Bibliography

711 publications found

• Implementation of the COP26 declaration to halt forest loss must safeguard and include Indigenous people

  Haenssgen, M.J., et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). Communication.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01650-6

  Abstract

  To the Editor — World and industry leaders at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), held in Glasgow in November 2021, asserted in their declaration on forest and land use a commitment to “halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030”. Nothing less than decisive and coordinated global action is required as we near an apocalyptic future of environmental degradation, species extinction and catastrophic climate change. With the recent acceleration in newly created global commitments and successes, such as the achievement of Aichi Target 11 in 2021, we should nonetheless pause and reflect about the implications of such top-down pledges to conserve forests for Indigenous peoples worldwide.

  Community-based adaptationHuman well-being & developmentForest

• Biodiversity faces its make-or-break year, and research will be key

  Editorial Nature (2022). Perspective.
  https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00110-w

  Abstract

  Editorial – A new action plan to halt biodiversity loss needs scientific specialists to work with those who study how governments function.

  Nature-based solutions in generalEcosystem health

• The co-evolutionary approach to nature-based solutions: A conceptual framework

  Herrmann-Pillath, C., et al. Nature-Based Solutions (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772411522000039

  Abstract

  The concept of NbS bridges between researchers and practitioners who search for innovative solutions to a wide range of societal problems and challenges, mostly related to ecological issues. Our conceptual paper aims at grounding the concept in theorizing NbS as a variant of ‘co-evolutionary technology’ CET, informed by ecological and institutional economics, and contextualized in recent Anthropocene research. This results in a new definition of NbS. NbS mediate between technosphere and biosphere evolution. We formulate four principles of CET, with the pivot of CET meeting both human needs and enhancing biospheric evolutionary potential, which feeds back on CET in co-creative design. The paper introduces core theoretical concepts, such as distributed agency and affordances, and proceeds in detailing CET along the standard tripartite view of technology, that is, design, production and use. We conclude in arguing that CET are inherently ethical since their design requires equal recognition of various human and non-human actors, both in terms of functions and ways of world-making.

  Infrastructure-related approachesNature-based solutions in generalOtherEcosystem healthHuman well-being & development

• Balancing natural forest regrowth and tree planting to ensure social fairness and compliance with environmental policies

  Gastauer, M. et al. Journal of Applied Ecology (2022). Original Research.
  https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14065

  Abstract

  1. 1. The environmental benefits and lower implementation costs of (assisted) natural forest regrowth (NFR) compared to tree planting qualify it as a viable strategy to scale up forest restoration. However, NFR is not suitable in all places, because the potential for forest regeneration depends on the socio-environmental context and differs greatly over space and time. Therefore, it is critical to quantify the potential contribution of NFR for reaching forest restoration targets and complying with environmental policies.
  2. 2. Here, we quantify the socio-environmental consequences of NFR by considering four targets differing in restored area in the Atlantic Forest (6, 8, 15 and 22 Mha). We quantified the compliance with environmental policies, expected distribution of natural and restored vegetation within the biome and social fairness (distribution of restoration efforts and costs within small, medium and large-sized properties) of two hypothetical forest restoration scenarios.
  3. 3. We show that large-scale forest restoration prioritizing the areas with the highest potential for NFR (Scenario I) allows us to comply with one-third of the current environmental debt in the Atlantic Forest. Furthermore, this scenario disproportionately burdens specific types of land use, increases socioeconomic inequalities and concentrates restoration activities in regions in which the natural vegetation cover is already high.
  4. 4. By contrast, Scenario II—eradicating the environmental debt that results from environmental policies, then prioritizing areas with the lowest overall restoration costs until reaching the restoration targets—is socially fairer and maximizes compliance with environmental policies. Its outcomes are more homogeneously distributed among counties and small, medium and large-sized properties from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Despite doubling the implementation costs, the lower overall restoration costs in Scenario II result from significantly lower opportunity costs than in Scenario I.
  5. 5. Synthesis and application. The environmental, social and economic outputs of large-scale forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest can be maximized when NFR and tree planting are balanced (Scenario II). To achieve compliance with forest restoration commitments, we thus advocate for the site-specific selection of the best forest restoration strategy to guarantee social fairness and compliance with environmental policies at minimum overall restoration costs.
  Ecological restorationClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthHuman well-being & developmentForest

