Nature Sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Decarbonization and electricity price vulnerability","authors":"Raul Bajo-Buenestado, Antonio M. Bento, Daniel Kaffine, Zissis E. Marmarelis","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01502-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01502-8","url":null,"abstract":"Driven by the need to reduce emissions and transition to sustainable electricity systems, many European countries have substantially increased their share of carbon-free electricity over recent decades. However, the dramatic 2021–2022 surge in natural gas prices—stemming from geopolitical tensions and supply constraints—has sharply elevated electricity prices, highlighting the continued vulnerability of electricity markets to natural gas price shocks and suggesting a persistent dependency on volatile fossil fuel prices. Here we develop a country-specific vulnerability metric and apply it to estimate how natural gas price shocks are transmitted to electricity prices across European markets. We find that countries that pursued more aggressive electricity decarbonization are not more vulnerable to natural gas price shocks. However, countries with a higher share of intermittent renewable energy generation (wind and solar) are slightly more vulnerable, potentially due to the complementarity of these technologies with natural gas generation. We show that heterogeneity in vulnerability implies that country-specific policies would be needed to avoid extreme electricity prices, in contrast to the existing uniform EU price cap. Our results emphasize that decarbonization goals can still be achieved without risking vulnerability, which is critical for maintaining stable electricity prices, energy security and public trust in the energy transition. The sudden electricity price increase in Europe in 2021 raised concerns about the ability of power markets to withstand energy price shocks without compromising climate goals. This study shows that countries with larger shares of decarbonized electricity were not more exposed to natural gas price shocks.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"170-181"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475863","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":"The future of large-scale solar interfacial desalination","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01497-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01497-2","url":null,"abstract":"Solar interfacial desalination could enable the sustainable production of freshwater, but scale-up remains challenging. Now, analysis of the efficiency and costs of a large-scale interfacial desalination system operating outdoors over nearly four months suggests that scale-up is associated with high capital investment and a lower water production rate compared with laboratory-scale devices.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"123-124"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475867","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":"Data-driven strategies to improve nitrogen use efficiency of rice farming in South Asia","authors":"Sam Coggins, Andrew J. McDonald, João Vasco Silva, Anton Urfels, Hari Sankar Nayak, Sonam Rinchen Sherpa, Mangi Lal Jat, Hanuman Sahay Jat, Tim Krupnik, Virender Kumar, Ram. K. Malik, Tek B. Sapkota, Amaresh Kumar Nayak, Peter Craufurd","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01496-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01496-3","url":null,"abstract":"Increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in agricultural production mitigates climate change, limits water pollution and reduces fertilizer subsidy costs. Nevertheless, strategies for increasing NUE without jeopardizing food security are uncertain in globally important cropping systems. Here we analyse a novel dataset of more than 31,000 farmer fields spanning the Terai of Nepal, Bangladesh’s floodplains and four major rice-producing regions of India. Results indicate that 55% of rice farmers overuse nitrogen fertilizer, and hence the region could save 18 kg of nitrogen per hectare without compromising rice yield. Disincentivizing this excess nitrogen application presents the most impactful pathway for increasing NUE. Addressing yield constraints unrelated to crop nutrition can also improve NUE, most promisingly through earlier transplanting and improving water management, and this secondary pathway was overlooked in the IPCC’s 2022 report on climate change mitigation. Combining nitrogen input reduction with changes to agronomic management could increase rice production in South Asia by 8% while reducing environmental pollution from nitrogen fertilizer, measured as nitrogen surplus, by 36%. Even so, opportunities to improve NUE vary within South Asia, which necessitates sub-regional strategies for sustainable nitrogen management. Overuse of nitrogen fertilizer in crop cultivation can lead to environmental pollution necessitating strategies to optimize nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). This study examines data from more than 31,000 farmer fields across South Asia to identify opportunities for improving NUE in rice cropping systems.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 1","pages":"22-33"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01496-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121554","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":"Large-scale implementation of solar interfacial desalination","authors":"Yushi Chen, Leshan Shen, Zhifu Qi, Zhouyang Luo, Xiangyu Li, Hua Bao","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01485-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01485-6","url":null,"abstract":"Solar interfacial desalination (SID), a technology that uses solar energy to produce fresh water, is seen as a potential solution to the twin shortages of water and energy. However, there remains a big gap between the current bench-scale success and future industrial application. Here we show a scaled-up SID system that spans over 150 m2 and achieves a fresh-water production rate of up to 4.5 kg m−2 d−1 and a rated fresh-water productivity of 300 kg d−1 over 4 months of operation. Taking advantage of this large-scale system, we found that the system size requires a dramatic change in materials selection and a substantial increase in thermal mass, leading to a different water yield. A cost analysis revealed that capital investment is heavy, unlike the low-cost operation in indoor SID. We also underscore the importance of addressing fouling, including sedimentation and green algae. By combining a large-scale implementation with an analysis of an SID platform, this work offers insights into its potential for sustainable application in remote areas for domestic water supplies. Despite its enormous potential to address water scarcity, solar interfacial desalination remains at only the research level. Here the authors scale up its implementation and identify the key technical and cost issues that must be addressed to accelerate market adoption of this promising technology.