• Energy Research
• 15. Life on land close
• 11. Sustainability close
• UZ close
• Urgench State University close

This article describes various opportunities but also constraints to greater crop diversification, and the impact on local sustainability in the Khorezm province of Uzbekistan in the Aral Sea basin. At present, approximately 70% of the area in this study region is sown to irrigated cotton and winter wheat under the so-called state mandate. We present evidence of the benefits of moving away from this approach toward more diversified farming with an increasing area of alternative crops in the selected region. We report on a series of studies that included a) crop suitability screening based on secondary data, b) joint farmer experiments, and c) a mathematical simulation model with the overarching objective to assess potential benefits and constraints for crop diversification. The findings of this long-term, multiyear, and multidisciplinary approach show that greater crop diversity can increase water use efficiency, and secure farm income in dryland areas prone to water scarcity and soil salinity. In additio...

This paper examines for the first time the relationship between CO2 emissions and the consumption of renewable and non-renewable energy in Uzbekistan, spanning the period 1985-2020. The analysis uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model to estimate the long-run dynamic multipliers and short-run elasticity coefficients of energy consumption variables. Economic factors, such as GDP, are excluded in the analysis as they may cause multicollinearity problems. The empirical results document that in the short- and long-run, hydropower (renewable) energy consumption negatively impacts CO2 emissions per capita, showing a unidirectional causal effect. As regards with non-renewable energy consumption, natural gas and oil energy consumption have a positive impact on CO2 emissions per capita both in the short and long run. Coal consumption positively impacts CO2 emissions in the short run, while it is negative in the long run. Policy measures to enhance the collection of energy from additional renewable energy sources, in particular hydropower, should be taken into account in order to increase the share of renewable energy, and thus, to compensate non-renewable energy consumption which is the main contributor to CO2 emissions. Moreover, solar and wind energy should be explicitly taken into consideration as an additional renewable energy source, which has the lack of attention by policymakers. Furthermore, policy actions, such as the involvement of the private sector into renewable energy projects and the implementation of effective carbon tax policies, could be further options to reduce CO2 emissions.

Les montagnes abritent une part considérable de la population humaine. Environ un milliard de personnes vivent dans des zones montagneuses, qui abritent une riche diversité naturelle et socioculturelle. Aujourd'hui, de nombreuses personnes vivant dans des zones montagneuses du monde entier sont confrontées à des changements fondamentaux de leurs conditions de vie culturelles et économiques. Dans le même temps, les communautés de montagne ont défié les environnements difficiles dans le passé en s'adaptant aux conditions naturelles changeantes et en faisant preuve de niveaux remarquables de résilience. Dans cet article de synthèse, nous fournissons un aperçu complet de la littérature scientifique de langue anglaise sur les sujets liés à la résilience dans les zones de montagne sur la base d'une revue systématique de la base de données documentaire Scopus®. Nous proposons un point de départ structuré pour les interactions science-pratique et les activités concrètes basées sur l'action pour soutenir les moyens de subsistance et renforcer la résilience dans les zones de montagne. Nous suggérons que les lacunes existantes en matière de connaissances puissent être comblées en s'appuyant sur les connaissances locales et en co-créant des solutions avec les communautés. De cette façon, nous pouvons renforcer les capacités d'innovation et amortir activement l'impact des crises tout en soutenant la transformation délibérée vers la durabilité et la régénération pour améliorer davantage la résilience. Las montañas son el hogar de una parte considerable de la población humana. Alrededor de mil millones de personas viven en zonas montañosas, que albergan una rica diversidad natural y sociocultural. Hoy en día, muchas personas que viven en zonas montañosas de todo el mundo se enfrentan a cambios fundamentales en sus condiciones de vida culturales y económicas. Al mismo tiempo, las comunidades de montaña han desafiado los entornos hostiles en el pasado al adaptarse a las condiciones naturales cambiantes y mostrar niveles notables de resiliencia. En este documento de revisión, proporcionamos una descripción general completa de la literatura científica en inglés sobre temas relacionados con la resiliencia en áreas montañosas basada en una revisión sistemática de la base de datos de literatura Scopus®. Proponemos un punto de partida estructurado para las interacciones entre la ciencia y la práctica y actividades concretas basadas en la acción para apoyar los medios de vida y fortalecer la resiliencia en las zonas montañosas. Sugerimos que las brechas de conocimiento existentes se pueden abordar confiando en el conocimiento local y cocreando soluciones con las comunidades. De esta manera, podemos crear capacidad innovadora y amortiguar activamente el impacto de las crisis, al tiempo que apoyamos la transformación deliberada hacia la sostenibilidad y la regeneración para mejorar aún más la resiliencia. Mountains are home to a considerable share of the human population. Around a billion people live in mountainous areas, which harbor rich natural and sociocultural diversity. Today, many people living in mountainous areas worldwide face fundamental changes to their cultural and economic living conditions. At the same time, mountain communities have defied harsh environments in the past by adapting to changing natural conditions and showing remarkable levels of resilience. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of English-language scientific literature on resilience-related topics in mountain areas based on a systematic review of the Scopus® literature database. We propose a structured starting point for science–practice interactions and concrete action-based activities to support livelihoods and strengthen resilience in mountain areas. We suggest that existing knowledge gaps can be addressed by relying on local knowledge and cocreating solutions with communities. In this way, we can build innovative capacity and actively buffer against the impact of crises while supporting deliberate transformation toward sustainability and regeneration to further enhance resilience. الجبال هي موطن لنسبة كبيرة من السكان. يعيش حوالي مليار شخص في المناطق الجبلية، التي تضم تنوعًا طبيعيًا واجتماعيًا ثقافيًا غنيًا. اليوم، يواجه العديد من الأشخاص الذين يعيشون في المناطق الجبلية في جميع أنحاء العالم تغييرات جوهرية في ظروفهم المعيشية الثقافية والاقتصادية. وفي الوقت نفسه، تحدت المجتمعات الجبلية البيئات القاسية في الماضي من خلال التكيف مع الظروف الطبيعية المتغيرة وإظهار مستويات ملحوظة من المرونة. في ورقة المراجعة هذه، نقدم نظرة عامة شاملة على الأدبيات العلمية باللغة الإنجليزية حول الموضوعات المتعلقة بالمرونة في المناطق الجبلية بناءً على مراجعة منهجية لقاعدة بيانات أدبيات Scopus®. نقترح نقطة انطلاق منظمة للتفاعلات بين العلوم والممارسات والأنشطة العملية الملموسة لدعم سبل العيش وتعزيز القدرة على الصمود في المناطق الجبلية. نقترح أنه يمكن معالجة الفجوات المعرفية الحالية من خلال الاعتماد على المعرفة المحلية وإيجاد حلول مشتركة مع المجتمعات. وبهذه الطريقة، يمكننا بناء قدرات مبتكرة والوقاية بنشاط من تأثير الأزمات مع دعم التحول المتعمد نحو الاستدامة والتجديد لزيادة تعزيز المرونة.

Biomass logistics operations account for a major portion of the feedstock cost of running a biorefinery, and make up a significant portion of total system operational costs. Biomass is a bulky perishable commodity that is required in large quantities year round for optimal biorefinery operations. As a proof of concept for a decision making tool for biomass production and delivery, a heuristic was developed to determine biorefinery location, considering city size, agricultural density, and regional demographics. Switchgrass and sorghum (with winter canola) were selected to examine as viable biomass feedstocks based on positive economic results determined using a predictive model for cropland conversion potential. Biomass harvest systems were evaluated to examine interrelationships of biomass logistical networks and the least cost production system, with results demonstrating a need to shift to maximize supply-driven production harvest operations and limit storage requirements. For this supply-driven production harvest operations approach a harvest window from September until March was selected for producing big square bales of switchgrass for storage until use, forage chopped sorghum from September to December, and forage chopped switchgrass from December to March. A case study of the three major regions of North Carolina (Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain) was used to assess logistical optimization of the proposed supply-driven production harvest system. Potential biomass production fields were determined within a hundred mile radius of the proposed biorefinery location, with individual fields designated for crop and harvest system by lowest transportation cost. From these selected fields, crops and harvest system regional storage locations were determined using an alternate location-allocation heuristic with set storage capacity per site. Model results showed that the supply-driven production harvest system greatly reduced system complexity, maximized annual usage of high cost specialized equipment, and reduced logistical operations cost. The siting method and developed model shows promise and can be used for computational analysis of potential biorefinery site biomass production systems before costly on the ground logistical analysis.

