University of Toronto Press’ Post

Desertification was supposed to be the ‘greatest environmental challenge of our time.’ Why are experts now worried about greening? Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 2024-08-12 https://buff.ly/4cpYkYR The greening of drylands threatens fragile desert ecosystems and scarce water reserves, and shows how varied and unexpected the impacts of global climate change can be.

The boreal, home to 67% of Canada’s wetlands and a quarter of the world’s wetlands, is a crucial ecosystem supporting biodiversity, carbon storage, and healthy watersheds. Yet, climate change poses uncertain risks to these wetland ecosystems, with cascading effects on wildlife, forests, water quality, and the industries and communities that rely on them. In collaboration with Western University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Athabasca University, Ducks Unlimited Canada is developing an advanced model to forecast how climate change might alter wetland distribution across the Western Boreal Forest. This simulation will use fine-scale climate projections to close knowledge gaps, providing actionable insights on the future of boreal wetlands under climate change pressures. We are seeking input to guide this study’s direction to ensure it addresses critical information gaps, meets the needs of diverse stakeholders, and maximizes its value for industry adaptation and mitigation efforts. Through your comments, we can refine our approach and tailor our outputs to support sustainable industry practices and regional climate resilience. Please see the comment section for the survey link. https://lnkd.in/gF-RTHQd

#Indigenous peoples and #local #communities are reporting a series of tangible and nuanced impacts of #climatechange, according to a new study. The study collected 1,661 firsthand reports of change in sites across all inhabited continents and aggregated the reports into 369 indicators of climate change impacts, including changes in #precipitation, #plantcultivation and #marine #ecosystems. Existing measures to track climate change impacts are barely able to relate to the diverse and complex ways in which local people experience and observe environmental changes, according to the authors. For instance, instrumental measurements might capture changes in rainfall patterns but miss crucial relationships between climate change #awareness, #sensitivity and #vulnerability. This research constitutes the largest global effort by #Indigenouspeoples and #localcommunities to compile and categorize local observations of climate change and its impacts.

The forgotten solution to climate change - https://scft.link/cspW5 Dr. José Rubio, Deputy President of WASWAC, and his team emphasize the critical role of soil in climate regulation in their study published in Soil Security. They argue that sustainable soil management is essential to combating climate change and preventing soil degradation. #ClimateChange #SoilHealth #SustainableAgriculture #SoilSecurity #EnvironmentalScience #sciencefeatured #sciencenews

The Crucial Role of Wetlands in Climate Regulation Wetlands, often overlooked in discussions of climate change, are among the planet's most vital ecosystems, playing a critical role in climate regulation and environmental health. These unique envir... [...] #ClimateChange #Climateregulation #Climatesystem #Extremeweathers #WEather #WEATHERPATTERNS #weatherprediction #Wetlands Read more... https://lnkd.in/dsHjA6r4

Great Salt Lake Shrinking Amid Greenhouse Gas Emissions 💡 The Great Salt Lake is rapidly shrinking, largely due to increased greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. 💡 The shrinking lake has significant environmental and ecological consequences for the surrounding area. 💡 This situation highlights the urgent need for policies to address greenhouse gas emissions and environmental preservation. #climate #GHGs #climatechange #netzero #energytransition #greenhousegas

The Ocean’s Role in Climate Regulation and Environmental Balance Covering about 70% of Earth’s surface, the ocean plays a critical role in regulating the planet’s climate and supporting a diverse range of life. As the Earth warms, the ocean absorbs significant amounts of heat, distributing this energy across the globe and mitigating the effects of climate change. Additionally, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which, while beneficial in reducing greenhouse gases, also alters marine environments and poses risks to marine life. The ocean’s capacity to absorb and store heat is pivotal in controlling Earth’s temperature. Water, with its high heat capacity, can take in large amounts of heat without significant temperature increases. This property helps the ocean buffer the planet against rapid temperature shifts. However, this heat absorption is not without consequences. As the ocean warms, marine ecosystems, particularly coral reefs, face severe threats. Warmer waters lead to coral bleaching, endangering the delicate balance of these ecosystems and the myriad species they support. Moreover, the ocean’s role in absorbing carbon dioxide has a double-edged effect. While it helps reduce atmospheric CO2 levels, it also leads to ocean acidification, which adversely impacts marine organisms, especially those with calcium carbonate structures like shellfish and corals. This acidification, combined with rising ocean temperatures, poses a significant threat to marine biodiversity. Understanding and mitigating these impacts are crucial as we continue to monitor and adapt to the evolving climate dynamics influenced by our oceans. https://lnkd.in/diUpguQh

🌍 In the spotlight of Nature Climate Change: Our paper on freshwater wetland restoration has been highlighted in the April issue of the journal ‘Nature Climate Change’.  This global meta-analysis, led by Blue Carbon Lab scientist Dr Lukas Schuster, explores the timescales required to transform degraded freshwater wetlands into cooling carbon sinks, revealing the real role of restoration as a natural climate solution.  The paper showed that degraded freshwater wetlands can become net #carbonsinks within just 5 years post-restoration. However, this can take between 141-525 years to have a net cooling effect on the climate. 💡 What does this mean for climate action? In light of meeting short-term climate goals by 2100 (Paris Agreement timeframe), the protection of natural freshwater wetlands emerges as the most effective short-term strategy to ensure their climate cooling effects. Nature highlight - https://lnkd.in/gaFTjU_N Research paper - https://lnkd.in/gvvCnwne  #ClimateChange #WetlandRestoration #ClimateAction #ParisAgreement Peter Macreadie I Pierre Taillardat I Martino E. Malerba I Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN) I Nature Portfolio I Springer Nature Group I Deakin Research I Deakin Marine Research and Innovation Centre 

🌎 For the atmosphere’s balance sheet, emission reductions and removals are equivalent. Both are vitally important. 🌲 A recent peer-reviewed study in Nature Climate Change reinforces this point, finding that the four pathways with the highest scientific confidence and the largest potential scale of global impact are tropical forest reforestation, tropical forest avoided loss, temperate forest reforestation and temperate forest avoided loss. In other words, reforestation (removals) and avoided loss (reductions) are both critical climate actions. https://lnkd.in/dnWxRz4B