Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zhenzhong Zeng, Dashan Wang, Long Yang, Jie Wu, Alan D. Ziegler, Maofeng Liu, Philippe Ciais, Timothy D. Searchinger, Zong-Liang Yang, Deliang Chen, Anping Chen, Laurent Z. X. Li, Shilong Piao, David Taylor, Xitian Cai, Ming Pan, Liqing Peng, Peirong Lin, Drew Gower, Yu Feng, Chunmiao Zheng, Kaiyu Guan, Xu Lian, Tao Wang, Lang Wang, Su-Jong Jeong, Zhongwang Wei, Justin Sheffield, Kelly Caylor, Eric F. Wood
Summary: Deforestation in tropical mountain regions causes elevation-dependent warming, with the impact varying depending on altitude's role in albedo and evapotranspiration. The warming effect of deforestation decreases with higher elevation, affecting crop yields, land degradation, and nearby ecosystems, suggesting the need for future assessments to incorporate these additional impacts.
Review
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Peter Mani, Simon Allen, Stephen G. Evans, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Martin Mergili, Dmitry Petrakov, Markus Stoffel
Summary: Populations and infrastructure in high mountain regions are vulnerable to natural hazards, especially with the sensitivity to climate change. Process chains associated with glacier retreat or permafrost degradation are common in high mountains. The frequency and magnitude of process chains are difficult to predict, especially those involving rapid sequences. A comprehensive review of relevant events reveals that progressive failure is the most frequent trigger of process chains. Climate change further increases the reach of process chains in the future.
REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Valentina Cattivelli
Summary: Governance of climate change on a macro-regional level faces challenges due to lack of precise recommendations, with regions adopting specific adaptation strategies without considering impacts on neighboring areas. This decentralized approach has increased the involvement of local bodies and non-governmental players but complicates governance due to the diversity of actors involved.
Article
Environmental Studies
Junyeong An, Jinhee Lee, Byung Kwon Lee, El-Sayed Salama, Minpa Lee, Min-Kyu Ji
Summary: The study aimed to design an algorithm to support decision-making in environmental impact assessment (EIA) of aquatic environments in South Korea. The algorithm was designed based on surveys, impact prediction, reduction measures, and post-environmental impact plans. Specific algorithms were developed for soil runoff reduction and wastewater treatment plans. The use of algorithms for EIA can improve assessment decision-making and build trust with stakeholders.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVIEW
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Frederic Herman, Fien De Doncker, Ian Delaney, Gunther Prasicek, Michele Koppes
Summary: This review discusses the impact of sediments produced by glacial erosion on global sediment and biogeochemical balances. It examines the processes controlling the magnitude and timing of glacial erosion, as well as the effects of glacier sliding and late Cenozoic cooling on erosion rates.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Xiao-lian Qi, Hao-jie Xu, Tian Chen, Shu-yao Shan, Sheng-yun Chen
Summary: This study investigates the impact of climate change and human activities on the LULC, landscape pattern, and vegetation growth in the source region of the Datong River. The results show significant changes in alpine desert and alpine meadow areas, as well as an increase in mining and road areas. The study also reveals the correlation between vegetation growth and temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Stefan Schneiderbauer, Paola Fontanella Pisa, Jess L. Delves, Lydia Pedoth, Samuel Rufat, Marlene Erschbamer, Thomas Thaler, Fabio Carnelli, Sergio Granados-Chahin
Summary: Mountains are highly sensitive to climate change, providing essential ecosystem services for surrounding regions and lowlands. A warmer climate negatively impacts water supply, biodiversity, and natural hazard protection in mountainous areas. Changes in these services affect social-ecological systems in the mountains and influence communities' risk perception and responses to changing climate conditions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alex C. Ruane, Robert Vautard, Roshanka Ranasinghe, Jana Sillmann, Erika Coppola, Nigel Arnell, Faye Abigail Cruz, Suraje Dessai, Carley E. Iles, A. K. M. Saiful Islam, Richard G. Jones, Mohammad Rahimi, Daniel Ruiz Carrascal, Sonia Seneviratne, Jerome Servonnat, Anna A. Sorensson, Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla, Claudia Tebaldi, Wen Wang, Rashyd Zaaboul
Summary: The climate science and applications communities require a comprehensive concept to assess physical climate conditions relevant for impacts on human and natural systems. The CID approach provides a framework to evaluate the effects of different CIDs on societal and ecological elements, supporting adaptation planning and risk management.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Wen Wang, Jingshu Wang, Renata Romanowicz
Summary: The SPI calculation uncertainty is addressed in this study through candidate probability distributions, data record length, cumulative time scale, and reference period selection. Results show that the gamma distribution is optimal for describing cumulative precipitation in China, with different minimal time scales required for SPI calculation in different climate regions. The uncertainty in SPI calculation decreases with increased time scale and record length, impacting drought categorization but not temporal features of drought variation.