• NBS Framework for Agricultural Landscapes

  Simelton, E., et al. Front. Environ. Sci. (2022). Review.
  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.678367/full

  Abstract

  Entering the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, interventions referred to as nature-based solutions (NBS) are at the forefront of the sustainability discourse. While applied in urban, natural forest or wetland ecosystems, they are underutilized in agricultural landscapes. This paper presents a technical framework to characterise NBS in agricultural systems. NBS in the agriculture sector is proposed as “the use of natural processes or elements to improve ecosystem functions of environments and landscapes affected by agricultural practices, and to enhance livelihoods and other social and cultural functions, over various temporal and spatial scales.” The framework emerges from a review of 188 peer-reviewed articles on NBS and green infrastructure published between 2015 and 2019 and three international expert consultations organized in 2019–2020. The framework establishes four essential functions for NBS in agriculture: 1) Sustainable practices — with a focus on production; 2) Green Infrastructure — mainly for engineering purposes such as water and soil, and slope stabilization; 3) Amelioration — for restoration of conditions for plants, water, soil or air and climate change mitigation; and 4) Conservation — focusing on biodiversity and ecosystem connectivity. The framework connects the conventional divide between production and conservation to add functionality, purpose and scale in project design. The review confirmed limited evidence of NBS in agricultural systems particularly in developing country contexts, although specific technologies feature under other labels. Consultations indicated that wider adoption will require a phased approach to generate evidence, while integrating NBS in national and local policies and agricultural development strategies. The paper concludes with recommended actions required to facilitate such processes.

  Infrastructure-related approachesClimate change adaptationEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & developmentArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Restoration of forest resilience to fire from old trees is possible across a large Colorado dry-forest landscape by 2060, but only under the Paris 1.5℃ goal

  Baker, W.L. Global Change Biology (2022). Original Research.
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15714

  Abstract

  Fire-prone dry forests often face increasing fires from climate change with low resistance and resilience due to logging of large, old fire-resistant trees. Their restoration across large landscapes is constrained by limited mature trees, physical settings, and protection. Active restoration has been costly and shown limited effectiveness, but lower cost passive restoration is less studied. I used GIS and machine learning to see whether passive restoration of old trees could overcome constraints in time, by 2060, across 667,000 ha of montane forests in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, where temperatures are increasing faster than the global average. Random Forest models of physical locations of reconstructed historical old growth (OG) and relatively frequent fire (RFF) show historical OG with RFF was favored between 6.1 and 7.9℃ annual mean temperatures. Random Forest models projected that similar temperature-suitable locations were moved into the current middle montane ca 2015, and would be extended to just below the upper limit of the montane if the Paris 1.5℃ goal is reached, but beyond if not. US Forest Service common stand exam data, which covered ~15% of the study area and included 26,149 tree ages, show the highest potential for restoring resistance and resilience from old trees is a ≥120-year age class. This class could become a ≥160-year age class, which meets old-growth age criteria, over 81% of the area by ca 2060, nearly fully restoring historical old-growth levels. Half this age class is already protected, and much of the remainder could be retained using evidence-based diameter caps. Datasets thus are sufficient to show that passive restoration of old-tree resistance and resilience to fire is feasible by ca 2060 across a large montane landscape, although contingent on global success in achieving the Paris 1.5℃ goal. Passive restoration may be viable elsewhere.

