Toward Sustainable Environmental Quality: Priority Research Questions for Asia

Environmental and human health challenges are pronounced in Asia, an exceptionally diverse and complex region where influences of global megatrends are extensive and numerous stresses to environmental quality exist. Identifying priorities necessary to engage grand challenges can be facilitated through horizon scanning exercises, and to this end we identified and examined 23 priority research questions needed to advance toward more sustainable environmental quality in Asia, as part of the Global Horizon Scanning Project. Advances in environmental toxicology, environmental chemistry, biological monitoring, and risk-assessment methodologies are necessary to address the adverse impacts of environmental stressors on ecosystem services and biodiversity, with Asia being home to numerous biodiversity hotspots. Intersections of the food-energy-water nexus are profound in Asia; innovative and aggressive technologies are necessary to provide clean water, ensure food safety, and stimulate energy efficiency, while improving ecological integrity and addressing legacy and emerging threats to public health and the environment, particularly with increased aquaculture production. Asia is the largest chemical-producing continent globally. Accordingly, sustainable and green chemistry and engineering present decided opportunities to stimulate innovation and realize a number of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Engaging the priority research questions identified herein will require transdisciplinary coordination through existing and nontraditional partnerships within and among countries and sectors. Answering these questions will not be easy but is necessary to achieve more sustainable environmental quality in Asia. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1485-1505. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

The influences of environmental change and development on leaf shape in Vitis

PREMISE

The size and shape (physiognomy) of woody, dicotyledonous angiosperm leaves are correlated with climate. These relationships are the basis for multiple paleoclimate proxies. Here we test whether Vitis exhibits phenotypic plasticity and whether physiognomy varies along the vine.

METHODS

We used Digital Leaf Physiognomy (DiLP) to measure leaf characters of four Vitis species from the USDA Germplasm Repository (Geneva, New York) from the 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 leaf-growing seasons, which had different environmental conditions.

RESULTS

Leaf shape changed allometrically through developmental stages; early stages were more linear than later stages. There were significant differences in physiognomy in the same developmental stage between the growing seasons, and species had significant differences in mean physiognomy between growing seasons. Phenotypic plasticity was defined as changes between growing seasons after controlling for developmental stage or after averaging all developmental stages. Vitis amurensis and V. riparia had the greatest phenotypic plasticity. North American species exhibited significant differences in tooth area:blade area. Intermediate developmental stages were most likely to exhibit phenotypic plasticity, and only V. amurensis exhibited phenotypic plasticity in later developmental stages.

CONCLUSIONS

Leaves have variable phenotypic plasticity along the vine. Environmental signal was strongest in intermediate developmental stages. This is significant for leaf physiognomic-paleoclimate proxies because these leaves are likely the most common in leaf litter and reflect leaves primarily included in paleoclimate reconstructions. Early season and early developmental stages have the potential to be confounding factors but are unlikely to exert significant influence because of differential preservation potential.