Limitations of Water Resources Infrastructure for Reducing Community Vulnerabilities to Extremes and Uncertainty of Flood and Drought

Debate and deliberation surrounding climate change has shifted from mitigation toward adaptation, with much of the adaptation focus centered on adaptive practices, and infrastructure development. However, there is little research assessing expected impacts, potential benefits, and design challenges that exist for reducing vulnerability to expected climate impacts. The uncertainty of design requirements and associated government policies, and social structures that reflect observed and projected changes in the intensity, duration, and frequency of water-related climate events leaves communities vulnerable to the negative impacts of potential flood and drought. The results of international research into how agricultural infrastructure features in current and planned adaptive capacity of rural communities in Argentina, Canada, and Colombia indicate that extreme hydroclimatic events, as well as climate variability and unpredictability are important for understanding and responding to community vulnerability. The research outcomes clearly identify the need to deliberately plan, coordinate, and implement infrastructures that support community resiliency.Fil: McMartin, Dena W.. University of Regina; CanadáFil: Hernani Merino, Bruno H.. University of Regina; CanadáFil: Bonsal, Barrie. Environment Canada; CanadáFil: Hurlbert, Margot. University of Regina; CanadáFil: Villalba, Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Cientifícas y Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Ocampo, Olga L.. Universidad Autónoma de Manizales; ColombiaFil: Upegui, Jorge Julián Vélez. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Poveda, Germán. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Sauchyn, David J.. University of Regina; Canad

Late Holocene ecological history of Pinus pinaster forests in the Sierra de Gredos of central Spain

15 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla.This article describes the patterns and processes of vegetation change and fire history in the Late Holocene (c. 2400 calendar year BP) palaeoecological sequence of Lanzahíta, Sierra de Gredos in central Spain, and provides the first Iberian pollen sequence undertaken within a monospecific Pinus pinaster woodland. These new data reassess not only the autochthonous nature of this pine species in the region and the Iberian Peninsula, but also the naturalness of well-developed cluster pine forests. Conflicts of palaeoecological evidence with phytosociological models of vegetation dynamics in the study region, and the relationships of P. pinaster with fire occurrence in Mediterranean-type ecosystems, are discussed.This study was funded by the projects HAR2008-06477-C03-03/HIST, CGL-2006-2956-BOS (Plan Nacional I + D + i, Ministry of Education and Science, Spain), CSD2007-00058 (Consolider Program, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain) and Paleodiversitas Network (Fundación Séneca, Murcia).Peer reviewe