• Energy Research

Les évaluations des services écosystémiques et des pertes de fonctions des paysages de zones humides (c.-à-d. les zones humides et leurs bassins hydrologiques) souffrent de lacunes dans les connaissances concernant les impacts des changements hydroclimatiques en cours. Cette étude étudie les changements hydroclimatiques au cours de la période 1976-2015 dans 25 zones humides réparties dans les zones climatiques tropicales, arides, tempérées et froides du monde. Les résultats montrent que les paysages de zones humides ont été soumis à des changements de précipitations (P) et de température (T) cohérents avec les changements moyens sur la superficie terrestre du monde. Cependant, les paysages humides arides et froids ont connu des augmentations de T plus élevées que leur zone climatique respective. En outre, le P moyen a diminué dans les paysages humides arides et froids, contrairement au P des zones climatiques arides et froides, ce qui suggère que ces paysages humides sont situés dans des régions où les pressions climatiques sont élevées. Pour la plupart des paysages humides avec des données de ruissellement (R) disponibles, les diminutions étaient plus importantes dans R que dans P, ce qui a été attribué à l'aggravation des impacts du changement climatique par des pertes d'évapotranspiration accrues, par exemple causées par des changements d'affectation des terres. Las evaluaciones de las pérdidas de servicios y funciones de los ecosistemas de los paisajes húmedos (es decir, los humedales y sus cuencas hidrológicas) adolecen de lagunas de conocimiento con respecto a los impactos del cambio hidroclimático en curso. Este estudio investiga los cambios hidroclimáticos durante 1976-2015 en 25 paisajes húmedos distribuidos en las zonas de clima tropical, árido, templado y frío del mundo. Los resultados muestran que los paisajes húmedos estuvieron sujetos a cambios de precipitación (P) y temperatura (T) consistentes con los cambios medios en la superficie terrestre del mundo. Sin embargo, los paisajes húmedos áridos y fríos experimentaron mayores aumentos de T que su respectiva zona climática. Asimismo, el P medio disminuyó en los paisajes húmedos áridos y fríos, contrariamente al P de las zonas de clima árido y frío, lo que sugiere que estos paisajes húmedos se encuentran en regiones de presiones climáticas elevadas. Para la mayoría de los paisajes húmedos con datos de escorrentía disponibles (R), las disminuciones fueron mayores en R que en P, lo que se atribuyó al agravamiento de los impactos del cambio climático por mayores pérdidas de evapotranspiración, por ejemplo, causadas por cambios en el uso de la tierra. Assessments of ecosystem service and function losses of wetlandscapes (i.e., wetlands and their hydrological catchments) suffer from knowledge gaps regarding impacts of ongoing hydro-climatic change. This study investigates hydro-climatic changes during 1976-2015 in 25 wetlandscapes distributed across the world's tropical, arid, temperate and cold climate zones. Results show that the wetlandscapes were subject to precipitation (P) and temperature (T) changes consistent with mean changes over the world's land area. However, arid and cold wetlandscapes experienced higher T increases than their respective climate zone. Also, average P decreased in arid and cold wetlandscapes, contrarily to P of arid and cold climate zones, suggesting that these wetlandscapes are located in regions of elevated climate pressures. For most wetlandscapes with available runoff (R) data, the decreases were larger in R than in P, which was attributed to aggravation of climate change impacts by enhanced evapotranspiration losses, e.g. caused by land-use changes. وتعاني تقييمات خدمة النظام الإيكولوجي وفقدان وظائف الأراضي الرطبة (أي الأراضي الرطبة ومستجمعاتها الهيدرولوجية) من فجوات معرفية فيما يتعلق بآثار التغير المائي المناخي المستمر. تبحث هذه الدراسة في التغيرات المناخية المائية خلال الفترة 1976-2015 في 25 من المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة الموزعة عبر المناطق المناخية الاستوائية والجافة والمعتدلة والباردة في العالم. تظهر النتائج أن المناظر الطبيعية للأراضي الرطبة كانت عرضة لتغيرات هطول الأمطار (P) ودرجة الحرارة (T) بما يتفق مع متوسط التغيرات في مساحة اليابسة في العالم. ومع ذلك، شهدت المناظر الرطبة القاحلة والباردة زيادات T أعلى من منطقة المناخ الخاصة بها. كما انخفض متوسط P في المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة القاحلة والباردة، على عكس P في المناطق المناخية القاحلة والباردة، مما يشير إلى أن هذه المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة تقع في مناطق ذات ضغوط مناخية مرتفعة. بالنسبة لمعظم الأراضي الرطبة التي تحتوي على بيانات الجريان السطحي (R) المتاحة، كانت الانخفاضات أكبر في R منها في P، والتي تعزى إلى تفاقم تأثيرات تغير المناخ بسبب خسائر التبخر والنتح المعززة، على سبيل المثال الناجمة عن تغيرات استخدام الأراضي.

