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Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Air, Climate Change and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 April 2023) | Viewed by 26379

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marcelo Francisco Pompelli

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Faculty of Agronomy, University of Córdoba, Montería, Córboda 230002, Colombia
Interests: plant stresses; metabolome; plant anatomy; seed germination; leaf area estimation; bioenergy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Planet Earth requires help. Greenhouse gas emissions continue raising the planet's temperature as it warms, collects, retains, and dumps more water, changing weather patterns and making wetlands wetter and drier areas drier. Rising sea levels will have catastrophic effects on cities like New York, Mumba and Sydney. Deforestation of tropical forests has resumed growth and the world economy remains heavily addicted to the use of fossil fuels and other unsustainable practices of consumption and development. The IPCC 2020 warned that the planet's average temperature has already increased by 1.1ºC since the beginning of the industrial age, and to keep this global warming below 2ºC, the world would need to reduce 25% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Less fresh water available and warming sea water are expected to have a catastrophic effect on phytoplankton, where 4/5 of global photosynthesis is produced, consuming atmospheric CO₂. To try to stop global warming we must change our habits. More efficient and less polluting transport routes, the recovery of deforested areas and fewer pollutants industries are some of the strategies. However, the world population growth rate is 1.1% and is expected to reach 9.7 billion inhabitants in 2050. With this, the demand for food also increases and, for that, more forested areas are being replaced by pasture and crop areas. Nature recently reported that more than 76,000 wildfires have burned in Brazil, the majority in the Amazon. Several million plant, animal, and insect species live in the Amazon, and it acts as a huge carbon sink that helps to cool global temperatures. Smoke particles also affect cloud formation by affecting the water-cycle forests. The burning of forests not only removes carbon sinks but releases millions of tons of CO₂, further aggravating the greenhouse effect. As inhabitants of planet Earth, each of us is responsible for the increase in the greenhouse effect. From the destruction of forests, the food that arrives on our tables, the clothes we wear—even the food we waste daily. Recently, a study led by the Federal University of Pará warned that the emission of methane in Lixão do Aurá is equivalent to the burning of 34 thousand hectares of forest. A recent study revealed a shocking fact: up to 30 million people may have died prematurely in China between 2000 and 2016 due to air pollution. This study warns that particles up to 2.5 micrometres in size, equivalent to 3% of the thickness of a human hair, contributed to 4.2 million deaths globally in 2015, with 1.1 million deaths in China. The planet calls for help, and an ecological disaster is inevitable. Cold, snow, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are expected to become more frequent, further aggravating the production and distribution of food on a planet that sees its population grow by more than 24% in less than 30 years; so, doing nothing is another step toward chaos. The planet asks for help and begs for public, environmental and scientific policies to try to stop the inevitable, the total collapse of Planet Earth.

In this special volume, we want to know all studies or experiences that have already been carried out to mitigate the effects of Global Climate Change. Studies that involve or describe success in the implementation of a more sustainable world and the total or very substitution of thermoelectric plants that use oil or coal for energy production are welcome. Improvements in the generation systems and sustainable use of green energies, food security, biotechnology, and green energy generation. Manuscripts that describe efficient food processes are welcome, describing all the biological and biotechnological processes that can be used to increase the production of more food with less land and with efficient use of wastewater irreplaceable by matrix are welcome too.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

describe the sustainable use of biofuels;
- alternative non-food plants to produce biofuel
- replace of petroleum fuel by green-energy biofuel
- biofuel and biomass produced by cyanobacterias
implementation of wind power generation networks;
implementation of a technology park to transform solar energy into chemical energy;
energy production through alternative means to replace petroleum and coal;
recovery of landscapes, buildings or green islands;
improvement in the food production process with less environmental impact and more sustainability;
replace freshwater by wastewater in agriculture;
food security;
biotechnology process, especially those involved with increased food production and the sustainable use of food waste;
equitable food production and distribution;
how crop breeding can improve food production to new global condition;
alternatives for using food with less environmental impact and greater sustainability.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marcelo Francisco Pompelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

bioenergy
more efficient transport system
food production
food security
replace freshwater to wastewater in agriculture
green building or island
earth disharmony
global warming
phytoplankton and CO₂ fixation
recycling

