Reporting carbon losses from tropical deforestation with Pan-tropical biomass maps

The ‘Reduction of Emissions from deforestation and forest degradation’ (REDD+) activities under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are expected to offer results-based payments to developing countries for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forested lands. It is necessary to determine reference data on forest Carbon losses against which future rates of change can be evaluated, and to have reliable methods for monitoring, reporting and verification of such changes. Advances in satellite remote sensing approaches and techniques for measuring purposes are therefore of tremendous interest. A robust example advancing such approaches, applied on the full tropical belt, is provided in the recent paper of Tyukavina et al (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 10 074002).JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

Iron deficiency in parkinsonism : region-specific iron dysregulation in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy

Alpha synuclein pathology is widespread and found in diverse cell types in multiple system atrophy (MSA) as compared to Parkinson's disease (PD). The reason for this differential distribution is unknown. Regional differences in the distribution of iron are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, and here we characterize the relationship between iron homeostasis proteins and regional concentration, distribution and form of iron in MSA and PD. In PD substantia nigra, tissue iron and expression of the iron export protein ferroportin increased, while the iron storage protein ferritin expression was unchanged. In the basis pontis of MSA cases, increased total iron concentration coupled with a disproportionate increase in ferritin in dysmorphic microglia and a reduction in ferroportin expression. This is supported by isothermal remanent magnetisation evidence consistent with elevated concentrations of ferritin-bound iron in MSA basis pontis. Conventional opinion holds that excess iron is involved in neurodegeneration. Our data support that this may be the case in PD. While region-specific changes in iron are evident in both PD and MSA, the mechanisms of iron dysregulation appear quite distinct, with a failure to export iron from the MSA basis pontis coupling with significant intracellular accumulation of ferritin iron. This pattern also occurs, to a lesser extent, in the MSA putamen. Despite the excess tissue iron, the manner of iron dysregulation in MSA is reminiscent of changes in anemia of chronic disease, and our preliminary data, coupled with the widespread pathology and involvement of multiple cell types, may evidence a deficit in bioavailabile iron

Increased influence of nitrogen limitation on CO₂ emissions from future land use and land use change

In the latest projections of future greenhouse gas emissions for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), few Earth System Models included the effect of nitrogen limitation, a key process limiting forest regrowth. Few included forest management (wood harvest). We estimate the impacts of nitrogen limitation on the CO2 emissions from land use and land use change (LULUC), including wood harvest, for the period 1900–2100. We use a land surface model that includes a fully coupled carbon and nitrogen cycle and accounts for forest regrowth processes following agricultural abandonment and wood harvest. Future projections are based on the four Representation Concentration Pathways used in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, and we account for uncertainty in future climate for each scenario based on ensembles of climate model outputs. Results show that excluding nitrogen limitation will underestimate global LULUC emissions by 34–52 PgC (20–30%) during the 20th century (range across three different historical LULUC reconstructions) and by 128–187 PgC (90–150%) during the 21st century (range across the four IPCC scenarios). The full range for estimated LULUC emissions during the 21st century including climate model uncertainty is 91 to 227 PgC (with nitrogen limitation included). The underestimation increases with time because (1) projected annual wood harvest rates from forests summed over the 21st century are 380–1080% higher compared to those of the 20th century, resulting in more regrowing secondary forests; (2) nitrogen limitation reduces the CO2 fertilization effect on net primary production of regrowing secondary forests following wood harvest and agricultural abandonment; and (3) nitrogen limitation effect is aggravated by the gradual loss of soil nitrogen from LULUC disturbance. Our study implies that (1) nitrogen limitation of CO2 uptake is substantial and sensitive to nitrogen inputs; (2) if LULUC emissions are larger than previously estimated in studies without nitrogen limitation, then meeting the same climate mitigation target would require an equivalent additional reduction of fossil fuel emissions; (3) the effectiveness of land-basedmitigation strategies will critically depend on the interactions between nutrient limitations and secondary forests resulting from LULUC; and (4) it is important for terrestrial biosphere models to consider nitrogen constraint in estimates of the strength of future land carbon uptake.NASA (NNX14AD94G)U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-AGS- 12-43071)U.S. Department of Energy (DOE-DE-SC0006706)Ope

