Bibliography

711 publications found

• Carbon Removal Using Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems Is Uncertain and Unreliable, With Questionable Climatic Cost-Effectiveness

  Williamson, P. & Gattuso, J.P. Frontiers in Climate (2022). Review.
  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2022.853666/full

  Abstract

  Mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal saltmarshes are vegetated coastal ecosystems that accumulate and store large quantities of carbon in their sediments. Many recent studies and reviews have favorably identified the potential for such coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems to provide a natural climate solution in two ways: by conservation, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the loss and degradation of such habitats, and by restoration, to increase carbon dioxide drawdown and its long-term storage. The focus here is on the latter, assessing the feasibility of achieving quantified and secure carbon removal (negative emissions) through the restoration of coastal vegetation. Seven issues that affect the reliability of carbon accounting for this approach are considered: high variability in carbon burial rates; errors in determining carbon burial rates; lateral carbon transport; fluxes of methane and nitrous oxide; carbonate formation and dissolution; vulnerability to future climate change; and vulnerability to non-climatic factors. Information on restoration costs is also reviewed, with the conclusion that costs are highly uncertain, with lower-range estimates unrealistic for wider application. CO2 removal using coastal blue carbon restoration therefore has questionable cost-effectiveness when considered only as a climate mitigation action, either for carbon-offsetting or for inclusion in Nationally Determined Contributions. Many important issues relating to the measurement of carbon fluxes and storage have yet to be resolved, affecting certification and resulting in potential over-crediting. The restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems is nevertheless highly advantageous for climate adaptation, coastal protection, food provision and biodiversity conservation. Such action can therefore be societally justified in very many circumstances, based on the multiple benefits that such habitats provide at the local scale.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem-based mitigationClimate change mitigationCoastline

• Building climate resilience through nature-based solutions in Europe: A review of enabling knowledge, finance and governance frameworks

  Calliari, E. et al. Climate Risk Management (2022). Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096322000572

  Abstract

  The European Union (EU) has firmly positioned itself as a global leader in promoting and implementing nature-based solutions (NBS). The recently released EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, and Forest Strategy – all representing key pillars of the ambitious European Green Deal (EGD) – rely on NBS to both preserve and restore ecosystem integrity and increase climate resilience. Although research and policy in Europe have advanced the conceptualization and operationalization of NBS, a much wider adoption is needed to reach the ambitious goals of the EGD and fulfil its vision of transforming into a sustainable, climate-neutral, climate resilient, fair, and prosperous EU by 2050. In this paper, we review recent EU-supported research, policy, and practices to identify critical dimensions that still need to be addressed for greater uptake of NBS. While recognising the multiple societal challenges NBS can target, we build on the key messages from the ‘5th European Climate Change Adaptation conference ECCA 2021′ and focus our analysis on NBS for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. We screen a wide range of NBS cases across the EU and identify-three core challenges to implementation: the lack of a comprehensive evidence base on the effectiveness of NBS to address targeted challenges; the need for a greater involvement of the private sector in financing NBS; and opportunities for enhancing stakeholder engagement in the successful design and implementation of NBS. We take these challenges as the starting point for a broader reflection and critical discussion on the role of i) knowledge, i) finance, including investments in NBS and divestments from nature-negative projects, and iii) governance and policy frameworks to enable the uptake of NBS. We conclude by identifying options for the EU to foster the uptake of NBS in research, policy and practice.

  Nature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reduction

• The risks of overstating the climate benefits of ecosystem restoration

  Doelman, J.C. & Stehfest, E. Nature (2022). Communication.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04881-0

  Abstract

  Arising from B. B. N. Strassburg et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2784-9 (2020

  Preventing dangerous climate change and halting the global loss of biodiversity are considered crucial goals to ensure a sustainable future on Earth1,2. Strassburg et al.3 present a high-resolution method to identify optimal locations for ecosystem restoration globally for conserving biodiversity and increasing carbon sequestration. Their most prominently presented conclusion is that 30% of the total CO2 increase in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution can be sequestered by restoring 15% of converted lands. Here we argue that this is an overly optimistic message that is partly based on inaccurate assumptions and that this creates unrealistic expectations for the contribution of restoration to the mitigation of climate change.

