@article{AvramiSprinz2018, author = {Avrami, Lydia and Sprinz, Detlef F.}, title = {Measuring and explaining the EU's effect on national climate performance}, series = {Environmental Politics}, volume = {28}, journal = {Environmental Politics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0964-4016}, doi = {10.1080/09644016.2018.1494945}, pages = {822 -- 846}, year = {2018}, abstract = {To what extent has the European Union (EU) had a benign or retarding effect on what its member states would have undertaken in the absence of EU climate policies during 2008-2012? A measurement tool for the EU policy's effect is developed and shows a benign average EU effect with considerable variation across countries. The EU's policy effectiveness vis-{\`a}-vis its member states is explained by the EU's non-compliance mechanism, the degree of usage of the Kyoto flexible mechanisms, and national pre-Kyoto emission reduction goals. Time-series cross-sectional analyses show that the EU's non-compliance mechanism has no effect, while the ex-ante plans for using Kyoto flexible mechanisms and/or the ambitious pre-Kyoto emission reduction targets allow member states to escape constraints imposed by EU climate policy.}, language = {en} } @article{AyllonRailsbackVincenzietal.2016, author = {Ayllon, Daniel and Railsback, Steven Floyd and Vincenzi, Simone and Groeneveld, Juergen and Almodoevar, Ana and Grimm, Volker}, title = {InSTREAM-Gen: Modelling eco-evolutionary dynamics of trout populations under anthropogenic environmental change}, series = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog}, volume = {326}, journal = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0304-3800}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.07.026}, pages = {36 -- 53}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Current rates of environmental change are exceeding the capacity of many populations to adapt to new conditions and thus avoid demographic collapse and ultimate extinction. In particular, cold-water freshwater fish species are predicted to experience strong selective pressure from climate change and a wide range of interacting anthropogenic stressors in the near future. To implement effective management and conservation measures, it is crucial to quantify the maximum rate of change that cold-water freshwater fish populations can withstand. Here, we present a spatially explicit eco-genetic individual-based model, inSTREAM-Gen, to predict the eco-evolutionary dynamics of stream-dwelling trout under anthropogenic environmental change. The model builds on a well-tested demographic model, which includes submodels of river dynamics, bioenergetics, and adaptive habitat selection, with a new genetic module that allows exploration of genetic and life-history adaptations to new environments. The genetic module models the transmission of two key traits, size at emergence and maturity size threshold. We parameterized the model for a brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) population at the warmest edge of its range to validate it and analyze its sensitivity to parameters under contrasting thermal profiles. To illustrate potential applications of the model, we analyzed the population's demographic and evolutionary dynamics under scenarios of (1) climate change-induced warming, and (2) warming plus flow reduction resulting from climate and land use change, compared to (3) a baseline of no environmental change. The model predicted severe declines in density and biomass under climate warming. These declines were lower than expected at range margins because of evolution towards smaller size at both emergence and maturation compared to the natural evolution under the baseline conditions. Despite stronger evolutionary responses, declining rates were substantially larger under the combined warming and flow reduction scenario, leading to a high probability of population extinction over contemporary time frames. Therefore, adaptive responses could not prevent extinction under high rates of environmental change. Our model demonstrates critical elements of next generation ecological modelling aiming at predictions in a changing world as it accounts for spatial and temporal resource heterogeneity, while merging individual behaviour and bioenergetics with microevolutionary adaptations.}, language = {en} } @article{BansardPattbergWiderberg2017, author = {Bansard, Jennifer S. and Pattberg, Philipp H. and Widerberg, Oscar}, title = {Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance}, series = {International environmental agreements: politics, law and economics}, volume = {17}, journal = {International environmental agreements: politics, law and economics}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1567-9764}, doi = {10.1007/s10784-016-9318-9}, pages = {229 -- 246}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Despite the proliferation and promise of subnational climate initiatives, the institutional architecture of transnational municipal networks (TMNs) is not well understood. With a view to close this research gap, the article empirically assesses the assumption that TMNs are a viable substitute for ambitious international action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It addresses the aggregate phenomenon in terms of geographical distribution, central players, mitigation ambition and monitoring provisions. Examining thirteen networks, it finds that membership in TMNs is skewed toward Europe and North America while countries from the Global South are underrepresented; that only a minority of networks commit to quantified emission reductions and that these are not more ambitious than Parties to the UNFCCC; and finally that the monitoring provisions are fairly limited. In sum, the article shows that transnational municipal networks are not (yet) the representative, ambitious and transparent player they are thought to be.