{"title":"The Impacts of Riparian Vegetation Buffer Strips on Soil Nitrogen Components and Microbial Communities.","authors":"Luyao Zhao, Yongbo Wu","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02204-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-025-02204-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Riparian vegetation buffer strips play a crucial role in soil and water conservation, yet the impact of different vegetation on soil nitrogen components and microbial communities remains poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different riparian vegetation buffer strip on soil organic nitrogen components and microbial communities. Three types of riparian vegetation buffer strips along Taihu Lake in Yixing City (mixed poplar (Populus × euramericana \"Nanlin 95\") and Taxodium \"zhongshanshan\" (Taxodium \"zhongshanshan\"), pure poplar, and pure Taxodium \"zhongshanshan\") were compared with barren land (HD) as control. Soil nitrogen components, microbial community characteristics, abundance, and their relationships were analyzed across 0-60 cm soil profiles. Results showed that all riparian vegetation buffer strips significantly increased soil total nitrogen (TN) content compared to HD, with content decreasing with soil depth. Riparian vegetation buffer strips significantly enhanced microbial abundance and diversity, with mixed buffer strips exhibiting the highest abundance of Chloroflexi and Acidobacteriota, which contribute positively to nitrogen cycling. RDA revealed that soil nitrogen components and enzyme activities were positively correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) content but negatively with total potassium (TK) content. The microbial communities in mixed riparian vegetation buffer strips and pure Taxodium \"zhongshanshan\" buffer strips were closely associated with organic nitrogen parameters (P < 0.05), while communities in pure poplar buffer strips and HD were more related to TK. These findings demonstrate that strategically designed mixed riparian vegetation buffer strips offer superior enhancement of soil nitrogen cycling and microbial diversity compared to pure vegetation buffer strips, these findings provide valuable insights for optimizing riparian vegetation buffer strips design to improve soil quality and nitrogen management in lakeside ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144590157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Integrating the community capitals framework for sustainable remediation of NORM- and TENORM-contaminated sites: The Case of Crotone, Italy.","authors":"Federica Panzarella, Valérie Cappuyns, Bieke Abelshausen, Catrinel Turcanu","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02223-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-025-02223-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study employs the Community Capitals Framework -an asset-based community development approach that highlights seven types of community capital (social, natural, human, cultural, political, built, and financial)- to identify, analyse, and compare how local assets may inform the environmental remediation and transformation of the NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) and TENORM (Technically Enhanced NORM)-contaminated sites in Crotone, Italy. Crotone was profoundly affected by extensive production activities cantered on phosphatic cycles for fertilizer production. The resulting industrial waste containing TENORM was repurposed for civil works across the city, leading to widespread contamination. This research utilizes a multi-method approach for bottom-up identification of capitals, incorporating semi-structured interviews, photovoice and a stakeholder workshop. By tracing local assets over time and examining how these change in response to socio-economic and environmental factors, the study explores how leveraging local assets can contribute to holistic sustainable, and context-sensitive management of contaminated sites. The study reveals that interactions among community capitals are complex and multidimensional, with changes in one capital often having varied effects on others. This highlights the need for a balanced, systems-based approach to site remediation without compromising critical assets. Findings reveal that the Community Capitals Framework effectively informs the various dimensions of the remediation process and underscore the need for continued research to refine its practical application and integration into site remediation and environmental management projects.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144590104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Jennifer Manyweathers, Lynne Hayes, Ben Rampano, Nat Higgins, Marta Hernandez-Jover
{"title":"Engagement by New South Wales Marine Estate Users with and Evaluation of Communication Approaches to Strengthen Biosecurity Practices.","authors":"Jennifer Manyweathers, Lynne Hayes, Ben Rampano, Nat Higgins, Marta Hernandez-Jover","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02221-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-025-02221-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Marine environments are susceptible to the impact of human boating activities that facilitate incursions of marine pests and diseases, including invasive alien species (IAS). Movement and maintenance of recreational boats is largely unregulated, and if boats are improperly maintained, movement of IAS on these unmaintained boats can impact livelihoods and food security. This project evaluated the impact of communication and engagement interventions implemented within the New South Wales marine estate that aimed at strengthening biosecurity practices of small to medium permanently moored boat owners/managers. A mixed method approach using a cross-sectional survey and interviews was used to evaluate exposure to and impact of the communication and engagement strategies, including Facebook images and videos on biosecurity practices in the NSW marine estate. Participants expressed a desire for information about marine pests and diseases via electronic newsletters (43.3%, n = 58) and of the survey participants who used Facebook, the majority (90.2%, n = 119) had not seen the communication interventions. Interview participants identified some infrastructural barriers to keeping their boats clear of biofouling despite a desire to do so. Overall, most participants showed awareness of and wanted to help protect waterway health, which supports ongoing efforts by New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Agriculture and Biosecurity Aquatic unit to improve biosecurity practices of all marine estate stakeholders and informs future development of aquatic biosecurity communication and engagement strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144590103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 ManagementPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1007/s00267-025-02184-4
Xuan Huang, Junqing Xu
