R. Cruz-Cano, M. Kolb, R. A. Saldaña-Vázquez, L. Bretón-Deval, N. Cruz-Cano, A. Aldama-Cervantes
{"title":"Existing evidence on the use of environmental DNA as an operational method for studying rivers: a systematic map and thematic synthesis","authors":"R. Cruz-Cano, M. Kolb, R. A. Saldaña-Vázquez, L. Bretón-Deval, N. Cruz-Cano, A. Aldama-Cervantes","doi":"10.1186/s13750-024-00325-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-024-00325-6","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental DNA (eDNA) is the DNA that can be extracted from an environmental sample, enabling the monitoring of whole biological communities across a large number of samples, at a potentially lower cost, which can significantly benefit river conservation. A systematic mapping protocol was designed to investigate the use of eDNA in rivers, specifically in terms of research topics, geographic and taxonomic biases, as well as information gaps. Furthermore, the potential research opportunities of eDNA in rivers and possible paths to find this kind of information on available platforms are identified. A published systematic map protocol was applied, consisting of a search for published articles and gray literature in two bibliographic databases and one search engine. All search results were submitted to a 2-stage screening for relevance and pertinence in accordance with pre-defined eligibility criteria. Data extraction and codification regarding country of study, year, taxonomic group, sequencing platform, and type of technique employed resulted in a publicly available database. From 7372 studies initially obtained by the search, 545 met the inclusion criteria spanning a period from 2003 to 2022. The five countries with most studies are: USA (134), Japan (61), China (54), Brazil (29) and the UK (25). The most used fragments to analyze DNA are 16S and COI, whilst 26S and 23S are the least used. Only 84 (15%) of the studies reported hypervariable regions, among which the most used are V4 and V5. Regarding taxonomic groups, fishes are most often studied (176), followed by bacteria (138) and virus (52), while fungi is the least studied group (3). Concerning data availability, 229 (42%) studies provided access to sequencing data. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the available evidence regarding the implementation of the eDNA methods in rivers. The findings indicate that since the year 2003, this approach has been applied to aquatic lotic systems, and their recent increase can be attributed to the development of Next-Generation-Sequencing technologies and their reduced costs. However, there is a bias towards high-income countries, particularly USA and Europe. Widespread use and applications of this approach at a global level would allow for the generation of a large amount of information that can be compared between countries to understand if responses of aquatic systems follow similar patterns worldwide.","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139754255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Ko Konno, James Gibbons, Ruth Lewis, Andrew S Pullin
{"title":"Potential types of bias when estimating causal effects in environmental research and how to interpret them","authors":"Ko Konno, James Gibbons, Ruth Lewis, Andrew S Pullin","doi":"10.1186/s13750-024-00324-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-024-00324-7","url":null,"abstract":"To inform environmental policy and practice, researchers estimate effects of interventions/exposures by conducting primary research (e.g., impact evaluations) or secondary research (e.g., evidence reviews). If these estimates are derived from poorly conducted/reported research, then they could misinform policy and practice by providing biased estimates. Many types of bias have been described, especially in health and medical sciences. We aimed to map all types of bias from the literature that are relevant to estimating causal effects in the environmental sector. All the types of bias were initially identified by using the Catalogue of Bias (catalogofbias.org) and reviewing key publications (n = 11) that previously collated and described biases. We identified 121 (out of 206) types of bias that were relevant to estimating causal effects in the environmental sector. We provide a general interpretation of every relevant type of bias covered by seven risk-of-bias domains for primary research: risk of confounding biases; risk of post-intervention/exposure selection biases; risk of misclassified/mismeasured comparison biases; risk of performance biases; risk of detection biases; risk of outcome reporting biases; risk of outcome assessment biases, and four domains for secondary research: risk of searching biases; risk of screening biases; risk of study appraisal and data coding/extraction biases; risk of data synthesis biases. Our collation should help scientists and decision makers in the environmental sector be better aware of the nature of bias in estimation of causal effects. Future research is needed to formalise the definitions of the collated types of bias such as through decomposition using mathematical formulae.","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139754047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Environmental EvidencePub Date : 2024-01-01Epub Date: 2024-08-24DOI: 10.1186/s13750-024-00345-2
Camille Rousset, Carmen Segura, Anina Gilgen, Marta Alfaro, Luís André Mendes, Mike Dodd, Batnyambuu Dashpurev, Mike Bastidas, Julian Rivera, Lutz Merbold, Eduardo Vázquez