JOURNAL OF HYDROMETEOROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vikki Thompson, Dann Mitchell, Gabriele C. Hegerl, Matthew Collins, Nicholas J. Leach, Julia M. Slingo
Summary: Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and resulting in excess deaths under climate change. Using extreme value statistics, it is shown that regional temperature records are likely to be exceeded in many regions, making them more at-risk. Certain regions like Afghanistan and parts of Central America are particularly vulnerable due to potential extreme heatwaves, population growth, and limited healthcare and energy resources. Policy makers in vulnerable regions are urged to ensure adequate heat action plans. The study concludes that record-breaking heatwaves, currently seen as implausible, could occur anywhere due to climate change.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
N. Cihan Kayacetin, Stijn Verdoodt, Lode Lefevre, Alexis Versele
Summary: The study presents a new approach for decision support in the early design phase of a construction project by utilizing circularity tools and life cycle assessment methodology. Results show that bio-based designs have improved performance due to their reduced environmental impact through reuse and recycling.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Giulia Lucertini, Gianmarco Di Giustino, Carlo Federico Dall'Omo, Francesco Musco
Summary: Climate change poses increasing challenges for urban and coastal areas, necessitating adaptation measures and plans. While the scientific community acknowledges the importance of supported adaptation planning, there is a lack of practical guidelines and examples to implement the theory. This paper aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice by providing a replicable methodology for integrating climate change adaptation concepts with decision-making processes. The methodology is tested on five Mediterranean coastal cities and allows for the development of tailored adaptation measures, gaining acceptance through engagement with local stakeholders.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Notarnicola
Summary: Despite the availability of data and models, there is a lack of consistent understanding of long-term trends in snow cover extent and duration changes in global mountain areas. In this study, model data and satellite images are combined using Artificial Neural Networks to create a consistent time series from 1982 to 2020 for global mountain areas. The analysis of this harmonized time series over 38 years reveals an overall negative trend in yearly snow cover extent and snow cover duration.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Hongpeng Guo, Yujie Xia, Jingshu Jin, Chulin Pan
Summary: Climate change has had a significant impact on global agricultural production. Understanding the impact of climate change on agricultural efficiency is crucial in improving adaptability and ensuring food safety worldwide.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yong-Tak Kim, Hyun-Han Kwon, Carlos Lima, Ashish Sharma
Summary: This study introduces a novel approach that expands the existing QDM by incorporating Kriging and a Bayesian framework to address spatial bias. The proposed model is validated to effectively simulate bias-corrected daily rainfall sequences over large regions at fine resolutions. The potential use of this approach in the field of hydrometeorology is discussed.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nica Huber, Harald Bugmann, Maxime Cailleret, Nicolas Bircher, Valentine Lafond
Summary: This study conducted a comprehensive assessment of the climate change sensitivity of managed Swiss forests and found that different forest stands at various elevations and locations had different responses to climate change. It was recommended to mix drought-tolerant species at all elevations to mitigate future adverse climate effects. The largest uncertainty in model projections was associated with climate change scenarios, while the influence of both site conditions and the model version on some of the projections indicates that considerations beyond climate change scenarios are necessary in climate change impact assessments.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Forestry
A. S. Mathys, P. Brang, J. Stillhard, H. Bugmann, M. L. Hobi
Summary: This study assessed the tree population dynamics over the past 60 years in the Swiss forest reserve network, finding a general decline in the density of dominant species, particularly light-demanding species, but an increase in species richness, especially in the colline vegetation zone. Both species-specific ingrowth and tree mortality were influenced by stand density and climate variables.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Nikolina Ban, Cecile Caillaud, Erika Coppola, Emanuela Pichelli, Stefan Sobolowski, Marianna Adinolfi, Bodo Ahrens, Antoinette Alias, Ivonne Anders, Sophie Bastin, Danijel Belusic, Segolene Berthou, Erwan Brisson, Rita M. Cardoso, Steven C. Chan, Ole Bossing Christensen, Jesus Fernandez, Lluis Fita, Thomas Frisius, Goran Gasparac, Filippo Giorgi, Klaus Goergen, Jan Erik Haugen, Oivind Hodnebrog, Stergios Kartsios, Eleni Katragkou, Elizabeth J. Kendon, Klaus Keuler, Alvaro Lavin-Gullon, Geert Lenderink, David Leutwyler, Torge Lorenz, Douglas Maraun, Paola Mercogliano, Josipa Milovac, Hans-Juergen Panitz, Mario Raffa, Armelle Reca Remedio, Christoph Schar, Pedro M. M. Soares, Lidija Srnec, Birthe Marie Steensen, Paolo Stocchi, Merja H. Toelle, Heimo Truhetz, Jesus Vergara-Temprado, Hylke de Vries, Kirsten Warrach-Sagi, Volker Wulfmeyer, Mar Janne Zander
