The sea level rise under global climate change and coastal floods caused by extreme sea levels due to the high tide levels and storm surges have huge impacts on coastal society, economy, and natural environment. It has drawn great attention from global scientific researchers. This study examines the definitions and elements of coastal flooding in the general and narrow senses, and mainly focuses on the components of coastal flooding in the narrow sense. Based on the natural disaster system theory, the review systematically summarizes the progress of coastal flood research in China, and then discusses existing problems in present studies and provide future research directions with regard to this issue. It is proposed that future studies need to strengthen research on adapting to climate change in coastal areas, including studies on the risk of multi- hazards and uncertainties of hazard impacts under climate change, risk assessment of key exposure (critical infrastructure) in coastal hotspots, and cost-benefit analysis of adaptation and mitigation measures in coastal areas. Efforts to improve the resilience of coastal areas under climate change should be given more attention. The research community also should establish the mechanism of data sharing among disciplines to meet the needs of future risk assessments, so that coastal issues can be more comprehensively, systematically, and dynamically studied.
Rapid global warming and continuous climate change threaten the construction industry and human existence, especially in developing countries. Many developed countries are engaging their professional stakeholders on innovation and technology to mitigate climate change on humanity. Studies concerning inclusive efforts by developing countries’ stakeholders, including Nigeria, are scarce. Thus, this study investigates the construction industry’s practitioners’ preparedness to mitigate climate change through pre- and post-planning. Also, the study appraises climate change’s impact on construction activities and proffered measures to mitigate them. The research employed face-to-face data collection via a qualitative approach. The researchers engaged 33 knowledgeable participants. The study covered Abuja, Benin City, Owerri, and Lagos and achieved saturation at the 30th participant. The research employed a thematic approach to analyse the collected data. Findings reveal that Nigerian construction practitioners cannot cope with climate change impacts because of lax planning and inadequate technology to mitigate the issues. Also, the government’s attitude towards climate change has not helped matters. Also, the study suggested measures to mitigate the impact of climate change on construction activities in Nigeria. Therefore, as part of the research contributions, all-inclusive and integrated regulatory policies and programmes should be tailored toward mitigating climate change. This includes integrated stakeholder sensitisation, investment in infrastructure that supports anti-climate change, prioritising practices in the industry to achieve sustainable project transformation, and integration of climate change interventions into pre- and post-contract administration.
The paper deals with the issues of the influence of forest cover on the average annual runoff of rivers in the Pripyat River basin. In the study area, under the influence of solar radiation, the temperature of the air and the soil surface increases, evaporation from the water surface also increases, and the moisture content of the upper layers of the soil decreases. In general, with an increase in forest cover, the annual layer of the runoff of the studied rivers increases, as well as with an increase in the amount of precipitation (in contrast to the runoff of short-term floods). However, with a forest cover of more than 20%–30% and a relatively small amount of precipitation, the runoff decreases, which is associated with the retention of part of the precipitation by the forest cover. With a large amount of precipitation and low forest cover, the runoff also decreases, which is probably due to the loss of precipitation water for evaporation, etc. The conducted studies show that, just as the forest affects water resources, the flow of moisture to watersheds also affects the state of forest systems. Moreover, this interaction is expressed by evaporation from forests. Under influence of change of a climate growth of evaporation is observed.
The wide distribution of the common beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Europe reveals its great adaptation to diverse conditions of temperature and humidity. This interesting aspect explains the context of the main objective of this work: to carry out a dendroclimatic analysis of the species Fagus sylvatica in the Polaciones valley (Cantabria), an area of transition with environmental conditions from a characteristic Atlantic type to more Mediterranean, at the southern limit of its growth. The methodology developed is based on the analysis of 25 local chronologies of growth rings sampled at different altitudes along the valley, generating a reference chronology for the study area. Subsequently, the patterns of growth and response to climatic variations are estimated through the response and correlation function, and the most significant monthly variables in the annual growth of the species are obtained. Finally, these are introduced into a Geographic Information System (GIS) where they are cartographically modeled in the altitudinal gradient through multivariate analysis, taking into account the different geographic and topographic variables that influence the zonal variability of the species response. The results of the analyses and cartographic models show which variables are most determinant in the annual growth of the species and the distribution of its climatic response according to the variables considered.
Climate and vegetation are variables of the physical space that have a dynamic and interdependent relationship. Flora modifies climatic elements and gives rise to a microclimate whose characterization is a function of regional climatic conditions and vegetation structure. The objective of this work was to compare the climatic variations (inside and outside) of the Caldén Forest in the Parque Luro Provincial Reserve. Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and precipitation data from two meteorological stations for 2012 were analyzed and statistically compared. The influence of the forest on climatic parameters was demonstrated and it was found that the greatest variations were in wind speed, daily temperature and precipitation.
Objective: The influence of climate on forest stands cannot be ignored, but most of the previous forest stand growth models were constructed under the presumption of invariant climate and could not estimate the stand growth under climate change. The model was constructed to provide a theoretical basis for forest operators to take reasonable management measures for fir under the influence of climate. Methods: Based on the survey data of 638 cedar plantation plots in Hunan Province, the optimal base model was selected from four biologically significant alternative stand basal area models, and the significant climate factors without serious covariance were selected by multiple stepwise regression analysis. The optimal form of random effects was determined, and then a model with climatic effects was constructed for the cross-sectional growth of fir plantations. Results: Richards formula is the optimal form of the basic model of stand basal area growth. The coefficient of adjustment was 0.8355; the average summer maximum temperature and the water vapor loss in Hargreaves climate affected the maximum and rate of fir stand stand growth respectively, and were negatively correlated with the stand growth. The adjusted coefficient of determination of the fir stand area break model with climate effects was 0.8921, the root mean square error (RMSE) was 3.0792, and the mean relative error absolute value (MARE) was 9.9011; compared with the optimal base model, improved by 6.77%, RMSE decreased by 19.04%, and MARE decreased by 15.95%. Conclusion: The construction of the stand cross-sectional area model with climate effects indicates that climate has a significant influence on stand growth, which supports the rationality of considering climate factors in the growth model, and it is important for the regional stand growth harvest and management of cedar while improving the accuracy and applicability of the model.
Copyright © by EnPress Publisher. All rights reserved.