Carbon Balance in Forest Ecosystems and Biotic Regulation of Carbon Cycle under Global Warming: Landscape-ecological Predictive Modeling

Abstract It is outlined the concept of biotic regulation of carbon cycle in biosphere with the help of a study of local mechanis ms in the s mall bio logical cycle. The prognosis of changes of b iological cycle and b iotic regulation o f the carbon cycle according to the Had CM3 scenario of global warming are presented. Two mutually antithetical phenomena of carbon cycle biotic regulation will be developing on the Russian Plain. The extreme south of the forest zone will be the field of significant additional accumu lation of carbon in at mosphere. The main positive biotic regulation of carbon cycle, according to the Les Chatellier's principle, will be performed by broadleaf-coniferous forests of high plains in the nemoral-forest sub-zone and in the southern belt of sub-taiga zone. Local and reg ional maps of carbon balance are presented as well

Soil moisture and its importance for tundra plants

Water is fundamental for plant life, as it affects the growth, survival, and spatial patterns of vegetation. Here, I explored soil moisture and its ecosystem effects to answer: 1) What controls soil moisture variation? 2) How is water linked to vegetation? 3) Do plants influence water resources? I focused on the moisture of the top-soil layer (0 – 10 cm) in Fennoscandian mountain tundra. First, I evaluated environmental conditions controlling soil moisture variation. I used different modelling methods (generalized linear models, generalized additive models, generalized boosted regression models, and random forests) to account for the uncertainties related to each multivariate technique. On average, the model fit was R2 = 0.60 and the predictive performance R2 = 0.47. The spatial variation of soil moisture was most related to a topographic proxy of soil water accumulation and the depth of the organic soil layer. These results demonstrated that moisture can be modelled using topography and soil data. Secondly, I examined the influence of three water aspects (spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture, and fluvial disturbance) on vascular plants, mosses, and lichens. I used species distribution modelling, a framework for analysing the spatial patterns of species in relation to the environment. The species groups were most related to the spatial variation of soil moisture, albeit species had diverse responses. In general, water is not scarce in the tundra, yet the water aspects improved the models highlighting water as a multifaceted driver of the ecosystem. In addition, I investigated if plant-environment relationships were universal in the tundra. Here, I used hierarchical generalized additive models to compare sites across the hemispheres. I combined plant trait records with data on their environmental drivers. The local variation of conditions within the sites was overridden by global relationships indicating that these links are generalisable across the tundra sites. The results provide empirical evidence for a fundamental assumption in community ecology: consistent plant-environment relationships. Last, I introduced plants to my first question regarding controls of soil moisture. I considered other factors potentially influencing vegetation and soil conditions by using structural equation modelling, a theory-based hierarchical modelling technique. Woody plants correlated negatively with soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil organic carbon stocks (standardised coefficients = -0.16; -0.22; -0.27). As the abundance of woody plants increases, they feedback into the climate system through the water, energy, and carbon cycles. To conclude, plant-water relationships are strong across the tundra. Soil moisture and its spatial variation are controlled by the soil characteristics and the topographic features in the landscape, but also by the abundance of woody plants. Water conditions affect vegetation across species groups, from individuals to the communities. This knowledge unravels the importance of soil moisture in a vulnerable ecosystem undergoing rapid changes.Vesi on välttämätöntä elämälle, myös kasveille. Vesi vaikuttaa kasvillisuuden kasvuun, eloonjääntiin ja alueelliseen esiintyvyyteen. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkin maaperän kosteutta ja sen vaikutuksia paljakkaekosysteemiin vastaamalla seuraaviin kysymyksiin: 1) Mikä vaikuttaa maaperän kosteuden vaihteluun? 2) Kuinka vesi kytkeytyy kasvillisuuteen? 3) Vaikuttavatko kasvit vesiresursseihin? Tutkimuksissani tarkastelin pintamaan (0 – 10 cm) kosteutta Fennoskandian tunturipaljakalla. Väitöskirjani ensimmäisessä osassa tutkin kosteuden säätelijöitä. Käytin useita tilastollisia mallinnusmenetelmiä (yleistä lineaarista mallia, yleistä additiivista mallia, yleistettyä luokittelupuu menetelmää ja satumetsää), sillä kaikissa on omat epävarmuustekijänsä. Keskimäärin mallin istuvuus oli R2 = 0.60 ja ennustuskyky R2 = 0.47. Kosteuden alueellista vaihtelua sääteli eniten pinnanmuotoihin perustuva kosteusindeksi ja turpeen paksuus. Tulokset osoittavat, että kosteutta voi mallintaa topografia- ja maaperäaineistolla. Toisessa osassa tarkastelin kolmea vesimuuttujaa (kosteuden alueellista ja ajallista vaihtelua sekä veden aiheuttamia häiriöitä) ja niiden vaikutusta putkilokasveihin, sammaleisiin ja jäkäliin. Käytin lajimallinnusta, joka on kehitetty lajien ja niitä säätelevien tekijöiden alueelliseen tarkasteluun. Kolmesta vesimuuttujasta kaikkia lajiryhmä sääteli eniten kosteuden alueellinen vaihtelu. Vesimuuttujat paransivat malleja, mikä osoittaa, että vesi vaikuttaa suuresti paljakkaekosysteemissä, missä vedestä ei yleensä ole pulaa. Lisäksi tutkin kasvien ja ympäristön välistä suhdetta ja sen yleistettävyyttä paljakalla. Käytin hierarkkista yleistä additiivista mallia vertaillakseni alueita kummaltakin pallonpuoliskoilta. Tarkastelin kasvien toiminnallisten ominaisuuksien säätelijöitä. Paikallista ympäristövaihtelua merkittävämpää oli kasvien ja ympäristön johdonmukainen suhde. Tulokset osoittavat todeksi yhden toiminnallisen ekologian tärkeimmistä olettamuksista: kasvien ja ympäristön suhde on yleismaailmallinen. Viimeisessä osassa palasin ensimmäiseen kysymykseeni kasvien kera. Käytin rakenneyhtälömallia, joka on teoriaperusteinen hierarkkinen menetelmä ja mahdollistaa taustamuuttujien huomioimisen. Puuvartinen kasvillisuus korreloi negatiivisesti maaperän kosteuden, maaperän lämpötilan ja maaperän eloperäisen hiilivaraston kanssa (standardoidut kertoimet = -0.16; -0.22; -0.27). Kun paljakka ympäristö pensastuu, puuvartinen kasvillisuus tulee vaikuttamaan ilmastoon veden, energian ja hiilen kierron kautta Johtopäätökseni on, että kasvien ja veden välinen vuorovaikutussuhde on voimakas paljakalla. Maaperän kosteus ja sen alueellinen vaihtelu on maaperän ja pinnanmuotojen säätelemää, mutta myös puuvartinen kasvillisuus säätelee sitä. Vesiolot vaikuttavat kasvillisuuden eri lajiryhmiin, niin yksilöihin kuin yhteisöihin. Tämä tieto korostaa kosteuden merkitystä herkässä ekosysteemissä, jota koettelevat suuret mullistukset

Health and the urban environment of the twin cities of Ramallah and Albireh in the occupied Palestinian territory