Rival male chemical cues evoke changes in male pre- and post-copulatory investment in a flour beetle

Copyright © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology.Supplementary material can be found at http://www.beheco.oxfordjournals.org/The files experiment 1, 2 and 3 are data files related to this paper ‘Rival male chemical cues evoke changes in male pre- and post-copulatory investment in a flour beetle’.Males can gather information on the risk and intensity of sperm competition from their social environment. Recent studies have implicated chemosensory cues, for instance cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in insects, as a key source of this information. Here, using the broad-horned flour beetle (Gnatocerus cornutus), we investigated the importance of contact-derived rival male CHCs in informing male perception of sperm competition risk and intensity. We experimentally perfumed virgin females with male CHCs via direct intersexual contact and measured male pre- and post-copulatory investment in response to this manipulation. Using chemical analysis, we verified that this treatment engendered changes to perfumed female CHC profiles, but did not make perfumed females “smell” mated. Despite this, males responded to these chemical changes. Males increased courtship effort under low levels of perceived competition (from 1–3 rivals), but significantly decreased courtship effort as perceived competition rose (from 3–5 rivals). Furthermore, our measurement of ejaculate investment showed that males allocated significantly more sperm to perfumed females than to control females. Together, these results suggest that changes in female chemical profile elicited by contact with rival males do not provide males with information on female mating status, but rather inform males of the presence of rivals within the population and thus provide a means for males to indirectly assess the risk of sperm competition.Natural Environment Research CouncilRoyal SocietyLeverhulme Early Career Fellowshi

Emerging reporting and verification needs under the Paris Agreement : how can the research community effectively contribute?

Acknowledgments This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme project VERIFY [grant agreement No 776810]. A special thanks must be given to Sebastian Wunderlich (UBA, Germany), for his support on data interpretation. We also thank Paul Ruyssenaars (RVIM, Netherlands), Marina Vitullo (ISPRA, Italy), Colas Robert and Céline Gueguen (CITEPA, France), Maria Purzner (EAA, Austria), Rasmus Astrup (NIBIO, Norway), Ann Marie Ryan (EMPA, Ireland) and Margreet Van Zanten for their support in the terminology analysis and fruitful exchange during the course of the VERIFY project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Role of CO₂ and Dynamic Vegetation on the Impact of Temperate Land-Use Change in the HadCM3 Coupled Climate Model

Human induced land-use change (LUC) alters the biogeophysical characteristics of the land surface influencing the surface energy balance. The level of atmospheric CO2 is expected to increase in the coming century and beyond, modifying temperature and precipitation patterns and altering the distribution and physiology of natural vegetation. It is important to constrain how CO2-induced climate and vegetation change may influence the regional extent to which LUC alters climate. This sensitivity study uses the HadCM3 coupled climate model under a range of equilibrium forcings to show that the impact of LUC declines under increasing atmospheric CO2, specifically in temperate and boreal regions. A surface energy balance analysis is used to diagnose how these changes occur. In Northern Hemisphere winter this pattern is attributed in part to the decline in winter snow cover and in the summer due to a reduction in latent cooling with higher levels of CO2. The CO2-induced change in natural vegetation distribution is also shown to play a significant role. Simulations run at elevated CO2 yet present day vegetation show a significantly increased sensitivity to LUC, driven in part by an increase in latent cooling. This study shows that modelling the impact of LUC needs to accurately simulate CO2 driven changes in precipitation and snowfall, and incorporate accurate, dynamic vegetation distribution

The key role of forests in meeting climate targets requires science for credible mitigation