Les évaluations des services écosystémiques et des pertes de fonctions des paysages de zones humides (c.-à-d. les zones humides et leurs bassins hydrologiques) souffrent de lacunes dans les connaissances concernant les impacts des changements hydroclimatiques en cours. Cette étude étudie les changements hydroclimatiques au cours de la période 1976-2015 dans 25 zones humides réparties dans les zones climatiques tropicales, arides, tempérées et froides du monde. Les résultats montrent que les paysages de zones humides ont été soumis à des changements de précipitations (P) et de température (T) cohérents avec les changements moyens sur la superficie terrestre du monde. Cependant, les paysages humides arides et froids ont connu des augmentations de T plus élevées que leur zone climatique respective. En outre, le P moyen a diminué dans les paysages humides arides et froids, contrairement au P des zones climatiques arides et froides, ce qui suggère que ces paysages humides sont situés dans des régions où les pressions climatiques sont élevées. Pour la plupart des paysages humides avec des données de ruissellement (R) disponibles, les diminutions étaient plus importantes dans R que dans P, ce qui a été attribué à l'aggravation des impacts du changement climatique par des pertes d'évapotranspiration accrues, par exemple causées par des changements d'affectation des terres. Las evaluaciones de las pérdidas de servicios y funciones de los ecosistemas de los paisajes húmedos (es decir, los humedales y sus cuencas hidrológicas) adolecen de lagunas de conocimiento con respecto a los impactos del cambio hidroclimático en curso. Este estudio investiga los cambios hidroclimáticos durante 1976-2015 en 25 paisajes húmedos distribuidos en las zonas de clima tropical, árido, templado y frío del mundo. Los resultados muestran que los paisajes húmedos estuvieron sujetos a cambios de precipitación (P) y temperatura (T) consistentes con los cambios medios en la superficie terrestre del mundo. Sin embargo, los paisajes húmedos áridos y fríos experimentaron mayores aumentos de T que su respectiva zona climática. Asimismo, el P medio disminuyó en los paisajes húmedos áridos y fríos, contrariamente al P de las zonas de clima árido y frío, lo que sugiere que estos paisajes húmedos se encuentran en regiones de presiones climáticas elevadas. Para la mayoría de los paisajes húmedos con datos de escorrentía disponibles (R), las disminuciones fueron mayores en R que en P, lo que se atribuyó al agravamiento de los impactos del cambio climático por mayores pérdidas de evapotranspiración, por ejemplo, causadas por cambios en el uso de la tierra. Assessments of ecosystem service and function losses of wetlandscapes (i.e., wetlands and their hydrological catchments) suffer from knowledge gaps regarding impacts of ongoing hydro-climatic change. This study investigates hydro-climatic changes during 1976-2015 in 25 wetlandscapes distributed across the world's tropical, arid, temperate and cold climate zones. Results show that the wetlandscapes were subject to precipitation (P) and temperature (T) changes consistent with mean changes over the world's land area. However, arid and cold wetlandscapes experienced higher T increases than their respective climate zone. Also, average P decreased in arid and cold wetlandscapes, contrarily to P of arid and cold climate zones, suggesting that these wetlandscapes are located in regions of elevated climate pressures. For most wetlandscapes with available runoff (R) data, the decreases were larger in R than in P, which was attributed to aggravation of climate change impacts by enhanced evapotranspiration losses, e.g. caused by land-use changes. وتعاني تقييمات خدمة النظام الإيكولوجي وفقدان وظائف الأراضي الرطبة (أي الأراضي الرطبة ومستجمعاتها الهيدرولوجية) من فجوات معرفية فيما يتعلق بآثار التغير المائي المناخي المستمر. تبحث هذه الدراسة في التغيرات المناخية المائية خلال الفترة 1976-2015 في 25 من المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة الموزعة عبر المناطق المناخية الاستوائية والجافة والمعتدلة والباردة في العالم. تظهر النتائج أن المناظر الطبيعية للأراضي الرطبة كانت عرضة لتغيرات هطول الأمطار (P) ودرجة الحرارة (T) بما يتفق مع متوسط التغيرات في مساحة اليابسة في العالم. ومع ذلك، شهدت المناظر الرطبة القاحلة والباردة زيادات T أعلى من منطقة المناخ الخاصة بها. كما انخفض متوسط P في المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة القاحلة والباردة، على عكس P في المناطق المناخية القاحلة والباردة، مما يشير إلى أن هذه المناظر الطبيعية الرطبة تقع في مناطق ذات ضغوط مناخية مرتفعة. بالنسبة لمعظم الأراضي الرطبة التي تحتوي على بيانات الجريان السطحي (R) المتاحة، كانت الانخفاضات أكبر في R منها في P، والتي تعزى إلى تفاقم تأثيرات تغير المناخ بسبب خسائر التبخر والنتح المعززة، على سبيل المثال الناجمة عن تغيرات استخدام الأراضي.

