This special issue focuses on terrestrial biogeochemical cycles and their roles in determining current continental-scale budgets and future trends in biogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) for North America.

This research highlights the spatial planning approach for coastal sustainability and adaptation to climate change. The dilemma of spatial planning in a dynamic and complex coastal environment as well as the establishment of a coastal buffer zone as an adaptation measure for climate change are elaborated upon. In particular, this study outlines the limitations of two of the traditional approaches used for spatial planning (optimization and simulation) and the opportunities that present themselves when combining both models for coastal zone planning.

Water temperature and discharge are fundamental to lotic ecosystem function, and both are strongly affected by climate. In large river catchments, however, climatic effects might be difficult to discern from background variability and other cumulative sources of anthropogenic change arising from local land and water management.

Evaluation of carbon dynamics is of great concern worldwide in terms of climate change and soil fertility. However, the annual CO₂ flux and the effect of land management on the carbon budget are poorly understood in Sub-Saharan Africa, owing to the relative dearth of data for in situ CO₂ fluxes. Here, we evaluated seasonal variations in CO₂ efflux rate with hourly climate data in two dry tropical croplands in Tanzania at two sites with contrasting soil textures, viz. clayey or sandy, over four consecutive crop-cultivation periods of 40 months.

Previous studies of costs and benefits of forest conservation haven't considered the irreversible nature of forest clearing and the uncertainty associated with forest preservation benefits. The present study adapted a dynamic optimization framework to analyze optimal land use decisions. Results show that ignoring negative climate change effects on tea production and forest carbon storage values leads to excessive deforestation and lower optimal forest stock levels.

Spring phenophases such as the beginning of leaf unfolding, measured in the Irish gardens of the International Phenological Garden (IPG) network, indicate an earlier spring occurrence hence a longer growing season. However, these measurements are limited to selected species of trees at a few point locations in the southern half of the country. The aim of this study was to develop a methodology, based on satellite remote sensing, to measure the vegetation start of season (SOS) across the whole island of Ireland on an annual basis, complementary to existing ground-based methods.

Leading climate change experts within the international scientific community support the use of forest carbon sinks as a climate change mitigation tool. Functioning regulatory and voluntary carbon offset frameworks within the United States recognize forest offsets with varying levels of stringency. Emerging carbon emission reduction legislation outlines a regulatory cap-and-trade system with provisions for significant domestic forest-related offsets.

Low-lying coastal areas are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as they are highly prone for inundation to SLR (Sea-Level Rise). This study presents an appraisal of the impacts of SLR on the coastal natural resources and its dependent social communities in the low-lying area of Vellar–Coleroon estuarine region of the Tamil Nadu coast, India. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from SRTM 90M (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) data, along with GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques are used to identify an area of inundation in the study site.

People in southern Africa are facing escalating levels of risk, uncertainty and consequently vulnerability as a result of multiple interacting stressors, including HIV/AIDS, poverty, food insecurity, weak governance, climate change and land degradation, to name but a few. Vulnerability or livelihood insecurity emerges when poor people as individuals or social units have to face harmful threats or shocks with inadequate capacity to respond effectively. In such situations, people often have no choice but to turn to their immediate environment for support.

Global agriculture lies in intersection of two inescapable issues of the present times, viz. keeping pace with growing food demand and participating in climate change mitigation efforts. Rice cultivation is a major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and no tillage of soil is becoming popular due to low economic investments with improved soil conditions. However, how these arrangements will affect GHG emissions need to be quantified.

We attempt to describe and explain the peculiarly restricted distribution of the globally threatened Ethiopian Bush-crow Zavattariornis stresemanni. At a regional scale, models containing only correlates of land cover suggested a far wider distribution of suitable habitat in north-east Africa than the area actually occupied. However, models including only climate variables predicted the known distribution almost perfectly, and suggested that the species’ area of occupancy is delimited by a pocket of climate that is cooler, dryer and more seasonal than surrounding areas.