Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment最新文献

{"title":"Toward a shared vision for climate-informed resource stewardship","authors":"Brian W Miller,&nbsp;Gregor W Schuurman,&nbsp;Wylie Carr,&nbsp;David J Lawrence,&nbsp;Lindsey L Thurman,&nbsp;Aparna Bamzai-Dodson,&nbsp;Leslie A Brandt,&nbsp;Shelley D Crausbay,&nbsp;Molly S Cross,&nbsp;Mitchell J Eaton,&nbsp;Maria K Janowiak,&nbsp;D Todd Jones-Farrand,&nbsp;Julian Reyes","doi":"10.1002/fee.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate-change adaptation planning processes and tools are increasing in number and evolving rapidly. During times of innovation and proliferation, a potential danger is incoherence, when well-intended contributions can overwhelm, create confusion, or mask complementarities. A shared vision is needed to avoid duplication, reduce misunderstandings, and facilitate work across jurisdictions to steward resources undergoing profound changes. Such a vision would document fundamental tools and approaches while allowing flexibility to match highly varied management contexts and organizational missions. Fortunately, the preconditions for coherence exist. Here, we illustrate how climate-change adaptation tools—including scenario planning, conceptual frameworks, structured decision making, and impact-evaluation methods—can be (and are) used in tandem to support adaptation planning that accounts for uncertainty, considers a broad range of strategies and actions, makes transparent and robust choices, evaluates outcomes, and is flexible and responsive to the decision context.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145625867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reclaiming strict protection via the European Green Deal","authors":"Edoardo Chiti,&nbsp;Gianluca Piovesan","doi":"10.1002/fee.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Strict protection is a fundamental component of any strategy for biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration. Most Western countries, however, currently fail to acknowledge its relevance in their conservation programs. The European Green Deal (EGD)—the climate neutrality strategy launched by the European Union (EU) in 2019—is a marked exception. By identifying strict protection as one of the key solutions to ensure ecosystem health, the EGD reasserts the importance of strict protection both at the regional and global level. However, its approach is far from perfect. To harness the full potential of strict protection, the EU must clarify the existing regulatory framework and strengthen its commitment to ecological sustainability.</p><p>Strict protection is a specific type of ecosystem management, one characterized by control and limitation of human visitation, use, and impacts in particular areas, with a view to ensure protection of their high biodiversity value and geological and geomorphological features (Dudley <span>2008</span>).</p><p>Strict protection falls under land-sparing approaches, which can be integrated with diverse land-sharing management solutions to form a cohesive conservation strategy. But it is particularly relevant to ecosystems that require, by reason of their distinguishing features, a high degree of ecological protection and a restrictive management approach—as is the case with primary and old-growth forests and other wilderness areas, such as wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands. Strict reserves are recognized as the most effective solution in area-based conservation, offering better protection for natural spaces against human pressures (eg Jones <i>et al</i>. <span>2018</span>). While some local economic activities might face initial adjustments, the success of strict protection hinges on effective enforcement and community engagement, fostered through clear communication and financial mechanisms like payments for ecosystem services (Wang <i>et al</i>. <span>2024</span>).</p><p>Despite its potential, however, strict protection does not enjoy great consideration in the Western world, particularly in relation to primary and old-growth forests, which continue to decline at alarming rates both in Europe and globally (Mikolāš <i>et al</i>. <span>2023</span>). Despite the implementation of important international initiatives, such as the inclusion of forests in natural and mixed UNESCO World Heritage sites, we are witnessing a daily erosion of the unique biodiversity heritage contained in the planet’s ecosystems, including but not limited to those in the tropical biome. The situation is particularly negative in the US, where the US Forest Service announced in January 2025 that it would no longer “prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System”.</p><p>In this global context, the EU is a remarkable exception. As open","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145470206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maximizing inference from distributed experimental networks via “add-on” studies","authors":"Elizabeth T Borer,&nbsp;Eric W Seabloom","doi":"10.1002/fee.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Distributed experimental networks have emerged as a powerful approach in field ecology, enabling experimental replication across global gradients. These networks use standardized treatments at dispersed sites to identify factors like climate or soil that shape biotic responses. Reserving space for future “add-on” work fosters discovery by transforming distributed networks into distributed experimental infrastructure. However, challenges include balancing feasibility, plot impacts, and demands on site scientists. Using the Disturbance and Recovery Across Grasslands Network (DRAGNet) as a case study informed by lessons learned in the Nutrient Network (NutNet), we outline effective practices for designing add-on work to retain the original experiment’s integrity while effectively using the resources of the network participants. By following guidelines for hypothesis-driven, inclusive research that engages contributors intellectually, minimizes plot impacts using field-tested protocols, and maximizes scientific impact and inclusion, distributed networks can become valuable infrastructure for advancing ecological understanding.