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Topic Review
Anthropocene Cultural Landscapes for Sustainability
Cultural landscapes emerge from the artificialization of nature and the opening of the land, resulting in a landscape that conforms to the culture and the availability of technologies, thus creating a whole system with either higher or lower levels of life quality and sustainability. Three central elements operate interactively in the construction of cultural landscapes: the territory, the social actors who act in the territory, and the articulators (e.g., technology and regulations). The construction of cultural landscapes gives rise to a gradient of territorial typologies, including wildland, rural and urban, which have different requirements and consumption of resources and energy. 
  • 862
  • 10 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Wood-based pellets in Southeastern US
Effects of pellet production on selected Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) are evaluated using industry information, available energy consumption data, and published research findings. Challenges associated with identifying relevant SDG goals and targets for this particular bioenergy supply chain and potential deleterious impacts are discussed. We find that production of woody pellets in the SE US and shipments to displace coal for energy in Europe generate positive effects on affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), industry innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15). Primary strengths of the pellet supply chain in the SE US are the provisioning of employment in depressed rural areas and the displacement of fossil fuels. Weaknesses are associated with potential impacts on air, water, and biodiversity that arise if the resource base and harvest activities are improperly managed. The SE US pellet supply chain provides an opportunity for transition to low-carbon industries and innovations while incentivizing better resource management.
  • 859
  • 31 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Invasive Alien Plants
Plant invasion is significantly affected by environmental factors in the recipient habitats and affects the stability and sustainable development of society. The invasiveness of alien plants may be increased by anthropogenic-mediated disturbances, such as fluctuations in nutrients caused by excessive emissions of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). 
  • 859
  • 07 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Effects of Sound Perception in Plants
Plants have long been considered passive, static, and unchanging organisms, but this view is finally changing. More and more knowledge is showing that plants are aware of their surroundings, and they respond to a surprising variety of stimuli by modifying their growth and development. Plants extensively communicate with the world around them, above and below ground. Although communication through mycorrhizal networks and Volatile Organic Compounds has been known for a long time, acoustic perception and communication are somehow a final frontier of research. Perhaps surprisingly, plants not only respond to sound, they actually seem to emit sound as well. Roots emit audible clicks during growth, and sounds are emitted from xylem vessels, although the nature of these acoustic emissions still needs to be clarified. Even more interesting, there is the possibility that these sounds carry information with ecological implications, such as alerting insects of the hydration state of a possible host plant, and technological implications as well. Monitoring sound emissions could possibly allow careful monitoring of the hydration state of crops, which could mean significantly less water used during irrigation. 
  • 822
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Seaweeds Compounds
Seaweeds’ compounds present important qualities for cosmetic application, such as low cytotoxicity and low allergens content. Several seaweeds’ molecules already demonstrated a high potential as a cosmetic active ingredient (such as, mycosporine-like amino acids, fucoidan, pigments, phenolic compounds) or as a key element for the products consistency (agar, alginate, carrageenan). Moreover, it focuses on the ecological and sustainable scope of seaweed exploitation to guarantee a safe source of ingredients for the cosmetic industry and consumers.
  • 815
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
EPLS' Change in Inner Mongolia
        There is increasing focus on the difficult challenge of realizing coordinated development of production, living and ecological spaces within the regional development process. An ecological–production–living space (EPLSs)evaluation index system was established in this study based on the concept of EPLSs and the relationship between land use function, land use type and the national standard of land use classification, to reveal the driving forces and patterns of variation in EPLSs in Inner Mongolia.
