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Exploring knowledge and attitudes towards climate change among a study sample from Khartoum State, Sudan
Alhuseen, Ahmed ; Kozová, M. ; Ismaeel, I. ; Cudlín, Pavel
In spite of an adaptation plan endorsed by the city’s authorities, Khartoum State, the capital of Sudan, has repetitively\nexperienced a series of ravaging climate variability impacts. As in similar cases elsewhere, there are\nindications of financial and institutional incapacities and shortfalls to run the adaptation process, as well as\nlack of public knowledge about climate change. It has been argued that having well-informed communities in\nsome developing countries has reduced vulnerability and exposure to climate-origin disasters. Aiming to provide\nquantitative insight into the community’s knowledge and attitudes about climate change, this study presents\nthe results of a survey carried out in 2014 in a simple random sample of Khartoum State residents encompassing\n395 households. Data analysis showed that >75% of the respondents were aware of both the term “climate\nchange” and its main causes. Due to certain cultural and religious factors, however, familiarity with its\nassociated risks was less (25–75%). Moreover, knowledge regarding the ongoing government efforts, leading\ninstitutions, participating non-government organizations, and beliefs about the capability of Khartoum State\nauthorities to adapt the city to the foreseen impacts was found to be low (<25%). Of the respondents, 49% believed\nthat both human activities and God are responsible for causing climate change. Seventy-nine per cent\nof the respondents were interested in acquiring information about climate change, but only 55.3% frequently\nobtain it. Although 79% of the respondents would agree or strongly agree to pay in order to mitigate climate\nchange, 50.4% believed that nothing had been done by local government to mitigate that change. The study\nprovides unprecedented insight into knowledge and attitudes towards climate change among Khartoum State\nhouseholds. The results can be used by city authorities and government politicians to support ongoing adaptive\nprocedures and decision-making while narrowing the knowledge gap concerning climate change risks.
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Ecosystem services in environmental policy and decision-making in the Czech Republic
Daněk, Jan
In response to the increasing popularity of the ecosystem services concept among scholars and policy makers\non the international level, it has become time to analyse the current state and possibilities for national\npolicy and decision-making in reflecting this concept. This article presents a sneak preview of research\nfocused on content analysis of environmental policy documents. Two current and one outdated climate\nchange policy document are analysed regarding notions of the ecosystem services concept and other aspects\nof an ecosystem-based approach. The output data show contrasting results, with the Adaptation\nStrategy scoring very high compared to the Climate Protection Policy, which almost does not reflect the\necosystem services or related ecosystem approach. Implications of the results and the entire context of the\nresearch are discussed in respective sections.
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Urban ecosystem services in climate change mitigation
Štecová, I. ; Kluvánková, T. ; Pavelka, Marian
Climate change and global warming rapidly affect urban residents’ well-being. More than 72% of Europeans\nlive in urban environments, and their well-being is closely related to environmental quality. How cities are\nplanned and structured can exacerbate the negative effects of climate change even as natural elements and\ngreen areas are shrinking. The impact of high temperature on human health during heat waves will be one of\nthe most serious problems associated with climate change, and especially in large urban areas. Heat islands\nare mainly due to high concentration and large areas of impermeable surfaces, low moisture, few green areas,\nand poor ventilation. We present results from measuring heat islands at two locations in Bratislava and interview\nkey actors from three cities to identify risk perception regarding climate change. Expected results aim\nto mainstream ecosystem services into spatial planning in cities in support of operationalizing microclimatic\nfunction of green infrastructure to mitigate negative impact of climate change in cities.
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Carbon-smart forestry for building resilience to global change
Brnkalakova, S. ; Kluvánková, T. ; Marek, Michal V.