}, language = {en} } @article{BartholdWiesmeierBreueretal.2013, author = {Barthold, Frauke Katrin and Wiesmeier, Martin and Breuer, L. and Frede, Hans-Georg and Wu, J. and Blank, F. Benjamin}, title = {Land use and climate control the spatial distribution of soil types in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia}, series = {Journal of arid environments}, volume = {88}, journal = {Journal of arid environments}, number = {1}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {London}, issn = {0140-1963}, doi = {10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.08.004}, pages = {194 -- 205}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The spatial distribution of soil types is controlled by a set of environmental factors such as climate, organisms, parent material and topography as well as time and space. A change of these factors will lead to a change in the spatial distribution of soil types. In this study, we use a digital soil mapping approach to improve our knowledge about major soil type distributing factors in the steppe regions of Inner Mongolia (China) which currently undergo tremendous environmental change, e.g. climate and land use change. We use Random Forests in an effort to map Reference Soil Groups according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) in the Xilin River catchment. We benefit from the superior prediction capabilities of RF and additional interpretive results in order to identify the major environmental factors that control spatial patterns of soil types. The nine WRB soil groups that were identified and spatially predicted for the study area are Arenosol, Calcisol, Cambisol, Chernozem, Cryosol, Gleysol, Kastanozem, Phaeozem and Regosol. Model and prediction performances of the RF model are high with an Out-of-Bag error of 51.6\% for the model and a misclassification error for the predicted map of 28.9\%. The main controlling factors of soil type distribution are land use, a set of topographic variables, geology and climate. However, land use and climate are of major importance and topography and geology are of minor importance. The visualizations of the predictions, the variable importance measures as result of RF and the comparisons of these with the spatial distribution of the environmental factors delivered additional, quantitative information of these controlling factors and revealed that intensively grazed areas are subjected to soil degradation. However, most of the area is still governed by natural soil forming processes which are driven by climate, topography and geology. Most importantly though, our study revealed that a shift towards warmer temperatures and lower precipitation regimes will lead to a change of the spatial distribution of RSGs towards steppe soils that store less carbon, i.e. a decrease of spatial extent of Phaeozems and an increase of spatial extent of Chernozems and Kastanozems.}, language = {en} } @article{BellJonesSmithetal.2012, author = {Bell, M. J. and Jones, E. and Smith, J. and Smith, P. and Yeluripati, J. and Augustin, J{\"u}rgen and Juszczak, R. and Olejnik, J. and Sommer, Michael}, title = {Simulation of soil nitrogen, nitrous oxide emissions and mitigation scenarios at 3 European cropland sites using the ECOSSE model}, series = {Nutrient cycling in agroecosystems}, volume = {92}, journal = {Nutrient cycling in agroecosystems}, number = {2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1385-1314}, doi = {10.1007/s10705-011-9479-4}, pages = {161 -- 181}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The global warming potential of nitrous oxide (N2O) and its long atmospheric lifetime mean its presence in the atmosphere is of major concern, and that methods are required to measure and reduce emissions. Large spatial and temporal variations means, however, that simple extrapolation of measured data is inappropriate, and that other methods of quantification are required. Although process-based models have been developed to simulate these emissions, they often require a large amount of input data that is not available at a regional scale, making regional and global emission estimates difficult to achieve. The spatial extent of organic soils means that quantification of emissions from these soil types is also required, but will not be achievable using a process-based model that has not been developed to simulate soil water contents above field capacity or organic soils. The ECOSSE model was developed to overcome these limitations, and with a requirement for only input data that is readily available at a regional scale, it can be used to quantify regional emissions and directly inform land-use change decisions. ECOSSE includes the major processes of nitrogen (N) turnover, with material being exchanged between pools of SOM at rates modified by temperature, soil moisture, soil pH and crop cover. Evaluation of its performance at site-scale is presented to demonstrate its ability to adequately simulate soil N contents and N2O emissions from cropland soils in Europe. Mitigation scenarios and sensitivity analyses are also presented to demonstrate how ECOSSE can be used to estimate the impact of future climate and land-use change on N2O emissions.}, language = {en} } @article{BergholzMayRistowetal.2017, author = {Bergholz, Kolja and May, Felix and Ristow, Michael and Giladi, Itamar and Ziv, Yaron and Jeltsch, Florian}, title = {Two Mediterranean annuals feature high within-population trait variability and respond differently to a precipitation gradient}, series = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, volume = {25}, journal = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {1439-1791}, doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2017.11.001}, pages = {48 -- 58}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Intraspecific trait variability plays an important role in species adaptation to climate change. However, it still remains unclear how plants in semi-arid environments respond to increasing aridity. We investigated the intraspecific trait variability of two common Mediterranean annuals (Geropogon hybridus and Crupina crupinastrum) with similar habitat preferences. They were studied along a steep precipitation gradient in Israel similar to the maximum predicted precipitation changes in the eastern Mediterranean basin (i.e. -30\% until 2100). We expected a shift from competitive ability to stress tolerance with decreasing precipitation and tested this expectation by measuring key functional traits (canopy and seed release height, specific leaf area, N-and P-leaf content, seed