- Pearson, Stuart, Lynch, Jasmyn, Plant, Roel, Cork, Steve, Taffs, Kathryn, Dodson, John, Maynard, Simone, Gergis, Joelle, Gell, Peter, Thackway, Richard, Sealie, Lynne, Donaldson, Jim
- Authors: Pearson, Stuart , Lynch, Jasmyn , Plant, Roel , Cork, Steve , Taffs, Kathryn , Dodson, John , Maynard, Simone , Gergis, Joelle , Gell, Peter , Thackway, Richard , Sealie, Lynne , Donaldson, Jim
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Holocene Vol. 25, no. 2 (2015), p. 366-378
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Despite the great potential of palaeo-environmental information to strengthen natural resource policy, science and practical outcomes naturally occurring archives of palaeo-environmental and ecosystem service information have not been fully recognised or utilised to inform the development of environmental policy. In this paper, we describe how Australian palaeo-environmental science is improving environmental understanding through local studies and regional syntheses that inform us about past conditions, extreme conditions and altered ecosystem states. Australian innovations in ecosystem services research and palaeo-environmental science contribute in five important contexts: discussions about environmental understanding and management objectives, improving access to information, improved knowledge about the dynamics of ecosystem services, increasing understanding of environmental processes and resource availability, and engaging interdisciplinary approaches to manage ecosystem services. Knowledge of the past is an important starting point for setting present and future resource management objectives, anticipating consequences of trade-offs, sharing risk and evaluating and monitoring the ongoing availability of ecosystem services. Palaeo-environmental information helps reframe discussions about desirable futures and collaborative efforts between scientists, planners, managers and communities. However, further steps are needed to translate the ecosystem services concept into ecosystem services policy and tangible management objectives and actions that are useful, feasible and encompass the range of benefits to people from ecosystems. We argue that increased incorporation of palaeo-environmental information into policy and decision-making is needed for evidence-based adaptive management to enhance sustainability of ecosystem functions and reduce long-term risks.
Management to insulate ecosystem services from the effects of catchment development
- Authors: Gell, Peter
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Relation: 2nd International Conference on Energy, Environmental and Information System, ICENIS 2017; Semarang, Indonesia; 15th-16th August 2017; published in E3S Web of Conferences Vol. 31, p. 1-6
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Natural ecosystems provide amenity to human populations in the form of ecosystem services. These services are grouped into four broad categories: Provisioning-food and water production; regulating-control of climate and disease; supporting-crop pollination; and cultural-spiritual and recreational benefits. Aquatic systems provide considerable service through the provision of potable water, fisheries and aquaculture production, nutrient mitigation and the psychological benefits that accrue from the aesthetic amenity provided from lakes, rivers and other wetlands. Further, littoral and riparian ecosystems, and aquifers, protect human communities from sea level encroachment, and tidal and river flooding. Catchment and water development provides critical resources for human consumption. Where these provisioning services are prioritized over others, the level and quality of production may be impacted. Further, the benefits from these provisioning services comes with the opportunity cost of diminishing regulating, supporting and cultural services. This imbalance flags concerns for humanity as it exceeds recognised safe operating spaces. These concepts are explored by reference to long term records of change in some of the world's largest river catchments and lessons are drawn that may enable other communities to consider the balance of ecosystems services in natural resource management.
