TY - THES A1 - Bittermann, Klaus T1 - Semi-empirical sea-level modelling T1 - Semiempirische Meeresspiegelmodellierung N2 - Semi-empirical sea-level models (SEMs) exploit physically motivated empirical relationships between global sea level and certain drivers, in the following global mean temperature. This model class evolved as a supplement to process-based models (Rahmstorf (2007)) which were unable to fully represent all relevant processes. They thus failed to capture past sea-level change (Rahmstorf et al. (2012)) and were thought likely to underestimate future sea-level rise. Semi-empirical models were found to be a fast and useful tool for exploring the uncertainties in future sea-level rise, consistently giving significantly higher projections than process-based models. In the following different aspects of semi-empirical sea-level modelling have been studied. Models were first validated using various data sets of global sea level and temperature. SEMs were then used on the glacier contribution to sea level, and to infer past global temperature from sea-level data via inverse modelling. Periods studied encompass the instrumental period, covered by tide gauges (starting 1700 CE (Common Era) in Amsterdam) and satellites (first launched in 1992 CE), the era from 1000 BCE (before CE) to present, and the full length of the Holocene (using proxy data). Accordingly different data, model formulations and implementations have been used. It could be shown in Bittermann et al. (2013) that SEMs correctly predict 20th century sea-level when calibrated with data until 1900 CE. SEMs also turned out to give better predictions than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4th assessment report (AR4, IPCC (2007)) models, for the period from 1961–2003 CE. With the first multi-proxy reconstruction of global sea-level as input, estimate of the human-induced component of modern sea-level change and projections of future sea-level rise were calculated (Kopp et al. (2016)). It turned out with 90% confidence that more than 40 % of the observed 20th century sea-level rise is indeed anthropogenic. With the new semi-empirical and IPCC (2013) 5th assessment report (AR5) projections the gap between SEM and process-based model projections closes, giving higher credibility to both. Combining all scenarios, from strong mitigation to business as usual, a global sea-level rise of 28–131 cm relative to 2000 CE, is projected with 90% confidence. The decision for a low carbon pathway could halve the expected global sea-level rise by 2100 CE. Present day temperature and thus sea level are driven by the globally acting greenhouse-gas forcing. Unlike that, the Milankovich forcing, acting on Holocene timescales, results mainly in a northern-hemisphere temperature change. Therefore a semi-empirical model can be driven with northernhemisphere temperatures, which makes it possible to model the main subcomponent of sea-level change over this period. It showed that an additional positive constant rate of the order of the estimated Antarctic sea-level contribution is then required to explain the sea-level evolution over the Holocene. Thus the global sea level, following the climatic optimum, can be interpreted as the sum of a temperature induced sea-level drop and a positive long-term contribution, likely an ongoing response to deglaciation coming from Antarctica. N2 - Semiempirische Meeresspiegelmodelle (SEMe) nutzen die physikalisch motivierte, empirische Beziehung des globalen Meeresspiegels zu einem bestimmten Antrieb. Im Folgenden ist das die mittlere globale Temperatur. Diese Modellklasse entstand als Ergänzung zu prozeßbasierten Modellen, die nicht alle relevanten Prozesse abbilden konnten (Rahmstorf (2007)) und die deshalb weder den beobachteten Meeresspiegel erklären konnten (Rahmstorf et al. (2012)) noch vertrauenswürdige Zukunftsprojektionen lieferten. Semiempirische Modelle sind eine gute und schnelle Option, die Unsicherheit im zukünftigen Meeresspiegelanstieg auszuloten, wobei sie konsistent höhere Zukunftsprojektionen lieferten als prozeßbasierte Modelle. Im Folgenden wurden verschiedene Aspekte der semiempirischen Meeresspiegelmodellierung untersucht. Modelle wurden erst mit verschiedenen globalen Temperatur- und Meeresspiegeldatensätzen validiert. SEMe wurden dann auf den Meeresspiegelbeitrag von Gletschern angewandt und genutzt, um die globale Temperatur aus Meeresspiegeldaten abzuleiten. Die untersuchten Zeiträume variieren zwischen dem instrumentellen Abschnitt mit Pegelstandsmessungen (seit dem Jahr 1700 in Amsterdam) und Satellitendaten (seit 1992), dem Zeitraum seit 1000 vor Christus und dem gesamten Holozän (mittels Proxydaten). Entsprechend wurden verschiedene Daten, Modellformulierungen und -implementationen benutzt. Es konnte in Bittermann et al. (2013) gezeigt werden, dass SEMe den beobachteten Meeresspiegel des 20sten Jahrhunderts korrekt vorhersagen können, wenn sie bis zum Jahr 1900 kalibriert wurden. Auch für den Zeitraum 1961 bis 2003 lieferten SEMe bessere Vorhersagen als der vierte Sachstandsbericht des Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR4, IPCC (2007)). Mit der ersten globalen multi-proxy Rekonstruktion des globalen Meeresspiegels als Input konnten sowohl der anthropogene Anteil des modernen Meeresspiegelanstiegs als auch Zukunftsprojektionen berechnet werden (Kopp et al. (2016)). Es zeigt sich mit 90% Sicherheit, dass mehr als 40 % des beobachteten Meeresspiegelanstiegs im 20sten Jahrhundert anthropogenen Ursprungs sind. Mit den neuen semiempirischen Zukunftsprojektionen und denen des fünften Sachstandsberichtes (AR5) des IPCC (2013) läßt sich die Kluft zwischen SEMen und prozeßbasierten Modellen schließen, was beide vertrauenswürdiger macht. Über alle Szenarien hinweg, von starker Treibhausgaseinsparung bis zum ungebremsten Ausstoß, ergibt sich, mit 90% Sicherheit, zwischen 2000 und 2100 ein Meeresspiegelanstieg von 28 bis 131 cm. Die Entscheidung starker Treibhausgaseinsparungen kann den erwarteten globalen Meeresspiegelanstieg im Jahr 2100 halbieren. Die gegenwärtige globale Temperatur, und damit der globale Meeresspiegel, werden von dem global wirkenden Treibhausgasforcing