Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Carmen Cantuarias-Villessuzanne, Romain Weigel, Jeffrey Blain
Summary: This study analyzes the smart strategies of European cities through the dynamic capabilities approach, categorizing cities into emerging smart strategies, technology-oriented strategies, and cities with good quality of life.
Article
Urban Studies
Elrasheid Elkhidir, Sandeeka Mannakkara, Theunis F. P. Henning, Suzanne Wilkinson
Summary: The establishment of a national resilience-knowledge network requires certain conditions, specific criteria for selecting suitable collaboration-partner cities, and appropriate mechanisms for knowledge transfer.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rebecca E. Morss, Heather Lazrus, Julie L. Demuth
Summary: Successful interdisciplinary research involves full intellectual participation from each contributing field, forming a multiway partnership. Researchers can achieve integration across fields by strategies such as interweaving research foci perspectives, regular interactions, and establishing connections of knowledge and ideas throughout the research process.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Beat Oertli, Marine Decrey, Eliane Demierre, Julie Carmen Fahy, Peter Gallinelli, Fernanda Vasco, Christiane Ilg
Summary: Small waterbodies like ponds in cities contribute to blue-green infrastructure, improving human well-being. However, their multifunctionality is often limited to aesthetic enjoyment, and the promotion of native biodiversity and other ecosystem services is lacking. A study in Geneva, Switzerland showed that most ornamental ponds had low biodiversity and performed poorly in providing ecosystem services. Nevertheless, some ponds displayed multifunctionality and could be optimized for biodiversity and other ecosystem services through simple management measures.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Aravindi Samarakkody, Dilanthi Amaratunga, Richard Haigh
Summary: A Smart City improves citizens' quality of life through innovative solutions, and urban resilience should be integrated into the smartness criteria of any Smart City. This paper presents a systematic literature review that identifies ten urban resilience dimensions built upon six Smart City dimensions. The findings contribute to the development of smartness criteria reflecting on urban resilience and provide valuable insights for Smart City policymakers.
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Marco D'Orazio, Gabriele Bernardini, Enrico Quagliarini
Summary: Touristic cities are facing the economic impact of COVID-19 emergency, with a need for risk-mitigation strategies combining social distancing and individual protective measures. Simulation tools can evaluate the effectiveness of these measures and find the optimal solution for reopening activities. An Agent-Based Model has been modified to estimate virus spreading in touristic areas using a probabilistic approach.
Editorial Material
Education & Educational Research
Jeffrey M. Rabin, Adam Burgasser, Thomas J. Bussey, John Eggers, Stanley M. Lo, Sherry Seethaler, Laura Stevens, Haim Weizman
Summary: This article discusses the differences in the application of rate of change concepts from calculus in various disciplines, explores the challenges and strategies of interdisciplinary collaboration, and provides important insights for STEM educators and participants in interdisciplinary projects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STEM EDUCATION
(2021)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Katherine R. McCance, Stephanie D. Teeter, Margaret R. Blanchard, Richard A. Venditti
Summary: Interdisciplinary collaborations can achieve knowledge and solutions beyond the capabilities of a single discipline. This qualitative study used Activity Theory to analyze interdisciplinary team interactions in the development of laboratory activities for a grant-funded project. The team's success was attributed to shared goals, a supportive environment, and clear division of labor. Differences were found in terms of tools, rules, and division of labor, highlighting the importance of leveraging diverse strengths and knowledge in an interdisciplinary team.
STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Jeancolas, A. Y. Singh, S. Jain, S. Krishna, P. Nghe
Summary: This article tells the backstory of a Franco-Indian collaboration on the origin of life, highlighting the efforts made by the researchers to bridge the gap between empiricist and theorist cultures and the significance of this synergy for future research on the origin of life.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Nadia Rania, Ilaria Coppola, Laura Pinna
Summary: Individual and group reflection practices in a group context can help develop group skills and increase awareness of the dynamics within the group. Participants focused on factors such as climate, participation, and roles played by each member, strengthening relationships and enhancing group cohesion.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Amadou Niang, Andre Torre, Sebastien Bourdin
Summary: This article analyzes the evolution of cooperative behaviors and relational networks among local stakeholders in an anaerobic digestion cluster in France. The study reveals the development of dense relational networks and the presence of different groups that act in a semi-autonomous manner. The persistence and resilience of these relationships are related to cognitive resemblances or common origins.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Albert H. Chao, Jacqueline R. McAllister
Summary: This study aims to characterize and investigate the collective efforts of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing reconstructive surgical aid to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The findings suggest that the distribution of aid by NGOs is primarily guided by population, rather than other traditional indicators used for aid distribution.