mass). Further, we evaluated generative bet-hedging strategies by different seed traits. Both species showed different responses along the precipitation gradient. C. crupinastrum exhibited only decreased plant height toward saridity, while G. hybridus showed strong trends of generative adaptation to aridity. Different seed trait indices suggest increased bet-hedging of G. hybridus in arid environments. However, no clear trends along the precipitation gradient were observed in leaf traits (specific leaf area and leaf N-/P-content) in both species. Moreover, variance decomposition revealed that most of the observed trait variation (>> 50\%) is found within populations. The findings of our study suggest that responses to increased aridity are highly species-specific and local environmental factors may have a stronger effect on intraspecific trait variation than shifts in annual precipitation. We therefore argue that trait-based analyses should focus on precipitation gradients that are comparable to predicted precipitation changes and compare precipitation effects to effects of local environmental factors. (C) 2017 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @incollection{BronstertCrisologoHeistermannetal.2020, author = {Bronstert, Axel and Crisologo, Irene and Heistermann, Maik and {\"O}zt{\"u}rk, Ugur and Vogel, Kristin and Wendi, Dadiyorto}, title = {Flash-floods: more often, more severe, more damaging?}, series = {Climate change, hazards and adaptation options: handling the impacts of a changing climate}, booktitle = {Climate change, hazards and adaptation options: handling the impacts of a changing climate}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-37425-9}, issn = {1610-2010}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-37425-9_12}, pages = {225 -- 244}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In recent years, urban and rural flash floods in Europe and abroad have gained considerable attention because of their sudden occurrence, severe material damages and even danger to life of inhabitants. This contribution addresses questions about possibly changing environmental conditions which might have altered the occurrence frequencies of such events and their consequences. We analyze the following major fields of environmental changes. Altered high intensity rain storm conditions, as a consequence of regionalwarming; Possibly altered runoff generation conditions in response to high intensity rainfall events; Possibly altered runoff concentration conditions in response to the usage and management of the landscape, such as agricultural, forest practices or rural roads; Effects of engineering measures in the catchment, such as retention basins, check dams, culverts, or river and geomorphological engineering measures. We take the flash-flood in Braunsbach, SW-Germany, as an example, where a particularly concise flash flood event occurred at the end of May 2016. This extreme cascading natural event led to immense damage in this particular village. The event is retrospectively analyzed with regard to meteorology, hydrology, geomorphology and damage to obtain a quantitative assessment of the processes and their development. The results show that it was a very rare rainfall event with extreme intensities, which in combination with catchment properties and altered environmental conditions led to extreme runoff, extreme debris flow and immense damages. Due to the complex and interacting processes, no single flood cause can be identified, since only the interplay of those led to such an event. We have shown that environmental changes are important, but-at least for this case study-even natural weather and hydrologic conditions would still have resulted in an extreme flash flood event.}, language = {en} } @article{BubeckThieken2017, author = {Bubeck, Philip and Thieken, Annegret}, title = {What helps people recover from floods?}, series = {Regional environmental change}, volume = {18}, journal = {Regional environmental change}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1436-3798}, doi = {10.1007/s10113-017-1200-y}, pages = {287 -- 296}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The number of people exposed to natural hazards has grown steadily over recent decades, mainly due to increasing exposure in hazard-prone areas. In the future, climate change could further enhance this trend. Still, empirical and comprehensive insights into individual recovery from natural hazards are largely lacking, hampering efforts to increase societal resilience. Drawing from a sample of 710 residents affected by flooding across Germany in June 2013, we empirically explore a wide range of variables possibly influencing self-reported recovery, including flood-event characteristics, the circumstances of the recovery process, socio-economic characteristics, and psychological factors, using multivariate statistics. We found that the amount of damage and other flood-event characteristics such as inundation depth are less important than socio-economic characteristics (e.g., sex or health status) and psychological factors (e.g., risk aversion and emotions). Our results indicate that uniform recovery efforts focusing on areas that were the most affected in terms of physical damage are insufficient to account for the heterogeneity in individual recovery results. To increase societal resilience, aid and recovery efforts should better address the long-term psychological effects of floods.