Published Papers (12 papers)

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19 pages, 6795 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deforestation and Its Effect on Surface Albedo and Weather Patterns

by Dalia Lizeth Santos Orozco, José Ariel Ruiz Corral, Raymundo Federico Villavicencio García and Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Moreno

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11531; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511531 - 26 Jul 2023

Viewed by 2003

Abstract

Deforestation is an important environmental problem and a key promoter of regional climate change through modifying the surface albedo. The objective of this research was to characterize the impact of deforestation and land use changes on surface albedo (α) and climate patterns in a tropical highland region of Mexico, between the years 2014 and 2021. The main land cover types are coniferous forests (CF), oak and gallery woodlands (OGW), and annual agriculture (AA), which represent more than 88% of the regional territory. We used 2014 and 2021 Landsat 8 OLI images with topographic and atmospheric correction in order to develop an inventory of albedo values for each land cover type in both time scenarios. Albedo images were generated by using the equation proposed by Liang in 2001, which is based on the reflectance of the bands 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. Differences in albedo values were calculated between the years 2014 and 2021, and those differences were correlated with variations in climate parameters, for which we used climate data derived from the WRF model. In addition, the different land use changes found were classified in terms of triggers for increasing or decreasing surface albedo. We used the Mann–Whitney U Test to compare the 2021 − 2014 climatic deviations in two samples: Sample A, which included sites without albedo change in 2021; and Sample B, including sites with albedo change in 2021. Results showed that between 2014 and 2021, at least 38 events of land use change or deforestation occurred, with albedo increments between 1 and 11%, which triggered an average increment of 2.16% (p < 0.01; Mann–Whitney U Test) of the regional surface albedo in comparison to the 2014 scenario. In this period, the albedo for CF, OGW, and AA also increased significantly (p < 0.001; Mann–Whitney U Test) by +79, +12, and +9%, respectively. In addition, the regional albedo increment was found to be significant and negatively correlated (p < 0.01 Spearman’s coefficient) with relative humidity (RH), maximum temperature (Tmax), and minimum temperature (Tmin), and correlated (p < 0.01) positively with diurnal temperature range (DTR). The Mann–Whitney U Test revealed that 2021 climatic variations in Sample B sites are statistically different (p < 0.05) to 2021 climatic variations in Sample A sites, which demonstrates that albedo changes are linked to a decrease in minimum temperature and relative humidity and an increase in DTR. Conversion of CF and OGW into AA, perennial agriculture (PA), or grassland (GR) always yielded an albedo increment, whilst the conversion of AA to irrigation agriculture (IA) or PA triggered a decrease in albedo, and finally, the pass from GR or AA to protected agriculture (PA) caused albedo to increase or decrease, depending on the greenhouse covers materials. Reducing deforestation of CF and OGW, conversion of AA or GR into PA, and selecting adequate greenhouse covers could help to mitigate regional climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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13 pages, 2148 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Technical Scheme for Cutting Seedlings of Cyclocarya paliurus under Intelligent Control of Environmental Factors

by Wanxia Yang, Jiaqi Zhuang, Yuan Tian, Shiying Wan, Siyu Ding, Mei Zhang and Shengzuo Fang

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10690; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310690 - 6 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1205

Abstract

Cyclocarya paliurus is a species with high economic, horticultural, and medicinal value. C. paliurus grows faster than other plants, increasing the demand for propagation through leaf and stem cuttings to produce seedlings. However, this species requires pre-control of environmental factors such as high temperatures (25–30 °C), humidity (80–90%), and specific light (2000 to 3000 lux) intensity levels during the cutting and seedling production process. However, it is difficult to predict suitable environments for the growth of C. paliurus. This study requires the use of big data technology to parameterize the method of intelligent control of the environment used in the process of making stakes and creating seedlings. Our main results were that an improved convolutional neural network and short long-term memory (LSTM) in big data technology were used with a new method, multipath hole convolution (MPCNN), to predict environmental factors in production of seedlings. Also, the research results show that the MPCNN and LSTM methods can accurately predict the necessary temperature, humidity, and light conditions in the production process of C. paliurus seedlings. For the prediction of environmental characteristics related to this species, the light characteristics have a high error distribution, but the method described here was able to accurately control this variation, with an error of less than 2%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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13 pages, 2090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Effects of Methane Metabolic Microbial Communities on the Glacial Methane Budget in the Northwestern Tibetan Plateau

by Yuchan Guo and Shuhong Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7352; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097352 - 28 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1423