JOURNAL OF GLOBAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yoshiyasu Takefuji
Summary: The current disaster approaches and strategies have proven to be failurues in society's vulnerability to pandemics and natural disasters such as COVID-19. This paper examines conventional disaster governance regimes and discusses the potential for establishing a sustainable and resilient society. With a focus on disaster prevention, the paper emphasizes the need for updating current disaster strategies in order to minimize the impact and cost of such events and to improve people's well-being. Furthermore, the paper presents an assessment of COVID-19 policies in terms of their effectiveness in strengthening disaster prevention technology.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Craig A. Schenck, Lucas Busta
Summary: Plants produce specialized metabolites to cope with environmental pressures, derived from core metabolic pathways. With the advent of multi-omics data sets, researchers are now able to systematically identify plant specialized metabolic pathways and understand how metabolic pathways evolved through comparative studies of diverse plant species.
PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. G. Hutchins, D. Fletcher, A. Hagen-Zanker, H. Jia, L. Jones, H. Li, S. Loiselle, J. Miller, S. Reis, I Seifert-Dahnn, V Wilde, C-Y Xu, D. Yang, J. Yu, S. Yu
Summary: In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for multi-functional assessment tools that evaluate trade-offs and co-benefits for various types of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). These tools aim to identify optimal NBS placement across a diverse set of socio-environmental indicators, taking into account issues of relative location of areas of implementation and benefit accrual. It is crucial for these tools to quantify scale-dependence in order to effectively evaluate the outcomes of NBS.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Kristin H. Braziunas, Rupert Seidl, Werner Rammer, Monica G. Turner
Summary: In forested wildland urban interface (WUI) landscapes in the western United States, fire incidents are on the rise. The effectiveness of fuel treatments and fire risk under future climate conditions remain uncertain. The study showed that under warm and dry climates, annual area burned increased, but the area burned at high fire intensity peaked in the 2060s and then declined sharply, with fire risk following similar trends. The most effective strategy for reducing fire risk depends on the scale at which risk is assessed, with clustering WUI developments and treating between 10 and 30% of the landscape every 10 years showing promise in reducing fire risk at multiple scales.
Article
Ecology
Adam F. A. Pellegrini, Tyler Refsland, Colin Averill, Cesar Terrer, A. Carla Staver, Dale G. Brockway, Anthony Caprio, Wayne Clatterbuck, Corli Coetsee, James D. Haywood, Sarah E. Hobbie, William A. Hoffmann, John Kush, Tom Lewis, W. Keith Moser, Steven T. Overby, William A. Patterson, Kabir G. Peay, Peter B. Reich, Casey Ryan, Mary Anne S. Sayer, Bryant C. Scharenbroch, Tania Schoennagel, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Kirsten Stephan, Chris Swanston, Monica G. Turner, J. Morgan Varner, Robert B. Jackson
Summary: This study examines the impacts of changes in fire frequency on tree communities in 29 different sites, revealing that repeated burning generally reduces stem density and basal area. The most pronounced effects are observed in savanna ecosystems and sites with strong wet or dry seasons.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Werner Rammer, Kristin H. Braziunas, Winslow D. Hansen, Zak Ratajczak, Anthony L. Westerling, Monica G. Turner, Rupert Seidl
Summary: Globally, changing climate and disturbance events are increasingly challenging the resilience of forest ecosystems. Regeneration failure can result from the interplay among disturbance changes, altered climate conditions, and functional traits. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a substantial portion of forested area failed to regenerate, especially in areas where fires are not constrained by topography and in high-elevation forest types not adapted to fire.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Nathan S. Gill, Monica G. Turner, Carissa D. Brown, Sydney Glassman, Sandra L. Haire, Winslow D. Hansen, Elizabeth R. Pansing, Samuel B. St Clair, Diana F. Tomback
Summary: This article discusses the effects of fire regime change on the dispersal of propagules in forest communities and their interactions with other factors, highlighting the importance of dispersal limitation in forest recovery.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tyler J. Hoecker, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Biodiversity conservation in protected areas relies on enduring habitat, but shifts in species' ranges due to climate and fire-driven vegetation change could undermine their efficacy. This study examined the distribution changes of three forest species under different climate-fire scenarios in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The results showed that climate and vegetation alone did not overlap in identifying suitable habitats, and fire-driven changes greatly affected the distribution of these species, especially for obligate-seeder or fire-sensitive conifers. These findings highlight the importance of considering both climate and fire regimes in predicting future species distributions and managing protected areas.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Monica G. Turner, Kristin H. Braziunas, Winslow D. Hansen, Tyler J. Hoecker, Werner Rammer, Zak Ratajczak, A. Leroy Westerling, Rupert Seidl
