Nature Communications上发表的一篇论文报告说,旨在逆转当前森林砍伐趋势的保护项目也可能有利于近岸珊瑚礁生态系统。这项工作表明,区域土地利用管理对于减少马达加斯加岛上的珊瑚礁沉积来说要比起促成作用的气候变化更重要。
河流上游的森林覆盖已知会影响被冲到海边的沉积物。近岸珊瑚礁系统,如马达加斯加岛上的那些近岸珊瑚礁系统,所接受的沉积物供应量正在增加,原因是森林被转化成了其他土地利用形式。Joseph Maina及其同事就一系列未来气候变化预测和土地利用变化情景对与马达加斯加岛上的主要珊瑚礁生态系统相联系的四个流域中的河道水流和沉积物供应进行了模拟。他们发现,河流上游森林砍伐的影响超过了气候变化的不利影响(如气温的升高)。他们提出,用在解决森林砍伐的环境问题上的资源因此也可能有助于保护沿海地区的珊瑚礁生态系统。(生物谷Bioon.com)
Nature Communications, DOI:10.1038/ncomms2986
Human deforestation outweighs future climate change impacts of sedimentation on coral reefs
Joseph Maina,Hans de Moel,Jens Zinke,Joshua Madin,Tim McClanahan& Jan E. Vermaat
Near-shore coral reef systems are experiencing increased sediment supply due to conversion of forests to other land uses. Counteracting increased sediment loads requires an understanding of the relationship between forest cover and sediment supply, and how this relationship might change in the future. Here we study this relationship by simulating river flow and sediment supply in four watersheds that are adjacent to Madagascar’s major coral reef ecosystems for a range of future climate change projections and land-use change scenarios. We show that by 2090, all four watersheds are predicted to experience temperature increases and/or precipitation declines that, when combined, result in decreases in river flow and sediment load. However, these climate change-driven declines are outweighed by the impact of deforestation. Consequently, our analyses suggest that regional land-use management is more important than mediating climate change for influencing sedimentation of Malagasy coral reefs.