Optimal allocation of nature-based solutions to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation goals

Nature-based solutions (NbS) can prevent further climate change and increase local communities' capacity to adapt to the current impacts of climate change. However, the benefits obtained from implementing NbS are not distributed equally across people. Thus, it is key to further understand how people are impacted when implementing NbS. We developed a multi-objective prioritization approach to identify changes in (i) the biophysical provision of ecosystem services, (ii) optimal allocation of NbS and (iii) monetary benefits when targeting climate mitigation versus climate adaptation goals. We used the increase in metric tons of carbon storage as representative of climate mitigation and the decrease in on-site and downstream tons of sediment per year as representative of climate adaptation. Planning strategies that target climate mitigation or climate adaptation goals separately represent a loss of between 30% and 60% of the maximum possible carbon sequestration or sediment retention benefits. Conversely, targeting climate mitigation and climate adaptation goals at the same time captured more than 90% of the maximum possible benefits for all objectives. Priority NbS in the mitigation planning strategy included soil and water conservation and forest rehabilitation, while priority NbS in the adaptation planning strategy included grassland rehabilitation and hill terrace improvement. Targeting mitigation and adaptation goals at the same time captures 35M USD (89% of the maximum attainable) in value of carbon restored and retained, and 2M USD (100% of the maximum attainable) of avoided maintenance costs to the KGA hydropower plant. Conversely, failing to incorporate adaptation goals when developing climate plans only captures 1M of avoided maintenance costs to the KGA hydropower plant. Our approach can be replicated in other locations to promote cost-effective investments in NbS able to secure both global and local benefits to people. This can improve the outcomes of international climate change financial schemes like the Green Climate Fund and the UN-REDD+ program. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.Jaramar Villarreal-Rosas, Jonathan R. Rhodes, Laura J. Sonter, Hugh P. Possingham, Adrian L. Vog

Trade-offs between efficiency, equality and equity in restoration for flood protection

Conservation decision-makers and practitioners increasingly strive for efficient and equitable outcomes for people and nature. However, environmental management programs commonly benefit some groups of people more than others, and very little is known about how efforts to promote equality (i.e. even distributions) and equity (i.e. proportional distributions) trade-off against efficiency (i.e. total net outcome per dollar spent). Based on a case study in the Brigalow Belt Bioregion, Australia, we quantified trade-offs between equality, equity, and efficiency in planning for flood protection. We considered optimal restoration strategies that allocate a fixed budget (a) evenly among beneficiary sectors (i.e. seeking equality among urban residents, rural communities, and the food sector), (b) evenly among local government areas (LGAs) within the Brigalow Belt (i.e. seeking spatial equality), and (c) preferentially to areas of highest socioeconomic disadvantage (i.e. seeking equity). We assessed equality using the Gini coefficient, and equity using an index of socioeconomic disadvantage. At an AUD10M budget, evenly distributing the budget among beneficiary sectors was 80% less efficient than ignoring beneficiary groups, and did not improve equality in the distribution of flood protection among beneficiary sectors. Evenly distributing the budget among LGAs ensured restoration in four areas that were otherwise ignored, with a modest reduction in efficiency (12%–25%). Directing flood protection to areas of highest socioeconomic disadvantage did not result in additional reductions in efficiency, and captured areas of high disadvantage for the rural and urban sectors that were missed otherwise. We show here that different ways of targeting equity and equality lead to quite different trade-offs with efficiency. Our approach can be used to guide transparent negotiations between beneficiaries and other stakeholders involved in a planning process.Jaramar Villarreal-Rosas, Adrian L Vogl, Laura J Sonter, Hugh P Possingham, and Jonathan R Rhode

1/N_c- expansion of the quark condensate at finite temperature

Previously the quark and meson properties in a many quark system at finite temperature have been studied within effective QCD approaches in the Hartree approximation. In the present paper we consider the influence of the mesonic correlations on the quark self-energy and on the quark propagator within a systematic $1/N_c$- expansion. Using a general separable ansatz for the nonlocal interaction, we derive a selfconsistent equation for the $1/N_c$ correction to the quark propagator. For a separable model with cut-off formfactor, we obtain a decrease of the condensate of the order of 20\% at zero temperature. A lowering the critical temperature for the onset of the chiral restoration transition due to the inclusion of mesonic correlations is obtained what seems to be closer to the results from lattice calculations.Comment: 19 pages, REVTeX, 5 figure

Chiral symmetry breaking in hot matter

This series of three lectures covers (a) a basic introduction to symmetry breaking in general and chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, (b) an overview of the present status of lattice data and the knowlegde that we have at finite temperature from chiral perturbation theory. (c) Results obtained from the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model describing static mesonic properties are discussed as well as the bulk thermodynamic quantities. Divergences that are observed in the elastic quark-antiquark scattering cross-section, reminiscent of the phenomenon of critical opalescence in light scattering, is also discussed. (d) Finally, we deal with the realm of systems out of equilibrium, and examine the effects of a medium dependent condensate in a system of interacting quarks.Comment: 62 LaTex pages, incorporating 23 figures. Lectures given at the eleventh Chris-Engelbrecht Summer School in Theoretical Physics, 4-13 February, 1998, to be published by Springer Verla

Evolution of the electronic structure with size in II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals

In order to provide a quantitatively accurate description of the band gap variation with sizes in various II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals, we make use of the recently reported tight-binding parametrization of the corresponding bulk systems. Using the same tight-binding scheme and parameters, we calculate the electronic structure of II-VI nanocrystals in real space with sizes ranging between 5 and 80 {\AA} in diameter. A comparison with available experimental results from the literature shows an excellent agreement over the entire range of sizes.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.

Efeitos da queima seguida de pastejo ou diferimento sobre o resíduo, temperatura do solo e mesofauna de uma pastagem natural Effects of burning followed by grazing or deferring on residual dry matter, soil temperature and mesofauna of a natural pasture

Foi realizado um experimento no Departamento de Zootecnia da UFSM, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil, com o objetivo de estimar os efeitos do fogo associado ao pastejo, com ou sem período de diferimento após a queima, sobre o resíduo e mesofauna edáfica de uma pastagem natural. Foi observada, também, o efeito do fogo sobre a variação da temperatura do solo. O experimento foi instalado no inverno de 1992 e os dados foram coletados no período de maio de 1993 a junho de 1994. Os tratamentos foram: queimado em 17/09/92 e Rastejado; queimado em 17/09/92, diferido, requeimado em 05/09/93 e pastejado; não queimado e pastejado em 1992, queimado em 22/06/93 e diferido. Foi constatado que o fogo diminui o resíduo da pastagem e essa redução é maior ainda quando há pastejo. Não foram observadas alterações significativas na temperatura do solo, devido à intensidade do fogo ter sido baixa. A queima e o pastejo não apresentaram efeitos significativos sobre a população de colêmbolos e ácaros do solo.<br>This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of burning associated with grazing and burning with deferring periods, on residual dry matter, soil temperature and mesofauna composition of a natural pasture. The experiment was conducted at the Animal Science Departament, UFSM, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil. The trial was initiated in the Winter of 1992 and data were collected from May, 1993 to June, 1994. Treatments consisted of: burned in 9/17/92 and grazed: burned in 9/17/92 and deferred, reburned in 9/5/93 and grazed; not burned in 1992 and grazed, burned in 6/22/93 and deferred. Burning reduced dry matter residue and the reduction was more pronounced when burning was followed by grazing. Soil temperature was not affected by burning mainly because its intensity was low. Soil mesofauna was not significantiy affected by the diffèrent treatments tested