title: Functional and spatial pressures on terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica forced by global warming

authors: Green, T.G. Allan

subjects: Antarctica

abstract: There is growing interest in what controls the present distribution of terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica because of the potential use of biodiversity as an indicator or predictor of the effects of climate change. Recent advances in knowledge of distribution and ecophysiological performance of terrestrial vegetation means that an initial analysis of the potential influence of temperature is now possible. Regressions of species numbers of lichens, mosses and hepatics on latitude and mean annual temperature (standard macroclimatic data) were carried out, and the terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica could be divided into two zones. The microenvironmental zone lies south of around 72°S, and biodiversity (richness and location) is uncoupled from the macroenvironment and is, instead, determined by the occasional coincidences of warmth, water, light and shelter. The macroenvironmental zone lies north of about 72°S, and biodiversity (richness, cover and growth) is strongly positively linked to mean annual temperature; species numbers increase at about 9–10% per K (24.0, 9.3 and 1.8 species for lichens, mosses and hepatics, respectively) probably due to improved water availability through increased precipitation and longer active period (monthly degree-days also reach zero at about 72°S) allowing greater productivity, completion of metabolic processes and a switch from survival to growth strategies. Cyanobacterial lichens appear to be a special case and may be expanding after being forced into northerly refugia. Warming will cause a southward movement of the boundary between the two zones but distribution in the microenvironmental zone will remain determined by local coincidences of environment and resources.

text: Functional and spatial pressures on terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica forced by global warming There is growing interest in what controls the present distribution of terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica because of the potential use of biodiversity as an indicator or predictor of the effects of climate change. Recent advances in knowledge of distribution and ecophysiological performance of terrestrial vegetation means that an initial analysis of the potential influence of temperature is now possible. Regressions of species numbers of lichens, mosses and hepatics on latitude and mean annual temperature (standard macroclimatic data) were carried out, and the terrestrial vegetation in Antarctica could be divided into two zones. The microenvironmental zone lies south of around 72°S, and biodiversity (richness and location) is uncoupled from the macroenvironment and is, instead, determined by the occasional coincidences of warmth, water, light and shelter. The macroenvironmental zone lies north of about 72°S, and biodiversity (richness, cover and growth) is strongly positively linked to mean annual temperature; species numbers increase at about 9–10% per K (24.0, 9.3 and 1.8 species for lichens, mosses and hepatics, respectively) probably due to improved water availability through increased precipitation and longer active period (monthly degree-days also reach zero at about 72°S) allowing greater productivity, completion of metabolic processes and a switch from survival to growth strategies. Cyanobacterial lichens appear to be a special case and may be expanding after being forced into northerly refugia. Warming will cause a southward movement of the boundary between the two zones but distribution in the microenvironmental zone will remain determined by local coincidences of environment and resources.

year: 2011

title: The role of mass-movement in shore platform development along the Gisborne coastline, New Zealand

authors: McLean, R.F.

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: Tidal shore platforms form a conspicuous part of the coastal scenery north of Gisborne, New Zealand. Some of these platforms are being extended landward under present-day conditions. Present widening results primarily from cliff-retreat by mass-movement. The coincidence in distribution of areas of wave convergence, mass-movement and shore platforms suggests a genetic connection between these marine and subaerial process and response elements. Various types of mass-movement are involved in cliff-retreat, notably slumps, flows, debris slides and soil and rock falls. While the products of such mass-movement forms are removed by wave action, extensive boulder fields on some shore platforms indicate that removal is not always complete. Not all of the shore platforms on this coast are being widened at present. Widening has ceased where active mass-movement is not occurring.

text: The role of mass-movement in shore platform development along the Gisborne coastline, New Zealand Tidal shore platforms form a conspicuous part of the coastal scenery north of Gisborne, New Zealand. Some of these platforms are being extended landward under present-day conditions. Present widening results primarily from cliff-retreat by mass-movement. The coincidence in distribution of areas of wave convergence, mass-movement and shore platforms suggests a genetic connection between these marine and subaerial process and response elements. Various types of mass-movement are involved in cliff-retreat, notably slumps, flows, debris slides and soil and rock falls. While the products of such mass-movement forms are removed by wave action, extensive boulder fields on some shore platforms indicate that removal is not always complete. Not all of the shore platforms on this coast are being widened at present. Widening has ceased where active mass-movement is not occurring.

year: 1968

title: "Kia Mauri Tau!" Narratives of recovery from disabling mental health problems

authors: Lapsley, Hilary

subjects: Maori

abstract: A bicultural research team at the University of Waikato successfully applied for funding from the Health Research Council to do a qualitative research project in the area of ‘pathways to wellness’. The Mental Health Narratives Project set out to gather forty narratives of mental ill health, recovery and life after recovery by interviewing Maori and non-Maori women and men who once had a disabling mental health problem. We aimed to describe journeys to mental health, identify key themes in accounts of the recovery process and describe the impact of the experience of mental ill health on life after recovery.

text: "Kia Mauri Tau!" Narratives of recovery from disabling mental health problems A bicultural research team at the University of Waikato successfully applied for funding from the Health Research Council to do a qualitative research project in the area of ‘pathways to wellness’. The Mental Health Narratives Project set out to gather forty narratives of mental ill health, recovery and life after recovery by interviewing Maori and non-Maori women and men who once had a disabling mental health problem. We aimed to describe journeys to mental health, identify key themes in accounts of the recovery process and describe the impact of the experience of mental ill health on life after recovery.

year: 2002