Publication Type,Author,Document Title (TI),DOI,Abstract (AB),Journal,Year,Date J,"Hutchings, JA; Baum, JK; Fuller, SD; Laughren, J; VanderZwaag, DL",Sustaining Canadian marine biodiversity: Policy and statutory progress,10.1139/facets-2020-0006,"A 2012 Expert Panel Report on marine biodiversity by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) concluded that Canada faced significant challenges in achieving sustainable fisheries, regulating aquaculture, and accounting for climate change. Relative to many countries, progress by Canada in fulfilling international obligations to sustain biodiversity was deemed poor. To track progress by Canada since 2012, the RSC struck a committee to track policy and statutory developments on matters pertaining to marine biodiversity and to identify policy challenges, and leading options for implementation that lie ahead. The report by the Policy Briefing Committee is presented here. It concluded that Canada has made moderate to good progress in some areas, such as prioritization of oceans stewardship and strengthening of the evidentiary use of science in decision-making. Key statutes were strengthened through amendments, including requirements to rebuild depleted fisheries (Fisheries Act) and newmeans of creatingmarine protected areas (Oceans Act) that allowed Canada to exceed its international obligation to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Public release of mandate letters has strengthened ministerial accountability. However, little or no progress has been made in reducing regulatory conflict with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), decreasing ministerial discretion under the Fisheries Act, clarifying the role of science in sustainable fisheries policy, and accounting for climate change. Five future policy challenges are identified: (1) Ensure climate change impacts and projections are incorporated into ocean-related decision making and planning processes; (2) Resolve DFO's regulatory conflict to conserve and exploit biodiversity; (3) Limit ministerial discretionary power in fisheries management decisions; (4) Clarify ambiguities in how the Precautionary Approach is applied in sustainable fisheries policy; and (5) Advance and implementmarine spatial planning. Since 2012, there has been progress in recovering and sustaining the health of Canada's oceans. Failure to further strengthen biodiversity conservation threatens the capacity of Canada's oceans to provide ecosystem services that contribute to the resilience of marine life and the well-being of humankind. Unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean caused by climate change have made the achievement of meaningful progress all the more urgent.",FACETS,2020,abr 30 J,"Choi, A",Social comparison in fashion blogging: creative self as the new genre in fashion communication,10.1108/JFMM-07-2019-0140,"Purpose The purpose of this study is to draw on an inductive approach in exploring how the post-90s generation relates themselves with the others when browsing fashion images on social media. More specifically, this work explores how young fashion readers perceive the phenomenon of bloggers' self-modeling as a means of self-expression. Design/methodology/approach Eight focus groups were conducted for 64 Hong Kong young fashion readers. Respondents were asked about their opinion on the fashion blogs, their preference toward bloggers' self-modeling phenomenon, and how they compare themselves with the self-modeling fashion bloggers. Findings Results indicate that a tendency of social comparison occurred as readers indicated preference toward fashion bloggers who perform as self-modeling image producers, this supports the notion of social comparison that human nature tends to compare with others similar to themselves. This finding also suggests the critical awareness of young fashion readers, in which an ideal beauty is perceived as a successful result from a calculated visual creation, namely the creative self. Research limitations/implications This study focus on a Hong Kong setting with Instagram as the key communication platform; future research would be benefited from a wider scope of study from an international perspective. Practical implications This paper provides practical insight for fashion brands' strategic planners on how the fashion blogging works as a new genre of fashion communication. By understanding the fashion readers' preference, strategic planners could develop appropriate marketing communication strategy in response to the new trend of readers engaging in visual creative production for fashion. Originality/value This study reveals a new perspective in interpreting social comparison behavior for the fashion readers in the digital culture, whereas the targeted comparison attribute changed from ideal beauty to the creative self. This finding contributes to the discourse of academic theories in social media, social comparison and fashion communication.",JOURNAL OF FASHION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT,, J,"Temperli, C; Blattert, C; Stadelmann, G; Brandli, UB; Thurig, E",Trade-offs between ecosystem service provision and the predisposition to disturbances: a NFI-based scenario analysis,10.1186/s40663-020-00236-1,"Background Scenario analyses that evaluate management effects on the long-term provision and sustainability of forest ecosystem services and biodiversity (ESB) also need to account for disturbances. The objectives of this study were to reveal potential trade-offs and synergies between ESB provision and disturbance predisposition at the scale of a whole country. Methods The empirical scenario model MASSIMO was used to simulate forest development and management from years 2016 to 2106 on 5086 sample plots of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). We included a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and four scenarios of increased timber harvesting. Model output was evaluated with indicators for 1) ESB provision including a) timber production, b) old-growth forest characteristics as biodiversity proxies and c) protection against rockfall and avalanches and 2) for a) storm and b) bark beetle predisposition. Results The predisposition indicators corresponded well (AUC: 0.71-0.86) to storm and insect (mostly bark beetle) damage observations in logistic regression models. Increased timber production was generally accompanied with decreased predisposition (storm: >-11%, beetle: >-37%, depending on region and scenario), except for a scenario that promoted conifers where beetle predisposition increased (e.g. + 61% in the Southern Alps). Decreased disturbance predisposition and decreases in old-growth forest indicators in scenarios of increased timber production revealed a trade-off situation. In contrast, growing stock increased under BAU management along with a reduction in conifer proportions, resulting in a reduction of beetle predisposition that in turn was accompanied by increasing old-growth forest indicators. Disturbance predisposition was elevated in NFI plots with high avalanche and rockfall protection value. Conclusions By evaluating ESB and disturbance predisposition based on single-tree data at a national scale we bridged a gap between detailed, stand-scale assessments and broader inventory-based approaches at the national scale. We discuss the limitations of the indicator framework and advocate for future amendments that include climate-sensitive forest development and disturbance modelling to strengthen decision making in national forest policy making.",FOREST ECOSYSTEMS,2020,abr 26 J,"Kimera, E; Vindevogel, S; Reynaert, D; Justice, KM; Rubaihayo, J; De Maeyer, J; Engelen, AM; Musanje, K; Bilsen, J",Experiences and effects of HIV-related stigma among youth living with HIV/AIDS in Western Uganda: A photovoice study,10.1371/journal.pone.0232359,"HIV-related stigma has been identified as a significant stressor affecting Quality of Life of Youth Living With HIV/AIDS (YLWHA). Gaining a contextualized understanding of how this stigma is experienced by YLWHA in Western Uganda is crucial in addressing it in this group and setting. In this study, we explored the lived experiences of YLWHA with HIV-related stigma. Photovoice was used to gain insight into the lived experiences of HIV-related stigma in 11 YLWHA (15-19 years), purposively selected from a hospital-based peer support group. Group interview transcripts, notes and photographs were subjected to phenomenological hermeneutic analysis. Encounters with enacted, anticipated and internalized stigmas and their myriad sequels were prevalent in the photos and narratives of participants. Our findings were categorized and presented in 5 main themes that were identified through the analysis: being devalued, experiencing fear, experiencing injustices, feeling lonely, and lacking future perspectives. HIV-related stigmas were experienced in various socio-ecological domains but predominantly in homes and schools that ought to be supportive surroundings for youths. A multilevel approach, targeting the entire society where the root causes of stigma can be found and specific contexts like schools and homes where youth are confronted with stigma on a daily basis is proposed for a wholistic intervention.",PLOS ONE,2020,abr 24 J,"Brymer, ALB; Toledo, D; Spiegal, S; Pierson, F; Clark, PE; Wulfhorst, JD",Social-Ecological Processes and Impacts Affect Individual and Social Well-Being in a Rural Western U.S. Landscape,10.3389/fsufs.2020.00038,"To achieve agroecosystem conservation strategies while balancing the needs of people who live and work across rural landscapes, it is critical to understand what people need to improve and sustain their quality of life and well-being. Research that is designed to connect social-ecological dynamics, landscape change, and human impacts to human well-being and ecosystem health is well-suited to inform land management strategies and decision-making for agricultural production policies. We asked livestock producers, public land and resource managers, recreation users, conservationists, and wilderness advocates who live and work among rural communities in southwestern Idaho to describe social-ecological conditions that support and degrade their well-being. Using grounded theory methodology, we analyzed semi-structured interviews to discover meanings of well-being and to understand how people experience changes to their quality of life in an arid rangelands context. Our findings support previous research that suggests well-being is experienced at both individual and community scales, with sense of well-being influenced by ecological, economic, and socio-cultural processes. Specifically, our findings illuminate the role of social interactions as processes that support agroecosystem conditions and functions to the benefit or detriment of human well-being and ecosystem health. Community is not just a geographic territory; it is a process of social interactions through which people build, improve, or damage relationships that support or degrade well-being. By integrating scholarship on social change processes, ecosystem services, and impacts to human well-being, we contribute an integrated framework with a comprehensive set of social-ecological concepts to be used as a common language and synthesis guide for agroecosystem researchers and practitioners. We discuss our findings in the context of the USDA Agricultural Research Service's national network for Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR). The LTAR network is charged with identifying strategies for sustainable intensification that support agricultural productivity, environmental quality, and rural well-being. Our research sheds light on the functions of agroecosystem stakeholders and rural communities beyond their adoption (or not) of new technologies and management practices. Future assessments of environmental change and impacts must adequately address social processes that, alongside ecological processes, affect well-being for rural communities and landscapes.",FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS,2020,abr 21 J,"Pita, P; Antelo, M; Hyder, K; Vingada, J; Villasante, S",The Use of Recreational Fishers' Ecological Knowledge to Assess the Conservation Status of Marine Ecosystems,10.3389/fmars.2020.00242,"There is a reluctance to incorporate Fishers' Ecological Knowledge (FEK) into the evidence base used to underpin marine management decisions. FEK has proved to be useful as an alternative reference of biological changes in data-poor scenarios. Yet, recreational fisher knowledge has rarely been included in scientific studies despite being a source of FEK. Here, the use of recreational FEK to assess the conservation status of marine ecosystems in Galicia (NW Spain) was evaluated. Galicia has a highly complex marine socioecological system that includes both a large global commercial fleet and a powerful recreational sector, alongside other important stakeholders (e.g., tourism, aquaculture). Anglers and spear fishers were asked to provide their perceptions of the conservation status of fish stocks and the impacts on marine ecosystems. Face-toface interviews were transcribed into text and analyzed using text mining tools. Key concepts were used to quantify fishers' perceptions of changes in their target fish stocks and quantify the main impacts on marine ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat loss, followed by reduction in biodiversity, pollution, and warming temperatures were considered to be the main drivers of the poor status of cephalopods and finfish stocks. Perceived temporal declines in fish stocks were consistent with available biological data, highlighting the potential for recreational FEK to be used to assess long-term ecological changes. It was important to seek opinions from different users, including fishers from traditional commercial and recreational fisheries, as these groups had good knowledge of the impacts on natural and cultural community heritage. The poor status of ballann wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and kelp beds was identified, which was of concern due to it being a key species in coastal ecosystems. Use of FEK is a good approach to develop knowledge of these systems, but broader monitoring programs are needed to protect the future of these ecosystems.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2020,abr 21 J,"Hafezi, M; Sahin, O; Stewart, RA; Connolly, RM; Mackey, B; Ware, D",Adaptation strategies for coral reef ecosystems in Small Island Developing States: Integrated modelling of local pressures and long-term climate changes,10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119864,"Planning and decision-making vastly benefit from a holistic and systematic understanding of the long-term impacts of climate change and other non-climatic stressors on the health and resilience of coral reef ecosystems, and the efficacy of adaptation strategies and management interventions on mitigating these impacts and maintaining ecosystem condition and associated ecosystem service. This study reports on an approach to modelling coral reef stressors and possible adaptation interventions using the coral reef ecosystem of Port Resolution on Tanna Island, Vanuatu as the case study serving as a microcosm of endangered Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). A novel participatory modelling framework was developed and followed in a stepwise manner to integrate local and long-term climate change pressures by coupling structural analysis and the Bayesian Network (BN) techniques. The BN model was quantified through an advanced consolidated data-induced, evidence-based, and expert-driven approach that incorporated: (1) projections of future climate conditions and changing human activities; (2) the influences of multiple stressors including physical environmental and sociological factors; and (3) spatial variability in the key processes and variables. The first and second phases conceptualised the whole system by providing a graphical presentation of system variables within the Driver-Pressure-StateImpact (DPSI) framework using the structural analysis technique. In the third phase, the BN technique was used to integrate the outcomes of multidisciplinary assessments and analysis with experts' opinion. The BN modelling phase was completed based on evidence extracted from literature which reported the results of regional and downscaled climate models, GIS-based analysis, parametrised data obtained from the region, and tacit knowledge elicited from experts. The validated model was employed to anticipate the future health and resilience condition of coral reefs under different sets of climatic trajectories and adaptive responses scenarios. The results predict the risks to the health and resilience of the Port Resolution coral reef system from the adverse impacts of climate change and harmful human activities and the possible success of adaptations strategies. A sobering conclusion was that despite the current satisfactory condition of coral reefs in the case study zone, their health and resilience would be severely threatened by 2070 in the absence of implementing adaptation strategies and associated sustainable management interventions. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2020,abr 20 J,"Lim, XJ; Ng, SI; Basha, NK; Cheah, JH; Ting, H",To move or not to move? A study of sustainable retirement village in Malaysia,10.1007/s12144-020-00734-z,"Sustainability is now on the forefront on a wide variety of global debates, which is hardly surprising given its emphasis to enhance the well-being of society in an increasingly challenging world. The rapid aging of developing societies has compelled policymakers and developers to provide adequate housing options that meet the diverse needs of elderly populations. As a result, sustainable retirement village (SRV) has emerged as a novel relocation option in meeting the needs of the elderly by providing them an affordable and comfortable living space. Thus, the present study aims to elucidate the multifaced aspects of sustainability features (i.e., social, environmental, and economic aspects) that affect the elderly's willingness to move into retirement village. A self-administrative survey was adopted to collect data from 261 elderly in Malaysia aged 50 years old and above. The analysis of the structural model has shown that sustainability in the aspect of social and environmental, positively impact on the attitude towards SRV. Besides that, communicability was also found to moderate the path between economic sustainability and attitude as well as attitude towards willingness to move into SRV. The paper concludes with limitations and recommendations for future research.",CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY,, J,"Chen, SR; Feng, YJ; Tong, XH; Liu, S; Xie, H; Gao, C; Lei, ZK",Modeling ESV losses caused by urban expansion using cellular automata and geographically weighted regression,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136509,"Driven by increasing urban demand, spatially-varying Urban expansion has led to significant ecosystem degradation in China and elsewhere. Spatial nonstationarity affects the relationship between urban expansion and ecosystem service value (ESV) loss, but its significance has been under-emphasized. To study the spatially-heterogeneous ESV loss, we integrated cellular automata (CA) with geographically weighted regression (GWR) in a model that considers the relationships between urban expansion and its driving factors. We used ten GWR bandwidths to construct the CA(GWR) models for reproducing rapid urban expansion at Chongqing from 2005 to 2010. We then used the CA(GWR) model with the best bandwidth to predict future urban scenarios out to 2030. Our modeling shows that CA(GWR) is strongly sensitive to bandwidth, and that the overall accuracy and Figure-of-Merit are maximized with a similar to 2 km(2) bandwidth (about 150 samples). We examined ESV losses in eleven ecosystem classes and found that climate regulation and water flow regulation are the dominant drivers of ESV loss. From 2010 to 2030, Chongqing's urban area will increase by about 87%, resulting in substantial encroachment on agricultural land, dryland and shrubs, causing significant ESV losses of about 38%. Our results constitute an early warning of ecosystem degradation caused by massive urban development. This study improves our understanding of spatially-varying urban expansion and related ESV losses in rapidly developing areas and should help improve urban planning regulation and regional policy for sustainable development to maintain environmentally-friendly cities. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2020,abr 10 J,"Baird, J; Dale, G; Farhad, S",Individual differences predict endorsement of water resilience,10.1038/s41598-020-62896-x,"In the epoch of the Anthropocene change, complexity, and uncertainty create a demand for new systems of water management and governance. One such management model that is rapidly gaining traction amongst both scholars and practitioners is the concept of water resilience. Although increasing attention has been paid to the overarching theoretical and applied issues surrounding water resilience, few have examined individual attitudes and perceptions towards this concept. In this paper, we examine to what extent individuals endorse - that is, agree with and see the importance of using social-ecological resilience as a framework for management and governance of water resources. We approach the problem and promise of water governance in this way because individuals' mindsets (and shifts in mindsets) offers one of the most effective leverage points for larger system change. To explore water resilience endorsement, we developed a scale (i.e., a water resilience scale) that was designed to capture individual endorsement of each of the seven principles of social-ecological water resilience. Three additional sets of questionnaires were also used to examine whether individual characteristics (i.e., demographics, psychological factors, and environmental attitudes) predict water resilience endorsement. Overall, there was considerable societal endorsement of water resilience. However, the degree to which individuals endorsed the concept of water resilience differed as a function of demographics, psychological characteristics, and attitudes toward the environment. Future research should examine the nuances of endorsement and consider targeted approaches to influence endorsement levels by using the predictor variables as a basis for engaging and shifting mindsets.",SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2020,abr 6 J,"Barbitta, D; Clavijo, C; Carranza, A","Ecoregional-Level Assessment of the Potential Distribution of the Invasive Apple Snail Pomacea maculata Perry, 1810 (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae): Setting Geographically Explicit Priorities for the Management of the Invasion",10.1134/S2075111720020022,"Pomaceaspecies, also known as apple snails, are highly invasive freshwater organisms now occurring in Central and North America, Asia and Europe. Species misidentification within the genus has hampered efforts to manage their spread and impact, and thusPomacea maculatahave received much less attention thatP. canaliculata. Species Distribution Models are well suited for a global screening for suitable regions for the establishment of apple snails. Here, a global distribution model for the distribution ofP. maculatabased on an extensive database allowed us to identify current and future potential receptor freshwater ecoregions (FEOws) and to set priorities for the development of early warning strategies under climate change scenarios. Model performance was adequate, predicting accurately most invaded FEOWs across the world. Performing a global balance for climate change scenarios, and considering only FEOWs with medium and high ecoregional susceptibility (ES), the potential native distribution ofP. maculatais reduced in ca. 945,701 km(2), while the exotic potential distribution area increases in 1,118,111 km(2). To minimize risks of future invasions, uninvaded FEOWs with both high values of ES and a predicted increase in environmental quality for the establishment ofP. maculatawere identified across the globe. The development of early warning schemes aiming to detect the initial phase of invasions may provide a unique opportunity for control of this highly invasive species before a much damage to the socio-ecological system is inflicted.",RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS,2020,APR J,"Thompson, JR; Creasy, SL; Mair, CF; Burke, JG",Drivers of opioid use in Appalachian Pennsylvania: Cross-cutting social and community-level factors,10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102706,"Background: Four Appalachian states including Pennsylvania (PA) have the highest drug overdose rates in the country, calling for better understanding of the social and economic drivers of opioid use in the region. Using key informant interviews, we explored the social and community drivers of opioid use in a non-urban Appalachian Pennsylvania community. Methods: In 2017, we conducted qualitative interviews with 20 key stakeholders from a case community selected using the results from quantitative spatial models of hospitalizations for opioid use disorders. In small town located 10 miles outside Pittsburgh, PA, we asked participants to share their perceptions of contextual factors that influence opioid use among residents. We then used qualitative thematic analysis to organize and generate the results. Results: Participants identified several contextual factors that influence opioid use among residents. Three crosscutting thematic topics emerged: 1) acceptance and denial of use through familial and peer influences, community environments, and social norms; 2) impacts of economic shifts and community leadership on availability of programs and opportunities; and 3) the role of coping within economic disadvantage and social depression. Conclusion: Uncovering multi-level, contextual drivers of opioid use can benefit the development of future public health interventions. These results suggest that social and community-level measures of structural deprivation, acceptance and/or denial of the opioid epidemic, community engagement and development, social support, and social depression are important for future research and programmatic efforts in the Appalachian region.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY,2020,APR J,"Srivastava, L; Hand, M; Kim, J; Sanchez, JJ; Lupi, F; Garnache, C; Drapek, RJ; Quinn, JF",How Will Climate Change Affect the Provision and Value of Water from Public Lands in Southern California Through the 21(st) Century?,10.1017/age.2020.3,"We estimate the ecosystem service value of water supplied by the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California under climate change projections through the 21(st) century. We couple water flow projections from a dynamic vegetation model with an economic demand model for residential water originating from the San Bernardino National Forest. Application of the method demonstrates how estimates of consumer welfare changes due to variation in water supply from public lands in Southern California can inform policy and land management decisions. Results suggest variations in welfare changes over time due to alterations in the projected water supply surpluses, shifting demand limited by water supply shortages or surpluses, and price increases. Results are sensitive to future climate projections-in some cases large decreases in welfare due to supply shortages-and to assumptions about the demand model.",AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS REVIEW,2020,APR J,"Li, Z; Wu, SL; Zhang, SW; Nie, C; Li, Y; Huang, YF","Optimization of Land Reuse Structure in Coal Mining Subsided Areas Considering Regional Economic Development: A Case Study in Pei County, China",10.3390/su12083335,"Land subsidence, which has caused large-scale settlement loss and farmland degradation, was regarded as the main constraint for land reclamation in the High Groundwater Coal Basins (HGCBs) in the eastern China plain. Both coal mining and agricultural production are important for regional development in this area. In general, the land reclamation direction in this area is greatly affected by the adequacy of filling materials and the land use demand of regional economic development. Taking seven coal mining subsided areas in Pei county, located in the eastern China plain, for example, this study proposed an integrated model (including the Limit Condition model, Logistic Regression model, Grey Linear Programming model and the conversion of land use and its effects at small regional extent (CLUE-S) model) to simulate and optimize the post-mining land use structure to meet the economic development needs of Pei county. Then, the post-mining land use structure under different scenarios, which were set based on the subsidence depth, were compared to explore the optimal collapse depth for separating the damaged land into the filling area and non-filling area. The landscape structure, ecological benefits, engineering quantity and reclaimed farmland area were used to compare the reclaimed land use structure of different scenarios. The results showed that the integrated model could efficiently simulate the reclaimed land use structure to meet the land demand for regional development. The optimal collapse depth for separating the damaged area into the filling area and non-filling area was 2.6 m. Currently, the reclaimed land use structure not only needs a low quantity of filling material, but also obtains a good landscape structure and elevated ecosystem services value. Furthermore, the reclaimed urban land was mainly distributed around Pei town, and the reclaimed farmland was mostly distributed in the area between Pei town and Weishan lake, which were consistent with the pattern of urbanization. The study provides valuable information for future land use plans for Pei county and will contribute to the methods of post-mining land reclamation in other HGCBs.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,APR J,"Campos, P; Alvarez, A; Oviedo, JL; Ovando, P; Mesa, B; Caparros, A",Refined Systems of National Accounts and Experimental Ecosystem Accounting Versus the Simplified Agroforestry Accounting System: Testing in Andalusian Holm Oak Open Woodlands,10.3390/f11040393,"The scientific debate over how to make visible the connections between the standard System of National Accounts (SNA) and its ongoing satellite Environmental Economic Ecosystem Accounting-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is a challenge that is still pending. The literature on environmental accounting of agroforestry and silvopastoral landscapes rarely values the multiple ecosystem services of an area, an economic unit (e.g., farm), or a vegetation type (e.g., holm oak-Quercus ilex L.-open woodland). Generally, the literature presents the market value of the products consumed directly or a correction of the latter that reduces their exchange values in order to approximate them to their resource rents. In our previous publications, we have applied and compared our Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) with the System of National Accounts (SNA), and we refined the latter to avoid the lag between income generation and its accounting in the period in which the product is extracted. These previous publications did not develop experimental applications of the SEEA-EEA with comparisons to the SNA and it being integrated into the AAS. The main novelty of this article is that, for the first time, we present detailed applications and comparisons of our developments of the refined SEEA-EEA and refined SNA with a simplified version of the AAS. The accounting frameworks applied take the production and capital accounts in the process of being updated by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) at the scale of the holm oak open woodlands of Andalusia into account. In this study, we compare three environmental accounting approaches for ecosystem services and environmental income measurements at basic and social prices: our slightly refined standard System of National Accounts (rSNA); our refined, updated and ongoing satellite System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (rSEEA-EEA); and our simplified Agroforestry Accounting System (sAAS). We tested them for 15 economic activities in 1408 thousand hectares of the predominantly mixed holm oak open woodland (HOW) land use tiles in the region of Andalusia, Spain. We considered the government institutional sector to be the collective owner of public economic activities, which we incorporated in the rSNA and the sAAS approaches. We discuss consistencies in environmental incomes identified from the results of the three ecosystem accounting frameworks applied to the HOW. The discrepancies in the measurement of ecosystem services of the government institutional sector between the rSEEA-EEA and the sAAS were due to the omission in the former of the government manufactured costs incurred in the supply of freely consumed public final products. The most notable finding of our comparison is that the ecosystem services and the environmental income results for individual market products offered the same values, whichever the ecosystem accounting framework applied. This was not the case with the ecosystem services of public products without market prices, due to the fact that the rSNA estimates these products at production cost and the rSEEA-EEA did not consider the government manufactured production costs and ordinary manufactured net operating margin of government final public product consumption. We also found that, according to modeling of the scheduled management of future biological resources of the HOW, the environmental income shows biological sustainability of the individual nature-based total product consumption.",FORESTS,2020,APR J,"Chen, BX; Wang, YC",Carbon Storage in Old-Growth Homestead Windbreaks of Small Islands in Okinawa: Toward the Sustainable Management and Conservation,10.3390/f11040448,"Research Highlights: This study contributes to the improvement of the understanding of ecosystem functions of trees growing outside the forest, by quantifying the carbon sequestration function of a homestead windbreak, for example, a linear forest belt planted bordering a farmhouse in small islands. Background and objectives: Carbon storage in small-scale stands of forests have been less studied compared to that in large-scale forests. The aims of the present study were to clarify the ecological functions of carbon storage and the economic value of homestead windbreaks to propose effective conservation strategies for old-growth homestead windbreaks in the face of climate change. Materials and Methods: On the small islands of Okinawa Prefecture, the dominant tree species used for the homestead windbreaks is fukugi (Garcinia subelliptica Merr.). We collected data on the diameter at breast height (DBH) and the height of 23,518 fukugi trees in 10 villages from 2009 to 2018. Results: The total amount of carbon stored in the remnant fukugi homestead trees of the 10 surveyed hamlets was 6089 t-CO2. The amount is equivalent to the carbon amount that is stored in a 40-year-old Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest, a representative tree species in Japan, of 20.9 ha area. Furthermore, the estimated economic value of the homestead trees was equivalent to USD 235,433, in terms of the plantation and management costs of 40-year-old Japanese cedar forests. This study revealed that homestead trees planted in an orderly line usually have a high density; hence, they have a high potential for biomass accumulation, carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation. Moreover, homestead trees could contribute to a reduction in carbon diffusion, by cooling the house and reducing potential energy consumption. The findings related to homestead trees are consistent with those of other types of trees outside forests or small patches of trees: not adding to future land use competition and highly effective at carbon sequestration. Conclusions: The finding related to the carbon storage of homestead trees will provide basic information, as well as a new perspective on future local conservation and its contribution to climate change mitigation. This study suggests the necessity of the existing trees being properly managed, recruiting trees to be planted to replace old-growth trees, and replanting trees near newly established houses or old homesteads where trees have been cut.",FORESTS,2020,APR J,"Achieng, T; Maciejewski, K; Dyer, M; Biggs, R","Using a Social-ecological Regime Shift Approach to Understand the Transition from Livestock to Game Farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa",10.3390/land9040097,"This study explored the shift in land use from livestock farming to game farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, from a social-ecological regime shift perspective. A regime shift can be defined as a large, persistent change in the structure and function of the intertwined social and ecological components of a landscape. This research focused on the Amakhala game reserve as a case study to understand how the shift affected the provision of ecosystem services and human wellbeing. We used remote sensing techniques to quantify changes in vegetation and found evidence of vegetation recovery following the shift. We then conducted interviews with both landowners and farmworkers and used participatory mapping to understand their perceptions of the main drivers and social-ecological impacts of the shift in land use. Social narratives revealed stark differences in different stakeholders' perceptions, highlighting that the change in land use had varied implications for, and were perceived differently by, different stakeholders. Farmworkers emphasized changes in social structures that weakened community bonds and erased valued connections to the land. At the same time, they increased employment of women, skills development, and increased wages as benefits of the new game farming regime. Landowners, on the other hand, indicated financial gains from the land use change. The transition therefore resulted in trade-offs that surfaced as social, economic, and cultural losses and gains. These changes, especially in social relationships and community structures, have implications for resilience and possible future pathways of development in the region.",LAND,2020,APR J,"Hargrove, WL; Heyman, JM",A Comprehensive Process for Stakeholder Identification and Engagement in Addressing Wicked Water Resources Problems,10.3390/land9040119,"Various sectors of stakeholders (urban, agricultural, policymakers, etc.) are frequently engaged in participatory research projects aimed at improving water resources' sustainability. However, a process for comprehensive and integrative identification, classification, and engagement of all types of water stakeholders for a region or river basin, especially in a transboundary context, is missing for water resources research projects. Our objective was to develop a systematic approach to identifying and classifying water stakeholders, and engage them in a discussion of water futures, as a foundation for a participatory modeling research project to address the wicked water resource problems of the Middle Rio Grande basin on the U.S./Mexico border. This part of the Rio Grande basin can be characterized as having limited and dwindling supplies of water, increasing demands for water from multiple sectors, and a segmented governance system spanning two U.S. states and two countries. These challenges are being exacerbated by climate change; a transitioning agriculture to more water demanding, high value crops; urbanization; and growing demand for environmental services. Moving forward, a core question for this region is how can water be managed so that the three competing sectors-agricultural, urban, and environmental-can realize a sustainable future in this challenged water system? We identified the major water-using sectors who represent competing demands as including agricultural, municipal, self-supplied industrial users, environmental, and a sector we labeled social justice, comprised of individuals who lack access to potable water, or who represent groups who advocate for access to water. We included stakeholders from both the U.S. and Mexico, which is seldom done, who share transboundary water resources in the region. We hosted a series of stakeholder dialogues and obtained results that identified and described their vision for the future of water; challenges to be overcome; and important research questions that could be addressed using participatory modeling approaches. Four broad themes common to multiple sectors emerged: (1) quantity, drought, and scarcity; (2) quality/salinization; (3) urbanization; and (4) conservation and sustainability. Each sector expressed distinctive views regarding the future of water. Agricultural stakeholders, in particular, had strong feelings of ownership of water rights as part of land ownership and a concomitant sense of threat to those water rights emanating from dwindling supplies and competing demands. The contribution of this work is a methodology for identifying, classifying, and engaging all types of stakeholders in the context of a research project, enabling us to compare and contrast views of different types of stakeholders. Heretofore, this has been accomplished in bits and pieces, but never comprehensively and holistically.",LAND,2020,APR J,"Aberilla, JM; Gallego-Schmid, A; Stamford, L; Azapagic, A",An integrated sustainability assessment of synergistic supply of energy and water in remote communities,10.1016/j.spc.2020.01.003,"The success of deploying energy and water technologies in remote communities in developing countries can be improved by considering their synergistic relationships and their social, economic and environmental implications. This paper first evaluates social implications of current energy and water supply in a prototypical remote community against five future (2030) scenarios for synergistic provision of electricity, heat for cooking and water. This is followed by an integrated assessment of the social, environmental and economic life cycle sustainability through multicriteria decision analysis. The Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario shows high life cycle health impacts but low impacts from local air pollution. The contrary is true for the Independent and Advanced Independent scenarios which assume community self-sufficiency in energy and water supply. Greater access to electricity and water in the Advanced and Advanced Independent scenarios increases the potential for human development and security of supply, but there is an increase in the risk of accidents and decrease in social acceptability of the water supply. Similarly, a transition towards clean cooking fuels away from traditional solid biomass reduces local air pollution but increases reliance on imported fuels (BAU and Advanced scenarios). The Transition scenario is socially the most sustainable option, while Independent and Advanced Independent are the best options environmentally. They also have the lowest total operating costs, but have higher capital requirements than most other scenarios. Overall, unless extreme preferences for either environmental or social aspects are adopted, the Transition and Independent scenarios emerge as the most sustainable options. This suggests that current energy and water supply to remote communities can be transitioned sustainably to a self-sufficient system that does not depend on imported resources. The scenarios developed in this work present a framework for an integrated design and evaluation of energy and water supply in remote communities with the aim of aiding stakeholders in defining sustainable transition pathways. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.",SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION,2020,APR J,"Hamann, M; Biggs, R; Pereira, L; Preiser, R; Hichert, T; Blanchard, R; Warrington-Coetzee, H; King, N; Merrie, A; Nilsson, W; Odendaal, P; Poskitt, S; Betancourt, DS; Ziervogel, G",Scenarios of Good Anthropocenes in southern Africa,10.1016/j.futures.2020.102526,"In the rapidly changing and uncertain world of the Anthropocene, positive visions of the future could play a crucial role in catalysing deep social-ecological transformations to help guide humanity towards more sustainable and equitable futures. This paper presents the outcomes from a novel visioning process designed to elicit creative and inspirational future scenarios for southern Africa. The approach based scenario development on seeds of good Anthropocenes, i.e. existing initiatives or technologies that represent current, local-scale innovations for sustainability. A selection of seeds was used to create four distinct, positive visions in a participatory workshop process. Common themes that independently emerged in all four visions were i) decentralized governance and decision-making; ii) a strong emphasis on equity and empathy; iii) high levels of connectedness between people; and iv) a reinforced, respectful relationship with nature. The visions mainly differ in the extent of fusion between people and technology in everyday life, and how much nature plays a role in defining the human experience. The narratives presented here describe worlds that have undergone a more significant paradigm shift towards shared human values and stewardship of resources than is explored in most other ambient narratives for the region. These Good Anthropocene scenarios therefore demonstrate more radical, previously unimagined ways of thinking about sustainability futures on the African continent and beyond.",FUTURES,2020,APR J,"Bennett, NJ; Calo, A; Di Franco, A; Niccolini, F; Marzo, D; Domina, I; Dimitriadis, C; Sobrado, F; Santoni, MC; Charbonnel, E; Trujillo, M; Garcia-Charton, J; Seddiki, L; Cappanera, V; Grbin, J; Kastelic, L; Milazzo, M; Guidetti, P",Social equity and marine protected areas: Perceptions of small-scale fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea,10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108531,"Global conservation policy requires the scaling up of effectively and equitably managed networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). While progress has been made on spatial coverage, the fundamental aspects of effectiveness and equity are falling short. Past research has focused on management effectiveness in MPAs, but less attention has been given to social equity though it is an ethical imperative and instrumental to conservation. This study assessed the perceptions of SSF regarding recognitional, procedural and distributional dimensions of social equity using quantitative surveys in 11 MPAs across 6 countries on the Mediterranean Sea. To do so, we developed individual indicators from which we created composite scores for recognitional, procedural, and distributional equity, and a combined social equity score. Overall, descriptive results showed that SSF perceptions of social equity were quite varied but slightly skewed towards positive perceptions. Then, we developed predictive models to analyze the effects of geographic (i.e., MPA and country) and individual (i.e., SSF demographics and characteristics) factors on the composite social equity scores. All social equity scores differed significantly between MPAs. Being an older fisher was associated with a decrease in recognitional equity, while having a higher level of relative wealth or more diversified livelihoods was associated with higher scores for distributional equity. These results point to the need for tailored management actions to improve equity in different MPA sites and for different groups. This paper presents a novel quantitative method for using stakeholder perceptions to examine social equity that might be applied to marine and terrestrial conservation initiatives elsewhere.",BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION,2020,APR J,"Shen, FZ; Zhang, L; Jiang, L; Tang, MQ; Gai, XY; Chen, MD; Ge, XL","Temporal variations of six ambient criteria air pollutants from 2015 to 2018, their spatial distributions, health risks and relationships with socioeconomic factors during 2018 in China",10.1016/j.envint.2020.105556,"Air pollution events occurred frequently in China, and tremendous efforts were devoted to the reduction of air pollution in recent years. Here, analysis of ambient monitoring data of six criteria air pollutants from 367 Chinese cities during 2015-2018, showed that PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and CO were reduced significantly by 22.1%, 13.5%, 46.4% and 21.5%, respectively, NO2 reduction was less significant (6.3%) while O-3 level instead increased over China (13.7%). Spatial distribution, seasonal, monthly and diurnal variations of the air pollutants during 2018, implicated of effective control measures, were discussed in details, especially for the five key densely populated regions of Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ), Fen Wei Plains (FWP), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Sichuan Basin (SCB) and Pearl River Delta (PRD). Moreover, excess health risks (ERs) of the six pollutants were estimated for 2018, and such risks was two times higher if the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline rather than Chinese guideline was adopted. PM10 rather than PM2.5 was the dominant contributor to ERs, and the case with both PM2.5 and PM10 exceeding threshold values occupied similar to 1/3 of total days, yet contributed similar to 2/3 of total ERs. For 2018, the health-risk based air quality index (HAQI) was further calculated by combining health risks from multiple pollutants, and it was found that high HAQI mostly distributed in North China Plain (NCP). similar to 15%, similar to 85% and similar to 95% people in YRD, FWP and JJJ were exposed to polluted air (HAQI > 100), and population-normalized HAQI further added the inequality, JJJ and a small region of SCB had much higher HAQI (> 280). Investigations on HAQI with socioeconomic factors show that total population, population density and built-up area presented an inverted U-shape, suggesting existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), while a positive relationship was found between HAQI and share of secondary industry. Multiple regression analysis suggested that built-up area was the most prominent factor to HAQI, followed by the gross domestic product (GDP). The findings here demonstrate in great details the current characteristics of air pollution and its associated health risks in China, therefore providing important implications for effective air pollution control strategies in near future for different regions of China.",ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL,2020,APR J,"Yang, Q; Liu, GY; Giannetti, BF; Agostinho, F; Almeida, CMVB; Casazza, M",Emergy-based ecosystem services valuation and classification management applied to China's grasslands,10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101073,"Though grasslands cover one fifth area of global land and provide vital services for humans, half of them are degraded due to human interference and climate change. In this paper we perform evaluations of the delivery of ecosystem services (ES) of grasslands using a systems approach and the technique of emergy accounting. Firstly, we address the issue of anthropocentricity of ES through discussion and analysis using the concept of emergy as contrasted to economic value, i.e. willingness-to-pay. Secondly, we explore from a systems classification of provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. Thirdly, we provide quantitative analysis of the value added (surplus value) to economies by ecosystems. An emergy-based index of classification management of grassland (ICG), is also implemented, together with a non-monetary benefit-cost analysis of grassland ES. It is established that emergy provides an approach to evaluating the contributions ecosystems make to the economy using the idea of net benefit ratio, computed as the emergy cost of providing a service through technology (aka replacement cost) divided by emergy required to sustain ecosystem functions. This study can provide a systematic biophysical accounting method for grassland ESV to implement future sustainable management practices.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2020,APR J,"Riley, D; Schaafsma, M; Marin-Moreno, H; Minshull, TA","A social, environmental and economic evaluation protocol for potential gas hydrate exploitation projects",10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114651,"There is increasing global interest in the potential commercial development of methane gas hydrate as a widespread and abundant unconventional source of natural gas. Previous work has focussed on understanding the nature and distribution of the resource, and potential recovery technology, neglecting assessment of the associated social, economic and environmental consequences. This gap needs to be addressed for any commercial gas hydrate development business case to succeed. Here we develop a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) protocol of gas hydrate development using the ELECTRE III method. Our protocol proposes criteria that evaluate the social, environmental and economic impacts of gas hydrate development proposals, which are weighted to represent the priorities of six identified stakeholder groups. We have tested the protocol on potential commercial gas hydrate development in Alaska through a series of interviews. Our results show that there is no universal preference structure, even within stakeholder groups, indicating that buy-in from all groups is a complex compromise. However, there are two fundamentally opposing groups, one composed of individuals from governmental and industry backgrounds who prioritise economic criteria, and another represented by members of the local community and environmental advocates who prioritise social and environmental criteria. The protocol concludes that gas hydrate development in Alaska is unlikely to be supported under present-day conditions. This work provides the first structured foundation for comprehensive assessment of future development proposals of gas hydrate or other natural resources.",APPLIED ENERGY,2020,abr 1 J,"von Thenen, M; Frederiksen, P; Hansen, HS; Schiele, KS",A structured indicator pool to operationalize expert-based ecosystem service assessments for marine spatial planning,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.105071,"There is growing evidence that the ecosystem service (ES) concept can provide valuable input to marine spatial planning (MSP), by highlighting which ecosystem goods and services can be produced from a planning area. ES link the underlying ecosystem processes and functions to the benefits humans can receive from ecosystems (the ecosystem cascade). In this study, we argue that the ecosystem cascade can be used to structure the stock-taking and future scenario analysis in MSP. However, indicators, which are needed for measuring ES, have often been applied in various ways to the different steps of the cascade. Here, we apply a consistent approach to sorting indicators into the cascade. The indicators are presented in an indicator pool that can be used to filter them based on the cascade steps, several quality criteria, and themes. The pool consists of 772 indicators, of which 735 were analyzed. In total, 252 analyzed indicators belong to the provisioning services, 314 indicators to the regulating services and 169 to the cultural services. The indicator pool offers a suitable starting point to select indicators for ES assessments within MSP. Using indicators at the different cascade steps allows the assessment of i) the ecosystem components generating the services and ii) the impacts on ES and their beneficiaries when changes occur in the provision of the services due to planning or management decisions.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2020,abr 1 J,"Pena, SB; Abreu, MM; Magalhaes, MR; Cortez, N",Water erosion aspects of land degradation neutrality to landscape planning tools at national scale,10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.114093,"The soil erosion by water is a land degradation process identified the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) conceptual framework and a soil threat recognized in the Soil Thematic Strategy. It is also a very significant problem in the Mediterranean area. The common cause of land degradation is incorrect land use and management practices, which enhance the importance of planning the future of the landscape. When solving a soil erosion problem, not only land degradation is being reversed, but soil safety is provided: water conservation, biodiversity improvement, ecosystem services provision and better landscape equilibrium. The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target, referred in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, is defined as a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems. Despite some initiatives and recent projects about the achievement of LDN target, the link to landscape planning tools is still lacking. The approach followed in this study incorporates the centric and holistic perspective of soil, and aims to contribute to a definition of a mapping methodology of the areas that should be submitted to land degradation neutrality plans providing ecosystem restoration planning and the co-benefits of restoring soil functions. This goal will be supported by the assessment of the soil conservation mulls at a national scale (Portugal), using an integrated approach between soil maintenance/improvement and soil degradation, with the current soil cover protection. The evaluation of soil cover protection was established with the interpretation of land use classes and its cover-management factor (C-factor) from the Universal Soil Loss Equation and was tested in three different scenarios: (S1) the higher C-values collected in the research studies (S2) the more recent C-value collected in the research studies and (S3) an adapted scenario with assumptions considered by the authors. The study applied to mainland Portugal showed that Scenario S3 was more equilibrated regarding the distribution of the results (conservation vs. restoration) but was dependent of a set of defined assumptions especially regarding the different forest trees characteristics and management practices performed in Portugal. In this scenario, it was identified that 45.6% of Portugal needs LDN planning towards ecosystem restoration. The proposed methodology also identifies different priority classes of intervention, where the public or private investments could be targeted. Those LDN planning areas are easily framed in the responses to achieve LDN: avoid, reduce or reverse.",GEODERMA,2020,abr 1 J,"Liu, YB; Hou, XY; Li, XW; Song, BY; Wang, C",Assessing and predicting changes in ecosystem service values based on land use/cover change in the Bohai Rim coastal zone,10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.106004,"Land use/cover change (LUCC) in the Bohai Rim coastal zone has accelerated as a result of rampant economic development, which has directly caused many negative effects on ecosystem functions and services. Based on multi-temporal land use data (2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015), the benefit transfer method was used to assess the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the Bohai Rim coastal zone, and the impact of LUCC on ecosystem services was studied. Multi-scenario simulations for 2025 were conducted using the future land use simulation model. The result of the analysis showed that during the period from 2000 to 2015, the total ESV lost was 22.09 billion yuan, representing a decrease of 3.80%. The spatial distribution of the ESV showed a certain regularity, with obvious characteristics of a land-sea gradient change. As the distance from the coastline increased, the ESV per unit area gradually declined. Compared with those in 2015, the total ESVs of the socio-economic development scenario and the business-as-usual scenario in 2025 showed a declining trend, while they increased under the ecological protection priority scenario. Under the ecological protection priority scenario, regulating services and support services increased significantly, but those declined dramatically under the socio-economic development scenario. The patterns of LUCC are the main reasons for the decrease in ESV. This research provides a theoretical basis and support for the development and utilization of coastal space and the improvement of ecologicaleconomic-social benefits; additionally, the results provide support for scientific decision-making services for the sustainable use of resources in the coastal zone and for the sustainable management of ecosystems.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2020,APR J,"He, ZC; Xiao, LS; Guo, QH; Liu, Y; Mao, QZ; Kareiva, P",Evidence of causality between economic growth and vegetation dynamics and implications for sustainability policy in Chinese cities,10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119550,"Integrating causal considerations into the process of decision-making is beneficial to predict the outcomes of the policy interventions for sustainability. Unfortunately, this type of causal approach is still lacking in policy-making process. Here, a panel Granger causality model was employed to explore causal relationships between vegetation change and gross domestic product per capita based on data covering 285 Chinese cities between 2001 and 2015. The results show that unidirectional Granger causality runs only from economic growth to vegetation change, and not vice versa. This one-way causality indicates that China's economic development is a driver of vegetation change, however vegetation change does not influence macroeconomic output. These results have implications for the limitations and uncertainties which are inherent in monetizing the value of ecosystem services provided by vegetation cover in which estimated monetary value cannot generate actual macroeconomic benefit. Another implication of our findings is that future sustainability policies need to address the continuity of external economic inputs to prevent negative policy outcomes caused by the economic inefficiency of ecosystem protection. The absence of a positive feedback loop between vegetation cover and economic growth could lead to a new economy-environment crisis whereby sustainability is put at ever greater risk due to a reduced motivation for pro-environmental resource (financial, human) allocations. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2020,abr 1 J,"Lasner, T; Mytlewski, A; Nourry, M; Rakowski, M; Oberle, M",Carp land: Economics of fish farms and the impact of region-marketing in the Aischgrund (DEU) and Barycz Valley (POL),10.1016/j.aquaculture.2019.734731,"The carp farmers of today face many challenges, with changing consumer habits, drought, losses of fish to avian predators and diseases presenting some of the most widespread threats. Our study has selected two European carp-farming areas as case studies: the Aischgrund in Germany and the Barycz Valley in Poland, where local stakeholders have initiated region-marketing concepts. The carp provides the core identity of these region-marketing. The region-marketing aims to boost touristic attractiveness of the regions and should indirectly support carp farmers in the strained economic situation for carp aquaculture. Notwithstanding, it is unknown, how the region-marketing effects carp farms' economics. Stakeholders were interviewed to explore the establishment and the essence of these region-marketing concepts. Focus groups of carp farmers have informed our sample of representative farms. The representative farm models enabled to compare the costs and profitability of different carp enterprises. Further, the farm models helped to explore the potential impacts and efficacy of region-marketing initiatives introduced in recent years. Our results show that the single grow-out and traditional sale of conventional fresh carp is scarcely profitable. Farmers in both regions struggle with limited options for adaptation or diversification. The difficulties are most pronounced for small-scale peasant carp farms. We consider the potential of labelling as part of region-marketing and future transfer payments that honor the contribution of carp farming to ecosystem services and cultural value (region's identity). In particular for larger-scaled carp farms, region-marketing seems to be a good means of enhancing direct marketing opportunities and generating new income sources via diversification.",AQUACULTURE,2020,mar 30 J,"Albitar, K; Hussainey, K; Kolade, N; Gerged, AM",ESG disclosure and firm performance before and after IR The moderating role of governance mechanisms,10.1108/IJAIM-09-2019-0108,"Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of environmental, social and governance disclosure (ESGD) on firm performance (FP) before and after the introduction of integrated reporting (IR) further to exploring a potential moderation effect of corporate governance mechanisms on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Ordinary least squares and firm-fixed effects models were estimated based on data related to FTSE 350 between 2009 and 2018. The data has been mainly collected from Bloomberg and Capital IQ. This analysis was supplemented with applying a two-stage least squares (2 SLS) model to address any concerns regarding the expected occurrence of endogeneity problems. Findings The results show a positive and significant relationship between ESGD score and FP before and after 2013, among a sample of FTSE 350. Furthermore, the study is suggestive of a moderation effect of corporate governance mechanisms (i.e. ownership concentration, gender diversity and board size) on the ESGD-FP nexus. Additionally, this paper finds that firms voluntarily associated with IR have a tendency to achieve better firm financial performance. Practical implications - The findings of the present study have several policy and practitioner implications. For example, managers may engage in ESGD to enhance their firms' financial performance by the voluntary involvement in IR, which believed to help investors to rationalise their investment decisions. Likewise, the results reiterate the crucial need to integrate more social, environmental and economic regulations to promote sustainability in the UK. The paper also offers a systematic picture for policymakers in the UK as well as future researchers. Social implications - The findings of this paper indicate that IR plays a significant role in the relationship between ESGD and FP, where IR firms seemed to be achieving better FP as compared with their non-IR counterparts. This implies that stakeholders may have played a magnificent effort to encourage firms' voluntary engagement in IR in the UK. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to explore the potential moderating effect of ownership concentration, gender diversity and board size on the relationship between ESGD and FP and to examine whether firms' voluntary involvement in IR can lead to better FP after the introduction of IR in 2013 in the UK.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT,2020, J,"Mahjabin, T; Mejia, A; Blumsack, S; Grady, C",Integrating embedded resources and network analysis to understand food-energy-water nexus in the US,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136153,"To find a sustainable way of supplying food, energy, and water (FEW) while simultaneously protecting the ecosystem services, it is imperative to build greater understanding on interconnections, feedback, and dependencies in FEW systems. The FEW nexus has developed as a field of study to provide frameworks for such pursuits. Building upon previous work in this paper, we analyze FEW resources through the development of a virtual water trade network using the US network of food and energy flows and their associated virtual water contents. Our main objective is to provide a quantitative estimation of the virtual water embodied in the internal US food and energy transfers and analyze the associated interdependencies of these connections. Three methodological advancements demonstrate the novelty of this work. First, unlike existing FEW virtual water modeling studies, our work separates corn into both food and energy resources accounting for the significant use of corn for ethanol in the United States. Second, we apply recently published water consumption values for energy commodities confirming the variation between previous water footprint studies and these more accurate accounting procedures. Third, we examine network properties of the trade flows furthering FEW nexus literature and showcasing avenues for future research. Our results indicate that accounting for the transfer of corn from the food commodity network to the energy commodity network leads to a virtual water footprint decline of 11% for the cereal grain virtual water network. Additionally, the food trade network shows highly dense and connected properties compared to the energy trade network. Finally, our results indicate that transfers of water footprints between water scarce and water abundant states differ substantially between food and energy virtual water networks. A quantifiable understanding of the water footprint network embodied in the food and energy trade can help in developing policies for promoting conservation and efficiency in the context of the FEW nexus. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2020,mar 20 J,"Karimidastenaei, Z; Haghighi, AT; Rahmati, O; Rasouli, K; Rozbeh, S; Pirnia, A; Pradhan, B; Klove, B",Fog-water harvesting Capability Index (FCI) mapping for a semi-humid catchment based on socio-environmental variables and using artificial intelligence algorithms,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135115,"Fog is an important component of the water cycle in northern coastal regions of Iran. Having accurate tools for mapping the precise spatial distribution of fog is vital for water harvesting within integrated water resources management in this semi-humid region. In this study, environmental variables were considered in prediction mapping of areas with high concentrations of fog in the Vazroud watershed, Iran. Fog probability maps were derived from four artificial intelligence algorithms (Generalized Linear Model, Generalized Additive Model, Generalized Boosted Model, and Generalized Dissimilarity Model). Models accuracy were assessed using Receiver Operating characteristic Curve (ROC). Three social variables were also selected according to their relevance for fog suitability mapping. Finally, Fog-water harvesting Capability Index (FCI) maps were produced by multiplying fog probability by fog suitability maps. The results showed high accuracy in fog probability mapping for the study area, with all models proving capable of identifying areas with high fog concentrations in the south and southeast. For all models, the highest values of importance were obtained for sky view factor and the lowest for slope curvature. Analytic Hierarchy Process results showed the relative importance of social conditioning factors in fog suitability mapping, with the highest weight given to distance to residential area, followed by distance to livestock buildings and distance to road. Based on the fog suitability map, southeast and southern parts of the study area are most suitable for fog water harvesting. The fog spatial distribution maps obtained can increase fog water harvesting efficiency. They also indicate areas for future study with regions where fog is a critical component in the water cycle. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2020,mar 15 J,"Menendez, P; Losada, IJ; Torres-Ortega, S; Narayan, S; Beck, MW",The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves,10.1038/s41598-020-61136-6,"Coastal flood risks are rising rapidly. We provide high resolution estimates of the economic value of mangroves forests for flood risk reduction every 20 km worldwide. We develop a probabilistic, process-based valuation of the effects of mangroves on averting damages to people and property. We couple spatially-explicit 2-D hydrodynamic analyses with economic models, and find that mangroves provide flood protection benefits exceeding $US 65 billion per year. If mangroves were lost, 15 million more people would be flooded annually across the world. Some of the nations that receive the greatest economic benefits include the USA, China, India and Mexico. Vietnam, India and Bangladesh receive the greatest benefits in terms of people protected. Many (>45) 20-km coastal stretches particularly those near cities receive more than $US 250 million annually in flood protection benefits from mangroves. These results demonstrate the value of mangroves as natural coastal defenses at global, national and local scales, which can inform incentives for mangrove conservation and restoration in development, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and insurance.",SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2020,mar 10 J,"Schneider, F; Feurer, M; Lundsgaard-Hansen, LM; Win, M; Nuam, CD; Nydegger, K; Oberlack, C; Tun, NN; Zahringer, JG; Tun, AM; Messerli, P","Sustainable Development Under Competing Claims on Land: Three Pathways Between Land-Use Changes, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being",10.1057/s41287-020-00268-x,"Competition over land is at the core of many sustainable development challenges in Myanmar: villagers, companies, governments, ethnic minority groups, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations from local to the international level claim access to and decision-making power over the use of land. Therefore, this article investigates the actor interactions influencing land-use changes and their impacts on the supply of ecosystem services and human well-being. We utilise a transdisciplinary mixed-methods approach and the analytical lens of the social-ecological systems framework. Results reveal that the links between land-use changes, ecosystem services and human well-being are multifaceted; For example ecosystem services can decline, while human well-being increases. We explain this finding through three different pathways to impact (changes in the resource systems, the governance systems or the broader social, economic and political context). We conclude with implications of these results for future sustainable land governance.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH,2020,APR J,"Boeraeve, F; Dufrene, M; Dendoncker, N; Dupire, A; Mahy, G",How Are Landscapes under Agroecological Transition Perceived and Appreciated? A Belgian Case Study,10.3390/su12062480,"An increasing number of agricultural transition initiatives are taking place, seeking more autonomy and resilience on the farms. This undeniably reshapes the landscape and the delivery of ecosystem services (ES). To date, little research includes the knowledge and perceptions of local communities on rural landscapes in agricultural transition. Yet, farmers shape the landscape and ES delivery, and local inhabitants are directly impacted. The present work aims at assessing the extent to which locals (local inhabitants and farmers) appreciate and view landscapes undergoing agricultural transitions. To do so, questionnaires were submitted to locals enquiring about appreciation and ES perceptions of transitioning landscapes. These landscapes were shown in manipulated photographs simulating an agroecological landscape, a conventional agriculture landscape, and landscapes including each isolated agroecological practice (resulting in six 'scenarios'). In order to put locals' perceptions in perspective, the same questionnaire was submitted to 'ES experts', and ES perceptions were compared to field-based ES measurements in agroecological and conventional parcels of the same study region. The results show that locals and ES experts appreciate and perceive these scenarios similarly. The agroecological scenario was seen as the most appreciated and the one delivering the most ES, while the conventional one was the least appreciated and seen as the one delivering the least ES. These perceptions of ES delivery partially correspond to the ES field measurements, which showed a similar productivity within agroecological and conventional parcels and more regulating ES in agroecological parcels. We discuss how our results call for the assessment of the multi-performance of agricultural systems in terms of ES rather than focusing on yield only, and how future research addressing agroecological transition should rely on integrated valuations and mixed methods to better embrace the complexity of such transitioning systems.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,mar 2 J,"Souter, NJ; Shaad, K; Vollmer, D; Regan, HM; Farrell, TA; Arnaiz, M; Meynell, PJ; Cochrane, TA; Arias, ME; Piman, T; Andelman, SJ","Using the Freshwater Health Index to Assess Hydropower Development Scenarios in the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong River Basin",10.3390/w12030788,"Sustainable water resource management is a wicked problem, fraught with uncertainties, an indeterminate scope, and divergent social values and interests among stakeholders. To facilitate better management of Southeast Asia's transboundary Sesan, Sekong and Srepok (3S) River basin, we used the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) to diagnose the basin's current and likely future level of freshwater health. We used the conditions for December 2016 as a baseline, where Ecosystem Vitality and Ecosystem Services scored 66 and 80, respectively, out of a possible 100, whilst Governance & Stakeholders scored 43. Thus, the 3S provided a range of desired ecosystem services, but there were signs of environmental stress as well as undeveloped water governance systems and limited stakeholder engagement. We also modelled four hydropower development scenarios and found that increasing development reduced the scores of a subset of indicators. This compromised the future ability of the 3S basin's ecosystem to provide its current range of services. The FHI helped identify data deficiencies, illuminated important social dynamics, made ecosystem-human-water dynamics more understandable to stakeholders, and examined the long-term dynamics of the basin.",WATER,2020,MAR J,"Washington, H; Maloney, M",The need for ecological ethics in a new ecological economics,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106478,"Neoclassical economics has been dominated by anthropocentrism. We argue that much of ecological economics (EE) is now also dominated by this. EE should now break-free from anthropocentrism, including the commodification of nature. We suggest a 'new' ecological economics which foregrounds an ecocentric worldview, ecological ethics and ecojustice. These can assist society to reach a truly sustainable future where it accepts nature's intrinsic value and extends respect to the nonhuman world. Models associated with EE are considered in terms of their approach to ecological limits and equity, as well as ethics. The paper concludes the only EE model that comes close to foregrounding ecological ethics is the steady state economy. Most of the others explicitly (or implicitly) retain an anthropocentric bias. Four approaches to 'moving forward' are suggested: achieving ecocentrism; advocating Earth jurisprudence; supporting ecojustice; and dealing ethically with the commodification of nature. We argue that a rejuvenated EE should de-commodify nature. Hence we should consider 'People's Contributions to Nature', rather than just 'Nature's Contributions to People'. For both practical and ethical reasons, the paper concludes that EE needs to reevaluate its worldview and ethics. A possible research agenda is suggested that could help integrate ecological ethics with ecological economics.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2020,MAR J,"Hindsley, P; Yoskowitz, D",Global change-Local values: Assessing tradeoffs for coastal ecosystem services in the face of sea level rise,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102039,"Anthropogenic climate change poses a significant threat to Texas' coastal habitats and in the Galveston Bay region, there is just under 1200 square miles of freshwater marsh and undeveloped dry upland. These habitats provide residents with a variety of key ecosystem services but are threatened by global climate change. Effective management of these resources requires multidisciplinary knowledge, combining an understanding of the potential biophysical habitat alterations associated with sea level rise with the measurement of residents' value for coastal resources. In this study, we utilize a discrete choice experiment to investigate individuals' preferences for future conditions of Texas habitats within the Galveston Bay region. Utilizing modeled output for coverage of freshwater marsh and undeveloped dry upland in the year 2050, respondents are asked to make trade-offs between coastal conditions with no further management actions and outcomes associated with specific management interventions. From this framework, we estimate Galveston Bay regional residents' value for freshwater marshes and undeveloped uplands. Our results indicate that individuals are willing to conserve habitat under threat from sea level rise, but that they are likely unaware of the dynamic nature of that change. As a result, residents may place less emphasis on the role of the habitat migration in response to sea level rise.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2020,MAR J,"Hoque, MZ; Cui, SH; Islam, I; Xu, LL; Tang, JX","Future Impact of Land Use/Land Cover Changes on Ecosystem Services in the Lower Meghna River Estuary, Bangladesh",10.3390/su12052112,"Assessing the effects of different land use scenarios on subsequent changes in ecosystem service has great implications for sustainable land management. Here, we designed four land use/land cover (LULC) scenarios, such as business-as-usual development (BAUD), economic development priority (EDP), ecological protection priority (EPP), and afforestation development priority (ADP), through a Cellular Automata-Markov (CA-Markov) model, and their effects on ecosystem service values (ESVs) were predicted, using historical LULC maps and ESV coefficients of the Lower Meghna River Estuary, Bangladesh. Findings revealed that agricultural and mangrove forest lands experienced the greatest decreases, while rural and urban settlement land had the greatest increases, leading to a total ESV decrease of US$105.34 million during 1988-2018. The scenario analysis indicated that ESV in 2038 would also decrease by US$41.37 million and US$16.38 million under the BAUD and EDP scenarios, respectively, while ESV will increase by US$60.61 million and US$130.95 million under the EPP and ADP scenarios, respectively. However, all the future land use scenarios will lead to 1.65%, 10.21%, 7.58%, and 6.75% gaps in total food requirements, respectively. Hence, from the perspective of maximizing ESVs and minimizing the trade-offs in food gaps, the ADP scenario could be the optimal land management policy for the studied landscape.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,mar 1 J,"Kesselring, M; Wagner, F; Kirsch, M; Ajjabou, L; Gloaguen, R",Development of Sustainable Test Sites for Mineral Exploration and Knowledge Spillover for Industry,10.3390/su12052016,"In mineral exploration, pressure is growing to develop innovative technologies and methods with a lower impact on the social and physical environment. To assess the performance and impact of these technologies and methods, test sites are required. Embedded in the literature on sustainable development, this paper explores how social and environmental measures can be implemented in the design of test sites and what industry stake can learn from sustainable test sites. Through qualitative research, two value networks were developed, one for a sustainable test site approach and another for the existing business practice in mineral exploration. Respondents include public sector officials as well as experts in the social, environmental, business, geoscience, and industry fields. The analysis identifies key drivers for the development of socially and environmentally accepted test sites, thus drawing up actionable points for the mineral exploration industry to increase sustainability. The findings of this paper suggest that the integration of experts and partners from social, as well as environmental, sciences drives sustainability at test sites. For industry application, this results in the need to adapt the activities performed, align resource use with sustainability indicators, and also reconfigure the network of partners towards more socially and environmentally oriented business practices.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,mar 1 J,"Jalkanen, J; Vierikko, K; Moilanen, A",Spatial prioritization for urban Biodiversity Quality using biotope maps and expert opinion,10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126586,"Spatial prioritization can produce useful information about biodiversity values from urban areas. However, its typical focus on (endangered) species distributions assumes a rather restricted approach to urban biodiversity. In 2006, Feest suggested that five attributes of species assemblages more holistically describe the so called Biodiversity Quality of an area: species richness, biomass, population density, evenness, and rarity. Here we apply these attributes in spatial prioritization for urban biodiversity, across ten taxonomic groups: vascular plants, polypores, fungi (other than polypores), birds, bats, mammals (other than bats), herpetofauna, butterflies, hymenoptera, and beetles. In addition, we introduce two more attributes relevant for urban biodiversity conservation: support for specialist species and regional representativeness of the species assemblages. First, spatial data about local urban biotopes was acquired. For each taxon, the capacity of each urban biotope to support the seven introduced attributes of Biodiversity Quality was evaluated via expert elicitation. Expert opinion was then translated into a spatial analysis implemented with the Zonation software. Different anthropogenic, semi-natural, and natural habitats, such as herb-rich forests, lakeshores, open wastelands, fortifications, and botanical gardens, were identified as important for urban Biodiversity Quality. To minimize negative impact on biodiversity, future construction and development should be directed to built-up areas and agricultural fields. Our conception of urban biodiversity lies in between species- and habitat/ecosystem -based analyses and offers a more comprehensive perception of urban biodiversity than a focus on species distributions only, which facilitates the planning of ecologically sustainable cities and biodiverse urban green infrastructure.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2020,MAR J,"Redeker, NS",Sleep Health in Women of Childbearing Age,10.1089/jwh.2020.8349,"The concept of sleep health (adequate sleep duration and continuity, regular timing, satisfaction with sleep, and ability to maintain wakefulness during the day) is consistent with a definition of health as more than the absence of disease. Yet past research on women's sleep focused primarily on biological influences (e.g., hormonal fluctuations) or specific sleep disorders. We reviewed the literature on sleep health in women of childbearing age from the perspectives of health promotion and the social ecological model and identified needs for future research and intervention. At least 40% of women of childbearing age report inadequate sleep, and sleep is associated with short- and long-term health and performance outcomes. Numerous sociodemographic, psychosocial, role, familial, and community factors contribute to sleep, but few studies have addressed the contributions of these factors to sleep health in women of childbearing age, aside from those who are pregnant. Understanding these factors may assist in identifying women at particular risk for sleep difficulty; some may be modifiable, and other may signal the need for sleep interventions tailored to specific circumstances. Low-income women and those in ethnic and racial minority groups are at particular risk for disparities in sleep health. There is a need for research that addresses these factors and the development of interventions at the individual, family, and community levels to promote sleep health. Screening and intervention to promote health sleep and decrease sleep difficulty should be a standard of care in clinical, community, and workplace settings frequented by women.",JOURNAL OF WOMENS HEALTH,2020,mar 1 J,"Shrestha, NK; Wang, J",Water Quality Management of a Cold Climate Region Watershed in Changing Climate,10.3808/jei.201900407,"Cold climate regions provide a multitude of ecosystem services. However, cold regions under a changing climate could be more vulnerable than others because their glaciers, freezing soils and peatlands are sensitive to the slightest of changes in climate. This has posed serious threats to the water resources, sustainable goods production and ecosystem services that depend on regional water quality. Therefore, proper watershed management is imperative. In this paper, we investigate this issue in a cold climate water-shed in central Alberta, Canada with the main objective of quantifying the impacts of climate change on water quality status. We modified specific water quality related processes of a process-based model - Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with a view of better representing the reality of cold climate regions. A SWAT model is then built-up, followed up by a multi-site and multi-objective (streamflow, sediment and water quality) calibration, validation and uncertainty analysis in a baseline period (1983 - 2013). The calibrated and validated model is then fed with a high spatial resolution (25 km) daily future climate data - the CanRCM4. Improvements on stream water temperature (Ts) and dissolved oxygen (DO) simulations justified the modifications. This model is able to simulate the dynamics of other water quality variables (carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand - cBOD, total nitrogen - TN and phosphorus TP) with a wide range of accuracy (very good to satisfactory) in the base period. Agriculture areas account for the highest amount of annual TN (11.16 kgN/ha) and TP (2.88 kgP/ha) yield rate in the base period leading to poor water quality status in the immediate downstream reaches. The situation would be further exacerbated (16.52 kgN/ha and 4.89 kgP/ha) in future. Finally, we tested different alternative management options to compare the water quality status of the Athabasca River Basin (ARB) under a changing climate. Significant reduction in future nutrient concentrations (similar to 20% on TN and 60% on TP) can be achieved using a certain combination of management practices and the ecological status of the basin can be improved. This demonstrates that the modified SWAT model can be applied to other cold climate regions, and that the results can be translated to help in managing the ARB in a more holistic way.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATICS,2020,MAR J,"Fealy, S; Davis, D; Foureur, M; Attia, J; Hazelton, M; Hure, A",The return of weighing in pregnancy: A discussion of evidence and practice,10.1016/j.wombi.2019.05.014,"Background: Inadequate or excessive gestational weight gain is associated with both short and long-term adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. The practice of routine maternal weight monitoring has been suggested as an effective health promotion intervention, both as a screening tool for adverse maternal and infant outcomes and as a weight management strategy for addressing gestational weight gain. Discussion: The effectiveness of routine maternal weighing as part of maternity care has been debated for more than 30 years. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia have recently revised their pregnancy care clinical practice guidelines recommending maternal weight monitoring (clinician and/or self-weighing) be reintroduced into clinical practice. This paper presents a timely discussion of the topic that will contribute new insights to the debate. Conclusion: Weight gain in pregnancy is complex. Evaluation of the translation, implementation, acceptability and uptake of the newly revised guidelines is warranted, given that evidence on the practice remains inconclusive. Future research exploring social ecological interventions to assist pregnant women achieve optimal gestational weight gains are suggested to expand the evidence base. (C) 2019 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",WOMEN AND BIRTH,2020,MAR J,"Loos, J; Vizauer, TC; Kastal, A; Davies, M; Hedrich, H; Dolek, M","A highly endangered species on the edge: distribution, habitat use and outlook for Colias myrmidone in newly established Natura 2000 areas in Romania",10.1007/s10668-018-0297-6,"Romania is one of the last strongholds of the Danube Clouded Yellow (Colias myrmidone), which is a critically endangered European butterfly species. Knowledge gaps of the ecology and the underlying drivers for its decline hinder the development and implementation of suitable management plans. Here, we investigated habitat characteristics and the social-ecological conditions in two recently established Natura 2000 sites in Romania. We conducted ecological surveys of the species' occurrence and its habitats. We interviewed local farmers about their land-use practices and their perception of the Natura 2000 areas. Moreover, we investigated the information flow on the Natura 2000 implementation process between representatives of local governmental and non-governmental organizations. Occupied sites contained a mixture of small-scale, extensively used parcels with larger extensively grazed pastures interspersed with semi-natural elements. None of our interview partners knew previously about the designation of the respective Natura 2000 areas. People appreciated conservation efforts for the butterfly but feared restrictions that may narrow their activities and their economic benefits. Further land-use changes may threaten C. myrmidone in Romania still more in future. Fostering viability of humans and butterflies in Romania requires integration of scientific knowledge and people into management decisions. Instead of dictating rigid management schemes, such a participatory approach bears the potential to allow for spatial and temporal heterogeneity that seems to support the butterfly. Eventually, the survival of C. myrmidone depends on coordination between policies and sufficient financial support to maintain traditional and ecologically feasible management instead of detrimental developments such as intensification, abandonment and afforestation.",ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY,2020,MAR J,"Javid, MA; Hussain, S; Anwaar, MF",Passenger's Perceptions on Prospects of Qingqi Paratransit Public Transport Service in Lahore,10.1007/s40996-019-00273-z,"In Lahore city, paratransit modes are extensively used daily by the local people either as the main mode or as a feeder mode to the main transit routes. Paratransit modes mainly include a wagon, Qingqi, and auto-rickshaw. From the last decade, Qingqi has become an essential part of the paratransit system because it can move in small streets and its service is very frequent and flexible. However, its presence is causing traffic management, environment, and safety problems in Lahore. The main objective is to evaluate passenger's perceptions regarding service quality attributes of Qingqi service as well as its future prospects in Lahore. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was conducted at different locations in Lahore and 346 samples were obtained. Most of the respondents believe that Qingqi is an uncomfortable, dangerous, and environmentally ill service. The results showed that the users are not satisfied with the existing service quality of Qingqi. Factor analysis technique resulted in three factors: social-environmental dimensions (SED), service quality dimensions (SQD), and spatial-congenial dimensions (SCD). It is found that the improved SQD, SED, and SCD are significant determinants of passenger's future preferences with the Qingqi service. It is important to improve these dimensions of Qingqi service from the public perspective in order to meet their desired demands. These findings would help transport planners and decision makers in making it a sustainable mode of public transport.",IRANIAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-TRANSACTIONS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING,2020,MAR J,"Hakkarainen, V; Anderson, CB; Eriksson, M; van Riper, CJ; Horcea-Milcu, A; Raymond, CM","Grounding IPBES experts' views on the multiple values of nature in epistemology, knowledge and collaborative science",10.1016/j.envsci.2019.12.003,"This study identifies and analyses the underlying assumptions of experts involved in the first author meeting (FAM) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)'s Values Assessment, and how they shape understandings of the multiple values of nature. We draw from survey data collected from 94 experts attending the FAM. Respondents self-report the tendencies and aims they bring to the assessment (i.e. motivation), the type and amount of evidence they require for knowledge to be valid (i.e. confirmation) and their epistemic worldviews (i.e. objectivity). Four clusters emerged that correspond to Pragmatist, Post-Positivist, Constructivist and Transformative epistemic worldviews. This result clarifies how different knowledge claims are represented in science-policy processes. Despite the proportionately higher number of social scientists in the Values Assessment, compared with previous IPBES assessments, we still found that fewer experts have Constructivist or Transformative worldviews than Pragmatist or Post-Positivist outlooks, an imbalance that may influence the types of values and valuation perspectives emphasised in the assessment. We also detected a tension regarding what constitutes valid knowledge between Post-Positivists, who emphasised high levels of agreement, and Pragmatists and Constructivists, who did not necessarily consider agreement crucial. Conversely, Post-Positivists did not align with relational values and were more diverse in their views regarding definitions of multiple values of nature compared to other clusters. Pragmatists emphasized relational values, while Constructivists tended to consider all value types (including relational values) as important. We discuss the implications of our findings for future design and delivery of IPBES processes and interdisciplinary research.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2020,MAR J,"Hoffman, E; Gonzalez-Mujica, J; Acosta-Orozco, C; Compton, WC",The Psychological Benefits of Receiving Real-Life Altruism,10.1177/0022167817690280,"This study investigates the impact of receiving real-life altruism on such positive attitudinal aspects as empathy, optimism, and motivation to help others. A mixed convenience/snowball sample of 148 participants (79 men, 67 women, 2 gender unknown), responded to an online questionnaire. Most were between 21 and 40 years of age, and had at least a college degree; all but eight were born in Venezuela, and the remainder were from other Hispanic/Latino countries. Participants were asked to describe an experience in which they had received unexpected altruism and rate its impact on their subsequent view of life. They were also asked to rate its effect on their optimism about human nature, trust in social relationships, appreciation for life, sense of gratitude, self-esteem, sense of being valued by others, empathy for others, motivation to help others, energy and enthusiasm in general, and religious faith. A total of 64.2% reported an unexpected altruistic experience. Of those, almost 75% reported the experience changed their view of life at least strongly and only 4.2% stated that it had little or no effect. The intensity of their change in life view correlated significantly with all 10 dependent variables except for gratitude. Women were significantly more likely to report that their experience boosted their gratitude for others, and participants whose altruistic experiences were attitudinally more life-changing were significantly more likely to indicate that religion was very important to them. The implications of these findings for understanding the psychological benefits of altruistic experience are discussed and avenues for future research are suggested.",JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY,2020,MAR J,"Vezi, M; Downs, C; Wepener, V; O'Brien, G","Application of the relative risk model for evaluation of ecological risk in selected river dominated estuaries in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa",10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.105035,"Effective environmental management and restoration of impacted estuaries in South Africa necessitates a holistic understanding of the contribution of various stressor-related impacts throughout the catchment. Ecological risk assessment for aquatic ecosystems is an important tool for water resource management. In this study, we describe results of a preliminary assessment that was conducted to evaluate the relative risks of multiple anthropogenic stressors currently acting within the catchments of uMvoti, Thukela and aMatikulu/Nyoni estuaries using Bayesian Network Relative Risk Model (BN-RRM) framework. Four socio-ecological endpoints selected for the present study included biodiversity habitat, safe environment, fisheries and productivity. We constructed a conceptual model which depicted potential and effect pathways from the source, to the stressor, to the habitat and to the endpoint. We also developed five scenarios (including historical and future scenarios) to predict the potential risk distributions in different proposed scenarios. Results revealed that productivity was the endpoint at the lower risk in all the estuaries and all scenarios except for scenario 5. Results also showed that scenario 3 which is a scenario before major resource development had the lowest risk scores for all the endpoints. Scenario 4 (year 2025 if no laws and management measures are implemented) had the highest risk scores for all the endpoints. Overall endpoints generally displayed low to medium risk throughout all scenarios (except scenario 3) and different flows. All endpoints generally displayed zero risk in scenario 3. All endpoints were at a highest risk in the uMvoti Estuary followed by aMatikulu/Nyoni and then Thukela Estuary. Results highlighted that in the uMvoti and Thukela estuaries, people were at a higher risk when compared with the ecological components of these systems as social endpoints displayed higher risk scores than the ecological endpoints, however the opposite was observed in the aMatikulu/Nyoni Estuary. This study provided die foundation for evaluating the risks of multiple stressors in the catchments of these estuaries to a variety of endpoints. Management options and research should focus on collecting necessary data and information to refine the developed RRM. By establishing such framework, we believe that stakeholders within the catchments of these systems together with government organisations will be able to make more informed and risk-based management decisions pertaining restoration and rehabilitation options for these three estuaries.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2020,mar 1 J,"Puri, M; Srivathsa, A; Karanth, KK; Patel, I; Kumar, NS",The balancing act: Maintaining leopard-wild prey equilibrium could offer economic benefits to people in a shared forest landscape of central India,10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105931,"Human-felid interactions impose financial burden on people through livestock loss, and on wildlife managers and conservationists through investments in conflict resolution measures. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are among the most adaptable carnivores, but their widespread occurrence in human-dominated landscapes makes them highly vulnerable to negative interactions with people. Beyond their role in maintaining ecological balance, they may also provide economic benefits through control of wild prey populations in human-use areas. We assessed leopard distribution based on indirect sign surveys, and spatial drivers of livestock/human attacks by leopards based on interview surveys of local residents, in a forest landscape shared by humans and leopards in central India. We also examined the role of wild prey in leopard diet and the extent to which they offset leopard depredation on domestic livestock. Leopards occupied 80% of the landscape, positively influenced by forest cover and relative abundance of wild prey; size of human settlements had a negative influence. Average probability of livestock/human attacks was 84%, driven mostly by size of cattle-holding by local residents and anthropogenic disturbance within forests. Nearly 90% of leopard diet was composed of primates or wild ungulate herbivores; non-wild prey (domestic livestock and free-ranging dogs) accounted for less than 3% of total biomass consumed. Under hypothetical scenarios wherein wild prey population reduced by 25%, 50% and 75%, we estimated that the contribution of domestic livestock towards leopard diet would increase to 21%, 40% and 60% respectively in order to support the current leopard population. We demonstrate that adequate forest cover and wild prey abundance allow leopards to persist in shared, human-modified landscapes. We use a novel approach for mapping spatial risk of livestock depredation and predict future scenarios under reduced wild prey populations. An ecological imbalance caused by decline in either leopard or wild prey populations could result in a concomitant increase in crop loss (to wild herbivores) or livestock depredation (by leopards), ensuing greater financial losses to local residents. An understanding of the ecological services and economic benefits conferred by carnivores could help in better valuing and conserving conflict-prone species in shared habitats.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2020,MAR J,"Clark, RM; Stabryla, LM; Gilbertson, LM",Sustainability coursework: student perspectives and reflections on design thinking,10.1108/IJSHE-09-2019-0275,"Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess particular student outcomes when design thinking was integrated into an environmental engineering course. The literature is increasingly promoting design thinking for addressing societal and environmental sustainability engineering challenges. Design thinking is a human-centered approach that identifies needs upfront. Design/methodology/approach In an undergraduate engineering course, Design for the Environment, students have begun to obtain hands-on experience in applying design thinking to sustainability challenges. This case study investigates the association between the use of design thinking and student creativity with sustainability design solutions. Student perspectives on their own creativity and future sustainable design practices as a result of the course were also investigated. Findings The findings were favorable for design thinking, being associated with a significant difference and medium-to-large effect with regards to solution novelty. A qualitative analysis showed a positive association between design thinking and students' perceptions of their creativity and future anticipated sustainability practices. Using a content analysis of reflective writings, students' application of design thinking was assessed for comprehensiveness and correctness. A two-week introductory design-thinking module and significant use of in-class active learning were the course elements that most notably impacted students' use of design thinking. Practical implications - This case study preliminarily demonstrates that application of design thinking within an environmental engineering course may be associated with beneficial outcomes related to creativity and sustainability. Originality/value A review of the literature did not uncover studies of the use of design thinking for undergraduate socio-environmental challenges to promote creativity and sustainable-practices outcomes, although the literature has been calling for the marrying of these two areas.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION,2020,feb 28 J,"Herbst, DF; Gerhardinger, LC; Hanazaki, N",Linking User-Perception Diversity on Ecosystems Services to the Inception of Coastal Governance Regime Transformation,10.3389/fmars.2020.00083,"In this paper we explore the challenges for transforming a wide and fragmented coastal governance system toward an ecosystem-based regime by translating shared values of nature into radically novel territorial development policies at highly disputed seascapes. We report an official coastal management institutional experiment in South Brazil, where direct ecosystem users (fishers, miners, mariculture, tourism and leisure, and aquatic transport agents and researchers) perception and classification of ecosystem services (ES) was assessed during 19 collaborative sectoral workshops held with 178 participants from six coastal cities surrounding Babitonga Bay estuarine and coastal ecosystems (Santa Catarina state, South Brazil). Participants collectively enlisted the benefits, rights and resources (or services) they obtain from these ecosystems, rendering a total of 285 citations coded to conventional ES scientific typologies (127 ES grouped in 5 types and 31 subtypes). We explore patterns in ES classificatory profiles, highlighting ecosystem user's salient identities and exploring how they shape political actions in relation to the implementation of an ecosystem based management regime. Food (provisioning service), tourism/leisure, employment, work and income (cultural services) as well as transportation (e.g. vessels, ports and navigation) (cultural/people's services) are perceived by all user groups, and hence consist the core set of perceived shared values amongst direct ecosystem users to inform future transformation narratives. Differences in perception of values amongst user groups combined with high levels of power asymmetry and fragmentation in decision-making, are steering the analyzed system toward an unsustainable pathway. The governance regime has been largely favoring subsets of services and unfair distribution of benefits, disregarding a more diverse array of real economic interests, and potential ecological knowledge contributions. Our integrative and deliberative ES valuation approach advances understanding of critical features of the scoping phase of ES assessment initiatives in coastal zones. We provide empirically grounded and theoretically informed suggestions for the promotion of local knowledge integration through combination of methods that supports transformational research agendas. This paper establishes new groundwork to fulfilling alternative visions for the regional social-ecological system transformation to a more socially and ecologically coherent and equitable development trajectory.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2020,feb 25 J,"Tiwary, A; Vilhar, U; Zhiyanski, M; Stojanovski, V; Dinca, L",Management of nature-based goods and services provisioning from the urban common: a pan-European perspective,10.1007/s11252-020-00951-1,"The role of the urban common (i.e. shared space and resources) in sustainable provisioning of goods and services to city dwellers is discussed in this paper. Focusing on tree-based green infrastructure, the study scope includes three categories of provisioning (woody biomass, food/fibre, and non-timber forest products, i.e. NTFPs), alongside three categories of supporting services (fresh water replenishment, soil nutrient restoration, building preservation). As a first step, prospects of utilizing the urban common as facilitator of nature-based solution to the earmarked provisioning services are evaluated through dedicated literature survey and expert elicitation on perceived impact of environmental change triggers and management interventions (planning and/or governance). This is followed by a structured review of the state of affairs in four European cities (London, Amsterdam, Sofia, Ljubljana), representing different macro-geographical regions with distinct socio-economic drivers in managing these provisioning services. The pan-European expert elicitation exercise noted active management of the urban common as positively impacting on the performance of the majority of provisioning services, while environmental change impacts were found to be overriding and adversely influencing the provisioning of material resources (mainly NTFPs and woody biomass). The four-city case study highlighted some regional peculiarities in connecting the city dwellers to the urban common and identified the need to overcome socio-cultural barriers for enhancing pan-European best practice sharing in the management of goods and services provisioning. This is deemed essential to pave way for an emerging perspective on sustainable utilization of the urban common as an enabler for nature-based solution, making it fit for purpose in meeting the astronomical demands of future urban living.",URBAN ECOSYSTEMS,2020,JUN J,"Riley, CB; Gardiner, MM",Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities,10.1371/journal.pone.0228499,"Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover (UTCC) has increasingly become an important interdisciplinary focus of ecologists and social scientists working within the field of environmental justice. However, while UTCC may serve as a useful proxy for the benefits provided by the urban forest, it is ultimately not a direct measure. In this study, we quantified the monetary value of multiple ecosystem services (ESD) provisioned by urban forests across nine U.S. cities. Next, we examined the distributional equity of UTCC and ESD using a number of commonly investigated socioeconomic variables. Based on trends in the literature, we predicted that UTCC and ESD would be positively associated with the variables median income and percent with an undergraduate degree and negatively associated with the variables percent minority, percent poverty, percent without a high school degree, percent renters, median year home built, and population density. We also predicted that there would be differences in the relationships between each response variable (UTCC and ESD) and the suite of socioeconomic predictor variables examined because of differences in how each response variable is derived. We utilized methods promoted within the environmental justice literature, including a multi-city comparative analysis, the incorporation of high-resolution social and environmental datasets, and the use of spatially explicit models. Patterns between the socioeconomic variables and UTCC and ESD did not consistently support our predictions, highlighting that inequities are generally not universal but rather context dependent. Our results also illustrated that although the variables UTCC and ESD had largely similar relationships with the predictor variables, differences did occur between them. Future distributional equity research should move beyond the use of proxies for environmental amenities when possible while making sure to consider that the use of ecosystem service estimates may result in different patterns with socioeconomic variables of interest. Based on our findings, we conclude that understanding and remedying the challenges associated with inequities requires an understanding of the local social-ecological system if larger sustainability goals are to be achieved.",PLOS ONE,2020,feb 11 J,"Albert, JS; Destouni, G; Duke-Sylvester, SM; Magurran, AE; Oberdorff, T; Reis, RE; Winemiller, KO; Ripple, WJ",Scientists' warning to humanity on the freshwater biodiversity crisis,10.1007/s13280-020-01318-8,"Freshwater ecosystems provide irreplaceable services for both nature and society. The quality and quantity of freshwater affect biogeochemical processes and ecological dynamics that determine biodiversity, ecosystem productivity, and human health and welfare at local, regional and global scales. Freshwater ecosystems and their associated riparian habitats are amongst the most biologically diverse on Earth, and have inestimable economic, health, cultural, scientific and educational values. Yet human impacts to lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater are dramatically reducing biodiversity and robbing critical natural resources and services from current and future generations. Freshwater biodiversity is declining rapidly on every continent and in every major river basin on Earth, and this degradation is occurring more rapidly than in terrestrial ecosystems. Currently, about one third of all global freshwater discharges pass through human agricultural, industrial or urban infrastructure. About one fifth of the Earth's arable land is now already equipped for irrigation, including all the most productive lands, and this proportion is projected to surpass one third by midcentury to feed the rapidly expanding populations of humans and commensal species, especially poultry and ruminant livestock. Less than one fifth of the world's preindustrial freshwater wetlands remain, and this proportion is projected to decline to under one tenth by midcentury, with imminent threats from water transfer megaprojects in Brazil and India, and coastal wetland drainage megaprojects in China. The Living Planet Index for freshwater vertebrate populations has declined to just one third that of 1970, and is projected to sink below one fifth by midcentury. A linear model of global economic expansion yields the chilling prediction that human utilization of critical freshwater resources will approach one half of the Earth's total capacity by midcentury. Although the magnitude and growth of the human freshwater footprint are greater than is generally understood by policy makers, the news media, or the general public, slowing and reversing dramatic losses of freshwater species and ecosystems is still possible. We recommend a set of urgent policy actions that promote clean water, conserve watershed services, and restore freshwater ecosystems and their vital services. Effective management of freshwater resources and ecosystems must be ranked amongst humanity's highest priorities.",AMBIO,, J,"Holley, JM; Andrew, NR","Warming effects on dung beetle ecosystem services: Brood production and dung burial by a tunnelling dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is reduced by experimental warming",10.1111/aen.12448,"Dung beetles provide economically valuable ecosystem services to agriculture. Dung beetles are also sensitive to climate change, which may impact on the services that they provide. Using climate-controlled chambers, we investigated the potential effects of climate change on the performance of a tunnelling dung beetle, Onthophagus taurus. Over two trials, we exposed beetles to a +0 degrees C, +2 degrees C or +4 degrees C increase in diurnally fluctuating field recorded temperatures and measured survival, pat departure, reproduction (brood number and size) and dung burial by beetles. Temperature treatment did not affect pat departure behaviour. Relative to the control +0 degrees C chambers, beetle survival was higher in the +2 degrees C chambers, but there was no difference in survival between the +0 degrees C and +4 degrees C chambers. In Trial 1, brood number was reduced in both the +2 degrees C and +4 degrees C chambers, relative to the +0 degrees C chambers. In Trial 2, brood number was significantly reduced relative to control chambers in the +2 degrees C chambers only. Temperature did not affect brood size. Across temperature treatments, there was a significant, positive relationship between brood number and dung burial. However, trends in brood production with temperature were not mirrored by dung burial; the only reduction in dung burial was found in the warmest treatment of Trial 2. Our results suggest that initially, warming may not substantially reduce dung burial by O. taurus; however, ecosystem services may be impacted if lower brood production eventually reduces beetle numbers. Studies such as ours identify the vulnerabilities of ecosystem service providers to climate change and in doing so are an essential first step in the management of ecosystem services under future warming.",AUSTRAL ENTOMOLOGY,2020,MAY J,"Berges, L; Dupouey, JL","Historical ecology and ancient forests: Progress, conservation issues and scientific prospects, with some examples from the French case",10.1111/jvs.12846,"Forest area has dramatically increased since the beginning or middle of the 19th century in European countries. At least half of the forests present today have grown on formerly cultivated lands, pastures or heathlands. However, net forest expansion largely masks a slow but irretrievable erosion of ancient forests. Meanwhile, forest resource harvesting (biomass, litter) has fundamentally changed during the last two centuries, moving from intensive biomass removal to increased growing stocks in different European countries. This article reviews the current knowledge on the long-term legacies of past land use and forest management practices and their effects on the functions, diversity and composition of understory vegetation of current forest ecosystems. First, we define the concepts of forest continuity and ancient forest. Then, based on the French case, we present the advances in historical sources, which make it possible to better reconstruct the change in land use and forest management practices over the last two hundred years. We review how understory plant communities and their traits respond to forest continuity and to different types of former agricultural uses, both at local and landscape scales. We then address three important issues for conservation and management: the conservation value of ancient forests, the impact of forest management on the ecological integrity of ancient forests, and the under-explored legacies of former forest management practices on soil and understory vegetation. Lastly, we propose five main fronts for future research efforts: (a) explore all types of cartographic, written sources and environmental markers; (b) develop modelling approaches to understand how past land use shapes plant communities; (c) better define the conservation value of ancient forests in conservation and management policies; (d) investigate how drivers of global change interact with forest management and land use legacies and (e) explore land use legacies in mountain and Mediterranean socio-ecological systems.",JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE,, J,"Jimenez, M; Perez-Belmont, P; Schewenius, M; Lerner, AM; Mazari-Hiriart, M","Assessing the historical adaptive cycles of an urban social-ecological system and its potential future resilience: the case of Xochimilco, Mexico City",10.1007/s10113-020-01587-9,"As the bulk of the world's population becomes urban, maintaining urban ecosystem services for environmental and social well-being in cities is crucial. According to resilience theory, maintaining such services requires for a complex adaptive systems perspective that helps in identifying key elements and dynamics behind cross-scale social-ecological interactions. In this context, the objective of this article is to use a resilience lens to problematize the imminent loss of an urban wetland using the adaptive cycle model as a heuristic tool. Our case study focuses on the Xochimilco wetland, located in the southern periphery of Mexico City. Xochimilco is characterized by the presence of a complex system of raised bed wetland agriculture (the chinampa system), which was established over 1000 years ago; currently, despite having a recognized cultural and environmental value, it is threatened by increasing urban sprawl, over-exploitation of the aquifer, and water contamination. By conducting a historical analysis of the Xochimilco social-ecological system, we assess how it has gone through phases of the adaptive cycle. As a result, we identify critical elements of the system's historically maintained resilience and main drivers of system change. From such findings, we present some insights on the possibilities of maintaining the system's resilience and guidance for future management strategies for the Xochimilco wetland. Lastly, we reflect on the scope and limitations of using a resilience-based approach and an adaptive cycle analysis for addressing urban sustainability problems, especially in cities in the Global South.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2020,feb 4 J,"Shirmohammadi, B; Malekian, A; Salajegheh, A; Taheri, B; Azarnivand, H; Malek, Z; Verburg, PH",Impacts of future climate and land use change on water yield in a semiarid basin in Iran,10.1002/ldr.3554,"Studying the interaction between hydrology, land use, and climate change is necessary to support sustainable water resources management. It is unknown how land management interventions in dry climate conditions can benefit water yield in the context of climate and land use change interactions. In this study, we assessed the effects of both land use and predicted climate change on the Mordagh Chay basin water yield using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model. First, we modeled the current water yield, followed by developing six combined climate-land use scenarios until 2030 based on the CCSM4 climate model for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. We used three future land use scenarios simulated by the Dyna-CLUE model. The trend scenario of land use change, which does not include any improvements in irrigation efficiency, significantly affected basin water yield under both climate scenarios. Water yield decreases by 19.8% and 31.8% for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. Under all land use scenarios that included improvements in irrigation efficiency, the water yield responded positively. For the RCP4.5 scenario, the water yield was projected to increase between 16.6% and 18% depending on the land use scenario. The increase in water yield under the RCP8.5 climate scenario was much lower than for the RCP4.5 scenario (about one-third). Overall, the results showed that by adopting appropriate irrigation efficiency, it is possible to achieve a better balance between environmental needs and regional economic and agricultural development. The results provide insight into possible sustainable development options and also provide guidance for managing the other Urmia Lake sub-basins, whereas the approach of integrated assessment of climate, land use change, and land management options is also applicable in other conditions to help inform sustainable management.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2020,JUN J,"Sergeant, CJ; Falke, JA; Bellmore, RA; Bellmore, JR; Crumley, RL",A Classification of Streamflow Patterns Across the Coastal Gulf of Alaska,10.1029/2019WR026127,"Streamflow controls many freshwater and marine processes, including salinity profiles, sediment composition, fluxes of nutrients, and the timing of animal migrations. Watersheds that border the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) comprise over 400,000 km(2) of largely pristine freshwater habitats and provide ecosystem services such as reliable fisheries for local and global food production. Yet no comprehensive watershed-scale description of current temporal and spatial patterns of streamflow exists within the coastal GOA. This is an immediate need because the spatial distribution of future streamflow patterns may shift dramatically due to warming air temperature, increased rainfall, diminishing snowpack, and rapid glacial recession. Our primary goal was to describe variation in streamflow patterns across the coastal GOA using an objective set of descriptors derived from flow predictions at the downstream-most point within each watershed. We leveraged an existing hydrologic runoff model and Bayesian mixture model to classify 4,140 watersheds into 13 classes based on seven streamflow statistics. Maximum discharge timing (annual phase shift) and magnitude relative to mean discharge (amplitude) were the most influential attributes. Seventy-six percent of watersheds by number showed patterns consistent with rain or snow as dominant runoff sources, while the remaining watersheds were driven by rain-snow, glacier, or low-elevation wetland runoff. Streamflow classes exhibited clear mechanistic links to elevation, ice coverage, and other landscape features. Our classification identifies watersheds that might shift streamflow patterns in the near future and, importantly, will help guide the design of studies that evaluate how hydrologic change will influence coastal GOA ecosystems. Plain Language Summary Streams provide society with many benefits, but they are being dramatically altered by climate change and human development. The volume of flowing water and the timing of high and low flows are important to monitor because we depend on reliable streamflow for drinking water, hydroelectric power, and healthy fish populations. Organizations that manage water supplies need extensive information on streamflow to make decisions. Yet directly measuring flow is cost-prohibitive in remote regions like the Gulf of Alaska, which drains freshwater from an area greater than 400,000 km(2), roughly the size of California. To overcome these challenges, a series of previous studies developed a tool to predict historical river flows across the entire region. In this study, we used 33 years of those predictions to categorize different types of streams based on the amount, variability, and timing of streamflow throughout the year. We identified 13 unique streamflow patterns among 4,140 coastal streams, reflecting different contributions of rain, snow, and glacial ice. This new catalog of streamflow patterns will allow scientists to assess changes in streamflow over time and their impact to humans and other organisms that depend on freshwater.",WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH,2020,FEB J,"Wang, HQ; Krauss, KW; Noe, GB; Stagg, C; Swarzenski, CM; Duberstein, JA; Conner, WH; Deangelis, DL",Modeling Soil Porewater Salinity Response to Drought in Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands,10.1029/2018JG004996,"There is a growing concern about the adverse effects of saltwater intrusion via tidal rivers, streams, and creeks into tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) due to sea level rise (SLR) and intense and extended drought events. However, the magnitude and duration of porewater salinity in exceedance of plant salinity stress threshold (2 practical salinity units, psu) and the controlling factors remain unclear. In this study, we developed a TFFW soil porewater salinity model, in which the feedback mechanisms between soil salinity and evapotranspiration and hydraulic conductivity were incorporated. We selected sites (upper, middle, lower tidal freshwater forest sites, and oligohaline marsh site) along the coastal floodplains of two rivers, the Waccamaw River (SC, USA) and the Savannah River (GA and SC, USA), that represent landscape salinity gradients from tidal influence of the Atlantic Ocean. The model results agreed well with field measurements and revealed that with drought-induced saltwater intrusion, the mean annual soil porewater salinity and duration of elevated soil porewater salinity (>2 psu) increased significantly compared to the normal (nondrought) condition, posing a threat to the health and ecosystem services of TFFW even in the absence of SLR. Model results also showed more severe salinity stress under drought for the lower forest sites along the two rivers, where soil salinity values have already been at or in exceedance of the 2 psu threshold. Plain Language Summary Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) provide valuable ecosystem services to society including, but not limited to, carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, and habitat for critical wildlife species. However, TFFW are vulnerable to saltwater intrusion due to climate change-induced sea level rise (SLR) and extreme drought events. Salinity stress to TFFW is often reflected in elevated soil porewater salinity in exceedance of plant salinity stress threshold (2 psu). Soil porewater salinity magnitude and dynamics at sites along two coastal floodplains, the Waccamaw River (SC, USA) and the Savannah River (GA and SC, USA) exposed to drought-induced saltwater intrusion during 2008-2016 were studied using a physical and ecological process-driven soil salinity model. The mean annual soil porewater salinity and duration of elevated soil porewater salinity at TFFW sites increased significantly with drought-induced saltwater intrusion, even without SLR, compared to the normal (nondrought) condition, thus posing a threat to the health and ecosystem services in TFFW. Soil porewater salinity is an effective ecological indicator and the soil porewater salinity model can be used for predicting changes in the timing, magnitude, frequency, and duration of salinity stress to TFFW sites under future climate change. Key Points Drought-induced saltwater intrusion significantly increases soil porewater salinity in soils of tidal freshwater forested wetlands Tidal freshwater forest sites located near the tidal marsh boundary will suffer more severe salinity stress with climate change Soil porewater salinity is an effective ecological indicator for tidal freshwater forested wetland condition",JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES,2020,FEB J,"Floris, M; Gazale, V; Isola, F; Leccis, F; Pinna, S; Pira, C",The Contribution of Ecosystem Services in Developing Effective and Sustainable Management Practices in Marine Protected Areas. The Case Study of Isola dell'Asinara,10.3390/su12031108,"Ecosystem Services (ESs) are assuming a constantly increasing importance in management practices due to their key role in ensuring a sustainable future to fauna and flora on Earth. In addition, ES degradation and quality loss jeopardize current human activities. For this reason, it is essential to develop methodologies and practices able to efficiently assess environmental and socio-economic impacts in terms of ES deterioration, especially within protected areas. Norms and regulations have to be able to identify habitat and species categories to be preserved, and to determine the cost of their destruction and decline, according to a holistic vision, which includes social and economic impacts, besides the environmental ones. The paper illustrates the case study of the Isola dell'Asinara Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Sardinia, where an experimental methodology was developed with the aim to draw new regulations that integrate conservation measures of Natura 2000 sites included in its territory, provisions determined by the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) protocol and the Standardized Actions for Effective Management of MPAs (ISEA) project. Subsequently, in order to assess the status of ESs and impacts on ESs located within the MPA territory, an ecosystem-based approach was implemented and applied to the actions defined for the new regulation proposal. Results show that regulations are in this way valuably enriched by environmental aspects of the MPA that would otherwise be overlooked.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,FEB J,"Trivino-Tarradas, P; Carranza-Canadas, P; Mesas-Carrascosa, FJ; Gonzalez-Sanchez, EJ",Evaluation of Agricultural Sustainability on a Mixed Vineyard and Olive-Grove Farm in Southern Spain through the INSPIA Model,10.3390/su12031090,"The volume of the food produced across the world should be related to agricultural sustainability and is crucial for natural capital protection. Hence, sustainability assessment on farms and the identification of improvements is relevant. A mixed farm of vineyard and olive trees was chosen for sustainability assessment, based on the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have been implemented. The aim of this research was to assess sustainability on a mixed vineyard and olive-grove farm and validate the INSPIA model for this kind of typology of a farm, which is very typical in the South of Spain. The sustainability assessment was monitored across 5-agricultural seasons based on the INSPIA methodology. INSPIA is based on the application of a set of BMPs, calculated on 31 basic indicators, providing a final composite index of sustainability. The greater the implementation of sustainable farming practices, the higher the value of the composite index. Enhanced soil, water, and air quality, improvement for biodiversity and for ecosystem services help towards sustainable agricultural productivity. Indicators' results are shown during that period, depicting their relationship with the BMPs. The highest composite index was reached in the 4th year. This paper confirms the relevance of BMPs, such as groundcover establishment and minimum soil disturbance to upgrade sustainability on the permanent croplands in Southern Spain. The indicator-based sustainability assessment is considered a helpful tool in decision-making, which guides farmers towards BMPs performance.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,FEB J,"Shaker, RR; Aversa, J; Papp, V; Serre, BM; Mackay, BR",Showcasing Relationships between Neighborhood Design and Wellbeing Toronto Indicators,10.3390/su12030997,"Cities are the keystone landscape features for achieving sustainability locally, regionally, and globally. With the increasing impacts of urban expansion eminent, policymakers have encouraged researchers to advance or invent methods for managing coupled human-environmental systems associated with local and regional sustainable development planning. Although progress has been made, there remains no universal instrument for attaining sustainability on neither regional nor local planning scales. Previous sustainable urbanization studies have revealed that landscape configuration metrics can supplement other measures of urban well-being, yet few have been included in public data dashboards or contrasted against local well-being indicators. To advance this sector of sustainable development planning, this study had three main intentions: (1) to produce a foundational suite of landscape ecology metrics from the 2007 land cover dataset for the City of Toronto; (2) to visualize and interpret spatial patterns of neighborhood streetscapepatch cohesion index (COHESION), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), and four Wellbeing Toronto indicators across the 140 Toronto neighborhoods; (3) to quantitatively assess the global collinearity and local explanatory power of the well-being and landscape measures showcased in this study. One-hundred-and-thirty landscape ecology metrics were computed: 18 class configuration metrics across seven land cover categories and four landscape diversity metrics. Anselin Moran's I-test was used to illustrate significant spatial patterns of well-being and landscape indicators; Pearson's correlation and conditional autoregressive (CAR) statistics were used to evaluate relationships between them. Spatial hot-spots and/or cold-spots were found in all streetscapevariables. Among other interesting results, Walk Score (R) was negatively related to both tree canopy and grass/shrub connectedness, signifying its lack of consideration for the quality of ecosystem services and environmental public health-and subsequently happiness-during its proximity assessment of socioeconomic amenities. In sum, landscape ecology metrics can provide cost-effective ecological integrity addendum to existing and future urban resilience, sustainable development, and well-being monitoring programs.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,FEB J,"Manandhar, A; Fischer, A; Bradley, DJ; Salehin, M; Islam, MS; Hope, R; Clifton, DA","Machine Learning to Evaluate Impacts of Flood Protection in Bangladesh, 1983-2014",10.3390/w12020483,"Impacts of climate change adaptation strategies need to be evaluated using principled methods spanning sectors and longer time frames. We propose machine-learning approaches to study the long-term impacts of flood protection in Bangladesh. Available data include socio-economic survey and events data (death, migration, etc.) from 1983-2014. These multidecadal data, rare in their extent and quality, provide a basis for using machine-learning approaches even though the data were not collected or designed to assess the impact of the flood control investments. We test whether the embankment has affected the welfare of people over time, benefiting those living inside more than those living outside. Machine-learning approaches enable learning patterns in data to help discriminate between two groups: here households living inside vs. outside. They also help identify the most informative indicators of discrimination and provide robust metrics to evaluate the quality of the model. Overall, we find no significant difference between inside/outside populations based on welfare, migration, or mortality indicators. However, we note a significant difference in inward/outward movement with respect to the embankment. While certain data gaps and spatial heterogeneity in sampled populations suggest caution in any conclusive interpretation of the flood protection infrastructure, we do not see higher benefits accruing to those living with higher levels of protection. This has implications for Bangladesh's planning for future and more extreme climate futures, including the national Delta Plan, and global investments in climate resilient infrastructure to create positive social impacts.",WATER,2020,FEB J,"Zalejska-Jonsson, A; Wilkinson, SJ; Wahlund, R",Willingness to Pay for Green Infrastructure in Residential Development-A Consumer Perspective,10.3390/atmos11020152,"This paper investigates the literature and theoretical underpinning of the concept of willingness to pay (WTP) for green infrastructure (GI) with consequences for residential development. The benefits of GI in urban settlements include improved air quality, attenuation of the urban heat island, thermal insulation and lower energy bills for green roofs and walls, the creation of social amenity space, a habitat for biodiversity, and stormwater water attenuation. Collectively, these benefits are termed eco-system services and enhance sustainability. The role of GI, the lungs of the planet, is heavily correlated to atmospheric conditions; high levels of GI improve air quality, which is acknowledged widely with many cities increasing GI to make them more resilient to future predicted challenges with respect to heat and poor air quality. In addition, there is evidence that the biophilia effect enhances human well-being. There are some studies claiming that purchasers pay a premium for property with good GI. However, there is little research about the process in consumers' minds leading to such a premium-if, how, when (under what circumstances), and then to what extent are consumers willing to pay for GI. This process, if better understood, may enable sellers or policy makers to influence the amounts of GI in developments, thus making it possible to enhance the value of GI to buyers. There is some research pointing to factors to be considered when modeling such processes. For developers, knowing the optimum amount of GI would enable them to design and construct developments with maximum purchaser appeal. To do this, stakeholders need to predict the level of WTP amongst potential purchasers for which they need to understand the decision processes behind WTP. In this way, sustainability in residential property development could be optimized. The paper analyzes the literature and theories concerning WTP, focusing on dwellings and GI. Our findings are that some quantitative evidence exists that purchasers pay more for residential property with high levels of GI in some cities, but they do so without any understanding of the possible decision processes leading to those premiums (if, how, when, and then to what extent). The paper proposes a comprehensive conceptual model that may explain buyers' WTP for a dwelling based on a presumed cost-benefit analysis performed by buyers, which has been extended here to include GI and psychological factors. Thus, the paper has a consumer perspective. The model may be used to select variables and test them in empirical studies, and by integrating with other factors in the model, it can attain a more comprehensive understanding of WTP for GI in residential development.",ATMOSPHERE,2020,FEB J,"Wlodarczyk-Marciniak, R; Frankiewicz, P; Krauze, K",Socio-cultural valuation of Polish agricultural landscape components by farmers and its consequences,10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.01.017,"The current model of agricultural intensification is a threat to traditional agricultural landscapes through landscape simplification and leads to the loss of biodiversity, ecological function and critical ecosystem services in rural areas. The way people perceive and value landscape can be one of the factors that influences landscape structure, especially in situations where nature is perceived from an anthropogenic perspective as a resource that provides short-term economic benefits. The present research investigated the values that farmers from Central Poland assigned to landscape features, including forests, farming areas, non-productive elements and field compositions. In addition, we explored how the preferences towards specific landscape features were influenced by the demographic characteristics of the respondent and his/her place of residence as described by the forest cover of the community and the size of farm holdings. Statements about the justification of the landscape attribute valuations constituted additional qualitative information that was gained from the rural villagers. The results indicated high assessed values of the cultivated fields, forests and meadows and lower values for the features that characterized the mosaic landscape (dirt roads, meadows, mid-field woodlots, solitary trees and their groups, small pools of standing water and patchworks of different fields). The valuation was determined mainly by the utilitarian perspective of the residents and by demographic characteristics, such as age and education. The strict productivity-based valuation perspective threatens the regulating, supporting and cultural services supplied by the agricultural landscape. In this paper, we identified the mosaic elements that build multifunctional landscapes as those that are endangered in the context of the processes occurring in rural areas. These findings were discussed within the perspective of management and the future of traditional agricultural landscapes, which are currently endangered due to the ongoing processes of farm enlargement, demographic changes and agriculture mechanization in Poland.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2020,FEB J,"Zhao, QQ; Li, J; Cuan, YD; Zhou, ZX",The Evolution Response of Ecosystem Cultural Services under Different Scenarios Based on System Dynamics,10.3390/rs12030418,"Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are a significant part of the ecosystem and are considered to be a core component of human welfare and ecosystem protection. CES have been historically difficult to quantitatively evaluate because of their subjectivity and intangibility. Additionally, their evolution over time has rarely been explored. Here, we quantitatively evaluated various CES and generated corresponding value index (VI) maps. We then further explored the evolution of CES characteristics over space and time. We selected Xi'an as the study area and applied the Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model to evaluate CES and generate three specific VI maps. A system dynamics model based on socioeconomic and survey data of CES for each administrative division was established. Finally, we simulated four developmental scenarios in order to predict potential developmental changes of CES in 2030 under these different scenarios. This study provides a method for evaluating CES and explores the application of system dynamics to different fields. Additionally, our findings may provide guidance for the formulation of regional policies and support missions to improve civilizations within ecological systems, coordinate future economic growth with ecosystem services, and achieve sustainable development.",REMOTE SENSING,2020,feb 1 J,"Coscieme, L; Hyldmo, HD; Fernandez-Llamazares, A; Palomo, I; Mwampamba, TH; Selomane, O; Sitas, N; Jaureguiberry, P; Takahashi, Y; Lim, M; Barral, MP; Farinaci, JS; Diaz-Jose, J; Ghosh, S; Ojino, J; Alassaf, A; Baatuuwie, BN; Balint, L; Basher, Z; Boeraeve, F; Budiharta, S; Chen, RS; Desrousseaux, M; Dowo, G; Febria, C; Ghazi, H; Harmackova, ZV; Jaffe, R; Kalemba, MM; Lambini, CK; Lasmana, FPS; Mohamed, AAA; Niamir, A; Pliscoff, P; Sabyrbekov, R; Shrestha, UB; Samakov, A; Sidorovich, AA; Thompson, L; Valle, M",Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance,10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018,"Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, worldviews and cultures. In this paper, we propose that engagement across the science-policy interface can be strengthened by being mindful of the breadth and depth of the diverse human-nature relations found around the globe. By examining diverse conceptualizations of nature in more than 60 languages, we identify three clusters: inclusive conceptualizations where humans are viewed as an integral component of nature; non-inclusive conceptualizations where humans are separate from nature; and deifying conceptualizations where nature is understood and experienced within a spiritual dimension. Considering and respecting this rich repertoire of ways of describing, thinking about and relating to nature can help us communicate in ways that resonate across cultures and worldviews. This repertoire also provides a resource we can draw on when defining policies and sustainability scenarios for the future, offering opportunities for finding solutions to global environmental challenges.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2020,FEB J,"Dressel, S; Johansson, M; Ericsson, G; Sandstrom, C","Perceived adaptive capacity within a multi-level governance setting: The role of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital",10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.011,"In 2012 Sweden implemented a collaborative governance regime for managing moose (Alces aloes). This was guided by the awareness that decentralization and stakeholder participation can help to reduce conflicts, foster systematic learning, and handle complexity. However, previous research has highlighted that there are no blueprint approaches to the governance and management of natural resources. In this case, diverse multi-use landscapes, ever-changing ungulate populations, and other external stressors (e.g. climate change, wildlife diseases) can create challenges for collaborative institutions. Adaptive capacity is therefore needed as it allows a system and the actors involved to react successfully to social-ecological changes and to develop even in times of no imminent change or risk. Using Swedish moose management as an example of a multi-level governance system, this research assesses the critical determinants of adaptive capacity across levels. We developed and applied a psychometric approach to measure actors' perceived adaptive capacity on two levels in the management system. A web-based survey was sent to Moose Management Groups (n = 765, response rate = 81 %) and Moose Management Units (n = 1,380, response rate = 71 %). Using structural equation modelling, we assessed the relative importance of governance aspects, different types of social capital, as well as human and financial capital on actors' perceived adaptive capacity. Linking and bridging social capital in the system had significant impacts on both levels. Actors felt more prepared to handle future challenges in moose management when they perceived benefits through collaborations with levels below and expressed social trust in authorities and the management level above. Besides those similarities between the two levels, fairness was a more important determinant of actors' perceived adaptive capacity on the lower management level. These results can contribute to a future improvement of the collaborative governance setting by finessing strategic interventions on different levels. Furthermore, our results illustrate the importance of scale when assessing the adaptive capacity of a system.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2020,FEB J,"Sandstrom, C; Kanyama, AC; Raty, R; Sonnek, KM; Nordstrom, EM; Mossing, A; Nordin, A",Policy goals and instruments for achieving a desirable future forest: Experiences from backcasting with stakeholders in Sweden,10.1016/j.forpol.2019.102051,"The future of forests is a controversial issue in Sweden and elsewhere. Different stakeholder groups differ in the importance they give to roles they envision forests should have in, for example, the national economy, the protection of biodiversity and sustainable use of ecosystem services, and in mitigating climate change. We used participatory backcasting, a solution-oriented form of scenario analysis, as a method to identify stakeholders' various views as to what constitutes a desirable future forest in Sweden. By involving key stakeholders, we wanted to explore how to broaden the scope of potential solutions to the controversial issue of forest futures by analyzing goals, measures and policy instruments in order to form a bridge between stakeholders' policy objectives, and the instruments and support tools they would like to use to implement those policies. Preferences for particular policy instruments varied considerably among the stakeholder groups. In line with the literature, our study confirms that policy instruments are not mere empty vessels, but represent particular policy ideas, objectives and outlooks, and can show how stakeholders want forests to be governed in the future.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2020,FEB J,"Johansson, EL; Abdi, AM","Mapping and quantifying perceptions of environmental change in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania",10.1007/s13280-019-01226-6,"Large-scale land acquisitions are a critical driver of global socio-environmental change, in particular in the Global South. This study aims to investigate drivers, impacts and feedbacks of environmental change in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania, a region in rapid societal and environmental transformation. We use land cover classifications to map and quantify land cover changes from 1990 to 2016, and compare these with local perceptions of change from fieldwork conducted in 2015 and 2016. The land change detection clearly shows farmland expansion over the wetlands, which is in line with local perceptions, but fails to detect changes in forest cover, which contradicts local perceptions that proclaim rapid deforestation over the past decade. In order to move towards more inclusive sustainable development, there is a need to break the power asymmetries between agribusinesses and local farmers. Our approach posits that policies of importing regions and countries where land is leased need to be strengthened to make sure that agribusinesses establish farms that are consistent with local and domestic needs. Such policies should not only be informed by assessments of environmental change, but also be guided by local knowledge, needs and future aspirations.",AMBIO,2020,FEB J,"Elliott, RM; Motzny, AE; Majd, S; Chavez, FJV; Laimer, D; Orlove, BS; Culligan, PJ",Identifying linkages between urban green infrastructure and ecosystem services using an expert opinion methodology,10.1007/s13280-019-01223-9,"Stormwater green infrastructure (GI) has the potential to provide ecosystem services (ES) that are currently lacking in many urban environments. Nevertheless, while stormwater GI presents a major opportunity for cities to enhance urban ES, there is insufficient evidence to link the complex social and ecological benefits of ES to different GI types for holistic urban planning. This study used an expert opinion methodology to identify linkages between 22 ES and 14 GI types within a New York City context. An analysis of results from five interdisciplinary workshops engaging 46 academic experts reveals that expert judgement of ES benefits is highest for larger green spaces, which are not universally considered for stormwater management, and lowest for vacant land and non-vegetated GI types. Overall, cultural services were identified as those most universally provided by GI. The results of this study highlight potential significant variations in ES benefits between different GI types, and indicate the importance of considering cultural services in future GI research and planning efforts. In the current absence of robust quantitive measurements linking ES and stormwater GI, increased qualitative insight could be obtained by expanding the methodology used in this work to include non-academic experts and other urban stakeholders. We therefore offer recommendations and learnings based on our experience with the approach.",AMBIO,2020,FEB J,"Obregon, C; Hughes, M; Loneragan, NR; Poulton, SJ; Tweedley, JR",A two-phase approach to elicit and measure beliefs on management strategies: Fishers supportive and aware of trade-offs associated with stock enhancement,10.1007/s13280-019-01212-y,"Understanding fisher beliefs and attitudes towards specific management strategies can help inform and improve fisheries management, and thus stock sustainability. Previous studies highlight a lack of fisher awareness regarding environmental issues influencing the systems they utilise and the negative impacts of specific strategies, such as stock enhancement. Our study used a two-phase approach to first elicit and then measure the strength of common fishers' beliefs and associated attitudes regarding stock enhancement. Specifically, this research focused on recreational fishers of an estuarine crab fishery (Portunus armatus) in south-western Australia. The results demonstrate that recreational fishers believe stock enhancement could have strong positive outcomes, but also recognise that this management strategy could lead to some negative outcomes, though the latter are perceived as less likely to happen. This contrasts with previous research on fisheries stocking and demonstrates the value of using the two-phase approach to clarify fishers' perceptions of particular management approaches. To reduce fisher dissatisfaction with management actions, careful communication on the benefits and costs of stock enhancement is recommended. Our study highlights the significance of integrating social sciences into fisheries research, and the need to better understand fishing community beliefs to ensure effective management of the fishery.",AMBIO,2020,FEB J,"Mansour, S; Al-Belushi, M; Al-Awadhi, T",Monitoring land use and land cover changes in the mountainous cities of Oman using GIS and CA-Markov modelling techniques,10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104414,"As a result of the socioeconomic transformation, the rapid urban expansion of cities and towns in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states has predominately led to tremendous pressure on the limited natural resources and loss of productive lands. Indeed, the spatial patterns of urbanisation and their impacts on mountain resources and environment have received little attention, particularly in Oman. Predicting urban growth in the mountainous cities has the potential to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth patterns and the mountain topography. This study aims to analyse spatiotemporal dynamics of land use/land cover (LULC) (2008-2018) and simulate urban expansion (2008-2038) in Nizwa city, Al Dakhliyah governorate, Oman. Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov and geospatial techniques were utilised to assess and project urban growth and land cover changes. The analysis was based on three maps of LULC at equal intervals derived from satellite imageries: Landsat TM for 1998, 2008 and 2018, along with topographic spatial layers (elevation, aspects, and terrain slopes) derived from the ASTER digital elevation model. In addition, other spatial para. meters (population density, proximity to urban centres, and proximity to major roads,) were incorporated in the simulation process. The findings revealed that the actual LULC change during 2008-2018 was 12,014 ha of net urban growth (418.5 % change), while the simulated change was expected to be 14,985 ha by 2028, with a total of 37,465 ha increase in the built-up area and urban growth by 2038. Although the topographic variability will control LULC changes, the urban expansion overly will occupy the arable land across the valleys along with the flat areas. During the next two decades, the built-up areas will dominant, with a large percentage of vacant land (net loss 12,813 ha) and vegetation cover (net loss 35 ha) will be gradually converted into residential land use. The output of the simulations in this research could serve not only as spatial guidelines for monitoring future trends of LULC dynamics, but also address the threats and deteriorates of urban sustainability in the Omani mountainous cities. Furthermore, identifying bare soils and vegetation areas that are susceptible to urbanisation is of value for the national strategy of future urban planning in Oman.",LAND USE POLICY,2020,FEB J,"Zhang, YZ; Chen, RS; Wang, Y",Tendency of land reclamation in coastal areas of Shanghai from 1998 to 2015,10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104370,"Coastal land reclamation is one of the major human interventions in the coastal areas, it is a process undergo in many parts of the world. Land reclamation supplies land for development with urgent needs for coastal cities, and creates the opportunity for rapid urbanization, however, it also influences the integrity of the coastal ecosystem and results in a decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Over-exploitation and unreasonable use of coastal land has been a major issue and became a threat to ecological security in China. This paper analyzed the coastal land expansion and utilization process from 1980 to 2015 in Shanghai through remote sensing image processing and field investigations. The process of land reclamation in Shanghai and the effect of land use transformation on natural wetlands and the quality of the natural habitat are explored by analyzing land use and land cover change and modeling ecosystem services change by Integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The results show that the urban 'ocean sprawl' in Shanghai has increased by similar to 10 % from 1980 to 2015 which transformed natural wetlands into construction land significantly. Despite strict control over the quality of reclamation projects and appropriate compensation with artificial wetlands, the natural habitat damage caused by reclamation increases exponentially in the past few decades. Recently the policies have changed from encouraging human reclamation to prohibit all kinds of land reclamation programs from national to local scales. It has major policy implications for future coastal habitat conservation. This paper gives an overview of the land reclamation in Shanghai and its impact on natural habitat that can foster the related policies to promote healthier and more reasonable urbanization during the economic transformation.",LAND USE POLICY,2020,FEB J,"Balogun, AL; Marks, D; Sharma, R; Shekhar, H; Balmes, C; Maheng, D; Arshad, A; Salehi, P",Assessing the Potentials of Digitalization as a Tool for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Development in Urban Centres,10.1016/j.scs.2019.101888,"Digitalization is a key enabler of sustainable development of cities' socio-economic dynamics with the potential to foster climate-friendly urban environments and societies. The advent of the 4th industrial revolution has seen the increased application of digitalization in several fields and at different levels. High-tech digital devices, platforms and environments are increasingly being deployed to enhance productivity, efficiency and sustainability, and improve overall well-being of urban dwellers. Digitalization is projected to further impact cities in future, transform jobs and trigger life-style changes with far-reaching impacts that will ultimately affect cities' resilience and adaptation capacities. While a growing body of research has highlighted the significance of digitalization to climate change mitigation such as reducing GHG and CO2 emissions, comprehensive evaluations of the potentials of digitalization as an enabler of climate change adaptation remain scarce. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the current trend in digital revolution in relation to climate change adaptation and examines the likely challenges of digitalization. A desk research method was adopted, focusing on core digitalization concepts driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). Nine case studies in cities across various continents were selected to assess the potentials of digitalization in addressing climatic hazards and to highlight benefits from implementing digitalization, while considering the social-ecological-technological challenges and tensions around IR 4.0. Our findings reveal the capabilities of digitalization in supporting more effective early warning and emergency response systems, enhancing food and water security, improving power infrastructure performance, enabling citizen engagement and participatory adaptation measures and minimizing the impacts of climatic hazards. Finally, we recommend feasible pathways to overcome present risks and challenges in order to optimize the numerous opportunities offered by digitalization in support of climate change adaptation initiatives.",SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY,2020,FEB J,"Hersperger, AM; Burgi, M; Wende, W; Bacau, S; Gradinaru, SR",Does landscape play a role in strategic spatial planning of European urban regions?,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103702,"Cities and urban regions have become central to ensuring a sustainable future. Many regions employ strategic spatial planning, a transformative and integrative public-sector-led activity, to create a coherent spatial development strategy in order to pursue sustainable development. Due to its encompassing, cross-sectoral qualities, landscape science is expected to strengthen nature-related aspects of urban planning. The aim of this paper is thus to assess the role of landscape in contemporary strategic spatial planning. This study is based on content analysis of the strategic spatial plans of 18 European urban regions. Plans were assessed following a framework that focuses on how plans took advantage of landscape's integrative power, how plans are based in knowledge on functioning of landscape systems, and how plans show the contribution of landscapes to human well-being. The findings show that landscape science contributes considerably to strategic planning. Overall, the strategic plans of European urban regions had a strong anthropocentric perspective on landscapes. Most of the plans are based on knowledge about landscape functioning and show the contribution of landscapes to human well-being. However, only few use the full potential of the integrative power of landscapes in terms of governance processes. Based on our analysis, we identified research needs and suggested recommendations for future strategic planning with the aim of strengthening nature-related aspects in strategic spatial planning.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2020,FEB J,"O'Hara, CC; Scarborough, C; Hunter, KL; Afflerbach, JC; Bodtker, K; Frazier, M; Lowndes, JSS; Perry, RI; Halpern, BS",Changes in ocean health in British Columbia from 2001 to 2016,10.1371/journal.pone.0227502,"Effective management of marine systems requires quantitative tools that can assess the state of the marine social-ecological system and are responsive to management actions and pressures. We applied the Ocean Health Index (OHI) framework to retrospectively assess ocean health in British Columbia annually from 2001 to 2016 for eight goals that represent the values of British Columbia's coastal communities. We found overall ocean health improved over the study period, from 75 (out of 100) in 2001 to 83 in 2016, with scores for inhabited regions ranging from 68 (North Coast, 2002) to 87 (West Vancouver Island, 2011). Highest-scoring goals were Tourism & Recreation (average 94 over the period) and Habitat Services (100); lowest-scoring goals were Sense of Place (61) and Food Provision (64). Significant increases in scores over the time period occurred for Food Provision (+1.7 per year), Sense of Place (+1.4 per year), and Coastal Livelihoods (+0.6 per year), while Habitat Services (-0.01 per year) and Biodiversity (-0.09 per year) showed modest but statistically significant declines. From the results of our time-series analysis, we used the OHI framework to evaluate impacts of a range of management actions. Despite challenges in data availability, we found evidence for the ability of management to reduce pressures on several goals, suggesting the potential of OHI as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of marine resource management to improve ocean health. Our OHI assessment provides an important comprehensive evaluation of ocean health in British Columbia, and our open and transparent process highlights opportunities for improving accessibility of social and ecological data to inform future assessment and management of ocean health.",PLOS ONE,2020,ene 30 J,"Burke, S; Utleya, A; Belchamber, C; McDowall, L",Physical Activity in Hospice Care: A Social Ecological Perspective to Inform Policy and Practice,10.1080/02701367.2019.1687808,"Purpose: Physical activity (PA) is increasingly being used in hospice care as a rehabilitation strategy to help patients manage symptoms and improve quality of life. However, little is known about how to design and deliver interventions that promote uptake and maintenance of PA in this population. Single-level approaches (i.e., psychological models) have primarily been used to study factors that influence PA engagement among patients with advanced, incurable disease and therefore offer a limited perspective on strategies that target changes beyond the individual level. This study explored perspectives on factors perceived important for influencing PA participation in hospice care using a social-ecological framework. Method: Patients (n = 27) and health providers (n = 5) from multiple hospices (n = 5) across the UK were involved in this study. Data were collected using focus group and individual semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a thematic framework approach. Results: Eight main themes were perceived to be important for influencing PA engagement at the individual, interpersonal, physical environment, community, and policy levels including: (1) PA as therapy; (2) apprehension about PA-induced harm; (3) group-based PA with peers; (4) supervised PA sessions; (5) limited facilities and access; (6) patient-centered approach; (7) lack of a strong PA culture and; (8) absence of a policy and guidance for PA provision. Conclusion: Hospice-based PA interventions that target multiple levels simultaneously may be more effective at successfully changing and sustaining patients' PA behavior. Study findings provide evidence-based recommendations that may facilitate the effective delivery of PA interventions in hospice care.",RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT,2020,jul 2 J,"Du Bois, SN; Guy, AA; Manser, KA; Thomas, NN; Noble, S; Lewis, R; Toles, J; Spivey, C; Khan, H; Tully, T","Developing Prepare2Thrive, a community-based intervention targeting treatment engagement among African American individuals living with HIV and serious mental illness",10.1080/09540121.2020.1717420,"African American individuals living with HIV and serious mental illness (SMI) may report relatively low treatment engagement, despite treatment engagement being critical to managing both health conditions. Here, we have two aims: to describe the methodology we used to collect focus group data on treatment engagement with a sample of African American individuals living with HIV and SMI, and to describe the results of those focus groups in the context of intervention development. We conducted two focus groups (N = 15), integrating a social-ecological model for our theoretical framework, Community-Based Participatory Research for study design and execution, and group concept mapping for data analysis. Three thematic clusters relating to treatment engagement emerged from each group, with overlap across groups: Medication knowledge, Patient-provider relationships, and Barriers to treatment engagement. Items related to the Patient-provider relationship loaded onto all emergent clusters, demonstrating the pervasive impact of this variable. Findings informed the design of Prepare2Thrive, a community-based, culture-specific intervention aiming to increase treatment engagement among African American individuals living with HIV and SMI. Both our design and findings can be used in future collaborations aiming to maximize treatment engagement, and more broadly health, among individuals in this community.",AIDS CARE-PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-MEDICAL ASPECTS OF AIDS/HIV,2020,SEP 1 J,"Dickson, TJ; Darcy, S; Gadd, CP","Ensuring volunteer impacts, legacy and leveraging is not fake news Lessons from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup",10.1108/IJCHM-04-2019-0370,"Purpose This study aims to explore the legacy potential of the FIFA Women's World Cup (FWWC) 2015, for the host communities across Canada. Design/methodology/approach The mixed-methods study included a link to an online anonymous survey being sent to all volunteers at the FWWC that explored their prior volunteering experience, motivations for volunteering, perceived skill development and future volunteering intentions. Documents were reviewed, and key stakeholders were interviewed. Findings The results support previous research that mega-sport event (MSE) volunteers are typically older females with prior volunteering experience. Those most likely to indicate they wanted to volunteer more are younger volunteers without prior volunteering experience. While legacy was discussed as a desired outcome, this was not operationalised through strategic human resource strategies such as being imbedded in the position descriptions for the volunteer managers. Originality/value This is the first research of volunteers for the largest women's mega single-sport event. There are three theoretical contributions of the paper to: the socio-ecological lens, motivational theory of single event MSE and the contribution of social and human capital to understandings of legacy.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT,2020,ene 23 J,"Zunino, S; Canu, DM; Marangon, F; Troiano, S",Cultural Ecosystem Services Provided by Coralligenous Assemblages and Posidonia oceanica in the Italian Seas,10.3389/fmars.2019.00823,"Posidonia oceanica meadows and coralligenous reefs are two Mediterranean ecosystems that are recognized as suppliers of valuable ecosystem services (ESs), including cultural services. However, valuation studies on these ecosystems are scarce; rather, studies have mainly focused on provisioning and regulating services. Here we focus on the cultural services provided by P. oceanica and coralligenous assemblages by addressing a specific group of users. Through an online survey submitted to Italian scuba divers, we assess their willingness to pay for a dive in the two ecosystems and how their preferences will change under different degradation scenarios. Diving preferences are assessed using a discrete choice experiment. The results confirmed that ecological knowledge is associated with higher ecosystem values. Moreover, the results confirm and assess how a high degradation of coralligenous and P. oceanica habitats would reduce the value of the underwater environment, by decreasing scuba diver satisfaction and their rate of return visits. Considering a 50% reduction in the coverage of keystone species, the marginal willingness to pay decreased by approximately (sic)56 and (sic)18 for coralligenous reefs and P. oceanica, respectively, while the willingness to pay decreased by approximately (sic)108 and (sic)34, respectively, when there was a total reduction in coverage. Our results can be used to support marine ecosystem based management and the non-destructive use of Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadows and coralligenous reefs.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2020,ene 23 J,"Ondiek, RA; Vuolo, F; Kipkemboi, J; Kitaka, N; Lautsch, E; Hein, T; Schmid, E","Socio-Economic Determinants of Land Use/Cover Change in Wetlands in East Africa: A Case Study Analysis of the Anyiko Wetland, Kenya",10.3389/fenvs.2019.00207,"In East Africa, wetlands are steadily converted to agriculture for food security reasons. This study analyzed high spatial resolution panchromatic and color photographs in the Anyiko wetland in Kenya to reveal wetland conversions between 1966 and 2018. In addition, socio-economic determinants of land use/cover change are assessed in the Anyiko wetland. Socio-economic data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 226 households. A Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) decision tree approach is utilized to assess determinants of wetlands conversion. The results showed that between 1966 and 2018, the wetland area reduced by 55%, mostly attributed to agricultural development. Households were more likely to cultivate the wetland if they did not harvest papyrus for artisanal products, were male-headed and lacked alternative sources of income. The perceptions that wetland is wasteland and conversion to agriculture provides higher net monetary benefit did not influence wetland cultivation. Hence, the conversion of the wetland was determined by the socio-economic status of the households rather than perceptions on its value.",FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE,2020,ene 22 J,"Gbedomon, RC; Salako, VK; Schlaepfer, MA",Diverse views among scientists on non-native species,10.3897/neobiota.54.38741,"Conservation scientists have traditionally viewed non-native species (NNS) as potential threats to native biodiversity. Here, we question whether alternative views of NNS exist in the scientific community that stand in contrast to the dominant narrative that emerges from the literature. We asked researchers from the biological, social, and environmental sciences to participate in an anonymous poll regarding the perceived values and threats of NNS. Some 314 individuals responded, approximately half of whom were biologists and half were social or environmental scientists. We grouped responses into three statistical clusters defined by shared responses. We then analyzed the correlation of responses to individual questions and membership of clusters with predictor variables age, gender, and field of work. Overall, a majority of respondents in our sample supported statements that the species-component of biodiversity should include all species (55%) or some types of non-native species (an additional 32%), which contrasts with the manner in which major biodiversity assessments and indicators are constructed. A majority of respondents in our sample (65%) also supported that measurement of the impact of invasive species should be based on the net biological, social, and economic effects, which also represents a marked departure from current methods that focus only on the adverse effects of a subset of NNS considered as invasive. Field of work and age were correlated with clusters and numerous individual responses. For example, biologists were three-times more likely than non-biologists to support a definition of species richness that included only native species. Two clusters (Cluster 1 and Cluster 3), mainly composed of non-biologists and biologists, respectively, differed in their support for statements that NNS would provide useful ecosystem services in the future (66% and 40%, respectively). Thus, a key result of this study is that a variety of normative stances regarding NNS is present within the scientific community. Current international indicators of progress (e.g., Aichi Targets) capture only a nativist set of values, which, if our sample is representative of the scientific community, appears to be a minority view. Therefore, we argue that indicators should be modified to integrate the diversity of views that exist within the scientific community.",NEOBIOTA,2020,ene 21 J,"Liu, H; Zheng, L; Wu, J; Liao, YH",Past and future ecosystem service trade-offs in Poyang Lake Basin under different land use policy scenarios,10.1007/s12517-019-5004-x,"Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China and is an important wetland in the world. The scientific assessment of ecosystem service trade-offs in Poyang Lake Basin is of great significance for maintaining regional ecological balance and global biodiversity. This study uses land use as the main data source and the equivalent factor method to estimate the ecosystem service value of the Poyang Lake Basin from 1990 to 2015; the study also analyzes the trade-off synergy among ecosystem services. On this basis, land use information was simulated under three scenarios: planning scenario (government policy-oriented), development scenario (economic benefit-oriented), and protection scenario (ecological protection-oriented). The trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services under different scenarios were evaluated. The results demonstrate that the ecosystem service value for the entire basin steadily increased from 1990 to 2015. The relationships among ecosystem services in the basin were mainly synergistic, and there were few trade-offs. Among the three simulation scenarios, the ecosystem service value was the highest and the trade-offs among ecosystem services were the lowest under the protection scenario, the ecosystem service value was the lowest and the trade-offs among ecosystem services were the highest under the development scenario, and the trade-offs under the planning scenario were between the values of the protection scenario and the development scenario. From the perspective of maximizing the value of ecosystem services and minimizing trade-offs in ecosystem services, the protection scenario is the optimal scenario among the three scenarios.",ARABIAN JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCES,2020,ene 9 J,"Mekuriaw, A; Cherinet, M; Tsegaye, L","Assessing the impact of land cover changes on selected ecosystem services in upper Suha watershed, Gojjam, Ethiopia",10.1080/15715124.2019.1704767,"This study was conducted in the upper Suha watershed in Enemay district, Gojjam, Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess land use/cover (LULC) change of the study area between 1986 and 2015 and to analyse its impact on selected ecosystem services. The LULC change was assessed by using Landsat Thematic Mapper(TM) 1986 and Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIS) 2015. The socio-economic survey was collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussion. The Landsat data were analysed using ERDAS IMAGINE 2014 (R) and ArcGIS 10.5 (R) softwares. The ecosystem services were estimated using the value transfer method. The results revealed that farmland, plantation forests and settlement increased by 18%, 93% and 125%, respectively whereas natural forest, shrubland and grassland decreased by 54%, 82% and 16%, respectively. The result also showed that the total ecosystem service value decreased from $31.5 million in 1986 to $24.36 million in 2015 mainly due to the decreasing areas of natural forest, shrubland and grasslands. The research results suggest that future land use planning should give emphasis on properly managing the natural and semi-natural vegetation that has high ecosystem service values.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT,, J,"Shrestha, M; Shrestha, S; Shrestha, PK","Evaluation of land use change and its impact on water yield in Songkhram River basin, Thailand",10.1080/15715124.2019.1566239,"The Songkhram River Basin (SRB), a wetland region and the largest Mekong tributary in the upper northeast region, is undergoing several changes. Understanding the impact of land use change on the hydrological cycle is very important for ensuring sustainable development and management of water resources in any watershed. This research aims to analyse the past land use change, forecast the future land use maps under various scenarios and finally analyse the impact of this change on the water availability of SRB. The analysis of past land use maps reveals a rapid conversion of crops, paddy and natural forest into rubber farms. The land use change model Dyna-CLUE, coupled with the water yield module of InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs Tool) model, was used to evaluate the impact of land use change on the water availability on the basis of different policy scenarios. Land use maps up to the year 2100 were generated on the basis of three future scenarios focused on economy, conservation and agriculture. The results of this study show an increase in water yield under economic scenario as a result of an increase in urban areas and rubber plantations, whereas a small decrease in water yield is seen under conservation scenario. However, no significant changes are seen under agriculture scenario. This study presents the utility of land use model analysis in foreseeing future land use change impact on water availability. Thus, the results serve as a model-backed reference to decision makers to formulate new policies or adjust the existing ones regarding land use in SRB.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT,2020,ene 2 J,"Chen, YZ; Xu, NY; Yu, QR; Guo, L","Ecosystem Service Response to Human Disturbance in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A Case of Western Hunan, China",10.3390/su12020465,"Ecosystem conservation is one of the core elements of sustainable development. Studying the relationship between human disturbance and the ecosystem service value (ESV) change is an urgent need for the future. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is one of the key economic strategies implemented by the Chinese government and is also a demonstration zone for ecological conservation. Western Hunan is an important ecological barrier in the Yangtze basin where different ethnic groups live together and various cultures coexist. In this study, using land-use data and spatial analysis modeling, the changes in the ecosystem service value at five topographic gradients were evaluated. Human disturbance and its spatial correlation with the ecosystem service value from 1990 to 2015 were also investigated. The results demonstrated the following: (1) the proportional area of forestland and grassland increased as the topographic gradient index increased and other types of land-use gradually decreased; (2) The ecosystem service value at middle gradients increased over the study period; but ESV of the lowest topographic gradient showed a significant decline and a substantial decrease, as well as a terrain index under 0.7970; (3) The spatial analysis of human disturbance showed that more than 90% of intense human disturbance was distributed in the area of the lowest topographic gradient where topographic features were low-altitude and low-slope, and little human disturbance was scattered at other gradients; (4) There was a significant spatial aggregation distribution between the ecosystem service value and human disturbance in western Hunan, the high disturbance and low ESV aggregation was mainly distributed in Loudi City, the area east of Shaoyang City and Zhangjiajie City all belonged to the lowest topographic gradient, and the low-high and high-high aggregations were mainly distributed in Huaihua City and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Population density and gross domestic product were the main driving factors, while topography was the main ecological factor. This study could provide additional spatial information and theoretical guidance for ecosystem service management for sustainable development in western Hunan, China.",SUSTAINABILITY,2020,ene 2 J,"Goparaju, L; Ahmad, F; Uddin, M; Rizvi, J",Agroforestry: An effective multi-dimensional mechanism for achieving Sustainable Development Goals,10.12775/EQ.2020.023,"The ecological footprint has far surpassed the biocapacity of our globe to fulfill the current requirement of the people living on the earth which needs sustainable vision with synergic alternative/option to meet the current human demand without compromising the need for the future generation. We examined the various SDGs goals with respect to agroforestry capacity and contribution based on available literature and knowledge. The study provides a better understanding of the synergic approach/strategies with retrospective and prospective ways for choosing agroforestry exercise which is an effective mechanism for providing multi-dimensional ecosystem services without interruption in achieving the majority of SDGs goals. The outcome of the evaluation highlights that agroforestry can contribute very significantly and can play a vital role in SDG-1, SDG-2, SDG-11, SDG-13, and SDG-15 directly in mitigating poverty, contributing towards food security, improving in creating a viable healthy city and in providing a sustainable overall prosperous environment in the prevailing climate change setup whereas indirectly it can serve others SDGs goals simultaneously that aim to provide better health and education, women empowerment, effective contribution towards clean water and energy for all sections of the society/citizen. The analysis further concluded although agroforestry has a vibrant future and hope it will get adequate priority in various countries with a focus on policy and investment.",ECOLOGICAL QUESTIONS,2020, J,"Zanotti, L; Knowles, N",Large intact forest landscapes and inclusive conservation: a political ecological perspective,,"Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) are global conservation units that aim to combat fragmentation, alteration, degradation, and loss of global forests. ILFs are typically recognized for their biodiversity, carbon storage, protection of hydroecological systems and other ecosystem services. However, IFLs are distinctive among other conservation efforts because they do not immediately prioritize conservation approaches that have goals of alleviating human poverty or improving well-being. The prevailing view is that IFL conservation should engage with ecocentric models of conservation. In this article, we leverage political ecology's analytical attention to power, institutions, identities, and scales to make suggestions on ways in which to integrate biocentric conservation considerations into IFL practices. From a scoping literature review, we found the following areas are especially critical for the future of IFL conservation: (1) prioritizing Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) as actors and beneficiaries of conservation; (2) identifying the value of knowledge integration and co-production for conservation; (3) addressing heterogenous communities and equity impacts, and (4) the need for procedural mechanisms in conservation initiatives that support nesting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities management and governance in polycentric systems. Furthermore, the development of diagnostic questions of scaling community-based conservation and adaptive strategies beyond their original scope in terms of community definitions, landscape and political context may be beneficial for addressing multistakeholder needs, identifying more equitable approaches, sharing strategies and obtaining successful outcomes in IFL conservation.",JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECOLOGY,2020, B,"Boyd, WE","It is not a question of either/or, but of 'and ... and': The Socioecological Learner as Learner-Teacher-Researcher",10.1007/978-3-030-12212-6_5,"Conventional roles and responsibilities of the learner have placed the learner in a singular position within a hierarchy of authority and power - as the passive recipient of learning, of being taught. The socioecological learner, however, holds a special position in relation to this convention, a position mediated through a socioecological approach to understanding the world. A socioecological model provides a multidimensional perspective on social and ecological systems, in which inter-connectedness, flow of energy and materials, linkages, relationships and feedback play central roles. It follows that the roles and responsibilities of the learner should reflect such an ecology. The demands of the Anthropocene - both as global crisis and as opportunity - present an urgent need to shift the relationships between the currently siloed hierarchical, socially constructed categories of 'learner', 'teacher' and 'researcher'. The emergence of posthumanism provides stimulus that unsettle these conventions. The category of 'socioecological learner' challenges long-held presumptions around relationships between teacher, researcher, learner, participant, knowledge and data. An alternative vision is one of a post-modern and posthuman future, a future in which a milieux-contextualised shift of learner to learner-teacher-researcher encompasses a crucial shift from learner-as-human-in-society to learner-as-posthuman-in-zoe.","TOUCHSTONES FOR DETERRITORIALIZING SOCIOECOLOGICAL LEARNING: THE ANTHROPOCENE, POSTHUMANISM AND COMMON WORLDS AS CREATIVE MILIEUX",2020, B,"Chakraborty, R; Daloz, AS; L'Ecuyer, T; Hicks, A; Young, S; Kang, YH; Shah, M",A Relational Vulnerability Analytic: Exploring Hybrid Methodologies for Human Dimensions of Climate Change Research in the Himalayas,10.1007/978-3-030-29684-1_24,"Vulnerability assessments are critical tools when exploring the Human Dimensions of Climate Change in the Global South. Additionally, Social Ecological Systems research utilizes such assessments to describe and predict potential spaces/tools of policy intervention. However, much of the assessment methodology fails to address the coupled structural processes underlying vulnerability and the experience of climate change. First, most scholarship does not operationalize mixed-methods research using plural epistemologies. Second, it fails to incorporate the communally produced knowledge of marginalized regional populations. Ultimately, power inequalities and their impact on vulnerability within complex adaptive systems, are overwhelmingly ignored. This project attempts to address these issues through a 'Relational Vulnerability Analytic' (RVA). We utilize a plural epistemological approach to construct an analytic that envisions the various relationships, processes and tools that need to be cultivated and managed in order to empower the community as co-producers of knowledge, while challenging the disciplinary bias in explorations of climate change risk and adaptation. Our method brings top-down spatial analysis tools, mathematical models, grounded ethnographic fieldwork and participatory feminist epistemologies into productive tension to reveal the sources of vulnerability and the agency of subjects, in rural Himalayan households. Additionally, we addresses the appeal for long term, collaborative, multi--dimensional research mobilization in the Himalayas. While the analytic is parameterized for the Himalayan region, it can be implemented in other regions with certain salient customizations. The project concludes that future efforts should be to operationalize this analytic for different regions and populations.",HIMALAYAN WEATHER AND CLIMATE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT,2020, B,"Chettri, N; Shrestha, AB; Sharma, E",Climate Change Trends and Ecosystem Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayas,10.1007/978-3-030-29684-1_25,"During the past few decades, our understanding of the potential risks from climate change to mountain ecosystem has increased. The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) is characterised by diverse climate due to diversity in geology, monsoon influence and ecosystems. Though paucity in studies, it was observed that the HKH ecosystems witnessed changes in climate over the period with evidence of change in phenology and species range shift altering ecosystem functions. During 1901-2014, annual mean surface air temperature significantly increased in the HKH at a rate of about 0.11 degrees C per decade showing significant upward trend. The intense precipitation also showed increasing trend in annual intense precipitation amount, days and intensity with 5.28 mm per decade, 0.14 day per decade and 0.39 mm/day per decade respectively. The elevation dependent warming has also been prominent in the HKH with higher warming with the increasing elevation. Higher warming is projected during winter and the projected warming differs by more than 1 degrees C between the eastern and western HKH, with relatively higher values during winter. The highest warming is projected to be over the central Himalaya for the far-future period with the RCP8.5 scenario. The projections made by the study for the near-future and far-future periods for HKH are relatively higher than the seasonal global means. These changes have indicated that rapidly changing climatic conditions could significantly thwart efforts for ecosystem resilience at a national and regional scales. There have been a wide range of interpretation from observed and people's perceptions impacting on a wide range of ecosystems and biodiversity at different scales.. However, there is still a major gap in understanding the cross-linkages among areas of research, for example, linking social-ecological knowledge on resilience contributing to evolutionary adaptation. Although numerous important contributions have emerged in recent years, synthesis of such practices and its consequences has not yet been achieved. This chapter is an attempt to relate the climate change science with ecosystem resilience in the HKH, identify gaps, and understand the social-ecological interaction and contribute towards social-ecological resilience.",HIMALAYAN WEATHER AND CLIMATE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT,2020, J,"Boyd, J; McMillan, B; Easton, K; Delaney, B; Mitchell, C",Utility of the COM-B model in identifying facilitators and barriers to maintaining a healthy postnatal lifestyle following a diagnosis of gestational diabetes: a qualitative study,10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037318,"Objectives Previous qualitative research investigating the experiences of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD) has provided important insights into the development of behaviour change interventions. However, these studies often lack a theoretical underpinning. This study explored the use of the capability, opportunity, motivation and behaviour (COM-B) framework (which proposes that individuals need the capability, opportunity and motivation to perform a particular behaviour) to code and the socioecological model to contextualise participant responses to better inform intervention development. Design Qualitative semistructured interviews are using purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using the COM-B framework. A socioecological approach was adopted to understand the context of intervention facets. Setting Interviews were conducted in a secondary care setting in South Yorkshire. Participants Twenty-seven postnatal women with a previous diagnosis of GD were interviewed. Results Applying the COM-B framework to code participant, responses identified 16 key subthemes which reflected either: capability, opportunity or motivation components of the model. Four domains adapted from the socioecological model: individual, family life, community and healthcare provision; contextualised factors are important for these women in terms of behaviour change. Emotional response at the individual level was highly motivating or demotivating. Factors related to family life and community were particularly dominant and had the potential to either facilitate or impede change. We found many participants relied on healthcare provision during the prenatal and postnatal periods with timing and positive relationships being key to good care. Conclusions Our study provides further insight into the factors crucial for behaviour change in women diagnosed with GD. By innovatively applying the COM-B framework in a socioecological context, it is clear intervention facets need to target microlevel through the macrolevel to engage this population in behaviour change. Future work should consider family-level intervention as this could allow for sustained behaviour change and consequently prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.",BMJ OPEN,2020, S,"Seingier, G; Jimenez-Orocio, O; Espejel, I",Vulnerability to the Effects of Climate Change: Future Aridness and Present Governance in the Coastal Municipalities of Mexico,10.1007/978-3-030-22464-6_17,"We estimated vulnerability to climate change in the coastal municipalities of Mexico through an interdisciplinary approach using an index model with three components: (1) Exposure to dryness and climate change (Lang's dryness index), (2) socioeconomic sensitivity, and (3) adaptation capacity. Data input were national census data and general circulation model outputs (2045-2069 scenario). Scenarios were compared to reference climatology through Lang's aridity index, which was found to be practical as an aridity indicator and foresee its future change in value. This methodological approach allowed to set priorities by identifying groups of more threatened and less prepared municipalities in the territories, which show more differences between the present climatological parameter values and the values predicted assuming future climatic scenarios, have less climate change related institutional instruments, present social weaknesses (poverty and inequality), or show environmental degradation. Our results showed the presence of arid zones in 43% of Mexico's 266 coastal municipalities, comprising more than half of the total coastal population. Comparing present and future scenarios allows differentiating regions already arid that will remain in this situation (Northern Pacific) from regions that are currently humid but will shift to an arid (Caribbean Sea) or desert category (Northern Gulf of Mexico). Both used models predicted a future shift of all categories towards dryness and a worrisome number that will turn to desert and arid categories. We found regional heterogeneity and a complex contribution of each subindex to the total coastal vulnerability index. We concluded that our results can be used as an input to guide the current coastal policies to promote a development model that decreases the vulnerability of coastal municipalities and advance towards a model that includes the complexities of the Mexican coastal dryland socio-ecological systems, its challenges, and its opportunities.",STEWARDSHIP OF FUTURE DRYLANDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AGENDA 2030,2020, J,"Dominguez, DC; Baez, AB; Lopez, EP","Horizons of the digital world: from the simulation and trivialization of the experience, to a social, ecological and innovative use of the Red Society",10.5209/ciyc.68722,"This article is a reflection, in line with the main development trends in the scholar contributions on web 2.0 and the digital society, about the two fundamental directions of future development: the trend towards economic and creative innovation, and the development of values in environmental equilibrium, or the drive towards commercialization, manipulation and the fake universe in vital sectors of human activity. In line with these reflections, it states that since its origins the Network Society has met a bipolar panorama, in which pressing political, economic, ecological and human crises force us to choose a unique development option.",CIC-CUADERNOS DE INFORMACION Y COMUNICACION,2020, J,"Barbosa, MD; Carneiro, LT; Pereira, MFDD; Rodriguez, CZ; Chagas, TRF; Moya, W; Bergamini, LL; Mancini, MCS; Paes, ND; Giraldo, LCP","Future scenarios of land-use-cover effects on pollination supply and demand in Sao Paulo State, Brazil",10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2019-0906,"Rapid land-use/land cover changes (LULCC) have led to habitat loss and fragmentation in the natural forest areas, which are mainly due to the intense and rapid expansion of urban areas and intense agricultural management. These processes are strongly threatening biodiversity maintenance and the ecosystem services provided by them. Among the ecosystem services under threat, pollination has been widely studied since this service is essential to promote food production and, therefore, human well-being. In a scenario of increasing LULCC it is crucial to understand the interplay between these changes, pollination demand by insect-dependent crops and pollinator availability to ensure these ecosystem services meet the increased demand for food production. In this study, we developed a conceptual model to disentangle the relationships between human-nature, especially LULCC, and its consequences, to the delivery of pollination service. We also presented a case study in the Brazilian Sao Paulo state, where we modeled the effects of predicted LULCC associated to agriculture expansion between the years 2012 and 2030 on pollinator demand by crops and pollinator supply, for fourteen economically important crops. Additionally, we systematized an expert-based Ecosystem Service matrix to estimate the influences of LULCC on the provision of pollination. Our results showed that by 2030, the demand for pollination will increase by 40% on average, while pollinator supply, estimated using suitability values for the different land-use/cover classes, will show, on average, a 3% decrease. Our results highlight the importance of considering the dialogue among stakeholders, governments, institutions, and scientists to find alternatives and strategies to promote pollinator-friendly practices and safeguard the provision of pollination services in a future under LULCC.",BIOTA NEOTROPICA,2020, J,"Lembi, RC; Cronemberger, C; Picharillo, C; Koffler, S; Sena, PHA; Felappi, JF; de Moraes, AR; Arshad, A; dos Santos, JP; Mansur, AV",Urban expansion in the Atlantic Forest: applying the Nature Futures Framework to develop a conceptual model and future scenarios,10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2019-0904,"The Atlantic Forest is an important hotspot of biodiversity and ecosystem services that contributes to the well-being of its 125 million human inhabitants, about three quarters of the Brazilian population. In the coming decades, forecasts show that urban areas in the Atlantic Forest will grow at the expense of natural ecosystems, leading to increasing pressure on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We used the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) for envisioning positive scenarios for cities in the Atlantic Forest. First, we developed a conceptual model based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) approach to describe consequences of urban growth for the three NFF perspectives: Nature for Society, Nature for Nature and Nature as Culture. Second, we proposed scenario storylines that encompass multiple social-ecological values of nature and could be used by policy makers to plan desirable futures for the Atlantic Forest. Then, we discussed the impact of distinct policies on these values, identifying the different ways in which the management of urban green and blue spaces, natural ecosystems, and urban densities can lead to different social-ecological outcomes. We further detail the complexity, trade-offs, and synergies regarding city development, nature conservation, and human well-being in this tropical hotspot. Applying NFF can contribute to the ongoing debate regarding urban sustainability, by providing an interdisciplinary and integrative approach that explicitly incorporates multiple values of nature and the visualization of positive futures.",BIOTA NEOTROPICA,2020, J,"Siqueira-Gay, J; Yanai, AM; Lessmann, J; Pessoa, ACM; Borja, D; Canova, M; Borges, RC","Pathways to positive scenarios for the Amazon forest in Para state, Brazil",10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2019-0905,"Infrastructure projects and agriculture expansion are increasingly threatening forest conservation in Para state (Brazil). It becomes necessary to address the implications of these activities on the Amazon complex socio-ecological system, considering both material and non-material aspects of Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). Multiple studies developed future scenarios for the Amazon, but only a few have focused on discussing positive futures derived from policies and interventions based on conservation and human well-being. Here, we aim at understanding the drivers of forest cover change to produce positive scenarios for the future of the Amazon forest in Para state. By using the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework, we identified as direct drivers of forest cover change: (i) roads construction; (ii) forest degradation; (iii) hydropower projects; (iv) urban expansion; (v) agriculture and pasture expansion; (vi) rural land occupation; (vii) mining; (viii) climate change. As indirect drivers we identified: (i) energy demand; (ii) population growth; (iii) land prices; (iv) commodity demand; (v) consumption behavior. The development of conservation strategies in the borders of deforested areas is needed given the high demand for Nature ' s Contributions to People supply. We also propose policies to address the main drivers of forest cover change, influencing land management and consumption behavior in the state. At last, we envision future positive scenarios that would emerge from policy applications and sustainable actions. Based on our study, we discuss the importance of social learning for developing pathways leading to positive futures that consider the integrity and development of both ecological and social systems.",BIOTA NEOTROPICA,2020, J,"Madaan, V; Goyal, A",Predicting Ayurveda-Based Constituent Balancing in Human Body Using Machine Learning Methods,10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2985717,"Human Body constitution (<italic>prakriti</italic>) defines what is in harmony with human nature and what will cause to move out of balance and experience illness. <italic>Tridosha</italic> defines the three basic energies or principles that determine the function of our body on the physical and emotional levels. The three energies are known as <italic>VATT</italic>, <italic>PITT</italic> and <italic>KAPH</italic>. Each individual has a unique balance of all three of these energies. Some people will be predominant in one, while others will be a mixture of two or more. <italic>Ayurveda-dosha</italic> studies have been used for a long time, but the quantitative reliability measurement of these diagnostic methods still lags behind. A careful and appropriate analysis leads to an effective treatment. To collect a meaningful data set, a questionnaire with 28 different characteristics is validated by Ayurveda experts. Authors calculate Cronbach alpha of <italic>VATT-Dosha</italic>, <italic>PITT-Dosha</italic> and <italic>KAPH-Dosha</italic> as 0.94, 0.98 and 0.98, respectively to check the reliability of the questionnaire. Authors analyzed questionnaires of 807 healthy persons aged 20-60 years and found 62.1 & x0025; men and 37.9 & x0025; women. The class imbalance problem is resolved with oversampling and the equally distributed data set of randomly selected 405 persons is used for the actual experiment. Using computer algorithms, we randomly divide the data set (8:2) into a training set of 324 persons and a test data set of 81 persons. Model is trained using traditional machine learning techniques for classification analysis as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Naive Bayes (NB) and Decision Tree (DT). System is also implemented using ensemble of several machine learning methods for constitution recognition. Evaluation measures of classification such as root mean square error (RMSE), precision, recall, F-score, and accuracy is calculated and analyzed. On analyzing the results authors find that the data is best trained and tested with CatBoost, which is tuned with hyper parameters and achieves 0.96 precision, 0.95 recall, 0.95 F-score and 0.95 accuracy rate. The experimental result shows that the proposed model based on ensemble learning methods clearly surpasses conventional methods. The results conclude that advances in boosting algorithms could give machine learning a leading future.",IEEE ACCESS,2020, J,"Bidaguren, JA; Mirandona, EA; Idigoras, MO",Exploring shared visions and alternative processes in Urdabai Biosphere Reserve in the Basque Country.,10.7818/ECOS.1940,"A participatory process and mapping of problems, challenges and active communities in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve has been carried out in the framework of the project Territories in Conflict. Research, training and action for capacity-building and life building. This article presents the first results of this research based on an analysis framework that highlights the collective agency and leadership, confirms the need for deliberative spaces and more horizontal power relations, and identifies the main socio-environmental conflicts in the territory. In a scenario of plans that mean significant threats to sustainable human development in Urdaibai, in this first approach, a scarce shared vision on the future and management of this Biosphere Reserve and little mutual knowledge between the actors has been determined, although, interesting social initiatives and common spaces for deliberation are also detected.",ECOSISTEMAS,2020,JAN-APR J,"Lopez-Rodriguez, MD; Salinas-Bonillo, MJ; Torres, MT; Pacheco-Romero, M; Guirado, E; Castro, H; Cabello, J",Launching collective science-policy-society strategies to conserve the Ziziphus lotus habitat (Priority Habitat 5220),10.7818/ECOS.1890,"The priority habitat 5220 is dominated by the Ziziphus lotus which has experienced a major setback in recent decades, its area of distribution has seriously deteriorated in its functioning within Spain. Despite the knowledge generated by researchers for its valuation, management and conservation, such knowledge hardly permeates to policy and society. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a transdisciplinary process as a means to provide collective knowledge about this habitat and to promote a culture of shared responsibility that contributes to its conservation. To do this, we 1st) conducted a literature review of the existing knowledge of this specie, and 2nd) developed a transdisciplinary process within a community of practice integrated by researchers, decision-makers and social agents. The study allowed us to (1) identify gaps in scientific knowledge and research opportunities around Ziziphus lotus and its habitat, (2) define and promote the implementation of 13 collaborative science-policy-society strategies to contribute to its conservation. Throughout the study, we identified several operational factors that facilitated the transdisciplinary process. These factors included (i) the generation of a trusting environment between members of the community of practice; (ii) the use of a knowledge exchange approach between actor groups by researchers with transdisciplinary skills, and (iii) the creation of co-learning and knowledge co-production work schemes oriented towards practical outcomes. In addition, we introduced and evaluated a graphical tool that acted as a boundary object catalysing collective action for the conservation of this specie. This study provides useful guidance for developing future transdisciplinary processes in other contexts.",ECOSISTEMAS,2020,JAN-APR J,"Zorrilla-Miras, P; Suarez, M; Gonzalez-Garcia, A; Gomez, CS; Bea, M",Water supply from Sierra del Rincon Biosphere Reserve to the Community of Madrid (Spain): An ecosystem services approach.,10.7818/ECOS.1938,"Water supply from Sierra del Rincon Biosphere Reserve to the Community of Madrid: An ecosystem services approach. Frequently, the people who benefit from the services (or contributions) that ecosystems provide to society are not those who reside in the territory that provides such services. Population of these rural areas that provide ecosystem services to large cities are sometimes limited in their economic development options, which contributes to rural depopulation. An example of this situation is given in the Sierra del Rincon Biosphere Reserve, located at the northern end of the Community of Madrid. The objective of this study is to evaluate biophysically and economically (in monetary terms) the water supply service of the Sierra del Rincon Biosphere Reserve. We have used the InVEST model and a market-based method (from the domestic water use rate). The results indicate that, although the area of the RBSR is only a 2% of the Community of Madrid, it provides 5% of the water consumed, with an approximate contribution of 93 hm3 per year, which would have an economic value of 28 million euros. The methodology followed has limitations that are presented with the aim to perform future studies with greater precision.",ECOSISTEMAS,2020,JAN-APR J,"Abelson, A",Are we sacrificing the future of coral reefs on the altar of the climate change narrative?,10.1093/icesjms/fsz226,"Following a series of mass-bleaching events that have seriously degraded coral reefs, notably the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, a common narrative is now dominating the discourse, according to which the only sure way to save the world's coral reefs is climate change mitigation. However, climate change is not a sole stressor. Most coral reefs around the world are threatened by a myriad of local stressors, including overfishing, destructive fishing, untreated sewage, agriculture effluents (nutrients and pesticides), and siltation due to deforestation. Reefs will not survive the severe effects of this plethora of stressors while waiting until we mitigate climate change. In order to safeguard reefs, we need to adopt a new narrative-there are diverse ways in which we can improve the chances of saving coral reefs-by acting now to: (i) improve their local protection and marine protected area networks, (ii) alleviate their critical local stressors, (iii) restore degraded and damaged reefs, and (iv) promote reef resilience and adaptation (e.g. adaptation networks, assisted evolution) to the changing conditions, notably climate change effects. It is time for us to move on from the impractical goals of the climate change narrative (interventions beyond our field of expertise) to building up resilience and adaptation of social-ecological systems of coral reefs.",ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE,2020,JAN-FEB J,"Jackson, G; McNamara, KE; Witt, B",System of hunger: Understanding causal disaster vulnerability of indigenous food systems,10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.10.042,"The exposure of vulnerable food systems to hazards often leads to outcomes such as food insecurity. In order to prevent such food insecurity, it is critical to understand the causal factors - or root causes - of vulnerability, particularly in a world of increasing risk. As such, this paper develops and implements a food system causal disaster vulnerability framework within the Bedamuni tribe of Papua New Guinea. Although changing, Bedamuni livelihoods remain centred on subsistence swidden agriculture, hunting, and gathering. The framework developed here considers food systems as socioecological systems that through, for example, ecosystem use, provision, and social institutions should ideally provide food security along with other forms of social and cultural welfare. As detailed in the paper, disaster vulnerability is considered a function of exposure (temporal and spatial), susceptibility (as historical, socio-human, psychological, economic, environmental, physical, cultural, and governance dimensions), livelihood resilience (as knowledge, power and participation, capabilities, assets, and social capital) and absorptive, adapttive, and transformational capacities. The study is based on in-depth mixed methods fieldwork undertaken in 25 villages throughout the Bedamuni territory and incorporates established ethnographic approaches (e.g., participant observation, garden and disaster transect walks, and interviews) and a novel culturally appropriate approach (e.g., 31 longhouse stories lasting 1-3 h). The study reveals the main drivers of increasing vulnerability relate to historical, ecological, social, and psychological dimensions of susceptibility and declining adaptive capacity. The need for transformational change is suggested but is hindered by declining self-efficacy, inertia and a lack of knowledge of how to address factors such as population growth, declining land productivity, climate change, and increasing garden pests and diseases. Taken together with high exposure to El Nino droughts (e.g., 1971/2, 1982/3, 1997, 2015/16) and earthquakes (e.g., -1950, 2018), disaster vulnerability is concemingly high and participants suggest is increasing. This paper is an empirically grounded argument for using causal approaches that look beyond outcomes to identify drivers of vulnerability in food systems. The framework and empirical evidence presented provides researchers, NGOs, and policy makers guidance and entry points for reducing vulnerability and increasing the resilience of marginalised Indigenous food systems in Papua New Guinea and potentially beyond.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2020,JAN J,"Hassan, R; Mahlathi, S","Evaluating the environmental and social net-worth of controlling alien plant invasions in the Inkomati catchment, South Africa",10.17159/wsa/2020.v46.i1.7881,"The present study attempted to bridge some gaps in the existing literature evaluating the net economic worth of South Africa's Working for Water (WfW) programme for eradicating invasive alien plant species (IAPS). Specifically, the study employed the social benefit-cost analysis (BCA) methodology to assess the impact of accounting for the opportunity cost of invested capital funds and treating labour as a social benefit on the social worthiness of the WfW programme in the Inkomati catchment. The study also used improved measures of the value of other ecosystem services, particularly the carbon sequestration values. Results of the social BCA provided strong empirical evidence in support of the continuation of IAPS eradication activities, as economically and socially worthwhile investment of the country's resources. The programme generates higher net worth under lower rates of discounting future values. This confirms the importance of the water-saving benefits, which continue theoretically for ever, at zero cost to the society, as all direct and indirect financial costs cease upon completion of the eradication operations. The social net worth of the IAPS eradication programme obviously increases when expenditure on labour wages was considered a social benefit rather than a direct financial cost, even under strict project funding scenarios that require funding through private capital markets, i.e., paying commercial rates of interest. However, more strategic planning for the control of IAPS is critically important givers their high cost. Challenges facing the sustainability of IAPS eradication programmes in the study area and South Africa include: raising sufficient funding from private and public sources, and introducing incentive systems to encourage higher collaboration and participation of private landowners in the currently primarily publicly driven IAPS eradication efforts. The study also suggests a number of policy and technological reforms to address the said challenges.",WATER SA,2020,JAN J,"Baskent, EZ",A Framework for Characterizing and Regulating Ecosystem Services in a Management Planning Context,10.3390/f11010102,"Sustainable management promises to improve the conservation and utilization of ecosystem services and their contribution to human wellbeing through management plans. This paper explores the concept of characterization and integration of ecosystem services in a management planning concept. The integration process involves the identification, quantification, valuation, assessment, and monitoring of ecosystem services over time. The quantification of common ecosystem services, such as soil erosion, water conservation, recreation, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration was explored. A framework was developed to integrate ecosystem services into management planning process. Ecosystem services are classified as provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services with a defined typology. The conceptual framework acts as an organizing structure and it serves as a model for the management of ecosystems with their contribution to human wellbeing. Ecosystem management with multi-criteria decision techniques, information technologies and a structured participation is a proposed approach for the sustainable management of ecological, economic, and socio-cultural functions. Establishing the quantitative relationships between ecosystem services and societal benefits is essential. The provision of a universally accepted clear measurement of regulating, supporting, and cultural services is challenging. A commitment, vision, and strong willingness are required to adopt policies, regulations, and management objectives in planning. Integration can only be realized with prioritizing ecosystem services with the involvement of stakeholders. Substantial understanding of both the ecological and social systems is a prerequisite for sustainable management of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services with significant benefits to the wellbeing of society should primarily be characterized, their relative importance be weighted, and prioritized through a participatory approach. A holistic approach with a comprehensive decision support system is essential in forecasting the future provision of ecosystem services and assessing the trade-off analysis, resulting in better policy formulation before on-the-ground implementation.",FORESTS,2020,JAN J,"Battisti, L; Pomatto, E; Larcher, F",Assessment and Mapping Green Areas Ecosystem Services and Socio-Demographic Characteristics in Turin Neighborhoods (Italy),10.3390/f11010025,"The ecosystem services (ES) and human well-being are keywords that guide the Italian strategy on urban greening. The development of ES priorities linked to specific land uses help to guide the drafting of management plans. The aim of the research was to assess and map green areas ecosystem services and socio-demographic characteristics in Turin neighborhoods in order to identify where to improve the provision of ecosystem services and the socio-demographic conditions. The Preliminary Assessment Method (PAM) was used for the assessment of provision and regulating services based on land use. The Species-specific Air Quality index (S-AQI) was used to assess the regulating services provided by trees. Three socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed at the neighborhood level-age index, housing density, and % of economically assisted citizens. PAM results show that Turin provides more ecosystem services in peripheral areas of the city. Trees with high S-AQI values represent 21% of the censed trees. Not recommended trees are 18%. The neighborhoods with higher S-AQI values are not always characterized by a higher number of trees/km(2) or species richness. Results show that the northern part of the city is characterized by higher values of ES and socio-demographic conditions than the central-southern part. This aspect is related to the conspicuous presence of agricultural land uses and water bodies, together with the presence of tree species with a high S-AQI values and high or medium socio-demographic conditions. 57% of the neighborhoods present low results for both aspects. Actions to improve the quality of green spaces in those neighborhoods could have great effects on liveability. Future management and planning strategies for increasing citizens' well-being through urban greening should consider the proposed approach.",FORESTS,2020,JAN J,"Nhem, S; Lee, YJ",Exploring perspectives in assessing the quality of governance of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD plus ) pilot project in Cambodia: Use of Q Methodology,10.1007/s11629-018-5301-y,"Public and policy makers alike are concerned about national and global deforestation and forest degradation. These issues pose a significant threat to social, economic and environmental welfare. Attempts to prevent forest loss and increased attention to pilot REDD+ projects in community forestry sites would both deliver rural livelihood benefits and help to reduce adverse climate impacts. However, there has been no significant exploration of the viewpoints of local experts to determine the monitoring and action needed to support community-based forestry and improve the governance of REDD+ pilot projects in Cambodia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the perceptions of local stakeholders towards the quality of governance of the first community forest REDD+ pilot project in Cambodia, employing Q-methodology. We adapted 11 indicators of the hierarchical framework of assessment of governance quality to design 40 Q-statements related to REDD+ governance or achievements. The 52 P-set ranked these Q-statements with respect to the community-based REDD+ pilot project. Our study revealed that local stakeholders held four distinct, and partially opposite, views, that: (1) the REDD+ project is successful because it is inclusiveness and capable of causing behavioral change; (2) REDD+ pilot projects should be led by government, not external or locally; and needs more resources; (3) the REDD+ pilot project has raised unrealistic expectations, would likely be a source of corruption and will probably not be successful for local people or halting deforestation; and (4) the REDD+ pilot project is inclusive but not very transparent and probably ineffective at protecting forest. Through these four varied perspectives from local people involved in the project, we can see that there remain serious challenges to the future of pilot community forestry REDD+ projects, including the complex interaction between the multinational actors and the local socio-ecological systems. To move forwards, this study suggested Cambodia should make a pro-poor REDD+ program, implementing more community-based REDD+ projects which explicitly build the assets and capacity of the poorest households. This study also shows that Q-methodology can highlight the diverse viewpoints of local stakeholders concerning the quality of community forest REDD+ governance, helping policy makers, implementers and local stakeholders to better identify the challenges to be addressed.",JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE,2020,JAN J,"Nogu?-Alguer?, B","Growth in the docks: ports, metabolic flows and socio-environmental impacts",10.1007/s11625-019-00764-y,"Shipping carries virtually all internationally traded goods. Major commercial ports are fully integrated into transnational production and distribution systems, enabling the circulation of massive flows of energy and materials in the global economy. Port activity and development are usually associated with positive socio-economic effects, such as increased GDP and employment, but the industry's continuous expansion produces adverse outcomes including air and water pollution, the destruction of marine and coastal environments, waterfront congestion, health risks, and labor issues. In its quest to marry economic growth and environmental sustainability in the maritime industries, proponents of the newly coined blue growth paradigm assume the negative impacts of ports and shipping to be fixable mostly through technological innovation. This paper questions the validity of the premise that the unlimited growth of the port and shipping industries is compatible with environmental sustainability and analyses the feasibility of technological improvements to offset the sector's associated negative impacts. Based on insights from ecological economics and political ecology, ports can be described as power-laden assemblages of spaces, flows, and actors, which produce unequally distributed socio-ecological benefits and burdens at multiple scales. Focusing on the case of the Port of Barcelona, this study argues that the continuous expansion of port activity increases seldom accounted-for negative socio-environmental impacts, acquiring an uneconomic character for port cities and regions. In contrast, de-growth is presented as a radical sustainability alternative to ocean-based growth paradigms. The paper concludes by discussing its prospective 'blue' articulation in the context of maritime transportation while offering some avenues for future research and policymaking.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2020,JAN J,"Said, A; MacMillan, D",Re-grabbing' marine resources: a blue degrowth agenda for the resurgence of small-scale fisheries in Malta,10.1007/s11625-019-00769-7,"The era of blue growth, underpinned by neoliberal policy discourses, has been pervasive in the promulgation of European marine governance and policies in the past decade, with little or no regard for the sustainability of small-scale fisheries. In this paper, we engage with theoretical and empirical observations to reflect on how the promise of sustainable economic growth arising from the convergence of international conservation policies and the blue growth paradigm, has failed to materialise and caused huge social and economic inequities among local fishing communities and the catastrophic disruption of the socio-ecological system of fisheries. Drawing on various interventions in Malta, we illustrate how neoliberal policies, lauded and promoted as part of a national blue growth strategy, are suffocating and marginalising small-scale fishing communities by concentrating fishing opportunities into fewer, larger corporate hands, and by a hegemonic anti-small scale fishing narrative that seeks to replace traditional fishing with the 'darlings of the new blue economy', aquaculture and coastal tourism. With artisanal-commercial fishing in Malta on the verge of extinction, we call for reversal of neo-liberal policy measures to re-create a more resilient and stable fisheries economy through specific blue degrowth measures including improved access to fisheries resources and markets, and the establishment of marine protected areas that recognize the value of small-scale fisheries to conservation. This could be achieved through equity-based governance systems, including improved profit distribution systems within community economies, that grant small-scale fisheries the possibility of re-institutionalizing their sector and promoting their existence and viability into the future. Ultimately, we demonstrate that through a blue economy roadmap for small-scale fisheries, small-islands states like Malta, can rescue an important component of their maritime traditions, and be better placed to reach the obligations set out within the United Nations sustainable development goals.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2020,JAN J,"Doso, O; Gao, S",Application of Savonius Rotor for Hydrokinetic Power GenerationA,10.1115/1.4044555,"Technological advancement is specifically identified by the usage of energy. The energy requirement is increasing because of the exponential population rise, increased industrial activities, and subsequent accelerated economic activities in both urban and suburban areas. The traditional power sources are becoming unsustainable as energy demand and induction of new sources for augmenting the energy need are lopsided. Additionally, traditional energy sources cause pollution, natural hazards, and more importantly, it is uneconomical. Due to these reasons, it becomes compelling to look for alternative sources of energy. Hydropower generation is reliable, non-polluting to a large extent, and a cheaper source of electrical energy. However, the conventional large hydropower projects, especially with reservoir components, are being opposed worldwide for social, environmental, economic, and safety reasons. Therefore, electricity production from free-flowing water may present a viable choice. Here, the free-flowing river water current is used to drive vertical-axis turbines preferably, Savonius rotors which are ideally built for wind energy conversion systems (WECS). The rotor is directly coupled to electric generators, and the scheme presents a typical variable voltage and variable frequency system similar to that of WECS except that the working force is due to water rather than wind. The use of the Savonius rotor for hydrokinetic power generation is uncommon; however, increased exploitation of this methodology may help in augmenting future energy need. This paper reviews the Savonius rotor and its possible application for hydrokinetic power generation; the merits and demerits of such schemes are clearly outlined.",JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME,2020,JAN J,"McClenachan, L; Scyphers, S; Grabowski, JH","Views from the dock: Warming waters, adaptation, and the future of Maine's lobster fishery",10.1007/s13280-019-01156-3,"The ability of resource-dependent communities to adapt to climate change depends in part on their perceptions and prioritization of specific climate-related threats. In the Maine lobster fishery, which is highly vulnerable to warming water associated with climate change, we found a strong majority (84%) of fishers viewed warming water as a threat, but rank its impacts lower than other drivers of change (e.g., pollution). Two-thirds believed they will be personally affected by warming waters, but only half had plans to adapt. Those with adaptation plans demonstrated fundamentally different views of human agency in this system, observing greater anthropogenic threats, but also a greater ability to control the fishery through their own actions on the water and fisheries management processes. Lack of adaptation planning was linked to the view that warming waters result from natural cycles, and the expectation that technological advancements will help buffer the industry from warming waters.",AMBIO,2020,JAN J,"Korhonen, J; Koskivaara, A; Toppinen, A",Riding a Trojan horse? Future pathways of the fiber-based packaging industry in the bioeconomy,10.1016/j.forpol.2018.08.010,"The successful implementation of national bioeconomy strategies requires that various actor groups accept the concept and have similar visions for its future development. We use the fiber-based packaging sector to assess the understanding and perception concerning the definition of bioeconomy and its' future pathways. This is accomplished through a qualitative analysis of 14 thematic interviews conducted with actor network members in Finland. Regarding the concept of bioeconomy, their opinions differ broadly, ranging from seeing the concept as a Trojan horse, i.e. a new term for driving old political agendas, to a totally new way of organizing a sustainable future. We identified two alternative bioeconomy visions, of which the socio-ecological one is highlighted slightly more frequently, embedding the implementation of a circular economy and aiming at decoupling resource use from the economic benefits. Additionally, few interviewees considered the technological development pathway with increased resource efficiency to be a more likely outcome for the fiber-based packaging business. However, the simultaneous development of these two paths is envisaged most frequently, indicating that both social and technological innovations are mutually needed to create more sustainable packaging production and consumption patterns. We identified three characteristics of sustainable packaging: compatibility with the circular production-consumption system, satisfying heterogeneous consumer needs, and supporting sustainable lifestyles by extended material life cycles.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2020,JAN J,"Gibbons, LV; Pearthree, G; Cloutier, SA; Ehlenz, MM","The development, application, and refinement of a Regenerative Development Evaluation Tool and indicators",10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105698,"Ecological indicators are foundational for holistic guidance toward thriving living systems, yet existing indicators are incomplete, fragmented, and do not fully integrate living systems principles. We suggest that thriving living systems (i.e., social-ecological or complex adaptive systems) can and should be the aim of sustainability and sustainable development. Thriving living systems, also called regenerative living systems, are those in which complexity, diversity, capacity to support all life, and the potential to change to provide future options increases. Holistic ecological and sustainability indicators and evaluation tools are needed. The emerging field of regenerative development (RD) offers theoretical and practical guidance for such indicators and tools. We integrate complex adaptive systems science, ecology, sustainability, and regenerative development to construct and pilot the first iteration of a holistic sustainable development evaluation tool-the Regenerative Development Evaluation Tool-in two river restoration projects. The tool identifies RD Principles and Core Characteristics of Regenerative Living Systems that provide general guidance for thinking and decision-making. From these general indicators, place-based quantitative and qualitative indicators are constructed through a cocreative community process. Our case studies reveal factors correlated with degrees of engagement with RD and potential place-based indicators for each project. We recommend continuing the development and expansion of the RD Evaluation Tool, adding RD indicators and strategies. We also recommend developing an RD process tool that can work explicitly across scales, integrating the neighborhood, city, landscape, and regional scales since they are pivotal for sustainability efforts and manifesting thriving living systems. Finally, we recommended integrated research and practice to test and adapt RD tools and processes.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2020,JAN J,"Xiong, QL; Xiao, Y; Halmy, MWA; Pan, KW; Dakhil, MA; Zhang, L; Li, T; Liang, PH",A blessing for the Yangtze River: optimization of Chinese regional policy planning for water yield and purification in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area,10.1007/s11356-019-07178-4,"Land use/land cover (LULC) changes impact the structure and functioning of ecosystems, which consequently influences the provisioning of a range of ecosystem services (ES). There is a growing consensus regarding the merit of integrating the evaluation of ES into regional policy planning. The Yangtze River is the world's third longest and supports more than 6% of its population. However, assessing the potential impacts of different resource management policies upon ES is complicated in the Yangtze basin. To remedy this, here we designed a scenario analysis-based approach that used remotely sensed data and GIS (geographic information system) to analyze the relationships between ES (i.e., water flow regulation, water purification) and policies envisioned to improve human welfare in the Chongqing municipality, in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) in the Yangtze basin. This watershed area has high population density and suffers from severe flood hazard and critical pollution issues. The GEOMOD modeling technique was used to predict LULC changes according to policy planning alternatives, producing scenarios by 2050 for the TGRA watershed. The GIS-based ES model (InVEST model) was developed as a tool to inform the decision-making process with the intention of aligning conservation measures with economic development. We examine policy effectiveness by comparing three scenarios for 2050: scenario-1 maintains the current policy, with no considerations of ES; scenario-2 integrates ES into policy planning; and scenario-3 integrates ES into policy planning considering the needs of local people. Our scenario-based LULC change analysis showed that the land with large increases in water flow regulation (i.e., values <=-3000 x 10(3) m(3) km(-2)) were scattered over the entire study area, while phosphorus reduction (i.e., values <= -30 kg km(-2)) were located mainly along rivers in all scenarios. Scenario-2 and scenario-3 are based on policies aiming at enhancing ES provisioning; for these, the projected ecological risks of water pollution are significantly reduced (39.97% and 37.58%, respectively). Total net changes of the investigated ES under scenario-2 or scenario-3 were almost double that occurring under scenario-1. Although scenario-2 and scenario-3 showed a near-equal total net change, water purification under scenario-2 was the greatest relative to forest expansion. However, scenario-3 offered the best future environmental development scenario, as it accounted for the demand and supply characteristics of water yield and purification in different regions. The water purification service made the greatest contribution to positive and negative effects (26%-47% and -7%, respectively) on ES provisioning. Linking water purification service to policy planning would effectively improve the overall ES. These scenario forecasting results will help the Three Gorges Dam to gain more ecological benefits via improvements to water flow regulation and the effective alleviation of degraded water quality in heavily populated regions in the Yangtze basin.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH,2020,MAR J,"Geng, QL; Ren, QF; Yan, HM; Li, LH; Zhao, XI; Mu, XM; Wu, P; Yu, Q",Target areas for harmonizing the Grain for Green Programme in Chinas Loess Plateau,10.1002/ldr.3451,"Widespread land degradation has stimulated the implementation of a large-scale ecological restoration programme in China's Loess Plateau-the Grain-for-Green Programme (GFGP). This programme has substantially increased vegetation cover and served to control soil erosion, but threatened regional food supply due to widespread cropland conversion. Consequently, a strategy balancing green and grain land uses is required. Here, we establish a dominance index of ecosystem services by quantifying the economic value of four key ecosystem services (net primary productivity, soil conservation, water yield, and food production), by combining spatially explicit datasets and census data. Using the dominance index, we identify the optimal areas to target for GFGP in the Loess Plateau. The identified areas (target areas) were the transition zone from low to high value of ecosystem services (ESV). These areas exhibited low grain productivity in addition to having the highest potential for soil conservation. Compared with other regions of the Loess Plateau, the loss of grain production due to cropland conversion in these target areas could decrease by 42%, whereas ESV could increase by 33%. Therefore, despite the fact that over the past 15 years (2000-2014) in these target areas more cropland was converted into ecological use (i.e. forest/grassland), there is still a need to strengthen ecological restoration in this region in the future. This study proposed a strategy for balancing green and grain from a spatial perspective, which could potentially solve land degradation issues and the tradeoff between ecosystem services in a more beneficial and targeted way.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2020,feb 15 J,"Fischer, C; Damm, C; Foeckler, F; Gelhaus, M; Gerstner, L; Harris, RMB; Hoffmann, TG; Lwanowski, J; Kasperidus, H; Mehl, D; Podschun, SA; Rumm, A; Stammel, B; Scholz, M",The Habitat Provision Index for Assessing Floodplain Biodiversity and Restoration Potential as an Ecosystem Service - Method and Application,10.3389/fevo.2019.00483,"River floodplains provide a large number of ecosystem services (ESSs) for human societies. However, human manipulations of rivers and floodplains have led to the loss of many ESSs, including the provision of habitats for typical floodplain flora and fauna. To quantify such losses, we present a new index, which incorporates the functional and structural quality of riverine and alluvial habitats and their communities. The assessment is based on publicly available biotic and abiotic data at a local scale (e.g., habitat type mapping, species data). The new evaluation method consists of three steps: First, an evaluation at habitat type level is done by using well-established assessment criteria (e.g., groundwater dependence, legal protection status, regenerability). Secondly, the individual habitats are assessed based on specific quality characteristics (e.g., presence of protected birds or backwater influence). Finally, these values are aggregated within 1 -km floodplain compartments weighted by their spatial expansion. The index uses a five-step value to describe the importance of a floodplain area for typical species and habitats from very high (=5) to very low (=1). The aim of this habitat provision index is to provide a tool for planners and decision makers to compare and analyze the effects of past or future measures. The methodical approach is tested for two rivers: the Nahe and the Rhine. The performance of the index is analyzed by comparing the current conditions (status quo) against two different scenarios. The index is validated and shown to be sensitive to different water management scenarios (river restoration and technical polder scenario for flood risk enhancement), with both scenarios showing an improvement in the habitat provision value.",FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,2019,dic 20 J,"Yuan, YJ; Chen, DX; Wu, SH; Mo, LJ; Tong, GJ; Yan, DH",Urban sprawl decreases the value of ecosystem services and intensifies the supply scarcity of ecosystem services in China,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134170,"Land use and land cover changes, particularly land take by urbanization, can degrade ecosystems and their capacity to provide humans with numerous benefits, namely, ecosystem services (ES). Many studies on the relationship between urbanization and the supply and demand of ES have been conducted. However, studies on the process and trend of the conflict between ES supply and demand, as well as the spatial differences, are lacking. Developing countries around the world are experiencing rapid urbanization. The aim of this study was to summarize the relationship between urbanization and the supply and demand of ES in China. China has experienced rapid urbanization since the reform and opening up, and the urban population reached 56.10% in 2015. Urban sprawl was twice that of population expansion, and led to a loss in value of ES. We calculated the loss in value of the five ES (food production, water conservation, climate regulation, habitat support and cultural service) due to the increase in construction area by means of spatial analysis. The total loss was US $110.95 billion in China from 1985 to 2015. This result indicated that the increases in construction land area had a negative impact on ES. At the same time, there was a conflict between the scarcity index of ES and their loss in value. The leading cause of this conflict was that economic development was highly dependent on the area of urban construction land. The results suggested that we should adopt intensive and compact strategic development models, quantify the value of ES, focus on the conflict between the loss in value and ES supply, and try our best to reduce the decline in ES in the future. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,dic 20 J,"Logie, CH; Okumu, M; Mwima, S; Hakiza, R; Irungi, KP; Kyambadde, P; Kironde, E; Narasimhan, M","Social ecological factors associated with experiencing violence among urban refugee and displaced adolescent girls and young women in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda: a cross-sectional study",10.1186/s13031-019-0242-9,"Background Research on violence targeting urban forcibly displaced adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) is limited, particularly regarding polyvictimization (exposure to multiple forms of violence). Yet there is a global trend of refugee urbanization, and urban AGYW are at the nexus of violence disparities among adolescents, forcibly displaced persons, and slum dwellers. This study explored factors associated with young adulthood violence (> 16 years) (YAV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among forcibly displaced AGYW in Kampala, Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey with forcibly displaced AGYW aged 16-24 from five informal settlement (slum) communities across Kampala (Kabalagala, Rubaga, Kansanga, Katwe, Nsambya) using peer network sampling. We assessed YAV (experienced at age 16 or above) (sexual, physical, emotional violence) and recent (past 12-month) IPV (physical, sexual, control violence). We conducted descriptive statistics, followed by multinomial logistic regression analyses to explore social ecological factors (e.g., intrapersonal: depression; interpersonal: sexual relationship power, community: food insecurity) associated with experiencing YAV and YAV polyvictimization, and IPV and IPV polyvictimization. Results Over half of participants (n = 333; mean age = 19.31; SD = 2.56, range = 16-24) reported YAV (n = 179; 53.7%) and 9.3% (n = 41) reported YAV polyvictimization. Most participants that were in an intimate relationship in the last 12 months (n = 200; 85.8%) reported IPV, among these, 45.5% reported one form of IPV and 54.5% reported IPV polyvictimization. In adjusted analyses, experiencing any YAV was significantly associated with: adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) stigma; sexual relationship power; mobile app usage; depressive symptoms; childhood abuse; and childhood polyvictimization. In adjusted analyses YAV polyvictimization was associated with: depressive symptoms; childhood polyvictimization; sexual relationship power; and food insecurity. Recent IPV polyvictimization in adjusted analyses was associated with owning/using a mobile phone and depressive symptoms. Participants with higher sexual relationship power had lower odds of recent IPV polyvictimization. Conclusion Findings suggest that YAV and IPV polyvictimization require urgent attention among forcibly displaced AGYW in Kampala. Multi-level strategies are required to address intrapersonal e.g. (depression), interpersonal (e.g. childhood abuse, sexual relationship power) and community (e.g. adolescent SRH stigma, food insecurity) factors associated with experiencing violence. Future research can tailor approaches to advance health, agency and human rights among urban forcibly displaced AGYW.",CONFLICT AND HEALTH,2019,dic 17 J,"Granco, G; Stamm, JLH; Bergtold, JS; Daniels, MD; Sanderson, MR; Sheshukov, AY; Mather, ME; Caldas, MM; Ramsey, SM; Lehrter, RJ; Haukos, DA; Gao, JG; Chatterjee, S; Nifong, JC; Aistrup, JA","Evaluating environmental change and behavioral decision-making for sustainability policy using an agent-based model: A case study for the Smoky Hill River Watershed, Kansas",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133769,"Sustainability has been at the forefront of the environmental research agenda of the integrated anthroposphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere since the last century and will continue to be critically important for future environmental science. However, linking humans and the environment through effective policy remains a major challenge for sustainability research and practice. Here we address this gap using an agent-based model (ABM) for a coupled natural and human systems in the Smoky Hill River Watershed (SHRW), Kansas, USA. For this freshwater-dependent agricultural watershed with a highly variable flow regime influenced by human induced land-use and climate change, we tested the support for an environmental policy designed to conserve and protect fish biodiversity in the SHRW. We develop a proof of concept interdisciplinary ABM that integrates field data on hydrology, ecology (fish richness), social-psychology (value-belief-norm) and economics, to simulate human agents' decisions to support environmental policy. The mechanism to link human behaviors to environmental changes is the social-psychological sequence identified by the value-belief-norm framework and is informed by hydrological and fish ecology models. Our results indicate that (1) cultural factors influence the decision to support the policy; (2) a mechanism modifying social-psychological factors can influence the decision-making process; (3) there is resistance to environmental policy in the SHRW, even under potentially extreme climate conditions; and (4) the best opportunities for policy acceptance were found immediately after extreme environmental events. The modeling approach presented herein explicitly links biophysical and social science has broad generality for sustainability problems. (c) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,dic 10 J,"Huot, Y; Brown, CA; Potvin, G; Antoniades, D; Baulch, HM; Beisner, BE; Belanger, S; Brazeau, S; Cabana, H; Cardille, JA; del Giorgio, PA; Gregory-Eaves, I; Fortink, MJ; Lang, AS; Laurion, I; Maranger, R; Prairie, YT; Rusak, JA; Segura, PA; Siron, R; Smol, JP; Vinebrooke, RD; Walsh, DA",The NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network: A national assessment of lake health providing science for water management in a changing climate,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133668,"The distribution and quality of water resources vary dramatically across Canada, and human impacts such as land-use and climate changes are exacerbating uncertainties in water supply and security. At the national level, Canada has no enforceable standards for sate drinking water and no comprehensive water-monitoring program to provide detailed, timely reporting on the state of water resources. To provide Canada's first national assessment of lake health, the NSERC Canadian Lake Pulse Network was launched in 2016 as an academic-government research partnership. LakePulse uses traditional approaches for limnological monitoring as well as state-of-the-art methods in the fields of genornics, emerging contaminants, greenhouse gases, invasive pathogens, paleolimnology, spatial modelling, statistical analysis, and remote sensing. A coordinated sampling program of about 680 lakes together with historical archives and a geomatics analysis of over 80,000 lake watersheds are used to examine the extent to which lakes are being altered now and in the future, and how this impacts aquatic ecosystem services of societal importance. Herein we review the network context, objectives and methods. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,dic 10 J,"Kokkoris, IP; Bekri, ES; Skuras, D; Vlami, V; Zogaris, S; Maroulis, G; Dimopoulos, D; Dimopoulos, P",Integrating MAES implementation into protected area management under climate change: A fine-scale application in Greece,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.336,"Increasing anthropogenic pressures often jeopardize ecosystem integrity and policy-relevant conservation management in protected areas. To harmonize nature conservation with human well-being, EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 suggests Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) as the key concept for environmental planning and management in EU Member States. Applying this procedure is challenging due to its data-demanding and multidisciplinary nature, resulting in the ecoystem services (ES) approach being scarcely used in protected areas management. Increased data availability under EU biodiversity-related inventories and monitoring projects, as well as theoretical and empirical research advances developed during the last decade, should be put into practice to guide Member States towards local management frameworks and scenario building under the ongoing changes in the EU socio-economic environment. This study aims at filling this gap by embodying into the MAES operational framework a scenario-based approach and demonstrates this in a challenging case study of a Natura 2000 site, Lake Stymfalia, in Greece. The present management strategy, an ecological-friendly management practice, a water-efficient management practice and a non-environmentally friendly option (e.g. ecosystem destruction) are examined for current and future water demand under current and future climatic scenarios. The proposed methodological framework for ES operationalization is based on the available data (derived by EU Directives and/or modelling), expert judgment and stakeholder involvement. Therefore, this work applies and tests the importance of the MAES approach as a management and coordination platform. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,dic 10 J,"Jiang, YQ; Huang, GL; Fisher, B","Air quality, human behavior and urban park visit: A case study in Beijing",10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118000,"Parks provide critical ecosystem services to urban residents. Many of these services can only be realized when people visit parks. Particulate matter exposure poses negative health impacts and may turn the health benefits brought by park visits into health risks. This tradeoff relationship is heavily moderated by how individuals behave under varying ambient air quality conditions. While there is a growing evidence base regarding the benefits brought by urban parks, little is known about how people adjust their park visitation to air pollution. Here we use two approaches to understand if air quality affects urban park visits in Beijing: a stated preference survey on social media and a year-long faceto-face survey in a neighborhood park. Quantile regression and ANOVA analysis were used. We found particulate pollution has a negative impact on the maximum number of visits a park may receive. A significant drop occurred when the pollution level changed from moderate to heavy pollution. Therefore, the ecosystem services provided by parks are not fully realized due to the reduced number of visits caused by air pollution. Second, regardless of how poor air quality is, a proportion of people (41-64%) put themselves at exposure risk to enjoy the benefits brought by parks. Third, the inconsistency between behavior and intention signals people are less protected from the potential adverse health impacts of poor air quality than they think. Future study should look into what factors may cause the divergence between people's intentions and behaviors. Understandings on this issue will contribute to design better guidance and incentives to reduce the adverse health cost of air pollution exposure from park visitation. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,dic 10 J,"Lomba, A; Moreira, F; Klimek, S; Jongman, RHG; Sullivan, C; Moran, J; Poux, X; Honrado, JP; Pinto-Correia, T; Plieninger, T; McCracken, DI",Back to the future: rethinking socioecological systems underlying high nature value farmlands,10.1002/fee.2116,"Farmlands are currently among the dominant uses of the land. When managed under low-input farming systems, farmlands are associated with diverse cultural and natural heritages around the world. Known in Europe as high nature value (HNV) farmlands, these agricultural landscapes and their associated farming systems evolved as tightly coupled socioecological systems, and are essential to biodiversity conservation and the delivery of ecosystem services to society. However, HNV farmlands are vulnerable to socioeconomic changes that lead to either agricultural intensification or land abandonment. We present a range of plausible future scenarios for HNV farmlands, and discuss the related management options and expected socioecological outcomes for each scenario. We then provide recommendations for policy, practice, and research on how to best ensure the socioecological viability of HNV farming systems in the future.",FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT,2020,FEB J,"Gonzalez-Redin, J; Polhill, JG; Dawson, TP; Hill, R; Gordon, IJ",Exploring sustainable scenarios in debt-based social-ecological systems: The case for palm oil production in Indonesia,10.1007/s13280-019-01286-8,"A debt-based economy requires the accumulation of more and more debt to finance economic growth, while future economic growth is needed to repay the debt, and so the cycle continues. Despite global debt reaching unprecedented levels, little research has been done to understand the impacts of debt dynamics on environmental sustainability. Here, we explore the environmental impacts of the debt-growth cycle in Indonesia, the world's largest debt-based producer of palm oil. Our empirical Agent-Based Model analyses the future effects (2018-2050) of power (im)balance scenarios between debt-driven economic forces (i.e. banks, firms), and conservation forces, on two ecosystem services (food production, climate regulation) and biodiversity. The model shows the trade-offs and synergies among these indicators for Business As Usual as compared to alternative scenarios. Results show that debt-driven economic forces can partially support environmental conservation, provided the state's role in protecting the environment is reinforced. Our analysis provides a lesson for developing countries that are highly dependent on debt-based production systems: sustainable development pathways can be achievable in the short and medium terms; however, reaching long-term sustainability requires reduced dependency on external financial powers, as well as further government intervention to protect the environment from the rough edges of the market economy.",AMBIO,2020,SEP J,"Pham, DDT; Paille, P",Green recruitment and selection: an insight into green patterns,10.1108/IJM-05-2018-0155,"Purpose Although the role of green recruitment and selection (GRS) has been widely recognised as an important dimension of green human resource management, no study has ever mapped the terrain of GRS and reviewed the literature. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap while exploring the following questions: How do organisations select candidates in line with their pro-environmental stance? What impact do a company's corporate environmental sustainability (CES) practices have on attracting pro-environmental job seekers? Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a systematic review of 22 peer-reviewed articles published during the period 2008-2017. The articles were included in the review if they addressed at least one of the two research questions. Findings Some companies choose to apply green criteria when selecting candidates while others do not. In any case, communicating a company's environmental values and orientation is worth practicing during GRS. Previous studies have identified four mediators (anticipated pride, perceived value fit, expectation of favourable treatment, perceived organisational green reputation/prestige) that intervene between signals of a company's CES and a job seeker's perceptions of organisational attractiveness. However, the strength of this effect is influenced by five moderators (pro-environmental attitude, socio-environmental consciousness, desire to have a significant impact through one's work, environmental-related standard registration, job seeker's expertise). Originality/value This paper provides the first systematic review of GRS and thus paves the way for future research.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANPOWER,2020,mayo 21 J,"Gesualdo, GC; Oliveira, PT; Rodrigues, DBB; Gupta, HV",Assessing water security in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region under projected climate change,10.5194/hess-23-4955-2019,"Climate change affects the global water cycle and has the potential to alter water availability for food-energy-water production, and for ecosystems services, on regional and local scales. An understanding of these effects is crucial for assessing future water availability, and for the development of sustainable management plans. Here, we investigate the influence of anticipated climate change on water security in the Jaguari Basin, which is the main source of freshwater for 9 million people in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region (SPMR). First, we calibrate and evaluate a hydrological model using daily observed data, obtaining satisfactory coefficient of determination and Kling-Gupta efficiency values for both periods. To represent possible climate change scenarios up to 2095, we consider two International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and use an ensemble of future projections generated by 17 general circulation models (GCMs). These data were used to drive the hydrological model to generate projected scenarios of streamflow. We then used indicators of water scarcity and vulnerability to carry out a quantitative analysis of provision probability. Our results indicate that streamflow can be expected to exhibit increased interannual variability, significant increases in flow rate between January and March, and a 2-month extension of the hydrological dry season (currently June to September) until November. The latter includes a more than a 35% reduction in streamflow during September through November (with a > 50% reduction in October). Our findings indicate an increased risk of floods and droughts accompanied by an expansion of the basin critical period, and our analysis of the water security indices identifies October and November as the most vulnerable months. Overall, our analysis exposes the fragility of water security in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region, and provides valuable technical and scientific information that can be used to guide regional plans and strategies to cope with potential future water scarcity.",HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES,2019,dic 4 J,"do Rosario, IT; Rebelo, R; Caser, U; Vasconcelos, L; Santos-Reis, M",Valuation of ecosystem services by stakeholders operating at different levels: insights from the Portuguese cultural montado landscape,10.1007/s10113-019-01527-2,"Montado is a savannah-like cultural landscape characteristic of the western Iberian Peninsula that is of high ecological and socio-economic value. Montado sites provide a multitude of services including materials (mostly valuable cork), food for free-ranging livestock, agricultural products, game, and tourism. Several stakeholders operate at various levels in these systems, all of whom must be involved in assessments of the value of these ecosystem services. We used a series of participatory workshops at local and regional levels to assess the ecosystem services most valued by these stakeholders. We also evaluated their awareness of the threats to montado and their vision for its future provision of ecosystem services. As expected, among the 12 categories of ecosystem services we assessed, stakeholders valued materials most, confirming the importance of cork in this landscape. However, regulating services were also highly valued, revealing strong awareness among stakeholders about montado ecology. Cultural services were more highly valued at the local level, demonstrating that local stakeholders have a strong attachment to their farms. All stakeholders were particularly aware of the threat of climate change, but regional stakeholders had a more negative perception for the future. The greater optimism of local stakeholders may be due to their greater realism and/or emotional connections to their farms. Our findings demonstrate that stakeholders are receptive to climate mitigation measures, but corresponding policy should consider local differences in management and land-use patterns.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2019,DEC J,"Gastaldo, NG; Rediske, G; Rigo, PD; Rosa, CB; Michels, L; Siluk, JCM",What is the Profile of the Investor in Household Solar Photovoltaic Energy Systems?,10.3390/en12234451,"The implementation of energy-efficient systems in homes is of interest to many people, especially regarding the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. Solar PV generation is essential worldwide because it is a significant source of renewable energy, wherein electricity can be stored for future use, and a cost-effective path for residential consumers. In contrast, considering the number of people who invest in PV systems versus those who do not, adherence is significantly unequal throughout society. Accordingly, predominant factors exist that increase the likelihood of residential PV solar power generation system adoption, which are seen as opportunities to increase energy efficiency. Furthermore, the literature is still insufficient regarding the exploration of variables that determine decisions around the purchase of green power generation systems. From this perspective, the current research aims to identify the socio-psychological profile of photovoltaic energy investors by applying four questionnaires, namely, psychological values, the human-nature relationship, motivation analyses, and household characteristics. The research results define the profile and motivations of green energy investors. The attitudes of potential investors are also predicted, and this research contributes to the development of the photovoltaic energy industry production chain by providing relevant information for better photovoltaic policy design and more targeted marketing strategies for companies.",ENERGIES,2019,DEC J,"Willibald, F; van Strien, MJ; Blanco, V; Gret-Regamey, A",Predicting outdoor recreation demand on a national scale - The case of Switzerland,10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102111,"Residents of industrialized countries place increasingly more value on outdoor recreation. For many alpine and remote municipalities, revenues from tourism and recreation belong to the most important sources of income. At the same time, these activities generate large carbon footprints through traffic. In order to understand what drives the demand for outdoor recreation, we used a set of Generalized Linear Models to explain how landscape properties and accessibility are related to revealed outdoor recreation demand (i.e. number of day trips received by Swiss municipalities), and which variables are most important to predict demand for outdoor recreation day trips on a national scale. While many authors have demonstrated that accessibility is a crucial variable to explain demand for outdoor recreation, our results show that population density and the number of land-use/-cover classes per municipality are among the main drivers of demand for outdoor recreation. This calls for a careful spatial planning, including the consideration of the increased demand for recreation generated by resident population growth. Furthermore, securing an attractive landscape requires policies supporting diverse land management practices. Ultimately, our results can help planners in their decision-making, including those to support a more sustainable mobility in the future.",APPLIED GEOGRAPHY,2019,DEC J,"Singh, PK; Papageorgiou, K; Chudasama, H; Papageorgiou, EI",Evaluating the Effectiveness of Climate Change Adaptations in the World's Largest Mangrove Ecosystem,10.3390/su11236655,"The Sundarbans is the world's largest coastal river delta and the largest uninterrupted mangrove ecosystem. A complex socio-ecological setting, coupled with disproportionately high climate-change exposure and severe ecological and social vulnerabilities, has turned it into a climate hotspot requiring well-designed adaptation interventions. We have used the fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM)-based approach to elicit and integrate stakeholders' perceptions regarding current climate forcing, consequent impacts, and efficacy of the existing adaptation measures. We have also undertaken climate modelling to ascertain long-term future trends of climate forcing. FCM-based simulations reveal that while existing adaptation practices provide resilience to an extent, they are grossly inadequate in the context of providing future resilience. Even well-planned adaptations may not be entirely transformative in such a fragile ecosystem. It was through FCM-based simulations that we realised that a coastal river delta in a developing nation merits special attention for climate-resilient adaptation planning and execution. Measures that are likely to enhance adaptive capabilities of the local communities include those involving gender-responsive and adaptive governance, human resource capacity building, commitments of global communities for adaptation financing, education and awareness programmes, and embedding indigenous and local knowledge into decision making.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,DEC J,"Wang, XY; Peng, SZ; Ling, HB; Xu, HL; Ma, TT",Do Ecosystem Service Value Increase and Environmental Quality Improve due to Large-Scale Ecological Water Conveyance in an Arid Region of China?,10.3390/su11236586,"With the rapid development of the economy and the intensification of human activities, ecological systems have been degraded, especially in arid areas. The lower reaches of the Tarim River represent a typical arid area in China. Since 2000, the Chinese government has been heavily investing in the protection and restoration of the natural ecological environment of the lower reaches of the Tarim River. In this study, we aimed to resolve two key scientific issues: (1) reveal the changing characteristics of land-use in the region and identify the changes in ecosystem service value caused by these land-use changes and (2) evaluate whether the environmental quality has improved or worsened. The objective of this study is to verify whether the ecological water conveyance project promotes an increase in the ecosystem service value, with an improvement in the ecological environment, to thereby provide references for the evaluated effects of ecological water conveyance for the management of water resources. In this way, economic development can support environmental protection. Thus, the economy can be sustainably developed. Hence, based on the remote sensing data of land-use in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2016, with the value coefficients proposed by Constanza in 1997 and changing characteristics in the land-use, the ecological service value, and environmental conditions from 1990 to 2016 were analysed. According to our results, from 1990 to 2016, the ecosystem service value has increased substantially, indicating that the benefits of ecological water conveyance were significant. The environmental condition index increased by 21.14%, showing that the ecological environment has improved. However, the environmental quality remained low. In the future, we should formulate plans for reasonable land-use that control the replacement of woodlands and grasslands with farmlands and construction. The results of this study provide a scientific basis and practical guide for restoring inland river ecosystems in arid regions.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,DEC J,"Cockburn, J; Cundill, G; Shackleton, S; Rouget, M; Zwinkels, M; Cornelius, S; Metcalfe, L; van den Broeck, D","Collaborative stewardship in multifunctional landscapes: toward relational, pluralistic approaches",10.5751/ES-11085-240432,"Landscape stewardship offers a means to put social-ecological approaches to stewardship into practice. The growing interest in landscape stewardship has led to a focus on multistakeholder collaboration. Although there is a significant body of literature on collaborative management and governance of natural resources, the particular challenges posed by multifunctional landscapes, in which there are often contested interests, require closer attention. We present a case study from South Africa to investigate how collaborative stewardship can be fostered in contested multifunctional landscapes. We conducted this research through an engaged transdisciplinary research partnership in which we integrated social-ecological practitioner and academic knowledge to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges of fostering collaboration. We identified five overarching factors that influence collaboration: contextual, institutional, social-relational, individual, and political-historical. Collaborative stewardship approaches focused on the development of formal governance institutions appear to be most successful if enabling individual and social-relational conditions are in place. Our case study, characterized by high social diversity, inequity, and contestation, suggests that consensus-driven approaches to collaboration are unlikely to result in equitable and sustainable landscape stewardship in such contexts. We therefore suggest an approach that focuses on enhancing individual and social-relational enablers. Moreover, we propose a bottom-up patchwork approach to collaborative stewardship premised on the notion of pluralism. This would focus on building new interpersonal relationships and collaborative capacity through small collective actions. Taking a relational, pluralistic approach to fostering collaborative stewardship is particularly important in contested, socially heterogeneous landscapes. Drawing on our study and the literature, we propose guiding principles for implementing relational, pluralistic approaches to collaborative stewardship and suggest future research directions for supporting such approaches.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2019,DEC J,"Bisbal, GA; Jones, CE",Responses of Native American cultural heritage to changes in environmental setting,10.1177/1177180119847726,"Cultural expressions of American Indian and Alaska Natives reflect the relationship between American Indian and Alaska Natives and the plant and animal species present in an area. Different forces that modify that relationship and influence those expressions can potentially shape American Indian and Alaska Natives cultural heritage and even compromise their cultural identity. Herein, we propose seven modalities to illustrate how American Indian and Alaska Natives cultural expressions may respond to changes in environmental settings that alter the relationship between plant and animal assemblages, and Native peoples. Each modality provides insight into the vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity of American Indian and Alaska Natives cultural expressions to changes in environmental settings. Future research may delve deeper into these modalities and help identify appropriate methods for managing culturally important resources. More culturally sensitive management approaches may strengthen conservation practices and safeguard the cultural legacy of indigenous groups.",ALTERNATIVE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,2019,DEC J,"Skourtos, M; Damigos, D; Kontogianni, A; Tourkolias, C; Hunt, A",Embedding Preference Uncertainty for Environmental Amenities in Climate Change Economic Assessments: A Random Step Forward,10.3390/economies7040107,"While there is a considerable debate regarding the choice of proper discount rates for assessing climate change projects and policies, only a tiny body of literature emphasizes what to discount. Usually, climate change economic assessments rely on tools and methods that employ strong simplifications, assuming, among others, given and fixed preferences about the values of man-made and environmental goods. Aiming to fill a gap in the literature, this paper leaves aside the issue of discounting and focuses on the nature and impact of preference uncertainty on the economic estimates of future climate change damages on ecosystem non-market goods and services. To this end, a general random walk-based stochastic model is proposed, combining a number of parameters, e.g., the growth of income, depletion of environmental assets, the elasticity of income and demand, and the change in preferences towards the environment. The illustrative application of the model shows that the value of environmental losses is significantly affected by the change in preferences. By doing so, the model allows the analyst to visualize future paths of preference evolutions and to bring future values of damaged environmental assets realistically to the fore. If these elements are neglected when estimating climate change-related future damages to environmental goods and services, the results may be too narrow from a policy perspective.",ECONOMIES,2019,DEC J,"Lapniewska, Z",Cooperatives governing energy infrastructure: A case study of Berlin's grid,10.1016/j.jcom.2019.100094,"At present, as energy security has become one of the highest priorities discussed globally, swift social, ecological and economic changes in the energy market are taking place. In many countries, local cooperatives have been established that intend, among other goals, to purchase power grids and increase renewable energy production. This paper presents the outcomes of a research project devoted to one specific case - BurgerEnergie Berlin (BEB). This cooperative, which is bidding for a twenty-year concession to the Berlin power grid (the biggest in Germany), intends to modernise it after the purchase in order to change it into a smart grid and enable a number of local renewable sources to connect to it. A key success factors model for this cooperative - based on field studies and the use of inductive reasoning - is the original contribution to existing research on energy cooperatives. The presented qualitative analysis, taking into account the details of the process of bidding for the concession, can be an inspiration to cooperative researchers and practitioners and a contribution to a future discussion on alternative solutions to the issues of public utilities ownership and their management.",JOURNAL OF CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT,2019,DEC J,"Gocen, G","The Journey of Woman Image with Faith From Past to Present:Freud, Jung and Fromm's Projections Regarding Woman",10.18505/cuid.547743,"The aim of this article is to reveal with an overall approach, how the psycho-social background, starting from woman image in first periods and reach modern day, is embraced by outstanding theorists of modern psychology, and also how these collected works are reflected in their definitions of woman. If it is considered that woman has been discussed with reflections against and not from primary sources throughout history, it can be seen that the most essential roots of woman narrations can be found in oral culture and the parts of written texts are made over symbol, metaphor, proposition and story. However myths (stories) that take place in oral and partly written culture about primitive man, are sacred tales, they will also present data regarding human image. Therefore with a limited effort of human being to understand the infinite, it can be understood what human being think, feel and how they interpret rather than gods/goddesses ontology. From this point of view, this article that consists of two parts, first of all will mention especially about perception of Goddess in those reflected to image of God, maintaining its efficiency in conscious or unconscious as a system of symbols intrinsic to human nature and cultural code background and then the woman image will be roughly discussed with a descriptive style over the world of mythology, psychology and faith. In the second part, it will be examined in detail how all the written and oral information about understanding woman by modern anthropologists are interpreted with the perspective of modern psychology specific to theorists such as Freud, Jung and Fromm. Eventually, it will be emphasized that past and future are integrated with information, experience and feelings with an active relationship; perception and approach of woman have stayed up to date in time continually; mythology, psychology and religion are important factors within this matter.",CUMHURIYET ILAHIYAT DERGISI-CUMHURIYET THEOLOGY JOURNAL,2019,DEC J,"Kokkinos, K; Lakioti, E; Samaras, P; Karayannis, V",Evaluation of public perception on key sustainability indicators for drinking water quality by fuzzy logic methodologies,10.5004/dwt.2019.24642,"Social acceptance of water quality in urban areas depends on the perception and awareness of the stakeholders and the wider public. Moreover, the significance of social trust in stakeholders appears to be an influential factor affecting social support of water quality. However, efforts on understanding, communicating and engaging with the public and the stakeholder community still remain under examination. Urban water resources management problems are often associated with ecological, political, social and economic development and have caused critical concern to both national and local competent authorities in almost every country for many years. When focusing on water quality, key indicators are used to measure the performance (KPIs) of water companies in evaluating their success to customer satisfaction with zero defects while minimizing the environmental footprint caused by the intermediate procedures up to the point of receiving potable tap water. Stakeholder interviews reveal that these KPIs can be identified from an economic, social, environmental and water company perspective, and they can span from the efficiency of water distribution to operational water losses minimization procedures and from customer supply coverage to aesthetic test compliance. Therefore, future policy for water quality should be designed in a strategic framework, taking into consideration key sustainability indicators emanating from the aforementioned perspectives. In the current paper, a complete showcase is illustrated on how to mobilize local stakeholder's knowledge to extract KPIs for supporting effective strategies by local water companies and initiating policy making by the competent authorities in the process of keeping high water quality standards in a sustainable water resources management environment. Specifically, the application of soft computing methods enables the conceptualization and categorization of stakeholders' notion of strategies that need to be followed. This conceptualization allowed the involvement of fuzzy inference systems to simulate the effects of several policies in a multi-criteria analysis. According to the features, the policy maker initiates, the proposed model succeeds to identify the preferred policy options that can be used in achieving minimal environmental footprint.",DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT,2019,DEC J,"Wyllie de Echeverria, VR; Thornton, TF",Using traditional ecological knowledge to understand and adapt to climate and biodiversity change on the Pacific coast of North America,10.1007/s13280-019-01218-6,"We investigate the perceptions and impacts of climate change on 11 Indigenous communities in Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. This coastal region constitutes an extremely dynamic and resilient social-ecological system where Indigenous Peoples have been adjusting to changing climate and biodiversity for millennia. The region is a bellwether for biodiversity changes in coastal, forest, and montane environments that link the arctic to more southerly latitudes on the Pacific coast. Ninety-six Elders and resource users were interviewed to record Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and observations regarding weather, landscape, and resource changes, especially as concerns what we term Cultural Keystone Indicator Species (CKIS), which provide a unique lens into the effects of environmental change. Our findings show that Indigenous residents of these communities are aware of significant environmental changes over their lifetimes, and an acceleration in changes over the last 15-20 years, not only in weather patterns, but also in the behaviour, distributions, and availability of important plants and animals. Within a broader ecological and social context of dwelling, we suggest ways this knowledge can assist communities in responding to future environmental changes using a range of place-based adaptation modes.",AMBIO,2019,DEC J,"Cordoba, D; Juen, L; Selfa, T; Peredo, AM; Montag, LFD; Sombra, D; Santos, MPD",Understanding local perceptions of the impacts of large-scale oil palm plantations on ecosystem services in the Brazilian Amazon,10.1016/j.forpol.2019.102007,"Despite the increasing research on the impacts of oil palm, few studies have examined local perceptions of environmental changes of large-scale plantations in Latin America. This paper addresses this research gap through focusing on understanding these perceptions in communities bordering two plantations with different time of exposure to land use transformation in the Amazonian state of Path, Brazil. Drawing on the concept of ecosystem services, results from our survey and qualitative interviews indicate that water availability, air and water quality were perceived to be the most heavily impacted ecosystem services by this crop. While respondents were aware of the negative impacts on ecosystem services of future palm plantations in the two sites, the majority tend to support a future expansion of this crop. Demographic characteristics as well as time of exposure to the crop did not correlate with peoples' perceptions as people in both sites tended to privilege job opportunities and economic benefits. We found that people's perceptions of land use change trade-offs were also linked to wider economic and social sustainability issues such as land conflicts, agribusiness management practices and distinct oil palm trajectories. We suggest that information on stakeholders' interactions, social differentiation and social and economic sustainability is needed for policy design and planning to complement an ecosystem services analysis of the trade-offs of oil palm expansion.