The primary aspiration of this paper is to learn about the effects of economic growth, energy consumption, agriculture and irrigation water consumption and agriculture productivity on environmental pollution in five countries of Central Asia. The data cover the period from 1992 to 2020 by applying panel data models, namely the Panel FMOLS, Panel DOLS and Panel ARDL-PMG approaches. The results indicate that there is a positive long-term impact of economic growth, water productivity, energy consumption and electricity production on CO2 emissions while agriculture value added and trade openness have a negative and statistically significant influence on CO2 emissions in Central Asia. Country specific short-run coefficients from Panel ARDL reveal that energy consumption is the main driver for rise in the level of CO2 emissions in the countries under the study. Indeed, country level analysis generates unique nexus correlation among agriculture, energy and environmental degradation in each country of Central Asia.

Abstract Building performance simulation [BPS] tools are important in all design stages. However, barriers such as time, resources, and expertise inhibit their use in the early design stages. This study aims to develop, as part of decision-support framework, metamodels to assess the thermal discomfort in a naturally ventilated Brazilian low-cost house during early design. The metamodels predict the degree-hours of discomfort by heat and/or by cold as a function of design parameters for three Brazilian cities: Curitiba, Sao Paulo, and Manaus. The key design parameters, related with passive design strategies, are building orientation, shading devices position and dimensions, thermal properties of the walls and roof, window-to-wall ratio, and effective window ventilation area. The method consists of three main stages: (i) baseline model development; (ii) Monte Carlo simulation; (iii) multivariate regression. Overall, the metamodels showed R2 values higher than 0.95 for all climates, except the ones predicting discomfort by heat for Curitiba (R2 =0.61) and Sao Paulo (R2 =0.75). The proposed metamodels can quickly and accurately assess the thermal performance of naturally ventilated low-cost houses. They can be used to guide professionals during the early design stages, and for educational purposes in building design pedagogy.

Climate change is affecting human and geophysical systems in a variety of complex and interdependent ways. For nature-based tourism-dependent communities like those along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, impacts to the region’s abundant natural resources can subsequently affect the livelihoods of individuals who depend upon those resources to provide essential ecosystem services and support the region’s economy. Many of the area’s natural and outdoor recreation resources are collaboratively managed, making cooperation essential to address climate change impacts. In this study, we engaged North Shore stakeholders in a climate change risk assessment process through an exploratory application of participatory geographic information systems (PGIS). Stakeholder involvement allows for the co-production of science to deliver locally-relevant data and information. Involving stakeholders through a PGIS-based climate change risk assessment process allows locally-relevant data and information to be represented and visualized spatially. We used PGIS focus groups, as well as pre- and post-surveys, to solicit stakeholders’ perceptions of risk thresholds (i.e., the time scale of impacts) and climate-related risk severity to sites with built infrastructure, natural amenities, and recreation and tourism destinations. The stakeholders’ knowledge, as well as their commitment to their communities and local environments, influenced general perceptions of region-wide climate-related vulnerabilities. The PGIS exercises generated important discussion among stakeholders and shed light on how to more efficiently collect spatially-explicit data and information from stakeholders that can be used to inform mitigation and adaptation efforts.