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"162-169"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475858","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":"Regional patterns of wild animal hunting in African tropical forests","authors":"Daniel J. Ingram, Graden Z. L. Froese, Daire Carroll, Paul C. Bürkner, Fiona Maisels, Ajonina S. Abugiche, Sophie Allebone-Webb, Andrew Balmford, Daniel Cornelis, Marc Dethier, Edmond Dounias, Herbert G. Ekodeck, Charles A. Emogor, Julia E. Fa, Davy Fonteyn, Andrea Ghiurghi, Elizabeth Greengrass, Noëlle F. Kümpel, Karen Lupo, Jonas Muhindo, Germain Ngandjui, Gracia Dorielle Ngohouani, François Sandrin, Judith Schleicher, Dave N. Schmitt, Liliana Vanegas, Hadrien P. A. Vanthomme, Nathalie van Vliet, Adam S. Willcox, Donald Midoko Iponga, Della Kemalasari, Usman Muchlish, Robert Nasi, Yahya Sampurna, Francis Nchembi Tarla, Jasmin Willis, Jӧrn P. W. Scharlemann, Katharine Abernethy, Lauren Coad","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01494-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01494-5","url":null,"abstract":"Wildlife contributes to the diets, livelihoods and socio-cultural activities of people worldwide; however, unsustainable hunting is a major pressure on wildlife. Regional assessments of the factors associated with hunting offtakes are needed to understand the scale and patterns of wildlife exploitation relevant for policy. We synthesized 83 studies across West and Central Africa to identify the factors associated with variation in offtake. Our models suggest that offtake per hunter per day is greater for hunters who sell a greater proportion of their offtake; among non-hunter-gatherers; and in areas that have better forest condition, are closer to protected areas and are less accessible from towns. We present evidence that trade and gun hunting have increased since 1991 and that areas more accessible from towns and with worse forest condition may be depleted of larger-bodied wildlife. Given the complex factors associated with regional hunting patterns, context-specific hunting management is key to achieving a sustainable future. Wildlife hunting can support diets and socio-economic well-being in communities around the world, but overexploitation can have cascading ecosystem effects. This study examines socio-cultural, economic and landscape factors associated with wildlife hunting in tropical forests in Africa.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"202-214"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01494-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475862","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":"Industrial-scale sustainable rare earth mining enabled by electrokinetics","authors":"Gaofeng Wang, Jianxi Zhu, Xiaoliang Liang, Bowen Ling, Jie Xu, Yongqiang Yang, Shichang Kang, Wei Tan, Yongjin Xu, Xiaoshan Zou, Lingyu Ran, Jingming Wei, Hongping He","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01501-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01501-9","url":null,"abstract":"Owing to their irreplaceable role in several essential technologies, rare earth elements (REEs) are critical raw materials for the global economy. However, the supply of REEs raises serious sustainability concerns due to the large environmental footprint of conventional mining processes. We previously proposed an electrokinetic mining (EKM) technique that could enable green and selective extraction of REEs from ores. Here we further develop this technique to industrial scale by addressing challenges related to electrode reliability and flow leakage and evaluate its mining efficiency, environmental footprint and economic performance. Moreover, a voltage gradient barrier strategy based on electroosmosis is developed to facilitate electrokinetic REEs mining. As a result, we successfully achieved a high REE recovery efficiency of 95% on a 5,000-ton REEs ore. A rigorous environmental risk assessment revealed a 95% reduction of ammonia emissions, indicating a notably reduced environmental footprint. A comparative technoeconomic analysis between the conventional and the EKM techniques demonstrates the economic viability of the EKM technique. This work validates a new sustainable path for REEs mining, paving the way to a greener resources supply. Greener mining technologies for rare earth elements (REEs) extraction are of vital importance to creating a sustainable REEs supply. Here the authors achieve industrial-scale REEs mining with reduced environmental footprint using an electrokinetic mining technique.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"182-189"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475859","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":"Assessing timber trade networks and supply chains in Brazil","authors":"Luis Gustavo Nonato, Victor Russo, Bernardo Costa, Felipe Moreno-Vera, Guilherme Toledo, Osni Brito de Jesus, Robson Vieira, Marco Lentini, Jorge Poco","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01491-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01491-8","url":null,"abstract":"Forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon is driven by factors such as fire, mining and illegal logging. The Brazilian government has implemented control mechanisms to combat illegal timber extraction that have positively impacted deforestation rates. Under these regulations, all wood products, from raw logs to processed lumber, must be registered in control systems before transportation. This allows analysis of wood products transported between companies over time. However, the existence of three partially integrated control systems complicates a full analysis of the timber market. This study integrates data from these systems to create timber trade networks, which help identify companies or groups operating outside expected standards. We also propose a method to trace likely supply chains of timber companies, addressing long-standing government concerns about timber traceability. Among the results, we show that certain timber trade networks have components that operate without connections with licensed forests, suggesting that unregistered timber is input into those components, which is illegal. Additionally, we illustrate how supply chain analysis can considerably enhance customer confidence in the legality of purchased timber products. The illegal timber trade is one of the primary drivers of deforestation in Brazil. A study now analyses timber trade networks and supply chains to identify actors operating contrary to the regulations and continuing to support illegal timber trade.