Qatar University Life Science Symposium 2016: Biodiversity, Sustainability and Climate Change, with Perspectives from Qatar

Climate change, and more generally Global Change issues have become a major field of environmental research for now more than 20 years. It is also an important component of the Qatar National Research Strategy. Qatar is already strongly committed to develop a more sustainable economy and diversified economy, as clearly stated in the National 2030 Vision.

A large part of QNRF initiatives are aligned with those goals, as about 30 to 40% of the awarded projects by QNRF are dealing with sustainability topics. This covers in particular environmental issues, sustainable construction, low carbon energy technologies, renewable energies, risks related to regional climate change, CO2 emissions abatement technologies. QNRF addresses those scientific issues through its main collaborative research program NPRP, but also joined recently the Belmont Forum, a network of 25 funding agencies worldwide to support international calls on Global Change research.

Climate change may induces many changes on the environment in the Gulf region in the forthcoming decades. Those changes may induce ecological risks, but also risks for the health population and the infrastructures. How important are these risks? Do they cumulate?

If Global climate change scenarios are consistent, there is still a lot of uncertainty about climate change scenarios in the Gulf region, compared to other regions which are well documented such as the Mediterranean region or Northern Europe. Modeling of climate change at regional scale is a key issue to better define decadal trends, prevent extreme events or the impact on marine life.

On another hand, R&D priority themes also focus on strengthening the national expertise to support the definition of mitigation strategies at governmental level.

Climate change is often called humanity's biggest challenge of the 21st century, especially following on from the ambitious targets of the Paris climate summit. But climate change is a part of something bigger – the advent of the Anthropocene, the proposed new epoch in Earth history. This talk will focus on climate change in the context of the Anthropocene, taking a longer term perspective on the trajectory of the climate system in the Anthropocene. In particular, the talk will explore the magnitude and rate of contemporary climate change compared to previous shifts in the climate system over the past several million years, and will use this knowledge to project the potential trajectory of the climate system over the next century or two. Finally, the planetary boundaries framework will be introduced as a useful tool to guide further human development towards sustainability, as defined as a safe operating space of the Earth System.

As the world embarks on the implementation of the 2030 development agenda and discuss the metrics that will allow a proper monitoring and evaluation, one of the embarrassing questions is “who have been left behind the MDGs agenda and why”? and “where the focus should be for a proper Agriculture Sustainable Development?” Several analysis show that those poor who have not been reached by past efforts to improve incomes and food security are those living with one or more types of marginality. Mostly smallholders confined into biophysical and/or social-economic marginalities. To lift these populations and communities out of poverty, innovative technologies and methodologies are required. These innovations should focus on crop diversification, efficient inputs management, and better postharvest transformation. In that perspective, Neglected and underutilized species, also known as “Orphan crops”, will be crucial not only for achieving 0 hunger and 0 poverty (SDG1-SDG2) but also for a better Nutrition Security (SDG3).

Since Qatar first signed the Biodiversity Convention in Rio in 1992, Qatar has been a strong advocate with keen interest in sustainability and the preservation of its biodiversity noting that advancement in industry should not compensate Qatar environment for future generations. This is spelled out in the Constitution of Qatar. Qatar's National Vision 2030 set in 2008 sets 4 main development focus points for the country. These are: Human, Social, Economic and the Environment. Government authorities are all working in collaboration with local stockholders and interested partners including foreign companies to advance aspects of Qatar Vision 2030 through world solutions with applicable operations. Climate Change is now known to have an impact on both natural and cultural resources. Meanwhile, the World has been seeking solutions to safeguard our Planet. Recent awareness of the colossal effect of Climate Change on the whole Plant brought the world partners once more together (Paris COP21) to seek a solution that in their hope would restrict the Global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius!!! New concepts include the initiative “North America Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (NACSAA) –(Application of Climate Science to Agriculture and Forestry) to find means to cope with climatic warming. The prospect is to introduce in farming what would be highly productive and sustainable. Combating pollution and bio invasions is yet another aspect for concern. In 2010, it was reported that 14% of global gas emission were from the Transport Sector. Recently Smart Transportation to combat climate change came in as a solution. To reduce/prevent pollution and introduce sustainable Solid waste Management is yet another world concern linked to Climate Change. Qatar is a small country that is highly populated due to the large numbers of workers in all aspects of life in Qatar. Major concerns are food and water security and waste management. Qatar has no natural rivers or lakes and the only source of their water's needs come from the numerous desalination plants. Fish is a main diet for Qatar and the Natural Gas, the main revenue of Qatar, lies in the sea. The negative impact of desalination plants, coastal development, overfishing, and others couples with rising temperatures and high evaporation threaten these vital resources. These also have a negative impact on marine life in the Arabian Gulf and threaten Qatar marine biodiversity and sustainability (bearing in mind that a number of other Gulf States are in the same situation). The Arabian Gulf is now the sea with the highest salinity. Ground water resource has been used for Agriculture which does not sustain the local needs. This is suffering from overuse and poor precipitation. Qatar with over 85% of its land a stony desert, cannot practice agriculture following the old traditional methods. Qatar stands unique in providing financial means for advance and applied research to address relevant problems. Energy, Food Security, Water resource, Sustainability, Climate Change, Combating desertification are a few of some of Qatar's set priorities. Smart solutions must be found and Qatar has already taken steps addressing some of these challenges.

