GLOBAL SYSTEMS INSTITUTE

Publications

Capacity to adapt to environmental change: evidence from a network of organizations concerned with increasing wildfire risk

Publication ID: pub.1084001469

Publication date: 21/10/2021

Keywords: Adaptation; Adaptive Capacity; Collective Action; Forests; Governance Networks; Oregon; Organizational Networks; Social Learning; Social Network Analysis; US; Wildfire

Fischer, A. P., and L. Jasny. 2017. Capacity to adapt to environmental change: evidence from a network of organizations concerned with increasing wildfire risk. Ecology and Society 22(1):23. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08867-220123

Epidemics and the future of coffee production

Publication ID: pub.1139208727

Publication date: 28/06/2021

Keywords: Basidiomycota; COVID-19; Coffee; Environment; Epidemics; Farms; Hemileia vastatrix; Industry; Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC); Plant Diseases; SARS-CoV-2; Socioeconomic Factors

In this perspective, we draw on recent scientific research on the coffee leaf rust (CLR) epidemic that severely impacted several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the last decade, to explore how the socioeconomic impacts from COVID-19 could lead to the reemergence of another rust epidemic. We describe how past CLR outbreaks have […]

Evidence for large microbial-mediated losses of soil carbon under anthropogenic warming

Publication ID: pub.1138860814

Publication date: 15/06/2021

Keywords: Anthropogenic Warming; Emission Negotiations; Emission Reduction Targets; Feedback; Global; Magnitude; Microbial Community; Microbial Decomposition; Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Losses

Anthropogenic warming is expected to accelerate global soil organic carbon (SOC) losses via microbial decomposition, yet, there is still no consensus on the loss magnitude. In this Perspective, we argue that, despite the mechanistic uncertainty underlying these losses, there is confidence that a strong, positive land carbon–climate feedback can be expected. Two major lines of […]

Large historical carbon emissions from cultivated northern peatlands

Publication ID: pub.1138616838

Publication date: 04/06/2021

Keywords: Carbon Budget; Carbon Emissions; Carbon Losses; Croplands; Cultivated; Drained; Land-use Emissions; Models; Northern Hemisphere; Peatlands; Process-based

When a peatland is drained and cultivated, it behaves as a notable source of CO2 However, we lack temporally and spatially explicit estimates of carbon losses from cultivated peatlands. Using a process-based land surface model that explicitly includes representation of peatland processes, we estimate that northern peatlands converted to croplands emitted 72 Pg C over […]

The persistent threat of emerging plant disease pandemics to global food security

Publication ID: pub.1138247958

Publication date: 21/05/2021

Keywords: Emerging Plant Disease; Food Security; Global; Plant Pathology

Plant disease outbreaks are increasing and threaten food security for the vulnerable in many areas of the world. Now a global human pandemic is threatening the health of millions on our planet. A stable, nutritious food supply will be needed to lift people out of poverty and improve health outcomes. Plant diseases, both endemic and […]

Critical slowing down suggests that the western Greenland Ice Sheet is close to a tipping point

Publication ID: pub.1138112198

Publication date: 17/05/2021

Keywords: Critical Slowing Down; Early-warning Signals; Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS); Tipping Points

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is a potentially unstable component of the Earth system and may exhibit a critical transition under ongoing global warming. Mass reductions of the GrIS have substantial impacts on global sea level and the speed of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, due to the additional freshwater caused by increased meltwater runoff […]