To align with climate goals, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture must be reduced significantly. Cultivated peatlands are an important source of such emissions. One proposed measure is to convert arable fields on peatlands to grassland, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default emission factors (EF) for organic soils are lower from grasslands. Yet, these EFs are based on limited data with high variability and comparisons are difficult due to differences in climate, soil properties, and crop management. This systematic review synthesizes available evidence on the effects of converting cropland to grassland on GHG emissions from peat and organic-rich soils in temperate and boreal climates using data from comparable fields.

Combined impacts from anthropogenic pressures and climate change threaten coastal ecosystems and their capacity to protect communities from hazards. One approach towards improving coastal protection is to implement "nature-based solutions" (NBS), which are actions working with nature to benefit nature and humans. Despite recent increases in global implementation of NBS projects for coastal protection, substantial gaps exist in our understanding of NBS performance. To help fill this gap, we systematically mapped the global evidence base on the ecological, physical, economic, and social performance of NBS interventions related to coastal protection. We focused on active NBS interventions, such as restoring or creating habitat, adding structure, or modifying sediment in six shallow biogenic ecosystems: salt marsh, seagrass, kelp forest, mangrove, coral reef, and shellfish reef.

The extinction of species is a multifaceted phenomenon shaped by the complex interplay between biological and socio-cultural factors. Public and academic preferences for different species often play a direct or indirect role in influencing the conservation outlook of these species. The "charisma" of species and other components of biodiversity is often mentioned as an important factor in shaping human preferences, determining both the scope of scientific studies and justifications for such scope. Here, we present a protocol for systematically mapping the use of the concept of "charisma" in relation to biodiversity peer-reviewed academic literature focused on biodiversity conservation.

Subtropical coral reefs are comparatively understudied compared to tropical coral reef ecosystems, yet also host a diverse and abundant array of marine life and provide substantial socio-economic benefits to communities. Research into the impacts of ocean warming on subtropical coral reefs has increased over the past two decades due to increase frequency and intensity of bleaching and degradation of these ecosystems. Understanding the extent of research effort and type of evidence assessing the response of subtropical corals and reefs to ocean warming provides valuable insight into global patterns in research efforts allowing critical knowledge gaps to be identified. A comprehensive understanding the impact of ocean warming on these systems will underpin our ability to predict and respond to future changes on subtropical coral reefs. Here, a systematic-map approach is used to identify recent research effort, from 2010 to 2023, and highlight patterns in the type, scale, and location of research conducted and as well as identify the availability of data and evidence reported.

The Pacific Ocean supports two leatherback sea turtle populations, each of which is Critically Endangered primarily as a result of ongoing incidental bycatch within small-scale and industrial fisheries. Conservation planning has included population viability analysis (PVA), which depends on accurate data on mortality and morbidity (sublethal effects) rates to yield realistic results that can inform management decision-making. Existing leatherback PVAs are based on best available data, however, estimates of mortality and morbidity rates are heavily influenced by estimates of bycatch. These, in turn, are based on unknown levels of observer coverage in many fisheries, estimated to be less than 1% coverage in some artisanal and industrial fleets. Leatherback population recovery depends on bycatch reduction. It is vital to understand the source, scope, and scale of leatherback bycatch wherever and whenever leatherbacks occur. Here, we outline a protocol for a systematic review to aggregate existing estimates of leatherback bycatch within the Pacific Ocean, on a population- and basin-level. These results will generate the first comprehensive estimate of leatherback turtle bycatch for any ocean basin and will be incorporated into future conservation planning for Pacific Ocean populations.

Urgent solutions are needed in cities to mitigate twin crises of global climate change and biodiversity loss. Urban nature-based solutions (actions that protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems while simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits) are being advocated for as multi-functional tools capable of tackling these societal challenges. Urban forest management is a proposed nature-based solution with potential to address both climate change mitigation and biodiversity loss along with multiple other benefits. However, bodies of evidence measuring multiple outcomes (e.g., biodiversity conservation and nature-based climate solutions) remain siloed which limits conservation and management opportunities. In this article, we present a systematic map of the literature on urban forest management strategies that measure both biodiversity goals (through avian conservation) and climate change mitigation goals (through carbon storage and sequestration).

Marine sediments represent one of the planet's largest carbon stores. Bottom trawl fisheries constitute the most widespread physical disturbance to seabed habitats, which exert a large influence over the oceanic carbon dioxide (CO) sink. Recent research has sparked concern that seabed disturbance from trawling can therefore turn marine sediments into a large source of CO, but the calculations involved carry a high degree of uncertainty. This is primarily due to a lack of quantitative understanding of how trawling mixes and resuspends sediments, how it alters bioturbation, bioirrigation, and oxygenation rates, and how these processes translate into carbon fluxes into or out of sediments.

Forestry and land-use change are leading causes of habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation worldwide. The boreal forest biome is no exception, and only a small proportion of this forest type remains intact. Since forestry will remain a major land-use in this region, measures must be taken to ensure forest dependent biodiversity. Stand level features and structures promoting conservation relevant species have received much attention, but the landscape level perspective is often missing. Hence, we review the literature that has related fragmentation in the surrounding landscape to occurrence of threatened, declining, red-listed, rare, or deadwood dependent species as well as those considered to be indicator, flagship, umbrella, and/or keystone species in a given boreal forest stand.