Summary: The study suggests that future forest landscapes will undergo significant changes as temperatures rise and fire activity increases, particularly in environments of prolonged aridity and high fire risk, leading to rapid forest structure and composition degradation. However, controlling greenhouse gas concentrations may help slow this process and protect the forests.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Tyler J. Hoecker, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Recent increases in fire frequency and severity in the western US are causing abrupt changes in ecosystem structure, with uncertain impacts on mesic, mixed-conifer forests. The density and composition of postfire tree regeneration in Glacier National Park vary based on fire interval time, with potential shifts in the entire plant community.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Carly D. Ziter
Summary: Despite urban stressors on multiple species, little is known about the ecological consequences of urban evolution. This study investigated the evolutionary responses of predator-prey interactions in urban environments using damselfly nymphs and water fleas. The results revealed a cryptic eco-evolutionary feedback, where urban damselflies showed higher predation rates when paired with rural prey, but this advantage disappeared when urban predators encountered urban prey. The findings highlight the ecological consequences of mismatches in evolutionary responses and emphasize the importance of a multi-species approach in eco-evolutionary dynamics research.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kristin H. Braziunas, Diane C. Abendroth, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Anticipating fire behavior is a pressing management challenge in fire-prone landscapes, especially with the acceleration of climate change. This study compared burn severity between young and mature subalpine forests under similar fire weather conditions and found that fuels were weak predictors of burn severity. Surprisingly, fuel characteristics were better predictors under extreme fire weather. These findings are important for assessing the influence of fuels on burn severity in future fires.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rupert Seidl, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Forest ecosystems are strongly affected by climate change and disturbance activities. The short time window after a disturbance event plays a crucial role in shaping future forest development. Understanding and predicting forest reorganization through analyzing forest structure and composition is essential for anticipating forest change.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Brian J. Harvey, Michele S. Buonanduci, Monica G. Turner
Summary: The study investigated the spatial interactions of multiple disturbances and their effects on landscape change. By quantifying burn severity in reburned forest landscapes, the researchers found that overlapping fires resulted in cumulative patterns of recent high-severity fire that were more homogeneous and further from mature forests. This highlights the importance of considering cumulative disturbance patterns in understanding landscape heterogeneity.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Tanjona Ramiadantsoa, Zak Ratajczak, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Disturbances are common in ecological systems, and species have evolved various strategies to resist or recover from disturbance. Understanding how regeneration traits affect community responses to disturbance is crucial as disturbance regimes change. The disturbance niche, defined as a species' fitness across disturbance sizes and frequencies, can help explain the presence of different species. By developing a model and studying subalpine forests in Yellowstone National Park, researchers found that the regeneration strategies of different tree species varied with fire rotation, and diversity of regeneration strategies enhanced forest resilience. This Goldilocks model can be adapted to other disturbance-prone ecosystems to explore similar patterns.
Article
Ecology
Kristin H. Braziunas, Nathan G. Kiel, Monica G. Turner
Summary: As climate and disturbance patterns change in the 21st century, the resilience of ecosystems becomes uncertain. With multiple drivers changing simultaneously, the vulnerability of ecosystems to change could be amplified due to their interactions. This study focused on subalpine forests in Greater Yellowstone and found that short-interval fires resulted in significantly lower tree stem density compared to long-interval fires. Climate, topography, and the distance to unburned forest edge all played a role in post-fire forest regeneration. The results suggest that tree regeneration following short-interval fires will be particularly pronounced in areas with historically high serotiny.
Article
Plant Sciences
Nathan G. Kiel, Kristin H. Braziunas, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Climate change is causing changes in disturbance regimes globally. In forests adapted to infrequent, high-severity fires, recent short fire-return intervals have led to reduced postfire tree regeneration. The effects on understory plant communities have not been studied.
Article
Biology
Carly D. Ziter, Bradley M. Herrick, Marie R. Johnston, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Asian pheretimoid earthworms of the genera Amynihas and Metaphire (jumping worms) are spreading into Northeastern and Midwestern states in the United States, with potential impacts on native organisms and ecosystem processes. A participatory field campaign led in Madison, Wisconsin, quantified the distribution and abundance of jumping worms across different urban land-cover types, highlighting the importance of community science in researching invasive species and engaging the public in conservation efforts.