Abstract

With global warming, the dramatic retreat of glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) might accelerate release of stored methane (CH₄) into the atmosphere; thus, this region might become a new source of CH₄. CH₄-metabolic microbial communities can produce or consume CH₄ in the environment, which is critical for evaluating the CH₄ budget of glaciers. However, studies on the influence of CH₄-metabolic microbial communities on the CH₄ budget during glacier retreat in the TP remain scarce. In this work, ice samples were collected at the terminus of the Guliya Ice Cap in the northwestern TP. The community composition of CH₄-metabolic microorganisms, including methanogens and methanotrophs, was determined using genomic analysis, and the metabolic rates of the two microorganisms were further estimated. The abundance of methanotrophs in Guliya was one order of magnitude higher than that of methanogens. The CH₄ consumption flux by the combined action of the two microorganisms was ca. 1.42 × 10³ pmol·mL⁻¹·d⁻¹, suggesting that CH₄ metabolic microbial communities in the glacier might be an important CH₄ sink, and can reduce subglacial CH₄ emission during glacier retreat. This is important for predicting the CH₄ budget in glaciers on the TP and corresponding climate impacts during glacier retreat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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24 pages, 7172 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Imbibition and Germination of Seeds with Economic and Ecological Interest: Physical and Biochemical Factors Involved

by Marcelo F. Pompelli, Alfredo Jarma-Orozco and Luis Alfonso Rodriguez-Páez

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5394; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065394 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4629

Abstract

In this study, we describe the seed imbibition of 14 different species, from crop, forest, and native species potentially able to recover landscapes and form sustainable green cities. Seed imbibition is a fundamental physical and physiological process for reactivating metabolism and hydrolytic enzymes that will provide seed germination. We verified that the water imbibition is more closely governed by differences between osmotic potential (Ψ_w) and surrounding media than seed weight or seed hardness. In turn, seeds of Spondias tuberosa and Euterpe oleracea that have a Ψ_w of −75 MPa and a tegument as hard as 200 N imbibed an insignificant volume of water. Consequently, their metabolism is not significantly affected comparing the non-imbibed seeds and 120-h-imbibed seeds. Malpighia glabra or Annona squamosa also show very negative Ψ_w where the seed coat hardness is less evident; however, in these species, the seed imbibition increased the respiration rate by eight- to ten-fold in 120 h-imbibed-seeds than non-imbibed-seeds. The high-water absorption in M. glabra (49%) seems to be due to its highly convoluted tissue in the dry state, while in J. curcas and A. squamosa the presence of a highly porous seed coat must have favored seed imbibition and prompt metabolic reactivation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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21 pages, 4917 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Chlorophyll a Fluorescence and Photobleaching Be a Stress Signal under Abiotic Stress in Vigna unguiculata L.?

by Marcelo F. Pompelli, Daniela Vegliante Arrieta, Yirlis Yadeth Pineda Rodríguez, Ana Melisa Jiménez Ramírez, Ana Milena Vasquez Bettin, María Angélica Quiñones Avilez, Jesús Adolfo Ayala Cárcamo, Samuel Giovanny Garcia-Castaño, Lina María Mestra González, Elias David Florez Cordero, Marvin José Perneth Montaño, Cristian Camilo Pacheco Mendoza, Anthony Ricardo Ariza González, Alberto José Tello Coley, Alfredo Jarma-Orozco and Luis Alfonso Rodriguez Paez

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15503; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315503 - 22 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1935

