1. Climate change impacts on plant diseases and crop protectionOctave Lacroix, Sebastjan Radišek, 2025, review article Abstract: Climate change is considered one of the greatest threats to agriculture, resulting in significant yield losses and the loss of arable land due to various factors, ranging from unfavorable climate conditions to soil fertility issues. One significant aspect of climate change affecting crops is the development of diseases. The main factors of climate change affecting agriculture are the increase in temperature and CO2 levels, as well as the alteration of precipitation regimes, which can lead to extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. These factors considerably affect pathogens' expression of disease in hosts, as well as their spatial and temporal distribution and life cycle limiting factors, which are now changing. Early studies show an increase in the severity and occurrence of diseases caused by pathogens in crops, a reduction in plant defense mechanisms, the emergence of new, adapted, and more aggressive pathogen strains, and a wider and faster expansion of pathogens. However, the efficacy of plant protection products is also reduced. However, each pathosystem is affected differently by climate change, and mitigating effects must be studied independently.
Keywords: global warming, food security, plant pathogens, plant pathology
Published in DiRROS: 26.02.2026; Views: 226; Downloads: 164
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2. Temperature and photoperiod interactions influence the cessation of wood growth in three temperate and boreal conifersJianhong Lin, Cyrille Rathgeber, Patrick Fonti, Sergio Rossi, Henri E. Cuny, Edurne Martinez Del Castillo, Katarina Čufar, Jesús J. Camarero, Alessio Giovannelli, Harri Mäkinen, Peter Prislan, Walter Oberhuber, Hanuš Vavrčík, Jianguo Huang, Andreas Gruber, Vladimir Gryc, Václav Treml, Martin De Luis, Jožica Gričar, Nicolas Delpierre, 2026, original scientific article Abstract: Cambium phenology is a crucial process in wood production and carbon sequestration of forest ecosystems. Although cambium phenology has been widely studied, research specifically focusing on the cessation of wood formation remains limited. To better understand the influence of environmental and intrinsic factors on the cessation of wood formation, we built and compared three ecophysiological models (temperature sum model, photoperiod-influenced temperature sum model and soil moisture- and photoperiod-influenced temperature sum model) in their ability to predict the date of cessation of xylem cell enlargement (cE) in three major Northern Hemisphere conifer species (Black spruce, Norway spruce and Scots pine). We developed these models based on xylogenesis data collected for 130 site‐years across Europe and Canada. Our results demonstrate that the photoperiod-influenced temperature sum model is well-supported by data across all conifer species, with a RMSE of 9.2 days, suggesting that both temperature and photoperiod are critical drivers of wood growth cessation. However, incorporating soil moisture effects does not improve model performance. Our model effectively captures the inter-site variability in cE across a wide environmental gradient, with a fair model efficiency (ME = 0.51 ± 0.22), but performed less well for annual anomalies (ME = 0.10 ± 0.09). Additionally, we found that the total ring cell number also affected prediction accuracy. Using this model, we reconstructed historical trends in cE over the past six decades and found a trend to delayed cessation dates. This delay varied geographically, with slower shifts at higher latitudes and elevations, likely due to constrained cambial responses and conservative growth strategies in colder regions. Our model framework offers a simple yet accurate approach for predicting wood growth cessation at large spatial scales, providing a basis for integrating cambium phenology into land surface models and forest productivity assessments.
Keywords: cambium phenology, ecophysiological models, xylem formation, climate change, global warming, northern hemisphere forests
Published in DiRROS: 12.02.2026; Views: 488; Downloads: 194
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3. Unprecedented warming and salinization observed in the deep AdriaticElena Terzić, Vanessa Cardin, Julien Le Meur, Natalija Dunić, Martin Vodopivec, Ivica Vilibić, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The deep Southern Adriatic is a Mediterranean region highly sensitive to climate change, influenced by dense water cas-cading from the northern Adriatic and heat/salt transport from the Eastern Mediterranean. Historical (since 1957) andmodern (permanent and opportunistic temperature and salinity sampling, Argo floats, fixed moorings) measurementsreveal a substantial change since the mid-2000s in thermohaline properties. Historically marked by steady increases intemperature, salinity, and density, with substantial saw-tooth decadal variability, the near-bottom Southern Adriatic hasexperienced unprecedented warming (0.8C) and salinization (0.2) over the past decade, accelerating in time and revers-ing density trends. The inflow of much more saline waters reduced stratification and altered dense water properties atits source in the northern Adriatic. This at least fivefold acceleration of the high-emission regional climate projectionsmay have substantial effects on the Adriatic biogeochemistry and living organisms, changing sea level trends and more.