Prosopis juliflora is highly recognized for its invasive character and its detrimental effects on different plant species across the world due to possessing allelochemicals. Our field observations indicated high prevalence of new recruitments of P. juliflora than other native associated plants in the study site. The purpose of this study is to assess the allelopathic effects of aqueous extracts of P. juliflora on selected Qatari flora. 100 g L^− 1 of powdered of plant leaves was used to prepare the stock extract and then diluted to reach the following concentration: 2 mg ml^− 1, 4 mg ml^− 1, 6 mg ml^− 1 and 8 mg ml^− 1 from stock were prepared. Acacia tortilis, Prosopis cineraria, Sueda aegyptica, and Halopeplis perfoliata, were negatively impacted by aqueous extract at different treatment levels. The results showed that although seed germinations of Acacia tortilis was not significantly affected by the extract, however a significant reduction was observed in radical lengths starting from a concentration as low as 2 mg ml^− 1. While low significant reduction (10%) was exerted on seed germination of Prosopis cineraria at higher concentrations of 6 mg ml^− 1 and 8 mg ml^− 1, the seed radical length was significantly reduced starting at the lowest concentration (2 mgml^− 1). The seed germination and seed radical length of Sueda aegyptica were reduced by almost 2-folds at the lowest concentration treatment (2 mg ml^− 1). Seed germination of Halopeplis perfoliata was also reduced significantly at concentration of 4 mg ml^− 1. Seedlings growth of Aeluropus lagopoides, Caroxylon imbricatum and Tetraena qatarensis were also evaluated after being subjected to P. juliflora extract. Although no significant differences in plant height of Aeluropus lagopoides occurred due to treatments, significant reduction in dry matter biomass were found at concentrations of 6 mg ml^− 1 and 8 mg ml^− 1 of extract compared to control plants. The seedling growth and dry biomass of Caroxylon imbricatum were significantly declined at higher concentration of 8 mg ml^− 1. However, the seedling growth and dry biomass of Tetraena qatarensis were significantly reduced at all treatment levels. Autotoxic effects of P. juliflora were also observed at concentrations of 6 mg ml^− 1 and 8 mg ml^− 1. Based on the research carried out, P. juliflora is invasive and utilize allelopathy as one major tool of its invasiveness. The species has detrimental effects on the Qatari native flora, and it is important to protect them from the growing spread of this invasive species.

It is expected that air temperature will increase and the pattern of precipitation will change. In Qatar, mean annual temperature and rainfall during winter have increased for the past 40 years. Changes in temperature and precipitation might influence ecosystem function such as productivity and nutrient cycling. Numerous climate change manipulation studies have examined the effect of climate change on ecosystem function. There are various methods for warming and precipitation manipulation; temperature can be increased by using greenhouse, open top chamber, infrared lamp and heating cable, and precipitation can be artificially manipulated by using panels to block out rain and water irrigation. However, there is a very limited number of experimental manipulation studies in arid regions compared to other ecosystems. We conducted three experimental warming and precipitation manipulation studies in Korea by using infrared lamp, transparent panel and irrigation system. Seed germination rate of Pinus densiflora and Abies holophylla increased by the warming treatment, and root collar diameter and height of 5 tree species seedlings out of 8 target tree species increased by the warming treatment. Also, the warming treatment extended the growing season by advanced leaf unfolding and delayed leaf senescence of P. densiflora and Quercus variabilis seedlings. Photosynthetic responses were species-specific to the warming treatment and net photosynthetic rate of P. densiflora seedlings decreased by the warming treatment with decreased precipitation. Based on our study, it appeared that the ecophysiological responses of seedlings to climate change manipulation varied by species. Further studies are needed to investigate the effects of multiple environmental factors including CO2 on ecophysiological characteristics of plants to climate change. In addition, long-term monitoring and modeling approaches should be simultaneously applied to understand regional climate change impact.

The benefits of urban green space for city residents has long been recognised. Indeed, in the UK, the impetus for the development of urban parks in the mid-1800s was specifically to benefit the public's health. More recently, the potential impacts on physical and mental health (both directly and indirectly) have become major drivers of the developing blue-green infrastructure strategies for many modern cities. However, there have been a number of questions raised about how easy it is to access green space for all communities and individuals. Factors associated with accessibility include the location and physical configuration of urban green space, including both real and perceived risks such as personal safety. In addition, it is becoming clear that access to natural environments has a cultural dimension and urban green space such as parks are no exception to this. The presentation will examine the current state of knowledge in the UK, where the park movement began and has more recently been revitalised. The cultural implications of green space development will be explored in the context of large modern cities. Implications for the design and development of blue-green infrastructure in Qatar will be discussed in the light of current UK developments.

