Anthropocene Science最新文献

Biomass carbon (C) stocks and species richness and diversity are interlinked, and they co-vary along an elevational gradient. To test these hypotheses of inter-connectiveness and covariation in the Western Ghats (peninsular India) context, we enumerated 16 moist forest plots as well as 18 rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and coconut (Cocos nucifera) plantations each. Our main objectives were to assess the aboveground biomass C (AGB-C) stocks and the association between plant diversity and forest AGB-C stocks along an elevation gradient. Species-specific allometric equations and Ordinary Kriging interpolation were used to predict and map AGB-C and species diversity. AGB-C stocks varied significantly among forest (381.69 ± 25.87 Mg ha^–1), rubber (73.92 ± 7.76 Mg ha^–1), and coconut (21.19 ± 1.23 Mg ha^–1) stands. Forest AGB-C stocks also decreased linearly with increasing elevation. Although rubber and coconut AGB-C declined with elevation, the differences were not significant. The richness and diversity of arboreal species were higher in mid-elevation forests compared to low/high-elevation sites (unimodal pattern). With Simpson’s diversity index ranging from 0.695 to 0.865, Shannon index of 1.445–2.231, and Equitability of 0.883–0.994, our study sites exhibited moderate to high species diversity and encompassed 26 IUCN Red-listed species. Diversity and AGB-C were significantly correlated, indicating that the results support the hypothesis on inter-connectiveness. Overall, the forests at low and mid-elevations showed greater potential for C sequestration and biodiversity conservation, implying the need for adaptive management (designing actions) of these forests to mitigate the impending global climate change and conserve biodiversity.

Graphical Abstract

Disturbance of forest ecosystem causes changes in vegetation structure, micro-environmental conditions, soil properties and microbial biomass. Therefore, an understanding of the role of microbes and its activities in sustaining and regulating the soil fertility in forest ecosystems along a disturbance gradient are necessary. The present study investigates the effects of human disturbances on micro-environmental parameters, soil properties and microbial biomass in subtropical broad leaved forests of Cherrapunjee plateau of Meghalaya, northeast India. The results for micro-environmental parameters (light intensity, relative humidity, air, and soil temperature) varied significantly (p < 0.05) along a disturbance gradient. Disturbance also had a significant effect on soil properties with high values of soil moisture content (SMC, 24.93–25.57%), soil organic carbon (SOC, 5.23–5.60 g/kg), total kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN, 3.45–3.87 g/kg) and extractable Phosphorous (Ex. P, 4.24–5.12 mg/kg) in low disturbed sites as compared to highly disturbed sites (SMC = 21.01–23.93%; SOC = 4.26–4.53 g/kg; TKN = 2.70–3.35 g/kg; Ex. P = 3.62–3.90 mg/kg). The soil microbial biomass Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorous (MBC, MBN and MBP) also varied significantly (p < 0.05) across the disturbance gradient and seasons. It showed a strong correlation with SOC, TKN and Ex. P indicating a close relationship between microbial biomass and the status of the soil nutrient pool. Percentage contribution of MBC to SOC, MBN to TKN and MBP to Ex. P ranged from 1.15 to 1.40%, 1.82–2.43 and 4.91–6.91%, respectively. The present study highlights the complex relationships between disturbance, micro-environmental conditions, soil- properties and -microbial biomass in these forests. Therefore, sustainable practices that minimize disturbances and promote ecosystem restoration require rights-based land-use practices, prioritizing biodiversity conservation, and creating awareness among local communities.