}, language = {en} } @article{ButerHeckmannFilisettietal.2022, author = {Buter, Anuschka and Heckmann, Tobias and Filisetti, Lorenzo and Savi, Sara and Mao, Luca and Gems, Bernhard and Comiti, Francesco}, title = {Effects of catchment characteristics and hydro-meteorological scenarios on sediment connectivity in glacierised catchments}, series = {Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology}, volume = {402}, journal = {Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0169-555X}, doi = {10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108128}, pages = {17}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In the past decade, sediment connectivity has become a widely recognized characteristic of a geomorphic system. However, the quantification of functional connectivity (i.e. connectivity which arises due to the actual occurrence of sediment transport processes) and its variation over space and time is still a challenge. In this context, this study assesses the effects of expected future phenomena in the context of climate change (i.e. glacier retreat, permafrost degradation or meteorological extreme events) on sediment transport dynamics in a glacierised Alpine basin. The study area is the Sulden river basin (drainage area 130 km(2)) in the Italian Alps, which is composed of two geomorphologically diverse sub-basins. Based on graph theory, we evaluated the spatio-temporal variations in functional connectivity in these two sub-basins. The graph-object, obtained by manually mapping sediment transport processes between landforms, was adapted to 6 different hydro-meteorological scenarios, which derive from combining base, heatwave and rainstorm conditions with snowmelt and glacier-melt periods. For each scenario and each sub-basin, the sediment transport network and related catchment characteristics were analysed. To compare the effects of the scenarios on functional connectivity, we introduced a connectivity degree, calculated based on the area of the landforms involved in sediment cascades. Results indicate that the area of the basin connected to its outlet in terms of sediment transport might feature a six-fold increase in case of rainstorm conditions compared to "average " meteorological conditions assumed for the base scenario. Furthermore, markedly different effects of climate change on sediment connectivity are expected between the two sub-catchments due to their contrasting morphological and lithological characteristics, in terms of relative importance of rainfall triggered colluvial processes vs temperature-driven proglacial fluvial dynamics.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{Buerger2014, author = {B{\"u}rger, Gerd}, title = {Comment on "Bias correction, quantile mapping, and downscaling: revisiting the inflation issue"}, series = {Journal of climate}, volume = {27}, journal = {Journal of climate}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Meteorological Soc.}, address = {Boston}, issn = {0894-8755}, doi = {10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00184.1}, pages = {1819 -- 1820}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In a recent paper, Maraun describes the adverse effects of quantile mapping on downscaling. He argues that when large-scale GCM variables are rescaled directly to small-scale fields or even station data, genuine small-scale covariability is lost and replaced by uniform variability inherited from the larger scales. This leads to a misrepresentation mainly of areal means and long-term trends. This comment acknowledges the former point, although the argument is relatively old, but disagrees with the latter, showing that grid-size long-term trends can be different from local trends. Finally, because it is partly incorrectly addressed, some clarification is added regarding the inflation issue, stressing that neither randomization nor inflation is free of unverified assumptions.}, language = {en} } @article{BuergerPfisterBronstert2019, author = {B{\"u}rger, Gerd and Pfister, A. and Bronstert, Axel}, title = {Temperature-Driven Rise in Extreme Sub-Hourly Rainfall}, series = {Journal of climate}, volume = {32}, journal = {Journal of climate}, number = {22}, publisher = {American Meteorological Soc.}, address = {Boston}, issn = {0894-8755}, doi = {10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0136.1}, pages = {7597 -- 7609}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Estimates of present and future extreme sub-hourly rainfall are derived from a daily spatial followed by a sub-daily temporal downscaling, the latter of which incorporates a novel, and crucial, temperature sensitivity. Specifically, daily global climate fields are spatially downscaled to local temperature T and precipitation P, which are then disaggregated to a temporal resolution of 10 min using a multiplicative random cascade model. The scheme is calibrated and validated with a group of 21 station records of 10-min resolution in Germany. The cascade model is used in the classical (denoted as MC) and in the new T-sensitive (MC+) version, which respects local Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) effects such as CC scaling. Extreme P is positively biased in both MC versions. Observed T sensitivity is absent in MC but well reproduced by MC+. Long-term positive trends in extreme sub-hourly P are generally more pronounced and more significant in MC+ than in MC. In units of 10-min rainfall, observed centennial trends in annual exceedance counts (EC) of P > 5 mm are +29\% and in 3-yr return levels (RL) +27\%. For the RCP4.5-simulated future, higher extremes are projected in both versions MC and MC+: per century, EC increases by 30\% for MC and by 83\% for MC+; the RL rises by 14\% for MC and by 33\% for MC+. Because the projected daily P trends are negligible, the sub-daily signal is mainly driven by local temperature.}, language = {en} } @article{CaronDeFrenneBrunetetal.2014, author = {Caron, Maria Mercedes and De Frenne, P. and Brunet, J. and Chabrerie, Olivier and Cousins, S. A. O. and De Backer, L. and Diekmann, M. and Graae, B. J. and Heinken, Thilo and Kolb, A. and Naaf, T. and Plue, J. and Selvi, F. and Strimbeck, G. R. and Wulf, Monika and Verheyen, Kris}, title = {Latitudinal variation in seeds characteristics of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus}, series = {Plant ecology : an international journal}, volume = {215}, journal = {Plant ecology : an international journal}, number = {8}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dordrecht}, issn = {1385-0237}, doi = {10.1007/s11258-014-0343-x}, pages = {911 -- 925}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Climate change will likely affect population dynamics of numerous plant species by modifying several aspects of the life cycle. Because plant regeneration from seeds may be particularly vulnerable, here we assess the possible effects of climate change on seed characteristics and present an integrated analysis of seven seed traits (nutrient concentrations, samara mass, seed mass, wing length, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass) of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus seeds collected along a wide latitudinal gradient from Italy to Norway. Seed traits were analyzed in relation to the environmental conditions experienced by the mother trees along the latitudinal gradient. We found that seed traits of A. platanoides were more influenced by the climatic conditions than those of A. pseudoplatanus. Additionally, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass of A. platanoides were strongly related to the seed mass and nutrient concentration. While A. platanoides seeds were more influenced by the environmental conditions (generally negatively affected by rising temperatures), compared to A. pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides still showed higher germination percentage and seedling biomass than A. pseudoplatanus. Thus, further research on subsequent life-history stages of both species is needed. The variation in seed quality observed along the climatic gradient highlights the importance of studying the possible impact of climate change on seed production and species demography.}, language = {en} } @article{CaronDeFrenneChabrerieetal.2015, author = {Caron, Maria Mercedes and De Frenne, P. and Chabrerie, Olivier and Cousins, S. A. O. and De Backer, L. and Decocq, G. and Diekmann, M. and Heinken, Thilo and Kolb, A. and Naaf, T. and Plue, J. and Selvi, F. and Strimbeck, G. R. and Wulf, M. and Verheyen, Kris}, title = {Impacts of warming and changes in precipitation frequency on the regeneration of two Acer species}, series = {Flora : morphology, distribution, functional ecology of plants}, volume = {214}, journal = {Flora : morphology, distribution, functional ecology of plants}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {0367-2530}, doi = {10.1016/j.flora.2015.05.005}, pages = {24 -- 33}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @article{DolgenerFreudenbergerSchneeweissetal.2014, author = {Dolgener, Nicola and Freudenberger, L. and Schneeweiss, N. and Ibisch, P. L. and Tiedemann, Ralph}, title = {Projecting current and potential future distribution of the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina under climate change in north-eastern Germany}, series = {Regional environmental change}, volume = {14}, journal = {Regional environmental change}, number = {3}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1436-3798}, doi = {10.1007/s10113-013-0468-9}, pages = {1063 -- 1072}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Environmental change is likely to have a strong impact on biodiversity, and many species may shift their distribution in response. In this study, we aimed at projecting the availability of suitable habitat for an endangered amphibian species, the Fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina, in Brandenburg (north-eastern Germany). We modelled a potential habitat distribution map based on (1) a database with 10,581 presence records for Bombina from the years 1990 to 2009, (2) current estimates for ecogeographical variables (EGVs) and (3) the future projection of these EGVs according to the statistical regional model, respectively, the soil and water integrated model, applying the maximum entropy approach (Maxent). By comparing current and potential future distributions, we evaluated the projected change in distribution of suitable habitats and identified the environmental variables most associated with habitat suitability that turned out to be climatic variables related to the hydrological cycle. Under the applied scenario, our results indicate increasing habitat suitability in many areas and an extended range of suitable habitats. However, even if the environmental conditions in Brandenburg may change as predicted, it is questionable whether the Fire-bellied toad will truly benefit, as dispersal abilities of amphibian species are limited and strongly influenced by anthropogenic disturbances, that is, intensive agriculture, habitat destruction and fragmentation. Furthermore, agronomic pressure is likely to increase on productive areas with fertile soils and high water retention capacities, indeed those areas suitable for B. bombina. All these changes may affect temporary pond hydrology as well as the reproductive success and breeding phenology of toads.}, language = {en} } @article{FerTietjenJeltsch2016, author = {Fer, Istem and Tietjen, Britta and Jeltsch, Florian}, title = {High-resolution modelling closes the gap between data and model simulations for Mid-Holocene and present-day biomes of East Africa}, series = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences}, volume = {444}, journal = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0031-0182}, doi = {10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.12.001}, pages = {144 -- 151}, year = {2016}, abstract = {East Africa hosts a striking diversity of terrestrial ecosystems, which vary both in space and time due to complex regional topography and a dynamic climate. The structure and functioning of these ecosystems under this environmental setting can be studied with dynamic vegetation models (DVMs) in a spatially explicit way. Yet, regional applications of DVMs to East Africa are rare and a comprehensive validation of such applications is missing. Here, we simulated the present-day and mid-Holocene vegetation of East Africa with the DVM, LPJ-GUESS and we conducted an exhaustive comparison of model outputs with maps of potential modern vegetation distribution, and with pollen records of local change through time. Overall, the model was able to reproduce the observed spatial patterns of East African vegetation. To see whether running the model at higher spatial resolutions (10\&\#8242; × 10\&\#8242;) contribute to resolve the vegetation distribution better and have a better comparison scale with the observational data (i.e. pollen data), we run the model with coarser spatial resolution (0.5° × 0.5°) for the present-day as well. Both the area- and point-wise comparison showed that a higher spatial resolution allows to better describe spatial vegetation changes induced by the complex topography of East Africa. Our analysis of the difference between modelled mid-Holocene and modern-day vegetation showed that whether a biome shifts to another is best explained by both the amount of change in precipitation it experiences and the amount of precipitation it received originally. We also confirmed that tropical forest biomes were more sensitive to a decrease in precipitation compared to woodland and savanna biomes and that Holocene vegetation changes in East Africa were driven not only by changes in annual precipitation but also by changes in its seasonality.