• Energy Research

Climate change is driving dramatic environmental changes and posing new demands to citizens, health authorities, and policy makers worldwide.This is due to an increased frequency, intensity, and duration of associated extreme weather events.Recent calls for better understanding of how citizens adapt to such demands and the role that psychological processes’ play in that adaptation, have been put forward.We contributed in this regard by (1) applying the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat (e.g. Blascovich 2008) to the study of human responses (psychological, physiological, and behavioural) to extreme weather events; (2) using it as the conceptual basis for a mixed methods study aimed at exploring citizens’ perceptions, beliefs, and appraisals of the demands posed by such events and available resources to cope with them.Preliminary qualitative results are presented and potential implications for stakeholders and policy makers in the climate change domain are discussed.An example of how such conceptual and methodological approaches may contribute to developing evidence-based strategies for incrementing citizens’ resilience and adaptation to climate change, will be provided.This allow a better understanding of citizen appraisals and perceptions’ role in shaping adaptive behaviour, in order to provide them with the necessary personal and social resources to cope with extreme weather events and increment future resilience.

Summary 1. The Amazon region may experience increasing moisture limitation over this century. Leaf dark respiration (R) is a key component of the Amazon rain forest carbon (C) cycle, but relatively little is known about its sensitivity to drought. 2. Here, we present measurements of R standardized to 25 °C and leaf morphology from different canopy heights over 5 years at a rain forest subject to a large‐scale through‐fall reduction (TFR) experiment, and nearby, unmodified Control forest, at the Caxiuanã reserve in the eastern Amazon. 3. In all five post‐treatment measurement campaigns, mean R at 25 °C was elevated in the TFR forest compared to the Control forest experiencing normal rainfall. After 5 years of the TFR treatment, R per unit leaf area and mass had increased by 65% and 42%, respectively, relative to pre‐treatment means. In contrast, leaf area index (L) in the TFR forest was consistently lower than the Control, falling by 23% compared to the pre‐treatment mean, largely because of a decline in specific leaf area (S). 4. The consistent and significant effects of the TFR treatment on R, L and S suggest that severe drought events in the Amazon, of the kind that may occur more frequently in future, could cause a substantial increase in canopy carbon dioxide emissions from this ecosystem to the atmosphere.

ABSTRACTThe combined effects of O2 on net rates of photosynthesis, photosystem II activity, steady‐state pool size of key metabolites of photosynthetic metabolism in the C4 pathway, C3 pathway and C2 photorespiratory cycle and on growth were evaluated in the C4 species Amaranthus edulis and the C3 species Flaveria pringlei. Increasing O2 reduced net CO2 assimilation in F. pringlei due to an increased flux of C through the photorespiratory pathway. However, in A. edulis increasing O2 up to 5–10% stimulated photosynthesis. Analysis of the pool size of key metabolites in A. edulis suggests that while there is some O2 dependent photorespiration, O2 is required for maximizing C4 cycle activity to concentrate CO2 in bundle sheath cells. Therefore, the response of net photosynthesis to O2 in C4 plants may result from the balance of these two opposing effects. Under 21 versus 5% O2, growth of A. edulis was stimulated about 30% whereas that of F. pringlei was inhibited about 40%.

We compared the metabolic responses of leaves and roots of two Eucalyptus globulus Labill. clones differing in drought sensitivity to a slowly imposed water deficit. Responses measured included changes in concentrations of soluble and insoluble sugars, proline, total protein and several antioxidant enzymes. In addition to the general decrease in growth caused by water deficit, we observed a decrease in osmotic potential when drought stress became severe. In both clones, the decrease was greater in roots than in leaves, consistent with the observed increases in concentrations of soluble sugars and proline in these organs. In roots of both clones, glutathione reductase activity increased significantly in response to water deficit, suggesting that this enzyme plays a protective role in roots during drought stress by catalyzing the catabolism of reactive oxygen species. Clone CN5 has stress avoidance mechanisms that account for its lower sensitivity to drought compared with Clone ST51.

It is vital to study spectator responses to environmental campaigns to advance environmental sustainability initiatives. Therefore, this investigation aimed to identify which factors influence spec...

COVID-19 rapidly and extensively changed the normal everyday practices of societies, and there is no going back to the past. Universities also had to adapt and re-establish their normal routines, from policies to practices. In this article, we explore university students’ experiences of web-based learning, their well-being, and engagement during the pandemic. As a theoretical framework, we use the concept of the university student engagement inventory (USEI), which includes behavioral, cognitive, and emotional dimensions. The data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from university students (N = 35) via an online survey and analyzed using a thematic content analysis. According to the results, university students experienced well-designed and pedagogically implemented web-based learning, teaching and guidance to enhance their own learning, well-being, and engagement in their studies. This suggests that web-based solutions for academic learning are justified but need to consider a range of well-being and engagement factors. What is still needed are innovative solutions that are pedagogically justifiable and consider the digital and human dimensions sustainably.