climate change on UAE - Stockholm Environment Institute-US Center

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although there is speculation that in the past, a second species, Rhizophora mucronata, also thrived in some areas. In Abu Dhabi Emirate, the main strands of mangroves are found east of Abu Al Abyad island, with isolated occurrences further to the west (for instance, just west of Jebel Dhanna). The trees rarely exceed 3 to 4 m in height. The stands are much denser than any mainland vegetation type in the Emirate, and are extremely important habitats for marine life and many species of bird. The roots anchor the trees firmly in the mud, and the upper parts of the roots grow out of the water as characteristic ‘pneumatophores’. Their primary function is to absorb air and transport it to the roots beneath the water. Avicennia marina is a C3 species and transpires large amounts of water. Since the uptake of dissolved salts cannot be reduced to any significant degree, the accumulation of toxic concentrations of salt in their aerial organs is potentially a serious problem for the plants. This problem has been overcome by the presence of salt-excreting glands on the leaf surface, which results in the plants often coated in a whitish layer of salt. Climate <strong>change</strong> is expected to impact the mangroves and the destruction of mangroves could also exacerbate the negative impacts of <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong> on coastal ecosystems and infrastructure based on a paper by IUCN (2006). Climate <strong>change</strong> impacts on mangroves will not occur in isolation; the response of mangroves to <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong> will be a result of these impacts acting synergistically. The paper stressed that the damage caused by the tragic 2004 Asian tsunami was exacerbated by over clearing of mangroves and other coastal “bioshields”, inappropriate coastal development and inadequate information and preparedness. 5.2 . Mountain and Jebel vegetation Jebel Hafit, which is part of the Hajar mountain range, is considered as the only true mountain in Abu Dhabi Emirate, although part of it is located in Oman. It stands high above the surrounding plain to over 1000 m asl. Jebel Hafit is characterized by a least developed virgin soil very rich in humus. The mountain is considered as the most important site within Abu Dhabi Emirate due to a number of characteristics, as briefly described below: highly rich floristic diversity, representing 152 Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation
over a one third of the known species in Abu Dhabi (approx. 380 sp.) exist within a very small area which represents less than 0.002% of the total area of the UAE this mountain is the only habitat to many of these species and not to any other area or ecosystem; and the site represents the western limit for the distribution of many global taxa. Acacia tortilis and Euphorbia larica are widespread in the lower slopes of Jebel Hafit, often accompanied by perennials such as Gaillonia aucheri and Lycium shawii. With increasing elevation, Acacia becomes less frequent, but still occurs close to the summit. Euphorbia, though, remains common at all altitudes, but is often found along natural drainage channels. Haloxylon salicornicum is a common dwarf shrub on the exposed mountain slopes. Other species identified are Salsola rubescens, which is fairly widespread, occurring locally in large populations and Capparis cartilaginea, a species with large, leathery leaves, detected by the roadside up to the summit, and ascending rocky cliffs. Other shrubs occurring on the mountain include Periploca aphylla, Grewia erythraea and Rhanterium epapposum, a species otherwise characteristic of sandy habitats. In Wadi Tarabat, a small group of Acridocarpus orientalis trees were observed. The dwarf palm Nannorrops ritchieana which is a rare species in the UAE, occurs locally on the mountain, as well as the Ficus johannis ssp. johannis. surrounding area. These plants grow in small pockets of soil that accumulate behind rocks or in gullies on the smaller jebels, as well as on the plateaux of the larger ones. Among the plants are a number of desert annuals, such as Savignya parviflora, Eremobium aegyptiacum and the bristly, facultative perennial Arnebia hispidissima. Furthermore, the lily Dipcardi erythraeum appears abundantly on the flanks of some jebels after heavy rainfall. Salsola drummondii can be dominant on the tops of some larger jebels, often accompanied by Calligonum comosum, Indigofera sp. Panicum turgidum and Pennisetum divisum. 5.3. Wadi beds vegetation Wadi beds are recognized for their biodiversity rich vegetation, particularly the lower ends due to the existence of different types of substrate; presence of significant spatial heterogeneity in microtopography and micro<strong>climate</strong>; light availability; and regular access to water. All these conditions combine to create a mosaic of favourable microhabitats. The <strong>climate</strong> variability and extremes such as the seasonal severe flooding influence the wadi beds creating within it highly dynamic habitats, in terms of their physical characteristics as well as their floral composition. Floods can wash Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation for Dryland Ecosystems in Abu Dhabi Tertiary jebels are found along the coast in more western parts of the Emirate as prominent features. They are mostly surrounded by barren sabkha. These rocky exposures with flat tops vary in both area and height, but are typically up to about 5 to 10 m high, with the largest up to 60 m. Jebels represent typical island habitats and are thus of considerable research interest. A number of plant species occur on the jebels, including halophytes such as Seidlitzia rosmarinus and Salsola spp. The salinity is presumably due to the windblown saline dust from the surrounding sabkha. Also present are a number of nonhalophytic species that are otherwise absent from the 153
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Acknowledgements The authors are de
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Foreword There are many levels at w
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Table of Contents (Part 2) Water Re
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9.2. Types of ecosystem models ....
