Citizen science as a valuable tool for environmental review

IF 10 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Pub Date : 2024-10-10 DOI:10.1002/fee.2808

Corey T Callaghan, Carly Winnebald, Blaze Smith, Brittany M Mason, Laura López-Hoffman

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Abstract

Human development and population growth are placing immense pressure on natural ecosystems, necessitating the establishment of a balance between development and biodiversity preservation. Citizen science may serve as a valuable resource for monitoring biodiversity and informing decision-making processes, but its use has not been investigated within the realm of environmental review. We sought to quantify the extent to which citizen science data are currently being used, mentioned, or suggested in environmental impact statements (EISs) by analyzing more than 1300 EISs produced under the US National Environmental Policy Act. Among the sampled EISs, we found increasing incorporation of citizen science within the environmental review process, with 40% of EISs in 2022 using, mentioning, or suggesting use of such information, as compared with just 3% in 2012. Citizen science offers substantial potential to enhance biodiversity monitoring and conservation efforts within environmental review, but numerous considerations must be broadly discussed before citizen science data can be widely adopted.

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来源期刊

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

18.30

自引率

1.00%

发文量

128

审稿时长

9-18 weeks

期刊介绍： Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment is a publication by the Ecological Society of America that focuses on the significance of ecology and environmental science in various aspects of research and problem-solving. The journal covers topics such as biodiversity conservation, ecosystem preservation, natural resource management, public policy, and other related areas. The publication features a range of content, including peer-reviewed articles, editorials, commentaries, letters, and occasional special issues and topical series. It releases ten issues per year, excluding January and July. ESA members receive both print and electronic copies of the journal, while institutional subscriptions are also available. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment is highly regarded in the field, as indicated by its ranking in the 2021 Journal Citation Reports by Clarivate Analytics. The journal is ranked 4th out of 174 in ecology journals and 11th out of 279 in environmental sciences journals. Its impact factor for 2021 is reported as 13.789, which further demonstrates its influence and importance in the scientific community.