TY - JOUR A1 - Rasigraf, Olivia A1 - Wagner, Dirk T1 - Landslides BT - an emerging model for ecosystem and soil chronosequence research JF - Earth science reviews : the international geological journal bridging the gap between research articles and textbooks N2 - Erosion by landslides is a common phenomenon in mountain regions around the globe, affecting all climatic zones. Landslides facilitate bedrock weathering, pedogenesis and ecological succession, being key drivers of biodiversity. Landslide chronosequences have long been used for studies of vegetation succession in initial ecosystems, but they further offer ideal model systems for studies of soil development and microbial community succession. In this review we synthesize the state of knowledge on the role of landslides in ecosystems, their influence on element cycles and interactions with biota. Further, we discuss feedback mechanisms between global warming, landslide activity and greenhouse gas emissions. In the view of increasing anthropogenic influence and climate change, soils are becoming a critical resource. Due to their ubiquity, landslide chronosequences have the potential to provide critical insights into soil development under different climates and thereby contribute to future soil restoration efforts. KW - Landslides KW - Greenhouse gas emissions KW - Landslide chronosequences KW - Soil KW - microbial community KW - Erosion KW - Biodiversity KW - Microbial processes KW - Climate KW - change Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.104064 SN - 0012-8252 SN - 1872-6828 VL - 231 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Landholm, David M. A1 - Holsten, Anne A1 - Martellozzo, Federico A1 - Reusser, Dominik Edwin A1 - Kropp, Jürgen T1 - Climate change mitigation potential of community-based initiatives in Europe JF - Regional environmental change N2 - There is a growing recognition that a transition to a sustainable low-carbon society is urgently needed. This transition takes place at multiple and complementary scales, including bottom-up approaches such as community-based initiatives (CBIs). However, empirical research on CBIs has focused until now on anecdotal evidence and little work has been done to quantitatively assess their impact in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this paper, we analyze 38 European initiatives across the food, energy, transport, and waste sectors to address the following questions: How can the GHG reduction potential of CBIs be quantified and analyzed in a systematic manner across different sectors? What is the GHG mitigation potential of CBIs and how does the reduction potential differ across domains? Through the comparison of the emission intensity arising from the goods and services the CBIs provide in relation to a business-as-usual scenario, we present the potential they have across different activities. This constitutes the foundational step to upscaling and further understanding their potential contribution to achieving climate change mitigation targets. Our findings indicate that energy generation through renewable sources, changes in personal transportation, and dietary change present by far the highest GHG mitigation activities analyzed, since they reduce the carbon footprint of CBI beneficiaries by 24%, 11%, and 7%, respectively. In contrast, the potential for some activities, such as locally grown organic food, is limited. The service provided by these initiatives only reduces the carbon footprint by 0.1%. Overall, although the proliferation of CBIs is very desirable from a climate change mitigation perspective it is necessary to stress that bottom-up initiatives present other important positive dimensions besides GHG mitigation. These initiatives also hold the potential of improving community resilience by strengthening local economies and enhancing social cohesion. KW - Greenhouse gas emissions KW - Sustainability transitions KW - Grassroots initiatives KW - Carbon footprint KW - Sustainable lifestyles KW - Low carbon economy Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1428-1 SN - 1436-3798 SN - 1436-378X VL - 19 IS - 4 SP - 927 EP - 938 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Borck, Rainald T1 - Will skyscrapers save the planet? Building height limits and urban greenhouse gas emissions JF - Regional science and urban economics N2 - This paper studies the effectiveness of building height limits as a policy to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It shows that building height limits lead to urban sprawl and higher emissions from commuting. On the other hand, aggregate housing consumption may decrease, which reduces emissions from residential energy use. A numerical model is used to evaluate whether total GHG emissions may be lower under building height restrictions. Welfare is not concave in the strictness of building height limits, so either no limit or a very strict one (depending on the strength of the externality) might maximize welfare. The paper discusses several extensions, such as congestion, endogenous transport mode choice, migration, and urban heat island effect. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved KW - Greenhouse gas emissions KW - City structure KW - Building height limits Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2016.01.004 SN - 0166-0462 SN - 1879-2308 VL - 58 SP - 13 EP - 25 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -