Ponder - ice melt extinction

Photo by Artem Zhukov on Unsplash

Take a moment to ponder this:
What if when the ice melts, previously extinct species return? Whilst others become extinct.

The melting ice is reducing habitats around the globe putting many species at risk of extinction, but it is also creating them. Places where ice once clung, now provide additional land for colonisation. Ice also hides many secrets within its frozen depths; seeds and pollen kept in suspension for millennia. As the ice melts, could these species come back and start colonising in amongst modern species?

🜃

Think Thursday: melt-water

Photo by Sonia Burtin on Unsplash

So, what if, instead of the melt-water from glaciers, ice caps, ice bergs etc. entering the sea, what if the excessive heat meant the water entered the atmosphere. And never left.

Would some areas get more rain, whilst others get less? Would this result in an increase in deserts, or a decrease? Or would there be more lakes, perhaps rainforests would spread instead?

I'm not disputing sea level rise, this is a serious threat, but the exceptionally hot week made me wonder what could happen instead.

Estimation of river water levels using cameras

Niagara Falls, NY Photo by Cameron Venti on Unsplash

Many UK rivers have cameras up and down their profile i.e. for things like wildlife tracking and identification. Vandaele, Dance and Ojha looked into utilising these cameras for water level estimation. They develop a deep learning algorithm to do just this. They annotate images from cameras along the River Avon and Severn, UK (21 November - 5 December 2012), isolating flood events, finally comparing their results with local river gauges. This algorithm had an accuracy >91%. They then try the algorithm with a year long sample (from 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020) for the same rivers. Again the correlation to local gauges is clear, showing that the  use of cameras along rivers could help accurately predict flood events, particularly in areas with no gauges, thus providing some warning to residents and/or farmers. Low water levels are covered, but nothing is mentioned about drought conditions. This could be an issue as drought conditions are just as big of an issue as flood conditions. Dry land does not allow for optimum (or any) infiltration by rain, meaning flooding is more likely. As a deep learning algorithm that uses pixels filled with water, it is very likely that it could adapt and learn to interpret drought condition data too.

Vandaele, R., Dance, S.L. and Ojha, V., 2021. Deep learning for the estimation of water-levels using river cameras. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, pp.1-29.

Abandoned, but still beautiful

Image from Landschaftspark.de

Countries the world over are home to derelict buildings those with a strong industrial past are likely to have at least a few substantial abandoned plots. Plots such as old factories cover large areas of land and are normally deemed unsafe to be near and unseemly. But should this be the case? Unless the ground contains harmful chemicals abandoned buildings and structures can be made safe. The following is an example of just what we are missing by nut utilising these unusable locations.

Landschaftspark (Landscape Park) in Duisberg, Germany was once the Thyssen ironworks. At 180 acres it boasts green spaces, gardens, an old railway and five areas of water way. As well as the landscape and industrial heritage a wide variety of events are also held in and around the park. Everything from bike rides to film showings and music festivals can be experienced in Landschaftspark.

The diversity of land uses on these sites results in a wide variety of options to adapt them into. As such pretty much anyone can find something to enjoy and provide the time-out they need. Cycling, walking, running, yoga, music and films, gardening and that is to name but a few. Beyond the benefits we will gain these sites will also provide habitats including food and places to raise young. Plants also benefit, Landschaftspark is resident to at least 700 different plant species. From this it could be discovered that Landschaftspark or any other reclaimed industrial site is home to rare, endangered or even a species thought to be extinct.

Old industrial sites may be something of an eye sore, but they have so much potential to be beautiful, practical and an amazing place for both people and wildlife.

Amphibian diversity in the Waterfalls of Lubuklinggau City, South Sumatra

Waterfalls and other watery locations are more often than not, frequented by amphibians, which are an integral part of any ecosystem. The paper by Samitra and Rozi (2021) investigates the diversity of amphibians at Temam and Sando Waterfalls, Lubuklinggau City. No trapping was used, only Visual Encounter Survey (VES) and time search methods, but some individuals were taken back to the lab for identification (and then relesed). Lubuklinggau City has a great diversity of habitats, everything from secondary forest to rice fields, meaning there are many potential locations for amphibians to be found. The focus here though are the Teman and Sando Waterfalls. Both sites are major tourist attractions, Teman has some convenience facilities, whilst Sando remains natural. Other research conducted in neighbouring areas, found significantly more species (11 compared to 55); however, there were several factors that were different between the studies, namely search hours and altitude. The difference in altitude would also make the ecology of the search areas different. The authors also conclude that the diversity at each waterfall is comparable to the other.

