Suchergebnisse

Este trabajo obtuvo el 2o. Premio "Estudios Financieros" 2010 en la modalidad de Derecho Civil y Mercantil.

Este trabajo obtuvo el 2o. Premio "Estudios Financieros" 2010 en la modalidad de Derecho Civil y Mercantil.

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgement -- Contents -- About the Editors -- 1: Input Use Efficiency in Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems to Manage the Footprints for Food and Environmental Security -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Strategies to Inputs Use Efficiency -- 1.2.1 Zero Tillage -- 1.2.2 Mulching -- 1.2.3 Need-Based Site Specific Fertilization -- 1.2.3.1 Soil Test Based Fertilization -- 1.2.3.2 Leaf Color Chart/Green Seeker -- 1.2.3.3 Chlorophyll Meter -- 1.2.3.4 Omission Plot Technique -- 1.2.3.5 Using Nutrient Expert -- 1.2.4 Crop Residue Management -- 1.2.4.1 Biochar/Paralichar -- 1.2.4.2 Paddy Compost -- 1.2.4.3 Other Options -- 1.3 Water Footprints for Food and Environmental Security -- 1.3.1 Short Duration Rice Cultivars -- 1.3.2 Date of Rice Transplanting -- 1.3.3 Direct Seeding of Rice -- 1.3.4 Laser Land Leveling -- 1.3.5 Permanent Beds -- 1.3.6 Soil Matric Potential Based Irrigation -- 1.3.7 Crop Diversification -- 1.4 Energy Footprints for Food and Environmental Security -- 1.4.1 Mechanical Transplanting of Rice -- 1.4.2 Happy Seeder -- 1.5 Impact of RCTs on the Soil Properties -- 1.6 Conservation Agriculture -- 1.7 Reducing Food Loss and Wastage for Reduced Global Food Production Targets -- 1.8 Conclusions, Identified Gaps, and Upcoming Strategies -- 1.8.1 Identified Gaps -- 1.8.2 Upcoming Strategies -- References -- 2: Agricultural Input Use Efficiency and Climate Change: Ways to Improve the Environment and Food Security -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Climate Change and Variability -- 2.2.1 Observed Climatic Trends -- 2.2.2 Future Climate Projections -- 2.3 Crop Response to Climate Change -- 2.3.1 Effect of Temperature/Heat Stress -- 2.3.2 Effect of Rainfall/Water Stress -- 2.3.3 Effect of Solar Radiation -- 2.3.4 Effect of CO2 -- 2.3.5 Effect of Nutrient Stress -- 2.4 Climate Change and Input Use Efficiency of Crops.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Foreword -- Chapter 1: Global Warming, Nature and Wildlife: An Overview -- Scientists Search for Facts -- Global Warming as a Natural Process -- Climate-Change Deniers -- What Scientific Evidence Reveals -- Chart: Projected Impacts of Climate Change -- The Relationship Between Global Warming and Wildlife and Nature -- Habitat Loss -- Emerging Wildlife and Plant Diseases -- Animal Immunity and Reproduction -- Global Warming and Water Quality -- The Dangers of Ocean Acidification -- The Sixth Mass Extinction -- Sidebar: Climate Change and the "Evil Quartet" -- Life on Earth: The Importance of Biodiversity -- Notes -- Chapter 2: Shrinking Habitat: The Land -- Habitats as Complicated Ecosystems -- Causes of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation -- Chart: The Complicated Web of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation -- Requirements of a Suitable Habitat -- The Effects of Drought on Habitat -- Sidebar: Habitat Loss and Severe Weather Endanger Copperbelly Snakes -- Excessive Rain, Floods, and Storms -- Temperature Extremes and Habitat -- Wildfires Destroy Habitats -- Changes in the Climatic Envelope -- Human Encroachment and Invasive Species -- Notes -- Chapter 3: Shrinking Habitats: The Ocean, Ice, and Freshwater -- Causes of Water Habitat Loss -- Warming Ocean -- Sidebar: Antarctica's Penguins -- The Case of the Corals -- The Arctic: Warmer Waters, Disappearing Sea Ice -- Polar Bear Populations: Conflicting Assertions -- Map: Polar Bear Populations -- Rising Ocean Levels and Habitat Loss -- Freshwater Wetlands -- Eutrophication -- Global Warming and Great Lakes Habitats -- Notes -- Chapter 4: Plant and Wildlife Health -- Infectious Diseases Are Expanding -- Plant and Forest Health in a Warming World -- Tree Decline and Mortality -- Drought, Flood, and Air Pollution.

This study was supported by the projects CGL2013-47038-R and CGL2017-85415-R funded by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FEDER; Seneca Project 20788/PI/18; Junta de Andalucia FEDER Project B-RNM-144-UGR18, Proyectos I + D + i del Programa Operativo FEDER 2018 and the research group RNM-190 (Junta de Andalucia). Alejandro Lopez Aviles acknowledges the PhD funding, BES-2018-084293, provide by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government. Antonio Garcia-Alix acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal fellowship, RYC-2015-18966, provided by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government. R. Scott Anderson acknowledges travel support from Northern Arizona University. ; Several organic and inorganic geochemical analyses have been carried out in the sedimentary record of the Borreguil de los Lavaderos de la Reina (BdlR-03), an alpine peat bog located on the north face of the Sierra Nevada (southern Iberian Peninsula). This study permitted a high-resolution reconstruction of paleoenvironmental evolution for the last similar to 2700 cal yr BP in the highest mountain range of southern Iberian Peninsula. An overall trend towards a climatic aridification and a reduction of aquatic environments is observed in this record. Insolation and long-term positive North Atlantic Oscillation trends were the most important factors controlling this aridification, forcing regional and local environmental changes. Four phases are differentiated within the paleoenvironmental evolution of BdlR-03: (1) a pre-bog environment from 2700 to 2600 cal yr BP with important siliciclastic sedimentation and low organic content; (2) a bog environment with important presence of terrestrial vascular plant, water availability and maximum humid conditions between similar to 2600 and similar to 1870 cal yr BP, coinciding with the Iberian-Roman Humid Period; (3) a subsequent drier bog environment, between similar to 1870 and similar to 300 cal yr BP during the Dark Ages, the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the first stages of the Little Ice Age, characterized by lower productivity that affected the development of terrestrial vascular plants and aquatic environments; and (4) a wetland environment with an increase of aquatic algae, development of ephemeral pools and unstable climate conditions between similar to 300 cal yr BP and the present, coinciding with the final stages of the Little Ice Age and the Modern Global Warming. This recent environmental pattern, which is opposite to the general aridification trend in the western Mediterranean, is likely explained by the gradual melting of the perennial ice and/or snow packs at higher elevations in the last centuries. Aeolian inputs would have continuously contributed nutrients to these nutrient-impoverished alpine environments. High dust inputs are especially noticed during the last similar to 200 years, which can be explained by human-induced enhanced aridification and the development of the commercial agriculture in some North African regions. In addition, the environmental signal in the last century seems to be significantly affected by human activities. ; Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain CGL2013-47038-R CGL2017-85415-R ; European Commission ; Junta de Andalucia FEDER Project B-RNM-144-UGR18 ; Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government BES-2018-084293 ; Ramon y Cajal fellowship by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government RYC-2015-18966 ; Fundacion Seneca 20788/PI/18 ; Junta de Andalucia ; Proyectos I + D + i del Programa Operativo FEDER 2018

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- Water as a Global Risk -- 1 Current and Future Water Availability -- 1.1 Realisation of Water as an Important Resource -- 1.2 Current Water Availability -- 1.3 Global Water Use -- 1.3.1 Agricultural Water Use -- 1.3.2 Industrial Water Use -- 1.3.3 Domestic Water Use -- 1.4 Future Water Availability and Conclusions -- References -- 2 Current and Future Water Scarcity and Stress -- 2.1 Current Water Scarcity and Stress -- 2.2 Case Studies of Current Water Scarcity and/or Stress -- 2.2.1 Desiccation of the Aral Sea and Lake Chad -- 2.2.2 China: Plentiful but Unusable -- 2.2.3 Sri Lanka: Water Scarcity Due to Drought or a Lack of Planning -- 2.2.4 The Horn of Africa-Persistent Cyclical Drought -- 2.3 Conclusions -- References -- 3 Climate Change: Current Drivers, Observations and Impacts on the Globe's Natural and Human Systems -- 3.1 Brief Introduction to Climate Change -- 3.2 Observed Changes Within the Climatic System -- 3.2.1 Atmosphere -- 3.2.2 Ocean -- 3.2.3 Cryosphere -- 3.2.4 Sea Level -- 3.3 Primary Drivers -- 3.3.1 Natural and Anthropogenic Radiative Forcings -- 3.3.2 Human Activities Affecting Emission Drivers -- 3.4 Attributions of Climate Change -- 3.4.1 Natural and Human Influences -- 3.4.2 Observed Impacts -- 3.5 Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Risks to Natural and Managed Resources -- 3.5.1 Terrestrial and Inland Water Systems -- 3.5.2 Food Security and Food Production Systems -- 3.6 Impacts and Vulnerabilities of Human Settlements, Health, Livelihoods and the Economy -- 3.6.1 Urban Settlements -- 3.6.2 Rural Settlements -- 3.6.3 Human Health -- 3.6.4 Human Livelihoods -- 3.6.5 Economy -- References -- 4 Climate Change and Freshwater Resources: Current Observations, Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Future Risks -- 4.1 Brief Background -- 4.2 Main Drivers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions of the world, rural communities have relied on diverse activities to earn income for their households to survive. These activities which are mostly informal, have provided casual and seasonal employment and livelihood opportunities for rural communities to cope during times of hunger and deprivation. Livelihood activities are comprised of capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. These include and are not limited to activities such as cropping and livestock rearing, gardening, street vending and home construction. Unfortunatly, in recent times, climate change has emerged as a challenge for not only the socio-economic setting of the poor communities, but for the whole sphere of living, particularly in rural areas. Climate Change is comprised of long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns leading to unprecedented high levels of temperatures, extreme episodes of flooding, heat waves and drought, just to mention but few. The complex nature within which rural income earning and livelihoods are found, and how such activities are in most cases depended on environmental charateristics and climatic condtitions, makes it difficult to persue, amid climate change. This theoretical paper discusses how innovation and entrepreneurship can be used to as adaptation measures for climate change. Two Case studies are used to demostrate the applicability of this assertion. The paper concludes that, for rural livelihoods to become economically viable, innovation need to be applied to build towards entrepreneuship development and climate change adaptation. The paper recommends planning and policy directives towards rural development planning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Climate change has brought significant changes to the earth and agriculture is the main economic sector that has suffered. The current study aims to assess the impact of climatic factors—measured by precipitation, temperature, and CO2 emissions—on rice production using time series from 1961 to 2019 in Malaysia. This research follows the ARDL bounds test and dynamic ARDL simulations methods to estimate long- and short-term connections of the variables under consideration. Empirical evidence indicates that long-run cointegration exist between variables. The results suggest that the sensitivity of rice production to changes in harvested area and temperature is high, while it is low for other inputs. Due to high humidity, the effect of precipitation on rice production is not significant, while temperature can reduce rice yield in the long and short term. However, the impact of carbon emissions on rice production is insignificant. Among the other determinants of rice production, the impact of agricultural labor is negative, but more area cultivation increases rice production over the long and short term. Results also show that the magnitude of the impact of the 2% increase (decrease) in temperature on rice production is greater than the changes in rainfall and carbon emissions. The results for the frequency domain causality test show that a one-way causality exists between temperature and rice production and between carbon emissions and rice production in the short and long run. Hence, the findings of this study can help policy makers to formulate appropriate adaptation methods and mitigation policies to reduce the negative effects of climate change on Malaysian rice production.

AbstractMany Iranian metropolises, including Shiraz, are situated in arid and semi‐arid regions, lacking sufficient renewable water resources. In recent years, climate changes, including drought and rising temperatures, have led to changes in water supply and demand. Given the necessity and importance of urban water supply, this study investigates the impact of different climate scenarios on residential water demand. Many studies, in their models, do not consider the social interactions between household water consumers and the change in their consumption behaviour, which serves as a fundamental drawback. Thus, the present research attempts to propose an agent‐based framework by modelling social interactions via the diffusion process to investigate water consumption behaviour efficiently. The model is calibrated and applied to Shiraz City in Iran, according to the data from 2006 to 2019, and it is used to simulate each scenario for the following years until 2032. The findings show that temperature has a positive and significant effect on residential water consumption; yet, rainfall negatively affects water consumption. The simulation results of these scenarios for temperature increase or decrease and rainfall changes are estimated. In addition, the developed agent‐based platform can be easily calibrated and adjusted based on the data of any other city to simulate water demand estimation under different climatic and even economic scenarios. Urban water managers can benefit from such estimates to plan future infrastructure development and proactive management of seasonal water resources under the growing pressure of potential climate change because construing the sensitivity of seasonal water consumption to climate conditions is essential to respond to variations in demand.