Keywords: Adriatic Sea, dense water, global warming, Gulf of Trieste
Published in DiRROS: 23.01.2026; Views: 270; Downloads: 192
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4. Potential for improving the environmental sustainability of natural aggregates production (Slovenian case study)Janez Turk, Anja Kodrič, Rok Cajzek, Tjaša Zupančič Hartner, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The environmental performance of natural aggregates for concrete and road construction, extracted from a dolomite quarry, was investigated. Environmental hotspots were identified, and potential optimization measures to further reduce the environmental footprint were proposed. The natural aggregates extracted from the dolomite quarry have relatively low GWP and a low environmental footprint in general. The GWP of 1 tonne of natural aggregates used in concrete production is 1.13 kg CO2 equiv., while for 1 tonne of aggregates used in road construction, it is 0.97 kg CO2 equiv. The dolomite rock in the quarry in question is tectonically fractured, such that very intensive extraction is not required, taking into account the blasting of the rock and further processing. The use of non-road mobile machinery is already optimized. Additional reductions in environmental impact could be achieved by powering the screening process exclusively with electricity from renewable sources, such as a photovoltaic system. In this context, integrating on-site battery storage systems might present a promising solution for addressing the seasonal mismatch between solar energy generation and processing demands.
Keywords: rock extraction, global warming potential, environmental impact, optimization, sensitivity
Published in DiRROS: 15.10.2025; Views: 498; Downloads: 261
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5. Wounded Thinking of the Wounded World : Nihilism and Global WarmingSusanna Lindberg, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The article claims that one of the most important tasks of thinking today is global warming. Can it be analyzed as another form of nihilism: not as nihilism of the meaning of life, but as a new kind of nihilism of human and nonhuman life itself? Could global warming be analyzed as a kind of “objective nihilism” tied to the active nihilism of humankind that causes it and to the passive nihilism of humankind that endures it, rather than acting against it? This article attempts to explain “the objective nihilism” of global warming with the help of Maurice Blanchot’s term “disaster,” by showing how it leads to the nihilistic attitudes of despair and indifference. It also asks how the lucidity of nihilism can be turned into a force.
Keywords: objective nihilism, global warming, world, catastrophe, Maurice Blanchot
Published in DiRROS: 09.01.2025; Views: 642; Downloads: 260
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6. On the rare and less known shamefaced crab Calappa granulata (Brachyura, Calappidae) in the Northern Adriatic SeaNicola Bettoso, Marin Kirinčić, Borut Mavrič, Lovrenc Lipej, 2018, other scientific articles Abstract: On 1st August 2016 and 23th July 2017 two specimens of the shamefaced crab Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1758) were caught in the northernmost area of the Adriatic Sea and represent the second and third offi cial record, respectively. More recently the records of this commercial species start to be no more unusual in this northern region. It is too early to express any reliable comment regarding whether or not this species established a breeding population in this area, however we could consider its northward extension as another consequence of global warming.
Keywords: shamefaced crab, northern Adriatic, global warming
Published in DiRROS: 07.08.2024; Views: 1011; Downloads: 801
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7. Pelagic calcifiers face increased mortality and habitat loss with warming and ocean acidificationNina Bednaršek, Brendan Carter, Ryan M. McCabe, Richard Alan Feely, Evan M. Howard, Francisco P. Chavez, Meredith Elliott, Jennifer L. Fisher, Jaime Jahncke, Zach Siegrist, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Global change is impacting the oceans in an unprecedented way, and multiple lines of evidence suggest that species distributions are changing in space and time. There is increasing evidence that multiple environmental stressors act together to constrain species habitat more than expected from warming alone. Here, we conducted a comprehensive study of how temperature and aragonite saturation state act together to limit Limacina helicina, globally distributed pteropods that are ecologically important pelagic calcifiers and an indicator species for ocean change. We co-validated three different approaches to evaluate the impact of ocean warming and acidification (OWA) on the survival and distribution of this species in the California Current Ecosystem. First, we used colocated physical, chemical, and biological data from three large-scale west coast cruises and regional time series; second, we conducted multifactorial experimental incubations to evaluate how OWA impacts pteropod survival; and third, we validated the relationships we found against global distributions of pteropods and carbonate chemistry. OWA experimental work revealed mortality increases under OWA, while regional habitat suitability indices and global distributions of L. helicina suggest that a multi-stressor framework is essential for understanding pteropod distributions. In California Current Ecosystem habitats, where pteropods are living close to their thermal maximum already, additional warming and acidification through unabated fossil fuel emissions (RCP 8.5) are expected to dramatically reduce habitat suitability.
