Volume 2 Issue 10, October 2012

The fields of climate change and livestock research have not always been cosy bedfellows. But they are ironing out their difficulties and looking ahead.

As one country sets about properly valuing ecosystem services, Anna Petherick considers the path ahead for climate change discussions.

Communicators are convinced of the importance of emphasizing the scientific evidence about climate change risks. But research shows that science-literate individuals are not necessarily the most concerned about global warming.

The physical composition of the soil can determine grassland plant responses to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.

This Perspective investigates the optimal properties of aerosol particles that might be considered for solar-radiation management techniques using stratospheric particle injections. The study shows that aerosol materials other than sulphuric acid are possibly better suited for potential solar-radiation management geoengineering activities aimed at mitigating global warming.

The threats posed to the marine environment by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide are historically unprecedented, and will probably require the use of unconventional, non-passive methods to conserve marine ecosystems. In this Perspective it is argued that soliciting such approaches and evaluating their cost, safety and effectiveness must be part of a robust ocean conservation and management strategy.

Tien Shan is known as the 'water tower of Central Asia'. This article reviews evidence for regional glacier retreat and explores the implications of climate-driven changes in glacier-fed stream-flow regimes for freshwater supply, irrigation and hydropower potential, explaining how environmental change resulting from continuing glacier retreat could exacerbate regional conflicts.

Public apathy over climate change is often attributed to a deficit in comprehension and to limits on technical reasoning. However, evidence suggests that individuals with the highest degrees of science literacy and technical reasoning capacity are not the most concerned about climate change and are the most culturally polarized.

Increased summer heatwaves are a likely feature of future European climate. This study shows that wet previous seasons inhibit summer heat events, thus increasing seasonal predictability, but dry previous seasons do not, therefore decreasing seasonal predictability. Models suggest that a similar relation should hold in the future.

Carbon dioxide enrichment can alter grassland ecosystem functioning directly and through indirect, soil-specific effects on moisture, nitrogen availability and species composition. Now research shows that change in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) with carbon dioxide enrichment depends strongly on soil type; indicating that soils could cause spatial variation in carbon dioxide effects on ANPP and other ecosystem attributes.

This study describes the development of a multi-species model used to explore the integrated eco-evolutionary responses to climate change. The results should help to understand and predict the responses of biological diversity, ecosystems, and ecological services to changing climate.

Arid and semi-arid ecosystems cover ∼40% of Earth’s land surface, but little is known about how climate change will affect these areas. Now experimental research shows that altered precipitation (more small events) can result in a negative moss carbon balance leading to dramatic moss mortality. These findings indicate the potential sensitivity of drylands to subtle climatic changes.

Increasing ocean temperatures are impacting the health of coral reef ecosystems, but understanding how the response of corals varies spatially remains important for conservation efforts. Now research shows that skeletal extension within forereef colonies of the coral Siderastrea siderea declined with increasing seawater temperature, whereas extension rates of backreef and nearshore colonies were not impacted.