Forests contribute to climate change mitigation by conserving and enhancing the carbon sink and through reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation. Yet the inclusion of forests in international climate agreements has been complex, often considered a secondary mitigation option or treated separately, like Cinderella excluded from the ball. In the lead up to the Paris Climate Agreement, countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), including climate mitigation targets. Assuming full implementation of INDCs, we show that land use, and forests in particular, emerge as a key component of the Paris Agreement: turning globally from a net anthropogenic source during 1990-2010 (1.3 ± 1.1 GtCO2e/y) to a net sink of carbon by 2030 (up to -1.1 ± 0.5 GtCO2e/y), and providing a quarter of emission reductions planned by countries. Realizing and tracking this mitigation potential requires more confidence in numbers, including reconciling estimates between country reports and scientific studies. This represents a challenge and an opportunity for the scientific community.JRC.D.1-Bio-econom

A multi-perspective qualitative exploration of the reasons for changes in the physical activity among 10-11-year-old children following the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK in 2021

BACKGROUND: Active-6 is exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted physical activity behaviour among Year 6 children (aged 10–11 years) and their parents in Southwest England. Initial findings from the Active-6 project have shown a 7–8 min decrease in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and an increase in sedentary behaviour among children following the easing of restrictions in the UK in latter half of 2021. This finding suggests that the pandemic has had a persistent impact on child physical activity behaviour. This paper explored the possible mechanisms behind these changes. METHODS: Interviews with parents (n = 21), members of school staff (n = 9) and focus groups with children aged 10–11 years (n = 47) were conducted between August and December 2021 to discuss the impact of the pandemic on child physical activity behaviour. The framework method was used for analysis. RESULTS: Five themes spanning two key stages of the pandemic were described. Three themes related to the period of lockdowns and fluctuating restrictions (March 2020 – April 2021). These included: Theme 1) Lockdown: A short-lived adventure; Theme 2) Access to facilities during restrictions; and Theme 3) The importance of the parent. A further two themes were identified related to the period following the gradual easing of restrictions in April 2021. These included: Theme 4) An overwhelming return to normal; and Theme 5) Reopening fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis suggested that feelings of novelty experienced during the initial stages of lockdown waned as restrictions were prolonged, creating an increasingly challenging period for parents and their children. However, during periods of restrictions, the importance of parental encouragement and access to appropriate facilities in the local and home environment helped facilitate physical activity. Following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, emotional overwhelm and physical fatigue among children, stemming from a sedentary and socially isolated life in lockdown and other restrictions, were key contributors to the decreased moderate to vigorous physical activity and increased sedentary behaviour that was observed in a related quantitative study. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12966-022-01356-3

Global change pressures on soils from land use and management

Soils are subject to varying degrees of direct or indirect human disturbance, constituting a major global change driver. Factoring out natural from direct and indirect human influence is not always straightforward, but some human activities have clear impacts. These include land-use change, land management and land degradation (erosion, compaction, sealing and salinization). The intensity of land use also exerts a great impact on soils, and soils are also subject to indirect impacts arising from human activity, such as acid deposition (sulphur and nitrogen) and heavy metal pollution. In this critical review, we report the state-of-the-art understanding of these global change pressures on soils, identify knowledge gaps and research challenges and highlight actions and policies to minimize adverse environmental impacts arising from these global change drivers. Soils are central to considerations of what constitutes sustainable intensification. Therefore, ensuring that vulnerable and high environmental value soils are considered when protecting important habitats and ecosystems, will help to reduce the pressure on land from global change drivers. To ensure that soils are protected as part of wider environmental efforts, a global soil resilience programme should be considered, to monitor, recover or sustain soil fertility and function, and to enhance the ecosystem services provided by soils. Soils cannot, and should not, be considered in isolation of the ecosystems that they underpin and vice versa. The role of soils in supporting ecosystems and natural capital needs greater recognition. The lasting legacy of the International Year of Soils in 2015 should be to put soils at the centre of policy supporting environmental protection and sustainable development