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions continue raising the planet’s temperature by 1.5 °C since the industrial age, while the world population growth rate is 1.1%. So, studies aimed at food security and better land use are welcomed. In this paradigm, we choose Vigna unguiculata to test how it would behave in the face of severe abiotic stresses, such as drought and salt stress. This study shows that under abiotic stresses V. unguiculata tries to overcome the stress by emitting chlorophyll a fluorescence and promoting photobleaching. Thus, fewer photons are directed to photosystem I, to generate lethal reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant system showed a high activity in plants submitted to drought stress but fell in salt-stressed plants. Thus, the reductor power not dissipated by fluorescence or heat was captured and converted into hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) which was 2.2-fold higher in salt-stressed V. unguiculata plants. Consequently, the malondialdehyde (MDA) increased in all treatment. Compiling all data, we can argue that the rapid extinguishing of chlorophyll a fluorescence, mainly in non-photochemical quenching and heat can be an indicator of stress as a first defense system, while the H₂O₂ and MDA accumulation would be considered biochemical signals for plant defenses or plant injuries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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33 pages, 6394 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stevia rebaudiana under a CO₂ Enrichment Atmosphere: Can CO₂ Enrichment Overcome Stomatic, Mesophilic and Biochemical Barriers That Limit Photosynthesis?

by Marcelo F. Pompelli, Carlos A. Espitia-Romero, Juán de Diós Jaraba-Navas, Luis Alfonso Rodriguez-Paez and Alfredo Jarma-Orozco

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14269; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114269 - 1 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1363

Abstract

Due to the desire to live a healthier lifestyle, the search for nonglycosidic sweeteners has increased stevioside production in recent years. The main goal of this study was to demonstrate that S. rebaudiana grown in a CO₂-enriched environment can overcome stomatic, mesophilic and biochemical barriers that limit photosynthesis (A_N). We show that in an environment with a CO₂-enriched atmosphere (800 and 1200 µmol CO₂ mol⁻¹), the genotype 16 (G16) shows an increase of 17.5% in A_N and 36.2% in stomatal conductance in plants grown in 800 µmol CO₂ mol⁻¹ when compared to non-enriched plants. In conjunction with this issue, the plants show an efficient mechanism of dissipating excess energy captured by the photosystems. Photosystem II efficiency was increased at 1200 µmol CO₂ mol⁻¹ when compared to non-enriched plants, both in genotype 4 (25.4%) and G16 (211%). In addition, a high activity of Calvin–Benson enzymes, a high production of sugars and an enhanced production of steviosides were combined with high horticultural yield. Both genotypes (G4 and G16) showed excellent physiological indicators, with high superiority in G16. Thus, our study has demonstrated that S. rebaudiana could adapt to global climate change scenarios with higher temperatures caused by higher atmospheric CO₂. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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19 pages, 1932 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Pools in a 77 Year-Old Oak Forest under Conversion from Coppice to High Forest

by Petros Ganatsas, Marianthi Tsakaldimi, Theodoros Karydopoulos, Lydia-Maria Petaloudi, Alexandros Papaemmanouil, Sotirios Papadopoulos and Sofia Gerochristou

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13764; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113764 - 24 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1692

Abstract

Recent model projections and many research results across the world suggest that forests could be significant carbon sinks or sources in the future, contributing in a such a way to global warming mitigation. Conversion of coppice forest to high forest may play an important role towards this direction. This study deals with the estimation of biomass, carbon pool and accumulation rates in all IPCC biomass categories of a 77 year-old oak ecosystem, which has been subjected to conversion from coppice to high forest through repeated tending measures. The research includes a plethora of field tree measurements, destructive sampling of representative oak trees and a systematic sampling of dead wood (standing and fallen), litter and soil. Furthermore, for the estimation of above ground tree living biomass at the stand level, we developed and tested appropriate allometric biomass equations based on the relationships between various independent tree variables (morphological characteristics) and the different tree biomass compartments or leaf biomass. Data analysis shows that coppice conversion results in large accumulation of carbon in all ecosystem pools, with an average annual carbon rate accumulation of 1.97 Mg ha^–1 in living above and below ground tree biomass and small amounts to dead wood and litter. The developed allometric equations indicate that above ground tree living biomass can be reliable and precisely predicted by the simple measurement of tree diameter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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22 pages, 3422 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Canola Seed Priming and Its Effect on Gas Exchange, Chlorophyll Photobleaching, and Enzymatic Activities in Response to Salt Stress

