Biological Reviews最新文献

{"title":"Global consequences of dam-induced river fragmentation on diadromous migrants: a systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Jeffery C. F. Chan, Billy Y. K. Lam, David Dudgeon, Jia Huan Liew","doi":"10.1111/brv.70032","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70032","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The global proliferation of dams has altered flow and sediment regimes in rivers, presenting a major threat to freshwater biodiversity. Diadromous species, such as fishes, decapod crustaceans and gastropods, are particularly susceptible to fragmentation because dams obstruct their breeding migrations between coastal waters and rivers. Although dams have contributed to significant declines in abundance of some commercially important diadromous fishes (salmonids and anguillids) and <i>Macrobrachium</i> shrimps, understanding of the impacts of fragmentation on the majority of diadromous animals is limited. Moreover, the number of species known to have diadromous life cycles has risen substantially during the last four decades, from ~250 to more than 800. This synthesis aims to consolidate the global impacts of fragmentation on diadromous animals and highlight potential knowledge gaps. We identified 338 publications documenting the impacts of dams on diadromous fishes and decapods, but this was reduced to 65 publications after application of our strict selection criteria. Specifically, we only included studies that compared unfragmented (e.g. undammed) or restored (e.g. dams with fish passes) with fragmented (e.g. site above dams) rivers. To assess statistical significance, the results of studies that were replicated sufficiently to enable calculation of standardised effect sizes were also subject to meta-analysis focusing on three topics: impacts of dam-induced fragmentation; efficacy of fish passes; and the mitigative potential of dam removal. Study outcomes were evaluated from five key variables: abundance; species richness; assemblage composition; population genetic diversity; and population genetic structure. We found that fragmentation led to net negative effects across all key variables for diadromous fishes. Fishes with limited jumping or climbing ability and obligate diadromous migrants that cannot persist as landlocked populations were more threatened by fragmentation. However, fishes that were capable climbers or jumpers and facultatively diadromous were nonetheless susceptible to impacts, particularly in their abundance and gene flow between fragmented populations. Installation of fish passes did not lead to positive outcomes, whereas dam removal was effective in restoring connectivity for fishes, suggesting that it is a more effective, albeit potentially contentious, approach (e.g. the dam may serve an important societal need), for restoring habitat connectivity. A smaller number of publications investigated diadromous decapods (seven <i>versus</i> 61 on fishes), and our synthesis of their findings suggests that decapods were vulnerable to habitat alteration by dams, but were less sensitive to their barrier effects because they were better climbers than fishes. Gastropods were the least studied diadromous taxon, and none met our criteria for systematic review or meta-analysis. The imbalance in information about diadromous taxa was com","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 5","pages":"2020-2037"},"PeriodicalIF":11.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.70032","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143956014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grasping at water: a gap-oriented approach to bridging shortfalls in freshwater biodiversity conservation","authors":"Charles B. van Rees,&nbsp;Juergen Geist,&nbsp;Angela H. Arthington","doi":"10.1111/brv.70030","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70030","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Freshwater biodiversity is the fastest declining part of the global biota, threatened by multiple stressors including habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, invasive species, water pollution, and abstraction by humans. A multitude of recent agenda-setting publications have pointed out key objectives and goals for addressing this freshwater biodiversity crisis, but important gaps must be overcome to reach ambitious conservation targets. In this perspective, we complement these high-level papers in freshwater conservation by highlighting important gaps in knowledge, governance, and implementation. This gap-oriented approach is designed to facilitate meaningful action by highlighting missing ‘pieces’ in the conservation process, and their connection to existing and emerging solutions in the literature. We derive 13 overarching gaps from a conference session and informal synthesis of recent literature in freshwater biodiversity conservation to catalyse research, advocacy, and action to meet freshwater goals for the post-2020 Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Key gaps include inventory data on global freshwater biodiversity, collating and mobilizing conservation evidence in practice, improving coordination of ecological governance at scale —including within and across catchments—and navigating trade-offs between economic development, resource consumption, and priorities for freshwater biodiversity. Finally, we apply this gap-oriented approach to key language describing GBF goals for freshwater biodiversity conservation, and point out existing and emerging solutions which may help address important gaps. Major themes that address multiple gaps include the use of Nature-based Solutions and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), navigation of water management trade-offs between human and environmental needs, co-production of knowledge with Indigenous and local people and other stakeholders, integration of conservation research and action between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and funding and policy mechanisms to facilitate conservation action and support meaningful monitoring of conservation evidence across hydrological scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 5","pages":"1970-1993"},"PeriodicalIF":11.