Search results for "Global Change"
showing 10 items of 639 documents
Ocean acidification bends the mermaid's wineglass
2015
Ocean acidification lowers the saturation state of calcium carbonate, decreasing net calcification and compromising the skeletons of organisms such as corals, molluscs and algae. These calcified structures can protect organisms from predation and improve access to light, nutrients and dispersive currents. While some species (such as urchins, corals and mussels) survive with decreased calcification, they can suffer from inferior mechanical performance. Here, we used cantilever beam theory to test the hypothesis that decreased calcification would impair the mechanical performance of the green alga Acetabularia acetabulum along a CO 2 gradient created by volcanic seeps off Vulcano, Italy. Cal…
The organic carbon derived from sewage sludge as a key parameter determining the fate of trace metals.
2007
8 pages; International audience; In a sandy agricultural soil of south-west of France, continuously cultivated with maize and amended with sewage-sludge over 20 years, the behavior of three trace metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) was studied during the sludge applications (1974-1993) and after its cessation (1993-1998). Using the delta13C analysis, the dynamics of different sources of organic matter were followed in order to elucidate the influence of the sludge-derived organic matter on the fate of trace metals in the soil and its particle size fractions. This study revealed that sludge-derived organic matter contributed to the formation of macroaggregates through the binding of preexisting microagg…
BIOCHARS IN SOILS: TOWARDS THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING
2017
The special issue on Biochar as an Option for Sustainable Resource Management Key priorities in biochar research for future guidance of sustainable policy development have been identified by expert assessment within the COST Action TD1107. The current level of scientific understanding (LOSU) regarding the consequences of biochar application to soil were explored. Five broad thematic areas of biochar research were addressed: soil biodiversity and ecotoxicology, soil organic matter and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil physical properties, nutrient cycles and crop production, and soil remediation. The highest future research priorities regarding biochar’s effects in soils were: functional …
Contamination of soil by copper affects the dynamics, diversity, and activity of soil bacterial communities involved in wheat decomposition and carbo…
2009
ABSTRACT A soil microcosm experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of copper contamination on the dynamics and diversity of bacterial communities actively involved in wheat residue decomposition. In the presence of copper, a higher level of CO 2 release was observed, which did not arise from greater wheat decomposition but from a higher level of stimulation of soil organic matter mineralization (known as the priming effect). Such functional modifications may be related to significant modifications in the diversity of active bacterial populations characterized using the DNA stable-isotope probing approach.
Vicarious calibration of MERIS over dark waters in the near infrared
2005
Abstract We propose to evaluate the calibration of MERIS (MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) over dark waters in the near infrared. We work with 5 months of data, from July to November 2003, over five world sites: Venice and Lampedusa in Italy, El Arenosillo in Spain, MOBY/Lanai and CalCOFI/San Nicolas in the United States. The sites are all equipped with a CIMEL station that forms part of the AERONET network. The basic idea is to associate CIMEL sky radiance measurements with MERIS level-1b data in a twin geometry which corresponds to the same scattering angle. This vicarious calibration relies on an accurate description of the atmospheric scattering based on the CIMEL measurements. A…
Short-term response to waterlogging in Quercus petraea and Quercus robur: A study of the root hydraulic responses and the transcriptional pattern of …
2015
International audience; We characterized the short-term response to waterlogging in Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Quercus robur L. as the initial response towards their known long-term differences in tolerance to waterlogging. One-month old seedlings were subjected to hypoxic stress and leaf gas exchange, shoot water potential (Psi(s)) and root hydraulic conductivity (Lp(r)) were measured. In parallel, the expression of nine aquaporins (AQPs) along the primary root was analysed by quantitative RT-PCR. Results showed a similar reduction in net assimilation (A) and stomatal conductance (g(s)) for the two species. Notably, the response of Lpr differed temporally between the two species. Q…
Kerguelen, un archipel sous haute surveillance
2016
Avec ses côtes découpées et sans cesse battues par les vents, les Kerguelen sont restées longtemps inaccessibles aux biologistes marins. Si sa situation géographique et son isolement exceptionnels rendent cet archipel particulièrement vulnérable aux changements climatiques, ils en font aussi un laboratoire idéal pour en étudier les effets…
Compared regimes of NDVI and Rainfall in semi-arid regions of Africa
2006
International audience; Bi-monthly normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at an 8km spatial resolution from the advanced very high resolution radiometers (AVHRR) was used from 1981 to 1995 to analyse the vegetation response to rainfall supply in semi-arid regions of Africa. Within the 200-600 mm annual rainfall belt, for which the apparent NDVI response to rainfall was the strongest, three regions were selected which exhibited different patterns in their NDVI regimes and/or relationships with rainfall. The regions, located in western, southern and eastern Africa, were split into coherent sub-regions in terms of mean regime of photosynthetic activity through a cluster analysis. Overal…
Exploring relationships between drought and epidemic cholera in Africa using generalised linear models
2021
AbstractBackgroundTemperature and precipitation are known to affect Vibrio cholerae outbreaks. Despite this, the impact of drought on outbreaks has been largely understudied. Africa is both drought and cholera prone and more research is needed in Africa to understand cholera dynamics in relation to drought.MethodsHere, we analyse a range of environmental and socioeconomic covariates and fit generalised linear models to publicly available national data, to test for associations with several indices of drought and make cholera outbreak projections to 2070 under three scenarios of global change, reflecting varying trajectories of CO2 emissions, socio-economic development, and population growth…
Variabilité basse-fréquence des précipitations au Sahel et des températures de surface de l'océan Atlantique au cours du dernier siècle.
2012
6 pages; International audience; Cette étude examine les téléconnexions entre les températures de surface de la mer (TSM) de l'océan Atlantique et la distribution zonale des précipitations au Sahel au cours du dernier siècle. Depuis la fin des années 60, les précipitations d'Afrique de l'Ouest présentent une tendance négative sur l'ensemble de la bande sahélienne. Pourtant, trois types de variabilité basse-fréquence des précipitations sahélienne sont observés : la côte atlantique (Dakar), le Sahel central (Nioro du Sahel et Mopti) et le Sahel oriental (Niamey, Maradi, Maïné-Soroa). Au cours du XXème siècle, les précipitations sont rarement reliées simultanément avec les TSM de l'Atlantique …