Anthropocene最新文献

Following its advent as a concept, the Anthropocene has flourished as a new worldview in academic and public communities alike. Yet, the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy recently voted against formally ratifying the Anthropocene as an Epoch, pointing to the restrictive geologic framework, and highlighting the need for a globally represented and synchronous marker. In this Viewpoint, we utilize global bibliographic data, Google search data, IPCC authors, and the Global Climate Risk Index (GCRI) to examine the global diversity of the Anthropocene discourse by measuring academic interest and public engagement in the topic, while also considering the proportional influence, justice, and inclusivity of this discourse. We argue that the conceptual and geological frameworks of the Anthropocene share a complex and non-translatable relationship. Further, we urge reconsideration of geologically rigid definitions in the spirit of recognizing holistic identification of human impacts to the Earth System, while also addressing the gaps in global influence with this pressing concept. Last, we explore successful examples integrating disparate disciplinary perspectives to achieve greater understanding of the Anthropocene and discuss avenues for future directions in the areas of human-environment interactions, as well as environmental justice and equity.

The world population is projected to peak before 2050, with a significant majority residing in highly urbanized areas. As a result, urban areas are expected to undergo further anthropogenic transformations, which will not only influence spatial development (i.e. sealing urban systems) but also affect local climatic conditions. One likely consequence is the increasing incidence of adverse interactions between two phenomena occurring in city centers, which can have a significant impact on human quality of life: urban heat islands (UHI) and urban pollution islands (UPI). Here, we review scientific research relating to the interaction of UHI and UPI. Two basic databases were used: Web of Science and Scopus. The literature review covers publications appearing between 1968 and 2022 (Web of Science: 1300 related to 'heat island’, 18,222 on ‘air pollution’; Scopus: 4393 on ‘heat island’ and 34,498 on ‘air pollution’), in fields such as environmental studies and meteorology studies. A significant number of the published articles were focused on cities located in Asia, Europe, and North America. Our findings show increasing research interest in UHI–UPI interactions, reflecting the risks they pose in the modern world—not only to human health and life, but also to the ecosystem. Effective urban planning emerges as a critical tool for addressing these challenges. Through the careful selection and implementation of targeted mitigation and adaptation strategies, it becomes possible to safeguard and enhance living conditions for urban populations. Such strategic planning is essential for ensuring that cities are not only habitable but also resilient and sustainable in the face of demographic shifts and environmental pressures.

This study aimed to assess the potential impact of global climate change on the highland areas of Kastamonu, a significant province in Turkey known for its numerous and varied highlands. The investigation focused on 59 selected highland locations within the region. Using the De Martonne climate classification, projections were made for four future periods (2040, 2060, 2080, and 2100) under two scenarios: SSPs 245 and SSPs 585. The outcomes of the study indicate that the highlands under scrutiny are susceptible to substantial effects from global climate change. Notably, these climatic alterations are expected to become evident within the next two decades, predominantly manifesting as a shift towards arid climate classifications. These shifts are anticipated to have a profound impact on the composition and diversity of species in the highland ecosystems. Based on the findings, it is advisable to consider interventions for the most climate-sensitive highland areas, such as facilitating the migration of species adapted to the new climate conditions and implementing initiatives to enhance species diversity. These efforts could help mitigate the potential loss of species and populations resulting from climate change.

In Anthropocene, unbalances of the water cycle have created a severe threat to the supply of this crucial element for current and future generations. In addition, water quality degradation has been promoted by the land-use change from natural ecosystems to urbanized and industrialized areas, favoring the nutrient input into water bodies. In the last two decades, the San Roque reservoir (SRr), situated in central Argentina, has become hypereutrophic. In this work, we proposed an integrated study strategy that included a multiproxy examination of the reservoir sedimentary record and a study of land-use changes, in order to: 1) link land-use change to primary productivity of the SRr over the last 100 years; and 2) identify the processes involved in the SRr's environmental evolution prior and after urban expansion occurred by 1980 CE. Results allow to recognize two distinctive scenarios: a) Pre-urban scenario (1898–1983 CE) reflected by a dominance of allochthonous organic matter in the sedimentary record derived from the catchment's deforestation and, b) A transition towards increasing lake internal productivity (1984–2018 CE), resulting in a eutrophic state with cyanobacteria dominance due to catchment urban densification, particularly in the peri-lacustrine area. This work constitutes a novel tool by combining a paleolimnological approach with demographic analysis to accurately track the consequences of land use change on the water body and, in addition, provide the basis for modeling future scenarios.

Settler colonialism and active fire exclusion greatly eliminated recurrent fire from forests and grasslands in the United States. Pyrogenic carbon (PyC), a key legacy of fire and a stable form of carbon (C) in soils, has inadvertently been lost with the cessation of biomass burning. Using a simple simulation, we estimate that fire exclusion from grasslands over the last 125 years has resulted in a loss of 963–1,028 Tg of PyC, approximately equivalent to a 12% - 22% decline in the soil PyC reservoir. This loss of PyC from grassland ecosystems and the lack of introduction of fresh PyC has likely had a significant impact on soil health in the Great Plains. To rebuild this lost stable C pool and the associated ecosystem function of PyC, we recommend combining Indigenous Knowledge and western science to restore historical fire regimes to forests and grasslands and reintroduce PyC via biochar application to agricultural fields.

