Conservation actions to safeguard climate change vulnerable species may not be utilized due to a variety of perceived barriers. Assisted colonization, the intentional movement and release of an organism outside its historical range, is one tool available for species predicted to lose habitat under future climate change scenarios, particularly for single island or single mountain range endemic species

Peri-urban areas, defined as the region between urban and rural settlements, are heterogeneous, dynamic regions experiencing rapid land use change in cities around the world. Ongoing development and land use change has resulted in the fragmentation, degradation and loss of natural assets, threatening biodiversity, and ecosystems within the peri-urban region. With much of this land privately owned,

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce soil erosion in Gumara watershed of the Abbay (Upper Blue Nile) Basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The model was calibrated (1995–2002) and validated (2003–2007) using the SWAT-CUP based on observed streamflow and sediment yield data at the watershed outlet. The study evaluated

Watershed land cover affects in-stream water quality and sediment nutrient dynamics. The presence of natural land cover in the riparian zone can reduce the negative effects of agricultural land use on water quality; however, literature evaluating the effects of natural riparian land cover on stream sediment nutrient dynamics is scarce. The objective of this study was to assess if stream sediment phosphorus

The rates of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss are alarming and current conservation efforts are not sufficient to stop them. The need for new tools is urgent. One approach is biodiversity offsetting: a developer causing habitat degradation provides an improvement in biodiversity so that the lost ecological value is compensated for. Accurate and ecologically meaningful measurement of losses

We aimed to produce simultaneously biosurfactants and lipases in solid state fermentation (SSF) using Aspergillus niger, followed by the use of the fermented media on the bioremediation of oily contaminated soil, in order to valuate agro industrial residuals and reduce the contamination. The biocompounds were produced using wheat bran and corncob (80:20), 5% of soybean oil and 0.5% of sugar cane molasses

Advances in open data, big data and data linkage allow us to analyse more data and on a larger scale than ever before. However, this brings with it the challenge of ensuring that Indigenous data sets are used in a way that protects Indigenous rights to that data and maximises benefits for Indigenous peoples. The CARE principles for Indigenous data governance—Collective Benefit, Authority to Control

In the last years, the interest in ecosystem services (ESs) as a decision-making tool for environmental policy has been growing. The ES paradigm has also impacted the judicial system and in some countries the common law tradition. Experiences and lessons learned from the ES litigation have been already documented. In the initial analysis, this article aims to identify key trends in ESs case law in

An emerging priority in marine noise pollution research is identifying marine “acoustic refugia” where noise levels are relatively low and good-quality habitat is available to acoustically sensitive species. The endangered Southern Resident population of killer whales (Orcinus orca) that inhabits the transboundary Salish Sea in Canada and the USA are affected by noise pollution. Geographic Information

Community adaptations to increase resilience and reduce vulnerability depend on adaptability, which is constituted by how power shapes collective mobilization of differential capacities across scales and levels of governance systems. A multidimensional power framework (MPF) to track the role of power in adaptability is presented and applied in a qualitative, comparative case study of two historical

Visitation to parks will change with increasing climate changes. We examined how place attachment may influence different types of climate-induced displacement at both the park and park system level. Previous research suggests that visitors who have greater place attachment to parks within a system may be more likely to tolerate changed environmental conditions before they are displaced from the system

The EU Water Framework Directive requires the development of management responses aimed towards improving water quality as a result of improving ecosystem health (system state). Ecosystems have potential to supply a range of services that are of fundamental importance to human well-being, health, livelihoods and survival, and their capacity to supply these services depends on the ecosystem condition

Regional frameworks enable bioassessment methods to detect anthropogenic effects on ecosystems amid natural variability. Conventional approaches to regionalization have used coarse geographical frameworks to separate sites similar in their ecological (ecoregion) or faunal (basin) characteristics. Expectations for individual streams are then adjusted for within-region variability in local environmental

Conservation practices focusing on improving the soil and water quality of working lands are implemented across the United States, supported partially through the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service cost-share or incentive payment programs. We assess whether participation in federal conservation support programs induces a change in the number of conservation