  • 774
  • 23 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Red Sea Coral
The recognition of the microbiota complexity and their role in the evolution of their host is leading to the popularization of the holobiont concept. However, the coral holobiont (host and its microbiota) is still enigmatic and unclear. Here, we explore the complex relations between different holobiont members of a mesophotic coral Euphyllia paradivisa. We subjected two lines of the coral—with photosymbionts, and without photosymbionts (apo‐symbiotic)—to increasing temperatures and to antibiotics. The different symbiotic states were characterized using transcriptomics, microbiology and physiology techniques. The bacterial community’s composition is dominated by bacteroidetes, alphaproteobacteria, and gammaproteobacteria, but is dependent upon the symbiont state, colony, temperature treatment, and antibiotic exposure. Overall, the most important parameter determining the response was whether the coral was a symbiont/apo‐symbiotic, while the colony and bacterial composition were secondary factors. Enrichment Gene Ontology analysis of coral host’s differentially expressed genes demonstrated the cellular differences between symbiotic and apo‐symbiotic samples. Our results demonstrate the significance of each component of the holobiont consortium and imply a coherent link between them, which dramatically impacts the molecular and cellular processes of the coral host, which possibly affect its fitness, particularly under environmental stress.
  • 771
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Animal Functional Traits Associated with Fire Sensitivity
Changes in fire regimes in the 21st century are posing a major threat to global biodiversity. In this scenario, incorporating species’ physiological, ecological, and evolutionary traits with their local fire exposure might facilitate accurate identification of species most at risk from fire. 
  • 768
  • 28 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Narrow- versus Wide-Ranged Ostrya Species
Four sympatric Ostrya species have different geographic range sizes. O. multinervis and O. rehderiana are narrow-ranged species with narrow potential geographical distributions. O. japonica and O. trichocarpa, both of which have wide potential geographical distributions, are wide-ranged species.
  • 764
  • 25 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Street Dog Sterilisation Programmes
Humane Society International (HSI) facilitates dog sterilisation programmes internationally, which includes population surveys of street dogs to gain basic demographic information and to set a baseline for future monitoring operations. HSI has developed a web and mobile application suite called ‘HSIApps’ with custom tailored workflows to improve the efficiency (lower programmatic cost) and improve the welfare of dogs in care throughout the sterilisation process.
  • 756
  • 30 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Drinking Water Microbiome
Microbial communities interact with us and affect our health in ways that are only beginning to be understood. Microorganisms have been detected in every ecosystem on Earth, as well as in any built environment that has been investigated. Drinking water sources, drinking water treatment plants and distribution systems provide peculiar microbial ecological niches, dismantling the belief of the “biological simplicity” of drinking water. The assemblage of microbes within drinking water is referred to as the drinking water microbiota (“microbiome” when referring to the associated genetic information), and it accounts for about 106–108 cells/L. Recent DNA sequencing and meta-omics advancements allow a deeper understanding of drinking water microbiota.
  • 746
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Wetland Construction, Restoration, and Integration
In response to the global loss and degradation of wetland ecosystems, extensive efforts have been made to reestablish wetland habitat and function in landscapes where they once existed. The reintroduction of wetland ecosystem services has largely occurred in two categories: constructed wetlands (CW) for wastewater treatment, and restored wetlands (RW) for the renewal or creation of multiple ecosystem services. Where the spatial and biogeochemical contexts are favorable, Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICW) present the opportunity to couple CW and RW functions, thereby enhancing the replacement of wetland services on the landscape. 
  • 734
  • 14 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Rangeland Biodiversity and Climate Variability
Rangeland biodiversity related closely with climate variability. Rainfall plays an important role in arid rangeland restoration. Under favorable conditions, one-year grazing exclusion considerably enhanced species richness and evenness diversity compared to longer resting durations under dry to average rainfall conditions. The decision to how long livestock grazing exclusion would last should not be decided upfront as it depends on the climatic and the site-specific conditions.
  • 731
  • 27 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Lichens, Mosses, and Vascular Plants in Biodeterioration
Biodeterioration is defined as the alteration of a given substrate due to a combination of physical and chemical factors produced by living organisms when attached to such materials. This phenomenon attracts scientific research attention due to its risk in causing destruction to outdoor cultural rock heritage sites. Trees and shrubs are the most harmful plant life forms, for example, Ficus carica, Ailanthus altissima, and Capparis spinosa, while regarding building materials, those characterized by high porosity, such as andesite and argillaceous limestone, are more vulnerable to plant colonization.