Monitoring vegetation change is important because the nature, extent and rate of change in key measures, such as plant biomass, cover and species composition, provides critical insight into broader environmental and land use drivers and leads to the development of appropriate policy. We used Landsat data between 1984 and 2018 to produce a map of Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) change over South Africa at 30 m resolution and an interactive web application to make the analysis both globally applicable and locally meaningful. We found an increase in EVI of 0.37 ± 0.59% yr−1 (mean ± standard deviation), confirming global vegetation greening trends observed with lower-resolution satellites. Mesic, productive biomes including the Albany Thicket and Savanna, exhibited the largest greening trends while browning trends were dominant in more arid biomes, such as the Succulent Karoo and Desert. Although overall EVI trends correspond to vegetation index trends derived from the Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (8 km resolution), the relative scarcity of Landsat data availability during the 1980 s is a potential source of error. Using repeat very-high-resolution satellite (ca. 3 m resolution) imagery and ground-based photography as reference, we found good correspondence with EVI trends, revealing patterns of degradation (e.g. woody plant encroachment, desertification), and restoration (e.g. increased rangeland productivity, alien clearing) over selected landscapes. The utility of the EVI trend layer to government and industry for monitoring ecosystem changes will be enhanced by the ability to distinguish climatic from anthropogenic drivers of change. This may be partially achieved though interactive exploration of the EVI trends using the application found here: http://evitrend.zsv.co.za ; acceptedVersion

Abstract. Mass livestock mortality events during severe winters, a phenomenon that Mongolians call dzud, cause the country significant socioeconomic problems. Dzud is an example of a compound event, meaning that multiple climatic and social drivers contribute to the risk of occurrence. Existing studies argue that the frequency and intensity of dzud events are rising due to the combined effects of climate change and variability, most notably summer drought and severe winter conditions, on top of socioeconomic dynamics such as overgrazing. Summer droughts are a precondition for dzud because scarce grasses cause malnutrition, making livestock more vulnerable to harsh winter conditions. However, studies investigating the association between climate and dzud typically look at a short time frame (i.e., after 1940), and few have investigated the risk or the recurrence of dzud over a century-scale climate record. This study aims to fill the gaps in technical knowledge about the recurrence probability of dzud by estimating the return
periods of relevant climatic variables: summer drought conditions and winter minimum temperature. We divide the country into three regions (northwest, southwest, and east Mongolia) based on the mortality index at the soum (county) level. For droughts, our study uses as a proxy the tree-ring-reconstructed Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) for three regions between 1700–2013. For winter severity, our study uses observational data of winter minimum temperature after 1901 while inferring winter minimum temperature in Mongolia from instrumental data in Siberia that extend to the early 19th century. Using a generalized extreme value distribution with time-varying parameters, we find that the return periods of drought conditions vary over time, with variability increasing for all the regions. Winter temperature severity, however, does not change with time. The median temperature of the 100-year return period for winter minimum temperature in Mongolia over the past 300 years is estimated as −26.08 ∘C for the southwest, −27.99 ∘C for the northwest, and −25.31 ∘C for the east. The co-occurrence of summer drought and winter severity increases in all the regions in the early 21st century. The analysis suggests that a continued trend in summer drought would lead to increased vulnerability and malnutrition. Prospects for climate index insurance for livestock are also discussed.