  Ecological restorationForest landscape restorationClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthForest

• Co-benefits of forest carbon projects in Southeast Asia

  Vadya Sarira, T., et al. Nature Sustainability (2022). Communication. Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00849-0

  Abstract

  Forest carbon projects can deliver multiple benefits to society. Within Southeast Asia, 58% of forests threatened by loss could be protected as financially viable carbon projects, which would avoid 835 MtCO2e of emissions per year from deforestation, support dietary needs for an equivalent of 323,739 people annually from pollinator-dependent agriculture, retain 78% of the volume of nitrogen pollutants in watersheds yearly and safeguard 25 Mha of Key Biodiversity Areas.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementForest landscape restorationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthFood and water securityForest

• Nature-based solutions in mountain catchments reduce impact of anthropogenic climate change on drought streamflow

  Holden, P. B., et al. Communications Earth & Environment (2022). Communication. Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00379-9

  Abstract

  Quantifying how well Nature-based Solutions can offset anthropogenic climate change impacts is important for adaptation planning, but has rarely been done. Here we show that a widely-applied Nature-based Solution in South Africa – invasive alien tree clearing – reduces the impact of anthropogenic climate change on drought streamflow. Using a multi-model joint-attribution of climate and landscape-vegetation states during the 2015–2017 Cape Town “Day Zero” drought, we find that anthropogenic climate change reduced streamflow by 12–29% relative to a counterfactual world with anthropogenic emissions removed. This impact on streamflow was larger than corresponding reductions in rainfall (7–15%) and reference evapotranspiration (1.7–2%). Clearing invasive alien trees could have ameliorated streamflow reductions by 3–16% points for moderate invasions levels. Preventing further invasive alien tree spread avoided potential additional reductions of 10–27% points. Total clearing could not have offset the anthropogenic climate change impact completely. Invasive alien tree clearing is an important form of catchment restoration for managing changing hydroclimatic risk, but will need to be combined with other adaptation options as climate change accelerates.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementForest landscape restorationClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionFood and water securityForestMontane

• Identifying barriers for nature-based solutions in flood risk management: An interdisciplinary overview using expert community approach

  Raška, P., et al. Journal of Environmental Management (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479722002985

  Abstract

  The major event that hit Europe in summer 2021 reminds society that floods are recurrent and among the costliest and deadliest natural hazards. The long-term flood risk management (FRM) efforts preferring sole technical measures to prevent and mitigate floods have shown to be not sufficiently effective and sensitive to the environment. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) mark a recent paradigm shift of FRM towards solutions that use nature-derived features, processes and management options to improve water retention and mitigate floods. Yet, the empirical evidence on the effects of NBS across various settings remains fragmented and their implementation faces a series of institutional barriers. In this paper, we adopt a community expert perspective drawing upon LAND4FLOOD Natural flood retention on private land network (https://www.land4flood.eu) in order to identify a set of barriers and their cascading and compound interactions relevant to individual NBS. The experts identified a comprehensive set of 17 barriers affecting the implementation of 12 groups of NBS in both urban and rural settings in five European regional environmental domains (i.e., Boreal, Atlantic, Continental, Alpine-Carpathian, and Mediterranean). Based on the results, we define avenues for further research, connecting hydrology and soil science, on the one hand, and land use planning, social geography and economics, on the other. Our suggestions ultimately call for a transdisciplinary turn in the research of NBS in FRM.

  Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcological restorationInfrastructure-related approachesNature-based solutions in generalDisaster risk reductionEcosystem healthCoastlineForestWetland

• Citizen participation in the governance of nature-based solutions

  Kiss, B., et al. Environmental Policy and Governance (2022). Original Research.
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eet.1987

  Abstract

  The last half-a-century has seen a marked demand for authentic citizen participation in public policy-and decision-making, not least in the field of sustainability. The depth and forms of citizen engagement in nature-based solutions (NBS), for example, and how such participation shapes their trajectories is gaining increasing attention. In this paper, we analyze current forms and implications of citizen participation in 58 NBS case studies conducted in 21 cities in the light of supporting wider sustainability goals. Our results show that while tokenistic forms dominate citizen participation across a variety of NBS contexts, collaborative multi-stakeholder forms of engagement do not automatically lead to enhanced ecological functions. Deeper forms of engagement, however, strengthen and diversify both expected and unexpected social outcomes, including social learning, enhanced sense of belonging, environmental stewardship, and inclusiveness and equity, in general. Driven by neoliberal austerity logic governments often cede power to NBS promoters whose interests predefine an intervention’s vision of nature. Deeper levels of participation are hence limited by inherent institutional structures, neoliberal regimes and the lack of trust among actors involved. These limitations can be partially bridged by strengthening relational and reflexive capacities of public institutions. Focusing on the process of citizen engagement and creating multiple arenas for discussion could bring out new voices and narratives and also transform the culture of participation.

