The Holocene–Anthropocene transition in lakes of western Spitsbergen,Svalbard (Norwegian High Arctic): climate change and nitrogen deposition

Lake sediments from four small lakes on western Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago, Norwegian High Arctic) preserve biostratigraphic and isotopic evidence for a complex suite of twentieth century environmental changes. At Lake Skardtjørna and Lake Tjørnskardet on Nordenskiöldkysten, there is a marked diatom floristic change coupled to increased diatom concentrations beginning around 1920. At Lake Istjørna and Lake Istjørnelva, 25 km southwest of Longyearbyen, both diatom total valve and chrysophyte stomatocyst concentrations have increased dramatically since the beginning of the 1900s. The early twentieth century changes are probably related to climate warming after the Little Ice Age. However, the most pronounced changes in diatom assemblages seem to have occurred in the last few decades. At the same time, nitrogen stable isotopes in sediment organic matter in two of the lakes became progressively depleted by ~2‰, which is consistent with diffuse atmospheric inputs from anthropogenic sources and attendant fertilization. These data suggest that climate change and nitrogen deposition may be acting together in driving these lakes towards new ecological states that are unique in the context of the Holocene.     

Seasonal patterns of pollen sedimentation in Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees) and potential applications to high-resolution paleoecology: a 2-year pilot study

Lakes with varved sediments are especially well suited for paleoecological study, from annual to even seasonal resolution. The interpretative power of such high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstructions relies on the availability of modern analogs with the same temporal resolution. We studied seasonal pollen sedimentation in varved Lake Montcortès, Central Pyrenees (Spain), as a modern analog for high-resolution reconstruction of Late Holocene vegetation and landscape dynamics. Seasonal samples were obtained from sediment traps that were submerged near the maximum water depth for a 2-year period (fall 2013 to fall 2015). Seasonal pollen sedimentation was compared with meteorological variables from a nearby weather station. Bulk pollen sedimentation, dominated by Pinus (pine) and Quercus (oak), followed a clear seasonal pattern that peaked during the spring/summer, coinciding with maximum temperature and precipitation, minimum relative humidity and moderate winds from the SSE. Pollen sedimentation lags (PSL) were observed for most pollen types, as substantial amounts of pollen were found in the traps outside of their respective flowering seasons. Two pollen assemblages were clearly differentiated by their taxonomic composition, corresponding to spring/summer and fall/winter. This pattern is consistent with existing interpretation of the sediment varves, specifically, that varves are formed by two-layer couplets that represent the same seasonality as pollen. We concluded that pollen sedimentation in Lake Montcortès exhibits a strong seasonal signal in the quantity of pollen, the taxonomic composition of the pollen assembalges, and relationships between the pollen and meteorological variables. Thus, varved sediments provide a potentially powerful tool for paleoecological reconstruction at seasonal resolution. This method could be used not only to identify paleoenvironmental trends, but also to identify annual layers and therefore date sediments, even in the absence of evident sediment laminations. A satisfactory explanation of PSL will require further studies that examine internal lake dynamics and pollen production/dispersal patterns.     

‘Prosperity beyond belief’: The interaction between a potato crop boom,vulnerability and volcanic hazard in Central Java,Indonesia

This article examines the interaction between conditions of vulnerability and a potato crop boom in Central Java's highlands. While partaking in agricultural endeavours on volcanic slopes can bring substantial economic rewards, the local benefits associated with these livelihood activities are often overlooked by disaster scholarship. Drawing on a period of fieldwork conducted in the Dieng Plateau, a region characterized by a series of craters that periodically erupt mud and poisonous gas, this article demonstrates how a potato crop boom has evolved despite, and in part because of, the underlying volcanic hazard. By integrating the sustainable livelihood and agrarian change literatures, the article concludes that the potato boom has provided significant economic opportunity, and through this, a means to reduce vulnerability. Yet, despite these economic gains, the agrarian shift described herein has also introduced new vulnerabilities as farmers have become dependent on a resource intensive crop. These findings demonstrate how theories of agrarian transformation can complement livelihood perspectives in disaster research, and provide greater detail into the local and regional processes that encourage people to often-profitably farm hazardous land.     

State‐led talent return migration programme and the doubly neglected ‘Malaysian diaspora’: Whose diaspora,what citizenship,whose development?

This paper questions the assumptions of ‘diaspora’, ‘citizenship’ and ‘development’ underlying diaspora strategies targeting a specific pool of overseas Malaysian ‘talent’ migrants. I examine the Malaysian state's discursive attempts to construct a carefully contained economic ‘diaspora'—the ‘Malaysian diaspora'—through its talent return migration programme. In this process, there is a portion of the ‘Malaysian diaspora’, especially non‐bumiputeras (sons of soil), who are doubly neglected and excluded: first, from access to full and equal citizenship (which arguably contributed to their emigration in the first place); and second, from eligibility and recognition to participate in Malaysia's talent return migration programme. However, recent political activism calling for electoral reform and overseas voting rights challenges state‐constructed visions of the ‘diaspora’ and their expected roles in advancing ‘development’. This paper concludes by highlighting questions raised by the Malaysian case, linking these explicitly to how diaspora strategies—as they have been conceived, practised and contested—challenge the broader Migration and Development paradigm.     

The Assassination of New York. Bob Fitch; From Redlining to Reinvestment: Community Responses to Urban Disinvestment. Gregory D. Squires,editor; At Road’s End Transportation and Land Use Choices for Communihs. Daniel Carlson et al.

This study disentangles the relationship between income and real estate value development in Dutch urban neighborhoods. Within the literature on upgrading and downgrading, it is often assumed that neighborhood income and real estate value development are strongly linked. The results reported here—based on research in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Tilburg—indicate that income and real estate values develop simultaneously in only a relatively small number of neighborhoods, which are at the top and bottom of the housing market hierarchy. The majority reveal a more complex relationship: a number of neighborhoods show a time lag between the trends, whereas in other neighborhoods income and real estate values show partially diverging trends. Several tentative explanations are offered for the complex relationship, and stress the importance of place-specific knowledge. Three points of attention are suggested for further research: understanding the role of household dynamics, the position of neighborhoods within their urban system, and the role of the state and housing associations in neighborhood change.