Keywords: California current ecosystem, climate change, global data synthesis, habitat loss, habitat suitability modeling, multiple stressors, ocean acidification, pelagic calcifiers, pteropods, species distribution, warming
Published in DiRROS: 17.07.2024; Views: 1291; Downloads: 969
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8. More losses than gains? : Distribution models predict species-specific shifts in climatic suitability for European beech forest herbs under climate changeJanez Kermavnar, Lado Kutnar, Aleksander Marinšek, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Introduction: Herbaceous plant species constitute an essential element of the flora of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests. There is increasing evidence that rapidly changing climate is likely to modify the spatial distribution of plant species. However, we lack understanding of the impact that climate change might have on beech forest herbs across the European continent. We investigated the possible effects of predicted increasing rates of global warming and altered precipitation regimes on 71 forest herbs closely associated with beech forests, but with varying biogeographic and climatic niche attributes. Methods: By using a total of 394,502 occurrence records and an ensemble of species distribution models (SDMs), we quantified the potential current distribution and future (2061-2080) range shifts in climatic suitability (expressed as occurrence probability, OP) according to two climate change scenarios (moderate SSP2-4.5 and severe SSP5-8.5). Results: Overall, precipitation of the warmest quarter and temperature seasonality were the most influential predictors in shaping current distribution patterns. For SSP5-8.5 scenario, all studied species experienced significant reductions (52.9% on average) in the total size of highly suitable areas (OP >0.75). However, the magnitude and directions of changes in the climatic suitability were highly species-specific; few species might even increase OP in the future, particularly in case of SSP2-4.5 scenario. The SDMs revealed the most substantial decline of climatic suitability at the trailing edges in southern Europe. We found that climatic suitability is predicted to show unidirectional northward shift and to move toward higher elevations. The gain/loss ratio was generally higher for narrow-ranged species compared to widespread taxa. Discussion: Our findings are contextualized with regards to potential confounding factors (dispersal limitation, microclimatic buffering) that may mitigate or accelerate climate change impacts. Given the low long-distance migration ability, many beech forest herbs are unlikely to track the velocity with which macroclimatic isotherms are moving toward higher latitudes, making this species group particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Keywords: species distribution modelling, global warming, range shift, climatic niche, biogeography, Europe
Published in DiRROS: 29.11.2023; Views: 1300; Downloads: 781
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9. The role of electricity mix and production efficiency improvements on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of building components and future refurbishment measuresTajda Potrč Obrecht, Sabina Jordan, Andraž Legat, Alexander Passer, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Purpose: An estimation of the environmental impact of buildings by means of a life cycle assessment (LCA) raises uncertainty related to the parameters that are subject to major changes over longer time spans. The main aim of the present study is to evaluate the influence of modifications in the electricity mix and the production efficiency in the chosen reference year on the embodied impacts (i.e., greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) of building materials and components and the possible impact of this on future refurbishment measures.
Methods: A new LCA methodological approach was developed and implemented that can have a significant impact on the way in which existing buildings are assessed at the end of their service lives. The electricity mixes of different reference years were collected and assessed, and the main datasets and sub-datasets were modified according to the predefined substitution criteria. The influence of the electricity-mix modification and production efficiency were illustrated on a selected existing reference building, built in 1970. The relative contribution of the electricity mix to the embodied impact of the production phase was calculated for four different electricity mixes, with this comprising the electricity mix from 1970, the current electricity mix and two possible future electricity-mix scenarios for 2050. The residual value of the building was also estimated.
Results and discussion: In the case presented, the relative share of the electricity mix GHG emission towards the total value was as high as 20% for separate building components. If this electricity mix is replaced with an electricity mix having greater environmental emissions, the relative contribution of the electricity mix to the total emissions can be even higher. When, by contrast, the modified electricity mix is almost decarbonized, the relative contribution to the total emissions may well be reduced to a point where it becomes negligible. The modification of the electricity mix can also influence the residual value of a building. In the observed case, the differences due to different electricity mixes were in the range of 10%.
Conclusions: It was found that those parameters that are subject to a major change during the reference service period of the building should be treated dynamically in order to obtain reliable results. Future research is foreseen to provide additional knowledge concerning the influence of dynamic parameters on both the use phase and the end-of-life phase of buildings, and these findings will also be important when planning future refurbishment measures.
Keywords: global warming potential (GWP), production phase, electricity mix, production efciency, residual value, refurbishment, building components, life cycle assessment (LCA)
Published in DiRROS: 31.07.2023; Views: 1732; Downloads: 1044
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