| 1. |
- Wynes, Seth, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring what works : Quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions of behavioural interventions to reduce driving, meat consumption, and household energy use
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 13:11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interventions that promote pro-environmental behaviours are increasingly necessary in reducing use of high-emissions goods and services to meet international climate change targets. Here we assess the greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with behavioural interventions in three high-emitting domains (personal vehicle use, meat consumption, and household energy use) based on an analysis of the peer-reviewed literature. We examined 40 studies from 1991-2018 involving 886 576 subjects. We found that some of the most robust interventions shown to reduce emissions were financial incentives for personal vehicles, defaults for reduced meat consumption, and feedback for home energy use. We estimate mean annual reductions of 571 kgCO2e per vehicle driver for reduced vehicle use, 51 kgCO2e per individual for reduced meat consumption, and 149 kgCO2e per household for reduced energy use. Despite substantial attention to behavioural interventions in the literature, we find that few studies are suitable for quantifying emissions reductions (N = 6 for diet, N = 5 for personal vehicles) and few (N = 3) are conducted outside OECD countries. Due to this imbalance in the literature, we focus our findings on western economies. We find substantial variation in the emission reductions achieved with different interventions within each domain; interventions in diet ranged from reductions of 231 kgCO2e to increases of 116 kgCO2e per person per year (both statistically significant). Further, emissions reductions are sensitive to external factors, such as the emissions intensity of the electrical grid, which may change over time. Key gaps in the literature include a lack of studies conducted using randomized controlled trials or follow-ups, and in high-impact areas for emissions reductions including air travel. We highlight promising areas of intervention, such as habit changes to promote mode shifts in personal transportation, which would benefit from an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions reductions in future research.
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| 2. |
- Meng, Lei, et al.
(författare)
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Focus on the impact of climate change on wetland ecosystems and carbon dynamics
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 11:10
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The renewed growth in atmospheric methane (CH4) since 2007 after a decade of stabilization has drawn much attention to its causes and future trends. Wetlands are the single largest source of atmospheric CH4. Understanding wetland ecosystems and carbon dynamics is critical to the estimation of global CH4 and carbon budgets. After approximately 7 years of CH4 related research following the renewed growth in atmospheric CH4, Environmental Research Letters launched a special issue of research letters on wetland ecosystems and carbon dynamics in 2014. This special issue highlights recent developments in terrestrial ecosystem models and field measurements of carbon fluxes across different types of wetland ecosystems. The 14 research letters emphasize the importance of wetland ecosystems in the global CO2 and CH4 budget.
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| 3. |
- Chen, Wenjun, et al.
(författare)
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A typological framework of non-floodplain wetlands for global collaborative research and sustainable use
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 17:11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-floodplain wetlands (NFWs) are important but vulnerable inland freshwater systems that are receiving increased attention and protection worldwide. However, a lack of consistent terminology, incohesive research objectives, and inherent heterogeneity in existing knowledge hinder cross-regional information sharing and global collaboration. To address this challenge and facilitate future management decisions, we synthesized recent work to understand the state of NFW science and explore new opportunities for research and sustainable NFW use globally. Results from our synthesis show that although NFWs have been widely studied across all continents, regional biases exist in the literature. We hypothesize these biases in the literature stem from terminology rather than real geographical bias around existence and functionality. To confirm this observation, we explored a set of geographically representative NFW regions around the world and characteristics of research focal areas. We conclude that there is more that unites NFW research and management efforts than we might otherwise appreciate. Furthermore, opportunities for cross-regional information sharing and global collaboration exist, but a unified terminology will be needed, as will a focus on wetland functionality. Based on these findings, we discuss four pathways that aid in better collaboration, including improved cohesion in classification and terminology, and unified approaches to modeling and simulation. In turn, legislative objectives must be informed by science to drive conservation and management priorities. Finally, an educational pathway serves to integrate the measures and to promote new technologies that aid in our collective understanding of NFWs. Our resulting framework from NFW synthesis serves to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and sustainable use and conservation of wetland systems globally.