- Authors: Gell, Peter
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings
- Relation: 2nd International Conference on Energy, Environmental and Information System, ICENIS 2017; Semarang, Indonesia; 15th-16th August 2017; published in E3S Web of Conferences Vol. 31, p. 1-6
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Natural ecosystems provide amenity to human populations in the form of ecosystem services. These services are grouped into four broad categories: Provisioning-food and water production; regulating-control of climate and disease; supporting-crop pollination; and cultural-spiritual and recreational benefits. Aquatic systems provide considerable service through the provision of potable water, fisheries and aquaculture production, nutrient mitigation and the psychological benefits that accrue from the aesthetic amenity provided from lakes, rivers and other wetlands. Further, littoral and riparian ecosystems, and aquifers, protect human communities from sea level encroachment, and tidal and river flooding. Catchment and water development provides critical resources for human consumption. Where these provisioning services are prioritized over others, the level and quality of production may be impacted. Further, the benefits from these provisioning services comes with the opportunity cost of diminishing regulating, supporting and cultural services. This imbalance flags concerns for humanity as it exceeds recognised safe operating spaces. These concepts are explored by reference to long term records of change in some of the world's largest river catchments and lessons are drawn that may enable other communities to consider the balance of ecosystems services in natural resource management.
Towards threshold-based management of freshwater ecosystems in the context of climate change
- Liu, Junguo, Kattel, Giri, Arp, Hans Peter, Yang, Hong
- Authors: Liu, Junguo , Kattel, Giri , Arp, Hans Peter , Yang, Hong
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Modelling Vol. 318, no. (2015), p. 265-274
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Climate change is an increasing threat to freshwater ecosystem goods and services. We review recent research regarding the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems and the severity of their undesirable effects on ecosystem processes and services. Appropriate management strategies are needed to mitigate the long-term or irreversible losses of ecosystem services caused by climate change. To address this, this review puts forward a threshold-based management framework as a potential platform for scientists, decision makers and stakeholders of freshwater ecosystems to work together in reducing risks from climate change. In this framework, the susceptibility of local freshwater ecosystems to change beyond thresholds is continuously investigated and updated by scientists, used to design policy targets by decision makers, and used to establish mitigation measures by local stakeholders. © 2014 The Authors.
A century-scale, human-induced ecohydrological evolution of wetlands of two large river basins in Australia (Murray) and China (Yangtze)
- Kattel, Giri, Dong, Xuhui, Yang, Xiangdong
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Dong, Xuhui , Yang, Xiangdong
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Vol. 20, no. 6 (2016), p. 2151-2168
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Recently, the provision of food and water resources of two of the world's largest river basins, the Murray and the Yangtze, has been significantly altered through widespread landscape modification. Long-term sedimentary archives, dating back for some centuries from wetlands of these river basins, reveal that rapid, basin-wide development has reduced the resilience of biological communities, resulting in considerable decline in ecosystem services, including water quality. Large-scale human disturbance to river systems, due to river regulation during the mid-20th century, has transformed the hydrology of rivers and wetlands, causing widespread modification of aquatic biological communities. Changes to cladoceran zooplankton (water fleas) were used to assess the historical hydrology and ecology of three Murray and Yangtze river wetlands over the past century. Subfossil assemblages of cladocerans retrieved from sediment cores (94, 45, and 65 cm) of three wetlands: Kings Billabong (Murray), Zhangdu, and Liangzi lakes (Yangtze), showed strong responses to hydrological changes in the river after the mid-20th century. In particular, river regulation caused by construction of dams and weirs together with river channel modifications, has led to significant hydrological alterations. These hydrological disturbances were either (1) a prolonged inundation of wetlands or (2) reduced river flow, both of which caused variability in wetland depth. Inevitably, these phenomena have subsequently transformed the natural wetland habitats, leading to a switch in cladoceran assemblages to species preferring poor water quality, and in some cases to eutrophication. The quantitative and qualitative decline of wetland water conditions is indicative of reduced ecosystem services, and requires effective restoration measures for both river basins which have been impacted by recent socioeconomic development and climate change. © 2016 Author(s).
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Dong, Xuhui , Yang, Xiangdong
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Vol. 20, no. 6 (2016), p. 2151-2168
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Recently, the provision of food and water resources of two of the world's largest river basins, the Murray and the Yangtze, has been significantly altered through widespread landscape modification. Long-term sedimentary archives, dating back for some centuries from wetlands of these river basins, reveal that rapid, basin-wide development has reduced the resilience of biological communities, resulting in considerable decline in ecosystem services, including water quality. Large-scale human disturbance to river systems, due to river regulation during the mid-20th century, has transformed the hydrology of rivers and wetlands, causing widespread modification of aquatic biological communities. Changes to cladoceran zooplankton (water fleas) were used to assess the historical hydrology and ecology of three Murray and Yangtze river wetlands over the past century. Subfossil assemblages of cladocerans retrieved from sediment cores (94, 45, and 65 cm) of three wetlands: Kings Billabong (Murray), Zhangdu, and Liangzi lakes (Yangtze), showed strong responses to hydrological changes in the river after the mid-20th century. In particular, river regulation caused by construction of dams and weirs together with river channel modifications, has led to significant hydrological alterations. These hydrological disturbances were either (1) a prolonged inundation of wetlands or (2) reduced river flow, both of which caused variability in wetland depth. Inevitably, these phenomena have subsequently transformed the natural wetland habitats, leading to a switch in cladoceran assemblages to species preferring poor water quality, and in some cases to eutrophication. The quantitative and qualitative decline of wetland water conditions is indicative of reduced ecosystem services, and requires effective restoration measures for both river basins which have been impacted by recent socioeconomic development and climate change. © 2016 Author(s).
A global perspective on wetland salinization : Ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands
- Herbert, Ellen, Boon, Paul, Burgin, Amy, Neubauer, Scott, Franklin, Rima, Ardon, Marcelo, Hopfensperger, Kristine, Lamers, Leon, Gell, Peter
- Authors: Herbert, Ellen , Boon, Paul , Burgin, Amy , Neubauer, Scott , Franklin, Rima , Ardon, Marcelo , Hopfensperger, Kristine , Lamers, Leon , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecosphere Vol. 6, no. 10 (2015), p. 1-43
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land-clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de-icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil-water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, alter the biogeochemical cycling of major elements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and silica. The effects of salinization on wetland biogeochemistry typically include decreased inorganic nitrogen removal (with implications for water quality and climate regulation), decreased carbon storage (with implications for climate regulation and wetland accretion), and increased generation of toxic sulfides (with implications for nutrient cycling and the health/functioning of wetland biota). Indeed, increased salt and sulfide concentrations induce physiological stress in wetland biota and ultimately can result in large shifts in wetland communities and their associated ecosystem functions. The productivity and composition of freshwater species assemblages will be highly altered, and there is a high potential for the disruption of existing interspecific interactions. Although there is a wealth of information on how salinization impacts individual ecosystem components, relatively few studies have addressed the complex and often non-linear feedbacks that determine ecosystem-scale responses or considered how wetland salinization will affect landscape-level processes. Although the salinization of wetlands may be unavoidable in many cases, these systems may also prove to be a fertile testing ground for broader ecological theories including (but not limited to): investigations into alternative stable states and tipping points, trophic cascades, disturbance-recovery processes, and the role of historical events and landscape context in driving community response to disturbance. © 2015 Herbert et al.
- Authors: Herbert, Ellen , Boon, Paul , Burgin, Amy , Neubauer, Scott , Franklin, Rima , Ardon, Marcelo , Hopfensperger, Kristine , Lamers, Leon , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecosphere Vol. 6, no. 10 (2015), p. 1-43
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land-clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de-icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil-water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, alter the biogeochemical cycling of major elements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and silica. The effects of salinization on wetland biogeochemistry typically include decreased inorganic nitrogen removal (with implications for water quality and climate regulation), decreased carbon storage (with implications for climate regulation and wetland accretion), and increased generation of toxic sulfides (with implications for nutrient cycling and the health/functioning of wetland biota). Indeed, increased salt and sulfide concentrations induce physiological stress in wetland biota and ultimately can result in large shifts in wetland communities and their associated ecosystem functions. The productivity and composition of freshwater species assemblages will be highly altered, and there is a high potential for the disruption of existing interspecific interactions. Although there is a wealth of information on how salinization impacts individual ecosystem components, relatively few studies have addressed the complex and often non-linear feedbacks that determine ecosystem-scale responses or considered how wetland salinization will affect landscape-level processes. Although the salinization of wetlands may be unavoidable in many cases, these systems may also prove to be a fertile testing ground for broader ecological theories including (but not limited to): investigations into alternative stable states and tipping points, trophic cascades, disturbance-recovery processes, and the role of historical events and landscape context in driving community response to disturbance. © 2015 Herbert et al.