{"title":"What evidence exists relating the impact of different grassland management practices to soil carbon in livestock systems? A systematic map protocol.","authors":"Camille Rousset, Carmen Segura, Anina Gilgen, Marta Alfaro, Luís André Mendes, Mike Dodd, Batnyambuu Dashpurev, Mike Bastidas, Julian Rivera, Lutz Merbold, Eduardo Vázquez","doi":"10.1186/s13750-024-00345-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13750-024-00345-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Grasslands are essential for providing vital resources in the livestock sector and delivering invaluable ecosystem services such as biodiversity and soil carbon (C) sequestration. Despite their critical importance, these ecosystems face escalating threats from human disturbances, human degradation, and climate change, compromising their ability to effectively stock C. Restoring degraded grasslands emerges as a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to tackling climate change. However, the successful implementation of grassland management toward this goal, faces significant challenges. A systematic mapping approach will help to compile a comprehensive global inventory of studies investigating the impact of differing grassland management practices on soil carbon. In addition, the potential for trade-offs with other greenhouse gas emissions further underlines the value of a systematic assessment. This approach aims to identify knowledge clusters (i.e., well-represented subtopics that are amenable to full synthesis) for potential systematic reviews and pinpoint knowledge gaps requiring further primary research efforts, all contributing to a better understanding of the evidence surrounding this topic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Following systematic evidence synthesis standards, we developed the question to address in the systematic map protocol using the PICO framework. We established a preliminary search string by combining search terms for the Population (Grasslands), Intervention (management) and Outcome (soil carbon) categories, as well as with one additional group (Study types-to focus on farm and field experiments). We will conduct a comprehensive literature search of relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature using Web of Science, Scopus, CABI platforms, Google Scholar, and specialised websites (e.g., Agrotrop). Searches will be conducted in the English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Mongolian languages, as per the linguistic capabilities of the research team. The comprehensiveness of the search will be assessed by comparing the literature collected to a test-list of forty relevant articles. The repeatability of the literature screening process will be ensured by a list of inclusion/exclusion criteria and inter-reviewer consistency statistical tests. Data extraction will be organised into four complementary sections (article information, PICO categories, study characteristics, measurable parameters), on which we will perform queries to produce the tables, figures and evidence maps that will compose the systematic map. The results will identify and describe knowledge gaps and clusters.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13750-024-00345-2.</p>","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11344701/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142074300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Environmental EvidencePub Date : 2024-01-01Epub Date: 2024-08-17DOI: 10.1186/s13750-024-00347-0
Coralie Triquet, Marie Perennes, Robin Séchaud, Markus van der Meer, Yvonne Fabian, Philippe Jeanneret
{"title":"What evidence exists on the effect of the main European lowland crop and grassland management practices on biodiversity indicator species groups? a systematic map.","authors":"Coralie Triquet, Marie Perennes, Robin Séchaud, Markus van der Meer, Yvonne Fabian, Philippe Jeanneret","doi":"10.1186/s13750-024-00347-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13750-024-00347-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The intensification of the agricultural practices in Europe over the last decades has drastically transformed the agroecosystems. The simplification of the landscape, the loss of semi-natural habitats and the application of chemicals on crops led to biodiversity decline in agricultural landscapes, raising substantial concerns about the loss of essential ecosystem services, such as pollination or pest control. Depending on the location, the scale and the regional context, different indicator species groups (ISGs) are regularly surveyed to assess the state and trend of biodiversity changes in agroecosystems. Although the high diversity of these ISGs allows assessing different biodiversity aspects (e.g., trophic levels, bio-physical compartments, scale of indication), it complicates the interpretation of the results and thus their practical application. In addition, species diversity metrics are various, from simple species counts to more complex measurements of diversity indices, sometimes with antagonistic responses. Here, to meet the pressing need for synthesis in this complex topic, we follow a standardized systematic map protocol to collect and summarize the literature reporting field evidence of the effects of the main agricultural management practices (AMPs) in arable crops, grasslands and ecological infrastructures on a set of ISGs in European lowland farming areas.