Social, cultural, and economic differences have been shown to influence ecological knowledge. Given the importance of ecological knowledge for appreciation and protection of nature, we sought to investigate the relationship between landowners’ sociodemographic attributes and the number of birds listed by landowners on their property across a rural-to-urban gradient. We hypothesized that: (1) age and

Ecosystem services are a telling concept to discuss the integrated management of natural resources, such as integrated water and soil, with non-academic stakeholders. Stakeholders have different perceptions regarding the management of various ecosystem services, which is challenging when aiming to develop and foster sustainable ecosystem management. We performed a stakeholder analysis as part of a

Many rural communities in developing countries experience severe water shortages, limiting their capacity for self-sustainability. This study used contingent valuation and choice experiment methods and in-person interviews to estimate household willingness to pay (WTP) for gray and green interventions to augment water supply in rural Costa Rica. In particular, we examined residents’ preferences for

Suppression of established populations of invasive alien species can be a complex and expensive process, which is frequently unsuccessful. The Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774), is considered a high impact invader that can adversely alter freshwater ecosystems and decrease their socioeconomic value. To date, C. fluminea continues to spread and persist within freshwater environments worldwide

In many low and middle-income countries, solid waste management (SWM) systems remain weak and lack standardization. Moreover, these systems fail to account for citizen’s insight on the proposed solid waste initiatives. This study aims to identify the main determinants of SWM practices in a low-middle income country while accounting for citizens’ perceived knowledge, attitudes, structural barriers,

The impact of different hazardous substances of the construction industry being released to the environment is alarming. This constitutes an adverse effect on the quality of life of construction workers and the populace at large. To reduce this menace, Environmental Management System (EMS) was put in place. Meanwhile, the implementation of EMS in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI) is not certain

In Southeast Asia, projections of rapid urban growth coupled with high water-related risks call for large investments in infrastructure—including in blue–green infrastructure (BGI) such as forests, parks, or vegetated engineered systems. However, most of the knowledge on BGI is produced in the global North, overlooking the diversity of urban contexts globally. Here, we review the literature on BGI

Antarctica currently has few non-native species, compared to other regions of the planet, due to the continent’s isolation, extreme climatic conditions and the lack of habitat. However, human activity, particularly the activities of national government operators and tourism, increasingly contributes to the risk of non-native species transfer and establishment. Trichocera (Saltitrichocera) maculipennis

Recent public policies in developing countries have emerged to address challenges of delivering water-related ecosystem services in urban areas. Some initiatives, such as the Brazilian Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (BPACC) highlights sustainable urban drainage as a key strategy for promoting sustainable cities, including ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures. Despite the importance of these

In the midst of global change uncertainties, Indonesian spatial planning authorities are developing 20-year strategies. However, the lack of collaborative engagement of stakeholders and unclear methodology around using futures studies in addressing land management undermine such plans and affect environmental governance. A crucial question is how to link a future-oriented process with governance transformation

Financial mechanisms to mitigate the costs of negative human–carnivore interactions are frequently promoted to support human coexistence with carnivores. Yet, evidence to support their performance in different settings is scarce. We evaluated a community-based livestock insurance program implemented as part of a broader snow leopard conservation effort in the Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve, South Gobi

Willows are used as cuttings or in fascines for riverbank soil bioengineering, to control erosion with their high resprouting ability and rapid growth. However, water availability is highly variable along riverbanks both in time and space and constitutes a major stress limiting willow establishment. A species-specific understanding of willow cutting response to water stress is critical to design successful

Research and development has been a key part of the foundation for improvements in US air quality since the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 50 years ago. Although the scientific accomplishments and advances over the course of EPA’s history are often overshadowed by policy debates, much of the air pollution science and engineering we now consider to be routine did not exist

The Zayandeh-Rud River Basin in the central plateau of Iran continues to grapple with water shortages due to a water-intensive development path made possible by a primarily supply-oriented water management approach to battle the water limits to growth. Despite inter-basin water transfers and increasing groundwater supply, recurring water shortages and associated tensions among stakeholders underscore

