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Исследование ландшафтов всегда было традиционным научным направлением географии. В России подобная направленность исследований остаётся актуальной, несмотря на то, что термины «геоэкология» и «ландшафтная экология» сегодня более распространены в англоязычном научном сообществе. Наш краткий обзор показывает значительное ускорение антропогенных ландшафтных изменений в Европе, Центральной Азии и азиатской части России за последние пять десятилетий. Ландшафтные исследования в антропоцене должны быть направлены на достижение и сохранение устойчивости ландшафта при его высокой производительности, что включает в себя прекращение деградации ландшафтов, развитие культурных и сохранение природных ландшафтов. Чистая вода и чистый воздух, плодородные и здоровые почвы для производства продуктов питания и других экосистемных услуг, а также биологически разнообразная зеленая среда являются атрибутами ландшафтов, обеспечивающих выживание и благополучие населения. Дисциплинарные и междисциплинарные исследования должны генерировать знания, инновации и правила принятия действенных решений. Генерация знаний в глобализованном мире основана на сборе больших массивов данных и моделировании сценариев. Международные длительные полевые опыты и системы агроэкологического мониторинга будут предоставлять данные для экосистемных моделей и систем поддержки принимаемых решений. Landscape research has been a traditional scientific discipline of geography. This is still the case in Russia, whilst the terms geo-ecology and landscape ecology have become established in the English speaking scientific community. Our short review reveals huge and accelerating anthropogenic landscape transformations in Europe, Central Asia and Asian Russia since the end the 1960s. Landscape research in the Anthropocene has to focus on achieving landscape sustainability at high productivity. This includes halting landscape degradation, developing cultural landscapes, and maintaining semi-natural landscapes. Clean water and air, fertile and healthy soils for food and other ecosystem services and a green and bio-diverse environment are attributes of landscapes for the survival and well-being of humans. Research has to generate knowledge, innovations and decision rules by disciplinary, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary work. Knowledge generation in a globalized world is based on big data gathering and scenario modelling. International long-term experiments and agri-environmental monitoring systems will deliver data for ecosystem models and decision support systems.

Two studies conducted in Guadeloupe (West Indies) and Réunion (Indian Ocean) islands were designed to investigate the benefits of producing sugarcane as an energy crop and to assess the influence of agroclimatic factors on energy efficiency, respectively. In this context, it is essential to know the low heating value of the dry above-ground biomass (LHVd, MJ/kg) and its energy yield (EY, MJ/m2) in order to select the best varieties and set up a payment method for growers. Eighteen Poaceae (sugarcane and Erianthus) cultivars were compared under wet tropical environmental conditions in Guadeloupe. Three sugarcane cultivars were studied in four contrasting environments in Réunion. The partition sampling and biomass measurement procedures were identical at both locations. Low heating value (LHV) predictions were achieved using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) after specific calibration (Guadeloupe), or arithmetically after lignocellulosic compound prediction (Réunion). In both studies, LHV variability was very low and slightly dependent on the site, cultivar and above-ground biomass components (millable stalks and tops, and green and dead leaves). Considering the overall dry above-ground biomass (DAB, kg/m2), the LHVd was calculated by averaging 159 samples (mean 16.65 MJ/kg) in Guadeloupe and 315 samples (mean 16.45 MJ/kg) for Réunion. An excellent linear relationship between the DAB and its EY, regardless of cultivar, age and environment, was found (n = 474 and R² = 0.99). Sugarcane energy content assessment could thus be simplified by measuring the DAB, while enabling development of a faster method of payment for growers based on the DAB measurement and the correlation between DAB and EY. Finally, the findings of this study should allow growers to rapidly determine the commercial value of their sugarcane crops, and also enable purchasers to assess the amount of recoverable energy. (Résumé d'auteur)

Why are small islands more vulnerable to the global and major ordeal of climate change? How do they face this huge challenge and what can we learn from their experience? These are among the crucial questions examined by Carola Klöck and Michael Fink in their recently coedited volume entitled Dealing with Climate Change on Small Islands: Toward Effective and Sustainable Adaptation, published by Universitätsverlag Göttingen. Interview by Miriam Périer, CERI.

Recent extreme weather events have resulted in an ongoing discussion on the issues of land use and compensation payments within Austrian agriculture. Building on a functional evaluation system for agricultural lands as developed within the Interreg IIIB project “ILUP”, the national project “Agriculture and Flooding” has as its goal to classify the flood-protection contribution and flood sensitivity of agricultural lands. This, in turn, enables the recommendation of targeted measures for potentially improving flood situations, as well as an estimate of their implementation costs. In addition to the digital soil map, other fundamental sources used for the project are the digital flood risk map, IACS land-use data and works by the Institute for Land and Water Management Research. Reference values and marginal returns sourced from the Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics also flow into the cost estimates for the recommended combination. The results will contribute to an understanding of the multifunctionality of agricultural lands and to the setting of priorities on a regional scale regarding packaged flood-prevention and damage-minimization. However, the results at hand can only serve as one step toward regional flood protection projects, whose development will require the cooperation of all interest groups.