- Robson, Belinda, Mitchell, Bradley, Chester, Edwin
- Authors: Robson, Belinda , Mitchell, Bradley , Chester, Edwin
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecological Engineering Vol. 37, no. 9 (2011), p. 1379-1386
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Restoration is increasingly the focus of ecosystem management. Few conceptual models exist for predicting the consequences of restoration, especially those that predict the stages of recovery following restoration. Existing models focus either on defining endpoints for recovery or on defining ecosystem processes, but often do not identify barriers to recovery or potential negative effects of restoration. We describe a conceptual model that identifies the outcomes of the recovery pathways following flow restoration in rivers: the Recovery Cascade Model. The model identifies six general aspects of recovery following restoration: physical ecosystem change; creation of, or improvement in habitat condition; reconnection of the restored area to adjacent ecosystems; recolonization of the restored area; resumption of ecological processes; re-establishment of biotic interactions and reproduction by colonists in the restored area. These aspects may occur in sequence, such that recovery is blocked by a single barrier. The model accommodates feedback loops and includes strong connections between physical processes and ecosystem processes, but also identifies factors that are important in achieving endpoints such as potential barriers to further recovery. Identification of barriers to recovery enables improved planning to maximise the positive effects of restoration. By focussing on outcomes, the model provides a planning tool for managers that can be adapted for different ecosystems and restoration methods and which can be used to identify the amenities that an ecosystem will deliver at different stages of recovery. Ecosystem recovery is as much about overcoming barriers as it is about restorative actions. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.
Future wet grasslands : Ecological implications of climate change
- Joyce, Chris, Simpson, Matthew, Casanova, Michelle
- Authors: Joyce, Chris , Simpson, Matthew , Casanova, Michelle
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecosystem Health and Sustainability Vol. 2, no. 9 (2016), p. 1-15
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Wet grasslands are threatened by future climate change, yet these are vital ecosystems for both conservation and agriculture, providing livelihoods for millions of people. These biologically diverse, transitional wetlands are defined by an abundance of grasses and periodic flooding, and maintained by regular disturbances such as grazing or cutting. This study summarizes relevant climate change scenarios projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and identifies implications for wet grasslands globally and regionally. Climate change is predicted to alter wet grassland hydrology, especially through warming, seasonal precipitation variability, and the severity of extreme events such as droughts and floods. Changes in the diversity, composition, and productivity of vegetation will affect functional and competitive relations between species. Extreme storm or flood events will favor ruderal plant species able to respond rapidly to environmental change. In some regions, wet grasslands may dry out during heatwaves and drought. C4 grasses and invasive species could benefit from warming scenarios, the latter facilitated by disturbances such as droughts, floods, and possibly wildfires. Agriculture will be affected as forage available for livestock will likely become less reliable, necessitating adaptations to cutting and grazing regimes by farmers and conservation managers, and possibly leading to land abandonment. It is recommended that agri-environment schemes, and other policies and practices, are adapted to mitigate climate change, with greater emphasis on water maintenance, flexible management, monitoring, and restoration of resilient wet grasslands.