Summary: The study presents the first multi-model ensemble of regional climate simulations at kilometer-scale horizontal grid spacing, showing that kilometer-scale models perform better than coarse resolution models in representing precipitation, especially heavy precipitation and precipitation frequency during the summer season.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rebecca S. Snell, Alexander Peringer, Viktoria Frank, Harald Bugmann
Summary: Increasing grazing pressure can significantly reduce woody encroachment in subalpine pastures and mitigate the impacts of climate change on woody encroachment. Grazing pressure change is the most sensitive factor affecting the rate of woody encroachment.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Reinhard Mey, Juergen Zell, Esther Thuerig, Golo Stadelmann, Harald Bugmann, Christian Temperli
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of adaptive forest management interventions on forest ecosystem services and biodiversity using sensitivity analysis. The results showed that tree planting enhanced timber production and synergies among ecosystem services, while increasing thinning and harvesting intensity had negative effects on ecosystem service provision. The simulation also indicated a temperature-driven increase in growth for certain tree species, but drought effects were not considered. Multi-scenario sensitivity analysis proved to be a useful tool for quantifying management impacts and supporting decision making in forestry.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mats Mahnken, Maxime Cailleret, Alessio Collalti, Carlo Trotta, Corrado Biondo, Ettore D'Andrea, Daniela Dalmonech, Gina Marano, Annikki Makela, Francesco Minunno, Mikko Peltoniemi, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, Daniel Nadal-Sala, Santiago Sabate, Patrick Vallet, Raphael Aussenac, David R. Cameron, Friedrich J. Bohn, Ruediger Grote, Andrey L. D. Augustynczik, Rasoul Yousefpour, Nica Huber, Harald Bugmann, Katarina Merganicova, Jan Merganic, Peter Valent, Petra Lasch-Born, Florian Hartig, Iliusi D. Vega del Valle, Jan Volkholz, Martin Gutsch, Giorgio Matteucci, Jan Krejza, Andreas Ibrom, Henning Meesenburg, Thomas Roetzer, Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen, Ernst van der Maaten, Christopher P. O. Reyer
Summary: This study comprehensively evaluates 13 widely used forest models in Europe and finds that the models excel in accuracy of local predictions, realism of environmental responses, and general applicability. The models complement each other in response to environmental drivers, with some individual models outperforming the model ensemble.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Dario Martin-Benito, Juan Alberto Molina-Valero, Cesar Perez-Cruzado, Christof Bigler, Harald Bugmann
Summary: The study examined disturbance and recruitment dynamics in two forests with different management histories in the Western Pyrenees. The results showed differences in disturbance regimes between the two forests, but no evidence of stand replacing disturbances. The old-growth forest had low disturbance rates and continuous recruitment of beech and fir, while the long-untouched forest was intensively disturbed in the past and had lower natural disturbance rates thereafter. The recruitment of beech and fir preferred to occur after more intense disturbances, despite their high shade tolerance. The simulation model ForClim closely matched the potential natural vegetation of the forests, but overestimated the presence of less shade-tolerant species.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Harald Bugmann, Rupert Seidl
Summary: To assess the impacts of climate change on vegetation, models that include tree demography are needed. A meta-analysis of 28 models reveals that model complexity has evolved considerably over the past 50 years, with the largest increases seen in growth processes. Model diversity is lowest at the global scale and highest at the landscape scale. Most models in use today are not balanced in the level of complexity with which they represent different processes. Therefore, balanced further developments of forest models are strongly recommended.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
P. M. M. Soares, J. A. M. Careto, Rita M. Cardoso, Klaus Goergen, Eleni Katragkou, Stefan Sobolowski, Erika Coppola, Nikolina Ban, Danijel Belusic, Segolene Berthou, Cecile Caillaud, Andreas Dobler, Oivind Hodnebrog, Stergios Kartsios, Geert Lenderink, T. Lorenz, Josipa Milovac, Hendrik Feldmann, Emanuela Pichelli, Heimo Truhetz, Marie Estelle Demory, Hylke de Vries, Kirsten Warrach-Sagi, Klaus Keuler, Mario Raffa, Merja Toelle, Kevin Sieck, Sophie Bstin
Summary: The increase in computational resources has led to the emergence of high-resolution regional climate models. By comparing high-resolution simulations with global simulations and lower-resolution models, the added value of the models can be assessed. Although the gains are limited, the improvement in spatial representation can enhance local atmospheric circulations and land-atmosphere interactions, particularly in coastal areas.
