Search results for "climate change"

Importance of Climate Change for the Ranges, Communities and Conservation of Birds

2004

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the effects of global climate change on the size and position of geographic ranges and the richness and composition of bird communities. Plenty of evidence demonstrates that range boundaries of birds are correlated with climatic factors. In general, the northern range limit of species seems to be influenced rather by abiotic factors such as cold temperatures. The southern range limit of species appears to be determined by climatic factors such as heat or lack of water in arid regions and by biotic factors in more humid regions. For communities, increases in species richness are predicted for northern latitude and high-elevation sites and declines of…

Complex responses of global insect pests to climate change

2018

AbstractInsect pests strongly affect the productivity and profitability of agriculture and forestry. Despite the well-known sensitivity of insects to abiotic effects such as temperature, their potential responses to ongoing climate change remain unclear. Here we compile and review documented climate change responses of 31 of the globally most impactful phytophagous insect pests, focussing on species for which long-term, high-quality data are available. Most of the selected species show at least one response affecting their severity as pests, including changes in geographic range, population dynamics, life-history traits, and/or trophic interactions. Of the studied pests, 41% only show respo…

Effect of Multiple Stressors on marine organism predicted and quantified through bioenergetic mechanistic models

Anthropogenic pressure on coastal ecosystems is vast and diverse, simultaneous impacts such as pollution, eutrophication and fishing pressure nowadays add up and interact with the effects of climate change (e.g., global warming, acidification and sea level rise). The magnitude of these effects on marine species and their replies can vary and the possible changes can depend on: i) species life-histories (LH) traits, ii) local environmental conditions and iii) contextual presence of more than one anthropogenic related stressor. The study of a single anthropogenic disturbance or Climate Change-derived alteration on multi-level ecological responses is misleading and generates unrealistic conclu…

Transport policy and climate change: How to decide when experts disagree

2008

Abstract Transport is the sector with the fastest growth of greenhouse gases emissions in many countries. Accumulation of these emissions may cause uncertain and irreversible adverse climate change impacts. In this context, we use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to face the question on how to select the best transport policy if the experts have different opinions and beliefs on the occurrence of these impacts. Thus, both the treatment of uncertainty and dissent are examined for the ranking of transport policies. The opinions of experts have been investigated by a means of a survey questionnaire. A sensitivity analysis of the experts’ weights and the criteria’ weights confirms the robus…

Birds facing climate change: a qualitative model for the adaptive potential of migratory behaviour

2015

Recent climate change is altering the migratory behaviour of many bird species. An advancement in the timing of spring events and a shift in the geographical distribution have been detected for birds around the world. In particular, intra-Palearctic migratory birds have advanced arrivals in spring and shortened migratory distances by shifting northward their wintering grounds. These changes in migratory patterns are considered adaptive responses facilitating the adjustment of the life cycle to the phenological changes found in their breeding areas. However, in some cases, populations exposed to the same selective pressures do not show any appreciable adaptive change in their behaviour. Basi…

Climate Change and Effects on Molds and Mycotoxins

2022

Earth’s climate is undergoing adverse global changes as an unequivocal result of anthropogenic activity. The occurring environmental changes are slowly shaping the balance between plant growth and related fungal diseases. Climate (temperature, available water, and light quality/quantity; as well as extreme drought, desertification, and fluctuations of humid/dry cycles) represents the most important agroecosystem factor influencing the life cycle stages of fungi and their ability to colonize crops, survive, and produce toxins. The ability of mycotoxigenic fungi to respond to Climate Change (CC) may induce a shift in their geographical distribution and in the pattern of mycotoxin occurrence. …

Climate variability and agriculture in Italy: a stochastic frontier analysis at the regional level

2020

In the next future, climate change effects will represent a challenge for Europe and the Mediterranean area. These will have to cope with a rapid increase in climate variability. Although many economic sectors may be affected, agriculture is the most susceptible as climate heavily affects crop production trends, yield variability and the availability of areas suitable for cultivation. Using the stochastic frontier approach, the aim of this work is to analyse the impacts of climate variability on Italian regional technical efficiency in the agricultural sector for a period spanning from 2000 to 2009. Considering that technical inefficiency could be influenced by two main annual meteorologica…

Political Theory For The Anthropocene

2016

This paper explores the ways in which the Anthropocene, this new epoch in which noearthly place, form, entity, process, or system escapes the reach of human activity, puts underpressure some traditional categories and concepts of liberal democratic theory. We begin byexplaining the notion of the Anthropocene, and then show how it may affect traditional liberalnotions of agency, responsibility, governance, and legitimacy. We conclude by describing thechallenge of designing new institutions appropriate to the Anthropocene.

Augmented Cities in the Neoanthropocene

2021

Contemporary cities could be considered vibrant organisms of places and communities, of data and information, of sensors and actuators, and of actions and reactions generated by people and environment both. Cities must be more responsive to our behavioral changes, enabling devices for enhancing our contemporary life. We would be able to build amore efficient urban environment, able to sense, to understand and to act every day and for everyone. In the post-city age and beyond the smart city, Augmented City is a new paradigm that perceives the demands of more networked, knowledge-based, and creative society that answers to the global change by a new circular metabolism. The Augmented City is …

Il clima dell’Antropocene: disamina realistica di alcune sfide di una nuova epoca

2021

The chapter systematizes and describes the ecological, conceptual, normative, and policy challenges of the Anthropocene, with a focus on the climatic transformations underway. Il looks at various scales of action and inaction, and suggests that ideal theorizing may be significantly out of step with some defining circumstances of the new epoch