Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Changes In Reef Tourism’S Adaptive Capacity After Severe Climate Disturbances, Henry Bartelet, Michele Barnes, Lalu Bakti, Graeme S. Cumming

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Knowledge about adaptive capacity and its determinants has increased significantly over the last decade. However, most research on adaptive capacity has been static, not considering how adaptive capacity might change over time, particularly after severe disturbances. We studied the adaptive capacity dynamics of Asian-Pacific reef tourism operators affected by coral bleaching and tropical cyclones compared with a control group with non-affected operators. We found that impacts from tropical cyclones were associated with frequent changes in adaptive capacity. Notably, we found a reduction in tangible attributes (assets and flexibility) of adaptive capacity, whereas intangible attributes (agency and social organization) increased. Our …

Advancing An Agenda For Social Equity And Coastal Resilience Through A Multi-Sectoral, Multi-Disciplinary And Applied Research Lens, Wie Yusuf, Marina Saitgalina, Jennifer Whytlaw, Nicole Hutton, Tom Allen, Joshua Behr

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

No abstract provided.

Disparate Population And Holobiont Structure Of Pocilloporid Corals Across The Red Sea Gradient Demonstrate Species-Specific Evolutionary Trajectories, Carol Buitrago-López, Anny Cárdenas, Benjamin C.C. Hume, Thierry Gosselin, Fabian Staubach, Manuel Aranda, Daniel J. Barshis, Yvonne Sawall, Christian R. Voolstra

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Global habitat degradation heightens the need to better understand patterns of genetic connectivity and diversity of marine biota across geographical ranges to guide conservation efforts. Corals across the Red Sea are subject to pronounced environmental differences, but studies so far suggest that animal populations are largely connected, excepting evidence for a genetic break between the northern-central and southern regions. Here, we investigated population structure and holobiont assemblage of two common pocilloporid corals, Pocillopora verrucosa and Stylophora pistillata, across the Red Sea. We found little evidence for population differentiation in P. verrucosa, except for the southernmost site. Conversely, S. …

Anticipating And Adapting To The Impacts Of Climate Change On Low Elevation Coastal Zone (Lecz) Communities, Lynn Donelson Wright, Thomas Allen, Kiki Caruson, Alain Hénaff, Jaia Syvitski

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

[Scholarcy Abstract] The rates of sea level rise in coastal Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay significantly exceed the global rate and weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation adds to the annual rates.

The original vision was to enhance future resilience of Low-Elevation Coastal Zone communities by advancing understandings and approaches to better anticipate and mitigate hazards to human health, safety and welfare and reduce deleterious impacts to coastal residents and industries. The goal of the thematic Research Topic has been to assemble interdisciplinary papers that contribute to better understanding of the couplings among physical, ecological, socioeconomic, management and policy …

Climate Adaptation For Tropical Island Land Stewardship: Adapting A Workshop Planning Process To Hawai'i, Ryan J. Longman, Courtney L. Peterson, Madeline Baroli, Abby G. Frazier, Zachary Cook, Elliott W. Parsons, Maude Dinan, Katie L. Kamelamela, Caitriana Steele, Reanna Burnett, Chris Swanston, Christian P. Giardina

Geography

No abstract provided.

Climate-Induced Stressors To Peace: A Review Of Recent Literature, Ayyoob Sharifi, Dahlia Simangan, Chui Ying Lee, Rose Reyes, Tarek Katramiz, Jairus Carmela C. Josol, Leticia Dos Muchangos, Hassan Virji, Shinji Kaneko, Thea Kersti Tandog, Leorence Tandog, Moinul Islam

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a threat to global peace and security. This paper intends to provide a better understanding of the nature of interactions between climate change and events that undermine peace through a systematic review of recent literature. It highlights major methodological approaches adopted in the literature, elaborates on the geographic focus of the research at the nexus of climate change and peace, and provides further information on how various climatic stressors, such as extreme temperature, floods, sea-level rise, storms, and water stress may be linked to different events that undermine peace (e.g. civil conflict, crime, intercommunal …

Climate Impacts Associated With Reduced Diet Diversity In Children Across Nineteen Countries, Meredith T. Niles, Benjamin F. Emery, Serge Wiltshire, Molly E. Brown, Brendan Fisher, Taylor H. Ricketts

