Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Environmental Studies
Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Disaster Risk Mitigation in SIPLAS: A Framework for Policy Integration and Innovative Financing
Published: 2026-04-16
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning
Small island protected areas face compounding pressures from rapid urbanization, constrained land use, biodiversity loss, and intensifying climate and disaster risk, yet scholarship on how to finance and mainstream Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in governance-complex, nationally protected island systems remains limited. This study addresses that gap by examining the integration of NbS into climate [...]
Synergies and trade-offs between tree cover expansion efforts within and outside forests to achieve climate, biodiversity and human well-being outcomes
Published: 2026-03-23
Subjects: Biodiversity, Environmental Studies, Nature and Society Relations, Other Forestry and Forest Sciences, Physical and Environmental Geography, Remote Sensing
Increasing tree cover is hailed as a leading climate mitigation strategy, yet there is increasing evidence that there may be trade-offs between trees in different parts of the landscape. Existing science, policy, and practice on natural climate solutions (NCS) assumes that trees outside of forests, for example on farms, homesteads, or in urban areas, are synergistic with forest conservation: if [...]
Thermodynamic heterogeneity patterns reveal higher-order soil organization in indigenous agroecosystems of the U.S. Southwest
Published: 2026-03-12
Subjects: Dynamic Systems, Environmental Studies, Natural Resources and Conservation, Numerical Analysis and Computation, Remote Sensing, Science and Technology Studies, Soil Science, Spatial Science, Sustainability
Soil spatial heterogeneity and diversity support the stability and productivity of food systems, yet their multidimensional structure remains difficult to quantify at spatial scales relevant to agricultural resilience. A process-based framework grounded in fundamental physical principles is therefore needed to describe these spatial processes across landscapes. The aim of this study was to [...]
Seven principles for engaging schools with nature: pooling the expertise of teachers and nature educators
Published: 2026-03-05
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Education, Environmental Studies, Nature and Society Relations
Nature connection in schools can address several issues faced in both environmental and educational fields. However, guidance is limited and many aspects can feel daunting or risky for schools under multiple other constraints. As a group of researchers, schoolteachers, and nature educators, we have co-produced seven guiding principles for integrating nature within UK schooling, particularly in [...]
Generating a national snapshot of all publicly-reported investments in ecosystem and species conservation across public, private, and philanthropic finance
Published: 2026-02-10
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Nature and Society Relations
Scaling up investment in ecosystems is a national and international public policy priority, but evaluations of the total amount spent have been severely criticised for a lack of methodological rigour. Increasingly governments are looking to the private sector to fill the nature finance ‘funding gap’, but a lack of transparent reporting of especially private finance flows is a known limitation. In [...]
Supporting wildlife movement amid the rise of border infrastructure
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Law, Environmental Studies, Forest Management, Nature and Society Relations, Zoology
Transboundary areas of conservation importance affected by border infrastructure and militarization urgently need connectivity conservation solutions. Where human conflicts are ongoing and peace initiatives may be unviable, smaller-scale approaches can still be implemented. We propose a multi-faceted approach to support animal movement and minimize impacts of multiple border barriers on medium to [...]
The state of evidence on salmon farming: an umbrella review
Published: 2025-12-29
Subjects: Agriculture, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences
Background: The global expansion of salmon aquaculture has transformed marine food systems, offering economic benefits while amplifying environmental and socio-economic challenges. The shift from wild-caught to farmed salmon has led to widespread concerns, including disease transmission, genetic introgression, pollution, and conflicts with Indigenous communities. Additionally, salmon feed supply [...]
Predicting Indoor Air Pollution Reduction Behavior Among Urban Residents of Bangladesh Using an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) Model
Published: 2025-11-23
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Psychology, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Indoor air pollution (IAP), with elevated levels of fine particulate matter, significantly impacts public health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Bangladesh where reliance on biomass fuels and inadequate ventilation leads to high pollutant concentrations exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. While technological interventions have been explored, behavioral [...]
Natural Heritage: A Teaching Game For Biodiversity Conservation
Published: 2025-11-04
Subjects: Agricultural and Resource Economics, Biodiversity, Environmental Studies, Higher Education
The potential for computer games to serve as effective learning and teaching tools is now widely acknowledged. Here, we present ‘Natural Heritage’, an educational turn-based strategy game about biodiversity conservation. In it, the player takes on the role of an elected policy maker who has to balance ecological and economic targets while managing regional land use. The game aims to teach key [...]
Beneath the Pavement: Understanding mycorrhizal fungi in urban ecosystems and the path forward
Published: 2025-11-03
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, Human Ecology, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning
Urban expansion is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, yet the responses of mycorrhizal fungi—key mediators of plant–soil interactions—remain poorly understood. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge on the environmental and ecological factors shaping mycorrhizal fungal diversity, distribution, and function in cities. We highlight how greenspace and landscape features—including plant [...]
A Typology of Corporate Actions for a Nature-Positive Future
Published: 2025-10-08
Subjects: Biodiversity, Environmental Studies, Sustainability
Reaching the global goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss will require a step-change in corporate action. Whilst clear guidance already exists for companies to take responsibility for and mitigate biodiversity loss caused by their own operations, delivering global nature-positive outcomes requires higher ambition and extended accountability for impacts beyond companies’ direct control. [...]
Narrative-Movement Framework (NMF): A socio-ecological systems (SES) approach to human narratives, animal movement, and coexistence in shared landscapes
Published: 2025-10-05
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Other Arts and Humanities, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Life Sciences
1. Managing human-wildlife coexistence is essential for biodiversity conservation in places where humans and nonhumans compete for access to ecosystems. Viewing human-wildlife conflict as part of a complex web of positive and negative connections that exist between humans and nature is essential. 2. The field of socio-ecological systems (SES) seeks to understand these connections between [...]
Social media versus scientific literature: Comparing climate change discourses to support efficient communication and policy alignment in the Iberian Peninsula
Published: 2025-10-02
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Science and Technology Studies
Understanding disparities between scientific priorities and public discourse is critical for improving climate change communication, fostering public engagement, and supporting evidence-based policymaking. Here we investigated thematic and spatial dynamics of climate change-related content in scientific literature and social media. We focused on the Iberian Peninsula over the 2012-2022 decade, as [...]
Global biodiversity measurement to meet scale-dependent needs and opportunities
Published: 2025-10-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Business, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In the face of rapid ecological decline, biodiversity information is essential for safeguarding life on Earth. Although this information is increasingly valued by governments, businesses, and other stakeholders, it remains insufficiently accessible and usable. Because the rarity and functions of biodiversity vary greatly across land- and seascapes, the global and local ecological and social [...]
Women's Role in Elasmobrnach Fishery in Indonesia
Published: 2025-09-29
Subjects: Animal Studies, Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sociology
Women play a significant role in the fisheries chain, particularly in trade and processing, yet they are still not adequately acknowledged. Indonesia is the world's largest shark fishing country, with an average annual production exceeding 100,000 tons. The shark fishery, on its right, is a controversial and often misunderstood topic, not to mention the involvement of vulnerable groups in the [...]