Changes in soil properties following the establishment of exclosures in Ethiopia : a meta-analysis

Acknowledgements This work is part of the RALENTIR (Reducing land degradation and carbon loss from Ethiopia's soils to strengthen livelihoods and resilience) project, funded by GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund) and University of Aberdeen. We are grateful to Abeyou Wale for his assistance in developing the map of agroecological zones of Ethiopia.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Data for long-term marginal abatement cost curves of non-CO2 greenhouse gases

The research leading to these results has received funding from the KR foundation (#G-1503-01733) and the Climate Works Foundation (IIA/17/1303).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Indian nitrogen challenge in a global perspective. Book Chapter- The Indian Nitrogen Assessment.

Not AvailableHuman activities have massively altered the global nitrogen (N) cycle, doubling annual production of reactive N (Nr) compounds from atmospheric dinitrogen (N2). The use of 120 Mt year⁻¹ fertilizer N, with a global terrestrial/atmospheric N fixation of 285Mtyear⁻¹, has provided huge benefits for global food production. However, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the world food system is only -15%. The lost Nr creates a cascade of air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, until it is eventually denitrified back to N2.India clearly illustrates a dual N challenge for food and environment, consuming 17Mt of N fertilizer annually (14% of the global total), which has increased since 1970 at 6% year⁻¹ approximately. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from combustion sources are also increasing rapidly at 6.5% year⁻¹ currently. By comparison, population growth rate is lower (2% year⁻¹), while ammonia (NH3) emission increase is even less (1%), pertaining to smaller changes in livestock numbers. At current rate, Indian NOx emissions will exceed NH3 emissions by 2055. India currently loses Nr worth US$10billionyear⁻¹ as fertilizer value, while costs of Nr to health, ecosystems, and climate are estimated at US$75 (38-151) billion year⁻¹.Only a small fraction of the Indian population consumes animal products, hence per capita Nr use and pollution is much less than in many developed countries. However, rates of meat consumption are increasing. While published projections from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization anticipate a doubling of South Asian fertilizer consumption from 2006 to 2050 (equivalent to 1.9% year⁻¹ increase), these projections lack transparency and require reevaluation. In practice, the future nitrogen cycle for India will depend on scientific advances in agronomy, genetics and environment, and the extent to which government and society grasp the emerging opportunities for optimizing N management.Not Availabl

Systems approaches in global change and biogeochemistry research

Systems approaches have great potential for application in predictive ecology. In this paper, we present a range of examples, where systems approaches are being developed and applied at a range of scales in the field of global change and biogeochemical cycling. Systems approaches range from Bayesian calibration techniques at plot scale, through data assimilation methods at regional to continental scales, to multi-disciplinary numerical model applications at country to global scales. We provide examples from a range of studies and show how these approaches are being used to address current topics in global change and biogeochemical research, such as the interaction between carbon and nitrogen cycles, terrestrial carbon feedbacks to climate change and the attribution of observed global changes to various drivers of change. We examine how transferable the methods and techniques might be to other areas of ecosystem science and ecolog