Effects of reduced and business-as-usual CO2 emission scenarios on the algal territories of the damselfish Pomacentrus wardi (Pomacentridae)

Turf algae are a very important component of coral reefs, featuring high growth and turnover rates, whilst covering large areas of substrate. As food for many organisms, turf algae have an important role in the ecosystem. Farming damselfish can modify the species composition and productivity of such algal assemblages, while defending them against intruders. Like all organisms however, turf algae and damselfishes have the potential to be affected by future changes in seawater (SW) temperature and pCO2. In this study, algal assemblages, in the presence and absence of farming Pomacentrus wardi were exposed to two combinations of SW temperature and pCO2 levels projected for the austral spring of 2100 (the B1 "reduced" and the A1FI "business-as-usual" CO2 emission scenarios) at Heron Island (GBR, Australia). These assemblages were dominated by the presence of red algae and non-epiphytic cyanobacteria, i.e. cyanobacteria that grow attached to the substrate rather than on filamentous algae. The endpoint algal composition was mostly controlled by the presence/absence of farming damselfish, despite a large variability found between the algal assemblages of individual fish. Different scenarios appeared to be responsible for a mild, species specific change in community composition, observable in some brown and green algae, but only in the absence of farming fish. Farming fish appeared unaffected by the conditions to which they were exposed. Algal biomass reductions were found under "reduced" CO2 emission, but not "business-as-usual" scenarios. This suggests that action taken to limit CO2 emissions may, if the majority of algae behave similarly across all seasons, reduce the potential for phase shifts that lead to algal dominated communities. At the same time the availability of food resources to damselfish and other herbivores would be smaller under "reduced" emission scenarios.

Spatial spillover effects in determining China's regional CO2 emission growth : 2007-2010

This paper proposes an alternative input-output based spatial-structural decomposition analysis to elucidate the role of domestic-regional heterogeneity and interregional spillover effects in determining China's regional CO2 emission growth. Our empirical results based on the 2007 and 2010 Chinese interregional input-output tables show that the changes in most regions' final demand scale, final expenditure structure and export scale give positive spatial spillover effects on other regions' CO2 emission growth, the changes in most regions' consumption and export preference help the reduction of other regions' CO2 emissions, the changes in production technology, and investment preference may give positive or negative impacts on other region's CO2 emission growth through domestic supply chains. For some regions, the aggregate spillover effect from other regions may be larger than the intra-regional effect in determining regional emission growth. All these facts can significantly help better and deeper understanding on the driving forces of China's regional CO2 emission growth, thus can enrich the policy implication concerning a narrow definition of "carbon leakage" through domestic-interregional trade, and relevant political consensus about the responsibility sharing between developed and developing regions inside China.

A methodology for territorial distribution of CO2 emission reductions in transport sector

Greenhouse gas emission reduction is the pillar of the Kyoto Protocol and one of the main goals of the European Union (UE) energy policy. National reduction targets for EU member states and an overall target for the EU-15 (8%) were set by the Kyoto Protocol. This reduction target is based on emissions in the reference year (1990) and must be reached by 2012. EU energy policy does not set any national targets, only an overall reduction target of 20% by 2020. This paper transfers global greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in both these documents to the transport sector and specifically to CO2 emissions. It proposes a nonlinear distribution method with objective, dynamic targets for reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector, according to the context and characteristics of each geographical area. First, we analyse CO2 emissions from transport in the reference year (1990) and their evolution from 1990 to 2007. We then propose a nonlinear methodology for distributing dynamic CO2 emission reduction targets. We have applied the proposed distribution function for 2012 and 2020 at two territorial levels (EU member states and Spanish autonomous regions). The weighted distribution is based on per capita CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions per gross domestic product. Finally, we show the weighted targets found for each EU member state and each Spanish autonomous region, compare them with the real achievements to date, and forecast the situation for the years the Kyoto and EU goals are to be met. The results underline the need for ?weighted? decentralised decisions to be made at different territorial levels with a view to achieving a common goal, so relative convergence of all the geographical areas is reached over time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