Marine fisheries provide direct livelihood support to approximately 16 million people and almost double the number along the value chain. The turnover of Small-Scale Fishery (SSF) communities in the maritime states of India was previously limited by the use of unscientific and unreliable indicators of fish abundance and the increased frequency of extreme weather events. To overcome these challenges, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in the Government of India (GoI) is providing Marine Fishery Advisories (MFAs) based on geospatial data in the form of Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) and Ocean State Forecast (OSF) advisories that can make a significant impact in the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) and net profit for pelagic fisheries. However, the utilisation of these advisories for the sustainable development of the SSF communities is also hampered by complex inter-linked socio-economic factors. The present investigation provided an assessment of the socio-economic factors influencing the degree of utilisation of the PFZ and OSF by the fishing communities in the maritime state of Odisha. Whilst the outcome of the present study indicated that the access of the advisories was influenced by community backwardness, literacy and ownership of the various categories of crafts, ground level investigation showed that the usages of the PFZ advisories are hampered by several factors such as irregularity in reception and long distant from their traditional fishing ground. The transformative pathways through the utilisation of the MFAs are hence crucial for the sustainable fishing practices towards achieving the economic stability of the SSF communities. This study further recommended that implementation gaps identified must be addressed so that geospatial technology products can be more effectively used to enhance the sustainable development of the SSF communities in India.

Agropastoralism and nomadic pastoralism constitute the main land use systems in semi-arid drylands in Kenya. However, limited studies have investigated how land use and management practices and seasonality affect soil properties that alter C, N, and P biogeochemical cycling in African drylands systems. Thus, this study was conducted to determine effects of: (1) sedentary agropastoral land-use system (SAL), (2) semi-nomadic pastoral land-use system (SNL)), (3) pasture enclosures and (4) seasonality on selected soil chemical properties and total C, N, and P stoichiometry in a semi-arid landscape in Kenya. Land use, enclosures, and seasonality affected chemical properties of soils and C, N, and P stoichiometry. Generally, Na, K, Ca, Mg and cation exchange capacity were higher in the dry than wet period. Soil C:N ratios were less than 5, while N:P and C:P ratios were 5–56 and 16–177, respectively. However, ratios of C:N, N:P and C:P were significantly higher in SNL than SAL. The C:P and N:P ratios in both land use systems were highly correlated (r² > 0.70). During the wet season, C:N ratios of soils were higher inside enclosures in both land uses. Higher soil N:P and C:P ratios were observed during dry compared to wet seasons. The N:P and C:P ratios of soils were higher inside and outside enclosures in SAL and SNL, respectively. Land use, enclosures and seasonality exhibited different effects on chemical properties of soils and C:N:P stoichiometry ratios. Perennial vegetation cover in enclosures has a great potential to enhance soil health necessary to support pastoral land-use systems in semi-arid African drylands.

Riparian buffers of the Ganga have undergone significant deforestation in the last few decades. The study attempts to understand the impact of increasing anthropogenic interferences on the riparian fringes of the river Ganga. Change detection using land use land cover (LULC), followed by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis supported by data collected from field surveys was carried out from Gomukh to Haridwar. Our results show an increase in the built-up area and barren land, accounting for 4.1% and 4.8%, respectively. An increasing tourist influx, increasing built-up area, expansion of agriculture and the after-effects of the “Himalayan Tsunami” in 2013 have been identified as primary reasons behind the destruction of the riparian forests in the upper stretch of river Ganga. Significant loss of overall vegetation cover, i.e. 17.2% in the last decade (2008–2017) was observed in the analysis. From the field-based surveys, it was observed that vegetation assemblages are changing with the shift from climatic climax vegetation to pioneer species like Alnus nepalensis and the rapid expansion of Pinus roxburghii. A shift in species assemblages further manifests in loss of biodiversity and enhanced invasion of Parthenium, Lantana and Eupatorium species. The present study attempts to provide broader indicators of river health to improve the understanding of the changes in the ecologically sensitive and fragile riparian buffer of the river Ganga. The study can be further used to assess riparian health for long-term planning of restoration of riparian buffers of river Ganga from Gomukh to Haridwar.

