Utilization of VAS satellite data in the initialization of an oceanic-cyclogenesis simulation

A series of experiments was performed to test various method of incorporating Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer Atmospheric Sounder (VAS)-sounding data into the initial conditions of the Penn State University/National Center for Atmospheric mesoscale model. The VAS data for this ocean-cyclogenesis case consist of 110 irregularly distributed temperature and humidity soundings located over the North Pacific Ocean and apply at approximately 1200 GMT 10 November 1981. Various methods of utilizing VAS data in the initial condition of a mesoscale model were evaluated

Homophobia, Manifest Homosexuals and Political Activity: A New Approach to Gay Rights and the Issue of Homosexuality

This Comment will survey the popular and largely unsupportable beliefs about homosexuality, which result in the societal oppression of gay people. The law\u27s reflection of this cultural homophobia has been instrumental in that oppression. In light of the homophobia in society and its consequences in the law, the GLSA court\u27s approach was necessary, its results consistent with contemporary knowledge and with fundamental principles of a just society. The purpose of this Comment is to demonstrate why that is so and to speculate on the decision\u27s implications for the gay rights movement, for gay people, and not least of all, for the society

Homophobia, Manifest Homosexuals and Political Activity: A New Approach to Gay Rights and the Issue of Homosexuality

This Comment will survey the popular and largely unsupportable beliefs about homosexuality, which result in the societal oppression of gay people. The law\u27s reflection of this cultural homophobia has been instrumental in that oppression. In light of the homophobia in society and its consequences in the law, the GLSA court\u27s approach was necessary, its results consistent with contemporary knowledge and with fundamental principles of a just society. The purpose of this Comment is to demonstrate why that is so and to speculate on the decision\u27s implications for the gay rights movement, for gay people, and not least of all, for the society

Spatial analysis of the benefits and burdens of ecological focus areas for water-related ecosystem services vulnerable to climate change in Europe

There are many concerns regarding the effects of climate change including threats to ecosystem services. Rural land use can influence these services and there is scope for associated policies to steer decisions towards maximising benefits and minimising burdens. In Europe, for example, ecological focus areas (EFAs), introduced in the last reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, can have impacts on ecosystem services which vary with location, including potential trade-offs between benefits and burdens in some regions. This study combines the outputs from two continental-scale projects to provide a new perspective on the potential impact of EFAs for water-related ecosystem services under threat from climate change. An ecosystem service impact indicator framework was applied in conjunction with a climate change vulnerability assessment. This resulted in vulnerability and area weighted performance scores for dilution, filtration, water provision, and flood regulation services for 10 EFAs in 1256 regions. Best, average and worst case scenario maps were created that highlight the relative benefits and burdens of EFAs. Six EFAs have been identified which have not been activated in nine European Member States but which have potential to provide benefits. Eleven Member States have been identified which have regions where 3 EFAs should be avoided due to potential burdens. This analysis facilitates broad spatial targeting on a continental-scale of specific EFAs which may help maintain (and ideally increase) ecosystem service capacity and resilience in vulnerable regions.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Identifying integrated options for agricultural climate change mitigation

Purpose: In order to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions it is essential that all industry sectors have the appropriate knowledge and tools to contribute. This includes agriculture, which is considered to contribute about a third of emissions globally. This paper reports on one such tool: IMPACCT: Integrated Management oPtions for Agricultural Climate Change miTigation. Design/methodology/approach: IMPACCT focuses on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration and associated mitigation options. However, it also attempts to include information on economic and other environmental impacts in order to provide a more holistic perspective. The model identifies mitigation options, likely economic impacts and any synergies and trade-offs with other environmental objectives. The model has been applied on 22 case study farms in seven member states. Findings: The tool presents some useful concepts for developing carbon calculators in the future. It has highlighted that calculators need to evolve from simply calculating emissions to identifying cost effective and integrated emissions reduction options. Practical implications: IMPACCT has potential to become an effective means of provided targeted guidance, as part of a broader knowledge transfer programme based on an integrated suite of guidance, tools and advice delivered via different media. Originality/value: IMPACCT is a new model that demonstrates how to take a more integrated approach to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions on farms across Europe. It is a holistic carbon calculator that presents mitigation options in the context other environmental and economic objectives in the search for more sustainable methods of food production.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Adapting to climate change : Assessing the vulnerability of ecosystem services in Europe in the context of rural development

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-013-9507-6.Over the past decade, efforts to move towards a low carbon economy have been increasingly coupled with the acknowledgement that we also need to develop climate resilient economies, capable of adapting and responding to changes in climate. To shift society in these directions we need to quantify impacts in relation to these objectives and develop cost-effective interventions. Techniques for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions are relatively well established and enable identification of hotspots where there is emissions reduction potential. However, there are no established techniques to assess and quantify adaptation vulnerability issues and identify hotspots for intervention. This paper presents work undertaken at a European level with the objective of identifying potential hotspots where ecosystem services may be vulnerable to climate change and thus where intervention may be required under the European Rural Development Programme. A pragmatic and relatively simple approach is presented, based on data that is readily available across Europe. The vulnerability assessments cover: Water (quality: dilution and filtration, regulation: flooding and provision); soils (erosion and organic matter); and biodiversity (forest fires, migration and pollination). The framework and assessments presented are considered fit for purpose (at a basic level) and they are potentially valuable tools for targeting limited resources to achieve desirable outcomes. They also contribute towards providing a better understanding of the climate change challenges we face and support the formulation of solutions to optimally address those challenges. There is scope to further improvement and a number of options are discussed and explored within this paperPeer reviewe

