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Deforestation of tropical rainforests is a major land use change that alters terrestrial biogeochemical cycling at local to global scales. Deforestation and subsequent reforestation are likely to impact soil phosphorus (P) cycling, which in P-limited ecosystems such as the Amazon basin has implications for long-term productivity. We used a 100-year replicated observational chronosequence of primary forest conversion to pasture, as well as a 13-year-old secondary forest, to test land use change and duration effects on soil P dynamics in the Amazon basin. By combining sequential extraction and P K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy with soil phosphatase activity assays, we assessed pools and process rates of P cycling in surface soils (0-10 cm depth). Deforestation caused increases in total P (135-398 mg kg-1 ), total organic P (Po ) (19-168 mg kg-1 ), and total inorganic P (Pi ) (30-113 mg kg-1 ) fractions in surface soils with pasture age, with concomitant increases in Pi fractions corroborated by sequential fractionation and XANES spectroscopy. Soil non-labile Po (10-148 mg kg-1 ) increased disproportionately compared to labile Po (from 4-5 to 7-13 mg kg-1 ). Soil phosphomonoesterase and phosphodiesterase binding affinity (Km ) decreased while the specificity constant (Ka ) increased by 83%-159% in 39-100y pastures. Soil P pools and process rates reverted to magnitudes similar to primary forests within 13 years of pasture abandonment. However, the relatively short but representative pre-abandonment pasture duration of our secondary forest may not have entailed significant deforestation effects on soil P cycling, highlighting the need to consider both pasture duration and reforestation age in evaluations of Amazon land use legacies. Although the space-for-time substitution design can entail variation in the initial soil P pools due to atmospheric P deposition, soil properties, and/or primary forest growth, the trend of P pools and process rates with pasture age still provides valuable insights.

Trees provide vital ecosystem services, yet anthropogenic activities have continued to reduce tree cover (TC) globally, leading to disparities in the distribution of ecosystem services at various scales. Similarly, empirical analysis of indicators that measure variations in TC at various temporal and spatial scales is limited in the semi-arid regions where global environmental challenges such as climate change are already affecting TC distribution. This paper quantified recent (2017 - 2019) TC changes in the semi-arid region of Ghana using Sentinel-2 times series data and the application of landscape metrics. The results showed that TC declined by 30% within two years. Urbanizing areas showed more rapid TC depletion rates, while some rural areas experienced a slight increase in TC. The findings suggest the need for local environmental governance by consolidating actions towards conserving semi-arid TC. Sustainable charcoal and fuelwood production are imperative for a long-term sustainable supply of ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African continent, renowned for its diverse landscapes and abundant biodiversity, grapples with a critical environmental challenge - deforestation. The swift depletion of forests, serving as the primary habitat for 80% of the world's terrestrial animals and plants, poses a severe threat in Africa. Human activities, including logging, agricultural expansion, and urbanization, have jeopardized numerous ecosystems, exacerbating the overarching global climate crisis. Beyond serving as mere collections of trees, forests are intricate ecosystems supporting a staggering diversity of flora and fauna. The repercussions of forest loss in Africa are profound, resulting in a significant decline in biodiversity. Numerous species, some exclusive to these ecosystems and found nowhere else on the planet, now teeter on the brink of extinction. The predicament of deforestation in Africa is intimately intertwined with the broader global challenge of climate change. Urgency is paramount in addressing this crisis, as the loss of forests impacts not only local ecosystems but also exacerbates the overarching climate emergency. Reforestation emerges as a pivotal solution, offering an opportunity to reverse the damage inflicted on these vital ecosystems. This study examines whether forest natural resources can explain the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in African countries. The empirical strategy is based on the second-generation cointegration approach, cross-sectional dependency autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator. The findings show a potential long-run relationship between the forest rent and the environment. Further analysis highlights the importance of effective management of natural forest resources for improving environmental quality in Africa. We recommend that policymakers prioritize the restoration of ecosystems that have suffered carbon depletion due to human activities. Restoration efforts should strategically aim to enhance carbon sequestration capacity and rebuild biodiversity. Additionally, the establishment of robust monitoring and reporting systems is imperative to track current carbon emissions from forests. This entails regular assessments of forest carbon stocks, landuse changes, and the effectiveness of ongoing conservation and restoration initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Satellite-based remote sensing approaches provide a cost-efficient means to collect information on the world’s forests and to repeatedly survey large, or inaccessible, forest areas. However, it may not always be possible to ground truth–associated findings using direct ecological field surveys conducted by trained forest scientists. Local ecological knowledge (LEK) is an alternative form of data which could be used to complement, interpret and verify information from satellite data. Using a case study on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), we evaluate the potential for integrating remote sensing and LEK data, gathered with non-specialist former residents, to understand patterns and drivers of forest cover change. LEK reports often concurred with, or provided key information to enable interpretation of, satellite data. This revealed that between 1986 and 2021, North Korea experienced high, but uneven, rates of deforestation. There was a pronounced northwards deforestation shift in the mid-1990s, coinciding with a period of extreme hardship and famine (the “Arduous March”), and associated with clearance of trees in more forested northern provinces as an economic and fuel resource, and conversion of forest to agricultural cropland. Loss of forest cover in North Korea has continued and recently accelerated, to a rate of > 200 km2 per annum between 2019 and 2021. This increases the vulnerability of North Korean socio-ecological systems to future environmental change and is an obstacle to the recovery of threatened species across the Korean Peninsula. We recommend that LEK- and remote sensing–based approaches are considered within a suite of complementary techniques to analyse forest changes where ecological field surveys cannot be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis case study contributes to the research on the environmental beliefs of extractive industry workers in an illiberal populist regime. This research is based on semi-structured interviews with logging sector workers of the Russian Northwest—a severely understudied population directly involved in resource extraction. The data shows that these workers understand forestland as two separate localities: the northwestern region of Russia, in which the loggers have expertise and knowledge, and the rest of the country, in which workers don’t have any work or travel experience. This division facilitates a process of hybridization of populist environmental narratives on one hand, and loggers’ science-supported knowledge and experiences on the other. This hybridization of the workers’ beliefs is anchored in, and perpetuated by, Russia’s state-controlled media and its modern authoritarian populist regime. This research offers policy implications and encourages future studies on the politicization of the environment and resources in authoritarian populist states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A critical issue in tropical forests is that anthropogenic deforestation (i.e., mining) degrades the integrity of its ecosystem. Reforestation with appropriate native plant species helps to alleviate these detrimental impacts. A protocol to select appropriate plant species for this purpose currently lacks efficacy and timeliness. Methods: We provided a trait-based protocol to quickly and effectively select native plant species for mining reforestation. A 0.2-km² area of Baopoling (BPL) at Hainan Island, China, was used as a study site, which has been severely degraded by 20 years of limestone mining for cement production. First, we identified the tree species in nearby undisturbed tropical forests, followed by evaluating the similarities in functional traits of the most dominant one (target species) and 60 local candidate native plant species (candidate species) whose saplings can be purchased from a local market. Results and discussion: This dataset was used in our trait-based protocol, and only within 1 month, we successfully selected eight plant species which are very similar to target species from the 60 candidate species. We also quantified whether the eight selected plant species were indeed suitable for sustained reforestation by testing their effects on landscape and also their survival rate and recruitment ability after using them to perform reforestation in BPL from 2016 to 2023. Finally, these eight plant species are indeed suitable for reforestation due to their huge influences on a significant shift from originally degraded landscape (comprising only barren rocks) to a forest landscape totally and also their high survival rate (90%-97%) and ability for natural recruitment after 7 years' reforestation in BPL. Thus, we anticipate that this protocol would be integral to species selection during reforestation of tropical mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the creation, development, and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses in Jiangsu Province in East China from 1961 to the 1980s, an example of the technological transition provoked by the depletion of forest and timber in China. Through archival research, fieldwork and interviews, the paper examines the two waves of design and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses between 1961 and 1965 and their subsequent 'vernacularisation' in the 1970s and the 1980s. This research provides a twofold insight into the current scholarly debates surrounding built heritage and global climate change. On one hand, it addresses a historical context of concrete overuse in contemporary China, a matter of critical importance in relation to carbon emissions and global climate change. On the other hand, it offers a counter-argument to today's call for reintroducing timber structures in many places, as evidenced by the case of East China, where the widespread use of materials like concrete was primarily a consequence of the ecological crisis following decades of deforestation and timber resource depletion. In addition, the 'vernacularisation' of concrete structures manifested by this case still provides lessons for today's efforts to popularise more eco-friendly construction materials and technologies, especially in rural areas, and the prefabricated concrete houses possess potential heritage values as trackers of ecological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many nations are struggling to reduce deforestation, despite having extensive environmental protection laws in place and commitments to international agreements that address the biodiversity and climate crises. We developed a novel framework to quantify the extent to which contemporary deforestation is being captured under national and subnational laws. We then applied this framework to northern Australia as a case study, a development and deforestation hotspot with ecosystems of global significance. First, deforestation may be compliant under all relevant legislation, either through assessment and approval or because of exemptions in the legislation. Second, deforestation may be compliant under at least one relevant law, but not all. Third, there may be no evidence of deforestation assessment or exemption from assessment, despite their apparent requirement, which could mean the deforestation is potentially noncompliant. Finally, deforestation may occur in an area or under circumstances that are beyond the intended scope of any relevant legislation. All deforestation that we analyzed was hypothetically covered by one or more laws. However, 65% of deforestation was potentially noncompliant with at least one law. Because multiple laws could be relevant to a given clearing event, the majority of clearing was still compliant with at least one law, but of these events, only a small proportion was explicitly approved (19%). The remaining were permitted under various exemptions. Of all the legislation we analyzed, most of the exempt clearing occurred under one subnational law and most potentially noncompliant clearing occurred under one national law. Our results showed that even a nation with a suite of mature environmental protection laws is falling well short of achieving international commitments regarding deforestation. Our framework can be used to pinpoint the pathways of policy change required for nations to align local laws with these international accords. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite-based land use monitoring and farm-level traceability offer opportunities for targeted zero-deforestation interventions on private lands. Brazil's Rural Environmental Registry (Cadastro Ambiental Rural, or "CAR"), a land cadaster based on self-declaration of property boundaries, was created to monitor compliance with national forest laws. It has become an important enabling measure for sustainable supply chain initiatives like the Amazon Soy Moratorium. However, CAR enrollment is increasingly used to bolster illegal land claims, putting it at the heart of land grabbing dynamics. Self-declaration of properties in the CAR offers a unique situation to study land conflicts and their impact on land use decisions on a large scale. We quantified competing land claims among 846,420 registrations in the Brazilian Legal Amazon and applied a series of generalized linear mixed-effects models. We determined that CAR overlaps are more prevalent on larger registrations, in more densely settled areas, and in areas with less secure land tenure. We tested how landholders respond to land conflicts, finding significantly more deforestation and declared legal forest reserve on lands with multiple claims. CAR overlap results in an overestimation of forest reserves by up to 9.7 million hectares when considering double-counted and deforested areas of reserves, highlighting an overlooked form of Forest Code noncompliance. While the CAR continues to be used as evidence of land tenure, we conclude that the formalization of land claims through self-declarations is inadequate to decrease conflicts. CAR overlap information provides objective evidence of land conflict that authorities can leverage with field inspection to ensure peaceful occupation before issuing land titles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amazon forest contains globally important carbon stocks, but in recent years, atmospheric measurements suggest that it has been releasing more carbon than it has absorbed because of deforestation and forest degradation. Accurately attributing the sources of carbon loss to forest degradation and natural disturbances remains a challenge because of the difficulty of classifying disturbances and simultaneously estimating carbon changes. We used a unique, randomized, repeated, very high-resolution airborne laser scanning survey to provide a direct, detailed, and high-resolution partitioning of aboveground carbon gains and losses in the Brazilian Arc of Deforestation. Our analysis revealed that disturbances directly attributed to human activity impacted 4.2% of the survey area while windthrows and other disturbances affected 2.7% and 14.7%, respectively. Extrapolating the lidar-based statistics to the study area (544,300 km²), we found that 24.1, 24.2, and 14.5 Tg C y-1 were lost through clearing, fires, and logging, respectively. The losses due to large windthrows (21.5 Tg C y-1) and other disturbances (50.3 Tg C y-1) were partially counterbalanced by forest growth (44.1 Tg C y-1). Our high-resolution estimates demonstrated a greater loss of carbon through forest degradation than through deforestation and a net loss of carbon of 90.5 ± 16.6 Tg C y-1 for the study region attributable to both anthropogenic and natural processes. This study highlights the role of forest degradation in the carbon balance for this critical region in the Earth system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, annual emissions from managed organic soils accounts for up to 5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Climate-wise management and restoration of degraded organic soils could reduce GHG emissions quickly and at relatively low costs. The European Union (EU) Member States that have large areas of organic soils with high GHG emissions are Sweden, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Netherlands, and the Baltic countries. To meet the climate targets and objectives of the Paris Agreement the land-use sector is indispensable and mitigation policies targeting organic soils will be needed. The international regulatory framework is broad and quite unspecific. In contrast, the European Union has initiated binding regulation for the land-use sector through the EU Climate Law, the EU LULUCF regulation, and the proposed EU Nature Restoration Law. However, even this regulatory approach is not on track to deliver on its binding ambitions, indicating the need for more effective implementation measures also on organic soils in the EU and its member states. Furthermore, we argue that appropriate policy selection should consider current knowledge regarding the climate impacts of management options of organic soils. Lastly, we need more studies on GHG emissions, and standardized methods for GHG inventories, to resolve uncertainties surrounding the impacts of management to GHG emissions. Successful policy implementation requires more efforts but also improved scientific justification through continuous consideration of climate policy integrity and strengthening of the reliability of GHG inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of regional climate models (RCMs) to different input land cover information is complex and uncertain. Several studies by the regional climate modeling community have investigated the potential of land cover data to help understand