}, language = {en} } @article{FerTietjenJeltschetal.2017, author = {Fer, Istem and Tietjen, Britta and Jeltsch, Florian and Trauth, Martin H.}, title = {Modelling vegetation change during Late Cenozoic uplift of the East African plateaus}, series = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences}, volume = {467}, journal = {Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0031-0182}, doi = {10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.04.007}, pages = {120 -- 130}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The present-day vegetation in the tropics is mainly characterized by forests worldwide except in tropical East Africa, where forests only occur as patches at the coast and in the uplands. These forest patches result from the peculiar aridity that is linked to the uplift of the region during the Late Cenozoic. The Late Cenozoic vegetation history of East Africa is of particular interest as it has set the scene for the contemporary events in mammal and hominin evolution. In this study, we investigate the conditions under which these forest patches could have been connected, and a previous continuous forest belt could have extended and fragmented. We apply a dynamic vegetation model with a set of climatic scenarios in which we systematically alter the present-day environmental conditions such that they would be more favourable for a continuous forest belt in tropical East Africa. We consider varying environmental factors, namely temperature, precipitation and atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Our results show that all of these variables play a significant role in supporting the forest biomes and a continuous forest belt could have occurred under certain combinations of these settings. With our current knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental history of East Africa, it is likely that the region hosted these conditions during the Late Cenozoic. Recent improvements on environmental hypotheses of hominin evolution highlight the role of periods of short and extreme climate variability during the Late Cenozoic specific to East Africa in driving evolution. Our results elucidate how the forest biomes of East Africa can appear and disappear under fluctuating environmental conditions and demonstrate how this climate variability might be recognized on the biosphere level.}, language = {en} } @article{Fuhr2021, author = {Fuhr, Harald}, title = {The rise of the Global South and the rise in carbon emissions}, series = {Third world quarterly}, volume = {42}, journal = {Third world quarterly}, number = {11}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0143-6597}, doi = {10.1080/01436597.2021.1954901}, pages = {2724 -- 2746}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Jointly with the Global North, the rise of the Global South has come at a high cost to the environment. Driven by its high energy intensity and the use of fossil fuels, the South has contributed a significant portion of global emissions during the last 30 years, and is now contributing some 63\% of today's total GHG emissions (including land-use change and forestry). Similar to the Global North, the Global South's emissions are heavily concentrated: India and China alone account for some 60\% and the top 10 countries for some 78\% of the group's emissions, while some 120 countries account for only 22\%. Without highlighting such differences, it makes little sense to use the term 'Global South'. Its members are affected differently, and contribute differently to global climate change. They neither share a common view, nor do they pursue joint interests when it comes to international climate negotiations. Instead, they are organised into more than a dozen subgroups of the global climate regime. There is no single climate strategy for the Global South, and climate action will differ enormously from country to country. Furthermore, just and equitable transitions may be particularly challenging for some countries.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Fuessel2003, author = {F{\"u}ssel, Hans-Martin}, title = {Impacts analysis for inverse integrated assessments of climate change}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-0001089}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2003}, abstract = {Diese Dissertation beschreibt die Entwicklung und Anwendung des Klimawirkungsmoduls des ICLIPS-Modells, eines integrierten Modells des Klimawandels ('Integrated Assessment'-Modell). Vorangestellt ist eine Diskussion des gesellschaftspolitischen Kontexts, in dem modellbasiertes 'Integrated Assessment' stattfindet, aus der wichtige Anforderungen an die Spezifikation des Klimawirkungsmoduls abgeleitet werden. Das 'Integrated Assessment' des Klimawandels umfasst eine weiten Bereich von Aktivit{\"a}ten zur wissenschaftsbasierten Unterst{\"u}tzung klimapolitischer Entscheidungen. Hierbei wird eine Vielzahl von Ans{\"a}tzen verfolgt, um politikrelevante Informationen {\"u}ber die erwarteten Auswirkungen des Klimawandels zu ber{\"u}cksichtigen. Wichtige Herausforderungen in diesem Bereich sind die große Bandbreite der relevanten r{\"a}umlichen und zeitlichen Skalen, die multifaktorielle Verursachung vieler 'Klimafolgen', erhebliche wissenschaftliche Unsicherheiten sowie die Mehrdeutigkeit unvermeidlicher Werturteile. Die Entwicklung eines hierarchischen Konzeptmodells erlaubt die Strukturierung der verschiedenen Ans{\"a}tze sowie die Darstellung eines mehrstufigen Entwicklungsprozesses, der sich in der Praxis und der zu Grunde liegenden Theorie von Studien zur Vulnerabilit{\"a}t hinsichtlich des Klimawandels wiederspiegelt. 