by Waleed Iqbal, Muhammad Zahir Afridi, Aftab Jamal, Adil Mihoub, Muhammad Farhan Saeed, Árpád Székely, Adil Zia, Muhammad Awais Khan, Alfredo Jarma-Orozco and Marcelo F. Pompelli

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9377; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159377 - 31 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2804

Abstract

Canola is the second-largest oil seed crop in the world, providing oil mainly composed of long-chain fatty acids (C14 to C20). When mixed with fossil-diesel, canola-based biofuel can be used in passenger vehicles, trucks, or even in aviation. Canola is the most productive type of biofuel due to its oil’s long-chain and unbranched fatty acid composition, which makes it more fluid. However, canola yields are constrained by drought and salinity that can aggravate climate change, resulting in negative consequences. Therefore, it is becoming necessary for studies that involved the canola salt-tolerant genotypes to consider soil salinization by use of saline soil or salinized soil by a non-efficient irrigation method. This study was carried out to assess the effects of salinity on seed germination and the effect of CaCl₂ (ψ_s = −1.2 MPa) on the promotion of regenerated plant memory when a new cycle of stress occurs. Our experiment shows that salt-stressed canola plants resulted in a high reduction in chlorophylls and carotenoids, with a high impact on gas exchange and a reduction in the efficiency of the chloroplast electron chain transporter, producing the negative effect of reduced molecules that affect the membrane integrity. However, canola seed priming could produce a memory in the regenerated plants when the second round of salt stress was applied. This research concludes that canola genotypes appear to have a tolerance mechanism against salt stress which could be an important trait for developing high-yielding canola varieties in future breeding programs under salt stress conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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20 pages, 6627 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Advanced and Robust Approach to Maximize Solar Photovoltaic Power Production

by Muhannad Alaraj, Astitva Kumar, Ibrahim Alsaidan, Mohammad Rizwan and Majid Jamil

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7398; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127398 - 16 Jun 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1693

Abstract

The stochastic and erratic behavior of solar photovoltaic (SPV) is a challenge, especially due to changing meteorological conditions. During a partially irradiated SPV system, the performance of traditional maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controllers is unsatisfactory because of multiple peaks in the Power-Voltage curve. This work is an attempt to understand the performance uncertainties of the SPV system under different shading conditions and its mitigation. Here, a novel hybrid metaheuristic algorithm is proposed for the effective and efficient tracking of power. The algorithm is inspired by the movement of grey wolves and the swarming action of birds, and is thus known as the hybrid grey wolf optimizer (HGWO). The study focuses on the transient and steady-state performance of the proposed controller during different conditions. A comparative analysis of the proposed technique with incremental conductance and a particle swarm optimizer for different configurations is presented. Thus, the results are presented based on power extracted, shading loss, convergence factor and efficiency. The proposed HGWO–MPPT is found to be better as it has a maximum efficiency of 94.30% and a minimum convergence factor of 0.20 when compared with other techniques under varying conditions for different topologies. Furthermore, a practical assessment of the proposed controller on a 6.3 kW_p rooftop SPV system is also presented in the paper. Energy production is increased by 8.55% using the proposed approach to the practical system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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Review

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19 pages, 1233 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ice Core Methane Analytical Techniques, Chronology and Concentration History Changes: A Review

by Jing Song

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9346; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129346 - 9 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1332