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APF AML CARA CO 2 CReSIS CSI DEM EG
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Table ‎1‐1. Climate Change and
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2. Sea-level Rise Impacts on Coasta
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differences in observed sea levels
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Sea Level Change (mm) 20 15 10 5 0
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Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation
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Gulf is that the shallower depth al
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ago when sea level was a few meters
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Scientists have every reason to bel
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amongst others. Sea level rise may
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Figure ‎4‐2. Data displaying ar
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processed SRTM topographic dataset
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water height of each tidal day obse
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Table ‎4‐3. UAE Coastal Cities.
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Figure ‎4-10: 1 meters above mean
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Figure ‎4-12: 3 meters above mean
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as well as parts of the Industrial
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up to help to assess technology nee
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framework that has relevance to the
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to be estimated reliably and hence
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6. Conclusions and recommendations
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7. List of References ADEA (2006)
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Assessment Report of the Intergover
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8. Glossary Adaptation: Adjustment
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To calculate areas inundated by lan
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Annex 1: Elevation Data Sensitivity
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Annex 2: Inundation maps 3. Urban V
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Figure A2-3 3 meters sea level rise
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Figure A2-6 1,3,9 meters sea level
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Page Figure 4‐6. WEAP estimates o
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in storage occurs in the Liwa lens
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Figure‎ 2‐1. Percentage of tota
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Total installed capacity equals 648
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Without demand management strategie
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Figure 3-1 Global average temperatu
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The CO 2 storylines include both
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of topography on the region’s pre
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Temperature Change (degrees C) Temp
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neglected infrastructure, regional
Page 101 and 102: and magnitude of the ENSO (Haines e
Page 103 and 104: Table ‎4‐1. Irrigated Hectares
Page 105 and 106: including estimates of population a
Page 107 and 108: 4.4. Representing Irrigation Demand
Page 109 and 110: Table 4-5. Comparison of Historical
Page 111 and 112: 4.6. Scenarios and Key Assumptions
Page 113 and 114: Avg. Monthly Air Temperature - MOR
Page 115 and 116: Table ‎4‐8. Summary of scenario
Page 117 and 118: 5. Results and Discussion The <stro
Page 119 and 120: total water demand estimate at abou
Page 121 and 122: for the Optimistic and Pessimistic
Page 123 and 124: eport of the IPCC holds out hope th
Page 125 and 126: Table 6-1. Adaptation options for w
Page 127 and 128: CIA, (1990), Middle East Area Oil a
Page 129 and 130: Figure A1‐2. Map of Abu Dhabi key
Page 131 and 132: Data Sources And Assumptions We rel
Page 133 and 134: Table A1-3. continued Liwa- Hammim
Page 135 and 136: Table A2-1. Summary of 36 emission
Page 137 and 138: Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation
Page 139 and 140: 139
Page 143 and 144: List of Tables Page Table 3-1: Majo
Page 145 and 146: 2. Potential risks to dryland ecosy
Page 147 and 148: 4. Major terrestrial ecosystems in
Page 149 and 150: Peninsula in the north to close to
Page 151: 5. Important flora in Abu Dhabi Abu
Page 155 and 156: 6. Fauna of the terrestrial ecosyst
Page 157 and 158: include the urban development and i
Page 159 and 160: (Arnell, 1999; Milly et al., 2005).
Page 161 and 162: camels and other large herbivores i
Page 163 and 164: 8. Biodiversity, ecosystem threshol
Page 169 and 170: Alternatively, established shrublan
Page 171 and 172: e functionally deficient. We projec
Page 173 and 174: Adaptation can be planned or it can
Page 177 and 178: is based on a theoretical understan
Page 179 and 180: species to adapt to a changing <str
Page 181 and 182: that remediation steps begin soon t
Page 183 and 184: 10 References Adler, PB, DA Raff, W
Page 185 and 186: Nordad, (2007), Climate Change Fact
Page 187 and 188: Annex 2: Expected effects of global
Page 189 and 190: Annex 4: Main drivers of ecosystem
Page 191 and 192: Sn Species Scientific name Family S
Page 193 and 194: Sn Species Scientific name Family S
Page 195 and 196: Name of species/sub-species Habitat
Page 197: Annex 8: Native species list of ter
Page 200 and 201: The cover picture represents a Brid
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