Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Jessica Mead, Zoe Fisher, Andrew H. Kemp
Summary: The concept of wellbeing is criticized as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues and calls for a broader conceptualization. The article presents a theoretical framework that highlights the multifaceted determinants of wellbeing and their interactions across multiple domains and levels of scale. It emphasizes the factors impacting wellbeing and the potential for a transdisciplinary science of wellbeing.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cara Steger, Julia A. Klein, Robin S. Reid, Sandra Lavorel, Catherine Tucker, Kelly A. Hopping, Rob Marchant, Tara Teel, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Tsechoe Dorjii, Greg Greenwood, Robert Huber, Karim-Aly Kassam, David Kreuer, Anne Nolinn, Aaron Russello, Julia L. Sharp, Mateja Smid Hribar, Jessica P. R. Thorn, Gordon Grants, Mohammed Mahdi, Martha Morenou, Daniel Waiswav
Summary: Flexibility and collaborative spirit are highly valued skills in SWS, and different respondents have differing perspectives on barriers to successful SWS implementation. A toolbox of 20 best practices can be utilized to overcome barriers and enhance the societal and scientific impacts of SWS projects.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maureen G. Reed, James P. Robson, Mariana Campos Rivera, Francisco Chapela, Iain Davidson-Hunt, Peter Friedrichsen, Eleanor Haine, Anthony Blair Dreaver Johnston, Gabriela Lichtenstein, Laura S. Lynes, Majing Oloko, Michelle Sanchez Luja, Sheona Shackleton, Marlene Soriano, Fermin Sosa Perez, Liette Vasseur
Summary: Transdisciplinary sustainability scientists are urged to engage with community actors to enhance understanding and improvement of human-nature relations. In response to the dominance of Western academic researchers, a workshop was organized in 2018 to co-design principles for our diverse community of practice. These principles, such as self-determination and reciprocal relationships, have been applied to our research practices and can inspire transformations in international and intercultural sustainability research.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Zhifang Wang, Liyun Huang, Min Xu, Sirui Wang
Summary: There are prominent gaps between science and practice in the field of nature-based solutions (NBS) worldwide, with China urgently needing to address this issue. A study introduced NBS planning for the Jialing River in Wusheng County, aiming to address challenges such as transforming riverfront planning, effective communication of NBS, and incorporating scientific results and local wisdom into decision-making. The study identified five NBS paradigms for better communication and allocated them spatially with specific design guidelines and governance strategies.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Alexandros Nikas, Georgios Xexakis, Konstantinos Koasidis, Jose Acosta-Fernandez, Inaki Arto, Alvaro Calzadilla, Teresa Domenech, Ajay Gambhir, Stefan Giljum, Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino, Andrea Herbst, Olga Ivanova, Mariesse A. e van Sluisveld, Dirk-Jan van de Ven, Anastasios Karamaneas, Haris Doukas
Summary: Technological breakthroughs and policy measures alone are insufficient to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions goals of the Paris Agreement. Transforming linear economic models into closed-loop industrial ecosystems and shifting lifestyle patterns are important for decarbonization. Interdisciplinary research is needed to explore the potential of the circular economy for climate change mitigation and to assess the synergies and trade-offs. Collaboration between different disciplines, methods, and communities can lead to improved quantitative models and better understand the contribution of enhanced circularity performance to mitigation pathways.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mark G. Lawrence, Stephen Williams, Patrizia Nanz, Ortwin Renn
Summary: Resolving the grand challenges and wicked problems of the Anthropocene requires a transdisciplinary approach. This article provides an overview and perspective for disciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers to efficiently understand the concept, characteristics, and model of transdisciplinarity. It also discusses the challenges faced by transdisciplinary research in addressing the broader challenges of the Anthropocene and proposes approaches to deal with these challenges based on practical experiences.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sebastian Rogga, Jana Zscheischler
Summary: Doing a PhD in a transdisciplinary research project presents both benefits and challenges for early-career scientists. It is crucial for experienced supervisors to support these researchers, and for scientific networks to help transform the academic system and enhance their careers in sustainability science.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ryan Plummer, Jessica Blythe, Georgina G. Gurney, Samantha Witkowski, Derek Armitage
Summary: This article provides a guide to assess the performance and impacts of transdisciplinary partnerships for sustainability. It offers key steps to navigate and examine the partnership process for continuous improvement, and to understand how transdisciplinary partnership is contributing to sustainable futures.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maraja Riechers, Lucia Fanini, Annalisa Apicella, Carolina Batista Galvan, Elise Blondel, Begona Espina, Simone Kefer, Tristan Keroulle, Katja Klun, Tania R. Pereira, Francesca Ronchi, Pedro Ruiz Rodriguez, Haritz Sardon, Alexandra Viana Silva, Maris Stulgis, Nagore Ibarra-Gonzalez
Summary: The conference report summarizes the current challenges of researching microplastics pollution in the ocean as debated by international experts and stakeholders, resulting in proposed actions including filtering microplastics, using mandatory ecolabels on plastic products packages, and implementing a circular economy of packaging plastics.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Agathe Osinski
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis on 40 case studies of transdisciplinary research, examining how the conception of sustainability adopted in these projects influences various process features. The findings indicate that an integrated approach to sustainability is more likely to include disadvantaged groups, acknowledge power differentials, and generate empowerment and social learning among participants.