  Ecological restorationClimate change mitigation

• Disentangling the numbers behind agriculture-driven tropical deforestation

  Pendrill, F., et al. Science (2022). Review.
  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm9267

  Abstract

  Tropical deforestation continues at alarming rates with profound impacts on ecosystems, climate, and livelihoods, prompting renewed commitments to halt its continuation. Although it is well established that agriculture is a dominant driver of deforestation, rates and mechanisms remain disputed and often lack a clear evidence base. We synthesize the best available pantropical evidence to provide clarity on how agriculture drives deforestation. Although most (90 to 99%) deforestation across the tropics 2011 to 2015 was driven by agriculture, only 45 to 65% of deforested land became productive agriculture within a few years. Therefore, ending deforestation likely requires combining measures to create deforestation-free supply chains with landscape governance interventions. We highlight key remaining evidence gaps including deforestation trends, commodity-specific land-use dynamics, and data from tropical dry forests and forests across Africa.

  OtherEcosystem healthForest

• The effects of a decade of agri-environment intervention in a lowland farm landscape on population trends of birds and butterflies

  Redhead, J.W., et al. Journal of Applied Ecology (2022). Original Research.
  https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14246

  Abstract

  1. Declines in farmland biodiversity remain evident despite over three decades of research and implementation of agri-environment schemes (AES). Although positive effects of AES are often demonstrated locally or in the short term, studies exploring longer term trends in biodiversity often show contradictory results. Evidence for the potential of AES to drive beneficial changes in populations remains sparse, especially for mobile taxa such as birds and butterflies.
  2. We analysed the abundance of 12 widespread bird and 9 butterfly species from a 10-year study of AES intervention in a farmland landscape in southern England. We compared estimates of annual population growth rates from our study landscape with rates derived from large-scale national monitoring schemes in equivalent landscapes without substantial AES.
  3. Species trends in our study landscape were frequently stable or increasing, in contrast to concurrent declining trends in equivalent landscapes without AES. These differences were significant for total abundance of granivorous species and for chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus and great tit Parus major individually. For butterflies, differences in trends were significantly more positive for gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus and green-veined white Pieris napi, while small white P. rapae showed a trend that was significantly more negative in our study landscape.
  4. Synthesis and applications. Our results demonstrate that, for some bird and butterfly species, the higher abundances associated with areas of AES uptake within a typical commercial farmland landscape can co-occur with positive or stable population trends over long time scales and that these trends can show significant differences from those in equivalent landscapes without substantial AES interventions. Our results suggest that previously observed inconsistencies in AES benefits may in part reflect a lack of long-term studies with accurate data on AES uptake and quality (i.e. successful implementation and management). Our results, thus, affirm the importance of delivering and monitoring high-quality AES options if the design and implementation of the next generation of AES is to achieve significant benefits for biodiversity.
  Ecological restorationNature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Biodiversity outcomes of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: Characterising the evidence base

  Key, I. et al. Frontiers in Environmental Science (2022). Review.
  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.905767/full

  Abstract

  Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised for their potential to address both the climate and biodiversity crises. Both these outcomes rely on the capacity of NbS to support and enhance the health of an ecosystem: its biodiversity, the condition of its abiotic and biotic elements, and its capacity to continue to function despite environmental change. However, while understanding of ecosystem health outcomes of NbS for climate change mitigation has developed in recent years, the outcomes of those implemented for adaptation remain poorly understood. To address this, we systematically reviewed the outcomes of 109 nature-based interventions for climate change adaptation using 33 indicators of ecosystem health across eight broad categories (e.g., diversity, biomass, ecosystem composition). We showed that 88% of interventions with reported positive outcomes for climate change adaptation also reported benefits for ecosystem health. We also showed that interventions were associated with a 67% average increase in species richness. All eight studies that reported benefits for both climate change mitigation and adaptation also supported ecosystem health, leading to a “triple win.” However, there were also trade-offs, mainly for forest management and creation of novel ecosystems such as monoculture plantations of non-native species. Our review highlights two key limitations in our understanding of the outcomes of NbS for ecosystem health. First, a limited selection of metrics are used and these rarely include key aspects such as functional diversity and habitat connectivity. Second, taxonomic coverage is limited: 50% of interventions only had evidence for effects on plants, and 57% of outcomes did not distinguish between native and non-native species. We make suggestions of how to improve assessments of the ecosystem health outcomes of NbS, as well as policy recommendations to enable the upscaling of NbS that support flourishing and resilient ecosystems, and are effective in addressing both climate and biodiversity goals.

  Nature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptation

• A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems

  Keith, D.A., et al. Nature (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05318-4

  Abstract

  As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’1,2. Advancing dual imperatives to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services requires reliable and resilient generalizations and predictions about ecosystem responses to environmental change and management3. Ecosystems vary in their biota4, service provision5 and relative exposure to risks6, yet there is no globally consistent classification of ecosystems that reflects functional responses to change and management. This hampers progress on developing conservation targets and sustainability goals. Here we present the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, a conceptually robust, scalable, spatially explicit approach for generalizations and predictions about functions, biota, risks and management remedies across the entire biosphere. The outcome of a major cross-disciplinary collaboration, this novel framework places all of Earth’s ecosystems into a unifying theoretical context to guide the transformation of ecosystem policy and management from global to local scales. This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

  Not applicableEcosystem health

• Leakage does not fully offset soy supply-chain efforts to reduce deforestation in Brazil

  Villoria, N., et al. Nature Communications (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33213-z

  Abstract

  Zero-deforestation supply chain policies that leverage the market power of commodity buyers to change agricultural producer behavior can reduce forest clearing in regions with rapid commodity expansion and weak forest governance. Yet leakage—when deforestation is pushed to other regions—may dilute the global effectiveness of regionally successful policies. Here we show that domestic leakage offsets 43-50% of the avoided deforestation induced by existing and proposed zero-deforestation supply chain policies in Brazil’s soy sector. However, cross-border leakage is insignificant (<3%) because soybean production is displaced to existing U.S. farmland. Eliminating deforestation from the supply chains of all firms exporting Brazilian soy to the EU or China from 2011-2016 could have reduced net global deforestation by 2% and Brazilian deforestation by 9%. Thus, if major tropical commodity importers (e.g., the EU) require traders to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains, it could help bend the curve on global forest loss.

  Ecosystem-based managementNatural resource managementNature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialForest

• Land tenure drives Brazil’s deforestation rates across socio-environmental contexts

  Pacheco, A. & Meyer, C. Nature Communications (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33398-3

  Abstract

  Many tropical forestlands are experiencing changes in land-tenure regimes, but how these changes may affect deforestation rates remains ambiguous. Here, we use Brazil’s land-tenure and deforestation data and quasi-experimental methods to analyze how six land-tenure regimes (undesignated/untitled, private, strictly-protected and sustainable-use protected areas, indigenous, and quilombola lands) affect deforestation across 49 spatiotemporal scales. We find that undesignated/untitled public regimes with poorly defined tenure rights increase deforestation relative to any alternative regime in most contexts. The privatization of these undesignated/untitled lands often reduces this deforestation, particularly when private regimes are subject to strict environmental regulations such as the Forest Code in Amazonia. However, private regimes decrease deforestation less effectively and less reliably than alternative well-defined regimes, and directly privatizing either conservation regimes or indigenous lands would most likely increase deforestation. This study informs the ongoing political debate around land privatization/protection in tropical landscapes and can be used to envisage policy aligned with sustainable development goals.

  Area-based approachesEcosystem-based managementNatural resource managementNature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthForest

• Soil structure and microbiome functions in agroecosystems

  Hartmann, M. & Six, J. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2022). Review.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00366-w

  Abstract

  Soil microbiomes drive key functions in agroecosystems, determining soil fertility, crop productivity and stress tolerance. The microbiome is intricately linked with soil structure, such as aggregation and pore connectivity, because this structure regulates the flow of water, oxygen and nutrients through the system. In this Review, we summarize the key functions of soil microbiomes in agroecosystems, highlight the dependence of these functions on the structural integrity of the soil, and discuss how agricultural practices influence the link between soil structure and microbiome functioning. System-level agricultural management practices can induce structural alterations to the soil, thereby changing the microbial processes occurring at the microscale. These changes have large-scale consequences, such as soil erosion, reduced soil fertility and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable approaches such as integrated soil fertility management and integrated pest management seek to improve soil structure and enhance microbial biodiversity, but we lack a mechanistic understanding of how multifaceted decisions at the farm level shape these context-dependent small-scale processes in the long term. Future research needs to bridge the microscale and field scale to inform agricultural management decisions for building climate-smart, resource-efficient and stress-resilient agroecosystems, and to harness the soil microbiome as a nature-based solution for sustainable agriculture.

  Nature-based agricultural systemsClimate change adaptationEcosystem healthFood and water securityArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Land use and soil characteristics affect soil organisms differently from above-ground assemblages

  Burton, V. J. et al. Nature-Based Solutions (2022). Original Research.
  https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-022-02089-4

  Abstract

  Background
  Land-use is a major driver of changes in biodiversity worldwide, but studies have overwhelmingly focused on above-ground taxa: the effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in ecosystem functioning. We modelled data from a global biodiversity database to compare how the abundance of soil-dwelling and above-ground organisms responded to land use and soil properties.

  Results
  We found that land use affects overall abundance differently in soil and above-ground assemblages. The abundance of soil organisms was markedly lower in cropland and plantation habitats than in primary vegetation and pasture. Soil properties influenced the abundance of soil biota in ways that differed among land uses, suggesting they shape both abundance and its response to land use.

  Conclusions
  Our results caution against assuming models or indicators derived from above-ground data can apply to soil assemblages and highlight the potential value of incorporating soil properties into biodiversity models.

  Nature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: A systematic review of systematic reviews

  Johnson, B. A. et al. Nature-Based Solutions (2022). Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772411522000349

  Abstract

  More than 90 systematic reviews have been conducted on the topic of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation (NBS-CCA). These prior reviews, however, are scattered across more than 45 different peer-reviewed journals and gray literature sources, making it difficult to follow all of the knowledge generated and remaining research gaps. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of systematic reviews on the topic of NBS-CCA, with the objective of mapping and analyzing these prior reviews. We found that most of the prior systematic reviews had relatively narrow research focuses, typically focusing on a particular geographic context of NBS-CCA (mainly in urban and coastal areas) or on a particular aspect of NBS-CCA planning/implementation (mainly outcomes assessment and policy/governance issues). Fewer reviews focused on mountainous areas or on social and financial aspects of NBS-CCA planning/implementation. The majority reviews relied solely on peer-reviewed literature for analysis, with only 26% including gray literature, despite the large amount and variety of gray literature on NBS-CCA that exists. Notably, we found that no prior systematic reviews have yet attempted to comprehensively analyze all geographic contexts and all aspects of NBS-CCA, e.g. through a review and meta-analysis of all available peer-reviewed and gray literature on the topic. This would likely require a massive multidisciplinary effort, but could be a worthy endeavor considering the realized need to integrate NBS-CCA into national/subnational policies and various international environmental agreements pertaining to climate change (e.g., Paris Agreement) and biodiversity conservation (e.g., Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework).

  Nature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & development

• The supply of multiple ecosystem services requires biodiversity across spatial scales

  Le Provost, G. et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01918-5

  Abstract

  The impact of local biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning is well established, but the role of larger-scale biodiversity dynamics in the delivery of ecosystem services remains poorly understood. Here we address this gap using a comprehensive dataset describing the supply of 16 cultural, regulating and provisioning ecosystem services in 150 European agricultural grassland plots, and detailed multi-scale data on land use and plant diversity. After controlling for land-use and abiotic factors, we show that both plot-level and surrounding plant diversity play an important role in the supply of cultural and aboveground regulating ecosystem services. In contrast, provisioning and belowground regulating ecosystem services are more strongly driven by field-level management and abiotic factors. Structural equation models revealed that surrounding plant diversity promotes ecosystem services both directly, probably by fostering the spill-over of ecosystem service providers from surrounding areas, and indirectly, by maintaining plot-level diversity. By influencing the ecosystem services that local stakeholders prioritized, biodiversity at different scales was also shown to positively influence a wide range of stakeholder groups. These results provide a comprehensive picture of which ecosystem services rely most strongly on biodiversity, and the respective scales of biodiversity that drive these services. This key information is required for the upscaling of biodiversity–ecosystem service relationships, and the informed management of biodiversity within agricultural landscapes.