The specific role of mountain ecosystems in the carbon cycle and their importance as carbon sinks already\nhas been noted within the broader debate about climate change. There has been progress in designing\nand attempts towards implementing such mountain-specific strategies as green economies, global and regional\nconventions, frameworks, and institutions. There is still need, however, for new and integrative approaches\nto governing mountains in a sustainable and adaptive way with local and global contributions.\nThe proper institutional arrangement, adaptive forest management, and sustainable use of forest ecosystems\ncan make a substantial contribution to the well-being of local communities as well as contribute to\nmitigating global climate change by provisioning of carbon sequestration ecosystem service. This paper\nexamines how reconfiguration of social practice in forest-dependent communities can address urgent societal\nchallenges. In particular, it considers the potential of a common pool resource regime for governance\nand carbon-smart forestry in innovative management of mountain ecosystems to meet societal and natural\nchallenges.
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Approaching dangerous impacts of global climate change
Ač, Alexander
Current global policy efforts are focused on limiting the global rise in mean temperature to well below a 2 K\nwarming compared to the pre-industrial temperature. It is questionable if achieving such goal is still feasible.\nHere, I review published works that suggesting that to keep global warming below or at a 2 K level cannot\nbe considered as safe, as is often assumed. A large body of studies have emerged recently investigating\nthe impacts of global climate change (GCC) at a 1.5 K or 2 K warming. The impacts range from changes in\nthe hydrological cycle, increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, triggering of change\nfeedback processes at various spatio-temporal scales, affecting biological processes from the molecular to\necosystem levels, and to disrupting socio-economic conditions. In this short review, I present the latest scientific\nknowledge regarding some of the most important impacts of GCC on natural ecosystems, humanmade\nsystems, and societies.
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Forest regeneration within the treeline ecotone in the Giant Mountains under climate change
Cudlín, Ondřej ; Chumanová-Vávrová, Eva ; Edwards-Jonášová, Magda ; Heřman, Michal ; Štěpánek, Petr ; Cudlín, Pavel
Natural regeneration of mountain spruce forests began in the Giant Mountains 25 years ago after a reduction\nof severe and long-enduring air pollution. This process has been influenced by climatic change.\nThe aim of our contribution was to present background data for the potential elevational shift of spruce\nregeneration under conditions of climate change. These upslope shifts may also depend on constraints\nsuch as climate extremes, unfavourable soil conditions, absence of ectomycorrhizal symbionts, and lack of\nmicrosites suitable for seedlings. Since 2014, we have studied the main driving factors affecting Norway\nspruce regeneration, and in particular soil conditions, ectomycorrhizal symbionts, ground vegetation cover,\nand forest health, in six transects across the treeline ecotone located on a NW-to-NE transect through\nthe Giant Mountains. Microclimatic measurements showed that the mean difference in growing season\ntemperature between the montane spruce forests and forests at the treeline was −0.54°C. The model\nHADGEM2 predicted that in 20 years the temperature at the treeline will be similar to the current one at\nmontane elevations. The difference in prevailing soil types between the montane spruce forests and forests\nat the current treeline (i.e. podzol vs. ranker type) could be an important factor limiting success of the\nupslope spreading of spruce. Furthermore, areas covered by microsites favourable for natural spruce regeneration,\nespecially spruce litter patches, decaying wood, mosses, and Avenella flexuosa stands, were\nshown to decrease with increasing elevation. It is likely that spruce will move upslope in response to climate\nchange, but the process is likely to be slow or even blocked for some periods, especially by unfavourable\nsoil conditions and climatic extremes.
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Towards a combining of remote sensing and in situ evapotranspiration measurements
Fischer, Milan ; Jurečka, František ; Anderson, M. ; Hain, C. ; Pozníková, Gabriela ; Hlavinka, Petr ; Orság, Matěj ; Lukas, V. ; Žalud, Z. ; Trnka, Miroslav
This study provides preliminary results from combining in situ Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) and\nevapotranspiration (ET) measurements techniques with physically based remote sensing ET estimates determined\nby the Atmosphere-Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model. Evapotranspiration measurements\nand ALEXI estimates were analysed in an agricultural area close to Polkovice, Czech Republic during 2015,\nwhen a drought spell and intensive heatwaves appeared in the country. The BREB system was monitoring a\nwinter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field (~26 ha) while the ALEXI pixel (~5 km resolution) covered a wide\nrange of crops, including mainly winter wheat, spring barley, and winter rape. The study results showed that,\nalthough the applied methods work at different spatial scales (field vs. landscape), their combination can provide\nfurther insights into ET at both scales. For instance, such approach can be used to identify whether a specific\necosystem investigated in situ contributes to cooling or warming of the landscape.