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Searches of literature were made using online publication databases, search engine and specialist websites in English. Gathered publications were screened for relevance following inclusion/exclusion criteria published in a prior protocol. We extracted and mapped information about experimental design, monitoring methods, ISGs and AMPs studied and the diversity measures presented in each included publication. These parameters are structured in available data coding sheets.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The search gathered 20,162 references from which 1208 remained after full text eligibility screening. Main areas studied are in Western Europe, and the number of studies increased exponentially from 1984 to 2022. Most publications are experimental and on-farm studies which assess AMPs effects at the field scale. Main studied AMPs are fertilization, grazing, organic farming, tillage, mowing and herbicide application. Most ISGs used to study their impacts are flora, carabids, spiders, birds, bees and annelids, often combined with other ISGs. The combinations between AMPs and ISGs studied are detailed as well as monitoring methods. The most used diversity measures are abundance, species richness, Shannon index, evenness, and community composition.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We identified several knowledge clusters: (1) organic farming, fertilization, tillage, grazing and mowing impact on a wide range of ISGs, (2) flora response to agricultural practices, (3) annelids response to agronomic interventions that impac","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11329403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142001031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Collating existing evidence on cumulative impacts of invasive plant species in riparian ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada: a systematic map protocol","authors":"Fabio Mologni, Chandra E. Moffat, Jason Pither","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00320-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00320-3","url":null,"abstract":"Globally, the structure and functioning of foreshore and riparian ecosystems are being dramatically impacted by non-native invasive plant species. Invasive species can outcompete and replace native species, modify geochemical and hydraulic cycles, alter trophic processes, and change the composition and structure of communities above and below ground. However, these impacts are often investigated in isolation, even though one invasive species might increase or mitigate the impacts of others (i.e. cumulative impacts), potentially with cascading effects. Although cumulative impacts have long been studied within other environmental contexts, research on the cumulative impacts of invasive species is comparatively scarce. We aim to develop a protocol to systematically identify and collate evidence on the individual and cumulative impacts of a set of plant species invasive in foreshore and riparian ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada. Our primary question is: what evidence is available on the individual and cumulative impacts of invasive plants in the riparian and foreshore ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada? In addition, our systematic map will identify the strengths and gaps in knowledge pertaining to invasive plant species impacts in foreshore and riparian ecosystems, with the ultimate goal of facilitating the development of evidence-based management strategies. We identified the research topic and the primary and secondary questions with the support of stakeholders. We then devised a flexible string that allows for searching target invasive species. Using this string, we searched the literature for pilot species that aided the iterative development of the protocol. Once all target species are identified, we will carry out a systematic literature search on their impacts. We will search Web of Science and the CABI compendium for invasive species. We will include studies if they (i) refer to the target invasive species, (ii) focus on its environmental impacts and (iii) investigate such impacts in riparian ecosystems (iv) within North America (i.e. Canada and U.S.A.). We will use a two-stage screening process: titles and abstracts first, then the full manuscript. From each source, we will extract impact description, ecosystem component impacted, and magnitude and directionality of impacts. We will include a publicly available database of studies, descriptive statistics, and a narrative summary within our synthesis outcomes.","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138628753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"What are the impacts of activities undertaken in UNESCO biosphere reserves on socio-economic wellbeing in Southeast Asia? A systematic review","authors":"Nguyen Phuong Thao, Jacqualyn Eales, Duong Minh Lam, Vu Thuc Hien, Ruth Garside","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00322-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00322-1","url":null,"abstract":"UNESCO biosphere reserves (BRs) have historically aimed to play a crucial role in contributing to sustainable development by bringing about win–win outcomes for both biodiversity and socio-economic development. However, recent studies show the need for a more thorough understanding of how conservation activities impact on and are affected by socio-economic development. We built this systematic review on a systematic map by Eales et al. [14] adding studies from further academic database and grey literature searches specifically designed for this systematic review. Because studies were not sufficiently homogeneous in their outcomes to warrant a valid meta-analysis, we used narrative synthesis to explore the studies’ findings. We assessed 10,053 titles and abstracts from database searches and Google Scholar. 