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| 4. |
- Crona, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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Sharing the seas : a review and analysis of ocean sector interactions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 16:6
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ocean activities are rapidly expanding as Blue Economy discussions gain traction, creating new potential synergies and conflicts between sectors. To better manage ocean sectors and their development, we need to understand how they interact and the respective outcomes of these interactions. To provide a first comprehensive picture of the situation, we review 3187 articles to map and analyze interactions between economically important ocean sectors and find 93 unique direct and 61 indirect interactions, often mediated via the ocean ecosystem. Analysis of interaction outcomes reveals that some sectors coexist synergistically (e.g. renewable energy, tourism), but many interactions are antagonistic, and negative effects on other sectors are often incurred via degradation of marine ecosystems. The analysis also shows that ocean ecosystems are fundamental for supporting many ocean sectors, yet 13 out of 14 ocean sectors have interactions resulting in unidirectional negative ecosystem impact. Fishing, drilling, and shipping are hubs in the network of ocean sector interactions, and are involved in many of the antagonistic interactions. Antagonistic interactions signal trade-offs between sectors. Qualitative analysis of the literature shows that these tradeoffs relate to the cumulative nature of many ecosystem impacts incurred by some sectors, and the differential power of ocean sectors to exert their rights or demands in the development of the ocean domain. There are also often time lags in how impacts manifest. The ocean governance landscape is not currently well-equipped to deal with the full range of trade-offs, and opportunities, likely to arise in the pursuit of a Blue Economy in a rapidly changing ocean context. Based on our analysis, we therefore propose a set principles that can begin to guide strategic decision-making, by identifying both tradeoffs and opportunities for sustainable and equitable development of ocean sectors.
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| 5. |
- Docquier, David, et al.
(författare)
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A review of interactions between ocean heat transport and Arctic sea ice
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 16:12
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arctic sea ice has been retreating at fast pace over the last decades, with potential impacts on the weather and climate at mid and high latitudes, as well as the biosphere and society. The current sea-ice loss is driven by both atmospheric and oceanic processes. One of these key processes, the influence of ocean heat transport on Arctic sea ice, is one of the least understood due to the greater inaccessibility of the ocean compared to the atmosphere. Recent observational and modeling studies show that the poleward Atlantic and Pacific Ocean heat transports can have a strong influence on Arctic sea ice. In turn, the changing sea ice may also affect ocean heat transport, but this effect has been less investigated so far. In this review, we provide a synthesis of the main studies that have analyzed the interactions between ocean heat transport and Arctic sea ice, focusing on the most recent analyses. We make use of observations and model results, as they are both complementary, in order to better understand these interactions. We show that our understanding in sea ice - ocean heat transport relationships has improved during recent years. The Barents Sea is the Arctic region where the influence of ocean heat transport on sea ice has been the largest in the past years, explaining the large number of studies focusing on this specific region. The Pacific Ocean heat transport also constitutes a key driver in the recent Arctic sea-ice changes, thus its contribution needs to be taken into account. Although under-studied, the impact of sea-ice changes on ocean heat transport, via changes in ocean temperature and circulation, is also important to consider. Further analyses are needed to improve our understanding of these relationships using observations and climate models.
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| 6. |
- Downing, Andrea S., et al.
(författare)
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Learning from generations of sustainability concepts
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 15:8
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: For decades, scientists have attempted to provide a sustainable development framework that integrates goals of environmental protection and human development. The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc)-a framework to guide sustainable development-juxtaposes a 'safe operating space for humanity' and 'planetary boundaries', to achieve a goal that decades of research have yet to meet. We here investigate if PBc is sufficiently different to previous sustainability concepts to have the intended impact, and map how future sustainability concept developments might make a difference. Design: We build a genealogy of the research that is cited in and informs PBc. We analyze this genealogy with the support of two seminal and a new consumer-resource models, that provide simple and analytically tractable analogies to human-environment relationships. These models bring together environmental limits, minimum requirements for populations and relationships between resource-limited and waste-limited environments. Results: PBc is based on coherent knowledge about sustainability that has been in place in scientific and policy contexts since the 1980s. PBc represents the ultimate framing of limits to the use of the environment, as limits not to single resources, but to Holocene-like Earth system dynamics. Though seldom emphasized, the crux of the limits to sustainable environmental dynamics lies in waste (mis-)management, which sets where boundary values might be. Minimum requirements for populations are under-defined: it is the distribution of resources, opportunities and waste that shape what is a safe space and for whom. Discussion: We suggest that PBc is not different or innovative enough to break 'Cassandra's dilemma' and ensure scientific research effectively guides humanity towards sustainable development. For this, key issues of equality must be addressed, un-sustainability must be framed as a problem of today, rather than projected into the future, and scientific foundations of frameworks such as PBc must be broadened and diversified.
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| 7. |
- Downing, Andrea S., et al.
(författare)
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Matching scope, purpose and uses of planetary boundaries science
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 14:7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The Planetary Boundaries concept (PBc) has emerged as a key global sustainability concept in international sustainable development arenas. Initially presented as an agenda for global sustainability research, it now shows potential for sustainability governance. Weuse the fact that it is widely cited in scientific literature (>3500 citations) and an extensively studied concept to analyse how it has been used and developed since its first publication. Design: From the literature that cites the PBc, we select those articles that have the terms 'planetary boundaries' or 'safe operating space' in either title, abstract or keywords. Weassume that this literature substantively engages with and develops the PBc. Results: Wefind that 6% of the citing literature engages with the concept. Within this fraction of the literature we distinguish commentaries-that discuss the context and challenges to implementing the PBc, articles that develop the core biogeophysical concept and articles that apply the concept by translating to sub-global scales and by adding a human component to it. Applied literature adds to the concept by explicitly including society through perspectives of impacts, needs, aspirations and behaviours. Discussion: Literature applying the concept does not yet include the more complex, diverse, cultural and behavioural facet of humanity that is implied in commentary literature. Wesuggest there is need for a positive framing of sustainability goals-as a Safe Operating Space rather than boundaries. Key scientific challenges include distinguishing generalised from context-specific knowledge, clarifying which processes are generalizable and which are scalable, and explicitly applying complex systems' knowledge in the application and development of the PBc. We envisage that opportunities to address these challenges will arise when more human social dimensions are integrated, as we learn to feed the global sustainability vision with a plurality of bottom-up realisations of sustainability.
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| 8. |
- Ecke, Frauke, et al.
(författare)
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Meta-analysis of environmental effects of beaver in relation to artificial dams
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 12
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, artificial river impoundment, nutrient enrichment and biodiversity loss impair freshwater ecosystem integrity. Concurrently, beavers, ecosystem engineers recognized for their ability to construct dams and create ponds, are colonizing sites across the Holarctic after widespread extirpation in the 19th century, including areas outside their historical range. This has the potential to profoundly alter hydrology, hydrochemistry and aquatic ecology in both newly colonized and recolonized areas. To further our knowledge of the effects of beaver dams on aquatic environments, we extracted 1366 effect sizes from 89 studies on the impoundment of streams and lakes. Effects were assessed for 16 factors related to hydrogeomorphology, biogeochemistry, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Beaver dams affected concentrations of organic carbon in water, mercury in water and biota, sediment conditions and hydrological properties. There were no overall adverse effects caused by beaver dams or ponds on salmonid fish. Age was an important determinant of effect magnitude. While young ponds were a source of phosphorus, there was a tendency for phosphorus retention in older systems. Young ponds were a source methylmercury in water, but old ponds were not. To provide additional context, we also evaluated similarities and differences between environmental effects of beaver-constructed and artificial dams (767 effect sizes from 75 studies). Both are comparable in terms of effects on, for example, biodiversity, but have contrasting effects on nutrient retention and mercury. These results are important for assessing the role of beavers in enhancing and/or degrading ecological integrity in changing Holarctic freshwater systems.
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| 9. |
- Messori, Gabriele, et al.
(författare)
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Climate drivers of the terrestrial carbon cycle variability in Europe
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 14:6
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The terrestrial biosphere is a key component of the global carbon cycle and is heavily influenced by climate. Climate variability can be diagnosed through metrics ranging from individual environmental variables, to collections of variables, to the so-called climate modes of variability. Similarly, the impact of a given climate variation on the terrestrial carbon cycle can be described using several metrics, including vegetation indices, measures of ecosystem respiration and productivity and net biosphere-atmosphere fluxes. The wide range of temporal (from sub-daily to paleoclimatic) and spatial (from local to continental and global) scales involved requires a scale-dependent investigation of the interactions between the carbon cycle and climate. However, a comprehensive picture of the physical links and correlations between climate drivers and carbon cycle metrics at different scales remains elusive, framing the scope of this contribution. Here, we specifically explore how climate variability metrics (from single variables to complex indices) relate to the variability of the carbon cycle at sub-daily to interannual scales (i.e. excluding long-term trends). The focus is on the interactions most relevant to the European terrestrial carbon cycle. We underline the broad areas of agreement and disagreement in the literature, and conclude by outlining some existing knowledge gaps and by proposing avenues for improving our holistic understanding of the role of climate drivers in modulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.
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| 10. |
- Milkoreit, Manjana, et al.
(författare)
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Defining tipping points for social-ecological systems scholarship-an interdisciplinary literature review
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 13:3
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The term tipping point has experienced explosive popularity across multiple disciplines over the last decade. Research on social-ecological systems (SES) has contributed to the growth and diversity of the term's use. The diverse uses of the term obscure potential differences between tipping behavior in natural and social systems, and issues of causality across natural and social system components in SES. This paper aims to create the foundation for a discussion within the SES research community about the appropriate use of the term tipping point, especially the relatively novel term 'social tipping point.' We review existing literature on tipping points and similar concepts (e.g. regime shifts, critical transitions) across all spheres of science published between 1960 and 2016 with a special focus on a recent and still small body of work on social tipping points. We combine quantitative and qualitative analyses in a bibliometric approach, rooted in an expert elicitation process. We find that the term tipping point became popular after the year 2000-long after the terms regime shift and critical transition-across all spheres of science. We identify 23 distinct features of tipping point definitions and their prevalence across disciplines, but find no clear taxonomy of discipline-specific definitions. Building on the most frequently used features, we propose definitions for tipping points in general and social tipping points in SES in particular.
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