bestimmt. Im Gegensatz dazu wirkt das orbitale Forcing, welches über Holozän-Zeitskalen dominiert, hauptsächlich auf die Nordhemisphäre. Deshalb kann man ein SEM mit Nordhemisphärentemperaturen antreiben und dadurch die Hauptkomponente der Meeresspiegeländerung über das Holozän simulieren. Es stellte sich heraus, dass eine zusätzliche konstante Rate, von der Größenordnung des antarktischen Beitrags zum Meeresspiegel, nötig ist, um den Meeresspiegelverlauf des Holozäns zu erklären. Der Meeresspiegel seit dem Holozän-Klimaoptimum kann also als eine Summe von temperaturbedingtem Fallen und einem langfristigen positiven Beitrag, wahrscheinlich einer andauernden Reaktion auf die Deglaziation der Antarktis, interpretiert werden. KW - sea level KW - Meeresspiegel KW - climate change KW - Klimawandel KW - projections KW - Projektionen KW - anthropogenic sea level KW - anthropogener Meeresspiegel KW - Holocene KW - Holozän KW - semi-empirical models KW - semiempirische Modelle Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-93881 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Alter, S. Elizabeth A1 - Meyer, Matthias A1 - Post, Klaas A1 - Czechowski, Paul A1 - Gravlund, Peter A1 - Gaines, Cork A1 - Rosenbaum, Howard C. A1 - Kaschner, Kristin A1 - Turvey, Samuel T. A1 - van der Plicht, Johannes A1 - Shapiro, Beth A1 - Hofreiter, Michael T1 - Climate impacts on transocean dispersal and habitat in gray whales from the Pleistocene to 2100 T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Arctic animals face dramatic habitat alteration due to ongoing climate change. Understanding how such species have responded to past glacial cycles can help us forecast their response to today's changing climate. Gray whales are among those marine species likely to be strongly affected by Arctic climate change, but a thorough analysis of past climate impacts on this species has been complicated by lack of information about an extinct population in the Atlantic. While little is known about the history of Atlantic gray whales or their relationship to the extant Pacific population, the extirpation of the Atlantic population during historical times has been attributed to whaling. We used a combination of ancient and modern DNA, radiocarbon dating and predictive habitat modelling to better understand the distribution of gray whales during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal that dispersal between the Pacific and Atlantic was climate dependent and occurred both during the Pleistocene prior to the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait. Genetic diversity in the Atlantic declined over an extended interval that predates the period of intensive commercial whaling, indicating this decline may have been precipitated by Holocene climate or other ecological causes. These first genetic data for Atlantic gray whales, particularly when combined with predictive habitat models for the year 2100, suggest that two recent sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic may represent the beginning of the expansion of this species' habitat beyond its currently realized range. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 965 KW - ancient DNA KW - climate change KW - last glacial maximum KW - marine mammal Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-438920 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 965 SP - 1510 EP - 1522 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seifert, Linda I. A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Vos, Matthijs T1 - Extreme heat changes post-heat wave community reassembly JF - Ecology and evolution N2 - Climate forecasts project further increases in extremely high-temperature events. These present threats to biodiversity, as they promote population declines and local species extinctions. This implies that ecological communities will need to rely more strongly on recovery processes, such as recolonization from a meta-community context. It is poorly understood how differences in extreme event intensity change the outcome of subsequent community reassembly and if such extremes modify the biotic environment in ways that would prevent the successful re-establishment of lost species. We studied replicated aquatic communities consisting of algae and herbivorous rotifers in a design that involved a control and two different heat wave intensity treatments (29 degrees C and 39 degrees C). Animal species that suffered heat-induced extinction were subsequently re-introduced at the same time and density, in each of the two treatments. The 39 degrees C treatment led to community closure in all replicates, meaning that a previously successful herbivore species could not re-establish itself in the postheat wave community. In contrast, such closure never occurred after a 29 degrees C event. Heat wave intensity determined the number of herbivore extinctions and strongly affected algal relative abundances. Re-introduced herbivore species were thus confronted with significantly different food environments. This ecological legacy generated by heat wave intensity led to differences in the failure or success of herbivore species re-introductions. Reassembly was significantly more variable, and hence less predictable, after an extreme heat wave, and was more canalized after a moderate one. Our results pertain to relatively simple communities, but they suggest that ecological legacies introduced by extremely high-temperature events may change subsequent ecological recovery and even prevent the successful re-establishment of lost species. Knowing the processes promoting and preventing ecological recovery is crucial to the success of species re-introduction programs and to our ability to restore ecosystems damaged by environmental extremes. KW - Biodiversity KW - climate change KW - conservation KW - ecological restoration KW - extinction KW - extreme temperature events KW - global warming KW - maximum temperature KW - variability Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1490 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 5 IS - 11 SP - 2140 EP - 2148 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiesmeier, Martin A1 - Munro, Sam A1 - Barthold, Frauke Katrin A1 - Steffens, Markus A1 - Schad, Peter A1 - Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid T1 - Carbon storage capacity of semi-arid grassland soils and sequestration potentials in northern China JF - Global change biology N2 - Organic carbon (OC) sequestration in degraded semi-arid environments by improved soil management is assumed to contribute substantially to climate change mitigation. However, information about the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration potential in steppe soils and their current saturation status remains unknown. In this study, we estimated the OC storage capacity of semi-arid grassland soils on the basis of remote, natural steppe fragments in northern China. Based on the maximum OC saturation of silt and clay particles <20m, OC sequestration potentials of degraded steppe soils (grazing land, arable land, eroded areas) were estimated. The analysis of natural grassland soils revealed a strong linear regression between the proportion of the fine fraction and its OC content, confirming the importance of silt and clay particles for OC stabilization in steppe soils. This relationship was similar to derived regressions in temperate and tropical soils but on a lower level, probably due to a lower C input and different clay mineralogy. In relation to the estimated OC storage capacity, degraded steppe soils showed a high OC saturation of 78-85% despite massive SOC losses due to unsustainable land use. As a result, the potential of degraded grassland soils to sequester additional OC was generally low. This can be related to a relatively high contribution of labile SOC, which is preferentially lost in the course of soil degradation. Moreover, wind erosion leads to substantial loss of silt and clay particles and consequently results in a direct loss of the ability to stabilize additional OC. Our findings indicate that the SOC loss in semi-arid environments induced by intensive land use is largely irreversible. Observed SOC increases after improved land management mainly result in an accumulation of labile SOC prone to land use/climate changes and therefore cannot be regarded as contribution to long-term OC sequestration. KW - climate change KW - fine fraction KW - soil organic carbon KW - soil texture KW - steppe soils Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12957 SN - 1354-1013 SN - 1365-2486 VL - 21 IS - 10 SP - 3836 EP - 3845 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frank, Dorothe A. A1 - Reichstein, Markus A1 - Bahn, Michael A1 - Thonicke, Kirsten A1 - Frank, David A1 - Mahecha, Miguel D. A1 - Smith, Pete A1 - Van der Velde, Marijn A1 - Vicca, Sara A1 - Babst, Flurin A1 - Beer, Christian A1 - Buchmann, Nina A1 - Canadell, Josep G. A1 - Ciais, Philippe A1 - Cramer, Wolfgang A1 - Ibrom, Andreas A1 - Miglietta, Franco A1 - Poulter, Ben A1 - Rammig, Anja A1 - Seneviratne, Sonia I. A1 - Walz, Ariane A1 - Wattenbach, Martin A1 - Zavala, Miguel A. A1 - Zscheischler, Jakob T1 - Effects of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon cycle: concepts, processes and potential future impacts JF - Global change biology N2 - Extreme droughts, heat waves, frosts, precipitation, wind storms and other climate extremes may impact the structure, composition and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, and thus carbon cycling and its feedbacks to the climate system. Yet, the interconnected avenues through which climate extremes drive ecological and physiological processes and alter the carbon balance are poorly understood. Here, we review the literature on carbon cycle relevant responses of ecosystems to extreme climatic events. Given that impacts of climate extremes are considered disturbances, we assume the respective general disturbance-induced mechanisms and processes to also operate in an extreme context. The paucity of well-defined studies currently renders a quantitative meta-analysis impossible, but permits us to develop a deductive framework for identifying the main mechanisms (and coupling thereof) through which climate extremes may act on the carbon cycle. We find that ecosystem responses can exceed the duration of the climate impacts via lagged effects on the carbon cycle. The expected regional impacts of future climate extremes will depend on changes in the probability and severity of their occurrence, on the compound effects and timing of different climate extremes, and on the vulnerability of each land-cover type modulated by management. Although processes and sensitivities differ among biomes, based on expert opinion, we expect forests to exhibit the largest net effect of extremes due to their large carbon pools and fluxes, potentially large indirect and lagged impacts, and long recovery time to regain previous stocks. At the global scale, we presume that droughts have the strongest and most widespread effects on terrestrial carbon cycling. Comparing impacts of climate extremes identified via remote sensing vs. ground-based observational case studies reveals that many regions in the (sub-)tropics are understudied. Hence, regional investigations are needed to allow a global upscaling of the impacts of climate extremes on global carbon-climate feedbacks. KW - carbon cycle KW - climate change KW - climate extremes KW - climate variability KW - disturbance KW - terrestrial ecosystems Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12916 SN - 1354-1013 SN - 1365-2486 VL - 21 IS - 8 SP - 2861 EP - 2880 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Alter, S. Elizabeth A1 - Meyer, Matthias A1 - Post, Klaas A1 - Czechowski, Paul A1 - Gravlund, Peter A1 - Gaines, Cork A1 - Rosenbaum, Howard C. A1 - Kaschner, Kristin A1 - Turvey, Samuel T. A1 - van der Plicht, Johannes A1 - Shapiro, Beth A1 - Hofreiter, Michael T1 - Climate impacts on transocean dispersal and habitat in gray whales from the Pleistocene to 2100 JF - Molecular ecology N2 - Arctic animals face dramatic habitat alteration due to ongoing climate change. Understanding how such species have responded to past glacial cycles can help us forecast their response to today's changing climate. Gray whales are among those marine species likely