343 articles were screened at full text and 16 studies were included in our review. Of the 16 studies, 3 were assessed as having overall high validity, 8 having moderate validity and 3 having low validity of evidence. 2 studies did not provide sufficient information for validity categorisation (unclear validity). Effects on economic living standards, reported in 11 studies, were in both desired and undesired directions, though most high validity studies reported no significant difference, and most others did not test for significance. Most studies reported that BR interventions were associated with positive impacts on material living standards. In general, studies reported good relations between local people and local enforcement/government following interventions in BRs. BR interventions may both reduce or cause social conflict, though the higher validity studies showed results in the desired direction. In one study, there was a positive impact on population family planning outcomes, when a reproductive health intervention was implemented with conservation efforts. There was no clear impact in either direction regarding education. Across two studies the overall message is positive for the subjective wellbeing of local people. With 727 BRs worldwide, the BR model has been accepted and developed as an approach to facilitate the implementation of the UN's SDGs. However, our work shows that interventions implemented in UNESCO BRs can bring about impacts in quite diverse ways: positive, negative, unchanged, and may often present both positive and negative impacts in the same situation. This reconfirms that the expected win–win outcomes of UNESCO BR model in terms of biodiversity and socio-economic development should be more carefully considered. We suggest some main points for consideration, particularly when developing management mechanisms for UNESCO biosphere reserves and/or managing activities in biosphere reserves. We also highlight the need for further research to explore the socio-economic impacts of the UNESCO biosphere reserves in Southeast Asia, especially on the domains of freedom of choice and action, security and safety, and culture and","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138628965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Santiago Núñez Mejía, Carina Villegas-Lituma, Patricio Crespo, Mario Córdova, Ronald Gualán, Johanna Ochoa, Pablo Guzmán, Daniela Ballari, Alexis Chávez, Santiago Mendoza Paz, Patrick Willems, Ana Ochoa-Sánchez
{"title":"Downscaling precipitation and temperature in the Andes: applied methods and performance—a systematic review protocol","authors":"Santiago Núñez Mejía, Carina Villegas-Lituma, Patricio Crespo, Mario Córdova, Ronald Gualán, Johanna Ochoa, Pablo Guzmán, Daniela Ballari, Alexis Chávez, Santiago Mendoza Paz, Patrick Willems, Ana Ochoa-Sánchez","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00323-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00323-0","url":null,"abstract":"Global warming and climate change are threats to the world. Warmer temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns alter water availability and increase the occurrence of extreme weather events. South America and the Andes are vulnerable regions to climate change due to inequity and the uneven distribution of resources. Climate change evaluation often relies on the use of general circulation models (GCMs). However, the spatial resolution is too coarse and does not provide a realistic climate representation at a local level. This is of particular importance in mountain areas such as the Andes range, where the heterogeneous topography requires a finer spatial resolution to represent the local physical processes. To this end, statistical and/or dynamical downscaling methods are required. Several approaches and applications of downscaling procedures have been carried out in the countries of this region, with different purposes and performances. However, the main objective is to improve the representation of meteorological variables such as precipitation and temperature. A systematic review of these downscaling applications will identify the performance of the methods applied in the Andes region for the downscaling of precipitation and temperature. In addition, the meta-analysis could detect factors influencing the performance. The overall goal is to highlight promising methods in terms of fitness for use and identify knowledge gaps in the region. The review will search and examine published and grey literature on downscaling applications of temperature and precipitation in the Andes region. Predetermined criteria for eligibility will allow the screening of the evidence. Then, the method used in each application will be coded and mapped according to the country, purpose, variable, and type of downscaling. At the same time, quantitative and qualitative data will be extracted. The performance metrics are particularly interesting for this review. A meta-analysis will be conducted for those studies with comparable metrics. A narrative synthesis, maps and heatmaps will show the results. Tables, funnel plots, and meta-regressions will present the meta-analysis. Throughout the review, a critical appraisal step will categorize the validity of the evidence.","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138572580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Lia Taruiap Troncarelli, Maíra Teixeira de Ataide, Carla Morsello