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Application of multispectral remote sensing indices for sensing indices for estimating crop yields at field level
Jurečka, František ; Lukas, Vojtěch ; Hlavinka, Petr ; Semerádová, Daniela ; Fischer, Milan ; Žalud, Zdeněk ; Trnka, Miroslav
Remote sensing can be used for yield estimation prior to harvest and can replace or complement classical\nways of estimating crop yields. This study was undertaken in Polkovice, located in the Czech Republic’s\nHaná region. For 2015 and 2016, two data sets of satellite imagery were used: the Moderate Resolution\nImaging Spectroradiometer and the Landsat 8. Vegetation indices from satellites were compared with crop\nyields at the level of land blocks. Winter wheat and spring barley yield data, representing crops planted\nover the analysed period, were used for the comparison. The results of the index–yield comparison showed\nthat vegetation indices from remote sensing data provide reliable information for yield estimation prior to\nharvest. Indices are also able to evaluate the spatial variability of a crop within the field. The results showed\nthat remote sensing data need to have detailed spatial resolution in order to provide reasonable information\nabout yield at such a detailed level.
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Predicting light use efficiency using optical vegetation indices at various time scales and environmental conditions
Kováč, Daniel ; Ač, Alexander ; Veselovská, Petra ; Dreveňáková, Petra ; Rapantová, Barbora ; Klem, Karel
This study presents data points acquired during 2 years of measuring optical properties and gas-exchange\ncharacteristics of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) tree species in controlled\nenvironments. The observed statistical relationships between 105 pairs of selected optical parameters\n(i.e. photochemical reflectance index [PRI], ΔPRI, and normalized difference between wavebands R690\nand R630 [where R is a reflectance at a subscripted wavelength]) and light use efficiency (LUE) were considered\nat assumed different canopy leaf area index, changing pigments stoichiometrics, and daily changing\ndynamics of environmental conditions. Our measurements suggested that consistency of the LUE estimation\nusing PRI may be disrupted by acclimation responses of plants that reduce energetic carriers for\nuse in photosynthetic CO2 uptake and the xanthophyll cycle. Also, a changing chlorophylls-to-carotenoids\nratio tends to interrupt the PRI–LUE relationship. ΔPRI showed sensitivity to leaf area index of the measured\ntrees that complicated leaf-level estimation of LUE. The most consistent assessment of LUE was\nachieved using the chlorophyll fluorescence detecting ratio (R690 – R630)/(R690 + R630).
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Influence of the chlorophylls-to-carotenoids ratio on light use efficiency estimation by optical parameters
Ač, Alexander ; Kováč, Daniel ; Veselovská, Petra ; Večeřová, Kristýna ; Klem, Karel
The influence is examined of changing leaf photosynthetic pigments concentrations on sensitivity of the\nphotochemical reflectance index (PRI) and ΔPRI optical parameters in relation to light use efficiency\n(LUE). Photosynthetic and leaf chlorophylls-to-carotenoids (Chl/Car) ratio changes during the growth of\nEuropean Beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) saplings were induced by altering the\nliving environment inside growth chambers. Point reflectance measurements of each individual tree were\nrecording changes in optical properties while measurements were being taken simultaneously of altering\nphotosynthesis. Based on the evaluation of 45 pairs of measurements conducted on six individual saplings,\nthe observed variability in the strength of the PRI and ΔPRI versus LUE relationships was compared to the\nresulting leaf Chl/Car ratio of each tree. Data were used to explain the influence of changing pigments on\nthe sensitivity of each individual optical parameter with regards to the LUE estimation.
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