{"title":"Exploring Sustainable Pathways for Citizen Science Projects in China's Watershed Governance: The Case Study of Guiyang.","authors":"Xuan Huang, Junqing Xu","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02184-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02184-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Citizen science (CS) is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool in global environmental governance. In China, however, CS projects often face challenges, such as low public engagement, limited institutional support, and weak long-term sustainability. This study investigates Guiyang's CS initiatives in watershed governance through an action research approach, applying two analytical frameworks, a six-stage lifecycle model and a participation typology, to examine project design, implementation, and the evolution of citizen involvement. Findings show that Guiyang's CS projects, although rooted in rural communities, expanded the coverage and responsiveness of environmental monitoring by mobilizing local knowledge and activating dense community networks. A \"point-to-surface\" strategy, using trained civilian environmental supervisors to engage local residents, was supported by expert assistance and structured training to overcome technical and knowledge barriers. The study reveals that, by responding to environmental governance needs, embedding CS within rural social structures, and fostering adaptive capacities, these projects integrated into China's policy-driven governance model and local socio-cultural contexts. Three key drivers of sustained development were identified: responsive governance mechanisms, digital tools and a supportive policy environment. Nonetheless, persistent challenges remain, including unstable participation, uneven technical capacity, and intermittent policy support. This study illustrates how CS can be effectively localized in different governance systems and highlights new pathways for participatory environmental governance in the Global South.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1758-1774"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144075114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}
Isaac Princelyn, Rakesh Kadaverugu, Puthiya Veetil Nidheesh
{"title":"Impact of Open Cast Coal Mining on Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Bhadravati Mine Area in Central India Based on Three-Decadal Land Use Land Cover Assessment.","authors":"Isaac Princelyn, Rakesh Kadaverugu, Puthiya Veetil Nidheesh","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02220-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-025-02220-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The valuation of ecosystem services over ecologically disturbed landscapes provides an objective metric to understand the level of disturbances in an economic domain. The present study investigates the impact of open-cast coal mining on land use and land cover (LULC) and ecosystem service valuation (ESV) in the Bhadravati area from 1993 to 2023. Results showed that mining activities expanded dramatically, increasing from 21.49 km<sup>2</sup> (8%) in 1993 to 56.43 km<sup>2</sup> (21%) in 2023, driven by economic and industrial growth. Built-up areas have similarly expanded from 18.84 km<sup>2</sup> (7%) to 45.68 km<sup>2</sup> (17%), due to rapid urbanisation. This expansion contributed to a decline in agricultural lands, which shrank from 204.20 km<sup>2</sup> (76%) to 96.74 km<sup>2</sup> (36%), leading to a 52.66% decrease in the ESV of agriculture from $1.88 million to $0.89 million. On the other side, vegetation cover tripled from 16.12 km<sup>2</sup> (6%) to 61.80 km<sup>2</sup> (23%), due to successful reforestation and land management efforts of the mining company. This increase in vegetation contributed to a 283.58% rise in its ESV, from $3.23 million in 1993 to $12.40 million in 2023. This study underscores the critical need for mainstreaming the idea of ESV in industrial activities to objectively quantify the economic value of sustainable practices, using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Further, scenarios were created for improving the ESV for proper post-mine implementation.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144537581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 ManagementPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-10DOI: 10.1007/s00267-025-02179-1
Zhengxin Lang, Sergey Rabotyagov, Amy T Hansen, Brent Dalzell, Todd Campbell, Jingjing Tao
{"title":"Integrated Assessment of Cost-Effective Water Quality Improvements in the Minnesota River Basin: Combining Stated Preferences and Simulation-Optimization Approaches.","authors":"Zhengxin Lang, Sergey Rabotyagov, Amy T Hansen, Brent Dalzell, Todd Campbell, Jingjing Tao","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02179-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02179-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Voluntary incentive programs are central to U.S. agricultural policy, aimed at enhancing sustainability by improving environmental outcomes and increasing the supply of non-market ecosystem services. This study integrates econometric insights with biophysical modeling to identify cost-effective strategies for nitrate and sediment reductions at the watershed scale. Survey data from Minnesota River Basin farmers characterizes willingness to accept (WTA) distributions for wetland restoration, cover crops, and nutrient management. A mixed logit model reveals significant heterogeneity in WTA, influenced by income, farm size, political leanings, taxes, water impairments, and non-pecuniary factors like ecosystem service appreciation, conservation experience, and stewardship. Integrated modeling highlights fluvial wetland restoration as a cost-effective and impactful strategy. Up to a 43% nitrogen reduction and 82% sediment reduction may be attained at an annual cost of under $10 million through targeted conservation investments. Scenarios with lower costs ($5 million annually) achieve substantial sediment reductions (82%) but limited nitrogen reductions (22%), demonstrating the utility of multi-objective optimization frameworks to elucidate optimal trade-offs in watershed planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1720-1741"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143962647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 ManagementPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-22DOI: 10.1007/s00267-025-02183-5
Farshad Jalili Pirani, Seyed Alireza Mousavi