land-atmosphere interactions at regional and local scales. This study investigates the regional climate response to introducing European Space Agency (ESA) land cover (LC) data into WRF-Hydro. In addition, this study assesses the potential impacts of afforestation and deforestation strategies on regional water and energy fluxes. An extended version of WRF-Hydro that accounts for a two-way river-land water flow to reduce unrealistic peaks in simulated discharge was employed. The two-way river-land flow setup yielded a better NSE and KGE of 0.47 and 0.69, respectively, over the Kulpawn basin compared to the default setup values of -0.34 and 0.2. Two land use/land cover change effects were deduced from synthetic numerical sensitivity experiments mimicking afforestation by closed shrubland expansion and deforestation by cropland expansion. The afforestation experiment yielded approximately 6% more precipitation, 3% more evapotranspiration, 27% more surface runoff, and 16% more underground runoff, while the deforestation by cropland expansion yielded -5% less precipitation, -3% less evapotranspiration, -3% less surface runoff, and - 9% less underground runoff over the Sissili-Kulpawn Basin (SKB). This result suggests that afforestation (deforestation) could increase the flood (drought) risk. Our synthetic numerical experiment mimics the regional water and energy budgets well and can help climate services and decision-makers by quantifying regional climate response to potential land cover changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical forests are currently under pressure from increasing threats. These threats are mostly related to human activities. Earth observations (EO) are increasingly used for monitoring forest cover, especially synthetic aperture radar (SAR), that is less affected than optical sensors by atmospheric conditions. Since the launch of the Sentinel-1 satellites, numerous methods for forest disturbance monitoring have been developed, including near realtime (NRT) operational algorithms as systems providing early warnings on deforestation. These systems include Radar for Detecting Deforestation (RADD), Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD), Real Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER), and Jica-Jaxa Forest Early Warning System (JJ-FAST). These algorithms provide online disturbance maps and are applied at continental/global scales with a Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) ranging from 0.1 ha to 6.25 ha. For local operators, these algorithms are hard to customize to meet users' specific needs. Recently, the Cumulative sum change detection (CuSum) method has been developed for the monitoring of forest disturbances from long time series of Sentinel-1 images. Here, we present the development of a NRT version of CuSum with a MMU of 0.03 ha. The values of the different parameters of this NRT CuSum algorithm were determined to optimize the detection of changes using the F1-score. In the best configuration, 68% precision, 72% recall, 93% accuracy and 0.71 F1-score were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement Summary Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery highlights the extent of illegal deforestation in protected areas for the biodiverse humid forest of central Madagascar. The ultra‐high‐resolution (<10‐cm pixel) images enable the creation of detailed forest 3D base maps and provide the means to quantify forest stand losses. To help communities safeguard their forests, local non‐governmental organisations can use UAV maps in combination with weekly deforestation alerts to facilitate an immediate on‐ground response that significantly restricts illegal activity. Integrating ultra‐high‐resolution UAV mapping and coarse‐resolution freely available satellite imagery should have much wider applications in Madagascar and the humid tropics for community‐based conservation. This study of the Ambohimahamasina humid forest shows that small UAVs offer a detailed (<10‐cm pixel), rapid and cost‐effective solution to provide maps of detailed deforestation patterns not visible in satellite imagery. Calculating forest extent and volume are valuable ways to rapidly assess forest losses and prioritise areas for ground patrols. The use of 3‐dimensional measurements for above ground carbon estimates indicate how, in the future, these metrics could be used to calculate carbon payments for conservation programs. By combining UAV and free satellite imagery, an effective alert system has been developed that supports community initiatives in the protection of their natural forest resources. The wealth of ultra‐high‐resolution UAV data collected in this study provides insights into forest dynamics, supports local community forest management, and has the potential to measure the value of the forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of protecting forests and woodlands to achieve global climate and biodiversity goals, logging impacts persist worldwide. Forestry advocates often downplay these impacts but rarely consider the cumulative threat deforestation and degradation has had, and continues to have, on biodiversity. Using New South Wales (Australia) as a case study, we quantify the extent of deforestation and degradation from 1788 (pre‐European colonization) to 2021. We used historical loss as a baseline to evaluate recent logging (2000–2022) and the condition of the remaining native forest and woodland. Condition was quantified by measuring the similarity of a current ecosystem to a historical reference state with high ecological integrity. Using these data, we measured the impacts on 269 threatened terrestrial species. We show that possibly over half (29 million ha) of pre‐1788 native forest and woodland vegetation in NSW has been lost. Of the remaining 25 million ha, 9 million ha is estimated to be degraded. We found recent logging potentially impacted 150 species that had already been affected by this historical deforestation and degradation, but the impacts varied across species. Forty‐three species that were identified as impacted by historical deforestation and degradation and continue to be impacted by logging, now have ≤50% of their pre‐1788 extent remaining that is intact and nine species now have ≤30%. Our research contextualizes the impact of current logging against historical deforestation and highlights deficiencies in environmental assessments that ignore historical baselines. Future land management must consider both the extent and condition of remaining habitat based on pre‐1788 extents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonally tropical dry forests (SDTFs) in the American tropics are a highly diverse yet poorly understood and endangered ecosystem scattered from Northern Mexico to Southern Argentina. One floristic element of the STDFs is the genus Magoniella (Polygonaceae), which includes two liana species, M. laurifolia and M. obidensis, which have winged fruits and are distributed from Costa Rica to Southern Brazil. In a field expedition to the SDTFs of the Colombian Caribbean in 2015, morphologically distinctive individuals of Magoniella were found. In this study, we investigated the species boundaries within Magoniella and determined the phylogenetic position of these morphologically distinctive individuals in the tribe Triplaridae. We compiled morphological trait data across 19 specimens of both species and produced newly sequenced nuclear-plastid DNA data for M. obidensis. Morphometric analyses revealed significant differences in fruit length and perianth size among individuals from the Colombian Caribbean compared to M. obidensis and bract length when compared to M. laurifolia. Maximum likelihood analysis of non-conflicting nuclear and plastid datasets placed the Colombian Caribbean individuals as sister to M. obidensis with maximum statistical support. Additionally, pairwise sequence comparisons of the nuclear ribosomal ITS and the lfy2i loci consistently showed 15-point mutations (10 transitions, five transversions) and six 2 bp-long substitutions that differ between M. obidensis and the Colombian Caribbean individuals. Our morphological and molecular evidence thus suggests that the Colombian Caribbean individuals of Magoniella represent a divergent population from M. laurifolia and M. obidensis, which we describe and illustrate as a new species, M. chersina. Additionally, we provide nomenclatural updates for M. laurifolia and M. obidensis. This study highlights the power of combining morphological and molecular evidence in documenting and naming plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locusts are globally recognized as major pest threats. In the first half of the 20th century, the South American locust caused great economic losses. After the implementation of preventive management, large‐scale upsurges ceased. In 2015, resurgence of S. cancellata led to swarms affecting northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, prompting control agencies to address an almost forgotten problem. After six decades without a major locust outbreak, there were limited and outdated studies on this species. This study aims to identify key environmental factors associated with the spatial distribution of S. cancellata oviposition sites. We focus on explanatory variables that represent physical and chemical properties of soil and vegetation cover. To understand the relationships between each potential explanatory variable and the presence‐absence of S. cancellata oviposition sites, we first performed regression analyses applying a linear and