to be strongly affected by Arctic climate change, but a thorough analysis of past climate impacts on this species has been complicated by lack of information about an extinct population in the Atlantic. While little is known about the history of Atlantic gray whales or their relationship to the extant Pacific population, the extirpation of the Atlantic population during historical times has been attributed to whaling. We used a combination of ancient and modern DNA, radiocarbon dating and predictive habitat modelling to better understand the distribution of gray whales during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal that dispersal between the Pacific and Atlantic was climate dependent and occurred both during the Pleistocene prior to the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait. Genetic diversity in the Atlantic declined over an extended interval that predates the period of intensive commercial whaling, indicating this decline may have been precipitated by Holocene climate or other ecological causes. These first genetic data for Atlantic gray whales, particularly when combined with predictive habitat models for the year 2100, suggest that two recent sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic may represent the beginning of the expansion of this species' habitat beyond its currently realized range. KW - ancient DNA KW - climate change KW - last glacial maximum KW - marine mammal Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13121 SN - 0962-1083 SN - 1365-294X VL - 24 IS - 7 SP - 1510 EP - 1522 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caron, Maria Mercedes A1 - De Frenne, Pieter A1 - Brunet, J. A1 - Chabrerie, Olivier A1 - Cousins, S. A. O. A1 - De Backer, L. A1 - Decocq, G. A1 - Diekmann, M. A1 - Heinken, Thilo A1 - Kolb, A. A1 - Naaf, T. A1 - Plue, J. A1 - Selvi, Federico A1 - Strimbeck, G. R. A1 - Wulf, Monika A1 - Verheyen, Kris T1 - Interacting effects of warming and drought on regeneration and early growth of Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides JF - Plant biology N2 - Climate change is acting on several aspects of plant life cycles, including the sexual reproductive stage, which is considered amongst the most sensitive life-cycle phases. In temperate forests, it is expected that climate change will lead to a compositional change in community structure due to changes in the dominance of currently more abundant forest tree species. Increasing our understanding of the effects of climate change on currently secondary tree species recruitment is therefore important to better understand and forecast population and community dynamics in forests. Here, we analyse the interactive effects of rising temperatures and soil moisture reduction on germination, seedling survival and early growth of two important secondary European tree species, Acer pseudoplatanus and A.platanoides. Additionally, we analyse the effect of the temperature experienced by the mother tree during seed production by collecting seeds of both species along a 2200-km long latitudinal gradient. For most of the responses, A.platanoides showed higher sensitivity to the treatments applied, and especially to its joint manipulation, which for some variables resulted in additive effects while for others only partial compensation. In both species, germination and survival decreased with rising temperatures and/or soil moisture reduction while early growth decreased with declining soil moisture content. We conclude that although A.platanoides germination and survival were more affected after the applied treatments, its initial higher germination and larger seedlings might allow this species to be relatively more successful than A.pseudoplatanus in the face of climate change. KW - Acer platanoides KW - Acer pseudoplatanus KW - climate change KW - drought KW - reproduction KW - seed KW - temperature Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12177 SN - 1435-8603 SN - 1438-8677 VL - 17 IS - 1 SP - 52 EP - 62 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Aich, Valentin T1 - Floods in the Niger River Basin in the face of global change T1 - Hochwasser im Niger Einzugsgebiet im Kontext des Globalen Wandels BT - analysis, attribution and projections BT - Analyse, Zuschreibung und Projektionen N2 - In the last decade, the number and dimensions of catastrophic flooding events in the Niger River Basin (NRB) have markedly increased. Despite the devastating impact of the floods on the population and the mainly agriculturally based economy of the riverine nations, awareness of the hazards in policy and science is still low. The urgency of this topic and the existing research deficits are the motivation for the present dissertation. The thesis is an initial detailed assessment of the increasing flood risk in the NRB. The research strategy is based on four questions regarding (1) features of the change in flood risk, (2) reasons for the change in the flood regime, (3) expected changes of the flood regime given climate and land use changes, and (4) recommendations from previous analysis for reducing the flood risk in the NRB. The question examining the features of change in the flood regime is answered by means of statistical analysis. Trend, correlation, changepoint, and variance analyses show that, in addition to the factors exposure and vulnerability, the hazard itself has also increased significantly in the NRB, in accordance with the decadal climate pattern of West Africa. The northern arid and semi-arid parts of the NRB are those most affected by the changes. As potential reasons for the increase in flood magnitudes, climate and land use changes are attributed by means of a hypothesis-testing framework. Two different approaches, based on either data analysis or simulation, lead to similar results, showing that the influence of climatic changes is generally larger compared to that of land use changes. Only in the dry areas of the NRB is the influence of land use changes comparable to that of climatic alterations. Future changes of the flood regime are evaluated using modelling results. First ensembles of statistically and dynamically downscaled climate models based on