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

It is widely anticipated that climate change will negatively affect both food security and diet diversity. Diet diversity is especially critical for children as it correlates with macro and micronutrient intake important for child development. Despite these anticipated links, little empirical evidence has demonstrated a relationship between diet diversity and climate change, especially across large datasets spanning multiple global regions and with more recent climate data. Here we use survey data from 19 countries and more than 107 000 children, coupled with 30 years of precipitation and temperature data, to explore the relationship of climate to child diet diversity while …

Climate Change And Market-Based Insurance Feedbacks, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska, Cory Walters, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Michael Hayes, Max J. Rudolph, Donald A. Wilhite

Adam Liska Papers

Climatic events have accounted for 91% of $1.05 trillion in insured costs for global catastrophic events from 1980 to 2016. Costs are driven by socio-economic development and increased frequency and severity of climatic disasters driven by climate change. Government policies to reduce systemic risk (e.g., cap-and-trade, carbon tax) have been a predominant approach for mitigation and adaptation. Alternatively, market-based incentives for climate change adaptation and mitigation already operate via the insurance industry to lessen impacts on society. Insurance feedbacks include changes in 1) premiums and insurance policies, 2) non-coverage, and 3) policy making and litigation. Alongside government policies, insurance feedbacks …

Making Trees Count: Measurement And Reporting Of Agroforestry In Unfccc National Communications Of Non-Annex I Countries, Todd S. Rosenstock, Andreas Wilkes, Courtney Jallo, Nictor Namoi, Medha Bulusu, Marta Suber, Damaris Mboi, Rachmat Mulia, Elisabeth Simelton, Meryl Richards, Noel Gurwick, Eva Wollenberg

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Agroforestry—the integration of trees with crops and livestock—generates many benefits directly relevant to the UNFCCC's Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture, including: (i) building resilience, (ii) increasing soil carbon and improving soil health, (iii) providing fodder and shade for sustainable livestock production and (iv) diversifying human diets and economic opportunities. Despite its significance to the climate agenda, agroforestry may not be included in measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems under the UNFCCC. Here we report on a first appraisal of how agroforestry is treated in national MRV systems under the UNFCCC. We examined national communications (NCs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) …

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience For Women Farmers In Kalchebeshi, Nepal, Annika Ruben

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study outlines women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture and key climate adaptation strategies which are being implemented in the town of Kalchebeshi, Nepal. Kalchebeshi is considered a Resilient Mountain Village because of the town’s integrated approach to addressing climate change and building resilience for farmers. Key findings examined gender differences in farming responsibilities and the significance of farmers’ groups in women’s overall decision making and community involvement. Additionally, changes in water management and pesticide use have been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of women farmers in Kalchebeshi. This paper reinforces the importance of involving vulnerable …

Food And Earth Systems: Priorities For Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation For Agriculture And Food Systems, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Bruce M. Campbell, Peter J.M. Cooper, James W. Hansen, Todd Rosenstock, Eva Wollenberg

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Human activities and their relation with land, through agriculture and forestry, are significantly impacting Earth system functioning. Specifically, agriculture has increasingly become a key sector for adaptation and mitigation initiatives that address climate change and help ensure food security for a growing global population. Climate change and agricultural outcomes influence our ability to reach targets for at least seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2015, 103 nations had committed themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, while 102 countries had prioritized agriculture in their adaptation agenda. Adaptation and mitigation actions within agriculture still receive insufficient support across …

Does Household Capital Mediate The Uptake Of Agricultural Land, Crop, And Livestock Adaptations? Evidence From The Indo-Gangetic Plains (India), Sameer H. Shah, Courtney Hammond Wagner, Udita Sanga, Hogeun Park, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange, Carolina Gueiros, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains produce much of the wheat and rice grown in India. However, food production and millions of farm-based livelihoods in this region will continue to be adversely affected by hydro-climatic change and variation, reduced land productivity, and declining groundwater levels. Thus, agricultural adaptations are essential for protecting and improving upon intersecting goals of food security, poverty alleviation, and wellbeing. Household “capital” (e.g., natural, human, financial, physical, and social) is commonly cited as an indicator of livelihood adaptability and innovation. We develop a series of mediated structural equation models to empirically evaluate the validity of capital as …

Draft Aphaenogaster Genomes Expand Our View Of Ant Genome Size Variation Across Climate Gradients, Matthew K. Lau, Aaron M. Ellison, Andrew Nguyen, Clint Penick, Bernice Demarco, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Nathan J. Sanders, Robert R. Dunn, Sara Helms Cahan

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Given the abundance, broad distribution, and diversity of roles that ants play in many ecosystems, they are an ideal group to serve as ecosystem indicators of climatic change. At present, only a few whole-genome sequences of ants are available (19 of >16,000 species), mostly from tropical and sub-tropical species. To address this limited sampling, we sequenced genomes of temperate-latitude species from the genus Aphaenogaster, a genus with important seed dispersers. In total, we sampled seven colonies of six species: Aphaenogaster ashmeadi, Aphaenogaster floridana, Aphaenogaster fulva, Aphaenogaster miamiana, Aphaenogaster picea, and Aphaenogaster rudis. The geographic ranges of these species collectively span …

Climate Change Mitigation Beyond Agriculture: A Review Of Food System Opportunities And Implications, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Todd Barker, Jimena Esquivel, Sophie Gutterman, Martin C. Heller, Nelson Mango, Diana Portner, Rex Raimond, Cristina Tirado, Sonja Vermeulen

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

A large body of research has explored opportunities to mitigate climate change in agricultural systems; however, less research has explored opportunities across the food system. Here we expand the existing research with a review of potential mitigation opportunities across the entire food system, including in pre-production, production, processing, transport, consumption and loss and waste. We detail and synthesize recent research on the topic, and explore the applicability of different climate mitigation strategies in varying country contexts with different economic and agricultural systems. Further, we highlight some potential adaptation co-benefits of food system mitigation strategies and explore the potential implications of …

The Climate-Smart Village Approach: Framework Of An Integrative Strategy For Scaling Up Adaptation Options In Agriculture, Pramod K. Aggarwal, Andy Jarvis, Bruce M. Campbell, Robert B. Zougmoré, Arun Khatri-Chhetri, Sonja J. Vermeulen, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Leocadio S. Sebastian, James Kinyangi, Osana Bonilla-Findji, Maren Radeny, John Recha, Deissy Martinez-Baron, Julian Ramirez-Villegas, Sophia Huyer, Philip Thornton, Eva Wollenberg, James Hansen, Patricia Alvarez-Toro, Andrés Aguilar-Ariza, David Arango-Londoño, Victor Patiño-Bravo, Ovidio Rivera, Mathieu Ouedraogo, Bui Tan Yen

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Increasing weather risks threaten agricultural production systems and food security across the world. Maintaining agricultural growth while minimizing climate shocks is crucial to building a resilient food production system and meeting developmental goals in vulnerable countries. Experts have proposed several technological, institutional, and policy interventions to help farmers adapt to current and future weather variability and to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper presents the climate-smart village (CSV) approach as a means of performing agricultural research for development that robustly tests technological and institutional options for dealing with climatic variability and climate change in agriculture using participatory methods. It …

Do Advisors Perceive Climate Change As An Agricultural Risk? An In-Depth Examination Of Midwestern U.S. Ag Advisors’ Views On Drought, Climate Change, And Risk Management, Sarah P. Church, Michael Dunn, Nicholas Babin, Amber Saylor Mase, Tonya Haigh, Linda Stalker Prokopy

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Through the lens of the Health Belief Model and Protection Motivation Theory, we analyzed interviews of 36 agricultural advisors in Indiana and Nebraska to understand their appraisals of climate change risk, related decision making processes and subsequent risk management advice to producers. Most advisors interviewed accept that weather events are a risk for US Midwestern agriculture; however, they are more concerned about tangible threats such as crop prices. There is not much concern about climate change among agricultural advisors. Management practices that could help producers adapt to climate change were more likely to be recommended by conservation and Extension advisors, …

Mountain Forests And Sustainable Development: The Potential For Achieving The United Nations' 2030 Agenda, Georg Gratzer, William S. Keeton

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The world is facing numerous and severe environmental, social, and economic challenges. To address these, in September 2015 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the resolution Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets are ambitious, broadly encompassing, and indivisible. They are intended to guide nations and communities toward attaining healthy and peaceful livelihoods free of poverty and hunger. Collectively the goals envision sound and safe environments, where global threats like climate change are successfully combated through both mitigation and adaptation. Agenda 2030 envisages sustainable …

Icelandic Fisheries: Scenario Planning For Climate Change, Tara Sorrels

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study aimed to develop an understanding of how a scenario planning process could be used to assist businesses to adapt to climate change. The focus of this study was on the Icelandic fishing industry since Iceland is experiencing firsthand climate change impacts. Mitigation strategies are the main focus in climate change research, but this study focused on a possible adaptation method that requires changing management practices in order to reduce the impact of climate change on the economy. Tours of Icelandic fisheries and interviews with individuals within the Icelandic fishing industry were conducted to assess the current adaptive capacity …

Slides: Dam Operations: Does A Changing World Call For Changing Plans?, Reed D. Benson

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Reed D. Benson, University of New Mexico School of Law

13 slides

Planning For Adaptation To Climate Change: Lessons From The Us National Wildlife Refuge System, Robert L. Fischman, Vicky J. Meretsky, Alexei Babko, Michael Kennedy, Lei Liu, Michelle Robinson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

US national wildlife refuges have recent, detailed management plans illustrating the state of planning for climate-change adaptation in protected areas. Discussion of and prescriptions for addressing climate change increased in refuge plans between 2005 and 2010 but decreased in 2011. The plans respond to some climate-change impacts on biodiversity and call for monitoring but with little clarity regarding how to act on monitoring results and scant attention to future changes in phenology and community composition. The threats posed by sea-level rise generated the best-developed plan prescriptions. Examples of excellent prescriptions provide models for future planning. Some decision-support tools, such as …

Adapting To A Changing Climate: Local Drivers For Policy Response, Andrew J. Bilich

Honors Scholar Theses

Responding to the present and looming effects of global climate change presents a challenging task for policymakers at all levels of governance. The outcomes of climate change do present serious adaptation problems for global policy makers, but the implications of climate change are more immediately experienced by local communities and policy makers. Historical policymaking models suggest that economic well-being is an influential driver in local policy adoption. This particular analysis explores the relationship between economic variables and the development of climate adaptation policies by Connecticut municipalities. To test the degree of interaction present, adaptation policy data in the form of …

Beyond Climate-Smart Agriculture: Toward Safe Operating Spaces For Global Food Systems, Henry Neufeldt, Molly Jahn, Bruce M. Campbell, John R. Beddington, Fabrice Declerck, Alessandro De Pinto, Jay Gulledge, Jonathan Hellin, Mario Herrero, Andy Jarvis, David Lezaks, Holger Meinke, Todd Rosenstock, Mary Scholes, Robert Scholes, Sonja Vermeulen, Eva Wollenberg, Robert Zougmoré

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Agriculture is considered to be "climate-smart" when it contributes to increasing food security, adaptation and mitigation in a sustainable way. This new concept now dominates current discussions in agricultural development because of its capacity to unite the agendas of the agriculture, development and climate change communities under one brand. In this opinion piece authored by scientists from a variety of international agricultural and climate research communities, we argue that the concept needs to be evaluated critically because the relationship between the three dimensions is poorly understood, such that practically any improved agricultural practice can be considered climate-smart. This lack of …

Critical Research Needs For Successful Food Systems Adaptation To Climate Change, Michelle Miller, Molly Anderson, Charles A. Francis, Chad Kruger, Carol Barford, Jacob Park, Brent H. Mccown

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

There is a growing sense of the fragility of agricultural production in the Global North and South and of increasing risks to food security, as scientific observations confirm significant changes in the Gulf Stream, polar ice, atmospheric CO₂, methane release, and other measures of climate change. This sense is heightened as each of us experiences extreme weather, such as the increasing frequency of droughts, floods, unseasonal temperatures, and erratic seasonality. The central research challenge before us is how global, national, regional, and local food systems may adapt to accelerating climate change stresses and uncertainties to ensure the availability, …

Coastal Towns Adapt To Realities Of Climate Change, Christine Woodside

Wrack Lines

The effects of climate change on the rate of sea level rise have hit the streets of every coastal town in Connecticut. The future will bring more waters creeping inland not only on the coast of New England, but around the world.

Sea Level Rise (Slr) Acceleration In The Hampton Roads: A Scientific Perspective, Tal Ezer, Larry Atkinson

November 16, 2012: Best Practices for Adapting to Sea Level Rise and Flooding

No abstract provided.

Land Use Adaptation To Climate Change: Economic Damages From Land-Falling Hurricanes In The Atlantic And Gulf States Of The Usa, 1900-2005, Asim Zia

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Global climate change, especially the phenomena of global warming, is expected to increase the intensity of land-falling hurricanes. Societal adaptation is needed to reduce vulnerability from increasingly intense hurricanes. This study quantifies the adaptation effects of potentially policy driven caps on housing densities and agricultural cover in coastal (and adjacent inland) areas vulnerable to hurricane damages in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal regions of the U.S. Time series regressions, especially Prais-Winston and Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) models, are estimated to forecast the economic impacts of hurricanes of varying intensity, given that various patterns of land use emerge in the Atlantic …

Crop Updates 2010 - Farming Systems, Christopher R. Newman, Jonathan England, Stephen Gherardi, Mohammad Amjad, David Ferris, Phil Ward, Roger Lawes, Tim Wiley, Perry Dolling, Philip Barrett-Lennard, John Kirkegaard, Susan Sprague, Hugh Dove, Walter Kelman, Peter Hamblin, Brad Nutt, Angelo Loi, Wayne Parker, Glen Riethmuller, Ken Flowers, Neil Cordingley, Shane Micin, Senthold Asseng, Peter Mcintosh, Mike Pook, James Risbey, Guomin Wang, Oscar Alves, Ian Foster, Imma Farre, Nirav Khimashia, W. Anderson, D. Beard, J. Blake, R. Grieve, M. Lang, J. Lemon, R. Mctaggart, D. Gray, M. Price, D. Stephens, P. Carmody, Doug Abrecht, Greg Kirk, Peter Rowe, Comeron Weeks, Peter Tozer, Derk Bakker, Frank D'Emden, Quenten Knight, Luke Marquis, Roger Mandel

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty papers from different authors:

Pests and Disease

1. Preserving phosphine for use in Grain Storage Industry, Christopher R Newman, Department of Agriculture and Food

Farming Systems Research

2. Demonstrating the benefits of grazing canola in Western Australia, Jonathan England, Stephen Gherardi and Mohammad Amjad, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Buloke barley yield when pasture-cropped across subtropical perennial pastures, David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food, Phil Ward and Roger Lawes, CSIRO

4. Is pasture cropping viable in WA? Grower perceptions and EverCrop initiatives to evaluate, David Ferris, Tim Wiley, Perry Dolling …

Agenda: World Energy Justice Conference And Appropriate Technology Arcade, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law

World Energy Justice Conference (October 23-24)

The 2009 CEES Energy Justice Conference took place at the University of Colorado Law School on October 23rd and 24th, 2009. It featured 11 sessions, more than 40 speakers, and attracted over 200 attendees. The Conference brought together leading international and U.S. decision-makers in politics, engineering, public health, law, business, economics, and innovators in the sciences to explore how best to address the critical needs of the energy-oppressed poor (EOP) through long-term interdisciplinary action, information sharing, and deployment of appropriate sustainable energy technologies (ASETs).

The Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law & Policy (CJIELP) at the University of Colorado Law …

Agenda: Western Water Law, Policy And Management: Ripples, Currents, And New Channels For Inquiry, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Western Water Policy Program

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

In many pockets of the American West, stresses and demands on water resources are overwhelming our capacity to effectively manage change and accommodate the diversity of interests and values associated with our limited water resources.

This event will offer an opportunity for lawyers, policymakers, and water professionals to engage the experts on the challenges and emerging solutions to the most pressing water policy and management issues of the day.

Slides: Finding Flows: Fish Still Need Water Everyday, Melinda Kassen

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Melinda Kassen, Director of the Western Water Project, Trout Unlimited

12 slides