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2019,DEC J,"May, R; Jackson, C; Bevanger, K; Roskaft, E","Servicescape of the Greater Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem: Visualizing the linkages between land use, biodiversity and the delivery of wildlife-related ecosystem services",10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101025,"Understanding how anthropogenic activities and management actions influence the delivery of ecosystem services is complicated by the interrelated nature of diverse factors. We present a Bayesian Belief Network to highlight the likely consequences of a set of interventions on four wildlife-related ecosystem (dis)services and for supporting biodiversity and human welfare in the Greater Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem. According to the model, core protected areas are important for biodiversity and safari tourism provision. In adjacent game reserves safari tourism opportunities may be hampered by trophy and bushmeat hunting causing fear in wildlife. Most multiple-use areas strike a good balance between the costs and benefits derived from wildlife. Loliondo, however, requires drastic changes in management to either maximize green value creation or sustainable welfare. Although further globalization is expected to render highest levels of welfare, this will be at the expense of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. An online version of the model is available (https://africanbioservices.shinyapps.io/servicescape) to interactively explore five future scenarios with alternative management strategies, and visualization of the resultant consequences thereof. Identifying areas of conflicts and potential trade-offs between ecosystem (dis)services are crucial to find pathways to nature-based tourism strategies that simultaneously maintain biodiversity and promote the socioeconomic viability of local communities.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,DEC J,"Zhu, ZQ; Ren, J; Liu, X","Green infrastructure provision for environmental justice: Application of the equity index in Guangzhou, China",10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126443,"Following decades of debate, there is a growing consensus that environmental justice is an important value that should be pursued in green infrastructure (GI) provision, though there is a limited understanding of the precise ways by which to measure and respond to environmental justice needs. By developing a GI Equity Index that has been adjusted to reflect the local situation in Haizhu District in Guangzhou, this research examines environmental justice problems in respect to the provision of GI and proposes an amendment to the future GI plan. The integrated equity index map provides a comprehensive picture of the urgency of GI provision: Communities with the highest 20% equity index value are concentrated in the central part of Haizhu, which is a combination of an old city and villages. These areas are also where most of the urban waterlogging points are situated, and the loss would thus be greater. Unfortunately, these areas have been ignored by the Sponge City Plan of Guangzhou (2016-2030). This has led to a proposal in this research to adjust the GI plan: Additional green amenities should be provided in neighbourhoods with high GI equity index values. Such amenities could include small parks and playgrounds in densely developed central cities, or the replacement of impervious surfaces with permeable surfaces, etc.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,DEC J,"Simmonds, JS; Watson, JEM; Salazar, A; Maron, M",A composite measure of habitat loss for entire assemblages of species,10.1111/cobi.13331,"Habitat destruction is among the greatest threats facing biodiversity, and it affects common and threatened species alike. However, metrics for communicating its impacts typically overlook the nonthreatened component of assemblages. This risks the loss of habitat going unreported for species that comprise the majority of assemblages. We adapted a widely used measure for summarizing researcher output (the h index) to provide a metric that describes natural habitat loss for entire assemblages, inclusive of threatened and nonthreatened species. For each of 447 Australian native terrestrial bird species, we combined information on their association with broad vegetation groups with distributional range maps to identify the difference between the estimated pre-European and current extents of potential habitat, defined as vegetation groups most closely associated with each species. From this, we calculated the loss index (LI), which revealed that 30% of native birds have each lost at least 30% of their potential natural habitat (LI = 30). At the subcontinental scale, LIs ranged from 15 in arid Australia to 61 in the highly transformed southeastern part of the country. Different subcomponents of the assemblage had different LI values. For example, Australia's parrots (n = 52 species) had an LI of 38, whereas raptors (n = 32 species) had an LI of 25. The LI is simple to calculate and can be determined using readily available spatial information on species distributions, native vegetation associations, and human impacts on natural land cover. This metric, including the curves used to deduce it, could complement other biodiversity indices if it is used for regional and global biodiversity assessments that compare the status of natural habitat extent for assemblages within and among nations, monitor changes through time, and forecast future changes to guide strategic land-use planning. The LI is an intuitive tool that can be used to summarize and communicate how human actions affect whole assemblages, not just threatened species. Una Medida Compuesta de la Perdida del Habitat para Ensamblajes Enteros de Especies La destruccion del habitat esta entre las principales amenazas para la biodiversidad, ademas de que afecta tanto a especies comunes como a las especies amenazadas. Sin embargo, las medidas para comunicar los impactos de esta destruccion generalmente ignoran al componente no amenazado de los ensamblajes de especies. Esto genera el riesgo de que la perdida del habitat pase desapercibida en el caso de las especies que conforman a la mayoria de los ensamblajes. Adaptamos una medida de uso amplio para resumir las contribuciones de los investigadores (el indice h) y asi proporcionar una medida que describa la perdida del habitat para ensamblajes enteros, incluyendo a las especies amenazadas y a las no amenazadas. Para cada una de las 447 especies de aves terrestres nativas a Australia, combinamos la informacion sobre su asociacion con grupos generales de vegetacion con mapas de extension de su distribucion para identificar la diferencia entre la extension estimada previa a la llegada de los europeos y la extension actual de los habitats potenciales, definidos como los grupos de vegetacion asociados mas cercanamente con cada especie. A partir de esto, calculamos el indice de perdida (LI, en ingles), el cual revelo que el 30% de cada una de las aves nativas ha perdido al menos el 30% de su habitat natural potencial (LI = 30). A escala subcontinental, los LI variaron desde 15 para las partes aridas de Australia, hasta 61 en la altamente transformada parte sureste del pais. Los diferentes subcomponentes del ensamblaje tuvieron diferentes valores de LI. Por ejemplo, los loros australianos (n = 52 especies) tuvieron un LI de 38, mientras que las aves rapaces (n = 32 especies) tuvieron un LI de 25. El LI es facil de calcular y puede determinarse usando informacion espacial que ya se encuentra disponible, las asociaciones con la vegetacion nativa y los impactos humanos sobre la cobertura natural del suelo. Esta medida, incluyendo las curvas que se usan para deducirla, podrian complementar otros indices de biodiversidad si se usa para evaluaciones de la biodiversidad regional y global, las cuales comparan el estado de la extension del habitat natural para ensamblajes dentro y entre las naciones, monitorean cambios a traves del tiempo y pronostican cambios futuros que guien la planeacion del uso de suelo estrategico. El LI es una herramienta intuitiva que puede usarse para resumir y comunicar como las acciones humanas afectan a ensamblajes enteros, no solo a las especies amenazadas. Resumen ?? ???????????????????, ????????????????, ??????????????????????????, ???????????????????????????????????? (h ??) ??????, ?????????????? (??????????) ????????????????, ????? 447 ?????????????????????, ????????????????????????????, ?????????????????????????????????????????, ????? 30%??????????? 30%??????? (????? 30) ????????, ?????? 15 (??????) ? 61 (?????????) ?????????????????????, ??, ???? (52 ???) ?????? 38, ??? (32 ???) ?????? 25?????????, ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????, ???????????????????, ???????????????????????????????, ?????????????????????????, ?????????????????????????, ????????? ???: ???; ??: ???? Article impact statement: The habitat loss index allows for effect of habitat removal on multispecies assemblages to be easily described and systematically tracked.",CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,2019,DEC J,"Kasanin-Grubin, M; Strbac, S; Antonijevic, S; Mracevic, SD; Randjelovic, D; Orlic, J; Sajnovic, A","Future environmental challenges of the urban protected area Great War Island (Belgrade, Serbia) based on valuation of the pollution status and ecosystem services",10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109574,"The Great War Island (GWI) is an area of importance for the protection of the environment, cultural and historical heritage of Belgrade, Serbia. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this area belongs to the N category - Habitats and Other Regulated Areas. The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate the potential impacts of pollution on ecosystem services of the Great War Island and to explore different scenarios for future urban development of the Great War Island that will have implication for human well-being. The aims of this paper are set up based on the evaluation of ecosystem services of the Great War Island and assessment of the pollution status of the Great War Island. In order to evaluate pollution status of the GWI inorganic and organic composition of sediments were examined. Additionally, the content of microelements was determined in the leaves of the Salix alba L. Pollution indices indicate that all investigated sampling sites are polluted and correspond to high and very high degree of contamination. Cd and Cu show high to extremely high degree of contamination while Sb has extremely high degree of contamination. Content of As, Co, Cu, Ni and Zn in leaves of Salix alba L. is in sufficient to normal range, while content of Cd is between the sufficient and excessive values generalized for various species. Typical oil distributions of terpanes and steranes and values of the corresponding maturity parameters clearly indicated that the sediments of the GWI, in addition to native organic matter, contained oil pollutants of anthropogenic origin. GWI provides provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services. In relation to ecosystem services two possible scenarios can be predicted: first - losing the status of a protected area due to urbanization; and the second - increasing the degree of protection by admission into international protection lists.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,dic 1 J,"Hanumante, NC; Shastri, Y; Hoadley, A",Assessment of circular economy for global sustainability using an integrated model,10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104460,"The circular economy is increasingly gaining importance as one of the ways of transitioning towards a sustainable future. Assessment of the systemic effects of the circular economy on a global scale from a holistic perspective is the need of the hour. This work addresses this challenge and models the circular economy in a planetary model with integrated human, ecological and industrial components. The circular economy is modelled as an industry which processes the used industrial goods. These are used along with the goods produced using virgin raw materials. Different time delays and circulation rates parameterize 90 different routes of implementation of the circular economy. These are implemented for nine levels of resource consumption increase by humans complemented by population growth. System collapse due to the scarcity of ecosystem based resources occurs sooner as the consumption level increases. Model simulation results indicate substantial benefits of adopting the circular economy. Incorporation of circular economy delays the system collapse by at least a few decades and aggressive implementation of the circular economy, in several cases, avoided this collapse entirely. Based on these results, the time horizon of the next 70 90 years is identified as critical, before which a large scale implementation of the circular economy is essential. However, very aggressive implementation of circular economy leads to system collapse because of the depletion of common access ecosystem services caused by continued high consumption. Thus, this work establishes benefits of the circular economy and recommends a balanced approach for the adoption of the circular economy.",RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING,2019,DEC J,"Liu, X; Wang, YB; Costanza, R; Kubiszewski, I; Xu, N; Gao, ZA; Yuan, MH; Geng, RY; Chen, H; Hu, XK",Rice paddy fields' hidden value for typhoon protection in coastal areas,10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105610,"Rice paddy cultivation has rooted in the Asian culture for thousands of years. At present, paddy fields as traditional agriculture in Asia provide not only ecosystem goods including rice and fibre production, but also other ecosystem services for human society. However, it is still not clear whether rice paddy fields like coastal wet-lands provide typhoon protection function, although it is often regarded as a kind of artificial wetlands. We examined the relationship between the economic damages caused by typhoons and the presence of paddy fields with controlling for confounding variables including wind speed, typhoon duration and protective structures such as seawalls from 1989 to 2016 for China. Five economic regression models were proposed based on a variety of observation data coupled with GIS method. We found that paddy fields substitute for natural wetlands in mitigating the growing threat from typhoons in a changing climate. However, dry croplands appear not to provide a protective role to reduce typhoon damage. Using the multiple regression model we estimated the economic value of protection from typhoon damages provided by paddy fields to be an average of CNY 530,474/km(2) and a median of CNY 127,436/km(2) in China. This finding, if confirmed by renewed studies in the future, will have a significant impact on both ecosystem valuation of paddy fields and coastal management to mitigate the effect of natural disasters in a sustainable way.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,DEC J,"Willow, AJ","Embrace it, accept it, or fight like hell: understanding diverse responses to extractive industrial development",10.1007/s10668-019-00529-8,"This article considers why some people welcome externally imposed resource extractive development projects while seemingly similar others vehemently reject them. Informed by an understanding of human cultural and political undertakings as components of complex and conjoined systems that are simultaneously social and ecological, I identify economic, political, environmental, and cultural experiences and values that guide individuals' decisions to embrace, accept, or oppose extractive industry. Drawing on recent ethnographic research in northeastern British Columbia-where First Nations and Euro-Canadian citizens concurrently confront ongoing logging, extensive oil and gas extraction, construction of a third massive hydroelectric dam, and renewed metallurgical coal mining-I suggest that diverse responses are significantly influenced by whether or not individuals perceive extractive industry as having adverse economic effects, the level of trust they place in governmental decision making, and whether or not they connect extractive industry to injustice and violations of citizens' rights. In an era of unprecedented human impact, I ultimately argue, local outcomes of global resource extraction debates have an important role to play in shaping the future of our societies and our world.",ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY,2020,OCT J,"Kurttila, M; Mantymaa, E; Tyrvainen, L; Juutinen, A; Hujala, T",Multi-criteria analysis process for creation and evaluation of PES alternatives in the Ruka-Kuusamo tourism area,10.1080/09640568.2019.1689933,"Adoption of a new land-use governance system requires acceptance from involved actors. We present a payments for ecosystem services (PES) design process with multi-criteria analysis (MCA) based evaluation of alternatives within a nature-based tourism area in northern Finland. The tourism activities are located on private lands, which are mainly managed for timber production, negatively affecting landscape and recreational values. Earlier attempts have not catalysed the required action among local actors. To increase the practical operability of the suggested PES an MCA process was organised with stakeholders. Alternative PES systems, meeting the demands of local conditions also in the future, were evaluated against good governance criteria in future scenarios. Then, SWOT analysis was carried out for the preferred alternative to reveal supporting and hindering factors for the uptake of the suggested system. The alternative that is obligatory for visitors to the area was preferred among stakeholders representing foresters and tourism entrepreneurs due to its cost-efficiency and funding base. Its implementation would still require a practically adoptable definition of the PES scheme and new co-management arrangements among the actors operating in the area.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT,2020,ago 23 J,"Ingram, M; Denman, CA; Cornejo-Vucovich, E; Castro-Vasquez, MD; Aceves, B; Ocejo, AG; de Zapien, JG; Rosales, C","The Meta Salud Diabetes Implementation Study: Qualitative Methods to Assess Integration of a Health Promotion Intervention Into Primary Care to Reduce CVD Risk Among an Underserved Population With Diabetes in Sonora, Mexico",10.3389/fpubh.2019.00347,"Background: Within health promotion research, there is a need to assess strategies for integration and scale up in primary care settings. Hybrid interventions that combine clinical effectiveness trials with implementation studies can elicit important contextual information on facilitators and barriers to integration within a health care system. This article describes lessons learned in developing and implementing a qualitative study of a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) among people with diabetes in Sonora, Mexico, 2015-2019. Methods:The research team worked cooperatively with health center personnel from 12 Centers that implemented the intervention. The study used observations, stakeholder meetings, case studies, staff interviews and decision maker interviews to explore issues such as staff capacity, authority, workflow, space, and conflicting priorities, as well as patients' response to the program within the clinical context and their immediate social environments. Applying a multi-layered contextual framework, two members of the research team coded an initial sample of the data to establish inclusion criteria for each contextual factor. The full team finalized definitions and identified sub nodes for the final codebook. Results: Characteristics of management, staffing, and the local environment were identified as essential to integration and eventual adoption and scale up across the health system. Issues included absence of standardized training and capacity building in chronic disease and health promotion, inadequate medical supplies, a need for program monitoring and feedback, and lack of interdisciplinary support for center staff. Lack of institutional support stemming from a curative vs. preventive approach to care was a barrier for health promotion efforts. Evolving analysis, interpretation, and discussion resulted in modifications of flexible aspects of the intervention to realities of the health center environment. Conclusion: This study illustrates that a robust and comprehensive qualitative study of contextual factors across a social ecological spectrum is critical to elucidating factors that will promote future adoption and scale up of health promotion programs in primary care. Application of conceptual frameworks and health behavior theory facilitates identification of facilitators and barriers across contexts.",FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,nov 15 J,"Genc, O; van Capelleveen, G; Erdis, E; Yildiz, O; Yazan, DM",A socio-ecological approach to improve industrial zones towards eco-industrial parks,10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109507,"One of the concrete examples of industrial symbiosis development is eco-industrial parks, which improves resource efficiency and minimizes environmental impacts by adopting models for waste exchanges between industries. Despite past efforts, many industrial zones around the world are not yet considered as eco-industrial parks because of the low number (or total lack) of symbiotic relationships among industries. A promising strategy is to develop those existing industrial zones into eco-industrial parks. However, there is a lack of studies addressing how to assess environmental improvement in relation to network sustainability. This study demonstrates such an assessment approach using an integration of food web analysis and social network analysis. These two methods can assist in assessing differences in network configurations with respect to potential implementations of industrial symbiosis, and in analysing the resilience, redundancy, connectance, and cyclicity of eco-parks. The use of the methods is illustrated in a case study of an industrial zone in Turkey. Four potential future scenarios are proposed, including potential future co-location of companies in the industrial zone in order to foster industrial symbiotic network formation. These scenarios are compared with the current configuration. The results indicate the method's ability to assess the resilience of an industrial network. Moreover, the case shows an improvement of network sustainability and follows some sustainable properties of natural ecosystems as a result of implementing the industrial symbiosis.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,nov 15 J,"Cerri, J; Mori, E; Zozzoli, R; Gigliotti, A; Chirco, A; Bertolino, S",Managing invasive Siberian chipmunks Eutamias sibiricus in Italy: a matter of attitudes and risk of dispersal,10.1007/s10530-019-02115-5,"Eradication of invasive alien species is a form of pest control linked to biodiversity conservation, which usually involves animal killing. Squirrels are prominent among invasive alien species in Italy, with four species introduced. Three of them are included within the list of alien species of European concern, and their eradication and control is recommended. However, their local control is not an easy task, being often hindered by the general public. We propose a socio-ecological approach to evaluate the feasibility of eradicating Siberian chipmunks Eutamias sibiricus populations in Italy. We performed a structured questionnaire to assess the social perception of invasive Siberian chipmunks in urban parks, and to identify groups of visitors who might oppose eradication. We also carried out geographic profiling to test for the spatial expansion of chipmunk populations. Overall, park visitors regarded chipmunks positively and appreciated to see them, but human-chipmunk interactions were still rare. We did not identify any group of visitors with a strong attachment to chipmunks, who might oppose future control programs. Geographic profiling showed that chipmunks in Valeggio sul Mincio are starting to expand outside of their introduction site. Data from questionnaires show that chipmunks eradication, coupled with adequate communication initiatives, might be feasible. Moreover, geographic profiling indicates that time for a rapid removal is running out. Socio-ecological approaches, combining the analysis of structured questionnaires administered to stakeholders and statistical modeling of pest observations, could be a valuable tool to decide the feasibility and the urgency of invasive alien species control.",BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS,2020,FEB J,"Kucsicsa, G; Popovici, EA; Balteanu, D; Dumitrascu, M; Grigorescu, I; Mitrica, B","Assessing the Potential Future Forest-Cover Change in Romania, Predicted Using a Scenario-Based Modelling",10.1007/s10666-019-09686-6,"Forest-cover dynamics is of wide concern due to its role in climate change, biodiversity losses, water balance and land degradation, as well as social and economic development. Hence, exploring land-use/cover dynamic is important in order to improve our understanding of the causes of forest-cover change and to detect the future trend. Furthermore, projecting a future land-use/cover pattern can help identifying potential areas where forest-cover change will occur in the future and the potential consequences of these processes in order to improve land-use planning and policies. Similar to other East European countries, Romania is experiencing rapid land-use/cover changes after the breakdown of socialism; a clear trend was registered by deforestation, which reflects the consequences of a continuous forests dynamics and little environmental care. Consequently, this study, carried out in order to analyse the potential future cover-change, resulted in the land-use/cover scenario (2007-2050) simulated using CLUE-S (the Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) modelling framework, applied to development regions in Romania. Overall, the model results in different spatial patterns of land-use/cover change, projecting a slight increase in the forest-cover area of about 82,000 ha. Furthermore, the model simulated widespread deforestation, mainly in relation to agricultural land expansion. The area under the curve (AUC) for the relative operating characteristic (ROC) and the Kappa simulation (K-Simulation) were used to assess the predictive power of the determinant factors included and to evaluate the spatial performance of the model. The obtained ROC/AUC values (0.83-0.88) indicate the great power of the determinant factors to explain the forest-cover pattern in the area. Furthermore, the K-Simulation scores (0.69-0.79) highlight the potential of the CLUE-S model to simulate future forest-cover change in relation to the other land-use/cover categories. The results can provide useful inputs for effective forest resource management and environmental policies. Moreover, the spatial data obtained can contribute to exploring future potential environmental implications (e.g. assessing landslide and flood hazard scenarios, forest biomass dynamics and their impact on carbon allocation, or the impact of forest-cover change on ecosystem services).",ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING & ASSESSMENT,2020,AUG J,"Gao, J; Wang, LC","Embedding spatiotemporal changes in carbon storage into urban agglomeration ecosystem management - A case study of the Yangtze River Delta, China",10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117764,"Changes in land use/land cover caused by urban expansion have changed the soil respiration conditions and surface vegetation, which, in turn, affect carbon storage in an ecosystem. Carbon storage is often used as an indicator of the state of ecosystem services in the environment, which provide fundamental support to the human population. Therefore, we predicted the impacts of different development models on future carbon storage in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region by analyzing the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving factors of carbon storage from 1990 to 2015. Taking the YRD urban agglomeration as a case study, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs and future land use simulation models were used to simulate and predict carbon storage in 2050 under four development scenarios based on the patterns in 2015. The results showed that the YRD urban agglomeration experienced carbon storage losses of 1210.54 Tg during 1990-2015, which were driven by socioeconomic factors rather than natural causes. The region is expected to continue experiencing losses of 783, 638, 697, and 621 Tg from 2015 to 2050 under the baseline, slow, fast, and harmonious development scenarios, respectively. Our study presents the past spatiotemporal evolution of carbon stocks and the impact of different urbanization development models on ecosystem carbon storage, and can provide a reference for decision-making and stakeholders to determine regional development models and improve urban agglomeration management strategies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,nov 10 J,"Barnes, DKA; Sands, CJ; Richardson, A; Smith, N","Extremes in Benthic Ecosystem Services; Blue Carbon Natural Capital Shallower Than 1000 m in Isolated, Small, and Young Ascension Island's EEZ",10.3389/fmars.2019.00663,"Biodiversity tends to decrease with increasing isolation and reduced habitat size, and increase with habitat age. Ascension Island and its seamounts are small, isolated and relatively young, yet harbor patchily dense life. Large areas of these waters are soon to be designated as a major Marine Protected Area. Given the remote location there are few local threats to the region. However, global climate related stressors (e.g., temperature and acidification) and arguably plastic pollution are key issues likely to impact ecosystem services. We evaluate the accumulated carbon in benthos around Ascension Island's EEZ shallower than 1000 m using data collected over two research cruises in 2015 and 2017 through seabed mapping, seabed camera imagery and collections of benthos using a mini-Agassiz trawl. Benthos shallower than 1000 m essentially comprises the coastal waters around Ascension Island and three seamounts (Harris-Stewart, Grattan, and Unnamed). There is considerable societal benefit from benthic carbon storage and sequestration through its mitigation value buffering climate change. This service is often termed blue carbon. Overall we estimate that there is at least 43,000 t of blue carbon, on the 3% of Ascension Island EEZ's seabed which is <1000 m, mainly in the form of cold coral reefs. Two thirds of that occurs around the main island of Ascension, but it is very unevenly distributed on the seabed. Seabed roughness (e.g., rocky outcrops) seems most important for the development of blue carbon hotspots. About 21% of the total blue carbon is considered to be sequestered (removed from the carbon cycle for 100+ years) = 9000 t Carbon. At the 2019 Shadow Price of Carbon the proportion of CO2 considered sequestered is 29-59 pound. As 9000 t C this is equivalent to 33,070 t CO2 , which in 2019 is valued at approximately 1-2 pound million. With time, this increases with rising value of carbon, but also annual increment of carbon deposition, to 2-4 pound million by 2030. Thus even when biogeographic values of isolation, size and age are least favorable to biodiversity, the natural capital stock and future services of benthic ecosystems can be considerable and generate quantifiable economic return on their conservation.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2019,nov 7 J,"Gu, YY; Qiao, XN; Xu, MJ; Zou, CX; Liu, D; Wu, D; Wang, Y",Assessing the Impacts of Urban Expansion on Bundles of Ecosystem Services by Dmsp-Ols Nighttime Light Data,10.3390/su11215888,"Urban expansion poses severe threats to ecosystems. It is therefore important we better understand the impact of different urban expansion level on ecosystems for developing regionally differentiated ecological protection policies. Here, we proposed a conceptual framework to describe the impacts of urbanization on bundles of ecosystem services. Referred to as the concept of land use degree by nighttime light data, we put forward and verified an urban expansion level model. According to this model, study area was divided into a slow increase zone, increase zone, and rapid increase zone. Then, taking Taihu Lake Basin in China as a case, we used Zonal-statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients to reveal the impact in different zones of urban expansion level on multiple ecosystem services: crop production, freshwater supply, aquatic production, net primary productivity, soil conservation, water retention, flood regulation, and forest recreation index. Our results revealed that urban expansion levels significantly impacted all ecosystem services. In either increase zone or rapid increase zone, we found lowered values of crop production, net primary productivity, soil conservation, water retention, and flood regulation, while both aquatic production and forest recreation index increased in all zones from 1990 to 2010. Across the levels of urbanization, urban expansion level was always negatively correlated with provisioning services. This result suggests local governors should improve crop production per unit area and increase the cultivated land area to guarantee food security. In addition, urban expansion level had positive correlations with the trade-offs between flood regulation and forest recreation index, and those among crop production, freshwater supply, and net primary productivity. Therefore, policy-makers should effectively maintain the land use balance among ecological protection, agriculture development, and urban expansion to better coordinate relationships between development and protection. In acquiring quantitative knowledge of how urban expansion level drives ecosystem changes, our findings may help guide future sustainable urban planning with respect to ecosystem services, urban development, and human welfare benefits.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,NOV J,"Badamfirooz, J; Mousazadeh, R",Quantitative assessment of land use/land cover changes on the value of ecosystem services in the coastal landscape of Anzali International Wetland,10.1007/s10661-019-7802-8,"This study, using remote sensing techniques and GIS, studied the land use land cover (LULC) changes of Anzali International Wetland from 1975 to 2013, and the effects of these changes on the ES (ecosystem service) values of the wetland. The benefit transfer method was used to estimate the economic value of the ecosystem goods and services. The basis for the valuations was the values provided for the ES of the world biomes. According to the results, in the period of study (1975 to 2013), the highest percentage of incremental change was attributed to urban and manmade centers (73.85 %), while the lowest was related to the wetland coverage area (0.32 %). Value changes between 1975 and 1975 for agricultural lands were positive and equal to US$ 12.85 million and for the rangelands were negative and equal to US$ - 26.84 million. These changes were positive for the coastal wetlands, equivalent to US$ 258.95 million a year. Despite the negative value changes of the rangelands, the total ES value changes in the entire wetland during the years 1975 to 2013 were evaluated to be positive (equal to US$ 244.96 million). Changes in the value of the services of pollination, biological control, genetic resources, and food production in 2013 were negative, compared to 1975. This indicates the loss of these values, which is due to the loss of rangelands in the study area. The findings of this study can inform policymakers, managers, and environmental planners about the continuation of the changing process and may lead to the formulation of policies for the sustainable exploitation of land resources, as well as future effective land use planning for achieving the goals of sustainable development in the study area. The findings can serve as a tool for raising awareness about the contribution of nature to the benefits, social welfare, and livelihood of the stakeholders.",ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT,2019,NOV J,"Beauchamp, E; Clements, T; Milner-Gulland, EJ",Investigating Perceptions of Land Issues in a Threatened Landscape in Northern Cambodia,10.3390/su11215881,"Land governance highly affects rural communities' well-being in landscapes where land and its access are contested. This includes sites with high land pressures from development, but also from conservation interventions. In fact, local people's motivations for sustainably managing their resources is highly tied to their perceptions of security, trust and participation in land management regimes. Understanding these perceptions is essential to ensure the internal legitimacy and sustainability of conservation interventions, especially in areas where development changes are fast paced. This paper presents an analysis of household perceptions of land issues in 20 villages across different conservation and development contexts in Northern Cambodia. We assess whether conservation and development interventions, as economic land concessions, influence perceptions of land issues in control and treatment sites by modelling five key perception indicators. We find that household characteristics rather than village contexts are the main factors influencing the perceptions of land issues. Interventions also affect perceptions, especially with regards to the negative effect of development pressures and population growth. While large-scale protected areas do not calm insecurity about land issues, some village-based payment for environmental services projects do. Ultimately, evidence from perception studies can help address current concerns and shape future conservation activities sustainably.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,NOV J,"Bao, JL; Gao, S; Ge, JX","Centralization and decentralization: Coastal management pattern changes since the late 19th century, Jiangsu Province, China",10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103705,"With rapid industrialization over the Asian-Pacific coastal region, sustainable management has received increased levels of attention. The way to construct the sustainable management mode suitable for local characteristics becomes an important issue; it requires an in-depth understanding of local management practices changes and historical culture. In this respect, there is a lack of comprehensive discussions on centralized/decentralized management pattern change for this region. Based on historical document analysis for the Jiangsu coast, we reconstruct the evolution of coastal management modes. Here we show that coastal management in Jiangsu has witnessed repeated transitions between centralized and decentralized mode, encompassing four periods: traditional management before the late 19th century, the decentralized practice in the early 20th century, the centralized management associated with the planned economic system from the 1950s-1980s, and the decentralized management in response to the adoption of a market economic system after the 1980s. The driving forces for the changes identified include geomorphological changes, population growth and social-economic regime shifts. We propose that, to optimize coastal management, a hybrid model should be established to take into account both centralized and decentralized components. Although coastal management is decentralization-oriented in most western countries, in the Asia-Pacific coastal regions, local conditions and historical features should be taken into account to adjust the balance between centralized and decentralized variables in the management. With the increasing attention to ecosystem health in China, together with future climate changes and population dynamics, the centralized component should be re-considered within the hybrid model.",MARINE POLICY,2019,NOV J,"Lobo, M","Affective ecologies: Braiding urban worlds in Darwin, Australia",10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.026,"Emerging research on Anthropocene urbanism shows a commitment to human-nature centred futures and environmental justice but fails to engage with the language of race. Thinking the Anthropocene through race, however, has the potential to decolonise dominant apocalyptic narratives of climate change and provide insights into imaginaries of diverse urban futures. This paper argues that such futures run through entangled Indigenous and Ethnic minority worlds in white settler cities but are often explored separately. To entangle these worlds, I introduce and develop the concept of affective ecologies or sentient embodiments of ecological interdependency grounded in everyday urban life. The paper draws on in-depth interviews, focus groups, archival photographs as well as participatory photographs/video/films taken by racialised Indigenous peoples, ethnic minority migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Darwin, a tropical north Australian city. I braid stories of co-becomings with this Saltwater Country prone to anthropogenic climate change by focusing on two events Loving Country and Listening to Old Man Rock. The findings provide new insights into urban cosmopolitics that calls for articulating, reassembling and co-composing plural modes of coexistence in the Anthropocene.",GEOFORUM,2019,NOV J,"Munoz-Rojas, J; Pinto-Correia, T; Napoleone, C",Farm and land system dynamics in the Mediterranean: Integrating different spatial-temporal scales and management approaches,10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104082,"The Mediterranean (macro-)region is characterized by its unique bio-physical, socio-political, and cultural conditions when considered at the global scale. Nonetheless, at the same time this is an extremely heterogeneous and diverse region, as is reflected in the heterogeneous and dynamic mosaic of farm and land systems developed along a long history throughout which they have tightly adapted to the frequent scarcity and irregularity of natural resources. Such long-scale trajectory of adaptation has resulted in a wide range of traditional rural and peri-urban landscapes hosting a rich biodiversity and bearing multiple social and cultural values. Throughout recent history, and especially over the past two decades, Mediterranean farm and land use systems have been undergoing multiple transition processes, resulting in many current landscapes gradually becoming more homogeneous and intensified, whilst others are being abandoned. It has now become self-evident that both trajectories of change are evolving at unequal rates and scales across the region. This process too frequently leads to the degradation of the valuable cultural, social, territorial and natural capital of the region. This demands urgent and innovative initiatives, either private, public or mixed, that are effective to reverse current trends of degradation, and move towards higher degrees of sustainability and resilience. The aim of this Special Issue is to synthesize and critically review key elements current research on farm and land system dynamics in the Mediterranean region, and to discuss land use management and governance frameworks in place at multiple spatial-temporal scales and institutional levels to foster increased sustainability and resilience. Papers in this SI address historic and envisaged future changes in the region, focusing on the complexity of interactions at the farm and landscape levels. Furthermore, papers in the SI also address the role and interactions with non-farming-related land uses (i.e. urban and/or conservation). The SI covers key contexts, conceptual frameworks, challenges, approaches, methods and alternatives in place to provide with a picture of the current situation and, more importantly, of likely potential pathways for the future improvements. The need for further integration across scales, methods and approaches is finally acknowledged.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,NOV J,"Niles, K; Moore, W",Accounting for environmental assets as sovereign wealth funds,10.1080/20430795.2019.1681618,"Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are often used to provide long term macro-economic stability and to accrue and safeguard financial assets for future generations. These state-owned investment funds are usually created using balance of payment surpluses - often from resource exports or the sale of public assets. Given that SWFs are among a few widely-used financial mechanisms created for the benefit of future generations, they can play an important role in helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper will argue that a re-direction of economic rents earned from natural resources, along with rigorous and careful ecosystem services accounting can serve to broaden the scope and holistically enhance the value of SWFs. The paper concludes that accounting for environmental assets and the economic benefits derived from such resources can serve as the basis for the establishment of SWFs, promote inter-generational wealth transfer and help stabilise economies impacted by climate change.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FINANCE & INVESTMENT,, J,"Qiao, YK; Peng, FL; Sabri, S; Rajabifard, A",Socio-environmental costs of underground space use for urban sustainability,10.1016/j.scs.2019.101757,"Underground space has been widely used in densely populated cities across the globe, and is attracting increasing attention among academics and practitioners toward further alleviating land use pressure, improving urban resilience and the quality of life. However, few attempts have been made to probe the potential threats posed by underground space use to urban sustainability. Disregarding these threats and the socio-environmental losses accruing to unreasonable underground space use will lead to failure in the decision-making process, particularly the cost-benefit analysis, of underground space development and may to some extent compromise the urban sustainability. This research intends to investigate the potential socio-environmental losses caused by underground space use for urban sustainability from the perspectives of underground assets, including geothermal energy, groundwater, geomaterials, historical heritage, space continuum and organisms, based on their contributions to sustainable development goals (SDGs), and sets up a framework for the monetary valuation of these losses. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will assist the future planning and decision-making process in developing the sustainable urban underground space.",SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY,2019,NOV J,"Cohen, M; Quinn, JE; Marshall, D; Sharp, T",Sustainability assessment of a community open space vision,10.1007/s11625-019-00659-y,"Urban sustainability visions must address diverse challenges spanning social and ecological issues yet urban visions are often weak in sustainability, demonstrating a need for a strong and holistic assessment of visioning processes, their outputs, and outcomes. Through a case study of a community visioning process for an urban neighborhood-scale open space in South Carolina, United States, this paper presents key insights from a novel approach for assessing the sustainability of visioning projects, framed around a program evaluation logic model. It describes a mixed-methods assessment of the case including: (1) a qualitative analysis of the visioning process that inspects the quality of the participatory process that generated the vision; (2) a content analysis of the vision report-the process output-that analyzes the sustainability content of the stakeholders' ideas; and (3) a quantitative natural capital assessment that compares the vision against alternative plausible scenarios proposed by stakeholders to the visioning process' outcomes and evaluates the ecological integrity of the vision. The research finds that the vision was crafted through a fair participatory process that created stakeholder satisfaction, that the vision emphasizes social capital and equity and justice over other sustainability ends, and that the neighborhood vision may generate stronger ecosystem services than other proposed options suggesting opportunity for positive feedbacks. Despite a positive assessment, the assessment used here showed there was room to co-create a stronger vision of a sustainable future that strives to achieve multiple sustainability principles across human and natural systems. Contributing to the literature on urban sustainability assessment, this paper demonstrates a novel and holistic approach to assessing sustainability of local urban planning processes and their outcomes and concludes with recommendations for streamlining such assessments to better inform policy decisions before they are made.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,NOV J,"Schneider, F; Klay, A; Zimmermann, AB; Buser, T; Ingalls, M; Messerli, P",How can science support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development? Four tasks to tackle the normative dimension of sustainability,10.1007/s11625-019-00675-y,"The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development stresses the fundamental role science should play in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals endorsed by the global community. But how can and should researchers respond to this societal demand on science? We argue that answering this question requires systematic engagement with the fundamental normative dimensions of the 2030 Agenda and those of the scientific community-and with the implications these dimensions have for research and practice. We suggest that the production of knowledge relevant to sustainable development entails analytic engagement with norms and values through four tasks. First, to unravel and critically reflect on the ethical values involved in sustainability, values should increasingly become an empirical and theoretical object of sustainability research. Second, to ensure that research on social-ecological systems is related to sustainability values, researchers should reflect on and spell out what sustainability values guide their research, taking into account possible interdependencies, synergies, and trade-offs. Third, to find common ground on what sustainability means for specific situations, scientists should engage in deliberative learning processes with societal actors, with a view to jointly reflecting on existing development visions and creating new, contextualized ones. Fourth, this implies that researchers and scientific disciplines must clarify their own ethical and epistemic values, as this defines accountability and shapes identification of problems, research questions, and results. We believe that ignoring these tasks, whether one is in favor or critical of the 2030 Agenda, will undermine the credibility and relevance of scientific contributions for sustainable development.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,NOV J,"Feola, G; Jaworska, S","One transition, many transitions? A corpus-based study of societal sustainability transition discourses in four civil society's proposals",10.1007/s11625-018-0631-9,"When the civil society makes 'transition' its label, it cannot be assumed that different civil society actors share compatible varieties of localist or radical transformationists discourses. This study has comparatively analyzed the discourses in four civil society sustainability transition proposals using a corpus-based methodology. We found that the proposals are similar as they identify the economy as an object and an entry point for transition, frame the economy as embedded in the socio-ecological system, ascribe agency to grassroots movements for transitions from the bottom-up. We also found crucial differences among the discourses regarding the role of the State, the degree of reform or radical innovation, the degree of imaginative character of the sustainability vision, the degree of opposition to capitalism. We suggest that insights on how the civil society employs notions of transition with respect to the themes of politics, emotions and place can help advance theorizations and practices of societal sustainability transitions led by the civil society.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,NOV J,"Kabaya, K; Hashimoto, S; Takeuchi, K",Which cultural ecosystem services is more important? A best-worst scaling approach,10.1080/21606544.2019.1683470,"Identifying relatively important ecosystem services beforehand is essential for efficient and effective assessment. Using a best-worst scaling (BWS) method, we investigated the relative importance of cultural ecosystem services (CES) in Japan, where the second phase of national ecosystem service assessment is under consideration. Classifying CES into seven distinct categories (i.e. spiritual and religious values, recreation and tourism, aesthetic values, education and inspiration, social cohesion and sense of place, cultural diversity, and existence and bequest values), we administered a questionnaire survey at the nation-wide scale and collected 28,854 valid BWS responses from 4122 individuals. As a result, BWS successfully elicited the Japanese preferences for CES with completely distinguishable orders, which the conventional rating approach was unable to achieve. Our analysis proposed that future CES assessments in Japan should put more emphasis on aesthetic values as well as existence and bequest values. As we could not find large differences in preferences for these two services across individuals, groups and regions in relative terms, such prioritization could gain broader understanding and supports from wider audiences.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY,2020,jul 2 J,"Grafius, DR; Hall, S; McHugh, N; Edmondson, JL",How much heat can we grow in our cities? Modelling UK urban biofuel production potential,10.1111/gcbb.12655,"Biofuel provides a globally significant opportunity to reduce fossil fuel dependence; however, its sustainability can only be meaningfully explored for individual cases. It depends on multiple considerations including: life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, air quality impacts, food versus fuel trade-offs, biodiversity impacts of land use change and socio-economic impacts of energy transitions. One solution that may address many of these issues is local production of biofuel on non-agricultural land. Urban areas drive global change, for example, they are responsible for 70% of global energy use, but are largely ignored in their resource production potential; however, underused urban greenspaces could be utilized for biofuel production near the point of consumption. This could avoid food versus fuel land conflicts in agricultural land and long-distance transport costs, provide ecosystem service benefits to urban dwellers and increase the sustainability and resilience of cities and towns. Here, we use a Geographic Information System to identify urban greenspaces suitable for biofuel production, using exclusion criteria, in 10 UK cities. We then model production potential of three different biofuels: Miscanthus grass, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and SRC poplar, within the greenspaces identified and extrapolate up to a UK-scale. We demonstrate that approximately 10% of urban greenspace (3% of built-up land) is potentially suitable for biofuel production. We estimate the potential of this to meet energy demand through heat generation, electricity and combined heat and power (CHP) operations. Our findings show that, if fully utilized, urban biofuel production could meet nearly a fifth of demand for biomass in CHP systems in the United Kingdom's climate compatible energy scenarios by 2030, with potentially similar implications for other comparable countries and regions.",GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY,2020,JAN J,"Folta, SC; Paul, L; Nelson, ME; Strogatz, D; Graham, M; Eldridge, GD; Higgins, M; Wing, D; Seguin-Fowler, RA","Changes in diet and physical activity resulting from the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities randomized cardiovascular disease risk reduction multilevel intervention trial",10.1186/s12966-019-0852-z,"Background Women living in rural areas face unique challenges in achieving a heart-healthy lifestyle that are related to multiple levels of the social-ecological framework. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in diet and physical activity, which are secondary outcomes of a community-based, multilevel cardiovascular disease risk reduction intervention designed for women in rural communities. Methods Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities was a six-month, community-randomized trial conducted in 16 rural towns in Montana and New York, USA. Sedentary women aged 40 and older with overweight and obesity were recruited. Intervention participants (eight towns) attended twice weekly exercise and nutrition classes for 24 weeks (48 total). Individual-level components included aerobic exercise, progressive strength training, and healthy eating practices; a civic engagement component was designed to address social and built environment factors to support healthy lifestyles. The control group (eight towns) attended didactic healthy lifestyle classes monthly (six total). Dietary and physical activity data were collected at baseline and post-intervention. Dietary data were collected using automated self-administered 24-h dietary recalls, and physical activity data were collected by accelerometry and self-report. Data were analyzed using multilevel linear regression models with town as a random effect. Results At baseline, both groups fell short of meeting many recommendations for cardiovascular health. Compared to the control group, the intervention group realized significant improvements in intake of fruit and vegetables combined (difference: 0.6 cup equivalents per day, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.1, p = .026) and in vegetables alone (difference: 0.3 cup equivalents per day, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.6, p = .016). For physical activity, there were no statistically significant between-group differences based on accelerometry. By self-report, the intervention group experienced a greater increase in walking MET minutes per week (difference: 113.5 MET-minutes per week, 95% CI 12.8 to 214.2, p = .027). Conclusions Between-group differences in dietary and physical activity behaviors measured in this study were minimal. Future studies should consider how to bolster behavioral outcomes in rural settings and may also continue to explore the value of components designed to enact social and environmental change.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,2019,oct 25 J,"Sherren, K; Tourangeau, W; Lamarque, M; Greenland-Smith, S",Exploring motivation crowding around farmer incentives for riparian management in Nova Scotia,10.1111/cag.12572,"Incentive programs to encourage landowners to protect habitat should be carefully designed to avoid motivation crowding: basically, replacing intrinsic reasons such as a land ethic with extrinsic ones like payments. Little research on motivation crowding tests real programs, and no such work has been done in Canada. We surveyed farmers in Nova Scotia in 2017 to explore whether participation in a new incentive program called Wood Turtle Strides, or knowledge about a similar incentive program potentially available in the future, would alter reported motivations to use riparian setbacks and buffers. Motivations to use setbacks or buffers were heavily intrinsic across all four survey cohorts: wildlife stewardship and sacrifice motivated actions more than social pressures. We were not able to statistically test for motivational crowding due to low program uptake and thus post-program survey responses, but there was no evidence of second-hand crowding: farmers being motivated by hearing about a program in an adjacent jurisdiction. Findings point to the significance of wildlife stewardship for many farmers, and persistent resistance to conservation among others, as well as a risk of low additionality. More post-program research is necessary to fully understand the program's net impact on motivations and conservation.",CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER-GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN,2020,JUN J,"Glauner, F",Redefining economics: why shared value is not enough,10.1108/CR-07-2016-0042,"Purpose This paper aims to offer scholars and practitioners critical arguments on the strengths and weaknesses of the shared value concept and of the mental model of economics that lies at its heart. On the basis of these arguments, it proposes the paradigm of ethicological value-added creation as a new economic framework extending the shared value concept into a concept of lastingly viable business strategy. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual and philosophical analysis of the mental model of economics and of basic concepts and premises regarding scarcity, competition, growth and raising value. Application of this analysis to the re-design of the shared value approach and to the development of practical guidelines for sustainably viable business models. Findings This paper highlights how the shared value approach can be transformed into an even stronger strategic tool for the design of viable business models. Practical implications Scholars, entrepreneurs and managers receive a new conceptual framework to design lastingly viable business models on the basis of re-defined tools and concepts. Originality/value Leading texts on strategy and business development as well as CSR-driven texts on designing sustainable business models do not bridge the paradox of destructive wealth creation, i.e. the fact that individually rational and, in itself, highly successful economic behaviors lead, on the group level and the level of the whole system, to an outcome that by and large is highly destructive, as it places the social, ecological and economic sources of this wealth creation process in existential jeopardy. The paper proposes a new framework of economic reasoning for solving the paradoxes that shape current economic models and the shared value approach. It offers a first set of indicators, the parameters by which the shared value approach can be transformed into a living model for generating resource growth and added value creation cycles that stop the present downward spiral of acceleration, disruption, concentration and resource depletion. The paper thus presents forms of shared value creation that are more holistic and sustainable.",COMPETITIVENESS REVIEW,2019,oct 21 J,"Yang, I; Hall, L",Factors related to prenatal smoking among socioeconomically disadvantaged women,10.1080/03630242.2019.1584145,"Socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women are especially at risk for smoking. To understand better this health behavior disparity, this systematic, integrative, comprehensive review aimed to identify factors related to prenatal smoking among socioeconomically disadvantaged women in the United States. A comprehensive literature search yielded 67 articles published between 2008 and 2016. Associated factors included any study variable related to persistent prenatal smoking. The Social Ecological Model (SEM), a multidimensional ecological framework, was used to organize the findings. Thirty-eight factors were explored in the reviewed studies and categorized according to SEM dimensions: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, public policies and laws. At the individual level, most studies identified the socioeconomically disadvantaged prenatal smoker as older, US-born, White, unmarried, and multiparous. Other individual-level factors included alcohol abuse, nicotine dependence, and psychosocial factors such as stress and depressive symptoms. For broader levels of the SEM, associated factors included abuse/trauma, secondhand smoke exposure, lack of prenatal care, smoking cessation interventions, neighborhood risk, and state level initiatives such as cigarette taxes. The results of this review suggested multiple directions for future research to move science toward effective, scalable, and sustainable approaches that effectively address prenatal smoking among socioeconomically disadvantaged women.",WOMEN & HEALTH,2019,oct 21 J,"Restar, AJ; Adia, A; Nazareno, J; Hernandez, L; Sandfort, T; Lurie, M; Cu-Uvin, S; Operario, D",Barriers and facilitators to uptake of condoms among Filipinx transgender women and cisgender men who have sex with men: A situated socio-ecological perspective,10.1080/17441692.2019.1679218,"Transgender women (TW) and cisgender men who have sex with men (cis-MSM) are disproportionately impacted by the national HIV crisis in the Philippines, where the HIV incidence has, in large part, been attributed to condomless sex. This study sought to qualitatively examine the socio-ecological factors that contribute to low condom uptake among Filipinx TW and cis-MSM communities in Manila. Between July and August 2017, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 30 TW and cis-MSM participants (n?=?23 and 7, respectively). We identified structural factors described by TW and cis-MSM, and noted that they varied per situation and context of: (a) friends (e.g. as condom promoters and educators), (b) schools (e.g. lack of sex education and HIV curriculum), (c) health care facilities (e.g. availability, educational programmes, and HIV testing requirement), (d) stores (e.g. placement of condoms, distance to store, and cost), and (e) church (e.g. prohibition of condom distribution programmes, and unsupportiveness). Condom-related stigma as a social factor was pervasively present across all situation or context. Our findings support the need for multilevel condom promotion interventions that are tailored per situation or context. Future research is needed to identify factors that can be leveraged for condom promotion strategies within diverse situations.",GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH,2020,abr 2 J,"Zhou, MM; Deng, JS; Lin, Y; Belete, M; Wang, K; Comber, A; Huang, LY; Gan, MY","Identifying the effects of land use change on sediment export: Integrating sediment source and sediment delivery in the Qiantang River Basin, China",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.336,"Dramatic land use change caused by the rapid economic development in China has impacted the sediment export dynamics in the large basin. However, how land use change affects sediment export is still poorly understood. This study provided an integrated analysis of the relationships in a three-level chain linked as follows: land use change -> changes in sediment source and sediment delivery -> sediment export change for a better understanding. It used the InVEST sediment delivery ratio (SDR) model to analyze the Qiantang River Basin (4.27 * 10(4) km(2)), China. Sediment export change was examined from the two perspectives: the effects of land use change on sediment source and on sediment delivery. Correlations between changes in individual land use types and changes in sediment source and sediment delivery were identified. The results indicated that sediment export reduced from 1.69 t ha(-1) yr(-1) in 1990 to 122 t ha(-1) yr(-1) in 2015 because of the decreased sediment source and a weakened sediment delivery function. In the study area, the conversions of cropland to urban land (urbanization) and bare land to forestland (afforestation) were found to make the major contributions to reductions in soil loss and SDR, respectively. Furthermore, soil loss change resulted in the decreases in total value of sediment export and SDR change caused a large-scale spatial change in sediment export. Our hotspot analysis revealed that the Wuxi River watershed should be targeted for priority conservation to optimize land use/cover for reducing sediment export. This study demonstrates the benefits of taking a comprehensive approach to analyze the processes associated with sediment export change. These allow to improve sediment management and promote aquatic ecosystem health by providing specific future land use recommendations, aimed at source treatment and delivery interception. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,oct 10 J,"Stupnisky, RH; Hall, NC; Pekrun, R","Faculty enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom for teaching and research: instrument development and testing predictors of success",10.1080/03075079.2019.1665308,"This study examined the role of emotions in predicting university faculty teaching and research performance while addressing the methodological limitations of past research. Recruited using social media, 312 early-career faculty completed an online survey containing six newly adapted multi-item emotion scales assessing enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom related to both teaching and research. Analyses supported the reliability as well as convergent and divergent validity of the scales. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that enjoyment positively predicted perceived success whereas anxiety and boredom negatively predicted success in both teaching and research, even after accounting for social-environmental predictors. The emotions also significantly related to faculty research publication and citation counts. In terms of implications for faculty development, the findings suggest that fostering value and control may be a mechanism for improving faculty emotions and performance in teaching and research. The discussion includes future theoretical and methodological contributions.",STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION,2019,oct 3 J,"Liczmanska-Kopcewicz, K; Mizera, K; Pyplacz, P",Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development for Creating Value for FMCG Sector Enterprises,10.3390/su11205808,"In recent years, attention has been increasingly paid to social-, environmental-, and ecology-related issues in the areas of diverse business operations. The concept of sustainable development of enterprises is an attempt to integrate a diverse set of requirements for the development of companies in the long-term future. The concept, which is set in a contradictory context of economic, social, and environmental aspects, is an attempt to balance fundamentally divergent requirements and aspirations. Sustainable enterprise development can be a source of competitiveness, provided the opportunities related to it are identified and implemented in a proper way. The research objective of this study is to diagnose the relationship between the company's orientation towards the implementation of sustainability assumptions, the degree of implementation of the objectives of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, as well as the creation of value in a sustainable enterprise. The survey was conducted on a sample of 165 FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sector enterprises. The results indicate the existence of a positive correlation between the variables analysed in the surveyed enterprises. Entrepreneurs guided by sustainable development pursue economic and non-economic values and have a more comprehensive set of appropriate measures necessary to create value in a sustainable enterprise, which consists of achieving economic, ecological, and social goals.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,oct 2 J,"Bao, JL; Gao, S; Ge, JX","Salt and Wetland: Traditional Development Landscape, Land Use Changes and Environmental Adaptation on the Central Jiangsu Coast, China, 1450-1900",10.1007/s13157-019-01144-z,"China's coastal wetlands are subjected to increasing pressure in terms of the sustainability of the economic and social development, due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization over the last 30 years; the protection and sustainable use of wetland resource requires local knowledge of traditional development model, management policy and historical landscape change. However, there is a lack of the relevant research of traditional wetland utilization and environmental adaptation practice for China's coast. Using the various data sets of the central Jiangsu coast, we reconstruct traditional development patterns of wetland and environmental adaptation process, based on a historical approach. The results show that, in this dynamic tidal flat wetland, with continued shoreline advancement, traditional salt-making activity in this region formed a low-density distribution and labor-intensive pattern, which had a remarkable adaptive change of production pattern from centralization to dispersion; this unique cultural ecological landscape was the result of the combined action between wetland evolution and monopolistic land use policies. This study reveals a representative cultural ecological landscape of coastal wetland development in China; an improved understanding of human-coast interaction and local knowledge is beneficial to the management of wetland resource uses, enhancing the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands.",WETLANDS,2019,OCT J,"Domville, MS; Watson, PM; Richardson, DJ; Graves, LEF",Educator perspectives on factors influencing children's school-based physical activity,10.1093/heapro/day041,"Formative research is an important first step in the design and development of children's school-based physical activity (PA) interventions. Exploration of educator [headteacher and physical education (PE)-co-ordinator] perceptions toward the promotion of school-based PA, including PE delivery has however been limited. This study took a socio-ecological approach to explore the barriers and facilitators of children's school-based PA from the perspective of school educators. Interviews were conducted with headteachers (n=4), PE-co-ordinators (n=4) and a deputy headteacher (n=1) and data thematically analysed using Nvivo software (version 10). Findings suggested that, at an organizational level headteachers were the predominant driving force in the promotion of PA opportunities, yet institutional barriers including low priority for PA and PE were perceived to negate delivery. At an interpersonal level, strategies to increase the delivery of school-based PA were developed, however poor teacher-coach relationships and significant others reduced PA promotion opportunities. Child PA was further negated through intrapersonal factors, including lack of PE-specific teacher training and varying teacher interest in PA and sport. To increase primary school children's school-based PA, barriers and facilitators at the organizational, interpersonal and intrapersonal level must be considered and targeted and researchers and schools should work in partnership to develop future interventions.",HEALTH PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL,2019,OCT J,"Hipolito, J; Sousa, BDB; Borges, RC; de Brito, RM; Jaffe, R; Dias, S; Fonseca, VLI; Giannini, TC",Valuing nature's contribution to people: The pollination services provided by two protected areas in Brazil,10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00782,"The assessment of nature's contribution to people (NCP) is an important strategy for decision-making given the increasing need to reconcile biodiversity and human society with conservation. A monetary and a non-monetary approaches were combined to evaluate the pollination services provided by two Brazilian protected areas (PAs) in northern (Serra da Bocaina, Para) and southeastern region (Mata do Jambreiro, Minas Gerais) within the Amazon forest and Atlantic forest biomes, respectively. The monetary valuation methodology was based on the role of pollination for crop production in the municipalities surrounding the PAs, and the non-monetary involved estimating the areas with wider range of resources for sustaining pollinators. In Serra da Bocaina, the total annual monetary value of the pollination services performed by bee species was estimated at approximately 564,000 dollars and in Mata do Jambreiro, 246,000 dollars, both for 2016. The non-monetary valuation highlighted the PAs and their surrounding areas with denser plant coverage. The methods used in this study allowed us to evaluate and integrate different types of information: bee diversity data, the spatial data of the PAs and their surroundings, and the economic value of the agricultural production of the neighbouring municipalities. The results can be applied in management and sustainability studies aiming to increase awareness about the importance of PAs and their value and importance for agricultural production. This study demonstrates where efforts can be concentrated for future proposals for valuating pollination services and conservation strategies, especially in areas where data are scarce. (c) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).",GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION,2019,OCT J,"Holzer, JM; Adamescu, CM; Cazacu, C; Diaz-Delgado, R; Dick, J; Mendez, PF; Santamaria, L; Orenstein, DE",Evaluating transdisciplinary science to open research-implementation spaces in European social-ecological systems,10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108228,"Researchers in multiple, related fields that address complex social and environmental challenges, have shown ongoing enthusiasm for applying transdisciplinary social-ecological systems (SES) research to promote sustainability. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of SES approach, assessed its achievements, and identified challenges to its implementation toward knowledge production for environmental conservation. We report the results of a qualitative, participatory evaluation of several SES projects across Europe using an evaluation methodology tailored to transdisciplinary projects. We conducted 66 stakeholder interviews at four designated Long-Term Socio-ecological Research (LTSER) platforms - Danube Delta and Braila Island (Romania); Cairngorms (Scotland); and Donana (Spain). Using qualitative analysis, we synthesized data from interviews and then returned to the sites to present findings to stakeholders in focus group discussions in order to incorporate their feedback into conclusions. We conclude that although particular scientists at each platform have taken on entrepreneurial roles to operationalize transdisciplinary science, a business-as-usual attitude tends to dominate institutions, limiting meaningful progress toward transdisciplinary objectives, including: integration of social science research, giving non-researcher stakeholders a more meaningful role in advancing relevant research, and improving knowledge exchange among different stakeholder groups, among other issues. While we found that all the components of transdisciplinary SES research exist at the sites, there is no overarching strategy to link long-term planning and funding, knowledge integration, and priority-setting with stakeholders to ensure the relevance of research for policy and practice. We conclude with reflections about implementing our evaluation methodology, and a call for periodic, participatory evaluation into the future.",BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION,2019,OCT J,"Brady, MV; Hristov, J; Wilhelmsson, F; Hedlund, K",Roadmap for Valuing Soil Ecosystem Services to Inform Multi-Level Decision-Making in Agriculture,10.3390/su11195285,"Agricultural soils contribute to human welfare through their generation of manifold ecosystem services such as food security, water quality and climate regulation, but these are degraded by common farming practices. We have developed a roadmap for evaluating the contribution of both private- and public-good ecosystem services generated by agricultural soils to societal welfare. The approach considers the needs of decision-makers at different levels, from farmers to policy-makers. This we achieve through combining production functions-to quantify the impacts of alternative management practices on agricultural productivity and soil ecosystem services-with non-market valuation of changes in public-good ecosystem services and benefit-cost analysis. The results show that the net present value to society of implementing soil-friendly measures are substantial, but negative for farmers in our study region. Although we apply our roadmap to an intensive farming region in Sweden, we believe our results have broad applicability, because farmers do not usually account for the value of public-good ecosystem services. We therefore conclude that market outcomes are not likely to be generating optimal levels of soil ecosystem services from society's perspective. Innovative governance institutions are needed to resolve this market failure to safeguard the welfare of future generations.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,oct 1 J,"Nistor, MM; Rahardjo, H; Satyanaga, A",DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT OF THE SINGAPORE LAND: A GIS SPATIAL-TEMPORAL APPROACH BASED ON LAND COVER ANALYSIS,10.21163/GT_2019.142.06,"Urban indicators plays an important role in the planning and sustainable development of the cities. This paper presents a methodology to determine the favorability index for development of Singapore based on land cover. The 'City Index' of Singapore was calculated using five indicators - Social, Environmental, Industrialization, Economic, and Naturality. Two indices 'Environmental Capacity of Development' and 'Land Restriction' were used as correction factors in the Singapore favorability index for development determination. The analysis of indicators and final index were carried out based on the land cover of Singapore in 2014 and in 2030 projection. A high favorability index was observed in the central and northwestern sides, in Pulau Tekong and Pulau Ubin 'Environmental Capacity of Development' factor is related to the significant importance in the natural territories and in the reclamation areas. Hence the central, North-West and surrounding islands registered higher values (close to 1) of the Environmental Capacity of Development. The high values of the 'Land Restriction' factor indicating many infrastructures and special use areas spread over the Singapore Island. On the other hand, the moderate values of the 'Land Restriction' factor are observed in few locations from North, South, central and northeastern islands of Singapore. The 'Favorability index for development of Singapore' depicts the central and northwestern sides together with the Tekong and Pulau Ubin as high favourable areas. The southern part of Singapore, near the coastline and the eastern extremity are predicted to be favourable areas in the future due to new reclamation lands extensions. The approach presented in this paper is indispensable tool for the Singapore urban decisions and future planning. Moreover, the methodology is useful and it can be adapted for large cities or metropolitan areas of capitals.",GEOGRAPHIA TECHNICA,2019,OCT J,"Rai, RK; Nepal, M; Bhatta, LD; Das, S; Khadayat, MS; Somanathan, E; Baral, K",Ensuring Water Availability to Water Users through Incentive Payment for Ecosystem Services Scheme: A Case Study in a Small Hilly Town of Nepal,10.1142/S2382624X18500029,"This study was carried out to design an incentive payment for an ecosystem services (IPES) scheme in the Baitadi Town Water Supply and Sanitation Project of Nepal. The main intention behind the designing of the scheme was to develop strategy for equitable use of water resources and involve communities, watershed and water user, in the sustainable management of water resources. We administered household survey in both the watershed community and water users to elicit their preferences regarding water source management and drinking water supply. A discrete choice experiment was employed in the case of water users which showed that, for them, water quality and quantity are the most important attributes. The estimated annual willingness-to-pay of water users for doubling water availability is NPR 482,076 (USD 4,505) and for doubling the water quantity and the supply of clean water that can be drunk directly from the tap is NPR 1.18 million (USD 10,988). The results of consultations with stakeholders indicate that the construction of public toilets, the regularization of grazing, off-season vegetable farming and drinking water distribution in the upstream area may contribute to maintaining the quality of water while keeping the watershed community satisfied with regard to water-sharing. These activities require NPR 1 17 million (USD 10,987) in the first year and NPR 425,640 (USD 3,978) annually from the second year on. The estimated willingness-to-pay and cost of the watershed activities indicate that implementing IPES in the Baitadi Town Water Supply Project is financially feasible and socially acceptable. Our study recommends the integration of the IPES design into the project design phase in future drinking water scheme, the best option being its integration into the initial environmental examination at the time of project design.",WATER ECONOMICS AND POLICY,2019,OCT J,"Assumma, V; Bottero, M; Monaco, R; Soares, AJ",An integrated evaluation methodology to measure ecological and economic landscape states for territorial transformation scenarios: an application in Piedmont (Italy),10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.071,"The increasing attention on environmental problems is stimulating the development of integrated evaluation approaches to territorial transformations, where different facets have to be considered. The present paper focuses on the development of a novel integrated evaluation model for measuring the ecological states and the economic values of an environmental system employing both a system of indicators and a mathematical model of Lotka-Volterra. This integrated evaluation model aims at investigating the relations between the landscape ecology and economics, and at simulating possible and future transformation scenarios for the landscape planning and management. As case study, we consider an environmental system located in Piedmont (Italy), in the Monferrato Ovadese area. The present paper proposes a suitable support for local governments to visualize outcomes and possible future scenarios, aiding the decision-making process in the definition of territorial transformation policies and actions.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,OCT J,"Ubeda-Colomer, J; Ginis, KAM; Monforte, J; Perez-Samaniego, V; Devis-Devis, E",Predicting physical activity in university students with disabilities: The role of social ecological barriers in the theory of planned behaviour,10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.06.008,"Background: Even though university students with disabilities are less active than their peers without disabilities, there is scarce knowledge on the predictors of physical activity (PA) in this population. Objectives: To predict PA in Spanish university students with disabilities using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and to examine the role of social ecological barriers within this theoretical framework. Methods: Participants (N = 1079; Mean age = 40.12) for this cross-sectional study were recruited through the disability care services of 55 Spanish universities. The TPB constructs were assessed using a questionnaire. The Spanish short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to measure PA and the reduced Spanish version of the Barriers to Physical Activity for People with Mobility Impairments was used to measure social ecological barriers. Results: Two different models were computed through path analysis. Model 1 included the traditional TPB constructs and model 2 added a social ecological barriers variable. In both models, attitudes (beta = 0.152; beta = 0.152), subjective norms (beta = 0.114; beta = 0.115) and self-efficacy (beta = 0.657; beta = 0.659) each predicted PA intentions. PA intentions (beta = 0.118; beta = 0.122), self-efficacy (beta = 0.225; beta = 0.207) and controllability (beta = 0.098; beta = 0.075) predicted PA. In model 2, social ecological barriers predicted PA (beta = 0.099). Regression analyses revealed intrapersonal barriers as a significant predictor of self-efficacy (beta = -0.441). Controllability was predicted by intrapersonal barriers (beta = -0.265), community barriers (beta = -0.100) and organizational barriers (beta = -0.095). Conclusions: Future PA behaviour change interventions should target intentions, self-efficacy and controllability, since they directly predicted PA. These interventions would benefit from considering social ecological barriers to PA. (c) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",DISABILITY AND HEALTH JOURNAL,2019,OCT J,"Ainsworth, GB; Kenter, JO; O'Connor, S; Daunt, F; Young, JC",A fulfilled human life: Eliciting sense of place and cultural identity in two UK marine environments through the Community Voice Method,10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100992,"Human impacts on the marine environment threaten the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people. Marine environments are a common-pool resource (CPR) and one of their major management challenges is how to incorporate the value of ecosystem services to society in decision-making. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) relate to the often intangible benefits people receive from their interactions with the natural environment and contribute to individual and collective human wellbeing. Priority knowledge gaps include the need to better understand shared values regarding CES, and how to effectively integrate these values into decision-making. We filmed 40 Community Voice Method interviews with marine stakeholders in two areas of the UK to improve on the valuation of coastal and marine CES. Results show that cultural benefits including sense of place, aesthetic pleasure and cultural identity were bi-directional, contributed directly to a 'fulfilled human life' and were associated with charismatic marine life and biodiversity. Other-regarding self-transcendence values were salient underscoring a desire for sustainable marine management. We critically reflect on our analytical framework that integrates aspects of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES conceptual frameworks. The thematic codebook developed for this study could prove useful for future comparative studies in other marine CES contexts. We propose that values-led management could increase the efficacy of marine planning strategies.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,OCT J,"Sharma, SK; Baral, H; Laumonier, Y; Okarda, B; Komarudin, H; Purnomo, H; Pacheco, P","Ecosystem services under future oil palm expansion scenarios in West Kalimantan, Indonesia",10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100978,"This study analyzes the five primary ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies associated with future scenarios of oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Three plausible future scenarios were assessed: 1) business as usual, 2) conservation and, 3) sustainable intensification, based on current land-use policy and spatial planning and projected oil palm expansion. The spatial analysis tool in ArcGIS and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Tool (InVEST Tool) were used to analyze historical and future land-use change, valuation and trade-offs of ecosystem services. The sustainable intensification scenario generates a positive impact on carbon storages and water yield, although habitat quality nominally declines. In terms of total economic value of ecosystem services, the conservation scenario generates the highest value of ecosystem services, while the sustainable intensification scenario offers a compromise solution for future expansion of oil palm by ensuring the supply of ecosystem services comparable to conservation scenario but without significantly affecting palm oil yield in comparison to the business-as-usual scenario. A detailed study with better information on the economic values of ecosystem services can provide a better understanding of the social and environmental impacts of oil palm expansion.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,OCT J,"Underwood, EC; Hollander, AD; Safford, HD; Kim, JB; Srivastava, L; Drapek, RJ",The impacts of climate change on ecosystem services in southern California,10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101008,"Climate change is projected to impact ecosystem functioning, however its effect on the provision of ecosystem services is uncertain. This is particularly relevant on federal lands which harbor extensive tracts of natural vegetation. We assessed change in four ecosystem services (water runoff, groundwater recharge, carbon storage, and biodiversity) and one disservice (sediment export) in southern California between current and end-of-century (2070-2099). We used five general circulation models ranging from warmer wetter (CNRM-CM5, CCSM4) to hotter, marginally drier (IPSL-CM5A-LR) to hotter drier (FGOALS-g2, MIROC-ESM) under RCP8.5. We found greatest projected change in water runoff, from an increase of 127% under a warmer wetter GCM to a decrease of - 60% under a hotter drier future. Carbon storage is projected to change the least, from an increase of 52% to a decrease of - 31% across GCMs. We also determined that one-third of high biodiversity areas are threatened by high change in climatic water deficit. We estimated the current monetized annual value of sediment removal costs to be $ 172 million per year and the economic value of carbon storage as $ 7.5 billion. Understanding the impacts of climate change on ecosystem services can help develop climate-smart strategies for the sustainable management of natural resources.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,OCT J,"Zanchi, G; Brady, MV",Evaluating the contribution of forest ecosystem services to societal welfare through linking dynamic ecosystem modelling with economic valuation,10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101011,"Trade-offs exist among the multiple ecosystem services (ES) generated by forests. Generally, wood production conflicts with the provisioning of public-good ES such as the storage of carbon, nutrient retention and conservation of biodiversity. Recognizing that forests generate both private- and public-good ES implies that forestry should be optimized to maximize the contribution of forests to societal welfare. Here we develop an integrated approach for evaluating the contribution of forest ES to welfare. Our approach links the results from dynamic ecosystem modelling to economic valuation and benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the impacts of alternative forestry practices on welfare. We apply the approach to a Norway spruce forest in southern Sweden. We show that current practices are not maximizing societal welfare, because of conflicts in the optimal choice of practices from society's and forest owners' perspectives, and the distribution of welfare between generations. In particular, intensifying biomass production is shown to reduce welfare due to the concomitant degradation of public-good ES, while welfare would improve through expansion of continuous cover forestry. We anticipate that this type of approach will aid the sustainable development of forestry, by informing decision makers of the impacts of alternative forestry practices on societal welfare.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,OCT J,"Pallatino, CL; Morrison, PK; Miller, E; Burke, J; Cluss, PA; Fleming, R; Hawker, L; George, D; Bicehouse, T; Chang, JC",The Role of Accountability in Batterers Intervention Programs and Community Response to Intimate Partner Violence,10.1007/s10896-019-00050-6,"To describe how stakeholders involved in intimate partner violence prevention and treatment at different levels of the Social Ecological Model view accountability in relationship to the key actors at various levels in the intervention process and their role in addressing future incidence of IPV. We conducted 36 in-depth qualitative interviews with BIP facilitators, IPV advocates, socio-judicial officials, and local and state policy makers. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling and interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded in ATLAS.ti. Interviews broadly explored the challenges and best practices in facilitating BIPs, as well as perceptions on the etiology of IPV. The current analysis focuses on participant views related to accountability, and the role that various groups and institutions have in addressing IPV perpetration. Interview participants emphasized a multi-systems level approach to addressing IPV, one that required the responsibility of both programs and judicial systems in establishing IPV as a serious crime, and stressed the need to ensure accountability across all relevant stakeholders engaged in the broader scope of IPV intervention. In order to have a sustainable impact on IPV perpetration, stakeholders across the Social Ecological Model will need to utilize crucial intervention periods using a standardized response to improve outcomes for IPV survivors, perpetrators, families and communities.",JOURNAL OF FAMILY VIOLENCE,2019,OCT J,"Hilbert, DR; Koeser, AK; Roman, LA; Hamilton, K; Landry, SM; Hauer, RJ; Campanella, H; McLean, D; Andreu, M; Perez, H",Development practices and ordinances predict inter-city variation in Florida urban tree canopy coverage,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103603,"Many cities around the world have set ambitious urban tree canopy cover goals, with the expectation that urban forests will provide ecosystem services as functional green infrastructure. Numerous studies have examined infra-city spatial patterns in urban tree canopy (UTC) and found that UTC relates to socioeconomic indicators and urban form. Additionally, a few studies have shown local regulations can be linked to increased tree cover. However, the relationship between UTC and governance across different cities has not been well-explored. To address this gap, we compared the management practices enacted by 43 municipalities in Florida (United States) to investigate their potential impact on tree canopy coverage. UTC was assessed through visual interpretation of aerial images. We used multiple linear regression to predict inter-city variation in UTC based on 1) municipal forestry management practices, including whether the municipality had an arborist, tree ordinances, a municipal tree inventory, and a canopy cover goal, and 2) community sociodemographic data. UTC ranged between 17.6% and 63.3% among the municipalities assessed, with an average UTC of 33.7%. Two factors significantly predicted canopy coverage. Housing density had a negative relationship with tree canopy (P-value = 0.0116). In contrast, municipalities with heritage tree protections had 6.7% more canopy coverage (P-value = 0.0476). Future research should continue to consider the potential impacts of governance structures on the spatiotemporal dynamics of inter- and intra-city UTC patterns.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2019,OCT J,"Raum, S; Hand, KL; Hall, C; Edwards, DM; O'Brien, L; Doick, KJ",Achieving impact from ecosystem assessment and valuation of urban greenspace: The case of i-Tree Eco in Great Britain,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103590,"Numerous tools have been developed to assist environmental decision-making, but there has been little examination of whether these tools achieve this aim, particularly for urban environments. This study aimed to evaluate the use of the i-Tree Eco tool in Great Britain, an assessment tool developed to support urban forest management. The study employed a documentary review, an online survey, and interviews in six case study areas to examine five impacts (instrumental, conceptual, capacity-building, enduring connectivity, and culture/attitudes towards knowledge exchange) and to identify which factors inhibited or supported achievement of impact. It revealed that the i-Tree Eco projects had helped to increase knowledge of urban forests and awareness of the benefits they provide. While there was often broad use of i-Tree Eco findings in various internal reports, external forums, and discussions of wider policies and plans, direct changes relating to improved urban forest management, increased funding or new tree policies were less frequent. The barriers we identified which limited impact included a lack of project champions, policy drivers and resources, problems with knowledge transfer and exchange, organisational and staff change, and negative views of trees. Overall, i-Tree Eco, similar to other environmental decision-making tools, can help to improve the management of urban trees when planned as one step in a longer process of engagement with stakeholders and development of new management plans and policies. In this first published impact evaluation of multiple i-Tree Eco projects, we identified eight lessons to enhance the impact of future i-Tree Eco projects, transferable to other environmental decision-making tools.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2019,OCT J,"Ortiz-Dowling, EM; Ananian, CD; Larkey, LK; Hooker, SP",Health-Seeking Behaviors and Health Information Gathering in Older Mexican American Males,10.1037/men0000194,"Evidence suggests that men's health disparities are linked to attitudes and beliefs toward health promotion and risk reduction, participation in high-risk behaviors, and limited health care access and use influenced by socioeconomic challenges. However, we know less about the specific factors related to health disparities in older Mexican American males. The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural. social, environmental, and gender factors influencing health-seeking behaviors and health information gathering in older Mexican American males. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 older Mexican American males aged 65-80 years. Based on language preference, interviews were conducted in either Spanish or English. A standardized moderator's guide was used to examine the participant's perceptions of health, maintenance of health, gender influences on health, and sources of men's health information and health promotion programs. Data were collected, organized, and analyzed following the methodology of transcendental phenomenology and the social ecological model. Two major themes related to health-seeking behaviors and health information gathering emerged: (a) top external sources heeded include women, health care providers, and the Internet and (b) men regard inner prompts for self-determined self-care. Future research should consider these external sources and inner prompts when developing targeted health promotion interventions, such as physical activity programs, with older Mexican American males.",PSYCHOLOGY OF MEN & MASCULINITY,2019,OCT J,"Jimenez-Aguilar, A; Rodriguez-Oliveros, MG; Uribe-Carvajal, R; Gonzalez-Unzaga, MA; Escalante-Izeta, EI; Reyes-Morales, H",Design of an educational strategy based on Intervention Mapping for nutritional health promotion in Child Care Centers,10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101672,"Early childhood is a critical period for instilling healthy habits to prevent overweight and obesity. This paper describes the development of an educational intervention for the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity among two-to-four-year-old children in public child care centers (CCCs) in Mexico City. Following the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol, we developed the Bright Futures multidisciplinary intervention. First, a formative research process to identify the personal and environmental determinants of childhood overweight and obesity, behavioral outcomes and performance objectives was conducted. Then, a matrix of change objectives by intersecting the performance objectives with the determinants was integrated. Bright Futures lasted six months and included 24 weekly sessions, each composed of five phases: warm-up, theory, active movements, relaxation, and hydration. Ad hoc interactive teaching materials focused on recreational activities, and formulated plans for the adoption, implementation and process/impact evaluation of the intervention was developed. IM successfully guided the design of a theory-driven and evidence-based intervention for children in CCCs within a socio-ecological and participatory planning framework. This is one of the first studies in Mexico to use IM in the context of CCCs.",EVALUATION AND PROGRAM PLANNING,2019,OCT J,"Saraev, V; Valatin, G; Peace, A; Quine, C",How does a biodiversity value impact upon optimal rotation length? An investigation using species richness and forest stand age,10.1016/j.forpol.2019.05.013,"We have conducted one of the first attempts to integrate empirical biodiversity data with economic modelling of optimum rotation length for forest stands. We sought relationships between different taxonomic groups and stand age for a range of forest types based upon UK biodiversity assessment data. We then examined the impact of these relationships in combination with biodiversity monetary values on stand-level forest management - something which ecologists might anticipate would lead to extended rotations. Although we found some evidence of significant relationships between overall species richness and stand age for many of the forest types considered, with examples of minima at around 40 years for Sitka spruce in foothills and Corsican pine in lowlands and a maximum at around 50 years for Scots pine in lowlands, at individual taxonomic group level only about 4% of responses were different from constant. However, the overall results mask potentially diverse relationships for individual taxonomic groups. We found evidence of increasing and decreasing relationships (as well as no response) at individual group level which may result from the particular niche requirements and the species assemblages present. When incorporated into the economic Hartman model, the main relationships were found to make minimal difference (with two exceptions) to optimal rotation length under standard assumptions based upon biodiversity values from the literature. When we extended our modelling to incorporate a higher value afforded to biodiversity than published values, we saw significant changes in optimal rotation length in more cases. Our results suggest the need for further refinement of biodiversity estimation and valuation methodology - and we make recommendations for future developments.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2019,OCT J,"Carlson, SJ; Scanlan, C; Marshall, HS; Blyth, CC; Macartney, K; Leask, J",Attitudes about and access to influenza vaccination experienced by parents of children hospitalised for influenza in Australia,10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.08.021,"Introduction: In Australia, influenza hospitalises more children than any other vaccine preventable disease does. Children aged six months or older are recommended to receive annual influenza vaccines, and pregnant women are recommended vaccination to protect infants aged up to six months. However, vaccine uptake is low. This study explored influenza vaccination knowledge and behaviours of parents of children who were hospitalised for influenza, in order to inform strategies that target barriers to uptake. Methods: We conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with parents caregivers during or shortly after their child's hospitalisation for laboratory-confirmed influenza in 2017. Questions were guided by the Social Ecological Model exploring all levels of influence on vaccination uptake from the intrapersonal through to policy, via the parents' perspective. Transcripts were inductively analysed. Themes were categorised into the components of the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Results: 20/27 children were aged six months or older; 16/20 had not received an influenza vaccine in 2017. Mothers of 4/7 infants aged less than six months were not vaccinated in pregnancy. The themes regarding barriers to influenza vaccination were: (1) Limited Capability - misinterpretations and knowledge gaps, (2) Lack of Opportunity - inconvenient vaccination pathway, missing recommendations, absence of promotion to all, and the social norm, and (3) Missing Motivation - hierarchy of perceived seriousness, safety concerns, a preference for 'natural' ways. Though most parents, now aware of the severity of influenza, intended to vaccinate their child in future seasons, some harboured reservations about necessity and safety. When parents were asked how to help them vaccinate their children, SMS reminders and information campaigns delivered through social media, schools and childcare were suggested. Conclusion: Improving parents' and providers' knowledge and confidence in influenza vaccination safety, efficacy, and benefits should be prioritised. This, together with making influenza vaccination more convenient for parents, would likely raise vaccine coverage. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",VACCINE,2019,SEP 20 J,"Pan, HZ; Page, J; Zhang, L; Chen, S; Cong, C; Destouni, G; Kalantari, Z; Deal, B",Using comparative socio-ecological modeling to support Climate Action Planning (CAP),10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.274,"We present a comparative socio-ecological modeling approach to identify possible improvement opportunities for Climate Action Plans (CAPs), focusing on two cities, Chicago and Stockholm. The aim is to provide a tool for capturing and addressing deep-rooted behavioral and institutional preferences that may aggravate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities. Socio-economic activities, land use change, and future urban forms are considered and forecast to the year 2040 on 30m x 30m spatial grids. GHG emissions associated with these urban development aspects are calculated and compared between the cities. Innovative policy instruments for growth control and zoning (GCZ) are simulated and tested through the socio-ecological model, to determine their effectiveness when added to other interventions included in the CAPs. Our findings show that behavioral/institutional preference for sprawl, its low density form, and resultant carbon sink losses are main factors driving current and future residential and transportation GHG emissions in Chicago. GCZ policies are shown to counteract and mitigate around 20% of these factors in the form of future GHG emissions. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,SEP 20 J,"Adityanandana, M; Gerber, JF",Post-growth in the Tropics? Contestations over Tri Hita Karana and a tourism megaproject in Bali,10.1080/09669582.2019.1666857,"This study looks at a socio-environmental conflict over a tourism megaproject in the Benoa Bay in Bali, Indonesia. This conflict is interesting because it crystallizes key questions about the future of the island. Intriguingly, all the conflicting groups of actors mobilize the same philosophy of Tri Hita Karana (THK), which can be translated as the three causes of well-being and which is said to guide the development policies of the island. Our objective is to investigate how THK relates to the conflict and to what extent some of its interpretations are growth-critical. Using political ecology as a theoretical lens and qualitative methods, we find that the conflicting groups do not oppose each other through different languages of valuation, but within them. Likewise, THK is only superficially one idiom of valuation. In reality, THK covers different visions of development, depending on the actors involved. We identify three broad ways of interpreting THK in this conflict: (i) a marketable way, (ii) an equity-oriented way, and (iii) a radical-integral way, which bears similarities with post-growth views. This article is a contribution to the emerging debates on post-growth thinking from the global South and to the radical critique of tourism industry in developing regions.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM,2019,dic 2 J,"Brack, W; Ait-Aissa, S; Backhaus, T; Birk, S; Barcelo, D; Burgess, R; Cousins, I; Dulio, V; Escher, BI; Focks, A; van Gils, J; Ginebreda, A; Hering, D; Hewitt, LM; Hilscherova, K; Hollender, J; Hollert, H; Kock, M; Kortenkamp, A; de Alda, ML; Muller, C; Posthuma, L; Schuurmann, G; Schymanski, E; Segner, H; Sleeuwaert, F; Slobodnik, J; Teodorovic, I; Umbuzeiro, G; Voulvoulis, N; van Wezel, A; Altenburger, R","Strengthen the European collaborative environmental research to meet European policy goals for achieving a sustainable, non-toxic environment",10.1186/s12302-019-0232-y,"To meet the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals and the European Union (EU) strategy for a non-toxic environment, water resources and ecosystems management require cost-efficient solutions for prevailing complex contamination and multiple stressor exposures. For the protection of water resources under global change conditions, specific research needs for prediction, monitoring, assessment and abatement of multiple stressors emerge with respect to maintaining human needs, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Collaborative European research seems an ideal instrument to mobilize the required transdisciplinary scientific support and tackle the large-scale dimension and develop options required for implementation of European policies. Calls for research on minimizing society's chemical footprints in the water-food-energy-security nexus are required. European research should be complemented with targeted national scientific funding to address specific transformation pathways and support the evaluation, demonstration and implementation of novel approaches on regional scales. The foreseeable pressure developments due to demographic, economic and climate changes require solution-oriented thinking, focusing on the assessment of sustainable abatement options and transformation pathways rather than on status evaluation. Stakeholder involvement is a key success factor in collaborative projects as it allows capturing added value, to address other levels of complexity, and find smarter solutions by synthesizing scientific evidence, integrating governance issues, and addressing transition pathways. This increases the chances of closing the value chain by implementing novel solutions. For the water quality topic, the interacting European collaborative projects SOLUTIONS, MARS and GLOBAQUA and the NORMAN network provide best practice examples for successful applied collaborative research including multi-stakeholder involvement. They provided innovative conceptual, modelling and instrumental options for future monitoring and management of chemical mixtures and multiple stressors in European water resources. Advancement of EU water framework directive-related policies has therefore become an option.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES EUROPE,2019,SEP 12 J,"Kensler, LAW; Uline, CL",Educational restoration: a foundational model inspired by ecological restoration,10.1108/IJEM-03-2018-0095,"Purpose The purpose of this paper is to articulate, and advocate for, a deep shift in how the authors conceptualize and enact school leadership and reform. The authors challenge fundamental conceptions regarding educational systems and call for a dramatic shift from the factory model to a living systems model of schooling. The authors call is not a metaphorical call. The authors propose embracing assumptions grounded in the basic human nature as living systems. Green school leaders, practicing whole school sustainability, provide emerging examples of educational restoration. Design/methodology/approach School reform models have implicitly and even explicitly embraced industrialized assumptions about students and learning. Shifting from the factory model of education to a living systems model of whole school sustainability requires transformational strategies more associated with nature and life than machines. Ecological restoration provides the basis for the model of educational restoration. Findings Educational restoration, as proposed here, makes nature a central player in the conversations about ecologies of learning, both to improve the quality of learning for students and to better align educational practice with social, economic and environmental needs of the time. Educational leaders at all levels of the educational system have critical roles to play in deconstructing factory model schooling and reform. The proposed framework for educational restoration raises new questions and makes these opportunities visible. Discussion of this framework begins with ecological circumstances and then addresses, values, commitment and judgments. Practical implications - Educational restoration will affect every aspect of teaching, learning and leading. It will demand new approaches to leadership preparation. This new landscape of educational practice is wide open for innovative approaches to research, preparation and practice across the field of educational leadership. Originality/value The model of educational restoration provides a conceptual foundation for future research and leadership practice.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT,2019,SEP 9 J,"Pereira, L; Sitas, N; Ravera, F; Jimenez-Aceituno, A; Merrie, A",Building capacities for transformative change towards sustainability: Imagination in Intergovernmental Science-Policy Scenario Processes,10.1525/elementa.374,"Scenario development has been recognized as a potential method to explore future change and stimulate a reflective process that can contribute to more informed decision-making. The assessment process under IPBES (the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) has however shown that the current predominantly biophysical and economic models and scenario processes for exploring the future of biodiversity, ecosystem services and their contributions to human wellbeing are insufficient to capture the complexity and context-specific nature of the problems facing these sectors. Several important challenges have been identified that require a more in-depth analysis of where more imaginative scenario efforts can be undertaken to address this gap. In this paper, we identify six key characteristics necessary for scenario processes: adaptability across diverse contexts, inclusion of diverse knowledge and value systems, legitimate stakeholder engagement that foregrounds the role of power and politics, an ability to grapple with uncertainty, individual and collective thinking mechanisms and relevance to policy making. We compared four cases of imaginative, arts-based scenario processes that each offer aspects of meeting these criteria. These approaches emphasise the importance of engaging the imagination of those involved in a process and harnessing it as a tool for identifying and conceptualising more transformative future trajectories. Drawing on the existing literature, we argue that there is value in fostering more inclusive and creative participatory processes that acknowledge the importance of understanding multiple value systems and relationships in order to reimagine a more inclusive and just future. Based on this, we reflect on future research to understand the transformative role that imagination can play in altering and enhancing knowledge-making for global assessments, including IPBES. We conclude that creative scenario co-development processes that promote imagination and create an opening for more empathetic responses should be considered as complementary tools within the suite of methodologies used for future IPBES scenario development.",ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE,2019,SEP 4 J,"Opoku, DGJ; Ayarkwa, J; Agyekum, K",Barriers to environmental sustainability of construction projects,10.1108/SASBE-08-2018-0040,"Purpose The construction industry plays an important role in the achievement of the 11th and 15th of the Sustainable Development Goals. Efforts have been made by most developing and developed economies toward the achievement of these goals. Despite the efforts being made by the construction industry toward the achievement of these goals, there are still barriers that prevent built environment consultants from advancing environmental sustainability (ES) of construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify barriers to ES of construction projects. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review on barriers to the adoption of ES was conducted and face-to-face semi-structured interviews of purposively selected built environment consultants in Ghana were carried out. Thematic template analysis of qualitative data was conducted. Findings The key findings from the study include perceived initial costs, lack of knowledge on ES, technological difficulties, external pressures in adopting ES practices and environmental conditions in developing countries. Originality/value The outputs of this study offer strategies which are very significant to the construction industry in embracing ES. Further, the findings contribute to knowledge on achieving the sustainable development agenda.",SMART AND SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2019,SEP 2 J,"Kikwiye, IR",The nature and extent of corporate social responsibility disclosure in Tanzania,10.1002/bsd2.62,"The study determined the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the annual reports in Tanzania. The documentary analysis of the annual reports of 15 listed companies on the Dar Es Salam stock exchange market was undertaken from 2000 to 2014. The data were analysed using content analysis to determine the patterns and contents of information disclosed. The findings indicate that disclosure of CSR activities in the narrative section of the annual report is pleasing. Good reports disclosed social and environmental protection, education, health, and water supply to the stakeholders accompanied with monetary values. Other disclosures included contributions in sports and culture, empowerment of women and youth, community, employees, and human rights. However, some companies had unsystematic reporting and less monetary values to support their recipients. The study recommends the stock exchange and the accounting body to provide disclosure guidelines to improve the form and contents of reporting. Future research can be directed to other disclosure means such as websites, stand-alone reports, and press releases of both listed and unlisted companies.",BUSINESS STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT,2019,SEP J,"Chernikova, IV; Loginovskaya, YV",ON THE CREATIVE ESSENCE OF MAN IN THE CONTEXT OF AN IDENTITY CRISIS,10.17223/19996195/47/6,"The dynamics of social and cultural changes in the world requires from a man to have stable internal support, the basis for which is grounded in the concept of human identity. The study of the human identity problem requires an interdisciplinary approach due to the multidimensional essence of the identity concept. The deeper understand of the human essence is especially important nowdays when the prospect of posthuman future is seriously discussed. The philosophical aspect of identity includes ontological (human nature), cognitive (cognition and consciousness) and axiological (values, ethics) characteristics that are traditionally revealed in individual, social, and cultural (linguistic and cultural) dimensions. The paper discusses the formation and development of the identity concept, on the basis of the self concept study with the method of the historical and philosophical analysis. The causes of the modern identity crisis are revealed, as well as its attendant phenomena (plurality of identity, narratives, online-identity etc.). The authors justify the idea that the concept of creative identity can confront the concepts of disappearing subjectivity. The analysis of the ways to overcome the identity crisis through the development of the creative principle is carried out and the concept of the creative identity dimension is proposed as a result of the research. The study revealed that some approaches to the concept of identity reveal new phenomena associated with the characteristics of the cultural and linguistic environment, manifested as a plurality of identities (the phenomenon of proteanism). Reliance on purely external social interactions without internal (cognitive) development and without the formation of an individual (creative) identity dissolves individuality of a person in a variety of narratives and discourses. Concerning the phenomena mentioned above, the authors make the conclusion that the disclosure of the cultural and the creative dimension of identity allow to resolve the identified crisis phenomena and gain the authenticity of man's being. Creative activity and the creative act is free and spontaneous expression of the self-identity that transforms the productive process where the realization of a person's destiny is possible and the victory of creativity over chaos is achieved by the culture.",YAZYK I KULTURA-LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,2019,SEP J,"He, J; Wan, Y; Tang, ZL; Zhu, XD; Wen, CH",A Developed Framework for the Multi-District Ecological Compensation Standards Integrating Ecosystem Service Zoning in an Urban Area in China,10.3390/su11184876,"Ecological compensation is an effective means to adjust relationships among stakeholders in order to conserve and/or sustainably use ecosystem services. The current ecological compensation standards (ECS) do not well reflect the differences in ecological, social, and economic development. Thus, we took a typical urbanization area (the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou region) in China as an example, because of its prominent contradiction between rapid socio-economic development and fragile ecosystem. Combined with the ecological, economic, and social conditions, the methods of ecosystem service value (ESV) evaluation, cluster analysis, and scenario analysis were used to propose an optimized spatial zoning method and optimal development scenario. Then, the ECS by different zones were determined by using ESV assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and contingent valuation method. The results showed that (1) the regions were divided into two categories, with a total of four zones: ESV output areas (synergetic development zones (SDZ) and ecological conservation zones (ECZ)) and ESV input areas (ecological degradation zones (EDegZ) and economic development zones (EDevZ)); (2) among five scenarios, the best development mode in the future was the protection and development scenario, which was consistent with the existing planning; and (3) the ECS for the SDZ should be paid about 1.94 billion Yuan/year, the ECZ should be paid about 0.80 billion Yuan/year, the ECS for the EDegZ should pay about 2.20-2.25 million Yuan/year, and the EDevZ should pay about 0.06-7.33 million Yuan/year. By feasibility analysis, the ESV input areas were fully capable of inter-regional compensation, which could promote the effective purchase of ecological services. The developed evaluation framework of ECS in this study can accurately provide a scientific basis for the determination of ecological compensation regulations and policies in the future.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,SEP J,"Tickell, SCY; Saenz-Arroyo, A; Milner-Gulland, EJ",Sunken Worlds: The Past and Future of Human-Made Reefs in Marine Conservation,10.1093/biosci/biz079,"Structures submerged in the sea by humans over millennia provide hard and longstanding evidence of anthropogenic influence in the marine environment. Many of these human-made reefs (HMRs) may provide opportunities for conservation despite having been created for different purposes such as fishing or tourism. In the middle of controversy around the costs and benefits of HMRs, a broad analysis of biodiversity and social values is necessary to assess conservation potential. This requires reframing HMRs as social-ecological systems, moving beyond comparisons with natural coral or rocky reefs to consider their roles as ecosystems in their own right; creating frameworks to track their type, number, size, units, location, characteristics, origins, social uses, and associated biodiversity locally and worldwide; and applying systematic assessment of conservation benefits in relation to stated conservation intentions. This integrative approach can catalyze learning, identify conservation opportunities, and inform positive management of HMRs into the future.",BIOSCIENCE,2019,SEP J,"Brueckner-Irwin, I; Armitage, D; Courtenay, S",Applying a social-ecological well-being approach to enhance opportunities for marine protected area governance,10.5751/ES-10995-240307,"The design and implementation of ecologically effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are influenced by social acceptance and the impact of MPAs on communities. Integrative analyses of the social and ecological determinants of marine conservation efforts and MPA networks are lacking but are needed to achieve desired outcomes. We developed and applied a social-ecological well-being (SEWB) approach to critically examine the linkages between MPAs and well-being in Southwest New Brunswick (Bay of Fundy, Canada). SEWB is defined as a social-ecological system state in which ecological resilience is sustained, while human needs are met and the quality of life of individuals is maintained. We examined (1) how stakeholders perceive benefits and costs of MPAs in relation to SEWB, and (2) how well-being insights contribute to the effectiveness of MPA governance. Using a qualitative case study approach, we conducted 49 semistructured interviews and 4 focus groups with fishers and other key informants at an existing MPA, as well as at an ecologically and biologically significant area that is a candidate for a future MPA. We identified 15 attributes of SEWB that related to MPAs, such as fishery access, community relations, place identity, and natural capital. Three key governance insights for decision makers emerged from the identification of these attributes: (1) displacement attributable to MPAs has implications across material, relational, subjective, and ecological dimensions; (2) effective collaboration is critical for community support, but perspectives about what constitutes effective collaboration may vary across stakeholder groups; and (3) aspects of MPA design fit poorly with the local context because they do not take social and ecological dynamics into account. Our findings empirically demonstrate the applicability of the SEWB framework, suggest a need to focus more on governance processes and improving fit, and highlight barriers to aligning national and local conservation priorities.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2019,SEP J,"Garrah, J; Frei, B; Bennett, EM","Bright spots among lakes in the Rideau Valley Watershed, Ontario",10.5751/ES-11073-240322,"Water quality, of critical importance to the ecological and social health of lake ecosystems, is maintained through complex interactions within lakes as well as between lakes and their watersheds. Often, water quality is managed by working toward improved water clarity, however, our ability to predict water clarity, and to manage lakes for it, is not always as successful as desired. Regional strategies for water clarity improvement often overlook the role of local environmental stewardship actions performed by lake associations on individual lakes across a region. Lake associations can act through directly altering biophysical drivers of clarity or the way that residents act within the system, demonstrating great potential to be incorporated into successful lake scale water quality management plans. We used a bright spots lens, in which we focus on those lakes whose water quality is higher than expected, to investigate the relationship between lake associations and water quality on 39 lakes in the Rideau Valley Lake Region (Ontario, Canada). We found that lake associations that are linked to bright spot lakes operate in a distinctly different way than other groups in the region, focusing on networking and advocacy activities instead of on ecological management. This points to the importance of working toward networking and advocacy goals as a future for lake stewardship groups in the Rideau Valley and other stewardship groups adapting this approach to their own social-ecological contexts.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2019,SEP J,"Li, QS; Wong, FKK; Fung, T","Classification of Mangrove Species Using Combined WordView-3 and LiDAR Data in Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong",10.3390/rs11182114,"Mangroves have significant social, economic, environmental, and ecological values but they are under threat due to human activities. An accurate map of mangrove species distribution is required to effectively conserve mangrove ecosystem. This study evaluates the synergy of WorldView-3 (WV-3) spectral bands and high return density LiDAR-derived elevation metrics for classifying seven species in mangrove habitat in Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong, China. A recursive feature elimination algorithm was carried out to identify important spectral bands and LiDAR (Airborne Light Detection and Ranging) metrics whilst appropriate spatial resolution for pixel-based classification was investigated for discriminating different mangrove species. Two classifiers, support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) were compared. The results indicated that the combination of 2 m resolution WV-3 and LiDAR data yielded the best overall accuracy of 0.88 by SVM classifier comparing with WV-3 (0.72) and LiDAR (0.79). Important features were identified as green (510-581 nm), red edge (705-745 nm), red (630-690 nm), yellow (585-625 nm), NIR (770-895 nm) bands of WV-3, and LiDAR metrics relevant to canopy height (e.g., canopy height model), canopy shape (e.g., canopy relief ratio), and the variation of height (e.g., variation and standard deviation of height). LiDAR features contributed more information than spectral features. The significance of this study is that a mangrove species distribution map with satisfactory accuracy can be acquired by the proposed classification scheme. Meanwhile, with LiDAR data, vertical stratification of mangrove forests in Mai Po was firstly mapped, which is significant to bio-parameter estimation and ecosystem service evaluation in future studies.",REMOTE SENSING,2019,SEP J,"Hu, W; Hu, Y; Hu, ZD; Huang, Y; Zhao, YB; Ren, M",Emergy-based sustainability evaluation of China's marine eco-economic system during 2006-2015,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.05.013,"China's sustainable development is inseparable from the sustainable development of marine eco-economic system. This paper applied emergy analysis to evaluate the sustainability of China's marine eco-economic system. The results showed that China's marine eco-economic system mainly depended on renewable resources to operate and renewable resources and economic output were the most important components. The gap between inputs and outputs was expanding in China's marine eco-economic system. The emergy density of China's marine eco-economic system was low. The unit emergy value of the southern areas were higher than that of the northern areas in China. The emergy yield ratio of China's marine eco-economic system increased steadily and the emergy yield ratio showed a pattern of high, medium and low coexistence. The environmental loading rate of China's marine eco-economic system was very low. The emergy sustainability index of China's marine eco-economic system was high, and the sustainability of the marine eco-economic system was good. In order to ensure the long-term sustainable development of China's marine eco-economic system, China should adopt a series of measures.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,SEP 1 J,"Alvarez-Sanchez, DE; Gomez-Lopez, ED; Ordonez-Jurado, HR","Typology of pea-producing farms (Pisum sativum L.) in the southern subregion of Narino, Colombia",10.21930/rcta.vol20_num3_art:1593,"In Colombia, Narino is the main pea-producing department that supplies approximately 54 % of the national demand. The main producing area of this legume is concentrated in the Obando or southern subregion of the department, where pea (Pisum sativum L.) shows adequate environmental conditions and develops under family farming. In this study, we sought to identify typologies of farms dedicated to this crop, for this, a heterogeneous sample of 1.067 farms in five municipalities of the southern subregion (Cordoba, Cuaspud, Iles, Ipiales and Potosi) was taken. Following the methodological framework proposed by the International Network of Research Methodologies in Production Systems (RIMISP, for its acronym in Spanish) to georeference each farm and apply a structured survey with 39 variables. The information obtained was subjected to Multiple Correspondence and Hierarchical Grouping Analyses. As a result, 12 variables with discriminant power were identified, which formed three clusters: C1 grouped 6 % of the sample (68 farms), C2 assembled 26 % (271 farms) and C3 grouped 68 % (728 farms). Each group showed particular characteristics regarding the property, agro-productive strategies, and social, environmental, and economic aspects that described the heterogeneity of the farms associated with pea cultivation. It is expected that the results will contribute to the characterization and selection of representative farms for future sustainability estimation works.",REVISTA CORPOICA-CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGIA AGROPECUARIA,2019,SEP-DEC J,"Moucheraud, C; Stern, AF; Ahearn, C; Ismail, A; Nsubuga-Nyombi, T; Ngonyani, MM; Mvungi, J; Ssensamba, J",Barriers to HIV Treatment Adherence: A Qualitative Study of Discrepancies Between Perceptions of Patients and Health Providers in Tanzania and Uganda,10.1089/apc.2019.0053,"Previous qualitative studies about antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence have largely focused on patient experiences. Less is known about the perspective of health care providers-particularly in low-income countries-who serve as gatekeepers and influencers of patients' HIV care experiences. This study explored patients' and providers' perceptions of important ART adherence determinants. Interviews were conducted at HIV treatment sites in Tanzania and Uganda, with adult patients on ART (n = 148), and with health care providers (n = 49). Patients were asked about their experiences with ART adherence, and providers were asked about their perceptions of what adherence challenges are faced by their patients. All interviews were conducted in local languages; transcripts were translated into English and analyzed using a codebook informed by the social ecological model. Themes were examined across and within countries. Adherence-related challenges were frequently reported, but patients and providers did not often agree about the reasons. Many patients cited challenges related to being away from home and therefore away from their pill supply; and, in Uganda, challenges picking up refills (access to care) and related to food sufficiency/diet. Providers also identified these access to care barriers, but otherwise focused on different key determinants (e.g., they rarely mentioned food/diet); instead, providers were more likely to mention alcohol/alcoholism, stigma, and lack of understanding about the importance of adhering. These findings suggest areas of opportunity for future research and for improving clinical care by aligning perceptions of adherence challenges, to deliver better-informed and useful ART counseling and support.",AIDS PATIENT CARE AND STDS,2019,SEP 1 J,"Withers, PJA; Vadas, PA; Uusitalo, R; Forber, KJ; Hart, M; Foy, RH; Delgado, A; Dougherty, W; Lilja, H; Burkitt, LL; Rubaek, GH; Pote, D; Barlow, K; Rothwell, S; Owens, PR",A Global Perspective on Integrated Strategies to Manage Soil Phosphorus Status for Eutrophication Control without Limiting Land Productivity,10.2134/jeq2019.03.0131,"Unnecessary accumulation of phosphorus (P) in agricultural soils continues to degrade water quality and linked ecosystem services. Managing both soil loss and soil P fertility status is therefore crucial for eutrophication control, but the relative environmental benefits of these two mitigation measures, and the timescales over which they occur, remain unclear. To support policies toward reduced P loadings from agricultural soils, we examined the impact of soil conservation and lowering of soil test P (STP) in different regions with intensive farming (Europe, the United States, and Australia). Relationships between STP and soluble reactive P concentrations in land runoff suggested that eutrophication control targets would be more achievable if STP concentrations were kept at or below the current recommended threshold values for fertilizer response. Simulations using the Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE) model in three contrasting catchments predicted total P losses ranging from 0.52 to 0.88 kg ha(-1) depending on soil P buffering and erosion vulnerability. Drawing down STP in all catchment soils to the threshold optimum for productivity reduced catchment P loss by between 18 and 40%, but this would take between 30 and 40+ years. In one catchment, STP drawdown was more effective in reducing P loss than erosion control, but combining both strategies was always the most effective and more rapid than erosion control alone. By accounting for both soil P buffering interactions and erosion vulnerability, the APLE model quickly provided reliable information on the magnitude and time frame of P loss reduction that can be realistically expected from soil and STP management. Greater precision in the sampling, analysis, and interpretation of STP, and more technical innovation to lower agronomic optimum STP concentrations on farms, is needed to foster long-term sustainable management of soil P fertility in the future.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY,2019,SEP-OCT J,"Norbury, M; Shaw, D; Jones, P",Combining hydraulic modelling with partnership working: towards practical natural flood management,10.1680/jensu.17.00025,"The UK government's Future Flooding Inquiry called for more integrative methods to respond to flood risk management challenges. The 25-year plan for the environment, A Green Future (published by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2018), has reiterated the requirement for integrated catchment management. There is growing acceptance that natural flood management (NFM) can complement traditional urban flood defence schemes. This paper examines the outcomes of a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between Waterco Consultants and the University of Liverpool which explores some of the challenges of implementing what appear to be relative simple NFM measures. Through a multidisciplinary partnership, the KTP project explored multiple delivery challenges. Using case study evidence from north-west England, the paper demonstrates the need for combining partnership working with more traditional hydraulic modelling approaches that can predict the potential flood risk reduction benefits of multiple NFM features, combined with the need to design structurally resilient interventions, so that appropriate permits can be approved. One of the key findings is that while NFM can contribute to flood risk alleviation, with multiple socio-environmental benefits, NFM can only be part of a more holistic approach. Primary evidence for hard and soft engineering measures, combined with use of automated attenuation management, could provide opportunities for more significant integrated flood risk benefits.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS-ENGINEERING SUSTAINABILITY,2019,SEP J,"Raymond, IJ; Raymond, CM",Positive psychology perspectives on social values and their application to intentionally delivered sustainability interventions,10.1007/s11625-019-00705-9,"Despite the increasing interest in the intersections among values, well-being and environmental outcomes in sustainability science, few studies have considered these relationships by drawing on well-established theories and methods from positive psychology. The aim of this paper is to review three approaches conceptually related to positive psychology (self-determination theory, SDT; character strengths and virtues, CSV; acceptancy and commitment therapy, ACT) and compare these to sustainability approaches to well-being and values. First, we critically compare how values are understood, constructed and operationalised within the positive psychology and environmental values literatures. We offer a summary table to detail key concepts (and articles) which sustainability scientists may draw upon in their work against the dimensions of (1) elicitation process, (2) value provider (3) value concept and (4) value indicators. Second, we critically compare how the positive psychology and environmental values literature have considered the intersections between values and well-being. We identify the positive psychology pathways of 'value activation' and 'healthy-values' as alternative methods for sustainability scientists to consider. Third, we offer future options for the integration of positive psychology and environmental values literatures to deliver interventions which may lead to well-being and sustainability outcomes. We suggest that mindfulness could be applied as a method to clarify and activate values within a nature exposure context, which harnesses the qualities of both disciplines. To demonstrate integrative possibilities, a case example is offered which brings focus to well-being and sustainability outcomes, the intersection of value pathways, and intervention components drawn from both disciplines.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,SEP J,"Cheng, VMY",Developing individual creativity for environmental sustainability: Using an everyday theme in higher education,10.1016/j.tsc.2019.05.001,"Creativity literature was criticized for its bias towards conventional areas (e.g. arts), and creativity studies in domains less concerned about creativity, such as environmental sustainability (ES), are rare. This study aimed to understand the development of creativity for ES (pro-ES creativity) of common tertiary students. Based on a pro-environmental behaviour model and a pro-sustainability competence model found in literature, a pro-ES creative learning curriculum was designed and integrated into an existing toy course in a university of Hong Kong. A total of 20 students from three cohorts were interviewed, and their feedback was analysed inductively with open-coding by the consensus of two experts. Together with their affecting factors, five learning outcomes emerged as attributes of pro-ES creativity: sensitivity and problem-finding; creative problem-solving abilities; affinity for self-creating life-style; creative systems thinking and futures thinking; and reconceptualization of creativity and ES. This study discovered that creativity, as a kind of self-actualization, had developed both individual competences and intrinsic motivation, which are conducive to life-long self-determining ES behaviours. This study informs the education field that the five attributes of pro-ES creativity can be enhanced in a curriculum based on a simple everyday theme. As such, pro-ES creativity education can be integrated into many existing curricula. Going beyond ES, this study shed light on creativity studies of other less popular areas. It suggested a dual domain-specific-general creativity education approach and a dual deductive-inductive research approach for developing creativity theories and curriculum of low-creativity domains.",THINKING SKILLS AND CREATIVITY,2019,SEP J,"Tolvanen, H; Erkkila-Valimaki, A; Nylen, T",From silent knowledge to spatial information - Mapping blue growth scenarios for maritime spatial planning,10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103598,"Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is an effective tool for conciliating human activities and environmental values, building on spatial data and geoinformation technologies. However, socio-economic information is distinctly underrepresented in the rapidly growing supply of spatial information. The spatial distribution of current and future activities and opinions has traditionally been the silent information of scientists, local actors and the public. Moreover, future projections and policies exist in qualitative, non-spatial formats, incompatible with quantitative biophysical spatial data layers. This article aims at promoting the generation and application of spatial socio-economic information for the purposes of MSP. We examine one workflow of converting the socioeconomic knowledge of individual experts to spatial data, and further to refined spatial knowledge. We illustrate how participatory mapping, data interpretation and core geocomputing methods may be used to generate data, and discuss the main issues related to their generation and use. The results suggest that participatory mapping can provide valuable data for the MSP process, helping in filling the gap of missing socio-economic information. The process is highly subjective: the presentation of background information, the framing of the questions and the interpretation of the spatial data may have notable influence on the generated information. Furthermore, both the technology of the data collection and applied analysis methods have distinct effects on spatial information and its validity.",MARINE POLICY,2019,SEP J,"Convertino, M; Annis, A; Nardi, F",Information-theoretic portfolio decision model for optimal flood management,10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.06.013,"The increasing impact of flooding urges more effective flood management strategies to guarantee sustainable ecosystem development. Recent catastrophes underline the importance of avoiding local flood management, but characterizing large scale basin wide approaches for systemic flood risk management. Here we introduce an information-theoretic Portfolio Decision Model (iPDM) for the optimization of a systemic ecosystem value at the basin scale by evaluating all potential flood risk mitigation plans. iPDM calculates the ecosystem value predicted by all feasible combinations of flood control structures (FCS) considering environmental, social and economical asset criteria. A multi-criteria decision analytical model evaluates the benefits of all FCS portfolios at the basin scale weighted by stakeholder preferences for assets' criteria as ecosystem services. The risk model is based on a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) that predicts the flood susceptibility, the risk of floods based on the exceedance probability distribution, and its most important drivers. Information theoretic global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis is used to select the simplest and most accurate model based on a flood return period. A stochastic optimization algorithm optimizes the ecosystem value constrained to the budget available and provides Pareto frontiers of optimal FCS plans for any budget level. Pareto optimal solutions maximize FCS diversity and minimize the criticality of floods manifested by the scaling exponent of the Pareto distribution of flood size that links management and hydrogeomorphological patterns. The proposed model is tested on the 17,000 km(2) Tiber river basin in Italy. iPDM allows stakeholders to identify optimal FCS plans in river basins for a comprehensive evaluation of flood effects under future ecosystem trajectories.",ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE,2019,SEP J,"Chow, AF; Morgan, D; Bayly, M; Kosteniuk, J; Elliot, V",Collaborative Approaches to Team-Based Primary Health Care for Individuals with Dementia in Rural/Remote Settings,10.1017/S0714980818000727,"Applying primary health care (PHC) team-based approaches to diagnosing and treating dementia is considered best practice. Unfortunately, those living in rural and remote areas often have limited access to dementia-specific PHC services. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and understand PHC team-based approaches for dementia care in rural settings. A search strategy was employed which included only peer-reviewed journal articles that were published from 1997 to 2017. Four databases (Embase, Medline, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) were searched from March 2017 to May 2017. Among the 10 studies included there was a variation in the degree of collaboration and interaction among the care teams. Limited information existed about collaboration strategies among care teams. An adaptation of the socio-ecological model enabled us to categorize key factors influencing collaborative team-based approaches. Combined, these findings can be used to inform both future research and the development of a rural PHC dementia model.",CANADIAN JOURNAL ON AGING-REVUE CANADIENNE DU VIEILLISSEMENT,2019,SEP J,"Briassoulis, H",Governance as multiplicity: the Assemblage Thinking perspective,10.1007/s11077-018-09345-9,"Governance, the process of steering for collective action, is being theorized and empirically explored on a variety of subjects, private and collective issues and spatial levels. Depending on epistemological and theoretical preferences, studies adopt a hierarchical/centralized or a relational/decentralized conception of governance although they increasingly recognize that hybrid governance,' a mix of multiple models and modes, prevails in practice. Theoretical and empirical studies alike discuss sparingly, if at all, ontological issues, i.e., the nature of the what' is governed, despite their prominence for meaningful empirical analysis. A system' ontology is mostly presumed that usually produces static, context-insensitive accounts of dynamic governance phenomena and one-size-fits-all and best practices' recommendations. Since the 2000s, Assemblage Thinking (AT), a current of poststructuralist thinking, is being utilized on the grounds that the assemblage ontology better supports, conceptually and methodologically, the situated study of governance. This paper offers an overview of the application of AT in governance studies and an introductory exploration into the capacity of AT to frame a compleat approach for the applied study of governance conceived not as unitary process but as multiplicity. After summarizing the discourse on governance, the paper highlights the main features of AT and critically reviews selected assemblage-based governance studies. Then, it discusses the conceptual affinities between governance and assemblage, reconceptualizes governance, outlines the contours of an assemblage-based methodology and proposes an AT-based approach to governance. A discussion of the value of AT for applied governance studies and future research challenges conclude the paper.",POLICY SCIENCES,2019,SEP J,"Stephenson, K; Shabman, L",Does ecosystem valuation contribute to ecosystem decision making?: Evidence from hydropower licensing,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.05.003,"Ecosystem valuation methods (EVM) have been developed by economists and offered as information that decision makers may find useful in making choices about ecosystem service levels. This paper examines the use of EVM by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) when licensing the operation of existing nonfederal hydropower dams. First, we report on the FERC decision to encourage the applicant to engage in a deliberative, decentralized negotiation process with a wide array of stakeholders that allows for, but does not require, EVM analysis as decision making information. Second, we report on 17 major relicensing cases where project operations that have significant impacts on aquatic restoration and recreational opportunities, and find that in no case did the participants request ecosystem valuation studies for comparison with monetary estimates of hydropower benefits. This reliance on a negotiation processes lieu of ecosystem valuation is consistent with the deliberative valuation processes supported by many ecological economists.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2019,SEP J,"Jamaliah, MM; Powell, RB","Integrated vulnerability assessment of ecotourism to climate change in Dana Biosphere Reserve, Jordan",10.1080/13683500.2017.1401982,"Climate change has become a major threat to ecotourism in protected areas. This study aims to assess the vulnerability of the ecotourism system in Dana Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the major ecotourism destination in Jordan, to climate change. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in DBR to assess climate change-related threats, their influence on natural resources, local communities and ecotourism's activities; and adaptation practices. The results indicate that DBR is highly exposed to multiple climate threats, specifically reduced precipitation, shifts in the rainy season, and increased frequency and intensity of drought. These changes are degrading the environment, shifting tourism seasons, and changing livelihoods and lifestyles of local communities. To mitigate these diverse consequences, DBR implements a range of environmental management, technical, educational and business management policies and practices. However, this vulnerability assessment, which addressed social, economic, and environmental impacts, provides a holistic understanding of the susceptibility of the tourism system to climate change and guidance for facilitating future adaptation.",CURRENT ISSUES IN TOURISM,2019,ago 27 J,"Fumagalli, M; Cesario, A; Costa, M; di Sciara, GN; Harraway, J; Slooten, E",Population ecology and the management of whale watching operations on a data-deficient dolphin population,10.1002/ece3.5565,"Whale watching is a popular commercial activity, producing socio-ecological benefits but also potential long-term effects on the targeted cetacean population. This industry is currently developing in data-deficient contexts in a largely unregulated fashion. Management schemes should adopt precaution and be informed by the relevant literature, but would be more effective if the assessment of the target population vulnerability, biological impacts, and management implications was drawn from site-specific data. This paper focuses on a reef-associated, data-deficient population of spinner dolphins in the Egyptian Red Sea. In Satayah Reef, new information on population size and dynamic parameters were documented using visual observation and photo-identification-based capture-recapture methods (Cormack-Jolly-Seber time-since-marking model). Dolphins occurred on 98% of the survey days. Average school size was 66 individuals (+/- 42.1 SE), with most groups including calves. The population was equally divided into recurrent and transient individuals. An emigration + mortality model best described residence at the site. Five recurrent males (5% of the Satayah population) provided connectivity between this and the geographically close population of Samadai Reef. Average annual survival probability was 0.83 (+/- 0.06 SE) in the year following first capture and 0.99 (+/- 0.06 SE) for recurrent individuals. Mean yearly population sizes ranged 143-207 individuals. The study had the power to detect a 30% decline in the population, but not the rate of change in abundance estimated from the data (r = 0.018 +/- 0.04), which would have required a 3- to 5-times longer study. Synthesis and application: These findings advance the assessment of the Satayah population's intrinsic vulnerability and have three major management applications: (a) the delineation of management units; (b) the identification of key indicators for future impact monitoring and assessment; and (c) realistic estimates of the statistical power for trend detection. Based on our results, we recommend supporting future research, devising site-specific time-area closure plans, and integrating them in a regional scheme. Approaches employed in this case study can inform the management of whale watching industries targeting other data-deficient populations.",ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,2019,SEP J,"Apostolaki, S; Koundouri, P; Pittis, N",Using a systemic approach to address the requirement for Integrated Water Resource Management within the Water Framework Directive,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.077,"Sustainable management of water resources calls for integration of ideas and approaches and revolves around assessment of causal-effect relationships as tools towards defining informed mitigation options and planning. The current paper presents a new holistic approach developed within the Globaqua Coordination Project that combines indicator-based well-established and tested concepts towards developing informed Programmes of Measures and River basin management plans: a. The DPSIR framework that has been engaged as central instrument to address the Water Framework Directive requirements and the concepts embedded in the Integrated Water Resource Management; b. The Ecosystem Services Approach emphasizing on the links between ecosystem services, changes in ecosystems and human well-being, c. Scenario assessment for valuation of future conditions to ensure the sustainability in the use of water resources. The implementation of the new combined framework in two river basins, Ebro in Spain and Evrotas in Greece, stressed the need for revised options targeting elimination of water pollution, measures to ensure water supply that covers the demand even under conditions of climate change and increased water stress and the need for improved valuation of environmental and resource use costs. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,ago 20 J,"Forlani, N",Socio-environmental assemblies in the public-political future of socio-technical controversies in relation to agribusiness,10.24215/23468904e086,"The objective of this paper is to address the praxis of socio-environmental assembly spaces in their incidence with respect to sociotechnical controversies, that is, differences within technoscience and / or between this and other social actors, which have occurred in public universities around to the expansion of the hegemonic logic of agricultural production in Argentina (agribusiness). More precisely, the research focuses on a case study that reviews the collective actions of the Malvinas Assemblies Fight for Life (Malvinas Argentinas) and Rio Cuarto Without Agrotoxics (Rio Cuarto) in relation to their antagonism against transgenic experimentation centers that Monsanto intended to build and put into operation in the province of Cordoba, addressing the place that the National Universities of Cordoba and Rio Cuarto occupied in their strategies and repertoires. The methodological approach under which the present investigation was developed was of a descriptive qualitative nature, for which we resorted to various data collection techniques, such as: participant observation, semi-structured interviews, compilation and interpretation of official documents issued by the Assemblies as well as those produced by universities and press publications. The announcement anticipates the use of primary and secondary sources.",CUESTIONES DE SOCIOLOGIA,2019,ago 19 J,"Riazi, NA; Blanchette, S; Trudeau, F; Larouche, R; Tremblay, MS; Faulkner, G",Correlates of Children's Independent Mobility in Canada: A Multi-Site Study,10.3390/ijerph16162862,"Globally, physical inactivity is a concern, and children's independent mobility (CIM) may be an important target behavior for addressing the physical inactivity crisis. The aim of this study was to examine correlates of CIM (8-12 years old) in the Canadian context to inform future interventions. CIM was measured via parent surveys. Individual, social, and environmental correlates of CIM were examined using a social-ecological framework. 1699 participants' data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and gender-stratified linear mixed-effects models while controlling for site, area-level socioeconomic status, and type of urbanization. Individual correlates including child grade (beta = 0.612, p < 0.001), language spoken at home (beta = -0.503, p < 0.001), car ownership (beta = -0.374, p < 0.05), and phone ownership (beta = 0.593, p < 0.001) were associated with CIM. For boys, parental gender (beta = -0.387, p < 0.01) was negatively associated with CIM. Parents' perceptions of safety and environment were significantly associated with CIM. Location (i.e., site) was significantly associated with CIM (ref: Trois-Rivieres; Ottawa (beta = -1.188, p < 0.001); Vancouver (beta = -1.216, p < 0.001)). Suburban environments were negatively associated with boys' independent mobility (beta = -0.536, p < 0.05), while walkability (400 m beta = 0.064, p < 0.05; 1600 m beta = -0.059, p < 0.05) was significantly associated with girls' independent mobility only. Future research and interventions should consider targeting modifiable factors like children's and parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety and environment.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,ago 14 J,"Moutouama, FT; Biaou, SSH; Kyereh, B; Asante, WA; Natta, AK","Factors shaping local people's perception of ecosystem services in the Atacora Chain of Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot in northern Benin",10.1186/s13002-019-0317-0,"Background Atacora Chain of Mountains (ACM) is the Benin part of a range of mountains lying from Benin to Ghana through Togo. It provides goods and services to people and is dominated by rural communities with heavy reliance on natural resources. The ACM may be threatened by the increasing resource needs and the possible shift in people's livelihood priorities brought about by challenges and opportunities ushered in by modernization. This study sought to understand local people's perception of the services derived from the ACM and the socio-demographic factors (age, gender, and level of urbanization of the place people live in) accounting for these perceptions. Methods Face to face interviews with 12 focus groups in 3 municipalities were carried out to obtain a list of ecosystem services cited by the participants. At the individual level, 144 people (men, women, young, adult, and old people from either rural or urbanized areas) equally distributed in the 3 municipalities were asked whether they acknowledge each of the services cited by the focus groups. Logistic regressions were then used with generalized linear models (GLM) function in R to analyze the relationships between the probability of acknowledgement of a service by the respondents and their socio-demographic characteristics. Results Local people perceived the ACM as a provider of provisioning, supporting, and cultural services but cited more provisioning services than the others. The factors considered in this study (gender, location, and age) were all predictors of ecosystem services perception in the ACM. Location influenced people's perception of provisioning and supporting services such that respondents from rural municipalities were more likely to perceive provisioning and supporting services. This is because people in rural areas have a heavier reliance on natural resources. Gender was associated with respondents' perception of supporting, provisioning, and cultural services. Women were more likely to perceive provisioning services and less likely supporting and cultural services. People in each category of gender have a perception of ES linked to their livelihood activities. Young people were less likely to perceive supporting services than adults and old people due to their less involvement in farming activities. Conclusions This study showed that gender, location, and age predict local people's perception of ecosystem services in the ACM and livelihood orientation is determinant. The omission of regulation and many of the supporting services questions the future of this mountain chain if its exploitation continues without any awareness and conservation measures.",JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE,2019,ago 14 J,"Stienecker, SL; Jackson, KM; Moore, PA",The role of social and/or ecological contexts influences assessment strategy use in Tilapia,10.1111/eth.12936,"Animals engage in costly agonistic contests during which winners procure resources. During these interactions, the combatants obtain and use information to make decisions on whether to persist or to withdraw from the fight, which is termed assessment. Recent theory and work have suggested that the types of assessment employed may be more variable than previously thought, with the use of different strategies possibly being influenced by social and ecological conditions during priming. This study addresses the contextual components (social and ecological) that affect the utilization of one assessment strategy over another. Male tilapia were primed with different combinations of social (large and small animals) and ecological (resource rich or poor) contexts 24 hr prior to fighting in staged, dyadic contests. When opponents were primed with the same context, a clear assessment strategy emerged and differed as a function of priming treatment. Conversely, when fish were primed with different treatment contexts, there was no discernible assessment. In addition, priming conditions had differing effects for large and small fish. Thus, assessment strategies in cichlids are dependent upon a combination of social, ecological contexts and size of the animal. Since assessment strategies change as a function of both of these contexts, as well as others, future framework investigating assessment strategies should include both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may shape fighting dynamics.",ETHOLOGY,2019,NOV J,"Usher, W",Living in quiet desperation: The mental health epidemic in Australia's higher education,10.1177/0017896919867438,"Objective: This study sought to investigate the relationship between personal, university, home and community influences on Australia's university students' mental health status. Design: Positioned within a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm, the study collected data from participants (n = 934) by means of an online survey requesting lived or witnessed experiences concerning mental health concerns. Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model informed the design of the study. Setting: Five major Australian higher educational settings. Method: Leximancer software was used for concept development. Data were analysed using thematic coding. Results: Findings provide qualitative data of university students' experiences concerning mental health status, as measured across four domains. Themes identified include personal (stress, anxiety, life skills), university (grades/free physical activity) and home (closer to home, support networks) dimensions. There was no unprompted reference to the community domain. Results reinforce the need to ensure that current and future student mental health policies and initiatives are implemented within each of the domains addressed - to ensure a more holistic approach to students' well-being and care. Conclusion: Findings highlight challenges concerning Australia's university students' mental health status. Findings present an opportunity for the university sector, community health services, and sports and fitness organisations to develop and implement future collaborative health promotion in higher education settings.",HEALTH EDUCATION JOURNAL,2020,MAR J,"Low, LK; Williams, BR; Camenga, DR; Hebert-Beirne, J; Brady, SS; Newman, DK; James, AS; Hardacker, CT; Nodora, J; Linke, SE; Burgio, KL","Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Research Consortium focus group Study of Habits, Attitudes, Realities, and Experiences of Bladder health",10.1111/jan.14148,"Aim The study purpose is to explore adolescent and adult women's experiences, perceptions, beliefs, knowledge and behaviours related to bladder health across the life course using a socioecological perspective. Lower urinary tract symptoms affect between 20-40% of young adult to middle-aged women, with symptoms increasing in incidence and severity with aging. There is limited evidence to address bladder health promotion and prevention of dysfunction. This first study of the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium is designed to address gaps in existing qualitative research in this area. Design This focus group study will be implemented across seven geographically diverse United States research centres using a semi-structured focus group guide informed by a conceptual framework based on the socioecological model. Methods The study was approved in July 2017. A total of 44 focus groups composed of 6-8 participants representing six different age categories (ranging from 11 to over 65 years) will be completed. We aim to recruit participants with diverse demographic and personal characteristics including race, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic status, urban/rural residence, physical/health conditions, and urinary symptom experience. Six of the focus groups will be conducted in Spanish and translated into English. Focus group transcripts will undergo content analysis and data interpretation to identify and classify themes and articulate emerging themes. Discussion This foundational qualitative study seeks to develop an evidence base to inform future research on bladder health promotion in adolescent and adult women. Impact This study has the potential to provide new insights and understanding into adolescent and adult women's lived experience of bladder health, the experience of lower urinary symptoms and knowledge and beliefs across the life course.",JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING,2019,NOV J,"Muller, S; Backhaus, N; Nagabovanalli, P; Abiven, S",A social-ecological system evaluation to implement sustainably a biochar system in South India,10.1007/s13593-019-0586-y,"Biochar has been proposed as a technology to mitigate climate change as well as improving soil fertility, energy production, and organic waste treatment. However, the implementation of such techniques in existing cropping systems requires knowledge about potential adaptation barriers. These adaptation barriers are only partly dependent on expected benefits but are deeply embedded in the place-specific settings and livelihood practices of agricultural communities. An integration of adaptation barriers in the development of biochar system designs has the potential not only to facilitate farmer's decision but also to enhance community resilience and reduce their vulnerability. We propose a holistic methodology that considers communities as social-ecological systems. We applied this approach to agricultural communities in two villages with different cropping systems in South India. First, we modeled the social-ecological system of each village, based on qualitative interviews with local farmers, using cognitive mapping. Second, we tested the implementation scenarios of two types of biochar system designs (small-/large-scale) and a worst-case failure scenario, which were developed by triangulating theoretical information from literature review with information from qualitative interviews and focus groups. Third, we analyzed the outcome on the resilience and vulnerability of the social-ecological systems to define the place-specific adaptation barriers. We were able to successfully capture for the first time the adaptation barriers of two communities concerning a biochar system implementation. We could show that sustainable biochar system designs not only differ depending on site but also demonstrate particularly the relevance of procedural processes independent of site, such as maintenance of autonomy, provision of participation in planning, or promotion of farmers' cooperatives with regional industries. We are certain that this approach could be used for the setting up of future biochar systems or novel technology in general not only in tropical regions but elsewhere.",AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2019,ago 7 J,[Anonymous],"46th ESAO Congress 3-7 September 2019 Hannover, Germany Abstracts",10.1177/0391398819860985,"Objectives:ADVOS multi is a recirculating albumin-based dialysis device that supports kidney, liver and lung function by eliminating CO2, water-soluble and protein-bound substances. In the present work in vitro data on the removal of these substances and CO2 are presented. Methods: An ex vivo model using porcine blood was established and applied in detoxification tests for water soluble and protein bound retention solutes. 3 x 3.3L of blood with high bilirubin (30 mg/dl) and lactate levels (>10 mmol/l) were treated with ADVOS multi for 4 hours each. This design, with 3 phases changing blood every 4 hours, led to high concentrations of both markers in blood during the 12 h test period. For CO2 removal tests, 5 liters of blood were used instead. In both cases, a continuous CO2 supply through an additional dialyzer was applied. Results: Bilirubin and lactate were efficiently removed during 12hrs of in vitro detoxification. Lactate removal rates were 90%, 86% and 84% for phase 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Bilirubin elimination rates were 66%, 62%, and 57%, resulting in a total elimination of 1150 mg in 12 hrs. Albumin binding capacity was determined to be >76% at the end of the treatment indicating that albumin was not denatured in the dialysate of the ADVOS system. CO2 removal with ADVOS multi depends on three variables: 1) The amount of supplied CO2 depends on concentrate flow affecting both, blood pCO2 and bicarbonate levels; 2) blood flow, and 3) dialysate pH and composition (i.e., carbonate concentration). A maximum CO2 removal of 142 ml/min was achieved with a carbonate-free dialysate at pH 10, a blood flow of 400 ml/min and a concentrate flow of 160 ml/min. Given that blood gases are maintained within physiological conditions, a CO2 removal rate of 61 ml/min can be achieved. During all the experiments blood pH was set to 7.35-7.45. Discussion:ADVOS multi is a device using albumin recirculation in its secondary circuit. Here, albumin binding capacity remains stable through a systematic modification of its tertiary structure through temperature and pH changes in the ADVOS multi circuit. This facilitates the release of toxins from albumin and allows for further binding. Moreover, presence of albumin, variable dialysate composition and the flexible dialysate pH might facilitate the treatment of patients with multiple organ failure. Objectives:Given the extent of bypass graft failure, the motivation behind this multidisciplinary project is to improve the patency of the current bypass grafts by developing a novel and optimised blood flow augmentation technique. Methods: One of the most significant contributions to the improvement of haemodynamics in grafts was based on a research which showed that the 'spiral flow' is a natural phenomenon in the whole arterial system and is induced by the twisting of the left ventricle during contraction and then accentuated upon entering the aortic arch. The benefit of this flow pattern lies in removing unfavourable haemodynamic environment such as turbulence, stagnation and oscillatory shear stress, which are believed to be the main causes of intimal hyperplasia at anastomotic configurations. Results:This multi-disciplinary engineering venture has resulted in a unique product which makes use of both non-planar helicity and an optimised internal ridge within the graft to achieve a significantly improved haemodynamic condition within the anastomosis (an anastomosis is a surgical connection between autologous/prosthetic grafts and veins/arteries inside the human body) Discussion:This truly multidisciplinary project has integrated fluid mechanics, biomechanics and biology with cardiovascular surgery to develop a novel biomedical device, inspired by the nuclear engineering sector. The novel spiral-inducing bypass graft, nominated for this award, is the best example of how engineering techniques, tools and designs can lead to life-saving innovations that could potentially save the lives of thousands of people and save millions of pounds for the healthcare systems across the world. Such successful engineering stories are what would encourage the next generation of engineers to go beyond the traditional boundaries of engineering disciplines to make a difference. Objectives:The goal of this work was to study methods that will allow increase in spatial freedom of couplers orientation in inductive powering unit for implantable medical devices. An inductive energy transfer system is considered, therefore the freedom of relative orientation of the transmitting and receiving coils must be optimized. Methods:The design procedure of inductive powering unit (IPU) consists of two main steps: design of the power amplifier and optimization of an inductive link. To account for the patient specifics, such as tissue thickness near the implantation site, a number of different couplers were simulated using finite element modeling. Effect of coils geometrical parameters on mutual inductance and inductive link efficiency was examined. Class E power amplifier was chosen as a driver for the transmitting coil. Capacitors in the amplifier loading network were tuned to achieve zero-voltage switching (ZVS). A patient's everyday activity, including walking and even breathing, leads to misalignment of the transmitting and receiving coils, and, as a result, detuning of the amplifier from ZVS and increased losses. Feedback schemes were studied to compensate the misalignments effect on the amplifier. Results:A self-oscillating IPU with class E amplifier was designed that provides stable output power about 0.5 W for the distance between the couplers in range 10-20 mm and the lateral distance up to 20 mm. The use of self-oscillating circuit in the transmitter increases spatial freedom of the transmitting and receiving coils corresponding to ZVS. Discussion: Inductive link geometrical parameters optimization and implementation of self-oscillating class E driver the IPU contributes to stable output power and efficiency of IPU. As a result, less intervention from the patient and physician is required, and patient quality of life is increased Precision medicine emerges from integration of a number of emerging technologies and the data they produce with modern data analytics. For precision diagnostics and for predicting drug responses new computational and in-vitro models are needed from gene regulation to cellular and organ functions. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSC) derived e.g., from patient blood cells provide means to produce most cell types and thus provide means to get patient specific in-vitro models. New technologies are needed to produce tissues from these cells and to assess the cell functions in-vitro. In addition, computational in-silico models can be used to augment our understanding of the diseases or drug effects. They also provide tools to translate the in-vitro findings to clinical settings and patient populations. We are in transition to turn our in-vitro cell culture models to body-on-chip platforms including environmental control and biophysical functional sensing. We have developed methods to assess the cellular functions based on electrophysiological sensing as well as 2D and 3D bioimaging. For example, we have developed imaging methods to assess functions of hIPSC cardiac cell with simultaneous assessment of electrophysiology such as Calcium and voltage transients as well as mechanobiology in vitro. Further, we have developed in-silico models of various cellular function including multi-cell-type neuronal networks and in-silico population models of the hIPSC cardiomyocytes. The later ones are providing us ionic machinery of hIPSC derived cardiomyocyte electrophysiology in various populations of patiets. We have shown that these computational models can represent pathological patient phenotype cells and populations of patients with specific mutations, e.g., long QT syndrome. We have also demonstrated the power of in-silico as possible pre-screening method for drug effects prior to in-vitro examinations. Moreover, our in-silico results highlight the need of careful consideration of use of HiPSC models before they can be turned from immature cell models to mature tissues in vitro. With integration of novel engineering expertise from multimodal sensing, imaging and computational modelling, we have shown their power on studying diseases and for pre-screening of compounds. Our results demonstrate the power of combined in-vitro and in-silco methods for future precision medicine. Objectives: We have developed in vivo tissue engineered autologous vascular grafts constructed in the subcutaneous of the recipient body. However, since the formation of the vascular grafts depends on the conditions of recipients including high risk or immature patients, immaturity in the fabricated tissues might be problematic for the severely diseased patients because of their suppressed regenerative activity. Therefore, possibility of the xenogeneic or the allogeneic implantation of the grafts should be evaluated. The objective of this study is to fabricate cardiovascular grafts using xenogeneic or allogeneic animals. Methods: Silicone rod molds were placed into subcutaneous pouches of beagle dogs, and after 4 weeks the implants with their surrounded connective tissues were harvested. Those were decellularized with detergents and stored at -20 degrees C for 1 week. Decellularized tubular connective tissues (internal diameter: 2 mm) were xeno-transplanted to abdominal aorta of the rats. Decellularized tubular connective tissues (internal diameter: 5 mm) were cut open and trimmed to elliptical sheets of 15 x 8 mm, they were allo-transplanted to carotid arteries of other beagle dogs as vascular patches. Results: Both xenogeneic vascular grafts and allogeneic patch grafts performed well after transplantation, and the luminal surfaces after resection were very smooth. Histological evaluation also showed host cells infiltration into the grafts. Discussion: Decellularized xenogeneic and allogeneic connective tissue membranes could be ideal vascular grafts. Objectives: This work aimed to print high-resolution, collagen-based, constructs via suspended 3D printing with load-bearing and compositions closer to native bone; ; ",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL ORGANS,2019,AUG J,"Chain-Guadarrama, A; Martinez-Salinas, A; Aristizabal, N; Ricketts, TH",Ecosystem services by birds and bees to coffee in a changing climate: A review of coffee berry borer control and pollination,10.1016/j.agee.2019.04.011,"Coffee is one of the most important tropical crops on earth, considering both its gross production value and the number of families that depend on it for their livelihoods. Coffee also grows within some of the world's most biodiverse habitats, in areas predicted to experience severe climate change impacts. Like many other crops, coffee benefits from several ecosystem services (ES) that provide important inputs or conditions for production. Given coffee's strong interactions with conservation, livelihoods, and climate change, it is important to understand the roles of biodiversity-regulated ES to coffee and how they are likely to change under future climates. Here we review the available literature on the provision of two essential and interacting ES that regulate coffee production: control of a beetle pest by birds and pollination by bees. Studies show that bird and bee communities provide pest control and pollination services that improve coffee quantity and quality, benefiting coffee farmers whose livelihoods depend on this crop. The literature also shows that a variety of plot, farm, and landscape management practices that support resources for bees and birds can enhance these ES. We also evaluate how these ES and their interactions may change under future climate change. Several studies have estimated likely climate impacts on coffee per se, but few have investigated climate vulnerability of pollination and pest control ES. Even less studies have quantified interactions between these ES. Although evidence is incomplete, managing coffee farms as diversified agroforestry systems could improve climate resilience of coffee cropping and communities of birds and bees, and therefore help farming families adapt to their changing environment. Based on our review, we identify six critical research priorities in this active area of study. Filling knowledge gaps would advance our understanding of interactions among landscapes, ES, and climate change, and would support climate adaptation for the millions of households whose livelihoods depend on coffee.",AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT,2019,ago 1 J,"Li, K; Tscharntke, T; Saintes, B; Buchori, D; Grass, I",Critical factors limiting pollination success in oil palm: A systematic review,10.1016/j.agee.2019.05.001,"Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) is an economically important crop, yet it plays a major role in tropical deforestation and has significant negative impacts on biodiversity. The ecological drivers of oil palm pollination are still poorly understood, despite pollination being a key ecosystem service for the yield of this multi-billion-dollar industry, with potential links to biodiversity conservation. Here we review biotic and abiotic drivers of pollination and known oil palm pollinators, including local insect species endemic to specific growing regions, and an important, globally-introduced West African weevil (Elaeidobius kamerunicus) whose fluctuating populations have led to concerns about yield and resilience. Future research should clarify pollinator community dynamics to facilitate pollination complementarity, which may strengthen pollination services in regions beyond the oil palm and weevil's native West African ecosystem. In addition, other interactions such as mutualism, predation, and parasitism are not yet well understood, but could provide further insight into population drivers. Future management research should explore manipulating male palm inflorescence density, a key resource for pollinators, as well as investigate spatial and landscape effects on pollinator populations. Critically, no studies have investigated the effects of climate change on pollination, despite the impacts of rain and temperature on pollination efficiency. A greater understanding of the role of pollinator species and their nonlinear relationships to yield, as well as the complexity of biotic, management, and climate drivers of successful pollination can contribute to a more sustainable oil palm production system that values ecosystem services gained from biodiversity, while also improving producer livelihoods.",AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT,2019,ago 1 J,"Alcala, E; Brown, P; Capitman, JA; Gonzalez, M; Cisneros, R",Cumulative Impact of Environmental Pollution and Population Vulnerability on Pediatric Asthma Hospitalizations: A Multilevel Analysis of CalEnviroScreen,10.3390/ijerph16152683,"The CalEnviroScreen created by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, USA, is a place-based dataset developed to measure environmental and social indicators that are theorized to have cumulative health impacts on populations. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which the composite scores of the CalEnviroScreen tool are associated with pediatric asthma hospitalization. This was a retrospective analysis of California hospital discharge data from 2010 to 2012. Children who were hospitalized for asthma-related conditions, were aged 0-14 years, and resided in California were included in analysis. Rates of hospitalization for asthma-related conditions among children residing in California were calculated. Poisson multilevel modeling was used to account for individual- and neighborhood-level risk factors. Every unit increase in the CalEnviroScreen Score was associated with an increase of 1.6% above the mean rate of pediatric asthma hospitalizations (rate ratio (RR) = 1.016, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.014-1.018). Every unit increase in racial/ethnic segregation and diesel particulate matter was associated with an increase of 1.1% and 0.2% above the mean rate of pediatric asthma, respectively (RR = 1.011, 95% CI = 1.010-1.013; RR = 1.002, 95% CI = 1.001-1.004). The CalEnviroScreen is a unique tool that combines socioecological factors and environmental indicators to identify vulnerable communities with major health disparities, including pediatric asthma hospital use. Future research should identify mediating factors that contribute to community-level health disparities.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,ago 1 J,"Nagai, S; Saitoh, TM; Yoshitake, S",Cultural ecosystem services provided by flowering of cherry trees under climate change: a case study of the relationship between the periods of flowering and festivals,10.1007/s00484-019-01719-9,"In Japan, cherry blossoms are an important tourism resource and provide many cultural ecosystem service benefits. Under future warming conditions, we will require adaptions such as changing the timing of flower festivals to account for changes in the flowering phenology. In this study, we evaluated the coincidence between the flowering phenology of cherry blossoms and the associated festival periods in two Japanese cities under past, recent, and future climate conditions. We examined the situation in Shinhidaka, where the flower festival period changes every year, and Takayama, where the festival period is fixed to coincide with a shrine's annual spring festival. Currently, the average dates of beginning of flowering (more than four or five flowers open in an index tree; BBCH60) and full bloom (equal to or more than 80% of flowers open in an index tree; after BBCH65) in Shinhidaka (day of year (DOY) 126 and 130) are later than the long national holiday of Golden Week (DOY 119 to 125). The respective dates in Takayama (DOY 106 and 111, respectively) are later than the local a festival period (DOY 104 and 105). Under a scenario of 1.0 to 2.0 degrees C warming, the full blooming dates in Shinhidaka will coincide with Golden Week, whereas under 1.0 to 1.5 degrees C warming, the full blooming dates in Takayama will coincide with the spring festival period. Thus, moderate warming may increase the value of cherry blossoms to the tourism industry. Under more than 3.5 degrees C warming in Shinhidaka and 2.5 degrees C warming in Takayama, however, cherry blossoms will have already dropped by Golden Week and the spring festival period, respectively, suggesting that greater warming may decrease the value of this tourism resource.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY,2019,AUG J,"Storholm, ED; Bogart, LM; Mutchler, MG; Klein, DJ; Ghosh-Dastidar, B; McDavitt, B; Wagner, GJ",Antiretroviral Adherence Trajectories Among Black Americans Living with HIV,10.1007/s10461-018-2303-2,"Black people living with HIV (BPLWH) are less likely to adhere to antiretroviral treatment than are members of other racial/ethnic groups. Data were combined from two studies of BPLWH (n=239) to estimate adherence trajectories using a semiparametric, group-based modeling strategy over three time-points (spanning 6months). Analyses identified three groups of individuals (high-stable, moderately low-stable, low-decreasing). Multinomial logistic regressions were used to predict trajectory membership with multiple levels of socio-ecological factors (structural, institutional/health system, community, interpersonal/network, individual). Older age was associated with being in the high-stable group, whereas substance use, lower perceived treatment effectiveness, and lower quality healthcare ratings were related to being in the moderately low-stable group. In sum, multiple socio-ecological factors contribute to adherence among BPLWH and thus could be targeted in future intervention efforts.",AIDS AND BEHAVIOR,2019,AUG J,"Aguilar-Medrano, R; Vega-Cendejas, ME","Biogeographical affinities, trophodynamics, and fisheries pressure in the fish community of the Laguna Madre Tamaulipas",10.1111/jai.13900,"The Laguna Madre Tamaulipas (LMT) is the largest hyperhaline coastal lagoon of Mexico, is diverse and provides a wide range of services, besides its economic importance for local and national fisheries. However, due to global and local pressures, the fish community is under stress. Here we study the LMT fish community to determine its biogeographical affinities with the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, understand its trophic relationships and habitat distribution, and to analyze the fisheries pressures in specific habitats and trophic groups (TGs). Our biogeographical analyses based on Parsimony Analysis of Endemism produce three provinces Center, South, and Northern, being this last the most related to the LMT, thus activities in this and the LMT directly affect each other. Through a nested cluster analysis using trophic values and size, 15 TGs were found, being the small-species the most diverse and the largest the less diverse and most targeted by fishermen, which put on risk its ecological role and may provoke cascading effects on many species and processes. As well, mangroves and oyster banks habitats are supporting most of the fisheries. This is the first study of the whole fish community of the LMT, we pinpoint provinces, habitats, and TGs that need special attention and constant monitoring to generate integrative management plans that fit the actual needs of the community and prepare it to buffer future changes.",JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY,2019,AUG J,"Anbleyth-Evans, J; Lacy, SN",Feedback between fisher local ecological knowledge and scientific epistemologies in England: building bridges for biodiversity conservation,10.1007/s40152-019-00136-3,"Fisher local ecological knowledge in England has developed through interaction with research, as well as adding to scientific knowledge. Despite this, fishers and scientists continue to have different epistemic frameworks, and the typical form of communication from science to fisheries remains the 'catapult' approach, where knowledge exchange is a one-way form of communication. There are opportunities to develop 'ferries' and 'bridges' across the epistemologies which are explored through the concept of biodiversity. As more fishers have invested in technologies to improve catch efficiency and impacts on habitats, marine governance has slowly evolved to increase research in order to sustain marine resources. However, the benefits of biodiversity are not always well understood in fisheries communities, and how this conceptually relates to their forms of fishing and their interactions with habitats and conservation zones. The paper identifies that the governmental positivist natural capital approach may not be successful in identifying the intrinsic value of biodiversity, as it cannot register intrinsic value because it is not fungible with goods and services. This is particularly important to address in future marine conservation zone workshops. This paper has involved interviews, participant observation of fishers in government workshops and elicitation. It has been identified that the catapult approach remains dominant in government interactions with fishers. The paper shows examples of where social science approaches have been successful for biodiversity. Where fisher LEK is integrated, fishers' trust in research and governance is increased making for a more active, participatory, marine democracy. Finally, the paper identifies these themes from the case in England to the need to overcome the general negative perception of the accuracy of non-scientist knowledge. There are opportunities to implement this as new policies such as the Fisheries Bill and the 25YEP Defra policy are implemented. This challenge can be observed across the world against holders of LEK in natural resource governance.",MARITIME STUDIES,2019,AUG J,"Holley, JM; Andrew, NR",Experimental warming alters the relative survival and emigration of two dung beetle species from an Australian dung pat community,10.1111/aec.12750,"To preserve insect-mediated ecosystem services under ongoing climate change, it is necessary to first understand the impact that warming will have on the insects that provide or mediate these services. Furthermore, because responses of a species may be modified by interactions with competitors, it is informative to examine warming effects on organisms and service provision under competition. Dung beetles provide numerous services to agriculture by burying the manure of other animals. To understand the potential impacts of climate warming on ecosystem service provision, we exposed two dung beetle species (Sisyphus rubrus and Euoniticellus fulvus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)), occurring together in the same experimental pats, to warming and measured reproduction (dung ball production and burial, brood production, and egg laying), pat departure behaviour and survival of both species. These two species are likely competitors in pastures in northern New South Wales. To simulate climate warming, we used custom-built chambers to add offsets (+0, +2 or +4 degrees C) to field recorded, diurnally fluctuating baseline temperatures. There was no direct effect of increased temperature on any measured trait in either species. We did find however that the relative survival of the two species depended on temperature; S. rubrus had a higher probability (resulting in greater odds) of surviving than E. fulvus in the +0 and +4 degrees C offset chambers, but not in the +2 degrees C offset chambers. Likewise, the relative likelihood of the different species leaving a dung pat was temperature dependent; in the +2 degrees C offset chambers, E. fulvus were more likely to leave than S. rubrus, but not in the +0 and +4 degrees C offsets chambers. Our results highlight that it may be important for future studies to consider warming effects on relative survival and emigration because such effects could potentially lead to changes in dung beetle species composition.",AUSTRAL ECOLOGY,2019,AUG J,"Sacchelli, S; Bernetti, I",Integrated Management of Forest Ecosystem Services: An Optimization Model Based on Multi-objective Analysis and Metaheuristic Approach,10.1007/s11053-018-9413-4,"The goal of this research was to implement an optimization model that allows definition of best management strategies in the forest sector. The case study is depicted in a coniferous stand (silver firAbies alba Mill.) of Tuscany (central Italy). Four ecosystem services were quantified from biophysical (timber produced, carbon stored, ecosystem diversity, recreational function) and economic (total economic value of the above parameters) perspective. The indicators are aggregated through a multi-objective approach (compromise programming). In the framework of forest seen as complex adaptive systems, different management strategies can lead to emergent reaction of forest functions. Due to nonlinear and non-continuous interactions as well as to the presence of feedbacks and loops among environmental and socioeconomic forest components, results are optimized by means of differential evolution and particle swarm algorithm. The genetic algorithm was applied to minimize the distance from ideal point. The best value of the decision variable (rotation period) was defined for different scenarios based on compensatory level of criteria, constraints and presence/absence of forest thinning. Conflicting trends and trade-offs are highlighted when different criteria were optimized. Among outputs, thinning intervention seems to reduce the performance of several criteria in the study area. Strengths and weaknesses of the model as well as potential future improvements are finally discussed.",NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH,2019,AUG J,"Vogdrup-Schmidt, M; Olsen, SB; Dubgaard, A; Kristensen, IT; Jorgensen, LB; Normander, B; Ege, C; Dalgaard, T",Using spatial multi-criteria decision analysis to develop new and sustainable directions for the future use of agricultural land in Denmark,10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.03.056,"Close to 60 per cent of the Danish land area is used for arable farming. EU regulations as well as public preferences create increasing pressures for changing agricultural land use in a more environmentally sustainable direction incorporating the multiple ecosystem services affected by agriculture. In this paper we present a spatially explicit multi-criteria decision analysis model which describes the trade-offs between the rent obtained from land in agricultural use on the one hand and selected ecosystem services on the other. The model is based on an extensive geographical dataset. This include maps on soil types, carbon content, sensitivity to nutrient losses, High Nature Value scores etc., which in combination with environmental criteria facilitates the ranking of all agricultural fields in Denmark according to their current overall worth to society in terms of land rent as well as other ecosystem services. Picking from a ranked list, we identify areas that may be considered efficient candidates for land use change considerations. Subsequently, the model is applied to identify suitable candidate areas for land use change in scenarios attaching different weights to various environmental services. In this way, four scenarios for Danish agricultural land use in 2050 are analysed. The results highlight that the possible realization of each of these mutually exclusive scenarios will require decision makers to consider very different development paths and land use changes for the Danish agricultural area.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,AUG J,"Koo, H; Kleemann, J; Furst, C","Impact assessment of land use changes using local knowledge for the provision of ecosystem services in northern Ghana, West Africa",10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.002,"An integrative perspective on assessing land use impacts requires the understanding of relationships between land use and the provision of ecosystem services. This study presents a stakeholder-based modeling approach to assess the potential impact of land use patterns and land use changes on ecosystem services in two districts of northern Ghana. First, the most legitimate group of stakeholders considering their influence and interest in the agricultural sector was selected. Second, ecosystem services and quantitative indicators that are relevant to land uses were determined based on literature and a stakeholder survey. Future land use patterns were simulated considering land use changes caused by urbanization and deforestation in the local context. Subsequently, simulated land use patterns were integrated with the potential values of ecosystem services provided by different land use types to analyze the capacity of ecosystem services provision at district level in a modeling approach. The results showed the current status of ecosystem services supplied by each district, and trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services as effects of the land use changes. The similarity and dissimilarity of land use change impacts between the districts were identified, which were attributed to the different perception by stakeholders and specific characteristics of land use patterns.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,AUG J,"Cao, QW; Zhang, XW; Lei, DM; Guo, LY; Sun, XH; Kong, FE; Wu, JS",Multi-scenario simulation of landscape ecological risk probability to facilitate different decision-making preferences,10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.125,"Landscape ecological risk assessment is an effective tool to support sustainable ecosystem management in regions with rapid urbanization. However, the characterization method of landscape ecological risk probability needs urgent improvement. This study put forwards a comprehensive index system for risk probability characterization using the factors of terrain, artificial threats, ecological resilience, and landscape vulnerability. In addition, the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) algorithm was introduced to realize a multi-scenario simulation to facilitate different decision-making preferences. The results showed that (1) the overall landscape ecological risk probability in Shenzhen, China, was higher in the west than in the east, and the dominated probability levels were low and moderate. (2) Three decision making scenarios were simulated: basic risk control, moderate risk control, and strict risk control. About 307.88 km(2) of unstable risk probability areas were identified, of which the relationship between development and protection should be scrutinized more in the eastward strategy for the future. (3) As for the methodology, this index system contained multiple dimensions including ecological processes, external threats, and landscape feature patterns. It is advantageous in that it provides an ecological risk measure for the future, the characterization of spatial heterogeneity, stable and reliable results, and the definite implications of the risks. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,ago 1 J,"Hamilton, SH; Fu, BH; Guillaume, JHA; Badham, J; Elsawah, S; Gober, P; Hunt, RJ; Iwanaga, T; Jakeman, AJ; Ames, DP; Curtis, A; Hill, MC; Pierce, SA; Zare, F",A framework for characterising and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental modelling,10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.04.008,"Environmental modelling is transitioning from the traditional paradigm that focuses on the model and its quantitative performance to a more holistic paradigm that recognises successful model-based outcomes are closely tied to undertaking modelling as a social process, not just as a technical procedure. This paper redefines evaluation as a multi-dimensional and multi-perspective concept, and proposes a more complete framework for identifying and measuring the effectiveness of modelling that serves the new paradigm. Under this framework, evaluation considers a broader set of success criteria, and emphasises the importance of contextual factors in determining the relevance and outcome of the criteria. These evaluation criteria are grouped into eight categories: project efficiency, model accessibility, credibility, saliency, legitimacy, satisfaction, application, and impact. Evaluation should be part of an iterative and adaptive process that attempts to improve model-based outcomes and foster pathways to better futures.",ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE,2019,AUG J,"Salles, TT; Nogueira, DA; Beijo, LA; da Silva, LF",Bayesian approach and extreme value theory in economic analysis of forestry projects,10.1016/j.forpol.2019.05.021,"Reliable estimates of price and wood yield as well as the calculation of economic criteria that include uncertainty are necessary to make the decision-making process more robust when analysing a long-term activity such as forestry. Through extreme value theory EVT combined with Bayesian inference it is possible to predict probability densities for inputs used in economic evaluation criteria like wood yield and prices. With it, uncertainties regarding the inputs can be taken into account in the economic analysis, improving the way they are obtained. Therefore, this study aimed to use Bayesian approach and EVT to estimate future price and yield to carry out an economic evaluation of a forestry project. Yield, maximum and minimum price were estimated in the form of probability density. Considering 95% of probability, the NPV calculated for the minimum price situation ranged from R$ 2050.11 to R$ 5409.07 ha(-1), with a mean of R$ 3771.60 ha(-1). The NPV calculated for the maximum price situation ranged from R$ 7766.77 to R$ 9070.29 ha(-1), with a mean of R$ 8398.13 ha(-1). These results serve as best and worst-case scenarios for managers in the case of a eucalyptus plantation established in 2017 under an outgrower scheme in Brazil. The presented methodology provided good results when estimating the variables of interest. It incorporates probability levels and/or prior information. With it, the economic performance of the project and its risks are better visualized and understood by researchers and managers.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2019,AUG J,"Fletcher, R; Dressler, WH; Anderson, ZR; Buscher, B",Natural capital must be defended: green growth as neoliberal biopolitics,10.1080/03066150.2018.1428953,"This contribution addresses the growing global trend to promote 'natural capital accounting' (NCA) in support of environmental conservation. NCA seeks to harness the economic value of conserved nature to incentivize local resource users to forgo the opportunity costs of extractive activities. We suggest that this represents a form of neoliberal biopower/biopolitics seeking to defend life by demonstrating its 'profitability' and hence right to exist. While little finance actually reaches communities through this strategy, substantial funding still flows into the idea of 'natural capital' as the basis of improving rural livelihoods. Drawing on two cases in Southeast Asia, we show that NCA initiatives may compel some local people to value ecosystem services in financial terms, yet in most cases this perspective remains partial and fragmented in communities where such initiatives produce a range of unintended outcomes. When the envisioned environmental markets fail to develop and benefits remain largely intangible, NCA fails to meet the growing material aspirations of farmers while also offering little if any bulwark against their using forests more intensively and/or enrolling in lucrative extractive enterprise. We thus conclude that NCA in practice may become the antithesis of conservation by actually encouraging the resource extraction it intends to combat.",JOURNAL OF PEASANT STUDIES,2019,jul 29 J,"Goodwin, D; Raffin, M; Jeffrey, P; Smith, HM",Stakeholder evaluations of risk interventions for non-potable recycled water schemes: A case study,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.044,"Non-potable recycled water schemes can benefit sustainable urban water management through reducing demand for drinking water and mitigating environmental loadings through the provision of advanced wastewater treatment. However, scheme feasibility can be diminished by high capital and operating costs which can be elevated by perceptions of health risks and subsequently overly cautious risk reduction measures. Conversely, a failure to anticipate the risk management expectations of stakeholders can undermine scheme feasibility through insufficient demand for recycled water. The aim of this study was to explore how stakeholders' perceptions and preferences for risk management and recycled water end-uses might influence scheme design. Using a case study scheme in London, four risk management intervention scenarios and six alternative end uses were evaluated using a stochastic PROMETHEE-based method that incorporated quantitative microbial risk assessment and stakeholder criteria weights together with an attitudinal survey of stakeholders' risk perceptions. Through pair-wise criteria judgements, results showed that stakeholders prioritised health risk reductions which led to the more conservative management intervention of adding water treatment processes being ranked the highest. In contrast, responses to the attitudinal survey indicated that the stakeholders favoured maintaining the case study's existing levels of risk control but with more stakeholder engagement. The findings highlighted potential benefits of understanding risk perceptions associated with different design options and contrasting these with multi-criteria model results. Extrapolating from these findings, future research could explore potential challenges and benefits of providing flexibility in scheme designs to appeal to a wider range of stakeholder needs as well as being more adaptable to future social, environmental or economic challenges. The study concludes that contemporary risk management guidance would benefit from more explicitly outlining constructive ways to engage stakeholders in scheme evaluation. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,jul 15 J,"Spiegel, SJ","Visual Storytelling and Socioenvironmental Change: Images, Photographic Encounters, and Knowledge Construction in Resource Frontiers",10.1080/24694452.2019.1613953,"Practices of visually representing places of resource extraction and land degradation can be deeply contentious, embedded in a wide variety of values, ethics, goals, and relations. Photographs are pervasively used to generate narratives about environmental change, particular social groups, and places. Yet, the sociocultural processes and power relations at play in producing visual knowledge and interpreting images often remain underexplored, with limited attention to how photographs and visual storytelling are engaged to (re)orient discussions about change. Challenging ways of seeing, this article discusses relational practices around photography and the narrating, experiencing, and circulating of images. It explores experiences with photovoice-a methodology aimed at realigning the dynamics of who decides what photos matter, how, why, and with what implications, sometimes pitched as a way to decolonize research. The study examines interactions in a village in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, where women shared visual stories to express challenges they face in relation to deforestation and other landscape changes, depleted gold deposits, limited livelihood options, and other themes, conveying place histories and ideas about home, identity, governance, and community. Reflecting on intergenerational dialogues and anxieties about the future, the analysis considers photovoice processes in refracting everyday struggles, arguing for feminist epistemologies that carefully attend to the situated ethics and contingent performative powers of visual storytelling where multiple forms of resource extraction powerfully shape community life. The article calls for greater focus on women's place-based storytelling and its communicative power, highlighting the significance of positionality when studying socioecological visualization, affect, and change. Key Words: feminist visualization, Indonesia, participatory visual methods, photovoice, resource extraction.",ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF GEOGRAPHERS,2020,ene 2 J,"Gebremariam, MG; Zhu, YM; Ahmad, N; Bekele, DN",Influencing sustainability by controlling future brownfields in Africa: a case study of Ethiopia,10.1108/WJSTSD-04-2018-0031,"Purpose The increasing African population and economic growth leading to urbanisation continues to increase the need to redevelop brownfields as a strategy of encouraging sustainable development of cities, in particular in Ethiopia. However, the adoption of brownfield redevelopment in Ethiopia is at initial stage. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the framework based on grey-incidence decision-making approach to manage brownfields in African countries by taking Ethiopia as case example. The grey-incidence decision-making model integrates multiple factors such as economic, social, environmental, technical and associated risks and provides an effective decision-making and management tool for environmental practitioners and government agencies. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires were used to collect data on terms and definitions of brownfield. The questions were prepared on the basis of currently used definitions developed by a number of developed countries. Moreover, this study utilises a grey-incidence decision-making approach to help in management and decision-making for the implementation of brownfield redevelopment projects (BRPs) in the remediated sites. Findings Standard definition of brownfield and essential guidelines for brownfield redevelopment is proposed for Ethiopian context. The research findings were tested and verified using literature data and survey from major stakeholders. In addition, the grey-incidence decision-making approach is applied for the evaluation of BRPs in the remediated sites. A framework is proposed to control future brownfields for African countries by taking Ethiopia as a case example. Originality/value This research stresses the significance of an urban structure to address sustainable development, and the need to consider redevelopment of brownfields and identify the potential for a specific government policy framework. This research provides the best opportunity for Ethiopia by devising an urban land policy and create a strategy to contribute social, economic, financial and environmental benefits. It also provides a foundation to solve environmental issues by involving all major stakeholders, including community citizens, environmentalists and government agencies, and it also serves as guidelines to transform brownfields into Greenfields; and finally, it contributes to achieve the 2030 UN global goals.",WORLD JOURNAL OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2019,jul 8 J,"Hemming, S; Rigney, D; Bignall, S; Berg, S; Rigney, G",Indigenous nation building for environmental futures: Murrundi flows through Ngarrindjeri country,10.1080/14486563.2019.1651227,"In 2015, the Ngarrindjeri Nation in concert with the South Australian government won the Australian Riverprize for best practice in water management, after leading the development of a co-management approach to the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) region during the Australian Millennium drought crisis. The purpose of this article is to explain why the prize-winning advances in water management in this region are an outcome of a strategic political process of Indigenous Nation (re)building, pursued by Ngarrindjeri leaders with the ongoing support of a formal research program focussed on Aboriginal governance. The primary insight revealed by the research is that Indigenous contributions to successful environmental management are not best conceived in terms of the protection of 'cultural flows' - as is suggested by much of the literature in the field - but instead should be understood primarily in political terms. Like other Indigenous Nations, Ngarrindjeri consider they have an inherent and sovereign right to enjoy, use and protect the flow of water through their Country. Ngarrindjeri have effectively articulated their sovereign Aboriginal environmental rights and have successfully negotiated these rights with the South Australian state by producing targeted legal and political innovations that enable shared authority in the co-development of natural resource management policy. The article argues that Indigenous Nation (re)building and self-governance has positive implications for the development of best practice models of land and water management, both in Australia and internationally.",AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,jul 3 J,"Burgos, AV; Maldonado, AR",THE RED TIDE PHENOMENON IN THE SOUTH OF CHILE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING OF THE INHABITANTS OF A FISHING COMMUNITY IN LOS LAGOS REGION,,"During 2016, Los Lagos region was affected by a red tide phenomenon (an algae bloom) that became a socio-environmental disaster. This article focuses on understanding the impact of the phenomenon on psychological well-being and quality of life in the inhabitants of an artisanal fishing community in the region. It was worked with grounded theory, interviewing twelve leaders of community and fishing organizations. The following categories are defined: Collective wellbeing, emotional perceptions of the process they went through and future post-catastrophe projections of the community. The results indicate people and organizations show resilience to these crises, through mechanisms such as social cohesion, empathy and willingness to change. This research is expected to provide relevant information allowing adequate intervention and preventive plans for people, their families, and community.",REVISTA NOTAS HISTORICAS Y GEOGRAFICAS,2019,JUL-DEC J,"Gao, J; Bian, HY",The impact of the plains afforestation program and alternative land use scenarios on ecosystem services in an urbanizing watershed,10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126373,"Ecological restoration programs, which mainly affect land use distribution, may eventually alter the supply of ecosystem services (ESs). Although some positive results have been achieved, the sustainability and long-term effects of ecological restoration program on ecosystem service still remain uncertain. To compare the ES outcomes of ecological restoration programs, the design of alternative land use scenarios is critical for ecological management. This paper presents a case study aiming to explore how the implementation of the Plains Afforestation Program (PAP) and alternative land use scenarios affect the provision of a set of ecosystem services in an urbanizing watershed. We selected 7 ESs, including three water-related services and four ecosystem services (food production (FP), carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), and air pollution removal(APR)). And the comprehensive ecosystem service (CES) index was adopted to reflect the total provision of multiple ESs. The trade-offs among various ESs through correlation analysis were further conducted. Finally, four alternative scenarios were designed to provide insights into the future design and implementation of ecological restoration programs. The results indicated that the PAP implementation enhanced regulating services (SC, WP, CS, and APR) and supporting services (HQ) and reduced provisioning services (WY and FP). Converting cropland to forestland could not simultaneously lead to an enhancement in all ecosystem services. Our results also showed synergies between supporting (HQ) and regulating services (CS, WP, and APR). It is worth noting that soil conservation showed trade-offs between supporting (HQ) and regulating services (CS, WP). The region with a large proportion of woodland improved habitat quality, water purification and carbon storage, but it failed to enhance soil conservation effectively because of its steeper slopes. After the implementation of PAP, no transition occurred in the relationships among the ecosystem services, whereas the trade-offs between water yield and other supporting services and regulating services have been weakened. After the land use scenarios were analyzed, the RB-400 scenario with the highest CES value of all the scenarios can be considered the optimal option because it showed the largest increase in water purification (34%) and habitat quality (3%). Moreover, water purification and habitat quality account for greater proportions of weight in our research area. This scenario provided policy implications for the land-use planning.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,JUL J,"Quinton, JM; Duinker, PN; Gallants, KA; Steenberg, JWN; Charles, JD",To tree or not to tree: User and management perspectives of cemetery trees,10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126385,"The global population is becoming more urban, which has increased demand for built infrastructure. This has had negative impacts on the extent and quality of urban greenspace, including tree canopy cover. Tree-planting efforts have mainly focused on street rights-of-way, but consideration should also be given to alternative locations such as cemeteries, which are free of many of the challenges facing street trees. However, the primary function of cemeteries for the interment of human remains indicates that the social dimensions need to be considered before planting trees in these environments. We employed interception surveys and manager interviews to determine how cemetery trees are valued and what concerns people have about increasing tree cover in cemeteries in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). Our results indicate that cemetery users highly value cemetery trees, particularly for shade provision, aesthetics, improved personal wellbeing, and their contribution to a sense of place. These values differ somewhat from previous values obtained using street surveys, suggesting that urban-forest values depend on the environment in which surveys take place. While cemetery managers valued trees for the creation of a park-like atmosphere, they focus their efforts primarily on interring remains, preserving history, and maintaining a neat lawn. Tree maintenance is mainly reactive, and concerns such as a lack of space and the potential for damage to monuments have limited tree-planting efforts. Unlike management personnel, cemetery users have few concerns about trees in cemeteries, and we believe they would not object to more trees being planted. Given the old age of most of the trees in Halifax cemeteries, it is likely that cemetery tree cover will decline in the future due to a lack of planting and natural regeneration. Based on the high value placed on trees by cemetery users, this may have negative implications for the future role of cemeteries as urban greenspace.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,JUL J,"Borsuk, ME; Mavrommati, G; Samal, NR; Zuidema, S; Wollheim, W; Rogers, SH; Thorn, AM; Lutz, D; Mineau, M; Grimm, C; Wake, CP; Howarth, R; Gardner, K","Deliberative multiattribute valuation of ecosystem services across a range of regional land-use, socioeconomic, and climate scenarios for the upper Merrimack River watershed, New Hampshire, USA",10.5751/ES-10806-240211,"We evaluate the relative desirability of alternative futures for the upper Merrimack River watershed in New Hampshire, USA based on the value of ecosystem services at the end of the 21st century as gauged by its present-day inhabitants. This evaluation is accomplished by integrating land-use and socioeconomic scenarios, downscaled climate projections, biogeophysical simulation models, and the results of a citizen-stakeholder deliberative multicriteria evaluation. We find that although there are some trade-offs between alternative plausible futures, for the most part, it can be expected that future inhabitants of the watershed will be most satisfied if land-use planning in the intervening years prioritizes water supply and flood protection as well as maintenance of existing farmland and forest cover. With respect to climate change, it is expected that future watershed inhabitants will be more negatively affected by the projected loss of snow cover than the anticipated increase in hot summer days. More important than the specific results for the upper Merrimack River watershed, this integrative assessment demonstrates the complex yet ultimately informative potential to link stakeholder engagement with scenario generation, ecosystem models, and multiattribute evaluation for informing regional-scale planning and decision making.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2019,JUL J,"Harrison, PA; Harmackova, ZV; Karabulut, AA; Brotons, L; Cantele, M; Claudet, J; Dunford, RW; Guisan, A; Holman, IP; Jacobs, S; Kok, K; Lobanova, A; Moran-Ordonez, A; Pedde, S; Rixen, C; Santos-Martin, F; Schlaepfer, MA; Solidoro, C; Sonrel, A; Hauck, J",Synthesizing plausible futures for biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe and Central Asia using scenario archetypes,10.5751/ES-10818-240227,"Scenarios are a useful tool to explore possible futures of social-ecological systems. The number of scenarios has increased dramatically over recent decades, with a large diversity in temporal and spatial scales, purposes, themes, development methods, and content. Scenario archetypes generically describe future developments and can be useful in meaningfully classifying scenarios, structuring and summarizing the overwhelming amount of information, and enabling scientific outputs to more effectively interface with decision-making frameworks. The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) faced this challenge and used scenario archetypes in its assessment of future interactions between nature and society. We describe the use of scenario archetypes in the IPBES Regional Assessment of Europe and Central Asia. Six scenario archetypes for the region are described in terms of their driver assumptions and impacts on nature (including biodiversity) and its contributions to people (including ecosystem services): business-as-usual, economic optimism, regional competition, regional sustainability, global sustainable development, and inequality. The analysis shows that trade-offs between nature's contributions to people are projected under different scenario archetypes. However, the means of resolving these trade-offs depend on differing political and societal value judgements within each scenario archetype. Scenarios that include proactive decision making on environmental issues, environmental management approaches that support multifunctionality, and mainstreaming environmental issues across sectors, are generally more successful in mitigating tradeoffs than isolated environmental policies. Furthermore, those scenario archetypes that focus on achieving a balanced supply of nature's contributions to people and that incorporate a diversity of values are estimated to achieve more policy goals and targets, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi targets. The scenario archetypes approach is shown to be helpful in supporting science-policy dialogue for proactive decision making that anticipates change, mitigates undesirable trade-offs, and fosters societal transformation in pursuit of sustainable development.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2019,JUL J,"Baumann, C; Cherry, M; Chu, WJ",Competitive Productivity (CP) at macro-meso-micro levels,10.1108/CCSM-08-2018-0118,"Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of competitiveness. The authors introduce the concept of Competitive Productivity (CP), supplementing shortcomings of traditional understandings of national, organisational and individual productivity which overlook the nature of competitiveness, i.e. outperforming the competition, or at least bettering one's own performance. The authors offer definitions, components and construct measurements of CP at three levels: macro, meso and micro. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the need for combining productivity and competitiveness into one new construct. There are theories that combine these ideas - e.g., the resource-based theory of the firm - but the authors are presenting these concepts differently, or in a novel way. The authors' focus on CP makes necessary a new group of construct measures which are different from that of the strategy literature: the authors measure an agent's tendency to be better than the competition along multiple dimensions. Based on the CP construct, the authors present three testable models to uncover determinants of CP at three levels (macro, meso and micro). Finally, the work around emergent property can be applied to examine CP itself as being a determinant for other higher-order outcomes such as welfare, profits and life satisfaction. CP forms a platform to explore likely interplay (bottom-up and/or top-down mechanisms) within the micro-meso-macro architecture. Findings Three CP models were developed and are briefly discussed in this paper: first, a National Competitive Productivity (NCP) model to capture the components/drivers of national CP (macro level). Second, a Firm Competitive Productivity (FCP) model to capture the components/drivers of firm CP within an industry context (meso). And finally, an Individual Competitive Productivity (ICP) model capturing the components/drivers of CP at the individual (micro) level. Originality/value The study provides a combined approach to capture productivity and competitiveness within one innovative concept: CP. It can be used by government and policy makers (NCP model), managers and organisations (FCP model), and individuals such as workers and students (ICP model) to evaluate and enhance their performance. A better understanding of the components/drivers of CP at the three levels and the suggested measurement of CP should provide a stronger theory of competitiveness of nations, firms and individuals. Not least should a focus on the three levels (macro, meso and micro) better prepare citizens, firms, workers and students to effectively function and work in the marketplace and in society. The authors' work should eventually contribute to more effective benchmarking and continuous improvement in the competitiveness domain. Crucially, this conceptual paper forms the foundation for future empirical testing of CP components in the context of the relative values and moderated behaviour as captured by the ReVaMB model.",CROSS CULTURAL & STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT,2019,jul 1 J,"Westling, EL; Sharp, L; Scott, D; Tait, S; Rychlewski, M; Ashley, RM",Reflexive adaptation for resilient water services: Lessons for theory and practice,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101937,"Adaptive management' concern attempts to manage complex social-ecological and socio-technical systems in nimble ways to enhance their resilience. In this paper, three forms of adaptive management are identified, 'scientific' forms focused on collation of scientific data in response to management experiments, but more recent developments adding processes of collaboration as well as emphasising the need for reflexivity, that is, conscious processes of opening up debates to different perspectives and values. While reflexive adaptive management has been increasingly discussed in theory, there is a lack of examples of what its application means in practice. As a response, this paper examines an 'Adaptive Planning Process' (APP), seeking to apply reflexive adaptive management as a means to improve climate resilience in the UK water sector. The APP's three inter linked workshops - Aspiration, Scenario and Roadmapping - were co-developed and trialled in a water utility. By describing and justifying the choices made in the development of the APP, the paper aims to reveal some of the challenges that arise when trying to design processes that achieve reflexive adaptation. The paper concludes that, if applied to planning for climate change, reflexive adaptation has the potential to explore multiple value positions, highlight different potential futures and acknowledge (and hence, partly address) power differentials, and therefore to offer the possibility of real change. On the basis of the trial, we argue that through tapping the depth and breadth of internal knowledge the APP process created the potential for decision making to be joined up across different parts of the utility, and hence offering new strategies and routes for addressing uncertainties and delivering more resilient water services.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2019,JUL J,"Perez-Ramirez, I; Garcia-Llorente, M; Benito, A; Castro, AJ",Exploring sense of place across cultivated lands through public participatory mapping,10.1007/s10980-019-00816-9,"ContextCultivated lands have undergone a shift towards intensification and increased productivity, favoring provisioning services at the expense of regulating and cultural services. Cultivated lands have rarely been researched as a provider of cultural services.ObjectivesThe overarching goal of this study is to assess sense of place across cultivated lands. To do so, we used participatory mapping to elicit public knowledge of the past and present coverage of agricultural areas, as well as to reveal the public sense of place attached to cultivated lands and perceptions about future land-use pathways.MethodsThis study was conducted in an agrarian and rural region of SE Madrid (Spain), where we did ecosystem service participatory mapping workshops with key stakeholders related to the agrarian sector: farming professionals, land-use decision-makers and planners and other local actors.ResultsWe identified linkages between cultivated lands and sense of place as a key cultural service. The locations most pinpointed for its sense of place overlapped with cultivated lands. The future land-use pathways that showed the highest agreement between the likelihood and interest in their promotion were the increases in green and/or protected areas and orchards. Extensive crops and urban areas the land-use pathways with the highest dissonance.ConclusionsThe results encourage land planners and researchers to approach landscape values in relation to the sense of place. We concluded that cultivated lands present a sense of place, and this link has the possible to root society in agricultural landscape through the establishment of belongingness, stewardship and care connections.",LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY,2019,JUL J,"Palang, H; Kulvik, M; Printsmann, A; Storie, JT","Revisiting futures: integrating culture, care and time in landscapes",10.1007/s10980-019-00875-y,"ContextTwo approaches to study landscape change have been exploited: one that tries to study the developments that have happened in the past, and another that tries to foresee future.ObjectivesWe analyse how this dual approach can help understanding landscape change, how people relate to it in general, what their expectations and preferences are. We also discuss the usefulness of path dependency theory, cultural sustainability, and cultural ecosystem services approaches in understanding the management of a historical cultural landscape.MethodsFirst, we revisit a 1999 scenario study that outlined the possible trajectories of change prior Estonian accession to the European Union in 2004. Then, through series of studies we track the wider context of the landscape changes, analysing the results from the interviews and combining those with the visible results. We seek to answer whether or not the landscape changes that occurred followed any of the past scenarios, and if people's preferences changed.ResultsThe dynamics of realisation of different scenarios was not straightforward. However, people showed clear preference towards landscapes that carried signs of the continuation of rural life. What was not foreseen when designing the scenarios was the upsurge of local identity creating the links with the past.ConclusionsIn this Estonian traditional cultural landscape, stewardship, culture and cultural ecosystem services, or nature's contribution to people as IPBES prefers to call this now, define what caring for the landscape involves.",LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY,2019,JUL J,"Ibanez-Carpena, N; Benito, B",The action plan in foundations: public support for its preparation and impact measures,10.7203/CIRIEC-E.96.12908,"Objectives The article focuses on the study of the resources available to measure the impact of Spanish foundations, and more specifically on the accountability of these entities, and in particular on the publication of the action plan, as well as on the role played by public authorities in this process. The aim of our work is to compile current practices, both in Spain and in different countries, around the action plan, and the role and type of organization of the bodies responsible for its monitoring and supervision. We will also propose technical efficiency measures based on the information contained in the action plan. We intend to explore the main strengths and weaknesses of the current system that obliges Spanish foundations to elaborate an action plan, in order to make various proposals that may serve to improve the usefulness of this requirement and that, therefore, may be taken into account by public authorities for future reforms of regulatory regulations, and by the foundation sector as a whole. Methodology The mandatory requirement that foundations have since 2012 to produce the action plan according to a standard model has made researchers wonder whether this will contribute to its generalization or, on the contrary, whether it will act as a deterrent. In this respect, it should be mentioned that according to a study carried out by the European Foundation Centre (EFC), which showed a comparison of the legal framework of foundations in thirty European countries, Spanish legislation is the only one that contemplates the publication of an action plan. One third of the countries do not require any information on activities or budgets, and in the rest of the countries (18 of the 30 countries studied) at least one report on the activities performed is requested, and in a few cases a budget or a programme of the activities to be implemented is required. On the other hand, it should be said that in view of the research carried out, it is in Anglo-Saxon countries where foundations are most widespread. They receive greater attention from both regulators and supervisors, who are concentrated in a unique, independent authority outside of government. In addition, these countries are the most extensive in research in different areas, both on foundations in particular and on nonprofit organizations in general. In this sense, both the British and American models, to varying degrees, prove how intense regulation, if good in terms of clarity, reliability, fairness and operating margin, does not restrict a strong and powerful sector. On the contrary, it orders and encourages it because it gives guarantees and strength. In both cases, they are historically consolidated and socially accepted sectors that are highly regulated and, at the same time, enjoy great autonomy. Results The protectorates, which are publicly responsible for safeguarding the functioning of foundations, are characterized in Spain by their high number and dispersion. Initially there were 63, and since 2015, with the implementation of the Unique Protectorate, their number has been significantly reduced, and currently there are 26 protectorates. It can be said that the information on Spanish foundations is scattered throughout the country, and it is difficult for so many different units to have an adequate knowledge of the problems of foundations. The current law on foundations also provides for the creation of a Superior Council of Foundations, a consultative body yet to be created. Among other responsibilities, it is expected to plan and propose the necessary actions for the promotion and encouragement of foundations, carrying out the necessary studies for this purpose. This means that it has not been possible for us to compare and update the percentage of foundations that currently comply with the obligation to publish their action plan, due to difficulties with the sources of information, which are scattered throughout Spain. Thus, when we requested information from the Unique Protectorate to assess the evolution that Spanish foundations are having with respect to the obligation to publish and deposit the action plan, we were informed that access to it should be under a very specific request and relating to very limited samples, such as copies of a few action plan deposits from certain foundations. There is therefore evidence of the limitation of consultation that exists about information that is of a public nature. As a result of this request for information and following the guidelines received, data was obtained regarding the number of action plans deposited in 2016 and 2017, which amounted to 2,219 and 1,862 respectively. Finally, it was not possible to compare the percentage of foundations that do not comply with the obligation to present an action plan at the time this article was written (February 2019). After this analysis, it is more than evident that preparing the groundwork for any research in the Spanish foundational sector supposes an enormous effort. Foundations make their annual accounts publicly available on their own website, but not all of them. However, the Institute for Strategic Analysis of Foundations, as a research and foresight instrument of the Spanish Association of Foundations, has already made significant and essential contributions to progress in knowledge of the sector. In this sense, and in order to carry out this work, the electronic database included in the website fundaciones. es has been used. On the basis of the above-mentioned database, provided in excel format by the Spanish Association of Foundations for the period 2008 to 2014, we have calculated two technical productivity indicators: one for income and one for users. The first varies between 78,000 euros and 104,000 euros. These values indicate the average income that a Spanish foundation can obtain for each employee hired. In the case of technical productivity according to users, the value obtained for each of the years presents a greater dispersion than that of the previous index, fluctuating between 1,200 and 9,300 annual users attended per contracted worker. Practical conclusions and original value In Spain, with the data included in the action plan, very complete efficiency measures can be considered. In this respect, a study of technical productivity, based on income, number of users and number of workers, can provide important organizational advantages, since it contains the measurement of the actions performed by a foundation: social impact achieved and cost of the investment made to reach that impact. With the current technological possibilities, the protectorates should be facilitating and dynamizing the publication of information that would be useful for the foundational sector. However, after the analysis carried out, it is evident that conducting empirical research on the Spanish foundational sector represents an enormous effort. Supporting the proposal made by professionals and academics, it is considered necessary to implement the regulatory development of the Protectorate and Unique Registry and, in addition, to undertake a concentration process that corrects the current dispersion of supervisory authorities. This would facilitate the saving of resources, specialization and a real approach to a sector such as the foundational one that is characterized by its complexity, emulating the Anglo-Saxon models that have proved successful. Alternatively, a network of State Registries could be established, acting as a coordinator of the existing protectorates and registries, and providing reliable and unique information on the institutional, operational and financial situation of the sector. This would contribute to the requested transparency in the management and financing of foundations, making known directly the objectives and results of this type of entities in the development of their activities, as well as the means used to achieve them. The function of guardianship and control to be exercised by the protectorates could focus their attention on making controls and revitalisation in accordance with the results obtained and actions carried out. The system would be much more contemporary, since the traditional concept of a foundation as patrimony assigned to an aim is changing, moving towards that of operations under the parameter of purposes or objectives, and results. In short, Spanish foundations need an organizational culture in line with current trends, and a responsibility aimed at obtaining social benefits and improving management performance, all supported by public mechanisms that facilitate and evolve in the same way.",CIRIEC-ESPANA REVISTA DE ECONOMIA PUBLICA SOCIAL Y COOPERATIVA,2019,JUL J,"Yu, QR; Feng, CC; Xu, NY; Guo, L; Wang, D","Quantifying the Impact of Grain for Green Program on Ecosystem Service Management: A Case Study of Exibei Region, China",10.3390/ijerph16132311,"Evaluating the impact of an ecological restoration program on ecosystem services is crucial, given the role of such a program in boosting sustainable ecosystem management. This study examines the impact of one of the large-scale ecological restoration programs in China, the Grain for Green Program (GGP), on ecosystem service management in the Exibei region of China. This region is studied, as it is a key source water area with rich biodiversity and has been experiencing GGP for 20 years. To achieve the stated goal the changes of land use and ecosystem services value (ESV) and the ecosystem services scarcity value (ESSV) in the Exibei region were quantified and assessed based on remote sensing images from 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and field survey data. The results indicated that the expansion of construction land and the increase of water body were the dominant land use changes throughout the study period. Farmland, forestland and grassland decreased by 2.61%, 0.47% and 1.41% after the GGP, respectively. The ESV of the entire Exibei region increased slightly in response to land use change during 1990-2015, with an annual loss of 0.08% before the implementation of GGP and an annual growth of 0.03% after the implementation of GGP. Moreover, forestland was the dominant contributor to ESSV after the implementation of the GGP. Its annual growth rate was four times higher than before the commencement of GGP. The results of this study contribute to the protection of the Exibei region ecosystem, and more importantly, the future management of the ecosystem service in the hilly regions of southern China.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,jul 1 J,"Carriger, JF; Yee, SH; Fisher, WS",An introduction to Bayesian networks as assessment and decision support tools for managing coral reef ecosystem services,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.05.008,"Quantifying ecosystem goods and services can help evaluate policies aimed at protecting present and future generations from losing ecosystem benefits. Explicating and quantifying the relationships among risk factors, ecological structure and function, and delivery of ecosystem goods and services requires analytical methodologies that propagate uncertainties. The capabilities of Bayesian networks in generating predictions and accounting for uncertainty are explored with a focus on coral reef ecosystem service assessments. The qualitative aspects of Bayesian networks can be applied to conceptual frameworks developed for coral reef ecosystem service assessments. This is demonstrated using qualitative graphs that describe the relationships between coral reef condition endpoints and benefits from ecosystem services including property protection, recreational opportunities, fish for fisheries, and biochemical metabolites for commercial products developed from reef organisms. Bayesian networks help weigh uncertainties between management decision impacts on stressors and the corresponding delivery of ecosystem services. Quantitative capabilities for inferences are examined in hypothetical scenarios evaluating how decisions affect coral reef ecosystem services and economic benefits and resilience to episodic stress. The described methods facilitate visualizing the potential impacts on ecosystem services from alternative scenarios.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,jul 1 J,"Martinuzzi, S; Allstadt, AJ; Pidgeon, AM; Flather, CH; Jolly, WM; Radeloff, VC","Future changes in fire weather, spring droughts, and false springs across US National Forests and Grasslands",10.1002/eap.1904,"Public lands provide many ecosystem services and support diverse plant and animal communities. In order to provide these benefits in the future, land managers and policy makers need information about future climate change and its potential effects. In particular, weather extremes are key drivers of wildfires, droughts, and false springs, which in turn can have large impacts on ecosystems. However, information on future changes in weather extremes on public lands is lacking. Our goal was to compare historical (1950-2005) and projected mid-century (2041-2070) changes in weather extremes (fire weather, spring droughts, and false springs) on public lands. This case study looked at the lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service across the conterminous United States including 501 ranger district units. We analyzed downscaled projections of daily records from 19 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 General Circulation Models for two climate scenarios, with either medium-low or high CO2- equivalent concentration (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5). For each ranger district, we estimated: (1) fire potential, using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index; (2) frequency of spring droughts, using the Standardized Precipitation Index; and (3) frequency of false springs, using the extended Spring Indices. We found that future climates could substantially alter weather conditions across Forest Service lands. Under the two climate scenarios, increases in wildfire potential, spring droughts, and false springs were projected in 32-72%, 28-29%, and 13-16% of all ranger districts, respectively. Moreover, a substantial number of ranger districts (17-30%), especially in the Southwestern, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain regions, were projected to see increases in more than one type of weather extreme, which may require special management attention. We suggest that future changes in weather extremes could threaten the ability of public lands to provide ecosystem services and ecological benefits to society. Overall, our results highlight the value of spatially-explicit weather projections to assess future changes in key weather extremes for land managers and policy makers.",ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,2019,JUL J,"Li, A; Ford, J",Understanding Socio-Ecological Vulnerability to Climatic Change through a Trajectories of Change Approach: A Case Study from an Indigenous Community in Panama,10.1175/WCAS-D-18-0093.1,"This paper identifies and characterizes vulnerability to climatic change in the Ngobe-Bugle Indigenous community of Playitas, Panama, using a trajectories of change approach. Playitas is a community composed of swidden forest farmers that is undergoing rapid rates of change as a result of demographic shifts, regional development, and climate change. Working in collaboration with a community organization, various methods were used to identify and characterize livelihoods, social-ecological dynamics, environmental change, and behavioral responses to change, with the aim of informing future planning in the community. Qualitative methods included semistructured interviews (n = 26), community workshops, and participant observation. Causal-loop diagrams based on field data and the perceptions of community members were created to model trajectories of change. The research reveals that change is driven by both internal and external factors and that the responses of community members create both reinforcing and balancing feedback loops that overall generate increased stress in agricultural systems, social structures, and environmental components. Although community members historically relied on social relationships, Indigenous knowledge, and remoteness as sources of resilience to external disturbances, climate change is acting as a multiplier of their existing vulnerabilities and is undermining their capacity to adapt to current and future climatic changes.",WEATHER CLIMATE AND SOCIETY,2019,JUL J,"Boccia, F; Sarno, V",Socially responsible food behavior: Perspectives from empirical evaluations,10.1016/j.foodres.2019.03.027,"The present research aimed to study the consumption of socially responsible food consumption products in order to identify the elements on which European companies must base their success strategies in the next future. This research suggests both information about this particular kind of consumption and factors that determine their purchase through statistical techniques for testing and estimating causal relations, using data derived from carried out sample survey. Above all, the factor analysis and the cluster analysis are used for the aim of the study. The proposed study shows that socially responsible consumption is especially linked to knowledge and impact on socio-environmental context. Moreover, it was possible to identify three kinds of consumer under investigation: the agree one (41% of the sample), with highest level of perceived expectation about salubrity and willingness to pay; the half-agree one (13%), with lowest level of knowledge on socio-environmental policies but highest level of satisfaction; the disagree one (46%), with negative relationship with all of the factors, particularly with salubrity. The research considers a topic not addressed in details; moreover, it is also based on own previous research and is its natural continuation and deepening, but also important for future researches.",FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL,2019,JUL J,"Yong, YS; Lim, YA; Ilankoon, IMSK",An analysis of electronic waste management strategies and recycling operations in Malaysia: Challenges and future prospects,10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.205,"The generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment or e-waste has become a significant and current issue in the world, which brings negative environment and health impacts due to the presence of toxic metals and chemical substances. On the other hand, value recovery from e-waste offers significant economic benefits due to the valuable metals in e-waste, such as precious and base metals. Many developed countries have employed effective e-waste management strategies and state-of-art recycling technologies, such as integrated pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical smelters to manage this waste stream sustainably and extract the maximum value components from this secondary resource. This has not been the case in most of the developing countries and e-waste management is still in its infancy. The value recovery operations have been informal and semi-formal without incorporating required waste disposal strategies. Addressing this current socio-environmental issue, especially in developing countries, has been significant to achieve some of the United Nation's sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as clean water and sanitation (Goal 6), sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11), responsible production and consumption (Goal 12), and life below water (Goal 14), by 2030 (The United Nations: Sustainable development goals, 2018). This work discusses the current status in Malaysia in terms of both the e-waste management strategies connected to legislative frameworks and e-waste value recovery operations. Key socio-techno-economic challenges that hinder the application of sustainable waste management strategies and value recovery operations were identified and future directions that leads to the sustainable e-waste management in Malaysia will also be discussed. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,jul 1 J,"Karner, K; Cord, AF; Hagemann, N; Hernandez-Mora, N; Holzkamper, A; Jeangros, B; Lienhoop, N; Nitsch, H; Rivas, D; Schmid, E; Schulp, CJE; Strauch, M; van der Zanden, EH; Volk, M; Willaarts, B; Zarrineh, N; Schonhart, M",Developing stakeholder-driven scenarios on land sharing and land sparing - Insights from five European case studies,10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.050,"Empirical research on land sharing and land sparing has been criticized because preferences of local stakeholders, socio-economic aspects, a bundle of ecosystem services and the local context were only rarely integrated. Using storylines and scenarios is a common approach to include land use drivers and local contexts or to cope with the uncertainties of future developments. The objective of the presented research is to develop comparable participatory regional land use scenarios for the year 2030 reflecting land sharing, land sparing and more intermediate developments across five different European landscapes (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Spain). In order to ensure methodological consistency among the five case studies, a hierarchical multi-scale scenario approach was developed, which consisted of i) the selection of a common global storyline to frame a common sphere of uncertainty for all case studies, ii) the definition of three contrasting qualitative European storylines (representing developments for land sharing, land sparing and a balanced storyline), and iii) the development of three explorative case study-specific land use scenarios with regional stakeholders in workshops. Land use transition rules defined by stakeholders were used to generate three different spatially-explicit scenarios for each case study by means of high-resolution land use maps. All scenarios incorporated various aspects of land use and management to allow subsequent quantification of multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity indicators. The comparison of the final scenarios showed both common as well as diverging trends among the case studies. For instance, stakeholders identified further possibilities to intensify land management in all case studies in the land sparing scenario. In addition, in most case studies stakeholders agreed on the most preferred scenario, i.e. either land sharing or balanced, and the most likely one, i.e. balanced. However, they expressed some skepticism regarding the general plausibility of land sparing in a European context. It can be concluded that stakeholder perceptions and the local context can be integrated in land sharing and land sparing contexts subject to particular process design principles.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,jul 1 J,"Chen, YM; Li, X; Liu, XP; Zhang, YY; Huang, M",Quantifying the teleconnections between local consumption and domestic land uses in China,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.03.011,"Land teleconnections refer to the socioeconomic and environmental interactions related to land use among distant regions. China has been experiencing radical land use changes since its economic reform in 1978. The quantification of land teleconnections is critical for understanding land-related social and environmental problems. This study describes the land teleconnections in China at the provincial scale, using a multiregional input-output model and the latest domestic trade data in 2012. It is found that large amounts of land in the western provinces of China are consumed by the coastal provinces. More than 90% of land consumed by Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai is from other provinces. Agricultural land mainly transfers in the west-to-east and north-to-south directions. The regions in Northeast and Northwest China have the largest amount of agricultural land outflow compared with the other regions. At the national level, 11.21% of cultivated land, 14.23% of aquatic land, 12.06% of forestland, 9.70% of grazing land and 13.04% of built-up land are exported through international trade. Despite the economic benefits accompanying interregional land flow, vulnerable regions with severe water shortages may face a even more challenging future if the current land teleconnections strengthen. By presenting the latest information with respect to the land teleconnections, our results can provide a basis to further assess the ecological degradation due to distant land utilization and allow the identification of the specific land consumers that should be responsible for the ecological degradation.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2019,JUL J,"Grizzetti, B; Liquete, C; Pistocchi, A; Vigiak, O; Zulian, G; Bouraoui, F; De Roo, A; Cardoso, AC","Relationship between ecological condition and ecosystem services in European rivers, lakes and coastal waters",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.155,"We quantify main ecosystem services (i.e. the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being) provided by rivers, lakes, coastal waters and connected ecosystems (riparian areas and floodplains) in Europe, including water provisioning, water purification, erosion prevention, flood protection, coastal protection, and recreation. We show European maps of ecosystem service capacity, flow (actual use), sustainability and efficiency. Then we explore the relationship between the services and the ecosystem condition at the European scale, considering the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems, reported under the EU Water Framework Directive, as a measure of the ecosystem integrity and biodiversity. Our results indicate that a higher delivery of the regulating and cultural ecosystem services analysed is mostly correlated with better conditions of aquatic ecosystems. Conversely, the use of provisioning services can result in pressures on the ecosystem. This suggests the importance of maintaining good ecological condition of aquatic ecosystems to ensure the delivery of ecosystem services in the future. These results at the continental scale, although limited to the ecosystem services under analysis, might be relevant to consider when investing in the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems called for by the current EU water policy and Biodiversity Strategy and by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,jun 25 J,"Xu, QR; Zheng, XQ; Zheng, MR","Do urban planning policies meet sustainable urbanization goals? A scenario-based study in Beijing, China",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.128,"The global urbanization process has been a concern in recent years, and it is a serious challenge to sustainable development and effective urban governance. Rapid changes in urban land use have caused serious damage to the global ecological environment and ecosystem services (ESs). To help city planners and decision-makers in the process of city planning, it is vital to assess the impacts of urban land use changes on ESs. In this study, urban development under trend continuation and policy planning scenarios were assessed to determine whether the policy planning scenario meets the needs of sustainable urbanization. The two scenarios of future urban expansion in Beijing in 2035 were simulated by the FUTURES (FliTure Urban-Regional Environment Simulation) model, and the spatio temporal changes of ESs in the two scenarios were explored through the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) model. The results show that the major losses of ESs came from the conversion of cropland land to urban land, which accounts for 79.70% and 69.62% of the total carbon storage loss, 67.88% and 43.94% of the total water yield loss, and 79.94% and 77.72% of the total habitat quality loss, under the Status Quo (SQ) and urban planning development (UPD) scenarios, respectively. Our results emphasize that the policies proposed by the UPD scenario appear to greatly reduce the negative impacts of urban land use change on ESs. However, the government cannot neglect the protection of forest and needs to intensify the implementation of policies implementation in the shallow mountainous areas of the western margins and northeastern and northern regions of Beijing. By understanding the trade-off between future urban structure and ESs, city planners and decision-makers can adjust and optimize suggestions for urban planning policies to achieve sustainable development. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,jun 20 J,"Kelley, MA; Benz, H; Engdahl, S; Bridges, JFP",Identifying the benefits and risks of emerging integration methods for upper limb prosthetic devices in the United States: an environmental scan,10.1080/17434440.2019.1626231,"Objectives: Novel connective and control methods between an upper limb prosthetic device and end-user have large potential rewards and risks, making economic evaluation difficult. Methods: We conducted an environmental scan to assess user perspectives on advancements in upper limb prosthetic device integration. The environmental scan consisted of a PubMed literature search, grey literature review, formation of a community advisory board (CAB) and key informant interviews. The CAB guided the study and was comprised of adults with personal or professional experiences with upper limb prostheses. Results: The environmental scan highlights 4 main types of integration in upper-limb prostheses: osseointegration, targeted muscle reinnervation, cortical integration and peripheral nerve/muscle integration. The PubMed literature search resulted in the greatest number of matches for 'targeted muscle reinnervation upper limb' (N = 65) and 'upper limb osseointegration' (N = 54). The grey literature review found targeted muscle reinnervation and peripheral nerve/muscle integration to be most discussed amongst end-users and regulators. Of these four methods, greater device control versus invasiveness of implant is a clear benefit-risk tradeoff. Conclusion: This scan highlights a gap in user-centered research in upper limb prosthetic devices. Future directions include the development of a stated-preference instrument incorporating these methods of integration. Expert opinion: Upper limb loss greatly impacts one's productivity and quality of life. Despite a variety of prosthetic device options, high user dissatisfaction and rejection rates persist. Using community-based participatory research practices, we engaged end-users and identified the importance of option value. Many individuals said they would forego a present-day option to maintain the opportunity to adopt a device in the future, a point not addressed in the literature. Of the four emerging integration methods identified, targeted muscle reinnervation and peripheral nerve/muscle integration are highly promising, yet a better understanding of end-user preferences for these methods is still needed.",EXPERT REVIEW OF MEDICAL DEVICES,2019,jul 3 J,"Pena-Alonso, C; Garcia-Romero, L; Hernandez-Cordero, AI; Hernandez-Calvento, L",Beach vegetation as an indicator of human impacts in arid environments: Environmental conditions and landscape perception in the Canary Islands,10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.096,"Human occupancy of beaches is an important cause of environmental and landscape transformations, some of which are identifiable through vegetation analysis. Commonly, arboreal vegetation has been socially perceived in a positive way, as it contributes to the creation of environments appreciated as beautiful and natural. This type of vegetation has been recreated in urban coastal areas worldwide, including those located in arid environments where it is not always common or endemic to these areas. The typology of plant species, human impacts on beach environments, and the social perception of vegetation contrast were analyzed to understand the landscape influence and human impact on beach environments from arid regions. The study was carried out on 12 beaches with different degrees of human occupation (4 urban, 4 semi-urban and 4 natural) in Gran Canaria island (Spain). The results indicate that the number of exotic and mderal (first to colonize human disturbed environments) species increases with human occupation of the beaches. A greater number of arboreal species were identified on urban beaches, while shrub and herbaceous species were more common on less occupied beaches (semi-urban and natural). However, when surveyed, the users of semi-urban and natural beaches, considered that arboreal vegetation compose a more attractive landscape than other with herbs or shrubs, even though tree species appear occasionally on these types of beaches. This inconsistency identifies a conflict of values between the development and conservation of beaches in arid environments. This study can be used to establish environmental sustainability strategies on beaches. Conservation and environmental information about ecosystem services related with indigenous plant species is and important issue for integrated management on beaches from arid regions, especially those that may be urbanized in the near future.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,jun 15 J,"O'Connor, A; Skouteris, H; Nolan, A; Hooley, M; Cann, W; Williams-Smith, J",Applying Intervention Mapping to develop an early childhood educators' intervention promoting parent-child relationships,10.1080/03004430.2017.1362401,"Supporting parent-child relationships is vital for children's social and emotional development, future health and well-being. As children now spend significant amounts of time attending early childhood education and care settings, it is opportune that interventions be designed for educators to promote and nurture parent-child relationships. The aim of the current paper was to describe the systematic development of the Educator-Parent-Child Relationship (E-PCR) programme using six steps of the Intervention Mapping protocol. The results of a needs assessment lead to development of the Building Educator Knowledge (BEK) framework, logic model and matrices for programme, performance and change objectives. Theory-based methods and practical strategies were identified to develop intervention materials at three socio-ecological levels: (i) individual, (ii) interpersonal and (iii) organizational. Future evaluations will assess the implementation and effectiveness of the E-PCR programme.",EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CARE,2019,jun 7 J,"Joslin, AJ",Unpacking 'Success': Applying Local Perceptions to Interpret Influences of Water Fund Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Ecuadorian Andes,10.1080/08941920.2018.1559379,"NGOs, government agencies, and green businesses proclaim water fund arrangements in Latin America as successful payments for ecosystem services (PES) systems. Associated success narratives emphasize that PES allows downstream ecosystem service beneficiaries to incentivize upstream land managers to pursue conservation activities. However, recent scholarship questions their on-the-ground influence. This article assesses the success narrative of Quito, Ecuador's Fondo para la proteccion del Agua's (FONAG) as a model water fund PES arrangement. Using a novel perceived directionality framework, the author compares the FONAG claims about its influence to ethnographic evidence from three participating rural communities. The findings suggest that statements of direct, causal influence on local conservation activities overlook local context and ignores nuance within the interactions between program incentives and in community activity. This study urges future assessments of PES arrangements to recognize complexities in political, economic, and social context.",SOCIETY & NATURAL RESOURCES,2019,jun 3 J,"Khodaee, Z; Ghiaei, MM; Arjmand, JT; Ahmadi, MH",Assessment of the level of Navab inhabitants discontent with urban environment quality values,10.1093/ijlct/cty061,"The importance of urban residential environments as the main habitat of people is increasing. Firstly, they provide important means for the development of various other attributes of life, such as health, family, work and leisure. Secondly, a large number of people lives or will live, in the near future, in strongly urbanized areas. Finally, urban environments provide areas in which people are confronted with various adverse environmental conditions, such as noise, air pollution, external safety risks, crowding, litter and lack of facilities. For these reasons, managing the quality of urban residential environments is of vital importance. A first step toward this is to assess urban environmental quality. The purpose of this essay is to measure the level of Navab district inhabitants discontent with four social-environmental factors (include components of lack of environment hygiene, feeling of insecurity, noise pollution and air pollution) the under study sample content, included 270 questionnaires and data were analyzed by SPSS software. The outcomes of research presented there is a meaningful relation between all the under study factors in the empirical model and inhabitants discontent with their residential environment (P < 0.05). Totally, level of Navab inhabitants discontent with sum of the under investigation factors were assessed high and more than its average (1 < 3.41 < 5) with the theoretical mean value of 3. Level of inhabitants' annoyance with sum of under investigation factors was high and more than its average. Maximum level of inhabitants annoyance is belong to annoyance of air pollution (1 < 2, 89 < 3) with theoretical mean value of 2 and minimum level is belong to annoyance of lack of environmental hygiene (1 < 2.02 < 3) with the theoretical mean value of 2 which was assessed as medium level. Also, in study of the level of efficiency of three independent factors: gender, age and duration of dwelling in the area, on the level of discontent, outcomes presented that none of these variables affected the percept feeling of annoyance by inhabitants.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LOW-CARBON TECHNOLOGIES,2019,JUN J,"Esparza-Carlos, JP; Gerritsen, PRW; Parraguirre, SAL; Garcia-Rojas, MD; Pena-Mondragon, JL","Children perceptions of the jaguar, Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) in Jalisco, Mexico?",,"Predator perception studies generally only regard adults. However, it is necessary to also understand children perceptions in order to achieve more effective long term conservation and environmental educational strategies, since many of them will be the future resource managers. We analyze perceptions of the jaguar amongst children (n = 89) between 8 and 12 years old, in the Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve (SMBR) and its influence zone (ZI). To understand their perceptions, we organized workshops, using open-ended questions, to be answered with drawings: What animals live in the forest? Which dangerous animals live in the forest? What do jaguars look like and what do they eat? In all questions, we specified that we referred to animals close to their community. Apparently collective apprehension influences, which animals are perceived as part of the environment. Our results suggest that the jaguar is not conceived as part of the (direct) environment, but is conceived as dangerous animal in the area. Snakes are most mentioned as part of the environment; at the same time, they are perceived as the most dangerous. In the dangerous animal drawings, there were 72 mentions of no native animals. In all cases, more than half of the children knew the basic shape of a jaguar. Overall in the SMBR, most children drew cattle as the main food staple for the jaguar, representing one of the human-jaguar conflicts. Half of children drew deer as jaguar diet in the SMBR and one third in the ZI. A considerable number of children included humans in the jaguar diet in both zones. We conclude that it is necessary to develop strategies to change the negative perceptions of the jaguar. As such, it is important to generate educational material and carry out educational campaigns that highlight the ecological importance of the jaguar, and emphasizing those livestock management actions to reduce predation and the disappearance of false beliefs; which include jaguar as a people eater. In summary, is important to generate greater empathy with the jaguar, and clarify misconceptions that may affect the long-term survival of the jaguar in these areas.",REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA TROPICAL,2019,JUN J,"Hanley, N; Czajkowski, M",The Role of Stated Preference Valuation Methods in Understanding Choices and Informing Policy,10.1093/reep/rez005,"This article examines the role of stated preference (SP) valuation methods in the environmental economist's toolbox. Overall, the article makes the case for using SP methods in a wide range of settings, showing how the approach can be used to both inform policy and gain a better understanding of people's choices and preferences. First, we provide an overview of SP methods and discuss a number of policy design issues where we believe SP methods have advantages over alternative approaches. The ability of SP to overcome hypothetical market bias is briefly reviewed. Next, we discuss how SP methods can be used to address research issues concerning people's preferences and choices, which have broader implications for economics and behavioral sciences. These research issues are (1) the effects of information, learning and knowledge; (2) testing the validity of the standard model of consumer choice; (3) the influence of behavioral drivers such as social norms; and (4) the role of deep determinants of preference heterogeneity such as emotions and personality. Finally, we identify some research areas where SP methods may be particularly useful in the future.",REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY,2019,SUM J,"Qiao, S; Ingram, L; Deal, ML; Li, XM; Weissman, SB",Resilience resources among African American women living with HIV in Southern United States,10.1097/QAD.0000000000002179,"Objectives: African American women living with HIV (WLH) often face various challenges to access to and benefit from healthcare across the HIV treatment cascade. Despite experiencing multiple forms of ongoing adversity, some African American WLH are able to adapt and stand strong. The current study aims to identify resources at various socioecological levels that facilitate resilience and explore how these resources interact with each other. Design: Guided by the theories of resilience, we collected qualitative data through in-depth interviews with 14 African American WLH in South Carolina, United States. Methods: Participants were purposely recruited and interviewed in private settings in 2016. With appropriate consent, each interview was recorded and was transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo 11.0. Results: The participants described six major resilience resources including first, internal strength; second, religion and spirituality; third, hopefulness about life and future; fourth, self-awareness and self-care; fifth, social support from family and community; and sixth, HIV-related health facilities. The themes that occurred in qualitative data also show how resilience resources at the family/community level and institutional level affected individual resources, and how these resources collaborated with each other. Conclusion: The findings suggest that resilient African American WLH maintain hope in the face of adversity and seek out and obtain social support. Self-care, social support, and health facilities are particularly critical resources for African American WLH. Comprehensive interventions are needed to integrate these resources across multiple socioecological levels to enhance resilience and treatment outcomes in African American WLH. Copyright (C) 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.",AIDS,2019,jun 1 J,"Chan, DNS; So, WKW; Choi, KC; Gurung, S",Development of an explanatory model to explore cervical cancer screening behaviour among South Asian women: The influence of multilevel factors,10.1016/j.ejon.2019.03.001,"Purpose: To develop an explanatory model, built on an ecological basis, and examine the relational effects of multilevel factors on screening behaviour among South Asian immigrant women. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory correlational study using path analysis. 776 South Asian immigrant women were recruited from community in Hong Kong. A self-administered survey with eight sections covering socio-demographics, recommendations received from others, previous screening experience, knowledge of the disease and screening, attitudes and perceptions, level of acculturation, cultural barriers to screening and perception of cancer fatalism was used to collect data. Path analysis was done to test the hypothesised model. Findings: The final model obtained an acceptable model fit with x(2)/df = 2.52, RMSEA = 0.044, CFI = 0.95 and TLI = 0.93. A total of 15 factors, ranging from infra-personal to community level, were identified as being associated with South Asian immigrant women's cervical cancer screening behaviour. Three factors at the community level (language use, modesty and crisis orientation) had an inter-relationship with three intra-personal factors (perceived barriers to screening, cancer fatalism and perceived benefits of screening) and hence affected screening uptake. Conclusions: South Asian women's cervical cancer screening behaviour is affected by multi-level factors. Efforts should be made to change the current health-promoting strategies and attract more involvement from appropriate stakeholders, incorporating cultural and socio-environmental components in future interventions.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY NURSING,2019,JUN J,"Carlson, AK; Taylor, WW; Kinnison, MT; Sullivan, SMP; Weber, MJ; Melstrom, RT; Venturelli, PA; Wuellner, MR; Newman, RM; Hartman, KJ; Zydlewski, GB; DeVries, DR; Gray, SM; Infante, DM; Pegg, MA; Harrell, RM",Threats to Freshwater Fisheries in the United States: Perspectives and Investments of State Fisheries Administrators and Agricultural Experiment Station Directors,10.1002/fsh.10238,"Freshwater fisheries provide human benefits (e.g., food, recreation) but are increasingly threatened by climate change, invasive species, and other stressors. Our purpose was to survey fisheries administrators from state fisheries agencies and Agricultural Experiment Stations (AESs) about their perceptions of, and resource investment toward, threats to freshwater fisheries in the United States. Our rationale for studying these two types of fisheries administrators simultaneously was to inform state fisheries professionals about the fisheries relevance of AESs, elevate the profile of fisheries within AESs, and promote mutually beneficial state agency-AES partnerships. Survey respondents generally agreed that recreational, socioeconomic, and ecological services of fisheries were more important than nutritional and commercial benefits. The greatest perceived fisheries threats were water quality/quantity impairment, land-use change, and invasive species-but, interestingly, not climate change. State fisheries agencies invested more personnel and finances into issues rated as less important but more controllable (e.g., fish production, habitat management) than issues rated as more important but larger in scale and more difficult to control (e.g., water quality/quantity, invasive species). Our research underscores the importance of ensuring that state agencies can address long-term, socio-ecologically critical management issues (e.g., climate change) amid budgetary constraints. We call for state agencies to collaborate with new partners (e.g., AESs) to mitigate fisheries threats by expanding fisheries management to more fully encompass terrestrial and human systems; promoting receptiveness to novel research/management ideas; actively predicting, monitoring, and planning for future stressors; and enhancing fisheries' social-ecological resilience.",FISHERIES,2019,JUN J,"Makuch, KE; Zaman, S; Aczel, MR",Tomorrow's Stewards: The Case for a Unified International Framework on the Environmental Rights of Children,,"This paper evaluates an approach for strengthening environmental rights for children to safeguard child health. We focus on children as beneficiaries of environmental rights on account of their vulnerability to environmental impacts on their physical and mental health. Current legal frameworks, unless explicitly identifying children as beneficiaries, arguably tend to be adult-centric. Our goal here is to develop a comprehensive rights-based framework to ensure that children are protected against adverse environmental impacts. We argue that approaches that safeguard children's rights to life, health, and education should include environment-related issues, standards, and protections for those rights to be fully implemented. We propose employing sustainable development as a framework under which to develop an international treaty to promulgate the environmental rights of the child, thereby promoting health, environmental stewardship, and quality of life for children and future generations. We further argue that children's environmental rights extend beyond basic needs-such as clean air, clean water, sanitation, and a healthful environment, among others-to include the right to benefit from access to nature of a certain quality and the wealth of educational, recreational, developmental, and health benefits that come with ensuring protection of the environment for children.",HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS,2019,JUN J,"Johs, NA; Kellar-Guenther, Y; Jankowski, CM; Neff, H; Erlandson, KM",A qualitative focus group study of perceived barriers and benefits to exercise by self-described exercise status among older adults living with HIV,10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026294,"Objectives Although exercise interventions have been shown to improve health outcomes among older people with HIV (PLWH), this population remains highly sedentary. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in perceived barriers and benefits of exercise among older PLWH by self-identified exercise status. Design Five focus groups were formed among PLWH: two groups of exercising men, two groups of non-exercising men and one group of women (mixed exercisers and non-exercisers). Themes were analysed in relation to the social-ecological model, utilising the constant comparative approach. Setting Patients were recruited from an academic medical centre, HIV clinic and community locations. Participants PLWH aged 50 or older, diagnosed with HIV for at least 2 years, with no other health conditions that would preclude exercise. Primary and secondary outcome measures Determine facilitators, barriers and the ideal environment for exercise or physical activity and determine whether these differ between older PLWH who self-identify as exercisers or non-exercisers. Results Among 25 men (11 exercisers and 14 non-exercisers) and four women (three non-exercisers and one exerciser), non-exercisers mentioned fewer benefits of exercise (n=46) than exercisers (n=75). Exercisers emphasised positive reinforcement, positive mood change and increased energy as benefits of exercise; interpersonal benefits of exercise were also discussed twice as often by exercisers than by non-exercisers. Non-exercisers emphasised barriers to exercise including lack of motivation, lack of self-efficacy and a negative perception of gym culture. Non-exercisers identified the need for age-appropriate activities as a feature of an ideal exercise environment. Both groups identified time, cost and health-related challenges as barriers to exercise. Conclusions Unique exercise barriers and benefits by self-identified exercise status provide important insights into the design of future interventions to initiate and maintain exercise.",BMJ OPEN,2019,JUN J,"Deatrick, JA; Klusaritz, H; Atkins, R; Bolick, A; Bowman, C; Lado, J; Schroeder, K; Lipman, TH",Engaging With the Community to Promote Physical Activity in Urban Neighborhoods,10.1177/0890117118807405,"Purpose: To describe perceptions of physical activity, opinions, on intergenerational approaches to physical activity and a vision for increasing physical activity in an underresourced urban community. Approach: Focus groups embedded in a large Community-Based Participatory Research Project. Setting: West and Southwest Philadelphia. Participants: 15 parents, 16 youth, and 14 athletic coaches; youth were 13 to 18 years old and attended West Philadelphia schools; parents' children attended West Philadelphia schools; and coaches worked in West Philadelphia schools. Methods: Six focus groups (2 youth, 2 parent, and 2 coach) were conducted guided by the Socio-Ecological Model; transcriptions were analyzed using a rigorous process of directed content analysis. Results: Factors on all levels of the Socio-Ecological Model influence the perception of and engagement in physical activity for youth and their families. Future strategies to increase engagement in physical activity need to be collaborative and multifaceted. Conclusion: When physical activity is reframed as a broad goal that is normative and gender-neutral, a potential exists to engage youth and their families over their lifetimes; with attention to cross-sector collaboration and resource sharing, engaging and sustainable intergenerational physical activity interventions can be developed to promote health in underresourced urban communities.",AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION,2019,JUN J,"Cho, D; Nguyen, NT; Strong, LL; Wu, IHC; John, JC; Escoto, KH; Wetter, DW; McNeill, LH",Multiple Health Behaviors Engagement in an African American Cohort: Clustering Patterns and Correlates,10.1177/1090198119826207,"We investigated class clustering patterns of four behaviors-physical activity, fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, smoking, and alcohol use-in a faith-based African American cohort. Guided by socio-ecological models, we also examined the psychosocial and neighborhood social environmental factors associated with the clustering patterns. Participants were 1,467 African American adults recruited from a mega church in the metropolitan Houston, TX, in 2008-2009. They completed a survey and health assessment. Latent class analysis and multinomial regression analysis were conducted. Results supported a three-class model: Class 1 was characterized by low physical activity, low F&V intake, and low substance use (smoking and alcohol use). Class 2 was characterized by high physical activity, low F&V intake, and mild drinking. Class 3 seemed to be the healthiest group, characterized by high physical activity, moderate-to-high F&V intake, and low substance use. The probabilities of being included in Classes 1, 2, and 3 were .33, .48, and .19, respectively. Participants in Class 1 (vs. Class 3) reported lower physical activity norm (p < .001) and higher smoking norm (p = .002) and lower neighborhood social cohesion (p = .031). Participants in Class 2 (vs. Class 3) reported higher cancer risk perception (p < .001), lower F&V norm (p = .022), lower physical activity norm (p < .001), higher smoking norm (p < .001), and lower social cohesion (p = .047). As health behaviors are clustered together, future interventions for African Americans may consider targeting multiple health behaviors instead of targeting a single health behavior. Interventions addressing social norm and neighborhood social cohesion may enhance multiple health behaviors engagement in this population.",HEALTH EDUCATION & BEHAVIOR,2019,JUN J,"Nyelele, C; Kroll, CN; Nowak, DJ","Present and future ecosystem services of trees in the Bronx, NY",10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.018,"Trees provide ecosystem services such as air pollutant removal, carbon storage and sequestration, urban heat island reduction, stormwater runoff reduction as well as other socio-economic benefits. Large-scale tree plantings are occurring in many cities to increase tree canopy coverage as well as the health, economic and environmental benefits that come with trees. Thus, there is a need to assess the extent to which trees provide these ecosystem services, where services are realized, and most importantly to improve methods of determining future planting locations. Using a new spatially distributed implementation of the i-Tree suite of ecosystem service models and mapping tools, we estimate the current and future ecosystem services and benefits of a recent tree planting initiative within each census block group of the Bronx, NY for 2010 and for three 2030 tree cover scenarios (assuming no tree mortality, 4% and 8% annual mortality). Land cover and tree canopy estimates for 2010 are derived from a high-resolution land cover dataset. A grow-out scenario based on urban tree database information and allometric equations is used to predict future canopy cover. Change analysis is carried out at the census block group level to determine the magnitude and direction of change for each service and benefit over time. The monetary value of trees in the Bronx in 2010 is estimated to be $37.6 million, and this value is estimated to range from $40.7 million to $43.9 million in 2030 if the current canopy is maintained and newly planted trees grow to maturity.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,JUN J,"Alary, V; Moulin, CH; Lasseur, J; Aboul-Naga, A; Srairi, MT",The dynamic of crop-livestock systems in the Mediterranean and future prospective at local level: A comparative analysis for South and North Mediterranean systems,10.1016/j.livsci.2019.03.017,"Mediterranean livestock fanning systems have evolved to adapt to current and future pressures, including strong demographic growth and urbanization in the coastal zone, greater competition for land and water, and a big shift in the hinterland where farming activities are hardly maintained. We aim to explore future pathways for integrated crop-livestock systems in South and North Mediterranean countries to identify potential sustainable increases in efficiency and adaptability of resource utilization. The research was conducted in three countries, Egypt, France and Morocco, through case studies in a gradient of socio-ecological contexts, from favorable (plains and irrigated lands) to harsher ones (mountains, rain-fed areas). We mobilized farm surveys and monitoring, open-ended interviews, databases and previous studies. Based on a transversal analysis at the local level, we identified two main trends and five archetypical systems: (1) a centrifugal trend of specialization, towards cash crops or dairy herds in favorable areas, and pastoral system for meat production in harsher environments, and (2) a centripetal trend of diversification based on mixed crop-livestock systems in irrigation areas and agropastoral livestock-crop systems in intermediate rain-fed areas. The analysis showed an overwhelming antagonism between social vulnerability and ecological efficiency. Crop and livestock integration reduced the risk of biodiversity loss and low environmental efficiency observed in specialized systems, but mixed systems were more socially vulnerable. Those results call for dedicated rural development policies that favor the diversification as a lever of sustainable development but taking into account the land fragmentation and developing higher value added products chains. Taking advantage of spatial mobility abilities of livestock farming at the regional level, promoting collective actions must be encouraged to allow a wider range of livestock farmers in the hinterlands to live from their activities.",LIVESTOCK SCIENCE,2019,JUN J,"Sotirov, M; Sallnas, O; Eriksson, LO","Forest owner behavioral models, policy changes, and forest management. An agent-based framework for studying the provision of forest ecosystem goods and services at the landscape level",10.1016/j.forpol.2017.10.015,"In this paper, we develop an interdisciplinary agent-based framework for studying the provision of forest ecosystem goods and services (ES) at the landscape level. It combines forest owner types and their behavioral models with forest decision support systems (DSS). For this, we draw on mainstream decision-making theories in social sciences and relevant empirical evidence from Europe and beyond to suggest how economic, sociological and psychological rationalities can be combined to build a typology and behavioral models of forest owner decision-making including responsiveness to policy and socioeconomic changes. We then discuss how the theory-driven and evidence-based behavioral models in combination with forest owner and forest management insights can be used to analyze forest management behavior and responsiveness to policy and socioeconomic developments. By comparing standard forest DSS modeling results to exemplary results using the agent-based framework in terms of long-term simulations of timber production and biodiversity conservation in a case study in Sweden, we illustrate how the framework accounts for more differentiated and more realistic forest management practices at the forest landscape level. We discuss how the agent-based framework also helps explore and explain the impacts of future policy and socioeconomic changes on the provision of forest ES. We then suggest directions for future research that can further develop the framework and its use in forest modeling and DSS to better analyze the impact of future developments on forest management and the provision of forest ES at the landscape level.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2019,JUN J,"Young, N; Brattland, C; Digiovanni, C; Hersoug, B; Johnsen, JP; Karlsen, KM; Kvalvik, I; Olofsson, E; Simonsen, K; Solas, AM; Thorarensen, H",Limitations to growth: Social-ecological challenges to aquaculture development in five wealthy nations,10.1016/j.marpol.2019.02.022,"Aquaculture is a major contributor to global food production, but has attracted considerable controversy. Disagreements over the social and ecological impacts of aquaculture (positive and negative) have hindered further expansion of aquaculture production, particularly in wealthy democratic countries. This article presents findings from a series of workshops bringing international aquaculture scholars together from the natural and social sciences to examine and compare socialecological challenges facing aquaculture development in five nations: Canada, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This multinational comparison provides unique insights into common and particular challenges in aquaculture governance - a dimension that is missing in current literature about the industry. A political ecology framework from the environmental social sciences is used to examine how natural and human phenomena interact to shape these challenges and frame the conflicts that often result. The analysis reveals a wide range of social-ecological factors limiting aquaculture expansion in the five countries, including access to suitable environments, interactions with other sectors, and policy and regulatory gaps - not only with respect to aquaculture, but also on related issues such as marine spatial planning and the involvement of indigenous peoples in decision-making. The findings provide preliminary guidance for future policy development and comparative aquaculture research.",MARINE POLICY,2019,JUN J,"Gilbert, P","Psychotherapy for the 21st century: An integrative, evolutionary, contextual, biopsychosocial approach",10.1111/papt.12226,"Fragmentation of processes and interventions plague the psychotherapies (Gilbert & Kirby, ). Part of the problem is that we have not agreed on a framework that could be the basis for integrating knowledge and the scientific enquiry of processes and interventions. This paper outlines an approach that brings together a variety of different disciplines in the service of consilience (Wilson, , Consilience: The unity of knowledge, Vintage, New York, NY; Siegel, ). It presents the importance of an evolutionary framework for understanding the proclivities and dispositions for mental suffering and antisocial behaviour, and how they are choreographed in different sociodevelopmental contexts. Building on earlier models (Gilbert, , Human nature and suffering, Routledge, London, UK; Gilbert, , Clin. Psychol. Psychother., 2, 135; Gilbert, , Br. J. Med. Psychol., 71, 353; Gilbert, , Case formulation in cognitive behaviour therapy: The treatment of challenging cases, Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp. 50-89) the call is for an integrative, evolutionary, contextual, biopsychosocial approach to psychology and psychotherapy. Practitioner points Evolutionary functional analysis is part of an evolutionary, contextual, biopsychosocial approach to mental health that can serve as a scientific platform for the future developments of psychotherapy. Therapist skills and training will increasing need to focus on the multidimensional textures of mental states especially the context-social-body linkages. Therapies of the future will also focus more on the moral aspects of therapy and address the need to promote prosocial and ethical behaviour to self and others.",PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY-THEORY RESEARCH AND PRACTICE,2019,JUN J,"Buonocore, E; Paletto, A; Russo, GF; Franzese, PP",Indicators of environmental performance to assess wood-based bioenergy production: A case study in Northern Italy,10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.272,"Increased environmental concerns, mainly related to fossil fuels consumption and global climate change, have drawn the attention to the dependence of human society on energy supply. As a consequence of EU Directives setting mandatory renewable energy targets up to 2020, member states are boosting renewable energy and bioenergy production. The use of wood biomass for bioenergy production can entail important benefits, including improved energy security due to a smaller dependence on fossil fuel supply, mitigation of climate impact, and revitalization of rural economies connected to new job opportunities. Nevertheless, bioenergy production also involves environmental and socio-economic concerns. The environmental, economic, and social sustainability of bioenergy production needs to be assessed through a set of multicriteria indicators. In this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to explore the environmental performance of bioenergy production in an Alpine area of Northern Italy. In particular, the environmental impacts of a wood-based bioenergy plant utilizing local residues from wood industries and forestry operations were investigated. The amount of CO2-eq emissions (0.25 kg CO2-eq kWh(-1)) and the fossil demand (0.09 kg oil-eq kWh(-1)) calculated for the investigated bioenergy plant resulted lower than the values characterizing fossil fuels-based power plants. Yet, the environmental performance of the investigated bioenergy plant was affected by the consumption of methane, still used in the plant to cover peak loads. The results showed that the use of local wood biomass in the investigated Alpine area is a desirable option for recycling wood residues while supporting heat and electricity production. The findings of this study can support local managers and policy makers committed to plan and implement renewable energy strategies and circular economy patterns. In addition, they can be useful to assess the potential upscale of this bioenergy option at regional and national level considering the availability of wood residues (from forestry and industrial sector) while verifying possible operational constraints at larger scales. Future studies could also integrate environmental accounting with other assessment methods exploring the economic profitability and social desirability of wood-based bioenergy production in mountain areas characterized by low population density and large forest cover. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,jun 1 J,"Moss, T; Muriuki, AM; Maposa, S; Kpebo, D",Lived experiences of street girls in Cote d'Ivoire,10.1108/IJMHSC-12-2017-0052,"Purpose The United Nations continues to identify street children as one of the most vulnerable sub-populations of children and youth globally. The purpose of this paper is to present social and contextual perspectives of 11 girls living on the streets of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Implications with respect to the development and delivery of effective sexual/reproductive and mental health interventions and services are discussed. Design/methodology/approach Through semi-structured interviews and applied qualitative thematic analysis, this paper aims to achieve in-depth understanding about the lives of 11 girls living on the street. A socio-ecological framework is utilized to interpret the experiences of the girls at the individual (micro), community (mezzo) and structural (macro) levels. Findings Six main themes evolved from the thematic analysis of interview transcripts: exposure to violence and abuse before and on the street, exposure to violence and sex work, risk and vulnerability to HIV, substance use and sex work, substance use and physical and reproductive health and ways of coping and future planning. Originality/value The interplay of experiences illustrates how girls navigate their lives, and along with an appreciation of intersectionality validates the need for an integrated approach to health and social care related to health and mental health services. Integrated interventions should focus on common issues such as improving access to HIV testing and contraceptives for young girls living on the street.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MIGRATION HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE,2019,mayo 30 J,"Chiengkul, P","Uneven development, inequality and concentration of power: a critique of Thailand 4.0",10.1080/01436597.2019.1612739,"This article provides a critique of the Thailand 4.0 strategy to push the country out of the middle-income trap through innovation-driven, inclusive and sustainable growth. First, it argues that the policies have insufficiently analysed the persistence of structural hierarchy and uneven development in the global political economy, which will constrain Thailand's catch-up success in the future. Second, based on writings about progressive mission-led industrial strategies, it is argued that Thailand 4.0 ought to embed a progressive social and environmental agenda more clearly in its industrial strategy. Third, it is argued that Thailand 4.0 neglects to address the high concentration of political and economic power in the country, and also continues to allow unequal access to the policymaking process that has led to socio-environmental problems. Overall, this article argues that Thailand 4.0 will increasingly aggravate the two-tier fragmented nature of the political economic system of Thailand, where few can reap the biggest shares of the surplus and participate in more advanced sectors of the economy. It also calls for a more progressive industrial strategy and an alternative developmental path.",THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY,, J,"Yu, M; Yang, YJ; Chen, F; Zhu, FW; Qu, JF; Zhang, SL","Response of agricultural multifunctionality to farmland loss under rapidly urbanizing processes in Yangtze River Delta, China",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.226,"Agricultural multifunctionality is increasing interest and importance under the environmental change, which influences the sustainability of agricultural systems. However, research on how the agricultural multifunctionality is being temporally adjusted under the process of rapid urbanization remains limited. Here, we use the Yangtze River Delta, one of the newest metropolitan agglomerations globally, as study area to investigate the threats of modern urbanization to traditional agriculture. This study assessed changes to farmland area and the agricultural multifunctionality of 16 cities in the delta during 1995-2015. The results show that: (1) 87.1% (690,200 hm(2)) of farmland area was lost because of urban sprawl over the last 20 years; (2) the total value of agricultural multifunctionality in the delta had increased by 23.2%, which was mainly attributed to a significant increase in food provision and cultural leisure values; (3) the key factor affecting the spatial differentiation of agricultural multifunctionality changed from agricultural labour in 1995 to gross domestic product in 2005 and 2015; and (4) Socio-economic conditions and natural resources determined the adaptive change model of agricultural multifunctionality in different groups of cities. These results illustrate that agricultural multifunctionality is being adjusted to rapid urbanization through the intensification and trade-off of the multiple functions in agricultural system. Therefore, to foster the sustainable development of agriculture in metropolitan agglomerations, future land use policy should focus on both urban control and promoting agricultural multifunctionality. Ongoing transformation practices, such as land consolidation, should aim to improve the bio-physical and socio-economic functions of farmland in the delta. Future research should focus on developing locally suitable strategies based on the adaptive mechanisms of agricultural multifunctionality under changing environments in different cities. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,mayo 20 J,"Carvajal, PE; Li, FGN",Challenges for hydropower-based nationally determined contributions: a case study for Ecuador,10.1080/14693062.2019.1617667,"Hydropower is the dominant renewable energy source to date, providing over two-thirds of all renewable electricity globally. For countries with significant hydropower potential, the technology is expected to play a major role in the energy transition needed to meet nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions as laid out in the Paris Agreement. For the Republic of Ecuador, large hydropower is currently considered as the main means for attaining energy security, reducing electricity prices and mitigating GHG emissions in the long-term. However, uncertainty around the impacts of climate change, investment cost overruns and restrictions to untapped resources may challenge the future deployment of hydropower and consequently impact decarbonization efforts for Ecuador's power sector. To address these questions, a partial equilibrium energy system optimization model for Ecuador (TIMES-EC) is used to simulate alternative electricity capacity expansion scenarios up to 2050. Results show that the share of total electricity supplied by hydropower in Ecuador might vary significantly between 53% to 81% by 2050. Restricting large hydropower due to social-environmental constraints can cause a fourfold increase in cumulative emissions compared to NDC implied levels, while a 25% reduction of hydropower availability due to climate change would cause cumulative emissions to double. In comparison, a more diversified power system (although more expensive) which limits the share of large hydropower and natural gas in favour of other renewables could achieve the expected NDC emission levels. These insights underscore the critical importance of undertaking detailed whole energy system analyses to assess the long-term challenges for hydropower deployment and the trade-offs among power system configuration, system costs and expected GHG emissions in hydropower-dependent countries, states and territories. Key policy insights Ecuador's hydropower-based NDC is highly vulnerable to the occurrence of a dry climate scenario and restrictions to deployment of large hydropower in the Amazon region. Given Ecuador's seasonal runoff pattern, fossil-fuel or renewable thermoelectric backup will always be required, whatever the amount of hydropower installed. Ecuador's NDC target for the power sector is achievable without the deployment of large hydropower infrastructure, through a more diversified portfolio with non-hydro renewables.",CLIMATE POLICY,2019,SEP 14 J,"Ferreira, D; Freixo, C; Cabral, JA; Santos, M",Is wind energy increasing the impact of socio-ecological change on Mediterranean mountain ecosystems? Insights from a modelling study relating wind power boost options with a declining species,10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.02.127,"The growing concern about future challenges of energy security and climate change has led to the expansion of renewable energy production, with a special emphasis on wind power. Despite the environmental advantages of wind power, it's important to assess the impacts caused by the presence of wind farms on wildlife, particularly on species also affected by habitat loss and degradation. In Mediterranean Europe, the skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a declining passerine that breeds in mountain habitats vulnerable to the abandonment of traditional management practices and climate change. We have created a spatially explicit agent-based model (ABM) in order to replicate the selection of territories, evaluating the effect of wind farms on the mortality rate of breeding males. We were especially interested in assessing the mortality rates related with the interplay between habitat loss due to socioecological change and increasing wind power using alternative strategies: adding wind turbines or substituting existing wind turbines by more powerful ones, i.e. repowering. Several known aspects related with the risk of collision of A. arvensis with wind turbines were considered, particularly regarding the male habitat selection and behaviour displayed throughout the breeding season. By simulating a sequential contraction of suitable habitat for the species, we found a substantial increase in the breeding territories superimposed to the wind farm influence zone. In these conditions males' relative mortality was predicted to suffer significant increases. For equivalent wind power, adding wind turbines produced significant increases in the males' relative mortality, whereas repowering didn't. Based on our findings we propose repowering as a defensible strategy to increase wind energy production without increasing A. arvensis collision risk. We highlight that this strategy might also benefit other vulnerable bird and bat species associated with declining habitats of mountain ridges in the Mediterranean region.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,mayo 15 J,"Kutzner, D","Environmental change, resilience, and adaptation in nature-based tourism: conceptualizing the social-ecological resilience of birdwatching tour operations",10.1080/09669582.2019.1601730,"Resilience theory has emerged as a holistic concept well suited to analyzing tourism systems and which promises important insights into the sustainability of tourism destinations in the face of accelerating global environmental change (GEC). This article presents empirical research into the social-ecological resilience of tour operators using the case study destination of the Otago Peninsula, Dunedin, New Zealand. It addresses the following research question: How do birdwatching tour operators build resilience to drivers of environmental change, including climatic drivers, into their operations? Qualitative interviews with providers of a specific nature tourism sector activity - birdwatching - were conducted with stakeholders including tour operators, conservation organizations, and local government members. The findings highlight current and possible future challenges to birdwatching tourism on the Otago Peninsula. The paper introduces a conceptual framework which highlights the tour operators' main coping strategies in response to key perceived social-ecological system (SES) drivers of change. Overall, tour operators perceived their main social-ecological resilience to be the diversity of the species of the Otago Peninsula, their business experience, and the strength of their local stakeholder network to respond to SES crises.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM,2019, J,"Yu, HJ; Wang, YT; Li, X; Wang, CD; Sun, MX; Du, AS","Measuring ecological capital: State of the art, trends, and challenges",10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.014,"It is essential to assess the value of nature, as it provides various benefits for human economic development and well-being. It has been 20 years since two prominent publications came out in valuing nature. New concepts and methods have emerged since then. This study aimed to (1) investigate the relationship between the new proposed concept (ecological capital) and the existing two concepts: natural capital and ecosystem services and (2) examine the research trends of ecological capital accounting publications from 1997 to 2017. Bibliometric analysis was used to reveal the research trends. The results showed that the total number of publications has rapidly increased since 1997 and this growth trend will be maintained in the future. The most productive journal, country, institute, and author were Ecological Economics, USA, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Verburg, respectively. Ecosystem services and land were the most frequent types of ecological capital. Non-economic evaluation approaches became less of a favorite over time and economic valuation methods were mostly applied in last five years. The integration of different methods has attracted increasing academic attention. The progress, advantages, and limitations of different methods were summarized in this study, including SEEA, ecological footprint, exergy, emergy, LCA, and economic valuation approaches, as well as newly developed modelling approaches. The last part of this study presented three challenges in this academic field - the need to (1) establish a standard framework, (2) consider the transfer/transport of ecological capital, and (3) improve capabilities for decision-making. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2019,mayo 10 J,"Weber, MA; Ringold, PL","River metrics by the public, for the public",10.1371/journal.pone.0214986,"Managing rivers in society's best interest requires data on river condition. However, the complexity of river ecosystems, combined with finite budgets for river monitoring and modeling, mean difficult choices are necessary regarding what information will be available. Typically, decisions of what to measure are left to natural scientists. However, knowledge of public appetite for different types of information helps ensure river data is useful to society. We investigated public interest in rivers directly, engaging nearly one hundred urban and rural participants in a combination of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Drawing on concepts of final ecosystem services developed in environmental economics, we moved discussions past commonly mentioned stressors, such as pollution, to actual river features important in and of themselves. Participant feedback reflected extensive thought on river issues, in contrast to a stereotype that the public is ambivalent about environmental conditions. Interests were also broad, encompassing water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife, vegetation, and human features. Results show consolidation around relatively few themes despite diverse sociodemographics. Themes were interpreted into distilled, specific metrics to make public feedback as useful as possible for water resources monitoring, modeling, and management. Our research provides detailed, methodically generated hypotheses regarding river themes and metrics of public interest that should be considered as part of the tradeoffs inherent in river monitoring design. Results compared reasonably well to river attributes emphasized in river restoration environmental valuation reviews, with some differences. Future research could test our hypotheses with large-sample surveys.",PLOS ONE,2019,mayo 8 J,"Lawford, RG",A Design for a Data and Information Service to Address the Knowledge Needs of the Water-Energy-Food (W-E-F) Nexus and Strategies to Facilitate Its Implementation,10.3389/fenvs.2019.00056,"Food security is essential to sustain human societies. Food production flourishes when water, energy, and land are abundant, but more often it is limited by scarcities in one or more of these resources. In particular, food production is limited by the relatively fixed amount of water that circulates in the hydrosphere, the lack of new land for crops in many countries, and the depletion of critical minerals and fossil fuels in many source regions. An integrated Water-Energy-Food (W-E-F) Nexus planning and management approach promises improved resource efficiencies, new business opportunities, more coherent resource and environmental policies, and economies of scale for the data and information services underpinning better decision-making. This paper distills discussions on data and information from four regional workshops held as part of a Future Earth W-E-F Nexus Cluster project. The workshops reviewed ways to enhance the sustainability of the W-E-F Nexus through better governance; collecting, analyzing, and communicating data and information; and integrating both with management for better planning and decision-making. The focus of this paper is to explore the potential application of an integrated data and information system to enhance water, energy, and food sustainability. In particular, this paper's objective is to explore how a multisector W-E-F Nexus data and information system could be developed and operated to meet the planning and decision-making information needs of practitioners and to facilitate the implementation of the W-E-F Nexus concept. This Hypothesis and Theory paper provides a hypothesis and system design and proposes steps that could be taken to implement and test the system in a W-E-F Nexus environment. Data and information, along with modern technologies, can play a central role in facilitating paradigm shifts that reinforce the W-E-F Nexus by explicitly assessing environmental services, meeting the growing urban food demand, valuing water and other resources used to produce food and energy for export, promoting resource use efficiency through integrated planning and management, and strengthening links between the W-E-F Nexus and appropriate Sustainable Development Goals.",FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE,2019,mayo 7 J,"Valdez, RX; Kuzma, J; Cummings, CL; Peterson, MN","Anticipating risks, governance needs, and public perceptions of de-extinction",10.1080/23299460.2019.1591145,"Advances in biotechnology may allow for de-extinction. Potential impacts of de-extinct species remain uncertain; they may improve ecosystem function, or hinder conservation efforts and damage socio-ecological systems. To better anticipate de-extinction's outcomes, ethical dilemmas, and governance needs, we surveyed experts from multiple disciplinary backgrounds. We applied a mixed-method approach to our analysis, integrating quantitative responses of perceived outcomes with qualitative responses, to clarify and provide context. Overall, respondents indicated de-extinction was more likely to induce hazards, not benefits. Reasons for this viewpoint included a moral hazard' argument, suggesting conservation policies could be undermined if society perceives that species need less protection because they can be revived later. Pessimistic views of de-extinction were linked to concerns about unclear development paths. Experts believed the public might be skeptical about de-extinction. Our results suggest future de-extinction efforts may benefit from collaborative efforts to clarify hazards and explore salient concerns among the engaged public.",JOURNAL OF RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION,2019,mayo 4 J,"Chakraborty, R; Daloz, AS; Kumar, M; Dimri, AP",Does Awareness of Climate Change Lead to Worry. Exploring Community Perceptions Through Parallel Analysis in Rural Himalaya,10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-00012.1,"Human dimensions of climate change (HDCC) research overwhelmingly presents community perspectives on climate change and its impacts through single epistemic frameworks. This limits the possible platforms that community voices can access within scientific scholarship. Many HDCC interdisciplinary collaborations pursue the goal of data triangulation and attempt to address complex social-ecological problems through analytical integration. This raises questions about the comparative validity of different epistemologies and often leads to unequal power sharing between the different disciplinary practitioners. Our research addresses both of these issues by operationalizing a plural epistemological framework that depends on parallel analysis. This framework consists of a quantitative approach, inspired by hazards theory and change science research, and a qualitative approach, from political ecology. We explored perceptions of climate change in rural households in Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayan region. While the results reveal a high awareness of climate change within the community, most individuals and households do not consider the impacts of climate change to be a significant worry. The results for each approach complement each other. They provide the community with more than one platform to voice their experiences and reveal the complex relationships producing climate change knowledge in the region. Future research should attempt such parallel analysis in other locations to validate its utility in addressing issues of equity and marginalization between research epistemologies, as well as between experts and local communities.",MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,2019,MAY J,"Shaharoona, B; Al-Ismaily, S; Al-Mayahi, A; Al-Harrasi, N; Al-Kindi, R; Al-Sulaimi, A; Al-Busaidi, H; Al-Abri, M",The role of urbanization in soil and groundwater contamination by heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria: A case study from Oman,10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01771,"This study assessed the perception of urban residents of A'Seeb city, Oman, about the impact of their activities on environment. A sociological survey using questionnaire was used to know the residents' perceptions about urban gardening, municipal-waste disposal, and soil and water contamination. Viable pathogenic bacteria, water soluble metals, basic cations, salinity, and texture were quantified and identified in soil and groundwater in proximity of urban gardens and municipal-waste disposal sites. The majority of surveyed residents are not paying attention to the negative consequences of their activities on soil and environment. Although the measured heavy metals concentrations in some of the contaminated sites were significant but still below the international standards. Fecal contaminants reported in in some samples from gardens, garbage-disposal sites and groundwater. Human pathogens belonging to risk group-2 including Klebsiella pneumonia, Shigella spp and E. Coil were identified. More socio-environmental studies required to correlate the behavior of urban residents and pollution and to delineate the sources of the detected pathogenic bacteria. Our results set a foundation for future studies on urban soils and associated residence behaviors and practices in Oman and the neighboring Gulf countries.",HELIYON,2019,MAY J,"Burger, J",A framework for increasing sustainability and reducing risk to ecological resources through integration of remediation planning and implementation,10.1016/j.envres.2019.02.036,"Remediation of lands contaminated with radionuclides and hazardous chemicals provides an ongoing challenge for many countries. It is particularly problematic for remediation of old industrial sites remaining from World War II and the Cold War. Remediating and restoring large sites is often costly, time-consuming, and involves complex planning and sequencing, as well as consideration of future land use policies. The goal of remediation is to reduce contamination, reduce risk to humans and the environment, and restore land to productive land uses, and ultimately, to sustainability. Often reducing risk to people takes precedence over protecting ecological resources in overall planning, characterization, and execution of remediation strategies. This paper examines when and how stakeholders, including anyone interested and affected by remediation on ecological resources, can become involved in the planning, decision-making, and implementation of remediation. There is a formal process under federal law (e.g. CERCLA) in the US for examining risk to resources, including indicator species. However, there are other informal points during the cleanup process when managers should consider the value of ecological resources, the public may express their concerns for particular ecological resources, and ecologists may provide data and expert advice early in the process as critical decisions are being made about remediation that impact ecological resources. The framework presented in this paper for increasing sustainability of ecological resources has three periods of intervention 1) major decision points, 2) process interdiction points, and 3) remediation action points. Major decision points include site and problem identification, regional ecological resource and local land use practice determination, remediation goals and options determination, and other local issues. Interdiction points include examining remediation options, and in-depth assessments of ecological resources on-site. Remediation action points are aimed at reducing risk to ecological resources during remediation, and include defining the remediation site and buffer, understanding the effects of timing and sequencing of remediation, education of all remediation personnel, and specific suggestions for reducing risk during active remediation. While this framework was developed for Department of Energy remediation sites, it is applicable to brownfields and other contaminated lands world-wide. The overall goal is to provide interested and affected parties with a framework for protecting and enhancing ecological resources during the planning and execution of remediation on contaminated lands.",ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2019,MAY J,"Bian, JM; Sun, XQ; Zhang, BJ; Zhang, ZZ; Ding, F; Wang, Y","Study on the Natural Mineral Water Resource Bearing Capacity and its Driving Factors in Fusong County, Changbai Mountain Area, Jilin Province of China",10.1134/S0097807819030096,"In order to maintain the sustainable exploitation of the natural mineral water resources in Changbai Mountain Area with the continuously increasing exploitation intensity, information that is relevant to the exploitation of the mineral water resources from various aspects such as natural, social, ecological and environmental was collected based on the formation condition and mechanism of the regional mineral water resources. Meanwhile, the concept of the mineral water resources bearing capacity was brought up and the index evaluation system which contains the coupling of the information entropy and the grey correlation of the mineral water resources bearing capacity was set up. In this paper, the entropy and multi-objective decision making model were used for the evaluation of the mineral water bearing capacity, and the limited maximum exploitation quantity of the mineral water resources in the study area was determined according to the principle of the maximum entropy under the current and future condition in the region. The results shows that, the system entropy values of the mineral water resources in the study area in 2013, 2015 and 2020 are 7.6346, 7.5664 and 7.4289, respectively, showing a decreasing trend. At the same time, the composite indices of the mineral water resources bearing capacity in 2013, 2015 and 2020 are 0.6277, 0.5295 and 0.4068. The data indicate that with the exploitation of the mineral water resources in recent years, the mineral water resources bearing capacity is decreasing. However, the exploitation quantity of the mineral water resources in the study area can be increased for the time being in order to stimulate the circulation system of the groundwater and the recharge of the mineral water resources. The mineral water resources bearing capacity in each village and town of the study area is within the bearable state and has good exploitation prospects. It is necessary to point out that the exploitation threshold value in the study area is 35 million tons per year in order to realize the sustainable exploitation of the mineral water resources in the study area.",WATER RESOURCES,2019,MAY J,"Marshall, N; Adger, WN; Benham, C; Brown, K; Curnock, MI; Gurney, GG; Marshall, P; Pert, PL; Thiault, L","Reef Grief: investigating the relationship between place meanings and place change on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia",10.1007/s11625-019-00666-z,"It is well established that ecosystems bring meaning and well-being to individuals, often articulated through attachment to place. Degradation and threats to places and ecosystems have been shown to lead to loss of well-being. Here, we suggest that the interactions between ecosystem loss and declining well-being may involve both emotional responses associated with grief, and with observable impacts on mental health. We test these ideas on so-called ecological grief by examining individual emotional response to well-documented and publicized ecological degradation: coral bleaching and mortality in the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. The study focuses both on one off events of coral loss and the prospect of continuing decline on the self-reported well-being of residents living within the ecosystem, visitors, and those whose livelihood is dependent on the marine resource: data from face-to-face surveys of 1870 local residents, 1804 tourists, and telephone surveys of 91 fishers and 94 tourism operators. We hypothesise that the extent to which individuals experience ecological grief is dependent on the meanings or intrinsic values (such as aesthetic, scientific, or biodiversity-based values), and is moderated by their place attachment, place identity, lifestyle dependence, place-based pride, and derived well-being. Results show that around half of residents, tourists and tourist operators surveyed, and almost one quarter of fishers, report significant Reef Grief. Reef Grief is closely and positively associated with place meanings within resident and tourist populations. By contrast respondents who rated high aesthetic value of the coral ecosystem report lower levels of Reef Grief. These findings have significant implications for how individuals and populations experience ecosystem decline and loss within places that are meaningful to them. Given inevitable cumulative future impacts on ecosystems from committed climate change impacts, understanding and managing ecological grief will become increasingly important. This study seeks to lay conceptual and theoretical foundations to identify how ecological grief is manifest and related to meaningful places and the social distribution of such grief across society.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,MAY J,"Ingalls, ML; Kohout, A; Stedman, RC","When places collide: power, conflict and meaning at Malheur",10.1007/s11625-019-00689-6,"Place meaningsnotions of what a given location is, and what it ought to beare critical to the social negotiations that produce regulatory and management regimes. These, in turn, contribute to the material social-ecological outcomes that determine both the sustainability of system processes and the ways in which costs and benefits are distributed across society. Ascribed meanings are foundational to the social determination of what constitutes a desirable' system state, a core concern of resilience-based approaches to managing sustainability transformations. However, place meanings are never simple or unitarythey are diverse, overlapping, and often contested. While such contestations over place meanings may remain latent, at times they erupt into overt social conflict wherein competing narratives of place find visceral, and even violent, expression. Taking a particular casethe armed standoff between ranchers and federal agents at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the United States in early 2016we examine the ways in which place meanings and associated place claims first informed and then gave rise to violent conflict, and explore the relevance of these for understanding social-ecological processes in contested places and implications for transformation toward sustainability. Tracing the origins of the conflict at Malheur through the contested histories of place-making in the American West, we argue: (1) place meanings are produced and compete across a highly uneven landscape of power wherein some place claims are privileged while others struggle to gain traction; (2) contested place meanings come to particular dominance when they achieve the status of normal'when they inform the taken-for-granted lenses through which society views a place. However, dominant claims are never hegemonic, always facing the threat of subaltern claims, and so the process of place-making is never finished; (3) place meanings and conflict over these are often brought to our attention in contemporary time involving local places, but they are typically the product of very pre-contemporary and non-local influences and trajectories, pointing to important cross-scalar relationships; and (4) conflict over place meanings and claims, while problematic and sometimes destructive, may also be generative. Conflict provides moments of opportunity wherein latent contestations are surfaced and made explicit, prompting new social negotiations that may lead to new and surprising outcomes. We also explore the implications of contestation over place meanings with regard to the production of social capital and possible roles that place attachment may play in fostering resilience within contested areas and informing efforts to navigate change toward more sustainable futures.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,MAY J,"Loomis, JJ; Knaus, M; Dziedzic, M",Integrated quantification of forest total economic value,10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.018,"Climate change and biodiversity loss represent major challenges for both developing and developed countries. It is necessary to demonstrate that conservation efforts designed to address such challenges, such as national parks or nature protection areas, are not at odds with regional development goals. Forests' carbon sequestration is well known, but they also provide a range of other ecosystem services. Additionally, they support local socio-economic dynamics such as cultural value and sustainable tourism. However, ecosystem assessments are time and resource consuming endeavors, and, in order to encourage consideration of forest conservation, a methodology applicable to any natural forest type in the world was created that allows quick total economic value (TEV) estimations. Existing methodologies and the scientific literature were reviewed. Given the prominence of carbon markets, this estimation is divided into carbon sequestration, other ecosystem services, and socio-economic impacts, which are combined into one monetary value. This tool is capable of offering policy makers, companies, and communities a quick assessment of a forest's TEV, thus it is a step towards the complete valuation of various land uses and ecosystems often found in nature protection areas. Following the results, the tool's contribution to the literature and future research needs are discussed.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,MAY J,"Dahal, RP; Grala, RK; Gordon, JS; Munn, IA; Petrolia, DR; Cummings, JR",A hedonic pricing method to estimate the value of waterfronts in the Gulf of Mexico,10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.004,"Open spaces, including waterfront areas, are publicly-or-privately owned landscapes that provide numerous benefits and services such as opportunities for recreational activities, ecological benefits, and economic development. However, with rapidly growing populations, development pressure on these areas has been increasing, often leading to conflicts between proposed land uses. Information on the monetary value of environmental amenities provided by these spaces would help decision-makers account for their importance to quality of life. This study estimated the monetary value associated with waterfronts using the hedonic pricing method (HPM) and real estate sales data for the coastal cities of Mobile and Daphne in Alabama, USA. The price of houses sold during 2001 to 2015 was used as the dependent variable and house structural and neighborhood attributes and presence of environmental amenities served as independent variables. Results showed that coastal residents considered proximity to waterfronts as one of the most important factors when buying a house and paid higher prices for houses located near most waterfront types. In Mobile, marginal implicit prices of proximity to waterfronts ranged from $2490 to $3530 per km, whereas in Daphne, the price ranged from $9250 to $15,460 per km. Findings can help guide future decisions related to development of coastal areas, land-use planning, urban forestry, and open space preservation by balancing opportunities for urban and commercial development as well as providing public access to open space environmental amenities with close proximity to residential areas.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,MAY J,"Olago, DO","Constraints and solutions for groundwater development, supply and governance in urban areas in Kenya",10.1007/s10040-018-1895-y,"Based on a five-town case-study cohort in Kenya, a conceptual framework has been developed to enable the formulation of holistic and effective strategies that encompass the national aspirations and regional to global sustainability agendas, and which can be used to monitor progress in achieving set objectives. The approach is flexible, scalable and transferrable, so that it can be applied in different contexts and using different indicators, based upon the same construct. Insufficient technical knowledge of urban aquifers and their interplay with the wider social-ecological system constrains the development of holistic, effective and robust management systems to ensure their sustainability for intended uses. The objective was to consider governance and management solutions that could promote water security for urban towns in Kenya through the sustainable use of groundwater in the context of its complex hydrogeology, water access disparities, competing uses and future risks. The in force national and county water policies, strategies, and plans for the case study areas were critically reviewed. The status of aquifer knowledge, water access disparities, competing uses, and risks was evaluated from critical literature reviews and data compilation, fieldwork, and analysis of indicator datasets from the Kenya 2009 census. Key aquifers need urgent characterisation to reverse the current situation whereby development proceeds with insufficient aquifer knowledge. Private sector and public participation in management should be enhanced through decentralised management approaches. Water infrastructure and technologies should be fit-for-purpose in application and scale, and the pro-poor focus should be underpinned by appropriately focused management regimes.",HYDROGEOLOGY JOURNAL,2019,MAY J,"Grimmel, H; Calado, H; Fonseca, C; de Vivero, JLS",Integration of the social dimension into marine spatial planning - Theoretical aspects and recommendations,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.02.013,"The implementation of maritime/marine spatial planning (MSP) strategies and management actions is often sought out by means of holistic, sustainability seeking processes, recognizing the connectivity and inter dependences of all ecosystem elements, including humans. In this context, overall sustainability is reached when social, environmental and economic sustainability are equally considered. However, the integration of social aspects and views, alongside other, non-political, elements of the social dimension, has been found to lack well-rounded consideration in processes supporting decision-making. One identified problem is the absence of an existing framework that defines social variables and dimension components in ocean management approaches. This paper assesses the social context important to build such a definition within MSP. Based on existing literature and social sciences research it provides an outline for the concept of a social dimension in MSP and suggests definitions to further discussion and aid in the development of socially integrative guidelines. Recommendations are provided to support necessary future research and enhance social justice and inclusion within existing planning processes. This is important to avoid and mitigate negative implications at social levels and to motivate the development of a new approach to ocean sustainability and integration of all planning dimensions.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,mayo 1 J,"Machado, AMD; Daura-Jorge, FG; Herbst, DF; Simoes-Lopes, PC; Ingram, SN; de Castilho, PV; Peroni, N",Artisanal fishers' perceptions of the ecosystem services derived from a dolphin-human cooperative fishing interaction in southern Brazil,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.03.003,"Incorporating the perception and attitudes of key stakeholders into conservation management can contribute to biodiversity conservation and has the potential to resolve human-wildlife conflicts. To this end, there is scope to enhance conservation outcomes by improving the capture and analysis of stakeholders perceptions and translating these into the management decision making process. Here, an ecosystem services approach (i.e. the benefits people obtain from nature) is used to assess the societal benefits derived from a specialized and rare behavior exhibited by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus gephyreus) that cooperatively forage with artisanal fishers in Laguna, southern Brazil. From interviews, we identified ecosystem services based on the perception of artisanal fishers who take part in this interaction. The perceived benefits of cooperative fishing with dolphins, identified from these interviews, were grouped into eight ecosystem services assigned into cultural (n = 7) and provisioning (n = 1) related services. The results showed that experienced fishers were more likely to identify multiple and diverse ecosystem services, while fishers exposed to tourists tended to focus on tourism and recreation leisure as benefits from fishing with dolphins. Our findings show that the human component is a key element in this system and support the proposal that future conservation decisions and management plans of Laguna's bottlenose dolphins should involve artisanal fishers to be more effective. Our findings indicate that an ecosystem services approach could help decision-makers to better integrate social, economic and cultural aspects of human-wildlife interactions into conservation and management strategies for wildlife in a wider context.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,mayo 1 J,"Golding, SE; Ogden, J; Higgins, HM","Shared Goals, Different Barriers: A Qualitative Study of UK Veterinarians' and Farmers' Beliefs About Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship",10.3389/fvets.2019.00132,"Although much research has investigated the drivers of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in human medicine, equivalent research in veterinary medicine is in its infancy. This qualitative study used a critical incident approach to explore farm veterinarians' (vets) and farmers' beliefs about antimicrobial use and antimicrobial stewardship. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 vets and 12 farmers in the UK, who worked mostly with beef cattle, dairy cattle and sheep, but a minority also worked with pigs or poultry. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted to explore how vets and farmers understood their responsibilities toward stewardship and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to identify key similarities and differences between the professions. The analysis generated four themes: A shared conflict between ideals and behaviour, Barriers to stewardship: the vets' perspective, Barriers to stewardship: the farmers' perspective, and A shared ambivalence: ownership vs. other-blaming. Vets and farmers demonstrated good understanding of stewardship but their treatment decisions are not always aligned to stewardship principles. Various barriers to improving antimicrobial stewardship were discussed by vets and farmers, but they placed differing emphasis on specific barriers. Faced with these barriers and an awareness that antimicrobial usage is not always aligned to stewardship principles, vets and farmers expressed frustration and a sense of ambivalence toward stewardship, and also engaged in other-blaming for the problem of AMR. In conclusion, vets and farmers in this study seem motivated to be antimicrobial stewards but feel challenged by the day-to-day reality of their jobs; they experience ambivalence toward their responsibilities for AMR, which may negatively impact their motivation to always act as antimicrobial stewards. Successfully tackling AMR will require change at the individual-, group-, and societal-level. Future interventions to improve antimicrobial usage in livestock farming could be situated within a social ecological framework, where other-blaming between professions is seen as a result of the interplay between psychological and contextual factors. Other-blaming could be reduced using a social identity approach; a common ingroup identity could be created by encouraging vets and farmers to focus on their common goal, namely a shared desire to promote animal welfare through optimal antimicrobial stewardship.",FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE,2019,abr 25 J,"Moller, I",Applying Uncertain Science to Nature-Based Coastal Protection: Lessons From Shallow Wetland-Dominated Shores,10.3389/fenvs.2019.00049,"Climate change and associated sea-level rise alongside the potential for alterations in the magnitude and frequency of extreme storm events, rapidly rising coastal populations, and a legacy of coastal land reclamation are forcing the need for sustainable coastal protection on shallow, wetland-dominated coasts. In this context, practitioners, and academics in the field of coastal flood and erosion risk reduction have been highlighting the flood protection value of natural coastal features for some time. Examples of the implementation of nature-based coastal flood and erosion risk reduction schemes, however, are few and far between and can certainly not (yet) be considered mainstream. One key problem around the implementation of these types of approaches has arguably been the relative lack of perceived scientific certainty around the efficiency with which natural landforms, such as coastal wetlands, reduce wave action on landward lying structures and the persistence of such landforms in an uncertain future. This makes nature-inclusive approaches less attractive to more traditional engineering-only approaches that rely solely on one hard structure with a well-defined impact on waves and a specified design life. Using the example of wave dissipation over coastal wetland surfaces, this paper provides a way forward for an easily applicable scientifically informed assessment of the minimum difference any given wetland makes to wave heights at landward locations. Such a minimum function approach could be rolled out to other ecosystem services provided by natural features and thus allow decision makers and coastal planners to consider nature-inclusive approaches to coastal management with greater confidence.",FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE,2019,abr 24 J,"Armstrong, CW; Vondolia, GK; Foley, NS; Henry, LA; Needham, K; Ressurreicao, A",Expert Assessment of Risks Posed by Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities to Ecosystem Services in the Deep North Atlantic,10.3389/fmars.2019.00158,"Sustainable development of the ocean is a central policy objective in Europe through the Blue Growth Strategy and globally through parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Achieving sustainable exploitation of deep sea resources is challenged due to the huge uncertainty around the many risks posed by human activities on these remote ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. We used a Delphi approach, an iterative expert-based survey process, to assess risks to ecosystem services in the North Atlantic Ocean from climate change (water temperature and ocean acidification), the blue economy (fishing, pollution, oil and gas activities, deep seabed mining, maritime and coastal tourism and blue biotechnology), and their cumulative effects. Ecosystem services from the deep sea, identified through the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework, were presented in an expert survey to assess the impacts of human drivers on these services. The results from this initial survey were analyzed and then presented in a second survey. The final results, based on 55 expert responses, indicated that pollution and temperature change each pose a high risk to more than 28% of deepsea ecosystem services, whilst ocean acidification, and fisheries both pose a high risk to more than 19% of the deep-sea ecosystem services. Services considered to be most at risk of being impacted by anthropogenic activities were biodiversity and habitat as supporting services, biodiversity as a cultural service, and fish and shellfish as provisioning services. Tourism and blue biotechnology were not seen to cause serious risk to any of the ecosystem services. The negative impacts from temperature change, ocean acidification, fishing, pollution, and oil and gas activities were deemed to be largely more probable than their positive impacts. These results expand our knowledge of how a broad set of deep-sea ecosystem services are impacted by human activities. Furthermore, the study provides input in relation to future priorities regarding research in the Atlantic deep sea.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2019,abr 24 J,"Dominati, EJ; Maseyk, FJF; Mackay, AD; Rendel, JM",Farming in a changing environment: Increasing biodiversity on farm for the supply of multiple ecosystem services,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.268,"Among natural resources, soils continue to be poorly represented in ecosystem services frameworks and decision-making processes. Similarly, the supply of multiple ecosystem services from agro-ecosystems and trade-offs between services remains under-researched. As a consequence, it is unclear how and to what extent agriculture can deliver on environmental sustainability, whilst maintaining current levels of profitability. One of the main barriers to implementation of environmental management practices is the perception by the farming industry that environmental gains come at a cost and impact negatively on profitability. Therefore, we need to demonstrate that inclusion of all the natural resources on farm in farm system design and management offers flexibility for the farm system and insures improved sustainability and greater resilience. In this study, an ecosystem approach was paired with a new generation farm system optimisation model and the inclusion of natural resources beyond land, especially biodiversity, to explore farm system design, and report on ecosystem services beyond food and fibre from different parts of the farm. The approach was tested on a sheep and beef farm in Waikato, New Zealand to explore the added benefits of replanting fragile parts of the farm land-scape for soil and biodiversity enhancement on reduced emissions to air and water, and trade-offs between different services and farm profitability. The approach showed that it is possible to define and include ecological boundaries within which resources can be managed to deliver multiple benefits ranging from increased per hectare profitability to decreased environmental footprints. This is a feature analytical farm system frameworks will require in the future. The research also highlighted the importance of developing our understanding of the relationship between the condition and function of indigenous biodiversity fragments and adjacent pastoral ecosystems and their contribution to economic, environmental, cultural and social outcomes on and beyond the farm. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,abr 20 J,"Schernewski, G; Paysen, P; Robbe, E; Inacio, M; Schumacher, J",Ecosystem Service Assessments in Water Policy Implementation: An Analysis in Urban and Rural Estuaries,10.3389/fmars.2019.00183,"Coastal waters provide a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), but are under intensive human use, face fast degradation and are subject to increasing pressures and changes in near future. As consequence, European Union (EU) water policies try to protect, restore and manage coastal and marine systems in a sustainable way. The most important EU directive in this respect is the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC). Objective is to reach a good status in EU waters, following a stepwise and guided process. Our major objective is to test how an ecosystem service assessment can support WFD implementation in practice. We use the Marine Ecosystem Service Assessment Tool (MESAT) that utilizes spatial definitions, reference conditions and the good status according to the WFD as well as data and information gained during the implementation process. The data-based tool allows comparative analyses between different ecological states and an evaluation of relative changes in ES provision. We apply MESAT to two contrasting systems in the German Baltic Sea region, the rural Schlei and the urban/industrialized Warnow Estuary. These databased assessments show how the ES provision has changed between the historic, pre-industrial state around 1880 (reference conditions with high ecological status), the situation around 1960 (good ecological status), and today. The analysis separates the estuaries into water bodies. A complementary expert-based ES assessment compares the situation today with a future scenario Warnow 2040 assuming a good ecological status as consequence of a successful WFD implementation. Strengths and weaknesses of the approaches and their utilization in the WFD are discussed. ES assessments can be regarded as suitable to support public relation activities and to increase the acceptance of measures. Further, they are promising tools in participation and stakeholder processes within the planning of measures. However an ES assessment not only supports the WFD implementation, but the WFD provides a frame for ES assessments larger scale assessments in seascapes, increases the acceptance of the ES approach and the readiness of stakeholders to get involved.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2019,abr 4 J,"Cradock-Henry, NA; Fountain, J","Characterising resilience in the wine industry: Insights and evidence from Marlborough, New Zealand",10.1016/j.envsci.2019.01.015,"This paper examines resilience through a case study of New Zealand's largest wine region following a damaging earthquake in late-2016. Resilience assessment for the wine industry to date has largely focused on characterising risks and responses as a function of organisational and business management practices. Less in known about socio-ecological characteristics of resilience and how these shape and influence response capabilities and capacity to low-frequency, high-magnitude events within the broader context of other risks. The research employs a resilience-based framework to identify and assess relevant properties incorporating a whole-of-value-chain perspective. The participatory approach includes semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including wine business managers, wine researchers, industry bodies and others involved in the production and distribution of wine; document analysis (media and emergency response reports), and insurance assessments. Results show the earthquake had direct impacts on infrastructure, with indirect impacts and implications in particular for transportation and logistics, affecting the industry's ability to mitigate losses. Resilience varies across the region and the industry, in part as a function of size, scale, and ownership structure of the operation, which in turn influences future levels of preparedness. Resilience analysis provides conceptual and methodological tools for assessing the capacity of socio-ecological systems to recover from shocks and stresses. The framework developed here provides a useful conceptual and theoretical basis for further assessments and can inform the design of resilience indices to monitor organisations' capacity to absorb shocks and prepare for future uncertainty. This type of analysis can help identify system-critical vulnerabilities and sensitivities and inform the development of strategies to develop specified and general resilience in the face of multiple stressors.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2019,APR J,"Perry, J; Thompson, L",Empowering the Next Generation of Watershed Decision-Makers: A Pedagogical Design,10.3390/w11040662,"Watershed management is the art and practice of understanding stakeholder values for ecosystem services within a watershed and instituting management practices that consider trade-offs to sustain these goods and services. Effective watershed management practices are hydrologically defined, ecosystem-based, inclusive, and integrate biophysical as well as socioeconomic decisions. The uncertainties and unpredictability of climate change create an ambiguous backdrop to the increasingly social problem of water resource management. Inequities in watershed decision-making processes often lead to the reinforcement of power and resource imbalances. Future watershed managers must be able to engage across socioeconomic and cultural boundaries to support decisions that advance water as a human right in an uncertain future. We offer a design for a graduate level, 15-week university course that uses publicly available resources to help emerging watershed leaders prepare for an uncertain future. The design is interactive and constructivist, engaging the refereed literature and leading to an increased understanding of ecosystem-based watershed management under climate scenarios, with special attention to vulnerable populations.",WATER,2019,APR J,"Penalver, LP; Galvan, AR; Penalver, LP","ECONOMIC VALUATION OF GOODS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN MOUNTAINS OF GUAMUHAYA, CIENFUEGOS, CUBA",,"The life of the human beings is sustained in the derived benefits of the ecosystems. It is based in that the goods and services that give, as the water, the foods, the wood, the recreation, the medications, the conservation of species, the habitat, among others, facilitate the development. These have been object of an inadequate handling whose consequences are reflected in the degradation of the ecosystems, the desertification and deforestation. To this, is connected the devastating impact of the extreme events, ending up causing in many cases natural disasters and harming in equal measured mainly to people and poor and vulnerable countries. It is presented the investigative result related with the preservation of the ecosystem Mountains of Guamuhaya, Cienfuegos whose objective has been directed to value the ecosystems, goods and services of this region of the country economically. It contributes directly to the taking of decisions on the part of the local authorities for the achievement of the enjoyment of the present and future generations.",REVISTA UNIVERSIDAD Y SOCIEDAD,2019,APR-JUN J,"Kostoska, O; Kocarev, L",A Novel ICT Framework for Sustainable Development Goals,10.3390/su11071961,"Sustainable development is critical to ensure the future of humanity. Therefore, the assessment and governance of sustainability becomes a central challenge our society is facing. This paper provides a novel ICT framework for addressing sustainable development goals. It is characterized by both local and global considerations, in the context of economic, ecological, and social aspects of sustainable development. The framework consists of three modules: data module, sustainability module, and governance module. Data module integrates data from several sources, processes data, infers knowledge, and transforms data into understandable information and knowledge. The second module implements SDGs at the level of municipality/city, ensures ranking of locally transformed SDGs to arrange them in line with the values and needs of the local communities, and proposes an integrated approach in modeling the social-ecological systems. By implementing governance theories, the governance module permits an effective citizen engagement in governance of SDGs. The ICT framework addresses short-term and long-term SDGs and allows for the vertical and horizontal linkages among diverse stakeholders, as well as for their contributions to the nested rule structures employed at operational, collective, and constitutional levels. Thus, the framework we provide here ensures a paradigm shift in approaching SDGs for the advancement of our society.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,abr 1 J,"Lahoti, S; Kefi, M; Lahoti, A; Saito, O","Mapping Methodology of Public Urban Green Spaces Using GIS: An Example of Nagpur City, India",10.3390/su11072166,"Faced with a lack of fine grain data availability, in rapidly emerging urban centers of developing nations, the study explored a mapping methodology to create thematic map of public urban green space (UGS). Using GIS, a thematic map of Nagpur city, India was prepared. The objective was to prepare spatial data that are relevant for planners and policy makers, with detailed UGS typologies and to update the status of overall availability and distribution of hierarchical recreational green spaces in the city. The spatial and non-spatial data with added attributes gathered through fieldwork resulted in a holistic dataset, with high accuracy of thematic map (0.93 kappa coefficient). The recorded status of different typologies as well as the distribution of recreational UGS shows disparity in the distribution of UGS. The eastern part of the city grossly lacks UGS provisions, which is compensated by the western part with larger availability of natural green spaces. The mapping methodology is novel and effective for recording qualitative status, analyzing their spatial distribution and prioritizing the provisions of UGS. Future research integrating these spatial data with more qualitative research can provide a holistic view on benefits of UGS provisions and thus facilitate effective UGS governance aiming towards better green infrastructure and hence broader urban sustainability.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,abr 1 J,"Jacobs, B; Boronyak, L; Mitchell, P","Application of Risk-Based, Adaptive Pathways to Climate Adaptation Planning for Public Conservation Areas in NSW, Australia",10.3390/cli7040058,"Globally, areas of high-quality wildlife habitat of significant environmental value are at risk of permanent damage from climate change. These areas represent social-ecological systems that will require increasing management intervention to maintain their biological and socio-cultural values. Managers of protected areas have begun to recognize the inevitability of ecosystem change and the need to embrace dynamic approaches to intervention. However, significant uncertainty remains about the onset and severity of some impacts, which makes planning difficult. For Indigenous communities, there are intrinsic links between cultural heritage and the conservation of place and biodiversity that need to be better integrated in protected area planning and management. In New South Wales, Australia, management of public conservation reserves and national parks is the responsibility of a State government agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This paper describes the outcomes of a participatory planning process with NPWS staff to, firstly, identify the options available, the available tool kit', to manage biodiversity and cultural heritage in protected areas; secondly, explore how the selection of management actions from the tool kit' is associated with the level of climate risk to biodiversity or cultural heritage assets; and thirdly, to understand how the form of individual management actions might adapt to changes in climate risk. Combining these three elements into a series of risk-based, adaptive pathways for conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage is a novel approach that is currently supporting place-based planning for public conservation areas. Incorporation of the trade-offs and synergies in seeking to effectively manage these discrete but related types of values and the implications for conservation practice are discussed.",CLIMATE,2019,APR J,"Fischer, LK; Brinkmeyer, D; Karle, SJ; Cremer, K; Huttner, E; Seebauee, M; Nowikow, U; Schutze, B; Voige, P; Volker, S; Kowarik, I","Biodiverse edible schools: Linking healthy food, school gardens and local urban biodiversity",10.1016/j.ufug.2018.02.015,"Policies to move us towards livable, sustainable cities need involvement and support from urban societies. For children in particular, as future players in urban development, experiences in nature provide a basis for further interactions with nature and increase awareness of environmental issues. However, children are spending less and less time in nature, which threatens the development of environmentally aware behavior and can have negative health impacts. Schools are critical for environmental education, and there is a long tradition of schools serving as sites of food production and consumption, although consideration of biodiversity is often absent. We argue here for a concept of biodiverse edible schools that link food production and consumption with local biodiversity. This increases opportunities for children to better understand both urban nature and healthy food. We highlight the role of edible wild plants as a promising vector for coupling the usually distinct fields of food and biodiversity in the daily life of students. Using a case study from Berlin, Germany, we illustrate how stakeholders from different spheres can work together to bring critical components of biodiverse edible schools to reality. The components of our project include (1) a school kitchen supplied with food from regional producers; (2) a garden on the school's grounds for producing food; (3) a neighboring vacant wild site as a habitat for wild edible plants, and, most importantly, (4) collaborative activities in planning, managing, and using the garden and the wild site. This case study demonstrates opportunities and challenges for policies aimed at strengthening the bonds between children and nature, helping them better understand food production, and improving their diet. The concept of biodiverse edible schools highlights promising functions of wild urban land as an informal component of urban green infrastructure that can jointly support cultural and provisioning ecosystem services in cities.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,APR J,"Guo, R; Wu, T; Liu, MR; Huang, MS; Stendardo, L; Zhang, YT","The Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern in the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration, China",10.3390/ijerph16071190,"Urban agglomerations have become a new geographical unit in China, breaking the administrative fortresses between cities, which means that the population and economic activities between cities will become more intensive in the future. Constructing and optimizing the ecological security pattern of urban agglomerations is important for promoting harmonious social-economic development and ecological protection. Using the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration as a case study, we have identified ecological sources based on the evaluation of ecosystem functions. Based on the resistance surface modified by nighttime light (NTL) data, the potential ecological corridors were identified using the least-cost path method, and key ecological corridors were extracted using the gravity model. By combining 15 ecological sources, 119 corridors, 3 buffer zones, and 77 ecological nodes, the ecological security pattern (ESP) was constructed. The main land-use types composed of ecological sources and corridors are forest land, cultivated land, grassland, and water areas. Some ecological sources are occupied by construction, while unused land has the potential for ecological development. The ecological corridors in the central region are distributed circularly and extend to southeast side in the form of tree branches with the Songhua River as the central axis. Finally, this study proposes an optimizing pattern with four belts, four zones, one axis, nine corridors, ten clusters and multi-centers to provide decision makers with spatial strategies with respect to the conflicts between urban development and ecological protection during rapid urbanization.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,abr 1 J,"Gnonlonfoun, I; Assogbadjo, AE; Gnangle, CP; Kakai, RLG",New indicators of vulnerability and resilience of agroforestry systems to climate change in West Africa,10.1007/s13593-019-0566-2,"Climate change threatens ecosystems, including traditional agroforestry parklands. Assessing the level of vulnerability and resilience of any ecosystem to climate change is important for designing sustainable adaptation strategies and measures. We assessed farmers' perceptions of the vulnerability of agroforestry systems to climate change in Benin. The objectives of the study were to (i) assess the effect of changes in climatic conditions on agroforestry systems, (ii) assess the endogenous indicators of vulnerability of agroforestry systems to climate change, and (iii) analyze agroforestry and cropping systems' resilience to climate change. We hypothesized that some agroforestry systems are more resilient to climate change than others. A total of 233 household heads were surveyed, and seven agroforestry systems were assessed. Data collected included components. indicators of vulnerability, and the level of resilience of agroforestry systems. We characterized the agroforestry systems using a proportion of each woody trees species and density of tree. We differentiated the agroforestry systems with regard to vulnerability indicators using canonical factorial discriminant analysis with heplots for pairs of discriminant variables. The resilience of agroforestry and cropping systems was evaluated on a scale of 0 to 3 (0-not resilient to 3-most resilient). The number of components damaged in the system was the main indicator of the vulnerability of Anacardium occidentale and Citrus sinensis parks to climate change effects. Local people perceived age and density of Vitellaria paradoxa parks and mixed parks (Vitellaria paradoxa-Parkia biglobosa) as factors determining the vulnerability of these agroforestry systems to the effects of climate change. All agroforestry systems were perceived to be resilient to climate change but in different degrees. Manihot esculenta was reported as the most resilient crop to climate damage. For the first time, we found out specific endogenous indicators of the vulnerability of agroforestry systems to climate change. which are important to identify better adaptation strategies.",AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2019,APR J,"Sil, A; Fernandes, PM; Rodrigues, AP; Alonso, JM; Honrado, JP; Perera, A; Azevedo, JC",Farmland abandonment decreases the fire regulation capacity and the fire protection ecosystem service in mountain landscapes,10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.100908,"This study explored and applied the concepts of Fire Regulation Capacity (FRC) and Fire Protection Ecosystem Service (FPES) in the assessment of the effects of landscape change in a mountain fire-prone landscape in Portugal. We adopted a modeling and simulation approach using BFOLDS-FRM with landscape data for years 1990 and 2006 (observed) and with three landscape scenarios for 2020. Proxy indicators for FRC (burned area and fire intensity) and for economic damage by fire (loss of provisioning ES) were used to establish trends in the supply and value of FPES. We found decreased FRC to restrain simulated fires burning over 100 ha from 1990 on and to regulate Very High and Extreme fire intensity levels, particularly under our 2020 scenario of Forest expansion. FPES is also expected to decrease, as indicated by higher fire-related damages, particularly if fuel hazard increases in the landscape. However, there were differences among scenarios, suggesting potential trade-offs between FPES and the supply of provisioning ES. Planning and management in this and similar areas experiencing farmland abandonment must consider fire trends and patterns, since landscape change is a major driver affecting FRC and FPES, which may further be decreased by future climatic conditions.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,APR J,"Tamura, K; Langerman, SD; Ceasar, JN; Andrews, MR; Agrawal, M; Powell-Wiley, TM",Neighborhood Social Environment and Cardiovascular Disease Risk,10.1007/s12170-019-0601-5,"Purpose of ReviewLimited physical activity (PA) and obesity are two primary risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Within a socio-ecological framework, neighborhood social environment may play a key role in influencing PA and obesity. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain ambiguous. Our goals in this review are as follows: (1) to summarize findings from the recent studies on neighborhood social environment in relation to PA and obesity as CVD risk factors, and (2) to briefly describe several innovative approaches to assessing neighborhood social environment.Recent FindingsAlmost all recent studies assessed neighborhood social environment around residential areas. There were consistent associations between neighborhood social environment and PA and obesity, with some exceptions (indicating null associations or paradoxical associations). However, a focus on residential social environment may limit results because these studies did not account for any exposures occurring away from individuals' homes. Additionally, the majority of studies utilized a cross-sectional design, which limits our ability to make inferences regarding the causality of the association between neighborhood social environment and PA or obesity as CV risk factors.SummaryThe majority of the studies on neighborhood social environment characterized factors around residential areas and assessed participant activity via self-reported surveys. Future research should leverage tools to account for the spatial mismatch between environmental exposures and outcomes by using global positioning systems, ecological momentary assessments, virtual neighborhood audits, and simulation modeling. These approaches can overcome major limitations by tracking individuals' daily activity and real-time perceptions of neighborhood social environments linked to CVD events.",CURRENT CARDIOVASCULAR RISK REPORTS,2019,APR J,"Holley, JM; Andrew, NR",Experimental warming disrupts reproduction and dung burial by a ball-rolling dung beetle,10.1111/een.12694,"1. Insects are sensitive to climate change. Consequently, insect-mediated ecosystem functions and services may be altered by changing climates. 2. Dung beetles provide multiple services by burying manure. Using climate-controlled chambers, the effects of warming on dung burial and reproduction by the dung beetle Sisyphus rubrus Paschalidis, 1974 were investigated. Sisyphus rubrus break up dung by forming and rolling away balls of manure for burial and egg deposition. 3. To simulate warming in the chambers, 0, 2 or 4 degrees C offsets were added to field-recorded, diurnally fluctuating temperatures. We measured dung ball production and burial, egg laying, survival and residence times of beetles. 4. Temperature did not affect the size or number of dung balls produced; however warming reduced dung ball burial by S. rubrus. Because buried balls were more likely to contain eggs, warming could reduce egg laying via a reduction in ball burial. Warming reduced the humidity inside the chambers, and a positive relationship was found between the number of dung balls produced and humidity in two temperature treatments. Temperature did not affect survival, or whether or not a beetle left a chamber. Beetles that did leave the chambers took longer to do so in the warmest treatment. 5. This study demonstrates that climate warming could reduce reproduction and dung burial by S. rubrus, and is an important first step to understanding warming effects on burial services. Future studies should assess warming effects in field situations, both on individual dung beetle species and on aggregate dung burial services.",ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY,2019,APR J,"Smith, A",Biopolitics: Look in the Lost and Found for Peace of Mind,10.1007/s11089-018-0853-x,"This is a report on biopolitics, current cognitions (quality of mind), and our fundamental human nature. Biopolitics means biology and politics considered together. It promises something unlimited. However, biopolitics alone can take us only so far. Today, we may have lost a certain discerning wisdom about the natural environment and integrated fabric that melds all lives, a sacred unity. Biopolitics may be too narrow a frame for human living and ecological survival. Something is missing when there is talk about unworthy cultures and nations. Typically, in Western and capitalist societies a certain truncated and rational view of our fundamental human nature is promoted. Americans, for example, are told by leading authorities that we can do anything we put our minds to. But, toward which ends? The author argues that we need to rethink the idea that because something appears to have changed or is modern, recent, or new it is somehow better than what is considered old or ancient. If biopolitics promises an unlimited horizon for certain values and ends, strategies, and ways of knowing, then we need a wider conversation that includes Lucy (or the people of long ago) and our fundamental human nature. The ancient quest for remembrance and significance is in the new; the new has roots in what is prior. Time past, then, is partially contained in times present and future. A wider and deeper assessment that leads to a conscious and wise grasp of our current situation is required. The author contends that this is relevant to a pastoral theology that truly cares. Therefore, attempts to include aspects of the past and widen the lens may not be popular, but they may lead to a wise integration of ancient and emerging present concerns and to deeper questions.",PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY,2019,APR J,"Pakhtigian, EL; Jeuland, M",Valuing the Environmental Costs of Local Development: Evidence From Households in Western Nepal,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.12.021,"Environmental quality is rarely prioritized along the development pathways of developing countries, even though little is known about how individuals in these settings value intact environments. In 2017, we conducted a survey with a representative sample of 3660 households living throughout the Karnali and Mahakali River Basins in Western Nepal. As part of the survey, respondents were asked about how they use environmental services and participated in a double-bounded, dichotomous choice contingent valuation exercise designed to elicit their ability and willingness to pay (WTP) for a land conservation program that would prevent future development in and around their villages. We estimate the average monthly WTP for land conservation to be 202 NRs (US$1.96) and a lower bound of monthly household WTP to be 165 NRs (US$1.60). We find that households with higher levels of education exhibit higher willingness to pay; as do male respondents. We also find a significant negative relationship between household WTP and both migration and local NGO familiarity.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2019,APR J,"Baublyte, G; Korhonen, J; D'Amato, D; Toppinen, A",Being one of the boys: perspectives from female forest industry leaders on gender diversity and the future of Nordic forest-based bioeconomy,10.1080/02827581.2019.1598484,"Women working in the Nordic forest sector are underrepresented in top leadership positions, despite the female share increasing in higher education programs. Little research exists on this niche actor group in the forest sector context. To fill this gap, we assess perceptions of female leaders on the state of gender diversity in the Nordic forest industry, on the future of the forest sector in the bioeconomy, and on the potential contribution the Nordic forest industry can make to empower women, as promoted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. An elite interviewing strategy was used to engage female leaders working at the top management level of seven Finnish and Swedish forest companies. According to our results, adapting to being one of the boys appears to persist as a norm for female leaders in this masculine industry field. Participants believed that their influence on the industry's sustainability agenda comes from being in a senior management position, and is not a gender-related aspect. We conclude that the ability of the Nordic forest industry to adapt to strategic renewal into the bioeconomy will require a more diverse company culture, which is not solely gender-based and is fostered at all organizational levels.",SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH,2019,ago 18 J,"Khan, M; Sharma, A; Goyal, MK","Assessment of future water provisioning and sediment load under climate and LULC change scenarios in a peninsular river basin, India",10.1080/02626667.2019.1584401,"Assessment of the impact of changes in climate and land use and land cover (LULC) on ecosystem services (ES) is important for planning regional-scale strategies for sustainability and restoration of ES. The Upper Narmada River Basin (UNRB) in peninsular India has undergone rapid LULC change due to recent agricultural expansion. The impact of future climate and LULC change on ES in the UNRB is quantified and mapped using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST 3.3.0) tool. Our results show that water yield is projected to increase under climate change (about 43% for representative concentration pathway 4.5 for 2031-2040), whereas it is projected to decrease under the LULC change scenario. Sediment export is projected to increase (by 54.53%) under LULC change for 2031-2040. Under the combined effect of climate and LULC change, both water yield and sediment export are expected to increase. Climate change has a greater impact on projected water yield than LULC change, whereas LULC has greater impact on sediment export. Spatial analysis suggests a similar trend of variation in relative difference (RD) of ES in adjacent sub-basins. The quantified changes in ES provisioning will benefit future land management, particularly for operation of the Rani Avanti Bai Sagar Reservoir downstream of the UNRB.",HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL-JOURNAL DES SCIENCES HYDROLOGIQUES,2019,mar 12 J,"Battisti, L; Pille, L; Wachtel, T; Larcher, F; Saumel, I",Residential Greenery: State of the Art and Health-Related Ecosystem Services and Disservices in the City of Berlin,10.3390/su11061815,"Inclusively accessible green areas are essential for livable cities. The residential greenery on a door's step of urban dwellers has rarely been the subject of research. Here we provide insights into the state of the art of residential greenery in Berlin, Germany. We focus on socially disadvantaged neighborhoods exposed to high loads of environmental stressors and belonging to four relevant building types of Central European cities. 32 plots in eight sample areas were randomly chosen and surveyed during 2017 and 2018. We surveyed the presence of structural elements, the presence and abundance of woody species and the health-related ecosystem (dis-)services (i.e., species' air filtration and allergenic potential). We analysed the similarity among tree species to assess plant use patterns. The air cleaning and allergenic potential of woody species were assigned based on literature. In order to discuss strategies to improve residential greenery, we performed an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of these green spaces. We revealed a high dissimilarity of woody species assemblages across sites and within different building types, indicating no common plant use fashion. Recorded species provide moderate to high air filtering capacity. One to two third of all trees have a high allergenic potential that has to be addressed in future plant use decisions. Bike racks, benches, lights and playgrounds are common elements, whereas bioswales, facade-bound greening, atrium, fountains or ponds are rare. Their implementation can enhance the health and wellbeing of local residents. Building-attached greenery can improve densely built up areas of the Wilhelminian period, whereas space-intensive measures can be implemented in the spacious greenery of row-buildings settlements of the 1920s-1970s and of large housing estates of the 1970s-1980s. We revealed a high motivation for (co-)design and care by residents and discussed strategies on transformation towards multi-functional, healthy and biodiversity-friendly residential greeneries.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,mar 26 J,"Domisch, S; Kakouei, K; Martinez-Lopez, J; Bagstad, KJ; Magrach, A; Balbi, S; Villa, F; Funk, A; Hein, T; Borgwardt, F; Hermoso, V; Jahnig, SC; Langhans, SD",Social equity shapes zone-selection: Balancing aquatic biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services delivery in the transboundary Danube River Basin,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.348,"Freshwater biodiversity is declining, despite national and international efforts to manage and protect freshwater ecosystems. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has been proposed as an approach that could more efficiently and adaptively balance ecological and societal needs. However, this raises the question of how social and ecological objectives can be included in an integrated management plan. Here, we present a generic model-coupling framework tailored to address this question for freshwater ecosystems, using three components: biodiversity, ecosystem services (ESS), and a spatial prioritisation that aims to balance the spatial representation of biodiversity and ESS supply and demand. We illustrate this model-coupling approach within the Danube River Basin using the spatially explicit, potential distribution of (i) 85 fish species as a surrogate for biodiversity as modelled using hierarchical Bayesian models, and (ii) four estimated ESS layers produced by the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) platform (with ESS supply defined as carbon storage and flood regulation, and demand specified as recreation and water use). These are then used for (iii) a joint spatial prioritisation of biodiversity and ESS employing Marxan with Zones, laying out the spatial representation of multiple management zones. Given the transboundary setting of the Danube River Basin, we also run comparative analyses including the country-level purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) and each country's percent cover of the total basin area as potential cost factors, illustrating a scheme for balancing the share of establishing specific zones among countries. We demonstrate how emphasizing various biodiversity or ESS targets in an EBM model-coupling framework can be used to cost-effectively test various spatially explicit management options across a multi-national case study. We further discuss possible limitations, future developments, and requirements for effectively managing a balance between biodiversity and ESS supply and demand in freshwater ecosystems. (c) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,mar 15 J,"von Essen, M; do Rosario, IT; Santos-Reis, M; Nicholas, KA",Valuing and mapping cork and carbon across land use scenarios in a Portuguese montado landscape,10.1371/journal.pone.0212174,"The ecosystem services approach can inform decision-making by accounting for both short and long-term benefits from different land use options. Here we used the InVEST toolkit to quantify and map key ecosystem services at the largest publicly-owned agro-silvo-pastoral farmstead in Portugal a site representative for the montado landscape. We analyzed how Provisioning (cork production) and Regulating & Maintenance (carbon storage and sequestration) services would be affected under three land use change scenarios, which were developed in collaboration with the forest manager of the study area: Cattle Intensification, Forest Improvement, and Residential Development. Results show that increasing cattle or residential development would deliver substantially lower levels of services. We find that extensive management, improvements to forest quality, and promotion of traditional livestock grazing would provide the highest levels of assessed ecosystem services, resulting in 13.5% more carbon storage (worth between $0.3447.79 million USD depending on carbon price) and 62.7% more cork production (total value of USD $3.5 million) than the current land use. However, a shift in economic incentives to make sustainable cork harvesting and traditional low-density grazing of smaller ruminants like sheep and goats profitable are likely needed to reward traditional land stewardship and help support this iconic Mediterranean landscape in the future.",PLOS ONE,2019,mar 7 J,"Maze, R",Politics of Designing Visions of the Future,10.6531/JFS.201903_23(3).0003,"Scenarios for policy and the public are increasingly given form by designers. For design, this means ideas about the future - futurity - is at stake, particularly in genres of 'concept', 'critical' and 'persuasive' design. While critical approaches are present in futures studies and political philosophy, design assumptions and preferences are typically not explicit, including gender norms, socio-ecological practices and power structures. Calling for further studies of the politics of design visions, I outline possible approaches and elaborate through the example 'Switch! Energy Futures'. I reflect upon how competing visions and politics of sustainability become explicit through our process, aesthetics and stakeholders.",JOURNAL OF FUTURES STUDIES,2019,MAR J,"Gram-Hanssen, I",The role of flexibility in enabling transformational social change: Perspectives from an Indigenous community using Q-methodology,10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.001,"What makes some communities more resilient and transformative than others? This paper explores the hypothesis that the flexibility of perspectives is central to enable the kind of changes called for by current and future environmental and socio-economic challenges. The paper reports on findings from a Q-study conducted with the Indigenous community of Igiugig, Alaska, focusing on perceptions of social change. The study reveals three main narratives concerning drivers of social change, focusing on the role of individuals, the importance of cultural values, and community visioning. The findings from the Q study point to the importance of flexibility, understood as the capacity to take different perspectives, in enabling deliberate action in situations where the correct path to take is often contested. This kind of flexibility, grounded in an Indigenous worldview, is seen to contribute to community resilience through supporting cultural cohesion, collective leadership and enacting alternatives in the here and now. Strong community narratives that allow for individual interpretation is seen as important and highlights the interrelatedness between the individual and the collective and the role of collective agency. Drawing on the critiques of the concept of resilience in an Indigenous context, the paper further points to the need for transformational change occurring at multiple scales and extends a call for flexibility to be fostered among researchers and practitioners alike. The lessons from this community have implications for understandings of community resilience and agency in social-ecological systems and the potential for transformations towards sustainability.",GEOFORUM,2019,MAR J,"Kaltenborn, BP; Kaltenborn, EF; Linnell, JDC","It's All About the Scenery: Tourists' Perceptions of Cultural Ecosystem Services in the Lofoten Islands, Norway",10.14430/arctic67944,"The Lofoten Islands in northern Norway face challenges from increasing visitor numbers, congestion, environmental impacts, and growing host-visitor tensions. Benefits include increased local employment and growing revenues. Future tourism policy requires better documentation of the non-economic benefits and values associated with tourism in Lofoten; this information is important to the development of policy and management processes. We conducted 45 in-depth interviews with domestic and international visitors, using the cultural ecosystem services (ES) framework to ascertain the core elements of the tourism experience, as well as views on management needs and development. We probed reflections on place, aesthetics, recreational opportunities, inspiration, social relations, cultural heritage, knowledge, spirituality, and identity by offering a combination of statements and questions. All these categories of cultural ES were important to most visitors. However, the importance of the landscape was paramount. Policy implications include the need to include landscape in ES assessments, to map places of especially high scenic value, and to use the ES framework more extensively to identify and compare non-economic and economic tourism values and benefits.",ARCTIC,2019,MAR J,"Lara, LG; Pereira, LM; Ravera, F; Jimenez-Aceituno, A",Flipping the Tortilla: Social-Ecological Innovations and Traditional Ecological Knowledge for More Sustainable Agri-Food Systems in Spain,10.3390/su11051222,"The conventional dominant global agri-food system is a main driver in the Anthropocene: food production entails profound global environmental changes from greenhouse gas emissions to biodiversity loss, and shifting diets further impact planetary and human health. Innovative approaches are needed to shift towards more sustainable, equitable and healthy agri-food systems. Building on the increasing recognition of the relevance of traditional agroecological knowledge (TAeK) in sustainable food systems, this paper aims to describe innovative agri-food initiatives and explore how the use and valorization of TAeK may transform conventional agri-food systems. It employs a case-study approach in Spain, where we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 representatives of alternative agri-food initiatives. We found that, to promote sustainable agri-food systems, TAeK has to span from farm-to-fork. Innovative agroecological practices and knowledge help to safeguard biocultural diversity, while gastronomic knowledge among consumers on how to process and prepare local varieties and species is crucial for the implementation of shorter value chains. We discuss how TAeK enhances the success of conventional systems of innovation, challenging dominant epistemological frameworks. By scaling deep (changing values), scaling out (dissemination, reproduction) and scaling up (changing institutions), the agri-food initiatives may act on leverage points to enable broader transformation of the Spanish agri-food system.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,mar 1 J,"Marin, T; Wu, J; Wu, X; Ying, ZM; Lu, QL; Hong, YY; Wang, XY; Yang, W",Resource Use in Mariculture: A Case Study in Southeastern China,10.3390/su11051396,"China is the biggest provider of aquaculture products, and the industry is still growing rapidly. Further development of the sector will affect the provision of ecosystem services that maintain the livelihood of local populations. In particular, the current size and growth rate of China's mariculture has raised many environmental concerns, but very few studies of this sector have been conducted to date. Here, we report the resource use in the production of six main Chinese mariculture products (Larimichthys crocea, Apostichopus japonicus, Haliotis spp., Laminaria japonica, Gracilaria spp., Porphyra spp.), taking the city of Ningde as a case study. We used the life cycle assessment framework and the Cumulated Exergy Demand indicator to quantify resource use, and implemented a Monte Carlo simulation where model uncertainty was included using various methods. The mean exergy demand values of the production of one live-weight ton of large yellow croaker, sea cucumber, abalone, laminaria, gracilaria, and porphyra are 106 GJ eq., 65 GJ eq., 126 GJ eq., 0.25 GJ eq., 1.55 GJ eq., and 0.98 GJ eq., respectively. For animal products, 45-90% of the impacts come from the feed requirements, while in seaweed production, 83-99% of the impacts are linked to the fuel used in operation and maintenance activities. Policies oriented toward efficient resource management in the mariculture sector thus should take the farm design, input management, and spatial planning of marine areas as the main targets to guide current practices into more sustainable ones in the future. Improvements in all those aspects can effectively increase resource efficiency in local mariculture production and additionally reduce other environmental impacts both locally and globally.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,mar 1 J,"Fiese, BH; Musaad, S; Bost, KK; McBride, BA; Lee, SY; Teran-Garcia, M; Donovan, SM",The STRONG Kids 2 Birth Cohort Study: A Cell-to-Society Approach to Dietary Habits and Weight Trajectories across the First 5 Years of Life,10.1093/cdn/nzz007,"Background: Dietary habits formed during the first 5 y of life portend lifelong eating patterns. Objectives: The Synergistic Theory Research Obesity and Nutrition Group (STRONG) Kids 2 birth cohort study aimed to examine multilevel predictors of weight trajectories and dietary habits including individual biology, child socioemotional and behavioral characteristics, family environment, and child care environment over the first 5 y of life. This report describes recruitment strategies, an overview of survey measures, and basic descriptive statistics of the cohort. Methods: The cohort includes 468 mothers and their offspring. A brief survey was completed at a 1-wk home visit including child's birth weight, intent to breastfeed, collection of an infant stool sample, and additional contact information should the family move. Mothers completed surveys including diet, child temperament, family environment, and child care when their child was 6 wk, 3, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 mo of age. Height and weight of the mother and child were collected at each visit. Stool samples of the child were collected at each visit as well as saliva at 1 visit. Results: Close to half of the mothers were either overweight (24.2%) or obese (25.2%) prepregnancy. At 6 wk of age, 32.9% of the children were overweight and 31.4% were obese based on direct measurement. Conclusions: The STRONG Kids 2 research team has adopted a socioecological model that accounts for multiple influences on children's health including biological, child social and behavioral, family household organization, and community factors. The study is limited by a relatively educated and nondiverse sample. However, variations in maternal and child weight may inform future prevention programs and policy aimed at improving the diet and health of children under the age of 5 y. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials. gov as NCT03341858.",CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NUTRITION,2019,MAR J,"Delgado-Aguilar, MJ; Hinojosa, L; Schmitt, CB",Combining remote sensing techniques and participatory mapping to understand the relations between forest degradation and ecosystems services in a tropical rainforest,10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.02.003,"Forest degradation is an environmental problem that falls in the domains of different disciplines. Therefore, it is necessary to tackle this issue from a multidisciplinary perspective to support the design of appropriate forest monitoring systems and policies. The overall goal of this study was to combine remote sensing (RS) and ecosystem services (ES) data to better understand how the demand for ES is related to forest degradation. The study area was the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve located in central-northern Ecuador. First, participatory mapping (208 respondents) was employed to identify the demand and location for five predefined ES categories in tropical forest. Next, RS data were used to delineate degraded forest areas based on an empirically derived canopy cover value of 30-86%. The results show that the majority of ES locations was situated in areas with a canopy cover higher than 90%, which corresponds to undisturbed forest, while in degraded forest there were fewer ES locations. Considering the land-use pattern in the study area, there is a great danger that the undisturbed forest encountered at the time of the study will be degraded in future if uncontrolled forest use continues. The results of this study will be useful to local authorities for developing specific forest management strategies, and the methodology can support national and subnational forest monitoring systems.",APPLIED GEOGRAPHY,2019,MAR J,"Placek, CD; Nishimura, H; Hudanick, N; Stephens, D; Madhivanan, P",Reframing HIV Stigma and Fear: Considerations from Social-ecological and Evolutionary Theories of Reproduction,10.1007/s12110-018-09335-z,"HIV stigma and fears surrounding the disease pose a challenge for public health interventions, particularly those that target pregnant women. In order to reduce stigma and improve the lives of vulnerable populations, researchers have recognized a need to integrate different types of support at various levels. To better inform HIV interventions, the current study draws on social-ecological and evolutionary theories of reproduction to predict stigma and fear of contracting HIV among pregnant women in South India. The aims of this study were twofold: compare the social-ecological model to a modified maternal-fetal protection model and test a combined model that included strong predictors from each model. The study took place in 2008-2011 in Mysore District, Karnataka, India. Using data from a cross-sectional survey and biological indicators of health, we statistically modeled social-ecological variables representing individual, interpersonal, and community/institutional levels. Participants were 645 pregnant women. The social-ecological and combined models were the best-fitting models for HIV-related stigma, and the combined model was the best fit for HIV-related fear. Our findings suggest that combining reproductive life history factors along with individual, interpersonal, and community/institutional factors are significant indicators of HIV-related stigma and fear. Results of this study support a multifaceted approach to intervention development for HIV-related stigma and fear. The combined model in this study can be used as a predictive model for future research focused on HIV stigma and fear, with the intent that dual consideration of social-ecological and evolutionary theories will improve public health communication efforts.",HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE,2019,MAR J,"Adegboyega, SA; Oloukoi, J; Olajuyigbe, AE; Ajibade, OE","Evaluation of unsustainable land use/land cover change on ecosystem services in coastal area of Lagos state, Nigeria",10.1007/s12518-018-0242-2,"Increasing human-induced developmental activities around the Eti-Osa coastal area of Lagos state, Nigeria has continued to trigger social and environmental challenges that have not been given desired attention. The study therefore attempted to utilize Landsat TM 1984, ETM+ 2000, and OLI 2013 to estimate the changes in the land use/land cover categories using GIS techniques, economic valuation method, and monetary valuation model to estimate the ecosystem service loss. The result showed that the built-up increased by 973.63Ha between 1984 and 2013 while 6717.65Ha, 1314Ha, and 1740.49Ha of mangrove, wetland, and water bodies respectively were lost to land reclamation. In monetary term, the study established ecosystem service loss of US$101.59 million per annum for the study period. It further estimated ecosystem service loss caused by damage to mangrove and food supply services at US$113.77 million and US$21.83 million per annum respectively. It was observed that land reclamation activity for urban and industrial uses has significant effect on the ecosystem service loss. By implication, socio-economics of the inhabitants were impacted by drastic decline in the income accrued from fishing activities and collapsing infrastructure arising from unsustainable land use activities through land reclamation and emerging flooding. The study advocates adoption of rigorous ecosystem resource accounting in subsequent environmental impact analyses on all future land-reclamation projects.",APPLIED GEOMATICS,2019,MAR J,"Singh, A; Raj, P",Sustainable recycling model for municipal solid waste in Patna,10.1177/0958305X18787335,"Sustainable development is a major concern for developing nations as they strive to preserve their ecological balance along with economic growth. It has been noticed that economic growth results in environmental degradation as it influences lifestyle practices and leads to increased consumption of goods thus generating the large volume of municipal solid waste. Patna, the capital city of Bihar, is an ideal example of this condition. Here, central and local government and pollution committees fail to effectively tackle the large and increasing volume of municipal solid waste. Such scenario of municipal solid waste management in the city can cause serious health hazards, environmental degradation, and ecological destruction. Recycling the inorganic fraction of municipal solid waste can reduce the threat. In the present study, based on an extensive literature review propose a theoretical sustainable recycling model for Patna. This model is based on the similitudes in the recommendations required to attain 'sustainable development' and 'sustainable recycling'. Sustainable recycling model has six gears drive by various variables. Each gear has been tested for its existence in Patna. As a result, 'social aspect gear drive by three variables in sustainable recycling model is public health; public awareness; health of workers involves in recycling' shows complete non-existence behaviour. Hence, a survey (n = 127) has been performed to evaluate the success factors for social aspect gear existence in sustainable recycling model. Multivariate statistical analysis has been executed the comparison of respondents' perception on success factors and success factor groups affecting sustainable recycling of municipal solid waste in Patna. The study contends that if the proposed model has been successfully applied, then the problem of municipal solid waste can be effectively addressed.",ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT,2019,MAR J,"Minocher, R; Duda, P; Jaeggi, AV",Explaining marriage patterns in a globally representative sample through socio-ecology and population history: A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis using a new supertree,10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.11.003,"Comparative analyses have sought to explain variation in human marriage patterns, often using predictions derived from sexual selection theory. However, most previous studies have not controlled for non-independence of populations due to shared ancestry. Here we leverage a phylogenetic supertree of human populations that includes all 186 populations in the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), a globally representative and widely used sample of human populations. This represents the most comprehensive human phylogeny to date, and allows us not only to control for non-independence, but also to quantify the role of population history in explaining behavioral variation, in addition to current socio-ecological conditions. We use multiple imputation to overcome missing data problems and build a comprehensive Bayesian phylogenetic model of marriage patterns with two correlated response variables and eleven minimally collinear predictors capturing various socio-ecological conditions. We show that ignoring phylogeny could lead to both false positives and false negatives, and that the phylogeny explained about twice as much variance as all the predictors combined. Pathogen stress and assault frequency emerged as the predictors most strongly associated with polygyny, which had been considered evidence for female choice of good genes and male intra-sexual competition or male coercion, respectively. Mixed support was found for a polygyny threshold based on variance in male wealth, which is discussed in light of recent theory. Barring caveats, these findings refine our understanding of the evolution of human marriage systems, and highlight the value of combining population history and current socio-ecology in explaining human behavioral variation. Future studies using the SCCS should do so using the present supertree.",EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR,2019,MAR J,"Fettig, CJ",Socioecological Impacts of the Western Pine Beetle Outbreak in Southern California: Lessons for The Future,10.1093/jofore/fvy029,"Insects are important components of forest ecosystems representing most of the biological diversity and affecting virtually all processes. Some phytophagous species occasionally become so abundant that they threaten ecological, economic, social, and aesthetic values. The western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis) is a major disturbance in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests throughout much of the western United States. A notable outbreak, regarded by some as among the most severe for this species of bark beetle, occurred in southern California in the early 2000s. What is known about the socioecological impacts of the southern California outbreak is reviewed using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) framework. Knowledge gaps of consequence to better understanding and anticipating the impacts of future outbreaks are identified.",JOURNAL OF FORESTRY,2019,MAR J,"Michalk, DL; Kemp, DR; Badgery, WB; Wu, JP; Zhang, YJ; Thomassin, PJ",Sustainability and future food security-A global perspective for livestock production,10.1002/ldr.3217,"Grasslands are the predominant forage source for grazing animals and cover more of the Earth's land than any other major vegetation type. Their values are not always recognised, and conversion to other uses is continuing at a high rate leading to greater environmental and socio-economic problems. Overgrazing is one of the main drivers of productivity decline of grasslands, reflecting the pressures from excessive human populations and a demand for food. Some 20% of the world's grasslands are in a severely degraded state; others have suffered shifts to less-desirable species. Biodiversity and greenhouse gas production have also been particular concerns. Estimates of productivity change all show a decline over recent decades, yet animal numbers continue to increase, particularly in the developing world. This paper critically reviews the projected demands for livestock products, driven largely by human population growth; the current health of the world's grasslands and how current livestock systems that depend on land conversion and overexploitation of grassland are inappropriate and need to be improved. Central to this argument is that small holders in the developing world will be responsible for a large amount of the future red meat production, and this can be achieved through more efficient livestock production systems using lower stocking rates. The Australian sheep industry is provided as an example of how livestock production and reduced environmental impacts can be achieved with improved efficiency. Changes will require smallholders to transition to a competitive, market-oriented livestock industry, which will provide challenges.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2019,MAR J,"Winter, PL; Padgett, PE; Milburn, LAS; Li, WM","Neighborhood Parks and Recreationists' Exposure to Ozone: A Comparison of Disadvantaged and Affluent Communities in Los Angeles, California",10.1007/s00267-019-01140-3,"Urban parks are valued for their benefits to ecological and human systems, likely to increase in importance as climate change effects continue to unfold. However, the ability of parks to provide those myriad benefits hinges on equitable provision of and access to green spaces and their environmental quality. A social-ecological approach was adopted in a study of urban park use by recreationists in the City of Los Angeles, contrasting two affluent and two disadvantaged communities situated in coastal and inland zones. Twenty-four days of observations distributed across morning and afternoon time blocks were gathered, with observations in each day drawn from a pair of affluent and disadvantaged community parks. Observers noted location, gender, age, ethnicity/race, and level of physical activity of each visitor encountered during four scheduled observation sweeps on each day of field work. In addition, ozone dose exposure was measured through passive monitoring. Ozone dose exposure was calculated using average hourly ozone in ppb multiplied by METS (metabolic expenditures). Dose exposure was significantly higher in the disadvantaged community parks (with majority Latino use). Findings suggest that additional monitoring in disadvantaged communities, especially inland, may be prudent to facilitate community-based information as well as to assess the degree of potential impact over time. Additionally, mitigative strategies placed in urban parks, such as increased tree canopy may help to reduce the degree of risk and improve community resilience. Future research examining the positive outcomes from physically active use of urban parks may benefit from adopting a nuanced approach in light of the present findings.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,MAR J,"Higgins, SL; Thomas, F; Goldsmith, B; Brooks, SJ; Hassall, C; Harlow, J; Stone, D; Volker, S; White, P","Urban freshwaters, biodiversity, and human health and well-being: Setting an interdisciplinary research agenda",10.1002/wat2.1339,"The findings of a national workshop that explored the social and environmental impacts, challenges, and research opportunities associated with the role of urban freshwaters for improved public health are discussed. Bringing together the collective expertise of academics, practitioners, policy, and user-groups from urban aquatic ecology and human health backgrounds, this commentary develops a progressive agenda for future research by synthesizing current understandings and knowledge of urban aquatic biodiversity relative to health-related ecosystem service outcomes, from a cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary perspective. Key areas include (a) a need for greater interaction between sectors to maximize opportunities for collaboration and to promote the cobenefits (both environmental and health) associated with urban freshwater ecosystems; and (b) the need for a unified understanding and operationalization of the definition of aquatic biodiversity across sectors and disciplines, to improve our understanding of whether actual freshwater biodiversity or the perception of biodiversity is important for maximizing gains in health. Methods of valuation relating to ecosystem services and resource allocation and investment in urban freshwaters are critical in ensuring that research addresses the pathways and contexts within which health and environmental benefits from blue space can be maximized. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water",WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-WATER,2019,MAR-APR J,"Scheiter, S; Schulte, J; Pfeiffer, M; Martens, C; Erasmus, BFN; Twine, WC",How Does Climate Change Influence the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services in Savanna Rangelands?,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.015,"Savanna rangelands provide essential ecosystem services to people. Intense land-use and climate change may degrade ecosystems and influence the provision of ecosystem services. Complex dynamic vegetation models can simulate future vegetation and how vegetation may interact with land-use. Yet, identification of best-practice management directives in the face of climate change is challenging and requires consideration of socio-economic aspects. Here, we developed an economic model to describe the value of key ecosystem services, namely fuel wood harvesting and livestock, and coupled it with aDGVM, a vegetation model for tropical ecosystems. We used simulation optimization to identify land-use strategies that maximize economic value to stakeholders in the planning horizon until 2050, and compared it to realistic land-use intensities. We found that realistic intensities exceed optimal intensities, indicating the tragedy of the commons and external stress factors, prevalent in many rural savanna rangelands. We show that a reduction in fuelwood harvesting until 2050 allows vegetation to recover but that recovery is slow. We conclude that strong governance is important in rural savanna rangelands to ensure sustainable use of resources under future climate conditions. The coupled ecological-economic model can serve as tool to develop sustainable land-use strategies in complex socio-ecological systems globally.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2019,MAR J,"Xu, ZH; Fan, WG; Wei, HJ; Zhang, P; Ren, JH; Gao, ZC; Ulgiati, S; Kong, WD; Dong, XB","Evaluation and simulation of the impact of land use change on ecosystem services based on a carbon flow model: A case study of the Manas River Basin of Xinjiang, China",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.206,"Land use change affects ecosystem services by changing the structure and function of ecosystems. Carbon flows throughout natural and socioeconomic systems can effectively reveal this process. The Manas River Basin has experienced rapid oasis expansion for decades, and land use change in the basin is very typical. Oasis expansion has caused a large amount of cropland to invade natural vegetation, thus affecting ecosystem services. This study used a biomass-based ecosystem service estimation model to assess changes in ecosystem services in the Manas River Basin. The carbon flow model was constructed using energy systems language, and the future development of ecosystem services was simulated based on different land use scenarios. The results show the following: (1) From 1980 to 2015, the river basin provisioning service was continuously optimized, while the regulating, supporting and cultural services were reduced. (2) If the expansion of cropland continues, then carbon will be transferred from the natural ecosystem to the cropland. Regulation, support and cultural services in the basin continue to decrease. Due to the shortage of water resources in the basin, the growth of provisioning services is limited. (3) If the project of returning cropland to grassland is implemented, then the carbon in the natural ecosystem will gradually recover. The regulating, supporting and cultural services of the river basin are rising, but provisioning services are gradually decreasing. In general, the model based on energy systems language can reflect the ecological process within the system and effectively reveal the carbon flow process between ecosystems. The use of carbon to quantify ecosystem services can harmonize dimensions, facilitate comparisons, and mitigate errors in outcomes due to different evaluation criteria or subjective factors. Therefore, this study combines energy systems language with carbon flow, which helps to more rationally explore the impact of land use change on ecosystem services, thereby providing valuable information for river basin management. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,feb 20 J,"Jorda-Capdevila, D; Gampe, D; Garcia, VH; Ludwig, R; Sabater, S; Vergonos, L; Acuna, V",Impact and mitigation of global change on freshwater-related ecosystem services in Southern Europe,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.228,"Global change is severely impacting the biosphere that, through ecosystem services, sustains human well-being. Such impacts are expected to increase unless mitigation management actions are implemented. Despite the call from the scientific and political arenas for their implementation, few studies assess the effectiveness of actions on freshwater-related services. Here, by modeling water provisioning, water purification and erosion control under current and future conditions, we assess future trends of service provision with and without mitigation policies. In particular, two different storylines combine multiple climate, land use/land cover and agricultural management scenarios, and represent a pro-efficiency business as usual (myopic storyline) and a future that considers social and environmental sustainability (sustainable storyline). The mentioned services are modeled for the horizon 2050 and in three South European river basins: Ebro, Adige and Sava, which encompass the wide socio-environmental diversity of the region. Our results indicate that Mediterranean basins (Ebro) are extremely vulnerable to global change respect Alpine (Adige) or Continental (Sava) basins, as the Ebro might experience a decrease in water availability up to 40%, whereas the decrease is of only 2-4% in the Adige or negligible in the Sava. However, Mediterranean basins are also more sensitive to the implementation of mitigation actions, which would compensate the drop in water provisioning. Results also indicate that the regulating services of water purification and erosion control will gain more relevance in the future, as both services increased between 4 and 20% in both global change scenarios as a result of the expansion of agricultural and urban areas. Overall, the impact of global change is diverse among services and across river basins in Southern Europe, with the Mediterranean basins as the most vulnerable and the Continental as the least. The implementation of mitigation actions can compensate the impact and therefore deserves full political attention. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,feb 15 J,"Singh, P",Lean in healthcare organization: an opportunity for environmental sustainability,10.1108/BIJ-04-2018-0104,"Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insights toward the potential of lean healthcare organization for environment sustainability and develop propositions for future studies. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper to study the inbuilt capacity of lean healthcare organization to mitigate environmental footprint. As a result, lean compatibility with environmental sustainability (ES) has been explored in areas like manufacturing, supply chain, aviation, construction, etc. The lean philosophy, lean culture and lean tools were analyzed to identify their contribution to ES in the context of healthcare organizations. Findings Based on the analysis of lean philosophy, culture and tool, this paper theorizes that lean healthcare organizations have huge potential to mitigate environmental footprints. Lean healthcare organizations need not to do any extra effort for ES albeit it is inbuilt in it. Lean philosophy provides a vision to the healthcare organization for ES whereas lean culture bestow healthcare with an epistemology for the same. Research limitations/implications This paper provides insight that ES is embedded in lean healthcare organizations. Lean healthcare organizational culture is ideal for application for constructivism theory where employees construct a new knowledge from their experiences to minimize the waste that eventually help in ES. Originality/value Major contributions of the study include a new approach for mitigating the environmental footprints by adopting lean in healthcare organization.",BENCHMARKING-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL,2019,feb 4 J,"Meisch, C; Schirpke, U; Huber, L; Rudisser, J; Tappeiner, U",Assessing Freshwater Provision and Consumption in the Alpine Space Applying the Ecosystem Service Concept,10.3390/su11041131,"A key challenge in the sustainable management of freshwater is related to non-stationary processes and transboundary requirements. The assessment of freshwater is often hampered due to small-scale analyses, lacking data and with the focus on only its provision. Based on the ecosystem service (ES) concept, this study aims at quantitatively comparing potential water supply with the demand for freshwater in the European Alps and their surrounding lowlands. We propose an easy-to-use combination of different mapping approaches, including a large-scale hydrologic model to estimate water supply and the downscaling of regional data to the local scale to map demand. Our results demonstrate spatial mismatches between supply and demand and a high dependency of the densely populated lowlands from water providing mountain areas. Under expected climate variations and future demographic changes, our results suggest increasing pressures on freshwater in the south of the Alps. Hence, sustainable water management strategies need to assure the supply of freshwater under changing environmental conditions to meet the increasing water demand of urbanized areas in the lowlands. Moreover, national water management strategies need to be optimally concerted at the international level, as transboundary policies and frameworks can strengthen future water provision.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,feb 2 J,"Shah, MA; Jawawi, DNA; Isa, MA; Wakil, K; Younas, M; Mustafa, A",MINN: A Missing Data Imputation Technique for Analogy-based Effort Estimation,,"Success and failure of a complex software project are strongly associated with the accurate estimation of development effort. There are numerous estimation models developed but the most widely used among those is Analogy-Based Estimation (ABE). ABE model follows human nature as it estimates the future project's effort by making analogies with the past project's data. Since ABE relies on the historical datasets, the quality of the datasets affects the accuracy of estimation. Most of the software engineering datasets have missing values. The researchers either delete the projects containing missing values or avoid treating the missing values which reduce the ABE performance. In this study, Numeric Cleansing (NC), K-Nearest Neighbor Imputation (KNNI) and Median Imputation of the Nearest Neighbor (MINN) methods are used to impute the missing values in Desharnais and DesMiss datasets for ABE. MINN technique is introduced in this study. A comparison among these imputation methods is performed to identify the suitable missing data imputation method for ABE. The results suggested that MINN imputes more realistic values in the missing datasets as compared to values imputed through NC and KNNI. It was also found that the imputation treatment method helped in better prediction of the software development effort on ABE model.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED COMPUTER SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,2019,FEB J,"Birtwistle, SB; Ashcroft, G; Murphy, R; Gee, I; Poole, H; Watson, PM",Factors influencing patient uptake of an exercise referral scheme: a qualitative study,10.1093/her/cyy038,"Exercise referral schemes aim to increase physical activity amongst inactive individuals with or at risk of long-term health conditions. Yet many patients referred to these schemes (by health professionals) fail to take up the exercise opportunities on offer. Understanding factors influencing uptake to exercise referral schemes may help improve future attendance. Using the Socio-Ecological Model as a framework, this qualitative study aimed to explore factors influencing uptake to an exercise referral scheme based in the North West of England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with referred patients (n = 38) about their reasons for referral, interactions with referring health professionals, events following referral and ideas to improve future uptake. Data were analysed thematically and mapped onto the constructs of the Socio-Ecological Model. Factors reported to influence uptake included intrapersonal (past PA experiences, motivation, competing priorities), interpersonal (scheme explanations, support) and organizational influences (scheme promotion, communication between service, cost). Whilst several intrapersonal-level factors influenced patient decisions to uptake the exercise referral scheme, modifiable interpersonal and organizational factors were identified as potential targets for intervention. Recommendations are made for improving awareness of exercise referral schemes and for enhancing communication between referring practitioners, patients and referral scheme staff.",HEALTH EDUCATION RESEARCH,2019,FEB J,"Zhao, QQ; Li, J; Liu, JY; Cuan, YD; Zhang, C",Integrating supply and demand in cultural ecosystem services assessment: a case study of Cuihua Mountain (China),10.1007/s11356-018-3910-1,"As human demand for ecosystem services (ES) continues to increase, ES assessments have gradually become a popular research topic. Among ES, cultural ES (CES) are often overlooked and are difficult to measure during research because of their invisibility. However, the importance and usage of CES increase with supply and demand, which is key to linking the ecosystem with human well-being. This paper quantitatively evaluates various cultural services and generates corresponding Value Index (VI) maps; it then further explores the current dynamics of supply and demand. We selected Cuihua Mountain (CM) as the study area, and we applied the Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model to evaluate CES and generated five specific VI maps to indicate the potential service stock (ES capacity). The actual supply (ES supply) is based on the attribute of the visibility of observation points on leisure routes, and the visitors (ES demand) to the service come from socio-economic data as a measure of the rates of access to entertainment venues. The supply and demand relationship (ES budget) solves the significant problems related to the oversupply and shortage of ES in space. The results showed that the CES supply power of CM is greater than the actual demand; thus, there is great potential for future development. This study also provided a reference and guidance for environmental decision-making and development in other regions.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH,2019,FEB J,"Thellmann, K; Golbon, R; Cotter, M; Cadisch, G; Asch, F",Assessing Hydrological Ecosystem Services in a Rubber-Dominated Watershed under Scenarios of Land Use and Climate Change,10.3390/f10020176,"Land use and climate change exert pressure on ecosystems and threaten the sustainable supply of ecosystem services (ESS). In Southeast-Asia, the shift from swidden farming to permanent cash crop systems has led to a wide range of impacts on ESS. Our study area, the Nabanhe Reserve in Yunnan province (PR China), saw the loss of extensive forest areas and the expansion of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Mull. Arg.) plantations. In this study, we model water yield and sediment export for a rubber-dominated watershed under multiple scenarios of land use and climate change in order to assess how both drivers influence the supply of these ESS. For this we use three stakeholder-validated land use scenarios, varying in their degree of rubber expansion and land management rules. As projected climate change varies remarkably between different climate models, we combined the land use scenarios with datasets of temperature and precipitation changes, derived from nine General Circulation Models (GCMs) of the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in order to model water yield and sediment export with InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs). Simulation results show that the effect of land use and land management decisions on water yield in Nabanhe Reserve are relatively minor (4% difference in water yield between land use scenarios), when compared to the effects that future climate change will exert on water yield (up to 15% increase or 13% decrease in water yield compared to the baseline climate). Changes in sediment export were more sensitive to land use change (15% increase or 64% decrease) in comparison to the effects of climate change (up to 10% increase). We conclude that in the future, particularly dry years may have a more pronounced effect on the water balance as the higher potential evapotranspiration increases the probability for periods of water scarcity, especially in the dry season. The method we applied can easily be transferred to regions facing comparable land use situations, as InVEST and the IPCC data are freely available.",FORESTS,2019,FEB J,"Bures, O",The Future of Humanity in the Age of Postnational States: Conditions and Prospects of the Cosmopolitan Constellation,10.31577/filozofia.2019.74.2.1,"Jurgen Habermas, in his concepts of constitutional patriotism and postnational constellation, responds to two significant features of globalization: the growing plurality of life forms and modes and the shock of basic functions and legitimacy of national states as the basic political unit. The plurality of life forms is the culmination of a process that in modernity led to separation of law from morality. According to Habermas, lawfulness can now be based on the moral universalism of human rights and freedoms. The vision of postnational constellation is then linked to the democratization of globalization processes. I postulate that Habermas's ideas need to be radicalized, socialized and modernized in the face of the fundamental challenges of social, ecological and cultural justice and sustainability, and the risks which global society faces and will face. I point out the need for democratization of politics and economics as a prerequisite for global social justice enshrined in human rights. The national state's perspective does not allow adequate insight and negotiation, therefore it is necessary to overcome it towards cosmopolitanism, which avoids authoritarianism and centrism by its attempt at pluralistic universalism achieved through intercultural dialogue with respect for the principle of justice and sustainability. The assumption is abandonment methodological nationalism and decolonization thinking.",FILOZOFIA,2019,FEB J,"Usman, M; Nichol, J",Trends in farmland tree stocks in the agroforestry landscape of northern Nigeria: Reconciling scientific and stakeholder perceptions,10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.01.006,"A previous study indicated at least a doubling of farmland tree densities over five decades in the agroforestry landscape surrounding Kano, the largest city in savanna Africa. This increase, observed from field and remote sensing surveys, is surprising in the face of unprecedented population growth and availability of cheap manufactured substitutes for tree products. It also conflicts with the regional narrative for West Africa, derived mainly from observations and farm questionnaires, which suggests deforestation and reduced tree densities. This mismatch has previously resulted in failed initiatives to combat ecological crises, as extension services conceived at national and international level have met with little support and non-implementation at household level. To investigate the apparent mismatch we administered on-farm questionnaires in 55 villages. Open questions about trends in farmland tree stocks over several decades indicated declining tree stocks, but closed questions requiring tree enumeration and counting, indicated increase. Responses indicated difficulty in distinguishing between concepts of 'tree numbers' and 'tree species', as declining tree species diversity was reported by almost all responses, resulting from fuel wood demand and market trends towards a cash economy. This lack of distinction between tree species and tree numbers appears due to the traditional place occupied by farm trees in Hausa culture, where a tree species is inseparable from its use, combined with a deep sense of unease at the loss of cultural values. The study indicates that, despite more trees, the wide range of 'hungry foods' available from tree products, may no longer be available to alleviate future droughts, as during the 1970s and 80s, when productivity of agricultural and woody biomass plunged. However, initiatives to improve rural livelihoods may need to balance empirical observation against understanding of the complexity of stakeholder perceptions, as in this case overall tree stocks appear healthy, and the decline in species diversity is of greater concern.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2019,FEB J,"Grund, J; Brock, A","Why We Should Empty Pandora's Box to Create a Sustainable Future: Hope, Sustainability and Its Implications for Education",10.3390/su11030893,"(1) Hope and optimism are strongly connected to physical and psychological health and have been much researched in the field of positive psychology. Research has shown that hope is connected to pro-environmental behavior and plays an important role in ESD. (2) In order to operationalize hope and optimism, in a survey, 2564 young people and 525 teachers in Germany assessed the probability and desirability of predefined future scenarios. (3) Only every fourth respondent is optimistic regarding the global future. The biggest discrepancy between expectation and desirability exists with regard to climate change. Latent class analysis revealed four classes, whereby 50% of the participants are sustainability-affine but disillusioned. This half of the sample has great potential to promote a sustainable future: For them, a positive socio-ecological future has by far the highest value. They report the strongest emotions regarding SD and want to take the most responsibility for SD. Surprisingly, they do not disclose more sustainable behavior in comparison to the other classes. (4) The low expectation of positive socio-ecological developments might be a central factor in preventing half of the sample from behaving more sustainable and indicating a strong potential for hope. The implications for Education for Sustainable Development are discussed.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,feb 1 J,"Fuertes-Camacho, MT; Graell-Martin, M; Fuentes-Loss, M; Balaguer-Fabregas, MC","Integrating Sustainability into Higher Education Curricula through the Project Method, a Global Learning Strategy",10.3390/su11030767,"Higher levels of material well-being lead almost inevitably to giving priority to individualism and personal advancement, often at the expense of civic conscience. A proposal for integrating sustainability into the curriculum is presented in the third year of the degree in Early Childhood Education at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC). Projects on sustainable food are planned and elaborated to this aim. This study seeks to apply a global and systemic approach to solving socio-environmental problems and to check whether education for sustainable development (ESD) helps to develop and encourage actions that promote sustainable development. Quantitative research was conducted using a pre-test/post-test quasi experimental design separated by a period of didactic training in the project method. The results presented in this article show the students' sustainability competencies (SC) improve after working on didactic proposals in a global manner. It is concluded that elaborating competencies in education for sustainable development enables an integrated approach of knowledge, procedures, attitudes and values in teaching through promoting the project method in multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, which enhances future teachers' sustainability competencies.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,feb 1 J,"Trivino-Tarradas, P; Gomez-Ariza, MR; Basch, G; Gonzalez-Sanchez, EJ",Sustainability Assessment of Annual and Permanent Crops: The Inspia Model,10.3390/su11030738,"The Initiative for Sustainable Productive Agriculture (INSPIA) project promotes best management practices for agriculture, to enhance the provision of ecosystem services through better stewardship of soil and water resources while ensuring high levels of productivity. This paper presents the INSPIA methodology for the assessment of sustainability and for guiding farmers on strategic decision-making at farm level, applicable to any kind of cropland. The methodology is based on the application of 15 best management practices, which are assessed through a set of 31 basic sustainability indicators that cover the economic, social and environmental dimensions both agreed by a panel of experts. Basic indicators are then grouped into 12 aggregated indicators, to build the final INSPIA composite index. The INSPIA methodology provides farmers and advisers with a tool to understand sustainability and which, to a certain extent, serves to improve performance toward sustainability. Results are presented in three different ways: a bar diagram with the whole set of basic indicator-values; a pie chart representing the sustainability split in the aggregated indicators; and a final sustainability index. In the medium and long term, the INSPIA methodology can help to monitor and assess agricultural and environmental policy implementation, as well as help improve its decision-making processes in the future.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,feb 1 J,"Yu, YH; Yu, MM; Lin, L; Chen, JX; Li, DJ; Zhang, WT; Cao, K",National Green GDP Assessment and Prediction for China Based on a CA-Markov Land Use Simulation Model,10.3390/su11030576,"Green Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an important indicator to reflect the trade-off between the ecosystem and economic system. Substantial research has mapped historical green GDP spatially. But few studies have concerned future variations of green GDP. In this study, we have calculated and mapped the spatial distribution of the green GDP by summing the ecosystem service value (ESV) and GDP for China from 1990 to 2015. The pattern of land use change simulated by a CA-Markov model was used in the process of ESV prediction (with an average accuracy of 86%). On the other hand, based on the increasing trend of GDP during the period of 1990 to 2015, a regression model was built up to present time-series increases in GDP at prefecture-level cities, having an average value of R square (R-2) of approximately 0.85 and significance level less than 0.05. The results indicated that (1) from 1990 to 2015, green GDP was increased, with a huge growth rate of 78%. Specifically, the ESV value was decreased slightly, while the GDP value was increased substantially. (2) Forecasted green GDP would increase by 194,978.29 billion yuan in 2050. Specifically, the future ESV will decline, while the rapidly increased GDP leads to the final increase in future green GDP. (3) According to our results, the spatial differences in green GDP for regions became more significant from 1990 to 2050.",SUSTAINABILITY,2019,feb 1 J,"Dvarskas, A",Experimental ecosystem accounting for coastal and marine areas: A pilot application of the SEEA-EEA in Long Island coastal bays,10.1016/j.marpol.2018.11.017,"Recent international efforts have focused on the development of metrics to supplement or adjust Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to better account for the broader environmental and social impacts of economic development. In this regard, the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, through its Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (EEA) work, is developing a standardized approach to accounting for the value of ecosystem services generated by ecosystems and documenting the relationships between ecosystem services and economic activity. Limited examples exist of the application of the EEA approach to coastal and marine habitats. The purpose of the current paper is therefore to develop a pilot process for applying the EEA within a coastal area, using South Shore Long Island Bays as a case study. Indicators of ecosystem condition and ecosystem services are proposed, data are compiled for the study site, and population of EEA tables as proposed by the United Nations is undertaken. Results indicate significant data gaps for marine and coastal areas that may limit the immediate ability to compile these ecosystem accounts. However, based on identified data gaps and implementation challenges, the process undertaken at the pilot site also provides guidance for potential future research activities.",MARINE POLICY,2019,FEB J,"Arnott, D; Chadwick, D; Harris, I; Koj, A; Jones, DL",What can management option uptake tell us about ecosystem services delivery through agri-environment schemes?,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.039,"Agri-environment schemes (AES), currently embedded in EU and UK policies, actively promote 'greening', 'sustainability' and 'ecosystem services' approaches to land management. The funding structures of these policies, however, run counter to this sustainable approach, and create barriers to AES success, primarily through a continued focus on productivity support. In this study, we aim to determine the effectiveness of action-based AES, as a delivery mechanism for ecosystem services, using secondary data analysis techniques to unravel the complexities of AES funding distribution and scheme structure and geographic information systems (GIS) to explore the spatial extent and uptake of AES management options, using Wales, UK as a study area. Our results show 84% of recipients of AES payments receiving < 10k pound annually, comprising only 35% of the total available funding. 15, out of a total of similar to 165, management options, accounted for > 75% of all advanced level management contracts awarded in both 2015 and 2017. This bias in option uptake, in many cases, positively prevents further deterioration of existing habitat condition through a 'business as usual' approach. However, we argue that the voluntary, over prescriptive nature of the schemes limits management option uptake, negatively impacts on the schemes ability to deliver ecosystem services, and lessens the government's ability to promote long-term behavioural change. If AES are to deliver the 'Public Goods' that future policy demands, then targeted and adequate levels of funding and a willingness to participate must be combined with greater farmer autonomy and clear outcomes to deliver management options at a landscape scale.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,FEB J,"Kolinjivadi, V; Mendez, AZ; Dupras, J","Putting nature 'to work' through Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES): Tensions between autonomy, voluntary action and the political economy of agri-environmental practice",10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.11.012,"In the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI), producers have been financially incentivized over the past decade to halt soil erosion, improve water quality, and promote habitat for biodiversity through a provincial programme called Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS). ALUS is the first example of a provincial-wide application of payments for ecosystem services (PES) in Canada, yet few studies have explored the application of PES in a Canadian context. In this study, we consider the implementation and outcomes of land-use retirement for conservation within the political economy of intensive agriculture, and particularly the processing potato sector of PEI. Producers subscribing to the programme reported that a combination of financial incentive and moral imperatives for land-use protection influenced uptake; however, an underlying concern referred to rising annual costs of production and increasingly tighter margins of return. In this situation, producers have consistently stated that land taken out of production through PES incurs costs on the producer, eventually resulting in intensified production or the search for new land to replace lost yields. While PES itself may be altering behaviour on land-use management, producers have little control over the broader neoliberal market structures to which they belong. As such, we distinguish between voluntary participation in PES as embedded within an unsustainable and expansionary industrial agricultural model from the autonomy of farmers to regenerate the social and ecological potential of food production. In regards to regaining autonomy, we offer examples of how farmers collectively organize to negotiate new sets of incentives through mutual aid and risk-sharing within cooperative enterprises. These examples suggest a form of alter-PES that is being established in the shadow of the formal ALUS programme. We argue that PES should valorize individual and collective efforts towards land stewardship in resistance to the social and ecological simplifications of industrial agriculture.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,FEB J,"Martinez-Paz, JM; Banos-Gonzalez, I; Martinez-Fernandez, J; Esteve-Selma, MA",Assessment of management measures for the conservation of traditional irrigated lands: The case of the Huerta of Murcia (Spain),10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.050,"Traditional Mediterranean irrigated lands, such as the Huerta of Murcia (Spain), constitute characteristic agroecosystems which provide several ecosystem services, both cultural and regulating. Nevertheless, these agroecosystems are threatened by factors linked to the low profitability of agricultural production under present market conditions and the land conversion to non-agricultural uses.In order to assess the perceptions and valuation of the Huerta of Murcia by the local population, an economic valuation survey was carried out, using a contingent valuation method (CVM). Based on the survey, we identified the measures that were most valued with regard to the conservation of the huerta, which were: i) Limitation of the land uptake for urban uses; ii) Creation of programs to conserve ecosystem services, by means of financial support; and iii) Initiatives to promote the production of traditional agricultural products. Finally, we included these measures in a dynamic system model that, once validated, was used to explore the potential impact of such initiatives on the expected future behavior of the Huerta of Murcia.The CVM findings show the importance given to the huerta by the population of the area, beyond the use they usually make of it. The results also allowed the determination of the amount that the local people are willing to pay for the conservation of the environmental services of the Huerta of Murcia.Moreover, the simulation results for the period 2015-2030, obtained using the model, suggest that more direct measures, such as land planning, achieve better results than indirect options, such as those derived from agricultural policy and the implementation of a payment for ecosystem services, even when these latter aspects are combined. Under a scenario combining the three measures valued most highly, the loss of these irrigated lands would be reduced by around 11.5% in 2030, compared to the base trend simulation.Although the policies analyzed would improve the situation in the short and medium term, more ambitious actions would be required for full conservation of this agroecosystem in the long run.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,FEB J,"Lavorel, S; Colloff, MJ; Locatelli, B; Gorddard, R; Prober, SM; Gabillet, M; Devaux, C; Laforgue, D; Peyrache-Gadeau, V",Mustering the power of ecosystems for adaptation to climate change,10.1016/j.envsci.2018.11.010,"Mountain social -ecological systems (SES) supply important ecosystem services that are threatened by climate change. In mountain SES there is a paradox between high community capacity to cope with extremes, and governance structures and processes that constrain that capacity from being realised. Climate adaptation that maintains livelihoods and supply of ecosystem services can catalyse this innate adaptive capacity if new adaptive governance arrangements can be created. Using the French Alps as a case study, we outline a participative framework for transformative adaptation that links adaptive capacity and governance to provide social innovation and ecosystem-based adaptation solutions for mountain SES. Grassland management was the main entry point for adaptation: bundles of adaptation services supplied by the landscape mosaic of biodiverse grassland types can maintain agricultural production and tourism and facilitate income diversification. Deliberate management for core adaptation services like resilient fodder production, erosion control, shade or aesthetic value generates co-benefits for future transformation ability. People activate bundles of adaptation services along adaptation pathways and realise benefits via co-production with other forms of capital including traditional knowledge or social networks. Common and distinctive adaptation services in each pathway create options for transformation if barriers from interactions between values and rules across scales can be overcome. For example conserving mown terraces which is a critical adaptation nexus reflects a complex interplay of values, markets and governance instruments from local to European scales. We conclude that increasing stakeholders capacity to mobilise adaptation services is critical for empowering them to implement adaptation to global change.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2019,FEB J,"Giampieri, MA; DuBois, B; Allred, S; Bunting-Howarth, K; Fisher, K; Moy, J; Sanderson, EW",Visions of resilience: lessons from applying a digital democracy tool in New York's Jamaica Bay watershed,10.1007/s11252-017-0701-2,"Resilience to extreme weather events and other sudden changes is an issue facing many communities in the early twenty-first century. Planning to respond to disasters is particularly complicated in densely inhabited, multi-jurisdictional urban social-ecological systems like the watershed of Jamaica Bay, a large urbanized estuary on the south side of New York City. This area contains parklands managed by New York City, the National Park Service, and other agencies, four sewage treatment plants, three former landfills, and urban and suburban communities, all of which were heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Here successful resilience planning and response requires participation from a wide variety of government and civil society players each with different types of knowledge, value systems, and expectations about what resilience means. To investigate how visions of future resilience differed among several communities living in or concerned with Jamaica Bay, New York, we deployed a free, Internet-based modeling framework called Visionmaker that enabled interactive scenario creation and testing. Through a series of standardized workshops, we recruited participants from a variety of different communities of practice (i.e. researchers, land managers, educators, non-governmental organization staff, and community board members) to design visions of resilience. Visions spanned terrestrial and marine environments and contained natural and built ecosystems. Most users favored increasing resilience through expanding salt marsh and green infrastructure while, for the most part, keeping the built city landscape of streets and buildings intact. We compare and contrast these visions and discuss the implications for future resilience planning in coastal cities.",URBAN ECOSYSTEMS,2019,FEB J,"Dobbs, C; Escobedo, FJ; Clerici, N; de la Barrera, F; Eleuterio, AA; MacGregor-Fors, I; Reyes-Paecke, S; Vasquez, A; Camano, JDZ; Hernandez, HJ",Urban ecosystem Services in Latin America: mismatch between global concepts and regional realities?,10.1007/s11252-018-0805-3,"Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most urbanized and biologically diverse regions in the world but is often characterized by weak environmental governance and socioeconomic inequalities. Given large expanses of intact biomes, a long history of pre-Colombian civilizations, and recent urbanization trends, the urban ecosystem services (UES) concept has the potential to address issues of well-being for its citizens. We review relevant regional and global literature and use expert-based knowledge to identify the state of the art of the UES concept as applicable to green spaces in LAC and elucidate three overarching guidelines for management and future research needs: 1. LAC cities can be socio-ecologically unique; 2. Drivers of UES in LAC can be different than in other regions; and 3. Context and demand need to be accounted for when valuing UES. Overall, we show that research on UES is mostly from the global north and rarely accounts for the diverse and complex socio-political and ecological drivers of LAC's urbanization processes. We find that, as in other regions, the biophysical context and land use policies play a major role on UES provision. However, socioeconomic inequalities and weak governance are key drivers in UES supply and demand in LAC. Context-specific information on how to promote, educate, and apply UES is particularly important, not only in LAC, but in other regions where inequities, rapid urbanization, and climate change effects are stressing socio-political and ecological systems and their adaptive capacities. Standardized approaches from developed countries should be used to complement - not substitute - LAC context specific approaches for studying and applying UES. We suggest that improved research funding and local governance can also provide critical strategies, information and the means for more effective management, planning, and equitable provision of UES.",URBAN ECOSYSTEMS,2019,FEB J,"Ngoc, QTK","Assessing the value of coral reefs in the face of climate change: The evidence from Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam",10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.11.008,"Coral reef ecosystems provide many important services to society. Their importance is not only proved by their beauty but also because they provide food and livelihood for millions of people in communities around the world, especially in developing countries. This paper estimates the economic value of coral ecosystems and potential impacts of climate change and fishing activities on the loss of coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam. Economic valuation and bioeconomic approaches are applied to combine socioeconomic data and projections of coral reef cover based on the quantitative scenarios of sea surface temperature and fishing activity to articulate the potential economic consequences of future change in the coral reef. The loss in economic value of coral under climate change and fishing effort scenarios is estimated which ranges from US$27.78 to US$31.72 million annually. This result is useful for policy makers to draw conclusions for climate policy, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and priorities for further work.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,FEB J,"De Valck, J; Beames, A; Liekens, I; Bettens, M; Seuntjens, P; Broekx, S",Valuing urban ecosystem services in sustainable brownfield redevelopment,10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.12.006,"Urban environments provide opportunities for greater resource efficiency and the fostering of urban ecosystems. Brownfield areas are a typical example of underused land resources. Brownfield redevelopment projects that include green infrastructure allow for further ecosystems to be accommodated in urban environments. Green infrastructure also deliver important urban ecosystem services (UES) to local residents, which can greatly contribute to improving quality of life in cities. In this case study, we quantify and assess the economic value of five UES for a brownfield redevelopment project in Antwerp, Belgium. The assessment is carried out using the Nature Value Explorer modelling tool. The case includes three types of green infrastructure (green corridor, infiltration gullies and green roofs) primarily intended to connect nature reserves on the urban periphery and to avoid surface runoff. The green infrastructure also provides air filtration, climate regulation, carbon sequestration and recreation ecosystem services. The value of recreation far exceeds other values, including the value of avoided runoff. The case study raises crucial questions as to whether existing UES valuation approaches adequately account for the range of UES provided and whether such approaches can be improved to achieve more accurate and reliable value estimates in future analyses.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2019,FEB J,"Fleming, A; O'Grady, AP; Mendham, D; England, J; Mitchell, P; Moroni, M; Lyons, A",Understanding the values behind farmer perceptions of trees on farms to increase adoption of agroforestry in Australia,10.1007/s13593-019-0555-5,"Agriculture faces increasing sustainability pressures. Land intensification and degradation, energy use and inputs, complex environmental management, social issues facing farming communities and climate change are just some of the headline sustainability concerns threatening the viability of farming. Simultaneously, there is a need to increase food and fibre production and resource use efficiency. For many of these sustainability issues, increasing the number of trees planted in agricultural systems, or agroforestry, can improve the productivity and sustainability of future rural agricultural landscapes. In many parts of the world, the benefits of agroforestry remain under-realised. To understand the reasons behind this, interviews were conducted with 44 predominantly mixed enterprise farmers and farm advisors in Tasmania, Australia. Discourse analysis identified three groups of values driving perceptions and behaviours relating to agroforestry, trees as an economic proposition, trees as uneconomic and trees as essential regardless of economics. Previous work has identified many complex factors contributing to the lack of tree planting on farms including failures of past reforestation schemes, lack of awareness of the benefits of trees, perceptions of market volatility and risk, or simply a lack of time and money. This is one of the first times the underlying social norms and values creating perceptions of agroforestry have been identified. These new insights allow extension programs to tailor recommendations to identified groups based on perceptions of agroforestry. Evaluating these perceptions also allows new perspectives on opportunities for agroforestry adoption to be created, both in Tasmania and more broadly.",AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2019,FEB J,"Guarnieri, P; Trojan, F","Decision making on supplier selection based on social, ethical, and environmental criteria: A study in the textile industry",10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.10.023,"The main objective of this paper is to balance social, environmental and economic criteria, alongside related ethical issues, in the supplier selection process when outsourcing activities in the textile industry. We propose a multi-criteria model to support supplier selection process, whereby suppliers are allocated to classes based on sustainability, integrating the opinions of customers and managers. The model has three phases: i) criteria definition, in which the Copeland method is used to aggregate criteria reported in the literature for a group of decision makers (customers and expert managers); ii) elicitation of the perceptions of decision-makers, about criteria and the definition of weights for these criteria using the AHP method, and iii) multi-criteria classification of suppliers performed using the ELECTRE-TRI method. A numerical application was performed in the textile sector in order to test results. The main results show that suppliers can be classified, balancing social, environmental and economic criteria and related ethical issues, considering opinions from customers and experts. The theoretical implications can benefit researchers who can apply the model in future research into economic, environmental and social interactions. Managers can use the structure presented in this model to improve supplier selection.",RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING,2019,FEB J,"Handberg, ON; Angelsen, A","Pay little, get little; pay more, get a little more: A framed forest experiment in Tanzania",10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.09.025,"How do different levels of individual payments for environmental services (PES) affect intrinsic and social motivations for forest conservation? Does introducing small PES crowd out these motivations? This paper presents findings from framed field experiments (FFE) conducted with local forest users in Tanzania. The payoff structure represents a common-pool resource situation; participants' payoffs depend on the number of trees harvested, and aggregate over-harvesting can harm future harvest. Four levels of individual PES are tested in a between group design: no (0%), low (20%), medium (60%) and full (100%) PES, where the level is relative to the harvest value. We observe lower than theoretically predicted harvest rates at no, low and medium PES, while the opposite is true at full PES. The results suggest that low PES has little impact on local forest use in Tanzania and has on aggregate no significant effect on intrinsic and social motivations. Increasing payments has a negative, but diminishing effect on harvest rates. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2019,FEB J,"Mora, F",The use of ecological integrity indicators within the natural capital index framework: The ecological and economic value of the remnant natural capital of Mexico,10.1016/j.jnc.2018.11.007,"In this paper, the ecological integrity hierarchy framework (EIHF) and the natural capital index framework (NCI) are integrated as decision-making tools for evaluating the natural capital of Mexico. Two hierarchy-levels of ecological integrity indicators are used to estimate the quality and quantity of the natural capital, the amount of ecological degradation and ecological sustainability. After human transformation, the extent still considered as natural in the country is similar to 67%; while the amount of human transformed areas is similar to 33%, which gives a total estimate of NCI=0.334; i.e., only similar to 33.4% of the national capital remains available, while similar to 33% is ecologically degraded. Furthermore, the critical natural capital; i.e., the legacy for future generations that remains in the country is only similar to 12%. The total estimated value of the current natural capital in Mexico is similar to$ 457.1 billion/yr, which is similar to 435 times greater than the national GDP ($ 1.051 billion in 2010). The cost of maintaining the degradation of the natural capital is similar to$ 144.6 billion/yr (similar to 138 times greater than national GDP in 2010). The potential value of the natural capital after restoration would be similar to$ 602 billion/yr. Valuing the natural capital can be helpful for strategic environmental evaluations and useful for spatial decision support systems that evaluate natural capital as a decision-making tool.",JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION,2019,FEB J,"William, R; Gardoni, P; Stillwell, AS",Reliability-Based Approach to Investigating Long-Term Clogging in Green Stormwater Infrastructure,10.1061/JSWBAY.0000875,"Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is defined by the integration of natural processes into the built environment to provide important ecosystem services. While GSI has multiple benefits, its hydrologic performance can be highly variable. One of the factors driving GSI performance is age and maintenance. Physical clogging as a result of fine sediments carried by influent stormwater is a particularly important issue for many forms of infiltration-based GSI. The authors propose a probabilistic method to determine optimal maintenance timeframes to mitigate the impact of clogging for rain gardens under short duration storms, thereby filling an important gap in the literature. A test rain garden is modeled in the EPA's Stormwater Management Model (EPA-SWMM) and calibrated using USGS data from a 9.3-m(2) site in Wisconsin surrounded by clay loam native soils. The results suggest that in a humid continental climate similar to that of Urbana, Illinois, a three-year window should be used to monitor rain gardens for clogging, and to ensure optimal performance for larger storms. Model results also reveal that pretreatment to reduce total suspended sediment loading is useful in ensuring the long-term performance of rain gardens, and highlight a need for more long-term data collection from existing GSI. These findings caution against using a single monitoring parameter, such as saturated hydraulic conductivity, for stormwater management, and instead suggest a holistic consideration in future monitoring and evaluation of GSI. (C) 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE WATER IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2019,FEB J,"Gorguner, M; Kavvas, ML; Ishida, K",Assessing the impacts of future climate change on the hydroclimatology of the Gediz Basin in Turkey by using dynamically downscaled CMIP5 projections,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.167,"The Gediz Basin is a Mediterranean watershed along the Aegean coast of Turkey, in which the most important economic activity is agriculture. Over the last few decades, this basin has been experiencing water-related problems such as water scarcity and competing use of water. This study assesses the impact of future climate change on the availability of water resources in the Gediz Basin during the 21st century by investigating the inflows into the major reservoir in the basin, Demirkopru Reservoir, which is the major source of irrigation water to the basin. The analysis in this study involves setting up a coupled hydro-climate model over the Gediz Basin by coupling the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to the physically-based Watershed Environmental Hydrology (WEHY) model. First, the WRF model is used to reconstruct the historical climatic variables over the basin by dynamically downscaling the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset The calibrated and validated WRF model is then used to dynamically downscale eight different future climate projections over the Gediz Basin to a much finer resolution (6 km), which is more appropriate for the hydrologic modeling of the basin. These climate projections are from four Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) Global Climate Models (GCMs), namely, CCSM4, GFDL-ESM2M, HadGEM2-ES, and MIROC5, under two IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) representative concentration pathway scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The outputs from the WRF model are then input into the WEHY model, which is calibrated and validated over the basin, to simulate the hydrological processes within the basin and to obtain the projected future inflows into the Demirkopru Reservoir. Results of the future analysis over the 21st century (2017-2100) are then compared to the historical values (1985-2012) to investigate the impacts of future climate change on the hydroclimatology of the Gediz Basin. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,ene 15 J,"Witt, ABR; Shackleton, RT; Beale, T; Nunda, W; van Wilgen, BW",Distribution of invasive alien Tithonia (Asteraceae) species in eastern and southern Africa and the socio-ecological impacts of T. diversifolia in Zambia,10.4102/abc.v49i1.2356,"Background: Many alien plant species, such as Tithonia diversifolia, T. rotundifolia and T. tubaeformis, have been introduced to areas outside of their natural distribution range to provide benefits, but have subsequently become invasive, threatening biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the current distribution and dates of introduction of invasive Tithonia species in eastern and southern Africa and to document the effects of T. diversifolia on rural livelihoods in Zambia. Method: Roadside surveys, and other sources of information, were used to determine the distribution of invasive Tithonia species in eastern and southern Africa. Household interviews were conducted to gauge perceptions and understand the impacts of T. diversifolia on local livelihoods in Zambia's Copperbelt province. Results: Tithonia diversifolia is widespread in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi and parts of Zambia but less so in Zimbabwe. Tithonia rotundifolia was comparatively uncommon in eastern Africa but common in some southern African countries, while T. tubaeformis was invasive in Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and possibly also Zimbabwe. According to the majority of respondents in Zambia, T. diversifolia has negative impacts on native vegetation, mobility or access, water availability, crop yields and animal health. Conclusion: Invasive Tithonia species are widespread and spreading throughout much of Africa. Livelihood and biodiversity costs have not been considered by those actively promoting the use and further dissemination of T. diversifolia. We therefore recommend that detailed cost-benefit studies should be undertaken to support informed decisions on the future management of these species.",BOTHALIA,2019,ene 10 J,"Wood, M",Resilience research and social marketing: the route to sustainable behaviour change,10.1108/JSOCM-01-2018-0006,"Purpose This paper aims to argue that resilience - and its underlying socio-ecological perspective - is a critical concept that could serve to integrate different views on, and approaches to, social marketing. The aim is to inspire social marketers to move away from narrow, issue-based interventions targeting individual behaviours and to consider the impact of social ecologies, particularly the contribution resilience research can make to behaviour change. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper; socio-ecological models and the resilience concept are discussed and applied to a current wicked problem - obesity. Findings From a socio-ecological perspective, research findings highlight the impact macro, meso and micro forces have on behaviour and the importance of a child's micro-system and the influence it has on development and life outcomes. Building resilience requires a relationship-building, person-centred, holistic and long-term developmental approach to behaviour change. Research limitations/implications - This is a conceptual paper that introduces new concepts to the social marketing field. Future research should focus on understanding how to implement a resilience- building approach in practice - including the interrelationships and interactions between individual, family and community resilience - and how resilience can be integrated within systematic, socio- ecological thinking when addressing wicked problems. Practical implications - Rather than blaming and targeting individuals, the goal should be to create an environment that supports parents, families and communities to build resilience at the micro, meso and macro levels. The findings support the argument that social marketers should adopt an upstream approach to develop interventions that make the environment the primary focus. Social marketers should collaborate with, and learn from, social workers, psychologists and educationalist to further their understanding of resilience. This would have a positive, sustainable impact on a whole range of social and health issues, ultimately helping to address the overarching issue of social inequality. Social implications - Building resilience amongst individuals, families and communities offer a means to achieve fundamental positive social change and to reduce social, economic and health inequality. Originality/value - The paper offers a unique perspective on how and why resilience - and its underlying socio- ecological framework - should be applied within the social marketing field.",JOURNAL OF SOCIAL MARKETING,2019,ene 7 S,"Funabashi, M",Augmentation of Plant Genetic Diversity in Synecoculture: Theory and Practice in Temperate and Tropical Zones,10.1007/978-3-319-96454-6_1,"Natural vegetation forms a complex fractal structure of ecological niche distribution, in contrast to human-managed monoculture landscape. For the sustainable-management of diverse plant genetic resources, including crop and wild species, the introduction of such ecologically optimum formation is important to compensate for the biodiversity loss and achieve higher ecological state that can provide sufficient ecosystem services for increasing human population. In this chapter, we first develop a conceptual and theoretical framework for the implementation and management of self-organized niche structures and develop an adaptive strategy of sustainable food production resulting from the statistical nature of ecosystem dynamics called power law. Second, we construct the integrative measures for the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in ecological optimum that incorporate both phylogenic and phase diversities as important functional indicators of plant communities. This formalization leads to the extension of conventional concepts of biodiversity and ecosystem services toward human-assisted operational ecological diversity and utility and provides the definition and property of potentially realizable and utilizable plant genetic resources in the augmented ecosystems beyond natural preservation state. Finally, case studies from the synecoculture project in temperate and tropical zones are reported in reference to the developed framework, which draws out legislative requirements for future protection and propagation of plant genetic resources. The necessity of supportive information and communication technologies is also demonstrated. This article contains theoretical foundation and the results of the proof of concept experiments that are essential to establish a novel developmental and legislative framework for the sustainable use of plant genetic resources, overarching the protection of the natural environment and agricultural production mainstreaming biodiversity.",GENETIC DIVERSITY IN HORTICULTURAL PLANTS,2019, B,"Knauf, AE; Fule, PZ; Fule, EE","Shorea robusta Forest Resources of Mainpat/Phendeling Tibetan Refugee Camp, Chhattisgarh, India",10.1007/978-981-13-8249-9_8,"Many tropical forests of India are highly degraded and sometimes lack adequate regeneration. In the tropical dry deciduous forest, Shorea robusta is a highly valued timber species. The Mainpat/Phendeling Tibetan settlement was established in 1962 in Chhattisgarh, east-central India. We assessed the forest surrounding the settlement and interviewed local residents to assess the forest conditions and the uses of forest products. Six sites were chosen to measure forest structure over a gradient of human impact. The forest area surrounding Mainpat showed evidence of degradation and overuse. We found that those sites classified as higher impact had more dead trees ha(-1) and more dead tree basal area than low-impact sites. The dominant tree species, S. robusta, had no regeneration. Survey responses showed that the forest was primarily used for the collection of fuelwood and construction materials. Although the forest is under government protection, there are social needs and ecological issues associated with regeneration that merit management attention. We suggest several considerations for management including environmental education, provision of alternative forest resources, testing of artificial S. robusta regeneration, alternative energy sources, and participation in a payment for ecosystem services plan. No matter the approach, the restoration and conservation of the forest is critical for the regeneration of S. robusta and the future sustainability of the forest ecosystem.","TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS AND CHALLENGES IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL CHANGE",2019, S,"Bateman, AM; Munoz-Rojas, M",To whom the burden of soil degradation and management concerns,10.1016/bs.apmp.2019.07.001,"Soil degradation and conservation is an environmental, social, economical and cultural issue concerning the wellbeing of all humankind. With one-fifth of the world's soils currently degraded, and continuing to degrade at a rate of 5-10 billion hectares annually, the burden and responsibility of addressing soil conservation and managment falls on every individual; farmer, land owner, indigenous community, politician, scientist, worldleader and the general public. The causes of soil degradation are multifaceted with natural and anthropogenic drivers of global change creating a reduction in soil function, ecosystem services and land productivity, resulting in the deterioration of the social and economic framework of society. To combat land degradation among other issues, the United Nations General Assembly created 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These goals highlight the importance of soil conservation by uniting landholders globally to achieve Zero Net Land Degradation. However, these SDGs are only the first step in identifying the issues associated with land degradation and future targets. Further consideration of soil indicators along with landholder engagement is required to evaluate the progress of sustainable land. Governments and scientists need to nurture collaboration with farmers, create policy that supports and strengthens sustainable land management and increase knowledge sharing at all levels of governance and in the education system. Through coordinated, collaborated and sustainable management of our soils we can create resilient and productive landscapes capable of supporting a growing human population in the context of global change.","SOIL DEGRADATION, RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT IN A GLOBAL CHANGE CONTEXT",2019, J,"Landazury, RC; Lopez, AR; Salazar, WI","Mud, value and welfare. An economic estimation of the impact in the Anchicaya river basin",10.25100/cdea.v35i63.6939,"The implementation of modernizing projects in the midst of rural societies, in parallel with the great benefits in terms of regional and national growth, generates threats to local socio-ecological sustainability. Such is the case of the discharge of sludge generated by the Bajo Anchicaya dam in the Colombian Pacific in 2001. The economic assessment of the environmental impact is given to address the past, present and future impacts in cases such as the one described above where environmental goods and services as well as supervening exchange relationships are not guided by the logic of the market. However, this article attempts to account for the direction and scope of such effects, based on a pricing chrematistics and compensatory assessment claimed by court litigation by the affected communities un-der information restrictions and slightly commercialized economic dynamics. At the end, it was possible to establish the operability of the assessment methods, type of stated preferences, which simulate market conditions in favor of alternative strategies such as the transfer of benefits that while not infallible, with the lack of environmental accountancy, try to respect the spatial, time and socio-ecological complexity of territories such as the Pacific Coast.",CUADERNOS DE ADMINISTRACION-UNIVERSIDAD DEL VALLE,2019,JAN-APR J,"Lacher, I; Akre, T; McShea, WJ; McBride, M; Thompson, JR; Fergus, C",Engaging Regional Stakeholders in Scenario Planning for the Long-Term Preservation of Ecosystem Services in Northwestern Virginia,10.1525/cse.2018.001180,"This case study describes the application of a framework for developing stakeholder-driven scenarios of the future. The purpose of these scenarios is to inform land use planning toward the protection of ecosystems and derivable ecosystem services in Northwestern Virginia. We held two scenario development workshops with regional experts in conservation, agriculture, land use planning, policy, and economic development to create scenarios of land use in the northern Piedmont and northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. We structured the workshops around a framework that guided stakeholders through several steps eventually resulting in four unique scenarios describing the region in 50 years. Scenario narratives were defined by the intersection of highly influential and uncertain drivers of change relevant to land use planning and ecosystem services. Participants from the northern Shenandoah Valley region selected population growth and climate change adaptation as their scenario defining drivers, while participants from the northern Piedmont region selected planning strategy and climate change impact as their scenario defining drivers. Participants fleshed out scenarios into descriptive narratives that incorporated qualitative and quantitative measures of change. Details from the scenario narratives informed land use change models to further quantify tradeoffs between land use planning decisions and ecosystem services. Individuals interested in using scenario planning to guide research efforts, conservation, or land use planning, or even to broaden perspectives on how to view the future, will find value in this case study.",CASE STUDIES IN THE ENVIRONMENT,2019, S,"Shrivastava, A; De Sousa, A; Lodha, P",Resilience as a Psychopathological Construct for Psychiatric Disorders,10.1007/978-981-32-9721-0_23,"Understanding of the psychopathology of various psychiatric disorders is evolving, with newer avenues of research enlightening us from genetics, epigenetics, functional neurobiology, neural circuits, hormones and social/environmental determinants. We are now aware that neurobiological factors are contributing to the development of psychiatric illnesses coupled with their interaction with psychosocial factors. Resilience is defined as the ability to bounce back after an adversity or life event that was traumatic and life-changing. It is a factor that is a unique psychopathological construct as it is a biopsychosocial factor which determines an individual's response to an illness and recovery from the same. Resilience is a human capacity to adapt swiftly and successfully to stress and to revert to a positive state. There has been now a paradigm shift in the understanding of resilience with respect to stress risk vulnerability and such dimensions of psychopathology. Resilience is a factor that must be evaluated in every patient and that shall help us determine the outcome of psychiatric disorders and will also be a determinant in the occurrence of relapses. Early identification of vulnerable patients shall lead to the implementation of resilience-based interventions in these populations and shall prevent against future occurrence of these disorders. In this chapter, we posit the construct of resilience as a psychopathological construct for mental disorders.","FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY: ARTIFCIAL INTELLIGENCE, PRECISION MEDICINE, AND OTHER PARADIGM SHIFTS",2019, J,"Gandini, PA; Millones, A","Perception and valuation of environmental services in the protected areas of Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz",10.22305/ict-unpa.v11i1.771,"The economic valuation of natural resources helps to identify options that make compatible conservation with development. One of the methodologies that is commonly used to this economic valuation is the willingness to pay (WTP). Our objective was to evaluate the WTP for the ecosystem services provided by two protected areas in Puerto Deseado. The contingent valuation method was used as an economic valuation tool. A survey was designed which included different dimensions: socioeconomic; visit preferences; current status of protected areas; detected problems; willingness and mode of payment to preserve or improve the environmental status of the protected areas. A total of 126 surveys (74 residents of Puerto Deseado and 52 tourists) were made. To test which variables can determine the WTP we employed univariate analyzes and logistic regression models. The model that best explained the WTP included as predictive variables: place of residence, have or not have a job, and the perception about the state of the protected areas. The community of Puerto Deseado showed a greater positive WTP to preserve or improve the environmental status of the protected areas. People with a job, and higher salaries, showed a higher positive DAP. Those people who were willing to pay, demanded a greater control, vigilance and better infrastructure in the protected areas. The local fauna and landscape are the main reasons for the visits, which indicates the importance of environmental policies tending to preserve the areas as pristine as possible. We are expected that our results, added to future ones, will help to apply the concept of economic valuation of ecosystem services for a more equitable and effective management of protected areas and their natural resources.",INFORMES CIENTIFICOS Y TECNICOS,2019, J,"Abbott, M; Boyle, C; Lee, W; Li, XJ",Interweaving protected areas and productive landscapes in Aotearoa New Zealand: Using design to explore multifunctionality in the Mackenzie Basin,10.1080/18626033.2019.1673562,"The distinctive form of New Zealand's protected areas developed out of rapid environmental changes during nineteenth-century colonization practices, and is based on valuing endemic nature as something separate from human culture. This binary division has resulted in a 'fortress conservation' approach, which separates protected areas from productive landscapes in ways that can limit their potential. Insight in international approaches offers the possibility to integrate protected areas in multifunctional landscapes and social-ecological systems. This study examines these land-use tensions in the context of the Mackenzie Basin in New Zealand's South Island, where traditional non-irrigated sheep farming, tourism and newly established irrigated dairy farms compete for influence in the region's future ecological and aesthetic makeup. The authors consider how landscape architecture design methods of scenario development, programme design, mapping and communication strategies might unsettle current norms that separate protective and productive land uses to achieve more integrated expressions of landscape.",JOURNAL OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE,2019, J,"Solopova, OA; Saltykova, MS",Constructing the Ideal Future in Foreign Military Media Discourses of The World War II Period,10.22363/2312-9182-2019-23-3-762-783,"The major objective of the paper is to establish functions of modeling the ideal future in the British, American and French military media discourses of World War II period. The authors argue that military media discourse is a hybrid type that combines the components of military, political, military-political, and media discourses whose concentration and interpenetration can vary greatly. The military media discourse is a mode of organizing knowledge, ideas, or experience of war that are rooted in the media and influenced by historical, geopolitical, social, and cultural context. The approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology of linguistic political prognostics that integrates fundamentals of philosophy, future studies, cognitive linguistics, and political linguistics. The samples from the digitized archives of the UK, the USA, and France (24 695 samples) are investigated through a number of methods: corpus, descriptive, cognitive and discourse analyses, cultural, metaphorical modeling, and comparative analyses. Being a basic value of military media discourse, the ideal future is determined by its nature: the idea of a better world inherent in human nature is intensified in transformative moments, war being one of them; representing the present, the media model both the past and the future. The ideal future integrates the key features of utopia and prognosis differing from them in certain specific characteristics. Its basic functions are prognostic, constructive, modeling, critical, provocative, and visualizing ones that complement one another in constructing an ideal projection of the postwar world and the future of the USSR as a geopolitical ally of Great Britain, the USA, and France.",VESTNIK ROSSIISKOGO UNIVERSITETA DRUZHBY NARODOV-SERIYA LINGVISTIKA-RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS,2019, J,"Brown, M; Murtha, T",Integrating natural and cultural resources in North American large-landscape conservation,10.1080/14660466.2019.1601935,"Integrating science of natural and cultural resources for landscape-scale conservation design and planning is an important effort for solving complex socioecological problems. Despite recognition that culture and nature are not distinct categories, this division remains influential in North American conservation policies, practices, and management. The North American Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) aimed to develop long-term landscape-scale conservation priorities integrating both natural and cultural resources through multi-stakeholder, regional partnerships. During 2017-2018, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork and key informant interviews with Appalachian LCC (AppLCC) partners. Here we examine the general strategies, goals, and values of the AppLCC to understand how cultural and natural resources were incorporated into partnership activities. We find that both conceptual and practical barriers exist for integrating cultural and natural resource information and values for landscape-scale conservation planning. Future large-landscape conservation partnerships looking to integrate conservation strategies would benefit from increasing the diversity of institutional representation and examining how cultural and natural resource projects are relatively prioritized. In addition, greater reflection on the ideology of conservation, theory of cultural resource management, and the value of cultural resources may improve conservation outcomes. By expanding the definition of cultural resources, greater connections with natural resource management priorities and strategies can be identified and leveraged to advance integrated conservation. These challenges and potential pathways to integrated conservation are examined through the lens of the AppLCC.",ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE,2019, J,"Yousefpour, R; Augustynczik, ALD",Uncertainty of Carbon Economy Using the Faustmann Model,10.1561/112.00000444,"Forest growth predictions are used to build expectations about the future economic performance of management decisions. Faustmann land expectation value (LEV) is a widely used criterion in forestry to evaluate a diversity of decision parameters, such as rotation age and thinning regimes. Most of the predictions and, consequently, expectations are based on emperical knowledge, assuming a steady state in climate and a deterministic forest growth approach. However, the climate may change to potentially different degrees in the coming decades, causing a dynamic and uncertain forest growth and carbon budget. Moreover, carbon economy in forestry, defined as opportunity cost of in situ carbon sequestration, can hardly be analysed using empirical models and calls for process-based forest biomass production models. Process-based models include numerous parameters and processes that embody some degree of uncertainty. The uncertainty of these parameters and climate state propagates over time to the final decision about carbon economy and optimal management solutions. Here we quantify this uncertainty using Bayesian inference and apply twelve different climate change scenarios to evaluate the forecasts of the process-based forest model 3-PG, to predict the growth of European beech (Fagus Sylvatica) in central european conditions as an example. The results show a strong influence of the model's parameters uncertainty on the final decisions about timber based and carbon economy. The uncertainty triples if different climate change scenarios are applied as a source of deep uncertainty where no probability can be assigned to any scenario. To deal with deep uncertainty, a robust decision-making approach has been applied to find solutions with minimum regret or maximum value at risk regarding all scenarios. We conclude that communicating uncertainty is a fundamental issue for forestry economics under changing climate conditions, especially if carbon sequestration is an asset. The key message for designing global forest governance policy in the uncertain times of climate change will be the necessity to take into account both the uncertainty on the demand side, that is, socio-economic developments and regional population needs for forest ecosystem services such as wood, but also the uncertainty of the supply side and the inherent ecological uncertainties in predicting the forests' growth, resources, and climatic conditions.",JOURNAL OF FOREST ECONOMICS,2019, J,"Joly, CA; Scarano, FR; Bustamante, M; Gadda, TMC; Metzger, JPW; Seixas, CS; Ometto, JPHB; Pires, APF; Boesing, AL; Sousa, FDR; Quintao, JMB; Goncalves, LR; Padgurschi, MDG; de Aquino, MFD; de Castro, PFD; dos Santos, IL",Brazilian assessment on biodiversity and ecosystem services: summary for policy makers,10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2019-0865,"Biodiversity and ecosystems are important elements for addressing national and global socioeconomic and environmental crises, since they provide new development opportunities, for example, as source of job and income creation, and reduction in poverty and socioeconomic inequity. Brazilian biological diversity is also expressed in its immense cultural diversity, with a great variety of knowledge holders. These peoples possess vast knowledge on agrobiodiversity, fishing, fire management, natural medicine, among others of commercial, cultural and spiritual value. The main conclusions of this Summary for Police Makers is that land use changes and climate changes have been - and will continue to be throughout this century - the main drivers that result in the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the country. Political interventions at different levels (from local to national, from public to private) and the enforcement of existing laws (regulatory mechanisms and incentives) are required to cope with the mitigation of the negative impacts of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. Brazil has already a wide variety of policy instruments and socioenvironmental governance options, as well as global commitments (ODS, Aich Targets, Paris Agreement) related to the objective of a sustainable future. However, inefficient management control or lack of incentive to comply with the rules pose risks to consolidating the path to this future. The country has strong and capable institutions, but infrastructural problems, slow processes, inefficient measurements and judicial, social and ecological conflicts obstruct a proficient performance. There is a lack of communication between science and society which needs to be improved by establishing an effective flow that makes communication inclusive and representative, reaching public and private decision makers. Permanent efforts to integrate Science and policy knowledges are desirable to build confidence between policy makers and researchers.",BIOTA NEOTROPICA,2019, J,"Sari, D",A STUDY ON THE QUALITIES THAT AFFECT PREFERENCE OF RURAL RECREATION AREAS,10.15666/aeer/1705_1150911523,"Individuals, who struggle due to various stress factors in urban areas, travel to recreation areas to spend their leisure time, to relax, to make contact with nature and to replenish their energy. Rural recreation areas meet these requirements and offer the best natural environment for urban residents. However, the sustainability of recreation areas and recreational activities are important due to the increasing demand and diverse visitor objectives. Thus, sustainable plans for rural recreation areas should include a balance between human preferences and demands and preservation of the nature. The aim of the present study was to determine the qualities that affect the preferences of individuals for rural recreation areas. In this context, the quality preferences of potential visitors in Artvin province (Turkey) were determined based on a survey that investigated 21 qualities in detail. In the study, correlations between participant attributes and preference rates were analyzed with t -test and analysis of variance. The cluster analysis conducted based on the mean preference scores demonstrated that 8 qualities were most effective on preferences. Concurrently, significant differences were determined between occupant attributes and preference scores. The present study was conducted to contribute to future planning strategies for decision makers and further comprehensive studies.",APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2019, J,"Koberwein, A","TEMPORALITIES AND UNCERTAINTY IN THE CONTEXT OF A WATER CRISIS IN THE PROVINCE OF CORDOBA, ARGENTINA",,"From a social anthropological perspective, and based on a multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, in this article I analyze a diversity of socially constructed temporalities in the context of a water crisis in Sierras Chicas, province of Cordoba, Argentina. I start with the description of the social importance of water in terms of its value as accumulated labor, (expressed, for example by the supply and distribution infrastructure), in order to analyze different situational contexts where a diversity of temporalities that give meaning to the society / environment relation are creatively shaped. Some of these temporalities are based on the daily experience of water scarcity, others on conflicts between developmentalism and long term spatial planning, while others in a kind of utopian visions. I conclude that these temporalities are ways of dealing with the uncertainties of the future, in a present of profound socio-environmental changes.",ASTROLABIO-NUEVA EPOCA,2019, J,"Maseyk, FJF; Dominati, EJ; Mackay, AD",More than a 'nice to have': integrating indigenous biodiversity into agroecosystems in New Zealand,10.20417/nzjecol.43.20,"Globally, biodiversity is declining due to increasing populations and land use pressures associated with development-induced land conversion, resource use, and food production. In New Zealand, a considerable proportion of remaining indigenous biodiversity occurs on farmland in private ownership outside of the public conservation land. Therefore, coordinated actions on-farm are required to increase the opportunities to achieve biodiversity outcomes beyond the boundaries of the protected area network and increase farm sustainability and resilience. Increasing biodiversity on-farm can be achieved by enhancing existing biodiversity or through reintroducing structural diversity (e.g. planting of indigenous species and excluding livestock to prevent treading and grazing and allow natural regeneration to occur). Successful integration of biodiversity into decision-making on-farm requires explicitly accounting for biodiversity considerations in farm planning and design. A key requirement for this integration to succeed is for current land evaluation and farm planning processes to recognise indigenous species as a mechanism for increasing the sustainability and resilience of the farm business. Recognition of the functional value of biodiversity to the farm system is a step beyond the protection of remnant areas of bush or wetland for conservation alone. In this paper, we propose embedding the natural capital and ecosystem services approach into the farm planning process to quantify and value both the on-and off-farm benefits associated with indigenous biodiversity. This approach enables the inclusion of the previously excluded regulating and cultural services alongside provisioning services in the analysis of the farm accounts. Learning from and applying Matauranga Maori is pivotal to achieving this goal. We use the established principles of land evaluation in farm planning in New Zealand to provide a conceptual illustration of a potential pathway to operationalise this shift. Our approach recognises that indigenous biodiversity contributes to a wide range of benefits including cultural, environmental, social, and economic values, of which conservation is just one, albeit an important, outcome.",NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY,2019, J,"Velez-Torre, I; Galeano, HV",Conflicting plexus: a territorial and historical view of environmental conflicts in the upper Cauca river basin,10.15446/rcs.v42n1.73181,"Since the 1980s the Upper Cauca region in southwestern Colombia has featured a series of environmental conflicts related to the expansion of the sugar agro-industry, mining, hydroelectric power generation, and drinking water supply systems, among others. Likewise, since 2000, local communities have endured the violent confrontations among guerrillas, paramilitaries, criminal bands, and the national army for control of the territory and its environmental assets. Despite the complexity of the environmental conflicts, their analysis has focused on the emergence of conflict situations, rather than on the explanation of geo-historical processes. On the basis of a shared experience of activist research, grounded in accompaniment to communities, permanence in the territories, and a qualitative methodology that included workshops and interviews, the authors suggest the adoption of the category of conflicting plexus to characterize the web of historical and territorial interactions of environmental conflicts. We argue that these conflicts constitute complex socio-ecological structures that must be analyzed on the basis of perspectives that evince the power structures involving actors, historical processes, and territorial configurations. An analysis based on these plexus makes it possible to explain the ways in which the emergence of a certain conflict implies a spatiotemporal break, a segment characterized by greater complexity. In this sense, we suggest that this category allows for understanding that emerging conflicts become potential future conflicts, and are determined by past conflicts, which are affected by and affect other geographies. In the case of the Upper Cauca, the spatiotemporal convergences among the environmental conflicts show that they are basically associated with the imposition of the capitalist economic model. In this region, such model is evident in the development of economic and political power in connection with the expansion and industrialization of sugar cane, a process that has been the focal point of the formation of the State and of ethnic-racial social and spatial segregation.",REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE SOCIOLOGIA,2019,JAN-JUN J,"Munden-Dixon, K; Tate, K; Cutts, B; Roche, L",An uncertain future: climate resilience of first-generation ranchers,10.1071/RJ18023,"Policymakers and scholars agree that the aging and declining number of ranchers is a serious problem for the future of ranching and range management. Studies show that recruiting and retaining new ranchers is difficult due to a complex mix of start-up costs, knowledge and skill requirements, and regulatory barriers. While research suggests that first-generation farmers are different demographically and require individualised information, there is limited research on first-generation ranchers (FGRs); at best they are generalised as beginning farmers in research and outreach programs. This is surprising given ranchers' unique knowledge requirements relating to the production of food and fibre, and the management of vast areas of public and private land. Based on a rangeland decision-making survey of 507 California Cattlemen's Association members, this paper examines similarities and divergences in socioeconomic factors, management practices, drought adaptation strategies, information needs, and values between FGRs and multigenerational ranchers (MGRs). Survey results indicate FGRs and MGRs are not statistically different demographically and have similar values; however, key differences include FGRs using fewer information sources about ranching, fewer general management practices, and fewer drought adaptation practices. FGRs are also more susceptible to drought, and are underserved by organisations. Their vulnerability is particularly concerning, as many have limited drought experience, are more likely to take risks, and are less likely to find value and/or participate in ranching organisations. The future of rangelands requires that organisations interested in conserving rangelands and supporting ranchers re-evaluate assumptions about why FGRs and MGRs have different information needs beyond simplistic demographic identity, and instead focus on their affinity as FGRs in order to understand the complexity of the processes underlying these differences. We end with suggestions for a research agenda to support the climate resiliency of FGRs and increase the efficacy of support organisations.",RANGELAND JOURNAL,2019, J,"Berry, E; Metternicht, G; Baumber, A",This country just hangs tight': perspectives on managing land degradation and climate change in far west NSW,10.1071/RJ18030,"Discussions of land degradation often display a disconnect between global and local scales. Although global-scale discussions often focus on measuring and reversing land degradation through metrics and policy measures, local-scale discussions can highlight a diversity of viewpoints and the importance of local knowledge and context-specific strategies for sustainable land management. Similarly, although scientific studies clearly link anthropogenic climate change to land degradation as both cause and consequence, the connection may not be so clear for local rangelands communities due to the complex temporal and spatial scales of change and management in such environments. In research conducted in October 2015, we interviewed 18 stakeholders in the far west of New South Wales about their perspectives on sustainable land management. The results revealed highly variable views on what constitutes land degradation, its causes and appropriate responses. For the pastoral land managers, the most important sign of good land management was the maintenance of groundcover, through the management of total grazing pressure. Participants viewed overgrazing as a contributor to land degradation in some cases and they identified episodes of land degradation in the region. However, other more contentious factors were also highlighted, such as wind erosion, grazing by goats and kangaroos and the spread of undesired invasive native scrub' at the expense of more desirable pasture, and alternative views that these can offer productive benefits. Although few participants were concerned about anthropogenic climate change, many described their rangeland management styles as adaptive to the fluctuations of the climate, regardless of the reasons for these variations. Rather than focusing on whether landholders believe in' climate change or agree on common definitions or measurement approaches for land degradation, these results suggest that their culture of adaptation may provide a strong basis for coping with an uncertain future. The culture of adaption developed through managing land in a highly variable climate may help even if the specific conditions that landholders need to adapt to are unlike those experienced in living memory. Such an approach requires scientific and expert knowledge to be integrated alongside the context-specific knowledge, values and existing management strategies of local stakeholders.",RANGELAND JOURNAL,2019, J,"Velardo, S; Drummond, M",Qualitative insight into primary school children's nutrition literacy,10.1108/HE-08-2018-0039,"Purpose Health literacy is a key international public health goal. Conceptualising health literacy as an asset highlights the importance of fostering a health literate youth for the benefit of future generations, yet research has predominantly focused on examining adults' and older adolescents' health literacy. This presents a gap for child-centred studies with younger populations. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a qualitative study that explored health literacy, in a nutrition context (i.e. nutrition literacy), from primary school children's perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The study examined children's experiences in accessing, understanding and interacting with nutrition information. In doing so, the research employed a socio-ecological framework to understand facilitators and barriers that can influence children's nutrition literacy. Preadolescent boys and girls aged 11-12 years were invited to take part in the study. At the time of recruitment, students were attending one of three state government schools in a socioeconomically disadvantaged region of metropolitan South Australia. A series of focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 participants. Interview data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic techniques. Findings Children demonstrated that they accessed and interacted with a variety of sources of nutrition information. Nutrition understandings were derived from the home, school and media environments. Parents and teachers were cited as key influences on children's interactions with nutrition information and children particularly emphasised the trust placed in their teachers as health experts While the home and school environments emerged as potential settings to develop children's nutrition literacy skills, the children's narratives also alluded to potential barriers surrounding nutrition literacy. Originality/value This study provides further insight into children's nutrition literacy. While functional nutrition literacy remains a fundamental starting point, children are interested in opportunities to develop more interactive skills, such as those related to cooking. Opportunities also exist to foster more critical competencies. This research thereby highlights the importance of more integrated strategies to promote nutrition literacy among this population group across multiple settings.",HEALTH EDUCATION,2019, J,"Shaktawat, A; Vadhera, S",Sustainability Assessment Considering Socio-environmental and Economic Indicators Using Fuzzy Logic: A Case Study of Indian Hydropower Projects,10.3233/AJW190012,"There is a rapid expansion of energy demand in India. Hydropower as a renewable energy source has the potential to fulfill the demand to quite an extent. Hydropower development has economic, environmental and social impact on society. The sustainability assessment of power projects mostly considers power generation whereas hydropower sustainability depends on social and environmental factors too. In this paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the sustainability of Indian hydropower projects using the weighted sum method and fuzzy logic. The methodology is based on three dimensional criteria i.e. economic, social and environmental considering that all three indicators have an equal impact on sustainability. The paper will be a lighthouse for future planners and researchers in the Indian context as a tool that can be applied for sustainability assessments of planned as well as already constructed hydropower project.",ASIAN JOURNAL OF WATER ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION,2019, J,"Clemente, P; Calvache, M; Antunes, P; Santos, R; Cerdeira, JO; Martins, MJ",Combining social media photographs and species distribution models to map cultural ecosystem services: The case of a Natural Park in Portugal,10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.08.043,"Developing spatially explicit models of Ecosystem Services (ES) distribution and diversity across the territory has been increasingly attracting the interest of researchers and policy-makers due to its potential to operacionalize and mainstream the ES concept into existing planning and policy tools. In this paper we explore the use of social media photographs to model the spatial distribution of people preferences for cultural ecosystem services (CES), map their hotspots, identify the determinant variables as well as the spatial correlation between CES. This research was applied in the Sudoeste Alentejano and Costa Vicentina Natural Park (PNSACV) located in Southwestern Alentejo, Portugal. A collection of 1378 geo-tagged digital images taken inside the Park and posted in the Flickr web platform between 2004 and 2015 were analyzed and classified according to a tailored list of CES. To model CES spatial distribution it was used a species distribution model - Maxent - adapted to combine the observation of CES occurrence with biophysical and infrastructural variables. This method allowed us to identify and map the social preferences for CES in this area. The distance to the ocean and distance to touristic and cultural infrastructure were the most determinant variables to explain CES distribution in PNSACV. Another relevant result of this study was the identification of pairs of CES (such as Recreation & Aesthetics services) with a significant spatial overlap. Using social media data can be an expedite and cost-effective way to identify and map CES, although this approach embodies some challenges and biases that need to be considered. The use of species distribution models, such as Maxent, can be particularly valuable to support the design of future scenarios and assist decision-making on land use planning.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,JAN J,"Schirpke, U; Tappeiner, G; Tasser, E; Tappeiner, U",Using conjoint analysis to gain deeper insights into aesthetic landscape preferences,10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.09.001,"Enjoyable landscapes are important resources for recreational activities and the socio-economic development of tourism destinations. A profound understanding of landscape preferences can support landscape management and planning. Despite the increasing integration of the socio-cultural perspective in landscape preferences research, little is known about the links between landscape characteristics and individual landscape preferences. In this study, we aimed to estimate landscape preferences at the individual level based on a set of landscape indicators, allowing us to measure the preferences of each person. We thereby evaluated the suitability of conjoint analysis to identify the relative importance of selected landscape indicators and the corresponding part worth utilities of their characteristics. We further examined whether the preferences are homogeneous or if we can identify groups with largely different preferences. We related the picture ratings from a photo-based survey of landscapes in the Central Alps to a set of 11 landscape indicators, measuring the landscape pattern and features of each picture. Each indicator was divided into two or three levels and used to calculate importance scores and part-worth utilities by hierarchical Bayes analysis for individuals. In our study area, 11 indicators were sufficient to predict the individual choice between two landscapes for similar to 90% of the respondents. Our results indicate non-linear relationships between some landscape indicators and landscape preferences and revealed considerable heterogeneity for the vectors of part-worth utilities, suggesting some methodological problems when applying aggregated linear prediction models. Our findings may therefore enhance predictive models and support landscape planning and management, but further research is necessary to understand the driving forces behind the observed differences.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2019,JAN J,"Alleway, HK; Gillies, CL; Bishop, MJ; Gentry, RR; Theuerkauf, SJ; Jones, R",The Ecosystem Services of Marine Aquaculture: Valuing Benefits to People and Nature,10.1093/biosci/biy137,"As the world's population continues to grow, the way in which ocean industries interact with ecosystems will be key to supporting the longevity of food and social securities. Aquaculture is crucial to the future supply of seafood, but challenges associated with negative impacts could impede increased production, especially production that is efficient and safe for the environment. Using the typology established by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Initiative, we describe how marine aquaculture could be influential in supporting ecosystem services beyond solely the production of goods, through provisioning services, regulating services, habitat or supporting services, and cultural services. The provision of these services will vary, depending on functional traits of culture species, biotic and abiotic characteristics of the surrounding environment, farm design, and operational standards. Increasing recognition, understanding, and accounting of ecosystem service provision by mariculture through innovative policies, financing, and certification schemes may incentivize active delivery of benefits and may enable effects at a greater scale.",BIOSCIENCE,2019,JAN J,"King, B; Shinn, JE; Yurco, K; Young, KR; Meyer, KAC",Political Ecologies of Dynamic Wetlands: Hydrosocial Waterscapes in the Okavango Delta,10.1080/00330124.2018.1455524,"Research within geography and related disciplines has directed much attention to the coupled interactions between social and ecological systems. These studies have usefully analyzed the multifaceted, temporal, and scalar dimensions of human-environment interactions and how future environmental change will continue to challenge human resource needs. Political ecology research has also made contributions in this regard, particularly by emphasizing livelihood systems, impacts of conservation and development, agricultural production, and environmental governance. Yet although political ecology research has contributed to socioecological systems scholarship, much of this work has been situated within dryland environments or marine ecosystems that have particular biophysical features. Comparatively, wetland environments that experience dynamic flooding regimes warrant further attention from political ecology. This article engages with the findings from an ongoing research project that is evaluating the impacts of flooding variability for rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. We outline some of the main findings from this work by concentrating on two themes central to political ecology: access and governance. We conclude by arguing that the Okavango Delta should be understood as a hydrosocial waterscape that encompasses a variety of socioecological relationships within the region, as well as the power relations operating at a variety of scales that both produce and govern them.",PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER,2019, J,"Vrublova, K; Pohanka, T",IS ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN BEECH-DOMINATED FORESTS EFFICIENT?,,"European beech-dominated natural forests are prevailing forest habitats in highland and sub mountain landscapes of the European temperate zone. Forest vegetation zone of beech forests is environmentally important for its biodiversity, which supports forest ecosystem service functioning. Conservation of natural European beech forest habitats is in the focus of conservation efforts in many European countries. This paper deals with analyses focusing on conservation efficiency of protected areas with the objective to maintain European beech-dominated natural forests. The study area covers the territory of the Czech Republic, a typical central European country. Methods of environmental assessment of conservation effectiveness of protected areas draw on the Nature Conservation Efficiency Index (NCEI) and CORINE habitats datasets analyzed by applying Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The results of analyses of the conservation efficiency of protected areas in the conservation of beech forest habitats in the Czech Republic indicate a low level of conservation efficiency. Relatively highest conservation efficiency in natural beech forests (NCEI = 0.17) is achieved only in the second zones of protected landscape areas. Although the NCEI values are still very low here, the established values have considerable potential for the future, as principles of sustainable forest management will be applied in these zones of protected landscape areas. Application of the presented method is appropriate for the environmental assessment of conservation efficiency of protected areas aimed at forest biodiversity. The results of this study also suggest that the environmental interpretation of forest land-use in GIS analyses can be used as a support tool for environmental assessment of protected areas network efficiency with the objective of maintaining European beech forest biodiversity.",FRESENIUS ENVIRONMENTAL BULLETIN,2019, J,"Deaton, JD; Ohrt, J",Integration of Expressive Techniques in Multisystemic Therapy With At-Risk Adolescents: A Retrospective Case Analysis,10.1177/1066480718819873,"The multisystemic therapy (MST) treatment model is derived from social ecological theory, through which known risk and protective factors of ecological systems are identified by indirect and direct contribution to at-risk behaviors. However, youth with emotional disturbances postdischarge from residential treatment facilities are often referred to MST due to managed care organizations extending beyond the once identified population of juvenile offenders. Consequently, MST works within the ecological system at which an integration of MST and expressive techniques (ETs) can occur in order to simultaneously work within the individual system. In this article, we discuss the foundation of MST and present a retrospective case analysis of the integration of MST and ETs. We discuss limitations and future research considerations.",FAMILY JOURNAL,2019,JAN J,"Maatta, S; Konttinen, H; Lehto, R; Haukkala, A; Erkkola, M; Roos, E","Preschool Environmental Factors, Parental Socioeconomic Status, and Children's Sedentary Time: An Examination of Cross-Level Interactions",10.3390/ijerph16010046,"Preschool children's high levels of sedentary time (ST) is a public health concern. As preschool reaches a large population of children from different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, more knowledge on how the preschool setting is associated with children's ST is relevant. Our aims were to examine (1) the associations of preschool setting (covering social, physical, and organizational level) with children's ST, and (2) the moderating role of the setting on the association between parental SES and children's ST. In the cross-sectional DAGIS (increased health and wellbeing in preschools) study, the participating children (n = 864, aged 3-6 years) were asked to wear an accelerometer for one week. In total, 779 children had valid ST accelerometer data during preschool hours. Preschool setting and parental SES was assessed by questionnaires and observation. Multilevel linear regression models with cross-level interactions were applied to examine the associations. Early educators' practice of breaking children's ST often, more frequent physical activity (PA) theme weeks, and higher number of physical education (PE) lessons were associated with lower children's ST. Higher parental SES was associated with higher children's ST in preschools (1) with organized sedentary behavior theme weeks, (2) with a lower number of PA theme weeks, and (3) with a lower number of PE lessons. The factors identified in this study could be targeted in future interventions.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2019,ene 1 J,"Moukrim, S; Lahssini, S; Naggar, M; Lahlaoi, H; Rifai, N; Arahou, M; Rhazi, L",Local community involvement in forest rangeland management: case study of compensation on forest area closed to grazing in Morocco,10.1071/RJ17119,"Unmanaged livestock grazing is the greatest threat to the health and sustainability of forest rangelands in Morocco. Historically, communities have developed ingenious traditional systems in order to regulate natural resource uses. However, currently most of these principles have been undermined and have led to open access of a common pool resource. To achieve viable solutions to unmanaged livestock grazing in forestlands, local community involvement was introduced in Moroccan forestry early on. The main objective of this study was to show the importance of an original mechanism called compensation on forest area closed to grazing, carried out by the Forestry Department to involve communities that have the right of use in the restoration of forest rangeland ecosystems. It also aims to assess the mechanism's technical and socioeconomic impacts. Analysis of the process of community participation in the case of Moroccan forest management revealed that it was perceived and implemented in different ways, and considered either as an end in itself or (rarely) as a means to an end. Forest managers and use-rights holders appreciate the mechanism of compensation for forest areas closed to grazing. Since the implementation of this program, the number of grazing association members has increased. This trend has been associated with a positive impact on the reduction in the number of offences and on improving reforestation success rates. In addition, remote sensing showed a positive trend in the relative density and the evolution of the health of vegetation in the areas covered by this mechanism. This program helped to develop consensus in forest ecosystem restoration that will help managers to break the vicious cycle of unmanaged grazing, and promote a new collective stewardship of this precious land. As a result of this success, this program should be replicated and valued. It should be presented in the future as a tool for natural resource conservation with unintended human capital development benefits.",RANGELAND JOURNAL,2019, J,"Burnett, KM; Ticktin, T; Bremer, LL; Quazi, SA; Geslani, C; Wada, CA; Kurashima, N; Mandle, L; Pascua, P; Depraetere, T; Wolkis, D; Edmonds, M; Giambelluca, T; Falinski, K; Winter, KB","Restoring to the future: Environmental, cultural, and management trade-offs in historical versus hybrid restoration of a highly modified ecosystem",10.1111/conl.12606,"With growing calls to scale up reforestation efforts worldwide, conservation managers increasingly must decide whether and how to restore highly altered ecosystems. However, empirical research on potential trade-offs remains scarce. We use a Hawai'i watershed to demonstrate a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to identifying synergies and trade-offs associated with maintaining an unrestored forest, versus restoration to a historical or hybrid (native and non-native plant species) state. We focused on restoration scenarios designed by conservation managers and measured ecological, hydrologic, and cultural outcomes they identified as important metrics of success. The hybrid restoration scenario maximized potential outcomes at moderate cost, and increased two rarely measured but often critical metrics to managers and communities: cultural value and resilience to disturbance. Hybrid restoration approaches developed collaboratively can provide a viable option for scaling up restoration in island ecosystems and other contexts where invasive species pose significant challenges and/or where community support is important.",CONSERVATION LETTERS,2019,JAN-FEB J,"Smith, T; Paavola, J; Holmes, G",Corporate reporting and conservation realities: Understanding differences in what businesses say and do regarding biodiversity,10.1002/eet.1839,"Businesses are increasingly called on to participate in tackling biodiversity loss, but the extent of corporate commitments to act is unclear. We have a limited understanding of differences in perceptions and actions regarding biodiversity across business sectors. Doubts also remain concerning the reliability of corporate reporting as a window into business involvement in biodiversity. This paper tackles these uncertainties by using formal corporate reporting and interviews with managers and stakeholders about actions regarding biodiversity as the evidence base. Taking the cases of forestry and salmon farming in Chile, it finds sectoral differences are influenced by distinct regulatory settings and forms of stakeholder engagement. Whilst reporting serves as a partial window into each sector, manager interviews and stakeholder accounts indicate firms in both sectors perceive biodiversity primarily as a reputational risk rather than a core responsibility. In both cases, businesses have used formal corporate reporting to mask negative impacts, and it has failed to leverage fundamental reform. The findings indicate that formal reporting can only ever play a partial role in understanding and motivating business action on biodiversity. Stakeholder views and the particularities of local contexts must be more clearly articulated to ensure businesses undertake substantive rather than symbolic action on their impacts. The paper concludes by reflecting on implications for Natural Capital reporting and identifies limitations and avenues for future research.",ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE,2019,JAN-FEB J,"Folkersen, MV; Fleming, CM; Hasan, S",Depths of uncertainty for deep-sea policy and legislation,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.11.002,"In comparison to terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, much remains unknown about the deep sea's ecosystems and their economic value. This is of concern on at least three fronts. First, the deep sea forms the majority of the ocean's marine systems and contributes substantially to global fish stocks (Danovaro et al., 2017; Drazen and Sutton, 2017). Second, it is essential for the functioning of global biogeochemical cycles, and underpins the sustenance of terrestrial ecosystems and human life (Armstrong et al., 2012). Third, the deep sea faces increased pressure from human activity in the form of deep-sea mining (DSM) (The World Bank, 2016). Based upon lessons drawn from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published in Marine Policy (Folkersen et al., 2018), this letter discusses four main directions for future research into economic valuation, policymaking and legislation pertaining to the deep sea. First, the valuation perspective adopted for policy and decision-making on deep-sea resources needs to be defined clearly. Second, strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) and environmental impact assessments (EIAs) of DSM activities need to examine the potential global environmental damage from DSM, rather than examine impacts restricted to the geographical site in which mining takes place. Third, the interdependence between anthropogenic behaviour and economic value generated by the deep sea requires further investigation. Fourth, in addition to the valuation of specific ecosystem goods and services, the ecosystem functioning of the deep sea should also be valued. Improving our understanding of the value that the deep sea provides to human societies can facilitate sustainable resource-use, effective environmental management, and prevent severe and irreversible damage to the deep sea's ecosystems.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2019,JAN J,"Burgass, MJ; Milner-Gulland, EJ; Lowndes, JSS; O'Hara, C; Afflerbach, JC; Halpern, BS",A pan-Arctic assessment of the status of marine social-ecological systems,10.1007/s10113-018-1395-6,"Marine social-ecological conditions in the Arctic are rapidly changing. With many transboundary issues, such as shifting ranges of fisheries, biodiversity loss, sea ice retreat, economic development and pollution, greater pan-Arctic assessment and co-management are necessary. We adapted the Ocean Health Index (OHI) to compile pan-Arctic data and evaluate ocean health for nine regions above the Arctic Circle to assess the extent to which pan-Arctic assessment is possible and identify broad social-ecological trends. While the quality and availability of data varied, we assessed and scored nine OHI goals, including the pressures and resilience measures acting upon them. Our results show the Arctic is sustainably delivering a range of benefits to people, but with room for improvement in all goals, particularly tourism, fisheries, and protected places. Successful management of biological resources and short-term positive impacts on biodiversity in response to climate change underlie these high goal scores. The OHI assesses the past and near-term future but does not account for medium- and long-term future risks associated with climate change, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring, dynamic management, and strong action to mitigate its anticipated effects. A general increase in and standardisation of monitoring is urgently needed in the Arctic. Unified assessments, such as this one, can support national comparisons, data quality assessments, and discussions on the targeting of limited monitoring capabilities at the most pressing and urgent transboundary management challenges, which is a priority for achieving successful Arctic stewardship.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2019,JAN J,"Fergnani, A",Scenario archetypes of the futures of capitalism: The conflict between the psychological attachment to capitalism and the prospect of its dissolution,10.1016/j.futures.2018.06.006,"Capitalism contributes to satisfy innate human instincts of selfishness, making humans psychologically attached to capitalistic practices. In contrast, economic, social and technological trends are pointing towards capitalism's dissolution. A global ideological conflict is emerging from the clash between these contrasting forces. To analyze the possible ways this conflict might unfold in the future, four scenario archetypes of the future of capitalism are put forward. In each scenario, the ideological conflict between the psychological attachment to capitalism and the prospect of its dissolution will be manifested to different extents and have different outcomes. To let scenarios vividly come to life, four short metaphorical science fiction episodes enrich each scenario's description. A preferable scenario (Transformation) is then identified for its lower level of ideological conflict. In the preferable scenario, public policy specialists will activate human tendency for respect and reciprocity using scientific knowledge on the way human nature responds to nudges and incentives, and a shift in human understanding towards collaborative economic values will be enacted. Preliminary policy guidelines to achieve this scenario are finally discussed.",FUTURES,2019,JAN J,"Pla-Julian, I; Guevara, S",Is circular economy the key to transitioning towards sustainable development? Challenges from the perspective of care ethics,10.1016/j.futures.2018.09.001,"The Sustainable Development Goals represent a global consensus on the urgency to preserve the conditions that make life possible on this planet and ensure a future of wellbeing for humanity. Transforming consumption and production processes is a fundamental priority of this development agenda. Circular Economy has emerged as an alternative model, given its potential for value creation, while generating social and environmental positive impacts. An exploratory study carried out in Navarra (Spain) shows its potentiality for socio-economic and environmental benefits as well as technological, organizational, financial, institutional and social challenges. However, through the lenses of care ethics and gender, we argue that Circular Economy entails a wider range of opportunities and defies for entrepreneurs, organizations, institutions, economics and society as a whole. The transformational changes at societal level that it implies and the complexity of socio-ecological systems make necessary a holistic approach and foresight to design strategies, policies and programs to turn economic activities into loops of care for people and the environment. Circular Economy frameworks, methodologies and tools need to strengthen its social dimension. Appropriate institutional arrangements and strategic leadership are necessary to make this paradigm shift contribute towards sustainable development.",FUTURES,2019,JAN J,"Kabaya, K; Hashimoto, S; Fukuyo, N; Uetake, T; Takeuchi, K",Investigating future ecosystem services through participatory scenario building and spatial ecological-economic modelling,10.1007/s11625-018-0590-1,"Scenario analysis with integrated quantitative modelling has become a common approach to investigate possible future socio-ecological systems in sustainability research. Facing several barriers on the use of scenarios, however, a participatory scenario approach has gained wider attention in place-based environmental research communities. In this paper, we investigate future ecosystem services (i.e., food production, carbon sequestration, nutrient retention, and habitat provision) in the explorative manner in the Sado island, Japan, using a participatory scenario approach and spatial ecological-economic modelling techniques. The contributions of this paper to the existing literatures are twofold: the one is collaborative use of morphological analysis and participants' votes for more fair and transparent scenario building, and the other is a suite of spatial modelling techniques, inter alia, land-use projections using a spatial multinomial logit model, for more robust and accurate simulations. Taking such innovative approaches and constructing the ecosystem service index reflecting local perceptions, we built distinctive six scenarios and projected future ecosystem services. As consequences, we could (1) illuminate the trade-offs between land-based ecosystem services, (2) highlight the importance of adequate mosaic structures in providing bundle of ecosystem services, and (3) visualize the spatially heterogenous impacts of alternative scenarios that imply one scenario does not fit all areas. We also discussed the interpretation of a sink service from sustainability perspectives and lessons learned from the parallel approach of participatory scenario building and quantitative modelling exercises.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,JAN J,"Haga, C; Inoue, T; Hotta, W; Shibata, R; Hashimoto, S; Kurokawa, H; Machimura, T; Matsui, T; Morimoto, J; Shibata, H",Simulation of natural capital and ecosystem services in a watershed in Northern Japan focusing on the future underuse of nature: by linking forest landscape model and social scenarios,10.1007/s11625-018-0623-9,"A quantitative scenario approach to compare the future state of natural capital and ecosystem services (ESs) plays a key role in facilitating decision-making for the sustainable management of landscapes. In Japan, the shrinking and aging population will likely lead to a situation of underuse of natural resources, resulting in rewilding of terrestrial ecosystems. This study conducted a quantitative scenario analysis of natural capital and ESs by linking model and social scenarios on a local scale. The case study area was the Bekanbeushi River Watershed in Northern Japan. LANDIS-II model (a forest landscape model) was used to simulate the vegetation dynamics in species composition, age structure, and biomass considering impacts of forest and pasture land management. Four population distribution and capital preference scenarios were translated into forest and pasture land management. The population distribution and capital preference assumptions resulted in different consequences for natural capital and ESs. The population distribution affected the spatial allocation of abandoned pasture land and level of isolation of managed pasture land. The capital preference assumptions largely affected the consequences for ESs. Finally, these simulation results demonstrated the capacity to feed quantitative information to the narrative scenarios. Our process-based approach provides insight into the relationships among social drivers, ecological processes, and the consequences that will affect natural capital and ESs, which can contribute to decision-making and sustainability design of regions, which may face issues associated with underuse in the future.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2019,JAN J,"Quatrini, V; Tomao, A; Corona, P; Ferrari, B; Masini, E; Agrimi, M",Is new always better than old? Accessibility and usability of the urban green areas of the municipality of Rome,10.1016/j.ufug.2018.07.015,"Urban Green Areas (UGAs) are Green Infrastructure (GI) elements widely known as a framework for applying Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), as they may preserve and increase environmental values in urbanized contexts by supporting a wide range of ecosystem services. Accessibility and usability of UGAs are important indicators of the environmental quality of urban areas to be considered in the sustainable governance, management, and design of metropolitan areas. In such a context, the present study aims at assessing accessibility and usability of UGAs from both old and new residential settlements of the 15 administrative units of the Rome municipality, considered an exemplificative case of a Mediterranean city which, in recent decades, has been subjected to a rapid transition from a 'compact growth' model to a more 'dispersed' one. Firstly, we used the European Urban Atlas geodatabase to identify and map residential areas, including those established between 2006 and 2012. Secondly, we performed a network analysis to assess the distance between urban settlements and the closest UGA access point. Ancillary data were used to check the presence of facilities and therefore to assess the usability of UGAs. 57% of residential settlements have accessible UGAs in their surroundings, but the percentage is much lower (25%) if we consider those established between 2006 and 2012. This evidence was also found at administrative unit scale. Equally, the share of population that can benefit from accessible UGAs is lower in the new settlements, notably in the more peripheral administrative units. The usability of accessible UGAs exceeds 80% in the whole study area. The proposed methodology could be applied in similar contexts, as a useful tool for urban planners and decision makers to (i) support the assessment of the quality of life of people living in new residential settlements; (ii) design new UGAs in order to increase accessibility to green spaces, and therefore the value of newly built-up areas. The implications of, future perspectives of and need for sustainable urban planning in the light of the NBS framework are reported and discussed.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2019,JAN J,"Mertens, L; Van Dyck, D; Deforche, B; De Bourdeaudhuij, I; Brondeel, R; Van Cauwenberg, J","Individual, social, and physical environmental factors related to changes in walking and cycling for transport among older adults: A longitudinal study",10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.12.001,"To date, no longitudinal studies examined the change in walking and cycling for transport as distinct outcomes over time and investigated the predictors of those changes. Therefore, this present study examined the change in odds of engagement in walking and cycling for transport as distinct outcomes among Belgian older adults over a three-year follow-up period, and examined factors (i.e. socio-demographics, psychosocial, perceived social and physical environmental characteristics) related to these changes in engaging in walking and cycling for transport. Against our expectations, we found significantly higher odds of engaging in cycling for transport among older adults at follow-up compared to baseline and no significant differences in the odds of engaging in walking for transport. Interventions should assist older adults to increase their self-efficacy towards PA, their perceived benefits of PA, and their perception of land use mix diversity in their neighborhood in order to increase the engagement in walking/cycling for transport over time, or help to decrease their perceived barriers towards PA or their perception to have a lot of physical barriers to walk/cycle in their neighborhood. Future longitudinal studies with larger samples are warranted investigating interaction effects between different predictors at various levels to find out which factors can be further integrated into active transport interventions in older adults.",HEALTH & PLACE,2019,JAN J,"Martin, J; Branas-Garza, P; Espin, AM; Gamella, JF; Herrmann, B",The appropriate response of Spanish Gitanos: short-run orientation beyond current socio-economic status,10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.07.002,"Humans differ greatly in their tendency to discount future events, but the reasons underlying such inter-individual differences remain poorly understood. Based on the evolutionary framework of Life History Theory, influential models predict that the extent to which individuals discount the future should be influenced by socioecological factors such as mortality risk, environmental predictability and resource scarcity. However, little empirical work has been conducted to compare the discounting behavior of human groups facing different socioecological conditions. In a lab-in-the-field economic experiment, we compared the delay discounting of a sample of Romani people from Southern Spain (Gitanos) with that of their non-Romani neighbors (i.e., the majority Spanish population). The Romani-Gitano population constitutes the main ethnic minority in all of Europe today and is characterized by lower socio-economic status (SES), lower life expectancy and poorer health than the majority, along with a historical experience of discrimination and persecution. According to those Life History Theory models, Gitanos will tend to adopt faster life history strategies (e.g., earlier marriage and reproduction) as an adaptation to such ecological conditions and, therefore, should discount the future more heavily than the majority. Our results support this prediction, even after controlling for the individuals' current SES (income and education). Moreover, group-level differences explain a large share of the individual-level differences. Our data suggest that human inter-group discrimination might shape group members' time preferences through its impact on the environmental harshness and unpredictability conditions they face.",EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR,2019,JAN J,"Schulp, CJE; Levers, C; Kuemmerle, T; Tieskens, KF; Verburg, PH",Mapping and modelling past and future land use change in Europe's cultural landscapes,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.030,"Cultural landscapes are valued for their landscape character and cultural heritage. Yet, these often low-intensity, multifunctional landscapes are at risk of disappearance. Understanding how cultural landscapes might change under alternative futures is important for identifying where to target actions towards persistence of cultural landscapes. This study therefore aims to identify past and future land use changes in the European Union's (EU's) cultural landscapes. To do so, we overlay past and projected plausible future land change trajectories with the spatial distribution of cultural landscapes in the EU. Our results highlight a clear co-occurrence of specific land change trajectories and cultural landscape types. Past and future urbanization and agricultural abandonment are the land use change processes most strongly affecting small-scale, low-intensity agricultural landscapes that are valued by society. De-intensification is overrepresented in landscapes with a low management intensity. Past intensification was overrepresented in small-scale landscapes with a high value to society, while future intensification might concentrate on landscapes with a low intensity. Typical cultural landscapes show a strong variation of changes under different scenario conditions in terms of future landscape change. Scenario analysis revealed that some of the threats to cultural landscapes are related to agricultural policies, nature policies and other spatial restrictions. At the same time, these policies may also alleviate these threats when properly designed and targeted by accounting for the impacts they may have on cultural landscapes. Considering cultural landscapes more directly in decisions to be made for the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy period is needed, and could be achieved by a focus on landscape quality beyond the current focus on specific greening measures.",LAND USE POLICY,2019,JAN J,"Shackleton, RT; Richardson, DM; Shackleton, CM; Bennett, B; Crowley, SL; Dehnen-Schmutz, K; Estevez, RA; Fischer, A; Kueffer, C; Kull, CA; Marchante, E; Novoa, A; Potgieter, LJ; Vaas, J; Vaz, AS; Larson, BMH",Explaining people's perceptions of invasive alien species: A conceptual framework,10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.045,"Human perceptions of nature and the environment are increasingly being recognised as important for environmental management and conservation. Understanding people's perceptions is crucial for understanding behaviour and developing effective management strategies to maintain, preserve and improve biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. As an interdisciplinary team, we produced a synthesis of the key factors that influence people's perceptions of invasive alien species, and ordered them in a conceptual framework. In a context of considerable complexity and variation across time and space, we identified six broad-scale dimensions: (1) attributes of the individual perceiving the invasive alien species; (2) characteristics of the invasive alien species itself; (3) effects of the invasion (including negative and positive impacts, i.e. benefits and costs); (4) socio-cultural context; (5) landscape context; and (6) institutional and policy context. A number of underlying and facilitating aspects for each of these six overarching dimensions are also identified and discussed. Synthesising and understanding the main factors that influence people's perceptions is useful to guide future research, to facilitate dialogue and negotiation between actors, and to aid management and policy formulation and governance of invasive alien species. This can help to circumvent and mitigate conflicts, support prioritisation plans, improve stakeholder engagement platforms, and implement control measures. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,ene 1 J,"Shrestha, BB; Shrestha, UB; Sharma, KP; Thapa-Parajuli, RB; Devkota, A; Siwakoti, M","Community perception and prioritization of invasive alien plants in Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape, Nepal",10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.034,"The management of invasive species is a complex, yet an essential component of biodiversity conservation and environmental management for sustainable futures. Despite a well-established linkage between biological invasions and human activities, the social dimension of invasive species management is less explored as compared to the ecological aspects. In recent years, the active participation of local communities, such as assessing levels of awareness and the selection of targeted species prioritized by communities, has been considered as a crucial element for managing invasive species. We conducted 32 focus group discussions (FGDs) including 218 participants in Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape (ChAL) of central Nepal, to assess knowledge and perceptions of agrarian and forest-dependent communities about invasive alien plants (IAPs), document the efforts of the community management of IAPs and prioritize IAPs for management. In the prioritization exercise, participants of each FGD were asked to rank three IAPs using scoring methods and to express their experience about the effects of the selected IAPs on humans and the environment. We found that communities had a living memory of the arrival of some of the IAPs in their locality without knowing the exotic nature of IAPs. Biodiversity loss, livestock poisoning, reduced agricultural production and forage supply, and negative impact on forest regeneration were reported as major negative impacts of IAPs. Communities also reportedly utilized IAPs for medicinal purposes, making compost by using biomass, and controlling floods and landslides. None of the government and non-governmental organizations working in the sectors of biodiversity conservation and environmental management has informed local forest-dependent agrarian communities about the consequences of biological invasions and management of IAPs. However, local communities had already started controlling the spread of some IAPs through manual uprooting. They were able to spot, identify and prioritize IAPs for management and some of the prioritized species were among the worlds worst invasive species. Ageratum houstonianum was the top-ranked worst invasive species in agroecosystems while Chromolaena odorata and Ageratina adenophora were the top-ranked worst species in natural ecosystems. Our findings will be useful for guiding community education programs as well as the management of IAPs through formal policy and management plans, such as Nepal's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,ene 1 J,"Grilli, ND; Xavier, LY; Jacobi, PR; Turra, A",Integrated science for coastal management: Discussion on a local empirical basis,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.10.009,"The complexity of current socio-environmental impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems has pushed scientific endeavors toward more participative and holistic approaches, such as the Post-Normal Science, Marine Ecosystem-Based Approach and Integrated Coastal Management. Knowledge integration is a key element of these approaches. Nevertheless, the development of integrated and interdisciplinary research still faces many obstacles. Here, we discuss the process of scientific knowledge production and integration among the diverse research areas of Oceanography and between science and society. Aiming to contribute to the development of future interdisciplinary scientific research and to improve science-policy interface in coastal zones, we conducted an analysis of an oceanographic research project in which an interdisciplinary and applied approach was adopted to understand the components, processes and importance of a coastal bay in Southeast Brazil. From interviews with project researchers, a documentary analysis and a social network analysis, we showed that interdisciplinarity was stronger (a) within groups from related research fields and (b) with specific management modules. Similarly, integration between the project and society was limited to specific research modules. In addition, it was possible to identify actions that would foster integration in future research projects, related to developing common research goals, concepts and methods, such as promoting opportunities for integration and investing in publications for lay people in addition to scientific publications. Despite not achieving the objectives of interdisciplinarity and integration with every project module, the project resulted in important legacies that have impacted the Araca Bay community and local decision-making. This project can be considered to be a good example of integrated science in Brazil, especially regarding the under-explored potential of interdisciplinarity development within oceanographic projects.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2019,ene 1 J,"Khan, I; Zhao, MJ",Water resource management and public preferences for water ecosystem services: A choice experiment approach for inland river basin management,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.339,"The concept of ecosystem services provides a valuable approach for linking humans and nature and for supporting the protection of natural ecosystems. River water services, which influence public health and daily routines, have both social and ecological benefits to a surrounding area. However, river networks and their services have suffered extensive destruction due to urbanization and industrialization, especially in China. An assessment of river system benefits and recognition of public preferences are crucial for sustainable river management and effective river system restoration. The objective of this study was to assess a household's willingness to pay using a choice experiment (CE) with mixed logit and multinomial logit models. This technique was applied to evaluate a respondent's preferences regarding water service attributes such as upper basin, middle basin and lower basin ecological water distribution; water quality; and payment and the possible source of heterogeneity in these attributes. The estimated likelihood ratio test demonstrated that random parameter logit model (RPL) models had considerably more explanatory power than multinomial logit (MNL) models. It was also revealed that the RPL-II model was the most powerful among all the models, demonstrating the capability of that model to predict the choices of the respondents. Furthermore, the findings show that water quality was the most preferred river attribute, and households were willing to pay more for the water quality attribute that derives the highest marginal value. Household income level, residential location, education level, and sex were the main factors influencing willingness to pay. These assessments provide guidance, policy recommendations and a reference for researchers and policy makers to improve and enhance current river water services in the future. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2019,ene 1 J,"Belderbos, R; Tong, TW; Wu, SB",Multinational investment and the value of growth options: Alignment of incremental strategy to environmental uncertainty,10.1002/smj.2969,"Research Summary One of the motivations for multinational firms' investment in foreign affiliates in uncertain environments is the future growth opportunities the investment may bring. We argue that whether firms derive growth option value from their multinational investment is determined by the interaction between market uncertainty and firms' incremental investment strategy. We show evidence that multinational investment creates growth option value for firms operating affiliates in host countries with high market uncertainty. In such uncertain environments, however, incremental investment strategies-limiting the equity stake or the size of investment in affiliates, across all countries or within each country-prove critical to the value of growth options. Creating growth option value therefore requires an alignment of firms' incremental investment strategy to the uncertain country environments they confront. Managerial Summary Managers have long recognized the importance of taking an incremental approach to strategy making, but evidence on whether and when strategic incrementalism is valuable to firms remains scarce. This study focuses on two ways Japanese multinational firms invest incrementally in the context of foreign expansion-by limiting the equity stake or the size of investment in their foreign affiliates-and analyzes when such incremental strategies create valuable growth options that translate into market value. We find that these strategies, whether implemented across all host countries or within each country, do create significant growth option value, provided that market uncertainty is high. The findings highlight the importance of aligning firms' incremental strategy to the environmental uncertainties they confront, in line with the core notion of fit in strategic management.",STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL,2019,JAN J,"Dumont, B; Groot, JCJ; Tichit, M",Review: Make ruminants green again - how can sustainable intensification and agroecology converge for a better future?,10.1017/S1751731118001350,"Livestock farming systems provide multiple benefits to humans: protein-rich diets that contribute to food security, employment and rural economies, capital stock and draught power in many developing countries and cultural landscape all around the world. Despite these positive contributions to society, livestock is also the centre of many controversies as regards to its environmental impacts, animal welfare and health outcomes related to excessive meat consumption. Here, we review the potentials of sustainable intensification (SI) and agroecology (AE) in the design of sustainable ruminant farming systems. We analyse the two frameworks in a historical perspective and show that they are underpinned by different values and worldviews about food consumption patterns, the role of technology and our relationship with nature. Proponents of SI see the increase in animal protein demand as inevitable and therefore aim at increasing production from existing farmland to limit further encroachment into remaining natural ecosystems. Sustainable intensification can thus be seen as an efficiency-oriented framework that benefits from all forms of technological development. Proponents of AE appear more open to dietary shifts towards less animal protein consumption to rebalance the whole food system. Agroecology promotes system redesign, benefits from functional diversity and aims at providing regulating and cultural services. We analyse the main criticisms of the two frameworks: Is SI sustainable? How much can AE contribute to feeding the world? Indeed, in SI, social justice has long lacked attention notably with respect to resource allocation within and between generations. It is only recently that some of its proponents have indicated that there is room to include more diversified systems and food-system transformation perspectives and to build socially fair governance systems. As no space is available for agricultural land expansion in many areas, agroecological approaches that emphasise the importance of local production should also focus more on yield increases from agricultural land. Our view is that new technologies and strict certifications offer opportunities for scaling-up agroecological systems. We stress that the key issue for making digital science part of the agroecological transition is that it remains at a low cost and is thus accessible to smallholder farmers. We conclude that SI and AE could converge for a better future by adopting transformative approaches in the search for ecologically benign, socially fair and economically viable ruminant farming systems.",ANIMAL,2018,DEC J,"Alam, M",Ecological and economic indicators for measuring erosion control services provided by ecosystems,10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.052,"The physical process of soil erosion leads to a range of impacts both onsite and offsite such as land degradation, nutrient depletion and sedimentation, which in turn affect different economic sectors that are reliant on productive capacity of land and aquatic resources. This erosion process is highly moderated by undisturbed natural ecosystems through physical and geochemical means. However, methods to quantify these linkages are scarce. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate an analytical framework for physical measurements and economic valuation of erosion control services provided by forested ecosystems. The article is divided into two parts: the first part deals with physical measurements of onsite and offsite. erosion control services, and in the second part various economic valuation methods for different beneficiary groups are discussed. Ecosystem services are divided according to three beneficiary groups: (1) private benefits to farmers, (2) benefits to businesses, and (3) societal benefits. The article concludes with implications, challenges and future directions.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2018,DEC J,"Van Stappen, V; Latomme, J; Cardon, G; De Bourdeaudhuij, I; Lateva, M; Chakarova, N; Kivela, J; Lindstrom, J; Androutsos, O; Gonzalez-Gil, E; De Miguel-Etayo, P; Nanasi, A; Kolozsvari, LR; Manios, Y; De Craemer, M; Manios, Y; Androutsos, O; Cardon, G; Lindstrom, J; Schwarz, P; Makrilakis, K; Annemans, L; Kakoulis, D; Kontogianni, M; Androutsos, O; Moschonis, G; Tsoutsoulopoulou, K; Mavrogianni, C; Katsarou, C; Karaglani, E; Efstathopoulou, E; Kechribari, I; Maragkopoulou, K; Argyri, E; Douligeris, A; Nikolaou, M; Vampouli, EA; Kouroupaki, K; Koutsi, R; Tzormpatzaki, E; Manou, E; Mpinou, P; Karachaliou, A; Filippou, C; Filippou, A; Lindstrom, J; Laatikainen, T; Wikstrom, K; Nelimarkka, K; Kivela, J; Valve, P; Virtanen, E; Cardon, G; Latomme, J; Van Stappen, V; Huys, N; Annemans, L; Pil, L; Panchyrz, I; Holland, M; Timpel, P; Liatis, S; Dafoulas, G; Lambrinou, CP; Giannopoulou, A; Tsirigoti, L; Fappa, E; Anastasiou, C; Zachari, K; Rabemananjara, L; Kakoulis, D; Mandalia, M; de Sabata, MS; Pall, N; Moreno, L; Civeira, F; Bueno, G; De Miguel-Etayo, P; Gonzalez-Gil, EM; Mesana, MI; Vicente-Rodriguez, G; Rodriguez, G; Baila-Rueda, L; Cenarro, A; Jarauta, E; Mateo-Gallego, R; Iotova, V; Tankova, T; Usheva, N; Tsochev, K; Chakarova, N; Galcheva, S; Dimova, R; Bocheva, Y; Radkova, Z; Marinova, V; Rurik, I; Ungvari, T; Jancso, Z; Kolozsvari, L; Martinez, R; Tong, M; Joutsenniemi, K; Wendel-Mitoraj, K","Barriers from Multiple Perspectives Towards Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, Physical Activity and Dietary Habits When Living in Low Socio-Economic Areas in Europe. The Feel4Diabetes Study",10.3390/ijerph15122840,"This study investigated barriers towards health behaviours (physical activity, limiting sedentary behaviour and healthy dietary habits) experienced by young European families living in vulnerable areas, from multiple perspectives (parents, teachers, local community workers). Focus groups were conducted in six European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Greece and Spain). In each country, three focus groups were conducted with parents, one with teachers and one with local community workers. Data were analysed using a deductive framework approach with a manifest content analysis using the software NVivo. The present study identified barriers on four levels (individual, interpersonal, organisational and macro level) of a socio-ecological model of health behaviour. From parents' perspectives, both general barriers (e.g., financial limitations and lack of time) and country-specific barriers (e.g., organisational difficulties and inappropriate work environment) were identified. Additional barriers (e.g., lack of parental knowledge and lack of parental skills) were provided by other stakeholders (i.e., teachers and local community workers). The results of this study demonstrate the additional value of including multiple perspectives when developing a lifestyle intervention aiming to prevent type 2 diabetes in vulnerable groups. Future lifestyle interventions are recommended to include multiple components (family, school, and community) and could be implemented across European countries if country-specific adaptations are allowed.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2018,DEC J,"Schwann, A",Ecological wisdom: Reclaiming the cultural landscape of the Okanagan Valley,10.1016/j.jum.2018.05.004,"The bucolic Okanagan Valley, located on traditional territory of the Syilx/Okanagan Peoples in British Columbia (Canada), is a region in transition, the outcome of climatic and hydrological changes related to global warming and over a century of development-driven land use management practices. Land use decisions and public policy continue to be driven by an unfettered hunger for land, not necessarily in the long-term interest of delivering sustainable or socially equitable development models, while ongoing planting of new vineyards represents one of the most severe threats to biodiversity within the Valley. Respect for Indigenous expert knowledge-Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom (TEKW) - and maintaining their values in the land, is a land use topic often excluded from settler expansionism development practices and policies. This prospectus paper calls for a shared vision, developed in partnership with local expertise, to ensure a productive and experientially rich cultural landscape that protects the long-term viability of the region. Establishing a comprehensive policy framework for the natural and built environment grounded in the concept of investing in 'place' is proposed as a potential step forward in developing sustainable and adaptive communities to secure the wellbeing of the Valley. TEKW provides a base from which to connect ideas about cultural landscape, beauty, experience, and environmental policy, to support the conservation and sustainable management of natural capital for the benefit of future generations.",JOURNAL OF URBAN MANAGEMENT,2018,DEC J,"Dimobe, K; Kouakou, JLN; Tondoh, JE; Zoungrana, BJB; Forkuor, G; Ouedraogo, K",Predicting the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Carbon Stock in Semi-Arid West African Savannas,10.3390/land7040124,"West African savannas are experiencing rapid land cover change that threatens biodiversity and affects ecosystem productivity through the loss of habitat and biomass, and carbon emissions into the atmosphere exacerbating climate change effects. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in these areas is critical in the efforts to combat climate change. For such restorative actions to be successful, they must be grounded on a clear knowledge of the extent to which climate change affects carbon storage in soil and biomass according to different land uses. The current study was undertaken in semi-arid savannas in Dano, southwestern Burkina Faso, with the threefold objective of: (i) identifying the main land use and land cover categories (LULCc) in a watershed; (ii) assessing the carbon stocks (biomass and soil) in the selected LULCc; and (iii) predicting the effects of climate change on the spatial distribution of the carbon stock. Dendrometric data (Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and height) of woody species and soil samples were measured and collected, respectively, in 43 plots, each measuring 50 x 20 m. Tree biomass carbon stocks were calculated using allometric equations while soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks were measured at two depths (0-20 and 20-50 cm). To assess the impact of climate change on carbon stocks, geographical location records of carbon stocks, remote sensing spectral bands, topographic data, and bioclimatic variables were used. For projections of future climatic conditions, predictions from two climate models (MPI-ESM-MR and HadGEM2-ES) of CMIP5 were used under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 and modeling was performed using random forest regression. Results showed that the most dominant LULCc are cropland (37.2%) and tree savannas (35.51%). Carbon stocks in woody biomass were higher in woodland (10.2 +/- 6.4 Mg.ha(-1)) and gallery forests (7.75 +/- 4.05 Mg.ha(-1)), while the lowest values were recorded in shrub savannas (0.9 +/- 1.2 Mg.ha(-1)) and tree savannas (1.6 0.6 +/- Mg.ha(-1)). The highest SOC stock was recorded in gallery forests (30.2 +/- 15.6 Mg.ha(-1)) and the lowest in the cropland (14.9 +/- 5.7 Mg.ha(-1)). Based on modeling results, it appears clearly that climate change might have an impact on carbon stock at horizon 2070 by decreasing the storage capacity of various land units which are currently suitable. The decrease was more important under HadGEM2-ES (90.0%) and less under MPI-ESM-MR (89.4%). These findings call for smart and sustainable land use management practices in the study area to unlock the potential of these landscapes to sequestering carbon.",LAND,2018,DEC J,"Bremer, LL; Falinski, K; Ching, C; Wada, CA; Burnett, KM; Kukea-Shultz, K; Reppun, N; Chun, G; Oleson, KLL; Ticktin, T","Biocultural Restoration of Traditional Agriculture: Cultural, Environmental, and Economic Outcomes of Loi Kalo Restoration in Heeia, Oahu",10.3390/su10124502,"There are growing efforts around the world to restore biocultural systems that produce food while also providing additional cultural and ecological benefits. Yet, there are few examples of integrated assessments of these efforts, impeding understanding of how they can contribute to multi-level sustainability goals. In this study, we collaborated with a community-based non-profit in Heeia, Oahu to evaluate future scenarios of traditional wetland and flooded field system agriculture (loi kalo; taro fields) restoration in terms of locally-relevant cultural, ecological, and economic outcomes as well as broader State of Hawaii sustainability goals around food, energy, and water. Families participating in the biocultural restoration program described a suite of community and cultural benefits stemming from the process of restoration, including enhanced social connections, cultural (re)connections to place, and physical and mental well-being, which inspired their sustained participation. We also found benefits in terms of local food production that have the potential to provide economic returns and energy savings over time, particularly when carried out through a hybrid non-profit and family management model. These benefits were coupled with potential changes in sediment and nutrient retention with implications for water quality and the health of an important downstream fish pond (loko ia) and coral reef social-ecological system. Compared with the current land cover (primarily invasive grasses), results suggest that full restoration of loi kalo would decrease sediment export by 38%, but triple nitrogen export due to organic fertilizer additions. However, compared with an urban scenario, there were clear benefits of agricultural restoration in terms of reduced nitrogen and sediment runoff. In combination, our results demonstrate that a biocultural approach can support the social and financial sustainability of agricultural systems that provide multiple benefits valued by the local community and non-profit while also contributing to statewide sustainability goals.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,DEC J,"Ndwandwe, SB; Weng, RC",Competitive Analyses of the Pig Industry in Swaziland,10.3390/su10124402,"Over recent decades, Swaziland's pork industry has been stagnant, failing to meet the domestic demand for pork. It is only in recent years that the number of pig farmers has increased rapidly, with smallholder farmers taking the lead. However, while higher demand for pork could lead to opportunities for growth, with uncertain future markets, increased pig production capacity could subject farmers to extreme market competition and failure to sell their produce. This study used a survey and SWOT analysis to assess the current pig production and market performance of smallholder farms in Swaziland. To quantify SWOT factors, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to derive priorities for subsequent formulation of potential pig production strategies that are resilient both to market and climate changes. Strategy formulation was based on Porter's cost leadership strategy. The findings revealed that, currently, the pig industry is attractive, and that the present is probably the best time for smallholder farmers to maximize their profits. Unfortunately, the industry was found to be threatened by the expected increase in production capacity, future market competition, and the socio-environmental challenges associated with expansion. Despite this, the findings suggest that smallholder farmers can survive future market challenges by strategically using agro-industrial by-products as alternative feed ingredients to reduce production cost. The formation of farmers' associations could benefit smallholder farmers through economies of scale, processing and product value addition, and increased access to markets, and unity could strengthen their position in the market when bargaining for better prices.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,DEC J,"Mahabadi, SA; Bavani, ARM; Bgheri, A",Improving adaptive capacity of social-ecological system of Tashk-Bakhtegan Lake basin to climate change effects - A methodology based on Post-Modern Portfolio Theory,10.1016/j.ecohyd.2018.11.002,"Hydrological changes due to climate change will impact the sustainability of social-ecological systems (SES). It is essential to develop methodologies, capable of addressing economic as well as the environmental aspects, to take care of the water-associated system through improving the system adaptive capacity, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. Through the application of the Post-Modern Portfolio Theory (PMPT), we propose a new approach to water allocation problem in the face of climate change, as a case of Lake Tashk-Bakhtegan basin, Southern Iran. The economic model based on PMPT is adapted for designing water allocation schemes to maximize local economic return, minimize its risk and minimize the Gini coefficient indicative of social inequities. The climatic variables were generated by three Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models. The temperature and precipitation will increase and decrease by about +2.4% and -10% on average in the future compared to those in the historical period, respectively. In order to identify hydrological and socio-economic implications of climate change in the basin, an integrated system dynamic model was developed. Finally, the decision space of equally effective solutions has been determined in the form of Pareto points at the efficient portfolio plane. The findings showed a decrease in the economic return (on average by 5.7% in the both RCPs) and the ratio of employment to unemployment (average 10% in most of sub-basin), owing to the reduction of water resources, especially in agriculture. Base on Portfolio results, the ratio of economic return to risk doubled and tripled in optimized condition compared to the normal condition in the future. The efficient plane of the portfolio can be used to allocate water to economic activities according to a risk-taking attitude of a decision-maker. Following the model results, services and industrial sectors would need to be developed in order to sustain local water resources with possible additional allocations for environmental requirements, with simultaneous improvement of economic return on water resources. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.",ECOHYDROLOGY & HYDROBIOLOGY,2018,DEC J,"Maclean, K; Farbotko, C; Mankad, A; Robinson, CJ; Curnock, M; Collins, K; McAllister, RRJ",Building social resilience to biological invasions. A case study of Panama Tropical Race 4 in the Australian Banana Industry,10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.10.018,"Biosecurity is often conceptualised and managed as an issue of biological risk. However, biosecurity policy and programs need to also manage for the social risks and impacts of biological invasions. This paper applies theory on the social aspects of social-ecological system resilience to understand how growers from the Queensland Banana industry in north east Australia coped with the social impacts of the Panama Tropical Race 4 incursion. We present a conceptual framework that highlights how emergency responses can also support programs to build and enhance the social resilience of affected actors. Management programs and activities can be designed to support affected actors to cope with the impacts of the invasion, at the same time as working to eradicate or contain the invasive species. Short term immediate management actions coupled with developing institutions and process to support and build social resilience of actors in the longer-term, may enable them to learn to live with a new species in the landscape, and, or be able to better cope with the social impacts of future invasions.",GEOFORUM,2018,DEC J,"Everingham, JA; Rolfe, J; Lechner, AM; Kinnear, S; Akbar, D",A proposal for engaging a stakeholder panel in planning post-mining land uses in Australia's coal-rich tropical savannahs,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.08.038,"In Queensland's Bowen Basin, a major Australian coal reserve, areas of post-mining land are increasing. These areas have been subject to decades of coal-mining and, without appropriate transfer to alternative use, may remain as vacant land unable to be used for grazing or other productive uses. Research that informs new and revised policies and processes to optimize rehabilitation and post-mining land use planning is critical in assisting regional economies to transition to post-mining contexts. This paper explores the potential for panels comprised of stakeholders to agree on a beneficial land use, which is one of the four goals of mine rehabilitation and closure specified by the Queensland regulator. Whilst current guidelines require stakeholder consultation, there is little real evidence that rehabilitation and closure planning processes incorporate the perceptions of potential future land users in terms of the utility of ex-mining leases, socio-economic value and associated opportunities and risks. In contrast, existing literature reveals the range of influencing factors that landholders, especially graziers, may consider in determining the utility and value proposition of land packages. These include physical, agronomic, ecological, economic, aesthetic and recreational characteristics. This gives rise to two questions: (i) what role(s) can input from stakeholders and potential future land users play in considering the opportunities and barriers to incorporating ex-mine land into grazing properties; and (ii) what are the characteristics of an appropriate model for engaging and empowering a stakeholder panel to play those role(s)? This research identifies a potential role for stakeholders in adaptive management in collaboration with regulators and mining companies, via a process of long-term engagement among a cross-section of predominantly local people. Visual models of an authentic example are proposed as the basis for reaching agreements about the land use challenge and reconciling ecosystem, social and economic functions and values. This research thereby provides a narrative on both of the research questions raised and proposes a re-conceptualisation of rehabilitation goals in order to optimize post-mining futures.",LAND USE POLICY,2018,DEC J,"Kemp, S",L'Apres-CEdipe: The Future of Psychoanalytic Criticism in an Era of Cognitive and Evolutionary Psychology,10.3828/AJFS.2018.21,"This article examines the use in literary analysis of competing understandings of human psychology emerging from psychoanalysis, cognitive science and evolutionary theory. The validity of each as a model of human nature and as a tool for interpreting literary representations is considered. From this analysis, a case is made for a pluralist approach in the arts, demonstrating that, despite the mutual antipathy with which psychoanalytic and cognitive critics sometimes regard each other, there is a role for these and other approaches to understanding the representation of the human mind in literature. This is particularly the case, the article argues, where the representation itself forms part of a constructed fictional world that need not entirely mirror the contemporary scientific understanding of our own.",AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FRENCH STUDIES,2018,DEC J,"Garcia-Ayllon, S",The Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) of the Mar Menor as a model for the future in the comprehensive management of enclosed coastal seas,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.05.004,"The Mar Menor, a coastal lagoon in south-eastern Spain of high environmental value and protected by the Natura 2000 network, suffered an intense phenomenon of eutrophication in 2015. This phenomenon generated a change of colour and important increase in the turbidity of its waters, which caused the loss of 85% of its marine vegetal cover in 2016 and great social alarm. The various regulations and tools of environmental protection that exist have not worked properly to avoid the anthropization of this enclosed coastal sea, which is subjected to a varied catalogue of human activities that. encompass mass tourism, agriculture, mining, fishing or the important presence of ports and infrastructures, among others. In this context, the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) of the Mar Menor is put in place as an innovative model of integrated strategy for coastal zone management (ICZM) to overcome the shortcomings of previous management systems. This paper analyzes the process to implement this new model of comprehensive governance in the Mar Menor. The work is based on the use of participatory mechanisms for collaboration with stakeholders, in order to reach an integrated diagnosis and propose comprehensive solutions that involve all actors related to the current situation. The model performs the socio-ecological system of the Mar Menor (SESMM) that physically surpasses the geographic surface of the lagoon managed by traditional environmental tools. In this way, four different areas of influence of the lagoon are diagnosed and integrated into a sectoral action plan with the help of GIS tools in a process called GIS participatory mapping. The analysis carried out shows how the origin of the lagoon's main problems often lie many kilometres away from the lagoon itself and thus the situation needs to be addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective to find effective solutions. The results will help us set up a new management framework to achieve the recovery of the lagoon and sustainable future cohabitation among the existing activities. The approach taken (which can be easily exported to other coastal areas with complex environmental problems associated with diffuse anthropization) shows the importance of proposing analysis methodologies that are capable of involving all stakeholders to achieve sustainable solutions over time.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,dic 1 J,"Lasseur, R; Vannier, C; Lefebvre, J; Longaretti, PY; Lavorel, S",Landscape-scale modeling of agricultural land use for the quantification of ecosystem services,10.1117/1.JRS.12.046024,"Agricultural land is strongly involved in the provision of ecosystem services given its spatial extent and impacts of agriculture on ecosystem functioning. Therefore, mapping ecosystem services require spatially explicit data on agricultural land uses. However, available data on agricultural land use usually have coarse spatial and temporal resolution, thus contributing significantly to uncertainties in ecosystem services quantification. Our goal is to develop an approach that produces high-resolution data on agricultural land uses. We propose a remote sensing approach using freely available MODIS images coupled with RapidEye images. Based on the phenological specificities of the different crops, we produced annual maps of agricultural land uses. We tested this approach over the spatially heterogeneous and mountainous region of Grenoble, France, where we mapped agricultural successions over 5 years. Maps produced at the scale of the agricultural parcel describe agricultural land uses through 17 classes. Our results suggest that coupling MODIS and RapidEye data can be used to map agricultural land use at high temporal and spatial resolution even in complex mountain landscapes. The comparison of the agricultural production service estimated by our method and from the Corine Land Cover database highlights the value of incorporating interannual variability in agricultural land use. This will also be facilitated in the future by the availability of new products from Sentinel 2. (C) 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)",JOURNAL OF APPLIED REMOTE SENSING,2018,nov 30 J,"Eisenhauer, N; Hines, J; Isbell, F; van der Plas, F; Hobbie, SE; Kazanski, CE; Lehmann, A; Liu, MY; Lochner, A; Rilling, MC; Vogel, A; Worm, K; Reich, PB",Plant diversity maintains multiple soil functions in future environments,10.7554/eLife.41228,"Biodiversity increases ecosystem functions underpinning a suite of services valued by society, including services provided by soils. To test whether, and how, future environments alter the relationship between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions, we measured grassland plant diversity effects on single soil functions and ecosystem multifunctionality, and compared relationships in four environments: ambient conditions, elevated atmospheric CO2, enriched N supply, and elevated CO2 and N in combination. Our results showed that plant diversity increased three out of four soil functions and, consequently, ecosystem multifunctionality. Remarkably, biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships were similarly significant under current and future environmental conditions, yet weaker with enriched N supply. Structural equation models revealed that plant diversity enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality by increasing plant community functional diversity, and the even provision of multiple functions. Conserving local plant diversity is therefore a robust strategy to maintain multiple valuable ecosystem services in both present and future environmental conditions.",ELIFE,2018,nov 28 J,"Jenkins, C; Ovbiagele, B; Arulogun, O; Singh, A; Calys-Tagoe, B; Akinyemi, R; Mande, A; Melikam, ES; Akpalu, A; Wahab, K; Sarfo, FS; Senni, T; Osaigbovo, G; Tiwari, HK; Obiako, R; Shidali, V; Ibinaiye, P; Akpalu, J; Ogbole, G; Owolabi, L; Uvere, E; Taggae, R; Adeoye, AM; Gebregziabher, M; Akintundel, A; Adebayo, O; Oguntade, A; Bisi, A; Ohagwu, K; Laryea, R; Olowoniyi, P; Yahaya, IS; Olowookere, S; Adeyemi, F; Komolafe, M; Fawale, MB; Sunmonu, T; Onyeonoro, U; Imoh, LC; Oguike, W; Olunuga, T; Kolo, P; Ogah, OS; Efidi, R; Chukwuonye, I; Bock-Oruma, A; Owusu, D; Odo, CJ; Faniyan, M; Ohnifeman, OA; Ajose, O; Ogunjimi, L; Johnson, S; Ganiyu, A; Olowoyo, P; Fakunle, AG; Tolulope, A; Farombi, T; Obiabo, MO; Owolabi, M","Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to stroke in Ghana and Nigeria: A SIREN call to action",10.1371/journal.pone.0206548,"Introduction Stroke is a prominent cause of death, disability, and dementia in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network works collaboratively with stroke survivors and individuals serving as community controls to comprehensively characterize the genomic, sociocultural, economic and behavioral risk factors for stroke in SSA. Purpose In this paper, we aim to: i) explore the attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to stroke in Ghana and Nigeria using the process of qualitative description; and ii) propose actions for future research and community-based participation and education. Methods Stroke survivors, their caregivers, health care professionals, and community representatives and faith-based leaders participated in one of twenty-six focus groups, which qualitatively explored community beliefs, attitudes and practices related to stroke in Ghana and Nigeria. Arthur Kleinman's Explanatory Model of Illness and the Social Ecological Model guided the questions and/or thematic analysis of the qualitative data. We hereby describe our focus group methods and analyses of qualitative data, as well as the findings and suggestions for improving stroke outcomes. Results and discussion The major findings illustrate the fears, causes, chief problems, treatment, and recommendations related to stroke through the views of the participants, as well as recommendations for working effectively with the SIREN communities. Findings are compared to SIREN quantitative data and other qualitative studies in Africa. As far as we are aware, this is the first paper to qualitatively explore and contrast community beliefs, attitudes, and practices among stroke survivors and their caregivers, community and faith-based leaders, and health professionals in multiple communities within Nigeria and Ghana.",PLOS ONE,2018,nov 16 J,"Demmer, S; Kirkman, K; Tedder, M",What evidence is available on the drivers of grassland ecosystem stability across a range of outcome measurements: a systematic map protocol,10.1186/s13750-018-0137-z,"Background: Recently there has been considerable focus on the ecosystem services concept which has resulted in important advancements in biodiversity conservation across land management scales. Many have, however, cautioned against the ecosystem services approach because of its focus only on certain aspects of the ecosystem which may be unsustainable in the long term. This has encouraged calls for deeper study into ecosystem functioning using an holistic ecosystem multifunctionality framework. Here greater biodiversity is thought to facilitate greater functioning leading to more sustainable ecosystems. Although ecosystem multifunctionality is a relatively recent development, the general premise is based on the hypothesis that diversity begets stability. However, several key review syntheses have consistently called for ecosystem stability driver-outcome relationship studies to extend beyond traditional measurements. Understanding these relationships requires holistic approaches which are often challenging to investigate experimentally due to resource constraints. Systematically mapping out the relationships between various stability drivers and outcomes could provide a more empirical basis on which both the ecosystem multifunctionality and services land management frameworks could be based. This work outlines the protocol for the first systematic map which will identify and catalogue diversity-stability related studies within the grassland biome. The outcomes of this study will produce a searchable database of the body of literature relevant to the debate and suggest future research directions in both empirical and applied ecology fields. Methods: Relevant studies will be sourced from online databases. Inclusion criteria will be applied to the returned articles to identify studies relevant to the primary question; what evidence is available on the drivers of grassland ecosystem stability across a range of outcome measurements. These inclusion criteria will be based on (1) subject population-the grassland biome; (2) possible ecosystem stability drivers and comparators (i.e. measures of diversity, functioning, food web connectedness, and disturbances); and (3) stability outcomes considering all measures of ecosystem stability (i.e. coefficients of variation, changes in ecosystem functionality, resistance to disturbances and invasions, return rates following disturbance). Studies will be screened for relevance and included articles will be critically appraised for meta-analysis and systematic review potential. A narrative synthesis, together with a searchable and expandable database, will be compiled to catalogue the relevant studies. Descriptive summary statistics and bibliometric network analyses will also be presented.",ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE,2018,nov 16 J,"Sonne, AT; Rasmussen, JJ; Hoss, S; Traunspurger, W; Bjerg, PL; McKnight, US",Linking ecological health to co-occurring organic and inorganic chemical stressors in a groundwater-fed stream system,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.119,"Freshwaters are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide, due predominantly to excessive anthropogenic practices compromising the future provisioning of ecosystem services. Despite increased awareness of the role of multiple stressors in accounting for ecological degradation in mixed land-use stream systems, risk assessment approaches applicable in field settings are still required. This study provides a first indication for ecological consequences of the interaction of organic and inorganic chemical stressors, not typically evaluated together, which may provide a missing link enabling the reconnection of chemical and ecological findings. Specifically, impaired ecological conditions - represented by lower abundance of meiobenthic individuals - were observed in the hyporheic zone where a contaminant groundwater plume discharged to the stream. These zones were characterized by high xenobiotic organic concentrations, and strongly reduced groundwater (e.g. elevated dissolved iron and arsenic) linked to the dissolution of iron hydroxides (iron reduction) caused by the degradation of xenobiotic compounds in the plume. Further research is still needed to separate whether impact is driven by a combined effect of organic and inorganic stressors impacting the ecological communities, or whether the conditions - when present simultaneously - are responsible for enabling a specific chemical stressors availability (e.g. trace metals), and thus toxicity, along the study stream. Regardless, these findings suggest that benthic meioinvertebrates are promising indicators for supporting biological assessments of stream systems to sufficiently represent impacts resulting from the co-occurrence of stressors in different stream compartments. Importantly, identification of the governing circumstances is crucial for revealing key patterns and impact drivers that may be needed in correctly prioritizing stressor impacts in these systems. This study further highlights the importance of stream-aquifer interfaces for investigating chemical stressor effects in multiple stressor systems. This will require holistic approaches for linking contaminant hydrogeology and eco(toxico)logy in order to positively influence the sustainable management of water resources globally. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,nov 15 J,"Zheng, JZ; Wang, WG; Cao, XC; Feng, XZ; Xing, WQ; Ding, YM; Dong, Q; Shao, QX",Responses of phosphorus use efficiency to human interference and climate change in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River: Historical simulation and future projections,10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.009,"Phosphorus (P) is an indispensable resource for plant growth, and under the background with P consumption increase in crop system, the agriculture and crop production may be affected through the changes of phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) due to the human interference and climate change. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate the responses of PUE to human interference and climate change from the perspectives of historical simulation and future projection. In this study, the changes of PUE from 2001 to 2015 in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) of China were evaluated by means of empirical PUE-model based on the substance flow analysis (SFA) method. Their responses to future human interference and climate scenarios during 2016-2030 were investigated by driving PUE-model with three neural networks (BP, GA-BP and PSO-BP) as well as the multiple downscaling climatic data (HadGEM2-ES, BCC-CSM1.1 (m) and GFDL-ESM2M) with the help of a statistical downscaling method (SDSM). The results showed that the PUE values of the three crops (rice, wheat and maize) were 53.61%, 36.22%, and 32.56%, respectively, during the period from 2001 to 2015 and 54.11%, 38.92% and 32.78%, respectively, during the period from 2016 to 2030. Consequently, the PUE showed an increasing trend from history to future. However, the overall PUE level was not high, with a value of not more than 60%, and notably for wheat and maize, the PUE was less than 40%. Meanwhile, the precipitation affected the leaching of P because increasing in precipitation may result in a relatively high increase in the probability of low-PUE. Moreover, great potential exists for enhancing the PUE in this region, and measures to improve PUE management practices have been proposed, such as, raising the crop yield, keeping the arable area and balancing the fertilization, etc. The present study provides a beneficial reference to comprehensively understand the impacts of human interference and climate change on the PUE and further improves regional sustainable strategies for future P resource management. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2018,nov 10 J,"Gurven, MD",Broadening horizons: Sample diversity and socioecological theory are essential to the future of psychological science,10.1073/pnas.1720433115,"The present lack of sample diversity and ecological theory in psychological science fundamentally limits generalizability and obstructs scientific progress. A focus on the role of socioecology in shaping the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior has not yet been widely applied toward psychology. To date, evolutionary approaches to psychology have focused more on finding universals than explaining variability. However, contrasts between small-scale, kin-based rural subsistence societies and large-scale urban, market-based populations, have not been well appreciated. Nor has the variability within high-income countries, or the socioeconomic and cultural transformations affecting even the most remote tribal populations today. Elucidating the causes and effects of such broad changes on psychology and behavior is a fundamental concern of the social sciences; expanding study participants beyond students and other convenience samples is necessary to improve understanding of flexible psychological reaction norms among and within populations. Here I highlight two examples demonstrating how socioecological variability can help explain psychological trait expression: (i) the role of environmental harshness and unpredictability on shaping time preference and related traits, such as impulsivity, vigilance, and self-efficacy; and (ii) the effects of industrialization, market integration, and niche complexity on personality structure. These cases illustrate how appropriate theory can be a powerful tool to help determine choices of diverse study populations and improve the social sciences.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2018,nov 6 J,"Adegoke, CO; Steyn, MG",Yoruba culture and the resilience of HIV-positive adolescent girls in Nigeria,10.1080/13691058.2017.1422806,"Although there is a growing body of research exploring the influence of culture on the resilience of African youth, few studies have examined how culture constrains or enables resilience among HIV-positive adolescent girls from the perspective of the young women themselves. This paper reports on the findings from a qualitative study of five purposively selected girls living with HIV in Ibadan, Nigeria. By analysing data drawn mainly from interviews and observations, we explored how cultural influences promote or limit resilience in participants. Social-ecological resilience theory was used to document and interpret the findings. While some cultural values and perceptions enable resilience, others constrain participants' resilience trajectories. However, the girls were able to navigate through these constraints using their cultural identities and coping strategies, such as future dreams, emotional and physical resources linked to spirituality and networks of friends and families. Findings have implications for policymakers, researchers and programmers in strengthening the health and resilience of young people in the face of HIV.",CULTURE HEALTH & SEXUALITY,2018,nov 2 J,"Potdevin, F; Vors, O; Huchez, A; Lamour, M; Davids, K; Schnitzler, C","How can video feedback be used in physical education to support novice learning in gymnastics? Effects on motor learning, self-assessment and motivation",10.1080/17408989.2018.1485138,"Background: Much of the existing research concerning the use of video feedback (VFB) to enhance motor learning has been undertaken under strictly controlled experimental conditions. Few studies have sought to explore the impact of VFB on the skill learning experience of the students in a structured, school-based physical education (PE) setting. Most of those studies have only used qualitative approaches to implicate the potential value of VFB to enhance skill acquisition, students' engagement or self-assessment ability. Using a quantitative approach, the aim of this study was to investigate effects of using VFB on motor skill acquisition, self-assessment ability and motivation in a school-based learning environment (structured PE programme) with novice children learning a gymnastic skill. Method: Two French classes of beginners took part in a typical five-week learning programme in gymnastics. During each of the five, weekly lessons participants carried out the same warm-up routine and exercises. The experimental group (10 girls - 8 boys, 12.4 +/- 0.5 years) received VFB intermittently when learning a front handstand to flat back landing. VFB was given after every five attempts, combined with self-assessment and verbal instructions from the teacher. The control group (12 girls - 13 boys, 12.6 +/- 0.4 years) received exactly the same training but was not given VFB. In order to assess progress in motor skills, the arm-trunk angle (hand-shoulder-hip) was measured in the sagittal plane just as the hips formed a vertical line with the shoulders. Motivation was assessed using the Situational Motivation Scale questionnaire (Guay, F., R. J. Vallerand, and C. Blanchard. 2000. On the Assessment of Situational Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Motivation and Emotion 24 (3): 175-213), and self-assessment ability was measured by self-perception task scores. Results: Statistical analysis of arm-trunk angle values showed significant differences only for the VFB group between the fifth lesson and all other lessons. Between lessons 4 and 5, the arm-trunk angle value increased significantly from 146.6 +/- 16.9 degrees to 161.2 +/- 14.2 degrees (p < .001; ES = 0.94). Self-assessment scores improved significantly for the VFB group between lesson 1 and lesson 2 (p < 0.01, ES = 1.79) and between lesson 4 to lesson 5 (p < .01, ES = 0.94). Amotivation decreased significantly for the VFB group between lesson 1 and lesson 5 (3.06 +/- 1.42 vs. 2.12 +/- 0.62, p < .001, ES = -0.89). Discussion/conclusion: Our quantitative data, identifying key movement changes as a function of experience in a structured PE programme, were congruent with outcomes of previous qualitative research supporting the role of VFB. This study highlights the potential relevance of using VFB in fostering motor learning, motivation and self-assessment during a PE programme with young children. Future pedagogical research is needed to examine the ways students could use VFB technology for greater self-regulation, with the potential to deliver appropriate movement feedback, based on different levels of experience in students.",PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT PEDAGOGY,2018,nov 2 J,"Williamson, MA; Schwartz, MW; Lubell, MN",Spatially Explicit Analytical Models for Social-Ecological Systems,10.1093/biosci/biy094,"Designing conservation strategies that address global change requires quantification of the role of humans, their institutions, and their environment in producing conservation action. We provide a framework to extend social-ecological systems analysis into spatially explicit, probabilistic models of conservation action that integrate theoretically supported indicators of social willingness, institutional capacity, and environmental value to aid conservation planning. We contend that explaining where conservation has occurred previously, identifying opportunities for future conservation, evaluating potential contributions of those opportunities, and designing evaluations of causality necessitates explicit consideration of these dimensions. We demonstrate the utility of our approach for conservation practitioners and researchers by evaluating conservation easement activity along the Pacific Coast of the United States. In this case, models including combinations of social and institutional factors and those including all dimensions better explained easement occurrence than did simpler models and illustrate the importance of models that capture each dimension of our framework.",BIOSCIENCE,2018,NOV J,"Hall, SJG",A novel agroecosystem: Beef production in abandoned farmland as a multifunctional alternative to rewilding,10.1016/j.agsy.2018.08.009,"In much of Europe policy is challenged by the abandonment of crop and pasture land and its replacement by natural forest regrowth. Rewilding is one option. An alternative, multifunctional, strategy is extensive beef farming coupled with carbon storage in herbage and naturally regenerating trees. An economic model is developed in the context of Estonia, where many of the constraints and opportunities relating to natural forest regrowth are in particularly sharp focus, but the approach will be widely applicable. Production of niche market beef, carbon sequestration, and other ecosystem services can proceed in parallel. A novel concept of support payments is proposed. Net present value assessment, with cash credits for carbon storage, demonstrates that the model is viable. A 100 ha tract of abandoned land, stocked with 35 beef cows, would produce beef profitably. Provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services would be delivered, including a net storage of carbon, and rural regeneration would be promoted. The study provides further scientific underpinning for a policy discussion on abandoned land, which represents a growing proportion of Europe's land area. Extensive beef production is compatible with net carbon storage and can provide sustainable ecosystem services together with rural regeneration.",AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS,2018,NOV J,"Capmourteres, V; Adams, J; Berg, A; Fraser, E; Swanton, C; Anand, M",Precision conservation meets precision agriculture: A case study from southern Ontario,10.1016/j.agsy.2018.09.011,"Meeting future food demands for 9 billion people in the next 30 years will require either agricultural expansion or intensification to increase production. However, agriculture is already a major driver of biodiversity loss, as well as freshwater withdrawals, nutrient inputs, and greenhouse gasses, among other pressing environmental issues. In this paper, we look for solutions to this production-conservation challenge at the subfield scale. We use precision agriculture yield data from three farms in Southern Ontario and convert them into profit maps that show which regions of a field have management costs that exceed the market value of the commodities produced. We analyse the profit of three farms over time and identify areas that consistently show low or negative profit and thus constitute a compelling case for taking these areas out of production. We find, for example, that up to 14% of farmland can result in money loss and even more than 50% of the land might still not meet minimum revenue expectations. Further, we assess the economic feasibility of conservation strategies on these set-aside lands and find that investing in environmental benefits (even minimally) can often times be inexpensive when compared with economic losses due to failed harvests. We argue that profit mapping can serve as a management tool for farmers that will allow them to identify optimal crop areas, optimize nutrient inputs, plan for ecological intensification, and avoid economic loss all while providing ecosystem services at the local scale.",AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS,2018,NOV J,"Wang, Y; Li, XM; Zhang, Q; Li, JF; Zhou, XW","Projections of future land use changes: Multiple scenarios -based impacts analysis on ecosystem services for Wuhan city, China",10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.06.047,"Urbanization alters the supply of ecosystem services that are vital for human well-being. The loss of ecosystem services is particularly challenging in rapid urbanization areas where economic development needs to consume substantial natural resources. The quantitative and spatial optimization of land use provides an effective tool for rationally allocating land use structure and pattern to ensure the provision of expected ecosystem services. In this paper, we combine the Multi-Objective Programming and the Dyna-CLUE model to project land use changes in 2030 for Wuhan city under three scenarios, i.e., Business As Usual (BAU), Rapid Economic Development (RED), and Ecological Land Protection (ELP). The coupled model that integrates top-down and bottom-up processes is capable of obtaining the optimized land use patterns under different scenarios and examining the potential impacts of land use changes on ecosystem services in a spatially explicit way. We find that built-up land will continue its remarkable growth during 2015-2030 under the BAU scenario (grows by 96%) at the expense of ecological lands (decreases by 18%). Meanwhile, the predicted losses of ecological lands are 11% and 6% under the RED and ELP scenarios, respectively. Projected land use changes result in varying magnitudes of declines in ecosystem service values for BAU (11%), RED (6%) and ELP (2%) scenarios from 2015 to 2030. The ELP scenario, which incorporates ecological protection policies and spatial restrictions, plays a positive role in altering land use trends and mitigating ecosystem degradation. Finally, we establish an ecosystem service value change matrix to explain how interactions between land use types give rise to trade-offs among multiple ecosystem services. We find that conversions between ecological land use types can trigger trade-offs among ecosystem services, but the conversion from ecological lands towards urban land leads to a net loss of all individual ecosystem services. By linking land and ecological systems, the coupled modeling framework in this study can be useful for obtaining optimal ecosystem-based land use allocation strategies and provide scientific support for sustainable land use management.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2018,NOV J,"Inacio, M; Schernewski, G; Nazemtseva, Y; Baltranaite, E; Friedland, R; Benz, J",Ecosystem services provision today and in the past: a comparative study in two Baltic lagoons,10.1007/s11284-018-1643-8,"The European Biodiversity Strategy asks EU Member States for an assessment, mapping and valuing of Ecosystem Services (ES). While terrestrial ES concept is advanced and different tools are available, they are largely lacking for coastal and marine systems. We develop a stepwise methodological process to assess ES in coastal and marine systems which we name Marine Ecosystem Services Assessment Tool. We applied it to two large Baltic lagoons, the Szczecin and the Curonian Lagoons demonstrating a quantitative and qualitative assessment approach. Firstly, an initial status is defined reflecting, according to the European Water Framework Directive, a past situation when the ecosystems where in a so called good ecological state. In both Baltic lagoons, this refers to a situation around 1960. Secondly, a present state is defined, assessed and compared to the initial status. Increasing anthropogenic impacts in Szczecin Lagoon caused an overall decrease ecological status which may influence the system's ability to provide services. Assessing ES changes semi-quantitatively via 39 indicators and 22 services, we show a decrease in provisioning and regulating and maintenance and an increase of cultural services' provision. According to 15 expert valuations, the Curonian Lagoon displays no changes in provisioning but an increase in regulating and maintenance and cultural service provision. We discuss how these results can serve different marine management approaches and support different polices. Through our application we show how the tool can be used to assess ES changes over time and thus provide key information on sustainable use and ES for future generations.",ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH,2018,NOV J,"Perovic, V; Jaksic, D; Jaramaz, D; Kokovic, N; Cakmak, D; Mitrovic, M; Pavlovic, P","Spatio-temporal analysis of land use/land cover change and its effects on soil erosion (Case study in the Oplenac wine-producing area, Serbia)",10.1007/s10661-018-7025-4,"In this paper, various spatial modelling techniques were applied to analyse changes in soil cover and their impact on soil erosion in the Oplenac wine-producing area in Serbia in the past (1985 and 2013) and in the future (with predictions for 2041). The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs Sediment Delivery Ratio (InVEST SDR) model and the Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) model, integrated with methods of remote sensing, were successfully applied and were shown to be valid tools for predicting the impact of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes when estimating soil loss. The results revealed that the greatest impact of land use changes between 1985 and 2013 was on a reduction in areas under vineyards and an extension of meadow and pasturelands as an individual and social response to economic conditions during the research period. The forecast for 2041 reflected the trends observed in the previous period, with the greatest changes witnessing an increase in urban areas and a decrease in areas of arable land. It was also found that the effect of LULC changes on spatio-temporal patterns in the Oplenac wine-producing area did not have a major impact on soil loss, meaning this area, with its good agro-climatic characteristics, is suitable for the intensification of agricultural production.",ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT,2018,NOV J,"Benham, CF; Hussey, KE","Mainstreaming deliberative principles in Environmental Impact Assessment: current practice and future prospects in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia",10.1016/j.envsci.2018.07.018,"The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a highly complex social-ecological system that is under pressure from a variety of human activities, including coastal development for industrial purposes. A 2012 World Heritage Committee review found that the speed and scale of large industrial developments along the GBR coast exceeded the capacity of governments to manage their impacts. Ameliorating the impacts of large developments in the GBR is likely to require changes to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes that form the centrepiece of Australian environmental legislation. As part of this, environmental managers must find ways to ensure that EIA decisions reflect both best-available science and community concerns. It has been suggested that innovative forms of structured decision making, such as public deliberation, could democratise impact assessment decisions, and could be accommodated within existing EIA processes, but the literature on this question is predominantly theoretical. In this paper, we explore the extent to which participatory and deliberative approaches have been integrated into existing EIA processes, using data from a survey of local residents in an area of the Great Barrier Reef coast undergoing rapid industrial development. We find that current processes provide few formalised opportunities for deliberative engagement, but that the principles of deliberative democracy could provide a foundation for more robust decision making, provided that such processes are part of an adaptive strategy of review over the life of a project, combined with genuine openness on the part of proponents and regulators to accept and respond to community knowledge. We elaborate on this through discussing a series of principles to support the integration of deliberative practices into EIA decision making.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2018,NOV J,"Xia, T; Wu, WB; Zhou, QB; Tan, WX; Verburg, PH; Yang, P; Ye, LM",Modeling the spatio-temporal changes in land uses and its impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China over 2000-2050,10.1007/s11442-018-1532-7,"Land use and its dynamics have attracted considerable scientific attention for their significant ecological and socioeconomic implications. Many studies have investigated the past changes in land use, but efforts exploring the potential changes in land use and implications under future scenarios are still lacking. Here we simulate the future land use changes and their impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China (NEC) over the period of 2000-2050 using the CLUE-S (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) model under the scenarios of ecological security (ESS), food security (FSS) and comprehensive development (CDS). The model was validated against remote sensing data in 2005. Overall, the accuracy of the CLUE-S model was evaluated at 82.5%. Obtained results show that future cropland changes mainly occur in the Songnen Plain and the Liaohe Plain, forest and grassland changes are concentrated in the southern Lesser Khingan Mountains and the western Changbai Mountains, while the Sanjiang Plain will witness major changes of the wetlands. Our results also show that even though CDS is defined based on the goals of the regional development plan, the ecological service value (ESV) under CDS is RMB 2656.18 billion in 2050. The ESV of CDS is lower compared with the other scenarios. Thus, CDS is not an optimum scenario for eco-environmental protection, especially for the wetlands, which should be given higher priority for future development. The issue of coordination is also critical in future development. The results can help to assist structural adjustments for agriculture and to guide policy interventions in NEC.",JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES,2018,NOV J,"Mao, DH; Wang, ZM; Wu, BF; Zeng, Y; Luo, L; Zhang, B",Land degradation and restoration in the arid and semiarid zones of China: Quantified evidence and implications from satellites,10.1002/ldr.3135,"Quantified information on land degradation and restoration is needed to support policies for sustainable ecosystem management and socioeconomic development. The arid and semiarid zones of China (ASZC) have experienced significant land degradation, and in response to such degradation, multiple ecological projects were implemented. In this study, remote sensing was used to identify degrading areas and where the degraded areas have been restored from 1990 in this ecologically sensitive region. Specifically, we integrated datasets from the ChinaCover and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer products to characterize changes in vegetation, ecosystems, and environmental conditions. The results confirmed that deforestation, desertification, grassland degradation, wetland loss, and the encroachment upon farmlands were notable in the ASZC. Agricultural activity has cultivated extensive areas of natural ecosystems (46,474 km(2)). The expansion of built-up lands in terms of national policies has destroyed large areas of natural (5,487 km(2)) and agricultural (4,138 km(2)) ecosystems and continually results in negative impacts on ecological conservation. China has restored some lands (7,732 km(2) from farmlands and 24,904 km(2) from barren lands) and improved ecosystems, as characterized by increases in the normalized different vegetation index, leaf area index, net primary productivity, and gross primary productivity values in the ASZC, especially after the implementation of many ecological projects. However, it is also necessary to document the conclusions and lessons from these projects to guide future ecological policies and projects in the context of the substantial new challenges facing the protection of this ecologically sensitive environment.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2018,NOV J,"Littles, CJ; Jackson, CA; DeWitt, TH; Harwell, MC",Linking people to coastal habitats: A meta-analysis of final ecosystem goods and services on the coast,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.09.009,"Coastal ecosystem goods and services (EGS) have steadily gained traction in the scientific literature over the last few decades, providing a wealth of information about underlying coastal habitat dependencies. This meta analysis summarizes relationships between coastal habitats and final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) users. Through a weight of evidence approach synthesizing information from published literature, we assessed habitat classes most relevant to coastal users. Approximately 2800 coastal EGS journal articles were identified by online search engines, of which 16% addressed linkages between specific coastal habitats and FEGS users, and were retained for subsequent analysis. Recreational (83%) and industrial (35%) users were most cited in literature, with experiential-users/hikers and commercial fishermen most prominent in each category, respectively. Recreational users were linked to the widest diversity of coastal habitat subclasses (i.e., 22 of 26). Whereas, mangroves and emergent wetlands were most relevant for property owners. We urge EGS studies to continue surveying local users and identifying habitat dependencies, as these steps are important precursors for developing appropriate coastal FEGS metrics and facilitating local valuation. In addition, understanding how habitats contribute to human well-being may assist communities in prioritizing restoration and evaluating development scenarios in the context of future ecosystem service delivery.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,nov 1 J,"Chu, L; Sun, TC; Wang, TW; Li, ZX; Cai, CF",Evolution and Prediction of Landscape Pattern and Habitat Quality Based on CA-Markov and InVEST Model in Hubei Section of Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA),10.3390/su10113854,"The spatial pattern of landscape has great influence on the biodiversity provided by ecosystem. Understanding the impact of landscape pattern dynamics on habitat quality is significant in regional biodiversity conservation, ensuring ecological security guarantee, and maintaining the ecological environmental sustainability. Here, combining CA-Markov and InVEST model, we investigated the evolution of landscape pattern and habitat quality, and presented an explanation for variability of biodiversity linked to landscape pattern in Hubei section of Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). The spatial-temporal evolution characteristic of landscape pattern from 1990 to 2010 were analyzed by Markov chain. Then, the spatial pattern of habitat quality and its variation in three phases were computed by InVEST model. The driving force for landscape variation was explored by using Logistic regression analysis. Next, the CA-Markov model was used to simulate the future landscape pattern in 2020. Finally, future habitat quality maps were obtained by InVEST model predicted landscape maps. The results concluded that, the overall landscape pattern has changed slightly from 1990 to 2010. Woodland, waters and construction land had the greatest variations in proportion among the landscape types. The area of woodland has been decreasing gradually below the average elevation of 140 m, and the area of waters and construction land increased sharply. Logistics regression results indicated that terrain and climate were the most influencing natural factors compared with human factors. The Kappa coefficient reached 0.92, indicating that CA-Markov model had a good performance in future landscape prediction by adding nighttime light data as restriction factor. The biodiversity has been declining over the past 20 years due to the habitat degradation and landscape pattern variation. Overall, the maximum values of habitat degradation index were 0.1188, 0.1194 and 0.1195 respectively, showing a continuously increasing trend from 1990 to 2010. Main urban areas of Yichang city and its surrounding areas has higher habitat degradation index. The average values of habitat quality index of the whole region were 0.8563, 0.8529 and 0.8515 respectively, showing a continuously decreasing trend. The lower habitat quality index mainly located in the urban land as well as the main and tributary banks of the Yangtze River. Under the business as usual scenario, habitat quality continued to maintain the variation trend of the previous decade, showing a reducing habitat quality index and an increasing area of artificial surface. Under the ecological protection scenario, the variation of habitat quality in this scenario represented reverse trend to the previous decade, exhibiting an increase of habitat quality index and an increasing area of woodland and grassland. Construction of Three Gorges Dam, impoundment of Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), resettlement of Three Gorges Project and urbanization were the most explanatory driving forces for landscape variation and degradation of habitat quality. The research may be useful for understanding the impact of landscape pattern dynamics on biodiversity, and provide scientific basis for optimizing regional natural environment, as well as effective decision-making support to local government for landscape planning and biodiversity conservation.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,NOV J,"Martinez-Harms, MJ; Gelcich, S; Krug, RM; Maseyk, FJF; Moersberger, H; Rastogi, A; Wambugu, G; Krug, CB; Spehn, EM; Pascual, U",Framing natural assets for advancing sustainability research: translating different perspectives into actions,10.1007/s11625-018-0599-5,"Sustainability is a key challenge for humanity in the context of complex and unprecedented global changes. Future Earth, an international research initiative aiming to advance global sustainability science, has recently launched knowledge-action networks (KANs) as mechanisms for delivering its research strategy. The research initiative is currently developing a KAN on natural assets to facilitate and enable action-oriented research and synthesis towards natural assets sustainability. Natural assets' has been adopted by Future Earth as an umbrella term aiming to translate and bridge across different knowledge systems and different perspectives on peoples' relationships with nature. In this paper, we clarify the framing of Future Earth around natural assets emphasizing the recognition on pluralism and identifying the challenges of translating different visions about the role of natural assets, including via policy formulation, for local to global sustainability challenges. This understanding will be useful to develop inter-and transdisciplinary solutions for human-environmental problems by (i) embracing richer collaborative decision processes and building bridges across different perspectives; (ii) giving emphasis on the interactions between biophysical and socioeconomic drivers affecting the future trends of investments and disinvestments in natural assets; and (iii) focusing on social equity, power relationships for effective application of the natural assets approach. This understanding also intends to inform the scope of the natural asset KAN's research agenda to mobilize the translation of research into co-designed action for sustainability.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2018,NOV J,"Maenpaa, M","Beichuan's Tragedy: Tan Zuoren and the politics, suffering, and injustice of the Wenchuan earthquake",10.1017/S0026749X16000627,"It has been argued that Tan Zuoren's essay 'Longmen Mountain, please bear witness for the children of Beichuan' is not only an attempt to narrate an alternative version of the story of the Wenchuan earthquake but also to present a vision of an alternative future for Chinese society. The building blocks for this alternative future would be finding a balance between human beings and nature, respect for minorities, and responsible rule. Tan does not demand the end of Communist Party rule, but explains how the system could be changed to make it better for both the people and nature. The keys to achieving this goal are rectifying historical injustices, an honest examination of mistakes, and respect for ordinary people.",MODERN ASIAN STUDIES,2018,NOV J,"Langham, E; McCalman, J; Redman-MacLaren, M; Hunter, E; Wenitong, M; Britton, A; Rutherford, K; Saunders, V; Ungar, M; Bainbridge, R",Validation and Factor Analysis of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure for Indigenous Australian Boarding School Students,10.3389/fpubh.2018.00299,"Introduction: Resilience is a strengths-based construct that is useful for understanding differences in health and wellbeing among youth. There are a range of validated survey instruments available to measure resilience for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter respectfully Indigenous l ) youth. However, standard international instruments should only be used if they have been subjected to a rigorous cross-cultural adaptation process and psychometric evaluation in the target population to ensure their validity. The aim of the study was to validate an adapted Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) within a sample of Indigenous Australian boarding school students. Method: The CYRM-28, augmented with an additional 11 site specific items was administered to a purposive sample of Australian Indigenous boarding school students (n = 233) as part of the broader T4S survey instrument that captures demographic information and measures resilience, psychological distress and risk, and service usage. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to verify the relationship between the observed variables with the theoretical constructs of the CYRM-28 and previous findings on the factor structure. Cronbach alpha was also calculated to assess the internal consistency of the CYRM-28 within this sample. Results: Survey data were not a good fit for any previously identified models of the CYRM-28, although the inclusion of a site-specific variable improved the overall fit statistics. Two separate scales were confirmed that capture the sources and expressions of resilience for Indigenous Australian boarding school students. This structure is different to previous findings in relation to the CYRM-28, but consistent with conceptualizations of resilience as a dynamic process. Conclusions: The findings are useful in guiding the future use of the CYRM-28 instrument, explorations of Indigenous youth resilience, and for services working with Indigenous youth in out of home care situations. They highlight contextual differences in the measurement of resilience and the importance of validating standard instruments that have been subjected to rigorous cross-cultural adaptation processes. The two scales offer practical guidance to human services working with Indigenous youth on strategies to build and monitor resilience in Indigenous Australian youth and contribute to the emergent understanding of their resilience.",FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH,2018,oct 23 J,"Otero, I; Castellnou, M; Gonzalez, I; Arilla, E; Castell, L; Castellvi, J; Sanchez, F; Nielsen, JO","Democratizing wildfire strategies. Do you realize what it means? Insights from a participatory process in the Montseny region (Catalonia, Spain)",10.1371/journal.pone.0204806,"Participatory planning networks made of government agencies, stakeholders, citizens and scientists are receiving attention as a potential pathway to build resilient landscapes in the face of increased wildfire impacts due to suppression policies and land-use and climate changes. A key challenge for these networks lies in incorporating local knowledge and social values about landscape into operational wildfire management strategies. As large wildfires overcome the suppression capacity of the fire departments, such strategies entail difficult decisions about intervention priorities among different regions, values and socioeconomic interests. Therefore there is increasing interest in developing tools that facilitate decision-making during emergencies. In this paper we present a method to democratize wildfire strategies by incorporating social values about landscape in both suppression and prevention planning. We do so by reporting and critically reflecting on the experience from a pilot participatory process conducted in a region of Catalonia (Spain). There, we built a network of researchers, practitioners and citizens across spatial and governance scales. We combined knowledge on expected wildfires, landscape co-valuation by relevant actors, and citizen participation sessions to design a wildfire strategy that minimized the loss of social values. Drawing on insights from political ecology and transformation science, we discuss what the attempt to democratize wildfire strategies entails in terms of power relationships and potential for social-ecological transformation. Based on our experience, we suggest a trade-off between current wildfire risk levels and democratic management in the fire-prone regions of many western countries. In turn, the political negotiation about the landscape effects of wildfire expert knowledge is shown as a potential transformation pathway towards lower risk landscapes that can re-define agency over landscape and foster community re-learning on fire. We conclude that democratizing wildfire strategies ultimately entails co-shaping the landscapes and societies of the future.",PLOS ONE,2018,oct 16 J,"Price, J; Zeyringer, M; Konadu, D; Mourao, ZS; Moore, A; Sharp, E",Low carbon electricity systems for Great Britain in 2050: An energy-land-water perspective,10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.06.127,"The decarbonisation of the power sector is key to achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global mean surface temperature rise to well below 2 degrees C. This will require rapid, national level transitions to low carbon electricity generation, such as variable renewables (VRE), nuclear and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, across the world. At the same time it is essential that future power systems are sustainable in the wider sense and thus respect social, environmental and technical limitations. Here we develop an energy-land-water nexus modelling framework and use it to perform a scenario analysis with the aim of understanding the planning and operational implications of these constraints on Great Britain's (GB) power system in 2050. We consider plausible scenarios for limits on installed nuclear capacity, siting restrictions that shape VRE deployment and water use for thermal power station cooling. We find that these factors combined can lead to up to a 25% increase in the system's levelised cost of electricity (LCOE). VRE siting restrictions can result in an up to 13% increase in system LCOE as the deployment of onshore wind is limited while nuclear capacity restrictions can drive an up to 17% greater LCOE. We also show that such real-world limitations can cause substantial changes in system design both in terms of the spatial pattern of where generators are located and the capacity mix of the system. Thus we demonstrate the large impact simultaneously considering a set of nexus factors can have on future GB power systems. Finally, given our plausible assumptions about key energy-land-water restrictions and emission limits effecting the GB power system in 2050, the cost optimal penetration of VREs is found to be at least 50%.",APPLIED ENERGY,2018,oct 15 J,"Berg, CJ",A Socioecological Perspective Regarding Risk Factors for Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana Among Young Adults,10.1177/1178221818805084,"Young adults are at high risk for using marijuana, driving under the influence ( DUI) of marijuana, and fatalities or serious injuries from motor vehicle crashes related to DUI of marijuana. Within the context of increased legalization of marijuana use and shifting social norms, these public health concerns are particularly prominent. Drawing from a socioecological perspective, this commentary summarizes the literature indicating the importance of multilevel influences on DUI of marijuana among young adults. Indeed, prior research has indicated that risk for DUI of marijuana is associated with policy-level factors such as state and local policies related to marijuana, community-level factors including marijuana access (eg, legalized retail, black market), interpersonal influences including social norms, and intrapersonal factors such as risk perceptions of marijuana use and DUI. This literature should inform future research and practice aiming to develop, test, and implement multilevel interventions and develop messaging strategies aimed at curtailing DUI of marijuana.",SUBSTANCE ABUSE-RESEARCH AND TREATMENT,2018,oct 14 J,"Teixeira, Z; Marques, C; Mota, JS; Garcia, AC",Identification of potential aquaculture sites in solar saltscapes via the Analytic Hierarchy Process,10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.05.003,"The European Commission has identified competition for space as one of the main factors contributing to the stagnation of EU aquaculture production and has recommended coordinated spatial planning, as a mean to identify sites with favorable operational characteristics for aquaculture and lower potential for conflict with other activities. In coastal areas of the Mediterranean, pond aquaculture has emerged as an alternative to salt production in abandoned artisanal Salinas, compromising the delivery of Ecosystem Services in wetland areas. To establish a methodology to estimate the physical carrying capacity for coastal pond aquaculture, and the contribution of the ecosystem to the value of provisioning services from aquaculture, while minimizing the competition for space with solar salt production, we applied a multicriteria-decision making tool (AHP method) to identify priority areas for extensive and semi-intensive aquaculture development in solar saltscapes, taking into account physical factors of ecological and social nature. The study presents spatial allocation scenarios for aquaculture development in the saltscapes of the Figueira da Foz, in the Atlantic coastal zone of Portugal. The physical carrying capacity for the two scenarios presented indicates a potential increase of the area occupied by aquaculture farms in ponds previously occupied by inactive farms and flooded/land filled salterns, whose sites tend to minimize conflict with salt production through avoiding the same water input location and being adjacent to active farms. In conclusion, the approach applied has proven to be successful to manage space competition between aquaculture and salt production, contributing to a sustainable increase of the value of the provisioning of ecosystem services from aquaculture. In future studies, estimation of the social carrying capacity should be combined with the approach followed in this study to improve the definition of the acceptable social limits for aquaculture development in saltscapes.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2018,OCT J,"Lu, Y; Xu, JH; Qin, F; Wang, JY",Payments for Watershed Services and Practices in China: Achievements and Challenges,10.1007/s11769-018-0981-3,"Implementation of payments for watershed services (PWS) has been regarded as a promising approach to coordinating the interests of upstream and downstream ecosystem services stakeholders. There is growing concern about whether PWS programs have achieved their original environmental goals of improving water quality and quantity, as well as the ancillary objective of increasing the welfare of local people. We start with an overview of PWS schemes and focus on their particularity and implementation mechanisms in China. We proceed to review 62 active PWS cases and examine their environmental performance in detail. The resulting findings show that PWS schemes have been able to reduce water pollution to some extent by establishing collaborative upstream/downstream watershed management policies, thereby improving water quality and quantity, as well as by making government officials more responsible for water resource management. In addition, their continued effectiveness in light of present challenges such as water-quality data availability is discussed. Chinese PWS schemes and their implementation mechanisms also provide information useful in monitoring environmental outcomes and guiding future designs of PWS programs in other regions.",CHINESE GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE,2018,OCT J,"Armsworth, PR",Time discounting and the decision to protect areas that are near and threatened or remote and cheap to acquire,10.1111/cobi.13129,"Should conservation organizations focus on protecting habitats that are at imminent risk of being converted but are expensive or more remote areas that are less immediately threatened but where a large amount of land can be set aside? Variants of this trade-off commonly arise in spatial planning. I used models of land-use change near a deforestation frontier to examine this trade-off. The optimal choice of where to protect was determined by how decisions taken today accounted for ecological benefits and economic costs of conservation actions that would occur sometime in the future. I used an ecological and economic discount rate to weight these benefits and costs. A large economic discount rate favored protecting more remote areas, whereas a large, positive ecological discount rate favored protecting habitat near the current deforestation frontier. The decision over where to protect was also affected by the influence economic factors had on landowners' decisions, the rate of technological change, and ecological heterogeneity of the landscape. How benefits and costs through time are accounted for warrants careful consideration when specifying conservation objectives. It may provide a niche axis along which conservation organizations differentiate themselves when competing for donor funding or other support. Descuento de Tiempo y la Decision para Proteger areas Cercanas y Amenazadas o Remotas y de Bajo Costo Deberian las organizaciones de la conservacion enfocarse en proteger habitats que estan en riesgo inminente de cambiar el uso de suelo pero que tienen un precio elevado o areas mas remotas con una amenaza menor, pero en donde se puede reservar una gran cantidad de suelo? Es comun que las variantes de este intercambio surjan en la planeacion espacial. Use modelos de cambio en el uso de suelo cercano a fronteras de deforestacion para examinar este intercambio. La opcion optima de en donde proteger se determino por como las decisiones que se toman hoy en dia consideran los beneficios ecologicos y los costos economicos de las acciones de conservacion que ocurririan en algun momento del futuro. Use una tasa de descuento ecologico y economico para sopesar estos costos y beneficios. Una tasa mayor de descuento economico favorecio la proteccion del habitat cercano a la frontera de deforestacion actual. La decision sobre en donde proteger tambien se vio afectada por la influencia que los factores economicos tuvieron sobre las decisiones del propietario, la tasa de cambio tecnologico, y la heterogeneidad ecologica del paisaje. Como se consideran los beneficios y costos a lo largo del tiempo garantiza una consideracion cuidadosa cuando se especifican los objetivos de conservacion. Esto puede proporcionar un eje de nicho a lo largo del cual las organizaciones de la conservacion puedan diferenciarse entre si cuando compitan por el financiamiento de un donador o cualquier otro apoyo. Resumen ?? ?????????????????????????????????, ??????????????????, ????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????, ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????, ??????????????????????, ????????????????????????????? ???: ???; ??: ???? Article impact statement: Spatial conservation priorities depend on how benefits and costs through time are weighted.",CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,2018,OCT J,"Xu, XB; Jiang, B; Tan, Y; Costanza, R; Yang, GS","Lake-wetland ecosystem services modeling and valuation: Progress, gaps and future directions",10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.08.001,"Lake-wetland ecosystems provide valuable ecosystem services (ES), but lake-wetland ecosystems have suffered great loss from rapid urban expansion and other land use changes. Despite great efforts in increasing our understanding about ES produced by lake-wetlands, significant challenges (e.g., data, information, and implementation) still remain. This paper provides a thorough review of the progress in lake-wetland ES research. It addresses the pressing management needs for reliable biophysical models and economic valuation methods that quantify the trade-offs, across different spatial-temporal scales, and that can assess the effectiveness of alternative wetland management scenarios. The review identified significant gaps, namely, the need to identify data sources for more robust quantitative analyses of the link between ecosystem characteristics and final ES; the lack of information that can be used for generating evidence of trade-offs to compare alternative management actions; and the inadequate attention to incorporating information on potential trade-offs into wetland management. We conclude with lessons for future research including: (i) wetland ES monitoring programs to collect observed data on ES indicators and ecosystem characteristic metrics; (ii) integrated ES assessment models to track ES trends and evaluate ES trade-offs across temporal-spatial scale; and (iii) financial incentives to compensate ES suppliers for conservation to guarantee implementation.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,OCT J,"Rana, K; Goyal, N; Sharma, GP",Staging stewards of agro-ecosystems in the ecosystem services framework,10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.08.004,"Ecosystems provide services which are central to human well-being. However, they are undergoing rapid change due to human interferences. In times of globalization and cosmopolitan citizenship, boundaries (fringe) between rural and urban landscapes are blurring which make agro-ecosystems vulnerable. Critical understanding of societal transformation driving ecological change across different scales, especially fringe landscapes is necessary for operationalizing a holistic growth model in developing nations. Ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems and their value to stakeholders are often overlooked in the conservation and resource management actions in India. An evaluation framework was designed, considering stakeholders with direct and indirect access to services for agro-ecosystem management. Users' demand for ecosystem services and their environmental behavior was assessed, using a combination of ES valuation tools and methods. Results highlight that direct users are the potential landscape stewards of agro-ecosystems. Being custodians of the ecosystem, there is a need for engagement of direct users in the present management interventions to ensure sustainable social-ecological systems in future. The study puts forward that the application of landscape stewardship concept can contribute to sustainable management of ecosystems, while considering the nested multi-scale dynamics of social-ecological systems in developing nations.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,OCT J,"Sannigrahi, S; Bhatt, S; Rahmat, S; Paul, SK; Sen, S",Estimating global ecosystem service values and its response to land surface dynamics during 1995-2015,10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.05.091,"Changes in land use due to the industrial revolution, increasing population, ever-increasing desire for economic growth is a global concern. The aforementioned changes can have a significant impact on global and regional ecosystem services which are indispensable for human well-being and their subsistence. This study identifies several approaches (Costanza et al., de Groot et al., and Xie et al.) to estimate the value of global terrestrial ecosystem services. High resolution (300 m) land use products provided by European Space Agency-Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) were used to quantify the global ecosystem service values (ESV) for 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively. The coefficient of elasticity (CE) and coefficient of sensitivity (CS) was calculated to compute the response of ESV's corresponding to land use land cover (LULC) change. The results estimated the mean global ESV's (Trillion US$ year(-1)) to be 58.97 in 1995 and 57.76 in 2015, indicating a net loss of ESV (1.21 Trillion US$ year(-1)) during the analysis period (1995-2015) due to depletion of forest cover and wetland/water surface. The overall ESV (Trillion US$ year(-1)) increased in cropland (4.8 in 1995 to 4.9 in 2015) and urban coverage (0.3 in 1995 to 0.59 in 2015) whereas, it reduced substantially in forests (17.59 in 1995 to 17.42 in 2015), grasslands (9.1 in 1995 to 8.9 in 2015), wetland (22.19 in 1995 to 21.11 in 2015) and water bodies (5.29 in 1995 to 5.27). The forestland, wetland, and water bodies are the highest sensitive ecoregions defined by all valuation methods. The current research provides a way to quantify the overall economic loss or gain due to changes in the past, present, and future land use. This will bridge the gap between economic evaluations of current assets concerning the changes in land use. It will also help planners to provide an in-depth thought to the changes in the overall economic value of a particular land use in future (keeping biodiversity in mind) while validating long-term policies concerning to ecological conservation of a country.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,oct 1 J,"Easdale, MH; Aguiar, MR",From traditional knowledge to novel adaptations of transhumant pastoralists the in face of new challenges in North Patagonia,10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.09.001,"Transhumant pastoralism is a mobile livelihood strategy in many mountainous, arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. The knowledge of pastoral communities and their lifestyle are strongly rooted in the historical evolution of their own experience in the region, which has largely been part of their social adaptation strategies to environmental variability. However, other recent processes such as urbanization, land-use change, land grabbing and agricultural intensification have promoted the fragmentation of the landscape in this type of regions, thus threatening many mobile farming systems. Our aim was to study the predominant resources and perceptions in the discourse of transhumant pastoralists who are spatially distant from urban areas, with less relative contact with modern lifestyle and consequently, facing certain restrictions on resources availability. The study was oriented to explore the perceptions and adaptations of pastoral families with respect to the problems, challenges, and opportunities that transhumant lifestyle is currently confronting in North-West Patagonia, Argentina. We developed a collective cognitive mapping based on individual semi-structured interviews and network analysis techniques aimed at identifying their predominant perceptions. Traditional cultural issues associated with forms of livelihood and transhumant lifestyle were dominantly manifested, but there were references to some key resources, problems, and opportunities rooted in modem or urban lifestyle system. This mixture of resources and strategies suggests an increasing urban-rural articulation, which is an adaptation to strengthen the current socio-ecological system regime. However, younger generations of transhumant pastoralists are growing in an urban-rural network, which challenges their lifestyles and future developmental pathways.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2018,OCT J,"Elwell, TL; Gelcich, S; Gaines, SD; Lopez-Carr, D",Using people's perceptions of ecosystem services to guide modeling and management efforts,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.052,"Although ecosystem service (ES) approaches are showing promise in moving environmental decision-making processes toward better outcomes for ecosystems and people, ES modeling (i.e., tools that estimate the supply of nature's benefits given biophysical constraints) and valuation methods (i.e., tools to understand people's demand for nature's benefits) largely remain disconnected, preventing them from reaching their full potential to guide management efforts. Here, we show how knowledge of environmental perceptions explicitly links these two lines of research. We examined how a diverse community of people with varying degrees of dependencies on coastal and marine ecosystems in southern Chile perceived the importance of different ecosystem services (ESs), their states (e.g., doing well, needs improvement), and management options. Our analysis indicates that an understanding of people's perceptions may usefully guide ecosystem modeling and management efforts by helping to: (1) define which ESs to enter into models and tradeoff analyses (i.e., what matters most?), (2) guide where to focus management efforts (i.e., what matters yet needs improvement?), and, (3) anticipate potential support or controversy surrounding management interventions. Finally, we discuss the complexity inherent in defining which ESs matter most to people. We propose that future research address how to design ES approaches and assessments that are more inclusive to diverse world views and notions of human wellbeing. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,oct 1 J,"Cao, SX; Zhang, JZ; Su, W",Net Value of Wetland Ecosystem Services in China,10.1029/2018EF000976,"Wetlands generate a wide range of ecosystem services that support human well-being and socioeconomic development. However, calculation of the value of these services generally fails to account for their costs. In order to understand the difference between the value and the net value of ecosystem services (VES and NES, respectively), we used government statistics and data from published papers about the values and costs of wetland services to calculate their NES in mainland China. After accounting for the opportunity costs, investment in wetland conservation and protection, and management to prevent natural disasters, the NES of China's wetlands totaled 828.1x10(9) RMB in 2014, which is 36.4% less than the VES of 1,301.9x10(9) RMB calculated using the traditional approach. From 1952 to 2014, the NES of wetlands across the country (adjusted for inflation) decreased from 2,215.9x10(9) RMB to 828.1x10(9) RMB. Accounting for the costs to determine the net value of ecosystem services will provide a better foundation to support land planning and utilization. Plain Language Summary Calculating the value of ecosystem services is important to support planning and land utilization. However, the traditional valuation approach fails to account for the costs of these services, and the resulting overestimated values may lead to unwise decisions. In this paper, we propose a model to estimate the costs of wetland ecosystem services, which include the opportunity costs of water and land, investments in wetland conservation and protection, as well as management to prevent natural disasters, thereby providing a better (more holistic) estimate based on the net value. The net value provides stronger support for decision-making to support ecological conservation and environmental protection and will provide guidance for future land management.",EARTHS FUTURE,2018,OCT J,"Aurenhammer, PK; Scap, S; Krajnc, N; Olivar, J; Sabin, P; Nobre, S; Romagnoli, F",Influential Actors' Perceptions of Facilitators and Instruments for Solving Future Forest Land-Use Disputes in Europe,10.3390/f9100590,"Despite strong expectations regarding the role that forestry, with its multitude of potential benefits, could and should play in the bio-economy', little research has been done on the actual perceptions of influential actors on how to best address future forest land-use disputes. We want to shed light on whether and in which contexts expectations regarding the bio-economy, e.g., the strong role of markets, are likely. The paper analyses influential actors' core values and beliefs about the primary facilitators and the most appropriate instruments for resolving disputes over future forest land use. We used Social Network Analysis-based sampling and a quantitative semi-structured questionnaire, which included a preference analysis with twelve items covering broad issues and disputes related to future forest land use, to identify actors' beliefs about and preferences for facilitators and policy instruments within key issues for future land use. The respondents were asked to identify one of five primary facilitators' (state, market, society, individual citizens/owners, leave it to nature) and distribute six points to a maximum of three preferred instruments (eight items, covering a broad set of instruments, from dictates or bans to awareness raising). The results are based on the perceptions of the influential or most important actors from various innovative government and private forest initiatives in Bavaria (Germany), Slovenia, Castilla y Leon (Spain), Nordeste (Portugal), and Latvia (481 actor responses, 109 initiatives). The initiatives included participatory mountain forest initiatives, forest intervention zones, afforestation projects, forest owner associations, and model forest and labelling initiatives. The results provide insight into the similarities and differences between European countries and actor groups regarding the preferred facilitators and instruments for solving future forest problems. In light of disagreement in the literature on the role of the state or markets in future forest land use and the bio-economy, our results show that the market and its instruments are considered to play a dominant role in wood mobilisation. With respect to all other issues (socio-ecological, societal, other), the state or other institutions and their instruments gain priority. The state is considered to play a stronger role in developing new markets, e.g., for energy transition or new uses of wood, contrary to liberal market expectations. Ecological and social problems are considered to be outside of the market domain. Here, the state is called in, e.g., to steer recreational issues, the provision of ecosystem services, or the improvement of the protective function. The clearest preference across all regions is for the state to secure the provision of ecosystem services, in contrast to calls for future markets to regulate this field.",FORESTS,2018,OCT J,"Bodonirina, N; Reibelt, LM; Stoudmann, N; Chamagne, J; Jones, TG; Ravaka, A; Ranjaharivelo, HVF; Ravonimanantsoa, T; Moser, G; De Grave, A; Garcia, C; Ramamonjisoa, BS; Wilme, L; Waeber, PO","Approaching Local Perceptions of Forest Governance and Livelihood Challenges with Companion Modeling from a Case Study around Zahamena National Park, Madagascar",10.3390/f9100624,"Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a widely used approach aimed at involving those utilizing resources in their management. In Madagascar, where forest decentralization has been implemented since the 1990s to spur local resource users' involvement in management processes, impacts remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate farmers' perceptions and practices regarding forest use under various forest governance systems, using a participatory gaming approach implemented in the Zahamena region of Madagascar. We report on (i) the conceptual models of the Zahamena socio-ecological system; (ii) the actual research tool in the form of a tabletop role-playing game; and (iii) main outcomes of the gaming workshops and accompanying research. The results allow the linking of game reality with real-world perceptions based on game debriefing discussions and game workshop follow-up surveys, as well as interviews and focus group research with other natural resource users from the study area. Results show that the Zahamena protected area plays the role of buffer zone by slowing down deforestation and degradation. However, this fragile barrier and CBNRM are not long-term solutions in the face of occurring changes. Rather, the solution lies in one of the main causes of the problem: agriculture. Further use of tools such as participatory gaming is recommended to enhance knowledge exchange and the development of common visions for the future of natural resource management to foster resilience of forest governance.",FORESTS,2018,OCT J,"Voda, M; Montes, YS",DESCENDING MOUNTAIN ROUTES FUTURE: THE NORTH YUNGAS AND FAGARAS GEOSYSTEM'S COMPARATIVE STUDY,10.21163/GT_2018.132.12,"The Yungas region geographical position on the Eastern slopes of Cordillera Real and the Fagaras Mountains East-West alignment generated unique Geo systems. A single gravel road links La Paz with Amazonia Boliviana: El Camino de la Muerte and only one road crosses the Fagaras Mountains: the Transfagarcisan. Mountain roads networks are connecting communities and their resources all over the world. This research is adding value to the old mountain roads systems using the new technical Geography advances and transforming them in tourist sites. The cultural ecosystem services have a growing popularity that can be valorized for the locals benefits if managed accordingly. This paper focuses on the special descending sections identification and assessment for the mountain recreational activities development. The North Yungas and the Fagaras areas represent unique Geosystems from the Bolivian Andes and the Romanian Mountains, analyzed using Geomedia techniques. Here we show that our Death Road model can securely allow tourist access, increase locals' livelihood and protect mountain environments. Our research results prove that the South American Geosystem' s unique attributes can constitute a functional reference for a considerable number of world's mountain routes future sustainable development.",GEOGRAPHIA TECHNICA,2018,OCT J,"Mattia, CM; Lovell, ST; Davis, A","Identifying barriers and motivators for adoption of multifunctional perennial cropping systems by landowners in the Upper Sangamon River Watershed, Illinois",10.1007/s10457-016-0053-6,"The demand on agriculture to meet food security goals and mitigate environmental impacts requires multifunctional land-use strategies. Considering both farmer motivations and rural development needs, one option is to transition marginal farmland to perennial crops. In this study, we considered the potential for Multifunctional Perennial Cropping Systems (MPCs) that would simultaneously provide production and ecosystem service benefits. We examined adoption potential of MPCs on marginal farmland through an agricultural landowner survey in the Upper Sangamon River Watershed in Illinois, USA. We identified adoption preferences among landowners in conjunction with socio-demographic characteristics that would facilitate targeted implementation. Hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis identified landowner categories and key factors affecting adoption potential. Landowner age, appreciation for plant diversity, and future farm management involvement were the strongest predictors of potential MPCs adoption. The landowner categories identified within the survey data, supplemented with focus group discussions, suggested a high adoption potential farmer profile as a young, educated landowner with known marginal land they would consider converting to MPCs for improved soil and water quality conservation.",AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS,2018,OCT J,"Givens, JE; Padowski, J; Guzman, CD; Malek, K; Witinok-Huber, R; Cosens, B; Briscoe, M; Boll, J; Adam, J",Incorporating Social System Dynamics in the Columbia River Basin: Food-Energy-Water Resilience and Sustainability Modeling in the Yakima River Basin,10.3389/fenvs.2018.00104,"In the face of climate change, achieving resilience of desirable aspects of food-energy-water (FEW) systems already strained by competing multi-scalar social objectives requires interdisciplinary approaches. This study is part of a larger effort exploring Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (INFEWS) in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) through coordinated modeling and simulated management scenarios. Here, we focus on a case study and conceptual mapping of the Yakima River Basin (YRB), a sub-basin of the CRB. Previous research on FEW system management and resilience includes some attention to social dynamics (e.g., economic and governance systems); however, more attention to social drivers and outcomes is needed. Our goals are to identify several underutilized ways to incorporate social science perspectives into FEW nexus research and to explore how this interdisciplinary endeavor alters how we assess innovations and resilience in FEW systems. First, we investigate insights on FEW nexus resilience from the social sciences. Next, we delineate strategies for further incorporation of social considerations into FEW nexus research, including the use of social science perspectives and frameworks such as socio-ecological resilience and community capitals. Then, we examine a case study of the YRB, focusing on the historical development of the FEW nexus and innovations. We find that a resilience focus applied to the FEW nexus can inadvertently emphasize a status quo imposed by those already in power. Incorporating perspectives from the social sciences, which highlight issues related to inequality, power, and social justice, can address these shortcomings and inform future innovations. Finally, we use causal loop diagrams to explore the role of the social in the FEW nexus, and we suggest ways to incorporate social aspects into an existing stock and flow object-oriented modeling system. This project represents a starting point for a continued research agenda that incorporates social dynamics into FEW system resilience modeling and management in the CRB.",FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE,2018,SEP 19 J,"Zhao, ZG; Qin, X; Wang, ZM; Wang, EL",Performance of different cropping systems across precipitation gradient in North China Plain,10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.04.019,"Overuse of groundwater for irrigation under the current high yielding wheat-maize double cropping system has led to quick depletion of groundwater resources in North China Plain (NCP). Experimental work conducted for a relatively short period (several years) to explore water-saving cropping systems at limited sites offers useful, but limited insights regarding future sustainable cropping systems in NCP to balance productivity and groundwater usage. An understanding of the performance of various alternative cropping systems under the long-term inter annual climate variability across the precipitation gradient in NCP is needed, but yet lacking. Our study provides a systematic assessment on productivity and environmental impact of 5 alternative cropping systems along a precipitation gradient across NCP, through combination of cropping systems modelling and scenario analysis. Our results show that the groundwater neutral cropping systems change from single summer maize, single spring maize, to wheat-maize double rotation from dry to wet areas across the precipitation gradient. Water restriction will inevitably lead to crop yield reduction (by 2-9 t/ha) and water saving depending on the choice of alternative cropping systems and location precipitation. Reduced water availability for irrigation will also reduce the amount of mineral nitrogen required and the associated N loss to the atmosphere and to the ground water. The reduction on N input was estimated to be 20-190 kg N/ha/year and N loss was 5-35 kg N/ha/year for the most productive cropping systems under rainfed conditions. A value for groundwater use is also estimated based on the extra grain yield produced with irrigation. The results provide the scientific basis for the design of future sustainable cropping systems, and future policies for water pricing and agricultural inputs (water and nitrogen).",AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY,2018,SEP 15 J,"Arowolo, AO; Deng, XZ; Olatunji, OA; Obayelu, AE",Assessing changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.277,"Increasing human activities worldwide have significantly altered the natural ecosystems and consequently, the services they provide. This is no exception in Nigeria, where land-use/land-cover has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the years mainly due to the ever-growing large population. However, estimating the impact of such changes on a wide range of ecosystem services is seldom attempted. Thus, on the basis of GlobeLancd30 land-cover maps for 2000 and 2010 and using the value transfer methodology, we evaluated changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria. The results showed that over the 10-year period, cultivated land sprawl over the forests and savannahs was predominant, and occurred mainly in the northern region of the country. During this period, we calculated an increase in the total ecosystem services value (ESV) in Nigeria from 665.93 billion (2007 US$) in 2000 to 667.44 billion (2007 US$) in 2010, 97.38% of which was contributed by cultivated land. The value of provisioning services increased while regulation, support, recreation and culture services decreased, amongst which, water regulation (-11.01%), gas regulation (-7.13%), cultural (- 4.84%) and climate regulation (-4.3%) ecosystem functions are estimated as the most impacted. The increase in the total ESV in Nigeria associated with the huge increase in ecosystem services clue to cultivated land expansion may make land-use changes (i.e. the ever-increasing agricultural expansion in Nigeria) appear economically profitable. However, continuous loss of services such as climate and water regulation that are largely provided by the natural ecosystems can result in huge economic losses that may exceed the apparent gains from cultivated land development. Therefore, we advocate that the conservation of the natural ecosystem should be a priority in future land-use management in Nigeria, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and incessantly impacted by natural disasters such as flooding. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,SEP 15 J,"Martinez-Harms, MJ; Bryan, BA; Wood, SA; Fisher, DM; Law, E; Rhodes, JR; Dobbs, C; Biggs, D; Wilson, KA",Inequality in access to cultural ecosystem services from protected areas in the Chilean biodiversity hotspot,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.353,"Experiences with nature through visits to protected areas provide important cultural ecosystem services that have the potential to strengthen pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. Understanding accessibility to protected areas and likely preferences for enjoying the benefits of nature visits are key factors in identifying ways to reduce inequality in access and inform the planning and management for future protected areas. We develop, at a regional scale, a novel social media database of visits to public protected areas in part of the Chilean biodiversity hotspot using geotagged photographs and assess the inequality of access using the home locations of the visitors and socio-economic data. We find that 20% of the population of the region make 87% of the visits to protected areas. The larger, more biodiverse protected areas were the most visited and provided most cultural ecosystem services. Wealthier people tend to travel further to visit protected areas while people with lower incomes tend to visit protected areas that are closer to home. By providing information on the current spatial flows of people to protected areas, we demonstrate the need to expand the protected area network, especially in lower income areas, to reduce inequality in access to the benefits from cultural ecosystem services provided by nature to people. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,SEP 15 J,"Schuerch, M; Spencer, T; Temmerman, S; Kirwan, ML; Wolff, C; Lincke, D; McOwen, CJ; Pickering, MD; Reef, R; Vafeidis, AT; Hinkel, J; Nicholls, RJ; Brown, S",Future response of global coastal wetlands to sea-level rise,10.1038/s41586-018-0476-5,"The response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise during the twenty-first century remains uncertain. Global-scale projections suggest that between 20 and 90 per cent (for low and high sea-level rise scenarios, respectively) of the present-day coastal wetland area will be lost, which will in turn result in the loss of biodiversity and highly valued ecosystem services(1-3). These projections do not necessarily take into account all essential geomorphological(4-7) and socio-economic system feedbacks(8). Here we present an integrated global modelling approach that considers both the ability of coastal wetlands to build up vertically by sediment accretion, and the accommodation space, namely, the vertical and lateral space available for fine sediments to accumulate and be colonized by wetland vegetation. We use this approach to assess global-scale changes in coastal wetland area in response to global sea-level rise and anthropogenic coastal occupation during the twenty-first century. On the basis of our simulations, we find that, globally, rather than losses, wetland gains of up to 60 per cent of the current area are possible, if more than 37 per cent (our upper estimate for current accommodation space) of coastal wetlands have sufficient accommodation space, and sediment supply remains at present levels. In contrast to previous studies(1-3), we project that until 2100, the loss of global coastal wetland area will range between 0 and 30 per cent, assuming no further accommodation space in addition to current levels. Our simulations suggest that the resilience of global wetlands is primarily driven by the availability of accommodation space, which is strongly influenced by the building of anthropogenic infrastructure in the coastal zone and such infrastructure is expected to change over the twenty-first century. Rather than being an inevitable consequence of global sea-level rise, our findings indicate that large-scale loss of coastal wetlands might be avoidable, if sufficient additional accommodation space can be created through careful nature-based adaptation solutions to coastal management.",NATURE,2018,SEP 13 J,"Tekalign, M; Flasse, C; Frankl, A; Van Rompaey, A; Poesen, J; Nyssen, J; Muys, B",Forest cover loss and recovery in an East African remnant forest area: Understanding its context and drivers for conservation and sustainable ecosystem service provision,10.1016/j.apgeog.2018.07.014,"Understanding of the often complex forest cover change drivers, and the perceived and observed forest cover changes substantially contributes to the sustainable management of tropical forests. This paper aims at developing an integrated view on tropical forest cover change and its drivers by combining the perception of the stakeholders (farmers, forest guards, and forest managers) and five decades forest cover mapping, based on interview and remote sensing respectively, through a case study in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Afforestation and deforestation occurred when law enforcement was stronger and weaker respectively, depending on political regimes. Since 1937 i.e., the early Imperial period, the position of the forest edge has not changed much over time, it rather became sharper. In the late Imperial era (1972-1975), the forest cover declined only by 1.6%. In the subsequent two governments, the socialist and the current federal rule (1975-2014), the forest cover increased by 17%. There was a 3.9% forest cover decline during the transition between the two governments. This pattern of overall net forest cover increase observed by remote sensing data has been correctly perceived by stakeholders. Stakeholders acknowledged the observed forest cover increase, however, they argued that the forest is declining in terms of its quality for several ecosystem services (ES). The ES decline is believed to have resulted from the gradual shift of pure dense indigenous forest to an increasing share of exotic plantations. In the three political regimes, land policy, illegal encroachments, population pressure and social unrest have been the leading drivers of forest cover change. Communities' involvement in forest management activities and sharing benefits were regarded as positive perception of forest management strategies during the federal administration (1993-2007) of the current government by farmers. Among the factors that determine forest management strategies proposed by stakeholders are gender, landholding size, education level and age. Future conservation and development interventions need to consider stakeholders' concerns. Their involvement in forest management is also necessary for improved biodiversity conservation, ecosystem service provision, and social wellbeing.",APPLIED GEOGRAPHY,2018,SEP J,"Ahmad, B; Wang, YH; Hao, J; Liu, YH; Bohnett, E; Zhang, KB",Optimizing stand structure for trade-offs between overstory timber production and understory plant diversity: A case-study of a larch plantation in northwest China,10.1002/ldr.3070,"Trade-offs are often required for an optimal and sustainable supply of competing services from forests. A study was conducted in northwest China to explore a practical trade-off approach, for promoting the rehabilitation of service-degraded plantation, focusing on the two main competing services of timber production and understory plant diversity conservation (expressed by understory vegetation species number [UVSN]). To describe the stand structure parameter variation with age and tree density, the logistic growth model and power function were coupled and fit with field data from 82 plots of larch (Larix principis-rupprechetii Mayr) plantation within the estimated age range of 12-33years. The UVSN variation with canopy density and tree density were also quantified. These models and relations developed can serve as a tool for estimating trade-offs. The results showed that with rising tree density, the single tree timber volume decreased but the stand timber volume increased. The UVSN increased until its maximum, at the canopy density range of 0.6-0.7, and then decreased quickly. A proper tree density corresponding to the optimal canopy density of around 0.7 should be kept for maintaining higher UVSN and adequate timber production. In case of the larch plantation studied, optimal tree densities were found around 2,600, 2,000, 1,600, 1,250, and 1,000trees/ha for the ages of 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35years, respectively. Although only two main services were considered, the trade-off approach developed here can be a reference for future studies to guide the rehabilitation and multifunctional management of service-degraded plantation.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2018,SEP J,"Palomo-Campesino, S; Ravera, F; Gonzalez, JA; Garcia-Llorente, M",Exploring Current and Future Situation of Mediterranean Silvopastoral Systems: Case Study in Southern Spain,10.1016/j.rama.2017.12.013,"Extensive range-based livestock production has suffered a sharp decrease in Mediterranean Spain in recent decades due to two opposing trends in land use: progressive abandonment of practices in marginal rural areas and land use intensification in more productive areas. In this study, we explored the visions of key stakeholders on the current and future situation of silvopastoral systems in the Sierra Morena mountain range of southern Spain, where extensive livestock grazing is declining because of competition with other more profitable activities, such as intensive olive groves and game hunting. We performed a discourse analysis using Q methodology and evaluated the existing relationships of information exchange and conflict among local institutions such as farmer's associations, the provincial council, and conservation organizations using social network analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders representing local formal and nonformal institutions involved in extensive livestock production. Results showed three distinct discourses among stakeholders related to profitability, conservation, and modernization. There was a strong consensus on the management strategies that should be promoted to support extensive livestock production and preserve the associated silvopastoral systems. Social networks revealed high cohesion and communication exchange and a low level of conflict among stakeholders, with few exceptions. The low influence of livestock producers on policy decision making largely hinders the development of participatory management schemes. Nevertheless, similarities among the visions and opinions of different institutions suggest that new possibilities might emerge for silvopastoral systems through the collaboration among the different socioeconomic sectors present in the area. (C) 2018 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT,2018,SEP J,"Budiharta, S; Meijaard, E; Gaveau, DLA; Struebig, MJ; Wilting, A; Kramer-Schadt, S; Niedballa, J; Raes, N; Maron, M; Wilson, KA","Restoration to offset the impacts of developments at a landscape scale reveals opportunities, challenges and tough choices",10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.008,"When development impacts a broad landscape and causes the loss of multiple ecosystem services, decisions about which of these impacts to offset must be made. We use industrial oil-palm developments in Kalimantan and quantify the potential for restoration to offset oil-palm impacts on carbon storage and biodiversity. We developed a unique backcasting approach combined with a spatial conservation prioritisation framework to identify priority areas for restoration offsetting. We calculated the past impacts of oil-palm development, quantified the future benefits of restoration for carbon storage and biodiversity over one oil-palm planting cycle of 25 years, and prioritised areas for restoration to balance the impacts and benefits for the least cost. We estimate that offsetting the carbon emissions attributable to the existing 4.6 Mha of industrial oil-palm plantation in Kalimantan is most cost-effectively achieved by restoring 0.4-1.6 Mha of degraded peatlands, including failed agricultural projects, at a cost of US$0.7-2.9 billion. On the other hand, offsetting biodiversity losses would require at least 4.7 Mha of degraded areas to be restored (equating to 8.7% of Kalimantan) at a cost of US$7.7 billion. We show that priority areas for offsetting biodiversity losses overlap poorly with those for compensating carbon emissions. Our analysis suggests that reconciling multiple impacts at landscape scales will necessitate difficult choices among contested socio-political preferences. Our findings also clarify the fundamental importance of conserving biodiversity-rich primary forests and peatlands in the tropics and the need to avoid converting these areas in the future.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2018,SEP J,"Moreira, A; Figueira, E; Libralato, G; Soares, AMVM; Guida, M; Freitas, R",Comparative sensitivity of Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas embryo-larval development to As under varying salinity and temperature,10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.06.003,"Oysters are a diverse group of marine bivalves that inhabit coastal systems of the world's oceans, providing a variety of ecosystem services, and represent a major socioeconomic resource. However, oyster reefs have become inevitably impacted from habitat destruction, overfishing, pollution and disease outbreaks that have pushed these structures to the break of extinction. In addition, the increased frequency of climate change related events promise to further challenge oyster species survival worldwide. Oysters' early embryonic development is likely the most vulnerable stage to climate change related stressors (e.g. salinity and temperature shifts) as well as to pollutants (e.g. arsenic), and therefore can represent the most important bottleneck that define populations' survival in a changing environment. In light of this, the present study aimed to assess two important oyster species, Crassostrea angulata and Crassostrea gigas embryo-larval development, under combinations of salinity (20, 26 and 33), temperature (20, 24 and 28 degrees C) and arsenic (As) exposure (0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 960 and 1920 mu g. As L-1), to infer on different oyster species capacity to cope with these environmental stressors under the eminent threat of climate change and increase of pollution worldwide. Results showed differences in each species range of salinity and temperature for successful embryonic development. For C atigulata, embryo larval development was successful at a narrower range of both salinity and temperature, compared to C. gigas. Overall, As induced higher toxicity to C. angulata embryos, with calculated EC50) values at least an order of magnitude lower than those calculated for C. gigas. The toxicity of As (measured as median effective concentration, EC50) showed to be influenced by both salinity and temperature in both species. Nonetheless, salinity had a greater influence on embryos' sensitivity to As. This pattern was mostly noticed for C. gigas, with lower salinity inducing higher sensitivity to As. Results were discussed considering the existing literature and suggest that C. angulata populations are likely to become more vulnerable under near future predictions for temperature rise, salinity shifts and pollution.",MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2018,SEP J,"Lorilla, RS; Poirazidis, K; Kalogirou, S; Detsis, V; Martinis, A",Assessment of the Spatial Dynamics and Interactions among Multiple Ecosystem Services to Promote Effective Policy Making across Mediterranean Island Landscapes,10.3390/su10093285,"To manage multiple ecosystem services (ES) effectively, it is essential to understand how the dynamics of ES maintain healthy ecosystems to avoid potential negative impacts on human well-being in the context of sustainable development. In particular, the Ionian Islands in the central Mediterranean are characterized by high natural, ecological, and recreational value; however, the intensification of human activities over time has resulted in the loss of natural ecosystems, which might have negatively impacted ES. Here, we aimed to assess and understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of ES supply and how these components interact across the Ionian Islands to optimize future ES provision and mitigate current trade-offs. We quantified multiple ecosystem services and analyzed their interactions at a temporal scale across the four prefectures of the Ionian Islands. Seven ES were quantified covering all three ES sections (provisioning, regulating and maintenance, and cultural) of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). ES interactions were investigated by analyzing ES relationships, identifying ES bundles (sets of ES that repeatedly occur together across space and time), and specifying ES occurrence within bundles. The three ES groups exhibited similar patterns on some islands, but differed on islands with areas of high recreation in parallel to low provisioning and regulating ES. Temporal variations showed both stability and changes to the supply of ES, as well as in the interactions among them. Different patterns among the islands were caused by the degree of mixing between natural vegetation and olive orchards. This study identified seven ES bundles that had distinct compositions and magnitudes, with both unique and common bundles being found among the islands. The olive grove bundle delivered the most ES, while the non-vegetated bundle delivered negligible amounts of ES. Spatial and temporal variation in ES appear to be determined by agriculture, land abandonment, and increasing tourism, as well as the occurrence of fires. Knowledge about the spatial dynamics and interactions among ES could provide information for stakeholders and decision-making processes to develop appropriate sustainable management of the ecosystems on the Ionian Islands to secure ecological, social, and economic resilience.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,SEP J,"Delgado-Serrano, MM; Semerena, RE",Gender and Cross-Scale Differences in the Perception of Social-Ecological Systems,10.3390/su10092983,"The sound management of Social-Ecological Systems (SESs) requires a deep knowledge of the system and its dynamics, but effective strategies also need to include the perceptions of the local actors. These perceptions are specific and might differ for different actors. In this research, we analyzed the gender and across scales differences in the perception of a SES and unveiled the potential reasons that shape the different actors' understanding. Using structural analysis tools, we analyzed the perceptions of local women, local men, and external stakeholders on the most relevant variables shaping the actual and future sustainable management of a SES. The research was developed in Santiago Comaltepec, an Indigenous community located in the Sierra de Oaxaca (Mexico) that manage their forest under community-based strategies. The gender differences in perception showed the inequalities in agency, voice, and power between women and men. The comparison of the perceptions between community members and external stakeholders showed greater similarities, but still reflected power differences and differences in knowledge and cultural representations. We concluded that sound and resilient SES management need to recognize the gendered and across scales diversity in perception, knowledge, and practices and create bridges and synergies among knowledge systems to shape desirable trajectories.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,SEP J,"Withanachchi, SS; Kunchulia, I; Ghambashidze, G; Al Sidawi, R; Urushadze, T; Ploeger, A","Farmers' Perception of Water Quality and Risks in the Mashavera River Basin, Georgia: Analyzing the Vulnerability of the Social-Ecological System through Community Perceptions",10.3390/su10093062,"Competing natural resources usage that leads to dramatic land use changes can threaten the balance of a social-ecological system. When this is the case, communities are directly exposed to the negative consequences of those land use changes. The Mashavera River Basin is considered one of the hotspots of environmental pollution in Georgia. This is of importance for public health because the food production from this basin meets a substantial proportion of the country's food demand. The farmers' perception of the water quality and their perceived risks to the economy, health, and lifestyle reflect the status of the environmental and social conditions. The inclusion of farmers' risk perceptions is an important stage of water quality governance that could enable active civic participation. The approach of this research study was the convergence model in the triangular design of the mixed method approach. As part of the social data, the research study was conducted with a survey of 177 households, for which agriculture was either a main or partial source of income. A few focus group discussions were also conducted. A binary logistic regression analysis was employed as the main method for the analysis. The results from the pollution load index (PLI) were used as the supportive data to verify some geospatial hypotheses. We found that aesthetic attributes (i.e., color changes observed in the river) and the source of the water contamination (i.e., mining sites) were the main predictor variables for a perceived risk to water quality, health, and livelihoods. The people who work in agriculture as the main income source had more concern about their ability to sell their agricultural products as a result of water contamination in the river, compared with people for whom agriculture is a secondary source of income or for self-consumption. Age, amount of land, years of agricultural experience, and the source of water supply for agriculture did not have a significant effect on any of the risk perception or water quality perception models. The results indicate that the health risk is perceived more strongly in areas with more heavily contaminated water compared to less polluted areas. We propose that conducting a public risk perception assessment is an ideal means to detect people's concerns regarding water quality governance for future risk analysis in Georgia. Another recommendation of this study is an integrated model of risk assessment that combines the results from a public risk perception assessment and a technical assessment. The benefits of such an integrated assessment include finding new hazard-sensitive areas for further analysis, the possibility to cross-check data for verification, communal communication of hazardous conditions by utilizing local knowledge, and the direct participation of the community in monitoring risks.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,SEP J,"Pinto-Correia, T; Guiomar, N; Ferraz-de-Oliveira, MI; Sales-Baptista, E; Rabaca, J; Godinho, C; Ribeiro, N; Sousa, PS; Santos, P; Santos-Silva, C; Simoes, MP; Belo, ADF; Catarino, L; Costa, P; Fonseca, E; Godinho, S; Azeda, C; Almeida, M; Gomes, L; de Castro, JL; Louro, R; Silvestre, M; Vaz, M",Progress in Identifying High Nature Value Montados: Impacts of Grazing on Hardwood Rangeland Biodiversity,10.1016/j.rama.2018.01.004,"Due to their complex structure and traditional low-intensity management, Portuguese oak woodland rangelands known as montados are often considered high nature value (HNV) farming systems, and as such, they may be deemed eligible for subsidies and incentives by governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Too little is known about how the HNV concept might be applied to conserve complex silvopastoral systems. These systems, due to their structural and functional complexity at multiple scales, tend to support high levels of biodiversity. Montados are in sharp decline as a result of the rapid specialization of land management that, through simplification, undermines multifunctionality. Understanding how changes in management influence these systems and their biodiversity is needed for prioritizing conservation efforts and for ensuring they remain HNV systems. On the basis of a field survey in 58 plots distributed among 29 paddocks on 17 farms, we conducted an integrated analysis of the relationship between grazing intensity and biodiversity in montados of similar biophysical and structural characteristics. Data on management were obtained through interviews, and biodiversity data (vegetation, macrofungi, birds, herpetofauna) were obtained through specific field protocols. Additional spatial data, such as soil characteristics, slope, land cover, and linear landscape elements, were also analyzed. The results show no overall biodiversity variation as a result of different management practices. However, different groups of species react differently to specific management practices, and within a pasture, grazing impacts are heterogenous. In low grazing intensity plots, macrofungi species richness was found to be higher, while bird species richness was lower. Using tree regeneration as proxy for montado sustainability, results show less tree regeneration in areas with higher forage quality and more intense grazing. Pathways for future progress are proposed, including creating areas within a paddock that attract grazing away from where regeneration is desired. (C) 2018 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT,2018,SEP J,"Janin, MMH; Ellis, SJ; Lum, A; ElizabethWakefield, C; Fardell, JE",Parents' Perspectives on Their Child's Social Experience in the Context of Childhood Chronic Illness: A Qualitative Study,10.1016/j.pedn.2018.06.010,"Purpose: Many children suffer froma serious chronic illness. These children have greater risks of developing psychosocial difficulties, associated with school absenteeismand missed social opportunities. Through parents' perspectives, this study aimed to gain a holistic understanding of children's social experience in the context of chronic illness. Design andMethods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with parents of a child with a serious chronic illness exploring their child's school experience. Two researchers coded social experiences using an iterative process, involving regular team discussions. Theoretical thematic analysis and content analysis were both performed, using the social ecological model as a theoretical framework. Results: Forty-nine parents participated (43 mothers, 6 fathers; child mean age 11.51 years; 21 female children, 28 male children; 6 different chronic illness groups). According to parents, the main facilitators to the social experience of their children involved parents themselves, the school, social networks and peers, as they were all able to provide social support and opportunities for social development. However, peers were also a source of bullying and peer pressure, and sometimes lacked understanding and empathy. Conclusions: As shown by the social ecological model, social functioning between chronically-ill children and their peers can be influenced by many factors. More specifically, parents have expressed their ability for promoting positive experiences between their children and their peers. Practice Implications Considering the complexity of social functioning, future research and interventions should provide holistic support for children with chronic illnesses. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC NURSING-NURSING CARE OF CHILDREN & FAMILIES,2018,SEP-OCT J,"Martin, DM; Mazzotta, M; Bousquin, J",Combining ecosystem services assessment with structured decision making to support ecological restoration planning,10.1007/s00267-018-1038-1,"Accounting for ecosystem services in environmental decision making is an emerging research topic. Modern frameworks for ecosystem services assessment emphasize evaluating the social benefits of ecosystems, in terms of who benefits and by how much, to aid in comparing multiple courses of action. Structured methods that use decision analytic-approaches are emerging for the practice of ecological restoration. In this article, we combine ecosystem services assessment with structured decision making to estimate and evaluate measures of the potential benefits of ecological restoration with a case study in the Woonasquatucket River watershed, Rhode Island, USA. We partnered with a local watershed management organization to analyze dozens of candidate wetland restoration sites for their abilities to supply five ecosystem servicesflood water retention, scenic landscapes, learning opportunities, recreational opportunities, and birds. We developed 22 benefit indicators related to the ecosystem services as well as indicators for social equity and reliability that benefits will sustain in the future. We applied conceptual modeling and spatial analysis to estimate indicator values for each candidate restoration site. Lastly, we developed a decision support tool to score and aggregate the values for the organization to screen the restoration sites. Results show that restoration sites in urban areas can provide greater social benefits than sites in less urban areas. Our research approach is general and can be used to investigate other restoration planning studies that perform ecosystem services assessment and fit into a decision-making process.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,SEP J,"Plieninger, T; Rana, HAA; Fagerholm, N; Ellingsgaard, GF; Magnussen, E; Raymond, CM; Olafsson, AS; Verbrugge, LNH",Identifying and assessing the potential for conflict between landscape values and development preferences on the Faroe Islands,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.006,"Small islands are characterised by geographic isolation, strong place attachment, and vulnerabilities to social, economic, and ecological changes. They are often subject to development activities that raise concerns about impacts on multiple land- and seascape values. This study elicits a range of land- and seascape values, development preferences, and land-use conflicts in a Northern Atlantic islands setting. We do so by linking participatory mapping with narrative analysis techniques to elicit landscape values and development preferences and to identify the potential for land-use conflicts. Four narratives were illustrative of human-nature relationships in the North Atlantic, revealing a great appreciation for wildlife and landforms, for peaceful and undisturbed ecosystems, for open access to land and sea, and for people being part of nature as major themes. The overlay of mapped landscape values and development preferences identified areas with a high potential for future land-use conflicts. Tourism development had a particularly high potential for conflicts. The local narratives on development activities - tourism, renewable energy, and fish farming/processing - confirmed diverging viewpoints. Respondents acknowledged the need for new economic opportunities that may create employment and wealth, but were concerned about negative effects for nature and society and the perceived inability to govern these developments. We argue that planning for multiple landscape values and preferences is crucial to manage the potential for trade-offs in land- and seascape development that is influenced by a range of pressures and drivers of change.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2018,SEP J,"Seki, HA; Shirima, DD; Mustaphi, CJC; Marchant, R; Munishi, PKT","The impact of land use and land cover change on biodiversity within and adjacent to Kibasira Swamp in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania",10.1111/aje.12488,"Wetlands are crucial ecosystems with multiple values and functions to a range of different stakeholders. The future of wetlands depends both on the legacy of the past and how they are currently used. Using 48 vegetation survey plots (0.08ha) combined with Landsat 5 and 7 TM imagery, we assessed the influence of long-term (1990-2011) land use and land cover change on the biodiversity of the Kibasira Swamp. Information on perceptions of adjacent communities on historical changes and drivers for the changes were also collected. Results showed an increase in the area covered by open water by 1% and forest by 4% between 1990 and 1998 whilst Cyperus papyrus L and cultivated land area decreased by 8% and 3%, respectively on the same period. Between 1998 and 2011, there was a decrease in areas covered by water by 35% and forest by 9% whereas C. papyrus L increased by 40% and cultivated land increased by 8%. These changes have affected the biodiversity of the swamp and adjacent to it as numbers of mammals have declined. However, the Swamp still provides extensive habitat for plants and bird species despite the ongoing human pressure. Interventions may be necessary to maintain biodiversity in Kibasira Swamp to ensure sustainable ecosystem services. Resume Les zones humides sont des ecosystemes essentiels avec de multiples valeurs et fonctions a une gamme de parties prenantes differentes. L'avenir des zones humides depend de l'heritage du passe et de la facon dont ils sont actuellement utilises. En utilisant 48 parcelles d'enquete sur la vegetation (0,08ha) et les images acquises par les satellites Landsat 5 et 7 TM, nous avons evalue l'influence a long terme (1990-2011) de la modification de l'utilisation des terres et du couvert vegetal sur la biodiversite du marecage de Kibasira. Des informations sur les perceptions des communautes adjacentes sur les changements historiques et les facteurs stimulant les changements ont egalement ete recueillies et incluses dans l'evaluation. Les resultats demontrent une augmentation des surfaces couvertes par les eaux libres de 1% et de la foret de 4% entre 1990 et 1998, tandis que Cyperus papyrus et les terres cultivees ont diminue de 8% et 3%, respectivement, durant la meme periode. Entre 1998 et 2011, les zones couvertes par l'eau ont diminue de 35% et les forets de 9%, tandis que C. papyrus a augmente de 40% et les terres cultivees ont augmente de 8%. Ces changements ont affecte la biodiversite et la qualite des services ecosystemiques du marecage en convertissant une partie du marecage en terres agricoles. Cependant, le marecage est encore un habitat sauvage potentiel pour les plantes et les especes d'oiseaux malgre la pression humaine continue. Des interventions peuvent etre necessaires pour maintenir la biodiversite du marecage de Kibasira afin d'assurer des services ecosystemiques durables.",AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY,2018,SEP J,"Fu, Q; Hou, Y; Wang, B; Bi, X; Li, B; Zhang, XS","Scenario analysis of ecosystem service changes and interactions in a mountain-oasis-desert system: a case study in Altay Prefecture, China",10.1038/s41598-018-31043-y,"Scenario analysis of ecosystem services (ES) can provide a scientific basis for ecosystem management. The objective of this study was to reveal the effects of future land use scenarios on ES in a mountain-oasis-desert system (MODS). We first simulated land use changes for the period of 2015-2035 in Altay Prefecture under three different scenarios: business as usual (BAU), economic development (ED), and ecological conservation (EC). We then evaluated water yield (WY), crop production (CP), soil conservation (SC), sand fixation (SF), carbon sequestration (CS), and aesthetic value (AV) and investigated the multiple interactions among ES at the regional and grid scales. The results showed that SC, CS, and AV continually increased, WY continually decreased under the three scenarios. Our study revealed that the multiple interactions among ES were spatially heterogeneous in the MODS and the spatial heterogeneities changed across scenarios. The locations of and causes for the formation of the multiple interactions among ES were identified based on spatial analysis. This information can help decision-makers develop targeted and differentiated ecosystem management strategies. This study can increase the understanding of the multiple interactions among ES. Our findings can provide a reference for studies of other regions with the MODS structure.",SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2018,ago 28 J,"Jandl, N; Jandl, R; Schindlbacher, A",Future management options for cembran pine forests close to the alpine timberline,10.1007/s13595-018-0760-4,"Key message High-elevation forests in the Alps protect infrastructure and human lives against natural hazards such as rockfall, flooding, and avalanches. Routinely performed silvicultural interventions maintain the required stand structure but are not commercially viable in remote forests due to high operational costs. Financial subsidies for the management of high-elevation protection forests are an efficient strategy to ensure sustainable forest cover. Context Presently, many high-elevation forests in the Alps are managed in order to ensure the provision of ecosystem services with emphasis on the minimization of natural hazards. Aims We studied the possible economic performance of a high-elevation protection forest from an owner's perspective. We investigated whether the increase in productivity due to climate change and a favorable market for the dominating cembran pine (Pinus cembra L.) are sufficient for profitable timber production in protection forests. Methods We simulated the standing timber stock and the soil carbon pool for a 100-year period with climate-sensitive models and compared harvesting costs with expected revenues. Our scenarios included different climates, intensities of timber extractions, parameters of the timber market, and the availability of government subsidies. Results Overall, the productivity of forests increases by approximately 15% until the end of the century. In a zero-management scenario, the forest accumulates carbon both in the aboveground biomass and the soil. In the case of an extensive management with moderate timber extractions every 50 years, the carbon stocks decline both in biomass and soil. A more intensive management scenario with extractions every 30 years leads to substantial losses of the soil and biomass carbon pools. In addition, the stand structure changes and the protective function of the forest is not sustainably ensured. Timber production can be economically successful only with high selling prices of cembran pine timber and the availability of governmental subsidies for forest management. The admixed European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) contributes only marginally to the economic success. The main challenge are harvesting costs. The costs of timber extraction by a long-distance cableway logging system exceed the value of the harvested timber. Conclusion The intensification of forest management cannot be recommended from the perspective of timber production, sustainable forest management, and protection against natural hazards. Our simulation experiment shows that the extraction of timber at decadal intervals depletes the carbon stock that is insufficiently replenished from aboveground and belowground litterfall. Leaving the forest unmanaged does not impose a particular threat to stand stability and is under the encountered situation, a justified strategy.",ANNALS OF FOREST SCIENCE,2018,ago 15 J,"Nolte, A; Meilby, H; Yousefpour, R","Multi-purpose forest management in the tropics: Incorporating values of carbon, biodiversity and timber in managing Tectona grandis (teak) plantations in Costa Rica",10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.036,"Plantation forestry is the ultimate alternative in reforesting degraded tropical ecosystems and in provisioning multiple ecosystem services beyond timber production. Therefore, we studied the management of Tectona grandis L.f. (teak) plantations in Costa Rica and simulated alternative management strategies incorporating simultaneously the values of carbon storage, biodiversity and timber production. Alternative management strategies included (1) extension of rotations, (2) reduced thinning and (3) conversion of even-aged to uneven-aged systems. Evaluation criteria were carbon storage in biomass, stand structural diversity as a proxy of biodiversity, and economic return from timber harvests. For growth predictions under future climatic conditions, we calibrated the hybrid forest growth model 3PG. We found that carbon storage could be increased by increasing rotation periods (e.g. + 29.7% of carbon for a 50% increase in rotation length) and a no thinning management (+ 9.5% of carbon). For rotation extension associated economic losses were high (e.g. at 5% discount rate, the Land Expectation Value (LEV) decreased by 25.1% for a 50% extension of rotations). For thinning LEV increased with a low-thinning regime, but decreased with a no-thinning management (+ 9.5% and 23.6%, respectively). Payments for ecosystem services (PES) increased economic return by about 3-4%. Structural diversity increased by conversion to uneven-aged forest stands (Gini coefficients for basal area increased from 0.21 to 0.52). Economic returns from timber harvests were almost equal for even-aged and uneven-aged systems at 1% discount rate (max. -2% of LEV). At 5% discount rate, we observed economic losses of 11.1-20.1% compared to the even-aged scenario. At 10% discount rate, economic losses ranged between 43.6 and 104%. We concluded that extension of rotations and reduction of thinning intensity can be used as management strategies to increase the carbon storage of teak plantations. However, to compensate the associated economic losses through a PES scheme, payments for carbon sequestration need to be increased and special incentives for longer rotation periods and low thinning management need to be developed. The transformation into uneven-aged forest stands requires active investment at discount rates higher than 1%. Whether this investment can be offset by benefits from biodiversity and increased forest resilience is unknown and requires further investigations. Other measures of biodiversity conservation, such as the use of native and mixed tree species and the retention of old trees and deadwood are moreover necessary.",FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,2018,ago 15 J,"Groshans, GR; Mikhailova, EA; Post, CJ; Schlautman, MA",Accounting for soil inorganic carbon in the ecosystem services framework for United Nations sustainable development goals,10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.02.009,"Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) is currently not included in the list of key soil properties related to ecosystem services (e.g., provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services). Soil inorganic carbon is a dynamic key soil property used in soil classification, taxonomy and fertility, therefore its inclusion in the framework of ecosystem services is important. With soils rapidly changing due to human use and climate change, the ecosystem services framework should include not only soil organic carbon (SOC), but SIC as well since it is of global importance to soil fertility and the long-term carbon (C) cycle, especially in semiarid and arid climates where SIC comprises the largest C pool. The objective of this study is to assess the value of SIC in the 12 soil orders of Soil Taxonomy at the country scale (continental United States (U.S.)) and at the farm scale (the Cornell University Research Farm) within the context of ecosystem services, specifically provisioning and supporting services. At the country scale, the total estimated midpoint value of SIC storage within the upper two meters of soil is $5.17 T (i.e., 5.17 trillion U.S. dollars). The soil orders having the highest total value of SIC storage (based on an average 2014 price of $10.42 per U.S. ton of CaCO3 lime in the U.S.) are: 1) Mollisols ($2.22 T), 2) Aridisols ($1.23 T), 3) Alfisols ($52313, i.e., 523 billion U.S. dollars), and 4) Entisols ($489B). In terms of SIC content (i.e., value per square meter), the soil orders are ranked: 1) Vertisols ($2.22 m(-2)), 2) Aridisols ($1.52 m(-2)), 3) Mollisols ($1.10 m(-2)), and 4) Inceptisols ($0.49 m(-2)). At the farm scale, based on variable measured and reported soil sample depths, the soil orders having the highest total value of SIC (based on an average 2014 price of $10.88 price per U.S. ton of CaCO3 for the State of New York (NY)) were: 1) Alfisols, 2) Inceptisols, and 3) Entisols. However, the farm scale estimates varied greatly depending on whether the values were based on field-derived vs. SSURGO-derived data. The results of this study begin to provide an estimated value of the importance of SIC when assessing ecosystem services. The potential impacts on society from this research include adding SIC into the ecosystem services framework for the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Future research should identify and quantify other important ecosystem services that SIC may provide on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, as well as the potential need of including total C (TC) and interactions between SIC and SOC pools.",GEODERMA,2018,ago 15 J,"Arthington, AH; Kennen, JG; Stein, ED; Webb, JA",Recent advances in environmental flows science and water management-Innovation in the Anthropocene,10.1111/fwb.13108,"The implementation of environmental flow regimes offers a promising means to protect and restore riverine, wetland and estuarine ecosystems, their critical environmental services and cultural/societal values. This Special Issue expands the scope of environmental flows and water science in theory and practice, offering 20 papers from academics, agency researchers and non-governmental organisations, each with fresh perspectives on the science and management of environmental water allocations. Contributions confront the grand challenge for environmental flows and water management in the Anthropocenethe urgent need for innovations that will help to sustain the innate resilience of social-ecological systems under dynamic and uncertain environmental and societal futures. Basin-scale and regional assessments of flow requirements mark a necessary advance in environmental water science in the face of rapid changes in water-resource management activities worldwide (e.g. increases in dams, diversions, retention and reuse). Techniques for regional-scale hydrological and ecohydrological modelling support ecological risk assessment and identification of priority flow management and river restoration actions. Changing flood-drought cycles, long-term climatic shifts and associated effects on hydrological, thermal and water quality regimes add enormous uncertainty to the prediction of future ecological outcomes, regardless of environmental water allocations. An improved capacity to predict the trajectories of ecological change in rivers degraded by legacies of past impact interacting with current conditions and future climate change is essential. Otherwise, we risk unrealistic expectations from restoration of river and estuarine flow regimes. A more robust, dynamic and predictive approach to environmental water science is emerging. It encourages the measurement of process rates (e.g. birth rate, colonisation rate) and species traits (e.g. physiological requirements, morphological adaptations) as well as ecosystem states (e.g. species richness, assemblage structure), as the variables representing ecological responses to flow variability and environmental water allocations. Another necessary development is the incorporation of other environmental variables such as water temperature and sedimentary processes in flow-ecological response models. Based on contributions to this Special Issue, several recent compilations and the wider literature, we identify six major scientific challenges for further exploration, and seven themes for advancing the management of environmental water. We see the emerging frontier of environmental flows and water science as urgent and challenging, with numerous opportunities for reinvigorated science and methodological innovation in the expanding enterprise of environmental water linked to ecological sustainability and social well-being.",FRESHWATER BIOLOGY,2018,AUG J,"Meng, ZJ; Dang, XH; Gao, Y; Ren, XM; Ding, YL; Wang, M","Interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in a temperate desert steppe, Inner Mongolia of China",10.1007/s40333-018-0059-1,"The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., overgrazing) and biophysical processes (e.g., soil erosion) have led to vegetation degradation and the consequent acceleration of regional desertification. Thus, mitigating the accelerated wind erosion, a cause and effect of grassland desertification, is critical for the sustainable management of grasslands. Here, a combination of mobile wind tunnel experiments and wind erosion model was used to explore the effects of different levels of vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed on wind erosion at different positions of a slope inside an enclosed desert steppe in the Xilamuren grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results indicated a significant spatial difference in wind erosion intensities depending on the vegetation coverage, with a strong decreasing trend from the top to the base of the slope. Increasing vegetation coverage resulted in a rapid decrease in wind erosion as explained by a power function correlation. Vegetation coverage was found to be a dominant control on wind erosion by increasing the surface roughness and by lowering the threshold wind velocity for erosion. The critical vegetation coverage required for effectively controlling wind erosion was found to be higher than 60%. Further, the wind erosion rates were negatively correlated with surface soil moisture and the mass flux in aeolian sand transport increased with increasing wind speed. We developed a mathematical model of wind erosion based on the results of an orthogonal array design. The results from the model simulation indicated that the standardized regression coefficients of the main effects of the three factors (vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed) on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport were in the following order: wind speed > vegetation coverage > soil moisture. These three factors had different levels of interactive effects on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport. Our results will improve the understanding of the interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in desert steppes, and will be helpful for the design of desertification control programs in future.",JOURNAL OF ARID LAND,2018,AUG J,"Guimaraes, MH; Guiomar, N; Surova, D; Godinho, S; Correia, TP; Sandberg, A; Ravera, F; Varanda, M","Structuring wicked problems in transdisciplinary research using the Social-Ecological systems framework: An application to the montado system, Alentejo, Portugal",10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.200,"The aspiration to establish an effective dialogue between science and society has inspired some ground breaking examples of transdisciplinarity (TD). The core idea of TD is that different academic disciplines work jointly with practitioners to solve common problems. The first step of TD implies a contextualization that requires holistic and systemic thinking. To achieve this contextualization, we applied the Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework with the aim of developing TD to deal with the recorded decline in area and tree density of the montado land-use system located in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The study was based both on a literature review and on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected in a number of research projects on the montado. The results show that the lack of consensus regarding the system boundaries, the diverse range of mental models, and the disconnection between policymaking and system singularities are some of the conditions that can hinder TD efforts. The framework allowed the identification of knowledge gaps that limit the understanding of the problem complexity to be dealt with by a TD research process. There is a need to gain a better understanding of the governance system, and to characterize the different types of agro-silvo-pastoral combinations that can be designated as montado. With this detailed understanding, a tailored TD process can be designed. This work argues for the active use of the SES framework in TD in environmental management. Future research could focus on the framework's utility in developing tools to assess and monitor transdisciplinary research. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2018,ago 1 J,"Brans, KI; Engelen, JMT; Souffreau, C; De Meester, L",Urban hot-tubs: Local urbanization has profound effects on average and extreme temperatures in ponds,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.03.013,"While urbanization-driven warming (urban heat island effect, UHI) has been extensively studied and demonstrated for air temperature, UHI effects on water temperature of ponds are unknown. We investigated (1) whether the UHI impacts man-made urban ponds and tested whether urban ponds have higher mean, maximum and minimum water temperatures and lower daily water temperature fluctuations than rural ponds, (2) whether this is related to time of the day (day versus night), season, and urbanization scale (3200 versus 50 m radius around the pond), and (3) whether the approximated length of growing season is prolonged in urban ponds. Temperature loggers were placed in 30 ponds in Northern Belgium, spanning a broad range of urbanization. We found strong evidence of urban-driven warming. Mainly local urbanization (50 m radius) drove temperature differences throughout the year and even more so in spring and summer, with mean summer temperatures being up to 3.04 degrees C higher in urban compared to rural ponds, and maximum summer temperatures on average up to 3.69 degrees C higher. Strikingly, daily temperature fluctuated around 2 degrees C more in locally urban ponds compared to rural ponds in summer. Length of the growing season estimates show prolongation with up to 45 days in locally urban compared to rural systems, mainly due to an earlier start. Generally, our results show that UHIs impact water temperature of ponds. This warming can have profound consequences for biota inhabiting these systems, and should therefore be considered in future urban planning to reduce deterioration of these habitats and improve their socio-ecological value.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2018,AUG J,"Register-Mihalik, JK; Williams, RM; Marshall, SW; Linnan, LA; Mihalik, JP; Guskiewicz, KM; McLeod, TCV","Demographic, Parental, and Personal Factors and Youth Athletes' Concussion-Related Knowledge and Beliefs",10.4085/1062-6050-223-17,"Context: Currently, significant attention is focused on improving care for patients with concussions through legislative mandates that include educational interventions. Few researchers have examined young athletes' concussion knowledge and the factors that may influence their knowledge. Objective: To use the socioecological model to examine demographic, parental, and personal factors associated with youth athletes' knowledge of concussion. Our ultimate goal is to inform the planning and implementation of youth sport concussion-related interventions. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Gymnasium and classroom. Patients or Other Participants: North Carolina and Arizona youth athletes (n = 225; age = 8 to 15 years) active in football, boys' or girls' soccer, boys' or girls' ice hockey, or boys' or girls' lacrosse in 2012-2013. Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed a validated, self-administered survey. The intention and belief measures were guided by the theory of planned behavior. Perceptions of concussion and intention to seek care were examined using descriptive statistics. Athletes' concussion knowledge was modeled using linear regressions and generalized estimating equations, with child demographic and personal factors and parental knowledge and attitudes about concussion as predictors. Results: Geography, sport, parental attitudes toward concussion, and athlete age were associated with athlete knowledge in the univariable analyses (P < .10). In the multivariable model, geographic location (North Carolina versus Arizona, mean difference [MD] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 3.2), sport (girls' soccer versus girls' lacrosse, MD = 2.2, 95% CI = 0.7, 3.6), more favorable parental attitudes toward concussion (MD = 1.2 for a 2-standard deviation shift; 95% CI = 0.3, 2.1), and older age (>12 years, MD = 1.6; 95% CI = 0.5, 2.6) were associated with better knowledge about concussion. Conclusions: Geographic location, sport, parental attitudes about concussion, and athlete's age influenced athletes' concussion-related perceptions, indicating the need to address multiple levels of the socioecological model when targeting youth sport interventions. Parental interventions that translate to an improved culture of youth sport by improving youth athletes' perceptions and experiences are key areas for future work.",JOURNAL OF ATHLETIC TRAINING,2018,AUG J,"Hamin, EM; Abunnasr, Y; Dilthey, MR; Judge, PK; Kenney, MA; Kirshen, P; Sheahan, TC; DeGroot, DJ; Ryan, RL; McAdoo, BG; Nurse, L; Buxton, JA; Sutton-Grier, AE; Albright, EA; Marin, MA; Fricke, R",Pathways to Coastal Resiliency: The Adaptive Gradients Framework,10.3390/su10082629,"Current and future climate-related coastal impacts such as catastrophic and repetitive flooding, hurricane intensity, and sea level rise necessitate a new approach to developing and managing coastal infrastructure. Traditional hard or grey engineering solutions are proving both expensive and inflexible in the face of a rapidly changing coastal environment. Hybrid solutions that incorporate natural, nature-based, structural, and non-structural features may better achieve a broad set of goals such as ecological enhancement, long-term adaptation, and social benefits, but broad consideration and uptake of these approaches has been slow. One barrier to the widespread implementation of hybrid solutions is the lack of a relatively quick but holistic evaluation framework that places these broader environmental and societal goals on equal footing with the more traditional goal of exposure reduction. To respond to this need, the Adaptive Gradients Framework was developed and pilot-tested as a qualitative, flexible, and collaborative process guide for organizations to understand, evaluate, and potentially select more diverse kinds of infrastructural responses. These responses would ideally include natural, nature-based, and regulatory/cultural approaches, as well as hybrid designs combining multiple approaches. It enables rapid expert review of project designs based on eight metrics called gradients, which include exposure reduction, cost efficiency, institutional capacity, ecological enhancement, adaptation over time, greenhouse gas reduction, participatory process, and social benefits. The framework was conceptualized and developed in three phases: relevant factors and barriers were collected from practitioners and experts by survey; these factors were ranked by importance and used to develop the initial framework; several case studies were iteratively evaluated using this technique; and the framework was finalized for implementation. The article presents the framework and a pilot test of its application, along with resources that would enable wider application of the framework by practitioners and theorists.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,AUG J,"Torell, GL; Lee, KD",Impact of Climate Change on Livestock Returns and Rangeland Ecosystem Sustainability in the Southwest,10.1017/age.2018.13,"Climate change will increase variability in temperature and precipitation on rangelands, impacting ecosystem services including livestock grazing. Facing uncertainty about future climate, managers must know if current practices will maintain rangeland sustainability. Herein, the future density of an invasive species, broom snakeweed, is estimated using a long-term ecological dataset and climate projections. We find that livestock stocking rates determined using a current method result in lower forage production, allowable stocking rate, and grazing value than an economically efficient stocking rate. Results indicate that using ecology and adaptive methods in management are critical to the sustainability of rangelands.",AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS REVIEW,2018,AUG J,"Jordan, R; Gray, S; Zellner, M; Glynn, PD; Voinov, A; Hedelin, B; Sterling, EJ; Leong, K; Olabisi, LS; Hubacek, K; Bommel, P; BenDor, TK; Jetter, AJ; Laursen, B; Singer, A; Giabbanelli, PJ; Kolagani, N; Carrera, LB; Jenni, K; Prell, C",Twelve Questions for the Participatory Modeling Community,10.1029/2018EF000841,"Participatory modeling engages the implicit and explicit knowledge of stakeholders to create formalized and shared representations of reality and has evolved into a field of study as well as a practice. Participatory modeling researchers and practitioners who focus specifically on environmental resources met at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland, over the course of 2 years to discuss the state of the field and future directions for participatory modeling. What follows is a description of 12 overarching groups of questions that could guide future inquiry.",EARTHS FUTURE,2018,AUG J,"Vasiljevic, N; Radic, B; Gavrilovic, S; Sljukic, B; Medarevic, M; Ristic, R","The concept of green infrastructure and urban landscape planning: a challenge for urban forestry planning in Belgrade, Serbia",10.3832/ifor2683-011,"The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed a growth in our understanding of the importance of planning urban landscapes in the context of urban population growth and unpredictable climatic conditions. In the search for responses to the challenges set by the development of contemporary urban landscapes, researchers have offered solutions based on the concept of sustainable and resilient cities, whose spatial development would be based on an interdisciplinary approach to strategy development: biodiversity, urban ecological networks and connectivity, multifunctionality and modularity. Although the concepts of a green infrastructure, in their spatial and functional dimensions, allow the application of such strategies, there are still problems when it comes to implementation and measuring the results achieved. At the same time, there is a growing discussion of the important role played by urban forestry in the context of the collaborative planning of urban landscapes and the application of the ideas of a green infrastructure. The key question is: what are the modalities of application of the concept of green infrastructure in the process of planning the development of the modem city and how can the resulting benefits be evaluated? With the modalities of application of the concept of green infrastructure in mind, we discuss its multi-scale and multifunctional dimensions as applied in the case of Serbia. The realisation of the green infrastructure concept is presented through the example of the Urban Forest Management Plan for the City of Belgrade - Mladenovac Municipality. The results of using the spatial-ecological approach in creating the plan and establishing connectivity as a new aim in forest management planning show that the implementation of the green infrastructure concept, and the achieved multifunctional ecosystem values, can be presented on the basis of the parameters of landscape metrics. In light of the new urban world, future research should focus on the application of the landscape ecological approach of the green infrastructure concept in collaborative planning at the urban landscape scale, which allows the creation of ecosystem services and benefits to human well-being.",IFOREST-BIOGEOSCIENCES AND FORESTRY,2018,AUG J,"Zarandian, A; Badamfirouz, J; Musazadeh, R; Rahmati, A; Azimi, SB",Scenario modeling for spatial-temporal change detection of carbon storage and sequestration in a forested landscape in Northern Iran,10.1007/s10661-018-6845-6,"The present study was conducted, based on scenario modeling approach, in the Do-hezar and Se-hezar forested landscape in the Mazandaran Province in Northern Iran in order to detect spatial-temporal changes of carbon storage and sequestration in four different carbon pools, i.e., aboveground and belowground biomasses, dead organic matter, and organic soils. For this purpose, firstly, the changing trend of land use/land cover (LULC) was detected by analyzing and comparing remotely sensed data of the landscape during the period of 1984-2016. Then, the impacts of future LULC changes on carbon storage and sequestration were predicted and valued using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model under two future plausible scenarios of business as usual (BAU) and balanced development (BD). According to the results of BAU scenario, continuation of the current trend will lead to a significant reduction in the carbon sequestration and a huge amount of social cost due to the loss of carbon stored in the landscape and its release to the atmosphere. The BD scenario which refers to the principled and under control development of human settlements simultaneously with forest conservational and restoration activities, could potentially reverse the downtrend of carbon sequestration service and avoid future socioeconomic costs, hence add to the economic value of the forest landscape in terms of providing a better sink for carbon storage. The results of this research can facilitate the quantitative and accurate assessment of carbon storage and sequestration relying on more precise biophysical and economic data as well as provide insight for effective land-use planning.",ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT,2018,AUG J,"Eisman, AB; Ngo, QM; Kusunoki, YY; Bonar, EE; Zimmerman, MA; Cunningham, RM; Walton, MA",Sexual Violence Victimization Among Youth Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department: The Role of Violence Exposure in Predicting Risk,10.1177/1090198117741941,"Sexual violence (SV) is a widespread public health problem among adolescents and emerging adults with significant short- and long-term consequences. Young people living in urban, disadvantaged communities with high rates of violence may be especially at risk for SV victimization. Understanding interconnections between different forms of violence is critical to reducing SV risk among youth. Participants were youth (N = 599) ages 14 to 24 years (M = 20.05, SD = 2.42) presenting to an urban emergency department with a Level 1 trauma designation as part of a prospective cohort study and followed-up for 24 months. We used logistic regression to examine the probability of reporting SV during the 24-month follow-up based on baseline reports of community and peer violence exposure, accounting for previous SV victimization, substance use, and sociodemographic characteristics. Among youth presenting to an urban emergency department, 22% of youth not seeking care for a sexual assault reported any lifetime SV (forced and/or substance-induced sexual intercourse) at baseline. During the 24-month follow-up, 12% reported SV victimization. We found high community violence exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 2.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.01, 8.68]) and peer violence exposure (OR = 1.58, 95% CI [1.19, 2.08]) were associated with increased odds of reporting SV during follow-up in addition to previous SV victimization (OR = 2.71, 95% CI [1.45, 5.09]). Sex, age, parent education, and alcohol or other drug use at baseline were not associated with odds of SV during follow-up. Investigating interconnections between SV victimization and other forms of violence across socioecological levels provides an opportunity to advance SV research and identify promising avenues for prevention based on other violence prevention research. Future strategies for SV prevention that incorporate community and peer components as well as SV-specific content may help reduce SV victimization among youth living in urban, disadvantaged communities.",HEALTH EDUCATION & BEHAVIOR,2018,AUG J,"Burnham, M; Ma, Z",Multi-Scalar Pathways to Smallholder Adaptation,10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.08.005,"Smallholder farmers in the Loess Plateau Region of China are highly vulnerable to climate change. Effective adaptation governance requires in-depth, situated understanding of how adaptation is embedded in particular environmental, social, political, economic, and institutional contexts. Drawing on 93 qualitative interviews with smallholder households in five counties across three provinces on the Loess Plateau, we use a multi-scalar pathways approach to analyze two particular adaptations (planting maize and adopting drip irrigation). Our results show (1) how historical and ongoing multi-scalar, social ecological processes interact to shape smallholder adaptation decision-making, leading to synergies, tensions, and contradictions across risk management domains and social institutions; (2) whether an adaptation strategy persists over time is in part determined by the extent to which the strategy allows smallholder households to manage various forms of risk and uncertainty in both the present and future; and (3) how past and ongoing multi-scalar adaptation pathways determine not only smallholder exposure to current stressors but also possible choices for future adaptation. Specifically, we find some smallholder adaptive strategies, such as planting maize, stabilize over time because they enable smallholders to manage market risk, climatic risk, and water pollution challenges, allow them to take advantage of opportunities to diversify their livelihoods through local wage work and labor migration, and, at the same time, fit the local social institutions that guide their agricultural management decisions. We also find some adaptive strategies promoted by non-local actors, such as drip irrigation, are abandoned because they create tensions with the ways smallholders construct their livelihoods to manage various forms of uncertainty and risk, and contradict the local social relations and cultural values embedded in their day-to-day lives. Together, these results provide insight into why particular smallholder adaptation pathways become stabilized and reproduced over time, and the cross-scalar environmental, social, political, economic, and institutional processes that underpin them. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",WORLD DEVELOPMENT,2018,AUG J,"Bibri, SE",Backcasting in futures studies: a synthesized scholarly and planning approach to strategic smart sustainable city development,10.1186/s40309-018-0142-z,"Backcasting as a scholarly and planning approach is increasingly used in futures studies in fields related to urban sustainability as an alternative to traditional planning approaches and a formal element of future strategic initiatives. It is viewed as a natural step in operationalizing sustainable development within different societal spheres. As a holistic urban development strategy, smart sustainable cities represent a manifestation of sustainable development as a process of change and a strategic approach to achieving the long-term goals of sustainability. Achieving smart sustainable cities represents an instance of urban sustainability, a concept that refers to a desired state in which a city strives to retain the balance of socio-ecological system through sustainable development as a desired trajectory. This long-term goal requires fostering linkages between scientific and social research, technological innovations, institutional practices, and policy design and planning in relevance to urban sustainability. It also requires a long-term vision, a transdisciplinary approach, and a system-oriented perspective on addressing environmental, economic, and social issues. These requirements are at the core of backcasting as an approach to futures studies. Backcasting is a special kind of scenario methodology to develop future models for smart sustainable city as a planning tool for urban sustainability. Goal-oriented backcasting approaches declare long-range targets that lie quite far in the future. Visionary images of a long-term future can stimulate an accelerated movement towards achieving the goals of urban sustainability. The backcasting approach is found to be well-suited for long-term urban sustainability solutions due to its normative, goal-oriented, and problem-solving character. Also, it is particularly useful when dealing with complex problems and transitions, the current trends are part of the problem, and different directions of development can be allowed given the wide scope and long time horizon considered. A number of recent futures studies using backcasting have underlined the efficacy of this scholarly and planning approach in terms of indicating policy pathway for sustainability transitions and thus supporting policymakers and facilitating and guiding their actions. However, as there are a number of backcasting approaches used in different domains, and the backcasting framework is adaptive and contextual in nature, it is deemed highly relevant and useful to devise a scholarly and planning approach to strategic smart sustainable city development This paper has a fourfold purpose. It aims (1) to provide a comparative account of the most commonly applied approaches in futures studies dealing with technology and sustainability (forecasting and backcasting); (2) to review the existing backcasting methodologies and discuss the relevance of their use in terms of their steps and guiding questions in analyzing strategic smart sustainable city development as an area that is at the intersection of city development, sustainable development, and technology development; (3) to synthesize a backcasting approach based on the outcome of the review and discussion; and (4) to examine backcasting as a scholarly methodology and planning approach by looking at its use in the Gothenburg 2050 Project, as well as to use this case to illustrate the core of the synthesized approach. The synthesized scholarly and planning approach serves to help researchers and scholars in analyzing strategic smart sustainable city development to assist planners, policymakers, and decision-makers in their endeavor to implement smart sustainable cities.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FUTURES RESEARCH,2018,jul 27 J,"Campbell, ML; Hewitt, CL",Which Values Do Non-Native Marine Species Affect? A Case-Study Exploration of Perceived Values at Threat in Micronesia,10.3389/fmars.2018.00247,"Impact assessment of non-native species introductions tend to focus on either economic and/or environmental risks. We present work that extends these approaches bringing environmental (ecological) and economic values together with social and cultural considerations. Our approach aims to better inform future non-native species management risk analyses. A triangulation approach involving literature and museum searches, face to face discussions, and questionnaires was undertaken to identify values perceived to be at risk with the arrival of non-native marine species (NMS) in three countries in Micronesia (Guam, the Republic of Palau and Saipan). We identified value sets for a range of stakeholders and subsequently used scenario approaches to determine the values' perceived relative worth (non-monetary) and directional change of worth following a biosecurity incursion. We identified 337 value sub-elements, of which at least 40% are thought to be at risk (their worth would diminish) if a NMS introduction were to occur. Results were used to create Venn diagrams and value networks to aid in understanding the linkages between social, cultural, economic, and environmental values. Additionally the relationship between elicited values and their alignment to Ecosystem Service contribution is identified and discussed. The Venn diagrams and value networks should prove a beneficial tool for understanding citizen concerns around perceived biosecurity risks and developing effective future biosecurity risk communication strategies.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2018,jul 23 J,"Holland, RA; Beaumont, N; Hooper, T; Austen, M; Gross, RJK; Heptonstall, PJ; Ketsopoulou, I; Winskel, M; Watson, J; Taylor, G",Incorporating ecosystem services into the design of future energy systems,10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.04.022,"There is increasing recognition that a whole systems approach is required to inform decisions on future energy options. Based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of forty influential energy and ecosystem services scenario exercises, we consider how the benefits to society that are derived from the natural environment are integrated within current energy scenarios. The analysis demonstrates a set of common underlying themes across scenario exercises. These include the relative contribution of fossil sources of energy, rates of decarbonisation, the level of international cooperation and globalisation, rate of technological development and deployment, and societies focus on environmental sustainability. Across energy scenario exercises, ecosystem services consideration is primarily limited to climate regulation, food, water resources, and air quality. In contrast, ecosystem services scenarios consider energy systems in a highly aggregated narrative form, with impacts of energy options mediated primarily through climate and land use change. Emerging data and tools offer opportunities for closer integration of energy and ecosystem services scenarios. This can be achieved by incorporating into scenarios exercises both monetary and non-monetary values of ecosystem services, and increasing the spatial representation of both energy systems and ecosystem services. The importance of ecosystem services for human well-being is increasingly recognised in policy at local, national and international scales. Tighter integration of energy and ecosystem service scenarios exercises will allow policy makers to identify pathways consistent with international obligations relating to both anthropogenic climate change and the loss and degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services.",APPLIED ENERGY,2018,jul 15 J,"Fereidoon, M; Koch, M","SWAT-MODSIM-PSO optimization of multi-crop planning in the Karkheh River Basin, Iran, under the impacts of climate change",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.234,"Agriculture is one of the environmental/economic sectors that may adversely be affected by climate change, especially, in already nowadays water-scarce regions, like the Middle East. One way to cope with future changes in absolute as well as seasonal (irrigation) water amounts can be the adaptation of the agricultural crop pattern in a region, i.e. by planting crops which still provide high yields and so economic benefits to farmers under such varying climate conditions. To do this properly, the whole cascade starting from climate change, effects on hydrology and surface water availability, subsequent effects on crop yield, agricultural areas available, and, finally, economic value of a multi-crop cultivation pattern must be known. To that avail, a complex coupled simulation-optimization tool SWAT-LINGO-MODSIM-PSO (SLMP) has been developed here and used to find the future optimum cultivation area of crops for the maximization of the economic benefits in five irrigation-fed agricultural plains in the south of the Karkheh River Basin (KRB) southwest Iran. Starting with the SWAT distributed hydrological model, the KR-streamflow as well as the inflow into the Karkheh-reservoir, as the major storage of irrigation water, is calibrated and validated, based on 1985-2004 observed discharge data. In the subsequent step, the SWAT-predicted streamflow is fed into the MODSIM river basin Decision Support System to simulate and optimize the water allocation between different water users (agricultural, environmental, municipal and industrial) under standard operating policy (SOP) rules. The final step is the maximization of the economic benefit in the five agricultural plains through constrained PSO (particle swarm optimization) by adjusting the cultivation areas (decision variables) of different crops (wheat, barley, maize and others), taking into account their specific prizes and optimal crop yields under water deficiency, with the latter computed in the LINGO-sub-optimization module embedded in the SLMP-tool. For the optimization of the agricultural benefits in the KRB in the near future (2038-2060), quantile-mapping (QM) bias-corrected downscaled predictors for daily precipitation and temperatures of the HacIGEM2-ES GCM-model under RCP4.5- and RCP8.5-emission scenarios are used as climate drivers in the streamflow- and crop yield simulations of the SWAT-model, leading to corresponding changes in the final outcome (economic benefit) of the SLMP-tool. In fact, whereas for the historical period (1985-2004) a total annual benefit of 94.2 million US$ for all multi-crop areas in KRB is computed, there is a decrease to 883 million US$ and 72.1 million US$ for RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, in the near future (2038-2060) prediction period. In fact, this future income decrease is due to a substantial shift from cultivation areas devoted nowadays to high price wheat and barley in the winter season to low-price maize-covered areas in the future summers, owing to a future seasonal change of SWAT-predicted irrigation water available, i.e. less in the winter and more in the summer. (C) 2018 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,jul 15 J,"Chen, YJ; Yu, ZR; Li, XD; Li, PY","How agricultural multiple ecosystem services respond to socioeconomic factors in Mengyin County, China",10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.187,"Provisioning services have always been the main focus of agriculture, and which have led to a decline in biodiversity and have damaged a number of other services. Agriculture should contribute to current and future food security while producing multiple ecosystem services (ES). Restoration outcomes of multiple ES were affected by different socioeconomic drivers, thus a better understanding of how multiple ES respond to socioeconomic drivers can help to restore multiple ES This paper used rural people's perceptions of ES to quantity and map ecosystem service obtainment and demand in the Mengyin County, China. All integrative index of multiple ecosystem services (IMES) was used to effectively aggregate the values of multiple ES. The threat categorization framework is designed to communicate the degree to which the adequate and sustainable provision of multiple ES is threatened, in order to prioritize conservation actions. The results revealed that 6 townships in the Mengyin County exhibited an excessive obtainment situation (demand is less than obtainment) of multiple ES; an insufficient obtainment situation (demand is greater than obtainment) of multiple ES was mainly situated in the northern part of Mengyin County. Overall, the current state of multiple ES across Mengyin County is classified as Endangered classification according to application of threat categorization framework. It is necessary to restructure and manage socioeconomic factors for multiple ES. At national level the macro decision-making (controlling population density) and the mechanisms (attracting high-quality human resources into the rural) will play an important role in promoting multiple ES management, and it is necessary to provide 3 or more years of tailored educational resources for rural residents to advance multiple ES in agricultural landscape. Development of agricultural PES programs in China that enable farmers to profit from production ES is a sustainable strategy for increasing multiple ecosystem services. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,jul 15 J,"Rolfe, J; Windle, J; McCosker, K; Northey, A",Assessing cost-effectiveness when environmental benefits are bundled: agricultural water management in Great Barrier Reef catchments,10.1111/1467-8489.12259,"Using economic analysis to prioritise improvements in environmental conditions is particularly difficult when multiple benefits are involved. This includes bundling' issues in agricultural pollution management, where a change in management action or farming systems generates multiple improvements, such as reductions in more than one pollutant. In this study, we conceptualise and compare two different approaches to analysing cost-effectiveness when varying bundles of benefits are generated for a single project investment. Each approach requires data to be transformed in some way to allow the analysis to proceed. The index approach requires the transformation on the benefits side so that the effects of multiple pollutant changes can be combined into a measure for each project which can then be compared to costs. By comparison, the disaggregation approach requires the transformation on the costs side where costs for each project have to be apportioned across the different pollutants involved. The paper provides novel insights with an application to agricultural water quality improvements into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, demonstrating that while both approaches are effective in prioritising projects by cost-effectiveness, the disaggregation approach provides more insightful results and values that may be relevant for use as upper value guidelines in future project selection.",AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS,2018,JUL J,"Kim, G; Coseo, P",Urban Park Systems to Support Sustainability: The Role of Urban Park Systems in Hot Arid Urban Climates,10.3390/f9070439,"Quantifying ecosystem services in urban areas is complex. However, existing ecosystem service typologies and ecosystem modeling can provide a means towards understanding some key biophysical links between urban forests and ecosystem services. This project addresses broader concepts of sustainability by assessing the urban park system in Phoenix, Arizona's hot urban climate. This project aims to quantify and demonstrate the multiple ecosystem services provided by Phoenix's green infrastructure (i.e., urban park system), including its air pollution removal values, carbon sequestration and storage, avoided runoff, structural value, and the energy savings it provides for city residents. Modeling of ecosystem services of the urban park system revealed around 517,000 trees within the system, representing a 7.20% tree cover. These trees remove about 3630 tons (t) of carbon (at an associated value of $285,000) and about 272 t of air pollutants (at an associated value of $1.16 million) every year. Trees within Phoenix's urban park system are estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $106,000 and their structural value is estimated at $692 million. The findings of this research will increase our knowledge of the value of green infrastructure services provided by different types of urban vegetation and assist in the future design, planning and management of green infrastructure in cities. Thus, this study has implications for both policy and practice, contributing to a better understanding of the multiple benefits of green infrastructure and improving the design of green spaces in hot arid urban climates around the globe.",FORESTS,2018,JUL J,"Sheng, JC; Zhou, WH; de Sherbinin, A","Uncertainty in Estimates, Incentives, and Emission Reductions in REDD plus Projects",10.3390/ijerph15071544,"The accurate monitoring and measurement of emission reductions is a critical step in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). However, the existence of uncertainty in emission reduction estimates affects the performance of REDD+ projects. We assert that incentive could be a valuable policy tool for reducing monitoring errors and transaction costs. Using Stackelberg models and simulation research, this paper examines the effects of uncertainty and incentive on performance and stakeholder benefits of REDD+ projects. Finally, the uncertainties in REDD+ projects are further discussed, and equilibrium errors, emission reductions, and stakeholder benefits in different scenarios are compared. The results show that errors do affect the measured value of carbon emissions and compensation payments. However, incentive for investors can reduce monitoring errors and improve the performance of REDD+ projects. Therefore, in the future, incentive should be provided to investors rather than landholders.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH,2018,JUL J,"Sheng, JC; Qiu, H",Governmentality within REDD plus : Optimizing incentives and efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.02.041,"The complexity and deeply spatial effects of incentives in REDD + make it a good case study for the application of govemmentality theory, as it provides a special perspective to observe how REDD + incentives shape individual conduct. This paper describes political and economic arguments related to incentives associated with the REDD + mechanism from the perspective of governmentality. This paper conducts a theoretical analysis of policymaker, landholder, and developer strategies under different market power structures. The goal is to explore the optimal incentives and efforts for REDD + through two-stage game models. A numerical simulation is applied to examine the effects of changing the parameters associated with each stakeholder's strategies. The results demonstrate the following. First, the conduct of landholders and developers in reducing carbon emissions is unrelated to the market power they own. Policymakers need to consider market power structures when designing REDD + incentives. Second, policymakers need to consider multiple factors to design heterogeneous REDD + incentives under different market power structures. These factors include the price of carbon emission credits, opportunity costs, output elasticity of effort, cost coefficients and total factor productivity. Third, variations in compensation payments do not affect landholder and developer efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but would affect the REDD + incentive design. Finally, REDD + incentives have become hybrid neoliberal governmentality; they are consistent with the characteristics of neoliberalism, but are also instruments for serving state policy goals. All these factors need to be considered in designing future REDD + incentives that achieve an incentive-compatible REDD + mechanism and realize appropriate governance in forest conservation.",LAND USE POLICY,2018,JUL J,"Hong, SK; Kim, JM; Jo, HK; Lee, SW",Monetary Valuation of Urban Forest Attributes in Highly Developed Urban Environments: An Experimental Study Using a Conjoint Choice Model,10.3390/su10072461,"It is important to integrate user preferences and demands into the design, planning, and management of urban forests. This is particularly important in highly urbanized areas where land is extremely limited. Based on a survey with 600 participants selected by quota sampling in Seoul, Korea, we developed a conjoint choice model for determining the preferences of urban dwellers on urban forest attributes, the levels of attributes, and the preferences for particular attributes. Then, the preferences were transformed into monetary values. The results indicated that urban dwellers preferred broadleaved forests over coniferous forests, soil-type pavement materials over porous elastic pavement materials on trails, and relatively flat trails over trails with steep slopes. The model indicated that participants were willing to pay an additional 11.42 USD to change coniferous forest to broadleaved forest, 15.09 USD to alter porous elastic pavement materials on trails to soil-type pavement materials on trails, and 23.8 USD to modify steeply sloping trails to relatively flat trails. As previously reported, considerable distance decay effects have been observed in the user preferences for urban forests. We also found a significant difference in the amount of the mean marginal willingness to pay among sociodemographic subgroups. In particular, there were significant positive responses from the male group to changes in urban forest attributes and their levels in terms of their willingness to pay additional funds. By contrast, the elderly group had the opposite response. In this study, we were not able to integrate locality and spatial variation in user preferences for urban forests derived from locational characteristics. In future studies, the role of limiting factors in user preferences for urban forests and their attributes should be considered.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUL J,"Morgan, EH; Severs, MM; Hanson, KL; McGuirt, J; Becot, F; Wang, WW; Kolodinsky, J; Sitaker, M; Pitts, SBJ; Ammerman, A; Seguin, RA",Gaining and Maintaining a Competitive Edge: Evidence from CSA Members and Farmers on Local Food Marketing Strategies,10.3390/su10072177,"Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., lettuce, green beans), ideally produced organically. Trust and a sense of personal connection with the farmer comprised part of the value added of CSA participation. Time and location of share pick-up were very important; thus, farmers tried to offer convenient sites or an enriched pick-up experience. Small changes in price appeared unlikely to impact participation among current members. Social networks and word-of-mouth were powerful for marketing, but may limit the ability to reach diverse populations. Future research should examine the ability of CSAs to meet the needs of those who do not currently participate.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUL J,"Nuppenau, EA",Soil Fertility Management by Transition Matrices and Crop Rotation: On Spatial and Dynamic Aspects in Programming of Ecosystem Services,10.3390/su10072213,"This paper deals with crop rotation as a method to improve soil fertility and control pests from an economic point of view. It outlines a new framework for modelling of more sustainable decision-making of farmers under the auspices of ecosystem services. It is intended for practical application in extension and farmer communication to show values of rotations referring to natural capital. In the past farmers created complex rotations to benefit from ecological processes which enabled them to control natural pests (at least partly), to build soil fertility on recycling of organics (humus formation), and to promote pollination (including wild bees and other insects) and water retention (diverse water requests of different crops). Farmers which were accommodating cropping orders in small parcels of fields used long lists of crop sequences and offered mixed farming systems: this was a major feature of agriculture. Cropping orders evolved from necessity and were followed as rules. Today we are faced with large fields and monoculture, instead, and ecosystem services are diminished. Usually, attempts to recognize economic pay-offs from rotation through modelling are meagre because of complexity. We address the issue of complexity by suggesting a new flexible type of modelling crop rotations (dynamic optimization) which condenses ecological information into matrices. A newly-hosted transfer matrix shall delineate the impacts of cropping patterns in period t to fertility of land in t + 1. Categorizing different states of nature (which have to be brought in line with farmers' knowledge of externalities), it can be implemented in models on rotation decision.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUL J,"Fetzel, T; Petridis, P; Noll, D; Singh, SJ; Fischer-Kowalski, M",Reaching a socio-ecological tipping point: Overgrazing on the Greek island of Samothraki and the role of European agricultural policies,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.042,"Livestock keeping and food production from grasslands play an important role in the Mediterranean region, where grazing has a long tradition and still is a key livelihood strategy. Yet, in many places widespread degradation (caused by overgrazing) severely threatens the natural resource base and prospects for future food security and sustainable development. On Samothraki, a Greek island, several decades of continuous increase of the local livestock population, exceeding not only the local food base by far but also the local farmers' ability to provide supplementary feed, led to a socio-ecological tipping point turning the dynamics downward. Still, in the face of very restricted marketing opportunities, we find local farmers in an economic deadlock of relying on CAP subsidies as a main source of income and on still too high animal numbers for maintaining an ecological balance of their land while lacking the labor power (due to large-scale migration to Germany in the 1950s and 60 s) to apply adequate management practices. In this paper, we present a feed balance (feed-demand and supply) for sheep and goats from 1970 to 2012 and discuss causes and effects of the excessive growth in animal numbers, as well as reasons for their downturn in the last decade. We describe the island's groundcover and symptoms of soil degradation, and underline our findings by reference to a remote sensing approach. Our findings recently gained in prominence as in September 2017, a state of emergency had to be declared on the island when a major weather event triggered a series of landslides that severely damaged the main town, a number of roads and bridges and even the 700 years old Fonias Tower, a marker of Samothraki tourism.",LAND USE POLICY,2018,JUL J,"Davies, K; Murchie, AA; Kerr, V; Lundquist, C",The evolution of marine protected area planning in Aotearoa New Zealand: Reflections on participation and process,10.1016/j.marpol.2018.03.025,"Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a critical element of fisheries management and biodiversity conservation strategies. However, MPA planning is a complex undertaking that requires consideration of ecological and other knowledge, including indigenous knowledge, as well as balancing social, cultural, and economic interests. Engaging a range of stakeholders and indigenous partners in MPA planning, establishment, and management has consistently been identified as key to successful MPA implementation. This paper interrogates MPA planning in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a focus on the role of participation and collaboration in the development and implementation of MPAs. Previous and current MPA processes were evaluated using best practice principles drawn from international MPA and other participatory process literature. Several factors hypothesised to be associated with improvements and efficiencies in the involvement of participants in MPA decision making are assessed, including aspects of participation, best available information, social learning and capacity, fair and respective process, and efficiency of administration. Processes were compared before and after introduction of the New Zealand Marine Protected Areas Policy and Implementation Plan in 2005. Areas for improvement in future evolutions of MPA planning also emerged from this research; these centre primarily on the need for inclusive and balanced participation; inclusion of multiple values and information types in MPA decision making; time to build trust and establish shared understanding; and resourcing. These recommendations represent a conceptualisation of MPAs operating within holistic social-ecological systems frameworks that encompass more than biodiversity conservation or extractive use, potentially redefining how MPAs are conceived of, developed, implemented and valued.",MARINE POLICY,2018,JUL J,"Li, Y; Rosemberg, MAS; Seng, JS",Allostatic load: A theoretical model for understanding the relationship between maternal posttraumatic stress disorder and adverse birth outcomes,10.1016/j.midw.2018.04.002,"Background: Adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth and low birth weight are significant public health concerns and contribute to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Studies have increasingly been exploring the predictive effects of maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on adverse birth outcomes. However, the biological mechanisms by which maternal PTSD affects birth outcomes are not well understood. Allostatic load refers to the cumulative dysregulations of the multiple physiological systems as a response to multiple social-ecological levels of chronic stress. Allostatic load has been well documented in relation to both chronic stress and adverse health outcomes in non-pregnant populations. However, the mediating role of allostatic load is less understood when it comes to maternal PTSD and adverse birth outcomes. Objective: To propose a theoretical model that depicts how allostatic load could mediate the impact of maternal PTSD on birth outcomes. Method: We followed the procedures for theory synthesis approach described by Walker and Avant (2011), including specifying focal concepts, identifying related factors and relationships, and constructing an integrated representation. We first present a theoretical overview of the allostatic load theory and the other 4 relevant theoretical models. Then we provide a brief narrative review of literature that empirically supports the propositions of the integrated model. Finally, we describe our theoretical model. Findings/Conclusions: The theoretical model synthesized has the potential to advance perinatal research by delineating multiple biomarkers to be used in future. After it is well validated, it could be utilized as the theoretical basis for health care professionals to identify high-risk women by evaluating their experiences of psychosocial and traumatic stress and to develop and evaluate service delivery and clinical interventions that might modify maternal perceptions or experiences of stress and eliminate their impacts on adverse birth outcomes.",MIDWIFERY,2018,JUL J,"Backman, C; Stacey, D; Crick, M; Cho-Young, D; Marck, PB",Use of participatory visual narrative methods to explore older adults' experiences of managing multiple chronic conditions during care transitions,10.1186/s12913-018-3292-6,"Background: Older adults with multiple chronic conditions typically have more complex care needs that require multiple transitions between healthcare settings. Poor care transitions often lead to fragmentation in care, decreased quality of care, and increased adverse events. Emerging research recommends the strong need to engage patients and families to improve the quality of their care. However, there are gaps in evidence on the most effective approaches for fully engaging patients/clients and families in their transitional care. The purpose of this study was to engage older adults with multiple chronic conditions and their family members in the detailed exploration of their experiences during transitions across health care settings and identify potential areas for future interventions. Methods: This was a qualitative study using participatory visual narrative methods informed by a socio-ecological perspective. Narrated photo walkabouts were conducted with older adults and family members (n = 4 older adults alone, n = 3 family members alone, and n = 2 older adult/family member together) between February and September 2016. The data analysis of the transcripts consisted of an iterative process until consensus on the coding and analysis was reached. Results: A common emerging theme was that older adults and their family members identified the importance of active involvement in managing their own care transitions. Other themes included positive experiences during care transitions; accessing community services and resources; as well as challenges with follow-up care. Participants also felt a lack of meaningful engagement during discharge planning, and they also identified the presence of systemic barriers in care transitions. Conclusion: The results contribute to our understanding that person-and family-centered care transitions should focus on the need for active involvement of older adults and their families in managing care transitions. Based on the results, three areas for improvement specific to older adults managing chronic conditions during care transitions emerged: strengthening support for person-and family-centered care, engaging older adults and families in their care transitions, and providing better support and resources.",BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH,2018,jun 20 J,"Brown, I",Assessing climate change risks to the natural environment to facilitate cross-sectoral adaptation policy,10.1098/rsta.2017.0297,"Climate change policy requires prioritization of adaptation actions across many diverse issues. The policy agenda for the natural environment includes not only biodiversity, soils and water, but also associated human benefits through agriculture, forestry, water resources, hazard alleviation, climate regulation and amenity value. To address this broad agenda, the use of comparative risk assessment is investigated with reference to statutory requirements of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. Risk prioritization was defined by current adaptation progress relative to risk magnitude and implementation lead times. Use of an ecosystem approach provided insights into risk interactions, but challenges remain in quantifying ecosystem services. For all risks, indirect effects and potential systemic risks were identified from land-use change, responding to both climate and socio-economic drivers, and causing increased competition for land and water resources. Adaptation strategies enhancing natural ecosystem resilience can buffer risks and sustain ecosystem services but require improved cross-sectoral coordination and recognition of dynamic change. To facilitate this, risk assessments need to be reflexive and explicitly assess decision outcomes contingent on their riskiness and adaptability, including required levels of human intervention, influence of uncertainty and ethical dimensions. More national-scale information is also required on adaptation occurring in practice and its efficacy in moderating risks. This article is part of the theme issue 'Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'.",PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES,2018,jun 13 J,"Dessalegn, B; Kiktenko, L; Zhumagazina, B; Zhakenova, S; Nangia, V",Explaining farmers' reluctance to adopt recommendations for sustainable ecosystem management,10.1186/s13717-018-0133-9,"Introduction: The lower Syr Darya River Basin is an integral part of the Aral Sea Basin that is shared by four riparian countries. In Kazakhstan, the water is mainly used for agricultural purposes. However, the poor quality and insufficient quantity of water and the overall degradation of natural resources due to unsustainable management practices threaten the profitability of the sector. The situation is even worse for downstream users. Three alternative scenarios for sustainable water and land management were developed using the RIOS and SWAT models as decision support tools. The scenario that offered the highest water and land productivity was presented to farmers to assess their willingness to forgo their current practices and adopt proposed management practices. We introduce willingness to forego (WTF)-a qualitative approach and a variant of the concept of opportunity costs to look beyond hypothetical markets to trading current benefits for future returns. We also tap into literature on agricultural risk management to provide additional insight into farmers' rationale behind their choices. Result: Generally, despite their stated preference to conserve ecosystem services, farmers' actions were found to be inconsistent with the proposed sustainable management. WTF analysis revealed that farmers' desire to maximize current benefits and more importantly to minimize future risks override all sustainability considerations. Their WTF current benefits mainly depended on their location along the canal and hence their access to water and land, overall cost of production, market conditions that informed their crop choices, and the cost of adopting recommended packages. While the results remain specific to this case, they are consistent with the literature that links farmers' behaviors to ecological performances. Conclusions: The study highlights the limitations of decision support tools and other valuation approaches including willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (payment) (WTA), to capture the delicate trade-offs that need to be considered to ensure household food and income security and encourage adoption of sustainable ecosystem management practices. Adequate information on potential effects of proposed conservation measures on yield, markets and hence farm profits, and availability of other alternatives are critical in shaping farmers' decisions.",ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES,2018,jun 11 J,"Pradhan, A; Chan, C; Roul, PK; Halbrendt, J; Sipes, B",Potential of conservation agriculture (CA) for climate change adaptation and food security under rainfed uplands of India: A transdisciplinary approach,10.1016/j.agsy.2017.01.002,"Rainfed agro-ecosystems, the purported grey patches untouched by the Green Revolution or most technological advances, occupy a prominent position in Indian agriculture. Cropping intensities and crop yields are low and unstable in these areas due to unpredictable patterns of rainfall, a host of biotic and abiotic stresses and adherence to traditional farm practices. This precarious food security situation is especially dangerous in the central Indian tribal belt (also known as the poverty belt) which is a typical rainfed area dominated by tribal communities. More than 90% of the tribal people are totally dependent on agriculture and produce much of what they eat. Small land holdings and their low productivity, along with uncertainties in rainfall patterns, increases economic and social risks for these farmers. With degraded soils and unreliable weather patterns, return on investment is uncertain and likely to be much lower overall than under irrigated conditions with better soils. Under such conditions, one approach to achieve improved crop production is to minimize soil and other natural resource degradation by adopting a set of crop-nutrient-water-land system management practices, such as conservation agriculture (CA). To assess the effect of introduced technology under local ecological and socio-economic conditions, the study focused on two ecosystem services: a) provisional, and b) regulatory through five treatments consisting of farmers' traditional practice (FP) which was conventional tillage with broadcast of local variety maize (Zea mays L); and four CA treatments viz., conventional tillage with sole cropped maize using line sowing of the improved maize cultivar 'Nilesh' (CT-M); conventional tillage with maize intercropped with the improved cowpea (Vig na unguiculata L cultivar 'Hariyalli Bush') (CT-M + C); reduced tillage with sole cropped maize (MT-M); and reduced tillage with maize + cowpea (MT-M + C). After harvest of maize and cowpea, mustard was planted as a post rainy season crop and all the mustard plant residues were returned to their respective plots as residue cover except FP. Under provisional ecosystem services, performance of CA on crop yield, and profitability was assessed through maize equivalent yield and partial budget analysis, respectively. Results showed that reduced tillage combined with maize-cowpea intercropping (MT-M + C) followed by mustard residue retention had higher system productivity and net benefits, an increase of 200% and 230%, respectively over FP. Under regulatory ecosystem services, the soil quality was assessed through calculation of soil quality index (SQI) which was highest under MT-M + C followed by mustard residue retention and lowest under farmers' practices. In terms of CA treatment preference, 35% of the farmers indicated a strong preference for MT-M + C compared to 14% for FP. Combined, these results clearly demonstrate the potential of CA to simultaneously increase yield, diversify crop production and improve soil quality which should support a move towards sustainable intensification of crop production to improve future household income and food security. Additionally, using a transdisciplinary approach fully engaged all stakeholders in co-designing the CA treatments appropriate for the farmers and local environmental conditions leading to significant impacts on economic livelihoods, environmental sustainability and food security. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS,2018,JUN J,"Hutcheson, W; Hoagland, P; Jin, D",Valuing environmental education as a cultural ecosystem service at Hudson River Park,10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.03.005,"The Hudson River and its estuary is once again an ecologically, economically, and culturally functional component of New York City's natural environment. The estuary's cultural significance may derive largely from environmental education, including marine science programs for the public. These programs are understood as cultural ecosystem services but are rarely evaluated in economic terms. We estimated the economic value of the Hudson River Park's environmental education programs. We compiled data on visits by schools and summer camps from 32 New York City school districts to the Park during the years 2014 and 2015. A travel cost approach was adapted from the field of environmental economics to estimate the value of education in this context. A small-but conservative-estimate of the Park's annual education program benefits ranged between $7500 and 25,500, implying an average capitalized value on the order of $0.6 million. Importantly, organizations in districts with high proportions of minority students or English language learners were found to be more likely to participate in the Park's programs. The results provide an optimistic view of the benefits of environmental education focused on urban estuaries, through which a growing understanding of ecological systems could lead to future environmental improvements. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,JUN J,"Holz, C; Siegel, LS; Johnston, E; Jones, AP; Sterman, J",Ratcheting ambition to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C-trade-offs between emission reductions and carbon dioxide removal,10.1088/1748-9326/aac0c1,"Mitigation scenarios to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C or less in 2100 often rely on large amounts of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which carry significant potential social, environmental, political and economic risks. A precautionary approach to scenario creation is therefore indicated. This letter presents the results of such a precautionary modelling exercise in which the models C-ROADS and En-ROADS were used to generate a series of 1.5 degrees C mitigation scenarios that apply increasingly stringent constraints on the scale and type of CDR available. This allows us to explore the trade-offs between near-term stringency of emission reductions and assumptions about future availability of CDR. In particular, we find that regardless of CDR assumptions, near-term ambition increase ('ratcheting') is required for any 1.5 degrees C pathway, making this letter timely for the facilitative, or Talanoa, dialogue to be conducted by the UNFCCC in 2018. By highlighting the difference between net and gross reduction rates, often obscured in scenarios, we find that mid-term gross CO2 emission reduction rates in scenarios with CDR constraints increase to levels without historical precedence. This in turn highlights, in addition to the need to substantially increase CO2 reduction rates, the need to improve emission reductions for non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Further, scenarios in which all or part of the CDR is implemented as non-permanent storage exhibit storage loss emissions, which partly offset CDR, highlighting the importance of differentiating between net and gross CDR in scenarios. We find in some scenarios storage loss trending to similar values as gross CDR, indicating that gross CDR would have to be maintained simply to offset the storage losses of CO2 sequestered earlier, without any additional net climate benefit.",ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS,2018,JUN J,"Gorn, L; Kleemann, J; Furst, C","Improving the Matrix-Assessment of Ecosystem Services ProvisionThe Case of Regional Land Use Planning under Climate Change in the Region of Halle, Germany",10.3390/land7020076,"Against the background of climate change, current and future provision of ecosystem services (ES) will also change. The recording of current provision potentials and its development in future is important for adapted regional planning. ES assessments are frequently carried out in the context of expert-based surveys, which have, however, revealed little information to date about uncertainties. We present a novel approach that combines the ES matrix assessment with the Delphi approach, confidence ratings, standardized confidence levels, and scenario assessment. First, the most important ES and their current and future provision potentials were identified by expert-based surveys in the study region, Halle (Saale) in Germany. Secondly, land use scenarios under climate change were developed that maintain the most important ES. The scenarios were assessed by the experts. Our study showed that the relevance of food as a provisioning ES, as well as spiritual values and recreational/landscape beauty as cultural ES, is high. A high level of acceptance was achieved by the afforestation scenario. Integration of the Delphi approach, confidence ratings, and confidence levels into the ES matrix assessment is an appropriate combination for estimating uncertainties in expert-based knowledge, thus contributing to the uncertainty assessment in regional planning.",LAND,2018,JUN J,"Phalan, BT",What Have We Learned from the Land Sparing-sharing Model?,10.3390/su10061760,"The land sparing-sharing model provides a powerful heuristic and analytical framework for understanding the potential of agricultural landscapes to support wild species. However, its conceptual and analytical strengths and limitations remain widely contested or misunderstood. Here, I review what inferences can and cannot be derived from the framework, and discuss eight specific points of contention and confusion. The land sparing-sharing framework is underpinned by an ethic that seeks to minimise harm to non-human species. It is used to quantify how good farmland is for different species, in relation to appropriate reference land uses, and at what opportunity cost. The results of empirical studies that have used the model indicate that most species will have larger populations if food is produced on as small an area as possible, while sparing as large an area of native vegetation as possible. The potential benefits of land sharing or intermediate strategies for wild species are more limited. I review disagreements about the scope of analysis (food production cf. food security), the value of high-yield farmland for wildlife, the (ir)relevance of the Borlaug hypothesis, scale and heterogeneity, fostering human connections to nature, the prospects for land sparing in heavily-modified landscapes, the role of land sparing in improving connectivity, and the political implications of the model. Interpreted alongside insights from social, political and economic studies, the model can help us to understand how decisions about land-use will affect the persistence of wild species populations into the future.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUN J,"Dahik, CQ; Crespo, P; Stimm, B; Murtinho, F; Weber, M; Hildebrandt, P",Contrasting Stakeholders' Perceptions of Pine Plantations in the Paramo Ecosystem of Ecuador,10.3390/su10061707,"The paramo, a collection of Neotropical alpine ecosystems, plays a prominent role in ecosystem services (ESs), providing water supply and regulation, conservation of biodiversity, and carbon storage in soil. The establishment of pine plantations for carbon sequestration and wood production has recently raised questions concerning the possible impact on the paramo's ES. This study identifies the main stakeholders in this field and compares and contrasts their perceptions of the impact of pine plantations on the paramo's ES, because the disparity among stakeholders' perceptions must be addressed to achieve sustainable management. The data were gathered using 56 semi-structured interviews and were qualitatively analyzed. The results show that the main stakeholder groups (landowners, local government officials, foresters, and nature conservationists) acknowledge the important ES of the plantations. The perception of plantation impact varies among and within stakeholder groups, however, on specific functions, such as water provision, carbon storage, erosion prevention, and habitat function for wildlife and natural vegetation. Consideration and integration of these perceptions can help policy makers and organizations develop sustainable policies for the future management of the paramo ecosystem.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUN J,"Zingraff-Hamed, A; Noack, M; Greulich, S; Schwarzwalder, K; Wantzen, KM; Pauleit, S",Model-Based Evaluation of Urban River Restoration: Conflicts between Sensitive Fish Species and Recreational Users,10.3390/su10061747,"Urban rivers are socioecological systems, and restored habitats may be attractive to both sensitive species and recreationists. Understanding the potential conflicts between ecological and recreational values is a critical issue for the development of a sustainable river-management plan. Habitat models are very promising tools for the ecological evaluation of river restoration projects that are already concluded, ongoing, or even to be planned. With our paper, we make a first attempt at integrating recreational user pressure into habitat modeling. The objective of this study was to analyze whether human impact is likely to hinder the re-establishment of a target species despite the successful restoration of physical habitat structures in the case of the restoration of the Isar River in Munich (Germany) and the target fish species Chondostroma nasus L. Our analysis combined high-resolution 2D hydrodynamic modeling with mapping of recreational pressure and used an expert-based procedure for modeling habitat suitability. The results are twofold: (1) the restored river contains suitable physical habitats for population conservation but has low suitability for recruitment; (2) densely used areas match highly suitable habitats for C. nasus. In the future, the integrated modeling procedure presented here may allow ecological refuge for sensitive target species to be included in the design of restoration and may help in the development of visitor-management plans to safeguard biodiversity and recreational ecosystem services.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUN J,"Olsson, EGA",Urban food systems as vehicles for sustainability transitions,10.2478/bog-2018-0019,"Strategies and action plans for sustainable food provisioning and urban food security are in progress in many urban regions both in the global North and South. A number of urgent challenges need to be confronted such as increasing uncertainty and unpredictability related to stronger dependence on a global market for food import, ongoing political unrest and environmental conflicts, increasing resource scarcity and climate warming making food production hazardous. There is an increased vulnerability with respect to food security for human societies, both in developing and developed countries. The food security dimension of access to healthy food is related to equality and poverty and is relevant for cities in the North via the segregation challenges. The food system issue is well-suited for assessing sustainable development since food provisioning is both a multiscale and cross-sectorial issue and thus addresses more than the three dimensions of social, economic and environmental sustainability. How is the planning for sustainable food strategies in urban regions in Europe concordant with the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals and with the transition towards sustainable futures? This paper deliberates on using the food system issues for sustainability transition, drawing on the forthcoming 2018 IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) work on pathways for sustainable futures and a recent survey of existing urban food system strategies. Against this background, some reflections are given relevant for the ongoing work on a local urban food strategy for the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. (C) 2018 Nicolaus Copernicus University. All rights reserved.",BULLETIN OF GEOGRAPHY-SOCIO-ECONOMIC SERIES,2018,JUN J,"Farr, M; Stoeckl, N","Overoptimism and the undervaluation of ecosystem services: A case-study of recreational fishing in Townsville, adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef",10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.02.010,"There are numerous methods for estimating the value of different types of ecosystem services. Some methods use observed behaviours to draw inferences about value, but (observed) behaviours are based upon expectations, which can be incorrect. Using data from anglers living in Townsville, adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in a travel-cost model, we show how expectations about the number of fish people believe they will catch on a recreational fishing trip greatly influence estimates of the value of catch reductions (a loss in angler welfare). Experienced fishers have much more accurate expectations about catch than infrequent fishers, highlighting that valuation estimates derived from observable behaviours are most robust when the service being valued is well-known and when people are able to accurately judge the outcome of their behaviours. More broadly, it is clear that under conditions of uncertainty - such as climate change - overly optimistic visions of the future will likely lead us to undervalue (and thus potentially degrade) key ecosystem services - perhaps substantially. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,JUN J,"Wilcer, SR; Larson, LR; Hallo, JC; Baldwin, E","First Day Hikes: Participation, Impacts, and Implications for the Future",10.18666/JPRA-2018-V36-I2-8403,"First Day Hikes, which occur on New Year's Day, are part of a nationwide initiative led by America's State Parks to get more people outdoors. The concept became a national movement in 2012 when all 50 state park systems held at least one First Day Hike for the first time. In 2017, over 60,000 hikers across the United States attended one of nearly 1,300 First Day Hikes offered. Despite the popularity of the First Day Hike initiative, little is known about the First Day Hikers themselves or the broader impacts of this experience. Synthesizing data from three popular First Day Hike states (GA, MA, SC), our study used pre and post-hike feedback from participants to highlight positive and negative aspects of the hikes, assess broader program impacts, and identify potential opportunities for improvement in future years. Results illustrate a variety of factors driving the overall success of the First Day Hikes initiative and suggest that this and similar park-based programs have the potential to affect outdoor recreation participation, foster connections between people and nature, and inspire future stewardship behavior. Recommendations for managers derived from evaluation data and participant feedback include a more targeted emphasis on marketing toward and recruiting specific subgroups (such as first-time hikers, families with children, and racial/ethnic minorities), improving crowd control to enhance visitor experiences, and working to foster stronger enduring connections between First Day Hike participants and the parks they are visiting.",JOURNAL OF PARK AND RECREATION ADMINISTRATION,2018,SUM J,"Ma, Z; Clarke, M; Church, SP",Insights into individual and cooperative invasive plant management on family forestlands,10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.02.010,"Invasive species are reaching epidemic proportions, greatly altering global biomes. The role of private land owners in controlling invasive plants in forest ecosystems has been well recognized, although limited research has investigated their awareness, actions, needs and concerns. Building upon a broader literature on family forest owner decision making and invasive weed management in non-forested landscapes, we conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with family forest owners and forestry professionals in Indiana, USA. We documented and discussed (1) their knowledge and awareness of invasive plant management, (2) current invasive plan management actions, (3) issues surrounding cooperative invasive plant management, (4) how they understand the responsibility of invasive plant control across the landscape, and (5) an information challenge facing invasive plant management. Our results suggest that future education and outreach efforts should broaden to include urban and suburban residents, as well as forestry professionals who are often assumed to be supportive of ant knowledgeable about invasive plant management. Our results also suggest that forestry professionals can hell motivate family forest owners toward invasive plant management by providing positive psychological reinforcement such as social approval. Further, our results highlight a gap between the recognized importance of cooperative invasive plant management and a lack of on-the-ground practices mainly due to a family forest owner culture of independence. Overcoming the cultural stigma associated with cooperative management requires forestry professionals' willingness and ability to cultivate a social environment conducive to collective actions by playing the role of community organizers. Together, these insights can be used to inform the development of future invasive plant communication strategies and private forest landowner assistance programs. .",LAND USE POLICY,2018,JUN J,"Sandhu, H; Clarke, B; Baring, R; Anderson, S; Fisk, C; Dittmann, S; Walker, S; Sutton, P; Kubiszewski, I; Costanza, R",Scenario planning including ecosystem services for a coastal region in South Australia,10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.04.006,"Coastal regions provide vital ecosystem services for the human well-being. Rapid economic growth and increasing population in coastal regions is exerting more pressure on coastal environments. Here we develop four plausible scenarios to the year 2050 that address above issues in the northern Adelaide coastline, South Australia. Four scenarios were named after their characteristics, Lacuna, Gold Coast SA, Down to Earth, and Green & Gold. Lacuna and Gold Coast SA. Economy declined significantly in Lacuna, whereas, there is highest annual GDP growth (3.5%) in Gold Coast SA, which was closely followed by Green & Gold scenario (3%), GDP under Down to Earth grows at moderate 1.5%. There is highest population growth in Gold Coast SA followed by Green & Gold, Down to Earth and Lacuna. Gold Coast SA scenario led to high inequality as estimated by the Gini co-efficient of 0.45 compared to the current value of 0.33. Ecosystem services declined rapidly under Green & Gold and Lacuna as compared to the other two scenarios. The combination of scenario planning and ecosystem services valuation provides the capacity to guide coastal planning by illustrating enhanced social, environmental and economic benefits. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,JUN J,"Haslett, JR; Garcia-Llorente, M; Harrison, PA; Li, S; Berry, PM",Offshore renewable energy and nature conservation: the case of marine tidal turbines in Northern Ireland,10.1007/s10531-016-1268-6,"The global demand for renewable energy continues to increase rapidly and with it the necessity to develop and test new technologies to deliver the power. Offshore renewable energy sources that harness wind, wave or tidal power are of major interest. Technological advances in these directions have not been matched by a clear understanding of the environmental impacts of the new devices, with most existing research concentrated on the impacts of offshore wind farms. Decisions often continue to be made without the support of a clear evidence base. Here we use an underwater tidal turbine, SeaGen, constructed and operated within the Strangford Lough marine protected area in Northern Ireland, as a case study to explore the potential impacts of the turbine as points of concern and argumentation in the decision-making processes. We use information obtained from official documents and one-to-one interviews with the main stakeholders. Our results demonstrate that during the construction and operation of the turbine the perceptions and views of different stakeholders sometimes disagreed but were often surprisingly similar in relation to both likelihood and intensity of the potential impacts of the turbine on marine biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being in general. The overall consensus of views was refined and evolved under an adaptive management approach over the 10 years of the discussions and decision-making processes. The results are discussed in relation to cumulative gains in knowledge, future arrays of many underwater turbines and multiple use of oceans within social ecological systems to maintain the conservation of marine biodiversity.",BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION,2018,JUN J,"Mathieu, L; Tinch, R; Provins, A",Catchment management in England and Wales: the role of arguments for ecosystems and their services,10.1007/s10531-016-1176-9,"This study uses document analysis and interviews to explore how the use of arguments for biodiversity and ecosystem services has evolved in recent years in the water industry in England and Wales, with a focus on investments in catchment management programmes. Changes to land management practices within catchment areas can lead to improved water quality and lower treatment costs, and also ancillary benefits to the natural environment and various stakeholders. Our analysis reveals the increasing effectiveness of arguments associated with ecosystem service values in enabling the industry regulator (Ofwat) to support water industry investments in catchment-level conservation projects. Ofwat has adopted a much more flexible approach to regulation, moving from initial resistance to ecosystem service framings and a dominant focus on financial benefits to customers, to acceptance that customers have a legitimate interest in environmental quality and a willingness to accept some 'beneficiary pays' solutions. Companies are now required by Ofwat to include environmental impacts in cost-benefit analysis of investments, alongside assessment of customer preferences and support. This has facilitated investments in catchment management with positive results for water companies, customers, farmers and the natural environment. The shift in arguments in this industry matches a broader shift at European and UK levels towards greater use of economic evidence and payment instruments. The challenge now is to stabilise a secure regulatory environment in which companies are encouraged to pursue innovative methods to benefit the wider interest of customers and the natural environment, today and in the future. Arguments based on the value of water quality improvements and of the wider associated ecosystem services benefits have been, and remain, a key tool for achieving the environmental improvements and economic efficiency gains associated with successful catchment management initiatives.",BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION,2018,JUN J,"Adinyira, E; Kwofie, TE; Quarcoo, F",Stakeholder requirements for building energy efficiency in mass housing delivery: the House of Quality approach,10.1007/s10668-017-9930-z,"Threats of climate change and future energy price uncertainty have led to a global debate on energy efficiency, particularly the energy efficiency of housing projects. This serious global problem calls for improvement in energy efficiency from all sectors, especially the building sector which is considered a major energy consumer. Adoption of energy efficiency design practices in the housing sector has been perceived to have a significant potential to contribute greatly to the sustainable building process. Additionally, most studies indicate that the understanding and integration of stakeholder requirements has an enormous potential towards increasing the sustainability perspectives that relate to social, environmental, economic and technical issues of buildings. However, there is enough evidence from several studies suggesting a lack of common perspective on stakeholder requirements towards building energy efficiency (BEE) in housing development. Hence it is argued that stakeholders' alignment for energy efficiency improvement is crucial and a fundamental challenge that needs to be addressed if the goal of energy use reduction in buildings is to be achieved. The aim of this paper is to identify the important building energy requirements among stakeholders of mass housing projects and their impact on technical characteristics of mass housing projects. Through a survey of building industry stakeholders and using the House of Quality model for analysis of the data obtained, the study identified five (5) most rated BEE stakeholders' requirements in respect of housing development. The study gives a new insight into the considerations of building stakeholders regarding energy efficiency. This insight is useful towards achieving sustainable building solutions that meet the sustainability features of housing development in Ghana and other countries with similar energy and housing challenges.",ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JUN J,"Costa, ILD; Correia, TD; Paulo, E; Lucena, WGL",The Impact of Voluntary Disclosure: Firm Value and Socio-Environmental Information in Public Companies,10.21714/1984-3925_2018v21n2a7,"The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between the voluntary disclosure of socio-environmental information and company value, in firms listed in the B3 S/A Brasil Bolsa Balcao (B3) over the period 2010 to 2015. Consequently, a theoretical discussion about voluntary environmental disclosure and firm value was made. Information was collected from the sustainability reports and the Economatica (R) database. Data related to independent variable sustainability report, and dependent variables for share prices, expected future cash flows and capital cost were evident. As a result, it was verified that 75% of the sample disclose socio-environmental information which did not impact the value measures for the companies analyzed, that is, the disclosure of socio-environmental information does not impact or affect the performance of the companies on the Brazilian market.",CONTABILIDADE GESTAO E GOVERNANCA,2018,MAY-AUG J,"Sousa-Silva, R; Verbist, B; Lomba, A; Valent, P; Suskevics, M; Picard, O; Hoogstra-Klein, MA; Cosofret, VC; Bouriaud, L; Ponette, Q; Verheyen, K; Muys, B",Adapting forest management to climate change in Europe: Linking perceptions to adaptive responses,10.1016/j.forpol.2018.01.004,"Climate change will impact forests and may impair their ability to provide essential ecosystem services in the decades to come. Addressing this challenge requires adjustments to forest management strategies as of now, but it is still unclear to what extent this is already in progress. Using data from surveys of 1131 forest owners and managers from seven European countries, we assessed how they perceive their role in adapting forest management to climate change. The surveys focused on foresters' observations of climate change impacts, the degree to which climate change is a part of their operational and strategic management, and their ability to address related risks and opportunities. We found evidence of a strong continent-wide climate change awareness among respondents, with 73% foresters convinced that climate change will impact their forest. However, only about one-third (36%) reported having modified their management practices, though figures vary widely between countries, from 14% in Portugal to 57% in Slovakia. Among the constraints limiting their actions, lack of knowledge and information emerged as a major barrier towards forest adaptation. Differences between countries could be linked to their socio-economic and political contexts. Our results further suggest that severely damaging events, such as windstorms, fires and pest outbreaks, present relevant opportunities to engage people with climate change and encourage action. Further work needs to be done in strengthening the relationship between scientific research and practice, working out context dependent measures to foster adaptation to changing climate and disturbance regimes in forest management.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2018,MAY J,"Xu, L; Huang, QH; Ding, DD; Mei, MY; Qin, HT","Modelling urban expansion guided by land ecological suitability: A case study of Changzhou City, China",10.1016/j.habitatint.2018.04.002,"Rapid urban expansion usually leads to the change of land use pattern and poses a severe threat to land resources with high ecological value, it is necessary to model the impact of urban development on surrounding environment. The aim of our study is to construct an effective model of simulating urban expansion with protecting ecological land, which could provide a decision-making reference for sustainable development of the city and promote the rational distribution of land resources. In this paper, we proposed an urban expansion model based on land ecological suitability (LES). The proposed model involves using the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) method to evaluate and visualize the land ecological suitability of the study area. Next, the random forest (RF) algorithm and cellular automaton (CA) are combined to construct an RF-CA to simulate future growth of urban land. As a case study, the RF-CA was used to simulate the distribution of urban land in Changzhou City, eastern China in 2020. The LES evaluation results were then used as the basis of optimizing urban expansion and restrained the excessive sprawl of the city, which could reduce encroachment on land resources such as waterbody and farmland, thereby increasing the ecosystem services value (ESV) by 50.24 million RMB(1 RMB = 0.15 US dollar). It was observed that our model could reduce the spatial conflict between urban expansion and ecological land protection effectively. Therefore, we believe that the results of our case study can contribute to more reasonable urban planning.",HABITAT INTERNATIONAL,2018,MAY J,"Galvez, N; Guillera-Arroita, G; St John, FAV; Schuttler, E; Macdonald, DW; Davies, ZG",A spatially integrated framework for assessing socioecological drivers of carnivore decline,10.1111/1365-2664.13072,"1. Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are key threats to the long-term persistence of carnivores, which are also susceptible to direct persecution by people. Integrating natural and social science methods to examine how habitat configuration/quality and human-predator relations may interact in space and time to effect carnivore populations within human-dominated landscapes will help prioritise conservation investment and action effectively. 2. We propose a socioecological modelling framework to evaluate drivers of carnivore decline in landscapes where predators and people coexist. By collecting social and ecological data at the same spatial scale, candidate models can be used to quantify and tease apart the relative importance of different threats. 3. We apply our methodological framework to an empirical case study, the threatened guina (Leopardus guigna) in the temperate forest ecoregion of southern Chile, to illustrate its use. Existing literature suggests that the species is declining due to habitat loss, fragmentation and persecution in response to livestock predation. Data used in modelling were derived from four seasons of camera-trap surveys, remote-sensed images and household questionnaires. 4. Occupancy dynamics were explained by habitat configuration/quality covariates rather than by human-predator relations. Guinas can tolerate a high degree of habitat loss (>80% within a home range). They are primarily impacted by fragmentation and land subdivision (larger farms being divided into smaller ones). Ten per cent of surveyed farmers (N=233) reported illegally killing the species over the past decade. 5. Synthesis and applications. By integrating ecological and social data, collected at the same spatial scale, within a single modelling framework, our study demonstrates the value of an interdisciplinary approach to assessing the potential threats to a carnivore. It has allowed us to tease apart effectively the relative importance of different potential extinction pressures for the guina (Leopardus guigna), make informed conservation recommendations and prioritise where future interventions should be targeted. We have identified that human-dominated landscapes with large intensive farms can be of conservation value, as long as an appropriate network of habitat patches is maintained within the matrix. Conservation efforts to secure the long-term persistence of the species should focus on reducing habitat fragmentation rather than human persecution.",JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,2018,MAY J,"Fyfe, RM; Ombashi, H; Davies, HJ; Head, K",Quantified moorland vegetation and assessment of the role of burning over the past five millennia,10.1111/jvs.12594,"AimsTo apply the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) to pollen count data from multiple sites to estimate local vegetation abundance and compare with charcoal-derived records of burning. LocationExmoor, southwest England, UK. MethodsPollen count data from 16 sites were transformed to estimates of distance-weighted vegetation abundance using the LRA (REVEALS and LOVE models), correcting for bias in pollen production and dispersal. Charcoal concentration data from six sites were normalized using Box-Cox transformation to produce z-scores. Moving-window correlation was undertaken to compare pollen percentage values for key taxa (Calluna, Poaceae) and localized burning. Estimates of distance-vegetation abundance (LRA output) and time-averaged charcoal z-scores were compared to assess the role of burning as a driver for upland vegetation cover. ResultsComparison of pollen percentage and normalized charcoal z-scores show little correlation between vegetation cover and burning. Estimates of distance-weighted vegetation abundance and normalized charcoal data show relationships between vegetation change and burning at four of the six sites. The relationships are site-specific: three sites suggest burning promoted grass-dominated vegetation, at one site burning promoted heather-dominated vegetation, and in two sites there is no apparent relationship. ConclusionsThe patterning of vegetation within uplands is a crucial part of ecosystem service delivery, and contemporary and future management benefits from understanding of long-term' development, i.e. patterns over millennia. The correction of biases within pollen production and dispersal to produce local vegetation estimates has demonstrated spatial heterogeneity in vegetation cover on Exmoor that is not otherwise evident in the pollen percentage data (which retain a strong influence of the regional vegetation cover). The relationship between LRA-derived vegetation cover and burning is not apparent in comparisons between pollen percentage data and charcoal records. This implies that studies that use pollen proportional data alone can misrepresent the relationship between vegetation cover and fire. This study demonstrates that fire has been an important part of the development of this cultural landscape.",JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE,2018,MAY J,"Li, YF; Zhan, JY; Liu, Y; Zhang, F; Zhang, ML",Response of ecosystem services to land use and cover change: A case study in Chengdu City,10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.03.009,"Land use and cover change is an important factor reflecting the resource footprints of the human race. Studies related to land use and cover change with ecosystem services value can provide a good reference for research on human resource footprints. In this study, through the interpretation of remote sensing images of Chengdu from 2000 to 2015, we obtained data on land use and cover change. Based on the analysis of the equivalent factor table for land use and cover change and ecosystem services value, we used the CPI accumulation coefficient and marginal value coefficient to modify the evaluation model of ecosystem services value, thus calculating the value of ecosystem services for Chengdu. The results show that the area under farmland and grassland continued to decrease, while the area covered by forest land, water area, construction land and unused land continued to increase in general. The ecosystem services value of Chengdu increased from 2.86 x 10(10) RMB yuan in 2000 to 5.02 x 10(10) RMB yuan in 2015, indicating a 75.46% increase. From this study, we determined that the development of Chengdu during 2000-2015 is sustainable, with reasonable land use, and will provide an important reference for economic development and land use policy in Chengdu in the future. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING,2018,MAY J,"Peng, Y; Li, XW; Huang, L; Jiang, SL; Xu, YL; Lai, YN",Risks of Developing Concentrated Rural Settlement after the Wenchuan Earthquake in China,10.3390/su10051569,"Concentrated rural settlement (CRS) reconstruction was promoted as a sustainable rural reconstruction way after the Wenchuan earthquake in China. Despite the various benefits of CRS, haphazard CRS reconstruction presents risks to future sustainable development. However, such risks have been rarely investigated. Thus, this study examines the risk factors with eight CRS reconstruction cases after the Wenchuan earthquake. The existence and interactions of economic, social, environmental, and disaster relief risks are observed after reconstruction. A conceptual model is proposed for systematically interpreting the risks. Results obtained can help the local government judiciously consider the risk factors in order to achieve sustainable development when initiating rapid reconstruction.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,MAY J,"Ashley, RM; Gersonius, B; Digman, C; Horton, B; Bacchin, T; Smith, B; Shaffer, P; Baylis, A",Demonstrating and Monetizing the Multiple Benefits from Using SuDS,10.1061/JSWBAY.0000848,"Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) measures provide a wide range of benefits beyond simply dealing with stormwater. In the United Kingdom such measures are termed sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). There are a number of tools and procedures for assessing the benefits provided, some of which give a monetized bottom line. A U.K. project led by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has reviewed the available knowledge and techniques for valuing GSI and other benefits, and from this developed a new freely available valuation tool, known as the Benefits of SuDS Tool (BeST). This has been further developed to include spatial and temporal planning for the incremental implementation of a portfolio of SuDS over time and in extent. The tool is now being used in various countries for scenario planning to assist decision makers to explore future options and their relative robustness and flexibility over time. Case studies are presented from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to illustrate the use of the tool and methods developed. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE WATER IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2018,MAY J,"Kindu, M; Schneider, T; Dollerer, M; Teketay, D; Knoke, T",Scenario modelling of land use/land cover changes in Munessa-Shashemene landscape of the Ethiopian highlands,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.338,"Models under a set of scenarios are used to simulate and improve our understanding of land use/land cover (LULC) changes, which is central for sustainable management of a given natural resource. In this study, we simulated and examined the possible future LULC patterns and changes in Munessa-Shashemene landscape of the Ethiopian highlands covering four decades (2012-2050) using a spatially explicit GIS-based model. Both primary and secondary sources were utilized to identify relevant explanatory variables (drivers) and LULC datasets for the model. Three alternative scenarios, namely Business As Usual (BAU), Forest Conservation and Water Protection (FCWP) and Sustainable Intensification (SI) were used. The simulated LULC map of 2012 was compared with the actual for model validation and showed a good consistency. The results revealed that areas of croplands will increase widely under the BAU scenario and would expand to the remaining woodlands, natural forests and grasslands, reflecting vulnerability of these LULC types and potential loss of associated ecosystem service values (ESVs). FCWP scenario would bring competition among other LULC types, particularly more pressure to the grassland ecosystem. Hence, the two scenarios will result in severe LULC dynamics that lead to serious environmental crisis. The SI scenario, with holistic approach, demonstrated that expansion of croplands could vigorously be reduced, remaining forests better conserved and degraded land recovered, resulting in gains of the associated total ESVs. We conclude that a holistic landscape management, i.e. SI, is the best approach to ensure expected production while safeguarding the environment of the studied landscape and elsewhere with similar geographic settings. Further study is suggested to practically test our framework through a research for development approach in a test site so that it can be used as a model area for effective use and conservation of our natural resources. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,mayo 1 J,"Lewin, HA; Robinson, GE; Kress, WJ; Baker, WJ; Coddington, J; Crandall, KA; Durbin, R; Edwards, SV; Forest, F; Gilbert, MTP; Goldstein, MM; Grigoriev, IV; Hackett, KJ; Haussler, D; Jarvis, ED; Johnson, WE; Patrinos, A; Richards, S; Castilla-Rubio, JC; van Sluys, MA; Soltis, PS; Xu, X; Yang, HM; Zhang, GJ",Earth BioGenome Project: Sequencing life for the future of life,10.1073/pnas.1720115115,"Increasing our understanding of Earth's biodiversity and responsibly stewarding its resources are among the most crucial scientific and social challenges of the new millennium. These challenges require fundamental new knowledge of the organization, evolution, functions, and interactions among millions of the planet's organisms. Herein, we present a perspective on the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a moonshot for biology that aims to sequence, catalog, and characterize the genomes of all of Earth's eukaryotic biodiversity over a period of 10 years. The outcomes of the EBP will inform a broad range of major issues facing humanity, such as the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems, and the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services. We describe hurdles that the project faces, including data-sharing policies that ensure a permanent, freely available resource for future scientific discovery while respecting access and benefit sharing guidelines of the Nagoya Protocol. We also describe scientific and organizational challenges in executing such an ambitious project, and the structure proposed to achieve the project's goals. The far-reaching potential benefits of creating an open digital repository of genomic information for life on Earth can be realized only by a coordinated international effort.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2018,abr 24 J,"Josephs, LI; Humphries, AT",Identifying social factors that undermine support for. nature-based coastal management,10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.01.085,"Human use and degradation of coastal ecosystems is at an all-time high. Thus, a current challenge for environmental management and research is moving beyond ecological definitions of success and integrating socioeconomic factors. Projects and studies with this aim, however, have focused primarily on monetary valuations of ecosystem functions, overlooking the behaviors and psycho-social motivations of environmental management. Using a nature-based salt marsh restoration project on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, we assess the role of human attitudes and preferences in evaluating social success for ecosystem management. We use structural equation modeling to compare the strengths of social variables in predicting restoration project support, and find public understanding to be a more important predictor than personal values. Our results show that even among stakeholders with strong pro environmental values, a weak understanding of the management initiative can undermine support. We also find that project support does not necessarily translate to the prioritization of similar management strategies. Instead, when individuals consider overall management priorities, differences arise between particular resource user-groups. This suggests that strong public support for individual initiatives can misconstrue complexities in stakeholder preferences that emerge in more comprehensive management considerations. Future investigations of the psycho-social components of management solutions should address the potentially tiered nature of human preferences, as well as whether public perceptions of management effectiveness act as an additional context-dependency of social viability. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,abr 15 J,"Euler, J; Heldt, S",From information to participation and self-organization: Visions for European river basin management,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.072,"The European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD, 2000) calls for active inclusion of the public in the governance of waterbodies to enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of water management schemes across the EU. As complex socio-ecological systems, river basins in western Europe could benefit from further support for inclusive management schemes. This paper makes use of case studies from Germany, England and Spain to explore the potential opportunities and challenges of different participatory management approaches. Grounded in theoretical considerations around participation within ecological management schemes, including Arnstein's Ladder of Participation and commons theories, this work provides an evaluation of each case study based on key indicators, such as inclusivity, representativeness, self-organization, decision-making power, spatial fit and temporal continuity. As investors and the public develop a heightened awareness for long-term sustainability of industrial projects, this analysis supports the suggestion that increased participatory river basin management is both desirable and economically feasible, and should thus be considered a viable option for future projects aiming to move beyond current requirements of the European Union Water Framework Directive. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,abr 15 J,"Rutherford, JS; Day, JW; D'Elia, CF; Wiegman, ARH; Willson, CS; Caffey, RH; Shaffer, GP; Lane, RR; Batker, D","Evaluating trade-offs of a large, infrequent sediment diversion for restoration of a forested wetland in the Mississippi delta",10.1016/j.ecss.2018.01.016,"Flood control levees cut off the supply of sediment to Mississippi delta coastal wetlands, and contribute to putting much of the delta on a trajectory for continued submergence in the 21st century. River sediment diversions have been proposed as a method to provide a sustainable supply of sediment to the delta, but the frequency and magnitude of these diversions needs further assessment. Previous studies suggested operating river sediment diversions based on the size and frequency of natural crevasse events, which were large (>5000 m(3)/s) and infrequent (active < once a year) in the last naturally active delta. This study builds on these previous works by quantitatively assessing tradeoffs for a large, infrequent diversion into the forested wetlands of the Maurepas swamp. Land building was estimated for several diversion sizes and years inactive using a delta progradation model. A benefit-cost analysis (BCA) combined model land building results with an ecosystem service valuation and estimated costs. Results demonstrated that land building is proportional to diversion size and inversely proportional to years inactive. Because benefits were assumed to scale linearly with land gain, and costs increase with diversion size, there are disadvantages to operating large diversions less often, compared to smaller diversions more often for the immediate project area. Literature suggests that infrequent operation would provide additional gains (through increased benefits and reduced ecosystem service costs) to the broader Lake Maurepas-Pontchartrain-Borgne ecosystem. Future research should incorporate these additional effects into this type of BCA, to see if this changes the outcome for large, infrequent diversions. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE,2018,abr 5 J,"Schmutz, EA; Haile, SR; Leeger-Aschmann, CS; Kakebeeke, TH; Zysset, AE; Messerli-Burgy, N; Stulb, K; Arhab, A; Meyer, AH; Munsch, S; Puder, JJ; Jenni, OG; Kriemler, S",Physical activity and sedentary behavior in preschoolers: a longitudinal assessment of trajectories and determinants,10.1186/s12966-018-0670-8,"Background: Despite physical activity (PA) being recognized as a critically important factor for good physical and mental health already early in life and throughout the life course, prospective data on activity behavior during the preschool years remains scarce. This study examined trajectories and determinants of levels and change in total PA (TPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in a representative sample of Swiss preschoolers. Methods: Data were drawn from the Swiss Preschoolers' Health Study (SPLASHY), a multi-site prospective cohort study including 555 children (53% boys) aged 2-to-6 years at baseline. A follow-up was conducted after 12 months. Activity behavior was measured using accelerometers. Information on 35 potential determinants from different socio-ecological domains was either directly measured or parent-reported. Trajectories of TPA, MVPA and SB over time were described for boys and girls. Linear mixed models were used to investigate factors that predicted levels and change in TPA, MVPA and SB. Results: All children were sufficiently physically active according to published recommendations for preschoolers. Trajectory profiles revealed a marked increase in TPA and MVPA in boys and girls whereas SB remained fairly stable over time. Mixed modeling demonstrated that variables most relevant to determining PA levels were sex, age and activity temperament (all positively associated). Together with gross motor skills, birth weight, family structure (only for TPA) and season (only for MVPA), these factors accounted for 26 and 32% of total variance explained in TPA and MVPA, respectively. Activity temperament emerged as the strongest determinant of SB (negative association) and explained with sex, season and family structure 20% of total variance in SB. The presence of older siblings was the only factor that predicted change in PA over time. Conclusions: In this healthy physically active cohort of preschoolers, non-modifiable individual-level factors had the greatest influence on PA. The limited success of this and previous studies to identify modifiable determinants and the finding that most preschoolers were sufficiently active suggest that future attempts should provide insights into how preschoolers' activity levels can be maintained and fostered to prevent subsequent harmful declines attributable, amongst others, to educational transitions. Thus, good-quality longitudinal studies are needed.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,2018,abr 4 J,"Han, Y; Ellis, TS",A Study of User Continuance Behavioral Intentions Toward Privacy-Protection Practices,10.4018/IRMJ.2018040102,"Prior research on privacy protective behaviors has found that online users irrationally trade protection for convenience, and so act against their own privacy preferences. The present article uses expectancy-confirmation theory (ECT) models to explain the continuance behavioral intentions of online users toward privacy-protection practices. It redefines convenience to highlight human behaviors involved in various stages of implementing privacy practices processes. The results show that earlier privacy practice experiences impact the present as well as the future protective behaviors of users, and that convenience-orientation is an important aspect of human nature that should not be inhibited by complex privacy practices. Therefore, to serve online users better, both researchers and practitioners should consider the personal perceptions of convenience of online users when constructing their privacy practices.",INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT JOURNAL,2018,APR-JUN J,"Valderrama, SP; Avila, AH; Mendez, JG; Martinez, OM; Rojas, DC; Azcona, HF; Hernandez, EM; Aragon, HC; Alcolado, PM; Pina-Amargos, F; Gonzalez, ZH; Pantoja, LE; Farrat, LFR",Marine protected areas in Cuba,10.5343/bms.2016.1129,"Cuba has recognized that conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity is a priority. One of the main strategies it has developed is the creation of the National System of Protected Areas (Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas, or SNAP), which includes an important marine component. Here, we present the current status of the Cuban marine protected areas (MPAs) and their challenges and prognoses. To date, 105 MPAs have been proposed; they cover 25% of the Cuban insular shelf. Of these, 57 have been legally incorporated into the system and 13 more are being managed to its standards, a total of 70 have some degree of implementation. About 30% of the Cuban coral reefs, 24% of the seagrass beds, and 35% of mangroves are legally protected by SNAP. The main challenges are insufficient financing and the difficulty of reinvesting profits generated within these areas. Prohibited fishing practices and capture of protected species are the principle issues that affect MPAs. The priorities for the immediate future are to assess the value of ecosystem services, strengthen connections with fishing communities, and achieve greater integration with other sectors to guarantee the proper management of tourism and fisheries in and near MPAs for the benefit of sustainable development.",BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE,2018,APR J,"Reilly, K; Adamowski, J; John, K","Participatory mapping of ecosystem services to understand stakeholders' perceptions of the future of the Mactaquac Dam, Canada",10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.01.002,"Rebuilding or removing a dam at the end of its lifespan will change provision of and access to ecosystem services. Understanding such changes involves assessing their biophysical provision, economic value and social demand, of which the latter is often neglected. We used participatory mapping to understand the spatial distribution of social benefits from ecosystem services around the Mactaquac Dam, New Brunswick, Canada, and assessed whether perceptions of ecosystem services under future scenarios can be mapped. We asked 32 participants to map places that were important to them for several ecosystem services, and asked how those places and services would change if the dam were rebuilt or removed. Participants benefitted from services throughout the reservoir, downstream of the dam, and in unaffected tributaries. Those who preferred to rebuild the dam mapped places in and around the reservoir, while those who wanted to remove it preferred the tributaries and downstream reach. Most participants could not map service distribution if the dam were removed, but could describe non-place-specific changes. Participatory mapping is useful for understanding how and where stakeholders benefit from ecosystem services, and to prompt discussion of perceived future changes. It is less useful for producing maps of ecosystem services under various scenarios. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,APR J,"Ashkenazy, A; Chebach, TC; Knickel, K; Peter, S; Horowitz, B; Offenbach, R",Operationalising resilience in farms and rural regions - Findings from fourteen case studies,10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.07.008,"The limited resilience of agricultural and food systems, and of rural communities, has become an important concern in rural and agricultural policy. However, while the term has been heavily theorised and discussed, particularly in the natural and environmental sciences, it is sufficiently ambiguous to support divergent and even contradictory policy goals and farmers' strategies. This paper focuses on the more encompassing notion of social-ecological resilience and contends that among the causes of this divergence are the disparate spatial and temporal scales used to assess and plan enhancing resilience. Based on empirical evidence, we show that strategies that may increase farmers' abilities to persist in a difficult economic environment may undermine the resilience of the wider region, while decisions that enhance farmers' resilience in the short term may lock them onto a path that weakens their future resilience. Using case studies from 14 different countries across Europe and beyond, we address two main questions. Firstly, how the notion of resilience is being operationalised at a farm or regional level. That is to say, what are the different strategies that farmers, rural residents and other decision-makers in rural areas are using to enhance resilience? Secondly, we look at how the outcomes of implementing these strategies vary according to spatial and temporal factors. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2018,APR J,"Hartmann, H; Moura, CF; Anderegg, WRL; Ruehr, NK; Salmon, Y; Allen, CD; Arndt, SK; Breshears, DD; Davi, H; Galbraith, D; Ruthrof, KX; Wunder, J; Adams, HD; Bloemen, J; Cailleret, M; Cobb, R; Gessler, A; Grams, TEE; Jansen, S; Kautz, M; Lloret, F; O'Brien, M",Research frontiers for improving our understanding of drought-induced tree and forest mortality,10.1111/nph.15048,"nitori Accumulating evidence highlights increased mortality risks for trees during severe drought, particularly under warmer temperatures and increasing vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Resulting forest die-off events have severe consequences for ecosystem services, biophysical and biogeochemical land-atmosphere processes. Despite advances in monitoring, modelling and experimental studies of the causes and consequences of tree death from individual tree to ecosystem and global scale, a general mechanistic understanding and realistic predictions of drought mortality under future climate conditions are still lacking. We update a global tree mortality map and present a roadmap to a more holistic understanding of forest mortality across scales. We highlight priority research frontiers that promote: (1) new avenues for research on key tree ecophysiological responses to drought; (2) scaling from the tree/plot level to the ecosystem and region; (3) improvements of mortality risk predictions based on both empirical and mechanistic insights; and (4) a global mong network of forest mortality. In light of recent and anticipated large forest die-off events such a research agenda is timely and needed to achieve scientific understanding for realistic predictions of drought-induced tree mortality. The implementation of a sustainable network will require support by stakeholders and political authorities at the international level.",NEW PHYTOLOGIST,2018,APR J,"Horgan, FG; Kudavidanage, EP; Weragodaarachchi, A; Ramp, D","Traditional 'maavee' rice production in Sri Lanka: environmental, economic and social pressures revealed through stakeholder interviews",10.1007/s10333-017-0604-0,"The Nilwala Ganga Basin of Sri Lanka includes important natural wetlands that are habitat for vulnerable animal and plant species. Flood protection and intensive rice production in the Basin have resulted in degraded acid soils and declining rice yields. However, traditional 'maavee' rice production outside the flood protection scheme has continued to generate a high-value rice product. This study reports on interviews conducted with farmers and other stakeholders to document the production practices and the potential environmental and economic benefits associated with maavee rice paddies. The maavee production system has prevailed for at least several decades. Farmers apply no chemicals to their paddies, relying instead on alluvial deposits as a source of nutrients, and on the natural pest and disease resistance of their traditional varieties. The maavee rice product can attain three times the selling price of rice from conventional farms making it more economically viable than conventional rice production. However, much of maavee production is for home consumption and the system is threatened by increasing labour costs, an ageing farming population and pressures to increase rice yields. Non-invasive production practices and the proximity of maavee paddies to regenerating wetlands in the Kirala Kele Sanctuary suggest that traditional paddies may constitute an important habitat for vulnerable wildlife; however, maavee farmers also perceive wetland birds as potentially damaging to rice. Based on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, we make recommendations for future research needs and potential management actions to safeguard the environmental and economic sustainability of the maavee system.",PADDY AND WATER ENVIRONMENT,2018,APR J,"Zhang, H; Liao, XL; Zhai, TL",Evaluation of ecosystem service based on scenario simulation of land use in Yunnan Province,10.1016/j.pce.2017.12.001,"Climate change and rapid urbanization are important factors restricting future land use. Situational analysis, as an important foundation for the optimization of land use, needs to focus on the impact of climate factors and socio-economic factors. In this paper, the Markov model and the DLS (Simulation of Land System Dynamics) model are combined for the first time, and the land use pattern in 2020 is simulated based on the data of land use in 2000 and 2010 as well as the climate, soil, topography and socio-economic factors of Yunnan Province. In his paper, we took Yunnan Province as the case study area, and selected 12 driving factors by logistic regression method, then the land use demands and layout of Yunnan Province in 2020 has been forecasted and simulated under business as usual (BAU) scenario and farmland protection (FP) scenario and the changes in ecosystem service value has been calculated. The result shows that: (1) after the regression analysis and ROC (Relative Operating Characteristics) test, the 12 factors selected in this paper have a strong ability to explain the land use change in Yunnan Province. (2) Under the two scenarios, the significant reduction of arable land area is a common feature of land use change in Yunnan Province in the future, and its main land use type will be construction land. However, under FP scenario, the current situation where construction land encroach on arable land will be improved. Compared with the change from 2000 to 2010, the trend of arable land, forest land, water area, construction land and unused land will be the same under the two scenarios, whereas the change trend of grassland was opposite. (3) From 2000 to 2020, the value of ecosystem services in Yunnan Province is on the rise, but the ecosystem service value under FP scenario is higher than that of the ecosystem services under BAU scenario. In general, land use in 2020 in Yunnan Province continues the pattern of 2010, but there are also significant spatial differences. Under the BAU scenario, the construction land is mainly in the south of Lijiang City and the northeastern part of Kunming. Under the FP scenario, the new construction land is concentrated near the Lashi dam in northern Yunnan Province, and the high-quality arable land in the valley will be better protected. The research results can provide reference for the optimization of land use pattern in Yunnan Province, and provide scientific basis for land use management and planning. Based on the value of ecosystem services, we should implement the policy of strict protection of arable land, both to ensure food supply and promote the healthy development of ecological environment.",PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH,2018,APR J,"Lang, YQ; Song, W; Deng, XZ",Projected land use changes impacts on water yields in the karst mountain areas of China,10.1016/j.pce.2017.11.001,"Human-induced land use changes over short time scales have significant impacts on water yield, especially in China because of the rapid social economic development. As the biggest developing country of the world, China's economy is expected to continuously grow with a high speed in the next few decades. Therefore, what kind of land use changes will occur in the future in China? How these changes will influence the water yields? To address this issue, we assessed the water yields in the karst mountain area of China during the periods of 1990-2010 and 2010-2030 by coupling an Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and a Conversion of Land Use and its Effects (CLUE) model. Three different land use scenarios i.e. natural growth, economic development, and ecological protection, were developed in 2030 using the CLUE model. It was concluded that, given land use changes between 1990 and 2010, total water yields in the karst mountain area are characterized by a trend towards fluctuating reduction. However, total water yields of 2030 in the economic development scenario revealed an increase of 1.25% compared to the actual water yields in 2010. The economy development in karst mountain areas of China in the future has a slight positive influence on water yields.",PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH,2018,APR J,"Park, JH; Shin, K",R&D Project Valuation Considering Changes of Economic Environment: A Case of a Pharmaceutical R&D Project,10.3390/su10040993,"R&D project valuation is important for effective R&D portfolio management through decision making, related to the firm's R&D productivity, sustainable management. In particular, scholars have emphasized the necessities of capturing option value in R&D and developed methods of real option valuation. However, despite suggesting various real option models, there are few studies on simultaneously employing mean-reverting stochastic process and Markov regime switching to describe the evolution of cash flow and to reflect time-varying parameters resulting from changes of economic environment. Therefore, we suggest a mean-reverting binomial lattice model under Markov regime switching and apply it to evaluate clinical development with project cases of the pharmaceutical industry. This study finds that decision making can be different according to the regime condition, thus the suggested model can capture risks caused by the uncertainty of the economic environment, represented by regime switching. Further, this study simulates the model according to rate parameter from 0.00 to 1.00 and risk-free interest rates for regimes 1 and 2 from (r(1) = 4%, r(2) = 2%) to (r(1) = 7%, r(2) = 5%), and confirms the rigidity of the model. Therefore, in practice, the mean-reverting binomial lattice model under Markov regime switching proposed in this study for R&D project valuation contributes to assisting company R&D project managers make effective decision making considering current economic environment and future changes.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,APR J,"Bennich, T; Belyazid, S; Kopainsky, B; Diemer, A",The Bio-Based Economy: Dynamics Governing Transition Pathways in the Swedish Forestry Sector,10.3390/su10040976,"A transition to a bio-based economy would entail change in coupled social-ecological systems. These systems are characterised by complexity, giving rise to potential unintended consequences and trade-offs caused by actions aiming to facilitate a transition process. Yet, many of the analyses to date have been focusing on single and predominantly technological aspects of the bio-based economy. The main contribution of our work is to the development of an integrated understanding of potential future transition pathways, with the present paper focusing specifically on terrestrial biological resources derived from the forestry sector in Sweden. Desired change processes identified include a transition to diversified forest management, a structural change in the forestry industry to enable high-value added production, and increased political support for the bio-based economy concept. Hindrances identified include the ability to demonstrate added values for end consumers of novel biomass applications, and uncertainty linked to a perceived high level of polarisation in the forestry debate. The results outline how these different processes are interrelated, allowing for the identification of high order leverage points and interventions to facilitate a transition to a bio-based economy.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,APR J,"Jia, ZM; Ma, BR; Zhang, J; Zeng, WH",Simulating Spatial-Temporal Changes of Land-Use Based on Ecological Redline Restrictions and Landscape Driving Factors: A Case Study in Beijing,10.3390/su10041299,"A change in the usage of land is influenced by a variety of driving factors and policies on spatial constraints. On the basis of considering the conventional natural and socio-economic indicators, the landscape pattern indicators were considered as new driving forces in the conversion of land use and its effects at small regional extent (CLUE-S) model to simulate spatial and temporal changes of land-use in Beijing. Compared with traditional spatial restrictions characterized by small and isolated areas, such as forest parks and natural reserves, the ecological redline areas increase the spatial integrity and connectivity of ecological and environmental functions at a regional scale, which were used to analyze the distribution patterns and behaviors of land use conversion in the CLUE-S model. The observed results indicate that each simulation scenario has a Kappa coefficient of more than 0.76 beyond the threshold value of 0.6 and represents high agreements between the actual and simulated land use maps. The simulation scenarios including landscape pattern indicators are more accurate than those without consideration of these new driving forces. The simulation results from using ecological redline areas as space constraints have the highest precision compared with the unrestricted and traditionally restricted scenarios. Therefore, the CLUE-S model based on the restriction of ecological redline and the consideration of landscape pattern factors has shown better effectiveness in simulating the future land use change. The conversion of land use types mainly occurred between construction land and cropland during the period from 2010 to 2020. Meanwhile, a large number of grasslands are being changed to construction lands in the mountain towns of northwest Beijing and large quantities of water bodies have disappeared and been replaced by construction lands due to rapid urbanization in the eastern and southern plains. To improve the sustainable use of land resources, it is necessary to adopt the construction and development mode of satellite towns rather than encouraging a disorderly expansion of downtown areas.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,APR J,"Wanjala, S; Mwinami, T; Harper, DM; Morrison, EHJ; Pacini, N","Ecohydrological tools for the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services in the Naivasha Basin, Kenya",10.1016/j.ecohyd.2017.09.004,"Applying ecohydrological principles to catchment management provides an opportunity for two distinct, but complementary strategies: a basis for the interpretation of ecosystem health and a guide for the selection of ecohydrological tools for catchment management. The latter include a number of biotechnologies that can support the sustainability of key ecosystem services effectively. Lake Naivasha has been an economic development hub of Kenya since pre-colonial times. Now it is dominated by geothermal power production, horticulture and floriculture, hotel and hospitality, small and medium enterprises around the lake, together with intensive smallholder cultivations and pasture in the catchment. Natural resources in the basin have continually attracted diverse local and foreign investments. Advancement in technologies, together with a rapid rise in human population, have exacerbated pressure upon the basin's natural capital. Conflicts between interest groups have often erupted due to fluctuations in water availability and limitations of access to private land. Flower growers, pastoralists, fisher-folk, hoteliers, upper catchment and lower catchment communities often accuse one another of engaging in malpractices over resource use. These conflicts have more recently resulted in partnerships in resource management however, which have helped in the implementation of research-informed mitigation measures. The most important is the formation of an umbrella'' organisation, Imarisha Naivasha, a quasi-government body set up to catalyse sustainability moves. It sought to achieve this with a Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP; 2012-17) and, with funding mainly from the Dutch government, an Integrated Water Resource Allocation Plan (IWRAP), for catchment-wide use of surface and ground waters. On smaller scales, successful case studies have demonstrated practical ways forward - a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programme in one sub-catchment has reduced upper catchment erosion; restoration of small dams in another has provided more reliable and cleaner rural water, flood retention and enhanced biodiversity; around the lake, promotion of artificial wetlands that now treat effluent waters from about half the horticultural enterprises. Recently, proposed new mega-projects'' by both the National, and the Nakuru County governments have brought uncertainty upon the future state of the lake and its catchment. Plans to develop an industrial park and an inland container port for the new Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Naivasha, together with the proposal to develop and market Naivasha further as an ecotourism and conferencing destination, have enhanced speculation on investment opportunities and demographic trends, attracting new investors and jobseekers. Within the framework of ecohydrology, we summarise proposed developments and the management challenges they pose and provide examples of ecohydrological tools recommended to contain the negative impacts on fundamental ecosystem processes. We review the probability of the successful application of such tools. (C) 2017 European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.",ECOHYDROLOGY & HYDROBIOLOGY,2018,APR J,"Lin, CH; Chiang, PP; Lux, EA; Lin, HF",Immigrant social worker practice: An ecological perspective on strengths and challenges,10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.020,"In response to the needs of growing immigrant populations in the United States, social service agencies are developing culturally appropriate interventions and recruiting bilingual and bicultural practitioners. While few studies have explored social work practices with immigrant children and families in the child welfare field, very little is known about the experiences, perceptions, and practices of child welfare social workers who are immigrants themselves. This study applies the socioecological framework to identify strengths and challenges among immigrant social workers at different system levels. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with ethnic Chinese immigrant social workers who work or have worked in a family supportive service program in New York City. Findings from this study reveal that, at the individual level, immigrant social workers expressed the following advantages: 1) engaging families through emotional connections, 2) being a role model for families, 3) performing as a mediator between parents and children, and 4) being open-minded to different cultures. They also experienced challenges such as 1) unfamiliarity with Chinese subcultures, 2) power imbalance with clients, and 3) clients' resistance. At the agency and community levels, immigrant social workers were likely to 1) provide culturally appropriate services and 2) become a cultural broker for colleagues within the agency and for other professionals in the larger community. Particularly, immigrant social workers were building a community with available and accessible services for diverse groups. But they encountered agency and community discrimination and/or exploitation and felt insecure about their jobs due to their immigration status. Implications for practice and future research were discussed in order to improve professional development and working environments of immigrant social workers, as well as to enhance the quality of service delivery to immigrant children and families.",CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES REVIEW,2018,APR J,"Schmidt, JE; Peterson, C; Wang, DY; Scow, KM; Gaudin, ACM",Agroecosystem tradeoffs associated with conversion to subsurface drip irrigation in organic systems,10.1016/j.agwat.2018.02.005,"Subsurface drip (SSD) irrigation is becoming increasingly prevalent in drought-prone irrigated agroecosystems thanks to greater yields and irrigation water productivity (IWP) and decreased weed pressure. However, potential tradeoffs for soil health and biogeochemical cycles remain unclear, especially in organic systems that rely on soil ecosystem services and biological processes for productivity. Gains in IWP and weed control were evaluated with respect to shifts in soil biological and physicochemical parameters in an organic processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) agroecosystem. Yield, IWP, and spatial distribution of soil resources and microbial processes were measured in furrow and SSD irrigated organic processing tomato on long term organic fields. Higher IWP and lower weed density under SSD confirm known benefits, while altered distributions of inorganic N, salinity, microbial activity, and C/N cycling enzyme activities as a function of shifts in soil moisture highlight the far-reaching impacts of irrigation management on soil organic C (SOC) and N dynamics regulating resource availability. Decreased macroaggregate formation and greater unprotected C under SSD indicate that altered soil wetting patterns may reduce the C sequestration potential of irrigated land. Previously unknown tradeoffs should be integrated to develop irrigation strategies that maintain current and future sustainability and productivity of organic tomato agroecosystems.",AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT,2018,abr 1 J,"Ngoc, QTK","Impacts on the ecosystem and human well-being of the marine protected area in Cu Lao Cham, Vietnam",10.1016/j.marpol.2017.12.015,"Biodiversity conservation can alter the ecosystems and ecosystem services that are vital for human well-being. Understanding this linkage is essential for management planning to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems and their values to human well-being. This study evaluates the impacts of coral reef conservation and marine protected areas (MPAs) on the well-being of fishing communities in Central Vietnam. The Cu Lao Cham MPA is chosen as the case study. Coral reef health and four aspects of human well-being (i.e., catch rate [also related to food security], access to the resource, employment, and income) are investigated following the protection in this MPA. Data on the four different aspects were gathered from different sources. The results show that there is good evidence for how coral reef conservation can transfer the flow of benefits from the ecosystem to local people. However, trade-offs also occur as a result of the development of tourism, including the degradation of fish resources and the environment. The managers of the MPA and the community should take into account trade-offs in resource management and should focus on appropriate MPA planning and fisheries management outside the MPA to achieve better outcomes for coral reef ecosystems and the present and future needs of the local community.",MARINE POLICY,2018,APR J,"Segura, EA; Martinez, MDV",Strategic analysis of Ethical Banking in Spain through Triodos Bank. Financing social and environmental projects,10.7203/CIRIEC-E.92.10805,"Objectives Banking with ethical values appears as an alternative to traditional banking, answering the need of integrating ethics with entrepreneurial activity, prioritising the social commitment face to the economical profitability. In this sense, ethical banking limits the credit to non-socially responsible projects and it provides financing to vulnerable groups and investment with a positive environmental and social impact, at the same time that all its activities are transparent. The objective of this paper is to study the origin and features of the ethical banking, establishing the main differences with the traditional model, to analyse its implantation in Spain and to review the conditions and initiatives that Triodos Bank makes to position itself as the leader bank with ethical values. Methodology The implantation level and development of the ethical financial companies in Spain ( Triodos Bank Espana, Fiare Banca Etica, Coop 57, Oikocredit Espana, etc.) has been analysed through the data of its financial statements. However, in order to study the Triodos Bank's corporate strategy, an external and internal analyse has been made. In this sense, the PESTEL analysis, which studies the Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Ecological and Legal factors that set up the environment and how they can affect the activity, is used to identify the factors of the general environment that influences the financial company's strategical position. Regarding to the competitive environment, the Porter's Five Forces model has been analysed, its main competitors have been differentiated, as well as its main threats and opportunities. In order to do the internal analysis, four models have been used in the entrepreneurial scope: first, the weaknesses and strengths found in Triodos have been determined; second, the resources that contribute a competitive advantage according to the VRIO model, have been analysed; third, the Value chain described by Porter for the company, which describes the development of the activities performed by the bank to create value for the customer, is studied; and, finally, the Triodos Bank's organizational structure and the social and environmental data, are analysed. Results The ethical banking's customers belong to groups with a high social commitment, who need to know the destiny of their savings. In the same way that it has happened in traditional financial companies, since the beginning of the crisis in the ethical institutions (Triodos Bank Espana, Fiare Banca Etica, Coop 57, Oikocredit Espana, etc.) the capital destined to the loan transactions was overcome by the bank customers' savings; the trend has been increasing and it is remarkable that in 2016 the savings almost doubled the capital given in loans. The increase experienced by the ethical banking is also reflected in the 48.26% increase in the number of customers and users from 2013 to 2016, and in its amount of capital, which was almost 171 million euros in 2016, and all of this with a low rate of defaulting. Regarding to Triodos, whose beginning in Spain is in 1998, even though it was in 2004 when it was converted into Triodos Bank Espana, the assets managed were 13,454 million euros in 2016, with a 9.40% annual increase. Regarding the sustainable sectors that are financed by Triodos, and knowing that the aim is to allocate to credit between 65% and 75% of own funds, it is remarkable environment (38%), social (24%), culture and leisure (14%), and loans given to people, city councils and sustainable residential mortgages (24%). The Triodos Bank's strategic analysis shows that the distrust created by the non-ethical political practices has led to rules that search for the transparency of the financial system; moreover, the traditional banking's abusive practices have originated the demand of ethical products and companies by society. Likewise, the banking's development through the Internet and the mobile apps have implied the disappearance of regular offices. However, the threat of new financial companies in the sector of ethical finance is a reality, since the absence of a strict regulation for the ethical banking provokes that several traditional companies offer their saving and credit products under the name of sustainable, and this confuses customers. Nevertheless, Triodos is a European consolidated bank, it has a bigger infrastructure that its ethical competitors, it is a financially healthy company, with trained personal and it provides all kinds of financial products and services, what allows it to be competitive to face traditional banking. The model VRIO notes that a resource provides a competitive advantage if it has the attributes: valuable (V), rare or scarce (R), inimitable (I) and related to the organisation of the enterprise (O). If it is applied to Triodos Bank, we can be sure that human resources (staff who is trained and with experience in the banking sector) and the intangible resources (solid image of a financial group with a successful trajectory) are a sustainable competitive advantage, while the tangible resources (branch network) and the client portfolio which share the company values, suppose a competitive parity with the rest of banking companies. The Triodos' organizational structure, which is different from other financial companies and it is based in the Triodos' Foundation for the Administration of the Shares, allows it to have control of the decision making and not to be subjected to the shareholder's power, assuring the fulfilment of the ethical values. On the other hand, the success of the implantation of Triodos depends to a great extent on the workers in the company, who have to be qualified and motivated with the mission and have to be able to put it in practice daily in the development of their work. The company has the commitment to invest an important amount of resources in training programs and professional development, with the purpose of training its workers. In this sense, the average expense in training by worker in 2016 was 1,731 euros. Practical conclusions and original value The inclusion of the ethical banking model in Spain is relatively recent; in fact, no companies like this have been created in the Spanish financial system as of yet. Up to now, the rule has been to stablish branch offices, following the model applied in other countries by consolidated companies, like Triodos Bank and Fiare Banca Etica, and to act according to the lines of financing that lead to the development of sustainable projects, sharing actively this banking business segment with financial companies which are called traditional banking, like BBVA, CaixaBank and Banco Santander. This sector may become saturated and, somehow, dilute efforts to ensure that the perception of society is based on a business model that includes social, environmental, cultural and economic results. The cooperatives that trade ethical saving and financing products, like Oikocredit and Coop57, also have an important role to establish and consolidate an ethical finance model, though more residual. Ethical banking in order not to be a mere illusion associated with financial crisis periods and to become definitely in a consistent alternative, it should offer services and products similarly to the conventional banking and an economic and social profitability to contribute to their credibility and a clear differentiation in equality of conditions with the traditional banking. This paper provides a strategic analysis without precedents about ethical banking in Spain, focused on Triodos, which is the leader ethical banking company. Traditional methodologies of external and internal analysis have been applied to this newly created sector providing useful information to its future implantation, as the strengths and weaknesses of this sector have been shown.",CIRIEC-ESPANA REVISTA DE ECONOMIA PUBLICA SOCIAL Y COOPERATIVA,2018,APR J,"Nguyen, PT; Wells, S",Systemic Indicators for Rural Communities in Developing Economies: Bringing the Shared Vision into Being,10.1007/s11213-017-9421-z,"Community indicators have been a frequent focus of the scholarly literature. There has been little exploration, however, in relation to rural communities, especially in developing countries. This reflects the special challenges associated with the complexity of rural systems, and the difficulties involved in developing appropriate and systemic indicators for rural communities. Identifying indicators that help the community to monitor progress towards sustainable outcomes requires a framework that is both practical and holistic. This paper introduces a participatory systemic framework for identifying community indicators, which respects the principles of complexity and honours the sense of ownership present in the communities. This framework is an iterative, sharing, co-learning engagement process that extends from creating a shared vision and extracting its core messages, to identifying indicators of progress and determining what actions to try. Importantly, this framework enables us to rank the indicators identified by communities with reference to 'leverage points', the best places to intervene in the social-environmental system for transformational change. This framework provides a potential pathway for sustainable rural development and perhaps also for organisations and urban communities.",SYSTEMIC PRACTICE AND ACTION RESEARCH,2018,APR J,"Vogel, HJ; Bartke, S; Daedlow, K; Helming, K; Kogel-Knabner, I; Lang, B; Rabot, E; Russell, D; Stossel, B; Weller, U; Wiesmeier, M; Wollschlager, U",A systemic approach for modeling soil functions,10.5194/soil-4-83-2018,"The central importance of soil for the functioning of terrestrial systems is increasingly recognized. Critically relevant for water quality, climate control, nutrient cycling and biodiversity, soil provides more functions than just the basis for agricultural production. Nowadays, soil is increasingly under pressure as a limited resource for the production of food, energy and raw materials. This has led to an increasing demand for concepts assessing soil functions so that they can be adequately considered in decision-making aimed at sustainable soil management. The various soil science disciplines have progressively developed highly sophisticated methods to explore the multitude of physical, chemical and biological processes in soil. It is not obvious, however, how the steadily improving insight into soil processes may contribute to the evaluation of soil functions. Here, we present to a new systemic modeling framework that allows for a consistent coupling between reductionist yet observable indicators for soil functions with detailed process understanding. It is based on the mechanistic relationships between soil functional attributes, each explained by a network of interacting processes as derived from scientific evidence. The non-linear character of these interactions produces stability and resilience of soil with respect to functional characteristics. We anticipate that this new conceptional framework will integrate the various soil science disciplines and help identify important future research questions at the interface between disciplines. It allows the overwhelming complexity of soil systems to be adequately coped with and paves the way for steadily improving our capability to assess soil functions based on scientific understanding.",SOIL,2018,mar 15 J,"Topp, SM; Mwamba, C; Sharma, A; Mukamba, N; Beres, LK; Geng, E; Holmes, CB; Sikazwe, I",Rethinking retention: Mapping interactions between multiple factors that influence long-term engagement in HIV care,10.1371/journal.pone.0193641,"Background Failure to keep people living with HIV engaged in life-long care and treatment has serious implications for individual and population-level health. Nested within a four-province study of HIV care and treatment outcomes, we explored the dynamic role of social and service-related factors influencing retention in HIV care in Zambia. Methods From a stratified random sample of 31 facilities, eight clinics were selected, one urban and one rural from each province. Across these sites we conducted a total of 69 in-depth interviews, including with patients (including pregnant women) engaged in-care (n = 28), disengaged from care (n = 15), engaged facility transferee (n = 12), and friends/family of deceased patients (n = 14). At the same sites we conducted 24 focus group discussions with a total of 192 lay and professional healthcare workers (HCWs). Two-day observations in each of the eight facilities helped triangulate data on operational context, provider relations and patient-provider interactions. We ordered and analysed data using an adapted version of Ewart's Social Action Theory. Results Three overarching findings emerged. First, the experience of living with HIV and engaging in HIV care in Zambia is a social, not individual experience, influenced by social and gendered norms and life goals including financial stability, raising family and living stigma-free. Second, patients and their networks act collectively to negotiate and navigate HIV care. Anticipated responses from social network influenced patients' willingness to engage in care, while emotional and material support from those networks influenced individuals' capacity to remain in HIV care. Lastly, health system factors were most influential where they facilitated or undermined peoples' collective approach to health service use. Participants living with HIV reported facilitation of both their initial and continued engagement in care where services involved social networks, such as during couples testing and community outreach. Conversely, service features that were poorly aligned with respondents' social reality (e.g. workplace obligations) hindered long-term engagement. Conclusions This study moves beyond listing barriers or socio-ecological groupings, to explain how social and health systems interact to produce HIV care outcomes. Our findings challenge the implicit assumption of individual agency underpinning many retention studies to highlight the social nature of illness and healthcare utilization for HIV in Zambia. This understanding of collective action for accessing and remaining in HIV care should underpin future efforts to revise and reform HIV and potentially other chronic service models and systems.",PLOS ONE,2018,mar 14 J,"Maleki, S; Soffianian, AR; Koupaei, SS; Pourmanafi, S; Saatchi, S","Wetland restoration prioritizing, a tool to reduce negative effects of drought; An application of multicriteria-spatial decision support system (MC-SDSS)",10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.12.031,"In recent years, large parts of arid and semi-arid areas in the world are dealing with water restrictions. In these areas, wetlands provide habitats for migratory birds and have a critical role in socio-ecological systems. Generally, in these areas, changing water-use patterns because of land-use change and water limitation because of climate change have led to the loss of wide areas of wetlands. Wetland restoration is suggested to restore the functions and values of wetlands that have been destroyed or affected by stresses. In this paper, a new application of wetland restoration prioritizing is introduced; restoration prioritizing to reduce the negative effects of drought. In this method, areas with the highest priority for restoration will be determined in a wetland destroyed because of water limitations. Multicriteria-spatial decision support system (MC-SDSS) was used to plan a scheme for Hamun wetlands restoration prioritizing in order to reduce the negative effects of drought and to restore the wetlands. This prioritization-determined areas that are valuable for Long-term water conservation, reduce the negative effects of dust storms and conserve water bird's habitats. This method was used in a wetland that is the only water resource in the middle of a wide arid plain. Because of water limitation, it is not possible to restore the hole wetland; therefore, different parts of this wetland were prioritized for restoration. Based on the results, it is possible to produce a model to determine which priority can be restored in each amount of water volume. In this way, it becomes clear for decision-makers to select areas for restoration in different volumes of water. The result of this study shows that since MC-SDSS decreases conflicts between alternatives in a decision-making process and uses their spatial situation, it is a preferred method to balance among conflicting goals. Furthermore, because spatial data are the most important parts of MC-SDSS, this paper shows the ability of remote sensing to be used in MC-SDSS method. It seems that in the future; remote sensing will have the most important role in MC-SDSS.",ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING,2018,MAR J,"Halofsky, JS; Donato, DC; Franklin, JF; Halofsky, JE; Peterson, DL; Harvey, BJ",The nature of the beast: examining climate adaptation options in forests with stand-replacing fire regimes,10.1002/ecs2.2140,"Building resilience to natural disturbances is a key to managing forests for adaptation to climate change. To date, most climate adaptation guidance has focused on recommendations for frequent-fire forests, leaving few published guidelines for forests that naturally experience infrequent, stand-replacing wildfires. Because most such forests are inherently resilient to stand-replacing disturbances, and burn severity mosaics are largely indifferent to manipulations of stand structure (i.e., weather-driven, rather than fuel-driven fire regimes), we posit that pre-fire climate adaptation options are generally fewer in these regimes relative to others. Outside of areas of high human value, stand-scale fuel treatments commonly emphasized for other forest types would undermine many of the functions, ecosystem services, and other values for which these forests are known. For stand-replacing disturbance regimes, we propose that (1) managed wildfire use (e.g., allowing natural fires to burn under moderate conditions) can be a useful strategy as in other forest types, but likely confers fewer benefits to long-term forest resilience and climate adaptation, while carrying greater socio-ecological risks; (2) reasoned fire exclusion (i.e., the suppression component of a managed wildfire program) can be an appropriate strategy to maintain certain ecosystem conditions and services in the face of change, being more ecologically justifiable in long-interval fire regimes and producing fewer of the negative consequences than in frequent-fire regimes; (3) low-risk pre-disturbance adaptation options are few, but the most promising approaches emphasize fundamental conservation biology principles to create a safe operating space for the system to respond to change (e.g., maintaining heterogeneity across scales and minimizing stressors); and (4) post-disturbance conditions are the primary opportunity to implement adaptation strategies (such as protecting live tree legacies and testing new regeneration methods), providing crucial learning opportunities. This approach will provide greater context and understanding of these systems for ecologists and resource managers, stimulate future development of adaptation strategies, and illustrate why public expectations for climate adaptation in these forests will differ from those for frequent-fire forests.",ECOSPHERE,2018,MAR J,"Haggerty, JH; Epstein, K; Stone, M; Cross, PC",Land Use Diversification and Intensification on Elk Winter Range in Greater Yellowstone: Framework and Agenda for Social-Ecological Research,10.1016/j.rama.2017.11.002,"Amenity migration describes the movement of peoples to rural landscapes and the transition toward tourism and recreation and away from production-oriented land uses (ranching, timber harvesting). The resulting mosaic of land uses and community structures has important consequences for wildlife and their management. This research note examines amenity-driven changes to social-ecological systems in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, specifically in lower elevations that serve as winter habitat for elk. We present a research agenda informed by a preliminary and exploratory mixed-methods investigation: the creation of a social-impact index of land use change on elk winter range and a focus group with wildlife management experts. Our findings suggest that elk are encountering an increasingly diverse landscape with respect to land use, while new ownership patterns increase the complexity of social and community dynamics. These factors, in turn, contribute to increasing difficulty meeting wildlife management objectives. To deal with rising complexity across social and ecological landscapes of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, future research will focus on property life cycle dynamics, as well as systems approaches. (C) 2017 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT,2018,MAR J,"Schmidt, J; Hauck, J","Implementing green infrastructure policy in agricultural landscapes-scenarios for Saxony-Anhalt, Germany",10.1007/s10113-017-1241-2,"Green infrastructure (GI) has been identified as helping to protect Europe's natural capital by fostering environmental protection outside nature reserves and enabling better overall adaptation to changing conditions. The aim of Europe's green infrastructure strategy is to integrate GI implementation into existing policies. In intensively farmed agricultural areas, this mainly means the greening measures of the Common Agricultural Policy, which are mandatory for farmers wishing to receive full direct payments. We explore how GI implementation might develop under different future scenarios. We use a participatory scenario development approach to explore the benefits and limitations perceived by local actors in the agricultural regions of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Limiting factors include ecosystem disservices, economic constraints relating to income, labour costs, investments and land tenure, and social considerations including the farmers' self-image as primarily food producers and local people's opinions regarding good farming practices. The limiting factors also include a lack of knowledge about the ecological usefulness of measures, and failings in the design of the measures regarding practicability, flexibility and reliability. Benefits are seen in various ecosystem services, job creation and in fulfilling society's demands for environmental protection. We conclude by stating that GI implementation in agricultural landscapes requires reliable and flexible measures that fit farming practices and are well communicated, and that landscape level coordination and cooperation could enhance their effectiveness.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2018,MAR J,"Bachelet, D; Ferschweiler, K; Sheehan, TJ; Sleeter, BM; Zhu, ZL",Translating MC2 DGVM Results into Ecosystem Services for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation,10.3390/cli6010001,"Ecosystem services (ES) were conceived to emphasize the role of ecological processes in supporting societal needs and to allow their inclusion in the decision-making process. Currently climate change mitigation is one of the most important services ecosystems can provide to enhance sinks of greenhouse gas emissions as the planet warms and related extreme events take their toll on societies. Because ES cannot always be directly measured and because measurements are often cost prohibitive, process-based models are used to estimate their supply, delivery and/or value. We ran the MC2 dynamic global vegetation model for the conterminous US with/without land use for several future scenarios. We translated results into key ES such as carbon sequestration, which contributes to climate regulation, into a regulatory service or aboveground forest carbon into timber biomass, a provisioning service, and evaluated constraints to maintain them. By comparing projections with/without land use we illustrated differences between managed and natural lands and provided information to help the valuation of societally relevant services.",CLIMATE,2018,MAR J,"Riley, KL; Thompson, MP; Scott, JH; Gilbertson-Day, JW",A Model-Based Framework to Evaluate Alternative Wildfire Suppression Strategies,10.3390/resources7010004,"The complexity and demands of wildland firefighting in the western U.S. have increased over recent decades due to factors including the expansion of the wildland-urban interface, lengthening fire seasons associated with climate change, and changes in vegetation due to past fire suppression and timber harvest. In light of these changes, the use of more wildland fire on the landscape could reduce fuels and form barriers to the spread of future fires while performing forest restoration in some areas. However, the risks, costs and benefits of changing fire response strategy have not been quantified. Here, we identify gaps regarding the ability to simulate alternative wildfire suppression strategies, due to a number of factors including limited data collected on fireline construction, as well as synergies between firefighting resources and resource effectiveness. We present a fire management continuum: at one end lies full suppression of all fires under all circumstances, and at the opposite end lies no suppression of any fires regardless of location or time in season, with a wide array of managed fire options falling in between. Next, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept using a stochastic fire simulation model, FSim, to simulate two alternative fire suppression strategies close to opposite ends of this continuum for the Sierra National Forest of California: (1) business-as-usual, which equates to nearly full fire suppression; and (2) full suppression of human-caused fires and no suppression actions on lightning-caused fires. Results indicate that fire management strategy can substantially affect the number of large fires and landscape burn probabilities, both of which were shown to increase under the second scenario. However, temporal feedbacks are expected to play an important role: we show that increases in burned area substantially limit ignition potential and the extent of subsequent fires within the first five to ten years, especially under the second scenario. While subject to current data gaps and limitations in fire modeling, the methodology presented here can be used to simulate a number of alternative fire suppression strategies, including decisions to suppress or not suppress fires based on location, time of season or other factors. This method also provides basic inputs needed to estimate risks, costs and benefits of various alternative suppression strategies in future work. In future work, uncertainties resulting from current limitations in knowledge can be addressed using techniques such as scenario planning in order to provide land managers with a set of possible fire outcomes.",RESOURCES-BASEL,2018,MAR J,"Sajjad, M; Li, YF; Tang, ZH; Cao, L; Liu, XP","Assessing Hazard Vulnerability, Habitat Conservation, and Restoration for the Enhancement of Mainland China's Coastal Resilience",10.1002/2017EF000676,"Worldwide, humans are facing high risks from natural hazards, especially in coastal regions with high population densities. Rising sea levels due to global warming are making coastal communities' infrastructure vulnerable to natural disasters. The present study aims to provide a coupling approach of vulnerability and resilience through restoration and conservation of lost or degraded coastal natural habitats to reclamation under different climate change scenarios. The integrated valuation of ecosystems and tradeoffs model is used to assess the current and future vulnerability of coastal communities. The model employed is based on seven different biogeophysical variables to calculate a natural hazard index and to highlight the criticality of the restoration of natural habitats. The results show that roughly 25% of the coastline and more than 5 million residents are in highly vulnerable coastal areas of mainland China, and these numbers are expected to double by 2100. Our study suggests that restoration and conservation in recently reclaimed areas have the potential to reduce this vulnerability by 45%. Hence, natural habitats have proved to be a great defense against coastal hazards and should be prioritized in coastal planning and development. The findings confirm that natural habitats are critical for coastal resilience and can act as a recovery force of coastal functionality loss. Therefore, we recommend that the Chinese government prioritizes restoration (where possible) and conservation of the remaining habitats for the sake of coastal resilience to prevent natural hazards from escalating into disasters. Plain Language Summary Coastal populations are especially at risk from sea-level rise (SLR), induced storm surges, and other natural hazards. Therefore, it becomes essential to analyze the current and future vulnerabilities of coastal regions to natural hazards. Furthermore, it is desirable for the policy and the decision making to propose the suitable approaches for the resilience enhancement. This paper analyzes the current and future vulnerability of mainland China's coast to the SLR-induced natural hazards using a natural hazard index incorporating a coupled approach to vulnerability and resilience. The results show that the restoration of lost mangroves (where possible) and conservation of remaining coastal natural habitats can reduce the future coastal vulnerability by 45%. This study confirms that natural habitats are significant for coastal resilience and the governments should prioritize them for the sake of coastal resilience to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards.",EARTHS FUTURE,2018,MAR J,"Li, C; Zhao, J; Thinh, NX; Xi, YT","Assessment of the Effects of Urban Expansion on Terrestrial Carbon Storage: A Case Study in Xuzhou City, China",10.3390/su10030647,"Carbon storage is closely connected to the productivities and climate regulation capacities of ecosystems. Assessing the effects of urban expansion on carbon storage has become increasingly important for achieving urban sustainability. This study analyzed the effects of urban expansion on terrestrial carbon storage in Xuzhou City, China during 2000-2025. The cellular automata (CA) model was developed to simulate future urban expansion under three scenarios, namely, the business as usual (BAU), ecological protection (ECO), and planning strengthened (PLS) scenarios. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model was further applied to explore the consequences of urban expansion on carbon storage. The results show that urban expansion resulted in 6.099 Tg of carbon storage loss from 2000-2015. Moreover, significant differences in the effects of the urban expansion scenarios on carbon storage were identified in terms of both magnitude and spatial pattern from 2015-2025. Compared with the other scenarios, the PLS scenario could be considered as a good option that would allow future development to achieve the objectives of the lowest carbon storage losses. The findings improve the understanding of the effects of urban expansion on carbon storage and may be used to support urban planning and management.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,MAR J,"Roesch-McNally, G; Arbuckle, JG; Tyndall, JC",Soil as Social-Ecological Feedback: Examining the Ethic of Soil Stewardship among Corn Belt Farmers,10.1111/ruso.12167,"In this article we examine in-depth interviews with farmers (n=159) from nine Corn Belt states. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified a soil stewardship ethic, which exemplifies how farmers are talking about building the long-term sustainability of their farm operation in light of more variable and extreme weather events. Findings suggest that farmers' shifting relationship with their soil resources may act as a kind of social-ecological feedback that enables farmers to implement adaptive strategies (e.g., no-till farming, cover crops) that build resilience in the face of increasingly variable and extreme weather, in contrast to emphasizing short-term adjustments to production that may lead to greater vulnerability over time. The development of a soil stewardship ethic may help farmers to resolve the problem of an apparent trade-off between short-term productivist goals and long-term conservation goals and in doing so may point toward an emergent aspect of a conservationist identity. Focusing on the message of managing soil health to mitigate weather-related risks and preserving soil resources for future generations may provide a pragmatic solution for helping farmers to reorient farm production practices, which would have soil building and soil saving at their center.",RURAL SOCIOLOGY,2018,MAR J,"Roobavannan, M; van Emmerik, THM; Elshafei, Y; Kandasamy, J; Sanderson, MR; Vigneswaran, S; Pande, S; Sivapalan, M",Norms and values in sociohydrological models,10.5194/hess-22-1337-2018,"Sustainable water resources management relies on understanding how societies and water systems coevolve. Many place-based sociohydrology (SH) modeling studies use proxies, such as environmental degradation, to capture key elements of the social component of system dynamics. Parameters of assumed relationships between environmental degradation and the human response to it are usually obtained through calibration. Since these relationships are not yet underpinned by social-science theories, confidence in the predictive power of such place-based sociohydrologic models remains low. The generalizability of SH models therefore requires major advances in incorporating more realistic relationships, underpinned by appropriate hydrological and social-science data and theories. The latter is a critical input, since human culture - especially values and norms arising from it - influences behavior and the consequences of behaviors. This paper reviews a key social-science theory that links cultural factors to environmental decision-making, assesses how to better incorporate social-science insights to enhance SH models, and raises important questions to be addressed in moving forward. This is done in the context of recent progress in sociohydrological studies and the gaps that remain to be filled. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities in terms of generalization of SH models and the use of available data to allow future prediction and model transfer to ungauged basins.",HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES,2018,feb 23 J,"Glaser, M; Plass-Johnson, JG; Ferse, SCA; Neil, M; Satari, DY; Teichberg, M; Reuter, H",Breaking Resilience for a Sustainable Future: Thoughts for the Anthropocene,10.3389/fmars.2018.00034,"Strong resilience of a system usually enables the protection of a status quo. Most resilience studies assume that resilience-building is the central objective of sustainability work. Even though transformation has become a central theme in development and social-ecological debates, questions surrounding the weakening resilience of undesired system states are rarely analyzed. We suggest that resilience studies not only serve to protect systems and feedbacks we want to maintain, but may also help to understand and overcome chronic, undesirable, -and thus wicked-resilience. This contribution focuses on reef fisheries in the Spermonde Island Archipelago in Indonesia, based on social and ecological studies between 2004 and 2016. We identify a number of interlocking wickedly resilient vicious cycles as predominant drivers of the impoverishment of fishing households and the overexploited, polluted and degraded state of the coral reefs that fishers' livelihoods depend on. We argue that, more often than not in the Anthropocene, breaking resilience has a central role in the pursuit of sustainable human-nature relations. Therefore, the link between the resilience and the transformation debates needs to be much more explicitly made. Breaking interlocking, wicked resilience at multiple levels is needed to move toward sustainable human-nature relations from the local to the global level. There are lacunae in debate, literature, and research practice as to when, where and how wicked resilience might need to be weakened. A more complete resilience lens is particularly needed under Anthropocene conditions to support the unmaking of chronically resilient, anthropogenic systems.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2018,feb 16 J,"Tomlinson, B; Maynou, F; Sabates, A; Fuentes, V; Canepa, A; Sastre, S","Systems approach modelling of the interactive effects of fisheries, jellyfish and tourism in the Catalan coast",10.1016/j.ecss.2015.11.012,"Despite the large fluctuation in annual recordings of gelatinous plankton along the Catalan coast in the north western Mediterranean and the lack of long term data sets, there is a general perception that jellyfish abundances are increasing. Local authorities are concerned about the stranding events and arrivals of jellyfish to beaches and believe it could reduce the recreational appeal of the beaches a valuable ecosystem service for the regional tourist industry. Previous studies also demonstrate the predation of jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca ephyrae) upon some small pelagic fish larvae (Engraulis encrasicolus). Small pelagics are the principal source of revenue for the local fisheries. A social-ecological model was created in order to capture the effects of changes in abundance of P. noctiluca upon the local fisheries, the tourist industry and the wider economy. The following sub-models were constructed and connected following the systems approach framework methodology: an age-class based fisheries model; a jellyfish population matrix model; a jellyfish stranding model; a study on the impact of jellyfish strandings on beach users; and an economic input output matrix. Various future scenarios for different abundances of jellyfish blooms were run. The Expected blooms scenario is similar to the quantity and size of blooms for 2000-2010. For a hypothetical No blooms scenario (standard background level of jellyfish but without any blooms) landings would increase by around 294 tonnes (5.1%) per year (averaged over 10 years) or approximately 0.19 M(sic) in profits per year (4.5%), and strandings would decrease by 49%. In a Frequent blooms scenario, landings would decrease by around 147 tonnes per year (2.5%) and decrease profits by 0.10 M(sic) per year (23%), and strandings would increase by 32%. Given the changes that these scenarios would cause on the regional gross domestic product and employment, this study concludes that the overall impact of either of these scenarios on the economy would not be significant at the regional scale. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE,2018,feb 5 J,"Burdon, D; Boyes, SJ; Elliott, M; Smyth, K; Atkins, JP; Barnes, RA; Wurzel, RK",Integrating natural and social sciences to manage sustainably vectors of change in the marine environment: Dogger Bank transnational case study,10.1016/j.ecss.2015.09.012,"The management of marine resources is a complex process driven by the dynamics of the natural system and the influence of stakeholders including policy-makers. An integration of natural and social sciences research is required by policy-makers to better understand, and manage sustainably, natural changes and anthropogenic activities within particular marine systems. Given the uncertain development of activities in the marine environment, future scenarios assessments can be used to investigate whether marine policy measures are robust and sustainable. This paper develops an interdisciplinary framework, which incorporates future scenarios assessments, and identifies four main types of evaluation needed to integrate natural and social sciences research to support the integrated management of the marine environment: environmental policy and governance assessments; ecosystem services, indicators and valuation; modelling tools for management evaluations, and risk assessment and risk management. The importance of stakeholder engagement within each evaluation method is highlighted. The paper focuses on the transnational spatial marine management of the Dogger Bank, in the central North Sea, a site which is very important ecologically, economically and politically. Current management practices are reviewed, and research tools to support future management decisions are applied and discussed in relation to two main vectors of change affecting the Dogger Bank, namely commercial fisheries and offshore wind farm developments, and in relation to the need for nature conservation. The input of local knowledge through stakeholder engagement is highlighted as a necessary requirement to produce site specific policy recommendations for the future management of the Dogger Bank. We present wider policy recommendations to integrate natural and social sciences in a global marine context. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE,2018,feb 5 J,"O'Brien, GC; Dickens, C; Hines, E; Wepener, V; Stassen, R; Quayle, L; Fouchy, K; MacKenzie, J; Graham, PM; Landis, WG",A regional-scale ecological risk framework for environmental flow evaluations,10.5194/hess-22-957-2018,"Environmental flow (E-flow) frameworks advocate holistic, regional-scale, probabilistic E-flow assessments that consider flow and non-flow drivers of change in a socio-ecological context as best practice. Regional-scale ecological risk assessments of multiple stressors to social and ecological endpoints, which address ecosystem dynamism, have been undertaken internationally at different spatial scales using the relative-risk model since the mid-1990s. With the recent incorporation of Bayesian belief networks into the relative-risk model, a robust regional-scale ecological risk assessment approach is available that can contribute to achieving the best practice recommendations of E-flow frameworks. PROBFLO is a holistic E-flow assessment method that incorporates the relative-risk model and Bayesian belief networks (BN-RRM) into a transparent probabilistic modelling tool that addresses uncertainty explicitly. PROBFLO has been developed to evaluate the socio-ecological consequences of historical, current and future water resource use scenarios and generate E-flow requirements on regional spatial scales. The approach has been implemented in two regional-scale case studies in Africa where its flexibility and functionality has been demonstrated. In both case studies the evidence-based decision making, with trade-off considerations in the context of social and ecological aspirations. This paper presents the PROBFLO approach as applied to the Senqu River catchment in Lesotho and further developments and application in the Mara River catchment in Kenya and Tanzania. The 10 BN-RRM procedural steps incorporated in PROBFLO are demonstrated with examples from both case studies. PROBFLO can contribute to the adaptive management of water resources and contribute to the allocation of resources for sustainable use of resources and address protection requirements.",HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES,2018,feb 2 J,"Raum, S",A framework for integrating systematic stakeholder analysis in ecosystem services research: Stakeholder mapping for forest ecosystem services in the UK,10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.01.001,"The concept of ecosystem services offers a useful framework for the systematic assessment of the multiple benefits ecosystems deliver. However, the anthropogenic focus of the concept also requires a detailed understanding of the stakeholders interested in the goods and services ecosystems provide. Indeed, linking ecosystem services to stakeholders and systematically mapping their potential stakes in these is essential for effective, equitable and sustainable ecosystem governance and management because it specifies who is in the system and why. This paper endeavours to provide a better appreciation of systematic stakeholder analysis in ecosystem services research by, first, presenting an illustrative stakeholder analysis example, using a key natural resource in relation to ecosystem services: forests in the UK. In this exploratory study, a qualitative approach was adopted, using a literature review and interviews to identify the stakeholders with a stake in the provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services of forests, to distinguish their characteristics, and to examine their relationships towards each other on different levels. The illustrative example then informed the design of a conceptual framework for the systematic application of stakeholder analysis in ecosystem services research. The comprehensive framework consists of a three-phase model entailing the planning phase, the execution of the actual stakeholder analysis phase, and, finally the subsequent actions. The framework incorporates stakeholders and ecosystem services on a geographical, institutional and ecosystem level. Systematic stakeholder analysis can be used to develop future activities linked to ecosystem services, including new policy or instruments, stakeholder engagement activities, and decision-making processes. (C) 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,FEB J,"Xiao, W; Fu, YH; Wang, T; Lv, XJ",Effects of land use transitions due to underground coal mining on ecosystem services in high groundwater table areas: A case study in the Yanzhou coalfield,10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.11.059,"Coal resources play a strategic role in long-term development in China. However, underground mining activities in high groundwater table areas result in dramatic land use transition, putting both the ecosystem and the environment under great pressure. This paper examines the dynamic patterns of land use in high groundwater coal basins (HGCBs) using high-resolution Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) data from 1985, 1995, 2005, 2010, and 2015, and socio-economic data from research institutes and government departments, and assesses the changes of ecosystem service value (ESV) by drawing a connection between the observed land use dynamics and the evaluation of ESV, based on the latest research of Xie et al. (2015) and some revisions adapted to the situation in the mining areas. The outcomes indicated that from 1985 to 2005, the ESV of the study area had a sustained growth, from 308.66 million RMBY in 1985-481.50 million RMBY in 2005. However, this growth has since stopped and turned into a decrease, with ESV dropping to 334.27 million RAM in 2015. The reasons for the changes in ESV were analyzed: the large transition of construction land and farmland to waterbody caused by mining subsidence and restoration activities play a positive role, while the urbanization process in mining areas leading to the expansion of cities, and drought for the past 5 years leading to the shrinkage of waterbody, bring negative efforts to ESV. Based on the analysis above, some of the major implications were discussed. It is argued that the mining-induced land use transition will continue in the near future in HGCBs. Therefore, in order to fully consider the future landscape and thus optimize land use and extend urban development space it is necessary: to make pre-subsidence plans to maximize the farmland and ensure food security; to restore the secondary waterbody; to protect regional ecosystem service function and maintain its stability; and to make urban planning on the basis of subsidence prediction at every stage. Only in this way can HGCBs realize the sustainable use of ecological resources, as well as the integration of economic, social and ecologic benefits.",LAND USE POLICY,2018,FEB J,"Dominguez-Tejo, E; Metternicht, G",Poorly-designed goals and objectives in resource management plans: Assessing their impact for an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Marine Spatial Planning,10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.013,"Planning frameworks such as Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning are based on socio-ecological systems and require effective design of management goals and objectives, a task often overlooked in conservation and resource planning. This paper discusses research undertaken in a coastal council of Australia, to assess the significance of well-defined goals and objectives as drivers of management plans. SMART criteria and Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation approaches were integrated into a framework to examine management scope of existing plans; assess the quality of stated goals and objectives; analyse the use of natural and socio-economic targets; and provide recommendations for the development of future plans. Findings provided no indication of organizational learning through revision of previous plans, revealing an ongoing planning cycle with ad-hoc reviews frequently driven by policy changes. Main weaknesses identified included linguistics ambiguity; unclear planning hierarchy; lack of clear time-frames; and adoption of highly ambitious plans. The absence of measurable and time-bounded goals and objectives was noted. Additionally, poor definition of targets resulted in goals not meeting the impact-oriented criteria, and objectives were not outcome-oriented. Recommendations drawn in support of mainstreaming the Ecosystem Based Approach in future coastal and marine plans include: explicit definition of societal values; developing complementary cross-realm management goals and objectives; increasing commitment to produce 'on-the-ground' outcomes progressively within each planning period; a greater use of pro-active management measures; and providing an economic context to the plans, fostering alignment of financial resources and future investments with the vision developed by the council.",MARINE POLICY,2018,FEB J,"Nicolodi, JL; Asmus, M; Turra, A; Polette, M",Evaluation of Coastal Ecological-Economic Zoning (ZEEC) in Brazil: Methodological Proposal,10.5380/dma.v44i0.54865,"Coastal ecological and economic zoning (ZEEC) has been elaborated and implemented since 1988 in various scales and in fractions of the national territory with the objective of carrying out integrated environmental and territorial management actions. The diverse historical, political, economic and environmental contexts in which they were created denote their different effectiveness degrees. With the intention of carrying out an unprecedented quantitative and qualitative evaluation on this instrument, the Ministry of the Environment, in partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Vale do Itajai University (UNIVALI) and University de Silo Paulo (USP), developed a methodological framework that sought to combine the technical base of available information with the perception of social actors preponderant in the process. This method, developed given the lack of specific methodological references for this type of analysis, is presented here from the perspective of the results obtained with the evaluation of coastal EEZs in the country. The following steps were performed: 1 - Pre-planning; 2 - Documental analysis, with the construction of a systematized database; 3 - Elaboration of a system with 35 specific Indicators; 4 - Elaboration and application of semi-structured interviews in 16 coastal states of Brazil; 5 - Application of the Lickert Scale to the indicators; 6 - Individual analysis of the indicators by means of specific evaluation sheets; 7 - Validation workshop conducted with the presence of coastal states representatives; and 8 - Integrated analysis of indicators. The results indicate, if not to a favourable scenario, to a situation of consolidation and maturity of the management instrument, although not in a homogeneous way, along the Brazilian coast. Such diagnosed scenario does not necessarily indicate a better socio-environmental condition in a given territory, certainly the desired effect in this context. The methodological strategy applied, although it demanded a much longer time than originally planned, was satisfactory with regard to the collection and analysis of the EEZ. As an observation for future applications of the method, it is suggested the revision of certain indicators, especially with respect to the semi-structured interviews, which sometimes did not reflect the need to feed the indicator, as well as the transposition of the urgency of achieving the same.",DESENVOLVIMENTO E MEIO AMBIENTE,2018,FEB J,"Maksimenko, LA; Zenets, NG; Varova, NL",BIOLOGICAL METAPHYSICAL SCIENTISM IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF ALTRUISM AND EGOISM,10.17223/15617793/427/10,"The aim of this research is philosophical analysis of the most influential approach to the explanation of altruism and egoism as phenomena of natural and cultural human existence, which are represented by biology. Nowadays biology is the leader of the scientific avantgarde. The research focuses on the most debatable parts of biology (sociobiology, evolutionary ethics and psychology, human etiology), and offers a solution to the problem of altruism and egoism, their functional characteristics in nature and culture. The methodology of the analysis has been determined by a look at the ongoing scientism of culture and philosophy from the standpoint of the dialectical method. The problem solved in the given article is connected with the contrariety and ambiguity of the understanding of altruism and egoism in humanitarian knowledge and with the specific apology of naturalism caused by confident claims to explain these phenomena by the rapidly developing complex of biological sciences. This problem can be formulated in the following questions: What does the Bio Big Bang observed in the Humanities mean? How can we explain the apparent lack of alternatives to naturalism in solving the problem of altruism and egoism? It is proved that the conceptualization and absolutization of models of altruism and egoism that have been developed in these areas of knowledge are, in fact, a methodological and worldview expansion of biology which can be qualified as a biological form of metaphysic scientism and denoted by the term biocracy. The authors have revealed two types of such scientism: traditional, where nature is a subject which exceeds a human in its power and wisdom, and innovative, where nature is an object which can be technically modernized up to a biotechnological modernization of morality (ethic eugenics). The authors have shown that sociobiology is a kind of a reverse toward traditional biological scientism and has the meaning of a preventive measure. It implicitly expresses concern for the modern scale of innovative transformations of human nature and articulates the request for naturalization. It contributes to the formation of a different, biophilic attitude to nature, which increases our chances for survival as a minimum, for salvation as a maximum. Sociobiology reminds that the mind and the altruistic-moral principle had a common genesis. If altruism performs the function of species protection in the animal world, it performs the functions of protection of humans and culture in human society. But the tension of the long leash, by which nature constrains culture, becomes critical. If it breaks, this aromorphosis in the history of our species will be the last on the way to a posthuman future in which, obviously, there will be no problem of altruism and egoism.",TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL,2018,FEB J,"Han, J; Liang, HW; Hara, K; Uwasu, M; Dong, L","Quality of life in China's largest city, Shanghai: A 20-year subjective and objective composite assessment",10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.10.097,"Assessment of quality of life (QoL) cannot be based on a single criterion because QoL includes social, economic, environmental, and geographic metrics, as well as people's perceptions of the sustainability of an area. Quantification and spatial visualization of QoL allows policymakers to determine the effects of their policies and strategies on a city's overall environment. We develop a subjective and objective composite assessment of QoL, which is achieved by integrating socioeconomic and geo-physical condition with local people's perceptions of the importance of objectively measured attributes of city life. Shanghai, China's largest city, is selected as a case study. We find that QoL in Shanghai has steadily improved during the last 20 years, with relatively higher QoL scores in the city center and sub-center regions. Also, the improvements in social environment and transport accessibility have played dominant roles in contributing to QoL enhancement. Results of such composite assessment could be used to plan the future layout of city infrastructure, allocation of resources, or even the locations of a community's amenities and services, in an effective manner. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2018,feb 1 J,"Hoque, SF; Quinn, C; Sallu, S",Differential livelihood adaptation to social-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh,10.1007/s10113-017-1213-6,"Social-ecological changes, brought about by the rapid growth of the aquaculture industry and the increased occurrence of climatic stressors, have significantly affected the livelihoods of coastal communities in Asian mega-deltas. This paper explores the livelihood adaptation responses of households of different wealth classes, the heterogeneous adaptation opportunities, barriers and limits (OBLs) faced by these households and the dynamic ways in which these factors interact to enhance or impede adaptive capacities. A mixed methods approach was used to collect empirical evidence from two villages in coastal Bangladesh. Findings reveal that households' adaptive capacities largely depend on their wealth status, which not only determine their availability of productive resources, but also empower them to navigate social-ecological change in desirable ways. Households operate within a shared response space, which is shaped by the broader socio-economic and political landscape, as well as their previous decisions that can lock them in to particular pathways. While an adaptive response may be effective for one social group, it may cause negative externalities that can undermine the adaptation options and outcomes of another group. Adaptation OBLs interact in complex ways; the extent to which these OBLs affect different households depend on the specific livelihood activities being considered and the differential values and interests they hold. To ensure more equitable and environmentally sustainable livelihoods in future, policies and programs should aim to expand households' adaptation space by accounting for the heterogeneous needs and complex interdependencies between response processes of different groups.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2018,FEB J,"Ward, M; Possingham, H; Rhodes, JR; Mumby, P","Food, money and lobsters: Valuing ecosystem services to align environmental management with Sustainable Development Goals",10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.023,"With over 1 billion people currently relying on the services provided by marine ecosystems - e.g. food, fibre and coastal protection - governments, scientists and international bodies are searching for innovative research to support decision-makers in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Valuing past and present ecosystem services allows investigation into how different scenarios impact the SDGs, such as economic growth, sustainability, poverty and equity among stakeholders. This paper investigates the past and current value of the lobster fishery located in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area. It then uses InVEST to highlight future changes under different scenarios. While we found a significant decline in fishery value over the next ten years under all three scenarios, the exclusion of large-scale fisheries from the marine protected area seems to yield the most positive results in regard to South Africa's SDG commitments. This scenario has the potential to generate approximately 50% more revenue, while also producing the highest available protein to local communities, highest quantity of spawners and highest economic distribution to small-scale fisheries. It is clear through this research that valuing ecosystem services can enable a future of healthy economies, people and environments; the highly sought-after triple-bottom line. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2018,FEB J,"Appolloni, L; Sandulli, R; Vetrano, G; Russo, GF","A new approach to assess marine opportunity costs and monetary values-in-use for spatial planning and conservation; the case study of Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea, Italy",10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.11.023,"Conservation actions (as Marine Protected Areas) are key tools to maintain coastal ecosystems. However, many reserves are characterized by several problems related to inadequate zonings that preclude important areas from economic activities, determining a strong hostility by local populations. Thus, estimations of marine economic values-in-use are needed for protection of marine ecosystem in order to find the best compromise between conservation priorities and local population needs. Algorithms to estimate monetary values of the main human activities in marine territories (large scale and small scale fishings, aquaculture, beach resorts, yachting, diving and commercial shipping) are here implemented using Gulf of Naples (centre Tyrrhenian sea, Italy) as study area example. These algorithms are based on different sources data (questionnaires, monitoring activities, official local authority reports, web and scientific literature). They can also be compared with each other being their outputs all expressed in the same measure unit. During the models development process a new flexible approach, called Systematic Costs Assessment (SCA), to assess opportunity costs in systematic conservation planning process was developed and applied. Results show that the total turnover in the Gulf of Naples is 3,950,753,487 (sic) per year and 747,647,887 (sic) per year excluding small scale fishing estimation, and one hectare of marine territory is worth 40,672 (sic) and 7696 (sic) per year excluding small scale fishing activity. In particular, excluding small scale fishing activity, beach resort and yachting show the highest values referred to one hectare of marine territories. In conclusion, SCA is a flexible approach where no long and costly sampling campaigns are always needed, provided that two assumptions have to be taken into account, in order to estimate credible values-in-use costs: i) do not use economic activities data and ecosystem services data in the same assessment layer, since it could lead to costs overestimation and ii) SCA method are efficient when used by operators with strong knowledge of the study area, since they are able to recognize parameters affecting economic activities of local population.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,feb 1 J,"Othman, AAE; Elsaay, H",Adaptive reuse: an innovative approach for generating sustainable values for historic buildings in developing countries,10.2478/otmcj-2018-0002,"Sustainable development has become a goal for all countries seeking a balance between social, environmental and economic needs. The principal vision of a sustainable built future is about developing creative designs that utilize energy and materials effectively. However, this vision should consider historic buildings that were built centuries ago. Although many of these buildings are standing in a stable state, they are obsolete and their values are not fully utilized. Towards revitalizing and generating sustainable values of these buildings, adaptive reuse is adopted as a process of modifying, adapting and reusing obsolete buildings with their existing structures to extend their life cycle whilst performing a new function. This is currently practiced worldwide, specifically when a building has a unique architectural character and is in a stable condition. The adaptive reuse of a historic building should have minimal impact on the heritage significance of the building and its setting. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of adaptive reuse as an innovative approach for generating sustainable values of historic buildings in developing countries. To achieve this aim, a research strategy is designed to accomplish four objectives: first, literature related to sustainable development, sustainable values, adaptive reuse and developing countries is reviewed; second, two case studies are presented and analysed to investigate the role of adaptive reuse towards increasing the sustainable value of heritage buildings; third, a strategy with its action plan is developed for facilitating adaptive reuse of historic buildings in developing countries and finally, research conclusions are outlined and recommendations useful to professionals concerned with adaptive reuse of historic buildings are proposed.",ORGANIZATION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION,2018,FEB J,"Nielsen, AB; Gundersen, VS; Jensen, FS",The impact of field layer characteristics on forest preference in Southern Scandinavia,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.10.005,"Results from preference studies have been instrumental for including the general public's recreational preferences into forest policy, planning and management. Although recreational preferences have been studied intensively for approximately four decades, field layer characteristics have received very limited attention in Nordic countries and elsewhere. A representative experimental intemet survey was conducted among adults (aged + 18 years) in the nemoral and boreonemoral vegetation zone of the Scandinavian Peninsula, i.e. the coastal, most southern part of Norway, southern Sweden and all of Denmark. Survey participants (n = 4646) were asked to rank seven photographs that had been randomly selected from 30 digitally-edited photographs of oak and mixed hardwoods in three different stages of development and with five different field layer types. Young forests with the preferred field layer (anemone and litter) were ranked over mature and middle-aged forests with the disliked field layer (rough field layers or withered grass). In fact, anemone consistently increased the preference ranking of a stand compared to other stands, while rough field layer and withered grass reduced the preference. These findings challenge the general view among experts that field layer vegetation only makes a marginal contribution to the recreational value of forests compared to other structural attributes. The implications of this and questions for future research are discussed, as well as perspectives for forest management prompted by the results. The focus of this discussion is on urban and peri-urban forests, where recreational value is often the most highly valued ecosystem service.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2018,FEB J,"Cook, D; Daviosdottir, B; Kristofersson, DM",Willingness to pay for the preservation of geothermal areas in Iceland - The contingent valuation studies of Eldvorp and Hverahlio,10.1016/j.renene.2017.09.072,"Academic knowledge concerning preferences and willingness to pay for the preservation of geothermal areas is currently very limited. This paper seeks to increase understanding, using the contingent valuation method to estimate willingness to pay for the preservation of two high-temperature geothermal fields likely to be developed in the near future: Eldvorp and Hverahlio. Both study sites are located in Iceland, a nation that has been the recipient of repeated calls by the OECD to commence accounting for environmental impacts in cost-benefit analyses, particularly those associated with power projects. We applied interval regression using log-transformation to estimate WTP for the preservation of the high temperature Eldvorp and Hverahlio fields. The estimated mean WTP was 8333 and 7122 ISK for Eldvorp and Hverahlio respectively. Scaled up to the Icelandic population of national taxpayers, this equates to estimated total economic value of 2.10 and 1.77 billion ISK respectively. These results reinforce arguments in favour of accounting for environmental impacts of Iceland's future geothermal power projects as a mandatory component of the decision-making process. In Iceland and further afield, more research is necessary to develop understanding of the economic value of impacts to recreational amenity and other ecosystem services resulting from geothermal power projects. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",RENEWABLE ENERGY,2018,FEB J,"Carr, EW; Shirazi, Y; Parsons, GR; Hoagland, P; Sommerfield, CK",Modeling the Economic Value of Blue Carbon in Delaware Estuary Wetlands: Historic Estimates and Future Projections,10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.10.018,"Coastal wetlands sequester large amounts of carbon in their soils, effectively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and acting as a carbon sink. In this paper, we estimate the economic value of carbon sequestered by wetlands in the Delaware Estuary. We estimate the value of the current stock of wetlands, the value of the historic loss of wetlands, and under a range of different scenarios the expected future loss. We use historical topographic maps and Land Cover inventories of the Delaware Estuary to measure the acreage of tidal wetlands in nine distinct time periods from 1778 to 2011. Using these data, we estimate an annual rate of wetland loss of 1.03 km(2). Coupling observed land cover change with exogenous factors including sea-level rise, population pressure, and channel dredging, we estimate changes in tidal wetland area under a range of futufe scenarios for our expected future economic loss estimates. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2018,ene 15 J,"Garcia-Gusano, D; Istrate, IR; Iribarren, D",Life-cycle consequences of internalising socio-environmental externalities of power generation,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.231,"Current national energy sectors are generally unsustainable. Within this context, energy policy-makers face the need to move from economy-to sustainability-oriented schemes. Beyond the integration of the sustainability concept into energy policies through the implementation of techno-economic, environmental and/or social restrictions, other approaches propose the use of externalities-based on life-cycle emissions-to deeply take into account sustainability in the design of the future energy system. In this sense, this work evaluates the consequences of internalising socio-environmental externalities associated with power generation. Besides the calculation of external costs of power generation technologies and their implementation in an energy systems optimisation model for Spain, the life-cycle consequences of this internalisation are explored. This involves the prospective analysis of the evolution of the sustainability indicators on which the externalities are founded, i.e. climate change and human health. For the first time, this is done by endogenously integrating the life-cycle indicators into the energy systems optimisation model. The results show that the internalisation of externalities highly influences the evolution of the electricity production mix as well as the corresponding life-cycle profile, hastening the decarbonisation of the power generation system and thus leading to a significant decrease in life-cycle impacts. This effect is observed both when internalising only climate change externalities and when internalising additionally human health external costs. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2018,ene 15 J,"Dyck, B; Silvestre, BS",Enhancing socio-ecological value creation through sustainable innovation 2.0: Moving away from maximizing financial value capture,10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.209,"There is considerable consensus that a key to addressing the serious socio-ecological crises facing the world is for organizations to implement innovations that foster sustainable development. Drawing from the sustainability, innovation, and Resource Based View literature, this paper aims to examine the organizational capabilities associated with promoting a particular sustainable innovation Conservation Agriculture among small-scale farmers in low-income countries. Findings suggest that a paradigm shift is needed to what we call Sustainable Innovation 2.0. Sustainable Innovation 2.0 is associated with a double bottom line approach to sustainability that seeks to enhance positive socio-ecological externalities while maintaining financially viable organizations (i.e., financial well-being is subservient to socio-ecological well-being). We describe how Sustainable Innovation 2.0 is associated with: i) making rare sustainable innovations commonplace; ii) making inimitable emerging sustainable innovations transferable; and iii) developing institutional infrastructures and bundles of resources that counteract the non-substitutability of sustainable innovations. We discuss the implications of these ideas for the associated literature and for future research. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2018,ene 10 J,"Andujar, AH",Volney before the ruins of Palmyra: what happens and does not happen with time,10.15366/bp2018.18.006,"This article shows how the impact of the contemplation of the ruins of Palmyra leads Volney to project the exhumation of the meaning of ruins in general. The ruins then become living beings full of teachings. These include, first, those relating to equality (and freedom and justice); and also, the divinity of its author, that is, man as the unique subject of history, the romantic exaltation of beauty and a weak philosophy of history that records the terrible power of evil over time and that mitigates finally with an allusion to progress and its form of future manifestation: the liberal State, which will no longer cease with time. Our discussion explores the profound contradictions of his discourse: the moralization of his vision of the ruins, which significantly distorts its meaning; the excuse for a colonial policy, which derives from its protection; the ambiguous description as barbarians of those who destroy them, applicable equally to fanatics and enlightened; the naive moralistic vision of the role of evil in history or the contrast between the end of history, embodied in the universal State of Law for which France will act as a guide, and its incisive criticism of real Europe and France.",BAJO PALABRA-JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY,2018, S,"Solek, CW; Resh, VH",Water Provision in Chaparral Landscapes: Water Quality and Water Quantity,10.1007/978-3-319-68303-4_8,"Rivers and streams in chaparral landscapes provide both direct and -indirect critical services to humans. Water provision services can be broadly parsed into five categories: improvement of extractive water supply, improvement of instream water supply, water damage mitigation (e.g., flood control), water-related cultural services such as recreation, and water associated supporting services, such as enhancement of aquatic species biodiversity. Each of these services is influenced by the quantity and quality of water, location, and timing of flow. Water quantity and quality in California's chaparral landscapes are affected by sequential flooding and drying, particularly in small seasonal streams, resulting from the highly - seasonal precipitation patterns in Mediterranean-type climate regions. Fire is also a key factor affecting water quality and quantity. In these systems, water quantity is limited and quality often degraded, especially during the dry season. This is further exaggerated by diversions and withdrawals for urban, agriculture, and industrial uses, while future climate change could be particularly severe in these highly seasonal climate regions. Arguably, streams and rivers in chaparral landscapes are among the most vulnerable ecosystems to human activities, and are regularly subjected to various influences that may have deleterious effects on surface waters, such as groundwater pumping, conversion of natural lands to agriculture, cattle grazing, waste disposal, and urban encroachment. Because of high human population and agricultural demands in southern California, water security is essential. Reservoirs and storage facilities help provide this, although these alter the natural hydrographs of streams and rivers. Key management priorities to protect water provision services include the reduction of contaminants, eutrophication, and alteration of biogeochemical processes to reduce nutrient loads, along with establishing water-quality goals and aiding watershed protection. To best retain water provision services supplied by chaparral landscapes, coordination and efficiency of management practices and interventions across land jurisdictions, property lines, and watershed boundaries must be improved.","VALUING CHAPARRAL: ECOLOGICAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES",2018, S,"Molinari, NA; Underwood, EC; Kim, JB; Safford, HD",Climate Change Trends for Chaparral,10.1007/978-3-319-68303-4_14,"Chaparral vegetation is a dominant and unique feature of California's Mediterranean-type climate. The evergreen shrubs that characterize chaparral are well adapted to long, hot, dry summers and extreme fluctuations in inter-annual precipitation. Despite the ability of chaparral species to tolerate climatic extremes, the integrity of the chaparral ecosystem is currently being challenged by rising temperatures, increased variability in precipitation, and longer and more persistent droughts. Climate scenarios for California project continued warming through the century leading to increased physiological stress, canopy thinning, and mortality of chaparral vegetation across portions of the state. In some instances, however, chaparral vegetation may expand into forested landscapes. Climate change forecasts suggest enhanced fire activity, including an extended fire season and more frequent large fires. In this already stressed system, non-climate stressors, like increased fire frequencies, can lead to decreased shrub biomass, loss of species diversity, and conversion to other vegetation types. Chaparral in southern California is already trending toward conversion to dominance by non-native annual grasses, and climate projections suggest that this trend will continue in the future. In this chapter, we evaluate historical and projected climate trends in California and explain how they might directly and indirectly affect the integrity and persistence of chaparral on the landscape. We show that the interaction of climate and non-climate stressors can drive landscape level conversion of shrublands to non-native annual grasses leading to the loss of social and ecological benefits provided by the ecosystem. We provide a detailed review of projected changes in carbon storage for one of the (under-valued) ecosystem services provided by chaparral. We conclude by highlighting key management lessons from our review, and point to a few high priority information gaps that must be filled by future research.","VALUING CHAPARRAL: ECOLOGICAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AND MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES",2018, S,"Ghosh, A",Discursive Dissonance in Socioecological Theatre,10.1007/978-3-319-63892-8_5,"Policies and governance of sustainability and adaptation in the Indian Sundarbans are deeply entrenched in the discursive conflicts between various narratives emanating from global, national and local actors, respectively. The local residents perceive everyday disasters and erosion as their biggest threats followed by salinisation of soil. While forced outmigration is often the only autonomous adaptation option, scouts of human trafficking and child labour exploit the vulnerability of the disaster-fatigued. The state claims embankments to be the only instrument of protection and governance, which also designate their authority over the region. Multiple agencies with their respective mandates of control over the region and the resulting power struggles create deep divisions in the sustainability and adaptation governance. For example, approaches based on co-benefits and benefit sharing, have failed to cater to the local needs. Experts - comprising ecologists and geomorphologists - construct the region differently. The former focuses on the values of the ecosystem without being able to devise a system of sharing the benefits with the local people. The latter describes the region as an unstable, immature and active delta unfit for human habitation. Economists calculate values of the ecosystem services and products offered by the Sundarbans but fail to deliberate upon or devise a mechanism of sharing these benefits. Conservationists feel that the fragile balance of life-forms and biodiversity in the Sundarbans are critically endangered, which might eventually jeopardise human existence itself. The discourse of both the expert and the policy actors shifts the burden and onus of adaptation to the self-organising capacities of the local residents. While rehabilitation, livelihood security, built and human capital remain absent, the locals are not only expected to cope with hazards autonomously but also relinquish their living spaces to avoid future disasters. These multiple perceived realities make sustainability and climate governance in the Sundarbans a staggering intellectual and policy challenge.","SUSTAINABILITY CONFLICTS IN COASTAL INDIA: HAZARDS, CHANGING CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSES IN THE SUNDARBANS",2018, S,"Vidales, AAC; Victor, MBA",Oil Exploitation in Yasuni Biosphere Reserve. Impact on Ecuador's Commitment with Sustainability,10.1007/978-3-319-70560-6_11,"The purpose of this research is to identify how oil exploitation inside the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, affects the Ecuadorian government's commitment to its sustainable development. The research is based on the bibliographic review of the reserve's management plans, legislation regarding environmental protection and land management; as well as previous works on documenting key factors and their impacts in the reserve, focusing on oil exploitation. For this analysis, Yasuni has been considered as a complex system, in which key factors determine changes in four dimensions and their interactions, defined to represent sustainable development: social, environmental, political and economical. In the proposed analysis, components and actors are identified for each dimension, and their relationship is described at the different scale of their impact. By understanding these roles and their significance, it is determined which dimension is the most influential, therefore establishing if it supports sustainable development or not. In Yasuni, it is clearly established that the economical and political dimensions determine the future of the reserve, which is considered highly unsustainable and depicts an important dependence of the country and Yasuni on oil extraction in order to get financial resources. The identification of key factors and actors however, brings the possibility of promoting a more egalitarian distribution of power among these, in decision making, enabling a path towards sustainability and engaging the Ecuadorian government with it.",SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN MEXICO AND SELECTED LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES,2018, J,"Nigmann, T; Dax, T; Hovorka, G",Applying a social-ecological approach to enhancing provision of public goods through agriculture and forestry activities across the European Union,10.7896/j.1721,"Public goods provided by different land management practices in European regions have increasingly attained attention in agricultural policy debates. By focusing on the social-ecological systems (SES) framework, the systemic interrelations (e.g. drivers, resources, actors, governance regimes and policy impact) in land management across several case studies in various topographical and climatic conditions across ten European Union Member States are provided. The analysis of agricultural and forestry systems reveals a wide range of factors that drive the provision of 'ecologically and socially beneficial outcomes' (ESBOs). The respective influencing aspects cannot be reduced to market forces and policy support, but have to address simultaneously the pivotal role of social, cultural and institutional drivers as well. In particular, the tight interplay between public policies and private initiatives, and market mechanisms and societal appreciation of public goods delivery have shown to be the indispensable clue for understanding the relationship shaping the level of provision of public goods. Comparative analyses support the strong reliance on context, history, types of regions and differentiation of management systems which might be used for recommendations in the current debate on the future Common Agricultural Policy.",STUDIES IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS,2018, S,"Ronchi, S",Ecosystem Services and Planning,10.1007/978-3-319-90185-5_1,"The concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) was investigated with a historical overview of the definitions, methods of classification and approaches proposed over the years, from different disciplines regarding the Services provided by Ecosystem for Human wellbeing. The concept of ES is strictly related to Land Use/Land Cover changes that affect ES provision determining a decline of the global environmental conditions and loss of biodiversity. The generalised decline requires putting in place governance systems that guarantee long-term delivery and use of ES. Hence, information on ES is fundamental to support Spatial planning processes and Strategic Environmental Assessment can be the tool used to integrate ES in Planning for Sustainable Land use management.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR SPATIAL PLANNING: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND CHALLENGES FOR PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS,2018, J,"Martinez-Ortiz, LY; Rosado, AJY; Bunay, TCG; Hidalgo, RAG; Tipantuna, MRG; Robalino, DHH; Toaquiza, WFG","SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND PREDICTION OF RISKS FOR ECOTOURISM IN SANGAY PARISH, MORONA SANTIAGO, ECUADOR",,"In Ecuador, ecotourism development is promoted, highlighting the Amuntai Rain Forest Lodge project, which emerged in San Vicente de Tarqui, Sangay parish. However, the environmental problems it would cause are unknown. Therefore, the objective of this work was to carry out a diagnosis from the social perception of this installation, to predict the environmental impacts of the operation phase, and to propose an environmental management plan. The research was qualitative / descriptive / exploratory collecting data from the literature. The social perception was analyzed with a survey applied to 400 inhabitants. The impact prediction was made with the Leopold matrix. The indigenous people (> 50% of inhabitants) are dedicated to hunting and fishing activities for survival. It was found that there are no financial systems that allow economies to develop, but the tourism potential is high, which is why the inhabitants agreed to develop sustainable tourism. The operation stage would affect the fauna and human health. Solid waste and liquid effluent dumping would be the most aggressive threats. 72% of the impacts were negative, leading to a significant impact. 35 measures and four biodiversity compensation mechanisms were designed. With its future application, sustainable tourism growth would be achieved.",BIOTECNIA,2018, J,"Akber, MA; Khan, MWR; Islam, MA; Rahman, MM; Rahman, MR",Impact of land use change on ecosystem services of southwest coastal Bangladesh,10.1080/1747423X.2018.1529832,"This study assessed impact of land use change on ecosystem services (ES) of the southwest coastal Bangladesh, by combining Landsat data and published value coefficients of different ecosystems. Land use categories were estimated using satellite images from 1980 - 2016. Changes in the value of ES delivered by each of the land use categories were estimated from respective value coefficients. Results revealed that agriculture land decreased by 253,928 ha and aquaculture land increased by 272,032 ha within 1980 - 2016. Meanwhile, the total value of ES decreased from US$ 90.45 to 88.22 billion. Decline of agriculture was the largest contributor (US$ 1.41 billion) to the loss of ES, followed by deforestation (US$ 0.94 billion). Forest is the major contributor to the ES of this region and could largely impact on the ES value. Future land use policy could be targeted to promote sustainable agriculture and conservation of forest.",JOURNAL OF LAND USE SCIENCE,2018, J,"Eckert, LE; Ban, NC; Tallio, SC; Turner, N",Linking marine conservation and Indigenous cultural revitalization: First Nations free themselves from externally imposed social-ecological traps,10.5751/ES-10417-230423,"Continuity of coastal Indigenous cultures relies on healthy ecosystems and opportunity to fulfill cultural practices. Owing to resource stewardship practice over millennia, Indigenous nations possess Indigenous knowledge that positions them as leaders in contemporary resource management. However, Indigenous peoples possibly face social-ecological traps, situations in which feedbacks between social and ecological systems result in an undesirable state, that are challenging to overcome. Centuries of compounding colonization and environmental degradation have negatively impacted Indigenous knowledge and culturally mediated stewardship practices. Our partnership, comprising academics and four First Nations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, mobilized information from semistructured interviews with knowledge holders to explore Indigenous knowledge of a culturally important but vulnerable species, yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). We analyzed interviews and discovered evidence of an extant but transcendable social-ecological trap. The emergent themes represent an exploration beyond our original project goals and research questions. Our study revealed that external forces of colonization, i.e., via forced assimilation, and species declines created a social-ecological trap. However, participants ubiquitously described stewardship principles, and noted ongoing cultural revitalization efforts, active recovery of depleted species, and reassertion of Indigenous management rights as ways they are rebelling against, and overcoming, the trap. Although the framing of a social-ecological trap may be perceived as diminishing the authority of Indigenous governance systems, we found the opposite to be true. Despite external pressures, coastal First Nations are reasserting cultural and management rights and shaping their futures. We suggest that ongoing Indigenous cultural renewal and ecosystem recovery in the face of the historically entrenched trap be supported through recognizing and implementing inherent Indigenous marine management rights. The social-ecological trap described here differs from others in the literature in that the creation of the trap was external; moving beyond it is happening through internal, i.e., led by the First Nations, efforts.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Mascareno, A; Cordero, R; Azocar, G; Billi, M; Henriquez, PA; Ruz, GA","Controversies in social-ecological systems: lessons from a major red tide crisis on Chiloe Island, Chile",10.5751/ES-10300-230415,"Connecting the discussions on resilience and governance of social-ecological systems (SESs) with the sociological analysis of social controversies, we explore a major red tide crisis on Chiloe Island, southern Chile, in 2016. Theoretically, we argue that controversies not only are methodological devices for the observation of the complex relations between nature and society in moments of crisis, but also are materially embedded in the SES dynamics and can work for or against systemic resilience. Empirically, we show that Chiloe's SES is an unstable regime prone to sudden shifts and identify the configuration of different lock-in mechanisms expressed in the reproduction of structural fragilities over the last three decades. From the examination of the social controversies on the 2016 red tide crisis, we draw several lessons. First, there is a complex interplay of visible and hidden fragilities of Chiloe's SES that, while being ignored or their resolution postponed to the future, materialize in the daily experience of inhabitants as a series of historical disappointments. Second, the unfolding of Chiloe's social-ecological crises involves epistemic disputes not only over concrete events but also on the very construction of the SES as a social-natural reality. In turn, this creates conditions for the emergence of strategic alignments between local, national, and transnational actors and shows the extent to which the socio-political articulation of knowledge may contribute to either improve or block the governance of the SES. Third, the social resources that came to light with the controversies reveal pathways for improving the governance regime of Chiloe Island's SES. This dimension highlights the normative relevance of commitments to recognize multiple scales of knowledge and articulate a plurality of actors in a nonhierarchical logic of cooperation.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Pereira, LM; Karpouzoglou, T; Frantzeskaki, N; Olsson, P",Designing transformative spaces for sustainability in social-ecological systems,10.5751/ES-10607-230432,"Transformations toward sustainability have recently gained traction, triggered in part by a growing recognition of the dramatic socio-cultural, political, economic, and technological changes required to move societies toward more desirable futures in the Anthropocene. However, there is a dearth of literature that emphasizes the crucial aspects of sustainability transformations in the diverse contexts of the Global South. Contributors to this Special Feature aim to address this gap by weaving together a series of case studies that together form an important navigational tool on the how to as well as the what and the where to of sustainability transformations across diverse challenges, sectors, and geographies. They propose the term transformative space as a safe-enough collaborative process whereby actors invested in sustainability transformations can experiment with new mental models, ideas, and practices that can help shift social-ecological systems onto more desirable pathways. The authors also highlight the challenges posed to researchers as they become transformative space-makers, navigating the power dynamics inherent in these processes. Because researchers and practitioners alike are challenged to provide answers to complex and often ambiguous or incomplete questions around sustainability, the ideas, reflections and learning gathered in this Special Feature provide some guidance on new ways of engaging with the world.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Rawluk, A; Ford, RM; Williams, KJH",Value-based scenario planning: exploring multifaceted values in natural disaster planning and management,10.5751/ES-10447-230402,"The multifaceted dynamics of values underpin many social-ecological challenges, but there are limited approaches for grappling with them. Participatory scenario planning can be a useful tool to explore and evaluate different approaches in natural disaster management. We developed value-based scenario planning as a general framework and process and applied it to the context of bushfire management in Victoria, Australia. From our application, three scenarios resulted: developing self-reliant people and communities; a safe society: separating people and fuel; and living with nature and bushfire. We found that values could guide the development of relatable scenarios and that value-based scenarios supported the understanding of complex relationships between abstract and concrete values and natural disaster management and planning. We found that scenarios led people to think outside of their area of comfort and fostered reflection, discussion, and consideration for how to bridge value differences. Future applications of value-based scenarios could support communication between decision-making agencies and the public in the face of uncertainty, complexity, and value conflict.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Zupanc, V; Pintar, M; Podgornik, M",OLIVE PRODUCTION ON CULTIVATED TERRACES IN NORTHERN ISTRIA,10.19233/ASHS.2018.48,"Cultivated terraces in northern Istria are an important element of the cultural landscape that enables several ecosystem services. Open green space is changing due to urban sprawl, soil sealing, and land abandonment. Olive growing is the only agricultural land use category that has increased in the past two decades. This study evaluates the various ecosystem services provided by terraced landscape under olive production in northern Istria. Terraced landscapes are multifunctional; they work against land degradation and preserve soil water for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Furthermore, terraced landscapes, particularly in distant areas, are disconnected from the more populated areas directly connected to the coast, and they face land abandonment, poor maintenance, and overgrowing issues. However, positive change is increasing in terraced areas used for olive orchards. This is in part due to the demand for Slovenian olive oil. Furthermore, the value of terraced landscapes with olive orchards and their part in the preservation of biodiversity is recognized in other sectors. As a cultivated cultural landscape element, olive orchards on terraces play important roles in tourism and provide much needed added value for tourist farms.",ANNALES-ANALI ZA ISTRSKE IN MEDITERANSKE STUDIJE-SERIES HISTORIA ET SOCIOLOGIA,2018, S,"Sarda, R; Azcarate, JPL",A DEcision MAking (DEMA) Tool to Be Used in Ecosystem-Based Management System (EBMS) Applications,10.1007/978-3-319-58304-4_2,"Beaches are basically managed mirroring user's perception and normative requirements to obtain performance standards or distinctions made on well-known Quality Management Systems and/or Environmental Management Systems. However, when these systems are used in the management of these natural public goods, present practices do not fit with the Ecosystem Approach Strategy (EA) launched by United Nations at the end of last Century. To overcome this reality, an application of the Ecosystem-Based Management System (EBMS) was developed recently as a formal way to practice this approach at the beach social-ecological system. The EBMS is a stepwise process that combines environmental quality and risk management system theory with the EA principles. The EBMS is composed of three interactive pillars: Managerial, Information and Participatory. The Managerial pillar is the engine of the EBMS, following the classical Plan-Do-Check-Act managerial policy scheme. As a part of the Planning phase, a factual approach to decision making is suggested: DEMA (DEcision-MAking) tool. DEMA is a formal prioritization tool intended to help managers to determine, based on a social cost-benefit analysis and the vision established for a particular social-ecological system, which projects should be the first. DEMA uses risk management theory to decide what future activities should be selected in the policy cycle to avoid those identified risks that could impede us to get the desired vision for the beach under management. DEMA is using a framework of indicators related to the identified ecosystem services given by these systems, valuating and rating them to further prioritization of actions.","BEACH MANAGEMENT TOOLS - CONCEPTS, METHODOLOGIES AND CASE STUDIES",2018, S,"Visser, W",Creating Integrated Value Through Sustainable Innovation: A Conceptual Framework,10.1007/978-3-319-73503-0_7,"In the context of a plethora of worsening social, environmental and ethical negative conditions often associated with economic growth and industrial activity, Integrated Value is proposed as a conceptual and practical framework for business to respond credibly and effectively as a force for innovation and solutions. In order to do so, the chapter begins by asking: how is value to society currently being destroyed by economic activities? Taking a systems science perspective, the answer is: whenever it causes fragmentation, or disintegration. This disintegration in society occurs in at least five principle ways, namely the five forces of fragmentation: disruption, disconnection, disparity, destruction and discontent. The next question is: how might this value destruction in society be countered or reversed? We find clues in innovations that are occurring in five emerging economic spheres: the resilience, exponential, access, circular and wellbeing economies. In each of these areas, there are breakthrough business models, practices, products and services that are building, rather than destroying, societal value. These are the five pathways to innovation, defined in terms of the desired future state they are trying to advance, which is a society that is more secure, smart, shared, sustainable and satisfying. Four strategic value-creation options are then described (singular, focused, diffuse and integrated value) before citing illustrative cases and describing the seven steps of a methodology to implement integrated value.","SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS: PRINCIPLES, PROMISE, AND PRACTICE",2018, J,"Bekele, B; Wu, W; Legesse, A; Temesgen, H; Yirsaw, E","SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF LAND USE/COVER CHANGE IN ETHIOPIAN CENTRAL RIFT VALLEY LAKES REGION, EAST AFRICA",10.15666/aeer/1605_66076632,"Unregulated land use/cover change (LUCC) has imposed significant local, regional and global impacts on livelihood and environment, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Previous studies well documented the extent and drivers of such spectacular LUCC in East Africa. However, data on regional/local impacts particularly that combine its socioeconomic and environmental effects are very scanty currently. Hence, this study is aimed to assess the socio-environmental impacts of LUCC in more dynamic and fragile landscapes of the Ethiopian Central Rift Valley lakes region. We used a combination of data from Remote Sensing, GIS-based processing, household survey and meteorological stations to quantify and analyze LUCC impacts. Results indicated that a rapid LUCC has occurred in the region over the last three decades which imposed a number of socioeconomic and environment-related impacts. Based on the percentage of respondent farmers, climate change (95%), soil productivity decline (94%), land degradation (92%), shortage of wood (91%), shortage of grazing land (89%), soil erosion (88%), loss of biodiversity (81%) and lake water retreat (74%), are the principal impacts of LUCC perceived. Such perceived impacts of LUCC are in line with the observed results obtained from comprehensive measured data analysis. Future land use policies need to consider management options that work on reducing anthropogenic-induced pressures on the environment and encouraging livelihood diversification in order to minimize the adverse socio-environmental impacts of spectacular LUCC in the region.",APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2018, J,"Wang, P; Liu, L; Wu, T","A review of China's climate governance: state, market and civil society",10.1080/14693062.2017.1331903,"This article disaggregates the often complex, hierarchical and still-evolving structure of China's climate governance into three dimensions: the state, the market and civil society. The three dimensions are not exclusive of each other but overlap in many important respects, and their roles and relative levels of importance in China's climate governance have changed over time. The state determines the blueprint of all climate change policies and management, reflecting an essential condition of China's political economy and public administration. It sets overall targets and goals, and also acts as a supervising framework, sometimes enabling, at other times constraining, the activities of the market and civil society. The latter two dimensions, however, have become more important in recent years. Market-based policies, particularly emissions trading systems, are becoming an important tool for emissions control. Civil society has also begun to play a more active role in climate governance, an indication of which is the growing number of environmental NGOs, and their growing collaboration with international counterparts. All three dimensions and the ways in which they overlap will remain crucial to climate governance in China into the foreseeable future.Key policy insights As the world's largest GHG emitter, China faces increasing pressure to control its emissions and shift to a low-carbon economy.This pressure is both international and domestic, reflecting China's central role in global mitigation efforts, as well as the growing demand by citizens for better environmental conditions.In the period after the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, the evolution of China's climate governance - with corresponding shifts in the roles of state, market and civil society - will continue to have significant implications for the global effort to combat climate change.",CLIMATE POLICY,2018, J,"Xie, WX; Huang, QX; He, CY; Zhao, X","Projecting the impacts of urban expansion on simultaneous losses of ecosystem services: A case study in Beijing, China",10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.08.055,"Assessing the impacts of urban expansion on ecosystem services (ESs) is fundamental to understanding urban sustainability. However, little is known about the intensity of simultaneous losses of ESs over time caused by urban expansion. Taking Beijing as an example, this study sought to simulate the historical and potential impacts of urban expansion on the simultaneous losses of main ESs. We projected the impacts of urban expansion on the simultaneous losses of main ESs from 1990 to 2013 and simulated the potential impacts from 2013 to 2040 by combining ES mapping models, an urban expansion model and statistical methods. The results show that food production, water conservation, habitat quality, carbon storage, and air quality regulation in Beijing from 2013 to 2040 will decrease by 20.70%, 8.69%, 6.45%, 5.76%, and 3.92%, respectively. Meanwhile, the simultaneous losses of water conservation, habitat quality, carbon storage, and air quality regulation will be aggravated. Increases in the replacement of forest land by urban land will be the main cause for the aggravation of simultaneous losses of ESs. From 2013 to 2040, 11.08% of expanded urban land will replace forest land, which is much higher than the 3.24% change from 1990 to 2013. Thus, more attention should be paid to protecting forest land and cropland with high ES values in rapidly urbanized regions.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2018,JAN J,"Lopez, DR; Gomez-Acebo, JLB",Networking women translators in Spain (1868-1936) and their presence in the Mnemosyne digital library,10.1108/EL-02-2017-0026,"Purpose Studies of Spanish literature during the late nineteenth century and the first one-third of the twentieth century are evolving from research on canonical writers to the study of odd and forgotten authors, themes and genres during what is now called the Other Silver Age. This paper aims to focus on the work undertaken in the field of literary translation by the women writers of this period. Design/methodology/approach Mnemosyne is an open-access digital library that allows data modeling for specific collections (women translators, science fiction, etc.) in support of research and teaching on Silver Age Spain. The first version of the library is stored on the server at the Universidad Complutense Library, and it is linked to the collections of the digital library HathiTrust and Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. Behind the scenes of Mnemosyne's public presence online, the project is developing with the aid of the tool Clavy which is a rich internet application that is able to import, preserve and edit information from big data collections of digital objects so as to build bridges between institutional and digital repositories and create collections of enriched digital content. See:http://repositorios.fdi.ucm.es/mnemosine/queesmnemosine.php Findings The Collection Women Translators in Spain (1868-1936) inside Mnemosyne selects, categorizes and makes visible in digital format women translators and literary translations that belong to a forgotten repertoire to allow the historical review of the period. The digital collection of Spanish Women Translators pretends to be a field of international experimentation for the creation of interoperable semantic networks through which a large group of scholars could generate innovative research and theoretical reading models for literary texts. See:http://repositorios.fdi.ucm.es/mnemosine/colecciones.php Research limitations/implicationsClavy also provides a basic system of data visualization, edition and navigation. There are plans to integrate @Note, a collaborative annotation application, into Clavy. These two computational tools were developed by the software languages research group ILSA[1] at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Practical implications Its been followed NEWW Women Writers' categories concerning biographical categories as successful standard for ensuring interoperability in the near future: children, marital status, social class, religion, profession and other activities, financial aspects, memberships. See:http://repositorios.fdi.ucm.es/mnemosine/ver_documento.php?documento=208369 Social implications These women also showed their interest in the writings of contemporary women by translating their works into Spanish or glossing foreign ideas about how the modern woman should be, think or behave. This digital collection shows the first steps of the intellectual women in the South of Europe. Originality/value To incorporate specially tailored metadata for the women translators' collection into Mnemosyne, it will be necessary to use of Clavy's extensibility to account for the particularities of the women translators' collection. This is where prior knowledge of this literature's historical and cultural context proves indispensable. In particular, the specific metadata model for the women translators' collection incorporates elements that reflect the literary, historical and cultural characteristics of the collections.",ELECTRONIC LIBRARY,2018, J,"Morris, JL; Cottrell, S; Fettig, CJ; DeRose, RJ; Mattor, KM; Carter, VA; Clear, J; Clement, J; Hansen, WD; Hicke, JA; Higuera, PE; Seddon, AWR; Seppa, H; Sherriff, RL; Stednick, JD; Seybold, SJ",Bark beetles as agents of change in social-ecological systems,10.1002/fee.1754,"Due to recent outbreaks of native bark beetles, forest ecosystems have experienced substantial changes in landscape structure and function, which also affect nearby human populations. As a result, land managers have been tasked with sustaining ecosystem services in impacted areas by considering the best available science, public perceptions, and monitoring data to develop strategies to suppress bark beetle epidemics, and in some cases to restore affected lands and ecosystem services. The effects of bark beetle outbreaks are often detrimental to the provision of ecosystem services, including degraded landscape aesthetics and diminished air and water quality. However, there have been instances where bark beetle outbreaks have benefited communities by, for example, improving habitat for grazing animals and enhancing real-estate values. As a consequence of the interaction of a warming climate and susceptible forest stand conditions, the frequency, severity, and extent of bark beetle outbreaks are expected to increase and therefore will continue to challenge many social-ecological systems. We synthesize experiences from recent outbreaks to encourage knowledge transfer from previously impacted communities to potentially vulnerable locations that may be at risk from future bark beetle epidemics.",FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT,2018,JAN J,"Han, YW; Kang, WM; Song, Y","Mapping and Quantifying Variations in Ecosystem Services of Urban Green Spaces: A Test Case of Carbon Sequestration at the District Scale for Seoul, Korea (1975-2015)",10.14246/irspsd.6.3_110,"Urban ecosystem services (ESs) can moderate many common environmental issues in cities that are caused by the land use transformation central to urbanization. However, quantitative knowledge of historical changes in ES provisioning at various urban scales is limited. In this research, it is proposed to identify ESs, especially those generated by urban green space (UGS), and quantify their spatiotemporal variations at the regional scale in the southern part of Seoul City, Korea. Changes are first detected in landscape patterns, then one ES indicator - carbon sequestration (CS) - is chosen as a test case, and its spatial pattern explored using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Total potential CS decreased by 41.2% from 1975 to 2015, with loss and fragmentation of landscapes occurring and patches becoming smaller and simpler in shape in the urban area, as indicated by landscape metrics. Moreover, strong decreases in urban forest and agricultural areas were the primary causes of loss of CS. On the other hand, a 120% increase in the grassland area somewhat offset these two factors. It is hoped that these results will contribute to cognizance of the potential of historical processes to inform future policy decisions related to green infrastructure and land-use planning.",INTERNATIONAL REVIEW FOR SPATIAL PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2018, J,"Arunyawat, S; Shrestha, RP",Simulating future land use and ecosystem services in Northern Thailand,10.1080/1747423X.2018.1496157,"Enhancing ecosystem services is important as it provides foundation for he wellbeing of people. This paper presents the future land use simulation for enhancing ecosystem services using CLUMondo, dynamic spatial model. The land use change was assessed from 1989 to 2013 in Wang Thong watershed of Northern Thailand using GIS and a set of ecosystem services was assessed using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Future land uses until 2030 were projected for three policy scenarios, namely business-as-usual, integrated land use development, and enhancing environmental services with different levels of emphasis on ecosystem services. In business-as-usual scenario, it was observed that ecosystem services will decline by 2030 from the base year of 2013, whereas in integrated land use development scenario, the ecosystem services will increase by 5% compared to base year due to anticipated effective protection of remaining forests in all existing and proposed protected areas of the study area. In enhancing environmental services scenario, the ecosystem services will increase by 15%. Such results can serve as useful information in policy formulation in developing land use options, which help enhance ecosystem services in future.",JOURNAL OF LAND USE SCIENCE,2018, J,"Goldberg, J; Birtles, A; Marshall, N; Curnock, M; Case, P; Beeden, R",The role of Great Barrier Reef tourism operators in addressing climate change through strategic communication and direct action,10.1080/09669582.2017.1343339,"The projected decline in reef health worldwide will have huge repercussions on millions of stakeholders depending upon coral reefs. Urgent action is needed to sustain coral reefs into the future. Tourism operators are recognised as stewards of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR), a World Heritage Site, and are taking action on climate change, through their business practices and by engaging guests with interpretation and targeted messages. Yet little is known about how tourism operators along the GBR perceive climate change, or what actions they believe are most effective to address climate change impacts on the GBR. We describe a set of semi-structured interviews with 19 tourism operators in the Whitsundays and Cairns, the most popular tourism destinations along the GBR. Using a thematic analysis to code and report patterns within the data, we show tourism operators recognise the threat of climate change and strongly support increased action to address it. Most respondents are hesitant to engage their guests about climate change despite acknowledging an interest, expertise, and responsibility to do so. Understanding the barriers preventing tourism operators from addressing climate change is an important step towards helping them, and the tourists visiting the region, take action to protect the GBR.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM,2018, J,"Mamat, Z; Halik, U; Keyimu, M; Keram, A; Nurmamat, K","Variation of the floodplain forest ecosystem service value in the lower reaches of Tarim River, China",10.1002/ldr.2835,"Ecosystem service and human activity assessment are essential for effective natural resources allocation; however, these were seldom researched in arid region. This study used the theory proposed by Millennium Ecosystem Assessment to analyse ecosystem services provided by the floodplain forest in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Results showed the following: (a) In the research area, the ecosystem service values of approximately US$216.78x10(8) occurring from 1972 to 2015 showed a decreasing trend; (b) the total ecosystem service values for floodplain forest and water area for all land use and land cover types accounted for 87.43% of the total value in the research area, and water supply, biodiversity protection, and waste treatment accounted for 55% of the total function valuesthese were the highest service values; (c) this research showed that the estimated ecosystem service values of research area were inelastic to value coefficients. This study showed that future work should allow land use and Ecological Water Conveyance Project to follow with rigorous environmental impact analyses. These analyses will be crucial to maintain the stability and sustainable development in the lower reaches of the Tarim River and also can provide references for research in the arid regions of Northwest China and Central Asia.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2018,JAN J,"Bayliss, P; Ligtermoet, E","Seasonal habitats, decadal trends in abundance and cultural values of magpie geese (Anseranus semipalmata) on coastal floodplains in the Kakadu Region, northern Australia",10.1071/MF16118,"The magpie goose is an iconic tropical species highly valued as a conservation asset and by Aboriginal people as a cultural resource. Most of the global population occurs in the Kakadu Region of northern Australia, which is at high risk from the combined impacts of invasive species and future sea-level rise. Future management responses require an increased understanding of their spatial and temporal dynamics and customary value. Historical aerial-survey data of geese and their nests in the Kakadu Region (1981-2006, 25 years) were used to characterise seasonal use of floodplains. Habitat hotspots' co-occurred with high abundance of plants that provide nesting material in the wet season and food in the dry season, particularly the bulbs of Eleocharis dulcis sedge. Goose numbers across the Northern Territory (1958-2000, n=42 years) exhibited 20-year decadal trends coupled with similar trends in rainfall and stream flow (1954-2006), which in turn were influenced strongly by global-scale interactions between the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Stream flow drives the spatial and temporal dynamics of magpie geese at regional and decadal scales through its direct influence on floodplain-vegetation dynamics. Customary harvesting practices of geese and their eggs ascertained from interviews (2011-2014) showed that their cultural value extends beyond consumption, highlighting the need to address socio-ecological contexts in future management responses.",MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH,2018, J,"Dutra, LXC; Bayliss, P; McGregor, S; Christophersen, P; Scheepers, K; Woodward, E; Ligtermoet, E; Melo, LFC","Understanding climate-change adaptation on Kakadu National Park, using a combined diagnostic and modelling framework: a case study at Yellow Water wetland",10.1071/MF16166,"This paper describes a semi-quantitative approach for the assessment of sea-level rise (SLR) impacts on social-ecological systems (SES), using Yellow Water wetland on Kakadu National Park as a case study. The approach includes the application of a diagnostic framework to portray the existing SES configuration, including governance structures, in combination with qualitative modelling and Bayesian belief networks. Although SLR is predicted to cause saltwater inundation of freshwater ecosystems, cultural sites and built infrastructure, our study suggested that it may provide also an opportunity to bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and governance systems, towards a commonly perceived threat. Where feasible, mitigation actions such as levees may be required to manage local SLR impacts to protect important freshwater values. In contrast, adaptation will require strategies that facilitate participation by Kakadu Bininj (the Aboriginal people of Kakadu National Park) in research and monitoring programs that enhance understanding of salinity impacts and the adaptive capacity to respond to reasonably rapid, profound and irreversible future landscape-scale changes.",MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH,2018, J,"Bayliss, P; Finlayson, CM; Innes, J; Norman-Lopez, A; Bartolo, R; Harford, A; Pettit, NE; Humphrey, CL; van Dam, R; Dutra, LXC; Woodward, E; Ligtermoet, E; Steven, A; Chariton, A; Williams, DK","An integrated risk-assessment framework for multiple threats to floodplain values in the Kakadu Region, Australia, under a changing climate",10.1071/MF17043,"The internationally important river-floodplains of the Kakadu Region in northern Australia are at risk from invasive species and future sea-level rise-saltwater inundation (SLR-SWI), requiring assessments of multiple cumulative risks over different time frames. An integrated risk-assessment framework was developed to assess threats from feral animals and aquatic weeds at three SLR-scenario time frames (present-day, 2070 and 2100) to natural (magpie goose habitats), cultural (indigenous hunting-fishing sites) and economic (tourism revenue less invasive species control costs) values. Probability density functions (pdfs) were fitted to spatial data to characterise values and threats, and combined with Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analyses to account for uncertainties. All risks were integrated in a Bayesian belief network to undertake what if' management-scenario analyses, and incorporated known ecological interactions and uncertainties. Coastal landscapes and socio-ecological systems in the region will be very different by 2100 as a result of SLR; freshwater ecosystems will transform to marine-dominated ecosystems and cannot be managed back to analogue conditions. In this context, future invasive-species risks will decrease, reflecting substantial loss of freshwater habitats previously at risk and a reduction in the extent of invasive species, highlighting the importance of freshwater refugia for the survival of iconic species.",MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH,2018, J,"Demirovic, D; Radovanovic, M; Petrovic, MD; Cimbaljevic, M; Vuksanovic, N; Vukovic, DB",Environmental and Community Stability of a Mountain Destination: An Analysis of Residents ' Perception,10.3390/su10010070,"This study aims to explore the use of the social-ecological system (SES) in tourism of a mountain area. Authors examined residents' perceptions of tourism impacts on four SES aspects: ecosystems, local knowledge, people and technology and property rights institutions. The aim is to find area that will be a common ground for community and area that can be a source of conflict and will require additional work to solve the differences. Second objective was to examine residents' perception towards future local development tourism policies (winter tourism, seasonality and environment and culture) and how those policies can affect natural, socio-economic and cultural aspects of mountain area. Residents' perceptions of sustainable tourism development potential, perceived tourism impacts, analysis of community attachment and employment sector of stakeholder were involved in this study. The authors applied the Q-methodology, as one SES-allied approach, in a small mountain community of Kopaonik, the Republic of Serbia. The results revealed that residents' agreement/disagreement is connected with two aspects: ecosystem and property rights and that ecosystem can be significantly influenced by all three development policies. Findings suggest that development of future natural conservation plans and new cultural attractions can have positive effects on all parts of social-ecological system. Some practical implications of those findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JAN J,"Pavaloaia, L; Carp, M; Georgescu, IE",SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING AND INVESTOR REACTION. EVIDENCE FROM THE ROMANIAN CAPITAL MARKET,,"In the context of interest for sustainable development, companies can act as genuine catalysts for the socioeconomic environment by reconfiguring strategic goals to focus them towards obtaining an integrated performance. Integrated reporting of the three dimensions of performance economic, social and environmental completes the data sets used by investors to substantiate investment decisions. This paper aims by using data that is specific of entities listed on the main section of the Bucharest Stock Exchange to assess the extent to which the quality of sustainability reporting influences investor decision making. The research results reveal a significant influence of the quality of integrated reporting on stock prices, as reflected in the type of submitted report (social, environmental, or both) and the report category (narrative or quantitative), respectively. Both the category and type of sustainability reporting have an insignificant influence on investors' expected performance as assessed based on future stock return.",TRANSFORMATIONS IN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS,2018, J,"Artelle, KA; Stephenson, J; Bragg, C; Housty, JA; Housty, WG; Kawharu, M; Turner, NJ","Values-led management: the guidance of place-based values in environmental relationships of the past, present, and future",10.5751/ES-10357-230335,"The prevalence of widespread, human-caused ecological degradation suggests that fundamental change is needed in how societies interact with the environment. In this paper we argue that durable models of environmental relationships already exist in approaches of place-based peoples, whose values connect people to their environments, provide guidance on appropriate behaviors, and structure sustained people-place relationships. To illustrate, we identify and discuss concordant values of indigenous peoples at opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean: the Maori of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and First Nations of the West Coast of Canada. We find that values of relatedness to, respect of, and reciprocity with other species and places correspond with sustained long-term relationships between people and places, and illustrate with examples from both regions. We propose that by integrating a values-led foundation into management broadly, values-led management could enable similar sustained relationships in places where they have been recently disrupted or where they are altogether lacking. We characterize values-led management as being founded on values that underpin stewardship-like relationships between people and place and that in turn guide related objectives, policies, and practices. We examine two contemporary values-led management plans that follow this structure, and provide additional examples of emergent values-led approaches elsewhere. From these we compile a set of questions that might guide the conception of place-based values-led management in decolonizing contexts, in contexts where people have a desire for place-based approaches but have not yet distilled foundational values for guidance, or in contexts where people have a united set of values but have not yet translated them into specific management approaches. We conclude by discussing both the challenges and learning opportunities that the resumption, or commencement, of values-led management might entail.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"van Riper, CJ; Thiel, A; Penker, M; Braito, M; Landon, AC; Thomsen, JM; Tucker, CM",Incorporating multilevel values into the social-ecological systems framework,10.5751/ES-10047-230325,"The social-ecological systems framework has guided investigations of complex interactions among ecosystems, society, and economies. In recent years, academics and practitioners have taken steps to strengthen this framework by calling for more systematic engagement with the cognitive and affective bases of human behavior. We suggest research that engages with multilevel values (i.e., individual, cultural, assigned) will be better positioned to understand how and why people cooperate in natural resource comanagement situations, and in turn, develop more effective strategies for mitigating and adapting to a changing world. We review three conceptualizations of the value concept operating within environmental governance regimes to offer a deeper understanding of how multilevel values fit within the social-ecological systems framework. Drawing on a conceptual model of these relationships, we share results from three example studies that demonstrate how values and governance can be more explicitly integrated in future research. We aim to stimulate a dialogue about the mutual benefits that can emerge from a fuller characterization of the relationship between values and environmental governance to manage for complexities of social-ecological systems.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Mackay, AD; Dominati, EJ; Rendel, JM; Maseyk, FJF",Looking to the future of land evaluation at farm scale,10.1080/00288233.2018.1485711,"Land evaluation has a long history of describing and quantifying the sustainable productive capacity of land, but there is a global recognition of the need for this discipline to evolve and recognise other services, beyond food production, provided by landscapes which contribute to human well-being, as well as account for impacts on receiving environments. In this paper, we explore if a natural capital ecosystem service approach could be added to the land evaluation and farm planning process to enable the quantification and valuation of all benefits obtained from farm landscapes. Bringing (i) ecological theory (that provides the relationship between stocks and processes and supports the premise that the manipulation of key stock attributes changes ecosystem function and service provision) together with (ii) land evaluation (a process embedded in geology, geomorphology and soil science, which in actual practice puts heavy emphasis on an agro-technical analysis) and (iii) farm planning (which has more of a focus on socio-economic constraints to the production system) enables more of the interactions between the intensity of a use and practice and the natural and built capital stocks, as they influence the provision of all services to be examined. Furthermore, the analysis of the farm businesses can be extended beyond production and associated financial analysis only, to an integrated analysis that includes other services. The proposed approach addresses a number of the limitations of the current approach to land evaluation and farm planning.",NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH,2018, J,"Zhang, PY; Jing, WL; Chen, YZ",Weighted Voronoi Diagram-Based Simulation and Comparative Analysis of Ecosystem Service Coverage: Case Study of the Zhongyuan Urban Agglomeration,10.1155/2018/7147524,"The future of ecology lies on the promotion of eco-economy, a resource saving and environment-friendly society, and the research of ecosystem services. This article applied weighted Voronoi diagram to simulate the ecosystem service capacity in Zhongyuan Urban Agglomeration, China, using remote sensing and geographic information systems. The results show that (1) compared with the traditional Voronoi diagram, the weighted Voronoi diagram expresses more accurate on the ecosystem service range, (2) the total value of the ecosystem service in the study area was 575.7 billion yuan in 2015. The maximum value was about 253.8 billion yuan greater than the minimum value. The unit forest ecosystem has been improved after the coefficient was modified, and the value of ecosystem services reached 32,638.87 yuan/hm(2), (3) the service value of construction ecosystem has a great effect on the total value of ecosystem services; the overall pulldown effect of Kaifeng City is most considerable, and (4) the region with strong ecosystem service capacity has strong effect in annexing the nearby areas with weak ecosystem service capacity. And the distance of the annexing is inversely proportional. The closer the distance is, the stronger the annex will be.",JOURNAL OF SENSORS,2018, J,"Ma, ZZ; Xiao, L; Yin, JL",Toward a dynamic model of organizational resilience,10.1108/NBRI-07-2017-0041,"Purpose This study aims to examine contemporary research on organizational resilience and then propose an integrated dynamic model to study organizational resilience with a more inclusive concept and future research agenda developed. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper uses the literature review method to analyze and categorize current research on organizational resilience, and then based on the analysis of existing organizational resilience studies, this paper proposes an integrated model for a more inclusive and integrated concept of organizational resilience with refined future research directions. Findings A thorough analysis of current organizational resilience research shows that existing studies on organizational resilience have largely focused on isolated dimensions by treating organizational resilience as a state rather than a dynamic capability. This paper proposes that an integrated concept of organizational resilience consists of three dimensions including cognitive, behavioral and contextual resilience, and this dynamic capability should be examined from three different levels, including individual, group and organizational levels to better conceptualize organizational resilience and for better applicability in management practice. Originality/value The past decades have seen increasing interests in organizational resilience both from academic scholars and from management practitioners. However, research on this emerging field remains fragmented, and there is little consensus on the conceptualization of organizational resilience. This study contributes to the literature by thoroughly examining current research on organizational resilience and proposes an integrated dynamic model to study organizational resilience.",NANKAI BUSINESS REVIEW INTERNATIONAL,2018, J,"Znakov, VV; Kasavina, NA; Sineokaya, JV",Existential experience: a mystery and a problem,10.21146/2072-0726-2018-11-2-123-137,"The growth of academic interest in the specific problems of existence takes its roots in the general tendency to humanize knowledge. In modern literature, the idea of existential experience increasingly acquires the status of a multidisciplinary category that is associated with the shaping of a holistic vision of human nature and the historical development of man. The discussion reported in this paper deals with the problem of understanding of this particular kind of experience, which can be perceived as a sort of mystery where a human being is granted the possibility of an immediate contact with the world, or as a continuous and problematic process of self-understanding of existential subject, its constituting itself in the world with regard to cultural meanings and values, or as the making of one's proper ontology of existence - the temporal horizon of one's being - one's personal history, which allows to integrate one's situations, events, meanings and values as fragments of a single destiny in the context of the past, present and future. The phenomenon of existential experience is interpreted on the basis of existentially oriented philosophy, psychology, and fiction.",FILOSOFSKII ZHURNAL,2018, J,"Vahanvati, M",A novel framework for owner driven reconstruction projects to enhance disaster resilience in the long term,10.1108/DPM-11-2017-0285,"Purpose Post-disaster reconstruction poses a double-edged sword to its implementers as it demands addressing survivors' need for speed as well as meeting the growing expectation to trigger resilience. While an owner-driven housing reconstruction (ODHR), inter-disciplinary and long-term approach has been promoted internationally; however, there is limited research focussed on the long-term impacts (>10 years after a disaster) of ODHR. Furthermore, there is no one accepted framework for practitioners to guide through the process of ODHR projects to carve pathways for disaster resilience. The purpose of this paper is to assimilate findingscontingent and generalisableinto a novel framework for future change in practice. Design/methodology/approach This paper deployed a mixed methods methodology with a comparative case study research method. Two case study projects were from the Indian state of Gujarat, 13 years after the 2001 earthquake and the other two from Bihar, 6 years since the 2008 Kosi river floods. Due to multi-disciplinary nature of research, empirical data collection relied on a mix of social sciences methods including 80 semi-structured interviews, and architectural research methods including the visual analysis of photographs and sketches. Three sample groups of agency members, beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries were purposively selected. Thematic content analysis was used for the data analysis. Findings The paper provides empirical insights on how ODHR projects in Indian states of Gujarat and Bihar succeeded at enhancing disaster resilience of communities. It suggests that the civil society organisations acted as enablers at four stages: envisioning strategically based on systemic understanding, building soft assets including community trust and dignity for social mobilisation prior to, proposing minor modifications to construction technology for its multi-hazard safety as well as cultural relevance, and sustaining capacity building efforts beyond reconstruction completion or beyond one project life-cycle. Research limitations/implications The author of this paper cautions that the spiral framework needs further development to make it flexibility and customisable to suit the specifics of a particular context. Originality/value The implications of the findings discussed in this paper are primarily for practitioners involved in disaster recovery and development sector. Since prevailing models or frameworks neither incorporate multi-disciplinary approach (demanded by socio-ecological systems resilience concept), nor represent project scale, a novel, four-pronged framework for ODHR has been proposed in this paper for strategic success. The framework has been illustrated in spiral and tabular forms, and has been kept abstract to provide practitioners the much-needed flexibility for adapting it to suit the specifics of a particular context.",DISASTER PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT,2018, J,"Allington, GRH; Fernandez-Gimenez, ME; Chen, JQ; Brown, DG",Combining participatory scenario planning and systems modeling to identify drivers of future sustainability on the Mongolian Plateau,10.5751/ES-10034-230209,"The study of social-ecological systems (SES) is an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor that necessitates collaboration among multiple researchers and stakeholders. These collaborations often result in novel insights into the dynamics and feedbacks that occur within these systems. Achieving these insights requires methods and tools that integrate diverse knowledge from multiple disciplines and sectors of society to inform actionable research on complex systems. Past research has demonstrated the contributions that stakeholders can make to defining scenarios that are subsequently applied to quantitative modeling. Here, we focus on the feedback from quantitative modeling to refinement and interpretation of scenarios, and demonstrate how quantitative modeling can reveal aspects of system dynamics that were not considered during scenario development. We present a case study in which we use qualitative scenario planning as a tool to engender systems thinking by a diverse set of stakeholders in a complex transboundary SES: the Mongolian Plateau. This exercise demonstrated the value of participatory scenario planning as a tool for facilitating interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral dialog and knowledge generation. It also ensured the integration of place-based knowledge into scenario development for subsequent quantitative modeling. In addition to incorporating stakeholder knowledge in simulation of complex human-environment dynamics, the quantitative modeling revealed how the dynamics of rural out-migration contribute to the decoupling of rural herder populations and livestock numbers. The emergent knowledge gained from this process underscores the utility of pairing the qualitative scenarios with quantitative simulations to reveal unanticipated system behavior and key drivers not identified or overlooked by stakeholders.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Song, AM; Bower, SD; Onyango, P; Cooke, SJ; Akintola, SL; Baer, J; Gurung, TB; Hettiarachchi, M; Islam, MM; Mhlanga, W; Nunan, F; Salmi, P; Singh, V; Tezzo, X; Funge-Smith, SJ; Nayak, PK; Chuenpagdee, R",Intersectorality in the governance of inland fisheries,10.5751/ES-10076-230217,"One of the defining characteristics of inland fisheries is that they are closely impacted by other essential human activities that rely on the same fresh or brackish water ecosystems, such as hydroelectricity generation and irrigated agriculture. Starting with the premise that an understanding of fisheries' interactions with these external sectors is in itself critical for achieving sustainability of the fisheries, this paper explores the topic of intersectoral governance and outlines an approach to analyzing the intricate and often challenging sector relationships. By drawing on examples of inland fisheries from around the world, the paper proposes four broad discursive mechanisms that can structure the study of the intersectoral dynamics, i.e., system characterization, valuation, power relations, and vertical policy interaction. A synthesis model then demonstrates their interwoven nature, revealing the way each mechanism influences one another as together they shape overall outcomes. It is apparent that analyses often need to be combined to advance more rigorous (and transdisciplinary) science and also inform appropriate courses for the governance of inland fisheries. Given the typically marginal position of fisheries in inland water-use discussions, we call for a more systematic understanding of intersectoral interactions to enhance the sector's resilience within the wider society and subsequently contribute to integrated governance of waterbodies.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Coventry, DR; Poswal, RS; Yadav, A; Zhou, Y; Riar, A; Kumar, A; Sharma, RK; Chhokar, RS; Gupta, RK; Mehta, AK; Chand, R; Denton, MD; Cummins, JA","A novel framework for identifying the interactions between biophysical and social components of an agricultural system: a guide for improving wheat production in Haryana, NW India",10.1080/1389224X.2018.1435420,"Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework with related analysis methodologies that identifies the influence of social environment on an established cropping system. Design/methodology/approach: A stratified survey including 103 villages and 823 farmers was conducted in all districts of Haryana (India). Firstly, technical efficiency (TE) was modeled using biophysical data including grain yield, seeding rate, wheat varieties, tillage, sowing date, seed source, harvesting method and the application of fertilizer, herbicide and irrigation. The relationship between TE and social community factors such as farm size, farmer age, level of education and agricultural support programs was analyzed by regression tree. Findings: TE was lower with the farmers who only have education to a primary standard. Farmers with high TE scores were mostly between 35 and 40 years of age, and a higher TE association was common for farmers who use technical publications. Social individual factors such as farmers' views on the future of farming were also analyzed across different TE levels. Practical implications: Farmers with lower TE are an obvious target for production improvement, particularly given the understanding that the overall production yield gap is small in Haryana. Theoretical implications: Our conceptual framework shows a quantitative way to establish the socio-ecological linkage, and to identify the opportunities for changes in management with extension services leading to productivity improvement. Originality/value: This paper provides a novel framework with detailed methodology to effectively identify the socio-economic factors that limit the biophysical production in an agricultural system.",JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION & EXTENSION,2018, S,"Marasca, S; Montanini, L; Manelli, A; D'Andrea, A; Vallesi, M; Carignani, V; Galassi, P",Social Reporting in a Health Care Organization: A Case Study of a Regional Italian Hospital,10.1007/978-981-10-4502-8_14,"The Italian Health System (herein abbreviated as IHS) is principally financed by public funds; the individual health units present difficulties in defining and measuring health care output and, at the same time, in the communication process to stakeholders about the clinical and ethical impacts of the use of economic resources. A reporting model based on a triple bottom line approach (social, environmental, and economic) could offer a system of multidimensional analysis, and it could increase external communication, thereby reducing information asymmetries between the health unit and its stakeholders. Despite the understanding that there are theoretical schemes proposed by previous literature and current guidelines, practitioners are still lacking appropriate models and tools to guide the social accountability process of the IHS entities. It is the absence of a single specific framework, applicable to social reporting for the particular reality of hospital health units, which has guided the research project illustrated in the present chapter. In order to understand how a health manager could adopt a suitable reporting format, starting from the current available standards, an Italian case study is discussed. The research is based on a constructive approach methodology. The design of the accountability model is centred on the basic levels of care (according to Italian regulations), and, for each of them, a wide range of performance indicators is presented so as to offer an idea of what is-or what could be-disclosed in the report. The project has required collaboration between an university and a regional public hospital. The chapter is composed of five main parts: a brief overview of the IHS regulations and the compulsory accountability system; the need for social reporting by hospital units; the empirical accountability process, including stakeholder engagement activity which represents an example that an health care organization can follow; reflections on social reporting as a stakeholder engagement tool and a guide for the patient; future research areas.",SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: REGULATION AND REPORTING,2018, J,"Liew, J; Cao, Q; Hughes, JN; Deutz, MHF","Academic Resilience Despite Early Academic Adversity: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study on Regulation-Related Resiliency, Interpersonal Relationships, and Achievement in First to Third Grade",10.1080/10409289.2018.1429766,"Research Findings: Using a bio-social-ecological systems framework, we examined whether interpersonal relationships at school (specifically teacher-student and peer relationships) mediated the link between child resiliency (temperament-based adaptability) and reading or math achievement in a sample of children assessed as experiencing early academic adversity. Participants were 784 ethnically diverse students (mean age at Year 1=6.57years, SD=0.39) who began school as struggling readers or as weak in reading skills relative to their peers (scoring below the median on a school-wide standardized literacy exam). Data on children's resiliency, teacher-student warmth and conflict, peer social preference and peer liking, and reading and math achievement were collected across 3years, and 3-wave longitudinal models of mediation were tested. When we accounted for students nested within classrooms and for baseline covariates (i.e., ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender), results showed that peer relationships mediated the effect of resiliency on reading, but not math, achievement. Teacher-student relationships were not found to be a mediator between resiliency and achievement. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest that for children with early academic adversity, resiliency is a protective factor against future academic problems, with peer competence facilitating children's academic engagement and achievement.",EARLY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT,2018, J,"Bremer, LL; Mandle, L; Trauernicht, C; Pascua, P; McMillen, HL; Burnett, K; Wada, CA; Kurashima, N; Quazi, SA; Giambelluca, T; Chock, P; Ticktin, T","Bringing multiple values to the table: assessing future land-use and climate change in North Kona, Hawai'i",10.5751/ES-09936-230133,"As ecosystem service assessments increasingly contribute to decisions about managing Earth's lands and waters, there is a growing need to understand the diverse ways that people use and value landscapes. However, these assessments rarely incorporate the value of landscapes to communities with strong cultural and generational ties to place, precluding inclusion of these values-alongside others-into planning processes. We developed a process to evaluate trade-offs and synergies in ecosystem services across land-use scenarios and under climate change in North Kona, Hawai'i, a tropical dry ecosystem where water, fire, biodiversity, and cultural values are all critical considerations for land management decisions. Specifically, we combined participatory deliberative methods, ecosystem service models, vegetation surveys, and document analysis to evaluate how cultural services, regulating services (groundwater recharge, landscape flammability reduction), biodiversity, and revenue: (1) vary across four land-use scenarios (pasture, coffee, agroforestry, and native forest restoration) and (2) are expected to vary with climate change (representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 mid-century scenario). The native forest restoration scenario provided high cultural, biodiversity, and ecosystem service value, whereas coffee's strongest benefit was monetary return. The agroforestry scenario offered the greatest potential in terms of maximizing multiple services. Pasture had relatively low ecological and economic value but, as with native forest and agroforestry, held high value in terms of local knowledge and cultural connection to place. Climate change amplified existing vulnerabilities for groundwater recharge and landscape flammability, but resulted in few shifts in the ranking of land-use scenarios. Our results demonstrate that cultural services need not be sacrificed at the expense of other management objectives if they are deliberately included in land-use planning from the start. Meaningfully representing what matters most to diverse groups of people, now and under a changing climate, requires greater integration of participatory methods into ecosystem service analyses.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Reinhardt, J; Liersch, S; Abdeladhim, MA; Diallo, M; Dickens, C; Fournet, S; Hattermann, FF; Kabaseke, C; Muhumuza, M; Mul, ML; Pilz, T; Otto, IM; Walz, A",Systematic evaluation of scenario assessments supporting sustainable integrated natural resources management: evidence from four case studies in Africa,10.5751/ES-09728-230105,"Scenarios have become a key tool for supporting sustainability research on regional and global change. In this study we evaluate four regional scenario assessments: first, to explore a number of research challenges related to sustainability science and, second, to contribute to sustainability research in the specific case studies. The four case studies used commonly applied scenario approaches that are (i) a story and simulation approach with stakeholder participation in the Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia, (ii) a participatory scenario exploration in the Rwenzori region, Uganda, (iii) a model-based prepolicy study in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali, and (iv) a model coupling-based scenario analysis in upper Thukela basin, South Africa. The scenario assessments are evaluated against a set of known challenges in sustainability science, with each challenge represented by two indicators, complemented by a survey carried out on the perception of the scenario assessments within the case study regions. The results show that all types of scenario assessments address many sustainability challenges, but that the more complex ones based on story and simulation and model coupling are the most comprehensive. The study highlights the need to investigate abrupt system changes as well as governmental and political factors as important sources of uncertainty. For an in-depth analysis of these issues, the use of qualitative approaches and an active engagement of local stakeholders are suggested. Studying ecological thresholds for the regional scale is recommended to support research on regional sustainability. The evaluation of the scenario processes and outcomes by local researchers indicates the most transparent scenario assessments as the most useful. Focused, straightforward, yet iterative scenario assessments can be very relevant by contributing information to selected sustainability problems.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Woodhouse, E; McCabe, JT",Well-being and conservation: diversity and change in visions of a good life among the Maasai of northern Tanzania,10.5751/ES-09986-230143,"The Simanjiro plains, east of Tarangire National Park in Northern Tanzania are a key dispersal area for wildlife, and are of vital importance to Maasai pastoral livelihoods, which are rapidly diversifying. Diversification is coupled with fragmentation of the rangelands as agriculture expands and multiple actors compete for land. These changes reflect transformations occurring across pastoral rangelands, and pose the broader challenge of reconciling conservation and development objectives. We propose that qualitative research using a three-dimensional human well-being framework, encompassing material, relational, and subjective aspects, can inform locally legitimate and socially just conservation. Through semistructured group interviews across four villages, we explore well-being conceptions of Maasai men and women in Simanjiro. In particular we focus on the value of understanding social complexity for conservation research in the form of (i) the heterogeneity of conceptions of well-being across gender, age groups, and villages; (ii) temporal dynamics in notions and experiences. Material assets, namely land (for grazing and agriculture) and livestock are important to people but are intertwined with other aspects of well-being. Subjective well-being is centered on concerns about future security, especially with regards to land. Autonomy and social unity (relational dimension) are key priorities. We reflect on the implications for conservation at the study site, and more broadly on how well-being can better be incorporated into policy and practice that takes social justice seriously. The diversity we find in well-being priorities and experiences shows the importance of taking a disaggregated approach that conceptualizes benefits and burdens across a range of locally important well-being components ensuring the priorities of the most marginalized groups are represented.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2018, J,"Wong, C; Leland, NE",Clinicians'Perspectives of Patient Engagement in Post-Acute Care: A Social Ecological Approach,10.1080/02703181.2017.1407859,"Aims: To identify rehabilitation providers'perspectives on barriers and facilitators of patient engagement in hip fracture patients in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) within the social ecological model. Methods: We conducted 13 focus groups in SNFs throughout Los Angeles County comprised of rehabilitation staff (n = 99). Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed. A secondary analysis of themes related to patient engagementwere identified and organized within the social ecological model. Results: Clinicians identified barriers and facilitators of patient engagement across all levels of the social ecological model: public policy (e.g., insurance), organizational (e.g., facility culture), interpersonal (e.g., clinicians fostering self-reflection), and intrapersonal (e.g., patients' anxiety). Conclusions: Examining barriers and facilitators to patient engagement has highlighted areas which need to be sustained and improved. Thus, these findings will inform future efforts to enhance patient engagement in order can to optimize patient healthcare decisions.",PHYSICAL & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN GERIATRICS,2018, S,"Silvestri, G; Frantzeskaki, N","Transition Management for Local Sustainability: A Case Study from La Botija Protected Area, San Marcos de Colon, Honduras",10.1007/978-3-319-69273-9_10,"In this chapter we present two methods that we employed to facilitate the exploration for environmental stewardship in La Botija protected area: transition management was the transdisciplinary methodology that connected a co-created sustainability vision with the co-development and mobilization of local action. The ecosystem services framework was employed to systematize knowledge about resource use and ecosystem degradation and identify links between malpractices and ecosystems' deterioration. The transition management process activated participants to realise the co-created transition agenda by forging new partnerships, enabling self-organisation in community groups and empowering existing community groups. A highlighted learning outcome is the recognised need to develop own knowledge and community capacity to overcome local challenges, deviating from the dependence on external aid.",CO-CREATING SUSTAINABLE URBAN FUTURES: A PRIMER ON APPLYING TRANSITION MANAGEMENT IN CITIES,2018, J,"Hu, GZ; Davies, J; Gao, QZ; Liang, CZ",Response of ecosystem functions to climate change and implications for sustainable development on the Inner Mongolian Plateau,10.1071/RJ18041,"The responses of ecosystem functions in Inner Mongolian grasslands to climate change have implications for ecosystem services and sustainable development. Research published in two previous Special Issues of The Rangeland Journal shows that recent climate change added to overgrazing and other factors caused increased degradation of Inner Mongolian rangelands whereas on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, climate change tended to ameliorate the impacts of overgrazing. Recent climate change on the Mongolian Plateau involved warming with increasingly variable annual precipitation and decreased summer rainfall. Future climate projections are different, involving modest increases in precipitation and further climate warming. Research published in the current Special Issue shows that precipitation is the climate factor that has the most substantial impact on ecosystem functions in this region and is positively correlated with plant species diversity, ecosystem carbon exchange and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index. Increased flows of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services are expected with future climate change indicating that its impacts will be positive in this region. However, spatial heterogeneity in the environments and climates of Inner Mongolia highlights the risk of over-generalising from local-scale studies and indicates the value of increased attention to meta-analysis and regional scale models. The enhanced flows of ecosystem services from climate change may support sustainable development by promoting recovery of degraded grasslands with flow-on benefits for livelihoods and the regional economy. However, realising these potential benefits will depend on sound landscape management and addressing the risk of herders increasing livestock numbers to take advantage of the extra forage available. Investment in education is important to improve local capacity to adapt rangeland management to climate change, as are policies and strategies that integrate social, economic and ecological considerations and are tailored to specific regions. Gaps in understanding that could be addressed through further research on ecosystem functions include; belowground carbon exchange processes; the impact of increased variability in precipitation; and the impact of different management practices under changed climates.",RANGELAND JOURNAL,2018, J,"Laurans, Y",Borrowing trouble. Finding ways out of value systems discord for biodiversity policy-making,10.1080/13511610.2017.1418302,"IPBES' conceptual framework, and the related debates prior to its adoption, provided an interesting opportunity to witness an old and ongoing tension between two value systems, namely an economic and utility-based value system, and a cultural and comprehensive value system. Arguments for and against both value systems relate, at least partly, to criteria such as practicality, democracy, comprehensiveness and respect for various forms of worldviews. However, disputes regarding the legitimacy of these value systems mostly rest on theoretical ground since they generally focus on the potential threats and future promises of approaches related to these value systems, rather than on their actual impacts and performance. This article aims to contribute to filling this gap. Typical instruments of the economic value system are cost-benefit analysis and its correlate, ecosystem services valuation. The key selling point of these instruments is their ability to support efficient, transparent and democratic policy-making processes. On the other hand, their most often denounced threat lies in paving the way to the commodification of nature. In this paper, these promises and threats are put to test in the context of Official Development Assistance and the decision-making processes of five Official Development Agencies (ODAs) such as the World Bank, the European Investment Banks and three bilateral ODAs. The paper provides for an analysis of the role of cost-benefit analysis and ecosystem services valuation for supporting decision-making in the fields related to the local environment in these ODAs. Results suggest that, however favourable the context of ODA appears for economic valuation instruments, the economic value system has failed to deliver both in terms of its most commonly boasted promises and its most often denounced threats. This suggests renewing our views on the tension between the value systems. All value systems give birth to languages, concepts and representations that can be used as complementary rather than conflicting resources as long as the economic analysis is no longer considered as a proxy for decision-making, but rather as a useful language to speak of material interests and of distribution, and to bring these concerns into deliberation processes.",INNOVATION-THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH,2018, J,"Sachdeva, S; Emery, MR; Hurley, PT",Depiction of Wild Food Foraging Practices in the Media: Impact of the Great Recession,10.1080/08941920.2018.1450914,"The practice of gathering and harvesting wild foods has seen renewed interest in recent decades. In addition to contributing to food security and food sovereignty, foraging plays a role in promoting socioecological resilience and creating communities of belonging. However, foraging is generally prohibited by regulations governing public lands in the United States and elsewhere. The growth in food forests suggests public policymakers and land managers' may be interested in reconsidering this broad prohibition of foraging but require an information base to do so. While a body of research on foraging exists, news media coverage of foraging represents an additional, readily available source of input. As a consequence, framings of foraging in media coverage likely influence managers' deliberations on this practice. The current paper uses automated content analysis to understand how the practice of gathering and consuming wild foods is framed in print and digital news media, and how these depictions have varied in a 15-year period that includes the Great Recession. Our results show that prevalent framings of foraging represent it variously as a self-provisioning practice or a source of luxury commodities and experiences, with economic uncertainty appearing to affect the frequency of each framing by news media sources. Given managers' ease of access to them, these distinct framings may influence future regulatory landscapes of foraging.",SOCIETY & NATURAL RESOURCES,2018, J,"Fan, F; Henriksen, CB; Porter, J",Long-term effects of conversion to organic farming on ecosystem services - a model simulation case study and on-farm case study in Denmark,10.1080/21683565.2017.1372840,"Organic agriculture aims to produce food while establishing an ecological balance to augment ecosystem services (ES) and has been rapidly expanding in the world since the 1980s. Recently, however, in several European countries, including Denmark, organic farmers have converted back to conventional farming. Hence, understanding how agricultural ES are affected by the number of years since conversion to organic farming is imperative for policy makers to guide future agricultural policy. In order to investigate the long-term effects of conversion to organic farming on ES we performed i) a model simulation case study by applying the Daisy model to simulate 14 different conversion scenarios for a Danish farm during a 65 year period with increasing number of years under organic farming, and ii) an on-farm case study in Denmark with one conventional farm, one organic farm under conversion, and three organic farms converted 10, 15 and 58 years ago, respectively. Both the model simulation case study and the on-farm case study showed that non-marketable ES values increased with increasing number of years under organic farming. Trade-offs between marketable and non-marketable ES were not evident, since also marketable ES values generally showed an increasing trend, except when the price difference between organic and conventional products in the model simulation study was the smallest, and when an alfalfa pre-crop in the on-farm case study resulted in a significantly higher level of plant available nitrogen, which boosted the yield and the associated marketable ES of the subsequent winter rye crop. These results indicate a possible benefit of preserving long-term organic farms and could be used to argue for agricultural policy interventions to offset further reduction in the number of organic farms or the land area under organic farming.",AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS,2018, J,"Qiu, JX; Carpenter, SR; Booth, EG; Motew, M; Zipper, SC; Kucharik, CJ; Chen, X; Loheide, SP; Seifert, J; Turner, MG",Scenarios reveal pathways to sustain future ecosystem services in an agricultural landscape,10.1002/eap.1633,"Sustaining food production, water quality, soil retention, flood, and climate regulation in agricultural landscapes is a pressing global challenge given accelerating environmental changes. Scenarios are stories about plausible futures, and scenarios can be integrated with biophysical simulation models to explore quantitatively how the future might unfold. However, few studies have incorporated a wide range of drivers (e.g., climate, land-use, management, population, human diet) in spatially explicit, process-based models to investigate spatial-temporal dynamics and relationships of a portfolio of ecosystem services. Here, we simulated nine ecosystem services (three provisioning and six regulating services) at 220 x 220 m from 2010 to 2070 under four contrasting scenarios in the 1,345-km(2) Yahara Watershed (Wisconsin, USA) using Agro-IBIS, a dynamic model of terrestrial ecosystem processes, biogeochemistry, water, and energy balance. We asked (1) How does ecosystem service supply vary among alternative future scenarios? (2) Where on the landscape is the provision of ecosystem services most susceptible to future social-ecological changes? (3) Among alternative future scenarios, are relationships (i.e., trade-offs, synergies) among food production, water, and biogeochemical services consistent over time? Our results showed that food production varied substantially with future land-use choices and management, and its trade-offs with water quality and soil retention persisted under most scenarios. However, pathways to mitigate or even reverse such trade-offs through technological advances and sustainable agricultural practices were apparent. Consistent relationships among regulating services were identified across scenarios (e.g., trade-offs of freshwater supply vs. flood and climate regulation, and synergies among water quality, soil retention, and climate regulation), suggesting opportunities and challenges to sustaining these services. In particular, proactive land-use changes and management may buffer water quality against undesirable future climate changes, but changing climate may overwhelm management efforts to sustain freshwater supply and flood regulation. Spatially, changes in ecosystem services were heterogeneous across the landscape, underscoring the power of local actions and fine-scale management. Our research highlights the value of embracing spatial and temporal perspectives in managing ecosystem services and their complex interactions, and provides a system-level understanding for achieving sustainability of the food-water-climate nexus in agricultural landscapes.",ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,2018,JAN J,"Zhou, L; Wu, Y; Woodfin, T; Zhu, R; Chen, T",An Approach to Evaluate Comprehensive Plan and Identify Priority Lands for Future Land Use Development to Conserve More Ecological Values,10.3390/su10010126,"Urbanization has significant impacts on the regional environmental quality through altering natural lands, converting them to urban built-up areas. One common strategy applied by urban planners to manage urbanization and preserve natural resources is to make a comprehensive plan and concentrate future land use in certain areas. However, in practice, planners used to make future land use planning mainly based on their subjective interpretations with limited ecological supporting evidence and analysis. Here, we propose a new approach composed of ecological modelling and land use zoning in the spatial matrix to evaluate the comprehensive plan and identify priority lands for sustainable land use planning. We use the city of Corvallis, OR, as the test bed to demonstrate this new approach. The results indicate that the Corvallis Comprehensive Plan 1998-2020 featured with compact development is not performing efficiently in conserving ecological values, and the land use plan featured with mixed-use spreading development generated by the proposed approach meets the city's land demands for urban growth, and conserves 103% more ecological value of retaining storm water nitrogen, 270% more ecological value of retaining storm water phosphorus and 19% more ecological value in storing carbon in the whole watershed. This study indicates that if planned with scientific analysis and evidence, spreading urban development does not necessarily result in less sustainable urban environment than the compact development recommended in smart growth.",SUSTAINABILITY,2018,JAN J,"Danielaini, TT; Maheshwari, B; Hagare, D","Defining rural-urban interfaces for understanding ecohydrological processes in West Java, Indonesia: Part II. Its application to quantify rural-urban interface ecohydrology",10.1016/j.ecohyd.2017.11.007,"Part II of this two-part article aims to quantify the state of rural-urban interface ecohydrology using the Cirebon Metropolitan Region (CMR) in West Java, Indonesia as a case study. The methodology proposed in this study used 11 socio-economic and spatial variables related to open spaces distribution, biodiversity and ecosystem services, water supply requirement, water quality risks, water management capacity and climate change pressures. Regional rural-urban classifications from the eight spatial classification methods (part I of this article) and 2010 national census were validated using three rural-urban water indicators from random sampling of the rural-urban household survey in the CMR. Six proxy ecohydrological indicators were identified and a composite index using these indicators to quantify the state of ecohydrology at rural-urban interface was developed and applied to 45 sub-districts of CMR. The index indicates that all urban sub-districts have very low capacity in providing ecosystem services and will need peri-urban ecosystem services for enhancing urban sustainability and liveability. In general, urban and urban-peri-urban transition sub-districts in the CMR have significant higher values of composite index related to socio-economic aspects compared to those in the peri-urban and rural sub-districts. This indicates lower significantly open spaces distribution, higher water supply requirement, greater water quality risks, and higher climate change pressures. The six proxy indicators identified in this study and methodology developed for calculating the composite index is potentially useful for an objective assessment of ecohydrology of an urbanising landscape and thus for developing effective urban planning of future cities and their outskirts. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. on behalf of European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.",ECOHYDROLOGY & HYDROBIOLOGY,2018,JAN J,"Merrie, A; Keys, P; Metian, M; Osterblom, H",Radical ocean futures-scenario development using science fiction prototyping,10.1016/j.futures.2017.09.005,"Scenarios can help individuals, communities, corporations and nations to develop a capacity for dealing with the unknown and unpredictable, or the unlikely but possible. A range of scientific methods for developing scenarios is available, but we argue that they have limited capacity to investigate complex social-ecological futures because: 1) non-linear change is rarely incorporated and: 2) they rarely involve co-evolutionary dynamics of integrated social-ecological systems. This manuscript intends to address these two concerns by applying the method of science fiction prototyping to developing scenarios for the future of global fisheries in a changing global ocean. We used an empirically informed background on existing and emerging trends in marine natural resource use and dynamics to develop four 'radical ocean futures,' incorporating and extrapolating from existing environmental, technological, social and economic trends. We argue that the distinctive method as applied here can complement existing scenario methodologies and assist scientists in developing a holistic understanding of complex systems dynamics. The approach holds promise for making scenarios more accessible and interesting to non-academics and can be useful for developing proactive governance mechanisms.",FUTURES,2018,JAN J,"Fain, SJ; Quinones, M; Alvarez-Berrios, NL; Pares-Ramos, IK; Gould, WA",Climate change and coffee: assessing vulnerability by modeling future climate suitability in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico,10.1007/s10584-017-1949-5,"Coffee production has long been culturally and economically important in Puerto Rico. However, since peaking in the late nineteenth century, harvests are near record lows with many former farms abandoned. While value-added markets present new opportunities to reinvigorate the industry, regional trends associated with climate change may threaten the ability to produce high-quality coffee. Here, we discuss the history of coffee in Puerto Rico, outline important bioclimatic parameters, and model current and future habitat suitability using statistically downscaled climate data. Model projections suggest that warming trends may surpass important temperature thresholds during the coming decades. Under high (A2) and mid-low (A1B) emission scenarios for 2011-2040, Puerto Rico is projected to exceed mean annual temperature parameters for growth of Coffea arabica. Warming and drying trends may accelerate after 2040 and could result in top producing municipalities losing 60-84% of highly suitable growing conditions by 2070. Under the A2 scenario, Puerto Rico may only retain 24 km(2) of highly suitable conditions by 2071-2099. High temperatures and low precipitation levels can result in diminished quality and yields, as well as increased exposure and sensitivity to certain insects and diseases. The climate data and models used are based on best current understanding of climate and emission interactions with results best interpreted as projected climate trends rather than predictions of future weather. Planning, innovation, and adaptation provide promising avenues to address current and future socioecological challenges while building a model of sustainable and resilient coffee production in Puerto Rico and throughout the region.",CLIMATIC CHANGE,2018,JAN J,"Niiranen, S; Richter, A; Blenckner, T; Stige, LC; Valmarn, M; Eikeset, AM",Global connectivity and cross-scale interactions create uncertainty for Blue Growth of Arctic fisheries,10.1016/j.marpol.2017.10.024,"The Arctic faces high expectations of Blue Growth due to future projections of easier access and increased biological productivity. These expectations are, however, often based on global and regional climate change projections and largely ignore the complexity of social-ecological interactions taking place across different temporal and spatial scales. This paper illustrates how such cross-scale interactions at, and across, different dimensions (e.g., ecological, socioeconomic and governance) can affect the development of Arctic fisheries; and potentially create uncertainties for future Blue Growth projections. Two Arctic marine systems, The Barents Sea and the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO), are used as focus areas. The former hosts productive fisheries and is mostly covered by the EEZs of Norway and Russia, while the latter is still mainly covered by sea-ice and is a high seas area with no multilevel governance system in place. The examples show that, both systems are affected by a number of processes, beyond the environmental change, spanning a wide range of dimensions, as well as spatial and temporal scales. To address the complexity of the Arctic marine systems calls for an increase in holistic scientific understanding together with adaptive management practices. This is particularly important in the CAO, where no robust regional management structures are in place. Recognizing how cross-scale dynamics can cause uncertainties to the current fisheries projections and implementing well-functioning adaptive management structures across different Arctic sub-systems can play a key role in whether the Blue Growth potential in Arctic fisheries is realized or lost.",MARINE POLICY,2018,JAN J,"Coppock, DL; Bailey, D; Ibrahim, M; Tezera, S",Diversified Investments of Wealthy Ethiopian Pastoralists Include Livestock and Urban Assets That Better Manage Risk,10.1016/j.rama.2017.05.004,"The Borana pastoral system has long been regarded as a model for sustainable resource use in eastern Africa. Recent growth in human and livestock populations, however, has contributed to a marked decline in rangeland condition, as well as increasing poverty. Another trend is fewer pastoralists controlling more resources. Today, for example, only 10% of households own 60% of all livestock. This wealthy minority has become increasingly important but has received little research attention. We wanted to learn how such elites perceive system change and how they innovate when accumulating or managing their assets. Twelve wealthy men were interviewed. They noted that the pastoral system is in sharp decline, with the most serious livestock-production constraints including chronic shortages of forage and labor. The average value of the physical and financial assets held by these men was estimated as at least USD $164,000, about 62-times that held by poor households. The average investment portfolio was composed of livestock (two-thirds of total value), while savings accounts in local banks and urban real estate (largely housing) made up the remainder. Livestock in general-and cattle in particular-were the riskiest physical assets given recurrent effects of drought and forage scarcity on animal productivity and mortality. When asked to identify future investment priorities, the men said that investing in urban real estate and their children was now preferred to investing in more livestock; their tradition of steady livestock reinvestment has thus changed. Recent urban growth in the rangelands has given the wealthy elite new investment options that offset heightened risks of animal losses. Urban investments are important because they could facilitate town development and provide incentives to improve range management via destocking. Outreach programs focused on the diversification of pastoral assets could include wealthy pastoralists as opinion leaders and accelerate positive change here. (C) 2017 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT,2018,JAN J,"Meadows, J; Herbohn, J; Emtage, N",Forest recovery in an Australian amenity landscape: implications for biodiversity conservation on small-acreage properties,10.1007/s10531-017-1422-9,"Some urbanising rural (i.e. 'amenity') landscapes have seen an increase in forest cover over recent decades. Small-acreage landowners are key stakeholders in this forest recovery and its future ecological trajectory. Using 17 qualitative case-studies of small-acreage properties located in the Noosa hinterland in south-east Queensland, this study explores the types and condition of forests on these properties, the landholder's differing forest management perspectives, practices and outcomes, and the implications for local biodiversity conservation. The properties contained a diverse mix of managed and un-managed natural and planted forests. Invasive weed species were a common component. Protecting and enhancing the ecological values of amenity landscapes will require an increase in active, best-practice forest management on small-acreage properties. Small-acreage landowners will require greater access to labour support and other subsidised resources to implement recommended practices. Such practices include controlling and reducing the spread of invasive weeds and soil erosion, reducing fire hazards, and positively influencing the rate and pathway of succession in regrowth forests. Peer-mentoring programs incorporating guided tours of 'model' small-acreage forests, and supporting landowners to establish their own small native plant nurseries and engage with local community nurseries (i.e. supplying seeds, volunteering labour), could help to increase small-acreage landowners' forest management interests, knowledge, skills and activity. Long-term cooperative, cross-boundary forest management projects with on-going monitoring and adaptive management guided or implemented by skilled professionals are needed in amenity landscapes, particularly to increase the success of restoration interventions in weed-dominated regrowth forests. There is also a need for long-term socio-ecological analyses of amenity landscapes' diverse and evolving small-acreage forests to better inform their future management.",BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION,2018,JAN J,"Dushin, AV; Yurak, VV","AUTHORS' APPROACH TO THE TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE: ESSENTIALS, STRUCTURE, EVOLUTION",10.17580/em.2018.01.03,"Total economic value concept operates as a consistent approach for economic evaluation of natural resources in the context of exacerbation of the ecological crisis and overexploitation of natural resources. However, the essence and structure are stilt the subject of scientific research. This article determines that along with the existence of subjective, ideal and real values, the subjective values are the most interesting from the point of view of economic evaluation and distribution within the framework of the total economic value concept. The presented genesis of the term of value, analysis of the total economic value concept development and the theory of ecosystem services contributed to the creation of an author's approach to the distribution of values. We justify the inclusion in indirect value the cultural services as opposed to the direct value; option value takes into account the value in use by future individuals; we remobilize the quasi-option value in the structure of total economic value. The paper provides an improved total economic value model. This model lakes into account the time aspect, the understanding of the term value and theoretical principles of ecosystem services and author's principle of value evaluation - based on the best possible alternative. The practical implications of the research is to improve the economic mechanism of government regulation of natural resource management by clarifying and improving the consistent basis for the economic evaluation of the value of natural resources for making managerial decisions on their involvement in economic turnover.",EURASIAN MINING,2018, J,"Armsworth, PR; Jackson, HB; Cho, SH; Clark, M; Fargione, JE; Iacona, GD; Kim, T; Larson, ER; Minney, T; Sutton, NA",Factoring economic costs into conservation planning may not improve agreement over priorities for protection,10.1038/s41467-017-02399-y,"Conservation organizations must redouble efforts to protect habitat given continuing biodiversity declines. Prioritization of future areas for protection is hampered by disagreements over what the ecological targets of conservation should be. Here we test the claim that such disagreements will become less important as conservation moves away from prioritizing areas for protection based only on ecological considerations and accounts for varying costs of protection using return-on-investment (ROI) methods. We combine a simulation approach with a case study of forests in the eastern United States, paying particular attention to how covariation between ecological benefits and economic costs influences agreement levels. For many conservation goals, agreement over spatial priorities improves with ROI methods. However, we also show that a reliance on ROI-based prioritization can sometimes exacerbate disagreements over priorities. As such, accounting for costs in conservation planning does not enable society to sidestep careful consideration of the ecological goals of conservation.",NATURE COMMUNICATIONS,2017,dic 21 J,"Kim, E; Carpenter, T; Rowanowski, S; Cogger, N",Criteria and indicators for foot and mouth disease control strategy decision-making in Asia-Oceania countries,10.20506/rst.36.3.2720,"The objective of this study is to identify the relative importance of criteria that could be used to evaluate control strategies for foot and mouth disease (FMD). A questionnaire was distributed to 21 Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs), or their representatives, at the 28th Conference of the Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), held on 18-22 November 2013 in Cebu, the Philippines. The CVOs/CVO representatives were present on behalf of 21 of the 31 OIE Member Countries in the region, and the questionnaire evaluated the importance of epidemiologic, economic and social environmental criteria in the FMD control strategy decision-making process. Within the epidemiologic criterion, the size of an FMD outbreak area, with a median relative importance score of 90 (range 45-100), was viewed as the most important indicator, while the direct cost of FMD control measures was considered to be the most important economic indicator, with a median relative importance score of 80 (range 30-100). Finally, within the social environmental criterion, the mental health of FMD-affected farmers was viewed as the most important indicator, with a median relative importance score of 70 (range 5-100). With respect to the FMD status of a country, the economic criterion was considered more important in 'FMD-free' countries (countries where an FMD outbreak had not been reported to the OIE in the ten years prior to the survey) than in 'FMD-experienced' countries (countries where an FMD outbreak had been reported to the OIE within the same period). The median relative importance scores of FMD-experienced countries and FMD-free countries were 80 (range 50-95) and 95 (range 40-100), respectively. Regarding the percentage contribution of the agriculture sector to a country's gross domestic product, a statistically significant difference was not found between countries and indicators. In the future, the current survey of the relative importance of criteria and indicators should facilitate a transparent discussion on the implications of FMD control strategies and rapid response during an FMD outbreak.",REVUE SCIENTIFIQUE ET TECHNIQUE-OFFICE INTERNATIONAL DES EPIZOOTIES,2017,DEC J,"Dean, K; Trillo, C; Bichard, E",Assessing the Value of Housing Schemes through Sustainable Return on Investment: A Path towards Sustainability-Led Evaluations?,10.3390/su9122264,"The 2016 United Nations (UN) New Urban Agenda clearly reaffirms the concept that sustainable cities require intertwined environmental and social sustainability. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainablesets (as a primary target) the provision of sufficient affordable housing. Despite the central role that housing plays in ensuring sustainability and the importance of both environmental and social pillars in ensuring sustainable development, current evaluative methods that support decision making on social housing interventions fail to capture all of the socio-environmental value contained in the UN SDG 11. This paper addresses the issue by demonstrating how Sustainable Return on Investment can successfully describe and analyse a range of externalities related to the sustainable value generated by social housing regeneration schemes. To achieve this goal, a single case study strategy has been chosen. Two extant projectsa high-rise housing scheme and an environmental-led program developed by City West Housing Trust (a nonprofit housing association based in the Manchester area)have been assessed in order to monetise their social and environmental value through different methods. The findings show that, historically, the environmental and social value of regeneration schemes have been largely disregarded because of a gap in the evaluation methods, and that there is room for significant improvement for future evaluation exercises.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,DEC J,"Voda, M; Torpan, A; Moldovan, L",Wild Carpathia Future Development: From Illegal Deforestation to ORV Sustainable Recreation,10.3390/su9122254,"Romanian Wild Carpathia constitutes the ultimate pristine wilderness of the old European continent. Carpathian Mountains landscape experiences and outdoor recreation represents quite unique cultural ecosystem services. The new annotations to the Forest Law are restricting any public access in the woods without authorities' pre-approval for organised sport, leisure and tourism activities. However, off road vehicle (ORV) recreation is a popular activity and a growing transparency concern of National Forest Administration Authorities that is not managed accordingly. Here we show that our ORV recreation frame model can securely allow public access and protect all Romanian mountains. Our results demonstrate how growing ORV recreation popularity can be used in an honest and open way if it is well organized and controlled. We anticipate our assay to be a starting point for a regional and national forest administration sustainable development plan. Furthermore, stopping illegal forest activities is a major target of the anti-logging movement. A well-defined assay for the ORV recreation frame model will be relevant for such developments.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,DEC J,"Roberts, AJ; Devers, PK; Knoche, S; Padding, PI; Raftovich, R",Site preferences and participation of waterbird recreationists: Using choice modelling to inform habitat management,10.1016/j.jort.2017.10.001,"Recreationists utilizing wetland birds for hunting or birdwatching contribute significantly to local economies and conservation efforts. The waterfowl management community, through the 2012 North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), has explicitly recognized the need to increase recruitment and retention of wetland bird recreationists to help halt the national decline in social support for conservation. Achieving this goal requires that waterfowl and wetland managers consider how recreation site characteristics and management impact participation and support for wetland conservation. The outdoor recreation management and natural resource economics fields have extensive experience with similar problems and frequently use recreational site choice models to link attributes of recreational areas to use by recreationists. The waterfowl management community has several publicly available, long-term data sets that can be used in site choice models. We introduce U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl harvest survey data, U. S. Geological Survey band encounter data, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird data and use those data to summarize travel characteristics of wetland bird enthusiasts. We used harvest survey and eBird data in choice models to predict and compare the impacts of three seemingly similar proposed habitat acquisitions on use by recreationists in the state of Georgia; the proposal that had the greatest increase in predicted trips would result in twice as many additional hunting trips and> 10 times more additional birdwatching trips than the proposal that generated the fewest additional trips. This case study demonstrates the potential of these and similar data and analytical methods for incorporating recreation participation and site preferences into habitat planning and delivery under the NAWMP. We encourage the outdoor recreation management and economics communities and the waterfowl management community to build partnerships and cooperative projects to improve our understanding of the relationships between wetland bird users and habitat conservation. Management implications: Results from our site choice models can provide a natural and intuitive metric that can be used to evaluate the relative merits of alternative management actions in achieving social objectives. An improvement over current proposals evaluated on a qualitative description of public access might be achieved through using the choice modeling approach to obtain quantitative estimates of the expected increase in public use resulting from a proposal. Future research efforts that utilize finer resolution recreation site choice information would allow for a better understanding of recreationists' decision processes and could provide managers with valuable insights into the benefits of quality improvements at state parks, managed areas, and other management units of interest. Researchers should also work with state agencies to identify sources of finer resolution site characteristic data, such as the distribution and availability of public land, recreational regulations, and presence of infrastructure. Researchers should explore interdisciplinary collaborations with ecological modelers to model expected sightings or expected harvest as a function of spatially-explicit environmental and landscape characteristics. Such a model could then be linked to a recreation site choice model, allowing the tracing of wetland restoration/enhancement benefits through a change in the biological system, and ultimately the change in trip locations, total trips, and/or economic benefits. We encourage the natural resource management and economics professionals to build partnerships and cooperative projects with the NAWMP community to improve our understanding of the preferences, participation, and motivation of wetland bird users and their relationships to habitat conservation and management.",JOURNAL OF OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM-RESEARCH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT,2017,DEC J,"Savilaakso, S; Guariguata, MR",Challenges for developing Forest Stewardship Council certification for ecosystem services: How to enhance local adoption?,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.001,"The rise of ecosystem services (ES) as a conservation and management tool has changed the way forests are conceived, but so far its translation into management actions has been limited. In this paper, we discuss the development of certification of forest ecosystem services (FES) from the perspective of those implementing it at the local level. We focus on the lessons that emerged from applying the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification framework at selected sites in Chile, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam. Our results indicate a clear relationship between local and global levels in the development of FSC FES certification. Although the FSC already had a broad vision of ES, it was only through local-level learning within a specific pilot experiment that the vision evolved and resulted in more formal FES certification becoming part of FSC forest management certification. We also found that those sites where participatory approaches to management and decision-making were applied could work with an undefined vision of the future system, and still successfully design and implement management activities. However, overall the lack of specific vision and detailed information about future FES certification was problematic in attracting market interest in FSC certified ES. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,DEC J,"Salgado, K; Martinez, ML",Is ecosystem-based coastal defense a realistic alternative? Exploring the evidence,10.1007/s11852-017-0545-1,"Low Elevation Coastal Zones (LECZ) are located at less than 10 m above sea level. Because of human encroachment, combined with sea level rise and increased storminess, LECZ are at an increasing risk of flooding and erosion. In consequence, there is a growing need for shoreline protection. Traditionally, hard infrastructure was used, with positive local results, but negative regional impacts when flows were not maintained. Therefore, ecosystem-based coastal protection has been considered as an alternative. We explored the scientific literature to look for evidence that proves the effectiveness of natural ecosystems for protection against flooding and erosion, when these events are a problem to society. We found that although the protective role of vegetation has been mentioned for over 50 years, most of the studies date from the last decade and have been performed in the USA and the Netherlands. Mangroves, saltmarshes and coastal dunes are the ecosystems most frequently studied. The evidence we found includes anecdotal observations, experimental tests, mathematical analyses, models and projections, economic valuations and field observations. Although mostly effective, there are limitations of an ecosystem-based approach and probably, different strategies can be combined so that protection is improved while additional ecosystem services are maintained. We conclude that, besides improving coastal protection strategies, it is fundamental to reduce human pressure by mobilizing populations inland (or at least promoting new developments further inland), and minimizing the negative impact of human activities. We need to be better prepared to deal with the climate change challenges that will affect LECZ in the not very distant future.",JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION,2017,DEC J,"Iacovidou, E; Millward-Hopkins, J; Busch, J; Purnell, P; Velis, CA; Hahladakis, JN; Zwirner, O; Brown, A",A pathway to circular economy: Developing a conceptual framework for complex value assessment of resources recovered from waste,10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.002,"The transition to a circular economy, where the value of resources is preserved in the technosphere, must be supported by policies and operational decision-making based on evidence. Existing methods used to provide this evidence (e.g. LCA, LCSA, CBA) are not robust enough to adequately address the creation and dissipation of systemic and multidimensional value that spans the social, environmental, economic and technical domains. This study proposes a novel, conceptual approach that seeks to assess how complex value is created, destroyed and distributed in resource recovery from waste systems. This approach expands beyond conventional methods of estimating value. It combines scientific and engineering methods with a socio-political narrative grounded in the systems of provision (sop) approach, and provides a comprehensive, analytical framework for making the transition to a resource-efficient future. This framework has the potential to connect bottom-up and top-down approaches in assessing resource recovery from waste systems, and address systemic challenges through transparency and flexibility, while accounting for the dynamic and non-linear nature of commodities flow and infrastructure provision in the overall system. This creates the pathway towards circular economy, and lays the foundations for future advances in computational and assessment methodologies in the field of RRfW. Crown Copyright (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd .",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2017,dic 1 J,"Salerno, J; Ross, N; Ghai, R; Mahero, M; Travis, DA; Gillespie, TR; Hartter, J",Human-Wildlife Interactions Predict Febrile Illness in Park Landscapes of Western Uganda,10.1007/s10393-017-1286-1,"Fevers of unknown origin complicate treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and are a global health burden. We examined risk factors of self-reported fever-categorized as malarial and nonmalarial-in households adjacent to national parks across the Ugandan Albertine Rift, a biodiversity and emerging infectious disease hotspot. Statistical models fitted to these data suggest that perceived nonmalarial fevers of unknown origin were associated with more frequent direct contact with wildlife and with increased distance from parks where wildlife habitat is limited to small forest fragments. Perceived malarial fevers were associated with close proximity to parks but were not associated with direct wildlife contact. Self-reported fevers of any kind were not associated with livestock ownership. These results suggest a hypothesis that nonmalarial fevers in this area are associated with wildlife contact, and further investigation of zoonoses from wildlife is warranted. More generally, our findings of land use-disease relationships aid in hypothesis development for future research in this social-ecological system where emerging infectious diseases specifically, and rural public health provisioning generally, are important issues.",ECOHEALTH,2017,DEC J,"Hengeveld, GM; Schull, E; Trubins, R; Sallnas, O","Forest Landscape Development Scenarios (FoLDS)-A framework for integrating forest models, owners' behaviour and socio-economic developments",10.1016/j.forpol.2017.03.007,"The FoLDS framework presented in this paper is set up to develop scenarios for forested landscapes with a transparent connection between the broad-scale developments in socio-economic factors and the ecosystem services provided. The forests that provide these ecosystem services are managed by a multitude of forest owners. Different forest owners have their own objectives and will thus adjust their forest management differently to socioeconomic developments. The FoLDS framework breaks down the connection from socio-economic developments to the landscape level in three steps. In the first step, a structure is provided for deciding on scenarios combining the socio-economic factors that have most influence on forest owners. In the second step, the scenarios are translated to the distribution of forest management approaches in the landscape by invoking a behavioural matrix of forest owner types and forest management decisions. The third step involves the implementation of these forest management approaches in a forest modelling tool that is tailored to the specific landscape at hand. The results of these calculations are then translated to a set of indicators for the ecosystem services of interest A survey among researchers experienced with the FoLDS framework indicates that there is an added value in systematically including both qualitative and quantitative scenario methods for forested landscapes. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2017,DEC J,"de Bruin, JO; Kok, K; Hoogstra-Klein, MA",Exploring the potential of combining participative backcasting and exploratory scenarios for robust strategies: Insights from the Dutch forest sector,10.1016/j.forpol.2017.06.007,"Literature critiques current predictive scenario approaches applied in the forest sector. Backcasting -a means to create normative scenarios- seems promising, but sparsely used. Combining backcasting with exploratory scenarios (combined scenario approach) seems appropriate to address these critiques. We performed such an exercise with the participation of Dutch forest sector stakeholders. A one-day workshop was successfully executed, in terms of process, results, and participant satisfaction. A robust strategy was formulated, consisting of cross scenario actions related to marketing, public opinion, and education. Novel methodological elements were included, related to the desired end-point, visually represented by ecosystem services ladders. Although the method requires the capacity to prepare, use and learn from scenarios, which is not easily attained, the main added value lies in the 'soft' results. It fits in with the government's shifted focus towards policy approaches that include social engagement, effectiveness and social support. It provides structured accounts of informed decisions towards ownership, transparency, legitimacy and accountability, and thus aids in grasping increasing complexity and uncertainty. We recommend continued testing the usefulness of the combined scenario approach (and thus tapping in to the diversity of participative methods offered by future studies), carefully choosing the duration of the workshops, applying broad stakeholder involvement, and continuing the use of ecosystem services ladders.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2017,DEC J,"Sun, HC; Vamos, CA; Flory, SSB; DeBate, R; Thompson, EL; Bleck, J",Correlates of long-term physical activity adherence in women,10.1016/j.jshs.2016.01.009,"Background: Little is known about the factors that may influence women's adherence to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using longitudinal data. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of long-term physical activity (PA) participation among women. Methods: Female data fromWaves I, III, and IV (n = 5381) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were used for the analysis. The outcome of PA adherence was operationalized as (1) consistently physically active (at least 5 instances during the week) in both Waves III and IV (during adulthood), and (2) consistently not physically active or only physically active in either Wave III or IV. Predictor variables from Wave I (during adolescence) included race/ethnicity, PA level, self-perception of being physically fit, general health status, attempt to change weight, parents' income level, parents' education, well-being, depression, access to PA resources, days of physical education (PE), and grade level. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models were utilized to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the outcome variable. Results: PA levels during adolescence significantly predicted PA adherence (aOR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.35-2.05). Additionally, wanting to lose weight (aOR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.20-1.85), using fitness center in the neighborhood (aOR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.05-1.58), and having 5 days of PE a week (aOR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.09-2.02) were significant predictors. Women who did not perceive being physically fit (aOR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.44-0.95) and Black, non-Hispanics (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.44-0.82) were less likely to adhere to PA. Conclusion: The findings suggested that physically active adolescents were more likely to become active adults. Future research should address interventions (e.g., PE program, community resources) that may promote lifetime PA in women, with the goal of decreasing morbidity and mortality. (c) 2017 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport.",JOURNAL OF SPORT AND HEALTH SCIENCE,2017,DEC J,"Mayer, A; Vivoni, ER; Kossak, D; Halvorsen, KE; Morua, AR",Participatory Modeling Workshops in a Water-Stressed Basin Result in Gains in Modeling Capacity but Reveal Disparity in Water Resources Management Priorities,10.1007/s11269-017-1775-6,"Participatory modeling workshops were held in Sonora, Mexico, with the goal of developing water resources management strategies in a water-stressed basin. A model of the water resources system, consisting of watershed hydrology, water resources infrastructure, and groundwater models, was developed deliberatively in the workshops, along with scenarios of future climate and development. Participants used the final version of the water resources systems model to select management strategies. The performance of the strategies was based on the reliability of meeting current and future demands at a daily time scale over a year's period. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were developed and administered. The survey questions focused on evaluation of participants' modeling capacity and the utility and accuracy of the models. The selected water resources strategies and the associated, expected reliability varied widely among participants. Most participants could be clustered into three groups with roughly equal numbers of participants that varied in terms of reliance on expanding infrastructure vs. demand modification; expectations of reliability; and perceptions of social, environmental, and economic impacts. The wide range of strategies chosen and associated reliabilities indicate that there is a substantial degree of uncertainty in how future water resources decisions could be made in the region. The pre- and post-survey results indicate that participants believed their modeling abilities increased and beliefs in the utility of models increased as a result of the workshops.",WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT,2017,DEC J,"Lopes, CL; Alves, FL; Dias, JM",Flood risk assessment in a coastal lagoon under present and future scenarios: Ria de Aveiro case study,10.1007/s11069-017-3025-x,"Floods are one of the major threats to low-lying coastal lagoons, affecting people, socio-economic activities and ecosystem services. This work proposes a methodology to assess present and future flood hazard and risk in west-boundary low-lying coastal lagoons, using the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) as case study. A multidisciplinary approach supported on Source-Pathway-Receptor-Consequence model combined with a GIS-based multi-criteria analysis was developed and applied. This comprised the following steps: (1) definition of present and future climate scenarios associated with oceanic, fluvial and combined events, combining sea levels and river discharges for different return periods; (2) characterization of flooding pathway through hydrodynamic modelling; (3) assessment of flood hazard combining flood depth and probability from hydrodynamic simulations; (4) assessment of flood risk calculating the adverse consequences on assets exposed to flood hazard. Results highlight that endangered regions are strongly dependent on the floods origin: oceanic floods threaten settlements and economic activities located along the margins of the lagoon main channels as well as habitats in the lagoon central area; fluvial floods endanger the river's mouth adjacent areas causing damage in restricted settlements, economic activities and farmland habitats; the combined floods also threaten the margins adjacent to the transition zones. For future scenarios, it is predicted the flood risk increase/decrease for oceanic/fluvial events, as a consequence of mean sea level rise/river discharges reduction predicted for the region. Finally, this work demonstrated the value of the methodology proposed and its potential for flood risk analysis, supporting the decision-making process underlying the flood risk management.",NATURAL HAZARDS,2017,DEC J,"Brunner, SH; Huber, R; Gret-Regamey, A",Mapping uncertainties in the future provision of ecosystem services in a mountain region in Switzerland,10.1007/s10113-017-1118-4,"Ecosystem services (ES) management has to cope with a high degree of uncertainty related to changes in socio-economic and climatic conditions as well as in societal values. Information regarding the quantity and location of these uncertainties can facilitate identifying which areas require management attention and policy support. In this context, science for mapping ES is evolving rapidly, but there remains a lack of quantitative methods to integrate and visualize uncertainties related to regional and global changes that affect both ES supply and demand. Using a mountain case study in Switzerland, this paper quantifies and maps the uncertainty of future ES provision related to changes in regional and global socio-economic and climatic drivers as well as in ES preferences. We model and map patterns of (dis)agreements regarding ES in a multitude of scenarios and evaluate the magnitude and sources of uncertainty in these patterns. The results illuminate which drivers cause the highest levels of uncertainty in future ES provision and highlight areas where changes in ES are similar across scenarios or where changes are dependent on regional or global contexts. In this case study, changes in ES occur more consistently in remote areas, while in the main valley such changes are highly uncertain and particularly sensitive to national socio-economic drivers and climate change. The uncertainty maps can serve as a basis for discussing regional development plans and national policy strategies. The suggested approach could serve as a straightforward means to quantify and communicate spatial uncertainties in future ES studies.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,DEC J,"Gottschlich, D; Bellina, L",Environmental justice and care: critical emancipatory contributions to sustainability discourse,10.1007/s10460-016-9761-9,"Sustainability has become a powerful discourse, guiding the efforts of various stakeholders to find strategies for dealing with current and future social-ecological crises. To overcome the latter, we argue that sustainability discourse needs to be based on a critical-emancipatory conceptualization. Therefore, we engage two such approaches-environmental justice approaches informed by a plural understanding of justice and feminist political economy ones focusing on care-and their analytical potential for productive critique of normative assumptions in the dominant sustainability discourse. Both of these approaches highlight aspects of sustainability that are particularly relevant today. First, although sustainable development was conceptualized from the outset based upon a twofold notion of justice (intra- and intergenerational), the integration of justice in the dominant sustainability discourse and praxis often manifests merely as a normative aspiration. Meanwhile, the environmental justice and care approaches offer conceptualizations of justice that can act as a powerful lever and as transformation-strategy. Second, the dominant sustainability discourse largely remains within a neoliberal economic framework that continues to promote economic growth as the means to reach prosperity while neglecting the bases of every economy: care work and nature. Its focus lies solely on paid work and the market economy. By integrating (a) social and ecological 'reproductivity' (unpaid care and subsistence work as well as nature) and (b) democratic processes for just distribution of environmental burdens and benefits, as well as participatory equity in relevant decision making, feminist political economy and environmental justice approaches offer substantial strategies towards building humane, just and caring societies.",AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES,2017,DEC J,"Ricart, S; Gandolfi, C","Balancing irrigation multifunctionality based on key stakeholders' attitudes: Lessons learned from the Muzza system, Italy",10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.09.047,"This research aims to evaluate the perceptions of and preferences for irrigation multifunctionality based on an analysis of stakeholder' attitudes in a large irrigation system in Northern Italy, the Muzza canal. As the first artificial canal built in Northern Italy, this canal articulates a network of open earth canals that distribute water for irrigation, especially maize. The Stakeholder analysis approach and Governance model approach are applied. The collected data highlights: (1) each key stakeholder points of view regarding multifunctionality and ecosystem services, (2) the nature of conflicting attitudes regarding who and how the Muzza system is managed, and (3) the ability or inability to promote agreements among conflicting water demands The results show how public administration is concerned about how to manage ecosystem services provided by irrigation practices, while private services are focused on how to guarantee the coexistence of consumptive and non-consumptive water uses, highlighting the persistent conflict between farming production and environmental protection. The rural community and civil society call for a debate about the future of irrigation multifunctionality in the Muzza system and the role of irrigation practices in landscape provision and management. In addition, the paper examines if multifunctionality is a characteristic or an objective of irrigation systems. These results can be used by researchers and relevant authorities to customize their interventions based on previous, well-structured knowledge of various stakeholders' priorities.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,DEC J,"Welle, PD; Medellin-Azuara, J; Viers, JH; Mauter, MS",Economic and policy drivers of agricultural water desalination in California's central valley,10.1016/j.agwat.2017.07.024,"Water desalination is a proposed solution for mitigating the effects of drought, soil salinization, and the ecological impacts of agricultural drainage. In this study, we assess the public and private costs and benefits of distributed desalination in the Central Valley (CV) of California. We employ environmental and economic modeling to estimate the value of reducing the salinity of irrigation water; the value of augmenting water supply under present and future climate scenarios; and the human health, environmental, and climate change damages associated with generating power to desalinate water. We find that water desalination is only likely to be profitable in 4% of the CV during periods of severe drought, and that current costs would need to decrease by 70-90% for adoption to occur on the median acre. Fossil-fuel powered desalination technologies also generate air emissions that impose significant public costs in the form of human health and climate change damages, although these damages vary greatly depending on technology. The ecosystem service benefits of reduced agricultural drainage would need to be valued between $800 and $1200 per acre-foot, or nearly the full capital and operational costs of water desalination, for the net benefits of water desalination to be positive from a societal perspective. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT,2017,DEC J,"Hummel, C; Provenzale, A; van der Meer, J; Wijnhoven, S; Nolte, A; Poursanidis, D; Janss, G; Jurek, M; Andresen, M; Poulin, B; Kobler, J; Beierkuhnlein, C; Honrado, J; Razinkovas, A; Stritih, A; Bargmann, T; Ziemba, A; Bonet-Garcia, F; Adamescu, MC; Janssen, G; Hummel, H",Ecosystem services in European protected areas: Ambiguity in the views of scientists and managers?,10.1371/journal.pone.0187143,"Protected Areas are a key component of nature conservation. They can play an important role in counterbalancing the impacts of ecosystem degradation. For an optimal protection of a Protected Area it is essential to account for the variables underlying the major Ecosystem Services an area delivers, and the threats upon them. Here we show that the perception of these important variables differs markedly between scientists and managers of Protected Areas in mountains and transitional waters. Scientists emphasise variables of abiotic and biotic nature, whereas managers highlight socio-economic, cultural and anthropogenic variables. This indicates fundamental differences in perception. To be able to better protect an area it would be advisable to bring the perception of scientists and managers closer together. Intensified and harmonised communication across disciplinary and professional boundaries will be needed to implement and improve Ecosystem Service oriented management strategies in current and future Protected Areas.",PLOS ONE,2017,nov 15 J,"Calil, J; Reguero, BG; Zamora, AR; Losada, IJ; Mendez, FJ",Comparative Coastal Risk Index (CCRI): A multidisciplinary risk index for Latin America and the Caribbean,10.1371/journal.pone.0187011,"As the world's population grows to a projected 11.2 billion by 2100, the number of people living in low-lying areas exposed to coastal hazards is projected to increase. Critical infrastructure and valuable assets continue to be placed in vulnerable areas, and in recent years, millions of people have been displaced by natural hazards. Impacts from coastal hazards depend on the number of people, value of assets, and presence of critical resources in harm's way. Risks related to natural hazards are determined by a complex interaction between physical hazards, the vulnerability of a society or social-ecological system and its exposure to such hazards. Moreover, these risks are amplified by challenging socioeconomic dynamics, including poorly planned urban development, income inequality, and poverty. This study employs a combination of machine learning clustering techniques (Self Organizing Maps and K-Means) and a spatial index, to assess coastal risks in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on a comparative scale. The proposed method meets multiple objectives, including the identification of hotspots and key drivers of coastal risk, and the ability to process large-volume multidimensional and multivariate datasets, effectively reducing sixteen variables related to coastal hazards, geographic exposure, and socioeconomic vulnerability, into a single index. Our results demonstrate that in LAC, more than 500,000 people live in areas where coastal hazards, exposure (of people, assets and ecosystems) and poverty converge, creating the ideal conditions for a perfect storm. Hotspot locations of coastal risk, identified by the proposed Comparative Coastal Risk Index (CCRI), contain more than 300,00 people and include: El Oro, Ecuador; Sinaloa, Mexico; Usulutan, El Salvador; and Chiapas, Mexico. Our results provide important insights into potential adaptation alternatives that could reduce the impacts of future hazards. Effective adaptation options must not only focus on developing coastal defenses, but also on improving practices and policies related to urban development, agricultural land use, and conservation, as well as ameliorating socioeconomic conditions.",PLOS ONE,2017,nov 2 J,"Santos, SM; Silva, MM; Melo, RM; Gavazza, S; Florencio, L; Kato, MT",Multi-criteria analysis for municipal solid waste management in a Brazilian metropolitan area,10.1007/s10661-017-6283-x,"The decision-making process involved in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) must consider more than just financial aspects, which makes it a difficult task in developing countries. The Recife Metropolitan Region (RMR) in the Northeast of Brazil faces a MSWM problem that has been ongoing since the 1970s, with no common solution. In order to direct short-term solutions, three MSWM alternatives were outlined for the RMR, considering the current and future situations, the time and cost involved and social/environmental criteria. A multi-criteria approach, based on the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), was proposed to rank these alternatives. The alternative that included two private landfill sites and seven transfer, sorting and composting stations was confirmed as the most suitable and stable option for short-term MSWM, considering the two scenarios for the criteria weights. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to support the robustness of the results. The implementation of separate collections would minimize the amount of waste buried, while maximizing the useful life of landfill sites and increasing the timeframe of the alternative. Overall, the multi-criteria analysis was helpful and accurate during the alternative selection process, considering the similarities and restrictions of each option, which can lead to difficulties during the decision-making process.",ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT,2017,NOV J,"Jew, EKK; Dougill, AJ; Sallu, SM",Tobacco cultivation as a driver of land use change and degradation in the miombo woodlands of south-west Tanzania,10.1002/ldr.2827,"Miombo woodlands support agriculture, biodiversity, and multiple ecosystem services across an extensive part of sub-Saharan Africa. Miombo is frequently overutilised with deforestation and degradation resulting in significant land use and land cover change (LULCC). Understanding the drivers of LULCC is essential to achieving sustainable land management in miombo woodland regions. Within a remote miombo area of south-west Tanzania in the Kipembawe Division, Mbeya Region, social survey and ecological data were used to identify the direct and indirect drivers of LULCC. Our findings show that tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) production results in an estimated annual deforestation rate of 4,134 +/- 390ha of undisturbed miombo woodland, of which 56.3 +/- 11.8% is linked to the post-harvest curing process. This deforestation represents 0.55 +/- 0.06% of the wooded area of the Kipembawe Division. The perception of high incomes from tobacco cultivation has encouraged migration of both agriculturalists and pastoralists into the area, resulting in higher livestock numbers that lead to further degradation. Higher human populations need more woodland resources such as fuelwood and building materials and more farmland for food crops. Continued deforestation will reduce the long-term profitability of tobacco cultivation due to a lack of fuel to cure the crop and could render production unviable. Action is urgently needed to conserve globally important biodiversity resources while enabling agricultural and pastoral activities to continue. Improved governance, together with sustainable land management strategies and diversification of livelihood strategies, can reduce dependence on tobacco cultivation and contribute to a sustainable future for this ecoregion.",LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT,2017,NOV J,"Epanchin-Niell, RS",Economics of invasive species policy and management,10.1007/s10530-017-1406-4,"This article examines the use of economic analysis to inform bioinvasion management, with particular focus on forest resources. Economics is key for understanding invasion processes, impacts, and decision-making. Biological invasions are driven by and affect economic activities at multiple scales and stages of an invasion. Bioeconomic modeling seeks to inform how resources can be optimally allocated across invasion management activities-including prevention, surveillance programs for early detection and management, and controlling invasion populations and spread-to minimize the long-term costs and damages. Economic analysis facilitates understanding of decisions by public and private decision-makers, gaps between these, and the design of policies to achieve socially desirable outcomes. Private decision-makers may undercontrol invasions relative to socially optimal levels, because they generally account for their own costs and benefits of control but less often for broader ecosystem impacts or future spread across the landscape. Economic analysis considers approaches for increasing private invasion management and evaluates feedbacks between ecological and economic systems that can affect policy outcomes. Future research should continue evaluation and design of control strategies across the biosecurity continuum and across species to enhance cost-effectiveness, better incorporate uncertainty into policy design, increase focus on incentives and behavioral tools to influence private behaviors that affect invasion spread, and incorporate invasive species consideration within broader systems-focused science. In addition, challenges in valuing biodiversity and ecosystem service impacts and the costs and effectiveness of control measures are key data gaps. Greater collaboration between decision-makers and researchers will facilitate development and communication of usable economic research.",BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS,2017,NOV J,"Lee, J",Farmer participation in a climate-smart future: Evidence from the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project,10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.07.020,"Smallholder agricultural carbon market projects have potential to achieve climate-smart agriculture (CSA), a triple-win for food security, climate change mitigation, and adaptation. Farmer participation is critical for achieving widespread impact, yet their adoption of sustainable land management practices is constrained by eligibility, willingness, and ability to participate. This research examines how the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project enabled smallholder participation, with results emphasizing the importance of institutional conditions and farmers' perteptions. Findings highlight the necessity of international collaborations and high levels of synergistic coordination. Building social capital and adopting participatory learning approaches are strategies that can increase participation and create inclusive climate-smart agriculture projects.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,NOV J,"Sterner, RW; Ostrom, P; Ostrom, NE; Klump, JV; Steinman, AD; Dreelin, EA; Vander Zanden, MJ; Fisk, AT",Grand challenges for research in the Laurentian Great Lakes,10.1002/lno.10585,"The Laurentian Great Lakes (LGL) constitute one of the largest freshwater systems in the world while providing social and economic value to two powerful nations. The spatial scale of these inland seas falls between two endpoints: small lakes and oceans. Lacustrine in many characteristics, the LGL often require a scientific approach with attributes similar to those of oceanography. There is a strong sense that within the LGL support for scientific research has not kept pace with the need for process-oriented research and that we lack basic information needed to forecast change, mitigate impacts and restore and preserve the LGL. Consequently, 58 researchers met in September 2014 and identified five Grand Challenges for Research in the LGL: (1) How has this vast inland freshwater system responded to shifting climate in the past, and how will it respond in the future? (2) What is the current status of the most important ecosystem processes, including their variability in space and time? (3) What processes are characteristic only of large lakes, and how do the distinct habitats integrate into a whole? (4) What are the ecosystem responses to major anthropogenic forces such as nutrients and invasive species, and are these reversible? and (5) What are the small to large-scale linkages and feedbacks among societal decisions, biological systems, and physicochemical dynamics? An urgent need exists for a unified scientific voice that articulates the Grand Challenges for research in the LGL and the need for associated funding. This treatise describing the Grand Challenges develops that voice.",LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY,2017,NOV J,"Farrell, KN; Silva-Macher, JC",Exploring Futures for Amazonia's Sierra del Divisor: An Environmental Valuation Triadics Approach to Analyzing Ecological Economic Decision Choices in the Context of Major Shifts in Boundary Conditions,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.04.015,"This text presents a new methodological approach to ecological economic analysis, employing Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund theory of economic process, It offers an alternative to monetary valuation based analyses and aims to contribute toward advancing work concerned with addressing complex ecological economic questions as complete wholes. The methodology is demonstrated through reference to the empirical case of a proposed rail link between Peru and Brazil, which would cut across the Sierra del Divisor of western Amazonia, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and further opening up the Amazon commodity frontier. In order to analyze the potential impacts of the rail-link, four flow-fund representations of economic process (two at the regional and two at the local level) are developed in order to juxtapose two alternative political economy contexts that might govern the rail-link's impacts in the region: one where conservation is prioritized over cash income and one where it is not. Our results suggest that completion of the rail-link under the current political economy context, which prioritizes cash income over conservation, is likely to have substantial negative consequences for forest conservation in both Peru and Brazil and for local livelihoods throughout the region. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2017,NOV J,"Chung, WS; Kim, SS; Moon, KH; Lim, CY; Yun, SW",A conceptual framework for energy security evaluation of power sources in South Korea,10.1016/j.energy.2017.03.108,"Due to the limited energy resources and isolated power system network, an energy security (ES) which reflects such factors as a stable energy supply, energy efficiency, and environmental protection has significance in Korea in terms of sustainable development. This study evaluated the ES in South Korea for fuel options in power generation sector (coal, nuclear, natural gas, oil, and renewables) focusing on indicators of supply reliability, economy of electricity generation, environmental sustainability, and technology complementarity. The ES indicators suggested in this study are anticipated to contribute to establishing an ES policy based on a comprehensive understanding of the ES status in South Korea. In the future, it will be necessary to establish specific scenarios for holding out regional conflicts and post-2020 climate change conventions and conduct realistic and dynamic analyses. In addition, it is essential to draw comprehensive indicators by incorporating the results from individual indicators and produce policy data regarding the priority of energy sources in terms of ES in general. This study has an unusual position in the aspect of the quantitative analysis contribution to the ES of various energy sources by the microscopic parameters together with the time series changes of ES. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENERGY,2017,oct 15 J,"Chen, DD; Deng, XZ; Jin, G; Samie, A; Li, ZH",Land-use-change induced dynamics of carbon stocks of the terrestrial ecosystem in Pakistan,10.1016/j.pce.2017.01.018,"In recent years, dramatic decline of ecosystem service due to large scale human induced land use change activities, which has received much attention of researchers as diminishing of ecosystem function affects the sustainability of human society, economy and environmental protection. The study aims to analyze the impact of land use change on ecosystem service of carbon sequestration in Pakistan. This study, based on Dynamics of Land System (DLS) model, simulating the future land use changes, combing with Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, has analyzed the changes in quantity and distribution of carbon stock in Pakistan under alternative land use scenarios for 2020 using historical land use data from 2006 to 2009. The results indicate that comparing the carbon stocks in 2009, only the Business-as-usual scenario of carbon stocks continue to decrease; the other two scenarios of carbon stocks show the increasing trend. Moreover, the Ecological protection scenario has the highest carbon storage, but it is not feasible to the current conditions of Pakistan, whereas Investment priority oriented scenario could be ideal one. The advances in research underpin scientific efforts to connect dynamic land use change with ecosystem service of carbon storage in Pakistan. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH,2017,OCT J,"Day, T",The Contribution of Physical Geographers to Sustainability Research,10.3390/su9101851,"A physical geographers' scope of practice is not defined by any regulatory or academic organization, so perception of the potential contribution of physical geography to sustainability research has been nebulous or informal, at best. In order to understand what physical geographers can do to enhance sustainability, this paper describes a systematic review of peer-reviewed research on sustainability published in three physical geography journals. The results show that physical geographers are active in sustainability research in terms of a spatial perspective, an understanding of human interactions with the environment, and an ability to recognize, interpret, and project environmental change and its impacts. The depth of this understanding is facilitated by a physical geographers' understanding of the natural world, process and system concepts, the ways that systems are linked and interact, and a willingness to deploy a wide range of methodologies to secure that knowledge. The expertise of physical geographers makes an important contribution to sustainability research and should be considered when multidisciplinary teams are assembled.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,OCT J,"Rashidi, K; Stadelmann, M; Patt, A",Valuing co-benefits to make low-carbon investments in cities bankable: the case of waste and transportation projects,10.1016/j.scs.2017.06.003,"Urban areas account for 70% of carbon emissions, and are likely to be the locus of attention to reduce future emissions in developing countries. However, only a small share of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto Protocol and only 30% of public climate finance is invested in urban areas. One of the main reasons is that most urban climate change mitigation projects rather provide development than climate benefits, so the question is whether alternative mechanisms can mobilize urban mitigation projects. In this paper, we analyze a set of three case studies - representative urban waste and transportation projects in Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka - to compare the market and economic value of climate and development co-benefits. For the projects, we monetize the co-benefits accruing to the local community. We find that under current market conditions, climate benefits have little effect on projects' financial viability, and can be effectively ignored. By contrast, we find, the monetization of development co-benefits significantly improves financial viability, based on calculated net present values and internal rates of return. Our results highlight the importance of local, national and international financing and policies that monetize such development co-benefits.",SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY,2017,OCT J,"Lyver, PO; Timoti, P; Gormley, AM; Jones, CJ; Richardson, SJ; Tahi, BL; Greenhalgh, S",Key Maori values strengthen the mapping of forest ecosystem services,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.08.009,"Different value-belief systems influence the importance placed upon ecosystem services (ES) and their benefits, in particular cultural ecosystem services. We mapped forest values to interview narratives across four biocultural themes deemed relevant by Tuawhenua Maori in New Zealand: (1) importance of place; (2) capacity of forest to provide; (3) connection between forest and community; and (4) future aspirations. Mauri (life force), mahinga kai (food procurement), oranga (human well-being) and te ohanga whai rawa (economic development) were the values identified most frequently across the four community-based themes. Ahikaroa (connection with place) and mahinga kai were the most frequently assigned values to Themes 1 and 2 respectively, while mauri was the value expressed most frequently in relation to Themes 3 and 4. While provisioning services contribute to the immediate well-being of indigenous peoples, cultural services associated with these activities are also vitally significant as they constitute the embodiment and growth of the culture and cannot be substituted. The comprehensive articulation of indigenous peoples' values within an ES framework can assist with developing a common language within environmental decision-making processes and tools across cultures. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,OCT J,"Knoke, T; Paul, C; Hartl, F",A critical view on benefit-cost analyses of silvicultural management options with declining discount rates,10.1016/j.forpol.2017.06.005,"The long planning perspective is one of the unique features of forestry. How to value money flows expected in the far distant future is therefore a crucial question. Applying time declining discount rates (DDR) may offer an appropriate alternative to conventional discounting, but few studies have applied DDRs in forest economics. We expect that theoretical assumptions behind welfare analyses based on DDR will be important. Using a dataset from the UK (Davies and Kerr (2015) [Forests 6: 2424-2449]) we investigate the effects of 1) more than marginal contributions from forestry to consumption, 2) the role of the assumed scenarios for return on capital, and 3) ignoring optimization (i.e. adopting predefined management scenarios) on the ranking of different silvicultural strategies. These include various clearfelling options (with replanting, natural regeneration or under planting) and the transition to continuous cover forestry. Our analysis reveals that changes in these aspects affect the ranking of forest management options more strongly than a pure change in the coefficients of a benefit cost analysis. Decreasing marginality, cautious assumptions about the worst-case return on capital and optimization of silvicultural operations all increase the relative attractiveness of continuous cover forestry. We conclude that applying DDR makes valuation in forestry more demanding and should be applied with appropriate care. In addition, the precise assumptions behind the particular schedule of DDRs should be explicit. Finally, theoretical considerations support the importance of combining optimization of silvicultural management strategies with their economic evaluation.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2017,OCT J,"Eisenman, TS; Murray, T",An integral lens on Patrick Geddes,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.05.011,"Patrick Geddes is a significant figure in the landscape and urban planning canon. In addition to situating cities within a regional context and advancing a socioecological understanding of urbanization, he viewed cities as the principal artifact of, and theater wherein, human culture evolves. This expansive view of cities may be one of the more challenging aspects of Geddes' legacy to assimilate. Working during a late 19th and early 20th century period when the limitations of modernity were becoming increasingly apparent, much of Geddes' aspirational thinking can be seen as an effort to create what he described as a larger modernism. In this regard, Geddes can be counted amongst those whom we portray as integrative holistic thinkers, people whose worldview draws them toward meaning-making narratives and frameworks that include the many dimensions of the human condition. Today, a new generation of holistic approaches called metatheories - and integral theory in particular - provides an orienting lens through which to review, assess, and potentially extend the work of Geddes in the 21st century. Towards that goal, this article first provides an introductory primer to some of Geddes' noteworthy thinking machines as well as integral theory. We then assess correspondence between the two, focusing on Interdisciplinary Holism; Evolution, Development and Complex Systems; Human Agency and Ethics; and Spirituality. A closing discussion addresses prospects for future research, and suggests that the holistic, evolutionary, and generative orientation of our principal subjects may have particular relevance in an anthropogenic biosphere characterized, in part, by significant environmental challenges and the concentration of humans in cities.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2017,OCT J,"Chopin, P; Blazy, JM; Guinde, L; Wery, J; Dore, T",A framework for designing multi-functional agricultural landscapes: Application to Guadeloupe Island,10.1016/j.agsy.2016.10.003,"To improve agriculture faced with regional sustainability issues, agricultural landscapes providing a diversity and high level of ecosystem services are necessary. We have developed and tested the MOSAICA-f framework to build innovative multi-functional agricultural landscapes that can consider explicitly: 1) the performance of cropping systems at the field scale, 2) farmers' decision processes on the adoption of cropping systems, and 3) possible scenarios for innovations and policy changes at the regional scale. This framework is based on a scenario approach that encompasses normative, exploratory and optimized scenarios to assess the relevance of combinations of new agricultural policies, changes to the external context (market and regulations) and innovations in cropping systems. The impacts of these changes on sustainability issues are simulated using the regional bioeconomic model MOSAICA for farmers' decision processes regarding the adoption of cropping systems at the field scale throughout a region. Applied in Guadeloupe (French West Indies), the MOSAICA-f framework enabled the design of a scenario increasing agricultural added value, food and energy self-sufficiency, employment and the quality of water bodies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This sustainable scenario combines new cropping systems tuned to farm types with a reorientation of subsidies, an increased workforce and banning food crop production on polluted soils. It can be used to understand the potential contribution of agriculture to sustainability issues and to help local decision makers define policies that will account for the spatial diversities of farms and fields in a landscape. Beyond the design of such a win-win scenario, MOSAICA-f has revealed trade-offs in the provision of services by agriculture. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS,2017,OCT J,"Chan, KMA; Anderson, E; Chapman, M; Jespersen, K; Olmsted, P",Payments for Ecosystem Services: Rife With Problems and Potential-For Transformation Towards Sustainability,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.04.029,"Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs are one prominent strategy to address economic externalities of resource extraction and commodity production, improving both social and ecological outcomes. But do PES and related incentive programs achieve that lofty goal? Along with considerable enthusiasm, PES has faced a wide range of substantial critiques. In this paper, we characterize seven major classes of concerns associated with common PES designs, and use these as inspiration to consider potential avenues for improvements in PES outcomes and uptake. The problems include (1) new externalities, (2) misplacement of rights and responsibilities, (3) crowding out existing motivations, (4) efficiency-equity tradeoffs, (5) monitoring costs, (6) limited applicability, and (7) top-down prescription/alienating agency. As currently practiced, many PES programs are thus of limited benefit and even potentially detrimental to sustainability. From this dire conclusion, we highlight several innovations that might be combined and extended in a novel approach to PES that may address all seven problems. Recognizing that PES necessarily articulate and even normalize values, our proposed approach entails designing these institutions intentionally to articulate rights and responsibilities conducive to sustainability those we might collectively seek to entrench. Problems remain, and new ones may arise, but the proposed approach may offer a way to reimagine PES as a major social and economic tool for enabling sustainable relationships with nature, conserving and restoring ecosystems and their benefits for people now and in the future. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2017,OCT J,"Wang, XC; Dong, XB; Liu, HM; Wei, HJ; Fan, WG; Lu, NC; Xu, ZH; Ren, JH; Xing, KX","Linking land use change, ecosystem services and human well-being: A case study of the Manas River Basin of Xinjiang, China",10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.08.013,"The relationship between LUCC (land-use and land-cover change), ecosystem services and human well-being is not only an important cross topic in studies of natural ecological and social economic systems but also the key research direction and content of the GLP (Global Land Project) and Future Earth program, indicating its significance to the development of regional policy and the promotion of regional sustainable development. In the present study,3S (GIS, RS, GPS) technology, the Equivalence Factor Evaluation Method of Ecosystem Services and the Index System Evaluation Method of Human Well-being were separately used to analyze land use changes, ecosystem services and human well-being in the Manas River Basin in 2003 and 2013 and to characterize the relationship between these factors. The following conclusions were drawn: 1. In the past ten years, driven by the market economy, the structure of land use in the basin has obviously changed. Croplands and developed lands markedly increased, leading to a marked reduction in aquatic, grassland and woodland regions. 2. The land use changes resulted in a large increase in human economic income, in contrast with the obvious decrease in the value of climate regulation, gas regulation and other various types of ecosystem services influenced by the decrease in grasslands, woodlands and aquatic regions. 3. Most aspects of human well-being were improved. The most important aspect was the economic income well-being as a result of land use changes. However, the well-being associated with natural ecological resources showed a significant decline. 4. The extreme increase of croplands and developed lands has resulted in a structural imbalance of the ecosystem services and abnormal development of the structure of human well-being. Thus, to enhance the stability of the nature-society-economy system of the basin and pursue sustainable development, it is imperative to slow down or even stop the existing development trend of land use, and it is urgent to improve the structure of ecosystem services and human well-being. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,OCT J,"Zhao, KJ",China's Public Diplomacy for International Public Goods,10.1111/polp.12223,"Since the late 1970s, the question of how to balance national and global interests has been one of the important considerations in China's grand strategy. Since 2012, China's top leaders have argued that China should provide international public goods (IPGs) and pay more attention to public diplomacy as a new model of big power diplomacy. Nevertheless, based on an examination of the recent literature, this article finds that most of the discussions highlight China's responsibility to provide IPGs rather than the motivations behind it. To obtain an accurate understanding of the real strategic motivations behind China's IPG public diplomacy, a necessary methodological innovation from normative to empirical studies should be undertaken. Drawing on case studies relevant to the topic, this article concludes that power advantage, institutional, and social ecological factors play determinative roles in understanding the motivations behind China's new IPG public diplomacy. Further, IPGs are regarded as core to China's new public diplomacy for global leadership in the foreseeable future. Within the context of emerging antiglobalization movements around the world, China's public diplomacy for IPGs aims to drive the nation further along the track of global leadership alongside the United States.",POLITICS & POLICY,2017,OCT J,"Zhang, D; Huang, QX; He, CY; Wu, JG","Impacts of urban expansion on ecosystem services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, China: A scenario analysis based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways",10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.06.003,"Understandiug the impacts of urban expansion on ecosystem services (ESs) is important for sustainable development on regional and global scales. However, due to the uncertainty of future socioeconomic development and the complexity of urban expansion, assessing the impacts of future urban expansion on ESs remains challenging. In this study, we simulated the urban expansion in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration in China from 2013 to 2040, and assessed its potential impacts on ESs based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and the Land Use Scenario Dynamics-urban (LUSD-urban) model. We found that urban land in the BTH urban agglomeration is expected to increase from 7605.25 km(2) in 2013 to 9401.75-11,936.00 km(2) in 2040. With continuing urban expansion, food production (FP), carbon storage (CS), water retention (WR), and air purification (AP) will decrease by 1.34-3.16%, 0.68-1.60%, 0.80-1.89%, and 0.37-0.87%, respectively. The conversion of cropland to urban land will be the main cause of ES losses. During 2013-2040, the losses of ESs caused by this conversion will account for 83.66-97.11% of the total losses in the whole region. Furthermore, the ES losses can cause considerable negative impacts on human well-being. The loss of FP will be equivalent to the food requirement of 3.68-8.61% of the total population in 2040, and the loss of CS will be 2.55-6.01% of the total standard coal consumption in 2013. To ensure sustainable development in the region, we suggest that effective policies and regulations should be implemented to protect cropland with high ES values from urban expansion.",RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING,2017,OCT J,"Nitoslawski, SA; Steenberg, JW; Duinker, PN; Bush, PG",Assessing the influence of location attributes on urban forest species composition in suburban neighbourhoods,10.1016/j.ufug.2017.08.002,"Determining how suburbanization shapes tree-species composition and diversity is vital in Canadian and most nations' cities, as suburban and peri-urban areas continue to grow faster than any other region. These areas, characterized by various land types and uses, represent differences in management and governance, jurisdiction, planting practices and species selection, and professional and political agendas. Such complexities emphasize the importance of exploring the influence of various environmental and location attributes of suburban neighbourhoods. Using hierarchical cluster analysis to classify urban forest species assemblages, we found that location attributes such as land type, development decade, and geography are influential on species composition and diversity - but only to an extent. We found that street-tree assemblages were classified more distinctly than remnant woodlands, which were in turn more distinct than tree communities found on residential properties. Residential land types had a high degree of species heterogeneity, highlighting the importance of not only considering the location attributes chosen for this study, but also including socioeconomic and cultural variables in future ecological classification schemes. Identifying drivers of species composition and diversity is useful for developing and implementing forest management strategies for urban and peri-urban areas, as different species assemblages give rise to different challenges and management opportunities, as well as varying quantities of ecosystem services, values, and benefits.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2017,OCT J,"Kohler, M; Stotten, R; Steinbacher, M; Leitinger, G; Tasser, E; Schirpke, U; Tappeiner, U; Schermer, M",Participative Spatial Scenario Analysis for Alpine Ecosystems,10.1007/s00267-017-0903-7,"Land use and land cover patterns are shaped by the interplay of human and ecological processes. Thus, heterogeneous cultural landscapes have developed, delivering multiple ecosystem services. To guarantee human well-being, the development of land use types has to be evaluated. Scenario development and land use and land cover change models are well-known tools for assessing future landscape changes. However, as social and ecological systems are inextricably linked, land use-related management decisions are difficult to identify. The concept of social-ecological resilience can thereby provide a framework for understanding complex interlinkages on multiple scales and from different disciplines. In our study site (Stubai Valley, Tyrol/Austria), we applied a sequence of steps including the characterization of the social-ecological system and identification of key drivers that influence farmers' management decisions. We then developed three scenarios, i.e., trend, positive and negative future development of farming conditions and assessed respective future land use changes. Results indicate that within the trend and positive scenarios pluri-activity (various sources of income) prevents considerable changes in land use and land cover and promotes the resilience of farming systems. Contrarily, reductions in subsidies and changes in consumer behavior are the most important key drivers in the negative scenario and lead to distinct abandonment of grassland, predominantly in the sub-alpine zone of our study site. Our conceptual approach, i.e., the combination of social and ecological methods and the integration of local stakeholders' knowledge into spatial scenario analysis, resulted in highly detailed and spatially explicit results that can provide a basis for further community development recommendations.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2017,OCT J,"Cook, D; Daviosdottir, B; Kristofersson, DM",An ecosystem services perspective for classifying and valuing the environmental impacts of geothermal power projects,10.1016/j.esd.2017.07.007,"An ecosystem services perspective can provide a useful means of understanding, in human well-being terms, the type, scale and value of environmental impacts deriving from the deployment of renewable energy technologies. This paper provides the first thematic review of the ecosystem service impacts commonly associated with developing geothermal areas for power projects. In this study, the typical ecosystem service impacts of geothermal power projects are classified using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) typology. Next, in order to develop a guide for future practitioners, an analysis is conducted of the most suitable valuation methods for the respective ecosystem service impacts. A pluralist approach is advised to aide decision-making, involving the use of monetary and non-monetary information. A number of non-market valuation studies may be required to estimate the total economic value of affected geothermal ecosystems, likely including the contingent valuation and travel cost methods. The more intangible ecosystem services associated with geothermal areas, such as artistic inspiration and landscape aesthetics, are best valued using non monetary approaches, including deliberative methods. Finally, in recognition of the importance of having a strong physical basis underpinning non-market valuation techniques, this paper critically assesses the merits of the most appropriate data sources for future environmental economists working in a geothermal context A literature review reveals that neither Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) nor Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies in a geothermal context have embedded an ecosystem service perspective into their processes. EIA are closest to fulfilling the needs of environmental economists, encompassing the majority of ecosystem service impacts, yet further methodological progress is recommended to ensure that all project stakeholders are given voice and arbitrage in the data-gathering process. (C) 2017 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2017,OCT J,"Shah, SH; Angeles, LC; Harris, LM",Worlding the Intangibility of Resilience: The Case of Rice Farmers and Water-Related Risk in the Philippines,10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.004,"Agricultural livelihoods are resilient when capable of enduring and overcoming socio-environmental stressors. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach, popularized in development programs, frequently targets farmer capacities to cope with and recover from loss and damage by (i) enhancing tangible capitals (e.g., ecological, financial) and/or by (ii) reducing socio-institutional constraints on entitlements and opportunities to access those capitals. While this two-pronged approach can reduce damage to production or expand the range of livelihood activities available to farmers, it often positions tangible capitals themselves as the central and objective means for building resilience. The recent social turn is a call to theorize resilience's intangible and non-material dimensions (e.g., subjective, emotive, and relational forms) as emergent from specific local social-cultural-ecological contexts. Drawing on in-depth field research with rice-farmers in a region of the Philippines experiencing water-related risks, we analyzed several situated intangible narrations of resilience, with a focus on emotive and affective indicators. Farmers narrated their courage to get back up following loss and damage as well as their optimism, faith, and hope for brighter futures in farming and in life. These emotions flowed from their affective relationships with the cosmos (naturalizing life's hardships as cyclical), themselves (strong belief in their own capabilities to persist in times of hardship), and the Divine (faith in God's power to protect hard-working families). Our results contribute to the social turn in resilience literature in two ways. First, we highlight affect and emotion as indicators of farm livelihood resilience. Second, we suggest narrations of resilience are constituted through farmers' particular worldings, or constructions of reality where knowledge, belief systems, and relations, are lived and enacted on an everyday basis. Situating oneself in local contexts can illuminate sources of intangible resilience otherwise hidden from top-down approaches, while engaging worldings can help render these intangible sources intelligible within their contexts. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",WORLD DEVELOPMENT,2017,OCT J,"Plummer, R; Dzyundzyak, A; Baird, J; Bodin, O; Armitage, D; Schultz, L",How do environmental governance processes shape evaluation of outcomes by stakeholders? A causal pathways approach,10.1371/journal.pone.0185375,"Multi-stakeholder environmental management and governance processes are essential to realize social and ecological outcomes. Participation, collaboration, and learning are emphasized in these processes; to gain insights into how they influence stakeholders' evaluations of outcomes in relation to management and governance interventions we use a path analysis approach to examine their relationships in individuals in four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. We confirm a model showing that participation in more activities leads to greater ratings of process, and in turn, better evaluations of outcomes. We show the effects of participation in activities on evaluation of outcomes appear to be driven by learning more than collaboration. Original insights are offered as to how the evaluations of outcomes by stakeholders are shaped by their participation in activities and their experiences in management and governance processes. Understanding stakeholder perceptions about the processes in which they are involved and their evaluation of outcomes is imperative, and influences current and future levels of engagement. As such, the evaluation of outcomes themselves are an important tangible product from initiatives. Our research contributes to a future research agenda aimed at better understanding these pathways and their implications for engagement in stewardship and ultimately social and ecological outcomes, and to developing recommendations for practitioners engaged in environmental management and governance.",PLOS ONE,2017,SEP 25 J,"Berrios, F; Campbell, DE; Ortiz, M",Emergy evaluation of benthic ecosystems influenced by upwelling in northern Chile: Contributions of the ecosystems to the regional economy,10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.05.005,"Emergy evaluations of three benthic ecosystem networks found in Mejillones, Antofagasta and Tongoy Bays, located on the coast of northern Chile, were carried out with the intent of documenting the contributions Of these coastal ecosystems to,the economy. The productivity of these bays is strongly influenced by the Humboldt Current System, as well as by the loss of upwelled flows that occurs during El Nino events. The results of the emergy evaluations were expressed as emdollars (EM$), a combined emergy-money measure that can be used to examine the equity of the emergy exchanges between fishermen and the buyers of the harvested algae and shellfish. In addition, an estimate of the total ecosystem services provided by these coastal ecosystems was made. The emdollar (Em$ y(-1)) and the hypothetical monetary value (US$ y(-1)) of the nitrate nitrogen upwelled constituted the highest inflow of emergy to all three benthic ecosystems. The empower density expressed as Em$ m(-2) y(-1) was highest in Mejillones Bay; however, the natural capital (biomass) of the ecological components (EM$ m(-2)) was highest in Antofagasta Bay, where La Rinconada Marine Reserve is located. The relationship between the coastal zone system and the regional economic system was assessed using the emergy benefit after exchange, EBE, which showed that there were net gains to the overall welfare of the sellers in two regions, 3,280,000 Em$ to those in Mejillones Bay, and 34,000,000 Em$ to those in Tongoy Bay, but a net loss of 2,000,000 Em$ to the sellers of algae and shellfish harvested from Antofagasta Bay. By supplying a clearer picture of the equity of trade relationships for individual organisms, fisheries and bays, emergy evaluation can help develop and implement management strategies for the conservation and preservation of coastal ecosystems to ensure that they are sustainable in the future. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL MODELLING,2017,SEP 10 J,"Fadigas, ABM",Vulnerability factors of shellfisherwomen in the face of oil spill events: An analysis of the Prestige case,10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.07.010,"Increasingly frequent disasters involving oil spills in coastal zones highlight the vulnerability faced by women's groups that are highly dependent on the marine environment. Based on the theoretical contribution of feminist environmentalism and the interpretative approach of the pressure and release model (PAR model), this paper verifies the progressive vulnerability of Galician shellfisherwomen in the period prior to the 2002 Prestige disaster in Spain. The main findings reveal the marginal position occupied by shellfisherwomen within the fishing sector. Moreover, they demonstrate the shellfisherwomen's dependency on a fragile coastal zone constantly threatened by pollution yet lacking adequate protection measures. This combination of factors exposed the social-environmental system maintained by shellfisherwomen to the risk of an oil disaster, increasing the vulnerability of women in that region. This study employs a gender vulnerability analysis to better understand oil disasters, and makes recommendations to improve future disaster preparedness and response, thereby benefiting people at risk.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION,2017,SEP J,"Martinez-Sastre, R; Ravera, F; Gonzalez, JA; Santiago, CL; Bidegain, I; Munda, G",Mediterranean landscapes under change: Combining social multicriteria evaluation and the ecosystem services framework for land use planning,10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.06.001,"Mediterranean cultural landscapes are currently undergoing intense transformations, resulting in a polarization of land uses across an intensification-abandonment continuum. This transformation is characterized by uncertain and non-linear interactions and impacts on ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Our study focuses on a particular multifunctional Mediterranean cultural landscape composed of different land uses (Le., dehesas, olive groves, pine forests, Mediterranean forests and scrublands) in the Sierra Morena mountain range (Jaen, Spain), which is undergoing a rapid process of land use change. In this context, the involvement of local stakeholders through participatory processes is critical for proper landscape management and decision-making. The aim of this paper is to combine Social Multicriteria Evaluation (SMCE) and ecosystem services frameworks for an assessment of likely future scenarios under different drivers of land use change, analysing how such changes would affect people living or making use of ecosystem services. Among four plausible future scenarios, the so-called Mosaic landscape scenario was widely recognized as the most desirable future landscape configuration for Sierra Morena, as it allows the supply of a balanced flow of ecosystem services and reduces ecosystem services trade-offs and conflicts among stakeholders. The combination of social multicriteria evaluation with the ecosystem services framework and future scenario analysis allows a robust co-creation of knowledge and provides insights pertinent to participatory management of cultural landscapes and stakeholders' relationships through a socially relevant but also rigorous methodology.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,SEP J,"Wardropper, CB; Gillon, S; Rissman, AR",Uncertain monitoring and modeling in a watershed nonpoint pollution program,10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.07.016,"Performance-based programs governing land use rely on environmental measurement, prediction, and assessment. Yet complex, nonlinear social and environmental change can lead to uncertainties in quantification and forecasting and create challenges for operationalizing programs. This research examines the roles that environmental monitoring and modeling uncertainty play in experimental land and water governance through an analysis of a regulatory water quality program in Wisconsin, USA. The case demonstrates how uncertainties in measurement and prediction of pollution runoff shape program design and participant perceptions. We draw on interviews, a survey, participant observation, and policy document analysis to illustrate how regulators and participants (including municipalities, sewerage treatment plants, farmers and nonprofit organizations) perceive and react to uncertainty. Because current and future water quality data are based largely on model estimates, but regulatory compliance will likely be based on measured in-stream outcomes, participants must evaluate potential risks of involvement. Stakeholders have relied on partnership building and legal modifications such as extended compliance timelines to reduce the risks associated with uncertainty. Experimentation under uncertainty led to sustained stakeholder dialogue, and an iterative process of deciding how monitoring and modeling should be used to track and prove program progress.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,SEP J,"Klumper, F; Theesfeld, I",The Land-Water-Food Nexus: Expanding the Social-Ecological System Framework to Link Land and Water Governance,10.3390/resources6030028,"To date, the land-water-food nexus has been primarily addressed from an ecological, hydrological or agronomic angle, with limited response to the governance interface between the input resources. Likewise, in widely used heuristic frameworks, such as the social-ecological system (SES) framework, governance interactions between resources are not sufficiently addressed. We address this gap empirically, using the case of Tajikistan, based on a farm household survey analysis of 306 farmers. The results indicate that land system variables contribute to the willingness to cooperate in irrigation management. Specifically, formal land tenure has a positive effect on farmers paying for water as well as on the likelihood of their investing time and effort in irrigation infrastructure, which is decisive for Tajikistan's food and fiber production. Irrigation system variables show that, e.g., being an upstream user increases the likelihood to contribute to labor maintenance efforts. We further discuss how decisions with respect to the land sector could be designed in the future to facilitate cooperation in other resource sectors. Further, we conclude from a conceptual perspective that the SES framework integrating a nexus perspective can be adapted: either (1) by adding a second-tier governance nexus variable inside the governance variable of an irrigation system; or (2) by adding a land resource unit and system outside the irrigation system.",RESOURCES-BASEL,2017,SEP J,"McElwee, P",The Metrics of Making Ecosystem Services,10.3167/ares.2017.080105,"Ecosystem services (ES) are increasingly used as the conceptual driver for conservation and development actions, largely following from the influential Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Scholars skeptical of the neoliberal turn in conservation have critiqued the use of economic values for nature's services. What has been less well understood and reviewed, however, is how concepts of ES are enacted by technologies of calculation, as well as how calculative practices move through networks and among stakeholders. This review traces how definitions and metrics of ES have evolved and how they are used, such as in biodiversity offsetting and wetland mitigation programs. Using the idea of the creation and deployment of calculative mechanisms, this article discusses how these processes proceed in different ES contexts, assesses what work has to happen ontologically to make ES commensurable and circulatable, and speculates on what the opportunities for future pathways other than commodification are.",ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY-ADVANCES IN RESEARCH,2017,SEP J,"Hartman, S; Ogilvie, AEJ; Ingimundarson, JH; Dugmore, AJ; Hambrecht, G; McGovern, TH","Medieval Iceland, Greenland, and the New Human Condition: A case study in integrated environmental humanities",10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.04.007,"This paper contributes to recent studies exploring the longue duree of human impacts on island landscapes, the impacts of climate and other environmental changes on human communities, and the interaction of human societies and their environments at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, the paper addresses Iceland during the medieval period (with a secondary, comparative focus on Norse Greenland) and discusses episodes where environmental and climatic changes have appeared to cross key thresholds for agricultural productivity. The paper draws upon international, interdisciplinary research in the North Atlantic region led by the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) and the Nordic Network for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (NIES) in the Circumpolar Networks program of the Integrated History and Future of People on Earth (IHOPE). By interlinking analyses of historically grounded literature with archaeological studies and environmental science, valuable new perspectives can emerge on how these past societies may have understood and coped with such impacts. As climate and other environmental changes do not operate in isolation, vulnerabilities created by socioeconomic factors also beg consideration. The paper illustrates the benefits of an integrated environmental-studies approach that draws on data, methodologies and analytical tools of environmental humanities, social sciences, and geosciences to better understand long-term human ecodynamics and changing human-landscape-environment interactions through time. One key goal is to apply previously unused data and concerted expertise to illuminate human responses to past changes; a secondary aim is to consider how lessons derived from these cases may be applicable to environmental threats and socioecological risks in the future, especially as understood in light of the New Human Condition, the concept transposed from Hannah Arendt's influential framing of the human condition that is foregrounded in the present special issue. This conception admits human agency's role in altering the conditions for life on earth, in large measure negatively, while acknowledging the potential of this self-same agency, if effectively harnessed and properly directed, to sustain essential planetary conditions through a salutary transformation of human perception, understanding and remedial action. The paper concludes that more long-term historical analyses of cultures and environments need to be undertaken at various scales. Past cases do not offer perfect analogues for the future, but they can contribute to a better understanding of how resilience and vulnerability occur, as well as how they may be compromised or mitigated.",GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE,2017,SEP J,"Singh, GG; Sinner, J; Ellis, J; Kandlikar, M; Halpern, BS; Satterfield, T; Chan, KMA",Mechanisms and risk of cumulative impacts to coastal ecosystem services: An expert elicitation approach,10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.032,"Coastal environments are some of the most populated on Earth, with greater pressures projected in the future. Managing coastal systems requires the consideration of multiple uses, which both benefit from and threaten multiple ecosystem services. Thus understanding the cumulative impacts of human activities on coastal ecosystem services would seem fundamental to management, yet there is no widely accepted approach for assessing these. This study trials an approach for understanding the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic change, focusing on Tasman and Golden Bays, New Zealand. Using an expert elicitation procedure, we collected information on three aspects of cumulative impacts: the importance and magnitude of impacts by various activities and stressors on ecosystem services, and the causal processes of impact on ecosystem services. We assessed impacts to four ecosystem service benefits - fisheries, shellfish aquaculture, marine recreation and existence value of biodiversity-addressing three main research questions: (1) how severe are cumulative impacts on ecosystem services (correspondingly, what potential is there for restoration)?; (2) are threats evenly distributed across activities and stressors, or do a few threats dominate?; (3) do prominent activities mainly operate through direct stressors, or do they often exacerbate other impacts? We found (1) that despite high uncertainty in the threat posed by individual stressors and impacts, total cumulative impact is consistently severe for all four ecosystem services. (2) A subset of drivers and stressors pose important threats across the ecosystem services explored, including climate change, commercial fishing, sedimentation and pollution. (3) Climate change and commercial fishing contribute to prominent indirect impacts across ecosystem services by exacerbating regional impacts, namely sedimentation and pollution. The prevalence and magnitude of these indirect, networked impacts highlights the need for approaches like this to understand mechanisms of impact, in order to develop strategies to manage them. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2017,SEP 1 J,"Almagro, A; Oliveira, PTS; Nearing, MA; Hagemann, S",Projected climate change impacts in rainfall erosivity over Brazil,10.1038/s41598-017-08298-y,"The impacts of climate change on soil erosion may bring serious economic, social and environmental problems. However, few studies have investigated these impacts on continental scales. Here we assessed the influence of climate change on rainfall erosivity across Brazil. We used observed rainfall data and downscaled climate model output based on Hadley Center Global Environment Model version 2 (HadGEM2-ES) and Model for Interdisciplinary Research On Climate version 5 (MIROC5), forced by Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and 8.5, to estimate and map rainfall erosivity and its projected changes across Brazil. We estimated mean values of 10,437 mm ha(-1) h(-1) year(-1) for observed data (1980-2013) and 10,089 MJ mm ha(-1) h(-1) year(-1) and 10,585 MJ mm ha(-1) h(-1) year(-1) for HadGEM2-ES and MIROC5, respectively (1961-2005). Our analysis suggests that the most affected regions, with projected rainfall erosivity increases ranging up to 109% in the period 2007-2040, are northeastern and southern Brazil. Future decreases of as much as -71% in the 2071-2099 period were estimated for the southeastern, central and northwestern parts of the country. Our results provide an overview of rainfall erosivity in Brazil that may be useful for planning soil and water conservation, and for promoting water and food security.",SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2017,ago 15 J,"Tammi, I; Mustajarvi, K; Rasinmaki, J",Integrating spatial valuation of ecosystem services into regional planning and development,10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.11.008,"The transition of the ecosystem service framework from academic discourse into practical land use management and policy guidance is in the making. Planners and decision makers seek spatial valuation data, comprehensive examples of which are few or hindered by sectoral research traditions. We present a case of linking land use to multimethod spatial ecosystem service valuation aiming at comprehensiveness and commensurability, based on a project run parallel to regional land-use planning in the Tampere region, Finland. A spectrum of ecosystem services was scrutinized, the annual value of which was estimated at ?0.8-lB. Compared to land-use planning, core areas of ecological networks proved relatively poor in terms of valuation, but hot-spots of human-nature interaction such as recreational, groundwater and landscape areas immensely valuable. Strong urban-rural trends in ecosystem service value were found, emphasizing the importance of urban nature and the context-specificity of natural capital discourse. We argue that some mismatches exist between the ecosystem service framework and its practical applicability, and that the main problem is not necessarily the transferability of tools and indicators, but the transfer of valuation and the assumptions and choices behind it. Notwithstanding its problems, the applied framework proved valuable in evaluating and guiding future land use.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,AUG J,"Hermanns, T; Helming, K; Konig, HJ; Schmidt, K; Li, QR; Faust, H",Sustainability impact assessment of peatland-use scenarios: Confronting land use supply with demand,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.02.002,"Sustainable development of land use is determined by changes of the regional supply of Land Use Functions (LUFs) and the demand of future societal land use claims. LUFs are based on the ecosystem services concept, but more adapted to human land use. In this paper, we assessed two peatland-use scenarios towards sustainable development in Northeast Germany in order to understand their impacts on LUFs and land use claims. For this, we extended an analytical framework designed to confront LUFs with land use claims identified in multi-level stakeholder strategies in a participatory manner. The sustainability assessment was performed with peatland-use scenarios Services for services and Market determines usage that favoured environmental and economic land use claims, respectively. Findings revealed possible trade-offs between land use claims for biomass production and regional value creation as well as for peatlands carbon and nutrient sink, and habitat functions. The core achievement is an extended sustainability assessment framework integrating land use demands of multi-level stakeholder strategies into participatory impact assessment, in a way that land use claims serve as benchmarks for LUFs. This facilitates the understanding of sustainable land use in both supply and demand perspective, and the normative evaluation of ecosystem services.