FIT Consulting (Italy)

Tropical peatland forests are significant sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHG), yet the relative contributions of soil and tree stem fluxes have remained poorly quantified, particularly CH4 and N2O fluxes across gradients of nutrient availability. We conducted simultaneous measurements of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes from both soil and tree stems using soil and stem chamber in two contrasting tropical peat swamp forests: a nutrient-rich in Quistococha, Peru and a nutrient-poor in Maludam, Sarawak, Malaysia. Our results showed higher soil CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes from Quistococha nutrient-rich forest. Tree stem respiration was consistently higher in the nutrient-poor forest across all dominant species in both forests. Tree stem CH4 fluxes exhibited distinct patterns, with significantly higher emissions from the nutrient-rich forest, while displaying species-specific behaviour among dominant tree species. Mauritia flexuosa palm stems in Quistococha showed high emission of CH4 from stems with potential CH4 sinks from specific species from both forests. N2O emissions were also species-specific and higher from the nutrient-rich forest, with negligible fluxes observed from the species in the nutrient-poor forest. From stem fluxes to tree fluxes upscaling, we found that the majority of total ecosystem GHG flux originated from soil with minimal contribution from the dominant tree species. In conclusion, these findings highlighted tree stems from tropical peatland can act as sources and sinks and that nutrient availability influence on the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions.

The stratosphere is often considered to be dynamically stable with limited vertical exchange; however, episodic deep convection can even transport tropospheric air masses into the upper troposphere (UT) and even across the tropopause into lower stratosphere (LS). We deployed a newly developed airborne single particle mass spectrometer, Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry – Next Generation (PALMS-NG), aboard a NASA ER-2 stratospheric aircraft to characterize aerosol particles in the UTLS during the Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) mission. Here, we present observations revealing substantial perturbations of the stratospheric aerosol layer during an active convection and wildfire season in 2022.We show that carbonaceous–sulfate particles of tropospheric origin account for up to 90% of stratospheric particles with physical diameters between 0.1 and 1.5 µm within an approximately 4 km layer above the tropopause. Approximately 43% of these stratospheric carbonaceous–sulfate particles are directly attributed to biomass burning. The injected particles are chemically complex and organic-rich, and some exhibit internally mixed signatures containing both tropospheric and stratospheric components.Our observations further demonstrate that biomass-burning-related aerosols do not remain chemically unchanged following injections into the stratosphere. Instead, they undergo chemical mixing with stratospheric components, indicating a pronounced perturbation of the stratospheric aerosol layer driven by convective transport.These results highlight the coupling between dynamics and chemistry in modulating UTLS aerosol populations. As wildfire frequency and intensity increase alongside enhanced deep convection in a warming climate, convective delivery of biomass-burning products to the stratosphere may become increasingly important, with implications for ozone chemistry and radiative forcing.

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى استكشاف تصوّرات المعلمات العربيات في الداخل الفلسطيني حول دمج التعلّم الاجتماعي–العاطفي مع التعلّم الرقمي، والكشف عن تجاربهن المهنية والوجدانية في هذا السياق، واتجاهاتهن المستقبلية نحو هذا الدمج. اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج النوعي التفسيري، وتم جمع البيانات من خلال مقابلات شبه مهيكلة أُجريت مع خمس معلمات يعملن في مدارس عربية داخل الخط الأخضر. جرى تحليل البيانات باستخدام التحليل الموضوعاتي، حيث أظهرت النتائج وجود إجماع واضح بين المشاركات حول أهمية التعليم الرقمي كواقع تربوي قائم، إلى جانب الحاجة الملحّة إلى الموازنة بين البعد التقني والبعد الاجتماعي–العاطفي في العملية التعليمية. كما كشفت النتائج عن الدور المحوري للذكاء العاطفي لدى المعلمة في إنجاح التعليم الرقمي، وعن إمكانيات الفضاء الرقمي في دعم التعبير عن مشاعر الطلبة وبناء علاقة تربوية داعمة. توصي الدراسة بضرورة تطوير برامج استكمال مهني تدمج بين المهارات التقنية والوجدانية، وبإعادة تصميم سياسات التعليم الرقمي بما يضع الإنسان في مركز العملية التعليمية.

Sport tourism, business events, festivals, and mass gatherings draw crowds that contribute to tourism and community development. However, extreme weather is disrupting events globally, exposing organisers and host destinations to risk as climate changes. This research analyses events affected by extreme weather in terms of location, purpose, and format using a global sample of 2,091 events reported as disrupted from 2004-2024. Qualitative insights are shared about the size, financial effects, and complexity of encounters, along with connections to extreme weather attribution research. While limited data prevents firm conclusions about global incidents, patterns related to crowds and trends over time in mature, English-speaking event economies (the US, UK, Canada, and Australia) are discussed, including the apparent increase in incidents across these countries. Overall, storms and their effects are found to be the most disruptive type of weather, however, there is regional variation. Arts, culture and entertainment events, particularly festivals and concerts, bear the brunt of impacts, followed by social and sporting events, although the picture varies among the four countries analysed. Findings help event organisers, destinations, and emergency managers better understand the specific weather risks that impact the timing, location, format, and viability of events, providing insights that can improve adaptation and resilience.

The integration of different agroecological practices could significantly mitigate the impact of climate change. Therefore, a 2-year field experiment on organic zucchini was carried out to study the effects of clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) cover crop management (green manure, GM vs. flattening using a roller crimper, RC), compared to a control without cover (CT). This agroecological practice was tested in combination with the following different fertilizer treatments: T1. compost produced by co-composting coal mining wastes with municipal organic wastes compost plus urea; T2. compost produced with the same matrices as T1, replacing urea with lawn mowing residues; T3. non-composted mixture of the industrial matrices; T4. on-farm compost obtained from crop residues. The GM management showed the highest marketable yield and aboveground biomass of zucchini, with both values higher by approximately 38% than those recorded in CT. The T1, T2, and T3 treatments showed higher SOC values compared to T4 in both years, with a gradual increase in SOC over time. The residual effect of fertilization on SOC showed a smaller reduction in T3 and T4 than in T1 and T2, in comparison with the levels recorded during the fertilization years, indicating a higher persistence of the applied organic matter in these treatments. The findings of this study pointed out that combining organic fertilization and cover cropping is an effective agroecological practice to maintain adequate zucchini yields and enhance SOC levels in the Mediterranean environment.