Bioculturally significant plants, which have played a key role in sustaining the livelihoods of tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh, India, are facing threats from changing land use patterns, climatic aberrations and socioeconomic stressors. This study highlights two unique grassroots approaches to conserving these species and their associated cultural knowledge within the traditional land use

Effective invasive plant management requires collective action. However, little is known about what motivates individuals to work collectively. We conducted a mail survey of 2,600 randomly selected family forest owners in Indiana, USA to examine factors associated with community-led collective action. Specifically, we examined the role of perceived self-efficacy, perceived collective efficacy, concerns

To evaluate the physiological state of the wild fish inhabiting the Biobío River in South-Central Chile, susceptible to the chemical contamination from different sources, biochemical and physiological biomarkers were applied to wild fish Percilia irwini and Trichomycterus areolatus in situ. Fish caught in the Biobío river in low, medium, and high anthropic impacts areas, with different pollution degrees

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01463-0

Natural hazards can be prominent and powerful mechanisms that impact the remediation and restoration of contaminated sites and the revitalization of communities associated with these sites. The potential for hazardous material releases following a natural disaster can exacerbate the impact of contaminated sites by causing the release of toxic or hazardous materials and inhibiting the restoration of

Although deforestation rates are declining, protected forest areas remain under threat. While the importance of spatialized (‘mapped’) community knowledge for conservation planning is acknowledged in scientific literature, the integration of such knowledge in forest governance and conservation planning remains scarce, particularly in Ghana. This paper aims to make clear how participatory spatial knowledge

Land consumption for settlement and infrastructure development has been extensively discussed and analyzed in the last two decades. In Germany, existing governance at the state level seems to hardly foster effective land management at the municipal level to achieve overarching goals at the level of the European Union such as “no net land take”. Germany aims to limit land consumption to less than 30 ha

This research provides the first in-depth analysis of fine-scale grizzly bear habitat selection and movement patterns in response to the linear footprints cleared for below-ground pipelines in Alberta. Using an extensive set of GPS location data from collared grizzly bears, we were able to determine that grizzly bears selected for younger pipelines (mean age since last construction~6.5 years), which

Environmental practitioners must understand those they collaborate with to implement programs that are both socially and ecologically effective. Practitioners who understand decision-makers’ perspectives are better able to collaborate to lower political, financial, and cultural obstacles. In this study, we surveyed decision-makers involved with a voluntary environmental program in Iowa, USA. Iowa counties

Woody plant encroachments are major concerns across the grasslands biome, while the patterns of individual species existence at a landscape level can be limited locally and regionally. The paper assesses the species composition, community structure, and density of individual and combined encroacher woody species in terms of tree equivalent per hectare (TE ha−1) within five different height classes

Climate Change (CC) adaptation and mitigation policy coherence (PC) across sectors is essential to effectively address CC challenges and support synergies. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to CC. In this paper, the extent to which Pakistan’s national and provincial water, agriculture, and energy sector policies, development plans and strategies are aligned in a CC policy coherent manner is established

Despite widely reported trends of agricultural land abandonment across many parts of the globe, this land use change phenomenon is relatively new in the context of Nepal. In recent years, rural farming communities in the hill region are gradually reducing the intensity of farming, leading to underutilisation and abandonment of agricultural lands. Adopting a mixed methods research approach, this study

Sustainable food production through integrating knowledge of indigenous and local communities has significance for meeting the UN-SDGs (sustainable development goals). The majority of the food supply comes from cereal crops, which are exceptionally delicate to changing weather and climate conditions. Therefore, climate-resilient underutilized local crops may be a good option to be considered as potential

Regionally scaled assessments of hydrologic alteration for small streams and its effects on freshwater taxa are often inhibited by a low number of stream gages. To overcome this limitation, we paired modeled estimates of hydrologic alteration to a benthic macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity data for 4522 stream reaches across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Using separate random-forest models