AbstractClimate change and landscape transformation have led to rapid expansion of peri-urban areas globally, representing new ‘laboratories’ for the study of human–nature relationships aiming at land degradation management. This paper contributes to the debate on human-driven land degradation processes by highlighting how natural and socioeconomic forces trigger soil depletion and environmental degradation in peri-urban areas. The aim was to classify and synthesise the interactions of urbanisation-driven factors with direct or indirect, on-site or off-site, and short-term or century-scale impacts on land degradation, focussing on Southern Europe as a paradigmatic case to address this issue. Assuming complex and multifaceted interactions among influencing factors, a relevant contribution to land degradation was shown to derive from socioeconomic drivers, the most important of which were population growth and urban sprawl. Viewing peri-urban areas as socio-environmental systems adapting to intense socioeconomic transformations, these factors were identified as forming complex environmental ‘syndromes’ driven by urbanisation. Based on this classification, we suggested three key measures to support future land management in Southern European peri-urban areas.

AbstractClimate change and landscape transformation have led to rapid expansion of peri-urban areas globally, representing new ‘laboratories’ for the study of human–nature relationships aiming at land degradation management. This paper contributes to the debate on human-driven land degradation processes by highlighting how natural and socioeconomic forces trigger soil depletion and environmental degradation in peri-urban areas. The aim was to classify and synthesise the interactions of urbanisation-driven factors with direct or indirect, on-site or off-site, and short-term or century-scale impacts on land degradation, focussing on Southern Europe as a paradigmatic case to address this issue. Assuming complex and multifaceted interactions among influencing factors, a relevant contribution to land degradation was shown to derive from socioeconomic drivers, the most important of which were population growth and urban sprawl. Viewing peri-urban areas as socio-environmental systems adapting to intense socioeconomic transformations, these factors were identified as forming complex environmental ‘syndromes’ driven by urbanisation. Based on this classification, we suggested three key measures to support future land management in Southern European peri-urban areas.

Flooding affects Mediterranean coastal areas, with negative impacts on regional populations and ecosystems. This paper reviews the causes and consequences of coastal flooding in European Mediterranean countries, common and advanced solutions implemented to mitigate flood risk, and the importance of stakeholder involvement in developing these solutions. Climate change, intensive urbanization, tourism, deforestation, wildfires, and erosion are the main causes of coastal flooding, leading to social and economic losses, degradation of ecosystems, and water and soil contamination due to saltwater intrusion. Various measures for mitigating urban coastal flooding have been implemented, including coastal barriers, infrastructural drainage systems, wetlands, and mobile dams. Development and implementation of such solutions should be performed in close collaboration with stakeholders, but their current engagement at the coordination and/or decision-making level does not allow full integration of local knowledge in flood mitigation projects. Various processes are used to engage stakeholders in coastal flood mitigation, but participatory approaches are required to integrate their perspectives into performance analysis of potential solutions. Such approaches would allow a balance to be reached between nature conservation, market forces, stakeholder needs, and decision-makers’ priorities, resulting in development of innovative and sustainable mitigation solutions to enhance urban resilience to coastal flooding.

Flooding affects Mediterranean coastal areas, with negative impacts on regional populations and ecosystems. This paper reviews the causes and consequences of coastal flooding in European Mediterranean countries, common and advanced solutions implemented to mitigate flood risk, and the importance of stakeholder involvement in developing these solutions. Climate change, intensive urbanization, tourism, deforestation, wildfires, and erosion are the main causes of coastal flooding, leading to social and economic losses, degradation of ecosystems, and water and soil contamination due to saltwater intrusion. Various measures for mitigating urban coastal flooding have been implemented, including coastal barriers, infrastructural drainage systems, wetlands, and mobile dams. Development and implementation of such solutions should be performed in close collaboration with stakeholders, but their current engagement at the coordination and/or decision-making level does not allow full integration of local knowledge in flood mitigation projects. Various processes are used to engage stakeholders in coastal flood mitigation, but participatory approaches are required to integrate their perspectives into performance analysis of potential solutions. Such approaches would allow a balance to be reached between nature conservation, market forces, stakeholder needs, and decision-makers’ priorities, resulting in development of innovative and sustainable mitigation solutions to enhance urban resilience to coastal flooding.

AbstractThe importance of soils to society has gained increasing recognition over the past decade, with the potential to contribute to most of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With unprecedented and growing demands for food, water and energy, there is an urgent need for a global effort to address the challenges of climate change and land degradation, whilst protecting soil as a natural resource. In this paper, we identify the contribution of soil science over the past decade to addressing gaps in our knowledge regarding major environmental challenges: climate change, food security, water security, urban development, and ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Continuing to address knowledge gaps in soil science is essential for the achievement of the SDGs. However, with limited time and budget, it is also pertinent to identify effective methods of working that ensure the research carried out leads to real‐world impact. Here, we suggest three strategies for the next decade of soil science, comprising a greater implementation of research into policy, interdisciplinary partnerships to evaluate function trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other environmental domains, and integrating monitoring and modelling methods to ensure soil‐based policies can withstand the uncertainties of the future.Highlights We highlight the contributions of soil science to five major environmental challenges since 2010. Researchers have contributed to recommendation reports, but work is rarely translated into policy. Interdisciplinary work should assess trade‐offs and synergies between soils and other domains. Integrating monitoring and modelling is key for robust and sustainable soils‐based policymaking.