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.70030","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143951914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategies, costs and counter-strategies to sexual coercion","authors":"Nikolaos Smit","doi":"10.1111/brv.70013","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sexual conflict, the conflict between the evolutionary interests of females and males over mating, occasionally results in the evolution of traits favourable for one sex and adverse for the other. In this context, males can use sexual coercion to increase their mating success, at the expense of their female targets' mate choice. An increasing number of studies highlight a great diversity of male and female behaviours that serve as strategies and counter-strategies, respectively, to sexual coercion. Previous studies have reviewed the literature on infanticide but not the literature on forced copulation, sexual harassment, intimidation or punishment. This qualitative review synthesises the empirical evidence and draws a unified framework of the ecology of sexual coercion across animals, presenting male sexually coercive strategies and co-evolved female counter-strategies that can reduce coercion and its fitness costs. Using examples from insects to humans, it shows that different strategies of sexual coercion can lead to the evolution of similar counter-strategies. These counter-strategies include female promiscuity, deception of males (e.g. concealed ovulation or pseudo-oestrus), avoidance of certain males and association with others for protection, female aggregation to dilute coercion and ultimately physical resistance by single or allied females. Extending previous work, this review provides compelling evidence of sexually antagonistic coevolution amid sexual coercion. It also calls for future work to clarify, first, which individual traits are linked to greater coercion rates in males and a higher likelihood of receiving coercion in females and, second, any causal relationships between different strategies of sexual coercion and the evolution of different social and mating systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1557-1577"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.70013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143953703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A call for increased integration of experimental approaches in movement ecology","authors":"K. Whitney Hansen,&nbsp;Jack A. Brand,&nbsp;Cassandre Aimon,&nbsp;Tal Avgar,&nbsp;Michael G. Bertram,&nbsp;Iris D. Bontekoe,&nbsp;Tomas Brodin,&nbsp;Arne Hegemann,&nbsp;Benjamin Koger,&nbsp;Emmaneul Lourie,&nbsp;Jorge F.S Menezes,&nbsp;Mitchell Serota,&nbsp;Nina Attias,&nbsp;Ellen Aikens","doi":"10.1111/brv.70025","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Rapid developments in animal-tracking technology have enabled major advances in the field of movement ecology, which seeks to understand the drivers and consequences of movement across scales, taxa, and ecosystems. The field has made ground-breaking discoveries, yet the majority of studies in movement ecology remain reliant on observational approaches. While important, observational studies are limited compared to experimental methods that can reveal causal relationships and underlying mechanisms. As such, we advocate for a renewed focus on experimental approaches in animal movement ecology. We illustrate a way forward in experimental movement ecology across two fundamental levels of biological organisation: individuals and social groups. We then explore the application of experiments in movement ecology to study anthropogenic influences on wildlife movement, and enhance our mechanistic understanding of conservation interventions. In each of these examples, we draw upon previous research that has effectively employed experimental approaches, while highlighting outstanding questions that could be answered by further experimentation. We conclude by highlighting the ways experimental manipulations in both laboratory and natural settings provide a promising way forward to generate mechanistic understandings of the drivers, consequences, and conservation of animal movement.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 5","pages":"1813-1828"},"PeriodicalIF":11.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143957406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiparasitism: why do interspecific brood parasites lay eggs so frequently in already parasitized host nests?","authors":"Manuel Soler","doi":"10.1111/brv.70018","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70018","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Obligate avian brood parasites delegate parental care to unrelated foster parents. Therefore, the main way a brood parasite female can increase the probability of her offspring surviving until independence is to select the most appropriate nests, particularly those without a previously laid parasitic egg so as to minimize competition with another parasitic nestling. Brood parasitic females usually lay one egg per host nest. However, evidence of parasitic females avoiding laying in previously parasitized nests is lacking. In this context, “multiparasitism” can be defined as parasitic eggs laid in a nest by different females or by the same female (with the latter known as “repeated parasitism”). Repeated parasitism has been well documented in only two parasite species, the cuckoo finch (&lt;i&gt;Anomalospiza imberbis&lt;/i&gt;) and the great spotted cuckoo (&lt;i&gt;Clamator glandarius&lt;/i&gt;). Usually, multiparasitism and a high number of parasitic eggs per nest results from a high density of brood parasites, mainly in non-evictor, but also in some evictor brood parasites. Multiparasitism is widespread, having been reported in all well-studied nest-sharing brood parasites and in all except one well-studied nestmate-killing species. Both multiparasitism and number of parasitic eggs per nest vary widely