Achieving a more circular and efficient use of nutrients found in human excreta and domestic (municipal) wastewater is an integral part of mitigating aquatic nutrient pollution and nutrient insecurity. A synthesis of research trends readily available to various stakeholders is much needed. This systematic map collates and summarizes scientific research on technologies that facilitate the recovery and reuse of plant nutrients and organic matter found in human excreta and domestic wastewater. We present evidence in a way that can be navigated easily. We hope this work will help with the uptake and upscaling of new and innovative circular solutions for the recovery and reuse of nutrients.

The tropical rainforest biome plays a significant role in providing habitats for terrestrial biodiversity and delivering ecosystem service values, contributing to agricultural production. However, the increasing demand for tropical commodities with high economic value threatens this humid ecosystem and its biodiversity. To our knowledge, no studies have systematically mapped the relationship between the impacts of agricultural production on biodiversity and the effects of biodiversity on agricultural production in tropical rainforest areas.

The development of cities and transport infrastructure produces a large volume of mineral waste (e.g. excavated earth material). At the same time, cities are increasingly trying to develop green infrastructures, given the ecosystem services they provide to people, but this comes with considerable economic and environmental costs associated with the transfer of fertile soil from rural areas to cities. In a circular economy approach, the reuse of mineral waste to build fertile soil is a substantial opportunity to reduce the economic and environmental costs of both mineral waste management and green infrastructure development. Soils constructed from these materials (constructed Technosols) must be able to support vegetation growth and become a suitable living environment for soil organisms. This requires ecological engineering to maximise the potential of constructed soils for biodiversity, both from a taxonomic and functional perspective. In this context, we systematically mapped the evidence related to the ability of soils constructed from mineral wastes to support biodiversity.

The global food system is inflicting substantial environmental harm, necessitating a shift towards more environmentally sustainable food consumption practices. Policy interventions, for example, information campaigns, taxes and subsidies and changes in the choice context are essential to stimulate sustainable change, but their effectiveness in achieving environmental goals remains inadequately understood. Existing literature lacks a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the role of public policies in promoting sustainable food consumption. Our systematic map addressed this gap by collecting and categorising research evidence on public policy interventions aimed at establishing environmentally sustainable food consumption patterns, in order to answer the primary research question: What evidence exists on the effects of public policy interventions for achieving environmentally sustainable food consumption?

Brazil has one of the planet's greatest biodiversity, with over 20% of the world's total species. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) spans 17 Brazilian states, making it the third-largest biome in Brazil. The BAF is composed of a range of ecological formations, with climatic conditions and landscape diversity that directly contribute to the different structures of the forest. The fragmentation of the original habitats, mainly due to anthropogenic activities, is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss, causing the decline and habitat loss for several species, including birds and mammals. While there has been extensive research on species diversity in forest fragments or protected areas, there is a lack of basic research in agricultural ecosystems. Only 1.5% of the studies on bird occurrence data in the BAF were reported from pasture habitats and 1.4% from exotic tree plantations. To address this gap, the present systematic map protocol aims to carry out a bibliographic survey on the presence of birds and mammals in agricultural landscapes and its adjacent areas of natural vegetation to describe the prevalence of species across different (semi-)natural and anthropogenic habitat types. Collecting this data is important to support environmental management policies to preserve biodiversity in these areas.

Biochar is a relatively new development in sustainable agricultural management that can be applied to ameliorate degraded and less fertile soils, especially sandy-textured ones, to improve their productivity with respect to crop production through improved nutrient availability. However, as the literature has shown, the response of sandy-textured soils to biochar varies in terms of effect size and direction. Therefore, the present study systematically reviewed the available evidence to synthesize the impact of biochar amendments on aspects of the nutrient cycle of sandy-textured soils.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To phase out fossil fuels and reach a carbon-neutral future, solar energy and notably photovoltaic (PV) installations are being rapidly scaled up. Unlike other types of renewable energies such as wind and hydroelectricity, evidence on the effects of PV installations on biodiversity has been building up only fairly recently and suggests that they may directly impact ecosystems and species through, for instance, habitat change and loss, mortality, behaviour alteration or population displacements. Hence, we conducted a systematic map of existing evidence aiming at answering the following question: what evidence exists regarding the effects of PV installations on wild terrestrial and semi-aquatic species?

Cultivated peatlands are widespread in temperate and boreal climate zones. For example, in Europe about 15% of the pristine peatland area have been lost through drainage for agricultural use. When drained, these organic soils are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To reach climate goals, the agricultural sector must reduce its GHG emissions, and one measure that has been discussed is changing land use from cropland to ley production or perennial green fallow. This management change leads to lower reported emissions, at least when using the IPCC default emission factors (EF) for croplands and grasslands on organic soils (IPCC 2014). However, there was a limited background dataset available for developing the EFs, and other variables than management affect the comparison of the land use options when the data originates from varying sites and years. Thus, the implications for future policies remain uncertain. This protocol describes the methodology to conduct a systematic review to answer the question of whether ley production or perennial green fallow can be suggested as a valid alternative to annual cropping to decrease GHG emissions on organic soils in temperate and boreal climate.