Vegetation dynamics along altitudinal gradients in the Shigar valley (Central Karakorum) Pakistan: zonation, physiognomy, ecosystem services and environmental impacts

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaheer Abbas ◽  
Shujaul Mulk Khan ◽  
Jan Alam ◽  
Thomas Peer ◽  
Zainul Abideen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Altitudinal Gradients ◽  
Shigar Valley

Environmental impacts of smart local energy systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Robinson ◽  
Alona Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems

<p>Energy systems around the world are rapidly transitioning towards decentralised and digitalised systems as countries aim to decarbonise their economies. However, broader environmental effects of the upscaling of these smart local energy systems (SLES) beyond reducing carbon emissions remain unclear. Land-use change associated with increased deployment of renewables, new infrastructures required for energy distribution and storage, and resource extraction for emerging energy technologies may have significant environmental impacts, including consequences for ecosystems within and beyond energy system project localities. This has major implications for biodiversity, natural capital stocks and provision of ecosystem services, the importance of which are increasingly recognised in development policy at local to international scales. This study assessed current understanding of the broader environmental impacts and potential co-benefits of SLES through a global Rapid Evidence Assessment of peer-reviewed academic literature, with a critical evaluation and synthesis of existing knowledge of effects of SLES on biodiversity, natural capital and ecosystem services. There was a striking overall lack of evidence of the environmental impacts of SLES. The vast majority of studies identified considered only energy technology CO<sub>2</sub> emissions through simulation modelling; almost no studies made explicit reference to effects on ecosystems. This highlights an urgent need to improve whole system understanding of environmental impacts of SLES, crucial to avoid unintended ecosystem degradation as a result of climate change mitigation. This will also help to identify potential techno-ecological synergies and opportunities for improvement of degraded ecosystems alongside reaching decarbonisation goals.</p>

scholarly journals Modelling tree growth to determine the sustainability of current off-take from miombo woodland: a case study from rural villages in Malawi

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMMA L. GREEN ◽  
FELIX EIGENBROD ◽  
KATE SCHRECKENBERG ◽  
SIMON WILLCOCK
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Miombo Woodlands ◽  
Yield Model ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARYMiombo woodlands supply ecosystem services to support livelihoods in southern Africa, however, rapid deforestation has necessitated greater knowledge of tree growth and off-take rates to understand the sustainability of miombo exploitation. We established 48 tree inventory plots within four villages in southern Malawi, interviewed representatives in these same villages about tree management practices and investigated the impact of climate on vegetation dynamics in the region using the ecosystem modelling framework LPJ-GUESS. Combining our data with the forest yield model MYRLIN revealed considerable variation in growth rates across different land uses; forested lands showed the highest growth rates (1639 [95% confidence interval 1594–1684] kg ha–1 year–1), followed by settlement areas (1453 [95% confidence interval 1376–1530] kg ha–1 year–1). Based on the modelled MYRLIN results, we found that 50% of the villages had insufficient growth rates to meet estimated off-take. Furthermore, the results from LPJ-GUESS indicated that sustainable off-take approaches zero in drought years. Local people have recognized the unsustainable use of natural resources and have begun planting activities in order to ensure that ecosystem services derived from miombo woodlands are available for future generations. Future models should incorporate the impacts of human disturbance and climatic variation on vegetation dynamics; such models should be used to support the development and implementation of sustainable forest management.

scholarly journals ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT UNDER AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH: THE SÃO SEBASTIÃO HARBOR EXPANSION PROJECT

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEXANDER TURRA ◽  
ANTONIA CECÍLIA ZACAGNINI AMARAL ◽  
AUREA MARIA CIOTTI ◽  
CARMEN L.D.B. ROSSI WONGTSCHOWSKI ◽  
YARA SCHAEFFER-NOVELLI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Great Magnitude ◽  
Direct And Indirect Impacts ◽  
Indirect Impacts

Abstract The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) aims to analyze the environmental viability of projects, but exhibits problems that compromise its quality, such as the fragmented, technocratic and positivist vision. The prediction of environmental impacts can be improved using the ecosystem approach, considering the processes and the ecosystem services affected. The present work applied this approach in the expansion project of the Port of São Sebastião (São Paulo, Brazil), in which the EIA was judicially questioned, based on documental analysis and discussion by specialists. Unlike foreseen in the EIA, the analysis of oceanographic processes showed direct and indirect impacts on ecosystem services and benefits, irreversible and/or of great magnitude. The analysis also allowed an improvement to the comprehension not only on the effects on the environmental components and processes (hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics and biodiversity), but also on human well-being, evidencing the benefits of applying the ecosystem approach in the EIA.

scholarly journals Vegetation dynamics drive segregation by body size in Galapagos tortoises migrating across altitudinal gradients

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Blake ◽  
Charles B. Yackulic ◽  
Fredy Cabrera ◽  
Washington Tapia ◽  
James P. Gibbs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Altitudinal Gradients

scholarly journals The Performance of European Union Countries in Decoupling Socio-Economic Progress from Environmental Impacts

Dela ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 105-123
Author(s):  
Katja Vintar Mally
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Ecological Footprint ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
European Union Countries

Over the last few decades, the European Union has intensified its commitments to decouple socio-economic progress from resource use and environmental impacts. This article examines the performance of countries in implementing selected aspects of these commitments in the period 1990–2016. To this end, it focuses on the relationships between progress in human development, in particular in raising people’s incomes, and pressures on natural resources and ecosystem services, as incorporated in the concept of ecological footprint. The results show a certain measure of success in decoupling the two among the countries of the European Union, but the same cannot be said of the world’s countries more generally.

scholarly journals Farmland abandonment in Europe: an overview of drivers, consequences, and assessment of the sustainability implications

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eda Ustaoglu ◽  
Marcus J. Collier
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Farmland Abandonment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

In the last decades, there have been large areas of agricultural land that were abandoned in Europe, producing significant social and environmental impacts. Land abandonment is a dynamic process, which is influenced by a complex range of drivers that vary over time and space. This process is driven by a combination of socio-economic, political, and environmental factors by which formerly cultivated fields are no longer economically viable under existing land-use and socio-economic conditions. The implications of land abandonment on biodiversity and other ecosystem services can be positive or negative depending on the conservation status of the area, agro-climatic conditions, and local factors. Therefore, the scope and extent of environmental impacts vary over time and location. Considering that land abandonment is a contentious issue in Europe, there is still growing need for research on this topic. This paper reviews (i) drivers and consequences of farmland abandonment in Europe, (ii) policy measures and tools developed by the European Union in relation to land abandonment process, (iii) the impacts and indicators that are used to assess ecosystem services that are related to land abandonment, and (iv) the methods by which socio-economic, environmental, and cultural values can be assessed. An overview of key impacts and indicators and the impact assessment methodologies will guide policy-making and planning processes that focus on sustainability impact assessment of land abandonment related to ecosystem services in Europe.

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