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145625952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conceptualizing and measuring ecological spillover effects from protected areas","authors":"Graeme S Cumming","doi":"10.1002/fee.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>Protected areas influence their surroundings in a variety of ways. These “spillover effects” can change an area’s conservation value and affect its social license. Advanced statistical tools for quantifying protected area spillovers are well established, but underlying assumptions about spillover geography and measurement often lack clarity. Although spillover effects should decline with increasing distance from a protected area, there are no published guidelines for determining the rate, magnitude, or scale of decline and there is no conceptual framework to guide tests of alternative hypotheses. Current practices heavily increase the risk of Type II errors (detecting spillover where none exists), particularly at distances far from protected areas. I propose an approach that recognizes alternative forms for ecological and biophysical spillovers and background variance as competing hypotheses. In particular, careful consideration must be given to the question of how many measurements are needed to rigorously distinguish spillovers from background variance in study environments</b>.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145625972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A court decision on endangered species holds lessons for us all","authors":"Adrian Treves","doi":"10.1002/fee.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70006","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;In the wake of a 2024 US Supreme Court decision called &lt;i&gt;Loper Bright&lt;/i&gt; (603 US 369), many commentators predicted that the deregulatory mood of the current federal government would unravel numerous environmental protections. That decision struck down the Court's 1984 &lt;i&gt;Chevron&lt;/i&gt; deference doctrine (467 US 837), which instructed judges to defer to federal agency interpretation and technical expertise when a statute is ambiguous or vague. Because statutes are often ambiguous or simply too general to address the specifics of complex environmental problems, the 1984 &lt;i&gt;Chevron&lt;/i&gt; deference was invoked in 18,000 subsequent court decisions, according to one prominent estimate. The new &lt;i&gt;Loper Bright&lt;/i&gt; standard replaced the &lt;i&gt;Chevron&lt;/i&gt; deference with a non-deferential standard—encouraging judges to interpret statutes themselves (as they are trained to do), rather than adopt an agency's interpretation thereof.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After &lt;i&gt;Loper Bright&lt;/i&gt;, legal scholars expressed concerns about a coming wave of unpredictable, chaotic, and inconsistent decisions across federal courts. With authority returned to the courts under a non-deferential standard, decisions would no longer be as predictable: some judges might persist in deferring to the agency, while other judges might strike out on their own—even if facing similar fact patterns. Likewise, chaos might ensue as judges without training in technical environmental issues hand down decisions guided too much by the influence of their individual preferences. While not immune to political or other pressures, US federal agencies are often constrained by having more individuals involved in decision-making and by legally binding duties to seek public input. To me, it's unclear whether judges are as constrained by either factor. Now that data are beginning to accumulate about the effect of &lt;i&gt;Loper Bright&lt;/i&gt; on environmental policy, I offer one example of a federal court case for those of us conducting policy-relevant research.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On August 5, 2025, a federal district court judge—in the case &lt;i&gt;Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service et al&lt;/i&gt;. (CV 24-86-M-DWM), Ninth circuit, District Court of Montana—invoked &lt;i&gt;Loper Bright&lt;/i&gt; when explaining why he would disregard a 2014 policy promulgated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) interpreting a provision of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At issue was FWS’ interpretation of the term “range” to solely refer to currently occupied range, and Judge Molloy looked to both Congressional intent and the plain language of the ESA, determining that “range” should include historical range. He thus ordered the FWS to reverse course and consider the historical range of gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If the above case (hereafter &lt;i&gt;CBD&lt;/i&gt;) withstands appeal, it could ripple to other endangered species whose current ranges differ substantially from their historical ranges. Beyond endangered species, &lt;i&gt;CBD&lt;/","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145196712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Managing strategic linkages among natural and human systems can enhance ecosystem services","authors":"Zihao Wen,&nbsp;Qinghua Cai,&nbsp;Ming-Chih Chiu,&nbsp;Vincent H Resh","doi":"10.1002/fee.