shade > mixed cocoa-shade = predicted mixed litter > cocoa; and in the WR, the order was: cocoa = mixed cocoa-shade > predicted mixed > shade. Differences between released C estimated from litter weight loss and CO2-C evolution measurement methods were not consistent. Regression analysis revealed a strong (R2 = 0.71) relationship between loss of litter C and the CO2-C evolution during litter decomposition. The large C pool for shaded cocoa systems indicates the potential to store more C and thus, its promotion could play a significant role in atmospheric CO2 mitigations

Intra-annual taxonomic and phenological drivers of spectral variance in grasslands

According to the Spectral Variation Hypothesis (SVH), spectral variance has the potential to predict taxonomic composition in grasslands over time. However, in previous studies the relationship has been found to be unstable. We hypothesise that the diversity of phenological stages is also a driver of spectral variance and could act to confound the species signal. To test this concept, intra-annual repeat spectral and botanical sampling was performed at the quadrat scale at two grassland sites, one displaying high species diversity and the other low species diversity. Six botanical metrics were used, three taxonomy based and three phenology based. Using uni-temporal linear permutation models, we found that the SVH only held at the high diversity site and only for certain metrics and at particular time points. We also tested the seasonal influence of phenological stage dominance, alongside the taxonomic and phenological diversity metrics on spectral variance using linear mixed models. A term of percentage mature leaves, alongside an interaction term of percentage mature leaves and species diversity, explained 15-25% of the model variances, depending on the spectral region used. These results indicate that the dominant canopy phenology stage is a confounding variable when examining the spectral variance-species diversity relationship. We emphasise the challenges that exist in tracking species or phenology-based metrics in grasslands using spectral variance but encourage further research that contextualises spectral variance data within seasonal plant development alongside other canopy structural and leaf traits

Chaplains Work in Primary Care

Health is holistic, but health services are often not. Primary care is the first point of contact for patients in the UK, and at least two in every three present with complex bio-psycho-socio-economic issues. In Scotland, the Community Chaplaincy Listening (CCL) service was created to see if chaplains could help. CCL involves specially trained chaplains listening to patients referred to them by general practitioners (GP) for spiritual support. Between 2018 and 2019, 143 people used CCL and completed baseline and post-discharge outcome measures. Mean Scottish PROM scores rose from 7.94 (± 3.4) at baseline to 12 (± 3.5) post discharge, a statistically and clinically significant rise of 4.06 (95% CI, 3–5.12), t(50) = 7.7, p < 0.0001, d = 1.08. The improvement was seen whether patients self-described as religious, spiritual, both, or neither. Health-related quality of life outcomes were mixed but patients referred to the service scored some of the lowest baseline EQ-5D-3L scores ever seen in the literature. Together these results suggest that CCL worked in primary care, especially for patients historically considered “difficult to treat.” Limitations of the study are considered alongside implications for commissioners and service developers

The feasibility of leaf reflectance-based taxonomic inventories and diversity assessments of species-rich grasslands: a cross-seasonal evaluation using waveband selection

Hyperspectral leaf-level reflectance data may enable the creation of taxonomic inventories and diversity assessments of grasslands, but little is known about the stability of species-specific spectral classes and discrimination models over the course of a growing season. Here, we present a cross-seasonal dataset of seventeen species that are common to a temperate, dry and nutrient-poor calcareous grassland, which spans thirteen sampling dates, a week apart, during the spring and summer months. By using a classification model that incorporated waveband selection (a sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis), most species could be classified, irrespective of the sampling date. However, between 42 and 95% of the available spectral information was required to obtain these results, depending on the date and model run. Feature selection was consistent across time for 70 out of 720 wavebands and reflectance around 1410 nm, representing water features, contributed the most to the discrimination. Model transferability was higher between neighbouring sampling dates and improved after the “green-up” period. Some species were consistently easy to classify, irrespective of time point, when using up to six latent variables, which represented about 99% of the total spectral variance, whereas other species required many latent variables, which represented very small spectral differences. We concluded that it did seem possible to create reliable taxonomic inventories for combinations of certain grassland species, irrespective of sampling date, and that the reason for this could lie in their distinctive morphological and/or biochemical leaf traits. Model transferability, however, was limited across dates and cross-seasonal sampling that captures leaf development would probably be necessary to create a predictive framework for the taxonomic monitoring of grasslands. In addition, most variance in the leaf reflectance within this system was driven by a subset of species and this finding implies challenges for the application of spectral variance in the estimation of biodiversity

Prediction of grassland biodiversity using measures of spectral variance: a meta-analytical review

Over the last 20 years, there has been a surge of interest in the use of reflectance data collected using satellites and aerial vehicles to monitor vegetation diversity. One methodological option to monitor these systems involves developing empirical relationships between spectral heterogeneity in space (spectral variation) and plant or habitat diversity. This approach is commonly termed the ‘Spectral Variation Hypothesis’. Although increasingly used, it is controversial and can be unreliable in some contexts. Here, we review the literature and apply three-level meta-analytical models to assess test results of the hypothesis across studies using several moderating variables, relating to the botanical and spectral sampling strategies, and the types of sites evaluated. We focus on the literature relating to grasslands, which are less well studied compared to forests and are likely to require separate treatment due to their dynamic phenology and the taxonomic complexity of their canopies over small scales. Across studies, results suggest an overall positive relationship between spectral variation and species diversity (mean correlation co-efficient = 0.36). However, high levels of both within study and between study heterogeneity was found. Whether data was collected at the leaf or canopy level had the most impact on the mean effect size, with leaf level studies displaying a stronger relationship compared to canopy level studies. We highlight the challenges facing synthesis of these kinds of experiments, the lack of studies carried out in arid or tropical systems and the need for scalable, multi-temporal assessments to resolve controversy in the field

Sensitivity of peatland litter decomposition to changes in temperature and rainfall

Changes to climate are projected over the next 50 years for many peatland areas. As decomposition of peatforming vegetation is likely to be intrinsically linked to these changes in climate, a clear understanding of climate-peat dynamics is required. There is concern that increased temperature and decreased precipitation could increase the rate of decomposition and put the carbon sink status of many peatlands at risk, yet few studies have examined the impact of both climatic factors together. To better understand the sensitivity of peatland decomposition to changes in both temperature and precipitation and their interaction, we conducted a shortterm laboratory experiment in which plant litters and peat soil were incubated, in isolation, in a factorial design. Treatments simulated baseline and projected climate averages derived from the latest UK climate change projections (UKCP09) for Exmoor, a climatically marginal peatland in SW England. Regular carbon dioxide flux measurements were made throughout the simulation, as well as total mass loss and total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached. The largest effect on carbon loss in this multifactor experiment was from substrate, with Sphagnum/peat releasing significantly less C in total during the experiment than dwarf shrubs/graminoids. Climate effects were substrate specific, with the drier rainfall treatment increasing the DOC leaching from Calluna, but decreasing it from Sphagnum. Partitioning between CO2 and DOC was also affected by climate, but only for the peat and Sphagnum samples, where the future climate scenarios (warmer and drier) resulted in a greater proportion of C lost in gaseous form. These results suggest that indirect effects of climate through changes in species composition in peatlands could ultimately turn out to be more important for litter decomposition than direct effects of climate change from increased temperatures and decreased rainfall