There is growing awareness that climate change will have a substantial impact on countries' economic and financial development and the risks of financial institutions unless there are urgent mitigating actions taken to intervene and minimize these risks. An important factor in this respect is the agreement reached in Paris in December 2015 to reduce CO2 emissions in order to curb the increase in the rise in the average temperature to acceptable, minimally damaging levels, i.e. well below 2 degrees Celsius in 2030, and preferably only 1.5 degrees. This inevitably means that the composition of the demand for energy, and thus supply, will change. Fossil-fuel producing countries in the Gulf region and elsewhere are becoming increasingly aware of the need to gradually manage a diversification of their economies to reduce dependency on hydrocarbon revenues. The recent low oil prices have underscored the importance of this strategy. At the same time, energy consuming economies such as Europe, but also in Asia, are taking measures to reduce their dependency on hydrocarbons. There is a real possibility that intensively hydrocarbon consuming countries will have to take measures to comply with the climate targets set, by reducing the consumption of hydrocarbon significantly. Harsh measures are in particular needed when these countries start changing their policies relatively late. This risk is particularly important now, with low oil and gas prices, as these countries do not have an incentive to change their behavior in the short term. For the medium to long term it is possible that both hydrocarbon consuming and producing countries will be confronted with large negative economic consequences as a result of this. Hydrocarbon consuming countries will not be able to satisfy the demand for energy, as a switch to renewable energy sources will not be possible in a short period of time. At the same time, hydrocarbon producing countries will be deprived of an important market and oil and gas reserves will reduce in value substantially. This will also potentially have a negative impact on the shareholder value of major and supermajor independent oil and gas companies, especially important where this also underpins many developed economies. Further, innovation into renewables – which is happening at a massive scale - may allow energy consuming countries to switch more easily to these alternative forms of energy, despite the low oil and gas price. This scenario might be beneficial for fossil fuel consuming countries, but not at a global level. Indeed, in this scenario, the capacity of hydrocarbon producing countries to sell oil and gas to energy consuming countries will be adversely impacted. This scenario might not only have an adverse economic impact on the Gulf region but might also lead to political and social destabilization. Such a scenario might materialize in a relatively short span of time if no action is taken to create acceptable, commercially viable technology solutions that enable an orderly minimally damaging transition to a low carbon world. Texas A&M University in Qatar (TAMUQ) and Maastricht University in the Netherlands (UM) have initiated work to embark on a joint programme with respect to the energy transition challenge focusing on how to ensure an orderly, sustainable and benign energy transition scenario, beneficial for both hydrocarbon consuming and producing countries. It is based upon a minimally disruptive scenario where hydrocarbon consuming countries will continue to consume oil and gas, while GCC countries will continue to produce and sell hydrocarbon for a considerable time to come. In addition, climate targets will be achieved and GCC countries will have sufficient time for their diversification policies to be implemented.

The availability and dynamics of airborne fungal spores in the atmosphere are strongly influenced by the meteorological parameters and by other factors such as air pollutants. The aim of this study was to update the knowledge about the seasonal and diurnal variations in airborne fungal spores of Doha area and to correlate these variations with meteorological factors, and to investigate the influence of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and different culture media on the availability of fungal spores. From 106 settle plate exposures (on alternative days) throughout the period April 2015-March 2016, a total of 1197 mould- and 283 yeast colony-forming units (CFU), twenty one genera and 62 species were retrieved. The highest fungal spore's concentration was recorded in February 2016, whereas the lowest concentration occurred in August 2015. The main constituents of the fungal airspora were attributed to Cladosporium (60.2%), Aspergillus (10.4%), Fusarium (9.4%), Alternaria (8.5%), and Ganoderma spp. (2.3%). Cladosporium showed two peaks in April and February, while Fusarium and Alteranria peaked in July. Aspirgillus had one peak in August. The prevalence of Ganoderma spp. were exclusively detected in February and March. Temperature was significantly and negatively correlated with the total colony count and fungal species, however no significant correlation was found between relative humidity and both the total colony count and fungal species. Wind speed was significantly and positively correlated with the total colony count and fungal species. The correlation between rainfalls and either total colony count or fungal species was non-significant. Intra-diurnal fluctuations of fungal spores was investigated during the period of 1^st of Feb – 31^st of March 2016. The highest dispersal of fungal spores favored 18:00 h, whereas at 00:00 h (midnight) the lowest fungal spores release was recorded. No significant difference was observed in total number of fungal colonies or species collected with the two media Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and Rose Bengal media. Nevertheless, certain fungal taxa were highly selective and thus their growth rate was on one media much higher than with another. There were no significant differences in the composition and diversity of the airborne fungal population between two different study sites under the influence of atmospheric CO2 concentration, though daily concentration of CO2 was higher at the Industrial area site than at Qatar University Campus. Remarkably, the concentrations of Alternaria spp. and Fusarium spp. were significantly higher at Industrial area site in corresponding to CO2 than at Qatar University site.