different emission scenarios are analyzed. The models agree with a distinct increase in temperature. The precipitation signal, however, is not coherent. The climate scenarios are used to drive an eco-hydrological model. The influence of climatic changes on the flood regime is uncertain due to the unclear precipitation signal. Still, in general, higher flood peaks are expected. In a next step, effects of land use changes are integrated into the model. Different scenarios show that regreening might help to reduce flood peaks. In contrast, an expansion of agriculture might enhance the flood peaks in the NRB. Similarly to the analysis of observed changes in the flood regime, the impacts of climate- and land use changes for the future scenarios are also most severe in the dry areas of the NRB. In order to answer the final research question, the results of the above analysis are integrated into a range of recommendations for science and policy on how to reduce flood risk in the NRB. The main recommendations include a stronger consideration of the enormous natural climate variability in the NRB and a focus on so called “no-regret” adaptation strategies which account for high uncertainty, as well as a stronger consideration of regional differences. Regarding the prevention and mitigation of catastrophic flooding, the most vulnerable and sensitive areas in the basin, the arid and semi-arid Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian regions, should be prioritized. Eventually, an active, science-based and science-guided flood policy is recommended. The enormous population growth in the NRB in connection with the expected deterioration of environmental and climatic conditions is likely to enhance the region´s vulnerability to flooding. A smart and sustainable flood policy can help mitigate these negative impacts of flooding on the development of riverine societies in West Africa. N2 - Während des vergangenen Jahrzehnts nahmen die Anzahl und die Ausmaße von katastrophalen Hochwassern im Einzugsgebiet des Nigerflussess (NEZG) deutlich zu. Trotz der verheerenden Auswirkungen der Hochwasserkatastrophen auf die Menschen und die hauptsächlich auf Landwirtschaft basierende Wirtschaft der Anrainerstaaten wird das Thema von Politik und Wissenschaft noch kaum beachtet. Die vorliegende Dissertation ist die erste ausführliche Analyse des steigenden Hochwasserrisikos im NEZG. Die Forschungsstrategie basiert auf vier Fragen nach (1) der Art der Veränderungen des Hochwasserrisikos, (2) den Ursachen der Veränderungen im Hochwasserregime, (3) den zukünftigen Entwicklungen im Hochwasserregime hinsichtlich der erwartenden Klima- und Landnutzungswandel und (4) den aus den Untersuchungen abgeleiteten Empfehlungen zur Reduzierung des Hochwasserrisikos im NEZG. Die Frage nach den Merkmalen der Veränderungen im Hochwasserrisiko wurde mithilfe von statistischen Untersuchungen beantwortet. Die Analysen zeigen, dass neben den Risikofaktoren Exponiertheit und Verwundbarkeit auch die Hochwasserstände selbst im NEZG in den letzten Jahrzehnten signifikant und entsprechend der typischen dekadischen Klimamuster Westafrikas angestiegen sind. Als potentielle Ursachen des Hochwasseranstiegs werden Klima- und Landnutzungswandel untersucht. Zwei verschiedene Ansätze, basierend auf Daten sowie auf Simulationen, führen zu ähnlichen Ergebnissen und zeigen, dass der Einfluss der Klimaveränderungen im Allgemeinen größer als der des Landnutzungswandels ist. Das zukünftige Hochwasserrisiko wird anhand des öko-hydrologisches Modells SWIM abgeschätzt. Der Einfluss des Klimawandels auf das Hochwasserregime ist auf Grund des problematischen Niederschlagssignals unsicher. Tendenziell werden aber höhere Maximalabflüsse erwartet. Der Effekt der Landnutzungsänderung beeinflusst das Hochwasserverhalten ebenfalls stark, besonders in den trockenen Gebieten. Verschiedene Szenarien zeigen, dass Renaturierung hülfe, Hochwasserspitzen zu kappen. Eine Ausweitung der Agrarflächen dagegen würde die Hochwässer im NEZG weiter verstärken Zentrale Empfehlungen sind eine stärkere Einbeziehung der enorm starken natürlichen Klimavariabilität im NEZG und eine Fokussierung auf sogenannte „no-regret“ Anpassungsstrategien. Dabei sollte den verwundbarsten Regionen des Einzugsgebiets, den ariden und semi-ariden Regionen, Priorität eingeräumt werden. Die enorme Bevölkerungszunahme im NEZG verbunden mit der zu erwartenden Verschlechterung der Umwelt- und Klimabedingungen wird mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit auch die Verwundbarkeit bezüglich Hochwässer weiter ansteigen lassen. Eine vernünftige und nachhaltige Hochwasserpolitik kann helfen, die negativen Folgen auf die Entwicklung der Anrainerstaaten des Nigerflusses abzumindern. KW - flood KW - Niger KW - climate change KW - land use change KW - Hochwasser KW - Niger KW - Klimawandel KW - Landnutzungswandel Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-91577 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Battarbee, Richard W. A1 - Lamb, Henry F. A1 - Bennett, Keith A1 - Edwards, Mary A1 - Bjune, Anne E. A1 - Kaland, Peter E. A1 - Berglund, Björn E. A1 - Lotter, André F. A1 - Seppä, Heikki A1 - Willis, Kathy J. A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Birks, Hilary H. T1 - John Birks BT - pioneer in quantitative palaeoecology T2 - The Holocene N2 - We describe the career of John Birks as a pioneering scientist who has, over a career spanning five decades, transformed palaeoecology from a largely descriptive to a rigorous quantitative science relevant to contemporary questions in ecology and environmental change. We review his influence on students and colleagues not only at Cambridge and Bergen Universities, his places of primary employment, but also on individuals and research groups in Europe and North America. We also introduce the collection of papers that we have assembled in his honour. The papers are written by his former students and close colleagues and span many of the areas of palaeoecology to which John himself has made major contributions. These include the relationship between ecology and palaeoecology, late-glacial and Holocene palaeoecology, ecological succession, climate change and vegetation history, the role of palaeoecological techniques in reconstructing and understanding the impact of human activity on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and numerical analysis of multivariate palaeoecological data. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 420 KW - climate change KW - ecosystem history KW - Holocene KW - late-glacial KW - numerical data analysis KW - palaeoecology KW - palaeolimnology Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-404544 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Imholt, Christian A1 - Reil, Daniela A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Jacob, Daniela A1 - Hempelmann, Nils A1 - Jacob, Jens T1 - Quantifying the past and future impact of climate on outbreak patterns of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) JF - Pest management science N2 - BACKGROUND Central European outbreak populations of the bank vole (Myodes glareolus Schreber) are known to cause damage in forestry and to transmit the most common type of Hantavirus (Puumala virus, PUUV) to humans. A sound estimation of potential effects of future climate scenarios on population dynamics is a prerequisite for long-term management strategies. Historic abundance time series were used to identify the key weather conditions associated with bank vole abundance, and were extrapolated to future climate scenarios to derive potential long-term changes in bank vole abundance dynamics. RESULTS Classification and regression tree analysis revealed the most relevant weather parameters associated with high and low bank vole abundances. Summer temperatures 2 years prior to trapping had the highest impact on abundance fluctuation. Extrapolation of the identified parameters to future climate conditions revealed an increase in years with high vole abundance. CONCLUSION Key weather patterns associated with vole abundance reflect the importance of superabundant food supply through masting to the occurrence of bank vole outbreaks. Owing to changing climate, these outbreaks are predicted potentially to increase in frequency 3-4-fold by the end of this century. This may negatively affect damage patterns in forestry and the risk of human PUUV infection in the long term. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry KW - climate change KW - population dynamics KW - bank vole KW - regression tree KW - outbreak Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.3838 SN - 1526-498X SN - 1526-4998 VL - 71 IS - 2 SP - 166 EP - 172 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Pradhan, Prajal T1 - Food demand and supply under global change T1 - Nahrungsmittelnachfrage und -Versorgung im Globalen Wandel N2 - Anthropogenic activities have transformed the Earth's environment, not only on local level, but on the planetary-scale causing global change. Besides industrialization, agriculture is a major driver of global change. This change in turn impairs the agriculture sector, reducing crop yields namely due to soil degradation, water scarcity, and climate change. However, this is a more complex issue than it appears. Crop yields can be increased by use of agrochemicals and fertilizers which are mainly produced by fossil energy. This is important to meet the increasing food demand driven by global demographic change, which is further accelerated by changes in regional lifestyles. In this dissertation, we attempt to address this complex problem exploring agricultural potential globally but on a local scale. For this, we considered the influence of lifestyle changes (dietary patterns) as well as technological progress and their effects on climate change, mainly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Furthermore, we examined options for optimizing crop yields in the current cultivated land with the current cropping patterns by closing yield gaps. Using this, we investigated in a five-minute resolution the extent to which food demand can be met locally, and/or by regional and/or global trade. Globally, food consumption habits are shifting towards calorie rich diets. Due to dietary shifts combined with population growth, the global food demand is expected to increase by 60-110% between 2005 and 2050. Hence, one of the challenges to global sustainability is to meet the growing food demand, while at the same time, reducing agricultural inputs and environmental consequences. In order to address the above problem, we used several freely available datasets and applied multiple interconnected analytical approaches that include artificial neural network, scenario analysis, data aggregation and harmonization, downscaling algorithm, and cross-scale analysis. Globally, we identified sixteen dietary patterns between 1961 and 2007 with food intakes ranging from 1,870 to 3,400 kcal/cap/day. These dietary patterns also reflected changing dietary habits to meat rich diets worldwide. Due to the large share of animal products, very high calorie diets that are common in the developed world, exhibit high total per capita emissions of 3.7-6.1 kg CO2eq./day. This is higher than total per capita emissions of 1.4-4.5 kg CO2eq./day associated with low and moderate calorie diets that are common in developing countries. Currently, 40% of the global crop calories are fed to livestock and the feed calorie use is four times the produced animal calories. However, these values vary from less than 1 kcal to greater 10 kcal around the world. On the local and national scale, we found that the local and national food production could meet demand of 1.9 and 4.4 billion people in 2000, respectively. However, 1 billion people from Asia and Africa require intercontinental agricultural trade to meet their food demand. Nevertheless, these regions can become food self-sufficient by closing yield gaps that require location specific inputs and agricultural management strategies. Such strategies include: fertilizers, pesticides, soil and land improvement, management targeted on mitigating climate induced yield variability, and improving market accessibility. However, closing yield gaps in particular requires global N-fertilizer application to increase by 45-73%, P2O5 by 22-46%, and