Long-term Environmental Change in Arctic and Antarctic Lakes


Book Description

Concerns about the effects of global climate change have focused attention on the vulnerability of circumpolar regions. This book offers a synthesis of the spectrum of techniques available for generating long-term environmental records from circumpolar lakes.




Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation


Book Description

Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.




Phenological Research


Book Description

As climate change continues to dominate the international environmental agenda, phenology – the study of the timing of recurring biological events – has received increasing research attention, leading to an emerging consensus that phenology can be viewed as an ‘early warning system’ for climate change impact. A multidisciplinary science involving many branches of ecology, geography and remote sensing, phenology to date has lacked a coherent methodological text. This new synthesis, including contributions from many of the world’s leading phenologists, therefore fills a critical gap in the current biological literature. Providing critiques of current methods, as well as detailing novel and emerging methodologies, the book, with its extensive suite of references, provides readers with an understanding of both the theoretical basis and the potential applications required to adopt and adapt new analytical and design methods. An invaluable source book for researchers and students in ecology and climate change science, the book also provides a useful reference for practitioners in a range of sectors, including human health, fisheries, forestry, agriculture and natural resource management.




Agriculture and Climate Beyond 2015


Book Description

Interactions between agriculture, climate and patterns of land use are complex. Major changes in agriculture, and land use patterns are foreseen in the next couple of decades in response to shifts in climate, greenhouse gas management initiatives, population growth and other forces. The book explores key interactions between changes in agriculture, patterns of land use and efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions from agriculture. The volume is based on inter-disciplinary science and policy interactions, exploring the way land use may aid in addressing or be affected by the onset of climate change and alterations in food demand. Future forces shaping land use decisions are examined, and its sensitivity to climate change is highlighted. Patterns of land use and the agricultural role in climate change mitigation are explored. Also, policy and social responses to the new perspectives on future land use patterns are identified. The perspective of the book is beyond the year 2015.




Biomass Burning and Its Inter-Relationships with the Climate System


Book Description

JOHN L. INNES University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada The interactions between biomass burning and climate have been brought into focus by a number of recent events. Firstly, the Framework Convention on Climate Change and, more recently, the Kyoto Protocol, have drawn the attention of policy makers and others to the importance of biomass burning in relation to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Secondly, the use of prescribed fires has become a major management tool in some countries; with for example the area with fuel treatments (which include prescribed burns and mechanical treatments) having increased on US National Forest System lands from 123,000 ha in 1985 to 677,000 ha in 1998. Thirdly, large numbers of forest fires in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere in 1997 and 1998 received unprecedented media attention. Consequently, it is appropriate that one of the Wengen Workshops on Global Change Research be devoted to the relationships between biomass burning and climate. This volume includes many of the papers presented at the workshop, but is also intended to act as a contribution to the state of knowledge on the int- relationships between biomass burning and climate change. Previous volumes on biomass burning (e. g. Goldammer 1990,Levine 1991a, Crutzen and Goldammer 1993, Levine 1996a, 1996b, Van Wilgen et al. 1997) have stressed various aspects of the biomass–climate issue, and provide a history of the development of our understanding of the many complex relationships that are involved.




Soil Quality, Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Security in Central and Eastern Europe


Book Description

Agriculture is a crucial component of the economies of many of the countries in transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy and the sector is by no means immune to the environmental and socioeconomic problems confronting the countries as a whole. The concept of sustainable development provides a convenient framework for the formulation of government environmental policy for such countries, especially those of them that aspire to join the EU and would thus be expected to meet EU environmental standards. For agriculture, this inevitably involves appropriate strategies for balancing crop and animal production while protecting the quality of the national soil and water resources. There is thus an urgent need to compile, exchange and evaluate current information on the quality of soils in these countries, and to assess the potential impact of new management practices on the soil and on the wider environment.




Exploring and Optimizing Agricultural Landscapes


Book Description

The book informs about agricultural landscapes, their features, functions and regulatory mechanisms. It characterizes agricultural production systems, trends of their development, and their impacts on the landscape. Agricultural landscapes are multifunctional systems, coupled with all nexus problems of the 21th century. This has led to serious discrepancies between agriculture and environment, and between urban and rural population. The mission, key topics and methods of research in order to understanding, monitoring and controlling processes in rural landscapes is being explained. Studies of international expert teams, many of them from Russia, demonstrate approaches towards both improving agricultural productivity and sustainability, and enhancing ecosystem services of agricultural landscapes. Scientists of different disciplines, decision makers, farmers and further informed people dealing with the evolvement of thriving rural landscapes are the primary audience of this book.







Coastal Management in Australia


Book Description

The coast is one of our most valuable assets but how is it being treated and what is being done to look after it? COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of this important subject. Interesting case studies are used to illustrate human impact on coastal processes as well as demonstrating the global significance of the coast and the international imperative to manage it properly. COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA introduces the background to the various coastal management systems operating in Australia and illustrates these with 'real world' examples from the different states and territories. Since this book was first published yet another parliamentary inquiry has been added to some 30 years of national inquiries into coastal management, with further calls for national co-ordination. In addition, the Australian government has focused attention on the potential risks of climate change for the Australian coast. Both authors have national and international coastal expertise; significant academic teaching experience in coastal processes and coastal management; coastal planning and policy skills; and have extensive government expertise in coastal management.




Proceedings of International Conference on Intelligent Computing, Information and Control Systems


Book Description

This book is a collection of papers presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Computing, Information and Control Systems (ICICCS 2020). It encompasses various research works that help to develop and advance the next-generation intelligent computing and control systems. The book integrates the computational intelligence and intelligent control systems to provide a powerful methodology for a wide range of data analytics issues in industries and societal applications. The book also presents the new algorithms and methodologies for promoting advances in common intelligent computing and control methodologies including evolutionary computation, artificial life, virtual infrastructures, fuzzy logic, artificial immune systems, neural networks and various neuro-hybrid methodologies. This book is pragmatic for researchers, academicians and students dealing with mathematically intransigent problems.