  Nature-based agricultural systemsEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & developmentArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Slow development of woodland vegetation and bird communities during 33 years of passive rewilding in open farmland

  Broughton, R. K. et al. PLOS One (2022). Original Research.
  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277545

  Abstract

  Passive rewilding is a potential tool for expanding woodland cover and restoring biodiversity by abandoning land management and allowing natural vegetation succession to occur. Land can be abandoned to passive rewilding deliberately or due to socio-economic change. Despite abandonment being a major driver of land use change, few have studied the long-term outcomes for vegetation and biodiversity in Western Europe. Studies are also biased towards sites that are close to seed sources and favourable to woodland colonisation. In this case-study, we reconstruct a time series of passive rewilding over 33 years on 25 ha of former farmland that had been subject to soil tipping, far from woodland seed sources. Natural colonisation by shrubs and trees was surveyed at three points during the time series, using field mapping and lidar. Breeding birds were surveyed at three time points, and compared with surveys from nearby farmland. Results showed that natural colonisation of woody vegetation was slow, with open grassland dominating the old fields for two decades, and small wetlands developing spontaneously. After 33 years, thorny shrub thickets covered 53% of the site and former hedgerows became subsumed or degraded, but trees remained scarce. However, the resulting habitat mosaic of shrubland, grassland and wetland supported a locally distinctive bird community. Farmland bird species declined as passive rewilding progressed, but this was countered by relatively more wetland birds and an increase in woodland birds, particularly songbirds, compared to nearby farmland. Alongside biodiversity benefits, shrubland establishment by passive rewilding could potentially provide ecosystem services via abundant blossom resources for pollinators, and recreation and berry-gathering opportunities for people. Although closed-canopy woodland remained a distant prospect even after 33 years, the habitat mosaic arising from passive rewilding could be considered a valuable outcome, which could contribute to nature recovery and provision of ecosystem services.

  Ecological restorationEcosystem healthArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialGrasslandWetland

• Barriers and tools for implementing Nature-based solutions for rail climate change adaptation

  Blackwood, L. & Renaud, F.G. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment (2022). Systematic Review.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922003558

  Abstract

  Globally, the need for railways to adapt to the impacts of climate change is increasing rapidly. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been identified as potential climate change adaptation (CCA) options for rail infrastructure; however, the limited number of examples of their application on railways highlights that many factors still need to be considered to enable their wider implementation. This study identifies barriers to NbS uptake by the rail industry through a systematic literature review, categorising them into seven key themes, whilst also considering potential tools to facilitate their uptake. The ongoing development of NbS standards and guidance is confirmed as a means to resolve the barriers likely to be faced. A framework to support the uptake of NbS in the rail industry is presented and discussed in the context of the existing literature, with climate change risk assessments being recognised as the entry point for CCA in rail infrastructure management.

  Infrastructure-related approachesClimate change adaptationArtificial Landscapes - Terrestrial

• Mapping the planet’s critical natural assets

  Chaplin-Kramer et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). Original Research.
  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01934-5

  Abstract

  Sustaining the organisms, ecosystems and processes that underpin human wellbeing is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Here we define critical natural assets as the natural and semi-natural ecosystems that provide 90% of the total current magnitude of 14 types of nature’s contributions to people (NCP), and we map the global locations of these critical natural assets at 2 km resolution. Critical natural assets for maintaining local-scale NCP (12 of the 14 NCP) account for 30% of total global land area and 24% of national territorial waters, while 44% of land area is required to also maintain two global-scale NCP (carbon storage and moisture recycling). These areas overlap substantially with cultural diversity (areas containing 96% of global languages) and biodiversity (covering area requirements for 73% of birds and 66% of mammals). At least 87% of the world’s population live in the areas benefitting from critical natural assets for local-scale NCP, while only 16% live on the lands containing these assets. Many of the NCP mapped here are left out of international agreements focused on conserving species or mitigating climate change, yet this analysis shows that explicitly prioritizing critical natural assets and the NCP they provide could simultaneously advance development, climate and conservation goals.

  Ecosystem-based managementNature-based solutions in generalClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationDisaster risk reductionEcosystem healthFood and water securityHuman well-being & development