It is essential to develop methods for estimating species diversity and biomass in human-dominated mosaic landscapes to minimise uncertainty. The level of detail provided by very high-resolution satellite imagery enables the precise mapping and monitoring of individual trees and tree patches in trees outside forests. This work is the first of its kind and attempts to estimate tree density, tree cover, species diversity, and biomass from a comprehensive survey and very high-resolution remote-sensing data. This research compared the census of the entire tree population over a 900-ha site (local landscape) and a 15,142-ha site (regional landscape) in the Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. This study mapped 47,054 tree individuals that cover a land area of 1.64% in a regional landscape. The most dominant species based on the importance value index are Tamarindus indica, Mangifera indica, Cocos nucifera, Prosopis juliflora, and Pongamia pinnata. Estimated tree density indicates about 3 trees per hectare in regional and local landscapes, respectively. Among the 42 inventoried tree species, 22 were wild. Analysis shows evergreen trees are dominating over deciduous trees with 88% of tree density. Alpha diversity of the local landscape reaching up to H′ = 1.93. The findings show that the maximum above-ground biomass is 40.61 tonnes/ha at one site, while it is relatively low at the remaining sites. Since no sampling is involved, the estimates derived from census data are not subject to sampling error, leading to high precision in the results. The spatial approach used in the study combines field-based data collection with the advantages of remote sensing technology to provide a detailed assessment of tree resources in rural landscapes.

The intensity and frequency of flood are continuously increasing due to climate change. Cities across the world are susceptible to flood causing devastating damages to infrastructure and human life. Almost every country has taking measures to mitigate climate change primarily. However, due to urgency posed by climate change driven flood risk requires more holistic approach focusing on both mitigation and adaptation measures and synergy between these measures. Theory of urban resilience to flood has proposed a paradigm shift in response to flood by cities. Ecological resilience such as living with flood, nature-based solution for flood adaptation, and coping with flood due to community learning and experiences are more effective measures than engineering resilience, such as dykes, flood wall, dam, etc. This paper analyses critically the relevance of this theory and importance of level of resilience of cities for protection at flood rather than flood resistance.

Tea cultivation, being a woody perennial land-use, has an enormous potential to sequester a vast amount of carbon (C) in its biomass and soil rhizosphere. The Northeast Himalayan region (NEH) of India is a traditional tea growing belt, thus the impact of long-term climate change can be mitigated through the enrichment of soil organic carbon (SOC). Tea cultivation can also contribute to land degradation neutrality (LDN) by restoring degraded lands and provide higher economic gains and better livelihood to the small and marginal farmers of the region. The present study was conducted to understand the change in SOC dynamics under climate change (CC) conditions using the RothC simulation model in the Brahmaputra plain of upper Assam state. The model was used to simulate SOC stock change for a period of 10 years (2010–2020) under the baseline climate conditions, and for a period of 30 years (2021–2050) with four CC scenarios for temperature (T) and rainfall (R) available for Assam state. The SOC stock under the baseline climate increased by 8.4% from 2010 to 2020. However, simulations under CC scenarios indicated a negative impact on SOC stock. In particular, SOC stock declined by 3.7, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.8% in CC1 (T + 1.7 °C, R + 5%), CC2 (T + 1.7 °C, R + 10%), CC3 (T + 2.0 °C, R + 5%) and CC4 (T + 2.0 °C, R + 10%), respectively. The average decline in SOC stocks was 4.3% during 2021–2050. Interestingly, the study also revealed that the decline in SOC stock was more marked during the initial 5 years and then stabilized under future CC; thus, the adverse effects of CC seem to be mitigated. Our study identified the high resilience of SOC under long-term tea plantation toward CC. We also recommend that long-term tea plantations are intercropped with other economically important crops to store higher amounts of SOC, contribute to LDN and provide economic stability to the farmers of the region.

The education system has always been proactive in identifying contemporary problems and finding solutions to them. In line with this thought, the Universities, Colleges, and other Education Institutions act as the most significant incubators of ideas and solutions to global environmental problems. The article asserts the transformative potential of Higher Education for Sustainable Development as the keystone for achieving biosphere stewardship and fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially in India. In addition, the article highlights the education policy and sustainability initiatives, valuing Higher Education Institutions’ Attitude to Action approach in India. The emerging perspective of transdisciplinary efforts in education focusing on the local–regional–global learning continuum offers new insights on managing various challenges posed to sustainability in the Anthropocene. The synthesis calls for collaborative participation of policymakers (enablers) and Higher Education Institutions (executors), looking inward (reflect), outward (connect with different stakeholders), and forward (act) to realize achieving Sustainable Development Goals (facilitators) and build a sustainable future.