depending on various factors, specifically the brood parasite species, the host species, the area or habitat, and the year. Given that, in multiparasitized nests of nestmate-killing species, only one parasitic nestling can survive per nest, multiparasitism should be scarcer and number of parasitic eggs per nest lower in these species than in nest-sharing ones, a prediction that receives support from data included in this review. Multiparasitism exerts a strong negative effect on the reproductive success both of brood parasites and of hosts in most brood parasite–host systems. The size of the host relative to parasite is a crucial factor affecting the survival of both the brood parasite and the host nestlings. That is, nestling mortality of both is higher in smaller than in larger host species because the latter can provide a greater amount of food to the nest. Three different hypotheses have been proposed to explain why multiparasitism is much more frequent than might be expected from the negative effect it exerts on brood parasite success: first, multiparasitized nests are less concealed than singly parasitized nests; second, competition is strong for host nests because of scarcity of available host nests at the appropriate stage and/or a very high abundance of brood parasites; and third, multiparasitism is an adaptation that results from an active decision by the parasitic female. The second explanation is the most widely accepted, but a female laying in a previously parasitized nest has frequently been interpreted as the parasite making “the best of a bad job”, given the scarcity of unparasitized host nests. The third explanation (multipara","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1660-1679"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143959075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the biological basis of beauty","authors":"Tamra C. Mendelson,&nbsp;Julien P. Renoult,&nbsp;Gil G. Rosenthal,&nbsp;David M. Shuker","doi":"10.1111/brv.70014","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The world around us is full of beauty. Explaining a sense of the beautiful has beguiled philosophers and artists for millennia, but scientists have also pondered beauty, most notably Darwin, who used beauty to describe sexual ornaments that he argued were the subject of female mate choice. In doing so, he ascribed a ‘sense of the beautiful’ to non-human animals. Darwin's ideas about mate choice and beauty were not widely accepted, however. Humans may experience beauty, but assuming the same about other animals risks anthropomorphism: we might find the tail of the peacock to be beautiful, but there is no reason to believe that peahens do. Moreover, mate choice, resurrected as an object of serious study in the 1970s, simply requires attraction, not necessarily beauty. However, recent advances in psychology and cognitive neuroscience are providing a new, mechanistic framework for beauty. Here we take these findings and apply them to evolutionary biology. First, we review progress in human empirical aesthetics to provide a biological definition of beauty. Central to this definition is the discovery that merely processing information can provide hedonic reward. As such, we propose that <i>beauty is the pleasure of fluent information processing, independent of the function or consummatory reward provided by the stimulus</i>. We develop this definition in the context of three key attributes of beauty (pleasure, interaction, and disinterestedness) and the psychological distinction between ‘wanting’ and ‘liking’. Second, we show how beauty provides a new, proximate approach for studying the evolution of sexual signalling that can help us resolve some key problems, such as how mating biases evolve. We also situate beauty within a more general framework for the evolution of animal signals, suggesting that beauty may apply not only to sexual ornaments, but also to traits as diverse as aposematic signals and camouflage. Third, we outline a variety of experimental approaches to test whether animal signals are beautiful to their intended receivers, including tests of fluency and hedonic impact using behavioural and neurological approaches.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1578-1593"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143956807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-response phylogenetic mixed models: concepts and application","authors":"Ben Halliwell,&nbsp;Barbara R. Holland,&nbsp;Luke A. Yates","doi":"10.1111/brv.70001","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The scale and resolution of trait databases and molecular phylogenies is increasing rapidly. These resources permit many open questions in comparative biology to be addressed with the right statistical tools. Multi-response (MR) phylogenetic mixed models (PMMs) offer great potential for multivariate analyses of trait evolution. While flexible and powerful, these methods are not often employed by researchers in ecology and evolution, reflecting a specialised and technical literature that creates barriers to usage for many biologists. Here we present a practical and accessible guide to MR-PMMs. We begin with a review of single-response (SR) PMMs to introduce key concepts and outline the limitations of this approach for characterising patterns of trait coevolution. We emphasise MR-PMMs as a preferable approach for analyses involving multiple species traits, due to the explicit decomposition of trait covariances. We discuss multilevel models, multivariate models of evolution, and extensions to non-Gaussian response traits. We highlight techniques for causal inference using graphical models, as well as advanced topics including prior specification and latent factor models. Using simulated data and visual examples, we discuss interpretation, prediction, and model validation. We implement many of the techniques discussed in example analyses of plant functional traits to demonstrate the general utility of MR-PMMs in handling complex real-world data sets. Finally, we discuss the emerging synthesis of comparative techniques made possible by MR-PMMs, highlight strengths and weaknesses, and offer practical recommendations to analysts. To complement this material, we provide online tutorials including side-by-side model implementations in two popular R packages, <i>MCMCglmm</i> and <i>brms</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 3","pages":"1294-1316"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.70001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143794157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Past aridity and dust drove biodiversity crises and altered pollination in the ancient gymnosperm Ephedra (Gnetales)","authors":"Natasha Barbolini,&nbsp;Niels Meijer,&nbsp;Carina Hoorn,&nbsp;Guillaume Dupont-Nivet,&nbsp;Fang Han,&nbsp;Ashley Krüger,&nbsp;Qin Yuan,&nbsp;Alexander Rohrmann,&nbsp;Kristina Bolinder,&nbsp;Catarina Rydin","doi":"10.1111/brv.70019","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The long-term effects of present-day climate change on pollination are unquantified. However, distinguishing climatic drivers of ancient changes in pollination could provide valuable insights into biotic responses to near-future climate states. Herein, we show that pollination in a group of gymnosperm shrubs (<i>Ephedra</i> L., Gnetales) was irrevocably altered by the Cenozoic expansion of drylands on two different continents. In Asia, increased continentality during the mid-Eocene drove aridification and strong, dust-carrying storms that promoted a shift to prevailing wind pollination in the core clade of <i>Ephedra</i>. Surface uplift in the North American interior together with global cooling caused the expansion of aeolian deposition and placed similar evolutionary pressures on ephedras there, beginning in the latest Eocene and continuing across the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT). These climatic changes fundamentally altered the abundance and evolution of this ancient plant lineage on both continents and determined pollination mechanisms in the core clade of <i>Ephedra</i> today. Based on fossil evidence, this review demonstrates how climate change may have major and permanent impacts on plant–pollinator networks, as well as demonstrates possible evolutionary consequences of near-future climate scenarios for which we have no modern analogue.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1680-1697"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143801974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unravelling the regulatory network behind chitin degradation in Serratia marcescens","authors":"Wouter Demeester,&nbsp;Brecht De Paepe,&nbsp;Chiara Guidi,&nbsp;Marjan De Mey","doi":"10.1111/brv.70020","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Chitin degradation plays a crucial role in bacterial nutrient recycling and is performed by specialised, chitinolytic microorganisms such as <i>Serratia marcescens</i>, which is known to excel at this biological process. While its chitinolytic enzymes have been studied in detail, the underlying regulatory systems that allow such proficiency at chitin utilisation remain elusive. This review addresses different aspects of chitin degradation by <i>Serratia marcescens</i>. Together with a summary of the necessary enzymes and transport systems for extracellular chitin degradation, we focus on the strategies employed by <i>Serratia marcescens</i> for optimal use of different carbon sources in the presence of chitin. A complex, multi-layered, regulatory network results in ‘bet-hedging’, involving the formation of phenotypically bistable populations that facilitate a rapid transition towards chitin degradation when required. For the first time, a model of chitin degradation by <i>Serratia marcescens</i> is proposed, and aspects that currently remain elusive are highlighted. Hence, this review provides the basis for further investigations to reach a holistic understanding of this intriguing and important biological system.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1698-1715"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143778726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combating desertification: comprehensive strategies, challenges, and future directions for sustainable solutions","authors":"Waqar Islam,&nbsp;Fanjiang Zeng,&nbsp;Junaid Ali Siddiqui,&nbsp;Zhang Zhihao,&nbsp;Yi Du,&nbsp;Yulin Zhang,&nbsp;Mohammed O. Alshaharni,&nbsp;Khalid Ali Khan","doi":"10.1111/brv.70015","DOIUrl":"10.1111/brv.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Desertification, a process through which once fertile and productive land is degraded into barren, arid desert, represents a significant environmental challenge with widespread consequences for ecosystems and human populations globally. This review explores the fundamental causes of desertification, its profound environmental and socio-economic impacts, and the strategies employed to combat it. We address the diverse range of approaches aimed at mitigating the effects of desertification, in particular the importance of sustainable land management practices, such as reforestation and soil conservation. We also examine the numerous obstacles to the practical implementation of these strategies and potential future directions for more effective management. In addition, we highlight the role of policy frameworks, governmental interventions, and international cooperation as essential components in addressing this pressing issue. As desertification continues to threaten both ecosystems and livelihoods in vulnerable regions, a comprehensive understanding of the strategies, challenges, and potential solutions will be crucial for ensuring the resilience of affected communities and the preservation of biodiversity. By fostering sustainable land-use practices and promoting global cooperation, we can pave the way for more resilient ecosystems and improved well-being for populations facing the severe consequences of land degradation.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"100 4","pages":"1594-1614"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143778722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}