'Integrated Assessment'-Modelle des Klimawandels sind wissenschaftliche Werkzeuge, welche eine vereinfachte Beschreibung des gekoppelten Mensch-Klima-Systems enthalten. Die wichtigsten entscheidungstheoretischen Ans{\"a}tze im Bereich des modellbasierten 'Integrated Assessment' werden im Hinblick auf ihre F{\"a}higkeit zur ad{\"a}quaten Darstellung klimapolitischer Entscheidungsprobleme bewertet. Dabei stellt der 'Leitplankenansatz' eine 'inverse' Herangehensweise zur Unterst{\"u}tzung klimapolitischer Entscheidungen dar, bei der versucht wird, die Gesamtheit der klimapolitischen Strategien zu bestimmen, die mit einer Reihe von zuvor normativ bestimmten Mindestkriterien (den sogenannten 'Leitplanken') vertr{\"a}glich sind. Dieser Ansatz verbindet bis zu einem gewissen Grad die wissenschaftliche Strenge und Objektivit{\"a}t simulationsbasierter Ans{\"a}tze mit der F{\"a}higkeit von Optimierungsans{\"a}tzen, die Gesamtheit aller Entscheidungsoptionen zu ber{\"u}cksichtigen. Das ICLIPS-Modell ist das erste 'Integrated Assessment'-Modell des Klimawandels, welches den Leitplankenansatz implementiert. Die Darstellung von Klimafolgen ist eine wichtige Herausforderung f{\"u}r 'Integrated Assessment'-Modelle des Klimawandels. Eine Betrachtung bestehender 'Integrated Assessment'-Modelle offenbart große Unterschiede in der Ber{\"u}cksichtigung verschiedener vom Klimawandel betroffenen Sektoren, in der Wahl des bzw. der Indikatoren zur Darstellung von Klimafolgen, in der Ber{\"u}cksichtigung nicht-klimatischer Entwicklungen einschließlich gezielter Anpassungsmaßnahmen an den Klimawandel, in der Behandlung von Unsicherheiten und in der Ber{\"u}cksichtigung von 'singul{\"a}ren' Ereignissen. 'Integrated Assessment'-Modelle, die auf einem Inversansatz beruhen, stellen besondere Anforderungen an die Darstellung von Klimafolgen. Einerseits muss der Detaillierungsgrad hinreichend sein, um Leitplanken f{\"u}r Klimafolgen sinnvoll definieren zu k{\"o}nnen; andererseits muss die Darstellung effizient genug sein, um die Gesamtheit der m{\"o}glichen klimapolitischen Strategien erkunden zu k{\"o}nnen. Großr{\"a}umige Singularit{\"a}ten k{\"o}nnen h{\"a}ufig durch vereinfachte dynamische Modelle abgebildet werden. Diese Methode ist jedoch weniger geeignet f{\"u}r regul{\"a}re Klimafolgen, bei denen die Bestimmung relevanter Ergebnisse in der Regel die Ber{\"u}cksichtigung der Heterogenit{\"a}t von klimatischen, naturr{\"a}umlichen und sozialen Faktoren auf der lokalen oder regionalen Ebene erfordert. Klimawirkungsfunktionen stellen sich als die geeignetste Darstellung regul{\"a}rer Klimafolgen im ICLIPS-Modell heraus. Eine Klimawirkungsfunktion beschreibt in aggregierter Form die Reaktion eines klimasensitiven Systems, wie sie von einem geographisch expliziten Klimawirkungsmodell f{\"u}r eine repr{\"a}sentative Teilmenge m{\"o}glicher zuk{\"u}nftiger Entwicklungen simuliert wurde. Die in dieser Arbeit vorgestellten Klimawirkungsfunktionen nutzen die globale Mitteltemperatur sowie die atmosph{\"a}rische CO2-Konzentration als Pr{\"a}diktoren f{\"u}r global und regional aggregierte Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf nat{\"u}rliche {\"O}kosysteme, die landwirtschaftliche Produktion und die Wasserverf{\"u}gbarkeit. Die Anwendung einer 'Musterskalierungstechnik' erm{\"o}glicht hierbei die Ber{\"u}cksichtigung der regionalen und saisonalen Muster des Klima{\"a}nderungssignals aus allgemeinen Zirkulationsmodellen, ohne die Effizienz der dynamischen Modellkomponenten zu beeintr{\"a}chtigen. Bem{\"u}hungen zur quantitativen Absch{\"a}tzung zuk{\"u}nftiger Klimafolgen sehen sich bei der Wahl geeigneter Indikatoren in der Regel einem Zielkonflikt zwischen der Relevanz eines Indikators f{\"u}r Entscheidungstr{\"a}ger und der Zuverl{\"a}ssigkeit, mit der dieser bestimmt werden kann, gegen{\"u}ber. Eine Reihe von nichtmonet{\"a}ren Indikatoren zur aggregierten Darstellung von Klimafolgen in Klimawirkungsfunktionen wird pr{\"a}sentiert, welche eine Balance zwischen diesen beiden Zielen anstreben und gleichzeitig die Beschr{\"a}nkungen ber{\"u}cksichtigen, die sich aus anderen Komponenten des ICLIPS-Modells ergeben. Klimawirkungsfunktionen werden durch verschiedene Typen von Diagrammen visualisiert, welche jeweils unterschiedliche Perspektiven auf die Ergebnismenge der Klimawirkungssimulationen erlauben. Die schiere Anzahl von Klimawirkungsfunktionen verhindert ihre umfassende Darstellung in dieser Arbeit. Ausgew{\"a}hlte Ergebnisse zu Ver{\"a}nderungen in der r{\"a}umlichen Ausdehnung von Biomen, im landwirtschaftlichen Potential verschiedener L{\"a}nder und in der Wasserverf{\"u}gbarkeit in mehreren großen Einzugsgebieten werden diskutiert. Die Gesamtheit der Klimawirkungsfunktionen wird zug{\"a}nglich gemacht durch das 'ICLIPS Impacts Tool', eine graphische Benutzeroberfl{\"a}che, die einen bequemen Zugriff auf {\"u}ber 100.000 Klimawirkungsdiagramme erm{\"o}glicht. Die technischen Aspekte der Software sowie die zugeh{\"o}rige Datenbasis wird beschrieben. Die wichtigste Anwendung von Klimawirkungsfunktionen ist im 'Inversmodus', wo sie genutzt werden, um Leitplanken zur Begrenzung von Klimafolgen in gleichzeitige Randbedingungen f{\"u}r Variablen aus dem optimierenden ICLIPS-Klima-Weltwirtschafts-Modell zu {\"u}bersetzen. Diese {\"U}bersetzung wird erm{\"o}glicht durch Algorithmen zur Bestimmung von Mengen erreichbarer Klimazust{\"a}nde ('reachable climate domains') sowie zur parametrisierten Approximation zul{\"a}ssiger Klimafenster ('admissible climate windows'), die aus Klimawirkungsfunktionen abgeleitet werden. Der umfassende Bestand an Klimawirkungsfunktionen zusammen mit diesen Algorithmen erm{\"o}glicht es dem integrierten ICLIPS-Modell, in flexibler Weise diejenigen klimapolitischen Strategien zu bestimmen, welche bestimmte in biophysikalischen Einheiten ausgedr{\"u}ckte Begrenzungen von Klimafolgen explizit ber{\"u}cksichtigen. Diese M{\"o}glichkeit bietet kein anderes intertemporal optimierendes 'Integrated Assessment'-Modell. Eine Leitplankenanalyse mit dem integrierten ICLIPS-Modell unter Anwendung ausgew{\"a}hlter Klimawirkungsfunktionen f{\"u}r Ver{\"a}nderungen nat{\"u}rlicher {\"O}kosysteme wird beschrieben. In dieser Analyse werden so genannte 'notwendige Emissionskorridore' berechnet, die vorgegebene Beschr{\"a}nkungen hinsichtlich der maximal zul{\"a}ssigen globalen Vegetationsver{\"a}nderungen und der regionalen Klimaschutzkosten ber{\"u}cksichtigen. Dies geschieht sowohl f{\"u}r eine 'Standardkombination' der drei gew{\"a}hlten Kriterien als auch f{\"u}r deren systematische Variation. Eine abschließende Diskussion aktueller Entwicklungen in der 'Integrated Assessment'-Modellierung stellt diese Arbeit mit anderen einschl{\"a}gigen Bem{\"u}hungen in Beziehung.