A comparison of methodologies for the staining and quantification of intracellular components of Arbuscular Mychorrizal (AM) fungi in the root cortex of two varieties of winter wheat

© 2019 The Authors. The definitive peer reviewed, edited version of this article is published in Access Microbiology, https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000083. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.Arbuscular Mychorrizal (AM) fungi are one of the most common fungal organisms to exist in symbiosis with terrestrial plants facilitating the growth and maintenance of arable crops. Wheat has been studied extensively for AM fungal symbiosis using the carcinogen trypan blue as the identifying stain for fungal components, namely arbuscles, vesicles and hyphal structures. The present study uses Sheaffer® blue ink with a lower risk as an alternative to this carcinogenic stain. Justification for this is determined by stained wheat root sections (n = 120), with statistically significant increases in the observed abundance of intracellular root cortical fungal structures stained with Sheaffer® blue ink compared to trypan blue for both Zulu (P = 0.003) and Siskin (P = 0.0003) varieties of winter wheat. This new alternative combines an improved quantification of intracellular fungal components with a lower hazard risk at a lower cost.Peer reviewe

Earthworm Abundance Increased by Mob-Grazing Zero-Tilled Arable Land in South-East England

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creative commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Regenerative agriculture is a potential alternative to conventional agricultural systems. It integrates the components of zero-tillage, permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotations and rotational or mob-grazing by ruminant livestock. Earthworms are beneficial soil macrofauna and function as indicators of soil health. A need exists to identify how earthworm populations are affected when all four regenerative agriculture components are implemented simultaneously. This study investigates earthworm abundance in three split-plot treatments located on adjacent land within the same farm: (1) ungrazed permanent grassland, (2) a three-year grass-clover ley within an arable zero tillage system without grazing and (3) identical to treatment 2 but with mob-grazing. Earthworms were sampled using soil pits and classified into four functional groups: epigeic (surface dwellers), endogeic (sub-surface), anecic (deep soil) and juveniles. The total earthworm count, epigeic and juvenile functional groups were significantly (p 0.05) higher in treatment (3), the arable zero tillage system with mob-grazing. Mob-grazing increases the diversity of carbon sources available to earthworms and has a positive impact on earthworm abundance and functional group diversity within the arable rotation under evaluation.Peer reviewe

Editorial for the Special Issue “Sustainable Agriculture for Climate Change Adaptation”

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).As we lie firmly entrenched within what many have termed the Anthropocene, the time of humans, human influence on the functioning of the planet has never been greater or in greater need of mitigation. Climate change, the accelerated warming of the planet’s surface attributed to human activities, is now at the forefront of global politics. The 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP21) Paris Agreement saw a landmark agreement reached between countries belonging to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement seeks to arrest climate change and maintain the global temperature rise below a 2 oC increase compared to pre-industrial levels, and to devise means and ways to adapt to its effects. The agriculture sector not only contributes to climate change but, as a land-based industry, is also greatly affected by climate change. Agriculture has a key function in the role of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, contributing a significant proportion of methane and nitrous oxide toward global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, more than any other sector. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that 17% of GHGs arise from agricultural activities directly, with a further 7% to 14% due to changes in land use. Agriculture will be affected by climate change, particularly in some parts of the world, where the extremes of its impact will be felt severely. Flooding and droughts are predicted to increase in frequency with an associated detrimental impact on crop productivity either due to prolonged water shortages or the creation of anoxic soil conditions and crop hypoxia. Flooded soils also promote the denitrification process and an increase in the release of nitrous oxide. The type of risk and the severity of its impact is spatially explicit, with different parts of the planet and their associated crop production systems subject to more intense effects and levels of threat, as illustrated for Iran by Alamgir et al. [1] and Bangladesh by Mirgol et al. [2]. The sub-Saharan region of Africa is becoming increasingly vulnerable to drought and temperature rises and farmers will need to adapt the types of crops they grow and their associated management practices [3–6]. Other parts of the world, including North America, may experience warmer winters, resulting in diminished vernalisation [7,8], a process required to promote flowering in certain types of crops. It is not all bad news, however. Significant potential exists to both adapt to and mitigate climate change within the agricultural sector. Any changes will need to be implemented in a sustainable manner to ensure that the solution does not cause other socio-economic or environmental problems. Each potential solution must also be tailored to individual regions and farming systems, as highlighted by Zheng et al. [9] in Australia. The introduction of Climate-Smart Agriculture and technology for use by smallholder farmers in South America, Africa and Asia [10–12] and the provision of farming subsidies to promote further engagement with these techniques is demonstrated by Arunrat et al. [13]. The growing of novel crops such as Cannabis sativa for energy production in Europe [14] or the utilisation of plant breeding to develop novel wheat varieties capable of reducing nitrous oxide emissions [15] are other examples. All these factors are explored in this Special Issue. We are pleased to include a range of quality academic contributions from across the five continents, providing a truly global perspective. Multiple crops and production systems are represented, including studies that utilise valuable research completed with limited resources available