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding and managing landscape dynamics (for example, spatiotemporal fluxes in abiotic and biotic features within watersheds) is critical to ensure the sustainability of ecosystems and human well-being. This perspective underscores the importance of integrating landscape dynamics into global sustainability strategies, emphasizing the interplay between ecosystems and socioeconomic values. Exploration of how natural and human systems are connected via abiotic and biotic flows can result in improved understanding and management of connections across landscapes. The novelty of this approach lies in its holistic framework for managing landscape dynamics and enhancing resilience to global change. By managing the complex dynamics among human–natural systems, we can unlock their potential to maximize essential socioeconomic benefits and address the impacts of environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145470072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transformative governance of cumulative effects through an Indigenous outlook","authors":"Lawrence Ignace","doi":"10.1002/fee.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As the social–ecological challenges facing society grow in complexity and variability, transformative measures—those that seek to re-imagine conventional systems of sustainability and resource management—are increasingly needed. One system that has successfully demonstrated a degree of sustainability is that of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)—a long-standing societal system that places Indigenous Peoples’ relationship with the environment above all else. As a body of knowing, IK is inextricably linked to Indigenous existence and identity as the means of maintaining the well-being of the living and non-living. Rarely investigated is the braiding of CEAM (cumulative effects assessment and management) with IK systems. Conventional resource management has long struggled to harness cumulative effects assessments and could be improved through the re-positioning of cumulative effects assessments and IK. The strengths of these systems together offer insight into how current conventional governance can be transformed to ensure a more equitable and sustainable future for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples alike.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.70004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145469476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating macroecological fire impacts on bird populations","authors":"Andrew N Stillman,&nbsp;Gavin M Jones,&nbsp;Matthew Strimas-Mackey,&nbsp;Guillermo Duran,&nbsp;Caitlin Andrews,&nbsp;Shawn Ligocki,&nbsp;Tom Auer,&nbsp;Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez,&nbsp;Sarah C Sawyer,&nbsp;Daniel Fink","doi":"10.1002/fee.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70003","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fire regimes are context-dependent, as are the ways that animals respond. However, most information on animal responses to fire comes from short-term local field studies, which are hard to extrapolate across large areas for fire management while also capturing spatial variation. To address this challenge, we modeled data from eBird to map the direction, magnitude, and importance of fire regime associations at 27-km resolution across the ranges of six bird species used to guide management decisions in the US: red-cockaded woodpecker (<i>Leuconotopicus borealis</i>), Bachman’s sparrow (<i>Peucaea aestivalis</i>), greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>), pinyon jay (<i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>), American goshawk (<i>Astur atricapillus</i>), and olive-sided flycatcher (<i>Contopus cooperi</i>). Our findings revealed previously undocumented landscape-scale variation in fire impacts on birds. Critically, the strength of fire regime associations varied widely in magnitude even when the direction of those associations (positive, neutral, or negative) remained constant. This analytical workflow provides not only a flexible approach for assessing macroecological fire impacts but also finer-scale information sufficient for resource prioritization and decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145469473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global importance of Amazonian freshwaters","authors":"Clinton N Jenkins,&nbsp;Simone Athayde,&nbsp;Claire F Beveridge,&nbsp;Sandra B Correa,&nbsp;Jhan-Carlo Espinoza,&nbsp;Sebastian A Heilpern,&nbsp;Guido A Herrera-R,&nbsp;LuLu Victoria-Lacy,&nbsp;Paulo Olivas,&nbsp;Antonio Oliveira,&nbsp;Natalia C Piland,&nbsp;Renata Utsunomiya,&nbsp;Elizabeth P Anderson","doi":"10.1002/fee.2868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2868","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Amazonian freshwaters have large influences on regional and global climate, harbor remarkable and unique species, and are vital to human society. Nevertheless, as compared to their terrestrial counterparts in the Amazon, these freshwaters have received less attention from the international conservation community. There is an urgent need to better integrate Amazonian freshwaters into conservation strategies. To guide this integration, we suggest an approach built upon three foundational pillars: hydroclimate, biodiversity, and human dimensions. The hydroclimate pillar reflects the Amazon’s role in regional and global climate, water cycling, and carbon storage. The biodiversity pillar reflects the unparalleled variety of freshwater species and their role in ecosystems, emphasizing endemism and ecological function. The human dimensions pillar reflects the rich biocultural heritage of the Amazonian peoples and their reliance on freshwaters for millennia. Heightened attention to these three pillars can help steer the way to a more sustainable future for Amazonian freshwaters.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2868","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145625951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Addressing diversity in undergraduate ecology textbooks","authors":"Rick A Relyea","doi":"10.1002/fee.2865","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2865","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"23 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}