Photovoltaic (PV) technologies constitute a leading renewable energy source with a worldwide installed capacity of 135 GW in 2013 that may increase to nearly 4700 GW in 2050. To achieve this production level while minimizing environmental impacts, decision makers must rely at national level on relevant technological, economic and planning aspects which are highly geographically dependent. The access to performance data is a critical issue in the decision-making process and determines the successful development of efficient PV systems. For this reason, a new interactive tool is proposed here to provide the users with easy-to-use data and maps for the solar irradiation and screening level environmental results of representative PV technologies. The calculation procedures account for the geographic location and the PV system layout (installation, orientation and inclination angles). The tool has a worldwide coverage with a multi-criteria scope, both in terms of the numerous technological scenarios and of the wide range of environmental indicators. Moreover, the user is given the possibility to compare the PV environmental performance to the corresponding country electricity mix environmental footprint. 32nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 2869-2873

Although the high amount of solar irradiance in the tropics is an advantage for a profitable PV production, the local meteorological conditions induce a very high variability which is problematic for a safe and gainful injection into the power grid. This issue is even more critical in non-interconnected territories where network stability is an absolute necessity and the injection of PV power has to be limited. The basis for precise cloud evolution and subsequent irradiance forecasts are high quality atmospheric analyses for NWP. Geostationary meteorological satellites provide valuable observations of cloud properties with high spatio-temporal resolutions and allow a pertinent data assimilation. The shortcoming is that optical and thermal channels of satellite sensors do not provide cloud properties from inside clouds. Different existing data assimilation approaches aim at deriving atmospheric analyses with most realistic cloud features, utilising geostationary satellite observations. The potential of assimilating satellite-derived cloud information in regional NWP with focus on irradiance forecasts in tropical regions has not been evaluated so far. Hence, the present work aims at evaluating the potential of geostationary satellite data assimilation in limited-area models applied to the French tropical oversea territories Reunion Island and French Guiana. 32nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 2318-2321

Beyond the urgency of rethinking XX-century urbanization characterized by endless structural expansion strategy, we need to engage urban systems by means of emerging concepts of adaptability and systemic transitions due to climate change effects. Emission reduction and spatial compactness, reuse and recycle, flexibility and complex balances have a profound impact on the spatial dimension and the quality of the urban environment, therefore architectural and urban design are deeply involved in facing ecological transitions and envisioning new strategies to implement the quality of the cities we live in. How to face these emergent challenges? What are the ongoing design strategies for climate change effects? what will be the role of design in transitional systems? Do we recognize it as an opportunity to improve the public space? Design Actions for Shifting Condition is a collaborative effort, and aims to present, from an architectural and urban design point of view, methodologies, practices, and approaches to overcome existing and new fragilities for Cities in Times of Transition. Theory, Territories & Transitions Projects

Les problématiques liées au réchauffement climatique impliquent de devoir diminuer les émissions anthropogéniques de gaz à effet de serre. Il existe trois piliers de décarbonation des systèmes énergétiques parmi lesquels l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables. Ces dernières sont souvent assimilées à de l’énergie électrique produite par le soleil, le vent, l’hydraulique ou la biomasse. Néanmoins, cette énergie électrique ne permet pas une décarbonation profonde de tous les secteurs de consommation dont l’électrification est difficile. L’utilisation de gaz produit à partir de ces énergies décarbonées et appelé « gaz vert » peut palier cela en diminuant l’usage du gaz fossile. L’étude de la pénétration de ces « gaz renouvelables » est l’objet de cette thèse. Pour analyser l’apport du gaz vert sur la décarbonation des secteurs énergétiques, le travail mené utilise le modèle de prospective long terme POLES (Prospective Outlook on Long-term Energy Systems). Afin de représenter de manière détaillée le système de production de gaz vert, nous avons créé un module dans ce modèle, liant les ressources aux usages. Ainsi, les technologies de méthanisation, gazéification de la biomasse et la transformation d’électricité en gaz appelé power-to-gaz ont été modélisées et leurs contributions dans la consommation énergétique des secteurs de consommation estimées. Les résultats montrent que les technologies de gaz renouvelables jouent un rôle dans la transition énergétique en permettant de doubler la production de gaz fossile dans la seconde partie du XXIème siècle. Ce gaz permet la décarbonation des secteurs du transport, de l’industrie et de la production électrique. Néanmoins, le déploiement de ces technologies est directement lié aux progrès techniques attendus à l’avenir car ces technologies sont pour la majorité trop chères pour être compétitives face à l’utilisation du gaz naturel à l’heure actuelle. De plus, ce développement découle de la disponibilité de potentiels locaux au niveau des ressources de biomasse mobilisées. Ainsi, les trajectoires de développement sont différentes, région par région, en fonction du contexte local, tant au niveau de la ressource disponible que des incitations et programmes politiques mis en place pour promouvoir le déploiement des gaz verts. The problems linked to global warming imply the reduction of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. There are three pillars for decarbonizing energy systems, including the use of renewable energy. These are often assimilated to the electrical energy produced by the sun, wind, hydraulics or biomass. However, this electrical energy does not allow a deep decarbonization of all consumption sectors. The use of gas produced from these renewable energies and called "green gas" can overcome this by substituting fossil gas. The study of the penetration of these "renewable gases" is the subject of this thesis. To analyse the contribution of green gas to the decarbonization of energy sectors, the work carried out uses the long-term prospective model POLES (Prospective Outlook on Long-term Energy Systems). A module was created in the model to include a detailed representation of the green gas production system, linking resources to uses. The technologies of anaerobic digestion, gasification of biomass and the transformation of electricity into gas called power-to-gas have been modelled and their contributions in the energy consumption of consumption sectors estimated. The results show that renewable gas technologies play a role in the energy transition by doubling the production of fossil gas in the second half of the XXIst century. This gas allows the decarbonisation of the transport, industry and agriculture sectors. Nevertheless, the deployment of technologies is directly linked to the technical progress expected in the future because, at present, these technologies are for the majority too expensive to be competitive with the use of natural gas without carbon tax. In addition, development stems from the availability of local potential in terms of the biomass resources mobilized. Development trajectories are therefore quite different depending on local contexts, both in terms of resource availability and in terms of the political incentives to promote the deployment of green gases.