quadratic structure for each explanatory variable. Then, we performed comparisons of logistic regression models in a multi‐model inference framework, where CAIC and weights of evidence were analysed. Our results show that the South American locusts chose to lay their eggs in areas with a low proportion of natural forest and flooded grasslands and a high proportion of non‐vegetated areas, where the soils are flat, with neutral pH, and low salinity. We also determined that an increase in the proportion of cultivated areas is associated with an increase in the probability of breeding presence of this species. The locust's habitat falls within the Dry Chaco, a global deforestation hotspot, evidencing a rapid replacing of forests for plantations. Since both the diminish of forest and the increase in cultivated areas are associated with an increase in oviposition sites, we consider that breeding areas will likely increase. The results found herein can be used to map the potential breeding habitats to help preventive management against the South American locust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed advanced panel data analysis, accounting for cross‐sectional dependence and heterogeneity, to investigate the impact of tourism development and economic output on forest areas in major international tourist markets. The research was guided by forest transformation hypothesis (FTH). The study assessed the validity of FTH, examined the influence of tourism, and identified the income level at which a turning point occurs. The results revealed a heterogeneous impact of tourism on forested areas across major international tourist markets. Specifically, tourism development encouraged afforestation in Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but led to deforestation in China. In contrast, no significant relationship was observed between the tourism‐forest area nexus in Türkiye and Thailand. Additionally, the study provided evidence supporting FTH in the relationship between economic growth and forested areas in Italy, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Given these findings, the paper underscores the strong heterogeneity among the individual countries and their tourism, economic development, and forest areas. Consequently, country‐specific sustainable policies are advocated over generic approaches in the fight against deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land cover information, derived from the classification of Remote Sensing images, is only useful if accompanied by a rigorous accuracy assessment, usually dependent on reference samples. As field data can be very rare for multi-temporal analysis, many studies use samples visually interpreted from Remote Sensing images. This subjective process is prone to errors in interpretation, leading to uncertainties not fully quantified in the reference sample collection of historical time series. We evaluated the agreement rate among independent interpreters in the identification of land cover classes assigned to pixels for yearly Landsat observations from 1984 to 2020, in the Lower Tapajós Basin region (within the Brazilian Amazon). Considering 10 classes, we found that sets of three interpreters completely disagreed on the label of 14.8% of the pixels for each year, and completely agreed in less than half (39.6%). These values change to 2.7% and 68.8% when we consider only five classes in the analysis. We observed time-dependent variations in agreement for specific land cover classes: whereas forest areas tend to present an increase in the disagreement rate over time, land cover types that happen only in previously deforested areas tend to present a higher proportion of pixels with better agreement rates. Disagreements tend to be higher in pixels identified as borders or near borders between targets. However, there is a non-negligible amount of disagreements in pixels identified as not borders caused by limitations derived from the unit of analysis, image composition techniques, and intrinsic similarities among classes. We highlight problems with the identification of classes that happen in complex spatiotemporal patterns (Secondary Vegetation, Small-scale Agriculture, and Degraded Forest). These results alert to possible inconsistencies in reference samples collected for the accuracy assessment of land cover time series and the correspondent values of the calculated accuracy indexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the roots and root systems of Pinus sylvestris L. in the formation of secondary pine forests in the cuttings of the Kola North was studied. It has been established that in pine seedlings in disturbed areas, root and shoot systems are formed quite quickly. Already in age class I, characteristic morphological signs of root systems appear and the feeding areas of trees begin to overlap each other. The bulk of the roots (80–85%) is concentrated in the upper 20-cm soil layer. A linear relationship between the taxation indicators of trees and the mass of root systems has been revealed. The conducted studies have shown that the formation of forest communities of Scots pine in the cuttings of the Kola North and their stability and productivity are directly dependent on the degree of development of individual roots and root systems as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Himalayan Region (WHR) is under constant threat from Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) brought on by various socioeconomic activities such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, and population growth. Detailed research into the scope of these changes is necessary to comprehend the challenges they represent. This study aimed at (1) examining and quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of LULCC from 1975 to 2015, (2) mapping the hotspots of forest loss, and (3) modelling future LULCC for the year 2055 using medium spatial resolution multispectral satellite imagery (MSS, TM, LISS-I, LISS-III, AWiFS), field data, visual interpretation and logistic regression model in the WHR. Logistic regression integrated various drivers of LULCC, including climatic, topographic, and socio-economic factors and past LULCC trends to forecast potential LULC in the WHR by 2055. The results highlight an outrageous 184% increase in regional urbanization. Expansion of urban and cropland (12%) led to deforestation which reduced the area of natural habitats, specifically forests (−11%), water bodies (−8%) and scrubland (−6%). A significant rise in barren land by 30% was noted, while there was a decrease of 20% in glacier/snow melt. The future projection for 2055 anticipates continuing current trends, emphasizing an intensified urban expansion of 63% and an approximate 9% reduction in overall forest coverage. The accuracy of the predicted 2015 LULC map was assessed using ROC/AUC (Receiver Operating Characteristic/Area under Curve) which was found to be 0.79. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extended inventory of 82 well‐dated European calcareous tufas is used to discuss the timing and amplitude of their onset, maximum and decline; in particular differences from east to west and between the Mediterranean area and the rest of Europe. Eastern deposits start to develop and reach their maximum slightly earlier than western tufas. Strong east–west differences in the timing and intensity of the climatic improvement during the first half of the Holocene explain the earlier development of eastern tufas compared with the west. The strongest differences are observed between Mediterranean deposits and other European tufas both in their development and decline, whether all or only fluvial deposits are considered, reflecting the important decoupling between Mediterranean and mid‐latitude climate records. During the Late Holocene, the earlier and more pronounced tufa decline observed in European mid‐latitudes is likely to result from more intense and rapid deforestation compared with the Mediterranean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that land use change, and the resulting decline in both the area and quality of natural habitats, contributes to an increased incidence of disease in humans. Despite calls to leverage conservation policy to address the burden of disease linked to ecosystem change, the potential benefits are unknown. Efficiently reducing the burden of infectious disease through land use policies and conservation initiatives is challenging because it requires balancing trade-offs that depend on ecological and socioeconomic factors. To assess some of these trade-offs, we developed a dynamic model of optimal land use when ecosystem change affects the overall incidence of infectious disease. We compared the net benefits and paths of optimal policy in which the increased cost of disease resulting from natural habitat loss is included in the optimization with a base case where it is ignored. We found that ignoring the linkage between habitat degradation and infectious disease incidence in the planner's problem reduces the net benefits of land management, such as conservation efforts, and results in significantly higher rates of infection and health costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing literature seeks to econometrically identify the link between tree cover change and malaria, two of the most pressing problems facing the Global South. However, we know little about the effect of tree cover fragmentation on malaria transmission, even though correlational evidence suggests that this effect may be important. We use municipality-level