41 Pag., 14 Fig. The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00221694 ; The influence of climate variation on the availability of water resources was analyzed in the headwaters of the Tagus River basin using two drought indices, the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). This basin is highly regulated and strategic, and contains two hyperannual reservoirs that are the origin of the water supply system for Mediterranean areas of southeast Spain. The indices confirmed that drought conditions have prevailed in the headwaters of the Tagus River since the 1970s. The responses in river discharge and reservoir storage were slightly higher when based on the SPEI rather than the SPI, which indicates that although precipitation had a major role in explaining temporal variability in the analyzed parameters, the influence of temperature was not negligible. Moreover, the greatest response in hydrological variables was evident over longer timescales of the climatic drought indices. Although the effect of climate variability on water resources was substantial during the analyzed period, we also showed a major change in hydrological–climatic relationships in regulated systems including reservoir storage and outflow. These were closely related to changes in external demand following commencement of the water transfer system to the Júcar and Segura basins after the 1980s. The marked reduction in water availability in the basin, which is related to more frequent droughts, contrasts with the amount of water transferred, which shows a clear upward trend associated with increasing water demand in the Mediterranean basin. ; This work has been supported by the research projects CGL2006-11619/HID, CGL2008-01189/BTE, and CGL2008-1083/CLI financed by the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology and FEDER, EUROGEOSS (FP7-ENV-2008-1-226487) and ACQWA (FP7-ENV-2007-1- 212250) financed by the VII Framework Programme of the European Commission, STRIVER (Strategy and methodology for Improved IWRM—An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins), financed by the VI Framework Programme of the European Commission. "Las sequías climáticas en la cuenca del Ebro y su respuesta hidrológica" Financed by "Obra Social La Caixa" and the Aragón Government and "Programa de grupos de investigación consolidados" financed by the Aragón Government. ; Peer reviewed

Abstract
Morbidity and Mortality have also been a reason for concern for the insurers as increased morbidity and mortality contribute to a higher cost of claims including claim frequency. Currently, there are only two rating factors (Age and types of cattle) being adopted by the insurers while determining the premium rates and there is no risk-based pricing adopted for Cattle Insurance in India. The main objective of this paper is to identify the important rating factors influencing the mortality and morbidity trends among different cattle types in India. Secondly, there is a need to examine whether the mortality and morbidity trends vary across different parameters like animal type, breeds, age, gender, agro-climatic zone, types of formers/animal owners, etc. If it varies, then to find out the degree of variations and also measure the impact of these rating factors on cattle mortality. This paper focuses on the analysis of the morbidity and mortality of cattle across different types of cattle, breeds, age groups, gender, and different agro-climatic regions, etc. Further, it also examines the differences in cattle management practices; particularly the frequency and the quantity of feed, types, and quality of feed (nutritional value) given, animal healthcare management, exposure to catastrophic risk hazards, etc., with a view to developing risk-based pricing for cattle insurance. This would help insurers to understand the changes in cattle mortality and morbid trends and also build a comprehensive mortality table across different types and breeds of cattle. This would also immensely help the insurers in determining risk-based premium rates among different types of animals, their breeds, geographic regions, customer types, etc. which would enable in developing sustainable cattle insurance portfolio in the Indian insurance market. The output of the analysis can also be used by the insurers to develop index-based livestock insurance as well as parametric insurance.

Scavenging of gas- and aerosol-phase organic pollutants by rain is an efficient wet deposition mechanism of organic pollutants. However, whereas snow has been identified as a key amplification mechanism of fugacities in cold environments, rain has received less attention in terms of amplification of organic pollutants. In this work, we provide new measurements of concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rain from Antarctica, showing high scavenging ratios. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of previously published concentrations in air and rain was performed, with 46 works covering different climatic regions and a wide range of chemical classes, including PFAS, OPEs, PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine compounds, polybromodiphenyl ethers, and dioxins. The rain–aerosol (KRP) and rain–gas (KRG) partition constants averaged 105.5 and 104.1, respectively, but showed large variability. The high field-derived values of KRG are consistent with adsorption onto the raindrops as a scavenging mechanism, in addition to gas–water absorption. The amplification of fugacities by rain deposition was up to 3 orders of magnitude for all chemical classes and was comparable to that due to snow. The amplification of concentrations and fugacities by rain underscores its relevance, explaining the occurrence of organic pollutants in environments across different climatic regions. ; We thank the staff of the Marine Technology Unit (UTM-CSIC) for their logistical support during the sampling campaign at Livingston Island, M. Pizarro for technical assistance, and The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) for the meteorological assistance. This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of science to G.C. and A.M.-V. through predoctoral fellowships and projects SENTINEL (CTM2015-70535-P) and ANTOM (PGC2018-096612-B-l00). This research is part of POLARCSIC activities. The research group of Global Change and Genomic Biogeochemistry receives support from the Catalan Government (2017SGR800). Special thanks to TERNUA for sponsoring technical eco-friendly clothing and gear equipment for Antarctic campaigns. ; Peer reviewed