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DTSTART:19700329T010000
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UID:1156
SUMMARY:What kind of 'sustainability' might African Anthropogenic Dark Earths and their social and ecological context point to?
DESCRIPTION:Today we face grand challenges in ensuring food security in the face of climate change. Commentators suggest that 'Anthropogenic Dark Earths' - high fertility carbon rich soils that are most well known as a legacy of pre-Columbian populations in Amazonia - could inspire solutions to achieving 'sustainable intensification,' or 'climate-smart agriculture,' especially in food and climate insecure regions such as West Africa. I will present interdisciplinary research that shows how Loma speaking Mande people in North-western Liberia have been creating and manipulating anthropogenic soils that are analogous to those in the Amazon fairly continuously since the late 1600's. I will show that these soils contribute to food security, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation; and therefore a certain kind of 'sustainability' in the region. The formation and use of these soils, however, is deeply embedded in local ontologies (think landscapes saturated with the presence of ancestors and pervasive initiation societies), in steady-state (rather than growth oriented) economies, and in a society that operates on multi-generational (rather than working-lifetime) timescales. I will argue that attending to the broader social and ecological context in which African Dark Earths form might point to alternative development pathways that are very different to our current growth-at-any-cost model.\n\n\nJames Fraser joined LEC in March 2013 as Lecturer in International Development and Natural Resources. Prior to this he taught Geography and Anthropology for a year at Universidad de Los Andes and Universidad Nacional in Bogota, Colombia. This followed 10 months research in Libeira, West Africa, on a Sussex postdoc. He received his PhD in Environmental Anthropology in 2010 at the University of Sussex, during which he conducted 2 years fieldwork in the Brazilian Amazon. He also holds an MSc (with distinction) in Management of Agricultural Knowledge Systems from Wageningen University (2003), and a BScEcon in Development Studies from the University of Wales, Swansea (2001).
DTSTART:20130522T123000
DTEND:20130522T133000
LOCATION:LEC Training Room 1
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UID:1146
SUMMARY:Barking up the right tree: what hydrological benefits can be expected realistically from tropical reforestation programmes?
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Perceived hydrological benefits of tropical reforestation programmes have come under severe scrutiny in recent years with "public" and "scientific" views differing widely. Some would argue that the "scientific" perception tends to overemphasise the high water use of trees while downplaying or even ignoring such positive aspects of forestation as enhanced infiltration and soil protection. In this talk the state of play will be presented with regard to the impacts of reforesting (degraded) tropical land in terms of changes in annual and seasonal water yield based on examples from the literature and ongoing work by the Amsterdam Critical Zone Hydrology Group. \n\nAbout the speaker: Sampurno Bruijnzeel is a professor of Land Use and Hydrology with 38 years of experience with forest hydrological research in the humid tropics of South-east Asia and the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Central America. His main research interests include the hydrological functioning of tropical montane cloud forests, plantation hydrology, erosion and sedimentation, and ecosystem productivity and nutrient cycling issues. He heads the Amsterdam Critical zone Hydrology Group and the Amsterdam Centre for RESearch on Restoration, Reforestation and Regreening (ACRES_R3) - a recently erected platform for the generation and exchange of knowledge to promote the regreening of degraded land worldwide. In 2005 he received the Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of the U.K. for his contributions to biosphere research in the humid tropics.
DTSTART:20130522T150000
DTEND:20130522T160000
LOCATION:LEC Training Rooms 1 And 2
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UID:1168
SUMMARY:Misunderstood, overweight, henpecked, too few papers and home flooded? Riverine vegetation (not you!) in a multistressor environment
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Matthew O'Hare is Senior Aquatic Botanist at CEH Edinburgh. He is interested in factors influencing the ecology of aquatic plants in the UK, especially river plants. These factors include herbivory and eutrophication but his major focus is on the interaction between water flow and the plants.
DTSTART:20130605T120000
DTEND:20130605T130000
LOCATION:LEC Training Rooms 1 And 2
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UID:1163
SUMMARY:Chasing the High Fliers: Recent Advances in the Study of Insect Migration
DESCRIPTION:Billions of insects migrate between winter and summer ranges to take advantage of seasonally-available breeding resources. To cover the distances required (100s km), many insects rely on wind assistance, and routinely ascend 100s m above the ground to migrate in fast-moving airstreams. Given that wind speeds are typically three to five times faster than the insects' airspeeds, it was not clear what influence high-flying migrants could exert on their migration direction or whether substantial 'return' migrations to lower-latitude winter-breeding areas were possible. To answer these questions, Dr Chapman has studied the flight behavior and migration patterns of the Silver Y moth (Autographa gamma) and the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) with specialized entomological radars. Radar observations demonstrate that an ability to select favorable fast-moving airstreams is widespread among high-flying migrant Lepidoptera, and thus migrants gain considerable wind assistance for their seasonal migrations. Comparison of moth migration parameters with those of nocturnal songbirds demonstrates that the moths' highly efficient strategies result in them achieving the same travel speeds and directions as birds capable of flying three times faster. \n\nRelevant Publications:\nChapman JW et al (2012). Seasonal migration to high latitudes results in major reproductive benefits in an insect. PNAS 109: 14924-14929.\nAlerstam T & Chapman JW et al (2011). Convergent patterns of long-distance nocturnal migration in noctuid moths and passerine birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278: 3074-3080.\nChapman JW, Nesbit RL, Burgin LE, Reynolds DR, Smith AD, Middleton DR and Hill JK (2010). Flight orientation behaviours promote optimal migration trajectories in high-flying insects. Science 327: 682-685.\n\nALL WELCOME
DTSTART:20130617T160000
DTEND:20130617T170000
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 10, Management School Building
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