{"title":"Integrating Social Attitudes and Behaviors with Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors for Enhanced Watershed Planning.","authors":"Farshad Jalili Pirani, Seyed Alireza Mousavi","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02183-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02183-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current watershed planning in many developing countries primarily focuses on biophysical features, often neglecting socioeconomic and behavioral factors. This study integrates biophysical variables with socioeconomic characteristics and behavioral traits, such as individualism, trust in government organizations, greed, environmental preferences, and perceived financial ability to develop a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to watershed management. The Ganj basin in Iran, consisting of three villages, was selected as the study area. Socioeconomic data from the traditional sanctums of each village were collected through surveys and interviews, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between participation history and socioeconomic traits. These attributes were then mapped and overlaid with biophysical layers to guide planning decisions. Findings reveal that while traditional rural sanctums share similar socioeconomic conditions, they exhibit significant differences in behavioral tendencies, particularly in individualism, greed, and financial perception. The Ganj sanctum demonstrated the highest preference for participation in watershed plans. Additionally, the study highlights that relying solely on existing biophysical and socioeconomic government data is inadequate for comprehensive and participatory watershed management. Instead, local assessments, such as questionnaire-based studies, can uncover critical insights into both tangible and intangible factors, thereby improving planning accuracy. These findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers in designing management strategies tailored to the socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics of each sanctum, ensuring that watershed plans are more sustainable and long-lasting.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1742-1757"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Correction: The pending promises of mitigation measures in Environmental Impact Assessments: A typology and evaluation of Nepal's hydropower projects.","authors":"Kumar Paudel, Elisha Ghimire, Jacob Phelps","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02181-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02181-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1899"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144118484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 ManagementPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1007/s00267-025-02209-y
Devan Allen McGranahan, Jay P Angerer
{"title":"Evaluating an attempt to restore summer fire in the Northern Great Plains.","authors":"Devan Allen McGranahan, Jay P Angerer","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02209-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02209-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is growing interest in diversifying human-managed fire regimes. In many North American grasslands, late growing season burns re-introduce fire to periods most prone to lightning-driven fire prior to wildfire suppression policies. We report here on restoring summer fire in central North Dakota, USA, from a research project in which summer burns were only completed in two out of four years for which summer burns were planned. We use remotely-sensed imagery and local weather data to assess whether fuel or weather conditions limited burning in the summer, and to compare fire environmental conditions and subsequent burn severity across prescribed burns conducted in the spring and summer. Finally, we review historical data to determine if conditions have changed in either the spring or summer burn seasons over 42 years. Although burn severity generally declined with fuelbed greenness in the spring, summer burns could effect as high of severity as spring burns despite having greener fuelbeds. What little phenological change seems to have occurred at the study location over 42 years-slightly greener fuelbeds and slightly lower relative humidity in spring-likely offset each other to some degree. Overall, we found little evidence that being able to complete summer burns was anomalous, and conclude that it is reasonable for managers to incorporate late growing season fire into prescribed fire programs with the caveat that some summers will simply be too wet and/or too green to burn.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1656-1664"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144293115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 ManagementPub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-25DOI: 10.1007/s00267-025-02175-5
Claire M Wood, Marc J Metzger, Robert G H Bunce
{"title":"Protecting the Bunce Legacy: Lessons Learned From Safeguarding Long-term Ecological Survey Datasets in Great Britain.","authors":"Claire M Wood, Marc J Metzger, Robert G H Bunce","doi":"10.1007/s00267-025-02175-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00267-025-02175-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rescued data helps to strengthen ecological understanding of biodiversity change. This paper presents experience from safeguarding long-term strategic ecological surveys established by the late Professor Robert Bunce and colleagues in the 1970s: the Great Britain Countryside Surveys, and various related and complementary surveys in the period 1969 to the mid-1990s, including woodland surveys, and regional surveys for Cumbria and Shetland. These surveys are valuable data sources - especially considering national and global ecological restoration targets to address the biodiversity crisis - providing evidence to explore and understand ecological changes in the British countryside over time. For these kinds of data to be useful, usable and used, it is essential they are accessible and well managed, but many important ecological data sets are at risk of loss. A decade of work to protect the Bunce surveys has resulted in a structured five-step approach that can benefit other data rescue and safeguarding initiatives as well as scientists planning new ecological monitoring projects. The steps involve identifying available resources, processing datasets, assembling metadata, producing outputs and publishing. Valuable lessons learnt in the process include: (1) the growing appreciation and relevance of historic ecological data; (2) the importance of adequate resourcing and recognition of data rescue activity; (3) the value of engaging with the originators; (4) the need to identify and understand potential users and uses of the data. The Bunce legacy of strategic ecological surveys in the UK is now protected and the data available for repeat survey and further analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":543,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Management","volume":" ","pages":"1872-1885"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12228649/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143960643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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}