Climate change, extreme events and mental health in the Pacific region

Purpose: This paper aims to address a gap in investigating specific impacts of climate change on mental health in the Pacific region, a region prone to extreme events. This paper reports on a study on the connections between climate change, public health, extreme weather and climate events (EWEs), livelihoods and mental health, focusing on the Pacific region Islands countries. Design/methodology/approach: This paper deploys two main methods. The first is a bibliometric analysis to understand the state of the literature. For example, the input data for term co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer is bibliometric data of publications downloaded from Scopus. The second method describes case studies, which outline some of the EWEs the region has faced, which have also impacted mental health. Findings: The results suggest that the increased frequency of EWEs in the region contributes to a greater incidence of mental health problems. These, in turn, are associated with a relatively low level of resilience and greater vulnerability. The findings illustrate the need for improvements in the public health systems of Pacific nations so that they are in a better position to cope with the pressures posed by a changing environment. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the current literature by identifying the links between climate change, extreme events, environmental health and mental health consequences in the Pacific Region. It calls for greater awareness of the subject matter of mental health among public health professionals so that they may be better able to recognise the symptoms and relate them to their climate-related causes and co-determinant factors

Food security

Peer reviewe

Chapter 5: Food Security

The current food system (production, transport, processing, packaging, storage, retail, consumption, loss and waste) feeds the great majority of world population and supports the livelihoods of over 1 billion people. Since 1961, food supply per capita has increased more than 30%, accompanied by greater use of nitrogen fertilisers (increase of about 800%) and water resources for irrigation (increase of more than 100%). However, an estimated 821 million people are currently undernourished, 151 million children under five are stunted, 613 million women and girls aged 15 to 49 suffer from iron deficiency, and 2 billion adults are overweight or obese. The food system is under pressure from non-climate stressors (e.g., population and income growth, demand for animal-sourced products), and from climate change. These climate and non-climate stresses are impacting the four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability)

Climate Change Adaptation on Small Island States: An Assessment of Limits and Constraints

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-05-11, pub-electronic 2021-05-31Publication status: PublishedSmall Island States (SIDS) are among the nations most exposed to climate change (CC) and are characterised by a high degree of vulnerability. Their unique nature means there is a need for more studies focused on the limits to CC adaptation on such fragile nations, particularly regarding their problems and constraints. This paper addressed a perceived need for research into the limitations of adaptation on SIDS, focusing on the many unique restrictions. To this end, the study identified and described the adaptation limits they have by using a review of the literature and an analysis of case studies from a sample of five SIDS in the Caribbean and Pacific regions (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga). This research’s findings showed that an adaptable SIDS is characterised by awareness of various values, appreciation and understanding of a diversity of impacts and vulnerabilities, and acceptance of certain losses through change. The implications of this paper are two-fold. It explains why island nations continue to suffer from the impacts of CC and suggest some of the means via which adequate policies may support SIDS in their efforts to cope with the threats associated with a changing climate. This study concluded that, despite the technological and ecological limits (hard limits) affecting natural systems, adaptation to CC is limited by such complex forces and societal factors (soft limits) that more adequate adaptation strategies could overcome

Does Plant Size Influence Leaf Elements in an Arborescent Cycad?

Plant size influences the leaf nutrient relations of many species, but no cycad species has been studied in this regard. We used the arborescent Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill to quantify leaf nutrient concentrations of trees with stems up to 5.5-m in height to determine if height influenced leaf nutrients. Green leaves were sampled in a karst, alkaline habitat in Rota and a schist, acid habitat in Yap. Additionally, senesced leaves were collected from the trees in Yap. Minerals and metals were quantified in the leaf samples and regressed onto stem height. Green leaf nitrogen, calcium, manganese, and iron decreased linearly with increased stem height. Senesced leaf carbon, iron, and copper decreased and senesced leaf nitrogen increased with stem height. Nitrogen resorption efficiency decreased with stem height. Phosphorus and potassium resorption efficiencies were not influenced by plant size, but were greater than expected based on available published information. The results indicate leaf nutrient concentrations of this cycad species are directly influenced by plant size, and illuminate the need for adding more cycad species to this research agenda. Plant size should be measured and reported in all cycad reports that include measurements of leaf behavior

