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Qatar University Life Science Symposium 2016: Biodiversity, Sustainability and Climate Change, with Perspectives from Qatar
- Conference date: 4-5 Dec 2016
- Location: Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
- Volume number: 2016
- Published: 30 November 2016
1 - 20 of 49 results
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oa The myth of sustainability under the current economic model
More LessQatar like its sisters in the GCC are countries born with multiple disabilities. First and foremost of them is the lack of fundamental resources such as water and food. The endowment of hydrocarbon resources and the influx of liquidity into the economies of these small city states lead them to make choices that were at the time seen to lead to a path of development and greater prosperity but they are also unsustainable and ri Read More
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oa Improving technology one molecule at the time
More LessAn example and the history of improving technology one molecule at the time will be presented. Halogenated organic compounds play an important role in atmospheric and environmental chemistry. There has recently been an extensive review of the atmospheric chemistry of halogenated organic compounds. The most current understanding of sources, emissions, atmospheric concentrations and environment Read More
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oa Global change impacts: How QNRF addresses those key scientific and societal issues
More LessClimate 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 g Read More
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oa Climate change in Qatar
More LessGlobal Warming is global concern nowadays that is related to most if not all of the human activities and their lives. Due to its impact so many conferences, bodies and panels have been conducted to conserve our habitat and sustain the planet for the future generations. Qatar, due to its harsh conditions and as being a peninsula, would suffer from the several impacts of climate change. On 2008, the Qatar National Vision Read More
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oa Climate change, the Anthropocene and planetary boundaries
By Will SteffenClimate 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 s Read More
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oa Dangerous anthropogenic climate change. Are we closer than we think? A 2016 update
By Jeff ObbardIn this presentation, I will outline the fundamentals of climate change science with respect to ‘real-world’ climate observations, and evidence from the Earth's paleoclimate (climate history) record. In particular, I will highlight evidence showing that the Earth's energy budget is no longer in balance (i.e. there is more energy coming into the earth-atmospheric system than going out), and outline the risks of non-linear change Read More
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oa Agriculture sustainable development, where the focus should be?
More LessAs 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 impr Read More
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oa Agriculture in a changing climate: Learning from the east Canadian situation
More LessThe impact of climate change on agriculture differs depending on the region and sector of activity. Predictive models suggest that climate change in eastern Canada will overall result in increased temperatures, changed precipitations patterns, and overall longer cropping seasons. Both modelling and actual experimentation in controlled environments and in fields suggest that yield response will vary depending on the cr Read More
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oa Qatar's vision of global problems, challenges and solutions
More LessSince 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. T Read More
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oa Climate change is just the tip of the iceberg!
More LessMuch political and scientific focus has been on climate change in recent years. What is really unique about climate change, however, is that it has reminded us that there are limits to how much environmental change humans can induce without undermining the basis of our existence and triggered an understanding that local and regional environmental management is not enough. Climate change has taught us that we als Read More
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oa Does allelopathy increase invasiveness of Prosopis juliflora (sw.) Dc in arid land environment?
More LessProsopis 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. Read More
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oa The potential impact of climate change on linkages between above and below ground communities in low diversity ecosystems in extreme environments
More LessThere is growing evidence that ecosystem function depend on biodiversity. For example, experimental studies with different number of plant species show that microbial biomass, fungal abundance and N mineralisation rates increase with increasing plant diversity. Global warming is expected to have major impacts on ecosystems in future, influencing biodiversity in a wide range of ecosystems. Specifically, low diversi Read More
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oa Responses of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change manipulation: Effects of open field experimental warming and precipitation manipulation on ecophysiological characteristics of plants
Authors: Yowhan Son and Hanna ChangIt 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. Th Read More
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oa Preliminary results on carbon and nutrients fluxes at the sediment-water interface in natural and planted mangroves, central Arabian Gulf
Authors: Yousra Soliman and Jassim Al-KhayatDespite the many ecological services and benefits provided by the mangrove ecosystem, deforestation of mangrove ecosystem for industrial and other development has caused irreversible damage in coastal regions throughout the world and in the Arabian Gulf. In 1980s, transplantation of mangrove in Qatar's coastal areas was approached as an effort to restore some of the lost mangrove. However the growth of the trans Read More
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oa Urban blue-green infrastructure and health: can the UK experience inform future developments in Qatar?
More LessThe 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, ther Read More
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oa Future development of the air transport sector – implications for sustainable development
More LessAviation is critical to social and economic development. Demand is strong and growing. Gulf region economic development is particularly reliant upon air transport. But environmental issues threaten the growth of the industry at a local (airport) and global (airline) level. Issues such as noise, energy use, water use, climate change, peak oil all threaten the potential for aviation to support sustainable development in the longer t Read More
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oa Towards sustainable energy transition in the wake of climate change
Authors: Olaf Sleijpen, Nasser S. Al-Mohannadi and Mike BowmanThere 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 tempera Read More
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oa Towards systematic approaches for the development of carbon dioxide management policy and strategy
Authors: Patrick Linke and Dhabia M. Al-MohannadiIn Qatar, the energy and basic materials industries together with the utility sector account for significant carbon, energy and water footprints. Individual plants responsible for footprints are clustered in industrial parks, resulting in spatially concentrated, stationary footprints. Individual companies operating plants and the industrial cities at large are challenged to respond to ambitious, emerging footprint reduction targe Read More
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oa Dynamics (seasonal and intra-diurnal) of air-borne fungal spore population of Doha area, Qatar
Authors: Raghda K. Fayad and Mohammed H. Abu-DieyehThe 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 Read More
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oa Allelopathic effects of the invasive Prosopis juliflora (sw.) Dc. On seed germination of selected Qatari native plant species
Authors: Shazia Bibi and Mohammed H. Abu-DieyehP. juliflora is highly recognized for its invasive character and its detrimental effects on different plant species due to the presence of allelochemicals across the world. The purpose of this study is to assess the allelopathic effects of crude water extracts of P. juliflora on selected Qatari flora. In order to achieve the goals, aqueous extract of P. juliflora was made by immersing 100 g/l of powdered parts of plant in warm distilled w Read More
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