  Community-based adaptationNature-based solutions in generalEcosystem healthHuman well-being & development

• Toward Indigenous visions of nature-based solutions: an exploration into Canadian federal climate policy

  Reed, G., et al. Climate Policy (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2022.2047585

  Abstract

  Political traction for nature-based solutions is rapidly growing as governments recognize their role in addressing the simultaneous climate and biodiversity crises. While there has been recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in nature-based solutions, there has also been limited academic review on their relationship. This paper explores how the Government of Canada’s conceptualization of nature-based solutions either support or prevent Indigenous sustainable self-determination. Drawing on past policy frameworks, we construct a novel four-dimensional sustainable self-determination policy lens focused on: Indigenous knowledge systems; Indigenous jurisdiction over land; the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples; and Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders to review a total of nine federal climate policy, planning, and science documents. Our analysis shows that while there is growing recognition of Indigenous rights, inclusion of Indigenous knowledge, and commitments to include the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the implementation of certain climate activities, there is a clear unwillingness to recognize Indigenous jurisdiction and Indigenous understandings of land as systems of reciprocal relations. Reframing nature-based solutions in the context of Canadian and international climate policy is essential not only to advance the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, but also to create the ceremonial ground for Indigenous visions of nature-based solutions in order to address these joint crises.

  Community-based adaptationNature-based solutions in generalEcosystem healthHuman well-being & development

• Ecosystem Services Analysis and Design through Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Planning at a Neighbourhood Scale

  Semeraro, T. et al. Urban Science (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/6/1/23

  Abstract

  The new frontiers of sustainable cities should focus on urban planning tools and strategies that are able to integrate ecosystem services in urban development. An important step could include the design of nature-based solutions (NbSs) for introducing important ecological functions aiding human well-being and mitigating the loss of soil. In this study, we propose a methodology to analyse, in a spatial way, the effect of land use scenarios generated by urban planning in the provision of ecosystem services. The methodology analyses the variation of ecosystem services, considering the ecosystem services of the study area and their potential roles in changing the functions of planned urban actions as the starting point. One scenario of analysis includes the integration of NbSs into urban planning. The case study is that of a peri-urban area, characterized by an agroecosystem, which is intended for urban development in the municipality of Gallipoli, Southern Italy. The analysis highlights a low provision of ecosystem services by the agroecosystem, which has had the effect of important olive trees being destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa bacteria. Thus, the integration of NbSs and reducing the construction of buildings in the urban neighbourhood plan could improve the quantity of ecosystem services in the area. Moreover, the ecological design of ecosystem services could improve the typology of ecosystem services provision in the area in consideration of the starting points. Therefore, the analysis of the capacity to integrate ecosystem services in urban planning at the neighbourhood scale could be a tool of ecological urban design, useful to support the decision-making processes.

  Ecosystem-based managementNature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Identifying Spatial Patterns and Ecosystem Service Delivery of Nature-Based Solutions

  Guerrero, P., et al. Environmental Management (2022). Original Research.
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-022-01613-y