K2O by 2-3 times compare to 2010. Considering population growth, we found that the global agricultural GHG emissions will approach 7 Gt CO2eq./yr by 2050, while the global livestock feed demand will remain similar to 2000. This changes tremendously when diet shifts are also taken into account, resulting in GHG emissions of 20 Gt CO2eq./yr and an increase of 1.3 times in the crop-based feed demand between 2000 and 2050. However, when population growth, diet shifts, and technological progress by 2050 were considered, GHG emissions can be reduced to 14 Gt CO2eq./yr and the feed demand to nearly 1.8 times compare to that in 2000. Additionally, our findings shows that based on the progress made in closing yield gaps, the number of people depending on international trade can vary between 1.5 and 6 billion by 2050. In medium term, this requires additional fossil energy. Furthermore, climate change, affecting crop yields, will increase the need for international agricultural trade by 4% to 16%. In summary, three general conclusions are drawn from this dissertation. First, changing dietary patterns will significantly increase crop demand, agricultural GHG emissions, and international food trade in the future when compared to population growth only. Second, such increments can be reduced by technology transfer and technological progress that will enhance crop yields, decrease agricultural emission intensities, and increase livestock feed conversion efficiencies. Moreover, international trade dependency can be lowered by consuming local and regional food products, by producing diverse types of food, and by closing yield gaps. Third, location specific inputs and management options are required to close yield gaps. Sustainability of such inputs and management largely depends on which options are chosen and how they are implemented. However, while every cultivated land may not need to attain its potential yields to enable food security, closing yield gaps only may not be enough to achieve food self-sufficiency in some regions. Hence, a combination of sustainable implementations of agricultural intensification, expansion, and trade as well as shifting dietary habits towards a lower share of animal products is required to feed the growing population. N2 - Der Mensch beeinflusst die landwirtschaftlichen Erträge unmittelbar durch anthropogen verursachte Treiber des globalen Wandels, wie Bodenerosion, Wasserknappheit und Klimawandel, wovon er und seine Lebensmittelversorgung wiederum direkt betroffen sein werden. Einerseits steigert der Einsatz von Agrochemikalien und mithilfe fossiler Energien erzeugte Dünger die landwirtschaftlichen Erträge. Andererseits tragen Bevölkerungswachstum sowie die Tendenz zu kalorienreichen Ernährungsweisen zu einer vermehrten Nahrungsmittelnachfrage von 60-110% von 2005 bis 2050 bei. Das Decken der wachsenden Lebensmittelnachfrage bei gleichzeitiger Reduktion des landwirtschaftlichen Ressourcenverbrauchs und Umweltbelastungen stellt eine zentrale Herausforderung für die globale Nachhaltigkeit dar. In diesem Rahmen versucht diese Arbeit, die Potentiale der globalen Landwirtschaft auf kleinräumiger Skala auszuloten. Hierbei werden Prognosen zu Auswirkungen von Ernährungsmustern und Veränderungen der landwirtschaftlichen Produktionsmethoden unter Beibehaltung der der Anbaufolge und deren Einfluss auf den Klimawandel berücksichtigt. Projektionen basierend auf räumlich hoch aufgelösten Daten lassen Aussagen darüber zu, inwieweit die Nahrungsmittelproduktion lokal sichergestellt werden kann und falls nicht, wie dies durch regionalen und/oder globalen Handel erfolgen kann. Frei verfügbare Datensätze und Ansätze, wie künstliche neuronale Netze, Szenarioanalysen, Downscaling und skalenübergreifende Methoden werden zur Bearbeitung genutzt. Für den Zeitraum von 1961 bis 2007 konnten 16 globale Ernährungstypologien identifiziert werden. Diese spiegeln vor allem eine Tendenz hin zu fleischhaltiger Kost wider. Durch den hohen Anteil tierischer Produkte verursachen kalorienreiche Ernährungsmuster, wie in Industrieländern üblich, hohe pro Kopf Emissionen von 3,7-6,1 kg CO2eq./Tag und übersteigen die pro Kopf Emissionen von 1,4-4,5 kg CO2eq./Tag einer kalorienarmen Ernährungsweise in Entwicklungsländern. Weltweit werden 40% aller landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnisse als Futtermittel genutzt, was bedeutet, dass aus einem regional variierenden Wert von weniger als 1 kcal bis 10 kcal Getreide, 1 kcal tierische Produkte erzeugt werden. Im Jahr 2000 konnten lokale und nationale Nahrungsmittelproduktionen die Nachfrage von 1,9 bzw. 4,4 Milliarden Menschen erfüllen. Trotzdem sind ca. 1 Milliarde Menschen in Asien und Afrika auf interkontinentalen Handel angewiesen um ihre Lebensmittelnachfrage zu decken. Bei alleiniger Betrachtung des Bevölkerungswachstums wird ein Anstieg der globalen landwirtschaftlichen Treibhausgasemissionen bis zum Jahr 2050 auf jährlich 7 Gt CO2eq. deutlich, während die Nachfrage nach angebauten Futtermitteln gegenüber 2000 annähernd gleich bleiben wird. Das Hinzuziehen von Ernährungsgewohnheiten zeigt, dass zwischen 2000 und 2050 ein Anstieg der Treibhausgasemissionen auf 20 Gt CO2eq. pro Jahr und eine 1,3-fach gesteigerte Nachfrage nach Futtermittel möglich ist. Der zusätzliche Einbezug von technologischem Fortschritt ergibt, dass Emissionen auf jährlich 14 Gt CO2eq. und der Anstieg der Futtermittelnachfrage auf das 0,8-fache reduziert werden können. Daraus geht die Erkenntnis hervor, dass je nachdem, wie erfolgreich Ertragslücken geschlossen werden, 1,5 bis 6 Milliarden Menschen vom internationalen Handel abhängig sind, welcher mittelfristig zusätzliche fossile Energie benötigt. Der Einfluss des Klimawandels auf Ernteerträge wird den Bedarf an internationalem Handel mit landwirtschaftlichen Produkten um 4% bis 16% erhöhen. Weiterhin lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass insbesondere veränderte Ernährungsgewohnheiten, im Gegensatz zu Bevölkerungswachstum, die Nachfrage nach Getreide, die landwirtschaftlichen Treibhausgasemissionen sowie den internationalen Handel mit Nahrungsmitteln erhöhen werden. Durch adäquaten Technologietransfer und