The Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership: An Example of Science Applied to Societal Needs

Northern Eurasia, the largest landmass in the northern extratropics, accounts for ~20% of the global land area. However, little is known about how the biogeochemical cycles, energy and water cycles, and human activities specific to this carbon-rich, cold region interact with global climate. A major concern is that changes in the distribution of land-based life, as well as its interactions with the environment, may lead to a self-reinforcing cycle of accelerated regional and global warming. With this as its motivation, the Northern Eurasian Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) was formed in 2004 to better understand and quantify feedbacks between northern Eurasian and global climates. The first group of NEESPI projects has mostly focused on assembling regional databases, organizing improved environmental monitoring of the region, and studying individual environmental processes. That was a starting point to addressing emerging challenges in the region related to rapidly and simultaneously changing climate, environmental, and societal systems. More recently, the NEESPI research focus has been moving toward integrative studies, including the development of modeling capabilities to project the future state of climate, environment, and societies in the NEESPI domain. This effort will require a high level of integration of observation programs, process studies, and modeling across disciplines

What do we know about diversity, intersectionality and inclusion in organisationally-assigned expatriation? A review of relocation management company/consultancy practitioner research

Abstract Design/methodology/approach A review of 109 practitioner publications on organisational international assignment policy and practice was conducted to identify trends across three decades in minority expatriation and employer interventions to widen expatriate diversity. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on trends in the deployment of minority expatriates, review organisational interventions to increase expatriate diversity, and to consider the challenges facing employers in widening expatriate diversity through a review of practitioner publications published by relocation management companies/consultancies. Findings Practitioner publications record percentage female expatriate participation and expatriate age profiles. While expatriate diversity challenges are reported, employer interventions focus on supporting women and LGBTQ+ assignees but with little detail on their outcomes. There is little emphasis on ethnicity/race, religion, disability, pregnancy/maternity, intersectionality of diversity characteristics, and inclusion. Research limitations/implications Practitioner publications consulted were primarily Western-focused, with access to a ‘complete’ publications record precluded. Academic research that compares employer policy on diversity interventions with how it is implemented is needed. Practical implications A stronger focus on supporting the full range of expatriate diversity attributes and intersectionality is required, explaining how challenges have been addressed and inclusion achieved. Social implications Analysis of employer interventions could assist organisations to widen expatriate diversity and inclusion, and minorities to access international careers. Originality/value This review of practitioner data reveals trends in the deployment of minority expatriates, interventions taken by employers, and challenges they perceive in widening expatriate diversity, providing a unique perspective and enriching our understanding of academic expatriate diversity research. Path dependent organisational action may hinder employers’ future focus on diversity, inclusion and intersectionality

Ectoparasite insects of bats from the fields and weedlands eco-region of Argentina

New information is presented for bats and their ectoparasite insects from the Argentine Field and Weedlands Ecoregion. Bats of the families Molossidae, Phyllostomidae and Vespertilionidae containing ectoparasites belonging to families Polyctenidae (Hemiptera), Nycteribiidae and Streblidae (Diptera) were collected. Here is presented the first record of Hesperoctenes cartus Jordan, 1922 for Argentina. Basilia plaumanni Scott, 1940 and H. vicinus Jordan, 1922 are added to the province of Misiones and Paratrichobius longicrus (Miranda Ribeiro, 1907) is added to the province of Corrientes.Additionally, the distributions of some ectoparasite insects are extended and new host-ectoparasite associations are reported.Fil: Autino, Analia Gladys. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Claps, Guillermo Luis. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Idoeta, Fabricio Miguel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Barquez, Ruben Marcos. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentin

Unlocking inhibitors to women’s expatriate careers: can job-related training provide a key?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine what job-related training interventions female expatriates seek and can access in order to build necessary knowledge and skills to progress into further career-enhancing expatriate positions. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a cross-sectional qualitative research approach, drawing upon semi-structured interviews in respect of organisational training practice with 26 current female expatriates and nine Human Resource, International Assignments and Training Managers in two oil and gas exploration firms. Findings Budgets, time and travel restrictions, and competitive business pressures constrain on-the-job training provision for expatriates. Assignees require specific knowledge and skills ahead of appointment to subsequent expatriate positions. HR personnel believe training provides appropriate knowledge and capability development supporting women expatriates’ career ambitions. Women assignees view training available within their current roles as insufficient or irrelevant to building human capital for future expatriate posts. Research limitations/implications Longitudinal research across a wider spectrum of industries is needed to help understand the effects of training interventions on women’s access to future career-enhancing expatriation and senior management/leadership positions. Practical implications Organisations should ensure relevant technical skills training, clear responsibility for training provision, transparent and fair training allocation, positive communication regarding human capital outcomes, and an inclusive culture that promotes expatriate gender diversity. Originality/value Set within the framework of human capital theory, this study identifies the challenges that female expatriates experience when seeking relevant job-related training to further their expatriate careers. It identifies clear mismatches between the views of HR and female assignees in relation to the value of job-related training offered and women’s access to it

Past decade above-ground biomass change comparisons from four multi-temporal global maps

Above-ground biomass (AGB) is considered an essential climate variable that underpins our knowledge and information about the role of forests in mitigating climate change. The availability of satellite-based AGB and AGB change (Delta AGB) products has increased in recent years. Here we assessed the past decade net Delta AGB derived from four recent global multi-date AGB maps: ESA-CCI maps, WRI-Flux model, JPL time series, and SMOS-LVOD time series. Our assessments explore and use different reference data sources with biomass re-measurements within the past decade. The reference data comprise National Forest Inventory (NFI) plot data, local Delta AGB maps from airborne LiDAR, and selected Forest Resource Assessment country data from countries with well-developed monitoring capacities. Map to reference data comparisons were performed at levels ranging from 100 m to 25 km spatial scale. The comparisons revealed that LiDAR data compared most reasonably with the maps, while the comparisons using NFI only showed some agreements at aggregation levels <10 km. Regardless of the aggregation level, AGB losses and gains according to the map comparisons were consistently smaller than the reference data. Map-map comparisons at 25 km highlighted that the maps consistently captured AGB losses in known deforestation hotspots. The comparisons also identified several carbon sink regions consistently detected by all maps. However, disagreement between maps is still large in key forest regions such as the Amazon basin. The overall AAGB map cross-correlation between maps varied in the range 0.11-0.29 (r). Reported AAGB magnitudes were largest in the high-resolution datasets including the CCI map differencing (stock change) and Flux model (gain-loss) methods, while they were smallest according to the coarser-resolution LVOD and JPL time series products, especially for AGB gains. Our results suggest that AAGB assessed from current maps can be biased and any use of the estimates should take that into account. Currently, AAGB reference data are sparse especially in the tropics but that deficit can be alleviated by upcoming LiDAR data networks in the context of Supersites and GEO-Trees

Using satellite estimates of aboveground biomass to assess carbon stocks in a mixed-management, semi-deciduous tropical forest in the Yucatan Peninsula

Information on the spatial distribution of forest aboveground biomass (AGB) and its uncertainty is important to evaluate management and conservation policies in tropical forests. However, the scarcity of field data and robust protocols to propagate uncertainty prevent a robust estimation through remote sensing. We upscaled AGB from field data to LiDAR, and to landscape scale using Sentinel-2 and ALOS-PALSAR through machine learning, propagated uncertainty using a Monte Carlo framework and explored the relative contributions of each sensor. Sentinel-2 outperformed ALOS-PALSAR (R2 = 0.66, vs 0.50), however, the combination provided the best fit (R2 = 0.70). The combined model explained 49% of the variation comparing against plots within the calibration area, and 17% outside, however, 94% of observations outside calibration area fell within the 95% confidence intervals. Finally, we partitioned the distribution of AGB in different management and conservation categories for evaluating the potential of different strategies for conserving carbon stock

Archetypes of remnant West African forest patches, their main characteristics and geographical distribution

Remnant West African forest patches provide crucial ecosystem functions and services while contributing to sustaining the livelihoods of vast numbers of people. The vast majority lie outside of protected areas, although relatively few are managed as sacred forests, which limits their access and use. This lack of protection, together with a growing demand for arable land and forest resources, have accentuated their fragmentation, degradation, and deforestation. There is therefore an urgent need to generate knowledge on their social-ecological characteristics and change pressures to support their conservation. This study investigates what are i) the main biophysical and social-ecological characteristics of remnant forest patches, and ii) the potential change pressures and drivers. Within this scope, we apply archetype analysis to discern processes affecting remnant forest patches. Biophysical and socio-ecological indicators were selected from a published dataset via expert consultation, and nine archetypes were developed by applying a cluster analysis. Evaluating the results in relation to ecoregions and landscape features using high resolution imagery, we identify common underlying social-ecological change pressures and characteristics. The most common archetype (2) is characterized by being close to protected areas and having a low average annual precipitation and cluster along the northern fringe of the study area. The second most common archetype (5) is characterized by lying in highly disturbed landscapes, having undergone biomass losses, and widely distributed throughout central and western Nigeria. Patches of archetype 8 found predominantly in mangrove and swamp forests, exhibit positive above-ground biomass changes and greening trends; we propose that these vegetation changes could benefit conservation measures and carbon sequestration programs. In contrast, archetype 10 patches show both forest and biomass losses and gains and are often encompass fragmented forests in urban/arable landscapes. Identifying such common patterns of anthropogenic and ecological change provides a means of prioritizing regionalized strategies for their conservation and sustainable use

Exploring the Relationship between Forest Canopy Height and Canopy Density from Spaceborne LiDAR Observations

Forest structure is a useful proxy for carbon stocks, ecosystem function and species diversity, but it is not well characterised globally. However, Earth observing sensors, operating in various modes, can provide information on different components of forests enabling improved understanding of their structure and variations thereof. The Ice, Cloud and Elevation Satellite (ICESat) Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), providing LiDAR footprints from 2003 to 2009 with close to global coverage, can be used to capture elements of forest structure. Here, we evaluate a simple allometric model that relates global forest canopy height (RH100) and canopy density measurements to explain spatial patterns of forest structural properties. The GLA14 data product (version 34) was applied across subdivisions of the World Wildlife Federation ecoregions and their statistical properties were investigated. The allometric model was found to correspond to the ICESat GLAS metrics (median mean squared error, MSE: 0.028; inter-quartile range of MSE: 0.022–0.035). The relationship between canopy height and density was found to vary across biomes, realms and ecoregions, with denser forest regions displaying a greater increase in canopy density values with canopy height, compared to sparser or temperate forests. Furthermore, the single parameter of the allometric model corresponded with the maximum canopy density and maximum height values across the globe. The combination of the single parameter of the allometric model, maximum canopy density and maximum canopy height values have potential application in frameworks that target the retrieval of above-ground biomass and can inform on both species and niche diversity, highlighting areas for conservation, and potentially enabling the characterisation of biophysical drivers of forest structure