  Abstract

  Compared to technical infrastructure, nature-based solutions, NBS, strive to work with nature and to move beyond business-as-usual practices in order to address societal challenges such as flood risks. This research aims to spatially identify possible NBS areas and evaluate the areas capacity to provide selected ecosystem services, ES, for the Lahn river landscape in Germany. The research follows the functional landscape approach using hydromorphological landscape units, HLU, based on specific biophysical spatial criteria, such as slope, to then identify locations which may be considered suitable for NBS. The current ES delivery of these possible NBS areas is then evaluated. The three ES assessed are carbon storage, nutrient retention and recreation. We then undertake a geospatial comparison analysis to show the spatial relationships and patterns that emerge in regards to the ES configuration of the distinct NBS apt areas. Results show the HLU method serves to delineate and identify areas where NBS may exist or be implemented. The data depicts a distinct spatial pattern for each possible NBS space and complementary ES delivery. This explorative method is a useful spatial approach that can support NBS implementation and serve to investigate the multiple benefits NBS provide. The use of ecosystem services to compare and understand NBS is a viable prospect that must, however, be cautiously, locally and scientifically approached. Noticeable limitations regarding ES assessment remain, as available methods are often insufficiently inclusive of natural ecosystem processes and functions. Further research should assess a broader spectrum of NBS and their delivery of ES.

  Nature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthHuman well-being & developmentForestWetland

• A PES scheme promoting forest biodiversity and carbon sequestration

  Kangasa, J. & Ollikainena, M. Forest Policy and Economics (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934122000041

  Abstract

  Forests can play a significant role both in halting biodiversity loss and in mitigating climate change. A variety of payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes exists to promote biodiversity conservation in forests. These schemes could be used to strengthen the role of forests as carbon sinks as well. This paper analyzes the implications of supplementing a PES scheme that targets boreal forest biodiversity with a carbon index. We use a site selection framework to examine how the proposed scheme impacts the promotion of both targets. We compare a case where the selection is done solely based on biodiversity values to a case where the selection is done based on both biodiversity and carbon benefits. The carbon index is formulated as current carbon storage or as future carbon sink. Correspondingly, biodiversity is maximized based on either current ecological values or potential ones. We compare equal or differing weights for biodiversity and carbon indexes, and examine trade-offs between biodiversity and CO2 in current and future values. Combined index values increase with the carbon index, but there is a trade-off between biodiversity and CO2 values if the conservation budget is not increased when the carbon index is introduced. There is a temporal trade-off in biodiversity and carbon values between selecting sites based on current or future values. Younger stands are preferred at the expense of old-growth stands with the carbon index. Weights can be used to balance the trade-off between biodiversity and carbon benefits. Overall, risks to losing significant ecological value from the conservation network are negligible, but the limited number of sites decreases the generalizability of the results.

  Area-based approachesEcosystem-based managementEcosystem-based mitigationNatural resource managementClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthForest

• The biodiversity and ecosystem service contributions and trade-offs of forest restoration approaches

  Hua, F., et al. Science (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl4649

  Abstract

  Forest restoration is being scaled-up globally to deliver critical ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits, yet we lack rigorous comparison of co-benefit delivery across different restoration approaches. In a global synthesis, we use 25,950 matched data pairs from 264 studies in 53 countries to assess how delivery of climate, soil, water, and wood production services as well as biodiversity compares across a range of tree plantations and native forests. Carbon storage, water provisioning, and especially soil erosion control and biodiversity benefits are all delivered better by native forests, with compositionally simpler, younger plantations in drier regions performing particularly poorly. However, plantations exhibit an advantage in wood production. These results underscore important trade-offs among environmental and production goals that policymakers must navigate in meeting forest restoration commitments.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based managementForest landscape restorationNatural resource managementClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialForest

• Integrating remote sensing with ecology and evolution to advance biodiversity conservation

  Cavender-Bares, J., et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). Perspective.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01702-5

  Abstract

  Remote sensing has transformed the monitoring of life on Earth by revealing spatial and temporal dimensions of biological diversity through structural, compositional and functional measurements of ecosystems. Yet, many aspects of Earth’s biodiversity are not directly quantified by reflected or emitted photons. Inclusive integration of remote sensing with field-based ecology and evolution is needed to fully understand and preserve Earth’s biodiversity. In this Perspective, we argue that multiple data types are necessary for almost all draft targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity. We examine five key topics in biodiversity science that can be advanced by integrating remote sensing with in situ data collection from field sampling, experiments and laboratory studies to benefit conservation. Lowering the barriers for bringing these approaches together will require global-scale collaboration.

  Not applicableOtherEcosystem health