Abstract

Ice cores are invaluable in paleoclimate research, offering unique insights into the evolution of the natural environment, human activities, and Earth’s climate system. Methane (CH₄) is a crucial greenhouse gas, second only to CO₂ in its contribution to global warming, and is one of the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Understanding historical CH₄ concentration changes is essential for predicting future trends and informing climate change mitigation strategies. By analyzing gas components trapped in ice core bubbles, we can directly examine the composition of ancient atmospheres. However, there are relatively few comprehensive reviews on ice core CH₄ testing techniques, chronology, and concentration history records. In response to this gap, our paper systematically reviews ice core CH₄ analytical techniques, chronology, and concentration history changes. Our review indicates that current research on CH₄ in non-polar ice cores is insufficient compared to polar ice cores, facing challenges such as high data dispersion, outlier frequency, and the presence of non-atmospheric signals. These limitations hinder our in-depth understanding of CH₄ signals in non-polar ice cores, and the reliability of atmospheric CH₄ concentration changes they reflect. To address these challenges, we propose exploring and applying advanced testing techniques, such as Continuous Flow Analysis technology, in non-polar ice cores. Additionally, we emphasize the research gap in utilizing CH₄ records for age determination in ice core chronology. Future research should focus on this area to advance our understanding of ice core chronology and the history of atmospheric CH₄ changes in non-polar regions, ultimately contributing to more effective climate change mitigation efforts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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26 pages, 8791 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Method to Assess Agroecosystem Resilience to Climate Variability

by Alejandro Cleves, Eva Youkhana and Javier Toro

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8588; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148588 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3678

Abstract

Agroecosystems are influenced by climate variability, which puts their productivity at risk. However, they tend to maintain a functional state through their resilience. The literature presents several methods for assessing general resilience, but for specific resilience to climate variability, there are very few methods. An index is proposed that assesses the resilience of agroecosystems to climate variability, based on approaches and indicators that consider the interrelationships of agricultural systems with the environment. The index is made up of a set of multidimensional indicators, which give weight to the role that these play in the resilience of an agroecosystem. As a result, decision-making is assisted in the attempt to adapt or modify components of a farm, technology, and the culture of farmers. This index conceptually introduces structural and linkage indicators that assess ecological connections within farms and between farms and their environment. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, an application was implemented to evaluate the resilience to climate variability of fifty-one farms, located in Colombia, dedicated to citrus production, and it was verified that the most resilient farms were those that have the best qualified indicators, as well as being the ones with the highest level of production and profitability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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Other

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10 pages, 2763 KiB

Open AccessOpinion

Mitigation of Global Climate Change through Genetic Improvement of Resin Production from Resinous Pines: The Case of Pinus halepensis in Greece

by Maria Tsaktsira, Parthena Tsoulpha, Athanasios Economou and Apostolos Scaltsoyiannes

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8052; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108052 - 15 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1160

Abstract

Carbon sequestration by forests and storage in biomass has gained great interest globally in climate change mitigation. Resinous pine forests act as ideal carbon sinks because, in addition to capturing atmospheric CO₂ for biomass production, they produce resin (resin concentration in C: 77.17% w/w), contributing further to the mitigation of the greenhouse effect. Greece until the 1970s was considered one of the main resin-producing countries of Europe, due to the quantity and quality of resin products collected from natural populations mainly of Pinus halepensis Mill. Previous and current research has shown that resin production is a genetically controlled trait (h² > 0.70) that exhibits great variability among trees (resin 0.5–33.0 kg per tree and year). The above led to the genetic selection of P. halepensis genotypes with constant over time high resin yields (≥20 kg per tree and year) and consequently greater atmospheric CO₂ sequestration for more effective counteracting climate change but also for economic reasons for the benefit of resin producers. These high-yielding genotypes were cloned through grafting on P. brutia rootstocks and became potential trees for establishing commercial pine plantations. Thus, one hectare of commercial plantation of 500 P. halepensis trees, with a resin yield of 20 kg per tree, is expected to sequester 28.31 tn CO₂ per year (instead of 2.82 tn of CO₂ per year of a natural stand of 400 P. halepensis trees based on a resin yield of 2.5 kg per tree), at the productive age of 25 years. In this case, commercial plantations with improved genotypes of P. halepensis have great potential not only in mitigating the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere, but also in restoring degraded marginal areas and arid soils, and at the same time can offer social and economic benefits to the local communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Climate Change: What Are We Doing to Mitigate Its Effects)

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