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"215-220"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475861","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":"Diversified cropping systems with limited carbon accrual but increased nitrogen supply","authors":"Bo Yi, Wenjuan Huang, Matt Liebman, Matthew Woods, Marshall D. McDaniel, Chaoqun Lu, Andy VanLoocke, Sotirios Archontoulis, Bryan Petersen, Siyang Jian, Hanna J. Poffenbarger, Gangsheng Wang, Yiqi Luo, Steven J. Hall","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01495-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01495-4","url":null,"abstract":"Diversified cropping systems offer a chance to mitigate environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, but effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and nitrogen (N) dynamics remain debated. We integrated a 20-year field experiment and laboratory measurements with three stable-isotope-enabled mechanistic models to examine SOC stocks and decomposition in a conventional corn–soybean system and two more diversified systems including small grains, legumes and manure inputs, in addition to corn and soybean. Contrary to the prevalent hypothesis that diversified systems increase SOC, we found no differences in 0.3 m topsoil or 1 m profile SOC and N stocks. Diversified systems markedly increased N mineralization rates and decomposition of older SOC from previous corn inputs. Models revealed that increased C decomposition with residence times of months to years counteracted higher C inputs but increased N supply. Our findings highlight a critical trade-off between C storage and N supply in these diversified systems, demonstrating that key climate benefits may arise from decreased N fertilizer use, not SOC sequestration. Sustainable and regenerative agriculture often employs diverse systems of crop rotation to reduce environmental impacts and sequester carbon. A long-term field study, however, reveals a trade-off between soil organic carbon storage and nitrogen supply.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"152-161"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475860","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":"The potential land-use impacts of bio-based plastics and plastic alternatives","authors":"Levi T. Helm, Camille Venier-Cambron, Peter H. Verburg","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01492-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01492-7","url":null,"abstract":"One proposed solution to the global plastic crisis is replacing conventional plastics with bio-based plastics and alternatives. Recent studies suggest that bio-based products could mitigate the impacts of plastic pollution and that carbon emissions from the plastic sector could be reduced by using biomass as a plastic feedstock. Given the scale of plastic production, the resulting increase in biomass demand could induce detrimental land-use change at the global level. We use a spatially explicit land-system model to evaluate the land-use impact of bio-based plastic replacement up to the year 2040. At the global level, mitigating both plastic pollution and carbon emissions from the plastic sector could lead to a 22% increase in cropland expansion, a 35% increase in the area of cropland undergoing intensification and a 20% increase in deforestation relative to the baseline scenario. The amount and magnitude of land-use change depend on trade, technology and how alternative products are integrated into the plastics system. Decreasing plastic demand and production may prove a less risky strategy to mitigate the impacts of plastics. Bio-based plastics have gained attention as a potentially sustainable way to reduce fossil fuel-based plastic demand and store carbon. However, large-scale adoption of bio-based alternatives could have a substantial impact on land use, including deforestation.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"190-201"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475854","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":"Changes in global fluvial sediment concentrations and fluxes between 1985 and 2020","authors":"Xianghan Sun, Liqiao Tian, Hongwei Fang, Des E. Walling, Lei Huang, Edward Park, Deren Li, Chunmiao Zheng, Lian Feng","doi":"10.1038/s41893-024-01476-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41893-024-01476-7","url":null,"abstract":"Fluvial sediment transport, a key pathway for global biogeochemical cycling, has changed markedly in the Anthropocene. However, disaggregating the compound effects of anthropogenic stresses on fluvial sediment transport at the global scale remains a challenge. Here we map the suspended sediment concentrations for global river channels, based on satellite observations, between 1985 and 2020, and estimate long-term changes in land–ocean sediment transfer. We find significant (P < 0.05) changes in suspended sediment concentrations in 67.8% (3.2 × 105 km) of the examined river channel length, with 43.4% (2.05 × 105 km) displaying a significant increasing trend, driven mainly by rising rainfall erosion and climate warming. Consequently, a global net increase (+0.58 Gt year−1) in land–ocean sediment flux has been observed over the past four decades, despite sediment trapping by recently constructed dams, mostly in Asia. Our study provides a new baseline for source-to-sink fluvial transport in the Anthropocene that can inform global water resource management and delta management and protection. Suspended sediments in river networks are a critical pathway for material and nutrient transport from land to the oceans, but global monitoring is challenging. Satellite records for the past three decades document an increase in sediment delivery, driven by climate and land-cover change.","PeriodicalId":19056,"journal":{"name":"Nature Sustainability","volume":"8 2","pages":"142-151"},"PeriodicalIF":25.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143475866","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}