Incident Light and Leaf Age Influence Leaflet Element Concentrations of Cycas micronesica Trees

The need for improved knowledge on conservation and management of cycad species has generated recent interest in compiling a database on leaf nutrient concentrations. However, the sampling protocols have not been consistent among reports and the influences of some plant and habitat traits on the plasticity of cycad leaf nutrient concentrations has not been adequately determined. We used Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill trees to determine the role of incident light level and leaf age on leaflet content of 11 essential elements. Shade leaves exhibited increased mass-based concentration for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium above that of sun leaves. Shade leaves exhibited decreased area-based concentration for all of the macro- and micronutrients below that of sun leaves. Mass-based concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium decreased with leaf age, and that of calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc increased with leaf age. These findings indicate the relative leaf age and the amount of shade or incident light at the leaf level must be recorded and reported for leaf tissue studies in cycads in order to reduce ambiguity and ensure repeatability

Distribution of Elements along the Rachis of <i>Cycas micronesica</i> Leaves: A Cautionary Note for Sampling Design

Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill trees on the island of Yap were used to determine the influence of position along the leaf rachis on macro- and micro-nutrient concentrations and how leaf age affected the results. The outcomes revealed improvements to sampling protocols for future cycad leaf research. The concentration of every element except carbon and copper was influenced by leaflet position along the rachis. Most elements exhibited similar patterns for the oldest and youngest leaves on a tree, but the influence of position along the rachis for nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, and boron was highly contrasting for old versus young leaves. The elements with the greatest variability along the rachis were potassium, phosphorus, manganese, and zinc, with the difference in basal and terminal leaflets as great as four-fold. Sampling leaflets at one position on a cycad leaf may generate inaccurate elemental concentration results for most essential nutrients other than carbon and copper. We have added position of sampled leaflets within leaves as a mandatory component of what is recorded and reported for future cycad leaf tissue analyses. Leaflets that span the full length of the rachis should be included in cycad leaf samples that are collected for tissue analysis

Cycas micronesica Trees Alter Local Soil Traits

Cycad plants possess uncommon morphological, chemical, and ontogenetic characteristics and they may introduce localized changes in soil traits that increase habitat heterogeneity. We used mature Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill trees growing in a range of soil types in Guam, Rota, and Yap to quantify differences between the soils beneath target trees and paired non-target soils away from cycad trees. The chronic presence of a C. micronesica tree introduced numerous localized changes in soil traits, increasing the heterogeneity of elemental stoichiometry in the community. Nitrogen, carbon:phosphorus, and nitrogen:phosphorus were increased in target soils among every soil type. Carbon increased and phosphorus decreased in most target soils. The habitats revealing the greatest number of elements with differences between target and non-target soils were the habitats with acid soils. The greatest number of metals exhibiting differences between the target and non-target soils occurred in the impoverished sandy habitat. This is the first report that indicates a cycad tree increases community spatial heterogeneity by localized changes in soil chemistry. Contemporary declines in cycad populations due to anthropogenic threats inadvertently decrease this spatial heterogeneity and its influences on primary producers in the landscape then cascading effects on the food web

Chemical Element Concentrations of Cycad Leaves: Do We Know Enough?

The literature containing which chemical elements are found in cycad leaves was reviewed to determine the range in values of concentrations reported for essential and beneficial elements. We found 46 of the 358 described cycad species had at least one element reported to date. The only genus that was missing from the data was Microcycas. Many of the species reports contained concentrations of one to several macronutrients and no other elements. The cycad leaves contained greater nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations than the reported means for plants throughout the world. Magnesium was identified as the macronutrient that has been least studied. Only 14 of the species were represented by data from in situ locations, with most of the data obtained from managed plants in botanic gardens. Leaf element concentrations were influenced by biotic factors such as plant size, leaf age, and leaflet position on the rachis. Leaf element concentrations were influenced by environmental factors such as incident light and soil nutrient concentrations within the root zone. These influential factors were missing from many of the reports, rendering the results ambiguous and comparisons among studies difficult. Future research should include the addition of more taxa, more in situ locations, the influence of season, and the influence of herbivory to more fully understand leaf nutrition for cycads