  • 727
  • 20 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Historical Ecology in Disciplinary Contexts
Among several methodological and theoretical approaches that detail and track key elements of the human–environmental nexus and the linkages of biotic and abiotic agents and their behaviors through time (e.g., resilience, ecosystem dynamics, environmental history, and landscape biography models), the framework of historical ecology offers a comprehensive and integrated reach across knowledge sectors and clear strategies for social justice, collaboration, and application.There is no particular need to identify one’s work as historical ecology, as several other approaches employ similar principles. However, the term is widely familiar, teasing ecology to embrace the historical sciences and history to learn ecology. Historical ecology is an umbrella term describing multi-faceted research programs that assure researchers and stakeholders the advantages of diverse perspectives, the means to evaluate and share information, and a community of practice. Historical ecology unites a group of core disciplines—archaeology, anthropology, ecology, geography, and history—and draws on parallel developments in these fields.
  • 723
  • 30 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Forensic Entomology and Space
The dynamics of forensic insects can operate at many spatial scales, manifest in different spatial patterns, and be attributed to multiple different causes. This highlights the importance for forensic entomology to consider spatial effects despite its neglect to date. Forensic entomology has much to benefit from the use of spatial statistics because many important questions, both at the fundamental and practical levels, require a spatial solution.
  • 722
  • 25 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Beavers, Bugs and Chemistry
The North American beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl) and cottonwoods (Populus spp.) are foundation species, the interactions of which define a much larger community and affect a threatened riparian habitat type.
  • 720
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.; family Ericaceae), otherwise known as cowberry, partridgeberry, and foxberry, is an evergreen dwarf shrub with underground rhizomes widely distributed throughout Northern, Central European, Canadian, and Russian countries’ forests. Due to the promising health benefits, mainly associated with the high content of secondary metabolites—phenolics and triterpenoids—lingonberry leaves acquired prominent pharmaceutical potential and breeding value 
  • 719
  • 27 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Generation of Phenotypic Diversity in Populations
The generation of phenotypic diversity is fundamental for the environmental adaptation and evolution of populations. It can be produced by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. The genetic mechanisms include mutation, recombination, drift and gene flow and generate phenotypic diversity by changing the DNA sequence or their relative distribution in populations. Epigenetic mechanisms produce phenotypic diversity by differential expression of the same DNA without changing the DNA sequence and different processing of the gene products. They include DNA methylation, histone modifications, non-coding RNAs, Polycomb/Trithorax group proteins, chemical mRNA modifications and mRNA editing. In sexually reproducing organisms, genetic mechanisms probably play a predominant role in the production of phenotypic diversity. Epigenetic mechanisms are effective in all organisms but are particularly important in asexual reproducers, where they generate phenotypic variation and individuality despite genetic identity. Further main benefiters of the epigenetic contribution to phenotypic diversity are sessile taxa and species with long generation times.
  • 718
  • 13 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Deforestation, Urbanization, and Mosquito and Tick-Borne Diseases
Central America is a unique geographical region that connects North and South America, enclosed by the Caribbean Sea to the East, and the Pacific Ocean to the West. This region, encompassing Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua, is highly vulnerable to the emergence or resurgence of mosquito-borne and tick-borne diseases due to a combination of key ecological and socioeconomic determinants acting together, often in a synergistic fashion. Of particular interest are the effects of land use changes, such as deforestation-driven urbanization and forest degradation, on the incidence and prevalence of these diseases, which are not well understood. In recent years, parts of Central America have experienced social and economic improvements; however, the region still faces major challenges in developing effective strategies and significant investments in public health infrastructure to prevent and control these diseases.
  • 716
  • 29 Dec 2021
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