{"title":"Existing evidence of conceptual differences in research on climate change perceptions among smallholders? A systematic map","authors":"Lia Taruiap Troncarelli, Maíra Teixeira de Ataide, Carla Morsello","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00321-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00321-2","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is having adverse effects on the livelihoods of small-scale populations, particularly in relation to their subsistence practices. Scientific literature widely acknowledges that smallholders must first perceive climate changes to take necessary precautions and adapt to the new conditions. However, variations exist in the terminology used across the literature, and in how it conceptualizes these perceptions. This variation complicates understanding of the literature and hinders empirical evidence comparisons. Therefore, in this review, we systematically mapped the literature considering variations in the concept's usage across different thematic areas. Our goal was to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the literature on smallholder climate change perceptions. In our systematic map, we adhered to the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence guidelines. We searched the literature adopting English terms and using five electronic databases of scientific publications (Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, BASE–Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, PubMed, and Science Direct Elsevier). We then screened the retrieved articles' titles, abstracts, and full texts according to predefined eligibility criteria. Articles meeting the eligibility criteria were chosen for full reading, data extraction, and coding, utilizing a prepared codebook. No validity appraisal occurred in this selection. A database containing coded metadata for all studies is accessible for reference. After screening 5358 articles (titles and abstracts), we identified and thoroughly reviewed 361 eligible articles at full text to map the usage of the climate change perception concept. Among these, 73 articles provided explicit definitions of perception, falling into seven categories: risk perception, perception based on psychological constructs and sensory stimuli, awareness, prior experience, observation of climate variables, beliefs, and uncertainties or threats. Implicit definitions of perception with various constructs were found, including those rooted in Cognitive Psychology, awareness, risk perception, traditional knowledge, beliefs, concerns about climate change, experiences of exposure to its effects, attitudes, worldviews, and scientific knowledge. Articles usually address multiple topics. Notably, 88% of the articles did not present any theory throughout their content. Geographically, Africa and Asia were the most frequently studied continents, with more focus on non-indigenous small-scale populations than indigenous ones. In conclusion, the perception concept exhibits an interdisciplinary nature. Therefore, fostering continuous dialogue among diverse disciplines is imperative to establishing an interdisciplinary definition of the term. An in-depth understanding of the perception concept is essential, as its absence can result in erroneous conclusions, limited adaptation strategies, and a lack of awareness among small-scale populations regarding cl","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138546725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Eleanor Durrant, Pete Howson, Bekah Puttick, Samantha Potts, Yara Shennan-Farpón, Novieta Sari, Nicholas Allen, Jo Yeongeun, Matthew Grainger, Yit Arn Teh, Marion Pfeifer
{"title":"Existing evidence on the use of participatory scenarios in ecological restoration: a systematic map","authors":"Eleanor Durrant, Pete Howson, Bekah Puttick, Samantha Potts, Yara Shennan-Farpón, Novieta Sari, Nicholas Allen, Jo Yeongeun, Matthew Grainger, Yit Arn Teh, Marion Pfeifer","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00314-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00314-1","url":null,"abstract":"The scale of land degradation worldwide has led to nearly one billion hectares committed to restoration globally. However, achieving such restoration targets will necessitate complex trade-offs against limited time, competing knowledge, costs, resources and varying stakeholder and societal preferences. Participatory scenarios allow a way to identify collaborative solutions for restoration planning and implementation best suited for the local cultures and societies they are tied to. They can be used to navigate uncertainties surrounding future trajectories of restored areas by evaluating trade-offs in outcomes. This research aims to systematically map the evidence on the use of participatory scenarios in restoration planning. We use the following research question: What evidence exists on the use of participatory scenarios in ecological restoration? This is answered by examining the characteristics of the evidence base, types of study design, types of outcomes, trade-offs in outcomes, and the role of participants. A comprehensive and reproducible search strategy was followed using bibliographic databases, web-based searches, and targeted searching. Search results underwent a two-step screening process according to eligibility criteria. Metadata on key areas of interest were extracted from included texts and were narratively synthesised alongside data visualisations to answer the research questions. 