panel data from Colombia along with two-way fixed effects models to identify the effect on malaria incidence of changes in two measures of tree cover fragmentation—perforation and edge—as well as of a conventional measure of aggregate tree cover loss. We find that perforation in core areas of tree cover spurs malaria transmission. Evidence for the effects of changes in edge and aggregate loss is weaker. On average, a one-percentage-point increase in contemporaneous perforation leads to a 12.7% increase in malaria cases. This effect is stronger in municipalities with gold production and in those with coca production. These findings provide further evidence that forest conservation has significant benefits for local communities. They can also help stakeholders improve the efficacy of policies to stem malaria transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitional vegetation zones in the neotropics harbor high biodiversity and are threatened by advancing deforestation and climate change. Besides, the diversity patterns at multiple spatial scales are little understood. We investigated the woody flora of eight savanna sites over 700 km along the transition zone between the Cerrado and Amazonia. We assessed plant diversity at three spatial scales: alpha (α = local richness), beta (βJac = Jaccard mean dissimilarity of species composition between sites), and gamma (γ = regional diversity). We also measured the sites' contribution to beta diversity (LCBD) to unveil the ecological singularity of the transition. We found high local richness (α = ∼80 species per hectare) and high between-site dissimilarity (βJac = 0.651; LCBD = 0.354), which together contributed to high regional diversity (γ = 167). There was no relationship between floristic composition and proximity between sites or proximity to Amazonia. The locally dominant species (representing 80% or more of the total abundance) also differed across sites, indicating the unique composition of each community. This high floristic diversity at different spatial scales is severely threatened by extensive deforestation in recent decades and a paucity of protected areas, stressing the need for protected areas and conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability is increasingly being prioritized by governments around the world, particularly in emerging economies. This study examined the role of green finance and green technological innovation in environmental sustainability using the "load capacity factor", also takes into account natural resource depletion and forest cover. This study used annual data from 2000 to 2018 for emerging economies: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico. Methods of analysis included the cross‐section augmented autoregressive distributed lags (CS‐ARDL) model, along with validation by the common correlated mean group (CCEMG) and augmented mean group (AMG). The results show that green finance, green technological innovation and forested areas consistently have a positive impact on environmental sustainability, while resource depletion has a negative impact. The findings of CS‐ARDL are consistent with those of CCEMG and AMG. The study also makes recommendations that emerging economies need to prioritize REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives and implement resource decoupling policies, in addition to green finance and green technology policies, to achieve environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the potential economic impacts in Argentina of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which as of January 2025 will prohibit the export to the European Union of certain raw materials and related products if they involve the use of deforested land. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model is used to simulate the impact of such regulation on the Argentine economy. The results suggest that the potential macroeconomic impacts are limited. As a consequence of the EUDR, between 2025 and 2030, GDP would be reduced by an average of 0.46% with respect to the baseline scenario. However, of greater magnitude is the potential environmental impact. Deforested hectares would be reduced by 6.64% and polluting gas emissions by 0.39%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) change has evolved as a central force behind environmental challenges and has gained great acknowledgment for its wide-ranging effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mountains, including the mountainous belts of Pakistan, are particularly vulnerable to alterations in LULC resulting from deforestation and other anthropogenic activities. These changes have profound repercussions on the socio-ecological and biophysical environments of mountains. This research aims to investigate the spatiotemporal changes in LULC in the Swat River Basin (SRB), Eastern Hindu Kush, Pakistan. Assessments of LULC changes are crucial for gaining an in-depth understanding, formulating policy guidelines, and implementing conservation practices to address the environmental challenges faced by mountainous areas. The study is based on remotely sensed data and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis. The temporal span (1988–2018) is divided into three periods and based on ten years interval, Landsat Satellite Images were acquired for 1988, 1998, 2008 and 2018. These images were processed and classified in ArcGIS 10.8. The analysis indicates varying trends in LULC changes over three periods. Forest cover increased by 52.5% in period 1 as a result of social forestry project but declined in periods 2 (-12.8%) and 3 (-18.8%). Contrarily, rangeland decreased by 63.9% in period 1 but grew in periods 2 (71.1%) and 3 (15.5%). Built-up areas expanded by 280%, barren land by 47%, agricultural land by 14.3%. However, snow cover consistently decreased. These alterations are mainly the result of bio-physical impacts, which highlight the urgent need for sustainable land management to mitigate the environmental impact of human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is devoted to the problem of detection of forest and nonforest areas on Earth images. We propose two statistical methods to tackle this problem: one based on multiple hypothesis testing with parametric distribution families, another one—on nonparametric tests. The parametric approach is novel in the literature and relevant to a larger class of problems—detection of natural objects, as well as anomaly detection. We develop mathematical background for each of the two methods, build self‐sufficient detection algorithms using them and discuss practical aspects of their implementation. We also compare our algorithms with each other and with those from standard machine learning using satellite data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean has developed a reputation as a superfood due to its nutrient profile, health benefits, and versatility. Since 1960, its demand has increased dramatically, going from a mere 17 MMT to almost 358 MMT in the production year 2021/22. These extremely high production rates have led to lower-than-expected product quality, adulteration, illegal trade, deforestation, and other concerns. This necessitates the development of an effective technology to confirm soybean's provenance. This is the first review that investigates current analytical techniques coupled with multivariate analysis for origin traceability of soybeans. The fundamentals of several analytical techniques are presented, assessed, compared, and discussed in terms of their operating specifics, advantages, and shortcomings. Additionally, significance of multivariate analysis in analyzing complex data has also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 90% of global forest cover changes between 2000 and 2018 were attributable to agricultural expansion, making food production the leading direct driver of deforestation. While previous studies have focused on the interaction between human and environmental systems, limited research has explored deforestation from a food system perspective. This study analyzes the drivers of deforestation in 40 tropical and subtropical countries (2004–2021) through the lenses of consumption/demand, production/supply and trade/distribution using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models. Our models explained a substantial portion of deforestation variability globally (R2 = 0.74) and in Asia (R2 = 0.81) and Latin America (R2 = 0.73). The results indicate that trade- and demand-side dynamics, specifically foreign direct investments and urban population growth, play key roles in influencing deforestation trends at these scales, suggesting that food system-based interventions could be effective in mitigating deforestation. Conversely, the model for Africa showed weaker explanatory power (R2 = 0.30), suggesting that factors beyond the food system may play a larger role in this region. Our findings highlight the importance of targeting trade- and demand-side dynamics to reduce deforestation and how interventions within the food system could synergistically contribute to achieving sustainable development goals, such as climate action, life on land and zero hunger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement Summary Debates about the impacts of human settlement on Madagascar's habitat have missed the Malagasy perspective. Using indigenous and local knowledge in the form of toponyms, we find many regions across today's treeless grasslands are named after forest/trees, suggesting they may be novel. Where observed habitat does not match toponyms, erosion is significantly more likely at landscape scales. This suggests rapid expansion of erosion following human removal and burning of endemic forest, savanna woodland, heathland and grass assemblages. Findings also provide a timely warning: current practices may be unsustainable and may impact not only biodiversity but also human wellbeing unless urgently addressed. The debate surrounding the extent of Madagascar's treeless grasslands at human settlement is important because introduced disturbance can negatively impact the biodiversity and productivity of systems that evolved under different regimes. Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK), often overlooked, can provide information about past vegetation structure. To test whether clearance of forest and trees, frequent fires and pasture preparation have accelerated today's island‐wide erosion, we use vegetation toponyms and assess whether mismatches between these and current vegetation types are significantly more likely to be associated with erosion. Using Malagasy and Imerina linguistic records spanning 150 years, we mapped forest‐related and grassland‐related extensive toponyms in current grassland and forest, respectively. We then assessed whether remotely‐sensed erosion was more likely when toponyms and current habitat did not match. We found 316 sites in treeless grasslands, named after forest/clusters of trees, but no grassland‐named sites in forest. Globally, natural forest and grasslands both constrain erosion. Forest toponyms in grassland were significantly more likely to reflect erosion than sites in extant forest. These findings concur with palaeoecological, geomorphological, molecular and rangeland palatability studies. Malagasy ILK, hitherto largely ignored as a source of information, strongly suggests vegetation clearance and human disturbance have exacerbated the degradation of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems through topsoil loss and siltation and selected fire‐adapted, less‐palatable grasslands. Malagasy ILK in the form of toponyms highlights the need to address the negative impacts of burning and land‐clearance practices (e.g., loss of biodiversity and ecological function, decreased agricultural productivity, collapsed fisheries), given island‐wide challenges to food security and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils are a major source of nitrogen oxides, which in the atmosphere help govern its oxidative capacity. Thus the response of soil nitric oxide (NO) emissions to forcings such as warming or forest loss has a meaningful impact on global atmospheric chemistry. We find that the soil emission rate of NO in Amazonia from a common inventory is biased low by at least an order of magnitude in comparison to tower‐based observations. Accounting for this regional bias decreases the modeled global methane lifetime by 1.4%–2.6%. In comparison, a fully deforested Amazonia, representing a 37% decrease in global emissions of isoprene, decreases methane lifetime by at most 4.6%, highlighting the sensitive response of oxidation rates to changes in emissions of NO compared to those of terpenes. Our results demonstrate that improving our understanding of soil NO emissions will yield a more accurate representation of atmospheric oxidative capacity. Plain Language Summary: Soils emit a gas called nitric oxide (NO). The amount of NO emitted from soils in tropical forests is not well known, but has been assumed to be small. We simulated how different amounts of NO emissions from soils in the Amazon impacted atmospheric chemistry. By comparing our modeled results to observations we found that NO emissions from soils in the Amazon may be between 10 and 20 times larger than the current default assumption. This matters because NO has a strong influence on the rate at which methane and other gasses are removed from the atmosphere. Therefore soil NO emissions end up impacting how long methane can last in the atmosphere, and that would have additional climate impacts. Even though soil NO emissions are smaller than other sources of NO emissions globally, we find that the amount of NO emitted in the Amazon matters a lot for how long methane can last in the atmosphere. Our results demonstrate that improving estimates of soil NO emissions is going to be necessary for making accurate estimates of how long methane and other reactive species will stay in the atmosphere. Key Points: Soil emission rates of NO in common inventories may be between 10× and 20× too low over the Amazon basinHigher soil NO over the Amazon basin alters the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and decreases global methane lifetime by 1.4%–2.6%Global methane lifetime is more sensitive to Amazon soil NO fluxes than to the loss of terpene fluxes from total deforestation of the Amazon [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Logging causes the fragmentation of areas with direct implications for hydrological processes, landslides, or habitats. The assessment of this fragmentation process plays an important role in the planning of future logging, reconstruction, and protection measures for the whole ecosystem. The methodology used includes imaging techniques applying two fractal indices: the Fractal Fragmentation Index (FFI) and the Fractal Fragmentation and Disorder Index (FFDI). The results showed the annual evolution and disposition of deforested areas. Only 3% of deforestation resulted in the fragmentation and splitting of forest plots. The remaining 97% resulted in the reduction of existing compact stands without fragmentation. The method has many advantages in quantifying the spatial evolution of forests, estimating the capture of carbon emissions and establishing sustainability of bird and animal habitats. The analysis took place in the Eastern Carpathians, in Romania, in the time period of 2001-2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has experienced rapid primary forest loss, second only to Brazil in modern history. We examined the fates of Indonesian deforested areas, immediately after clearing and over time, to quantify deforestation drivers in Indonesia. Using time-series satellite data, we tracked degradation and clearing events in intact and degraded natural forests from 1991 to 2020, as well as land use trajectories after forest loss. While an estimated 7.8 Mha (SE = 0.4) of forest cleared during this period had been planted with oil palms by 2020, another 8.8 Mha (SE = 0.4) remained unused. Of the 28.4 Mha (SE = 0.7) deforested, over half were either initially left idle or experienced crop failure before a land use could be detected, and 44% remained unused for 5 y or more. A majority (54%) of these areas were cleared mechanically (not by escaped fires), and in cases where idle lands were eventually converted to productive uses, oil palm plantations were by far the most common outcome. The apparent deliberate creation of idle deforested land in Indonesia and subsequent conversion of idle areas to oil palm plantations indicates that speculation and land banking for palm oil substantially contribute to forest loss, although failed plantations could also contribute to this dynamic. We also found that in Sumatra, few lowland forests remained, suggesting that a lack of remaining forest appropriate for palm oil production, together with an extensive area of banked deforested land, may partially explain slowing forest loss in Indonesia in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bale Ecoregion (BER) is known for its global importance in biodiversity and as a water tower for East African drylands. Land use and land covers (LULC) have been changing for decades, affecting forest ecosystem service values (ESVs), but available information is limited. The present study addresses these gaps by using contrasting watersheds representing the highland, midland, and lowland agroecologies in the BER. LULC classifications were performed using GIS and remote sensing tools. Multisite imagery data (using Landsat image resolution 30 m × 30 m) were generated for four observation periods: 1992, 2002, 2012, and 2022. A recently updated global ESV coefficient and the value transfer valuation method were applied to estimate the changes in ESVs related to LULC changes. The result demonstrates that between 1992 and 2022, forest land has decreased by 3%, 63%, and 22% in the highland, midland, and lowland areas, respectively. Different degrees of loss of ESVs were observed across the study periods and LULC. Of the 21 specific ESVs investigated, the highest annual losses were recorded for water ecosystem services both in the midland and lowland landscape positions. Increased ESVs for cultivated land could not offset losses in food ESVs at the scale of agroecology. Significant impacts of LULC changes on specific ecosystem services, such as water, and changes in natural connectivity between the highland and lowland areas were observed. The result suggests that stakeholders need to co-plan and manage the BER. This evidence provides a scientific underpinning for understanding the connection between LULC change and ESVs and supports informed policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainforests, as invaluable natural resources, play a pivotal role globally, offering many ecosystem services such as recreation. This study aims to quantify the value of Brunei's rainforest assets (specifically recreational areas and national parks) utilizing the Travel Cost Method (TCM), a prevalent approach for ascertaining the worth of natural sites. The tourism use of Brunei's rainforests holds a high value, estimated at over $300,000 USD per square kilometer, which supports the argument for resource allocation towards their protection not only for ecological reasons but also for their recreational benefits. The authors posit that nature-based ecotourism can be a sustainable and protective mechanism for tropical rainforests. Practical recommendations for ecotourism include a minimalist approach to visitor regulation, limiting access to a small percentage of large recreational areas and national parks to protect flora and fauna, and possibly implementing entry or service fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phyllosphere is an important but underestimated habitat for a variety of microorganisms, with limited knowledge about leaf endophytes as a crucial component of the phyllosphere microbiome. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of communities and co-occurrence networks of leaf endophytes in response to forest thinning in a temperate forest. As we expected, contrasting responses of fungal and bacterial endophytes were observed. Specifically, the diversity of leaf endophytic fungi and the complexity of their co-occurrence networks increased significantly with thinning intensity, whereas the complexity of endophytic bacterial co-occurrence networks decreased. In particular, microbiota inhabiting damaged leaves seem to be more intensively interacting, showing an evident fungi–bacteria trade-off under forest thinning. In damaged leaves, besides the direct effects of thinning, thinning-induced changes in neighbor tree diversity indirectly altered the diversity of leaf fungal and bacterial endophytes via modifying leaf functional traits such as leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area. These findings provide new experimental evidence for the trade-offs between leaf endophytic fungi and bacteria under the different magnitudes of deforestation, highlighting their dependence on the presence or absence of leaf damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased anthropogenic pressure on forest resources leads to deforestation and forest degradation, significantly limiting the regeneration capacity of native woody species and consequently the restoration of miombo woodlands in anthropized habitats within the rural area of Lubumbashi. This study assessed miombo species' diversity and natural regeneration capacity through floristic inventories in three different habitats (unexploited forests, degraded forests, and post-cultivation fallows). The results reveal that for the adult stratum, unexploited and degraded forests exhibit higher dendrometric (density, mean square diameter, basal area) and floristic parameter (taxa, genera, families) values compared to post-cultivation fallows. Furthermore, the regeneration of miombo woody species is higher in degraded forests (21 taxa; 105 juveniles/plot). However, regarding the sapling's stratum (1 cm ≤ dbh < 10 cm), the three habitats display similar situations. Additionally, the floristic composition and diversity of unexploited and degraded forests show a significantly higher similarity (76.50%) among them compared to these habitats and the post-cultivation fallows (56.00%). These findings indicate that miombo woodlands have the potential to regenerate and maintain floristic diversity even in anthropized habitats, particularly in degraded forests. To sustain this natural regeneration capacity of miombo woody species and promote the restoration of forest cover and its floristic diversity, it is imperative to determine the rotation period after habitat exploitation and regulate anthropogenic activities and late bush fires, particularly in anthropized habitats at the village level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within political ecology research, a dominant focus on the hard physicality of the world limits engagement with how events taking place on land mediate and are mediated by other material spaces like the atmosphere. This article engages with burgeoning research on the extraction–conservation nexus to show how the clearly demarcated land-based boundaries on which nexus thinking relies limit an awareness of how processes of conservation and extraction cohere and take shape in and through the aerial atmosphere. The article substantiates this argument with case studies on Guyana and Suriname, two countries that have been working on avoiding deforestation through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation for over a decade in the aim of mitigating climate change. In each case, we examine three years of news reporting on recent, major oil finds in the Guyana-Suriname Basin. The news reports, set against longer term research, demonstrate a narrative pivot from "green," land-based avoided deforestation narratives to "black," offshore extractive ones. The reports show that reference to the competing atmospheric effects of the mutual pursuit of these activities is scarce, even at a time of rapidly intensifying climate change. Hence, we argue that a voluminous analysis of the extraction–conservation nexus integrating a vertical awareness of the ever-present and unbounded atmosphere harbors potential for orienting a less contradictory politics of climate change—one that recognizes how activities deemed oppositional on land take shape in the shared, unbounded atmosphere. These activities consequently go on to affect other spaces and places in indirect, often unpredictable ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/context: In 2020, Ucayali was the Peruvian region with the highest loss of Amazonian forest (47,267 hectares). Measures have been taken regarding climate commitments and environmental governance, but the results continue without notoriety, and mitigation actions are limited. From a subnational approach, the article seeks to analyze the perceptions of brokers and actors involved about the implementation of forest policies in the Ucayali region. Methodology: Based on a qualitative strategy that included semi-structured interviews and a co-construction workshop to evidence the perceptions of the actors involved, with direct knowledge of the territory and implementation, and intermediary agents (brokers), the latter with the capacity to influence the decisions made regarding the formulation of action plans. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the existence of a structural difficulty in achieving short- or long-term change actions. There are institutional limitations but also a lack of support from civil society. Originality: Considering the type and limited number of studies on perceptions of climate change-oriented policies, the results obtained allow for generating relevant evidence for policy formulation processes and articulation between different levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different catchment land uses affect stream communities through direct and indirect effects by changes in water flow, sediment input, channel physical structure, and productivity. Previous studies of land use effects show a wide variation in the size and direction of biodiversity responses with positive, negative, or even no effects of the loss of native vegetation in catchments. This variation can result from physiographic characteristics, such as the original type of native vegetation (grassland or forest), dominant land use (agricultural or urban), history of change in land use and land coverage (LULC), and climate, and/or from the specific design of each study, such as the range of the analyzed LULC gradient. We performed a meta-analysis of 62 studies using stream macroinvertebrates and fish to determine which of these factors influence the biodiversity responses to changes in LULC. Contrary to our expectation, most of the physiographic factors considered relevant in the literature did not influence the response of macroinvertebrates and fish to land use. We did find, however, that studies with greater ranges of changes in LULC show stronger and the most negative diversity responses for macroinvertebrates. This suggests that studies covering a small gradient in LULC may be unable to detect potentially minute negative impacts on macroinvertebrate diversity. Our results highlight that the response of stream fish and macroinvertebrate diversity to changes in the landscape is context dependent. We suggest that the local environment of study sites and other context-dependent factors should be further investigated to better understand environmental contingencies in stream biodiversity responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based solutions that use a counterfactual scenario depend heavily on the methodology used to determine the business as usual (BAU) case, i.e., the "baseline." Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects traditionally set baselines using a "reference area" as a control for estimating BAU deforestation and emissions in the treatment (project) area. While the REDD+ market is shifting from project-based to nested approaches as countries increase their efforts to meet nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris agreement's global climate target, methodologies for allocating national baselines are not yet formalized and tested, despite an urgent need to scale the market. We present a novel method for mapping deforestation risk and allocating national forest reference emission levels (FREL) to projects: baseline allocation for assessed risk (BAAR). This approach provides a spatial predictor of future deforestation using a dynamic vector, and a method for allocating a FREL to differentiated risk areas at the project level. Here, we present BAAR using 34 REDD+ projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We demonstrate the importance of risk-based FREL allocations to balance fitness for purpose and scientific rigor. We show how BAAR can be used by governments to focus voluntary carbon market finance in areas at highest risk of imminent deforestation, while maintaining alignment with nationally determined contribution (NDC) goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Habitat modification and land use changes impact ecological interactions and alter the relationships between humans and nature. Mexico has experienced significant landscape modifications at the local and regional scales, with negative effects on forest cover and biological biodiversity, especially in the Yucatan peninsula in southeastern Mexico. Given the close relationship between landscape modification and the transmission of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, it is essential to develop criteria for identifying priority zoonoses in the south of the country. Methodology/Principal findings: We reviewed 165 published studies on zoonotic and vector-borne diseases in the region (2015–2024). We identified the most frequent vectors, reservoirs, and hosts, the most prevalent infections, and the factors associated with transmission risk and the anthropogenic landscape modification in urban, rural, ecotone, and sylvatic habitats. The most relevant pathogens of zoonotic risk included Trypanosoma cruzi, arboviruses, Leishmania, Rickettsia, Leptospira, and Toxoplasma gondii. Trypanosoma cruzi was the vector-borne agent with the largest number of infected vertebrate species across habitats, while Leishmania and arboviruses were the ones that affected the greatest number of people. Dogs, cats, backyard animals, and their hematophagous ectoparasites are the most likely species maintaining the transmission cycles in human settlements, while rodents, opossums, bats, and other synanthropic animals facilitate connection and transmission cycles between forested habitats with human-modified landscapes. Pathogens displayed different prevalences between the landscapes, T. cruzi, arbovirus, and Leptospira infections were the most prevalent in urban and rural settlements, whereas Leishmania and Rickettsia had similar prevalence across habitats, likely due to the diversity and abundance of the infected vectors involved. The prevalence of T. gondii and Leptospira spp. may reflect poor hygiene conditions. Additionally, results suggest that prevalence of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases is higher in deforested areas and agricultural aggregates, and in sites with precarious health and infrastructure services. Conclusions: Some hosts, vectors, and transmission trends of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases in the YP are well known but others remain poorly recognized. It is imperative to reinforce practices aimed at increasing the knowledge, monitoring, prevention, and control of these diseases at the regional level. We also emphasize the need to perform studies on a larger spatio-temporal scale under the socio-ecosystem perspective, to better elucidate the interactions between pathogens, hosts, vectors, environment, and sociocultural and economic aspects in this and many other tropical regions. Author summary: Modification of the landscape and ecosystems is tightly linked with the transmission of zoonotic and vector-biorne diseases, with crucial consequences on public health. We reviewed the published literature (2015–2024) on the most frequent vectors, reservoirs and hosts, the prevalent infections, as well as the factors associated with transmission risk and the anthropogenic landscape modification in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. The most relevant pathogens of zoonotic risk included Trypanosoma cruzi, arboviruses, Leishmania, Rickettsia, Leptospira, and Toxoplasma gondii. Our summary suggests that prevalence is higher in deforested areas and agricultural aggregates, and in sites with precarious health and infrastructure services. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of zoonotic agents in the peninsula highlights the need to better understand the impact of land use changes on zoonoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In long-lived species, deforestation can modify the genetic diversity patterns of recent populations. The spatial-structure genetics of Pinus leiophylla Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. was investigated in adults and seedlings of remnant populations from central Mexico. Two chloroplast intergenic regions were sequenced of two cohorts (adults and seedlings) of 121 individuals of P. leiophylla from three localities. Higher genetic differentiation was found in adults (ФST = 0.09) than in seedlings (ФST = 0.03). The discriminant analysis of principal components detected four genetic clusters and the Mantel test found a weak but significant isolation by distance pattern (r2 = 0.05, p = 0.002). Sixteen percent of genetic variation was explained by the spatial component according to the genetic neighborhood analysis. And the effect of three landscape features, i.e., elevation, aspect (sine and cosine), and land use, explored with ResistanceGA, detected that land use significantly restricts gene flow between populations, mostly in the farming category. This study emphasizes the critical role of preserving forest cover to maintain connectivity among remnants of P. leiophylla. Insights of this study will contribute to the conservation of conifers in Mexican temperate forests, especially within landscapes heavily altered by human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about climate change and the reliance on fossil fuel reserves have motivated researchers to identify new renewable sources of energy. Biomass holds the potential to replace fossil‐derived products with biofuels and bio‐based chemicals. Plant‐derived lipids are promising sources of biofuels; however, the production of plant oil often leads to the release of massive amounts of carbon dioxide due to deforestation and land‐use change. The production of biofuels via plant oils (such as soybean) also competes with food production and in turn, impacts biodiversity. To mitigate these issues, the production of lipids from oleaginous yeasts could be an excellent alternative by incorporating these microbes into biorefineries utilizing agricultural or forest residues. Eventually, these microbial lipids could be potential sources for producing lipid‐derived biofuels. However, the current conventional methods for the production and recovery of lipids from oleaginous microbes suffer from economic and ecological challenges that affect its industrial‐scale expansion. This review highlights the major economic and environmental bottlenecks for the production of lipid‐derived biofuels from oleaginous yeasts. It also provides perspectives on the strategies that could be adapted on economic and ecological fronts to assist the expansion of the production of microbial lipid‐derived biofuels at an industrial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Global climate models that incorporate carbon sources and sinks usually consider that forest uptake of carbon is in a state of equilibrium. Both historical and paleoecological records suggest that this is commonly not the case for Amazonia. Here, the impacts of colonial practices on Amazonian Indigenous peoples and forests are reviewed. Human activities affect forests' successional stages, trajectories, and species composition. By increasing the spatial coverage of paleoecological records that focus on pre‐ and post‐Columbian periods, the long‐term interactions between humans and Amazonian forests and their role in affecting Earth's climate may be better understood. Summary: Legacy effects left by the activities of Indigenous people in Amazonia are well known. Although severe, widespread, and recently occurring, the impacts left post‐1492 CE have been less investigated. We review the impact of colonial practices on Indigenous peoples and Amazonian forests. We suggest that forests comprise the sum of their past events, in a mosaic of different cumulative successional trajectories depending on the type, frequency, intensity, and timing of human influence. In regions with a history of minimal human influence, old‐growth species sensitive to fire would be the dominant landscape. In regions with high pre‐Columbian and low colonial influence, old‐growth forests carrying pre‐Columbian ecological legacies would be prevalent. Regions occupied by Indigenous groups post‐1492 CE would also carry similar ecological legacies. In regions influenced by the Jesuits, mid‐successional forests are expected to be enriched with cacao trees. In regions of latex extraction during the rubber boom, mid‐growth forests would present high abundances of early and mid‐successional species and depletion of some species. In deforested areas, we expect early successional forests with influence of exotic useful species. This patchwork of history probably plays a large role in shaping today's forests, and the biodiversity and carbon dynamics documented within them. Paleoecological work focusing on the last millennium, although scarce, has the potential to detect these mosaics of past human influence, and they should be considered when estimating forest ages and successional stages across the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]