technologischen Fortschritt lassen sich Ernteerträge steigern, landwirtschaftliche Emissionen senken und die Effizienz der Umwandlung von Futtermittel in tierische Produkte erhöhen. Abhängigkeiten vom internationalen Handel könnten durch den Konsum lokaler und regionaler Produkte und durch Diversifizierung von Erzeugnissen verringert werden. Zur Schließung von Ertragslücken sind ortsspezifische Maßnahmen erforderlich, wie die nachhaltige Verwendung von Düngemitteln und Pestiziden, Bodenverbesserung, Maßnahmen zur Abschwächung klimabedingter Ernteschwankungen sowie ein verbesserter Marktzugang. Um die Ernährung einer wachsenden Weltbevölkerung zu gewährleisten, ist eine Kombination aus nachhaltiger Intensivierung und Ausweitung der Landwirtschaft, des Handels sowie Ernährungsmuster mit geringeren Anteilen tierischer Produkte notwendig. KW - food security KW - global change KW - climate change KW - yield gap KW - dietary patterns KW - livestock feed KW - food self-sufficiency KW - emissions KW - food demand KW - dietary changes KW - self-organising maps KW - cross-scale analysis KW - sustainability KW - Nahrungsmittelsicherheit KW - Nahrungsmittelselbstversorgung KW - Ertragslücken KW - Emissionen KW - Futtermittel KW - Ernährungsmuster KW - Ernährungsumstellung KW - Klimawandel KW - Lebensmittelnachfrage KW - selbstorganisierte Karten KW - skalenübergreifende Analyse KW - Nachhaltigkeit Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-77849 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strauss, Benjamin H. A1 - Kulp, Scott A1 - Levermann, Anders T1 - Carbon choices determine US cities committed to futures below sea level JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America N2 - Anthropogenic carbon emissions lock in long-term sea-level rise that greatly exceeds projections for this century, posing profound challenges for coastal development and cultural legacies. Analysis based on previously published relationships linking emissions to warming and warming to rise indicates that unabated carbon emissions up to the year 2100 would commit an eventual global sea-level rise of 4.3-9.9 m. Based on detailed topographic and population data, local high tide lines, and regional long-term sea-level commitment for different carbon emissions and ice sheet stability scenarios, we compute the current population living on endangered land at municipal, state, and national levels within the United States. For unabated climate change, we find that land that is home to more than 20 million people is implicated and is widely distributed among different states and coasts. The total area includes 1,185-1,825 municipalities where land that is home to more than half of the current population would be affected, among them at least 21 cities exceeding 100,000 residents. Under aggressive carbon cuts, more than half of these municipalities would avoid this commitment if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet remains stable. Similarly, more than half of the US population-weighted area under threat could be spared. We provide lists of implicated cities and state populations for different emissions scenarios and with and without a certain collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Although past anthropogenic emissions already have caused sea-level commitment that will force coastal cities to adapt, future emissions will determine which areas we can continue to occupy or may have to abandon. KW - climate change KW - climate impacts KW - sea-level rise Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511186112 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 112 IS - 44 SP - 13508 EP - 13513 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scherler, Dirk A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Wulf, Hendrik A1 - Preusser, Frank A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Increased late Pleistocene erosion rates during fluvial aggradation in the Garhwal Himalaya, northern India JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - The response of surface processes to climatic forcing is fundamental for understanding the impacts of climate change on landscape evolution. In the Himalaya, most large rivers feature prominent fill terraces that record an imbalance between sediment supply and transport capacity, presumably due to past fluctuations in monsoon precipitation and/or effects of glaciation at high elevation. Here, we present volume estimates, chronological constraints, and Be-10-derived paleo-erosion rates from a prominent valley fill in the Yamuna catchment, Garhwal Himalaya, to elucidate the coupled response of rivers and hillslopes to Pleistocene climate change. Although precise age control is complicated due to methodological problems, the new data support formation of the valley fill during the late Pleistocene and its incision during the Holocene. We interpret this timing to indicate that changes in discharge and river-transport capacity were major controls. Compared to the present day, late Pleistocene hillslope erosion rates were higher by a factor of similar to 2-4, but appear to have decreased during valley aggradation. The higher late Pleistocene erosion rates are largely unrelated to glacial erosion and could be explained by enhanced sediment production on steep hillslopes due to increased periglacial activity that declined as temperatures increased. Alternatively, erosion rates that decrease during valley aggradation are also consistent with reduced landsliding from threshold hillslopes as a result of rising base levels. In that case, the similarity of paleo-erosion rates near the end of the aggradation period with modern erosion rates might imply that channels and hillslopes are not yet fully coupled everywhere and that present-day hillslope erosion rates may underrepresent long-term incision rates. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - paleo-erosion rates KW - climate change KW - river terraces KW - landscape evolution KW - hillslopes KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.06.034 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 428 SP - 255 EP - 266 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -