New generation of hydraulic pedotransfer functions for Europe

A range of continental-scale soil datasets exists in Europe with different spatial representation and based on different principles. We developed comprehensive pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for applications principally on spatial datasets with continental coverage. The PTF development included the prediction of soil water retention at various matric potentials and prediction of parameters to characterize soil moisture retention and the hydraulic conductivity curve (MRC and HCC) of European soils. We developed PTFs with a hierarchical approach, determined by the input requirements. The PTFs were derived by using three statistical methods: (i) linear regression where there were quantitative input variables, (ii) a regression tree for qualitative, quantitative and mixed types of information and (iii) mean statistics of developer-defined soil groups (class PTF) when only qualitative input parameters were available. Data of the recently established European Hydropedological Data Inventory (EU-HYDI), which holds the most comprehensive geographical and thematic coverage of hydro-pedological data in Europe, were used to train and test the PTFs. The applied modelling techniques and the EU-HYDI allowed the development of hydraulic PTFs that are more reliable and applicable for a greater variety of input parameters than those previously available for Europe. Therefore the new set of PTFs offers tailored advanced tools for a wide range of applications in the continent

The Relative Influence of Environmental and Human Factors on Seed Plant Richness at the Province Scale in China

Seed plant diversity is under threat due to human over-exploitation and changes in land use. There is a need to identify regions where seed plant diversity is most at risk and establish nature reserves to protect the most important species. This study collected province scale seed plant richness data and corresponding environmental, social and, economic data in China in order to assess the impact of environmental and socio-economic factors on seed plant diversity and to quantify the relative importance of climate, human disturbance, and habitat heterogeneity on the distribution of seed plant diversity. A downscaling model was established to map the spatial distribution of seed plant diversity at a 1-km resolution. The results showed that temperature and precipitation seasonality, potential evapotranspiration, humidity index, altitude range, and gross domestic product were important determinants of seed plant diversity. The relative contribution of temperature seasonality was the most important factor (explaining 29.9-36.2% of the variation). Climate, human disturbance, and habitat heterogeneity explained much of the seed plant richness and density variation (about 69.4-71.9%). A scale-down model explained 72% of seed plant richness variation and showed that the center of seed plant species diversity was mainly located in the southeast area of China in the Qing-Tibet Plateau, Yun-Gui Plateau, Hengduan Mountain region, middle of the Sichuan Basins, Taiwan island, and Hainan island. This study improves our understanding of biodiversity hotspot regions and is a useful tool for biodiversity conservation policy and nature reserve management in China

ELUM: User-friendly spatial modelling tool predicts net soil greenhouse gas balance of bioenergy land-use change in UK up to 2050

The ELUM Software Package spatially predicts the net soil greenhouse gas balance of land-use change to grow energy crops in the UK up to 2050. It is able to support a range of analyses of bioenergy, and was developed in consultation with anticipated users. Results can be obtained according to specific interests, viewed in the graphical interface and exported for a variety of purposes. The functionality of the software is demonstrated through different case studies, which show an array of applications

Model comparison and quantification of nitrous oxide emission and mitigation potential from maize and wheat fields at a global scale

This work was carried out by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with farmers and funded by the CGIAR research programs (CRPs) on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). CCAFS' work is supported by CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details, please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors. The views expressed in this paper cannot be taken to reflect the official opinions of these organizations. The dataset associated with this manuscript will be available together with the supplementary materials of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

High-resolution spatial modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from land-use change to energy crops in the United Kingdom

Funded by Energy Technologies Institute EPSRC-Supergen. Grant Number: EP/M013200/1Peer reviewedPublisher PD

New perspectives on the ecology of early domestic fowl: an interdisciplinary approach.

Introduced into Europe during the Bronze- and Iron Ages as an exotic, non-native species, very little is currently understood about the origins and spread of early domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus. Ecological niche modelling of extant Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus, presents a unique opportunity to examine historical ecological implications associated with its descendant, the chicken, in early stages of domestication. We model the environmental conditions associated with Red Junglefowl populations both in south-east Asia, where the bird originates, and populations transported further afield as a consequence of human interaction. This allows us to establish the full extent of the ecological tolerance of the ancestor bird. We show that potential for suitable sets of environmental conditions for Red Junglefowl in Europe ranges from poor to limited, based on both current climate and when projecting to mid-Holocene (ca. 4000BC) climate simulations. This suggests that human intervention played a vital contribution during early domestication to ensure the future widespread success of the chicken. These conclusions offer new insights into the archaeological evidence. We identify areas in the native range as the probable location of first domestication, and not China as has been suggested. We suggest that a dispersal route into Europe via the Mediterranean offers the best ecological potential to aid survival for a recently domesticated version of this species. Identifying the environmental tolerances of Red Junglefowl may also aid future conservation of this species, now highly endangered in its true wild form

Neodymium isotope constraints on provenance, dispersal, and climate-driven supply of Zambezi sediments along the Mozambique Margin during the past ∼45,000 years

Marine sediments deposited off the Zambezi River that drains a considerable part of the southeast African continent provide continuous records of the continental climatic and environmental conditions. Here we present time series of neodymium (Nd) isotope signatures of the detrital sediment fraction during the past ~45,000 years, to reconstruct climate-driven changes in the provenance of clays deposited along the Mozambique Margin. Coherent with the surface current regime, the Nd isotope distribution in surface sediments reveals mixing of the alongshore flowing Zambezi suspension load with sediments supplied by smaller rivers located further north. To reconstruct past changes in sediment provenances, Nd isotope signatures of clays that are not significantly fractionated during weathering processes have been obtained from core 64PE304-80, which was recovered just north of the Zambezi mouth at 1329 m water depth. Distinctly unradiogenic clay signatures (ENd values <214.2) are found during the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, and Younger Dryas. In contrast, the Nd isotope record shows higher, more radiogenic isotope signatures during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and between ~15 and ~5 ka BP, the latter coinciding with the timing of the northern hemisphere African Humid Period. The clay-sized sediment fraction with the least radiogenic Nd isotope signatures was deposited during the Holocene, when the adjacent Mozambique Shelf became completely flooded. In general, the contribution of the distinctly unradiogenic Zambezi suspension load has followed the intensity of precession-forced monsoonal precipitation and enhanced during periods of increased southern hemisphere insolation and high-latitude northern hemispheric climate variability

Carbon implications of converting cropland to bioenergy crops or forest for climate mitigation: a global assessment

The potential for climate change mitigation by bioenergy crops and terrestrial carbon sinks has been the object of intensive research in the past decade. There has been much debate about whether energy crops used to offset fossil fuel use, or carbon sequestration in forests, would provide the best climate mitigation benefit. Most current food cropland is unlikely to be used for bioenergy, but in many regions of the world, a proportion of cropland is being abandoned, particularly marginal croplands, and some of this land is now being used for bioenergy. In this study, we assess the consequences of land-use change on cropland. We first identify areas where cropland is so productive that it may never be converted and assess the potential of the remaining cropland to mitigate climate change by identifying which alternative land use provides the best climate benefit: C4 grass bioenergy crops, coppiced woody energy crops or allowing forest regrowth to create a carbon sink. We do not present this as a scenario of land-use change – we simply assess the best option in any given global location should a land-use change occur. To do this, we use global biomass potential studies based on food crop productivity, forest inventory data and dynamic global vegetation models to provide, for the first time, a global comparison of the climate change implications of either deploying bioenergy crops or allowing forest regeneration on current crop land, over a period of 20 years starting in the nominal year of 2000 ad. Globally, the extent of cropland on which conversion to energy crops or forest would result in a net carbon loss, and therefore likely always to remain as cropland, was estimated to be about 420.1 Mha, or 35.6% of the total cropland in Africa, 40.3% in Asia and Russia Federation, 30.8% in Europe-25, 48.4% in North America, 13.7% in South America and 58.5% in Oceania. Fast growing C4 grasses such as Miscanthus and switch-grass cultivars are the bioenergy feedstock with the highest climate mitigation potential. Fast growing C4 grasses such as Miscanthus and switch-grass cultivars provide the best climate mitigation option on ≈485 Mha of cropland worldwide with ~42% of this land characterized by a terrain slope equal or above 20%. If that land-use change did occur, it would displace ≈58.1 Pg fossil fuel C equivalent (Ceq oil). Woody energy crops such as poplar, willow and Eucalyptus species would be the best option on only 2.4% (≈26.3 Mha) of current cropland, and if this land-use change occurred, it would displace ≈0.9 Pg Ceq oil. Allowing cropland to revert to forest would be the best climate mitigation option on ≈17% of current cropland (≈184.5 Mha), and if this land-use change occurred, it would sequester ≈5.8 Pg C in biomass in the 20-year-old forest and ≈2.7 Pg C in soil. This study is spatially explicit, so also serves to identify the regional differences in the efficacy of different climate mitigation options, informing policymakers developing regionally or nationally appropriate mitigation actions

Low emission development strategies in agriculture. An agriculture, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) perspective

As countries experience economic growth and choose among available development pathways, they are in a favorable position to adopt natural resource use technologies and production practices that favor efficient use of inputs, healthy soils, and ecosystems. Current emphasis on increasing resilience to climate change and reducing agricultural greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions strengthens the support for sustainable agricultural production. In fact, reducing losses in soil fertility, reclaiming degraded lands, and promoting synergistic interaction between crop production and forests are generally seen as good climate change policies. In order for decision-makers to develop long-term policies that address these issues, they must have tools at their disposal that evaluate trade-offs, opportunities, and repercussions of the options considered. In this paper, the authors combine and reconcile the output of three models widely accessible to the public to analyze the impacts of policies that target emission reduction in the agricultural sector. We present an application to Colombia which reveals the importance of considering the full scope of interactions among the various land uses. Results indicate that investments in increasing the efficiency and productivity of the livestock sector and reducing land allocated to pasture are preferable to policies that target deforestation alone or target a reduction of emissions in crop production. Investments in livestock productivity and land-carrying capacity would reduce deforestation and provide sufficient gains in carbon stock to offset greater emissions from increased crop production while generating higher revenues