Impact of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 on islands and relevance to future sunlight-blocking catastrophes

Comprehensive review: Effects of climate change and greenhouse gases emission relevance to environmental stress on horticultural crops and management

Global climate change exerts a significant impact on sustainable horticultural crop production and quality. Rising Global temperatures have compelled the agricultural community to adjust planting and harvesting schedules, often necessitating earlier crop cultivation. Notably, climate change introduces a suite of ominous factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions (CGHs), including elevated temperature, increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) ozone depletion (O3), and deforestation, all of which intensify environmental stresses on crops. Consequently, climate change stands poised to adversely affect crop yields and livestock production. Therefore, the primary objective of the review article is to furnish a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted factors influencing horticulture production, encompassing fruits, vegetables, and plantation crops with a particular emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental stressors such as high temperature, drought, salinity, and emission of CO2. Additionally, this review will explore the implementation of novel horticultural crop varieties and greenhouse technology that can contribute to mitigating the adverse impact of climate change on agricultural crops.

Die Dinosaurier und das Weltklima

Der Einschlag des im Durchmesser 14 km messenden Asteroiden vor 66 Millionen Jahren auf unserem Planeten kam urplötzlich – und hatte gravierende Folgen 1. Geologisch hinterließ er im Durchmesser den 180 km messenden Chicxulub-Krater auf der mexikanischen Halbinsel Yukatan, biologisch war er der Anfang vom Ende der Dinosaurier. Von diesen „schrecklichen Echsen“ (griechisch: „deinos sauros“) stammen die beindruckend großen Fossilien, welche heute in Naturkundemuseen weltweit zu bestaunen sind. Das mit diesem Ereignis verbundene Sterben von drei Vierteln aller Arten – nicht nur bei den Sauriern – als Folge eines globalen Winters und einer anschließenden anhaltenden Abkühlung erstreckte sich vermutlich über Tausende von Jahren. Es markierte den Übergang von der Kreidezeit in ein neues Erdzeitalter, welches insbesondere den Säugetieren neue ökologische Nischen zur weiteren erfolgreichen Entfaltung bot. Es war das fünfte massenhafte Artensterben innerhalb der letzten 500 Millionen Jahre gewesen. Deren Auslöser waren neben dem beschriebenen Asteroideneinschlag (Ereignis fünf) eine rasche alternierende Abfolge von Kalt- und Warmzeiten (Ereignis eins), eine globale Kaltzeit infolge der Besiedlung des Landes durch Pflanzen (Ereignis zwei), intensive vulkanische Aktivitäten mit Übersäuerung durch Kohlendioxid und Schwefelwasserstoffe zu Lande und zu Wasser (Ereignis drei) sowie tiefseeische Vulkanausbrüche mit globaler Erwärmung und chemischen Veränderungen in den Ozeanen (Ereignis vier) 2.

Global tree growth resilience to cold extremes following the Tambora volcanic eruption

Although the global climate is warming, external forcing driven by explosive volcanic eruptions may still cause abrupt cooling. The 1809 and 1815 Tambora eruptions caused lasting cold extremes worldwide, providing a unique lens that allows us to investigate the magnitude of global forest resilience to and recovery from volcanic cooling. Here, we show that growth resilience inferred from tree-ring data was severely impacted by cooling in high latitudes and elevations: the average tree growth decreased substantially (up to 31.8%), especially in larch forests, and regional-scale probabilities of severe growth reduction (below -2σ) increased up to 1390%. The influence of the eruptions extended longer (beyond the year 1824) in mid- than in high-latitudes, presumably due to the combined impacts of cold and drought stress. As Tambora-size eruptions statistically occur every 200-400 years, assessing their influences on ecosystems can help humankind mitigate adverse impacts on natural resources through improved management, especially in high latitude and elevation regions.

Mathematical optimization of frost resistant crop production to ensure food supply during a nuclear winter catastrophe

This study aimed to estimate the optimal mix of frost resistant crops and land area needed to provide basic nutrition during various nuclear winter scenarios for New Zealand (NZ), a temperate island nation. It used linear programming to minimize land area required for cropping while producing enough food to achieve dietary energy and protein requirements for the whole population. The potential agricultural impacts of three nuclear winter scenarios on NZ, were sourced from the literature. The optimized combinations of frost resistant crops that were found to feed the entire population were, in descending order: wheat and carrots; sugar beet; oats; onions and carrots; cabbage and barley; canola and cabbage; linseed and parsnip; rye and lupins; swede and field beans; and cauliflower. But in terms of current production levels of these frost resistant crops in NZ, there would be a 26% shortfall for the "war without a nuclear winter" scenario and a 71% shortfall for the severe nuclear winter scenario (150 Tg of soot in the stratosphere with a 61% decline in crop yields). In conclusion, at current production levels, frost resistant food crops could not feed all NZ citizens following a nuclear war. There is a need for the NZ Government to conduct a detailed pre-war analysis on how these shortfalls are best addressed. For example, by: increased pre-war production of these crops and/or post-war scalability; growing enough frost sensitive crops (i.e., in greenhouses or the warmest parts of the country); and/or ensuring continuing production of food derived from livestock fed on frost resistant grasses.