Physical and chemical modifications within soils have been proposed as a marker of the Anthropocene, as soils can preserve modifications due to past land use for long periods of time. Soils are the primary terrestrial reservoir of C and N and are especially important for sequestration and emission of C related to land use changes. The northeast US has a well-documented sequence of deforestation and reforestation related to land use changes following European settlement, yet the impact of land use and recovery on C and N stocks and isotopes is still poorly constrained. We analyze δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, and C/N to evaluate changes to soil C and N related to historical land use across an Anthropocene chronosequence comprised of four land use classes that vary in terms of duration of disturbance and recovery time from past agricultural activity. Reforested soils show minimal difference in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C and display no overall statistical relationship with abandonment length, while modern agricultural soils have higher δ¹⁵N values. Differences in total C and N between land use classes are more distinct, as SOC decreases and total N increases with longer land use duration. Historic agriculture increased C and N storage, and recently abandoned land still has the potential to act as a sink to store more organic C. In total, land use imparts clear changes to SOC and N stocks that persist long after abandonment, providing a distinct marker of anthropogenic activities. However, stable C and N isotopes of soils within reforested classes show only slight differences between land use classes, indicating shorter timescales of isotopic resetting of C and N signatures following abandonment.

Our research aimed to evaluate, how urbanization affects lake ecosystems and Cladocera in particular. For this purpose, we chose a small urban lake with a well-documented history. Lake Velnezers (located in Riga, Latvia) is currently surrounded by apartment building complexes. Construction works around this lake started in the 1950s and continued up until the 1970s. To investigate how the transition from forested to agricultural and further urbanized land affected the lake ecosystem we took a sediment core that covers the time period from before 1875–2018. We evaluated ecological changes in the lake based on chemical and Cladocera species composition in sediment records and linked these changes to the historical information about alterations in the landscape around Velnezers. Our results show lake transitioned from oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions already before urbanization. The Lake ecosystem reacted to urbanization gradually, showing small changes in the beginning. However, in the 1980s lake experienced rapid deterioration in water quality – sediment records show an increase in heavy metal pollution, anoxia, and nutrient input. These stressors resulted in Cladocera functional group structure changes and loss of Cladocera species richness and diversity. Improvements in nature protection – such as wastewater management have reduced heavy metal and nutrient input into Lake Velnezers towards the present. However, previous deterioration, i.e. loss of species diversity and phosphorous legacy effect do not allow natural lake recovery under current conditions.

The lipid content of a high mountain lake (Lake Isoba) allowed the reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental changes and anthropic influence in Northern Spain during the last 550 years. Fatty acids (FAs) and n-alkan-2-ones indicate little degradation of OM. Three units were delimited. During Unit A (ca. 1460–1780 CE) high carbon preference index values, predominance of high-molecular-weight saturated FAs, and good correspondence between the predominant n-alkane and saturated FA chains indicate higher OM input and evidence of minimal degradation, linked to the cold and dry Little Ice Age, that favoured the OM input derived mainly from land plants, and the reduced bacterial activity. In Unit B (ca. 1780–2006 CE) the n-alkane and saturated FA profiles showed a remarkable mismatch suggestive of preferential microbial synthesis of long chain saturated FAs from primary OM and/or bacterial activity (predominance of low-molecular-weight saturated FAs but with a bimodal distribution), in coincidence with a decrease in OM input, which could be linked to the global warming that started in the second half of the 19th century. Although OM continued deriving mainly from terrigenous plants, aquatic macrophytes increased their contribution to the OM indicating the amelioration of environmental conditions. Evidence of considerable phytoplankton productivity and microbial activity was significant in Unit C (ca. 2006–2018 CE) coinciding with the highest concentrations of n-alkanes and saturated FAs, linked to warmer and drier conditions, and to greater anthropogenic influence. In addition, organic sulfur and gammacerane indicates loss of oligotrophy, and the record of faecal stanols, particularly that of 24-ethylcoprostanol, strongly evidences notable and rising water pollution associated with increasing cattle ranching in the lake catchment during the past 10–15 years.

Flood damage has increased worldwide in recent decades with a concomitant increased risk of flood-induced pollution. From the perspective of urban political ecology, we ask whether scientists acknowledge flood-induced pollution as a problem and if so how they address it. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyse 30 semi-structured interviews with researchers in France and Quebec. Our results show that flood pollution can be framed not only in terms of its impact on the environment and our societies, but also as a social representation that varies with the spatial context. The diversity of flood-induced pollution, whether in terms of materiality, visibility, or causation, highlights the undefined contours of flood pollution for the scientific community. We identify obstacles to the emergence of this problem in the scientific arena explained by the structuring of this arena, the vagueness of the term pollution, regulation, and individual and collective approaches to resilience. We argue that these obstacles can be overcome by considering pollution as a social construct and viewing cities in a metabolic framework.

Records of environmental changes at regional or continental scales in less-developed regions may aid clarification of the onset of the Anthropocene. A sediment core was collected from Bosten Lake in Xinjiang Province, northwestern China, to investigate historical variations of combustion indicators of black carbon (BC), char and soot and to reflect human influences over the past 150 years. Results show that a rapid increase in soot fluxes (over 1.5 times on average) happened after 1950, consistent with the Great Acceleration period as well as establishment of the People's Republic of China, following a rapidly developing economy. Soot flux peaked around the 1960, coincident with wasteland reclamation in Xinjiang Province, decreasing after the year 2000 owing to environmental protection requirements such as desulfurization. Average char/soot ratios before and after 1950 were 0.56 and 0.37, respectively, such low ratios suggest a predominant contribution of soot from long-range transport, while the industrialization in China since the 1950 s may have caused further reduction in the ratios. Sedimentary soot deposition flux in less-developed areas thus recorded key anthropogenic activities occurring in China and supports the onset of the Anthropocene in the mid-20th century, as proposed by the Anthropocene Working Group.