Review
Ecology
Jianquan Dong, Hong Jiang, Tianwei Gu, Yanxu Liu, Jian Peng
Summary: This study proposes a scientific definition and conceptual connotation of Sustainable Landscape Pattern (SLP) and summarizes its application status in spatial planning. The results show that SLP effectively supports spatial planning by helping determine planning targets, analyze spatial patterns, and compare and select schemes. Future research directions include exploring frontier concepts like spatial resilience and applying SLP to ecological restoration and urban development.
Article
Urban Studies
Milad Haghani, Soheil Sabri, Chris De Gruyter, Ali Ardeshiri, Zahra Shahhoseini, Thomas W. Sanchez, Michele Acuto
Summary: The science of urban planning is challenging to define due to its interdisciplinary nature. By analyzing nearly 100,000 articles, this study objectively identifies divisions, temporal trends, and influential references and actors in urban planning. The field is divided into four main areas: governance and policy, economics and markets, housing, and built and natural environment. Over time, the focus has shifted from welfare economics and urban growth to regional policy, social welfare, and urban renaissance, and more recently, to urban morphology, participatory planning, and resilience, among other areas. The study also highlights increased author connectivity and international collaboration.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Orla Kelly, Peta White, Fabrizio Butera, Sam Illingworth, Pim Martens, Maud Huynen, Susan Bailey, Geertje Schuitema, Sian Cowman
Summary: Transdisciplinary sustainability science integrates multiple perspectives and engages with multiple stakeholders to solve real-world sustainability challenges. This article proposes a model for teaching and learning that considers the contemporary pressures of sustainability science praxis, highlighting the importance of social science perspectives in incorporating power, justice, and historical responsibility into sustainability discussions. The article also emphasizes the benefits of using arts-based approaches in the classroom and provides strategies for supporting students in dealing with anxiety and ecological grief.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Gerontology
Lana Sargent, Patricia Slattum, Marshall Brooks, Tracey Gendron, Marissa Mackiewicz, Ana Diallo, Leland Waters, Jodi Winship, Kimberly Battle, Gregory Ford, Katherine Falls, Jane Chung, Faika Zanjani, Ingrid Pretzer-Aboff, Elvin T. Price, Elizabeth Prom-Wormley, Pamela Parsons, ICubed Health And Wellness In Aging Transdisciplinary Core
Summary: This forum presents a team's experience using transdisciplinary approaches to address issues faced by older adults in urban communities. The team conducted an internal evaluation and created a Transdisciplinary Conceptual Model.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Christian Stamm, Claudia R. Binder, Emmanuel Frossard, Philip M. Haygarth, Astrid Oberson, Alan E. Richardson, Christian Schaum, Oscar Schoumans, Kai M. Udert
Summary: This paper summarizes the outcomes of the 9th International Phosphorus Workshop on moving towards sustainable phosphorus management, highlighting progress in recognizing phosphorus as a finite mineable resource, technologies for phosphorus recycling, and legislative efforts towards a circular phosphorus economy. However, critical deficits exist, such as dealing with legacy phosphorus, understanding the impact of climate change on ecosystem phosphorus cycling, and developing business models to scale up existing recycling practices.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Raphael Weber, Annegret Haase, Christian Albert
Summary: The accessibility of urban green spaces (UGS) for city dwellers has recently become a subject of great interest in research and policy. Previous studies have primarily focused on spatial distances and overlooked the qualities of UGS. By analyzing various data sets using a geographic information system, we evaluated the entire UGS setting of Hannover and identified age-appropriate green spaces that cater to diverse recreational nature qualities and potential demands. The results highlight the poor access of children and elderly people to UGS that meet their age-related requirements for unrestricted nature-based recreation. Nature quality and age-related requirements are crucial factors in the assessment of UGS accessibility and recreation. Therefore, addressing the vulnerabilities in age-related recreation in cities is essential for future planning and research.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Camilla Sandstrom, Irene Ring, Roland Olschewski, Riccardo Simoncini, Christian Albert, Sevil Acar, Malkhaz Adeishvili, Christina Allard, Yakov Anker, Raphael Arlettaz, Gyorgyi Bela, Luca Coscieme, Anke Fischer, Christine Fuerst, Bella Galil, Stephen Hynes, Ulan Kasymov, Cristina Marta-Pedroso, Ana Mendes, Ulf Molau, Jan Pergl