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,AUG J,"Sherrouse, BC; Semmens, DJ; Ancona, ZH; Brunner, NM",Analyzing land-use change scenarios for trade-offs among cultural ecosystem services in the Southern Rocky Mountains,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.02.003,"Significant increases in outdoor recreation participants are projected over the next 50 years for national forests across the United States, with even larger increases possible for forests located in the Southern Rocky Mountains. Forest managers will be challenged to balance increasing demand for outdoor recreation with other ecosystem services. Future management needs could be better anticipated with information describing how and where stakeholders value these forests' cultural ecosystem services, as well as how management might impact these values. We analyzed land-use change scenarios to quantify changes in aesthetic and recreational ecosystem service values and assessed trade-offs between these values relative to forest stakeholder groups defined by their attitudes regarding motorized recreation. We adapted the GIS tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), for scenario analysis and applied it to two national forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains to examine impacts of road-network expansion on stakeholder values. Our approach allowed us to quantify changes in the spatial distribution and intensity of aesthetic and recreation values. Trade-off assessments between the two values indicated that areas of conflicting value changes were limited, even when accounting for different user groups. However, this approach could be an important means of conflict resolution for multi-use management.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,AUG J,"Gulacha, MM; Mulungu, DMM",Generation of climate change scenarios for precipitation and temperature at local scales using SDSM in Wami-Ruvu River Basin Tanzania,10.1016/j.pce.2016.10.003,"The Wami-Ruvu River Basin is important for socio-economic activities in country such as water supply for Dar es Salaam and Morogoro cities, and major agricultural activities such as sugarcane irrigation at Mtibwa and Bagamoyo. Due to projected climate change and its impacts at global scale, it is important to understand future climate change impacts on water resources of Wami-Ruvu River basin. Rainfall and temperature are key variables for analysis of water resources and were used in this study. The statistical downscaling model (SDSM) was used to downscale the coarse global circulation model (GCM) to local scales by involving predictor predictand relationship. The predictor variables were selected based on partial correlation value (partial r) and significance value (p-value). For assessment of climate change, the baseline period was 30 years during 1961-1990. The baseline period was partitioned into two periods for SDSM calibration and validation: 1961-1975 and 1976-1990 'respectively. In this case, ground stations and the U.S. National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis atmospheric data were used. During validation, the inbuilt scenario generator was used to generate simulated time series for five stations: Morogoro Maji, Ulaya, Ukaguru, Morogoro Airport, Dodoma Airport and Ruvu at Morogoro Rd. Brd. For precipitation, the SDSM's R-2 (-) for the two periods ranged 0.07-0.20 and 0.21-0.63 respectively. The respective coefficient of correlation, r (-) ranged 0.03-0.05 and 0.46-0.80, indicating low to high performance of the SDSM. The respective R-2 (-) values for temperature ranged: 0.42-0.5 and 0.6-0.98 respectively. The calibrated SDSM model was then used to downscale Global Circulation Model (GCM) scenario data to the local scales. The GCM used was HadCM3 where A2 and B2 scenarios were used. The climate change scenarios were determined using change factors. Results showed that for Wami-Ruvu basin the mean rainfall will change by -44-107%, -69-328% and 68-648% during 2020s, 2050s and 2080s for A2 scenario while by -37-117%, -56-199 and -76-346% respectively for B2 scenario as compared to the baseline period. In all cases, Ulaya and Morogoro Maji stations presented the lowest and highest extremes in the ranges. The downscaled and projected average monthly maximum temperature indicated increasing trend from 0.2 to 7.5 degrees C in 2020s-2080s time period. The minimum temperature showed decreasing trend from -0.4 to -1.5 degrees C during the same periods. These results indicate potential for floods or droughts occurrence in the basin, accordingly adaptation measures will be necessary. (c) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE EARTH,2017,AUG J,"Temperli, C; Stadelmann, G; Thurig, E; Brang, P",Timber mobilization and habitat tree retention in low-elevation mixed forests in Switzerland: an inventory-based scenario analysis of opportunities and constraints,10.1007/s10342-017-1067-y,"Timber use in central Europe is expected to increase in the future, in line with forest policy goals to strengthen local wood supply for CO2-neutral energy production, construction and other uses. Growing stocks in low-elevation forests in Switzerland are currently high as exemplified by the Swiss canton of Aargau, for which an average volume of 346 +/- 16 m(3) ha(-1) was measured in the 3rd Swiss National forest inventory (NFI) in 2004-2006. While this may justify a reduction of growing stocks through increased timber harvesting, we asked whether such a strategy may conflict with the sustainability of timber production and conservation goals. We evaluated a range of operationally relevant forest management scenarios that varied with respect to rotation length, growing stock targets and the promotion of conifers in the regeneration. The scenarios aimed at increased production of softwood, energy wood, the retention of potential habitat trees (PHTs) and the conversion to a continuous cover management system. They were used to drive the inventory-based forest simulator MASSIMO for 100 years starting in 2007 using the NFI sampling plots in Aargau. We analyzed model outputs with respect to projected future growing stock, growth, timber and energy yield and harvesting costs. We found growing stock to drop to 192 m(3) ha(-1) in 2106 if business-as-usual (BAU as observed between the 2nd and 3rd NFI) timber volumes were set as harvesting targets for the whole simulation period. The promotion of conifers and a reduction of rotation lengths in a softwood scenario yielded 25% more timber over the whole simulation period than BAU. An energy wood scenario that reduced growing stock to 200 m(3) ha(-1) by 2056 and promoted the natural broadleaved regeneration yielded 9% more timber than BAU before 2056 and 30% less thereafter due to decreasing increments. The softwood scenario resulted in higher energy yield than the energy wood scenario despite the lower energy content of softwood. Retaining PHT resulted in a reduction of timber harvest (0.055 m(3) ha(-1) yr(-1) per habitat tree) and higher harvesting costs. Continuous cover management yielded moderate timber amounts throughout the simulation period, yet sustainably. Considering climate change, we discuss the risks associated with favoring drought- and disturbance-susceptible conifers at low elevations and emphasize that continuous cover management must allow for the regeneration of drought-adapted tree species. In conclusion, our simulations show potential for short-term increases in timber mobilization but also that such increases need to be carefully balanced with future forest productivity and other forest ecosystem services.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH,2017,AUG J,"Dee, LE; De Lara, M; Costello, C; Gaines, SD",To what extent can ecosystem services motivate protecting biodiversity?,10.1111/ele.12790,"Society increasingly focuses on managing nature for the services it provides people rather than for the existence of particular species. How much biodiversity protection would result from this modified focus? Although biodiversity contributes to ecosystem services, the details of which species are critical, and whether they will go functionally extinct in the future, are fraught with uncertainty. Explicitly considering this uncertainty, we develop an analytical framework to determine how much biodiversity protection would arise solely from optimising net value from an ecosystem service. Using stochastic dynamic programming, we find that protecting a threshold number of species is optimal, and uncertainty surrounding how biodiversity produces services makes it optimal to protect more species than are presumed critical. We define conditions under which the economically optimal protection strategy is to protect all species, no species, and cases in between. We show how the optimal number of species to protect depends upon different relationships between species and services, including considering multiple services. Our analysis provides simple criteria to evaluate when managing for particular ecosystem services could warrant protecting all species, given uncertainty. Evaluating this criterion with empirical estimates from different ecosystems suggests that optimising some services will be more likely to protect most species than others.",ECOLOGY LETTERS,2017,AUG J,"Spijkers, J; Boonstra, WJ",Environmental change and social conflict: the northeast Atlantic mackerel dispute,10.1007/s10113-017-1150-4,"A recurrent critique of the proposition of a causal relation between environmental change and social conflict is that it fails to account for the complexities and dynamics of processes of social-ecological change. In this article, we open the black box of contextual factors that influence the causal pathway from environmental change to social conflict. Firstly, we argue for the consideration of three social factors that influence that pathway: (a) institutions, (b) power, and (c) knowledge. Taking a deductive approach, we ascertain their causal importance in the case of the mackerel dispute, an interstate conflict that unfolded after the abrupt and rapid change in distribution of the northeast Atlantic mackerel stock after 2007. We analyze the historical development of the mackerel dispute through process tracing and demonstrate the importance and causal role of the three factors. Secondly, based on our assessment, we argue to increase the diversity of the scope conditions relevant for the environmental change-social conflict nexus. We propose to consider a wider variety of conflicts as outcome of environmental change, high-income regions as an arena for those conflicts, and a wider variety of environmental change, such as alterations in abundance in the context of climate change. Lastly, we discuss how future research on this topic can handle the wider scope conditions and greater case variability.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,AUG J,"Haile, G; Lemenih, M; Senbeta, F; Itanna, F",Plant diversity and determinant factors across smallholder agricultural management units in Central Ethiopia,10.1007/s10457-016-0038-5,"Forests in the highlands of Ethiopia have declined considerably, and the supply of forest-based ecosystem services is eroding. Managing agricultural landscapes as well as enhancing plant biodiversity in agro-ecosystems is and will continue to be one possible strategy to preserve biodiversity, ensure an ecosystem service supply and sustain agricultural productivity. This study investigated the current status and prospects of plant diversity and its determinants in an agricultural landscape dominated by smallholder farmers in Southern Ethiopia. Specifically, the study investigated effects of land use, altitudinal gradient, wealth status and household attributes on plant diversity in agricultural landscapes. A complete count, Y-frame transect sampling method and household interviews were used for the study involving 39 households and 115 sample plots. A total of 166 plant species belonging to 134 genera and 56 families were recorded in all land use types. Of these, 101 were woody plant species (51 trees and 50 shrubs), while 65 were cultivated herbs and grasses. Land use, altitude and household wealth status significantly influenced tree and shrub species richness. Among land uses, home gardens hosted the highest number of tree and shrub species. Upper altitudes and rich households also had the highest tree and shrub species richness compared to others. Plant diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson and Margalef) were affected by altitude, wealth status and land use types. Household location, wealth status, the household attributes of landholding and family size had strong and positive influences on the tree species diversity and woody stem density of households, while educational background and off-farm income were negatively related with household-owned tree stem density. Species preference ranking, seedling demand and importance value index computations indicated the dominance of exotic tree species, which may suggest their economic importance over indigenous tree species. In the long term, this might lead to dominance of exotic tree species in the landscapes, which could cause a potential future threat to the remnant indigenous plant diversity that is currently finding refuge in the agricultural landscapes.",AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS,2017,AUG J,"Kubiszewski, I; Costanza, R; Anderson, S; Sutton, P",The future value of ecosystem services: Global scenarios and national implications,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.05.004,"We estimated the future value of ecosystem services in monetary units for 4 alternative global land use and management scenarios based on the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) scenarios to the year 2050. We used previous estimates of the per biome values of ecosystem services in 2011 as the basis for comparison. We mapped projected land-use for 16 biomes at 1 km(2) resolution globally for each scenario. This, combined with differences in land management for each scenario, created estimates of global ecosystem services values that also allowed for examinations of individual countries. Results show that under different scenarios the global value of ecosystem services can decline by $51 trillion/yr or increase by USD $30 trillion/yr. In addition to the global values, we report totals for all countries and maps for a few example countries. Results show that adopting a set of policies similar to those required to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, would greatly enhance ecosystem services, human wellbeing and sustainability. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,AUG J,"Crane, RA; Sinnett, DE; Cleall, PJ; Sapsford, DJ",Physicochemical composition of wastes and co-located environmental designations at legacy mine sites in the south west of England and Wales: Implications for their resource potential,10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.08.009,"This work examines the potential for resource recovery and/or remediation of metalliferous mine wastes in the south west of England and Wales. It does this through an assessment of the physicochemical composition of several key metalliferous legacy mine waste piles and an analysis of their co-location with cultural, geological and ecological designations. Mine waste samples were taken from 14 different sites and analysed for metal content, mineralogy, paste pH, particle size distribution, total organic carbon and total inorganic carbon. The majority of sites contain relatively high concentrations (in some cases up to several % by mass) of metals and metalloids, including Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Ag and Sn, many of which exceed ecological and/or human health risk guideline concentrations. However, the economic value of metals in the waste could be used to offset rehabilitation costs. Spatial analysis of all metalliferous mine sites in the south west of England and Wales found that around 70% are co-located with at least one cultural, geological and ecological designation. All 14 sites investigated are co-located with designations related to their mining activities, either due to their historical significance, rare species assemblages or geological characteristics. This demonstrates the need to consider the cultural and environmental impacts of rehabilitation and/or resource recovery on such sites. Further work is required to identify appropriate non-invasive methodologies to allow sites to be rehabilitated at minimal cost and disturbance. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.",RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING,2017,AUG J,"Shortall, R; Davidsdottir, B",How to measure national energy sustainability performance: An Icelandic case-study,10.1016/j.esd.2017.03.005,"The development of sustainable energy systems is now firmly on the international agenda. Nations and their governments must strive to implement energy policies that facilitate sustainable development for society. Although Iceland is highly ranked by currently available energy indices, controversy has surrounded the development of previously undeveloped areas for power development and Iceland now finds itself at a crossroads regarding future energy developments. Well-designed indices for measuring the sustainability of energy systems can help policy-makers make the best choices for their national circumstances. However, often indicators and indices suffer from limitations and it may not be advisable to implement indicators designed for global comparisons at local, regional or even national scales. Nonetheless, indices such as those developed by the World Economic Council (WEC), World Economic Forum (WEF) for ranking countries and indicator sets such as the International Atomic Energy Agency's Energy (IAEA) Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development (EISD) may still be useful guides to decision-makers when designing their own national measurement tools provided the indicators fulfil certain criteria. Through interviews with key energy practitioners and decision-makers in energy development in Iceland and an extensive literature review, we identify the challenges faced in sustainable energy development in Iceland. We assess the suitability of indices proposed by organisations like the WEC, WEF and IAEA for reliably measuring the sustainability of energy development in individual countries like Iceland. We find that the indices and indicators evaluated suffer from commonly cited limitations including lack of methodological transparency, misalignment with sustainable development principles, inappropriate metrics, lack of clear targets, failure to capture socio-ecological impacts at different scales and failure to meet the interest of the target audience. Hence, they do not facilitate effective measurement of progress towards sustainable energy development for individual nations. Important issues relating to energy affordability and equity, environmental sustainability, efficiency, energy security and renewables are neglected by the indicators in all cases, although it should be said that the IAEA indicators are more comprehensive in their coverage of energy efficiency, renewables and environmental sustainability. In each case the indicators are at best only partially relevant to the Icelandic case, due to the country's unique energy mix, environment, economic structure and size and standard of living. By identifying their limitations and by examining them in light of criteria for good indicators as recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), we contribute to the discussion on the value and validity of indicators, indices and frameworks. Knowing the potential pitfalls, we are in a better position to design a more effective measurement tool. We conclude that a more comprehensive, multi-level, context-specific measurement tool would be needed for measuring national energy sustainability in Iceland and would require methods that allow broad public participation. (C) 2017 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2017,AUG J,"Chen, WY; Liekens, I; Broekx, S",Identifying Societal Preferences for River Restoration in a Densely Populated Urban Environment: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in Central Brussels,10.1007/s00267-017-0885-5,"One of the major challenges facing river restoration in densely populated urban areas has been the disparity between the expectations of policy-makers and societal preferences. This study aimed to elicit public preferences and elucidate underlying sources of preference heterogeneity, using the Zenne River in central Brussels, Belgium, as a case study. A discrete choice experiment was administered to a representative sample of the Brussels population. Five attributes were specified, including water quality, ecological status, hydromorphological features of channels, recreational opportunities, and monetary cost. Our econometric analysis based on mixed logit models revealed that overall public would like to have a more natural river (open and naturalized channel, good water quality, and with rich species diversity), while achieving good water quality was the most preferred attribute. Respondents categorized as male, non-Belgian citizen, or not being a member of an environmental organization constituted an inclination to prefer the status quo. Belgian citizens showed a pronounced preference for good biodiversity, and being a member of an environmental organization could moderate the strong preference for good water quality. This study provided insights into the relative attractiveness of key attributes pertaining to river restoration, in general, and served as a useful input to the ongoing discussion concerning the future plan for the Zenne River in Brussels, specifically. Possible implications also exist for other urban river restorations in the rest of Europe, where the Water Framework Directive has become a major impetus for the expansion of freshwater ecosystem restoration from rural and peri-urban areas to densely populated urban areas. Particularly, the cultural heterogeneity of societal preferences should be tested and accounted for to compare the welfare impacts of river restoration and to facilitate benefit transfer, within and between river basins, in the Water Framework Directive implementation.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2017,AUG J,"Adams, VM; Alvarez-Romero, JG; Capon, SJ; Crowley, GM; Dale, AP; Kennard, MJ; Douglas, MM; Pressey, RL",Making time for space: The critical role of spatial planning in adapting natural resource management to climate change,10.1016/j.envsci.2017.05.003,"Climate change is driving shifts in social-ecological systems globally. In response, humans must adapt to altered climatic and environmental conditions. While climate change adaptation is a pressing issue in many sectors and regions, the adaptation of environmental management strategies is particularly urgent because of the severity and extent of risks associated with projected impacts. Robust adaptation of environmental management requires effective spatial and temporal implementation of interventions, with explicit consideration of trade-offs between different socio-economic and environmental objectives. We investigate the critical interface between regional governance systems and spatial planning for climate adaptation by exploring the case of Australia's Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies. Australia's NRM bodies provide an ideal case study for two reasons. First, Australia faces significant threats from current and future climate changes. Second, Australian NRM bodies have recently undertaken a major program of spatial planning and research to explicitly address the need for climate adaptation. We explore the interface between regional governance systems and spatial planning by: 1) reviewing the historical development of institutional arrangements in relation to spatial planning by Australia's regional NRM bodies; 2) documenting current planning processes with regard to climate adaptation and more generally; and 3) identifying strengths and weaknesses of the existing governance system at various scales with respect to its ability to foster effective spatial planning. We find that the institutional and resource capacity of the Australian regional NRM bodies is currently being eroded and that the national governance system is broadly failing to deliver on the intended outcomes of climate-ready NRM plans. We make recommendations for governance reform and institutional adaptation to improve spatial planning for climate adaptation in Australia and discuss the broader implications of our findings.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2017,AUG J,"Sreetheran, M","Exploring the urban park use, preference and behaviours among the residents of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia",10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.003,"The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since findings that been discovered in the Western context are not own any similarities with the Asian context. In fact, it has been in a long run for the Western nations to primarily contextualized and conceptualized much on the literature of park usage. This study aims to look at how the people use and perceive urban parks in their daily life in the Malaysian cultural context, and also highlights the constraints faced by Malaysians while using the urban parks in the city of Kuala Lumpur. A survey consisted of 669 urban park users as the sample of the study (365 men, 304 females) aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 34.85, SD = 11.46) were conducted in five urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents were recruited based on a random sampling method, which composed of three main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Malaysians wanted to use the urban parks for multiple purposes including active activities and others. Most of them would visit the parks and spend their time in a group consisting of family members or friends rather than alone. The percentage of respondent with 74.7% stated their reason of visiting the urban park in order to get fresh air, followed by the factor of reducing stress and relaxing with 69.7%; and the latter reason would be to exercise, play games or keep in shape with 61.4%. More than 80% of the respondents claimed the parks in Kuala Lumpur are safe to be visited. This is because, majority of the respondents tend to visit the parks in group of family or friends rather than alone. In addition, most of the respondents would run their activities in parks during the weekends, which simultaneously make them to enjoy their day in such comfortable and secure way. The findings of this survey would contribute to a better understanding of the present park usage of Kuala Lumpur residents. With a better understanding of current park-visiting habits, various constraints faced by the residents related to public security and safety, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall have been suggested to develop more comprehensive strategy in order to provide engagement and urban parks stimulation for its residents. In addition, this study is also fruitful for Kuala Lumpur future parks in terms of its development, design and management.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2017,JUL J,"Carrasco, LR; Nghiem, TP; Chen, ZR; Barbieri, EB",Unsustainable development pathways caused by tropical deforestation,10.1126/sciadv.1602602,"Global sustainability strategies require assessing whether countries' development trajectories are sustainable over time. However, sustainability assessments are limited because losses of natural capital and its ecosystem services through deforestation have not been comprehensively incorporated into national accounts. We update the national accounts of 80 nations that underwent tropical deforestation from 2000 to 2012 and evaluate their development trajectories using weak and strong sustainability criteria. Weak sustainability requires that countries do not decrease their aggregate capital over time. We adopt a strong sustainability criterion that countries do not decrease the value of their forest ecosystem services with respect to the year 2000. We identify several groups of countries: countries, such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India, that present sustainable development trajectories under both weak and strong sustainability criteria; countries, such as Brazil, Peru, and Indonesia, that present weak sustainable development but fail the strong sustainability criterion as a result of rapid losses of ecosystem services; countries, such as Madagascar, Laos, and Papua New Guinea, that present unsustainable development pathways as a result of deforestation; and countries, such as Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, in which deforestation aggravates already unsustainable pathways. Our results reveal a large number of countries where tropical deforestation is both damaging to nature and not compensated by development in other sectors, thus compromising the well-being of their future generations.",SCIENCE ADVANCES,2017,JUL J,"Hyndman, B",Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings from the GET-PE study,10.14221/ajte.2017v42n7.3,"Identifying and understanding the perceptions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) is vital to informing teaching practices. The purpose of the 'Generalist Entry into Teaching Physical Education' (GET-PE) study was to investigate Australian generalist PSTs' perceptions of the barriers to teaching physical education (PE) classes. A social-ecological model framework (SEM) was uniquely applied as the conceptual framework for the GET-PE study to analyse, explore and understand the multiple levels of barriers perceived by the generalist PSTs. A myriad of SEM level barriers were perceived by the generalist PSTs (n=71) at the intrapersonal level (knowledge gaps, physical abilities, reduced confidence), interpersonal level (community influence, concentration/focus of students, inclusive teaching, misbehaviour, modelling effective practice, motivation of students), physical environment level (technology/screen time, weather) and policy levels (balancing content, professional development opportunities, recognition of PE, work-life balance). With mounting demands on schools, PSTs must continually improve preparation and readiness for teaching practical subjects such as PE. By developing multi-level SEM insight from the GET-PE study into the barriers for generalist PSTs to teaching PE, teacher education programs can reflect upon the socialisation processes for PSTs and facilitate learning environments that meet the needs of our future teachers.",AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION,2017,JUL J,"Yirsaw, E; Wu, W; Shi, XP; Temesgen, H; Bekele, B","Land Use/Land Cover Change Modeling and the Prediction of Subsequent Changes in Ecosystem Service Values in a Coastal Area of China, the Su-Xi-Chang Region",10.3390/su9071204,"Monitoring the impact of current Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) management practices on future Ecosystem Services (ESs) provisioning has been emphasized because of the effect of such practices on ecological sustainability. We sought to model and predict the impacts of future LULC changes on subsequent changes in Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) in fragile environments undergoing complex LULC changes, Su-Xi-Chang region. After mapping and classifying the LULC for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010 using GIS and remote sensing, a Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov model was employed to model future LULC changes for the year 2020. ESV was predicted using the projected LULC data and the modified ES coefficients adopted by Xie et al. (2003). The projected results of the changes in LULC reveal that construction land expanded extensively, mainly at the expense of farmland, wetland, and water bodies. The predicted results of the ESVs indicate that water bodies and farmland are the dominant LULC categories, accounting for 90% of the total ESV. Over the study period, ESVs were diminished by 7.3915 billion CNY, mostly because of the decrease in farmland, water bodies, and wetland. A reasonable land use plan should be developed with an emphasis on controlling construction land encroachment on farmland, wetlands, and water bodies. The rules of ecological protection should be followed in LULC management to preserve ecological resources.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,JUL J,"Kemp, C; van Riper, CJ; BouFajreldin, L; Stewart, WP; Scheunemann, J; van den Born, RJG",Connecting human-nature relationships to environmental behaviors that minimize the spread of aquatic invasive species,10.1007/s10530-017-1418-0,"Management of aquatic invasive species (AIS) is widely recognized as a global conservation concern driven by myriad factors, particularly individual behaviors. A burgeoning literature focused on the human dimensions of AIS has begun to provide insight into the complexities of behavior change; however, most studies are bound to specific geographic locales and have prevented resource management agencies from making regionally valid statements about the anthropogenic factors contributing to biological invasions. We examined stakeholders' awareness and knowledge of AIS transmission in an evaluation of educational outreach campaign logos and illustrated how human-nature relationships were related to behaviors relevant to AIS reduction at two case study sites. Drawing from a thematic analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with organisms-in-trade hobbyists and recreational water users in the state of Illinois, we observed high awareness of environmental impacts and modes of transmission by the two groups. Both awareness advanced through AIS outreach and a diversity of human-nature relationships were helpful for understanding reported environmental behaviors. Specifically, stakeholders' views of their relationships with nature affected decisions to engage in activities that contributed to social-ecological change. Results also revealed preferences for national rather than state-level outreach campaign logos, which carry implications for designing communication strategies that will minimize the likelihood of biological invasions in freshwater ecosystems.",BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS,2017,JUL J,"Kim, M; You, S; Chon, J; Lee, J",Sustainable Land-Use Planning to Improve the Coastal Resilience of the Social-Ecological Landscape,10.3390/su9071086,"The dynamics of land-use transitions decrease the coastal resilience of the social-ecological landscape (SEL), particularly in light of the fact that it is necessary to analyze the causal relationship between the two systems because operations of the social system and the ecological system are correlated. The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the coastal SEL and create a sustainable land-use planning (SLUP) strategy to enhance coastal resilience. The selected study site was Shindu-ri, South Korea, where land-use transitions are increasing and coastal resilience is therefore decreasing. Systems thinking was used to analyze the study, which was performed in four steps. First, the issues affecting the coastal area in Shindu-ri were defined as coastal landscape management, the agricultural structure, and the tourism industry structure. Second, the main variables for each issue were defined, and causal relationships between the main variables were created. Third, a holistic causal loop diagram was built based on both dynamic thinking and causal thinking. Fourth, five land-uses, including those of the coastal forest, the coastal grassland, the coastal dune, the agricultural area, and developed sites, were selected as leverage points for developing SLUP strategies to increase coastal resilience. The results show that decrease in the size of the coastal forest, decrease in the size of the coastal dune, and increase in the size of the coastal grasslands were considered parts of a land-use plan to enhance the resilience of the Shindu-ri SEL. This study developed integrated coastal land-use planning strategies that may provide effective solutions for complex and dynamic issues in the coastal SEL. Additionally, the results may be utilized as basic data to build and implement coastal land-use planning strategies.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,JUL J,"Hoyle, H; Jorgensen, A; Warren, P; Dunnett, N; Evans, K",Not in their front yard The opportunities and challenges of introducing perennial urban meadows: A local authority stakeholder perspective,10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.009,"The growing evidence base for the benefits for people and wildlife of nature-based solutions to managing urban green infrastructure lacks research investigating land manager perspectives on their implementation. To address this gap, we explored UK local authority manager perceptions of the challenges and opportunities of introducing perennial urban meadows to prioritise biodiversity and aesthetics. This was co-produced as an experiment in urban greenspaces with Luton Parks Service and Bedford Borough Council 2013-15. We conducted semistructured interviews with the eight stakeholder managers involved to identify key factors impacting on the perceived feasibility of future urban meadow establishment in other areas. All managers identified three dominant factors (aesthetics and public reaction, locational context, and human resources and economic sustainability). Additional factors (local politics, communication, biodiversity and existing habitat and physical factors) varied in importance according to personal values and managerial role. Support for future meadow introduction and a desire to overcome the economic challenge of the disposal of meadow arisings were related to manager biocentricity. Managers were aware of changing public values leading to increasing acceptance of a messier urban aesthetic. They perceived perennial meadows as a realistic alternative to amenity mown grass that in specific contexts could increase local biodiversity and enhance aesthetics if implemented in consultation with the public and local councillors. Our findings have relevance for the wider implementation of such nature-based solutions to urban GI management: Changes in management practice such as the introduction of perennial meadows have significant political, strategic, economic and practical implications and cannot be viewed purely as a technical challenge.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2017,JUL J,"Haddad, B; Liazid, A; Ferreira, P",A multi-criteria approach to rank renewables for the Algerian electricity system,10.1016/j.renene.2017.01.035,"Currently, the Algerian energy system relies almost exclusively on fossil resources, but a new paradigm is emerging in the country. The Algeria program on renewable energy and energy efficiency established the ambitious goal of deriving 40% of electricity production from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2030. This study addresses the sustainability objectives of this program using a methodology, which combines an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and experts' feedback to evaluate different renewable energy options. The performance of different RES options was assessed against 13 sub-criteria reflecting social, environmental, economic and technical concerns. The results highlighted the importance of social and environmental criteria as the main drivers for the obtained final ranking, with three of these sub-criteria weighting 35% in the decision process. Solar power was shown to be particularly well suited for Algeria, outperforming most of the other renewable options in a large set of highly weighted criteria. Wind power ranked second, followed by biomass, geothermal and lastly by hydropower. Wind and solar power together achieved a total score of more than 0.5 out of 1. From the results, policy implications were drawn and directions for future research were suggested. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",RENEWABLE ENERGY,2017,JUL J,"Gressard, L; DeGroff, AS; Richards, TB; Melillo, S; Kish-Doto, J; Heminger, CL; Rohan, EA; Allen, KG",A qualitative analysis of smokers' perceptions about lung cancer screening,10.1186/s12889-017-4496-0,"Background: In 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) began recommending lung cancer screening for high risk smokers aged 550-80 years using low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan. In light of these updated recommendations, there is a need to understand smokers' knowledge of and experiences with lung cancer screening in order to inform the design of patient education and tobacco cessation programs. The purpose of this study is to describe results of a qualitative study examining smokers' perceptions around lung cancer screening tests. Methods: In 2009, prior to the release of the updated USPSTF recommendations, we conducted 12 120-min, gender-specific focus groups with 105 current smokers in Charlotte, North Carolina and Cincinnati, Ohio. Focus group facilitators asked participants about their experience with three lung cancer screening tests, including CT scan, chest x-ray, and sputum cytology. Focus group transcripts were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using constant comparative methods. Results: Participants were 41-67 years-old, with a mean smoking history of 38.9 pack-years. Overall, 34.3% would meet the USPSTF's current eligibility criteria for screening. Most participants were unaware of all three lung cancer screening tests. The few participants who had been screened recalled limited information about the test. Nevertheless, many participants expressed a strong desire to pursue lung cancer screening. Using the social ecological model for health promotion, we identified potential barriers to lung cancer screening at the 1) health care system level (cost of procedure, confusion around results), 2) cultural level (fatalistic beliefs, distrust of medical system), and 3) individual level (lack of knowledge, denial of risk, concerns about the procedure). Although this study was conducted prior to the updated USPSTF recommendations, these findings provide a baseline for future studies examining smokers' perceptions of lung cancer screening. Conclusion: We recommend clear and patient-friendly educational tools to improve patient understanding of screening risks and benefits and the use of best practices to help smokers quit. Further qualitative studies are needed to assess changes in smokers' perceptions as lung cancer screening with CT scan becomes more widely used in community practice.",BMC PUBLIC HEALTH,2017,jun 21 J,"Xue, H; Cao, SY; Li, HX; Zhang, J; Niu, J; Chen, LN; Zhang, FH; Zhao, DG",De novo transcriptome assembly and quantification reveal differentially expressed genes between soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate (Punica granatum L.),10.1371/journal.pone.0178809,"Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) belongs to Punicaceae, and is valued for its social, ecological, economic, and aesthetic values, as well as more recently for its health benefits. The 'Tunisia' variety has softer seeds and big arils that are easily swallowed. It is a widely popular fruit; however, the molecular mechanisms of the formation of hard and soft seeds is not yet clear. We conducted a de novo assembly of the seed transcriptome in P. granatum L. and revealed differential gene expression between the soft-seed and hard-seed pomegranate varieties. A total of 35.1 Gb of data were acquired in this study, including 280,881,106 raw reads. Additionally, de novo transcriptome assembly generated 132,287 transcripts and 105,743 representative unigenes; approximately 13,805 unigenes (37.7%) were longer than 1,000 bp. Using bioinformatics annotation libraries, a total of 76,806 unigenes were annotated and, among the high-quality reads, 72.63% had at least one significant match to an existing gene model. Gene expression and differentially expressed genes were analyzed. The seed formation of the two pomegranate cultivars involves lignin biosynthesis and metabolism, including some genes encoding laccase and peroxidase, WRKY, MYB, and NAC transcription factors. In the hard-seed pomegranate, lignin-related genes and cellulose synthesis-related genes were highly expressed; in soft-seed pomegranates, expression of genes related to flavonoids and programmed cell death was slightly higher. We validated selection of the identified genes using qRT-PCR. This is the first transcriptome analysis of P. granatum L. This transcription sequencing greatly enriched the pomegranate molecular database, and the high-quality SSRs generated in this study will aid the gene cloning from pomegranate in the future. It provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of soft seeds in pomegranate.",PLOS ONE,2017,jun 8 J,"Caride Gomez, JA","Social education, human rights and sustainability in community development",10.14201/teoredu291245272,"The article places its contributions in a reflection of a pedagogical and social nature about the links that are established between social education, human rights and sustainability in community development. In this regard, in a historical and prospective key, it places emphasis on the need to promote educational actions that, being consistent with the principles of equity and justice, make it possible to build a more democratic, inclusive and cohesive local-global society. A future expectation that must be confined to educational theories and practices where local communities assume the role they play in their own development processes, with an alternative vision to the ways of educating people and themselves on a daily basis, respectful of human and ecological rights. A line of action that coincides with the commitments made at the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development, adopted by UNESCO, and Resolution A/70/1 adopted by the General Assembly in 2015, Transform our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, guaranteeing lifelong learning for all. In this objective beats a decisive, although not explicit, of a pedagogical-social vocation: to train citizens that, individually and collectively being aware of their role in socio-environmental changes, assume the responsibilities inherent to the values that sustain life in all its diversity. Social education and community development that, by projecting initiatives in different times and social spaces, allows formative opportunities to be expanded beyond the school system and its curricular practices. The Environmental Education and the Local Agenda 21 continue being two references main for the reflection-action educational and community.",TEORIA DE LA EDUCACION,2017,JUN J,"Starkweather, KE",Shodagor Family Strategies Balancing Work and Family on the Water,10.1007/s12110-017-9285-z,"The Shodagor of Matlab, Bangladesh, are a seminomadic community of people who live and work on small wooden boats, within the extensive system of rivers and canals that traverse the country. This unique ecology places particular constraints on family and economic life and leads to Shodagor parents employing one of four distinct strategies to balance childcare and provisioning needs. The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions that lead a family to choose one strategy over another by testing predictions about socioecological factors that impact the sexual division of labor, including a family's stage in the domestic cycle, aspects of the local ecology, and the availability of alloparents. Results show that although each factor has an impact on the division of labor individually, a confluence of these factors best explains within-group, between-family differences in how mothers and fathers divide subsistence and childcare labor. These factors also interact in particular ways for Shodagor families, and it appears that families choose their economic strategies based on the constellation of constraints that they face. The results of these analyses have implications for theory regarding the sexual division of labor across cultures and inform how Shodagor family economic and parenting strategies should be contextualized in future studies.",HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE,2017,JUN J,"Delzeit, R; Zabel, F; Meyer, C; Vaclavik, T",Addressing future trade-offs between biodiversity and cropland expansion to improve food security,10.1007/s10113-016-0927-1,"Potential trade-offs between providing sufficient food for a growing human population in the future and sustaining ecosystems and their services are driven by various biophysical and socio-economic parameters at different scales. In this study, we investigate these trade-offs by using a three-step interdisciplinary approach. We examine (1) how the expected global cropland expansion might affect food security in terms of agricultural production and prices, (2) where natural conditions are suitable for cropland expansion under changing climate conditions, and (3) whether this potential conversion to cropland would affect areas of high biodiversity value or conservation importance. Our results show that on the one hand, allowing the expansion of cropland generally results in an improved food security not only in regions where crop production rises, but also in net importing countries such as India and China. On the other hand, the estimated cropland expansion could take place in many highly biodiverse regions, pointing out the need for spatially detailed and context-specific assessments to understand the possible outcomes of different food security strategies. Our multidisciplinary approach is relevant with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals for implementing and enforcing sustainable pathways for increasing agricultural production, and ensuring food security while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,JUN J,"Schagner, JP; Maes, J; Brander, L; Paracchini, ML; Hartje, V; Dubois, G","Monitoring recreation across European nature areas: A geo-database of visitor counts, a review of literature and a call for a visitor counting reporting standard",10.1016/j.jort.2017.02.004,"Nature recreation and tourism is a substantial ecosystem service of Europe's countryside that has a substantial economic value and contributes considerably to income and employment of local communities. Highlighting the recreational value and economic contribution of nature areas can be used as a strong argument for the funding of protected and recreational areas. The total number of recreational visits of a nature area has been recognised as a major determinant of its economic recreational value and its contribution to local economies. This paper presents an international geo-database on recreational visitor numbers to non-urban ecosystems, containing 1267 observations at 518 separate case study areas throughout Europe. The monitored sites are described by their centroid coordinates and shape files displaying the exact extension of the sites. Therefore, the database illustrates the spatial distribution of visitor counting throughout Europe and can be used for secondary research, such as for validation of spatially explicit recreational ecosystem service models and for identifying relevant drivers of recreational ecosystem services. To develop the database, we review visitor monitoring literature throughout Europe and give an overview of such activities with special attention to visitor counting. We identify one major shortcoming in the available literature, which relates to the presentation, study area definition and methodological reporting of conducted visitor counting studies. Insufficient reporting hampers the identification of the study area, the comparability of different studies and the evaluation of the studies' quality. Based on our findings, we propose a standardised reporting template for visitor counting studies and advanced data sharing for recreational visitor data. Researchers and institutions are invited to report on their visitor counting studies via our web interface at rris. biopama. org/visitor-reporting and thereby contribute to a global visitor database that will be shared via the ESP Visualisation tool. Management implications: The total annual visitor number is the most important variable for defining the relative importance and the economic recreational value of different recreational areas. Due to the importance of visitor counting and its increased attention in the scientific literature we: present a geo-database on recreational visitor statistics for nature areas, which allows identifying sites for which visitor statistics exist and which can be used for secondary research review current practice in recreational visitor counting across nature areas in Europe and give guidance for future applications, identify shortcomings in the methodological reporting of recent visitor monitoring and counting studies and present and recommend reporting standard for all future visitor counting studies in order to improve their comparability and to allow assessing their quality. The reporting standard is translated into a web interface for visitor data collection, which allows for data sharing via a global map-browser.",JOURNAL OF OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM-RESEARCH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT,2017,JUN J,"Zagaria, C; Schulp, CJE; Kizos, T; Gounaridis, D; Verburg, PH","Cultural landscapes and behavioral transformations: An agent-based model for the simulation and discussion of alternative landscape futures in East Lesvos, Greece",10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.03.022,"Agricultural intensification and abandonment have been identified as two of the more prominent and polarizing drivers of landscape change in Europe. These transitions may induce deterioration in landscape functioning and character, particularly in cultural landscapes demonstrative of evolving human-environment dynamics that have sustained environmental benefits through time. Cultural and behavioral motives are important root influences to such landscape transitions, yet efforts to address landscape degradation are often hampered by a failure to account for the heterogeneous decision-making nature of its agents of change and the inherent complexity of socio-ecological systems. Novel techniques are required to further disentangle responses to multi-level drivers and discuss alternative landscape development trajectories. Agent-based models constructed by means of participatory approaches present increasingly applied tools in this context. This study sought to capture and model the future perspectives emerging from presently occurring farming discourses in the region of Gera (Lesvos, Greece), characterized by persistent abandonment of its traditionally managed olive plantations. We constructed an agent-based model iteratively in collaboration with the local farming community and experts in landscape research. Empirical findings informed the model through the construction of a farmer typology, revealhig a heavy reliance of the farming community upon sectorial profitability, prevalent cultural farming motives and emerging landscape initiatives. The model examined the de-coupled role of agricultural profitability and landscapes initiatives in shaping the behavior of land managers, mapping alternative landscape futures over a period of 25 years. Model results illustrate both increased profitability and action by landscape initiatives are required to reverse abandonment trends within the simulated time frame. The hypothesized ability of landscape initiatives to maintain and promote a cultural drive amongst adhering farmers is crucial for securing behavioral transformations towards professionalism. This study confirmed agent-based modelling to be intuitively received by stakeholders who significantly contributed to model structure refinement and the rejection of a status quo scenario. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,JUN J,"Guaraldi, G; Palella, FJ",Clinical implications of aging with HIV infection: perspectives and the future medical care agenda,10.1097/QAD.0000000000001478,"The increasing number of aging HIV-infected (HIV+) persons comprises a unique population at risk for illnesses and syndromes traditionally associated with the elderly. As a result, similar to the current need for primary care providers to manage chronic noninfectious comorbidities among aging persons with well controlled HIV infection, HIV clinical care will need to routinely involve geriatric medicine in a new HIV-geriatric discipline. The objective of this article is to provide a conceptual framework in which HIV and geriatric management considerations for healthcare professionals caring for HIV+ persons are integrated. The provision of contemporary HIV clinical care extends well beyond the achievement of HIV virologic suppression and antiretroviral therapy management and includes a need for careful characterization of geriatric syndromes based upon functional capacity and extent of disability. Screening for geriatric syndromes is both a multidisciplinary and multidimensional process, designed to evaluate an older person's functional ability, physical health, cognition, overall mental health, and socio-environmental circumstances. Although routine incorporation of geriatric assessment into clinical trials involving HIV+ persons is feasible, a current challenge is the availability of a consensus clinical definition of frailty or vulnerability. To maximize the efficiency, value, and convenience of outpatient care visits for older HIV+ persons, these visits should include encounters with multiple providers, including primary care clinicians, social workers, and geriatricians. Challenges may exist in the routine provision of these assessments to older HIV+ persons, but clearly such cross-disciplinary collaboration will not only markedly enhance the care of aging HIV+ persons but may also constitute a model of successful healthcare management that can be applied to all aging persons with changing healthcare needs. Copyright (C) 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.",AIDS,2017,jun 1 J,"Tononi, M; Pietta, A; Bonati, S",Alternative spaces of urban sustainability: results of a first integrative approach in the Italian city of Brescia,10.1111/geoj.12207,"In the face of contemporary economic, environmental, and social changes, one of the main challenges facing cities is to build and realise a vision for a sustainable future. To do so, a number of local sustainability strategies are promoted in urban policymaking with the goal of improving citizens' participation and quality of life. The aim is to empower citizens and enable them to be more active in local and global sustainability issues. This paper focuses on identifying and discussing the alternative spaces in which the future of the city can be collectively envisioned, considering processes of socio-ecological change and power relations, consistent with an urban political ecology. The purpose of such spaces should be to link daily behaviour patterns of sustainability with urban environmental governance through processes of participation. In particular we suggest the adoption of an integrative approach between top-down and bottom-up approaches. One example is an experimental process, called the Altrevie project, which took place in a pilot area of the city of Brescia and involved 150 families. The approach is an example of participatory action research. Its first phase was a sample survey to obtain an initial representation of the lifestyles of the residents. In the second phase, residents learnt to measure their ecological footprint and participated in workshops and laboratories to improve the sustainability of their lifestyles. During the project, we identified and tried to promote alternative spaces in which to imagine and build the sustainable city: spaces of alternative consumption which go beyond the traditional market system (according to alternative economic geographies); and spaces of participation that can promote an integrative method between top-down and bottom-up approaches. These different approaches to urban development create unique conditions for seeking sustainability through innovative and participative visions.",GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL,2017,JUN J,"Rydberg, J; Grommon, E; Huebner, BM; Pleggenkuhle, B",Examining the Correlates of Sex Offender Residence Restriction Violation Rates,10.1007/s10940-016-9303-z,"This research examines the contribution of social ecological factors to the variation in sex offender residence restriction (SORR) violation rates, operationalized as a sex offender residing within a buffer zone around a school or a day care. Drawing on data from two Midwestern states, we utilize a quasi-experimental cohort-control group design to examine the correlates of county-level SORR violation rates among a cohort of post-SORR sex offender parolees, and three counterfactual cohorts (pre-SORR sex offenders, pre- and post-SORR non-sex offender parolees). We model the violation rate using a series of fractional logit regressions, examining the contribution of housing market, environmental justice, and system resource variables. We observe that county-level variation in post-SORR sex offender violation rates is directly associated with concentrated disadvantage and the density of residence restrictions. The direct effect of concentrated disadvantage was unique to the post-SORR sex offender cohort. Model predictions suggest that the relationship between SORR density and concentrated disadvantage varies across the study states. The results suggest that factors found to be associated with sex offender clustering (i.e., housing market characteristics) are not associated with SORR violation rates. Instead, this research suggests a model which allows for the simultaneous influence of environmental justice and system resource effects. Future research on the mechanisms underlying these effects is warranted.",JOURNAL OF QUANTITATIVE CRIMINOLOGY,2017,JUN J,"Sweeney, AM; Wilson, DK; Van Horn, ML",Longitudinal relationships between self-concept for physical activity and neighborhood social life as predictors of physical activity among older African American adults,10.1186/s12966-017-0523-x,"Background: Engaging in regular physical activity (PA) as an older adult has been associated with numerous physical and mental health benefits. The aim of this study is to directly compare how individual-level cognitive factors (self-efficacy for PA, self-determined motivation for PA, self-concept for PA) and neighborhood perceptions of the social factors (neighborhood satisfaction, neighborhood social life) impact moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) longitudinally among older African American adults. Methods: Data were analyzed from a sub-set of older African American adults (N = 224, M-age = 63.23 years, SD = 8. 74, 63.23% female, M-Body Mass Index = 32.01, SD = 7.52) enrolled in the Positive Action for Today's Health trial. MVPA was assessed using 7-day accelerometry-estimates and psychosocial data (self-efficacy for PA, self-determined motivation for PA, self-concept for PA, neighborhood satisfaction, neighborhood social life) were collected at baseline, 12-, 18-, and 24-months. Results: Multilevel growth modeling was used to examine within-and between-person effects of individual-level cognitive and social environmental factors on MVPA. At the between-person level, self-concept (b = 0.872, SE = 0. 239, p < 0.001), and neighborhood social life (b = 0.826, SE = 0.176, p < 0.001) predicted greater MVPA, whereas neighborhood satisfaction predicted lower MVPA (b = -0.422, SE = 0.172, p = 0.015). Among the between-person effects, only average social life was moderated by time (b = 0.361, SE = 0.147, p = 0.014), indicating that the impact of a relatively positive social life on MVPA increased across time. At the within-person level, positive increases in self-concept (b = 0.294, SE = 0.145, p = 0.043) and neighborhood social life (b = 0.270, SE = 0.113, p = 0.017) were associated with increased MVPA. Conclusions: These results suggest that people with a higher average self-concept for PA and a more positive social life engaged in greater average MVPA. Additionally, changes in perceptions of one's neighborhood social life and one's self-concept for PA were associated with greater MVPA over 2 years. These factors may be particularly relevant for future interventions targeting long-term change and maintenance of MVPA in older African Americans.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,2017,mayo 22 J,"Jarvis, JW; Harrington, DW; Manson, H",Exploring parent-reported barriers to supporting their child's health behaviors: a cross-sectional study,10.1186/s12966-017-0508-9,"Background: Parents can influence the health behaviors of their children by engaging in supportive behaviors (e.g., playing outside with their child, limiting recreational screen time). How, and the extent to which parents engage in supportive behaviors may be influenced by perceived barriers. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the frequency, and types, of barriers to providing parental support are dependent on the type of child health behavior being supported (i.e., physical activity, recreational screen time reduction, healthy eating, and sleep). Methods: Study participants were 1140 Ontario parents with at least one child under the age of 18 who completed a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) survey about parental support behaviors. Open-ended responses about perceived barriers to parental support were coded, and aggregated to meta-categories adopted from the social-ecological model (i.e., individual child, individual parent, interpersonal, environmental). Freidman rank sum tests were used to assess differences across child behaviors. Wilcoxon rank sum tests with Bonferroni adjustments were used as a post hoc test for significant Freidman results. Results: There were more barriers reported for supporting physical activity than for any other child behavior (ps < .01, As >= .53). Parents reported more parent level and environmental level barriers to supporting child physical activity versus other behaviors (ps < .001, As >= .55), child level barriers were more frequently reported for supporting healthy eating and sleep (ps < .001, As >= .57), and interpersonal barriers were more frequently reported for supporting recreational screen time reduction (ps < .001, As >= .52). Overall, parents reported more child and parent level barriers versus interpersonal and environmental barriers to supporting child health. Conclusions: Parents experience a variety of barriers to supporting their children's health behaviors. Differences in types of barriers across child health behaviors emerged; however, some frequently reported barriers (e.g., child preferences) were common across behaviors. Interventions promoting parental support should consider strategies that can accommodate parents' busy schedules, and relate to activities that children find enjoyable. Creating supportive environments that help facilitate support behaviors, while minimizing parent level barriers, may be of particular benefit. Future research should explore the impact of barriers on parental support behaviors, and effective strategies for overcoming common barriers.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,2017,mayo 15 J,"Scholten, L; Maurer, M; Lienert, J",Comparing multi-criteria decision analysis and integrated assessment to support long-term water supply planning,10.1371/journal.pone.0176663,"We compare the use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)-or more precisely, models used in multi-attribute value theory (MAVT)-to integrated assessment (IA) models for supporting long-term water supply planning in a small town case study in Switzerland. They are used to evaluate thirteen system scale water supply alternatives in four future scenarios regarding forty-four objectives, covering technical, social, environmental, and economic aspects. The alternatives encompass both conventional and unconventional solutions and differ regarding technical, spatial and organizational characteristics. This paper focuses on the impact assessment and final evaluation step of the structured MCDA decision support process. We analyze the performance of the alternatives for ten stakeholders. We demonstrate the implications of model assumptions by comparing two IA and three MAVT evaluation model layouts of different complexity. For this comparison, we focus on the validity (ranking stability), desirability (value), and distinguishability (value range) of the alternatives given the five model layouts. These layouts exclude or include stakeholder preferences and uncertainties. Even though all five led us to identify the same best alternatives, they did not produce identical rankings. We found that the MAVT-type models provide higher distinguishability and a more robust basis for discussion than the IA-type models. The needed complexity of the model, however, should be determined based on the intended use of the model within the decision support process. The best-performing alternatives had consistently strong performance for all stakeholders and future scenarios, whereas the current water supply system was outperformed in all evaluation layouts. The best-performing alternatives comprise proactive pipe rehabilitation, adapted firefighting provisions, and decentralized water storage and/or treatment. We present recommendations for possible ways of improving water supply planning in the case study and beyond.",PLOS ONE,2017,mayo 8 J,"Holden, E; Linnerud, K; Banister, D",The Imperatives of Sustainable Development,10.1002/sd.1647,"The United Nations sustainable development goals are under fire. By attempting to cover all that is good and desirable in society, these targets have ended up as vague, weak, or meaningless. We suggest a model for sustainable development based on three moral imperatives: satisfying human needs, ensuring social equity, and respecting environmental limits. The model reflects Our Common Future's central message, moral imperatives laid out in philosophical texts on needs and equity, and recent scientific insights on environmental limits. The model is in conflict with the popular three-pillar model of sustainable development, which seeks to balance social, environmental, and economic targets. Rather, we argue that sustainable development constitutes a set of constraints on human behaviour, including constraints on economic activity. By identifying indicators, and thresholds, we illustrate that different regions or groups of countries face different challenges. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment",SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,2017,MAY-JUN J,"Park, S",A Preliminary Study on Connectivity and Perceived Values of Community Green Spaces,10.3390/su9050692,"Green spaces in residential communities are important yet understudied features of the urban ecological system. While large urban parks and remnant wildlands in urban areas tend to receive public attention from conservation and management perspectives, less is known about the importance of spatial and ecological characteristics of the community-scale green space. This study investigates natural elements in four planned communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona; two of which represent conventional types of neighborhoods and two which exemplify community development type with a proclaimed vision of sustainability. These distinct types of communities, which illustrate variations in age, location, open space type, and a cross-section of housing density, are compared with regard to landscape connectivity as a means of gauging the ecological condition for community sustainability. Using Geographical Information Systems and landscape connectivity indices, a community's green space features were examined including size, physical connectedness, and ecological potential. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was designed and implemented to examine the perceptional differences between the two types of community residents. The findings demonstrate that the green spaces in conventional communities are more physically connected than their counterparts, but the naturalness and ecological qualities manifested in the amount of the land that may serve as potential urban desert habitats were higher in the sustainable communities. The results of the survey indicated that the respondents inhabiting sustainable communities possess a higher level of satisfaction than the people in conventional types of communities. This is due mainly to the amount of easy access to, and the perceived ecological values of the green spaces in their neighborhoods and surrounding areas. The study concludes that careful community design with ecological consideration can help create sustainable communities which can benefit both site-scale ecosystems and perceived human well-being.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,MAY J,"Doherty, MD; Lavorel, S; Colloff, MJ; Williams, KJ; Williams, RJ",Moving from autonomous to planned adaptation in the montane forests of southeastern Australia under changing fire regimes,10.1111/aec.12437,"Forest ecosystems and their associated natural, cultural and economic values are highly vulnerable to climate driven changes in fire regimes. A detailed knowledge of forest ecosystem responses to altered fire regimes is a necessary underpinning to inform options for adaptive responses under climate change, as well as for providing a basis for understanding how patterns of distribution of vegetation communities that comprise montane forest ecosystems may change in the future. Unplanned consequential adaptation of both natural and human systems, i.e. autonomous adaptation, will occur without planned intervention, with potentially negative impacts on ecosystem services. The persistence of forest stands under changing fire regimes and the maintenance of the ecosystem services that they provide pivot upon underlying response traits, such as the ability to resprout, that determine the degree to which composition, structure and function are likely to change. The integration of ecosystem dynamics into conceptual models and their use in exploring adaptation pathways provides options for policy makers and managers to move from autonomous to planned adaptation responses. Understanding where autonomous adaptation provides a benefit and where it proves potentially undesirable is essential to inform adaptation choices. Plausible scenarios of ecological change can be developed to improve an understanding of the nature and timing of interventions and their consequences, well before natural and human systems autonomously adapt in ways that may be detrimental to the long-term provision of ecosystem services. We explore the utility of this approach using examples from temperate montane forest ecosystems of southeastern Australia.",AUSTRAL ECOLOGY,2017,MAY J,"Ricaurte, LF; Olaya-Rodriguez, MH; Cepeda-Valencia, J; Lara, D; Arroyave-Suarez, J; Finlayson, CM; Palomo, I",Future impacts of drivers of change on wetland ecosystem services in Colombia,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.04.001,"Wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems in the world due to their delivery of ecosystem services (ES), but they are particularly vulnerable to drivers of land-use change. However, little is known about how different wetlands respond to drivers of land-use change and how that impacts their delivery of ES. After extreme floods hit Colombia in 2010-2011, negative impacts from these storms heightened the interest of Colombian policy makers in understanding and recognizing the importance of wetlands. Here, we present a map with 19 wetland types for Colombia and assess the ES that these wetlands deliver and how those ES are impacted by drivers of land-use change. We based our spatial analysis on the Corine Land Cover data for Colombia and combined that with spatial indices derived from knowledgeable experts using the matrix approach and participatory mapping (PGIS). The most vulnerable wetland types identified were fioodplain forests, riparian wetlands, freshwater lakes and rivers. The region of Magdalena-Cauca has been identified as the most vulnerable to the impacts of land-use change, until 2025. We discuss our results in light of the current Colombian policy-debate which concerns the designation of wetlands as strategic ecosystems. This designation implies necessary restrictions or prohibition of harmful activities in wetlands, principally mining and industrial agriculture.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2017,MAY J,"Hausmann, A; Toivonen, T; Heikinheimo, V; Tenkanen, H; Slotow, R; Di Minin, E",Social media reveal that charismatic species are not the main attractor of ecotourists to sub- Saharan protected areas,10.1038/s41598-017-00858-6,"Charismatic megafauna are arguably considered the primary attractor of ecotourists to sub-Saharan African protected areas. However, the lack of visitation data across the whole continent has thus far prevented the investigation of whether charismatic species are indeed a key attractor of ecotourists to protected areas. Social media data can now be used for this purpose. We mined data from Instagram, and used generalized linear models with site-and country-level deviations to explore which socioeconomic, geographical and biological factors explain social media use in sub-Saharan African protected areas. We found that charismatic species richness did not explain social media usage. On the other hand, protected areas that were more accessible, had sparser vegetation, where human population density was higher, and that were located in wealthier countries, had higher social media use. Interestingly, protected areas with lower richness in non-charismatic species had more users. Overall, our results suggest that more factors than simply charismatic species might explain attractiveness of protected areas, and call for more in-depth content analysis of the posts. With African countries projected to develop further in the near-future, more social media data will become available, and could be used to inform protected area management and marketing.",SCIENTIFIC REPORTS,2017,abr 10 J,"Millbank, J","Reflecting the 'human nature' of IVF embryos: disappearing women in ethics, law, and fertility practice",10.1093/jlb/lsw058,"Many laws and ethical documents instruct us that disembodied embryos created through IVF processes are not mere tissue; they are 'widely regarded' as unique objects of serious moral consideration. Even in jurisdictions which disavow any overt characterization of embryonic personhood, the embryo, by virtue of its uniqueness and orientation toward future development, is said to have a 'special status' or command 'respect'. The woman whose desire for a child or children created this embryo, and who inhabits the body to whom it may one day be returned, is an omission or at best an afterthought in such frameworks. This paper engages in an historical analysis of this conundrum in the Australian context. It argues that the institutional structure of foundational ethics bodies (made up of a mandated mix of scientific and religious representation, in practice dominated by men, and absent any requirement of the participation of women patients) has produced the embryo as an object of ideological compromise: 'not mere cells' and 'not life', but a poorly bounded and endlessly contested something-in-between. The paper then turns to engage with the narratives of a selection of women patients about their sense of connectedness to their stored or discarded embryos, drawn from a larger study on decision making concerning patient's experience of decision making about IVF embryos. I draw on these narratives to ask how we could reorient law and policy toward the concerns, needs and desires of such women.",JOURNAL OF LAW AND THE BIOSCIENCES,2017,APR J,"Chen, WY; Hua, JY",Heterogeneity in resident perceptions of a bio-cultural heritage in Hong Kong: A latent class factor analysis,10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.02.019,"There is an increasing recognition of ecosystem services provided by urban trees and their importance to urban resilience and sustainability through the preservation and enhancement of biological diversity so as to withstand disturbances and retain ecosystem functions as well as guarantee the well-being of current and future urban dwellers. However, the heterogeneous perceptions that urban residents may hold towards various ecosystem services have seldom been investigated. This study made a unique contribution to the growing body of literature on urban ecosystem services by examining the unobserved heterogeneity in resident perceptions of ecosystem services provided by a distinctive bio-cultural asset, urban heritage trees, in Hong Kong, via a novel application of latent class factor analysis which allows for considering the multidimensionality of latent factors and increases model parsimony. A total of 1075 face-to-face interviews were conducted with a stratified sample of residents about their perceived importance of two categories of distinctive ecosystem services provided by urban heritage trees: biological benefits and cultural benefits. The results indicated that, on average, both biological and cultural benefits of urban heritage trees were perceived to be important. Nevertheless, six classes were identified on the basis of different levels of two latent class factors, which differed markedly with respect to individual's perceived importance of ecosystem services provided by urban heritage trees, from fairly balanced to very divergent perceptions of biological services and cultural services. This heterogeneity was explained with covariates describing respondents' sociodemographic characteristics and activities at heritage tree sites. The results have implications for optimally tailoring promoting and participatory approaches, fostering improved communications with the general public, and nurturing overall support for urban heritage tree conservation from heterogeneous resident groups in order to achieve urban resilience and sustainability. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,APR J,"Padmanaban, R; Bhowmik, AK; Cabral, P; Zamyatin, A; Almegdadi, O; Wang, SG","Modelling Urban Sprawl Using Remotely Sensed Data: A Case Study of Chennai City, Tamilnadu",10.3390/e19040163,"Urban sprawl (US), propelled by rapid population growth leads to the shrinkage of productive agricultural lands and pristine forests in the suburban areas and, in turn, adversely affects the provision of ecosystem services. The quantification of US is thus crucial for effective urban planning and environmental management. Like many megacities in fast growing developing countries, Chennai, the capital of Tamilnadu and one of the business hubs in India, has experienced extensive US triggered by the doubling of total population over the past three decades. However, the extent and level of US has not yet been quantified and a prediction for future extent of US is lacking. We employed the Random Forest (RF) classification on Landsat imageries from 1991, 2003, and 2016, and computed six landscape metrics to delineate the extent of urban areas within a 10 km suburban buffer of Chennai. The level of US was then quantified using Renyi's entropy. A land change model was subsequently used to project land cover for 2027. A 70.35% expansion in urban areas was observed mainly towards the suburban periphery of Chennai between 1991 and 2016. The Renyi's entropy value for year 2016 was 0.9, exhibiting a two-fold level of US when compared to 1991. The spatial metrics values indicate that the existing urban areas became denser and the suburban agricultural, forests and particularly barren lands were transformed into fragmented urban settlements. The forecasted land cover for 2027 indicates a conversion of 13,670.33 ha (16.57% of the total landscape) of existing forests and agricultural lands into urban areas with an associated increase in the entropy value to 1.7, indicating a tremendous level of US. Our study provides useful metrics for urban planning authorities to address the social-ecological consequences of US and to protect ecosystem services.",ENTROPY,2017,APR J,"Iiyama, M; Derero, A; Kelemu, K; Muthuri, C; Kinuthia, R; Ayenkulu, E; Kiptot, E; Hadgu, K; Mowo, J; Sinclair, FL",Understanding patterns of tree adoption on farms in semi-arid and sub-humid Ethiopia,10.1007/s10457-016-9926-y,"Trees on farms are a widespread feature of landscapes across a large part of Ethiopia with an important role in enhancing the resilience of smallholder livelihoods through the provision of ecosystem services. Despite their importance, little is known about what trees are planted or retained from natural regeneration by different types of farmers that results in the pattern of tree cover found in the region. We address this knowledge gap through analysis of household survey data from semi-arid and sub humid areas of Oromia regional state. A set of composite variables that represent distinctive patterns of tree cover on farms were derived from principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. This revealed two major tree adoption strategies: farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) of trees to meet subsistence needs as well as contributing to other ecosystem services; and, high value agroforestry (HVAF) involving planted trees used largely to produce fruits, timber and fodder. Regression analysis further identified fine-scale variation in ecological and socio-economic factors that affect which of these two broad strategies are adopted by farmers. Favorable climatic conditions coupled with institutional arrangements to control free grazing were pre-conditions for HVAF, whereas poor biophysical potential and sloping land provided a positive incentive for farmers to adopt FMNR. Farmers with preferences for tree species with multiple utilities and locational flexibility favored FMNR while adoption of HVAF was more asset-driven. Our findings reveal that farmers integrate many native and exotic tree species on their farms to meet their variable farm conditions, needs and asset profiles in stark contrast to most tree promotion efforts that focus on a few, usually exotic, tree species. We recommend that future agroforestry promotion should embrace a diversity of tree species appropriate to matching the fine scale variation in ecological conditions and farmer circumstances encountered in the field.",AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS,2017,APR J,"Parke, RD",Family Psychology: Past and Future Reflections on the Field,10.1037/fam0000318,"Prominent issues in the field of family psychology during my term as editor (1998-2003) of this journal were briefly noted, including a focus on marital issues, divorce, remarriage and family conflict. Parenting, attachment and parent-child relationships were also significant topics in this period. Special sections of the journal focused on cultural variations, families and the law, families and religion, and family routines and rituals. Several neglected issues that need more attention in the future were noted. These include the need to recognize the embeddedness of families in socioecological contexts, the importance of monitoring the impact of secular changes on families, and the value and limitations of viewing family psychology as a separate field. Other topics for a future agenda include the challenge of defining family in the midst of changing family forms, the effects of technological change on families, and the challenges of integrating biological research into the family psychology agenda. A multilevel bio-social approach to family research was recommended.",JOURNAL OF FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY,2017,APR J,"Forbes, VE; Salice, CJ; Birnir, B; Bruins, RJF; Calow, P; Ducrot, V; Galic, N; Garber, K; Harvey, BC; Jager, H; Kanarek, A; Pastorok, R; Railsback, SF; Rebarber, R; Thorbek, P",A Framework for Predicting Impacts on Ecosystem Services From (Sub)Organismal Responses to Chemicals,10.1002/etc.3720,"Protection of ecosystem services is increasingly emphasized as a risk-assessment goal, but there are wide gaps between current ecological risk-assessment endpoints and potential effects on services provided by ecosystems. The authors present a framework that links common ecotoxicological endpoints to chemical impacts on populations and communities and the ecosystem services that they provide. This framework builds on considerable advances in mechanistic effects models designed to span multiple levels of biological organization and account for various types of biological interactions and feedbacks. For illustration, the authors introduce 2 case studies that employ well-developed and validated mechanistic effects models: the inSTREAM individual-based model for fish populations and the AQUATOX ecosystem model. They also show how dynamic energy budget theory can provide a common currency for interpreting organism-level toxicity. They suggest that a framework based on mechanistic models that predict impacts on ecosystem services resulting from chemical exposure, combined with economic valuation, can provide a useful approach for informing environmental management. The authors highlight the potential benefits of using this framework as well as the challenges that will need to be addressed in future work. (C) 2017 SETAC.",ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY,2017,APR J,"Ballard, HL; Dixon, CGH; Harris, EM",Youth-focused citizen science: Examining the role of environmental science learning and agency for conservation,10.1016/j.biocon.2016.05.024,"Citizen science by youth is rapidly expanding, but very little research has addressed the ways programs meet the dual goals of rigorous conservation science and environmental science education. We examined case studies of youth-focused community and citizen science (CCS) and analyzed the learning processes and outcomes, and stewardship activities for youth, as well as contributions to site and species management, each as conservation outcomes. Examining two programs (one coastal and one water quality monitoring) across multiple sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, in-and out-of-school settings, we qualitatively analyzed in-depth observations and pre- and post-program interviews with youth and educators. First, we examined evidence from the programs' impacts on conservation in the form of contribution to site and species management. We found that youth work informed regional resource management and local habitat improvement. Second, we examined the youth participants' environmental science agency (ESA). ESA combines not only understanding of environmental science and inquiry practices, but also the youths' identification with those practices and their developing belief that the ecosystem is something on which they act. We found that youth developed different aspects of environmental science agency in each context. We identify three key CCS processes through which many of the youth developed ESA: ensuring rigorous data collection, disseminating scientific findings to authentic external audiences, and investigating complex social-ecological systems. Our findings suggest that when CCS programs for youth support these processes, they can foster youth participation in current conservation actions, and build their capacity for future conservation actions. (c) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION,2017,APR J,"Hattam, C; Hooper, T; Papathanasopoulou, E",A well-being framework for impact evaluation: The case of the UK offshore wind industry,10.1016/j.marpol.2016.10.024,"Growing levels of energy consumption and concern over the environmental consequences of energy production are leading to an increased investment in renewable energy generation. Despite an important relationship between energy production, consumption and well-being, little attempt has been made to provide a holistic assessment of how renewable energy sectors can contribute to different aspects of human well-being. This paper develops an impact evaluation framework that can be used to capture societal-level impacts of change on primarily objective well-being and applies it to the case of the UK offshore wind industry. As such, the framework goes beyond the traditional view of economic, social and environmental impact assessment and evaluation capturing wider aspects of societal costs and benefits as well as sustainable development. The framework proves a useful tool for organising the available evidence and suggests a broadly positive impact of the UK offshore wind industry. While further testing and refinement of the framework is needed, it could be easily transferred for well-being assessment of other industries and interventions.",MARINE POLICY,2017,APR J,"Huber, N; Hergert, R; Price, B; Zach, C; Hersperger, A; Putz, M; Kienast, F; Bolliger, J",Renewable energy sources: conflicts and opportunities in a changing landscape,10.1007/s10113-016-1098-9,"Replacement of conventional energy sources with renewables such as solar panels and wind turbines requires adequate land. Impact assessments should be conducted to identify sites exhibiting least conflict with current and future land-uses and corresponding ecosystem services. We assessed the electricity potential and geographical distribution of wind turbines and solar panels for current land-use and under three Swiss land-change scenarios. The future scenario A2 with limited construction regulations, a liberalized market and more building surfaces increases the electricity potential of solar panels by 69% from 16.6 TWh (potential under current land-use and regulations) to a future 28.2 TWh. An increase of approximately 26% electricity potential from solar panels is expected for scenario B2 (regionalized economy) and the trend scenario. Wind-electricity potential could increase by 61% from 93 to 150 TWh under A2, and 29% under a B2 or trend scenario. The electricity potential for solar panels remains largely unaffected by conflicts with ecosystem services, but electricity production from wind could be reduced by as much as 98% due to conflicts with ecosystem services. Depending on the scenario used, low-conflict sites for solar panels and wind turbines could contribute between 85% (trend and B2 scenario) and > 100% (A2 scenario) to the Swiss energy target of generating 25 TWh from new renewable energy sources by 2050. This includes expected technological developments. Positive impacts of sustainable energy production on regional economies are moderate and will not lead to strong changes in regional-economic development.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,APR J,"Lo, AY; Byrne, JA; Jim, CY",How climate change perception is reshaping attitudes towards the functional benefits of urban trees and green space: Lessons from Hong Kong,10.1016/j.ufug.2017.03.007,"Urban greening has rapidly emerged as a key urban climate change adaptation strategy. Urban greening is thought to confer manifold socio-ecological benefits upon residents in towns and cities. Yet proponents of urban greening have seldom considered how people's support for greening policies may be shaped by weather and climate. This paper reports the results of exploratory research examining public expectations of adverse weather changes and people's attitudes toward the functional benefits of urban trees and green space. Results of a questionnaire survey of 800 residents of Hong Kong indicate a positive relationship. Respondents tended to rate functional benefits as more important if they anticipated adverse weather changes in the near future, namely, rising temperatures, more tropical cyclones and prolonged rain. This subjective weather effect is more salient when these weather changes are perceived as a threat to one's daily life. We found urban greenery is assigned a higher value by individuals concerned about exposure and vulnerability to climatic stressors. Affinity for greening appears to be related to how weather and climatic variability is perceived. This observation is informed by a broader geographic perspective, which construes weather and climate as part of the spatial environment in which urban nature is apprehended and comprehended. An explanation for our findings is that increasingly volatile weather can potentially reshape urban residents' interactions with nature, based on perceived krelief and/or protection from climate-related threats. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2017,APR J,"Huang, YT; Coelho, VR",Sustainability performance assessment focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry in the Coral Triangle region,10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.008,"Coral reef based tourism in the Coral Triangle region is responsible for economic benefits but also for negative social and environmental impacts, thus an approach to evaluate this industry's sustainability performance would be valuable. We selected 10 key indicators, out of 681, that were directly relevant to the impacts of tourist activities on coral reefs in economic, social, environmental, and wildlife aspects of sustainability. Efficiency, inefficiency and overall models were developed to measure relative sustain ability performance focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry for all six countries in the Coral Triangle, from 2008 to 2012. Our results showed that Indonesia had the best relative performance among countries in the region, followed in descending order by; Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Solomon Islands. Future plans to achieve higher performance by the tourism industry in each country can be made if a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is carried out. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",TOURISM MANAGEMENT,2017,APR J,"Lindkvist, E; Ekeberg, O; Norberg, J",Strategies for sustainable management of renewable resources during environmental change,10.1098/rspb.2016.2762,"As a consequence of global environmental change, management strategies that can deal with unexpected change in resource dynamics are becoming increasingly important. In this paper we undertake a novel approach to studying resource growth problems using a computational form of adaptive management to find optimal strategies for prevalent natural resource management dilemmas. We scrutinize adaptive management, or learning-by-doing, to better understand how to simultaneously manage and learn about a system when its dynamics are unknown. We study important trade-offs in decision-making with respect to choosing optimal actions (harvest efforts) for sustainable management during change. This is operationalized through an artificially intelligent model where we analyze how different trends and fluctuations in growth rates of a renewable resource affect the performance of different management strategies. Our results show that the optimal strategy for managing resources with declining growth is capable of managing resources with fluctuating or increasing growth at a negligible cost, creating in a management strategy that is both efficient and robust towards future unknown changes. To obtain this strategy, adaptive management should strive for: high learning rates to new knowledge, high valuation of future outcomes and modest exploration around what is perceived as the optimal action.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES,2017,mar 15 J,"Meli, P; Ruiz, L; Aguilar, R; Rabasa, A; Rey-Benayas, JM; Carabias, J",Riparian forest of the humid tropics of Mexico: A study case and critical aspects for their successful restoration,10.21829/myb.2017.2311118,"Riparian ecosystems harbor significant biodiversity and support essential ecological functions that affect ecosystem services provision for human well-being. Anthropogenic disturbances often exceed the natural resilience of these ecosystems thus resulting in their degradation. Ecological restoration promotes restoring biodiversity and riparian ecosystems services, but its success depends on several aspects. This work bases on a study case to exemplify the problem of restoration from an 'integral' perspective and discusses ecological, socio-economic and legal aspects that can influence the success of the restoration of these forests. While ecological aspects have been considerably developed, information on economic (e.g. production costs), social (e.g. social acceptance) and legal constraints (e.g. incorporation of restoration in public programs) are still limited for restoration being applied at broader scales. Estimating ecosystem services that could be restored from the restoration of riparian forests may help to integrate these aspects. Addressing these aspects at the local level will provide information for the future development of more efficient regional strategies in terms of the ecological benefit-socioeconomic cost ratio. Finally, we discuss some recommendations relating to the conservation, management and restoration of riparian ecosystems in the humid tropics of Mexico.",MADERA Y BOSQUES,2017,SPR J,"Ordaz-Nemeth, I; Arandjelovic, M; Boesch, L; Gatiso, T; Grimes, T; Kuehl, HS; Lormie, M; Stephens, C; Tweh, C; Junker, J",The socio-economic drivers of bushmeat consumption during the West African Ebola crisis,10.1371/journal.pntd.0005450,"Bushmeat represents an important source of animal protein for humans in tropical Africa. Unsustainable bushmeat hunting is a major threat to wildlife and its consumption is associated with an increased risk of acquiring zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola virus disease (EVD). During the recent EVD outbreak in West Africa, it is likely that human dietary behavior and local attitudes toward bushmeat consumption changed in response to the crisis, and that the rate of change depended on prevailing socio-economic conditions, including wealth and education. In this study, we therefore investigated the effects of income, education, and literacy on changes in bushmeat consumption during the crisis, as well as complementary changes in daily meal frequency, food diversity and bushmeat preference. More specifically, we tested whether wealthier households with more educated household heads decreased their consumption of bushmeat during the EVD crisis, and whether their daily meal frequency and food diversity remained constant. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to analyze interview data from two nationwide household surveys across Liberia. We found an overall decrease in bushmeat consumption during the crisis across all income levels. However, the rate of bushmeat consumption in high-income households decreased less than in low- income households. Daily meal frequency decreased during the crisis, and the diversity of food items and preferences for bushmeat species remained constant. Our multidisciplinary approach to study the impact of EVD can be applied to assess how other disasters affect social-ecological systems and improve our understanding and the management of future crises.",PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES,2017,MAR J,"Le, JT; Levin, LA; Carson, RT",Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental management of deep-seabed mining,10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.08.007,"Accelerated exploration of minerals in the deep sea over the past decade has raised the likelihood that commercial mining of the deep seabed will commence in the near future. Environmental concerns create a growing urgency for development of environmental regulations under commercial exploitation. Here, we consider an ecosystem services approach to the environmental policy and management of deep-sea mineral resources. Ecosystem services link the environment and human well-being, and can help improve sustainability and stewardship of the deep sea by providing a quantitative basis for decision making. This paper briefly reviews ecosystem services provided by habitats targeted for deep-seabed mining (hydrothermal vents, seamounts, nodule provinces, and phosphate-rich margins), and presents practical steps to incorporate ecosystem services into deep-seabed mining regulation. The linkages and translation between ecosystem structure, ecological function (including supporting services), and ecosystem services are highlighted as generating human benefits. We consider criteria for identifying which ecosystem services are vulnerable to potential mining impacts, the role of ecological functions in providing ecosystem services, development of ecosystem service indicators, valuation of ecosystem services, and implementation of ecosystem services concepts. The first three steps put ecosystem services into a deep-seabed mining context; the last two steps help to incorporate ecosystem services into a management and decision-making framework. Phases of environmental planning discussed in the context of ecosystem services include conducting strategic environmental assessments, collecting baseline data, monitoring, establishing marine protected areas, assessing cumulative impacts, identifying thresholds and triggers, and creating an environmental damage compensation regime. We also identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to operationalize ecosystem services concepts in deep-seabed mining regulation and propose potential tools to fill them. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY,2017,MAR J,"Gebara, MF; Agrawal, A",Beyond Rewards and Punishments in the Brazilian Amazon: Practical Implications of the REDD plus Discourse,10.3390/f8030066,"Through different policies and measures reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation and enhancing conservation (REDD+) has grown into a way to induce behavior change of forest managers and landowners in tropical countries. We argue that debates around REDD+ in Brazil have typically highlighted rewards and punishments, obscuring other core interventions and strategies that are also critically important to reach the goal of reducing deforestation, supporting livelihoods, and promoting conservation (i.e., technology transfer and capacity building). We adopt Foucault's concepts of governmentality and technologies of governance to provide a reading of the REDD+ discourse in Brazil and to offer an historical genealogy of the rewards and punishments approach. By analyzing practical elements from REDD+ implementation in the Brazilian Amazon, our research provides insights on the different dimensions in which smallholders react to rewards and punishments. In doing so, we add to the debate on governmentality, supplementing its focus on rationalities of governance with attention to the social practices in which such rationalities are embedded. Our research also suggests that the techniques of remuneration and coercion on which a rewards and punishments approach relies are only supporting limited behavioral changes on the ground, generating negative adaptations of deforestation practices, reducing positive feedbacks and, perhaps as importantly, producing only short-term outcomes at the expense of positive long-term land use changes. Furthermore, the approach ignores local heterogeneities and the differences between the agents engaging in forest clearing in the Amazon. The practical elements of the REDD+ discourse in Brazil suggest the rewards and punishments approach profoundly limits our understanding of human behavior by reducing the complex and multi-dimensional to a linear and rational simplicity. Such simplification leads to an underestimation of smallholders' capacity to play a key role in climate mitigation and adaptation. We conclude by highlighting the importance of looking at local heterogeneities and capacities and the need to promote trust, altruism and responsibility towards others and future generations.",FORESTS,2017,MAR J,"Sikorska, D; Sikorski, P; Hopkins, RJ",High Biodiversity of Green Infrastructure Does Not Contribute to Recreational Ecosystem Services,10.3390/su9030334,"Urban lakes, especially those of natural origin, provide ecosystem services, recreation being one of the most important and highly valued by city dwellers. Fulfilling the needs of city residents to relax and have contact with nature has become a priority in urbanized areas and has been proven to positively affect people's health and well-being. The recreational potential of water bodies was identified to be the most important aspect of ecosystem services to the residents of the neighboring areas. An assessment of recreational ecosystem services (RES) provisioning to society based on the real time spent by the citizens and housing values in the urban-rural gradient revealed that the economic benefits of lakes differ in urbanized, suburban and rural landscapes. The growth of cities has led to an increased population density in the surroundings of ecologically valuable areas, resulting in higher pressure from visitors seeking recreational areas. Along with urbanization, the impoverishment of ecosystem functions takes place, limiting their capability to provide ecosystem services. In this work, the provisioning of recreational ecosystem services of 28 floodplain lakes located along the urban-rural gradient of the Warsaw agglomeration was assessed. The relationship between the ecological value of the water bodies, measured using naturalness indices, and the recreational ecosystem services they can provide was assessed. The results showed that the floodplain lakes located along the urban-rural gradient are of great importance to the citizens due to their recreational potential. The provisioning of recreational ecosystem services is poorly connected with the ecological characteristics of the floodplain lakes. Only hemeroby was significantly correlated with provisioning, and there was no relationship with factors such as naturalness of vegetation or water quality, demonstrating that public preference was not generally influenced by high ecological quality. These data should be available to potential buyers and be integrated in spatial planning management plans in order to shape future housing policy.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,MAR J,"Lanning, B; Golman, M; Crosslin, K",Improving Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Uptake in College Students: A Socioecological Perspective,10.1080/19325037.2016.1271753,"Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates remain relatively low, despite new recommendations found in Healthy People 2020. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine vaccination rates, identify factors that influenced initiation/continuance of HPV vaccine series, and identify levels of influence for HPV health behaviors in college students. Methods: Two hundred first- and second-year college students completed an online survey to determine HPV knowledge, vaccine perceptions/behaviors, and Health Education sources. The socioecological model provided a framework to examine students' responses regarding sources of influence for current and future health behaviors and vaccine uptake. Results: Forty-eight percent reported receiving the HPV vaccine, yet only 7 out of 36 males had been vaccinated. Students indicated being most influenced by community/organizational factors such as physicians (79.5%), mother (75%), and father (36%). Discussion: Gender and ethnicity were found to be predictive of vaccine uptake, whereas HPV knowledge did not independently contribute to vaccination rates. Students reported primarily preferring to hear about sexual health issues from school classes or lectures, a health care provider, media sources, or family members. Translation to Health Education Practice: Results highlight the importance of moving beyond HPV intervention strategies that function only to improve knowledge and include components that address various levels of influence.",AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION,2017,MAR-APR J,"Conn, BM; Marks, AK",An Ecological Approach to Understanding Adolescent Prescription Drug Misuse,10.1177/0743558415589369,"Nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) among U.S. adolescents is a burgeoning public health problem. Previous studies have observed differences in rates of NMUPD among ethnic/racial groups. However, less is known on the social and cultural processes and mechanisms, which may influence adolescents' prescription drug beliefs and practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 diverse 13- to 17-year-olds in an adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit to elicit in-depth, context-sensitive information about social factors relevant to NMUPD. Data analysis was completed using grounded theory and interpreted with a social ecological approach. Results highlighted the myriad of important contextual influences on adolescent NMUPD. Responses reflected factors within microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem contexts as well as important intrapersonal factors. Furthermore, adolescents who identified as an ethnic minority also described cultural values (e.g., religion) and culturally based beliefs (e.g., mental health stigma), which influenced their prescription drug beliefs. Narratives revealed the interplay between intrapersonal factors and socialization agents, such as parents, peers, and the media, influencing prescription drug behavior. Our findings present ecologically framed insights as a first step in understanding this health risk behavior among U.S. adolescents. Implications as well as important next steps for future research and interdisciplinary prevention and intervention program development are discussed.",JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH,2017,MAR J,"van Riper, CJ; Landon, AC; Kidd, S; Bitterman, P; Fitzgerald, LA; Granek, EF; Ibarra, S; Iwaniec, D; Raymond, CM; Toledo, D",Incorporating Sociocultural Phenomena into Ecosystem-Service Valuation: The Importance of Critical Pluralism,10.1093/biosci/biw170,"Ecosystem-services scholarship has largely focused on monetary valuation and the material contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. Increasingly, research is calling for a deeper understanding of how less tangible, nonmaterial values shape management and stakeholder decisions. We propose a framework that characterizes a suite of sociocultural phenomena rooted in key social science disciplines that are currently underrepresented in the ecosystem-services literature. The results from three example studies are presented to demonstrate how the tenets of this conceptual model can be applied in practice. We consider the findings from these studies in light of three priorities for future research: (1) complexities in individual and social functioning, (2) the salience and specificity of the perceived benefits of nature, and (3) distinctions among value concepts. We also pose a series of questions to stimulate reflection on how ecosystem-services research can adopt more pluralistic viewpoints that accommodate different forms of knowledge and its acquisition.",BIOSCIENCE,2017,MAR J,"Sijtsma, FJ; van der Bilt, WGM; van Hinsberg, A; de Knegt, B; van der Heide, M; Leneman, H; Verburg, R",Planning nature in urbanized countries. An analysis of monetary and non-monetary impacts of conservation policy scenarios in the Netherlands,10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00280,"Planning and conserving nature areas are challenging tasks in urbanized and intensively used countries like the Netherlands. This paper supports decision making and public policy debate about these tasks in both an empirical and a methodological way. Empirically, we explore policy alternatives by determining the potential consequences of different nature policy scenarios in the Netherlands. Methodologically, we employ a mixed monetary and non-monetary evaluation method known as multi-criteria cost-benefit analysis (MCCBA). We evaluate four new future directions of Dutch nature policy that address four dominant stakeholder demands: biodiversity conservation, the provision of ecosystem services, recreational potential as well as economic gains. To balance compact presentation of evaluation outcomes on the one hand and information richness of results on the other, we distinguish between two impact indicator sets: three headline and ten elaborate indicators. Using these indicators we discuss the quantitative assessment of the four nature policy scenarios by comparing them to two other scenarios, reflecting the 2010 stand-still baseline situation (2010) as well as a reference policy (Trend). In total, we evaluate six scenarios; four present new directions and two reflect existing or recently (2010) halted practices. Our findings first of all show that even in an urbanized country like the Netherlands, with its intensive competition among land use functions, serious gains in national and international biodiversity are possible. Second, we find that it is doubtful whether stimulating the provision of regulating ecosystem services in a country which applies intensive and profitable agricultural techniques is beneficial. Other countries or areas that are less suitable for intensive agricultural practices may be more logical for this. Finally we demonstrate that increasing urban recreational green space a common challenge for many urban areas can only be achieved at relatively high costs, while it does not seem to lead to relatively high scores on nature appreciation. Nature appreciation seems to be served better by wilder nature than by park-like nature.",HELIYON,2017,MAR J,"Castillo-Neyra, R; Brown, J; Borrini, K; Arevalo, C; Levy, MZ; Buttenheim, A; Hunter, GC; Becerra, V; Behrman, J; Paz-Soldan, VA","Barriers to dog rabies vaccination during an urban rabies outbreak: Qualitative findings from Arequipa, Peru",10.1371/journal.pntd.0005460,"Background Canine rabies was reintroduced to the city of Arequipa, Peru in March 2015. The Ministry of Health has conducted a series of mass dog vaccination campaigns to contain the outbreak, but canine rabies virus transmission continues in Arequipa's complex urban environment, putting the city's 1 million inhabitants at risk of infection. The proximate driver of canine rabies in Arequipa is low dog vaccination coverage. Our objectives were to qualitatively assess barriers to and facilitators of rabies vaccination during mass campaigns, and to explore strategies to increase participation in future efforts. Methodology/Principal findings We conducted 8 focus groups (FG) in urban and peri-urban communities of Mariano Melgar district; each FG included both sexes, and campaign participants and non-participants. All FG were transcribed and then coded independently by two coders. Results were summarized using the Social Ecological Model. At the individual level, participants described not knowing enough about rabies and vaccination campaigns, mistrusting the campaign, and being unable to handle their dogs, particularly in peri-urban vs. urban areas. At the interpersonal level, we detected some social pressure to vaccinate dogs, as well as some disparaging of those who invest time and money in pet dogs. At the organizational level, participants found the campaign information to be insufficient and ill-timed, and campaign locations and personnel inadequate. At the community level, the influence of landscape and topography on accessibility to vaccination points was reported differently between participants from the urban and peri-urban areas. Poor security and impermanent housing materials in the peri-urban areas also drives higher prevalence of guard dog ownership for home protection; these dogs usually roam freely on the streets and are more difficult to handle and bring to the vaccination points. Conclusions A well-designed communication campaign could improve knowledge about canine rabies. Timely messages on where and when vaccination is occurring could increase dog owners' perception of their own ability to bring their dogs to the vaccination points and be part of the campaign. Small changes in the implementation of the campaign at the vaccination points could increase the public's trust and motivation. Location of vaccination points should take into account landscape and community concerns.",PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES,2017,MAR J,"Wigboldus, S; Hammond, J; Xu, JC; Yi, ZF; He, J; Klerkx, L; Leeuwis, C",Scaling green rubber cultivation in Southwest China-An integrative analysis of stakeholder perspectives,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.126,"The rubber boom across much of Southeast Asia has led to environmental destruction, and the resultant crash in the price of rubber has destabilised livelihoods. We investigated the necessary factors required to enable a transition towards a more sustainable model for rubber cultivation in Southwest China (i.e. the 'greening' of rubber cultivation), using a framework for the integrative study of multiple aspects in complex land use issues. We present findings from stakeholder interviews and a stakeholder workshop, and discuss their relevance Within and beyond Southwest China, The current focus of researchers and development practitioners tends to be on finding technical solutions to address unsustainable rubber cultivation practices. However, stakeholder consultations revealed that the key barriers were more social: low levers of trust and knowledge exchange between stakeholder groups and fragmented visions about the future of the landscape. It is very important to continue the economic prosperity initially brnught by rubber, but, without improved communication between government and researchers and smallholder farmers, this will be very difficult to achieve. A wider landscape perspective is needed to address issues in rubber cultivation to avoid repeating the same problems of cash crop boom and bust experienced with other crops, most notably bananas. We Conclude that more effort should be put into developing mechanisms that integrate technical knowledge, enhance social relationships, and present a forum for reconciling or at least acknowledging the differing needs, knowledge, and objectives of different groups, and transcending the power dynamics between smallholder farmers and government and researchers. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2017,feb 15 J,"You, WB; Ji, ZR; Wu, LY; Deng, XP; Huang, DH; Chen, BR; Yu, JA; He, DJ",Modeling changes in land use patterns and ecosystem services to explore a potential solution for meeting the management needs of a heritage site at the landscape level,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.09.027,"Integrating a qualification of ecosystem services into a decision-making for conservation of a world heritage site at the landscape level remains a new challenge so far, especially for China that has abundant and valuable heritage sites with the development boom in China's economy and society. In this paper, we took the Wuyishan Scenery District (WSD), a core part of the cultural and nature world heritage site Mount Wui, as our case study site to explore how a modeling of land use changes and spatial qualification of ecosystem services may facilitate local authorities' decision-making. Here, a binary logistic regression was performed to quantify the impacts of selected driving factors on the distribution ofland uses. Then, we adopted a CLUE-S model to spatially analyze changes in the landscape pattern and ecosystem services by simulating the following three scenarios: a historical trend, non-selective management of tea plantations, and selective management of tea plantations. The seven selected driving factors (elevation, aspect, slope, distance to the nearest road, distance to the closest river, distance to the closest settlement, and distance to the closest parking lot) were found to be associated with high prediction accuracy for all types of land use (ROC >= 0.857) other than non-matrix forests (ROC = 0.735) and tea plantations (ROC= 0.638). The results demonstrated that the third scenario entailing selective management of tea plantations offers a potential solution that can effectively mitigate expansion of tea plantations, while addressing serious issues relating to managerial needs at the landscape level. Implementing this measure would facilitate the protection of high quality tea plantations that form a crucial part of the world cultural and natural heritage site of Mount Wuyi. It can further help to restore Pinus massoniana matrix forests in WSD, and potentially increase the value of ecosystem services. Moreover, it could establish base-line conditions for future management and policy making in this site. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2017,FEB J,"Kohler, M; Devaux, C; Grigulis, K; Leitinger, G; Lavorel, S; Tappeiner, U",Plant functional assemblages as indicators of the resilience of grassland ecosystem service provision,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.09.024,"Ecosystems provide a variety of ecosystem services (ES), which act as key linkages between social and ecological systems. ES respond spatially and temporally to abiotic and biotic variation, and to management. Thus, resistant and resilient ES provision is expected to remain within a stable range when facing disturbances. In this study, generic indicators to evaluate resistance, potential resilience and capacity for transformation of ES provision are developed and their relevance demonstrated for a mountain grassland system. Indicators are based on plant trait composition (i.e. functional composition) and abiotic paramters determining ES provision at community, meta-community and landscape scales. First the resistance of an ES is indicated by its normal operating range characterized by observed values under current conditions. Second its resilience is assessed by its potential operating range - under hypotheses of reassembly from the community's species pool. Third its transformation potential is assessed for reassembly at meta community and landscape scales. Using a state-and-transition model, possible management-related transitions between mountain grassland states were identified, and indicators calculated for two provisioning and two regulating ES. Overall, resilience properties varied across individual ES, supporting a focus on resilience of specific ES. The resilience potential of the two provisioning services was greater than for the two regulating services, both being linked to functional complementarity within communities. We also found high transformation potential reflecting functional redundancy among communities within each meta-community, and across meta-communities in the landscape. Presented indicators are promising for the projection of future ES provision and the identification of management options under environmental change. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2017,FEB J,"Bonsu, NO; Dhubhain, AN; O'Connor, D",Evaluating the use of an integrated forest land-use planning approach in addressing forest ecosystem services confliciting demands: Expereince within an Irish forest landscape,10.1016/j.futures.2016.08.004,"There is an increasing demand for genuine public participation in Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) planning to address the various demands for forests to deliver a range of ecosystem services. However, as of yet, there are few developed and tested mechanisms to help authorities and stakeholders with diverse interests to effectively work together to reach a common goal. Integrated Forest Land-Use Planning (IFLUP) is an approach that has the potential to accommodate multi-stakeholders' demands in the field of SFM planning. In this paper an IFLUP framework process that facilitates stakeholder participation in future oriented SFM planning is explored. This framework combines scenario, analysis and stakeholder collaborative learning. Its application in a case study area in the West of Ireland is outlined and its effectiveness in accommodating conflicting stakeholder demands on forest ecosystem services as well as its potential opportunities and challenges are evaluated. Based on the results and participants evaluation feedback of the IFLUP workshop outcomes, there was a shared view that the IFLUP approach has potential to address conflicting societal demands on forest ecosystem services within local forest landscapes. Likewise, collaborative learning process helps build trust and respect among stakeholder groups as well as improving the legitimacy and acceptance of SFM planning outcomes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",FUTURES,2017,FEB J,"Murphy, KM; Rodrigues, K; Costigan, J; Annan, J",Raising Children in Conflict: An Integrative Model of Parenting in War,10.1037/pac0000195,"Children living in conflict-affected settings often face cognitive, physical, and social-emotional challenges that not only impact how they learn, grow, and interact with others, but also impact the wellbeing of future generations. While parents and caregivers can serve a critical role in mitigating the negative effects of crisis and conflict by providing nurturing and responsive care, their ability to do so is affected by complex socioecological factors associated with the conditions of war. Parenting programs, which have demonstrated effectiveness in high-income and stable contexts, offer a promising approach to improving caregiving practices that promote children's resilience in the context of war. Nonetheless, little evidence exists to inform the implementation of parenting programs in humanitarian contexts. To address this evidence gap, this article presents an analysis of the socioecological factors that influence parenting behaviors and describes a conceptual framework for understanding the predictors of parenting in war to guide intervention design and research. This article reviews existing evidence of parenting programs in low-and middle-income countries and finds indications of effective models for improving parenting behaviors and child development, albeit with wide variation in the program curricula, structure, and delivery method. Finally, this article underscores the need for program models that specifically address the complex factors influencing parenting in times of war and provides recommendations for further research and practice.",PEACE AND CONFLICT-JOURNAL OF PEACE PSYCHOLOGY,2017,FEB J,"Sloat, MR; Reeves, GH; Christiansen, KR",Stream network geomorphology mediates predicted vulnerability of anadromous fish habitat to hydrologic change in southeast Alaska,10.1111/gcb.13466,"In rivers supporting Pacific salmon in southeast Alaska, USA, regional trends toward a warmer, wetter climate are predicted to increase mid- and late-21st-century mean annual flood size by 17% and 28%, respectively. Increased flood size could alter stream habitats used by Pacific salmon for reproduction, with negative consequences for the substantial economic, cultural, and ecosystem services these fish provide. We combined field measurements and model simulations to estimate the potential influence of future flood disturbance on geomorphic processes controlling the quality and extent of coho, chum, and pink salmon spawning habitat in over 800 southeast Alaska watersheds. Spawning habitat responses varied widely across watersheds and among salmon species. Little variation among watersheds in potential spawning habitat change was explained by predicted increases in mean annual flood size. Watershed response diversity was mediated primarily by topographic controls on stream channel confinement, reach-scale geomorphic associations with spawning habitat preferences, and complexity in the pace and mode of geomorphic channel responses to altered flood size. Potential spawning habitat loss was highest for coho salmon, which spawn over a wide range of geomorphic settings, including steeper, confined stream reaches that are more susceptible to streambed scour during high flows. We estimated that 9-10% and 13-16% of the spawning habitat for coho salmon could be lost by the 2040s and 2080s, respectively, with losses occurring primarily in confined, higher-gradient streams that provide only moderate-quality habitat. Estimated effects were lower for pink and chum salmon, which primarily spawn in unconfined floodplain streams. Our results illustrate the importance of accounting for valley and reach-scale geomorphic features in watershed assessments of climate vulnerability, especially in topographically complex regions. Failure to consider the geomorphic context of stream networks will hamper efforts to understand and mitigate the vulnerability of anadromous fish habitat to climate-induced hydrologic change.",GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY,2017,FEB J,"McMillen, H; Ticktin, T; Springer, HK",The future is behind us: traditional ecological knowledge and resilience over time on Hawai'i Island,10.1007/s10113-016-1032-1,"Local and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) systems are thought to be particularly valuable for fostering adaptation and resilience to environmental and climate change. This paper investigates the role of TEK in adaptation to social-ecological change at the community level. It is unique because it takes a longitudinal perspective and draws on historical and contemporary data. We focus on a case study from Hawai'i where TEK, cultural identity, and their relationships to environmental stewardship are locally seen as the basis for social resilience. We describe how coping strategies and indicators of social resilience have changed over time; the role of TEK in resilience; and the implications for climate change adaptation. Our results show the relative contributions of some strategies to cope with social-ecological change have decreased (e.g., forecasting, storage, and mobility), while others have maintained but adapted (e.g., livelihood diversification, knowledge transmission and storage, communal pooling, and cultural identity), underscoring the importance of considering multiple strategies together to promote community resilience. The article argues that understanding how people responded in the past can suggest relevant and culturally appropriate ways-through specific language, values, reference points, and indicators expressed in narratives, proverbs, and songs-of situating climate change and framing adaptation planning. This research also shows that TEK is vital for adaptation to environmental change broadly and climate change in particular, for subsistence-based, indigenous, rural communities, as well as place-based communities living in mixed economies. Thus, it is relevant for the larger Pacific Islands region and other areas that represent a continuum from rural-to-urban and traditional-to-global economies and lifeways.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,FEB J,"Montgomery, ET; Mensch, B; Musara, P; Hartmann, M; Woeber, K; Etima, J; van der Straten, A",Misreporting of Product Adherence in the MTN-003/VOICE Trial for HIV Prevention in Africa: Participants' Explanations for Dishonesty,10.1007/s10461-016-1609-1,"Consistent over-reporting of product use limits researchers' ability to accurately measure adherence and estimate product efficacy in HIV prevention trials. While lying is a universal characteristic of the human condition, growing evidence of a stark discrepancy between self-reported product use and biologic or pharmacokinetic evidence demands examination of the reasons research participants frequently misrepresent product use in order to mitigate this challenge in future research. This study (VOICE-D) was an ancillary post-trial study of the vaginal and oral interventions to control the epidemic (VOICE) phase IIb trial (MTN 003). It was conducted in three African countries to elicit candid accounts from former VOICE trial participants about why actual product use was lower than reported. In total 171 participants were enrolled between December 2012 and March 2014 in South Africa (n = 47), Uganda (n = 59) and Zimbabwe (n = 65). Data suggested that participants understood the importance of daily product use and honest reporting, yet acknowledged that research participants typically lie. Participants cited multiple reasons for misreporting adherence, including human nature, self-presentation with study staff, fear of repercussions (study termination resulting in loss of benefits and experience of HIV-related stigma), a permissive environment in which it was easy to get away with misreporting, and avoiding inconvenient additional counseling. Some participants also reported mistrust of the staff and reciprocal dishonesty about the study products. Many suggested real-time blood-monitoring during trials would encourage greater fidelity to product use and honesty in reporting. Participants at all sites understood the importance of daily product use and honesty, while also acknowledging widespread misreporting of product use. Narratives of dishonesty may suggest a wider social context of hiding products from partners and distrust about research, influenced by rumors circulating in clinic waiting-rooms and surrounding communities. Prevailing power hierarchies between staff and participants may exacerbate misreporting. Participants recognized and suggested that objective, real-time feedback is needed to encourage honest reporting.",AIDS AND BEHAVIOR,2017,FEB J,"Carolli, M; Zolezzi, G; Geneletti, D; Siviglia, A; Carolli, F; Cainelli, O",Modelling white-water rafting suitability in a hydropower regulated Alpine River,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.049,"Cultural and recreational river ecosystem services and their relations with the flow regime are still poorly investigated. We develop a modelling-based approach to assess recreational flow requirements and the spatially distributed river suitability for white-water rafting, a typical service offered by mountain streams, with potential conflicts of interest with hydropower regulation. The approach is based on the principles of habitat suitability modelling using water depth as the main attribute, with preference curves defined through interviews with local rafting guides. The methodology allows to compute streamflow thresholds for conditions of suitability and optimality of a river reach in relation to rafting. Rafting suitability response to past, present and future flow management scenarios can be predicted on the basis of a hydrological model, which is incorporated in the methodology and is able to account for anthropic effects. Rafting suitability is expressed through a novel metric, the Rafting hydro-suitability index (RHSI) which quantifies the cumulative duration of suitable and optimal conditions for rafting. The approach is applied on the Noce River (NE Italy), an Alpine River regulated by hydropower production and affected by hydropeaking, which influences suitability at a sub-daily scale. A dedicated algorithm is developed within the hydrological model to resemble hydropeaking conditions with daily flow data. In the Noce River, peak flows associated with hydropeaking support rafting activities in late summer, highlighting the dual nature of hydropeaking in regulated rivers. Rafting suitability is slightly reduced under present, hydropower-regulated flow conditions compared to an idealized flow regime characterised by no water abstractions. Localized water abstractions for small, run-of-the-river hydropower plants are predicted to negatively affect rafting suitability. The proposed methodology can be extended to support decision making for flow management in hydropower regulated streams, as it has the potential to quantify the response of different ecosystem services to flow regulation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2017,feb 1 J,"Colloff, MJ; Martin-Lopez, B; Lavorel, S; Locatelli, B; Gorddard, R; Longaretti, PY; Walters, G; van Kerkhoff, L; Wyborn, C; Coreau, A; Wise, RM; Dunlop, M; Degeorges, P; Grantham, H; Overton, IC; Williams, RD; Doherty, MD; Capon, T; Sanderson, T; Murphy, HT",An integrative research framework for enabling transformative adaptation,10.1016/j.envsci.2016.11.007,"Transformative adaptation will be increasingly important to effectively address the impacts of climate change and other global drivers on social-ecological systems. Enabling transformative adaptation requires new ways to evaluate and adaptively manage trade-offs between maintaining desirable aspects of current social-ecological systems and adapting to major biophysical changes to those systems. We outline such an approach, based on three elements developed by the Transformative Adaptation Research Alliance (TARA): (1) the benefits of adaptation services; that sub-set of ecosystem services that help people adapt to environmental change; (2) The values-rules-knowledge perspective (vrk) for identifying those aspects of societal decision-making contexts that enable or constrain adaptation and (3) the adaptation pathways approach for implementing adaptation, that builds on and integrates adaptation services and the vrk perspective. Together, these elements provide a future-oriented approach to evaluation and use of ecosystem services, a dynamic, grounded understanding of governance and decision-making and a logical, sequential approach that connects decisions over time. The TARA approach represents a means for achieving changes in institutions and governance needed to support transformative adaptation. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2017,FEB J,"Treves, A; Chapron, G; Lopez-Bao, JV; Shoemaker, C; Goeckner, AR; Bruskotter, JT",Predators and the public trust,10.1111/brv.12227,"Many democratic governments recognize a duty to conserve environmental resources, including wild animals, as a public trust for current and future citizens. These public trust principles have informed two centuries of U.S.A. Supreme Court decisions and environmental laws worldwide. Nevertheless numerous populations of large-bodied, mammalian carnivores (predators) were eradicated in the 20th century. Environmental movements and strict legal protections have fostered predator recoveries across the U.S.A. and Europe since the 1970s. Now subnational jurisdictions are regaining management authority from central governments for their predator subpopulations. Will the history of local eradication repeat or will these jurisdictions adopt public trust thinking and their obligation to broad public interests over narrower ones? We review the role of public trust principles in the restoration and preservation of controversial species. In so doing we argue for the essential roles of scientists from many disciplines concerned with biological diversity and its conservation. We look beyond species endangerment to future generations' interests in sustainability, particularly non-consumptive uses. Although our conclusions apply to all wild organisms, we focus on predators because of the particular challenges they pose for government trustees, trust managers, and society. Gray wolves Canis lupus L. deserve particular attention, because detailed information and abundant policy debates across regions have exposed four important challenges for preserving predators in the face of interest group hostility. One challenge is uncertainty and varied interpretations about public trustees' responsibilities for wildlife, which have created a mosaic of policies across jurisdictions. We explore how such mosaics have merits and drawbacks for biodiversity. The other three challenges to conserving wildlife as public trust assets are illuminated by the biology of predators and the interacting behavioural ecologies of humans and predators. The scientific community has not reached consensus on sustainable levels of human-caused mortality for many predator populations. This challenge includes both genuine conceptual uncertainty and exploitation of scientific debate for political gain. Second, human intolerance for predators exposes value conflicts about preferences for some wildlife over others and balancing majority rule with the protection of minorities in a democracy. We examine how differences between traditional assumptions and scientific studies of interactions between people and predators impede evidence-based policy. Even if the prior challenges can be overcome, well-reasoned policy on wild animals faces a greater challenge than other environmental assets because animals and humans change behaviour in response to each other in the short term. These coupled, dynamic responses exacerbate clashes between uses that deplete wildlife and uses that enhance or preserve wildlife. Viewed in this way, environmental assets demand sophisticated, careful accounting by disinterested trustees who can both understand the multidisciplinary scientific measurements of relative costs and benefits among competing uses, and justly balance the needs of all beneficiaries including future generations. Without public trust principles, future trustees will seldom prevail against narrow, powerful, and undemocratic interests. Without conservation informed by public trust thinking predator populations will face repeated cycles of eradication and recovery. Our conclusions have implications for the many subfields of the biological sciences that address environmental trust assets from the atmosphere to aquifers.",BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS,2017,FEB J,"Vogdrup-Schmidt, M; Strange, N; Olsen, SB; Thorsen, BJ",Trade-off analysis of ecosystem service provision in nature networks,10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.12.011,"We propose a spatial multi-criteria decision analysis approach as a value-focused decision support tool for evaluating land use change decisions affecting multiple ecosystem services. In an empirical case study concerned with creating a robust and interconnected network of natural areas in a Danish municipality, we first conduct a biophysical and economic baseline mapping of ecosystem services. We then construct a spatially explicit multi-criteria decision analysis model which is utilized to identify candidate areas for inclusion in the network. We define a base scenario for future land use in the area, where all criteria have equal weight, and assess the outcome in terms of welfare economic benefits of ecosystem services and opportunity cost of reducing forest and agricultural production. As weights in multi-criteria analysis is innately a subjective task, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using four corner solution scenarios. The analyses illustrate the possible range of impacts and highlight the specific trade-offs between different ecosystem services. We argue that a multi-criteria decision analysis approach will help inform decision makers in a structured and informative way when considering future land use changes.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017,FEB J,"Urgenson, LS; Ryan, CM; Halpern, CB; Bakker, JD; Belote, RT; Franklin, JF; Haugo, RD; Nelson, CR; Waltz, AEM",Visions of Restoration in Fire-Adapted Forest Landscapes: Lessons from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program,10.1007/s00267-016-0791-2,"Collaborative approaches to natural resource management are becoming increasingly common on public lands. Negotiating a shared vision for desired conditions is a fundamental task of collaboration and serves as a foundation for developing management objectives and monitoring strategies. We explore the complex socio-ecological processes involved in developing a shared vision for collaborative restoration of fire-adapted forest landscapes. To understand participant perspectives and experiences, we analyzed interviews with 86 respondents from six collaboratives in the western U.S., part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program established to encourage collaborative, science-based restoration on U.S. Forest Service lands. Although forest landscapes and group characteristics vary considerably, collaboratives faced common challenges to developing a shared vision for desired conditions. Three broad categories of challenges emerged: meeting multiple objectives, collaborative capacity and trust, and integrating ecological science and social values in decision-making. Collaborative groups also used common strategies to address these challenges, including some that addressed multiple challenges. These included use of issue-based recommendations, field visits, and landscape-level analysis; obtaining support from local agency leadership, engaging facilitators, and working in smaller groups (sub-groups); and science engagement. Increased understanding of the challenges to, and strategies for, developing a shared vision of desired conditions is critical if other collaboratives are to learn from these efforts.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2017,FEB J,"de Juan, S; Gelcich, S; Fernandez, M",Integrating stakeholder perceptions and preferences on ecosystem services in the management of coastal areas,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.11.019,"The consideration of stakeholders' perceptions and preferences on different ecosystem services, identifying potential conflict areas, is essential for operationalizing integrated management plans. In the central coast of Chile, several traditional fishing resources are overexploited and conflicts between users might arise with the increasing demand of both traditional and new uses. The principal groups of users in coastal areas were characterized in order to generate information that advances towards integrative approaches in the region. Face-to-face surveys to fishermen, tourists and permanent residents were conducted in six coastal sites to identify what these groups value the most, assessing at the same time if differences in perceptions and use might suggest future conflicts between users associated to coastal planning. Participants had to prioritize a list of coastal attributes associated with ecosystem services. Results show variability in prioritization of coastal attributes amongst groups of users, however, variability across sites was low. Fishermen showed a tight economic and cultural dependency on provisioning services; however, their general perception was of decreasing catches and a shift to less valued resources and habitat structuring species as traditional ecosystem services deteriorate. Tourists and residents had the most homogenous perceptions, and agreed on the prioritization of intangible services, such as the quietness and scenery of the coast. Nevertheless, deterioration of the environment was perceived as relevant by the inhabitants of the study area, reflecting a potential conflict between the current increase in tourist influx and resource demand. Therefore, increasing recreational use needs to be managed, ensuring the resilience of the traditional fisheries and adopting effective actions that should encompass wider ecosystem objectives. However, the real challenge for integrated management is the incorporation of intangible values in conservation objectives. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2017,FEB J,"Bower, SD; Danylchuk, AJ; Raghavan, R; Danylchuk, SC; Pinder, AC; Alter, AM; Cooke, SJ",Involving recreational fisheries stakeholders in development of research and conservation priorities for mahseer (Tor spp.) of India through collaborative workshops,10.1016/j.fishres.2016.05.011,"The mahseer (Tor spp.) of India are a group of potamodromous cyprinids currently facing numerous challenges in their native ranges including overfishing, pollution, and hydropower development. As a result of such challenges, four of the seven Indian species of Tor have been listed as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List, including two of the most popular recreationally fished species, Tor khudree and Tor putitora. Stakeholders in the mahseer recreational fishery may serve as an ally for this group of iconic fishes, fostering aquatic stewardship and providing livelihood alternatives for poachers. Yet, information regarding species-specific responses to recreational fishing practices is lacking and a 2009 decree equating fishing with hunting in the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) has since 2011 effectively banned angling within protected areas and rendered the future of mahseer recreational fisheries elsewhere uncertain. In 2014, our team collaborated with local organizations, fisheries professionals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and anglers to conduct two stakeholder workshops designed to develop a research agenda for various species of Indian mahseer. General knowledge gaps identified in the two workshops were very similar and included biological, sociological, and economic considerations. The resulting research priorities in both locations strongly highlighted local context, indicating that while opportunities for addressing knowledge gaps through collaboration exist at the national scale, there is a need for regional or fishery-specific governance strategies and approaches to mahseer research and conservation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",FISHERIES RESEARCH,2017,FEB J,"Tichenor, NE; Peters, CJ; Norris, GA; Thoma, G; Griffin, TS",Life cycle environmental consequences of grass-fed and dairy beef production systems in the Northeastern United States,10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.138,"Innovative strategies are needed to improve the sustainability of beef production and consumption systems. Increasing reliance on regional or local food systems may improve resilience, and consumer demand for such foods is high. In the Northeastern U.S., the dairy sector may provide beef at a low environmental cost relative to other systems due to multi-functionality (i.e.; milk and meat outputs). Additionally, landscape and market factors indicate suitability and demand for regional grass-fed beef. We used ISO-compliant life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental burdens of grass-fed beef with management-intensive grazing (GF) and confinement dairy beef (DB) production systems in the Northeastern U.S. The impact scope included global warming potential, eutrophication and acidification potential, fossil fuel and water depletion, and agricultural land use. The foundation of the production system models was a herd-level, life cycle livestock feed requirements model, which we adapted and applied for the first time within LCA. Per kg carcass weight beef produced, DB had lower global warming potential, eutrophication potential, acidification potential, and agricultural land use than GF with higher fossil fuel depletion and water depletion. Calculating eutrophication and acidification per hectare agricultural land resulted in lower impacts for GF compared to DB. Maintaining the breeding herd accounted for over half of GF (60%) and DB (52%) impacts on average across categories. Sensitivity analyses indicated potential pasture carbon sequestration and lower enteric methane emissions under management-intensive grazing may substantially reduce the carbon footprint of GF (though not lower than DB), which should be explored with further research. Future research should also examine holistic strategies to reduce regional GF and DB system footprints, such as substituting food waste for traditional feeds and accounting for ecosystem services provided by pasture-based farming systems within LCA. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2017,ene 20 J,"Li, T; Cui, YH; Liu, AG","Spatiotemporal dynamic analysis of forest ecosystem services using big data: A case study of Anhui province, central-eastern China",10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.118,"Although a large number of reviews have studied different scales of forest ecosystem services, few have concentrated on accounting the spatiotemporal dynamic changes of forest ecosystem services in a region. To make a more accurate accounting, this paper selects intense data sets that assess the physical quantity and value of forest ecosystem services in Anhui provinces from 2009 to 2014. Regulating and supporting services such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and oxygen release, soil conservation and air purification are included in the paper as variables. Optimize analysis was further conducted in order to identify the spatial and temporal heterogeneity during the study period. We establish a dynamic ecosystem services assessment model with the coefficient of spatial heterogeneity and coefficients of scarce resources and social development to analyze the trend of the value in Anhui province. This model is designed for comparisons of forest services in different scales in Anhui province. The results demonstrate that the total value of forest ecosystem services is beyond the previous estimation while using spatiotemporal visualization. The implications are that the evaluation of forest ecosystem services should be measured more accurately with the help of big data in the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2017,ene 20 J,"Pastorella, F; Giacovelli, G; De Meo, I; Paletto, A",People's preferences for Alpine forest landscapes: results of an internet-based survey,10.1080/13416979.2017.1279708,"During the last century, European mountain landscapes have been subject to change due to depopulation and abandonment of the traditional human activities. The relationship between people and nature giving rise to the diffusion of aesthetic attitudes towards natural and cultural landscapes. The article analyses the people's preferences for different Alpine forest landscapes in order to define a territorial marketing strategy able to consider the preferences of potential visitors. People's preferences were collected through an internet-based online survey. A sample of 500 respondents assessed the features of landscape from an aesthetic point of view and evaluated five Alpine forest landscapes images through a pairwise comparison. The results show that people prefer more natural landscapes - without human infrastructures - characterized by forests and water bodies.",JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH,2017,ene 16 J,"Heusinger, J; Weber, S",Surface energy balance of an extensive green roof as quantified by full year eddy-covariance measurements,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.168,"Green roofs are discussed as a promising type of green infrastructure to lower heat stress in cities. In order to enhance evaporative cooling, green roofs should ideally have similar Bowen ratio (beta = sensible heat flux/latent heat flux) characteristics such as rural sites, especially during summer periods with high air temperatures. We use the eddy-covariance (EC) method to quantify the energy balance of an 8600 m(2) extensive, non-irrigated green roof at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Germany over a full annual cycle. To understand the influence of water availability on green roof-atmosphere energy exchange, we studied dry and wet periods and looked into functional relationships between leaf area, volumetric water content (VWC) of the substrate, shortwave radiation and beta. The surface energy balance was dominated by turbulent heat fluxes in comparison to conductive substrate heat fluxes. The Bowen ratio was slightly below unity on average but highly variable due to ambient meteorology and substrate water availability, i.e. (beta increased to 2 in the summer season. During dry periods mean daytime 13 was beta, which is comparable to typical values of urban instead of rural sites. In contrast, mean daytime (beta was 0.3 during wet periods. Following a summer wet period the green roof maximum daily evapotranspiration (ET) was 33 mm, which is a threefold increase with respect to the mean summer ET. A multiple regression model indicated that the substrate VWC at the present site has to be >0.11 m(3) m(-3) during summer high insolation periods (>500 W m(-2)) in order to maintain favourable green roof energy partitioning, i.e. mid-day beta < 1. The microclimate benefit of urban green roofs can be significantly optimised by using sustainable irrigation approaches. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2017,ene 15 S,"Pfaff, A; Robalino, J",Spillovers from Conservation Programs,10.1146/annurev-resource-100516-053543,"Conservation programs have increased significantly, as has the evaluation of their impacts. However, the evaluation of their potential impacts beyond program borders has been scarce. Such spillovers can significantly reduce or increase net impacts. In this review, we discuss how conservation programs might affect outcomes beyond their borders and present some evidence of when they have or have not. We focus on five major channels by which spillovers can arise: (1) input reallocation; (2) market prices; (3) learning; (4) nonpecuniary motivations; and (5) ecological-physical links. We highlight evidence for each channel and emphasize that estimates often may reflect multiple channels. Future research could test for spillovers within different contexts and could separate the effects of different channels.","ANNUAL REVIEW OF RESOURCE ECONOMICS, VOL 9",2017, J,"Ozturk, T; Turp, MT; Turkes, M; Kurnaz, ML",Projected changes in temperature and precipitation climatology of Central Asia CORDEX Region 8 by using RegCM4.3.5,10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.09.008,"This work investigated projected future changes in seasonal mean air temperature (degrees C) and precipitation (mm/day) climatology for the three periods of 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100, with respect to the control period of 1971-2000 for the Central Asia domain via regional climate model simulations. In order to investigate the projected changes in near future climate conditions, the Regional Climate Model, RegCM4.3.5 of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) was driven by two different CMIP5 global climate models. The HadGEM2-ES global climate model of the Met Office Hadley Centre and the MPI-ESM-MR global climate model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology were downscaled to 50 km for the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Region 8. We investigated the seasonal time-scale performance of RegCM4.3.5 in reproducing observed climatology over the domain of the Central Asia by using two different global climate model outputs. For the future climatology of the domain, the regional model projects relatively high warming in the warm season with a decrease in precipitation in almost all parts of the domain. A warming trend is notable, especially for the northern part of the domain during the cold season. The results of our study show that surface air temperatures in the region will increase between 3 degrees C and about 7 degrees C on average, according to the emission scenarios for the period of 2071-2100 with respect to past period of 1971-2000. Therefore, the projected warming and decrease in precipitation might adversely affect the ecological and socio-economic systems of this region, which is already a mostly arid and semi-arid environment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH,2017,ene 1 J,"Settre, CM; Wheeler, SA","A century of intervention in a Ramsar wetland - the case of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth",10.1080/14486563.2017.1300952,"Coastal wetlands are among the more valuable ecosystems on the planet. Managing wetlands to maintain ecosystem function is physically and politically challenging, especially during drought. Management of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth has been characterised by a sequence of active and reactive infrastructure interventions, first as active interventions to supply consumptive water demands and more recently as reactive emergency drought responses. However, infrastructure solutions are not necessarily synonymous with achieving sustainability. Infrastructure interventions have occurred at significant public expenditure and high opportunity cost. Greater attention to demand-based management strategies including time-limited environmental water acquisitions and state-based environmental water holdings provides an alternative to future infrastructure reliance. There is also considerable scope for greater provision of cultural flows and engagement with traditional owners to improve ecological condition.",AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2017, J,"Mavrommati, G; Borsuk, ME; Howarth, RB",A novel deliberative multicriteria evaluation approach to ecosystem service valuation,10.5751/ES-09105-220239,"Although efforts to address ecosystem services in decision making have advanced considerably in recent years, there remain challenges related to valuation. In particular, conventional economic approaches have been criticized for their inability to capture the collective nature of ecosystem services, for their emphasis on monetary metrics, and the difficulty of assessing the value of ecosystem services to future generations. We present a deliberative multicriteria evaluation (DMCE) method that combines the advantages of multicriteria decision analysis with a deliberation process that allows citizens and scientists to exchange knowledge and evaluate ecosystem services in a social context. Compared with previous applications we add the following: (i) a choice task that can be expected to lead to a more reliable assessment of trade-offs among ecosystem services, and (ii) an explicit consideration of the future by both presenting specific socioeconomic scenarios and asking participating citizens to serve as trustees for future generations. We implemented our DMCE framework with 11 panels of residents of the upper Merrimack River watershed in New Hampshire with the goal of assessing the relative value of 10 different ecosystem services in the form of trade-off weights. We found that after group deliberation and expert scientific input, all groups except one were able to reach internal consensus on the relative value of these ecosystem services. Additionally, the pattern of trade-off weights across groups was reasonably similar; there was no statistically significant effect of the specific future scenarios that were presented to the groups. Results of a survey given to participants after the deliberative process revealed that most felt that their opinion during the deliberation was heard by the others and that they were influential on the outcome. Further, the vast majority were satisfied with the outcome of the deliberation. We conclude by discussing the strengths and limitations of our framework at an operational level.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Buschmann, AH; Camus, C; Infante, J; Neori, A; Israel, A; Hernandez-Gonzalez, MC; Pereda, SV; Gomez-Pinchetti, JL; Golberg, A; Tadmor-Shalev, N; Critchley, AT","Seaweed production: overview of the global state of exploitation, farming and emerging research activity",10.1080/09670262.2017.1365175,"The use of seaweeds has a long history, as does the cultivation of a select and relatively small group of species. This review presents several aspects of seaweed production, such as an update on the volumes of seaweeds produced globally by both extraction from natural beds and cultivation. We discuss uses, production trends and economic analysis. We also focus on what is viewed as the huge potential for growing industrial-scale volumes of seaweeds to provide sufficient, sustainable biomass to be processed into a multitude of products to benefit humankind. The biorefinery approach is proposed as a sustainable strategy to achieve this goal. There are many different technologies available to produce seaweed, but optimization and more efficient developments are still required. We conclude that there are some fundamental and very significant hurdles yet to overcome in order to achieve the potential contributions that seaweed cultivation may provide the world. There are critical aspects, such as improving the value of seaweed biomass, along with a proper consideration of the ecosystem services that seaweed farming can provide, e.g. a reduction in coastal nutrient loads. Additional considerations are environmental risks associated with climate change, pathogens, epibionts and grazers, as well as the preservation of the genetic diversity of cultivated seaweeds. Importantly, we provide an outline for future needs in the anticipation that phycologists around the world will rise to the challenge, such that the potential to be derived from seaweed biomass becomes a reality.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY,2017, J,"Li, CZ; Crepin, AS; Folke, C",The Economics of Resilience,10.1561/101.00000096,"This paper provides an interpretive overview on the economics of resilience with special reference to social-ecological systems. We address the basic sciences of regime shifts and resilience in different settings linked to empirical cases and review the economic models related to these aspects. In particular we discuss models to assess market outcomes when thresholds exist and are known and particular characteristics of such systems when they are optimally managed. We also examine multiple aspects of uncertainty including unknown but learnable thresholds and systems where either the threshold or the stock dynamics are uncertain because they change in a stochastic way. Moreover, we discuss resilience in relation to measurement and valuation using approaches that focus on the role of biodiversity for resilience, the insurance value of resilience and the value of resilience as a stock that influences social welfare. Finally, we discuss issues related to practical resilience management and identify knowledge gaps that future research efforts could address.",INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS,2017, S,"Fritz, M",The Contribution of Nature-Based Solutions to Socially Inclusive Urban Development-Some Reflections from a Social-environmental Perspective,10.1007/978-3-319-56091-5_13,"Nature-based solutions have emerged to be a major approach or concept when discussing about the sustainable future four cities and are expected to represent solutions for societal problems. When looking closer at this approach, it becomes, however, obvious that the concept is loaded with too many expectations concerning the societal - and, what is more, the social - context of today's urban reality. Furthermore, nature-based solutions are not inherently socially just; when aiming at bringing together environmental sustainability and social equity/inclusion, then a range of issues have to be critically looked at. Set against this background, the paper reflects on the contribution of nature-based solutions to a socially inclusive urban development. In the focus are trade-offs and blind spots of the hitherto discussion. The paper is thought to be first and foremost a positioning paper and is based on five theses. The paper argues, among others, that nature-based solutions offer, if discussed comprehensively and seriously, a potential for creating and shaping more sustainable cities. In order to meet this objective, they should, however, be seen as more than just tools, technologies and instruments. Nature-based solutions have to be improved as a comprehensive approach, especially with respect to their societal and social embeddings and the full picture of their impacts.","NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN URBAN AREAS: LINKAGES BETWEEN SCIENCE, POLICY AND PRACTICE",2017, S,"Coppock, DL; Fernandez-Gimenez, M; Hiernaux, P; Huber-Sannwald, E; Schloeder, C; Valdivia, C; Arredondo, JT; Jacobs, M; Turin, C; Turner, M",Rangeland Systems in Developing Nations: Conceptual Advances and Societal Implications,10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2_17,"Developing-country rangelands are vast and diverse. They are home to millions who are often poor, politically marginalized, and dependent on livestock for survival. Here we summarize our experiences from six case-study sites in sub-Saharan Africa, central Asia, and Latin America generally covering the past 25 years. We examine issues pertaining to population, natural resource management, climate, land use, livestock marketing, social conflict, and pastoral livelihoods. The six study sites differ with respect to human and livestock population dynamics and the resulting pressures on natural resources. Environmental degradation, however, has been commonly observed. Climate change is also having diverse systemic effects often related to increasing aridity. As rangelands become more economically developed pastoral livelihoods may diversify, food security can improve, and commercial livestock production expands, but wealth stratification widens. Some significant upgrades in rural infrastructure and public service delivery have occurred; telecommunications are markedly improved overall due to widespread adoption of mobile phones. Pressures from grazing, farming, mining, and other land uses-combined with drought-can ignite local conflicts over resources, although the intensity and scope of conflicts markedly varies across our case-study sites. Pastoralists and their herds have become more sedentary overall due to many factors, and this can undermine traditional risk-management tactics based on mobility. Remote rangelands still offer safe havens for insurgents, warlords, and criminals especially in countries where policing remains weak; the resulting civil strife can undermine commerce and public safety. There has been tremendous growth in knowledge concerning developing-country rangelands since 1990, but this has not often translated into improved environmental stewardship or an enhanced wellbeing for rangeland dwellers. Some examples of demonstrable impact are described, and these typically have involved longer-term investments in capacity building for pastoralists, local professionals, and other stakeholders. Research is shifting from ecologically centered to more human-centered issues; traditional academic approaches are often being augmented with participatory, community-based engagement. Building human or social capital in ways that are integrated with improved natural resource stewardship offers the greatest returns on research investment. Our future research and outreach priorities include work that fortifies pastoral governance, enhances livelihoods for a diverse array of rangeland residents, and improves land and livestock management in a comprehensive social-ecological systems approach.","RANGELAND SYSTEMS: PROCESSES, MANAGEMENT AND CHALLENGES",2017, J,"Higgs, E",Novel and designed ecosystems,10.1111/rec.12410,"Growing attention to novel and designed ecosystems, and the confusion that follows from the overlap of these distinct ecosystem approaches, risks a loss of focus on ecological values at the core of restoration ecology. Novel ecosystems originate in ecosystems that are transformed beyond which the practical efforts of conventional restoration are feasible. They are also self-sustaining in the sense that they take time to form, and do not typically receive regular management. In this respect, they arise differently than designed ecosystems, which are assembled with specific goals in mind and are often heavily managed. Designed (or engineered) ecosystems comprise a variety of ecological approaches including reclamation (return a degraded ecosystem to productive capacity), green infrastructure, and agroecological systems. There are three elements that distinguish novel and designed ecosystems. Designed ecosystems typically require intensive intervention to create them, and ongoing management to sustain them; novel ecosystems do not. Second, the human intentions behind designed and novel ecosystems are usually different. Designed ecosystems exist in the service of human interests, including specific services (e.g. filtration, cooling, nature appreciation), aesthetics, and shifting value commitments toward green infrastructure; novel ecosystems arise typically through inadvertent human activity. Third, designed and novel ecosystems have different developmental pathways. Historical ecosystems are the starting point for restored, hybrid, and novel ecosystems; designed ecosystems are intentionally created. Designed ecosystems stand apart as providing a new origin for ecosystems of the future, including those that become novel ecosystems.",RESTORATION ECOLOGY,2017,JAN J,"Napawan, NC; Simpson, SA; Snyder, B",Engaging Youth in Climate Resilience Planning with Social Media: Lessons from #OurChangingClimate,10.17645/up.v2i4.1010,"In light of the socio-ecological complexities associated with climate vulnerability, planning for community resilience will require participatory techniques to engage those most vulnerable. In particular, youth set to inherit the predicted impacts of climate change must be engaged with the processes that determine the future of their built environments. Drawing from existing literature on youth-based participatory planning and climate engagement, this paper presents an alternative process for engaging youth in climate resilience planning by employing digital technology as a tool for youth-based evaluations of existing built environments. Using the pilot project #OurChangingClimate as a case study, the authors propose a new model for engaging youth with an understanding of their communities and their resilience or vulnerability to climate change. The article details the use of social media and digital narratives as tools for participatory resilience planning and presents some of the preliminary content generated in four pilot youth workshops held from 2015-2017. Lastly, implications of youth-generated content on climate resilience planning are discussed.",URBAN PLANNING,2017, B,"Koundouri, P; Giannouli, A; Airoldi, L; Bas, B; Broszeit, S; Elginoz, N; Giannakis, E; Zagonari, F; Krontira, Y; Moussoulides, A; Tsani, S; Troianos, D; Xepapadeas, P; Xepapadeas, A; Zanuttigh, B",Socio-economic Analysis of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Mediterranean Sea,10.1007/978-3-319-55772-4_6,"The area off-shore Venice is characterized by a relatively mild climate that allows in principle a safe installation of an off-shore platform, but at the same time strongly limits the benefits of a single-purpose installation, both because of the limited available energy and because of the high distance from the shore due to the flat sea-bottom. Therefore the site appeared to be suited for multi-purpose designs with fish farming and wind energy as potential activities. An Ecosystem Services Approach (ESA) is adopted to identify possible environmental effects and conflicts with other relevant uses. We deal with these potential impacts by choosing a suitable location of the platform. Limited financial data on wind energy suggested a negative Net Present Value (NPV), whereas proper financial data on fish farming produced a slightly positive NPV. A Life Cycle Assessment applied to wind energy and fish farming estimated a significantly positive effect from reduced CO2-eq emissions expressed in euros. A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) applied only to fish farming (i.e., including financial and CO2 results) due to lack of data and resulted on a positive NPV. However, a MUP is not recommended by SCBA, and more explicitly it is not supported by stakeholders in the short-run. Whereas, it might be suggested in the long-run, when, in a crowded sea, both economic and environmental reasons could suggest to move some activities off-shore.",OCEAN OF TOMORROW: INVESTMENT ASSESSMENT OF MULTI-USE OFFSHORE PLATFORMS: METHODOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS - VOL 1,2017, J,"Ismail, FZ; Halog, A; Smith, C",How sustainable is disaster resilience? An overview of sustainable construction approach in post-disaster housing reconstruction,10.1108/IJDRBE-07-2016-0028,"Purpose - The intervention of many different organizations during the post-disaster housing reconstructions could also influence the sustainability of the overall socio-ecology of the affected areas. Different approaches in design, selection of building materials and construction technologies deployed in pursuit of disaster resiliency may cause undesirable adverse circumstances to the surroundings, which escalate its susceptibility to future calamities. Therefore, this paper aims to identify relevant key indicators which interpret construction sustainability in a post-disaster housing reconstruction context, and to further investigate the dynamic interactions of these indicators on the socio-ecological system to achieve holistic sustainable post-disaster housing reconstructions.& para;& para;Design/methodology/approach - Methodology was divided into three main stages. The first stage involved content analysis of related research materials, whereas the second stage was allocated for empirical data collection from case study and interview sessions. Data obtained from the first and second stage were then used to develop a causal loop diagram in the third stage to identify dynamic interrelationships between the indicators and the variables within a post-disaster reconstruction system.& para;& para;Findings - From our results, the nexus of sustainability and disaster resilience is apparent and it is imperative to comprehend their dynamic interactions. The impacts of post-disaster reconstructions on the socio-ecological system are significant. Therefore, the adaptation of integrated sustainable construction approach in the housing reconstruction practice through system thinking will foster a holistic approach in the decision-making process and could reduce environmental damage. This also strengthens the interrelated socio-ecological systems, thus reinforcing disaster resilience in the built environment.& para;& para;Originality/value - This research looks into the adaptation of integrated sustainable construction approach in the housing reconstruction practice through systems thinking approach. This will foster a holistic approach in the decision-making process and could reduce environmental damage. This also strengthens the interrelated socio-ecological systems, thus reinforcing disaster resilience in the built environment. This paper also looks into identifying relevant key indicators that interpret construction sustainability, which incorporate environmental, social and economic factors pertaining to the context of post-disaster housing reconstruction in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. The dynamic interrelationships and causal impacts between the indicators with other variables within the system were also established.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RESILIENCE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2017, J,"Brunckhorst, D; Trammell, EJ; Shannon, M",Landscape Loopholes: Moments for Change,,"Social-ecological systems are breaking down at local, regional, and global scales, and sustainability seems an increasingly distant aspiration. Social harmony and economic systems are connected to ecological systems and climate, in multiple complex ways, at many scales. Adapting research practice to match integration opportunities within social-ecological systems could contribute foresight capabilities emerging from landscape change studies, which can be coupled with emerging policy transformation opportunities. The shaping of landscapes by human imagination and physical action creates meaningful contexts for building sustainability. However, the policy landscape is often dominated by circularity and lock-in to unsustainable pathways that are hard to escape. Moments for change emerge through timely convergence of circumstances, within a landscape context, that provide a window of opportunity-a landscape loophole-through which the transformation to more sustainable social-ecological relationships might be achieved. Creating future options redundancy (FOR) plans, a variety of possible pathways and alternative landscape futures within the characteristics and capacity of a region, could facilitate policy shifts and adaptive capacity, and reduce risk through reflexive future options. The convergence of circumstances providing loophole opportunities to escape existing lock-in might be understood, and even predicted, by closely coupling landscape sciences and policy research.",JOURNAL OF RESEARCH PRACTICE,2017, S,"Puaschunder, JM",SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVES OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTORS,10.1108/S1569-373220160000019008,"The 2008/2009 World Financial Crisis underlined the importance of social responsibility for the sustainable functioning of economic markets. Heralding an age of novel heterodox economic thinking, the call for integrating social facets into mainstream economic models has reached unprecedented momentum. Financial Social Responsibility bridges the finance world with society in socially conscientious investments. Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) integrates corporate social responsibility in investment choices. In the aftermath of the 2008/2009 World Financial Crisis, SRI is an idea whose time has come. Socially conscientious asset allocation styles add to expected yield and volatility of securities social, environmental, and institutional considerations. In screenings, shareholder advocacy, community investing, social venture capital funding and political divestiture, socially conscientious investors hone their interest to align financial profit maximization strategies with social concerns. In a long history of classic finance theory having blacked out moral and ethical considerations of investment decision making, our knowledge of socio-economic motives for SRI is limited. Apart from economic profitability calculus and strategic leadership advantages, this paper sheds light on socio-psychological motives underlying SRI. Altruism, need for innovation and entrepreneurial zest alongside utility derived from social status enhancement prospects and transparency may steer investors' social conscientiousness. Self-enhancement and social expression of future-oriented SRI options may supplement profit maximization goals. Theoretically introducing potential SRI motives serves as a first step toward an empirical validation of Financial Social Responsibility to improve the interplay of financial markets and the real economy. The pursuit of crisis-robust and sustainable financial markets through strengthened Financial Social Responsibility targets at creating lasting societal value for this generation and the following.",GLOBAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE,2017, J,"Milligan, B; Kraus-Polk, A","Evolving the Evolving: Infrastructure, Place and Rewilding in the California Delta",10.17645/up.v2i4.998,"Current planning and legislation in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta call for the large-scale ecological restoration of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. These ecological mandates have emerged in response to the region's infrastructural transformation and the Delta's predominant use as the central logistical hub in the state's vast water conveyance network. Restoration is an attempt to recover what was externalized by the logic and abstractions of this logistical infrastructure. However, based on findings from our research, which examined how people are using restored and naturalized landscapes in the Delta and how these landscapes are currently planned for, we argue that as mitigatory response, restoration planning continues some of the same spatial abstractions and inequities by failing to account for the Delta as an urbanized, cultural and unique place. In interpreting how these conditions have come to be, we give attention to a pluralistic landscape approach and a coevolutionary reading of planning, policy, science and landscapes to discuss the conservation challenges presented by Delta as an Evolving Place. We suggest that for rewilding efforts to be successful in the Delta, a range of proactive, opportunistic, grounded and participatory tactics will be required to shift towards a more socio-ecological approach.",URBAN PLANNING,2017, J,"Sinclair, K; Rawluk, A; Kumar, S; Curtis, A",Ways forward for resilience thinking: lessons from the field for those exploring social-ecological systems in agriculture and natural resource management,10.5751/ES-09705-220421,"Resilience thinking appears to offer a holistic approach that can be used by social researchers to interpret past and contemporary conditions and identify possible futures for social-ecological systems (SES). Resilience thinking is shaping contemporary environmental policy and its implementation in Australia, Europe, and North America. At the same time, social researchers have raised concerns about the limitations of resilience thinking, particularly in its handling of human agency, power relationships, social thresholds, and the social construction of SES definitions. We argue for a reflexive turn in resilience thinking as a way to address these concerns. We draw on lessons from three Australian case studies where a reflexive application of resilience thinking generated insights for research and practice. We propose six areas for reflexive inquiry: (1) focal scale and level, (2) SES definition, (3) narratives of change, (4) processes of knowledge production, (5) social transition trajectories, and (6) social thresholds. In so doing, the assumptions of resilience thinking are politicized and problematized, which improves its theoretical analytical utility, and in practice generates new insights into social processes. Reflexivity offers opportunity for greater cross-disciplinary dialogue between resilience thinking and the social sciences, while allowing methodologies with differing ontologies and epistemologies to be applied in a complementary manner.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Nurmi, PA",Green Mining - A Holistic Concept for Sustainable and Acceptable Mineral Production,10.4401/ag-7420,"Mining has become increasingly difficult for societal and environmental reasons all over the world. There is an increasing competition with other land uses, and water and energy are scarce in many important mining regions. People are not ready to radically reduce the use of mineral-based products, but increasingly oppose mining. The industry faces major challenges to improve its performance and image. The Green Mining concept (GM) was developed as a major tool to make Finland the forerunner in sustainable mining. It promotes material, water, and energy efficiency to reduce the environmental footprint of mineral-based product life cycles. GM allows the recovery of all useful minerals and minimises mining waste. GM aims to ensure the availability of mineral resources for future generations, which requires long-term investment in mineral exploration supported by geoscientific mapping, mineral systems research and the development of exploration techniques. An important goal of GM is to minimise adverse environmental and social impacts in all stages of the operations, and to maximise local benefits. GM helps to organise the operations in such a way that they are safe and meaningful to employees, and harmless for local residents and the environment. After mine closure, GM helps to restore the mining areas to make them safe and preferably to allow other types of land use. The broad-based participation of local residents and other stakeholders is crucial throughout the mining life cycle, from early exploration to mine closure. Societies, governments, and investors should not tolerate unsustainable mining companies in the future. The mining industry has to solve increasing social, ecological and technical problems of the future by applying holistic concepts, such as the Green Mining concept, if they hope to earn the social license to operate.",ANNALS OF GEOPHYSICS,2017, S,"Segerson, K",Valuing Environmental Goods and Services: An Economic Perspective,10.1007/978-94-007-7104-8_1,"Nonmarket valuation, i.e., valuing environmental goods and services that are not traded in a market, has been increasingly used in a variety of policy and decision-making contexts. This is one (but not the only) way that researchers and practitioners have sought to define and measure the values that individuals assign to environmental goods and services. The idea of putting a dollar value on protecting the environment has been controversial, but often because the economic approach to valuation has not been well-understood. This chapter provides a nontechnical overview of and rationale for the economic approach to valuation, starting from a broad conceptualization of values versus valuation. It summarizes the economic concept of value and its key features. It then discusses the use of economic valuation in decision making, followed by an overview of the steps involved in the valuation process and important issues that arise in implementing that process. Finally, it identifies and briefly summarizes the principal non-market valuation methods used by economists. In doing so, it sets the stage for the more detailed chapters on theory and methods that follow.","PRIMER ON NONMARKET VALUATION, 2ND EDITION",2017, S,"Rabitsch, W; Essl, F; Schindler, S",The Rise of Non-native Vectors and Reservoirs of Human Diseases,10.1007/978-3-319-45121-3_17,"Globalisation has led to unprecedented changes in the distribution and incidence of human diseases. Pathogens, animal vectors, and reservoir species have been unintentionally displaced across natural geographic boundaries, resulting in serious human suffering and enormous economic costs. Non-native diseases can also threaten ecosystems and put ecosystem services and human well-being at risk. Introduced species and environmental interactions have caused manifold new risks and challenges for public health. Mosquitoes and ticks are the most important non-native vectors of human diseases, although many different species can serve as non-native reservoir hosts. In addition to imports as contaminants with cargo, the pet trade is an important pathway of introduction for non-native vectors and reservoirs. Evidence suggests that global environmental change will further facilitate emerging outbreaks of non-native human diseases, some of which may be re-emerging old foes. The complex interrelationships between native and non-native hosts, vectors, and pathogens entail inherent uncertainties and make predictions about future outbreaks very challenging. Natural ecosystems provide a regulating service for human well-being, and the loss of biodiversity therefore represents a serious threat to human health. The linkages between humans, animals, and environmental health are becoming more apparent and call for collaborative efforts ('One Health') towards a more responsible ecosystem stewardship.",IMPACT OF BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2017, J,"McBride, MF; Lambert, KF; Huff, ES; Theoharides, KA; Field, P; Thompson, JR",Increasing the effectiveness of participatory scenario development through codesign,10.5751/ES-09386-220316,"Developing scenarios to explore possible environmental futures is a widely used tool in social-ecological research. Scenario planners working in environmental systems increasingly enlist stakeholders to help develop scenarios, but effectively integrating stakeholder participation with scenario analyses and modeling remains a challenge. Using the New England Landscape Futures project as a case study, we explore how a method for codesigning a scenario elicitation process can be used to help balance the needs of both stakeholders and scientists. To illustrate the design process, we document eight influential decisions made with stakeholder input, describe the competing demands that we negotiated, and outline the rationale for the selected approach. We find that three priorities drove most of our decisions: maximizing stakeholder involvement in the scenario development process, efficient use of stakeholder time, and research needs. The outcome was a robust, intense, and highly structured one-day scenario development protocol that engaged stakeholders in the full scenario development process from initial orientation and identification of driving forces through to fleshedout scenarios narratives and quantitative inputs able to inform land-use simulations. Its deployment in six state-specific workshops was successful in eliciting divergent scenarios that stakeholders perceived as being plausible and relevant. Stakeholder responses to the process were positive, though also reflected the compromises made during the codesign process. Research needs were largely met, though initial expectations likely exceeded what could reasonably be elicited from a stakeholder group in one day. Our experiences highlight the importance of process design and how selection of scenario development techniques should follow from the project objectives, problem context, and stakeholder preferences for engagement activities. The use of a codesign framework that recognizes the challenges involved and engages stakeholders in the design process can act as a shared learning experience and contribute to greater effectiveness and impact for participatory social-ecological scenario processes.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, B,"Mwangi, M",Effects of Livelihood-Diversification on Sustainability of Natural Resources in the Rangelands of East Africa: Participatory Field Studies and Results of an Agent-Based Model Using the Knowledge of Indigenous Maasai Pastoralists of Kenya,10.1007/978-3-319-25053-3_10,"Approach: An integrated approach using statistical methods incorporated in Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) was used to examine data about the attitudes and behavioral responses of the Maasai pastoralists and their livelihood-diversification in the rangelands of East Africa. Participant Engagement: A two-phase cross-sectional participatory survey was conducted to gather primary data which included (1) semi-structured interviews with households and key-informants and (2) discussions with focus groups were conducted. Key Outcomes: Outcomes from agent-based livelihood-diversification modeling included new understanding about (a) current and future livelihood-diversification among the Maasai (b) current and future sustainability of natural resources under these new livelihood-diversification conditions and (c) the resulting drivers and impacts of these changes across the landscape. Potentials and Shortcomings: The use of an integrated approach allowed for the capture and integration of socioeconomic, climatic, and environmental factors; and the statistical ABM models provided capacity to explain core feedbacks between the social and ecological systems. There were limitations in the approach in terms of scaling-up or scaling-out of attitudes and behavioral response of agents captured at the household level, given natural variations in response. Additionally, since most decision-making in Maasaipastoralism vis-a-vis governance of natural resources is embedded in various social-networks, institutions, and power relationships, the accounting of the same in statistical methods incorporated in the ABM situation is challenging and there is a lack of standardized approach for analyzing attitudes and behavioral responses or attributes of an ever-evolving socioecological system like Maasai-pastoralism.","ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING WITH STAKEHOLDERS: THEORY, METHODS, AND APPLICATIONS",2017, B,"Dong, SK",Environmental Struggles and Innovations in China: A Historical Perspective,10.1007/978-3-319-44037-8_2,"This chapter presents and updates the information about the situational contexts, threats, problems, challenges, and solutions for environmental sustainability in China. This has been taken in temporal scale with a historical lens to show the environmental wisdoms, struggles, and innovations from ancient times to modern era. Chinese civilization with long history has rooted the ecological wisdoms and developed institutional arrangements for sustainable development. The harmony between the heaven and human in ancient China was an important philosophy and outlook on human-nature relationships for sustainable development. Yuheng functioned as the internal institution to develop and implement the relevant policies for protecting and utilizing the natural resources in a sustainable manner in ancient China. However, deforestation associated with war, fire, construction, reclamation, etc. in ancient times led to destruction of massive natural resources and serious degradation and territory land. Environmental pollution and land degradation associated with human population growth, economic development, land-use changes, and climate change are challenging the sustainable future of China. The historical lessons and the existing challenges have urged China to seek innovative ways to solve the environmental problems. China has made great efforts to take integrated measures and multiple actions to cope with the complex issues of environmental risks. These efforts include institutional innovations of empowering environmental protection agency, political innovations of reforming natural resource and environmental management strategies, economic innovations of adjusting development patterns, social innovations of promoting public participation, as well as technological innovations of developing new approaches for pollution control and ecological restoration.",ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE HIMALAYAS TO THE OCEANS: STRUGGLES AND INNOVATIONS IN CHINA AND INDIA,2017, J,"Sarkissian, AJ; Brook, RM; Talhouk, SN; Hockley, N",Asset-building payments for ecosystem services: assessing landowner perceptions of reforestation incentives in Lebanon,10.5424/fs/2017262-10325,"Aim of study: Incentivising landowners to supply ecosystem services remains challenging, especially when this requires long-term investments such as reforestation. We investigated how landowners perceive, and would respond to, distinct types of incentives for planting diverse native trees on private lands in Lebanon. Our aim was to understand landowners' attitudes towards hypothetical Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) contracts options; their likely participation; and the potential additionality they would provide. Area of study: Highland villages situated within eight of Lebanon's 20 Important Plant Areas. Material and methods: Mixed-methods surveys were conducted with 34 landowners to determine past, present and future land-use strategies. Study participants were presented with three differently structured reforestation contract options (or schemes). The three schemes (results-based loan, action-based grant, and results-based payments) differed in their expected risks and benefits to landowners. Qualitative debriefing questions followed each of the schemes presented. Main results: Although the results-based loan did deter uptake relative to the lower risk action-based grant, results-based payments did not significantly increase uptake or planting area, suggesting asymmetric attitudes to risk. Qualitative probing revealed economic, social (e.g. trust) and institutional factors (e.g. legal implications of planting forest trees on private land) that limited willingness to participate in the results-based contract option. Research highlights: This study demonstrates the importance of combining qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand landowner perceptions of incentives and risks, particularly in challenging socio-political contexts.",FOREST SYSTEMS,2017, J,"Ladd, AE; York, R","Hydraulic Fracking, Shale Energy Development, and Climate Inaction: A New Landscape of Risk in the Trump Era",10.22459/HER.23.01.2017.04,"With the recent election of Donald J. Trump to the Presidency, fossil fuel interests are poised to advance their entire energy agenda on a number of key fronts. Not only has Trump taken steps to increase oil and gas fracking, create more energy infrastructure projects, ramp up foreign fossil fuel exports, resurrect the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and bring back coal production to Appalachian communities, but he has also worked to dismantle most of the signature policies of the Obama administration to fight the effects of climate change. More importantly, he has surrounded himself with cabinet members and advisors who are not just indifferent to environmental problems, but openly hostile to their remediation through government regulations and policy-making. In this critical essay, we draw on sociological research to highlight some of the ongoing technological risks and socio-environmental impacts surrounding unconventional gas and oil development (UGOD) and high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) operations. We briefly address how these hazards are likely to be exacerbated by the policies and cabinet appointments of the Trump administration-as well as the larger congressional Republican energy and environmental agenda-over the coming months. Finally, we conclude with some observations on the future direction of US energy policy in the Trump era and the amplified risks posed by the prospects of a new Third Carbon era driven by fracking and other methods of unconventional energy production.",HUMAN ECOLOGY REVIEW,2017, J,"Kharrazi, A; Kumar, P; Saraswat, C; Avtar, R; Mishra, BK",Adapting Water Resources Planning to a Changing Climate: Towards a Shift from Option Robustness to Process Robustness for Stakeholder Involvement and Social Learning,10.3233/JCC-170016,"Although the concept of robustness is increasingly used in decision making under uncertainty, it has yet to be systematically defined. This paper analyses the term in its original definitions and how it is employed in water resources studies. The concept has diverse origins, ranging from classical systems analysis and decision theory methodologies to socio-ecological systems research. In a climate change adaptation decision context, robustness was found to contain two main facets: option robustness and system robustness. The former requires the selected option to perform adequately within the imaginable futures. The latter allows option switching to keep the system flexible and adaptive. Robustness criteria in current water resources planning encompass both types of robustness, as seen in methods such as robust optimization, real options, info-gap decision theory, robust decision-making and ecological network. In this work, it is argued that most concepts of robustness analyze a system as a single entity under stress rather than a component of a bigger system, which can trigger external failures but also offer external robustness. This work highlights a need for a holistic system analysis of robust pathways and the involvement of managerial aspects.",JOURNAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE,2017, J,"Torrado, SPB",The Socio-Environmental Conflict of the Santurban Wetland. A Bioethical Analysis with a Political Ecology Focus.,,"This article presents an analysis, from a bioethical perspective with a political ecology focus, of the socio-environmental conflict of the Santurban wetland after the delineation. A case study was performed that implemented qualitative techniques such as observation and in-depth interviews to try to identify, first, the ideas of nature that are held by each of the diverse actors in the dispute, second, the reappropriation strategies of the social movements, and, lastly, to unveil if the difference in equality as a bioethical value is present in the developmental alternatives offered to the different communities of the wetland. In the findings, it was determined that the diverse actors fight for the reappropriation of the wetlands with heterogeneous ideas. Nonetheless, these perceptions coexist in all the actors with hybrid notions. The formation of the social movements was weak in the miner social leaders, and the difference in equality as a bioethical value is not present in the developmental alternatives that will redefine the future of the Santurban communities.",REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE BIOETICA,2017, J,"Kaprelian, J; Berg, RL; Barnes, KL; Marlenga, B",Integrating Agricultural Injury Prevention with Rural Pediatrics: A Pilot Assessment,10.1080/1059924X.2017.1354114,"Background: Childhood agricultural injuries are an important public health problem. Pediatricians are a trusted source of expertise in children's health and safety and could serve as a sphere of influence to augment child agricultural injury prevention efforts. The purpose of this pilot study was to begin to explore the perspectives of pediatricians in a large rural health clinic about addressing child agricultural injury prevention within their practice. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted with nine pediatricians who maintain a clinical practice of at least 2days a week and care for newborns through adolescents. Detailed interviewer notes were reviewed and summarized. Results: Rural pediatricians readily acknowledge substantial numbers of farm children in their practice. In general, these providers: (1) recognize farming environments as a safety risk and see agricultural injury prevention as an important topic to be addressed with their patients, (2) are comfortable discussing the topic, but seldom actually initiate such conversations, and (3) doubt farm parents would be receptive to integrating agricultural injury prevention into a rural pediatric practice. Conclusion: While rural pediatricians recognize child safety risks in farm environments, they are reluctant to actually initiate this conversation with parents. Future research should explore both pediatricians' hesitancy to discuss agricultural injury prevention and farm parents' readiness for integrating the topic into pediatric primary care visits. Such would help to assess the viability of pediatricians as a sphere of influence for augmenting child agricultural injury prevention efforts.",JOURNAL OF AGROMEDICINE,2017, J,"Paswan, A; Guzman, F; Lewin, J",Attitudinal determinants of environmentally sustainable behavior,10.1108/JCM-02-2016-1706,"Purpose - This study aims to focus on people's pro-environmental behavior and investigates its dimensions and determinants. As environmental sustainability attracts increased scrutiny, understanding end consumers' pro-environmental behavior becomes imperative for various stakeholders in our highly networked marketplace - e.g. policymakers, businesses, consumers, the public and society at large. Design/methodology/approach - Using data from the general public in the USA, the hypothesized relationships are tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings - The results indicate that if people find enjoyment in nature, believe in achieving a balance between mankind and nature, and believe that the benefits of conservation activities are going to accrue in the near term (present), they are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior at all levels - supportive, active and lifestyle. Research limitations/implications - Although only one aspect of environmental sustainability - environmental conservation - is analyzed, these findings support assertions set forth in the theory of environmentally significant behavior (Stern, 1999), the norm-activation theory of altruism (Schwartz, 1973), the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein, 1979) and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985). Practical implications - Messages about sustainability, environmental conservation and pro-environmental behavior should be framed using people's fondness for and enjoyment of nature; should focus on present benefits of conservation; and should be targeted and differentiated for men, women and older people to encourage conservation behaviors among these differing demographic groups. Originality/value - This study identifies three different levels of intensity of pro-environmental behavior - supportive, active and lifestyle - and empirically examines the relationships between these behavior types and the attitudinal antecedents revolving around time when the benefits of environmental conservation accrue, nature and human-nature interaction.",JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING,2017, J,"Bluteau, P; Clouder, L; Cureton, D",Developing interprofessional education online: An ecological systems theory analysis,10.1080/13561820.2017.1307170,"This article relates the findings of a discourse analysis of an online asynchronous interprofessional learning initiative involving two UK universities. The impact of the initiative is traced over three intensive periods of online interaction, each of several-weeks duration occurring over a three-year period, through an analysis of a random sample of discussion forum threads. The corpus of rich data drawn from the forums is interpreted using ecological systems theory, which highlights the complexity of interaction of individual, social and cultural elements. Ecological systems theory adopts a life course approach to understand how development occurs through processes of progressively more complex reciprocal interaction between people and their environment. This lens provides a novel approach for analysis and interpretation of findings with respect to the impact of pre-registration interprofessional education and the interaction between the individual and their social and cultural contexts as they progress through 3/4 years of their programmes. Development is mapped over time (the chronosystem) to highlight the complexity of interaction across microsystems (individual), mesosystems (curriculum and institutional/care settings), exosystems (community/wider local context), and macrosystems (national context and culture). This article illustrates the intricacies of students' interprofessional development over time and the interactive effects of social ecological components in terms of professional knowledge and understanding, wider appreciation of health and social care culture and identity work. The implications for contemporary pre-registration interprofessional education and the usefulness and applicability of ecological systems theory for future research and development are considered.",JOURNAL OF INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE,2017, J,"Lawson, ET; Ohemeng, F; Ayivor, J; Leach, M; Waldman, L; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y",Understanding framings and perceptions of spillover Preventing future outbreaks of bat-borne zoonoses,10.1108/DPM-04-2016-0082,"Purpose - Bats provide many ecosystem services and have intrinsic value. They also act as host reservoirs for some viruses. Several studies have linked zoonotic diseases to bats, raising questions about the risks bats pose, especially to people living close to bat roosts. Through a series of case studies undertaken in three communities, the purpose of this paper is to explore the various ways in which framings and perceptions of bats can influence a potential spillover of bat-borne viruses to humans in Ghana. It assesses the social, cultural and economic factors that drive human-bat interactions and posits that understanding the socio-economic contexts in which human-bat interactions occur is key to the success of future communication strategies. Design/methodology/approach - Primary data collection methods included participatory landscape mappings, transect walks, focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys. Findings - Perceptions of bats vary and are influenced by personal beliefs, the perceived economic benefits derived from bats and the location of bat roosts. Activities that put people at risk include bat hunting, butchering and consumption of poorly prepared bat meat. Those who live and work close to bat roosts, and bat hunters, for example, are more at risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease spillover. Disease risk perceptions were generally low, with high levels of uncertainty, indicating the need for clearer information about personal protective practices. Originality/value - The results of the study may well inform future risk communication strategies as well as help in developing effective responses to zoonotic disease risk, disease outbreaks and the conservation of bats in communities.",DISASTER PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT,2017, J,"Zhang, M; Zhou, YY; Liu, XW; Lu, ZH","Ecological landscape regulation approaches in Xilingol, Inner Mongolia: an urban ecosystem services perspective",10.1080/13504509.2016.1273263,"Most cities or leagues in Inner Mongolia are the result of resource-based industrialization processes and animal husbandry development, leading to a heterogeneous composition and configuration of urban areas seldom guided by proper urban ecological landscape regulation policies. In this paper, we chose Xilingol as a case study, and put forward novel ecological landscape regulation approaches based on ecosystem services (ES) for achieving sustainable development in it. An urban ES simulation model and an urban classification model were used to assess the change of ES and to guide the future urban ecological landscape regulation. The results showed a rapid land use change in different subsystems of Xilingol from 2008 to 2013, providing relative values of each type of land per unit in three subsystems (core urban area, suburb and rural), and detected the change of ES in three subsystems and the change of ES per capita in the whole administrative urban area. We suggest that (a) long-term, stable, and ecosystem-services-based land use policies and urban ecological landscape regulation approaches are needed; and (b) highlight an urban ecological landscape regulation approach covering economic, social and natural dimensions for achieving sustainable development.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2017, J,"Kashi, S; Ladani, ZJ",The Representation of Fukuyama's Pathways to a Posthuman Future in Brave New World and Never Let Me Go,10.1080/02564718.2017.1334861,"Dealing with the in-vitro creation of human beings, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) and Kazuo lshiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005) share the dystopian tradition, holding a catastrophic view of a technocratic society in a future in which humanity is depicted to be in a state of crisis. This article aims to examine the above-mentioned novels in terms of posthumanism, focusing on one of the well-known theorists of this field, Francis Fukuyama, who in Our Posthuman Future treats posthumanism as a threat to humanistic values. Fukuyama warns against a posthuman future in which technology will give us the capacity to modify the essence of human nature gradually, over time. The focus of this article will be on Factor X, a concept introduced by Fukuyama, and the ways in which the characters of the novels possess it, or come into its possession. The ways in which Fukuyama's pathways to a posthuman world are realised in the dystopian worlds that Huxley and lshiguro create, are also discussed.",JOURNAL OF LITERARY STUDIES,2017, J,"Athayde, S; Silva-Lugo, J; Schmink, M; Kaiabi, A; Heckenberger, M",Reconnecting art and science for sustainability: learning from indigenous knowledge through participatory action-research in the Amazon,10.5751/ES-09323-220236,"Sustainability science focuses on generating and applying knowledge to environmentally sound human development around the world. It requires working toward greater integration of different types of knowledge, ways of knowing, and between academy and society. We contribute to the development of approaches for learning from indigenous knowledge, through enhanced understanding of the system of values, meanings, and relationships afforded by indigenous arts. We focus on a long-term, participatory action research project developed for the revitalization of weaving knowledge among three Kawaiwete (also known as Kaiabi) indigenous groups in the Amazon. The problem was originally defined by indigenous communities, concerned with the erosion of weaving knowledge of basketry and textiles among men and women. Methods for coproduction of knowledge included dialogical methods and tools, indigenous-led strategies, and quantitative and qualitative approaches across biophysical and social sciences. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies considered multiple dimensions, scales, and networks of knowledge creation, distribution, and transmission. Innovation and articulation with western systems, along with shamanism, gender, and leadership, were key factors enhancing artistic knowledge resilience. We reflect on lessons learned and implications of this initiative for broadening the understanding of art and science intersections toward a sustainable future.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Krug, AS; Uden, DR; Allen, CR; Twidwell, D","Culturally induced range infilling of eastern redcedar: a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both?",10.5751/ES-09357-220246,"The philosopher John Passmore distinguished between (1) problems in ecology, or what we might call problems in scientific understanding of ecological change, and (2) ecological problems, or what we might call problems faced by societies due to ecological change. The spread of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and conversion of the central and southern Great Plains of North America to juniper woodland might be categorized as a problem in ecology, an ecological problem, or both. Here, we integrate and apply two interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving-social-ecological systems thinking and ecocriticism-to understand the role of human culture in recognizing, driving, and responding to cedar's changing geographic distribution. We interpret the spread of cedar as a process of culturally induced range infilling due to the ongoing social-ecological impacts of colonization, analyze poetic literary texts to clarify the concepts that have so far informed different cultural values related to cedar, and explore the usefulness of diverse interdisciplinary collaborations and knowledge for addressing social-ecological challenges like cedar spread in the midst of rapidly unfolding global change. Our examination suggests that it is not only possible, but preferable, to address cedar spread as both a scientific and a social problem. Great Plains landscapes are teetering between grassland and woodland, and contemporary human societies both influence and choose how to cope with transitions between these ecological states. We echo previous studies in suggesting that human cultural values about stability and disturbance, especially cultural concepts of fire, will be primary driving factors in determining future trajectories of change on the Great Plains. Although invasion-based descriptors of cedar spread may be useful in ecological research and management, language based on the value of restraint could provide a common vocabulary for effective cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary communication about the relationship between culture and cedar, as well as an ethical framework for cross-cultural communication, decision-making, and management.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Dluzewska, A",Wellbeing versus Sustainable Development - Conceptual Framework and Application Challenges,,"The idea of sustainable development introduced the strong connection between human wellbeing and the state of natural environment. In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) perspective, wellbeing is correlated with sustainable development and with ecosystem services, both seen as inextricable elements of one global process, necessary to lead properly Our common future. An important consequence of MA is the necessity for wellbeing strategies to be implemented by governments of many countries, including member states of the European Union. In spite of appearances, this is not an easy task not as much with regard to the difficulties in application (obvious for every type of activity) as with regard to the specific mess in defining what wellbeing is. The aim of this paper is to contribute to wellbeing and sustainability research by presenting a relational conceptualization of wellbeing. The paper is divided into three sections. The author begins with the presentation of wellbeing conceptual background, including Gross National product (GDP), Human Development Index (HDI), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) monetary valuation, Concept of Capabilities, Societal Indicators, QoL and ecosystems wellbeing theory. The second section focuses on subjective wellbeing conceptual framework, including hedonic and eudaimonic accounts, the Self Determination Theory, the Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis and finally the Responsible Wellbeing one. The third section discuss how wellbeing is presented in official directives and policies such a Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 5 dimensions valuation and its implementations in different countries.",PROBLEMY EKOROZWOJU,2017, B,"Dey, A; Gupta, AK; Singh, G",Modelling Challenges for Climate and Community Resilient Socioecological Systems,10.1007/978-3-319-43901-3_11,"Variability, complexity, simultaneity and change in environmental parameters affect social groups. Homeostatic advantages due to resource surplus, institutional access technology and social networks alter perception and community response to climate risks. Modelling requires consideration of socioecological and eco-institutional interactions with social, biological and climatic parameters. We model and manage the multilayer interactions among social institutions, climatic fluctuations and the resultant changes in the rules governing these interactions with the objective of increasing resilience of social and ecological systems to climate change. We enumerate coping strategies adopted by local communities to suggest modelling approaches for climate-resilient socioecological systems. Statistical tools enable discrete and continuous perspectives in different classes, of institutional and heterogenous social communities; in different time frames and with varying degrees of freedom. Interactions among crops, weeds, pest, temperature, fluctuating rainfall, agro-biodiversity, at farmer's plots affected by different flooding levels in eastern India were studied at decadal intervals over 30 years. Ecological systems under high climatic risks include drought/flood-prone regions and are inhabited by some of the poorest communities. Modelling communities compulsions, preferences, and the consequences of their choices on socioecological systems will enable a sustainable outcome. This study suggests modelling needs for knowledge-rich, economically poor communities in tropical contexts, which may enable future resilience.",MATHEMATICAL ADVANCES TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS,2017, J,"Derkzen, ML; Nagendra, H; Van Teeffelen, AJA; Purushotham, A; Verburg, PH",Shifts in ecosystem services in deprived urban areas: understanding people's responses and consequences for well-being,10.5751/ES-09168-220151,"Urban commons are under pressure. City development has led to the encroachment and ecological degradation of urban open space. Although there is growing insight that urban ecosystems need to be protected, there is hardly any attention for the consequences (of both pressures and protection efforts) for vulnerable human population groups. We aim to understand how urban development affects the well-being of the urban poor, through shifts in ecosystem services (ES) and people's responses to these shifts. We performed household interviews and group mapping sessions in seven urban lake communities in Bangalore, India. Changes at Bangalore's lakes can be summarized by three trends: privatization followed by conversion, pollution followed by degradation, and restoration followed by gentrification. Over time, this resulted in a shift in the types of ES supplied and demanded, the nature of use, and de facto governance: from provisioning, communal and public; to cultural, individual, and private. Lake dwellers responded by finding (other) sources of income, accepting lower quality or less accessible ES, and/or completely stopping the use of certain ES. The consequences of ecosystem change for people's well-being differ depending on a household's ability to adapt and on individual circumstances, land tenure and financial capital in particular. To guarantee a future for Bangalore's lakes, restoration seems the only viable option. Although beautiful lake parks may be a solution for the well-off and not-too-poor, leaving the very poor without options to adapt to the new circumstances puts them at risk of becoming even more marginalized. We show that ecosystem degradation and restoration alike can impact the well-being of the urban poor. People's experiences allowed us to couple ecosystem change to well-being through ES and adaptation strategies. Hence, we revealed multiple cause-effect relations. Understanding these relations contributes to sustainable urban development for people from all layers of society.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Evensen, D; Stedman, R; Brown-Steiner, B",Resilient but not sustainable? Public perceptions of shale gas development via hydraulic fracturing,10.5751/ES-09022-220108,"Complex energy development, such as associated with extraction and processing of shale gas, may affect the future sustainability and resilience of the small, often rural communities where development occurs. A difficulty for understanding the connection between sustainability, resilience, and shale gas development (hereafter SGD) is that definitions of sustainability and resilience are often muddled and unclear. Nevertheless, the ways in which development could affect sustainability and resilience have been discussed and contested in academic literature. Little is known, however, about the general public's thoughts on how SGD relates to sustainability and resilience. Despite the overlap and conflation of these two concepts, research indicates some differences between characterizations of the two. While acknowledging difficulties in defining the terms, we included questions on a few broad attributes of the two concepts in a survey (n = 1202) of a random sample of residents in the Marcellus Shale region of NY and PA, to explore the relationship between support for / opposition to SGD and perceived importance of community sustainability and resilience. Our survey revealed that beliefs about the importance of sustainability, as measured by three items that clearly pool together as a single factor, are associated with opposition to SGD; beliefs about the importance of resilience, measured by four clearly connected items, are associated with support for SGD. This finding is particularly intriguing and relevant for communication and policy about sustainability and resilience in connection with energy development, because of the common conflation of the two terms.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2017, J,"Hayrinen, L; Mattila, O; Berghall, S; Narhi, M; Toppinen, A",Exploring the future use of forests: perceptions from non-industrial private forest owners in Finland,10.1080/02827581.2016.1227472,"The transformation of the forest sector toward a bioeconomy calls for finding new sources of competitive advantage for the whole sector to retain its future viability. Non-industrial private forest owners are an important group of actors in the Finnish forest-based sector, as they supply 80% of industrial roundwood and control numerous other tangible and intangible forest-based ecosystem services. Our study analyzes forest owner views on the future use of forests in Finland, their perceptions on the evolving sectorial interlinkages and the position of the forest sector now and in the future bioeconomy. The data were collected in two phases: through telephone interviews of forest owners (n=278) and four focus group (FG) discussions (n=17), and were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The interviews showed that forest owners consider the highest potential for strengthening the sector toward bioeconomy to come from collaboration with energy and construction businesses. During the FG phase, we identified new possibilities founded on forest-based recreational services, cooperation with nature-based tourism and in increasing value-added wood products. In total, forest owners as a high-involvement group emphasized future value creation to be based upon forest ecosystem services and in diversifying the utilization of forests beyond the dominant raw material-driven mindset.",SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH,2017, J,"Tsirel, SV",THE ECONOMY OF THE NEAREST FUTURE,10.23683/2073-6606-2017-15-1-44-67,"The main object of studying are processes of disintegration of the social state and building of other society with other social and gender structure. Influence of changes in the third world, automation and robotization on growth of unemployment and reorganization of social and economic structure of the Western countries are analyzed. Two forms (Russian and Western) of reactions to decrease in manpower requirement are considered. The social and gender structure of new Western society is considered. In new society automation and robotization take away a set of usual professions from people, and the work involving direct contacts between people (expanded sphere of occupations like care work) becomes the main work arrangement. It is supposed what societies will be divided into several strata, related to the people's capabilities for highly intellectual work or to contacts between people, including corporal ones. The conclusion is drawn that male introverts will fall into the worst state. At the same time it is noted that not clear contours of future society which only still begin to shape exert considerable impact on political and economic processes. At the same time future society is a transitional stage between common human story and absolutely modern history. In this absolutely modern history, wide use of machine mind for purely human occupations and embedding of electronic devices in a human body (cyborgization) are possible. However, intervention in genetic human nature, almost inevitable after disappearance of natural selection in human society will become the most important factor which is most of all changing the social and economic relations.",TERRA ECONOMICUS,2017, J,"Antognelli, S; Vizzari, M",Landscape liveability spatial assessment integrating ecosystem and urban services with their perceived importance by stakeholders,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.08.015,"In recent years, landscape liveability has become a leading objective in policy and strategic planning. In the anthropocentric view of landscape, ecosystems fulfil important societal needs similarly to urban systems. Urban systems can meet a variety of such needs through Urban Services, which are historically and typically provided within cities. In this view, Ecosystem Services (ES) and Urban Services (US) influence landscape liveability in a comparable manner, so that liveability assessments based on both ES and US can be effective for landscape planning and policy-making purposes. As liveability is strongly dependent not only on objective landscape features, but also on the subjective perception of stakeholders, their involvement becomes essential for a coherent liveability assessment. The present study aims to develop a Liveability Spatial Assessment Model (LISAM) capable of considering both the local accessibility of services and their perceived relevance as expressed by stakeholders. To this end, a conceptual framework to detangle the spatial relationships between service sources, sinks, and delivery points was developed. From this base, consistent and comparable ES and US indices were calculated using GIS spatialisation techniques and then aggregated hierarchically through a Spatial Multicriteria Decision Making Analysis approach. Results include relevant maps showing explicit spatial indices of liveability that integrate, at various hierarchical levels, the local accessibility of ES and US, along with their local perceived relevance. By calculating complex indices able to highlight both the agri-natural and urban system roles on landscape liveability and by taking subjective and objective aspects into account, the model proved to be effective for spatial decision-making. In future applications, indicator and weight uncertainties should be considered and adequately analysed to assess reliability of the final output. The integration of ecosystem and urban disservices would also be relevant for including those landscape factors that reduce the overall level of place liveability. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2017,JAN J,"Garcia-Gonzalez, E; Jimenez-Fontana, R; Navarrete, A",TO EDUCATE FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE ECONOMIC SCIENCES. ANALYSIS OF THE TEACHING METHODS,10.35362/rie730297,"The inclusion of sustainability in the universities has turned into one of the routes to address the deep crisis socio-environmental training future professionals with skills for solving problems from a sustainability perspective This research is a study case, which aims to assess the presence of the sustainability in the methodologies of a university teacher. The subject of study teaches in the Degree of Accounting and Finance. The achieved results show a scenario where the sustainability is slightly present. Therefore, the teaching practice applied by the subject of study during the teaching and learning process are not in harmony with the Education for the Sustainability.",REVISTA IBEROAMERICANA DE EDUCACION,2017,JAN-APR J,"Stier, AC; Samhouri, JF; Gray, S; Martone, RG; Mach, ME; Halpern, BS; Kappel, CV; Scarborough, C; Levin, PS",Integrating Expert Perceptions into Food Web Conservation and Management,10.1111/conl.12245,"Decision-makers often rely on expert knowledge, especially in complex and data-poor social-ecological systems (SESs). However, expert knowledge and perceptions of SES structure and function vary; therefore, understanding how these perceptions differ is critical to building knowledge and developing sustainability solutions. Here, we quantify how scientific, local, and traditional knowledge experts vary in their perceptions of food webs centered on Pacific herring-a valuable ecological, economic, and cultural resource in Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada. Expert perceptions of the herring food web varied markedly in structure, and a simulated herring recovery with each of these unique mental models demonstrated wide variability in the perceived importance of herring to the surrounding food web. Using this general approach to determine the logical consequences of expert perceptions of SES structure in the context of potential future management actions, decision-makers can work explicitly toward filling knowledge gaps while embracing a diversity of perspectives.",CONSERVATION LETTERS,2017,JAN-APR J,"Mina, M; Bugmann, H; Klopcic, M; Cailleret, M",Accurate modeling of harvesting is key for projecting future forest dynamics: a case study in the Slovenian mountains,10.1007/s10113-015-0902-2,"Maintaining the provision of multiple forest ecosystem services requires to take into consideration forest sensitivity and adaptability to a changing environment. In this context, dynamic models are indispensable to assess the combined effects of management and climate change on forest dynamics. We evaluated the importance of implementing different approaches for simulating forest management in the climate-sensitive gap model ForClim and compared its outputs with forest inventory data at multiple sites across the European Alps. The model was then used to study forest dynamics in representative silver fir-European beech stands in the Dinaric Mountains (Slovenia) under current management and different climate scenarios. On average, ForClim accurately predicted the development of basal area and stem numbers, but the type of harvesting algorithm used and the information for stand initialization are key elements that must be defined carefully. Empirical harvesting functions that rigorously impose the number and size of stems to remove fail to reproduce stand dynamics when growth is just slightly under- or overestimated, and thus should be substituted by analytical thinning algorithms that are based on stochastic distribution functions. Long-term simulations revealed that both management and climate change negatively impact conifer growth and regeneration. Under current climate, most of the simulated stands were dominated by European beech at the end of the simulation (i.e., 2150 AD), due to the decline of silver fir and Norway spruce caused mainly by harvesting. This trend was amplified under climate change as growth of European beech was favored by higher temperatures, in contrast to drought-induced growth reductions in both conifers. This forest development scenario is highly undesired by local managers who aim at preserving conifers with high economic value. Overall, our results suggest that maintaining a considerable share of conifers in these forests may not be feasible under climate change, especially at lower elevations where foresters should consider alternative management strategies.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2017,JAN J,"Rivieccio, R; Sallustio, L; Paolanti, M; Vizzarri, M; Marchetti, M",Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands,10.3390/su9010078,"This study investigates the major land use change processes over the 1990-2008 period in Abruzzo region (Central Italy) in relation to the characteristics of the soils and with particular regard to their capability for agricultural purposes, in order to highlight their implications on agricultural productivity. The relative changes in the agricultural incomes and land values were also estimated. To this end, we proposed an inventory approach as a flexible and feasible way for monitoring land use changes at multiple scales. As main outcomes, the shrinkage of agricultural lands and their internal changes (intensification vs. extensification processes) were highlighted. The shrinkage of agricultural lands was strictly related to: (a) reforestation process in mountain areas and less productive lands after land abandonment; and (b) urbanization on plains and more productive lands. Although the intensification process was demonstrated to have a positive effect on the overall regional agricultural incomes, especially on high quality soils, this was not adequate to compensate the economic loss due to the other land use changes, especially in marginal areas and low-to-medium quality soils. Finally, the paper discusses the geographical pattern of land use change processes across the region, including their interrelations and combined effects, and ultimately offers recommendations to decision-makers addressing future sustainable development objectives from local to global scale.",SUSTAINABILITY,2017,JAN J,"Apostolopoulou, E; Adams, WM",Biodiversity offsetting and conservation: refraning nature to save it,10.1017/S0030605315000782,"Biodiversity offsetting involves the balancing of biodiversity loss in one place (and at one time) by an equivalent biodiversity gain elsewhere (an outcome referred to as No Net Loss). The conservation science literature has chiefly addressed the extent to which biodiversity offsets can serve as a conservation tool, focusing on the technical challenges of its implementation. However, offsetting has more profound implications than this technical approach suggests. In this paper we introduce the concept of policy frames, and use it to identify four ways in which non-human nature and its conservation are reframed by offsetting. Firstly, offsetting reframes nature in terms of isolated biodiversity units that can be simply defined, measured and exchanged across time and space to achieve equivalence between ecological losses and gains. Secondly, it reframes biodiversity as lacking locational specificity, ignoring broader dimensions of place and deepening a nature-culture and nature-society divide. Thirdly, it reframes conservation as an exchange of credits implying that the value of non-human nature can be set by price. Fourthly, it ties conservation to land development and economic growth, foreshadowing and bypassing an oppositional position. We conclude that by presenting offsetting as a technical issue, the problem of biodiversity loss due to development is depoliticized. As a result the possibility of opposing and challenging environmental destruction is foreclosed, and a dystopian future of continued biodiversity loss is presented as the only alternative.",ORYX,2017,JAN J,"Delmotte, S; Couderc, V; Mouret, JC; Lopez-Ridaura, S; Barbier, JM; Hossard, L","From stakeholders narratives to modelling plausible future agricultural systems. Integrated assessment of scenarios for Camargue, Southern France",10.1016/j.eja.2016.09.009,"European farmers are facing challenges that call for important transformations on their agricultural production systems, including an increasing number of regulations aimed at reducing environmental impacts from farming practices. Climate change is also expected to affect agricultural production in most European regions, and in Southern Europe this effect is expected to negatively impact yields. In this study, we present the application of an innovative participatory approach to assess the potential of innovative agricultural systems to reconcile environmental sustainability with economic viability while contributing to local and global food security. Our approach consisted of combining (1) the participation of local stakeholders in the design of narrative scenarios, and (2) an integrated assessment of scenarios through the calculation of indicators at different scale with a bio-economic model. We tested our approach with a case study situated in the Camargue region of Southern France. Rice is currently the main crop in this region, but farmers there face adverse economic conditions linked to the recent reform of European Common Agriculture Policy. After identifying the main drivers of change, local stakeholders developed narrative scenarios and described how farmers would adapt within the context of those changes. These elements were then translated into model inputs. At the regional level, the four scenarios led to variations in farmland acreage (28,000-33,000 ha), as well as the proportion of rice crops (19-75%) and areas cultivated under organic farming standards (8-43%). The four scenarios also led to different values for indicators of agricultural economic welfare, food production, and environmental impacts. Trade-offs between these indicators and the associated objectives assigned to agriculture were identified and discussed with the stakeholders. We end with a discussion of the limitations and advantages of our approach to the participatory development and assessment of locally developed narrative scenarios. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY,2017,JAN J,"Broitman, BR; Halpern, BS; Gelcich, S; Lardies, MA; Vargas, CA; Vasquez-Lavin, F; Widdicombe, S; Birchenough, SNR",Dynamic Interactions among Boundaries and the Expansion of Sustainable Aquaculture,10.3389/fmars.2017.00015,"Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production system in the world, generating more than half of the global seafood harvested today. These type of activities are crucial to provide key nutritional components for humanity in the future as populations worldwide are increasing and the demands for securing food resources are imperative. Multiple socio-ecological factors such as weak regulations and focus on maximizing production limit production and threaten the sustainable growth of aquaculture. We present a novel policy framework to evaluate and pursue growth in aquaculture considering four boundaries: biological productivity, environmental constraints to that productivity, policy that inhibits or promotes different kinds of aquaculture, and social preferences that determine aquaculture markets. Using a range of scenarios, we have shown that sustainable growth in aquaculture requires simultaneous consideration of all four boundaries and the potential interactions between all of these options. Our proposed conceptual framework shows that to further expand the boundaries of aquaculture production, the policy focus must remain flexible to enable the adaptation of from single-boundary approaches. Our approach takes account of the current boundaries, helping to consider the adaptive policy, which is deemed as a necessary tool for considering the dynamic interactions among boundaries, thus addressing the problem of defining the evolving limits of sustainable aquaculture.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2017, J,"Bosma, C; Glenk, K; Novo, P",How do individuals and groups perceive wetland functioning? Fuzzy cognitive mapping of wetland perceptions in Uganda,10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.10.010,"Wetlands are critical natural resources around the globe, providing many direct and indirect benefits to local communities. However, wetland degradation and conversion to other land uses are widespread. Sustainable wetland management requires an understanding of stakeholders' perceptions of the ecosystem and its management. This paper uses fuzzy cognitive mapping to capture individual stakeholder perceptions and group knowledge of wetland ecosystems in order to assess areas of consensus and opposing interests between different stakeholders and to develop future management scenarios. For this purpose, the Rushebeya-Kanyabaha wetland, which is one of the few wetlands in southwest Uganda that is still largely intact, is used as a case study. Our findings reveal differences in perceptions between different resource users. Papyrus harvesters, beekeepers, fishermen, wetland non-users, and hunters associate the largest livelihood benefits with a wetland conservation scenario, while farmers and government officials perceive increased agricultural production in the wetland area to be more livelihood enhancing. This poses a challenge to sustainable wetland management. The scenario results also suggest that centralized top-down laws and rules on wetland use are not sufficient for maintaining the wetland ecosystem. Therefore, there is a need to develop shared understanding through bottom-up approaches to wetland management that are nested within national regulatory frameworks, ideally combined with awareness building and knowledge sharing on the ecological benefits of the wetland. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2017,JAN S,"Antrop, M; Van Eetvelde, V",Bringing It All Together - Taking Care of the Landscape,10.1007/978-94-024-1183-6_12,"The landscape is common heritage, supports the environment we live in and affects our well-being. Several measures are proposed to take care of it. However, the responsibility and competence for landscape management, planning and protection is complex. Landowners have the most important territorial competence to make material changes. Authorities only have the spatial competence to regulate, stimulate and restrict. The landscape is a social and mental construct and users groups value it differently. The insiders and outsiders, academic experts and laymen and various stakeholders have different visions and interests. All have the right to participate in the planning process. Hence, a transdisciplinary approach is mandatory. Landscape planning works only indirectly through spatial and land use planning. Subsidiarity is a basic principle in policy but the spatial competencies of administrations at different scales are often discordant with the landscape structure. Projects planning is likely to threaten the holistic landscape integrity and makes planning at a landscape scale essential. The landscape is an omnipresent holistic entity and has intrinsic value. To allow an assessment, qualities need to be expressed in terms of instrumental values, which can be related to utility and functions, which are expressed as landscape services. Criteria are used to define policy-relevant holistic indicators to follow-up the effectiveness of the measures taken. Some principles to set goals for the landscape are formulated. To enhance, create, restore, protect and conserve the landscape, different strategies for landscape management are possible. However, it is unlikely to predict the future by simply extrapolating from the past and present into an uncertain future. Scenarios can be made considering the probable future outcomes. Exploratory landscape scenarios offer the possibility for a transdisciplinary learning process with the landscape as an integrating concept.",LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVES: THE HOLISTIC NATURE OF LANDSCAPE,2017, J,"Strand, J",Modeling the marginal value of rainforest losses: A dynamic value function approach,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.09.019,"The economic value of a rainforest is modeled as a dynamic asset subject to fire risk and potential increase in dryness. I solve two Bellman equations, for unburnt and for already burnt forest, to derive analytically tractable expressions for the total expected, spatially differentiated, asset value of the forest in each state assuming constant growth and forest loss rates over time. I derive the marginal expected discounted value loss when losing a small additional piece of forest, at any alternative site in the forest. Marginal forest value is found to increase when the risk of forest fire increases due to forest fragmentation when forest is lost locally; and also when forest dryness, affecting forest values negatively, increases upon forest fragmentation. Both forest fire risk and dryness serve as multipliers on the basic services return loss, both within and outside of the forest. Increased forest fire risk is found to reduce average rainforest value by reducing their future expected lifespans and current returns; but to increase marginal forest value by making primary forest loss avoidance more valuable. I calibrate the model including the impact of the forest fire risk component on forest value, with multipliers in a typical range 13-1.5. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2017,JAN J,"Marzban, S; Allahyari, MS; Damalas, CA",Exploring farmers' orientation towards multifunctional agriculture: Insights from northern Iran,10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.08.020,"The multifunctional agriculture (MFA) concept, namely, the fact that agricultural activity may also have several other functions beyond its role of producing food and fiber, has emerged as a key notion in scientific and policy debates regarding the future of agriculture and rural development. However, the relationship between undertaking multifunctional activities and farmers' perceptions of farming is to a great extent unknown. A survey of 209 randomly selected farmers was conducted in Masal County of Guilan province, Iran to describe farmers' perceptions of MFA and provide a better understanding of factors shaping these perceptions. Several factors were considered in the study, including traditional farming practices of small-scale farmers in the area (e.g. manual soil tillage, use of livestock manure and by-products for soil improvement, multiple cropping, family livestock), good agricultural practices at farm level related to environmental protection (e.g. low use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), and also local traditions and heritage. Exploratory factor analysis was used to categorize agricultural functions based on the collected data and cluster analysis was used for sorting out farmers regarding six extracted factors. These factors were: multiple cropping, social acceptability, environmental health, stability and continuity, food security, and local traditions and heritage. About half of the respondents (48.3%) showed highly positive perceptions of MFA, putting emphasis on social acceptability and environmental health for food security, including also preservation of local traditions (named: guardians of culture and traditions). Almost a third (31.1%) showed moderately positive perceptions of MFA, with mainly a socio-environmental orientation, whereas a sizeable proportion (20.6%) was indifferent to MFA. Data offer useful insights to decision makers regarding the design and implementation of territorial planning strategies. Food production remains a key element in farming systems, but besides mainstream agriculture, the positive perceptions of MFA support that alternative farming systems could be implemented. However, the most successful farming systems adapted to specific contexts and needs should be promoted, taking into account existing facilities and sufficiency for appropriate rural management. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,dic 31 J,"Romero, E; Gamier, J; Billen, G; Peters, F; Lassaletta, L",Water management practices exacerbate nitrogen retention in Mediterranean catchments,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.007,"Nitrogen (N) retention sensu lato refers to all processes preventing new reactive nitrogen brought into watersheds through agricultural or industrial activities to be exported by river systems to the sea. Although such processes protect marine systems from the threat of eutrophication and anoxia, they raise other environmental issues, including the acidification of soils, the emission of ammonia and greenhouse gases, and the pollution of aquifers. Despite these implications, the factors involved in N retention are still poorly controlled, particularly in arid and semi-arid systems. The present study evaluates the N fluxes of 38 catchments in the Iberian Peninsula with contrasting climatic characteristics (temperate and Mediterranean), land uses, and water management practices. This diversity allows addressing the contribution of physical and socioecological factors in N retention, and more specifically, exploring the relation between N retention and water regulation. We hypothesise that the extreme flow regulation implemented in the Mediterranean enhances the high N retention values associated with arid and semi-arid regions. The results show that reservoirs and irrigation channels account for >50% of the variability in N retention values, and above a certain regulation threshold, N retention peaks to values >85-90%. Future climate projections forecast a decrease in rainfall and an increase in agricultural intensification and irrigation practices in many world regions, most notably in arid and semi-arid areas. Increased water demand will likely lead to greater flow regulation, and the situation in many areas may resemble that of Iberian Mediterranean catchments. High N retention and the associated environmental risks must therefore be considered and adequately addressed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2016,dic 15 J,"Nurnberger, K",The concept of revelation in terms of the evolution of consciousness,10.4102/hts.v72i4-3430,"Following Paul's injunction in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 we have to 'become scientists' to a scientifically informed audience. While theology cannot agree with the naturalist denial of transcendence, it can adopt the experiential-realist approach typical for the sciences in its description of the Christian faith as an immanent part of cosmic evolution, albeit at a higher level of emergence. The article begins with my understanding of evolutionary theory (big bang cosmology, entropy, emergence, neural networks as infrastructure of consciousness, evolution and differentiation, sequences of past, present and future, contingency etc.) It then describes God consciousness as the intuition, perception or conceptualisation of the transcendent Source and Destiny of experienced reality and locates God consciousness in the evolutionary process. Biblical God consciousness displays two distinct characteristics: God's creative power is experienced in reality, while God's benevolent intentionality is proclaimed on the basis of a religious tradition. The evolutionary trajectory of biblical God consciousness, culminating in the Christ-event, is sketched and the God consciousness of Jesus is deduced from its religious embeddedness, its social-environmental relationships and its religious impact. Implications of an experiential-realist approach are (1) a dynamic, rather than ontological Christology and (2) the cosmic significance of the sacrifice of God in Christ. On this basis revelation is described first in experiential-realist and then in theological terms. The tension between the experience of God's creative power and the proclamation of God's benevolence leads to a dynamic, rather than ontological rendering of the Trinity. Finally, traditional eschatological assumptions are reconceptualised as God's dynamic vision of comprehensive well-being operating like a horizon that moves on as we approach it and displays ever new vistas, challenges and opportunities.",HTS TEOLOGIESE STUDIES-THEOLOGICAL STUDIES,2016,dic 2 J,"Zolch, T; Maderspacher, J; Wamsler, C; Pauleit, S",Using green infrastructure for urban climate-proofing: An evaluation of heat mitigation measures at the micro-scale,10.1016/j.ufug.2016.09.011,"Urban green infrastructure (UGI) has been increasingly promoted as a key measure to mitigate heat stress in cities caused by the urban heat island effect and climate change impacts, including climate variability and extremes. However, comparable information concerning the performance of different UGI types to moderate such impacts is mostly lacking. This creates serious challenges for urban planners who need to decide on the most effective measures while considering spatial and administrative constraints. This study investigates how different types and quantities of UGI, i.e. trees, green roofs, and green facades, affect pedestrian thermal comfort. The study was applied to high-density residential areas under current and future climatic conditions. Climate change will on average increase afternoon Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) values by 2.4 K; however, this could be vastly reduced by different UGI scenarios. Planting trees had the strongest impact with an average PET reduction of 13% compared with existing vegetation. Trees shade open spaces and provide evapotranspirative cooling. Another valuable adaptation option is green facades, which have mitigating effects of 5%-10%. In contrast, the effects of green roofs were negligible. Our results indicate that increasing the share of green cover did not directly correspond to the magnitude of the PET reduction. Placing vegetation strategically in heat-exposed areas is more effective than just aiming at a high percentage of green cover. We conclude that our extensive comparative analysis provides empirical evidence to support UGI on the micro-scale and assists planners and decision-makers to effectively select and prioritise concrete measures to adapt to climate change. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.",URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,2016,dic 1 J,"Edwards, KM; Banyard, VL; Moschella, EA; Seavey, KM",Rural Young Adults' Lay Theories of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Examination,10.1002/ajcp.12095,"This study qualitatively examined rural emerging adults' ways of thinking (i.e., lay theories) about the causes of intimate partner violence (IPV) and ideas on how to prevent IPV most effectively. Participants were 74 individuals (majority Caucasian, heterosexual, low income) between the ages of 18 and 24 who resided in one of 16 rural communities. Participants' perceptions of the causes of IPV included (a) individual-level pathology, stress, and lack of education; (b) intergenerational transmission of violence and early-life factors; (c) relationship stressors and challenges; and (d) community factors. Furthermore, participants felt that IPV could most effectively be prevented through (a) education and awareness; (b) victim-focused efforts (e.g., teaching self-esteem); and (c) job creation. Overall, participants identified a number of established risk factors for IPV perpetration across the social ecological model, although a number were never or rarely mentioned (e.g., peer group norms, positive bystander action, and collective efficacy). Future research should examine if and how perceptions of the causes of IPV impact IPV prevention engagement and impact. Further, prevention initiatives that take into account understandings of lay theories about IPV may be more impactful in reducing IPV than prevention initiatives that do not.",AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY,2016,DEC J,"Kerr, JM; DePinto, JV; McGrath, D; Sowa, SP; Swinton, SM",Sustainable management of Great Lakes watersheds dominated by agricultural land use,10.1016/j.jglr.2016.10.001,"Runoff of agricultural nutrients and sediments has led to re-eutrophication of lakes and impaired stream health in the Great Lakes Basin since around 2000 following earlier success in protecting water quality. Substantial investment in conservation actions has had insufficient impact, due in part to a limited basis for understanding the likely environmental outcomes of those investments. This article introduces a special section focusing on promoting investment that produces environmental outcomes as opposed to investing in conservation actions with unknown effects. The special section contains articles in three main categories: 1) studies based on fine-grain SWAT and other simulation modeling that can guide the type, amount, and location of conservation investments to increase their environmental impact; 2) edge-of-field measurement studies that provide updated knowledge to assist in further refining models to increase their predictive power; and 3) articles presenting innovative approaches to incentivizing outcome-oriented conservation investment. Implementation approaches discussed include certifying private crop nutrient advisors as recommending only appropriate timing, amount, and placement of nutrients; working within the existing public drain management system to incentivize conservation; and others. The special section shows that advances in SWAT modeling provide a powerful basis for targeting conservation investments to protect water quality in the Great Lakes Basin, while also demonstrating opportunities to further refine the models. It illustrates both the opportunity and the need to engage in more innovative institutional design of agricultural management programs that go beyond the traditional government programs and do more to reward outcomes and not just actions. (C) 2016 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.",JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH,2016,DEC J,"Palm-Forster, LH; Swinton, SM; Redder, TM; DePinto, JV; Boles, CMW",Using conservation auctions informed by environmental performance models to reduce agricultural nutrient flows into Lake Erie,10.1016/j.jglr.2016.08.003,"Cost-effectively mitigating agricultural nutrient export requires an understanding of the biophysical characteristics of cropland as well as the behavioral and economic factors that drive land management decisions. Conservation auctions informed by models that simulate environmental outcomes have the potential to allocate conservation payments cost-effectively by funding practices that provide high predicted environmental benefits per dollar spent. This research tested two forms of conservation auctions. First, experimental auctions were used to analyze farmer preferences for different types of financial incentives for voluntary conservation, including direct payments, insurance, tax credits, and stewardship certification benefits. Second, conservation auctions were conducted in two Ohio counties to evaluate performance under real-world conditions. Supporting both types of auctions, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) predicted reductions in phosphorus exported as a function of the type of conservation practice and farm location. Results of the experimental auctions showed direct payments and tax credits to be the most cost-effective incentives to mitigate phosphorus export. The real auctions yielded two important lessons: 1) participation was very low, due to perceived transaction costs of participation especially on rented fields and for group bids, and 2) the cost-effectiveness ranking of bids was highly sensitive to the parameters for soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations in the SWAT model. Future socio-economic research into payment for environmental services programs should seek cost-effective mechanisms with lower transaction costs for participants. Future biophysical research should strengthen our understanding of the factors governing soluble reactive phosphorus movement, so that models like SWAT can be more reliably parameterized. (C) 2016 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.",JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH,2016,DEC J,"Aregu, L; Darnhofer, I; Tegegne, A; Hoekstra, D; Wurzinger, M",The impact of gender-blindness on social-ecological resilience: The case of a communal pasture in the highlands of Ethiopia,10.1007/s13280-016-0846-x,"We studied how the failure to take into account gendered roles in the management of a communal pasture can affect the resilience of this social-ecological system. Data were collected using qualitative methods, including focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participant observations from one community in the highlands of Ethiopia. The results show that women are excluded from the informal institution that defines the access and use rules which guide the management of the communal pasture. Consequently, women's knowledge, preferences, and needs are not taken into account. This negatively affects the resilience of the communal pasture in two ways. Firstly, the exclusion of women's knowledge leads to future adaptation options being overlooked. Secondly, as a result of the failure to address women's needs, they start to question the legitimacy of the informal institution. The case study thus shows how excluding women, i.e., side-lining their knowledge and needs, weakens social learning and the adaptiveness of the management rules. Being blind to gender-related issues may thus undermine the resilience of a social-ecological system.",AMBIO,2016,DEC J,"Ravera, F; Martin-Lopez, B; Pascual, U; Drucker, A",The diversity of gendered adaptation strategies to climate change of Indian farmers: A feminist intersectional approach,10.1007/s13280-016-0833-2,"This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change.",AMBIO,2016,DEC J,"Romero-Martinez, A; Moya-Albiol, L; Vinkhuyzen, AAE; Polderman, TJC",Genetic and Environmental Contributions to the Inverse Association Between Specific Autistic Traits and Experience Seeking in Adults,10.1002/ajmg.b.32352,"Autistic traits are characterized by social and communication problems, restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. The relation between autistic traits and personality characteristics is largely unknown. This study focused on the relation between five specific autistic traits measured with the abridged version of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (social problems, preference for routine, attentional switching difficulties, imagination impairments, fascination for numbers and patterns) and Experience Seeking (ES) ina general population sample of adults, and subsequently investigated the genetic and environmental etiology between these traits. Self-reported data on autistic traits and ES were collected in a population sample (n = 559) of unrelated individuals, and in a population based family sample of twins and siblings (n = 560). Phenotypic, genetic and environmental associations between traits were examined in a bivariate model, accounting for sex and age differences. Phenotypically, ES correlated significantly with preference for routine and imagination impairments in both samples but was unrelated to the other autistic traits. Genetic analyses in the family sample revealed that the association between ES and preference for routine and imagination impairments could largely be explained by a shared genetic factor (89% and 70%, respectively). Our analyses demonstrated at a phenotypic and genetic level an inverse relationship between ES and specific autistic traits in adults. ES is associated with risk taking behavior such as substance abuse, antisocial behavior and financial problems. Future research could investigate whether autistic traits, in particular strong routine preference and impaired imagination skills, serve as protective factors for such risky behaviors. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART B-NEUROPSYCHIATRIC GENETICS,2016,DEC J,"Apostolidis, C; McLeay, F",Should we stop meating like this? Reducing meat consumption through substitution,10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.11.002,"High levels of meat consumption are increasingly being criticised for ethical, environmental, and social reasons. Plant-based meat substitutes have been identified as healthy sources of protein that, in comparison to meat, offer a number of social, environmental and health benefits and may play a role in reducing meat consumption. However, there has been a lack of research on the role they can play in the policy agenda and how specific meat substitute attributes can influence consumers to replace partially replace meat in their diets. In this paper, we examine consumers' preferences for attributes of meat and meat substitute products and develop consumer segments based on these preferences. The results of a choice experiment with 247 UK consumers, using food labels and mince (ground meat), illustrate that the type of mince, fat content, country of origin and price are major factors that influence choice. Carbon footprint, method of production and brand play a secondary role in determining consumers' choices of meat/meat substitutes. Latent class analysis is used to identify six consumer segments: price conscious, healthy eaters, taste driven, green, organic and vegetarian consumers which have different socio-demographic characteristics and meat consumption patterns. Future interventions and policies aimed at reducing meat consumption including labelling, provision of more information, financial incentives, educational campaigns and new product development will be more effective if they are holistic and target specific consumer segments, instead of focus on the average consumer. Crown Copyright (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.",FOOD POLICY,2016,DEC J,"Peri, PL; Lencinas, MV; Bousson, J; Lasagno, R; Soler, R; Bahamonde, H; Pastur, GM",Biodiversity and ecological long-term plots in Southern Patagonia to support sustainable land management: The case of PEBANPA network,10.1016/j.jnc.2016.09.003,"Historically, interactions and trends between biodiversity, ecosystem function (EF) and land use practices in southern Patagonia (Argentina) have been largely undocumented and poorly understood. Since 2002, 1214 permanent and semi-permanent plots within the PEBANPA Network have enabled researchers to monitor and assess functions and trends among vegetation parameters, biodiversity, forest dynamics, soil physicochemical characteristics, and land use management. The objectives of this manuscript are to communicate the role and rationale of the PEBANPA Network, summarize examples of the main results found within the network and provide guidance to decision makers with respect to advancing sustainable land management in southern Patagonia. As examples, rangeland health indices, seedling and sapling regeneration under different timber managed forests, litterfall and seeds production under silvopastoral use, and soil carbon content impacted by livestock grazing have all been assessed. Vegetation and environmental variables including soil respiration, soil water infiltration, soil water retention capacity, soil erosion, and litter cover were measured under different grazing intensities. Livestock and forestry production have caused changes in the original floristic patterns, with several areas experiencing desertification. Heavy stocking rates have caused the greatest impacts on grassland soil carbon (C) loss as a consequence of soil erosion. We were able to conclude that low medium grazing intensities yield the most positive impacts for biodiversity and soil physicochemical characteristics. Studies regarding levels of seedling and sapling regeneration post-harvest of timber further supported the importance of long-term monitoring due to the strongest evidence of interactions occurring 20 to 30 years after harvest. Distribution patterns of vascular plants and epigaeic coleopterons diversity revealed statistically significant differences among geographical zones and dominant vegetation types. The PEBANPA Network helps southern Patagonia address the challenges of unsustainable land management and climate change through monitoring ecosystem function and services. Long-term monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem function help decision makers better understand the impacts of land use practices, develop well-informed policies and secure present and future human well-being. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION,2016,DEC J,"Connor, JD; Bryan, BA; Nolan, M",Cap and trade policy for managing water competition from potential future carbon plantations,10.1016/j.envsci.2016.07.005,"Carbon sequestration from reforestation can play a large role in mitigating global climate change. However, resulting interception of rainfall runoff may impose high irrigation, water supply and/or environmental flow costs. This article presents an assessment of water trade policy to manage fresh water supply, carbon sequestration trade-offs for the Murray-Darling Basin. A linked Australian high spatial resolution land use and global integrated assessment framework evaluated plausible and internally consistent global scenarios to 2050 involving significant carbon planting incentive. Substantial flow loss from increased interception was estimated absent policy to balance carbon water trade-offs. Absent policy to address the trade-off, irrigation opportunity costs was estimated to substantially exceed carbon sequestration economic value in futures with significant carbon sequestration incentive. The value of integrating interception from new carbon plantings into the existing water trade system was estimated at $3.3 billion and $2.0 billion (2050 annual value) for our strong and moderately strong global climate action outlooks with our reference case assumptions. The conclusion that trade provision in policy to cap interception impacts can produce significant benefits in scenarios with significant carbon sequestration incentive remained robust over a very broad set of sensitivities tested with benefit estimated at over $1 billion annually at 2050 even for very conservative assumptions. Crown Copyright (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2016,DEC J,"Jerath, M; Bhat, M; Rivera-Monroy, VH; Castaneda-Moya, E; Simard, M; Twilley, RR","The role of economic, policy, and ecological factors in estimating the value of carbon stocks in Everglades mangrove forests, South Florida, USA",10.1016/j.envsci.2016.09.005,"Old growth mangroves in existing protected areas store more carbon than restored forests or plantations. Carbon storage in such forests has economic value independent of additionality, offering opportunities for policy makers to ensure their maintenance, and inclusion in climate change mitigation strategies. Mangrove forests of the Everglades National Park (ENP), South Florida, though protected, face external stressors such as hydrological alterations because of flooding control structures and agriculture impacts and saltwater intrusion as a result of increasing sea level rise. Moreover, decreased funding of Everglades' restoration activities following the recent economic crisis (beginning 2008) threatens the restoration of the Greater Everglades including mangrove dominated coastal regions. We evaluate several economic and ecological challenges confronting the economic valuation of total (vegetation plus soil) organic carbon (TOC) storage in the ENP mangroves. Estimated TOC storage for this forested wetland ranges from 70 to 537 Mg C/ha and is higher than values reported for tropical, boreal, and temperate forests. We calculate the average abatement cost of C specific for ENP mangroves to value the TOC from $2-$3.4 billion; estimated unit area values are $13,859/ha-$23,728/ha. The valuation of the stored/legacy carbon is based on the: 1) ecogeomorphic attributes, 2) regional socio-economic milieu, and 3) status of the ENP mangroves as a protected area. The assessment of C storage estimates and its economic value can change public perception about how this regulating ecosystem service of ENP mangrove wetlands (144,447 ha) supports human well-being and numerous economic activities. This perception, in turn, can contribute to future policy changes such that the ENP mangroves, the largest mangrove area in the continental USA, can be included as a potential alternative in climate change mitigation strategies. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2016,DEC J,"Mavrommati, G; Bithas, K; Borsuk, ME; Howarth, RB",Integration of ecological-biological thresholds in conservation decision making,10.1111/cobi.12745,"In the Anthropocene, coupled human and natural systems dominate and only a few natural systems remain relatively unaffected by human influence. On the one hand, conservation criteria based on areas of minimal human impact are not relevant to much of the biosphere. On the other hand, conservation criteria based on economic factors are problematic with respect to their ability to arrive at operational indicators of well-being that can be applied in practice over multiple generations. Coupled human and natural systems are subject to economic development which, under current management structures, tends to affect natural systems and cross planetary boundaries. Hence, designing and applying conservation criteria applicable in real-world systems where human and natural systems need to interact and sustainably coexist is essential. By recognizing the criticality of satisfying basic needs as well as the great uncertainty over the needs and preferences of future generations, we sought to incorporate conservation criteria based on minimal human impact into economic evaluation. These criteria require the conservation of environmental conditions such that the opportunity for intergenerational welfare optimization is maintained. Toward this end, we propose the integration of ecological-biological thresholds into decision making and use as an example the planetary-boundaries approach. Both conservation scientists and economists must be involved in defining operational ecological-biological thresholds that can be incorporated into economic thinking and reflect the objectives of conservation, sustainability, and intergenerational welfare optimization.",CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,2016,DEC J,"Baro, F; Palomo, I; Zulian, G; Vizcaino, P; Haase, D; Gomez-Baggethun, E","Mapping ecosystem service capacity, flow and demand for landscape and urban planning: A case study in the Barcelona metropolitan region",10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.06.006,"Ecosystem services (ES) mapping is attracting growing interest from landscape and urban planning, but its operationalization in actual decision-making is still limited. A clear distinction between ES capacity, flow and demand can improve the usefulness of ES mapping as a decision-support tool by informing planners and policy-makers where ES are used unsustainably and where ES flow is failing to meet societal demand. This paper advances a framework for mapping and assessing the relationships between ES capacity, flow and demand with a focus on the identification of unsatisfied demand. The framework was tested in the Barcelona metropolitan region, Spain, considering two ES of critical relevance for the urban population: air purification and outdoor recreation. For both ES, spatial indicators of capacity, flow, demand and unsatisfied demand were developed using proxy- and process-based models. The results show a consistent spatial pattern of all these components along the urban-rural gradient for the two ES assessed. The flow of both ES mainly takes place in the periurban green areas whereas the highest capacity values are mostly found in the protected areas located on the outskirts of the metropolitan region. As expected, ES demand and particularly unsatisfied demand are mostly situated in the main urban core (i.e., Barcelona and adjacent cities). Our assessment also reveals that the current landscape planning instrument for the metropolitan region mostly protects areas with high capacity to provide ES, but might lead to declining ES flows in periurban areas due to future urban developments. We contend that the mapping of ES capacity, flow and demand can contribute to the successful integration of the ES approach in landscape and urban planning because it provides a comprehensive picture of the ES delivery process, considering both ecological and social underlying factors. However, we identify three main issues that should be better addressed in future research: (1) improvement of ES demand indicators using participatory methods; (2) integration of ecological thresholds into the analysis; and (3) use of a multi-scale approach that covers both the local and regional planning levels and cross-scale interactions between them. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,nov 30 J,"Li, HB; Liu, YL",Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and urban public green spaces availability: A localized modeling approach to inform land use policy,10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.06.015,"Urban public green spaces (UPGSs) are rarely uniformly distributed across space. A subset of urban population is disproportionately well available of UPGSs, while other residents have considerably limited accessibility to UPGSs. Communicating and examining the spatial heterogeneity in UPGSs availability can formulate better land use policy. This paper applies the geographically weighted regression (GWR) to analyze the locality-specific relationships between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and UPGSs availability at district level in Shanghai, China. In particular, we construct a neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage index (NSDI) that incorporates elements from four dimensions including wealth, occupation, education and housing. Three domains of indicators (abundance, quality and accessibility) are developed to measure UPGSs. Results show that relationships between NSDI and UPGSs availability indicators present significant spatial non-stationarity. In general, UPGSs abundance and accessibility are lower in districts characterized by higher NSDI. However, converse trend is found in districts on the southwestern urban edge. UPGSs quality is poorer in districts with higher socioeconomic disadvantage within the central city, while UPGSs in the socioeconomically disadvantaged exhibit better quality within the outskirts. Our results highlight the importance of considering the locality-specific neighborhood socioeconomic profiles of UPGSs availability. The applied GWR framework presents promising potential for better UPGSs planning in a policy context. In the future, two principles are required for urban greening policies: (1) a comprehensive perspective in UPGSs availability evaluation; (2) locality-specific target strategies. The principles are not only key for China but also relevant to other nations who wish to achieve successful urban greening. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,nov 30 J,"Taylor, AH; Trouet, V; Skinner, CN; Stephens, S","Socioecological transitions trigger fire regime shifts and modulate fire-climate interactions in the Sierra Nevada, USA, 1600-2015 CE",10.1073/pnas.1609775113,"Large wildfires in California cause significant socioecological impacts, and half of the federal funds for fire suppression are spent each year in California. Future fire activity is projected to increase with climate change, but predictions are uncertain because humans can modulate or even override climatic effects on fire activity. Here we test the hypothesis that changes in socioecological systems from the Native American to the current period drove shifts in fire activity and modulated fire-climate relationships in the Sierra Nevada. We developed a 415-y record (1600-2015 CE) of fire activity by merging a treering-based record of Sierra Nevada fire history with a 20th-century record based on annual area burned. Large shifts in the fire record corresponded with socioecological change, and not climate change, and socioecological conditions amplified and buffered fire response to climate. Fire activity was highest and fire-climate relationships were strongest after Native American depopulation-following mission establishment (ca. 1775 CE)-reduced the self-limiting effect of Native American burns on fire spread. With the Gold Rush and EuroAmerican settlement (ca. 1865 CE), fire activity declined, and the strong multidecadal relationship between temperature and fire decayed and then disappeared after implementation of fire suppression (ca. 1904 CE). The amplification and buffering of fire-climate relationships by humans underscores the need for parameterizing thresholds of human-vs. climate-driven fire activity to improve the skill and value of fire-climate models for addressing the increasing fire risk in California.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2016,nov 29 J,"Sedivec, KK",Livestock grazing as an integral component of sustained agroecosystems-a private lands perspective,10.2527/jas.2016-0537,"Privately owned grazing lands comprise 52% of all grazing lands in the United States. Livestock production is the primary economic source of income from these lands; however, improved management strategies can be implemented to not only sustain this agroecosystem, but enhance the natural resource to provide new and innovated ecosystem services and goods. To sustain this resource, grazing strategies should be designed to implement five basic principles: 1) provide diverse plant communities, 2) protect the soil surface, 3) eliminate overgrazing, 4) incorporate grazing management that enhances the forage harvest efficiency, and 5) create best managed ecosystems that accomplish reestablishment of historical disturbance regimes for a given region. By obtaining these principles, land owners will have the opportunity to create or enhance ecosystem services and goods that provide commodity, amenity, environmental and spiritual values essential to ranching life, the communities they live in, and the nation as a whole. Sustained ecosystems can provide food, fiber, biofuels, fish and wildlife habitat, water, improved air quality, ornamental resources, and ceremonial items to name a few. Livestock grazing is essential to sustain the ecosystems associated with rangeland, grassland and other perennial pastures. Ranchers and land managers should incorporate new grazing strategies to sustain the agroecosystem while developing potential enterprises to increase income through secondary goods and service. The ultimate goal is to provide a sustainable ecosystem that can be shared by future generations with a history that ties the land to the family and community.",JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE,2016,NOV J,"Chafla, P; Ceron, P",Payment for Environmental Services in Water Sector: The Water Conservation Found,,"Payment for hydrologic environmental services is an economic tool which results opportune, of great usefulness and validity to face the every time more nagging lack of financial resources for natural resources conservation, maintenance and sustainability. To put a value to the environmental services provided by the ecosystems is an opportunity for a sustainable financial management of those. This can guarantee a future source of income, to help to maintain these natural resources, considered as well as natural assets. Examples of successful payment for environmental services initiatives in Ecuador can be found on government projects, this is the case of the Water Conservancy Found (Fonag, Spanish acronym). This is a financial mechanism that co-finances activities of environmental conservation in the water recharge zones, from where the city of Quito is being supplied. Looking for mechanisms or creative economic tools for nature conservation has become a challenge. This challenge is not only for the economists worried about environmental issues, but also for the entire society, which sees the conservation of the earth's natural capital as a clear strategy to achieve sustainable development.",TECNOLOGIA Y CIENCIAS DEL AGUA,2016,NOV-DEC J,"Schmidt, K; Walz, A; Jones, I; Metzger, MJ",The Sociocultural Value of Upland Regions in the Vicinity of Cities in Comparison With Urban Green Spaces,10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00044.1,"Mountain and upland regions provide a wide range of ecosystem services to residents and visitors. While ecosystem research in mountain regions is on the rise, the linkages between sociocultural benefits and ecological systems remain little explored. Mountainous regions close to urban areas provide numerous benefits to a large number of individuals, suggesting a high social value, particularly for cultural ecosystem services. We explored and compared visitors' valuation of ecosystem services in the Pentland Hills, an upland range close to the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, and urban green spaces within Edinburgh. Based on 715 responses to user surveys in both study areas, we identified intense use and high social value for both areas. Several ecosystem services were perceived as equally important in both areas, including many cultural ecosystem services. Significant differences were revealed in the value of physically using nature, which Pentland Hills users rated more highly than those in the urban green spaces, and of mitigation of pollutants and carbon sequestration, for which the urban green spaces were valued more highly. Major differences were further identified for preferences in future land management, with nature-oriented management preferred by about 57% of the interviewees in the Pentland Hills, compared to 31% in the urban parks. The study highlights the substantial value of upland areas in close vicinity to a city for physically using and experiencing nature, with a strong acceptance of nature conservation.",MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,2016,NOV J,"Chazdon, RL; Guariguata, MR",Natural regeneration as a tool for large-scale forest restoration in the tropics: prospects and challenges,10.1111/btp.12381,"A major global effort to enable cost-effective natural regeneration is needed to achieve ambitious forest and landscape restoration goals. Natural forest regeneration can potentially play a major role in large-scale landscape restoration in tropical regions. Here, we focus on the conditions that favor natural regeneration within tropical forest landscapes. We illustrate cases where large-scale natural regeneration followed forest clearing and non-forest land use, and describe the social and ecological factors that drove these local forest transitions. The self-organizing processes that create naturally regenerating forests and natural regeneration in planted forests promote local genetic adaptation, foster native species with known traditional uses, create spatial and temporal heterogeneity, and sustain local biodiversity and biotic interactions. These features confer greater ecosystem resilience in the face of future shocks and disturbances. We discuss economic, social, and legal issues that challenge natural regeneration in tropical landscapes. We conclude by suggesting ways to enable natural regeneration to become an effective tool for implementing large-scale forest and landscape restoration. Major research and policy priorities include: identifying and modeling the ecological and economic conditions where natural regeneration is a viable and favorable land-use option, developing monitoring protocols for natural regeneration that can be carried out by local communities, and developing enabling incentives, governance structures, and regulatory conditions that promote the stewardship of naturally regenerating forests. Aligning restoration goals and practices with natural regeneration can achieve the best possible outcome for achieving multiple social and environmental benefits at minimal cost. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.",BIOTROPICA,2016,NOV J,"Liu, YF; Zhang, L; Wei, XJ; Xie, P",Integrating the spatial proximity effect into the assessment of changes in ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.06.019,"The assessment of the value of ecosystem services is a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation that can facilitate better environmental policy decision-making and land management, and can help land managers develop interventions to compensate for biodiversity loss at the patch level. Previous studies have suggested that it is appropriate to assess the value of biodiversity for conservation planning by considering both the condition of the landscape and the spatial configuration of adjacent land uses that can be reflected as a proximity effect. This research examines the influence of spatial proximity on biodiversity conservation from the ecosystem service perspective based on the assumption that the variation in the proximity effect caused by land cover change has positive or negative impacts on ecological services. Three factors related to the spatial characteristics of the landscape were considered in this approach: the relative artificiality of the land cover types, the distance decay effect of patches and the impact of one land cover type on others. The proximity effect change (PEC) parameter reflected the relationship between the spatial proximity effect and biodiversity conservation. The results of a quantitative and spatial comparative analysis of the proposed method and the conventional method in Yingkou for the periods of 2000-2005 and 2005-2010 showed that the former can account for the temporal and spatial changes in ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation that were caused by patch-level changes as well as the interaction between the altered and adjacent patches from a spatial perspective. The metric can also identify the most critical areas for biodiversity protection and inform the efficient allocation of limited land resources for nature conservation to maximize the benefit to biodiversity by guiding the process of land-use change, particularly urbanization and agriculture. Future studies should focus on the other important factors that are applicable to the assessment of the value of biodiversity conservation in socio-ecological systems, where society and nature are mutually capable of fulfilling their roles. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,NOV J,"Logie, CH; Daniel, C; Wang, Y","Factors associated with consistent condom use among internally displaced women in Leogane, Haiti: results from a cross-sectional tablet-based survey",10.1136/sextrans-2015-052400,"Objectives Scant research has examined factors associated with condom use among internally displaced women in postdisaster settings, such as in postearthquake Haiti. The study objective was to examine social ecological factors associated with consistent condom use among internally displaced women in postearthquake Haiti. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2012 with a peer-driven recruitment sample of internally displaced women in Leogane, Haiti. Peer health workers administered tablet-based structured interviews to a convenience sample of 175 internally displaced women. Results The 128 participants who reported being sexually active in the last 4 weeks were included in the analyses. Two-thirds (65.2%) reported consistent condom use in the last month. In multivariate logistic regression analyses controlled for age and income, participants that reported sex work, depression, higher number of sex partners and shorter relationship duration had lower odds of consistent condom use in the past month. Participants who reported no experiences of intimate partner violence, lower self-rated health, higher sexual relationship power and more meals per day, had a higher likelihood of reporting consistent condom use. Conclusions This research provides the first assessment of contextual factors associated with consistent condom use among women displaced from a natural disaster such as Haiti's 2010 earthquake. Findings demonstrate the importance of social ecological approaches to understand intrapersonal (eg, sex work and depression), interpersonal (eg, relationship power, intimate partner violence and relationship duration) and structural (eg, food insecurity) factors associated with internally displaced women's condom use. Results can inform future sexual health research and interventions in international disaster contexts.",SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS,2016,NOV J,"Larondelle, N; Frantzeskaki, N; Haase, D",Mapping transition potential with stakeholder- and policy-driven scenarios in Rotterdam City,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.028,"This paper introduces a mapping approach to identify hot- and hard-spots for sustainability transition in cities by analyzing different stakeholder- and policy-driven land-use scenarios in Rotterdam City, the Netherlands. Rotterdam's sustainability office initiated a knowledge co-production process in which visions and transition pathways for the sustainable and resilient future of Rotterdam, considering existing challenges and opportunities, were co-created. These scenarios were analyzed using a straightforward scenario approach to spatially identify, map and analyze change. By mapping change, trade-offs and synergies between different land-use options among the scenarios, this study disentangles the complexity of a stakeholder co-production process and is able to discover crucial transition areas. Furthermore, multiple urban ecosystem services were valued for each scenario, and environmental impacts could be detected for all of the different visions. The mapping approach applied is a good method to communicate the consequences of induced land-use change back to stakeholders and decision-makers and thus contributes to the visual loop of real co-design. Identifying the hot-spots of change enables attention to be drawn to the most rewarding areas for transition, and moreover, it shows areas in which different visions are not conflicting but rather cross-benefiting each other. Additionally, hard-spots or areas in which existing visions contradict each other show that careful mediation and the revision of change options might be the way to go. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,NOV J,"Munoz-Erickson, TA; Campbell, LK; Childers, DL; Grove, JM; Iwaniec, DM; Pickett, STA; Romolini, M; Svendsen, ES",Demystifying governance and its role for transitions in urban social-ecological systems,10.1002/ecs2.1564,"Governance is key to sustainable urban transitions. Governance is a system of social, power, and decision-making processes that acts as a key driver of resource allocation and use, yet ecologists-even urban ecologists-seldom consider governance concepts in their work. Transitions to more sustainable futures are becoming increasingly important to the management of many ecosystems and landscapes, and particularly so for urban systems. We briefly identify and synthesize important governance dimensions of urban sustainability transitions, using illustrations from cities in which long-term social-ecological governance research is underway. This article concludes with a call to ecologists who are interested in environmental stewardship, and to urban ecologists in particular, to consider the role of governance as a driver in the dynamics of the systems they study.",ECOSPHERE,2016,NOV J,"Banks, J; Hedge, LH; Hoisington, C; Strain, EM; Steinberg, PD; Johnston, EL","Sydney Harbour: Beautiful, diverse, valuable and pressured",10.1016/j.rsma.2016.04.007,"Sydney's Harbour is an integral part of the city providing natural, social, and economic benefits to 4.84 million residents. It has significant environmental value including a diverse range of habitats and animals. A range of anthropogenic and environmental pressures threatens these including loss and modification of habitats, oversupply of nutrients and introduction of pollutants such as metals, organics, and microplastics, introduction of non-indigenous species and the impacts of recreational fishing. Many people now recognise not only the environmental value of Sydney Harbour, but also the economic and social benefits a healthy harbour provides. Over 80% of residents recognise the importance of maintaining a pollution-free coastal environment and conserving the Harbour's abundant and diverse marine life. A recent review gathered information to make some first estimates of economic revenues and values associated with Sydney Harbour. Port and maritime revenues ($430 million/yr), ferries ($175 million/yr), cruise ship expenditure ($1025 million/yr), major foreshore events such as New Year's Eve and the Sydney Festival ($400 million/yr), and also income from culture, heritage, arts and science ( over $33 million/yr) inject considerable funds into the Australian economy. Notably, proximity to the harbour enhances Sydney domestic real estate capital by an estimated $40 billion, equivalent to $3775 million/yr and biological ecosystem services were valued at $175 million/yr. Here we provide i) a synthesis of our current understanding of the natural, social, and economic resources of Sydney Harbour, ii) the threats and pressures these resources face, and finally iii) how a new marine management framework is being used to address these threats to the natural, social and economic wellbeing of Sydney Harbour. This review clearly shows that Sydney Harbour is a valuable and valued environment that deserves continuing scientific, social, and economic research to support management now and in the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016,NOV J,"Rovai, M; Andreoli, M; Gorelli, S; Jussila, H","A DSS model for the governance of sustainable rural landscape: A first application to the cultural landscape of Orcia Valley (Tuscany, Italy)",10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.04.038,"There is a growing interest on landscape and landscape policy and planning, especially since the adoption of the European Landscape Convention in 2000. This latter defines landscape as an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors. In the case of rural landscape, this means that an appropriate governance model should not only involve local stakeholders in a participative approach, but also take into account natural characteristics, cultural aspects of the past and present, and socio-economic aspects, since agriculture is the main driver of change for rural landscapes. Farm strategies are influenced by internal and by external factors, these latter being related to market conditions and to constraints and opportunities given by policies. Market globalization and Agricultural policies are consequently having a strong impact on landscape, that public institutions try to neutralise setting rules about landscape conservation. Thus, due to its specific features, landscape is impacted both by several sectorial and territorial policies which have none or very low coordination among them. Indeed, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has often shown a negative influence on landscape, also in the case of Agri-Environmental Schemes (AES) intended to promote landscape. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive model for the governance of rural landscape and a first simplified application to a cultural landscape. This model is based on the integration of a geographical multi-criteria analysis, an advanced GIS-based geo-processing tools, and participatory techniques aiming to understand and foresee local stakeholders' behaviours through focus-groups and dedicated interviews. The identification of future landscape scenarios is based on the integration of past evolution (historical analysis), landscape sensitivity (territorial analysis) and farmers' adaptation to market and policy changes (farm analysis). A simplified version of the model was tailored and tested in the municipality of Castiglione d'Orcia of the Siena province in Tuscany, Italy, one of the UNESCO cultural landscapes, but is the Authors' opinion that its approach (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,NOV J,"Stein, KD; Alcaraz, KI; Kamson, C; Fallon, EA; Smith, TG",Sociodemographic inequalities in barriers to cancer pain management: a report from the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-II (SCS-II),10.1002/pon.4218,"ObjectiveResearch has increasingly documented sociodemographic inequalities in the assessment and management of cancer-related pain. Most studies have focused on racial/ethnic disparities, while less is known about the impact of other sociodemographic factors, including age and education. We analyzed data from a large, national, population-based study of cancer survivors to examine the influence of sociodemographic factors, and physical and mental health comorbidities on barriers to cancer pain management. MethodsThe study included data from 4707 cancer survivors in the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-II, who reported experiencing pain from their cancer. A multilevel, socioecological, conceptual framework was used to generate a list of 15 barriers to pain management, representing patient, provider, and system levels. Separate multivariable logistic regressions for each barrier identified sociodemographic and health-related inequalities in cancer pain management, controlling for years since diagnosis, disease stage, and cancer treatment. ResultsTwo-thirds of survivors reported at least 1 barrier to pain management. While patient-related barriers were most common, the greatest disparities were noted in provider- and system-level barriers. Specifically, inequalities by race/ethnicity, education, age, and physical and mental health comorbidities were observed. ConclusionFindings indicate survivors who were nonwhite, less educated, older, and/or burdened by comorbidities were most adversely affected. Future efforts in research, clinical practice, and policy should identify and/or implement new strategies to address sociodemographic inequalities in cancer pain management.",PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY,2016,OCT J,"Barth, NC; Doll, P",Assessing the ecosystem service flood protection of a riparian forest by applying a cascade approach,10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.07.012,"We present a method for assessing the ecosystem service (ES) flood protection of riparian wetlands and apply it to a riparian forest in Germany. The suggested workflow implements a cascade approach to ES characterization in which current provisioning is assessed in four steps: (1) qualitative description of biophysical processes and structures, (2) definition and quantification of main and additional ecosystem functions, (3) qualitative description of economic and social benefits and (4) valuation. Future provisioning is addressed by identifying pressures and analyzing potential enhancements. Using flood hazard and risk maps produced in response to the EU floods directive, quantification of the ecosystem function water retention as well as monetary valuation by the replacement cost and avoided damage cost methods were achieved without site-specific hydrological-hydraulic modeling. Technical structures with the same water retention volume as the investigated ecosystem in case of an extreme flood would cost 68 million EUR (equivalent ES value EUR 1900/ha/yr). In case of a 10-year flood, the riparian forest avoids damage costs of at least 26 million EUR (EUR 4300/ha/yr). We provide suggestions for standardizing the application of both monetary valuation methods and discuss their information content as well approaches for non-monetary valuation of the ES flood protection. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2016,OCT J,"Zoderer, BM; Stanghellini, PSL; Tasser, E; Walde, J; Wieser, H; Tappeiner, U",Exploring socio-cultural values of ecosystem service categories in the Central Alps: the influence of socio-demographic factors and landscape type,10.1007/s10113-015-0922-y,"The socio-cultural assessment of ecosystem services has been proposed as a promising tool for eliciting people's preferences towards ecosystem services. Despite an increasing integration of the socio-cultural perspective in ecosystem service research, little knowledge exists about linkages between landscape and the socio-cultural values people assign to ecosystem services. This paper combines a socio-cultural valuation approach with the use of landscape pictures to analyse and compare people's perceived importance of the provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem service categories across three landscape types (i.e. larch meadows, spruce forests, and hay meadow). A survey with 470 tourists visiting the region of South Tyrol (Italy) was conducted to link people's perceived importance to their socio-demographic background and to the landscape types explored. The results show that regulating ecosystem services are preferred over provisioning and cultural services, whereby environmental awareness is found to be more influential than formal education levels regarding the perceived importance of regulating services. The results further demonstrate that cultural background is an important driver in determining people's perceived importance of cultural services. The underlying landscape types, however, exert an even stronger influence on people's socio-cultural valuation of ecosystem service categories. This finding suggests that the focus of most ecosystem services assessments on the study area as a whole risks mistakenly attributing differences in people's socio-cultural values to socio-demographic characteristics only. A better knowledge of the spatial integration of socio-cultural values, however, could help with anticipating the consequences of changes in the landscape and provide better guidance for future landscape planning.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2016,OCT J,"Ren, YJ; Lu, YH; Fu, BJ",Quantifying the impacts of grassland restoration on biodiversity and ecosystem services in China: A meta-analysis,10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.06.082,"Given the extent of global ecosystem degradation resulting from environmental changes and human activity, restoration efforts have increasingly focused on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Grassland, the largest terrestrial ecosystem globally and in China, has high ecological and economic value. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the impacts of grassland restoration on biodiversity and ecosystem services in China. The results showed that grassland restoration improved biodiversity by 32.44% and ecosystem services by 30.43%, although the restored grassland from degraded conditions failed to reach the level of non-degraded reference conditions for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The analysis of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the four ecological domains showed significant differences in restored grassland compared to the degraded and reference grassland. Restoration outcomes of biodiversity and ecosystem services were affected by different restoration approaches, but restoration age was not detected as significantly correlated with biodiversity and ecosystem services recovery. Biodiversity recovery, however, was positively correlated with ecosystem services recovery so far in our dataset. Despite this, these patterns require further elucidation and synthetic analyses must be conducted to assess and inform future restoration actions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING,2016,OCT J,"Majdalawi, MI; Raedig, C; Al-Karablieh, EK; Schlueter, S; Salman, A; Tabieh, M",Integration of different environmental valuation methods to estimate forest degradation in arid and semi-arid regions,10.1080/13504509.2015.1124934,"Many factors are aggravating desertification and degradation of forests such as urbanization, droughts, exploitation of natural resources and climate change. The study aims at estimating and assessing the degradation of forests in arid and semi-arid regions. This task however is complicated since the impact of the degradation will be in different forms such as loss of wood, soil erosion and lost recreational areas. Nevertheless the dynamic impact of the degradation is increasing the complexity of analysis since forest once lost is a reduction of value for all subsequent years. This study is considering the value of damages over time and it is using the concept of three environmental valuation methods to estimate the whole impact of the degradation: the habitat equivalency analysis (HEA), the productivity method and the benefit transfer method. The methods were applied to specific values of forests, depending on the best applicability, and the results combined to an overall value loss. The costs are calculated based on the year 2014 with two time horizons: 30 and 100years. To apply the valuation approach, Jordan as an arid and semi-arid country is chosen. The result shows that the annual costs of environmental degradation of Jordanian forest areas equal about 0.14% of GDP in 2013, proving the enormous value lost to forest degradation or deforestation. The valuation approach can be transferred to other arid or semi-arid areas and stimulate forest conservation activities to prevent further degradation and to save the forest ecosystem services for the future.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2016,OCT J,"Ryan, CM; Pritchard, R; McNicol, L; Owen, M; Fisher, JA; Lehmann, C",Ecosystem services from southern African woodlands and their future under global change,10.1098/rstb.2015.0312,"Miombo and mopane woodlands are the dominant land cover in southern Africa. Ecosystem services from these woodlands support the livelihoods of 100 M rural people and 50 M urban dwellers, and others beyond the region. Provisioning services contribute $9 +/- 2 billion yr(-1) to rural livelihoods; 76% of energy used in the region is derived from woodlands; and traded woodfuels have an annual value of $780 M. Woodlands support much of the region's agriculture through transfers of nutrients to fields and shifting cultivation. Woodlands store 18-24 PgC carbon, and harbour a unique and diverse flora and fauna that provides spiritual succour and attracts tourists. Longstanding processes that will impact service provision are the expansion of croplands (0.1 M km(2); 2000-2014), harvesting of woodfuels (93 M tonnes yr(-1)) and changing access arrangements. Novel, exogenous changes include large-scale land acquisitions (0.07 M km(2); 2000-2015), climate change and rising CO2. The net ecological response to these changes is poorly constrained, as they act in different directions, and differentially on trees and grasses, leading to uncertainty in future service provision. Land-use change and socio-political dynamics are likely to be dominant forces of change in the short term, but important land-use dynamics remain unquantified. This article is part of the themed issue 'Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation'.",PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES,2016,SEP 19 J,"Lees, KJ; McKenzie, AJ; Price, JPN; Critchley, CN; Rhymer, CM; Chambers, BJ; Whittingham, MJ",The effects of soil compaction mitigation on below-ground fauna: How earthworms respond to mechanical loosening and power harrow cultivation,10.1016/j.agee.2016.07.026,"Soils are one of the most biologically diverse habitats within the terrestrial ecosystem. Although soils are vital to the provision of important ecosystem services, their direct protection and sustainable management are often lacking within conservation policy. Many grassland soils have undergone considerable management intensification and are subject to degradation pressures. Soil compaction is an important form of soil degradation that can reduce soil productivity and crop yields, although the impacts can be reversed through natural processes and mitigated through management interventions. While commonly used, substantial knowledge gaps exist regarding the impact of soil compaction mitigation techniques on key soil macrofauna; many of these organisms are essential to soil function. A complete split-plot design was used to investigate the impacts of mechanical loosening (subsurface soil disturbance using tines or radial blades without significant soil mixing or inversion) and power harrow cultivation (shearing and mixing of soil to prepare a seedbed for the establishment of a deep-rooting forb and legume mix) on the abundance and biomass of earthworms up to two years post-treatment. Mechanical loosening was undertaken at two depths, c. 20 cm and c. 35 cm as two separate treatments. There was a negative effect of mechanical loosening at both depths on the abundance and biomass of anecic earthworms, lasting up to two years post-treatment. There was no significant effect of power harrow cultivation on the abundance or biomass of earthworms. These negative effects are consistent with other studies that have shown mechanical loosening to be a source of earthworm mortality. Although these findings resulted from a single episode of power harrow cultivation and mechanical loosening at a single site, the results indicate that the mechanical loosening of grassland soil can have a negative impact on important soil macrofauna and should possibly only be undertaken when the soil is in the most severely degraded conditions. Further work is needed to determine whether the negative impact of mechanical loosening is common to multiple sites and soil types and to link the reduction in earthworm number and biomass to future soil function. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT,2016,SEP 16 J,"Caputo, J; Beier, CM; Sullivan, TJ; Lawrence, GB",Modeled effects of soil acidification on long-term ecological and economic outcomes for managed forests in the Adirondack region (USA),10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.008,"Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is among the most ecologically and economically important tree species in North America, and its growth and regeneration is often the focus of silvicultural practices in northern hardwood forests. A key stressor for sugar maple (SM) is acid rain, which depletes base cations from poorly-buffered forest soils and has been associated with much lower SM vigor, growth, and recruitment. However, the potential interactions between forest management and soil acidification - and their implications for the sustainability of SM and its economic and cultural benefits - have not been investigated. In this study, we simulated the development of 50 extant SM stands in the western Adirondack region of NY (USA) for 100 years under different soil chemical conditions and silvicultural prescriptions. We found that interactions between management prescription and soil base saturation will strongly shape the ability to maintain SM in managed forests. Below 12% base saturation, SM did not regenerate sufficiently after harvest and was replaced mainly by red maple (Acer rubrum) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). Loss of SM on acid-impaired sites was predicted regardless of whether the shelterwood or diameter-limit prescriptions were used. On soils with sufficient base saturation, models predicted that SM will regenerate after harvest and be sustained for future rotations. We then estimated how these different post-harvest outcomes, mediated by acid impairment of forest soils, would affect the potential monetary value of ecosystem services provided by SM forests. Model simulations indicated that a management strategy focused on syrup production - although not feasible across the vast areas where acid impairment has occurred may generate the greatest economic return. Although pollution from acid rain is declining, its long-term legacy in forest soils will shape future options for sustainable forestry and ecosystem stewardship in the northern hardwood forests of North America. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2016,SEP 15 J,"Dauber, J; Miyake, S",To integrate or to segregate food crop and energy crop cultivation at the landscape scale? Perspectives on biodiversity conservation in agriculture in Europe,10.1186/s13705-016-0089-5,"Biodiversity is severely declining in intensively managed agriculture worldwide. In response, land-management strategies for biodiversity conservation on farmland are in debate, namely ecological intensification and land sparing vs. land sharing. In parallel, there is a recent food vs. energy debate stimulated by an increasing competition for land resources. Despite clear overlaps between these two debates, they were rarely connected in previous research. This paper aims to stimulate a discussion by providing a contextual link between biodiversity conservation strategies and options for future energy crop deployment. Therefore, nine conceptual land-use scenarios are developed, and then, the potential biodiversity implications are discussed based on the findings from past and ongoing research. These scenarios include the integration and segregation of both food and energy crops on lands with a range of productivity and suitability for agricultural production. We assume that the clear segregation between food crops on productive land and energy crops on marginal land is less likely to be a solution of mitigating the problems related to the biodiversity decline, especially in the European agricultural landscape context. In contrast, the integration of food and energy crop production systems at the farm to landscape scale has greater potential for ecological intensification, although conflicts with traditional nature conservation targets may arise. We conclude that broadening the perspectives of biodiversity conservation in agriculture is crucial, and the inclusion of energy crop production into the recent debates on biodiversity conservation strategies is helpful.",ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY,2016,SEP 13 J,"Kubiszewski, I; Anderson, SJ; Costanza, R; Sutton, PC",The Future of Ecosystem Services in Asia and the Pacific,10.1002/app5.147,"We estimated the current value of ecosystem services for terrestrial ecosystems in 47 countries in the Asia and the Pacific region. Currently, these provide $US14 trillion/yr. in benefits, most of which are non-marketed and do not show up in GDP. We also estimated the changes in terrestrial ecosystem services value for scenarios to the year 2050, built around the four Great Transition Initiative archetypes: (1) Market Forces (MF); (2) Fortress World (FW); (3) Policy Reform (PR); and (4) Great Transition (GT). Results show that under the MF and FW scenarios the ecosystem services value in the region continues to decline from $14 trillion/yr in 2011 to $11 and $9 trillion/yr in 2050, respectively. In the PR scenario, the value is maintained around $14 Trillion/yr in 2050 and in the GT scenario it is significantly restored to $17 Trillion/yr. We also show more detailed maps and results for 8 selected countries in the region (Bhutan, China, India, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) and compare our results with a previous national study of Bhutan. Our results indicate that adopting a set of policies like those assumed in the GT scenario would greatly enhance human wellbeing and sustainability in the region.",ASIA & THE PACIFIC POLICY STUDIES,2016,SEP J,"Colloff, MJ; Doherty, MD; Lavorel, S; Dunlop, M; Wise, RM; Prober, SM",Adaptation services and pathways for the management of temperate montane forests under transformational climate change,10.1007/s10584-016-1724-z,"In regions prone to wildfire, a major driver of ecosystem change is increased frequency and intensity of fire events caused by a warming, drying climate. Uncertainty over the nature and extent of change creates challenges for how to manage ecosystems subject to altered structure and function under climate change. Using montane forests in south-eastern Australia as a case study, we addressed this issue by developing an ecosystem state-and-transition model based on a synthesis of expert knowledge and published data, with fire frequency and intensity as drivers. We then used four steps to determine future adaptation options: (1) estimation of changes in ecosystem services under each ecosystem state to identify adaptation services: the ecosystem processes and services that help people adapt to environmental change; (2) identification and sequencing of decision points to maintain each ecosystem state or allow transition to an alternative state; (3) analysis of interactions between societal values, scientific and management knowledge and institutional rules (vrk) required to reframe the decision context for future management, and (4) determining options for an adaptation pathway for management of montane forests under climate change. Our approach is transferable to other ecosystems for which alternative states can be predicted under climate change.",CLIMATIC CHANGE,2016,SEP J,"Estoque, RC; Murayama, Y",Quantifying landscape pattern and ecosystem service value changes in four rapidly urbanizing hill stations of Southeast Asia,10.1007/s10980-016-0341-6,"Context Hill stations are known for their favorable cool climate and natural environments which generate valuable ecosystem services that benefit the local population, tourists and visitors. However, rapid urbanization threatens the sustainability of these highly valued fragile landscapes. Objectives We aim to characterize and quantify the changes in the landscape patterns and ecosystem service values (ESVs) of Baguio (Philippines), Bogor (Indonesia), Dalat (Vietnam), and Pyin Oo Lwin (Myanmar), and discuss their implications to landscape sustainability. Methods We used remote sensing imagery to map land-use/cover (2001 and 2014), and spatial metrics and gradient analysis to characterize the changes in landscape pattern. We employed a benefit transfer method to estimate the changes in ESV and human-to-ESV ratio. A land-change model was used to simulate different scenarios of future built-up expansions (2014-2030). Results The landscapes of Dalat and Pyin Oo Lwin are becoming more fragmented, while those of Baguio and Bogor are getting more aggregated. Dalat had the highest decrease (absolute change) in ESV and H-ESV ratio, while Bogor had the highest percentage decrease (2001-2014). Conclusions Rapid urbanization has been a major factor in the landscape transformation of Baguio, Bogor, Dalat and Pyin Oo Lwin. If the current built-up expansion rate will speed up, the decline in future ESV and H-ESV ratio (2014-2030) will be higher than if the rate will continue or slow down. Unless the concept of landscape sustainability is taken seriously in landscape and urban planning, the respective 'values' of these precious hill stations will become less and less.",LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY,2016,SEP J,"Probstl-Haider, U; Mostegl, NM; Kelemen-Finan, J; Haider, W; Formayer, H; Kantelhardt, J; Moser, T; Kapfer, M; Trenholm, R",Farmers' Preferences for Future Agricultural Land Use Under the Consideration of Climate Change,10.1007/s00267-016-0720-4,"Cultural landscapes in Austria are multifunctional through their simultaneous support of productive, habitat, regulatory, social, and economic functions. This study investigates, if changing climatic conditions in Austria will lead to landscape change. Based on the assumption that farmers are the crucial decision makers when it comes to the implementation of agricultural climate change policies, this study analyzes farmers' decision-making under the consideration of potential future climate change scenarios and risk, varying economic conditions, and different policy regimes through a discrete choice experiment. Results show that if a warming climate will offer new opportunities to increase income, either through expansion of cash crop cultivation or new land use options such as short-term rotation forestry, these opportunities will almost always be seized. Even if high environmental premiums were offered to maintain current cultural landscapes, only 43 % of farmers would prefer the existing grassland cultivation. Therefore, the continuity of characteristic Austrian landscape patterns seems unlikely. In conclusion, despite governmental regulations of and incentives for agriculture, climate change will have significant effects on traditional landscapes. Any opportunities for crop intensification will be embraced, which will ultimately impact ecosystem services, tourism opportunities, and biodiversity.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,SEP J,"Meyer, WS; Bryan, BA; Summers, DM; Lyle, G; Wells, S; McLean, J; Siebentritt, M",Regional engagement and spatial modelling for natural resource management planning,10.1007/s11625-015-0341-5,"Changing unsustainable natural resource use in agricultural landscapes is a complex social-ecological challenge that cannot be addressed through traditional reductionist science. More holistic and inclusive (or transdisciplinary) processes are needed. This paper describes a transdisciplinary project for natural resource management planning in two regions (Eyre Peninsula and South Australian Murray-Darling Basin) of southern Australia. With regional staff, we reviewed previous planning to gain an understanding of the processes used and to identify possible improvement in plan development and its operation. We then used an envisioning process to develop a value-rich narrative of regional aspirations to assist stakeholder engagement and inform the development of a land use management option assessment tool called the landscape futures analysis tool (LFAT). Finally, we undertook an assessment of the effectiveness of the process through semi-structured stakeholder interviews. The planning process review highlighted the opinion that the regional plans were not well informed by available science, that they lacked flexibility, and were only intermittently used after publication. The envisioning process identified shared values-generally described as a trust, language that is easily understood, wise use of resources, collaboration and inclusiveness. LFAT was designed to bring the best available science together in a form that would have use in planning, during community consultation and in assessing regional management operations. The LFAT provided spatially detailed but simple models of agricultural yields and incomes, plant biodiversity, weed distribution, and carbon sequestration associated with future combinations of climate, commodity and carbon prices, and costs of production. Stakeholders were impressed by the presentation and demonstration results of the software. While there was anecdotal evidence that the project provided learning opportunities and increased understanding of potential land use change associated with management options under global change, the direct evidence of influence in the updated regional plan was limited. This project had elements required for success in transdisciplinary research, but penetration seems limited. Contributing factors appear to be a complexity of climate effects with economic uncertainty, lack of having the project embedded in the plan revision process, limited continuity and capacity of end users and limited after project support and promotion. Strategies are required to minimise the controlling influence that these limitations can have.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2016,SEP J,"Gonzalez, PAV; Leon, NT; Vargas, JAE; Neira, NO; Mendez, MG; Salazar, REG; Florez, MJ",Integrated Modeling of Complex Socio-ecological Systems: Case Study of the Mojana ecoregion,10.14483/udistrital.jour.reving.2016.3.a09,"Context: It was observed that the modeling of complex socio-ecological systems based on Agent-Based Simulations has the advantage of allowing the integration of different processes, scales, variables and the possibility to generate scenarios with actors in the context of the modeling with stakeholders. Method: A computational tool for planning and support of decision-making processes related with water resources management, specifi- cally in the case of floods in the Mojana ecoregion (Colombia) is designed along with social participation workshops related with beliefs, values, social networks and resilience. Results: The model has two components: the first one represents the hydrodynamic of flooding by means of the numerical platform ISIS 2D. The second one, regarding the social aspects of the region, is handled via agent systems modeling. Both schemes are integrated into the NetLogo platform. Conclusions: The integrated modeling of complex socio-ecological systems allow us to visualize the behavior of the population and the natural resources in a territory, contributing to the design of policies and educational processes involving different disciplines and actors. Future work will focus on regional modeling and the analysis of the impact produced by the use of these tools.",INGENIERIA,2016,SEP-DEC J,"Conway, TM; Yip, V",Assessing residents' reactions to urban forest disservices: A case study of a major storm event,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.04.016,"Ecosystem services associated with urban forests have received significant consideration in the last decade, but less attention has been given to disservices. In the urban forest, examples of common disservices include air pollution, allergens and physical damage to property. The way perceived and experienced urban forest disservices influence residents' tree management is unclear yet important to understand when developing management goals and strategies. This study's objective is to examine residents' experiences, attitudes, and actions related to an ice storm, which created a set of urban forest disservices, to better understand the role of disservices in residential tree management. To address the objective, residents from the Greater Toronto Area were surveyed six month after the December 2013 ice storm. The survey responses indicated that the majority of participants had multiple small and large branches fall on their property as a result of the storm, although few lost trees. As a result of their ice storm experiences, many survey participants altered their tree plans, including deciding to remove healthy trees on their property to reduce future risks. Most respondents want their municipality to continue street tree plantings, but utilize more structurally sound trees and take better care of existing trees. The case study highlights the ways disservices can influence the attitudes and actions of residents, thus, illustrating the importance of documenting disservices, along with ecosystem services, in order to develop successful management strategies and better understand socio-ecological interactions in the urban forest. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2016,SEP J,"Raymond, CM; Gottwald, S; Kuoppa, J; Kytta, M",Integrating multiple elements of environmental justice into urban blue space planning using public participation geographic information systems,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.005,"This study presents a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method for spatially identifying and assessing multiple elements of environmental justice in urban blue space. We used this method in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, to examine: (1) the diversity and spatial distribution of clusters based on the activities undertaken in urban blue space; (2) the diversity of users in each cluster, representing a composite measure of income, age and family income, and; (3) the extent of perceived problems and unpleasant experiences (PPUE) in each cluster. Proportionately more high activity and high user diversity areas were found in Helsinki than Espoo and Vantaa municipalities. Contrasting combinations of activity and user diversity (high-low, low-high) show very different spatial distributions, dominant activities and PPUE. The method enables landscape and urban planning strategies to be tailored to different types of activities and users, and to be responsive to the PPUE found in urban blue spaces. We encourage future landscape and urban planning research to further develop and apply this PPGIS method for assessing multiple elements of environmental justice. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2016,SEP J,"Brett, J; Thompson, L",Negotiation,10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.06.003,"Negotiation has been an important area of research within organizational behavior and management science for the past 50 years. In this review, we adapt Brett's model of culture and negotiation (Brett, 2000) and use it as an organizing guide to examine the factors that research has shown to affect 3 key measures, namely: negotiators' interests and priorities, strategies and social interactions, and outcomes. Specifically, the model focuses on psychological factors including cognitions and biases, personality, motivation, emotions and inclination to trust; and social-environmental factors including reputation and relationship, gender, power and status, and culture. We conclude with a discussion of how future directions might address some of the limitations of current research. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES,2016,SEP J,"Murnighan, JK; Wang, L",The social world as an experimental game,10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.02.003,"This paper presents a selective review of decades of empirical research on behavioral games, with a particular focus on experimental games. We suggest that games effectively (but imperfectly) model many human social interactions, and we present important findings from six popular experimental games Prisoner's and Social Dilemmas, and the Trust, Ultimatum, Dictator, and Deception games - to discuss their theoretical and empirical implications as well as their various insights into human nature. We close by asking several fundamental questions about games and suggesting several directions and ideas for future research. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES,2016,SEP J,"Jonsson, E",The nature of an upscale nature: Bro Hof Slott Golf Club and the political ecology of high-end golf,10.1177/1468797615618306,"Political ecology, as a perspective for exploring power-permeated socio-ecological transformations, has to date rarely engaged with tourism. Neither has tourism theory, with some notable exceptions, engaged much with political ecology. In this article, I argue that the resultant lack of dialogue between these signifies a loss for political ecology and tourism theory alike, but also that current conceptualisations of tourism have much to offer for instigating a dialogue. Combining social-constructivist, political economy oriented and Actor Network-Theory conceptualisations of tourism with political ecology work, I account for the establishment of Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Upplands-Bro, northwest of Sweden's capital. Here, immense investments have transformed shorelines into a meticulously maintained upscale golf landscape. But the development simultaneously sparked new future visions for what Upplands-Bro could become and conflicts concerning whether the development breached local plans, thereby illuminating the political nature of tourist-oriented environmental transformation.",TOURIST STUDIES,2016,SEP J,"Brown, I; Martin-Ortega, J; Waylen, K; Blackstock, K",Participatory scenario planning for developing innovation in community adaptation responses: three contrasting examples from Latin America,10.1007/s10113-015-0898-7,"Environmental change requires adaptive responses that are innovative, forward-looking and anticipatory, in order to meet goals for sustainability in socio-ecological systems. This implies transformative shifts in understanding as conceptualised by the idea of 'double'- or 'triple-loop learning'. Achieving this can be difficult as communities often rely on shorter-term coping mechanisms that purport to maintain the status quo. The use of participatory scenario planning to stimulate forward-looking social learning for adaptation was investigated through three contrasting community case studies on natural resource management in Latin America (in Mexico, Argentina and Colombia). Exploratory scenario narratives that synthesised local knowledge and future perceptions were used iteratively to define response options considered robust across multiple futures. Despite its intensive format, participants in each case agreed that scenario planning enabled a more systematic appraisal of the future. Scenarios facilitated innovation by providing scope to propose new types of responses and associated actions. Differences in local context meant that learning about future change developed in diverse ways, showing a need for a reflexive process. Reframing of key issues characteristic of double-loop learning did occur, albeit through different forms of interaction in each location. However, a shift towards transformative actions characteristic of triple-loop learning was less evident. Achieving this would appear to require ongoing use of scenarios to challenge social norms in light of changing drivers. Use of learning loops as a diagnostic to evaluate adaptive responses provided a useful reference framework although in practice both innovation and consolidative approaches can develop concurrently for responses to different issues.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2016,AUG J,"McMillen, H; Campbell, LK; Svendsen, ES; Reynolds, R",Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden,10.3390/su8080775,"Resilience theory has received increased attention from researchers across a range of disciplines who have developed frameworks and articulated categories of indicators; however, there has been less discussion of how to recognize, and therefore support, social resilience at the community level, especially in urban areas. The value of urban environmental stewardship for supporting social-ecological functioning and improving quality of life in cities has been documented, but recognizing it as a strategy for strengthening social resilience to respond to future disturbances has not been fully explored. Here we address the question: How can social resilience indicators be operationalized as stewardship practices in an urban context? Using a deductive coding approach drawing upon existing resilience frameworks we analyze qualitative data from community managed-open spaces in the New York City area that have responded to various chronic presses and acute disturbances including a hurricane and a terrorist attack. In each case we identify and characterize the type of grounded, empirically observable stewardship practices that demonstrate the following indicators of social resilience at the community level: place attachment, social cohesion, social networks, and knowledge exchange and diversification. The process of operationalizing abstract indicators of social resilience has important implications for managers to support social (and ecological) resilience in the specific areas where stewardship takes place, as well as potentially having greater effects that bridge beyond the spatial and temporal boundaries of the site. We conclude by suggesting how researchers and practitioners might learn from our examples so they can recognize resilience in other sites in order to both inform research frameworks and strengthen practice and programming, while keeping larger institutional structures and context in mind.",SUSTAINABILITY,2016,AUG J,"O'Rourke, E; Charbonneau, M; Poinsot, Y","High nature value mountain farming systems in Europe: Case studies from the Atlantic Pyrenees, France and the Kerry Uplands, Ireland",10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.05.010,"The term high nature value (HNV) farming, acknowledges that the conservation of a large proportion of European biodiversity and important semi-natural habitats are dependent on low-input, mainly extensive farming practices. HNV has become a focus for nature conservation and countryside management in Europe. This paper critically analyses the drivers of change and the challenges facing two European HNV upland pastoralist systems, one in the French Atlantic Pyrenees and the other in the Irish uplands. The detailed case studies highlight the traditional linkages between the landscape, grazing management, locally adapted animal breeds and social capital, all of which are currently under threat from globalised markets and policy orientation. The research findings indicate that the European multifunctional model of agriculture and its support for farm diversification including the provision of environmental goods and services has not been successful in targeting and rewarding HNV systems. In the search for economic viability (and social acceptance) many are left with the stark choice of intensification or abandonment; ultimately meeting neither market demands nor ecosystem services. We conclude with a recommendation for more targeted, evidence based support for HNV farmland, along with better integration in the wider rural economy, if these farming practices are to survive into the future and if the EU is to meet its 2020 biodiversity targets. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES,2016,AUG J,"Wouters, E; Masquillier, C; Booysen, FL",The Importance of the Family: A Longitudinal Study of the Predictors of Depression in HIV Patients in South Africa,10.1007/s10461-016-1294-0,"As a chronic illness, HIV/AIDS requires life-long treatment adherence and retention-and thus sufficient attention to the psychosocial dimensions of chronic disease care in order to produce favourable antiretroviral treatment (ART) outcomes in a sustainable manner. Given the high prevalence of depression in chronic HIV patients, there is a clear need for further research into the determinants of depression in this population. In order to comprehensively study the predictors of depressive symptoms in HIV patients on ART, the socio-ecological theory postulates to not only incorporate the dominant individual-level and the more recent community-level approaches, but also incorporate the intermediate, but crucial family-level approach. The present study aims to extend the current literature by simultaneously investigating the impact of a wide range individual-level, family-level and community-level determinants of depression in a sample of 435 patients enrolled in the Free State Province of South Africa public-sector ART program. Structural equation modeling is used to explore the relationships between both latent and manifest variables at two time points. Besides a number of individual-level correlates-namely education, internalized and external stigma, and avoidant and seeking social support coping styles-of depressive symptoms in HIV patients on ART, the study also revealed the important role of family functioning in predicting depression. While family attachment emerged as the only factor to continuously and negatively impact depression at both time points, the second dimension of family functioning, changeability, was the only factor to produce a negative cross-lagged effect on depression. The immediate and long-term impact of family functioning on depression draws attention to the role of family dynamics in the mental health of people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to individual-level and community-based factors, future research activities should also incorporate the role of the family context in research into the mental health of HIV patients, as our results demonstrate that the familial context in which a person with HIV on ART resides is inextricably interconnected with his/her health outcomes.",AIDS AND BEHAVIOR,2016,AUG J,"Marschke, M; Betcherman, G",Vietnam's seafood boom: Economic growth with impoverishment?,10.1007/s10668-015-9692-4,"By 2050 most seafood will be sourced through aquaculture, with a range of production intensities being required to sustain livelihoods and to meet future needs from seafood. This makes Vietnam a particularly insightful case, since Vietnam is at the forefront of the trend toward greater aquaculture production. Our aim in this paper is to examine the social-ecological sustainability of small producer livelihoods contributing to Vietnam's seafood boom. This paper uses original survey data to understand the range of fishery-based livelihoods that have contributed to Vietnam being a leading global exporter of seafood. We investigate the kinds of fishery-based livelihood activities that households are engaged in, consider the type and amount (kilograms) of species caught or farmed annually, and examine household perceptions' of change in species quantity. We find that Vietnam's seafood sector is facing real sustainability challenges: Nearly 30 % of small producers-fishers and fish farmers-within our sample rest at or below Vietnam's rural poverty line. Ecological decline and disease in farmed fish is perceived to be a serious issue for all fishers. In this context, policy and management interventions need to better reflect social and ecological variability, adopt an integrated coastal systems perspective across fisheries and aquaculture, and consider the most impact-effective poverty interventions.",ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY,2016,AUG J,"Brewer, SK; McManamay, RA; Miller, AD; Mollenhauer, R; Worthington, TA; Arsuffi, T",Advancing Environmental Flow Science: Developing Frameworks for Altered Landscapes and Integrating Efforts Across Disciplines,10.1007/s00267-016-0703-5,"Environmental flows represent a legal mechanism to balance existing and future water uses and sustain non-use values. Here, we identify current challenges, provide examples where they are important, and suggest research advances that would benefit environmental flow science. Specifically, environmental flow science would benefit by (1) developing approaches to address streamflow needs in highly modified landscapes where historic flows do not provide reasonable comparisons, (2) integrating water quality needs where interactions are apparent with quantity but not necessarily the proximate factor of the ecological degradation, especially as frequency and magnitudes of inflows to bays and estuaries, (3) providing a better understanding of the ecological needs of native species to offset the often unintended consequences of benefiting non-native species or their impact on flows, (4) improving our understanding of the non-use economic value to balance consumptive economic values, and (5) increasing our understanding of the stakeholder socioeconomic spatial distribution of attitudes and perceptions across the landscape. Environmental flow science is still an emerging interdisciplinary field and by integrating socioeconomic disciplines and developing new frameworks to accommodate our altered landscapes, we should help advance environmental flow science and likely increase successful implementation of flow standards.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,AUG J,"Mallampalli, VR; Mavrommati, G; Thompson, J; Duveneck, M; Meyer, S; Ligmann-Zielinska, A; Druschke, CG; Hychka, K; Kenney, MA; Kok, K; Borsuk, ME",Methods for translating narrative scenarios into quantitative assessments of land use change,10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.04.011,"In the land use and land cover (LULC) literature, narrative scenarios are qualitative descriptions of plausible futures associated with a combination of socio-economic, policy, technological, and climate changes. LULC models are then often used to translate these narrative descriptions into quantitative characterizations of possible future societal and ecological impacts and conditions. To respect the intent of the underlying scenario descriptions, this process of translation needs to be thoughtful, transparent, and reproducible. This paper evaluates the current state of the art in scenario translation methods and outlines their relative advantages and disadvantages, as well as the respective roles of stakeholders and subject matter experts. We summarize our findings in the form of a decision matrix that can assist land use planners, scientists, and modelers in choosing a translation method appropriate to their situation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE,2016,AUG J,"Wach, M; Hellmich, RL; Layton, R; Romeis, J; Gadaleta, PG",Dynamic role and importance of surrogate species for assessing potential adverse environmental impacts of genetically engineered insect-resistant plants on non-target organisms,10.1007/s11248-016-9945-5,"Surrogate species have a long history of use in research and regulatory settings to understand the potentially harmful effects of toxic substances including pesticides. More recently, surrogate species have been used to evaluate the potential effects of proteins contained in genetically engineered insect resistant (GEIR) crops. Species commonly used in GEIR crop testing include beneficial organisms such as honeybees, arthropod predators, and parasitoids. The choice of appropriate surrogates is influenced by scientific factors such as the knowledge of the mode of action and the spectrum of activity as well as societal factors such as protection goals that assign value to certain ecosystem services such as pollination or pest control. The primary reasons for using surrogates include the inability to test all possible organisms, the restrictions on using certain organisms in testing (e.g., rare, threatened, or endangered species), and the ability to achieve greater sensitivity and statistical power by using laboratory testing of certain species. The acceptance of surrogate species data can allow results from one region to be applied or transported for use in another region. On the basis of over a decade of using surrogate species to evaluate potential effects of GEIR crops, it appears that the current surrogates have worked well to predict effects of GEIR crops that have been developed (Carstens et al. GM Crops Food 5:1-5, 2014), and it is expected that they should work well to predict effects of future GEIR crops based on similar technologies.",TRANSGENIC RESEARCH,2016,AUG J,"Ma, W; Liang, JJ; Cumming, JR; Lee, E; Welsh, AB; Watson, JV; Zhou, M",Fundamental shifts of central hardwood forests under climate change,10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.03.021,"The Central Hardwood Region (CHR) of the United States constitutes one of the most diverse ecoregions in North America and the most extensive temperate deciduous forest in the world. Despite the economic and ecological significance of the CHR, the long-term effects of changes in climate and fire regime on forest structure remain largely unknown. In this study, we developed an integrated Climate-Sensitive Matrix framework to synchronously couple (1) forest dynamics, (2) mean fire interval, (3) population density, and (4) future climate scenarios to study the community and population structure of CHR forests under climate change and associated changes of fire regimes. Using Monte Carlo simulations and coupled forest dynamics-disturbance models, we projected that the CHR would undergo a major shift in forest community structure from the present to year 2100. The fundamental changes would consist of a transition of dominant species from oak and hickory to maple species, reduced species diversity (9.6-11.5%), and substantial declines in stand basal area (55.1-62.0%) and stand volume (56.3-62.4%). These projected changes will have profound ecological and economic implications. Ecologically, changes in tree species diversity favoring maples would alter ecosystem processing of nutrients and subsequent nutrient flows to drainage waters within the region. Habitat change would alter the broad spectrum of organisms relying on the forest, leading to a redistribution of wildlife species, further heightening the risks for endangered species. Economically, the total stumpage value throughout the CHR would be reduced by 54.5-59.8% from approximately $1317 billion to $529-599 billion. On the brink of these fundamental shifts, our study calls for ecologically- and economically-informed conservation and mitigation strategies to better prepare society for the associated changes in ecosystem services and economic benefits derived from CHR forests. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL MODELLING,2016,jul 24 J,"Currie, S; Gray, C; Shepherd, A; McInnes, RJ",Antenatal physical activity: a qualitative study exploring women's experiences and the acceptability of antenatal walking groups,10.1186/s12884-016-0973-1,"Background: Regular physical activity (PA) can be beneficial to pregnant women, however, many women do not adhere to current PA guidelines during the antenatal period. Patient and public involvement is essential when designing antenatal PA interventions in order to uncover the reasons for non-adherence and non-engagement with the behaviour, as well as determining what type of intervention would be acceptable. The aim of this research was to explore women's experiences of PA during a recent pregnancy, understand the barriers and determinants of antenatal PA and explore the acceptability of antenatal walking groups for further development. Methods: Seven focus groups were undertaken with women who had given birth within the past five years. Focus groups were transcribed and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Relevant and related behaviour change techniques (BCTs), which could be applied to future interventions, were identified using the BCT taxonomy. Results: Women's opinions and experiences of PA during pregnancy were categorised into biological/physical (including tiredness and morning sickness), psychological (fear of harm to baby and self-confidence) and social/environmental issues (including access to facilities). Although antenatal walking groups did not appear popular, women identified some factors which could encourage attendance (e.g. childcare provision) and some which could discourage attendance (e.g. walking being boring). It was clear that the personality of the walk leader would be extremely important in encouraging women to join a walking group and keep attending. Behaviour change technique categories identified as potential intervention components included social support and comparison of outcomes (e.g. considering pros and cons of behaviour). Conclusions: Women's experiences and views provided a range of considerations for future intervention development, including provision of childcare, involvement of a fun and engaging leader and a range of activities rather than just walking. These experiences and views relate closely to the Health Action Process Model which, along with BCTs, could be used to develop future interventions. The findings of this study emphasise the importance of involving the target population in intervention development and present the theoretical foundation for building an antenatal PA intervention to encourage women to be physically active throughout their pregnancies.",BMC PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH,2016,jul 22 J,"Jackson, MC; Woodford, DJ; Weyl, OLF",Linking key environmental stressors with the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services in the freshwaters of southern Africa,10.1002/geo2.26,"Societies' growing global footprint is causing a rapid increase in the demand for natural resources (i.e. ecosystem services), while also reducing the capacity of ecosystems to provide them. Freshwater ecosystems contribute disproportionately to ecosystem services but are also particularly vulnerable to global environmental change. The provisioning of freshwater services, such as water and food production, is especially important in developing countries. Here, we review the evidence which demonstrates the impacts of key environmental stressors on these two important provisioning services in southern Africa. Land use change, species invasions and climate change can all be linked to a loss of the provisioning services provided by freshwater ecosystems in southern Africa. Water resources for drinking, agriculture, sanitation and power are expected to decline as a result of both climate and land use change. Fish production may be negatively or positively affected by the different stressors, highlighting the high context-dependency associated with their impacts. Evidence also suggests that these stressors can interact to alter one another's impacts or promote the proliferation of further stressors. For instance, land use change can promote aquatic plant invasions and, subsequently, the stressors may interact synergistically to cause fish kills. Stressors may also interact to mitigate one another's impact, for instance fish invasions may enhance total fish catch following a pollution event. Since stressors are unlikely to occur in isolation and multiple stressors frequently result in complex 'ecological surprises', it is urgent that we increase research effort on the links between multiple stressors and the loss of ecosystem services. Future research should, therefore, focus on the combined impacts of multiple environmental, social, and economic stressors on natural resources and provisioning ecosystem services in southern Africa.",GEO-GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT,2016,JUL-DEC J,"Vingerhoets, AJJM; Bylsma, LM",The Riddle of Human Emotional Crying: A Challenge for Emotion Researchers,10.1177/1754073915586226,"Until now, adult crying has received relatively little interest from investigators, whereas in the popular media there are many strong claims about crying (e.g., crying brings relief) of which the scientific basis is not clear. In this review, we provide an overview of the current state of the scientific literature with respect to crying. We identify gaps in knowledge and propose questions for future research. The following topics receive special attention: Ontogenetic development, antecedents, individual and gender differences, and the intra- and interindividual effects of crying. We conclude that the study of crying may help us obtain better insight into human nature, that is, not only our emotional, but also social, and moral functioning.",EMOTION REVIEW,2016,JUL J,"Grizzetti, B; Lanzanova, D; Liquete, C; Reynaud, A; Cardoso, AC",Assessing water ecosystem services for water resource management,10.1016/j.envsci.2016.04.008,"Ecosystem service concepts can offer a valuable approach for linking human and nature, and arguments for the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Despite an increasing interest in the topic, the application of these concepts for water resource management has been hampered by the lack of practical definitions and methodologies. In this study we review and analyse the current literature and propose an approach for assessing and valuing ecosystem services in the context of water management. In particular, to study the link between multiple pressures, ecological status and delivery of ecosystem services in aquatic ecosystems under different scenarios of measures or future changes. This is of interest for the development of River Basin Management Plans under the EU Water Framework Directive. We provide a list of proxies/indicators of natural capacity, actual flow and social benefit for the biophysical assessment of the ecosystem services. We advocate the use of indicators of sustainability, combining information on capacity and flow of services. We also suggest methods for economic valuation of aquatic ecosystem for each service and spatial scale of application. We argue that biophysical assessment and economic valuation should be conducted jointly to account for the different values of ecosystem services (ecologic, social and economic) and to strengthen the recognition of human dependency on nature. The proposed approach can be used for assessing the benefits of conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems in the implementation of the EU water policy. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2016,JUL J,"Lin, XY; Fang, XY; Chi, PL; Heath, MA; Li, XM; Chen, WR",Social ecological factors associated with future orientation of children affected by parental HIV infection and AIDS,10.1177/1359105314554817,"From a social ecological perspective, this study examined the effects of stigma (societal level), trusting relationships with current caregivers (familial level), and self-esteem (individual level) on future orientation of children affected by HIV infection and AIDS. Comparing self-report data from 1221 children affected by parental HIV infection and AIDS and 404 unaffected children, affected children reported greater stigma and lower future orientation, trusting relationships, and self-esteem. Based on structural equation modeling, stigma experiences, trusting relationships, and self-esteem had direct effects on future orientation, with self-esteem and trusting relationships partially mediating the effect of stigma experiences on children's future orientation. Implications are discussed.",JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY,2016,JUL J,"Bozzeda, F; Zangrilli, MP; Defeo, O",Assessing sandy beach macrofaunal patterns along large-scale environmental gradients: A Fuzzy Naive Bayes approach,10.1016/j.ecss.2016.03.025,"A Fuzzy Naive Bayes (FNB) classifier was developed to assess large-scale variations in abundance, species richness and diversity of the macrofauna inhabiting fifteen Uruguayan sandy beaches affected by the effects of beach morphodynamics and the estuarine gradient generated by Rio de la Plata. Information from six beaches was used to estimate FNB parameters, while abiotic data of the remaining nine beaches were used to forecast abundance, species richness and diversity. FNB simulations reproduced the general increasing trend of target variables from inner estuarine reflective beaches to marine dissipative ones. The FNB model also identified a threshold value of salinity range beyond which diversity markedly increased towards marine beaches. Salinity range is suggested as an ecological master factor governing distributional patterns in sandy beach macrofauna. However, the model: 1) underestimated abundance and species richness at the innermost estuarine beach, with the lowest salinity, and 2) overestimated species richness in marine beaches with a reflective morphodynamic state, which is strongly linked to low abundance, species richness and diversity. Therefore, future modeling efforts should be refined by giving a dissimilar, weigh to the gradients defined by estuarine (estuarine beaches) and morphodynamic (marine beaches) variables, which could improve predictions of target variables. Our modeling approach could be applied to a wide spectrum of issues, ranging from basic ecology to social-ecological systems. This approach seems relevant, given the current challenge to develop predictive methodologies to assess the simultaneous and nonlinear effects of anthropogenic and natural impacts in coastal ecosystems. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE,2016,jun 20 J,"Forsius, M; Akujarvi, A; Mattsson, T; Holmberg, M; Punttila, P; Posch, M; Liski, J; Repo, A; Virkkala, R; Vihervaara, P","Modelling impacts of forest bioenergy use on ecosystem sustainability: Lammi LTER region, southern Finland",10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.11.032,"Increasing the use of forest biomass for energy production is an important mitigation strategy against climate change. Sustainable use of natural resources requires that these policies are evaluated, planned and implemented, taking into account the boundary conditions of the ecological systems affected. This paper describes the development and application of a quantitative modelling framework for evaluating integrated impacts of forest biomass removal scenarios on four key environmental sustainability/ecosystem service indicators: (i) carbon sequestration and balance, (ii) soil nutrient balances (base cations and nitrogen), (iii) nutrient leaching to surface waters (nitrogen and phosphorus), and (iv) dead wood biomass (used as proxy indicator for impacts on species diversity). The system is based on the use of spatial data sets, mass balance calculations, loading coefficients and dynamic modelling. The approach is demonstrated using data from an intensively studied region (Hameenlinna municipality) encompassing the Lammi LTER (Long-Term Ecosystem Research) site in southern Finland. Forest biomass removal scenarios were derived from a management-oriented large-scale forestry model (MELA) based on sample plot and stand-level data from national forest inventories. These scenarios have been developed to guide future Finnish forest management with respect to bioenergy use. Using harvest residues for district heat production reduced fossil carbon emissions but also the carbon sink of forests in the case study area. Calculations of the net removal of base cations of the different scenarios ranged between -36 to -43 meq m(-2) a(-1), indicating that the supply of base cations (soil weathering + deposition) would be enough to sustain also energy-wood harvesting. Greatly increased nutrient removal values and increasing nitrogen limitation problems were however predicted. Clear-cuttings and site preparation were predicted to increase the load of total nitrogen (4.0%) and total phosphorus (4.5%) to surface waters, compared with background leaching. The amount of dead wood has been identified as a key factor for forest species diversity in Finland. A scenario maximising harvest residues used for bioenergy production, would decrease stem dead wood biomass by about 40%, compared with a business-as-usual scenario. Clear trade-off situations could be observed in the case study area between maximising the use of energy-wood and minimising impacts on species diversity, soil carbon and nutrient stores, and nutrient leaching. The developed model system allows seeking for optimised solutions with respect to different management options and sustainability considerations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,JUN J,"King, B; Shinn, JE; Crews, KA; Young, KR",Fluid Waters and Rigid Livelihoods in the Okavango Delta of Botswana,10.3390/land5020016,"Current and future impacts of climate change include increasing variability in a number of biophysical processes, such as temperature, precipitation, and flooding. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has suggested that Southern Africa is particularly vulnerable to the anticipated impacts from global climate change and that social and ecological systems in the region will be disrupted and likely transformed in future decades. This article engages with current research within geography and cognate disciplines on the possibilities for responsive livelihoods within socio-ecological systems experiencing biophysical change. The paper draws from an ongoing research project that is evaluating perceptions of environmental change, specifically of precipitation and flooding dynamics, in order to understand social responses. We report on the findings from qualitative interviewing conducted in 2010 and 2011 in the communities of Etsha 1, Etsha 6, and Etsha 13 within the Okavango Delta of Botswana. While flooding and precipitation patterns have been dynamic and spatially differentiated, some livelihood systems have proven rigid in their capacity to enable adaptive responses. We assert this demonstrates the need for detailed research on livelihood dynamics to support adjustments to biophysical variability within socio-ecological systems experiencing change.",LAND,2016,JUN J,"Dudley, N; Harrison, IJ; Kettunen, M; Madgwick, J; Mauerhofer, V",Natural solutions for water management of the future: freshwater protected areas at the 6th World Parks Congress,10.1002/aqc.2657,"1. Freshwater biodiversity continues to decline. Protected areas are recognized as critical tools in its conservation. 2. Concurrently, despite global efforts to ensure water supplies, billions of people remain without access to pure water. Conversely, flooding kills tens of thousands of people each year. 3. While designated primarily for nature conservation, protected areas supply a range of other ecosystem services to human society. The natural infrastructure they protect should be seen as a key component of water security and improved conservation of ecosystems, and recognized and invested in as a critical tool for water provision and regulation in the landscape. 4. At the 2014 World Parks Congress delegates identified actions needed to maximize the potential of protected areas to contribute to water services: i. Knowledge and capacity building: strengthening technical expertise and capacity building with respect to the role of protected areas in water security. ii. Valuation: to drive positive change in protected area management. iii. Policy frameworks: covering legal, institutional, economic and social factors that produce a good synergy between protected area management and water security. iv. Pricing policy: integrating all the information from valuation of the role of protected areas in terms of water supply, regulation and quality. v. Water security: considering natural infrastructure as a key investment in addressing water related risks and a legitimate component of water security strategies. vi. Partnerships: strengthening these across sectors with a wider group of stakeholders to promote the conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems in protected areas. vii. Learning lessons from successful water management: by identifying knowledge requirements for legal, institutional, economic and social factors that synergize protected area management and water security management. 5. None of these steps is technically impossible. Providing the right mixture of policies, legislation, economic and social approaches remains the main challenge for their achievement. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.",AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS,2016,JUN J,"Conley, D; Malaspina, D",Socio-Genomics and Structural Competency,10.1007/s11673-016-9716-2,"Adverse developmental exposures and pathologies of the social environment make vastly greater contributions to the leading health burdens in society than currently known genotypic information. Yet, while patients now commonly bring information on single alleles to the attention of their healthcare team, the former conditions are only rarely considered with respect to future health outcomes. This manuscript aims to integrate social environmental influences in genetic predictive models of disease risk. Healthcare providers must be educated to better understand genetic risks for complex diseases and the specific health consequences of societal adversities, to facilitate patient education, disease prevention, and the optimal care in order to achieve positive health outcomes for those with early trauma or other social disadvantage.",JOURNAL OF BIOETHICAL INQUIRY,2016,JUN J,"Munn, AC; Newman, SD; Mueller, M; Phillips, SM; Taylor, SN",The Impact in the United States of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on Early Infant Health and Breastfeeding Outcomes,10.1089/bfm.2015.0135,"Studies were examined to evaluate the impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) on breastfeeding and early infant health outcomes in U.S. populations. Using the Social Ecological Model as a guiding theoretical framework, results were categorized into four interrelated multilevel factors: (1) maternal/infant dyad factors, (2) provider factors, (3) hospital organizational factors, and (4) policy/systems factors. Results from the review support the BFHI's success in facilitating successful breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity. Breastfeeding duration also appears to increase when mothers have increased exposure to Baby-Friendly practices, but deficiencies in breastfeeding tracking mechanisms have limited reliable breastfeeding duration data. Of the 10 steps of the BFHI, step 3, prenatal education and step 10, postnatal breastfeeding support are the most difficult steps to implement; however, those steps have the potential to significantly impact maternal breastfeeding decisions. The underlying mechanisms by which Baby-Friendly practices contribute to maternal breastfeeding decisions remain unclear; thus, studies are needed to examine mothers' experiences and perceptions of Baby-Friendly practices. Additionally, studies are needed to investigate the impact of the BFHI for women living in rural areas and in southeastern regions of the United States. Finally, studies are needed to examine early infant health outcomes related to the BFHI, especially for late premature infants (34-36 weeks) who are most vulnerable to poor outcomes and are in need of specialized breastfeeding support. Results from future qualitative and quantitative explorations could clarify how the delivery of Baby-Friendly practices leads to successful breastfeeding and infant health outcomes.",BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE,2016,JUN J,"Mulchan, SS; Valenzuela, JM; Crosby, LE; Sang, CDP",Applicability of the SMART Model of Transition Readiness for Sickle-Cell Disease,10.1093/jpepsy/jsv120,"Objectives This study aimed to examine the applicability of the Social-ecological Model of Adolescent and Young Adult Readiness to Transition (SMART) model for adolescents and young adults (AYA) with sickle-cell disease (SCD). Methods 14 AYA with SCD (14-24 years old) and 10 clinical experts (6-20 years of experience) completed semi-structured interviews. AYA completed brief questionnaires. Interviews were coded for themes, which were reviewed to determine their fit within the SMART model. Results Overall, most themes were consistent with the model (e.g., sociodemographics/culture, neurocognition/IQ, etc.). Factors related to race/culture, pain management, health-care navigation skills, societal stigma, and lack of awareness about SCD were salient for AYA with SCD. Conclusions Findings suggest the SMART model may be appropriate in SCD with the consideration of disease-related stigma. This study is a step toward developing a disease-specific model of transition readiness for SCD. Future directions include the development of a measure of transition readiness for this population.",JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGY,2016,JUN J,"Hayrinen, L; Mattila, O; Berghall, S; Toppinen, A",Lifestyle of health and sustainability of forest owners as an indicator of multiple use of forests,10.1016/j.forpol.2016.03.005,"In the face of a strong societal emphasis on sustainable development, the research on environmentally conscious consumers is becoming increasingly important. In a country such as Finland, non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners can be used as a proxy for a high-involvement group engaged in forest ecosystem service provision and consumption. NIPF owners constitute a large proportion of the Finnish population and, based on previous research, the values they ascribe to forest meaning and use have become more diverse, strongly emphasizing recreational and conservation values alongside timber production. We thus hypothesize that understanding the NIPFs consumer perceptions better offers new insights into future consumer value creation in Finnish society overall, especially concerning the segment of consumers associated with the lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS). First, the theoretical aim of the study was to validate a measurement model for forest owners engaged in pro-environmental consumption behavior and its effect on the meaning of forest for them. Second, the empirical aim was to identify different consumer categories among NIPF owners by classifying them into groups based on their sustainability orientation, and determine how the valuation of various uses of forests differs between these groups. The data set of 394 forest owners was collected in Finland in 2013 by telephone interview and was analysed using multivariate methods. The findings indicate that the owners with the highest sustainability orientation have a greater emphasis on multiple benefits of forests than owners who have a lower orientation to sustainable consumption behavior, and that they could be therefore considered as an interesting peer group for developing new service offerings in the changing forestry markets as well. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2016,JUN J,"Lithourgidis, CS; Stamatelatou, K; Damalas, CA",Farmers' attitudes towards common farming practices in northern Greece: implications for environmental pollution,10.1007/s10705-016-9778-x,"Common farming practices in intensive agriculture can be serious causes of water quality degradation, depending on the interaction between physical vulnerability of the farmland and farmers' behaviors in practicing farming. However, relevant information is highly limited in Greece. Farmers' attitudes and practices in the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water were explored in Serres region in northern Greece to understand behavior in practicing farming. The majority of the farmers considered that chemical fertilizers are harmful substances particularly to surface and groundwater and pesticides are highly harmful to human health. Most farmers showed high levels of awareness of the potential impact of farming practices on the environment, probably due to a combination of high experience in farming, adequate formal education, and valid sources of information. Farmers' compliance with most recommended practices showed high understanding of most components of conservation practices in fertilization, except from a void in the use of soil tests for better adjustment of the fertilization and in the use of organic fertilizers. Only a small fraction of farmers (4.4 %) were found to overuse fertilization, more often in sandy soils, but this practice was not accompanied by excessive use of irrigation water. As for pesticide use, farmers' compliance with most recommended practices showed high levels of rational use, except from the management of empty pesticide containers. None of the farmers overused soil pesticides with reference to application rates and frequency. Data provide key information for natural resource managers, relevant stakeholders, and local authorities to understand how farmers view their relationship to farming as well as how farmers practice farming. The collected evidence can serve as a valuable benchmark for future comparisons in Greece and possibly for comparisons with other areas of southern Europe. Tailored education programs that improve farmers' knowledge in fertilizing, pesticide use, and their impact on the environment can be a major step towards promoting sustainable farming and reducing potential environmental contamination.",NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS,2016,JUN J,"Ferreira, JG; Bricker, SB",Goods and services of extensive aquaculture: shellfish culture and nutrient trading,10.1007/s10499-015-9949-9,"Bivalve shellfish play an important role in top-down control of primary symptoms of eutrophication. This short-circuits the process of organic decomposition and promotes an enhancement of underwater light climate, improved oxygenation of bottom water, and restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation. This review analyses this ecosystem service as a potential actor in watershed-level nutrient credit trading programmes and explores the possibilities of implementation of such programmes in Europe. We examine the different components of the issue, including the eutrophication status of European coastal waters, legal and management instruments, and the use of mathematical models at both the ecosystem and farm scales to evaluate the potential removal of nitrogen by cultivated shellfish such as oysters, mussels, and clams. The annual European bivalve shellfish production of over 700,000 metric tons is estimated to generate a nitrogen removal of 46,800 t year(-1), equivalent to 14 x 10(6) population equivalent, and a minimum value of 507 x 10(6) a,not sign. We discuss future directions for this topic in Europe, drawing from ongoing research in the USA and elsewhere, in the light of the twin challenges of European aquaculture expansion and implementation of EU directives.",AQUACULTURE INTERNATIONAL,2016,JUN J,"Hermoso, V; Abell, R; Linke, S; Boon, P",The role of protected areas for freshwater biodiversity conservation: challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing world,10.1002/aqc.2681,"1. Declaring protected areas (PAs) stands out as one of the main conservation strategies worldwide and there are clear commitments to expand their extent under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD; Aichi targets for 2020). This conservation strategy has also received increasing attention in a freshwater context in the last two decades. 2. Despite increasing conservation efforts, the effectiveness of PAs for freshwater purposes is questioned and freshwater biodiversity continues to decline. There are many reasons for this poor effectiveness: a lack of consideration of freshwater needs when designing and declaring protected areas, fewer resources devoted to freshwater conservation management than to other actions, and poor understanding of complex management problems beyond the limits of the protected area. 3. This supplement compiles some examples from around the world on implementing and managing PAs, assessing their effectiveness, and demonstrating their important role not only in preserving biodiversity but also human well-being and in meeting future challenges to achieve the CBD targets for freshwater biodiversity. 4. Here the challenges of establishing effective PAs for freshwater biodiversity in a rapidly changing world are reviewed. We advocate better monitoring programmes to assess the effectiveness of PAs for freshwater biodiversity, in which the unique characteristics of freshwater systems, such as the important role of connectivity and the close links with the rest of the landscape they drain, are considered. 5. There are new conservation opportunities to enhance the value of PAs for freshwater biodiversity under the new conservation paradigm of 'people and nature'. The imperative of finding solutions that generate co-benefits alongside biodiversity conservation, and the clear reliance of human communities on freshwater services, has created an environment that may be more favourable to PAs focused in whole or part on fresh waters. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.",AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS,2016,JUN J,"Colloff, MJ; Lavorel, S; Wise, RM; Dunlop, M; Overton, IC; Williams, KJ",Adaptation services of floodplains and wetlands under transformational climate change,10.1890/15-0848,"Adaptation services are the ecosystem processes and services that benefit people by increasing their ability to adapt to change. Benefits may accrue from existing but newly used services where ecosystems persist or from novel services supplied following ecosystem transformation. Ecosystem properties that enable persistence or transformation are important adaptation services because they support future options. The adaptation services approach can be applied to decisions on trade-offs between currently valued services and benefits from maintaining future options. For example, ecosystem functions and services of floodplains depend on river flows. In those regions of the world where climate change projections are for hotter, drier conditions, floods will be less frequent and floodplains will either persist, though with modified structure and function, or transform to terrestrial (flood-independent) ecosystems. Many currently valued ecosystem services will reduce in supply or become unavailable, but new options are provided by adaptation services. We present a case study from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, for operationalizing the adaptation services concept for floodplains and wetlands. We found large changes in flow and flood regimes are likely under a scenario of +1.6 degrees C by 2030, even with additional water restored to rivers under the proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan. We predict major changes to floodplain ecosystems, including contraction of riparian forests and woodlands and expansion of terrestrial, drought-tolerant vegetation communities. Examples of adaptation services under this scenario include substitution of irrigated agriculture with dryland cropping and floodplain grazing; mitigation of damage from rarer, extreme floods; and increased tourism, recreational, and cultural values derived from fewer, smaller wetlands that can be maintained with environmental flows. Management for adaptation services will require decisions on where intervention can enable ecosystem persistence and where transformation is inevitable. New ways of managing water that include consideration of the increasing importance of adaptation services requires major changes to decision-making that better account for landscape heterogeneity and large-scale change rather than attempting to maintain ecosystems in fixed states.",ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,2016,JUN J,"Gandarillas, V; Jiang, Y; Irvine, K",Assessing the services of high mountain wetlands in tropical Andes: A case study of Caripe wetlands at Bolivian Altiplano,10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.04.006,"High mountain wetlands in the tropical central Andes are a representative ecosystem critically important for both global biodiversity and local livelihoods of indigenous communities. This study was intended to characterize and highlight the socio-economic importance of high mountain wetlands in relation to the livelihood and indigenous culture of local human settlements. In this study, we focused on wetlands at Caripe in the Altiplano, a community located at the northeast edge of the Sajama National Park in central western Bolivia. We adopted the ecosystem serve framework combined with economic valuation to assess five major wetland services considered either benefiting local households or of global conservation value, including water supply, livestock grazing, recreation, cultural and natural heritage and aesthetics, and biodiversity. We conducted a field survey including household interviews to collect information needed for assessing considered wetland services that characterizes indigenous community residents, their livelihoods in relation to wetlands, local perceptions on wetlands and provided services, and household willingness to pay in labor time for protecting the cultural services of wetlands. The study found that: 1) the community was characterized by relatively young people of poor education, with most raising livestock and living in extreme poverty; 2) most community households valued local wetlands and were concerned about wetland degradation; 3) lack of awareness or knowledge about wetlands ecological complexity in relation to human impact could be the reason for wetland degradation; 4) the services of wetlands were not equally important to the community; 5) local perception and judgment on wetlands status were based much on the availability, stability, and quality of the services they can derive; 6) livestock grazing generated the highest economic benefit estimated at about US$ 323 per year per hectare of wetlands, followed by biodiversity with an economic benefit of US$200 per year per hectare; 7) the economic value of cultural and natural heritage and sense of aesthetics was estimated at US$ 55 per year per hectare; and 8) the services of recreation and water supply had the lowest economic value of about US$17 per year per hectare and US$9 per year per hectare, respectively. This study sheds some light on the importance of high Andean wetlands to indigenous communities in the Altiplano while identifying research needs for the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2016,JUN J,"Jarv, H; Kliimask, J; Ward, R; Sepp, K",SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF PROTECTION STATUS ON RESIDENTS OF NATIONAL PARKS,10.1515/euco-2016-0006,"Rural population ageing and decline is a serious problem throughout Europe resulting in a deterioration of the socioeconomic situation in rural areas. This leads to land abandonment, and consequently the loss of valuable cultural landscapes. Protected areas are no exception and inhabitants also face restrictions arising from the protection status. The aim of this study is to identify the existence, extent and nature of the socioeconomic impacts derived from the protection status on the local population. Population and socioeconomic indicators were compared with the results of in-depth interviews with local stakeholders within 2 Estonian national parks and contextualised with recent social change. It was concluded that protected areas have a considerable socioeconomic impact and in order to preserve cultural landscapes, achieve conservation objectives and contribute to balanced regional development, measures must be taken.",EUROPEAN COUNTRYSIDE,2016,JUN J,"Sandilyan, S; van't Klooster, CIEA",The other sides of invasive alien plants of India-With special reference to medicinal values,10.1016/j.jnc.2016.02.005,"Invasive Alien Species (IAS) have been emerging as the second biggest threat to global biodiversity after habitat destruction. They intervene in environmental services offered by ecosystems and negatively impact flood control, water supply, water assimilation, nutrient recycling, conservation and regeneration of soils. Due to these threats better IAS management is needed for a biodiversity rich nation like India. To date very few examples of successful eradications of IAS exist. However, some studies have pointed out several economic benefits rendered by IAS which include fodder, food, manure, bio-fuels and medication values which make them interesting from a commercial point of view which could led to an increase in demand for these IAS species by certain industries (pharmaceutical, botanical sectors) in the future driving IAS to the verge of extinction in the wild this way. This review presents an overview of IAS existing in India and their possible medicinal potential which could, if proven useful, lead to an alternative way of controlling the proliferation of IAS and to conserve nature diversity. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION,2016,JUN J,"Jridi, O; Jridi, M; Barguaoui, SA; Nouri, FZ",Energy paradox and political intervention: A stochastic model for the case of electrical equipments,10.1016/j.enpol.2016.02.046,"This paper develops a model that explains the delay of decisions to adopt profitable energy-saving investments. This problem is known as the energy paradox. The model rationalizes the profitability requirements raised by the irreversibility, the uncertainty and the decrease of costs as a result of learning by doing. In this context, the wait gives investors more visibility and more lower investment costs, which gives them an option value. The representative agent has an interest to postpone its energy saving decision until future benefits increase and equalize its required option value. Formally, we internalize these explanatory factors in a stochastic model where the updated energy saving benefits follows a geometric Brownian motion. To affirm the capacity of the model, we generate simulation results for two equipments for electrical uses. Beyond that, we extend the model to simulate the effects of energy policy instruments to promote adoption of such equipments. Simulations prove that the taxation of energy prices is likely to be more effective than the subsidy for energy-saving equipments. It is also found that the combination of these instruments amplifies the adoption of energy-saving equipments and generates very favorable economic and environmental externalities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENERGY POLICY,2016,JUN J,"Schaubroeck, T; Deckmyn, G; Giot, O; Campioli, M; Vanpoucke, C; Verheyen, K; Rugani, B; Achten, W; Verbeeck, H; Dewulf, J; Muys, B",Environmental impact assessment and monetary ecosystem service valuation of an ecosystem under different future environmental change and management scenarios; a case study of a Scots pine forest,10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.03.005,"For a sustainable future, we must sustainably manage not only the human/industrial system but also ecosystems. To achieve the latter goal, we need to predict the responses of ecosystems and their provided services to management practices under changing environmental conditions via ecosystem models and use tools to compare the estimated provided services between the different scenarios. However, scientific articles have covered a limited amount of estimated ecosystem services and have used tools to aggregate services that contain a significant amount of subjective aspects and that represent the final result in a non-tangible unit such as 'points'. To resolve these matters, this study quantifies the environmental impact (on human health, natural systems and natural resources) in physical units and uses an ecosystem service valuation based on monetary values (including ecosystem disservices with associated negative monetary values). More specifically, the paper also focuses on the assessment of ecosystem services related to pollutant removal/generation flows, accounting for the inflow of eutrophying nitrogen (N) when assessing the effect of N leached to groundwater. Regarding water use/provisioning, evapotranspiration is alternatively considered a disservice because it implies a loss of (potential) groundwater. These approaches and improvements, relevant to all ecosystems, are demonstrated using a Scots pine stand from 2010 to 2089 for a combination of three environmental change and three management scenarios. The environmental change scenarios considered interannual climate variability trends and included alterations in temperature, precipitation, nitrogen deposition, wind speed, Particulate matter (PM) concentration and CO2 concentration. The addressed flows/ecosystem services, including disservices, are as follows: particulate matter removal, freshwater loss, CO2 sequestration, wood production, NOx emissions, NH3 uptake and nitrogen pollution/removal. The monetary ecosystem service valuation yields a total average estimate of 361-1242 euro ha(-1) yr(-1). PM2.5 (<2.5 mu mu m) removal is the key service, with a projected value of 622-1172 euro ha(-1) yr(-1). Concerning environmental impact assessment, with net CO2 uptake being the most relevant contributing flow, a loss prevention of 0.014-0.029 healthy life years ha(-1) yr(-1) is calculated for the respective flows. Both assessment methods favor the use of the least intensive management scenario due to its resulting higher CO2 sequestration and PM removal, which are the most important services of the considered ones. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,mayo 15 J,"Humer-Gruber, A",Farmers' Perceptions of a Mountain Biosphere Reserve in Austria,10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-15-00054.1,"This study explored farmers' perceptions of a biosphere reserve in the Austrian Alps with the goal of promoting better understanding among different stakeholders involved in the agricultural sector in a biosphere reserve. Biosphere reserves have a variety of functions and serve as models of sustainable regional development and involve stakeholders in decision-making on and development of protected areas. In the Alpine biosphere reserve selected for this study, the conservation of cultural landscapes plays a major role; therefore, farmers feature prominently, and this study focuses on their points of view. Farmers rely heavily on natural resources, but structural changes in agriculture determine their work to a large degree, and they often refuse to support protected area management. This situation calls for a closer integration of social-scientific knowledge in regional development programs. Qualitative research methods based on grounded theory can help identify sources of conflict and social strengths. The study found substantial support for the reserve but also a noticeable lessening of the original excitement about it, pointing to the need for further outreach and to the importance, when establishing future reserves, of handling the start-up phase with heightened sensitivity.",MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT,2016,MAY J,"Dorresteijn, I; Milcu, AI; Leventon, J; Hanspach, J; Fischer, J",Social factors mediating human-carnivore coexistence: Understanding thematic strands influencing coexistence in Central Romania,10.1007/s13280-015-0760-7,"Facilitating human-carnivore coexistence depends on the biophysical environment but also on social factors. Focusing on Central Romania, we conducted 71 semi-structured interviews to explore human-bear (Ursus arctos) coexistence. Qualitative content and discourse analysis identified three socially mediated thematic strands, which showed different ways in which perceived interactions between people, bears and the environment shape coexistence. The landscape-bear strand described perceptions of the way in which the landscape offers resources for the bear, while the landscape-human strand related to ways in which humans experience the landscape. The management strand related to the way bears was managed. All three strands highlight both threats and opportunities for the peaceful coexistence of people and bears. Management and policy interventions could be improved by systematically considering the possible effects of interventions on each of the three strands shaping coexistence. Future research should explore the relevance of the identified thematic strands in other settings worldwide.",AMBIO,2016,MAY J,"Le Heron, R; Lewis, N; Fisher, K; Thrush, S; Lundquist, C; Hewitt, J; Ellis, J",Non-sectarian scenario experiments in socio-ecological knowledge building for multi-use marine environments: Insights from New Zealand's Marine Futures project,10.1016/j.marpol.2016.01.022,"The challenges of managing marine ecosystems for multiple users, while well recognised, has not led to clear strategies, principles or practice. The paper uses novel workshop based thought-experiments to address these concerns. These took the form of trans-disciplinary Non-Sectarian Scenario Experiments (NSSE), involving participants who agreed to put aside their disciplinary interests and commercial and institutional obligations. The NSSE form of co-production of knowledge is a distinctive addition to the participatory and scenario literatures in marine resource management (MRM). Set in the context of resource use conflicts in New Zealand, the workshops assembled diverse participants in the marine economy to co-develop and co-explore the making of socio-ecological knowledge and identify capability required for a new generation of multi-use oriented resource management. The thought-experiments assumed that non-sectarian navigation of scenarios will resource a step-change in marine management by facilitating new connections, relationships, and understandings of potential marine futures. Two questions guided workshop interactions: what science needs spring from pursuing imaginable possibilities and directions in a field of scenarios, and what kinds of institutions would aid the generation of science knowledge, and it application to policy and management solutions. The effectiveness of the thought-experiments helped identify ways of dealing with core problems in multi-use marine management, such as the urgent need to cope with ecological and socio-economic surprise, and define and address cumulative impacts. Discussion focuses on how the workshops offered fresh perspectives and insights into a number of challenges. These challenges include building relations of trust and collective organisation, showing the importance of values-means-ends pathways, developing facilitative legislation to enable initiatives, and the utility of the NSSEs in informing new governance and management directions in multi-use marine environments. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",MARINE POLICY,2016,MAY J,"Holland, RA; Scott, K; Hinton, ED; Austen, MC; Barrett, J; Beaumont, N; Blaber-Wegg, T; Brown, G; Carter-Silk, E; Cazenave, P; Eigenbrod, F; Hiscock, K; Hooper, T; Lovett, A; Papathanasopoulou, E; Smith, P; Thomas, A; Tickner, R; Torres, R; Taylor, G",Bridging the gap between energy and the environment,10.1016/j.enpol.2016.01.037,"Meeting the world's energy demand is a major challenge for society over the coming century. To identify the most sustainable energy pathways to meet this demand, analysis of energy systems on which policy is based must move beyond the current primary focus on carbon to include a broad range of ecosystem services on which human well-being depends. Incorporation of a broad set of ecosystem services into the design of energy policy will differentiates between energy technology options to identify policy options that reconcile national and international obligations to address climate change and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this paper we consider our current understanding of the implications of energy systems for ecosystem services and identify key elements of an assessment. Analysis must consider the full life cycle of energy systems, the territorial and international footprint, use a consistent ecosystem service framework that incorporates the value of both market and non-market goods, and consider the spatial and temporal dynamics of both the energy and environmental system. While significant methodological challenges exist, the approach we detail can provide the holistic view of energy and ecosystem services interactions required to inform the future of global energy policy. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",ENERGY POLICY,2016,MAY J,"Bragagnolo, C; Pereira, M; Ng, K; Calado, H",Understanding and mapping local conflicts related to protected areas in small islands: a case study of the Azores archipelago.,,"Establishing Protected Areas (PAs) is considered one of the most appropriate ways to conserve nature and cultural landscapes. However, conservation constraints can generate social conflicts, especially at a local level. In small islands (SIs), local conflicts may escalate due to an increase in competition for limited space and resources. Pico island in the Azores ArChipelago (Portugal), part of the Outermost European region, was considered a good case to study conservation-development conflicts due to the amount of designated protected land (> 35% of its surface) and the approval of a new Azorean PA network in 2007. This paper presents a new approach to understanding and mapping local conflicts within PAs in SIs by integrating qualitative data and spatially explicit information. This research takes stock of the benefits, needs and constraints related to Pico Natural Park as perceived by local stakeholders through face-to-face semi-structured interviews; it subsequently identifies and transposes the conflicts distilled from stakeholder discourse into spatially representative visual maps via GIS. Research outcomes show that PAs are perceived mainly as constraints to local development, showing inconsistency between local expectations and regional conservation policy. This highlights the importance of including public participation processes prior to any implementation of conservation strategies. The proposed method provides a springboard towards effective conflict management for PAs on Pico island, showing a relatively low-cost and straightforward approach to minimising future local conflicts which could be adapted to other similar Outeiniost European regions and SIs.",ISLAND STUDIES JOURNAL,2016,MAY J,"Calado, H; Bragagnolo, C; Silva, S; Vergilio, M",Adapting environmental function analysis for management of protected areas in small islands - case of Pico Island (the Azores),10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.02.015,"Protected areas (PAs) are considered key priorities for ensuring long-term sustainability of small islands. The traditional approach of conservation versus development is currently being replaced by an approach of win win relationships. During the last decades PAs have been increasingly requested to simultaneously ensure biodiversity conservation, mainstream ecosystem services into main development policies, and accounting for leisure-related revenues to sustain local and regional economies. Following this new paradigm, the Smartparks project (Planning and Management System for Small Islands Protected Areas), encompassing this study, aimed at an innovative approach for supporting the management of PAs in small islands. In this study, we propose a methodology based on Environmental Functional Analyses (EFA) to compare the potential for conservation and the potential for use of PAs that can be used not only on small islands but also in other territories. For this purpose, a set of environmental and socio-economic components was defined and selected indicators describing each component to calculate conservation and use/development functions of PAs were established. Pico Island, in the Azores archipelago (Portugal), was selected as the case study for testing the methodology. The EFA for all PAs of Pico Island was performed identifying those with more potential for conservation or for development of human activities, and also those with high levels of conflict. A total of 34 indicators was applied (assigning a value from 1 to 3) to the 22 PAs composing the INP of Pico Island: 44% were scored with a value of 1, in both ecological and social components; 22% and 29% were scored 3 in ecological and social components respectively. Social indicators were generally considered less important than environmental ones. In general, PAs presented higher values for conservation. The results further show that the potential for conservation and/or development was consistent with the IUCN category and the objectives assigned to each PA at the time of its classification. However, most PAs are located in the conflict zone of the EFA matrix, revealing a high interaction between PAs conservation objectives and human activities, which brings concern to decision makers and PAs managers. Despite several limitations, the method allowed the performances of PAs to be compared, providing a suitable tool to support rapid assessments and monitoring of PA networks in small islands. The adaptation of the EFA to the PA domain traces a new path for estimating the multiple values of PAs and it may contribute to improve PA management and decision-making. The method could be further included as part of scenario exercise and adaptive management, supporting the prediction of the future evolution of PAs and assessing their potential for conservation in the future throughout the proposed indicators. Thus, the methodology is not exclusive for small islands contexts and, with necessary adaptations and rescaling, it could be a powerful tool in PAs network management worldwide. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,abr 15 J,"Kapustka, LA; Bowers, K; Isanhart, J; Martinez-Garza, C; Finger, S; Stahl, RG; Stauber, J",Coordinating ecological restoration options analysis and risk assessment to improve environmental outcomes,10.1002/ieam.1673,"Ecological risk assessment as currently practiced has hindered consideration of ecosystem services endpoints and restoration goals in the environmental management process. Practitioners have created barriers between procedures to clean up contaminated areas and efforts to restore ecosystem functions. In this article, we examine linkages between contaminant risk assessment approaches and restoration efforts with the aim of identifying ways to improve environmental outcomes. We advocate that project managers and other stakeholders use an ecological planning framework, with restoration options included upfront in the risk assessment. We also considered the opportunities to incorporate ecosystem services as potential assessment endpoints in the Problem Formulation stages of a risk assessment. Indeed, diverse perspectives of stakeholders are central to understand the relevance of social, cultural, economic, and regional ecology as influences on future use options for the landscape being restored. The measurement endpoints used to characterize the existing ecological conditions for selected ecosystem services can also be used to evaluate restoration success. A regional, landscape, or seascape focus is needed throughout the risk assessment process, so that restoration efforts play a more prominent role in enhancing ecosystem services. In short, we suggest that practitioners begin with the question of how can the ecological risk assessment inform the decision on how best to restore the ecosystem? Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:253-263. (c) 2015 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC",INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT,2016,APR J,"Wu, CC; Tsai, HM","Capacity building for tourism development in a nested social-ecological system-A case study of the South Penghu Archipelago Marine National Park, Taiwan",10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.02.001,"In subnational small-island settings with a relatively undisturbed natural environment and an out migration population, tourism development is often used as an alternative development strategy for economic and social regeneration. When such tourism development entails place-based management, such as in a marine protected area (MPA), tourism development can also be used as a strategy for alleviating the conflict between conservation and development as well as for increasing community participation. Local support and capacity building prior to tourism development are essential for involving local communities. Local communities are often complex and heterogeneous, and tourism development must be tailored to match their diverse needs. In this case study, three communities within the South Penghu Archipelago, where a marine national park and development of the tourism industry has been proposed, were investigated. This study assessed the perception of tourism development among community actors and the demands for capacity building to cope with future changes by conducting a social ecological system (SES) analysis wherein the South Penghu MPA was considered a nested SES composed of subsystems. The subsystems focused on in this study were fishermen and nonfishermen at the functional scale and individual communities at the spatial scale. The results showed that the perceptions on tourism development varied substantially among the community actors and the different sub-SESs because of their different experiences in social ecological interactions. Therefore, tourism development in a regional place-based management, such as in a MPA, must consider the various perceptions of such subsystems on tourism development. Rather than considering all local communities as a general unit, capacity building should be tailored to the needs of the community actors from the various sub-SESs. In addition, support from governmental agencies is essential for the success of community-based MPA policies. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,APR J,"Jiang, B; Wong, CP; Cui, LJ; Ouyang, ZY",Wetland economic valuation approaches and prospects in China,10.1007/s11769-015-0790-x,"Ecosystem services valuation seeks to increase the social relevance of ecosystem characteristics, the underlying biological mechanisms that support services, by making the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being explicit. Economic valuation can help management by clarifying the full range of benefits and costs of proposed management actions. In the past two decades, economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services has become one of the most significant scientific priorities for wetland protection. In this paper, we provide an overview of ecosystem services, and summarize the main interdisciplinary approaches to measure and value wetland ecosystem services. We identified four main methodological gaps preventing progress on wetland valuation of ecosystem services in China, which are: 1) confusion on terminology like intermediate and final ecosystem services, 2) lack of ecological production functions to link ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services, 3) static valuation making it difficult to evaluate the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services, and 4) lack of clear guidance on relating ecological compensation programs to conservation targets. Overcoming these gaps is important to inform wetland compensation mechanisms and conservation policies. We propose future research on wetland ecosystem services in China should be focused on: 1) defining final ecosystem services based on beneficiary preferences and underlying biophysical mechanisms, 2) establishing wetland monitoring programs at specific sites to collect data on final ecosystem service indicators and ecosystem characteristic metrics to create ecological production functions for economic valuation and rescaling techniques, and 3) incorporating wetland ecosystem service values into decision-making processes to inform wetland management.",CHINESE GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE,2016,APR J,"Manfredo, MJ; Teel, TL; Dietsch, AM",Implications of human value shift and persistence for biodiversity conservation,10.1111/cobi.12619,"Large-scale change in human values and associated behavior change is believed by some to be the ultimate solution to achieve global biodiversity conservation. Yet little is known about the dynamics of values. We contribute to this area of inquiry by examining the trajectory of values affecting views of wildlife in North America. Using data from a 19-state study in the United States and global data from the Schwartz Value Survey, we explored questions of value persistence and change and the nature of attitudinal responses regarding wildlife conservation issues. We found support, based on subjects' ancestry, for the supposition that domination is a prevalent American value orientation toward wildlife that has origins in European Judeo-Christian traditions. Independent of that effect, we also found indications of change. Modernization is contributing to a shift from domination to mutualism value orientations, which is fostering attitudes less centered on human interests and seemingly more consistent with a biocentric philosophy. Our findings suggest that if value shift could be achieved in a purposeful way, then significant and widespread behavior change believed necessary for long-term conservation success may indeed be possible. In particular, greater emphasis on mutualism values may help provide the context for more collaborative approaches to support future conservation efforts. However, given the societal forces at play, it is not at all clear that human-engineered value shift is tenable. Instead of developing strategies aimed at altering values, it may be more productive to create strategies that recognize and work within the boundaries of existing values. Whereas values appear to be in a period of flux, it will be difficult to predict future trends without a better understanding of value formation and shift, particularly under conditions of rapid social-ecological change. Implicaciones del Cambio y la Persistencia del Valor Humano para la Conservacion de la Biodiversidad Muchos creen que el cambio a gran escala de los valores humanos y el comportamiento asociado son la solucion definitiva para obtener la conservacion global de la biodiversidad. A pesar de esto, se conoce muy poco sobre la dinamica de los valores. Contribuimos a esta area de indagacion al examinar la trayectoria de los valores que afectan como es vista la vida silvestre en America del Norte. Con datos de un estudio hecho en 19 estados de los Estados Unidos y con datos globales del Censo Schwartz de Valores exploramos preguntas de valor de persistencia y de cambio y la naturaleza de las respuestas actitudinales con respecto a los asuntos de conservacion de vida silvestre. Encontramos respaldo, con base en la prosapia de los sujetos, para el supuesto de que la dominacion es un valor americano prevalente dirigido a la vida silvestre y que tiene sus origenes en las tradiciones judeocristianas de Europa. Independientemente de este efecto, tambien encontramos indicadores de cambio. La modernizacion esta contribuyendo a un cambio de la dominacion al mutualismo en la orientacion de los valores, lo que esta fomentando actitudes menos centradas en los intereses humanos y, al parecer, mas constante con la filosofia biocentrica. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que si el cambio en los valores se pudiera adquirir de forma decidida, entonces puede que el cambio significativo y generalizado de comportamiento que se cree necesario para el exito a largo plazo de la conservacion sea posible. Particularmente, un mayor enfasis en los valores del mutualismo pueden ayudar a proporcionar el contexto para estrategias mas colaborativas que apoyen los futuros esfuerzos de conservacion. Sin embargo, dadas las fuerzas sociales en juego, no esta del todo claro si el cambio de valores maquinado por los humanos es sostenible. En lugar de desarrollar estrategias enfocadas en la alteracion de valores, puede que sea mas productivo crear estrategias que reconozcan y trabajen dentro de los limites de los valores existentes. Mientras que los valores parezcan estar en un periodo de cambio constante, sera dificil predecir tendencias futuras sin un mejor entendimiento de la formacion y cambio de los valores, particularmente bajo condiciones de cambio socio-ecologico repentino. Resumen",CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,2016,APR J,"Solano, PM; Pescador, IG; Arzadun, P","Social, economic and environmental initiatives: impact on the opinion of the membership base of a credit cooperative in Costa Rica",,"The present study aims to measure the impact of a range of social, environmental and economic initiatives on the opinion of the membership base of CoopeAnde No 1 R. L, as well as the members' perception and assessment of socio-economic and environmental issues. The pursuit of this general objective is based on fieldwork conducted at national level between the months of December 2013 and February 2014, with a total sample of 2223 cases. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence on the relevance of CSR actions in the perception of the membership base. Additionally, the results reflect the relevance of a strategic and cross-cutting approach to CSR in the organization. The Costa Rican cooperative movement began early in the nineteenth century, with its first expressions pursuing the satisfaction of the needs of farm workers. In 1943, when 23 cooperative enterprises were already in existence, the first legislation for the sector was adopted. Currently there are 594 adult and school cooperatives and 887,335 people associated with them. According to the latest National Census of Cooperatives (Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo - INFOCOOP, 2012), 22.2% of Costa Rican cooperatives belong to the finance and insurance sector, which top the ranking of cooperatives by main economic activity. They include CoopeAnde No 1 R. L, the focus of this research. CoopeAnde No 1 R. L is a cooperative that was founded in 1965 with the aim of providing a financial solution for people related to the education sector. It started business and built its capital base with 160 members. Currently, it has 57,000 members nationwide and is the leading cooperative in its sector. In 2002, CoopenAnde No 1 R. L began establishing branches and decentralizing its services. Currently it has 21 branches around the country. Since the reform of the Organic Law of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) in 1995, CoopenAnde No 1 R. L is audited and supervised by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (SUGEF) under the same prudential regulation scheme as for banks in Costa Rica. In addition, it is governed by the Law of Cooperative Associations, Regulatory Law for Financial Intermediation Cooperative Organizations, Organic Law of the Central Bank, regulations of the National Council of Financial System Supervision (CONASSIF) and the Labour Code, all of which provide backup and security to the members by allowing them to verify the strength and stability of the institution. In recent years, CoopeAnde No 1 R. L has been seeking to adapt to a new context of increasingly complex financial markets through diverse social, economic and environmental initiatives. The general result of this process has been the presence of multiple actions targeting different stakeholders, although there is a lack of coordination among them as well as of a strategic focus. Aware of this situation, the cooperative decided to undertake an integral strategic Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR process. As part of that process, it was important to measure the impact of a range of social, environmental and economic initiatives on the opinion of its members, as well as their perception and assessment of socioeconomic and environmental issues. The results of this measurement would allow the cooperative to confirm to what extent it is promoting actions that are relevant to the needs of its membership base, as a definitive stakeholder (Mitchell et al, 1997). Such results are important for different reasons. Primarily, as stated above, so that the cooperative may identify those actions that meet the needs of its members. Additionally, because the cooperative will assign its resources and capabilities strategically to the highest priority actions. Moreover, the cooperative may identify different strategies according to the needs of the local community where its offices are located. Last but no less important than the above is so that the cooperative may know its members' perception of its CSR trajectory. The different scenarios in which economic and financial evolution is taking place are highly complex. In consequence, multiple stakeholders generate a variety of interrelationships with each other, which, in turn, affect the enterprise-stakeholders-CSR links. Note also both that the scope and importance of CSR itself have gradually evolved and that CSR has particular peculiarities in the cooperative sector. The importance of CoopeAnde No 1 R. L in the local cooperative movement and its presence around the country constitute important practical motives for this research. Equally important, several major gaps in the scientific literature related to the socioeconomic impact of cooperatives have come to light. Given the practical interest aroused by CoopeAnde No 1 R. L as well as the weaknesses in the literature, this paper addresses the following main research objective: to measure the impact of a range of social, environmental and economic initiatives on the opinion of the membership base, as well as the members' perception and assessment of socio-economic and environmental issues. The main objective was pursued on the basis of fieldwork conducted at national level between the months of December 2013 and February 2014, with a total sample of 2223 cases. The population is the membership base. It was segmented into mutually exclusive sub-groups, according to stratified sampling, based on 11 branches. The data collection tool was a semi-structured questionnaire with 17 open and closed questions. In order to lay the foundations for the analysis, the paper examines the following: specific elements of the local cooperative movement and overview of the financial sector, as well as Corporate Social Responsibility, its definitions for conventional firms and cooperative firms, and its relationship to business strategy. The paper concludes by providing empirical evidence on the relevance of CSR actions in the perception of the membership base. Additionally, the results reflect the importance of a strategic and crosscutting approach to CSR in the organization. In other words, multiple actions have been taken in each branch, focusing on different stakeholders. However, particularly in the social dimension, 5 out of 10 members claimed not to know the social projects of the cooperative. This was despite having found that the attributes of this dimension are those they most value. The paper fulfils its main objective, but also identifies certain limitations, in particular related to sample size for the statistical analysis of demographic variables. These limitations and other questions that emerged during the study combine to suggest interesting directions for future research.",CIRIEC-ESPANA REVISTA DE ECONOMIA PUBLICA SOCIAL Y COOPERATIVA,2016,APR J,"Willcock, S; Hooftman, D; Sitas, N; O'Farrell, P; Hudson, MD; Reyers, B; Eigenbrod, F; Bullock, JM",Do ecosystem service maps and models meet stakeholders' needs? A preliminary survey across sub-Saharan Africa,10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.02.038,"To achieve sustainability goals, it is important to incorporate ecosystem service (ES) information into decision-making processes. However, little is known about the correspondence between the needs of ES information users and the data provided by the researcher community. We surveyed stakeholders within sub-Saharan Africa, determining their ES data requirements using a targeted sampling strategy. Of those respondents utilising ES information (> 90%; n = 60), 27% report having sufficient data; with the remainder requiring additional data - particularly at higher spatial resolutions and at multiple points in time. The majority of respondents focus on provisioning and regulating services, particularly food and fresh water supply (both 58%) and climate regulation (49%). Their focus is generally at national scales or below and in accordance with data availability. Among the stakeholders surveyed, we performed a follow-up assessment for a sub-sample of 17 technical experts. The technical experts are unanimous that ES models must be able to incorporate scenarios, and most agree that ES models should be at least 90% accurate. However, relatively coarse-resolution (1-10 km(2)) models are sufficient for many services. To maximise the impact of future research, dynamic, multi-scale datasets on ES must be delivered alongside capacity-building efforts. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2016,APR J,"Reddy, SMW; Guannel, G; Griffin, R; Faries, J; Boucher, T; Thompson, M; Brenner, J; Bernhardt, J; Verutes, G; Wood, SA; Silver, JA; Toft, J; Rogers, A; Maas, A; Guerry, A; Molnar, J; DiMuro, JL",Evaluating the role of coastal habitats and sea-level rise in hurricane risk mitigation: An ecological economic assessment method and application to a business decision,10.1002/ieam.1678,"Businesses may be missing opportunities to account for ecosystem services in their decisions, because they do not have methods to quantify and value ecosystem services. We developed a method to quantify and value coastal protection and other ecosystem services in the context of a cost-benefit analysis of hurricane risk mitigation options for a business. We first analyze linked biophysical and economic models to examine the potential protection provided by marshes. We then applied this method to The Dow Chemical Company's Freeport, Texas facility to evaluate natural (marshes), built (levee), and hybrid (marshes and a levee designed for marshes) defenses against a 100-y hurricane. Model analysis shows that future sea-level rise decreases marsh area, increases flood heights, and increases the required levee height (12%) and cost (8%). In this context, marshes do not provide sufficient protection to the facility, located 12km inland, to warrant a change in levee design for a 100-y hurricane. Marshes do provide some protection near shore and under smaller storm conditions, which may help maintain the coastline and levee performance in the face of sea-level rise. In sum, the net present value to the business of built defenses ($217 million [2010 US$]) is greater than natural defenses ($15 million [2010 US$]) and similar to the hybrid defense scenario ($229 million [2010 US$]). Examination of a sample of public benefits from the marshes shows they provide at least $117 million (2010 US$) in coastal protection, recreational value, and C sequestration to the public, while supporting 12 fisheries and more than 300 wildlife species. This study provides information on where natural defenses may be effective and a replicable approach that businesses can use to incorporate private, as well as public, ecosystem service values into hurricane risk management at other sites. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:328-344. (c) 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.",INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT,2016,APR J,"Disterheft, A; Caeiro, SS; Leal, W; Azeiteiro, UM",The INDICARE-model - measuring and caring about participation in higher education's sustainability assessment,10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.11.057,"The implementation of sustainability in higher education has been advanced over at least the last two decades and brought sustainability assessment on the research agenda of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and sustainability science. Participatory approaches have gained increasing attention in these endeavours, but remain often vague and less addressed in sustainability assessment procedures. To fill in this gap, an indicator-based model, INDICARE, was developed that can assist in assessing participatory processes within higher education's sustainability initiatives. The objective of this paper is to introduce and discuss the model's theoretical background, its structure, applicability, and how it can broaden the perspectives on participation and sustainability assessment in the university context. Embedded in a cross-sectional qualitative research design, the model was developed in iterative stages and was presented and adjusted along six feedback loops, having been presented to 98 persons during conferences, workshops and university meetings. Inspired by biophilic ideas, transformative learning theories and participatory evaluation, INDICARE follows an ecocentric and integrative perspective that places the earth and its community at the centre of attention. A preliminary set of thirty indicators and practices, grouped in three categories of context, process, and transformation, is proposed. The assessment process itself is considered as a thought-provoking exercise rather than as a control tool and emphasizes the interplay of personal reflection and action-oriented outreach. INDICARE intends to invigorate the sustainability debate in higher education, in particular by proposing a more holistic approach to assessment that underlines experiencing the interconnectedness of human-nature relationships, combined with reflective exercises that can respond better to the call for transformation on individual and institutional level. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,APR J,"Atkinson, SC; Jupiter, SD; Adams, VM; Ingram, JC; Narayan, S; Klein, CJ; Possingham, HP",Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities,10.1371/journal.pone.0151992,"Incorporating the values of the services that ecosystems provide into decision making is becoming increasingly common in nature conservation and resource management policies, both locally and globally. Yet with limited funds for conservation of threatened species and ecosystems there is a desire to identify priority areas where investment efficiently conserves multiple ecosystem services. We mapped four mangrove ecosystems services (coastal protection, fisheries, biodiversity, and carbon storage) across Fiji. Using a cost-effectiveness analysis, we prioritised mangrove areas for each service, where the effectiveness was a function of the benefits provided to the local communities, and the costs were associated with restricting specific uses of mangroves. We demonstrate that, although priority mangrove areas (top 20%) for each service can be managed at relatively low opportunity costs (ranging from 4.5 to 11.3% of overall opportunity costs), prioritising for a single service yields relatively low co-benefits due to limited geographical overlap with priority areas for other services. None-the-less, prioritisation of mangrove areas provides greater overlap of benefits than if sites were selected randomly for most ecosystem services. We discuss deficiencies in the mapping of ecosystems services in data poor regions and how this may impact upon the equity of managing mangroves for particular services across the urban-rural divide in developing countries. Finally we discuss how our maps may aid decision-makers to direct funding for mangrove management from various sources to localities that best meet funding objectives, as well as how this knowledge can aid in creating a national mangrove zoning scheme.",PLOS ONE,2016,mar 23 J,"Banzhaf, HS; Burtraw, D; Criscimagna, SC; Cosby, BJ; Evans, DA; Krupnick, AJ; Siikamaki, JV",Policy Analysis: Valuation of Ecosystem Services in the Southern Appalachian Mountains,10.1021/acs.est.5b03829,"This study estimates the economic value of an increase in ecosystem services attributable to the reduced acidification expected from more stringent air pollution policy. By integrating a detailed biogeochemical model that projects future ecological recovery with economic methods that measure preferences for specific ecological improvements, we estimate the economic value of ecological benefits from new air pollution policies in the Southern Appalachian ecosystem. Our results indicate that these policies generate aggregate benefits of about $3.7 billion, or about $16 per year per household in the region. The study provides currently missing information about the ecological benefits from air pollution policies that is needed to evaluate such policies comprehensively. More broadly, the study also illustrates how integrated biogeochemical and economic assessments relative benefits of different policy options that vary by scale and across ecosystem attributes.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,2016,mar 15 J,"Kostakis, V; Roos, A; Bauwens, M",Towards a political ecology of the digital economy: Socio-environmental implications of two competing value models,10.1016/j.eist.2015.08.002,"This article explores the socio-environmental implications of two different value models currently competing for dominance in the digital economy: the neo-feudal cognitive capitalism (NFCC) and the hypothetical case of mature peer production (HMPP). Using a systematisation that considers environmental effects of information and communication technologies as direct, indirect and structural, this article discerns the future socio-environmental scenarios indicative of each value model. We argue that the two value models share the same type of direct environmental effects associated with a similar technological infrastructure; however, their indirect effects differ in prospects of consumer behaviour, environmental awareness and product design. Likewise the difference in structural effects is significant as the NFCC is based on profit maximisation and an accumulation of capital, whereas the HMPP is agnostic to growth and oriented towards the commons. Hence, the latter is considered as the socio-environmentally auspicious choice, but comes not without transitional challenges of its own. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND SOCIETAL TRANSITIONS,2016,MAR J,"Dupont, H; Gourmelon, F; Rouan, M; Le Viol, I; Kerbiriou, C",The contribution of agent-based simulations to conservation management on a Natura 2000 site,10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.11.056,"The conservation of biodiversity today must include the participation and support of local stakeholders. Natura 2000 can be considered as a conservation system that, in its application in most EU countries, relies on the participation of local stakeholders. Our study proposes a scientific method for participatory modelling, with the aim of contributing to the conservation management of habitats and species at a Natura 2000 site (Crozon Peninsula, Bretagne, France) that is representative of in landuse changes in coastal areas. We make use of companion modelling and its associated tools (scenario-planning, GIS, multi-agent modelling and simulations) to consider possible futures through the co-construction of management scenarios and the understanding of their consequences on different indicators of biodiversity status (habitats, avifauna, flora). The maintenance of human activities as they have been carried out since the creation of the Natura 2000s zone allows the biodiversity values to remain stable. Extensive agricultural activities have been shown to be essential to this maintenance, whereas management sustained by the multiplication of conservation actions brings about variable results according to the indicators. None of the scenarios has a positive incidence on the set of indicators. However, an understanding of the modelling system and the results of the simulations allow for the refining of the selection of conservation actions in relation to the species to be preserved. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2016,mar 1 J,"Kraxner, F; Aoki, K; Kindermann, G; Leduc, S; Albrecht, F; Liu, J; Yamagata, Y",Bioenergy and the city - What can urban forests contribute?,10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.12.121,"Bioenergy plays an important role in mitigating dangerous climate change and will therefore most likely have to further expand substantially. With 50% of the global population living in urban areas, cities are transforming into hotspots for future sustainable energy systems in the context of a low-carbon society. Bioenergy feedstock from urban forests could contribute substantially to low-carbon energy supply, yet urban ecosystems also provide other services that have to be balanced against future energy needs. This study conducts a geo-spatial analysis of urban forests with respect to its potential of increasing feedstock production for urban bioenergy generation. At the same time, social and environmental constraints are considered and co-benefits discussed. In order to test the wider applicability of the methodology, the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve is chosen as a case study to determine the feedstock potential for local bioenergy provided to Viennese households. The theoretical biomass potential is modeled using biophysical growth and yield tables for individual tree species and then compared to the existing production area using GIS tools. Results show that the biomass use within the biosphere reserve can be increased by about 60% without violating any national or international law that protects multiple ecosystem services provided by the reserve, nor sustainability criteria of forest management. This indicates a high potential of peri-urban forest ecosystems to contribute to urban resilience - i.e. with respect to energy security and emissions reduction. The study concludes that urban forests require sensible management in order to minimize conflicts of multiple environmental, economic and social uses of the area. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",APPLIED ENERGY,2016,mar 1 J,"Dominati, EJ; Mackay, AD; Bouma, J; Green, S",An Ecosystems Approach to Quantify Soil Performance for Multiple Outcomes: The Future of Land Evaluation?,10.2136/sssaj2015.07.0266,"Among natural resources, soils are often forgotten and poorly represented in ecosystem service frameworks and decision making processes, even though they are a non-renewable resource and the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems' function and health. This study used a novel methodology to (i) quantify the ecosystem services provided by dairy-based agro-ecosystems on two contrasting soils in New Zealand using a process-based model, (ii) determine the economic value of each service using on-farm built capital substitutes, and (iii) explore the merits of incorporating an ecosystems approach into land evaluation and resource management. Ecosystem services quantification proved insightful in distinguishing and quantifying the inherent differences in the capabilities of two contrasting soils to contribute to service provision by translating them into differences in performance under the same use, before calculating economic values. The economic value of the services provided by the system with Horotiu was on average 35% greater than the economic value of the services provided by the same land use on the Te Kowhai soil, with differences in the provision of some services (provision of food, flood mitigation, and the filtering of nutrients and contaminants) more pronounced between the two soils than others (provision of support, recycling of wastes). Regulating services had greater economic values than provisioning services for both agro-ecosystems. Existing limitations of land evaluation processes can be addressed by an ecosystems approach through increased emphasis on inclusive, quantitative assessments that reflect society's desired outcomes as informed by stakeholder input.",SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL,2016,MAR-APR J,"Fondevilla, C; Colomer, MA; Fillat, F; Tappeiner, U",Using a new PDP modelling approach for land-use and land-cover change predictions: A case study in the Stubai Valley (Central Alps),10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.11.016,"Due to the progressive forest expansion in European mountain areas triggered by agricultural abandonment, semi-natural meadows and pastures of great ecological and aesthetic value are disappearing. The aim of this study is to predict and analyse the future evolution of land use and land cover (LULC) in the Stubai Valley, Central Alps. We propose a computational Population Dynamics P system (PDP) model that incorporates the main LULC change processes like plant production, grazing, abandonment and reforestation. The advantages of our LULC-PDP model are: (1) the possibility to consider a large number of wild and domestic animals of different species and LULC, (2) the parallel and interdependent evolution of processes, animals and LULC, (3) the easy introduction of new processes and, hence, (4) the straightforward application of the model in other study areas. We simulate LULC changes from 2003 to 2033 in three different scenarios: (1) continuation of current land use, (2) slight reduction in land-use intensity and (3) strong reduction in land-use intensity. Furthermore, we use response-surface models that relate the response variable area and livestock annual variation, allowing better interpretation of LULC changes. The results show the accurate functioning of our model as a prediction tool. We see how agriculturally used grasslands progressively decrease, whereas the forest area increases in all simulated scenarios. The most likely zones to be abandoned are found in the intermediate altitudinal range between 1500 and 2150 m, mostly on steep slopes (>30 degrees). The reduction in the number of cattle is closely linked to the decrease in grazing land. As this tendency questions the conservation of traditional agricultural land, it is important to apply new strategies to preserve these cultural landscapes and the multiple ecosystem services for future generations before they disappear definitively. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL MODELLING,2016,feb 24 J,"De Vos, A; Cumming, GS; Moore, CA; Maciejewski, K; Duckworth, G",The relevance of spatial variation in ecotourism attributes for the economic sustainability of protected areas,10.1002/ecs2.1207,"In contemporary society, protected areas are increasingly expected to justify their existence through the services that they provide to society. Protected areas offer many important cultural services, but appraisal of these nonmaterial benefits has generally proven difficult and most studies have focused on single case studies. Data on tourist numbers across multiple camps and protected areas provide a tractable and previously unexploited case study for better understanding the economic sustainability of cultural service provision and the relevance of potentially confounding variables (e.g., location and infrastructure) for park sustainability. We used redundancy analysis and linear models to relate a 5-yr monthly data set (2007-2012) of tourist numbers and tourism-derived income in all camps in South African national parks to a set of largely GIS-derived, determinant attributes that captured key elements of location, biodiversity, infrastructure, and accommodation cost at a camp level. Our analysis suggests that the degree to which cultural services can be converted into revenue for conservation is strongly contingent on infrastructure, location, and the business model that the park adopts. When considered alone, ecological attributes explained 14.2% and 3% of day and overnight visitation rates, respectively. In contrast, models that considered ecosystems in combination with other elements could explain 53% and 67% of variation. Linear models confirmed the existence of complex interactions between groups of variables and highlighted individual covariates that affected visitation rates. Significant variables included ecological features that provided aesthetic services, number of water bodies, elevation, available units, unit costs, and distance to the coast, airports, and other national parks. Taken in context our results suggest that it may be simpler than expected to make predictions about the potential future economic viability of protected areas under alternative models of management, illustrate how ecological variables may represent the supply side in cultural services, and highlight the complex interplay between ecological and built infrastructure. Encouragingly, this in turn suggests that relatively small, targeted investments in infrastructure could lead to disproportionate increases in tourist visitation rates and hence in increased revenue for conservation.",ECOSPHERE,2016,FEB J,"Stens, A; Bjarstig, T; Nordstrom, EM; Sandstrom, C; Fries, C; Johansson, J",In the eye of the stakeholder: The challenges of governing social forest values,10.1007/s13280-015-0745-6,"This study examines which kinds of social benefits derived from forests are emphasised by Swedish stakeholders and what governance modes and management tools they accept. Our study shows that there exists a great variety among stakeholders' perceptions of forests' social values, where tourism and recreation is the most common reference. There are also differences in preferred governance modes and management where biomass and bioenergy sectors advocate business as usual (i.e. framework regulations and voluntarism) and other stakeholders demand rigid tools (i.e. coercion and targeting) and improved landscape planning. This divide will have implications for future policy orientations and require deliberative policy processes and improved dialogue among stakeholders and authorities. We suggest that there is a potential for these improvements, since actors from almost all stakeholder groups support local influence on governance and management, acknowledged and maintained either by the authorities, i.e. targeting, or by the stakeholders themselves, i.e. voluntarism.",AMBIO,2016,FEB J,"Fonseca, JA; Nguyen, TA; Schlueter, A; Marechal, F",City Energy Analyst (CEA): Integrated framework for analysis and optimization of building energy systems in neighborhoods and city districts,10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.11.055,"This paper describes the City Energy Analyst (CEA), a computational framework for the analysis and optimization of energy systems in neighborhoods and city districts. The framework allows analyzing the energy, carbon and financial benefits of multiple urban design scenarios in conjunction to optimal schemes of distributed generation. For this, the framework integrates time-dependent methods for building energy performance simulation, conversion and storage technologies simulation, assessment of local energy potentials, bi-level energy systems optimization and multi-criteria analysis. Based on past research, the framework introduces a novel interface to facilitate the spatiotemporal analysis of patterns of demand and potential infrastructure solutions. The model was programmed in Python v2.7 and built as an extension of the Geographic Information System ArcGIS v10.3, which serves as a platform for the allocation and future dissemination of spatiotemporal data. We present an application of the model for a downtown area in Switzerland where we evaluated four trajectories of development and found optimum infrastructure solutions for their operation. For a more holistic approach we used the 2000-W/1-t CO2 society vision concept to compare the environmental performance of these solutions with that of embodied energy in buildings and transportation systems. From the optimization process, most infrastructure solutions showed an average integration of 50% to 80% of buildings in thermal micro-grids, 50 to 100% of the available solar potential, and a resource mix consisting of photovoltaic electricity and sources of waste and ambient heat. For a balanced distribution of social, environmental and economic criteria, the results showed potential relative savings in the area from 45% to 60% in emissions and from 25% to 50% in primary energy at an annualized cost between 14% and 44% higher than today. For an-economic-driven distribution, the results showed savings of up to 23% in emissions, 36% in primary energy and 11% in costs. We identified close to 15% in emissions and 20% in primary energy savings with variable costs between -2% and 23% in the area are strongly related to the urban design option rather than to its optimal energy system. In comparison to local benchmarks, the environmental impact of buildings during operation lies between that of embodied energy in buildings and mobility in the service sector (business flights). We estimated that an increase in close to 4% of today's average efficiency of photovoltaic technology would allow the area to comply with those local benchmarks. On the other hand, we concluded the suitability of the City Energy Analyst (CEA) to assist urban planning authorities looking for both design and engineering options to increase the performance of their neighborhoods and city districts. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ENERGY AND BUILDINGS,2016,feb 1 J,"Monden, KR; Trost, Z; Scott, W; Bogart, KR; Driver, S",The Unfairness of It All: Exploring the Role of Injustice Appraisals in Rehabilitation Outcomes,10.1037/rep0000075,"Objective: A fundamental principle of rehabilitation psychology is that individual appraisals of the social and physical environment-including injury itself-have profound consequences for coping and adjustment. When core assumptions of a just and predictable world are violated and accompanied by ostensibly undeserved suffering and loss, perceptions of injustice can arise. Given the role of appraisal processes in adjustment to disability, mounting empirical support, and absence of targeted interventions, the current article considers perceptions of injustice regarding personal injury/disability as a fundamental appraisal affecting rehabilitation outcomes. Research Method: The authors review theory underpinning the relevance of injustice appraisals and critically examine existing literature regarding the impact of perceived injustice and related constructs (i.e., attribution of blame, anger, and belief in a just world) on adjustment following injury. Results: The authors bring attention to perceptions of injustice regarding personal injury/disability as a fundamental appraisal affecting rehabilitation outcomes. Dimensions of the social environment that have not received substantial attention in current research on condition-related injustice appraisals are highlighted. Implications: Perceived injustice is a potentially central appraisal process to physical and psychological outcomes in the context of rehabilitation. Research regarding the role of perceived injustice, related constructs, and potential social/environmental modulators of injustice perception is still in its infancy. Guided buy its foundational principles, the field of rehabilitation psychology can broaden and shape inquiry regarding perceived injustice. This article aims to guide future research, offer concepts for key areas of discourse, and consider potential interventions in the rehabilitation psychology domain. Impact and Implications The manuscript reviews social and rehabilitation psychology theory underpinning the relevance of injustice appraisals and critically examines existing literature regarding the impact of perceived injustice and related constructs on adjustment following injury. This manuscript aims to bring attention to the unique ways in which the field of rehabilitation psychology, guided by its foundational principles, can broaden and shape future inquiry regarding perceived injustice. This manuscript will help guide future research, offer concepts for key areas of discourse, and consider potential avenues of intervention in the rehabilitation psychology domain.",REHABILITATION PSYCHOLOGY,2016,FEB J,"Liu, HL; Willems, P; Bao, AM; Wang, L; Chen, X",Effect of climate change on the vulnerability of a socio-ecological system in an arid area,10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.12.014,"The vulnerability of arid areas threatens ecosystems and human existence. With climate change and increasing human activities, addressing this vulnerability has become an important concern. To support this objective, we present a complex index system to analyze vulnerability at a regional scale with a 1 km x 1 km resolution. Based on the evaluation framework, which includes natural resources, the natural environment and the social economy, the results indicate that an ecosystem in a mountainous area is more vulnerable than it is in a plain. Land desertification will worsen from 2014 to 2099 under the RCP4.5 scenarios and improve slightly under the RCP8.5 and RCP2.6 scenarios, while the suitable land for agriculture increased slightly under the three scenarios. In addition, a regional sensitivity analysis of vulnerability to climate change shows that the improving region and the worsening region will occupy 1.30% and 74.51%, respectively. In view of this, the socio-ecological system will undergo a worsening trend as a whole. Finally, we simplified how to solve the problem of a socio-ecological system in the future. This research method and results would generate new insights with respect to planning for sustainable development and provide a reference for decision-making. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE,2016,FEB J,"Castro, AJ; Vaughn, CC; Julian, JP; Garcia-Llorente, M",SOCIAL DEMAND FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR WATERSHED MANAGEMENT,10.1111/1752-1688.12379,"We performed a sociocultural preference assessment for a suite of ecosystem services provided by the Kiamichi River watershed in the south-central United States, a region with intense water conflict. The goal was to examine how a social assessment of services could be used to weigh tradeoffs among water resource uses for future watershed management and planning. We identified the ecosystem services beneficiaries groups, analyzed perception for maintaining services, assessed differences in the importance and perceived trends for ecosystem services, and explored the perceived impact on ecosystem services arising from different watershed management scenarios. Results show habitat for species and water regulation were two ecosystem services all beneficiaries agreed were important. The main discrepancies among stakeholder groups were found for water-related services. The identification of potential tradeoffs between services under different flow scenarios promotes a dynamic management strategy for allocating water resources, one that mitigates potential conflicts. While it is widely accepted the needs of all beneficiaries should be considered for the successful incorporation of ecosystem services into watershed management, the number of studies actually using the sociocultural perspective in ecosystem service assessment is limited. Our study demonstrates it is both possible and useful to quantify social demand of ecosystem services in watershed management.",JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION,2016,FEB J,"Gao, L; Bryan, BA; Nolan, M; Connor, JD; Song, XD; Zhao, G",Robust global sensitivity analysis under deep uncertainty via scenario analysis,10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.11.001,"Complex social-ecological systems models typically need to consider deeply uncertain long run future conditions. The influence of this deep (i.e. incalculable, uncontrollable) uncertainty on model parameter sensitivities needs to be understood and robustly quantified to reliably inform investment in data collection and model refinement. Using a variance-based global sensitivity analysis method (eFAST), we produced comprehensive model diagnostics of a complex social-ecological systems model under deep uncertainty characterised by four global change scenarios. The uncertainty of the outputs, and the influence of input parameters differed substantially between scenarios. We then developed sensitivity indicators that were robust to this deep uncertainty using four criteria from decision theory. The proposed methods can increase our understanding of the effects of deep uncertainty on output uncertainty and parameter sensitivity, and incorporate the decision maker's risk preference into modelling-related activities to obtain greater resilience of decisions to surprise. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE,2016,FEB J,"Eggers, SM; Aaro, LE; Bos, AER; Mathews, C; Kaaya, SF; Onya, H; de Vries, H",Sociocognitive Predictors of Condom Use and Intentions Among Adolescents in Three Sub-Saharan Sites,10.1007/s10508-015-0525-1,"Many HIV intervention programs in sub-Saharan Africa have applied social cognitive theories such as the theory of planned behavior. However, a recent sub-Saharan African review was unable to show increased effectiveness for theory-based interventions. This study assessed whether the predictive value of attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy, and intention was similar to studies in Europe and the U.S., and whether there were differences between three sub-Saharan sites. Longitudinal multigroup structural equation modeling was used to assess whether attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy predicted condom use intentions and condom use (after 6 months) among adolescents in three sites, namely Cape Town (South Africa; N = 625), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania; N = 271), and Mankweng (South Africa; N = 404). Condom use intentions were predicted by subjective norms and self-efficacy in all three sites. Attitudes were not related to intentions in Dar es Salaam and were moderately related to intentions in Cape Town and Mankweng. The proportions of explained variance in intentions and behavior were decent (37-52 and 9-19 %, respectively). Although significant differences in predictive value were found between sites and in comparison to European and U.S. studies, intentions could adequately be explained by attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. However, the limited proportions of variance in behavior explained by intentions could signify the importance of contextual and environmental factors. Future studies are recommended to use an integrative approach that takes into account both individual and contextual factors, as well as social and environmental differences.",ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR,2016,FEB J,"Trinh, L; Larsen, K; Faulkner, GE; Plotnikoff, RC; Rhodes, RE; North, S; Courneya, KS",Social-ecological correlates of physical activity in kidney cancer survivors,10.1007/s11764-015-0462-y,"Previous studies in cancer survivors have examined behavioral correlates of physical activity (PA), but no study to date has adopted a broader social-ecological framework in understanding PA. This study examined the associations among demographic, medical, social-cognitive, and environmental correlates of meeting PA guidelines among kidney cancer survivors (KCS). All 1985 KCS diagnosed between 1996 and 2010 identified through a Canadian provincial registry were mailed a survey that consisted of medical, demographic, and social-cognitive measures, as well as PA as measured by the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. Environmental constructs were also assessed for both self-report and objective measures using geographic information systems (GIS). A series of binary logistic regression analyses were conducted in this cross-sectional study. Completed surveys with geographical information were received from 432 KCS with M (age) = 64.4 +/- 11.1 years, 63.2 % male, and 82.2 % having localized kidney cancer. In the final multivariate model, meeting PA guidelines was associated with disease stage (OR = 0.25, p = .005), having drug therapy (OR = 3.98, p = .009), higher levels of instrumental attitudes (OR = 1.66, p = .053), higher levels of intention (OR = 1.72, p = .002), and the perceived presence of many retail shops in the neighborhood (OR = 1.37, p = .032). Meeting PA guidelines in KCS were associated with various aspects of the social-ecological model. Understanding the social-ecological correlates for PA can provide insight into future interventions designed to increase PA in KCS. Prime targets for PA promotion should consider treatment-related factors, promote the benefits of PA, and enhance positive perceptions of the built environment.",JOURNAL OF CANCER SURVIVORSHIP,2016,FEB J,"Albert, C; Galler, C; Hermes, J; Neuendorf, F; von Haaren, C; Lovett, A",Applying ecosystem services indicators in landscape planning and management: The ES-in-Planning framework,10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.029,"Applying ecosystem services (ES) concepts and indicators in landscape planning requires them to be linked with models for decision-making by practitioners. The objective of this paper is to introduce an ES-in-Planning framework, which combines ES assessment and valuation indicators with the widely used Driving Forces, Pressures, State, Impacts and Responses (DPSIR) model. Within this framework, ES indicators become part of landscape planning as a means of assessing the current state of the environment and for determining how it might change in the future. The implementation and added value of the framework is illustrated in a case study of planning issues in the Mardorf community bordering the Steinhuder Meer Lake, Northern Germany. Two scenarios of potential landscape changes and possible response measures are considered in terms of alterations in a set of ES indicators. The ES examined are food production (a provisioning ES), climate mitigation (a regulation ES), landscape esthetics (as the basis for many cultural ES), and biodiversity. The ES indicators employed distinguish between services valued by humans and those which are actually utilized. Valuation of changes in ES has shown to reflect societal objectives (as institutionalized in legal requirements) and expert-based estimates. However, these valuations could be further validated by including economic and social valuation of impacts. The added value of applying ES in the planning process lies in improved opportunities for developing targeted response measures, for communicating trade-offs between planning options, and for facilitating joint implementation by partners. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,FEB J,"Seidl, R; Spies, TA; Peterson, DL; Stephens, SL; Hicke, JA",Searching for resilience: addressing the impacts of changing disturbance regimes on forest ecosystem services,10.1111/1365-2664.12511,"The provisioning of ecosystem services to society is increasingly under pressure from global change. Changing disturbance regimes are of particular concern in this context due to their high potential impact on ecosystem structure, function and composition. Resilience-based stewardship is advocated to address these changes in ecosystem management, but its operational implementation has remained challenging. We review observed and expected changes in disturbance regimes and their potential impacts on provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services, concentrating on temperate and boreal forests. Subsequently, we focus on resilience as a powerful concept to quantify and address these changes and their impacts, and present an approach towards its operational application using established methods from disturbance ecology. We suggest using the range of variability concept - characterizing and bounding the long-term behaviour of ecosystems - to locate and delineate the basins of attraction of a system. System recovery in relation to its range of variability can be used to measure resilience of ecosystems, allowing inferences on both engineering resilience (recovery rate) and monitoring for regime shifts (directionality of recovery trajectory). It is important to consider the dynamic nature of these properties in ecosystem analysis and management decision-making, as both disturbance processes and mechanisms of resilience will be subject to changes in the future. Furthermore, because ecosystem services are at the interface between natural and human systems, the social dimension of resilience (social adaptive capacity and range of variability) requires consideration in responding to changing disturbance regimes in forests.Synthesis and applications. Based on examples from temperate and boreal forests we synthesize principles and pathways for fostering resilience to changing disturbance regimes in ecosystem management. We conclude that future work should focus on testing and implementing these pathways in different contexts to make ecosystem services provisioning more robust to changing disturbance regimes and advance our understanding of how to cope with change and uncertainty in ecosystem management.",JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,2016,FEB J,"Guerra, CA; Pinto-Correia, T",Linking farm management and ecosystem service provision: Challenges and opportunities for soil erosion prevention in Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems,10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.10.028,"At both local and landscape levels, farm management is the main driver of land cover change influencing ecosystem functions, processes and traits. In Mediterranean large-scale silvo-pastoral systems these changes can have serious implications in the provision of valuable ecosystem services (ES). Current ES assessment, mapping and valuation are still focused in representing the state and trends of ES provision, often missing the link to actual farm management and farm management systems. We propose an approach that, at the farm level, combines the classification of farm management systems with indicators of ES provision. This is illustrated for soil erosion prevention, a key ES in mitigating current and future impacts in Mediterranean regions and the proposed approach is tested in Southern Portugal. We characterize thirty-eight large-scale farm management units (FMU) regarding their management system and environmental traits. Each FMU was then classified according to their management system and a set of ES indicators was calculated. To classify the FMU, data on livestock composition and grazing density, pastures, and soil mobilization practices were object of a cluster analysis and the result was tested against a set of ES indicators. The results highlight the implications and challenges for the provision of soil erosion prevention under different farm management systems and draw a clear relation between more intensive management practices and the degradation of service provision. Our results can also be used to support land management and policy design through the definition of intensity thresholds that consider the local environmental and ecological conditions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,FEB J,"Politi, E; Rowan, JS; Cutler, MEJ",Assessing the utility of geospatial technologies to investigate environmental change within lake systems,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.136,"Over 50% of the world's population live within 3 km of rivers and lakes highlighting the on-going importance of freshwater resources to human health and societal well-being. Whilst covering c. 3.5% of the Earth's non-glaciated land mass, trends in the environmental quality of the world's standing waters (natural lakes and reservoirs) are-poorly understood, at least in comparison with rivers, and so evaluation of their current condition and sensitivity to change are global priorities. Here it is argued that a geospatial approach harnessing existing global datasets, along with new generation remote sensing products, offers the basis to characterise trajectories of change in lake properties e.g., water quality, physical structure, hydrological regime and ecological behaviour. This approach furthermore provides the evidence base to understand the relative importance of climatic forcing and/or changing catchment processes, e.g. land cover and soil moisture data, which coupled with climate data provide the basis to model regional water balance and runoff estimates over time. Using examples derived primarily from the Danube Basin but also other parts of the World, we demonstrate the power of the approach and its utility to assess the sensitivity of lake systems to environmental change, and hence better manage these key resources in the future. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2016,feb 1 J,"Novikova, VP",RETHINKING UNIVERSITY THROUGH THE PRISM OF METAPHOR,10.17223/19986645/39/3,"Modern tertiary education has to face such realities as massification of enrollement, the ongrowing role of private sector, the rise of Asian countries as academic centers, the changing nature of the universities' functional goals, physical and logistical structure. Global knowledge economy of the 21st century relies heavily on research universities which serve as flagships for post- secondary education worldwide. Within this framework there are a lot of challenges to solve for a research university: to bridge the gaps dividing scientific, humanitarian and business cultures, to operate at the cutting edge of intellectual and scientific development, to contribute to better understanding of human nature through social sciences and humanities, to combine profound scientific background and humanitarian beliefs. Being situated in this or that country, universities are embedded in local economy, contributing to innovation advancement on a local level. However, the role of the university as global goods disseminator is of great importance. Undoubtedly, peoples' aspirations for the future are connected with universities worldwide. Being aware of this mission, prominent thinkers and scholars within the world of academia try to reflect on the role of a modern university, assess its activity and show new pathways to progress and development. On the basis of fifty publications of the recent decade, dedicated to the problems of tertiary education, the author discerned and described metaphorical models contributing to meaning formation. Though research universities have their distinctive national features, quite similar images are used to portray them: they are presented as a driving force, a bridge, a powerhouse necessary to change the society and man; a market, a corporation, a factory, a participant of competition, hunting and race, satisfying the needs of the demanding consumers. On the one hand, the array of diverse metaphors reflects how the authors perceive the functions of a research university within the modern society, on the other hand, they form deeply rooted stereotypes in readers who serve as recipients of these metaphors. Though the general perception of the role of universities is rather positive, metaphors help to highlight and analyze their problem zones: universities' isolation, bullionism, unclear vision of one's mission. Being a powerful mechanism of meaning generation, metaphors can help to compartmentalize the existing challenges universities face and set the tone for their future development.",VESTNIK TOMSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA FILOLOGIYA-TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF PHILOLOGY,2016,FEB J,"Diehl, K; Burkhard, B; Jacob, K",Should the ecosystem services concept be used in European Commission impact assessment?,10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.07.013,"Integrated impact assessment (IA) of policies in the European Commission takes place in an environment of competing problem frames, contested policy objectives and a multitude of interested actors. This paper sets out to discuss the potential value of integrating the ecosystem services (ESS) concept for improving the consideration of environmental benefits and values during framing and appraisal of new policies at European level. The discussion was based on a workshop conducted with experts encompassing their disciplinary fields to the science-policy interface. A review of recent literature and impact assessment reports from policy science and ecosystem services research allowed for a two-way contemplation. The potential integration of concepts was analysed for conceptual, technical, ethical and pragmatic aspects. It was found that indicator sets applied in the impact assessment reports follow a much less formalised structure than the reports or the procedure. An integration of the ecosystem services concept would enhance the requisite variety of indicators used, and thus contribute to the overall goal for sustainable development. Potentials for improving IA lie particularly in the up- and downscaling of benefits and values, policy relevant comparative studies and the prospective possibilities for innovation in indicator development. Based on this rationale of improving requisite variety for future decision making, the emphasis lies on a further development of the ESS concept along two pathways of operationalisation: the translation of the concept for a comprehensive approach at a higher level of abstraction (soft application), and the application of the concept for providing aggregated, quantitative and unit-based information at different steps of an IA (hard application). (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,FEB J,"Lu, YJ; Zhang, XL","Corporate sustainability for architecture engineering and construction (AEC) organizations: Framework, transition and implication strategies",10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.10.046,"This research aims to propose a regenerative sustainability framework for AEC organizations, not only to focus on delivering green certified projects, but to encourage a revitalized approach to systematically drive their sustainability initiative. To achieve this aim, the study conducts an extensive global review of sustainable assessment systems in various industries and organizations, such as corporate sustainable reports, green company competitions, and green-renowned stocks. After learning the best practices from other industries, a sustainable development framework for the AEC organizations is developed. The proposed framework constitutes 110 key indicators covering three-dimensions of sustainability social, environmental, and economic, respectively and four-elements of corporate development essentials projects, operations, governance, and stakeholders. By comparing the proposed framework to existing AEC practices, the study identifies the skewed development of corporate sustainability in the AEC industry where much awareness have been given to project-level environmental matters, but the social dimension, such as social stakeholders and social governance, are seriously lacking and need to be prioritized. A case study of a multi-millions construction company in China was investigated to validate this framework in practice. The case analysis justifies the practical value of the proposed framework, and elaborates the future need of regenerative sustainable initiatives for AEC organizations. The study contributes to the development of corporate sustainability theory in the AEC industry, and also provides industrial practitioners and policy makers with a better understanding of the next generation of corporate sustainable performance and implementation strategies. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS,2016,FEB J,"Liu, MC; Liu, XC; Yang, ZS",An integrated indicator on regional ecological civilization construction in China,10.1080/13504509.2015.1057774,"China has come up with ecological civilization as one of major goals to improve its ecological sustainability during development in future. Under this broad framework, social, economic and natural ecosystems are expected to develop in harmony. However, there is lack of evaluation mechanism for this newly proposed strategy. Therefore, in this article, ecosystem services, Ecological Footprint and gross domestic product per capita were selected in order to reflect the resource endowment, human occupation on natural capital, and the economic growth. Thus, an integrated indicator was constructed from the three indexes based on the linear correlation among them, and we provided comprehensive evaluation on ecological civilization construction in the provinces and municipalities in China in 2010. When it comes to the indicator of ecological civilization construction, Hainan province has the greatest value which is 0.5091 and Beijing municipality has the smallest value which is 0.0377. At last, the article analyzed the ecological pressure and efficiency in ecological civilization construction in China. The results contribute to scientific and objective evaluation of regional ecological civilization construction in order to properly make decisions and take actions.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2016,ene 2 B,"Harmackova, ZV; Lorencova, EK; Vackar, D","Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: Costs and Benefits of Participatory Ecosystem Services Scenarios for Sumava National Park, Czech Republic",10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_5,"The aim of the study was to analyse economic costs and benefits of stakeholder-defined adaptation scenarios for the S. umava National Park, the Czech Republic, and to evaluate their impact on the provision of ecosystem services, primarily focusing on ecosystem-based adaptation options which support disaster risk reduction in a broader region. The study utilised an array of approaches, including participatory scenario building, GIS modelling and economic evaluation. Based on a participatory input by local stakeholders, four adaptation scenarios were created, formulating various possibilities of future development in the area as well as potential vulnerabilities and adaptation needs. The scenarios subsequently served as the basis for biophysical modelling of the impacts of adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures on the provision of ecosystem services with the InVEST modelling suite, focusing on climate regulation, water quality and hydropower production. Finally, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted, quantifying management and investment costs of each adaptation scenario, and benefits originating from the provision of previously modelled regulating ecosystem services, together with a supplementary selection of provisioning services. This study serves as an example of combining stakeholder views, biophysical modelling and economic valuation in the cost-benefit analysis of ecosystem-based adaptation and disaster risk reduction, which provides the opportunity to find shared solutions for the adaptation of social-ecological systems to global change.",ECOSYSTEM-BASED DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND ADAPTATION IN PRACTICE,2016, S,"Mifsud, MC; Verret, M",The Role of Education for Sustainable Development in Maltese Marine Protected Areas: A Qualitative Study,10.1007/978-3-319-26734-0_8,"The marine environment plays a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth as well as supporting human well-being. An array of ecosystem services are obtained from the marine environment and efforts have been taken to safeguard these invaluable services, namely through the institution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The success of MPAs depends heavily on social factors, and therefore Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can play a vital role in supporting MPAs by fostering related environmental knowledge, attitudes and values among local communities. This study explored the perceptions of key stakeholders in Malta with regards to the current state of play surrounding MPAs and ESD as well as its future direction. The research methodology had qualitative underpinnings and included 12 extended semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. The study found that there is a lack of ESD addressing the marine environment in Malta but that stakeholders perceive ESD as being of critical importance in achieving effective MPAs. The research indicates that cooperation between stakeholders is the preferred approach to managing the MPAs. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that ESD surrounding the marine environment be further promoted within Malta through various means in order to promote MPA success and increase the engagement of local communities in marine conservation efforts. A contextualized Education Centered Management (ECM) model that illustrates the various connections and influences that lead to an effective MPA is proposed.",ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL,2016, S,"Cain, LP; Kaiser, BA",A CENTURY OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION,10.1108/S0363-326820160000032001,"At the beginning of the 20th century, three intertwined ambitions drove federal legislation over wildlife and biodiversity: establishment of multiple-use federal lands, the economic development of natural resources, and the maintenance of option values. We examine this federal intervention in natural resource use by analyzing roll call votes over the past century with a Random Utility Model (Manski, 1977) and conclude that economics mattered. So did ideology, but not uniformly. After World War II, the pro-environment vote which had been conservative shifted to being liberal. All these votes involved decisions regarding public land that reallocated the returns to users by changing the asset's physical character or its usage rights. We suggest that long-term consequences affecting current resource allocations arose from disparities between broadly dispersed benefits and locally concentrated socioeconomic and geophysical (spatial) costs. We show that a primary intent of public land management has become to preserve multiple-use option values and identify important factors in computing those option values. We do this by demonstrating how the willingness to forego current benefits for future ones depends on the community's resource endowments. These endowments are defined not only in terms of users' current wealth accumulation but also from their expected ability to extract utility from natural resources over time.","RESEARCH IN ECONOMIC HISTORY, VOL 32",2016, S,"Mohr, JJ; Price, LL; Rindfleisch, A",MARKETING'S QUEST FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: PERSISTENT CHALLENGES AND NEW PERSPECTIVES,10.1108/S1548-643520160000013010,"Purpose - The purpose of this chapter is fivefold. First, it highlights that, despite apparent progress, business in general, and marketing in particular, has made little impact upon environmental sustainability. Second, it offers four explanations for the persistent challenges that contribute to this lack of meaningful progress. Third, it presents two theoretical lenses (i.e., assemblage theory and socio-ecological systems theory) for viewing environmental sustainability from new perspectives. Fourth, it offers a mid-range theory, biomimicry, to bridge the gap between these higher-level theories and managerial decisions on the ground. Finally, it offers implications and ideas for future research based on these persistent challenges and new perspectives. Methodology/approach - Our paper is theoretical in focus. We offer a conceptual analysis of persistent challenges facing business efforts in environmental sustainability and suggest useful lenses to integrate marketing decisions more closely with our natural environment. Findings - We present biomimicry as an actionable framework that seeks inspiration from nature and also explicitly grounds marketing decisions in the natural world. Practical Implications - Our paper draws attention to the challenges facing firms seeking to achieve better performance in environmental sustainability. In addition, it offers a set of fresh theoretical perspectives as well as future issues for scholarly research in this domain. Originality/value - Our work is designed to be provocative; it articulates reasons why business efforts in environmental sustainability do not scale to meaningful impact upon our planet and explores theoretical lenses by which those efforts could be more impactful.",MARKETING IN AND FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY,2016, J,"Ay, JS; Latruffe, L",The Informational Content of Land Price and its Relevance for Environmental Issues,10.1561/101.00000086,"As the support of human and natural activities, land is a resource of major interest both for environmental and socio-economic issues. Research aimed at improving land management and conservation has long recognized the need to integrate both issues, but a consensual and consistent framework is still lacking. We argue that land price could be one of the possible links here, as a consistent proxy for some of the multiple dimensions of values that people put on land resources. We present the elementary economic theory about land price, namely the present value model, and we review the abundant empirical literature using this classical theory to study the informational content of land price. We then propose a typology of this literature, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, in order to guide future environmental research which aim at drawing out some socio-economically oriented policy recommendations.",INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS,2016, B,"Morales, H; Coronato, F; Carvalho, S; Saravia, A; Schweitzer, A; Burlamaqui, A; Tourrand, JF",Building New Human-Natural Systems for Sustainable Pasture Management in South America,10.1007/978-3-319-30732-9_5,"On the basis of research conducted in three contrasting South American ecoregions (southern Patagonia, Argentina; the central Pampas and Campos, Uruguay; and western Amazonia, Brazil), this chapter aims to better understand the complex sets of reasons that have recently led local societies to adopt more sustainable pasture management in South America. After a brief overview of each of the three biomes, representative social-ecological systems of pastoralism are identified with the objective to describe their respective pasture management history, especially the colonization process and the settlement of the pioneers, and the successive farming systems, mainly the practices related to herd and pasture management, are compared. Finally, the main local and national policies regarding the livestock sector and landownership are analyzed. The evolution of the social-ecological systems of pastoralism in these ecoregions was assessed with a three-dimensional model of vulnerability based on the agroecosystem resilience, livelihood improvement, and institutional capability. The evolution of the mental models about livestock has also been analyzed to better understand the current perceptions of the local people and their scenarios for the future of livestock in their social-ecological systems. The results focused on the dynamics of rangeland management, the vulnerability of the pastoral social-ecological systems, and the evolution of the mental models of local people about livestock, so as to discuss the different rhythms of transformation and the existence of critical thresholds. Besides diverse land and social issues, it is imperative to intensify livestock production and increase the offer of new technologies, as well as to identify some relevant human dimension factors, such as the demand of local societies for collective livelihood improvement, the recent national and international environmental policies related to global warming and biodiversity, and the stronger awareness of consumers for sustainable development. In the context of global change, the practices of rangeland management will change in a more sustainable way, resulting in better society-environment interaction and human-nature integration.",BUILDING RESILIENCE OF HUMAN-NATURAL SYSTEMS OF PASTORALISM IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES,2016, B,"Daoud, I; Oman, MA; Alary, V; Moselhy, N; Salal, E; Naga, AA; Salama, O; Duarte, LG; Tourrand, JF",Adaptation and Resilience in Pastoral Management of the Mediterranean Bedouin Social-Ecological System in the Northwestern Coastal Zone of Egypt,10.1007/978-3-319-30732-9_6,"On the basis of the results of the ELVULMED, MOUVE, and CLIMED research projects, this chapter presents a long-term analysis of the Bedouin society in the northwestern coastal zone (NWCZ) of Egypt, especially the resilience of the Bedouin social-ecological system facing global change. Located along the Mediterranean coast, the NWCZ is bordered by Libya to west, the hinterland of the Nile Valley to the east, and the northeastern Sahara to the south. Settled by Bedouin tribes, the NWCZ is a typical case study of the North African pastoral area. Global change in this arid region is characterized by frequent droughts and water scarcity, structural deficit in food security, strong demographic growth, rural exodus, new social demands, especially from the youth, and serious social challenges currently linked to the Arab Spring. The first part of this chapter presents some elements relevant to the history of the NWCZ, from the Roman period until the beginning of the twentieth century, to give a better understanding of the context of the establishment of the Bedouin society. Many of these elements are not specific to the NWCZ, and they concern the entire North African and western Asian region. The second part describes the major events that have occurred during the twentieth century in the NWCZ, with the objectives to better define the main phases of the Bedouin social-ecological system and to understand the drivers of long-term change and, consequently, define possible key factors for sustainable development in the face of the new context of global change, including rangeland recuperation and management. The third part considers the Bedouin strategies in the face of global change, especially the 15-year drought from 1995 to 2010, and the changes in the socioeconomic context linked to the building of infrastructures for water supply, tourism development, information and communication technologies, the new demands of the local society, mainly the youth, and more recently the Arab Spring. Maybe the main change is the weak role of the rangeland in the new Bedouin society. In the fourth part, three scenarios for the future are described and which have been drafted with the perceptions of different local stakeholders. The fifth and final part presents some concluding remarks, focused specifically on the future of the rangeland, its management, and the role of the Bedouin society, and more generally the future of the pastoral society in the new North African changing context. The results presented in this chapter come from data collected during three successive research projects conducted from 2011 to 2013. The first project was a survey based on a large questionnaire completed by 180 breeders in six villages in the NWCZ. The questionnaire included data about the history and structure of the family, the tribe, the land, the crop and livestock farming system, the family and local networks, the perception of change, and the family's projects for the future, etc. The second project was a more detailed survey, based on the same questionnaire with 50 families in the Nagamish wadi located in the central part of the NWCZ, near the city of Marsa Matruh. This project used several tools from diverse disciplines, including crop and livestock farming systems, geography, economics, water management, and policy science. The third project involved a set of interviews with 25 local stakeholders in the NWCZ focusing on the following topics: their mental models about livestock, their perceptions regarding diverse topics such as regional trends, the main drivers of change, past, current, and future functions of livestock on a local scale, their hopes and fears for the local society, current challenges and conflicts, especially those linked to drought, water supply, and rangeland management, and their scenarios for the future.",BUILDING RESILIENCE OF HUMAN-NATURAL SYSTEMS OF PASTORALISM IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES,2016, B,"Molina-Murillo, SA; Smith, TM",The Economy of Forests,,"The economic value of forest goods and services is frequently ignored in market transactions and consequently undervalued in development strategies. Substantial scholar advancements in recent decades have brought a better understanding of forest functioning, its connection with other natural and human systems, and the development of alternative economic valuation techniques. Thus, our objective for this chapter is to discuss recent developments on the techniques for the economic valuation of forest goods and services and their monetary estimates. We based this chapter on the premise that protecting and properly managing forestland is paramount, and economic valuation is a viable and strong option for doing this. We frame our analysis on methodological aspects and also in the context of international socio-political agendas. We begin discussing the evolution of forests and forest valuation, and then detail the role of neoclassical economic theory for this valuation. Next, we describe economic frameworks that incorporate the valuation of ecosystem services. Finally, we provide some conclusions on the future of forest economics.",PARADIGM OF FORESTS AND THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST,2016, J,"Devisscher, T; Boyd, E; Malhi, Y","Anticipating future risk in social-ecological systems using fuzzy cognitive mapping: the case of wildfire in the Chiquitania, Bolivia",10.5751/ES-08599-210418,"Understanding complex social-ecological systems, and anticipating how they may respond to rapid change, requires an approach that incorporates environmental, social, economic, and policy factors, usually in a context of fragmented data availability. We employed fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) to integrate these factors in the assessment of future wildfire risk in the Chiquitania region, Bolivia. In this region, dealing with wildfires is becoming increasingly challenging because of reinforcing feedbacks between multiple drivers. We conducted semistructured interviews and constructed different FCMs in focus groups to understand the regional dynamics of wildfire from diverse perspectives. We used FCM modelling to evaluate possible adaptation scenarios in the context of future drier climatic conditions. Scenarios also considered possible failure to respond in time to the emergent risk. This approach proved of great potential to support decision making for risk management. It helped identify key forcing variables and generate insights into potential risks and trade-offs of different strategies. The Hands-off scenario resulted in amplified impacts driven by intensifying trends, affecting particularly the agricultural production under drought conditions. The Fire management scenario, which adopted a bottom-up approach to improve controlled burning, showed less trade-offs between wildfire risk reduction and production compared with the Fire suppression scenario. Findings highlighted the importance of considering strategies that involve all actors who use fire, and the need to nest these strategies for a more systemic approach to manage wildfire risk. The FCM model could be used as a decision-support tool and serve as a boundary object to facilitate collaboration and integration of different perceptions of fire in the region. This approach also has the potential to inform decisions in other dynamic frontier landscapes around the world that are facing increased risk of large wildfires.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Shafqat, MN; Maqbool, AS; Eqani, SAMAS; Ahmed, R; Ahmed, H",Trends of climate change in the Lower Indus Basin region of Pakistan Future implications for agriculture,10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2015-0098,"Purpose - Lower Indus Basin (LIB) region is the food basket of Pakistan, and climatic variation in response to global warming might severely affect the crop production and, thus, food security and ultimately to the economy of the country. Design/methodology/approach - The authors analyzed the previous climatic factors data series of LIB region to investigate the past and present climatic trends and to predict the future changes. Climatic changes were monitored by studying temperature, rainfall and relative humidity (RH) dynamics at two locations (Lahore and Multan) of the LIB region, Pakistan, by using data from 1953 to 2006. The data were divided into two equal halves (1953-1979 and 1980-2006) and statistically compared for the aforementioned weather parameters. Findings - The results suggested that mean minimum temperature (MMT) and overall mean temperature in winter were significantly increased, whereas few summer months had also experienced the reduction in both temperatures. However, few minor changes were also observed for the mean maximum temperature at both locations. The rainfall amount did not vary significantly at both locations, with the exception for the months of February and June at Lahore location, which experienced relatively higher rainfall in latter period (1980-2006). However, morning and evening RH was significantly increased at Multan throughout the year and for some selected months (February-March and May-July) at Lahore. However, the comparison of climatic data of both temporal halves suggested either dryer weather during winter months because of increase in MMT and/or increase in area under irrigated agriculture, resulting in more evaporation at both locations. Similarly, the data also indicated the early monsoon rainfall patterns in summer and late western depression rainfall spell during winter, which played key role to affect the crop yield because of irregular rain events. Research limitations/implications - The current manuscript would be very useful for the disaster management authorities and agriculture sector to predict the future irregular trends of climate change in Pakistan. Moreover, current findings can be important tool toward the management of climatic changes issues (i.e. floods and dryer spells) and to formulate the future strategies for the improved crop growth in arid and/or semi-arid developing nations such as Pakistan. Originality/value - The current manuscript, for the very first time, provided detailed insights into key climatic factors changes for past seven decades, into the severely climate change-affected areas of the world. Furthermore, agricultural sector is likely to be severely affected because of minor seasonal change in temperature and moisture, and have a strong food security impact, which can be reflected with current data set to cope with both ecological and economic impacts of climate change in Pakistan. The current findings would be useful to manage the climate change-related issues in Pakistan, including the social, environmental and economic.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGIES AND MANAGEMENT,2016, J,"Decleer, K; Wouters, J; Jacobs, S; Staes, J; Spanhove, T; Meire, P; van Diggelen, R",Mapping wetland loss and restoration potential in Flanders (Belgium): an ecosystem service perspective.,10.5751/ES-08964-210446,"With the case of Flanders (northern part of Belgium) we present an integrated approach to calculate accurate losses of wetlands, potentials for restoration, and their ecosystem services supplies and illustrate how these insights can be used to evaluate and support policy making. Flanders lost about 75% of its wetland habitats in the past 50-60 years, with currently only 68,000 ha remaining, often in a more or less degraded state. For five different wetland categories (excluding open waters) we calculated that restoration of lost wetland is still possible for an additional total area of about 147,000 ha, assuming that, with time and appropriate measures and techniques, the necessary biophysical and ecological conditions can more or less be restored or created. Wetland restoration opportunities were mapped according to an open and forested landscape scenario. Despite the fact that for 49,000 ha wetland restoration is justifiable by the actual presence of an appropriate spatial planning and/or protection status, the official Flemish nature policy only foresees 7,400 to 10,600 ha of additional wetland (open waters excluded) by 2050. The benefits of a more ambitious wetland restoration action program are underpinned by an explorative and quantified analysis of ecosystem service supply for each of the two scenarios, showing that the strongly increased supply of several important regulating and cultural ecosystem services might outweigh the decrease of food production, especially if extensive farming on temporary wet soils remains possible. Finally, we discuss the challenges of wetland restoration policies for biodiversity conservation and climate change.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Cheshko, VT; Kuz, OM",COEVOLUTIONARY SEMANTICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION GENESIS AND EVOLUTIONARY RISK (BETWEEN THE BIOAESTHETICS AND BIOPOLITICS),10.15802/ampr.v0i10.87155,"Purpose (metatask) of the present work is to attempt to give a glance at the problem of existential and anthropological risk caused by the contemporary man-made civilization from the perspective of comparison and confrontation of aesthetics, the substrate of which is emotional and metaphorical interpretation of individual subjective values and politics feeding by objectively rational interests of social groups. In both cases there is some semantic gap present between the represented social reality and its representation in perception of works of art and in the political doctrines as well. Methodology of the research is evolutionary anthropological comparativistics. Originality of the conducted analysis comes to the following: As the antithesis to biological and social reductionism in interpretation of the phenomenon of bio-power it is proposed a co-evolutionary semantic model in accordance with which the described semantic gap is of the substantial nature related to the complex module organization of a consistent and adaptive human strategy consisting of three associated but independently functional modules (genetic, cultural and techno-rational). Evolutionary trajectory of all anthropogenesis components including civilization cultural and social-political evolution is identified by the proportion between two macro variables - evolutionary effectiveness and evolutionary stability (sameness), i.e. preservation in the context of consequential transformations of some invariants of Homo sapiens species specificity organization. It should be noted that inasmuch as in respect to human, some modules of the evolutionary (adaptive) strategy assume self-reflection attributes, it would be more correctly to state about evolutionary correctness, i.e. correspondence to some perfection. As a result, the future of human nature depends not only on the rationalist principles of ethics of Homo species (the archaism of Jurgen Habermas), but also on the holistic and emotionally aesthetic image of Self. In conclusion it should be noted that there is a causal link between the development of High Hume (NBIC) technologies and the totality of the trend in the anthropological phenomenon of bio-power that permeates all the available human existence in modern civilization. As a result, there is a transformation of a contemporary social (man-made) risk in the evolutionary civilization risk.",ANTHROPOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS OF PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH,2016, J,"Allman, D; Ditmore, MH","Introduction to the Culture, Health & Sexuality Virtual Special Issue on sex, sexuality and sex work",10.1080/13691058.2016.1180855,"This article provides an editorial introduction to a virtual special issue on sex work and prostitution. It offers a brief history of sex work studies as published in the journal Culture, Health & Sexuality; reflects on the breadth and scope of papers the journal has published; considers the contribution of the journal's papers to the wellbeing and sexuality of people who sell sex; and envisions future areas of inquiry for sex work studies. As authors, we identify major themes within the journal's archive, including activism, agency, context, discourse, hazard, health, legalisation, love, place, power, race, relationships, stigma and vulnerabilities. In particular, we reflect on how HIV has created an environment in which issues of culture, health and sexuality have come to be disentangled from the moral agendas of earlier years. As a venue for the dissemination of a reinvigorated scholarship, Culture, Health & Sexuality provides a platform for a community of often like-minded, rigorous thinkers, to provide new and established perspectives, methods and voices and to present important developments in studies of sex, sexuality and sex work. ResumeCet article constitue une introduction editoriale d'un numero virtuel special de la revue Culture, Health & Sexuality sur le travail du sexe et la prostitution. Il propose un bref historique des publications sur ce theme dans la revue ; examine l'ampleur et la portee des articles publies par la revue ; accorde une attention particuliere a la contribution de ces articles au bien-etre et a la sexualite des personnes qui exercent le commerce du sexe ; et decrit les domaines auxquels les recherches sur le travail du sexe devront s'interesser a l'avenir. En tant qu'auteurs, avec cet article, nous traitons des themes majeurs retrouves dans les archives, parmi lesquels l'activisme, la capacite a agir (agentivite), le contexte, le discours, le risque, la sante, la legalisation, l'amour, le lieu, le pouvoir, la race, les relations, le stigma et les vulnerabilites. Nous examinons avec une attention particuliere comment le VIH a cree un environnement dans lequel les questions de culture, de sante et de sexualite ont ete dissociees du discours moral des annees precedentes. En conclusion, nous affirmons qu'en tant qu'espace de dissemination d'une erudition revigoree, Culture, Health & Sexuality offre une plateforme a une communaute de penseurs rigoureux et partageant souvent la meme vision, qui propose des perspectives, des methodes et des voix nouvelles et etablies, et presente les developpements importants dans la recherche sur le sexe, les sexualites et le travail du sexe. ResumenEste articulo es una introduccion editorial a un numero especial y virtual sobre el trabajo sexual y la prostitucion. Ofrece una explicacion breve sobre los estudios del trabajo sexual publicados en la revista Culture, Health & Sexuality; refleja el campo de accion de los articulos que se han publicado en la revista; analiza la contribucion de los articulos de la revista al bienestar y la sexualidad de las personas que se prostituyen; y contempla las futuras areas de investigacion para los estudios en el campo del comercio sexual. Como autores, abordamos los temas principales que se encuentran en los archivos de la revista, tales como activismo, capacidad de accion, contexto, discurso, peligros, salud, legalizacion, amor, lugar, poder, etnia, relaciones, estigma y vulnerabilidades. En concreto, analizamos como el VIH ha creado un entorno donde las cuestiones de cultura, salud y sexualidad se han separado de los trasfondos morales de anos anteriores. Concluimos afirmando que como lugar para la divulgacion de conocimientos revitalizados, Culture, Health & Sexuality sirve de plataforma a una comunidad de pensadores rigurosos y con frecuencia afines para ofrecer perspectivas, voces y metodos nuevos y establecidos, y mostrar desarrollos importantes en los estudios sobre sexo, sexualidad y el trabajo sexual.",CULTURE HEALTH & SEXUALITY,2016, J,"Tongo, CI",Transcendent work motivation: biblical and secular ontologies,10.1080/14766086.2015.1086669,"Scholars in the field of work motivation have begun to formulate contemporary theories that address the self-transcendent needs of people who work in organizations. However, the core assumptions of these theories derive from a secular sociological paradigm purporting that humans are only motivated to sustain a symbiotic relationship initiated by the larger society. Thus, these theories may not accurately explicate the true essence of transcendent work motivation - TWM (i.e. a spiritually induced process driven by a selfless need to improve the welfare of society). Therefore, based on a conceptual model synthesized from biblical exegesis of the Salvationist views of Christianity, two recent theories on TWM were critiqued. In light of the capriciousness of human nature and the skewed depiction of altruism portrayed by these theories, it was argued that the biblical ontological frame of reference provides a better ethical platform through which future studies on TWM could spring up.",JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SPIRITUALITY & RELIGION,2016, J,"Tan, PY; Feng, YQ; Hwang, YH",Deforestation in a tropical compact city (Part A) Understanding its socio-ecological impacts,10.1108/SASBE-08-2015-0022,"Purpose - Secondary forest loss in Singapore has recently emerged as a contentious issue that tests the relationships between state, public and civil society, but debates on this issue have occurred without the benefit of supporting information on the spatial extent, and understanding of multiple socio-ecological impacts arising from their gradual disappearance. The purpose of this paper is to fill these knowledge gaps to contribute to development of approaches to manage land developments on secondary forests. Design/methodology/approach - This study evaluated the past and potential future losses of spontaneous re-growth forest through spatial analyses of vegetation cover maps combined with national land use plans using remote sensing and GIS. The socio-ecological impacts of such losses were interpreted from published writings, which comprise scientific publications and public opinion in news media. Findings - Secondary forest losses accounted for more than half of total vegetation cover reduction between 2007 and 2012, and future potential losses amount to about 4,700 ha of land if these are fully developed over the next 10-15 years. The socio-ecological consequences of such losses are identified. Strong public opinion are reflected in the large number of news article on the topic over the last four years, pointing to the emergence of a contentious issue that requires careful management. Originality/value - This paper conducted the first assessment of the spatial extent of secondary forests losses, and an extensive review of public opinion of the matter, and the results validated the significance of this topic.",SMART AND SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2016, J,"Hwang, YH; Feng, YQ; Tan, PY",Managing deforestation in a tropical compact city (Part B) Urban ecological approaches to landscape design,10.1108/SASBE-08-2015-0023,"Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how landscape architecture can address the socio-ecological impacts that will result from current and future secondary forest loss in Singapore. Addressing the gap between ecological design principles and the generation of actionable design strategies, the paper draws a more explicit link between them to guide future attempts to generate design solutions to the issue of secondary forest loss. Design/methodology/approach - The study identifies actionable and contextualized design strategies from 18 academic design studio projects dealing with threatened secondary forest sites in Singapore and examines the ecological concepts which underpin the design strategies. These design strategies were then mapped to urban ecological principles. Findings - In total, 15 actionable design strategies, aligned with four urban ecology principles, were identified for addressing the impacts of secondary forest loss in Singapore. Originality/value - The paper makes an attempt to bridge theoretical principles and design action, and explicates how the two may be aligned. This helps to close a persistent gap between design projects and the science-based design principles generated in the academe. The paper also highlights the potential of academic design studios as a platform for generating ideas to emergent local problems not yet addressed by conventional practice, and offers a range of ideas to mitigate the impact of secondary forest loss in Singapore.",SMART AND SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT,2016, J,"Harvey, CJ; Reum, JCP; Poe, MR; Williams, GD; Kim, SJ",Using Conceptual Models and Qualitative Network Models to Advance Integrative Assessments of Marine Ecosystems,10.1080/08920753.2016.1208881,"The complexity of ecosystem-based management (EBM) of natural resources has given rise to research frameworks such as integrated ecosystem assessments (IEA) that pull together large amounts of diverse information from physical, ecological, and social domains. Conceptual models are valuable tools for assimilating and simplifying this information to convey our understanding of ecosystem structure and functioning. Qualitative network models (QNMs) may allow us to conduct dynamic simulations of conceptual models to explore natural-social relationships, compare management strategies, and identify tradeoffs. We used previously developed QNM methods to perform simulations based on conceptual models of the California Current ecosystem's pelagic communities and related human activities and values. Assumptions about community structure and trophic interactions influenced the outcomes of the QNMs. In simulations where we applied unfavorable environmental conditions for production of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), intensive management actions only modestly mitigated declines experienced by salmon, but strongly constrained human activities. Moreover, the management actions had little effect on a human wellbeing attribute, sense of place. Sense of place was most strongly affected by a relatively small subset of all possible pair-wise interactions, although the relative influence of individual pair-wise interactions on sense of place grew more uniform as management actions were added, making it more difficult to trace effective management actions via specific mechanistic pathways. Future work will explore the importance of changing conceptual models and QNMs to represent management questions at finer spatial and temporal scales, and also examine finer representation of key ecological and social components.",COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2016, J,"Bousquet, F; Botta, A; Alinovi, L; Barreteau, O; Bossio, D; Brown, K; Caron, P; d'Errico, M; DeClerck, F; Dessard, H; Kautsky, EE; Fabricius, C; Folke, C; Fortmann, L; Hubert, B; Magda, D; Mathevet, R; Norgaard, RB; Quinlan, A; Staver, C",Resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation,10.5751/ES-08754-210340,"In 2014, the Third International Conference on the resilience of social-ecological systems chose the theme resilience and development: mobilizing for transformation. The conference aimed specifically at fostering an encounter between the experiences and thinking focused on the issue of resilience through a social and ecological system perspective, and the experiences focused on the issue of resilience through a development perspective. In this perspectives piece, we reflect on the outcomes of the meeting and document the differences and similarities between the two perspectives as discussed during the conference, and identify bridging questions designed to guide future interactions. After the conference, we read the documents (abstracts, PowerPoints) that were prepared and left in the conference database by the participants (about 600 contributions), and searched the web for associated items, such as videos, blogs, and tweets from the conference participants. All of these documents were assessed through one lens: what do they say about resilience and development? Once the perspectives were established, we examined different themes that were significantly addressed during the conference. Our analysis paves the way for new collective developments on a set of issues: (1) Who declares/assign/cares for the resilience of what, of whom? (2) What are the models of transformations and how do they combine the respective role of agency and structure? (3) What are the combinations of measurement and assessment processes? (4) At what scale should resilience be studied? Social transformations and scientific approaches are coconstructed. For the last decades, development has been conceived as a modernization process supported by scientific rationality and technical expertise. The definition of a new perspective on development goes with a negotiation on a new scientific approach. Resilience is presently at the center of this negotiation on a new science for development.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Maass, M; Balvanera, P; Bourgeron, P; Equihua, M; Baudry, J; Dick, J; Forsius, M; Halada, L; Krauze, K; Nakaoka, M; Orenstein, DE; Parr, TW; Redman, CL; Rozzi, R; Santos-Reis, M; Swemmer, AM; Vadineanu, A","Changes in biodiversity and trade-offs among ecosystem services, stakeholders, and components of well-being: the contribution of the International Long-Term Ecological Research network (ILTER) to Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS)",10.5751/ES-08587-210331,"The International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network comprises > 600 scientific groups conducting site-based research within 40 countries. Its mission includes improving the understanding of global ecosystems and informs solutions to current and future environmental problems at the global scales. The ILTER network covers a wide range of social-ecological conditions and is aligned with the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) goals and approach. Our aim is to examine and develop the conceptual basis for proposed collaboration between ILTER and PECS. We describe how a coordinated effort of several contrasting LTER site-based research groups contributes to the understanding of how policies and technologies drive either toward or away from the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services. This effort is based on three tenets: transdisciplinary research; cross-scale interactions and subsequent dynamics; and an ecological stewardship orientation. The overarching goal is to design management practices taking into account trade-offs between using and conserving ecosystems toward more sustainable solutions. To that end, we propose a conceptual approach linking ecosystem integrity, ecosystem services, and stakeholder well-being, and as a way to analyze trade-offs among ecosystem services inherent in diverse management options. We also outline our methodological approach that includes: (i) monitoring and synthesis activities following spatial and temporal trends and changes on each site and by documenting cross-scale interactions; (ii) developing analytical tools for integration; (iii) promoting trans-site comparison; and (iv) developing conceptual tools to design adequate policies and management interventions to deal with trade-offs. Finally, we highlight the heterogeneity in the social-ecological setting encountered in a subset of 15 ILTER sites. These study cases are diverse enough to provide a broad cross-section of contrasting ecosystems with different policy and management drivers of ecosystem conversion; distinct trends of biodiversity change; different stakeholders' preferences for ecosystem services; and diverse components of well-being issues.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Hillmer-Pegram, K",Integrating Indigenous values with capitalism through tourism: Alaskan experiences and outstanding issues,10.1080/09669582.2016.1182536,"Radical theories from political economy assert that capitalism is founded on the creation and appropriation of surplus value through exploiting human labor and nature. Such exploitative social and social-ecological relations are generally understood as contradictory to Indigenous worldviews, which tend to emphasize community well-being and environmental reciprocity over maximizing private accumulation. Enter tourism, tantalizing in its promise as a silver bullet for Indigenous sustainable development. When done right, tourism can generate capitalist economic activity without drastically damaging cultural and ecological systems. This study examines spaces of confluence and divergence in Barrow, Alaska, between current tourism and the values of its Indigenous people, the Inupiat. It considers the scenario of increased tourism in the future and identifies local visions for expanding tourism in a culturally appropriate manner. Key ideas for future development include increasing regulation of cruise ship tourists and enhancing capacity to host high-end tourists. The study reveals conflicting views about using subsistence hunting, fishing and whaling activities as tourism attractions, and concludes that the ability of leaders in Barrow to support Indigenous values through tourism highlights an opportunity and need for a research agenda focused on exploring the relationship between capitalism and its alternatives within tourism destinations.",JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM,2016, J,"Sands, JS; Rae, KN; Gadenne, D",An empirical investigation on the links within a sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) framework and their impact on financial performance,10.1108/ARJ-04-2015-0065,"Purpose - This study aims to investigate the feasibility of integrating the social, environmental and innovation processes within the four-perspective sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) model by determining the extent of linkages between and within the four SBSC perspectives. Design/methodology/approach - A survey collected responses from senior management and middle management of large Australian companies. Findings - The findings support several positive significant associations. Direct associations are found between value-creating processes within the internal process perspective. These results support the feasibility of integrating environmental, social and innovation-orientated value-creating process into the internal process of the four-perspective SBSC model. The results also provide evidence about the extent to which direct or indirect associations exist between the four SBSC perspectives: first, direct association of human capital (learning and growth perspective) with value-creating processes (internal processes perspective); second, direct association of value-creating (internal processes perspective) with customer value (customer perspective); and third, direct and indirect associations of value-creating (internal processes perspective) with financial performance (FP; financial perspective). Research limitations/implications - Several limitations are acknowledged related to cross-sectional data, senior and middle managers' perceptions and assumptions underpinning structural equation modelling. Practical implications - The implications for practice from this study concern how organisational management should relate to their stakeholders while providing value in their FP. Social implications - These associations reflect the influence of stakeholders' recognised needs on process and product innovation. These needs highlight the benefits of focusing on future-orientated environmental budgets and ongoing employee training that lead to customer value and FP. Originality/value - This is an initial in-depth study of a four-perspective SBSC model that provides an effective means of integrating social, environmental and innovation processes within the traditional four SBSC perspectives.",ACCOUNTING RESEARCH JOURNAL,2016, J,"Butler, JRA; Bohensky, EL; Suadnya, W; Yanuartati, Y; Handayani, T; Habibi, P; Puspadi, K; Skewes, TD; Wise, RM; Suharto, I; Park, SE; Sutaryono, Y",Scenario planning to leap-frog the Sustainable Development Goals: An adaptation pathways approach,10.1016/j.crm.2015.11.003,"Few studies have examined how to mainstream future climate change uncertainty into decision-making for poverty alleviation in developing countries. With potentially drastic climate change emerging later this century, there is an imperative to develop planning tools which can enable vulnerable rural communities to proactively build adaptive capacity and 'leap-frog' the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using an example from Indonesia, we present a novel participatory approach to achieve this. We applied scenario planning to operationalise four adaptation pathways principles: (1) consideration of climate change as a component of multi-scale social-ecological systems; (2) recognition of stakeholders' competing values, goals and knowledge through co-learning; (3) coordination of responses across multiple decision-making levels; and (4) identification of strategies which are 'no regrets', incremental (tackling proximate drivers of community vulnerability) and transformative (tackling systemic drivers). Workshops with stakeholders from different administrative levels identified drivers of change, an aspirational vision and explorative scenarios for livelihoods in 2090, and utilised normative back-casting to design no regrets adaptation strategies needed to achieve the vision. The resulting 'tapestry' of strategies were predominantly incremental, and targeted conventional development needs. Few directly addressed current or possible future climate change impacts. A minority was transformative, and higher level stakeholders identified proportionately more transformative strategies than local level stakeholders. Whilst the vast majority of strategies were no regrets, some were potentially mal-adaptive, particularly for coastal areas and infrastructure. There were few examples of transformative innovations that could generate a step-change in linked human and environmental outcomes, hence leap-frogging the SDGs. We conclude that whilst effective at integrating future uncertainties into community development planning, our approach should place greater emphasis on analysing and addressing systemic drivers through extended learning cycles. Crown Copyright (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.",CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT,2016, J,"Wardropper, CB; Gillon, S; Mase, AS; McKinney, EA; Carpenter, SR; Rissman, AR",Local perspectives and global archetypes in scenario development,10.5751/ES-08384-210212,"Contrasting social-ecological scenarios can help stakeholders envision potential futures and navigate change and uncertainty. Scenario developers integrate stakeholder perceptions into storylines to increase scenario relevance and plausibility while relying on archetypes of change from scenario literature to enrich narratives. This research examines the contributions of local perspectives and global archetypes to scenario development through a case study of a regional scenario project, Yahara 2070, in Wisconsin, USA. Interviews with 50 Yahara watershed stakeholders and 5 members of the project's scenario development team were examined to compare themes from scenario archetypes with local perspectives on how change is expected to occur. We next examined how these two sources of inspiration for trajectories of change were used in the development of the Yahara 2070 scenarios. Both global archetypes and local stakeholders emphasized social values, market forces, and policy reform as influences in determining the future, which were reflected in Yahara 2070. However, stakeholders were less likely to mention institutional breakdown, an important theme from the global scenarios literature that was included in Yahara 2070. This research offers a new approach to analyzing similarities and differences between scenarios' narratives and local perspectives. Scenario development may involve tensions between the goals of reflecting stakeholder views and including narratives from the global scenarios literature that may be useful for creating divergent model trajectories and addressing dramatic change into the future. To improve scenario development, scenario projects should document the development process in academic and nonacademic venues, explicitly highlighting sources and constraints in storyline development.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Stuart, J; Collins, P; Alger, M; Whitelaw, G","Embracing sustainability: the incorporation of sustainability principles in municipal planning and policy in four mid-sized municipalities in Ontario, Canada",10.1080/13549839.2014.936844,"The issue of planning for sustainability is becoming more established within Canadian municipal planning. As municipalities begin to align their planning policy to reflect a more sustainable approach, there is an increased interest in how sustainability is being operationalised within municipal documents. This research aims to better understand how principles of sustainability are imbedded within Ontario municipal documents, with a specific focus on the Integrated Sustainability Community Planning approach that has emerged in Canada. Drawing on a nested comparative case study of four mid-sized municipalities, we uncover the language and strategies employed by the municipalities as they relate to the principles of sustainability developed by Gibson [2006a. Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 24 (3), 170-182]. The findings suggest that current policy-based approaches to sustainability are considering more socially oriented strategies focused on promoting community involvement, inclusive decision-making, equity, socio-ecological civility, long-term integrative planning, and responsibility through stewardship. However, there are potential limitations that will require future research to examine policy outcomes associated with sustainability uptake. The ICSP approach must still overcome the issues relating to lack of regulatory authority and the incorporation of policies based on popular trends rather than empirical evidence.",LOCAL ENVIRONMENT,2016, J,"White, RM; van Koten, H",Co-designing for Sustainability: Strategizing Community Carbon Emission Reduction Through Socio-ecological Innovation,10.1080/14606925.2015.1064219,"Designing for sustainability requires us to intentionally and creatively explore and implement radical changes in social as well as environmental arenas. This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, action research project in which we applied principles and tools of co-creation to facilitate knowledge mobilization between three diverse stakeholder groups: community groups, local authorities (LAs) and academics from diverse disciplines. Our goal was the development of a Community Engagement Strategy for Carbon Emission Reduction for a Scottish Local Authority. Our methodological approach included ethnographic and participatory methods; seminars; strategy prototyping; and shared governance processes. It was concluded that our project provoked 'social innovation' by catalysing a value shift in the organizations involved, but that the concept of 'socio-ecological innovation' would be more useful in designing for sustainability. This project demonstrates the strategic role designers can play in transcending the constraints of the current consumerist paradigm to co-create a better future.",DESIGN JOURNAL,2016,JAN J,"Mramba, N; Apiola, M; Kolog, EA; Sutinen, E",Technology for street traders in Tanzania: A design science research approach,10.1080/20421338.2016.1147208,"The informal sector employs the major part of workers in developing countries. Street trading is a common form of informal work. Despite its huge economic value in developing countries, little research is being done to improve street traders' empowerment and entrepreneurship. Also, development informatics is over-focused on social development and under-focused on economic development. This study takes a design science research (DSR) approach in order to identify barriers for street traders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that can be addressed with technology. As a follow-up to our previous qualitative study, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of (N = 285) street traders. The data was analysed using mixed methods. The results show that street traders operate in a challenging environment, and make most of their decisions based on tacit knowledge. Traders are restrained by unreliable business information, weak business strategies, and access to capital. A variety of technology innovations, such as customer-client matchmaking, and record keeping are proposed to directly address the daily challenges of street traders. Future technology projects form exciting possibilities for technology experts, students, and scholars globally. The expected future implications of this project are increased STI capacities, economic growth, and human development.",AFRICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION & DEVELOPMENT,2016, J,"De Vos, A; Cumming, GS; Cumming, DHM; Ament, JM; Baum, J; Clements, HS; Grewar, JD; Maciejewski, K; Moore, C","Pathogens, disease, and the social-ecological resilience of protected areas",10.5751/ES-07984-210120,"It is extremely important for biodiversity conservation that protected areas are resilient to a range of potential future perturbations. One of the least studied influences on protected area resilience is that of disease. We argue that wildlife disease (1) is a social-ecological problem that must be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective; (2) has the potential to lead to changes in the identity of protected areas, possibly transforming them; and (3) interacts with conservation both directly (via impacts on wild animals, livestock, and people) and indirectly (via the public, conservation management, and veterinary responses). We use southern African protected areas as a case study to test a framework for exploring the connections between conservation, endemic disease, and social-ecological resilience. We first define a set of criteria for the social-ecological identity of protected areas. We then use these criteria to explore the potential impacts of selected diseases (foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, malaria, rabies, rift valley fever, trypanosomiasis, and canine distemper) on protected area resilience. Although endemic diseases may have a number of direct impacts on both wild animals and domestic animals and people, the indirect pathways by which diseases influence social-ecological resilience also emerge as potentially important. The majority of endemic pathogens found in protected areas do not kill large numbers of wild animals or infect many people, and may even play valuable ecological roles; but occasional disease outbreaks and mortalities can have a large impact on public perceptions and disease management, potentially making protected areas unviable in one or more of their stated aims. Neighboring landowners also have a significant impact on park management decisions. The indirect effects triggered by disease in the human social and economic components of protected areas and surrounding landscapes may ultimately have a greater influence on protected area resilience than the direct ecological perturbations caused by disease.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, S,"Parry, G",Smooth Seas Do Not Make Good Sailors,10.1007/978-3-319-20717-9_15,"Smooth seas do not make good sailors. Rough and unpredictable ones, difficulties, problems, challenges do. Another premises on which the essay is founded is that the future can be built rather than just steering towards a space-time future that has existence in the space-time continuum, or toward a particular branching of the universe. The story further explores human ability to adapt and implement existing solutions to a large number of problems, and how our understanding of both physics and biology can be taken and utilized to preserve and improve our quality of life, health and dignity under extreme conditions. The story takes a look at a typical day for an inhabitant of one sanctuary and looks back at the attitudes of the past and also to the future. Having achieved a truly sustainable, self sufficient, symbiotic lifestyle migration to other worlds can now be contemplated. There is a narrative in black type which is describing life in the sanctuary. There is the writing on the girl's computer and home screen in bold type, sayings that bind the community together and lessons that the girl is being taught. Then in italic type is technical information from the Knowledge Hub, which I imagine is from the communities super computer and repository of knowledge. The technical information is not a necessary part of the story but provides actual scientific information to back up the story details. The tale progresses from a rather stark opening quote that shows the devaluation of humanity and ends on an uplifting quote that in contrast shows the unappreciated value of life, and especially the human being. It also progresses through a day from 'sunrise' to 'sunset'. Physics is woven into the tale both in the context of problems we will face and as solutions to problems. Nature has been taken into the sanctuaries for its continuation and for the needs of mankind. The people have a clear shared purpose, to preserve and propagate the tree of life. Due to certain aspects of human nature and personality some do not want sanctuary or can not be given sanctuary for the safety of the rest. The sanctuaries are however a way of allowing a large number of people survive rather than the human race going through an evolutionary bottle neck. While it remains optimist that a technological civilization can survive, it may also serve as a grim reminder of the difficulties we may face in our own uncertain future.",HOW SHOULD HUMANITY STEER THE FUTURE?,2016, J,"Almendarez-Hernandez, MA; Sanchez-Brito, I; Zarate, MVM; Salinas-Zavala, CA",Quota proposal for conservation of a natural protected area of Mexico,,"The Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve (RBSLA) is a protected area and as such, is an instrument of environmental policy derived from national conservation strategies, therefore, an increase in fund programs aimed at improving management actions to contribute to this objective. In this sense, stated preference methods can be used as a management tool to control future tourism demand and avoid exceeding the carrying capacity of the reserve, as well as to determine a willingness to pay (WTP) that could allow additional raise more funds to meet the objectives of environmental policy. WTP was estimated through Contingent Valuation Method using Probit model, our results showed that the median WTP varies between 69 and 108 pesos per person and can obtain additional economic benefits arising from the access of individuals to the Reserve which range between 26 and 41 million pesos.",PERFILES LATINOAMERICANOS,2016,JAN-JUN J,"Mathevet, R; Thompson, JD; Folke, C; Chapin, FS",Protected areas and their surrounding territory: socioecological systems in the context of ecological solidarity,10.1890/14-0421,"The concept of ecological solidarity (ES) is a major feature of the 2006 law reforming national park policy in France. In the context of biodiversity conservation, the objectives of this study are to outline the historical development of ES, provide a working defi nition, and present a method for its implementation that combines environmental pragmatism and adaptive management. First, we highlight how ES provides a focus on the interdependencies among humans and nonhuman components of the socioecological system. In doing so, we identify ES within a framework that distinguishes ecological, socioecological, and sociopolitical interdependencies. In making such interdependencies apparent to humans who are not aware of their existence, the concept of ES promotes collective action as an alternative or complementary approach to state-or market-based approaches. By focusing on the awareness, feelings, and acknowledgement of interdependencies between actors and between humans and nonhumans, we present and discuss a learning-based approach (participatory modeling) that allows stakeholders to work together to construct cultural landscapes for present and future generations. Using two case studies, we show how an ES analysis goes beyond the ecosystem management approach to take into account how human interactions with the environment embody cultural, social, and economic values and endorse an ethically integrated science of care and responsibility. ES recognizes the diversity of these values as a practical foundation for socially engaged and accountable actions. Finally, we discuss how ES enhances academic support for a socioecological systems approach to biodiversity conservation and promotes collaboration with decision-makers and stakeholders involved in the adaptive management of protected areas and their surrounding landscapes.",ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,2016,JAN J,"Zhang, JZ; Zhao, TY; Jiang, CC; Cao, SX",Opportunity cost of water allocation to afforestation rather than conservation of natural vegetation in China,10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.09.008,"Estimation of ecosystem service values is a hot area of research in ecological conservation and economics. However, the costs of these outputs are largely unknown. In this paper, we estimated the opportunity cost of water allocated to afforestation projects through mathematical modeling based on statistical data for all of China to provide support for restoration planning based on a fuller consideration of the true costs. To guide future ecological conservation and environmental policy development, we illustrate a neglected concept (ecosystem service costs) and use this concept to compare the ecological services provided by ecological restoration based on afforestation with those of restoration based on the conservation of natural vegetation using data obtained since 1949 in China. The results showed that afforestation and natural vegetation create annual costs related to use of the available water resources equal to 4800 and 3700 RMB ha(-1), respectively, representing a water opportunity cost of 1100 RMB ha(-1) for afforestation. This illustrates the rule that there is no free lunch for any service, including ecosystem services. Therefore, to support the development of more effective and sustainable environmental restoration policy, it will be necessary to evaluate the associated opportunity costs. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,JAN J,"Mitchell, M; Lockwood, M; Moore, SA; Clement, S; Gilfedder, L; Anderson, G",Using scenario planning to assess governance reforms for enhancing biodiversity outcomes,10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.10.020,"Governance arrangements frame and direct how land managers respond to the multiple demands and challenges of conserving biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation requires attention to how social-ecological systems (SES) change and can be influenced overtime, It is important that governance settings within these systems can support achievement of biodiversity outcomes. Two questions then arise. Will current arrangements lead to desirable biodiversity outcomes, and if not, are there other arrangements that plausibly might do better? However, methods for answering these questions in collaboration with critical stakeholders such as policy makers and land managers are not evident in the literature. The aim of this paper is to explore the use of a participatory scenario planning process to test the efficacy of proposed governance reforms for enhancing biodiversity outcomes in two contrasting landscapes in Australia. A workshop process was used to consider the effect of the reform options on key drivers of change, and thus how these affected drivers would in turn modify future scenarios, and the biodiversity outcomes of these scenarios. In both landscapes, there was a preference for reforms that retained governmental influence or control, in contrast to academic calls for adaptive governance that emphasises the importance of self-organisation and devolution of authority. The workshop process, although complex and cognitively challenging, was regarded by participants as suitable for testing the utility of alternative governance options for biodiversity conservation. Challenges for the future include designing and considering reforms based on what is possible rather than probable or preferable, and engaging participants over time to build knowledge, engagement and trust. The paper concludes with suggestions for addressing these challenges. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",LAND USE POLICY,2016,JAN J,"Tejada, G; Dalla-Nora, E; Cordoba, D; Lafortezza, R; Ovando, A; Assis, T; Aguiar, AP",Deforestation scenarios for the Bolivian lowlands,10.1016/j.envres.2015.10.010,"Tropical forests in South America play a key role in the provision of ecosystem services such as carbon sinks, biodiversity conservation, and global climate regulation. In previous decades, Bolivian forests have mainly been deforested by the expansion of agricultural frontier development, driven by the growing demands for beef and other productions. In the mid-2000s the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party rose to power in Bolivia with the promise of promoting an alternative development model that would respect the environment. The party passed the world's first laws granting rights to the environment, which they termed Mother Earth (Law No. 300 of 2012), and proposed an innovative framework that was expected to develop radical new conservation policies. The MAS conservationist discourse, policies, and productive practices, however, have since been in permanent tension. The government continues to guarantee food production through neo-extractivist methods by promoting the notion to expand agriculture from 3 to 13 million ha, risking the tropical forests and their ecosystem services. These actions raise major environmental and social concerns, as the potential impacts of such interventions are still unknown. The objective of this study is to explore an innovative land use modeling approach to simulate how the growing demand for land could affect future deforestation trends in Bolivia. We use the LuccME framework to create a spatially-explicit land cover change model and run it under three different deforestation scenarios, spanning from the present-2050. In the Sustainability scenario, deforestation reaches 17,703,786 ha, notably in previously deforested or degraded areas, while leaving forest extensions intact. In the Middle of the road scenario, deforestation and degradation move toward new or paved roads spreading across 25,698,327 ha in 2050, while intact forests are located in Protected Areas (PAs). In the Fragmentation scenario, deforestation expands to almost all Bolivian lowlands reaching 37,944,434 ha and leaves small forest patches in a few PAs. These deforestation scenarios are not meant to predict the future but to show how current and future decisions carried out by the neo-extractivist practices of MAS government could affect deforestation and carbon emission trends. In this perspective, recognizing land use systems as open and dynamic systems is a central challenge in designing efficient land use policies and managing a transition towards sustainable land use. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2016,JAN J,"Bottalico, F; Pesola, L; Vizzarri, M; Antonello, L; Barbati, A; Chirici, G; Corona, P; Cullotta, S; Garfi, V; Giannico, V; Lafortezza, R; Lombardi, F; Marchetti, M; Nocentini, S; Riccioli, F; Travaglini, D; Sallustio, L",Modeling the influence of alternative forest management scenarios on wood production and carbon storage: A case study in the Mediterranean region,10.1016/j.envres.2015.10.025,"Forest ecosystems are fundamental for the terrestrial biosphere as they deliver multiple essential ecosystem services (ES). In environmental management understanding ES distribution and interactions and assessing the economic value of forest ES represent future challenges. In this study, we developed a spatially explicit method based on a multi-scale approach (MiMoSe-Multiscale Mapping of ecoSystem services) to assess the current and future potential of a given forest area to provide ES. To do this we modified and improved the InVEST model in order to adapt input data and simulations to the context of Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Specifically, we integrated a GIS-based model, scenario model, and economic valuation to investigate two ES (wood production and carbon sequestration) and their trade-offs in a test area located in Molise region (Central Italy). Spatial information and trade-off analyses were used to assess the influence of alternative forest management scenarios on investigated services. Scenario A was designed to describe the current Business as Usual approach. Two alternative scenarios were designed to describe management approaches oriented towards nature protection (scenario B) or wood production (scenario C) and compared to scenario A. Management scenarios were simulated at the scale of forest management units over a 20-year time period. Our results show that forest management influenced ES provision and associated benefits at the regional scale. In the test area, the Total Ecosystem Services Value of the investigated ES increases 85% in scenario B and decreases 82% in scenario C, when compared to scenario A Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about trade-offs and synergies between carbon sequestration and wood production benefits associated with socio-ecological systems. The MiMoSe approach can be replicated in other contexts with similar characteristics, thus providing a useful basis for the projection of benefits from forest ecosystems over the future. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH,2016,JAN J,"Bruhn, A; Torring, DB; Thomsen, M; Canal-Verges, P; Nielsen, MM; Rasmussen, MB; Eybye, KL; Larsen, MM; Balsby, TJS; Petersen, JK","Impact of environmental conditions on biomass yield, quality, and bio-mitigation capacity of Saccharina latissima",10.3354/aei00200,"Seaweeds are attractive as a sustainable aquaculture crop for food, feed, bioenergy and biomolecules. Further, the non-value ecosystem services of seaweed cultivation (i.e. nutrient recapture) are gaining interest as an instrument towards sustainable aquaculture and for fulfilling the aims of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Environmental factors determine the yield and quality of the cultivated seaweed biomass and, in return, the seaweed aquaculture affects the marine environment by nutrient assimilation. Consequently, site selection is critical for obtaining optimal biomass yield and quality and for successful bio-mitigation. In this study, 5 sites for cultivation of Saccharina latissima were selected within a eutrophic water body to guide site selection for future kelp cultivation activities. Results were coupled to marine monitoring data to explore the relationship between environmental conditions and cultivation success. The biomass yields fluctuated 10-fold between sites due to local variations in light and nutrient availability. Yields were generally low, i.e. up to 510 g fresh weight (FW) per meter seeded line; however, the dry matter contents of protein and high-value pigments were high (up to 17% protein and 0.1% fucoxanthin). Growth performance, biomass quality and bio-mitigation potential was restricted by low availability of light and bioavailable phosphorus, and biofouling through juvenile suspension feeders was a critical factor at all cultivation sites. At specific sites, the tissue metal contents (Pb and Hg) exceeded the limit values for feed or food. Our results emphasize the importance of careful site selection before establishing large-scale cultivation, and stress the challenges and benefits of kelp cultivation in eutrophic waters.",AQUACULTURE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS,2016, J,"Daw, TM; Hicks, CC; Brown, K; Chaigneau, T; Januchowski-Hartley, FA; Cheung, WWL; Rosendo, S; Crona, B; Coulthard, S; Sandbrook, C; Perry, C; Bandeira, S; Muthiga, NA; Schulte-Herbruggen, B; Bosire, J; McClanahan, TR",Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being,10.5751/ES-08173-210211,"Although ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of ecosystem service elasticity (ES elasticity) that describes the sensitivity of human well-being to changes in ecosystems. ES Elasticity is a result of complex social and ecological dynamics and is context dependent, individually variable, and likely to demonstrate nonlinear dynamics such as thresholds and hysteresis. We present a conceptual framework that unpacks the chain of causality from ecosystem stocks through flows, goods, value, and shares to contribute to the well-being of different people. This framework builds on previous conceptualizations, but places multidimensional well-being of different people as the final element. This ultimately disaggregated approach emphasizes how different people access benefits and how benefits match their needs or aspirations. Applying this framework to case studies of individual coastal ecosystem services in East Africa illustrates a wide range of social and ecological factors that can affect ES elasticity. For example, food web and habitat dynamics affect the sensitivity of different fisheries ecosystem services to ecological change. Meanwhile high cultural significance, or lack of alternatives enhance ES elasticity, while social mechanisms that prevent access can reduce elasticity. Mapping out how chains are interlinked illustrates how different types of value and the well-being of different people are linked to each other and to common ecological stocks. We suggest that examining chains for individual ecosystem services can suggest potential interventions aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable ecosystems while mapping out of interlinkages between chains can help to identify possible ecosystem service trade-offs and winners and losers. We discuss conceptual and practical challenges of applying such a framework and conclude on its utility as a heuristic for structuring interdisciplinary analysis of ecosystem services and human well-being.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Kabisch, N; Frantzeskaki, N; Pauleit, S; Naumann, S; Davis, M; Artmann, M; Haase, D; Knapp, S; Korn, H; Stadler, J; Zaunberger, K; Bonn, A","Nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas: perspectives on indicators, knowledge gaps, barriers, and opportunities for action",10.5751/ES-08373-210239,"Nature-based solutions promoting green and blue urban areas have significant potential to decrease the vulnerability and enhance the resilience of cities in light of climatic change. They can thereby help to mitigate climate change-induced impacts and serve as proactive adaptation options for municipalities. We explore the various contexts in which nature-based solutions are relevant for climate mitigation and adaptation in urban areas, identify indicators for assessing the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and related knowledge gaps. In addition, we explore existing barriers and potential opportunities for increasing the scale and effectiveness of nature-based solution implementation. The results were derived from an inter- and transdisciplinary workshop with experts from research, municipalities, policy, and society. As an outcome of the workshop discussions and building on existing evidence, we highlight three main needs for future science and policy agendas when dealing with nature-based solutions: (i) produce stronger evidence on nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation and raise awareness by increasing implementation; (ii) adapt for governance challenges in implementing nature-based solutions by using reflexive approaches, which implies bringing together new networks of society, nature-based solution ambassadors, and practitioners; (iii) consider socio-environmental justice and social cohesion when implementing nature-based solutions by using integrated governance approaches that take into account an integrative and transdisciplinary participation of diverse actors. Taking these needs into account, nature-based solutions can serve as climate mitigation and adaptation tools that produce additional cobenefits for societal well-being, thereby serving as strong investment options for sustainable urban planning.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2016, J,"Sambe, B; Tandstad, M; Caramelo, AM; Brown, BE",Variations in productivity of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem and their effects on small pelagic fish stocks,10.1016/j.envdev.2015.11.012,"The Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) is a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project, situated in the Atlantic Ocean on the North West coast of Africa. It has seven countries with a population estimate of 64.5 million and a coastline of more than 5400 km with a sea area of 2 million km(2) within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). This area is one of the richest productive marine ecosystems in the world and its coastal and oceanic waters are rich in biodiversity and hosts approximately 12,500 species dominated by crustaceans, mollusks and fish. The total annual value of the ecosystem services provided by the CCLME is estimated to be around U$11.7 billion. The interaction between the CCLME and seasonal change in the ocean-atmospheric dynamics drives the productivity which has a mean annual value for chlorophyll of 1.31 mg chl a/m(3) and 372 g C m(2) yr(-1) for primary productivity, based on SeaWiFS satellite data. This productivity supports abundant fish stocks with catches up to 3 million tonnes per annum being landed from the region. Fish population are dominated by the small pelagics especially sardine (Sardina pilchardus), sardinellas (Sardinella sp.) and horse mackerels (Trachurus sp). Satellite derived measurements from 1997 to 2012 reveal a downward trend in primary production and this decline is accompanied by a net warming of the system and a decrease in the upwelling. The declining trends and variability in biomass of some main target commercial fish species observed during these last year was accompanied by significant fishing pressure together with fluctuations in environmental factors which may have been a key drivers of change. Future studies on the ocean dynamics of the CCLME system, its impact on resources, environmental interactions and climate change will have to be closely monitored to ensure effective transboundary management (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V.",ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT,2016,JAN B,"Kemp, PS","Impoundments, barriers and abstractions: impact on fishes and fisheries, mitigation and future directions",,"Globally, rivers directly support a large proportion of the human population and provide ecosystem services essential for quality of life, including the provision of protein through maintenance of fisheries. Many systems have been extensively engineered to support agricultural production, urbanization and industrialization, activities that can negatively affect ecosystem processes, with some of the most profound impacts due to impoundment and flow depletion. Environmental impacts include disruption of flow and sediment regimes; degradation and fragmentation of physical habitat; alteration of water chemistry, temperature and dissolved gases; disconnection of energy and nutrient transfer in longitudinal, lateral, vertical and temporal dimensions and associated reductions in productivity; direct and indirect mortality of aquatic biota as a result of interactions with river infrastructure. Despite often well-developed and long-term recognition that impoundment and abstraction negatively impact ecology, the complexity of the mechanisms that drive these responses often remains poorly understood and requires further investigation. Similarly, despite considerable efforts to develop environmental impact mitigation strategies (e.g. methods to assign appropriate environmental flows) and technology (e.g. fish passes and screens), partial solutions frequently fail to fully compensate for negative effects experienced and in some cases are themselves damaging. This chapter reviews the impacts of impoundments and water offtakes on freshwater fish populations and discusses the mitigation options currently available. Biases and gaps in understanding are identified, and recommendations for the future made. In the face of unprecedented future demand, it is argued that mitigation alone will be insufficient to sustain important populations of fish and that there is a need for society to discuss the need to better manage demand on resources based on more realistic valuation of existing ecosystem services.",FRESHWATER FISHERIES ECOLOGY,2016, J,"Berdej, S; Armitage, D",Bridging for Better Conservation Fit in Indonesia's Coastal-Marine Systems,10.3389/fmars.2016.00101,"Efforts to improve the fit between conservation initiatives (e.g., marine protected areas, no-take zones) and the dynamic social dimensions of coastal-marine systems remain underdeveloped. We empirically illustrate here how opportunities to enhance conservation fit are influenced by bridging organizations that serve to (1) better align conservation initiatives with characteristics of the social context that influence conservation outcomes (e.g., institutions, culture, values, local practice), (2) foster coordinated and adaptive approaches to conservation that are reflective of multiple perspectives and knowledge, and (3) better connect people and conservation actions across jurisdictional and geographical boundaries. Qualitative methods were used in this research, including semi-structured interviews, observation of key events and meetings, and literature review. We draw from three coastal-marine conservation cases in Bali, Indonesia, that exemplify different approaches to bridging for conservation fit: the Bali MPA Network, the Nusa Penida MPA, and the East Buleleng Conservation Zone. Our synthesis of these cases identifies different strategies used by bridging organizations to deal with conservation fit issues, including their capacity to integrate actors and perspectives using flexible approaches, actualize hybrid forms of decision-making, build capacity and leadership, and foster cross-scale conservation and scale-bridging social networks. We also examine the limitations of bridging organizations and offer direction for future research for coastal-marine conservation in Indonesia specifically, and the Coral Triangle region generally. More broadly, this analysis contributes new insights on emerging forms of governance designed to deliberatively fit conservation initiatives to coastal-marine social-ecological systems experiencing rapid change.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016, J,"Koenigstein, S; Ruth, M; Gossling-Reisemann, S",Stakeholder-Informed Ecosystem Modeling of Ocean Warming and Acidification Impacts in the Barents Sea Region,10.3389/fmars.2016.00093,"Climate change and ocean acidification are anticipated to alter marine ecosystems, with consequences for the provision of marine resources and ecosystem services to human societies. However, considerable uncertainties about future ecological changes and ensuing socio-economic impacts impede the identification of societal adaptation strategies. In a case study from the Barents Sea and Northern Norwegian Sea region, we integrated stakeholder perceptions of ecological changes and their significance for societies with the current state of scientific knowledge, to investigate the marine-human system under climate change and identify societal adaptation options. Stakeholders were engaged through personal interviews, two local workshops, and a web based survey, identifying the most relevant ecosystem services potentially impacted and developing an integrated system dynamics model which links climate change scenarios to the response of relevant species. Stakeholder perceptions of temperature-dependent multiannual fluctuations of fish stocks, interactions among fish, marine mammal, and seabird populations, and ecological processes such as primary production are represented in the model. The model was used for a discourse-based stakeholder evaluation of potential ecosystem changes under ocean warming and acidification scenarios, identifying shifts in ecosystem service provision and discussing associated societal adaptation options. The results pointed to differences in adaptive capacity among user groups. Small-scale fishers and tourism businesses are potentially more affected by changing spatial distribution and local declines in marine species than industrial fisheries. Changes in biodiversity, especially extinctions of polar species, and ecosystem functioning were a concern from an environmental conservation viewpoint. When considering potential additional impacts of ocean acidification, changes observed in the model projections were more uniformly valued as negative, and associated with an increased potential for conflicts among user groups. The stakeholder-informed ecosystem modeling approach has succeeded in driving a discussion and interchange among stakeholder groups and with scientists, integrating knowledge about climate change impacts in the social-ecological system and identifying important factors that shape societal responses. The approach can thus serve to improve governance of marine systems by incorporating knowledge about system dynamics and about societal uses and values.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016, J,"Lundquist, CJ; Fisher, KT; Le Heron, R; Lewis, NI; Ellis, JI; Hewitt, JE; Greenaway, AJ; Cartner, KJ; Burgess-Jones, TC; Schiel, DR; Thrush, SF",Science and Societal Partnerships to Address Cumulative Impacts,10.3389/fmars.2016.00002,"Funding and priorities for ocean research are not separate from the underlying sociological, economic, and political landscapes that determine values attributed to ecological systems. Here we present a variation on science prioritization exercises, focussing on inter-disciplinary research questions with the objective of shifting broad scale management practices to better address cumulative impacts and multiple users. Marine scientists in New Zealand from a broad range of scientific and social-scientific backgrounds ranked 48 statements of research priorities. At a follow up workshop, participants discussed five over-arching themes based on survey results. These themes were used to develop mechanisms to increase the relevance and efficiency of scientific research while acknowledging socio-economic and political drivers of research agendas in New Zealand's ocean ecosystems. Overarching messages included the need to: (1) determine the conditions under which surprises (sudden and substantive undesirable changes) are likely to occur and the socio-ecological implications of such changes; (2) develop methodologies to reveal the complex and cumulative effects of change in marine systems, and their implications for resource use, stewardship, and restoration; (3) assess potential solutions to management issues that balance long-term and short-term benefits and encompass societal engagement in decision-making; (4) establish effective and appropriately resourced institutional networks to foster collaborative, solution-focused marine science; and (5) establish cross-disciplinary dialogues to translate diverse scientific and social-scientific knowledge into innovative regulatory, social, and economic practice. In the face of multiple uses and cumulative stressors, ocean management frameworks must be adapted to build a collaborative framework across science, governance, and society that can help stakeholders navigate uncertainties and socio-ecological surprises.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016, J,"Tiller, R; De Kok, JL; Vermeiren, K; Richards, R; Van Ardelan, M; Bailey, J","Stakeholder Perceptions of Links between Environmental Changes to their Socio-Ecological System and their Adaptive Capacity in the Region of Troms, Norway",10.3389/fmars.2016.00267,"Climate change affects the marine environment at all levels of governance. At a global level, researchers expect the projected increase in sea surface temperature to facilitate large changes in the marine food web, which in turn will affect both global fisheries and aquaculture. At the local level, government and stakeholders want to know whether and how this affects their local communities and their adaptive capacity in light of this. Research suggests that risk communication of the effects of changes in the marine food web suffers from stakeholders' short-term mentality and narrow boundaries. This in turn can lead to an underestimation of the potential risks associated with climate change. We explore this theory by mapping the perceptions of marine stakeholders in the region of Troms, Norway. We first developed cognitive maps in a workshop setting, and then used system conceptualization to analyze the feedback mechanisms of the system qualitatively using fuzzy cognitive mapping. We examined the outcomes and compared them for different scenarios using a simple MatLab script. Results demonstrated that stakeholders did not underestimate their risks to climate change. They were aware of environmental changes, and they perceived that a changing climate was the cause of this change, and that it was indeed affecting their livelihoods-and would continue to do so in the future.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016, J,"Cole, SG; Moksnes, PO",Valuing Multiple Eelgrass Ecosystem Services in Sweden: Fish Production and Uptake of Carbon and Nitrogen,10.3389/fmars.2015.00121,"Valuing nature's benefits in monetary terms is necessary for policy-makers facing trade-offs in how to spend limited financial resources on environmental protection. We provide information to assess trade-offs associated with the management of seagrass beds, which provide a number of ecosystem services, but are presently impacted by many stressors. We develop an interdisciplinary framework for valuing multiple ecosystem services and apply it to the case of eelgrass (Zostera marina), a dominant seagrass species in the northern hemisphere. We identify and quantify links between three eelgrass functions (habitat for fish, carbon, and nitrogen uptake) and economic goods in Sweden, quantify these using ecological endpoints, estimate the marginal average value of the impact of losing one hectare of eelgrass along the Swedish northwest coast on welfare in monetary terms, and aggregate these values while considering double-counting. Over a 20-50 year period we find that compared to unvegetated habitats, a hectare of eelgrass, including the organic material accumulated in the sediment, produces an additional 626 kg cod fishes and 7535 wrasse individuals and sequesters 98.6 ton carbon and 466 kg nitrogen. We value the flow of future benefits associated with commercial fishing, avoided climate change damages, and reduced eutrophication at 170,000 SEK in 2014 (20,700 US$) or 11,000 SEK (1300 US$) annualized at 4%. Fish production, which is the most commonly valued ecosystem service in the seagrass literature, only represented 25% of the total value whereas a conservative estimate of nitrogen regulation constituted 46%, suggesting that most seagrass beds are undervalued. Comparing these values with historic losses of eelgrass we show that the Swedish northwest coast has suffered a substantial reduction in fish production and mineral regulation. Future work should improve the understanding of the geographic scale of eelgrass functions, how local variables affect the value of these functions, and how to defensibly aggregate a multitude of economic values.",FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2016, B,"Shirani, F; Groves, C; Butler, C; Parkhill, K; Henwood, K; Pidgeon, N","Living in the Future: Environmental Concerns, Parenting, and Low-Impact Lifestyles",10.1007/978-981-4585-54-5_4,"Existing work has demonstrated how the presence of children of different ages in families can impact on people's ability to make imaginative connections to longer-term socio-environmental futures and maintain these links in the context of everyday pressures. This chapter explores such connections by presenting selected data extracts from residents of a low-impact ecovillage. The ecovillage represents a relatively unusual case site where people showed strong connections to the future, which had an impact on their present lifestyle choices. In particular, the way in which parents spoke about their children as central to their decision to live a low-impact rural lifestyle is highlighted. The ecovillage data is contextualized via an extended literature review covering issues regarding parenting, rural childhoods, low-impact living, and how these areas relate to a connection with the future. Drawing together these insights, the relevance of resilience is discussed as a concept for thinking about how particular visions of the future may create lifestyles that make possible flexibility and adaptability in the face of uncertainty. In summary, this chapter highlights how parents' views of wider environmental futures can impact on the lifestyles they foster for children in the present.",GEOGRAPHIES OF GLOBAL ISSUES: CHANGE AND THREAT,2016, J,"Chowdhury, MMH; Quaddus, MA",A multi-phased QFD based optimization approach to sustainable service design,10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.09.023,"Sustainable service design is vital for customer satisfaction and for meeting stakeholders' requirements. However, despite its significance, there appears to be two significant gaps in the literature in service design domain: (i) addressing the sustainability dimensions (social, environmental and economic) in service design in an integrated way, and (ii) development of methodology for sustainable service design grounded on strong conceptual foundation. This paper aims to address these gaps in the literature. In doing so we propose sustainable service concept which considers service design and service delivery design linking them with the attainment of social, environmental and economic goals of the organization. The paper presents a detailed methodology in this respect using multi-phased 0-1 optimization model within fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD) approach. We apply our methodology in the m-health service design in Bangladesh. The results show that lack of awareness, lack of skilled human resource, poor logistical support and resource shortage inhibit effective delivery of m-health service. To overcome these barriers and to deliver sustainable m-health service in Bangladesh optimal strategies are campaigns, recruitment of skilled human resources, performance measurement as well as monitoring and supervision. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are discussed and future research is also highlighted. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS,2016,JAN J,"Hall, CM; Baird, T; James, M; Ram, Y",Climate change and cultural heritage: conservation and heritage tourism in the Anthropocene,10.1080/1743873X.2015.1082573,"This paper reviews some of the actual and potential effects of climate change on cultural heritage and its management with special reference to heritage tourism. This analysis will help to identify knowledge gaps and issues in relation to different types of heritage, management strategies and policy-making, as well as enabling an understanding of the potential significance of climate change impacts in a regional, national and international setting. The analysis is also relevant to understanding the broader pressures of environmental and global change on the management of heritage tourism sites, and cultural heritage in particular, in the Anthropocene.",JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM,2016, J,"Vollmer, D; Pribadi, DO; Remondi, F; Rustiadi, E; Gret-Regamey, A",Prioritizing ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing river basins: A spatial multi-criteria analytic approach,10.1016/j.scs.2015.10.004,"Spatially explicit information on ecosystem services can be an important input to regional spatial planning, but must be framed in a particular social context in order to be useful. We present a case study in metropolitan Jakarta, Indonesia, where stakeholders are discussing a spatial plan to help mitigate flooding risk, conserve scarce agricultural land, and restore forests in the upper catchment areas. We demonstrate an application of a four-step spatial multi-criteria analytical (MCA) approach that involves scenario development, ecosystem service quantification and mapping, preference weighting, and optimization to maximize preferred ecosystem services while minimizing cost. We improve upon similarly-oriented MCAs by incorporating information on ecosystem service potential, supply, beneficiaries, and likely costs to conserve them, with the aim of assisting stakeholders in negotiating future land development. Stakeholder-weighted preferences provide information on potential areas of conflict or agreement, but the aggregated weights do not have a significant impact on the optimization model's outputs. Our results also reveal possible synergies between, for example, biodiversity conservation and erosion control, which are typically considered and planned for by separate stakeholder groups. We also find that if we include monetary estimates of flood damages by sub-basin and population data by groundwater basin, optimal solutions include more expensive interventions when compared to a model omitting this information. Overall, our approach offers a transparent way to collect and process relevant information on regional ecosystem services, and can be particularly useful in areas where land use is changing rapidly and land use controls are either weak or decentralized. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY,2016,JAN B,"Nedkov, S",Landscape Structure and Ecosystem Services of Etropole Municipality,10.1007/978-3-319-20110-8_14,"This chapter represents an approach to investigate the landscape structure at municipality level and the possibilities of using it for evaluation of ecosystem services. Landscape differentiation of the area was investigated using a GIS-based model. The most important ecosystem services of the Etropole municipality are provided by the forest landscapes. Only 27 % of their total value belongs to the provisioning service, which is the most used at present. The importance of their regulation services, especially regulation of flood risk, will increase in the future because of climate change. The valuation of ecosystem services is considered as an important and useful activity for the achievement of sustainable development. It gives an opportunity to involve some resources and services that are usually ignored in the process of regional planning. Further progress of the valuation and assessment methods will improve their preciseness and reliability.","SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS: SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE, 2ND EDITION",2016, J,"Du Plessis, C; Brandon, P",An ecological worldview as basis for a regenerative sustainability paradigm for the built environment,10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.098,"It has been widely argued that in order to move development into a positive curve towards sustainability, society needs to change the worldview/paradigm within which it currently operates; and that such a shift from a mechanistic to an ecological/living systems worldview is already happening. It is suggested that the purpose of the sustainability paradigm flowing from this worldview is not to conserve the status quo or meet ill-defined human needs, but to strengthen the health, adaptive capacity, and evolutionary potential of the fully integrated global social-ecological system so that it can continue regenerating itself, thereby creating the conditions for a thriving and abundant future not only for the human species, but for all life. In this paper we explore the ecological worldview and the guidelines it provides for how we interpret sustainability; as well as the strategies for the production of the built environment we need to follow if we are to adapt to coming changes in the planetary system and regenerate the world. The question this paper asks is: how does this sustainability paradigm, with its focus on regenerating the whole of the social-ecological system within which we are working, change the way the built environment is produced? To achieve this objective, the paper synthesizes the findings of two separate studies: an extensive literature review to define the meta-narratives of the ecological worldview; and an analysis of in depth interviews with academics and built environment practitioners that aimed to find correlations between the practice and theoretical positions of the participants and the values and praxiology of the ecological worldview as described in the first study. Three main themes of the ecological worldview wholeness, relationship, and change provide a framework for discussing the implications of this regenerative sustainability paradigm for the production of the built environment for how it is created, the technologies used, and how it is evaluated. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2015,dic 16 J,"Buffin-Belanger, T; Biron, PM; Larocque, M; Demers, S; Olsen, T; Chone, G; Ouellet, MA; Cloutier, CA; Desjarlais, C; Eyquem, J",Freedom space for rivers: An economically viable river management concept in a changing climate,10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.05.013,"The freedom space concept applies hydrogeomorphic principles to delineate zones that are either frequently flooded or actively eroding, or that include riparian wetlands. Freedom space limits mapped for three rivers in southern Quebec (Canada) were assessed to determine whether they would still be valid under a future climate using a sensitivity analysis approach with numerical models predicting mobility of meanders (RVRMeander) and flood stage (HEC-RAS). The freedom space limits were also used in a cost-benefit analysis over a 50-year period where costs consist of loss or limitations to the right of farming and construction in this zone, whereas benefits are avoided costs for existing or future bank stabilization structures and avoided costs of flooding in agricultural areas. The economic value of ecosystem services provided by riparian wetlands and increased buffer zones within the freedom space were also included in the analysis. Results show that freedom space limits would be robust in future climate, and show net present values ranging from CDN$0.7 to $3.7 million for the three rivers, with ratios of benefits over costs ranging between 1.5:1 and 4.8:1. River management based on freedom space is thus beneficial for society over a 50-year period. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",GEOMORPHOLOGY,2015,dic 15 J,"Bergstrom, P; Lindegarth, S; Lindegarth, M","Modeling and predicting the growth of the mussel, Mytilus edulis: implications for planning of aquaculture and eutrophication mitigation",10.1002/ece3.1823,"The increased pressure on the marine ecosystems highlights the need for policies and integrated approaches for sustainable management of coastal areas. Spatial planning based on geographic information of human activities, ecological structures and functions, and their associated goods and services is a fundamental component in this context. Here, we evaluate the potential of predictive modeling to provide spatial data on one ecosystem function, mussel growth for use in such processes. We developed a methodology based on statistical modeling, spatial prediction, and mapping for the relative growth of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. We evaluated the performance of different modeling techniques and classification schemes using empirical measurements of growth from 144 sampling sites and data on biological, chemical, and physical predictors. Following comparisons of the different techniques and schemes, we developed random forest models to predict growth along the Swedish west coast. Implemented into GIS the best model produced in this study predicts that low, intermediate, and high growth rates can be expected in 53%, 32%, and 15% of modeled area, respectively. The results of this study also suggest that the nature and quality of predictor data hold the key to improving the predictive power of models. On a more general note, this study exemplifies a feasible approach based on measuring, modeling, and mapping for obtaining scientifically based spatial information on ecosystem functions and services affected by a complex set of factors. Such information is fundamental for maritime spatial planning and ecosystem-based management and its importance is likely to increase in the future. Because of its close link to nutrient assimilation and production yield, site-specific information of soft tissue growth such as the map of predicted growth rate developed in this study can be used as a tool for optimizing actions aimed at mitigating eutrophication and aquaculture operations and in maritime spatial planning processes of coastal areas.",ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,2015,DEC J,"Hallstedt, SI; Bertoni, M; Isaksson, O",Assessing sustainability and value of manufacturing processes: a case in the aerospace industry,10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.017,"In spite of the growing awareness and significance of accounting for sustainability aspects in product development, design decision support is still immature in this end compared to other decision support areas, such as product performance and manufacturability. This paper proposes a novel decision support method that combines qualitative sustainability assessment techniques with a quantitative analysis, without losing transparency and still covering a full sustainability perspective. The aim is to contribute to an understanding for how to enable value assessment of sustainability issues already in early product development situations. The method, named Sustainability Assessment and Value Evaluation, combines two qualitative sustainability assessment techniques with a quantitative Net Present Value analysis based on alternative future scenarios. A case study, related to the development of a new high-temperature aero-engine component, illustrates both how the sustainability assessment identifies hotspots and clarifies potential sustainability consequences for a new product technology, and how Net Present Value is used to assess alternative solution strategies based on the hotspot, to facilitate early stage decision-making in design. The paper argues that the method serves two main purposes: i) to make sustainability consequences more concrete and understandable during design concept selection activities, rather than to have an exact measurement, and ii) to simplify and prioritize, systematically asking what is important in the sustainability analysis, rather than to reduce the sustainability problem. The method allows undertaking the sustainability assessment in a more structured way than what happens today in preliminary design, through scenario building based on socio-ecological assessments, including back-casting to cover the longer time perspective. In addition, the Sustainability Assessment and Value Evaluation-method provided the design team of a means for displaying sustainability consequences on an equal basis with other decision support tool results. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2015,dic 1 J,"Davies, TK; Mees, CC; Milner-Gulland, EJ",Second-guessing uncertainty: Scenario planning for management of the Indian Ocean tuna purse seine fishery,10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.019,"An important task of natural resource management is deciding amongst alternative policy options, including how interventions will affect the dynamics of resource exploitation. Yet predicting the behaviour of natural resource users in complex, changeable systems presents a significant challenge for managers. Scenario planning, which involves thinking creatively about how a socio-ecological system might develop under a set of possible futures, was used to explore uncertainties in the future of the Indian Ocean tuna purse seine fishery. This exercise stimulated thinking on how key social, economic and environmental conditions that influence fleet behaviour may change in the future, and how these changes might affect the dynamics of fishing effort. Three storylines were explored: an increase in marine protection, growing consumer preference for sustainable seafood, and depletion of tuna stocks. Comparing across several possible future scenarios, a number of critical aspects of fleet behaviour were identified that should be important considerations for fishery managers, but which are currently poorly understood. These included a switch in fishing practices, reallocation of effort in space, investment in new vessels and exit from the fishery. Recommendations for future management interventions in the Indian Ocean were offered, along with suggestions for research needed to reduce management uncertainty. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).",MARINE POLICY,2015,DEC J,"Letourneau, DK; Ando, AW; Jedlicka, JA; Narwani, A; Barbier, E",Simple-but-sound methods for estimating the value of changes in biodiversity for biological pest control in agriculture,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.10.015,"Recent meta-analyses indicate that an increase in the number of natural enemy species raises the overall effectiveness of biological control of insect pests in agricultural settings. Although economic valuations of biological pest control in agriculture show an impressive cost savings from this ecosystem service, no direct estimate of the value of biodiversity for biological control has been attempted. We apply a basic microeconomic model for estimating the value of changes in the richness of arthropod natural enemies or in functional diversity for biological pest control for two sample crops using experimental results reported in the ecological literature. Market-based outcomes were driven by changes in crop yields associated with experimental reductions in natural enemy species richness, and modified by supply shifts and price elasticities. We show how our simple model differs from common approaches used in the ecological literature, and explain why this alternative model more accurately estimates societal well-being for consumers and producers participating in these crop markets. We conclude by discussing the additional research and data needed to make economic valuation of ecosystem services in agricultural settings more feasible, rigorous, and realistic in the future. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,DEC J,"Spangenberg, JH; Gorg, C; Settele, J","Stakeholder involvement in ESS research and governance: Between conceptual ambition and practical experiences - risks, challenges and tested tools",10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.006,"Conceptually, stakeholder participation in the governance of ecosystem services (ESS) is necessary for several reasons, some of them well-known for sustainability governance in general but some more specific for ecosystem services. In particular the failure of monetary valuation to provide meaningful valuation instruments requires participation of a representative diversity of stakeholders in ESS research and governance to answer the question what people value, and how. Building upon experience from transdisciplinary research projects in Asia, Africa and Europe, we argue that successful participation depends on the specific socio-cultural context and requires different means and modes of participation during different project phases. We list a variety of tested methods, with reference to the pros and cons each of them has. The challenges we describe are structured according to theoretical concepts, but not derived from them but from project experience. They are formidable, both conceptually and empirically, but with good project coordination such difficulties can be anticipated and handled. The paper first outlines the specific challenges of ESS assessment and valuation in inter- and transdisciplinary research, arguing in Section 1 that the failure of internalisation requires participation as value attributing mechanism. Section 2 describes challenges experienced with participation in research design and implementation; the latter links to Section 3 which draws lessons for ESS governance strategies. Section 4 presents some lessons learned for future ESS research and governance. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,DEC J,"Pham, TT; Loft, L; Bennett, K; Phuong, VT; Dung, LN; Brunner, J",Monitoring and evaluation of Payment for Forest Environmental Services in Vietnam: From myth to reality,10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.016,"Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes, or PES, offer a useful approach to account for the largely unrecognized value of ecosystem services provided by the forestry sector. However, the actual impacts of PES schemes, both in effectively protecting the environmental quality of an ecosystem, such as the water filtration capacity of a forest, and on improving local livelihoods, often remain unknown. Policy evaluation in general, and for newly established policies in particular, plays a critical role in providing essential feedback about what is actually happening on the ground. Thus, for PES to generate outcomes that are effective, efficient and equitable, policy makers must develop a functional evaluation system. As PES schemes around the world face similar problems in monitoring and evaluation, we draw on the case of Vietnam the first country in Asia to introduce a nationwide PES scheme and analyze the effectiveness of the monitoring and evaluation activities of the Payment for Forest Environmental Services program (PFES). We also offer practical policy recommendations for future PEES implementation. We find that monitoring and evaluation of PEES in Vietnam is still in its infancy. Although there is a strong accounting of revenues generated from ecosystem services buyers, there is a discernible lack of ability to assess the quantity and quality of ecosystem services being enhanced by the program; fulfillment of contractual obligations; the appropriateness of financial flows; or socio-economic impacts of the program. We argue that a functioning PES evaluation system must include an accessible grievance mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability in the distribution of PES revenues from central to local levels. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,DEC J,"Mann, C",Strategies for sustainable policy design: Constructive assessment of biodiversity offsets and banking,10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.07.001,"To successfully shape future policies and new forms of governance for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, careful assessment is needed at an early stage of policy development. This paper describes the concepts and first application for a constructive assessment of biodiversity offsets and banking schemes: the Challenging Futures approach. The approach builds on insights in the area of technology assessment which seek to open innovation processes to related societal concerns to bring about sustainable improvement. As its main objective, Challenging Futures endeavors to create a more inclusive discourse about biodiversity offsets and banking, that is, to make issues of their design, functions, and implications more debatable, especially for new actors such as outsiders and critics. Based on a set of future scenarios for biodiversity offsets and banking, workshop participants identified, debated, and described critical issues and challenges, some of which have been backgrounded in the course of policy developments. One basic finding from the workshop is that although the design of biodiversity offset approaches and valuation methods is predominantly framed in functional and methodological terms, it is almost always linked to more fundamental philosophies, worldviews, and different rationalities concerning how to see, use, and value nature. The design and implementation of biodiversity offset and banking schemes are thus as much a political as a technical issue, a matter of concern and judgment, fact and functionality. It therefore requires an open, anticipatory, reflexive, and contested debate to make sound, that is a broader acceptance of decisions about the design and use of new biodiversity conservation approaches before certain designs are implemented over a range of different socio-ecological and cultural contexts. This paper summarizes the issues and challenges discussed by workshop participants in relation to the future development of biodiversity offsetting. These assessment results feed back into the design and development of policy approaches. More robust and socially embedded, and hence sustainable, policy solutions are the desired result. In the course of the paper, the political and societal implications for the future development of biodiversity offset and banking approaches are discussed and the chances and limitations for using the Challenging Futures assessment approach highlighted. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,DEC J,"Outeiro, L; Haussermann, V; Viddi, F; Hucke-Gaete, R; Forsterra, G; Oyarzo, H; Kosiel, K; Villasante, S",Using ecosystem services mapping for marine spatial planning in southern Chile under scenario assessment,10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.03.004,"This study presents an empirical example of how ES can be incorporated into MSP in developing countries, in particular in the Southern region of Los Lagos (Chile). This paper aims to: (a) assess the overlapping incompatibilities within each zoning area, (b) calculate the importance score of the three key ES selected, (c) assess the importance scores of the ES and develop plausible future scenarios for marine zoning. Here, we use InVEST marine models to spatially map the distribution of marine ES (ecotourism and recreation, wildlife endangered species, and habitat-forming species). Taking the current proposal of the MSP as a baseline scenario, two plausible hypothetical future scenarios were also developed based on policies and decision-making trends, and the results of the ES importance score values within each zoning area. The results of this paper indicate that the environmental conservation-aboriginal development scenario would be considered as the more appropriate future projection in terms of securing the three key ES analysed in the region. However, due to changes in the economic development paradigm for the Inner Sea of Chiloe, decision makers, the scientific community and industry representatives are facing a major challenge in allocating appropriate areas to secure ES which requires a holistic perspective. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,DEC J,"Thunstrom, L; Nordstrom, J; Shogren, JF",Certainty and overconfidence in future preferences for food,10.1016/j.joep.2015.09.006,"We examine consumer certainty of future preferences and overconfidence in predicting future preferences. We explore how preference certainty and overconfidence impact the option value to revise today's decisions in the future. We design a laboratory experiment that creates a controlled choice environment, in which a subject's choice set (over food snacks) is known and constant over time, and the time frame is short - subjects make choices for themselves today, and for one to two weeks ahead. Our results suggest that even for such a seemingly straightforward choice task, only 45% of subjects can predict future choices accurately, while stated certainty of future preferences (one and two weeks ahead) is around 80%. We define overconfidence in predicting future preferences as: the difference between actual accuracy at predicting future choices and stated certainty of future preferences. Our results suggest strong evidence of overconfidence. We find that overconfidence increases with the level of stated certainty of future preferences. Finally, we observe that the option value people attach to future choice flexibility decreases with overconfidence. Overconfidence in future preferences affects economic welfare because it says people have too much incentive to lock themselves into future suboptimal decisions. Published by Elsevier B.V.",JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PSYCHOLOGY,2015,DEC J,"Grantham, RW; Rudd, MA",Current status and future needs of economics research of inland fisheries,10.1111/fme.12144,"Inland capture fisheries (ICFs) provide ecosystem services - fish for food, livelihoods and recreation - to people and therefore have an economic value. Economic valuation can inform the sustainable management of ICFs and ensure they are recognised in trade-off analysis and decision-making. This study assesses existing ICFs economic research to identify knowledge gaps. Bibliographic databases were searched for suitable peer-reviewed articles. The selected studies (n=75) were analysed for coverage, valuation methodologies and value metrics. A majority of existing studies value recreational ICFs in developed countries. Studies have employed a wide range of valuation methodologies and therefore provide a variety of economic values measured at different units and scales. This study highlights the need for a greater quantity of ICFs economic research that covers a representative sample of ecosystems and fishery types globally. Best practice recommendations are made for a standardised framework to ensure ICFs research generates economically credible and comparable values.",FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND ECOLOGY,2015,DEC J,"Fulmer, GW",VALIDATING PROPOSED LEARNING PROGRESSIONS ON FORCE AND MOTION USING THE FORCE CONCEPT INVENTORY: FINDINGS FROM SINGAPORE SECONDARY SCHOOLS,10.1007/s10763-014-9553-x,"This study examines the validity of 2 proposed learning progressions on the force concept when tested using items from the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). This is the first study to compare students' performance with respect to learning progressions both for force and motion and for Newton's third law in parallel. It is also among the first studies on learning progressions within an East Asian context. Data come from 174 Singaporean secondary students who completed the FCI during regular school time. FCI questions are coded as ordered multiple choice items based on the respective learning progressions, and responses are analyzed using a rating scale Rasch measurement model. Results show that FCI items have moderate data-model fit and demonstrate the expected pattern of difficulty among levels of the learning progressions. However, scale reliability and fit for the thresholds between levels showed limitations. The students' ability estimates for Newton's third law were higher than for force and motion, contrary to expectation about the relationship between the 2 aspects of force. The paper discusses the connection of these results with the curriculum and implications for learning progressions for the force concept. Directions for future research on instruments for use with learning progressions are also discussed.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION,2015,DEC J,"Peters, JR; McCloskey, RM; Hinder, SL; Unsworth, RKF",Motile fauna of sub-tidal Zostera marina meadows in England and Wales,10.1007/s12526-014-0264-x,"Despite being under continued anthropogenic threat, there exists limited evidence in the United Kingdom (UK) and northern Europe for the role of sub-tidal Zostera marina meadows in providing habitat in support of economically important fauna. This is a major issue given the need to support fisheries production into the future. Understanding this at a regional and local scale is important given that their ecosystem service value can change with factors such as environmental gradients and anthropogenic impacts. In the present study, we investigate the role of sub-tidal seagrass in supporting motile fauna including juvenile fish and invertebrates of commercial value. Seagrass meadows in three locations in the UK (Porthdinllaen, Tremadog Bay and the Isle of Wight) were examined using stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video systems (BRUVs). Twenty-six taxa were recorded, ten of which were of economic importance, including an abundance of juvenile gadoids. Although the commercially important species that we found as juveniles in seagrass are not obligate seagrass users, the resources that seagrass meadows offer to these fish potentially provide significant long-term fitness benefits, possibly enhancing the whole population. All sites sampled contained economically important fauna, but there existed a significant difference between the assemblages at different locations, with the sites in the Isle of Wight containing an impoverished fauna. Sites sampled in North Wales contained double the abundance of individuals and over three times the number of species than those in the Isle of Wight. This highlights that ecosystem services such as habitat provision are not constant between sites and possibly impacted upon by site condition and locally specific environmental differences. The present study provides evidence of the importance of seagrass meadows in the UK for supporting biodiversity and the need to protect these sensitive habitats.",MARINE BIODIVERSITY,2015,DEC J,"Johnston, MW; Purkis, SJ; Dodge, RE",Measuring Bahamian lionfish impacts to marine ecological services using habitat equivalency analysis,10.1007/s00227-015-2745-2,"Marine ecological services provide goods, amenities, food resources, and economic benefits to millions of people globally. The loss of these services, attributed to the infiltration of marine invasive species such as the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles), is measurable. The highly successful lionfish now flourishes in great densities in the US Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic waters and the entire Caribbean, yet the loss of ecological services attributed to the invader has not yet been assessed. In this study, we employ a derivative of a well-utilized method of ecosystem valuation known as habitat equivalency analysis to measure the time-value-adjusted loss of biomass- and recruitment-related ecosystem services brought by lionfish to Bahamian reefs. Drawing upon the literature examples of tangible lionfish damages in the Bahamas, we (1) quantitatively evaluate the loss of ecosystem services instigated by lionfish by measuring the total service-year losses partitioned over yearly time steps, (2) provide a metric by which ocean managers may value the remunerations of Bahamian lionfish controls when weighed against removal costs, and (3) deliver a tool to quantify changes in ecosystem services as a consequence of invasive species impacts and control. We found that the invader imposed losses of 26.67 and 21.67 years to recruitment and biomass services per km(2) of Bahamian reef if left uncontrolled. In the same accord, the most conservative Bahamian lionfish removal regime modeled, i.e., which produced a 50 % recovery of pre-lionfish ecosystem function over 10 years, provided service gains of 9.57 and 4.78 years per km(2). These data deliver a platform upon which to quantify present and future fiscal costs of the lionfish invasion and also to value lionfish control efforts.",MARINE BIOLOGY,2015,DEC J,"Carlsson, J; Eriksson, LO; Ohman, K; Nordstrom, EM",Combining scientific and stakeholder knowledge in future scenario development - A forest landscape case study in northern Sweden,10.1016/j.forpol.2015.08.008,"Northern Swedish forests provide multiple ecosystem services. Integrating these values into the forest planning process frequently requires that not only forest owners but also other stakeholders be involved. The objective of this study is to assess the potential of future scenario development as a tool in forest planning. In a case study of the Vilhelmina municipality in northern Sweden, forest owners and stakeholders were interviewed, and a workshop was held to discuss important factors for the future development of the local landscape regarding ecological, socioeconomic and political issues. Combined with a researcher-conducted process, this resulted in three alternative scenarios. We conclude that the scenario development process has produced information that can be used in forest planning. The participatory element of the scenario development process could be extended further to enhance communication, learning and knowledge exchange. The participants' contribution to the scenario construction could also be elaborated, e.g., by further involving stakeholders in the formulation of alternative future manifestations and in the elaboration of scenarios. To achieve this, it is necessary to adapt the quantitative methods to the participatory situation, to foster discussion qualities, to secure representation and increase motivation for participation in different ways. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS,2015,DEC J,"Van Hecken, G; Bastiaensen, J; Windey, C",Towards a power-sensitive and socially-informed analysis of payments for ecosystem services (PES): Addressing the gaps in the current debate,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.10.012,"In this article, we analyse key issues in the Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) debate. We argue that, despite recent advances, PES research remains weakly theorized in social and political terms, resulting in a merely superficial understanding of the role of culture, agency, social diversity and power relations in the shaping of PES institutions and their outcomes. Building on critical insights from the social sciences, we qualify some of the common assumptions underlying current mainstream and alternative conceptualizations of PES and identify crucial topics for future research. More specifically, we explore three key challenges in current PES research, associated with prevailing tendencies (1) to assume that institutions can be designed to 'fit' specific human-nature problems; (2) to oversimplify culture and social diversity through the apolitical concept of 'social capital'; and (3) to conceptualize human agency, collective action, and institutional change either through overly-rational or overly-structuralist models. We argue that an expanded actor-oriented, socially-informed and power-sensitive conceptualization of PES can help generate novel insights in the power geographies underlying institutional logics, and the complex ways in which PES policies are shaped and experienced in the field. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,DEC J,"Hattam, C; Bohnke-Henrichs, A; Borger, T; Burdon, D; Hadjimichael, M; Delaney, A; Atkins, JP; Garrard, S; Austen, MC",Integrating methods for ecosystem service assessment and valuation: Mixed methods or mixed messages?,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.10.011,"A mixed-method approach was used to assess and value the ecosystem services derived from the Dogger Bank, an extensive shallow sandbank in the southern North Sea. Three parallel studies were undertaken that 1) identified and quantified, where possible, how indicators for ecosystem service provision may change according to two future scenarios, 2) assessed members of the public's willingness-to-pay for improvements to a small number of ecosystem services as a consequence of a hypothetical management plan, and 3) facilitated a process of deliberation that allowed members of the public to explore the uses of the Dogger Bank and the conflicts and dilemmas involved in its management. Each of these studies was designed to answer different and specific research questions and therefore contributes different insights about the ecosystem services delivered by the Dogger Bank. This paper explores what can be gained by bringing these findings together post hoc and the extent to which the different methods are complementary. Findings suggest that mixed-method research brings more understanding than can be gained from the individual approaches alone. Nevertheless, the choice of methods used and how these methods are implemented strongly affects the results obtained. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,DEC J,"Modica, G; Merlino, A; Solano, F; Mercurio, R",An index for the assessment of degraded Mediterranean forest ecosystems,10.5424/fs/2015243-07855,"Aim of study: Diagnosing the degradation degree of forest ecosystems is the basis for restoration strategies. However, there is no literature documenting how to quantify the forest degradation degree by using synthetic indicators, also because there is not a widely accepted definition for forest degradation and degraded forest. Although there are many definitions of forest degradation that converge on the loss of ecosystem services, still today there are no largely accepted methods that give operational guidance to help in defining it. In the present research, with the aim to assess the degree of forest degradation, an integrated index - FDI, Forest Degradation Index - was developed. Area of study: In this first application, the FDI was applied and validated at stand level in two different Mediterranean forest types in two different case studies: Madonie and Nedrodi regional Parks (Sicily, Italy). The first dominated by sessile oak [Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. subsp. austrotyrrhenica Brullo, Guarino & Siracusa], the second dominated by cork oak (Quercus suber L.). Material and methods: FDI is a synthetic index structured starting from representative and relatively easily detectable parameters. Here, we propose a set of six indicators that should be assessed to determine the forest degradation: Structural Index (SI), Canopy Cover (CC), Natural Regeneration Density (NRD), Focal Species of Degradation (FSD), Coarse Woody Debris (CWD), and Soil Depth (SD). FDI, here proposed and discussed, has been based on a MCDA (Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis) approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique, and implemented in order to contribute in finding simple indicators useful for forest restoration purposes that have an eco-functional basis. Main results: An integrated index of forest degradation has been defined. FDI values are comprised in the closed interval [0, 10], ranging from class I (Higher ecological functionality) to class IV (Lower ecological functionality). A forest fallen in the FDI-IV class can be defined degraded. In this first application, degradation occurs in SA-4 and in SB-4 where the lowest values (qualitative and quantitative) of the indicators were recorded and the FDI reach the minimum value. Research highlights: FDI has proved to be a useful tool at stand level in identifying a threshold value below which a forest can be termed as 'degraded'. In turn, FDI assumes the meaning of descriptor of the ecological functionality. Future development of the FDI will provide an extension of the application at landscape scale exploiting the potential advantages in coupling MCDA and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) techniques.",FOREST SYSTEMS,2015,DEC J,"Hunter, C; Gironas, J; Bolster, D; Karavitis, CA","A Dynamic, Multivariate Sustainability Measure for Robust Analysis of Water Management under Climate and Demand Uncertainty in an Arid Environment",10.3390/w7115928,"Considering water resource scarcity and uncertainty in climate and demand futures, decision-makers require techniques for sustainability analysis in resource management. Through unclear definitions of sustainability, however, traditional indices for resource evaluation propose options of limited flexibility by adopting static climate and demand scenarios, limiting analysis variables to a particular water-use group and time. This work proposes a robust, multivariate, dynamic sustainability evaluation technique and corresponding performance indicator called Measure of Sustainability (MoS) for resource management that is more adapted to withstand future parameter variation. The range of potential future climate and demand scenarios is simulated through a calibrated hydrological model of Copiapo, Chile, a case study example of an arid watershed under extreme natural and anthropogenic water stresses. Comparing MoS and cost rankings of proposed water management schemes, this paper determines that the traditional evaluation method not only underestimates future water deficits, but also espouses solutions without considering uncertainties in supply and demand. Given the uncertainty of the future and the dependence of resources upon climate and market trajectories, the MoS methodology proposes solutions that, while perhaps are not the most optimal, are robust to variations in future parameter values and are thus the best water management options in a stochastic natural world.",WATER,2015,NOV J,"Stollon, NB; Paine, CW; Lucas, MS; Brumley, LD; Poole, ES; Peyton, T; Grant, AW; Jan, S; Trachtenberg, S; Zander, M; Bonafide, CP; Schwartz, LA",Transitioning Adolescents and Young Adults With Sickle Cell Disease From Pediatric to Adult Health Care: Provider Perspectives,10.1097/MPH.0000000000000427,"The transition from pediatric to adult health care is often challenging for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease (SCD). Our study aimed to identify (1) measures of success for the transition to adult health care; and (2) barriers and facilitators to this process. We interviewed 13 SCD experts and asked them about their experiences caring for adolescents and young adults with SCD. Our interview guide was developed based on Social-Ecological Model of Adolescent and Young Adult Readiness to Transition framework, and interviews were coded using the constant comparative method. Our results showed that transition success was measured by health care utilization, quality of life, and continuation on a stable disease trajectory. We also found that barriers to transition include negative experiences in the emergency department, sociodemographic factors, and adolescent skills. Facilitators include a positive relationship with the provider, family support, and developmental maturity. Success in SCD transition is primarily determined by the patients' quality of relationships with their parents and providers and their developmental maturity and skills. Understanding these concepts will aid in the development of future evidence-based transition care models.",JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY ONCOLOGY,2015,NOV J,"Cui, YP; Liang, D; Ewing, BT",Empirical Analysis of Building Permits in Response to Hurricane Landfalls,10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000185,"Each year, hurricanes cause massive amounts of damage around the world. Because the construction industry plays an important role in almost every aspect of mitigation and recovery efforts, a high priority shall be given to identify ways in which the industry is affected by hurricanes and rebounds afterward. The disruption of building construction is discussed, and the statistical relationship between hurricane landfalls and observed changes in new building permits at the county level is investigated in the paper. The result shows that a storm can have either a temporary or permanent impact on a community but not both. For the temporary impact case, the level of construction activities is lowered in some counties in the sample following a hurricane landfall but quickly recovers to the prestorm norm. In contrast, the permanent impact shifts the mean value of the time series and results in lasting losses in future years. The observed disparity could be used to assess the capability of coastal communities to withstand future risks. The results are further discussed in the context of physical damages estimated from software and capitals contributing to disaster resiliency. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.",NATURAL HAZARDS REVIEW,2015,NOV J,"Lin, HB; Thornton, JA; Shadrin, N",A watershed-based adaptive knowledge system for developing ecosystem stakeholder partnerships,10.1007/s00343-015-4366-5,"This study proposes a Watershed-based Adaptive Knowledge System (WAKES) to consistently coordinate multiple stakeholders in developing sustainable partnerships for ecosystem management. WAKES is extended from the institutional mechanism of Payments for Improving Ecosystem Services at the Watershed-scale (PIES-W). PIES-W is designed relating to the governance of ecosystem services fl ows focused on a lake as a resource stock connecting its infl owing and outfl owing rivers within its watershed. It explicitly realizes the values of conservation services provided by private land managers and incorporates their activities into the public organizing framework for ecosystem management. It implicitly extends the upstream-to-downstream organizing perspective to a broader vision of viewing the ecosystems as comprised of both watershed landscapes and marine landscapes. Extended from PIES-W, WAKES specifies two corresponding feedback: Framework I and II. Framework I is a relationship matrix comprised of three input-output structures of primary governance factors intersecting three subsystems of a watershed with regard to ecosystem services and human stakeholders. Framework II is the Stakeholder-and-Information structure channeling five types of information among four stakeholder groups in order to enable the feedbacks mechanism of Framework I. WAKES identifies the rationales behind three fundamental information transformations, illustrated with the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and the Strategic Action Program of the Bermejo River Binational Basin. These include (1) translating scientific knowledge into public information within the Function-and-Service structure corresponding to the ecological subsystem, (2) incorporating public perceptions into political will within the Service- and- Value structure corresponding to the economic subsystem, and (3) integrating scientific knowledge, public perceptions and political will into management options within the Value-and-Stakeholder structure corresponding to the social subsystem. This study seeks to share a vision of social adaptation for a global sustainable future through developing a network to adopt contributions from and forming partnerships among all ecosystem stakeholders.",CHINESE JOURNAL OF OCEANOLOGY AND LIMNOLOGY,2015,NOV J,"Bryan, BA; Crossman, ND; Nolan, M; Li, J; Navarro, J; Connor, JD","Land use efficiency: anticipating future demand for land-sector greenhouse gas emissions abatement and managing trade-offs with agriculture, water, and biodiversity",10.1111/gcb.13020,"Competition for land is increasing, and policy needs to ensure the efficient supply of multiple ecosystem services from land systems. We modelled the spatially explicit potential future supply of ecosystem services in Australia's intensive agricultural land in response to carbon markets under four global outlooks from 2013 to 2050. We assessed the productive efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions abatement, agricultural production, water resources, and biodiversity services and compared these to production possibility frontiers (PPFs). While interacting commodity markets and carbon markets produced efficient outcomes for agricultural production and emissions abatement, more efficient outcomes were possible for water resources and biodiversity services due to weak price signals. However, when only two objectives were considered as per typical efficiency assessments, efficiency improvements involved significant unintended trade-offs for the other objectives and incurred substantial opportunity costs. Considering multiple objectives simultaneously enabled the identification of land use arrangements that were efficient over multiple ecosystem services. Efficient land use arrangements could be selected that meet society's preferences for ecosystem service provision from land by adjusting the metric used to combine multiple services. To effectively manage competition for land via land use efficiency, market incentives are needed that effectively price multiple ecosystem services.",GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY,2015,NOV J,"Stanturf, JA",Future landscapes: opportunities and challenges,10.1007/s11056-015-9500-x,"The global magnitude of degraded and deforested areas is best approached by restoring landscapes. Heightened international perception of the importance of forests and trees outside forests (e.g., woodlands, on farms) demands new approaches to future landscapes. The current need for forest restoration is two billion ha; most opportunities are mosaic restoration in the Tropical and Temperate Zones where human pressure is moderate. A rapidly changing global environment introduces uncertainty, however, that questions the usefulness of success criteria based on present or past ecosystems conditions. Considerable uncertainty arises from future climate and the timing of significant departures from current conditions, social system responses to drivers of global change, and ecosystem responses to changes in coupled socio-ecological systems. Three active approaches to reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity (incremental, anticipatory, transformational adaptation) differ in their future orientation but share similar objectives of favoring genotypes adapted to future conditions; resisting pathogens; managing herbivory to ensure adequate regeneration; encouraging species and structural diversity at the stand-level, landscape-level, or both; and providing connectivity and reducing fragmentation. Integrating attempts to restore landscapes and mitigate and adapt to climate change may synergistically increase adaptive capacity. Behavioral, institutional, and/or social barriers to implementing change can stop or delay adaptation. Stratagems for overcoming these barriers include conducting risky research that pushes the bounds of knowledge and practice and developing plant materials adapted to future conditions.",NEW FORESTS,2015,NOV J,"Macchi, M; Gurung, AM; Hoermann, B",Community perceptions and responses to climate variability and change in the Himalayas,10.1080/17565529.2014.966046,"Himalayan communities live in marginal environments. They are dependent on ecosystem services and thus highly exposed to climate variability and change. This study aimed to help understand how mountain communities perceive change, how change impacts their livelihoods, and how they respond to change. Forty focus group discussions and 144 in-depth interviews at the household level were conducted in 20 villages in northwest India and across Nepal. Perceptions of change were compared with actual climate records where available. Respondents considered rainfall patterns to be less predictable and had experienced an overall reduction in water availability, severely affecting their harvests. Increased temperatures were also reported, particularly at higher elevations. People responded to the changing conditions with a wide range of coping and adaptation mechanisms. However, many of these mechanisms will not be sustainable in view of the likely magnitude of future climate change, and they are also restricted to social groups with appropriate assets. The poor, lower caste families, women, and other marginalized groups are particularly vulnerable and less able to adapt. Targeted efforts are required to move from coping to adapting and to avoid inequalities between social groups increasing due to the different adaptive capacities.",CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT,2015,oct 20 J,"McClanahan, TR; Muthiga, NA; Abunge, C; Kamukuru, AT; Mwakalapa, E; Kalombo, H",What Happens after Conservation and Management Donors Leave? A Before and After Study of Coral Reef Ecology and Stakeholder Perceptions of Management Benefits,10.1371/journal.pone.0138769,"The coral reefs of Tanga, Tanzania were recognized as a national conservation priority in the early 1970s, but the lack of a management response led to damage by dynamite, beach seines, and high numbers of fishers until themid 1990s. Subsequently, an Irish Aid funded IUCN Eastern Africa program operated from 1994 to mid 2007 to implement increasedmanagement aimed at reducing these impacts. Themain effects of this management were to establish collaborative management areas, reduce dynamite and seine net fishing, and establish small community fisheries closures beginning in 1996. The ecology of the coral reefs was studied just prior to the initiation of this management in 1996, during, 2004, and a few years after the project ended in 2010. The perceptions of resource users towards management options were evaluated in 2010. The ecological studies indicated that the biomass of fish rose continuously during this period from 260 to 770 kg/ ha but the small closures were no different from the non-closure areas. The benthic community studies indicate stability in the coral cover and community composition and an increase in coralline algae and topographic complexity over time. The lack of change in the coral community suggests resilience to various disturbances including fisheries management and the warm temperature anomaly of 1998. These results indicate that some aspects of the management program had been ecologically successful even after the donor program ended. Moreover, the increased compliance with seine net use and dynamite restrictions were the most likely factors causing this increase in fish biomass and not the closures. Resource users interviewed in 2010 were supportive of gear restrictions but there was considerable between-community disagreement over the value of specific restrictions. The social-ecological results suggest that increased compliance with gear restrictions is largely responsible for the improvements in reef ecology and is a high priority for future management programs.",PLOS ONE,2015,oct 15 J,"Wahyudi, J; Kurnani, TBA; Clancy, J",Biogas Production in Dairy Farming in Indonesia: A Challenge for Sustainability,,"Biogas plays an important role in supporting and ensuring the dairy farming sector remains sustainable. Biogas technology is not only as a method to dispose dairy farming waste but also benefiting economically, socially and environmentally. Biogas technology has been introduced since 1970s and many biogas programmes have been implemented in Indonesia. However compare to other countries like China and India, the dissemination of biogas technology in Indonesia runs quite slowly. There are several factors such as financial, policies and people's perception hindering biogas use regarding the increase of biogas plants installed in Indonesia. In addition, many installed biogas plants are non-functional due to inadequate maintenance causing users stop to operate biogas plants and influencing potential users to reject adopting the technology. This paper provides an overview of biogas production sustainability which consists of five sustainability dimensions: technical, economic, social, environmental and organizational/institutional sustainability. Understanding the biogas sustainability helps stakeholders to realize that in order to promote biogas technology many sectors must be developed and many institutions must be involved and cooperated. The sustainability of biogas will determine the success of biogas dissemination particularly in dairy farming in the future.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT-IJRED,2015,OCT J,"Koncki, NG; Aronson, MFJ",Invasion Risk in a Warmer World: Modeling Range Expansion and Habitat Preferences of Three Nonnative Aquatic Invasive Plants,10.1614/IPSM-D-15-00020.1,"Biological invasions and climate change pose two of the most important challenges facing global biodiversity. Of particular importance are aquatic invasive plants, which have caused extensive economic and environmental impacts by drastically altering native biodiversity and ecosystem services of freshwater wetlands. Here, we used the maximum entropy model, Maxent, to model the potential range expansion of three nonnative aquatic invasive plants: alligatorweed, limnophila, and giant salvinia, throughout the continental United States under current, 2030 to 2059 (2040), and 2070 to 2099 (2080) climate scenarios. Maxent is a popular method to model predicted current and future species distributions based on biogeography and climate. Alligatorweed, limnophila, and giant salvinia are noxious invaders of freshwater habitats in the southeastern United States and cause economic and ecological loss. In addition, we analyzed each species' habitat preference based on wetland type, occurrence in man-made habitats, and distance to the nearest stream to better understand what future habitats are at risk and how these species spread. Our results show that in 2040 and 2080 climate scenarios, all three species have the potential to increase their range throughout the northeastern United States and as far as New York and Massachusetts. The spatial distribution of alligatorweed was primarily determined by precipitation of the warmest quarter (15.8%), limnophila was primarily determined by precipitation of the warmest quarter (52.2%) and mean temperature of the coldest quarter (21.8%), and giant salvinia was primarily determined by the mean temperature of the coldest quarter (24.3%). All three species were found significantly more frequently in lakes and ponds than in other freshwater habits. Giant salvinia was found significantly more often in man-made wetland habitats. In order to reduce the detrimental impacts of these species, land managers in the northeastern United States should concentrate early detection and rapid response management in lakes, ponds and man-made wetland habitats.",INVASIVE PLANT SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT,2015,OCT-DEC J,"Tadaki, M; Allen, W; Sinner, J",Revealing ecological processes or imposing social rationalities? The politics of bounding and measuring ecosystem services,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.07.015,"Ecosystem service (ES) frameworks have been developed to characterize and model the relationships between ecological proceses and human benefits. Some argue that these relationships should be specified through expert-derived analytical (i.e., top-down) frameworks, in order to organize accumulated knowledge and create ready-made framings for communities on the ground. In contrast, arguments for the participatory construction of ES assessments emphasize the need for place-sensitive and deliberative (i.e., bottom-up) approaches. In this paper, we draw on a novel water planning exercise in New Zealand to examine the tensions that arise when expert-produced categories intersect with diverse stakeholder worldviews and aspirations. Expert-derived ES categories and analyses intervene in local valuation contexts in a range of ways, narrowing the scope of which ecological processes might be considered as relevant or legitimate (bounding), as well as affecting how these processes are described and compared (measuring). The practices of bounding and measuring ES in scientific and planning assessments should thus be conceptualized as involving political work and not just scientific judgment. This reframes the role of ecological science and scientists in ES debates, and this presents cautions as well as opportunities for future ES work relating to policy. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,OCT J,"Cardozo, EG; Muchavisoy, HM; Silva, HR; Zelarayan, MLC; Leite, MFA; Rousseau, GX; Gehring, C",Species richness increases income in agroforestry systems of eastern Amazonia,10.1007/s10457-015-9823-9,"Biodiversity is believed to reduce risks (resistance and resilience against perturbations), to increase productivity via niche expansion, and possibly also to improve resource efficiency via mutually benefic species interactions. Agroforestry has been postulated as an ideal pathway of maintaining or restoring biodiversity in a socioeconomically sustainable manner. This study tests the relevance of agroforestry species diversity and richness on socioeconomic performance in a wide range of agroforestry systems in 38 farms aggregated in four clusters of sites in eastern Amazonia. We cover both commercial and subsistence agroforestry, ranging from simply structured plantations to diverse systems (enriched fallows, multi-strata home gardens), as well as pastures and shifting cultivation for comparisons. We quantify (i) all cultivated species, classifying them economically into species with commercial value, primarily subsistence purpose species or 'non-productive' species, and (ii) socioeconomic system variables (costs, monetary/non-monetary income, degree of satisfaction). Land-use intensity (per-hectare costs and income) was highest in commercial agroforestry and subsistence home gardens, and lowest in enriched fallows and pastures. All agroforestry systems resulted in higher income:cost ratios and greater satisfaction than pastures and shifting cultivation. Net income, non-monetary income and income:cost ratio were maximum in home gardens. Total species richness was negatively related with costs and monetary income, but not with non-monetary income, due to occupation of space by 'non-productive' species (juveniles or species providing ecosystem services). By contrast, productive (combining commercial and subsistence) species richness was positively related with (mainly non-monetary) income, net income and income:cost ratio. According to GLM, both productive species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity positively affected net income. Future efforts for food security and poverty reduction need to focus more on species-rich agroforestry systems, both in terms of applied research and of extension service programs. Notably, the ubiquitous and successful home gardens merit far more attention.",AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS,2015,OCT J,"Castro, EM; Santiago, LE; Jimenez, JC; Davila-Vargas, D; Rosal, MC",A Social-Ecological View of Barriers and Facilitators for HIV Treatment Adherence: Interviews with Puerto Rican HIV Patients,10.1371/journal.pone.0125582,"Purpose To identify perceived barriers and facilitators for HAART adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Puerto Rico using a Social Ecological framework. Patients and Methods Individual in-depths interviews were conducted with 12 HIV patients with a history of HAART non-adherence. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Content analysis was performed for each transcribed interview by three independent coders using a code-book. Using Atlas TI, super-codes and families were generated to facilitate the categorization tree as well as grounded analyses and density estimates Results Most participants reported a monthly income of $500 or less (n = 7), a high school education level (n = 7), being unemployed (n = 9) and being recipients of government health insurance (n = 11). Three out of six women reported living alone with their children and most men informed living with their parents or other relatives (n = 4). For the grounded analyses, the top four subcategories linked to high number of quotations were mental health barriers (G = 32) followed by treatment regimen (G = 28), health system (G = 24) and interpersonal relations (G = 16). The top four sub-categories linked to high number of codes are treatment regimen (D = 4), health status perception (D = 3), interpersonal relations (D = 3) and health system (D = 3). Conclusion The results of this study suggest the interconnection of HIV treatment adherence barriers at various system levels. Future studies on HIV treatment barriers should explore these interactions and investigate the possible synergistic effect on non-adherent behavior",PLOS ONE,2015,SEP 30 J,"Matsuda, G; Ishiguro, H; Hiraki, K",Infant discrimination of humanoid robots,10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01397,"Recently, extremely humanlike robots called androids have been developed, some of which are already being used in the field of entertainment. In the context of psychological studies, androids are expected to be used in the future as fully controllable human stimuli to investigate human nature. In this study, we used an android to examine infant discrimination ability between human beings and non-human agents. Participants (N = 42 infants) were assigned to three groups based on their age, i.e., 6- to 8-month-olds, 9- to 11-month-olds, and 12- to 14-month-olds, and took part in a preferential looking paradigm. Of three types of agents involved in the paradigm a human, an android modeled on the human, and a mechanical-looking robot made from the android two at a time were presented side-by-side as they performed a grasping action. Infants' looking behavior was measured using an eye tracking system, and the amount of time spent focusing on each of three areas of interest (face, goal, and body) was analyzed. Results showed that all age groups predominantly looked at the robot and at the face area, and that infants aged over 9 months watched the goal area for longer than the body area. There was no difference in looking times and areas focused on between the human and the android. These findings suggest that 6- to 14-month-olds are unable to discriminate between the human and the android, although they can distinguish the mechanical robot from the human.",FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY,2015,SEP 22 J,"Wang, XH; Cho, YK; Guo, XY; Wu, CR; Zhou, JL","The status of coastal oceanography in heavily impacted Yellow and East China Sea: Past trends, progress, and possible futures",10.1016/j.ecss.2015.05.039,"Coastal environments are a key location for transport, commercial, residential and defence infrastructure, and have provided conditions suitable for economic growth. They also fulfil important cultural, recreational and aesthetic needs; have intrinsic ecosystem service values; and provide essential biogeochemical functions such as primary productivity, nutrient cycling and water filtration. The rapid expansion in economic development and anticipated growth of the population in the coastal zones along the Yellow and East China Sea basin has placed this region under intense multiple stresses. Here we aim to: 1) synthesize the new knowledge/science in coastal oceanography since 2010 within the context of the scientific literature published in English; 2) report on a citation analysis that assesses whether new research topics have emerged and integrated over time, indicate the location of modelling and field-based studies; and 3) suggest where the new research should develop for heavily impacted estuaries and coastal seas of East Asia. The conclusions of the synthesis include: 1) China has emerged as a dominant force in the region in producing scientific literature in coastal oceanography, although the area of publications has shifted from its traditional fields such as physical oceanography; 2) there has been an increasing number of publications with cross-disciplinary themes between physical oceanography and other fields of the biological, chemical, and geological disciplines, but vigorous and systematic funding mechanisms are still lacking to ensure the viability of large scale multi-disciplinary teams and projects in order to support trans-disciplinary research and newly emerging fields; 3) coastal oceanography is responding to new challenges, with many papers studying the impacts of human activities on marine environment and ecology, but so far very few studying management and conservation strategies or offering policy solutions. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE,2015,SEP 20 J,"Salali, GD; Migliano, AB",Future Discounting in Congo Basin Hunter-Gatherers Declines with Socio-Economic Transitions,10.1371/journal.pone.0137806,"Humans have a tendency to discount the future; that is we value small, short-term rewards over larger, long-term rewards. The degree of future discounting, however, changes in response to socio-ecological factors. Here, we study Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers of northern Congo and their farmer neighbours to investigate adaptations in inter-temporal preferences in humans. We argue that in immediate-return systems, where food storage is absent and egalitarianism is enforced through levelling mechanisms, future discounting is an adaptive strategy to prevent wealth accumulation and the emergence of hierarchies. This ensures food sharing and allows for survival in unpredictable environments where there is risk of an energy shortfall. On the other hand, when food storage is made possible by the emergence of agriculture or as seen in some delayed-return hunter-gatherer populations, wealth accumulation, hierarchies and lower discount rates become the adaptive strategy. Therefore, individuals in immediate-return, egalitarian societies will discount the future more than those in non-egalitarian, delayed-return societies. Consistent with the predictions we found that market integration and socio-economic transitions decrease the future discounting in Mbendjele hunter-gatherers. Our measures of socio-economic differences marked this transition in hunter-gatherers living in a logging town. The degree of future-discounting was the same between more market-integrated hunter-gatherers and their farmer neighbours.",PLOS ONE,2015,SEP 18 J,"Messier, C; Puettmann, K; Chazdon, R; Andersson, KP; Angers, VA; Brotons, L; Filotas, E; Tittler, R; Parrott, L; Levin, SA",From Management to Stewardship: Viewing Forests As Complex Adaptive Systems in an Uncertain World,10.1111/conl.12156,"The world's forests and forestry sector are facing unprecedented biological, political, social, and climatic challenges. The development of appropriate, novel forest management and restoration approaches that adequately consider uncertainty and adaptability are hampered by a continuing focus on production of a few goods or objectives, strong control of forest structure and composition, and most importantly the absence of a global scientific framework and long-term vision. Ecosystem-based approaches represent a step in the right direction, but are limited in their ability to deal with the rapid pace of social, climatic, and environmental changes. We argue here that viewing forest ecosystems as complex adaptive system provides a better alternative for both production- and conservation-oriented forests and forestry. We propose a set of broad principles and changes to increase the adaptive capacity of forests in the face of future uncertainties. These span from expanding the sustained-yield, single-good paradigm to developing policy incentives and interventions that promote self-organization and integrated social-ecological adaptation.",CONSERVATION LETTERS,2015,SEP-OCT J,"Belanger-Gravel, A; Gauvin, L; Lagarde, F; Laferte, M",Correlates and moderators of physical activity in parent-tween dyads: a socio-ecological perspective,10.1016/j.puhe.2015.05.019,"Objectives: The identification of correlates and moderators of physical activity (PA) among parents and their children can support the development of more effective interventions. The aims of this study were to identify individual-and family-level predictors of PA among parent-tween dyads and to examine the moderating role of socio-economic status (SES) on these associations. Study design: As part of a larger investigation, a cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in 2012 among 1000 parent-child dyads. Methods: Children were aged between nine and 13 years (tweens). Frequency of participation in PA was self-reported by means of questionnaires. Multilevel modelling was used. Individual predictors included body mass index and sedentary lifestyles whereas family-level predictors included parents' cognitions, family co-participation in PA, and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Significant between-dyad variability in PA was observed among parent-daughter dyads (n = 470, ICC = 0.17, P < 0.001) but not parent-son dyads (n = 520, ICC = 0.01, P = 0.37). Sedentary activity (ps < 0.001) and co-participation in PA (ps < 0.001) were associated with greater PA. Positive parental perceptions of facilitating factors and greater self-efficacy were associated with PA among parent-daughter dyads (ps < 0.04) while parents' outcomes expectancies were associated with PA among parent-son dyads (P = 0.04). The relationship between facilitating factors and PA was moderated by SES (education) among parent-daughter dyads (P = 0.009). Conclusions: Promoting co-participation in PA and less sedentary activities appear as useful targets for increasing PA among parents and tweens. Additional strategies might be considered according to the sex of the children and family SES. Future research addressing socioeconomic inequalities in the correlates of PA among families with tween girls is required. (C) 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",PUBLIC HEALTH,2015,SEP J,"Janssen, C; Vanhamme, J",Theoretical Lenses for Understanding the CSR-Consumer Paradox,10.1007/s10551-014-2111-1,"Consumer surveys repeatedly suggest that corporate social responsibility (CSR) and products' social, environmental, or ethical attributes enhance consumers' purchase intentions. The realization that CSR still has only a minor impact on consumers' actual purchase decisions thus represents a puzzling paradox. Whereas prior literature on consumer decision making provides valuable insights into the factors that impede or facilitate consumers' socially responsible consumption decisions, such elements may be only the tip of the iceberg. To gain a fuller understanding of the CSR-consumer paradox, this study proposes investigating the phenomenon through additional theoretical lenses, namely, a clinical psychology, an evolutionary psychology/biology, a social psychology, and an economic and economic psychology lens. From these four unique theoretical lenses, the authors derive an integrative framework and draw several propositions for further research.",JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS,2015,SEP J,"Hilborn, R; Fulton, EA; Green, BS; Hartmann, K; Tracey, SR; Watson, RA",When is a fishery sustainable?,10.1139/cjfas-2015-0062,"Despite the many scientific and public discussions on the sustainability of fisheries, there are still great differences in both perception and definition of the concept. Most authors now suggest that sustainability is best defined as the ability to sustain goods and services to human society, with social and economic factors to be considered along with environmental impacts. The result has been that each group (scientists, economists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), etc.) defines sustainable seafood using whatever criteria it considers most important, and the same fish product may be deemed sustainable by one group and totally unsustainable by another one. We contend, however, that there is now extensive evidence that an ecological focus alone does not guarantee long-term sustainability of any form and that seafood sustainability must consistently take on a socio-ecological perspective if it is to be effective across cultures and in the future. The sustainability of seafood production depends not on the abundance of a fish stock, but on the ability of the fishery management system to adjust fishing pressure to appropriate levels. While there are scientific standards to judge the sustainability of food production, once we examine ecological, social, and economic aspects of sustainability, there is no unique scientific standard.",CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES,2015,SEP J,"Raheem, N; Archambault, S; Arellano, E; Gonzales, M; Kopp, D; Rivera, J; Guldan, S; Boykin, K; Oldham, C; Valdez, A; Colt, S; Lamadrid, E; Wang, J; Price, J; Goldstein, J; Arnold, P; Martin, S; Dingwell, E",A framework for assessing ecosystem services in acequia irrigation communities of the Upper Rio Grande watershed,10.1002/wat2.1091,"What we need to do is inventory the different types of agricultural landscapes and bring to light the typical rural architecture, such as the acequias and desagues (irrigation supply canals and excess water drains). We need to find ways of conserving the landscape, including the flora and fauna as well as the role the agricultural landscape has played in the evolution of the surrounding area. Before we abandon the past (flood irrigation) for the contemporary (drip irrigation), we need a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of each system for the whole cultural landscape. The future may be one where the old and new learn to coexist, such as the hoe with the plow' (Arellano, 2014, p. 204). (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-WATER,2015,SEP-OCT J,"Bouahim, S; Rhazi, L; Ernoul, L; Mathevet, R; Amami, B; Er-Riyahi, S; Muller, SD; Grillas, P",Combining vulnerability analysis and perceptions of ecosystem services in sensitive landscapes: A case from western Moroccan temporary wetlands,10.1016/j.jnc.2015.05.003,"Given that people are an inseparable part of their environment through their dependence on ecosystems and the services they provide, it is essential to understand the human influences that impact the environment and in turn determine the effects they will have on the existing ecosystem services. This relationship was explored by coupling a habitat vulnerability study with an ecosystem service perception evaluation. A biological survey and a socio-economic study were implemented in western Morocco (Benslimane Province) to identify the vulnerability of different temporary pools and to determine the perceived ecosystem services obtained by local stakeholders. A total of 101 temporary pools were studied and in person interviews were conducted with 110 randomly selected households. For each pool, vulnerability to various land uses, pressures and threats were analyzed. Temporary pools located in forested areas were under less threat than those located in agricultural lands. The nuisances associated with temporary pools were indicated by local stakeholders, increasing the pools' vulnerability. Provisioning and cultural ecosystem services were also perceived, increasing acceptance for conservation measures. The results of this study highlight the need to account for natural science and social sciences to inform future management. This methodology can further be tested and applied in other fragile ecosystems to better target conservation strategies. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION,2015,SEP J,"Sallustio, L; Quatrini, V; Geneletti, D; Corona, P; Marchetti, M",Assessing land take by urban development and its impact on carbon storage: Findings from two case studies in Italy,10.1016/j.eiar.2015.05.006,"Land take due to urbanization triggers a series of negative environmental impacts with direct effects on quality of life for people living in cities. Changes in ecosystem services are associated with land take, among which is the immediate C loss due to land use conversion. Land use change monitoring represents the first step in quantifying land take and its drivers and impacts. To this end, we propose an innovative methodology for monitoring land take and its effects on ecosystem services (in particular, C loss) under multi-scale contexts. The devised approach was tested in two areas with similar sizes, but different land take levels during the time-span 1990-2008 in Central Italy (the Province of Rome and the Molise Region). The estimates of total coverage of built up areas were calculated using point sampling. The area of the urban patches including each sampling point classified as built up areas in the year 1990 and/or in the year 2008 is used to estimate total abundance and average area of built up areas. Biophysical and economic values for carbon loss associated with land take were calculated using InVEST. Although land take was 7-8 times higher in the Province of Rome (from 15.1% in 1990 to 20.4% in 2008) than in Molise region, our findings show that its relative impact on C storage is higher in the latter, where the urban growth consistently affects not only croplands but also semi-natural land uses such as grasslands and other wooded lands. The total C loss due to land take has been estimated in 1.6 million Mg C, corresponding to almost 355 million. Finally, the paper discusses the main characteristics of urban growth and their ecological impact leading to risks and challenges for future urban planning and land use policies. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).",ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVIEW,2015,SEP J,"Bos, M; Pressey, RL; Stoeckl, N",Marine conservation finance: The need for and scope of an emerging field,10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.06.021,"The global oceans contribute to human wellbeing by providing marine ecosystermservices, but the ability of the oceans to continue providing these services is jeopardised by anthropogenic impacts. There is a limit to marine conservation that has not been adequately addressed: finance. This paper reviews the state of marine conservation funding, identifies associated challenges, and recommends possible ways forward. We identify five challenges: 1) funding for marine conservation is inadequate in terms of the size, duration, and diversity of revenue, 2) finance mechanisms are under-developed and under-utilised, 3) finance is often disconnected from conservation planning, 4) the environmental side-effects of economic activity increase the gap in global conservation funding, and 5) few individuals and programmes specialise in marine conservation finance and integrate its disparate lines of thinking. We then propose five solutions: 1) financial strategies for marine conservation, 2) increased research on and development of finance mechanisms, 3) integration of financial planning into conservation planning, 4) engagement of businesses in reducing the gap in conservation funding for marine ecosystems, and 5) definition, focus, and specialists for the emerging field of marine conservation finance. Multi-sector and interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to reduce the marine conservation-funding gap and sustain marine ecosystem services. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT,2015,SEP J,"Li, WX; Lang, G",Effects of Green School and Parents on Children's Perceptions of Human-Nature Relationships in China,10.1007/s12187-014-9265-3,"We examine the effects of schools and parents, two of the most important sources of influence, on views of the human-nature relationship (HNR) of 6th grade primary school children in China. Adopting five items of the modified New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale, we validate the HNR scale using both preadolescent and adult populations. On average, children score higher on the HNR indicators than their parents but both are correlated. Attending a green school and parents' HNR scores have significant positive impact on children's HNR scores. Furthermore, obtaining higher education is associated with parents' HNR scores, which can evidently be transmitted to children. Thus, the study makes a strong case for more equitable education, and environmental education in particular, that nurtures environmentally friendly worldviews among the future generations in China.",CHILD INDICATORS RESEARCH,2015,SEP J,"Mirzabaev, A; Nkonya, E; von Braun, J",Economics of sustainable land management,10.1016/j.cosust.2015.07.004,"Degradation of soil and land resources is a critical global problem. It is widespread not only in drylands and cropped areas, but in most agro-ecologies and biomes around the world. Unless addressed, it may undermine global food security and negatively affect the livelihoods of billions of people, especially of the poor. Addressing land degradation requires public, community and private actions informed and supported by evidence-based research. The current paper reviews the recent economic literature on land degradation and improvement with the purpose of highlighting major new insights and continuing gaps. Drawing conclusions from the recent research under the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative, we find that action against land degradation has considerably higher economic, environmental and social returns than inaction. The drivers of land degradation are numerous and often context-specific, so addressing them requires targeting not some individual driver in isolation, but through comprehensive and mutually consistent packages of policy actions. We suggest the following conceptual, methodological and empirical areas for future research on economics of land degradation. Firstly, more interdisciplinary conceptual frameworks are required to connect land degradation and other intricately related issues such as climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, energy and food security. In this regard, Water-Energy-Food Security (WEF) Nexus concept can be highly useful as one of such nexus platforms for future trans-disciplinary research on economics of land degradation. Secondly, more rigorous methodologies are needed on the incorporation of the value of ecosystem services into economic calculations. Finally, there is a need for empirical studies tracing the dynamic economic and social impacts of land degradation across scales: from household to global level.",CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY,2015,AUG J,"Tomita, A; Nakura, Y; Ishikawa, T",Review of coastal management policy in Japan,10.1007/s11852-015-0386-8,"Japan experienced severe water pollution throughout the period of high economic growth in the 1960s. With the concentration of population and industries in coastal regions, large quantities of pollutants such as chemicals, organic matters and nutrients flowed into the sea, and these caused health hazard and harmful algae blooms which damage fishery and living environment. To cope with this situation, the Water Pollution Control Law and various other laws and systems for pollutant control were established, and the installation of sewage systems and wastewater treatment facilities has been promoted. Total Pollutant Load Control System (TPLCS) has been implemented in Tokyo bay, Ise Bay, and the Seto Inland Sea. The TPLCS is designed to reduce the total amount of pollutant loads (target item; chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus) flowing into enclosed ocean. In the Seto Inland Sea, the largest enclosed coastal sea in Japan, the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus came to meet Environmental Quality Standards in almost all areas as a result of 40 year efforts including the TPLCS. However, some enclosed coastal sea areas in our country are still suffering from frequent generation of algae blooms and oxygen deficient water masses due to eutrophication. In other areas, on the other hand, the reduction of nutrient loads, hindering the circulation of nutrients to organisms of higher trophic levels in food chain, is considered to have changed the balance of ecosystem and caused a decline in fishery resources. For such areas, it is necessary to rebalance the circulation of nutrients through the entire cycle from land to sea areas. To deal with these problems, efficient and effective management policies for a smooth circulation of nutrients through land and sea areas should be specifically established for respective coastal sea areas. For this purpose, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has had discussions to develop Action Plan for Healthy Material Circulation in Ocean for 3 years since 2010. In addition, the MOE supports the restoration efforts of the regions affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11th of 2011. The environments of such areas were greatly damaged by landform changes in coastal lines and sea bottoms as well as disappearance of seaweed beds. We have assisted the environmental recovery, using the method and the knowhow of Sato-umi Creation. Sato-umi is defined as a coastal zone where the livelihood of human beings and the blessings of nature coexist harmoniously through human works with coastal area eco-systems. Under such circumstances, Central Environment Council submitted a report last October on Desirable Future Vision of the Seto Inland Sea. According to the report, the sea has multifunctional roles/values likened to Garden, Farm and Seaway. In addition, the report set out a vision of Bountiful Seto Inland Sea where these three functions are maximized in harmony with the environmental conservation for the sustainable use of the ecosystem service in the future. In response to the report, we will revise the master plan for the environmental conservation of the Seto Inland sea (Ministry of the Environment, 2000).",JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION,2015,AUG J,"Jung, HJ; Ryu, JH",Sustaining a Korean Traditional Rural Landscape in the Context of Cultural Landscape,10.3390/su70811213,"Traditional rural landscapes emerged from the long term interaction of the natural and anthropogenic environment. These landscapes are now threatened by drastic social-ecological changes. Recent international trends on sustaining cultural landscapes place great emphasis on understanding of multiple values, presented in the landscape, by considering various stakeholder perspectives. It is now recognized that strong community engagement with the landscape should be translated into conservation and management practices. This paper aims to examine the recent conservation activities around endangered traditional rural landscapes in Korea through a case study of Gacheon village. In this village, since 2000, a series of central administrative measures have been implemented to revive the local community, and to conserve its distinctive landscape. By analyzing challenges to the site, by discussing conservation experience and lessons, and by recommending future strategies for sustaining its cultural landscapes, this paper is expected to provide a basis for future policy-making for safeguarding traditional rural landscapes.",SUSTAINABILITY,2015,AUG J,"Mena, NZ; Gorman, K; Dickin, K; Greene, G; Tovar, A",Contextual and Cultural Influences on Parental Feeding Practices and Involvement in Child Care Centers among Hispanic Parents,10.1089/chi.2014.0118,"Background: Parental feeding practices shape children's dietary preferences and behaviors, which can influence a child's weight status. Limited research exists on the precursors and contextual influences of feeding, particularly among Hispanic parents. Therefore, this study explored two areas potentially important for obesity prevention in young children: (1) precursors and contextual influences on parental feeding and (2) parental perceptions and knowledge of the child care food environment. Methods: Four focus groups (n=36) were held with Hispanic parents, predominantly mothers, of preschool children at two child care centers. Parents were asked about influences on what and how they feed their children, awareness of the child care center feeding environment, and current involvement in the child care center. Themes were coded using NVivo10 software (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). Results: Participants' childhood experiences influenced how they feed their children. Parents stated that both husbands and grandparents often indulged their children with unhealthy foods and thought this interfered with their efforts to maintain a healthy home environment. Participants reported that what their children ate while in child care sometimes influenced the home feeding environment. Conclusions: Cultural and environmental factors influence parental feeding and involvement in the child care setting. Consistent with socioecological system theory, exploring interactions between the environment and culture using a family focus framework, such as the Family Ecological Model, could provide a better understanding of these influences among Hispanic parents. Future obesity prevention interventions with Hispanic families should be culturally relevant and target the different environments where children spend their time.",CHILDHOOD OBESITY,2015,ago 1 J,"Ciplak, N",Assessing future scenarios for health care waste management using a multi-criteria decision analysis tool: A case study in the Turkish West Black Sea Region,10.1080/10962247.2015.1038398,"The aim of this paper is to identify the best possible health care waste management option in the West Black Sea Region by taking into account economic, social, environmental, and technical aspects in the concept of multi-criteria decision analysis. In the scope of this research, three different health care waste management scenarios that consist of different technology alternatives were developed and compared using a decision-making computer software, called Right Choice, by identifying various criteria, measuring them, and ranking their relative importance from the point of key stakeholders. The results of the study show that the decentralized autoclave technology option coupled with the disposal through landfilling with energy recovery has potential to be an optimum option for health care waste management system, and an efficient health care waste segregation scheme should be given more attention by the authorities in the region. Furthermore, the discussion of the results points out multidisciplinary approach and the equilibrium between social, environmental, economic, and technical criteria. The methodology used in this research was developed in order to enable the decision makers to gain an increased perception of a decision problem. In general, the results and remarks of this study can be used as a basis of future planning and anticipation of needs for investment in the area of health care waste management in the region and also in developing countries that are dealing with the similar waste management problems.Implications: Alternative technologies are not capable to treat some categories of health care wastes, and Turkish practice has to be revised urgently. In doing so, internal health care waste separation is critical for determination of treatment technology. The author verified the methodology in a decision-making framework for a real-world problem. Results indicated that incinerating all health care wastes is not a feasible option due to high cost.",JOURNAL OF THE AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION,2015,AUG J,"Uhde, B; Hahn, WA; Griess, VC; Knoke, T",Hybrid MCDA Methods to Integrate Multiple Ecosystem Services in Forest Management Planning: A Critical Review,10.1007/s00267-015-0503-3,"Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a decision aid frequently used in the field of forest management planning. It includes the evaluation of multiple criteria such as the production of timber and non-timber forest products and tangible as well as intangible values of ecosystem services (ES). Hence, it is beneficial compared to those methods that take a purely financial perspective. Accordingly, MCDA methods are increasingly popular in the wide field of sustainability assessment. Hybrid approaches allow aggregating MCDA and, potentially, other decision-making techniques to make use of their individual benefits and leading to a more holistic view of the actual consequences that come with certain decisions. This review is providing a comprehensive overview of hybrid approaches that are used in forest management planning. Today, the scientific world is facing increasing challenges regarding the evaluation of ES and the trade-offs between them, for example between provisioning and regulating services. As the preferences of multiple stakeholders are essential to improve the decision process in multi-purpose forestry, participatory and hybrid approaches turn out to be of particular importance. Accordingly, hybrid methods show great potential for becoming most relevant in future decision making. Based on the review presented here, the development of models for the use in planning processes should focus on participatory modeling and the consideration of uncertainty regarding available information.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2015,AUG J,"Wu, M; Ren, XY; Che, Y; Yang, K","A Coupled SD and CLUE-S Model for Exploring the Impact of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value: A Case Study in Baoshan District, Shanghai, China",10.1007/s00267-015-0512-2,"Most of the cities in developing countries are experiencing rapid urbanization. Land use change driven by urban sprawl, population growth, and intensified socio-economic activities have led to a steep decline of ecosystem service value (ESV) in rapid urbanization areas, and decision-makers often ignore some valuable ecosystem service functions and values in land use planning. In this paper, we attempt to build a modeling framework which integrated System Dynamics model with Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small Extent model to simulate the dynamics of ESV of landscape and explore the potential impacts of land use change on ESV. We take Baoshan district of Shanghai as an example which is a fast urbanization area of metropolitan in China. The results of the study indicate that: (1) The integrated methodology can improve the characterization and presentation of the dynamics of ESV, which may give insight into understanding the possible impacts of land use change on ESV and provide information for land use planning. (2) Land use polices can affect the magnitude and location of ESV both directly and indirectly. Land use changes tend to weaken and simplify ecosystem service functions and values of landscape at urban rural fringe where land use change is more intensive. (3) The application of the methodology has proved that the integration of currently existing models within a single modeling framework could be a beneficial exploration, and should be encouraged and enhanced in the future research on the changing dynamics of ESV due to the complexity of ecosystem services and land use system.",ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2015,AUG J,"van Asselt, ED; van Bussel, LGJ; van Horne, P; van der Voet, H; van der Heijden, GWAM; van der Fels-Klerx, HJ",Assessing the sustainability of egg production systems in The Netherlands,10.3382/ps/pev165,"Housing systems for laying hens have changed over the years due to increased public concern regarding animal welfare. In terms of sustainability, animal welfare is just one aspect that needs to be considered. Social aspects as well as environmental and economic factors need to be included as well. In this study, we assessed the sustainability of enriched cage, barn, free-range, and organic egg production systems following a predefined protocol. Indicators were selected within the social, environmental, and economic dimensions, after which parameter values and sustainability limits were set for the core indicators in order to quantify sustainability. Uncertainty in the parameter values as well as assigned weights and compensabilities of the indicators influenced the outcome of the sustainability assessment. Using equal weights for the indicators showed that, for the Dutch situation, enriched cage egg production was most sustainable, having the highest score on the environmental dimension, whereas free-range egg production gave the highest score in the social dimension (covering food safety, animal welfare, and human welfare). In the economic dimension both enriched cage egg and organic egg production had the highest sustainability score. When weights were attributed according to stakeholder outputs, individual differences were seen, but the overall scores were comparable to the sustainability scores based on equal weights. The provided method enabled a quantification of sustainability using input from stakeholders to include societal preferences in the overall assessment. Allowing for different weights and compensabilities helps policymakers in communicating with stakeholders involved and provides a weighted decision regarding future housing systems for laying hens.",POULTRY SCIENCE,2015,AUG J,"Gadhoke, P; Christiansen, K; Swartz, J; Gittelsohn, J",Cause it's family talking to you: Children acting as change agents for adult food and physical activity behaviors in American Indian households in the Upper Midwestern United States,10.1177/0907568214538290,"This article presents research findings from the formative phase of OPREVENT, a pilot obesity prevention intervention trial for American Indian households on two reservations in the Upper Midwestern United States. We describe processes by which American Indian children acting as change agents influence adult food and physical activity behaviors on an Ojibwa and a Potawatomi reservation. This study borrows from Bronfenbrenner and Ceci's socio-ecological model and extends Daniel's resiliency theory for practice with vulnerable children. Using purposive sampling, we interviewed 168 community members, including 25 children between 6 and 13 years of age, using adult in-depth and paired-child interviews, household group interviews, focus groups, and community workshops. Results reveal that six American Indian children, 10-13 years old, were acting as change agents. We propose a socio-ecological conceptual framework to guide our understanding and application of a children as change agent approach for adult health behaviors which includes cultural identity (macro-system), institutional and community support (mezzo-system), family support through a secure base (micro-system), and children's sense of belonging, self-esteem, self-efficacy, knowledge, and actions as change agents (intrapersonal factors). Resiliency and vulnerability are dynamic processes that intersect the multiple systems throughout children's developmental stages to bolster their agency. We conclude with considerations for the OPREVENT pilot project and discuss future directions for developing a child as change agent theoretical framework for adult health behavior change.",CHILDHOOD-A GLOBAL JOURNAL OF CHILD RESEARCH,2015,AUG J,"Felipe-Lucia, MR; Martin-Lopez, B; Lavorel, S; Berraquero-Diaz, L; Escalera-Reyes, J; Comin, FA",Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders' Power Relationships Matter,10.1371/journal.pone.0132232,"The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the cascade framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders' interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders' ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services.",PLOS ONE,2015,jul 22 J,"Lal, R",The soil-peace nexus: our common future,10.1080/00380768.2015.1065166,"The strong soil-peace link is governed by the need for finite, but essential, resources intricately connected with ecosystem services and functions. Access to adequate and nutritious food is essential to human wellbeing, peace and tranquillity. The relation between soil/environmental scarcity and conflict is complex, and security can only be universal, rather than local or regional, in the present era of globalization. Civil strife and conflict can be caused by both resource paucity and rapacity. Anthropogenic perturbations leading to soil degradation, climate volatility and growing human demands (e.g., food, energy, water, minerals) derived from soil are potential flash points triggering violence at local, regional and global scales. Among different types of drought, pedological and agronomic droughts are triggered by soil degradation, decline in available water capacity of the root zone and changes in the hydrological cycle. Several regions with unstable governments are prone to water scarcity and conflicts. Soil affects world peace through its impact on the quest for victuals, which enhances the relevance of the Peak Soil concept. Economic development and environmental enhancement must go hand in hand, and the highest priority must be given to development of the ecosphere. Depicting soil as a work of art for portraying cultural, aesthetical and ecological values can increase public awareness. A Greener Revolution can be ushered in through judicious soil and environmental governance. Maintaining peace and harmony necessitates that soil resources are used, improved, restored and never taken for granted.",SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION,2015,jul 4 J,"Buller, LS; Bergier, I; Ortega, E; Moraes, A; Bayma-Silva, G; Zanetti, MR","Soil improvement and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions for integrated crop-livestock systems: Case study assessment in the Pantanal savanna highland, Brazil",10.1016/j.agsy.2014.11.004,"Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change has been partially attributed to agricultural expansion by deforestation, while the pressure to assure food, fiber and energy for the future generations leads to the intensification of agricultural systems. The transition to more efficient systems is actually considered an important strategy to reduce deforestation and to spare land for other uses, including the recovery of environmental services and ecohydrological processes in the drainage basin such as carbon sink and water regulation. The Brazilian Federal Program for Low Carbon Agriculture (ABC Program) intends to reduce carbon emissions by stimulating technological processes that neutralize emissions or enhance the sinking of greenhouse gases. A pilot farm has been established to assess an intensive animal-plant farming system that incorporates anaerobic digestion for biogas, power generation and organic fertilizer production. Emergy Synthesis was chosen as a methodological tool to assess and to diagnosis the farm system design. The modified emergy assessment including externalities (greenhouse gas emissions) improves the understanding of integrated crop-livestock systems efficiency in internal recycling of nutrients and power conversion. The adoption of manure treatment in intensified agricultural systems can effectively contribute to enhance environmental and economic performances. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS,2015,JUL J,"Lane, D; Jones, R; Mills, D; Wobus, C; Ready, RC; Buddemeier, RW; English, E; Martinich, J; Shouse, K; Hosterman, H","Climate change impacts on freshwater fish, coral reefs, and related ecosystem services in the United States",10.1007/s10584-014-1107-2,"We analyzed the potential physical and economic impacts of climate change on freshwater fisheries and coral reefs in the United States, examining a reference case and two policy scenarios that limit global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We modeled shifts in suitable habitat for three freshwater fish guilds and changes in coral reef cover for three regions. We estimated resulting economic impacts from projected changes in recreational fishing and changes in recreational use of coral reefs. In general, coldwater fisheries are projected to be replaced by less desirable fisheries over the 21st century, but these impacts are reduced under the GHG mitigation scenarios. Similarly, coral cover is projected to decline over the 21st century primarily due to multiple bleaching events, but the GHG mitigation scenarios delay these declines in Hawaii (but not in South Florida or Puerto Rico). Using a benefit-transfer approach, we estimated that global policies limiting GHG emissions would provide economic benefits in the range of $10-28 billion over the 21st century through maintaining higher values for recreational services for all freshwater fisheries and coral reefs, compared to the reference scenario. These economic values are a subset of the total economic and societal benefits associated with avoiding projected future declines in freshwater fisheries and coral reef cover due to unmitigated climate change.",CLIMATIC CHANGE,2015,JUL J,"Zhang, ZM; Gao, JF; Gao, YN","The influences of land use changes on the value of ecosystem services in Chaohu Lake Basin, China",10.1007/s12665-015-4045-z,"The loss of ecosystem services is mainly caused by the land use changes around the world. This study examined the influence of land use changes on the value of ecosystem services in Chaohu Lake Basin, China. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of land use changes on ecosystem services. An analysis of the land use changes was conducted based on Landsat images from 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2007. The method used to estimate the ecosystem service values (ESV) in this study extracted the equivalent weight factors of ecosystem services per hectare of terrestrial ecosystems and modified the value coefficients, and then the ESV were estimated by multiplying the area of a given land use type by the corresponding value coefficient. With the help of a sensitivity analysis, the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values was detected. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in Chaohu Lake Basin's ESV using GIS-RS technology during the study period. The results indicated that: (1) the total ESV of the Chaohu Lake Basin was 10.16 billion Yuan in 1985, 10.13 billion Yuan in 1995, 10.03 billion Yuan in 2000 and 11.44 billion Yuan in 2007. There was an increase of approximately 12.61 % over the period between 1985 and 2007, primarily because of increases in woodland and water body, (2) the area with increase in the ESV in study periods declined sharply. Where the areas were 44.24 % of total area from 1985 to 1995, 27.52 % from 1995 to 2000, 18.94 % from 2000 to 2007 and 17.34 % from 1985 to 2007, (3) the change rate of ESV in Chaohu Lake Basin was positive from 1985 to 2007. Generally, it should be emphasized on protecting woodland, water body and farmland as they have high ecosystem service value coefficients and large areas. In this way, a balance between economic development and ecosystem health will be maintained in the future. It is hoped that the results will be helpful for the management of Chaohu Lake Basin's terrestrial ecosystems.",ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES,2015,JUL J,"Scyphers, SB; Powers, SP; Akins, JL; Drymon, JM; Martin, CW; Schobernd, ZH; Schofield, PJ; Shipp, RL; Switzer, TS",The Role of Citizens in Detecting and Responding to a Rapid Marine Invasion,10.1111/conl.12127,"Documenting and responding to species invasions requires innovative strategies that account for ecological and societal complexities. We used the recent expansion of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) throughout northern Gulf of Mexico coastal waters to evaluate the role of stakeholders in documenting and responding to a rapid marine invasion. We coupled an online survey of spearfishers and citizen science monitoring programs with traditional fishery-independent data sources and found that citizen observations documented lionfish 1-2 years earlier and more frequently than traditional reef fish monitoring programs. Citizen observations first documented lionfish in 2010 followed by rapid expansion and proliferation in 2011 (+367%). From the survey of spearfishers, we determined that diving experience and personal observations of lionfish strongly influenced perceived impacts, and these perceptions were powerful predictors of support for initiatives. Our study demonstrates the value of engaging citizens for assessing and responding to large-scale and time-sensitive conservation problems.",CONSERVATION LETTERS,2015,JUL-AUG J,"Ruckelshaus, M; McKenzie, E; Tallis, H; Guerry, A; Daily, G; Kareiva, P; Polasky, S; Ricketts, T; Bhagabati, N; Wood, SA; Bernhardt, J",Notes from the field: Lessons learned from using ecosystem service approaches to inform real-world decisions,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.07.009,"While there have been rapid advances in assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES), a critical remaining challenge is how to move from scientific knowledge to real-world decision making. We offer 6 lessons from our experiences applying new approaches and tools for quantifying BES in 20 pilot demonstrations: (1) Applying a BES approach is most effective in leading to policy change as part of an iterative science-policy process; (2) simple ecological production function models have been useful in a diverse set of decision contexts, across abroad range of biophysical, social, and governance systems. Key limitations of simple models arise at very small scales, and in predicting specific future BES values; (3) training local experts in the approaches and tools is important for building local capacity, ownership, trust, and long-term success; (4) decision makers and stake-holders prefer to use a variety of BES value metrics, not only monetary values; (5) an important science gap exists in linking changes in BES to changes in livelihoods, health, cultural values, and other metrics of human wellbeing; and (6) communicating uncertainty in useful and transparent ways remains challenging. 2013 The Authors. (C) Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,JUL J,"Sangha, KK; Le Brocque, A; Costanza, R; Cadet-James, Y",Application of capability approach to assess the role of ecosystem services in the well-being of Indigenous Australians,10.1016/j.gecco.2015.09.001,"The well-being of Indigenous people in Australia and throughout the world is linked to the use and value of natural resources. This research analyses the current well-being approach applied to measure well-being of Indigenous Australians. It reports findings from three case studies in Queensland on Indigenous people's values and concerns and their capabilities in relation to natural systems. It applies a holistic approach based upon the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sen's capability approaches and proposes an integrated wellbeing model by incorporating intangible values such as cultural and identity values, that are linked to people's capabilities involving natural systems. It provides a novel way of understanding the role of natural resources in Indigenous well-being by associating natural resources with people's capabilities. The study suggests transforming the present concept of well-being and its measures for incorporating people's capabilities that can effectively inform future policy decision making. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION,2015,JUL J,"Sietz, D; Van Dijk, H",Land-based adaptation to global change: What drives soil and water conservation in western Africa?,10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.05.001,"Conservation of land resources is a promising strategy for sustainable agricultural intensification in order to adapt dryland farming systems to climate, market and other stresses. At a local level, factors that drive the adoption of conservation measures operate and interact in specific ways. Linking our knowledge of the local specifications of these drivers to regional and global patterns of vulnerability can significantly enhance our understanding of land-based adaptation to global change. However, the factors that influence the adoption of conservation practices remain actively debated. Therefore, this study presents a meta-analysis of case studies that investigate the adoption of soil and water conservation measures, as an important approach to resource conservation. Synthesising 63 adoption cases in the drylands of western Africa, this meta-analysis reveals a multitude of factors that drive the adoption of soil and water conservation practices. The drivers differ strongly between particular practices and methods of analysis used in the case studies. Contributing to the broader debate on resource conservation, the findings highlight the adoption of soil and water conservation measures as an emergent property of farming systems. They demonstrate the need to better understand the socio-ecological foundation of adoption and the pathways along which adoption evolves in space and time. This study concludes with methodological principles to advance future research on the factors that drive the adoption of soil and water conservation measures as a pre-requisite of improving land-based adaptation efforts. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS,2015,JUL J,"Huxham, M; Emerton, L; Kairo, J; Munyi, F; Abdirizak, H; Muriuki, T; Nunan, F; Briers, RA",Applying Climate Compatible Development and economic valuation to coastal management: A case study of Kenya's mangrove forests,10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.04.018,"Mangrove forests are under global pressure. Habitat destruction and degradation persist despite long-standing recognition of the important ecological functions of mangroves. Hence new approaches are needed to help stakeholders and policy-makers achieve sound management that is informed by the best science. Here we explore how the new policy concept of Climate Compatible Development (CCD) can be applied to achieve better outcomes. We use economic valuation approaches to combine socio-economic data, projections of forest cover based on quantitative risk mapping and storyline scenario building exercises to articulate the economic consequences of plausible alternative future scenarios for the mangrove forests of the South Kenya coast, as a case study of relevance to many other areas. Using data from 645 household surveys, 10 focus groups and 74 interviews conducted across four mangrove sites, and combining these with information on fish catches taken at three landing sites, a mangrove carbon trading project and published data allowed us to make a thorough (although still partial) economic valuation of the forests. This gave a current value of the South Coast mangroves of USD 6.5 million, or USD 1166 ha(-1), with 59% of this value on average derived from regulating services. Quantitative risk mapping, projecting recent trends over the next twenty years, suggests a 43% loss of forest cover over that time with 100% loss at the most vulnerable sites. Much of the forest lost between 1992 and 2012 has not been replaced by high value alternative land uses hence restoration of these areas is feasible and may not involve large opportunity costs. We invited thirty eight stakeholders to develop plausible storyline scenarios reflecting Business as Usual (BAU) and CCD which emphasises sustainable forest conservation and management in twenty years time, drawing on local and regional expert knowledge of relevant policy, social trends and cultures. Combining these scenarios with the quantitative projections and economic baseline allowed the modelling of likely value added and costs avoided under the CCD scenario. This suggests a net present value of more than US$20 million of adoption of CCD rather than BAU. This work adds to the economic evidence for mangrove conservation and helps to underline the importance of new real and emerging markets, such as for REDD + projects, in making this case for carbon-rich coastal habitats. It demonstrates a policy tool CCD that can be used to engage stakeholders and help to co-ordinate policy across different sectors towards mangrove conservation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2015,jul 1 J,"Johnson, FA; Eaton, MJ; Williams, JH; Jensen, GH; Madsen, J",Training Conservation Practitioners to be Better Decision Makers,10.3390/su7078354,"Traditional conservation curricula and training typically emphasizes only one part of systematic decision making (i.e., the science), at the expense of preparing conservation practitioners with critical skills in values-setting, working with decision makers and stakeholders, and effective problem framing. In this article we describe how the application of decision science is relevant to conservation problems and suggest how current and future conservation practitioners can be trained to be better decision makers. Though decision-analytic approaches vary considerably, they all involve: (1) properly formulating the decision problem; (2) specifying feasible alternative actions; and (3) selecting criteria for evaluating potential outcomes. Two approaches are available for providing training in decision science, with each serving different needs. Formal education is useful for providing simple, well-defined problems that allow demonstrations of the structure, axioms and general characteristics of a decision-analytic approach. In contrast, practical training can offer complex, realistic decision problems requiring more careful structuring and analysis than those used for formal training purposes. Ultimately, the kinds and degree of training necessary depend on the role conservation practitioners play in a decision-making process. Those attempting to facilitate decision-making processes will need advanced training in both technical aspects of decision science and in facilitation techniques, as well as opportunities to apprentice under decision analysts/consultants. Our primary goal should be an attempt to ingrain a discipline for applying clarity of thought to all decisions.",SUSTAINABILITY,2015,JUL J,"Daw, TM; Coulthard, S; Cheung, WWL; Brown, K; Abunge, C; Galafassi, D; Peterson, GD; McClanahan, TR; Omukoto, JO; Munyi, L",Evaluating taboo trade-offs in ecosystems services and human well-being,10.1073/pnas.1414900112,"Managing ecosystems for multiple ecosystem services and balancing the well-being of diverse stakeholders involves different kinds of trade-offs. Often trade-offs involve noneconomic and difficult-to-evaluate values, such as cultural identity, employment, the well-being of poor people, or particular species or ecosystem structures. Although trade-offs need to be considered for successful environmental management, they are often overlooked in favor of win-wins. Management and policy decisions demand approaches that can explicitly acknowledge and evaluate diverse trade-offs. We identified a diversity of apparent trade-offs in a small-scale tropical fishery when ecological simulations were integrated with participatory assessments of social-ecological system structure and stakeholders' well-being. Despite an apparent win-win between conservation and profitability at the aggregate scale, food production, employment, and well-being of marginalized stakeholders were differentially influenced by management decisions leading to trade-offs. Some of these trade-offs were suggested to be taboo trade-offs between morally incommensurable values, such as between profits and the well-being of marginalized women. These were not previously recognized as management issues. Stakeholders explored and deliberated over trade-offs supported by an interactive toy model representing key system trade-offs, alongside qualitative narrative scenarios of the future. The concept of taboo trade-offs suggests that psychological bias and social sensitivity may exclude key issues from decision making, which can result in policies that are difficult to implement. Our participatory modeling and scenarios approach has the potential to increase awareness of such trade-offs, promote discussion of what is acceptable, and potentially identify and reduce obstacles to management compliance.",PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2015,jun 2 J,"van Oort, B; Bhatta, LD; Baral, H; Rai, RK; Dhakal, M; Rucevska, I; Adhikari, R","Assessing community values to support mapping of ecosystem services in the Koshi river basin, Nepal",10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.11.004,"Human activities and climate change are key factors impacting ecosystem functions and its goods and services, which are important to the livelihoods of mountain communities. In Nepal, community based ecosystem management has been widely adopted as a way to secure local management and empowerment, but local knowledge, perceptions and values of ecosystem change and services are often ignored, and perhaps inadequately understood, in decision-making processes at district or national level. Our objective therefore was to develop a multi-method approach to support mapping of ecosystem services and assessing their local values. Local perceptions of ecosystem use, change and values were identified using participatory mapping, key informant and focus group discussions, and an extensive household survey carried out in the upstream Koshi River basin. Results were cross-validated with scientific literature, statistics and remote sensing data. Key ecosystem services identified are water, agricultural produce, and various forest products, most of which show a declining trend. We demonstrate that the use of different methods and levels of input results in different and complementary types of insights and detail needed for balanced and informed decision-making regarding sustainable management of ESs to secure current and future livelihoods and ecosystem functioning. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,JUN J,"Saha, GC","Climate Change Induced Precipitation Effects on Water Resources in the Peace Region of British Columbia, Canada",10.3390/cli3020264,"Climate change would significantly affect the temporal pattern and amount of annual precipitation at the regional level, which in turn would affect the regional water resources and future water availability. The Peace Region is a critical region for northern British Columbia's social, environmental, and economic development, due to its potential in various land use activities. This study investigated the impacts of future climate change induced precipitation on water resources under the A2 and B1 greenhouse gas emission scenarios for 2020-2040 in a study area along the main river of the Kiskatinaw River watershed in the Peace Region as a case study using the Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) modeling system. The simulation results showed that climate change induced precipitation changes significantly affect monthly, seasonal and annual stream flows. With respect to the mean annual stream flow of the reference period (2000-2011), the mean annual stream flow from 2020 to 2040 under the A2 and B1 scenarios is expected to increase by 15.5% and 12.1%, respectively, due to the increased precipitation (on average 5.5% in the A2 and 3.5% in the B1 scenarios) and temperature (on average 0.76 degrees C in the A2 and 0.57 degrees C in the B1 scenarios) predicted, with respect to that under the reference period. From the seasonal point of view, the mean seasonal stream flow during winter, spring, summer and fall from 2020 to 2040 under the A2 scenario is expected to increase by 10%, 16%, 11%, and 11%, respectively. On the other hand, under the B1 scenario these numbers are 6%, 15%, 6%, and 8%, respectively. Increased precipitation also resulted in increased groundwater discharge and surface runoff. The obtained results from this study will provide valuable information for the study area in the long-term period for seasonal and annual water extractions from the river and allocation to the stakeholders for future water supply, and help develop a regional water resources management plan for climate change induced precipitation changes.",CLIMATE,2015,JUN J,"Lutz, DA; Howarth, RB",The price of snow: albedo valuation and a case study for forest management,10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/064013,"Several climate frameworks have included the role of carbon storage in natural landscapes as a potential mechanism for climate change mitigation. This has resulted in an incentive to grow and maintain intact long-lived forest ecosystems. However, recent research has suggested that the influence of albedo-related radiative forcing can impart equal and in some cases greater magnitudes of climate mitigation compared to carbon storage in forests where snowfall is common and biomass is slow-growing. While several methodologies exist for relating albedo-associated radiative forcing to carbon storage for the analysis of the tradeoffs of these ecosystem services, they are varied, and they have yet to be contrasted in a case study with implications for future forest management. Here we utilize four methodologies for calculating a shadow price for albedo radiative forcing and apply the resulting eight prices to an ecological and economic forest model to examine the effects on optimal rotation periods on two different forest stands in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, USA. These pricing methodologies produce distinctly different shadow prices of albedo, varying from a high of 9.36 x 10(-4) and a low of 1.75 x 10(-5) $w(-1) yr(-1) in the initial year, to a high of 0.019 and a low of 3.55 x 10(-4) $w(-1) yr(-1) in year 200 of the simulation. When implemented in the forest model, optimal rotation periods also varied considerably, from a low of 2 to a high of 107 years for a spruce-fir stand and from 35 to 80 years for a maple-beech-birch stand. Our results suggest that the choice of climate metrics and pricing methodologies for use with forest albedo alter albedo prices considerably, may substantially adjust optimal rotation period length, and therefore may have consequences with respect to forest land cover change.",ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS,2015,JUN J,"Oleson, KLL; Barnes, M; Brander, LM; Oliver, TA; van Beek, I; Zafindrasilivonona, B; van Beukering, P",Cultural bequest values for ecosystem service flows among indigenous fishers: A discrete choice experiment validated with mixed methods,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.02.028,"Perhaps the most understudied ecosystem services are related to socio-cultural values tied to non-material benefits arising from human-ecosystem relationships. Bequest values linked to natural ecosystems can be particularly significant for indigenous communities whose livelihoods and cultures are tied to ecosystems. Here we apply a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to determine indigenous fishers' preferences and willingness-to-pay for bequest gains from management actions in a locally managed marine area in Madagascar, and use our results to estimate an implicit discount rate. We validate our results using a unique rating and ranking game and other mixed methods. We find that bequest is highly valued and important; respondents were willing to pay a substantial portion of their income to protect ecosystems for future generations. Through all of our inquiries, bequest emerged as the highest priority, even when respondents were forced to make trade-offs among other livelihood-supporting ecosystem services. This study is among a relative few to quantify bequest values and apply a DCE to model trade-offs, value ecosystem service flows, and estimate discount rates in a developing country. Our results directly inform coastal management in Madagascar and elsewhere by providing information on the socio-cultural value of bequest in comparison to other ecosystem service benefits. (c) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,JUN J,"Vollmer, D; Prescott, MF; Padawangi, R; Girot, C; Gret-Regamey, A",Understanding the value of urban riparian corridors: Considerations in planning for cultural services along an Indonesian river,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.011,"Cultural ecosystem services are not easily integrated into planning decisions when rehabilitating urban rivers. Methods exist to characterize the value of these cultural services, but there are methodological challenges to obtaining this information and fitting it to a decision context, particularly when weighed against monetary costs and benefits. In a developing country, these challenges can be magnified and thus the value of cultural services is seldom considered. We illustrate this through a case study of a river in Jakarta, Indonesia, where plans call for widening the river channel, stabilizing the banks with concrete, and restrictingaccess to the river. We employ a mixed-method approach of household surveys, a discrete choice experiment and ethnographic interviews, to ascertain historical and present uses of the river, and residents' preferences for future change to the river. We demonstrate that low-income residents value non- or indirect-use cultural services that the river corridor provides services that would be lost under the current rehabilitation plan. By assessing residents' willingness to pay for cultural services, we can more easily compare these scenarios to the current plan. We also show how our mixed-methods approach to valuation can help frame and interpret quantitative results, so that decision makers have additional contextual information. We demonstrate that such approaches are feasible and sometimes necessary in complex, data-poor urban environments. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2015,JUN J,"Nielsen, SN; Jorgensen, SE",Sustainability analysis of a society based on exergy studies - a case study of the island of Samso (Denmark),10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.035,"The Danish island Sarno has since 1997 initiated a process through which the island should reach a state where it would be able to supply its own energy. Such a situation was reached since 2005 - after having established 21 windmills - and the island is now a net exporter of electricity to the Danish power network. At the same time the buildings in the more habituated areas were connected to 4 district heating plants which generate heat from combustion of straw in some cases combined with supplementary inputs from photo thermal devices. Meanwhile, certain activities on the island, such as running the ferries, cars, factories and heating in more distant areas are still dependent on significant input of fossil fuels. The inhabitants have recently stated a wish to move on towards being independent of fossil fuels in 2030 and carbon neutral during the next decades. As a consequence the idea came up to develop a method for the sustainability analysis of a society which would assist in governing the transitional process in the direction of increasing sustainability. Therefore, a framework has been developed based on the concept exergy that may reveal where large consumptions are taking places. Such areas are likely to be sensible targets for action or at least increased attention. Basic methods have been developed that allows to account for infrastructure, transfers, inputs and outputs, and consumption in terms of exergy, and taking into account whether the exergy storages or flows can be considered to be renewable or not. The framework has been developed for six societal sectors: the energy sector, the public sector, the private households, the agricultural sector, the industry, commerce and trade sector and nature. Nature is here considered an activity that provides the society with an exergy that may also be of value to our societies, often referred to as ecosystem services. Based on the estimated amount of infrastructure and transfers, inputs and outputs a number of sustainability indicators have been developed that may be monitored over time and which may serve to indicate whether potential measures undertaken also lead the society in the right direction. An attempt to evaluate the potential importance of wastes has also been carried out as in organic waste could play an important role in acquiring the amount of bio-diesel required to run the ferries in the future. The results demonstrate that the already existing overhead in production of electricity leaves the island with many options and a great opportunity to be independent of fossil fuels in near future. In fact, it might well be that socio-economical perspectives will turn out to be the more severe obstacles in the transition process. Adjacent to this work a carbon model has also been set up to reveal the consequence of proposed measures and strategies to the carbon budget of the island (Jorgensen and Nielsen, 2014). 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2015,jun 1 J,"Friggens, M; Raish, C; Finch, D; McSweeney, A","The influence of personal belief, agency mission and city size on open space decision making processes in three southwestern cities",10.1007/s11252-014-0419-3,"The southwest has experienced dramatic population increases over the last 30 years, a trend that is expected to continue. Open space conservation is important both from the standpoint of preserving ecosystem services as well as maintaining quality of life for urban populations. Federal agencies manage a large proportion of the public land in the Southwestern U.S. We surveyed federal land management agencies with jurisdiction in three cities representing a gradient in size and population: Phoenix, Arizona, Albuquerque and Las Cruces, New Mexico. A questionnaire was sent via email to 918 federal land and resource managers, professionals, and researchers. We also collected comments from respondents to identify specific perceptions concerning the use and importance of open space. Our primary questions sought to elicit individual preferences regarding open space as well as respondent perceptions of the relation between agency mission and open space management. Certain questions asked respondents to provide their own views on these topics, while other questions asked them to provide their opinions concerning agency views. We looked for differences among respondents from different cities and from different government departments, and compared lower- versus higher-grade employees. Individuals from Phoenix tended to value open space more than those from Albuquerque and Las Cruces, which we attribute in part to differences in resource availability among the cities studied. Higher-grade employees tended to agree more that federal agencies were addressing potential future issues, and may reflect different levels of awareness of agency activities among respondents. Our study highlights the importance of considering agency mission and landscape context in multijurisdictional open space planning.",URBAN ECOSYSTEMS,2015,JUN J,"de Oliveira, G; Lima-Ribeiro, MS; Terribile, LC; Dobrovolski, R; Telles, MPD; Diniz, JAF",CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE CERRADO'S WILD EDIBLE PLANTS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE: LINKING BIOTIC STABILITY WITH AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION,10.3732/ajb.1400352,"Premise of the study: Wild edible plants (WEPs) have an important cultural and economic role in human population worldwide. Human impacts are quickly converting natural habitats in agricultural, cattle ranch, and urbanized lands, putting native species on peril of risk of extinction, including some WEPs. Moreover, global climate changes also can pose another threat to species persistency. Here, we established conservation priorities for the Cerrado, a neotropical region in South America with high levels of plant endemism and vulnerability, aiming to assure long-term persistency of 16 most important WEPs. We evaluated these conservation priorities using a conservation biogeography framework using ecological patterns and process at a biogeographical scale to deal with species conservation features. Methods: We built ecological niche models for 16 WEPs from Cerrado in the neotropics using climate models for preindustrial, past (Last Glacial Maximum) and future (year 2080) time periods to establish climatically stable areas through time, finding refugias for these WEPs. We used a spatial prioritization algorithm based on the spatial pattern of irreplaceability across the neotropics, aiming to ensure the persistence of at least 25% of range size in climatically stable areas for each WEP, using agricultural models as constraints. Key results: The Southeast Cerrado was the most biotically stable and irreplaceable region for the WEPs compared with other areas across the neotropics. Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that the Southeast Cerrado should be considered a conservation priority, with new protected areas to be sustainably managed and restored, to guarantee the supply of cultural and ecosystem services provided from the Cerrado's WEPs.",AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY,2015,JUN J,"Levine, J; Chan, KMA; Satterfield, T",From rational actor to efficient complexity manager: Exorcising the ghost of Homo economicus with a unified synthesis of cognition research,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.03.010,"It is,now commonplace to note that economics' canonical model of humans as rational, self-interested utility-maximizers (Homo economicus) is both descriptively misleading, and often insufficiently predictive. However, certain outdated assumptions tied to Homo economicus persist, often influencing discourse and research design even in sustainability-oriented fields. We argue this 'ghost' of Homo economicus endures because the diversity of findings that confound the canonical model has surfaced across multiple behavioral and cognitive sciences, each with its own terminology and focus area. As such, a unified, accessible synthesis of this new information has yet to emerge. In this paper we review recent insights from across the behavioral and cognitive sciences, and propose an 'efficient complexity manager' (ECM) model (Homo efficens) as the best synthesizing option. The crux of this model is that our species works within biological limits to efficiently filter massive environmental complexity. This is achieved largely through analogical or 'case-based' reasoning. We explain this synthesized model using a series of accessible metaphors. Finally, we speculate on how this model may enrich future sustainable development research insofar as it points to fruitful units of analysis, can stimulate methodological innovation, and provide a more explicit theoretical foundation for the field. (c) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,JUN J,"Vizzarri, M; Tognetti, R; Marchetti, M","Forest Ecosystem Services: Issues and Challenges for Biodiversity, Conservation, and Management in Italy",10.3390/f6061810,"Although forest ecosystems are fundamental sources of services and global biodiversity, their capacity to maintain these benefits in the future is potentially threatened by anthropogenic impacts such as climate change, land use, and unsustainable management practices. Thus far, studies focusing on forests and their services have gained less attention compared with studies on other biomes. Additionally, management practices may potentially undermine the capacity of forests to sustain biodiversity conservation and services in the future, especially outside protected areas. This study linked the concepts of biodiversity and forest ecosystem services at the national level in Italy. Through a downscaled review, we first analyzed management issues, challenges, and needs within the context of forest ecosystem services. We then carried out a survey on protected areas. The results show that forest biodiversity supports the provision of other services and, hence, needs to be preserved and supported by adaptive management practices. Current research on forest ecosystem services must extend policy trajectories to protected areas (i.e., National Parks) as centers of biodiversity and models of the sustainable use of resources.",FORESTS,2015,JUN J,"Rodriguez-Rodriguez, D; Kain, JH; Haase, D; Baro, F; Kaczorowska, A",Urban self-sufficiency through optimised ecosystem service demand. A utopian perspective from European cities,10.1016/j.futures.2015.03.007,"Most cities are not self-sufficient in terms of supply and demand of urban ecosystem services (UES) which creates important social, economic and environmental problems at different scales. Cities have enormous potential to reduce pressures on the environment while enhancing wellbeing for their inhabitants by acting both on the UES supply and demand sides. In this study we focus on the demand side by exploring the feasibility of self-sufficient cities under an environmentally radical, utopian scenario that implies the optimisation of UES demand by individuals, i.e. the minimum possible consumption of provisioning UES, a reduced need for regulating LIES and the adequate fulfilment of cultural UES demand for a reasonable human wellbeing. Definitions of optimal demand are provided for a set of essential UES by 2050: food supply, freshwater supply, urban cooling, air purification, carbon sequestration, flood prevention, physical recreation and mental recreation. Operational LIES demand indicators are identified for these UES. Based on these, we show the current average ecosystem service demand values in European cities, the current most exigent demand values and propose optimised future demand values. These utopian values intend to serve as benchmarks towards optimised LIES demand that will make cities more self-sufficient. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",FUTURES,2015,JUN J,"Wei, Q; Tong, LJ; Gondwe, J; Lv, XG; Tong, WM; Liu, Y","Non-use value trends analysis of wetland ecosystem in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China",10.1007/s11273-014-9384-0,"The total economic value of wetland ecosystem services can be separated into use value and non-use value. The non-use value assessment on a large time scale is insignificant for the wetland management policies. This paper uses an economic model to analyze the non-use value trends based on the former willingness to pay survey of the non-use value in the Sanjiang Plain. The assessment results show that under the combined effect of the discount rate and the change of relative price, the curve of the non-use value displays a gradually rising at first and then declining trend. The non-use value curve reaches a maximum after 42 years when the non-use value is $55.01 and the remaining wetland areas is 56.35 % of the situation in 2007. The elasticity of marginal utility of consumption and the elasticity of substitution substantially affect the assessment results. As they become larger, the combined effect of the discount rate and the change of relative price becomes larger too. This will result in a relative lower result of the non-use value assessment and minor supports for today measures of the wetland ecosystem conversation. Speeding up the recovery rate of wetland ecosystem is in favor of bringing down the costs of wetlands conservation, and if the wetland ecosystem in the Sanjiang Plain enter into a healthy state, people will not have to worry about whether or not others or future generations have the opportunity to use it in the future.",WETLANDS ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT,2015,JUN J,"Al-Assaf, AA",Applying contingent valuation to measure the economic value of forest services: a case study in Northern Jordan,10.1080/13504509.2015.1004379,"This paper reports an attempt to apply the contingent valuation method (CVM) to value ecosystem services in Jordan's northern forests. I employed the CVM to obtain an estimate for the population's willingness to pay (WTP) for restoration and conservation of services in this area. I sampled 300 rural households through in-person interviews, then applied two econometric models to examine the incentives for WTP. The aggregate present value benefit is 3,569,556 Jordanian Dinar for the whole of Jordan's northern forests; this valuation is based on the amount participants were willing to contribute to maintain forest ecosystem services. The conservation cost is assumed to reflect the direct value gained from human utilization of forest services. Results suggest a correlation between WTP and household income, as well as WTP and classification of services. I assess that income and forest service type most directly shaped participants' WTP for forest conservation. The study also indicates that the CVM can successfully be applied to Jordan and may be a viable and potentially useful direction for future research on environment valuation in other developing countries in the Middle East.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2015,mayo 4 J,"Plieninger, T; Levers, C; Mantel, M; Costa, A; Schaich, H; Kuemmerle, T",Patterns and Drivers of Scattered Tree Loss in Agricultural Landscapes: Orchard Meadows in Germany (1968-2009),10.1371/journal.pone.0126178,"Scattered trees support high levels of farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, but they are threatened by agricultural intensification, urbanization, and land abandonment. This study aimed to map and quantify the decline of orchard meadows (scattered fruit trees of high nature conservation value) for a region in Southwestern Germany for the 1968 2009 period and to identify the driving forces of this decline. We derived orchard meadow loss from 1968 and 2009 aerial images and used a boosted regression trees modelling framework to assess the relative importance of 18 environmental, demographic, and socio-economic variables to test five alternative hypothesis explaining orchard meadow loss. We found that orchard meadow loss occurred in flatter areas, in areas where smaller plot sizes and fragmented orchard meadows prevailed, and in areas near settlements and infrastructure. The analysis did not confirm that orchard meadow loss was higher in areas where agricultural intensification was stronger and in areas of lower implementation levels of conservation policies. Our results demonstrated that the influential drivers of orchard meadow loss were those that reduce economic profitability and increase opportunity costs for orchards, providing incentives for converting orchard meadows to other, more profitable land uses. These insights could be taken up by local-and regional-level conservation policies to identify the sites of persistent orchard meadows in agricultural landscapes that would be prioritized in conservation efforts.",PLOS ONE,2015,mayo 1 J,"Clot, S; Andriamahefazafy, F; Grolleau, G; Ibanez, L; Meral, P",Compensation and Rewards for Environmental Services (CRES) and efficient design of contracts in developing countries. Behavioral insights from a natural field experiment,10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.02.021,"The use of economic incentives for biodiversity (mostly Compensation and Reward for Environmental Services including Payment for ES) has been widely supported in the past decades and became the main innovative policy tools for biodiversity conservation worldwide. These policy tools are often based on the insight that rational actors perfectly weigh the costs and benefits of adopting certain behaviors and well-crafted economic incentives and disincentives will lead to socially desirable development scenarios. This rationalist mode of thought has provided interesting insights and results, but it also misestimates the context by which 'real individuals' come to decisions, and the multitude of factors influencing development sequences. In this study, our goal is to examine how these policies can take advantage of some unintended behavioral reactions that might in return impact, either positively or negatively, general policy performances. We test the effect of income's origin ('Low effort' based money vs. 'High effort' based money) on spending decisions (Necessity vs. Superior goods) and subsequent pro social preferences (Future pro-environmental behavior) within Madagascar rural areas, using a natural field experiment. Our results show that money obtained under low effort leads to different consumption patterns than money obtained under high efforts: superior goods are more salient in the case of low effort money. In parallel, money obtained under low effort leads to subsequent higher pro social behavior. Compensation and rewards policies for ecosystem services may mobilize knowledge on behavioral biases to improve their design and foster positive spillovers on their development goals. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS,2015,MAY J,"Convertino, M; Munoz-Carpena, R; Kiker, GA; Perz, SG",Design of optimal ecosystem monitoring networks: hotspot detection and biodiversity patterns,10.1007/s00477-014-0999-8,"Effective monitoring of ecosystems is crucial for assessing and possibly anticipating shifts, quantifying ecosystem services, and optimal decision making based on shifts and services. The selection of monitoring sites is typically suboptimal following local stakeholder or research interests that do not allow to capture ecosystem patterns and dynamics as a whole. The design of optimal monitoring network is crucial for the accurate determination of biodiversity patterns of ecosystems. A novel model for the design of optimal monitoring networks for biodiversity based on the concept of the value of information (VoI) is proposed. The VoI is assigned to species richness that is the economically and ecologically valuable metric. As a case study the trinational frontier ecosystem among Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia is considered for the model. A multiresolution texture-based model estimates species richness and turnover on satellite imagery calibrated on different sets of information coming from forest plot data organized in network topologies. The optimal monitoring network is the network that minimizes the integrated VoI defined as the variation of the VoI in the 28 years considered. This is equivalent to minimize the sum of the species turnover of the ecosystem. The small world network is identified as the optimal and most resilient monitoring network whose nodes are the hotspots of species richness. The hotspots are identified as the sites whose VoI is the highest for the whole period considered. Hence, the hotspots are the most valuable communities for inferring biodiversity patterns and the most ecologically/economically valuable according to the richness-resilience hypothesis. Most hotspots are honored by the small world network that can be thought as the backbone ecological network of the ecosystem. The small world monitoring network has an accuracy similar to 50 % higher than other network topologies in predicting biodiversity patterns. This network has the highest VoI at any time step and scale considered; thus, it guarantees to track changes of ecosystems in space and time. The network that results from the optimal trade-off between data value with their uncertainty and relevance, has deep implications for understanding ecosystem function and for management decisions. The model allows to include preferences for ecosystem communities by using differential weights on the VoI of these communities, and economic constraints that limit the extension of the network. Because of the optimal integration of environmental, social, and economical factors the model allows a sustainable monitoring and planning of biodiversity for the future.",STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND RISK ASSESSMENT,2015,MAY J,"Arsanjani, TJ; Javidan, R; Nazemosadat, MJ; Arsanjani, JJ; Vaz, E",Spatiotemporal monitoring of Bakhtegan Lake's areal fluctuations and an exploration of its future status by applying a cellular automata model,10.1016/j.cageo.2015.02.004,"Recent developments of geospatial technologies and models have provided environmentalists and naturalists with a wide variety of facilities and approaches for improved monitoring and management of environmental resources. Rich temporal remote sensing datasets, e.g., Landsat imagery as well as geospatial modeling techniques, facilitate the process of monitoring and modeling environmental phenomena. The main objective of this paper is to monitor the spatiotemporal patterns of fluctuations of a dynamic lake in the south of Iran - Bakhtegan Lake - which has been influenced by extreme climate change conditions. To do so, a temporal coverage of 12 Landsat images from 1973 to 2013, was used to delineate the boundaries of the lake over time and analyze the occurred changes. Next, a cellular automata (CA) approach was adopted for simulating two main processes: 'lake expansion' and 'lake shrinkage'. The CA model was then calibrated based on a statistical comparison of the simulated and actual images of one timestamp. Application of Kappa index analysis measures the performance of the model at a value of 83 percent. The calibrated CA model was then applied and the future status of the lake (by 2017) was modeled; this suggested a further 45 percent shrinkage in addition to its recent 42 percent shrinkage. In conclusion, the socio-ecological impacts and consequences of the lake's fluctuations are discussed in detail and some complementary recommendations are proposed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES,2015,MAY J,"Cheng, XF; Shi, PJ; Hui, C; Wang, FS; Liu, GH; Li, BL",An optimal proportion of mixing broad-leaved forest for enhancing the effective productivity of moso bamboo,10.1002/ece3.1446,"Moso bamboos (Phyllostachys edulis) are important forestry plants in southern China, with substantial roles to play in regional economic and ecological systems. Mixing broad-leaved forests and moso bamboos is a common management practice in China, and it is fundamental to elucidate the interactions between broad-leaved trees and moso bamboos for ensuring the sustainable provision of ecosystem services. We examine how the proportion of broad-leaved forest in a mixed managed zone, topology, and soil profile affects the effective productivity of moso bamboos (i.e., those with significant economic value), using linear regression and generalized additive models. Bamboo's diameter at breast height follows a Weibull distribution. The importance of these variables to bamboo productivity is, respectively, slope (25.9%), the proportion of broad-leaved forest (24.8%), elevation (23.3%), gravel content by volume (16.6%), slope location (8.3%), and soil layer thickness (1.2%). Highest productivity is found on the 25 degrees slope, with a 600-m elevation, and 30% broad-leaved forest. As such, broad-leaved forest in the upper slope can have a strong influence on the effective productivity of moso bamboo, ranking only after slope and before elevation. These factors can be considered in future management practice.",ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,2015,APR J,"Runting, RK; Meijaard, E; Abram, NK; Wells, JA; Gaveau, DLA; Ancrenaz, M; Posssingham, HP; Wich, SA; Ardiansyah, F; Gumal, MT; Ambu, LN; Wilson, KA",Alternative futures for Borneo show the value of integrating economic and conservation targets across borders,10.1038/ncomms7819,"Balancing economic development with international commitments to protect biodiversity is a global challenge. Achieving this balance requires an understanding of the possible consequences of alternative future scenarios for a range of stakeholders. We employ an integrated economic and environmental planning approach to evaluate four alternative futures for the mega-diverse island of Borneo. We show what could be achieved if the three national jurisdictions of Borneo coordinate efforts to achieve their public policy targets and allow a partial reallocation of planned land uses. We reveal the potential for Borneo to simultaneously retain similar to 50% of its land as forests, protect adequate habitat for the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), and achieve an opportunity cost saving of over US$43 billion. Such coordination would depend on enhanced information sharing and reforms to land-use planning, which could be supported by the increasingly international nature of economies and conservation efforts.",NATURE COMMUNICATIONS,2015,APR J,"Scales, IR",Paying for nature: what every conservationist should know about political economy,10.1017/S0030605314000015,"Global conservation policy and global capitalism have become increasingly intertwined over the last decade. The move towards 'green capitalism' has manifested itself in diverse ways, most notably in the expansion of payments for environmental services and attempts to commodify nature. However, there are concerns that prioritizing the financial value of nature could undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity. One particularly strong set of critiques has emerged from political economy. While providing rich theoretical and empirical insights into the potential downsides of green capitalism, the literature is often dense and difficult for non-specialists to navigate. Here I review and translate its main concepts and critiques for a conservation audience. I begin by exploring the basic process of commodity exchange. I then consider nature as a reluctant and uncooperative commodity that often requires new institutions and technologies to be commodified. This means conservation organizations play a key role in green capitalism's political economy. These developments are likely to have considerable social and environmental impacts, with a highly uneven distribution of costs and benefits.",ORYX,2015,APR J,"Soto, SC; Louie, SY; Cherrington, AL; Parada, H; Horton, LA; Ayala, GX","An Ecological Perspective on Diabetes Self-care Support, Self-management Behaviors, and Hemoglobin A1C Among Latinos",10.1177/0145721715569078,"Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the role of self, interpersonal (ie, family/friend), and organizational (ie, health care) support in performing diabetes-related self-management behaviors and hemoglobin A1C (A1C) levels among rural Latinos with type 2 diabetes. Methods Cross-sectional data from baseline interviews and medical records were used from a randomized controlled trial conducted in rural Southern California involving a clinic sample of Latinos with type 2 diabetes (N = 317). Self-management behaviors included fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake, physical activity, glucose monitoring, daily examination of feet, and medication adherence. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships of sources of support with self-management behaviors and A1C. Results Higher levels of self-support were significantly associated with eating fruits and vegetables most days/week, eating high-fat foods few days/week, engaging in physical activity most days/week, daily feet examinations, and self-reported medication adherence. Self-support was also related to A1C. Family/friend support was significantly associated with eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in physical activity most days/week. Health care support was significantly associated with consuming fats most days/week. Conclusions Health care practitioners and future interventions should focus on improving individuals' diabetes management behaviors, with the ultimate goal of promoting glycemic control. Eliciting family/friend support should be encouraged to promote fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity.",DIABETES EDUCATOR,2015,APR J,"Siyal, SH; Mortberg, U; Mentis, D; Welsch, M; Babelon, I; Howells, M",Wind energy assessment considering geographic and environmental restrictions in Sweden: A GIS-based approach,10.1016/j.energy.2015.02.044,"The wind energy being a freely available and low-carbon energy source has got the focus of decision makers around the world, because wind energy systems can reduce the dependence of a nation on fossil fuels and can contribute to a sustainable development of both climate and energy. However, wind power comes with certain environmental impacts and land use constraints that should be taken into account, in order to reach main sustainability goals concerning biodiversity and ecosystem services. The Swedish national goal regarding wind energy development has been set to 30 TWh by the year 2020, of which 20 TWh should come from the on-shore wind energy resource. Therefore, wind energy development in Sweden could play an important role in achieving the future energy and environmental targets. In this regard, we assessed the wind energy potential available in Sweden using a GIS-based approach. We aimed to estimate the technical onshore wind energy potential available in Sweden by considering system performance, topographic limitations, environmental, and land use constraints in the form of two restriction scenarios. The results of this paper can draw the attention of decision makers to reach a sustainable wind energy development in Sweden. The results achieved in this paper suggest that Sweden possesses sufficient wind energy potential and land area available for wind energy installations, which can be used to meet the future renewable energy targets in Sweden. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENERGY,2015,abr 1 J,"Childers, DL; Cadenasso, ML; Grove, JM; Marshall, V; McGrath, B; Pickett, STA",An Ecology for Cities: A Transformational Nexus of Design and Ecology to Advance Climate Change Resilience and Urban Sustainability,10.3390/su7043774,"Cities around the world are facing an ever-increasing variety of challenges that seem to make more sustainable urban futures elusive. Many of these challenges are being driven by, and exacerbated by, increases in urban populations and climate change. Novel solutions are needed today if our cities are to have any hope of more sustainable and resilient futures. Because most of the environmental impacts of any project are manifest at the point of design, we posit that this is where a real difference in urban development can be made. To this end, we present a transformative model that merges urban design and ecology into an inclusive, creative, knowledge-to-action process. This design-ecology nexus-an ecology for cities-will redefine both the process and its products. In this paper we: (1) summarize the relationships among design, infrastructure, and urban development, emphasizing the importance of joining the three to achieve urban climate resilience and enhance sustainability; (2) discuss how urban ecology can move from an ecology of cities to an ecology for cities based on a knowledge-to-action agenda; (3) detail our model for a transformational urban design-ecology nexus, and; (4) demonstrate the efficacy of our model with several case studies.",SUSTAINABILITY,2015,APR J,"Bohnet, IC; Konold, W","New approaches to support implementation of nature conservation, landscape management and cultural landscape development: experiences from Germany's southwest",10.1007/s11625-015-0290-z,"Worldwide natural landscapes are being replaced by human-dominated landscapes. A main feature is the human imprint that shapes and re-shapes these landscapes and reflects the socio-economic, political and cultural conditions as well as needs and values of a particular society at a given time. Some of these landscapes are considered cultural landscapes, in particular those that evolved over long periods of time and created biologically and culturally diverse landscapes with characteristic landscape elements. These cultural landscapes are considered worthy of protection. However, protecting or 'freezing' cultural landscapes at a particular point in time seems to be a contradictive goal since they have been continuously evolving based on their use and management. Therefore, maintaining and developing cultural landscapes or landscape elements in a way that they can contribute to their unique character whilst protecting internationally and nationally listed habitats and species appears to be a more sensible goal. We present Germany's southwest, the state of Baden-Wurttemberg as a case study. We discuss the wide range of instruments that have been put in place to maintain and develop Baden-Wurttemberg's cultural landscapes. We speculate about their future and argue that to maintain and develop these and other cultural landscapes around the globe require creative strategies that complement the conventional nature conservation and landscape management approaches. Although no panacea, regional development strategies that are developed from the bottom-up and are embedded in legal planning frameworks are likely to support management and development of cultural landscapes more effectively than any individual applications of the existing conventional approaches.",SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE,2015,APR J,"Vogt, JM; Watkins, SL; Mincey, SK; Patterson, MS; Fischer, BC",Explaining planted-tree survival and growth in urban neighborhoods: A social-ecological approach to studying recently-planted trees in Indianapolis,10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.11.021,"This research seeks to answer the question, what factors of the urban social-ecological system predict survival and growth of trees in nonprofit and neighborhood tree-planting projects? The Ostrom social-ecological system framework and Clark and colleagues' model of urban forest sustainability inform our selection of variables in four categories in the social-ecological system; these categories are the trees, the biophysical environment, the community, and management institutions. We use tree inventory methods to collect data on the survival, growth, and the social-ecological growing environment of recently-planted street trees in Indianapolis, IN to answer our research question. We use a probit model to predict tree survival, and a linear regression model to predict tree growth rate. The following variables are positively related to tree success (survival and/or growth): ball-and-burlap or container packaging, a visible root flare, good overall condition rating, the size of the tree-planting project, planting area width, median household income, percent of renter occupied homes, resident tenure, prior tree planting experience, correct mulching, and a collective watering strategy. The following variables are negatively related to tree success: caliper at planting, crown dieback, and lower trunk damage. Additional variables measured have less clear connections to tree success and should be examined further. Given that models including variables from all four categories of the social-ecological system generally outperform models that exclude some components, we recommend that future research on urban tree survival and growth should consider the holistic social-ecological systems context of the urban ecosystem. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2015,APR J,"Voss, R; Quaas, MF; Schmidt, JO; Kapaun, U",Ocean Acidification May Aggravate Social-Ecological Trade-Offs in Coastal Fisheries,10.1371/journal.pone.0120376,"Ocean Acidification (OA) will influence marine ecosystems by changing species abundance and composition. Major effects are described for calcifying organisms, which are significantly impacted by decreasing pH values. Direct effects on commercially important fish are less well studied. The early life stages of fish populations often lack internal regulatory mechanisms to withstand the effects of abnormal pH. Negative effects can be expected on growth, survival, and recruitment success. Here we study Norwegian coastal cod, one of the few stocks where such a negative effect was experimentally quantified, and develop a framework for coupling experimental data on OA effects to ecological-economic fisheries models. In this paper, we scale the observed physiological responses to the population level by using the experimentally determined mortality rates as part of the stock-recruitment relationship. We then use an ecological-economic optimization model, to explore the potential effect of rising CO2 concentration on ecological (stock size), economic (profits), consumer-related (harvest) and social (employment) indicators, with scenarios ranging from present day conditions up to extreme acidification. Under the assumptions of our model, yields and profits could largely be maintained under moderate OA by adapting future fishing mortality (and related effort) to changes owing to altered pH. This adaptation comes at the costs of reduced stock size and employment, however. Explicitly visualizing these ecological, economic and social tradeoffs will help in defining realistic future objectives. Our results can be generalized to any stressor (or stressor combination), which is decreasing recruitment success. The main findings of an aggravation of trade-offs will remain valid. This seems to be of special relevance for coastal stocks with limited options for migration to avoid unfavorable future conditions and subsequently for coastal fisheries, which are often small scale local fisheries with limited operational ranges.",PLOS ONE,2015,mar 17 J,"Galler, C; von Haaren, C; Albert, C","Optimizing environmental measures for landscape multifunctionality: Effectiveness, efficiency and recommendations for agri-environmental programs",10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.12.011,"Agri-environmental measures differ in their capacity to simultaneously enhance the provision of multiple ecosystem services. Multifunctional approaches are hampered by funding schemes that are usually administered by individual administrative sectors that each predominantly focus on one single environmental objective. Developing integrative management strategies that exploit synergies from implementing multifunctional measures is challenged by the need to quantify expected management effects on different ecosystem services. The objective of this paper is to compare uncoordinated versus coordinated management strategies in their contribution to multiple environmental objectives. We developed and applied a method for quantifying effectiveness, as well as spatial and cost efficiency with respect to four key landscape functions: erosion prevention, water quality conservation, climate change mitigation and safeguarding biodiversity. The case study area was the county of Verden, Germany. The following findings can be drawn: Measures for safeguarding biodiversity and climate change mitigation have generally high multifunctional effects, which makes them suitable for integrative management strategies. To make use of the added value of potential multifunctional measures, a spatially targeted allocation of agri-environmental measures is necessary. Compared to uncoordinated strategies, coordinated integrative management strategies either allow the optimization, of the ratio of costs to environmental effects or an increase in the effects that can be achieved within an area unit. This is however, usually not simultaneous. Future research should seek to refine the assessment and valuation indicators. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,2015,mar 15 J,"Lorenzen, RP","Disintegration, Formalisation or Reinvention? Contemplating the Future of Balinese Irrigated Rice Societies",10.1080/14442213.2014.1000953,"Bali's rice production is organised in units called subak with compulsory membership for farmers who grow rice. The future of this highly productive system generating some of the highest yields across Indonesia is under threat. Urbanisation, rural diversification and tourism are encroaching on the immaculately groomed rice terraces, undermining a centuries-old sociocultural institution which, interwoven with kinship, neighbourhood and congregation groups, shapes Balinese society. Nonetheless, rice farming remains a vital source of income for many and rice the most important staple food. This predicament raises questions about the future of farmers' livelihoods, the subak, its cultural heritage and rice production in Bali. The author contemplates possible trajectories by developing three scenarios: (1) disintegration; (2) formalisation; and (3) reinvention. The resulting structured narratives are not forecasts but may encourage discussion of the place and value of the subak and local rice supply in the Balinese economy and society.",ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY,2015,mar 15 J,"Mansfield, B; Biermann, C; McSweeney, K; Law, J; Gallemore, C; Horner, L; Munroe, DK",Environmental Politics After Nature: Conflicting Socioecological Futures,10.1080/00045608.2014.973802,"This article is about the logic and dynamics of environmental politics when the environment at stake is profoundly socioecological. We investigate the socioecological forests of the coalfields of Appalachian Ohio, where once decimated forests are again widespread. Conceptualizing forests as power-laden relationships among various people, trees, and other nonhumans, we identify multiple distinct forest types that currently exist as both material reality and future vision. Each forest is characterized by antagonistic ideas about ideal species composition, structure, and function and about specific actions and actors deemed necessary and threatening for the forest's persistence. Each forest represents a very different vision for how socioecological relationships should be fostered. We argue, first, that broad acceptance that the environment is fundamentally socioecological does not mark the end of environmentalism. Rather, urges to environmentalism proliferate as people aim to foster the social natures they envision-and do so through interventions that are internal to what the forest is and does. Second, the proliferation of environmentalisms generates new forms of environmental conflict, which manifests over what sorts of social natures can and should exist (i.e., what they should do and for whom) and which interventions are beneficial or harmful to the survival and proliferation of the forest in the future. Ultimately, we demonstrate that socioecological futures are being shaped today through political struggle not over naturalness but over what should be done, by whom, to bring about which social natures, and to the benefit of whom (human and nonhuman).",ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS,2015,mar 4 J,"Hawkins, H; Marston, SA; Ingram, M; Straughan, E",The Art of Socioecological Transformation,10.1080/00045608.2014.988103,"This article uses two artistic case studies, Bird Yarns (a knitting collective engaging questions of climate change) and SLOW Cleanup (an artist-driven environmental remediation project) to examine the work art can do with respect to socioecological transformations. We consider these cases in the context of geography's recent interest in active experimentations and anticipatory interventions in the face of the challenges posed by the environmental and social uncertainties of the Anthropocene. We propose two dimensions to the force of art with respect to these concerns. First, it provides a site and set of practices from which scientists, artists, and communities can come to recognize as well as transform relations between humans and nonhumans. Second, it encourages an accounting of the constitutive force of matter and things with implications for politics and knowledge production. Through these two dimensions, we explore how the arts can enable forms of socioecological transformation and, further, how things might be different in the future, enabling us to explore who and what might play a part in defining and moving toward such a future.",ANNALS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS,2015,mar 4 J,"White, DD; Keeler, LW; Wiek, A; Larson, KL",Envisioning the Future of Water Governance: A Survey of Central Arizona Water Decision Makers,10.1017/S1466046614000489,"The future of the American West depends on sustainable water resource governance. A variety of uncertainties associated with limited freshwater supplies, population growth, land use change, drought, and climate change impacts present substantial challenges. To inform decision making, managers are adopting new techniques such as scenario planning to understand how water resources might change and what practices can support economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Scenario planning can be informed by understanding the normative future preferences of a variety of stakeholders, including decision makers, who influence water governance. This article presents a survey of central Arizona decision makers to understand their visions for a desirable future for the water system in terms of supply, delivery, demand, outflow, and crosscutting activities. Principle components analysis is used to identify patterns underlying responses about preferences for each domain of the system and correlation analysis is used to evaluate associations between themes across the domains. The results reveal two distinct visions for water in central Arizona-one in which water experts and policy makers pursue supply augmentation to serve metropolitan development, and another in which broadened public engagement is used in conjunction with policy tools to reduce water consumption, restore ecosystem services, and limit metropolitan expansion. The results of this survey will inform the development of a set of normative scenarios for use in exploratory modeling and anticipatory governance activities.",ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICE,2015,MAR J,"Van Royen, K; Verstraeten, R; Andrade, S; Ochoa-Aviles, A; Donoso, S; Maes, L; Kolsteren, P",Factors Affecting Physical Activity in Ecuadorian Adolescents: A Focus Group Study,10.1123/jpah.2013-0288,"Background: Physical inactivity levels are increasingly prevalent among Ecuadorian adolescents. School-based interventions can be potentially effective in promoting physical activity but must be informed by cultural-specific factors. Methods: Twelve focus groups were carried out with adolescents (n = 80) in rural and urban Ecuador to identify factors influencing physical activity. In addition, 4 focus group discussions with parents (n = 32) and 4 with school staff (n = 32) were conducted. Individual and environmental factors were questioned using the 'Attitude, Social influences and Self-efficacy' model and the socioecological model as theoretical frameworks. Results: Factors influencing physical activity varied between groups. In the rural area farming and norms for girls impeded leisure-time physical activity, whereas urban groups emphasized traffic and crime concerns. Groups from a low socioeconomic status more frequently mentioned a fear of injuries and financial constraints. Several factors were common for all groups including preferences for sedentary activities, poor knowledge, time constraints and laziness, as well as a lack of opportunities at home and school, unsupportive parental rules and lack of role models. Conclusion: A conceptual framework including the identified factors emerged to inform the design of a cultural-sensitive school-based intervention to improve physical activity among Ecuadorian adolescents. Future interventions should be tailored to each setting.",JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY & HEALTH,2015,MAR J,"Dale, VH; Parish, ES; Kline, KL",Risks to global biodiversity from fossil-fuel production exceed those from biofuel production,10.1002/bbb.1528,"Potential global biodiversity impacts from near-term gasoline production are compared to biofuel, a renewable liquid transportation fuel expected to substitute for gasoline in the near term (i.e., from now until c. 2030). Petroleum exploration activities are projected to extend across more than 5.8 billion ha of land and ocean worldwide (of which 3.1 billion is on land), much of which is in remote, fragile terrestrial ecosystems or off-shore oil fields that would remain relatively undisturbed if not for interest in fossil fuel production. Future biomass production for biofuels is projected to fall within 2.0 billion ha of land, most of which is located in areas already impacted by human activities. A comparison of likely fuel-source areas to the geospatial distribution of species reveals that both energy sources overlap with areas with high species richness and large numbers of threatened species. At the global scale, future petroleum production areas intersect more than double the area and a higher total number of threatened species than future biofuel production. Energy options should be developed to optimize provisioning of ecosystem services while minimizing negative effects, which requires information about potential impacts on critical resources. Energy conservation and identifying and effectively protecting habitats with high-conservation value are critical first steps toward protecting biodiversity under any fuel production scenario. Published in 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd",BIOFUELS BIOPRODUCTS & BIOREFINING-BIOFPR,2015,MAR-APR J,"Childs, JM",Beyond the Boundaries of Current Human Nature: Some Theological and Ethical Reflections on Transhumanism,10.1111/dial.12149,"Following a brief overview of the emerging transhumanist vision, Childs turns to a theological and ethical assessment. He recommends that there take place a community-wide conversation over the prospects of a post-human future that includes both nerds and theologians along with all stakeholders in a healthy human future. Christians should be guided by the eschatological values that inform love's commitment to the common good. How does the common commitment to justice take concrete shape in public policies governing the mounting advances in science and technology? How does the commitment to life and healing speak to the ethical distinction between the uses of biomedical technology for therapy versus for enhancement?",DIALOG-A JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY,2015,MAR J,"Clarvis, MH; Engle, NL",Adaptive capacity of water governance arrangements: a comparative study of barriers and opportunities in Swiss and US states,10.1007/s10113-013-0547-y,"Climate variability and change are directly challenging the viability and sustainability of social-ecological systems. This is particularly true for water resources. Effective water governance is at the heart of alleviating water challenges and is thus considered crucial for building adaptive capacity to cope with future uncertainty and impacts from climate change. Despite advances in the conceptualisation of adaptive capacity, there are few empirical examples that look systematically across cases to identify how to implement measures and actions that build and mobilise adaptive capacity. This paper contributes to the understanding of adaptive capacity to climate stress by analysing the bridges and barriers to adaptation across water governance and management regimes in the case of the Canton Valais, Switzerland and the state of Georgia, USA. We find that while there is no single way to build and mobilise adaptive capacity across different scales of governance, the analysis points to a set of common bridges and barriers for building adaptive capacity to a variety of climatic events. Common bridges include trust and actor relationships, regional collaboration, leadership, and regulatory and legislative aspects. Common barriers include political, regulatory and legislative, and perception and cognitive aspects.",REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE,2015,MAR J,"Gilbert, AJ; McQuatters-Gollop, A; Langmead, O; Mee, L; Vermaat, J",Visions for the North Sea: The Societal Dilemma Behind Specifying Good Environmental Status,10.1007/s13280-014-0536-5,"We augment discussions about the Good Environmental Status of the North Sea by developing two extreme visions and assessing their societal benefits. One vision ('Then') assumes restoration of benthic functioning; we contend that trawling had already degraded the southern North Sea a century ago. Available information is used to speculate about benthic functioning in a relatively undisturbed southern North Sea. The second vision ('Now') draws on recent benthic functioning. The supply of five ecosystem services, supported by benthic functioning, is discussed. 'Then' offers confidence in the sustainable supply of diverse services but restoration of past function is uncertain and likely to be paired with costs, notably trawling restraints. 'Now' delivers known and valued services but sustained delivery is threatened by, for example, climate change. We do not advocate either vision. Our purpose is to stimulate debate about what society wants, and might receive, from the future southern North Sea.",AMBIO,2015,MAR J,"Brown, OA; Yanitskiy, MS",The method of assessment of representation in the mass consciousness of the basic characteristics of cultural types by M. Mead,10.17223/17267080/55/7,"In the context of post-non-classical psychology comparative social and psychological characteristics of type of cultural values in models by J. Thousand and M. Mead was performed; general and special characteristics of the data of typological models were allocated. In particular, it is shown that in the basis of the typology by J. Thousand, based on the theory of F. Kluckhohn and F. Strodbeck, there are features of cultural value orientations in relation to the time, nature, human nature, other people and activities and in the basis of the M. Mead's classification - there are a specific character and inter-generational relations associated with these characteristics. The article presents the main directions of the study of cultural perception of an ethnic community, involving the allocation of some relatively universal cultural characteristics and maximum formalization that allows to find out from the respondents whether there is such a feature in the culture of an ethnic community to which they belong. As an example of such a universalistic approach the diagnostic technique of cultural value orientations by L. Pochebut was examined. This technique was developed based on the theory of F. Kluckhohn and F. Strodbeck and was designed to determine the key trends of formation and becoming of the studied culture. The authors suggested his original ''Method of assessment of representations of the basic cultural characteristics'', developed on the basis of the typological model by M. Mead using similar methodological approach. The article present the following common characteristics of the perception of culture that can refer it to prefigurative, cofigurative or postfigurative types: age conformism; locus of control in planning the future; respect for the traditions; dynamism of culture and society; inter-generational relationships within the family. The authors present the results of the approbation of the proposed method and the evaluation of its construct validity with the use of the L. Pochebut's test, the modified method of R. Inglehart, allowing us to set the reference to the value types, focusing on the values of adaptation, socialization and individualization, as well as methods of diagnostics the temporal perspective of an individual (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory - ZTPI; test ''Semantic time differential''). The presence of consistency in the descriptions of their ethnic culture with the use of our proposed method and techniques of similar diagnostic methods is statistically confirmed. On the basis of the obtained results the conclusion is made about the correctness of the proposed Method for the assessment of representations of the basic cultural characteristics in the social and psychological and cross-cultural studies. The Appendix contains the full text of the test and the key for its processing.",SIBIRSKIY PSIKHOLOGICHESKIY ZHURNAL-SIBERIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY,2015,MAR J,"Mellino, S; Buonocore, E; Ulgiati, S",The worth of land use: A GIS-emergy evaluation of natural and human-made capital,10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.085,"Natural systems make their natural capital and ecosystem services available to human economy. A careful analysis of the interplay between natural and human-made capital is needed to prevent natural capital being overexploited for present economic benefits, affecting lifestyles and wellbeing of future generations. In this study, the emergy synthesis is used to evaluate the natural and the human-made capital of Campania region (southern Italy) by accounting for the environmental support directly and indirectly provided by nature to resource generation. Furthermore, geographic information system (GIS) models are integrated with the emergy accounting procedure to generate maps of the spatial patterns of both natural and human-made capital distribution. Regional storages of natural and human-made capital are identified and evaluated in emergy units (seJ). The human-made capital of the Campania region (6.29E + 24 seJ) results to be about 11 times higher than the natural capital (5.69E + 23 seJ) due to the past and present exploitation of the natural resources needed to generate it over time. Moreover, by overlaying the total natural capital map and the total human-made capital map with a map of the protected areas within the region, only the 19% of the regional natural capital appears to be concentrated within protected areas, while most of it (81%) is concentrated outside. These findings suggest that the conservation of natural resources is also necessary outside protected areas by means of suitable policies, directives and investments. The human-made capital is mainly concentrated (88%) inside non-protected areas and interacts with the local natural capital. A management of the interactions between the two categories of wealth is crucial to prevent that the growth of human-made storages degrades the natural ecosystems and the environment. The proposed emergy-GIS framework reveals to be a useful tool for environmental planning and resource management aimed to conserve and protect the regional environmental heritage. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,2015,feb 15 J,"Driedger, SM; Maier, R; Furgal, C; Jardine, C",Factors influencing H1N1 vaccine behavior among Manitoba Metis in Canada: a qualitative study,10.1186/s12889-015-1482-2,"Background: During the first wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, Aboriginal populations in Canada experienced disproportionate rates of infection, particularly in the province of Manitoba. To protect those thought to be most at-risk, health authorities in Manitoba listed all Aboriginal people, including Metis, among those able to receive priority access to the novel vaccine when it first became available. Currently, no studies exist that have investigated the attitudes, influences, and vaccine behaviors among Aboriginal communities in Canada. This paper is the first to systematically connect vaccine behavior with the attitudes and beliefs that influenced Metis study participants' H1N1 vaccine decision-making. Methods: Researchers held focus groups (n = 17) with Metis participants in urban, rural, and remote locations of Manitoba following the conclusion of the H1N1 pandemic. Participants were asked about their vaccination decisions and about the factors that influenced their decisions. Following data collection, responses were coded into the broad categories of a social-ecological model, nuanced by categories stemming from earlier research. Responses were then quantified to show the most influential factors in positively or negatively affecting the vaccine decision. Results: Media reporting, the influence of peer groups, and prioritization all had positive and negative influential effects on decision making. Whether vaccinated or not, the most negatively influential factors cited by participants were a lack of knowledge about the vaccine and the pandemic as well as concerns about vaccine safety. Risk of contracting H1N1 influenza was the biggest factor in positively influencing a vaccine decision, which in many cases trumped any co-existing negative influencers. Conclusions: Metis experiences of colonialism in Canada deeply affected their perceptions of the vaccine and pandemic, a context that health systems need to take into account when planning response activities in the future. Participants felt under-informed about most aspects of the vaccine and the pandemic, and many vaccine related misconceptions and fears existed. Recommendations include leveraging doctor-patient interactions as a site for sharing vaccine-related knowledge, as well as targeted, culturally-appropriate, and empowering public information strategies to supply reliable vaccine and pandemic information to potentially at-risk Aboriginal populations.",BMC PUBLIC HEALTH,2015,feb 12 J,"Christie, M; Remoundou, K; Siwicka, E; Wainwright, W",Valuing marine and coastal ecosystem service benefits: Case study of St Vincent and the Grenadines' proposed marine protected areas,10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.10.002,"This paper reports the results of a choice experiment (CE) that values the ecosystem service benefits from extending the current network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Caribbean. We considered two future options: an 'improved' scenario in which marine protection is increased, and a 'decline' scenario in which current protection mechanisms are removed. The CE was administered at two sites (the degraded St Vincent South Coast and the pristine Tobago Cays) and to tourists and local residents. Results suggest that both groups value health protection, fishing, coastal protection, ecosystem resilience, and diving/snorkelling. Values are higher for the 'decline' scenario compared to the 'improved' scenario. Also, tourists had significantly higher WTP values than locals. Our analysis also enabled an evaluation of the benefits derived from alternative policy interventions that may be used to protect and enhance SVG's marine parks. Stopping pollution from agriculture run-off and sewage was found to generate the highest ecosystem service benefits, with restricting over-fishing and bad fishing practices also being important We demonstrate how economic valuation of marine ecosystem service might be used to design and target marine conservation policies that maximise welfare benefits. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,2015,FEB J,"Son, NT; Chen, CF; Chang, NB; Chen, CR; Chang, LY; Thanh, BX","Mangrove Mapping and Change Detection in Ca Mau Peninsula, Vietnam, Using Landsat Data and Object-Based Image Analysis",10.1109/JSTARS.2014.2360691,"Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem goods and services for human society. Extensive coastal development in many developing countries has converted mangrove forests to other land uses without regard to their ecosystem service values; thus, the ecosystem state of mangrove forests is critical for officials to evaluate sustainable coastal management strategies. The objective of this study is to investigate the multidecadal change in mangrove forests in Ca Mau peninsula, South Vietnam, based on Landsat data from 1979 to 2013. The data were processed through four main steps: 1) data preprocessing; 2) image processing using the object-based image analysis (OBIA); 3) accuracy assessment; and 4) multitemporal change detection and spatial analysis of mangrove forests. The classification maps compared with the ground reference data showed the satisfactory agreement with the overall accuracy higher than 82%. From 1979 to 2013, the area of mangrove forests in the study region had decreased by 74%, mainly due to the boom of local aquaculture industry in the study region. Given that mangrove reforestation and afforestation only contributed about 13.2% during the last three decades, advanced mangrove management strategies are in an acute need for promoting environmental sustainability in the future.",IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING,2015,FEB J,"Castree, N","Geography and Global Change Science: Relationships Necessary, Absent, and Possible",10.1111/1745-5871.12100,"Initiated by geoscientists, the growing debate about the Anthropocene, planetary boundaries' and global tipping points' is a significant opportunity for geographers to reconfigure two things: one is the internal relationships among their discipline's many and varied perspectives (topical, philosophical, and methodological) on the real; the other the discipline's actual and perceived contributions to important issues in the wider society. Yet, without concerted effort and struggle, the opportunity is likely to be used in a safe' and rather predictable way by only a sub-set of human-environment geographers. The socio-environmental challenges of a post-Holocene world invite old narratives about Geography's holistic intellectual contributions to be reprised in the present. These narratives speak well to many geoscientists, social scientists, and decision-makers outside Geography. However, they risk perpetuating an emaciated conception of reality wherein Earth systems and social systems are seen as knowable and manageable if the right' ensemble of expertise is achieved. I argue that we need to get out from under the shadow of these long-standing narratives. Using suggestive examples, I make the case for forms of inquiry across the human-physical divide' that eschew ontological monism and that serve to reveal the many legitimate cognitive, moral, and aesthetic framings of Earth present and future. Geography is unusual in that the potential for these forms of inquiry to become normalised is high compared with other subjects. This potential will only be taken advantage of if certain human-environment geographers unaccustomed to engaging the world of geoscience and environmental policy change their modus operandi.",GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH,2015,FEB J,"Sarukhan, J; Urquiza-Haas, T; Koleff, P; Carabias, J; Dirzo, R; Ezcurra, E; Cerdeira-Estrada, S; Soberon, J","Strategic Actions to Value, Conserve, and Restore the Natural Capital of Megadiversity Countries: The Case of Mexico",10.1093/biosci/biu195,"Decisionmakers need updated, scientifically sound and relevant information to implement appropriate policy measures and make innovative commitments to halt biodiversity loss and improve human well-being. Here, we present a recent science-based synthesis on the biodiversity and ecosystem services of Mexico, intended to be a tool for policymakers. We describe the methodological approach used to undertake such an assessment and highlight the major findings. Organized into five volumes and originally written in Spanish (Capital Natural de Mexico), it summarizes the available knowledge on the components, structure, and functioning of the biodiversity of Mexico; the threats and trajectories of anthropogenic impact, together with its conservation status; and the policies, institutions, and instruments available for its sustainable management. We stress the lessons learned that can be useful for similar exercises in other megadiverse developing countries and identify major gaps and strategic actions to conserve the natural capital in light of the challenges of the Anthropocene.",BIOSCIENCE,2015,FEB J,"Allenbach, K; Garonna, I; Herold, C; Monioudi, I; Giuliani, G; Lehmann, A; Velegrakis, AF",Black Sea beaches vulnerability to sea level rise,10.1016/j.envsci.2014.07.014,"Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) aims to promote sustainable management of coastal zones based on ecosystem and holistic management approaches. In this context, policies have to consider the complex interactions that influence the fragile equilibrium of coastal ecosystems. Beaches represent both valuable and vulnerable natural resources because of the various ecosystem services they provide and their sensitivity to climate change and sea level rise. We present the first comprehensive digital record of all Black Sea beaches and provide a rapid assessment of their erosion risk under different scenarios of sea level rise. Through the digitisation of freely available remote-sensed images on the web, we provide broad information on the spatial characteristics and other attributes of all Black Sea beaches (e.g. photo-based visual estimation of the sediment type, presence of coastal defences, urban development). These data have been assembled and stored in full Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) allowing spatial queries, visualisation and data sharing and are therefore particularly interesting to feed/supply web-GIS portals (coastal atlases) for visualisation purpose, spatial queries or spatial indicators calculations. The resulting Black Sea beaches database contains 1228 beaches, with a total coastline length of 2042 km with an area of 224 km(2). The majority of the Black Sea beaches have been found to have small widths (61% have maximum widths less than 50 m), whereas 47% of all beaches presented coastal defence schemes, suggesting an already serious beach erosion problem. The erosion risk of the Black Sea beaches was assessed through the comparison of their maximum widths with estimations of the sea level rise-induced retreat by an ensemble of six 1-D analytical and numerical morphodynamic models. Following more than 17,000 experiments using different combinations of wave conditions, beach sediment textures and slopes and 11 scenarios of sea level rise (up to 2 m), the means (best fats) of the lowest and highest projections by the model ensemble were estimated; these were then compared to the maximum widths of the Black Sea beaches. The analysis showed that sea level rise will have highly significant impacts on the Black Sea beaches, as for a 0.5 m sea level rise 56% of all beaches are projected to retreat by 50% of their maximum width. For a 0.82 m sea level rise (the high IPCC estimate for the period 2081-2100) about 41% are projected to retreat by their entire maximum width, whereas for 1 m sea level rise about 51% of all Black Sea beaches are projected to retreat by (drowned or shifted landward by) their entire maximum width, if the high mean of the model ensemble projections is used. Results substantiate the risk of beach erosion as a major environmental problem along the Black Sea coast, which therefore needs to be taken into account in any future coastal management plans, as a matter of urgency. As these scenarios consider only sea level rise, they are considered to be conservative. Although the present results cannot replace detailed studies, the database and projections may assist Black Sea coastal managers and policy makers to rapidly identify beaches with increased risk of erosion, valuate accordingly coastal assets and infrastructure, estimate beach capacity for touristic development purposes, and rapidly assess direct and indirect costs and benefits of beach protection options. They also provide the necessary inputs to advance discussions relevant to the Black Sea ICZM. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY,2015,FEB J,"Quigg, R; Gray, A; Reeder, AI; Holt, A; Waters, DL",Development of a 15-Item Scale to Measure Parental Perceptions of Their Neighborhood,10.1177/1090198114540460,"Socioecological theory suggests that there are a range of influences that affect the physical activity levels of children, including parents' perceptions of the neighborhood. A questionnaire instrument to quantify parental neighborhood perceptions was developed for the Location of Children's Activity in Their Environment study as a potential predictor of children's physical activity. A literature review revealed a lack of appropriate instruments, many containing highly localized items. Following initial instrument development including pretesting, where items showed face and content validity, a two-phase pilot study was undertaken. Pilot testing investigated test-retest reliability (overall intraclass correlation coefficient = .75) and internal consistency ( = .62 and = .73 for the two phases, respectively), finding that the instrument was acceptable overall although some changes in wording were made to specific items with low reliability and/or internal consistency. Using data from the first year of the Location of Children's Activity in Their Environment study, the instrument showed acceptable internal consistency (overall = .73) and predictive validity (associated with time living in residence and walking to school) to be used in future studies. The scale was not found to be associated with child physical activity, which may be due to activity displacement. Proposed subscales for the neighborhood infrastructure and social aspects were marginal for internal consistency and a safety subscale was not acceptable in this regard. Given the impact of parental perceptions of the neighborhood, and its potential modifiable nature, a measure of it should be included in studies looking at the intensity and location of children's physical activity.",HEALTH EDUCATION & BEHAVIOR,2015,FEB J,"Cote-Lussier, C; Jackson, J; Kestens, Y; Henderson, M; Barnett, TA",A Child's View: Social and Physical Environmental Features Differentially Predict Parent and Child Perceived Neighborhood Safety,10.1007/s11524-014-9917-0,"Parent and child perceived neighborhood safety predicts child health outcomes such as sleep quality, asthma, physical activity, and psychological distress. Although previous studies identify environmental predictors of parent perceived safety, little is known about predictors of child perceived safety. This study aims to identify the social and physical environmental neighborhood features that predict child and parent perceived neighborhood safety and, simultaneously, to assess the association between child and parent perceptions. Data were from the QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth (QUALITY) cohort, an ongoing study of Caucasian children (aged 8-10 years) with a parental history of obesity, and their biological parents from Quebec, Canada. Measures of social and physical neighborhood features were collected using a spatial data infrastructure and in-person audits. Structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect associations between neighborhood features, child and parent perceived safety. Results suggest that among children (N=494), trees and lighting were positively associated with perceived neighborhood safety, whereas a high proportion of visible minorities was associated with poorer perceived safety. Parents' perceptions of safety were more strongly tied to indicators of disorder and a lack of community involvement, and to traffic. Child perceived safety was partly explained by parent perceived safety, suggesting moderate concordance between perceptions. Although associated with each other, parent and child perceived safety seemed to be determined by distinct environmental features. Though this study focused on determinants of child and parent perceived safety, future research investigating the impact of neighborhood safety on child health should consider both child and parent perspectives.",JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE,2015,FEB J,"Klein, LR; Hendrix, WG; Lohr, VI; Kaytes, JB; Sayler, RD; Swanson, ME; Elliot, WJ; Reganold, JP","Linking ecology and aesthetics in sustainable agricultural landscapes: Lessons from the Palouse region of Washington, USA",10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.019,"Inspired by international escalation in agricultural sustainability debates, we explored the promise of landscape-scale conservation buffers to mitigate environmental damage, improve ecological function, and enhance scenic quality. Although the ecological benefits of buffer vegetation are well established by plot- and field-scale research, buffer adoption by farmers is limited. Landscape-scale approaches can address several obstacles by simultaneously considering ecological impact, economic efficiency, and aesthetic quality and preference in buffer placement and design. Within four watersheds of Washington's Palouse farming region, we examined relationships between ecological and aesthetic responses to the existing landscape structure plus three alternative scenarios, differentiated by successive increases in woody buffers. Methodology combined GIS analysis, digital image simulation, soil erosion modeling and mapping, and a landscape preference survey. Landscape ecological function, measured by erosion and deposition rates, improved as buffer elements were added into each successive scenario. Magnitude of improvements varied among scenarios and among watersheds, revealing opportunities for targeting buffers to maximize ecological benefits and economic efficiency. Concurrently, aesthetic preference, measured as scenic quality ratings, increased significantly (p < 0.05) from the existing landscape through the second successive scenario of improved ecological function. No preference difference was found between the second and third scenarios. Results expand current understanding of multifunctional relationships in agricultural landscapes and encourage future research on whether linking ecological and aesthetic quality in buffer design might favorably influence adoption. Results also suggest that, within certain landscape contexts, visually perceivable attributes can provide a relative and coincident indication of ecological function, aesthetic quality, and agricultural sustainability. (C).) 2014 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.",LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,2015,FEB J,"Ochoa-Meza, G; Sierra, JC; Perez-Rodrigo, C; Bartrina, JA; Esparza-Del Villar, OA",VALIDITY AND FACTORIAL INVARIANCE OF THE SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL MODEL IN EXPLAINING FRUIT INTAKE IN MEXICAN SCHOOLCHILDREN,10.3305/nh.2015.31.2.8317,"Objective: To test the goodness of fit of a Motivation-Ability-Opportunity model (MAO-model) to evaluate the observed variance in Mexican schoolchildren's preferences to eat fruit and daily fruit intake; also to evaluate the factorial invariance across the gender and type of population (urban and semi-urban) in which children reside. Method: A model with seven constructs was designed from a validated questionnaire to assess preferences, cognitive abilities, attitude, modelling, perceived barriers, accessibility at school, accessibility at home, and fruit intake frequency. The instrument was administered in a representative sample of 1434 schoolchildren of 5th and 6th grade of primary school in a cross-sectional and ex post fact study conducted in 2013 in six cities of the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. Results: The goodness of fit indexes was adequate for the MAO-model and explained 39% of the variance in preference to eat fruit. The structure of the model showed very good factor structure stability and the dimensions of the scale were equivalent in the different samples analyzed. Conclusions: The model analyzed with structural equation modeling showed a parsimonious model that can be used to explain the variation in fruit intake of 10 to 12 year old Mexican schoolchildren. The structure of the model was strictly invariant in the different samples analyzed and showed evidence of cross validation. Finally, implications about the modification model to fit data from scholar settings and guidelines for future research are discussed.",NUTRICION HOSPITALARIA,2015,FEB J,"Dydrov, AA",IMMORTAL MAN: RELIGIOUS FICTION OR FUTURE OF SCIENCE?,10.17223/15617793/391/12,"Immortality is a concept which is embedded not only in the religious systems, but also in the scientific hypotheses, concepts and theories. Religion, well-founded by a belief in the coexistence of this world and other worlds, is also based on the recognition of the superiority of the transcendent, the highest value of the absolute and the transcendent. A person with the ability to merge with the beginning inaccessible to sensuality is a dual being by its nature. The dualism of human nature nourishes faith in the achievement of immortality and the belief in the achievement of immortality by a human feeds dualism. The human is the holder of an immortal soul and a perishable body. The human is eternal (the concept of immortality becomes redundant) and confined (res extensa). Traditional for many people, is the point of view of the impossibility of achieving immortality by a person in the world without God. However, many scientists who reject belief in a transcendent principle are still trying to take measures to facilitate the increase in life expectancy, seeking to create a cure for old age, an elixir of life, a panacea for all diseases. Fundamental problems directly related to the concept of immortality are the following: firstly, the problem of finding the meaning of life and the meaning of life landmarks in the world where the binary opposition of otherworldly / worldly is destroyed; secondly, the identification of the metamorphosis of self-identification of a human preparing to gain longevity; thirdly, mental simulation to solve the problem of the meaning of life in a practical newfound immortality; fourthly, search for probable differences in relation to the meaning of life of a person who has not attained longevity (or does not know about the upcoming longevity) and a human who finds practical immortality. The notion of human mortality is immanent to philosophical systems. Some of them accept death as a tribute, others, on the contrary, state the crisis of the being of a human arising in connection with the realization of the fact of death. Alternative discourse is the discourse of trans-humanism which illuminates the other pole, a different vision of the future of a human (being?). Transhumanists offer to go from death episteme to life in the Web, to life absolutely caused by a mechanical Other. Change of the territory of a human as a natural being and reterritorialization in the space, the dependence on the operation of the machine (machine aid?): these are the aspirations of transhumanism, a conceivable ultimate dream. Thus, there is a need in developing and strengthening of a different ideological paradigm, alternative to the ideas of death and radical transhumanist ideas. Not only the creation of a theory of immortology but also people's real knowledge of its precepts are a priority.",TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL,2015,FEB J,"Smyth, K; Christie, N; Burdon, D; Atkins, JP; Barnes, R; Elliott, M",Renewables-to-reefs? - Decommissioning options for the offshore wind power industry,10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.045,"The offshore wind power industry is relatively new but increasing globally, hence it is important that the whole life-cycle is managed. The construction-operation-decommissioning cycle is likely to take 2030 years and whilst decommissioning may not be undertaken for many years, its management needs to be addressed in both current and future marine management regimes. This can be defined within a Drivers-Activities-Pressures-State Changes-Impacts (on human Welfare)-Responses framework. This paper considers the main decommissioning options - partial or complete removal of all components. A SWOT analysis shows environmental and economic benefits in partial as opposed to complete removal, especially if habitat created on the structures has conservation or commercial value. Benefits (and repercussions) are defined in terms of losses and gains of ecosystem services and societal benefits. The legal precedents and repercussions of both options are considered in terms of the 10-tenets of sustainable marine management. Finally a 'renewables-to-reefs' programme is proposed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN,2015,ene 15 J,"Harmackova, ZV; Vackar, D","Modelling regulating ecosystem services trade-offs across landscape scenarios in Trebonsko Wetlands Biosphere Reserve, Czech Republic",10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.10.003,"This study aims to contribute to current discussions on ecosystem-service related decision-making by conducting an assessment of trade-offs between alternative land use scenarios in the Trebonsko Wetlands Biosphere Reserve, the Czech Republic, in terms of regulating ecosystem services provision. To achieve this, we created three land use change scenarios (Business-as-Usual, Protection, and Exploitation, respectively), based on participation of local stakeholders. Consequently, we evaluated the levels of two vital wetland regulating ecosystem services -climate regulation, and water quality improvement -under each scenario using the InVEST modelling suite, additionally performing an economic assessment for climate regulation. The highest level of climate regulation was achieved under the Protection scenario (5.29% improvement of carbon stocks, with corresponding economic value of 16.6 million EUR). The impact of the Exploitation scenario on climate regulation was the most substantial, with net loss of carbon stocks representing 13.58% decrease in comparison with the current state (40.0 million EUR). The change in water quality in terms of nitrogen discharge ranged between an exacerbation of 7.87% and an improvement of 15.55% among all three scenarios. Our results showed that noticeable trade-offs occur between the scenarios in terms of regulating ecosystem services, which should be accounted for in local landscape conservation decisions. The Trebonsko Biosphere Reserve has been frequently used as a pilot area for socio-ecological research and we discuss implications of ecosystem services as an integrative concept for the long-term socio-ecological research in this area. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL MODELLING,2015,ene 10 J,"Aretano, R; Semeraro, T; Petrosillo, I; De Marco, A; Pasimeni, MR; Zurlini, G",Mapping ecological vulnerability to fire for effective conservation management of natural protected areas,10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.09.017,"The challenge for conservation managers is to ensure the long-term sustainability of an area by preserving its ecological and cultural values against predictable and unpredictable natural and human pressures and, at the same time, ensuring the fruition of the environmental resources. This research proposes an integrated use of GIS-based Decision Support System (DSS) with a conceptual linear model of vulnerability to foster conservation strategies in protected areas, by identifying: (1) the most vulnerable areas, requiring specific protection measures to enhance the natural features, as well as the prevention of natural and human risks; (2) the most effective management interventions to reduce system vulnerability to fire. The development of such a tool has been tested on the natural protected area of Torre Guaceto, through the selection of suitable indicators that enable discrimination among different levels of sensitivity and pressures, in order to provide evidence of its potential utility for the management of protected areas and the mitigation of their vulnerabilities. The results highlight that the most vulnerable areas are represented by contiguous patches of wetlands, the load of fuel at wetlands-agricultural lands interface areas, and the small patches of century-old forests, Mediterranean maquis and coastal dunes. On the basis of the results it is desirable that future researches on vulnerability should not only consider the of what to what, but also consider for who, where and when with a focus on the spatial and temporal scale dimensions of vulnerability. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",ECOLOGICAL MODELLING,2015,ene 10 J,"Vance, L; Eason, T; Cabezas, H",An information theory-based approach to assessing the sustainability and stability of an island system,10.1080/13504509.2014.978832,"It is well documented that a sustainable system is based on environmental stewardship, economic viability, and social equity. What is often overlooked is the need for continuity such that desirable system behavior is maintained with mechanisms in place that facilitate the ability of core system functions to endure or adapt (in the face of perturbations), and ensure that future generations are able to meet their needs. Assessing regional systems poses unique challenges in that they are interlinked with larger- and smaller-scale dynamics that may dramatically affect trends in key system variables. From 1970-2009, Puerto Rico experienced a 140% increase in urban population which may have amplified impacts related to resource demands, waste production, and natural habitats. Because such changes can have strong implications for sustainability, the dynamics of Puerto Rico provide a great opportunity to explore methods for assessing the sustainability of a complex geographic region. In this work, we employ Fisher information, an information theory-based approach, to evaluate changes in system dynamics and examine the effect of regionalization impacts on trends in variables characterizing social, environmental, and economic aspects of the system. Results indicate dramatic change from 1981-1999, after which the system dynamics remained steady until 2005. While there was no indication that a regime shift occurred, system trends corresponded with variations in non-yield economic variables. To determine whether Fisher information provides warning signals of critical change, consecutive declines in the index were explored and demonstrated as a possible leading indicator of impending regime shifts.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY,2015,ene 2 B,"Scorse, J; Kildow, J",ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND THEIR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL VALUE,,,ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF OCEAN RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT,2015, S,"Whitehouse, H","Cross-Sectorial Relationships for Education for Sustainability Exploring Innovative Partnerships Between Formal Education and Tourism: Frameworks, Curriculum and Action",10.1007/978-3-662-47470-9_8,"The concept of the finite planet underpins all education for sustainability in its current and future forms and iterations. This chapter describes the opportunities available across the formal school and tourism sectors to educate together for a more sustainable means of organizing our lives. International frameworks for environmental education and education for sustainability are described and the Australian frameworks developed in response to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) are explained. Education for sustainability promotes learning beyond the boundaries of educational institutions to equip people with the knowledge, skills and values to address [the] social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st century including preparing for jobs that preserve or restore the quality of the environment (UNESCO. Five reasons to support ESD-education for sustainable development. http://www.unesco.org/new/index.php?id=96295, 2013). Educators, interpreters and communicators can create networks and relationships for action and learning. There are many variations on this theme of cooperation and accommodation. The formal education sector is porous. The tourism enterprise sector has a huge impact to make in terms of educating and interpreting for sustainability. Aspects of the sustainability cross curriculum priority in the new Australian Curriculum support recalibrating learning practices that enhance sustainability through building partnerships between tourism enterprises and schools. Contemporary policy and curriculum support education for sustainability and the challenge for tourism is to innovate new ways of organizing educational practice. Increasingly we know that cross-sector partnerships can be a highly productive means for learning sustainability. Three examples of practice from far north Queensland reveal how tourism partnerships can be successfully developed with the formal school sector.","EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM: A HANDBOOK OF PROCESSES, RESOURCES, AND STRATEGIES",2015, J,"Chatzinikolaou, P; Viaggi, D; Raggi, M",The evaluation of Ecosystem Services production: an application in the Province of Ferrara,,"This paper presents an evaluation of the provision of Ecosystem Services (ES). The analysis is based on the design of a framework suitable to be translated into a multi-criteria evaluation process, followed by empirical testing. It focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of non-overlapping indicators available from existing statistical sources. The framework is applied in a traditional cultural landscape, the Province of Ferrara, situated in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. To develop an applicable framework, we have chosen a set of ES indicators from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. According to the results and based on the indicators used in each category, the provision of cultural and provisioning services is high in all of the municipalities, while there is greater diversity in the provision of regulating and supporting services. A key challenge in our analysis was related to the lack of information on the actual provision of ES at the municipality level, which led to a significant use of proxy indicators. Use of improved datasets, explicit consideration of policy scenarios and accounting for local priorities about ES provision have been identified as the most relevant avenues for future research in this area.",BIO-BASED AND APPLIED ECONOMICS,2015, J,"Aguirre-Calderon, OA",Forest management in the XXI Century,,"The sustainable forest management in the twenty-first century is a principle that ensures the production of several goods and services from forest ecosystems in a permanent and optimal manner, maintaining always the values of such ecosystems; it is a strategy for natural resources management, in which forestry activities are considered in the ecological, economic and social context, within a defined area or region, in a short and long term. The challenge of sustainable forest management is the stewardship and use of the forests and forest lands in a manner and with an intensity that they preserve their biological diversity, its productivity, its capacity for regeneration, its vitality and ability to achieve, in the present and in the future, the ecological, economic and social functions relevant to local, national and global level, without causing damage to other ecosystems. This paper reviews the evolution of the forest management concept and the new paradigms for its implementation, highlighting their features such as administrative process, its relations with the provision of environmental services, the role of the certification for the development of good forest management, the importance of the decision-making process, the challenges of sustainable forest management, and the research needed for its implementation with scientific bases. It also emphasizes the need to train human resources, creating and improving capabilities for the planning, execution and monitoring of forest management.",MADERA Y BOSQUES,2015, J,"Zinchenko, VV",THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF GLOBAL STRATEGIES FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY AND EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CRITICAL THEORY,,"The purpose. Critical social philosophy of education strives to provide a radical critique of existing models of education in the so-called Western models of democracy, creating progressive alternative models. In this context, the proposed integrative metatheory, which is based on classical and modern sources, concepts, aims for a comprehensive understanding and reconstruction of the phenomenon of education. One of the main tasks in the sphere of education's democratization today, therefore, is to bring to education the results of restructuring and democratization of the society, to reflect changes in conditions of life and thinking, experience and transformation of subjectivity in the context of the technological revolution and globalization. Methodology. The critical social theory, which developed in the framework of contemporary neo-Marxism, indicates the need for a thorough analysis of society, however, unlike other theoretical concepts and research programs in order to analyze not a fixation and a statement of the existing social givens. On the contrary, critical analysis of society involves the identification of existing antagonistic, alienating factors that distort public communication. The subject of social analysis is the whole sphere of human and non-human nature, which interacts a person depend on it, the whole system of relations between society and nature, society and man, which is covered by the historical practice of conscious - praxis. The representative of pure science isn't the learning, research subject. He is a public a person, which is the totality of all social definitions included in society and its constituent individuals. For such a total subject Object of interest is not something external; on the contrary, the latter appears as a product of his own activity. The scientific novelty examines trends in educational institutions and models of globalizing society in the context of our particular relationship of education and society, man and the state, and processes. The research and systematic analysis of neoliberal reforms at the level of society in general and education in particular are conducted. It examines substantive, structural and functional characteristics of the concept of critical social philosophy of education in the context of institutional tendencies of social life, as well as forms and possibilities of its methodological application. It consider a model of critical social philosophy of education, as embodied in the programs of social development and learning, which are primarily designed to teach people how to lead an independent and original research themselves, society and knowledge systems. However, it is proved that the models and programs should not be cut off from any individual and the collective system of moral and social values, theoretical and applied training, nor from further use of the acquired values, norms and skills in everyday life, science, or in production, sphere of all social institutions. Conclusions. Critical philosophical, educational, pedagogical-psychological surprisingly theory, its models and concepts seek to redefine public and private and the public mind. Based on these grounds, in the future, it allows philosophy of education to develop a more inclusive philosophical vision of education, to apply directly to the problems of democratization and changes in social relations in the direction of equality and social justice in the field of education. The point of view of socio-philosophical and philosophical-educational, pedagogical-psychological, normative understanding and social critics also requires the use of active efforts in the reconstruuction of education and society, the social vision of what education and human life can be and what their specific limitations in existing societies.",ANTHROPOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS OF PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH,2015, J,"Rukavina, M; Scitaroci, MO",ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH URBAN AND PHYSICAL PLANNING,,"Since the 1960s archaeologists have been aware that the objects of their study (archaeological sites) are rapidly disappearing and that only a small portion of them can be documented by rescue archaeology (excavations). A different approach was needed to preserve archaeological sites, one that required communicating with an outside world, influencing political and socioeconomic decision-making processes and obtaining public support. Consequently, in most Western countries the existing conservation model was gradually replaced by a more dynamic concept of archaeological heritage management in the context of spatial planning. That process began in the USA in the 1970s and a decade later in many European countries as well. Starting in the 1960s, many changes happened (inside and outside archaeology) that influenced the understanding of archaeological heritage conservation. A movement to protect the environment began, resulting in the recognition of the fact that the world's natural and cultural resources are at risk. In the archaeological science itself significant changes took place with the development of new archaeology (processual archaeology) in the USA which placed main emphasis on archaeological theory. The concept of archaeological heritage (resource) management emerged as the consequence of these changes. Archaeological monuments, both movable and immovable, were no longer primarily seen as objects of study but as cultural resources that could be used in the present and in the future. The former concept of monument conservation and care was replaced by the concept of archaeological resource management. Management implies an overall context: political and social, environmental, thus the regional level as well, and the context of spatial planning. As a result of numerous large-scale rescue excavations (prompted by large infrastructural projects) during the 1970s and 1980s, a wider understanding was gained that rescue excavations were in fact the consequence of a failure to include archaeology in decision-making and spatial planning processes. Contemporary conservation/management of archaeological heritage was primarily focused on obvious dangers to which archaeological heritage in the environment is exposed and therefore the connection and the need for cooperation between experts in charge of archaeological heritage management and spatial planners is particularly emphasized. In the early 1990s two international documents were adopted: Charter for the Protection and Management of Archaeological Heritage (1990) and the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) (1992), establishing contemporary international attitudes and standards for archaeological heritage management with a particular emphasis on the need for protecting and conserving archaeological heritage in situ and avoiding archaeological excavations, replacing them by non-destructive survey methods. This paper examines the contemporary process of archaeological heritage/resource management (cultural resource management, archaeological heritage management, public archaeology), which comprises two levels. The first level includes inventory, primary evaluation and selection a decision on conservation in situ or on rescue excavation of archaeological sites. The second level comprises management of archaeological sites (cultural goods) for which the decision on preservation in situ has been made and which consists of an analytical stage, a planning and design stage, a realization stage and a monitoring stage, and includes presentation and interpretation of the site, its use and enhancement. Both levels of management require a multidisciplinary approach to the issue. Involved in the second level, in addition to various experts, are other stakeholders such as owners, investors, local communities, etc., which too have an important influence on the process of conservation and management of archaeological heritage. Although excavation of archaeological heritage is inevitable, its presentation in situ should not be a goal in itself it should be the object of a joint and carefully considered decision by key stakeholders in archaeological heritage management. A thoroughly excavated and published archaeological site is a better option than a site damaged by works considered necessary for its presentation. The second level of management calls for the development of a management plan for a specific archaeological site or an area in order to protect and conserve all of its established values. The main objective of preparing a management plan for an archaeological site is to ensure conservation of all of its values and cultural significance, and not meeting the needs of tourists, archaeologists or entrepreneurs, although their needs should be taken into account to a certain degree as well. The process of planning and developing an archaeological site management plan comprises several basic stages: I) involving of various stakeholders in the planning process, 2) documenting the history of the site, 3) valorisation (significance assessment) of the site, 4) assessment of physical condition and management context, 5) setting objectives (management policy), 6) choosing management strategies, and 7) implementation, monitoring and re-evaluation of the process. At all stages, except documenting the history of the site, participation of urban and spatial planners as stakeholders in the management plan development is important.",PROSTOR,2015, J,"Wooltorton, S; Wilkinson, A; Horwitz, P; Bahn, S; Redmond, J; Dooley, J",Sustainability and action research in universities Towards knowledge for organisational transformation,10.1108/IJSHE-09-2013-0111,"Purpose - Academic approaches to the challenge of enhancing sustainability in research in university contexts illustrate that universities are affected by the very same values and socio-ecological issues they set out to address, making transformation difficult at every level. A theoretical and practical framework designed to facilitate cultural transformation is therefore necessary for conceptualising the problem and delineating possible strategies to enhance sustainability in research. Organisational change is also required, possibly on a university-by-university basis, where cross-institutional learning may be possible with personal behaviours that enhance collaboration across disciplinary and administrative divides. Design/methodology/approach - This paper contends that action research, in particular, community action research (CAR), offers the best approach to this task because it focusses on learning and change, and these are both essential to cultural transformation. A case study from a university in Western Australia is used to demonstrate this approach. Findings - The case study analysis shows some evidence for the presence of knowledge for organisational transformation, and that future monitoring cycles will be needed to detect the extent of the change. Originality/value - The paper introduces CAR as an approach to advance the change for sustainability in higher education and discusses some of the implications for universities who are looking to incorporate sustainability as a major part of their culture.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION,2015, J,"Shi, H; Yang, ZP; Shi, TG; Han, F",Delimiting the boundaries of a Mountain Natural Heritage Site through multi-objective modelling,10.1553/eco.mont-7-1s45,"Defining the boundaries of natural heritage sites is critical to the protection, management and conservation of natural resources. This paper develops a multiobjective programming model based on game theory. It considers the economic and ecological benefits of various land use/land cover types, as determined by the local government and academic stakeholders' expectations. A range of boundaries is identified by the Nash equilibrium, satisfying all players' interests. Combining this with landscape types and considering geographic characteristics obtained from field investigations, we identify a final boundary for the Tomur buffer region in China's Xinjiang Tianshan World Heritage Site. This novel process greatly improves our ability to shape optimal boundaries in environmental and economic terms. Future work should aim to consider widely the value orientations of various stakeholders, combining these with the cultural values and spatial properties of land use/land cover types to obtain more socially acceptable boundaries.",ECO MONT-JOURNAL ON PROTECTED MOUNTAIN AREAS RESEARCH,2015,JAN J,"Ryan, JG; Fyfe, CT; McAlpine, CA","Biomass retention and carbon stocks in integrated vegetation bands: a case study of mixed-age brigalow-eucalypt woodland in southern Queensland, Australia",10.1071/RJ14023,"Regrowth of native woody vegetation has the potential to provide an economically valuable source of carbon storage and other ecosystem services. There is a lack of readily applicable examples of how regrowth of forests and woodlands can be integrated with existing grazing production systems and provide soil-protection and water-retention benefits. A system of integrated vegetation bands (IVB) was applied to patchy regrowth of acacia and eucalypt vegetation in a grazed landscape of southern Queensland, Australia. Across a 39.8-ha catchment with 3-5% slope, regrowth of scattered native vegetation (18.4 ha) was surveyed and diameter at breast height and height for all woody plants were recorded. The IVB (6.3 ha) were then marked out as 25-m-wide bands set 100m apart and offset at similar to 2-3% gradient to the contour line, retaining the densest/largest regrowth where possible. The data on diameter at breast height and height were analysed using allometric equations to compare aboveground biomass in the original regrowth condition ('Original') to that retained in the installed IVB ('IVB-Riparian'). Estimates of aboveground biomass were calculated for the Original and IVB-Riparian and compared with three other potential regrowth-vegetation management 'treatments' in a desktop-modelling study. The models were designated as: (1) 'Original'; (2) 'Broad' (broad-scale cleared with only a few large trees along a creek retained)'; (3) 'Big Trees' (only large trees >40 cm diameter at breast height retained); (4) 'Riparian-IVB (bands of vegetation); and (5) 'Riparian-IVB-Big Trees' (large trees together with 'IVB-Riparian'). In the non-forested area of the catchment, 'Riparian-IVB-Big Trees' (301 t), 'Big Trees' (249 t) and 'Riparian-IVB' (200 t) had the highest aboveground biomass retained, whereas 'Broad' resulted in the most pasture area (similar to 33 ha) followed by 'Riparian-IVB' (similar to 26 ha). The 'Riparian-IVB' treatment had the highest tree density within the vegetation bands and more than half (53%) of the original woody biomass in regrowth was retained on just under a quarter (23%) of the land area minimising the impact on the area of pasture/grazing land. This subsequently resulted in the 'Riparian-IVB' treatment having the highest carbon offset value (A$605 ha(-1)). The results demonstrate that the retention of native regrowth vegetation in either IVB or as large paddock trees can retain a large amount of aboveground biomass, with IVB having greater returns per hectare.",RANGELAND JOURNAL,2015, J,"Beach, DM; Clark, DA",Scenario planning during rapid ecological change: lessons and perspectives from workshops with southwest Yukon wildlife managers,10.5751/ES-07379-200161,"Scenario planning has been increasingly advocated as a strategic planning tool for enabling natural resource managers to make decisions in the face of uncertainty and rapid change. However, few examples exist that discuss the technique's application in that field. We used a scenario planning approach to develop wildlife management goals and evaluated participants' perceptions of scenario planning as a goal development tool. Study participants emphasized the context-specificity of management goals, and that no-regrets management strategies might not be constructive. We found that scenario planning can help resource managers identify needs that have been overlooked but may become important in the future. Scenarios can likely be used to develop management goals for other resources within the same system. Scenario planning provides a way to apply traditional ecological knowledge and local knowledge in a planning process in a respectful manner. Further process-oriented findings may be helpful to practitioners or researchers considering this approach: workshops should to be temporally close together for participants to retain context during the process, and ensuring continuity of workshop participants is important. Study participants judged scenario planning to be an effective tool to stimulate group-thought on longer time scales, facilitate adaptive learning, and enhance institutional linkages. Ultimately such outcomes can help groups comprising diverse participants to develop shared mental models of the future and identify pathways to achieve them.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Bowd, R; Quinn, NW; Kotze, DC",Toward an analytical framework for understanding complex social-ecological systems when conducting environmental impact assessments in South Africa,10.5751/ES-07057-200141,"Consideration of biophysical impacts has historically dominated environmental impact assessment (EIA) practice. Despite the emergence of social impact assessment, the consideration of socioeconomic impacts in EIA is variable, as is the extent of their integration in EIA findings. There is growing recognition for the need to move EIA practice toward sustainability assessment, characterized by comprehensiveness, i.e., scope of impacts, integration, i.e., of biophysical and socioeconomic impacts, and a greater strategic focus. This is particularly the case in developing regions and in countries like South Africa, which have statutory requirements for the full consideration of socioeconomic impacts in EIA. We suggest that EIA practice could benefit from incorporating evolving theory around social-ecological systems (SES) as an effective way of moving toward sustainability assessment. As far as we are aware, our study constitutes the first attempt to apply and formalize SES constructs to EIA practice within a regulated procedure. Our framework goes beyond conventional scoping approaches reliant on checklists and matrices by requiring the EIA practitioner to cocreate a conceptual model of the current and future social-ecological system with the implicated communities. This means social and biophysical impacts are assessed integratively, and that communities participate meaningfully in the EIA process, thereby helping address two of the most common shortfalls of EIA practice. The framework was applied in two case studies, establishment of community-based accommodation linked to existing tourism infrastructure (Eastern Cape, South Africa), and a proposed wine estate (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). The framework revealed impacts, which would not be considered in a biophysically-oriented EIA, and helped identify development synergies and institutional and governance needs that are equally likely to have been overlooked. We suggest the framework has value as a counterpoint to established approaches and could contribute to improving the quality of EIAs with respect to the complex SESs that characterize the developing world.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Cavender-Bares, J; Polasky, S; King, E; Balvanera, P",A sustainability framework for assessing trade-offs in ecosystem services,10.5751/ES-06917-200117,"Achieving sustainability, i.e., meeting the needs of current populations without compromising the needs of future generations, is the major challenge facing global society in the 21st century. Navigating the inherent trade-offs between provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services, and doing so in a way that does not compromise natural capital needed to provide services in the future, is critical for sustainable resource management. Here we build upon existing literature, primarily from economics and ecology, to present an analytical framework that integrates (1) the ecological mechanisms that underpin ecosystem services, (2) biophysical trade-offs and inherent limits that constrain management options, (3) preferences and values of stakeholders, and (4) explicit analysis of how systems evolve through time to ensure the goal of meeting the needs of future generations. Well-known ecological models define the relationships and trade-offs among services that represents an efficiency frontier. Well-known methods in economics that combine preferences that define the willingness of stakeholders to trade off ecosystem services on the efficiency frontiers illuminate desirable outcomes that meet human needs. System dynamics show how the system will evolve with consequent impacts on ecosystem services and human well-being and the effects this has on achieving sustainability. Heterogeneity in biophysical constraints, uncertainty, technological advances, and obstacles imposed by societal factors and governance regimes influence potential and realized ecosystem services. Using a set of contrasting scenarios, we illustrate how progress can be made toward sustainability and the important obstacles that must be addressed in doing so. Our framework for analyzing sustainability drawn from economics and ecology is intended to make an integration of concepts from both disciplines accessible to a wider audience.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Rumbaur, C; Thevs, N; Disse, M; Ahlheim, M; Brieden, A; Cyffka, B; Duethmann, D; Feike, T; Fror, O; Gartner, P; Halik, U; Hill, J; Hinnenthal, M; Keilholz, P; Kleinschmit, B; Krysanova, V; Kuba, M; Mader, S; Menz, C; Othmanli, H; Pelz, S; Schroeder, M; Siew, TF; Stender, V; Stahr, K; Thomas, FM; Welp, M; Wortmann, M; Zhao, X; Chen, X; Jiang, T; Luo, J; Yimit, H; Yu, R; Zhang, X; Zhao, C",Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change,10.5194/esd-6-83-2015,"The Tarim River basin, located in Xinjiang, NW China, is the largest endorheic river basin in China and one of the largest in all of Central Asia. Due to the extremely arid climate, with an annual precipitation of less than 100 mm, the water supply along the Aksu and Tarim rivers solely depends on river water. This is linked to anthropogenic activities (e.g., agriculture) and natural and semi-natural ecosystems as both compete for water. The ongoing increase in water consumption by agriculture and other human activities in this region has been enhancing the competition for water between human needs and nature. Against this background, 11 German and 6 Chinese universities and research institutes have formed the consortium SuMaRiO (Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River; http://www.sumario.de), which aims to create a holistic picture of the availability of water resources in the Tarim River basin and the impacts on anthropogenic activities and natural ecosystems caused by the water distribution within the Tarim River basin. On the basis of the results from field studies and modeling approaches as well as from suggestions by the relevant regional stakeholders, a decision support tool (DST) will be implemented that will then assist stakeholders in balancing the competition for water, acknowledging the major external effects of water allocation to agriculture and to natural ecosystems. This consortium was formed in 2011 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. As the data collection phase was finished this year, the paper presented here brings together the results from the fields from the disciplines of climate modeling, cryology, hydrology, agricultural sciences, ecology, geoinformatics, and social sciences in order to present a comprehensive picture of the effects of different water availability schemes on anthropogenic activities and natural ecosystems along the Tarim River. The second objective is to present the project structure of the whole consortium, the current status of work (i.e., major new results and findings), explain the foundation of the decision support tool as a key product of this project, and conclude with application recommendations for the region. The discharge of the Aksu River, which is the major tributary of the Tarim, has been increasing over the past 6 decades. From 1989 to 2011, agricultural area more than doubled: cotton became the major crop and there was a shift from small-scale to large-scale intensive farming. The ongoing increase in irrigated agricultural land leads to the increased threat of salinization and soil degradation caused by increased evapotranspiration. Aside from agricultural land, the major natural and semi-natural ecosystems are riparian (Tugai) forests, shrub vegetation, reed beds, and other grassland, as well as urban and peri-urban vegetation. Within the SuMaRiO cluster, focus has been set on the Tugai forests, with Populus euphratica as the dominant tree species, because these forests belong to the most productive and species-rich natural ecosystems of the Tarim River basin. At sites close to the groundwater, the annual stem diameter increments of Populus euphratica correlated with the river runoffs of the previous year. However, the natural river dynamics cease along the downstream course and thus hamper the recruitment of Populus euphratica. A study on the willingness to pay for the conservation of the natural ecosystems was conducted to estimate the concern of the people in the region and in China's capital. These household surveys revealed that there is a considerable willingness to pay for conservation of the natural ecosystems, with mitigation of dust and sandstorms considered the most important ecosystem service. Stakeholder dialogues contributed to creating a scientific basis for a sustainable management in the future.",EARTH SYSTEM DYNAMICS,2015, J,"Lawrence, KS; Abrutyn, SB",The Degradation of Nature and the Growth of Environmental Concern: Toward a Theory of the Capture and Limits of Ecological Value,,"In this paper we overcome limitations of extant models of long-term social evolution by developing a formal theory that explains the emergence of environmental injustices and movements for environmental protection by incorporating the concept of ecological value, a value derived from the supply and quality of ecological services demanded by a society or group(s) within a society. The theory explains how intra- and inter-societal imbalances of political and/or economic power are harnessed to capture distant ecological value in response to selection pressures resulting from reductions in the local level and/or quality of ecological services and in response to the growth of environmental concern. Opposing the continued capture are the same forces that generate it ecological degradation and ecological concern the dynamics of which shift along with the scale; as the forces move from the local to the global they lead to a bifurcation point at which either solutions for ecological sustainability are implemented or failure occurs in the form of ecological collapse. We close by considering the ramifications of this model in which the relative levels of these forces shape the future.",HUMAN ECOLOGY REVIEW,2015, J,"Bartolai, AM; He, LL; Hurst, AE; Mortsch, L; Paehlke, R; Scavia, D",Climate change as a driver of change in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin,10.1016/j.jglr.2014.11.012,"Climate change in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin is affecting the socio-ecological system, including the residents who depend on the basin for drinking water, energy, and commerce. Over the past 50 years, air temperatures increased and heavier precipitation events became more frequent, and those trends are projected to continue. Climate change is expected to impact energy supply and demand, governance, and changes in demographics and societal values. More extreme events may exacerbate transport of biological and chemical contaminants and invasive species, and impact lake levels and water quality. We describe historical trends of the regional climate, examine global and regional climate model projections, and explore impacts of climate change with other key drivers of change defined by the Great Lakes Futures Project Because reducing climate-related damages and economic losses is crucial; we offer three plausible future scenarios of mitigation and adaptation plans. Recommendations to reach a future Utopian scenario require immediate actions, such as improvements in energy conservation, efficiency and generation, curbs to emissions, preventative infrastructure upgrades, and investments in maintaining and monitoring a healthy ecosystem. (C) 2014 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH,2015, J,"Comer, B; Fera, SA; Splawinski, S; Laurent, KL; Friedman, KB; Krantzberg, G; Scavia, D; Creed, IF",Thriving and prosperous: How we rallied to confront collective challenges,10.1016/j.jglr.2014.12.004,"Scenario analysis can be a useful tool to explore paths to a desirable future. This paper is a 'future history' describing the how stakeholders in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin of North America rallied to confront regional challenges 50 years into the future (2013-2063). This future scenario was developed by considering how nine drivers of change (aquatic invasive species; biological and chemical contaminants; climate change; demographics and societal values; economy; energy; governance and geopolitics; water quantity; and technology) might impact the region. This thriving and prosperous scenario envisions that in the beginning, Great Lakes residents, scientists, and policymakers saw the writing on the wall, recognizing that past approaches to environmental policy failed to provide long-term environmental, social, and economic prosperity. In response, policymakers in the Great Lakes region began formulating and implementing new policies, but actions were scattered across the region and uncoordinated across geopolitical boundaries. Recognizing the need to coordinate their efforts, Great Lakes stakeholders began marching in step by agreeing on a common set of guiding principles for future policy actions. Building on this momentum, Great Lakes policymakers implemented a suite of regulations and initiatives that recognized the Great Lakes region as a complex social-ecological system. Between 2053 and 2063, the region began to reap the benefits of coordinated policy action. By 2063, the Great Lakes region showed how a long-term commitment to improving the environment can sustain a thriving and prosperous ecosystem and economy. (C) 2014 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH,2015, J,"Boschetti, F; Fulton, EA; Grigg, NJ",Citizens' Views of Australia's Future to 2050,10.3390/su7010222,"In four focus group exercises involving both forecasting and backcasting approaches, we gave approximately 100 Australian citizens the opportunity to discuss likely, desirable and feared futures to 2050. The image they paint is both coherent and consistent. Education, governance, personal attitudes and societal trends, rather than specific events, are drivers of a future which is perceived as being largely shaped by human choices. Innovation is believed to be more necessary in novel social arrangements than in further technology. The most feared futures arise from an amplification of trends already at play in the present: economic growth at the expense of the environment and quality of life, lack of equity, poor government, corporate greed, commercialism and erosion of social values. Economic and material growth does not feature in the most desired futures which are local, inclusive, peaceful, equitable and in some cases frugal. The visions and scenarios developed find a place within established foresight frameworks and global political narratives, but seem to lie at the fringe of current media and short-term political discourse. These results should not be interpreted as representative of the overall Australian population, but suggest that extending the analysis to the broader community could provide significant insights and enrich the discussion of important societal choices.",SUSTAINABILITY,2015,JAN J,"Pittman, J; Armitage, D; Alexander, S; Campbell, D; Alleyne, M",Governance fit for climate change in a Caribbean coastal-marine context,10.1016/j.marpol.2014.08.009,"Coastal-marine systems in small island developing states of the Caribbean are highly vulnerable to both current and future climate change. Societies navigate these changes in part through processes of governance and the institutions through which governance takes place. The concept of institutional adaptive capacity is used to explore how governance processes and institutional arrangements can be adapted to match the scale and extent of climate change in a case study of the Soufriere Marine Management Area, St. Lucia. Institutional adaptive capacity is analyzed based on the following factors: institutional variety, analytical deliberation and nesting and networks. The analysis is based on 36 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants from NGOs, cooperatives, management authorities and government agencies. The findings suggest that governance to address climate change in the case study is contingent upon developing holistic, integrated management systems, improving flexibility in existing collaborative decision making processes, augmenting the capacity of local management authorities with support from higher-level government, exploring opportunities for private-social partnerships, and developing adequate social-environmental monitoring programs. These findings have potential implications and lessons for similar settings throughout the Caribbean. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",MARINE POLICY,2015,JAN J,"Chatterton, J; Graves, A; Audsley, E; Morris, J; Williams, A",Using systems-based life cycle assessment to investigate the environmental and economic impacts and benefits of the livestock sector in the UK,10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.103,"The livestock industry is a significant component of the agricultural and rural sectors in the UK. Grassland for livestock accounts for almost half of the terrestrial surface of the UK and almost two-thirds of its managed agricultural land. It therefore accounts for a major proportion of rural employment and income and provides many landscape and biodiversity benefits. Taking an ecosystems-services-framework approach, an integrated livestock-ecosystems linear programming model was developed to assess economic and environmental impacts of the livestock sector. This combined life cycle assessment systems analysis with economic and valuation data and enabled plausible future scenarios to be assessed in terms of provisioning, regulating and cultural services. Analysis showed the main benefit coming from provisioning services and also the significant role the sector plays in providing cultural services, and the trade-offs between these and the cost of regulating services with respect to emissions to air and water. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2015,ene 1 J,"Law, EA; Bryan, BA; Meijaard, E; Mallawaarachchi, T; Struebig, M; Wilson, KA","Ecosystem services from a degraded peatland of Central Kalimantan: implications for policy, planning, and management",10.1890/13-2014.1,"Increasingly, landscapes are managed for multiple objectives to balance social, economic, and environmental goals. The Ex-Mega Rice Project (EMRP) peatland in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia provides a timely example with globally significant development, carbon, and biodiversity concerns. To inform future policy, planning, and management in the EMRP, we quantified and mapped ecosystem service values, assessed their spatial interactions, and evaluated the potential provision of ecosystem services under future land-use scenarios. We focus on key policy-relevant regulating (carbon stocks and the potential for emissions reduction), provisioning (timber, crops from smallholder agriculture, palm oil), and supporting (biodiversity) services. We found that implementation of existing land-use plans has the potential to improve total ecosystem service provision. We identify a number of significant inefficiencies, trade-offs, and unintended outcomes that may arise. For example, the potential development of existing palm oil concessions over one-third of the region may shift smallholder agriculture into low-productivity regions and substantially impact carbon and biodiversity outcomes. While improved management of conservation zones may enhance the protection of carbon stocks, not all biodiversity features will be represented, and there will be a reduction in timber harvesting and agricultural production. This study highlights how ecosystem service analyses can be structured to better inform policy, planning, and management in globally significant but data-poor regions.",ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS,2015,JAN J,"Carpenter, SR; Booth, EG; Gillon, S; Kucharik, CJ; Loheide, S; Mase, AS; Motew, M; Qiu, JX; Rissman, AR; Seifert, J; Soylu, E; Turner, M; Wardropper, CB","Plausible futures of a social-ecological system: Yahara watershed, Wisconsin, USA",10.5751/ES-07433-200210,"Agricultural watersheds are affected by changes in climate, land use, agricultural practices, and human demand for energy, food, and water resources. In this context, we analyzed the agricultural, urbanizing Yahara watershed ( size: 1345 km(2), population: 372,000) to assess its responses to multiple changing drivers. We measured recent trends in land use/cover and water quality of the watershed, spatial patterns of 10 ecosystem services, and spatial patterns and nestedness of governance. We developed scenarios for the future of the Yahara watershed by integrating trends and events from the global scenarios literature, perspectives of stakeholders, and models of biophysical drivers and ecosystem services. Four qualitative scenarios were created to explore plausible trajectories to the year 2070 in the watershed's social-ecological system under different regimes: no action on environmental trends, accelerated technological development, strong intervention by government, and shifting values toward sustainability. Quantitative time-series for 2010-2070 were developed for weather and land use/cover during each scenario as inputs to model changes in ecosystem services. Ultimately, our goal is to understand how changes in the social-ecological system of the Yahara watershed, including management of land and water resources, can build or impair resilience to shifting drivers, including climate.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Plieninger, T; Kizos, T; Bieling, C; Le Du-Blayo, L; Budniok, MA; Burgi, M; Crumley, CL; Girod, G; Howard, P; Kolen, J; Kuemmerle, T; Milcinski, G; Palang, H; Trommler, K; Verburg, PH",Exploring ecosystem-change and society through a landscape lens: recent progress in European landscape research,10.5751/ES-07443-200205,"Landscapes are closely linked to human well-being, but they are undergoing rapid and fundamental change. Understanding the societal transformation underlying these landscape changes, as well as the ecological and societal outcomes of landscape transformations across scales are prime areas for landscape research. We review and synthesize findings from six important areas of landscape research in Europe and discuss how these findings may advance the study of ecosystem change and society and its thematic key priorities. These six areas are: (1) linkages between people and the environment in landscapes, (2) landscape structure and land-use intensity, (3) long-term landscape history, (4) driving forces, processes, and actors of landscape change, (5) landscape values and meanings, and (6) landscape stewardship. We propose that these knowledge areas can contribute to the study of ecosystem change and society, considering nested multiscale dynamics of social-ecological systems; the stewardship of these systems and their ecosystem services; and the relationships between ecosystem services, human well-being, wealth, and poverty. Our synthesis highlights that knowledge about past and current landscape patterns, processes, and dynamics provides guidance for developing visions to support the sustainable stewardship of social-ecological systems under future conditions.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Thorne, KM; Mattsson, BJ; Takekawa, J; Cummings, J; Crouse, D; Block, G; Bloom, V; Gerhart, M; Goldbeck, S; Huning, B; Sloop, C; Stewart, M; Taylor, K; Valoppi, L",Collaborative decision-analytic framework to maximize resilience of tidal marshes to climate change,10.5751/ES-07018-200130,"Decision makers that are responsible for stewardship of natural resources face many challenges, which are complicated by uncertainty about impacts from climate change, expanding human development, and intensifying land uses. A systematic process for evaluating the social and ecological risks, trade-offs, and cobenefits associated with future changes is critical to maximize resilience and conserve ecosystem services. This is particularly true in coastal areas where human populations and landscape conversion are increasing, and where intensifying storms and sea-level rise pose unprecedented threats to coastal ecosystems. We applied collaborative decision analysis with a diverse team of stakeholders who preserve, manage, or restore tidal marshes across the San Francisco Bay estuary, California, USA, as a case study. Specifically, we followed a structured decision-making approach, and we using expert judgment developed alternative management strategies to increase the capacity and adaptability to manage tidal marsh resilience while considering uncertainties through 2050. Because sea-level rise projections are relatively confident to 2050, we focused on uncertainties regarding intensity and frequency of storms and funding. Elicitation methods allowed us to make predictions in the absence of fully compatible models and to assess short- and long-term trade-offs. Specifically we addressed two questions. (1) Can collaborative decision analysis lead to consensus among a diverse set of decision makers responsible for environmental stewardship and faced with uncertainties about climate change, funding, and stakeholder values? (2) What is an optimal strategy for the conservation of tidal marshes, and what strategy is robust to the aforementioned uncertainties? We found that when taking this approach, consensus was reached among the stakeholders about the best management strategies to maintain tidal marsh integrity. A Bayesian decision network revealed that a strategy considering sea-level rise and storms explicitly in wetland restoration planning and designs was optimal, and it was robust to uncertainties about management effectiveness and budgets. We found that strategies that avoided explicitly accounting for future climate change had the lowest expected performance based on input from the team. Our decision-analytic framework is sufficiently general to offer an adaptable template, which can be modified for use in other areas that include a diverse and engaged stakeholder group.",ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY,2015, J,"Macura, B; Secco, L; Pullin, AS",What evidence exists on the impact of governance type on the conservation effectiveness of forest protected areas? Knowledge base and evidence gaps,10.1186/s13750-015-0051-6,"Background: Governance processes and structures that steer social-ecological systems and in situ forest conservation strategies such as protected areas (PAs) can be crucial for effective management and improvement of the conservation outcomes. Nevertheless, knowledge synthesis on how types of local governance and decision-making modes may influence conservation outcomes of forest protected areas is lacking. This is mainly because the evidence on the joint relationships between governance regimes and ecological or social outcomes is generally missing and the knowledge comes from case studies. The research on this topic that use quasi-experimental designs aimed at inferring strong causal relationships is still methodologically in a development phase and the causal effects are hard to isolate. This map describes and maps the available qualitative and quantitative evidence from a large number and variety of sources, both peer-reviewed and grey literature, to answer the following question: What evidence exists on the impact of governance type on the conservation effectiveness of forest protected areas? This across-case systematic map reveals knowledge gaps, methodological limitations of the primary research and generates a list of specific research questions for future research. Methods: Evidence was collated from multiple sources, academic and grey literature. Using predefined inclusion criteria generated in a published protocol, we identified and screened articles for relevance at title, abstract and full text. Evidence was collated using English language search terms and applying no geographical limitations. Identified studies were critically appraised for internal validity (appropriateness of comparator, study design, objectiveness of measured outcomes) and mapped using a predefined coding scheme. We mapped studies according to geographical region, protected area characteristics, governance type, ecological and attitudinal outcomes, and comparator type. Results: The evidence base is limited in terms of size, quality and geographical area. We identified 57 relevant studies across 66 articles. The evidence base is geographically confined to Latin America and South Asia. Included studies are mostly of medium level of methodological detail, but frequently lack baseline, appropriate comparator or counterfactual to establish strong causal relationships between forest PAs with a particular governance type and a specific outcome. Moreover, most of the studies assess only one, primarily ecological, outcome and there were no studies measuring spill-over effects. Conclusions: The presented results call attention to the research gaps in the field of conservation governance, provide methodological guidelines and generate specific questions for future primary research. While conducting analysis of conservation intervention effects, research has to account for and report governance variables (e.g. how are decisions made and implemented). Methodological pluralism with both qualitative and quantitative approaches, more robust study designs and assessment of both social and ecological outcomes are needed to obtain a more complete understanding of the PA governance impacts.",ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE,2015, J,"Lazar, AN; Clarke, D; Adams, H; Akanda, AR; Szabo, S; Nicholls, RJ; Matthews, Z; Begum, D; Saleh, AFM; Abedin, MA; Payo, A; Streatfield, PK; Hutton, C; Mondal, MS; Moslehuddin, AZM",Agricultural livelihoods in coastal Bangladesh under climate and environmental change - a model framework,10.1039/c4em00600c,"Coastal Bangladesh experiences significant poverty and hazards today and is highly vulnerable to climate and environmental change over the coming decades. Coastal stakeholders are demanding information to assist in the decision making processes, including simulation models to explore how different interventions, under different plausible future socio-economic and environmental scenarios, could alleviate environmental risks and promote development. Many existing simulation models neglect the complex interdependencies between the socio-economic and environmental system of coastal Bangladesh. Here an integrated approach has been proposed to develop a simulation model to support agriculture and poverty-based analysis and decision-making in coastal Bangladesh. In particular, we show how a simulation model of farmer's livelihoods at the household level can be achieved. An extended version of the FAO's CROPWAT agriculture model has been integrated with a downscaled regional demography model to simulate net agriculture profit. This is used together with a household income-expenses balance and a loans logical tree to simulate the evolution of food security indicators and poverty levels. Modelling identifies salinity and temperature stress as limiting factors to crop productivity and fertilisation due to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as a reinforcing factor. The crop simulation results compare well with expected outcomes but also reveal some unexpected behaviours. For example, under current model assumptions, temperature is more important than salinity for crop production. The agriculture-based livelihood and poverty simulations highlight the critical significance of debt through informal and formal loans set at such levels as to persistently undermine the well-being of agriculture-dependent households. Simulations also indicate that progressive approaches to agriculture (i.e. diversification) might not provide the clear economic benefit from the perspective of pricing due to greater susceptibility to climate vagaries. The livelihood and poverty results highlight the importance of the holistic consideration of the human-nature system and the careful selection of poverty indicators. Although the simulation model at this stage contains the minimum elements required to simulate the complexity of farmer livelihood interactions in coastal Bangladesh, the crop and socio-economic findings compare well with expected behaviours. The presented integrated model is the first step to develop a holistic, transferable analytic method and tool for coastal Bangladesh.",ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS,2015, J,"Pope, AJ; Gimblett, R",Linking Bayesian and agent-based models to simulate complex social-ecological systems in semi-arid regions,10.3389/fenvs.2015.00055,"Interdependencies of ecologic, hydrologic, and social systems challenge traditional approaches to natural resource management in semi-arid regions. As a complex social-ecological system, water demands in the Sonoran Desert from agricultural and urban users often conflicts with water needs for its ecologically-significant riparian corridors. To explore this system, we developed an agent-based model to simulate complex feedbacks between human decisions and environmental conditions in the Rio Sonora Watershed. Cognitive mapping in conjunction with stakeholder participation produced a Bayesian model of conditional probabilities of local human decision-making processes resulting to changes in water demand. Probabilities created in the Bayesian model were incorporated into the agent-based model, so that each agent had a unique probability to make a positive decision based on its perceived environment at each point in time and space. By using a Bayesian approach, uncertainty in the human decision-making process could be incorporated. The spatially-explicit agent-based model simulated changes in depth-to-groundwater by well pumping based on an agent's water demand. Changes in depth-to-groundwater feedback to influence agent behavior, as well as determine unique vegetation classes within the riparian corridor. Each vegetation class then provides varying stakeholder-defined quality values of ecosystem services. Using this modeling approach allowed us to examine effects on both the ecological and social system of semi-arid riparian corridors under various scenarios. The insight provided by the model contributes to understanding how specific interventions may alter the complex social-ecological system in the future.",FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE,2015, J,"Tinnfalt, A; Jensen, J; Eriksson, C",What characterises a good family? Giving voice to adolescents,10.1080/02673843.2015.1018283,"Parents and family are very important for a young person's health and development, but knowledge is scarce on how young people perceive them. The aim of this study is to give voice to adolescent girls' and boys' perceptions of how parents and families should be. Nineteen adolescents were interviewed. A descriptive design and a qualitative content approach were used to analyse the interview material. To make the approach participatory, young students were involved as partners. They did some pilot interviews, and their conclusions were used during the planning of the study. The results show that adolescents regard their parents and family as very important to them. Everybody in the family has shared responsibility for it, and it is important to spend time together, i.e., 'to do family'. Moreover, parents have special obligations; in particular, they have a duty to ensure a good future for their children.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENCE AND YOUTH,2015, J,"Aydin, N",Islamic social business for sustainable development and subjective wellbeing,10.1108/IMEFM-09-2014-0097,"Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report that the social business model has emerged to mitigate the failure of free-market capitalism driven by self-interest in creating social value. It shows how social business contradicts with free-market capitalism while being compatible with Islamic moral economy due to the axiomatic differences between the two economic systems. Design/methodology/approach - The paper follows conceptual, axiomatic and theoretical approach to show how the social business model contradicts with free-market capitalism, but is compatible with Islamic moral economy. The paper provides a theoretical framework for Islamic social business based on an Islamic human and social development perspective. The paper first discusses the failure of free-market capitalism and the emergence of social business in the capitalist system. It then defines Islamic social business and lays out its axiomatic foundation based on the Islamic worldview. It also presents Islamic financial instruments and funds for social business. Finally, it makes a case for sustainable socioeconomic development and subjective well-being within the Islamic development paradigm. Findings - The paper shows that a cosmetic change to capitalism is not sufficient for enabling the social business model to take the main stage in the free-market system. There is a need for a new paradigm of reality, truth, telos and human nature to support social business. Tawhidi paradigm can be such alternative. The paper makes a strong case for social business from an Islamic worldview. Particularly, certain economic axioms within the Tawhidi anthropology, teleology and axiology provide intrinsic causes for pursuing such business model. The multi-dimensional nature of humans from the Tawhidi anthropology sets the intrinsic foundation for social business. Indeed, although the social business model is new to the West, it has been practiced in certain forms in the Muslim world throughout history. Zakat, sadaqah, and qard hasan can be used to support social business in addition to some Islamic banking instruments. The paper suggests that Muslim countries should embrace the social business model for sustainable development and greater subjective well-being. Research limitations/implications - The paper is purely theoretical. Future studies might shed light on the issue through empirical evidence. Practical implications - The paper is likely to enhance the interest in social business in the Muslim world. Social implications - The paper has potential to lead the creation of social value through dissemination of the social business model. Originality/value - The paper contributes the Islamic moral economy doctrine by making a strong case for Islamic social business.",INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC AND MIDDLE EASTERN FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT,2015, J,"van Vliet, M; Kok, K",Combining backcasting and exploratory scenarios to develop robust water strategies in face of uncertain futures,10.1007/s11027-013-9479-6,"Water management strategies in times of global change need to be developed within a complex and uncertain environment. Scenarios are often used to deal with uncertainty. A novel backcasting methodology has been tested in which a normative objective (e.g. adaptive water management) is backcasted within the context of exploratory scenarios that sketch four different plausible futures (Economy First, Policy Rules, Fortress Europe, and Sustainability Eventually). The main advantage of combining exploratory and normative scenarios is in the identification of robust actions: actions that are effective in the different socio-environmental contexts sketched in the exploratory scenarios. This paper has three objectives: (1) to present the methodology, focussing on its novel aspects (2) to test the methodology and evaluate its perceived success by analysing organiser and stakeholder feedback and (3) to analyse and evaluate the results, in order to study the impact of the exploratory scenarios on the backcasting results and the added value of robust actions. The methodology was successfully tested in 9 local and one regional case study in a water project water scenarios for Europe and for Neighbouring States (SCENES). Results showed that the exploratory scenarios influenced the content of the backcasts, thus making the identification of robust strategies possible. The list of robust strategies includes both technological and social/organisational strategies, highlighting the need for an integrated approach. The approach shows high potential, but as the methodology is in its infancy more research is needed, particularly in methods to facilitate and monitor information flow between exploratory scenarios and backcasts.",MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR GLOBAL CHANGE,2015,JAN J,"Ahmad, N; Mehmood, R",Enterprise systems: are we ready for future sustainable cities,10.1108/SCM-11-2014-0370,"Purpose - This paper aims to revisit the adoption reasons of enterprise systems (ES) and supply chain management systems (SCMS) and to explore the new dimensions of sustainability required to be added in the whole process of adoption of these systems. Moreover, it aims to explore the benefits of ES to organizations and to relate these benefits to the ES adoption in future sustainable city settings. Future cities will have micro-industries requiring dynamic interactions and will be dependent on efficient supply chains. The recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT) such as cloud computing through its dynamic, on-demand and service-based delivery are making it possible to achieve those goals for supply chains. The ES in general and more specifically SCMS have integrated organizations into one seamless mesh. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents a framework for adoption of sustainable ES in a smart city setting. The framework, firstly, is presented at a macro-level, particularly incorporating the relative significance of motivational factors for sustainable ES adoption. Subsequently, The authors study the benefits of ES as perceived by large and small and medium enterprise (SME) organizations using 100 case studies and discuss how these benefits can be realized for smart cities by projecting the ES benefits onto the proposed framework. The benefits are estimated with the Shang and Seddon's (2002) framework. Findings - The adoption of ES initiated with environmental factors and mediated with business and technical factors will bring benefits in all the dimensions of triple bottom line in addition to the firm's performance. ES will have pivotal role in future smart city settings and will be able to offer social, environmental and economic sustainability in addition to traditional organizational performance indicators. Originality/value - The proposed framework for ES adoption will bring ES packages (particularly, the required relative significance of adoption reasons) into the perspective of sustainable development. Moreover, the study of its benefits in relation to the proposed sustainable ES adoption framework presented in this paper will help in motivating organizations to incorporate social, economic and environmental sustainability into their core business objectives.",SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL,2015, J,"Lehman, RM; Cambardella, CA; Stott, DE; Acosta-Martinez, V; Manter, DK; Buyer, JS; Maul, JE; Smith, JL; Collins, HP; Halvorson, JJ; Kremer, RJ; Lundgren, JG; Ducey, TF; Jin, VL; Karlen, DL",Understanding and Enhancing Soil Biological Health: The Solution for Reversing Soil Degradation,10.3390/su7010988,"Our objective is to provide an optimistic strategy for reversing soil degradation by increasing public and private research efforts to understand the role of soil biology, particularly microbiology, on the health of our world's soils. We begin by defining soil quality/soil health (which we consider to be interchangeable terms), characterizing healthy soil resources, and relating the significance of soil health to agroecosystems and their functions. We examine how soil biology influences soil health and how biological properties and processes contribute to sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services. We continue by examining what can be done to manipulate soil biology to: (i) increase nutrient availability for production of high yielding, high quality crops; (ii) protect crops from pests, pathogens, weeds; and (iii) manage other factors limiting production, provision of ecosystem services, and resilience to stresses like droughts. Next we look to the future by asking what needs to be known about soil biology that is not currently recognized or fully understood and how these needs could be addressed using emerging research tools. We conclude, based on our perceptions of how new knowledge regarding soil biology will help make agriculture more sustainable and productive, by recommending research emphases that should receive first priority through enhanced public and private research in order to reverse the trajectory toward global soil degradation.",SUSTAINABILITY,2015,JAN J,"Ogilvy, S",Developing the ecological balance sheet for agricultural sustainability,10.1108/SAMPJ-07-2014-0040,"Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to suggest a practical means of incorporating ecological capital into the framework of business entities. Investors and shareholders need to be informed of the viability and sustainability of their investments. Ecological (natural) capital risks are becoming more significant. Exposure to material risk from primary industry is a significant factor for primary processing, pharmaceutical, textile and the financial industry. A means of assessing the changes to ecological capital assets and their effect on inflows and outflows of economic benefit is important information for stakeholder communication. Design/methodology/approach - This paper synthesises a body of literature from accounting, ecological economics, ecosystem services, modelling, agriculture and ecology to propose a way to fill current gaps in the capability to account for ecological capital. It develops the idea of the ecological balance sheet (EBS) to enable application of familiar methods of managing built and financial capital to management of ecological assets (ecosystems that provide goods and services). Findings - The EBS is possible, practical and useful. A form of double-entry bookkeeping can be developed to allow accrual accounting principles to be applied to these assets. By using an EBS, an entity can improve its capability to increase inflows and avoid future outflows of economic benefit. Social implications - Although major efforts are under-way around the world to improve business impact on natural resources, these efforts have been unable to satisfactorily help individual businesses elucidate the practical economic and competitive advantages conferred by investment in ecological capital. This work provides a way for businesses to learn about what the impact of changes to ecological assets has on inflows and outflows of economic benefit to their enterprise and how to invest in ecological capital to reduce their enterprise's material risk and create competitive advantage. Originality/value - No one has synthesised knowledge and practice across these disciplines into a practical approach. This approach is the first demonstration of how ecological assets can be managed in the same way as built capital by using proven practices of accounting.",SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT AND POLICY JOURNAL,2015,