Background: Features of the urban environment can support human health as well as harm it. Evidence has accumulated for the links between different place-based characteristics and physical and mental health. However, this evidence stems primarily from highly developed countries. The extent to which it is generalisable to other locations, such as the Middle Eastern Arab region, which has unique political, socio-cultural, and climatic environments, is not clear. Aims and setting: This thesis aims to investigate health in relation to the urban environment in the twin cities of Ramallah and Albireh in the occupied Palestinian territory. Specifically, it will examine the associations between the risk of chronic illness and: a) politically created area disadvantage (refugee camps and 'Area C’); b) urban green space. It will also explore the interaction between these area-level features and age, sex, and household assets in their association with chronic illness. Methods: Area-level variables were linked with individual respondents to the 2017 census using a Geographic Information System. The analytical sample was 54693 individuals living in 228 residential areas. The outcome variable was the presence/absence of chronic illness. The area-level variables were the politically created disadvantage indicated by Refugee camps and political land classification ‘Area C’ (controlled by Israel); the proportion of mixed trees, crop trees and open space with little/no vegetation; Individual-level variables included twelve demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Multi-level logistic regression models examined associations and interactions between individual and area-level variables and the probability of chronic illness risk. Results: On the political dimension, living in the context of a refugee camp was associated with greater odds of chronic illness (OR 1.91 CI [1.17-3.09]). This association was attenuated and rendered non-significant when adjusting for green space. The proportions of ‘mixed’ trees in residential areas had an independent inverse association with chronic illness (OR 0.96 CI [0.95-0.97]). There was no/weak evidence for an association between the context of ‘Area C’ and the proportion of crop trees and open space with the risk of chronic illness. A statistically significant interaction was found between sex and living in refugee camps. Females living outside refugee camps have a significantly lower risk of chronic illness compared to males but not for those living inside refugee camps; females inside refugee camps had a higher risk of chronic illness compared to males (though not a significant difference). There was no/weak evidence for interactions between the other area characteristics and age, sex, and household assets. Conclusion: This is the first study in the Palestinian context, and among the few from the Arab World, to investigate links between the urban environment and health. As expected, living in the disadvantaged context of refugee camps is associated with a higher likelihood of chronic illness. Not all greenspace types were associated with improved health outcomes, but mixed trees were, and the green environment appeared implicated in the association between refugee camps and poor health. These results from a Middle Eastern Arab setting add to the evidence, largely from Western countries, that mixed trees in urban environments benefit health. Researchers and policymakers interested in reducing health inequalities should give more attention to refugee camps and green typologies, especially to females living in the disadvantaged contexts of refugee camps who may gain greater benefits. Research with a broader scope is needed to investigate the impact of political land classification on health

Between Two Messiahs: An Ethnography of Settler-Colonizers in the West Bank

This dissertation is a study of settler-colonialism. Based on fieldwork among Jewish settlers in the West Bank, it analyzes from an anthropological perspective how a settler-colonial process takes place. Officially, since the signing of the Oslo Accords, with few exceptions, Israel ceased to build new settlements in the West Bank. But, on the ground, from the 1990s onwards, the West Bank hinterland was scattered with over 150 illegal outposts, strategically constructed to appropriate as much land as possible. Often established on remote hilltops, the illegal outposts are the central tool today in appropriating Palestinian land, and the “outpost people” who reside in them, are considered the most radical settlers of all. For this research, I moved to one of these frontier outposts which I pseudonymously refer to as Ma’ale Eliya. Located at the edge of the Judean Desert, I stayed in the community for an overall period of almost two years. On one level, at the center of this research is an investigation of how a settler-colonial project expands: I explicate the settler-colonial know-how by which settlers appropriate land against indigenous resistance, the different challenges they face, and the internal conflicts and desires that shape their colonial endeavor. I make the case that these days, at the heart of the advancement of the West Bank settlement project is a sense of crisis and a set of contradictions that paradoxically propel the colonial process forward. On a second level, by focusing on a particular strand of what I discovered to be “post-messianic” settlers, this dissertation investigates the conditions of political action in the aftermath of ideological and religious rupture. My main argument is that rather than wholehearted beliefs, the generation of outpost settlers is animated to colonial action precisely from a sense of ideological retreat. In analyzing this dynamic of post-ideological radicalism, in addition to being about settler-colonialism, this research is also about political action in an age when master narratives lose their mastery