Google scholar search: 

Samitra, D. and Rozi, Z.F., 2021. Amphibian diversity in the Waterfall of Lubuklinggau City, South Sumatra. Jurnal Biota, 7(1), pp.10-16.

The environment in the 2020 pandemic

We all know how devastating Covid-19 was to humans globally, it held nothing back, showing no discrimination. Whilst the most obvious impact was to humans both health wise and economically, there was another victim, the environment. What though was the impact to the environment? We might not know for some years, some guesses can be made though. No flying for a year meant less CO2 emitted, fewer cars on the roads also contributed to this. People not being in offices lowered the demand for electricity. Fewer people in wild places reduced litter contamination and water pollution eased as not only was there less litter entering waterways, but also fewer chemicals from factories. Some of these balanced out with humans just being somewhere else; for example, humans were not in offices but in homes which also needed heating or power for computers as well as comforts such as hot food and drinks. Paudel (2021) has gone some way to quantify the Covid impact upon the environment focusing on forest fires in Nepal, South Asia.

Forest fires have numerous origins, from natural causes like lightening to anthropogenic causes. The paper uses satellite imaging to study factors such as heat intensity and forest fire incidence occurrence to identify what, if any influences Covid 19 has had upon anthropogenic fire incidence. The study found that the brightness of fires and the number of incidents reduced and actually lead to an economic gain of 360 Rupee's per household (~3 US$) (likely through reduced property/infrastructure damage costs). 

They also note the decrease in particulate matter (PM2.5) and NO2 in numerous cities globally. These short-term improvements can be no replacement for cooperation and improved management strategies or any forest nor important climate change work.

Paudel, J., 2021. Short-run environmental effects of COVID-19: Evidence from forest fires. World Development, 137, p.105120.

Forest loss in global protected areas

Protected areas are an essential component of conservation and climate change reduction. However, protected areas are not always as effective as they could be, this has previously been seen to correspond to gross domestic product (GDP), specifically where forested protected areas are concerned. The paper by Wolf et al (2021) aims to analyse the effectiveness of protected areas with regards to limiting forest loss.

They found that protected areas did reduce forest loss, but did not eliminate it completely. Those with the strictest management showed less deforestation than those with little to no management. The creation of new protected areas did see a slight increase in deforestation both within the protected area and in near by unprotected woodland.

Results show that protected areas within South Africa were the most effective in preventing forest loss. Protected areas with lower deforestation are expected to have other benefits, such as lower species loss, whether due to greater habitat availability or effective suppression of illegal hunting. As well as protecting biodiversity, protected areas also protect the immense carbon sink that is our forests. Deforestation not only stops this sink, but depending on the use of the wood, can also release the carbon back into the atmosphere. Reducing or preventing deforestation through protected areas is essential to tackle climate change.

Once again GDP was demonstrated to have a significant influence on the effectiveness of protected areas. The authors suggest that, to help maintain and improve protected areas, countries of higher GDP should assist those with lower GDP. This will aid actions such as species recovery/reintroduction as the acts can be done sooner rather than waiting for the GDP to increase to a point they can act themselves, by which point the species may be beyond saving, or be incapable of reintroduction.

Aichi Target 11: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, with a focus on areas particularly important for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Areas are conserved through effective and equitable management as well as being ecologically representitive. Areas must also be well connected whilst merging seamlessly with the surrounding land and seascapes and coordinating with other conservation measures.

The Aichi Target was due for 2020, but the authors found that when corrected for with deforestation (effectiveness), current protected area was only around 6.5%. Again correcting for deforestation, or effectiveness, the authors find that the actual percentage of protected land needed is 41.3%. Clearly this target has not been met. Hope should not be lost, it is a goal that should be sought no matter how long it takes, but this should not lead us into complacency. Thinking that if met in 2050 it is fine too, no, the sooner the better.

Wolf, C., Levi, T., Ripple, W.J., Zárrate-Charry, D.A. and Betts, M.G., 2021. A forest loss report card for the world’s protected areas. Nature Ecology & Evolution, pp.1-10.

Convention on Biological Diversity - Target 11