CO2 Emission from two old mine drillings (Mt. Amiata, Central Italy) as a possible example of storage and leakage of deep-seated CO2

CO2 Emission from two old mine drillings (Mt. Amiata, Central Italy) as a possible example of storage and leakage of deep-seated CO2

Baseline of soil CO2 flux in the Hontomin site (Burgos, Spain)

Baseline of soil CO2 flux in the Hontomin site (Burgos, Spain)

Diffuse soil CO2 flux to assess the reliability of CO2 storage the reliability of CO2 storage in the Mazarrón-Gañuelas Tertiary Basin (Spain)

In the framework of a global investigation of the Spanish natural analogues of CO2 storage and leakage, four selected sites from the Mazarrón?Gañuelas Tertiary Basin (Murcia, Spain) were studied for computing the diffuse soil CO2 flux, by using the accumulation chamber method. The Basin is characterized by the presence of a deep, saline, thermal (?47 ?C) CO2-rich aquifer intersected by two deep geothermal exploration wells named ?El Saladillo? (535 m) and ?El Reventón? (710 m). The CO2 flux data were processed by means of a graphical?statistical method, kriging estimation and sequential Gaussian simulation algorithms. The results have allowed concluding that the Tertiary marly cap-rock of this CO2-rich aquifer acts as a very effective sealing, preventing any CO2 leak from this natural CO2 storage site, being therefore an excellent scenario to guarantee, by analogy, the safety of a CO2 storage.

Residential planning, driver mobility and CO2 emission

The literature on residences and citizens’ transports has focused on either reforming traffic managing in response to residential relocation or post-evaluation of urban planning policies or the evolution of the urban spatial form. In a city there are hotspots that attract the citizens and most of the transportation in the city arises as the citizens’ movement between their residence and the hotspots. Little scholarly attention has been devoted to the possibility to minimize citizens’ transportation in the city by the urban planning of residential areas. In this paper we propose a method to evaluate the environmental impact (in terms of CO2-emissions) of urban plans of residential areas. The method is illustrated in a Swedish case of a midsize city which is presently preoccupied with urban planning of new residential areas in response to substantial population growth due to immigration. The residential plans aims to increase the compactness and residential density in the current center and sub centers leads to less CO2 emissions compare to urban expansion to the edge of the city. The plans of concentrated apartment buildings are more effective in meeting residential needs and mitigating CO2 emissions than dispersed single-family houses.

Ship performance modelling for least-CO2 emission routes

Decarbonization of maritime transport requires immediate action. In the short term, ship weather routing can provide greenhouse gas emission reductions, even for existing ships and without retrofitting them. Weather routing is based on making optimal use of both envi- ronmental information and knowledge about vessel seakeeping and performance. Combining them at a state-of-the-art level and making use of path planning in realistic conditions can be challenging. To address these topics in an open-source framework, this thesis led to the development of a new module called bateau , and to its combination with the ship routing model VISIR. bateau includes both hull geometry and propulsion modelling for various vessel types. It has two objectives: to predict the sustained speed in a seaway and to estimate the CO2 emission rate during the voyage. Various semi-empirical approaches were used in bateau to predict the ship hydro- and aerodynamical resistance in both head and oblique seas. Assuming that the ship sails at a constant engine load, the involuntary speed loss due to waves was estimated. This thesis also attempted to clarify the role played by the actual representation of the sea state. In particular, the influence of the wave steepness parameter was assessed. For dealing with ships with a greater superstructure, the wind added resistance was also estimated. Numerical experiments via bateau were conducted for both a medium and a large-size container ships, a bulk-carrier, and a tanker. The simulations of optimal routes were carried out for a feeder containership during voyages in the North Indian Ocean and in the South China Sea. Least-CO2 routes were compared to the least-distance ones, assessing the relative CO2 savings. Analysis fields from the Copernicus Marine Service were used in the numerical experiments.

Carbon dioxide emissions after application of tillage systems for a dark red latosol in southern Brazil

Soil tillage may influence CO2 emissions in agricultural systems. Agricultural soils are managed in several ways in Brazil, ranging from no tillage to intensive land preparation. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of common soil tillage treatments (disk harrow, reversible disk plow, rotary tiller and chisel plow tillage systems) on the intermediate CO2 emissions of a dark red latosol, located in southern Brazil. Different tillage systems produced significant differences in the CO2 emissions, and the results indicate that the chisel plow produced the highest soil carbon loss during the 15 days period after tillage treatments were performed. Emissions to the atmosphere increased as much as 74 g CO2 m(-2), at the end of a 2-week period, in the plot where the chisel plow treatment was applied, in comparison to the non-disturbed plot. The results indicate that the total increase on the intermediate term soil CO2 emissions due to tillage treatments in southern Brazil is comparable to that reported for the more humid and cooler regions. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V All rights reserved.

Incerteza espacial da emissão de 'CO IND.2' do solo em dois sistemas de manejo da palhada da cana-de-açúcar

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Desenvolvimento de laranjeira valência e caracterização de atributos do solo sob aplicação de cinza do bagaço de cana

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Produção Vegetal) - FCAV

Soil and crop residue CO2-C emission under tillage systems in sugarcane-producing areas of southern Brazil

Appropriate management of agricultural crop residues could result in increases on soil organic carbon (SOC) and help to mitigate gas effect. To distinguish the contributions of SOC and sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) residues to the short-term CO2-C loss, we studied the infl uence of several tillage systems: heavy offset disk harrow (HO), chisel plow (CP), rotary tiller (RT), and sugarcane mill tiller (SM) in 2008, and CP, RT, SM, moldboard (MP), and subsoiler (SUB) in 2009, with and without sugarcane residues relative to no-till (NT) in the sugarcane producing region of Brazil. Soil CO2-C emissions were measured daily for two weeks after tillage using portable soil respiration systems. Daily CO2-C emissions declined after tillage regardless of tillage system. In 2008, total CO2-C from SOC and/or residue decomposition was greater for RT and lowest for CP. In 2009, emission was greatest for MP and CP with residues, and smallest for NT. SOC and residue contributed 47% and 41%, respectively, to total CO2-C emissions. Regarding the estimated emissions from sugarcane residue and SOC decomposition within the measurement period, CO2-C factor was similar to sugarcane residue and soil organic carbon decomposition, depending on the tillage system applied. Our approach may define new emission factors that are associated to tillage operations on bare or sugarcane-residue-covered soils to estimate the total carbon loss.

Interacting controls on innate sources of CO2 efflux from a calcareous arid zone soil under experimental acidification and wetting

More than half of global soil carbon is stored as carbonates, primarily in arid and semi-arid zones. Climate change models predict more frequent and severe rainfall events in some parts of the globe, many of which are dominated by calcareous soils. Such events trigger substantial increases in soil CO2 efflux. We hypothesised that the primary source of CO2 emissions from calcareous, arid zone soil during a single wetting event is abiotic and that soil acidification and wetting have a positive, potentially interacting, effect. We manipulated soil pH, soil moisture, and controlled soil respiration by gamma irradiating half of an 11 day incubation experiment. All manipulated experimental treatments had a rapid and enormous effect on CO2 emission. Respiration contributed ca. 5% of total CO2 efflux; the major source (carbonate buffering) varied depending on the extent of acidification and wetting. Maximum CO2 efflux occurred when pH was lowest and at intermediate matric potential. CO2 efflux was lowest at native pH when soil was air dry. Our data suggest that there may be an underestimate of soil-atmosphere carbon fluxes in arid ecosystems with calcareous soils. There is also a clear potential that these soils may become net carbon sources depending on changes in rainfall patterns, rainfall acidity, and future land management. Our findings have major implications for carbon cycling in arid zone soil and further study of carbon dynamics in these terrestrial systems at a landscape level will be required if we are to improve global climate and carbon cycling models.

First-order decay models to describe soil C-CO2 Loss after rotary tillage

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Short-term CO2-C emissions from soil prior to sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) replanting in southern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)