18,612 records were initially identified, and 106 articles were included in the final map. Most studies were conducted in Europe and North America, focusing on restoring agricultural land or forests. Most texts used mixed methods and explored multiple outcome types, but environmental outcomes were the most assessed. Within environmental outcomes, indicators for ecological function were assessed more frequently than structural or compositional indicators. The most common reason for choosing outcomes and indicators was stakeholder interest. Trade-offs in social, ecological, and economic outcomes were mainly examined across space using mapping techniques, while far fewer studies looked at trade-offs across stakeholders and time. Participants were mostly included in the scenario creation step and were usually chosen purposefully by the research team. It is difficult to understand how useful scenarios are for restoration planning because few texts reported how scenarios fed into the process. Despite this, the range of outcomes used and different method types adopted suggests participatory scenarios allow for integrating different knowledge and approaches, alongside facilitating the use of qualitative or semi-quantitative data when this is more appropriate or quantitative data is not widely available. To better use participatory scenarios as a tool for ecological restoration planning, decision-makers can push for greater levels and definitions of participation from the offset of restoration projects with specified, regular, and structured communication and pa","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138495275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}
Magnus Land, Mirco Bundschuh, Richard J. Hopkins, Brigitte Poulin, Brendan G. McKie
{"title":"Effects of mosquito control using the microbial agent Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: a systematic review","authors":"Magnus Land, Mirco Bundschuh, Richard J. Hopkins, Brigitte Poulin, Brendan G. McKie","doi":"10.1186/s13750-023-00319-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00319-w","url":null,"abstract":"The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis serovar israelensis (Bti) is commercially produced in various formulations for use as a larvicide worldwide, targeting especially the aquatic larval stage of mosquitoes. However, there is a concern that repeated Bti treatments may have both direct and indirect impacts on non-target organisms (NTOs) and the ecosystems they inhabit. This review evaluates the evidence for such impacts. Literature was searched using six bibliographic databases, two search engines, and on specialist web sites. Eligibility screening was performed in two steps on (1) title/abstract, with consistency among reviewers assessed by double-screening 557 articles and (2) full text. Articles included after full text screening were critically appraised independently by two reviewers. Disagreements were reconciled through discussions. Key parameters of included studies are presented in narrative synthesis tables, including risk of bias assessments. Meta-analyses comparing treated with untreated ecosystems and using either the raw mean difference or log response ratio as effect size were performed. Ninety-five articles covering 282 case studies were included in the review. From these, we identified 119 different response variables, which were divided into nine outcome categories. Most studies investigated NTO abundance or life history (reproduction related outcomes), but diversity and community composition are also well represented as outcome categories. The studies are highly variable in methodology, rigor, and spatio-temporal scale, spanning 1 day to 21 years and from < 1m2 to > 10,000 m2. Our metanalyses revealed a consistent negative effect of Bti treatment on abundances of Chironomidae and Crustacea, and also on chironomid emergence, although from a more restricted set of studies and regions. For most remaining response variables, we judged meta-analysis unfeasible, due to low study numbers or insufficient reporting of methods and results. There is now a significant body of studies documenting effects of mosquito control using Bti on NTOs or other ecosystem properties, especially associated with negative effects on Chironomidae, as apparent from our meta-analyses. Accordingly, we suggest the potential for negative NTO or other ecosystem effects of Bti treatment should not be discounted a priori. Once a decision to proceed with Bti treatment has been taken, priority should be given to a well-designed program of ongoing monitoring and assessment. The paucity of rigorous studies conducted with low bias risk for most response variables undermines our capacity for evaluating how common many of the effects documented might be. Future research would benefit from a rigorous and well-replicated approach to studying Bti impacts in semi-field mesocosms or in the field, combined with a greater rigor in reporting key methodological details. A greater focus is needed on understanding the environmental factors which regulate the wider effects of mosquito","PeriodicalId":48621,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Evidence","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138495274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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}