Summary: Recent assessments by IPBES indicate that Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) are at risk due to ongoing biodiversity loss, emphasizing the need for increased conservation efforts and sustainable use of biodiversity. Mainstreaming biodiversity into sectoral policies is seen as a strategy to achieve change. The review conducted for Europe and Central Asia highlights the potential of mainstreaming to improve biodiversity conservation and NCP provision, but also indicates the need for stronger implementation.
ECOSYSTEMS AND PEOPLE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Blal Adem Esmail, Chiara Cortinovis, Jingxia Wang, Davide Geneletti, Christian Albert
Summary: From 2015 to 2019, the potential supply of key ecosystem services in Eritrea, including crop provisioning, water supply, and recreation, increased, except for wood supply. Our study provides policy-relevant insights for conserving, developing, or restoring ecosystem services in Eritrea. This approach can be applied to other data scarce contexts to support more sustainable land development for people and nature.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jean-Christophe Castella, Juliet Lu, Cecilie Friis, Thilde Bech Bruun, Robert Cole, Victoria Junquera, Miles Kenney-Lazar, Sango Mahanty, Christine Ornetsmueller, Pin Pravalprukskul, Isabelle Vagneron
Summary: The expansion of commercial agriculture has led to significant livelihood and land-use changes worldwide. This trend has been intensified by globalization, resulting in booms and busts of single cash crops, particularly in resource frontiers. Through case studies in the Mekong Region, a model for agricultural booms globally, the authors propose a new analytical framework consisting of three components: the nested nature of crop boom-bust trajectories, cyclical spatial and temporal patterns of crop booms, and diverse pathways and impacts of agrarian change. This framework provides new insights into agricultural intensification in frontier spaces, aiding researchers and decision-makers in developing sustainable pathways for the future.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jana Brenner, Stefan Schmidt, Christian Albert
Summary: This study applies a socio-ecological approach to explore and prioritize suitable opportunity spaces for roof greening in order to mitigate urban heat island effects. The findings indicate a significant area of high vulnerability to heat in Krefeld, with potential expansion until 2030. However, the majority of evaluated roofs lack vegetation cover, highlighting the need for prioritizing green roof implementation.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Barbara Schroeter, Sarah Gottwald, Karina Castro-Arce, Eva Hartkopf, Bernardo Aguilar-Gonzalez, Christian Albert
Summary: This short communication aims to demonstrate how a spatial planning process for Nature-based Solutions can be facilitated in an online context. It showcases the use of an online geographic map-based environment for virtual mobility, allowing participants to communicate their opinions and co-create local and regional NBS actions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jianguo Liu
Summary: This article highlights major advances in scientific discoveries for sustainability science from applying the integrated metacoupling framework, illustrates implications for global sustainable development, and offers future perspectives to further empower the framework.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuqian Zhang, Yingjie Li, Jianguo Liu
Summary: The United Nations has adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote human welfare and conserve the planet. Our research examined the progress of SDGs 14 and 15, which directly address biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, between 2010 and 2020. The results showed a small growth in SDG 14 scores, but a significant increase in SDG 15 scores, especially in countries with biodiversity hotspots. It is important to prioritize low-income countries' sustainable development performance in implementing the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
Editorial Material
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthias Schroeter, Marta Berbes-Blazquez, Christian Albert, Rosemary Hill, Torsten Krause, Jacqueline Loos, Lelani M. Mannetti, Berta Martin-Lopez, Amrita Neelakantan, John A. Parrotta, Cristina Quintas-Soriano, David J. Abson, Rob Alkemade, Bas Amelung, Brigitte Baptiste, Edmundo Barrios, Houria Djoudi, Evangelia G. Drakou, Isabelle Durance, Marina Garcia Llorente, Davide Geneletti, Zuzana V. Harmackova, Sander Jacobs, Nina N. Kaiser, Jonathan Kingsley, Sarah Klain, Maria Jose Martinez-Harms, Ranjini Murali, Patrick O'Farrell, Ram Pandit, Laura Pereira, Sakshi Rana, Maraja Riechers, Graciela M. Rusch, Juan E. Sala, Catharina J. E. Schulp, Nadia Sitas, Suneetha M. Subramanian, Sebastian Villasante, Alexander van Oudenhoven