- Authors: Joyce, Chris , Simpson, Matthew , Casanova, Michelle
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ecosystem Health and Sustainability Vol. 2, no. 9 (2016), p. 1-15
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Wet grasslands are threatened by future climate change, yet these are vital ecosystems for both conservation and agriculture, providing livelihoods for millions of people. These biologically diverse, transitional wetlands are defined by an abundance of grasses and periodic flooding, and maintained by regular disturbances such as grazing or cutting. This study summarizes relevant climate change scenarios projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and identifies implications for wet grasslands globally and regionally. Climate change is predicted to alter wet grassland hydrology, especially through warming, seasonal precipitation variability, and the severity of extreme events such as droughts and floods. Changes in the diversity, composition, and productivity of vegetation will affect functional and competitive relations between species. Extreme storm or flood events will favor ruderal plant species able to respond rapidly to environmental change. In some regions, wet grasslands may dry out during heatwaves and drought. C4 grasses and invasive species could benefit from warming scenarios, the latter facilitated by disturbances such as droughts, floods, and possibly wildfires. Agriculture will be affected as forage available for livestock will likely become less reliable, necessitating adaptations to cutting and grazing regimes by farmers and conservation managers, and possibly leading to land abandonment. It is recommended that agri-environment schemes, and other policies and practices, are adapted to mitigate climate change, with greater emphasis on water maintenance, flexible management, monitoring, and restoration of resilient wet grasslands.
Developing a complementary framework for urban ecology
- Kattel, Giri, Elkadi, Hisham, Meikle, Helen
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Elkadi, Hisham , Meikle, Helen
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening Vol. 12, no. 4 (2013), p. 498-508
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cities are characterized by dynamic interactions between socio-economic and biophysical forces. Currently more than half of the global population reside in cities which influence the global biogeochemical cycles and climate change, substantially exacerbating pressures on urban pollution, water quality and food security, as well as operating costs for infrastructure development. Goods and services such as aesthetic values, water purification, nutrient recycling, and biological diversity, that urban ecosystems generate for the society, are critical to sustain. Urban planners are increasingly facing the considerable challenges of management issues for urban ecosystems. Poor understanding of the complementary roles of urban ecology in urban infrastructure, and the functioning of ecosystems and ecological resilience of a complex human-dominated landscape has impeded effective urban planning over time, resulting in social disharmony. Here a complementary framework for urban ecology is proposed, in which ecosystems interact with land use, architecture and urban design - "E-LAUD"-affecting ecosystem and human health, and building on the concept that land uses in urban green areas, road-strips, wetlands, 'habitat islands' and urban architecture could synergistically benefit when clustered together in different combinations of urban landscapes. It is proposed that incorporation of the E-LAUD framework in urban planning forms the context of a new interdisciplinary research programme on ecological resilience for urban ecosystems and helps promote ecosystem services. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Kattel, Giri , Elkadi, Hisham , Meikle, Helen
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening Vol. 12, no. 4 (2013), p. 498-508
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cities are characterized by dynamic interactions between socio-economic and biophysical forces. Currently more than half of the global population reside in cities which influence the global biogeochemical cycles and climate change, substantially exacerbating pressures on urban pollution, water quality and food security, as well as operating costs for infrastructure development. Goods and services such as aesthetic values, water purification, nutrient recycling, and biological diversity, that urban ecosystems generate for the society, are critical to sustain. Urban planners are increasingly facing the considerable challenges of management issues for urban ecosystems. Poor understanding of the complementary roles of urban ecology in urban infrastructure, and the functioning of ecosystems and ecological resilience of a complex human-dominated landscape has impeded effective urban planning over time, resulting in social disharmony. Here a complementary framework for urban ecology is proposed, in which ecosystems interact with land use, architecture and urban design - "E-LAUD"-affecting ecosystem and human health, and building on the concept that land uses in urban green areas, road-strips, wetlands, 'habitat islands' and urban architecture could synergistically benefit when clustered together in different combinations of urban landscapes. It is proposed that incorporation of the E-LAUD framework in urban planning forms the context of a new interdisciplinary research programme on ecological resilience for urban ecosystems and helps promote ecosystem services. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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