Response of a low elevation carbonate lake in the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) to climatic and human forcings

The importance of climate change, specifically drought, across the Maya region in the northern Neotropics, remains a topic of lively debate. Part of this discussion hinges on the coherency of response to climatic variability across different archives and proxies. In this paper we present a 6600-year palaeolimnological record from Yaal Chac, a carbonate lake (known locally as a cenote) in the northern lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula, 2‰), but show no covariation with δ13C. A major transition occurs at ca. 4360 cal yr BP, with a change to generally more organic sediments and increased variability in all proxies. Although direct evidence for anthropogenic activity in the Yaal Chac catchment is limited, it seems feasible that human impact was affecting the system. Comparison with other records from the Northern Maya lowlands and the wider region shows little coherence in the mid Holocene, when Yaal Chac seems to have been quite stable, but possibly responsive to increased climatic seasonality, driving the production of seasonal laminae. In the late Holocene, when the climate was generally more variable, there is more coherence between Yaal Chac and other regional records, including the so called Pan Caribbean Dry Period (3500–2500 cal yr BP) and the droughts of the late Pre-Classic period (1800–1600 cal yr BP). The Yaal Chac record shows no evidence of drought at the time of either the Maya ‘hiatus’ or the Maya ‘collapse’ of the Terminal Classic, but does record drying from the 14th to 19th centuries CE, in keeping with other proxy and historical records. This new record from Yaal Chac highlights the spatial variability of responses to climate forcings and the importance of recognising individual system sensitivity

A new valuation school: Integrating diverse values of nature in resource and land use decisions

We are increasingly confronted with severe social and economic impacts of environmental degradation all over the world. From a valuation perspective, environmental problems and conflicts originate from trade-offs between values. The urgency and importance to integrate nature\u27s diverse values in decisions and actions stand out more than ever. Valuation, in its broad sense of ‘assigning importance’, is inherently part of most decisions on natural resource and land use. Scholars from different traditions -while moving from heuristic interdisciplinary debate to applied transdisciplinary science- now acknowledge the need for combining multiple disciplines and methods to represent the diverse set of values of nature. This growing group of scientists and practitioners share the ambition to explore how combinations of ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation tools can support real-life resource and land use decision-making. The current sustainability challenges and the ineffectiveness of single-value approaches to offer relief demonstrate that continuing along a single path is no option. We advocate for the adherence of a plural valuation culture and its establishment as a common practice, by contesting and complementing ineffective and discriminatory single-value approaches. In policy and decision contexts with a willingness to improve sustainability, integrated valuation approaches can be blended in existing processes, whereas in contexts of power asymmetries or environmental conflicts, integrated valuation can promote the inclusion of diverse values through action research and support the struggle for social and environmental justice. The special issue and this editorial synthesis paper bring together lessons from pioneer case studies and research papers, synthesizing main challenges and setting out priorities for the years to come for the field of integrated valuation

A new valuation school : Integrating diverse values of nature in resource and land use decisions

We are increasingly confronted with severe social and economic impacts of environmental degradation all over the world. From a valuation perspective, environmental problems and conflicts originate from trade-offs between values. The urgency and importance to integrate nature's diverse values in decisions and actions stand out more than ever. Valuation, in its broad sense of 'assigning importance', is inherently part of most decisions on natural resource and land use. Scholars from different traditions -while moving from heuristic interdisciplinary debate to applied transdisciplinary science- now acknowledge the need for combining multiple disciplines and methods to represent the diverse set of values of nature. This growing group of scientists and practitioners share the ambition to explore how combinations of ecological, socio-cultural and economic valuation tools can support real-life resource and land use decision-making. The current sustainability challenges and the ineffectiveness of single-value approaches to offer relief demonstrate that continuing along a single path is no option. We advocate for the adherence of a plural valuation culture and its establishment as a common practice, by contesting and complementing ineffective and discriminatory single-value approaches. In policy and decision contexts with a willingness to improve sustainability, integrated valuation approaches can be blended in existing processes, whereas in contexts of power asymmetries or environmental conflicts, integrated valuation can promote the inclusion of diverse values through action research and support the struggle for social and environmental justice. The special issue and this editorial synthesis paper bring together lessons from pioneer case studies and research papers, synthesizing main challenges and setting out priorities for the years to come for the field of integrated valuation.Peer reviewe

(Dis) integrated valuation - Assessing the information gaps in ecosystem service appraisals for governance support

The operational challenges of integrated ecosystem service (ES) appraisals are determined by study purpose, system complexity and uncertainty, decision-makers' requirements for reliability and accuracy of methods, and approaches to stakeholder-science interaction in different decision contexts. To explore these factors we defined an information gap hypothesis, based on a theory of cumulative uncertainty in ES appraisals. When decision context requirements for accuracy and reliability increase, and the expected uncertainty of the ES appraisal methods also increases, the likelihood of methods being used is expected to drop, creating a potential information gap in governance. In order to test this information gap hypothesis, we evaluate 26 case studies and 80 ecosystem services appraisals in a large integrated EU research project. We find some support for a decreasing likelihood of ES appraisal methods coinciding with increasing accuracy and reliability requirements of the decision-support context, and with increasing uncertainty. We do not find that information costs are the explanation for this information gap, but rather that the research project interacted mostly with stakeholders outside the most decision-relevant contexts. The paper discusses how alternative definitions of integrated valuation can lead to different interpretations of decision-support information, and different governance approaches to dealing with uncertainty. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Farm-Level Characteristics of Southern Nebraska Farms/Ranches with Annually-Planted Crops

The information presented in this report represents data collected from farming and ranching operations in the southern two tiers of counties in Nebraska. This study was based on a random sample of 15 1 southern Nebraska farms that have annually-planted crop acreage. Information was obtained for the 1997 crop year. This data set is referred to as the MSU/UNL survey data. From the MSU/UNL survey data, the average size of the farming operations in the survey, in 1997, was 1,3 16 acres. Of these, 856 acres were planted to annual crops, and the remaining 460 acres included 61 acres in fallow, 29 acres in hay, 287 acres in range and pasture, 28 acres in CRP, and 55 acres in other uses. Operation size was largest in the west, due mostly to a large number of range and pasture land acres per operator. Average farm size decreased in the east as range and pasture land acres and acres fallowed per farm both decreased. Acreage planted to annual crops was similar from east to west. Irrigated and dryland grain corn was the predominant crop grown in the survey area. Other major crops included soybeans, sorghum, and winter wheat. An estimated 44 percent of the respondents\u27 cropland acreage was dedicated to corn production. Other annual crops included soybean (21 percent of cropland acreage), sorghum (10 percent of cropland acreage), winter wheat (12 percent of cropland acreage), and minor crops (4 percent of cropland acreage) with most of the remaining cropland in fallow. The distribution of these crops varied across the southern tier of Nebraska counties. Winter wheat was most common in the west and soybean was more prevalent in the east. About 65 percent of total cropland acreage reported was dryland while the remaining 35 percent was irrigated. Significantly more irrigation takes place in the central area. Two-thirds of the operations surveyed reported some type of livestock enterprise. Cattle were the most common type of livestock reported, followed by hogs and sheep. Breeding cattle numbers were greater than feeder cattle numbers. Dairy cattle were rarely reported except in the eastern counties. Producers in the central and eastern counties also reported hog production, with feeder hogs greatly outnumbering breeding animals. Comparisons of acres planted and crop yields from the MSU/UNL survey data to data collected by Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), for the same year, show little differences. Most estimates are within 2 percentage points of each other