The fact that there are no real borders between the biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere means that environmental pollution monitoring studies should not only include one of the environmental spheres. Thus, integrated environmental pollution assessment studies conducted in the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere promote the “whole system” approach. In this study, the aim was to determine

Over one-fourth of the world’s land area is dedicated to agriculture, and these lands provide important ecosystem services (ES). Trees are a key component of agricultural ecosystems’ ability to provide ES, especially in tropical regions. Agricultural landowners’ evaluation of the ES provided by trees influences management decisions, impacting tree cover at large scales. Using a case study approach

The United States Forest Service, a federal agency entrusted with managing 78 M hectares of national forestlands under a broad multiple-use mandate, has seen recent shifts in policy direction emphasizing ecological restoration, consideration of climate change impacts, and a focus on managing for resilient landscapes. The process of revising the comprehensive plans guiding national forest management

Conservation efforts, including authorities outlined in the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, are attempting to slow the decline of species. Opinions on the success of the ESA vary widely, due in part to few species historically recovering to the point of delisting. Uncertainty surrounding the ESA relates to listing decisions and ambiguity of terminology within the ESA itself. Our goal was

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01443-4

Bangladesh is a country of natural disasters and climatic hazards, which frequently affect its inhabitants’ lives and livelihoods. Among the various risks and disasters, floods are the most frequent hazard that makes haor households vulnerable. Therefore, this study was undertaken to estimate livelihood vulnerability to flooding within the flood-prone haor ecosystem in Bangladesh. Primary data were

Probabilistic health risk assessment has widely been used for more realistic risk analysis of contaminants. However, the existing probabilistic modeling process may be unable to reflect the actual health risks comprehensively. In the present study, the Monte Carlo simulation was employed to assess the probabilistic health risks of exposing to arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in groundwater through ingestion

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01440-7

Ensuring food security while also protecting biodiversity requires a governance system that can address intra- and intersectoral complexity. In this paper, we sought to explore the governance challenges surrounding food security and biodiversity conservation through an empirical study in Jimma zone, southwestern Ethiopia. We used bottom-up snowball sampling to identify stakeholders and then held semi-structured

Flow regulation impacts on riparian vegetation composition, often increasing the prevalence of exotic and terrestrial plant species. Environmental flows may benefit native riparian vegetation via the promotion of plant recruitment from riparian soil seedbanks, but this is dependent on an intact native seedbank. Thus, we assessed the composition of the soil seedbank of different riverine geomorphic

Models are essential to assess the socio-economic credentials of new agroforestry systems. In this study, we showcase robust optimisation as a tool to evaluate agroforestry’s potential to meet farmers’ multiple goals. Our modelling approach has three parts. First, we use a discrete land-use model to evaluate two agroforestry systems (alley cropping and silvopasture) and conventional land uses against

Climate change (CC) effects on agriculture development and households’ vulnerability are widely recognized. Being aware of the induced effects of climatic risks, farmers have adopted adaptation strategies to build resilience. Analyzes the determinants of choice of adaptation strategies using binary models can lead to an estimation bias, since the number of adopted strategies may be correlated. This

We explored how consumers value the ecological and socio-cultural benefits of diversified food production systems in Finland. We used a stated preference method and contingent valuation to quantify consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the benefits of increased farm and regional scale diversity of cultivation practices and crop rotations. Three valuation scenarios were presented to a representative

This paper reports on an exploratory case study to help facilitate a culture of dialogue in Japan. There is an emphasis on proposing methods for polyphonic dialogue among citizens, and between citizens and experts, to effectively manage the environment. This paper argues that a culture of dialogue is essential to pluralistic participatory environmental governance. A random sampling-based citizen dialogue—involving

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest single ice-free area in Antarctica, and of considerable scientific and conservation value as an extreme polar desert. This is recognised through the McMurdo Dry Valleys Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA), where management’s goals focus on protection of its unique features, while facilitating science access. Using a mix of remote sensing and existing cartography