}, language = {en} } @article{GeyerStrixnerKreftetal.2015, author = {Geyer, Juliane and Strixner, Lena and Kreft, Stefan and Jeltsch, Florian and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {Adapting conservation to climate change: a case study on feasibility and implementation in Brandenburg, Germany}, series = {Regional environmental change}, volume = {15}, journal = {Regional environmental change}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1436-3798}, doi = {10.1007/s10113-014-0609-9}, pages = {139 -- 153}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Conservation actions need to account for global climate change and adapt to it. The body of the literature on adaptation options is growing rapidly, but their feasibility and current state of implementation are rarely assessed. We discussed the practicability of adaptation options with conservation managers analysing three fields of action: reducing the vulnerability of conservation management, reducing the vulnerability of conservation targets (i.e. biodiversity) and climate change mitigation. For all options, feasibility, current state of implementation and existing obstacles to implementation were analysed, using the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany, as a case study. Practitioners considered a large number of options useful, most of which have already been implemented at least in part. Those options considered broadly implemented resemble mainly conventional measures of conservation without direct relation to climate change. Managers are facing several obstacles for adapting to climate change, including political reluctance to change, financial and staff shortages in conservation administrations and conflictive EU funding schemes in agriculture. A certain reluctance to act, due to the high degree of uncertainty with regard to climate change scenarios and impacts, is widespread. A lack of knowledge of appropriate methods such as adaptive management often inhibits the implementation of adaptation options in the field of planning and management. Based on the findings for Brandenburg, we generally conclude that it is necessary to focus in particular on options that help to reduce vulnerability of conservation management itself, i.e. those that enhance management effectiveness. For instance, adaptive and proactive risk management can be applied as a no-regrets option, independently from specific climate change scenarios or impacts, strengthening action under uncertainty.}, language = {en} } @article{GroeneveldJohstKawaguchietal.2015, author = {Groeneveld, J{\"u}rgen and Johst, Karin and Kawaguchi, So and Meyer, Bettina and Teschke, Mathias and Grimm, Volker}, title = {How biological clocks and changing environmental conditions determine local population growth and species distribution in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba): a conceptual model}, series = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog}, volume = {303}, journal = {Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0304-3800}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.02.009}, pages = {78 -- 86}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The Southern Ocean ecosystem is characterized by extreme seasonal changes in environmental factors such as day length, sea ice extent and food availability. The key species Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) has evolved metabolic and behavioural seasonal rhythms to cope with these seasonal changes. We investigate the switch between a physiological less active and active period for adult krill, a rhythm which seems to be controlled by internal biological clocks. These biological clocks can be synchronized by environmental triggers such as day length and food availability. They have evolved for particular environmental regimes to synchronize predictable seasonal environmental changes with important life cycle functions of the species. In a changing environment the time when krill is metabolically active and the time of peak food availability may not overlap if krill's seasonal activity is solely determined by photoperiod (day length). This is especially true for the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean where the spatio-temporal ice cover dynamics are changing substantially with rising average temperatures. We developed an individual-based model for krill to explore the impact of photoperiod and food availability on the growth and demographics of krill. We simulated dynamics of local krill populations (with no movement of krill assumed) along a south-north gradient for different triggers of metabolic activity and different levels of food availability below the ice. We also observed the fate of larval krill which cannot switch to low metabolism and therefore are likely to overwinter under ice. Krill could only occupy the southern end of the gradient, where algae bloom only lasts for a short time, when alternative food supply under the ice was high and metabolic activity was triggered by photoperiod. The northern distribution was limited by lack of overwintering habitat for krill larvae due to short duration of sea ice cover even for high food content under the ice. The variability of the krill's length-frequency distributions varied for different triggers of metabolic activity, but did not depend on the sea ice extent. Our findings suggest a southward shift of krill populations due to reduction in the spatial sea ice extent, which is consistent with field observations. Overall, our results highlight the importance of the explicit consideration of spatio-temporal sea ice dynamics especially for larval krill together with temporal synchronization through internal clocks, triggered by environmental factors (photoperiod and food) in adult krill for the population modelling of krill. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} }