Article
Forestry
Julia Isler, Harald Bugmann, Marco Conedera, Timothy Thrippleton
Summary: Since the 1950s, the invasive species tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) has been spreading in forests in southern Switzerland and is now a concern in northern Switzerland as well. This study used a forest gap model to simulate the long-term dynamics of managed and unmanaged forest stands under current and future climate conditions. The results suggest that although A. altissima will increase its presence in the short term, it will not dominate in the long term, except possibly in drought-prone sites with strong climate change.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aditya N. Mishra, Douglas Maraun, Raphael Knevels, Heimo Truhetz, Alexander Brenning, Herwig Proske
Summary: This study demonstrates the significant influence of anthropogenic climate change on a severe event in the southeastern Alpine forelands, with an estimated 952 landslides in 2009. It shows that up to 10% of the landslides can be attributed to climate change.
Article
Forestry
Reinhard Mey, Christian Temperli, Jonas Stillhard, Jens Nitzsche, Esther Thurig, Harald Bugmann, Jurgen Zell
Summary: Most forest management decisions are based on stand-level information, and quantitative forest models are important for sustainable management. However, data for large spatial scales are often lacking. This study evaluates different methods for deriving stand descriptions using data from small sample plots, and contributes to the improvement of forest models and simulation of future forest development.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Heimo Truhetz, Aditya N. Mishra
Summary: A novel convection permitting modelling framework is used to investigate the effects of soil moisture on summertime precipitation in the Eastern European Alpine region and parts of the Pannonian Basin. The simulations reveal that the locations of precipitation events are highly sensitive to soil moisture modifications, while the intensities and internal structures of precipitation events are minimally affected. The study also finds that high precipitation intensities are more likely in combinations with positive temporal and distinctive spatial soil moisture-precipitation coupling. The research highlights the importance of soil moisture as a guiding factor for precipitation events, independent of climate change.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Douglas Maraun, Raphael Knevels, Aditya N. Mishra, Heimo Truhetz, Emanuele Bevacqua, Herwig Proske, Giuseppe Zappa, Alexander Brenning, Helene Petschko, Armin Schaffer, Philip Leopold, Bryony L. Puxley
Summary: This study addresses the uncertainties and relative impacts of rainfall, soil moisture, and land use changes on landslide occurrences by simulating a showcase event in Austria under different climate conditions. It reveals that the area affected by landslides could significantly increase under global warming, but limiting warming according to the Paris Agreement could reduce the growth. Additionally, land use changes towards climate-resilient forests could compensate for the limited increase in hazard.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Edmund P. Meredith, Uwe Ulbrich, Henning W. Rust, Heimo Truhetz
Summary: The diurnal cycle of precipitation is a core mode of precipitation variability in regions dominated by convective precipitation, and extreme precipitation events are closely linked to it. Current climate models, like the EC-11 ensemble, exhibit biases in the timing and frequency of the diurnal cycle, while a convection-permitting model (CPM) shows more accurate representation, particularly for extreme events. Future changes in hourly precipitation show clear diurnal signals in both CPM and EC-11 models, with high regional variability and the signal typically peaking in the morning. The EC-11 models underestimate the amplitude of the diurnal signal compared to CPM, highlighting the advantages of using CPMs for future precipitation research at diurnal scale.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