ECOSYSTEMS AND PEOPLE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thomas Beery, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Sandra Gentin, Megan Maurer, Sanna Stalhammar, Christian Albert, Claudia Bieling, Arjen Buijs, Nora Fagerholm, Maria Garcia-Martin, Tobias Plieninger, Christopher M. Raymond
Summary: The relationship between humans and nature has always been a subject of exploration throughout history, and recently the concept of connection to nature has become an important interdisciplinary field of study. Despite the growing attention to connection to nature, disconnection from nature has been underdeveloped and underresearched. In this article, the authors argue for a comprehensive understanding of disconnection from nature that goes beyond individual relationships and considers social and collective factors. They present the "wheel of disconnection" to illustrate how disconnections from nature manifest and challenge existing research that isolates human impacts on the environment from cultural and political contexts.
Review
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Cornelia Hett, Zar Chi Aye, Christophe Gironde, Alice Beban, Jean-Christophe Castella, Rasso Bernhard, Albrecht Ehrensperger
Summary: The study found that agroecological approaches in the Mekong Region have room for further development, particularly in terms of holistic approaches and gender issues. To promote agroecological transitions, sectoral barriers must be overcome, and greater emphasis should be placed on women's roles in sustainable agriculture.
JOURNAL OF LAND USE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Yue Dou, Ramon Felipe Bicudo da Silva, Mateus Batistella, Sara Torres, Emilio Moran, Jianguo Liu
Summary: Agricultural trade and climate change have significant impacts on land cover and land use worldwide. In this study, we used Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to model the decision-making processes of crop producers in Brazil and simulated different land-use decisions under various trade and climate change scenarios. Our results indicate that climate change has a stronger overall impact than trade scenarios on local land-use changes and agricultural production. Improving technology packages and sharing accurate climate information can effectively mitigate climate change risks and have positive impacts on land-use intensification.
Article
Ecology
Ramon Felipe Bicudo da Silva, Emilio Moran, Andres Vina, James D. A. Millington, Yue Dou, Simone A. Vieira, Maria Claudia Lopez, Jianguo Liu
Summary: The world has entered the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), but environmental degradation still persists in many regions. This study examines the human-environment conditions behind the net gains in natural forest cover in the Atlantic Forest biome, Brazil, a region that has experienced environmental degradation. The findings suggest that forest transition at the biome level is possible through a complex socio-economic pathway and taking advantage of specific context-dependent situations.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ramon Felipe Bicudo da Silva, Emilio F. Moran, James D. A. Millington, Andres Vina, Jianguo Liu
Summary: In recent years, there has been significant improvement in understanding the effects of global flows of agricultural commodities on human and natural systems. However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding important factors of environmental change influenced by these commodity flows. This study presents a spatial modelling approach to assess the impact of trade destination on forest cover change in soybean-producing municipalities in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The results show that municipalities with greater soybean production not destined for international markets are strongly associated with deforestation, as well as with cattle and pasture expansion.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Nicholas Manning, Yingjie Li, Jianguo Liu
Summary: With rapid globalization and global environmental changes, complex sustainability issues in the Anthropocene are increasingly interconnected, not only within nearby systems but also between distant systems. Tobler's first law of geography (TFL), which states that near things are more related than distant things, is not always applicable for sustainability issues. The integrated framework of metacoupling (MCF) has shown greater applicability than TFL, especially in topics such as trade, governance, and agricultural development.
GEOGRAPHY AND SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
